Here we are at the end! I hope you enjoy the chapter, and stick around for what's coming up next!

"This is a good idea." –Valerie says, sounding entirely like it isn't. "It's a good idea, right?"

"On paper, sure." –Sam counters. "Personally, I'm just waiting to see who shoots the first ecto-ray."

Nico sighs, staring up through the skylight, where both Phantoms are currently having what looks like a tense conversation. "I'll cover any damages if anything happens." –Nico mutters.

Sam raises a skeptical eyebrow, looking him – and his admittedly disheveled look – up and down. The demigod shrugs. "My dad owns all the riches beneath the Earth."

"Right. Hades kid." –Sam says. "So, is the Minotaur real?"

Nico winces, putting three fingers over his heart and pushing away, to ward off the evil inherent in that name. "Well, there's the Minotaur, and minotaurs as a type of monster. The one you're probably thinking of is Asterius, the Bull of Minos, son of Pasiphaë. He's nice, I like him. Death at the hands of Theseus gave him peace, and he spends his eternal afterlife proving himself against the Champions of Elysium." –he explains. "Minotaurs as a whole, though…they're trouble. They're huge, musclebound, and bloodthirsty. They're not too smart, but they're powerful enough to command respect from many of the other monsters."

Valerie narrows her eyes. "Wait, wasn't the Minotaur's daddy, y'know, an actual bull? How do you get more of those?"

The demigod sighs. "How do you think?" –he says, scrunching up his nose in disgust. "As the story of Theseus and the Minotaur spread, certain unsavory groups sought to reproduce the creature through some pretty heinous dark rituals – one of many reasons Ancient Greece was a very bad time and place to be a woman. These experiments weren't too common, but they were successful more often than not; most monsters are directly descended from primordial entities like Typhon and Echidna, but others…well, let's just say humans can get pretty creative when it comes to giving tangible form to the evil inside their hearts."

"I suddenly feel the need to invent a time machine and invent feminism about three thousand years early." –Sam says, deadpan.

"I know where Clockwork lives, you just say the word." –Valerie agrees.

"If it's any consolation, things are a lot better from what I remember, back in the forties. Looking back, I'm very glad my sister didn't have to live through much of it." –he offers. Not that she ultimately lived through much of anything, he thinks to himself, macabrely amused.

Sam blinks, turning to Valerie. "He was born in the thirties. It's a whole thing, apparently." –the Huntress explains.

"Well, considering I had to break a guy's nose for getting too handsy in the subway last week, it's not much of a consolation." –Sam says, sarcastically. "Nice try, though."

"Thanks." –Nico cringes. "So, you guys really think this is a good idea, then?"

"Probably, yeah. All jokes aside, Ellie needs a chance to strike out on her own." –Valerie reassures him. "I think she outgrew Amity Park a long time ago."

"As much as I urged Danny to fight ghosts back in the day, Amity's a different beast now." –Sam admits. "Hell, the world is a different beast. There seem to be superheroes everywhere now; stare out a window in this city, and you're liable to see an Avenger fly by. Our Phantoms deserve their time in the spotlight, too."

"I'm not entirely sure of what kind of threats we'll be dealing with yet, but considering what I'm used to, she'll probably get plenty of chances to make an impression." –Nico says. "Anything I should know?"

The young women look at each other. "Well, never call her Danielle, or Dani." –Valerie suggests. "Only Danny gets to do that."

"And he probably shouldn't." –Sam mutters.

Nico has a fairly good idea for why Ellie prefers one over the other. "Noted."

"Ellie has all sorts of weird biological quirks. She doesn't need to eat much, for example – the ectoplasm in her blood provides most of her energy – but if she forgets, you have to remind her. Otherwise she'll collapse the moment she turns back to human." –Valerie says. "She doesn't sleep much, either."

"Make sure she visits the Fentons at least once a month." –Sam says. "She won't like it, but it's better safe than sorry – we're fairly sure she won't ever destabilize again, but her case is unique, so she needs a check-up every so often."

