CHAPTER 174: SPACE MISSION

Hermes didn’t flinch when Raphael’s hand pressed against his chest. He felt the warmth, the steady thrum of something not-quite-human, but he shoved it away with more force than necessary.

"Don’t," Hermes muttered. His tone was hard, but not loud.

His gaze sharpened like broken glass. "This will never happen."

Raphael blinked, as if surprised Hermes even dared to push him. For a moment his lips parted like he’d argue....

But instead, he tilted his head, an amused flicker in his eyes.

"Strictly business, then?" Raphael asked softly.

Hermes crossed his arms, jaw tight. "Exactly. If you really want to play pretend for the cameras, fine. But let’s not twist this into something it’s not."

For once, Raphael didn’t argue. He slipped his hands into his pockets, shoulders loose, almost casual. "Good. I was hoping you’d say that."

Hermes arched a brow, skeptical. "Were you?"

"But would it be so bad?" Raphael smiled. "After all, you and I are more alike than you initially thought. And you’re not monogamous. I’m not human so I don’t have that concept ingrained in me either."

Hermes lowered his eyes. "Would you want to have the future world destroyer as your lover?"

A small smile curved on Raphael’s lips. His gaze dropped for the briefest second, and he murmured something under his breath. So quiet Hermes almost didn’t catch it.

"...Who wouldn’t want to be loved by God?"

Hermes blinked. "What?"

Raphael’s expression reset in an instant, smooth as silk. He looked Hermes dead in the eye, a sly smirk tugging at his lips. "Nothing. Don’t worry about it."

"Mm." Hermes narrowed his eyes but didn’t press further.

With Raphael, half-truths were the full picture. He’d already learned that much.

Instead, Raphael straightened, the faint glow of the city lights catching on his features. "I’m here for a proposition. A real mission."

That caught Hermes’ attention. His annoyance faltered, curiosity sparking instead. "...Go on."

Raphael pulled a slim folder from his coat and handed it over. Hermes took it reluctantly, flipping it open. Inside were a series of documents, reports, and blurry photographs.

At the top, stamped in bold red: CLASSIFIED.

Hermes frowned. The pages were filled with Cyrillic text, though a few English translations were clipped in the margins. Photographs of children, all under twelve. Each one paired with crude descriptions of powers: telekinesis, pyrokinesis, energy manipulation.

Hermes’ breath hitched. "Kids?"

Raphael nodded, his voice level. "For months, the U.S. has been tracking disappearances of powered children. Most from Eastern Europe. The suspicion was that the Russian government had a hand in it."

Hermes flipped faster through the pages, each photo gnawing at his gut. Small faces. Unknowing smiles. Powers that should’ve meant freedom... but instead had chained them.

"Suspicion?" Hermes asked. His voice was low, bitter.

"At first. But now it has been confirmed to be true." Raphael confirmed. "Our agents spotted them being loaded aboard the Soyuz MS-27. A shuttle meant for Mars."

Hermes’ head snapped up. "...Mars?"

Raphael’s eyes gleamed faintly in the dark. "They’re going to test if powered children can survive on the planet’s surface. If they can... Russia gets to claim the first off-world colony. Using stolen kids as guinea pigs."

Hermes clenched the folder, papers crinkling under his grip. His stomach twisted, bile rising. He’d seen plenty of corruption, plenty of exploitation. But children? Flung to another planet like lab rats?

"That’s insane," he muttered.

"Welcome to Space Wars. It’s still happening." Raphael said it almost lightly, but the sharpness in his tone betrayed him.

Hermes shook his head. "And you’re telling me this why? This is your mission, not mine."

Raphael’s smirk returned, faint but deliberate. "Because I want us to do it together. Our first major operation as a duo. I’m the only hero who can go to space and retrieve them.... And you too, of course."

Hermes blinked. "So not only can you fly, you can fly to outer space? What can you NOT do at this point?"

"Be human." Raphael said plainly.

Hermes stopped smiling. He felt a twinge of guilt even though Raphael said it more as a fact.

He cleared his throat. "So we go together. What are we, superhero Bonnie and Clyde?"

"No," Raphael shook his head. "Bonnie and Clyde were criminals. But we could be something bigger. Heroes. Leaders. If you’re seen at my side during this mission, your reputation skyrockets. You won’t just be the guy who mimics powers. You’ll be the one who saved children from Mars."

Hermes’ brows drew tight. He didn’t care about clout. Not like Raphael made it sound. But still... his chest buzzed with a dangerous curiosity.

"You’re not telling me everything," Hermes said flatly.

"Of course I’m not." Raphael’s grin sharpened. "But I’ll tell you this: if we succeed, I can finally cut ties with the Thirteen Stripes."

Hermes froze. That name alone was enough to raise his guard.

"...Explain."

Raphael leaned against the railing, eyes cast toward the horizon. "You already know I’m bound to them. That’s no secret. What you don’t know is why."

Hermes stayed silent, watching.

"They keep me alive," Raphael continued. His tone was calm, detached, as if talking about the weather. "The atmosphere here isn’t... compatible with me. Oxygen corrodes my blood. Every month, they inject me with solinium. A mineral from the comet that brought me here."

Hermes’ pulse quickened. "...And without it?"

"I suffocate." Raphael said it without hesitation. "Drown from the inside out. It’s not pretty. They tried it once before, so I already know the feeling of being like a fish pulled out of water."

Hermes grimaced. "And the Stripes have the only supply."

"Exactly." Raphael’s eyes flicked back to him, sharp as knives. "They tell me they’re looking for more. They’re not. They like me on a leash. Solinium runs out, and I run out with it."

A silence settled between them, thick and tense. Hermes’ thoughts churned.

"So you want to find your home planet," Hermes muttered slowly, connecting the dots.

Raphael’s smirk softened. "Bingo."

Hermes let the folder hang at his side. "...And you think this Mars mission gets you closer?"

Raphael stepped closer, lowering his voice. "If we stop time with Rewind, I can search beyond Earth’s orbit without interference. Find the signals, traces, anything pointing me home. The children give us cover. Two birds with one stone."

Hermes’ chest tightened. It all made sense. Dangerous sense.

He thought of the kids in the photos. He thought of Raphael shackled to an empire, bleeding out month by month. He thought of the madness of flying into space, of stopping the entire planet just to buy them time.

"Too much," Hermes muttered, pinching his nose. "It’s too much at once."

Raphael tilted his head, studying him like an experiment. "Overwhelming?"

"Yes," Hermes snapped. Then softer: "...But it’s nothing new. I’m used to getting my life in danger for the sake of someone else."

For the first time, Raphael’s smile carried no smugness. Just a flicker of something genuine. Relief, maybe.

"So. Will you?"

Hermes exhaled, the weight of decision pressing on his chest. Finally, he extended his arm, baring his wrist. "We’ll need to share blood again. It’s the only way to sync powers."

Raphael froze. His gaze lingered on Hermes’ wrist, then flicked up to his eyes.

"...Actually," Raphael said almost shyly, which was new for him.

He fidgeted, looking at Hermes with his unnaturally blue eyes with a golden halo in the middle.

"...I was hoping we could share it the other way."