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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 20 finally. Sorry for the delay but my muse wasn't cooperating. This chapter can be seen as the beginning of the final act of the story. I'd like to thank djkauf for the wonderful editing and DC Comics for the wonderful characters.

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Chapter Twenty:

When I woke up on Friday, I was a lot more refreshed than I thought I might be. If I’d still been Charlie, a week like the one I just had would have put me in bed for days. Now that I was Cassie, the last few days were a walk in the park. I should have spent yesterday recuperating but instead, I ran. I thought about the Tests and what they might mean. It still bothered me that Kate didn’t find anything about Crossan. It was hard to believe that the group she belonged to was a harmless organization, especially after pitting the group of us against one another in a competition like that. Especially seeing, as I still had no idea what was going on.

I groaned as I climbed out of bed. I was hoping for another dream last night, maybe another Goddess to explain things. But my dreams have been Olympian free. I’m not sure what I dreamed about and that bothered me. I was hoping for some guidance, maybe a Game Plan to tell me what to do next. It’s not that I didn’t believe Kate---she had no reason to lie---but I was convinced that Crossan was just better at hiding things. I thought about it all day yesterday, wondering how I could get the dirt on her. The real dirt I mean. In the end, the best thing I came up with was to just play along with whatever little game she was playing. I’d let her think I was a team player and then start snooping. It was a stupid plan but it was the only one I could think of.

I went through my morning routine and went downstairs.

Grandma was already putting breakfast on the table. I smiled at her and took my usual seat. It was one of those mornings, the day before the weekend and I was ready for relaxation. When I told her about the concert in Bay City, she was a little reluctant for me to go at first. I think she thought those guys from Greece would try something again. The only way I could reassure her was to call Cameron. She was just as reluctant as grandma until Kate came to my rescue. She agreed to be my “chaperone” which worked out really good seeing as she was in really good with Crossan. With that matter settled, all the important adults in my life were all for it. When I say important ones, I leave my mother out of that list. She tried calling the day after the Exhibit opening but I refused to talk to her. I didn’t want to sit on the phone with her and listen to her criticize me about whatever. I’ve spent the last sixteen years of my life listening to her complain about this or that.

“Do you have your bag for the weekend?”

I grabbed my duffel and gave it a gentle shake. My grandma rolled her eyes. “Is something wrong?”

She laughed. “Not too many young ladies your age would put everything into one duffel.”

I smiled. “I’m not like most girls.”

“I have no doubt about that.”

We ate breakfast in silence after that until Connor arrived. Grandma gave him a kiss on the cheek and a hug. Now that I was sorta his girlfriend, grandma was treating him more like family. She always treated him well but lately it was like he was already married to me. No, I’m not thinking about marriage this early. I had to laugh at that thought. A few weeks ago, it was the farthest thing from my mind and now the thought of it made my heart flutter a bit. Of course, I never thought I’d be the one walking down the aisle.

“So how did your competition thing go?” asked Connor as soon as we were inside his truck?

Now that we were kinda an item, I made a promise to myself to not keep anything from him. He knew all about the spa now and my apprehension about Crossan. The only thing he knew about the place was the rep it got in school. All the girls raved about it and were jealous of those who were members. They could be jealous all that wanted as far as I was concerned. There was nothing special about the stupid place.

“I let Artemis win,” I said with a smile.

“Are you ok with that?”

“I didn’t want to be their Champion, whatever the hell that is.”

After our match on Wednesday, Artemis was practically glowing. I think she knew that I threw it on purpose but that didn’t seem to faze her in the least. She was just happy that she got all the praise and glory. I’m not even sure what it all meant. I don’t think she did either. After the match and the celebrating, Crossan took Artemis to her office. I waited for her for a while but she never came out. Kate ended up giving me a ride home. I tried calling her that night but her mother said she was really tired and went to bed early. When I saw her at school on Thursday, we talked very little. She said being the Champion was just a title and that it didn’t mean anything. She seemed happy about it though, her giddiness still very apparent. The only one not happy about it was Dalma. I found out yesterday from Persephone that Dalma’s real name was Debbie Domaine, yeah that’s her real name. She was some rich snob, raised by her even richer aunt. This whole Amazon thing was some kind of game to her at least it was until the whole competition thing was announced.

