"Team Chaos. Paris, Cold Snap, Shell, Corrosion and Ferry all attacking Lightning's house. Legion won't make it in time. She can't do it herself."
Cleo's words rang in Joey's head as he fell through her latest portal. His blood felt cold, and his breathing was shallow. His hands were shaking, but he had to push through whatever terror was threatening to incapacitate him.
He could do this.
The portal opened up right below the ceiling of the upper level, giving him a bit of time to reorient himself and take stock of the situation. Courtney was standing in front of a door, wearing casual clothes. Frost spread across the ground in front of her, with Cold Snap a bit to Courtney's right. Shell was darting in and out of Courtney's range, throwing punches as she could. Paris was standing at the back, purple mist rising from the ground around him.
Behind Paris, Ferry, watching the spectacle unfold with a grin on her face. Rolled up against a wall, there was a man who looked like he was slowly regaining consciousness. Probably...Corrosion? Was that what Cleo had said?
Joey landed on a clear patch of ground and hopped over to Courtney and Shell, aiming to land on the villain's back and make her life difficult. He couldn't do much, but even just a bit would help.
Lightning couldn't do this on her own. That was what Cleo had said, and based on the look on her face, she truly believed it. So even though she wanted to be normal, even though she knew Joey wanted to be normal, she'd sent him in.
Shell grunted as Joey landed on her back, wrapping his arms around her neck. Courtney looked at him in surprise for half a moment, then nodded and darted towards Cold Snap.
"Jumper!" she called. "Keep them out of the house at all costs. We've got a civilian in there."
"Got it!" he called back, struggling to hold on as Shell tried to throw him off.
"Where'd you come from?" she asked incredulously. She bashed him against a wall, but it didn't do much.
"Whoa. Didn't think Legion reinforcements would get here so soon," Ferry said, frowning.
"We just have to deal with two instead of one," Paris said, waving an arm and spreading the mist further.
Courtney was fighting it out with Cold Snap, so Joey did his best to keep an eye on the door. No one could be allowed through. Unfortunately, even with two of them, it might not be enough. They were pretty outnumbered, and Paris' mist would be enough to take them both out if allowed to spread unchecked.
Shell was still struggling to get rid of Joey, but without the benefits of smashing him against a wall, there didn't seem to be much she could do. He tightened his arms anxiously, hoping she'd lose oxygen and fall unconscious soon. Then he might be able to deal with Paris.
"A little help here?" Shell yelled, trying to loosen Joey's chokehold on her.
"Fine," Ferry sighed. "Gimme a minute." She hopped up in the air and vanished.
That wasn't good. Joey let go of Shell and kicked her away, then ran for the door. If Ferry had teleported inside...
A squeal drew his attention to the area behind Paris, where a woman had fallen to her knees. He barely caught sight of a portal closing above her.
Nice on, Cleo, he thought. He kicked Shell again, hoping to keep her out of commission for at least a few more moments, then leaped across the frozen ground, holding his breath. He kicked Paris and took another jump towards the woman.
Joey let out the breath he'd been holding, glancing back at the others.
"You're going to be okay," he said quickly. "Lightning, is this the person who was in the house?"
Courtney glanced briefly at them and froze for a second, then nodded.
Unfortunately, that pause was enough for Cold Snap to get a good shot in. Courtney skidded across the ice, a patch of frost on her wrist.
"Court!" The woman stood as if to run to her, but Joey held her back.
"She can handle it. You need to stay safe."
"I'm fine, Lil!" Courtney called. "Just stay with Jumper."
"Isn't this an annoying development?" Joey spun around and found Ferry's fist in his face. He fell over, then rolled and sprang back up, quickly moving between Ferry and Courtney's friend.
Ferry frowned at him.
"Seriously? That doesn't even faze you? What kind of freak are you? And how the hell did this girl get out here?"
Joey didn't answer, instead lowering his body and preparing for whatever Ferry threw at him next. He motioned for the woman behind him to move against a wall and followed her. This way it would be harder for them to attack her from his blind spot.
"Not gonna talk, eh?" Ferry asked, glaring at him. "Fine. I guess I'll just kill you. Corrosion, are you up yet?"
A groan came from the man on the ground, and Joey let himself look that way for a split second. Sure enough, the guy was getting up. Slowly, but surely.
Paris walked over to them as well, the poison mist growing thicker. It was starting to sting Joey's throat.
"He's no Achilles, but I wouldn't mind taking him out."
"Jumper!" Courtney started running to them, but slipped and fell on the ice. Cold Snap was on her again, spreading the frost across Courtney's arms.
"We'll be fine! Focus on yourself." Joey had no idea how exactly they'd be fine, but it was clear that Courtney was in over her head.
"Brave words," Ferry chuckled. "Now, how should we do this?"
Poison gas emanated from Paris in thick waves. Ferry backed away as he got closer, and Joey looked desperately for a way out.
For a second he wondered if Cleo would intervene again, but then decided not to rely on her. She was under enough stress, and he didn't know what kind of toll this would take on her. What she'd done up until now would have to be enough.
Yeah, best for him to try something mildly stupid. He grabbed the woman behind him, picking her up over his shoulder and jumped away. It was supposed to be a long jump to get them away, but his muscles weren't quite up to the task and he fell short.
She fell on the ground as Joey's legs buckled from the landing.
"Wow. That was almost impressive," Ferry laughed. She wasn't in eyeshot anymore, so where had she gone? The only one nearby was Paris, with his poison mist. Joey coughed and struggled to get clean air into his lungs.
"Get back!" Joey glanced at the voice and realized that Knight Errant had arrived. Good. Legion reinforcements.
"Watch out for Paris' poison mist," he said between coughs. Knight nodded and ran to them, his sword in hand.
"What's this now?" Ferry asked, swinging her legs from a windowsill above the fight. "You really think a plaything like that will do much to us?"
Knight ignored her, thrusting his sword at Paris. Paris tried to dodge, but the blade grazed his shoulder.
"The hell?" Paris asked, hissing in pain.
While they were at that, Joey helped Courtney's friend up and started moving away. He did his best to keep quiet, hoping no one would notice. His body wanted to cough, but he held back, guiding the woman towards the main street.
She didn't look well. Paris' poison mist was no joke. Joey glanced ahead, hoping the rest of the Legion would arrive soon.
Please hurry.
