Joey finished up work and headed home that day, then was called by Cleo. Meaning she opened up a portal under him and dumped him right in the Underwing and threw his Jumper costume at him.
"Move it, Jumper. We've got some serious stuff going on."
Without a word, he ran to his room and changed as fast as he could, while Ned looked on anxiously. When Joey got back, Courtney was also dressed up.
"So what's going on, Cleo?" she asked, adjusting her gloves slightly.
"Chaos," Cleo replied seriously. "Well, Team Chaos too. But while they're distracting people in the rear port area, Whiplash and Twinblade are moving in on the bow. And, uh...the Legion can't be in two places at once. For some reason, both groups are pulling out the stops. We've got Corrosion, Cold Snap and Shell in the one end, and I already told you about the other two."
"Which area are we heading for?" Courtney asked, shaking her shoulders to loosen them up. Joey tried taking a cue or two from her and stretching.
"I don't know. I've got too many futures running through my head. Technically, nothing's started yet, but we've got about ten minutes. And Achilles and Barrier Maiden are in the wrong ends of the city."
"Where are they at?"
"Barrier Maiden is near the edge of the starboard area, close to the Subways. Achilles is patrolling more in the center area, so he can get there relatively quickly, but he doesn't stand a chance with either group on his own."
"Fine, count me in," Sawyer said with a sigh, walking into the room with a balaclava on his head.
"You look seriously sketchy in that," Courtney said with a laugh.
"I'll keep him safe," Cleo said firmly. "I'm skipping class for this, though, so make sure you help me catch up with everything."
"Deal." Courtney shook Cleo's hand, then stepped towards Joey.
"Just tell us what to do," Joey added.
"Grab Ferry if you can." Odin's voice echoed from the speaker. At this point, they no longer jumped at his interjections. They were used enough to it. Only Sawyer send the camera a dirty look.
"Got it, Odin," Courtney said. "If we have a chance, we'll bring her to military HQ."
"No. Bring her here. I'll take her out personally. Then our deal will be sealed."
Joey could tell even with the mask that the idea left a sour taste in Courtney's mouth. In all their mouths, really. But there was no refusing Odin at this point, and they didn't have time to argue.
"Sawyer, go for the Team Chaos fight," Odin continued. "Cleo, send Barrier Maiden there if you can. Jumper, you'll join Sawyer. Lightning, I believe you can handle the other two on your own. If you need backup, I'll send Darius in with a gun. Cleo, I'd like to leave you in charge of transportation. Just don't let anyone into the Underwing. If they tumble in here, they die. I don't care who they are."
"Do you really think I'm that clumsy?" Cleo asked, glaring at Odin's camera.
"Anything I can do?" Ned asked hesitantly, raising his hand.
"You really wanna get involved in this shit?" Odin asked coldly. "How about this - make lemonade for when they get back. A reward for a job hopefully well done."
"Right!" Ned brightened at Odin's orders and skipped away to the kitchen, pulling Darius along with him.
Joey smiled slightly at that. Ned wanted to help, but Odin was making sure he still stayed safe. Even if it was just so he could be used as a hostage to make Joey act, he appreciated Ned staying somewhere as safe as the Underwing.
"Two minutes to impact," Cleo said, staring at a random point on the ceiling. "I'll send you all out now. Jumper, I'll send you to Barrier Maiden first so you can explain the situation to her. And if you need a name to call me...let's go with Port."
"Not bad," Odin said with a chuckle. "To your positions!"
Joey took a breath and closed his eyes as another portal opened up under him. Next thing he knew, he was in a deserted alley, so he glanced around to get his bearings.
Address...there! One building on the main street had 12-11-5 in the window. With a quick glance, he started looking for Barrier Maiden. As he did, people would gasp and point at him, some pulling out their cell phones and pointing the cameras at him.
He silently thanked Louise for the outfit and kept running. Suddenly, another portal opened up in front of him without giving him time to stop. He stumbled out at the same building he'd read earlier, but facing the opposite way.
Guess Cleo's telling me I'm going the wrong way, he thought with a chuckle, then hurried the direction he was facing. Within a block, he found Barrier Maiden in the middle of a group of people, smiling and letting people take selfies with her.
"Barrier Maiden!" Joey called, hopping over the crowd to land in the middle with her. Several gasps came from the crowd, and a few pointed their cell phone cameras at him. Did they have nothing better to do?
"Huh?" Barrier Maiden asked, taking a surprised step back. "Do I know you?"
"Jumper, I used to work with Achilles. I need your help. Team Chaos is launching another attack."
"Lead the way," Maiden replied, her face taking a determined expression. "Move aside, people! Official Legion business!"
The crowd easily parted for them, and Joey led the way to another alley.
"My friend will open a portal for us and we'll be there soon," Joey said quickly, almost at the exact moment one of Cleo's portals opened in front of them.
"Whoa," Maiden said, her eyes wide. That mask really didn't conceal much of her expression, did it?
"Come on." Joey hopped through the portal, then glanced around the new deserted alley. Barrier Maiden followed shortly after, looking totally shocked.
Noises came from a bit ahead. Joey started running, and heard Barrier Maiden behind him.
When they got onto the main street, Sawyer was already in a wrestling match with Shell. Cold Snap and Corrosion, meanwhile, were certainly trying to be their team's namesake. Ice spread all around them, and anyone unlucky enough to have fallen over was being set upon by Corrosion's acid.
"Quit that!" Joey leaped from the edge of the alley and tackled Cold Snap to the ground, holding her arms behind her back. "Maiden, get Corrosion!"
He didn't see if she did. Cold Snap twisted under him and butted him with her head. They slid on the ice, Joey doing his best to keep her from doing any more damage.
"Where's Achilles?" Barrier Maiden asked, her question going unanswered as Joey fought to keep hold of Cold Snap as she kicked and elbowed him with everything she had. Sawyer likewise seemed busy.
Eventually, Cleo gave an answer. Achilles fell right onto the ice, slipping and hitting his butt on it.
"Ow! What was that?" he asked, looking around. When he realized what was happening, he quickly tried to stand and slipped and fell on his butt again. The next time, he did manage to stand up and shuffle over to Corrosion, who was being held in one of Barrier Maiden's cages.
As he neared him, though, Sawyer slid across the ice and tripped him up.
"Take that!" Shell yelled, shaking her arms as if loosening the muscles.
"Who's this suspicious weirdo?" Achilles snapped, shoving Sawyer away.
"He's on our side, Achilles!" Joey yelled before taking an elbow to the nose. Cold Snap squirmed away from him and scuttled over to Shell.
"Jumper?"
"Here for a day," Joey replied, rubbing his nose. It didn't really hurt per say, but the sensation was still unpleasant.
"Jumbo, we've met, nice to see you again," Sawyer said quickly, standing up again before shuffling back to Shell. Cleo opened a new portal for him to walk through, making sure he could close the distance quickly.
"Their portal person's back!" Cold Snap yelled, looking around. "Ferry? A little help?"
"Here!" As if on cue, Ferry appeared with Paris, both landing lightly on a patch of dry ground.
"Achilles," Paris said with delight.
"Paris," Achilles responded coldly.
Please tell me this turns out okay, Joey begged, glancing towards Cleo's last portal. Then, one opened up under him and dumped him right on top of Cold Snap.
"We'll just help you out, darling." He heard Ferry's voice as he struggled to pin down Cold Snap again. If they could just get Ferry...
If they got Ferry, she would die. But then no one else would have to. People could be arrested normally and given due process. Courtney would get what she wanted.
So Joey had no choice but to hold down Cold Snap and hope that someone got Ferry. Even if frost was starting to spread on his clothes now.
