Dr. Crux was hard at work preparing for the upcoming charity gala. The Rebirth System had many beautiful venues to host events. He decided on a sleek and minimalist fashion show venue. The runway would be perfect for the auction they had planned. Above the main hall was a beautiful lounge area, perfect for hosting charity dates. The irony of auctioning a date with the agency’s only human agent to raise money for fighting human trafficking was not lost on him. To preserve the agency’s reputation, he would need to include other heroes. Luckily several of them were willing to donate their time for a good cause. He hoped none of the corrupt leaders he was forced to invite would be on anyone except Bliss.

  When they weren’t on a mission, the small-scale combat team helped prepare for the gala. Lunai took a look at the auction list to see what the agency was able to procure. She was willing to offer special trinkets from her home planet to raise money; it was her first charity event as a certified hero after all. Several interesting artifacts made the list, items whose only worth was symbolic, but were beautiful and rare. With his current guest list, Dr. Crux wouldn’t dare include anything that could grant actual power. She raised one of her eyebrows when she reached the bottom of the list. The last section was its own category called charity dating. Bliss’s name was last in that list, and Lunai almost choked on her own tongue when she read it. She turned to look at Bliss who was currently taste-testing the catering.

  She approached him with the list displayed. “We’re auctioning off a date with you?”

  “Yep. The whole charity dating section was my idea, actually. I’ll get a great price, too.” He put his hand over his heart dramatically. “It’s the least I could do for my people.”

  She scratched her head. “Isn’t it a little weird? It’s a charity against human trafficking.”

  He casually threw his arms in the air. “Come on Lunai, it’s nothing weird like that. Charity dating is done all the time.”

  “But the agency hasn’t done it before…”

  Bliss nodded his head.

  “And we’re choosing to start doing it now… At the anti-human trafficking event. The anti-human trafficking event that we planned after a big rescue and press conference.”

  He stared at her for a second before casually nodding again. She briefly checked the other names on the list. Everyone else was an attending hero chosen from a roster of the agency’s most popular figures. Entropi was missing, which was not surprising, nobody even knew what she looked like under her helmet. Lunai remembered how worried she looked when she met Bliss after the Armageddon incident; she wondered what she would think of Bliss participating in this auction.

  She decided against her better judgement to start asking about it. “Do you know if Entropi is gonna be here?”

  He sighed. “She’s invited, of course. She never comes to these things, but I have an awful feeling she’ll decide to make an appearance.”

  “Because of the auction?”

  He looked a little bit annoyed. “Yes, because of the auction. I’m sure you know a little of my history with her; she can be overprotective when it comes to me.”

  Though she didn’t want to admit it, Lunai wanted to see the drama between them unfold. Both Entropi and Bliss inspired an unhealthy curiosity in any onlookers. Many would pay to watch an argument between them unfold. Not much was known about Bliss’s past before he was taken under Entropi’s wing, maybe some old wounds from his past would resurface, if you were lucky. Lunai was disgusted with herself as soon as these thoughts entered her head.

  What the hell am I thinking? Their relationship isn’t a sideshow for me to watch. I don’t need to know about my senior’s interpersonal drama and I certainly don’t need to know about his past!

  She continued the conversation normally. “Well, there’s no actual danger, right? Everyone knows these charity dates are just like, a dinner or something.”

  “Let me tell you a secret.” He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “There’s gonna be some nasty fucks in the audience. I’m telling you now in case Entropi shows up when we’re preparing. Don’t be alarmed, I have it all under control.”

  “You mean people like Podoxec?”

  He nodded. “Pretty much like that. I imagine she’ll be over here to harass me as soon as she sees advertising for the auction.”

  Can I watch?

  She slapped a hand over her mouth, preventing the words from coming out. Her intrusive para-social thoughts knew no bounds. Bliss didn’t pay the gesture much attention. He continued to sample the food on the table and offered some to Lunai. She had been away from home long enough to get used to the cuisine in this solar system, but the flavors here were different. The agency housed several restaurants that boasted five-star reviews across the galaxy. Lunai had not had the chance to eat at one of these establishments, but she assumed they would be catering this event.

  She spoke through a mouthful of food. “I’ve never eaten anything like this, it’s amazing!”

  They made it through the table of samples and approved the proposed menu. Trucks arrived at the venue to drop-off the tables, chairs, and decorations. Workers from the supplier entered the venue and started arranging the furniture under Bliss’s direction. They worked into the night, with Bliss being gruelingly particular about the placement of the tables. His harsh guidance led to a few workers running to the bathroom in tears. He claimed the tables had to be the right distance from the runway to maximize vision during the auction. Lunai did not think it mattered that much, but Bliss was happy to show her several scientific studies that proved it did.

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  She retreated to a corner to avoid hearing more about it, slumping over a table in exhaustion. She noticed a new figure entering the hall in the corner of her eye. Sitting up, she realized it was Entropi, speed walking directly towards Bliss.

  Oh my Old God, it’s happening. It’s happening! Do I get closer? Do I watch? Maybe I should keep my head down over here so they don’t notice me…

  She stayed put for the time being, hoping they’d argue loud enough for her to hear. She was ashamed of herself for this, but if she was already here, she may as well stay and watch the show. Bliss was still directing the movers when she reached him, not noticing her approach from behind. All the workers turned to look at her, and she started to shoo them out of the room.

