They went back to Charles's room. Bob readjusted his cloak and decided to tag along. On reaching Charles' room, they found one of the Amazon Guards standing at the door. Next to her was a large black weapon case that was almost two meters long.
Once the Amazon Guard saw them approaching, she pulled out a tablet. "Are you Charles Pelion?"
"Yes, that's me," Charles replied.
The Guard then gave Charles to imprint his thumb. A digital scanner appeared and scanned his thumb. Moments later, his I.D. appeared on the screen.
"The weapon's case was delivered on Themyscira from Olympus about thirty minutes ago. Please confirm everything is in order before I leave."
"Sure." Charles picked up the case and went inside. Once they were safely inside, he turned to Raymond. "Open it. It's for you, after all."
When Raymond approached the case, he found another thumb scanner. "What happens if someone else…say bob opens it?" Bob gave him a glare.
"It's enchanted to alert the sender who can either decide to track it down or activate the built-in self-destruct," Charles replied.
After confirming his identity, the case let out a slight clink before opening. Inside there were two compartments, one for a long silver spear that seemed to glow and there other housed a shiny black armor. Ray took the spear out of the case and inspected it. The had a triangular-shaped blade with two wings attached to the socket.
The shaft was made entirely of metal, and the blunt end had black rings that had rings inscribed on. Though made of entirely metal, the spear didn't affect Raymond's movements as the extra weight was negligible to his strength.
"What's it made out of?" Ray asked Charles.
"Most standard weapons are made out of steel," Charles replied before grabbing the spear and inspecting it. "This one's made out of a titanium alloy. Strong and light, add in an enchantment…" Charles examined the runes on the six rings. "…and you get a powerful weapon, depending on the enchantment. Activate it."
Once Ray received the spear, he channeled his magic and pour it into the spear. There were two ways to activate. The first method was for magic users through magic or blood, while the second was for non-magic users—although magic users could still use their blood.
The runes on the six rings glowed and began rotating around the shaft. Ray felt a prod in his mind and immediately accepted it. The glowing runes sped up for a few seconds and then finally rearranging themselves into words that Ray could make sense of.
On reading the words, Raymond was filled with a short bust of knowledge as he immediately knew the spear's capabilities. He smiled and looked at Charles. "What are the consequences for thrashing your room?"
"That good, huh? We'll check out the armor later," Charles mused. Then he turned to Bob, "I'm sure you have a private training ground?"
Bob nodded. "Sure, if you follow me."
"Just a moment." Charles went to the door and talked to the waiting Guard before she left. "Alright, let's go."
*****
Brown mist suddenly permeated a Service Portal, and four figures emerged inside the Portal. Four guards that were standing in the room almost had a heart attack. Among the portals there, this Portal was rarely used. In fact, none of the four guards there had ever seen the portals activated in their entire lives.
"No need to be spooked. These are our guests." A senior guard walked into the Service Hall. All four guards arched their backs and saluted. The senior Guard returned their salute before going straight to the Service Portal the four figures emerged from. The Guard then went down on one knee. "Your eminences. My name is Cora, the Captain of the Valkyries."
On seeing Cora kneeling, the other four guards also went down on their knee.
"No need for strict formalities. Rise! We're only here to have fun." Hestia smiled. "I thought I told you guys I don't need a baby sitter. I know this Island like the back of my hand, and I hoped to be left alone?"
Cora grimaced. This was a very delicate issue that none of the higher-ups wanted to personally deal with and decided to throw it to her. It was one thing to deal with the Supernatural, but a whole different ballgame when it came to Olympians.
She was strict with rules and was very controlling—borderline anal-retentive—but the only rules an Olympian would follow were their own rules. This put her in a tight spot. Cora just hoped there wasn't going to be any trouble, one Olympian gracing their Island was enough to put the Island on lockdown and ensure everyone was on their best behavior, but there were four of them staring intently at her.
The oldest was Hestia, while the other three were all young Olympians, which made her heart ache the most. Cora just hoped Hestia's definition of fun was the same as hers.
"You'll have to forgive me—ahem—Hestia. But I had no choice in the matter. I can only hope my presence causes you no trouble, and you can have as much fun as possible." Cora decided the best way to get ahead of the situation is by being straight forward.
"Aunt Hestia, I like this one," Lyra said. "She's more respectful than Raymond." Myra—her twin—nodded, while Alsie—the youngest—just rolled her eyes. The twin Olympians still resented Raymond for not bowing to them like all Supernatural did in their presence.
