"I can smell your fear, Edwards. So I'll give you - and ONLY YOU - my ʀᴇᴀʟ answer to that stupid question Flag asked me back at Belle Reve. The only reason that I'm here is to ᴡʀᴇᴀᴋ. ʜᴀᴠᴏᴄ. Everybody I know is either dead or prayin' that I'll change...
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"Hey, nerdshit!" a voice said. "Think fast!"
Without warning a ping pong ball hit Athena Crossbones square in the neck. She yelped and spun around, looking for the source, only to have another one strike her right between the eyes, knocking her to the ground. The pounding blood in her ears was replaced with a cafeteria full of laughter.
She sat up, rubbing the spot where she was hit, which was now tender because of her glasses. Why did everyone hate her? She never did anything wrong to them. Was there no compassion for a girl with glasses?
❖❖❖❖❖
Later that day, Athena walked home, her entire body covered in mud and dirt from the school's football players shoving her into a heap of cow manure. The smell was awful, and it was starting to dry, which was also tightening her skin.
....ṭһєʏ'ŗє ṡȗċһ Ԁọȗċһєṡ, åŗєṅ'ṭ ṭһєʏ....
Athena froze, startled by the quiet voice in the darkness. "Wh-who's there? Who said that?"
..... jȗṡṭ å ƒŗıєṅԀ..... ı ṃєåṅ ʏọȗ ṅọ ıĿĿ ẇıĿĿ.....
"Show yourself, then!"
.....єåṡıєŗ ṡåıԀ ṭһåṅ Ԁọṅє, åṭһєṅå....
Athena stiffened. In the back of her head she knew she must look like a lunatic, talking to shadows like that, but this voice was real. She knew it.
"How-how do you know my name?"
......ı åṃ ʏọȗ..... ıṅ åṅọṭһєŗ Ŀıƒє.....
"What?" She balled her fists. "Show yourself! I want to make sure I'm not crazy!!"
......ṿєŗʏ ẇєĿĿ.....
Suddenly a spirit appeared before her. it was her, but black with the appearance of being made of smoke, glowing green eyes, and a long devil tail sticking from her back. A sun tattoo with a glowing eye in the middle sat on her forehead, blinking mysteriously.
"You-you're not me!!" Athena stammered.
ċọŗŗєċṭ. ı åṃ ṅọṭ ʏọȗ.
Athena began to shake; the thing had no mouth but was still talking. "Then-then-then who are you?"
Suddenly the spirit exploded around Athena, then absorbed into her body with soothing laughter. And Athena screamed.
❖❖❖❖❖ 2 years later......
Athena was now unconscious on the floor of a cold prison cell, decked in a white tshirt, orange jack and orange pants. But that wasn't the only thing that changed. Her eyes were yellow-green and glowed brightly. The same tattoo Ädri had on her forehead was now on Athena's. A large tribal tattoo of a serpent rested on her right shoulder - but it moved and hissed at times (it was enchanted). Ruby red tribal lines spanned across each cheek, and when she growled in her sleep faint glimpses of vampire fangs could be seen.
Screams of inmates rang out through the compound. The others stared at her in shock.
Amanda Waller was flipping through Athena's file. Every last detail, down to the color of her eyes, was recorded in this file. Amanda closed it and stamped the word "DISASTER" in big red letters on the front.
They chained Athena to the walls by her wrists and ankles, then secured her body, neck, and legs to the ground so she could barely move. They placed a titanium headband around her head that blocked her telepathic connections and abilities. Then they sealed her in the thick, steel enforced walls and made four guards stay by the door, which was secured with a fourty pound steel beam.
"This is the one you want?" Rick Flag said to Waller, gesturing toward Athena's body on the monitor.
"Yes, Flag. This one." Waller gave him the file. "Meet Athena Crossbones. More infamously known as Disaster."
Flag briefly skimmed through her basic details. "She's got a temper, but she's not an idiot. She'll cooperate if she knows what's good for her - and she does."
Athena's eyes opened wearily, her head pounding. Her catlike vision was fading in and out, and there was a shrill ringing in her ears. She quickly pinched her cheek to wake herself up, and then she rose - but didn't get very far before the chains tightened. She tried unlocking them with her mind, but she couldn't; it felt like the dull throbbing in her head was preventing it. That's when she noticed the headband.
Then she heard the clashing of metal, the yelling, and saw the orange jumpsuit and small, insulated prison cell.
Belle Reve.
"Wonder Woman, that asshat," Athena muttered, remembering her encounter with the Amazon Princess. "Must've gotten me in here after all."
She scanned the room, looking for the door. She easily spotted the hinges on the door, and the two little spots where food, water, and whatnot would probably be delivered. Then she cocked her head, her elf ears twitching. She heard the slight whining of a camera. She was being watched.
Athena slowly straightened out her neck and pinpointed the camera, then looked directly at it.
"Keep an eye on her. She's smart, and crafty." Waller told the guards before leaving.
Athena closed her eyes and rumbled deep in her chest, and a single scratch mark suddenly appeared on the wall closest to her.
