Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You think you can run forever, little demigod?” 

CLANK, clop, CLANK, clop.

“I definitely can't hide,” She mumbled to herself as she continued to run. Stupid caves and their stupid acoustics. She couldn’t very well stop and hide since every sound she made sounded like a loaded stadium. So…running…that was her only option. 

Note to self: Don’t enter a cave if you’re trying to escape a monster.

Getting lost in this elaborate cave system while being hunted by an Empousa was not on her yearly bingo card; then again, most of the stuff that happened to her rarely was. But the glint of light she saw up ahead urged her on. If she could get out of these caverns, she’d have more options than just running, hiding, or fighting. It was only as the light hit her face that she realized her hopes were dashed.

The light wasn’t proof of an exit to the cave; it was the result of huge light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. In fact, there was a bunch of stuff in this cavern: most notably was a giant penny and a…t-rex? Which, cool, but what was it doing in a cave? More voices stole her attention away from the odd museum and toward a computer set up…a really big computer setup.

“What are you doing here?!” The guy standing near one of the huge monitors asked. He sounded….mad? Worried? Concerned?

“Shit.” That was her eloquent response as she skidded to a stop. 

CLANK, clop, CLANK, clop.

“What’s that?!” The guy standing next to him asked. He sounded scared. Good instincts, that guy.

“Double shit!” She looked back at where she’d come from and was greeted with a glint of celestial bronze. “You two need to get outta here!” She threw down her pack and unsheathed her sword. She usually did everything possible to avoid confrontation with monsters, but with mortals involved, she didn’t have a choice. 

“Why do you have a sword!??” 

Good instincts and can see through the Mist. Great.

“What are you talking about??? She's holding a baseball bat.” 

Not happy I’m here and can’t see through the Mist. Less great.

“What’s this little hero?” Her voice was sickly sweet. “A last stand in the hopes to protect these feeble mortals? I was only planning on killing you. But it seems a shame to let them go to waste.” She walked out into the open, her bronze leg catching the light as it clanked against the stone; her cloven hoof resonated less, but its echo was just as sharp. 

“I’d like to remind you that you’ve tried to kill me 15 times since Georgia,” she said sarcastically. “And yet I’m still standing. Not dead in the slightest.” 

The Empousa sneered. She readied her sword, shifting her weight to dodge if she chose to strike. 

“Maybe you’re not as good as you think you are? Have you considered night classes?”

“I think I’ll take my time ripping you apart piece by piece.” The empousa- she mentioned her name was Emily, right? Lia couldn’t remember. Her grin was venomous. 

Voices behind her reminded Lia of why she had stopped: the mortals, though she hadn’t been focusing on what they were saying.

“I’m telling you Dick! She got a metal leg!”

“Duke I know I’m not a meta, but I think I’d be able to see a metal leg if she had one.” 

“And her hair is made of fire!!”

“…I think we need to take you to the optometrist.” Their tones were quiet, but they caught Emily’s attention. 

“Freeze, boys. I don’t want you interfering. This is just between us girls for now. But don’t worry! She won’t take long. I’d hate to keep you waiting.” 

Lia could feel the chill Emily’s charmspeak cast, and when she glanced back, the two were frozen in place. She didn’t linger too long on them, though she almost took a double take at their…costumes? Maybe they were taking cosplay photos. 

“Now you. I’m afraid you’ve escaped me too many times little girl.”

“Don’t you have better things to do with your time?” She asked, exhausted. She’d been on the run from her for more than a week; surely this was not worth the satisfaction of killing her. “Couldn’t you…I don’t know, go after a corrupt politician?? It’s not better but at least they would deserve it!”

“Oh but you do deserve it! You killed my sister, and I shall have my revenge.” 

She had a point, but her sister was reforming in Tartarus. If one of her many monologues were something to go off of, she was just taking her sweet time. This made Emily very angry. 

“Your sister will be completely reformed by the end of the year.” She said meekly; that didn’t justify it. Not to the empousa, or to herself for that matter. “It’s not like her situation is permanent.” 

“And yet I still wish for retribution.” Emily stalked closer and Lia thought about sidestepping. She was the main target; if she could lure her away from the mortals that would be ideal, but then she wouldn’t be close enough if that was truly just a fake out and they were who she was choosing to go after. She decided against it. She dropped her defensive stance, crossing her arms and tapping her chin. 

“Have you considered other means?” 

The empousa stopped.

“What?”

“Well…I mean, it’s just that we’ve got pretty solid proof that you can’t kill me. You’re sure trying but like…no dice I guess.” 

One of the guys behind her muffled a laugh. 

“So have you considered…I don’t know…suing me? I know a pretty good lawyer that has a personal grudge against me.” This was true. Malcolm Pace, along with the rest of Cabin 6 were still mad at Cabin 11 for their most recent April Fools prank. Granted, filling their cabin with fake spiders when they all had horrible arachnophobia was not the nicest thing. But her younger siblings had been so proud of themselves that all she had been able to do was talk them down from real spiders. “I’m sure he’d overlook the fact that you’d want to kill him in order to represent you. Like…65% sure? No, like 85%. He was really mad about our last April Fools prank.” 

Emily seemed to be seriously considering it. 

“And what would I gain from…suing you?” 

Must not be a concept she was familiar with. Lia couldn’t blame her. Monsters didn’t seem like the type to have complex legal systems. 

“Probably money or jail time. I think most states did away with the death penalty.” 

Emily made a face, clearly this was not adequate in her eyes. 

“Absolutely not! Your suffering is the only thing that will bring her the peace she needs to reform!” 

Lia sighed. “Well I can’t let you kill me so it looks like we’re back where we started.”

“Let?! Let me kill you??” Her face looked like it was glowing red, almost like the flames of her hair. Looked like she had crossed a line. “I have killed thousands of heroes and mortals, you are no different! Except your vexing unwillingness to fight back.” 

“Violence doesn’t have to be the answer to everything.” She answered with a shrug. “Besides, don’t you get tired of losing?” 

Emily was not happy with this and lunged. Lia dodged and brought up her sword to slash across her back. The empousa’s screams were heart wrenching. 

“Please,” maybe begging would work. “I don’t want to hurt you!”

“I do not share this sentiment.”

“Really?” She said bitterly. “I couldn’t tell.” She had been awake for a really long time. All she wanted was a nap, maybe even a cup of tea. But no. She had to deal with Little Miss Vengeance.

“This is great and all,” the shorter guy spoke up, though the nervousness in his voice was clear, “But maybe we could try talking out our differences?”

“I’m game if she is!” Lia answered, though she didn’t drop her sword. The guy in the weird yellow costume was trying, not that it would do any good. Lia has been trying to do that since she had gotten jumped in the graveyard. No. Dice.

“How interesting. A mortal that is ever so slightly resistant.” Emily started to move closer to inspect him. That wasn’t good, not good at all, very not good. She slashed at her metal leg, her sword cutting through roughly.

“Now, now. What happened to getting to them afterwards. I’m getting jealous.” She almost cringed at the sarcasm in her own voice. Luckily she had other things to worry about as the empousa turned around and racked her claws down Lia’s shoulder.

Not a pleasant feeling.

“Still jealous, little hero?” She sneered as Lia rolled away, trying not to drop her sword.

“Less so.” She said, gritting her teeth. “Also can we stop with the ‘little hero’ shit? First of all, I’m an inch taller than you. Second of all, I am not a hero. They’ve got their own little clubs and I can assure you I am not a member. Thirdly, You’ve been trying to kill me for like…I don’t know, a week? Two? Don’t you think that warrants a first name basis, Emily?”

“My name,” she seethed. Seething was, in Lia’s opinion, very very bad. “Is Emelia. I refused to be referred to by this lesser name.”

“Oh, my bad.” Emelia, not Emily. “It's lovely to meet you, Emelia. My name is Lia.”

“A horrible name for a horrible girl.”

“Well that's kinda rude.” 

She glanced over at the guy who could apparently still talk. 

“I think it's a nice name.”

“Your opinion means nothing.” Emelia sneered. 

“Thanks.” She offered him a sheepish smile. “Umm…sorry, by the way.”

“Oh no,” He seemed rather calm actually, at his current frozen state. “You’re fine. Believe it or not, this isn’t the weirdest thing that’s happened to me all week. Not even close.”

“Oh…really?”

“Would you please stop talking like I’m not here!” Emelia lunged again and Lia blocked with her sword, but Emelia’s other hand reached out and slashed into her side. She brought up a foot and kicked her away, stumbling back a little herself.

“You sure make a lot of demands.” She huffed. She wasn’t talking her way out of this one. Time to take the offensive. Her arm and side were starting to sing in pain as the adrenaline faded, but if she could just get one good hit in, this would be over. “How about I make one? Tell me how you’ve been reforming so quickly. The Doors Of Death were released. So why do you keep finding your way back here so quickly?” She knew the doors of death had been opened, but the Seven heroes had fixed that problem. Monsters were supposed to be taking their precious time reforming again. If this was a clerical error, she was gonna have some words with Hades. Or Thanatos? Whoever’s jurisdiction this was under was getting a strongly worded letter.

“Die!” 

Not the response she was looking for. Emelia started coming at her in full force, slashing and kicking, backing Lia up to…a stream? But that could work. If she managed to kill her, hopefully her dust would get ripped away from each other by the current, at the very least her reformation would take longer. Since she apparently had a fast pass back to the mortal world. That was, if the empousa didn’t make good on her threats and actually ripped her to shreds. 

She could feel her exhaustion trying to catch up with her. If she lost her speed that would be the end of it. Luckily, Emelia was still recovering from her hurt leg, which had been slowly trickling ichor. It was now or never, and Lia slashed at it again, severing it from her body, bringing her to her knees. 

She stepsided and spun around till she was standing behind the empousa. “I’m sorry.” She whispered before bringing her sword up and plunging it down into her skull with a sickening crunch. She heard shouting behind her as Emelia slowly crumbed to dust that blew into the stream below, hopefully washing her far away. She sank to her knees, her sword clattering on the stone floor. “I hope you find peace.” Her words were barely audible. 

Sometimes she wondered why this happened. Why the monster sought them out. Why were they so desperate to kill them? Sure, the gods couldn’t be killed, so this was supposedly the next best thing. But surely there was another solution, something that didn’t involve all this senseless murder and violence. 

“Excuse me Mis-“ the light touch on her shoulder pulled her out of her head. Her hand immediately went to the inside of her coat where her knife was hidden. Drawing it quickly, she was once again on her feet, knife pushing against the flesh of a throat. 

***

She’d just meant the knife to be threatening. If it was another monster, they probably wouldn’t have said anything, just attacked. A small part of her brain reminded her that there were two mortals in this cave, the whole reason she had stopped to fight, but she’d been in flight or fight mode so long it was either this or jump into the stream.

She took a deep breath as she took in the stranger, who was standing perfectly still, waiting for her to make the next move, seemingly uncaring in the slightest that she had a knife to his throat. A knife that had pushed farther than just against skin if the slow trickle of blood was any indication. Red blood. Not a monster. Though if he was, this would be the first time she’s ever met a monster who wore coat tails and a vest. 

“Sorry about that,” She apologized, moving the knife away from his neck slowly. He gave her a soft smile and nodded. 

“It's quite alright.” 

British, too? 

“Though I hate to state the obvious, you are looking quite…beat, as the children say.”

“Agent A,” the worry in the voice was so clear, “Maybe we should back away from the stranger with the knives?” 

She shot a glance at the guy; he was dressed in a blue and black costume with a mask over his eyes, standing next to his friend. Though he was dressed in a yellow suit, with a white bat(?) on his chest and horns on his helmet. They looked kinda familiar, like one of her brother's action figures. She immediately took a step away.

“Sorry, I’ll get my bag and go.” She sheathed her knife into her jacket, and then slowly bent down to collect her sword. Careful not to turn her back to them, sliding it back in the sheath on her belt.

“I’m afraid I can’t allow it.” Agent A lamented, like it was the only logical solution. 

“Yeah, I mean you just killed someone. We have questions. We’ll need to call Bat-'' The guy with what she finally realized was a bluebird on his chest interrupted, slowly taking the batons off his back. 

Ok, so maybe not cosplay. 

She was in Gotham. She remembered Cecil or Chris saying Gotham had a hoard of Vigilantes that worked with Batman. Had she really found their hideout?

“I’ll need to treat your injuries first. Have you eaten recently?” 

Everyone stared as he walked towards her and slowly started to guide her somewhere. 

“I’m afraid I can only offer a sandwich at the moment, the new groceries won’t be here till later today. Do you eat turkey?” 

“Um…yes?” She hesitated. He didn’t seem threatening. He kinda reminded her of Chiron, though he’d never offered to make her a sandwich before.

“Alf-“ The guy in blue tried again.

“Nightwing, I will temporarily lift your ban on the kitchen. Please go make my guest a sandwich.” 

Nightwing seemed utterly lost at this command. 

“And Signal, if you would grab the young lady’s bag.” 

Signal seemed less lost.

“Sure thing Agent A!” He started to run off.

“Signal?? She’s a stranger in the Cave?” Nightwing said indignantly. 

“Agent A said she's a guest,” He shrugged, picking up the pack before apparently deciding against it. “Yikes. This is heavy.” He was just barely not dragging it on the floor. If she wasn’t so confused, she would tell him not to touch her stuff. “If he says it’s alright then who am I to argue? I don’t want to be on his bad side.”

“Much appreciated, I assure you,” Agent A led her to a cot. She immediately recognized the set up. A field infirmary. “Nightwing? Did your ears get damaged in that last fight with Black Mask?”

“Uhh..N-no,” He answered with uncertainty.

“So you are standing around because...?” He prompted.

“…I'm not explaining this to B,” He called out as he ran off. Perhaps to make her a sandwich, or call the cops, or both. She hoped it was the first one, but number three would do, too. 

Signal carefully deposited her bag at her feet with a loud thunk. “What do you have in there?” He sounded out of breath. 

“…Armor,” She answered slowly as she studied the cave, and it was exactly what she expected. There were bats hanging from the ceiling with massive industrial lights. 

“Armor?” He parroted back. 

“Battle armor,” She specified. She could see all kinds of gadgets and vehicles with Batman's insignia on them.

“Why do you umm…have it?” He asked nervously.

“Family tradition.” There were some costumes on display as well along the wall. She recognized Robin, though they were probably old ones from the previous Robins, and that was about it of the ones that were displayed and apparently not currently in use. They aren’t costumes! They’re super suits!!

“To have battle armor?”

“My family’s crazy,” She brought her gaze back to the vigilante beside her.

“Oh, cool. Uhhh, mine too.”

“…so you're Signal? Like Gotham’s daytime vigilante Signal? Only meta in Gotham Signal?” She asked as she squinted at him. No wonder she thought he looked like an action figure. Wally literally had his action figure.

“Uhhh…yeah.” 

“…Could I have your autograph?” She prompted slowly.

“You want…my autograph?” He echoed back to her. He was one of the city’s heroes, so she had figured he'd get asked that more. Agent A was still collecting stuff from the storage bins, so she looked back at him.

“My…baby brother is a huge fan,” She explained. Wally had talked her ear off about Signal for an hour once, though she couldn’t really remember anything except that he was from Gotham and a meta.

“Oh, sure!” He brightened up, and she opened one of the smaller pockets and pulled out a notebook and pen. “How old is he?” 

“He’ll be five in like four or three weeks.” She handed over the book. “I actually got him a Signal sweatshirt. The hood has the ears on it.” 

“Dang, that sounds really cute. Do you have a picture?” He was carefully writing out the start of a message, but he paused when she opened her locket. The small rectangular box of shiny gold sat in the exact middle of her camp necklace, surrounded on either side by eight beads. A strip of photos came tumbling out. Her locket had a small enchantment on it from the Hecate cabin. All of her siblings would show up, the moment she found out about them, and it also let her know that her siblings were alive; she had found out a few years ago when one died, and the picture disappeared.

At the very bottom was Wally; he was the youngest after all. He had a huge grin on his face and was wearing a dark red shirt. His braids looked like they’d have to be redone soon. She pushed the rest of the strip back in so only Wally could be seen, and angled it so Signal could look.

“His names’ Wally.”

“He’s cute.” Signal smiled before going back to writing. Which worked out because Agent A was walking back over. Seeing all the bandages and medical supplies reminded her of her injuries, all the blood she was probably losing. She closed up the locket and gave it a squeeze.

“Alright Miss…forgive me, I forgot to ask you your name.”

“Call me Lia.”

“Alright Miss Lia, Where doe-“

“Just Lia is fine.” She was ignored.

“-s it hurt the most?” 

“Please?” She was ignored. 

“Probably that shoulder or side. May I?” He gestured to her jacket, and she started to shrug it off before she stopped. 

“Why are you doing this?” She asked skeptically.

“Because you are injured,” He replied simply.

“But you don’t even know me. Nightwing clearly thought my being here was a bad idea, so why are you helping me?” 

He looked at her for a second, confused. 

“Ah! Forgive me, it slipped my mind.” He unbuttoned his right cuff and rolled up his sleeve. It was a tattoo. Not just any tattoo, A legionnaire’s tattoo. With crossed spears. “I now realize I have failed to introduce myself. My name is-“ 

“YOU HAVE A TATTOO?!?” She whipped her head to the side to see Nightwing, who was holding a plate with a sandwich, looking like the world had stopped. Agent A only sighed. 

“How did none of us know you had a tattoo?” He dropped the plate on the cot next to her.

“I didn’t believe it was relevant.” He stated simply. Nightwing looked betrayed at this.

“But is it relevant to her?” She could hear the hurt in his voice. They’d probably known each other a long time.

“A little bit,” She shrugged, and Nightwing and Signal’s gaze shot back to her. She went to scratch the back of her head and explain, but instead, she pulled at the gash on her side and winced. 

Injured. Right.

“If you would take off your jacket Miss Lia,” Agent A promted.

She sighed; getting him to drop the ‘Miss’ was probably a losing battle. She shrugged off her jacket slowly; it was awkward trying not to aggravate her injuries while getting out of it, but eventually it glided off. Shooting a look over her shoulder, she saw Nightwing laying it down next to her sandwich. He was scrutinizing her. But Agent A cleared his throat, and she turned back to him. 

“Let's get you fixed up, shall we?” 

She didn't say anything as he started on her shoulder. Her shirt had been torn to shreds for the most part. As he was stitching up with wider gashes, the sandwich appeared in her peripheral vision. She hesitated before accepting it. 

“Thank you.” She nodded her head to Nightwing before taking a bite. Turkey, lettuce, and a white cheese…american? It was good. And it definitely beat the stale pretzels she'd been snacking on a few…days ago? Whenever she had eaten last. Before she knew it she had inhaled it. She almost asked for another one but, before she could, Nightwing spoke up.

“So how’d you find this place?” 

“I got lost.” Her words felt like cotton in her mouth. 

“Where were you trying to go?”

“Away.” She furrowed her brows. “Home.” She added because that's really where she was heading, home. Back to Camp, back to her siblings.

“And where is home?” 

“Not here.” She looked down at where Agent A was applying a bandage on her side. Nightwing went to say something else but she didn’t hear him as she yawned. Gods, she was tired. She couldn't really remember the last night she had actually slept. 

“Well, your wounds will need to be redressed later so, for now, why don’t you sleep. You should regain your energy.”

“I don’t think-“ she yawned again. “That's a good idea.”

“You want to let a civilian stay in the cave?” 

“I’m afraid I must insist.” He completely ignored Nightwing. “Let me go get you a warm blanket.” He didn’t leave room for argument before walking off, leaving her with Nightwing and Signal.

“Here you go Lia.” She turned and Signal was holding out a notebook to her. 

That's right! She’d asked for an autograph for Wally.

“Thank you! I know he’ll love it!” Curiously, she opened the book, and there was a full paragraph and a picture! But as tired as she was, the letters were flying around like crazy. She tried squinting, but it didn’t help. The picture looked like a cartoonish Signal giving a thumbs up.

“Is my handwriting that bad?” Signal asked worriedly.

“Nah, I’m just like…really dyslexic.” She sighed, putting the book back into her bag. 

“Oh, uh…sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, kid. Really, I’m just too tired to try and make the letters stay still right now.” 

He nodded. She rubbed her eyes. 

“You gave her an autograph?” Nightwing sounded confused…and a little bit of something else.

“It’s for her little brother! Apparently he’s a huge fan!” Signal beamed. Nightwing’s face softened. 

“How old is he?” He asked, turning to her.

“Four, but his birthday is co-“ She yawned again, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth. “Coming up soon.”

“N! He’s really cute too!” Signal added. 

“Oh?” He looked from Signal, then back to her. She sighed and opened the locket again. She didn’t fold the other pictures back in, but held the lot of them out. 

“That’s him. His name is Wally.” 

Nightwing studied it for a second, before his eyes wandered to the other photos. 

“Are all of these your siblings?”

“N, there's no way-“

“Yeah.” She cut Signal off. It wasn’t common to have as many siblings as she did.

“…there are like a dozen photos.” Signal said in a mix of shock, horror, and awe.

“Our father gets around,” She shrugged. 

“Are they oldest to youngest?” Nightwing asked as he started to study them.

“Yeah.” 

“So she’s the oldest?” He asked, pointing to the picture of Selina, which was mostly hidden by the door of the locket. He probably couldn’t see it very well and wanted her to show it to him…which was absolutely a no-go. That was 110% a revelation she was going to avoid at all costs.

“Yeah,” she started to fold up the photos and close the locket. Nightwing went to say something, but agent A returned with a quilt and a pillow.

“I trust these should be sufficient, though it can be terribly drafty in the Cave. Do let me know if you require another.”

“Thank you Agent A. I should be alright with just this. I’ve been running around these caves for about two days, so this is a luxury,” She grinned as she took the bedding.

“Ah! Please, call me Alfred, Miss Lia.” 

She smiled; it suited him.

“Alright, but only if you call me just Lia.” She countered. His eyebrows furrowed just a bit. She had to take her chance, the miss just made it too formal.

“Miss Lia, I-“ 

“Agent A.” She pushed again. His face didn’t move an inch.

“This is a pointless argument.” Indignation really held more weight with a british accent. “I’ll have you know.”

“Then you won’t mind conceding.” Her eyes were growing heavy, but her stubbornness demanded she get this before she blacked out from exhaustion.

“…for now I will concede. You seem determined to argue the point, so I shall table this for when you are more rested and less injured.” 

She could feel her body start to slump but she cocked an eyebrow, another fight she was sure to win. 

“Do rest now Mi-…Lia.” 

“Thank you, Alfred.” She gave him a loose smile. He was probably the most non-confrontational child of Ares…no, Mars she had ever met. Mars was a little different than Ares, she supposed. Maybe he just knew how to pick his battles. She put the pillow down, and caught a glance of Nightwing and Signal with their mouths hanging open. She decided it wasn’t important and pulled the blanket over herself. She was asleep before her head made contact with fabric.

In a rare stroke of luck, she didn’t dream at all.

***

“Well I don't see her.” A gruff voice argued.

“I’m telling you Jay! She was sleeping right here!” 

She recognized the voice but she didn’t know from where.

“And I’d still be sleeping if you two would pipe down.” She grumbled. 

“What the hell?!” 

She crawled out from underneath the cot she had gotten off of in the middle of the night and crawled under. 

“Why were you under there?”

She looked up and one of the guys was the blue one from last night….what had his name been? And the other was wearing a gray jumpsuit with a red bat on his chest, a brown leather jacket, and a red helmet. She had definitely seen his action figure lying around Cabin 11. She squinted at him like it would help her remember.

“Too exposed.” She reached for the pillow Alfred had brought her, that she had dragged under the cot with her. She stood up and put it back on the cot and folded the blanket too. Just like on her bunk back at camp. A camp she needed to get back to. 

“Exposed to what?” 

It was really bugging her. That she couldn’t remember it. Cecil had been so excited when she had asked about it; he’d given her a college style lecture on everything he knew about the Gotham…vigilante? Crime lord? It had been unclear to her at the time.

“Bats.” Hopefully they found the pun funny and not suspicious. She walked over and picked up her pack and slung it onto her shoulder before wincing and dropping it again. “Shit.”

“We’re here to redress your wounds.” The guy in blue explained. She still couldn’t remember his name.

“And you need two people for that?” She asked, sitting back down on the cot. She could feel the twinge of pain in her side. The ambrosia she had eaten when she had woken up to crawl underneath her cot had definitely helped, but it could only do so much, like knit the skin back together and knock her out from the energy usage. But the pain and soreness was still there. 

“We’re a cautious group.” The blue guy stated. 

“He means we’re paranoid.” The red guy corrected. His name finally popping up in her head.

“Red Hood! That’s your name, right?” She asked. He tilted his head to the side.

“Yeah, why? Your brother a fan of me too?” 

She could hear the joke in his voice.

“Not the same brother, but yeah. He thinks you’re…what did he say?” She tried to think of it. “Gods, uhhh, something about being like Robin Hood, but actually sticking around to make sure the poor got to keep what he gave them.”

“Oh yeah?” He crossed his arms, sounding smug. The blue guy went around gathering supplies.

“He also said your costume was cool.” 

“Damn right it’s cool. You gonna ask for my autograph too?” He sounded almost excited. 

“You willing to give me one?” She raised an eyebrow. He didn’t seem like the type. 

“Anything for a fan.” He shrugged.

“Yeah? Well, I’ll take you up on it. Cecil will freak.” She said with a small smile. She dug the same notebook out of her pack and handed it to him, though when she looked back up his helmet was being set down. Though a mask similar to the blue guy rested on his eyes. But what really caught her eye was the white streak in his hair. It seemed familiar, but she couldn’t remember where she had seen it. Maybe it reminded her of Percy and Annabeth, who had similar streaks from holding up the sky. Not just that, but how young he looked. Her hand froze around the book as he reached for it. 

“Something wrong, Blondie?” 

“You just look younger than I thought you’d be.” She said. Being young at camp was one thing, but she always thought it was shitty when mortals got pulled into hero life at a young age.

-

“You’re never too young to help those around you!”

-

“I hate when people say that.” He grumbled. He looked about the same age as Connor. 

“Doesn’t everyone?” She asked as Nightwing came back over. “And you? What’s your super cool hero name?” He stopped. Red Hood froze, too.

“You don’t know him?” Red Hood said. “This is the best day ever, and you are my favorite person!”

“What?” She asked looking back at him. There was a grin on his face. 

“I mean, you asked Signal and I for our autographs, and you don’t even know the golden boy’s name! Ha! Normally it's the other way around.” He seemed giddy, kinda like Alice after pulling a particularly complex prank.

“I mean… I don’t really stay up to date on all the capes in the world.” She shrugged. 

“Yeah, yeah, alright Little Wing, write your silly little monologue.” He bantered, pushing Red Hood’s shoulder slightly, before turning to her. “I’m Nightwing. May I?” He gestured to her bandaged side. She nodded and pulled her shirt up to expose the bandage. Nightwing set to work pulling off the bandage, but as soon as it was off he paused. 

“Dickwing, I thought you said she was scratched to hell? That looks like a cat scratch.” 

She shot a glance down, she hadn’t checked last night, but there were four lines where Emelia had scratched her. They had probably been deep and bloody, judging from the blood on her shirt and the bandage, but, for the most part, they did look like cat scratches. But she could see scar tissue where the ambrosia could only heal so much. 

“It was worse.” He faltered, catching her eye before pulling the neckline of her shirt over and removing the second bandage. “This one’s the same…but they were…worse.” He stared back into her eyes, as if he could find the truth by staring into her soul.

“Clearly not as bad as you thought. They look like they just need a bandaid.” She suggested. His eyes narrowed. “Look, if you’re not gonna put the bandages on, I have places I need to be.”

“You can’t leave.” He insisted as she tried to get up.

“Excuse me?” It was her turn to glare. 

“We need answers. A lot of stuff happened last night. Stuff that you could probably explain.”

“I don’t remember anything happening last night.” She lied. Straight through her teeth.

“Really? So no goat woman with flaming hair chased you into the cave?” His voice was low and even. Dangerously even. “That was all just a figment of our imagination?”

“Some people have pretty overactive imaginations.” She knew she wasn’t being convincing. Just digging her grave deeper and deeper.

“If she was just a figment of my imagination, how’d you get these scratches?” His voice was dark. His hands were slowly gravitating towards the batons on his back. 

“She’s not dead.” She swallowed thickly. She could feel her eyes prickle. The guilt started to build up. 

“Then where is she?” A dark voice sounded and their heads snapped to see. And see she did. Batman. In the flesh. The cowl. The cape. The way he both filled up a room and had no presence at all. She could feel herself tense, ready to bolt. With how Batman was scrutinizing her, he could probably sense it, too.

“Probably searching for me so she can try to kill me again.” She pushed off the cot and grabbed her bag. She ignored the pain this time. It was getting heavy again; she’d have to go through all the things she’d acquired over the last two months. “So if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going now.”

“I can’t let you do that.”

“And what right do you have to keep me here?” She asked calmly, standing in front of him like she didn’t know what he was capable of. Like he wasn’t someone she should be wary of. 

“You broke into a highly secure hideout an-.”

“I got lost in a cave system.” She scoffed. “Trust me, I didn’t wanna find your little hero cave.”

“You killed someone.”

“I told you,” she was getting frustrated. “She’s not dead.”

“Then where is she?“

She sighed. If she had just kept her mouth shut, maybe tried to play off that she had hit her head or was too tired to remember, she could’ve gotten out of this. “I don’t have time for this right now.” She started walking again, only to be frozen in her tracks. 

“If you aren’t guilty then why are you dodging the questions?” 

“Because I have people waiting for me. People that count on me.” She tried to keep the emotion out of her voice and the tears out of her eyes as she turned her head to look up at the Batman. “People I need to protect. And I can’t do that if I’m in a stupid cave.” She pushed past him. She tried to make a break for it. She was faster than the average mortal, but Batman grabbed her in a death grip. She was not having this today. She grabbed his hand and yanked, then moved behind, bringing his arm with him. He flipped and hit the floor before rolling to stand up again. She went to run, but Nightwing was standing in her path. “Please.” She begged quietly.

“Let’s just calm down. We just want to know what happened. If you’ll just-“ 

She ran up to him, faking right, then faking left before twirling around and breaking past him. She felt him grab her arm and pull her back. She used that momentum to punch him. She turned her head and aimed for his cheek. The least likely to do permanent damage, and also one of the few places not covered in armor. He loosened his grip and she yanked her arm and bolted. She didn’t make it far before she felt something pinch her neck. Her hand went up to investigate and she pulled out a dart. Her body started to feel weak. 

Did they tranq me??

“I have people I need to protect too.” 

That’s what filled her ears as she blacked out. Again.

***

She woke up with a start, immediately going for the knife in her jacket. Only she didn’t have her jacket, or her knife. She glanced around. She was on a bed, not a cot. Definitely a mattress and frame instead of stretched canvas. The walls were part of the cave, though they were smooth instead of jagged. The most notable thing was the bars. She immediately ran to them, pushing on them. “No, No.” She yanked on them as hard as she could, before actually assessing the situation. There was a door to the right, cut into the bars, and a lock. And there was a lock! She could 100% get out of here. She reached her hands through the bars on either side to try and get a feel for the lock. Keycodes were hardest since it was more electronic than mechanism. Her fingers had just found a key hole and keypad when she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“You’re awake.” A voice called and her head shot up, searching for the source. And she found it. Batman, tucked partially into the shadows. 

“You have no right to keep me here. Let me out.” Her throat hurt, probably from the chokehold. 

“Not until I get some answers.” There was not a single drop of emotion on his face. At least, not on the half of it she could see.

“Aren’t you supposed to be the World’s Greatest Detective?” She quipped sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. She pulled her hands back. She’d have to wait to assess the lock. 

“It never hurts to have a second account.” A young voice echoed in the darkness. Another vigilante stepped out. His suit was red with a yellow “X” across his chest; he sported a black cape, gloves, and pants. A mask guarded his eyes and the sides of his face but left his dark hair on display.

“How many of you are there?” She asked, sarcastically, and mostly to herself.

“I’m Red Robin.” His answer did not answer her question

The cadence of his voice seemed familiar. 

“What's your name?” Red Robin’s smile was small but genuine.

She pushed off where she was holding onto the bars and went back to the bed. If they were gonna interrogate her, then she was gonna be comfy. As she sat down, Batman spoke up again.

“Your name?” 

She raised another eyebrow at him.

“Again, aren’t you called the ‘World’s Greatest Detective’?” She asked pointedly. “I’m sure you can figure that out, if you haven’t already.” She put a blanket on her legs and leaned her back against the cave wall.

“…Aurelia Vanguard.” Red Robin supplied after a few seconds of tense silence. 

“See?” She gave Batman a pointed look, before going back to studying the cell. 

“We have your background and your history, but we still have a few questions for you.” At least Red Robin decided to treat her like a person. She hummed in acknowledgement but didn’t do anything else.

“How did you find the Cave?” He asked. 

She glanced at him but stayed silent. 

“Umm ok, what are you doing in Gotham?”

More silence. 

“How do you know the individual known as Emelia?” 

This one was Batman. She stared past both of them and looked at the wall behind them.

“Please, if you answer the questions the sooner we can resolve any misunderstandings.” Red Robin tried. Batman shot him a look but said nothing. 

But she couldn’t. They perceived her as a threat, and probably wouldn’t let her go ‘til she told them everything she knew… was entirely too much for a bunch of mortals. Not to mention she really shouldn’t tell them. On the off chance that they actually believed her. Best to just wait for an opportunity to break out and run for it.

“You really aren’t gonna say anything?” Red Robin asked.

“Where's my stuff?” Her pack wasn’t in here, which means they were probably rifling through it. Probably in the hopes of figuring out her nonexistent evil schemes.

“Escape won’t work.” 

She was starting to get really curious about how Batman’s voice got that growly. 

“I was gonna change my clothes.”  She stated pointedly to Red Robin. “These are ripped to shreds and covered in blood.”

Red Robin seemed to consider this and ran off. She could see Batman glance after him, but he quickly put his focus back on her. He was probably glaring. She wanted to glare right back, but, with the adrenaline rush she got after waking up fading, her eyes were starting to droop again. 

“Are you affiliated with the League of Assassins?” 

She just stared. 

“We haven’t found any records on Emelia. Why?” 

She yawned and felt her chest shake. She didn’t hear his next question.

“Sorry, could you repeat that?” Her words slurred with exhaustion.

“This takes as long as you make it take,” Batman growled. Again. She laid down.

“Imma take a nap then,” She yawned as she fell asleep. Again. 

***

“Miss Aurelia, are you awake? I’ve brought you dinner.” 

She rolled over and looked at Alfred, who was indeed holding a tray of food. 

“Not hungry.” She rolled back over.

“Tt. How ungrateful.” 

She recognized that voice too. She rolled back over and sat up. It was a young boy, also dressed up. 

Robin, her brain supplied. 

“Pennyworth, I fail to see why you were so insistent about her.”

“Robin,” he chastised. And that was it, Robin was quiet. No other words necessary. They must all really respect him. Exactly like Chiron. “Miss Aurelia, you haven’t eaten in some time, I’m afraid I must insist.” And that’s when the smell hit her nose, and her stomach yelled. “It seems your stomach agrees with me.”

She sighed and got out of the bed. There was a small opening at the bottom of the barred door that Alfred slid the tray under. She sat down directly in front of the tray. It was a large mug of tomato soup and what was probably a fancy grilled cheese sandwich. 

“It looks amazing, thank you for the food.” She picked up the mug carefully, it was still steaming. The first sip was delicious, if it wasn’t so hot she probably would’ve chugged it.

“I apologize for the lack of utensils. I’m afraid Batman deemed them a security risk,” Alfred explained with a bit of a sour expression.

“Nah, I get it. Besides, the mug works just fine.” She looked over at Robin as she drank the soup slowly. She recognized him, she was sure of it, but from where…the roof!

***

“Oh…sorry. I didn’t know anyone was up here. My bad. I’ll just uh…be going.” She had started to climb back down before what she had seen really registered. Two kids with their arms behind their backs, and two guys with guns. She sighed and climbed back up. “Sorry, this probably isn’t any of my business. But, um…why are they tied up?” 

“You’re right, it is none of your business.” Goon #1 said dismissively. They looked the exact same, except he was a little taller where Goon #2 was wider. They both had handguns. 

“Get lost, Blondie.” 

She looked over at the kids. One was an older teenager, with longish dark hair and pale skin…bags under his eyes. The other kid was younger, maybe ten, with olive skin and dark brown hair, but shorter and spiked up. The younger one was subtly trying to get out of whatever they had used to tie them up with, and she was pretty sure the older one already was.

“Yeah…but I’m pretty nosy. So…” she gestured to them. “Why do you have two tied up kids on the top of a skyscraper?” Goon #1 started walking towards her. 

“I said, get lost Blondie.” He aimed his gun at her while his friend’s was still aimed at the boys.

“Does she have a death wish?” The younger boy asked.

“Yeah, well, I actually already am lost. And this is like…really sketchy.”

“Super sketchy.” The teen agreed, nodding.

“So why are they tied up?”

“Get lost before I shoot you!” He was getting loud, which meant she needed to stay very calm. 

“I’m good but thank you.” The rational part of her brain was screaming. She already had the Empousa hunting her down, she didn’t need mortal goons trying to kill her too. Though by the slight shake in his hand, she didn’t think he was going to. It was a big gamble. 

“...What?” 

Everyone seemed to stop.

“Like I said, I’m already lost. I’m not from Gotham. And I can’t leave because I’m pretty sure you’re holding these children hostage. Which, I’m pretty sure, is illegal.” She walked farther into the roof, away from her escape, her sanity. “So you can either let me stay, or shoot me I suppose.” She sat down and stretched out her legs in front of her. “But my feet are killing me and I’m not getting up.”

“Are you insane, bitch?” Goon #2 said, staring at her. 

“Yeah, probably. So,” she turned to the kids. “Why are you up here?” 

“Oh uhh…” The older teen looked at their captors then back to her. “They’re holding us for ransom, but I won’t call our dad, so no one really knows we’re missing…except maybe my assistant. I think I had a meeting about ten minutes ago? They probably think I’m hiding in a closet somewhere drinking coffee.” 

“Huh…” She considered this. “So you’re playing chicken with the people holding a gun to your face?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” He nodded. “I’m Tim, by the way. And this is Damian, my little brother.” He nodded his head to the younger kid.

“Nice to meetcha.” She gave them a small salute. “If it makes you feel any better I don’t think he’s going to. Shoot you, I mean.” 

“Excu-“

“Yeah, I think they were going for the scare factor more than actual use.” He agreed.

“You seem awfully calm for a kid being held for ransom.” She added.

“Just a regular Tuesday, I’m afraid.”

“It’s Thursday, Drake.” Damian snarked.

“Shit, really?? I had five meetings today!”

“And?” Damian didn’t seem impressed.

“Because, Demon brat, I only went to two. Because I thought it was Tuesday.” He sounded much more panicked than when he was just being held hostage. And they thought she was the crazy one. Everyone had their own priorities, she guessed.

“Alright, that’s it!” Goon #1 spoke up again. “Give us Wayne’s number or he starts shooting.”

“Yeah.” She turned back to them. “Sure ya will.” 

“I mean it!”

“Then shoot me.” She prompted calmly.

“H-he will!”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” She scoffed.

“Listen, I just need the money! and then-“

“Now we’re getting somewhere! So, what’s the money for?”

“It’s-“ he started then paused, looking over to Goon #2. “It’s our little sister. She’s really sick. And-“

“Baxter! They don’t need to know that! They just need to call their super rich daddy, and then-“

“What happened to her?.” Tim spoke up. 

“Shut up, Drake.”

“We live in Crime Alley, and there’s this new virus going around. But we can’t afford the doctor or the medicine. But the Waynes have plenty of money! We just need enough to make sure she can recover.” 

She could see how broken this made Baxter in his eyes, Goon #2, too. 

“Please, she’s my baby sister. She’s twelve years old and all she wants to do is be a doctor and help people. We just need the money, then we’ll let you go!” 

She could completely understand this. If it was between doing something she thought was wrong and losing one of her siblings, well…it was an easy choice.

“I’m sorry,” Tim said. “About your sister. But I can’t just let you hold us for ransom either.” 

She could see their eyes harden again. 

“But! I have an idea. Wayne Enterprises has a massive budget for charity and community outreach programs. In fact we’ve been looking to start a new one. Maybe it could be working towards better healthcare for the Narrows.” 

She pulled her knees up to her chest. Even Baxter and his brother were considering it. 

“Why do you care?” Baxter asked, lowering his gun.

“Our brother was from Crime Alley. He used to talk all the time about doing anything we could to help them. It’s what he would’ve wanted us to do.” He said softly, and Baxter’s gun was loose at his side. Would’ve. Past tense.

“This won’t just help you sister.” She said softly. “It’ll help people, just like she wanted. But this,” She gestured to the weapons and the kids, who she was positive were now completely free. “Is this really what she would want? You, hurting them to help her?”

“No…she wouldn’t.”

“We don’t get to choose our situations, but we can choose how we deal with them.” She said as she slowly got up. “So what’s it gonna be? Are you gonna shoot us?” She held out her hand. “Or are you gonna help people?” 

Baxter looked at her and slowly put the butt of the gun in her hand. She released the clip and put the safety on before tucking it into her waistband. His brother, though, had different thoughts on the matter.

“And how do we know you aren’t just saying that to get us to let you go? Huh!” He was swinging his gun around, pointing it at all of them. “You’re just gonna call the cops and Nessie’s gonna die while we rot in jail! No deal.”

“Alan, please-“ Baxter tried. 

“No! We’re doing this to help her! Family first! Remember?” He was trying to sound menacing, but he just sounded scared. “Bax, you promised!” 

“Listen,” she started softly. “I understand wanting to do anything to help your little siblings. She looks up to you, and you’d do anything to keep her looking at you like that.” She took a careful step towards him. He cocked his gun. “But this? If you do this, that look in her eyes?” She swallowed thickly. “That look goes away forever. And there’s nothing you’ll be able to do to fix it.”

-

“Lia, it’s for us! For our siblings! For everyone! Why should they get to order us around? Why should we have to take responsibility for their actions?”

-

“How do you know that?” He wavered, she took another step. “How could you possibly know that?” 

“Because you haven’t shot me yet? Because you know the moment you do you won’t be able to look her in the eyes again.” Because I was her and Luke was you. “But you can still turn back. It’s not too late for her, and it is not too late for you.”

“I-“ He looked between her, Tim and Damian, and Baxter. Then back to Tim. “You’ll really help her?”

“It’s like you said, the Waynes have more than enough money. And we have funds specifically allocated for this.” His smile was reassuring. “And if you let us go,” he added. “Maybe I tell my assistant this was a pitch meeting instead of an active hostage situation. No jail time.” 

Alan slowly took his hand off the trigger and handed the gun to her. 

“O-okay.” She took it and nodded, releasing the clip and putting the safety on before also adding it to her waistband.

“Now,” She turned to them. “Let’s get you boys back downstairs shall we?” She walked past Baxter to them, lifting the pocket knife that was clipped to his belt. She could see the panic in Tim’s eyes, but before he could let out an excuse she was crouched behind him pretending to cut the zip ties. “Those looked pretty tight.” She faked concern. “Was your circulation cut off at all?”

“..No,” he responded slowly, bringing his hands to the front and rubbing at his perfectly fine wrists “No, it wasn’t.” She scooted closer to Damian and did the same thing.

“How about you, Kid?” 

“I am not a child.” He grumbled. She shot a look at Tim, who shook his head. “And I am quite well, thank you.”

“Sure thing ki-,” she stopped herself. “Damian.” 

“Tt.”

She looked over at Baxter and Alan, they seemed pretty unsure about what happened next. 

“You gonna be okay to handle them?” She asked Tim, keeping her voice down. She may understand their reason, but she didn’t like people who used children as pawns.

“Yeah, we were already planning a program like this anyways so it just shifts the timeline a bit. No biggie.” He shrugged. Then he looked over at her. “Why’d you do that?”

“Do what?” She asked, cocking her head to the side. 

“Get involved. Most people really would’ve just hightailed it outta there. You came back. Why?” She looked at him for a moment, and smiled.

“You’re just a couple of kids. Kids shouldn’t have to deal with stuff like this.” She said honestly. 

“Did you know I’m actually the CEO of Wayne Enterprises and this is technically my building?” He said in a joking tone.

“This is Father’s building.” Damian corrected.

“Whatever, Dami.”

“…So you’re saying that they could’ve just asked you for the money this whole time?” She asked.

“They totally could’ve, yeah.” He grinned. “But for real, thanks. Our dad and older brother get super paranoid and hover-y when stuff like this happens. You saved us from a fate worse than death.”

“Ha! Well I can’t say I don’t get it.” She laughed. “I’m the same way. It’s probably because they weren’t here, and if anything were to happen they’d think of all the ways they could have prevented it if they had been here.”

“Yeah…yeah that’s probably it.” He studied her. But she had already been here too long. The Empousa was probably catching up.

“Well, get home safe, and good luck with your new community improvement thing.”

“Uh yeah, sure. Thanks.” She heard Damian mention something to Tim but she didn’t hear it as she crossed the roof as she had planned on in the first place and got on the ladder.

“I hope your sister gets better!” She called as she started climbing. She heard them yell back something that was probably ‘thank you’ as she made her way back down and hopefully to a nearby skyscraper. 

***

“Why are you staring at me?” Robin demanded. Yeah, definitely the same kid, which meant that Tim was probably Red Robin. They had the same haircut, at the very least. She sipped on her soup before turning to Alfred.

“It's delicious, thank you.” She said before taking a bite of the sandwich. It was probably the best grilled cheese she had ever tasted.

“I’m glad you enjoy it, Miss Aurelia.” His face didn’t really give anything away. Maybe his eyes were a bit sad? 

“I thought we were over the ‘Miss’ thing?” She groaned. “Just Lia is fine.” 

“I’m afraid it would be wrong of me to refer to a guest as anything less.” He gave her the smallest smile, but his tone didn’t change. And she had to keep reminding herself that he probably worked for Batman, the guy who had locked her up.

“I don’t think I really count as a guest anymore.” She said, a knuckle tapping on one of the bars. 

“I’m afraid Batman doesn’t like being surprised, and even more,” He took a pause. “He doesn’t like when people could be a threat to his family.”

She took a larger sip of her soup, it was cooling off quite a bit now. “This still seems a little extreme.” 

“I quite agree with you, Miss.” 

She sighed and drained the rest of her soup. It warmed her up from the inside out, kinda like drinking molten lava. Now that she thought about it, drinking hot tomato soup was pretty close to that. The color, depending on how hot it-

“How did you infiltrate the Batcave?” 

“Why is he here?” She asked Alfred. 

“To protect him, of course.” He replied before Alfred could. 

“He deemed you too much of a threat to allow me to see you alone.” She chuckled. With her sandwich finished, she slid the tray back under the door. Alfred picked it up and tucked it under his arm.

“She threw Batman.” Robin reasoned. “And she got a solid hit on Nightwing. She is clearly a warrior, if her belongings are anything to go off of. Though, why Nightwing seems to insist the sword is-“

“Did you happen to grab me a change of clothes? Ya know, when you were going through my things?” 

Robin went to respond but someone, Nightwing, spoke up first. 

“Robin, I thought B told you to stay away from her.” 

She snapped her head to the voice, Nightwing, and winced. He had a huge bruise on his cheek. Demigods were a tad stronger than mortals. Partially because they were half god and partially because they spent most of their time training. Glancing at his face reminded her of that. 

“Nightwing, I was simply protecting Pennyworth from an unkno-“

“Quite so,” Alfred agreed. “Though I believe I shall get back to the kitchen and begin preparations for dinner, If you would escort me.” Alfred said, walking off. Robin glanced at Alfred, and then scowled back to her one more time before following him. Which left her with Nightwing. The ugly green and purple skin filled her with regret. 

“Admiring your handiwork?” He asked.

“Regretting a hasty decision.” She corrected, looking down at the floor, then taking a quick glance back at his face. “Is it as bad as it looks?”

He laughed softly. “I’ve had worse. You’re stronger than you look though.” He gracefully sat down across from her. “Are you feeling better? How are your injuries?” 

She hadn’t checked. She pulled her shirt to the side and assessed it. There was barely a scab. She poked at it. A little tender, and the scar was pretty visible. Another one for the collection. She let her shirt fall back into place. She wished she could change, this one was ripped to shreds. 

“I’ve had worse.” She parroted back to him. She looked back to find him studying her. 

“You heal pretty fast.” His gaze narrowed.

“I guess.” She went back to staring at the floor. “Are you here to interrogate me too?” 

“I actually have an offering.” He said as he pushed a bundle through the bars. “Red Robin said you wanted a change of clothes.”

She stared at him for a second before cautiously taking it. Her favorite pair of pajama pants and her camp t-shirt greeted her. She stood up and walked over to the bed, dropping them on the blankets before reaching for her back and starting to pull her ruined shirt over her head. She was so ready to be out of this crunchy shirt. 

“That’s umm…a lot of scars.” 

She stilled her arms and called over her shoulder.

“Ya know, it’s pretty rude to stare.” She could see from the corner of her eye how fast he spun around. She almost laughed.

“Sorry.” He muttered quietly. She finished pulling off the ruined shirt and yanked her camp shirt over her head, then shucked off her sneakers and quickly exchanged her stiff jeans for the soft sweatpants. 

“Alright.” She turned around and sat on the edge of the bed, watching as he turned back around from where he was facing the wall. “So what's the real reason you’re here? Cause I really doubt it was just to bring me a change of clothes.”

“You got me. I’ve got a couple of questions for you.” 

Her face scrunched but she had expected this. She turned around and crawled across the bed ‘til she could sit with her back against the wall. And she looked at him again. “Soo….?”

“Go on.”

“…Really?” He looked startled, like he'd been expecting her to stare at him till he left. “You’ll answer my questions?”

“I didn’t say I’d answer them.” She corrected, she started picking the dirt out from under her nails. “But you might as well ask. Who’s to say I don’t have a change of heart. So go on pretty boy, before I decide sleeping is a better use of my time.”

