She was getting used to the endless battle. Luckily her SHIELD training made the battles easier to handle, as none of those she fought were as well trained as she was in various martial arts. Still, the endless battle was wearying, though arguably, better than putting up with the Skrulls.

She thought of Hawkeye, and wondered how he was. She hoped he was happy, though wondered if he had ever realized the Mockingbird he was with was a Skrull. She pushed those thoughts out of her mind, realizing they would distract her if she were attacked in The Arena, which was a common occurrence. How many times had she fought? She didn’t know. Curse Mephisto!

The Prince of Lies had been punishing her more since she returned from earth. It had not been her fault that Grim Reaper had dragged her & the others out to do battle with the Avengers. He had been enraged, & had dealt with Grim Reaper for daring to invade his realm to get her & Patsy. While fairly all knowing, Mephisto had no idea Mockingbird’s return to the Arena had been delayed by her being diverted to Hellstrom’s realm long enough for them to concoct a plan to rescue Patsy. She was certain Mephisto would not have been pleased with her dealing with one of his major rivals. Through Hellstrom she had learned Mephisto had killed the Skrull who had been impersonating her. Though this was some solace, she wondered about the effect on Clint.

She remembered how sad Hellstrom looked. He had regained his sanity as it were, & was determined to free Patsy from the clutches of his rival. He had told her that he would free her even if he lost her for good, & she believed him, as Patsy had been the great love of his sad life. The sight of another denizen of the Arena getting ready to attack interrupted her thoughts. More battle. It never ended.

She became aware of Mephisto’s servants around here. This meant the Prince of Lies would soon be visiting The Arena. She hated the sight of him, though she never let this show on her face, & kept her mind empty. Mephisto trusted no one, & while his power in his own realm was almost absolute he liked to delegate the punishment of “mere mortals” to his underlings. No doubt he was there to watch such punishment.

She watched as one of the soldiers was being flogged with something, which looked like a hellfire whip. The hapless soldier was trying not to cry out, but finally screamed, which delighted the Prince of Lies to no end
“ This is the penalty for trying to escape, fool. Do not attempt this again!” Mephisto stated; in that vicious whisper he used when talking to those who had incurred his wrath. For some reason, since she had come to his realm, he had never even looked at her. She was beginning to wonder just what he was planning.

Whatever it was, it would have to wait, because at the present time, he seemed to be rather agitated about something. And she thought she knew what it was. His precious realm was under attack, & she thought she knew who was leading it: Clint.

Due to the attack, no one was watching The Arena, so Bobbi could walk away rather easily. Moving silently along the corridors of Mephisto’s realm, she found a place where she could watch Clint face off with Mephisto. She threw one of her battle staves & it landed behind Clint, as Hellstrom had told her, to center a lot of the hell energy where it was needed. She had watched Hellstrom do something to it before she had left his realm. Now it seemed to glow with a bright light. She didn’t know if Mephisto had seen the light behind Clint, but he looked pain when he saw the tip of the arrow that Hawk was aiming at him

“No, not chaos magic.” He said. Then she saw The Prince of Lies dissolve into a thousand pieces. And couldn’t help feeling a great joy, even though she realized he would reform eventually. But not until Hellstrom’s plan had been achieved.

She kept walking down the corridor, where she watched as Hawkeye exited Mephisto’s throne room, carrying a form wrapped in bandages. Their plan had worked. Patsy was now free of Mephisto. She could imagine Hellstrom’s joy when he found out, & as he had told her, even if Patsy rejected him later, she was free, and that was all he cared about.

Bobbi made her way back to The Arena undetected, as the Prince of Lies’ servants were too engaged with other matters for them to worry about where she was. Once she got back to the Arena, she rested, as without Mephisto’s influence there were no battles, thus it was a rare moment of peace.

Time was endless in the Arena. Bobbi had no concept of how long it had been since Patsy had been freed. And it didn’t matter. She, Hawkeye, & his team had gotten Patsy out, with some assistance from Hellstrom & she suspected, Wanda Maximoff. Mephisto had reformed & had been in quite a rage about it. He had gotten around to looking at her finally, & had made her his personal fighting champion. He was none too pleased when she won all of her contests. He only punished the losers, thus he could not change his own rules or he would have looked weak to his minions, who he always suspected were out to overthrow him. A hell lord cannot afford to look weak.

There was something going on. Mephisto’s servants were running around in a panic. Apparently his realm was under attack again, but by whom? Hellstrom? Not likely. Daimon had what he wanted- Patsy was free. Perhaps it was another of the hell lords. She had no idea. In any event The Prince of Lies was in deep trouble. She looked up & saw someone approaching - what was Patsy doing here?

“Bobbi, come on, I can get you out.” Patsy said
“ Patsy, I can’t leave yet. If I do, Mephisto will hunt me down, & may hurt Clint & some others. I’ll have to find a way of doing it so he can never touch me again. There has to be a way. Tell Clint I love him. Go now Patsy, before Mephisto finds you. “ Bobbi wanted to tell her how Hellstrom had planned her escape, then remembered that Daimon had asked her not to.

“I have caused Patsy enough pain in my madness, she is better off without me.”

She watched Patsy leave, & wondered if she’d ever get out of The Arena.

As always, time was painfully slow in The Arena. Since regaining his realm from Dormammu’s attack, Mephisto had become even more repressive, though for some reason, somewhat introspective. While the losers were still flogged, he didn’t seem to enjoy it as much. Something seemed to be on his mind. He could often be seen walking near The Arena seemingly deep in thought about something, and not very pleased when underlings interrupted him. While Bobbi was still fighting as his personal champion as it were, he seemed to have lost interest in the contests, & didn’t rage as usual at her about the day she would ultimately fall in battle.

