[lupus non timet canem latrantem]

Tessa plucked a champagne flute from the nearest gravitating waiter, raising it to her lips as she surveyed the ballroom, searching for anything out of the ordinary. Aside from the raucous laughter that always seemed to precede New York City's elite and the guest appearance made by the mini quiches at the snack table, there was nothing abnormal about the gala. Tessa should have been grateful, but instead, the mundane reality of the gala left as bad a taste in her mouth as the champagne.

            Setting the flute down, Tessa cleared her throat and began her way through the crowd, flicking her attention to the ring of balconies above them. Guests, all in their finery, rotated through the upper levels of the Met, allowing Reese and Imogen the optimal opportunity to blend in with the crowd. Despite appearing as the charming, well-dressed couple, they were lethal, guns and bows a reach away.

            Tessa smirked at the thought. It really was true that the most beautiful things were the deadliest.

            Speaking of beautiful...

            Tessa craned her neck to spot Kaden near the snack table, a hand reaching towards the mini quiche in an attempt to be conspicuous. As if feeling Tessa's amused gaze, Kaden locked eyes with her, recoiling his hand.

            Tessa quirked an eyebrow at him, as if saying 'Really?'

            Kaden shrugged, snagging a mini quiche and popping it in his mouth, dusting off his hands. Job finished, he began his next rotation through the crowd.

            Tessa shook her head to herself, laughing under her breath. She had half a mind to go over to Kaden—or better yet, the snack table—but upon taking a step, her heeled foot did not meet the luminous tile of the Met's ballroom.

            Instead, it met a dusty cavern floor.

            Tessa looked up in alarm, her heart beginning to race in her chest. The big band music had disappeared, leaving only a subtle babble of some underground pool and the thundering beat of Tessa's heart in its place.

            With a mind-numbing sensation, Tessa knew where she was. Somehow, she'd transported to Crystal Cavern, where she'd faced Deimos all those years ago.

            The sound of rapid footsteps echoed from the only entrance to the cavern, the winding corridor Tessa had had nightmares of for weeks leading up to the quest. She twisted around as maniacal laughter and haunting screams got closer and closer to where Tessa stood.

            Tessa fumbled for a weapon, torn between using Tempest or the new gun strapped beneath her dress. She decided for the gun, moving for it as she wondered, in bewilderment, how she'd gotten here—

            "Tessa?"

            Tessa snapped her head up, back in the Met. Everything seemed louder, every flash of a camera's light blinding. It took a moment to orient herself, and she raised the hand reaching for her gun to her ear instead, turning on her comms. "Yeah?"

            "You good?" Came Reese's concerned voice. Laughter floated from behind his voice, no doubt a group of politicians that Imogen was busy charming.

            Tessa cast a wary glance around the gala, expecting it to turn back into Crystal Caverns again. Suddenly, it felt like every well-dressed man and woman in the room was just another monster in disguise, waiting to corner her.

            Tessa quelled a sudden flare of anxiety, scanning the balconies above until she landed on Reese, casually watching her. She gave him a curt nod. "Peachy keen."

            From what Tessa could gather, Reese didn't appear convinced, but the son of Apollo didn't exactly have the most cheerful of resting faces, so she wasn't surprised.

            "Well, turn on the charm because Rainier is heading your way," Reese reported. "Your seven."

            Immediately, Tessa heard the cadence of Rainier's default laughter from behind her. She took a deep breath, forcing down any other quaking nerves, and spun around, calling upon her wit to give her the answers she needed and her courage to execute any necessary precautions.

            Alderman Rainier materialized before her, his signature dazzling grin on his face. Dressed in his tailored tuxedo, he looked the part of the charming, young politician who would undoubtedly spend his free time kissing babies and shaking hands of his adoring supporters. However, Tessa couldn't shake her lingering suspicion that beneath the tux, beneath the smile, beneath the name was a Titan on the verge of wreaking havoc and raining hell upon not only the city he claimed to defend, but the world to which it belonged.

            "Alderman Rainier," Tessa chimed, her voice an octave higher than it normally was. She outstretched a delicate hand towards him, hoping he wouldn't notice the callouses and scars from a lifetime of fighting evil. "Tessa Brennan. I'm with the New York Media Herald."

            Rainier stopped in his tracks, looking from Tessa's outstretched hand to her face, lingering there. A ripple of something Tessa couldn't place reverberated between them, and a beat passed before Rainier's smile grew and he shook Tessa's hand.

            "What's a pretty face like you doing working in a place like that?" Rainier responded, a laugh lacing his voice.

