Chapter 33

"You're getting better." Lightning took a swig of her lemonade as Joey sat on the ground, catching his breath. They hadn't been practicing with each other for too long, but the encouragement lifted Joey's spirits. 

"I'm glad I seem to be improving." 

"Progress will probably be somewhat quicker in the first weeks, then you'll start to plateau unless you really work at it." She stuck out a hand to help him up. 

"I'll work at it. It's hard, but it's something I'm gonna have to do. I mean, it'll make this superhero thing actually feasible." Lightning laughed. 

"Yeah. At first it's exhausting and you feel like you're gonna puke your guts out, but then your body gets stronger and something that took all your endurance to barely manage becomes routine. You're young enough that your body's still able to adapt fairly quickly." 

"You sound like you've been through the wringer." 

"Yeah, I guess. Military training's tough." Joey did a double take at what she'd just let slip. 

"Military?" 

"Ah crap. Whatever. I'm an ex-officer, booted for something or other. Not current military. I'd also prefer if you kept that under your hood." 

"Can I ask what you got booted for?" 

"Doesn't matter. And before you ask, I am cooperating with specific individuals in the military, but not the organization as a whole. The higher-ups have no idea who I am, and I'd like it to stay that way." 

Joey nodded. "Sounds complicated I guess. Military's not too fond of us." 

"Yeah, but my cooperation got that hospital unit assigned to anonymous supers. I don't think I could have gotten everything coordinated after Paris' attack if I hadn't talked to someone I know." Lightning heaved a sigh as she looked out over the railing. "He warned me, y'know. Told me I was sticking my nose in where it didn't belong and I'd get booted. He was right." 

"I can listen if you want to talk about it." 

"Nah. Instead, why don't I see how hard I can punch you off this level? I just got this today." Lightning pulled a pair of gloves out of her bag and put them on. They were pretty cool-looking, though they looked like the glove version of oven mitts. 

"Whoa. From Louise?" 

"Yeah. She's pretty cool. She's still working on the helmet and stuff, but the gloves are done." 

"You get a helmet?" 

"Something like that. She said it was her first time making one, so I'm kinda nervous and excited at the same time." Lightning started laughing like she was making fun of something. "Never thought the day'd come when I'd be so excited over a set of clothes." Joey couldn't help but laugh with her. 

"It's pretty cool to see what she comes up with. Mine's more simple, but I actually like it more than I thought I would." 

"I know right? I was a little unsure until I saw the actual sketches and work-in-progress pieces." 

"You got to see that?" 

"I drop by a couple times a week to make sure she's doing okay. I bring her coffee, we chat. I think we're friends now." 

"Nice. So those are to keep your hands from breaking?" 

"Yup. They also come with plates I can put in if I want. Basically so I can deal damage without taking any." 

"Wanna test? I'll see if I can stay on my feet." Joey readied himself, steadying his breathing. Lightning seemed to be grinning as she slipped the gloves on and settled into her fight position. 

The blow came as quickly as ever, and Joey grabbed her arm, keeping himself from flying and restricting her movements. It was something he'd worked on in the hopes that it would make him more useful than a punching bag. 

But this time Lightning decided to play a bit dirty. She spun around and threw him across the street, and he rolled for a bit before managing to stop. And then she was in front of him, almost like she'd teleported. 

A hit to the gut again. This time Joey dodged and got a backhand to the chest, which he was not prepared for. The hit sent him flying towards the railing. 

Before he knew it, he'd flipped over it and was tumbling downwards. 

"Crap! Jumper!" Lightning ran to grab him, but he was already too far down. His head cracked against the street below and he slowly picked himself up using the railing. 

"I'm good," he called. "Just a bit dizzy." 

"Damn that kid can take a hit," he heard Lightning mutter before she raised her voice again. "Take a minute and hop back up here when you're good to go again." 

He held out a thumbs up before glancing to the side and noticing that someone was a mere two feet from his landing position. 

"Oh. Sorry." He glanced around, but the girl just stared back at him as if she was bored. She was wearing a basic hoodie and faded jeans and carrying a backpack. The only notable thing was that the tips of her hair were dyed a bright blue. 

