“Yeah. Okay. I’m sick of waiting,” he said.
Diana watched him curiously, missing half of the conversation.
“You wanna bring Diana?” Teddy asked.
Astin knew that Diana wanted to help. Lewis was her friend. Astin lied. “Uh, no, she’s busy.”
“Alright. My house. Nine.” Teddy hung up.
“Who’s busy?” Diana asked. “What did Teddy want?”
“Oh he’s gonna go get--” he searched his brain for a suitable lie. It had to be quick. “Get... we’re gonna hang out tonight, watch movies. Tired of waiting to see that new road trip flick.”
“You and Teddy and Evan?” She made a face.
“Yeah, and Nick. I figured you didn’t wanna hang out with Nick, you know, ‘cause he’s an asshole and will spend the whole night trying to get in your pants.”
Diana nodded, “Yeah, thanks for saving me from that one.”
Astin realized she had her pet hamster in her shirt pocket. He pointed. “Is that--?”
Diana nodded. “Garfunkel. He wanted a blueberry, so I took him to the kitchen.”
Astin laughed, “You’re so weird.”
“Like you aren’t, Sunshine?”
“I like boo-berry,” Garfunkel said to Diana.
“I know you do,” she said as she rubbed behind his head.
Teddy told his parents that he was going to a late movie with Nick, Astin, and Evan. They all rode in Teddy’s purple car, which didn’t blend in well enough to be used for such a legally and morally questionable purpose. They really needed a white van or a Camry to commit a crime. Everyone on earth seemed to drive a green Camry.
The crack team parked on the street so that they wouldn’t be the one car in the empty museum parking lot. When they were sure that nobody was looking they got out and went to the back door. Astin cast a small ray of white light on the alarm panel while Evan opened it up and rewired it. Nick and Teddy stood watch. Their powers were useless here.
“Got it,” Evan whispered triumphantly. “Hurry, someone could still come by.” Evan had reset the default settings on the code lock through the alarm panel. He pressed 1-2-3-4 and they all heard a buzz and a click. The door was unlocked. The teens closed the door quietly behind them and ran up the stairwell.
“This way,” Astin cast the light from his hands down a hall. Nick batted his hand down. “Are you a moron?” he asked. “We don’t need light showing through the windows.”
Teddy opened the door to the curator’s office. “Damn,” he muttered. The computer and most of the manila file folders were gone. “Police took ‘em.”
“Well, the old dude couldn’t have had the only computer in the building,” Nick suggested. “There’s gotta be a file on the jar somewhere else in their system.”
Evan nodded, “The database is probably on the museum server.”
The team went back into the figure painting exhibit and out into the main hall. Evan kept jumping at the shadows of mummies and vases. “Chill out, limpy,” Nick snapped. The last thing they wanted was to knock over a priceless vase and alert the guards.
They went into another office. This one was in the hall, off the Egypt exhibit. There were no windows, so Astin was safe to cast light for them to see by.
Evan was into the computer in minutes. He opened the museum’s catalogue database. “Okay,” Nick read over his shoulder, “we’ve got six Pithos listed. Which one did they take?”
“Not that one,” Teddy pointed to the photo. “Hermaphroditis was in the exhibit. We saw it.” He tried not to laugh, but he was a teenage boy. They all laughed.
Evan cleared his throat. “Okay. Serious now.” He clicked through the database until he found one with a status listed “MIA.” “This has got to be it.”
They all leaned over Evan to read. Astin spoke up when he found what he thought was relevant. “The jar depicts the presentation of Pandora to the Titan, Epimetheus.”
“She’s holding a jar,” Nick pointed to the photo.
The door handle turned. They all looked up. A night guard looked into the illuminated room. Astin clapped his hands together, blanketing the room in darkness. The guard’s flashlight clicked on, the beam falling on Evan at the computer. “Hey! Freeze!”