            Tessa resisted the urge to vomit for his words, and the ones she was about to say. Desperate times called for desperate measures, she supposed as she laughed demurely, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

            "I could almost ask you the same question," Tessa looked up at Rainier, fixing him with her signature analytical stare.

            "Oh, please," Rainier swiped a lazy hand towards her, laughing whole-heartedly. "I'm practically an old geezer."

            Tessa laughed, hoping he couldn't hear how fake it was. "Some would say that the older one was, or felt in this case, the wiser and more powerful they became."

            The orchestra struck up a new song, a jazzy tune that even lightened Tessa's mood. Couples began to dance, and dread filled Tessa's stomach.

            "Care to dance, Miss Brennan?" Rainier asked, holding out his hand.

            Heartbeats felt like eternities as Tessa glanced from Rainier's hand to his casual expression, wondering if there was some greater power pulling the strings.

            Tessa slid her hand into Rainier's, allowing him to lead her to the dancefloor. They fell right into the proper stance, moving with the melody.

            "I appreciate your kind words, Miss Brennan, but tell me," Rainier began, nodding to someone that passed them while dancing. "How familiar are you with the myths and legends of old?"

            Tessa tried not to let the sudden jolt of her nerves reach her face. "Pretty familiar."

            Rainier chuckled. "I suppose nowadays we all are. Nevertheless, your beliefs seem to coincide those of the ancients. After all, the greatest senators and philosophers were in fact older than the common folk."

            "And yet the gods were timeless," Tessa countered, as casually as possible.

            "But even the gods were new for a time," Rainier fixed her with an intrigued look. "Titans walked the earth before any god or goddess did."

            The temperature in the Met seemed to drop twenty degrees, yet no one but Tessa seemed to notice. Tessa arched an eyebrow, trying to read the look in Rainier's eyes as her heart sped in her chest.

            "I suppose," Tessa said slowly, casting a calm glance around the room. Where was Kaden? Hell, where was Adam?

            "What's wrong?" Rainier asked.

            "Nothing," Tessa gave him a reassuring smile. "I just don't believe that the Titans are. . . ideal role models."

            Rainier chuckled. "And why's that? They were the oldest, were they not? Powerful, as well?"

            "They spread fear along with that power," Tessa countered. "Not exactly a fitting comparison to yourself, while we're on the subject. Aren't you afraid someone will hear this and write a little article about how the great Alderman Grant Rainier compares himself to the malevolent Titans of old?"

            Rainier smiled like she'd just shared an inside joke. "You'll find, Miss Brennan, that there's little I'm afraid of."

            Tessa arched her eyebrows. "Is that so?"

            Rainier nodded. "In politics, you can't afford to be afraid. In life, even more so."

            "Easier said than done," Tessa chimed.

            "Immensely easier said than done," Rainier conceded. "What are you afraid of, Miss Brennan?"

            Gee, let me think, Tessa thought, but forced away the thought with a demure smile. "A handful of things."

            "Such as?"

            "Power in the hands of those either too unfit or too malicious to wield it," Tessa began. "Chaos. Destruction. Things of that sort."

            A look that Tessa couldn't place washed over Rainier's eyes. "I see. And do you regard me with this fear of yours?"

            "That depends," Tessa met his gaze, allowing part of the monstrous deep to come through the calm waters of her eyes. Just enough to show him the true force of what he was laying eyes upon. "Should I?"

            Rainier slowed in the dance, his eyes never straying from Tessa's. He leant forward, his breath tickling Tessa's ear as he whispered, "Not if you know what's good for you and your career, Miss Brennan."

            He pulled away, an impish smile on his lips. However, it didn't reach his eyes. Tessa laughed, treating his words as a joke that he had intended to tell, rather than the threat it most likely was.

            "That, Alderman, is not something I'm afraid of." Tessa assured him.

            "Are you sure, Miss Brennan?" Rainier said as the music began on its final crescendo.

            "Positive."

            "Because after all," Rainier spun her out with the apex of the music, spinning her back as it ended. "Fear is at the root of all things."

            And as the crowd erupted into applause, the sound of gunshots firing through the ballroom turned the sounds of camaraderie to terror.

            Tessa crouched to the ground with the rest of the people on her floor of the gala, panic swelling in her chest as she swept her gaze towards the door. A group of eight gunmen, all dressed in black fatigues, marched its way towards the guests of the gala.

            "Well, well, well," The lead gunmen said, lowering his gun as his seven associates spread themselves out through the floor. "This is quite the shindig. You're all here for Rainier, huh? Where is he?"

            Panic for Tessa's own safety surged through her mind as she glanced to her side, where Rainier had been standing. However, he was gone.

