Thalia stared up at her ceiling and sighed tiredly. She glanced at her phone and saw that her friends were downstairs. After a few moments of staring at the ceiling, Thalia stood and shivered. She walked towards her window and stared up at the stars. It was a beautiful night, and Thalia leaned out of the window, allowing a light breeze to hit her face.
Moments like these were the ones she enjoyed. She just wished that Reyna was there. Thalia sighed and looked at the ground. She missed her girlfriend with all of her heart. The visit to Hylla had helped, but it also made things worse. Now, Thalia couldn't stop thinking about how she ruined Hylla's life. When she had been avoiding Hylla, it was easy to not think about the consequences of her fatal decision. It consumed her thoughts now.
Thalia took a deep breath and slowly took a step backwards. She closed her window and turned towards her bedroom door. Thalia walked out of her room and down the stairs. Nothing had yet to come of her nearly killing the thief, and any leads on the AI resulted in a dead end. Granted, it had only been two days, but the wait was more than Thalia could handle.
A sigh escaped Thalia as she made it into the living room and saw her group of friends. Jason and Piper were sitting on the couch, but they were a few centimeters away from cuddling. The two seemed to be studying from a notebook, and Thalia knew if the two were alone, there wouldn't be any studying getting done. Thalia nodded towards her little brother and walked towards the couch. She glanced at the laptop that was sitting in the middle of the end table.
"What's that?" Thalia asked. She studied the website that had bright colors and a rainbow logo that seemed to float across the screen. There was a few videos that seemed to be loading a preview, and curiosity caused Thalia to lean in closer and study it. "Iris' news station. What is that?"
"Some underground news station. My mom has been trying to shut it down for the last few months," Piper answered. She pulled away from Jason and moved closer to her laptop. Jason gave Thalia a look, and Thalia returned the look. "Iris has been avoiding being shut down by claiming her right to the First Amendment and threatening to bring the federal government into it."
Thalia nodded and studied the videos that were on the screen. She knew that Venus held a death grip on the news industry and used it to help spread her point of view. Thalia had never seen this Iris woman before on regular television, so it seemed like Iris was only on the internet. She couldn't have been cutting that much into Venus' viewership, so why bother with the woman?
A fourth person sat at the couch, and Bianca nodded towards Thalia. She looked at the laptop as well, and Piper pulled up another window. Thalia frowned as she saw footage of a courtroom. Bianca leaned forward and stared at the video intensely. Thalia felt two more people lean against the couch and glanced up to see Percy and Annabeth. Piper started the video and leaned back.
Thalia frowned as she watched a man step near the camera. He wore a suit and was looking around with his near golden eyes. He looked at the jury of twelve people and then at a man sitting at the witness' bench. The man's features were hidden by a mask, but he wore an orange jumpsuit. Thalia stared at the golden handcuffs around the man's wrist.
"Why are we watching Hades trial?" Thalia asked. She glanced at the other. Annabeth put a finger to her lips, and Bianca seemed to lean in closer to the laptop. When Thalia didn't receive an answer, she focused back on the video.
Hades' lawyer, Letus, was slowly looking at the jury and then at a woman that seemed to be the opposing lawyer. She was staring up at him with careful eyes. Letus looked at the jury and spoke, "When I speak to classes of aspiring lawyers, I tell them an old story. If you all will indulge me, I will tell that story to all of you and prove why my client is being framed."
Letus looked at the jurors. Every single one of them seemed to be on the edge of their seat every time he spoke. The camera barely picked up what Letus said, so Thalia found herself leaning forward as well, even after Piper turned up the volume.
"Long ago, there was a simple farmer. His only job in life was to wake up, take care of his flock, go home, and then repeat the cycle day in and day out. He held no grand destiny. The only thing he had to do was take care of his flock," Letus began. "Until one day, everything changed. A natural event, an earthquake, struck and by fate, luck, or an act of God, this simple shepherd found a cave."
"There was no reason for the man to go into the cave, other than pure curiosity. He went into the cave and found a final resting place of a king. The final resting place was full of many riches, but his next actions were not by fate. His next actions were not by an act of God. It was just luck. Of all the treasures that the man could have taken, he decided on a ring that laid upon the corpse's finger," Letus continued.
"It did not take long for the man to realize that his ring was more than just a piece of jewelry. It allowed the wearer to turn invisible. This simple man was given a godly power, and what did he do with it?" Letus asked. He paused, as if waiting for someone to answer. Letus closed his eyes. "The man decided to take his power and make the world his own."
"The man, who was only suppose to be watching his flock, reported to the king to tell him of the status of that flock. While he was there, he put the ring on. Some accounts will say he seduced the king's wife, but others will say that the man forced the king's wife to lay with him. Either way, the man used his power to break the sacred bond of marriage. Through either fear or seduction, he used the queen to his advantage, and he killed the king. The man with nothing would soon have everything. All it took was a little power to make a man desire the world," Letus finished.
"This is a trial. This is not a history lesson," the other lawyer interrupted. She looked at the judge, who sat back and seemed to be watching everything. "You are going to bore the jury to sleep."
"About ten years ago, twelve people lived simple lives. They only needed to wake up, do their job, take care of the family, and then repeat the cycle day in and day out. They held no grand destiny. Then, there was an accident one day. A nuclear experiment gone wrong gave these twelve people powers, and what did they do with their powers?" Letus asked.
