Following

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Chapter 66 Chapter 67 Chapter 68 Chapter 69 Chapter 70 Chapter 71 Chapter 72 Chapter 73 Chapter 74 Chapter 75 Chapter 76 Chapter 77 Chapter 78 Chapter 79 Chapter 80 Chapter 81 Chapter 82 Chapter 83 Chapter 84 Chapter 85 Chapter 86 Chapter 87 Chapter 88 Chapter 89 Chapter 90 Chapter 91 Chapter 92 Chapter 93 Chapter 94 Chapter 95 Chapter 96 Chapter 97 Chapter 98 Chapter 99 Chapter 100 Chapter 101 Chapter 102 Chapter 103 Chapter 104 Chapter 105 Chapter 106 Chapter 107 Chapter 108 Chapter 109 Chapter 110 Chapter 111 Chapter 112 Chapter 113 Chapter 114 Chapter 115 Chapter 116 Chapter 117 Chapter 118 Chapter 119 Chapter 120 Chapter 121 Chapter 122 Chapter 123 Chapter 124 Chapter 125 Chapter 126 Chapter 127 Chapter 128 Chapter 129 Chapter 130 Chapter 131 Chapter 132 The Phone Call Louise's First Costume When Keyla was Here A Day at the Garcia House The Keeper Sibling Bonds Once Upon a Time in High School Lillie's Recipes Lightning the Mentor A Miraculous Medical Aide Louise's Day Off An Ethereal Fairy Eternal Youth A Miracle Manifests Three Generals Deep Thoughts Over Lemonade A Miracle of Science Three Branches, Three Days Dreams of Heroes The Makings of a Thief Girl Time Wishing for More Courtney Larsen, Age 15 A Greenhouse Tour Odin's Evening The Keeper's Evening Cleo's Seventeenth Birthday Never to Thaw Again 2617's New Arx Techs Payday Party Prime's Board Game Party Temperature-Regulating Potions

Arx Nubibus
Ongoing 1342 Words

Chapter 102

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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. 


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