            Tessa rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to curse the politician out right then and there. Instead, she fixed her eyes upon the gunman, trying to take in as much detail as possible. He appeared average height, about six-feet tall, and aside from his eyes—piercing gray—she couldn't see his face. However, he seemed familiar. Then again, all villains seemed familiar in Tessa's mind; the thing they all had in common was violence.

            "Bring out Rainier within the next fifteen minutes, and no one gets hurt," The lead gunman made his demands. "If I don't find myself face to face with his ever-so-charming presence by then, I start sending him his guests' thank you notes, in the forms of their corpses."

            Corpses. That was a big word for madmen like this guy, Tessa figured. She dared to survey the ring of balconies for Reese and Imogen, but two gunmen were making their way down either end of the upper floor. Unless they had a good shot at taking them out, Tessa couldn't depend on them to start picking the ones of the ground floor off.

            A security guard ran in, gun pointed at the lead gunman. Tessa watched his demise in slow motion, as the lead gunman whipped his attention to where the security guard had came from, raised his gun, and fired six rapid shots into his chest. The security guard fell to the ground amid the bloodcurdling screams of the gala's guests.

            "QUIET!" The lead gunman shouted. "If you value your life, you'll keep quiet."

            Tessa needed a plan, she needed one fast, but before she could form one, she spotted an all too familiar figure getting to his feet on the opposite side of the crowd. Her heart sank. No.

            "I'd suggest sitting back down, pretty boy," The lead gunman turned on Kaden, his gun pointed right for his heart. His friends turned on Kaden too, until suddenly, six guns were pointed to him, six fingers on semi-automatic triggers.

            And yet, Kaden merely glanced at them each, one by one, as if they were bees buzzing a little too close to him for comfort.

            "Gentlemen, please. Put down your guns, and let's talk this out. You've given so much effort already, you deserve a little break, don't you think? Your little hostages will still be there when you're done, I promise." Kaden began, his charmspeak floating through the room as potent and powerful as heavy perfume. Even Tessa had to resist the urge to lay down on the ground and relax.

            The gunmen lowered their guns, and the guests were too busy hanging on to Kaden's every word to notice how this man had just stopped a squad of terrorists.

            "You want Rainier, right? So why hurt all these innocent people? In fact, if they all left now, I'm sure you wouldn't really mind, right? Let them go. It's Rainier who you really want." Kaden continued, lowering his hands slowly.

            "L..." The lead gunman began, his voice slow. "Let them go." He turned to the group of hostages, under Kaden's spell. "Get out of here! Now!"

            Kaden turned to the hostages as well, a benevolent smile on his face. "Get out as quietly and calmly as possible. Everything is okay. Everything is under control."

            Tessa watched in amazement as the group of guests got to their feet and filed for the nearest exits, silent as night. With the gunmen's focus on Kaden and the room now nearly empty, Tessa slowly got to her feet, removing her gun from its holster.

            "Now that we've had that lovely chat," Kaden began, removing his own weapon as casually as pulling out a handkerchief. "May I introduce you to my colleague, Tessa Brennan?"

            The lead gunman spun around, and Tessa flashed them a charming smile before firing. He went down, and that seemed to be enough to wake the others from their trance.

            Four more shots rang out from the upper floor, no doubt Reese and Imogen taking care of their own assailants. Kaden fired a shot as well, taking out one more man before him and Tessa. Four down, four to go.

            From then on, Tessa let her agility take over the rest. She swept towards the gunman that appeared the most dazed, and with a well-rounded kick, knocked the weapon from his hands. He hardly had enough time to blink as she brought her fist to his face, and he crumpled to the ground.

            With her battle senses kicked into gear, Tessa sensed someone behind her and slashed a quick arm through the air. Water from the decorative fountain Rainier's campaign members must have brought in arced towards Tessa, knocking the bullet headed straight towards her off its course. It ricocheted as if it'd hit a wall, but grazed Tessa's upper arm.

            Tessa cried out at the pain as she moved her arm, gritting her teeth. She looked up at the gunman that had shot at her, eyes wide behind his ski mask—he'd no doubt seen right through the Mist, and witnessed her control the water. She glared at him, the fire from her wound in her eyes.

            "That's not very chivalrous of you," Tessa managed through grit teeth. Despite her arm screaming in flares of pain, she set her palms on the ground and swept her leg out from under her, knocking the gunman down.

            Tessa grabbed her own fallen gun, firing a shot at the gunman before putting it in her holster and moving towards Kaden, who knocked out the last gunman. His gaze flew to her wound, and his emerald eyes widened in horror.

