Following

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Chapter 66 Chapter 67 Chapter 68 Chapter 69 Chapter 70 Chapter 71 Chapter 72 Chapter 73 Chapter 74 Chapter 75 Chapter 76 Chapter 77 Chapter 78 Chapter 79 Chapter 80 Chapter 81 Chapter 82 Chapter 83 Chapter 84 Chapter 85 Chapter 86 Chapter 87 Chapter 88 Chapter 89 Chapter 90 Chapter 91 Chapter 92 Chapter 93 Chapter 94 Chapter 95 Chapter 96 Chapter 97 Chapter 98 Chapter 99 Chapter 100 Chapter 101 Chapter 102 Chapter 103 Chapter 104 Chapter 105 Chapter 106 Chapter 107 Chapter 108 Chapter 109 Chapter 110 Chapter 111 Chapter 112 Chapter 113 Chapter 114 Chapter 115 Chapter 116 Chapter 117 Chapter 118 Chapter 119 Chapter 120 Chapter 121 Chapter 122 Chapter 123 Chapter 124 Chapter 125 Chapter 126 Chapter 127 Chapter 128 Chapter 129 Chapter 130 Chapter 131 The Phone Call Louise's First Costume When Keyla was Here A Day at the Garcia House The Keeper Sibling Bonds Once Upon a Time in High School Lillie's Recipes Lightning the Mentor A Miraculous Medical Aide Louise's Day Off An Ethereal Fairy Eternal Youth A Miracle Manifests Three Generals Deep Thoughts Over Lemonade A Miracle of Science Three Branches, Three Days Dreams of Heroes The Makings of a Thief Girl Time Wishing for More Courtney Larsen, Age 15 A Greenhouse Tour Odin's Evening The Keeper's Evening Cleo's Seventeenth Birthday Never to Thaw Again 2617's New Arx Techs Payday Party Prime's Board Game Party Temperature-Regulating Potions

Arx Nubibus
Ongoing 1550 Words

Chapter 38

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Joey heaved a sigh as soon as he left the store. It had a sign on the door under the hours, saying "Now Hiring." He put his tablet in his bag and started home. 

It had been two days since Achilles was put in the hospital again. Wednesday. And no matter how much Joey wanted to sit back and breathe for a moment, he had an interview scheduled. Ever since he'd decided (or had it decided for him) to do hero work regularly, he realized that school would not be feasible. 

Beyond that...

So much had happened in the past half year. Would he even be able to pick up where he left off? Even talking to Hank and his other friends felt strange. Like they lived in different worlds now. 

Maybe they did. He had a Miracle. As far as he knew, none of the others did. Was that all it took? Were these Miracles capable of tearing apart relationships that had held strong for years? 

Would this rift extend to his parents? Ned? 

Joey shook the thoughts out of his head and started walking faster. 

This last interview was a bust, but he had another one next week. That one would be at a restaurant on Tuesday. And then there was a third on the Thursday. A janitorial position at an elementary school. Not the one he'd gone to - that would have been too awkward. He wasn't yet ready to admit to most people that he had no intention of resuming school. Even his parents had convinced themselves it was a year-long break. 

Maybe he'd go back someday. But for now...

He just couldn't leave Achilles alone for two seconds. Was this what it was like having a toddler? 

 

Louise glanced up when she heard her bell ring. She expected a customer, but it was just Courtney. Lightning had given her her real name at some point, which Louise took as a sign of trust. And as a sign that they were becoming friends. 

"Coffee?" Courtney asked, offering Louise a mug. She gratefully took it and tried a sip. 

The stuff she liked. Courtney had remembered. 

"Thanks. How's...Achilles?" Louise almost used his real name by accident. 

"I know about as much as you do at this point." Courtney sighed, leaning against the counter. 

Louise wordlessly took another sip of her coffee. Silence fell between them until Courtney spoke up again. 

"Last I saw, he was alive. We couldn't find anything physically wrong with him, except for a couple burns inside his mouth. We only noticed that one because the medic checked after finding the cleaner." She glared at the wall, but Louise was sure Phantasma was the target. "That woman's sick. I'm glad she's locked up, though solitary might be worse than she deserves." 

"They put her in solitary?" 

"That's what it sounded like they were gonna do. Haven't spoken to anyone from the military since, but she's probably spending a lot of quality time by herself. They're being extra careful this time." 

Louise didn't know what to say, and after a long pause, Courtney started talking again. 

"I think she snapped, y'know? Her daughter died a couple months ago while she was in prison for petty theft. From what I gathered when I looked into her, it seems they couldn't afford treatment for the kid's cancer. She seemed to have a pretty strong grudge against Achilles too. I figure she also killed her husband, but the case was never really investigated. I'm guessing they'll take a second look at it now." 

