Dating Father Time's Daughter (Book 1)

Chapter 38: The People We'd Die For

She was so close to him. Her dreads brushed against his bruised chest. He could hear the nervous breaths that left her lips.

BlackHole understood himself as the ultimate weapon, and the woman in front of him was his shield. She was the ultimate shield. Not because she defended him against Pixie's attack, but because she blocked the nightmares.

He was a sweet delicacy that terror had gobbled up and swallowed. Yet now, his sweetness turned into sulfuric acid. Terror's stomach groaned and bubbled. Inertia gave him the strength to fight back against his childhood demons. He wanted to use his speed to chase down those monsters as opposed to using it to run from them.

Memories of her wisdom enlightened his darkened mind:

"Good people and bad people do exist. It's those moments where we act against our function, when we do the unexpected that determine whether we are good or bad" she finished.

The observatory started to clear out. Inertia and BlackHole's conversation was no longer muffled by a chorus of other noises. They lowered their tone accordingly.

"Was this 'Joe' the same Joe you introduced me to?" asked BlackHole with a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Yup," said Inertia, "He's my best-friend."

BlackHole rubbed his chin and pivoted his eyes over to the window. He wondered if Joe was really that powerful? During their fight, he seemed so puny. Admittedly, BlackHole thought he might put up a fight because of his height, but he failed to live up to those lofty expectations.

"So he's powerful?" asked BlackHole, staring at Inertia out the side of his eye.

"He saved my life," said Inertia, "What's more powerful than that?"

BlackHole digested those final words. According to Inertia, the protection of others was the most powerful thing in the world. Destruction bowed to defense.

He agreed with her sentiments. WormHole saved him, and now she had saved him too. They were the two people in this world he was indebted to.

With WormHole he would destroy. With Inertia he would defend. He wanted to become WormHole's sword and Inertia's shield. That was his new purpose.

A memory interrupted him:

"Joe beat him. He proved that some things in this world are unexpected. And that's why I laughed. Because your mentality about people only carrying out their functions is so fixed that it's flawed. You don't allow room for growth" said Inertia.

No.

This wasn't his new purpose. This was growth. An elation relaxed his mind as her scent became stronger. He concluded that she was right. She was always right.

BlackHole eyed his target. The pink-haired Time Keeper floated in front of them with her scythe inches away from Inertia's face.

Pixie wore a stunned expression. It seemed that her mind was spinning, while her body stood still. Patiently. Patiently, waiting for her to make a decision.

This was the perfect time for BlackHole to make his decision. He channeled all of his rage, fear, and trauma into his hand and formed a fist so tight that it strangled air. His shoulder pulled back and he unleashed a right hook that flew over Inertia's left shoulder and connected with Pixie's frozen face.

Ice shattered.

The impact folded her face inward as if he punched a puddle. Her body soared through the air and crashed into the ground. The momentum tossed her body around as it skipped, rolled, and flipped several times before stopping.