The atmosphere in the Venom's living room was livelier than it had ever been. The sound of glasses clashing and laughter accompanied by the melody of faint pop music playing in the background. All five members were presented, sitting on the ground around their circle shaped table, which was filled with junk food they ordered. The squad decided to throw a feast as a celebration for the return of their raven haired marksman.
"Yah! Pass me that beer over there!" The young magician yelled in an arrogant manner.
"No, Harley. Aren't you like, 10? Kids aren't allowed to drink, you know" the taller guy with white hair said, while pouring his own drink.
"Well it's not fair that you're the only one drinking, scorpion!"
Gusion ignored the midget and gulped his beer in one shot as Harley kept on whining about wanting to get drunk. He claimed the liquor would boost his intelligence. The rest of the team couldn't help letting out a loud chuckle.
A faint smile appeared on Hanabi's face. The corner of her ups perked up, her crimson eyes gleamed, making the woman beautiful as ever, hence she hadn't smiled genuinely like this in such a long time. Being back in the squad sparks joy in her heart. 'What would I ever do without them?' She thought.
Without a word, the ravenette reached for the glass of peach tea in front of her and took a long sip. Truth is, she was old enough to drink beer with her captain if she wanted, but decided not to. Considering what happened last time she got drunk, Hanabi convinced herself to take a long break before she ever touches liquor again.
"Ahhh... I'm stuffed" Gusion groaned, snapping Hanabi out of her thoughts.
"Maybe we shouldn't have ordered too much" Angela muttered, but immediately took back what she said because a certain giant lizard started devouring all of the remaining food on the table, including the chicken bones, leaving the plates clean and white.
"So... are we still gonna clean them?"
———————-
The clock striked 10pm. The squad decided it was best to end the little party they had and get some rest. Everyone got up and cleaned the tables and plates. As everyone bid their goodnights, Gusion suddenly stopped on his tracks.
"Everyone" he said in a serious tune.
"Hm?" The members halted and turned their heads to the leader.
"We're straying further away from our main objective" he continued. "The magic cube, remember? Why is nobody caring about it anymore?"
There was a long silence before Harley decided to speak."I guess we were having too much fun and enjoyed each other's company too much" he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"Are you planning to strike again?" Hanabi questioned.
Gusion nodded in response. "The SABERs could find out the secret of the cube at any moment. We can't let our guard down"
"But, Nephila's spider legs...they're broken" Angela said in a faint voice, sparing a glance at her comrade.
Right, Hanabi almost forgot about all of that. She lowered her gaze to the ground. Silence enveloped the room since no one uttered a word. After a moment, the ravenette took a deep breath "You guys can go without me"
"Are you kidding? You're our marksman, we can't just go without you. It'll put us at a big disadvantage" the mage said.
"I'll only be a burden if I tag along!" She snapped back. "I'm useless now, without those legs, I can't climb walls, I can't move fast. And my back aches like crazy" she pressed her back against the wall and sulk down to sit on the ground. "I knew you're better off finding another marksman to replace me"
"Don't say that, Hanabi" Angela flew over and crouched down next to the sad girl. "You're irreplaceable to us"
"Yeah, as much as I hate to admit it, Vespid is right. You mean THAT much to us" Harley scoffed with crossed arms. Grock nodded in agreement to the statement.
The captain, who has been quiet for a while now rested his chin on his hands for a brief moment, trying to think of a solution that would best benefit the team. The white haired man finally looked up after a short while, gaining the member's attention.
"Let's get your legs fixed, Nephila" he said.
"Is that possible? They're...broken" Hanabi muttered quietly, still sitting on the ground.
"I'll be right back" Gusion turned away from the rest of the team and left to the balcony. Soft air brushes his incredibly handsome face soothingly as he reached the location. He fished out his smartphone from his pocket and quickly browsed through his contact list. His fingers stopped scrolling once he has caught a glimpse of the name he was searching for. Immediately, he dialed the number.
It didn't take long for the other side to pick up.
"Hey man, what's got you calling me this late? You're interrupting my job you know, you better make it up to me if I get caught"
Gusion didn't get to speak a single word yet, the other person on the line was already blabbering.
"Claude, I need you to help me with something" he finally spoke.
"Oh yeah? Name it. I could do everything and fulfill your every desire, honey"
"Gross" The assassin rolled his eyes at his friend's usual flirty remarks. "Do you know where I could get something fixed?"
