Four hours had passed. Maria was slumped against the wall, deep in slumber. Felix tiresomely continued to scribble a report on a small notebook, the vibrations of the rotors occasionally disrupting him.
As they descended in the dead of night, he rested his head against the helicopter window, staring at his reflection, tracing his finger over his right eye, while his left eye continued to glow.
Inside the bright, white clinic, Maria bit her lip as they pressed cotton on her arms, while Felix got his shoulder bandaged up. Both of them were covered in bruises, with dark and red marks.
"So… sleepy…" She grumbled. It was three in the morning.
Felix mumbled, still writing on his little notebook, "And… we jumped out the building.
Both of them walked through the halls with dead, exhausted gazes, only for Murphy to stand in their way. Their expressions dropped further.
In the office, exhausted duo were both stood in front of the Chief as she skimmed over the notebook Felix had been writing on.
"Widespread panic, destruction and public and private property, and a death toll of over forty people… all for this." She stood sternly, her orange-tinted glasses reflecting with an opaque glow.
Maria, who was still half-asleep, stood restlessly. Felix on the other hand no longer had the strength to listen to what she had to say.
"And a battle with agent Harbinger…" She dropped the notebook to her desk, then picked up the flash drive, "All for this little data drive."
Maria yawned, "Uh-huh…"
"Splendid work." Chief crushed the flash drive in her hands.
"Why would you—?!" Felix burst out, his tired expression was suddenly brimming with energy.
"You destroyed their data center during the fight, right?" The Chief asked.
"Uh, y-yeah…" He frowned.
"Good. This drive contained a program that was meant to destroy all the data in those servers. The world has no business knowing the contents saved in this drive." She explained as she dropped the crushed pieces onto the ground.
Maria's shoulders dropped as she sighed, "Ah, that makes sense."
"Now, as for the both of you. Not only were you able to successfully complete the mission, you also took down the ex-agent, Harbinger. You both did better than I expected. Even the Director was pleased."
"We are humbled by your words, sir." Felix stated.
"Thank you for your praise, madam Chief." Maria replied with a yawn in her tone.
"But… ex-agent?" He asked.
"We had reason to believe that he was feeding intel to other organizations outside of the allied agencies. When the higher-ups planned to question him upon his return, he suddenly went MIA." The chief's volume grew lower as she speculated to herself, "Still, he wasn't a computer cracker, so how did he expect to get the intel?"
"I see. I'd like to know more, but… with all due respect, the two of us would like to get some rest." His body swayed slightly, about to topple over.
"Of course, but before that, an announcement; given how well this went, the board has come to the decision to assign the two of you as partners."
He froze, "Excuse me?"
"You wot mate?" Maria blurted out.
"Of course, this isn't set in stone yet since I still have paperwork. And this doesn't mean you'll always be on the same mission. But from here on out, the two of you are now assigned to work together."
"Y-yeah… great… did you even read my report?" Felix bit his lip, preventing his emotions from spilling out.
"I'll have none of your sass, Felix. That will be all, dismissed." The chief instructed as she returned to sit on her desk.
As they turned to leave, Felix suddenly stopped by the door, "You can go ahead first, I have something else to discuss with Chief Vivian."
Maria nodded quietly before letting out a yawn and walking away.
He turned towards the gray-haired woman.
"What is it, Felix?" The chief asked while lighting up a cigarette.
"Remember when I said that I didn't care for codenames, and that call me whatever you liked?"
"Indeed, Child of the Stars." She answered tauntingly.
"It seems that I… may have ignored its purpose. I might change that… as well as request a small modification to my outfit."
"Oh, and what would that be?"
"Give me a white mask, something that looks um… "Cool." As for my codename, I think it should be Blue Phantom. Oh and maybe an adjustment… a smaller grappling hook."
"Hooo? What's with the sudden change of heart?" The chief's mocking smirk turned to a proud smile.
Felix ran his fingers on his cheek, remembering the warmth of Maria's blood spilling over it.
He recounted the events in his mind, and all he could remember was how much she made the mission more difficult than it had to be.
That girl… she was really unprofessional and was difficult to deal with at times, but the silliness she brings with her alleviated some of the weight. And in her own right, she was equally as terrifying as she was scatterbrained. But I guess to put it in a way, being with her was…
He let out an exasperated sigh, "She may have been a headache, but despite being all the nonsense and shortcomings she brought along with her, it all felt… fun."
"Is that a fact? Truth be told, when I told the both of you to minimize the damage, it wasn't you I was concerned about." She responded as she took a long drag from her cigarette.
"You mean…?"
"Indeed, you were just the one who reacted first." The chief grinned slyly, "Anyhow, your requests sound simple enough. I'll have it done."
Felix scratched his cheek, "Thank you, chief."
Against the corridor outside the Chief's office, the short-haired young woman let out a warm smiled as she clutched her chest, listening intently on their conversation.
Before Felix could reach for the knob, however, the chief blew out a puff of smoke, "You know, I think Luna would be proud of your results."
A memory resurfaced, one where he and Luna sat on a bar counter, warm lights reflecting on polished wooden tables.
"Felix Aster, what do ya think? Rolls of the tongue, don't it?" She asked with a pint of ale in her hand, her arm hanging above his head.
"I don't think I should be in a pub."
"If ya got no complaints, then it's settled!" She ruffled his hair, drunkenly declaring, "Ah always wanted a li'l brother! From here on out, we're family, you and I."
His lips curled into a smug, yet sincere smile, looking back at the chief.
"I don't think she would've given me passing marks after everything that happened." He responded, pulling out an old, worn down four-leaf clover necklace from underneath his shirt.
He exited the room, clutching the pendant underneath his shirt, only to be met with the ecstatic smile of his new partner waiting outside the office.
Now feared as the Golden Lion Agency's greatest weapon. Codename, Blue Phantom, now registered.
~