Chapter 136

"You can't keep letting him do whatever, Achilles." Lightning bore over Achilles, glaring at him coldly. It was the morning after Team Chaos's latest attack, and she'd come here first thing in the morning to gripe. 

One more day. 

"Are you listening to me? I've held back until now out of respect for you, but this can't be allowed to continue. Either turn Hot Rod in to the military or ensure he never does this kind of thing again." 

Achilles sighed and glanced up at her. Who did she think she was, telling them how to handle themselves? He believed in the goodness of the Good Miracle Giver. Lightning was the one in the wrong. She was being used by the Evil Miracle Giver. 

"Achilles! No, James Flores!" Lightning yelled and slammed her hands on either side of his head. 

"Would you stop that?" he asked, glaring back at her. A few paces away, Barrier Maiden and Knight Errant were having breakfast at the table. They both looked upset. Of course they were. She was stomping in and screaming first thing in the morning. 

"Stop what? Trying to hold your precious Legion accountable? Someone almost died yesterday because of Hot Rod. Before long, mark my words, he will kill some innocent bystander. Will you still stand by and protect him when that happens?" 

"Hot Rod is a valued member of the Legion. He is doing his best, just like you are." 

"You stubborn oaf!" Lightning let out a long howl, clenching her fists and walking in a circle with a fierce scowl on her face. 

She looked too scary for a member of his Legion. Anyone looking at them now would easily conclude she was the villain. 

One more day. 

"Hot Rod's not a bad guy, Lightning," Achilles said firmly. He just had to keep her off their tails for one more day. "I can talk to him this evening. But you talking about handing him over to the military is going too far. You know they hate us. Wouldn't they kill him the same way they killed Phantasma?" 

"The military did not kill Phantasma!" Lightning snapped, whirling back to glare at him again. "They're still trying to figure out who's responsible. Sure, there's corruption in the military, but without them there won't be any justice left. We should be working with them to try and improve things, not fighting them like they're the same as Team Chaos and the Phalanx." 

"They refuse to stand with us," Achilles replied coldly. "That means they're against us." 

"They're trying to hold you accountable! Didn't they let things go when you needed medical treatment? What about the HEU? They tried to work with you. You're the one slapping their hands away." 

"That HEU is no better than a prison! Those tyrannical nurses might be even worse than Team Chaos." 

"Those nurses saved your life! Multiple times, in fact. They're doing their best with what they've got. You're the squealing preschooler who needs everything to be his way or not at all." 

"Can you two calm down?" Barrier Maiden asked, walking up to Achilles and leaning against him. She trembled softly, looking at Lightning sadly. 

"I'm sorry, Maiden," Achilles said, wrapping an arm around her. "You're right. We shouldn't be arguing about this. Lightning, you can go home for today. We'll take care of all the patrols and whatnot." 

Lightning just looked at him in disgust and put a hand to her forehead. 

"Thanks," Maiden said with a smile. "Hey, Lightning? Um..." 

"You don't need to tell her anything," Achilles said quickly. He didn't want her to push herself to do anything unpleasant. He was sure that whatever Maiden wanted to say, he'd already said himself. Sure, Lightning seemed hard of hearing, but Maiden wouldn't get through to her any more than he would. 

Maiden just nodded meekly and rested her head on his shoulder. 

"Fine," Lightning said with a heaving sigh. "I'll leave you two lovers alone. But tomorrow, I want Hot Rod to apologize and swear he'll do better in the future. The Legion needs better regulation, Achilles. If you won't implement it, I'll have to be the one to do it." 

With that, she left HQ. You could almost feel the tension release from the room as soon as she was gone. 

"Good. Tomorrow we won't be here," Achilles said quietly. 

The true Legion would be long gone. Only the fakes like Lightning would remain. 

"Angela." Jacob entered her office, a slight tremor in his step. Meeting with her was always a test of courage, no matter how many times she looked at him with those cold eyes. 

"Jacob. You have something to report?" 

"The store in question hasn't realized it yet, but the floor plans and security codes for a high-end jewelry store were leaked two days ago. Based on our information, it seems to have been taken by Amias and Rayne." 

"Those two, huh." Angela smiled broadly as she looked up at him. 

"Yes. We don't know exactly when they'd strike, but I thought you might want to know." 

"I'd love to tear them to pieces myself, though I don't know if I can fit it in. I'm so very busy, you see. I guess I'll just have to settle for making sure they get a fitting ending. I wonder if we can have anyone else do the cleanup for us?" 

"The information's been picked up by one other group as well," Jacob said. "At least, we think it has. They've covered their tracks pretty well." 

"Probably Jase's pets." Angela snorted in annoyance. "Maybe we can have someone wipe out both groups. Keep an eye out, and if the opportunity arises, I want the Legion to be contacted anonymously and given the tip. Maybe those morons will do our work for us." She looked down at her tablet and snickered. 

A blaze of flames was shown on video. 

"You're going too far again." 

"You're just a stingy old crank. Look how happy they are. My Miracles are making them positively joyous." 

"No. Your indiscriminate foolishness is causing more problems than not." 

"You're such a killjoy. Couldn't you have stayed asleep for another decade or two?" 

"If I'd done that, you'd have destroyed the world." 

"As if you haven't almost done it before." 

"I learn from my mistakes. You, however, repeat this cycle every millennia or two." 

"But don't you just love their faces when you give them a present? They look so happy." 

"Humans are greedy creatures. They never seem to understand that happiness will drown in material gains." 

"No, no, no. You are the fool. Good things bring happiness. More things bring more happiness. Can't you do simple math? If a loaf of bread makes a human happy, then 100 loaves would make them 100 times as happy." 

"No. They would grow fat and miserable. Humans don't know what's good for them. Better to give them a slice of bread to tide them over until they can work for a loaf of their own." 

"Stingy miser. You don't see how happy they are with all my gifts." 

"Wasteful fool. The balance will be righted before long."