Bliss opened his eyes to the ceiling staring down at him with its own set of black eyes. The grey concrete broke away to reveal the warm glow of a green light. He went to swing his legs off of the bed, but found them glued to the empty mattress. The light had already begun its assualt, and its warmth felt sickening on his skin. He already knew escape was impossible; all he could do was close his eyes and beg for it to be over quickly.

  With a kick to his chest, Bliss sat up from his bed, gasping for air that he didn't need. He looked to the side and saw a cat in the air falling to the floor.

  “Did you wake me up, Sorebel?” He knelt down and picked up the cat. “My little hero."

  Sorebel squirmed in his arms, demanding to be let down. Bliss dropped him and got a can of wet food for his savior. The cat happily ran over to eat, forgetting all transgressions against him.

  His CellPulse lit up with a small hologram of a man made of floating bits of rock and ice projecting into the space in front of him. An expensive call made just to ruin his day.

  “Agent Bliss, report to the executive office immediately.” His hologram vanished as soon as he finished the sentence, typical of the GSA’s beloved CEO.

  Never a good sign when Dr. Crux jumps out of your wrist…

  He flew to the south pole of planet Ammini, where an unmarked building stood buried under overgrown roots and vines. The doors sensed his approach and opened to an elevator after a quick body scan. It took him through the planet before moving north, stopping at the core. The doors opened to a modest office room with Dr. Crux sitting at his desk.

  His voice echoed within Bliss's head. “Good morning, agent Bliss. You were briefed on a situation yesterday on planet Kathous.”

  “They're ready to send us in?”

  “Yes. The negotiators aren’t getting anywhere, and they believe they are aware of all hostage locations." He pushed a pair of glasses up on his face. "Lord Podoxec of Dilineh plans to make an appearance as well.”

  Bliss rolled his eyes. “Is that what you called me here for? Trying to make sure I behave?”

  “You are very quick to assume the worst. I am simply warning you." Dr. Crux started organizing the pictures on his desk. "A shock reaction could cause an unnecessary incident.”

  “I’ve been dealing with these guys for years; I’m not going to mess up now.”

  “Yes, well, there is another matter to discuss." He pulled another case file from the endless storage space behind him. "The space debris that was found roaming around seems to have originated from a large impact on a nearby planet. We suspect whatever made the impact is a threat. Be alert.”

  Bliss scoffed. “All of that could’ve been a psy-ping.” He turned around to leave, but Crux interrupted him.

  “We think it could be Armageddon, and Entropi is currently unaccounted for. If he appears, we want you two to fight him. We’ve calculated that you have an overwhelming chance of success together.” He had Bliss's interest now. “The only problem is Entropi won’t answer any calls for work. This is one of her narcissistic 'me time' episodes, as she calls it. If he shows up while you’re alone, you are not to retreat. Keep him occupied and call Entropi. She won’t answer me, but she’ll answer a distress call from you.”

  “What would you do without me?” Bliss said with his arms in the air. He entered the elevator and made his escape from the office.

  Bliss walked in to find his two interns staring at the door. He checked his wrist and found that it was 0710; he was late. A message from Lunai popped up on the CellPulse, delivered far too late to be helpful.

  He smiled as he greeted his interns. “Looks like we've got a mission for the day. It’s the gym trainer hostage case.”

  Lunai's posture straightened in her chair. She was practically shaking with excitement. Surfrista did not share her enthusiasm, sitting in the corner with his arms crossed and a deadly glare.

  “Ten minutes late, Bliss. TEN MINUTES!”

  “Oh yeah, sorry about that. Dr. Crux basically did the sign-out with me himself, so you can go now.”

  “I can’t believe you! You fucking hypocrite.” He flipped Bliss off as he left the room.

  “All right interns; remember to only use field-names while on mission. No Lunai or Argalax.” He opened the door and gestured to the hall. “Let’s get moving!”

