"Lose," The short man with horns said, "That's all I want."
Abbadon stood in her cell, a few inches from the creature before her. The magic-installed bars that locked the girl in were the only thing separating them.
She stared into his purple eyes, trying to see if there was a secret motive, "What do I get out of it?" Rowan's learned never to ask why, but to ask what she get's in return. It's not about information anymore, it's just about surviving.
His eyes widened, "You get a 'get out of jail free card'."
Rowan's eyebrows furrowed, she's never heard of people escaping Olympus, "What do you mean?"
"You get to explore what it's like next to all the important gods."
"What's the catch?" She watched as his right eye twitched and that's when she found out that was his tell.
"No catch."
Without hesitation, Rowan grabbed the man's collar of his white shirt, bringing their faces only centimeters apart, "What's the catch?" Her voice was low, almost daring him to lie to her again.
The man squirmed in her hold, "No catch! No catch!" Once he realized that her grip on him wasn't loosening, he stopped moving, "Fine! It's only for a day, but you get everything you ever ask for."
"From servants; people like us!"
"Then maybe you can bond—" He started to choke as she moved her hand up to his throat, tightening her hold. She watched as his eyes turned red from all the blood rushing to his skull.
"Say that again. I dare you."
The man began to shake his head, implying he won't. She loosened her grasp, letting him gasp for air, "Lose, Abbadon. You have to."
Going against all her lessons, she asked the only question that ran through her mind, "Why?" He was silent for a moment, causing her to tighten her hold once more. The man squirmed then gasped for oxygen once more as she let him go, "Tell me. Now."
"The gods want this guy alive. He has a big role and they know you can kill him."
"Why don't they just take him out of here?"
The man looked around, making sure nobody was listening, "They can't have anybody knowing about it, it's top secret."
Rowan would usually disregard the whole conversation, but this seemed important. Now, for the first time ever, information might be the one key to getting out of Olympus.
Abbadon stood there, blood pooling around her. The crowd around her began to cheer and scream. But, she couldn't hear anybody from the pit.
All she saw was the large man, lying dead on the floor. It almost gave her flashbacks to the last time she killed that girl, but Abbadon refused to feel guilty for something she had to do.
The guards came in once again, dragging her out as she watched the large man getting hauled out by randoms. For the first time that night, she looked up into the shouting crowd to meet eyes with blue ones.
Zeus stared down at her, none of the others seemed to see him. Maybe it was her imagination, she did get hit a lot and blood seemed to cover every inch of her skin. The god looked at her as if she just insulted his entire bloodline, maybe she did. But at the moment, Rowan couldn't give a single fuck.
As she got dragged through the halls, she passed others, but it was quiet for the first time ever. Every single prisoner would not meet her eyes, no matter how hard she tried. It was like everyone knew what was coming.
Abbadon got thrown into her cell, harsher than usual. Valerie sat behind her, talking to Thor with a smile on her face. The boy, even chatting with his best friend, seemed to fake a smile, Rowan noticed. Once she met his eyes, he couldn't seem to hide his grimace.
"Why is everyone ignoring me?" The girl whispered, sitting next to the children.
Thor looked down at his lap, "You killed him."
"Who was he?"
"Zeus's son." The girl's mouth fell agape. Why was he even here? A thousand questions blew through her mind, but one stuck through, What was going to happen to her?
Valerie seemed to mirror her expression, "R-Rowan killed Zeus's son?"
Thor nodded, grimly, "Apparently so."
Just then, the cell door opened, revealing around six guards. Rowan stood up, covering the two children, "What do you want?"
Without hesitation, the guards all rushed in. Three guards grabbed the girl's arms, causing her to yell out. She felt a sharp pinch as a needle pierced into her bicep. One of the guards grabbed Thor, holding him back from fighting. But, two patrols grabbed Valerie, pulling her out.
Valerie seemed to try to fight them as she was getting hauled out, "Rowan!"
"Valerie, stay calm."
"Row, please." The brunette watched as her eyes turned glassy from the unshed tears, "I don't wanna die. Please, please!"
Rowan gulped and nodded, "I won't let you, okay? I promise."
"I don't wanna die. I'm scared, Rowan. Please." Somehow, Rowan grew the strength to fight against the guards. She kicked her back leg against one's crotch and with her free hand, elbowed the other in the face. With the third one, she turned around and punched. Once she was finally free, Rowan ran toward the girl and grabbed her face in between her hands.
"Don't be scared, okay? I will save you. Thor and I will find you a way out, okay? Just be brave for me. Can you promise me that?" Valerie nodded as tears streamed down her face, "I love you so much, little sister." Guards seemed to gather themselves and grab onto the brunette, pulling her back to the cell. Rowan's eyes widened at hearing Valerie's screams as she was pulled away to the door at the end, "Val! Valerie!" The girl struggled against the guards, but whatever they put in her seemed to tire her out, "Valerie! Leave her the fuck alone! If you touch a hair on her head, I'm going to kill you all! I fucking swear it!"
