Haven had lost her mind.
What was she doing?
Even so, she didn't stop as she marched to the old Legion HQ with Knight. When they got there, she let herself in and quickly grabbed a change of clothes. Going to see Louise in that bright pink superhero costume was a bad idea if they wanted any sort of secrecy.
When she came out, Knight was similarly dressed in casual clothes. She stashed their costumes in a bag that probably belonged to Jo and was about to leave when the Alchemist herself came out of her lab.
"Well, well," she said. "I come out to grab a snack and what do I see? I never expected to find you two together, let alone here."
"Alchemist..." Knight said sheepishly, taking a step back and staring at the ground.
"What's up? You have business with little ol' me? Need more potions again?"
"No," Haven said, soft but firm. "We're...rebelling."
Jo raised an eyebrow.
"Achilles went too far this time. We're...looking for a way to bring him to his senses I guess." She adjusted the bag on her shoulder, unsure of what exactly she was doing.
"Good luck with that," Jo said with a sigh. "I'm not sure anyone could get through that thick skull of his."
"Why do you stay with the Legion anyway?" Haven asked, glancing at Jo.
"Research funding. The Legion, for better or for worse, has good funding. Plus no annoying oversight asking me what the practical applications of all this is. It means I can do whatever I want without people trying to mess with me." She looked at them. "But it's different for the rest of you. You want to do some good, don't you? I'll help however I can. What's the plan?"
"None yet," Haven said sheepishly. "Just...find Louise. Talk to Louise. She might know something or have a good idea."
"Not bad for a start," Jo said. "Gimme a minute." She grabbed her cell phone and started dialing.
"Who are you calling?" Knight asked anxiously.
"Lady Morris," Jo replied, putting the phone to her ear.
Twenty minutes later, Louise was sitting in the old HQ with them. Haven fidgeted in her seat, trying to figure out how to bring up the topic.
"Um, Louise..." she said, barely able to meet the other woman's eyes.
"What's up? Jo said it was important. And it had better be; I have quite a bit of Christmas work to do." Louise crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"We want you to help us!" Knight said desperately. "Achilles has...we don't know what to do."
"Go on," Louise said, her face shifting into an exasperated expression.
"I'm sorry. I wish I was smart enough to think of something else," Haven said. "But Achilles went too far, and I don't know how to rein him in. You're the foremost expert I know on the matter, so I was hoping you could maybe help."
Louise heaved a sigh.
"Fine. I guess it's my eternal role to babysit that idiot. But I don't actually know him that well, y'know? Up until last year I basically hadn't seen him since high school."
"I'm here to brainstorm too," Jo said. "I care about my funding, but some things are more important than my curiousity."
"Okay. Well, what has James been like lately?" Louise asked, leaning forward. "How's he taking the Prime thing?"
"He and Light Master wanted to storm the prison and break him out before the military kills him," Knight said glumly.
"Par for the course, I guess," Louise sighed. "Who all is in the team now? You two, Achilles and?"
"The kid," Haven growled. "He's worse than Achilles."
"Right. Moron." Louise sat back in her chair and frowned.
"Do you think there's anything we can do to snap either of them out of it?" Haven asked. "I...I don't even care if it has to be a bit extreme. Knight snapped out of it when he accidentally almost killed someone."
"Accidentally?" Louise asked, raising an eyebrow at Knight.
"My Miracle isn't supposed to actually hurt people!" he said, fear glistening in his eyes. "But it is. It's only supposed to cause phantom pain, but twice now it's drawn blood. And I'm terrified of it. Terrified of what I might do."
Louise frowned.
"I doubt we can use that strategy on either of the other two. Brat seems like the type who doesn't care what kind of damage he does and James has the thickest skull of anyone I've ever met, except perhaps Dustin. His Miracle also doesn't do any actual damage."
"So what do we do? Talking won't work. Prime tried that," Haven said, panic clawing at her chest.
"I can bring in Lightning and her group," Louise said. "They might have a few more good ideas. Another meeting when I've gotten ahold of them? Let's exchange numbers."
Haven nodded and pulled out her phone. After a short pause, Knight did the same.
The rebellion had officially begun.
Brennan sat silently in his cell, trying to keep himself sane as the hours ticked on slowly. Far too slowly. They fed him, and the lights turned off for what must have been night, but for all he knew the lights went on at midnight and turned off at noon.
He was startled by the opening of his cell door. Not the little tray flap they used to bring him food - the full door opened and two officers walked in, standing side by side.
"Sergeant Henry Griffin, of the newly formed Anti-Miracle Unit," one said, looking down at Brennan, who was still sitting against the wall.
"Officer Korbin O'Neil, Anti-Miracle Unit," the other said, looking at Brennan like he was little more than a speck of dirt.
"What can I do for you two?" Brennan asked, not bothering to move. If they were going to show up unannounced, he felt no need to go out of his way to be presentable. When had he last showered?
"Brennan Zavala, former wrestler and current Miracle holder. Known to the public as Prime of Achilles' Legion," Sergeant Griffin said, as if reciting a script.
Brennan stayed silent and let him talk.
"You've been arrested for unlawful usage of a Miracle. We, however, would be willing to offer you a chance to atone. Join the Anti-Miracle Unit as an aide in our battle, and we'll lighten your sentence."
"Oh? You're willing to trust me after everything?" Brennan asked cautiously.
"This is only possible because after assessment, we have deemed your Miracle not overly dangerous. If you help us capture the other more dangerous criminals, like Achilles, we'll offer you leniency. You'd join as an honourary officer and go undercover to destroy the Legion once and for all."
"And if I refuse?" Brennan asked.
"You can stay in prison. Nothing changes."
Brennan stared at them for some time, weighing his options. Should he betray Achilles? But what would the military do to the Legion?
Sure, Achilles needed to be reigned in, but would it be worth what the military would do to them? At worst, they'd all be executed secretly, like Hot Rod had been.
Brennan thought for a few minutes before the men got impatient.
"I'll leave you a day to mull it over," Sergeant Griffin said, turning and leaving. Officer O'Neil followed after him.
The sound of the door closing echoed in the small room, seeming to reinforce just how trapped Brennan was.