Alsie stepped out of the Portal and took Cora's hand. "I haven't been on Themyscira before, so I don't mind you being my guide."
Cora cursed inwardly while giving Alsie her best smile, "it would be my pleasure to be of service."
"Then it's settled. You can call me Alsie. The two mean girls over there are Lyra and Myra, and we're here to cheer Raymond. He's going to be in the Contest for Champion of Argo."
"He sounds like an interesting Contender that got four Olympians personally come cheer him?" Cora asked. She was beginning to take an interest in this 'Raymond.' Raising her left arm, she began typing on her Virtual Assistant. A digital holographic display appeared above her left arm, and she began perusing the list of contestants.
After finding the name, she was looking for, she clicked on it, and an image of Raymond appeared as well as his data.
"Aunt Hestia says he has great potential and is a Demigod just like Herakles," Alsie said proudly.
"He's just a Demigod like the rest. There is nothing special about him." Myra butted in, "I could take him with both my arms tied behind my back. That goes for everyone in Contest as well." Lyra spoke with a tinge of superiority.
While there was no rule banning Olympians from participating, it was still frowned upon. This short interaction between Cora and the four goddesses gave her a rough idea of who she should be on Guard against and who she could befriend or expect the least trouble. Now all she had to do is come up with contingencies if she would see her assignment through.
"Aunt Hestia, why did we have to come? Only Alice is interested in the Contest." Myra pouted.
Hestia ignored them and walked out of the Portal. "Don't worry, Cora. They are my responsibility; I'll keep an eye on them." Hestia reassured Cora after picking up on her tense demeanor.
"Thanks." Cora felt relieved. Now all she could do was count the hours.
*****
Falko (the head of M.A.R.S. Branch in Argo) straightened his back and pushed the large double doors before going into a very large office. A tall figure stood at the edge of the office facing the glass wall, staring at the setting sun with his arms behind his back.
Without hesitation, Falko went down on one knee and cleared his throat. "Forgive me, your Eminence, for my unplanned visit. I have come here because we have a situation."
"Do you think those Humans down on the streets are aware I can see them going about their business?" The Figure asked.
Falko remained silent only for a couple of seconds before frowning, "I don't think they do your Eminence."
"And if I toss you through this glass wall, they will notice, right?"
Falko shivered but forced himself to reply, "If that is your wish, Your Eminence, there is no need to trouble you. I can do it myself."
"I'm sure you can handle a fall from a hundred story building. Best case scenario, you scurry away to safety while everyone is in shock. Worst case scenario, someone takes a video of you escaping, you go viral, and they start investigating you."
The Figure then turned, and Falko was rewarded with two dark brown eyes that reflected the setting sun's ambient light, making them glow. "Are you interested in finding out which scenario would likely play out?"
Falko clenched his jaw but kept his head down. "No, your Eminence. None of the scenarios would end very well for me."
"Yet you felt it necessary to come to me with your problem when I gave your all the necessary tools and resources to handle everything thrown at you?"
"Not this one, your Eminence. One of the Humans was onto us, so Eris asked us to take care of it. I sent a Silent One, but they never returned nor reached out to confirm their mission status. I sent a backup team after her, but they returned empty-handed."
Falko took a deep breath before he continued. "As per the protocol, I sent a Tracking Team to investigate and report back, but…I—"
"You haven't heard from them too." The Figure concluded and frowned. "If that is why you're here then, there is the glass wall. I'm still interested in what will happen."
"No, your Eminence, I'm here because both the Tracking Team and your sister are missing." Falko spilled everything as fast as he could.
Ares looked Falko in the eye. "When was this?"
"The Tracking Team disappeared about two days ago, but we haven't been able to reach your sister since yesterday."
"Athena sure works fast," Ares mumbled to himself. He knew from the start Eris being in Argo, the same city as Raymond, would not end very well for her. And Athena didn't disappoint. "Decisive and quick, but in the end, still predictable."
Falko didn't know what Ares was mumbling about, so he did the wise thing and maintained his silence. Good thing he didn't have to wait for long.
"You can leave. When you get back, initiate Lockdown. I want you to wipe the city clean and find the source. You will get the Headquarters' full resources and backing on this."
Falko nodded before getting up and leaving the office. Outside, he sighed once more. He had only ever experienced a city wipe once when he was still a grunt. Now he was going to be in charge of one.