After training Ray found the study and wasted no time browsing through the books and brushing up on Supernatural history.
"By the way, I noticed that everyone I met on Olympus was in human form. I always imagined I'd see all sorts of supernaturals walking in their original forms."
Raymond was holding a large book as he asked Charles once he found him and Jane fooling around by the pool.
"We used to," Charles replied.
"What happened?"
"Hera happened." Charles replied and then had a far away look as if recalling a dark past. "Back when Zeus still ruled, you could've taken any form you liked and he could care less, as long as you weren't pretty.
"But after his death, it was pretty much forbidden. Unlike Zeus, Hera's a bit of an elitist and made everyone who wanted to be in public to be like her kind. Being in the open in your natural form is akin to walking down the streets while naked for the humans, you're bound to get arrested for public indecency."
"Why don't you guys protest?" Ray sat on a chair on the pool's deck.
"Protest to who? You need to understand that Olympus is home of the Olympians, not us. Zeus built Olympus as his home. He, in turn, invited others of his kind there, soon guys like us followed.
"Until Humans were made, down here used to be our home. It didn't take long before war broke out between the Humans and us. The Olympians of course back then took the Human's side since they worshipped them.
"It was a bloodbath. A lot of humans died, and a lot more of them were born. Until both our leaders and the human leaders called for a cease-fire."
"The gods didn't intervene?"
"Why would they? We were all like gnats to them, even the humans weren't spared from their contempt, at best we were a new source of amusement for them. It wasn't until they realized they could procreate with both of our kinds faster than they could on their own, did they see us as anything more than insects that they could swat off the wall."
"You said Humans were made, by whom?"
"You might have heard about him, Prometheus." Charles said as he got out of the pool and poured himself a glass of wine before lounging next to Ray on the deck.
"The Titan?"
"Yup. He's likely the smartest being out there. Imagine if Athena and Hephaestus had a baby. He created Humankind—well not the current ones you see. His earliest creation was a bit rudimentary, but he created them with the ability to adapt and improve.
"Out of it came what you see today, beings created in his image. Though Prometheus couldn't quite figure out a way to imbue them with divinity or magic but then again he wasn't around long enough to try."
"What happened?"
"It was also at a period when Zeus received constant threats to his rule and was extremely paranoid. The Fates predicted his demise, but they would never tell him how. So, everyone was a threat to him. At first, he accused his brothers. Then he went and got a Second-Generation Titan pregnant, that sent him over the edge. Zeus locked her up in Tartarus. That's when he heard of another threat, Prometheus' Creation.
"Zeus automatically believed Prometheus was plotting a revenge scheme against him by building up an army and locked him up too. He then decided to wipe out all of humanity only to find them dying out on their own.
"Up until then, Prometheus was the one taking care of the Humans, experimenting on them, feeding them, watching over them. With him out of the picture, Humans were easy pickings for the supernatural and were almost drove to extinction.
"Prometheus knew this and begged Zeus to help the Humans in exchange for solving the mystery surrounding his downfall."
"And he did?" Ray asked only to see Charles grin.
"Prometheus did solve it alright. But it wasn't something he could fix, which is exactly what Zeus would have him do. Prometheus was basically in a lose-lose situation."
"What happened?"
"Well Prometheus did what he knew best, he tricked Zeus. He reinforced one of Zeus previous fears and made him go after his pregnant Titaness. But unknown to him, she had already given birth to his child, and with the help of Zeus' Siblings, the child was whisked away. There was one hell of a civil war as Beings loyal to Zeus rallied against his Siblings.
"This distraction gave Prometheus enough time to finish his creation, though in haste. By the time Zeus learned of Prometheus' trickery, Humans could now fend for themselves and were scattered across the globe. But it came at a prize, one that Prometheus was willing to pay. He was locked up, this time with the rest of the Fallen.
"But that wasn't enough, Zeus threatened to flood the Earth. A lot of the Supernatural took refuge on Olympus as a result. It was Athena who intervened on humanity's behalf and persuaded him to spare them. Zeus had grown quite fond of her by then. That and the fact that humans had begun worshipping them, he ended up leaving them alone."