“Pretty?” His mouth quirked up. She glared at him slightly.

“That’s what you wanna focus on out of what I just said?”

“Uhhh, right, soo…” He seemed to be blanking.

“The questions?” She prompted. 

“Right. So what exactly are you doing in Gotham?” When she didn’t answer for a few seconds he added. “Ya know, it’s just…not really a place people tend to visit unless they have to. And even then they try their best to avoid it.” She thought about it; it was a fair question. She’d told Selina at least once every time she came to visit how much this city sucked. 

“Heading home.” She’d already told them that, no point hiding what they already knew. 

“Long Island.” He added. “Right? According to records you work at a strawberry farm and summer camp. That the same camp as the logo on your shirt?” 

Now it was starting to sound more like an interrogation. She looked down at the bright orange cotton and black ink. Why they had chosen orange for kids that were pretty much always trying to stay out of the spotlight she would never understand. It seemed counterproductive to her. 

“Yeah.” She said looking back up.

“Fun, what does “Half Blood” mean?” His voice had gone from easy going and light to driven. She was half tempted to joke but she didn’t think that would be appreciated, or taken well. 

“The camp’s been around for a while. No one really knows the meaning behind the name anymore.” Lies were always harder to find when hidden in truths.

“Ever heard of the League of Assassins?” 

Batman had mentioned that. 

“Is that some kinda emo boy band?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. He chuckled. 

“No, I’m afraid not.” 

She hadn’t meant to call him a pretty boy earlier but it definitely fit. His smile was kind of dazzling.

“What a shame.” She deadpanned. 

“Where’d you get the sword? And the knife? Signal says they look antique.” She just stared at him. She didn’t think he’d accept ‘from a tool shed at the camp I work at. And from a greek god.’ 

“Alright, what about the armor?” 

She rolled her eyes.

“Ok, do you remember the path you took that led you to the Bat Cave?”

“Is that really what you guys call this place?” She was drumming her hands on her knees; when he didn’t respond, she sighed. “No, I was half asleep. I only remember running through them.” She paused for a second. “Ya know, if you didn’t want people getting in here you should really wall it up.”

“We are rectifying the problem,” He assured her. 

“Well I’m glad I could help with your security problem. Any chance you’d let me out now?” Her skin was crawling. She hadn’t sat still this long in a while and it was clear her body didn’t know what to do with it. She wished she had the space to run.

He just stared at her for a minute. “For what it’s worth. I was against keeping you in a cell.” 

“Not worth much apparently.” She whispered to herself, looking down.

“Why were you willing to talk to me?” 

Her head shot up. 

“You gave Batman and Red Robin the silent treatment, so why me?” 

She thought about just laying down with her back to him. Ignoring him. But what was one more answer.

“He’s already made up his mind about me. You seemed more willing to listen.” She shrugged.

“And I am.” He agreed. “If you tell me what happened we can get this whole mess cleared up. Lickity-split.” She sighed, bringing her knees up to her chest, if only it was that easy.

“You know, you seem pretty whelmed about this whole situation. Like none of it phases you.” She almost laughed at his use of a root word.

“I could say the same about you and Signal. Emelia froze you in place and you didn’t really seem to bat an eye.” She chuckled at the pun.

“Funny thing about that.” Nightwing narrowed his eyes. “I went back over the security footage that should have caught what happened and it's all been mysteriously corrupted. You and Emelia aren’t recognizable.”

“That is funny.” She said carefully. The Mist did that with electronics. Though most of the time it was just with monsters, not demigods. 

“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?” She shrugged her shoulders.

“I can barely operate a smartphone.”

Before Nightwing could continue, there was a sound like a gun discharging and yelling. His head whipped to the sound and he went to run towards it before looking back at her.

“Go on.” She said waving him off. “Not like I’m gonna go anywhere.” He gave her a sad smile before rushing off. 

She pushed herself off the bed and went to the bars again. The shouting in the distance told her that the vigilantes in the cave were occupied, so she started to feel out the lock. She wouldn’t unlock it yet, but it never hurt to be prepared.

Chapter Text

The worst part about being a demigod? In Lia’s opinion, the dreams. 

Constantly being targeted by monsters; Running errands for self-righteous gods and deities; Not living what most would consider a “normal life”; It was more annoying and frustrating than anything else. 

But the dreams? Well, there were only a select few things she wouldn’t give to be rid of them. A list she was currently compiling as she glared at the figure currently intruding on her dreamscape. 

“Really, Aurelia, must you look at me with such contempt?” The man in front of her asked. He was dressed like a runner. Athletic shirt, shorts, and sneakers. All lean muscles and crooked features. 

“Sorry, Hermes,” she shrugged as she leaned against the door frame she couldn’t seem to escape out of. Her dream world had taken the form of a post office. Maybe it was Hermes’ influence. “It’s an involuntary response.”

“It would not be wrong of you to call me Dad. Your siblings do.” His expression barely changed, but Lia knew he was pouting. 

“I’m not having this conversation again.” She lowered her eyebrows. “Is there a reason you’re interrupting my beauty sleep?”

“Actually, it was your siblings.” He quickly moved on. “I have received quite a few offerings with requests that I check on your wellbeing.” All of the disdain in her body was run off by warmth. 

They’re worried about me? 

“And I must admit, to find you incarcerated was quite concerning if I wasn’t sure you could bust out of here anytime you wanted…but why do you stay?”

Gods never really seemed to understand how the mortal world worked. She was half tempted to make a slideshow explaining why some things just didn’t fly in the mortal world. But only half.

“Because the people that locked me up are the type to ask questions. Questions that, if answered, could put camp in danger.” Which would put my siblings in danger. “So I’m gonna see if I can wait them out. Besides, the food here slaps.”

“Slaps.” Hermes repeated under his breath, though he didn’t ask her to explain the slang. Maybe he was still wary of the last time he’d asked her to explain a slang term to him and she’d thought she’d be funny and give him the wrong explanation. 

“When did you receive the offerings?” She changed the subject. Gods tended to have a bad case of time-blindness. And her siblings tended to be impatient, and if they thought she was MIA…well, they were also pretty dramatic. 

“Perhaps a few days ago? Or a week? The mortal concept of time is rather constricting.” Hermes sounded more like he was talking to himself than answering her question. 

“Shit.” She started pacing the empty post office. “If it's been a week then I really need to get out of here ASAP.” She started mumbling the pros of breaking out under her breath. The cons that would absolutely come back to bite her in the ass. 

“Perhaps-“ Hermes started.

“Didn’t ask.” She cut him off. What was the best way to escape Batman and Co. without alerting them, being followed, and/or recaptured? 

“Is it not a Father’s place to offer advice to his progeny?” She rolled her eyes at him. 

“Sorry, Dad,” She added as much sarcasm as she could to the name. “But gods are forbidden from interfering in the lives of mortals, remember?” She barely saw the hurt flash across his eyes. Blue eyes. It always struck her how much Hermes looked like Luke, like herself for that matter. Or Dana, or Housten. The straw blond hair and steel blue eyes. Though he lacked any faults. Perfect tan, not a hint of stubble on his face. His clothes looked perfectly pressed, not a single wrinkle in sight. Sometimes she would look at his face and expect to see Luke’s scar. A pale white line from eyebrow to under his cheek bone. Or the spray of freckles that peppered her cheekbones and nose. Or the beauty mark Housten had had on the side of his face. A small slit in his eyebrow from where Dana had been challenged to single combat, and though she had won the fight, she had gained the smallest little scar right through her eyebrow. 

Hermes mumbled something in ancient greek. She didn’t catch the words but she was sure it was something childish. 

“Anything else?” She asked. Plans were nice, but that was Cabin 5’s specialty. Lia’s schemes always relied on improvisation. Better to react and adapt to the environment around her then plan for something unnecessary. Annabeth always said that was dumb and reckless, but Lia had survived this far so it couldn’t be all that bad. 

“You visited your grandmother recently, yes?”

“Yeah, why?” Hermes’ mother, Maia, had been one of the goddesses Lia had prayed to when she became Wally’s legal guardian when he was eleven months old. She hadn’t known anything about taking care of a baby. So she had prayed to Hera, Artemis, and Hestia for guidance, as well as her Grandmother, Maia. She had met her before this, when Hermes had left the Caduceus at one of her temples (a shelter for new, single mothers with no other support systems) and hadn’t wanted to go back and risk his mother nagging him again. He had sent her instead. Only Grandma Maia was sweet and gentle and kind. She asked Lia how she and her other grandchildren were doing. And it had the added bonus of being one of the few places Hermes tried his best to avoid. 

“Is she well?” He asked stiffly. She huffed. Hermes truly did care for his mother. But in her opinion, he wasn’t sure how to show or articulate it. 

“Yeah, she keeps asking me to bring the rest of the thieves out to Arizona to see her. She said pictures are basically highway robbery in terms of seeing how we’ve grown. And she wants to meet Wally and Sutton, who she’s dubbed her ‘great grandchildren’.”  Wally and Sutton. Who she had adopted. Who were in the eyes of the mortal legal system, her son and daughter. Who were really her little siblings. 

Wally’s mom had died when he was eleven months old. Hermes had told her about Vanessa’s condition and together they had explained to Vanessa who they were, and as she had no living family left. She had arranged for Lia to take in Wally. 

She had just turned 21.

And Sutton. At the start of the year, her mom, who had unknowingly been a fourth generation legacy of Venus, had been killed in front of her by a cynocephalus. Once again, Hermes told her about the situation, and a month later Sutton had been legally adopted by Lia. It had gone through quickly and Lia suspected Hermes had something to do with that. The only difference was Sutton had living relatives. Her maternal Grandparents, who were in a senior living community in upstate New York. But they were deemed unfit to take her in due to their age. 

She had been living at camp for the past seven months. The past two of which Lia had been traveling around running various errands for Chiron and the Legion.

Hermes’ expression was…confusing? Lia wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

“My mother is a…stubborn being.” Understatement, she thought to herself. She had tried to argue the point with her Grandmother to no avail. Hermes seemed at a loss for words. 

“Well, if the thieves are worried about me I guess it is time I broke out.” If she could time it right, hopefully they wouldn’t notice until they came to check on her again. I might need a distraction though.

“I believe your sister is in the area as well. Perhaps she will assist you.” Hermes added, almost like he could read her mind. But he couldn’t, she had checked once.

“Really? Why?”

“Your sister has her ways.” She nodded, remembering Selina had made a bet with Hermes once about whether or not they could lift something from Hephaestus' forge without notice. Hermes had been suspected immediately as he never really went to visit his step-brother. Selina had been in and out without being seen at all. And for her prize she had asked for the ability to sense when her family was close.

“Right. I forget she can do that sometimes.” Hermes nodded in acknowledgment.

“Safe travels, Aurelia. Give your sister my best.” And he was gone. She sighed and crossed her arms.

“It’s Lia.” And then she woke up.

***

There were voices echoing through the cave. The vibrations bouncing off the walls as she sat up on the bed. 

A lot of voices, she noted. She carefully walked to the bars of the cell and looked out, she could see anyone, and none of the voices sounded like they were getting closer. 

Now or never, I guess. She went back to the bed and stuffed some of the pillows under the blankets. It wouldn’t hold up under the Bat’s scrutiny, but it would have to do. Then she crossed the cell, back to the door, and put her palm on either side of the lock on her door. It was a pretty complicated lock but not even it could hold up under the willpower of a daughter of Hermes. Eventually, it clicked open softly. She grimaced when it made a creaking sound as she pushed it open. Once she had stepped out she closed the door behind her. If they didn’t see her escape the locked cell would at least convince them she was maybe still in there, just hiding under the rumpled covers.

She set off down the tunnel Nightwing had followed earlier, hoping it would lead her to the main cave.

Step one, find my stuff. She thought as she snuck along the wall, not that it would do her much good given she was wearing bright orange. She has always wondered why the camp shirts were so….visible. In her opinion it should have been something that blended in easier, but Chiron always waved it off when she brought it up.

Luckily someone had brought her a pair of dark cargo pants to go with yet another clean Camp Half-Blood shirt, though this one hung off of her. The pants at least wouldn’t be too visible and the too large shirt  was probably one of her brothers. Their laundry tended to get mixed a lot which led to a lot of funny outfits made of other people's clothes.

Maybe that's why they keep bringing me these shirts, She theorized as she glanced around a corner. Everyone is gonna see the girl in a bright orange shirt sneaking through a cave.  

The voices became clearer the closer she crept. She wasn’t really paying attention though. 

She reached the end of the tunnel and the industrial lights once again illuminated the setup of the “BatCave”. 

She could see the computer, which is where most of the voices were coming from. A quick head count told her there were seven of them. They were arguing so hopefully that would keep their attention while she grabbed her stuff and escaped. 

She took a deep breath.

If Robin could sneak up on people dressed like a traffic light, I can sneak around this cave in bright orange. 

She spotted their medical station and decided to start there. That was where she had last seen her backpack. Her weapons would be another story, but she also knew it would come back to bite her later if she simply left them behind.

Conscious of every little sound she was making, she slowly made her way towards the medbay. She ducked behind one of the walls and breathed for a second as she scanned the layout. Cots, supplies, an industrial fridge which probably contained medicine and possibly blood bags. But her pack and weapons weren’t there. 

She could still hear bickering in the background and the bats chittering where they hung from the ceiling. She carefully glanced around the wall to scan the rest of the lit area. 

The Batmobile was lit up like it was in a showroom, surrounded by various motorcycles. She took note of the colors and wondered if the bikes were color coded.

She saw a couple of workbenches in a darker corner, near what was apparently Batman’s trophy section. And the glint of her sword caught her eye. That’s one thing found, she thought to herself. But she kept scanning the room before she left her hiding place. The voices by the computer were still melding together into incomprehensible speech. 

Once again, she caught sight of the display cases. The sight of the older Robin suits made her heart clench. But still, some of the suits were missing. Probably in use, she reasoned.

The chatter at the computer finally caught her attention. 

“But why won’t any of the scans go through?” She recognized Red Robin’s voice, though his figure was mostly hidden by the computer chair.

“Maybe the systems need to be recalibrated?” Nightwing suggested. He was picking at something on his costume. 

-

“I swear I’m gonna leave you dangling from a lamppost if you call it a costume one more time!” She barely held in a laugh as Robin glared at her.

-

“Nah,” a blonde girl in a purple suit shook her head dismissively. She had a purple hood and fabric covering the lover half of her face. “Red recalibrates the system every time it gets updates. And you know how often O updates things.”

“I still think magic is involved!” She recognized Signal easily enough. He was still in costume, though he had switched out his normal helmet he had a yellow domino mask on. “How else do you explain the sword! I mean, N still thinks it's a bat!” 

“It is a bat!” Nightwing reasoned, the slight frustration in his tone told her they’d been arguing about this for a while. Lia remembered his words from earlier. ‘Signal said they looked antique.’ Signal was probably the only one that could see what they truly were.

“It’s not! I’m telling you N!” Signal sounded a little distressed. The mention of her sword reminded her what she was looking for. And then she glanced at the computer screen. She saw a couple of scans. One was obviously her pack though the scan was too blurry to make anything out. Another was what she guessed to be her sword and knife though all the scan showed was a vague haze. 

Her backpack was on a table near the computer, which was surrounded by vigilantes. She shook her head. She’d figure it out as she went. And with that resolve she slowly crept towards the workbenches, where her sword, and hopefully her knife was.

She was careful with her footsteps, knowing any sound could give her away with the acoustics of the cave’s vaulted ceiling. Luckily, the loud voices masked any she might have made. She was crouching through the shadows at this point. So close to the work benches that she nearly just sprinted for them. She wanted to. 

Patience, Kitten. All good things to those who wait. She could hear Selina’s soft exasperation so clearly in her head. 

She took a breath and carefully continued her way to the benches and pressed her back to one of the work tables off the wall. She took stock of the voices. She could hear all four of them now, arguing. She very carefully reached her hand over her head to the table top behind her and grabbed for her sword.

When her hand made contact she grabbed it and pulled it to her, only to come face to face with a grapple gun. She stared at it for a few seconds. Then to the work table to the right of the one she was currently hiding behind. Her sword was laying on the table, still in its sheath. She curses under her breath, the ancient greek, barely a hiss of sound.

She stared down at the grapple gun in her hand for a second, and then at the gap between the tables. About five feet if she had to guess. She contemplated putting the grapple back and then shook her head. All of her usual tricks were currently in her pack which was entirely too close to the vigilantes. 

Every little bit counts. She reasoned as she peered around the corner of the table. 

She still counted all four of the vigilantes. Though Nightwing wasn’t talking anymore. Just standing there with his arms crossed. She was too far away to make out what they were saying. She tore her eyes away from them and regarded the gap again. Five feet isn’t that big in the grand scheme of things. But she also wasn't dressed for stealth. She was wearing bright orange. When she got back to camp, she resolved to talk to Chiron about his color choice. Because why would you put a bunch of kids trying to stay off the radar in trailblaze orange?

She took a deep breath and put the handle of the grapple gun in her mouth. Then, as quietly as she could, as quickly as she could, she crawled to the next table. As soon as she was hidden again she took the gun out of her mouth and set it on the floor next to her. She carefully reached behind her again and wrapped her hand around the leather pommel of her sword. She slowly brought it towards her. Once she was holding it in her arms, sure she hadn’t made any noise, she took a breath. Letting her lungs expand and deflate.

She strapped the sword around her waist and the familiar weight put her a little at ease. After a second, she clipped the grapple gun to the leather belt as well. The clasp was built for a high-force breakaway, meaning if she yanked at it, it wouldn’t be attached to her belt anymore. Which was smart considering how often the vigilantes probably had to shoot off at a moment's notice. 

She went to stand up, got her feet underneath her and was squatting behind the worktable when her arm slightly jostled a box, when she looked to see what had made all those little clinking noises her eyes widened. 

‘Smoke Bombs’ was written in neat script. 

She grinned and stuffed a couple into her pockets. They had held her prisoner for an amount of time she couldn’t measure, it was only fair she…liberated some of their equipment. She could still hear the voices but they had gotten quieter. She risked a glance over the table top and her eyes narrowed. 

She couldn’t see Nightwing. Purple was still arguing with Red Robin and Signal. But as she scanned the room, she didn’t see any sign of the Blue vigilante. 

“Looking for something?” A voice off to her left made her freeze. Fuck. 

She forced herself to turn towards him as smoothly as possible, a smile on her face.

“Someone, actually.” She said as she slowly rose to her feet. There was no point in hiding now. She briefly thought about the others. If they knew she had escaped, or if Nightwing had come to investigate alone.

She wondered how close Selina was as she let the small of her back rest against the edge of the table, her hands resting on the lip of the counter. Hermes had mentioned she was nearby, but the relativity of measurements was sometimes completely lost to the Gods. 

“Really?” His tone was light, but his body was tense where he was leaning against the counter opposite her. He crossed his arms over his chest, the lines of blue that ran down to his finger creating an impressive X. “Anyone I know? I’m pretty good at finding people.”

His tone was flirtatious but Lia couldn’t help but read it as a threat. ‘I’ll find you’, it seemed to ring in her ears like a warning bell.

“Nah,” she shook her head gently. “I’m sure they’ll turn up.” 

“Dang,” Nightwing deadpanned, the easy smile on his face didn’t budge. “I was hoping maybe if I helped you, you’d tell me what this is made of.” And then he pulled out her knife. Where he had had it hidden away, she didn’t know. But the second he slid it from its sheath, her blood went cold. She reminded herself that they were bantering. And if she stood quiet for too long he’d start getting even more suspicious. “We have someone coming that might be able to tell us. But we could save him a trip if you just tell us yourself.”

“Not a clue.” She wasn’t technically lying. She had absolutely no idea what made up celestial bronze. She knew where it was mined, and what it was called. “It was a gift.”

“Pretty interesting gift.” The whites of his domino narrowed.

“I’m a pretty interesting girl.” She smirked. This was nice, familiar almost. No one really bantered with her anymore. And when they did, it always felt like a cheap imitation.

“You sure are.” He agreed. She wondered if his eyes gleamed with humor like his tone suggested. A groan pushed all her thoughts to the side. 

“Jeez, N!” Lia whipped her head around to see Purple girl, Red Robin, and Signal. Red Robin was clicking away at stuff on a screen that was being projected from his watch as she continued. “Would you stop flirting please? That was like…so incredibly cringe.”

Lia noticed Red Robin and Signal reach discreetly for their utility belts. Her hands itched to reach for one of the smoke bombs in her pockets. She forced them to grip onto the table instead. 

“Yeah, Wing,” Signal nodded. “Spoiler’s right. That was lame.”

Lia nearly laughed, and when she looked at Nightwing’s face she did. There was a light blush across his cheeks that was only interrupted by the mottled bruise. 

“Alright.” Red Robin cut in. “Everyone’s on their way.” Her laughs cut off. 

“Everyone?” She asked innocently.

“Yeah.” He replied with a smirk. “We’ve never really had a security risk of this level. Everyone wants to meet you.”

“Well don’t I feel special.” She quipped, her fingers twitched towards her pockets. Red Robin caught the action though. The whites of his domino mask narrowed. She glanced down too, and then back at him.

“Is this where you ask ‘what has it got in its pocketses?’” She tried to keep humor in her voice, which was understandably difficult considering she was imitating Gollum from Lord of the Rings. Spoiler, the girl in purple, burst out laughing. Red Robin shot her an annoyed look.

“It’s not that funny Spoiler.” He definitely didn’t sound amused. 

“No, no,” she gasped, clutching her stomach. “Because you are exactly like Gollum! You hang out in a cave; You hiss when you see bright lights!”

“That was ONE time!” Signal and Nightwing were laughing now too. 

“And the last time B tried to take your coffee away from you you tried to bite him!” She wasn’t laughing as hard toward the end but her eyes were lit with amusement. Red Robin glared at her and then shifted the glare to Lia. She almost wanted to laugh, it was a pretty good imitation of Batman’s.

“Sorry,” She said sheepishly. “I meant to imply that I was Bilbo Baggins.” 

“So you do have something in your pockets?” Signal prompted.

“Who doesn’t.” She shrugged her shoulders. She caught a glimpse of Nightwing inching closer slowly. And she turned her head to stare at him directly. He froze and held her gaze.

“Alright,” she sighed dramatically. “Well, since y’all are gonna chase me-“

“You could just not run.” Red Robin interjected.

“Yeah, I’m not doing that. But since y’all are gonna chase me anyways, could we at least put on, like, a soundtrack?” She could hear the crickets chirping. 

“Sorry,” Spoiler blinked her eyes. “A soundtrack?”

“Yeah! Like in action movies? There's a chase scene, and they play some killer soundtrack in the background to add to the atmosphere.” Part of her was curious if she had sprouted another head. It had happened before when Lou Ellen had been practicing her Mist manipulation. 

“You…want us to play music while we chase you?” She turned to look at Red Robin.

“Hmmmmmm…no. Not you.” Then her eyes shot to Spoiler. “You.” 

Spoiler’s grin was hidden under her mask, but she could see the excitement in her eyes. She nearly laughed as Spoiler grabbed Red Robin’s arm and started furiously typing away on the computer screen she now realized was coming out of his wristwatch.

“This something you do often?” Nightwing brought her attention back to him. He hadn’t moved any closer to her, but he was ready to go. His arms were no longer crossed and he was putting all his weight on his toes. Getting ready for when he’d need to move.

“Getting captured, imprisoned, escaping, and then chased by vigilantes?” She asked in an innocent tone. Shrugging, she moved her hands from where they were resting on the table to her pockets. She closed her fingers around a smoke bomb, careful not to pull the pin just yet. “No, I can’t say that it is.”

Nightwing’s eyebrows furrowed slightly under his mask. 

“I think he meant the music.” Signal added gently.

“Oh! No, most of the time whatever’s chasing me wouldn’t stop to play music. So there’s really no point in asking.” She thought back to all of the times she’d encountered monsters. All the times she’d been chased because she couldn’t bring herself to “slay them”. While every encounter could have been enhanced by music, she doubted the monsters would play any if she asked. “Can’t say I’ve ever asked, though?” She added thoughtfully. 

She watched as Signal and Nightwing shared a look but before she could focus on it too hard Red Robin and Spoiler finally stopped their quiet bickering over whatever song she was trying to play.

“Do you think this will take long?” Spoiler asked and Lia couldn’t hold back her laugh.

“It’ll take however long y’all can keep up for.” She taunted.

“Keep up?” Red Robin’s face scrunched like he was offended by it. He probably was.

-

“Of course I can keep up with you! I’m Robin: The Boy Wonder!”

“You sure about that, Kid?” She chuckled. “I’m pretty fast.”

-

“I’m pretty fast.” She smiled as the memory played behind her eyes. 

“You really think you can outrun Gotham’s Bats?” Nightwing sounded baffled. She shrugged with an easy smile on her face.

“Only one way to know for sure.”

This is going to be fun. She thought to herself. And it would give her an opportunity to finally stretch her legs. 

“Oh my god!” Spoiler grinned wildly. “Can you imagine if she was a new Rogue! Patrol would never be boring again!”

“Aren’t we supposed to wish for the opposite?” Signal asked tentatively.

“If you want my opinion, being a rogue sounds lame.” Lia offered. She had enough problems already, she didn’t need her every move being watched by tall, dark, and batty. “But a game of cops and robbers? That's right up my alley.” 

She wanted to laugh at it. The pun, the situation. But she doubted any of them would get it.

-

“Really, Alley?” He looked so unimpressed, the hypocrite. His puns were WAY worse than hers!

“Yeah, really! Mr. Polly Wants a Cracker!” She glared at him with her arms crossed.

“I’m not a parrot, I’m a Robin!” He shouted back.

“Coulda fooled me! You’re dressed like a traffic light!” She stuck her tongue out at him. “News flash, bird brain. Rainbow Macaws are red, yellow, and green. Not robins!”

-

Nightwing’s brows furrowed again, and she nearly asked why but Red Robin cut her off again. 

“So you’re a robber now? Did you happen to take something else besides that grapple gun on your belt?”

Her fingers fiddled gently with the pin. 

“Who can really say for sure?” She tried with a shrug of her shoulders. Spoiler ran off towards the large computer again with a squeal. Whatever song she had started to play on Red Robin’s watch was too quiet for Lia to really hear it.

Red Robin scowled and then checked his wrist computer and then scowled harder. 

“Really!?” His tone was incredulous, as he threw a glare at Spoiler over his shoulder.

And then the music connected to the speaker.

She said At night in my dreams, you dance on a tightrope of weird

“Ooooo now this is gonna be fun!” She was sure she was grinning like a maniac. But then she refocused on the task at hand. Getting her stuff and getting out of here. 

Her knife which was still in Nightwing’s hand.

Her backpack was still being scanned and coming up with error messages over by the computer.

Signal looked nervous, she could see how tense his face was. She was sure if the domino was gone his eyes would be flitting between everyone.

Spoiler was jogging back over to join them.

Nightwing had abandoned his casual stance and was grabbing the batons off his back.

Red Robin was reaching for a pouch of the utility belt. 

“You’re right though.” She said as she pulled the pin of the smoke bomb still hidden in her pocket.  “I should really give back what I took.” And she threw it on the floor at his feet.

There’s no residue of a torturer inside of your eyes

She just barely made out his surprised expression before smoke quickly filled the open air and she bolted. 

The cave was spacious, and her options for cover and evasion were varied. 

She could vault over the table and run past Signal towards what she could only assume was a museum with how many display cases she could see. It would be easier to hide, like running through the forest at camp during capture-the-flag. Though everyone else had home field advantage. They knew the layout and she didn’t. Being caught unaware at a dead end wasn’t appealing to her.

She could charge Nightwing in an attempt to get her knife back. A knife she prayed no one else would ever have to wield again. Including herself. 

She could even use the confusion of everyone charging her last known location to run towards the computer and grab her pack which is where all her tricks were. Though it would leave her out in the open.

Or she could throw everyone for a loop and start climbing the walls. She could get a vantage point from there and map out her escape. It could also give her some much needed distance. This was probably the most tactical option.

But before she could truly make a conscious decision she was running past Nightwing, her nimble fingers pulling her knife out of the holster on his back. He had pulled out his batons but he didn’t swing at her as she dashed past so she assumed he didn’t see her. She had learned a long time ago how to run as silently as her terrain would allow. 

Signal, however, had seen her apparently, despite all the smoke. And he lunged at her, but she dodged out of the way and heard him collide with Nightwing. Then she bolted, coming out of the smoke and right between Spoiler and Red Robin. Red Robin had a metal bo staff in his hands and swung at her as Spoiler went to sweep her legs. Lia laughed as she dived between their attacks and rolled to her feet and kept running.

She honestly didn’t mind being chased. It could be a lot of fun. She used to have people chase her around during capture-the-flag to distract them from whatever the rest of her team had planned. Climbing trees, dodging fallen logs, trying not to trip and break her ankles in gopher holes. There was a trick to it though. You had to be fast, obviously faster than whoever was chasing you. But you also couldn’t be too fast or else the person doing the chasing would lose interest. You had to find the right speed, the right amount of taunting and evasion. Otherwise they either gave up or got super angry. 

As she saw the work out equipment and what looked like the biggest and most exciting version of a jungle gym she could ever imagine, she started to grin. They were definitely skilled, being a vigilante probably required it. She idly wondered how challenging it would be to keep away from them as she reached out for one of the bars of the jungle gym and used her momentum to swing herself up. 

For a second she completely forgot about being chased as she climbed and jumped and swung herself around climbing to the top. She definitely did a couple of flips and twirls just for show. Give them a chance to catch up, she told herself. But the speed and velocity she could feel herself moving at were freeing. If it weren’t for the music she was sure her laughter would be echoing off the cave walls.

Once she was closer to the top she let her body stall, hanging upside down on a bar by her knees and stared down at those trying to follow her. Red Robin and Spoiler were gaining fast but she didn’t see any sign of Signal or Nightwing.

Until she looked up as she righted herself. Nightwing was falling from the ceiling with a grace and sureness that boasted years of practice and dedication. She shrieked and swung out of the way as he landed quietly on the bars. Which to her seemed unnecessary given that there was loud music playing and she knew he was chasing her.

“Fancy.” She taunted as she swung further out of his reach. “But I, personally, don’t think fancy is going to make you any faster.” She reached down to grab a lower rung and pulled herself down and around it till she was holding herself up entirely by her hands. “Definitely not fast enough to catch me.” 

“What makes you so sure about that?” He pauses in a crouch, studying her for a few seconds. “We caught you last time.” 

“You didn’t catch me. You tranquilized me. That’s different.” She scrunched her nose in annoyance. “It’s also pretty rude.”

“You punched me in the face.” He argued, like it made them even. He swung forward again. And she swung backwards, making sure she kept Red Robin and Spoiler in her line of vision.

“And I apologized.” She started to climb higher. She wondered idly how high off the ground the structure went. How far was it from the tall ceiling to the ground? If she fell, would she go splat like a cartoon? I wonder if they’d draw a chalk outline around my body? 

Then she noticed the catwalks. So many of them run like a maze under and around the stalactites. She wondered how they were affixed to the ceiling. 

Then she reached the top of the jungle gym. The catwalk closest was a good seven feet from the last bar. She grinned.

I could make that. She thought.

And if you can’t? A familiar voice argued. 

I’ll never know if I don’t try. She argued back.

Then she was running.

Her feet gripped the bars under, using them as stepping stones till at the last one she pushed as hard as she could and launched herself towards the rungs of the underside of the catwalk. 

The shouts of the vigilantes were drowned out by the wind in her ears and the roaring of the music.

Heeyyy, Heeyyy

If crazy equals genius

Heeyyy, Heeyyy

If crazy equals genius!

Her hands caught hold of cold metal and her body swung forward with the momentum. She let the momentum carry her forward and let go of the bar she was holding before catching another bar, on the farther side. And then she swung herself up and her body went through the lowest bar of the railing and the walkway. She felt the pressure of her feet catching on the edge and she let go of the bar, pulling her upper body up till she was sitting on her knees.

“Just like monkey bars.” She laughed to herself out of breath. A clang turned her head and she saw the anchor of a grappling hook on the railing.

She pushed herself to her feet, and then she was running again. But this wasn’t running like she had been running from Emelia. It was almost like running with the rest of Cabin 11 through the forest at camp. With gloating and answers if they caught her.

But only if.

She took a right just in time to see Red Robin and Nightwing clamber over the railing. Before a long stalactite cut off her view and her face whipped forward, focusing on the path ahead of her and then music spilling through her ears

You can set yourself on fire

Hey!

But you’re never gonna burn, burn, burn

Hey!

You can set yourself on fire

Hey!

But you’re never gonna learn, learn, learn

Hey!

Red Robin suddenly obstructed her path. She had no idea how he had gotten in front of her, but she didn’t look into it too much. This was his home turf, it made sense he would know shortcuts that she didn’t. But she didn’t slow down. 

She wasn’t going to fight him, and the way he gripped his bo staff told her it wouldn’t by any means be a short or easy fight even if she did. 

She saw his jaw set as she got closer and she smirked. Before jumping up on the railing and diving to another catwalk that intersected the one they had been on. Rolling to her feet she shot off again, this time retracing Red Robin’s footsteps.

She heard voices behind her but she couldn’t discern what they were saying. Slowing herself down a bit, worried she was getting too far away to keep them enticed, she started looking for a way down before her eyes caught on the huge dinosaur. Her brain immediately started to work out how she could use that to get down. She could probably just dive for it and find a handhold before she plummeted to her death. But there was no guarantee that it would hold up under her weight.

She was so focused she almost didn’t notice Spoiler. In the same way anyone might not notice a girl with bright blonde hair dressed in dark colors hiding in the shadows. 

It was surprisingly easy, actually. Lia had some practice in it herself, after all.  

Lia skidded to a halt. The catwalks shook as Nightwing and Red Robin skidded to a halt behind her. She looked back and forth, weighing her options.

She could try and rush the two behind her, but she didn’t want to risk one of them falling over the edge. She wasn’t sure what their reaction time with their grapple lines were and that wasn’t a chance she was willing to take. 

So that left Spoiler. 

Or it did. Until another figure dropped on the platform. 

The figure was eerily dressed like Batman, but shorter, and their face was entirely covered. Golden stitches running across where the mouth would be, a gold outlined bat insignia across their chest.

“Batgirl! Just in time!” Red Robin called out from behind her. 

“Batgirl?” Lia whispered to herself. Maybe the Batgirl name got passed along too? She definitely didn’t remember Batgirl being this intimidating…or maybe then she had just had less on the line. Less to lose.

“Four to one.” Nightwing called out. “You give up?”

She threw a smile over her shoulder at him. 

“Nah, this just ups the ante!” Then she looked back at Batgirl, assessing her. The way she stood, how she seemed to act as a shield between Spoiler and Lia. 

A power radiated off of her. The unsettling kind. The dangerous kind. The kind she didn’t wanna mess with. 

Lia recognized the tangible feeling in the air. She’d been on too many battlefields not to. Fighting alongside siblings and friends. Everyone had something to protect. And if Batgirl, with the deeply unsettling gaze that she couldn’t see but feel, decided that Spoiler needed to be protected from Lia…and Lia knew it wouldn’t end well for her. 

But then Batgirl…relaxed? Or maybe she loosened her muscles on purpose? Was that something people could do? But suddenly Lia no longer felt like a mouse at the feet of a lion. 

Then Batgirl tilted her head to the side, and Lia grinned back. Apparently she had realized this for the game it was.

Game on, then. And then Lia yanked the grapple gun off of her belt. And, as she always did, she jumped before she looked. Right over the edge of the catwalk. 

And she fell.

She flew.

Alright, alright, ok

Alright, ok.

Alright, ok

Her brother Housten used to tell her that there was nothing more exhilarating than freefall. How the adrenaline would race through his veins as every instinct he had screamed that the ground was getting too close. He used to laugh at her afterwards when she was hysterical. Scared he would splatter across the gymnasium floor.

I’m not falling, little Liaka. I’m flying. He had laughed her off every time.

But his words and his laughter never dissuaded her fears. They had only faded when she had learned to fly herself. Only then had she understood.

It’s like the opposite of the climbing wall, only the ceilings not lava and the floors not sky. He would tease.

The floor. Right.

She shot her grapple and watched for it to snag on the catwalks. She also watched as Nightwing fell after her. Batgirl, Spoiler, and Red Robin were watching from the railing. Though Red Robin and Spoiler were shouting something that was lost admits the music and wind in her ears. 

Not that it was what her mind was choosing to focus on. No, it was Nightwing’s face. Or more specifically, the…worry etched upon it. And what's more, the fact that his grapple wasn’t out, if he even had one on him. 

What do I do?

Do I catch him? But she jumped first. Not second. Like Nightwing

He had jumped to catch her.

He has to have a grapple if his plan was to catch me. She prayed to her sister, Tyche, that he did. That he hadn’t just jumped after her. That she wasn”t about to watch another hero die a foolish death.

She let her line catch and let the momentum of her body swing her to the side. And then tension she hadn’t clocked released as she saw a second line shoot up towards the stalactites, and then Nightwing was swinging after her. 

Little bit of humble, little bit of cautious

Somewhere between like Rocky and Cosby

Sweater game, nope, nope, y’all can’t copy, yup

She let the gun slip from her grasp and felt her body brace as she hit the side of the dinosaur. Lia’s hands scrambled for purchase on its neck, and hauled herself to her feet. She wobbled a bit where she stood precariously on its neck and looked down at Nightwing where he stood on its back. A smile on his face, erasing all signs of fear.

“That wasn’t a great landing.”

She barked out a laugh as she caught her breath.

“Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.”

“Did..” his jaw slackened as the batons in his hands fell to his sides. “Did you just quote Anakin Skywalker?”

“Not the weirdest thing I’ve done.” She shrugged. “We are standing on a dinosaur.”

Then a tremor went across the dinosaur, and Lia spun her head around to see Batgirl landing on the dinosaur's head. Her cape fell around her shoulders and shrouded her body. 

Lia idly wondered if the cape’s material was made of a black hole, the way it seemed to absorb the light that should be reflecting off of it.

“Cool.” She breathed. She had never really found it in herself to be scared of Batman. It was simply something she couldn’t bring herself to do. Even when he was emerging from shadows and only the whites of his mask and the lower half of his face were visible. It had always seemed…funny to her. Yet she knew that if she had run into this Batgirl in a dark alley, with only the white of her mask and the gold stitching over her mouth, she would absolutely run the other way.

“Good landings always end on feet.” Batgirl’s tone was humorous. Lia wondered if she was smiling under the mask. “She is on her feet. Good landing.”

Lia turned back to Nightwing and smiled. “See! Batgirl agrees with me.”

“Alright, fine.” His accompanying sigh was dramatic. “It was a pretty good landing for an amateur.”

“Not amateur.” Batgirl argued. “Unpracticed. Rusty.”

“Maybe I’m just a quick study.” Lia said defensively.

The tilt of Batgirl’s head seemed to say: Really?

“I don’t think she’s agreeing with you anymore.” Nightwing pointed out unhelpfully.

She glared at him and then seemed to realize how close Batgirl was.

Nope! Nope! Way too close!

But she was still standing on the neck at an odd incline, and when she went to back away she slipped instead. Lia thought it was kind of like at that one ride the boys had made her try at the waterpark, where the floor disappeared from under you and you went shooting down the slide way too fast. 

She watched as Batgirl’s hands shot out in an attempt to grab her, only to miss by a couple inches. But apparently Tyche was on her side for once because Lia was able to grab onto the T-rex’s arm. And it didn’t even break off! Of course, now she was hanging from an arm like a cat stuck up a tree. 

Ha! Cat stuck up a tree. Selina would think that's funny. I wonder where Selina is?

Nightwing’s voice brought her back to her current situation. 

“Are you alright?” She could see him trying to figure out what to do. 

“Yeah.” She grunted, adjusting her grip on the fake scales. “Just hanging out.”

“Funny!” Batgirl declared, undistressed that Lia was dangling at least forty feet in the air. “Jokes like you.” Then she tilted her head again before adding: “Funnier.”

“Oooooo! Burn!” Spoiler yelled up from the ground. “Get wrecked Nightwing!” She was standing there with Signal, but Red Robin was out of sight.

“You really think she’s funnier than me?” He asked Batgirl, but Lia didn’t pay attention to her response. She had too many things running across her mind. Like what it would be like if they took this seriously. If she was an actual threat they were trying to subdue. She wondered how different the experience would be then.

The music was still playing, and that meant the chase was still on. And she wasn’t likely to get very far if she kept dangling up here, so she started to swing her body side to side, building up momentum. 

“If you took my hand I could help you up.” Nightwing was indeed offering her a hand. His face seemed so sincere, but she wasn’t about to give up now. It wasn’t who she was.

“Nice offer, Prince Charming, but I think I’ll pass.” She smirked and then she swung her body all the way to the side and let go of the arm and grabbed for her knife. She drove it into the leg and it only slid a little before her shoulder was being yanked and she clung to the T-Rex's giant leg. She didn’t let herself stay there long. Lia pulled her knife out of the metal leg and let herself slide quickly down to the floor, rolling to her feet and kept moving.

Nightwing and Batgirl would hopefully be a little delayed getting down, but Spoiler and Signal were hot on her heels. So she let herself go a little faster. She’d been playing with them too much. Lia was supposed to be escaping and here she was playing a glorified game of tag. So she let herself get lost in the speed as she carefully left them behind. And then she was at the computer and her hand was catching the straps of her pack and she threw it on as she continued to sprint, towards the Batmobile and a small fleet of motorcycles. 

Labels out here

Nah, they can’t tell me nothin’

We give that to the people

Spread it across the country 

And then Red Hood was stepping out from behind the Batmobile. Lia really took in his height this time. He was definitely over six feet tall. She wondered if he was super muscular or if that was just an illusion created by body armor. But she decided she didn’t want to find out, as he raised his fists. Lia had always had comically bad luck, and she highly doubted it was about to take a turn for the better now.

Lia ducked under Red Hood’s punch, hoping his gaze would follow her as she circled him and ran back towards the computer, the display cases, and all of the vigilantes she had just left in her wake. Signal, Spoiler, Batgirl, and Nightwing stood in a line in various stances. Nightwing with his batons and the other three with their fists raised. Red Hood was behind her and Red Robin was still MIA. 

But she didn't stop running, didn’t even slow down. Spoiler apparently took that as a challenge and ran at her, but Lia had played enough games of chicken with Kacey that she only grinned. And when she finally got close enough she used the girl’s shoulders as a springboard and launched herself into the air. Based on her shriek, she would bet that Spoiler had lost her balance and had fallen forward. Lia didn’t have time to chuckle at the thought as the moment her feet hit the ground she was ducking underneath Signal and rushing past Nightwing. She spun around him, careful of his batons that seemed to be crackling with electricity, and careful to stay on the side that Batgirl was not. Although she was curious what tricks the girl was hiding up her sleeves…or perhaps under her cape.

Lia let herself speed up again, she couldn’t help it. The excitement and adrenaline goading her into it as the maze of display cases got closer and closer. It reminded her of the last time Selina had taken her to a museum and she’d gone running through the halls. Though, at the time, she’d been wearing something sleeker than a baggy orange t-shirt and cargo pants.

Weaving through the display cases, Lia kinda wished she had the time to walk through and actually look at what was displayed. What did Batman deem important or sentimental enough to keep? She knew she’d have a hell of a time trying to read the tiny plaques that explained them, but it’s not like she would get too. 

She ducked behind one case and paused, looking for movement. This wasn’t the Ares cabin she was leading on a wild goose chase, she reminded herself. These were vigilantes who fought crime in a city that was known for crime. And while her usual tricks had worked so far, she only had so many. 

Maybe I should have planned a little more. She thought uselessly. Too late now, I guess. 

And as if reading me thoughts, Robin chose that moment to drop down on her. The glint of the light hitting his sword warned her, though not soon enough as she felt the biting heat of metal slicing her skin. She rolled to her feet and glanced down at her bicep and was greeted with small beads of blood emerging from the torn skin. But other than the blood, the cut didn’t look too deep.

“Tt, you react well. But not well enough.” His tone seemed almost disappointed. But Lia was really more curious about who let the kid have a katana. None of the other robins had lethal weapons. When he swiped at her again she decided it was a question she could save for later. She kept running.

She skidded around corners, and ducked under Batgirl’s punch with a very dignified shriek. She rolled to her feet, then hurdled Spoiler and kept running, only stumbling the landing a little before catching her stride.

Left, right, right, left, left…as she ran through the displays, slowly making her way toward the giant penny(she wanted to see if it was real copper). She swiftly ducked past Red Hood who happened to be looking around the wrong corner and didn’t notice her till one of the others yelled at him to pay attention. She didn’t catch any yellow or blue reflected in the glass and wondered if and where Signal and Nightwing were waiting to ambush her. Red Robin’s nonpresence also nagged at her, but that was a problem for future Lia.

Can we go back?

This is the moment

Tonight is the night, we’ll fight till it’s over

So we put our hands up

Like the ceiling can’t hold us

Like the ceiling can't hold us

As she ran past the giant penny her thoughts shifted slightly from who she was running from and who she should be looking out for to the giant coin. 

Where did he get this? There's gotta be an actual reason behind this, right? She wondered if it was copper all the way through. Old pennies were entirely copper. Except for the 1943 pennies when copper was deemed too valuable for currency during World War II and were made out of steel or something similar instead. She doubted it was all copper. That much copper would be like…super expensive, right? How much does a unit of copper cost? How much is in a unit of copper? It would probably be in ounces or grams. I think I’ve heard Nyssa measure metals in ounces…or is it just by weight in general? It’s gotta be a specific unit of weight, doesn’t it? So it’s uniform or something? 

And then Red Robin interrupted her thoughts by sweeping her feet out from under her with his bo staff. Lia tumbled to the ground and twisted her body so her pack took the majority of the impact. But thanks to years of cabin related shenanigans, she quickly had her feet under her. As well as another smoke bomb in her hand.

“Hey! Wow! Take it easy!” Red Hood called out, a gun in his hands. Lia felt like Cecil had mentioned once that Hood had switched from live ammunition to rubber bullets. She wasn’t sure that was more merciful. Anything could pierce flesh if it went fast enough. Cabin Seven’s more archery inclined campers, like Bernard and Kayla, were constantly proving that. 

“Not my style.” She called back. But then the smoke bomb was being snatched out of her hand and Batgirl was darting away to stand near Red Robin. Lia stood frozen while her brain tried to process the action. Red Robin was less passive about his confusion.

“Batgirl! What are you doing?” His tone was…childish. Then Lia remembered he was barely an adult, just a teenager with too many weights on his shoulders. Wayne Enterprises CEO and a vigilante, she mused. Busy life.

“Bomb.” She explained, holding up the reclaimed smoke bomb for him to see. It’s for the best, Lia mused. They wouldn’t be caught off guard by it like last time.

“Why didn’t you take her down?” His gaze strayed from Lia for a second to glare at Batgirl. Though Lia had to wonder the same thing. She hadn’t noticed the vigilante at all. It would’ve been so easy for Batgirl to tackle her to the ground.

“Less fun.” Batgirl shrugged. “Bad sportsmanship, little brother.” The last part is admonishing. Something Lia has done too many times to count with her own younger brothers and sisters. 

I suppose it makes sense that they’re siblings. With Damian and Tim being adoptive brothers it’s not that far fetched that the rest of them could be related. Maybe Batman- she stopped that train of thought. Batman was Batman and she did NOT need to speculate his identity. She had enough secrets to keep already and she definitely didn’t want to keep this one. Of course that meant she finally noticed that she was surrounded by vigilantes. Batgirl, Red Robin, Red Hood, Signal, Nightwing, Spoiler, and Robin. 

“Ugggh.” She groaned and her head fell back a bit. The song had a trumpet solo but she didn't have it in herself to appreciate how cinematic it made the situation. 

“What’s wrong, blondie?” Red Hood asked.

“I hate hand to hand combat,” she lamented. It really wasn't her forte. Not that she couldn’t throw a mean punch, She just preferred to not be that up close and personal. 

“Then draw your sword!” Robin called out. That was the absolute last thing Lia wanted to do. Apparently at least a couple of them had the sight or even some godly blood in their veins. If it was just the sight, that would be one thing. Her sword wouldn’t even touch them. But if not, that meant she’d have another demigod in her hands, which would mean she had to explain.

“Or just give up?” Signal offered hopefully. 

“Yeah I’m not doing that.” She replied to Signal, hoping Robin would equate her unwillingness to draw her sword as cowardice. He seemed like the type. That type being a ten year old boy. 

“I knew you were fun!” Red Hood said excitedly as he holstered his gun. 

“Maybe you guys should draw lots.” She suggested as she raised her fists. “Don’t want the dance floor getting crowded.”

And then the fists started flying and Lia was dancing. In and out, up and down, and around. She dodged Spoiler’s punches and then jumped over Red Robin’s second sweep of her legs. She did her best to keep Batgirl in her line of sight, not wanting to be surprised again. The beat of the music helped. It gave her a cadence to follow, to move to. One of her older sisters, Sydney, had always said a good way to learn how to fight was to learn how to dance, learn how bodies in motion moved. Syd always said if you knew how bodies moved you could predict where they would move. Unfortunately, Lia had never been able to pick up the skill. 

Can we go back?

This is the moment

Tonight is the night, we’ll fight till it’s over

So we put our hands up

Like the ceiling can’t hold us

Like the ceiling can't hold us

But that had never held her back before. She might not have been able to see movement before it happened like her ninja of a sister, but she was fast enough to react before their punches landed. And while she didn’t throw any of her own, she had fun tripping them up. Catching their feet on hers; watching them stumble with the force of their blows not landing; grabbing their arms to swing them in a different directing(which she might’ve felt bat about but they were all wearing body arm, right?); trying not to giggle as they collided with one another when she jumped out of the way. 

Of the few things she excelled at, being where she wasn’t supposed to always seemed to be at the top of the list. It came in handy for things like capture-the-flag, catching her siblings sneaking out, and a previous job that might’ve required cat ears and a tail. But it also got her in trouble. Like when she ended up in the Labyrinth, or on top of that one statue in Brazil, or the freaking Batcave. 

Can we go back?

