by Gideon Mills
Again, her tail twitched, and she gripped the long hazelnut fluff and stroked. Not really paying much attention to what she was doing. Her tail matched her hair and eyes in color, making her innocent and pure to me. She looked down at her own tail and let it go, but I could still see the fear in her eyes.
“You won’t,” I said. “We can do this.”
“First,” Athena interjected. “Remove this Reign, and Belladonna. Then we need to build an army.”
“An army?” Lola asked. “Like a real army.”
“Yes,” Athena said. “We have to have a force bigger than Hera’s.”
That wasn’t going to be easy to do if I knew my mother. Hera’s would be the biggest one ever assembled in the history of the Gods. This was going to be hard.
“We got this,” I said.
Not that I truly believed it. Sure, I had been confident against my sister, Eris. But my mother was another beast entirely, and I had no faith in taking her out. I knew that Eris had been pulled by an unseen force. Learning that it was my mother was devastating.
I looked up to the heavens. “Mother,” I said, “You’ll pay for this.”
The others in the room looked at me but said nothing. They had become used to me speaking to the heavens and went with it.
“You can’t just kill everyone,” I continued. “This world is part of us, just as much as Olympus.”
Athena moved closer to me and patted me on the shoulder. “She is a mean old woman, and jealous as can be.”
All true, but she was still my mother. It was hard to accept that the woman would go this far. “I should go back and talk to her.”
“You can’t,” Athena said. “Entry is barred. Not just to me. To all.”
I closed my eyes. So be it.
“Very well,” I said. “We need to free New York. Here and now. Fast as possible. I’m going to go take out Reign.”
4
Stop, be smart
I marched to the door, not caring. Reign was a problem, and the simple solution was to go and kill the sonofabitch. Sometimes that was the best way, and I didn’t care that it wasn’t a very hero-like thing to do.
“What are you doing?” Lola asked.
I hesitated. “I’m going to kill him.”
Her jaw dropped, and her eyes widened in horror. “Ares,” she said. “In the time you have been here, you haven’t killed. You’ve gone out of your way to do what needed to be done inside the law.”
I sighed. “I know, but Hera is forming an army. We don’t know when she’ll attack. We don’t know who is in the army. Letting Reign reduce the numbers of people that can help us—that’s not smart.”
“Nor is killing him,” Felicity said. “That will just give his supporters more power. More sway over the others.”
That was the argument that we had been having for a long time. I hated it and knew she was right. But that didn’t make it any easier to hear.
“Very well,’ I said. “Then I’m going to talk to McGarrett. I need to do something.”
“I’m coming with you,” Felicity said.
“Me too,” Fleur added.
Athena looked at Lola. “You think you and I could talk? Work some of the magic I noticed you could do?”
“What type of magic?” Lola asked in a teasing manner.
I groaned. “Be careful what you ask for.”
Lola giggled. “I will.”
The rest of us departed the secret lair and jumped into Fleur’s red convertible. The White Angel had to drive, and that meant me in the passenger seat with Felicity in the back. The squirrelkin didn’t appear to mind at all.
McGarrett would be at the precinct, and we could meet him there. If we weren’t actively patrolling the city, not even Reign could do anything to us. Just being a Paragon wasn’t illegal, yet.
The drive across town was hectic as usual. I had chosen to leave at one of the worst possible times. Traffic was at its heaviest right now. People were supposed to be at work by now, but with the heavy traffic many were just parking and rushing in, making our commute a nightmare.
An hour later, we arrived at the precinct that was home to the Paragon unit. I had been here my very first day on Earth, in this time period. Registering as a hero in the city. That felt like a lifetime ago, and in many ways it was. I hadn’t met Lola yet. Hadn’t realized that Eris was up to no good. She had started that riot on arrival, but I thought maybe she was just playing a joke on me. Not that I really believed that.
Eris was always up to no good, and I should have realized right away. Fleur parked her car in the visitor parking and got the ticket to pay later. Parking in the city was rarely free, and that was something I hated about the city.
I wasn’t sure what the other cities in America were like, but some things about this one sucked. Though it was the city that never sleeps, and I loved calling it home.
Walking into the building for the first time since Eris was a bit surreal. My heart skipped a beat, and I had this weird feeling that I was walking into the lion’s den. One that I really shouldn’t be in.
“You okay?” Felicity asked.
“Just had this sense of wrongness being here. That I should just turn around and leave.”
“Me too,” Fleur said. “It’s eerie being here.”
The further we walked into the building, the worse the feeling got for me. I wanted to leave and hide. That was a sporadic experience for me, and I didn’t like it when it occurred. I was the God of War and shouldn’t be fearful of anything. I’ve battled some of the strongest monsters in history, and the most powerful Gods. I fought alongside my father in the war against the Titans.
Yet, here I was, fearful of a man and the building he worked it. I needed to fucking man up and be who I was born to be. I stiffened my back and continued. No way I was going to let this fear stay in me, and be a pansy.
We walked to the front desk; the man stood and took us in. “Can I help you?” he asked.
