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Athena was a third grader now, which meant she pretty much had things figured out. She went to school, she took the bus home, she walked down to the Space Center. There, she headed straight to the lab and said hi to her mother, got a distracted wave in response, and went to grab her favorite toy.
Okay, yes, Miss Aura insisted that it wasn't a toy. According to her, it was something called a "pro-to-type". But it looked like Ponco, only smaller and without a heart, so Athena's mom let her play with it when the real Ponco was busy.
Athena liked Ponco Jr, as her mom had let her name the toy and Miss Aura only complained about it a little. More than that, she liked her routine. It was comforting to know that, no matter what happened at school, she could be sure things at the Space Center would stay the same.
That's what made it even worse when she got to the lab one day and Ponco Jr. was missing. Athena knew she'd put it back before she left yesterday - she was always careful about that, so she wouldn't screw up her routine - which meant someone else had been touching it while she was gone.
"Mom?" Athena called.
"Hm?" Her mom didn't look away from her computer.
Athena was used to it, so she didn't react. It would be dumb to be unhappy about it now. "Have you seen Ponco Jr.?"
That did get Metis's attention. She spun her chair to look at the table Ponco Jr. normally lived on. Ponco Jr. continued to be missing.
Metis hummed thoughtfully. "I don't know, sweetie. I would imagine she was there last time I looked, but I can't say I was paying much attention. I'm sure she'll turn up soon, though."
Athena didn't want her to turn up soon. Athena wanted her now!
"Most mysterious," Simon said, standing up from where he'd apparently been crouching in the corner like a weirdo. Simon loved doing that kind of thing. "I believe this calls for an investigation."
Athena bit her lip. "I don't know how those work," she admitted.
"That's quite alright," Simon said. "I am, after all, a prosecutor. Some would call me an expert in the art of investigation."
Athena squinted at him suspiciously. "Like who?"
"And I would be honored to aid you in yours," Simon finished, completely ignoring the question.
Well... it would be less boring than sitting around with no toys waiting for Junie to get here. And Athena liked Simon, even if he was, like, super weird. "Okay," she said. "You can be my assistant."
"Very generous of you," Simon said. "Now. Where do you want to begin?"
Athena looked back at the table where Ponco Jr. lived. It was, in fact, still empty. "I don't know," she said. "We don't have any clues."
"Well then," Simon said. "We shall simply have to interrogate the witnesses."
Athena's mom huffed a laugh. "You two have fun with that," she said, already turning back to her computer.
She wasn't taking this investigation seriously, but that was okay. Athena and Simon were on the case.
Their first stop was the most obvious suspect. Miss Aura didn't care about things like rules or politeness, and if she wanted something, she would definitely be willing to take something without asking.
She was also willing to interrupt you if she didn't want to listen, something she did before Athena had even finished explaining the situation. "Why would I bother with that thing? If I wanted it that badly, I'd just build another one. It would take all of five minutes."
Athena's nose scrunched in annoyance. She didn't like hearing anyone be mean to Ponco Jr., but Miss Aura did have a point. "I guess..."
Simon leaned over to whisper to Athena. "Don't let her fool you; her mind is dark and mysterious. Who can say why she does anything? She could easily have an ulterior motive."
Miss Aura snorted. "You're one to talk, birdbrain."
Athena looked back and forth between the two of them. Miss Aura sounded amused, but Athena couldn't tell why. She tugged on Simon's sleeve. "What's she talking about?"
Simon didn't answer, but Aura's expression softened. "Look," she said, "all I know is that the last time I saw that thing was when I went to check on the new robot charging stations this morning. Whatever happened, it has to have been today."
Athena was a much nicer person than Miss Aura, so she didn't roll her eyes, no matter how much she wanted to."I know that," she said. "I put her back in her spot last night." This was why she liked routines!
Simon chuckled. "You hear that, Aura? Your testimony was entirely useless."
"Oh really," Miss Aura said, not at all like a question. "Do you need a demonstration of how useful I can be?" She reached for her workbench. Athena didn't recognize half the tools on it, but she was pretty sure Miss Aura could threaten someone with a toothbrush if she was mad enough.
She wasn't that mad yet, but Simon looked like he was going to say something else, and Athena didn't want to risk it. Sure, Miss Aura and Simon both seemed to enjoy their arguments, but they were exhausting to sit through. Why couldn't they just say they loved each other like normal people?
"Thank you for trying, Miss Aura, but we have to go question the other witnesses now. See you around!" Athena grabbed Simon's hand and dragged him away. She didn't actually know who the next witness was, yet, but they could figure it out somewhere that wasn't here.
