"Heavenly Beings"

The moment we walked into the I.M.P. office, the weight of the past encounter with Verosika still lingered in the air. Loona was trying her best to seem unaffected, though her restless energy betrayed her. Moxxie, as usual, kept his composure, but I could see the tightness in his shoulders. Millie, on the other hand, was as chipper as ever, though she noticed the tension too.

"Sir," Moxxie said as he set down his briefcase, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What's the plan for today?"

I tried to shake off the unease from the lobby. Verosika wasn't just a pop star to me. She was a reminder of a past I wasn't proud of, one I couldn't escape. But I was trying—trying to build something here, trying to be better.

"Alright, team," I said, forcing a cheerful tone. "Shake it off. We've got work to do."

Moxxie gave me a skeptical look. "Sir,, are we not going to address the... elephant in the room?"

"What elephant?" I snapped, though I knew exactly what he meant.

"Verosika," he replied bluntly. "It's not every day your pop star ex-girlfriend shows up out of nowhere and parks in your spot."

Millie nudged him gently. "Moxxie, maybe we should just focus on the job. Whatever's going on between Blitz and Verosika, it's not our business."

Loona batted her eyes. "Speak for yourself. I wanna know all the details."

"Nope!" I barked, cutting off the conversation. "We're not doing this. Not today. Let's get inside and figure out who we're offing next."

As if on cue, the office door burst open, and a figure stumbled in. He was a lanky demon with wild, unkempt hair and a manic gleam in his eyes. His lab coat was scorched, and he carried a large, smoke-belching contraption that looked like it had been cobbled together from a junkyard.

"IMP!" he cried, his voice cracking. "I need your help!"

Millie instinctively reached for her weapon. "Whoa there, buddy. Maybe start with who you are and what you want."

The demon's frantic gaze darted between us. "Name's Loopty Frennik! I'm an inventor, a genius! And I've just been wronged in the worst possible way!"

Moxxie crossed his arms. "Let me guess: your business partner screwed you over, and now you want revenge."

"Exactly!" Loopty exclaimed, slamming his fist onto my desk. It let out a pitiful wheeze of steam. "This is our, no my greatest invention—a time-disruptor! My partner stole the prototype and plans to use it to erase me from existence!"

"A time-disruptor?" Loona asked, raising an eyebrow. "What's it do? Turn back time so you can make better life choices?"

Loopty glared at her. "It disrupts the flow of time for a target, aging them to dust or regressing them to infancy. But in the wrong hands, it's a weapon of unimaginable power!"

I smirked. "Sounds like a fun toy. Where do we come in?"

Loopty leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "My partner, Lyle—he's having his dream life on earth now that he succeeding, I need you to stop him!"

Moxxie frowned. "If this device is so dangerous, why not destroy it?"

Loopty's expression turned sheepish. "Well, the prototype is... indestructible. But if you retrieve it, I can recalibrate it to make it safe."

"Right," I said, clapping my hands together. "So, we've got a heist on our hands. Sounds like my kind of night."

Millie grinned. "Ooh, I've always wanted to crash an underground auction!"

Loona rolled her eyes. "Just tell me I don't have to wear a disguise."

"Actually," Loopty interjected, "you'll all need disguises. The Midnight Market is invitation-only, and they'll sniff out impostors in an instant."

I groaned. "Fine. But I'm not wearing anything that makes me look like a clown."

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A few hours later, we were decked out in our finest disguises. Loona had been transformed into a sleek femme fatale, complete with a slinky grey dress and an air of aloofness that suited her perfectly. Moxxie and Millie looked like high-rolling aristocrats, and I—well, let's just say I'd never been so uncomfortable in a tuxedo.

I.M.P. arrived outside Lyle's lavish mansion, disguised as a tour group. Blitzo, Millie, and Moxxie stood among tourists in their human costumes, watching the house with sharp eyes. The guide on the loudspeaker casually mentioned Lyle's house, pointing out the absurd wealth of the place.

Blitzo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's rich guy. Let's get to it."

The trio swiftly exited the tour bus and made their way to the mansion. Breaking inside, they found Lyle, lying in bed hooked up to a strange machine. He looked ancient, frail, and utterly miserable. In his hands, he held a photo of a pile of money—his one true love.