“Tell McGarrett that Ares is here.”
The officer at the desk nodded and picked up the phone. But he didn’t take his eyes off Fleur or me.
Felicity leaned in. “I like going out with you two. Normally I’m the one that gets the looks. With you two, people don’t even see me.”
“I’m used to it,” Fleur said. “I’ve been getting looks my whole life too. Being a Walker, being a Paragon.”
“And being so hot,” Felicity said.
“That too, don’t short-change yourself,” Fleur added. It appeared that she like the squirrelkin as well.
A few minutes later, McGarrett appeared around a corner. He wore the uniform that he was extremely proud of.
“Ares, Fleur, Felicity,” he said. He’d only met the latter once, but it was no surprise that he remembered her. “What can I do for you?”
“Just wanted to see if you had anything for us,” I said. The one thing that Paragons were allowed to do was ask for work. If there was something that the police couldn’t handle, they would hire some Paragons to do the job.
This gambit allowed McGarrett to talk to us in the open and not have Reign on our backs. Not that Reign was happy with the arrangement, but the Mayor saw the need and signed in the bill.
“In fact, I do,” McGarrett said. The bad thing about it was I was stuck doing grunt work that took us away from Reign. “Walk with me.”
“Stop,” a commanding voice said.
We all looked in the direction that McGarrett had come from. Standing there was the man we all loathed. Reign was brutal-looking, his face unmerciful and scarred. He was tall enough to look me in the eyes. His posture showed power and a demand for people to bow to him. He walked with a confidence that most wished they had.
Next to him was a bubbly-looking woman who was short, not even five feet tall. She had pale skin, nearly translucent. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was a Paragon. She had long white hair to match her complexion. Belladonna wasn’t attractive by any stretch.
“
Samuel Reign,” I said. We had been close before, but never like this. He’d tried to capture me a few times.
“Ares,” he said. The tension between us was thick. It was clear to me that he hated me as much as I hated him. I wondered if he knew that he worked for my mother. “What brings you here?”
“Just asking for some work,” I said. “The city is a dangerous place. Want to do my part to keep it safe.’
The man’s lips quivered with disgust. “That bill the mayor passed will be removed.”
Felicity stepped up. “Every other city allows Paragons to work freely, why not here?”
Samuel Reign took in Felicity and made a face at her. “That isn’t true, look across the world, creature. Some of the biggest cities have banned Paragons.”
“What cities?” Felicity asked. “I haven’t heard of any city in America or North America.”
“Correct.” Reign had trouble just looking at her. “East Jakarta, Beijing, Pyongyang, and Moscow, to name a few.”
Felicity narrowed her eyes. “Those aren’t here. We don’t have to be like them.”
Reign gave a sly smile. “We don’t, but you were incorrect in saying every city allowed you to walk around touting your powers.”
Felicity eyed the fearsome man with all her tenacity. She wasn’t going to let the man scare her into submission. “We are just trying to help the city.”
Belladonna scoffed but didn’t say a word. Clearly, she didn’t believe that. Reign patted her on the shoulder.
“Just know that your days are numbered. You might have gotten away from me twice already,” Reign said. “But the next time you won’t be so lucky.”
McGarrett gulped. “I’m going to give them the Broadway mission that has been troubling us.”
Reign nodded. “Very well.”
5
Broadway
Outside of the building, Steve indeed filled us in on the Broadway task. It was causing many of the theaters to have lower attendance than usual, and that had to be fixed. Theaters were one of the main draws of the city.
“I can’t believe you,” McGarrett said. He was looking at Felicity. “Way to poke the bear.”
The squirrelkin smiled. “I just really hate him, and the sight of Belladonna.”
The way she said the woman’s name, there was something to it. “You really don’t like her,” I said.
“I don’t.”
As much as I wanted to ask her about it, she would tell me in time. If she wanted to reveal that secret. I wasn’t about to press her on it. I had learned the hard way that pushing someone you care about wasn’t the way to go.
Fleur saw it too but remained silent.
We had walked around the station and were in a place that McGarrett said was safe to talk. “Nothing on him?”
The police officer shook his head. “I wish. It’s hard to even spy on him. I’m being watched by people myself. Some that are obvious about it, and others that are trying to hide it. I can’t get close to him. He doesn’t trust me and never will.”
I nodded. “I figured as much. We’ll have to start watching him.”
Maybe I could have Athena follow him. He didn’t know my sister’s face, and she might be able to learn something. It was worth a shot for us since we had no real plan.
“What has the Paragon task force been doing?” Fleur asked.
“Mostly just twiddling our thumbs. The only time he has us doing anything is the few times we can arrest Paragons. That’s it, and handing out these missions. Not that many come to get them.”
I nodded. It was no surprise that many weren’t willing to come here to get them.
“You stay safe,” I said. “We’ll figure it out, and when we need you, we’ll let you know.’
McGarrett nodded. “I’ll try to learn about the plan. The mayor seems to like me again, so I might be able to get some sway back.”
