"Achilles...searching for new Gifted? Heehee...I may as well give them all what they want.
"After all...
"He isn't here to stop me."
A purple figure spoke to themself as they sat alone. Upon reaching a decision, they stood up and vanished from the fabric of the reality they'd been occupying.
The video played before his eyes countless times. Children screaming, the Phalanx tearing the Legion to shreds...
Jakob hit the replay button for the hundredth time. As the video finished, a banner showed up at the bottom. He glared at it when he saw Achilles' face, then rethought as he read it.
"Join Achilles' Legion of Miraculous Heroes! Now accepting applications."
A grin spread across his face. He had a Miracle. And a powerful one at that. He'd been hiding it up until now, but the call of justice sounded sweet. So sweet, after everything he'd been through when he finished his degree. Rejected, tossed aside. Told he wasn't good enough.
Well, he was. Everything clicked into place. This was why he'd been given a Miracle. So he could join Achilles and help him bring the Phalanx low.
He quickly clicked the link, and found a form to fill out. It looked almost like an official job application. As he scanned it, he realized that it was indeed a job application. Legion members were now paid.
Jakob entered his name, address and phone number without thinking too hard about it. But the next field stumped him.
Hero Name*
The asterisk at the bottom said that this field could be filled out as TBD if the applicant didn't have an idea and the Legion would take care of it. But no, Jakob could very well come up with his own name. He thought about it for fifteen minutes, then input his stroke of genius and finished filling out the form. For his Miracle, he kept it relatively vague since he wasn't sure of its limits yet. He hit the submit button.
A loading animation played, then a message thanking him for his application. Apparently the Legion would be in contact with him within a few days.
Jakob grinned and put the phone away. He couldn't wait to join.
This couldn't be allowed to continue. Children harmed at the Phalanx's hands? Never!
Conrad glared up at the ceiling, ignoring his emails for the day. His boss would be annoyed tomorrow, but it was his day off. Seriously. Why did he have to be at his boss's beck and call all the time?
And when such a tragedy had occurred less than a week ago.
He'd seen the ads. The Legion was recruiting, probably because they didn't have enough hands. In fact, last time the Phalanx had outnumbered them. If he could, he'd have joined in a heartbeat. But he had no Miracle, and was powerless.
It frustrated him to no end. Why had others obtained Miracles, those who would use them for evil? Why hadn't someone like him, who would use the power responsibly, been chosen?
"I hear you."
The voice echoed in his head and Conrad jumped, nearly falling off his bed.
"Who's there?" he asked.
"Santa Claus."
"What?"
"You wanted a present, and here I am to give you one. You want a Miracle? So you can protect the weak? Then have one. Let's see..."
Conrad looked around and noticed a strange purple figure standing in the corner, frowning in thought.
"I see your heart's desires. You want...to be like them. Got it. Here's your Miracle, Conrad. Looking through your desires and this world's history, I think being a knight errant would suit you."
"A what?"
"Farewell, Sir Knight."
Suddenly Conrad felt dizzy and fell to the floor. He closed his eyes and focused on breathing, and once he was sure he was okay he looked up again.
The figure was gone.
And in their place, a feeling that now he had power.
"A knight..." Conrad whispered. "A knight errant..."
He felt a new beginning blooming for him.
"Ami, I'm bored." A woman stretched out on a sofa and sighed.
"I know, Rayne," Amias replied. "I'm almost ready. Thanks for getting all those blueprints for me, though."
"Not too hard. City layout hasn't changed since Arx took off. Poke through some hundred-year old records, you can find some interesting stuff. Especially in the dark section of the web."
"Anyway, I've got our target," he said. "With any luck, no one will realize you're there and I can just get the public-facing side of the job done myself. As long as they're looking for a solo male thief, you and I should be excluded from the list of suspects."
"There's no such thing as a solo act," Rayne scoffed. "Us as a duo is hard enough."
"That it is," Amias sighed. Once up on a time they'd had a crew they ran with. Until said crew had cut them loose and left them to rot in prison for six years. Since then, he'd had nothing to do with Angie or her people.
After that, it was him and Rayne against the world. They'd survived by pulling small jobs away from the military's focus. It got easier when the Miracles became a threat back in March or April. Now, Miracles would make their work even easier.
"Any idea on aliases?" Rayne asked, refocusing on the job. She stood and looked over his shoulder. Her usual scent wafted into his nostrils.
"Not at the moment. I figure that'll be one of the latter things we do. After all, we might have to discard those aliases as soon as we finish the job."
"Or, depending on how well it goes, this could become a new model for us. And they'd figure out it was the same people anyway. Unless someone else got the exact same Miracle."
"Wouldn't rule it out."
"They'd probably still assume it's the same person unless there's a major obvious difference. Like if the other one's got a really squeaky or deep voice."
"Right. So basically pick something we like."
"Yup. Though with any luck you'll be the only one who needs an alias."
"My perfect invisible ghost," Amias said with a grin, looking into Rayne's eyes.
"It's sweet that you think that, but flattery will get you nowhere." She planted a quick kiss on his lips before refocusing her attention to the computer.
"I'm thinking this'll be our target," Amias said, switching gears too. "Decent haul, security shouldn't be too bad, an easy way for you to sneak in. Not as big a payday as the others, but I'd like to start by playing it safe. We can work out the kinks and go for something tougher later."
"Got it," she replied. "Sounds like a plan. I really don't want to end up in that stupid prison again."
"The food sucks," Amias agreed.
"That's what bothered you the most? Not the fact that our every movement was policed?"
"Hey, what can I say? I love your stir fry."
"Am I making that again today?"
"If you want to, I can run and grab a block of cricket."
"Fine. I'll make it. But if you're going out anyway, we also need lettuce, milk and mushrooms. If we can afford it, I'd also like some fruit. Peppers would also go good in the stir-fry. Oh, and make sure you get almond milk. I'm thinking of trying a recipe that needs it and we still have a half carton of oat."
"Got it." Amias put the list in his phone and went back to looking over the blueprints. "Should we do this job all flashy-like or do you want something more subdued? Basically, morning, midday or evening?"
"Morning," Rayne replied. "Then we lay low for the rest of the day. If only we knew the schedule of the Phalanx's attacks. We could time it to minimize military attention."
"If only," Amias snorted. "You think that idiot Paris is gonna just tell us what his plans are and not demand a cut of what's ours?"
"Wishful thinking, love," Rayne said, rolling her eyes. "Weekend would probably be best. Two weeks prep and then we do it?"
"That's the most we can afford," Amias said with a sigh of resignation. Money was far too tight right now.
"I'll see how much I can make our food last," Rayne replied. "You go get groceries, mister. I'll start cooking as soon as you're back."
Amias smiled at her as she left. With a stretch, he quickly scrolled through the sales each store was having and plotted a route that would let him get everything as cheap as possible. After twenty minutes of that, he headed out.
He really hoped this lifestyle wouldn't last much longer.