According to Persephone, Debbie didn’t like to lose. After everything was over, I tried talking to her in the locker room and she was pretty pissed off. She made some idle threats, told me she was going to make my life a living hell. It was kinda funny actually, this girl threatening me after she knew I could kick her ass so easily.

My day at school was slow and boring like most Fridays I suppose. I---like most of my other fellow students---couldn’t wait for the day to be over. At lunch, Cissie continued to talk about Eddie and the progress he was making. She was definitely smitten with him. I made a mental note to ask her if the two of them had taken their relationship to the next step. I had a suggestion about how to do it too. I did some research on the subject the other day and I think I found the answer: fireproof gloves. Amy talked about the team but seemed distracted. I’m not sure why but she kept looking around. I tried to follow what she was looking at but I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Artemis and her friends didn’t show up at lunch. At the end of the day, I waited at my locker, alone. For a minute or two, I thought maybe they left without me until Persephone showed up. She was alone, huffing as she ran up. She looked a little worn out. Her face was pale, her face was a little disheveled and her fingers were involuntarily fidgeting. It was like she was going through a withdrawal. I wonder if it had anything to do with those pills, they kept popping?

“Sorry, the others are at the car already.”

She even sounded exhausted.

“Are you all right?” I asked, speaking with genuine concern.

She nodded. “Just a bit tired I guess.”

She was more than a bit though. I could tell that by just looking at her. It was way she moved through the hall too. We walked into the throngs of people together; usually Persephone was pretty adept at avoiding people. But today it was like she didn’t even care. At least three or four people walked right into her. One guy actually got a little disgruntled until I put him place with a deadly stare. After that, I took her hand and made sure I was with her the whole way. When the two of us got out of the school, Artemis’ car and Karna’s car were parked out front. Karna had a brand new BMW, like Debbie aka Dalma, her parents were loaded. I’m not sure what her first name was but her father was a big time Olympic decathlete, Jefferson Pierce. The money came from a lot of endorsement deals.

Karna frowned when she saw Persephone lagging behind.

“What took you so long” she snapped, a little more agitated than usual.

I looked at the group assembled; they all looked a little out of sorts. I wonder if all of them were going through some kind of withdrawal symptoms. After all, drugs weren’t allowed on school premises. Except if they were prescription and you could only get them from the nurse. My fears were answered as soon as Persephone and I got into Artemis’ car. We didn’t get more than a foot from the school before they were passing the little bottle back and forth. Once again, it was passed to me but I shook my head. Artemis gave me an annoyed look but I ignored it. It took a while for the pills to take effect; it was a very quiet hour. But as soon as they were all “juiced” up or whatever, they were all back to their cheerful, talkative selves. Which was fine by me because I wasn’t sure if I could sit in this car for almost four hours without anyone to talk to?

Still the conversation wasn’t much. The girls in the back---Akila and Persephone---were excited about the concert. It’s all they talked about most of the ride. It was some new pop idol, I didn’t catch her name. She was big time but I’d never heard of her. But that didn’t stop them from telling me all about her. It was kinda strange really; the three of them---Artemis included---were such huge fans. If you looked at them, you would have never guessed. Akila even made Artemis hook her iPod up to the car stereo so all of us could hear the song. I wish I had earplugs. It was one of those sappy, upbeat dance numbers. I tried to tone it out but with it blaring from every speaker, it was hard.

Thankfully, they didn’t play music the whole ride. I think I would have pulled my hair out if they did. The rest of the way we talked about various things, none of which happened to be the competition. I think this was supposed to be a weekend away from all that. At least I was hoping it would be. It was kinda fun finally interacting with these girls outside of school and the spa. Maybe now I’d get to know who they were really were and who they weren’t pretending to be. My main mission: find out their real names.

