Raymond rang the doorbell, and after a few seconds, a slightly tall pretty girl opened the door. The neighborhood he was, was definitely for the opulent.
"You're Raymond?" He nodded before she let him in.
"Where is Emma?"
"She's in her room. Nice catch..." Raymond frowned; the girl eyeballed him like a piece of meat. "You are?"
"Rita."
"Nice to meet you Rita." He quickly made for the stairs leaving the crazy girl who was openly ogling him behind.
"…and a damn good ass, definitely a catch," she giggled.
Ray gave a slight knock before he heard the words 'come in.' He welcomed with a broad smile and a slight blush when Emma realized she had only her knickers, which Ray was sure was deliberate.
"You didn't tell me you were rich."
"Yeah well, I've been around for quite a while. Done some good investing."
"Good to know. Anyway, I really wish this was a social visit, but right now I need your help." "What about this," she asked pointing at two very perky and mouthwatering tits with the extra pink nipples; his favorite. "I thought I finally wore you down?"
"It's urgent," Raymond sighed, not that he was unaffected by the amorous antics, it was just that his mind was on edge. She pouted. For someone as old as her, she sure acted like your typical teenage girl.
"Charles has been taken."
Emma's pouty face immediately straightened out as she also saw a slight hint of anger.
"By whom?"
"I'm not sure yet, but all I can remember was they weren't dressed like your typical soldiers, and they used strange weapons."
"Gauntlets?"
"Sort of, why?"
"I know who did, sorry Ray but I think it's over for your friend."
"Are you going to help me or not?" His words were filled with venom, and a small shiver escaped Emma as the creature—she had yet to figure out— standing before her turned into someone almost completely different; from the naïve, head-in-the-clouds little boy she met less than a week ago.
He carried himself differently, with more authority and a little aggression; he did match straight into her bedroom after all. Two things that were a sure way of getting into her panties.
'Focus, girl.'
"What do you plan to do? What you just told me gave me the impression that your friend was taken by M.A.R.S. That's a very dangerous organization you don't want to come after you. And honestly, why would they come after you? They usually take humans and a few wayward Supernatural."
"Do you know where I can find them?"
"Sure, at the other side of the city. You're not planning on going there, are you? You'll get yourself killed."
"I won't if you help?"
She looked at him for good measure before agreeing. "You better have a really good plan or some serious firepower if you even expect to get past the front gate."
"Let me handle that, just help me find him."
"Okay, but we need some muscle. No offense but your history with brutes isn't very reassuring." "Fair enough. I'll be in the living room."
Checking his phone while settling down. It was a little after three am. He only had a few hours before daybreak. The idea of going on a mission during nightfall sounded clandestine. His usual self would have his heart racing and exhilarated, but right now he was utterly calm. Something he found unsettling.
Athena mentioned something about Dominance as one of his attributes, but nothing else came into mind. If there were other attributes, he needed to know just in case he began acting out of character. The last thing he wanted was getting himself killed because of some weird abilities popping up when he least expected.
At least he was himself again. What happened earlier in that standoff was something he was beyond doubt not prepared for. If it happens again, he wasn't sure if he was going to shake it off like earlier.
He felt someone watching him before his gaze turned to his side to see the previous girl seated a few feet away from him, just gawking.
"Are you a god?" He knew instantly she wasn't supernatural. All instincts told him she was human. That explained the strange adoration; she should've seen Apollo.
A small chuckle escaped him before he went back to his thoughts. First off, he needed to prepare for a few things. They had those plasma blasters that he was sure were going to be their primary weapons. He wasn't surprised Emma mentioned them. But given her explanation of their secrecy, something told him no one caught alive lived to tell, thus explaining their mysteriousness.
That meant he was probably the first guy ever to escape them and they will be sure not to repeat their slip-up. They can try, he was caught off-guard as always since his first arrest; his first instinct was always to run. He had so far done exactly that on two accounts, one of which he followed his friend's orders.
Then there was the other device. He wasn't sure what to call it. All he knew was it affected both him and Charles, but unlike him, it made Charles scream his lungs out. Not to mention he saw his first supernatural transformation, one that he would never forget. Then he remembered something about Charles describing his transformation to be magically induced.
That would imply they have a way to counter magic, which explained a lot on his inability to jump out and the feeling of giddiness. His magic was actually dampened. His air manipulation and electricity, however, weren't at all affected which could only mean it was connected to his divinity rather than magic.
The Aether as he had read was also another Primordial Being rather than an element. Which brought him back to the matter of attributes. From what he learned in the books, Zeus had dominion over the sky which he even knew before reading. He was also the god of Justice, Law, Hospitality, Oath Keeping, and…Honor.
But what wasn't mentioned but indirectly shown was his ability to lead other gods. So, Athena mentioning of Dominance as his trait could mean the others would soon manifest and control his personality if he weren't careful.
'Shit!'
The last thing he wanted was to play judge and jury. It's a freaking messed up world, and there is no way he was going to waste time judging seven billion souls give or take a few million supernatural. That was a job for Hades.
Slowly he felt soft cold fingers creeping up his arm. It immediately shook him out of his musings. The girl had moved closer to him and a quick glance at her he knew he was in trouble. She had dreamy eyes and trembled slightly at his look.
A faint musky scent followed, and he instantly knew she was wet.
'Damn humans!'
"Get a hold of yourself." Raymond scolded. He wasn't in the mood, and the poor woman probably had soaking panties.
The doorbell chimed again, and the young woman quickly jumped to her feet and rushed to the door.
"Bob!" Raymond heard her gasp with familiarity.
"Hey Rita," He heard Bob reply before walking in.
"Hi," Raymond greeted when they locked eyes.
"Hey. You are? I'm sure I haven't seen you around these parts, and I see a lot of people." Gone was the arrogant attitude Ray saw at the beach. He guessed that was only reserved for his opponents.
So, he was the muscle. He was surprised he didn't feel any animosity towards him, he was glad, the more, the merrier. "Raymond, but call me Ray."
"Bob. Where are you from?"
"Eaglemount." Right after he answered Emma appeared, fully dressed in leather top and a pair of skin-tight jeans. Bob gave her one swift look before speaking.
"So, what's the 911 for?"
"I need a favor."
"Go on."
"I need your help on a rescue mission. A friend got caught by M.A.R.S." Emma stated.
"You want to go after M.A.R.S," Bob asked before frowning. "I'm in."
On seeing the confused look on Raymond, Bob added. "I and M.A.R.S go way back. Used to work for them until I realized what exactly they were doing. Been fighting them ever since." "They use Supernaturals?" Ray asked.
"Yeah, but that's my knowledge of almost a decade ago. I hear these days they employ a lot of tech more than brutes like during my time."
"What's wrong with her?" Raymond asked after seeing the girl reverting to her gawking persona. "Don't mind her," Emma just shrugged.
"So, when is this rescue supposed to happen?" Bob asked.
"Right away," Ray answered after giving it a thought. He figured the quicker they went about it, the better their chances of getting Charles out of there alive.
Bob blinked, "you have a plan?"
"I was about to go scout the place before I hit them." There was a moment of silence followed deep laughter from Bob.
"You want to go scout at the very moment you're about to attack a heavily fortified military organization? I was hoping this was at least a week-long operation…"
"Bob!" Emma growled getting the attention of Bob. "Be nice. Besides, I'll owe you one. I'm sure there is a weapon or two you need enchanting for the upcoming tourney?"
"Where did he go?" Bob asked after he first noticed Raymond's absence.
"Damn it! He's gone after Charles." Emma said with apprehension.
"I guess we're doing it then. Should've stayed in bed," Bob turned gloomy.