  Bliss led them to the fourth floor of the building. They walked down the hallway to the right and entered yet another roundabout, the teleportation room. Several pods lined the walls and the group stood in front of one calibrated for Kathous.

  “All right, you two just follow my lead. The Lord of the planet will be honoring us with an appearance, so don’t say anything stupid. Ready?”

  Argalax and Lunai looked at each other and back at Bliss. “Ready!” they both shouted.

  The three of them entered the pod and sat in one of the designated chairs. Bliss took the navigator’s seat and set their destination for Fitness Star Gym on the planet Kathous. In a quick flash of light, they appeared in a pod surrounded by Kathonian officers. One man unlocked the door and ushered them out.

  “Esteemed heroes! Welcome to Kathous. Thank you for your prompt arrival.” The man stuck out his hand and Bliss shook it. “I’ve been negotiating with the subject for two days with little progress. He hasn't killed anyone yet, but he's getting impatient. We have a map of the premises and all hostages accounted for. You're more equipped than us at this point to prevent casualties.”

  He led them to the front of the officers’ perimeter. They all received messages on their CellPulses with the gym mapped out. The subject had three hostages on the gym’s main floor, while four people were hiding in the bathroom behind him. As Bliss went over the map in his head, the crowd was approached by a man in a teal suit. Lunai and Argalax watched him while Bliss remained focused on the map. The officers dispersed and let the man through. When he reached them, he placed a hand on Bliss’s shoulder.

  “The lovely hero Bliss. It’s an honor to be graced by your presence once again.”

  Still looking down at his wrist, Bliss addressed the interns. “This is the honorable lord of this fine planet, Podoxec Vitrakh. Why don’t you two introduce yourselves.”

  Bliss knew all hero interns went through the same school curriculum. The interns had both learned about the Agónta empire during their school years. They had to know about the allegations surrounding the empire's leaders.

  Lunai took a deep breath in and addressed him. “Good morning, Lord Vitrakh, my name is Hollybrook.”

  Argalax bowed his head. “I am Platinum Promise. It is an honor to meet you, Lord Vitrakh.”

  He smiled at the two interns, but his focus remained on Bliss. “I know my personal trainer is in good hands with you.”

  “It’s cute he thought your trainer would be a good hostage. He should’ve tried for your wife or son, but I guess beggars can’t be choosers.”

  Podoxec simply laughed. “Be careful with this one! His tongue is as sharp as a tack.” He pulled Bliss in as if they were old friends. “I do assure you, my trainer’s safety is an absolute priority to me, as is every other civilian trapped in there.”

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  His hand finally withdrew from Bliss’s shoulder and Lunai sighed in relief. Bliss shot her a glance before turning away from Podoxec. He knew she must've been older than he was, and he didn't want her getting any maternal ideas.

  “I’ll be addressing the subject directly. While I’m talking him down, I’ll put up a cloak of light waves for you two to sneak by on both sides. You should then clear the building for any missed hostages or additional threats.”

  With no further warning, he started walking towards the building. As promised, ripples of light waves filled the air around him, acting as a cloak. Lunai and Argalax awkwardly retreated from Podoxec to follow their senior. As they grew closer, they could hear the voice of the subject ringing out.

  “Don’t come any closer! Please!" The voice grew weary. "I don’t want to hurt anyone, but Podoxec needs to die! You don’t know what he did to my wife, my family!”

  Bliss held up his hands. “You’re wrong. I know what he does. I know he’s a monster. I know all too well.”

  “Then why are you here helping him?”

  “I’m not helping him; I’m helping the people who are with you. You may not understand now, but I’m trying to help you. Let everyone out and I’ll come in instead. I promise you he’d care more about me dying than anyone else in there.”

  Through the glass door, he saw the man consider his offer. “Gah! Ok, fine! I know he wouldn't lift a finger for these people. Once you come in I’ll let them all go.”

  Bliss stepped forward, but the man's quick cooperation was suspicious.

  No one who knows my face would just let me walk in before using my powers, and everybody knows my face.

