After heading home for supper and playing games with Ned for a bit, Joey headed out with the excuse that he was meeting up with some work friends. Not entirely a lie, but he didn't like the deceit.
Anyway, he changed into his costume about halfway to HQ and hurried the rest of the way, hopping down levels instead of using the stairs. People took pictures of him, gaping at him, but Joey ignored them. He took a roundabout route to HQ, making sure no one was watching him as he knocked on the door. A few seconds passed, and just as he was taking out his phone to text Courtney, the door opened for him.
"Yeah, it's Jumper," the guy called back into the building as he let Joey in. Who was this guy again?
"Thanks, Fiore," Courtney said, walking into view.
Right. Fiore.
"Is everyone here?" Joey asked.
"Except Achilles and Kiddo. Oh, and Jo's in her lab, but I'll let her know what happened later. Come on." Courtney led the way into HQ, with Fiore walking beside Joey. In the main area, Prime and a couple of the new people were milling around. Joey felt somewhat self-conscious that he was the only one in costume.
"Jumper!" Prime said with a grin. "Lightning said you had something to discuss?"
The other three looked at him expectantly as Courtney herded them all into a circle of chairs.
"So, I've come upon some information," Joey began slowly. One guy glared at him.
"Get to the point already. You're not even a proper Legion member, so where do you get off summoning us like this?"
"You didn't have to come," Courtney shot back at him.
"Come on, Hot Rod, chill out," the other girl (Barrier Maiden?) said, smiling brightly at Joey. There was something almost fake about her expression that made Joey slightly uncomfortable. "Go on, Jumper."
"Right. I can't reveal much about my source, but Phantasma didn't die of natural causes."
"Tell us something we don't know," Hot Rod snorted. The guy next to him shot him a glare, as if telling him to be quiet.
"Go on." Jumper had no idea who this was, but by process of elimination...Knight Errant maybe?
"She wasn't killed by the military either. Someone is out there trying to exterminate people with Miracles."
That got them. Everyone fell into silent thought at the information.
"How much more do you know?" Courtney asked, her expression hardening.
"Not much. It's most likely a man, and he uses either a lethal dose of drugs injected into the person or an old-fashioned bullet. He'll ask which his victim prefers. The bullet is messy."
"You realize this sounds kind of far-fetched?" Knight asked calmly. "Where would one even get an old-fashioned gun that actually shot bullets? And how the heck would they get into the most secure area of the prison?"
"I don't know. But I trust my source."
"It makes a certain amount of sense," Courtney interjected. "The military had no reason to kill Phantasma, and their cover-up job reeked of damage control. Not sure about the bullet thing - I'm sure we would have heard something about that by now - but sneaking into the prison is something we've seen happen. Assuming it wasn't the military who took out Phantasma."
"You said this guy's killing those with Miracles," Prime said. "How many has he killed?"
"Not sure," Joey replied. "My informant's knowledge is a bit fuzzy."
"So why should we trust anything this so-called informant says?" Hot Rod asked, folding his arms with a frown. "How do we know they're not just making shit up?"
"Maybe if he told us a bit more about the informant," Barrier Maiden said, leaning forward.
"I promised to keep the informant's identity secret," Joey replied resolutely. There was no way he'd betray Cleo - especially not so soon after gaining her trust.
"Is there anything you can tell us?" Courtney asked, motioning for the others to be quiet.
Joey fell into thought for some time, then slowly looked back up at Courtney.
"I'm only saying this because I trust you. I don't want to say anything about them, but..."
He paused, taking a breath.
"Said informant is the same one who informed us of Phantasma's last attack. They possess a Miracle of clairvoyance." Joey looked at Courtney, and she nodded in understanding.
"Good enough for me. Do we have anything to go on besides that this exterminator is a man with access to bullets?"
"No. Like I said, the...clairvoyance can be a bit fuzzy. And the memory isn't something the informant wants to remember."
"Then why the hell are we trusting them?" Hot Rod asked, glaring like he wanted to set Joey on fire.
"Because it will affect the Legion as well."
"What do we care? Let this exterminator kill all the villains they want. It'll just make our job easier." Hot Rod rolled his eyes dismissively.
"Villains aren't the only ones who will die. According to my informant, a member of the Legion will die at some point. He's targeting Miracle holders, not villains."
Everyone's eyes widened at that. Joey did his best to maintain a sense of calm, but he was intimidated by all the stares.
"Do you know which one?" Knight asked. "Is it one of us? Or is it Achilles?"
"I don't know. Like I said, my informant's knowledge is fuzzy. But I wanted to warn all of you. If you know it's coming, you'll be more likely to be able to avoid it."
"This is bullshit," Hot Rod said with a sigh. "We're supposed to be jumping at shadows now? Go back to your informant and get some concrete details."
Joey clenched his fists. He didn't want to make Cleo go through that. She was already so emotionally thin he had been anxious that she'd fade away. The expression on her face as he'd talked to her was still stuck in his head. And that was from barely remembering anything solid. Staring at those scenes over and over again, trying to get something more meaningful, wouldn't be good for her.
By the time he'd gathered himself enough to speak again, Hot Rod was on his way out of the room, muttering about how much of a waste of time this was.
"Sorry about him," Courtney said with a sigh. "I don't know how to handle him."
"It's okay," Barrier Maiden said with a dazzling smile. "You're doing your best."
"If you could get more concrete details, though, that would be helpful," Knight added. "Heck, they should join the Legion. We could use someone who can tell the future."
"No," Joey replied firmly. "My informant wants nothing to do with the Legion. And divining the future puts a large burden on them."
"But - "
"No," Courtney said firmly, interrupting Knight before he could say more. "Depending on the way they see the future, it could indeed be ugly. If this informant sees the actual scene, they'd have seen stuff you might not be able to handle. Jumper, you said the bullet was messy?"
He nodded.
"The sight of blood and death isn't something a normal person can necessarily deal with. Knight, I wouldn't subject someone else to it. Let's be glad for what we have. Jumper, is there anything else you need here?"
"No," he replied. "If I learn more, I'll let you know, but I doubt I'll get much more than this. If it's okay with you, I'll head home now."
"Go ahead. And thanks for the warning." Joey waved at the remaining Legion members as he left.
Some kind of disappointment swirled in his chest. The Legion's reaction seemed rather lackluster. But what else could they do, really?
He clenched his fists as he ran through the deserted alleys. He leaped up to the Top and stood at the edge of one block, staring down at the lights and bustle.
Hopefully someone found and defeated this exterminator soon.
