The Eye

VIII

Percy

I licked my chapped lips as I tried to calm myself. The only response I received was my fathers look of horror as he took in my physical condition. Then it changed to one of desperation, like Tantalus when he saw food or drink, but desperation in a different way. Lastly, his face settled on determined.

"I will, son." Poseidon said,"I will, just hang on."

I turned my attention to the monsters holding me captive, the T duo, Thanos and Tartarus. They weren't paying any more attention to me, just relishing in the sorrowful, angry faces.

"Can I—can I speak to them... alone?" I croaked, I needed to tell them something, "Preferably without your disgusting presences."

That just slipped out. Immediately the two turned on me with snarls on their faces. Although I'm not sure how a vortex managed to, but it was definitely there. Intakes of breaths sounded throughout the throne room even though I was confused to why the avengers were there. Mortals on Olympus was a big no no, and the norse aren't ones that often mixed pantheons.

Tartarus stomped up to me while Thanos held me in the vulnerable position. I glared at the vortex man daring him. Probably not the smartest move when he moved out of my vision and a harsh kick was applied to the back of my left thigh.

A scream tore itself from the back of my throat as my leg gave out on me. Thanos let go of my hair as I collapsed on the ground in pain. I felt the break in my femur and mentally added it to the list of bones gone wrong.

"I think not child," Thanos growled,"I'm not going to leave you alone with these irritating gods."

I wheezed out a hoarse laugh,"Are you scared that I'll tell them something that you haven't already?"

"Scared?" Tartarus spat,"That's one description that I have never been labeled. Come, Thanos, leave this bothersome demigod."

Thanos growled at being ordered to do something, but followed the primordial anyways. They walked towards the exit, I waited until I felt the liquid in their bodies leave me alone completely. Then I turned towards the iris message. Before any of them could speak, I started talking firmly so they wouldn't interrupt.

"They already told you why they keep me alive, so I need you to get me out of here."

They all nodded, but I got a couple of confused looks.

"I won't last much longer. Torture isn't something that's easy to resist when all I have to do is say one word and it'll stop. I'll give you one week, that's how much longer I can resist."

"Why should we save you?" Zeus asked, completely ignoring what I said,"You left us, saying you never wanted interference from us ever again."

I closed my eyes, before opening them slowly, then responding,"You played with me, just to save yourselves. I felt betrayed by the ones who my whole purpose of life was them."

"So now that you're in trouble, you want us back?" Ares unhelpfully summarized.

I glared at him,"No, I want your help to save others. If they get this stone, havoc will wreck."

"Then don't let them take it. Don't give up," Dionysus countered lazily.

"That's a lot harder than it sounds, wine head." I sneered at him,"As Tartarus said, time runs differently down here. It's already been a couple days."

Gasps sounded across the room and several of the woman covered their mouths with their hands. Most of the men glanced at each other, flabbergasted. I would have laughed if I had the energy to. I took another unsteady breath, ignoring the trickle of blood on the edge of my mouth.

"I've already started learning how to use the Soul Gem," I informed them,"I can cause a blast with a great amount of force, I can read others minds, I've been able to steal others abilities and powers."

I paused for breath, trying to remember what I can do so far,"I've figured out that I can choose which abilities and powers to keep and store in the stone and which ones I want to discard after I use them."

"How many can you store?" Apollo asked curiously.

I shrugged as much as I could, my dislocated shoulder protesting at the movement,"I haven't tested it out, but as an Infinity stone, I'd guess an infinite amount."

"Cool." Apollo nodded.

A small smile made its way to my lips,"I've just started reading souls, but I haven't practiced attacking yet. But so far, I've gotten the rest down."

"Then why can't you escape yet?" Ares retaliated disbelievingly,"I bet you're making it all up. There's no way that a runt like you could do any of that."

I groaned internally at his stupidity,"I'm a severely injured demigod with an alien and primordial as my captors. If I even escaped, I wouldn't be able to leave."

I narrowed my eyes at him,"Also—"

The wall behind me moved back a couple feet as dust exploded from it. I kept my eyes on Ares as I caused a force to push the wall back, the ring on my finger glowing a faint green.

"Tartarus is someone who hates being told he's anything but terrifying," I continued,"Thanos knows he's weaker than Tartarus so he'll follow Tartarus' orders to a certain degree. By telling Tartarus he was scared encouraged him to do as I asked and take Thanos with him."

"How did you—" Ares sputtered.

My eyes flashed and the ring glowed brighter, "I posses the Soul Gem. I read their souls with the gems power, along with reading their outer image with my own eyes. I can manipulate them during certain times, but their desire for the Gem overrides their need to feel superior."

"You're too powerful to be left with those fiends," Zeus declared,"We will send a retrieval team for your immediate rescue."

I gritted my teeth, arrogant lightning god. The gem's glow dimmed as I felt the liquid of my captors drawing closer so I knew we didn't have much time. The rest of the people in the room didn't say anything, but their fierce expressions talked for them.

"Send my father, Uncle Hades, Lady Artemis, Thor... and Loki." I ordered, whispering the last name after a second,"One week, that's about seven hours for you."

"I'm coming, son," my father settled determined,"stay strong."

"How sweet," Thanos commented, interrupting my private time,"That's what you keep saying, but I doubt you'll risk it all for one halfblood."

I gave them all a warning glare from my place on the floor. They don't need to inform the two that they were coming and who consisted of the group. Thanos fingers lightly pressed in the center of my chest, causing pain from the lightest touch.

I hissed, but didn't make a sound as he pressed softly against my ribs. Not aggressively, but more soothing, like how a lover would. A cold sweat appeared on my body as I felt a fever start. I whimpered as my breathing became even more ragged with the caresses on my fractured ribs.

Thanos fingers abandoned my chest and wandered up to my neck, lightly rubbing the bruises on my throat. Tartarus slowly made his way over to my useless body, nudging it with his foot causing me to wince in pain. Agony swimming up my nerves to the rest of my body, clouding my thoughts. A harsh grip on my throat caused me to refocus my attention on the face that brought itself to my ear.

"This is just the beginning." Tartarus whispered, placing a sharp finger under my chin.

"There's one torture that we haven't tried yet." Thanos breathed heavily,"And I think we should go try now."

He tightened his grip on my throat and stood up, drawing cries of agony from my mouth. Both tormentors started walking towards the exit, not taking notice of the recently moved wall. They dragged my limp body across the uneven ground causing more strikes of pain to radiate throughout my body. I locked my eyes on the iris message as it slowly faded away.

"Seven hours." I croaked. "Seven. Hours."

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