Life

The city lit up in dazzling lights. Vehicles with bright tail and headlights sped past the roads and highway. Smartphones and gadgets were also visible from above as moving small rectangular lights as their owners used it while walking. It was a glowing beacon amidst a gloomy backdrop. Life before the Nuke was simpler, if not, peaceful. Of course, Blackshot would never trade the typical life of 1940’s or 50’s. Living in those days with the absence of modern technology was literally simpler than this. The complication of the dependence of such gadgetry made people extra vigilant of the horrors they have faced.
But that was just the Filipino people: superstitious and careful.
Protectorate Blackshot could not say the same with the Mexican MID Operator beside him. He knows that his people were also superstitious. He never read too much of history so he could never tell.
“How’s she?” The Protectorate asked, half turning to the kneeling MID Operator of the faction known as The Agency.
“She was fine,” the Operator replied. He was impossible to be seen by a naked eye due to the color of his armor. His reactive camouflage was still activated even after the bloody firefight. Blackshot wasn’t sure if the Mexican forgotten to turn it off or not. “But she was losing a lot of blood.”
Blackshot could see the Operative struggling to keep his fellow Operator alive. Her black armor was stained with the color of bright red crimson. Ragged breath could be heard from her re-breather faceplate. Blackshot knelt and rested a palm over the open wound. Within seconds, a bright light could be seen escaping from his palm and towards the wound. The wounded Operator could feel her wound being closed by something cold as if menthol were poured directly onto her flesh. It was soothing and relieving but the sensation died as soon as the wound has closed itself.
“You could have done that earlier.” The Mexican Operator says.
“Goodbye.” Blackshot says. “I have dispatched MID Iota-7 for your extraction.” He was gone before Buggeman could blink.


Blackshot was walking along the streets; his Battle Gear was concealed by a hologramic projection of casual clothing: jacket, jeans and sneakers. He pulled the hoodie over his head and walked with both hands inside the jacket pockets. While his appearance was concealed perfectly, he could not do anything about his glowing brown eyes. It was good to be back in his country. He was glad that The Agency dispatched them somewhere here. He looked back above the hill where he left the Operators. They must have left.
The night was lovely, perfect scenery for these young couples walking around him. He was the only person who has no one to walk with but it doesn’t bother him. He was too old for that, despite his appearance being that of an adolescent or a young adult. It’s been years, he has forgotten everything including his age.
He walked along the sidewalk, passing by storefronts, cafes and pubs. It was satisfying to see that the country had flourished after all the years. The smell of brewed coffee waffled through his nose and the bright neon lights of the stores bombarded his sight. But nothing could beat the feeling of watching the youth around him.
“Oh God, what am I doing in here?” He asked himself as he sat on a bench where a lone woman was sitting as well. He took a sideward glance and saw her reading a book. When she looked back at him, he immediately looked away.
“This is the Division Commander, Protectorate Blackshot, where the hell are you?!”
At the sound of this, Blackshot was startled. He ripped the earpiece from his left ear and kept it. The woman glanced again at him but he ignored it.
He stared in the distance and breathed. This was the life he wanted, away from Demons, from monsters or some pagan gods with ‘Yahweh Complex’. But God Himself has better plans for him. He could not stray away from that path much less resist from it. He looked around again and wondered what’s it feel like to love? To laugh? Or to eat? Aside from the Brothers back in the Protektovare Legion, he has no idea what it feels like to have acquaintance or friends. It’s been a while since he became Human. He missed his life before his previous iterations. He missed all of it.
But even if he lived those lives, he cannot deny that something was missing from him. After all, he was created for combat and service. What else could he do aside from baking donuts and paying bills?
“Something bothering you?” The woman beside him asked. Blackshot glanced at her. He felt his adrenaline rushed at the sight of her.
“Do I know you?” He asked.
She backed away a little but she had already put down her book. Blackshot thought she had ignored him but he caught her looking.
“You know, problems are easier to overcome if you talk about it to someone.” She added.
“Who’s that someone?” Blackshot asked rhetorically, feeling dumb at his own response. He looked up into the night sky and recalled his memories with the Legion.
“Could be someone around you, it could be a friend, it could be a family member, it could be me. What kind of a silly question was that?”
He inched a little further away before staring back down to the ground.
“What am I doing here?” He asked. “Do I belong here?”
She casts him a questioning look.
“You love to listen to emo music, aren’t you?”
He ignored her and continued.
“Every second was another pain. Every time I breathe, it was an equivalent of another suffering. It was like as if the universe keeps slapping my face that I do not deserve to exist.”
She put a hand over his shoulder. He ignored her and stood. He glanced at her face but migraine suddenly kicks in. Her face became blurred and everything around him started to black out as if a power shortage had occurred.
Soon, they were covered in darkness.
“Protectorate Blackshot, report, we found a Glitch in your area.”
Blackshot slipped the earpiece on and said, “This is not a Glitch.” His disguise disappeared, his form had returned back to normal. “I’m going to return to my Legion, Division Commander. We are dealing with a Demon. I feel it.”
“No, you need to be debriefed first, you—“
“What gives you the right, Human?” Blackshot asked. “Do not test my patience. Do not interfere with the battle that was about to transpire.” He dropped the earpiece to the ground and crushed it with an armored boot. He grabbed another earpiece that appears to be a part of his armor and slipped it on.
“Brothers, forgive me for my long absence. I am here now.”
“And I am reporting for duty.”