When Achilles sluggishly opened his eyes, a hospital light stared back down at him. A breathing mask was over his face, pumping air into him. A thin blanket was spread over him in his hospital gown, and a machine beeped near him, connected to a heart rate monitor.
His nose and throat felt like they were burning. His very lungs felt like they were burning, and breathing was painful.
As the information sank in, he started to panic. The last thing he remembered was Paris - a villain who spewed poisonous mist. He was fighting him, but the gas affected him and he eventually collapsed, coughing the whole time. Finally, his vision had faded as raygun shots flew past and at him.
What had happened since? Was he okay? Was his identity still secret?
Questions swam in his head as he sat up, coughing slightly as he did. A nurse came in and hurried over to him.
"How are you feeling?" he asked. Achilles steadied his breathing a bit before answering.
"It hurts."
"It seems like you were exposed to too much of that gas, whatever it was. We couldn't identify it, but it's caused some severe inflammation. We'd like to keep you here for monitoring until you're back to normal."
Coughs racked his body again and Achilles felt like everything inside him was on fire.
"And you don't need to worry about any identity leaks. Lightning spoke with the military and made a deal to keep everything in this room confidential." How had she managed that? The nurse continued speaking while Achilles wondered. "You've been changed to make it easier to treat you, but your things are in that crate over there." He pointed to a small box by the wall, where Achilles' golden mask sat on top.
"Thanks," Achilles said hoarsely. Speaking hurt worse than breathing.
"You don't need to speak if it hurts. You can nod or shake your head for simple answers and I've brought a tablet for more complicated ones." He handed Achilles the tablet, a notepad app pulled up on it. The keyboard was larger than the tablets he was used to, probably for patients with special needs. Not that that was him.
"Got it," Achilles typed out on the notepad. The nurse nodded.
"I have a few questions about your health. Do you have any family history of breathing problems like asthma?"
Achilles shook his head.
"Any allergies?"
Another shake of the head.
The questions continued on like that for a while, going through anything that the hospital might need to know. The nurse typed quickly on his own tablet before nodding and looking towards Achilles.
"My name is Alec, and I've been assigned to the hero emergency unit," the nurse said. "There's two more of us, and we'll be the only ones helping you aside from a few specialist doctors depending on the situation. The current situation has necessitated us to add Dr. Meyers to the team, since they're a lung specialist. I'll go get the doctor now and they'll take a look at you."
Achilles nodded slowly as Alec left. A special hospital unit just for them? Would they mind bringing in Bruce? He started slowly typing on the tablet, explaining the situation with Bruce's Miracle and requesting that he be allowed to assist with the hero unit.
"Are you insane, Barron?" General Evans asked, his cold gaze on the sergeant.
Normally a lowly sergeant wouldn't be brought directly to speak with a general, but all his superiors had dodged the meeting by insisting that Barron had acted on his own without any communication between them.
Now Barron was stuck facing the most powerful man in the ANMF's Third Division. A man who was wrapped around his daughter's pinky finger. General Luis Evans.
"I made a judgement call. Lightning promised to be an informant in exchange for these protections," Barron replied slowly.
"And do you have any idea who this Lightning woman is?"
"I know precisely who she is."
"Then enlighten me, Sergeant." Evans leaned back in his chair, kicking his feet up onto the desk. It looked like they'd be here for a while.
"Lightning is an acquaintance of mine and a former military officer who awakened to a Miracle. She came to consult with me about it and I judged that instead of fighting Achilles the entire way it might be more beneficial to work with him. I know I should have consulted with my superiors, but there was no time in the situation. Even if this is a one-time concession, I'd like to keep my word to them."
He didn't specify which former military officer Lightning was. After all, it was General Evans' own daughter who had expelled Courtney.
General Evans raised an eyebrow and Barron took that as a sign to continue.
"The Phantasma incident and now this Paris incident are demonstrating our lack of abilities with regard to these Miracles. I'd rather fight fire with fire and make a deal with the devil than let the citizens suffer because of our pride. Lightning will hold up her end of the bargain and I intend to hold up mine to the best of my ability."
"I don't suppose you intend to enlighten me further on who this Lightning is?"
"Forgive me sir, but I would rather not."
"If this goes sour, it's your head, Barron. You'll be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law."
"I am prepared for that."
"Then we'll play this game for now. If Achilles and crew become dangerous, we'll intervene. We'll also intervene in cases like Tanner Schultz. His parents have been informed, correct?"
"Of course. Putting a twelve-year-old in danger goes against everything I believe in. His parents were shocked to learn what he'd been up to. If we see him in a dangerous situation again, we will do our best to protect and extricate the boy. I also intend to have a talk with Achilles about who he's willing to allow into his 'Legion'. For now, we've set aside space in the hospital for the heroes in the event of future incidents. More measures will be taken as they are needed."
"Fine. Send Galvin in when you leave." Evans shooed Barron out of the room and he gladly complied.
As he headed back to his desk, he ran into Galvin himself.
"The General wants to see you," Barron said quietly. "Thanks for nothing, Lieutenant."
"I won't take fire for you for this, Sergeant," Galvin replied. "I would have if you'd talked to me about it, but you didn't. Should I bring the General an espresso?"
"Wouldn't hurt. I don't think he's in a bad mood, though, so make sure you do it quick." Galvin nodded.
"Sorry about that mess. Next time, talk to me."
"Aye, sir."
"What?" Light Master spat as his mother stared down at him with those fierce eyes of hers.
"I said you are grounded, young man. You go straight to school and come straight home and you do not go anywhere unless accompanied by an adult chosen by your father or myself."
"That's not fair! I'm not a toddler!"
"I'd trust my toddler more! What were you thinking, Tanner? I know you've always liked superheroes but that does not give you any sort of decent reason to run into dangerous situations pretending to be one."
"I'm not pretending! I am one! I'm Light Master." He demonstrated by shooting a beam of light at the wall and his mother's glare deepened.
"You are not a superhero, Tanner. You are a boy in middle school. You could have been killed by that...that Paris!" She ran a hand over her hair and heaved a sigh. "You are not doing that again, do you hear me?"
"You can't make me," Light Master growled back at her. He turned and ran to his room, slamming the door as hard as he could.
His mom looked after him, sighing heavily.
"How do I get through to that boy? No, how did no one even stop him?" She sank to the floor, trying to keep from shaking and breaking into sobs.
The terror she'd felt when the military called was something she'd never experienced before. The thought that her son could have died was too much. And he didn't even recognize the danger he was in.
She stayed there for some time, and Tanner didn't leave his room. When she finally felt like she could hold it together, she stood and went to make supper.
It was no coincidence that it was Tanner's favorite.
