ATHENA was, simply put, a mess of contradictions. A raging sea lived within her ribs, a storm within her skull. She fought for everything — with blood and bitter tears she fought, clawed at her limitations and exceeded them. She had been on the brink, and she knew pain — more then most could expect just by looking at her.
She was second to make the team, right after someone she only ever knew as Zeus. She was not allowed to know her teammates names, nor would they ever be allowed to know hers. That information was privy to Kronos alone, and even she did her best to wipe all that from memory. If any of them were to ever be captured, they couldn't give up any names if they didn't know them, no matter how much they were tortured. Plus, as the days went on, she began to trust her team with her life.
Ares was next to be recruited; he had been in the Marines, but that was about all Athena knew about him. Artemis and Apollo joined not long after (yeah a lot of A names for the Greek Gods), and finally rounding out their team was Hermes. They began training hard, for stealth, for combat, for suicide missions, for anything and everything. They were each named after a God for a reason, and Kronos was going to see them come out on top or die trying. Those painful exercises led them to become closer then blood. They needed that trust or none of it was going to work.
They became known as The Olympians, a hushed myth among the highest ranking military officers, and simply just hearsay among lower ranks, and something civilians really did not know anything about. It was a covert operation, and as long as it stayed myth, then Kronos was fine with what anyone had to say, even her superiors knew barely a thing about them, and it was always kept on the down low. Each team member had countless aliases they went by if they happened to be staying anywhere or were on a mission.
Anything related to the old life was kept in the past — families had to believe each individual was dead, just as an extra layer of protection for loved ones. Athena only had her parents and her brother, so she was not leaving much behind when she accepted her new life, and in turn, she gained a new family.
"Thea, I need you to look at these tactical plans," Zeus told the woman, sitting at the table beside her. Although leader of the team when Kronos was not around, seeing as Kronos dealt more with the political end of operations, Athena was a pretty good battle strategist, much to her namesake.
"Well, it's a capture, not a kill order," she said first, eyes flickering over the map. "We have to go in from the basement and the sides, he's obviously going to have some security so stealth is key."
Zeus nodded, the suspect needed to be questioned, so him coming out alive was priority. He figured give each member a side to go in on, and he'd go through the basement and come up the main stairwell. "We move at dusk, maybe take a nap."
Athena gave a half-hearted smile and nodded. Their bunker was not much to write home about, a set of bunks, a single bathroom, and a tiny kitchen and table. They would have been at a separate location, but their target was not all that far, about a half hour trip by air.
She walked over to their bunks and crawled into hers, laying her head down. After retrieving their target and delivering him to their rendezvous point, they would all return to their base and await further instructions. Day-to-day was easy because it was all mapped out for her, not very much to think about, but a part of her did look forward to the day all the targets had been neutralized and she could begin her life again.
Not as Athena, but as Juliette Kline. She had not heard her name spoken out loud in what felt like a decade, but really was only a few years.
She had not realized she dozed off until Hermes was shaking her awake. "Hey, Thea, we're almost ready."
Athena nodded, moving to scoot out of her bunk, landing on the floor with a soft 'thump'. She quickly changed, moving into the kitchen with the rest of her team. With an agreed nod between them, they set out, Hermes as their pilot.
"I'm dropping you off a mile from the target, and I'll circle back around to pick you all up." Hermes told them, clicking in his earpiece. Hermes usually stayed out of the fighting, although he had been trained to handle himself just fine. But he was the man on the computer, monitoring everything, making sure no police came into the vicinity, that the phones were jammed, no alarms being triggered, and obviously being their air support and evac. The man was a genius as far as Athena was concerned, probably one of the smartest hackers alive, but that was why he was chosen to be Hermes.
The mission was clear cut and simple, and the entire team acted swiftly and silently. They never saw them coming, and although their target was clearly expecting someone to come knocking (which was why he was in safe house to begin with), he certainly was not expecting to be taken alive. Apollo knocked him out cold, and back to the aircraft they went. The Olympians never left any loose ends, no matter the cost.
Unbeknownst to them, this was their last mission. All the other targets on Kronos' list had been found, neutralized, and disposed of. Athena, much like most of the team, did not know anything about the targets or why they were targets in the first place (some could be guessed, sure, based on previous missions, but the full story was not something they had been told). Zeus only knew bits and pieces, but even he did not question Kronos.
Kronos led the questioning of the target, while the team cleaned up and relaxed at their primary base. When she was finished, she ordered a meeting with the team.
Athena sat quietly with her coffee, listening to her teammates bicker over music selections that was played on the aircraft.
"I'm the pilot," said Hermes, "so I get to pick whatever the fuck I want."
Athena rolled her eyes playfully, with a small smile.
Kronos called their attention by simply clearing her throat. "I'm going to try and keep it simple, working with you all has been an honor. I've never, in all my time, worked with anyone better. We all knew this day would come; you all deserve to live your lives. However, I will call on you all again, if the need ever arises — so you will be given a phone with only the numbers of your teammates and myself. It must remain charged at all times, and it will be untraceable. Hermes was able to figure out a way to scramble the GPS signal, along with the cell towers it will ping off of."
There was a pause, and Athena took the chance to look away from Kronos and to the others. These people had become her only family, and it would be hard to say goodbye after all their time together.
"That said, you will each be given a passport and a completely new identity — and a pretty large bank account. You each can choose your own city of relocation, but it cannot be the same as anyone else's. If you choose to visit each other, that's your business, but keep suspicions low at any, and all costs. No matter how much anyone digs, they will not find your real name, or any file on this team, but flying under the radar will give me less of a headache." she chuckled lightly. "Each of you will leave tomorrow."
After Kronos left, they sat in silence, processing the information. They all had served honorably, and now was their time to make a home of their own.