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Disclaimer: I own neither Young Justice nor Heroes Of Olympus.
"I don't understand." Zatanna said, "So you think my mother is a goddess?"
Hazel was really hoping that she wouldn't ask that. "Sometimes that isn't the case. Sometimes… a god takes a liking to a mortal but dosen't make a move. They might become their patron."
"Like someone who watches over them?"
"Something like that. They're usually attracted to them for the same reason they're attracted to potential mates. The gods might even bless them with more skills."
"So Hecate might be like that for me?"
"Yes." Hazel preferred for her to think this way, she didn't want Zatanna to start making assumptions about who her mother is or was. Demigods tend to be disappointed when they realize the gods don't care for their kids as much as mortal parents do. Zatanna would be heartbroken if Hecate actually turned out to be her mother but hasn't made contact with her for 14 years.
"That might explain why you have such a high aptitude for magic." Hazel told her.
Zatanna flushed, "I'm not that great at magic. My dad is much better."
"Even if you're not that great now, you'll get better." Hazel took her hands, "I can feel it."
Zatanna's eyebrows knitted together. "How can you…"
"We're here! Stop the car, Jules-Albert." Nico said from the front. "Everyone out."
Everyone followed Nico's orders and got out of the car. Hazel looked around at the town square they parked outside of. It wasn't that different from the one in Lecce just bigger and with more buildings.
"Did we pass the Parthenon before we got here?" Zatanna asked.
"Yeah," Nico said, "We're in Rome."
"Yay." Conner muttered.
Hazel looked at Nico. "The compass took us here?"
"Before it disappeared, yes."
There was silence.
"It what?" the girls exclaimed in unison.
Conner scoffed, "So the only reason we stopped here is because the compass is gone?"
Nico sneered at him, "What would you suggest? Keep going until we drive off the edge of the earth."
Conner looked like he was going to retort but Hazel stepped in. "The compass disappearing must mean we're wherever we need to be. Let's just look around. Together this time." The two boys looked at each other, then back at her and nodded.
"Before we go out there I should probably change." Zatanna said, looking down at her superhero attire. Hazel couldn't help but agree.
"Egnahc smrofinu otni ym sehtolc!" Her outfit instantly turned into normal clothes. "Okay, I'm ready."
This piazza was crowded with people since it was approaching the afternoon. Rome was the hub of all of Italy so it wasn't surprising seeing so many Italians walking around. Hazel was just surprised by how rapidly they were speaking their native language.
"What's that?" Zatanna asked as she pointed to something in the center of the town square. It looked like a statue to Hazel, but all she could see was the pointed top that peaked over the people's heads. And this was on her tiptoes.
Nico seemed to be having the same problem she was, he stood on his toes but looked just as confused as she did. "Is that an elephant?" Conner asked, seeing it clearly. At times like this Hazel envied tall people.
Nico started forward, "Let's check it out." Hazel made sure to follow Zatanna's bright purple top so she wouldn't get lost in the crowd.
Once the group reached the statue they were thoroughly disappointed, well, at least Hazel was. "What is this thing?" she asked.
"Isn't it obvious." A voice said from behind the statue, "It's Elephant and Obelisk. This is a beautiful work of art! Of course you demigods wouldn't understand." The voice came from a woman, who walked out into their view. She was dressed like she was going on a trip, she had a backpack and hiking boots tied tight. Her long brown hair complimented her gray eyes making her extremely attractive. But there was this power in her eyes that made her seem like she could decimate Superboy in an arm wrestling match.
"Welcome to Piazza della Minerva, demigods." she raised an eyebrow at Zatanna and Conner, "...and humans."
Nico sighed, "Let me guess, you're Minerva."
"Good guess, Nico di Angelo. I recognize you from the quest you took with the Roman praetor to retrieve my statue, you will always be in my good graces for that."
Hazel didn't blame Nico for being taken aback. It was odd for gods, even ones they've met before, to greet them with compliments and kindness.
Nico did a little bow and the rest of the group followed suit. "Thank you, Lady Minerva."
She nodded at them as a cue for them to stand, "What do you wish for?"
"How do you know we're-"
"Most demigods wouldn't dare come to these lands unless there is something important enough to bring them."
"You're right, as always, Lady Minerva. We came here looking for the chain from the Necklace of Harmonia."
"It's a good thing for you that I have it right here." She pointed at the obelisk that sat on top of the elephant's back. There was a chain that crowned the pyramid top of the sculpture.
Nico gasped, "Lady Minerva I don't know how to thank you!"
Minerva actually smiled, "I think I know a way you can thank me."