"Damn! That was one hell of a time to be in."
"For a God yeah, for the Supernatural it was basically the Dark Ages." Charles replied, grimly.
"So, Prometheus knew of the mystery?"
"Well, no one knew of the Scythe by then because it was a closely guarded secret between the First-Generation Titans. Prometheus knew about it, and he knew Zeus would want him to destroy it.
"Prometheus would have, except the Scythe was made by Gaia using her own special metal; adamantine. It was also enchanted by her so that Kronos could use it against his Father, and later enchanted by Ouranos out of spite for Gaia."
"Why didn't Gaia tell Zeus of the Scythe, she wanted Kronos gone for eating his children? He did eat them though, right?" Charles chuckled when he saw Ray's curiosity peak.
"When you're a fifty-meter-tall behemoth it's not really that hard to swallow a two-feet tall baby. Gaia didn't want any of her children killed, and she was also a bit ashamed by her previous actions. The safest thing she could do is maintain the secrecy."
"How did Zeus find out then?"
"Well, Zeus grew fond of Athena for a reason. She was also the perfect replacement for Prometheus whom Zeus really liked and trusted despite Prometheus' transgressions.
"After the big reveal, the Scythe was searched for a very long time, it pretty much achieved a mythical status since no one could find it, until the nineteenth century that is."
"So, Athena is Zeus' firstborn?"
"Yup, followed by Hercules once he realized humans, like the Supernatural would also give him offspring."
"That's one hell of a history." Ray grabbed his book and went back inside to continue, he had plenty to cover.
*****
It was almost dark after Raymond got off and paid the cab when he came face to face with Athena. "Walk with me, please."
She was standing at the gate of the University's residence hall and garnered a few stares from some of the male students. He couldn't blame them, she was wearing a green turtle neck top and a pair of tight blue jeans that hugged her divine curves.
She immediately picked the sidewalk away from the gate and began walking, Ray had no option but to follow her.
"You're going to give me your pitch too?" Ray asked once he caught up to her easy strides.
"No, just an explanation."
"I don't have one."
"Maybe, but you do have a reason. Both Charles and Adrastea tell me you haven't made up your mind."
"I don't know. I feel like things are moving way too fast for me—"
"And you feel like you're losing control?"
"Yeah, I've never gotten this much attention and excitement in my life. I grew up in an Orphanage, raised by Nuns. All around me, kids my age were getting adopted at some point in their lives. I thought I would too, but it never happened. Time passed as I aged. By the time I was in Junior High I had but three people left that I grew up with.
"By then I knew I wasn't going anywhere. Should've known it was for a reason or at least someone told me there was a reason for it. In the end, I decided to stop waiting for a family and work my way out of there. I know, I sound rude and ungrateful but back then I felt like the odd kid everyone talks about.
"Getting adopted was like a ticket to heaven when you hit your teens. Fewer rules, going to parties, staying out late, booze, girls, getting stoned…We all heard the stories in school and from some of the new kids that were either brought there by their parents or had the misfortune of losing them.
"Most of the kids that remained in the Orphanage ended up going the path of religion, some aspired for Priesthood while others Sisterhood...I wanted out. I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do with my life but it sure as hell wasn't going be fulfilled by Religion.
"Finally, I had it, for a few hours on that night I had no inhibitions, no regrets—I had control—I was living in the moment. Free from the shackles of righteousness and responsibilities. And then just like that, I lose it."
Raymond took a deep breath to calm his nerves, his eyes began to glow. "Then you guys show up." Athena couldn't help but give him a sympathetic smile, but she didn't interrupt him. "At first, it felt like it was all a bad dream, but after waking up since that night you revealed yourself to me, my world began to change again.
"One moment I'm getting hit on by some Nymph, the next I'm getting asphyxiated by a Minotaur. Finally, I find out I'm being hunted by some shadow organization and the next thing I know, I'm breaking into their base. I don't know where my life is headed next, but one thing I do know is that, this isn't what I signed up for when I left Eaglemount."
"So, you want your control back?"
"Not just that, I want to be able to decide my own fate." That earned him a grin from Athena. "What?"