"She likes to fight, so you're gonna have to spar with her whenever you're not on a mission." –Valerie says, narrowing her eyes. "Don't you use that sword of yours, though. If it steals her soul, or whatever, I will hunt you down."

"Also, try to be aware of what she deems as her territory." –Sam says. "Ghost instincts are wonky for hybrids, but don't be surprised if she gets pissy because someone entered her room without her permission."

Nico shrugs. "I mean, that's just common sense. Nobody likes that."

Sam raises an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Right, but most people can't shoot ghost lasers from their palms. Just sayin'."

"Got'cha." –Nico says, sufficiently warned. "Avoid enraging the terrifying creature of the night. Easy enough."

Valerie snorts. "Just treat her right, di Angelo. And keep her safe; I know you hero types just love to put yourselves at risk of grievous bodily danger."

Sam elbows her. "She says that like she doesn't do the exact same thing every other day." –she says. "You'll be fine. And we'll be here if you aren't."

The hybrids phase through the ceiling, shedding their ghost form when they reach the floor with a brilliant flash. "I accept." –Ellie says, before Nico can actually ask.

"O-kay." –Nico drawls. "That was easy."

Ellie looks a little green, and not because of the ectoplasm in her veins. "Anything to get me away from the Guys in White, thank you very much." –she says, shaking her head.

"I take it she knows the whole story now?" –Nico asks Danny.

The former hero nods, grimly. "Triggered a couple of temporal echoes in her memories, unfortunately."

Ellie shakes her head. "It's fine. Nothing too explicit – just a lot of blood and pain." –she reassures them. "You guys must've had it a lot worse when you found me. Er, that version of me."

Valerie sighs. "You don't know the half of it. And that's a good thing." –she says.

"Are you absolutely sure, Ellie?" –Nico asks. "If all you want is to get away from Amity Park, I'm sure I can help you find a place to stay, no strings attached."

"Nah, don't worry. The GiW thing is only part of the reason I'll accept your offer." –she shrugs. "I hate to say it, but I'm bored of fighting ghosts. It's all I've known since the moment I was created – and I'm very good at it, but there's only so many times I can stomach the same rinse and repeat. Promise me some cool new fights, and I'm in."

Nico nods. "Well, with any luck, the only ghosts you'll be seeing from now on will be my kind of ghosts." –he says. "What about the people of Amity Park? You think they'll be fine without you?"

Ellie sneers. "If they are, it's no skin off my back. And if they aren't...well, maybe they'll learn to appreciate this Phantom when she's gone." –she says, just a smidge vindictive.

Valerie shakes her head. "They damn well better." –she says. "I'm gonna miss you, runt."

The clone crosses her arms, smiling. "They've got the Red Huntress, besides. Now that Technus is super-ultra-triple dead, she should be more than enough to keep the ghosts in check."

Danny blinks. "Wait, Technus is what, now?"

Nico frowns as he looks at the single duffel bag that makes up Ellie's luggage. "Is that really all you're bringing?" –he asks, raising an eyebrow. He's leaning on the doorframe to her and Valerie's tiny apartment, waiting to take them both to their new home and base of operations.

"I spend a lot of time in my ghost form, Nico. I don't really need that many clothes." –she says. "Plus, being homeless taught me you can get by with a lot fewer possessions than most would assume."

"True enough." –he agrees, knowing from his own experience. "Though it's still kinda nice to have them, anyway."

Ellie shrugs. "I guess. If I need something, I'll let you know."

"Me, Wong, or Doc Strange. Whoever's available." –he says. "You'll meet them soon enough."

"Aces." –she drawls. "Are they our teammates, or what?"

"I doubt it. Strange appears too busy for the kind of quests we'll probably be taking on. And Wong is the full-time custodian of the New York Sanctum." –Nico informs her. "So far, we're a team of two. Not for long, I hope."

Ellie hums, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "So, who's next on the list?"