This is the moment

Tonight is the night, we’ll fight till it’s over

So we put our hands up

Like the ceiling can’t hold us

Like the ceiling can't hold us

Lia realized the song was about to end as she tripped Red Hood again and watched him collide with Red Robin.

I wonder if it ever gets confusing with them both having Red at the beginning of their names? And there’s Robin too…does no one regulate these names? She wondered as her feet paused briefly, and as cold metal made contact with her skin she realized it had been a mistake to stay still for even a second.

‘Standing still makes you an easy target,’ André’s voice scolded her in her head. ‘You must keep yourself moving, mon petite voleuse.’ 

Sorry, André. Her apology was useless, she knew. André wasn’t here. He was gone.

“Gotcha!” Nightwing’s exclamation brought her out of her daze where she had been staring lamely at the cuffs.

The song cut off and all that could be heard was everyone’s heavy breathing. Everyone standing around Nightwing and Lia were staring. Robin was scowling in a way that reminded her of Haley, like he was unhappy and disappointed with what was happening but knew he had to accept it. Batgirl had her head cocked to the side like she was curious what would happen next. Red Robin was rubbing his forehead from where he’d collided with Red Hood’s helmet. Signal and Spoiler were standing somewhere at her back. The thought made her skin crawl.

And then the next song started.

Yeah, Baby

I like it like that!

And she grinned. “Do you?” 

This time, the first person to reach her was Batgirl. Lia wasn’t surprised by this at all. The female vigilante attacked her with the grace and fluidity of a dancer, but Lia knew how to follow a rhythm too. Gatlin used to joke that it was because her middle name was Kadence. Her usual response to that was to stick her tongue out at him.

As Batgirl’s kick came flying towards her face, Lia ducked and lunged forward and tried to trip Batgirl. But Batgirl probably was able to read body movements and she let her body jump forward as her foot came down and rolled away from Lia. Immediately following her was Signal with some quick punches. Some of them landed but not with the force she suspected they were supposed to deliver. Others she blocked and evaded. He was pushing her back with his advances till she was spinning behind Red Hood, who was about to grab her, and using his bent leg as a step up so she was airborne. And then she felt someone grab ahold of her foot and yank down.

I like million dollar deals

Where’s my pen? 

Bitch, I’m signin’

To keep herself from eating it on the cave floor, she twisted her body so she could plant her cuffed hands on the floor first. She wrapped her other foot around the hand on her ankle and twisted. Spoiler was thrown off balance and her purple cape fluttered mesmerizingly after her as she collided with Batgirl, who looked more like she was catching her. Lia sprung back to her feet.

Then she saw Robin start to advance, and in the name of not having to fight a ten year old, she moved so Red Robin was in his way. However, that sandwiched her between Red Robin and Nightwing. And wasn’t that a joy?

Red Robin swung his bo staff at Lia, aiming for her ribs. But before it could make contact she grabbed it. Her hands burned as the smooth metal bit into her skin and she gritted her teeth. Then she used the staff to stabilize herself as she kicked Nightwing in the chest. She then yanked Red Robin forward by his staff and spun behind him, planting her foot in the middle of his back and sending him toppling after Nightwing. 

I like texts from my exes 

when they want a second chance

Then she turned to Robin, Batgirl and Red Hood were standing in front of him like bodyguards. Behind them she could see the menagerie of bikes and the Batmobile; Her ticket to freedom. 

To get out of here I’m gonna have to go through them. Lia really disliked that thought. For one thing, she knew she couldn’t beat them, not that she was trying to, but it definitely added some stress. Batgirl seemed to be playing along right now, but it only took a second for someone’s mind to change. And Red Hood, while seeming to find humor in all of this, was built like a damn mountain and Lia was not. Nor was she wearing any body armor. Lia was really starting to dislike where this was going.

Batgirl apparently decided to take pity on her, and to distract her from her pessimistic thoughts, and launched herself at Lia. And then they were dancing. Batgirl was throwing punch after punch, kick after kick, and Lia was doing her best to dodge them all. It reminded her of sparring with Kacey. The daughter of Nike was always challenging Lia to some competition or another. They were evenly matched for the most part. Kacey had more strength and determination, while Lia was faster and more agile. But Batgirl was more precise, more deadly, and she wasn’t even going for the throat, literally or figuratively speaking. It was almost as if she was teasing Lia by holding back a bit. It was making Lia sweat as she ducked and dodged and spun away from her attacks. 

Of course this gave everyone else a chance to get up. 

You’d think that everyone jumping back into the mix would make things harder, but it really just gave Lia more things to hide behind, which also meant she finally escaped Batgirl’s super intense offense. She dodged another of Red Robin’s attacks, ducked under Spoiler’s roundhouse kick, and tripped Red Hood who fell into Nightwing who complained about it loudly.

“Watch where you’re going, Hood!”

“Stay out of my way, Wing!” Red Hood complained back as he got to his feet and pushed Nightwing back down again. Lia snickered at that. She’d seen Travis and Conner do a similar bit during capture-the-flag. It made her smile.

Flexing on bitches as hard as I can

Eating halal, driving a Lam’

And then Robin finally lunged forward, the steel of his katana glinting in the industrial light. Now, Lia was no stranger to fighting ten year olds. In fact, it was something she did quite regularly when they’d made her the swordplay instructor at Camp Half-Blood after Quintus. She could say, however, she had never fought a ten year old this…skilled? His form was impeccable, textbook perfect, even. It reminded her of the Romans. How the Legion spent hours learning to move as a unit, a perfect machine. Lia was glad that Greek swordplay was more fluid. About adapting to what was happening around you. And that suited her just fine. She doubted she’d have ever reached her current skill level trying to copy all those forms and moves perfectly. 

As Robin brought his sword down towards her, Lia’s first instinct was to duck out of the way. Until she saw Spoiler rushing towards her. If she ducked out of the way the sword would hit her. Lia knew if she was in Robin’s position, she’d feel terrible about hurting her sibling, even if it was by accident. And she was easier to put back together, right? So instead she reached for her knife and grunted as the two metals clanged together. 

Celestial Bronze was an interesting metal. It turned monsters to dust and would deal a fair amount of damage to other demigods. But it would also interact with pretty much anything except mortals. In fact, at one point Cabin 9 had been trying to gauge where it fell on Mohs scale of hardness. She didn’t remember what its score had been but that it had brought on more strange experiments that Chiron had disapproved of. 

And then everything went dark, all that could be heard was the shuffling of feet, the scraping of metal, a couple shouts of ‘Signal!’, and Cardi B. 

She had never been scared of the dark. It just seemed silly to her, to be scared of what you couldn’t see. But with a sword grinding against her knife, she would’ve preferred to see. She angled her knife so with the pressure Robin was applying sent the blade off to the side. She felt something cool across her arm and darted past Robin, sheathing her knife as she hoped that she wasn’t about to plow into anyone.

Yeah they call me Cardi B

I run this shit like cardio.

Then, right before the killer beat-drop, the music cut off. Then her sight returned. And then she wished it hadn’t, because standing dead in front of her was Batman. 

“Seriously?!.” She groaned. This day can’t get any worse. And that was her mistake, because the moment you test the universe, the universe can and will double down. And it did, in the form of a voice calling out from behind her.

“Aurelia?”

And her body went cold.

Chapter Text

“Shit.” She breathed before ducking behind Batman. Selina was here. She had been wondering when she would show up, was excited even, but Selina’s tone sent Lia back to when she was ten and getting scolded for dumb mistakes.

“Aurelia.” Selina repeated and Lia tensed up. Full names were never a good thing, and her body still felt chilled. But if there was one thing Lia was good at, it was irritating her older sister. So she peeked out from behind Batman’s cape and narrowed her eyes at the figure dressed in sleek, shiny spandex. 

“Catherine.” When she was younger she had decided that yelling ‘Cat!’ when she was mad at her sister while in costume just wasn’t as satisfying, so she had lengthened it to Catherine. Cat absolutely despised it, especially when Lia had made her a fake paper ID that had ‘Catherine Woman’ as the full name and a poorly drawn portrait of Catwoman. 

“I told you not to call me that.” Judging from the glare she was getting, she still hated it.

“And I told you not to call me Aurelia.” She snarked back. “But here we are.” Selina sighed and put a gloved hand on her cocked hip.

“And why are you here exactly?” Lia felt her face fall from a glare to a slight frown. She glanced down at her cuffed hands, and then past Batman at the contents of his cave. 

“Uhh…sightseeing?” Selina didn’t seem convinced. 

“Really?” Definitely not convinced.

“Sure! Where else are you gonna find a penny as big as that?” She pointed at said penny over Batman’s shoulder and Selina took her hand off her hip and crossed her arms. It made her think of a meme Connor had shown her once. Something about going big or going home and the person’s friend had begged them to go home before they proudly proclaimed that they were going big. Shoulda gone home, she lamented.

“Would you care to explain why you’re handcuffed?” Selina raised an eyebrow, which could easily be seen through the large eye holes of her cowl. Lia looked at her handcuffs for a second before looking back at her sister.

“Nope.” Selina frowned as her eyes narrowed on Lia’s arms.

“How about why you’re bleeding?” Lia’s brow furrowed and she looked at her bicep that Robin had nicked earlier. 

“I’m not bleeding anymore. That blood's already congealing. It’ll scab over in a bit.” She could already see where some of the blood was drying up, surely the rest would be close behind. Clearly Selina wasn’t satisfied with this because she sighed dramatically and started walking forward, and Lia stumbled back a bit.

As she got closer, Batman stepped off to the side so that Lia was no longer peeking out from behind him. Something about the set of his jaw was different, but before she could really think about it Selina was gently grabbing her arm. Lia saw her nose wrinkle at the handcuffs but instead of undoing them she gently turned over the opposite forearm that Lia had been looking at when Selina had mentioned blood and revealed a nasty bleeding gash. “Huh,” Lia said, tilting her head slightly to the side. “Ya know, this would explain why my arm was so cold.”

“Yeah, blood loss will do that.” Selina said with exasperation. “Honestly, how do you not notice something like this?”

“Well I was a little preoccupied.” She said, gesturing to the menagerie of vigilantes that had piled in on either side of Batman to gawk at them.

“You don’t say.” Selina said as the two of them stared back. And for a few seconds there was just the ambient sound of bats.

“So uhhh,” Signal started, looking like he had a question to ask but wasn’t sure how to phrase it.

“How do you two know each other?” Nightwing finished for him. Lia and Selina exchanged glances but Lia ignored whatever meaning her older sister’s look was meant to convey as she turned back to the vigilantes with a small frown on her face, and a plan in her head. An old card she hadn’t played in a while.

“She doesn’t talk about me?” She asked quietly. Game, she thought as the vigilantes shifted their weight from foot to foot as they threw glances at each other.

“She does not.” Robin said clearly, before getting quietly shushed and scolded by Spoiler. Set, she thought, trying not to smile.

“I’m-” her voice sounded unsure and hurt and for a second she thought maybe this was too mean but discarded it when she saw Selina slowly piecing it together. 

“Lia-“ Selina’s tone was full of warning.

“I’m her daughter,” she finished, looking back at the vigilantes and their shocked faces. Match! 

And for a few glorious seconds she played it off. Until Selina smacked the back of her head and she burst out laughing.

“Would you stop that!” Selina sounded furious, but Lia couldn’t quite bring herself to care.

“Come on, Cat!” She laughed. “Look at their faces! Absolutely priceless!” She said as she watched their shock slowly turn to confusion.

“Aurelia.” Her sister bit out her name, and with that all her fun was over. 

“Would you cut that out?” Lia huffed in annoyance, her fun ruined, before glancing back to their audience.

“She’s my younger sister.” Selina corrected before turning back to said sister with a deep frown on her face. “And she has a bad sense of humor.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I thought that was hilarious.” She smiled, and if her arms weren’t shackled she probably would’ve crossed them in satisfaction.

“Perhaps we might save this conversation for the med bay so that our guest might receive some medical attention.” A voice said, cutting through the tension. Lia’s eyes flew to find Alfred standing there primly with his hands at his sides. 

“Oh, no, I’m sure-“ Selina cut her off. 

“You’re right, Alfred. This conversation can be had while she gets stitched up.” Selina said walking towards the med bay.

“I don’t need stitches.” Lia mumbled under her breath as she followed her big sister. She looked down at her cut, assessing it. It was bleeding steadily from where it sat on the outer side of her forearm, dark red trailing down to her elbow from split skin. Probably from Robin’s sword, she guessed, remembering their stand off before everything had gone dark, it must've caught her arm right before she ran off.

When their little caravan had finally reached the infirmary, Lia went to sit down on a cot, the same one she had sat on the first time, when Alfred spoke up.

“Perhaps someone might remove Miss Aurelia’s restraints?” The disapproval in his tone seemed to make all the vigilantes stiffen, except Batman who already seemed to be as stiff as a board. Lia wanted to laugh, but the humor was tainted by the presence of her government name. 

“I’ll go grab the keys.” Red Robin said, pointing out of the infirmary as he started to back away.

“It’s alright, I’ve got it.” Lia cut him off, pushing all her focus towards the small lock mechanism in the cuffs. They unlatched quickly and seconds later she was sliding them off her wrists. She gathered the two cuffs together and held them out for someone to take. “Here ya go.”

They stared back, the movement of their eyes hidden by the whites of their masks. Except Spoiler, who’s wide eyes were looking from Lia’s face to the cuffs. Selina sighed where she stood next to her, a hand going up to rub her temples.

“What? He said ‘someone’, I’m someone.” Lia argued as Batgirl took them from her. And with her wrists unbound, Lia carefully took her hurt arm out of her backpack straps, letting it thunk to the floor loudly before finally taking a seat on the cot. Selina stood for another second before sitting down beside her. She looked like she was about to say something before Spoiler spoke up.

“How did you do that? You didn’t even touch them! Can you teach me?!” Lia was impressed that her mask didn’t fall down off her nose. 

“Uh, no, sorry. It’s genetic.” Lia offered apologetically, and Spoiler’s face fell a little. But before Lia could say anything else Batman spoke up. 

“So you’re a meta.” He growled, or maybe his voice just sounded like that. Lia decided to ask Selina later, she would know.

“Nope,” Lia scrunched her nose a little. Clauditiskinesis was something pretty much everyone in Cabin 11 had. To sense the structure of a lock, and if they chose, unlock it without a single touch. But explaining that to Batman would mean explaining everything else. If she wasn’t such a shitty liar she probably would’ve just said yes. 

She watched once again as Alfred went around collecting medical supplies to fix her up with. Pointedly not looking at Batman, though she could feel his glare burning into her skin.

“Sooooo….how are you two related?” Nightwing piped up, probably trying to defuse some of the tension in the room.

“Our father.” Selina said slowly, carefully almost, as she also stared at Lia. But Lia was now looking at where her arm had been sliced.

“Hey, could I get something to wipe this up with?” Lia asked no one in particular. Batgirl, who had possibly been anticipating the question, was suddenly at her elbow with a rag. “Thanks.”

“According to what we found on you, your only sibling is an Orion Vanguard. Born seven years before you.” Batman stated accusingly as Lia mopped the blood off her forearm arm and finally inspected the cut. Luckily it was on her left arm which was her non dominant hand. She wouldn’t have to be too careful while it healed. “Yet, you’ve stated you have more.”

“Is he always like this?” Lia asked her sister as she held the rag tightly to her arm, feeling useless just watching it bleed.

“Actually this is pretty tame.” Selina admitted.

“Catwoman.” Batman sounded annoyed. Lia could understand that. Her family could be pretty annoying. But part of her thought he should’ve been used to Cat’s antics by now. Selina just glared back. 

“I don’t see why my family tree is so concerning to you.” She finally risked a glance up. Batman was closer than she had thought, about 5 feet away. The infirmary was kinda crowded with everyone standing in it. Though some of the younger vigilantes had found stools to pull up or were simply lounging on the unused cots.

“Nothing you have told us adds up.” Batman bit back.

“Have you considered you might be bad at math?” She offered sarcastically. She got a couple of chuckles from Red Hood and Spoiler at that. Batman’s glare deepened. 

“This isn't a game!” 

“Of course not.” She agreed harshly. “Games are fun.”

“You killed someone!” He yelled. Lia’s heart clenched painfully, remembering her sword plunging into Emelia’s skull. But Lia wasn’t one to yell back. Selina was though.

Lia forgot sometimes, how fierce her sister could be. Catwoman may not go looking for fights, in fact she tried to avoid them at all costs. But as Lia watched Catwoman hold Batman back, she was reminded that Selina had lived a harder life than most of the thieves. Had survived more than most of them too. And she had the skills to prove it.

She’s so cool. Lia thought, until Catwoman turned back to her. 

“What is he talking about?” She asked once Batman had backed off a bit, which was barely at all, but at least he wasn't yelling. Lia sighed.

“It was technically self defense.” She said lamely, looking down at the blood soaked rag in her hand. Alfred had finally made his way over and was cleaning up her arm with disinfectant. She saw sutures, gauze, and a couple other things he had compiled from various shelves and drawers.

Self defense, her inner voice sneered. That doesn’t excuse what I did. But Selina knew what she was talking about. She always seemed to know exactly what Lia meant.

“…How long were you being chased this time?” Selina moved back to sit next to her on the cot. She wasn’t beating around the bush, it seemed. 

“Not too long.” Lia tried to brush it off. But when Selina glared at her, she sighed. She really was terrible at lying. “Two weeks, give or take.”

“Cat, what’s going on?” Nightwing asked. “Is someone after her?” Lia wanted to laugh. They always are.

“Explain.” Batman ordered, but he didn’t sound angry. More…frustrated and confused.

“Can’t.” Lia watched Alfred start to stitch her skin back together.

“Why not?” The anger was slowly seeping back into his voice.

“It’s confidential.” Lia had tried to explain this world, this life to Orion once. It hadn’t gone well. 

“You could…confide it.” Nightwing offered, before specifying. “In us, I mean. We could help.” He was so earnest that Lia wanted to believe him, but she knew better. She shook her head. 

“It’s a nice sentiment. But there’s nothing you can do, so telling you is pointless.” Then she winced, one of her stitches pulled too tightly at her skin. 

“My apologies, Miss Aurelia. I didn’t mean to pull so hard.” Lia shook her head with a kind smile. 

“No worries, Mr. Pennyworth. I think these are the neatest stitches I’ve ever gotten, so a little pinch is a small price to pay.” It was true. Marley always asked if she could practice her left-handed stitches as part of her long winded attempt to become ambidextrous. And Will was always so busy that he prioritized speed over uniformity. But these stitches looked textbook perfect. 

“But if you tell us, maybe we can stop whoever is after you!” Spoiler added, with Batgirl nodding along next to her. On Spoiler’s other side Red Robin was inspecting the cuffs and mumbling to himself as he looked at something on his wrist screen.

“Sorry, but no. I won’t tell you.” Lia didn’t look up. Her involvement was clearly making things more complicated. She’d keep quiet and let Selina handle the rest. They clearly trusted her if she was down in the cave with absolutely no fanfare.

Of course Selina lived to keep people on their toes. Lia was no exception. 

“I think you should.” Lia’s eyes snapped to her sister’s face. Selina had a finger tapping on her chin and her brow was furrowed under the cowl of the Catsuit.

“What?” Lia’s voice was as uncertain as she felt.

“Tell them.” Selina clarified, seeming to think she hadn’t heard her. Her finger leaving her chin and pointing at the vigilantes. 

“Wow,” Lia breathed. “You’re finally losing it.”

“That’s rude.” Selina frowned, a perfect pout forming across her features. 

“Sorry, Cat, but that’s not happening.” 

“You’re being obstinate.”

“I’m being realistic.”

“They can keep a secret.” Selina’s voice was getting frustrated.

“It’s not their secret to keep.” Lia shot back.  “And it’s not just my secret to tell.”

“I trust them.”

“Do you?” Lia looked at her sister pointedly. Selina’s face was hidden, did you really trust someone if you wouldn’t show them your face? Or at least that’s how Selina seemed to take it, because she brought a hand up and pulled the mask off her face and let it fall back like a hood.

“I do.” Lia was stunned, shocked, and flabbergasted. Which is probably why the next words out of her were:

“You’re an idiot.” Selina glared at her.

“Aurelia-” 

“And would you cut it out with the government name?” She could feel humor seep back into her voice. It made sense, since this was a complete joke, right? “You’re acting like I’m being completely unreasonable. Also they could totally arrest you now!!” 

“They won’t.” That made Lia pause. 

“…Why not?” She asked slowly. She could feel Alfred start to wrap her forearm in gauze.

“I know who they are.” Selina explained like it was common knowledge. “And they’ve known who I am for a while. I just figured you would appreciate the dramatic reveal.”

“I did.” She said absentmindedly as she looked back at the vigilantes. Red Robin and Robin were carefully looking elsewhere. “So…mutually assured destruction, huh? That’s nice.”

“Well?” Her clearly delusional older sister prompted. Lia looked into her sister’s green eyes. 

“You’re making me feel crazy.” She sighed as she closed her eyes and let her body sag forward slightly so her forehead rested against the cool material of Cat’s suit

“You’re not crazy, Kitten.” Selina said soothingly. The term of endearment felt purposeful, but she let it slide as Selina started to run her fingers through Lia’s knotted ponytail. “You’re just a little…odd.”

“Like a duck?” She chuckled softly, remembering how often Selina would leave behind her preferred jokes and puns and call a younger Lia ‘duckling’, especially when they were out during the day. She always said it was because Lia would trail behind her no matter what she was doing.

“A very odd duck.” Selina agreed with a laugh.

“Quack.” Lia finally exhaled after taking a deep breath in. Then she let her eye crack open. The vigilantes were either staring at the two of them or pointedly looking away. She looked at each one individually. They truly hadn’t wanted anything more than answers, an explanation. A way to make sense of all the stories they had that didn’t quite fit together. She pulled away from her sister. “If this blows up in my face, I’m blaming you.”

Selina gave a noncommittal hum, and Lia straightened her back and turned to look at Batman, straight in the whites of his mask.

“This affects a lot of people,” she stressed. “Good, innocent people. They don’t want trouble, they just want to live their lives.”

“Understood.” With his blank stare and gruff voice, she found it hard to find any sincerity.

“That means it doesn’t leave this cave, Batman.” She reiterated, just in case. He didn’t look impressed

“Lia, you’re stalling.” Selina poked her lightly in the side. 

“Alright, alright,” she swatted Selina’s hand away and rolled her shoulders back. Alfred was wrapping her arm in gauze. She wondered how he would react to what she was about to say, being a son or legacy of Mars. The animosity between the two camps had been solved three years ago during the Second Giant War. And she definitely didn’t have the Roman Legion’s super secret club tattoo. She was a little anxious about his reaction. “How much do you know about Greek Mythology?”

“Why?”

“It’s pertinent to the conversation.” Lia couldn’t help the annoyed look that spread across her face.

“It is.” Selina reaffirmed with a nod.

“I’ve read them.”

“Great!” Lia smiled as brightly as she could given the current situation. “They’re all true.”

Batman stared at her. Actually, everyone was staring at her. Except Selina, who was sighing, and Alfred, who was cleaning up from the stitches. 

“What do you mean?” Red Robin piped up.

“All those dusty old myths are true.” Lia restated. “The Gods are real and they’re immortal so they can't really die. But the universe is all about balance so monsters and stuff are still around too, and they can’t really die either. Though you’ll probably cross paths with an ancient monster before you run into a god. Most of them are kinda elitist, anyways. But you didn’t hear that from me.”

“You’re kidding?” Red Hood’s disbelief was palpable. “So you’re saying every myth, ever, is real?”

“With some discrepancies, pretty much.” She nodded as she thought about it. 

“So the Greek Gods are real?” His tone reminded her of Connor, where his curiosity could easily be read as attitude.

“Yeah, a real pain. But, again, you didn’t hear that from me.” She chuckled a bit, so did Selina.

“So what does that make you?” Spoiler asked, tilting her head to the side. Batgirl mimicked her.

“Are…” Signal started nervously. “Are you a god?”

“No.” Her face scrunched in distaste at that thought. “Not quite.”

“Emelia called you ‘little hero’.” Nightwing started slowly. “Most heroes in the story were children of the Gods.”

“Gold star.” Lia said humorlessly. “Earlier you asked me what ‘Half-Blood’ meant. Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like.”

“Do you truly intend to imply that you are the daughter of a pagan god?” Robin asked with disdain.

“Like the old heroes.” Lia could hear a bit of awe in Red Hood’s voice. “Like Perseus and Hercules.”

“Like the Disney movie with Danny Devito?” Spoiler asked. 

“That movie is in no way, shape, or form, accurate.” Lia stated. “Also his name was Heracles. It's the Romans that called him Hercules.”

“Does that make a difference?” Red Robin asked. 

“You’d be surprised.” Lia scoffed as she tried her best not to look at the Roman standing ten feet away. “The difference between the Greek and Roman forms of the Gods can be pretty drastic. Because the Roman versions of the Greek Gods were adapted to fit Rome’s more militaristic lifestyle and beliefs.” She rubbed at the bandage on her arm where the stitches and gauze were starting to itch slightly. “The Gods follow the flame of western civilization. So wherever that is, is where you’ll find them. But when the peak of that civilization was the Roman empire, the Romans decided they weren’t gonna just take the Greeks leftovers. I mean they were the Great Roman Empire. So they rebranded them, a couple to the point that they were almost entirely different beings. Like Athena and Minerva, for example. Athena is a goddess of wisdom and war. A strategist. She’s the King of the Heavens’ most trusted advisor and a great warrior. But Minerva is a patron goddess of craftsmen and artisans. Still wisdom but in a more judicial sense. To call them the same person is like calling identical twins the same person. They may be similar, but they are not the same.”

She took a deep breath. She was rambling, and everyone else was quiet. This is normally where they call me crazy.

“Well said.” Alfred broke the silence, and the tension that had been building between her shoulder blades.

“So who’s your godly parent?” Nightwing asked from where he was leaning against the entryway, his arms once again crossed over his chest. She felt a maniacal grin split her face in two and she turned to Selina to see if she had the same idea. Lia guessed from the unknowing look in her eyes that she didn’t. She turned back to her audience.

“Guess!” Lia could feel her glee coming off the singular word. She was not prepared for the amount of whispers between the vigilantes as they conferred, it quickly turned into an argument Lia wanted to laugh but she figured that would derail them.

“Why not just tell them?”

“Cause.” Lia said childishly. “I’m curious to hear what they’ll guess.”

“And how does this explain why you killed someone?” Batman’s tone chilled the air and everyone went quiet. Right, Lia thought a little bitterly. Stay on task. “Did the Gods tell you to kill her? Was this supposedly some divine will of the Heavens?” There was so much bitterness and distrust in his voice. Lia understood, if she was in his position she wouldn’t believe him either. She shook her head. 

“Emelia is what's called an empousa. They’re also known as the followers of the Triple Goddess.” She says carefully. Batman doesn’t want her little anecdotes and quips. He wants the facts, wants her to explain what's going on. “And she’s not dead. Not in the same way mortals die.” 

“What do you mean?” Deep breath in, hold for eight seconds, let it out. 

“Monsters don’t truly die.” She reiterated. “It’s kinda like mobs in a video game. No matter how many you kill they just keep respawning. Except these ones come back with all their memories. Over and over and over again. They wake up in Tartarus, and they find their way back to the mortal world.”

“Why?”

“I wish I knew.” Her laugh was devoid of humor, not really a laugh at all, more of an exhale than anything. “They find their way back to the mortal world and hunt down demigods. Maybe for sport? Maybe because they hate the Gods, but since we’re easier to kill, they direct all their hatred at us.” She looked down at the bandage, letting her eyes trace the lines where it layered upon itself. “Or maybe they’ve lived so long that they don’t even know anymore. They just know that they hated us once, so why stop?” There’s got to be a reason, her head said hopefully. 

“What kinda threat do they pose?”

A never-ending one. She thought as she looked back up at him, catching sight of the more colorful vigilantes in the corner of her peripheral. “Not one you need to concern yourself with.”

“I concern myself with all possible threats.” Lia thought she heard someone say ‘busybody.’ 

“There’s no point.” She remembered a son of Hephaestus had told her: ‘There’s no point tryin to fix a problem you ain’t got the tools for’. What he had probably meant was, ‘get out of my workshop because all you’re good for is stealing.’ But she had asked what tools she had needed to fix whatever thing she had broken. She was pretty sure the older camper had just shaken his head and ignored her. “The monsters are our responsibility, not yours. Not only are we literal magnets for them, we’re also their preferred prey. So it’s for us to worry about, not you.”

Before Batman could ask another weighted question, Signal spoke up.

“So Emelia really had flaming hair?” He asked in a pretty even tone. 

“Yup, and the mismatched legs were real too.” She nodded with a small smile to put him at ease. They were probably giving him grief about it since they couldn’t see it.

“Why can’t everyone else see it?”

“An entity called the Mist. It censors the divine world from mortal eyes, and usually it replaces it with something you would expect to see instead. Something that’s easier for your mind to explain. Maybe because mortal minds can’t handle it, maybe because the two worlds lost their ability to truly exist together a couple millennia ago. But mortals who can see through it are few and far between.”

“It would make sense that Sig can see through it. His meta ability is photokinesis. So since he can control light he can also see through all spectrums of light so it wouldn’t affect what he sees.” Red Robin pointed out. 

“Maybe.” She shrugged, it sounded like it made enough sense. Well, as much sense as things ever do. 

“How does it work?” Batman’s words seemed…calmer, somehow.

“I’m not the person to explain that, unfortunately. That’s more Cabin 20’s thing, with their mother being Hecate, they have a better understanding of it then most of us.”

“What cabin are you in?” Spoiler asked.

“How do we make it stop?” Batman gruffed.

“Why does everyone in Cabin 20 have the same mom?” Red Hood’s head tilted a bit to the side with his question.

“I’m in Cabin 11. They all have the same mom because each cabin is dedicated to a specific god or goddess.”  She addressed Spoiler and Red Hood’s questions first before turning to Batman. “And you can’t stop the entirety of the Mist, but it can be lifted from mortal eyes by someone who knows how.”

Please don’t ask, please don’t ask, please don-

“Do you know how?” Ugggghhh, she whined in her head.

“The better question is do you really want that? Once it’s lifted there is no undoing it.” She didn’t really think reasoning with him would work. 

“Do it.”

Lia let her face fall into a comical pout before turning to Selina.

“What do you think, Kitty?”

“Why are you asking me?” 

“You’re the one that said I should tell him, so this is your fault. And therefore, your decision.”

“Lia,” there was so much disdain in Selina’s voice that Lia nearly laughed. It brought back fond memories. “You’re an adult. Make your own decisions.”

“...I work and live at a summer camp all year ‘round. And you’re an interior designer and a jewel thief.” She stated factually. “One of us is an adultier adult and I’ll tell you right now, it’s not me.”

Seline frowned, and then her eyes brightened. “My opinion on this really shouldn’t count at all since I’m not a demigod.” She stated, sounding very pleased with herself. 

“Booooo.” Lia shoved her sister lightly. “Denial is a river in Egypt, Kitty.”

“What?” The majority of the Bats voiced their confusion.

“Oh! Uhhh..ever heard the phrase ‘cogito ergo sum?’ It means ‘I think, therefore I am.’ She pretty much just kinda refuses to acknowledge it. And I mean…it works for her. Personally, I think that's cause Tyche lost the last time they played poker. But I’m pretty sure the only reason she won was because she cheated.”

“You have absolutely no proof of that.” Selina said coolly.

“Do I really need proof if I have probable cause and evidence of character?” 

“Evidence of character implies a truthful and honest character.” Nightwing mentions almost immediately, in an uncharacteristically dull tone. Lia stared at him cautiously.

“What are you? A cop?” Nightwing opens his mouth to reply but whatever he starts to say is drowned out by Red Hood and Spoiler. Red Hood fell off the cot he was perched on and started rolling around on the floor. And Spoiler was leaning against a very concerned looking Signal who was trying his best to hold her up as she shook with laughter. “Uhhh…,” she shot a look to Selina.

“I wouldn’t ask. They’re pretty odd, too.” Selina’s tone was even, but there was a mirthful smile tugging at her lips.

“Guys! We’re getting off topic!” Red Robin complains. 

“I agree.” Robin said primly. He was staring at his fellow capes as their laughter slowly calmed with…disdain maybe? “Your ability to get sidetracked is abhorrent.”

Nightwing gave a long suffering sigh as he stared at Robin before turning back to Lia. “So how does this work?”

Lia scrunched her nose before getting off the cot and drawing her sword with her uninjured arm. 

“What’s that for?” Signal sounded suspicious. 

“Signal, what do you see when you look at what I’m holding?” She asked evenly, holding the pommel so the sword pointed to the floor.

“Uhhh…”

“It’s not a trick question.” She assured him.

“A sword.” He answered slowly, like he was waiting for her to start laughing and call him crazy.

“Alright. Does anyone else see a sword?” 

“Yeah.” Red Hood called as he got up off the floor.

“I, as well.” Robin nodded. I wonder why he talks so formally.

“A fine blade.” Alfred added, from where he was standing off to the side. Lia resisted the urge to laugh.

“Anyone else?” She asked after a few seconds, hoping to draw the eyes that had settled on Alfred away from him. “Alright, what do the rest of you see?”

“A baseball bat.” Nightwing.

“A metal pipe.” Red Robin. 

“A golf club.” Spoiler.

“A baseball bat.” Batman.

“Alri-“ She started to say, before another voice cut her off.

“Shiny stick.” A voice right next to her ear made her flinch. Her eyes flew to the sound to find Batgirl standing slightly behind her. 

“Wow….you… you’re just everywhere, aren’t you?” She quipped as her muscles relaxed. 

“In the walls.” Batgirl replied, humor dancing in her tone. Lia cracked a smile.

“Well, isn’t that spooky and mysterious.” 

“I wish to see the sword.” Batgirl articulated carefully. “The shiny stick is…fuzzy.” Somehow the mask was able to convey that her brow was furrowed. 

“It’s fuzzy?” Lia repeated quietly to herself, looking down at the sword. 

 “Any day now, kitten-“ Selina prompted, snapping Lia out of her daze.

“Right! Right. So,” she held the sword out in front of her. “If you don’t see a sword, look at whatever you see in my hand.”

“Does what we see now affect something?” Red Robin asked. 

“Nope, I was just curious.” She said absentmindedly as she did her best to tap into the mist covering their eyes, laying like Gotham’s fog over their brains. Then with all her mental fortitude, she willed it away from them. Don’t worry, I’ll vouch for these ones, she assured it. She also snapped her fingers for dramatic effect, even though it sent a spike of pain through her arm. No one would know it wasn’t necessary. Selina had only stayed at camp a single summer before deciding the lifestyle wasn’t for her and promptly leaving it behind, and therefore didn’t know how to manipulate the Mist. Or maybe she’d forgotten. 

Judging from how a few of their faces had visibly slackened, it had worked. “Tada!”

“It’s really a sword.” Nightwing’s tone dripped with disbelief.

“I told you it was.” Signal huffed and Lia smiled as she sheathed her sword. She went to sit back down next to Selina, only to stumble as spots danced across her vision.

“Lia? What’s wrong?” Selina rarely sounded that worried.

“Nuth’n,” she slurred, shitting her eyes harshly in the hopes that those pesky spots would dissipate. She could hear voices clashing around her, but nothing her ears were willing to focus on. But that disembodied ringing? It made her wince as it shot through her skull. Someone was tapping her arm? Maybe? But that too, got softer and far away. Then all the blobs of light and color that she gradually faded as everything went dark.

***

-ep…Beep…Beep.

Lia groaned as bright lights assaulted her eyes, and she shut her eyelids again. 

“She’s awake!” Somebody yelled out. It added to the ringing in her ears. 

“Shhhhhh.” She whined, putting a finger to her lips to emphasize that whoever it was should quiet down.

“Lia!” She knew that voice!

“Too loud, Cat.” She groaned as her hands slowly traveled up to cover her ears. She could feel a hand turn a strand of hair behind her ear, and then whatever she was laying on started tilting up. Her body felt like it was under a weighted blanket so she just let it happen. Selina is here. She won’t let anything happen to me.

Finally the world stopped moving and Lia was sitting upright, her eyes were still scrunched tight.

“Are you gonna open your eyes?” Selina teased. 

“Nope. Schrodinger’s eyes. If I don’t open them, nothing exists.” Her arm was throbbing a bit, that probably wasn’t good. Her legs were sore, that wasn’t good either. 

“I’m pretty sure you’re misremembering that concept, darling.” Selina said soothingly. 

“Semantics.” Lia scrunched her nose as the ringing slowly started to subside. 

“Open your eyes?” Selina coaxed. “Please?”

“You just want to see if I’m concussed or not, don’t you?” Lia groused, un-scrunching her eyes slightly before shitting them even tighter than. What’s that light source? The Sun?!

“What’s your name?” Selina asked with mock seriousness.

“King Lia!” She sang happily. 

“Nice try, Your Majesty. Government name, please?” Lia groaned dramatically before pouting.

“Aurelia Vanguard.”

“How old are you?”

“What happened to never asking a lady her age?” Lia snarked, remembering how Selina used to say that, despite being only 13 years older than her.

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I-“ Lia started to answer and then stopped. The last thing she remembered was…she slowly opened her eyes, wincing a little as the light seared her irises. She blinked away the pain and was greeted with…industrial lighting. As she slowly looked around she saw an infirmary. Not the warm yellow walls with the goofy ‘get well soon’ and ‘you can do it’ posters of Camp’s infirmary, but something clinical and sterile. She was in a hospital bed, and hooked up to a monitor, whose beeping was no longer fighting against the disembodied ringing for her annoyance. And then she noticed the colorful figures standing off to the sides and corners of the room. She blinked until she could clearly make them out, banishing the spots from her eyes. And then she groaned, turning to her sister who sat at her bedside. “Ugggg, that was real?”

“Believe me Lia, I don’t think anyone sane could make this up.” The teasing smile on her sister’s face made her sincere tone fall flat.

“So you’re saying I’ve finally lost it!” Lia smiled playfully.

“Unfortunately, no, I’m afraid you’re as sane as everyone else in this room.” 

“Booo.” She glanced over at the vigilantes, who looked a little lost themselves. “Ya know, I’ve had a lot of strange and odd experiences, but I think this one takes the cake. I mean, the ‘Batcave’?? By the Gods, Selina. It’s like I’m in a soap opera!”

“What would that title even be?” Selina chuckled.

“The Demigod Files?” Lia suggested, tapping her chin. Genuinely considering it.

“A Traveler’s Dilemma.” Selina countered. 

“Divine Encounters of the Worst Kind?” Selina raised an eyebrow, but grinned back all the same. 

“Her Majesty, the King!” Selina and Lia were both giggling now.

“A Thief’s Anatomy!” Lia thought idly that there might be some copyright issues with that one, but it was still funny.

“Lia’s Adventures is Heroing!” Lia scrunched her nose at that one.

“Not only would that imply I’m the main character. It also implies I’m a hero. No thank you.” She turned her face away from her sister pointedly. 

“Uhhh…” Red Hood finally spoke up. “What language are you speaking?” 

“What do you mean?” Lia asked, before she heard it and whipped her head back to Selina. “Cat!! What the hell?”

“I just wanted to see how long it would take you to notice.” Selina’s shoulders were shaking with humor. “It’s funny.”

“It’s not funny, It’s incredibly rude.” Lia glared at her sister. 

“I don’t think it’s rude.” Selina said primly.

“You also think breaking and entering and theft are perfectly polite hobbies.” Lia pointed out sarcastically.

“It’s not theft if it’s mine. And everything I see is mine.” 

“Alright Simba.” Lia signed and shook her head. She’d learned long ago that there was no point arguing with Cat over the small things. The Simba comment got her a couple of laughs from the Vigilantes, which made her turn to face them. “I’m so sorry about that.”

“No, it’s so fine.” Spoiler assured her. “We’ve never actually seen Cat this…animated. We honestly kinda thought she only had two modes. Steal or Flirt.” 

“All gems are multifaceted.” Selina said cryptically.

“Right…so, that language?” Red Hood asked, focusing back on Lia.

“Oh! It's Greek. Specifically, Ancient Greek.”

“How did you learn Ancient Greek?” Signal asked, bewildered.

“Well, it’s kind of…,” she searched for the right word. “Built into demigods. The ability to understand Ancient Greek. I mean, it’s the Gods’ native language, and all that. But it doesn’t entirely make sense to me either, so I wouldn’t think about it too hard. But they also have a course at Camp for learning how to write and speak it.”

“Lia’s being modest, though. She knows a bunch of languages.” Selina added happily.

“I had a lot of time on my hands as a kid.” She shrugged. It had been something to pass the time.

“How many do you speak?” Batgirl asked, stepping out from behind Spoiler like a sentient shadow.

“Uhhh….” Lia thought about it.

“Too many.” Selina replied in her stead, tapping her chin. Trying to remember the languages her little sister knew.

“I mean…there are around seven thousand spoken languages in the world today, and that’s not counting the different forms of sign language. In the grand scheme of things, I may speak more than your average Joe, but I’m not like a genius or anything.”

“I think you speak ten?” Selina offered. “And you sign two. Or has that changed?”

“Uhhhh…sure lets go with that.”

“Why do you know so many?” Spoiler asked with shining eyes.

“A lot of my siblings are from all over the world and they speak different languages. Sometimes they would teach me, sometimes I would learn it on my own.” She explained. “And it’s easier to practice if you have someone to talk with.”

“Which one is your favorite?” Red Hood asked.

“Uhhh.. I don’t know. Maybe-“ She was cut off.

“Ah, Miss Aurelia. I am happy to see you awake and in good spirits. How do you feel?” Alfred said as he walked into the infirmary. Signal, Spoiler, and Red Hood all straightened a bit at his sudden appearance. Batgirl waved enthusiastically, not at all shocked by his entrance. Behind him, Nightwing and Robin followed. 

“Thanks.” She gave a gentle wave, mentally cringing away from her full name that Alfread had defaulted back to. Two can play that game. “I feel great, Mr. Pennyworth.” 

“May I check you IV?” He asked as his smile tightened slightly, it was barely noticeable. She nodded and he went about checking that it was dripping right and that it was still secured to her arm. Lia glanced at where Robin stood angled towards Nightwing with his head down, looking like a scolded child. Like he wanted to hide. His eyes didn’t rise above the edge of the hospital bed. 

“So what happened?” She asked, tearing her eyes away from Robin and looking back at Alfred.

-

“You always look people in their eyes when talkin, Aurelia, you hear me?” Cold eyes froze her to the ground.

“Yes Momma.” Lia said quietly. 

-

“Did I pass out from dehydration or something?” It wouldn’t have been the first time it had happened. It definitely would be the last.

“Or something.” Alfread said coolly. Lia expected him to explain but Nightwing spoke up instead.

“Robin’s katana was laced with a mild sedative.” Nightwing said carefully, placing his hands on Robin’s shoulders. It was a familiar gesture, but something about the way Nightwing was watching her, like he wanted to make sure he could pull the young boy behind him just in case. “So when he cut your arm after Signal blacked out the room-“ so that was Signal! “ It made you pass out.”

“Oh.” She said, staring at the carefully blank expression on Nightwing’s face before looking down at Robin who’d finally decided to meet her gaze. “Neat!”

“Neat?” Nightwing repeated unsurely.

“You are not angry?” Robin asked hesitantly, like he still didn’t want to bring attention to himself. 

“Well…why do you think I would be angry?” She tilted her head to the side and tried to keep her features gentle.

“You are a civilian,” Robin stated factually. “And I caused you bodily harm.” The way he said it made her think he’d been lectured on this before. To her knowledge, none of the other Robin’s had carried any sort of major weapon. Maybe that was why? “And the sedative on my blade caused you to become unconscious.”

“Alright…what was your reasoning?”

“I-…I don’t understand.” His face scrunched. Lia resisted the urge to make a face at the cuteness of the expression, remembering how standoffish he had been when she had called him ‘kid’.

“Why did you attack me?” She stated more plainly.

“You were loose in the Cave. Your skills were unknown, and therefore your threat level to our operation was higher than normal.” All of that made sense. If some non-demigod had made their way into camp and was running around like she had been, she probably would’ve been more confrontational as well, especially if they were going up against her family.

“That makes sense.” She nodded. 

“..It does?” He seemed more apprehensive of her, instead of less stressed like she had hoped.

“It does?” Nightwing echoed. 

“Sure. You were protecting your family.” She reasoned. “And in the grand scheme of things, this cut isn’t all that serious.” She said lifting her left arm to show off the bandage. “I think Cat’s  done more damage to me by accident. So, no harm, no foul.”

“But I did harm you.” He argued. He was getting frustrated but Lia didn’t understand why.

“Listen Robin,” she put a little more weight into her words. Not quite the voice she used when she was lecturing her siblings, but her instructor voice. “I’m an adult, and therefore perfectly capable of taking responsibility for my own actions. I figured I might get a little roughed up trying to get out of here. I got maybe a couple of bruises? Plus these two cuts? I’ve definitely been worse for wear. So don’t sweat it.”

“You’re not mad at all?” Red Hood spoke up. Lia turned to Selina again. 

“Am I still speaking in Greek?” She asked with a rough exhale.

“No, they just aren’t used to people being understanding or willing to compromise.” Selina said with a slightly tired smile. Lia turned back to Robin.

“I’m not mad.” She said firmly. Robin opened his mouth, closed it, and studied her for a second. 

“You’re very odd.” His face scrunched again. 

“I prefer whimsical, but thanks.” She smiled.

“Very well.” He stepped back from the hospital bed and ever so slightly behind Nightwing. I wonder if Nightwing had a cape, would Robin be grabbing it right now? It wouldn’t be the first time she’d seen a Robin clutch a cape.

“Besides, I think Cat’s-“ Lia was cut off but Spoiler and Red Hood’s shouts. An orange blur ran past their feet and under one of the cots, then up on her bed. An orange cat.

“Lia! Be so careful. That cat is a menace.” Spoiler called out worriedly.

“It doesn’t even like Robin.” Red Hood added. Lia subconsciously wondered if Robin was good with animals, but it was nowhere near the forefront of her mind as the cat walked in a circle before sitting down and facing her. He was a handsome orange cat with bright green eyes. His tail was broken in two places and he was missing the front half of his foot on his right back leg. Lia slowly lifted her hand, like she was in a daze, so he could sniff it.

“No, don’t-“ Nightwing started to say before cutting himself off as the cat rubbed his face on Lia’s outstretched fingers. His fur was rough and scratchy, and all the whiskers on his face were bent and crooked. She carefully stroked her hand down his back, stopping before she reached his tail, and then doing it again with more surety. “That…has literally never happened before.” Nightwing spoke cautiously, like saying it would jinx what was happening.

“Selina?” She didn’t take her eyes off the cat, scared he would fade the second she wasn’t looking at him. “What am I seeing?”

“It…looks like Kaden.” Selina’s voice was slowly, confused.

“Which is impossible, since you told me he died.” Lia pointed out blankly, scratching the underside of the cat’s chin. 

“No, I’m fairly certain I implied he had returned to his true domain.” Selina argued.

“He’s not a demon, he’s a cat.” Lia snarked, slowly wrapping her arms around her cat in a gentle hug. And if she hadn’t been convinced by his appearance, the hug cemented who he was. He put his front paws on her shoulder and snuggled his head into her neck as she curled her body around his, pressing a soft kiss into his fur.

“Could’ve fooled me.” She heard Selina whisper as she pulled back and started scratching under his chin.

“How did my cat end up in the Batcave?” 

“He hitchhiked.” Red Hood caught her attention with that. 

“Kaden hitchhiked to the Batcave?” She repeated slowly.

“All we know is that one day after patrol, Batman and Robin got out of the Batmobile, and then Kaden hopped out too.” Spoiler explained as she stared at the cat in Lia’s arms in awe. “Red Robin thinks that Robin bribed him with tuna.” Lia laughed.

“...So why is he still here?” 

“We uhh,” Nightwing rubbed the back of his head. “We can’t get him to leave.” 

“What do you mean?” She blinked as she tried to understand what they were saying.

“He won’t let anyone get near him and anytime we do he attacks.” Signal explained.

“So you’re telling me,’ She could barely get the words out as she wheezed. “That a cat is squatting in the Batcave? Did you feed him? Cause if you did, then this is your own fault.”

“We definitely aren’t feeding him.” Red Hood assured her. “Batman even banned Robin from bringing him snacks.”

“So what has he been eating?”

“Bats.” Alfred said primly. Lia barked out a laugh, which startled Kaden into letting out one of his loud and strangled sounding meows. She placed both of her hands on his sides and started petting him again to placate him as her shoulders shook. “He catches them when they go hunting at night.”

“What a little menace!” Kaden had always been a handful, with his surly features and his dislike for pretty much everyone. “Keeping them on their toes, huh Quarters?”

“Quarters?” Robin asked. “Is his name not Kaden?”

“Oh, well actually his name is Sir Kaden Kyle III.” She explained as Kaden started to sniff her fingers that had stilled. “But his code name is Quarters. Kaden because it suits him. Kyle after Selina cause he’s got her eyes. And quarters because he collects them.”

“He collects quarters?” Spoiler asked.

“Sure. That’s how I trained him. Every time he did a trick I gave him a quarter.” She smiled, and Kaden chose that moment to nip at her fingers. “Ouch! Hey, calm down, I’m sorry.” She started to stroke him again.

“He does tricks?” Signal and Nightwing spoke in unison.

“He gets paid?” Batgirl spoke up for the first time, reminding Lia of her presence. 

“I mean he used to, he chilled out after a while and’ll do it for bits of fish or cheese. But he will definitely still steal any loose change.”

“Like Catwoman!” Batgirl sounded incredibly pleased by this.

“Another reason he got Kitty’s last name.”

“Why do you keep calling her ‘Kitty’?” Red Hood asked.

“It’s her code name. Like Kaden’s is ‘Quarters’. Everyone in Cabin 11 has one.”

“And which Cabin is that?” Spoiler prodded. Lia glanced at Selina.

“How long was I out?” 

