CHAPTER 184: PLANTED EVIDENCE

The wheels of time on Hermes’s chest slowed to their last rotation, then stopped entirely just as they reached the Earth’s atmosphere.

He exhaled sharply. "We’re barely made it."

Raphael gave a small nod, and together they descended back to land. The Soyuz station came into view, the very ship they had pushed across the stars. Cameras flashed even before their feet touched down. NASA personnel swarmed, soldiers rushed forward, and reporters shouted question after question.

Hermes forced himself to smile, though his thoughts weighed heavily. The American special forces guided the rescued children, soldiers, and astronauts away from the craft. Cheers erupted, but Hermes’s chest tightened.

He knew the Russians had not committed some grand universal crime. If the truth ever came out that families had agreed to send their children on that mission... there would be chaos.

And worse, Hermes had no idea what the government planned to do with the rescued families now. That thought lingered. He would have to ask Somner and Ymir to make calls, to pull strings, to keep those people safe.

Reporters asked him how it felt to save the world. Cameras caught the faint smile he put on. Words tumbled out, careful but hollow. His thoughts were not with the interviews, but with the future.

Once the last microphone lowered and the press coverage ended, Hermes finally returned to his companions.

Ymir stood with arms crossed, a smile tugging faintly at his lips. "Great. That golden boy didn’t stab you in the back and left you to rot in space after all."

Magni rushed forward, booming with laughter. "Brother Modi! I thought you were gone forever, hurled into the abyss beyond the skies! Praise the fates that you returned to us!"

He wrapped Hermes in a crushing embrace.

Somner flicked his hair back with a smirk. "About time, Master. I was already planning what flowers to throw at your funeral."

Aphrodite only gave a quiet nod, though his relief was clear in his soft eyes. "Welcome back."

Hermes smiled at them all, then his communicator buzzed. Dante Quasar’s voice came through. "Good work. Though, I must admit, I had hoped this would be my first chance to rescue again after retirement."

Hermes chuckled faintly. "Sorry to disappoint. Still, thank you, Mr. Quasar. I mean it."

When the call ended, Hermes recalled Dante’s warning.

He said a storm is coming. That he must not lose himself, even if he loses everything, even his dearest companions.

The words weighed heavier now. Was the storm already brewing? Were the Thirteen Stripes the spark?

He shook the thought away before paranoia gripped him again. No. He had to stay steady.

Later, in their apartment, the squad gathered. Hermes sat at the table, the others circling around with drinks in hand. He told them everything... the rescue, the glimpse of Raphael’s past, and their journey to Pleroma.

When he finished, silence followed.

Ymir broke it first, his voice cool. "At least now we know his weakness. Human touch is painful to him. Water burns him. By logic, large quantities of hydrogen would do the same."

Somner snorted. "So what you’re telling me is that Raphael never bathes. No showers. No brushing teeth. No rinsing his mouth. Gross."

Magni threw his head back, laughing loudly. "Ha! Then he is as I am! Lava cleanses me, not water. Brother Modi, I knew our flame-born companion and I were kin of spirit!"

Somner shot him a look. "Kin of stink, Lava Boy. Not spirit."

"Stop giving him names. Only I get to do that." Ymir snapped at him.

"Enough," Hermes said with a sigh, though a small smile tugged at him despite the bickering. "We need focus."

Aphrodite finally spoke, his voice calm and thoughtful. "The greater concern is the knowledge of the Pleromans. They recognized you as defective, Hermes. That means they know Earth. And the Thirteen Stripes knew where Raphael would fall. They even prepared a crypt for him. The question is, why? And why do the Pleromans hold humanity in contempt?"

Hermes rubbed his temples. "Questions on top of questions. Everytime I get some answers, it just leads to more problems to solve. And Raphael... He’s not telling me everything. I can’t tell if it’s for good reason or not."

Ymir leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "Then treat him as an unknown. Sympathy is one thing. Trust is another."

"Easy for you to say." Hermes muttered. "You didn’t feel what he felt. You didn’t see what I saw. He was tortured by the Reverend and dissected by the Scientist. He doesn’t belong anywhere. He just wants someone to touch him out of love, not control. How am I supposed to ignore that?"

Somner tapped his nails on the table. "You sound like you’re falling for his sad alien act, Master. Careful. Pity and affection are cousins, and cousins breed trouble."

Hermes gave him a confused look, but Somner only grinned. "What? I’m right anyway, look up the inbred Habsburg family!"

Ymir scoffed. "Of all analogies, you would really go there? That’s not something to joke about."

Magni raised his cup. "Whether flame or frost, stranger or brother, we stand together! Raphael is strange, yes, but he is ours for now. And until he betrays us, let us call him friend."

"Simple words from a simple brain." Ymir said, rolling his eyes.

"True words all the same!" Magni grinned.

Aphrodite glanced down at the fake flowers on the kitchen table. "That plant concerns me most. It lives without sunlight, without water, without the natural order. Energy flows through it endlessly. That is not a cycle we understand."

Hermes stared at the fake plant too, recalling how the Pleroman plant looked like. Something about it tugged at his memory. The flame-like leaves, the glow of its roots...

It was familiar.

He leaned back, eyes narrowing. "I’ve seen something like this before. Back in university, at AUPU."

Somner’s eyes widened. "You mean Aaru University of Power Users? Wow, that’s a pretty big school, Master! And expensive!"

"I only got in through the scholarship, of course." Hermes said.

Even Ymir was impressed. "The scholarship for the Big Four power user universities are cutthroat. I should know, I got in at Elysium University through the scholarship myself. Unlike some people who rely on family money."

He gave Somner a side eye, and Somner just checked his nails. "It’s not my fault my family has money, Tennessee. I had my hardships too as someone with a Threat-type power, you know. People make up all sorts of rumors and say I hypnotized the professors... Ugh."

Aphrodite tried to be the mediator. "Let’s not do the Suffering Olympics now and just let Hermes speak about this plant."

The others looked at him with curiosity. Hermes rubbed his chin.

"If my memory was right, then someone has already been studying plants like this on Earth. Which means...We have to give my alma mater a visit."