We arrived in Bay City around six or so. We went to our hotel. It was brand new apparently, something Wayne Enterprises built on the waterfront. It wasn’t ritzy by any means but it was a lot more glamorous than most of the hotels I’d stayed in. Trust me; I’ve stayed in a lot. We carried our bags inside, even though a few bellhops tried to give us a hand. I loved the looks on their faces when he saw the six of us file in carrying these huge duffels. Me and the other girls went to wait in a little reception area while Artemis handled the rooms.

“How are we paying for all of this?” I asked, looking at the shiny marble floor and fancy décor all around me.

Akila answered. “Antiope’s group is fronting the bill. She said after a strenuous couple of days, all of us needed to unwind a bit.”

“So the group is fronting the bill for the other girls to do something like this too?”

Akila laughed. “Nope, we’re special.”

I’m not sure if I understood that. I opened my mouth to ask what she meant but Artemis came back. She had a slight frown but other than that, everything seemed to be all right. “They could only give us two doubles,” she said as we stood up from our seats. “Three of us will have to be in singles.”

It was quickly decided that Artemis, Karna and I would take the singles. I think the others were happy for that. Persephone and Akila got to room together---the two of them seemed real close. Laris and Anaya got to be together too, which I think made them extremely happy. I was pretty certain the two of them might have liked one of the singles because it was clear they would only be using one bed. My only question was where Kate would be staying. She drove down here separately and I had yet to see her arrive. I wonder if she was already here or if she’d show up later. I wanted to ask but I didn’t want to sound like a prude who needed an adult to watch after her.

We went to our rooms after that. There were on the fourth floor, mine had a nice view of the Bay. After getting settled, we all decided to get something to eat. There were a lot of little shops in downtown Bay City. We found a quiet little place to eat. We were there for about an hour or so before we returned to the hotel to get ready for the concert. I had no idea what to wear to something like this but unfortunately for me, Persephone came to my rescue. I say unfortunately because she stuck in my very first skirt. I can assure you I was not a happy person.

I kept fidgeting, trying to tug it down to cover my butt more.

“Look at you” she laughed. “You’d think you were a guy and this was the first time you’d ever worn one.

I gave a fake laugh. If she only knew. “It’s a little short.”

“Sorry about that. It belongs to Karna. She’s the only one tall enough for you.”

We left for the concert after that. I got a lot of stares when I got off the elevator. Someone might have even whistled, which embarrassed the hell out of me. The doorman hailed us two cabs. Ok, so it turns out that the concert wasn’t actually in Bay City. It was actually in neighboring Saginaw. I’m not sure, why we didn’t just stay there; maybe the Bana people could only get a hotel here. I didn’t worry about it too much. The ride to the Dow Center wasn’t very long. When we pulled up outside it, there was already a large crowd. Artemis took the tickets from her purse, passing them amongst us. The building was all glass, in a circular formation.

Once we got inside, it was a squashing experience as we made our way to our seats. They were pretty good; we had an excellent view of the stage. I scanned the crowd, seeing a lot of female faces. When I say a lot, I actually mean most. There were a few guys---some were probably gay while others were there to drool. The one face I was hoping to see and didn’t was Kate. I suppose this wasn’t really her thing but I was hoping that she’d at least be hiding in the shadows or something. I wasn’t sure what I’d do if those bastards had followed me here and decided to go after me again. I hoped the large crowd kept them at bay. I definitely didn’t want to show off in front of all these people, especially my friends.

My apprehension disappeared as soon as the concert started. It felt a little strange to be going to a concert in the winter, I was sure they were usually a summer thing. But apparently, winter was the theme for this one. The stage was all decked out in a winter motif with fake icicles and things like that. The backup dancers were dressed in winter gear and the singer herself---a blonde pop princess---was decked out in a thick winter coat, scarf and gloves. I went into this thing thinking I was going to have a horrible time but I actually didn’t. Thanks to the impromptu concert on the ride over from Chicago, I knew most if not all of this girl’s songs now. After the first or second, I actually found myself singing along with the rest of the girls around me. Ok, I’ll admit it, I had a good time. The concert lasted for three hours or so but it felt a lot shorter than that. By the time we got out of the Center and hailed a couple of cabs, it was after midnight.