“Run!” Nick ran to the door, knocking the guard backward. Astin and Teddy ran after him. The stunned guard steadied himself and shone his light back into the room. Evan just put his head in his hands. He couldn’t run.
The other three boys didn’t get far. The guard had hit his personal panic button, a device he kept on a lanyard around his neck which was wired to a backup alarm box. Nick, Astin, and Teddy tore down the halls of the museum, tennis shoes squeaking on the freshly-waxed floor as they rounded corners. Nick’s left Croc slipped off and caused him to trip down half a flight of stairs. Astin shoved the emergency exit open and ran out into the cool night air. Two police cars met them in the parking lot, sirens whirring.
“Persuasion is often more effectual than force.”
-Aesop
xxi.
He was made as the template for all mankind:
average height, hair that lightened in the sun,
and ever-shifting, brown, blue, and hazel eyes.
He had a strong frame.
He stood outside the doors, waiting for someone.
Earlier he had pulled a nasty prank on
one of the younger gods and retribution
came down on his flock.
He knew that he had a to set things right again
Athena, the wise and beautiful goddess
who had born herself from Zeus’ head, entered
from the feasting hall.
She stopped when her eyes fell on Prometheus.
“Can I help you?” she asked in a trenchant tone.
“I’m looking for Zeus,” he calmly answered her,
“I came to make peace.”
“Zeus is hosting a feast, now. Come back later.”
She knew that Dionysus had already
gotten Zeus drunk and, thus, shortened his temper.
It was dangerous.
“Please,” Prometheus begged, patting his satchel.
“I have an offering for him, as payment
I would like to bestow it before it spoils.”
His tone seemed sincere.
She looked back at the hall-- the door he’d intended
to get past all along-- and nodded quickly.
“If you pick a new fight,” she warned the Titan,
“I’ll break you myself.”
She went into the hall and back to her meal.
Prometheus waited until she was gone.
He raised his fingers to absorb the torch light
from the mounted flame.
When the stolen flames were crackling cheerfully
and he was sure the fire had taken, he fled.
Athena saw him leave with the fire in hand
but it was too late.
“Ten soldiers wisely led will beat a hundred without a head.”
-Euripedes
XXI.
Minnie turned on her cell phone after church. A text message sat in her inbox. It was from Dr. Davis asking them to meet at noon. That was fifteen minutes from now.
The cars pulled up one by one outside of Dr. Davis’ apartment. When everyone was settled they were down to ten. That included Dr. Livingstone.
“Where are the others?” she asked. Three more people were missing than she had first estimated.
“Frank, Diana, and Zach have the athletics booster they have to work at. They’ll be here later,” June explained.
Minnie couldn’t decide how much that bothered her. This was likely very important, but they still had appearances to keep up. If too many people made excuses to duck out of obligations, someone might get suspicious. Still, at least Zach should have been here.
“So what’s going on?” Valerie asked. “Why are we here? Do we have a lead?”
Nick grin
ned, “We do.”
“We spent the night in jail to get it,” Evan explained with a glare at Nick and an edge in his voice. He was still bitter about how they’d all run and left him behind. “Nick, Teddy, Astin, and I broke into the museum last night. They let us off with a warning, thankfully. We’ve got info on the artifact they stole.”
Astin pulled a sketch he made out of his pocket. It was by no means worthy of the Louvre, but it conveyed what it needed to. “It showed the presentation of Pandora to Epimetheus.”
Minnie’s brain clicked. “The jar,” she said before he could even finish his sentence.
“What?” June asked.
“Pandora’s box was a jar. It was given to her after the Olympians-- after we created her. It was our revenge. We made Pandora a beautiful but insanely curious woman and gave her a jar of all the evils: Famine, Pain, Forgetfulness, Folly, Lies... and so on. Epimetheus married her, even though his brother, Prometheus, warned him not to. She opened the jar on their wedding night. It was a myth to explain why bad things happen, only we know now that it’s probably not just a myth.”