Then one day, The Prince of Lies called her to his throne room.

Bobbi wondered what Mephisto had on his mind. He sat there on his throne, surrounded by skulls, glaring all around, looking quite annoyed. Then she saw why.

Daimon Hellstrom was in Mephisto’s throneroom!

The Prince of Lies was glaring at both her & Hellstrom, who he dared not attack. Bobbi had been in The Arena long enough to have learned some things about how the hell realms operated. If one hell lord visited another under flag of truce, the truce was inviolate. To break it risked a black war, something no hell lord really wanted, especially since Dormammu’s attack on Mephisto’s realm, which had cost Old Fire Head a lot of his realm, not to mention leading to the destruction of Satannish for a time.

Apparently there was a reason Hellstrom was here, and it must have involved her. Daimon looked well, even a bit pleased about something. Hellstrom’s eyes were red as he regarded The Prince of Lies. Then he spoke:

“It is no great pleasure for me to be here either Mephisto, so I suggest you curb your displeasure for the duration of my stay. We have business to discuss, which involves both of us, not to mention the entire earthly realm. Additionally, you have that message from Patsy. And I am certain you remember your debt to her.”

Mephisto owes Patsy? That’s interesting. Bobbi wondered how Patsy had managed that.

Mephisto looked extremely uncomfortable as he was apparently remembering it. How a mere human & a female no less had rescued him and saved his realm. How she had led him around by the hand as if he were a child. While he was still grateful to her, indeed part of him even admired Patsy’s nerve; the thought of being in the debt of a human female was intolerable. The debt must be partially repaid. He would never be able to fully pay her, indeed he could never allow her back into The Arena, and she would be a constant reminder of that time. It was totally untenable. Something had to be done. He glared at both Bobbi & Daimon, and then spoke

“Very well Hellstrom, proceed.”
“ You are aware of the present situation regarding the Skrulls?”
“ Yes, I have seen it in the mind of this woman. What has this to do with me? It is something for the humans to deal with. If you wish to go forth as their defender again, do so. It has nothing to do with me.”
“ You are not taking into consideration the fact that once they take over the earthly realms, they will be in control, and your source of power will ultimately come to an end. What good is a realm with no inhabitants? I can survive without a realm; I did so for many years, with my power unchecked. What will you be without worshippers, or persons to populate your realm? You will be little more than a legend or lesser hell denizen. Are you so blind that you cannot see this?”

Bobbi watched Mephisto’s face for a reaction to Daimon’s words. Old Red looked angry, then thoughtful. Hellstrom continued.

“I once warned you that I would not allow the status quo to be upset by any force. This is my reason for coming. Patsy and I have reconciled to the point that we are now friends. One of her conditions for forgiving me was that I deliver this note to you. As you saw, it requests Mockingbird’s freedom as your payment for her assistance on a certain occasion which I am sure you remember quite well.”

“YES!” Mephisto snarled. Old Red looked really uncomfortable then. Daimon resumed.
“ You are also not doubt aware that you can never fully repay your debt to her. I doubt she will ask for anything else other than to be left alone by you. Thus, I am confident you will accommodate her request.”

The Prince of Lies was in a quandary. While he was loath to lose Mockingbird, the accursed debt had to be dealt with, at least partially. Those of his underlings who remembered that time often seemed to mock him about it, especially seeing him being lead around by Patsy Walker. Once he announced the debt had been paid, no one would dare look at him with anything other than loyalty.

“LET IT BE DONE!” Mephisto roared. “Go, Barbara Morse, I for all time renounce all claims to your eternal soul!”

Hellstrom smiled. “A wise decision, Mephisto.”

Bobbi’s time in Hellstrom’s realm was much more tolerable. She was not Daimon’s prisoner; rather, she was an honored guest. Daimon had explained to her that the timing of her return to earth had to be perfect, due to the fact there was yet another Skrull masquerading as her. Sending her back too soon would upset the plan as it were, as he had intended her to return as an agent for him, to monitor the Skrull invasion. Hellstrom was aware of the other hell lords who were involved in the invasion, including Satannish in England, & Dormammu who had snared a small time hoodlum & was using him as a pawn to battle the Skrulls. Mockingbird was to be Hellstrom’s agent in the fray.

However, due to Reed Richard’s invention of a machine to detect Skrulls, & the intervention of Norman Osborn, Hellstrom found he had no need to send Mockingbird back as his agent. Thus, upon seeing the signs were right for Mockingbird’s return, Hellstrom called her to his throne room & told her the news she had been waiting for.

“Bobbi, I have learned the invasion is virtually over. A large Skrull prison ship is upon the earth presently. I will transport you there, so you can be reunited with Barton. I am sorry that you will have to again spend time with the Skrulls again, but Clint will soon be in the area and I think he would like to be the one who finds you.”

“It doesn’t matter. Thank you Daimon. And thank Patsy if you see her before I do.”
“ I shall Bobbi. Until we meet again. Goodbye.”

There was no real sensation, other than some warmth. Hellstrom had made the transport as gentle as possible. She could never think of him as a hell lord, rather, she though of him as a human whose circumstances had been most unfortunate.

The Skrull ship was dark; no one noticed that she had suddenly appeared. The Skrulls were gone; she was surrounded by some of earth’s heroes who the Skrulls had captured. She recognized Dum Dum Dugan and the Countess. After a time she saw some of the earth’s heroes entering the ship. Then she saw the face of someone she had not seen for so long. Remembering all of it, she thought.

“It’s hard not to think you’re crazy.”

“CLINT!” she yelled. Clint Barton looked up & then made his way to her

Is it really you Bobbi?”

Yes, it’s really me.”

And watching their reunion in a large crystal on the wall of his throne room, Daimon Hellstrom nodded, a faint smile on his face.