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[b][center][color=ea7e5d]A T H E N A[/color][/center][/b]
[/h1][/sup][/color][indent][sub][COLOR=wheat][I]THE BALL[/I][/COLOR][/sub][/indent][indent][sup][right][COLOR=b8a857][b]Contemplating many things[/b][/color][/right][/sup][/indent][hr]
[indent][indent][indent][color=#b7b7b7]If there was anything the Greek Goddess of War and Strategy found herself to be well equipped with, it was the skill of being adaptable. Her place within the pantheon was a unique one. Whenever she was faced with new situations or old ones but given a fresh coat of paint of developing circumstances, she adjusted quickly. She has always been able to assess the lay of the land and find the easiest route for her. [/color]

[color=#b7b7b7]This happened whenever the colossus moved and uprooted all divine beings and forced them to either forge new identities or keep the ones they’ve always had since descending to the mortal world. It happened whenever she became the lead detective of a new department in a new city. It even happened when she and Ares formed a temporary alliance to find who killed Hephaestus. Even if she didn’t want to, Athena knew it was for the good of the Pantheon. [/color]

[color=#ea7e5d]“The good of the Pantheon,”[/color][color=#b7b7b7] she repeated under her breath with a forced sense of obligation, a feeling she was all too familiar with.[/color]

[color=#b7b7b7]Athena had gone down a different route for the ball. Given its rather...elegant nature, showing up in her usual black charger, while she personally didn’t care, she had the reputation of her Pantheon to think about. So she shelled out a few extra bucks to rent a luxury car but not for her to drive. Not that she had anything against it, but the white evening gown she hadn’t been seen in since the 80s and the beige-colored heels that elevated her an extra three inches made it a bit difficult to walk in, much less drive in. So she was in the backseat of a [url=https://i.imgur.com/RKoptyd.jpg]black Lincoln continental[/url].[/color]

[color=#b7b7b7]As she stared down at her phone, looking over news articles about the Hooded Vigilante having struck one of Ares’ docks, this time being responsible for destroying some drug shipments and putting even more of his men in the hospital, her mind went to various thoughts but the first one that stood out was how this criminal was doing what most wouldn’t. There was something in her that was impressed by the size of this vigilante’s balls but she felt they could go bigger and maybe with half the effort.[/color]

[color=#b7b7b7]That was, of course,  her thoughts missing the point. The Hooded Vigilante was getting bolder and, if they didn’t stop, might even incur the wrath of Ares. Maybe Athena was more worried about what could happen to the bane of her fellow war god and less about catching him.[/color]

[color=#b7b7b7]“We’re here, Miss Steele,” her driver announced.[/color]

[color=#b7b7b7]Athena closed her eyes for a few seconds, shutting out any and all thoughts about what she just read.  Tonight was going to be a work-free and stress-free kind of night. She wouldn’t think about how the most useful partner she had transferred to Phoenix, Arizona last week. She wouldn’t let the fact that someone at the ball could be responsible for setting hellfire to her kind. No, Athena wasn’t going to allow this night be tainted by any of that. All she was going to do was enjoy an evening at a beautiful white building and maybe, for the first time in centuries, have fun.[/color]

[color=#b7b7b7]And so the goddess stepped out. Her dress swayed with the gentle wind, fabric easily moved by it and she held her gold and silver clutch close to her, eyes forward. For however long it lasted, she would allow herself the benefit to indulging in whatever the Romans had to offer this evening.[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]