Endguard

Chapter 2

Atalanta tried to make sense of what had happened. Unfortunately, she was failing miserably.

Again, it was that time of the month for Shizuko. She would be out for the next forty-eight hours, and she and Death X had to keep things on the down low until she's back to work.

What she didn't get was how that alien didn't have a menstruation. Even as a semi-extraterrestrial, menstrual cycles was a natural, unavoidable part in life. Maybe aliens don't get them, but then again, she'd met aliens who struggle with it.

Death X was sitting at the top of the ship, lying on the metal as he stared at the galaxy. He hadn't experienced peace in a long time, so he treasured the time he was able to get.

Well, the war's past. The only thing that kept them from a normal life was their identities and their responsibilities. They were still bound to the life of the universe. They may not kill it directly, but if one of them died, an aspect was going to die with them. It wasn't something that was enthralling to be notified of.

What about that lightshow? Those crystals that his girlfriend had shattered weren't just for show. They had to represent something or store some energy. Most energy containers were bad, and he was skeptical about this one.

Closing his eyes, he let his mind drift off to his imagination that would end up with someone dressed as Olaf.

* * *

"Are you sure everything's alright?" Hope demanded, holding Lara's eyelid open. Primrose sniffed Sky's hair and shook its head.

"Yes," Lara mumbled. "We just need an explanation."

Hope hummed and let go of Lara's eyelid. "Then I don't think it's something grievous. I haven't been with you in your journey so I don't know what happened exactly. For now, you should wait for your remaining teammates to return."

Ainya groaned. Her insides still felt like they were being churned together by a blender. "Alright. Thanks."

They sent Hope and her bunny Primrose off.

Diana's head collapsed on the dining table. Their apartment consisted of the entire building floor, so they had a relatively large living space. Despite this, they shared rooms. Death X, Atalanta and Shizuko were protective about their privacy. By protective, they meant they will disembowel you or ground you if you touch their stuff, especially Atalanta for some ungodly reason.

Diana and Sky shared a room and vice versa. There was an extra room dedicated to laboratory—mostly used by Atalanta and Shizuko—and a storage room for all their weapons.

Ainya and Lara kept their shields either in their closet or hung on the wall above their bed. Diana kept her guns under her bed. Sky keeps a picture of her family by her pillow.

They may not seem like much, but to them, it was endearing. They had spent so much time, suffered so much pain and what did they get? Nothing. It was a reminder that they were surviving for a reason. Their existence was more than themselves.

And for the incident earlier, nothing has happened after an hour. Ainya made the wise decision of calling Hope since she was aware of her healing powers, but it proved to be futile as her abilities weren't effective.

It was Friday night, but all of them were close to dead. The aftermath had left them weak and uncomfortable.

Sky belched. "I'll go throw up."

"Not after me you won't," Diana grunted. The two of them argued for the only bathroom in their bedroom.

"You can just go to our room," Lara offered, but neither of them were paying attention.

Ainya groaned. "Forget them. We'll need ours soon enough."

Nothing in particular had occurred. They called for some takeout, but none of them had the appetite to eat dinner.

Then the next day, all of them were up and running again.

"How was it possible that you all made such a fast recovery?" Hope demanded over the phone.

Ainya glanced at her three teammates. Sky was flying outside the balcony like crazy with her cloud manipulation. Lara was working her mind like a slave, dominating people online with chess. Heck, she'd beaten the computer at it. Diana was using five devices at once, using her powers to levitate and access them.

Ainya herself was hyperactive. Her foot won't stop jittering. She had so much energy she would burst.

"I don't know. Gotta go. See ya." Ainya bolted out the house to run fifty miles.

* * *

"Why do I get the feeling that they're screwing up?" Atalanta scratched her neck. "Ugh. I hate myself."

Death X sipped his coffee. "Don't say that. I see your motherly instincts are acting up. You'd make a great mother, honeykins."

Checking up on Shizuko was simple, but it was also creepy. When normal people—including Death X—slept, they would shuffle around and tend to move or fall off the bed. Shizuko, however, remained still like a corpse. The blankets that she used weren't even the slightest bit crinkled.

Being semi-human, it creeped Atalanta out.

"I'm just worried. I'm not sure how they would cope to a regular life after all we've been through," Atalanta reasoned. "It's a lot to take in."

Death X shrugged and put down his mug. "I understand. It's not easy to settle down after sitting through wars and such. It takes time, but knowing us—there's no such thing as a normal life."

Atalanta sighed. "That too."

"Let's just enjoy the time we have left," Death X said wistfully. "We never know when the next ripple will arrive."

The mind manipulator nodded lightly. Bidding the semi-demon good night, she returned to her quarters to get some rest.

Maybe that's what kept them together as a team. All of them weren't complete. Half of them were gone. Half of Shizuko's DNA had been erased. Death X had a human soul instead of a demon one. Half of Atalanta's human genes were mutated into an alien's.

They completed each other, in a sense.

Maybe that's also why they were the faces of their quota. They had lost themselves to be who they are today.

He's right, Atalanta thought solemnly, nestling into her bed. We're not meant to be normal.