Thalia slowly looked around city hall. It felt weird to be sitting at the meeting table. For all of her life, it had been the grown ups table. She wasn't allowed to be in the room during meetings, and this was only her second time sitting at it. The first time had been when half of the Olympians gave her a long lecture about her new responsibilities as a superhero.
Thalia would have preferred that to now. There was a somber tone to the room. Everyone was staring at the twelve files spread around the table. It didn't seem real that there had been a breakout at Tartarus, and the guards who were there could not remember a thing. They remembered going to work, but everything after that was a blank.
From what Thalia knew, the prisoners had escaped through the bathroom. A hole had been punched through the wall. To protect privacy, guards did not follow the prisoners into the bathroom, and it was the only place prisoners could be alone. More than one prisoner was not allowed in the bathroom at the same time.
She didn't know anymore details than that. Her father had called her home for a family meeting, but the mayor had called all of the superheroes in for a meeting. Some of them couldn't attend, but they would be informed of what had happened.
A glance to her left showed that Annabeth was examining the file that belonged to the villain Bellona. It was no secret that Annabeth's mother and Bellona were enemies, and there was no doubt that the supervillain would try to take her revenge out on Athena.
Percy was sitting near Annabeth. He was playing with a pen and seemed eager for the meeting to get started. Across the table, Jason was sitting next to his own girlfriend. Piper McLean was looking at the files in confusion.
Piper was a pretty interesting case. She had the power of influence. By just saying words and looking someone in the eyes, Piper could get them to do her bidding. It was a power that everyone seemed to underestimate when they should have been watching their backs.
Every summer, Piper went to Hollywood to spend time with her father. He was too busy filming movies the rest of the year, so Piper lived with her mother. Aphrodite was almost too busy running her own company to notice her daughter.
The weirdest thing about Aphrodite was that she didn't have any powers. Her daughter did, but all Aphrodite had was the natural looks that she had been given. Most of the looks had been passed off to Piper. Thankfully, Piper had a better personality than her mother.
"So," Juno asked drawing the attention of everyone at the table. Her gaze focused on Athena for a long moment. "How could you not tell that Bellona was involved with a breakout? Why didn't you just read her mind?"
Thalia glanced at the file that belonged to Bellona. The villain had super strength as a power, which was cheating. She also had the IQ of a genius. It seemed like Bellona was a mix of brains and brawn.
"Bellona was not thinking of a breakout," Athena replied. "There was no indication that any of the guards knew. If I had to guess, I think Bellona has learned to guard her mind and stay focused at all times."
"So, you failed at your job," Juno stated. Thalia resisted the urge to glare at Juno. She didn't hate her stepmother, but she did despise her with every fiber of her being. Jason liked their stepmother a little more, but he had been sent away to visit his aunt every summer.
Thalia was pretty sure that their aunt was a wolf. She wasn't actually an aunt, but she was really close to Thalia's father. Their aunt lived in the great outdoors, liked raw meat, and had a bunch of wolves by her side. She had to be a wolf.
"Have you found out anything about Praetor and Amazon?" Chiron asked. He was the mayor of the city, and Thalia really liked him. Chiron was kind to everyone, and he did his best to keep the city safe.
Chiron also held a secret that many people did not know. He was the son of Kronos. No one knew that, and it would probably kill his popularity. Chiron had been crippled by his own father, and he was bound to a wheelchair. He didn't let that stop him though.
"No," Athena answered. "I believe we should focus on Atlas though. He was the one who first managed to escape, and he is the one who punched the wall from the outside. It was Bellona who punched it from the inside. I was told a guard freed her from her restraints, so she could go to the bathroom."
"They met in the middle and broke everyone out," Annabeth added. Everyone's attention turned towards her, and she shifted awkwardly. The Olympians were not used to their kids talking. Yet. Thalia planned on helping change that.
"Do you think they will try to make contract with Prometheus?" Thalia questioned. It was her turn for everyone to look at her. Prometheus was the one villain that they had not been able capture. His cunning was unmatched, so hopefully, they wouldn't have to worry about him.
