"I have a bad feeling about it, Barron," Courtney said, slowly stirring her coffee. "I checked in with Achilles yesterday and he said that our mysterious patron did in fact give him a name. Ben Farley. I've never heard of the guy, and Achilles insisted that he deliberately keeps out of the public eye. Sure, maybe, but..."
"From what you've said it sounds stinky." Barron took a sip of his coffee and put the mug down.
"Yeah. What reason does this guy have to support us? For all we know, he's a scam artist using us to launder money or something. Or trying to drain us of our life savings. Although if he's trying to get our money, he's invested far more than he'll get out of it."
Barron nodded, humming quietly. Courtney knew the dark side of humanity as well as he did. The side that would kill for greed's sake, the side that could never be trusted. Achilles seemed to be fortunate enough that he was unaware of it.
"I'll run a background check - under the radar of course. I'll let you know what the results are once I have them."
"Thanks, Barron."
"Anything else I should know?"
"Don't think so. Legion's put out recruitment ads, but we're still at five people. Achilles, Prime, Kiddo, me and Jumper. Though Jumper's putting more distance between us at the moment due to his own life circumstances."
"Does he seem suspicious?" Courtney thought for a moment before responding.
"Frankly, I can't see him doing anything bad. He's a good kid who's in over his head. Trying to live a normal life and failing to do so because of his powers. I've probably spent more time with him than anyone else in that Legion. It's complicated for him, but I believe he's really trying his best to do the right thing, and his idea of that is similar to mine."
Barron nodded slowly. "Thanks. I just felt the need to double-check. Question everything and all that."
"No worries. Doubting is our job. As cruel as that sounds," Courtney laughed.
"Do you have any idea when another incident will happen?"
"Sorry. I do know that the Legion's patrolling regularly through evenings and sporadically in afternoons. I patrol in the mornings four days a week, but I think they concentrated their patrols when they think crime will happen. Unfortunately, I just can't stay up that late."
"Thanks. If Paris attacks again, I assume the Legion will run to the rescue?"
"Most likely. I think Jumper might be the only one with outside commitments now, and the other three are raring to take down bad guys. Lemme know if you get anything on the Phalanx or that Farley guy. Probably a fake name, but see if you can trace it."
"Will do," Barron replied. "Thanks again, Larsen."
"Light Master, Prime," Achilles said, nodding to the two as they returned to Legion headquarters. "Anything to report?" He stuffed the last of his sandwich in his mouth as he listened to their response.
"Nothing," Light Master said, sounding somewhat dejected. "All peaceful."
"Which is a good thing," Prime said carefully, glancing at Light Master.
"Yeah, but it's boring. Hey, Achilles, can I eat before starting patrol with you?"
"Sure thing," Achilles said. "Making sure we're fueled and ready for anything is part of the job. I'll meet you in the center of Level Nine."
"Thanks." Light Master headed for the kitchen to make himself an instant meal. Prime motioned to Achilles as the boy left.
"You're sure having him here is a good idea?" Prime asked. "He was enthusiastic at first, but I think he might be getting bored with the work."
"Of course it's a good idea," Achilles scoffed. "He was chosen just like us. That means there's a reason for it. He might have to grow a little, but he'll be a valuable ally before long."
Prime chuckled. "Right. I forgot he's just a kid. He's still got a lot of growing to do. I hope he has an easier time as he gets more experience."
"He'll get used to it. We'll run into petty criminals sooner or later, and if we don't it just means we're doing our jobs right. I went months before my first supervillain fight."
"You should tell him about that. You're an inspiration to us, so he'll have an easier time if you tell him what your life has been like since you got your Miracle. It hasn't been all supervillain fights and stardom."
"No, this job can be pretty monotonous. But that one moment where we are undeniably needed - that's what makes all the rest worthwhile."
Prime nodded. "I'll stay at the base for a bit, make sure Light Master doesn't need anything. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Thanks, Prime." Achilles stretched briefly, then headed out to patrol.
Another day, another walk to make sure everyone was safe.
