Planet Lusus was known as the Rebirth System's very own downtown, where heroes and the public alike could go for a night out. With the highest population of civilians in the Rebirth System, there was always a popular hero walking around trying to cash in on their fame.

  It was common for owners of nightclubs to let heroes throw parties for free; the crowds they drew were well worth it. Surfrista himself could pull a big enough crowd, but when Bliss accepted his invite, the club owner agreed to give them full VIP access, including free drinks from the most expensive section of the menu.

  Bliss stood in front of the establishment. Neon letters spelled out “The Odelia” on a bright screen. He already regretted accepting the invitation. It wasn’t fun to go to a bar when your body was resistant to alcohol. His boredom had stooped to new levels.

  I guess being harassed by drunk people is better than staring at my ceiling all night.

  His nightmares were getting more frequent. He couldn’t sleep on Friday after almost getting stuck in another one. He was lucky Sorebel was hungry and started smacking him on the head. Relying on a cat was not a good solution; he’d have to refrain from sleeping for now.

  Walking in, he was immediately assaulted by the obnoxiously loud music blasting throughout the establishment. The room flashed between colors, making it look like he was viewing the world from his non-physical form despite being fully solid at the moment. The floor was crowded with bodies dancing and having a good time.

  Bliss tried to make his way through unnoticed, hoping to find a nice couch in the VIP area. He could at least be comfortable when people started to notice him. The bouncer saw him approaching and took down the velvet rope guarding the area. There were several tables with lounge chairs and couches surrounding them. Two hot tubs sat in the back of the area with a minibar to the side.

  Bliss was greeted by a server. “Welcome Bliss, we are so glad to have you here tonight. Would you like anything to drink? It’s on the house, of course.”

  “Oh, please don’t waste your best booze on me; it’s basically like drinking vinegar. Doesn't do anything for me at all.” He took a seat on one of the lounge chairs.

  “Of course, just let me know if there’s anything else I can get you, any non-alcoholic drinks or food, perhaps?”

  Bliss shook his head, lying back into the chair. The server nodded and returned to the mini bar. There were a few people in the hot tub that hadn’t noticed him yet. Thankfully, the music was keeping him awake for now. He looked over at the partygoers in the tub, almost wishing they would come bother him. Now he was bored and his ears hurt.

  As the crowd outside the area continued dancing, he noticed a few people stealing a glance at him. The pointing came right after, and soon enough, people started rushing to purchase VIP passes. He could see Surfrista floating in the air, touching the hands of those he passed from above.

  When he saw the crowd heading to the VIP area, he flew over and landed on the couch next to Bliss, blasting sparkling space dust all over the furniture.

  “You’re here, man! I could’ve sworn you were gonna bail. Man, the party’s really gonna heat up now!”

  "I'm happy to help out such a great friend," said Bliss.

  Surfrista started dancing atop the couch, inviting the people with new VIP passes to come over. He was already completely drunk, and probably on a few drugs. Bliss knew Surfrista didn’t like him, but was more than happy to use his popularity. Whenever they went out to planet Lusus together, Bliss would be hit on, and Surfrista could pick up the women he inevitably rejected. It’s not as though Surfrista wasn’t popular, but he would barely have to do any work after Bliss’s signature ice-cold rejection.

  “This music is gonna give me a migraine.” Bliss started rubbing his eyes.

  People started pouring into the VIP area, which quickly reached full capacity. A circle formed around the two heroes, with people pushing each other to get to the front. Bliss turned on his smile and sat up to address the crowd.

  “Please, please! Don’t start fighting each other. I really don’t want to see any of you get dragged out of here because of me.”

  The crowd started to settle down, with the people in the back awkwardly walking off to the side. They started to partake in the VIP amenities, staring back at Bliss and Surfrista every so often. Women and men alike started chatting him up, peeling off to talk to Surfrista after Bliss’s smile stopped reaching his eyes mid-conversation. It was his polite way of trying to look interested while clearly showing he wasn’t.

  Not long after he started talking, Surfrista went off with a few women to the hot tub, leaving Bliss alone on the lounge chair. One particularly shy woman walked up to the chair carrying a drink with a white and orange swirl.

  “Bliss, I brought you a non-alcoholic tropical twist. Your favorite, right?” Her soft voice squeaked the words out.

  Bliss took the drink. “Wow, you remembered that! I don’t think I heard your name before, let me know so I can properly thank you."

  “Oh! It’s Brilla, it’s an honor to meet you!”

  The conversation continued as if he were on autopilot. He did enjoy the tropical twist, but if he really wanted it, he could’ve had someone bring it to him for free. She basically paid for no reason, so he felt obligated to talk to her for a little longer. She started talking to him about cats for a minute, but didn’t offer any pictures to keep his interest. Once the other guests started looking jealous, he turned his eyes off, and the woman scurried away.

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  He could usually do this for hours, but he felt so off lately. This certainly wasn’t helping.

  Staring at the ceiling would’ve been better. If someone here had a cat, I could at least see some pictures. That would keep me going for like, thirty minutes. Dammit, why didn’t I just volunteer at a cat shelter to pass the time?

  The sudden stroke of genius came too late; he was already stuck here. It wouldn’t look good to suddenly disappear from sight.

  Maybe I can fake passing out? No, I’ve been too helpless in recent situations; I need to keep a balance. Hopefully, a villain attacks this place, that would be great right now. Or maybe Sir Jelly will psy-ping me. Oh, wait!

  He opened his CellPulse, telling his fans he needed to check every so often to make sure there were no emergencies. He found Entropi’s contact number.