“About two hours. I explained some of the bigger details but you know infinity more about Camp than I would ever wish to. And Alfred explained Camp Jupiter.” Lia's eyes flew from her sister on her left to the older man on her right.

“Coooool.” She pulled the vowels. “I wasn’t sure how to mention that.” Her accompanying laugh was nervous.

“No need to fret, Miss Aurelia. The legion is my secret, and a secret I had kept long enough.” His voice was steady and reassuring. “They do say the truth shall set you free.”

At those words, Lia could feel Selina’s gaze bit into her back.

“Honestly, we should be less surprised. Alfred keeps all kinda secrets. Like his previous jobs.” Signal said.

“How he always knows what’s happening at all times.” Spoiler added.

“His cookie recipe.” Red Hood pouted. It was similar to the way Robin pouted. And it made him look younger than he already looked.

“Snacks.” Batgirl agreed gravely.

“But Catwoman has been tight-lipped about your mysterious Camp’s cabin system.” Robin’s accusatory and formal tone was hilarious, but Lia didn’t laugh. 

“Well, why don’t y'all guess, and I’ll let you know if you get it right!” Like a guessing game!

“You really want us to guess?” Nightwing asked. 

“I can assure you she does.” Selina sounded annoyed. “Lia loves guessing games.” 

“They’re fun!” Lia shot defensively. 

“They’re trivial.” Lia decided the best course of action was to stick her tongue out at her sister before turning back to the room's other occupants.

“Most of the time, a God’s traits and abilities are reflected in their children.” She offered helpfully. “You all seem to know Selina pretty well, so give it your best try. There’s only so many options.”

“Aphrodite?” Spoiler guessed almost immediately. “Cause you’re both so pretty?”

“That’s very sweet, but no. That’s Cabin 10.”

“Catwoman also mentioned they had the same Father.” Robin mentioned snidely as he continued to think about it.

“Apollo?” Red Hood guessed. “You healed quickly. You asked for music while we were chasing you. And you’re blonde.” At that Lia laughed.

“You’re not the first person to say that.” Selina laughed softly too.

“When I first arrived at camp I guess we forgot to mention who our father was so I was considered unclaimed for a bit, but a lot of kids thought I might be in Cabin 7. Especially when I told them my dad was a classically trained singer who liked napping in the sun.” Lia started cackling. Kaden yowled at her from her lap where he had curled up.

“They really never stood a chance. You were the furthest thing from Dad when you showed up at Camp.” Selina agreed, giggling like a lunatic. 

“But it is impossible for two men to procreate.” Robin argued.

“Listen Robin.” Lia said as she calmed down, stroking Kaden to calm him down as well. “I don’t want to know the logistics of that, and neither do you. But it is possible. I know a Daughter of Apollo who’s mortal dad runs an archery range.” Robin looked like he wanted to argue but instead grumbled quietly to himself. 

“Hermes.” Lia’s eyes shot up to meet the white lenses of Nightwing’s domino. “He’s the god of thieves and sleight of hand. That seems to fit you two pretty well.”

“Winner winner.” She looked back down at Kaden happily sleeping. “Cabin 11 is the Hermes Cabin. God of travelers, economy, astronomy, music, languages, athletes, and a bunch of other miscellaneous things.” She gave a small smile, but part of her thought it might look more like a grimace as she looked back at him. “And of course, more famously, thieves.” He quickly dropped her gaze. 

“So why does Cabin 11 get codenames?” Signal asked.

“Well,” Lia started slowly, considering how best to word it. “Hermes is the patron god of travelers. So it used to be, when a kid came to camp, until they were claimed, they would stay in Cabin 11. Of course it got a little out of hand when kids would get claimed by Gods who didn’t have a cabin so despite being unclaimed they still had to stay in Cabin 11. But each Cabin is supposed to be someplace special for that God or Goddess’ children. Cabin 11 wasn’t given that option, so one of our brothers, a long time ago, started Hermes’ Order of Thieves.”

“Hermes’ Order of Thieves?” Red Hood repeated. “Sounds like some sort of secret society.”

“It does, doesn’t it.” She chuckled. “But it was really just like a club. Nothing fancy, but something that was just ours. And the founder decided to give everyone cool code names as a bonus. Everyone gets to pick their own when they get to camp. Selina wanted her to be Catwoman but I said it was lame to use the same name twice, so we compromised on ‘Kitty’.”

“I still think that name is juvenile.” Selina groused.

“Too bad, so sad Kitty Cat.” Lia smiled brightly at her sister. 

“Your name?” Batgirl inquired with a tilt of her head.

“Ooooo! Allow me, Your Majesty.” Selina stood up with a flourish.

“Selina, you don-“ Her sister ignored her.

“Her Highness, Ali Baba, The King of Hermes’ Order of Thieves.” Selina announced in a pretentious voice. Lia glared at her sister, then she got a wicked idea.

“Quarters.” She said, the grin on her face matched her idea. Kaden perked up in her lap. Selina’s face grew pale as she realized what was happening. 

“No-“

“Bring me her ankles.” Kaden leapt from her lap and started to chase Selina, who had booked it out of the infirmary. Lia giggled before pulling out her IV to follow. She pushed herself off the bed and nearly fell to her feet when she tried to put her weight on them, but she was able to stumble forward until she was running past the vigilantes and watching Kaden chase Selina around the cave, hissing and spitting as he went. Selina was jumping and flipping out of his way. She even startled Batman and Red Robin who were working at the Batcomputer when she ran across the desk space with Kaden hot on her heels. Red Robin and Batman quickly jumped back at the sight of the orange cat, and Lia started cackling.

“You taught…attack?” Batgirl sounded…hurt from where she stood beside her. 

“That's part of the command,” she nodded. “But it’s all for show.” Kaden knew how to fight, he didn’t need Lia telling him to. And she didn’t need him fighting battles with or for her. “He just chases her while being loud. Call it enrichment.” 

“Your cat’s enrichment is chasing your older sister?” Nightwing asked skeptically.

“He doesn’t like cat toys. They aren’t exciting enough.” She smiled with a shrug as her sister was chased onto and then off of the Batmobile.

“No wonder he eats bats for dinner.” Red Hood laughed.

“He’s a fighter, that's for sure.” Spoiler added gleefully.

“He shows much fierceness.” Robin agreed. “Certainly more than Red Robin.”

“What is going on?” Batman ‘s voice made them all tense. 

“Kaden’s just having a little fun.” Lia explained turning back to her sister, who was dangling in the air from a grappling hook she had acquired somewhere.

“AURELIA VANGUARD YOU CALL OFF YOUR DEMON RIGHT NOW.” Her sister yelled.

“I don’t know, Cat.” Lia called out, appraising the dirt under her nails. “You keep calling me all these names. And name calling is mean.”

“Gods, Lia! I’m sorry, ok!” She said, pulling her body up and away from Kaden’s claws. Lia decided to take pity on her sister. 

“Alright, fine.” She sighed before whistling loudly and crouching down, extending her uninjured right arm. Kaden stood up from where he was getting ready to pounce again and turned to look at Lia before happily scampering away from his prey. He trotted over to her, causing the vigilantes to take a couple cautionary steps back, and climbed up her arm onto her shoulders. “Good kitty.” She told him, scratching his chin. He licked her knuckle with his scratchy tongue before jumping back to the floor and scampering off. Possibly to hunt down his dinner.

She stood back up as the vigilantes started bickering, only to be knocked flat on her back on a cold stone floor. Pain shot through her head and arm. 

“Ouch.” She groaned, reaching a hand up to rub at her temples. She sat up and opened her eyes to see Selina glaring down at her. “Guess I deserved that.” Lia laughed.

“You think?” Selina growled, but Lia could see the humor hiding in her eyes. 

“Careful Cat, your claws are showing.” Lia said reach and hand up.

“Only because you have an unwavering ability to get under my skin.” Selina said with a long suffering sigh before she grabbed Lia’s hand to pull her to her feet.

“A little sibling’s prerogative.” Lia assured her before wrapping her in a hug, smiling when Selina hugged her back.

“You don't visit enough.” Selina mumbled, tightening her grip. 

“I know. I hate it.” Lia lamented. “I’m always so busy.”

“You ever thought about retiring?” Selina asked as she slowly pulled away. The vigilantes were occupying themselves if their arguing was any indication. 

“Ya know, I have actually.” She said as she watched the vigilantes. Though she couldn’t quite make out what they were arguing over, it seemed Batman and Nightwing were at the middle of it. While everyone else seemed to be egging them on. Specifically Red Hood and Spoiler. It reminded her of Robin. Her Robin.

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with Sutton, would it?” Selina’s words made Lia freeze. “I gotta say Lia, I’m a little upset I had to find out you had a daughter from Grandma of all people.”

“Not you too.” She groaned.

“Motherhood looks good on you.” Selina responded cheekily, poking her in the side. Lia shook her head as she swatted her hand away, knowing Selina wouldn’t be dissuaded. She was a lot like Grandma Maia in that sense.

“Yeah it is. Wally too.” She huffed, choosing to ignore Selina’s comment. She wasn’t their mom. They both had moms. Moms who had been taken from them too soon. She was just their sister. “Sutton is ten years old and seven months ago her mother was killed in front of her. And then her entire life was upended and everything changed. I might’ve been fine growing up at a summer camp, but I can tell she misses the mortal world.”

“And Wally?” Selina prompted.

“He deserves to have a normal childhood. Elementary school and science fairs and soccer practice and a room to himself. Not weekly cabin checks and nightly offerings and combat training. They’re little kids, not future soldiers.” She shut her eyes and opened them again, forcing a slight smile. “So I’ve been thinking about moving us out of camp. My only setback is picking someone to take over.” She needed to pick someone to be the next Cabin 11 counselor, the next King of Thieves. She might also be the swordplay instructor and the business manager of Delphi Strawberry Services, but one of those positions could be easily filled and the other was a role she had taken on in an attempt to not feel like less of a freeloader at Camp.

“Anyone in mind?”

“Well…the boys are out.” She said, crossing her arms. “Travis is about to finish college and start his own life in the real world. Chris is…not a good choice.” She cringed at her own word choice. Even four years after the fact, Chris was still dealing with the effects of his time in the Labyrinth. “Cecil doesn’t want it, and Connor is still trying to figure out who he is. Not to mention they’re all too old.”

“So were you,” Selina muttered, almost too quiet to hear. “When you were given the crown.”

“And look where it got me.” Lia said humorlessly, her gaze shooting down to her shoes. “I’m turning twenty five in a couple weeks and I still live at a summer camp.”

“…So the boys are out.” Selina repeated. “What about the girls?” Lia truly admired Selina’s ability to move past emotionally draining conversations topics.

“The girls.” She spoke immediately with a dry laugh. “Alice is too in the moment. She’s a team player, but just that. A team player. She’s got skills, but she doesn’t want to worry about that kinda stuff, not after all that stuff with her mom.”

“But-?” Selina prompted her. Lia looked up and saw the gears turning behind Selina’s eyes. She was truly considering Lia’s words.

“But Julia? She’s in it for the long con. She’s always thinking about how everything needs to work out and how it’ll affect everyone. She has the drive to…” she searched for the right words, uncrossing her arms. “Do more. Be more.” She paused for a second before continuing. “I think she’d make an amazing King of Thieves.” Selina was quiet for a second, thinking. It was really quiet actually. Lia realized the vigilantes' chatter had ceased.

“What about Haley?” 

“What about Haley?” Lia laughed, a little bitterness leaked into it. She hated the sound immediately.

“You don’t think she should be considered?” Selina seemed genuine, so Lia answered her genuinely.

“I think if I offered it to her she’d laugh in my face.” She shook her head and started walking in a circle. “She barely wants anything to do with Camp, let alone the Order of Thieves. In fact, I feel implored to use the word hate. She hates me Kitty.”

“She doesn’t hate you.” Selina tried to assure her. 

“Oh yes she does. She despises me. And I would too if I were her. For the first eleven years of her life the only person she had was her mother. And then I show up out of literally nowhere and tell her her deadbeat dad is a Greek God and that she should come to camp for a couple of months every year so that she has a chance to make sure she doesn’t get herself or her mother killed.” She took a deep breath and shook her head. “Besides,” she shot Selina a meaningful look. “I kinda thought she might take on something a little sleeker.”

“Wha-“ Selina looked like she’d been slapped, before her face tightened. “Catwoman is not a mantle.” 

“No.” Lia agreed, she crossed her arms again and looked down at the stone floor. “But it could be.” She spoke carefully, looking back up at her sister. “It almost was.” 

-

“You ever think about what you’re gonna do when you get too old for this?” Lia asked, swinging her feet as she watched the cars drive across the bridge beneath them.

“Are you calling me old?” Selina asked in a fake mean tone.

“Nooooo.” Lia assured her sarcastically. Selina gave her an unamused look before considering it.

“Don’t know,” she shrugged. “Maybe I’ll let you take over when it starts getting boring.”

-

“You really think she would say yes?” Selina was starting to sound angry, and it snapped Lia out of her reminiscing. 

“I think that she’s exactly like you.” Lia stated plainly. “She doesn’t want anything to do with being a demigod or camp. I think that the moment she found out about you, you became her idol, her big sister. And I can’t say I blame her. I’ve thought you were the coolest since that day I tried to pick your pocket when I was eight.” She smiled at the memory. The day she had met Selina. Lia pushed that thought away, it wasn’t the time to get lost in the past. It was time to stay on track. “I think you’re exactly who she wants to be. I think if you asked her, she’d trip over herself saying yes.” She paused. “I think it might be exactly what she needs.” Selina looked like she wanted to be pissed, like she wanted to scream. But Lia could tell Selina was truly considering what she had said. Selina would always listen when it was important.

“Why would I do that?” Selina asked tightly.

“You can’t do this forever Selina. And it would take a lot of worry off my shoulders if I knew there was someone out there watching your back. Besides, Gods forbid, if you ever retire, who’ll keep all these vigilantes on their toes?” She gestured to the colorful heroes, her words an attempt to lighten the mood. It wasn’t the first time Lia had suggested Selina take on another protégé since she had quit being Alley Cat, and she doubted it would be the last either. Selina scowled.

“And if I did? What would we call her?” Selina raised an eyebrow as if to say: You didn’t think about that, did you?

“Well,” she kept her tone light, so she could play it off as a joke if it upset Selina too much. “Nobody’s using Al-“

“Absolutely not.” Selina cut her off.  Lia raised her hands up placatingly. Selina had been very adamant that Alley Cat wouldn’t end up like Robin. There was, and would only ever be, one Alley Cat. That it would live and die with Lia. 

“Just something to consider.” She said softly. “Sleep on it.” Then she realized just how tense the room had gotten. A couple of the vigilantes were staring at her so harshly she thought she might burst into flames. Others were staring at her completely lost. Red Robin and Alfred looked at her blankly. “And I think with that, I’ll be heading back to Camp.” She walked through where the vigilantes parted for her. The last time she had her backpack with her had been before she passed out in the infirmary, there was a chance it was still in there. At the very least it was a place to start.

“Wait,” Selina called out, apparently following her exit. 

“Yes, Cat?” Lia asked as she started looking around the med bay before spotting her pack leaned up against a wall. 

“Stay for a bit.” Selina didn’t sound mad at all. She sounded almost like she was begging…well, as close to begging as Catwoman ever got.  

“You sure? You seemed pretty mad a few seconds ago.” Lia said as she picked her pack up off the floor with her uninjured arm and heaved it onto her back.

“I’ve been mad with you before, and I’m sure I’ll be mad at you down the line.” Selina said cryptically. “But I also haven’t seen you in over a year. And I’d like to have some quality time with my little sister. What's five more days away from camp?” Lia exhaled as her hands gripped the straps of her pack tightly. 

“What are we gonna do? Go to the zoo?” She chuckled softly when she realized it rhymed.

“You could meet my Fiancé.” 

Chapter Text

“You could meet my Fiancé.” Lia froze. She couldn't be hearing that right, could she?

“Your what?” She asked dumbly.

“My fiancé.” Selina restated, there was a certain glint in her eyes.

“…I’m so sorry,” Lia rubbed her ears just in case something might be blocking the actual words Selina was trying to say. “Would you say that one more time?”

“My. Fiancé.” Selina glared when Lia was still slack-jawed at the words. She looked past her sister at the vigilantes in the doorway.

“Did I hear that right?” She asked them. But before they could answer, Selina decided she was done with the bit.

“For the love of the Gods, Lia!”

“Sorry, it’s just a little out of the blue.” Lia snapped out of her stupor and shrugged slightly before walking past Selina and the gathered vigilantes out of the infirmary. She could feel their gazes follow her, but none of them moved to stop her. “I didn’t even know you were dating anyone.”

“I wasn’t.” Selina called out, still following after her. “Lia, stop. Where are you going?”

“Calm your whiskers, Kitty. I’m just getting out of the med bay.” Lia assured her sister as she stopped and turned around again. 

“Why?” Spoiler asked, breaking the tense silence.

“I always get yelled at in infirmaries.” Lia pouted, still trying to wrap her mind around Selina getting married. It hurt a little. That Selina hadn’t told her. But Selina had her own life, just like Lia had hers. And maybe it was new, and she just hadn’t had time to tell her yet.

“Have you ever considered that the healers are always yelling at you because they’re tired of healing people with no sense of self preservation?” Selina’s tone was pure older sister condescension, just like when Lia was younger.

“I have a sense of self preservation!” Lia argued. Selina raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms.

“Really?”

“Yes, really!” Selina still didn’t seem convinced. Which was fair, considering Selina had witnessed Lia pull some pretty stupid stunts. Like when she’d stolen Batman’s utility belt. “It’s just…ya know, completely overshadowed by my incredible reckless behavior.” She finished with a sheepish laugh. A couple of the vigilantes snickered. Batman frowned.

“Very funny.” Selina voiced sarcastically. 

“Alright, alright, enough judging.” Lia rolled her eyes and pretended to kick her in the ankles, to which Selina laughed and didn’t even try to dodge. But Lia remembered something, something important. “I wanna see the ring.” Selina didn’t try to hide her smile as she pulled it out of one of the pockets on the Catsuit. Lia couldn’t help but smile back. She didn’t get to see her sister this happy often. In fact, she would almost call her giddy. And then Selina handed her the ring. 

She held it out and Lia took it carefully, cursing softly in ancient Greek. It was beautiful, and it was expensive. She grinned. 

“Dang, you’re really marrying Bruce Wayne?” Disbelief danced with humor in her voice as she raised an eyebrow. 

“How do you know it’s Bruce Wayne?” Red Robin asked with an accusatory tone. “You just said you had no idea she was seeing anyone.” Lia shrugged her shoulders. 

“Context clues? Wishful thinking?” She offered to the amassed vigilantes, before turning back to Selina and handing her the ring back. 

“What do you mean ‘wishful thinking’?” Selina’s eyes narrowed. Shit, she’d gotten too lost in thoughts she forgot she probably shouldn’t have said that to Selina’s face.

“Ohhh, umm, you- you know,” she was trying to pull a reason out of thin air. “You’ve had that crush on him since I was like…8.” She could totally play this angle! “In fact, I think I remember you saying you would never ever ever get married with the exception of Bruce Wayne, so..”

“You’re a horrible liar, Lia.” Selina cut her off with the blank statement. Lia sighed, and scrubbed a hand over her face.

“So..I, uhh…may or may not have money down on who you’d marry.” Lia chuckled nervously. Selina would either think it was pretty fun or be completely pissed.

“What?” She sounded confused and taken aback.

“Alright, well it sounds bad out of context.” Lia added defensively. 

“What could that context possibly be?” Nightwing asked as his face slanted in confusion. 

“I think this is more entertaining than any drama I’ve ever watched, ever.” Spoiler stage whispered to Red Robin and Batgirl.

“How much money did you put down?” Signal asked, and then apparently seemed to realize he’d spoken out loud, and slapped a hand over his mouth as he shot a look at Batman, who was once again scowling. Though it felt like there was less anger behind this look. More like he was thinking really hard.

“And who on?” Red Hood added, completely oblivious to Signal’s panic. 

Selina sighed at all their comments, fidgeting with her engagement ring a little before slipping it on to her ring finger. “Explain.” She sounded more exasperated than angry, so hopefully this would make her laugh instead of uninvite Lia to the wedding. A dark thought ran through her head but she chased it away. 

“Ok so when Connor was eight, you told him and Travis that you were Catwoman.” Lia started with the context for the context. That made sense, right? Selina nodded so she continued. “Well after you told him, he tried to bet me fifty thousand dollars that you were gonna marry Batman.” Red Hood and Spoiler were barely able to stand up right, they only managed by leaning on Batman and Red Robin, respectively, for support. Batman held Red Hood up, somewhat begrudgingly, as he shook and cried with laughter. Red Robin on the other hand, apparently had no problem letting Spoiler fall to the floor. She didn’t seem to mind as she just started rolling around as she laughed. Batgirl’s shoulders were trembling slightly from her apparent silent laughter, and Nightwing had a smirk on his face as he chuckled. 

He’s pretty when he laughs, her thoughts interrupted. 

“And you let him?” Selina cut in, incredulously. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

“It doesn’t,” Lia agreed. “But he was so sure that the most I could do was talk him down to five thousand.” She had argued with Connor for an hour, advocating for her own opinion on who she thought Selina would marry. “We even had Cabin 6 draw up a contract. Whoever was right would win five grand from the loser. And if neither of us was right, we each owed Travis twenty-five hundred.”

“Why?” 

“He wanted to be involved too.” Lia shrugged. 

“Who was your choice?” Robin’s voice was full of childish curiosity, it reminded her of being in the Arena back at Camp, surrounded by new campers with their very first swords.

“Bruce Wayne.” Lia said with a small smile, and a slight tilt of her head. “Selina can’t marry Batman. It’s impossible.” Robin’s face became guarded.

“And why not?”

“Because he’s not real.” Her eyes glinted with humor as she glanced directly at the Bat himself.

“Pretty sure he’s standing right there.” Nightwing pointed to him. Lia was tempted to play into it and look around and say ‘where?’

“Yeah,” she agreed instead. “But Batman isn’t like..a legal person. He doesn’t have a birth certificate or a social security number. And I truly doubt he’s listed as an American citizen.” They all stared at her blankly so she clarified. “Like, sure, Cat could marry the man under the mask. But they wouldn’t put ‘Batman’ on the marriage certificate. It would be his legal name, because Batman doesn’t legally exist. But Bruce Wayne does exist. And, as I mentioned, Selina has a stupid huge crush on him.”

“So you set Connor up to fail?” Selina asked disapprovingly, though Lia could see the smile tugging at her lips. 

“I tried to get him to drop it!” She argued, putting her hands up. “And I got him from fifty thousand to five. Which took me like…an hour, by the way.” 

“Did you explain all that to him?”

“Yes, actually. He was still insistent.”

“Lia-“

“Also I was thirteen, and it’s not like Marta stepped in to mediate the situation.” She huffed and rolled her eyes, before remembering what started this conversation. “But is it?”

“Is it what?”

“It's Bruce Wayne, right?” 

“You have absolutely no way of knowing that.” Selina avoided the question. Lia guessed that meant she was right. Selina didn’t like being predictable.

“Puh-lease.” Lia said with a grin as she rolled her eyes. “The ring basically screams it to anyone that's listening.”

“The ring screams?” Batgirl asked, suddenly standing behind Lia. 

“Is it like…a requirement for you guys to sneak up on people?” Lia asked, to apparently no one since no one answered her. 

“Screaming.” Batgirl repeated. The brow of her mask furrowed. Truly an intimidating sight, even in the light. 

“Do you…want me to explain?” Lia didn’t want to start rambling off for no reason.

“Can you?” Red Robin added earnestly from her other side.

“And now there are two of you. Lovely.”

“I wanna know too!” Spoiler started walking over with Signal on her heels. Robin and Red Hood also made their way closer, having their own hushed conversation that she didn’t catch because suddenly Batman was leaning over her and Red Robin’s shoulders.

“Explain.” 

“Aren’t you supposed to be the world’s greatest detective?” Lia asked him, raising an eyebrow.

“Explain.” He repeated. 

“Anyone else?” Lia asked after a long-suffering sigh. 

“I’m quite curious, myself.” Alfred said, from where he had moved to stand next to Selina, and Nightwing next to him with a slight smile. Lia glared at Selina before shaking her head.

“Fine, the ring?” She held out her hand.

“Are you gonna steal it?” Selina teased. Lia snorted and held her other hand out to show a small object in her own hand.

“Nah, I’ve already got my trinket.” The small pearl stud made Selina reach up to check her empty piercing hole.

“When did you take that?!”

“When you hugged me.” Lia smiled pleasantly at her sister. 

“Lia!” Spoiler reached past Batgirl to poke her arm. “Explain the ring!” 

“Can you not even show the tiniest modicum of patience?” Robin admonished. 

Red Hood apparently made some joke to Nightwing. With the way Nightwing’s face tightened before he punched Red Hood in the arm, Lia guessed it wasn’t as funny as he thought it was.

“Nah, it’s fine.” Lia told Robin. At that point Selina had taken her earring back and placed the ring in Lia’s open palm. “My younger sisters are the same way.”

“She is not your sister and thus her being this familiar with you is unprofessional.” Robin stated, crossing his arms.

“Uggh, don’t remind me.” Spoiler frowned a bit before brightening. “But like, imagine if Lia was my older sister. I’d be unstoppable!” 

“You’d be insufferable.” Red Robin groaned.

“You don’t have any siblings?” Lia asked with a furrowed brow.

“Nah,” Spoiler shook her head. “I'm an only child, but I always wanted siblings.” Her eyes went far off for a second. “Probably for the best that I don’t though. I wouldn’t want them to get caught up in my life.” Her eyes focused again and her face muscles, the ones Lia could see, stretched into what Lia guessed was supposed to be a smile. It felt more like a grimace. “And it’s not like you can apply for older siblings.” Lia considered her for a minute as everyone else was quiet. Batgirl reached a finger out to wrap her pinky around Spoiler’s.

“The ring, Lia.” Lia was jolted away from offering to be Spoiler’s big sister and back to the engagement ring being held gently between her two fingers. 

“Right, the ring.” Everyone was gathered around but she still held it a little away from her so they could all observe it too. “So this is like…easily a thirty-six to forty thousand dollar ring, right?” She stated as her eyes started to focus on the smaller details that she had only glanced over before. 

“..How can you tell?” Nightwing leaned closer to the ring, maybe hoping a closer proximity would help explain.

“All I see is shiny rocks and metal.” Red Hood huffed. 

“I mean, hmm, alright, let’s start with the raw materials.” She used her pinky nail to point to the main kite shaped diamond. “This? This is a five carat black diamond. Which, for starters, is absolutely wild considering most engagement rings are one or two carats. But this type of diamond, a natural black diamond?  Goes for about three to five thousand a carat because of how rare they are. So, the main diamond alone brings this ring to about fifteen to twenty-five thousand.” She then let her pinky gently trace the line of small white marquis cut diamonds that followed to the two longer sides. 

“These 5 here? Despite the fact that they’re maybe a third of a carat altogether? They could cost anywhere from five hundred to two thousand dollars. So for diamonds alone? We’re talking anywhere from fifteen and a half to twenty-seven grand.”

“You’re shitting me.” Red Hood looked awed, before turning to Selina. “Is that true?”

“…I don’t know.” Selina sounded stunned. “Since when do you know how to appraise jewels?”

“I have hobbies.” Lia scrunched her face a little. “What did you think I was doing during my travel year?”

Selina shrugged. “Partying?”

“Me?” Lia’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “Partying?”

“Alright, that was a dumb suggestion. But why would I ever have guessed you were learning to appraise jewels?”

“Maybe because my older sister is a jewel thief? And I was trying to take an interest in her hobby?” Lia raised an eyebrow. “And the fact that you don’t know how to? You’ve probably been scammed outta millions because you have no clue how much the things you’re fencing are worth! That’s L-A-M-E, lame, Cat.”

“Can you two stop your little cat fight and get back to telling us how much the ring costs?” Red Robin butted in impatiently. “You said the diamonds alone are twenty-seven, so where is the other nine to thirteen grand coming from?”

“I’m so glad you asked!” Lia said after sticking her tongue out at her sister. “So next is the setting.” She held up the ring again from where it had fallen as she was talking with Selina. “This is pure, and I mean pure, platinum.” She tapped it lightly with her nail. “Now, most of the time, rings are plated in like, gold or sterling silver, so it’s not just one metal all the way through. It’s cheaper, and in the case of gold, which is a really soft metal, it makes the ring more durable for everyday wear and tear. But platinum is about one or two numbers higher on the Mohs Scale of Hardness. So it’s about the same strength as glass. It also has the added bonus of being hypoallergenic. Which is perfect for Kitty Cat, cause she tends to break out when she wears gold too long.” She looked up at Selina with a little smile. “Luckily, gold doesn’t really suit you, so it’s not much of a loss”

“You’re allergic to gold?” Signal asked kind of incredulously. 

“A little.” Selina said slowly. “But not enough to really matter.” Her eyes darted to the figure standing over Lia’s shoulder. Batman. Lia wondered if Selina had been keeping that a secret, though she couldn’t think of a reason why.

“Anyways, the amount of platinum they used for the band and the settings is about…eh, maybe an ounce? Ounce and a half? That’s about one or two thousand dollars. So now we’re at twenty-nine thousand. And that’s just the raw materials. We haven’t even gotten into the fee’s, labor costs, and brand names.”

“Those can really add seven thousand dollars?” Spoiler’s eyes were wide.

“Sure can, Kiddo.” Lia assured her. “But before we get to all those fees let’s talk about the design.” She pointed back to the main diamond. “Like I said, most engagement rings are a one or two carat main diamond, but this one here is five carats. Which means it was probably custom cut just for this ring. The smaller diamonds aren’t really that unusual, so those were probably ordered that way, or the jeweler might have already had some in stock. But this is most definitely a custom ring, which could mean whoever purchased it worked on the design directly, and probably had the help of a designer.”

“How do you know that?” Robin looked away from the ring and up at her. 

“Because anyone willing to drop forty grand on an engagement ring isn’t going to just leave it up to some designer.” She explained. “Not to mention the designer would probably freak if such a high profile client gave them complete creative liberty.”

“Why?” Batgirl said, leaning closer to the ring. Lia wondered if she was in awe of its beauty like Spoiler, or confused like Robin. But her face was still covered with that mask so she couldn’t see it. 

“Imagine some top notch designer gets a commission from Bruce Wayne, the Prince of Gotham City and one of the most affluent and richest men on the East coast, if not the entirety of the United States. If word about that gets out, it could bring in big business for that designer. But now imagine,” She looked around at the group. “That it gets out that they’re designing Bruce Wayne’s engagement ring, but they have complete creative freedom, so if they get the design back to Wayne and he ends up hating it, their business is done. There’s no way they’re ever digging their way out of that grave.” Red Hood made a noise before covering it with a cough. Nightwing once again looked unamused. “So the designer works closely with the client, taking everything they want into account for the client’s satisfaction, but also for the safety of their livelihood.” She held the ring up to bring attention back to it. 

“People who make rings like this? They’re masters of their craft. A hit like that would mean not only could they never design rings again, no one related to them could.” She watched it sink in. Robin nodded slowly and Batgirl learned away like she was satisfied with Lia’s explanation. “So they design it closely with whoever commissioned it. There’s normally a deposit charge for that, and then an hourly rate for however long the design takes. And when the design gets approved, it gets sent to the person who’s actually gonna make it. They’re the ones that welded and grind the band and all the settings. And someone else probably cut the main diamond. And depending on who all worked on this, the upcharge must’ve been crazy. But all of that can cost anywhere from seven to eleven grand.” Then, just because she could, because they were listening to her every word; “And if it really was Bruce Wayne, cause be so for real right now, it’s totally Bruce Wayne, They probably upped their prices cause they thought they could get away with it. Probably did too.”

“And that doesn’t even cover how much thought clearly went into this.” Lia was on a roll now. “The black diamond has a mossy tint to it which brings out the green in Kitty’s eyes. It’s sharp and angular but it’s also delicate and absolutely stunning. Taking your gold allergy into account, whether that was on purpose or purely coincidental?” Lia shook her head. “This is the kinda piece that becomes an heirloom, Cat. This?” She brought it to her sister’s face. “Is the type of stuff you read about in textbooks.” 

Everyone was quiet for a minute, until Selina reached forward and held out her palm quietly for the ring. Lia placed it in her palm. “Whoever got that for you really loves you.” Lia told her sister with a smile. “I’m really happy for you Selina.”

“Thanks Lia.” Selina smiled back.

“So?” Lia prompted a bit.

“So what?”

“Who is it?” Selina sighed and slipped the ring back onto her finger. 

“It’s Bruce Wayne.” She only sounded a little defeated, but the smile was still on her face.

“I knew it.” Lia grinned, before she remembered something else. “Oh! Actually, I have something for you!” And she reached and hand into one of the hidden back pockets of her backpack. 

“No! Thanks. I’m good.” Selina said quickly, putting her hands out in front of her.

“Awww…” Lia pouted as her hand closed around worn paper. “Why not?”

“The last time you handed me something out of that cursed bag, you handed me a live snake!” Selina bit out angrily.

“I-” Lia snorted as she recalled the event Selina was talking about. “I did do that, yes. But! It was a ball python. A Ball Python. And. And! George and Martha’s nephew, which almost makes him family. Besides, he was, like, super chill. He literally just wanted to meet you. And you hurt his feelings, by the way. Screaming like that.” Her tone changed from explaining herself to joking accusations. “Besides this is possibly the farthest thing from Dexter.” 

“What is it?” Selina’s eyes narrowed to where Lia’s hand was sandwiched between her back and her pack.

“Take it or leave it.” Lia said devilishly.

“Didn’t curiosity kill the cat?” Signal mentioned quietly.

“But satisfaction brings it back, doesn’t it?” Spoiler countered. 

“Come on, Kitty Cat. It’s a gift. You can’t refuse a gift!”

“Is it gonna blow up in my face?” Selina asked warily. Lia furrowed her own brow. 

“No.” She answered shortly. 

“And you promise it’s not another live snake?” Lia could hear Selina’s resolve crumbling, and she let her face relax into an easy smile.

“I promise.” She assured her sister.

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“How sure?”

“I am absolutely positive that I do not have a live snake in my hand right now.”

“Alright,” Selina sighed dramatically, but Lia could tell she was thrumming with anticipation. “What is it?” And Lia finally pulled the worn envelope from her bag.  The old paper crinkled a bit and she moved to hold it between them. 

“A letter from dad.” Selina froze as she stared at the letter in Lia’s hand. 

“What?” Selina breathed. 

“Yeah, he, uh, left it for you in his will. But he also said I wasn’t supposed to give it to you til you got engaged.” Lia rambled. “So I’ve just been carrying it around with me. I almost put it in the Vault, but I didn’t wanna risk someone else taking it. But, yeah, this is, um…this is for you.”

“Hermes has a will?” Red Robin spoke up as Selina carefully took the envelope, holding the edges as she stared at whatever was denting the paper outward. “I thought you said the Gods can’t really die? And he had a will? Did he have an accountant too?”

“Oh no, I’m talking about Daniel Vanguard.” Lia corrected him. He seemed like the type to keep theorizing until someone stopped him. “My mom was married when she had me with Hermes. So until I was six I had no idea he wasn’t my biological father, and after we found out it just felt wrong to call him Mr. Vanguard, or Dan. And he was more of a parent to me then Hermes has ever been. So,” she gestured vaguely. “Dad.”

“Do you know what it says?” Selina asked as she inspected it.

“That mail fraud, Cat. It’s addressed to you, so it’s your eyes only.” Lia mentioned matter-of-factly.

“So you’ve just, what, been carrying this around for eight years?” Selina asked, looking up at her.

“Yup.”

“…Should I open it?”

“I mean,” Lia crossed her arms. “It’s just the last words of a dead man. But do what you want. Open it, read it, set it on fire, throw it away. ” She shrugged. “It’s yours to do with as you please.”

“This is why I don’t ask you for your opinion anymore.” Selina grumbled.

“I thought you stopped asking for my opinion because of the fake Monet fiasco?”

“I’m still mad about that too.” Selina assured her, before she carefully opened the letter. Lia moved to stand slightly behind her, and she held her breath as a single sheet of lined notebook paper and a large trinket fell into Selina’s waiting hand. 

“Is that Agnes’ brooch?” Lia said aloud without meaning to as she stared at the white/cream flowers in the center of a medium blue oval. It was maybe an inch and a half tall and framed in a horribly oxidized silver setting.

“I think it is.” Selina’s voice had an odd quality to it. “Why would Dan leave me your great great great grandmother’s brooch?”

“Maybe he explains in the letter?” Lia suggested. She’d always had trouble trying to read English consistently, especially her dad’s handwriting, which was slanted and messy. But looking over the letter as Selina read it, pain spiked in her chest as she remembered all the times he had written her letters while she lived at camp. Lia briefly wondered if it would ever not hurt to think about her dead loved ones.

“He says it’s supposed to be my ‘something old’ at the wedding.” Selina's voice was so quiet Lia wasn’t sure if she had heard it or if she imagined, but Lia nodded anyway.

“Your ‘something old’ is supposed to be a connection to your family and your past.” Lia said, trying to remember the rhyme Gatlin had mentioned once. “Though if you don’t want to use the brooch, we could always steal the Caduceus?” Lia offered, before thinking about it. “Though, I guess that would be more like something borrowed.”

“No, no,” Selina swallowed as she folded the letter up. “The brooch is fine.” Then Selina was still before looking over her shoulder at Lia. “So are you gonna stay?” 

“Stay for what?” Lia asked dumbly.

“To meet Bruce.” Selina was changing the subject. So whatever was in the letter had been incredibly sappy. Normally Lia would tease her about the topic change but she knew Selina didn’t like crying in front of others. Something ingrained in her from her childhood at the orphanage and on the streets. 

“Hmmm,” Lia made a show of thinking about it. “I mean, if you really want me to…then I guess I could stick around for a couple of days.”

“I do.” Selina said bluntly. “Besides, he should really meet my Maid of Honor before the wedding.”

“Your what?”

“My Maid of Honor.” Selina repeated.

“Who’s that?” 

“You.” Selina rolled her eyes.

“Me?” Lia said, pointing a finger at herself and then breaking eye contact with her older sister to look down at the finger, and then back up as it finally sunk in. “Me?”

“Yes. Are you concussed? Why do you keep making me repeat what I’m saying?” 

“Because I truly think I’m hearing you wrong. You want me to be your Maid of Honor?”

“Yes.” Selina rolled her eyes.

“Why?” Lia could hear the disbelief ringing in her own voice.

“Really, Lia? What happened to ‘I’m a Vanguard, which means I’ll always have your back’? Or was that a lie?” Selina raised a challenging eyebrow.

“Did I really say that?” Lia tried to remember saying that. It must’ve been in the couple of years after they had met. 

“You did.” Selina assured her.

“No wonder I didn’t have any friends as a kid.” Lia said before her face scrunched. “Aren’t you supposed to ask me to be your Maid of Honor?”

“No, I’m telling you.” Selina stated with a polite expression. 

“Bossy.” Lia whispered to herself as she let her head loll back a bit before snapping forward. “Guess I don’t have a choice, huh?”

“So you're staying? Perfect.” A satisfied smile played at Selina’s lips. “And you can stay at the Manor, they have plenty of rooms.” Lia almost repeated her words back to her for a third time, but she figured that might get her punched so she stopped herself. 

“Wayne Manor?” Lia asked instead.

“Yeah, I moved out of my apartment when we got engaged.”

“Ya know, I noticed that it looked like people actually lived there.” Lia agreed numbly. Was any of this real? Had the empousa killed her and this was all her brain playing on the rest of her life before Thanatos or Hermes showed up to take her to the Underworld? Then she snapped herself out of it and shook her head. “Nope, no way, I am not staying at Wayne Manor.”

“Lia~” Selina groaned in annoyance. 

“Did you check with him to see if that was ok?”

“What do you mean?”

“Doesn’t he get kidnapped and held for ransom on a semi-regular basis?” Lia asked with a raised eyebrow.

“…I wouldn’t say ‘semi-regularly’.” Selina answered hesitantly, unsure of where this conversation was leading.

“It’s more like bi-annually.” Red Robin added happily, reminding Lia that they had an audience. 

“And most of his kids live with him right?”

“…Yes.” 

Spoiler muttered something under her breath and Batgirl poked her side jovially. 

“And apparently, no one knows I exist.” She gestured to all of the vigilantes to prove her point. “So how do you think he’s gonna react when he finds out a girl he has never seen or heard of before is suddenly in his house? Because I, personally, don’t see that ending well. In fact if you don’t ask him, I can and will be camping out on his lawn.”

Red Hood snorted. Spoiler laughed. And Nightwing looked like he might’ve been choking briefly.

“You will not.” Selina glared.

“I won’t, but only if you make sure it’s ok first.” Lia said stubbornly, crossing her arms. Selina’s glare hardened before she rolled her eyes.

“Alfred,” her older sister turned to the Roman. “Would you check with Bruce and the children and see if they have any problems with my sister staying for a couple days?”

“Happy to oblige, Mistress Selina.” Alfred nodded and walked past the vigilantes and towards the staircase she had noticed earlier. Lia glanced between the two of them.

“What…what just happened?”

“He works for Bruce.”

“I thought he worked for Batman.”

“He does not.”

“Then why was he down here?”

“It’s kind of like a volunteer position.” Signal didn’t sound entirely sure about that.

“Alright.” She nodded slowly.

“There is literally no way you don’t have follow up questions for that.” Nightwing stated in disbelief. 

“I mean,” Lia shrugged. “Everyone has theorized for years that Wayne was funding The Batman. So that just kinda confirms it. Besides, the less questions I ask, the less I know. And the less I know, the better.”

“You do know ignorance isn’t always bliss, right?” Red Robin gave her a condescending look.

“And knowledge isn’t always power. Sometimes, it’s just a burden.” She contested. “The more you know, the more dangerous you are, and the more dangerous you are the more things start to come after you. And I don’t particularly want any more things coming after me then the ones I’ve already got, ya know?”

“Real.” Spoiler nodded after shooting a glare at Red Robin.

“So what’s being a demigod like?” Red Hood took off his helmet and put it under his arm. “Cat’s pretty tight-lipped about it.”

“That’s ‘cause Kitty Cat dipped out one summer in. So all the stuff she knows, she’s learned against her will and does her best to forget.”

“One summer?” Robin asked. He had moved to stand closer to Batman. 

“Yeah, Camp tracks how long someone has survived by summers, ya know, since it’s mainly a summer camp. But some people stay year round depending on how divine they are, or their living situation.”

“I knew that scene wasn’t for me after three little months and never looked back.” Selina’s tone was always so sure, Lia commended her. She often wished she felt half as sure as Selina did. “Well, until the sweetest little eight year old tried to pick my pockets.”

“Yeah,” Lia laughed sheepishly. “Not my best decision for sure.”

“You tried to pick Catwoman’s Pockets???” Spoiler squealed. 

“How many summers have you survived?” Signal’s voice was tentative. Lia smiled softly and lifted a hand to the beads around her neck.

“This August will make my seventeenth summer at Camp. And everyone present will get a bead to commemorate another summer they’ve survived.”

“Why do you keep saying ‘survived’?” Nightwing’s brow furrowed. 

“Demigods…well the Greeks at least, we don’t tend to have long life expectancies.” Lia heard her voice weaken as her gaze fell to the floor. “Most of us don’t live longer than our early twenties.” Lia felt Selina’s comforting hand on her shoulder and she swallowed, trying to push all the young faces away from behind her eyelids. “So most of the time people stop showing up at camp around eighteen. That’s when a demigod’s divine presence starts to diminish, despite how divine they truly are. And the mortal world is a lot more forgiving than the divine.”

“And you live there full time?” Lia lifted her gaze to meet Batman’s. 

“Yup. I’ve lived there since I was eight.” Her voice was back to its lighter resonance, one that didn’t make her throat feel heavy. “I’ve seen lots of people come and go. ‘Specially people like Cat, who decide to take their chances in the mortal world.”

“Not you?” Batgirl asked.

“Nah,” Lia let a small smile tug at her lips as she shook her head. “Some stuff happened and it made more sense for me to stay put.” Some stuff, her brain scoffed. Sure. The Second Titan War and adopting Wally technically fall under ‘some stuff’. Selina mumbled something under her breath harshly, but before Lia could ask her to repeat, Alfred came back.

“Master Bruce and the children have asked me to assure you that they are happy to have Miss Aurelia stay with us.” Alfred said primly. “However I was implored to remind you of the Gala being hosted in a couple days, and to inquire whether I need to make a trip to the tailor’s.” Lia’s eyes went wide and her gaze snapped to her sister.

“No…” it came out far quieter than she had meant it to.

“Oh, that’s a lovely idea! In all of the excitement, I had completely forgotten about the charity gala this weekend. You’re going to…why are you glaring at me?”

“No way in hell am I going to do that.” Lia said forcefully.

“This again?” Selina groaned.

“What do you mean ‘this again’? Don’t you remember all the other times you tried to drag me to one of those parties?” Lia stared at her sister incredulously.

“Oh please, Lia. It wasn’t that bad.” Lia’s mouth dropped open a little before she grabbed Selina’s arm and pointed to a spot on her arm covered by an arm guard. 

“I literally bit you the first time you tried to take me to one.” She reminded her as she pushed the scar through the fabric. 

“It’s one evening, Lia.” Selina groaned with a roll of her eyes.

“No.” Lia let Selina’s arms fall and crossed her arms.

“Must you be so difficult?”

“My jaw strength and stubbornness have only grown since I was nine.” Lia’s eyes sharpened.

“What if I say please?” Selina tried in a sweet and imploring tone.

“No.” Lia let her face contort into a glare.

“What if I play you for it?” Selina’s words made Lia pause. 

“You…you’d play me for it?” She searched her sister’s green eyes.

“I would.” Selina’s cat-like smile split her face. Lia grinned to match it.

“And if you lose?”

“I’m sure you can think of something of equal value.” Lia’s grin widened. 

“If I win, you have to add a tail to the Catsuit.”

“Not this again.” Selina groaned.

“You’re the one that initiated the challenge.” Lia cackled. “Besides, can you really call yourself a cat if you don’t have a tail?” Selina glared at her and mumbled under her breath, probably something about not needing a tail, and Lia stuck out her hand. “Do you agree to the terms?”

“…Fine, I agree to your childish terms.”  Selina shook her hand with a put-upon sigh. “Do you have the contract?”

“When do I not? Gimme a second to find it.” Lia let go of her sister’s hand and let her pack fall off one shoulder and off her back entirely onto the floor before she crouched down and started digging through the side pockets. She heard some of the vigilantes ask what she assumed were clarifying questions as she looked for her contracts. She found a stack of contacts and pulled them out and leafed through them till she found one titled ‘single combat’. 

“Found it!” She called out as she stuffed the other contracts back into the pocket and gave the document a once-over. “Oooooh, but we need a witness. Forgot about that.” She said standing up.

“How could you forget that?” Selina asked, looking down at the contract too. 

“It’s been a while since someone challenged me to single combat.” She shrugged. “It’s not like I look over these unless I need to. I do enough paperwork as it is.” Then she looked over their company. Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Spoiler, Signal, Red Robin, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Alfred. She narrowed her eyes, she needed someone who either wasn’t biased, or would be equally biased to both of them. 

“Can’t we all count as witnesses?” Nightwing asked. 

“I mean…technically all of you will witness it. But I need someone to sign the contract so if it gets called into question we have someone to give an unbiased report of what happened.” 

“Who would call it into question?” Batman’s brow furrowed. 

“Why do you have contracts for single combat?” Red Hood’s voice said a little louder.

“Lia thinks we lie.” Selina picked at dirt under her nails.

“I know you lie.” Lia corrected, rolling up the contract and pointing it at her sister accusingly. “Because every single one of you are sore losers.”

“But not her majesty.” Selina rolled her eyes with a huff.

“Well…I have yet to lose.” Lia put a hand on her hip with a sly grin.

“There’s a first time for everything.” Selina’s eyes narrowed. 

“Is there?” Lia tapped her chin quizzically. “I mean Batman has been chasing you around for almost…eighteen years now?”

“Just give me the stupid contract.” Selina came up and took it out of her hands before walking towards a nearby workbench and laying it out flat as Lia chuckled to herself.

“Don’t you still need someone to sign as the witness?” Nightwing pulled her out of her laughter. 

“Oh, right.” She looked past him and let her eyes land on red, yellow, and green. “Hey Robin, would you be our witness?”

“Me?” Robin stared at her, his young face slack with confusion.

“Sure. All you need to do is witness the challenge and then sign the contract. You up for it?”

“I shall gladly bear witness.” He said, stepping forward, before Batman stopped him.

“Robin will not be signing.”

“But Fath-”

“He’s a minor.”

“Well it’s a good thing the Order of Thieves doesn’t require the signer to be over a certain age. The only thing required of a witness is unshakable integrity.” 

“So why’d you choose Robin?” Red Robin called out snidely. 

“I mean…he apologized for the sedative. Y’all could’ve just said I was dehydrated. I definitely would’ve believed it. That takes a certain sense of accountability. And kids are brutally honest. Also, he’s Robin.” She turned to walk towards Selina as she continued to talk. “So if one of us loses, I know he’ll call us on it.”

“Do you have to antagonize Batman?” Selina whispered at her as she came to a stop next to her.

“Old habits die hard I guess.” Lia said with a small smile as she heard a couple of the vigilantes arguing.

“Where do I sign?” Robin said, suddenly appearing between them.

“Right here.” Lia said pointing to the line labeled ‘Witness’. “I don’t have a pen though.” Selina held one out to Robin. He nodded as he took it and went to sign before hesitating. 

“I cannot sign my name.” What is he- Oh!

“Just sign ‘Robin’.” She told him. “It’s part of who you are isn’t it? Just like Selina is Catwoman and I’m Ali Baba.”

“Will that withstand judicial scrutiny?” He asked her skeptically.

“Well, I’m the King. So what I say goes.”

“So why do you not simply decide not to do this?”

