Bamf Nico

[Patrice Mieczkowski]

Nicodi Angelo is the half-blood son of Hades, the Greek god of the Underworld, and Italian-American immigrant Maria di Angelo. Born in the 1940's, Nico's birth was the breaking of a pact between Hades and his brothers to never bare anymore children, which led to Zeus killing Maria with a lightning bolt. To spare his children, Hades trapped Nico and his sister Bianca in the Lotus Hotel for eighty years. Nico and Bianca eventually left, where she joined the Hunters of Artemis and Nico joined Camp Half-Blood. After her death on a quest with Percy Jackson, Nico was revealed to be Hades' son and he left Camp Half-Blood. Nico eventually forgave Percy after talking with the spirit of Bianca, and became a valuable ally to the demigod in their mission to defeat the Titan Kronos.

After the Second Titanomachy, Nico tries to resurrect Bianca but instead chooses to save Hazel Levesque, his half-sister. Nico takes her to the west coat of Camp Jupiter, the Roman version of Camp Half-Blood. Discovering that the Doors of Death are open, Nico attempts to close them from the Underworld only to get dragged into Tartarus and captured by Gaea's monsters. He escapes with the help of the seven demigods on a quest, and helps their cause by shadow traveling himself and the Athena Parthenos from Europe to the United States, where he uses the statue as a peace offering to prevent the Greek and Roman camps from killing each other.

As they walk outside to the campus of Eastern University, Kayneth Archibald takes his train to the Blue Collar district. The sunny sky and lush green public parks of the Wealthy District gives way to the darker, congested urban jungle where the magus was forced to live.

Kayneth lays his head down and looks pensively out the window. As the subway rolls to a halt, he nods at the young man in the green hoodie before getting off at his stop. After a short walk, Kayneth buzzes into his building. As he passes through the lobby, a man covered in green scales barges past him.

At that, Killer Croc turns around and lets out a snarl. Kayneth yelps, resulting in a chuckle to escape from the mutated supervillain. The magus quickly hides in his home- a three room apartment, with a decent sized kitchen, a bathroom, and his bedroom.

He collects his mail, tossing aside bills and spam mail before settling on the final message. Trapped in a silver and red envelope, the paper states only a few brief lines. As his eyes wander down the page, Kayneth's disinterested scowl turns into an elated grin.

He looks out the window at the outward limits of the city, where he could glimpse the grand mansions of the 1 Percent district. He could practically taste the splendor and prestige he once took for granted. Rereading the names on the list of his opponents, he recognized one from the list of Heroic Spirits he'd learned of in preparation for the Grail War.

Across the city, Astolfo strolls through the White Collar district. His horn hangs at his side loosely, and his lance upon his back. The paladin approaches a large two story house, checking the letter once over to ensure the address was correct.

The band of warriors laugh, with Astolfo pouring a healthy serving of ale into his tankard. Astolfo glances around the table, before walking over to a window. The paladin sighs in wonder at the hustle and bustle of the city outside.

Beneath the flying knight - in fact, beneath all of DFederal - Cole MacGrath finishes climbing down the ladder of a manhole. He lets out a cough as the scent of the sewer fully engulfs him, before taking a careful step over one of the many puddles of water and sludge as he walks towards his home.

As he climbs out of a manhole, a rejuvenated Kai Leng raises his head as the citywide speakers blare to life. The traumas of the last time he heard them flashes into his mind, causing him to shake his head in a mix of fear and anger. He stands still, crossing his arms in impatience, as a voice speaks out.

"Attention all patrons of DFederal; the following individuals have been declared Persona Non Grata. Any person found to have been willingly assisting them will be put on an official watch list and dealt with accordingly. Do not interfere. You have been warned."

Kai Leng gives a dismissive grunt as a list of names are read aloud. I have more important things to do..., he thinks as he approaches one of the borders between districts. Suddenly, a sharp pain pierces his mind. Bringing his hand to his temples, Kai Leng draws his sword.

A laser blast flying past his head answers his challenge. The crowds all disperse as Psycho Mantis and his thrall, a cyborg wielding a sword, appear before Kung Lao. The monk grunts in approval, and raises his fist in satisfaction. "Ah, finally! Prepare to face the might of the Shaolin, Psycho Mantis!"

"Something tells me that would not be wise." The psychic replies, peering into his mind for something to use. "Besides, it would not be a challenge for the descendant of the Great Kung Lao to best us both, would it?"

Lao nods in determination, raising his hand as a challenge to Kai Leng. The cyborg raises his own palm, firing off another attack from his palm blaster. Kung Lao teleports forward, letting the projectile fly behind him and into a nearby wall before breaking into a dash.

