Nico was hiding in Thor's shadow. It had concerned Thor when he disappeared, but Nico assured him that he was still next to him. It surprised Thor by how easily the boy could disappear into the shadows…
Nico looked calm and collective on the outside, but on the inside he was having a mental breakdown. Not only was he now stuck in the body of an eight year old forever, but now he had to deal with this?! It seemed as though the fates just hate his guts…
A howl caught their attention.
"What was that?" Thor asked bewildered.
"I think I know, but I hope I'm wrong." Nico said, taking off towards the noise.
"Nico!" Thor yelled giving chase.
Nico skidded to a halt in front of the beast that made the sound. He winced at the jabbing pain in his ribs. Oops. Forgot those injured ribs…
"Cerberus!" Nico exclaimed.
The giant, three headed dog was snapping and growling in distress, trying to get the person on his back off of him. The man on him couldn't be seen, for he wore all black and covered his face. Either way, Nico was not pleased.
In a fit of anger, Nico shot a blast of hellfire at the man, not caring if he killed him. The man jumped off and ran off. Before Nico could chase after him, Cerberus whined in pain before slumping down in front of Nico.
"Wimp." Nico muttered before turning to his distressed monster dog.
He pet the main head and calmed the started animal. As he moved to the beast's side, some people started running towards him.
"Whoa! Holy shit!" a male voice exclaimed.
Nico turned his head and saw none other than the Avengers, minus the Hulk, gaping at him, Black Widow pointing her gun at one of Cerberus's heads.
"Son, slowly step away from the monster." Captain America called.
"Pfft… as if." Nico snorted, going back to Cerberus.
"Nico, I ask that you leave the beast so that we may end it." Thor said evenly.
"Cerberus wouldn't intentionally harm someone. He was being controlled." Nico defended his pet, finding the wound.
"Cerberus?"
"That thing has a name?!"
"Of course he has a name. Everything has a name. This is my father's dog. He guards the gates." Nico muttered, stemming the bleeding and wrapping up the wound.
"He is injured?" Thor asked.
"Yeah, but he'll be fine. We just need to get him back home and he'll be back to normal health." Nico responded, pulling an old leather leash seemingly out of nowhere.
He hooked it onto Cerberus' collar and walked his dog to a nearby subway station.
"Go home, boy." Nico ordered, unhooking the leash.
Cerberus licked his young master before limping off into the shadows.
"You just unleashed a giant monster dog into a subway full of pedestrians and civilians!" Captain America exclaimed.
"It's fine. They won't notice." Nico assured him.
"Nico, you could have been seriously injured. Broken beyond repair!" Thor boomed, concern laced in his voice.
"I'm a demigod, Thor! What do you expect? Laying back and letting you guys handle it? I can take care of myself. And, I have powers! Powers that I know how to use!" Nico snapped at the thunder god.
"Hold on a second, point break. You know this kid?" Ironman asked.
"This is Nico di Angelo, my temporary charge." Thor told him. /div
"More like a babysitter…" Nico muttered.
The subway rumbled and Nico felt the shadows ruffle his hair, making him smile.
"So… we're watching the devil's son?" Clint clarified.
"No. Thor's watching the guy that rules the underworld's son." Nico corrected.
"And who would that be?" Natasha asked.
"Hades." Nico replied with an 'Are all mortals this stupid?' face.
"Okay, you've got me. Now where's the cameras?" Ironman asked, looking around."What is he talking about?" Nico asked to which Clint shrugged his shoulders.
"You guys got me good. Now seriously, who's the kid?" Tony asked, looking around.
"Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, Ghost King."