"Rowan! Row!" Valerie's high-pitched screams echoed across the cells, "Thor! Please help me!"
Abbadon watched as the eleven-year-old was pushed into the room. She screamed until her voice grew hoarse, the girl didn't even notice the guards were gone as she punched against the cell until her knuckles were bloody and broken. Thor tried to coarse her to calm down, even if he was also freaking out on the inside.
Rowan broke a promise that night.
"The Reed family is a high-class criminal family that has been in the business for generations." Nightwing spoke out as the team stood around him, "They are currently being transported via vans to the prison." He used a holographic computer to display large screens of the family.
Rowan had to look away as she met eyes with gray ones. Never in a million years would the brunette think she'd see the girl again, even if it was just pictured.
"The middle child, Valerie Reed, is assumed missing or dead as nobody has seen her for about two years." Rowan could feel Superboy's gaze on her but didn't dare meet his eyes, "The oldest, Blair Reed, used to be known as, The White Leopard. We've all fought her, we know how she works, but she hasn't been fighting since about the same time that Valerie was assumed dead."
Well, they no longer had to assume. Valerie was dead. Six feet under. Worm food.
"The youngest, Lincoln Reed, is about nine, but don't underestimate him. He's probably smarter than everyone here."
Flicker laughed, "Him? He looks like chicken little."
"Shut the fuck up, cagna."(Bitch)
Rowan learned a bit of Italian from Thor as he knew about every single language in the book. Also, she remembered Valerie talking very highly of her little brother. She owed it to her southern best friend.
The boy's eyebrows shot up at the comment, "Vuoi andare, mostro olimpico?" (You wanna go, you Olympian freak?)
The girl had no idea what he said, but she just assumed it was a sign to fight. So, she stepped closer, but Aqualad shook his head, asking her not to. Rowan internally sighed and looked back to the boy with a smirk. She didn't feel like grinning, but she knew it would make him feel uncomfortable, so she did it anyways.
Nightwing sighed from his spot, "Moving on." He pointed to the two parents, "Peter and June Reeds. They are their parents and are currently running this business. June's father is the one who passed it down unto her."
Topaz's eyebrows furrowed. Rowan met her a while ago during training and immediately took a liking to her. She was an Indian girl with brown hair, brown eyes, and a hoop nose piercing. She had a slight English accent as her family was from London, but her father originally moved from India, causing a slight accent from both.
The Indian girl raised a hand shyly, "Uhm, not trying to be rude, but what is this 'business?'"
"Glad you asked." Nightwing turned to the hologram and displayed a large room with tables, chairs, a buffet, and a large screen, "The Reeds family hosts events almost every week in this building. Criminals from all over the world go to these parties to create deals and alliances. But, there are also bets going on." He pointed to the large screen on the hologram that was in the room, "That screen shows two different things. Motorcycle racing and fighting rings. Criminals either join in or they place bets on who's going to win."
"How'd you get them?" Wally asked, chomping on a chocolate bar with an arm around his girlfriend's waist.
"Well," Nightwing cleared his throat, "We had a secret intel on the inside." Criminals were displayed on the holograms, "Joker, Poison Ivy, Talia Al Ghul, Penguin. Every one of these bad guys and more was there at every single event." He looked down at a device in his hands, "I want KF, Artemis, and Superboy to follow the first van. While I, Flicker, Aqualad, and Tempest will follow the second. Topaz and Aquagirl, I want you two to wait by route eighty where the vans will most likely be attacked. M'gann and Rocket, wait in the bioship and watch from above." He looked at everyone, "Alright, dismissed."
As everyone walked away to get ready, Rowan walked up to the man, "What am I supposed to do?" She hated how vulnerable she sounded, it made her feel sick to her stomach.
"Nothing." Dick turned to the girl, not showing any emotion, but Rowan knew how he felt. She knew he was being petty about their fight the night before.
Rowan sighed, "Then why the hell did you make me come to this debriefing?"
"To make sure you remember how it works." He began to walk away, "Also, to make sure you know how to train the team."
Rowan knew there was something else he was hiding, "You don't trust me."
Dick's jaw clenched in frustration as he paused in his steps, "I don't. You have a history with the Reeds from what Superboy told me." Why the hell would Superboy say that to this fool?
Anger began to bubble in the girl. Rowan felt like she was fifteen again, getting angry at the world, "You're a piece of shit, y'know that?"
She watched as the man smirked, "Wonder where Thor got his potty mouth from."
"Go to Tartarus, Dick."