“Because that would make me a tyrant. A king rules for their people, not for themselves.” Robin nodded and then signed his name in neat cursive before handing the pen back to Selina who signed on the line labeled ‘Challenger’. The name ‘Kitty’ was written in incredibly loopy and intricate cursive. Then it was Lia’s turn. She took the pen and quickly signed ‘Ali Baba’ on both ‘King of Thieves’ and ‘Challenged’.

“Are you challenged often?” Robin asked as she signed.

“Not really. I normally just preside over it. Kinda like the witness. It’s normally my brothers and sisters that challenge each other. But it happens every now and then. Since I'm also head counselor of the cabin, sometimes they’ll challenge me if they wanna stay up past lights out or go on a trip I’ve already said no to. But they can also challenge me for the crown.”

“Have you ever been challenged for the crown?” Selina looked at her incredulously.

“Yes? No-Yes.” She went back and forth as she tried to remember it. “Remember when Travis challenged me for head counselor?”

“And you let him win? Yes I do. But you said that was just for the head counselor position, not to be the King of Thieves.”

“Yeah, but after he beat me in combat he got cocky and decided he wanted the whole sha-bang and challenged me for the crown. But, ya know, that’s a lot of responsibility. And I’m pretty sure he was just doing it to impress Katie anyways. But you know the boys; Victory goes to their head, that's why they always get caught trying to tee-pee the loser cabins whenever we win Capture-the-Flag. So when he challenged me, I picked the challenge and I absolutely smoked him.”

“That’s cruel, Lia…how much did he lose by?” There was a wicked glint in her older sister’s eyes.

“About seven miles.” Lia grinned. “And it's for the best because about two weeks later he was begging to do my chores for the next year if I agreed to be head counselor again.”

“Why would you allow your brother to best you on purpose?” Robin’s tone was petulant.

“That’s my job.” She shrugged. 

“To lose on purpose? And give him a false sense of accomplishment? That’s cowardly.” He bit out harshly. 

“Robin!” Nightwing admonished. 

“To give him a place where he could fail and I would be there to help him if he needed it. People don’t learn who they are overnight. They try, they fail, they try again, they fail better. But it’s always easier to find out who you are when you have someone to fall back on when it all goes belly up.” She said, ignoring everyone else as she looked into the whites of Robin’s mask. “As his older sister, it’s my job to let him make mistakes, but be there to help him fix them when he asks.”

Robin glared at her.

“Should he not be made to fix his own mistakes?” Robin’s tone was hesitant. 

“Ehh, not really my style.” Lia noticed Selina getting impatient. “Now let’s finish up with this contract shall we?”

“We shall.” Selina agreed.

“Did we not alread-“ Robin was cut off by Lia and Selina fist bumping before bringing their thumbs down on two of the celestial bronze tacks at the bottom of the page. They both hissed in pain before pressing their thumbs next to their respective signatures.

“Why was this added, again?” Selina asked before sucking the blood off her thumb.

“The first King thought it seemed cool.” Lia had found the first King of Thieves’ diary in the Vault once. He had written down his thought process for everything. Including the tacks at the bottom, which were to help draw blood for the contract and then to keep it rolled shut at the end. Hurt like hell though. Then she saw Robin start to talk off one of his gloves. “Woah there, no need to take off your glove.” She stuck her thumb in her own mouth and turned around and headed back towards her pack.

“Is this not part of the contract?” Robin called after her as she ignored the stares and crouched in front of her bag and started rummaging through one of the front pockets.

“It is, but, celestial bronze is completely harmless to mortals and I think Batman would have an aneurysm,” she pulled something out that she thought might be what she was looking for but it was just her compass so she pushed it back in and kept feeling around. “If I asked you to put your actual fingerprint. Sooo,” she finally pulled out the small box that she was looking for and stood up and held it up for everyone to see. “We’ll use red ink on your glove and call it good enough.” She smiled happily. 

“Smart.” Red Hood gave an appreciative nod.

“What do you mean ‘celestial bronze doesn’t harm mortals’?” Batman let his cape fall over his shoulders and shroud his whole body. 

“Cat! I thought you said you explained things?” Lia looked at her sister annoyed. 

“Must’ve slipped my mind.” Selina shrugged.

“What’s celestial bronze?” Nightwing tilted his head a little.

“It’s godly metal. It’s what my sword and knife are made of. It’s mined on Olympus. But it’s harmless to mortals. Passes right through ‘em.” 

“That’s not possible.” Nightwing argued. 

“Yeah, and a lot of people didn’t think life on other planets was possible either. But about a third of the Justice League are aliens.”

“Are you anti-alien?” Red Robin accused.

“Not at all.” She shook her head. “The United States is full of immigrants and refugees. Most of the people in this country? Have absolutely no ties to the land prior to 1492 when Columbus thought he’d reached India. So that whole ‘Not your planet, Not your home’? Is absolutely ridiculous. I like aliens just fine. They’re people just like everyone else. What I don’t like is unchecked power.”

“You’re anti-Superman!?” Red Hood let out an almost laugh. Lia sighed. 

“I am not anti-Superman. He’s very kind. Saved my life once. But the world is made up of checks and balances. Even the Gods have rules they must follow. Superman, as far as I know, doesn't have that. And it…I guess you could say it irks me. But other than that one thing? I’ve got no problem with Superman. He does a lot for this planet. He’s saved a lot of lives. He’s a good person, better than most.”

“Before you start lecturing, could we actually get on with our challenge? You know, sometime in this millennia? Or are you scared!” Selina’s voice echoed through the cave.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get your whiskers in a bunch Kitty Cat.” Lia called back, focusing back on the task at hand. She handed the inkpad to Robin who dutifully stamped his gloved thumb next to his signature. “Picked a challenge yet?”

“Is it not single combat?” Robin asked as he handed the red inkpad back to her. 

“Damn! I really thought we were gonna see Cat fight with a sword!” Red Hood lamented. He muttered something afterwards that Lia couldn’t hear. 

“Single combat pretty much just implies that it's two people competing. But it’s rarely an actual fight.”

“And Lia doesn’t like violence.”

“No, I don’t.” Lia agreed tightly. “So. What challenge are you picking?”

“I’m not racing you.” Selina said with a roll of her eyes.

“Lame, but understandable.”

“And there’s no way we’re climbing the walls of the Batcave.”

“Awww, come on, Cat. That was on my bucket list!”

“Suffer.” Selina said humorlessly as she glanced over the contract once more. “How about hand to hand?”

“Oooo, nice choice.”

“That's…still fighting though.” Red Robin pointed out. Lia smiled widely as she looked over her shoulder at him.

“Is it?”

“Yes?” Red Robin looked to be questioning his life decisions and Selina and Lia shared a look before moving away from the table to a more open space before facing each other.

“Have you never played clapping games?”

“Like double double?” Spoiler asked

“Exactly like double double!” Lia grinned. 

“Why is that a challenge option?” Signal asked.

“Well, there’s one winner-” Selina started.

“Forty-two losers. I eat losers for breakfast.” Lia finished helpfully.

“You’re not a cannibal.” Selina said with a slight frown.

“Ugg,” Lia groaned. “No, Cat, it’s a Lightning McQueen quote.”

“Oooooh, from the movie with the racecar who doesn’t even win in the end?”

“Gods, that’s not the point! The point was that he learned- you know what, never mind. There’s no point trying to explain it to you. Ya don’t even care. Are you ready?” Lia stuck her hand out for her sister to clasp.

“To show you up? Always.” Selina grinned as she took it and both sisters put all their weight on their left legs and swung their right legs forward to interlock between them. The sleek black of the Catsuit contrasting against the rough, worn green of Lia’s cargo pants. They both hopped a little to get better footing.

“Remember one mess up and it’s over.” Lia reminded her sister. 

“Yes, I know.” 

“Foul play is allowed, but discouraged.”

“I’ll do my worst.” Selina assured her

“No outside help.”

“It almost sounds like you’re stalling.” Selina teased.

“I just don’t want you hollerin’ in my ears when you lose about not being clear on the rules and wanting a rematch.” Lia replied.

“Sure. That’s why.”

“Alright, alright. Sometime in the next millennia, right?” Lia pulled her hand away from Selina’s and held both of hers together off to her right. “Three?”

“Two.” Selina mirrored her pose.

“One!” They said in unison, as they brought their hands together. They both fell silent, as they focused on the challenge. A game of apples on a stick. Normally there was a song that went with it, but after Julia and Alice had been caught in a challenge for two hours the chant had been banned for everyone’s sanity. It also had the added intensity of their legs being locked. So while they were concentrating on the clapping and snapping that the game required, they also had to concentrate on their balance which relied heavily on the other player.

A few rounds in, Selina started pulling at their entwined legs, trying to pull Lia off balance. The vigilantes had started whispering amongst themselves, but Lia refused to let that distract her. Instead, she started moving faster, forcing Selina to speed up as well.

Side to side.

Middle, up, middle, down, and down again.

Hip, snap, side to side, clap.

She repeated it in her head as her hands moved. 

It was methodical.

Selina tugged at their legs again and Lia started hopping on her foot to keep her balance before she started hopping with more determination and forced Selina to start hopping in a circle with her like they were playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie.  Lia could feel the smile on her face. Could see it mirrored on Selina’s.

And then she felt her foot land on a rock, and her ankle roll to the side. And then she was landing on the hard rock floor of the batcave. Again. 

She stared at the floor between her splayed legs for a second, her hands braced on the floor behind her, before she looked up and locked eyes with her sister. Selina looked shocked. 

Lia burst out laughing. The sound echoed loudly off the cave walls.

“What was that about never losing?” Selina chuckled.

“Grandstanding apparently.” Lia shook as she continued to laugh, pushing herself forward so her arms weren’t holding her up anymore. “You really laid me out!”

“Which means?” Selina prompted excitedly.

“Fine~” Lia sighed dramatically, letting her fingers trace shapes into the silt on the ground. “I’ll go to the silly party.”

“No need to pout. It’s gonna be a blast!” Selina assured her with a smug expression. 

“The tailor, Mistress Selina?” Alfred cut in, reminding Lia why this had all started. 

“No, I should have something that will fit her.” Selina said with a slight shake of her head. 

“Are you quite su-“ Lia didn’t mean to cut him off but the words flew out of her mouth.

“No thanks. Your dresses are way too tight and revealing.”

“Then I shall procure something for Miss Aurelia to wear to the Gala.” Alfred nodded curtly and walked off again. Lia watched him turn and walk away. 

“What are the odds that he stops calling me that?”

“Absolutely zero.”

Lia cursed in ancient Greek under her breath.

“He also doesn’t allow cursing in the manor, so watch that.”

“How many languages does he speak?”

“No clue. But I wouldn’t test it.”

“Noted.” Lia nodded she said before looking up at her sister.

“Are you excited?” Selina asked with a grin. Lia groaned and let herself fall back fully on the floor, and arm flopping over her eyes. 

“Uggg, just kill me now to save me the pain.” Lia wasn’t that upset. Sure she didn’t want to go, but she could tell how happy and excited Selina was about this. That would make it worth it. 

“But if you die, who will take care of your kids?” Selina voiced with a teasing tone and she nudged at Lia’s side with her foot. 

“What do you mean?” Lia asked suddenly, removing her arm from her eyes a little so she could see Seline but it was still blocking the industrial lighting. 

“Who will take care of Wally and Sutton if you die?” Selina rephrased with a slight frown.

“No, I- didn’t you get my letter?” Lia asked as she sat up and pulled her feet towards her body and pushed herself to her feet.

“I…yeah back in February, but I haven’t gotten a chance to read it all yet.” Lia tried not to let her body tense. She didn’t read it. She doesn’t know. Her brain screamed. Tell her. She needs to know.

“You know I don’t write those for shits and giggles, right?”

“You don’t read your little sister’s letters?” Spoiler spoke up.

“I read them. I just can’t read them all in one sitting. They’re like…twenty pages long.”

“I’ve got a lot to say.” Lia shrugged.

“And what does any of that have to do with who gets Wally and Sutton if you die?” Selina whipped her eyes back to her younger sister. Lia clasped her hands behind her back and took a step away from her sister. 

“Well, I was telling you that if, and probably when I die, they would transfer to your guardianship.” Lia spoke slowly. 

“…What?”

“Yeah, haha, you know, any day could be my last and all that jazz so I try to update my will kinda regularly.”

“That’s…really morbid.” Red Hood added helpfully.

“Why me?” Selina’s voice was quiet and hesitant, like she didn’t really want to know the answer.

“Who else would I have possibly picked? Ryan? He’s a great dad to his kids, but we’ve only just started talking again after eight years, and they don’t really have any connection to each other, and he hasn’t even met Sutton.” Lia took a breath, she was working herself up and Selina wasn’t even asking her to justify it. “I grew up in a home where I wasn’t wanted, and the last thing I want is for Sutton and Wally to have to grow up like I did.” Besides, maybe this time you’ll be ready to take them in when they need you. Lia shook that thought far away. It wasn’t fair to hold that against Selina.

“So you picked me?” Selina breathed out.

“I trust you more than anyone else. But I can change it if you’d like.” Lia scuffed her shoe on the floor. “I probably shouldn’t have done that without asking anyways.” She looked up and smiled sheepishly, but she couldn’t quite make out the look on her older sister’s face.

“I- no…no, that’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting it.” Selina quickly crossed her arms, and gently shook her head. Lia laughed softly.

“Now you know how I felt when you blindsided me with the whole ‘meet my fiancé’ bit.”

“It wasn’t a bit.” Selina scolded.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Lia joked skeptically, copying her sister’s posture. “Oh! But first, I should probably call the Thieves and let them know where I am so they don’t worry.” Selina grimaced, obviously remembering the last time that had happened.

“You need to borrow my phone?”

“That would be lovely.” Lia nodded and took the device when Selina offered it. She scrolled through the listed contacts for a second before frowning and looking up. “What’s my contact name again?”

“I think Connor changed it to ‘The Once and Future King’ the last time he visited.”

“Why are you calling yourself?” Batgirl was suddenly standing beside her again. 

“I’m the only one with a phone, but I can’t take it with me when I leave Camp, so it stays in my bunk. And they all know to answer it if it rings since only so many people have the number.”

“What kinda phone is it?” Red Robin appeared on her other side.

“Why can’t you take it with you?” Signal was now next to Batgirl

“You let your siblings access your phone?” Spoiler wrinkled her nose.

“It’s a Nokia.” Red Robin’s face immediately scrunched in disgust.

“A Nokia? Why do you have a Nokia?”

“Cause I’ve never had a reason to replace it? And I have pretty much nothing to hide, so if they wanna snoop? Let ‘em. All it’s got on it is a couple phone numbers.” Spoiler nodded slowly like she didn’t quite agree.

“So why can’t you take it with you when you leave Camp?” Signal asked again.

“When demigods interact with technology it acts like…kinda like the Bat signal, but for monsters. Tells them where we are, which is something we try to avoid, so by extension we try to avoid technology.”

“Why does it do that?”

“I have no clue.” Lia shrugged apologetically.

“But still!” Red Robin sounded stressed. “A Nokia?”

“There’s no point, Red.” Selina sighed. “She’s very attached to her brick.”

“It’s reliable.” Lia muttered defensively.

“Call the Thieves.” Selina prompted her with an exasperated shake of her head. It’s like..five am and I want to go to bed.”

“Right!” Lia started scrolling again, trying very hard to focus on the listed contacts to find her name. When she finally found it she hit ‘call’ and put the phone to her ear. The vigilantes around her took a couple of steps back to give her some privacy, though it seemed to be only because Nightwing had walked close enough to give them a look telling them to do it.

As the phone rang, she speculated who would answer. Travis maybe? Probably Connor if she was being honest. Travis tended to sneak out too often to meet up with Katie. What she didn’t expect? For the call to go to voicemail. 

Her blood froze as her own voice greeted her over the line and apologized for missing her call. Luckily her hand tightened desperately on the device so she didn’t drop it.

“They didn’t answer?” Selina’s face reflected a fraction of Lia’s own worries back at her. Lia didn’t respond, only hung up and called again as she started to pace.

“Maybe it died?” Spoiler suggested.

“If it was dead, the call wouldn’t be going through at all.” Red Robin’s words were drowned out by the ringing in her ears. 

“Something’s wrong.” Selina muttered as the phone started calling again.

Riing.

Riiiing.

Riing.

Riiiing.

“Hey! You’ve reached Lia! Sorry I missed your ca-” She hung up and switched the screen from the contacts to the keypad and typed in another phone number. It rang twice before the line picked up.

“It’s a sunny day at Delphi Strawberry Service, how may I direct your call?” Argus answered calmly. He wasn’t usually one for talking, particularly because of the eye on his tongue. But he was usually willing enough to answer phone calls in an empty room.

“Where the hell is my cabin?” Lia’s voice came out calm. A scary kinda calm, like the calm before a crack of thunder.

“Lia? Is that you? Everyone has been-” They weren’t close. He worked at Camp, just like Chiron and Mr. D. But Lia had always tried to be nice to him. Everyone deserves a friend. Argus more than most.

“Where are they, Argus?” It was rude, but she could feel more than hear her voice break, the emotion getting stuck in her throat trying to choke her. The invisible threads constricting around her chest and lungs.

“I shall retrieve Chiron. One moment.” Argus replied succinctly in Ancient Greek. 

“No, no, no, don’t you dare-” a jazz composition made by Cabin 7 started playing in her ears. “-Hang up on me.” Her fist clenched at her side as she pulled the phone away from her eye and held it in front of her body.

“What did he say?” Selina asked tentatively as she strode to her side.

“He put me on hold!” She bit out.

“Perhaps he needs a refresher on his customer service?” Selina was trying to lighten the mood, but Lia could hear how shaky her voice was.

“I’ll say.” Lia laughed humorlessly as she glared at the device in her hand. Then another voice started talking.

“Aurelia?”

“Where is Cabin 11? Why aren’t they answering? What’s going on?” She rushed the words out of her mouth.

“Are you close to Camp? When will you be returning?” The activities director asked calmly.

“No, no, I’m in Gotham right now. But my-”

“That’s about three and a half hours from Long Island, yes?”

“Y-yes. It is. But-“

“I can have a pegasus there to pick you up within the hour. We can talk when you arrive at the Big House.” Chiron’s tone was dripping with finality.

“I don’t need a ride. I need answers! Why isn’t Cabin 11 responding? They never let it go to voicemail. Never.”

“Voicemail?” Chiron asked in confusion. 

“Yeah. Voicemail. What happens when the receiving phone doesn’t accept or decline a call?” She could feel her frustration rising with her level of sarcasm.

“Phones are strictly prohibited at Camp Half-Blood.” Chiron pressed.

“You may be millennia old, but you are neither senile or stupid.” Lia tried to remember to breathe. “We both know at least one camper in every cabin has a phone.”

“It’s early. The Sun has not yet risen, Perhaps-.” He was evading.

“And Chris doesn’t sleep past four thirty, and Alice is probably still fighting her jetlag after getting back from visiting her family in Japan.” She wanted to cringe away from her own voice. It was her business voice, all hard edges and crisp lines. The articulation and pronunciation of the words held a sense of wrongness. But screaming and crying wouldn’t make Chiron tell her what she wanted to know. It would only strengthen his childish vision of her. “When I left, it was with the understanding that you would let me know if something happened to one of my siblings. I left their lives, their safety, in your hands. So let me ask again. Where is Cabin 11?”

“Aurelia, you must understand-”

“I understand.” She cut him off. “I understand just fine. In fact, this was all a miscalculation on my part.”

“That is not-”

“You’d think after seventeen years of living at Camp, I’d know by now that if I wanted someone to keep their word, I should make them swear on the Styx. That was my mistake. I know better. But that’s in the past, and I can’t change my actions. But we are in the present, and in the present, my siblings are not responding. And instead of assuring me that they’re fine and dandy and about to start getting ready for breakfast, you’re dodging questions and making excuses. So I will ask. One. Last. Time.” She was shaking. With anger or fear, she wasn’t sure. “Where, on this Gods-forsaken planet, is my family?” 

The line went silent, then she heard a sigh.

“We are not sure.”

“What do you mean you’re not sure?”

“Aurelia, if you would simply retu-”

“You better knock it off with that divine load of colchis bullshit. You are perfectly capable of explaining to me what is going on.”

“Cursing is completely unnecessary.” Chiron said sternly. 

“Unnecessary? Sure. But pretty much everyone else in my position would be cursing and threatening you. I’m simply being a little forceful with my word choice.”

“You are a week and a half past when you were supposed to arrive at Camp. We can only assume your siblings decided to go and retrieve you.”

“They would have taken the phone with them.”

“They did.”

“What do you-?”

“Many of their belongings were found strewn across the forest floor, with signs of a struggle. But no bodies were recovered.” Her hand immediately flew to her necklace and the photo strip came tumbling down. All of her sibling’s faces were still smiling up at her. They were all still alive. That was something. 

“Where?” 

“Aurelia, ple-“

“Where, Chiron!”

“Zeus’s Fist.”

“No…” her voice was barely a whisper, all of the fuel for her words disappeared with that location, and her hand clenched the locket.

“We believe the rest of your cabin has been kidnapped and taken into the Labyrinth.” She could hear the regret and remorse in his voice. Her teeth clenched and she shit the locket.

“Was there a note?” 

“It’s addressed to you.” He replied already thinking of her next questions. “An…Emelia says that she’ll be waiting if you are either brave or stupid enough to go looking for her. She states that her money is on stupidity.” Her blood froze again. She had dispelled Emelia and to get back at her, she had kidnapped her family.

“You better hope I find them alive or the party ponies are gonna drop a new color variation.” She didn’t hear his last words to her as she pulled the phone away and handed the phone to Selina.

“Lia, whats-“ Lia was already striding towards her pack when she responded.

“I’m gonna have to take a rain check on that party.” She threw her pack shut and zipped it before heaving it onto her shoulders, starting to strap it more tightly to her body. If it was jumping around and off her back it would slow her down and she would need to go as fast as possible.

“Lia! Where are they!?” The terror in her sister’s voice made her pause, and brought her back to the rest of the world. The Batcave, the vigilantes, her sister. She let her hands fall slack at her sides.

“The empousa that was chasing me found them in the forest at camp somehow.”

“That’s impossible.”

“To some people, so are we.” The emotion was rising back in her throat. All she wanted was to fall into her sister’s arms, to be held and told that everything was going to be just fine. But she couldn’t wallow. She needed to act.

“Lia!”

“She kidnapped them and disappeared with them into the Labyrinth.” She wanted to cry, and could feel the pressure building behind her eyes as she watched pure fear etch itself onto her sister’s normally serene face.  

Selina mouthed the word ‘no’ but the sound was apparently stuck in her sister’s throat.

“Apparently, she’s hoping I’m stupid enough to go into that maze to get them back. Fortunately, I am stupid enough.” Her laugh was bitter. It left a bad taste in her mouth. All of the humor and warmth from minutes again was long gone.

“You can’t seriously be planning to go alone!” The vigilantes were amassed behind her sister. They were discussing something amongst themselves. Red Robin’s wrist screen was doing at least six different tasks. “You could be killed!”

“I sure hope not. That would make this a horrible rescue mission.” Apparently that joke landed about as well as Lia expected it would if Selina’s glare was anything to go off of.

“Do you always have to run towards danger?!” Selina was close to crying given the thick resonance of her voice and the tears gathering in her eyes.

“Night and Day. Right, Cat?” Lia said with the biggest smile she could conjure, which was minuscule. “You run away from it. I run towards it.”

“Lia-” Lia cut her off by walking up to her older sister and wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her tightly.

“I have to go after them. It’s my fault they're in this mess, it’s my responsibility to get them out of it.” She pulled away enough to see her sister’s face, and the tear streaking down her cheek. 

“What do you have to go off of?”

“Not much considering I already told you all of it.” Lia smiled sadly.

“The Labyrinth is massive. It could take you forever to find them.” Selina frown deepened. 

Suddenly it felt like all of the warmth and color were drained from the world.

“Perhaps not.” 

Chapter Text

“Perhaps not.”  Lia moved before she could think, turning around and pushing Selina behind her. Her hair was standing on end and she didn’t remember drawing her sword, but she held it straight out in front of her at the figure the voice had come from. “I would suggest you sheath that, child.”

Lia took in the entity before her. His ebony skin and braids. The tunic he wore was the color of bleached bone, and his dark feathered wings stood proudly behind him. Lia gaped at his beauty, and as enthralled as she was every single fiber of her being screamed to get far away from the god in front of her. She swallowed and sheathed her sword.

“Forgive me, Lord Death.” She said as calmly as she could muster before bowing her head. 

“You are much more courteous than the rest of your litter.” Lia slammed her mouth shut so she wouldn’t laugh. Pfft! Litter! Like a litter of cats. Half of her brain laughed. The other half reminded the first that humor rarely went over well with gods.

“You’ll have to excuse them.” She implored sheepishly. “They’re too sarcastic for their own good sometimes.” Thanatos’ gaze was searing as it studied her, and Lia was acutely aware of Selina backing away. Lia hoped she would make sure the vigilantes stayed out of this. The last thing she needed right now was for them to attack the God of Death. 

“And too adventurous, it would seem.” His voice sounded like honey, but his words made her entire body tense. She didn’t even register the step she took forward. 

“A-are they..?” She could hear her voice begin to crumble.

“I have not come here to inform you of your family’s demise, little hero.” Lia let the words wash over her, and made herself stand taller. They’re alive. There’s still time.

“Might I ask why you are here?” She had an idea. Gods only ever wanted one thing when it came to demigods. Little hero. The name mocked her, made her want to scream.

“I believe you already know, Aurelia.” Lia wondered if his eyes could see into her soul. She nodded.

“You have a quest for me.”

“A job.” He corrected her. He stood still, Lia wondered if he even needed to breathe. So still. Like a statue. Like a body. 

“A job?” She repeated.

“Did I not speak clearly?” Lia resisted the urge to sprint as fast and far away as her feet would carry her.

“No, Lord Thanatos, you were clear. But I’m afraid your word choice…caught me off guard. I don’t think any god or goddess has ever offered me a job before.” She immediately wanted to slap her hand over her mouth. Evidently she was stupid enough.

“Afraid of my word choice.” His tone was dangerously close to..humor. “But not of me? I must say, it’s been a while since I’ve met a mortal who wasn’t afraid of me.”

“You’ll have to forgive me, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been scared of you.” She was smacking herself, why wasn’t she shutting up. She was standing in front of a being who could end her life with a single touch, and even if her siblings were still alive she would never see them again. “All things need a finish line, right? Every message has its destination.”

“You are much like your father.”

“I get that a lot.” Her hands found her shoulder straps and gripped them tight. “But you aren’t here to talk about the similarities between the god of messengers and his daughter.”

“Monsters have been escaping Tartarus through a tunnel. Evidently dug by the more clever of their ranks.” Lia thought she heard murmuring from behind her. She hoped Selina could keep them quiet. “After the last war, the council decided that the moment these tunnels were found they were to be sealed immediately.”

“And you would like me to…seal this tunnel.”

“Tunnels from the underworld must be sealed by someone from the realm of the dead and someone from the land of the living working in tandem on either side.” 

“And doing this will help me find my siblings?” 

“I found them where the tunnel let out.”

“Where did it let out?” Where is my family?

“The Labyrinth.”

“How do I find my way there?” If she could get there she could seal that hole and then she could save her family. This was definitely far from over, but it was a better start than she had five minutes ago.

“With him.” Thanatos raised a finger and pointed past her and Lia whipped her head around. “A light to shine your path.” 

Lia’s eyes fell on Signal, and she turned back to the God of Death.

“Absolutely not. I will not take a mortal into the Labyrinth.”

“Plenty of mortals have led heroes through the Labyrinth. Ariadne led Theseus through the original Labyrinth. And your current Oracle led Perseus through the Labyrinth fairly recently, did she not?”

“Yes, she did. But-”

“Then there is no issue.” Thanatos did not raise his voice but his words still echoed off the cave walls. “He shall be your guide. He has the gift to see all light. Including the light of death, similar to that which is left in my wake. The tunnel leaks a similar light.”

“There has to be another way. Please, Lord Thanatos, this is not his-“

“Do you not wish to keep your siblings from my list of souls to ferry?” Lia forced herself to breathe deeply.

“Of course I do. But I won’t-”

“It is the only way you will.” Lia wanted to scream. Signal couldn’t have been any older than Julia and Alice, barely sixteen. And even if he was a vigilante; There was a big difference between protecting the city you live in and following a stranger into a maze even Gods hesitated to traverse. “And you shall need to gather tools to patch it.” 

“Don’t suppose I could cover it with flex tape and call it a day?” She would let it go for now. She could find her own way through the Labyrinth. It wouldn’t be the first time. 

“A tunnel to the underworld may only be closed with threads of order guided by death.”

“I don’t suppose you could tell me exactly what I need? I’m not great at reading between the lines…or reading in general.” Thanatos paused and stared at her.

“I suppose I am not bound by the same rules as those with the gift of prophecy.” He considered aloud. “A bone needle. Made from my own finger.” He held up his left hand and the dark skin around it melted away to reveal all of the thin bones of his fingers and wrist. Except his ring finger was missing. “It was stolen from me long ago, and is held by someone who covets death, yet clings to life. It will not be easy to steal.” His hand fell back to his side and skin trickled back over bone. His ring finger once again concealed. 

Lia nodded. Luckily she was pretty good at stealing. She had been practicing since she was seven after all. “And the thread of order?”

“The thread of order must be freely given and is only awarded to those who pass judgment.” Two balls of shadow appeared in front of her. One looked like an ornate pin made of ivory with glass poppies coming off the end, the colored glass reflected the light. The other was a ball of plain brown string, the complete opposite of Ariadne’s thread. But Lia wasn’t trying to reach the Maze’s center. “Penny assures me you have a way of ending up exactly where you need to be even if that place is not one you wish. I am…curious to see if this is true.”

“Too bad where I want to be and where I need to be are rarely the same place.” She said bitterly as she memorized the pictures before her as they dissolved. “How long do I have?”

“Fortunately, your adversary seems content to keep them alive. But the moment their names appear on my list, their souls must make the journey. There will be nothing more I can do.” She nodded, looking down at her feet. She was fast, hopefully she would be fast enough. When she looked back up she half expected the God of Death to have vanished, but he simply stood still and watched her. “You are a curious thing, Aurelia Vanguard.”

“Lord Thanatos?”

“Most mortals curse me. Yet, despite how many of your loved ones’ souls I have ferried, you hold no anger towards me. I do not understand. Every other person in this room holds some amount of resentment for my existence. Why do you not?” He took a step closer and she once again resisted the urge to run.

“Being angry with you doesn’t bring them back, so that anger is pointless. You’re just doing your job.” She did her best to keep her voice even. Did her best to not think about the souls he was mentioning.

“Might I ask one more question?” He stook barely a foot away from her, and she could feel her heartbeat start to slow. Being so close to him was starting to kill her. She nodded, not trusting her voice. “Why do mortals weep if they know all must die?”

“End-dings ar-re s-sad.” She struggled through the words. “E-evn if-f e-everyt-thing m-mu..st end.” Apparently that was good enough because he stepped away. Lia collapsed to her hands and knees, gasping for air. 

“Perhaps if you are successful I will not see you a third time this year.” Thanatos’ words rang in her ears as she choked, and when she finally caught her breath and looked up he was truly gone.

She slowly began to register someone helping her sit up, the voices calling out to her.

“-ia! Lia! Can you hear me?!” Selina was pulling her face around to check her eyes.

“Yes, I can hear you.” Her voice was weak. “Would you stop that please?” She asked, swatting Selina’s hands away and sitting back on her heels. 

“Dammit Lia, you almost died!”

“Gotta say, that’d be a pretty lame way to go.” Lia could feel herself shaking and moved to sit cross legged for more stability. “Standing too close to Death.” Her laugh was strained. “Totally lame. Hands down, the lamest way I’ve almost died.” Selina glared at her joke. Fair, she sighed to herself, it’s not that funny anyways.

“It’s like he was sucking the vitality right out of you.” A voice off  to the side said, making her register the hands on her arm. She turned and came face to face with Nightwing. “Look.” He said breaking eye contact and holding up her unbandaged right arm so she could see the gray tint to her normal tanned skin. It reminded her of the black and white movies her dad used to watch. As she stared, the skin slowly began to return to her normal color.

She carefully pulled her arm away and started to push herself to her feet.

“What are you doing?” Nightwing sounded really worried. 

“You need to rest Lia!” Selina agreed.

“I need to get moving.” Lia sighed as she shakily stood on her feet. “They’re alive but they might not be for long. The sooner I get into the Labyrinth, the sooner I close that tunnel, the sooner I get them back.” Her lungs weren’t straining to pull in oxygen, but her breathing was still labored. 

“Lia…” Selina hesitated before continuing. “What did he mean?”

Lia stilled. I really wish she would read my letters. “What?”

“What did Death mean by ‘If you succeed I won’t see you a third time this year’?” Selina asked carefully. “When did you see him before this?”

“I didn’t.” Lia replied carefully.

“Lia.”

“I didn’t see him.” Lia repeated. “I’ve told you before he cloaks himself with the Mist when he ferries souls. Ya know, after all that stuff that happened with Sisyphus? So I didn’t see him.” Her breathing was starting to return to normal. “But I guess he saw me.”

“Where?” Her older sister demanded.

“Probably when we burned André’s shroud.” Lia spoke quietly. He had died a little before she’d adopted Sutton, after flying back to France from the Winter Solstice. She made herself meet Selina’s gaze. She immediately wished she hadn’t.

“He…wha-?” Selina’s face was wrecked with confusion and grief. Till her older sister took a deep breath and swallowed some of it away. “When?”

“Mid January.” Lia told her lamely.

“Why didn’t you-,” Selina stopped before she finished her thought. Why didn’t you tell me? That’s what she was going to say right? “That’s why the letter was so long. You saved it for the very end didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” Lia laughed thickly, emotion starting to pile up in her throat. “Every time I started to write it down it felt too real, but eventually I was fifteen pages into a letter I knew if I waited any longer you weren’t gonna read it at all.” She could feel tears welling in her eyes. “Pretty sure those last five pages are just me repeating the same thing over and over again.” Before she knew it Selina had wrapped her up in her arms tightly, and Lia let herself melt into her older sister.

“I’m so sorry Lia, I should’ve been there. I know how close you and André were.” Lia could hear the sadness in Selina’s voice, and even worse, the carefulness.

“It is what it is, Selina.” Lia said, shaking her head and extracting herself from her sister’s arms. “Nobody escapes death. You and I know that, and,” she paused to breathe, hoping it would stop the tears from falling down her face. “And so did André.” Lia sniffed and shut her head tightly before meeting her sister’s gaze again. “I have to go. Before it’s too late to save them.”

“Shouldn’t we wait just a bit?” Signal spoke up and Lia froze again. “I mean you look like you can barely stand.”

“Signal.” Batman’s tone was hesitant and full of warning.

“Come on, B! This is her family! It’s my job as a hero to help her, right?” Lia’s heart warmed a little, but she shook her head.

“No. Trust me, Signal, you wanna stay far away from that place.” She leaned a little too much and started to stumble. Luckily, Selina was there to steady her.

“But he said I would guide you to where you needed to go!” He argued back.

“He also said I had an inexplicable way of ending up exactly where I need to be.” She reasoned, ignoring the look Selina was burning into the side of her face. The tears in her eyes were starting to dry up. 

“Then maybe that’s why you ended up here.” Red Robin nodded. “This was where you needed to go, cause you needed Signal to guide you through the Labyrinth.” His face contorted into a satisfied smirk. “Maybe that’s why, out of all of the years of the Batcave being here, you were the first person to ever just…walk in.”

“Cat, please back me up here.” Lia turned a pleading look to her sister. 

“Don’t look at me. I hate the idea of you going into that damn maze. If they go, then at least there will be someone to watch your back.” Selina said carefully letting Lia go so she could stand on her own and Selina could cross her arms.

“Batman!” Lia pleaded, whipping her head around to stare at Gotham’s dark knight. His arms were also crossed over his body, and for a long time he was quiet.

“I dislike you going into a place we don’t have any reference for.” His words reminded her of her own father. Gentle words and a firm tone. 

“I’ll go too then!” Red Robin added. “That way I can gather data in case the Labyrinth comes into play in the future!” Batman’s frown deepened, he clearly didn’t like the idea. Lia really hoped he held his ground.

“I’ll go too.” Nightwing stepped forward slightly. “I have the most experience after you. And I can keep an eye on them.”

“Nope. No way. Absolutely not.” Lia cut in as she saw Batman’s resolve start to crumble. The tiniest cracks could lead to dam’s bursting if they weren’t patched immediately. “I am not taking three mortals into the Labyrinth. Especially not by myself. They have no idea what we’ll be up against. They don’t even have the right weapons. Not to mention that even numbers are insanely unlucky for quests!”

“Well…I should have some they can use.” Selina piped up. Lia cursed in ancient Greek under her breath. It's times like these that she wished Camp locked up the weapons shed. Every time Selina visited she took a different weapon from that shed. And now it was coming back to bite Lia in the ass. “And there’s that son of Apollo. He lives in Gotham. He could go with you too.”

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.” Lia bit out with a glare.

“Besides what was that you said earlier? ‘It would take a lot of worry off my shoulders if I knew there was someone out there watching your back’?” Selina raised a judgemental eyebrow. And then she let it drop and Lia couldn’t ignore the worry and fear in her eyes. “Please? Don’t go alone.”

“Selina, they don’t understand what they’re signing up for.” Lia pleaded with her sister in ancient Greek.

“That’s never stopped them before, kitten.” Selina smiled sadly. “Please. Let them help you.”

“And if they die on my watch?” It was a last ditch effort, a dirty shot. “Are you going to be the one to tell Batman he’s lost another son?” Selina didn’t even flinch. 

“You won’t lose them. You’ll protect them. You always have. You always will.” Selina placed a hand gently on her cheek.

“…Sap.” Lia sighed and let her head droop. 

“Take them with you? Please? For me?” Selina implored her. Lia searched her sister’s eyes, and put herself in Selina’s shoes. Selina had just found out André had died. The rest of her family, sans Lia, were unaccounted for. Being held hostage by a monster, gods know where, after disappearing outside an entrance to the Labyrinth. Selina was probably just trying to ensure that the one sibling she did know was accounted for stayed that way. Just like when Lia made the thieves go in groups of three when they went to the convenience store on the weekends. Lia took a deep breath.

“Fine.” She spoke softly in english. She could do this, even if she disagreed. For her older sister, she would do this. Selina held her phone out to her again. 

“Make the call.” 

Lia took the phone and dialed a familiar number. The cell of the only other demigod she knew lived in Gotham city. It rang and rang and eventually picked up.

“If you’re calling about my car’s extended warranty, I regret to inform you that my car gained sentience last week so you’ll have to contact it directly.” The voice on the other line was light and easy.

“Liar. You don’t even have a learner’s permit.” She shot back.

“Lia! This isn’t your phone number.”

“Nope, borrowing it. Hey, are you back in Gotham yet?”

“Yeah, got back yesterday. You in town?” Lia glanced around the cave. The brightly colored vigilantes, industrial lighting, the bats hanging from the ceiling. 

“Yeah something like that.” A smile tugged at her lips. He’s gonna lose his mind if he finds out where I am right now. “Hey, I got a question for ya.” She said turning her back on Gotham’s capes.

“Shoot.”

“Your sense of self preservation get any better since I saw you last?”

“Nope. Not even a little.” He replied immediately.

“Perfect.” She sighed.

“Why? Running a poll for Chiron or something?”

“Or something.” She chuckled, albeit a little solemnly. “I actually have a favor to ask.”

Chapter Text

She called in the conspiracy theorist. She agreed to the security detail. She’d convinced them that dressed down versions of their suits were a better play than the entire kevlar body suit numbers they had been wearing originally and to pack for a long trip. Time could move slower or faster in the Labyrinth, depending on where you were. She had tried, at least three more times, to subtly change their minds to no avail. And she had showered. 

And now she was leading Signal, Red Robin, and Nightwing to where Selina had said she’d left the uncharacteristically optimistic Gothamite who also happened to be a son of Apollo and a member of Cabin 7. 

Signal had indeed been able to see an aura around Thanatos, and had decided it as a chilly purple. Red Robin had explained this by saying he could see shrimp colors, cause apparently shrimp could see a broader spectrum of colors than humans. They had followed it back through the caves that had led Lia to the Batcave, until they found a narrow offshoot marked with a Greek delta. Selina had said she’d leave their supplies and fifth party member there for them. She hadn’t stuck around to say goodbye. Lia didn’t blame her. Saying goodbye would feel too final. Too much like she wouldn’t be coming back. 

Signal was walking next to her with the flashlight since he was the only one naturally capable of seeing in the dark. Lia tried not to snicker at their dressed down super suits. Signal had on a black domino, black cargo pants and tactical boots, a long sleeve white shirt, a t-shirt meant to mimic his suit’s chest plate, and his utility belt. 

Red Robin was dressed similarly except instead of a white shirt, he wore a black hoodie with a red t-shirt. He had kept his ‘half cowl’ as they called it which covered his neck and disappeared beneath his hoodie; and the yellow bandoliers that crossed his chest and met at his symbol, which Nightwing had explained was meant to be a stylized bird. To her it looked like an hourglass. He also kept his yellow utility belt.

Nightwing was wearing a simple black t-shirt with his blue bird on it. It was looser than his costume had been, but only barely and it clung to him. Thankfully, for her sanity and her focus, he had also added a biker jacket that mimicked the stripes of his costume. Lines of brilliant bright blue running from the collar, to his broad shoulders, and down to the hem of his sleeves. He had switched out his black domino for a blue one. According to Signal, Red Hood had made fun of him for ‘accessorizing’. He had also added a plain black utility belt, since his back was now covered by a traveling pack made of sturdy black leather. It was similar to, but much less worn than the warm brown one on her own back. It was identical to the on Signal’s back. Red Robin’s looked as though it had more pockets.

“Sooo, what’s your friend like?” Signal asked cautiously. “The son of Apollo who’s joining us?”

“He’s a good kid. One of the best archers I’ve ever met.”

“He’s a kid?” Red Robin spoke up from where he was walking behind her.

“Nah, he’s probably about y’alls age. Eighteen, I think. He’s one of my best friend’s younger brothers.” She did her best to walk normally, but the weight of their covered eyes on her back made Lia want to squirm. 

They were quiet for a bit after that. Lia gripped her backpack’s shoulder straps and looked down at her worn hiking boots. She’d changed from Cecil’s oversized Camp shirt to one of her own Camp shirts. But she had kept her green cargo pants. They were comfortable and had the advantage of multiple pockets all over that she’d filled up with her usual tricks. A set of lock picks, the smoke bombs she had refused to return, her compass, a few small celestial bronze throwing knives, and a couple non-perishable snacks. She had also added her leather shin and arm guards under her pants and brown leather flight jacket. A gift from André when she had gotten her pilot’s license. He had apologetically told her that it was originally Housten’s, from when he enlisted in the Air Force. She assumed he was apologetic because it was a regift. But having something that was originally her older brother’s only made it more special to her. More comforting. 

“Do you think that light up there is your friend?” Red Robin piped up. Lia tore her gaze away from the floor and searched ahead of them. Sure enough there was a flashlight slowly moving over the walls.

“Probably, unless it’s just a random mortal lost in the caves like I was.” She replied before calling out loudly. “Bernard! Is that you?”

“Bernard!?” Red Robin sounded panicked but he was immediately drowned out by the son of Apollo’s response. 

“Yeah. What took you so long?” He called back with a humorous tone. Lia hadn’t told him about her siblings. She had told Selina she wanted to tell him in person, and after they had set off she made the vigilantes promise not to mention it at all. They hadn’t liked it but they begrudgingly agreed. 

“What happened to slow and steady wins the race?” She shot back as they finally got close enough to properly see him. 

“You hate going slow.” Bernard said with a laugh. He was dressed like he was camping. Thick jeans and hiking boots (though his were considerably less worn than hers). His shirt was a repeating pattern of green, brown, and tan from the hem to the collar. He also wore an orange-yellow windbreaker with Camp Half-Blood’s logo over the breast zip-up pocket. She saw his quiver sandwiched between his back and his bag, and his bow was strapped to his bag’s side for easier access. 

“Yeah, well I didn’t want anyone getting left in the dust.” And at the point she saw him finally process that she wasn’t the one holding the flashlight, that she wasn’t alone. She stepped to the side so he could see them better. “Bernard, this is Red Robin, Signal, and Nightwing.” She gestured to each one accordingly. “They’re gonna be joining us on our quest.” 

Bernard did move, and didn't give any indication that he had even heard her introductions. She cautiously stepped closer to him till she was able to wave her hand directly in front of his face. When he didn’t react to that she poked him gently in the side. 

“Oh, you know what, I forgot about that.” She said mostly to herself. 

“About what?” Nightwing prodded. 

“Is he alright?” Signal stepped a little closer. Before she could respond or try to explain, Bernard pulled her forward and turned so both of their backs were to the vigilantes.

“Am I seeing things?” He whisper-yelled. 

“Nope!” Lia responded cheerfully.

“Is that really Nightwing, Red Robin, and Signal?”

“Yes!”

“What are they doing here?!” His voice was becoming more panicked.

“They’re coming with us.”

“Why!?”

“Because they wouldn’t take no for an answer.” She explained, trying to keep any bitterness out of her voice. 

“Gods.” Definitely panicking now. “And I just stood in front of them like a deer in headlights.” 

“You’re doing better than me.” She assured him. “I punched Nightwing in the face.”

“You what?!?!” He had finally stopped whispering, which was something. 

“Yeah.” She said pointing between them at Nightwing. The bruise was starting to look more sickly yellow-green then a horrifying purple-black. “See? Right under his mask? Can’t really do worse at first impressions than that. Hey, did Selina leave a bag of weapons with you?”

“Yeah.” He said absentmindedly as he took in the bruise on Nightwing’s face. He pointed to a black tactical bag at his feet and Lia crouched down to open it. Selina had said she’d pick out weapons that would suit them. When she opened it she found a small armory of celestial bronze weapons. A celestial bronze staff that screwed together but was currently in three pieces. Two celestial bronze trench knives. A set of five celestial bronze throwing knives. And a standard celestial bronze sword, almost identical to the one on Lia’s own belt.

“You’re being incredibly rude, by the way. You’re supposed to greet people.” She said over her shoulder quickly as she inspected the weapons in front of her. She kept her tone light and teasing. Playing the part of the easy going cabin counselor. “I know your parents raised you better than that~” She sang tauntingly as she stood up with the bag. Even in the low light Lia could see his face flush red.

“I-it’s nice to meet you.” Bernard told them quickly.

“He’s a big fan.” Lia explained with a smirk before jingling the bag. “Now, who wants gifts? I’ve got..” she reached one hand into the bag and pulled out the three pieces of the bow staff. “One staff for Red Robin. Some assembly required.” She held it out and he took it quickly with a nod before stepping off to the side and immediately beginning to assemble it. She reached back into the bag and grabbed the two knives. “Two trench knives for Signal.”

“Trench knives?” He asked hesitantly as he took them from her. “Isn’t this…”

“A little modern?” Lia finished for him. “Well, most of the things in our weapons shed, unless they’re a relic, are made by a bunch of unsupervised teenagers with plenty of materials and too much time on their hands.”

“I’m gonna tell Nyssa you said that.” Bernard told her.

“Go right ahead.” She smiled sweetly. “Pretty sure I’ve said that to her face before.”

“Don’t they fix your car?” He asked incredulously.

“They haven’t cut my brake lines yet.” She shrugged. 

“Anything for me?” Nightwing asked, coming up behind Signal. Lia reached into the bag and pulled out the throwing knives. 

“Unfortunately, we don’t have any shaped like bats.” She teased. “Can you make do?”

“I don’t use batarangs.” Nightwing said with a small upturn of his lips as he took the small knives. He studied them for a bit before looking back up at her. “This it?”

She stared at him for a second before reaching back into the bag and pulling out the sword. “Be careful.” She warned as he reached out and wrapped his hand around the leather sheath. “It’s pretty sharp.” She opened the bag one last time to make sure she hadn’t missed anything before turning to Bernard again. 

“Do you feel like Santa Claus?” He asked, crossing his arms.

“More like Mary Poppins.” She countered and Bernard huffed a laugh. 

“You know, that makes sense with that magic bag of yours.” He nodded slowly. 

“Don’t say it like that.” She grumbled with a furrowed brow. “You make it sound like I pull rabbits out of it.” 

“You did.” He reminded her.

“I…my gods I totally did.” She blinked as the memory slowly came back to her. Then she shook her head. “But that doesn’t count. That was a stuffed rabbit and it was for Wally’s third birthday.”

“If you say so.” Bernard held his hands out in front of himself in mock surrender. She shook her head and looked back at the vigilantes. Signal had strapped his knives to the back of his utility belt blade-side down. Nightwing had strapped his sword to his own utility belt and was giving the throwing knives a few experimental tosses in the air before catching them. Red Robin finished a twirl with his new staff and Lia was again reminded how sure and confident he looked with that weapon in his hand. How dangerous he felt. 

“If any of you need help with how to use them, I can show you when we stop to make camp tonight.” She told them, mostly Signal and Nightwing. Red Robin looked happy as a clam. “But we should probably get going.”

“These feel weird.” Nightwing said. “I thought you said celestial bronze wouldn’t interact with mortals?”

“I said it was harmless to mortals.” She corrected as she handed the empty bag to Bernard and readjusted her own bag as he walked behind her and put the empty bag in one of her pockets. “Go ahead and see what happens if you try to let it cut you.” She suggested.

“Lia, please don’t encourage people to injure themselves.” Bernard said tiredly, though his voice still had that slightly panicked quality. 

“If he gets hurt, I’ll eat my shoes.” She threw the comment over her shoulder. And watched as Nightwing considered the knife for a second, but before he could even start to bring it to his skin, a bright flash of metal went through his head. 

“Woah…it went right through you.” Red Robin said from behind Nightwing. Lia burst out laughing, Signal let out a strangled laugh that he tried to play off as a cough, and Bernard made a noise of distress. Nightwing however was not at all amused. 

“Dude! That could’ve given me a concussion!” He stared at Red Robin in a mix of shock and disbelief. 