Ben Farley started logging another week's worth of patrol hours for the Legion. He'd already sent their first paycheck, and he'd be paying them weekly. It wasn't too hard to figure out who was patrolling and when, even without the schedule. With it, it was just a simple task of confirming that the Legion members showed up to work.
He would have liked to pay Lightning for her work too, but she was suspicious. It was understandable - perhaps it was stranger that the others were so on board with everything. Ben would just have to keep working to gain their trust, bit by bit.
And someday, the Legion would be fully-fledged, an organization that everyone trusted.
"Bruce, can you help this guy?"
Bruce nodded at the doctor and took the wheelchair, checking the chart as he went. A birth defect had left the patient without proper use of his legs. Sadness clutched at his heart as he realized that there was nothing his Miracle could do for the poor guy.
"Mr. Vance is it?" he asked casually as he moved the patient into a room.
"Call me Cade," the boy - probably no older than twenty-five - said with a smile. "You're a new doctor; I haven't seen you before."
"Relatively new," Bruce chuckled. "I'm technically a med student, but they've been kind enough to teach me a lot at the hospital, so I'm a bit further ahead than my classmates."
"Nice. I didn't know they took on students before their residency."
"They don't usually. Do you know who Achilles is?"
"Heck yeah!" Cade grinned even wider. "He's the superhero."
"Well, I'm kind of like him. I have a power that lets me accelerate the natural healing process." Bruce smiled gently as he bustled around the room. "Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can do anything much for you. I'm sorry about that."
Cade looked at him with wide eyes for what seemed like an eternity before breaking into an even wider grin.
"You can seriously do that? You might be even cooler than Achilles."
"Sorry?" Bruce asked. Cade laughed, his eyes gleaming with joy.
"I mean, Achilles can only punch stuff, right? Sure, protecting people is important, but there's a ton of other people he can't help. People that you can. Like major accidents, or stuff like that. And you're just here as a guy doing that. How did you get your superpower?"
"Me? Um..." Bruce sheepishly tried to remember that fateful night. "It just kind of came to me in a dream. A purple figure said they were giving it to me."
"Oh," Cade said, deflating slightly. "I'd like a superpower too, y'know. At first, I thought it would be great if my legs worked properly, but...after hearing about you, I think I'd rather have something like your power. I've been in and out of hospitals for most of my life, so I know how hard it can be for people who're in here."
"I still can't help everyone," Bruce said softly. "I can't do anything for you, for example."
"I'm used to not having legs, Mr. Healer. But your story just now - that gave me all kinds of hope. Knowing there's someone like you here, that's worth more than you know. You can help with cancer patients, right?"
"To a certain degree. I can only accelerate the natural healing processes, so the doctors still need to administer harsh treatments."
"But you can better help them. Back when I was...ten maybe. There was another kid in here. He had cancer. He didn't make it. If someone like you was there...maybe he woulda made it." Cade looked at him hopefully. "Thanks. For being here now. You can't save the people who are already dead, but there are plenty of others you can help."
Bruce smiled gently. "I'll do all that I can, Cade. Now, Dr. Greer should be here momentarily to check on you." A few moments of silence passed and he spoke up again. "I think you're perhaps more brilliant than me, Cade. Thinking about other people, being so positive. If I was in your shoes, I'm not sure I'd handle it half as well."
"It's nothing special. I'm just me," Cade laughed.
"And I'm just me," Bruce said with a smile back.
As Dr. Greer came in, Bruce found himself wistfully thinking about Achilles and the rest of the Legion. Would any of them be capable of Cade's bright smile in the face of his difficulties?
Somehow, he doubted it.
Cleo curled up on her bed, trying to banish the voices in her head.
Too many voices.
"Shut up..." she mumbled, putting a pillow over her ears. It didn't help, not when the images and noises assaulted her from inside herself.
"The Phalanx will move again on July 21 at 6:00."
"Shut up!" She threw the pillow across the room, thankful that her dad wasn't home to hear her screaming.
Tears stung her eyes and she sobbed. She didn't want any more visions. Why couldn't the world just be quiet again?
July 21 loomed over her after that last snippet. But she couldn't do anything about it. It wasn't her business. The Legion would handle it. Flashes in her mind confirmed it.
Nobody needed her. So why was she cursed like this?
