Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO. Sorry it's a little short, but it's here! My laptop was having troubles, I was busy throwing a party... No more excuses.

Funny thing about driving a dozen demigods across the country – it tends to attract a few monsters. Sandra swerved to avoid the Minotaur.

"Look out for the incubus!" Someone yelled helpfully.

"She's hot…" mumbled someone else as they stared out the window, probably Roland or Thanador. Will glanced out the window as they passed the incubus. Her face seemed to rot before his eyes. She grew fangs and claws and leapt at the bus, making a screeching noise as her claws slid down the side and she was pulled under the wheels, leaving behind a cloud of twilight-blue dust.

"I just don't see it..." Will shrugged. Nico made a huffing sound that might have been a laugh.

A dozen demigods minus Nico and Will were sitting at three different booths in McDonalds. A dirty-blond haired, brown-eyed girl was fiddling with a box of paperclips she'd somehow managed to grab as they escaped the school. She looked up and smiled as Will and Nico came and sat down, carrying several happy meals.

"Hi! I'm Cara Smith! So we're all kids of some gods? That's really cool!" She turned to Nico. "Who's your godly parent? Is it Aphrodite? Or –" He smirked, quickly correcting her. Will gave him a look that said Dude, she's totally hitting on you. Nico made a point to ignore him.

"Hades. I'm the son of the god of the underworld." Cara looked surprised. Then she seemed to get a little nervous.

"Does that mean…" She hesitated. "That you can just make anyone you don't like just… die?" Nico laughed softly.

"That would sure come in handy, but I can't just make people – or monsters – die. Sure, I can open up Tartarus right underneath them, but it's not quite the same thing. I can also absorb pieces of their soul into my handy – er…" He realized the mortals probably thought his sword was a cell phone or a fork. He leaned closer and whispered, "Stygian Iron sword." He shrugged, leaning back, as if that was something you heard every day. "It makes them easier to take out." Her eyes widened.

"So… Is that like vanquishing a demon? Do you have a book of shadows?" She wondered eagerly. Nico was a little confused.

"Umm… I have a sword of shadows. And I can shadow travel. But I've never seen a book made out of shadows. As for vanquishing demons, I suppose it's similar." Will was covering his mouth, laughing hysterically. Nico glanced at him, a little annoyed. "What?" Will recovered from the sudden onslaught of laughter. He swallowed and took a deep breath. Looking Cara in the eye, he said

"You like nineties TV shows too? I got hooked on Charmed when the Hermes kids 'borrowed' a television from a nearby electronics store, and they hacked their way into Netflix. Who's your favorite character?" Nico looked confused.

"What's Netflix?" Cara stared at him like he was crazy.

"What are you, homeschooled? How can you not know what Netflix is?" Will looked nervous as he glanced toward Nico.

"I'm… Older than I look. I was sort of trapped in a magical casino for several decades." Cara stared at him for a minute. Then she shrugged and focused on eating her food. Will and Nico shared an amused look. At least she wasn't too freaked out. Suddenly she looked up.

"Leo," she stated, then went back to her food. Will nodded, thoughtfully. So, he wondered, if Leo is her favorite character, what does that say about her personality? And what about her godly parent? He glanced at her, noticing something familiar about her. He frowned, focusing, trying to figure out what it was.

"Why are you frowning and staring at me? Do you not like Leo or something?" Cara asked, finishing up her burger. Will rolled his eyes and smirked.

"I was just trying to figure out who your godly parent is. Is there any way you could help me with that? Which of your parents don't you have, and what do you know about the other one?" Cara blinked. She chewed on some frenched fries as she thought.

"Well, I'm in the foster system, so I don't know too much about them. All I know is my birth mom was mortal. She had me at seventeen. I know she went on to become a teacher, and she never married my dad. That's about it, though. Sorry."

"No problem." Will assured her. "Lots of kids at Camp Half-Blood were in the foster care system at some point. Take Leo, for example." His face lit up. That was it! He turned to Nico, flashing blinding white teeth at him. "I win!"