29: Waking up and the next job -John-

I woke up in a hospital bed feeling surprisingly well. I moved my arms and legs and found that they were no longer broken. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I see you're awake." When I heard Patrick's voice I wanted to get up to attack him but wasn't sure if it was a good idea judging by my previous injuries.

"You fucking bastard. You sent us in there without any clue as to what we were dealing with. It was a suicide mission." I turned to face him.

"You survived, didn't you?" He smiled, his eyes calm and old.

"I don't want to hear it. You're a prick and as soon as I can get at you, I'll be sure to show you what I mean." I was furious and the longer he sat there calmly the more I considered ignoring my possible injuries.

"Please," He sighed, " Don't act like you didn't understand what the job entailed. You knew exactly what you were getting yourself into when you left Ben. Just like you know there's more going on than meets the eye. You aren't stupid, so stop acting like a brute."

He was right of course. I had known that there was more to accepting the job than I had been told. I also knew that something horrible was happening behind the scenes.

"Why am I not dead?" I should have been, "The last thing I remember was being pummeled by that Moth-Boy and now I'm laying here feeling fine."

"I have pull in high places. I was able to get you a Get Out Of Death Free card this once."

"Where's Jay, Rob, and Tim?" I sat up slowly just in case but nothing happened. I was feeling more refreshed than I'd felt in a long time.

"They already headed off to the next job. Tim suggested that they do recon beforehand." Patrick stood and straightened out his suit.

"So what death trap are you sending us to now?"

"You're headed to Asgard to get me the Gleipnir."

"Gleipnir?" I stood up and got dressed as Patrick headed to the door.

"The leash that holds the great wolf Fenrir. I will tell you more once you're on your way, but as of right now I need a shower. The helicopter is waiting upstairs."

And with that Patrick vanished out the door.

28: Life isn't fair -Jay-

I was bleeding bad and god only knows what was going on outside, but I could hear the thumps of the Moth god's hits all the way in the lab that I'd been thrown into. How could we possibly stop something like that?

The Moth boy was nearly impervious to any physical damage we could deal him, and seemed to possess a strength I could only dream of. My body wanted to panic but my mind tried it's hardest to push those thoughts from my head.

This was all new to me. I'd never fought an actual god, I've always been on the side as support for Carl and John as they stood face to face with these leviathans. No human alive could kill something like that; I was sure of it. I pushed the idea of killing it from my head and centered on distraction.

My mind immediately leaped to John's selfless attempt to save my life, but I didn't have a moth and I would not be so foolhardy. I had to find a way to distract the boy without putting myself in that kind of peril.

I pulled myself to my feet and stole a look around the room. The room that I had previously thought to be a lab looked like it hadn't been used as one in ages. Instead the tables were stacked with boxes and several giant high-powered light stands. Moths. Light. It took me only a few seconds to realize that it was not only a significant distraction, but also a potential way to end this horror for good.

It didn't take long for me to finish what needed to be done. I heard Robby say something outside and knew it was nothing good. I slid under the exposed wires and made my way to the window. Looking outside I could see Robby dragging John away from the Moth-boy. John wasn't moving. It was now or never.

"HEY! Butterfly boy!" I stepped back from the window as the boy looked at me, "Surprise!"

I flicked the switch and the room flooded with light. I shielded my eyes and glanced outside before I turned to the second step of my plan. It was working. The Boy was breaking up and making his way to the room I was in. I slipped under the wires again and grabbed the plug that I'd left near the outlet.

The loud noise of fluttering filled the room and I yanked the lights. The boy immediately formed together in the middle of the room looking dazed as the lights went out.

"Wha-Where's the light's go? They were so prettyful." He tried to move toward me but got caught on the wires going through his abdomen.

Stretching across the room were exposed wires, all crossing in the center of the room where all the lights were pointed. He looked at me confused and I smiled.

"Bug. Zapper." I slid the plug into the wall and watched as thousands of volts of electricity coursed through the wires. Smoke began to rise and moths fell as the energy flowing through them turned them into ash.

"But I was righteous!" The boy cried as his body burned away, "My cause. I was wronged and I don't get vengeance? How is this fair?"

I stood and stared down at the last fluttering moth and sighed, "Life sucks. You either let it get to you, or keep going until it kills you," I pressed my foot down and listened to the satisfying sound of a crunching exo-skeleton, "Either way you end up dead."