  He stood still for a second, but before he could say another word, Podoxec stepped back into view. He was watching from the front of the officers’ perimeter.

  Did those idiot officers really just let him through?!

  The subject’s eyes went wide. “There you are, finally.”

  He raised his gun to the air and pulled the trigger. Instead of the loud shot of a bullet, a streak of light blasted through the roof. It continued flying, leaving the planet’s atmosphere and exploding in a fiery flash.

  Bliss looked at the explosion in horror. “That was a signal.”

  As soon as he uttered the words, they heard a huge crash behind them. Debris brushed by his face as Podoxec's screams rang through the air.

  Bliss turned around to see the ground erupting in front of them. The officers in front of the building vanished in a mist of blood and guts as chunks of concrete scattered across the perimeter. When the dust started to settle, Bliss could make out a giant humanoid in a helmet and spacesuit pinning Podoxec to the ground. The eruption was centered on him, indicating his crash landing on the planet.

  Bliss turned to his interns. “Hollybrook, Platinum Promise, evacuate everyone NOW! Get them as far away from here as possible!”

  Hollybrook pulled herself away and stretched her branches. They reached inside the gym and grabbed every person that was accounted for on the map. Platinum Promise grabbed her shoulders and started flying them away from the scene. She looked back towards Bliss and saw him standing there, just watching the crazed figure sitting on top of Podoxec.

  The Lord’s screams rang through Bliss’s ears as he remained in place. The man holding him started ripping off his fingers and extremities one by one. Once the man was reduced to a torso, he moved on to his guts. Every move he made elicited another scream. He was not letting death claim the lord before causing as much pain as possible. The attacker’s face turned up towards Bliss, and when he laid eyes on him, he froze. His head remained locked in place as he grabbed Podoxec’s head and ripped it off of his body, tossing it to the side like trash.

  Bliss smiled and put his hands on his cheeks. “Aw, did you stop your torture just for me?”

  The man stepped forward, slowly putting one foot after the other. Bliss started to sweat; he was fairly sure he could last long enough in this fight for Entropi to arrive, but it wouldn’t be a pleasant few minutes. He took a breath and tapped his CellPulse, sending a distress call to his old mentor. It took a second, but soon enough, her face popped up on the screen.

  She was clearly in the middle of nowhere, drifting aimlessly through space. The vast landscape in front of her stretched on endlessly. A large creature could be seen fleeing in the corner of the screen. The emergency alarm must have scared it off.

  “I’m about to fight Armageddon. You should get over here; Crux wants us to deal with him.”

  “Wait, really?" Her tone quickly went from curiosity to concern. "What do you mean about to, wait for me to get there!”

  Bliss changed the camera view. “Can’t wait. He’s right over there.”

  Entropi saw the figure of a gargantuan man walking towards Bliss.

  “I’m gonna engage him, Crux’s orders. See you soon! Get here fast, or I die probably, bye!”

  The last sentence rushed out of his mouth before he hung up. He knew she would be pissed, but she was definitely on her way after that performance.

  Armageddon drew closer and closer. Bliss could feel his dead heart racing.

  Maybe I can charm him and stall the fight.

  He stopped right in front of Bliss, towering over him. Bliss prepared for the worst, but suddenly, the man fell to his knees and sank in on himself. Now closer to eye level with Bliss, he pulled him into a hug. The light sound of sniffling and crying could be heard from his helmet. Bliss stood still, unsure of what to do next.

  He started gently patting the giant’s shoulder. “There, there. It’s ok, buddy…”

  Normally, if someone pulled Bliss into an unexpected hug, he would suspect they only wanted one thing; but this felt different. He could even hear gentle whispering coming from the man.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”

  “It’s ok, why don’t we sit and talk about --“ Bliss was interrupted by a stabbing feeling in his neck.

  Armageddon removed his thumb from Bliss’s neck. A small needle was ejected from it.

