When Worlds Collide

113) Todays Word of the Day: Peripeteia

A/N: this one is really short... like a third of what I usually try to write, but oh well. 

Nico knew something was wrong the minute he woke up.

The thing that first tipped him off: the fact that he had been asleep to begin with.

He had grown used to the constant weight of exhaustion that had consumed every waking moment in that dogs forsaken cage of light. It was predictable— an expected hinderance.

What he wasn't used to was waking up in the dark, laying on a bed instead of the half standing half laying down position he had been held in for however long he'd been in that hellish container.

As he slowly sat up, he felt the terrifying feeling of hope seeping into him.

Had be been saved? Was he knocked out before a raid and was waking up at home? Did his family actually save him?

"Good morning," Lex's voice said from a speaker above him, stamping out the little hope he had felt.

Nico moved his head to look up, but a jolt of pain shot down his spine, stoping the motion and causing his hand to shoot up and feel for what caused it.

His breathing halted when he felt the cool metal around his neck, the haze of the sedation lifting enough to actually feel the jagged spike that was imbedded in the back of his neck. 

Why can I still move? Nico silently thought, the horror still setting in. 

I'm not supposed to be able to move with this thing on.

"It took some trial and error, but your friends were quite useful guineapigs— especially that blonde boy," Lex said with a cruel laugh. "We thought it best to try out the first few models on the member of your team with the least dangerous powers."

Nico knew Will's powers could have been exceedingly deadly if he wanted them to, but his boyfriend wouldn't have risked killing any of their captors, not when the rest pf them were still being held captive.

"Where is he?" Nico yelled, standing from the shitty bed that was build into the side of the wall and attempting to storm over to where the camera was, but he was held back by shackles on his arms that he had somehow not noticed in his still groggy mindset. "What the fuck did you do to him?"

"So he's  the illusive boyfriend," Lex spoke, sounding far too pleased with himself. "I must admit, that is a bit surprising. He is all bright and shiny— or at least he was."

Nico pulled at the chains that kept him by the bed so hard that he felt blood dripping down his hands, but he didn't care. He screamed curses until he voice was gone, but he never got a response. He tried to break the chairs that held him back, but his strength was gone. He willed the shadows to bend to his will, but they stayed where they were. None of his attempts did anything but harming himself further, but he didn't care. He fought and fought and fought until eventually they had to sedate him with knockout gas through the vents.

Nico fought off sleep as hard as he could, still screaming curses with what little voice he had left, but it didn't matter.

He was helpless. He had failed.

All he wanted was to help people, but all he did was hurt them. He tried to be a hero, but he should have never tested the fates.

Everyone knew that heroes don't get happy ending— not the greek ones at least. He was naive and thought he could be different, but every tragedy had to have its peripeteia.

It was his birthright to suffer, only he chose to bring everyone else down with him. 

A/N: back at it again with forcing you to learn something from my books. Peripeteia is a literary term meaning a reversal of circumstances, aka, the moment in greek myths/stories where the character's downfall occurs. 

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