Pale light filtered in through the window as Dustin stared out at the clouds. They were a pale, fluffy pink. He closed his eyes again and sank back into sleep for a precious few minutes before his alarm went off and he had to go to work.
Then, on the backs of his eyelids, he saw a purple figure sitting across from him. They held up a hand as if to wave.
"Hello."
"Who...?" Dustin's voice came out strangely, and when he tried to open his eyes they wouldn't work.
A dream?
"You want to be special, right?" Dustin barely hesitated before answering.
"Sure. Special how?"
"However you want to be."
"Well, if Achilles is already the main superhero...I can't be that kind of special, huh?"
"You could if you distinguished yourself from him. Like if you joined the military instead of operating separately."
"That wouldn't be any fun." Dream Dustin sighed and looked up. "What if I was his nemesis?"
"Oh?" The purple figure seemed to chuckle. "Nemesis, huh? That would certainly be something. What sort of nemesis would you want to be?"
"Achilles is from an ancient poem, right? Well, maybe I could be a character in an ancient poem too. One who fought Achilles as an equal or something. I could spread terror and he could clean it up. I'd definitely be worth noticing then."
"You spread terror and he cleans it up? That certainly sounds interesting. I wasn't sure about you at first, but I like the way you think. How's this then - the person who kills Achilles in the legends is named Paris. He uses a poison arrow to bring down the great hero. What if we used that as a basis?"
"That sounds dope." Dustin laughed with glee as the purple figure smiled.
"Then I grant you a Miracle, Dustin Charles. Become Paris, Achilles' eternal rival."
When Dustin's alarm went off, he felt different. Realization slowly dawned on him.
It wasn't a dream...?
Strangely enough, a couple days after his meeting with Achilles and Bruce, Joey found himself wandering the streets, heading for the shop Achilles had given him a receipt for.
Little Fancy Masques and Garments.
He'd looked it up online and apparently it was a costume shop of sorts. The owner did grad outfits, cosplay and Halloween costumes, and various other things. It seemed like a decent enough place to get a superhero costume or whatever.
But why was Joey even going there? He had no intention of joining Achilles or doing any sort of hero work.
Unfortunately, Achilles' words were stuck in his mind, and Joey couldn't shake the thought that he might need one someday. And someday soon. He didn't want to have to search high and low for a popcorn bag or equivalent facial covering again. The grease alone was reason enough.
So he found himself here. At a small store tucked into a corner. With a tiny piece of paper that felt like it weighed a million pounds.
He opened the door and a chime rang. Nobody else was in the store. He heard a voice from the back.
"Coming! One sec."
A quick glance around the shop revealed a pretty cramped space. A few show pieces were hung up on one wall, and a couple bolts of fabric were lying in a corner. A counter with a cash register sat between him and a door that led to the back, where the voice had come from. A shelf of shoes was lined up for about half the length of the counter.
A woman came out from the back, her messy hair hurriedly tied back. She carried a notebook with her and glanced over Joey, making him question his decision all over again.
"What can I help you with?" she asked. "Cosplay? Or are you graduating and want a special suit or something?"
"Um...I graduated already," Joey mumbled. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the semi-crumpled receipt. "I...this is for you." The woman took the receipt and looked it over, then frowned.
"Seriously? I can't believe this." She let out a low groan and slammed the paper on the counter before looking at Joey like some sort of demon.
He averted his eyes, trying to think of a way out of this as she began ranting.
"What in the big blue skies was that moron thinking???? You're just a kid! And you definitely don't look like you've got the same kind of issues as him. No offense to you, but like, do you know what that idiot's trying to drag you into? Are you okay with that?"
"I..." Joey couldn't get in a word edgewise and the woman heaved a sigh as she seemed to realize that.
"Sorry. Louise. Ja - er Achilles and I go way back. He told me he found some new hero called Jumper or whatever he wanted me to make a suit for. That you?" Joey nodded. "Great. I guess I'll start with asking what sort of costume - or uniform - you'd like."
"N-nothing too crazy," Joey muttered. "Just something so people don't know who I am. I don't want to have to..." Louise seemed to pick up on what he'd trailed off about.
"Yeah I'll definitely get you something better than a popcorn bag. Colour scheme? Any design stuff? Cape or no cape?"
"Uh...n-no cape. And colour...try something subdued. Like...I dunno..."
"How's pink sound?" Louise laughed at the look on Joey's face. "Kidding, kidding, that would make you stand out even more. Maybe a grey? Or blue. You jump, right? So we could go with a sky blue to represent that. If you want it subdued, I can aim for a stormy sky type colour. That might be nice actually. Oh, wait. Do you want to match - uh - Achilles?"
"Please no," Joey replied firmly. "And...I don't really think I plan on joining him at all, so this would just be for stuff where...where I can't stay out. If that makes sense."
"Like if Achilles goes off the rails again? Cool. I'll try to figure something you could quickly change into or hide under your clothes or something. Do you usually wear long sleeves or short?"
"Uh, depends on the day."
"So I'll work on making it fit under short sleeves, but I think I'd need you to wear pants over it. That okay with you?"
"S-sure."
"Want any skin showing? I don't think it'd matter too much since there's already video footage showing your hands, so the keeping your skin tone secret ship has kinda sailed."
Joey wanted to die of embarrassment.
"Hey!" Joey snapped back to attention when Louise clapped in front of his face.
She looked at him with something like pity in her eyes. When he made eye contact, she started talking again.
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, okay? I'm not sure Achilles realizes how young you are, so he might be pushing you thinking you're the same age as us. But you're not. And whatever he tells you, you're in charge of your own life, okay? If you don't want to do any of this, I'll refund Achilles and tear up that receipt. You hear me?"
Joey nodded.
"Honestly, I can't believe that selfish jerk is dragging kids into his business now. You said you graduated? Can't have been long ago. How old are you?"
"Nineteen," he muttered. Louise let out an exasperated sigh.
"Nineteen. James, you stupid overbearing selfish jerk. Don't go dragging kids into your fantasies just because you feel a little lonely. Geez."
"Can I get the costume anyway?" Joey asked. "Just in case?" Louise looked at him strangely for a moment, then smiled.
"Sure thing. Tight fitting so baggy clothes can go over it, no cape, probably a hood or something. Any requests for the mask?"
"Doesn't show my face."
"Duh. What's the point otherwise?" Louise laughed and Joey found himself joining in.
She seemed okay to him. A little rough around the edges maybe, but she'd told him to make his own decision, whatever that might be, and that made her alright by him. He spent the next hour or so talking with Louise about various aspects of the costume. He was surprised by how much she could do based on his requests.
When they were done, she had a pretty detailed sketch of a blue-grey costume and a matching mask. She then took his measurements and told him it'd be done in a few weeks. She'd call him when it was.
And, of course, she would keep everything about him confidential. She didn't even ask him for his name beyond 'Jumper'.
Joey left the shop feeling a little lighter. He'd thought the costume would cement his fate as Achilles' sidekick or whatever, but he still had his own choices to make.
He'd decide if Jumper ever saw the light of day again.
