Lunai pressed the side of her head against the window of the ship. Her gaze was fixed on the distant stars passing through her line of sight. The four heroes all sat in opposite corners of the prisoner transport ship. Argalax was watching the ship’s trajectory in real-time. Armageddon’s comatose body floated in a zero-gravity containment chamber meant to curb his strength. His spacesuit was removed and replaced by the standard outfit used by the GSA’s corrections center.

  Bliss was desperately trying to fight sleep, sitting up with his legs and arms crossed. His head bobbed up and down, but his eyes remained locked on his brother. He knew he’d have to talk to the insufferable prick again lest the night’s disaster be for nothing. If he threw in the inevitable awkward conversation with Entropi about his relationship with Armageddon, he could picture days of emotional torture awaiting him. Entropi kept glancing at him, wondering when she should go start that conversation.

  The ship interrupted all of their thoughts. “Approaching minor planet number 56.”

  They felt the ship lowering from the sky. A small planet closer to Rebirth appeared in the distance. Many minor planets existed within the GSA’s system, housing small operations that were unsafe to keep near large groups of people. Prisons made for specific super villains were a common sight, but they also contained research facilities. Armageddon’s containment was possibly the most dangerous operation to date.

  The ship hovered over a hole in the center of a fortified prison complex. They descended through several floors before settling on the landing pad in the basement. The door opened to Dr. Crux standing in front of a group of armed guards. Every face was hidden under a shaded visor, watching the prisoner inside carefully. Crux walked inside and gave a small nod to Bliss and his team, ignoring Entropi completely.

  “Thank you all for your service today. With Armageddon contained, billions of lives will be saved.” He shook both of the interns’ hands, but Bliss refused, staying in the same position.

  The guards entered the ship and wheeled the containment chamber off the ship. It was taken inside the planet’s maximum-security building. These prisons could usually be tailored to contain multiple villains within one planet, but this one was made entirely for Armageddon.

  Dr. Crux gestured for the door. “There is much to be done in the next few days. Please follow me as we secure this prisoner, I will explain how the agency will respond to the crisis at the gala and what you can do to help.”

  Everyone but Bliss stood up. They walked to the exit, watching him for movement. He remained in his seat, still staring at the center of the ship as if Armageddon were still there. Entropi walked up to him and bent over to look him in the eyes. His glassy stare did not break.

  “He’s resting. Don’t disturb him,” Entropi said firmly.

  Crux sighed, “Entropi, why don’t you take him to a break room. I wouldn’t dare ask you to do anything, anyway.”

  “No, I’ll take him home so he can recharge properly.” She started to lift him from his seat.

  Crux almost laughed, “You talk like you care for him, and yet you let him fry for five minutes straight, but I guess giving up a night of drinking to protect your ward is too much to act.”

  “That’s not what happened!”

  Lunai set her eyes on the ground. She had seen her seniors argue way too many times in the past week. Entropi seemed to be a strong point of contention at the GSA.

  “Then you’ll have to explain what did happen. You’re not leaving and neither is he, his presence on this planet is crucial.”

  She shook her head. “That freak is obsessed with him, he’s not staying here.”

  Another rare expression of frustration escaped Crux. “Excuse me, are you the one in charge here?”

  She pointed at Bliss. “When it comes to him, I am!”

  His hand shot up and grabbed her outstretched arm. He sprang to his feet and almost fell over. His body was still buffering, but he managed to turn to face Entropi with a glare of furious exhaustion. He started to speak, every word labored as his throat struggled to move.

  “You have no right-to demand anything-right now.” His response came out barely audible and in disjointed strings of words. “Explain yourself-then leave. Leave me-alone. You-are not-my keeper.”

  Her helmet hid the tears forming in her eyes. “Mtsi, I swear I wasn’t choosing a night of drinking! I don’t go to galas, but I figured I would come for the auction at the end, just in case. I was just across the street eating dinner and watching the gala on TV. I had one glass of beer with my food, that was it! I can’t remember what happened next, when I opened my eyes I was in front of Armageddon…”

  “Quite the troubling story.” Dr. Crux started typing away at his wrist. “We’ll need to investigate this establishment immediately. If that’s all you have to say, you are now dismissed.”

  “Mtsi, come on, let me take you back home.” She offered her hand to him. “Wouldn’t you rather be cuddling Sorebel right now?”

