The Mighty Ragnarök

— Green is dead? Oh, thank God…

— OH, WE WERE RIGHT THERE, MAN!! — Ragnarok screamed.

After relaxing, Juice looks to his right. The woman was steaming furious. Strangely so, because it was clear she could not defeat Green, even with the assistance of all the Ballada. But he knew the woman’s mannerisms, so he didn’t even bother to ask. After delivering the news, Killerkill walks away.

— I need to take Franchise and Evangelist out for a drink… they came in clutch.

Juice was a tall, slender but extremely handsome and seductive man, around his 30s. He wore the black uniform like all other Searchers, but had a purple coat tied to his waist. On his torso was a leather strap and gun holster, with a real flare gun on it. He also wore a purple fedora hat.

— I was supposed to get him Juice! He killed Liver!

Ragnarok was the brawler maniac of the group. She had dark skin, which contrasted nicely with her short-sleeved uniform and her wild auburn hair. She had a black mouthpiece mask that prevented her from biting others, and she always carried her one-handed mace. She had the most muscular body out of everyone in the team but there was something strangely nice about her slender and defined figure.

However, as they were set resting in the medical alley, neither of them had their apparatuses on. Ragnarok had her orange hair down and without that face mask of hers, she seemed much calmer and more delicate. Despite the fact she could still bite off a steel rod in half.

— They also had the right to avenge him. Let’s be glad that rat won’t hurt anyone anymore.

Ragnarok groaned, frustrated. To her right, by the windows was the third bed, were another Searcher rested quietly. The young boy with colourful hair and eyes remained expressionless, staring out the window.

— Imperium? — Juice asked.

— Ah! Yeah…

— See! Even Imperium is pissed off! — Ragnarok points aggressively.

— No! Not at all! — The boy stuttered. — I’m glad Evangelist and Franchise are safe.

Juice sighs. He knew the inequities that plagued the boy, but he was no babysitter, so he leans back on his bed and relaxes. Imperium also lays down, clouded by his innermost feelings. Only one of them remained restless.

— JUICE! — She jumps up, standing on her bed. — We gonna train!

— Not in a lifetime.

— WASN’T ASKING!

Ragnarok jumps out her bed and grabs the gunslinger by his leg, dragging him into the floor. He grabs the bed frame to resist, but given her immense strength, her step doesn’t even waver and the bed gets pulled along. As the bed clashes against the door frame, Juice is forced to release his grip and is dragged away into the unknown.

— Imperium! — His cry for help fades into the halls.

The boy was left speechless. The Lapse, base for all Searchers across the Wetlands, had four wide floors and its long corridors were all white. Therefore, the medical alley was rather confusing to find since the whole place looked like a hospital. It was this conglomerate, somewhat close to a beach on Depth One of the Wetlands. But before the coast it was surrounded by a plaza, a white marble zone to welcome anyone into the Lapse.

A rather difficult task at first, but once Searchers got a hold of their abilities, conquest of the Wetlands became a matter of time. The first floor was a reception area and hub base to find jobs and look for other Searchers. The second floor was the medical alley, where specialized doctors and Searches with special medical abilities would take care of any one in harm or illness.

The third and fourth floor were for administration. Hyuga along with many other secretaries were present there and they manage the inner workings of the association. The rooftop itself was turned into a courtyard for training and practice. But there was no fear of using these strange powers so close to important bureaucracies. The place had been built by a white marble found in the Wetlands called Cacklestone, nearly indestructible. It was named that because when mined, it emits laughing gases. Only God knows how this brute and hardened stone was mined in the first place.

— Shoot me!

Ragnarok stood there in the centre of the courtyard under an evening sky.

— That doesn’t sound like a good idea.

— We need to get better! Shoot me!

Juice groans while equipping his leather strap and gun around his chest.

— Listen. I know why you’re doing this. You feel bad that we let Liver die. And that nothing either of us did had an effect. You want to get strong and beat the life out the next monster or rat sucker we find out there to feel safe and confident in your ability. But Franchise and Evangelist came through already. They did the bastard in for all of us. Right now, the one thing we gotta do is rest. There is no point in overworking ourselves.

He turns around and sees Ragnarok starring at her mace.

— Dude…

— Yeah?

She looks up at him with honest eyes.

— Shut up and shoot me already.

Sighing, Juice whips out his gun with the swiftness only a master like him could bring out and fires towards his ally. The flare fired comes out like a small comet, filled with energy and power. Ragnarok swings her mace and hits the bullet before it reaches her. Sending it deep into the evening sky to blow up on its lonesome.

— Again!

— Listen, I don’t know if I want to spend the rest of the day just firing at you.

— You don’t think I can deflect a thousand shots in a row?

— I think we’re good enough to not go through this right now.

— But you know that we were useless against Green.

Ragnarok suddenly turned serious. And Juice knew her sentiment particularly well. Killerkill was not a fighter like them, she was supportive in nature. Liver was their boss, supportive too, but was killed in duty. Imperium is powerful but a child, nonetheless. To blame him for his lack of experience would be silly. Franchise and Evangelist were also useless in the team battle, but they had just collected Green’s head as retribution on their own. The Ballada and, honestly, the whole world was in great debt with them. But Juice and Ragnarok had no excuse.

— And you’re telling me to stay still? — She asks.

— I’m telling you to know your timing. Learn your priorities.

Juice begins to walk away, leaving Ragnarok to look down. With nothing to do. Nothing under her grip, and nothing pulling her down. With no weight on her shoulders, she feels worthless.

— Wanna go grab a beer? — Juice asks, putting a coat back on.

— I think… I’ll pass.

— Alright. Stay safe.

She watches him take the stairs back into the Lapse, closing the door behind him. The courtyard was empty and so was most of the building. Almost all Searchers were out in raids after a massive order from the higher-ups was issued. People that were above even Hyuga communicated with Killerkill, who was assigned Liver’s position, and came to a simple decision. The information she extracted from Green revealed the existence of three more lifeforms allied to Green. And they must be exterminated.

Ragnarok sits down in a nearby bench. A cold evening breeze makes her shudder, while her short orange hair sways. She was used to wearing this sleeveless top version of the uniform because she was a heated fighter. But the Wetlands had always been deep on the south hemisphere. Holding herself, she just taps her fingers and feet. Looking and noticing the courtyard without haste.

— Is Lackadaisical a word?

After using her four hundred million IQ points through a single neuron, her phone vibrates. Ragnarok takes it from her pocket with alacrity because she was bored beyond measure. It was a message from one of her expansive lists of 5 contacts. Evangelist, Killerkill, Liver, Maid and Dani. Now she had a contact less, it seems. But Dani messaged the following:

“Hey sis, how r u?”

— I’m gray-grei-great. — She types, holding the phone close to her. — And u?

“I’m fine. Dad made food again tho.”

— God damn it! — She utters. — Don’t let anyone eat it, I’m coming. — She sends.

“ok”