"So you almost feel sorry for her," Louise said, putting down her coffee. 

"Almost. She at the very least attempted murder. Might have murdered someone else." 

"I'm glad you and Jumper were there. Although...he's still a kid. Why does this shit fall to him?" 

"It shouldn't. I don't know why the Miracle giver is handing out this crap, or why they choose who they choose. It seems kind of unfair." 

"If you could ask them one thing, what would it be?" 

"Jumper? Or that purple freak?" 

"The one who hands out these Miracles." 

"Why the hell did they stick their nose in our business? Arx was fine before they started poking around! If someone else is giving Miracles to bad people and we're the good guys supposed to stop them, I could understand that, but...I think the whole thing stinks." 

Silence fell between them for several seconds before Louise broke it. 

"Thanks for dropping by, Courtney. And for everything on Monday. As much of a pain as he is, he's still someone I was friends with. I wouldn't feel right if he just died like that." 

"No worries. Thanks for letting me drop in. You're...the only one I can really sort of talk to about this stuff. My roommate doesn't know, and neither does my family." 

"Price of heroism, huh?" Louise chuckled. 

"Yeah. Legion meeting on Saturday. Hopefully publicly announcing it like that doesn't bite us all in the ass." 

Louise nodded and decided to change the subject. For the next twenty minutes, she told Courtney about all the ins and outs of making a costume. 

It was a welcome respite from the dread of whether James would be alright. 

 

"Manifest, how's the practice going?" Paris walked into the room where Manifest was practicing expanding his capabilities. He turned around, breathing heavily with hair plastered to his forehead. 

"It's moving. Not sure how much I can stretch it before Saturday, but I'm doing my best." 

"At least one of you is." Paris sulked in a corner while Manifest laughed. 

"Don't worry. Mist won't let you down. Neither will Itera or Magnetic. They act all lazy now, but I promise they're putting in effort in their own way. Mist especially." 

"That really doesn't help my confidence in your team. We need to be able to handle however many show up." 

"We've done our research, dude. Phantasma won't be doing anything, but otherwise we know all the actors. Achilles, obviously. Jumper. Lightning. Maybe Light Master. If the poor kid can get away from his minders." 

"I know who they are," Paris growled. "I'm worried about our side." 

"We have me, the master of creation." As a dramatic flourish, Manifest pulled up a little figurine of Achilles in his hand. "Magnetic, who can transport any non-living thing. Itera, who can rewind an object's time. And Mist, who's completely ethereal when she chooses to be. Last but not least, you - the powerful archrival of Achilles who can clear a room with his gas." 

"You're not inspiring confidence. And that gas comment was just uncalled for." 

"Sorry sorry. But seriously, Magnetic has been going ham on prep. We'll have our own set of rayguns if all goes to plan." 

"What?" Jase hadn't told Paris anything about that! 

"Oops. It was supposed to be a surprise." Manifest winked. "Guess you'll just have to pretend to be surprised when Randy and Aubrey show up with guns." 

"Then I guess this might actually work out." Paris grinned. "How the heck did you guys get ahold of those?" 

"Magnetic, duh." 

"That still sounds hella dangerous." 

"Not if Mist's on board. Not too much worse than a normal theft. Once you get going through vents, a military base is the same as a normal house or shop." 

"I take back what I said earlier. I just wish we had more Miracles suited to combat." 

"Relax. They'll come as we increase our fame. Petty criminals who want something more. People with a grudge against Achilles. Achilles doesn't have many on his side either." 

"Yeah." Paris sighed. He had to calm down. He alone had almost gotten them all last time. With a team, nobody could stop him. 

"You worry too much." 

"I wish you'd told me about the rayguns so I could incorporate them into the plan. And then I would worry less." 

"Sorry, boss." Manifest saluted with a joking grin on his face. 

"And then we'll get started on our next objective." 

"You really want Phantasma with us, huh?" 

"Of course. She's the first one to challenge Achilles, and strong enough to give them all the runaround without any help." 

"But from what you've said it sounds like she might not want to join us even if we do free her." 

"Relax. We'll work on her slowly. For now, it's fine if she doesn't join us when we free her. I'll get her to slowly see that we're all on the same side and joining us is her best option." 

Paris thought of Phantasma all alone in a cell, and was determined that they'd save her. He would save her. No matter what. And then, like a prince rescuing his princess in a fairytale, they'd...

No, can't get ahead of himself here. One step at a time. 

Next step: Demonstrate their prowess at the next Legion meeting. 

 

"Dammit. They got her, and they'll spend a couple years getting evidence together and going to trial. Someone's gonna bust her out before then and they'll all be back at square one." 

She spun around in her chair and groaned loudly. 

"And they won't even..." 

She started typing furiously at her computer, checking security cams and military data. 

If those useless idiots above wouldn't do anything, she would. 


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