FEBRUARY 2017, PRISON POOL, 12:32PM

Dahlia had the worst luck with women.

That hag Mia Fey, her worthless twin-sister Iris, her traitor half-sister Valerie, the list went on. It's almost like they were all jealous of Dahlia and went out of their way to make her life miserable. What did she ever do to them? All she wanted to do was steal a damn jewel, but no, they just had to ruin her plans.

And now her witch of a mother Morgan Fey was ignoring her letters. Every message she had sent out since December had been met with silence. Dahlia supposed she should have expected this; Morgan only ever cared about was being the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique, and since Dahlia had no spiritual power, Morgan had no use for her. It was rather ironic that the DL-6 incident, caused by Manfred von Karma, was what led Morgan to abandon her twin daughters, and yet Dahlia would always have more respect for Manfred than she ever would for Morgan. Manfred had been executed not long after his talks with Dahlia, and she would always greatly value the wisdom he passed onto her.

Luckily, she still had one fellow inmate she could confide in. Dee Vasquez lay in the beach chair next to her, shades on, wine glass in hand, taking in the rays of the sun. It was surprisingly nice weather for late February; nice enough for the two to take a little siesta next to the outdoor pool. Both were in their bathing suits, just in case they felt like taking a swim. Frank Sahwit, of course, stood a respectable two steps behind of course, umbrella in hand in case the sun became too hot for Dahlia's sensitive skin.

'No luck in contacting your mother, I take it?' Dee asked, gazing at the pool. There were a few attractive men showing off their swimming skills, and Dee couldn't help but watch.

'Unfortunately not. Best case scenario, she died of old age. Worst case, she's burning my letters without reading them. Either way I'm losing my only hope at revenge.'

'There's no rush, Dahlia. You're in total control here, so it's not like you'll be executed anytime soon. Take a break for once. It's a beautiful day, enjoy it. Look how hard the boys are working to impress us over there.'

Dahlia looked at the men in the pool. They did appear to be stealing glances at her and Dee, not that she could blame them. They were a stunning pair. She even caught Redd White staring; Dahlia smiled at him and showed off her freshly-sharpened nails. The blood ran from White's face at this gesture, and he quickly swam as far away from Dahlia as he could.

'I suppose I could take one day to relax.' Dahlia agreed, enjoying herself, 'Pour us another glass of wine, Frank.'

'Certainly, Ms. Hawthorne.' Frank went to obey the command, but a loud, booming voice distracted him.

'CANNONBALL!'

An orange blur sped past the three of them and leapt into the water, creating a shockwave powerful enough to knock the other swimmers back. The splash was about to hit Dahlia and Dee, but fortunately Frank reacted quick enough and opened the umbrella in from of them just in time.

'Oh my, who might this be?' Dee asked, clearly amused despite almost being drenched in pool water.

'I think I might have an idea.' Dahlia responded, watching for the man to re-emerge.

Seconds later, another splash burst from the pool as the man returned to the surface. The orange blur from before was apparently the man's tan. He was wearing bright purple swimming trunks, and purple goggles to shield his eyes from the water. He ran his hands through his mess of white hair and took a long look around the area.

'Now THIS is a pool!' Damon Gant proclaimed, his voice booming throughout the facility. He was a large man, making the other pool-goers look like children in comparison.

'Would any of you fine gents like to race? I have a mean breaststroke, you know.'

The other swimmers simply stared at him in awe. Damon Gant stared back without saying another word (for at least a minute as far as Dahlia could tell) until the men were simply to intimidated to remain, and they left the pool one by one until only Gant remained.

Gant simply clapped his hands and laughed, 'Oh well, it wouldn't be a close race anyway. Ah, how about you ladies?'

He turned towards Dee and Dahlia, awaiting a response. The two looked at each other; Dee with curiosity, Dahlia with mild annoyance.

'Sorry' said Dee, 'but I'm not much of a swimmer, Mister...?'

'Call me Damon Gant.'

'Good afternoon, Mr. Gant. I'm Dee Vasquez, and this is my friend, Dahlia Hawthorne.'

'A pleasure to meet you both.' Gant clasped his meaty hands together again, 'Well, if you won't race, perhaps your friend Thorny will.'