"Whatever," the girl said. "You're lucky it was me. Anyone else and you woulda landed on 'em." 

"Sorry. We'll try to be more careful." They weren't used to people wandering around this high up this early in the morning. It made for a convenient practice field, but it was still public property. 

"Hold it," she said as Joey was about to leap back up to Lightning. 

He glanced at her, waiting for her to continue. 

"You don't wanna be here right now. Go to the back left, at the bottom. Meet up with Achilles. If you don't, he's gonna die. Brutally." Her piece said, the girl started walking again. It took a moment for her words to sink in. 

"W-wait up!" He grabbed her shoulder, but she shook him off and backed away as if he scared her. 

"I said my piece. There's nothing more I can do. It's not even my business." 

"But how do you know that?" 

"Doesn't matter. Hurry up. I think you've got about ten minutes before she starts." 

Joey was left in stunned silence as the girl started running off. He shook his confusion off and jumped back up to Lightning. 

"Something happen down there?" Lightning asked, glancing in the direction the girl had gone. 

"She said Achilles is about to die. Bottom back left. It doesn't make sense, but..." He could easily imagine that Lightning's expression had hardened under her mask. 

"Then we should get there ASAP. I'll run, you jump. Hopefully we get there in time." 

"Right." 

Now wasn't the time to sit and question. It was the time to act. If they didn't move, Achilles might die. He didn't know how the blue-haired girl had known, but...

After they'd decided to move, Joey wasted no time in getting to the bottom. Lightning had said she'd go across the top and take the stairs or an elevator close to their destination. Jumper would go straight down and travel along the bottom level. The girl hadn't said if Achilles was in the Subways or Business District, but he guessed that if he was in the Subways, she would have said so. 

The air whipped past his face as he fell. He'd made sure no one was below before launching himself to fall as far as possible as fast as possible. And his stomach still felt like it was going to crawl up his abdomen and out through his mouth. 

The last time he'd fallen this far...

Actually, how many times had he fallen like this? Once way back when he was hospitalized. Once when he was practicing. And once while fighting Paris. 

It was no less terrifying. 

Joey landed on one leg, and rolled to distribute the impact. When he glanced back, he noticed a dent in the street and winced. He'd have to apologize later. But he had to get to Achilles. 

It was nearing 8:00, so several people were heading to work. He still had a couple levels to descend, but Joey opted to run for the time being. Most people were going down, so the stairways and elevators would be crowded. Lightning would have fun getting down them. 

There was a clear spot on the street two levels down, so Joey jumped for it, calling for people to watch out as he did. Everyone stepped back, making the space bigger. 

"Sorry!" Joey called. "Emergency." He kept running, dodging between people. There wasn't enough of a crowd to slow him down much, but it would be rude to barrel into someone. 

Two more jumps brought him to the very bottom. The only thing lower was the Subways, and those would be insanely crowded. All he could do now was run as fast as he could and hope Achilles would be okay. 

Time passed. With a few blocks to go, Joey forced himself to keep running. Even if his lungs were burning. He'd have to practice running too. Obviously his stamina wasn't enough, and not every crisis would be kind enough to show up in a convenient location. Maybe he should ask Lightning what military training was like and if she could coach him through something similar. 

The thoughts distracted him as he frantically searched for Achilles. Maybe it was a coping mechanism. Or maybe he was used to this stuff. Either way, he needed to find Achilles. 

"Achilles!" he called, then buckled as his lungs finally decided they were done. He gasped and coughed, trying to catch his breath. 

Joey stumbled forward, carried by his weight more so than his muscle. Then he found them. 

Around one corner, a woman in a headscarf held Achilles' jaw, appearing to stare at him. He couldn't see what was behind Achilles' mask, but the body language didn't look good. In a panic, Joey pushed himself forward, this time probably propelled purely by adrenaline, and tackled the woman. 

Was this a mistake? He could apologize later. Right now, he was most worried about Achilles, who toppled to the side without the woman to hold him up.