Joey could only stare in shock as the girl's eyes filled with tears and she curled up, shielding her face with her arms. Her breathing was gaspy and unsteady, her body heaving with the effort.
No, were those sobs?
"Are you okay?" Joey asked carefully, sitting up and reaching out to her. He carefully put a hand on her back, not sure what was wrong or how she'd gotten here.
A squeak came from her, and she pulled away, scuttling back. Tears streamed down her face and she looked terrified. She put her head in her hands again and took several shaky deep breaths.
"Joey? Everything okay up here?" Anahi asked. She wasn't in eyeshot yet, but she'd probably heard something.
"Yeah, it's fine." Joey stood and moved to help the girl up. "I just tripped."
The blue-haired girl looked at him warily, then stood and roughly wiped the tears from her face. She still looked shaky, but at the very least she was composing herself.
"Seriously?" Anahi laughed as she walked into view. "Oh, hey. Welcome to Green's. Can I help you find anything?"
Joey glanced at the other girl, and moved to respond before she did.
"This is my friend, actually. We were supposed to meet after my shift. Sorry about the whole mess." He bobbed his head towards the door and the blue-haired girl nodded carefully.
"Wow! Imagine having friends," Anahi said with a laugh. "Have fun then. See you tomorrow, Joey."
"Bye, Anahi." Joey walked outside with the blue-haired girl. They walked aimlessly for a bit, then she finally spoke.
"What was that? Who are you?" She looked at him warily.
"Oh." Joey looked down at himself. Right. The only time they'd met, he'd been dressed up in a superhero costume.
"Why did you cover for me?"
"You looked like you needed help?" Joey said uncertainly.
"I don't. I'm fine. I..." She closed her eyes and took another breath, then stared at him as if she was seeing through him.
"Okay, then. Sorry. You just..."
"I was not crying, Joseph Queen. Born August 2, 2598. No!" She held her head in her hands again and groaned.
Joey stared at her blankly as she seemed to struggle with something in her head.
"You can call me Joey. Most people do," he said cautiously. "Wanna go talk?"
"Joey. Right. Of course. Everyone calls him Joey except his mother and...no! Stop it!" Her hands started shaking again.
"Look, let's go to a cafe. My treat. And you can tell me what happened."
"Why do you care?" The girl looked at him through her fingers, a pained expression on her face. "Are you just looking for entertainment? Yeah, I'm a freak. But that doesn't mean I'm not trying to be normal. Why can't I just be normal?" Her voice was breaking down into sobs by the time she was done.
"Freak how?" Joey asked carefully. "Because you know my name despite me never telling you? Because you dropped out of thin air?"
"Shut it!" She retreated into herself again, trying to suppress her sobs.
Joey watched for several moments, trying to figure out how to help her. She was obviously in pain, and he couldn't just watch and do nothing. Finally he worked up the courage to speak again.
"How about that cafe? I'll throw in a dessert or snack of your choice." He held out his hand.
The girl roughly wiped her face again, her sleeves now soaked with her tears. Her expression looked empty as she stared at his hand. Finally, she took it.
Joey led the way, and she followed silently. As if she'd given up. When they got to the cafe, he got them a corner table amid the hustle and bustle. He blew on his hot chocolate to cool it, while she just stared blankly at hers.
"Um..." he started, She met his eyes silently.
Joey took another deep breath to steady himself, then spoke again.
"Can you tell me your name? I'm Joey."
She stared back at her hot chocolate, letting the air around them be filled with the indistinct chatter of other people.
"Cleo," she finally said.
"Good to finally have a name for the face," Joey said, smiling gently. "Honestly, I've kind of been wondering who you were ever since we first met."
"Huh?" She looked up at him. "We've met before? When? And wait, why would you notice me?"
"I mean, it's kind of hard to forget someone who gives you an accurate prediction of the future," Joey said with a laugh. "You really saved Achilles back then."
Cleo stared at him blankly for several moments before her eyes widened in shock.
"Jumper?"
"In costume. I dunno. I kind of prefer having a normal life too." He took a sip of his hot chocolate.
"So then..." Cleo frowned in thought before letting out a long sigh. "Guess that explains that then."
"Explains what?"
"I dunno. Why I teleported to you I guess?" She looked away awkwardly. "I..."
They sat in silence for several more moments.
"Can I ask what happened? You looked really scared."
"Of course I'd be scared," she spat, tensing again. "Cold Snap and Corrosion just tried to kill me. And almost succeeded. I saw how narrow the gap between life and death was. I'm kind of surprised I'm still alive."
"Wait, what?" Joey looked at her in shock. "Was anyone with you? Do we need to alert the Legion?"
"No! Or..." Cleo frowned and closed her eyes. "Gimme a minute."
Joey reached for his phone, waiting for her verdict. If Team Chaos was on the loose again, he had to let Lightning know.
"The attack is over," she finally said. "Out of six besides me, five survived. One death. He..." She curled in on herself again.
Joey stared at her, wondering if he should go put an arm on her back or something. Her barriers seemed impassable, but...
Finally Cleo sat up again, breathing carefully to maintain her calm.
"He risked himself to help three of the others get out. And it cost him. If I hadn't teleported, I would have been the second unlucky casualty. But calling the Legion there now won't do anything. The others have already called the military and Team Chaos is long gone."
"Is that your Miracle?" Joey asked carefully. "Clairvoyance?"
"One of two," she replied, growing displeased. "The other one is just tearing holes in reality to conveniently get from one place to another."
"Wait, two? I thought each person only got one."
"Seems that way. But it was my birthday, and that...thing...seemed to think I should get an extra present for it." Disgust contorted her features. "So now I'm stuck with two. And I can't manage either of them. I don't want to know anything I shouldn't. I don't want to have to watch these constant mini portals open up around me. I didn't ask for any of this." She let her head fall into her hands again, and Joey figured she was probably crying again.
"Wanna go somewhere else?" he asked. "We got the to-go cups. Oh, and did you want that snack?"
"Cream puff," she replied weakly.
"Got it. I'll meet you outside. We can head to the Top or something."
Cleo nodded and dragged herself up from the table, touching her hot chocolate for the first time.
