The disease came from the Underworld, and Hygieia had no way to neutralize its powers. Instead, she confiscated it from the Arae and hid it in a secure location where no one would find it.
Much to Odie's chagrin, he still couldn't figure out what the folder they'd been sent to retrieve contained. He'd known from the moment Hera had ushered them into her private study that something was wrong. The whole atmosphere had been thick with a numbing sort of tension. When the goddess spoke, there were anxious undertones to her attempt at a calm voice.
"I'm sending the seven of you to a top-secret government facility in the Republic of Macedonia." Macedonia, Odie had noted at the time, was a country bordered by Greece. "You are to recover a folder that should be locked within the base. It is vital that you bring the folder to either Zeus or myself. And you cannot be spotted infiltrating the base." Hera's nose had crinkled slightly as she frowned. She'd looked older in that moment. Like, a whole millennium older. "Remember, there will be dire consequences for us and for the world if you fail."
The Facility, as it turned out, was a thirty-six thousand square foot compound with hundreds of armed guards and state of the art technology.
They'd failed to carry out their mission. Simple as that. But it was the factor of the unknown that was eating away at Odie. Even after traveling to the Facility and being within close proximity to the folder, what it contained was unbeknownst to them. Whether the document was something as simple as a new ambrosia recipe, or as elaborate as... as...
"Ugh," Odie groaned, resting his head in his hands. His temples throbbed.
Athena had made it clear that they could not divulge any information on the file. But that didn't mean the team couldn't find out.
Odie strode over to his computer desk, and pressed the power button. Soon, blue light from the screen flared up, bathing the dimly lit room with an unnaturally bright glow. His fingertips settled comfortably on the keyboard, and he began typing away like a mad man. His high-tech search engine proved unequipped to finding anything on the Facility, but Odie's hacking software had yet to fail him.
"Page is encrypted," Odie acknowledged, a hint of a smile gracing his features. "Not for long."
Odie may not have been as physically adept as his teammates, but when he had technology at his fingertips, he was easily as powerful. The minutes ticked on, and though this level of decoding and hacking wasn't exactly a cinch, he managed to successfully bypass security. With the click of the mouse, the files began downloading.
Odie began perusing for any info on the mysterious file, when he thought back to their meeting in the living room. Despite her calm front, Atlanta's concern for Archie was evident. Maybe he could find out a bit about Archie's current predicament while he had the chance. "Security footage," Odie mumbled, opening the coverage of the last twenty-four hours.
The stealth uniforms had served their purpose. The cameras had glimpsed Neil and Atlanta at one point, but with the black suits they were practically unrecognizable.
Odie skipped through the rest of the footage. It hadn't picked up anything out of the ordinary. There were no stills of Archie, and though it was unnerving that there was no record of him being in the base, it was also a relief that he hadn't been spotted. Odie moved the mouse pointer so that it hovered over the top right corner of the page. Just as he was about to close the video file, something caught his eye.
There was a flicker of movement, a millisecond of static, and then the footage returned to normal.
Squinting, Odie replayed the last few seconds, slowing the play speed of the video. The person the camera had captured was not one of the Facility's guards. It was also not one of the seven heroes.
Pausing the video, he zoomed in on the pixelated face. She had soft, pretty features and hair that looked like liquid honey. That, paired with her wide-set eyes, gave the overall impression of an innocent girl bordering adulthood. The last kind of person you'd expect to be at a government base.
Odie leaned forward, bringing his face closer to the screen. His glasses slipped a bit down his nose, but he ignored them. He replayed the clip again. The flicker of static occurred immediately after the girl's face came in front of the screen. Strange.
He allowed the video to continue playing. But nothing odd happened after that. In fact, nothing happened at all. Even the footage from the security camera pointing towards the field didn't change. There had been wind that night. But, rather than swaying in the breeze, the blades of grass were still. The footage was on a constant loop.
"Guys!" Odie called down the hall, pushing the door open. "There's something I think you should see."
Atlanta was the first to enter the hall, followed by Herry, then Jay, and finally Theresa.
"I hacked into the facility's security-"
"-Hey guys," Neil interrupted. "This better be quick. I need my nine hours of beauty sleep."
Atlanta stared icily at him. "Save it," she snapped. "It's your fault that we got caught! And that Archie's trapped inside."
Neil opened his mouth, about to defend himself, when Atlanta added, "You triggered the alarm!"
"Maybe not," Odie interjected slowly, making sure to tread lightly around Atlanta. "I have footage that shows someone else was at the Facility that night. A girl."
"What did she look like?" Jay asked, trying to get a mental picture.
"Tall with straight blonde hair. I can show you the clip."
Jay nodded his head appraisingly, "good work, Odie."
"Uh, hello? I told you I saw a girl when we were at the base!" Neil exclaimed, his voice an octave higher than usual. But everyone else had already entered the room, blatantly ignoring him.
Odie replayed the clip, a swell of pride in his voice as he explained how he'd acquired the footage. "I'm still analyzing their files. I haven't found anything yet on what the folder we're after contains, though."
Theresa ducked her head. "I know what the folder contains."
Odie turned to face her, just as everyone else did.
"I think Athena sent me a telepathic image. That or I read her mind without meaning to."
Of course. It didn't matter how hard Odie tried to aid the team. In the end, he wasn't endowed with super strength or speed or telepathy. He was just smart. And when it came to saving the world, that didn't quite cut it. Did Theresa even have to try to find out what the file pertained to? Odie had spent the last three hours of his time to make the slightest advancement. Swallowing back his irritation, he listened as Theresa continued.
"The file has information on a disease. It's a formula made of magic and science; it's incurable. And we're not the only ones after it. If another government organization, or even someone like Cronus gets their hands on it, we could be facing biological warfare."