Conrad looked around the new building with a smile. Achilles had led them all here on Friday, and the new headquarters did not disappoint. Sleek flooring, a kitchen equipped with the latest appliances, luxury beds...
Ben had really gone all out.
Too bad some of the others couldn't see it. Conrad understood why Lightning wasn't allowed in their new HQ. She'd been a problem and the Legion had needed to expel her. But, strangely, Rose and Jo weren't allowed to know about the new base either.
Not that it really mattered. Achilles was the leader of the Legion, and he got to decide who was in or out. Everyone trusted him, and they all knew he had the best in mind for them. And, of course, there was Ben too. He obviously had a lot of love for the Legion if he was giving them a luxury building like this. It was even in the Residential District - third level! In a corner so they had a window view and everything. There was also an elevator nearby.
It was a tiny bit small, but the adjacent apartments were also for their use as needed. Ben kept them locked now for security purposes, but if the Legion grew more, they'd have enough space.
Conrad himself had just finished his patrol for that day, and he sat in one of the plush chairs and flipped on the TV. A cursory look through news stories showed that they were mostly talking about the Legion. On Thursday, they'd had another fight with Team Chaos, and then on Saturday, Whiplash and Twinblade had tried to rob a store. Both times, the Legion had intervened. Knight himself had actually helped with the Saturday robbery. He and Light Master had been on fire.
And yet for some reason, people were criticizing them. On Thursday, apparently they'd caused too many civilian casualties. It was only two! And then on Saturday, while nothing bad had happened, there was still criticism. Something about leaving too many opportunities for civilian casualties.
Did the military do any better? The Legion was protecting people! They were doing their best. As the only ones who could stand against the Miracle-powered villains, shouldn't they get more praise?
It was frustrating, so Conrad switched to a fantasy show. Even though he knew that the entire thing was filmed in sets in Arx itself, the computer-rendered landscapes looked so breathtaking he wished he could see one for real. Rolling green hills, massive stone castles, deep valleys...
The main character ran across the landscape, a sword on his hip. The show happened to be his all-time favourite, and his hero persona had been based off of this very character. With his magical sword in hand, he fought off monsters and villains to protect his country. This was an early episode, but later on the hero would wed the princess and become the heir apparent to the throne.
It was such a good story. Conrad had loved it since he was small.
If only real life was so kind. His efforts may never really pay off. At least he still had the Legion with him if nothing else. As long as he wasn't alone, Conrad could keep on going. Continue on the path of a hero he'd longed for.
As the episode drew to a close, Conrad noticed a flashing light on the common computer. Achilles was out right now, so he went to check on it. It could be urgent, so if anyone in the Legion saw the alert light, they were supposed to check on it. It was a new feature of the new HQ.
Conrad opened the messages and frowned. An anonymous tip for them. It listed a day, time and address, with a short message to follow it.
Sleeper will strike again.
Sleeper...wasn't that the one thief Hot Rod had failed to catch the one time? A tricky criminal who could put anyone to sleep with a snap of his fingers. Apparently he'd reappear tomorrow morning. Conrad quickly opened up the Legion patrol schedule on his phone and scrolled through it. Rose was the only one scheduled to be on patrol at that time, so he decided to message the others and establish a game plan.
One less criminal out on the streets would do everyone a favour.
"Shit," Jase muttered under his breath. June was the only one around to hear him, so she moved up behind him and peered over his shoulder.
"That looks bad," she said quietly as she took in the information displayed on his tablet.
"At least we have the information too. Juney, can I ask you to take care of it?"
"Sure. Who knows what those Legion maniacs will do?"
Truth be told, June was a little excited about the whole thing. It would be her debut in her new Solstice costume, which had just finished. The high-contrast orange and black design made her happy, more so than her previous pastel blue and purple one.
"Tomorrow at nine, huh?" Jase muttered. "Right after the store opens."
More information popped up on the screen and June narrowed her eyes.
"That looks like major trouble." Jase nodded with a sigh.
"I was going to ask Ryder and Aubrey if they could go with you, but..."
"Safer to keep them here. If Hot Rod's going to stop Amias, I'm the best one for the job."
"Juney." Before she could float away, Jase grabbed her wrist. His hand went through her, but she stopped and looked at him.
"What?"
"Stay safe. Please. Whatever happens, make sure you protect yourself."
June stared at him blankly for a bit, then nodded.
She wouldn't be of any use to anyone if she was dead, after all.
"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Amias asked, looking at Rayne over the table.
"I should be asking you that," she replied with a laugh.
"Of course I'm ready. We've been laying low for a bit too long." Amias stretched and sighed.
"Do we need to go over the plan one more time?"
"Couldn't hurt. Then again, we use almost the same plan each time."
"And last time that Hot Rod freak almost killed you."
"That's what the modifications are for. For one, the Legion is much more active in the afternoons. Going in the morning will reduce our risk of running into them."
"Just make sure you stay on your toes," Rayne said. She toyed with her food, a slight frown on her face.
"That goes for you too," Amias said. "Even if you're invisible, something could still go awry and land you in trouble. Unlike me, your power isn't suited for combat."
"I know. I'll shut off the security cams and block the security systems. It should buy you a bit of extra time."
"And I'll put them all to sleep as fast as possible so I have time to recharge in case any problematic persons stumble into our lovely shop."
"It's not our shop," Rayne snorted. "We're just stealing from it."
Amias held up his hands and laughed.
A few moments passed before they both looked at each other seriously.
"Any last minute changes?" Rayne asked.
"None on my end. How about you?"
"Good to go."
Tomorrow's heist would be a quick in and out operation. Rayne would have the longer part, sneaking in and disabling the security systems, but the actual time they spent detected wouldn't be more than a couple minutes.
The trick to getting away scot-free was making sure no one had time to catch you.