"Fix what? Your broken heart? Be more specific, sweetie"
"One of my teammates injured her legs-"
"The hospital, duh! I had no idea you were this dumb"
"Jackass, let me finish first, damn it. They're not really her actual legs. It's her spider legs. They're created by machines" Claude could feel the irritation in Gusion's voice through the gadget.
"Oh, you could've said it's Hanabi I would've understand"
"So? Can you help out?"
"Well, yeah. Actually, you should go to Antoinerei. That city's workers are crazy talented, bro. They could do anything"
Gusion have heard of the place, it was widely known as the famous city of technology. He had never been there, though. Not even once.
"Can you, perhaps, take us there?"
"Heck no, dude! I'm a wanted criminal! That so called 'The Protecter of Antoinerei' is after my ass. Bastard could do nothing but kick balls, but damn, he's really fast"
"Oh? There's someone out there faster than my blades?"
"Bruno is his name. Apparently, he's got his artificial legs there in that city.
"I'm still skeptical that he could move faster than me" Gusion's self-centered nature and ego came along the way.
"You're not gonna challenge him, are you? I don't recommend that. He has authority rights over there, you could end up in jail. Don't underestimate him, I almost got my ass caught"
"Whatever Claude, this isn't about me. The most important thing right now, is to get her legs back. Tell me what to do once I get there"
"I've made a friend in Antoinerei. He could show you around. I can contact him for you"
"Nice. I owe you big time, buddy"
"Oh darling, don't mention it. Just repay me by spending a steamy night with me. What do you say, sexy?"
Gusion closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath before responding "Your bisexual ass really creeps me out sometimes. Anyways, contact that friend of yours as soon as possible, this is urgent"
"Okay! Anything for my sweet heart. But promise me the steamy night-"
"BYE GOODNIGHT CLAUDE!" Gusion yelled at the phone and hung up before Claude could finish saying what he wanted. He felt slightly bad for rejecting him like that, but he knew his friend wouldn't take it personally. Heck, since when did Claude ever take anything seriously? Either way, he knew he had to do something to repay him, somehow.
The assassin walked back to where he left. Surprisingly, his squad mates were still there, helping Hanabi get back up on her feet.
"We're going to Antoinerei tomorrow" he said out of the blue.
"What?" His teammates stared at him with a puzzled expression on their faces.
"By 'we' I mean Hanabi and I" Gusion added.
"Hey, I wanna go too!" Harley threw his fists in the air. "I wanna see how dumb that city is for not believing in magic"
"Umm, I don't think mages are welcomed there, Harley" Angela spoke.
"But isn't Gusion a mage, too?! How come he gets to go? This isn't fair..." Harley whined like an elementary school kid he is.
"I'm a just half mage. Better known for being a deadly assassin" Gusion low-key bragged. "Plus, I don't solely rely on magic. As long as I don't use it, they wouldn't know I'm a mage"
"Are you really leaving tomorrow? When will you be back?" Vespid asked.
"I'm not sure when we'd come back, but I'll try not to delay it for too long. I'm leaving you guys in charge to take care of things, alright?"
"Apparently, Captain doesn't let us go because he just wanted to be alone with Nephila" Harley scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Hey, shut up you midget. I just don't want to waste my train tickets on a bunch of you kids" Gusion barked back, which earned a glare from the shorter male.'
"You should go pack your stuffs then. Want me to help?" Angela nudged Hanabi and offered to help.
"Oh, no it's okay. You must be tired" said Hanabi. "You guys should really go get some rest now"
Everyone bid their goodnights and went to separate beds. Except for the couple still lingering in front of their rooms.
"Are you sure it's alright for you to take me there? I don't want to be more of a burden than I already am" Hanabi finally voiced her thoughts.
"Don't be like that. Of course I wouldn't mind. This is important, YOU are important" Gusion cupped her soft cheeks and gave her a peck on the lips.
"Then, I'd go pack my stuff and get some rest" said the girl.
"Mhmm, goodnight"
"Goodnight, captain"
❥————ꕀ♥︎ꕀ————❥
I'm back !! Sorry I took so long T^T Did you enjoy this chapter?
Vote and comment! It means a lot:)
Look forward to the next update! ;)
[Note: I know that Zlatan isn't in the same world as Antoinerei or Eruditio but please pretend they are .T-T just bare with me]