It was close to one by the time I got back to my room. Without my daily exercise, I was exhausted. I trudged over to my bed and collapsed. It wasn’t long before sleep took me.

I woke to a loud knocking on my door. At first, I thought it was my grandma and that I overslept. I snapped awake, throwing my covers off. I fumbled out of bed and ran for the door. If I overslept, I could run to school no problem. It wasn’t until I was at the door and opening it that I realized I wasn’t in my bedroom. Artemis was standing there, already dressed for the day. She had a big smile on her face, seeing me standing there in my bra and panties. Yeah, I didn’t have my nightshirt---I forgot it at home. I flushed several shades of crimson and she laughed.

“We’re both girls,” she said as she slipped into the room.

I groaned and shut the door; glad it was her and not the bellhop.

I watched as she looked around the room a bit and then she sat on the bed. I went over to my duffel and opened it. I dressed quickly, back into my usual jeans and t-shirt. I can say without a doubt that I hated every bit of that skirt last night. Ok, so that’s not one hundred percent true. Most of the night I didn’t even know I was wearing it until some guy looked at my legs. But it made me feel uncomfortable whenever I thought about it. I might have mentioned this before but I’m a definite tomboy. I think Connor understood that and hell, I think he kinda liked it too. I’m not saying he’s one of those guys, but I knew for a fact that girls who tried too hard to impress him were not the ones he liked. I’m not sure what he saw in me but I knew whatever it was it was something different.

“Are you all set?” asked Artemis, fidgeting a bit.

I nodded. “Where are we going that’s making you kinda antsy?”

She smiled. “Now that we’ve gotten the concert out of the way we figured we’d hit the shops a bit. There’s a huge downtown shopping experience here.”

I inwardly groaned. Shopping, of course it would be shopping. But maybe there was something I could get out of it too. There was a little museum here; Mom brought me here once when I was younger. I wasn’t allowed to browse its contents at the time because it was after hours but there was one exhibit I really wanted to check out. So if these girls were shopping then I was going to rope them into a little culture too. Of course, I’d keep that bit a secret until I sprung it on them so they wouldn’t be able to weasel out of it.

I gave her a knowing smile and the two of us left my room.

I let them have fun with their shopping. We hit downtown first, going from one shop to the next. There was a surprisingly large variety of shops. I even found myself browsing a bit in one of the boutiques. I still had some money left---ok, a lot of it---from the government incentive. But I didn’t want to spend any of it, at least not on something as frivolous as what they were buying. Artemis and her friends might have been jocks but they were girls too. They went a little crazy in their spending; especially Karna who I finally learned had the real name of Anissa. I thought it was kinda pretty actually, wondering why she’d ever want to go as anything but.

In another small shop, I ended up alone for a few minutes with Persephone. Once again, she didn’t look too good.

“You ok?” I asked as we casually browsed through jeans.

She nodded but we both could tell she was sick. “I’m just a little nauseous that’s all.”

I took her hand and pulled her out of the shop. There was a pair of benches a couple of feet away. I brushed off the snow and made her sit. She tried to protest and get up but I pushed her back down. Her eyes widened at that. I don’t like being forceful with friends but it was clear that Persephone needed to get off her feet. She was paler than yesterday afternoon and she was fidgeting a little more. She fumbled for her purse, reaching inside. I knew what she was going for so I grabbed her wrist. She tried to pull her arm free but I held firm. I’d been pretty passive about their pill popping but I could no longer stand by.

I reached into the purse with my other hand and got her pills. I took out the bottle and held it away from her. “What are these anyway?”

She reached for them but I kept them away. She bit her lip. “They’re nothing. Just something to help give an edge. They’re harmless.”

“If they’re so harmless then why is it that you guys look like hell whenever you’re not taking them?”

She didn’t have an answer. She longingly looked at the bottle. I could see it in her eyes; she’d do anything to get it from me. I let go of her wrist and stood up. I no longer cared who was watching. I held the bottle in my hand and crushed it like a grape. The look of shock on Persephone’s face was priceless. But it wasn’t shock for what I just did it was shock for what she just lost. As soon as I let the remnants of the bottle crumble to the ground, she followed it with her eyes. I groaned, disgusted.