That was good, but I didn’t want him risking too much. Not again. I really liked him and his wife.
“How’s Janet?
“She’s beyond great,” McGarrett said. “She’s thinking about leaving the force.”
That was a surprise since she loved being a police officer. “Why?”
McGarrett grinned from ear to ear. “We just found out this morning, so don’t tell anyone, but she’s expecting.”
“That is great news,” Fleur said. She hugged the man, and we went about the congratulations.
Broadway was indeed less crowded than usual, as the police couldn’t put an end to the gang that was mugging all the tourists in the area. They had increased the number of uniformed officers and even the undercovers had been doubled.
Yet, none of it had any effect on the muggings. As if a ghost was the reason for it all. No matter how close an officer was to the crime, he arrived just after the attack. It was driving the police force crazy for the last three weeks.
Why they hadn’t given this out sooner, I didn’t know. This mystery called for a Paragon to solve it.
The city had numerous new gangs in it after the effect of my dear sister. She ruined NYC, and it was still recovering, and that meant the criminal underworld as well.
The three of us walked the street side by side and had to look exactly what we were. Three Paragons, though that wasn’t strictly true of me, on a mission for the police department. It was hard to see anything else when the three of us went by.
It wasn’t even the fact that Felicity was a squirrelkin and had the sexy ears and tail. The way we walked and the authority we gave off was more than enough to let each and every person know we were there.
“You sure this is a good idea?” Felicity asked. Her voice had a sound of doubt to it, and her eyes darted around the area. “What if no one approaches.”
Fleur smiled. “I’ve done similar things in the past. Almost always have some minion come up and warn me that this area is under such and such control.”
It might be a high-tech world now, but some things never change. One of them being the inner working of the criminals. They would avoid the police if they could, and if that wasn't possible, they would try to control them.
There was little doubt that some of the officers were working with this group. It all added up to corruption to some degree. Which really was no surprise to me, since Reign was corrupt. I didn’t know how high that went, but I feared it might be too much for even us.
“They will,” I said.
After a thirty-minute stroll down Broadway, we passed some of the most iconic theaters. Many of them, like the Belasco Theater and the New Amsterdam Theater, had been around for a very long time. At least in terms of theaters in America.
So long that I had been tempted to see them back when I was last on Earth. They had been around longer than the Paragons, which gave them a certain charm. Not like the homeland. It was hard to compare age in Europe to here in America, but still the country had its appeal.
As we rounded a corner, a thug in a frayed jean jacket stood in front of us. The thug was just shorter than me, and I was sure he was a Paragon. He had the look of a man that wasn’t scared of anyone or anything.
With a leathery face, he eyed me and didn’t look away. He viewed me as a real threat and ignored the other two. That would be a mistake, and I was sure that both Felicity and Fleur were going to remember this. I knew for certain that Fleur had a long memory and wouldn’t be okay with this man acting like she wasn’t here. She was a powerful Paragon in her own right, with her ability to master all martial arts. It really helped her in the bedroom, that’s for sure.
From what I could tell, Felicity moved with a speed that most humans would be envious of and was stronger than most. There was probably more, like the claws that I was sure could hurt.
Yet, the grizzled man eyed me intently. The stare down lasted close to a minute before he spoke.
“Ares,” he said
It shouldn’t surprise me that he knew who I was. I had been getting a lot of attention since arriving on Earth. That hadn�
��t been my goal, but I was a celebrity Paragon. Part of me didn’t like that, and the other half of me was enjoying the notoriety. While not the same as I got for being the God of War, it was nice to be talked about and worshipped in some way that I had been used to in the past.
“You know me,” I said. “But I don’t know you.”
“And you never will,” he said. “Leave. This is my territory, and my gang is going to stay.”
Felicity cleared her throat. “You’re saying you are the leader of the gang here.”
The man snorted. “Little girl, the men are talking.”
The only thing little about the squirrelkin was her stature. She had one of the biggest, feistiest personalities around. Her lips curled, and she leaned forward and bared her teeth and claws. “You listen here, mister,” she growled. “I’m not little, and you are a peon compared to me.”
Leatherface looked down to her and laughed. “Listen kin,” he said. “Those claws wouldn’t hurt me, and you can nibble all you want. You are a weakling compared to me and my glory.”
This Paragon was really full of himself and didn’t care if he made her mad. He was going to regret the day that he brought the wrath of Felicity Spencer on him. Her anger was clear, and I had a feeling this was going to be legendary or A1.
“You cretin,” Felicity said. “I’ll get you someday.”
She let the threat hang in the air, and the man didn’t say a thing. He went back to looking at me.
“You can’t stay here,” I said.
The man laughed. “I can, and I will. My gang and I have been making a great profit. You won’t scare us away from that.”
Before I could react, the man disappeared. I don’t know how he was gone, but he was here one second and gone the next.
“That was strange,” Fleur said. “How did he disappear?”
“Maybe he’s invisible,” Felicity said.
I felt around and hit nothing. “Maybe,” I said.
“Well we got an idea of who is behind this,” Fleur said.