“It’s a jar?” Nick asked. “Why do we say it’s a box, then?”
“That’s neither here nor there, it’s just how phrases evolve. This must be her jar,” Minnie’s eyes were wide. She got a rush from the logical connection.
“Okay, so they stole Pandora’s box-- jar.” Evan ran his fingers through his hair. “Why?”
“Because we needed it.” A voice came from the front hall. Two men stood there, blocking them from the front door. June recognized them first as James and Mark Alvarez. Minnie wasn’t into high school sports and had never been to a game against the Miami West Team, yet she remembered James from a dream.
James, the Miami West football coach, held the faded jar. Once rich blacks and dark reds, the paint was now more orange and brown. Mark, the younger brother and the captain, held his hand out, palms up, and fire erupted in them.
Nick, with his act-first, think-later style of problem solving, charged them without hesitation.
“Not so fast, Aquaman,” Mark said, catching Nick around the shoulders and grappling with him. James yanked the lid off Pandora’s box. He spoke a single word in Greek. Minnie recognized it as the word for “catch.” Mark pushed Nick off of him. Nick staggered back. With just a tip of the jar from James, black tendrils swiftly reached out and engulfed Nick. The tendrils formed a black net that distorted Nick’s form, like a funhouse mirror. With a quick jerk, James pulled the jar back. The tendrils and Nick rolled right into the mouth of the Pithos like a yo-yo.
“One more down,” Mark said. He cracked his neck.
“Which one’s next, bro?”
Celene put her hand to stop anyone else from attacking. Everyone looked to her. “What do you want?” she asked.
Mark-- Epimetheus-- laughed. His brother put his own hand up to silence him. “I would think that Dr. Davis could figure this out,” James said, his expression grave. “We are the protectors of this world. We are here to watch, to guide, to teach. You were supposed to be upgrades. Titans 2.0. But the Olympians were a mistake. So we’re here to get rid of you once and for all. It’s really for the greater good.” They could all tell he sincerely believed that.
“You think you’re going to save mankind by killing a bunch of kids?” Jason asked.
“Sure. They’re just kids now, but it is just a matter of time before they start laying waste to countries just because their egos got bruised. Humanity has been doing fine without them. As for being just kids? Their souls are thousands of years old. They were put on earth to replace a corrupt generation of beings before them. They were made in the shape of man in hopes that they would be better at leading humanity than their forefathers,” Prometheus explained.
He spoke to them all, now. “You abused it. You were supposed to give people guidance. You were supposed to protect humanity. Well the world isn’t full of minotaurs and giants anymore. We have been protecting humanity in your absence and we will continue to do so. All you can bring is chaos.
“Your justice for a harmless prank was to take fire away from humanity and leave them in the dark. We outsmarted you, so you created Pandora and her jar and preyed on the impulsive nature of my brother. Innocent mortals became casualties of your games.”
He patted the jar. “Nick, Poseidon as I know him, raped a girl on the floor of your temple, Athena.” His eyes trained on Minnie. “You turned her into a monster as punishment. You punished her for being raped.”
Minnie sat down. She remembered not even thinking that the girl, Medusa, might have been an unwilling participant.
“So, to answer your question, mortal,” his eyes went back to Jason, “I do think that I’m saving humanity. They are kids here and now, but even as governors of mankind they acted like children. They are the real horrors and I am putting them in the jar where they belong and killing them if they won’t go willingly.”
“Now,” Epimetheus was grinning. He had faded off during his brother’s speech, but now he was engaged. “We’d like to be reasonable, but now that Hades is in our jar, murder is an option. We’ve had centuries to learn how to use this wonderful present.” He patted the jar. “So it’s really your choice. Jar or death.” The flames in his hands surged. He wanted them to choose door number two.
“Why did you kill your own team-mate? Was he part of this?” Minnie asked.
