I don't normally update this quick, but I am so pumped for this story that I just couldn't wait. This story really does need a little more love. I've gotten 1 like, 1 follow, and 2 reviews, thanks to all those who did that, but those who didn't: please do. I hope this story gets out more and gets more love. Thanks to all my fans... all three of you! Lol.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series.

The old man with a serious case of leave-us-all-on-a-freakin'-cliffhanger syndrome does...

Nico popped up in an alley.

He knocked over a few crushed beer cans, and scared the living daylights out of some poor stray cat trying to enjoy a half-eaten package of trashed sardines. Nico felt bad about that, but he didn't know who or what was going to be around when he was shadow-traveling.

He adjusted the strap of his black backpack, and slowly walked out of the alley, taking a look both left and right to assure nobody he knew could see him. He let out a soft smile as he saw no one, and began to walk to school.

He often questioned himself why he didn't shadow-travel closer to school, so he didn't have to walk the extra distance. He just kept reminding himself that it was too risky of being spotted. Who knows what a mortal would see if he popped out of some shadowy wall? Maybe they'd scream something about a demon...

He could also use the exercise, not that he really needed it, but that's what everyone says when they needed to walk a little further.

As Nico walked past the Empire State building, he looked up and could clearly see a giant mountain floating above it. The mist was that powerful, it could completely hide Mt. Olympus from mortal eyes. Nico felt a cold sensation come over him, he knew he had stayed too close to the mountain for too long. His father wasn't welcome, and neither was he.

Nico could understand that. Who would want death at their home for too long?

Nico rushed away from the building, disliking the feeling. He quickly closed the distance between him and another day at school. As he entered the schoolyard, he felt another sensation that made him stop dead in his tracks. It wasn't the cold feeling he had at Mt. Olympus. It was more an eerie, knowing feeling.

The feeling he was being watched.

Nico looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was keeping a close eye on him, and he found who. She wasn't esaily missed. In a bright-orange sweater and flushed grey jeans, Maree Louise Wells was as about as inconspicuous as traffic cone... that glowed with a flashing light.

She clutched a small notebook, as if it were the most important possession she owned, and a mechanical pencil in her hand. She hid behind a large oak tree, that really made the orange stick out. She quickly scribbled something down onto the paper, and then returned to her stare at him. Suddenly, she met Nico's eyes and realized she had been caught; then she ran, clutching the oh-so-precious notebook.

Nico shrugged it off, Marlo was a bit strange in her own way.

Marlo hid behind a tree, watching Nico di Angelo.

When she had first met him, she thought he was just a person who favored black; there wasn't really anything special about him. She thought he had been an average person, respecting his clothing choices, and hadn't given his normality another thought.

That is, until, she saw him vanish in that alley.

She had been walking home, alone. She knew it was stupid move to walk alone in New York City with darkness approaching, but she didn't have much choice. Callie and Jess lived in the opposite direction, and walked home together, leaving Marlo all alone. She had been nervous, until she noticed Nico a few yards in front of her.

What was he doing out so late? She remembered he had said he was going to Central Park, but did he really stay out that long? She took note of him, almost blending into the darkness, himself, in his dark clothing. She noticed he was eating a pomegranate. Marlo had never tried a pomegranate, but she heard the seeds were the best part. Every so often, she noticed he would put something into his pocket; it was too dark to tell what.

When he rounded a corner into a spooky, dark alley, Marlo had been confused. She wondered what he would be doing there. Her heart lurched. Was he part of a gang? Was he waiting to attack someone? She didn't think Nico would be capable of that, so she slowly followed him down the alley, sticking to the walls.

In a dim street light, she saw him do it. She saw him disappear.

First he had taken a runner's position, then he sprinted into a wall. She was about to check to see if he was all right, but he was gone.

Marlo replayed last night's scene over and over in her head. She didn't know how he did it, or why he would do it. Was he a magician? Or was he just some mutant? And if it was real, what kind of... super power, did he have? Teleportation? Intangibility?

Anything she knew about mutation and super powers, she'd learned from X-Men, which was pretty much everything.

She decided that the only thing to do was to spy on Nico, and see if he would do it again. She would take note of his every movement. Perhaps there was some form of process of preparation he had to go through each day to perform the ability.

So she stalked him.

He was pretty boring too. She found him on the school grounds, walking into the school, when he suddenly stopped and turned to look at her from her hiding place behind the big oak tree, West of the school. When Marlo realized her cover had been blown, she ran away from the scene.

She watched him during science class, and he didn't do much, but listen, or at least make it look like he was listening. Soon, Marlo was forced to verse herself in a game of tic-tac-toe, and she beat herself everytime. When the bell rang, he rushed out, while she was caught in the crowd. He was lucky- all the students made a direct path for him.

When she finally made it out of the school, she scanned the schoolyard for him, but he wasn't in sight. She silently cursed herself.

He'd probably performed the trick, and she didn't get to see him.

Nico walked down the crushed grass path.

He set down his bag, next to the stump and sat down like he always did. He took out the old deck of cards, and began to shuffle them when Bianca's spirit shimmered into place. She smiled sisterly at him, and he returned it.

"Hey B." Nico greeted her. "It's good to see you, I've had a weird day."

Nico began to deal out the cards for a classic game of Old Maid, as he told the story of his day. He told his sister about the girl, Maree Louise Wells, writing things down from behind the tree.

Bianca chuckled, "I think you may have a secret admirer."

"I don't think so B." Nico shook his head. "She's way out of my league."

"Whatever you say, brother, whatever you say." Bianca muttered, picking up her hand and letting Nico take a card from her.

The rest of the game went by casually as usual. They talked about Elysium, and how Hades was doing. They discussed the resent traffic congestion in the Ez Death line, and how Daedalus was fixing it. It would've been awkward for any other pair of siblings to talk about death, but as the children of Hades, it was second nature. Soon Bianca faded away, and Nico packed the cards into their case.

Guess who lost? Again?

Sorry this one was a little short, but I really wanted to update and I'm really stressed over homework and stuff. So I hope you liked the little bit of story you got. Thanks to my two reviewers, my one favorite, and my one follower, you're the reason for the update!

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Randomness: Most people learn by observation, and there are the few who learn by experimentation... And then there are those who actually touch the fire too see if it's hot.

Never ever stop being such Awesome Possums! :oD