Conrad, otherwise known as Knight Errant, was looking forward to the end of his day. Sure, he was the one who volunteered to patrol for eight hours straight on a Saturday, but it felt like a long day nonetheless. It was the longest day for him, in fact. Three of his other days he was patrolling six hours at a time, with the rest being only two or four hour patrols.
That morning, he and Rose had apprehended a would-be burglar attacking people on the street. Surprisingly, the burglar had a Miracle, which had caused them some trouble. It was a simple super speed ability, like Lightning's, so it wasn't too much of an issue in the end. More annoying than anything else.
After that, it had been two hours of nothing. Well, nothing requiring his attention. Mostly people asking for selfies with him. Rose turned those requests down for some reason, instead leaving them with little yellow flowers.
After Rose had gone back to HQ and been relieved by Prime, Knight had been confronted with a situation he had to resolve by himself. It was just a few kids bullying another, but it was important to make sure he helped as many problems as possible, no matter how big or small. He'd given the bullies a small taste of his sword, then a lecture on treating others kindly.
Maybe it was because he was bullied himself as a kid, but Conrad just couldn't stand by and watch that kind of thing. The kid he'd helped had looked at him with starry eyes, and said he wanted to be just like Knight when he grew up.
That alone made his day.
Since then again, though, there hadn't been much to do. Achilles' Legion and their regular patrols were at least doing their job and reducing crime. He'd texted back and forth with Rose for the two hours he was back on patrol before Light Master's shift. Rose thought it would be best if they split up since Arx was so big, so their entire conversation had been over text. Mostly foolish stuff like the latest movies.
A testament to how peaceful this Saturday was.
Now Knight was messaging Light Master, tossing movie theories back and forth. Light Master came up with some pretty outlandish ideas, but Knight had fun with it. When he checked the time, he figured his last hour would be uneventful.
Then his phone started ringing. Caller ID said Lightning.
"Hello?" Conrad said, putting the phone to his ear.
"Help." An unfamiliar woman whispered on the other end. "I don't know who you are, but Courtney said to call you."
Courtney. Right, Lightning's other name.
"What's going on?" he asked, worry sinking into his stomach.
"I don't know. I answered the door and people attacked me. Courtney's out front fighting them, but I'm worried about her. They've got those stupid power things."
Conrad clenched his fist. This sounded really bad.
"Where are you?"
She gave him an address and he told her to hide before hanging up. He started running as fast as he could - but four blocks and five levels was quite a ways. As he ran, he phoned Achilles to update him on the situation and request backup.
Hopefully he made it in time.
Cleo huddled in on herself, shivering. She didn't hear Joey until he bopped her on the head.
"Earth to Cleo! Do you read?"
She looked up at him, terror seizing her every feature. Joey was frowning in concern.
He'd just asked her if she wanted to hang out a bit on the weekend. His shift ended at 2:00 that day, and he'd said he figured a simple trip to the mall to look around might be fun. She'd agreed, with no clue what would happen.
No idea that Paris and his new friends would target a specific Legion member, with the intent of removing her from the picture. Or maybe the intent was more to scare her - she couldn't read minds. Either way, the end result would be the same. Death.
And it was happening now. Cleo stared at him, waffling between saying nothing and saying something. She didn't want to be cursed with this power. But from her brief interactions with Joey, she knew just how much Courtney meant to him.
Say nothing, and dodge responsibility? No, this wasn't her responsibility anyway! Why should she have to save other people? Wasn't that for people who chose that career? People like military officers and emergency doctors. Not for someone like her, who just wanted to live quietly as a Tech. And wouldn't telling Joey basically force responsibility onto him too? He probably didn't want that.
So, best to keep quiet? Never say anything, forget she ever saw this. But it wouldn't leave her head. The images replayed over and over again. It wouldn't only be Courtney who died. She didn't know the exact body count, but it would be messy. A mess she didn't want to see.
But the future could be changed. Maybe something outside of her control would take care of the situation. Maybe everything she saw was just a hypothetical, and Achilles and the rest were on their way right now. Maybe any interference from Cleo would be unnecessary. Maybe she'd just be putting herself out there for no reason.
Right. There was nothing saying Cleo had to do something. She could just ignore the voices and pretend nothing had happened, then feign shock and pain when the outcome was revealed. She didn't have to do anything. She could just enjoy a respite from the insanity of her life.
And yet. There was no way Knight Errant and the rest of the Legion would make it in time. And there was no way Joey wouldn't be devastated. No way Cleo wouldn't feel somehow responsible.
It felt like an eternity, but it was really more of a snap decision. She grabbed his hand and hurried away from the crowd, pulling him along. Joey didn't seem to protest much, which worked for her.
"No time to explain," she muttered. Maybe Joey had heard her, maybe he hadn't. Either way, she needed to find somewhere isolated.
Thoughts and images flew through her head at a dizzying pace. But if she did nothing...
A quiet hallway that could be used as an emergency exit was their destination, and as soon as they were out of sight, Cleo opened a portal and ran through, Joey right behind her.
She didn't recognize the room they landed in, but Joey was frowning. Right. This was probably really weird.
"So is there a reason we're in my room now?" he asked hesitantly. Cleo nodded.
"Change into your Jumper suit," she said quickly. "I know this isn't something you want, but something really bad is happening and I don't think either of us could live with it if we didn't do anything."
As she spoke she turned and headed for a corner, blocking her vision as much as possible. She heard Joey behind her, changing quickly into the outfit like she'd said.
"Anything else you can tell me?" he asked as he did.
"Team Chaos. Paris, Cold Snap, Shell, Corrosion and Ferry all attacking Lightning's house. Legion won't make it in time. She can't do it herself."
"Do you have a plan beyond throwing me in there?" Joey asked.
"Not really. Sorry. I just..." Cleo trailed off and hugged herself tight, trying to avoid the images racing through her head. Humans should never look like that.
"It's fine." Joey placed a hand on her shoulder. Apparently he was done.
"If things get too dangerous, I'll try and pull you out," she said firmly, looking at him. He really looked different in his mask and hood.
Joey - Jumper - nodded.
"Ready when you are," he said.
Cleo took a deep breath and focused, and the space under Jumper distorted. A moment later, he was gone.
Now to get back to her own house. From there, she'd try to watch as events unfolded.
