Aila was just finishing up one of her work tasks when her phone started ringing. With an irritated sigh, she checked the caller ID to find that June was calling.
She took the call, feeling like this was going to be another pain in her butt.
"Hello?"
"Big doo-doo get ready to move right now," June's monotone voice said.
"What?"
"Look at the news for ten seconds, then get geared up. I'll meet you at your place. Manifest and Itera are gonna go see if they can help mitigate damage, but I'll team up with you since it's your first time."
Aila struggled to process for a moment, so she opened a news feed on her computer.
The video made ice run through her veins. Ice and fire, intertwined.
Ice because it was terrifying. Fire because it was finally time for her to repay her debts.
"Got it," Aila said. "I'll meet you outside." She hung up and locked her computer, then quickly changed into the outfit June had brought her last time. She hadn't thought she'd have need of it so soon, but perhaps this was fine.
He was probably getting impatient. If Aila didn't hurry, things would only get worse. She moved as fast as she could, and didn't even call a farewell to her mom, who was glued to the news on the living room TV.
Letting her know she was leaving would just cause needless worry. Hopefully Mom would remain convinced that Aila was in her room working.
For now, though, she had a job to do.
Conrad was just about ready to wrap up his patrol duties when he caught sight of Twinblade running through the street with his weapons out.
Duty called, and he would deal with this before heading back home to have lunch and take a break.
"Halt!" Conrad yelled, running towards Twinblade.
"Legion's here already, huh?" Twinblade asked, a grin on his face. "Isn't this fun? Let's dance, Sword Boy." He spun the scythes in his hands, then ran at Conrad.
Conrad summoned his blade just in time to block the scythes, but the weight of the weapons was totally different. He sensed that if he tried to block too much, the scythes would overpower his sword. Dodging, parrying, and counterattacking would have to be the play.
He stepped back, trying to use Twinblade's momentum to toss him to the ground, but the villain quickly regained his balance and swung again. This time Conrad leaped to the side, letting the scythes land in the sidewalk. It was lucky that they didn't leave any physical marks.
Conrad stepped forward and poked Twinblade's shoulder with his sword, praying there would be no blood this time.
There wasn't. Twinblade hissed in pain, then converted his weapons into a shield and tried to bash Conrad with it. Somehow he dodged, but then the shield came around and hit him hard in the side.
He swung his sword again, and it scraped across the shield, making the sound of metal on metal.
As Conrad focused on not getting beaten, his phone started ringing. He didn't have the leeway to answer the buzzing device, so he ignored it. Twinblade leaped forward again, aiming to bring his shield down on Conrad's head.
Conrad stumbled away, then ran in and stuck his sword in Twinblade's chest. He couldn't afford to be timid. If he didn't fight with his Miracle, he might be killed. If it glitched and stabbed through Twinblade's heart, he'd have to deal with the consequences. Hopefully a medical team would be able to help, and then Twinblade could go back to jail.
If only he'd stay there this time.
"I can't get Knight Errant," Achilles said through the phone. Haven frowned, keeping an eye on the random attacker she'd pinned inside a barrier.
"Is he okay?" she asked worriedly.
"I don't know. Light Master and I are getting in on the action. We'll be out there as fast as we can. I don't know how far the damage is spreading, but we'll do our best to contain it. You keep doing what you're doing."
Haven refrained from asking if she should keep sitting with one creep in a barrier while everyone else caused problems. She assumed he meant that she should keep neutralizing the criminals as best she could. If only the military would show up. She didn't even care if they arrested her after all this was over.
"Got it," she replied simply. Without another word, she hung up. They didn't have time for pleasantries, and she was still really annoyed at James. If he hadn't noticed her displeasure by now, he really wasn't worth her time.
Another person with a Miracle ran at her, so she hopped around her barrier, using it as a blockade between the two of them. Maybe if she was lucky she could trap two people in there. If they beat themselves up, that wasn't her problem. She could only do so much with her limit of one barrier.
They ran around it for a while, then her new assailant tripped and she let up the barrier, pushing the person inside towards the one on the ground and throwing up a new barrier. Keeping it large enough to contain two criminals was taxing, but she would have to hold out.
Seriously, where was that darn military?
Brennan had no idea how long he'd been in his cell. He'd managed to keep himself clean at least, but time stretched into a meaningless infinity. He felt like he was starting to lose his mind.
The only way he could reliably track time was the lights turning on and off, and the daily visits from Sergeant Griffin trying to convince him to join the military unit and betray the Legion.
How many times had he almost given in, thinking that any way out of this torture would be worth it, Achilles be dammed?
But Brennan held out, clinging to the idea that he was made of stronger stuff than this. Hoping that he'd be exonerated and not executed. Surely if someone was going to kill him, they would have done it by now.
A voice from behind him startled him.
"Having fun in solitary?"
Brennan spun around. Ferry was standing behind him, looking rather smug.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, tensing and preparing to run at her.
"I'm here to get you out, of course. Aren't you tired of sitting in here?"
"I'm not helping you. I'm not helping even the military, so what makes you think I'd even give you the time of day?"
Despite the hostility of the encounter, Brennan couldn't help but be relieved to talk to another person other than Griffin.
"We're not corrupt to the core like the military," Ferry replied with a scoff. "Besides, I thought they were your enemy too? Isn't the enemy of my enemy my friend?"
"Not when said enemy goes against everything we stand for," Brennan said firmly.
"Look, I don't have much time here. So just tell me. Are you coming with or not? I promise I'll just drop you in a safe little alley somewhere."
Ferry held out her hand, beckoning Brennan to choose.
He glared at her, then leaped at her, trying to immobilize her. Maybe the military would be nicer to him if he delivered Ferry to them. His arms wrapped around her neck in a chokehold as he spun her so her back was to him.
As soon as he touched her, however, their surroundings changed. No longer was he starting at the six nearly identical flat planes of his prison cell. They were outside in an alley, just like she'd said.
Brennan wouldn't let go, though. He squeezed tighter, hoping to choke her into unconsciousness. Ferry's face twisted in annoyance, then they warped again. This time they were in the air. She elbowed him in the gut, and without any physical object to brace against, he found his grip loosening. Next Ferry kicked him between the legs and his grip loosened enough for her to break out.
She vanished and Brennan was left falling through the air, twisting in an attempt to land without breaking anything. Somehow, he managed to roll when he landed, and he was probably only bruised. Those bruises hurt like hell, though.
What had she been after? As Brennan struggled to his feet, he carefully took in his surroundings. The streets were deserted. Sounds of fights echoed from around him.
Gritting his teeth, Brennan started running towards the closest fight he could hear, wondering what the hell Team Chaos was up to now.
