Prisoner Of The Spandexians (Leo Valdez Meets The Avengers)

Hades The Menace

After a particularly horrible travel, I managed to not throw up. Hades stood there, patiently awaiting the torture waiting for me. You see I may or may not have told a teeny tiny fib.

I wasn't just a servant. I was going to the Fields Of Punishment for an hour every day for Hades' entertainment. This would also pay for cheating death.

I stood up, and Hades smirked.

"Leo Valdez," Hades started as I nervously fiddled with my shirt, "as you know, you cheated death, and made a deal. However, you can not be in human form."

I didn't like where this is going, "I'm going to make you a spirit, just for the week. I will remind you that you have no choice." Hades said in a sinister voice.

He lifted his hand, and pure pain made me scream as my soul was pried from my body. I looked down, to see I had a collar with a super shortchain leash around my neck. The leash ended in Hades' hand. He smirked and brought me to the fields.

"You will stay on this leash, trapped, while seeing your worst memory." Hades said.

So I watched my mother die over and over again. Tears streaming down my face, I followed Hades on my leash, which I noticed was longer, giving me more freedom, and that the collar was ever so slight looser. I took this as a good sign.

Hades had me clean the whole palace with a toothbrush.

I didn't miss a spot, and Hades was pleased. The chain grew longer, the collar looser.

He polished shoes, fed hell hounds and fed the three headed dog. Hades wasn't very nice, but hey, at least he didn't go back on his word.

When the day was over, I had to keep working at night. I no longer needed sleep as a spirit. Hades made me wash all his clothes, and Nico's. Nico was not there, though, which made the punishments all the worse.  

The next day, I was brought to the fields of punishment early in the morning. 

"You will feel the effects of death in many different ways, all extremely unpleasant, if I do say so myself, over the course of an hour, starting... now!" Hades said, grinning in a cruel way as I screamed. 

Suddenly, I was being chopped in half. I felt it, the pain unbearable. I screamed louder, until I could scream no more. I slowly felt the  pain disperse, but right before it did, the next 'death  came.

I was in water, I screamed, only to have my scream muffled by the murky liquid, filling my lungs. I thrashed, trying to swim. I couldn't tell which way was up or which was down. It got dark, and the pain started to subside. Then I was in a fire, burning.

I screamed in pure agony as the fire slowly burned my body. The pain unbearable. My vision became blurred, and I felt the agonizing feeling start to fade, when it started again, this time from poison. That was only the beginning. 

When it was finally over, I felt ill, I threw up a few thousand times, before going back to the palace made of bones. He smirked.

"Same chores, twice, except the second time instead of feeding the animals, you are to clean the cages." He said, I nodded. 

I did this, and the morning sun rose just as I scrubbed the last of the palace. 

This time Hades had me fight dozens of drakons that never stopped coming in hot iron shoes, and with a hot iron sword. (My fire powers didn't work in the Underworld.) I was screaming and sobbing in pain the whole time, but I couldn't stop. I had made a deal. Plus, I didn't want to do this for eternity. I wanted to go to Elysium. I wanted to be free from judgement, and punishment when I died. I wanted to see my mom.

Those thoughts kept me going for every moment. 

Every moment that the burning whip came down the next day.

Every moment Hades hit me when I failed to finish my chores.

Every moment that the chain choked me.

Every moment I missed seeing the actual sun.

Every single moment was agony, but I had to do it, 

For Festus.

For Mom.

For my friends in foster care.

For the Avengers.

For everyone who loved me.

For everyone who loves me.

For everyone who will love me.

I WILL

I MUST

I CAN

DO THIS!!!!!