  He offered no response other than walking away. “Crux, I’m going to go sit down for a bit. Just send me a message when you need me back.”

  His legs moved slowly and dragged along the metal floor. Entropi stood still as his form started to vanish down the hallway. Once he was gone, Crux started to walk away, raising his hand to beckon the interns to him. They followed without question, thankful to escape the negative energy that crowded the ship. Lunai took one last look at Entropi as she stepped off the ship, seeing her form static and isolated.

  Everything’s gone horribly wrong. Surfrista is dead, Bliss was tortured on live television, and the rift between the most iconic superhero duo is fracturing out of control. I can’t even beat myself up for this, what was I supposed to do? I don’t know how Bliss does it all, he seems to attract the worst the galaxy has to offer, but I guess he also attracts its best…

  Crux’s voice invaded her mind and drowned out her thoughts. “Please forgive my outburst back there. Entropi can be difficult to manage to say the least. She thinks her power makes her above the rules, and I’m sad to say she’s right. We rely on the presence of heroes like her to deter invasions from the more ‘unfriendly’ empires.”

  Lunai’s first instinct was to defend the attending hero. She felt the pain in her voice when she begged Bliss not to go through with the auction. Entropi truly cared about him, even if it was overbearing at times.

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  She chose her next words carefully. “Is it possible she’s just worried about how the job affects Bliss? Like not attending any of the galas, maybe she thinks he’s being used as a spectacle. I know he makes his own choices, but if she found him as a kid it could be hard for her to understand that.”

  “Your belief in others is admirable, Lunai. I hope you don’t lose it during your training.” He would’ve smiled at her if capable. “I regret to inform you that Entropi was even worse before Bliss arrived. I couldn’t count on her for anything. Now that Bliss is an agent, we have one way to ensure her presence, putting Bliss in danger.”

  “Wait, are you saying you’ve been doing that on purpose?”

  “He does it on purpose. I never asked him to. Whenever I discuss an issue with him, his first solution is his own peril. I think he enjoys it.” He stopped in his tracks awkwardly, adjusting his tie. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be discussing an employee like this.”

  Lunai didn’t respond. She thought about her own intrusive thoughts about Bliss. Wanting to dissect his brain, listening in on his private discussion with Entropi. Dr. Crux started walking again and the interns followed silently.

  Even someone as professional as Dr. Crux can’t separate Bliss from spectacle. It’s like the galaxy instinctually treats him like an asset. No wonder he started treating himself like one.

  They reached an open space at the end of the hallway. Neither Bliss or Armageddon was anywhere to be found. A small squad of armed agents lined the back of the room, protecting a large metal door behind them. The wall to the right contained two elevators, a small amount for a complex of this size.

  “If you can’t tell, Armageddon was taken behind those doors. We’re keeping access restricted for safety purposes, so I unfortunately can’t allow either of you in there. The three of us can talk upstairs instead. The conference rooms are much nicer, anyway.”

  Crux called the elevator down and it opened to two armed guards. He spread his arms out and they waved over his body with a wand. It beeped with a green light and they were allowed onboard. Lunai eyed the device curiously, now at the guard’s side as he pressed the button for the third floor.

  “Crux fragment confirmed, no appearance modification detected.”

  Her country-girl upbringing on Ya’ar kept her ignorant of many devices in the galaxy. She had never heard of a wand that could detect disguises, but she was glad it existed and was being used here. Crux had high-level security access to every space within the agency, and with how many fragments of himself he had walking around, pretending to be one of them would be easy for any being with shapeshifting abilities. As the elevator settled on their floor, the guard noticed her stare and moved the wand away. Lunai quickly turned back to the front and followed Crux out. He walked to the first door he could see and opened the door a crack to peek in. He put his hand up apologetically and she heard him whisper “Sorry!” as he quickly closed the door again. She thought it was endearing how socially cautious Crux was. The second door he tried was free and the interns hurried inside, anxious to hear what they would be doing to help with the gala’s aftermath.

  “I apologize if this meeting seems brief, I unfortunately have to limit the time you two spend on this planet, interns technically aren’t allowed on any maximum-security complex. I am making an exception because you two helped deliver the prisoner here.”

  “Of course, we understand how dangerous it is here,” said Argalax.