  Bliss merely looked annoyed. “Ow! Why’d you do that?”

  As Bliss continued to talk, Armageddon looked confused.

  That was a sedative, wasn’t it. Armageddon is trying to kidnap me. Of course.

  Bliss decided he would try playing along. He didn’t want to see what would happen if Armageddon thought his kidnapping plan was failing. He stepped forward and pretended to fall, closing his eyes slowly. Armageddon caught him before he reached the ground. He held him as if he were a delicate doll.

  “Everything will be ok soon.”

  Hollybrook and Platinum Promise reached the center of the city. Alarms blared through the streets where civilians were already being evacuated into spaceships. Hollybrook placed the rescued hostages at the entrance of a ship and handed the gunman to Platinum Promise.

  “Take him back to the agency; I’m gonna help Bliss!”

  She activated the space travel functions of her suit, allowing her to fly and resist extreme changes in gravity. Platinum Promise took the gunman as Hollybrook raced back to the crash site. She saw Armageddon launch into the sky just as she arrived, carrying Bliss with him.

  “BLISS!”

  She started flying up after them. She couldn’t let her senior be taken away by such a monster. They all blasted out of the planet’s atmosphere and Hollybrook watched as Armageddon flew to a spaceship orbiting the planet.

  When Armageddon and Bliss entered the ship, Bliss was gently placed in one of the seats and buckled up. He heard Armageddon walk away, and when he came back, a blanket was draped over him. He felt a soft plush toy being placed next to him. Before he could react to the strange gesture, the ship shook from a sudden impact. He opened his eyes and saw vines covering the front window. Armageddon surveyed the new threat and left the ship to dispose of it.

  Hollybrook detached the vines from her body, leaving them to obstruct the window’s view. She turned around and Armageddon’s fist was right next to her face. Her suit activated emergency shielding, shattering on impact. She was pushed backwards, but she was intact.

  He rushed towards her face again, but she moved her arm to block him. Splinters of wood burst out as her limb was destroyed. The wooden debris started to come back together and wrap around his hand, attempting to take root in his skin. Hollybrook focused, trying to give her roots the strength to grow, but Armageddon’s skin would not break. He grabbed the branches and ripped them off his hand. Still holding on, he began using her arm like a rope to pull her closer, ready to strike a lethal blow. With one last strong tug, she was flying straight towards certain death. She closed her eyes.

  If I die here, it means I’ll never save our people. Father, I’m so sorry.

  She felt herself being kicked and flew to the side. Once she felt the movement stop, she opened her eyes. Bliss was in front of Armageddon, his leg completely destroyed with chunks of it floating around him. Seemingly unbothered, he lit up in a white glow and entered his non-physical form. The chunks of his leg started glowing to match and found their way back to his body as if they were puzzle pieces solving themselves. He faced Armageddon in this state, ready to fight, but the man just floated there staring at him. His fingers started to twitch, and he raised both hands to his head. The sound of claws screeching down space-grade glass followed as his fingers moved to his neck.

  Hollybrook heard Bliss’s voice ripple through space, “Is he crying?”

  She responded using her suit’s intercom, “I think he’s sad that he hit you?”

  They watched Armageddon continue to freak out. It looked like he was screaming, but Bliss and Hollybrook couldn't hear anything. He touched a screen on his suit and his body started heating up.

  Bliss knew what that meant. He started flying towards him. “No, no! You can’t just run away, not yet!”

  Armageddon’s body disappeared behind a pixelated flash of light. Bliss and Hollybrook were left alone in space, with Armageddon's abandoned ship drifting towards them. Hollybrook vacantly stared at Bliss, unconsciously searching him for any remaining injuries. Her heart finally settled when she confirmed he was unharmed. She couldn’t bear the thought of Bliss being hurt because of her rushing in. Too many vulnerable humans saw him as a turning point in their suffering. He was their light, and protecting them meant protecting him, even if that meant running towards certain death.

  Character Art

  Dr. Crux