Paris chuckled as he hid behind Achilles' limp body, the raygun shots firing past him. Sure things were a bit more chaotic than he'd expected, but all in all this was a strong first impression. A powerful foe who would have to be dealt with.
His poison mist was spreading pretty far, and he'd have to reign it in soon or it would do more damage than he wanted to do at this stage. The mist didn't affect him of course - what would be the point if it did? But it really worked on the invincible Achilles like a charm.
At this point it still wouldn't be lethal, but the hero would be recovering for a while. And in their next encounter, Achilles would have a plan to better deal with things.
The rayguns stopped, and Paris grinned behind his mask. Time to leave Achilles and make his dramatic exit. Luckily the mist would return to normal air in a few hours, so they'd just have to keep this area clear of people.
But before he could do anything, the giant woman with the super speed yanked Achilles out of his grasp and darted back out of the fog.
Irritating, but he could deal with it. What he couldn't deal with was what came next. The guy in the grey suit - Jumper - fell down from the sky and grabbed Paris firmly around the torso before jumping up again.
For the first time since he'd gotten his Miracle, fear gripped Paris. The ground flew away beneath him as Jumper leaped a few levels, landed and leaped again. Squirming would send him careening down to his death, so all he could do was prepare himself. After all, Jumper couldn't go up forever.
When they reached the Top, Paris jammed an elbow into Jumper's belly. Normally, that would knock the wind out of him. In Jumper's case, though, he just let out a small grunt and tightened his grip.
Paris panicked. He elbowed him again, then smashed his head into Jumper's face. Nothing worked. He continued to flail, trying to escape. Jumper couldn't be the one to take him down! That honour belonged to Achilles and Achilles alone.
He'd underestimated Jumper. His Miracle was more than it seemed. He had an invincibility to him as well. As their wrestling match sank to the ground, Paris' head was spinning a million miles a minute trying to find a way out.
At least Jumper wasn't physically strong. If he was, Paris would have been beaten long ago. He'd have to start working out more. Who knew fighting heroes would be so physically taxing? He almost laughed at the strange thoughts dancing through his head. When he finally got away, the two rolled away from each other for a moment before standing. Both of them were panting heavily.
Should he start up the poison again? Jumper had seemed wary of it. But the poison taxed him and he'd probably need to work on his endurance to make enough of it to make a difference.
"Give up," Jumper wheezed.
"Nah," Paris replied, just as winded.
Jumper leaped at him again, and Paris ducked away, choosing to flee. Hopefully he could outrun the guy. He obviously couldn't outfight him. Why had he never taken self-defense classes? Those would have been so useful to have right now!
Footsteps pounded behind him, but Paris refused to look back. That would just slow him down. Or maybe those pounding footsteps were his own? The stairs came up ahead of him and he went down them as fast as he dared. When he got to the railing, Jumper was right behind him.
Damn. He couldn't outrun him. Couldn't outfight him. At this rate, Paris' reign of terror would end before it even began. He started emitting mist, seeing no other choice but to push himself to his very limits - perhaps beyond them. Jumper paused and took a few steps back.
"Not so tough now, are you?" Paris gasped. His lungs were burning.
Jumper didn't reply, just staring at him from a safe distance.
"You'll leave me alone if you know what's good for you," Paris said. Jumper shook his head.
"You'll hurt more people if I let you go."
He sounded just like a hero! How noble. He really was worthy of being Achilles' sidekick. But Paris couldn't get caught here. When Jumper took a breath and charged at him again, Paris mustered all the strength in him. He stopped releasing the mist and used Jumper's momentum to throw him off the walkway.
Did he feel guilty for doing that? A little. But Jumper would probably be fine. That kid was surprisingly tough. Now Paris had to get out of here. He ran through the few people up this high, who were gasping and pointing at him, and ducked into an alleyway.
He wove through the alleys until he found a safe place to decostume. He wasn't like Achilles. He couldn't spend all his time in uniform or he'd end up in the big house.