Using the momentum of his burst of speed, Kung Lao tosses his razor-brimmed hat at Kai Leng. The ninja deflects with his sword, but overcommitts and the blade follows the hat as it spins to the side. Kung Lao breaks the distance and slams his fist into Kai Leng's jaw. The cyborg grunts in pain, blood and teeth falling out of his mouth, before a quick knee to the groin has him doubling over.

Kung Lao's hat reappears on his head, and he follows up by tossing it behind his foe as he rolls backwards. The cyborg's sword clumsily passes over where Kung Lao once was, and Kai Leng clumsily attempts to course correct. Holding the sword out in front of him, Kai Leng flashes a devious smile and prepares to attack again.

The hat boomerangs into Kai Leng's head, slashing across his neck and drawing more blood. The ninja doubles forward, only to receive a swift kick from Kung Lao. He falls backwards, stunned and bruised.

Seeing his opportunity, Kung Lao tosses his hat into the ground. The saw spins as Kung Lao grabs his fallen opponent by the legs. Kai Leng looks in fear and starts to scream in terror, resisting to no avail.

Two nearby trash cans levitate, and fling themselves at the monk. He easily knocks them aside with two kicks, before dashing forward. He tosses his hat, which Psycho Mantis stops with his telekinesis.

"Not that easy, pal." Kung Lao says, slamming his fist into Psycho Mantis' chest with a palm strike. Much to his shock, his hand passes right through. The image of Psycho Mantis looks down, and a laugh begins to echo as it disappears.

Steel scrapes over concrete as Kai Leng's sword floats into the air. It quickly charges forward, piercing into the monk's back. Kung Lao gasps in shock and pain as the sword cleanly penetrates him. Psycho Mantis deactivates his octo camo, before pulling the blade out with his telekinesis. The floating blade quickly thrusts itself into the monk again, and he falls to his knees.

Psycho Mantis looks at his victim, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "I sense much shame, and anger in you. We may have worked well together, in another time." He shrugs, before causing the blade to slash across the monk's throat.

The soldier looks around, noticing the sound of police sirens beginning to approach. As the announcer states that Kung Lao has been eliminated, Psycho Mantis hears the whispers of another mind near him.

A young man emerges from the shadows of an alley, a black sword at his side. Nico di Angelo huffs in a breath of air, looking over his shoulder at the squad of police chasing him. He quickly thrusts out his hand, and the ground behind him splits apart as he shifts to create a gap. Several of the DFPD officers stop, only for one to vault over the chasm before it gets too large. He pulls out a gun, aiming it at Nico.

Nico scoffs, turning the ring on his right hand. Suddenly, three skeletons begin to rise out of the ground. Two draw small short swords as the third levels its own flintlock pistol. K groans as he fires, putting one down as the other two converge on him.

The demigod looks around, but puts aside the idea of shadow travelling again. He probably didn't have the energy for it, and he was already lost anyway. I have to get away from these people. he thinks to himself, only for a piercing cry to break his train of thought.

From the sky, Astolfo flies down upon his hippogriff. He raises his lance at Nico, aiming for the boy's chest. Nico raises his sword and attempts to parry the thrust, only to be launched backward by its magic. As he flies backwards, he thanks the gods for such magical intervention as Astolfo's hippogriff slashes its claws where he just was.

"You use foul magic, child. I would stay my blade, but your crimes cannot be forgiven." Astolfo says, the hippogriff landing and prowling forward. Nico groans in exasperation, pointing the edge of his sword forward.

Nico opens up the ground beneath the hippogriff, causing it to flap its wings to regain footing. The demigod sprints forward, leaping off the ground and tackling Astolfo off of his mount. The paladin recoils as a feeling of despair briefly overtakes him just Nico brings his sword to Astolfo's throat. Noticing the ruffle of wings, Nico turns around and swings it in a horizontal arc. The blade cuts the hippogriff, who recoils back at its touch.

With his opponent momentarily distracted, Astolfo shoves the boy off of him and draws his sword. He takes a quick swing, which Nico barely parries in time. Astolfo pushes ahead, towering over Nico as he swings his sword over and over again. The boy put up a better fight than expected, as his own silver sword is blocked at every strike.

Seeing his chance, Nico deflects another wild swing from Astolfo and feints a swing to the left. As Astolfo lowers his blade to block, Nico sweeps his leg underneath Astolfo's. Nico thrusts into Astolfo's hip, barely penetrating the chainmail but sending the paladin backwards in instinct.

3a8082e126