The day after the crazy alien lady incident, the avengers returned from their mission. They were incredibly interested in the story of the weird follower.
" So she sounds weird," Natasha commented with a laugh.
" Yeah, she sure was! Tony, could you and me do a scan for her to see if maybe we can identify this weird lady," Leo inquired in a pleading tone.
" Sure bud, good plan!" Tony praised as he and Leo jogged off to the lab.
The others had nothing really to do until the results of the scan came back, so they ended up playing cards together. Everyone was having a great time, and yet everyone knew that one person was missing, he was always missing. Nico.
Of course he was always in the same place, all his soars time was spent in the same place. In any case, while they were in the third round of GoFish, Hazel realise something that made her drop her cards suddenly, and cause some to jump in surprise.
" I just remembered! It's Nico's birthday!" She cried excitedly.
" It is? He never told anyone," Clint murmured in confusion.
" Yeah, well this is Nico we are talking about. Of course he didn't say it was his birthday," Percy pointed out simply.
There was silence for a while before Piper spoke up.
" Why don't we have a special dinner for him? He'd hate a full out party, but we could have a special dinner and makes him a cake shaped like a skull or whatever death boys like," Piper suggested, eyes shining with the idea.
Everyone seemed to agree, because no one spoke against it, but Jason wasn't sure how the whole, skull shaped cake idea would turn out. Wouldn't it be stereotypical? Besides, who'd want to eat something shaped like a skull, it'd creep you out. Anyway, it was an okay plan, and Pier had devised it, there was no way he was going to arouse the wrath of his beauty queen by speaking  against it!

Nico was where he always was when he had spare time, the lab.
In the glass casket floated the comatose form of Hope. She had been like that since the battle against the four evils of Pandora's box. Nico was the only one who visited her, and today he wished more than anything that she was sitting beside him.
" Well, it's my birthday, but you probably knew that already, you are always perceptive. I don't really want anything, but I do need something this year, for my gift. I need you to wake up, to be okay! That's my birthday wish, for you to awaken and join me out here, not be stuck in that horrid glass casket. Please Hope, I know that you can hear me," Nico whispered, his hand on the casket where her hand floated on the other side of the glass.
She didn't respond, and was as motionless as always.
" It was stupid of me to think that you could just suddenly awaken because of my wish, but Hope, I have faith that you'll awaken soon, I can feel it in my heart," Nico whispered before turning the lights off and leaving the room, casting one last glance at her.

" HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICO!" Screamed a cacophony of voices.
Nico just stared at all his friends and mentors standing there in party hats, in front of a table laid with awesome food. A skull shaped cake was placed in the centre of the table. His skin went a couple of shades more pail and his Hess were wide with fear.
" Holy Hades, this is a nightmare," Nico whispered to himself.
" Yo Nico, you're turning sixteen today! Even though we are in the bodies of six year olds, this is the year you can legally learn to drive!" Frank said warmly, a grin on his face.
" I have a chauffeur, I don't need to drive myself," Nico muttered.
No one listened to him and soon he was seated at the head of the table with a black skull patterned pirate party hat. This was his worst nightmare, it was so............happy. And this was the last thing he wanted to do on his birthday. Be around a party atmosphere. And what the heck was with the skull shaped cake? Was that supposed to be a prank or something? Geez, Hades kids weren't dark and dreary all the time! This was almost as bad as the coffin shaped beds of the Hades cabin at Camp Half Blood that made him feel like he was a frickin vampire!
" It's the birthday of the ghost king! Happy birthday kiddo," Clint called, ruffling his hair.
While Nico liked Clint, and the guy was his favourite mentor, that DID NOT condone hair ruffling.
" Yay," Nico muttered sarcastically.
Oh Hope, if only you could see this! You'd love this, it'd be your favourite thing, you always say that birthdays are full of hope. I wish my birthday was full of Hope.