Good news: the next witness was Junie! Apparently, she and her grandma had had to run some errands, but she was here now and ready to play.
Less good news: Athena couldn't actually play until she found out what had happened to Ponco Jr. She almost forgot, but Simon coughed pointedly when Junie brought up a new idea for a game. "I'm afraid we have a prior engagement. Right, Athena?"
"Oh, right!" She turned to Junie, not wanting her to feel left out. "We're doing an investigation. Have you seen Ponco Jr. recently?"
"Cool!" Junie made a very serious and grown-up face. "Or, um. No, I have not perceived the object with any recentitude." She paused. "Why?"
"She's missing!"
Junie tugged on one of her braids. "That's terrible! What happened?"
"That's what we're investigating," Athena explained. "Do you have any ideas?"
"Hmm..." Junie thought for a moment. "Maybe your mom took her? So you guys could have a robot at home, and not just at the Space Center?"
"Unlikely," Simon said. "If she merely wanted a mechanical toy, she could ask my sister." He sounded weirdly amused about it. Normally, Athena could tell when he was making a joke even if she didn't get it, but there was nothing funny about what he was saying.
He wasn't wrong, though. "Miss Aura does like to show off," Athena agreed. "I bet she'd build another one for mom just so she could gloat about how cool she is."
Simon coughed. "Yes. I'm sure she would."
"Oh, that makes sense." Junie frowned. "And it means Ms. Aura probably didn't take her either, doesn't it?"
"Yeah..." Athena shook her head. "And we know it wasn't me or you, either." Even if Junie had been around to do it, Athena knew she would never. One time she'd accidentally taken another kid's lunchbox home from school and she'd cried about it for an hour. There was no way she'd steal something on purpose.
"So who could it be?" Junie made a face like she was thinking really hard, but then she sighed. "I'm sorry, I just don't know. Can... can we still play later?"
"Of course!" Athena said instantly. "As soon as I'm done investigating." As much as she loved her, in the end, Ponco Jr. was still a toy. She wasn't as important as a person like Junie or Simon or the real Ponco.
Athena still wanted her back, though.
Athena was used to being patient, so she waited until they were almost back at the lab before complaining. "We still haven't found anything! At this rate, Ponco Jr. will be lost forever!"
"Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions," Simon said. "There's still a witness you haven't questioned."
"What?" Athena ticked through everyone on her fingers: mom, Ms. Aura, Junie... they'd even spoken to Mr. Cosmos, but not for very long because he was kind of boring. "Who's left?"
Simon didn't say anything.
Athena rolled her eyes. He got like this sometimes, when he thought she could figure something out on her own. And okay, yes, it was nice that he believed in her, but not everything had to be a test! She just wanted her toy back, and Simon was being no help at all.
In fact, it was almost like...
Athena narrowed her eyes. "Hey Simon? When was the last time you saw Ponco Jr.?"
Simon nodded. He probably thought he looked wise, but mostly he just looked annoying. "Now you're truly getting into the spirit of the investigation. Remember, you need to consider every suspect, no matter how you personally feel about them."
"That's not what I asked." Athena's persistence had been forged in the fires of trying to get her mom to actually answer a question without going on five different tangents about her research; there was no way Simon was going to escape.
"Ah, and you're able to recognize when someone tries to manipulate you! Excellent work," Simon said, as if he wasn't the same person who had tried to manipulate her in the first place.
"Simon!"
"Very well." Simon held up his hands, clearly able to recognize when he was beaten. "I last saw it this morning, when I nicked it from the lab." Sure enough, he reached into his pocket and brought out Ponco Jr.
"Hey!" Athena snatched her before he could do anything else to her. She didn't seem hurt, at least, but clearly Simon couldn't be trusted. "Why would you do that? And why didn't you tell me sooner?!"
"I thought it would be more fun this way," he said, apparently unconcerned about his heinous crime. "Don't you agree?"
The investigation was kind of fun, Athena supposes. She liked getting to spend time with Simon and learn more about his job. But he was making that stupid face like he's about to laugh at something that isn't funny, and that alone was a good reason not to let him get away with it. "Alright, Mr. Prosecutor." Athena folded her arms dramatically. "What's the sentence for stealing?"
"You've skipped a step there," Simon said. "You have to try me first. And to do that, you'll have to catch me." He sprinted back down the hallway.
Athena heaved a sigh. He could be so childish, sometimes. It was a good thing she was around to be the grown-up. Everyone said she was very mature for her age, after all.
On the other hand... She looked around furtively. There was no one around to see, and justice did have to be served...
She ran after him, Ponco Jr. still in hand. If he couldn't even pretend to be sorry, he deserved exactly what was coming to him.