Hermes sped through Gateway City faster than an eye could follow, zipping between buildings and cars with a dexterity that defied physics. If any pedestrians noticed Hermes passing it was only a small breeze they detected as he ran by. Reaching the Keppler Building didn't slow the messenger god; he simply hopped up and shifted his footing to run straight up the surface of its glass walls, defying gravity almost entirely, until he reached a balcony on one of the skyscraper's upper-most floors.
The balcony door was unlocked so Hermes took the liberty of allowing himself entry. The hour was late and the condominium dark, causing him to wonder if anyone was home. Moving at conventional speeds Hermes checked the dining room and kitchen first, where the balcony connected, before finding his brother passed out on the living room couch. Apollo was unshaven and a week's worth of blonde stubble decorated his face. Brown denim pants and a stained white tank top were his only articles of clothing. A mess of empty liquor bottles and cans formed a messy perimeter around the sprawled sun god.
Hermes wrinkled his nose, "You smell wretched, brother."
A groan escaped Apollo's throat and his eyes slit open, "Leave me be."
"It's been a month," Hermes kicked aside an empty bourbon bottle with the toe of his sneaker, "Though we immortals tend to mourn harder than others, it does not mean we can ignore our hygiene."
Apollo got himself upright on the leather couch, "Thou art my favorite brother, Hermes, but do not try my patience with further mockery."
"Save your threats." Hermes sat on the couch beside him, "I'm only here to check on your condition, which appears to be unchanged. How long will this continue?"
Apollo reached for a bottle on the floor and lifted it to his lips but found it empty. He cast it aside, "I loved her; my heart aches with Penelope's loss."
"I was rather fond of the girl myself," Hermes admitted, "Beautiful, intelligent, brave, and she had a dry wit that I enjoyed. This world certainly seems diminished from her absence."
"She went to her grave thinking I betrayed her," Apollo checked another empty bottle, "But in truth I would like nothing more than to skin my sister alive and trade her hide for Penelope."
"Father would never allow it," Hermes took his brother literally, "Besides, I doubt the offer would appeal to Pluto. I wonder what the wedding will be like... or do you suppose the nuptials have already taken place?"
Apollo growled angrily; the thought of Pluto marrying Penelope filled him with rage, "If there was a road to Hades I would invade its wretched borders and place our uncle's head on a pike! Curse our father for granting Pluto the Underworld, where no living man may tread."
"No living man," Hermes conceded, "But what about a dead one?"
Apollo glanced at him.
"We call ourselves immortals because our lives span thousands of years and we are exceedingly difficult to kill, but you and I both know any Olympian can die. And when an Olympian dies, his or her soul is somehow transported to Hades. It's all very metaphysical and hard to believe, but its why so many of us protect our lives with such fierce tenacity."
"Why do you recount to me tales I already know?" Apollo growled.
"Because it's obvious, my mighty-but-often slow-witted, brother," Hermes patted Apollo on the shoulder, "If you want your beloved Penelope back so badly we'll simply have to go fetch her."
Apollo thought his brother was joking and granted him with an annoyed expression, "Do you suggest we die?"
"Yes," Hermes answered confidently, "Now you're catching on. But even more importantly, we'll need a plan to get back out and return to the realms of the living. I like being alive, Apollo, so an exit plan is critical."
"Thy tone is serious," Apollo snorted, "Since the dawn of our fathers none who have passed into the realm of death have ever returned."
"None save one," Hermes had a suddenly coy smile.
=======
Penny stomped her bare foot down and folded stubborn arms across her chest, "I am not marrying anyone!"
Pluto stood before her, seemingly a man like any other. He had long dark hair and a full beard with slate-grey eyes. He appeared to be in his fifties though Penny knew him to be far older than that. He wore black armors of rounded plates and leather, with a blue cape that hung to the back of his knees. The two of them stood face-to-face in a private set of bedroom chambers within Pluto's obsidian castle. Penny was dressed in a loose gown of white that bared her shoulders, back, and ankles.
Time flowed differently in Hades than it did other dimensions. Though a month had passed on Earth since her death, only a pair of hours had passed for Penny since she awoke in Pluto's nightmarish realm. She didn't feel any different from when she was alive and was proving to be a difficult guest.
"You are a spoiled, obstinate child," Pluto glowered at her, "You will learn to obey me, and you
will
agree to become my wife."
"Obey you?!" Penny scoffed, "Look, I don't know who you think you are but I don't belong to anyone! I'm not your possession."
Pluto struck her across the face with a gauntleted backhand, "In Hades,
all
things are my possession."
The blow stung Penny's ego far more than the flesh, though Pluto certainly possessed superhuman strength. She lifted a hand to the corner of her mouth incredulously, "Did you just hit me?"
"Shut your mouth lest you feel the back of my other hand, woman."
Penny didn't like Pluto's tone and reached forward to grasp the armor plates at his chest, her fingers rending and digging a grip into the metal. With an effortless strength she hurled Pluto across the room. He slammed against the wall, cracking its polished black surface.
The blow would have crushed any ordinary man, but Pluto simply stood and laughed.
Penny's fist balled at her side.
"I like your fire, mortal." Pluto dusted his cape off, "And your strength lives up to its reputation. You will make a fine queen."
"I don't think you're getting it through your head," she replied through gnashing teeth, "I'd rather die than marry you."
Pluto's chuckle was like grinding gravel, "You're already dead, my dear. And you
will
marry me, because I will make you an offer you can't refuse."