            "Tessa, you need to—"

            "Suggest anything other than continue fighting and I'll scream, Gray, don't test me."

            Kaden clamped his lips shut. "There's no more fight." He rifled through his interior coat pocket, pulling out a tiny Ziploc baggie of what looked like pills.

            "Kaden, I don't think Advil is gonna do much for a gunshot wound," Tessa winced as another flare of pain shot down her arm.

            "It's ambrosia," Kaden fished a pill out of the baggie, handing her one. "Perks of having access to both godly food and medical equipment."

            Tessa didn't protest; she bit down on the pill and sure enough, its contents tasted heavenly. At that particular moment, it tasted like Tessa's favorite order at Dale's café: a slice of strawberry cheesecake. The pain in her arm began to ebb enough for her to move her arm easily.

            "We need to go," Kaden began, ushering Tessa towards the door. However, someone beat them to it.

            "Gladly," Tessa managed, taking a deep breath. She raised her hand to her comms, turning it on. "Imogen, Reese, status report."

            "We're looking for Rainier," Imogen responded. "You guys need to take care of the rest of the gunmen."

            "We did," Tessa responded.

            As if the universe insisted on proving her wrong, shots rang out from the front entrance of the Met, where the hostages had exited. Tessa and Kaden looked to one another in horror and sprinted towards them.

            Sure enough, three of the gunmen remained, reigning terror over a group of hostages. Most had gotten away. In the distance, Tessa could see the impending flickering lights of the police. But right now, she and Kaden were these people's only hope.

            "Really? You need another talk too?" Kaden's charmspeak washed over the group once more. "Toss your weapons."

            The gunmen reluctantly did so, their movements choppy like they were fighting a current, which in a way, Kaden's charmspeak was like.

            "Now it's a fair fight," Kaden said. "Shall we, Tessa?"

            "Gladly," Tessa said, and rushed the nearest gunman.

            Years of battle training honed Tessa's movements as she swung, twisting out of the way as the gunmen punched towards her. She struck him in the side, and as he stumbled back, swiped her foot upwards and kicked him down, her heel meeting his face. The gunman went down, right beside a very frightened looking Adam Bennet.

            "Tessa?" Adam squawked incredulously.

            "Adam?" Tessa blinked, lowering her fists.

            "Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Adam watched her amazedly.

            "Uh," Tessa cleared her throat. "Summer camp. Excuse me for a second."

            She whirled around, catching Adam mutter "Summer camp with who? Seal Team Six?" under his breath as she did. The third gunman barreled towards her, but before he could reach her, he met the stun bullets from Kaden's gun. He stumbled to the ground, and as the dust of the battle settled, the hostages got up and ran for their lives.

            "Thanks," Tessa exhaled, looking to Kaden.

            "Don't mention it," Kaden tucked his gun away. "Incoming."

            Adam got to his feet, brushing off his suit as he walked towards where Kaden and Tessa were standing. The lights of the incoming police cars reflecting over his features, twisting his face into something strange.

            For a moment, Adam didn't say anything. Then, he nodded to Kaden. "I assume you go to this summer camp too?"

            Tessa shot Kaden a cautionary look, and despite his furrowed brow of confusion, nodded. "Yep. Love that camp."

            "Okay," Adam nodded along. "Just checking."

            And with that, Adam fainted.

            Tessa could feel Kaden's snickering before it could begin. She held up a hand to him. "Don't."

            "I'm not doing anything," Kaden tried not to laugh.

            Tessa hated that she had to stifle her own. She raised a hand to her comms. "Imogen, Reese, we've got them."

            "That makes one of us," Reese managed. "Because Rainier's gone."

            Tessa knit her eyebrows together. "That makes no sense."

            "Well, he's a politician, Tessa. They kind of need to get out of hostage crises." Reese explained.

            "No," Tessa interrupted, her heart pounding. "He just disappeared. I was dancing with him, and he said something, right as the shots rang out."

            "What'd he say?" Kaden asked.

            Tessa racked her brain, her dance with the politician feeling like it'd been an eternity ago. But then she remembered, and a chill ran through her body as the realization dawned on her.

            "We need to get to camp, now," Tessa asserted.

            Kaden's eyes locked on something just behind Tessa. "I'm afraid that'll have to wait, Tess."
             Confused, Tessa whirled around, expecting to find more gunmen or worse, Rainier, marching towards her with hell to pay. But instead, she was met with a handful of police officers, cameramen, and reporters, all barking questions at her.

            And in all her years of fighting, this was one enemy Tessa had never anticipated facing before.