“What the hell is going on here?” asked Artemis as she came up behind us.

Persephone jumped off the bench and ran over to her. “She crushed my pills.”

Artemis gave me a stern look. “What the hell is your problem?”

I scoffed. “My problem. You guys have the problem. Those things are dangerous; they’re fucking with your heads.”

Artemis laughed. “They’re vitamins.”

“They’re addictive.”

“Here you go, sweetie,” said Akila, giving Persephone another pill.

Persephone took it and popped it quickly, a look of pure ecstasy spread across her face. I groaned. It was clear that these girls were hooked on these damn things. They were too far gone to see it though. I wanted to scream and thrash all of them, make them see what I could. But there was no way any of them would listen to me. Instead I angrily stomped my foot on the ground, leaving an imprint in the sidewalk. They didn’t notice that. Instead, they all glared at me, looking like they wanted a fight. I didn’t want to but I’d do so if they attacked. I was tired of them and their stupid pills. They were obsessed with them and it was dangerous.

“You guys have to see that there’s something wrong, right?”

Artemis answered me. “The only thing wrong here was thinking that you could ever be one of us.”

As one, they turned and walked off.

I stood there, stunned. I couldn’t believe the bitches would leave me like this. I felt the tears starting to swell but I forced them back down. I stood there and watched as they walked off, disappearing down the street. I didn’t turn and leave until they were completely gone. I hailed a cab, asking the driver to take me to the museum. Just because my so-called friends abandoned me, it didn’t me I couldn’t have fun. The cab dropped me off at the museum and I finally got to look at the Space Exhibit I wanted to see for so long. There was a funky looking rock in a glass case that looked promising. The display said it was from Mars, which was pretty cool.

I spent awhile in the museum before I hailed another cab and went back to the hotel. I thought about going to Artemis’s room to see if they were there. But as soon as I walked into the lobby, I changed my mind. Instead, I asked the girl at the front desk if my friends were back.

“I’m sorry sweetie, they checked out an hour ago.”

“You’re kidding?”

She shook her head. “Do you want me to cancel your room too? It is paid up for the next two days however.”

I smiled big. “That’s ok; I think I’ll take advantage.”

The girl smiled and I went to my room. Inside, I ordered some room service, the most expensive thing on the menu knowing that it would be billed to my room. Then I used the phone. The first person I called was Kate. I was kinda worried about her, hoping that she didn’t run into my Greek friends. When I got her voice mail, I got even more worried. I quickly told her what happened and told her that whatever spying she’d done she forgot to look into the pills. It was clear that the girls were having real problems with those. After that, I called home. I talked to grandma for about an hour. She wanted to know about the concert and asked if I had a good time. I told her the truth and I think she was happy.

“They seem like such nice girls,” she said toward the end of the conversation. “You should have them over for dinner sometime. I’d really like to meet them.”

“That’d be lovely, grandma” I said, fighting back tears.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, just a bit tired.”

I hated lying to my grandma. She told me to get some rest and then hung up. I called Connor after that, the two of us talked even longer. I told him everything.

“And the pills are making them nutso?”

“Maybe. It might be nothing but it’s too much of a coincidence.”

“What are you going to do?”

I shrugged, even though I knew he couldn’t see it. “I’m going to stay here tonight and come home first thing tomorrow. I left a voicemail with Kate, telling her my fears. If they come back today and you happen to come across them, stay away.”

“You’re the only girl in my life, babe.”

I smiled. “I’m serious, Connor.”

“Don’t worry,” he said with a laugh. “I’d never go anywhere near them or that place.”

We said our goodbyes. I told him I’d see him tomorrow and maybe the two of us could spend the day together. I think he liked that. After getting off the phone with him, I tried calling Cameron. I got another agent who told me that Agent Chase was currently unavailable. I left a message, telling her to have Cameron call me as soon as possible. I thought about calling Jay but figured Kate would check in with him. So after my phone calls, my food arrived. I’d never had lobster before, it was really good. I spent the rest of the evening before bed watching TV.