Of course, Hazel should've expected this. No matter how much a god likes you, you're not going to get something for free.
"What do we need to do." It was less of a question and more of a statement when Nico said it.
"Don't worry young ones. I won't be asking you to rob a bank."
-(Line Break)-
Hazel couldn't complain, they weren't really robbing a bank. In fact, this was much much worse than robbing a bank.
"Do you have eyes on the painting?" Nico asked her through the comm.
"Yup." Hazel answered.
"I can't believe you made them think that piece of wood was a purse." Zatanna said.
Conner took this chance to mutter, "This is such a stupid idea."
"Okay grab it."
"I can't just grab it, Nico!"
"Not with that attitude you can't."
Hazel groaned, this was such a mess. When Minerva said she wanted a famous painting from the Galleria Borghese Hazel almost passed out. But Nico was already thinking up a plan. She didn't name anything specific so Nico decided they were going to grab the painting he knew the most about. "Amor Sacro e Amor Profano or Sacred and Profane Love, whichever is more convenient for you." he said to them about ten minutes ago, when they stood outside the gallery.
Zatanna suggested using comms to talk to Nico, who would be staying outside during the mini-mission. At first he refused but Hazel convinced him that they weren't as bad as phones and Iris Message isn't portable, plus they could handle themselves in a fight if a monster showed up.
"If you see it then grab it." Nico insisted.
"I can't do that with all these people around." Hazel said, "Even if we use Mist wouldn't it be weird if three people who were standing right here suddenly disappeared along with priceless art."
"Fine then! Do whatever you want!." Nico turned silent.
Zatanna was still in awe, "They even searched it. That is so weird, they searched a piece of wood. You just snapped and they-"
"Conner," Hazel said, "Cause a distraction."
"Like what?"
"Anything will work as long as you get all these people away from here."
Conner grumbled and walked out of the room into the hall where they kept the statutes. In a few minutes Hazel could hear gasps and screams from the other room, tourists and residents alike left the hall where Sacred and Profane Love hung to see what was going on.
Hazel smiled, "Now Zatanna, I need you to take the painting off the wall, please."
Zatanna did what she was asked. "Woah this is heavier than I thought it would be."
"I'm not that surprised." The painting was around 4 feet tall and 9 feet wide. It was basically an oil painting of two women lounging on a stone sarcophagus with a baby sitting in between them. Don't get her wrong, as an artist Hazel found the painting absolutely breathtaking, unlike Elephant and Obelisk. But her mind was occupied with other thoughts.
"I need you to do something for me Zatanna," Hazel said as she put the wood on the wall in the spot where the painting used to be, "I need you to turned that piece of wood into the painting."
"You're kidding right?"
Hazel shook her head. "If Hecate is really your patron- or even your mother, you should be able to do this."
Zatanna suddenly looked very serious. Hazel had no idea why she thought this was the right time to test Zatanna's Mist abilities, but she had this feeling in her stomach that it was now or never.
"Take out your contacts and focus on that piece of wood." Hazel dictated, "What does it look like?"
Zatanna squinted, "It's… a purse?"
"No, look closer. Focus."
Zatanna squinted. Then it was like something clicked. She blinked twice and her eyes opened wide. "It's the wood. How?"
Hazel ignored her questions. "Focus on the wood again. Sacred and Profane Love is supposed to be up there, that's what everyone is expecting to see when they come here. Think about what they want the wood to be?"
Zatanna stared intently at the wood until it slowly started morphing into something else. "That's right, keep going."
Hazel could hear the noise outside the hall quieting down. "We need to hurry Zatanna."
The magician breathed in and out slowly. Hazel looked at her then back at the wood that was now transformed into the painting.
"Nico, we need to get out of here!" Hazel spoke into the comm.
Nico was already standing beside them in the hall. "Finally let's go." He grabbed them and Shadow Travelled outside the gallery.
Hazel hugged Zatanna, "You did great!" Zatanna, who was still dizzy from the shadow travel, just smiled at her.
"Where's Conner?" he asked when they finished their mini-celebration for their mini-mission.
The girls froze. "We left Conner." Hazel said in a grave voice.
Zatanna was already making her way back into the gallery, "We have to go back, I can't believe we left him-"
"Left who?"
Zatanna jumped. Conner was sitting on the staircase right next to where she was standing. "Conner!"
"Yes."
Hazel hates to admit it but she was happy to see him. "We thought we left you inside."
"No, I got out here before you guys." he said, "You know I wouldn't have died in there, right?"
"Wow, what a touching moment." Nico said sarcastically, "Can we go now?"