  “Alright, all of you are going to have to move to another room. I need to talk to my ward.”

  Bliss scoffed at the word. He graduated from training under her years ago. Nevertheless, no one wanted to defy Entropi, so the workers quickly cleared away. Lunai kept her head down with her eyes closed.

  Go on, do mind me… I’m just a sleeping intern.

  They didn’t even bother to look in her direction. Entropi was too preoccupied on the way in that she didn’t realize Lunai was there. Her slightly open eye widened as Entropi removed her helmet, revealing her long black hair.

  No way, holy shit, no way this is happening! Oh, I am so horrible for watching this, so, so, horrible. I shouldn’t look, I shouldn’t watch! If I find out Entropi’s secret identity I could be a liability!

  Despite her internal protests, the eye remained fixed on the two heroes. Bliss didn’t address Entropi at first, choosing to walk away to a nearby table. He started messing with the flower arrangement on top.

  “Mtsi, look at me.”

  He remained as aloof as ever, starting to hum as he removed a few thorns from the flowers. She grabbed his shoulder and tried to manually turn him around. He didn’t budge, much stronger than her when she didn’t use her powers for assistance.

  “Fine, if you want to act like a child I’ll treat you like one.”

  A dark circle formed on the ground below Bliss’s feet. He was forcefully turned to face her, the circle trapping his feet in that spot.

  Entropi projected an image off of her wrist. “What the hell is this?”

  The screen showed an invitation sent by the agency:

  Please join us at the Galactic Security Agency for A Night of Bliss, our first charity event to support the fight against human trafficking in the Milky-Way. Enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime auction for charity. You could be the one to win a date with one of everyone’s favorite superheroes. All donations are welcome and the ticket entry fee is 200 oracles per person. Please use the link below to register for the event and select your meal plan.

  Bliss read the physical manifestation of her psy-ping. “It’s your invitation. Feel free to ignore it like you always do, but if just being invited offends you, you can always unsubscribe from Crux's psy-list.”

  She crossed her arms. “Whose idea was this anyway? It isn’t Crux’s style.”

  “It was my idea; I just want to help my people. Your people.”

  Your people? Wait… is Entropi human?

  Lunai started to move slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of Entropi’s face. She strained her eye to the side just long enough to see Entropi turning in exasperation. There was no question about it, that was a human face. Luna held in her gasps and closed her eye; she had seen far too much.

  “You’re not doing the auction. What you are doing is going to therapy. I’m making an appointment for you right now.” She started typing on her CellPulse.

  He laughed. “Too late, Dr. Crux already scheduled one for me. There’s no conflict with the auction, so I’m perfectly capable of doing both. Now please release me before I call the cops on you for wrongful imprisonment.”

  She removed the dark circle from the floor. “Are you acting out? Did I do something to piss you off?”

  “My life doesn’t revolve around you, Chikyu.”

  Fuck now I know her name! Oh, I’m the worst, I’m so awful, why am I still here!

  He looked down at his freed feet. “Why are you so upset about it? You know I can handle myself.”

  “Of course, I do. That doesn’t mean this is healthy, and it doesn’t mean there’s no risk! Reality glue is getting more common, what if your ‘date’ has some?”

  “Already handled, there will be precautions. The date will happen in this building, no secondary locations involved whatsoever.” He pointed at the lounge area upstairs.

  She grabbed both of his shoulders. “Don’t do this. Please. I’m scared for you.”

  Her eyes started to tremble. Bliss could see tears forming, threatening to fall at any moment. He met her eyes for a moment before turning away abruptly. He went right back to his flower arrangement, pruning the stems and humming a short tune. She lowered her head and started to walk away. Lunai closed her eyes tight as she passed her, with Entropi stopping for a moment to register her presence. She gave one final sigh and left the building.

  That was rough… Bliss is more than just a trainee to Entropi; she really cares about him. I’ll help the only way I can, making sure absolutely no reality glue makes it way into the gala. I’ll get a scanner and go over this place several times before and during the event!

  Bliss kept poking at the flowers after Entropi left. Lunai had to keep her head down for a bit longer, she didn’t want Bliss to realize she was faking it the whole time. She decided twenty minutes was a safe time to remain down. As time went by, Bliss stayed posted at the flower vase, continuing to pull bits and pieces off of the flowers. It hurt Lunai to watch, being made of plant matter herself. She gave up the act after just ten minutes, unable to watch any longer.

  She raised her head slowly and tried to act confused. “Huh? What happened?”

  Bliss finally stopped mutilating the flowers. “Oh, you’re awake. Why don’t you go get the movers back from the other room? We still have work to do.”

  “Oh, okay,” she stood up, “why did everybody leave?”

  He picked up another flowing and started fidgeting with it. “No reason. They were just on break and didn’t want to rest in the same room as me, you saw how much of a bitch I was.”

  She brought them in without another word. Bliss continued his reign of terror on the poor workers forced to be here overtime. The gala was planned for Saturday night and Lunai planned to be there every night until then, reality glue scanner in hand. The least she could do after eavesdropping was help keep anything bad from happening. The gala would be under her fierce protection, and no one was going to ruin it for her.

  Character Art

  Entropi