Fiore looked anxiously at Louise when she and Courtney returned to Little Fancy. They'd brought drinks for everyone. Louise's had a sweet strawberry smell coming from it, while Courtney's just looked like a plain latte. They'd gotten Fiore his usual iced latte, one that was more milk and sugar than actual coffee. The ice cubes clinked together as Courtney handed it to him.
"Thanks for the outfit, Louise," he said with a smile. She looked at him, the gloom temporarily dissipating from her face. Fiore was glad it made her happy. He knew just how hard she worked on everything.
"You like it?" Louise asked, forcing a grin onto her face.
"It's way cooler than anything I could have imagined. The detail on the sleeve is incredible." Fiore held it up, wanting to brag to the world about Louise's talents.
"Thanks. Only took me a couple all-nighters."
"You don't have to do those for me," Fiore sighed. "And Hot Rod's should be done by the end of the week, right?"
"Unless something goes horribly wrong again," Louise snorted. "Then I guess I gotta let go of you."
"I can still come by! Especially if..." Fiore fell silent as he thought about what he'd walked into. Military officers surrounding the shop. Paris and another woman tied up for transport to prison.
"Thanks. I guess this is the perk of having the cell numbers of the Legion," Louise joked.
"Can I ask what exactly happened?" Fiore asked.
"Yeah, I didn't get to hear everything at the station," Courtney said. "And you said there was something more you wanted to talk about?"
"Right." Louise took a long gulp of her drink and frowned, gathering her thoughts. "Well, you can probably figure out that Paris showed up here today. Decided to mess me up a bit. And I guess he succeeded. I'm still really freaked out."
"And it sounds like it wasn't a random attack," Courtney added.
"No. He wanted revenge. But, like, I did nothing wrong! It's all him and his messed up decisions. I...I don't know what happened. I know it's been like ten years, but...I thought I knew him better than this."
"You know Paris?" Fiore asked in surprise. Louise looked at him, as if remembering that he was there, then sighed.
"I should start at the beginning, huh? Well, last year, around July maybe? Anyway, this guy I knew from high school walked in here demanding a superhero suit. He was super rude about it, but in the end I made him one anyway. I thought he was messing around, being a dummy like usual. I hadn't seen him since early in our college years, but he didn't seem to have changed a bit. Went on about how he got a Miracle and was quitting his job to be a superhero.
"I thought he was nuts. But, then he actually became a superhero. Just like he wanted. Shows me, I guess. Anyway, months passed and I thought I'd seen the end of it all. Then Jumper came to ask me for an outfit. Referred by the first idiot. James. Achilles. Whatever you wanna call him.
"Not long after, another guy I knew in high school came by. Asked for an outfit. I figured it was the same story again. Wants to be a superhero, needs a costume for the job. Again, I hadn't seen him in almost a decade, but he seemed like the same guy. Then a month or so later, I see that costume. My costume. On Paris. Fighting James and his Legion or whatever."
Fiore took it in, doing his best to keep his questions until Louise was done talking. But this felt like one heck of a coincidence. Achilles' high school friend, Louise, had been high school friends with Paris? Then did Achilles and Paris know each other?
"Naturally, I was furious," Louise continued. "I called the military and gave them all the information I had on him. They went to arrest him, but he managed to slip through their fingers. Next I heard of him he had joined up with others and made the Phalanx. Now he's switched teams again. And the stuff he's doing...I just can't reconcile it. Y'know, he and James used to be two peas in a pod. Now they're trying to kill each other. It just seems so wrong. But if I have to side with one of them, I'm siding with James. Dustin's gone too far. Way too far."
Louise fell silent, holding back tears. Courtney draped a blanket over her shoulders and offered her a box of tissues. Louise took them gratefully and blew her nose.
Fiore stared at his lap. This was a lot.
No one said anything for some time. Then Louise spoke up again.
"I have to tell James. Can you bring me to him? I don't know where you guys are operating and I don't wanna hold a meeting here. For one, it's too small. For another, Paris already found me. I...it might take a while before I feel safe here again."
"I'll ask Achilles to post a guard. Even if Paris is locked up, he might have told others about you and they might come after you. I'll try to be here as much as I can." Courtney wrapped an arm around Louise's shoulders and held her tight.
"Thanks, Courtney. You too, Fiore." Louise laughed self-deprecatingly. "Here I am, dumping my troubles onto a kid. What an adult I am."
"I mean, I'm older than I look," Fiore said. "I am considered an adult. If it weren't for this whole Miracle mess, I'd be starting my own career about now. Just because I'm younger than you doesn't mean I can't help. I probably can't do everything Courtney can, but I'll do whatever I can."
"Thanks, kid," Louise replied through her tears. "Then, can you get ahold of Achilles? I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible."
"You sure you don't need some time to steady yourself?" Courtney asked.
"I don't think I'm gonna get any steadier, and if Paris gets out somehow James is gonna have to be the one to deal with him. Like I said, I can't reach him anymore. He refused to listen to me, just went on about how I betrayed him."
"The man does seem rather fish-like," Courtney muttered. "Twice now the military's thought they had him and he slipped away."
Fiore giggled, imagining a fish in Paris' costume. He grabbed Louise's tablet, asked her to open it for him, then opened the drawing app and quickly sketched the image. It was really rough, but it got the idea across.
When he showed it to the girls, they burst into a fit of laughter. Louise even seemed like she'd gotten over her gloom, at least for now. She even grabbed the tablet and drew more fish around him, dressed up like the members of the Phalanx.
"If the Phalanx are fish," Fiore asked with a grin, "what are the Legion?"
Louise thought for a second.
"Crickets. Loud and annoying."
Fiore watched as Louise started sketching a cricket in Achilles' suit while Courtney left the shop to go get Achilles.
Things would be hard from here on out. But he was sure Louise would get through it. And if she needed anything, he'd be there to support her.
