From Hero...To Sidekick

OOOHHH... SO WHY ARE YOU HERE?

Nico woke up to a slight pounding in his head, he lifted his head to look around the all too familiar room. A room where he once was held.

Nico then heard a groan behind him, Red Hood.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" He yelled.

"Shut up shit-head, they might hear you and then we won't have time to make a plan to escape!"

Suddenly the door opened and a bunch of armed girls walked through. So, the reason why they're described as girls is because none of them looked like they reached over seventeen. Even then they should probably be described as young women.

They walked in with confidence and authority until they reached to a stop right in front of Nico. One of them then pulled at Jason's chair and proceeded to pull him right next to Nico.

Nico saw a familiar marking, when one moved to pull Jason, on her forearm. HTK. HTK.

Something about that symbol made Nico's head hurt. He knew what it meant but couldn't figure out how important it was. Or what the letters meant.

"Alright boys, tell us, what the Hades are you doing in our compound," Wait. Hades, they're Greek... which means. Nico's eyes widened as he realized who he was dealing with.

Nico heard of a few of their facilities going rogue but he figured that they would have got them all under control by now. Apparently not this one.

He had to get them to trust them. If not, then they would be kept as slaves like the rest of the males they most likely kept ahold of.

He then decided on the next best thing... Language. In order for them to feel like they could trust him is to speak in the same language. Hopefully, Red Hood won't decide or try to speak out in the middle of his plans to negotiate.

"My name is Nico di Angelo and I'm the son of Hades. I'm sorry that-" he was interrupted by a kick to the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"You did not answer our question, devil's spawn. What? You thought we would have bowed down to you just because of your  father? We know what you did in the war to help the amazons and we don't appreciate it. Now, what. Are. You. Doing. Here. And dont give me some cripple dolt excuse," The warrior glared at him right in the eye.

"Me and my associate are here because we heard that the kidnappings of young women were taken here," Nico said as affably and respectfully as he could.

"We do not kidnap women. In fact, we have saved them," Suddenly another Amazon walked in and started to speak in a frenetic tone. Tue other girls walked outside of their dungeon' to speak with her.

"What the fuck, man? What kind of mess are you getting us into?" Red Hood asked.

"Just wait. I have a plan, and if I think what they might do to us. Everything should go exactly go according to plan. Let me do the talking and sit back. And before you get any ideas about coming back here when I leave, don't. They will either kill or enslave you," Nico said as he watched the shadows below the door started moving back and forth.

"When we get out of this shit-hole you are going to explain everything," Just then the girls came back in and started to untie him.

Nico sat there, bewilderment staining his face.

"Well boy? Aren't you coming with us? Our new lady wants to speak with you," She turned to leave the cell, leaving Jason to sit alone.

As they were walking down a neatly lit hallway one of the girls, a blonde haired tall young woman, tossed him a small pack of... Cigarettes?

"These are not harmful demigod. It is a gift to you from our queen. They are filled with flakes of ambrosia and the paper is hardened nectar. It is infinite and should have one at least every once in a while. It will take two packs in a row until you burn up from inhaling anymore than you should," she said with an expressionless face.

"Why? I mean, not that I'm not thankful, because I am really grateful for them, it's just that I don't understand why I would need them," Nico asked as he pulled out a black and gold cylinder. The end where you were supposed to put your mouth is black, the rest is gold.

"You were trapped in a jar and thrown into Tartarus, were you not?" She sighed.

"They are to heal your lungs. To help you get stronger," the girl said.

"Oh, Thank you," Nico said as he put one back.

"Try one, it should smell like what you desire most and should turn into ash when it reaches the black end. That way you won't have to worry about littering," she sneered at him at the last part, as if he's the reason why the oceans are filled with plastic and chemicals and the forests are getting cut down.

He tentatively pulled out the lighter from his belt, Red Hood had given it to him, and lit the end as he breathed in.

He nearly coughed at the amazing smell the came from it, Aunt Sally's blue chocolate chip cookies, then it turned into his mom's famous pumpkin pie. Then when he breathed out, instead of a dull grey black smoke it was a purplish and gold glittering smoke. It even lasted a few second longer than the toxic ones they sell at the gas station.

They continued to walk down the hall, after taking other several turns, and have reached two big double doors.

The girls pushed him forward to open them. When he walked in there was another surprise waiting for him, someone that he loathed to see.

Word Count - 992