*Percy Jackson*

I grabbed my shirt off of the floor and slipped it on again, hasty to cover my many scars up. The scars that showed the torture that I endured in Tartarus, the scars that showed my horrible past. I stared at the device that was placed on my wrist to keep me from escaping, the lock system on each bracelet was obviously complex, so I gave up trying to figure out how to escape. I focused more on zoning out the muffled crashes and roars coming from the room where Bruce went to 'let out his anger', as he said so very cryptically. I didn't know what that meant exactly, but I could guess that it had something to do with how his eyes flashed green earlier.

I wrung my hands nervously as I thought of showing these people my scars, my wounds, my past. I could guess this was why the Fates kept me alive, so I could help this group of people somehow, someway, and it was going to happen one way or another, because it was my fate, my destiny, to be here. I knew this because everything in my life had happened for a reason. An example was when Annabeth and I fell into Tartarus. It was no accident, the Fates devised Annabeth falling-and in repercussion-me as well, so that we could close the Doors of Death to be able to actually kill the monsters that Gaea had in her army.

I still, even though I saw my string, believe that the Fates were weaving my life thread with barbwire. No life could be so miserable without it being weaved differently than anyone else's. I hoped that, somehow, I could become unimmortilized, so that I could die and rejoin my friends in Elysium, which is where they all were, no doubt.

The crashes and roars got steadily louder, until I couldn't even think one thought without it being interrupted by a crash or roar from the room Bruce went into. Now you might be wondering why I didn't go into the room to investigate the mysterious, disturbing noise. Um...have you ever seen a horror movie? That's how people killed by the crazy horror part of the movie, and yeah...I knew that I was immortal, but that didn't stop me from feeling pain. A stab to the heart is extremely painful, believe me, it happened in The Pit when I was in there the second time, before I was immortal. Kronos just kept reversing time to bring me back to life, but I still had the wound...somehow.

Anyway, I wasn't very surprised that at one point the rest of the people that captured me burst into the room after one deafening roar that made me feel like my eardrums had exploded (yes, this had happened to me before too...all I can say was that it is horrible being deaf). They all looked at me incredulously, like I was an idiot for just sitting there calmly. Well, I knew better than to leave this room, for all I knew these bracelets also prevented me from leaving the room they were activated in, and when I tried I would get zapped with the force of a lightning bolt. (I know what this feels like, minimally, because Zeus being Zeus, tried to kill me because I was being my sarcastic self, he thankfully missed...by a couple of centimeters. I'm pretty sure that if he killed me, it would have started World War III, and I'm also pretty sure that it would have been the most bloodiest, violent war ever. Ares would probably go all evil war god on humanity and encourage even more bloodshed, and basically do everything in his power to keep the war going on for years).

"Do you not hear that?" Asked Natasha incredulously.

"You mean the mysterious, disturbing noise that is coming from the room Bruce went into? Yes, yes I do. And I know enough horror stories to know to not walk in there like the clichéd blonde chick they showcase as an idiot. With my luck, if I opened that door there's probably going to be a monster that has possessed Bruce into making roars like a Dragon, and turned him into one. Is Bruce, like, a mutant or something? Because his eyes flashed green during the physical thing. I won't judge if he is, I mean, I'm certainly not in a position to. The green was like an avocado green. Have you guys ever had avocados? They are actually quite delicious, but they are not as delicious as my mother's cooking, nothing can top that..." I then was slightly depressed, and wondering how that answer had gotten so off topic...oh, wait, ADHD...right. That's embarrassing, I forgot my own mental disorder. They stared at me like I was crazy. "Sorry, ADHD. Messes up my thought process sometimes. Makes me talk a whole bunch and get strangely off topic."

"Okay..." Steve said. "Well, I'm going to check in on Bruce. See if he's all Hulked out, try to calm him down. I wonder what set him off?"

Oh, it was nothing, just the horrible scars I'm hiding under my very old and worn shirt from the seemingly endless torture I've sustained over the years. Nothing huge.

Before Steve could even put his hand on the door knob, the door opened, and out walked Bruce. He was out of breath and a pale shade of green that was fading to reveal his normal skin color. I was barely able to see into the room he was leaving, but what I saw shocked me. There pieces of concrete scattered on the floor, what looked like to be the remains of a car, and a square of shiny metal* that wasn't even dented, but looked to be very old. (*The metal is the same metal as Cap's shield, which can withstand Hulk's punches) All in all, the room looked to be destroyed along with the various contents that were in there.

"Are you okay Big Green?" Tony asked Bruce, he merely nodded in response.

"What got you so worked up Bruce?" Steve asked gently.

By now Bruce looked like he was back to being his relatively normal self. "It was something I found during my physical with Percy." Bruce answered, gesturing to me. Everyone's head whipped to look at me at the same moment, which was kind of creepy. "Percy, would you mind showing them?"

"Yes, I would. Very much so." I answered, defiant against showing more people my scars so they would pity me.

"They have to know not aggravate you scar tissue, they need to see the damage so they know not to hurt you."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I don't need their pity, I don't want them to know. Besides, they can't hurt me more than I've already been hurt. I can't be killed anyway, which is terrible for me, considering I want to die."

Bruce glared at me. "Percy, show them. They are going to pity you, that comes with every pain that is shared, but they will know you better. It will help to create a bond between us all. We all have scars, some that can't be seen because we heal, or can't be hurt, but they are there nonetheless, and those scars will stick with us for as long as we live. Physical scars or otherwise. Now, show them." Bruce said forcefully.

I sighed in a woe-is-me way. "Fine, just don't treat me different. Don't treat me like a pathetic, broken thing because I show you what I'm about to show you, okay?" They all nodded in agreement.

I gripped the hem of the bottom of my shirt hard. Gathering my courage to show someone, for what probably wouldn't be the last time. I took a deep breath, then pulled off my shirt, and waited for impact.