Joey hopped down the last level and ran the last bit to the meeting place. He saw Achilles and Lightning already there. It was just the three of them.
Of course there were only three of them. Weaver - Phantasma - was gone, and Light Master shouldn't have been allowed to go in the first place. The only other person who might show up would be the girl from Monday, but she didn't seem like she wanted to get involved.
And who could blame her really? What was Joey even doing here?
"Jumper!" Achilles waved, probably with a bright smile on his face. Lightning waved too, with her new gloves. She also had a pair of boots.
"Hey," he replied, waving back.
"Glad you could make it. We've still got about five minutes before the meeting's due to start, so we'll wait and see if anyone else comes." Achilles started walking around the meeting area while Joey headed for Lightning.
"Is he okay?" he asked. Lightning shrugged.
"I tried to bring it up, but he shut me down pretty quick. Said 'thanks for the help' and started complaining about some tyrannical nurse or something."
Joey winced.
"I wish he'd take it a bit more seriously. If that happened to a military officer, they'd be given paid leave and free psychiatric appointments for a few months at the very least. I'm lucky enough I haven't had any near-death experiences yet, and he's had two in the past month. Plus the one back in April."
"Holy crap, I've been in all three of those..." Joey muttered. It didn't feel quite real.
"So was I," Lightning chuckled. "First one I was just a military officer, but I got a Miracle shortly after."
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah. I helped administer first-aid to you. Then you jumped halfway up the city on us. Man were the lieutenants mad."
"Sorry." Some kind of guilt-like ball piled in his stomach.
"No worries. I was halfway out the door anyway. And I get that you were a terrified kid."
Joey couldn't help but laugh along with her. Really, laughing was all they could do. This whole mess felt so screwed up. Laughing at least made things feel lighter.
"You think anyone else is coming?" Joey finally called over to Achilles.
"Light Master might. He's got another minute."
"No. Don't let that kid get himself mixed up in this shit," Lightning said firmly.
"What? Are you saying heroics are restricted to certain age groups?"
"I'm saying that he's a child. At least Jumper's over eighteen."
"If he has a Miracle, there must be a reason he was chosen! It would be wrong to hold him back just because he's a bit younger than us."
"I'd hope his parents are doing that part, actually," Lightning muttered.
"Do you think..." Joey trailed off before he could finish his question about the girl from Monday. Achilles probably wouldn't want to talk about the incident either.
"What is it Jumper?" Achilles asked.
"Nothing."
"Come on, tell me! Is there someone else who might come?"
"I really don't think so."
"A Miracle bearer? Tell me about them!"
"I mean...on Monday, someone warned us you were in trouble. I was wondering about them." Truth be told, Joey had been thinking of her on and off throughout the week. Wondering what her story was. Did she have a Miracle? Probably, but what kind?
"Oh. Did they go with you?"
"No. Um...she just told me where to go and then ran off. I don't think she wanted to get involved beyond that."
"Hm."
"Yeah, I doubt she'll show. She seemed pretty skittish. Probably doesn't want - or need - to get mixed up in all this."
"Ah well," Achilles sighed. "Heroism calls when it calls. I'm sure we'll meet again. And with that, it's time to get the meeting underway. Roll call! Achilles the Invincible is here."
"Achilles the Invincible?" Lightning asked. "Now you're seriously tempting fate. You've already almost died like three times. You're only here because Jumper's good at saving your ass."
"Lightning the Quick is here!" Achilles declared, totally ignoring Lightning's snide comments.
Totally nothing to worry about here, Joey thought as he let out a puff of air.
"Hey, Jumper! Roll call. State your name and epithet!" Joey rolled his eyes behind his mask.
"Jumper the Something."
"You need a better epithet. Like Jumper the High!"
"No." Joey said - at the exact same time as Lightning.
"Jumper the Nimble!"
"He's pretty clumsy, but whatever," Lightning said. Joey couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly.
"And with that, we can begin the meeting! So glad everyone could make it."
Achilles then launched into a long summary of what had happened since the last meeting, acting out everything with dramatic gestures. Joey wasn't sure if it was impressive or just sad.
"Duck!" Lightning grabbed Joey by the back of the head and slammed him into the ground at full speed. Something flew over him and Achilles yelled in shock.
Lightning let go of his head and ran off somewhere. Joey tried to get up as quickly as he could, but he was a bit dizzy from the sudden movement.
"Achilles! Once again we are fated to battle. And this time I'm not alone either!" The voice echoed around the area.
Paris.