  “Hey, I’m ready to talk to you, but you have to come to The Odelia and demand I leave with you,” he texted.

  A few text bubbles appeared and vanished before she finally replied. “Alright, I’ll be there soon, but if you ditch me, I’ll…be really mad.”

  He looked up with a disappointed expression. “Oh no! I think Entropi needs my help with something, looks like I’ll have to head out soon.”

  The partygoers sighed in sadness, but they cheered themselves up by talking about Entropi. Everyone asked if they could say hi to her before she dragged him away.

  He bargained with the drunk vultures. “Tell you what, come wait outside with me where it’s quiet, you can talk to her before we leave.”

  The circle agreed and surrounded him as he started walking towards the exit. Being human had its perks at times like this, as the circle of other species protected him with a barrier taller than he. They shuffled to the exit, embracing the warm air outside. Bliss could finally hear himself think. All that was left was for Entropi to shoo away the fans, something she could do with little backlash. It was part of her charm, after all: blatant disregard for the public. They all awkwardly stood around him, and he realized he still had to keep talking to them for a few minutes.

  “I’m sorry, did someone say something?”

  One man spoke up again. “Yeah, we were just asking what kind of emergency is happening? If Entropi needs help, it must be pretty bad….”

  “Oh, don’t worry, it’s really not. There are certain things that are just a lot easier when Entropi and I work together.”

  The crowd hummed with understanding. It was true, after all; they went on all sorts of missions together before Bliss was inducted into the agency as an official hero. Crux broke his own child labor laws just for her. He almost missed those days; it was easier to just follow along with whatever Entropi was doing. He didn’t enjoy being a human paparazzi shield, however.

  After a minute or two, a black flash shot through the sky, landing near the group. Entropi arrived, wearing her hero costume and helmet. Everyone stopped and turned to her, awe in their eyes. Entropi was a rare sight in the nightclub district, as she usually avoided any chance of a large crowd.

  Bliss wished he had styled his personality after that, but he had to pick up the slack where Entropi was failing. Two unfriendly introverts were not charming together. The dichotomy of the elusive Entropi accompanied by the bright and accommodating Bliss was much more palatable. She walked over, and Bliss could tell she was annoyed that he wasn’t alone.

  She tried to dismiss the crowd. “All right, everyone, your time with Bliss is over, we have stuff to do.”

  Before they left, they managed to get a few words in. Entropi unenthusiastically thanked them for their continued support. She didn’t hate her fans, but she really didn’t care about her public image. Someone with her power didn’t have to; everyone loved her anyway. It was considered an honor to get brushed off by her. It made Bliss sick with jealousy.

  Satisfied, they all walked back into The Odelia, leaving the two of them alone.

  Entropi gestured for him to follow her into space. They flew out of the atmosphere, stopping at the edge of the solar system. They lingered in silence for a bit, watching the mechanical structure that all the planets orbited. Bliss stared at its movements, letting his mind go blank. He felt a shove from Entropi.

  “Hey, are you all right? You’re staring into space like it’s a cliff.”

  “Why not stare into space? You do it all the time.” He smirked at her.

  She scowled back. “Hey! You said you were ready to talk so we’re gonna talk. No snark. No jokes.”

  He looked away from her. There were only two choices here: tell Entropi the truth, or tell her an obvious lie. She would see right through him. Lying would only make her worry more. It was hard for him to lie to Crux; it was impossible for him to lie to Entropi. As much as that bothered him, it was also comforting.

  There was a part of him that wanted her to pester him until he broke down, until he could have some sort of release. Maybe it would ease the nightmares. He could rest instead of dragging his body along to the next distraction.

  Entropi slumped over midair. “Please Mtsi, I’m worried about you. I know that sedative didn’t actually work. Why would you let yourself be kidnapped, taken to human traffickers? Is Crux giving you trouble, because I can always-“

  “He’s not a human trafficker,” Bliss interrupted her.

  There was another minute of silence. Entropi stared at him, expecting something more.

  “I’m asking you to please leave it at that. Armageddon poses no threat to me,” he said.

  She looked down for a second. Bliss knew it was difficult for Entropi to open up, even to him. They had that in common, and she was hoping Bliss would return her effort with some of his own. In his mind, he was trying to do that, but an incomplete story could never settle her fears. She tried her last move, which was to gently pull Bliss into a hug. He moved his arms, trying to get out.

  Not now, you can’t do this now!

  Tears started forming in his eyes. He desperately tried to push them back. Since she wasn’t using her powers to hold him, he easily broke her grip. As his face shifted downward, she caught just a glimpse of his eyes, but it was all she needed to know he was on the brink.

  “Come on. There’s no need to push yourself when you’re with me.” She opened her arms again.

  There was nothing else to be done. He buried his face into her shoulder and let her hug him. Tears fell from his eyes, but he didn’t dare make a sound.

  She gently assured him. “You don’t have to tell me more, just promise me you’re safe.”

  “I’m safe. Armageddon won’t hurt me.”

  She stroked his hair and held him until she couldn’t feel any more tears. Bliss was asleep, and she moved to the side next to him. She tapped her wrist and a translucent box formed around them, letting her look up at the stars, but keeping the two of them safe from any outside threats. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep next to him.

  The void of space surrounded them like a comforting blanket, keeping them both at peace. Bliss’s mind was refreshingly free of thought, but Entropi was determined to find out why Armageddon wanted to take him. For now, she could let it rest. They could have this moment with no strings attached.