"These twelve people, using their power, terrorized this town, but you will never hear those stories. All of those stories were filed away and burned, to hide the truth. The only way to really know what happened is to speak to the victims that were maimed, tortured, or violated. And, what kind of monster could ask them to relive that horror?" Letus wondered. "I do not speak of the Titans, as their horrors are well documented. Instead, I speak of those that call themselves the Olympians."
"Yes. The Olympians did band together to save this town from the Titans. They did become true heroes, but what happens when you stand atop the mountain and stare down at the rest of the pitiful mortals?" Letus asked. He slowly looked around, as if wanting an answer. "I know that the Olympians see themselves as protectors of this town, and they will do whatever they must to protect it. That is why my client is innocent."
"If someone threatens the great town of Olympian Plains, the Olympians will handle them. That is what they have been doing for years now, whether it be by murder or some other kind of cover up. Those crimes have started to come to light, and I will not stand by as everything is pinned on my client. The Olympians see a martyr in one of their own. They decided to paint their black sheep with red."
"Even when the Olympians have tried to protect this town, it has failed," Letus continued. "The streets are not safe. Crime has risen to an all time high, and I assume it is because the Olympians have allowed their personal lives to distract them. Upon seeing the crime that litters this town, they decided to lock those criminals away or handle them in more violent ways, and those crimes were pinned upon my client."
"The Olympians think that some miscalculation in a lab gave them the right to play God. They think the nuclear accident gave them some sort of destiny. The truth is that the Olympians were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. They were lucky enough to receive their powers and smart enough to use them to manipulate this town," Letus said. He took a deep breath to seemingly calm himself down.
"I have presented evidence over these past few week that should prove that the Olympians are framing Hades for their crimes," Letus said. He took a moment to look at each and every member of the jury. "If you hold any doubt in your hearts, I ask that you do not sentence an innocent man to death," Letus finished. He turned and walked towards Hades. The video paused.
"What was the point of that?" Thalia asked. She looked back towards her friends. Bianca was staring at the laptop. Piper was browsing through the rest of the videos. "Why watch a video from a trial that was ten years ago?"
"We can't find it anywhere else," Percy answered. Thalia looked at him. "The entire trial was taped, but all of the tapes have been destroyed. The only thing that remains are the transcripts, and those are under lock and key at City Hall. Why would our parents destroy all of the videos and hide away the transcripts? Were they hiding something?"
"Hades' crimes are a black spot on all of the good that the Olympians have done. No offense, Bianca. They just don't want that to stain their reputation anymore," Jason said. He shrugged and leaned back. Thalia studied her younger brother. He was great at taking orders and leading the other heroes when they were with him. He just didn't seem to question their parents too much.
"How did this Iris get the videos anyway?" Annabeth questioned. She sat by Thalia and nodded towards her. Before anyone could start throwing out theories, all of their watches started to beep. Thalia looked down at her watch and then up at her friends.
"Does anyone have their gear on them?" Percy asked. Thalia clicked in on her watch and stood. To her surprise, Piper did as well. As Thalia turned towards her room to grab her spare uniform, she felt her phone ring. After a moment, Thalia looked at her phone and answered it.
"Father," Thalia greeted. She glanced at her friends in confusion. It was odd for their parents to call them when their was an alert for a crime, unless it was something dangerous. Thalia didn't get that vibe from this phone call though. "What's going on?"
"We've been discussing what happened Thalia. For the next two weeks, you are off of missions," Jupiter said. Thalia stared ahead. She felt anger start to boil in her chest, along with confusion and betrayal. Why was her father pulling her off of a mission. She had one incident, and that meant she was untrustworthy? "Nico will be replacing you."
"This is bullshit. You can't do this," Thalia snapped. The only thing she wanted to do was argue and tell her father that she was perfectly fine to do missions, but he wouldn't listen to her. Thalia closed her phone and threw it at the wall. She watched it shatter on impact and took deep breaths. It took her a few moments to realize that her friends were still in the room, and no one was saying a word. Thalia didn't even look at them. She just ran up to her room.
How dare her parents pull her off of missions? Did Minerva break her promise and tell them about Thalia's dream? Did she really stab Thalia in the back like that? An angry sigh escaped Thalia, and she walked towards her bed.
"Absolute bullshit," Thalia snapped. She threw herself onto her bed and closed her eyes. Angry tears escaped her. It was so unfair that she was being singled out. She didn't actually kill the criminal, and even if she had, he was going to kill Annabeth.
Thalia felt a cool breeze hit her face. She opened one eye and looked towards her window. Thalia stood and walked towards the open window. She leaned out of it and allowed the breeze to hit her face and dry her tears. A deep sigh escaped Thalia, and she finally closed the window.
The only thing Thalia wanted to do was fall asleep and not wake up until the two weeks were over. She threw herself back onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow. Being off of missions meant she couldn't respond to calls, which meant she would be left out of the fun. The Olympians would keep her from learning more about the AI, as she would try to help them with it. For the next two weeks, Thalia might as well not have any powers. After taking a few deep breaths, Thalia pressed her face against the pillow and just wished that she could fall asleep and wake up to when everything was normal.