Athena was up as early as ever for her morning run. Waking up in her own bed and seeing her own ceiling was all she needed to give her the drive to push the limits of her injured leg.

One stab of pain once she hit the concrete was all she needed to stop.

Still, a peaceful morning walk didn't go amiss.

After breakfast and a shower, she headed out for the bus stop. One trip brought her to the door of the Wright Anything Agency.

"Athena!"

Trucy's ever-cheerful voice was nice to hear, as well. The girl emerged from the front door with a wide smile on her face.

"Hi, Trucy - what've you got there?"

Athena indicated a package behind Trucy's back, not entirely concealed by the girl's thin arms. Trucy held up the small envelope, offering it to her. Athena accepted it, looking it over.

To Athena

From Phoenix

She raised an inquisitive eyebrow, opening the unsealed envelope. Two sheets of paper were inside. The first fell free as the envelope opened, Athena hastily swinging a hand to catch it.

A newspaper clipping, it appeared. Her eyes naturally went straight for the headline. They widened slightly upon inspection.

Stanton Ironworks, Former CEO Convicted

She skimmed the article, her eyes still wide. It was decorated by a photo taken from outside the courthouse. The unmistakable sight of Ida Stanton, her well-kept hair left in a mussed sheet over her face as she was escorted down the front steps by police.

It was a long article, but Athena spotted a small addition near the bottom. A hand-written scribble in a cramped scrawl she recognized.

"Finally got her, Andrea."

In her state of amazement reading the article, Athena nearly forgot the second paper. She slipped it out of the envelope.

A drawing.

It was in simple pencil, lacking in much detail, but still a remarkable likeness to herself, this time wearing her hair in its usual style. Judging by the pencil shavings present on the page, it had been drawn within a day of this moment.

"Daddy was working on that last night." Trucy said, indicating the drawing. "He always told me he'd forgotten how to draw well. I could tell he was lying, but he never wanted to put his talent to use."

Athena only partly registered Trucy's words. She looked between the two pages, unable to contain a wide smile.

OK, it's over for real this time.

As promised, I've written up a post detailing my thoughts on the fic overall.

You can find a link to it on my profile.

Forgive the lack of theme.