"As long as we don't take the bus again." Zatanna smirked, "I doubt anyone would turn a blind eye to a world famous painting."
-(Line Break)-
Conner carried the painting when Zatanna's arms gave out and almost dropped it. He carried it like it weighed as much as an empty pillow sack.
There was tension in the air when they arrived at Piazza della Minerva and presented the painting to the goddess. She held the artwork as easily as Conner had and examined it.
"Good choice, good choice." Minerva muttered to herself, "Amor Sacro e Amor Profano, decepting the two types of Venus. I remember asking Venus to pose for Titian so he could paint this."
"Um, Lady Minerva?" Nico interrupted politely.
"Oh yes, I almost forgot." the goddess didn't even look up at them. She snapped her fingers twice and the chain flew off of the obelisk and into Nico's hands.
"Let me see." Nico handed his sister the heavy chain. She examined the tightly weaved ringlets of gold and the snake head clasps, the eyes of the snakes were made of the brightest emeralds.
"Hazel. Hazel!" Nico must have said her name more than a couple of times because when she answered him he looked annoyed. "Maybe I should hold it."
Hazel gave him the chain without hesitation.
Zatanna clapped her hands together, "Okay mission completed, now what?"
"Now," Nico said, "We contact the others, tell them what's going, and find a good meeting place. Agreed?" Everyone nodded.
Nico went off somewhere in the piazza to make the Iris Message. Hazel took this chance to go thank Minerva but when she looked back at the statue the goddess was gone. Conner walked over to Elephant and Obelisk and leaned against the statue.
Zatanna elbowed her, "Hey, what's up with you and Conner?"
"Nothing, I just don't…"
"Like him?" she finished, "I understand, he's… really hard to get used to."
"You don't have to tell me twice." Hazel joked.
"He's rough around the edges but he's only a couple months old."
"He's what?"
Zatanna ignored Hazel's question, "He did really good today too so maybe you should thank him, as a way to break the ice."
Hazel was still stuck on Conner only being a few months old when Zatanna pushed her towards him. She made sure to give her a wink and thumbs-up before walking away. Hazel sighed and decided to be the bigger man and get this over with.
"Hey Conner, you did really great today with the distraction and I just want to thank you for your cooperation." she said with a big smile on her face.
He completely ignored her. And this made Hazel furious.
"Excuse me. I am trying-"
"Do you hear that?" Conner asked, ignoring her anger. "Something's coming."
Hazel's rage melted, "Wha-"
There was a loud crash and screams that swallowed up what she was going to say. The crowd in the piazza was dispersed and what caused the crash became visible.
"What in Hades is that?" It was actually pretty obvious what it was. The golden stallions marched towards them. By golden, Hazel meant actually made of gold.
Their gold hides seemed oddly familiar but Hazel didn't have time to think about it when Conner suddenly grabbed her and pulled her away from the statue. She felt him jump high into the air and land on the ground harshly, away from the statue. Hazel tried to steady her blurry vision as she saw one of the horses ram into the elephant, right where they were standing.
"Thanks." Hazel said.
Conner seemed surprised that he was getting any thanks. "No problem." he said coolly, "But be ready, there's more coming."
Hazel nodded and snapped, a sheet of Mist around her waist dissipated revealing her spatha.
"When did you-" Conner didn't have time to finish when a gold horse ran straight towards him. With a grunt he caught it by its snout lifted it high into the air then smashed it back on the ground. When the first hit didn't work Conner did it repeatedly, causing it to (finally) break.
"Woah." Hazel said under her breath. But she quickly turned her attention away from the Superboy and back to the battlefield. She saw Nico successfully fighting off two of the horses, who were visibly afraid of his Stygian Iron sword.
Zatanna was having a lot less luck with only one horse attacking her. None of her spells were working and she was just trying to distract it by making it look like there were three of her.
"Cover me!" she screamed at Conner as she ran towards Zatanna. He looked slightly confused but followed her anyway.
A horse tried to strike her from the right but Conner caught it by its neck and threw it way over the buildings. Another one tried to surprise her from the back but Conner punch his fist straight through its head.
Running up behind Zatanna, Hazel swung her sword in a wide arch and yelled "duck." The real Zatanna quickly moved out of the way while the other two got slashed along with the horse's head.
Hazel looked down at the severed head, a feeling of deja vu overcame her. Suddenly she realized why they looked familiar. They were the same horses from her dream.