“You’re fine.” Red Robin told him, not even looking up from where he was inspecting his weapon with a new appreciation. Nightwing grumbled quietly to himself, but didn’t press the issue.

“You, Red Robin, are a riot!” Lia wiped a nonexistent tear from her eye as he unscrewed one section from the other two and put them horizontally between his back and backpack, screw sides out.

“And we really can just walk around with these out?” Red Robin asked.

“Yeah, won’t people start asking questions?” Signal added.

“I told you guys. The Mist makes them see what they wanna see. Also, on the very slim chance we do run into any mortals, depending on their age. They might think it's a cosplay prop or, like…gardening equipment.” She assured them, before turning to Signal specifically. “So where’s the entrance?”

“It’s, uh…right there.” Signal pointed to a section of solid stone wall. Even with the light from Signal’s flashlight shining on it, she couldn’t see so much as a crack. That was until he stepped forward and touched the wall. A delta glowed to life on the wall and it shuddered and cracked and split to reveal a narrow opening. A weight seemed to permeate the air.

“It feels…dangerous.” Bernard spoke softly, apparently finding another thing to worry about besides the vigilantes. 

“To win without risk is to triumph without glory.” Lia told him as she gripped her shoulder straps and readjusted her backpack one more time. 

“You’ve been in there before, right? What’s it like?” Lia thought about his question for a second. 

“It’s a living thing.” She started with. “It was designed by a genius and it will attempt to trick and fool us into taking the most dangerous path.” She could see Bernard’s shoulders tense. “But if I could navigate and survive this maze at age 9, the five of us should be just fine.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “But if you want to back out,” she looked at everyone in turn. Bernard, Nightwing, Red Robin, and Signal. “This might be your last chance.” The vigilantes just nodded but didn’t move to return to the Batcave. Bernard set his shoulders and looked at the Labyrinth’s entrance. 

“What are we waiting for then?”

Common sense, maybe? Lia thought to herself.

“Alright, lab rats. Into the maze we go.”

***

For the most part, the start of their journey was…uneventful. Signal led the way, following a faint trail of death that only he could see past twists and turns. Nightwing and Red Robin brought up the rear which Lia thought was a bad idea. Her and Bernard should’ve been sandwiching the vigilantes, but since it was going well so far she wasn’t gonna make a scene. Besides she’d told them that if they so much as felt a little off to say something. The Labyrinth wasn’t the place to keep quiet about concerns. 

And as they walked, since the vigilantes were mostly quiet, Lia and Bernard had a chance to catch up. Though, they also answered a couple of their questions. 

-

“How was New Rome?” 

“You know how they have that statue that has everyone leave their weapons with him while they're in the city?”

“Cause weapons aren’t allowed in Rome?” Bernard mused as he thought about it. “Yeah. Terminus, right?”

“Well I took pretty much any chance I got to see what he considered a weapon.”

“What were the oddest things he did or did not consider a weapon?”

“A cast iron spoon wasn’t allowed but a deer antler was perfectly fine.” Lia replied cheerily.

“Interesting…”

-

“So why is a pegasus part of the camp’s logo?” Signal turned to ask over his shoulder.

“I guess they’re kinda like our mascot? We have a stable for them at Camp.” Barnard offered hesitantly.

“What do you mean, ‘kinda’? They are our mascot.” Lia gave Bernard a look. “Literally all of your siblings are enrolled in Olympia Academy of the Gifted.”

“What's that?” Bernard asked sheepishly.

“Camp’s school system for year rounders?”

“Camp has a school system?!” His eyes went wide.

“Sure. Why do you think they send satyrs into colleges?”

“For…uhh…I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it before.”

“Where do you think Marley and I graduated from? Why do you think Will, Austin, and Kayla are always complaining about Silenus’ arithmetic lectures?”

“He teaches math?”

“You should ask Marley about it some time. She paid the most attention.”

“Marley doesn’t really talk to me.” Bernard looked back ahead. 

“Maybe try talking to her first.” Lia suggested. “She probably just doesn’t know how to start the conversation. Marley’s wicked smart but pretty dumb when it comes to her younger siblings since she’s not used to being the oldest. She doesn’t wanna let you guys down.”

“…I’ll try it.” He gave her a small smile.

“How many siblings do you have?” Red Robin asked suddenly. 

“Five.” Bernard turned his head to speak over his shoulder.

“Oooo, new sibling?” Lia grinned.

“Yeah, his name’s Zachary and he’s eleven.” He said with a small smile. “Him and his mom live almost at the exact midpoint between Gotham and Camp.” Lia thought the warm look in Bernard's eyes as he talked about his siblings suited him.

-

“I don’t think it was Sherman though.” Bernard argued. “I just can’t see him taking the time to think about what kinda knot to use.”

“Yeah.” Lia agreed as she disarmed a booby trap in the wall that would launch a set of poison tipped spears at them. “He’s more the type to just walk up and punch you in the face. Kinda sounds like something Aaron would do though. Or maybe Joshua?” She suggested, thinking about two of the more devious members of Cabin 6.

“Huh…ya know. Joshua was totally reading a book about the art of knots one day at the dining hall.”

“Those Athena kids get too psychologically with it sometimes.” Lia shook her head as she closed the hatch back over the trap.

“I’d watch my back if I were you, then. They’re still pissed about the spiders.” 

“Honestly I’m kinda curious what they’ve got planned.” She laughed, standing up and brushing off her pants. 

-

“You met a male dryad?!” Bernard exclaimed. “I didn’t think they existed!”

“Sure did! And I think he might’ve proposed.”

“What do you mean, you think?” He blinked in confusion. 

“Well he asked if I wanted to become one with him by reconnecting with nature. But with dryads that could easily mean, ‘can I kill you and use your decomposing body as fertilizer?’”

“Ooooh…yeah. That’s fair.”

“But he did give me a flower that has yet to wilt. So that’s totally going in the Vault.”

-

“What do you mean there’s another Cabin 3 demigod!?”

“He’s ten years old. His name is Skyler. And he got swarmed by pegasi his first day at Camp.”

“You’re kidding.” She couldn’t hold in her laugh. “Skyler? And Perseus? That’s totally…what are Julia and Alice always saying? Sick and twisted, dude.”

“Gods, I didn’t even think about that! Percy is named after a son of Zeus. And Skyler’s name literally has the word sky in it!”

“Dude, I bet their dad is pissed.” They both snickered.

-

“Where in Hades did you get a finger bone?” Bernard asked as he inspected the middle segment of a finger bone she was holding.

“Penny volunteered us for a tomb restoration while I was crashing at her place. And then we ran into a stuck soul. And while Penny was trying to find whatever was keeping him tethered to the mortal world I asked if I could have a piece of his skeleton.”

“And he said yes?” Bernard looked horrified.

“His exact words were, and I quote. ‘Not like I was using it no more.’ So technically it was a gift. Penny changed my contact in her phone to ‘Grave Robber’ though. So that’s pretty lame.”

“Accurate.” Bernard did a horrible job at hiding the word behind a cough.

“He said I could take it!”

-

“Are there any famous demigods?” Red Robin prompted

“Yeah! Like ones we would’ve seen on the news and stuff?” Signal added

“Sure.” Lia nodded as she thought about it. “George Washington was a son of Athena.”

“No way.” Nightwing said in awe. 

“Way.” She assured him. “Who else? Hmmm….Oh! Piper McLean, that daughter of that famous actor, is a child of Aphrodite.”

“I feel like you’re missing the most obvious one.” Bernard told her.

“William Shakespeare was a son of Apollo.”

“I’m related to-“ Bernard physically shook that thought away. “No, that’s not who I’m talking about.”

“William T. Sherman, the guy who captured Atlanta during the civil war, was a son of Ares. Coach Hedge will talk about him for hours if you get him started.”

“You know, that’s not that surpri- No, not him either.”

“Amelia Earhart?”

“No, not her.” He shook his head again and then paused. “Who’s she the daughter of?”

“Nike.”

“Huh, I honestly thought it would’ve been Hermes.”

“Nah…oh! Princess Diana was a daughter of Athena. Which means her death could totally be a monster attack.”

“What?!” The vigilantes said in unison.

“You’ve told me that before and I still don’t believe you.” Bernard’s brow furrowed. “That’s still not who I mean though.”

“Then who?” Lia tilted her head.

“Percy.” Bernard raised his eyebrow.

“Percy Jackson?” Her face scrunched in confusion. 

“Percy Jackson?!? The kid who blew up the Gateway arch?!” Red Robin added almost immediately while Signal and Nightwing still seemed to be reeling from her Princess Diana comment.

“Oh yeah…I forget that he’s kinda famous in the mortal world.” She tapped her chin. 

“Didn’t he have a shootout with his kidnapper on a beach in Santa Monica at age twelve?” Nightwing asked, coming back to the conversation. 

“No, that’s just what the Mist made everyone see.” Lia explained. 

“Then what was it?” Signal looked shell shocked.

“He was fighting Ares.” Lia told them nonchalantly. 

-

“Wait, why did you have to walk back from California?” Bernard turned to her. “I thought you took a pegasus with you? Why didn’t you just fly back?”

“Porroko didn’t want to leave after he met Reyna.” Lia explained.

“So you just decided to walk home? That was your first solution to that problem?”

“Yes?”

“What about a plane? Or renting a car?” Bernard asked, exasperated. “Lia, you literally have so many types of license. And you chose to walk?”

“I like walking.”

“That’s like… three thousand miles! How long did that even take you?”

“I don’t know…like a week and a half? Maybe two?”

“It took you a week and a half to walk across the continental United States??” Red Robin sounded…horrified? Shocked? Interested? Lia wasn’t quite sure.

“I mean…I took a bus from Phoenix to New Orleans, that cut out like seventeen hundred miles. I only walked from San Francisco to Phoenix and then New Orleans to Gotham. So I cut my travel time in half.”

“But you still walked the other seventeen hundred miles? In a week and a half?” Red Robin still sounded mystified. 

“Are you by chance, a meta-human?” Nightwing piped up.

“Nah, children of Hermes are just unnaturally fast.” Bernard said pensively, his finger tapping his chin. “And Lia’s the fastest of them all.”

“But I’m no Flash.” She added with a grin. 

-

“But I thought Mina had a crush on Garth?” Lia asked as they carefully walked across a rope bridge single-file. 

“She does. But Garth was in that weird talking stage with Brittany. So Mina started hanging out with Chad more because they’re best friends.” Bernard explained from where he was walking behind her.

“If we know that they’re best friends, why does everyone think they’re dating?”

“Someone started a rumor, and personally, I think it was Aayara.”

“But Aayara and Mina are like…super tight, aren’t they?”

“She did it in the hopes that it would make Garth jealous enough to stop whatever he’s got going on with Brittany and ask Mina out.”

“Dude, that's so messy.”

“Gets even messier.” He assured her. “I’m pretty sure Chad’s dating Boon from Cabin 16.”

“What?!”

“And we’re pretty sure Brittany has something going on with Larkin in Cabin 4. Kayla swears she saw them kissing in the stables.”

“You have got to be joking.” 

“I wish.”

-

“Oh, uhhh…” Bernard scratched the back of his head. “Let’s just say everyone was counting the days until your return when I left.”

“It can’t be that bad. Clarisse is way better at sword play than I-”

“But you’re a teacher.” He interrupted. “Most of those kids can keep themselves safe in the mortal world because of what you’ve taught them.”

“What’s that saying?” She scoffed sarcastically. “Those who can’t, teach?”

“All those beads on your necklace say otherwise.” Bernard argued. “Besides, Clarisse is like a drill sergeant. Anytime someone messes up a move she makes them run laps.” He groaned at the memory. 

“How many laps did you have to run?” She asked cheekily.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

-

“So you two are cousins, right?” Nightwing asked. 

“For the sake of everyone’s sanity, please don’t ask that question.” Lia begged. 

“Uhh…why?”

“The Olympian family tree is just a headache waiting to happen.” Bernard groaned. 

“Yeah, aren’t Zeus and Hera siblings?” Red Robin added.

“Yeah.” Lia pouted. “But the gods don’t have DNA. And his majesty was raised on a mountain by nymphs and the Queen of the Heavens grew up in her fathers stomach. And it's the most convoluted and horrible story and there’s absolutely no way to justify or explain it so please don’t make us.”

“I’m…sorry I brought it up I guess.” Nightwing apologized hesitantly.

-

“They what?!” Lia grinded to a halt, and glared at Bernard.

“Uh, nope, nothing. They didn’t do anything.” He rambled frantically.

“Cabin 9 is building a child sized version of the Argo II for Wally?” She asked incredulously. “And no one is trying to stop them??”

“I mean…Chiron made them remove the ballistae from the design. And this one totally doesn’t fly-”

“They were gonna give him working armaments??” Her eyes were wide.

“Not anymore.”

“I am so stealing the rotation mechanisms from their bunks when I get back.” She promised herself out loud.

“Just don’t tell them I’m the one that told you? Harley was really excited about the design! But his name got vetoed when Wally found out.”

“Why? What was Harley gonna name it?” She asked carefully.

“I don’t really remember, but Wally changed it to King Lia’s Promise. I think Travis was reading him a book about Blackbeard, so he used ‘Queen Anne’s Revenge’ as a template.” 

“Damn.” She said numbly. He had named his boat after her! And now all of them were trapped in the Labyrinth because of Lia.

“Which is a pretty interesting name when you consider that he’s apparently gonna use it as a pirate ship.”

“A what?”

“Yeah. He started recruiting people and giving them specific jobs and everything.”

“Who’s the captain?”

“Wally.”

“He’s five years old.” She stated blankly. 

“It’s his ship.” Bernard shrugged. “Oh! But no one from Cabin 11 except him is allowed on it.”

“Gods help me.” She groaned.

-

“Tada!” Lia landed with a gymnast's salute after climbing up the corridor’s sheer walls to pull a lever to open the door. Bernard didn’t look impressed. “What?”

“Look at me!” He said in a voice meant to mock hers. She couldn’t help laughing at it. “I’m Lia and I can climb like a mountain goat. I’m so cool.”

“Twenty-four hours a day.” She joked, crossing her arms to look more confident. Her shoulders shook with laughter. “Seven days a week. Forty-six weeks a year!”

Bernard immediately lost his composure and started laughing and Lia didn’t really think it was that funny.

“Uh, Lia?” Signal spoke up.

“Yeah?”

“There are fifty-two weeks in a year.” He explained. 

“Everyone has bad days.” She told him without missing a beat. Bernard started laughing harder to the point that he was hiccuping. 

“You have six weeks worth of bad days a year?” Nightwing asked. 

“Sure. Why not.” She shrugged. 

***

Of course things were going too well, which naturally meant that something had to go wrong. 

The corridor they were currently walking down was…damp. There was water dripping down from stalactites, and pools of murky stagnant water on either side of the path. It felt like there were eyes watching her from the ceiling. It put Lia on edge, enough that she kept her hand on the pommel of her sword.

They stopped at a door and Lia moved forward to test the lock as Signal jiggled at the handle. She stopped a little short as the door creaked open.

“Not locked.” Signal reported happily.

“That’s not usually a good sign.” Lia frowned as Signal pushed the door open.

“I mean..nothing has attacked us so far.” Bernard spoke quietly, like he could sense the wrongness of it too.

“That’s even worse.” But Signal was already walking into the room. That’s when she saw the dark figure rush him. She reached forward and grabbed his shoulder and pulled him behind her. Then she swung her sword and brought it down on the creature’s neck, letting it slice through to its opposite hip. As it burst into dust, Lia clocked three more closing in fast.

“Fanboy!” She yelled out.

“Duck!” Bernard responded and Lia dropped to the floor, dragging Signal down with her. And not a second too soon as she saw three arrows hit the monsters in unison. As they crumbled to dust the arrows clanked harmlessly on the stone floor. She looked back to see Bernard, flanked by Nightwing and Red Robin, holding his bow with three celestial bronze tipped arrows at the ready. His other hand must’ve immediately gone to his quiver in case there were more. “Clear?” He called out as his eyes darted around the room. Lia grabbed the flashlight out of Signal’s hand and was on her feet, gripping her sword, and stepped father into the room. She let her sword point towards the ground, loose but ready, and scanned the room with the flashlight. Bashed in cars, building debris, traffic cones, trash, and common cave plants were lit up. But she didn’t see any more of the gaunt creatures.

“I don’t see anything.” She called back, sheathing her sword and turning back to Signal. “Are you hurt?” She asked, offering him a hand up. 

“No, thanks to you.” He said gratefully as she helped haul him to his feet. “What were those things?”

“Eurynomoi.” She told him as she checked over her shoulder again. She could still feel something watching her. But if there was another eurynomos, it would have attacked them by now. 

“What’s that? I don’t think I’ve ever heard them mentioned in Greek myths.” Red Robin piped up. 

“Ever watch The Walking Dead?” Bernard asked as he retrieved the three arrows that lay amidst the monster dust.

“Yeah.” Red Robin told him slowly.

“Same concept.” He stuck his arrows back in his quiver after inspecting them to make sure none of them had splintered. “For all intents and purposes they’re basically just zombies.”

“They’re usually more cognitive than that.” Lia said, furrowing her brow and started to sweep her flashlight around the room again, suddenly realizing how cavernous it was. “They just rushed us. No ambush. No taunting. And-“

“It feels like there’s something still watching us.” Bernard finished for her, notching another arrow. 

“Another y-yuri gn-nom-“ Signal stumbled over the greek word. 

“If there is another eurynomos, it’s smarter than the first four.” She drew her sword again. The sound of a door slamming made her jump, her flashlight jumping to where the sound was coming from. The door they had entered through was closed, but no one had been near enough to close it. Red Robin stepped closer and jiggled the handle. 

“It won’t budge.” He took a step back and Lia saw the back of the door clearly for the first time. It was covered in long, jagged scratch marks.

“It looks like they were trying to get out.” Lia thought out loud. “Maybe you can only open the door from the outside.”

“Why though? What would be the point of that?” Nightwing asked, turning to her.

“To make sure we don’t try to go back the way we came.” She turned to face the other side of the cluttered cavern. “Which means there’s got to be an exit somewhere. We should split up and check the walls.”

“Groups?” Red Robin prompted.

“Two of you should go with Bernard.” She would let them decide which two. “He’s kinda hopeless with close combat.”

“I’m not hopeless.” He crossed his arms and pouted.

“Alright,” she relented with a smile. “Not hopeless, but there’s always room for improvement.”

“Signal and I can go with Bernard.” Red Robin told them decisively. “Since Sig and I have less experience, it makes sense we should be in a larger party.”

“Good call, Red.” Nightwing nodded.

“Alright. No one wonders off alone. If you find the exit, or anything out of place, call out and we’ll come to you. Nightwing and I will do the same.” They all agreed and broke off. Bernard, Red Robin, and Signal to the left. And Nightwing and Lia walked off to the right. Both groups followed the curve of the walls.

Lia looked over her shoulder at the three teenagers as they slowly disappeared behind rubble and debris before Nightwing’s voice made her turn to face him. 

“Want me to hold the light?” He held his hand out in invitation. She stared at him for a second, just long enough that he started to squirm.

“Sure.” She replied, flipping the flashlight in her hand so she was holding the grip out for him to take. “What a gentleman you are.” She grinned and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jacket. “Lead the way.”

“Uh, y-yeah.” He stumbled over his words and turned towards their own path. “Right. We should get started.”

“After you.” And they were off. 

They stayed close to the wall. Carefully they climbed over, around, and under various pieces of debris. Shattered glass and rubbled mixed in with moss and mushrooms that were cropping on scattered trees that looked like they had been uprooted. Taxi, commuter cars, and motorcycles were in multiple pieces all over. Large pieces of concrete that looked like pieces of an overpass or a bridge. Lia started to wonder if these had found their way down here during some natural disaster. The large puddles of stagnant water made her lean towards a hurricane. 

As they walked, not speaking, Lia had time to think. She hated having time to think. About where they were. About her siblings. About Selina.

“-ia? You with me?” Nightwing pulled her mind away from its wandering. 

“What?” She turned to see his face faintly lit from the back glow of the flashlight. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

“Something on your mind?” He turned towards her fully, letting the beam of light fall to the floor and illuminating their feet.

“Uhh, yeah.” She kicked at the ground with a sheepish smile. “Just wondering what Cat’s gonna call in those favors for.”

“What favors?” He tilted his head to the side slightly. 

“In exchange for rain checking that fancy-pants party, y’alls weapons, and picking up Bernard and dropping him off at the entrance to the Labyrinth, I owe Selina a handful of favors.” 

“She really did that?” He seemed incredibly surprised.

“Yeah,” she chuckled as she started to keep walking. The light rose as Nightwing followed her. “She probably woulda dropped it, but I thought it would make her feel a little less like…” she let out an uneasy breath. “Like I wouldn’t be coming back.” That was too much. Too honest. He has enough to deal with. I shouldn’t’ve said that.

“Does that happen a lot?” She turned to watch him. His face was carefully blank. “People not coming back?”

“Too often.” She nodded before she looked away, finding his gaze too heavy to meet. She let her eyes land on a crack spider-webbing through the wall. Followed the shadowed lines to their farthest reaches. “Some leave on quests and never come back.” She reached her hand up to trace the wall. The lines looked delicate but the stone wouldn’t budge under her finger. “Some decided Camp just isn’t where they wanted to be and left.” She stood on her tiptoes to follow the crack as far as she could. “Others fall in battle.” She let her hand fall back to her side. “We burn shrouds for anyone missing in action. To make sure their souls reach the afterlife. Just in case.”

“How many people have you burned shrouds for?” 

“More than I’d care to count.” She hid her hands in her pockets as they started to tremble a little and turned back to the vigilante. He seemed to hesitate a bit before asking the question on his mind.

“How many were your siblings?” She knew it was coming, could’ve seen on his face that this was going to be a hard question. Hard to ask and hard to answer. She felt her hands clench in her jacket pockets.

“Eleven.” She smiled sadly. It reflected back to her on Nightwing’s face, though his own was probably more sympathetic than her own. “But I don’t think this is what you were trying to get my attention about.” She prompted him, hoping he’d return to his original question. Nightwing seemed to understand. Probably from talking to victims.

“Bernard said you had been down here before. When was that?” Now that? That was a question she could answer. 

“I’ve been down here a couple of times.” She turned around and started following the wall again. “Most recently was a couple of years ago when we realized it had reformed after Daedelus’ death. Once Chiron had deemed it safe enough we started to explore. Demigods are also easily classified as adrenaline junkies. A labyrinth no longer under someone’s sinister control? Well, that’s kinda like a field trip to the zoo for us year rounders.” She joked. “But a couple of us ended up in Russia and Chiron decided it was for the best if we avoided it.”

Nightwing had caught up to her and was walking by her side. “You said ‘most recently’. So when was the first?”

“First time I ran away from Camp.”

“You ran away?” Nightwing stumbled slightly but she stopped herself from laughing. A lot of people reacted that way when she told them. “But I thought Camp Half-Blood was a safe place for demigods?”

“For the most part. Now they’ve got this barrier that monsters and mortals can’t pass through. But when Cat dropped me off, we had a patrol schedule. Everyone had a shift. But I also…” she thought about how to phrase it. “I was something of a freak at Camp, when I arrived. Not many people liked me.” She carefully climbed over a large piece of concrete.

“Why?” He asked as he climbed after her.

“I had a hellhound with me.” She smiled at the memory. Her friend when she had no one.

“A hellhound!?”

“Yeah, but pretty much no one was happy about me showing up with him. Let alone allow him to stay there.” She remembered throwing herself between the swords, knives, arrows, and spears. All of the shouting and dirty looks. “But I wouldn’t let them hurt my puppy, and Chiron wouldn’t let me leave. So Riley got to stay. And I became Camp’s most hated camper.” She remembered Riley’s sweet little face. His blue puppy eyes hadn't darkened yet. How his tongue would loll out of his mouth as he trotted beside her. His soft dark fur and his huge paws. She remembered her dad said that a puppy’s paws told you how big they’d get. She’d hoped Riley would be big like Tulip.

“And that's why you ran away? Because they didn’t like you or your dog?” He asked, trying to understand.

“Riley got hurt pretty bad and had to be put down.” She felt the weight of the knife on her belt burning into her hip. 

“What happened?”

“I found him injured in the forest. I never found out who did it.” She swallowed the emotion in her throat. “Figured that was a pretty clear sign to get lost. So I ran. And ended up in the Labyrinth.”

“How old were you?”

“I was eight.” Her heart clenched so hard she almost couldn’t breathe. That day was a day she would never forget. She could remember everything in perfect detail. The trees, the grass. Riley and his injuries, his cries of pain. They both stopped at the beginning of an overpass ramp. “We should go up.”

“Shouldn’t we follow the base of the wall?” 

“Nah,” she smiled at him. “Most people will tell you to beware the Labyrinth. That it’ll try and trick you. Make you take the path most likely to kill you. And that’s true, but only when there’s someone controlling it. But left to its own devices? It’s a prankster, not a killer. And a long time ago I learned that if you’re willing to follow the path the Labyrinth sets before you? It’ll lead you exactly where you need to be.” She started the steep ascent, wondering again where these debris came from.

“And where did you need to be?” Nightwing called, walking after her. “After Riley?”

“After Riley? I needed a friend. And that’s exactly where it took me.” She reached the top of the ramp where it leveled out and looked out at the cavern. Some of the debris held the ceiling up like support beams and with as dark as it was she couldn’t see specifics. But she could see a small light on the wall. Bernard, Red Robin, and Signal were doing alright then. She hoped he was doing alright. It made her antsy to be so far away.

“And the times after that?” Nightwing stopped beside her, staring out at the sea of destruction. She wondered what it would look like a little more illuminated. Maybe by bioluminescent algae. That was something that grew in caves. And possibly some lightning bugs. She’d bet money that it would look enchanting and magical. Nature reclaiming the world. She wondered if Pan had ever dreamed of this. Of the Wild reclaiming what man had stolen from it. At the very least she knew Dr. Isley did.  

“Same place. Similar reasons.” She told him. “Come on, we should keep going.” And they continued on, walking in silence. Lia kept her hands in her pockets, searching the wall for an exit. They followed the dilapidated highway, climbing over debris and walking around gaping holes where the concrete was missing. Lia felt like she had watched something like this once. Maybe with Alice? Alice had a love for scary movies that most of their siblings didn’t share. So most of the time Lia would offer to watch them with her if Connor or Julia weren’t up to watching it with her. This setting felt like a post apocalyptic zombie movie. 

With the flashlight illuminating the road in front of them, Lia could see where it dipped back down to meet the cavern’s natural floor. She wondered if the Labyrinth consciously pulled the debris down here and arranged it to it’s liking or if it simply appeared this way. Unfortunately, as they made their way around chunks of concrete and rebar, they reached a chasm. It spanned maybe fouty-five feet, far beyond Lia’s long jump capabilities. 

“Any ideas?” Nightwing asked as he looked around for a way to cross. Apparently, coming up just as short as she was. He moved the light around and something above their heads caught her eye. A steel pole jutted out from the wall and over the middle of the chasm. It was mostly parallel to either side of the chasm. But is it sturdy enough? 

“One.” She told him, tearing her eyes back to the vigilante. “Can you give me a boost?” She felt a grin tug at her lips. Nightwing followed where her gaze had been and then back to her with a concerned expression on his face.

“What’s your plan with that? Free tetanus?” She barked out a laugh.

“No,” she assured him. “Use it to swing us across. Ya know, like monkey bars?”

“There’s normally more than one bar.” He seemed pretty skeptical. “And they’re smooth. That one,” he pointed at the metal bar in question, “is going to cut our hands to pieces.”

“Oh, come on!” She couldn’t help but giggle at his hesitation. “Have a little faith!”

“I do have faith.” He told her matter-of-factly. “Faith that you’re gonna get tetanus.”

“Well, fine, but maybe have a little more faith.” She told him as she looked back at the pole, the light now shining directly on it.

“Are you even sure that’ll hold your weight?” He persisted.

“One way to find out.” She shrugged.

“And if you fall?”

“I’m sure you’ll catch me.” She looked back to see a strange expression on Nightwing’s face that she wasn’t able to recognize before it disappeared. 

“Now I see what Cat meant about ‘no sense of self-preservation’.” He shook his head with a huffed laugh. Lia shook her head with a smile tugging at her lips. 

“Yeah, yeah. Can you give me a boost or not?” Nightwing sighed at her question but moved closer to the chasm. First, he set down the light so it would illuminate the pole she would be grabbing onto, which was much appreciated. And then he knelt down and made a basket with his hands.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” he told her. She grinned and backed up father.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She wiggled her toes a little in her shoes, tightening the straps of her bag so that there was no give between it and her body, and then ground them into the ground, and crouched a little. “Ready?”

“I still think we could find another way.”

“Live a little, Nightwing.” She chastised humorously. He sighed.

“Ready when you are.” His tone was begrudging but she could see the smile tugging at his lips.

She nodded to him, and then she shot forward. She tried not to go too fast. One, because there was always the chance she went too fast he wouldn’t have time to boost her into the air. And two, she needed her stride to end with her foot in his hands. So she raced forward, mindful of her stride, and when her foot landed in Nightwing’s hand she was launched into the air. 

It honestly reminded her a little bit of when he was chasing her around the Batcave. She had made a mad jump for a metal bar then too. 

She kept her limbs in motion, and in no time she was reaching out to grab ahold of the metal. It bit into her hands and pulled at her joints, her bandaged arm screamed in pain as her muscles pulled at the stitches. Her body swung forward and she held her breath, waiting for it to either hold her weight or collapse. It reverberated a little but held and she let herself breathe as she began to swing her body back and forth, tucking her knees into her chest, so that on the last back swing she could hook her knees over it. And let her lower body fall down so she could look back at Nightwing.

“Still think this was a bad idea?” She asked with a smirk.

“We probably could have found a safer way.” He pointed out once more.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say.” She rolled her eyes, though she wasn’t sure how effective the pout was upside down.

“You know, I’m just now realizing that we could’ve grappled across.” He frowned.

“But you do that all the time. Don’t you?”

“It’s a tried and true method.” He shrugged.

“But where’s the fun in that? Now get up here.” She stretched her arms towards him and made little grabby hands at him. “And I’ll swing you across.”

“What?” He froze. 

“It’ll be fun! And with me up here already you don’t have to jump as far or as high.” She explained happily. 

“I..I don’t-“ He started, an uncertain look on his face…maybe. It was kind of disorienting looking at someone upside down while trying to have a conversation. 

“Come on!” She cut him off, tilting her head to the side and smiling. “Don’t you trust me?”

Nightwing hesitated, she could see it in the way he stood. And he had every right to. He had very little reason to trust her. Yet, here he was. In this sentient maze, helping her complete a quest so she could save her family. But then she watched him do something curious. He reached down and grabbed the flashlight, and put it in his pocket, snuffing out the light. They were plunged into darkness, and the smile dropped from her face. Lia wasn’t sure if she was seeing the outline of objects or just afterimages, her mind trying to place what should be there. 

Crack.

Red light flooded her vision and she watched as it was thrown forward, to the edge of the chasm. A road flare. Apparently her silence was telling of her confusion.

“I’d hate to leave our flashlight stranded over here on its own.” He told her from where he had backed away, a little farther than she had. 

“Well then, hurry up.” She called down to him. “It’s rude to keep a lady waiting, ya know!” And then he was running towards the concrete’s edge. Lia started to swing herself backwards and forwards slightly so she could reach her hands farther towards him. And then he reached the ledge and leaped for her. For a couple terrifying moments, she was worried he would fall into the abyss beneath them, that she wouldn’t catch him and there would be nothing she could do to fix it. But then his hands grabbed hold of her wrists and she did the same, clutching tightly. Her arms screamed in pain as she held Nightwing’s full weight. Her arms shook slightly and the metal bit into the backs of her knees even more than it already was, but the bar didn’t budge. She didn’t let herself relax though, they still had to reach the other side. 

“Let me know when you think you have enough momentum to make it across.” She told him on the back swing and he nodded as they swung back towards where they had just been. Lia felt his hand squeeze her forearms tighter than he was already clutching them. She wondered if he was worried she would drop him. She clutched him tighter too, in the hopes it would reassure him. It seemed to, because before their third backswing he called up to her.

“Let go when we reach the top of our swing!” That didn’t give her much time to argue the point. So when they reached the top of the backswing she let go and he disappeared from her vision as she swung away. Unable to squash her curiosity, she let the forward swing carry her up so she could grab the bar again. She let her legs fall back down, righting herself, as she watched Nightwing summersault through the air bathed in the red light of the flare. She held her breath as he vaulted towards the ledge. 

Lia watched, unable to do anything except dangle from the metal bar. If he didn’t make it there would be nothing she could do. She held her breath as he started to lose altitude too fast. He wasn’t going to land on the ledge. He was going to fall, and she had asked him to trust her. He was the reason he would fall to his death. She hung stiffly and breathed in shallow breaths so she wouldn’t pass out suspended in air, until he finally rolled safely onto the concrete. 

“Nightwing?!” She called out worriedly. But she was able to breathe a sigh of relief as he raised his hand, though in the low red light of the flare it took her a second to make out the thumbs up as he groaned to show he was alive. “My turn, I guess.” She said to herself. 

She swung her feet forwards and backwards, building her own momentum. She had farther to go since she wasn’t being swung by someone else. And then something about what she was doing…she couldn’t stop herself. The bar wasn’t built for it. Her hands weren’t chalked or wrapped. Yet she still hauled herself up on the backswing, and when she swung back down and forward she pushed her body to do a full circle around the bar before dismounting, tucking her body into itself as she hurtled towards the ground. 

She opened her eyes to look where she was landing, and her heart dropped. She wasn’t close enough. She was going to fall. Lia couldn’t let herself fall. She had a job to do. Her family needed her and she would not let them down. She wouldn’t leave them behind like Luke.

Her body untucked and her hand shot out and grabbed a piece of rebar poking out of the concrete where the rest of the bridge had crumbled away. The force of it all pulled harshly on her shoulder. Though this time she had used her uninjured arm. Not the one that was stitched and bandaged and throbbing from strain and exertion because she had never really gotten the hang of being careful with her injuries.

She reached her injured arm up to grasp at a small handhold where pre-existing concrete had fallen away, and began to haul herself up. Her body screamed in pain and her muscles ached and shook. But she pulled herself up slowly until her feet were able to find holds and she climbed towards where she could see nightwing shining the light down at her. He was probably saying something, but the ringing in her ears drowned it out. When she got close enough to the top, the light disappeared and she registered hands helping to haul her over the ledge and onto solid concrete. She was tempted to lie down on the ground there, but she forced herself to crawl farther away. Knowing her luck, the edge would crumble beneath her and she would be sent tumbling into the abyss again. When she finally allowed herself to collapse and truly breathe, she finally distinguished words from the insistent ringing.

“Lia! Where are you hurt?” Nightwing’s worried voice was right next to her, and she turned towards him as her body protested, her eyes squinted at the brightness of the flashlight.

“Not my best landing.” She tried for a laugh but it came out weak and tired. “Batgirl would be ashamed.”

“Lia, I’m serious.” His tone and the set of his jaw backed up his statement. “You almost fell to your death! And your arm. That much force co-”

“Could’ve dislocated it.” She finished for him as she pushed herself into a sitting position with her feet out in front of her. “Believe me, I’m well aware. What about you? You hit the ground pretty hard. Looks like it knocked the wind out of you.” Nightwing stared at her for a second in shock before he chuckled, the beam of the flashlight dipping to the ground.

“Are you sure you have a sense of self preservation?” 

“Quite positive.” She rolled her eyes and let her palms land on the floor behind her to hold her up. But the moment her hands hit the floor, the stinging made her elbows buckle and she curled back in on herself as she hissed in pain. Her hands closed as she hid them against her chest. 

“Let me see your hands.” His voice was gentle and coaxing. Without waiting for a response, Nightwing carefully pulled her hands to where he could see them in the light as she unfolded them. She could see his lips start to tug into a smirk.

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” He asked innocently.

“Don’t say I told you so.” Her words came out with a laugh as she looked at the destroyed surface of her hands. She could feel him watching her face as she took in the damage. The thick skin and calluses were ripped and hanging off in some places. Debris and dirt stuck into the raw flesh underneath and mingled with the blood that coated it like shiny syrup.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” His tone was sarcastic. Lia was sure if Nightwing’s eyes were visible they would be rolling. “We should clean those. Hold on.” He pulled his bag off his back and started rummaging around for something. He withdrew a box that Lia recognized as a first aid kit and a bottle of distilled water.

“Oh, no. Wait-”

“Lia we need to-”

“No.” She spoke a little louder in the hopes he would listen, pulling her hands back towards her chest. “Don’t waste those. You might need the bandages later.”

“We gotta clean and wrap them up.” Nightwing argued with a frown, his hand on the water bottle’s cap.

“But if-”

“No buts.” Lia pouted at his authoritative tone and held her hands out again with a huff. 

Some people just refuse to listen.

She sat passively as he poured water over her hands to rinse off the blood and the larger bits of gravel and glass. Grimacing and cursing under her breath as Nightwing used a pair of tweezers to remove the smaller particles embedded in her hands. And then a small pair of scissors to cut away the excess skin that had been torn away. But when he went to reach for the bandages, Lia pulled her hands away.

“Alright, Blue Bird.” She reached for a small flask and a bandanna that sat in one of her many side pockets. “My turn.”

“Blue Bird?” He asked indignantly, though there was something else. Something she couldn’t name.

“You wear one on your chest.” She explained as she carefully uncapped the flask of Nectar. Her hands were still raw, and the movement made them sting that much more. She brought the mouth of the flask to the clean bandanna and let the divine drink soak into the fabric.

‘What is that? What are you doing?”

“Stopping you from wasting bandages.” She told him as she gently brought the cloth to her left palm. She dabbed it carefully against the ruined skin. She hissed slightly as the skin heated and began to knit itself back together and pulled the cloth away. A little goes a long way. 

“What is that?!” He looked down at her palm in shock. There was no longer any sign that her hands and even had so much as a scratch.

“Nectar.” She couldn’t help the smirk on her face. “The drink of the Gods. It has the ability to heal demigods.” She then started her efforts on the other hand. Dabbing at the lacerations where blood was once again starting to well.

“When didn’t you say something earlier?!”

“You weren’t listening.” She shrugged. “Besides, they needed to be cleaned anyway.”

“And in the cave? With the slash on your arm?”

“I also tried to tell you guys that I would be fine.” She reminded him. “Cat’s the one who made the executive decision. I just know that there’s rarely any point in arguing with her.” She pulled the bandanna away as her skin again started to knit back together.

“That must come in handy.” He commented.

“Yeah, but it’s only for emergencies. Bernard probably stocked a bunch of potions and medical supplies into his bag. I even asked him to grab some mortal friendly items.”

“Mortal friendly?”

“Yeah, Nectar?” She held up the flask before screwing it shut. “Deadly to mortals. Deadly to Demigods too. If we use too much. It’ll burn you to ash.” She looked up at his slack jawed expression.

“Boy am I glad I asked.” He said when he came back to himself. 

“And now you can keep those bandages for when you need them.” She shoved the flask and the bandanna back into their pocket, and then she got to her feet. The nectar, while it had focused on the damage to her hands, slowly sank into the cut on her arm and the fatigue in her limbs. “We should get going. Don’t want to keep the others waiting, now do we?” Nightwing stared at her for a second, before getting to his feet with an amused expression. 

“Lead the way, Lia.”

***

Dick watched Lia carefully as they continued on. Down the ramp back to the natural cave floor, searching for an exit or to eventually meet back up with Tim, Duke, and Bernard. 

Lia was a…character. A conundrum. Dick found himself reviewing everything he currently knew about her in the hopes that other pieces might fall into place.

She had walked straight into the Batcave, something no one else had ever done. She had saved their lives without even knowing who they were, and had been injured in the process. And had then tried to leave without medical attention. 

Alfred had revealed his secret tattoo that an entire family of vigilante detectives had no idea he even had. She had asked Duke and Jason for their autographs. Jason might’ve been used to it from how much the Crime Alley kids idolized him. But Duke had practically had stars in his eyes. When Lia had fallen asleep, Duke was talking about how big a fan her little brother was. How she had gotten him a Signal hoodie that even had bat ears like his helmet. Despite being Gotham’s one and only daytime hero, Duke rarely interacted with the public. In an attempt to seem as mysterious as the rest of the Bats.

And then she had tried to leave again, and she had even punched Dick in the face. And damn had there been a lot of force behind it. He might not have been a stranger to taking a punch. But that punch? He honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if it had given him a hairline fracture. And then, when he had gone to take her a change of clothes from her bag, which despite its weight maybe had a weeks worth of clothes, she had seen the nasty bruise and grimaced. Had apologized.

Then the next night she had escaped. They had made sure she had absolutely no way of picking the lock. It was a number pad with an eight digit code. If the wrong code was entered, even once, an alarm would sound throughout the entire cave and an alert would show up on everyone’s personal devices. But the alarm hadn’t gone off. No one had been notified. Dick had just felt the smallest sensation of being watched while Tim, Steph, and Duke were arguing about Lia’s bag. Which looked like a pretty standard hiking bag. Loads of pockets with zippers. Some places had been patched, others had stickers from places she had presumably traveled to. But it weighed at least two hundred pounds. Which again, was weird when all they could find in it when they checked was clothes, and none of their scanners had worked. Tim had eventually called Constantine, who had flaked out last minute, to come and determine if it was magic. And if so, where the magical item had been bought, and potentially stolen from. 

And then they had learned that Lia was Selina’s little sister. That Selina had almost a dozen little siblings. According to their ‘mortal’ records, Lia had one sibling, an older brother. Orion Vanguard, age thirty-two, who lived in their family home in Georgia with his wife; Caitlyn Vanguard, age thirty-one. And their twin daughters, Ruby and Scarlett, age seven. She also had two adopted children. The youngest and first to be adopted. Wallace Green, age four, had been adopted after his mother had died. Before Vanessa Green’s death due to a rare terminal disease, she had added that Wallace would be left in the care of one Aurelia Vanguard, newly aged twenty-one at the time of adoption. At first it had seemed underhanded and suspicious to Dick. Nothing they could find showed that Vanessa and Lia had ever interacted before except for some grainy hospital footage that showed Lia, and a man they could find absolutely nothing on, talking while Vanessa lay weakly in a hospital bed. At the time Wally was being housed by the state of New York in a foster home. 

And then the second adoption. Sutton Weiss, age ten, had been adopted barely a month after her mother’s mysterious death. The official police reports said wild animal attack, but when they had dug deeper it looked like the local precinct had suspicions of it being the beginnings of a serial killer. Sutton’s two maternal grandparents had been ruled unfit to take her in by the state due to their age, and low income. But before she could be placed in a foster home, Lia had appeared and applied for adoption. An application which had gone through suspiciously fast. Incredibly suspicious. 

And Selina’s records from her time at one of Gotham’s sketchier orphanages had burned long ago in a fire. Probably set by the orphanage itself in an attempt to traffic their wards for money. She had all her important documents. Though how many of those were government issued over illegally forged, Dick had no idea. But with Lia’s appearance, and all the revelations she brought with her? They were learning so much about her. 

Like the fact that they were daughters of the Greek god Hermes.

What?

But It made sense. After learning it, it made so much sense that Dick wanted to groan at how stupid he felt after it clicked in his head. 

And then Lia had mentioned Alley. No one had talked about Alley Cat since Bruce had come back from meeting with Selina to tell them what news she had. Dick hadn’t believed him. 

Bruce was starting to get better. Less violent, less self-destructive after Jason’s death. But it was still a subject avoided at all costs. Especially with everything that had happened between the two of them after the fact.

So Dick hadn’t believed him. Had thought he had misheard Selina, and that his own grief had twisted her words. So he had gone to hear it straight from the source.

“She’s gone, Nightwing.” Dick would never forget the look in Selina’s eyes. A horrible swirl of grief and sadness and frustration. “She’s gone and she’s never coming back.” And that’s all she would say on the subject. Dick had asked what had happened to her. But Selina had disappeared for months. Not even Babs was able to find her. Until there was a small sighting in Manhattan, and then various luxury resorts around the globe before showing up back in Gotham a year later.

And Dick had been left with questions on top of questions. Grief on top of grief. What had happened to her? What was her name? Where was she buried? Why had she started avoiding him when he had debuted as Nightwing? He had tried to go and see her, after he and Bruce had started helping with each other’s cases. He had wanted to explain what had happened with Robin and why he had left. How he had been staying with the Titans and Batman wasn’t letting him back in Gotham. And that’s why he hadn’t said goodbye. But she avoided him like she avoided Batman and Batgirl. One of his closest friends wouldn’t let him say a single word. And then she died a year after Jason, whose death Bruce was still kinda reeling from. And Tim had only interacted with her a couple of times as Robin. And he was left with only his memories since she had never been caught on camera. 

She wasn’t even a major thief. Sure, she had helped Cat with some of her heists. But if left to her own devices, she mostly stole little knick knacks, little trinkets that wouldn’t be missed.

And then Lia had mentioned her. And with all the new information he had, he started to connect some dots. 

Originally, he thought Alley might’ve been from the same orphanage as Selina, though there were no records of any children matching Alley’s description. But now, it made sense that she might be a daughter of Hermes. That she had also been Selina’s little sister. Though, Alley had only ever called her ‘Cat’ or ‘Catwoman’. Not ‘Kitty’. 

But now, walking right next to Dick, was someone else who knew about her. Someone who had charmed not only Jason and Cass, but Damien. Damien, who didn’t really care for anyone except animals, and a few carefully selected ‘allies’. Dick could tell that Damien had been…apprehensive about apologizing to her. Damien didn’t consider Selina to be his future Stepmom. But Damien could tell how stressed Bruce was over the whole situation. He had even volunteered to smooth things over. 

Selina had told them that Lia probably wouldn’t care at all. That she would probably just assume she was dehydrated. Which Lia had assumed. And when Dick had told her what had actually happened…she hadn’t even blinked an eye. Had taken the explanation in stride, had agreed. Had said she’d do the same.

And then she stood still as she looked death in the eyes. Had cracked jokes. And despite almost dying simply by standing too close to the god, had immediately started to stand up. Determined to complete the quest entirely on her own without backup. Hadn’t once considered taking Signal with her, despite Thanatos saying it was the only way she would succeed. 

When Duke spoke up, Dick expected it. They were all a little in awe of Lia. When Tim had spoken up, he had seen his opening. Brice would never let the two of them go with just Lia into a place they knew pretty much nothing about. But if Dick went with them, there would be safety in numbers. And he could try to learn what Lia knew about his dead friend. Ask the questions Selina had refused to answer four years ago.

But Lia, all on her own, was interesting. 

“Don’t you trust me?”

He did. Dick had no idea why, but he did. She just seemed too familiar. Maybe it was because she was possibly Alley’s sister? They were so much alike it almost hurt. Her jokes, the way she moved, her hair, her smile. The chase had made him nostalgic for the later years of his tenure as Robin. But they were different too. 

Lia was more…mature? She seemed to make most of her decisions based on what needed to be done, not what she wanted to do. She was easy-going. Not in a ‘I’ll go where the wind takes me’ way. But in a ‘the safest way to get through a river’s rapids is to let them wash you away’ way. She seemed resigned to what the world had in store for her. Alley had always done everything her way, everyone else be damned. But Lia seemed to expect things to not go her way. Like she had seen too much and she figured the easiest course of action was to just take life’s punches as they came at her. Her attitude towards those gashes from Emelia, and the cut’s from Damien’s sword were proof of that. The scars he had glimpsed felt like proof of that, too. The wide lines of scar tissue on her lower back were nauseating. Dick had to consciously stop himself from asking about them, but he kept seeing them behind his eyes.

“You okay there, Blue Bird?” Lia’s careful voice cut through his thoughts. 

 “What?” He looked up at her, from where he had been zoning out.

“You look like you’re light years away.” She said with a laugh. It was a beautiful laugh. Musical, almost. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, nah, just thinking.” She laughed again.

“Well, don’t hurt yourself.” She teased with a smirk that looked almost identical to Alley’s.

“Alright, alright.” He joked back. “Find anything?” He shined his flashlight on the wall but his eyes were only met with solid stone.

“No. But I think the boys did.” He turned to Lia to see her gesturing forward. And when he followed her gaze he saw another light source not too far away. It was Duke’s powers. Dick could recognize his little brother’s light anywhere.

“Guess, we better go see what they’ve found.”

“Probably. If I’ve learned anything from living at a summer camp since I was eight, it’s not to leave teenage boys unsupervised for too long.” Her tone was fond and amused.

“Fair enough.” Dick agreed with a laugh as they walked towards the light. Remembering all of the pranks he used to pull with Wally, Roy, and Garth. Simpler times.

Chapter Text

“Did y’all find something?” Lia called out as they made their way closer to the three teenagers. 

“Lia.” Something in the way Bernard said her voice had her moving faster. 

“What is it?” She asked worriedly. She saw the arch that had been carved into the wall, though there was no opening. It was just solid stone. But once she reached Bernard’s side, sliding past Red Robin, it began to shudder.

“What’s going on?” Nightwing asked as he caught up to the rest of them. She hadn’t meant to run ahead. But before she could apologize, the stone began sinking seamlessly into the ground. Lia had stepped between Bernard and the archway, in case anything came out of the opening at them. But when the Nightwing shined his light into the opening, all that was visible was a corridor. Same as the one they had been walking before they entered this cavern. Though there weren’t any pools of still water on either side of the path. Nothing about the tunnel seemed off. But there once again there was that inexplicable feeling of being watched.

“Looks like we found our way out.” Lia let her sword fall back into its sheath where she had begun to draw it. And turned to Bernard. “Good work, Ber-“ And then she stopped dead at the look on his face. He didn’t look terrified or scared or hurt. He looked like he was grieving. “What's wrong?” The worry in her voice was palpable. Bernard hadn’t moved at all when the stone wall had sunk away. And even now he didn’t move his eyes to look at her or anyone else. They were glued to something, and the look on his face made her want to do anything but turn to see what it was. 

