Courtney fumed silently as Achilles, Prime and Light Master charged down the stairs, insisting that they had to get to Paris and his Phalanx to save the kids in the cage.
Yes, they had to help the kids. But hostage situations were delicate. One wrong move and Paris' underling could kill one of the kids. Kill.
Her military training had taught her to keep them talking. Use diplomacy to convince them to let the hostages go. If that couldn't be done, just keep talking. Stay calm. Wait until they let down their guard, then move in as soon as it seemed they could rescue the hostages without the captor causing harm. Achilles rushing in like this would only make things worse.
She wove through the crowd, half of whom had their phones out to film the spectacle. One deliberately got in her way, asking her what she thought of the situation, but she shoved them aside. Not hard enough to cause pain, but with enough force that she could get by.
Time was of the essence. She had to keep Achilles from doing something stupid.
Juney floated down next to Paris around the same time that Achilles and his friends got out of the stairway. She kept the corner of her eye on them, with the other corner checking for any other threats. Keeping her peripheral alert for threats was a vital skill she'd had for years, and she didn't even need to think about expanding her awareness anymore.
"Full amount. Send messenger," she said quickly, hoping this would wrap up before any more kids got hurt.
"What?" Paris asked, sounding annoyed. "Use full sentences please."
"They'll give us everything we ask for. Who's going to retrieve it?" Meadow, Aubrey and Ryder gaped at her while Paris frowned to digest the information.
"Itera, go up. Scattershot, Manifest, you stay down here and keep an eye on - "
"Paris!" Achilles' voice echoed around the intersection and Juney glared in his direction.
"Achilles, Achilles," Paris responded, seeming to immediately forget what he'd been doing before Achilles showed up. Aubrey headed for another flight of stairs while Meadow moved to block the Legion's view of her.
"What do you think you're doing, villain?" Achilles asked.
"Why, we're having some fun with a group of children. Can't you see?"
"They don't look like they're enjoying it that much," the short one next to Achilles said. From his voice, he sounded like he was still a kid himself.
"You kept me waiting, Achilles," Paris said. Seriously, why did he keep acting like he had a crush on Achilles? Weren't they supposed to be enemies? Juney kept her mouth shut and checked on Aubrey, who was now about halfway to the military people.
"So sorry, Paris," Achilles replied, almost receptive to Paris' attitude. Was this flirting or something? Was this a game to them? But at least Paris' talking would stall the Legion until Aubrey got back with the money. Then the Phalanx would be gone like steam in the air.
Luckily Achilles was stupid enough to fall for it.
"What did take you so long I wonder?" Paris asked.
"We're here now," Achilles replied. "Let the kids go. Or you deal with us."
"I'm so scared," Paris said coldly. "Where's the rest of your precious Legion?"
"We're all here," Achilles said. "Achilles the Invincible is here to protect the innocent."
"The Ultimate Light Master is by his side," the short one said.
What the hell was this?
"Prime the Forever Young," the big guy said. And behind them was Lightning, taking in the scene carefully. She reminded Juney of the way she was, taking in as many details as she could.
Achilles glanced behind him and made a motion, which Lightning responded to with a shake of her head.
"Lightning! You need to introduce yourself!" he said.
"They already know who I am," she replied.
"But your epithet!"
"Who gives a damn?" She seemed far more grounded in reality than the others. Juney couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Lightning the Quick is behind us and she is ready to kick all of your behinds!" Achilles yelled, running forward as if to fight Paris.
Great.
Aubrey was moving back down towards them, so hopefully that meant she'd succeeded in getting the money. Juney tried to motion to Paris that they could split, but he was too distracted by Achilles.
Stupendous.
"Scattershot! Riddle him with holes!" Paris spat, moving backwards as Achilles moved to tackle him. Meadow didn't need to be told twice. A hail of projectiles ploughed into Achilles, sending him tumbling to the side.
"That actually stung," Achilles said incredulously as he stood. The projectiles had once again vanished into thin air, but even so they hadn't left so much as a scratch on the man.
"Light Master Bolt of Justice!" A shot of light as if from a raygun hit Paris squarely in the shoulder. He let out a grunt, knelt and stood again as fury twisted his face.
"You'll pay for that you little punk!" Poison mist curled around the kid and acted like some kind of living creature, crawling up towards his face.
"I don't think so," Achilles said, tackling Paris to the ground.
"Get off me!" A burst of poison gas enveloped them and Juney was glad she didn't exist. That looked like it seriously reeked. Like one of those joke fart clouds you got in cartoons.
