- "A bizarre and gruesome scene unfolding in Athens, Greece, this morning."
- ―Wolf Blitzer[src]
The Theft of the Staff of the Gods was a successful heist orchestrated by Hespera and Kalypso to steal the Staff of the Gods to regain their powers, turning several civilians into statues.
Background[]
- "This ancient replica were recently discovered in, of all places, a waste processing plant outside of Philadelphia."
- ―Docent[src]
During the Battle at the Chilladelphia Winter Carnival, Billy Batson used the Staff of the Gods to give his siblings powers, and to prevent Thaddeus Sivana from using it, Batson decided to break the staff in half. Some time later, the two parts of the staff were taken to a waste processing plant on the outskirts of Philadelphia, where people found the staff, learning that it was a relic, they decided to deliver it to the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece, where it was put on display.
The daughters of Atlas, Hespera and Kalypso, eventually found out about the exhibition of the Staff of the Gods in the Acropolis Museum, so they planned to travel to the museum and steal the staff, in search of recovering their powers.[1]
Theft[]
In the Acropolis Museum, the tour guide was presenting the exhibit with the Staff of the Gods, until Hespera and Kalypso entered the place disguised as knights, causing the astonishment of Docent who welcomed them. At that, Hespera rushed a boy so he could witness the glass, causing a call out by Docent. While the guide explained, Hespera began to hit the glass until it broke when she managed to throw it to the ground, scaring everyone present who leaned in to watch.
When Hespera and Kalypso removed their helmets, Hespera touched the staff to regain her powers while Docent ran to call the security guards, Kalypso then also touched the staff to regain her powers, each taking a part of the staff. A guard tried to stop Kalypso, however she stopped him and whispered a spell to control him mentally, causing him to attack a woman, infecting her with the spell, who consequently infected more people, causing panic among those present who began to riot. run while the Museum closed its entrances.
Hespera and Kalypso began to escape walking with the staff, but a guard tried to stop them with a stick, so Hespera cast a spell to stop it and throw it against a glass, destroying museum exhibits, in which another guard tried to stop the sisters, so Kalypso hit him against the wall. All the scared people began to gather at the entrance gates begging to get out, until Docent tried to talk to the sisters, asking them to let him go. Hespera then cast a spell that brought down the statues in the museum, causing the ashes to begin turning people to stone as they ran helplessly screaming in agony.
When the ash ceased, Hespera and Kalypso saw the people turned into statues, smashing Docent's statue to the ground, they then briefly discussed restoring the staff, worrying about the wizard Shazam's chosen champions. Hespera and Kalypso then left the museum taking the magical staff with them.[1]
Aftermath[]
Shazam is forced to rebuild the Staff of the Gods
Wolf Blitzer later reported the robbery for CNN, while presenting footage of the event. With the staff recovered, Hespera and Kalypso returned to Palace of Atlas, heading to the magician Shazam's cell, communicating with him to ask him to rebuild the staff, after the wizard's refusal, Kalypso whispered in his ear to mentally control him and force him to pronounce the word Shazam, repairing it and restoring the energy of the Staff of the Gods.
After the wizard Shazam used a magic stick to communicate with Billy Batson and warn him about the daughters of Atlas, the Shazam Family watched a rebroadcast of the CNN report to study it and learn more about them.[1]