I drifted off to sleep after that.

A tapping woke me up. I sat up and looked around, groaning. There was a stiffness in my neck and I realized I fell asleep on the couch. The TV was still on but muted. I looked around, bleary eyed. For a second, I didn’t know where I was. Then I recognized the fancy furniture and groaned again. I was still in my hotel room. I staggered to my feet and stumbled toward the bathroom. I had no idea what time it was but it definitely wasn’t daytime. I went to the bathroom, did my business and came back out into the main room. It amazed me how big this place was, it was like a penthouse or something. I think Artemis called them staterooms or something. They were swanky actually; the only thing missing was a little kitchen.

I caught a glimpse at the clock when I walked back into the room. I groaned again. It was four am, far too early to be up. I grabbed the remote, shut off the TV and made my way toward my room. As soon as I got to the doorway, I heard the tapping again. I stopped and looked around. It was too dark to see much but the moon was shining through the windows, casting the only light into the room. What I saw shocked the hell out of me. Sitting on the balcony, as close to the glass as he could, was Glaucus. He was tapping on the glass with his beak. I blinked, thinking maybe I was imagining things. I closed my eyes and when I opened them, he was still there.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me” I said as I walked slowly over to the window.

I easily opened it up but the owl made no move to hop inside. Instead, he cocked his head and fluttered his wings.

“What do you want?” He fluttered his wings again, turning his head as if he was pointing to the outside. I shook mine. “It’s four in the morning; I’m not following you again.”

He flapped his huge wings, buffeting my face with a gust of air. I groaned. “The last time I followed you led me to a strange old man in the park.”

He cocked his head and flapped his wings again. I gave up. It was clear that he wasn’t going to leave me alone until I did what he wanted. I waved my hand and agreed to go with him as long as he stopped flapping. I think that made him happy. I went over to the couch and got my sneakers, pulling them on quickly. I found my coat and turned before heading out the door. Glaucus flapped his wings and flew off. A part of me knew that he wouldn’t go anywhere until I was outside; don’t tell me how I knew that.

I got into the elevator and went down to the lobby. The girl at the front desk was gone, replaced by a guard in a gray uniform. He smiled at me, I mumbled something about getting an early start on the day but he didn’t say anything. Once I got outside, I looked around for my winged Alarm clock. I caught sight of him on a building across the street. He flapped and took off, flying toward the lake. I gave chase, walking at a brisk pace first. It didn’t take long for me to pick up speed. Luckily, the streets were pretty much deserted so I could run through them without a problem. Glaucus’ flight path led him straight toward the lakeside where I knew there was a marina and lots of boats. I also knew there were some warehouses there. I didn’t know what was in any of them but a lot of big companies stored things there. Sure enough, Glaucus flew into the marina but didn’t stop there. He went right toward the warehouse district. I followed him until I came to a chain link fence. It didn’t seem to stop him as he flew right over, for me it was a restriction. I couldn’t see a guard but I knew there had to be one.

Glaucus flew to a nearby warehouse, landing on the large WE attached to the front of it. I sighed. It belonged to Wayne Enterprises. I’d seen a lot of familiar warehouses back in Chicago. Mr. Wayne did a lot of business from all over the world and a lot of his stuff was brought in on boats. In fact, most of the artifacts Mom helped him acquire came in on cargo ships.

Glaucus flapped his wings again. I sighed and shook my head. There was no way I was going to break any laws tonight. I was already in enough deep water with the authorities as it was. Climbing a fence and poking around a restricted warehouse probably wouldn’t look too good for me. Glaucus made a loud hooting sound; it echoed across the emptiness and bounced around me. I tried to ignore it but for some reason it lingered in the air around my head. Finally, I groaned and nodded. I grabbed the fence and started to climb, hoping this was what the stupid bird wanted me to do. Why the Owl of Athena was leading me to a restricted warehouse in the middle of the night was beyond me.

On the other side of the fence, I landed softly.

