Troy laid still on the hospital bed.
The nurse's office had a few beds with little privacy. It was used to treat mostly common injuries like stabs or sicknesses. But his condition needed to be treated privately. His team mates were in the cafeteria. That was what they told him before they bounced. Turns out they were famished. He was hungry too, but he wasn't meant to eat until his wounds were healed. Doctor's orders.
Doctor Iris entered the small ward.
"Hey beautiful.* Troy said.
"Hey handsome." She replied. At first, she was mad at him for leaving her without saying anything. It took her a while to find the letter. Before she did, she had been worried. She had thought that maybe Troy didn't really like her, and last night was just a one night stand. She was even madder when she heard that Troy has almost gotten himself killed. But seeing him so vulnerable, and seeing him still able to smile, and compliment her had melted her rage.
"Is this just an excuse to see me in private, doc?" Troy asked. He knew that Blessing had done a good job. He was weak and lightheaded, but that was it. It was nothing a few hours of sleep couldn't heal.
Doctor Iris looked away, thanking god she wasn't white. If not, she'd be blushing right now because Troy was right.
"I'm sorry I left without saying anything."
"There's nothing to apologize for, Troy. I completely understand."
Troy sat up and patted the space beside him.
Iris sat down and hugged him, burying her face in his chest.
"When are we going to your place. I really need to blow off some steam." Troy said.
"Pervert!" Doctor Iris said, feigning annoyance.
"You know what they say. Passionate sex heals everything."
"No one says that." Doctor Iris said, feeling horny already.
"Well, I do. It was a philosophy I just came up with right now."
"Wow. It holds so much meaning oh wise one."
Troy nodded. "It is good you know my worth, young miss." He said, in what he thought was a British aristocrat accent.
Doctor Iris held back her laugh.
Troy checked his watch. 18:41.
"There's still time for a date, doc."
"Stop calling me doc. It makes me feel old. And no. You'll probably break after one round. Going on a date would only make things complicated."
Troy gasped. "Is that a challenge?"
Doctor Iris giggled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the same moment, in a space station orbiting Pluto, seven figures sat in a circular table, similar to the round table used in the medieval ages.
"Do you think faking your death was idea?" A burly man with red spiky hair and red beard said. On his left cheek was a red tattoo. In truth, it was a sigil that meant "Light". He was the guardian of light. A flame elemental. A universal level threat.
"Yes. Now, I know Troy is more than capable of taking care of himself. Also, my ability is needed to deal with Infinite." Blackstar said. His neck was exposed, showing the sigil for darkness. He was also a universal level threat, and the guardian of darkness.
"Poor kid. He's been through a lot." Said a woman. She was surrounded by an aura of life. She had big white eyes. He hair was white, she wore a white flowing gown, and she was white. Everything about her was white. In her right eye was the golden sigil for life. She was the guardian of life.
"It still doesn't justify why you left your duties." Said another woman. She was the polar opposite of the guardian of life. She oozed an aura of death that would make anyone weaker than her feel weak. She had skin as pale as milk, with black hair and black eyes. On her left eye was the gray sigil of death. She was the guardian of death.
"There's no need to be all cranky. Let's play!" Said a woman. She was sitting on the table while juggling some apples. She was a Loli, but more on the grown up side. She was Hispanic with a wild afro on her head. On her forehead was the purple sigil of joy.
"We have lost so many people trying to deal with Infinite. When will this all end?" Said another man. He was Asian, with blue hair. On his forehead was the blue sigil of grief.
"What do you think, Solomon?" The guardian of life asked the oldest among them.
He was bald, but he had a beard that almost reached his knees. On the middle of his head was the rainbow colored sigil of wisdom.
These were all the guardians recognized by the universe itself. Light, Darkness, Life, Death, Joy, Grief, and Wisdom.
Religion was a facade. The universe was a sentient being that granted power to those deemed worthy. It had overseen the evolution of man ever since the Annunaki. Now, it had deemed mankind worthy of power, another step in the evolution process. The guardians were the ones given god-like powers and given the mantle to protect the universe.
Most of them were almost as old as earth. The only exception was the present guardians of light and darkness.
After killing Goldstar, the present guardian of light was forced to take on the mantle. Blackstar on the other hand was recently chosen by the universe after power had corrupted his predecessor.
The oldest was Solomon. The guardian of wisdom. He was the first guardian, and the only one who had anything other than a one sided conversation with the universe. The universe had actually asked him what he wanted, and he chose wisdom. For the others, they weren't so lucky. The universe just showed them what being a guardian meant, and forcefully enforced its will on them in the form of its sigil.
"I think we should leave things be." Solomon said.
"What?!" The guardian of light said, outraged. "After all Infinite has done? She's also a universal level threat, and a Villain at that!"
"Is she now?" Solomon asked.
Everybody stopped to think. Infinite had enslaved countless alien races, taking the threat of an alien invasion from Earth's hands. But that was all.
"If my hunch is right, this will be the birth o another guardian." Solomon said.
"What?"
"But there's only been seven of us since the beginning."
"The universe works in mysterious ways."