Lunai was on her fifteenth review of the notes from Dr. Crux when an alarm in the resident room went off. It was an old-fashioned device that the agency previously used to signal new emergencies. Today it seemed that it had been reactivated to alert the heroes of the mission report time.

  Bliss shouted towards the ceiling. “Alright, alright! We got it, turn the damn alarm off!”

  As if someone were watching the room, the alarm responded to Bliss and shut off. Lunai finally took her eyes off the computer and saw that Argalax was in the room as well. She was so absorbed in her notes that she missed him entering the room. Still in a nervous trance, Lunai followed Bliss as he led the interns out of the resident room. They walked through the halls to the teleportation bay in the main building. Dr. Crux was there to see them off. The team had the diagram of the ship with all markings saved on their CellPulses to reference at any time.

  “I see you two are still very nervous,” he says, eyeing Lunai and Argalax, “that’s to be expected. Just know that I believe in you, but also that failure doesn’t define you. No one gets through this career without making any mistakes, so please be kind to yourselves no matter what happens.”

  Their eyes grow with warmth and admiration for their leader. His words truly lifted a burden off of their hearts. Normalizing failure wasn’t his goal, but the reality is that perfection is impossible. It was a comfort to know that Dr. Crux understood that. Nevertheless, they would give their all to rescue the human trafficking victims.

  Crux entered the coordinates for the satellite base closest to the location Sir Jelly provided them with into the transport pod. Based on the cryptic messages from him, the armada would be stopping for a few hours in a set safe zone to establish the locations of their various buyers. The three of them took their seats as the pod stirred awake and started to glow. They vanished in a flash, appearing on a tiny satellite planet of the GSA. Very few people populated the area, and they were greeted by a solitary attendant at their destination. When they left the building, they found that the teleportation hub was the only building present on the entire rock.

  Bliss eyed the stars above them. “We need to get there quickly, the speed you can safely fly with your suits won’t cut it. Each of you hold tight on one of my arms. I’ll get us there in time.”

  They complied and Bliss blasted them out of the atmosphere. He accelerated to a speed they never reached before. Lunai squeezed his arm so tight she was worried she’d rip it off. Thankfully their suits protected them from the adverse effects of sub-light speed. Bliss’s non-physical form allowed him to move without harm to his body, but Lunai and Argalax would explode into pieces with no protection.

  Bliss gradually slowed his pace the closer they got to Sir Jelly’s coordinates. When they were within ten miles of the armada, his translucent hand touched the area in front of him and started peeling a layer of space itself over them, concealing all of them from the prying eyes ahead. It wasn’t long before they reached their destination; a ship flying in the protected center of the armada. The interns followed Bliss closely as he searched for the entrance Sir Jelly marked. The most caudal entry door to the ship had the least guards present, according to Sir Jelly’s intelligence. Bliss made his way to the ship’s tail and gestured for Argalax to take care of the door. He melted into it to control the lock just as he did in the numerous simulations done over the week. The door opened to two guards standing in the air lock. One lifted his wrist to say something over their intercom, but Bliss flashed before him and gently tapped the screen, causing it to spark and glitch before ultimately cracking apart. He then grabbed the man by the collar and opened a nearby locker, pushing him inside. Argalax then molded the locker door to seal him inside.

  Lunai grabbed the other guard’s wrists while he was distracted by Bliss’s appearance. She pulled him towards herself and slammed her forehead into his. A helmet protected him from a heavier blow, but he was still disoriented and fell backwards. Bliss disabled his CellPulse as well before trapping him in the locker beside his friend. The rescue team closed the external air lock door and proceeded to the halls of the ship.

  Bliss projected his voice into their minds. “This is where we split up. I’m heading to the control room; we’ll be out of the armada’s center shortly. You two should patrol the halls and handle any threats you come across. Don’t go into any rooms. When you haven’t seen any guards in the halls for ten minutes straight, go to the entrance of the cargo hold and signal Sir Jelly. He will grab the guards in the room with him and bring them into the halls for you to fight safely.”

  They nodded at him and he zipped down the hall, disappearing from sight. Lunai and Argalax split up to opposite ends of the hallway. They walked down their respective path until they ran into patrolling crew members, handling them with almost as much ease as in the simulations. These guards were slightly tougher, but they were only grunts. They did not pose the threat of a super villain.

  Bliss casually walked into the control room with steps so light and agreeable the captain barely noticed. She turned around expecting to find one of her guards reporting in, finding the hero standing with his hands on his hips instead.