  “I’ll get right to the point. Armageddon’s appearance at the gala was televised across the galaxy. Social media is blowing up about Surfrista’s death and Bliss’s torture. We have too many interview requests from the media to count. You two aren’t ready for a full interview, but we are sending both of you to present the story in front of reporters. When you leave this planet, you should work together to write down what happened before you start to forget. You need to present the same story. If you report anything even slightly different, whether intentional or not, they will jump on it. Only take questions about factual events, not anything theoretical or based in emotion.”

  “So, we’re going to lead a press conference by ourselves?” asked Lunai.

  “Yes. I understand this feels sudden, but your direct involvement makes you uniquely qualified. If you don’t feel comfortable we can work something else out.”

  She waved her hands in the air. “No, no! It’s fine, we can-I can do it, at least.”

  Argalax nodded along. “Yes, I am also comfortable doing this as long as we have time to prepare.”

  “You absolutely will. We won’t schedule anything until you are ready, but I do suggest you get started tomorrow. I will have you compensated for any weekend hours you end up working.”

  “I guess in a situation like this, I’m fine working the extra day,” said Lunai.

  “I just have one more question before I dismiss you two. Lunai, do you know how long it will take for Armageddon to wake up from the coma you induced?”

  “It usually takes a day or two, but I also left some of my roots behind in his brainstem.” She lifted her hand up to show that two of her fingers were missing. “Since his skin was so difficult to break through, I figured it would be best to have a back-up in case he escapes. I can’t see or hear anything with those fingers, but I’ll be able to sense if he’s moving around a lot.”

  Dr. Crux examined her hand. “Excellent thinking Lunai, this will certainly reflect well on your mid-year evaluation. You’ve helped me out a lot with this, now I can tell the board that we have a solid plan for any unlikely escape attempts.”

  She blushed and looked at the table. “It only made sense given the situation, but thank you. I was only able to knock him out so quickly because Bliss knew he was half-human, anyway. I can’t believe he’s involved in human trafficking if he has human family.”

  “Yes… That is an interesting matter that we will investigate further. You two are now dismissed, I’ll have security escort you to the transport ring.”

  The interns were led back to planet A where they could get a good night’s rest. Dr. Crux still had more work to do, as he always did. He was potentially the only member of the GSA that slept less than Bliss. Speaking of which, there was much left to be discussed between the two. He opened his CellPulse to message his troublesome hero.

  [Dr. Crux, PhD]: Armageddon won’t be a up for a day or so. I want you there when he wakes up. Once you feel better please go to the holding room and wait. We’ll have someone cover for you while you’re here.”

  The message was read, but received no response. It wasn’t unusual for his CheetahChat conversations with Bliss to be one-way. He took the elevator back down to the basement, facing the door to Armageddon’s cell. The guards parted way and let him through, save for one standing directly in front of the door. He scanned him with the same wand as the agent in the elevator before stepping aside. Even after his identity was confirmed, he had to scan his hand at the door and enter a password before it opened.

  The precautions taken were not unusual for a maximum-security planet, even ones without the world destroyer. The door slid upwards to allow him inside, revealing a large room with the containment chamber fixed to the floor and ceiling in the center. Armageddon remained comatose as his body gently floated up and down, the gravity in the chamber ever-changing as to keep him trapped in the same area. Crux walked with a clipboard in hand, surveying every part of the room and the machine in the center to check for maintenance issues.

  Several other fragments of his body repeated the same maneuvers on other prison-planets, religiously devoted to the duty of keeping his solar system safe. As the parts of him worked away, time started to slip by. When the planet reached the day cycle, the door opened for another person to enter Armageddon’s room. Crux felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Bliss.

  “Got your message. I’ll wait here, but only if you leave. I’m not going to air my family shit out with you constantly circling the room.”

  “I can’t leave, you don’t have the technical training to ensure the chamber is functioning properly,” said Crux.

  “Then I’m leaving.” Bliss started walking to the exit, but a wall of green light suddenly filled the empty space.

  “I knew you might not want to stay here. This room is set up to shine healing light at every possibly exit. If you break the ceiling or any walls, the light will take its place. I’m not going to play around with Armageddon. I’ll turn off any unnecessary sensory functions for this fragment so I don’t hear your conversation”

  Bliss angrily sat down in the corner, accepting his fate. “You fucking suck. I’m going to file so many HR reports.”

  “That’s fine.” Crux’s tone sharpened once again. “Just calm down and do your goddamn job as a hero. Old God knows you and Entropi hardly understand the meaning of the word.”