Maybe she should just get out of here. Not like anyone would miss her at this point. She'd head for Aubrey, but that might draw attention to her and she was the least able to defend herself out of the members of the Phalanx. Juney couldn't protect her either unless she started existing again. But she didn't have a weapon on her right now. So best to go back to Jase.
"Scattershot!" Paris called. "Get the kids again!"
Meadow looked like she didn't want to, but she let two of her shots fly into the cage. Screams followed again, and the crying that had paused when Achilles had showed up resumed in full force.
Why couldn't she run away? The voices were painful to listen to.
Juney stared at the cage for a moment, then at Paris and Achilles. The so-called hero was now coughing out his lungs while the villain - no longer a so-called villain in her eyes - stood and laughed triumphantly.
Something strange welled up in Juney's chest. She wanted to cry.
Instead, she left without a word. Jase would hear about everything. And then maybe he'd send Paris away. Far far away.
Prime was ready to take on Mist, the strange absent-looking girl Lightning had fought in the last clash with the Phalanx, but she didn't seem to be paying attention to him. As he reached her, she floated down into the ground until he couldn't see her anymore. Great. Where had she gone? Was she going to reappear to cause trouble at the most unfortunate time?
No. He had to focus on what was in front of them. If Mist came back, he'd deal with her then.
Light Master was doing quite a bit of damage to the Phalanx, but every time one of his shots hit, the new Phalanx member, whom Paris had called Scattershot, would harm the children. Half of them now sported some kind of injury.
This could not continue.
Prime charged for Scattershot, hoping to take her out and stop the Phalanx here and now.
He should have known better.
Pain ripped through his right leg as he landed hard on his side, rolling and absorbing the momentum through sheer instinct. When he looked down, blood poured from an open wound in his leg. From the looks of it, Scattershot had sent several projectiles to rip the muscle apart. He glanced around to make sure no other threats were coming at him, then pulled off his shirt and used it to staunch the wound.
It was a haphazard mending job at best, and he'd be out for the rest of the fight, but at least he shouldn't die here. Not if medical attention arrived, which it would have to after all the injuries those kids had sustained.
Yep. Paramedics clustered anxiously at the edges of the crowd, waiting until the Phalanx left so they could do their jobs.
"Prime!" Achilles called out to him between coughs and Prime waved his hand up.
"I'm fine! Just deal with things on your end."
That was the best he could do for now. He glanced back up at Scattershot. She was currently being held in a headlock by Lightning, who was behind her. Lightning's powerful arms kept Scattershot facing away from her, and from the look on Scattershot's face, the arm around her neck was cutting off her supply of oxygen.
Good. That was the biggest problem dealt with.
Courtney struggled with Scattershot, doing her best to restrain her without getting injured. Prime had had the right idea, but the most crucial thing when dealing with a dangerous situation was protecting yourself first and foremost. It sounded selfish, but it was necessary. Otherwise, you'd end up like Prime, who was now in a position where he too needed to be saved.
Her speed had been the only thing that allowed her to get Scattershot. She should have moved sooner, but she was anxious about not agitating the ones with power over the hostages. Was that her mistake? She could analyze it later with Barron.
"Hey, I'm gonna need you to let her go," Manifest said. She hadn't quite noticed him walking up to her, but Courtney had bigger fish to fry right now. Holding Scattershot captive in a way that wouldn't get her injured was a major task. Snapping the woman's neck would have ended it, but that idea made Courtney sick to her stomach. She'd never used lethal force before.
"I'll let her go when you let those kids go," Courtney replied, her voice strained from all the work she was putting into holding Scattershot down. Any moment now. Any moment and the oxygen deprivation should render her unconscious.
"No can do. Not until the military gives us our money."
"Then I guess we're at an impasse."
"Then I guess I have to beat you." Manifest ran at her. He had his cage, so he couldn't make anything to hurt her with, but Courtney was also trying to restrain a very dangerous woman.
She took a deep breath and ran towards the cage, making sure she kept Scattershot aimed in the most benign direction she could. The woman's scratching was weakening, but she wasn't done yet. Manifest ran after them, and Courtney ran ideas through her head, trying to figure out how to get out of this.
Paris had neutralized Achilles. Light Master was occupying Paris. Prime was bleeding on the ground. Mist was nowhere to be seen. Manifest was coming at her. Scattershot was in her arms.
A thump behind her startled Courtney and she glanced up before sighing in relief.
Jumper was on top of the cage, sheepishly looking down at her.
"Sorry. Looks like I'm kinda late."