Hazel felt like there were rocks in her stomach. She ran towards Nico as fast as she could, hoping that Conner would watch over Zatanna. She didn't realize it before but there was so much chaos happening in Piazza della Minerva. Mortals were panicking, Rome's law enforcement had arrived and were unsuccessfully trying to evacuate the square. Hazel couldn't tell what the mortals were seeing but it didn't look good for any of them.
Finally seeing Nico, she yelled out to him just as his Stygian sword impaled one of the horses, sucking up its essence. "Watch out they're after you!" The warning did nothing but harm.
Nico looked up at her in confusion, he probably didn't even hear what she said. The other horse he was fighting used this distraction to his advantage and head-butted Nico into the wall they backed him against. The head-but had obvious effects, Nico dropped his sword and curl against the wall weakly. The horse grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and began dragging him out of the piazza.
"No." Hazel screamed and ran towards her brother, but another horse rammed into her right side. Hazel was almost completely sure that the impact broke a few of her ribs. The horse aimed one of its hooves at her head. Hazel rolled out of the way and slowly got up, clutching her side with one hand and her sword with the other. Before she could do anything Conner grabbed the horse and threw him across the piazza. He gave her a quick once over.
"You're injured." he said blandly.
"Really I wouldn't have noticed." she deadpanned. "Come on, we have to get Zatanna."
Conner frowned, "Zatanna's… gone."
The rocks in Hazel's stomach climbed up her throat. She spied over the heads of the crowd to see if what he said was true. Where the magician should have been there was nothing but the decapitated horse's body.
Another horse tried to attacked suddenly but Conner punched it into a building. Hazel swallowed the rocks back down. "W-we have to get out of here." Conner nodded in agreement and they attempted their escape. Hazel looked back at her brother's sword and snapped, hopefully covering it with a thick enough layer of Mist so they could come back for it.
Conner cursed, "They're blocking our path." He was right, there were five or six of the golden horses standing in their way back to the car.
"Not for long." Hazel said menacingly. Two slabs of stone thrust through the ground on each side of the horses. Hazel willed the slabs to come together and crush them. Conner gave a quick glance at the scrap metal that used to be the horses as they ran past it.
"Where is it!" Hazel exclaimed as she searched desperately for the car.
"Look." Conner pointed at the side of the road where their black van and Jules-Albert should have been. All that was left were tire tracks and two backpacks.
Hazel picked up her bag and Conner picked up Nico's. "This can't get any worse."
The distant sound of galloping interrupted Hazel's words.
"Looks like you jinxed it."
"Come on."
The teens moved back into the piazza, which was still trying to recover from the recent attacks.
Hazel looked around for any place to hide. But she didn't want to take the risk of going into a building and endangering everyone in there.
"Hurry in here." Conner said pushing her into a narrow alley.
Hazel could barely fit with the backpack on so Conner must have felt like a squashed bug.
It felt like years had gone by waiting in the alley. But the time spent between two walls gave Hazel something she really didn't want. Time to think.
Time to think about how this was all her fault. She knew the horses from somewhere, if only she realized it early. Maybe then they wouldn't have lost Nico and Zatanna.
Then it dawned on her. They didn't only lose their people but they lost what they came here for in the first place. She recalled vaguely the bright gold chain clutched in Nico's hands as he was dragged away.
The rocks in her stomach felt as heavy as boulders.
"I thinks it's safe." Conner said after years of silence. "I don't hear hooves anymore."
The teens slowly slid out of the alley and back into the piazza, it was nearing sunset by now. Everything seemed so surreal.
"We have to find a place to stay, don't we?" Hazel said tiredly.
Conner nodded. He led the way to a local inn. While he talked to the lady at the desk in perfect Italian, Hazel gazed at her reflection in the window. She looked a mess, to put it simply. She noted that Conner didn't looks much better. But judging by the smile on the desk woman's face as she handed him their key, she wasn't planning on asking any questions.
Hazel and Conner dragged their dirty, tired, and ragged bodies' up to their room. They dropped the bags and flopped on to the bed simultaneously.
"This is all my fault." they said in unison.
"Wait, what? How is this your fault?"
"I'm the one who left Zatanna alone for too long."
"But I'm the one who knew about the horses and didn't do anything about it."
"Hold on. You knew about the horses?"
"You know what, it's all of ours faults. All four of us." Hazel didn't feel like explaining the demigod dream-thing so she just left it at that.
Conner just nodded absentmindedly. "Okay, since you're used to this, what should we do now?"
"Isn't it obvious." The rocks in Hazel's stomach crumbled to dust. "We get them back."
Are there any POVs you really want to see? Please comment them and I may use them in the story!
Comment if you enjoyed this! A new chapter will be up soon (hopefully)!