"No," Athena replied. "Prometheus would not allow them to contact him. He understands that he was lucky enough to escape, and I do not think he would endanger his freedom."
"Will they try to recruit Amazon and Praetor?" Annabeth asked. "They have both shown tendencies to be violent. We should just arrest the two and throw them in a cell. If we do that, we don't have to worry about them."
"I have another suggestion," Athena said sitting forward. "We give a pardon to Praetor and Amazon. The two are young adults. I think we can help them drop their violent ways and become more hero than villain."
"They are stuck in their ways," Thalia argued. "When I fight Praetor, she shows no mercy. We can't trust that they won't turn on us. We don't even know who they are."
"What damage can two teenagers do compared to the Titans?" Athena questioned. "We need all the help we can get, if we want to deal with this threat quickly and effectively."
Thalia opened her mouth to speak, but her father shot her a look. That shut her down instantly. If there was one thing Thalia wouldn't do, it was disobey her father in front of his peers. She did it at home, but she wouldn't risk it in front of others. It would only anger her father more, and he had a legendary temper.
"We should stage a crime to draw the two out. Then, we will have a talk with them. I suggest that they are given a full pardon of their crimes, if they will work with us and lose their violent ways," Athena said. She looked around. "I say we take a vote."
Thalia paid no attention to the vote. The kids didn't have a say in it anyway. They would probably have to capture all the Titans by themselves, to get any recognition. If they did that, they would probably get lectured and lose any recognition they would have gotten. She couldn't win.
To her horror, the Olympians, by just one vote, decided to try and recruit Praetor and Amazon. How did they not see that it was a terrible idea? Those two were too bloodthirsty to be trusted. Thalia looked down at the table in annoyance, and the meeting was dismissed a few minutes later.
"How is Hylla doing?" Jason asked. Most of the Olympians had filed out. Athena and Artemis were busy making a plan on how to draw out Praetor and Amazon. It took Thalia a few seconds to clear her mind and look at Jason.
"She's okay, but the recovery time will probably be a month or two," Thalia answered. Guilt tore through. She didn't want to leave her girlfriend and her injured sister, but she had to. Thalia rubbed her face.
"We should visit Hylla, once the lockdown is lifted," Annabeth suggested. "Do you know how Reyna is handling everything?"
"I know that she is worried about Hylla. Thankfully, she is in the hospital and safe from all of this. Should I call her?" Thalia asked. Despite the question, she was already grabbing her phone. Thalia dialed her girlfriend's number and waited.
"Thalia, what do you need?" Reyna questioned as she answered the phone. She sounded angry and tired.
"Are you doing okay?" Thalia wondered. Her girlfriend didn't respond for a few moments. That usually meant Reyna was upset and trying not to take her anger out on Thalia. It would be best to give her a few moments to calm down and think through her response.
"I'm fine," Reyna answered with a sigh. "I just have a lot of things to think about."
"Is Hylla feeling better?" Thalia asked. Her friends gathered around her. They weren't extremely close to Hylla, but they all respected and liked her.
"Yeah," Reyna said, after a moment of hesitating. "Thalia, can we talk later? I just have a lot on my mind right now."
"Of course," Thalia replied. It hurt that Reyna didn't want to talk, but she had a lot on her mind. Thalia did too. That was why she needed to force all of her personal life into the back of her mind and focus on the present. "Call me when you have time."
Reyna hung up without a response. That hurt too. Thalia placed her phone into her pocket and looked back at her friends. It was clear they saw the scowl on her face.
"Let's just get this plan over with," Thalia muttered as she stood. She walked towards Athena and Artemis. Her mentor gave her a small smile. Her teacher simply stayed focused on making a plan. "What are we going to do?"
"Athena and I will send out a fake police call. You and Annabeth will wait for Praetor and Amazon to show. The two of you will try to talk to them," Artemis answered. "We will be in the shadows and ready for anything."
Thalia kept her mouth shut and nodded. She didn't want to work with Praetor and Amazon, but it was what Athena wanted. Thalia trusted Athena's judgment. She just hoped this wouldn't blow up in their faces.