“Lia.” His voice was quiet with a slight tremble. And she made herself follow his line of sight. Her eyes met bright orange, or what had once been bright orange, and her breath caught in her throat.

No.

She took in exactly what her eyes were seeing. In an alcove off to the left side of the doorway, a couple of feet above the ground, was a skeleton. Dressed in black pants and a Camp t-shirt, both of which were falling apart and full of moth holes. A camp necklace around the spinal column, resting on the ribcage on top of the tattered shirt. There was a bow in its hand. A leather strap ran diagonally across its front, holding a quiver to its back. She could see a couple of arrows still poking out of the top. The light glinted across the material, where it hit gold embroidery. She made herself swallow. Made herself breathe. No.

“Do..” Bernard hesitated. “Do you know who it is?” 

She did. She knew exactly who it was. She knew how old he had been when he’d arrived at Camp. And she knew how old he had been when he had died.  She had seen him shoot his first arrow. Had watched him be claimed. Lia had laughed with him days before his death. Had held Marley as she cried into Lia’s shoulder when his shroud was burned. And there he was. Strung up on the wall like a decoration. 

“Yeah…it’s,” she took a breath. “It’s Michael Yew. He died when the Williamsburg Bridge collapsed during the Battle of Manhattan.”

“What cabin was he in?” Red Robin’s voice was soft and the question was spoken slowly. 

“He was the Head Counselor of Cabin 7.” She turned slightly to look at Bernard, and watched the realization dawn on his face. Watched the sadness grow in his eyes. 

“I don’t remember him.” Bernard whispered, horrified. Lia put a comforting hand on his arm gently. Allowing him room to move away if he felt like it. 

“You spent most of your time with Cabin 11 before you were claimed. I think you only met him once or twice.” She did her best to make her tone reassuring, but it was pointless. What did you say to someone who was looking at the skeleton of a brother they had never known? 

“Lia…” Signal said hesitantly. “There’s another one on this side.” Lia looked on the other side of the door and saw an identical alcove. Her heart clenched. 

The skeleton in the alcove on the right side of the door was smaller than Michael. Wearing blue jean overalls over a Camp shirt, both just as worse for wear as Michael’s. Only the shirt wasn't standard. It had been tie dyed. Bleached first, and then the bleached bits had been dyed a lighter orange. The camp necklace that hung from her neck had smaller glass beads in between the ones Camp gave out at the end of each summer. Lia’s brain replaced the bare skull with unruly blood red curls and a bright smile. Daisy earrings where earlobes no longer existed. Friendship bracelets that should’ve adorned her left wrist but were long gone. She wanted to cry, could feel her eyes sting and moisture gathered in her tear ducts. 

“Is that..?” Bernard asked slowly, and her hand fell to her side as she stared at the skeleton on her little sister. She swallowed, hoping when she spoke her voice wouldn’t sound as broken as she felt.

“Yeah.” Unsuccessful. Her voice was so thick with emotion that the word was barely audible. She swallowed again. “Yeah, its-”

“Lia!” An achingly family voice called out. An ethereal blur shot towards her and knocked her to the floor. “You’re here! You’re really here!” Lia’s arms instinctively started to wrap around the form of her little sister.

“Lizzie-“ She breathed out the name. She should be asking one of the dozens of questions running through her head. But all she could find herself saying was her name.. And before she could come back to herself, Lizzie pulled away from where her arms had wrapped around Lia’s neck.

“You can help us!” And then Lizzie was shooting off, straight towards where Michael’s body hung on the wall. She stopped just shy of the wall before calling up to him. “Mikey! Mikey, wake up! Lia’s here!” As Lizzie shouted, Lia scrambled to her feet and took a couple of cautionary steps closer to the transparent figure.

“Lizzie?” The sea of questions in her head finally began to clear. “What’s going on? How are you here? Why haven’t yo-” She cut her questions short as she saw Lizzie huff out a breath and start to back up. “What are you..?” And then it dawned on her. She had thought her mind was replacing the last time she had seen Lizzie over her skeleton. But Lizzie looked exactly as Lia had imagined her. As if she had been sitting there, until she had noticed her audience.

Then Lizzie shot forward and jumped at the last second. Lia took another step forward, expecting to watch her sister face plant into the wall, knowing there was pretty much nothing she could do to stop it now that Lizzie was moving. But instead of crashing into solid stone, Lizzie’s hands wrapped around Michael’s ankle bone. Her shoes gripped at the wall for leverage and she yanked. Lia watched in horrified joy as Lizzie and Michael both fell to the floor in a heap.

“What the hell, Lizzie?” Michael shrieked as he extricated himself from the pile. His spiky black hair and permanent squint were the same as they had been the last time she had seen him four years ago. “I told you not to wake me up like that!”

“Look, Mikey! Lia’s here!” Lizzie pushed herself to her feet excitedly, unaffected by Michael’s annoyance as she pointed at Lia. “She’ll be able to help us.” The reassurance, the complete trust in her little sister’s voice made her heart clench.

“Lizzie?” Lia repeated herself. Lizzie and Michael’s attention snapped to her, like a deer in headlights. She could see the shock at her presence written all over his pinched face.

“Lia? Holy Hades,” Michael blinked harshly. “It really is you. What are you doing down here?”

“What am I doing down here?” She repeated indignantly. “What are you doing down here?”

“I asked you first.” He countered. 

“That’s not important right now!” Lizzie interrupted.

“Lizzie-” Lia tried to start her question again, but Lizzie spoke over her once more.

 “Lia helps Penny all the time. Which means she’ll totally be able to help us. Right, Lia?”

“Help you with what?” Lizzie had always been all over the place. It was something Lizzie’s mother had lamented when she had first brought her to Camp. Lia had used to laugh at her whirlwind of a sister. But now, with everything she had learned recently, it only stressed her.

When Lizzie went quiet and took a step back, Michael began to talk.

“You used to help that daughter of Thanatos, right?” Michael’s voice was even, but Lia could sense the hesitation. The hope.

“Yeah,” she said with a slight shake of her head. But why was that important? “But-” And then it dawned on her. They had both appeared out of their skeletons. And they both had items with sentimental value. Enough sentimentally value that…Lia’s eyes went wide. “Your souls are tethered.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“What?” Bernard had been quiet where he was standing slightly behind her. “Lia, what are you-”

“Get him down.” She started to back away, her eyes still on the spectral form of her little sister and Bernard’s older brother.

“What?!” He called over his shoulder. 

“Lia, what’s going on?” Nightwing sounded stressed. A quick glance showed her he looked as anxious as she felt.

“Their souls are stuck to their bodies. Unless we can find what’s tethering them, they’ll never be able to pass on.” She told him as she nearly ran into Red Robin before spinning past him at the last second. “Get his body down.” She rushed for the wall underneath Lizzie’s body and began to climb the wall. Her fingers gripped where the stone had been chiseled away and she hauled herself up. Bringing a leg up to stabilize herself, she drew her knife and drove it into the wall. It gave her a stable hand hold as she searched for what was holding her sister to the wall. 

She found that there were two large nails under her sister’s armpits, mounting her to the wall like a painting. She went to pick her up only to freeze. She wouldn’t be able to get her down on her own. Off the wall? Yes. But she wasn’t about to manhandle her little sister’s bones. Wasn’t going to risk damaging them in any way. 

“I’ll catch her.” Nightwing called up to her. She looked down to see the whites of his domino mask, the understanding set of his jaw.

“But-” She didn’t even know what she was about to argue about.

“Don’t you trust me?” He added a small smile as he repeated her own words from before back to her. She had trusted him to catch her earlier, and she found herself trusting him with this now. She nodded and used her free hand to carefully wrap her fingers around one of her sister’s ribs and lift it from the wall. She gently lowered Lizzie’s bones until Nightwing was able to take them from her. She yanked her knife from the wall and dropped down next to him. She noticed Bernard, Signal, and Red Robin doing something similar with Michael supervising from a distance. Lizzie however was standing on the other side of the older vigilante. Watching with interest as he carefully cradled her bones. Nightwing looked uncomfortable under her amusing gaze. 

“I’ll take her.” LIa said after sheathing her knife, taking her sister’s bones from the vigilante. Lizzie walked next to her, and Lia didn’t think anything until she felt something catch on her foot, nearly sending her sprawling forward. She was able to catch herself before falling and just stumbled. She looked around the bones in her arms and saw that there was no crack in the floor or debris she should’ve tripped over. Only Lizzie, standing just close enough to be suspicious and just far enough away to call it a coincidence. Lia’s eyes narrowed on the transparent form of her sister..

“What?” Lizzie’s voice was sweet and innocent, like she was genuinely concerned. Lizzie had always been a better liar than Lia, but the mischief in her eyes betrayed her.

“It’s rude to trip people.” Lia reminded her. The normalness of the interaction made her heart clench. It was so casual, like she hadn’t died. Like Lia wasn’t talking to her ghost. Lizzie just stood there and gave her the sweetest smile.

“That’s so silly, Lia.” Lizzie assured her, twirling slightly. “Why would I trip you?”

“You know what else is silly?” Lia asked as she laid Lizzie’s body down on the floor.

“That time we put hot pink hair extensions in Chiron’s tail?”

“Dish duty.” Lia grinned maniacally. Lizzie pouted and crossed her arms with a huff. 

“Dish duty is so not silly.” Lizzie informed her petulantly. “It’s horrible. The last time I had dish duty I got blisters.” She held up three fingers in Lia’s face for her to see. “Three blisters, Lia. And then when I went to the infirmary, Mikey and Will laughed at me.” Lia resisted the urge to laugh at Lizzie’s strife. 

“Maybe you should’ve been more careful.” Michael said as he walked over with the rest of the boys. “If you hadn’t got caught they wouldn’t have given you dish duty.”

“Lia!” Lizzie cried dramatically. 

“Yes, darlin?” Lia tilted her head obliviously, like she had no clue why Lizzie would be turning to her in this situation. 

“You’re supposed to defend me!”

“I am?”

“You’re my big sister. That’s your job.” Lizzie explained exasperatedly. 

“Hmmm.” Lia pretended to think about it. “Sorry Liz, I’m with Mikey on this one. You don’t wanna do the time, don’t get caught mid-crime.” 

“That’s not even a saying!” Lizzie argued. 

“Potato, potahto.” Lia shrugged with a teasing smile. Lizzie crossed her arms again. 

“What now?” Bernard cautiously laid his brother’s skeleton on the floor next to Lizzie. His question shocked Lia back into work mode. She noticed the awkward looks from the two vigilantes flanking him. Signal was focusing more on the two ghosts while Red Robin seemed to be studying Bernard.

“The number one cause of ghosts is emotional tethering.” Lia explained. “A strong connection to someone or something that is keeping their soul tied to the mortal world.”

“So the whole ‘unfinished business’ thing is real?” Signal slightly raised his hand. But as soon as he realized he had raised it his hand dropped.

“So why aren’t there like…millions of ghosts everywhere?” Bernard added. 

“What an amazing question, Bernard. That’s because most of the time, ghosts mind their own business.”

“Hey!” Michael said indignantly.

“Bernard?!” Lizzie looked shell shocked as she whipped her head around to stare at Bernard.

“Chill, Michael.” She raised her hands defensively. “You were happily sleeping in your little bone cage. I’m talking about Lizzie.” Lia assured him as Lizzie and Bernard started chatting. 

“Fair enough.” He conceded. “Now, my soul is tethered to something or someone?”

“Yes! Back to the task at hand. Normally it’s an object of extreme emotional value.” She scanned the skeleton. “And personally I think it’s gonna be your quiver.”

“I mean…it was a gift from my dad.”

“A gift Marley tried to borrow without asking, and you bit her.”

“She shouldn’t have taken it without asking!” He yelled defensively.

“And you shouldn’t have bitten her.”

“You’ve bitten Selina!”

“I was nine when I bit Selina, though it was for an equally petty reason.” Lia agreed.

“Is there a point to be made here?” Nightwing interjected.

“Yes.” Lia turned and nodded. “It’s something you can’t give up. A gift from your dad after you…uhh-” Lia wracked her brain trying to think about why Apollo had gifted his son the quiver. 

“I beat the Carthaginian Serpent?” Michael supplied as he began to calm down. Lia nodded. It sounded vaguely familiar with at least a 67% chance of being complete colchis bull shit.

“Which means there’s a whole lot of emotion and memory weaved in with that embroidery thread.” Lia pointed out.

“Alright…so what do we do?” 

“We remove it.” Lia squatted down and carefully undid the simple buckles. She took a quiet breath to steady herself as she lifted his rib cage and slid it out from underneath him. The arrows rattled in the quiver but stayed put. She paused for a moment before turning to look up at Michael. “Well?”

“Well what?” He gave her a confused look.

“Do you feel different? Lighter?” She suggested, before deciding to lighten the mood. “Liberated, perhaps?” Her joke was unappreciated, as they so often are, if his scowl was anything to go off of.

“I feel fine.” He told her blankly.

“Fine, how?”

“What do you mean ’fine, how?’ I feel fine, Lia.” His pinched expression worsened.

“I feel like something should be happening right now.” Red Robin added hesitantly.

“It should be.” Lia’s brow furrowed as she thought back to all the times she’d seen Penny do this type of thing. The souls usually looked or felt refreshed; lighter; free. Though, Lia had always been more focused on talking to the souls then whatever ritual Penny had been doing to free it. Some had been more noticeable. Like that one lady who’s soul had started to deteriorate so badly she looked like a moth-eaten sweater. Once she had been freed, her soul had completely repaired itself. “Fine, how?” She prompted again.

“I don’t know. Fine. Why do you care?”

“Call it payback for all those questionnaires you used to make me fill out.”

“That’s standard procedure.” He reminded her angrily. It was the same response he’d always given her when she’d been forced to fill them out. 

What type of injury? Where on her body? How severe was it? How bad was the pain? If no pain, how long ago had she lost feeling in the area? Was it localized or spreading? And other useless questions. Lia was certain she could recreate the form from memory with how many she had filled out over the years.

“Yeah, well, maybe this is standard procedure for freeing trapped souls.” She suggested sweetly.

“Is it?” 

“Sure.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Well, you get what you get and all that jazz.” She shrugged. It was possible the tether had already started to fray, and hadn’t been that noticeable to him when she had severed the tie completely. It also might be completely intact. She hoped it was the former. 

“Do you need to like…say something?” Signal suggested.

“No, it’s not witchcraft or anything.” She brought her attention back to the skeletons. The quiver was the only thing on Michael’s body that could’ve possibly been tethering his soul. And while Lizzy had plenty of memories woven into the keepsakes she wore on her body, Lia knew that the tether had to be the necklace. She remembered how excited Lizzie had been to show off the glass beads she had from scratch with her mother. Everything about Lizzie was bright and colorful. Before the redhead had been claimed, Lia had been sure that she would be a daughter of Iris.

She set the quiver carefully on the ground and reached for the necklace. Alarms sounded in her head. Telling her to stop. That this was wrong. It was the worst kind of taboo to take another Camper’s necklace. Proof that they had survived. Something that had been banned long around by one of the first King of Thieves, Dash. But Lia made her hands find the clasp at the back of Lizzie's spinal column and undid it before carefully pulling her hands away. She held them up and watched as Signal’s light hit the glass beads. It illuminated a couple cracks that must’ve happened when- Lia shoved that thought, that memory, far away. She had more important matters to deal with, she could relive the past later. She took a breath and redid the clasp so none of the beads would fall. There were only three camp beads on the necklace. Each one sandwiched by one of the special glass beads. A lightning bolt, the Golden Fleece, and a maze. 

“Lia?” Nightwing pulled her from her daze. “What’s wrong?” She swallowed the thickness in her throat and shook her head.

“Nothing.” She stood up carefully, even though her legs threatened to let her fall. She searched for the transparent form of her sister again. “Lizzie, How do you-,” only to see her in deep conversation with Bernard. “...Feel?” They both looked very serious. 

They were whispering in hushed tones, with their heads nearly knocking together. Lia was reminded that while Bernard was now 18 and Lizzie’s ghost was stuck at 13, four years ago when they had met they had been a couple months apart and fast friends.

“Looks like they’re scheming again.” Michael commented blankly. She nodded in agreement.

“Scheming what, is the question.” She added quietly before speaking a little louder. “What in Hades are you two cooking up over there?”

Like a deer in headlights their whispering cut off as their eyes shot to her. She couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped her at the nostalgia of the situation. Lizzie was always getting into trouble, and after making friends with Bernard, dragging him right along with her. They shared a quick look before turning back.

“Nothing.” Bernard replied quickly, though his tone was unconvincing.

“Bernard did it.” Lizzie spoke at the same time. Lia started laughing. 

“Liz!” Bernard gave her a hurt look. “That is so not cool!” And their bickering resumed.

“You know, they’re a lot like you and Marley.” Lia looked over at the sound of Michael’s voice, there was a contemplative look on his face. 

“Well, history does like to repeat itself.” She shrugged as she looked back at them, bickering quietly while Red Robin watched from a distance with a guarded expression. 

“Did he ever get claimed?” Michael asked carefully. It wasn’t a topic that had been talked about much before the end of the second Titan war. With the Gods claiming their kids on a whim or when they did something particularly heroic that they wanted to acknowledge, it was considered incredibly rude to ask if someone was claimed or not. Especially in Cabin 11, where all of the unclaimed demigods resided. 

“After the Battle of Manhattan.” She nodded. “The Gods wanted to offer Percy godhood for saving Olympus but he turned them down and instead made them swear of the Styx to claim their kids.”

“You’re kidding.” Michael’s mouth hung open. “How is he still alive?”

“Hades doesn’t want him?” She suggested. 

“Yeah they don’t really get along do they…” Michael trailed off and then shook his head. “So you finally got another little brother.” It was her turn to shake her head. 

“That,” she pointed at Bernard, “is all yours.”

“Really? He’s a son of Apollo?” Lia nodded and was about to explain when the bickering ceased and Lizzie turned her without moving her body to stare at her big sister. 

“What?!” Then her head whipped back to Bernard. “You got claimed by Apollo?!” Her voice was full of indignation and disbelief before she whirled her head around to face her older sister. “Lia! How could you let that happen?”

“Nah, you’re not putting that on me.” Lia said quickly. “I have no control of who his parents are.”

“But he was supposed to be our brother!” Lizzie argued.

“I’m right there with you, but Marley literally stole him right out from under me. One minute, we’re having s’mores in the amphitheater and then all of the sudden,” she was gesturing with her hands now, “this sun emblem pops up over his head and Marley and Will are giving each other this odd look and they’re grabbing him and carting him off to Cabin 7 and locking the door! We even tried to steal him back but then Chiron got involved and somehow Sherman got strung up on the tetherball pole and it was right after the battle of Manhattan and no one was really in the mood for our shenanigans and….” Lia stopped herself before she dug herself too deep. And remembered what had started this conversation. “Hold on, What were you two scheming about?”

Lizzie seemed to pause at that, looking at Bernard before turning back to Lia.

“Nothing.” They spoke in unison this time.

“Liars.” Lia and Michael replied immediately. Though Michael hid his behind a cough. Bernard started to look a little cornered. Lia could tell Nightwing was trying not to laugh where he was standing beside her.

“Alright knuckleheads, give it up.” She had perfected her ‘head counselor glare/raised eyebrow’ and it showed with how quickly Bernard cracked.

“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you.” There was a bead of sweat running down his forehead as he held his hands up placatingly. “I promised.” Lia cut her gaze to land solely on her sister.

“You ain’t-” Lizzie paused for a second, thinking about it. “Actually I can tell you!”

“Lizzie-” Bernard looked horrified at the prospect of Lizzie spilling the beans.

“So we had this taskforce, right?”

“Taskforce?” Lia repeated quietly.

“And I’ve been dead for like,” she looked back at Bernard for confirmation, “four years?”

“Y-yes. Well, in like a month. But-”

“Shit, we’ve been down here for four years?” Michaels brow furrowed.

“And I was just asking him how the taskforce was doing. You know, cause I’ve been dead for the last four years.” Lia could tell that Lizzie kept mentioning her death in the hopes that it would derail her from further questions. And she almost succeeded. But curiosity killed the cat, right?

“What taskforce? Camp doesn’t have any task forces? It’s a summer camp.”

“The one we made to get you a boyfriend.” Lizzie said cheerfully. Bernard looked like his soul wished it could escape his body. “Or a girlfriend. A date in general, really.”

“What?!” Lia was so shocked for a second she didn’t register it was her own voice that had spoken. 

“Listen, Lia, it’s not-” Bernard started to explain. 

“It’s not that you can’t get your own date, you just can’t keep them. So Gatlin started a taskforce to prove that you weren’t cursed.” Lizzie spoke with the kind of blunt honesty only a little sister could. The kind that hit you in the face like a baseball bat at terminal velocity. Bernard was starting to look a little pale, glancing quickly from the vigilante’s, to Michael, to Lia. Lia sighed.

“Of course this was Gatlin’s hairbrained idea.”

“I don’t know who you’re calling hairbrained,” Lizzie snorted, “Marta was right there with him. And you said we should always trust Marta’s judgement because she's smarter than all of us combined.”

“I believe I also told you to never be blindly complacent, and to question authority figures,” Lia reminded her dryly. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Lizzie ignored her. “Bernard said they were doing pretty well and that your girlfriend’s name is Story. What’s she like?” Lia could feel her cheeks heat slightly as she debated the morality of trying (and probably failing) to lie to her dead little sister.

“She broke up with me last October.” 

“Ugggghhh. I should’ve known.” Lizzie groaned and fell back on the floor, not making a sound or unsettling any dust. “You’re hopeless, Lia.” Lia stared down at the soul of her dejected sister, which was lying entirely too close to the skeleton of said sister. She looked to her left at the slightly shaking Nightwing. 

“Do your siblings do this to you?” She tried to convey her exasperation with a raised eyebrow. He coughed in a horrible attempt to hide his laughter.

“Um, no I, um, I don’t think so.” She could tell he was trying his best to seem composed.

“Yeah,” Red Robin spoke up and all eyes snapped to him. “A couple of years ago the council decided that trying to set anyone up with Nightwing was essentially torture and therefore violated the Genevia Conventions.” Lia barked out a laugh and turned back to Nightwing.

“I think that’s worse, actually.” She said, pointing at his brothers.

“Really?” Nightwing was almost, well, pouting. His lips twisted slightly as his brow furrowed in a comically beautiful expression. Lia was sure she’d seen something similar carved into marble or depicted in oil or acrylic on canvas. Luckily, Signal’s voice snapped her out of her staring before he noticed.

“Sorry, N.” Signal had an apologetic smile on his face. “But you’re kind of a mess when it comes to dating.”

“Really feeling the love, guys.” His tone held more annoyance than hurt. Lia was all too familiar with that tone from dealing with her own siblings’ antics. Lia shook her head in amusement and looked back at Bernard who looked fascinated at what the vigilantes were saying.

“So how many people are in this task force?” He was starting to perfect the ‘deer caught in headlights’ look.

“Oh, um, you know, just…well-”

“Spit it out, Fanboy.”

“Ooooo! Is that his codename?” Lizzie asked, sitting up. Lia nodded but her gaze stayed fixed on Bernard. “Cool.” She whispered quietly.

“Well, you know, pretty much all of Cabin 11.” He said tentatively.

“Sure.” 

“Except Haley,” he added hesitantly

“That tracks.” She agreed.

“Yeah, and I don’t think Sutton is either since she’s so new-” Lia’s heart clenched slightly at the mention of her captured siblings. “-and Wally is technically part of it but he usually just colors on any of the papers he can get his hands on.’ She hummed and waited for him to continue.

“Marley, Aiden, Penny, and interestingly enough, Kacey. But not Max.”

“Kacey? Why Kacey and not Max??”

“I think she’s mostly just there cause she thinks it’s funny. And Max was vehemently against it cause he thought it was unnecessary and rude.”

“At least Max has my back.” She grumbled. “What about Blake?”

“Blakely went AWOL about six months in, according to Connor.”

“Thought she knew better?” He nodded a yes to her question.

“Why are you in the taskforce?” Red Robin piped up.

“Lizzie.” Bernard sounded slightly miserable and annoyed. 

“Yeah, best friends are like that,” Lia nodded. “You should’ve seen all the messes Marley dragged me into.”

“Her senior superlative was ‘Most likely to end up in the Fields of Punishment for something dumb.’” Michael explained. “To be honest, that always felt kind of targeted to me.”

“A little.” Lia chewed on her thumbnail absentmindedly. “Alright, when we get back to Camp you,” she pointed at Bernard, “are helping me disband that taskforce.”

“Awww, come on. Why me?”

“Why?” Lizzie’s face lit up with excitement and curiosity. “Are you dating someone else now?”

“No. I’m done dating. So there’s no reason for the taskforce.”

“But Lia-!’

“Nope.”

“-You always say that everyone needs to have someone to lean on!”

“I do. But Lizzie that’s-”

“And you do so much for everyone. And it’s so dumb that you don’t ever think you deserve the same-”

“Lizzie, that’s not what I-”

“You can’t always assume the worst about everything. Sometimes good things happen! You can’t just give up because you had a little bad luck.”

“Liz.” Lia put more force behind her words.

“You deserve to be happy, Lia. And you clearly won’t go after it yourself so we had to step in. Because we care about you and we want you to be happy. Because you deserve it. But you’re always so focused on everyone else that you never even stop to think about yourself. Like that time when you were instructing swordplay all morning, because Cabin 5 wanted an extra session. And then Travis and Connor got hexed and they were conjoined for five hours and you had to do all that research to un-conjoin them and you didn’t eat breakfast or lunch. Didn’t even think about it! And-”

“Elizabeth Barlowe.” Lia didn’t like raising her voice like that. Didn’t like how the frustration soured in her mouth. But it had the desired effect of quieting Lizzie immediately. “It’s my life. It’s my choice to make.” The harsh bit of her tone got to Lizzie; More than Lia thought it would, and tears started to well in her eyes.

“You’re so mean. I hate you!” She screamed before turning around and dashing off towards the cover of debris.

“Lizzie! Wait-” Lia to a step towards her but her ethereal form had already disappeared behind overgrown cavern foliage, concrete, and metal.

“Do you want me to-?” Michael stepped up next to her, nodding in the direction Lizzie had dashed off.

“Or I can..” Bernard started.

“No,” Lia sighed. “It’s my fault.” She stowed Lizzie’s necklace in her jacket pocket before undoing the clasps of her pack and let it drop off her shoulders to the floor with an echoing thunk. “I’ll go talk to her.” She started towards the mountain of debris, stopping just shy of disappearing behind it and took a grounding breath. She was going to need it.

***

“Hey, Birdie,” Lia coaxed softly as she crept towards the sniffing form of her little sister’s soul. “Can I come sit with you?”

Lizzie peeked out from behind the torrential curtain of transparent red curls, and uttered a very small no. 

“Alright,” Lia sighed. She had expected it. Lizzie always got so worked up over things and then didn’t know how to find her way back to solid ground without running away. “Guess, I’ll just sit wherever then.”

Lizzie mumbled something Lia couldn’t hear as Lia plopped down next to her. She was glad she had had the foresight to leave her bag with the boys, because climbing through the debris would have been difficult with the added bulk.

“Go ‘way.” Lizzie sniffled.

“Don’t wanna.” Lia shrugged as she wrapped her arms around her knees as she watched her little sister. “Wanna tell me why you’re so worked up over this?”

“Eat shit, Lia.”

“I’d rather not, thanks.” Lia chuckled slightly before her voice got more serious. “Come on, Liz. You know you can tell me anything. Right?”

“-ink it’s silly.” Lizzie muttered.

“What? I can’t hear you, Birdie.”

“You’ll think it’s silly.” Lizzie enunciated bitterly.

“I’m sure you’re right. But maybe if you explain why this is so important to you, it’ll help me understand.” Lia hoped the logic would get through to her. But Lizzie had always been headstrong.

They sat there in silence for a couple agonizing minutes. Lizzie pointedly staring straight ahead at some bioluminescent shelf mushrooms that had sprouted amidst the moss on the concrete. But she wasn’t hiding in the safety of her unruly curls, which was progress.

“Then maybe I can explain my thought process.” Lia took a stabilizing breath. 

“Don’t wanna hear it.”

“I was talking to the mushrooms, Lizzie.” Lia told her sarcastically. “So I’m cursed right?”

“You’re not cursed, Lia.” Lizzie mumbled again, and Lia could tell her anger was fading with how little bite was in her words. 

“So every person I date either cheats on me or breaks up with me.” Lia started gesturing with her hand to a patch of mushrooms. “Like since my first boyfriend to my most recent girlfriend. No matter what I do. Whether I get attached or not. Whether it’s casual or long term. No matter how interested in me they seem? They always leave.” Lia sighed as loneliness spiked in her chest. “And after almost ten years? It got a little exhausting. Sharing parts of myself, personal things I keep close to my chest, only for them to throw it back in my face. Only for it to not be enough? It’s…disheartening. To say the least.” Lizzie peeked at her again, but when her eyes met Lia’s she ducked her head again. “So after my last girlfriend. Story. Well, I decided that was it. Seems like a pretty clear message, no? No matter who I date it always ends the same. So I decided I’d save myself the heartbreak. Cut my losses.”

“But you deserve to be happy!” Lizzie finally broke and turned to face Lia, pushing her curls out of the way.

“I am happy, Lizzie.” Lia pushed all the heavy emotions away from her chest and put a smile on her face. “I have a wonderful family, and amazing friends. Wanting more? Well…greed is Kitty’s schtick. And stealing is wrong.” Lia could see the conflict in Lizzie’s eyes, as she grappled with arguing what she thought was best and what Lia had said. “Just because my happiness looks different from the government’s ‘nuclear family’ propaganda doesn’t make it any less real.”

“I hate arguing with you.” Lizzie’s face scrunched in annoyance. “You’re such a know-it-all.”

“Don’t hold it against me. I inherited it from Hermes.” Lia added placatingly. Lizzie sighed.

“What about your happily ever after?” Lizzie’s distress was palpable.

“Princesses get happily ever afters, Birdie. Not kings.” Lizzie considered her words with a pout.

“What do kings get then?”

“Paperwork. Mountains and mountains of paperwork.” Lia joked, hoping to lighten the mood, but Lizzie’s frown only grew.

“I just don’t want to leave-,” Lizzie stopped herself and looked away. “I don’t want you to be alone.” Lia’s heart clenched at her word choice. I don’t want to leave. Lia tried to ignore it, and the tightness it produced in her chest.

“I can assure you that is something that will never happen. Because the thieves would sooner self combust than give me a moment's peace.” Lia forced a grin, and when it was slightly mirrored on Lizzie’s face she felt her anxiety melt away. 

“Yeah…Travis and Connor are pretty helpless without you.” Lizzie conceded. “And Diane too.” When Lia didn’t giggle with her Lizzie’s face fell. “Who all died in the last four years?” Her voice was small and timid.

“We lost Marta, you, and Luke in the battle of Manhattan. Diane the year after when Gaea decided that us defeating the Titans was too big a slight and masterminded the second Giant war. And…” Lia paused and took a steadying breath, “and André died about six months ago.”

“Do we have anyone new?” Lia could hear the hopeful glint in her voice. That it wasn’t just Lia, Travis, Connor, and Chris in their cabin. Where the beds would outnumber them ten to one.

“Yeah.” Lia swallowed thickly and nodded. “Cecil and Wally after the Battle of Manhattan. Julia and Alice after the Second Giant war. Haley showed up about two years ago, and Sutton in January of this year.”

“Who’s the youngest?” Lizzie had been the youngest in Cabin 11 at the time, but she had always desperately wanted younger siblings.

“Wally. He was eleven months at the time but he turns six in September.” That got her attention, had her head whipping to meet her older sister’s eyes.

“His mom let him come to camp that young?”

“No. She passed away and made me his legal guardian. So I brought him to Camp. Same with Sutton.” And then Lizzie smiled happily. Not the reaction Lia was expecting.

“You’re a mom!”

“Uggg, you too? Selina and Grandma Maia keep saying that too.”

“It’s what you are.” Lizzie’s tone left little room for debate. “You’re gonna be a great mom. You’re basically like a second mom to the Thieves.” It wasn’t worth arguing, so Lia let it drop and simply shook her head in exasperation.

“How’s my mom?” Lizzie asked.

“She’s doing better.” Lia told her vaguely. “She visits you every Wednesday. Brings little picnics and tells you about her week, things that make her think of you. She makes little suncatchers to leave on your headstone.”

“Would-” Lizzie cut herself off, and her voice was so quiet Lia might’ve thought she was hearing things. “Do you have my camp necklace?” Lizzie scooched a little closer and rested her head on Lia’s shoulder. Lia nodded and carefully extracted them from her pocket where it was resting next to Bernard’s wallet, trying not to shiver at the phantom feeling of her little sister leaning against her. Her fingers gently gripped the leather string as the beads softly clinked together. “Would you…” Lizzie choked on the words.

“I can give it to your mom.” Lia assured her. “I try to go with her to see you when I can make the time.”

“Thanks.” Her little sister swallowed. “Ya know something Lia?”

“What?”

“I’m glad I died the way I did.” Lia wished she was hearing those words wrong. She knew she was not. “I’m glad she didn’t have to see me waste away. That nobody had a chance to look at me differently.” Her voice sounded so little. So young. Lia prayed she wouldn’t cry. She almost had, when Lizzie had first told her. Lia had climbed up onto the roof of Cabin 11 to find Lizzie staring at the stars with silent tears streaming down her face. “That I got to die on my own terms.”

“I’m not gonna lie here kiddo-”

“You can’t lie to save your life, Lia.” Lizzie laughed thickly.

“I would’ve preferred you didn’t die at all.” A small, sad smile tugged at her lips.

“You always said life doesn’t work that way.”

“Just because it’s true doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Lizzie burrowed into her side and Lia couldn’t resist wrapping her own body protectively around her little sister.

“Sap.” Lia laughed as thickly as her sister. Lia wanted to say that they should get up, get back to the others. But she couldn’t bring herself to pull away from Lizzie. If this was the last time she would see her before her own death, she was going to take advantage of it.

***

“You’re back!” Bernard called out as Lizzie jumped down from the crumbling concrete and landed next to Lia. 

“Scared we got lost?” Lia’s lips tugged with a smile as she felt Lizzie’s transparent fingers grip her pinky and ring finger.

“If Lizzie wasn’t there, I might’ve been.” Michael retorted and Lia let her head fall back slightly with a groan.

“No faith whatsoever!”

“Says the atheist.” Michael shot back.

“The Gods are unreliable.” She shrugged. She, personally, wouldn’t consider herself an atheist, but she supposed it was close enough

“Touché.” He nodded. “So now what? Cause Lord Death hasn’t shown up to guide my soul, so what do we do now?” Lia looked down at the two bodies, barely recognizable as the two ghosts standing with them.

“There’s gotta be something else we can try.” Bernard added. “You said there were a couple of ways to free a tethered soul, right?” 

“Pretty sure the next step is to set them on fire.” She nodded sagely, her forefinger tapping her chin.

“What?!” The vigilantes squawked.

“Very funny, Lia.” Bernard deadpanned.

“Like a barbeque?” Lizzie asked sweetly.

“You can’t be serious.” Nightwing asked, clearly trying to compose himself.

“She one hundred percent is.” Michael assured him sagely. “We burn our dead.”

“The smoke guides our souls to Erebus.” Lia explained, crossing over to where she had dropped her pack and unzipping one of the larger pockets. “Where they are judged by a council of dead Greek kings, though sometimes it’s generals or philosophers, and sentenced to one of three places in the Underworld.”

“What are those places?” Lia wasn’t surprised that it was Red Robin who had asked.

“The Fields of Punishment, where those judged guilty are sent. The Fields of Asphodel, similar to the christian purgatory.” She pulled out a couple of aerosol paint cans and set them aside as she kept digging around. “And Elysium, the final resting place of Greek heroes. Essentially a gated retirement community.” She pulled a large canvas tarp out of her bag and dropped it next to the spray paint before zipping her pack shut. “But first we have to make the shrouds. Bernard, help me cut this tarp in half.”

Bernard stepped forward and helped her fold the tarp in half. She grabbed her knife and began to slide it along the crease. 

“It can’t really be that simple.” Signal voiced his doubt.

“It doesn’t have to be that complicated either. Bernard watch your fingers.” Lia warned as her knife got closer to where he was holding the fabric taut.

“This is gonna be odd.” Lizzie said suddenly.

“Why is that?” Lia was a little surprised to hear Nightwing answer her little sister.

“I mean I’ve been to funerals before. But this time it’s my funeral. I’ve never been to my funeral before.” Lia could tell her sister was nervous. Her rambling was a dead giveaway. “I mean, like I’ve been to a lot of funerals, with the war and all. A lot of us died. I even got to light the pyre the last time. Which was kinda cool. But also really sad because it was Georgianna. But I got to help Diane, cause she said she wasn’t sure she could do it alone. But Georgie was her partner in crime and that’s like… half your soul, ya know? So it made sense that she needed someone else up there with her. Except Lia. Lia lit Gatlin’s pyre all by herself. Even though he was her partner in crime and they’d known each other their whole lives. It’s kinda crazy that dad had two kids who grew up as neighbors. Like what are the odds of that? I guess pretty good, since it happened. And André and Housten showed up at Camp on the same day. They even had the same birthday, which is cool. And Sidney and Dominic met up in the mortal world and made their way to Camp together. And the Stolls were left at Camp at the same time, but I think that’s more because of their mom, cause they have the same mom which is also wild. But it’s probably because of that and not the Partner in Crime phenomena.” Lia was starting to feel a little sorry for Nightwing. He hadn’t asked for the lecture, but the unsure expression on his face made Lia chuckle as she draped one of the halves of canvas over Lizzie’s body. “I always wanted a partner in crime. But not every child of Hermes has one. I kinda hoped it was Bernard but I guess not since he’s a son of Apollo.”

“That's…um…” Lia could see Nightwing grasping for something to say to the avalanche of funeral talk Lizzie had just dumped on him. 

“Do you go to a lot of funerals?” Lizzie’s face and tone were so open. Lia had quietly walked over and put her hand on Lizzie’s shoulder, immediately snapping her sister’s attention from the vigilante to herself.

“What’s eating at you, Birdie? The last time you rambled like this it was because you broke one of the wheels on Chiron’s chair and you wouldn’t stop talking about the botanical history of the apple.”

“You said it was fascinating!” Lizzie pouted.

“Personally? I’m more of a peach girl.” Lia shrugged with a fond smile. “So what’s wrong?” Lizzie ducked her head and scuffed her shoes on the floor, though it made no sound at all. “Liz?” Lia prompted again.

“What if they judge me and I’m not a hero?” She asked quietly. “What if they send me to Asphodel?” Lia shook her head resolutely.

“They won’t Lizzie.”

“But what if they do and I forget? You? Mom? The Thieves?” Tears started to well in her eyes and Lia took a knee and pulled her sister in a tight hug.

“Lizzie, if those decrepit fossils even imply that you aren’t a hero. Because you’re a girl, or a daughter of Hermes? I will personally break in and slap some sense into them.” Lizzie sniffled against her shoulder. “I bet they’re overdue for a reality check at this point anyway.” She had a personal vendetta with Minos as well, but she wouldn’t mention that. She pulled back so Lizzie could see her face. “You are Elizabeth Maren Barlowe, a proud member of Hermes’ Order of Thieves and a Hero of Olympus.” She could feel all of the eyes around them burning into her skin, but she did her best to ignore them. Lizzie needed her, and family always came first. “You saved so many lives, and the judges of the dead? They don’t even compare to you.” Lia tried to tuck a crimson curl behind Lizzie’s ear, but her fingers passed right through it.

“Promise?” Lizzie sniffled again, rubbing a tear from her cheek.

“With all that I am, Lizzie.” Lizzie nodded and then looked over Lia’s shoulder, eyes landing on the fabric covering the bones.

“Do I have to go now?”

“As much as I would love to say no, you can’t stay here forever.” Lia told her solemnly. “Besides, someone’s gotta make sure André and Gatlin aren’t planning to break into Hades’ palace. And It sure as hell isn’t gonna be Georgie. She’s too much of an instigator. Housten will happily go along with André if he’s bored enough. And I think Marta has probably reached a level of stir crazy where she’ll either join them or apply for rebirth. Can I count on you?” Lizzie sniffled once more and nodded.

“Always, Lia.”

“That’s my girl. Now, let’s go decorate that shroud, yeah?”

“How many colors ya got?” Lizzie asked, accepting the topic change. Lia chuckled and stood up.

“It’s limited.”

“Lame.” Her little sister sighed. “But I guess you can’t be the coolest all the time.”

“That sounds incredibly exhausting.” Lia pointed out as they walked towards the spray paint. “Bernard? You gonna decorate Michael’s shroud?”

“I’m decorating it?”

“He’s your brother.” Lia reminded him, reaching her hand into one of her pants pockets and pulling out four golden drachma. She flipped two to Bernard who fumbled slightly before catching one. Red Robin snatched the other that had gone a little long out of the air and handed it to him. Lia took the remaining coins and rubbed her thumb over the cool metal before crouching down, pulling back the fabric and carefully dropping one into each eye socket. She cringed as metal clinked against bone. She replaced the sheet and looked down where the spray paint was standing next to her foot.

“This isn’t gonna be colorful enough, Lia.”

“I told you we were limited.”

“These aren’t even colors. It’s white and black.”

“And gold. That’s a color.” Lia argued.

“This is why André is the artist.” Lizzie sighed.

“Everyone’s a critic.” Lia sighed and picked up the black, uncapping and shaking it.

“So what are you gonna do?” Lizzie sounded skeptical.

“You’ll just have to see.”

“I would prefer you tell me actually. You’re a pretty bad artist.”

“‘Become the head counselor,’ they said.” Lia started talking sarcastically to herself as she began her design, the same design they’d done at Lizzie’s first funeral. Quick flicks of her wrist making exact lines. She wasn’t a great artist, but for something this important, she wouldn’t mess up. “‘Be a big sister,’ they said. ‘It’ll be fun,’ they said.” She finished with the black and capped it before reaching for the white.

“You have tons of fun with us.” Lizzie reminded her. “Like when we did Seymore’s hair? And when you did the lava wall blindfolded and still beat us?”

“That was pretty fun.” Lia agreed adding the white accents. “Alright. I’m done.”

“Do you take criticism?” Lizzie asked, not even looking at the design.

“Nope. Only cash or card.” After a moment she also added, “I don’t accept payment in fish either.”

“Come on, that was funny.” 

“It was not. You guys had a grand ole laugh and I had to rehome five mackerel.”

“Hilarious.” Lizzie reaffirmed before finally looking at the shroud. “It’s…Is that..?”

“A magpie.” Lia nodded. 

“It’s…,” Lizzie started to choke up a little, “I love it, Lia. Thank you.”

“Why a magpie? Is that like…Hermes’ sacred bird or something?” Signal whisper-asked Red Robin.

“It’s my name.” Lizzie said dazed, her eyes glued to the magpie. “Magpie is my codename.”

“I figured this magpie could guide you to Erebus.” Lia offered her a small smile. “Since I can’t.”

“Sap.” Lizzie smiled softly.

“The king is allowed to do whatever she pleases.” Lia spoke haughtily, causing Lizzie to giggle. Lia giggled too and glanced over at Bernard’s design, and her eyes softened. “It looks great Bernard.” It was an arrow hitting a target’s bullseye, but the target had golden rays like the Sun.

“Way better than Marley could’ve done.” Michael agreed. “I think this might be even cooler than Lee’s.” Lia laughed at his statement. Michael had designed Lee’s shroud since Marley had been too injured after the Battle of the Labyrinth. 

“Lucky you. I can only hope my shroud will be half as cool as these.” Then she took a carefully measured breath and reached into her pack one more time. She pulled out an old lighter, one she’d nicked from some old asshole years and years ago. She pushed her pack away, not wanting the fire to catch on it. “Alright. Time for the light show.” Lia knew the longer she pushed this off the more it would hurt.

“...Hey Lia?” Lizzie’s voice was hesitant and soft as Lia began to flick the lighter to life.

“Yeah, Lizzie?”

“Would..” Lizzie looked away again and tugged at one of her curls. “Would you sing to me? Just…ya know, in case I have a nightmare before you get there?” Lizzie’s voice grew quieter and quieter as she spoke, her shoulders hunching forward. Lizzie had had bad nightmares after everything she had witnessed during the Battle of the Labyrinth. Lia’s heart clenched as she wondered how many nightmares Lizzie had had down here. How many times had her little sister  prayed to the gods for someone to set her and Michael free? Only to be stuck down here for four years, with the eurynomos.

“What..” Lia swallowed down the thickness in her throat. “What song did you have in mind?”

“The really pretty one? About the Moon?” Lia nodded. She knew exactly which song Lizzie was talking about. “I just…I don’t remember all the words, so I wouldn’t be able to sing it to myself.” If Lia wasn’t surrounded by people; Bernard, Michael, the vigilante’s, Lizzie; She would be sobbing. But she couldn’t…wouldn’t break down. Not yet at least.

She looked down at the lighter in her hand, considering it for a second before holding it out to Bernard.

“Care to do the honors?”

“Me?” He looked flabbergasted and Lia had to hold back a laugh. “You want me to light the shrouds?!”

“I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t.”

“But Lizzie’s-”

“Your best friend.” Lia cut him off. “Besides, I’ve lit more than my fair share of shrouds.”

“Lia’d probably find a way to do it wrong and set herself on fire.” Lizzie added helpfully. “Please?”  

“Hey! That’s rude.” Lia admonished her little sister, who pointedly ignored her.

“I…are you sure, Liz?”

“Mhmm.” Lizzie nodded enthusiastically before leaning into Lia’s side. Bernard hesitantly reached out and took the lighter from Lia. 

Lia let it go graciously, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, scooting back slightly and settling into the ground before carefully putting her arm around Lizzie, where she had nestled into her side. Bernard fumbled with the lighter for a couple of seconds, Michael supervising from over his shoulder. The vigilantes had stepped off to the side, evidently not wanting to intrude. Bernard finally got the lighter started and cleared his throat before speaking.

“To the Daughter of Hermes, Lizzie Barlowe. Who shone brighter than the Sun, whose light went out too soon.”

Lia heard Lizzie whisper a very quiet, “not that soon,” as her shroud quickly caught fire. Lia couldn’t help trying to pull her little sister against herself more as she found herself entranced in the fire. “Lia?” Lizzie’s small voice spoke from right next to her ear but there was no ghost of a breath over her skin. 

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“The song?”

“Right.” Lia shook her head slightly, pushing away the fog from her head and cleared her throat. She would do this. For Lizzie, she would do this. She took one more breath, filling her lungs and began to sing.

Days seem sometimes as if they’ll never end

Sun digs its heels to taunt you

But after sunlit days, one thing stays the same

Rises the moon

Lia tried her best not to relive every other time she had sung this song to her. All the sleepless nights of Lizzie crawling into her bunk with tears streaming down her face. Seeking refuge in the one place she thought they couldn’t find her.

Days fade into a watercolor blur

Memories swim and haunt you

But look into the lake, shimmering like smoke

Rises the moon

They had snuck out once, all of Cabin 11, to watch the full moon rise over the lake. By some incredible luck, courtesy of many many offerings to Tyche, the harpies hadn’t caught them. It had been a beautifully clear night.

Oh-oh, close your weary eyes

I promise you that soon the autumn comes

To darken fading summer skies

Breathe, breathe, breathe

Lia sang the words as she always did, in a soft, comforting voice. The words were gentle and encouraging despite the fact that Lia’s voice threatened to betray her. For Lizzie. For her family, there was very very little that Lia wouldn’t do.

Days pull you down just like a sinking ship

Floating is getting harder

But tread the water, child, and know that meanwhile

Rises the moon

Lia noticed that Lizzie was starting to fade. Where earlier she had been able to see the individual frizzy hairs that made a halo around her sister’s head, now she was having trouble telling if she was looking at a freckle or a glare from the fire. She wondered if Lizzie noticed it too. If that was why she was trying to burrow into Lia’s side. To get as close as possible before…

Days pull you up just like a daffodil

Uprooted from its garden

They’ll tell you what you owe, but know even so

Rises the moon

Lia hated that this was all she could do. She had the potential to be a great hero running through her veins and all she could do was sing to her little sister as she died for the second time. She knew Lizzie hadn’t wanted to wait out the cancer. Knew that she didn’t want her friends and family to watch her slowly wither away, cause what else could a thirteen year old do when they were diagnosed with stage four cancer. Lia could guess that if she hadn’t fallen in the Battle of Manhattan, they would’ve found themselves in a similar position on a hospital bed. Though there would surely be more tears.

You’ll be visited by sleep

I promises you that soon the autumn comes

To steal away each dream you keep

Breathe, breathe…

And then Lizzie fully disappeared. Lia’s arms, where they had been holding on to the translucent frame of her sister, fell and wrapped around her knees as she curled in on herself as the fire went out. Her eyes burned with tears that begged to fall. “Breathe.” Lia’s voice was ragged as she spoke the last word of the song, mostly as a reminder to herself.

She wondered when she had started to hear the soft guitar of the song in her ears now that she could imagine the final notes fading from the air.

She felt a slight pressure on her shoulder and turned her head slightly from where it rested on her knees to see Michael sitting down next to her.

“You okay?” Lia looked at him for a second before turning to stare at the smoking ashes that had been her little sister’s body and shroud. Bernard was placing his own drachmas into Michael’s eye sockets and removing his camp necklace. Lia wondered if Michael had asked him to do it.

“You think I’d be used to it by now.” She tried for a laugh but it came out more like a sob.

“Funerals?”

Lia shook her head. “Losing people.”

“Yeah, well, you’ve got a big heart.”

“Is this where you add, ‘it’s gonna get me killed one day’?” She asked humorlessly. A tear finally falling down her face, the rest of them weren’t far behind.

“Nah, that didn’t test well with the focus groups.” At that, she did laugh. A dry painful thing, but a laugh all the same.

“I don’t blame them. It’s a shit joke.” She felt the need to rub the tears from her cheeks, to hide her pain and be strong for those around her, but she ignored it and let the salt water dry to her skin. She turned to look at Michael and found him watching her. “Thank you. For looking out for her when I couldn’t.”