Prometheus sighed. “An unfortunate casualty. Heckley saw my brother use his powers, found out our assumed identities were false, and tried to extort us.”
“You don’t blackmail a god,” Epimetheus said with a shrug and a smile. “He had to be dealt with.”
Celene stared at the jar. Penny was inside of it? Alive? She could only hope. Devon was far more impulsive. She crossed slowly to Epimetheus. He roared his flames as a warning, but soon the air around him was heavy and the flames died.
“You should let them go,” she suggested, trailing a finger along his jaw.
Prometheus would have none of that. Beautiful women had always been a weakness for his baby brother. Prometheus grabbed the temptress by her blonde hair. He yanked her head backwards. Devon screeched. Prometheus pulled the lid off the Pithos. The black net engulfed Devon and dragged her screaming and cursing into the jar.
June let loose a shrill scream. She charged Prometheus, her nails tearing at his face. The jar hit the carpet with a thud and rolled across the floor. The Titan shouted and swung. His hand glowed white-hot before he struck her. The glancing blow didn’t do much to burn her, but the force of the attack knocked her to the floor. Her vision doubled. Prometheus dove for the jar.
Evan lunged at Prometheus, but Mark was there and knocked him off his feet with a swift kick to the stomach.
“Back off, grease monkey. Wait your turn.”
Prometheus removed the lid from his position on the floor; this time the black net found June Herald. Epimetheus laughed and threw a burst of flame at Astin. It was a compact explosion aimed in his direction, not a rolling, roaring flame like the special effects in movies. Astin dove out of the way and the curtains behind him went up in flames.
Teddy picked up the chair he had been sitting on. He took a swing at Epimetheus. With a flash of fire the chair was scorched and Teddy was on the ground with the wind knocked out of him.
Astin came through the smoke of the flaming curtain and landed a single punch to Epimetheus’ cheek. Astin’s hand, too, glowed white-hot. He turned them to Epimetheus, blinding him with the brilliance of their luminescence. He used the momentary advantage to take Epimetheus by surprise and sucker-punch him for a second time.
Prometheus grabbed Astin’s ankle from the ground and tugged the baby rock-god off of his feet. Tendrils sprang from the jar and pulled Astin into the mouth.
Epimetheus held his swollen face. His skin was split at the apex of his cheekbone. Prometheus pushed himself to his feet and pointed the jar at Teddy. “Jar or death?” he taunted.
Te
ddy coughed; he couldn’t speak. Prometheus cracked the lid and then Teddy, too, was gone from the room.
The Titans regained their composure and turned to face the remaining Olympians. Jason stood in front of the girls, his fists raised and his sleeves rolled up. Minnie, Celene and Valerie were gathered behind him.
“Oh please, this is just hilarious,” Epimetheus said. His flames grew as he took a step forward.
“I don’t think so,” Valerie said. “You should take a chill pill.” Epimetheus cooled his fire. His hands went out. He wasn’t mad anymore and that confused him. He knew they needed to be taken care of, but his wits were not nearly as sharp as his temper. He looked back at Prometheus. Prometheus knew that this momentary calm was Valerie’s fault. He shook his head.
“Do you want to see your daughter again?” Prometheus asked Celene directly.
Celene’s jaw was tight. This man had taken her little girl.
“Do you?” he asked. “She’s right here, Demeter. You can see little Persephone again.”
Minnie placed her hand on Celene’s shoulder, unsure of what to say but wanting to be a supportive presence. Valerie stood on her other side.
Jason clenched his fists tighter. “Let the kids go.”
“Or what, mortal?” Prometheus asked.
“I’ll kick your ass.”
Prometheus threw a blast of fire at him. He was more annoyed than angry at Jason. It was like the Olympians had a yappy loyal terrier that wouldn’t stop jumping and barking. Jason picked up the platter that Celene had used to serve cookies and used it like a shield. The force of the burst smashed the platter into bits and knocked Jason back. His head cracked against the wall. He was out.
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