When he was done, Paris flopped down and caught his breath for a moment before standing and walking back towards the main streets. The mist was dissipating nicely. Before long Arx would be back to normal, but his name would be imprinted upon it forever.
He smiled to himself as he started heading for an elevator. Another person was waiting for it - a woman. The button was already pressed so he stood and waited with her.
When the entered the elevator and the doors closed, the woman grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the wall. She glared into his eyes and panic set in.
Had he been found out? Who was she? Before he could say anything, the woman spoke.
"You're a right snake, you know that? Dammit, I almost had Achilles before you waltzed in there like you owned the place. What right do you have to mess up my plans?"
Paris froze. What was she talking about? Who was she even?
Her snarling face twisted into a grin at his confusion.
"You might know me as Phantasma," she said, her voice low and deadly. As she stared into his eyes, Paris started to feel like the elevator was turning sideways. Stars danced behind her and before long the elevator was spinning around and around like a top. It was all he could do to not be sick.
Phantasma. She was as incredible as he'd thought she'd be. And now that terrifying power was turned on him.
"What do you want?" he choked out.
"I want you to leave Achilles alone. I'll be the one to take him down. If you hadn't intervened, the job would have been done today."
"Work with me."
"No. I can't trust you. How did you know about my daughter?"
So she'd seen the notes and chosen not to respond. He wasn't sure if he should be happy or sad about that.
"The purple one told me. I was looking for you, you know. We'd make a good team."
"I work alone, bastard." Phantasma shoved him back against the wall as the elevator door opened. She walked out as if nothing had happened, and Paris was left reeling as the doors closed again.
"Jumper! Are you okay?" Lightning ran up to Joey as he caught his breath. It probably looked bad. Paris had gotten him good, managing to send him tumbling down almost all the levels he'd jumped up before. Now he was splayed out on the sidewalk, panting. But to assuage her concerns, he sat up and waved her away.
"I'm fine. Falls don't hurt me." And apparently punches didn't either. Did it have something to do with impacts? Whatever it was, he'd figure it out when Lightning helped him with his experiments in a few days.
"What about Paris?"
"Dunno. Too tired to chase him. By the time you get up there he'll probably be gone. He seemed pretty anxious to get out. How're Achilles and Light Master?"
"The kid's recovering well, but Achilles is still out like a light. We aren't sure what the effects are or how long they'll last, so he's being moved to a hospital."
Joey sighed. It was necessary, but that would probably mean Achilles' identity was out. What did that mean for the rest of them? Or was it too selfish to be wondering about that?
"I've secured a promise from one of the sergeants that Achilles will remain anonymous. No one will try to identify him, and he will only be treated for the gas exposure."
"How'd you manage that?"
"There were conditions," she replied slowly. "I'd rather not explain now." Joey nodded. He was curious as to how she'd managed to get military cooperation when Achilles had recently been their #1 most wanted, but best not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"Sorry I didn't get him," Joey said. Lightning shook her head.
"Don't worry about it. You did what most of us couldn't. How do you feel?"
"Tired. I'm not used to that much physical activity." He paused for a moment before continuing. "To tell you the truth, I was in an accident last fall and haven't been able to move around much for a long time. I'm technically still supposed to go to rehab."
"Seriously?" Lightning dropped down to his eye level, concern in her eyes. "Don't push yourself too hard, okay? If I'd known that, I wouldn't have made you go."
"You didn't make me," Joey replied. "I chose it. I looked at the consequences and decided to act."
Lightning nodded solemnly and helped him up. As she did, a thought hit him.
"Do you know how Weaver is?"
"Haven't seen her since the fight started. I can only assume she hightailed it out of there. Don't really blame her." Joey nodded.
"Thanks for helping out back there," he said. Lightning gave him a thumbs up.
"No worries. This is my sort of thing. Now I'd say it's time for you to head home. I can deal with the rest of the military stuff. You get some rest, and head to a hospital if your lungs start bothering you, okay?"
Joey nodded. He'd probably call Bruce instead, but the idea was the same. With a final wave to Lightning, he hopped up a few levels to find a place to change.