“Just returning the favor.” He assured her. “I know you were doing the same for me.” And at that Lia looked at Bernard as he lit his brother’s shroud. She had missed his words, though part of her suspected he would appreciate having the moment to himself later. Lia could name a couple of funerals where she had wished and prayed and begged that it was just her, and maybe a few others, in attendance. “How are they?”

“Well,” Lia sniffled, “Will was made head counselor of Cabin 7 after you were declared missing in action.”

“He was eleven.” Michael stated confusedly.

“He volunteered. Marley was too old and Bernard had just been claimed.”

“They…They were the only ones that survived?”

“We may have won the war, but with how many friends we buried, it didn’t really feel like a victory.”

“Guess at the very least I won’t be lonely when I get to Elysium.” Michael’s voice was despondent.

“They’re probably wondering where the hell you are.” She agreed with a small nod.

“And Marley?”

“Marley is well on her way to becoming a world renowned brain surgeon.” That made his head whip to look at her so fast she was kind of surprised it didn’t twist itself off his neck.

“Who in Hades thought that was a good idea?”

“Some unsuspecting medical board.” Lia hummed slightly, not quite a laugh but she was getting there. “But she’s happy. Somewhere out in Arizona, I think? Or maybe she was just visiting when I saw her there…”

“Probably for the best you don’t ask too many questions. You could be charged as an accessory.”

“Why are you all always so convinced she’s gonna get arrested for medical malpractice?”

“She used to stitch you up left handed.”

“She’s trying to become ambidextrous. And she’s only getting better! See-” she pulled up her left sleeve only to immediately freeze at the sight of Alfred’s bandages.

“Lia.” She immediately pulled her sleeve down. “What was that?”

“Nothing.” She lied. His eyes narrowed on her sleeve. Part of her thought the fabric of her jacket might catch fire just like his shroud had.

“You’re still a horrible liar, Lia.”

“Who wants to be a good liar? Why do we have to lie in the first place?!” She scrunched her face in annoyance.

“So what happened?”

“Would you accept ‘it’s none of your damned business’?”

“Come on, I’m dead. Consider it my last request.”

“That’s mean.” She glared at him but when he didn’t show signs of letting it go she sighed. “Just a small cut, a scratch really. I bet it’s healed by now.”

“So why the big bandage?”

“An overreaction.” She assured him. 

“Actually, Robin cut her arm with his katana by accident.” Lia’s head whipped around to look at Nightwing.

“Snitch!” She looked at him betrayed.

“Lia, you’re supposed to tell us when stuff like this happens so we can update your medical file.” Bernard added, his tone oozing stress.

“If it happens outside of Camp then it doesn’t pertain to Camp’s medical files.” Lia grumbled petulantly as she let her chin fall against her knees as she glared at the fire in front of her.

“Any other injuries you wanna tell me about?” Bernard pushed carefully.

“Nope.” She met his eyes and hoped her gaze was intense enough to dissuade him from asking further into the matter.

“She got pretty cut up by that fire goat lady.” Signal volunteered hesitantly.

“Fire-goat…?” Bernard’s face twisted slightly in confusion.

“Empousa.” Lia corrected begrudgingly.

“Lia.” Michael’s voice was full of annoyance and disappointment. 

“Two meager scratches. They’re already gone. No need to document something that barely even scarred.” She tried for a smile, but Michael’s scowl didn’t budge. 

“You are a medic’s worst nightmare.”

“Self sufficient?” She tried with a bitter laugh.

“I would’ve phrased it differently, but sure, let’s go with that.” Lia raised her eyebrow at him, but before she could argue the point he spoke again. “So who are they?” She followed where his finger was pointing. The vigilantes.

“Oh…well,” she pointed to Signal, “he was hand picked by Death to guide me through the Labyrinth.” Then she pointed to Nightwing and Red Robin. “And they wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“So they’re mortals?” 

“Yup.”

“Huh…sooo, why is Bernard here?”

“We had four people.” 

“Ah. Gotcha.” Michael nodded understanding before looking back at the fire as it slowly began to wane. He stared at it for a second before he stood up. “Well, I’ll leave you to your quest.” And he started to walk away, the outline of his sneakers were barely visible as he stuffed his hands into his front pockets. Michael Yew had never been one for long goodbyes.

“Don’t get lost on your way to Elysium, Mikey.” She called after him. He wouldn’t but it was probably the closest to a farewell that he would allow.

“Don’t worry,” he called over his shoulder, a hand raised to wave at them, “I’m not you.” And then he was gone, just as the fire of his shroud finally went out. Lia sat still for a second, watching where Michael had just been. She must’ve stared for a moment too long.

“Lia?” Bernard was walking closer to her, carefully around the smoking remains for their siblings. She didn’t let him reach her. She stood up carefully, worried that her legs might not hold her weight, and walked over to grab her pack.

“We should get going.” Lia was glad for how normal she sounded, it was almost believable that she was ok. 

“Are you sure?” Bernard was standing next to her now, close enough that she could plainly see the worry etched on his face. 

“We’ll need to stop soon so everyone can rest.” She didn’t know how long Bernard had been awake, or the vigilantes for that matter, but she could see the exhaustion in the slump of his shoulders and the bags under his eyes. “And…,” she nodded her head slightly towards the source of the smoke. “I don’t want to sleep anywhere near here.”

“I…right. Okay.” Bernard nodded and didn’t push the subject. She doubted he wanted to sleep anywhere close to here either.”

“Signal?” She turned to the vigilantes.

“Yes?” He looked like the kid in class who’d been called on to answer a question when they hadn’t been paying attention to the lecture.

“Lead the way.” She could only offer a small smile. They were all staring at her, but the whites of their masks kept her from discerning the emotions of their looks. They didn’t ask any questions, could probably see the disdain for any such questions that they might have telegraphed in her perfunctory movements, and let her be. So she quietly followed Signal through the arch, saying a final goodbye for the daughter of Hermes and son of Apollo who had finally found peace.

Chapter Text

“Let’s stop here.” Lia said as she scanned the fifth cavern they’d come across. There was a running stream, but the air didn’t feel damp, which meant the wooden crates she saw in the corner would be dry enough to use as firewood. And whatever those crates held might be useful down the line. It was small, two exits, the way they came in and another one directly across the room. Some roots hung down from the ceiling, some cattails were growing up out of the stream, and moss and lichen patterned the stone walls. “Yeah, this’ll be perfect.”

“Are you sure? You don’t want to try to get a little farther?” Signal asked as she walked past him to the center of the room.

“Trust me, Signal. I’ve been camping out in these caves since I was nine.” She dropped her pack with a thunk and started towards the crates. “Someone come give me a hand with these?”

She heard another backpack drop and when she went to pick up one of the empty crates at the top of the stack, a sleeve with a blue stripe appeared in her peripheral.

“Any of these?” His strong hands hovered over another of the empty boxes that had been stacked on top.

“So long as they’re empty.” She nodded, lifting up one onto another and then picking up the bottom crate and turning to walk back towards the center of the room. She could hear Nightwing's footsteps behind her. 

“What are those for?” Red Robin carefully set down his bag a ways away from her own, next to his brother’s. 

“For the fire.” She said with a grin as she set them on the floor, plopping down next to them. She reached into one of her pants pockets and grabbed a single throwing knife. After considering one of the wooden crates for a second she pulled it into her lap and methodically began to dig the nails out, letting the freed pieces fall into a pile at her side. She glanced up at one point to see Nightwing doing the same with his own celestial bronze throwing knife. Bernard and Red Robin had settled in on either side of her, Signal between Bernard and Nightwing. Bernard had started splitting some of the larger planks for kindling with a small knife of his own, and with her first wooden crate demolished she stowed her knife back in her pocket and began to build up the salvaged wood in the second crate she’s grabbed.

“How did this stuff get down here?” Red Robin held out another board to add.

“It falls in. Like all that debris back there? That fell into the East River during the Battle of Manhattan. But instead of it staying there, it found its way into the Labyrinth. I was in one cavern that was pretty much someone’s destroyed living room. Family photos on the walls, overturned armchair, coffee table askew, ripped up couch. Even their fireplace had made it down.” She used to treat it like a game. Where did the stuff come from? What was its intended purpose? Who did it belong to? What kind of person were they? Was any of it useful enough to take?

“How?”

“Earthquake probably.” She shrugged, grabbing a box of matches that sat in the same pocket as her lighter. Then into a different pocket for a firestarter ball of lint and part of a cardboard egg carton. “Sometimes rooms below ground, like storage rooms, are simply forgotten about and then they end up down here too. You find a lot of storage crates and undelivered packages down here too.” Lia carefully placed the firestarter under the kindling and then reached for the matches. “Kinda like those vases in Zelda. Except I haven’t found any rupees yet.”

“Since when do you play Legends of Zelda?” Bernard asked as she struck a match and lit the firestarter, letting the match fall into the wooden crate. She sucked in a breath and gently blew on it. The dry wood from the crate caught like paper. 

“I have twelve brothers.” She shrugged and sat back. “They used to smuggle in all types of video games.” She started holding up fingers as she listed them. “Zelda, Pokémon, Super Mario Bros, Call Of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, Assassin’s Creed, Plants versus Zombies, Fallout. We nearly got caught during a particularly out of hand Mario Kart tournament because Dominic threw Gatlin out a window because Gatlin threw a blue shell right as Dominic was about to win.” She smiled at the memory. Simpler times.

“You have twelve brothers?!” Signal sounded flabbergasted.

“Not all at once.” She assured him with a laugh. “And those are only the ones I’ve met. Twelve brothers and eleven sisters.” 

“And I thought five siblings was a lot.” Nightwing’s voice was somewhere between awed and horrified.

“Not even in the same weight class, Blue Bird.” Lia laughed again. “In fact-” She was cut off by a loud rumble and turned to see Red Robin clutching his stomach, a faint flush crept out from underneath his mask.

“Sorry,” he muttered, looking down. 

“Nah, It was time to eat anyway.” Lia turned around and reached into the big pouch of her pack and when her arm retreated it was holding a large celestial bronze plate. “Ta-da!” She showed it off proudly. The vigilantes looked confused and she didn’t blame them. Bernard on the other hand, looked positively horrified.

“Please don’t tell me you stole that from the dining pavilion.” His face was a comical rendition of terrified.

“Alright, I won’t tell you that.” She said with a mischievous grin. His face paled and she cackled. “Chill, Bernard. I’m just borrowing it.”

“Oh,” he visibly relaxed, “ok, so they said you could take it.”

“They did not.” She intoned happily. “But I’ve had this since I was eight. And eventually I give it back. Stealing implies an intention to keep. I intend to give this back..,” She tilted her head as if to think about it. “Eventually. Now, care to show our friends how it works?” She held the plate out to him. Bernard sighed and took it with his right hand, then reached into his own bag for his mess kit.

“I don’t get it.” Nightwing was staring at the celestial bronze of the plate, with the same intense stare as before. Lia figured Bernard’s demonstration would probably help explain it better than she could. Also it gave her a chance to see his slack-jaw expression when the metal plate was suddenly holding food. A sandwich, probably a BLT with turkey and avocado if Lia’s memory served, and an orange. 

“How did it do that?” Signal leaned forward like he could see the faults in the illusion. If it was an illusion he probably could. Bernard picked up his sandwich and placed it on his mess kit’s plate and let the orange roll off and join it.

“A gift from the Gods. Any food you can imagine will appear on it.” Bernard held the plate out for Signal to take. “Not really sure where the food comes from. But as long as they’re natural ingredients you can eat pretty much anything you want.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised I’m the first to steal one.” Lia added with a chuckle. Bernard gave her a look and she rolled her eyes. 

“Wow! It really works!” Signal was looking down at his dinner, and Lia laughed again. Chicken nuggets and fries. Signal got over his awe and cleared the plate before passing it to Nightwing. Lia envied his child-like wonder. Though, she supposed he was a child, somewhere around fifteen just like Julia and Alice. She remembered being mesmerized by the magic dinner plates when she was younger, even if the novelty of such a thing had long-since worn off.

Nightwing scrapped what Lia thought was vegetable fried rice onto his plate. When Red Robin got his turn he paused a minute and stared at his reflection in the shiny bronze of the plate.

“This can make anything?”

“Pretty much.” Lia nodded. Something appeared on the plate and it took her a second to see that it was a sushi roll. Maybe salmon? With avocado? “Adventurous.” 

“I wonder if it’s sushi grade. Or where it sources the fish from.” Red Robin started mumbling as he put the roll on his own plate. Examining them and muttering quietly. Lia took the plate from him with a small ‘thank you’ that she doubted he heard. She looked at the plate for a second as the smell of steaming chili wafted into her nose. Her dad’s chili. She set her travel bowl down on the ground and started scraping the chili into it. Once it was all scraped into her bowl she set the celestial bronze plate off to the side to clean later. 

She stirred it for a second and out of the corner of her eye watched as Bernard dropped a corner of his sandwich and a section of his orange. She watched as he closed his eyes and prayed before doing the same. Scooping a portion of her chili into the fire. Watching as it disappeared amongst the flames before closing her eyes to pray as well.

To Hermes, I pray for safe travels on my quest for my companions and myself. And to Lady Hestia, I pray for the protection and continued health of my family until I can reach them. Please, My Lady. 

When she opened her eyes the vigilantes were staring. 

“Offerings to the gods.” She said blankly. “They like the smell.”

Nightwing held his plate up. “Do we-?”

“Nah,” she shook her head. “Technically, we don’t have to give offerings while on a quest. But I’d hate to have Bernard show me up.” She elbowed Bernard and cracked a smile. Till she saw him eyeing the chili. “No.”

“Come on! Just-”

“Absolutely not.” 

“But I-”

“The last time you tried to eat this chili you ended up in the infirmary for two days.” She reminded him

“Just one bite?”

“Why?” She truly had no idea why he would subject himself to this. Her dad’s chili was famous for being almost intolerably spicy.

“I want those questions.” His eyes were full of determination. Lia sighed. It was pointless to argue with teenage boys.

“What questions?” Lia turned to Red Robin.

“If anyone can stomach a bite of Lia’s nuclear chili, she’ll answer three questions.” Bernard’s eyes were still staring at Lia, she could feel them.

“That sounds like a legend.” Nightwing commented.

“Well,” she shrugged, “No one’s ever stomached the chili. So I suppose it is a little like a legend.” Then she threw a side-eye at Bernard. “Granted, most people give up after the first time.”

“Why do they give up?” Lia was about to answer Signal, when Bernard beat her to it.

“It tastes like battery acid. Burned one camper's esophagus so bad he couldn’t talk for a week.” Lia remembered that. Garrett had laughed it off, but Lia had stopped letting people try for a while. 

“Then why would you want to eat it again?” Red Robin looked astonished.

“Cause Lia will answer any three answers you ask, truthfully and in detail.” Those were the conditions of the bet. Though the loser offered up the same.

“Ever consider I keep my secrets for a reason?” A last ditch effort to get him to let it go. It was pointless though. Bernard would always look for the truth, and if this was how he could get it this is what he was going to do.

“I want to try the chili.” He reiterated. And Lia sighed.

“You’re an idiot.” She started to hold out her bowl to him, before pulling it back to herself. “Get a healing potion ready for when this goes belly up. Despite how often I end up in the infirmary, I only know the basics of first aid.” He nodded and started rummaging around in his bag.

“Why are you gonna let him do that?” Red Robin’s voice had a hard edge to it.

“Because he wants to. He knows exactly what’s gonna happen. I’ve warned him against it. I’ve done my due diligence.” She sighed as Bernard set down a glowing orange vial.

“You could just not let him do it?” Nightwing suggested. 

“He’d just try to when I’m not looking.” She held the bowl out to him. Watched as he dipped his spoon in and her brows furrowed. “For the love of the gods, and my sanity, please take a smaller bite.” Bernard gave her a sheepish look and let some of it fall off his spoon and slosh back into the bowl.

Bernard stared at his spoon for a second, like he was bracing himself, and then put the spoon in his mouth. He chewed carefully at first, then with a little more gusto. Then his face started turning red.

“Ya doing ok over there, Fanboy?” Bernard nodded, but couldn’t seem to swallow. His face was getting redder. The same bright red of Red Robin’s shirt. “Ya maybe wanna spit it out? Before it singes all of your tastebuds?” He nodded, turned to the side and spit it out. Lia picked up the vial, uncorked it and held it out to him. He took it and swished it around his mouth, the redness slowly leeching from his face.

“Still tastes like battery acid.” His voice was scratchy.

“I told you not to.” She sighed, taking a bit of the chili. It was spicy, sure, but not unbearably so. It tasted just like how her dad used to make it. Bernard watched her and frowned.

“Yeah, yeah,” he coughed, “you always say not to.” She swallowed her bite and set her bowl down. Reaching for the celestial bronze plate and willing something to appear. When it did she held it out to him.

“Chin up, Sunshine. Sometimes the truth isn’t worth it.” She told him as he took the popsicle. He grumbled something she couldn’t make out.

“How are you not affected by it?” Lia looked up to meet the whites of Nightwing’s domino.

“Just used to it I guess.” She shrugged and took another bite. Carefully tapping her spoon on her chin as she swallowed. “Dad used to make everything real spicy. He tried to tone it down for everyone else, but he always said he couldn’t taste it unless it was burnin’ his tongue off. Probably woulda put hot sauce on a sundae if he really thought about it.” She took another bite as Nightwing seemed to consider this answer.

“Can I try the chili?” At that Lia paused, spoon hanging out of her mouth as she stared at him.

“Are you serious?” She blurted it out before she could truly wrap her mind around what he had said. She pointed her spoon at Bernard. “Stuck in the infirmary for two days. One guy couldn’t talk for a week. And you want to try it?”

“...Yes?” He had the decency to look sheepish. Lia shook her head in disbelief. Then she turned to look at Bernard. He had a similar expression on his face. Signal, however, looked resigned. Maybe this was a regular occurrence. 

“Do we have stuff like that,” she pointed at the vial where it lay on the stone floor, “that would work on him?” She pointed her thumb across the fire at Nightwing.

“Uhh, yeah. You did ask me to over pack with mortal friendly supplies.” She turned back to Nightwing and stared at him for a second. She gave a long-suffering sigh, then held the bowl out to Red Robin so he could pass it over.

“Why not.” She hung her head and rubbed her eyes, hoping the absurdity of the situation would fade as the bowl was passed around the fire. “ Not a lick of sense, these vigilantes.” She said it softly to herself, and in Portuguese for good measure. She couldn’t help but remember that time Robin had tried to uproot one of Ivy’s plants and it had swallowed him. She had sat on the edge of a nearby rooftop giggling at her friend and kicking her feet. She had told the Parrot what would happen then too. Not that Bird Boy would ever deign to listen to a Cat.  

She looked up as Nightwing lifted his spoon, a kinda large bite in her opinion. It was like watching a trainwreck, she couldn’t bring herself to look away. His spoon came away clean. He chewed, cautiously at first, then more vigorously. Then he swallowed. 

No redness. No coughing. In fact, he looked pretty happy.

“Wow, this stuff is great! Do you have the recipe?” Lia breathed out a laugh, then started cackling.

“Where in Hades does Batman find you guys?” If she wasn’t sitting down, Lia was sure she’d be falling over. The first two Robins, Parrot and Blue Jay as she called them, were just as openly reckless. The third Robin, little Jackdaw, had been a little more sensible. Though she hadn’t known him long before she gave up the ears and tail. Maybe he’d turned out just as reckless as his predecessors. Cat used to make fun of her for calling the first Robin all those names, and now she would admit maybe it had been a bit excessive, but when she had met the second and then third Robin. Well, they weren’t the same person. It had never seemed right to her to call them the same name. She wanted to make one for the newest Robin, and she had heard tale of a blonde Robin from one of her brothers, but she decided that stuff was best left behind with her costume.

As her cackling started to die down she was handed back her bowl. She wiped a tear from her eye, and took another spoonful. The heavy spice of the chili settled her a little. 

“Ya know, Nightwing, I think you might be the first person ever to stomach my ‘toxic’ chili.” She gave a final giggle.

“Which means?” Bernard prompted pointedly. 

“Yeah, yeah. To the victor go the spoils.” She sighed. She took another bite and looked back up at Nightwing. “You get three questions, Blue Bird. You can ask about anything and I have to answer honestly and in detail.” She started gesturing with her spoon. “And these questions don’t expire. Hold on to them as long as your little bird heart desires. Though, keep in mind, I do expire. And If I’m not around to answer the questions they’re useless.”

“I can ask about anything?”

“Yes.”

“And you have to answer.” This one wasn’t a question.

“Yes. So make it something worth telling.” She pointed her spoon at him accusingly before going back to her chili. As he considered this she finished her dinner. She scraped the bottom of her bowl and then frowned because she’d forgotten to get cornbread too.

“Alright, I think I’ve got it!” Lia looked back up at Nightwing. “You said you played Pokémon with your brothers, right? If you were a trainer, what would your pokémon team be?” Lia felt her lips tug into a grin. 

“Now that’s a question!” This was exciting. Most people wanted to know personal things, things she kept secret for a reason. She had an idea of what Bernard wanted to know. But this was something so…trivial. So mundane. A question she would’ve answered without the promise of having to. 

“Hold on!” She went rummaging around in her bag. She knew what she was looking for was somewhere towards the bottom, since she had been expecting to unpack her bag long before she needed it. “Ok, so, for the sake of my in-depth answer. Are we talking about pokémon I would’ve picked up following my timeline as a person, or pokémon I would want to have on my team?”

“Pokémon you would’ve picked up along the way.” The blue vigilante said decisively. Her fingers finally grabbed what she was looking for, and she pulled her arm out of her pack with a book in tow.

“Am I just a normal trainer or a Gym Leader?” She asked as she started to leaf through the book. Some handbook that Connor and Cecil had been clamoring over getting before she had left on her ‘business trip’. It had every pokémon in the pokédex. That made her giggle. Kinda like Batman and all of his bat themed gadgets . 

“Normal trainer? Though I guess that’s really something that would be up to you.” She nodded with his statement.

“I never really had a specialty, so I’m gonna say Gym Leader is a no-go.” She let her finger hold her page and held the book in one hand. “So I had a dog when I was younger. So I’m gonna say I start with a Growlithe.”

“A fire type?” Lia turned to look at Bernard. He had whittled down his popsicle a little. She bet his pride was a little bruised, but she knew Bernard would pull through. 

“Sure, fire types are great. I camped a lot as a kid, granted that’s cause I was independently homeless.”

“Independently homeless?” Bernard repeated the phrase to her.

“I ran away from home,” she said simply with a wave of her hand. It wasn’t that big a deal. Not almost seventeen years after the fact. “And it can get pretty cold at night. Growlithe are like a space heater. Also Growlithe is cute. But I would’ve gotten Riley around age eight and most kids aren’t supposed to get their starter pokémon till age ten.” 

“You ran away from home?” Bernard asked concernedly.

“You don’t know much about me, do you?”

“If I could eat the chili I would.” She barely heard the words Bernard grumbled.

“You name your pokémon?” Nightwing asks with a small if disbelieving smile, bringing them back to the topic at hand.

“Of course I do. Growlithe is what he is, not who he is. Names are important, especially in Ancient Greece. There’s a reason the Gods and monsters have so many titles and aliases. Names have power, they’re a sense of identity. It’s not like you guys go around referring to each other as ‘hero’ or ‘vigilante’, do you?” 

“Alright, so Riley the Growlithe is your first pokémon. Who’s next?” She could feel the weight of his look but ignored it, choosing to focus on the book in her hands.

“Well, next would be my official starter.” She started flipping through the book. It was a newer pokémon, she knew that. But she couldn’t remember the name of its first evolution. Something with an s. “Luckily, I was back home for a bit around my tenth birthday, which meant my dad probably would’ve taken me to get my starter. I grew up on a farm, and with Riley already on my team, I’d probably go for a grass type starter. I’m gonna go with,” She finally flipped to the right page, “Snivy.” She held the book up. 

“Not Turtwig?” Red Robin studied the picture in the book. 

“I thought about that, but I have a different turtle in mind for a specific reason. Anyways, I think I’d name him Dexter. Call him Dex for short. So that’s my second. Also, Hermes has snakes on The Caduceus. And his final evolution, Serperior, is a snake. It’s also the Regal Pokémon. And I am a king.” Bernard shook his head with a small laugh.

“Riley…and…Dexter.” Red Robin said carefully, inputting them into a file on his wrist watch.

“You’re writing this down?” Signal gave his brother an amused look.

“Shit up, Sig.” There wasn’t any heat to his words though.

“Next I’m thinking of a Chatot.” She cut in. She had been flipping through the book looking for a pokémon she knew looked like a parrot. Archen looked like a parrot, but the one she had been looking for wasn’t a fossil pokémon. And when she finally got to the picture she was thinking of she held it up for them again. “I think I’d name her Aria, since Chatot is the music note pokémon. And since they’re able to mimic not only the distinct calls of other pokémon, but human speech as well, maybe she’d sing with me.” It would also be a little reminder of her friend who disappeared. She turned the book back around so she could see it, then looked up at Bernard. “Or at the very least I could train her to stop the thieves from teepeeing the Ares Cabin. Have her swoop down and yell ‘NO’ in their faces.”

“Good luck with that.” He laughed, it was a little congested but his voice was starting to sound better. 

“Thank you, I can really hear the sincerity.” She laughed, and then tapped her chin. “Oooo, and a cat pokémon for Kaden.” The vigilantes collectively winced, which made Lia cackle.

“Uhhhh, why don’t they like your dead cat?” Bernard looked at them and then to her.

“Apparently he’s not dead.” She shrugged with a grin Selina would’ve been proud of. “And he’s been terrorizing the Bats in their cave.”

“Terrorizing them?” His face was getting that pale, worried expression from earlier. 

“Yup! He’s pretty much squatting there. Hunting bats for dinner and scaring the crap out of the capes which is honestly hilarious.’

“No need to sound so smug.” Nightwing teased. Bernard gently took the book from her hands.

“Just giving credit where credit is due.” She assured him before looking over to see what Bernard was looking for.

“What about a Perrserker?” He tilted the book so she could see it better. “Since Kaden seems to be such a menace.”

“I like it!” She smiled and studied the picture.

“Kaden’s an orange cat, right?” Lia nodded as she took in the dagger like claws and the viking helmet. Its coat was a little dark though. “I think the shiny form is a yellowish orange.” 

“You’re a visionary, Bernard!” She smiled as she looked up at him. He shrugged sheepishly and slowly began to eat the rest of his orange. His sandwich still sat untouched. She wouldn’t bring attention to it. “Alright that makes four. Which means I only have two more slots on my team.”

“Taking any more suggestions?” Lia shook her head at Red Robin’s question.

“Actually, I was gonna reveal my turtle pokémon. A Lapras.”

“Lapras? Why Lapras?”

“Lapras is the Travel Pokémon. And Hermes is the God of Travelers. Aaaaand, the tortoise is one of Hermes’ sacred animals.”

“Turtles? Really?” Lia turned to Bernard with a raised eyebrow.

“What do you mean, really? Didn’t you pay attention in-” before she could even finish her question he was shaking his head, “-of course not. No one ever pays attention in Gods and Myths 101.” She sighed. “Hermes’ sacred animals are the tortoise and the ram. The tortoise was the first animal he met after he was born. But I can’t really remember why he added the ram.”

“I think Dad’s is a deer.” He offered sheepishly. 

“Well, let’s hope you never have to fight a sphinx.” She joked with a shake of her head. 

“What’s Lapras’ name?” Nightwing’s tone danced with amusement.

“Hmmm…I think, something like…Elodie.” She thought about it. The large blue turtle with her purple shell and kind smile. “Yeah. Elodie is perfect for her. And then I think I’ll go with a Deino for my final team member.”

“Deino? What’s that?” Bernard started flipping through the book again.

“It’s from Unova, the Irate Pokémon. It can’t see so it bites at everything that it touches. I think it’s just misunderstood, though. If you couldn’t see, don’t you think you’d lash out at everything around you too?” She let that question hang in the air. “I think Irene just needed a friend.”

“You’ve got your whole little story figured out, huh?” Bernard gave her a contemplative look.

“I had a lot of time on my hands this summer. What with no siblings to keep in line and no stab wounds to sit and let heal. A girl’s gotta occupy herself somehow.” She laughed, but the vigilante’s gave her some weird looks so she quickly pressed on. “Now, those are who start on my team. But now we gotta talk evolutions. Riley would eventually evolve into an Arcanine, and Dex into a Serperior. Aria and Elodie don’t have evolutions, but that’s perfectly fine with me. Kaden would probably already be a Perrserker when I caught him since the vet said he was about three years old when he followed me to Selina’s and decided to stay there for a hot minute before he found…a higher calling, let’s say.” She giggled at her word choice, and the vigilante’s grimaced again. “And Irene would hopefully evolve into a Hydreigon eventually. Which also gives me a ride pokémon for air, land, and water.”

“That’s an incredibly well thought out and diverse team.” Nightwing nodded, glancing over to see Red Robin putting it in what she assumed was his file on her. 

“What about you?” She tilted her head as she addressed the blue vigilante. “What would your team look like?”

“Oh! Umm, well I-”

“Come on. Most people don’t ask a question unless they have an answer of their own.” She raised a challenging eyebrow. “So what does a vigilante’s pokémon team look like?”

“I might have a couple of ideas.” He smirked. “Can I borrow that book, Bernard?”

-

In the end they all went around and voiced what they thought their pokémon teams would be. 

Nightwing’s final team consisted of a Phanphy, Corvisquire, shiny Umbreon, Luxray, Herdier, and Frogidier. Lia couldn’t say she really understood the addition of Phanphy, but it fit his color scheme like the rest of his pokemon so she let it slide. She did however make another cop joke when he brought up Herdier, just to tease him a little. In fact the most interesting thing to her was the fact that Luxray was his only fully evolved pokémon. 

It did however bring Bernard to ask if vigilantes would get pokemon more like their color scheme or their abilities. And whether or not the pokémon would need disguises of their own. Lia told him he was thinking about it too hard.

Red Robin quickly listed his team. Taillow, Raboot, Pyroar, Fletchinder, Scizor, and Escavalier. He didn’t give much explanation for his choices. A normal, first evolution bird pokémon. Three fire types, all in their second evolution. and Two bug-steel types, also in their second and final evolution. They all fit his color scheme, she supposed. And he seemed so confident she was sure he had his reasons.

Bernard was next. Buneary, Ekans, Sawsbuck, Swanna, Audino, and Flabébé. He started with a Buneary which Lia thought suited him. When he mentioned the next three she laughed and reminded him that all of those were symbols of Apollo. Audino and Flabébé were both healers which made sense for a medic. 

And lastly, was Signal. Jolteon, Cutiefly, Ampharos, Mawile, Lanturn, and Solrock. She liked the addition of Lanturn the most, though she wasn’t sure she’d ever let it swim in Gotham’s Harbor. She didn’t quite understand Mawile or Cutiefly, but Red Robin nodded along like it made sense. And Lia loved the Eeveelutions. In fact, if Blue Jay was here, she would’ve suggested he have a Sylveon. 

-

It eventually devolved into good natured chatting until Lia leaned back, putting her left arm back to hold her weight. But the moment it held that weight she was lurching forward and clutching the arm to her chest with a hiss of pain. Then everything went eerily quiet.

“Hey Lia?”

“Yes, Bernard?” She turned to look at him, doing her best to keep a bright smile on her face. Her forearm was throbbing. 

“Everything ok?”

“Just peachy. Why?” 

“Can I see your arm?” He reached for her arm slowly.

“No.” Lia immediately jerked her arm away. “Uh…”

“Why?” His tone had the same uniquely disappointed and tired tone Will had every time she showed up in the infirmary. She looked down at her arm and then back at Bernard.

“I don’t like doctors.”

“One of your best friends is a doctor.” He reminded her. 

“And I will never hold that against her.” Lia told him earnestly.

“Lia, please let me see your arm.” She held up her right arm for him to see, though she was still wearing her jacket. “Ha ha. I’m literally here to treat your injuries.”

“That actually has nothing to do with why you’re here. If anything, that was a tally against inviting you.” 

“I’m starting to see why your picture is framed in the infirmary with the caption ‘Worst Patient Ever’. Lia, come on.”

“That’s still up? I thought for sure Will would’ve taken that down by now.” It had been the first prank they’d had Sutton help with, in an attempt to make her feel a little better. She had been so quiet when she first came to camp.

“Lia-” 

“It’s my flesh wound. Get your own.” She lowered her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes into a not quite glare.

“Your glares don’t work on me. That was literally the first part of my medic training. Now give me your arm.”

“What if I said ‘no thank you’? Would that make my odds any better?”

“Not even a little bit. Now give me your arm. Please.” 

“It really is just a tiny little cut.” She tried one more time.

“If it was just a tiny little cut you’d be able to put your weight on it.” She sighed and slowly took off her jacket, wincing as she slid it off her injured arm. She set it over her bag and looked down at the bandage and winced. It was bleeding through. That was never a good sign. Bernard had his medical bag next to him at the ready. He glared at the red bandages and sighed.

He took out a pair of medical scissors and got to work, carefully cutting the bandages away. He carefully pulled the bandages away from the wound and Lia hissed as the cool cave air hit her skin, her entire body begged to flinch as she stared at the puckered and oozing skin.

“That looks bad.” She offered lamely, the silence worse than the throbbing she had been ignoring.

“Yeah, no shit, Lia.” His eyes and movements were clinical and precise. He grabbed a scalpel and cut out her stitches out of the swelling skin and removed them with a pair of tweezers. She tried to stay as still as possible as he did it. “What caused it?” He didn’t address anyone in particular.

“Sliced with a sword.” Lia said vaguely.

“Did it have anything on it?” He got out a liquid and let it soak a cotton round before gently dabbing it at the oozing skin. She did her best not to flinch away from the pain.

“A mild but pretty rare sedative. Not something you’d find in the States.” Nightwing spoke up. “But it’s just a sedative, not a poison.”

“No, the only reason it’s reacting this way is because Lia’s most likely allergic to it. This rash is actually a mild case of hives-”

“That explains why it’s so itchy and hot.” Lia added helpfully. One of the biggest reasons Will didn’t like having her as a patient was her running commentary. He claimed it wasn’t as helpful as she thought it was.

“-And the allergic reaction caused the infection. Course, Lia hasn’t been to see a real doctor since…” Bernard waited for her to offer an age.

“Don’t really remember. Maybe seven? Definitely before I ran away from home.”

“So I doubt she has an up to date allergy screening.”

“I do not.” She agreed.

“Besides, Lia has a pesky habit of assuming her injuries will work themselves out on their own.”

“It was a small cut.” She argued pointlessly. She truly doubted he was listening to her. “How was I supposed to know I was allergic to a sedative?”

“This is why Will keeps that poster up. You truly are a medic’s worst nightmare.” He shook his head, probably deeming the lecture pointless and figuring out a treatment plan. “Alright, I’m gonna scrape the infection out.”

“That sounds like it’s gonna hurt.” She pointed out.

“If you had told me it was hurting earlier we probably would’ve caught the infection before it got too bad. But you kept it to yourself and now you get to reap the consequences.”

“Yay me.” She deadpanned.

“Be happy I don’t have to amputate your arm.”

“Yay me!” She tried again with more enthusiasm.

“I feel like this isn’t standard medical procedure.” Red Robin looked concerned.

“Good thing he’s not a doctor then.” Lia joked though that didn’t seem to assuage his misgivings. “Really, Bernard knows what he’s doing. I trust him with my life.” That did seem to calm him down, but the vigilante’s were still dead silent as Bernard worked.

The next few minutes were hell. Lia wanted so badly to scream, to pass out. But Bernard was doing his best to heal her and she wouldn’t interrupt him while he did so. Instead she tucked her legs up against her chest and hid her head, clenching her teeth. But eventually the scraping sensation abated and Lia cautiously looked up. Only to hide her face again as Bernard sterilized it. Then stitches, quick and precise, a few simple pinches. She couldn’t hear the crackle of the fire, only the ringing in her ears. Then a cooling sensation has her poking her head up again.

“This will help it heal and keep away any further infection.” Bernard said as he started to wrap it carefully. “Please tell me if it starts to feel worse.”

“I will.” She promised with a nod as he tied it off. Then he yawned, putting his hand up to hide it. “You should go to sleep.”

“No, it’s-”

“We literally stopped to eat and sleep, Bernard. Besides, I’m pretty sure if I pushed you over right now you’d be asleep before you hit the ground. Get some sleep kid.” Then she looked over at the vigilantes. “You guys should get some sleep too. Y’all’ve been awake longer than I have.”

“Lia you should really-” Lia cut Nightwing off with a shake of her head.

“Someone should keep watch just in case something happens and I have the most experience down here. So I’ll take the first shift and wake you up when I start to get tired, alright?” She stared at him, unblinking. Eventually he nodded and the boys went about getting ready to sleep. Stowing everything they didn’t need, getting out sleeping bags, and laying down. 

Lia cleaned up a little. Rinsing off the celestial bronze plate and her travel bowl and spoon in the little stream. The fire was at a point where she could just keep putting new crates over the existing flame, though after a while she got bored and started quietly going through the crates. And when she got bored of that she pulled out a book.

Something to pass the time, right?

-

It was pretty peaceful. Normally when she was travelling through the Labyrinth she was constantly moving. With the exception of eating and sleeping. So this was new. The vigilantes all slept pretty close to each other, and then Bernard had put his sleeping bag on the other side of the campfire. Maybe to give them their space?

So she was reading by the firelight. It was a pretty interesting book, even if it was in English. She had fished out her magic reading glasses, the ones that got rid of the letter spaghetti, so it was even a relatively easy task. One of the gifts she had received from Hermes over the years they were by far her favorite. Without them reading was close to impossible for her. She was one of the few campers with incredibly severe dyslexia. When she was younger, it had led to a lot of teasing and name calling from the other campers.

But this was pretty peaceful. Granted, she had originally felt like she was wasting time just being awake when she could be going after her siblings. But she eventually calmed herself after repeatedly checking her locket and staring at her siblings' pictures. Emelia was waiting for her to show up. Which means until she did, they were safe. Hopefully.

While that had given her a chill, to know that she was planning something, and that it would undoubtedly involve her siblings. It also meant that they were safe for the time being.

Then Bernard was suddenly sitting up and breathing heavily. There were tears streaming down his face.

“Bernard?” She stood quietly, her book falling to the floor as she crossed over to him. He pulled his knees to his chest, resting his forehead on his knees as his arms wrapped around them. She slowly sat down next to him.

“Nightmare?” She spoke quietly, not wanting their whispers to wake the vigilantes. She didn’t think Bernard would want them asking about his nightmares.

He only gave a slight nod, his trembling faded as his breathing steadied.

“The Battle of Manhattan?” Bernard had only been fourteen at the time and it had been his first summer at Camp. 

Another nod.

“Want to talk about it?”

“...No.” Lia barely heard him over the crackle of the fire.

“I don’t blame you.” She turned her eyes away from him and back to the fire. “Nightmares suck. You’d think living through things once was enough.” His head lifted slightly.

“They…they’re not usually this bad.” His voice sounded more sure than it had. That was good.

“Something about the Labyrinth makes them more vivid. More…I don’t know. But they do get worse down here.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve woken up down here screaming.” Too many, too often. At one point she had decided it was better to just keep walking until she physically couldn’t. Lividia had called her an idiot when she had found out, and had promptly put her to work. Mumbling about misguided youths and dumb blondes.

“Connor always said you never get nightmares.” She could feel his eyes staring at her but she continued to watch the flames dance in the air.

“Nah, I’m just better at hiding them, I guess.” She shrugged. In the moment, they were always worse than the first time she had lived through them. Her mind finally able to comprehend more of the scene then it had let her process at the time. “Granted, when I was growing up at Camp, the older campers were liable to throw you out of the cabin if you made too much noise late at night.” She chuckled lightly at that, though when she was little it had been a very real fear. She let her hand reach up to grab ahold of her locket. Pulling it from side to side and hearing the soft clacking of the clay beads strung on either side of it.

“What…are they about?”

“Nothing worth sharing.” She picked up a stick and broke a piece off to throw it into the fire. “They aren’t very good stories, anyways.”

“Oh.” And then It was silent for a minute. “I think after I first got to Camp I was kinda starstruck by you. You seemed…perfect. In fact, I had this whole theory that you were a goddess in disguise.” She laughed and let him ramble. Everyone had their own way to cope with nightmares. “Like, there was just no way that you and I are the same. Ya know?”

“I would argue that you’re way cooler than I am.” She pointed out. 

“Lia, you know seventeen languages.” Bernard deadpanned. “You have like…three different jobs at camp. You have sixteen beads on your necklace. You’ve never lost a race. You get injured and you act like it's nothing. You eat super spicy chili that sends Ares kids to the infirmary for weeks. If someone had told me when I first got to Camp that you were a goddess, I would’ve believed them. Even now I think I’d believe it a little.” 

“Nah,” she shook her head in disbelief. “I’m just a demigod. I don’t need the headache of all those rules and regulations. I got my hands full with the thieves.”

“You’re also one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. You listen and talk with me about all my silly theories. Even now, you’re sitting here with me, trying to make me feel better cause I had a stupid nightmare.” He scuffed his shoe on the stone floor in irritation.

“First of all, your theories are just as plausible as anyone else’s. Most of them are a lot more interesting than any of the others I’ve heard through the grapevine. Not to mention how passionate you are about them. You’re willing to discuss them too. Not just expecting someone else to immediately agree with you. Which is incredibly rare.” Now she was looking him in his eyes. “And sure I’m sitting here with you to make you feel better but that’s because I want to. You’re my friend and I hate to see my friends hurting. Everyone has nightmares, Bernard. Everyone. Especially people who’ve lived through the stuff that we have. It doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you survived. You lived to tell the tale.” Not everyone gets that, hung in the air heavily. 

“You’re also insanely stubborn.” He was resting his chin on his knees again, but he wasn’t hiding. He just looked tired. Exhausted from whatever memories or thoughts tormented him in his sleep. “Since when do you wear glasses?” 

“Oh-“ she reached a hand up to gently touch the frames. She had forgotten she was wearing them. “They’re reading glasses. A gift from Hermes when I was sixteen. I pretty much can’t read without them.” She gently pulled the frames away from her face and stared at the half-moon shaped lenses framed in celestial bronze. They had a chain that went around her neck so she let them fall down against her chest. 

“Oh. Nice.”

“Yeah. It’s pretty practical. I use them a lot for work.” She looked over to see his eyes fluttering shut. “Try to sleep again. You’re not as used to less sleep as the rest of us. Besides, in my experience, nightmares are usually a one-and-done kinda thing.” He could barely keep his eyes open. He hummed out a response and flopped back down on his sleeping bag, snoring softly.

“I’ve got your back, kid.” She whispered with a sad smile. She waited till his body completely relaxed to stand up and go back to her book. She picked it up from where it had fallen, a little too close to the fire for her comfort, and perched her glasses back on the edge of her nose.

“You should get some sleep too.” Nightwing’s voice was soft and gentle but Lia still felt her muscles tense at the unexpected sound. He was already sitting up. She hadn’t heard his shift at all.

“I-“ Before she could even try to corral her thoughts he spoke again. 

“You told Bernard you’d wake me up, remember?” A small teasing grin tugged at his lips. She huffed out a laugh.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She took her glasses off and moved the chain from around her neck, rubbing at the soreness in her eyes before folding the frames and placing them in her pack along with her book. She grabbed her sleeping bag and quietly rolled it out. She laid down before looking back at him. There was a contemplative, sad set to his jaw. “Wake me up if something happens.” 

Nightwing nodded and she laid down and closed her eyes, letting her body curl up under the slippery material of her sleeping bag. Her hand clutching her locket once more.

“Sleep well, Lia.” I hope I do.

Chapter Text

“And what do you have to say about the allegations that Hermes wrote Dear Theodosia for you?” Bernard asked smugly. 

“Sounds like a load of colchis bullshit to me.” Lia rolled her eyes. “Where in Hades did you even hear that?”

“From Connor.”

“And you thought that was a valid source of information?” She side-eyed him skeptically. 

“He’s your brother.” 

“He’s also prone to telling people things for shits and giggles.” She reminded him. 

“What about Max?” 

“What about Max?” She repeated with a snort.

“He agreed with it.” Bernard argued.

“Max also says I should be getting eight hours of sleep every night.” She said with a snort.

“You should be.”

“I seem to manage just fine without.” She waved her hand dismissively with a laugh before pointing to the two vigilantes behind them, Nightwing and Red Robin. “And I doubt these two are getting a full eight hours.”

“No comment.” Red Robin quickly added as Bernard glanced back at them.

“What about Signal?” Nightwing looked like he was gonna say something else before Signal spoke up.

“Oh no you don’t, Wing.” Signal called out from in front of the group. “I’m day-shift, I do get eight hours.”

“No you don’t.” Red Robin scoffed at his brother.

“Alright, maybe I don’t get a full eight hours, but I get way more than you do.”

“I don’t know, Sig. Red does get all those naps in.” Nightwing argued gently.

“Yeah, after staying up three days in a row!” Signal shot back with a smirk. And then Lia was pulling Bernard to the side as Red Robin rushed forward and they started tussling. She could hear the laughs as they continued to hurl light insults at each other. Lia chuckled softly as Red Robin tackled Signal to the ground.

“Should we…?” Bernard hesitated for a second.

“No, they’ll be fine.” Nightwing stepped up to Lia’s other side. “They know their limits.”

“They kinda have to, don’t they.” Lia snorted softly at her statement. Nightwing hummed gently before turning to look at her. 

“So your dad wrote Dear Theodosia for you? Correct me if I’m wrong but I thought Lin Manuel Miranda wrote that song for Hamilton. ” Lia sighed and turned to look at him.

“It’s honestly pretty unclear whether Hermes possessed or impersonated him.” She started with a shake of her head. There was no way Hermes would have done that. “But Hermes wrote Hamilton after Apollo bet him that he wasn’t capable of writing a hit musical.”

“Yeah, Dad was pretty upset about that.” Bernard nodded. “Apparently he had to give Hermes twenty of his sacred cows.”

“Ooooo,” Lia cooed teasingly, “and history repeated itself again.”

“It does?” Lia nodded with a laugh at Nightwing’s slightly confused expression.

“Yeah. Hermes stole fifty of Apollo’s sacred red cattle right after he was born. The only thing that stopped Apollo from snitching on him to their dad was the first lyre. Hermes made it from a tortoise shell and stretched cow intestines.” Lia always wondered who Apollo had felt. Being so enamored with something made out of his precious friends. “Apparently, it had the power to enchant all who heard it.”

“I always wondered why Hermes had invented the lyre and not Apollo.” Bernard’s brow furrowed.

“Well, Hermes is also a god of music.” She shrugged. 

“So how did you guys find out that Hermes wrote Hamilton ?”

“I have no clue.” Bernard shrugged and they both turned their gaze to Lia.

“He gave the entire cabin tickets to opening night.” She thought back to that night. “They were the perfect seats. Everyone got dressed up like we were going to the opera. Argus drove us to the theater. And afterwards…Luke led us all to this little ice cream parlor.” She refused to look at whatever face Bernard made at the mention of Luke, as she remembered the evening. 

At the time it had seemed magical. Her and Gatlin stealing bites of the others ice creams. Travis and Connor had both gotten horrible brain freezes after trying to see who could eat their cones the fastest. Little Georgie and Diane had been so excited that they had been allowed to get toppings, but had been locked in a tense staring contest since King George’s first appearance on stage. Sydney and Dominic sitting at their own table talking animatedly about the play. Luke and André were doing their own rendition of My Obedient Servant, though they kept stumbling over the lyrics since they had only just heard the song. Marta and Selina were sitting at a corner table talking and laughing quietly with each other as they watched the rest of them. “It was a lot of fun.”

“And…” Bernard prompted her.

“What evidence do you even have to support this claim of yours?”

“Alright, so, the beginning of the song. ‘Dear Theodosia, what to say to you.’ Hermes doesn’t really talk to you that much.”

“Most gods don’t.” She felt the need to point it out. It was just the reality of the situation. Sometimes they cared, and most of the time it was complete radio silence.

“You have his eyes.”

“Does that really count if gods can make themselves look like anything?” Even though she had a comeback her brow furrowed a little.

“You're named after your mom.” He pointed at her with a look of vindication in his eyes.

“Her name isn’t Stella.” 

“Yeah,” she jammed her thumb over her shoulder at the vigilante. “Blue Bird’s got a point.” 

“I thought you were named after a constellation.”

“Technically I’m named after the Sun. Aurelia means ‘golden”. But the sun is technically a star. So I guess I’ll give it to you.”

“This is a very circumstantial theory.” Nightwing chuckled.

“All theories are circumstantial.” Bernard argued, before going a little pale after he remembered who he was arguing with. “I am so sorry, Mr. Nightwing. I didn’t-”

“Please, Mr. Nightwing was my uncle.” Nightwing looked so proud of himself.

Lia cackled, and was still cackling when a shout came from the two wrestling vigilantes. All three of their heads shot over just as so many dark figures dropped from the ceilings. On top of Red Robin and Signal and on top of them. Lia felt a pin prick in her neck and her body went limp and the world went dark, her hand slipping from the pommel of her sword.

***

Lia woke up slowly, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. She pushed off from the wall she was leaning up against, rolling her shoulders back, she went to stretch out her stiff arms where they had been pinned between her back and the wall. And that’s when she heard the jingling of the chains and her eyes flew open.

She took in the dim lighting from the sconces on the wall opposite her. The rough stone walls, though they were smoother than the ones in the Batcave. And the bars.

“Again?” She groaned, letting her head fall back against the wall and her eyes fall shut once again, trying desperately not to think about how small the space was and how close the walls were. About another small room with even closer walls.

“What do you mean ‘again’?” Her head turned and her eyes opened to look at Bernard, who sat next to her similarly chained.

“Oh, hey. What are you in for?” She kept her tone light after seeing the scared look on Bernard’s face.

“We got captured by the League of Assassins.” A voice said from her other side. She twisted her body to look and discovered her chains were attached to the wall.