  She rushed to warn the ship’s pilot crew. “Sound the alarm! We’ve been compromised!”

  The workers reached for the controls, but Bliss calmly stomped his foot on the space in front of him, causing a crack in the floor to that extended towards them. When it reached their feet, the crack moved up through the air and opened small holes in space in the direction of their moving hands. When their fingers grazed the voids, they screamed and pulled their hands away. They gripped themselves in pain as their hands glitched and flickered in and out of existence. The experience was maddening enough that it caused them to curl up on the ground and whimper in fear.

  Bliss addressed the captain. “Hey, why don’t we just end this right here? You’re far below my pay grade, which I’m sure you know already.”

  She smiled. “Of course, how could I not recognize your face. If we sold just one night with you, we’d be set for life. I can’t let an opportunity like this escape us.”

  Her confidence was unnerving to Bliss. It was possibly a bluff, but she was clearly outmatched. When opponents of this skill level recognized him, they typically knew it was the end of the line. He watched her reach into her pocket, and he darted in front of her to grab her hand. She laughed and swung her other hand at his neck, brandishing a syringe. Bliss dodged out of the way at the last moment. He inspected the vial and saw a viscous black liquid.

  Reality glue? How does some no name captain of a random human trafficking group have a whole vial of that stuff! This shit is getting more and more common… There’s gotta be a new source around.

  Bliss was no longer looking down on the woman; the reality glue severely limited his fighting ability. He couldn’t use his non-physical form to avoid it as the glue would be able to attach to his ethereal body, pulling him back into his normal form. Avoiding the syringe was now his top priority.

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  He took a quick moment to alert his teammates with his telepathic speech. “The captain has reality glue. I’ll be fine but just be aware I might take longer than I originally thought.”

  She seems to be focused on using the syringe on me, so I shouldn’t have to worry about the weak points in reality here being closed up. I’ll have to keep fighting at a distance until I have the perfect opening for a finishing blow.

  He continued dancing around the room, continuing to create distance between them. The captain grinned with unearned confidence, she had a top hero on the defensive, moving to her will.

  Looks like I’ll actually need to use a decent amount of energy on this one.

  He threw several punches at the weak points in front of them, sending a wide rip in reality hurtling towards the captain. She dodged out of the way with part of her cape getting caught in its path. The piece of fabric burnt away and left the cape with a gaping hole. Bliss used the thick line of the void he created to separate them, extending it until it canvased the entire length of the control room. It waxed and waned through the air above and below it, creating an erratic pattern of movement. The captain cautiously approached the barrier, searching for a safe way to pass through. With the time he bought himself, he backed up and cleared his throat. A hauntingly beautiful melody left his mouth.

  She was confused at first. “What are you singing for? Trying to show yourself off? We can put that voice to good use.”

  Bliss did not use this power often as it took a few minutes to work. As the captain stood trapped behind Bliss’s wall, the sound slowly penetrated her ears and made its way to her brain. She did not find a route to Bliss before the effects took hold of her. She gasped in pain and grabbed her head, shaking and falling to the floor. The barrier began to close up, and the room returned to normal.

  Bliss approached her. “Aw, don’t look so sad. You got me to sing, didn’t you? Most people don’t have the pleasure of hearing my voice.”

  His boot met her neck, and he pushed down until she stopped moving. He then formally apprehended everyone in the room with GSA-manufactured handcuffs. Once the room was secure, he sat down at the main controls and plugged a flash drive into the main terminal. It began to run a program designed by Dr. Crux to bring a ship to the nearest GSA safe zone.

  “Everything’s under control over here. We’ll be in a safe zone soon, don’t mind the turbulence.”

  Lunai sighed in relief. When she got the first message from him, she considered busting into the control room to help him. She met Argalax in the middle of the hall and waited ten minutes to see if any guards passed by. Argalax used his CellPulse to signal Sir Jelly, and they took their places outside of the door to the cargo hold. Argalax used his body to unlock the door and swung it open. Before the guards had time to react, one of them morphed into a large gelatinous creature, stretching his arms to grab each one of them. He moved each arm carefully to place the three guards outside of the cargo hold. Lunai noticed the humans in the room.

  They’re real this time. Their freedom and safety depend on our success. We’ve done well so far, and Sir Jelly is here with us now. Hang on little guys, you’ll all be safe soon!

  The guards struggled to escape Sir Jelly’s grasp. They kicked and grabbed at his arms, only managing to pull away handfuls of goop. He looked at them and smiled. He formed two new hands and put them out to high five both interns. As their hands moved towards his, the ship started to shake. The humans started to panic with the children starting to cry.