Thorny? Dahlia was already contemplating ways to murder this man just for that nickname.

'Leave us alone, you stupid old man, or I'll have the guards-'

Dahlia didn't get to finish that sentence. Quicker than a man his age should be able to move, Gant stretched out from the water, grabbed Dahlia's arm, and pulled her hard into the pool. She landed face-first, taking a mouthful of water for her trouble. It took her a moment to get her bearings and force herself upright, staring up at Gant's moronic grin.

'How DARE you-'

'How dare I? Thorny, you were quite disrespectful to me just now, I was just giving you a wake up call. I await your apology.'

Dahlia was stunned into silence. She looked around her, going red with anger. Dee gave her classic shrug, clearly amused by the whole incident. Frank looked like he wanted to attack Damon, but was unlikely to have any success against a man that size. Redd White was laughing uproariously, though quickly shut up when Dahlia's gaze fell upon him.

'Damon Gant, while you are prisoner here, your life is in my hands, and I swear to make it as miserable a life as possi-'

'Ha ha, I don't think so Thorny.' Gant said, cutting her off again, 'I'm sure you have the Warden here wrapped around your little finger, but me and him go way back and he owes me big time. So if you really want to get back at me, I have a suggestion.'

'What is it?' Dahlia spat.

'Take me up on my offer. A race, from one end of the pool to the other and back. If you win, I'll do anything you want. If you lose, we'll call it even. Deal?'

Dahlia considered it. She was confident in her swimming ability; after all, she had survived jumping into that hellish Eagle River. And though this big oaf made a big splash, he didn't exactly have a swimmer's build. Dahlia had this in the bag.

'Very well, Damon. I accept.' she responded smugly.

'Wonderful! Let's get into position then!'

A minute later, they were both at the edge of the pool, hands holding the ledge and feet in place to push off the pool wall. A crowd had gathered around the area, eager to see the race. Dahlia could see Frank and Dee watching together, Redd on the other side, and several other nameless inmates viewing in anticipation.

'Alright, can someone give us a countdown from three?' Gant shouted to the crowd.

'O-okay!' Someone responded, 'Three, two-'

Dahlia shot off before the count had ended. Nobody would dare question her for cheating anyway.

'- one, go!'

At the word go, a colossal wave hit her from behind, forcing her out of position mid-stroke. She turned and saw Gant blaze past her, his massive arms performing a breaststroke that slammed the water upon impact. Dahlia righted herself and tried to catch up, but he had reached the edge as she had just barely gotten halfway there. Realising he was ahead, Gant switched to the backstroke position for the second half of the race. He even gave a wink to Dahlia as they passed each other, enraging her.

Dahlia eventually reached the other end, but didn't bother to swim back. She saw Gant return to the start position as the back of his hand touched the edge. He gave a congratulatory whoop and threw his hands on the air, soaking everyone nearby. There was applause for his victory, or perhaps it was for Dahlia's defeat. Even Dee clapped lightly at the performance, though quickly stopped at a glare from Dahlia.

'Ah well, tough luck Thorny!' Gant shouted across the pool, drying himself off with a nearby towel. 'I've tired myself out, I guess I'm not as fit as I used to be. But I'd be happy to race again tomorrow if you like! Until then!'

With that, he walked back to the male changing rooms. With the entertainment finished, the remaining inmates either left with him or waited for the demonic aura Dahlia was emanating to subside so they could re-enter the pool. After some time, Dahlia eventually got out and made her way back to her chair. Frank was waiting with a towel, and Dee had sympathetic look on her face.

'Sorry Dahlia, but you can't win them all.' she said, trying to cheer her friend up.

'That man is infuriating!' Dahlia spat back.

'Yes, well, if he really does have the Warden in his pocket, what can you do?'

'I'll think of something.' Dahlia responded, sinking back into the chair, towel draped around her neck. 'Perhaps I can lace his food with sleeping pills so that, during our next race, he falls asleep and drowns in the pool.'

'Already thinking about the next race, Dahlia? I didn't know you enjoyed swimming so much.' Dee teased.

'What can I say? A girl needs hobbies.'