Still there was no guard. I got to my feet and sighed, wondering what this was all about. I looked up and Glaucus and shrugged. The owl flapped his wings again. I groaned then walked toward the warehouse. There was a huge gate in the front, probably where trucks and things drove through. It looked like the biggest garage door I’d ever seen. I suppose I could lift it without any problem. But I’m not sure what kind of alarms it would have. Instead, I found a side door, wondering if this was, what the bird wanted me to do. As soon as I got to the door, I knew it was what he wanted. The door was ajar slightly, a dim light escaping from the thin crack of openness.

I pulled it open a little more and slipped inside. The first thing I saw was the guard. He was lying on the ground, face down. I ran over and checked his pulse. He was alive but unconscious. Someone clearly got the drop on him. Now I knew why Glaucus brought me here, he wanted me to stop whoever did this. I took a deep breath and left the man where he lay. I followed the little hall, finding myself in a maze of large containers and wooden crates. The dim light in the room was coming from overhead lights, casting their beams in sparse places, making the light patchwork at best.

I followed a straight path, wondering what I was up against. A small part of me wondered if this was some kind of trap. I knew Glaucus wouldn’t willingly lead me into something like this but maybe he wasn’t as All Knowing like I thought.

After a few feet, I came upon a second guard. He was unconscious too. So whoever had broken into this place, they weren’t out to kill anyone. When I got to the end of the row, I saw them a split second before they saw me. One of them turned around and recognition seemed to dawn on their faces or rather their masked faces. They were dressed all in black, five of them. They had a couple of wooden crates open already, Greece stamped on the side. I groaned, realizing what was going on here. These were the same guys from the museum, the ones who kicked my ass in the dark. Cameron and the Chicago PD had looked everywhere for them but they disappeared without a trace. Everyone was convinced they were looking for something important in my mother’s office but seeing as nothing was taken they didn’t find what they were looking for. But seeing them here now I knew it had to be something from Greece, probably something connected to my Mom and Mr. Wayne.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get time to think about it because there weren’t five of them. There were six. The sixth one came from behind, slamming his feet into my back from above. I fell to the ground, but instead of being taken completely off guard by the sneak attack, I rolled before I impacted. The rolling brought my assailant down with me, tripping up his legs. He went down as I went up. As soon as I got to my feet, the others were on me. It might have been a little outmatched, what with their being five attackers to my one.

But hey, I’m me.

Two attacked as one at first. They both threw fists toward my face. I threw up my arms, their fists connecting with my bracelets. They fell back, allowing two others to come. They threw kicks. I sidestepped one and grabbed the other by the foot. I threw the one I was holding aside. The assault came again, five on one once more. Punches and kicks mainly. They were fast and nimble, working as one. On any normal person, this kind of attack would completely overwhelm them. But I’m not a normal person. I shrugged off the hits like they were love taps. I don’t think they were expecting it. They came at me a little faster after that but once again, I blocked their blows.

I needed to get them one on one.

I moved in, going for their leader. At least I think it was the leader, they were all dressed the same and they all seemed to move the same. I was tired of playing and drove my fist toward his face. He threw up his hands to block me but my blow still hit hard. I threw him back, causing him to crash into a stack of wooden cracks. The others seemed to be little dazed by this. They came at me, now still five on one---the guy who dropped on me earlier back into the game. Two came at me again with high kicks. I drove them back, grabbing their shirt fronts and slamming them into one another. They collided hard and stumbled back, falling into the darkness on either side of us.

Now three on one.

I turned to the last three wondering where the attack would come. But it didn’t. Instead, the three of them turned and disappeared. I gave chase after the closest one, disappearing into the dark after them. They were going toward one of the windows, running hard and fast. One of them kept pushing boxes in my path, trying to stop me. I plowed through the boxes like they were nothing. I ran harder than the one I was chasing, catching him as he made it toward the window.

I reached out and caught him by the shoulder as he made the jump. I pulled him to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. As soon as I got my hand on him, I knew he wasn’t a he. I also knew that he or rather she was a lot younger than I originally thought. I grabbed the top of her mask and pulled it off her head, a cascade of long blonde hair tumbled down her back. I was surprised but not altogether shocked until I turned the girl around. As soon as I did, I gasped.

“Persephone?”