  Sir Jelly turned to them. “Don’t worry friends, we’re here to rescue you! We are agents of the Galactic Security Agency. The ship is shaking because we’re moving quickly. We need to get to a safe area away from the armada.”

  They looked at each other pensively and one man spoke up softly, “Galactic Security Agency?”

  The humans present had spent their whole lives in captivity and were unfamiliar with Sir Jelly or his agency. Luna surveyed their faces and was horrified by how young everyone was. No one looked older than their late twenties. Multiple small children were present, and the majority of the group looked like young teens. They barely had any life experience at all, let alone experience in the galaxy.

  Sir Jelly shrunk himself to look less intimidating. “Yes, the GSA! We are heroes here to take you away from these awful villains!”

  His face beamed and a few children smiled at him. Despite his size, he looked very non-threatening and approachable. One tried to get closer before an older human pulled him back.

  “It’s understandable that you’re all scared; I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. When we land this ship, there’s going to be more people on board to take your captors away. They’ll also help you out of the ship and get you any medical treatment you need.”

  The humans eyed the guards still being held by Sir Jelly. No one wanted to get their hopes up about escaping. They never knew any kindness in the galaxy and had no guarantee that these people would be any better than the last. Regardless, they stayed put, afraid of the apparent physical might of the ship’s intruders.

  The ship came to a halt fifteen minutes later. Agents dressed in the GSA’s standard uniform boarded the ship and started carrying unconscious guards out in handcuffs. The humans were gently led off the ship by more casually dressed agents. Care packages of food and water awaited them in the building they landed on. Social workers from the agency started to talk to them, explaining their living options within the GSA. Paramedics stood by to assess any injured humans to see if anyone needed to be taken to the hospital. No one was hurt too bad, with just a few bandages needed for minor injuries. Bliss departed the ship and smiled at his team.

  Sir Jelly pat him on the back and started ruffling his hair. “Another successful rescue! It’s always a pleasure to work with you, Mtsi!”

  Bliss pushed his hand away and looked at his interns. “Good job. I told you everything was gonna be fine.”

  The rescue team eventually returned to the office, greeted by Dr. Crux. He congratulated them on their success, especially the interns.

  “This rescue mission sends a clear message to all human traffickers; we’re stepping up our resistance to these organizations. After this and Bliss’s powerful message at the last press conference, we have enough momentum to hold a charity event for the agency. I trust we will secure the funds necessary to increase our patrols and rescue missions against human traffickers.”

  He dismissed everyone and Sir Jelly started to dance his way out of the building. Luna and Argalax followed behind him, laughing at his antics. They did not notice Bliss’s absence when they left.

  “Funny you mention a charity event. I think we have a great opportunity here to force my brother’s hand.”

  Crux cocked his head curiously. “Oh? What do you have in mind?”

  “Auction me off. I mean, auction off a date with me. People do that all the time for charity, right?” He looked far too excited.

  “I guess so, I always found the idea unsavory.” Crux scratched his rough head.

  “That’s the point. It’ll be even better if someone like Podoxec wins, which you know they will.”

  He stared quietly for a second. “Bliss, you’re one sick bastard, but that probably would work. It wouldn’t hurt our finances either. If it’s what you want, we can do it, but you must stop Armageddon from killing the lucky winner. We also have to be certain he won't kill any of the guests. I don’t need the board harassing me again.”

  "Onder's not the only one who will want to hover over me the whole time. When Entropi learns about the auction for my date, I have a feeling this gala will be the first one she attends in her career."

  Crux shuffled his head from side to side as if he were considering it. "I have been trying to get her to come to one. It's a good way to ensure she'll be around as well."

  Bliss beamed in response. “Great! Make sure you get the word out to the dictators and warlords with the most vile reputations!”

  “You need medication; you need to be in therapy. I’m scheduling a mandatory appointment for you.”

  He ignored Crux’s concern. “Just make sure there’s a reality glue detector at the door. Seems like everyone and their spawner has one these days.”

  "Alright, alright, I'll make a few calls. Just remember, Bliss. If anyone dies, it's on you."

  Bliss happily walked away as Crux scheduled his counseling session. The sooner he could account for his brother the better. He had too many loose ends open with Onder wondering the galaxy. He hoped their next confrontation would be their last. There could be closure; Armageddon would no longer be a threat. Maybe he would be able to sleep again.