Shadows and Cards (a Batboys x OC)

Chapter 23

   Athena

When Athena woke up, she was in bed. Why is it that when I'm knocked unconscious, I wake up in a bed? Athena thought. Why not a riveted metal floor or tired to a post? Things would just be so much easier. It was soft and plushy, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the room around her.

It was a massive suite painted in dark grays and blacks and golds that overlooked a massive jungle. There was overstuffed furniture placed around the room and a waterfall in the corner that branched out into streams that flowed in man-made cracks around the room. Her first thought was that she was definitely not in Wayne Manor, this was too high tech. All around she could see bits and pieces of it. There was a dome in the center table that she knew was a hologram projector, and there was a panel in the wall that slid open when she pressed in to reveal a hot breakfast of bacon, steak, and venison.

She sat up at that. There were few people that knew about her carnivorous diet, and other than the Bats, there was only one other person.

"Kayia," Athena whispered and practically jumped out of bed only to find herself unable to snap open her wings and hit the marble floor with an unpleasant smack.

Groaning, she picked herself up only to find that she was stark naked with only a band of fabric around her waist and chest. She shrieked and grabbed a blanket off the bed and wrapped it around her. Just as she knotted it the door opened and a woman came in.

Athena backed up and summoned a dagger behind her back. The woman had platinum hair and two ears poking out of them that twitched with curiosity at her standing in the middle of the floor with a sheet tied on her. The woman was wearing black armor with intricate patterns carved into the breastplate and gauntlets. They looked like moon cycles and signs that seemed to relate to wolves. She also had a thick pale gold bar on her sleeve, and there was a symbol beneath it. It looked like a wolf head with a full moon as its eye.

The woman took a step forward, and Athena held her ground. Her back prickled ever so slightly, and she felt her wings stiffen. She wasn't going to freeze up. Not right now.

"Where am I?" Athena asked harshly.

The woman smiled at her. It was blinding yet it seemed to make her less intimidating.

She said gently, "Don't worry, we won't hurt you. My name is Astris, I'm second in command here. You can put away your knife, there won't be any need for it. I'm sure you're hungry, tired, and confused. But it all will be explained soon enough."

Athena's stomach growled in response. Astris giggled and snapped her fingers. A woman wheeling a cart came in and saluted Astris before backing out the oak doors. Astris pulled a pile of clothes from the cart and tossed them to her. Athena caught them and rubbed the fabric. It was sturdy and felt waterproof. Astris jerked her head to a door at the end of the room.

"Bathroom's that way. They sent in medical stuff, but from what I've heard you won't need them."

Athena kept as much composure as she could and grabbed a large steak from the plate while stalking to the door. When she tried to move her wings to fly to it, her wings tightened like an overused muscle. She threw open the door and tossed the pile of clothes on a sofa.

Surveying the room, she wasn't surprised to find it almost entirely made of marble and steel. There was a large tub fit for at least three men to fit in with room to spare, and a waterfall shower in the corner. There was a vanity with a large mirror and the table was covered in makeup and brushes. Athena turned the water on as hot as it could go and raided the shelves of its vials of oils and bubbles. When the room was filled with the scent of lavender and roses she jumped into the tub. It was scalding hot, and to any normal person it would have burned their skin, but to Athena, it felt like a dip into a natural spring. She submerged herself in the swirling oils and water and let herself shift into her water form. She inhaled and her muscles relaxed at the scents of roses and eucalyptus.