"A witch, hopefully. Somewhere in the UK." –he says. "I was hoping to nab a shadow sorceress down in California, but with the invasion that just happened, I figure she's gonna have a bit too much on her plate for something like this. Maybe later."

Ellie tilts her head. "There's a difference between witches and sorcerers?"

"Witches have inherent power through divine heritage or patronage – descended from a goddess of magic, or in the service of a powerful demon lord, for example." –Nico explains. "Sorcerers are regular mortals who've mastered the Mystic Arts through sheer dedication and force of will."

"What about magicians?"

"Those are Egyptian." –he shrugs, knowing full well that only he gets the joke.

Ellie blinks, confused. He smirks. "Kidding. Mostly." –he says. "'Magician' is a catch-all term. You can use it for anyone who wields magic, regardless of its origin, but most of them would prefer you use the specific one that applies to them."

"Okay...what about a warlock?"

"A magician whose powers come from trading in their immortal soul to an extremely powerful entity." –he says, giving her a macabre smile. "Take it from a son of Hades: you never want to trade your soul away, no matter how good the offer for it might be. Might just be a worse afterlife than any devised in the Pits of Tartarus."

"What about a wizard?"

Nico shrugs. "That's just a male witch."

Ellie giggles. "Alright, I'm ready." –she says, grinning with genuine excitement. "Take me on an adventure, Death Breath."

The Son of Hades snorts. "Like I haven't heard that one before." –he says, and the shadows take them both.

One unfortunate consequence of having Nico be the POV in this fic is that he wasn't about to eavesdrop on such a private conversation between Danny and Ellie, but I'll write at least some of it whenever Ellie gets a POV and a callback is appropriate!

I guess you could argue the little Minotaur discussion is yet another change to Percy Jackson canon, but I'll get around it by saying that minotaurs are generally kinda dumb and that the one that Percy encountered (twice!) was probably raised to believe he was the Minotaur from myth. In terms of power, they'd be virtually indistinguishable though, so don't worry, I'm not diminishing Percy's accomplishments. The cults I mention aren't any specific ones - generally speaking, the gods would've made many mortal enemies back in Ancient Greece, leading to the formation of groups that would perform profane rituals intended to strike back at the Olympians and their chosen champions. Sometimes, the Olympians themselves would sponsor some of these groups - for example, Ares might bless a cult under his banner that would target priests of Athena, because the Olympians are petty AF.

Anyway, that's it for Thanatos Scowled! Kind of proud of myself on this one - it's probably the fic that's deviated the least from the original plans. I hit every plot beat I wanted except for Nico meeting the Fentons, which didn't really fit in organically in this story. I'm sure there'll be a chance to meet them soon!

Nico and Ellie are headed to the UK next, and they'll be trying to pick up a witch from Harry Potter canon. I've made some significant changes to HP lore - though unlike ones made to PJO or Marvel canon, they're not for the sake of the fused setting, but mostly for my own comfort in writing about HP. I've hemmed and hawed about tackling this franchise again - on the one hand, it's such a huge part of mine and many others' childhoods, and on the other...well, JK Rowling has unfortunately turned out to be a not very good person, using her considerable platform and influence to direct hatred at the trans community for no logical reason other than her own misconceptions. Looking back, too, several features of the wizarding world (such as house elves, for example) feel extremely uncomfortable.

Ultimately, since fanfiction doesn't benefit the author in any significant way, and since I've vowed myself not to support her monetarily going forward, I've decided not to nix HP's inclusion in its entirety, but instead write a version of it that doesn't make my skin crawl. I'll endeavor to capture that magic I remember from my childhood while sprinkling in no-brainer headcanon additions that the HP community is already more than familiar with in terms of diversity and a more palatable world. Looking forward to it!

I hope you enjoyed Thanatos Scowled! I'll see you elsewhere around the Kryptonverse, and maybe soon enough in the next installment of Nico's recruitment journey! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out. I also have a tumblr at darthkvznblogs, the ask box is open to all! Until next time!