"You should tell them that yourself one day, it should make for an interesting conversation." She suddenly slowed down to a stopped at the end of the sidewalk and turned to face Raymond.
"What do you really want Raymond, because like I said before you won't last long with the Humans and as for the Supernatural, twice now you've experienced it, and you haven't even scratched the surface."
"I know, and I accept your offer," Ray said but added when he saw her smile. "On three conditions though."
"I'm listening."
"I get Adrastea as my magic teacher. I have friends here so I want to still be able to come back from time to time."
"What's the last one?" Athena asked when she realized Ray wasn't going to continue.
"I want that option left open."
"You're getting really good at this. Deal."
Ray parted with Athena as he went up to his old apartment. They were to meet at the mansion later that night. He had a few personal items he wanted to pick up from their old apartment and several books to return to the library before he called it quits.
Adrastea was handling his transfer. He was to transfer to a State College close to home in Eaglemount. Ray thought that would've been odd until he found out both Argo and Olympus University were owned by Athena including the State College, allowing her to pull strings a lot quicker than it usually would.
*****
To say Det. Kyle was pissed would be an understatement. He had never been rattled by a case like this before. After spending a day on it and making some initial progress, he was now back at where he started.
'Why would the Homeland Agent be investigating Raymond? Who was Raymond? Did he have a connection with Justin Walker?'
Come to think of it, the kid's name didn't come up during a conversation with his Doctor and most importantly.
'Where the hell was he?'
He wasn't at the hospital, and his Doctor straight up refused to talk to him on grounds of Patient-Doctor Confidentiality.
Tim called Kyle a half an hour after he went over to that mansion only to tell him he lost the kid. Just like that. He starts looking for him, and he drops off the grid. It didn't make any sense, and neither did the kid fit any profile he could come up with.
Starting from drug dealers, murder suspects, kidnappers, sex offenders, all the way to the top ten wanted lists of any law enforcement agency.
He's just your average straight A's kid from the Orphanage. He wouldn't even be surprised if he was a virgin. Something had to give.
Back at the Station that evening after he spent an entire day chasing a ghost, he found Det. Ross sitting in their office with a duffle bag on her desk. She was staring blankly into space before his presence startled her. Good, she was back. Maybe she could help him get a grip.
"You don't look so good," She started.
"I've seen better days," he sighed before slumping in his seat.
"What's up, new case?"
"Not exactly," Kyle stretched out his numb legs before plopping them on his desk. "You remember that kid from the Orphanage?"
Ross was silent for a couple of seconds before replying. "The tall one?"
"Yup, that one. He's got the Feds all over him."
"Why?" She frowned.
"I asked myself the same thing. They think he's some sort of paranormal."
"So, what, that's not against the law."
"You think he's paranormal?" Kyle asked as he rose and sat upright.
"A lot of people claim to be paranormal or have seen paranormal stuff every day, doesn't mean it's true."
"I don't know, I think I'm starting to doubt that. I tried tracking him down—"
"Kyle...?"
"Relax, it's off the books. Did I mention we met again at the hospital around two weeks ago? He was in pretty bad shape."
"I fail to see how that means he has supernatural powers."
"Well, Ray's doctor did say he was healing too fast." That earned Kyle a scowl from Ross. "Like I said he was in a very bad state. I went back there yesterday and guess what?"
"He's...dead?"
"No, better. He doesn't exist. There is no record of his admission. That's when I tracked him down to some mansion outside the city."
"And you found him?"
"This is where it gets interesting. I couldn't get in, but that's beside the point. What's even more peculiar is that a few minutes after my visit, Tim called while I was parked right outside the mansion hoping to catch him. His phone disappeared too."
"Maybe he just switched it off."
"Nope, Tim said his model could be traced even when switched off unless he unplugs his battery."
"So, it's still not paranormal."
"Yes, but only if you isolate the incident. Think about it, no alcohol in his system even though he admitted to have had several bottles, the dog, the cuffs, the doctor's comment about his unusual healing, his miraculous disappearance and finally the Feds. Too many mysteries with very few if not zero logical explanations, that's textbook paranormal."