"I can't live like this," Lyle muttered, his voice cracking. "I'll never feel young again."

He tied a knot in his IV line, attempting to make a noose. Just as he was about to end it all, the room was suddenly filled with bright light, and the door flung open.

The cherubs of C.H.E.R.U.B. descended from Heaven in a flash, interrupting the scene. Lyle recoiled, startled by the divine interruption.

"We're here to save you!" Cletus, the leader, announced with a flourish. "You've helped so many people with your inventions. It's not your time yet, Lyle!"

I groaned. "Great. The cherubs."

Millie raised an eyebrow. "What's the deal with them?"

Moxxie whispered, "Remember that infomercial that was on earlier? These are the guys from Heaven."

The cherubs, their faces filled with innocence and misguided optimism, tried to convince Lyle not to give in. They told him that all the people his technology had helped—people he had saved—sent them to protect him from despair.

"Look at all the beauty life still has to offer!" Cletus chirped. "You're loved, Lyle. You just don't see it yet."

I snorted. "Yeah, you know what else is beautiful? The freedom to do whatever you want—without some angelic goons trying to control your every decision."

Lyle looked conflicted as if the angel and devil on his shoulders where his last hope. "I've never felt so... old. What can I even do with all my money now that I'm stuck like this?"

Cletus tried to cheer him up. "You can give it away! Help others! Make the world a better place!"

Blitzo stepped in, taking a more cynical approach. "What good is money when you're too old to enjoy it? What are you really going to do with it?"

What followed was a demanding battle of wills, with the cherubs trying to convince Lyle to embrace the beauty of life while we pointed out its darker realities. As usual, I couldn't resist stirring the pot—mocking their optimism, exposing their hypocrisy, and generally making a mess of their mission.Lyle squinted at the view. "It's nice, I guess. But I've seen plenty of sunsets. They don't pay the bills."

I chimed in from behind a bush, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, real inspiring. You can't even buy a burger with a sunset."

Next, the cherubs brought Lyle to a bustling mall filled with families and laughter. They pointed out the joy of children playing, of people connecting. "This is what life's all about," Cletus said with a bright smile.

But I was quick to point out the dark side. "Sure, until you step on a Lego or get stuck in line behind a screaming toddler. Real magical."

Lyle's patience wore thinner with every stop

But it wasn't until they reached an opera house that Lyle started to rethink everything. He was captivated by the performance, the passion of the singer, the beauty of the music. For a fleeting moment, Lyle thought maybe life wasn't so terrible after all.

But then, in true Blitzo fashion, he disrupted everything. Moving the spotlight in chaotic ways, he caused a stage light to fall, crashing down on the singer and ending her performance—and Lyle's moment of clarity.

But before he could make up his mind, disaster struck. A stray piano fell from the rafters during another chaotic moment, and this time it didn't miss—Lyle was killed instantly, crushed under the weight of the fallen instrument.

The cherubs gasped, devastated by the outcome of their failed mission. Blitzo, however, just looked at the wreckage. "Well, looks like they did our job for us. Alright team lets head out quick."

opening the portal we quickly exited the scene, watching the cherubs fume and a heavenly portal call out to them from behind.

--------------------

Back in I.M.P.'s office, Me and the team were preparing for the fallout of their mission's failure. We'd killed Lyle, yes—but didn't manage to retrieve the machine.

suddenly receiving a message on my phone, my face fell as we read the text. "Loopty knows. He's coming to collect."

Just then, Loopty crashed through the wall for the second time, clearly furious. "You... You messed up!"

I sighed at the damages to our wall. "Look, Loopty, we tried, okay? But you're gonna have to deal with the fact that your inventions gone."

But before they could say more, a strange figure appeared in the doorway—Lyle, very much alive.

"I don't know what you guys were trying to do," Lyle said, his voice steady. "But I think I've made my decision. I'm not giving up."

Loopty, still furious, stared at Lyle, but then a look of understanding crossed his face. "I guess... I guess it's not all about money after all. We've been through too much."

In the devastation of the building what followed was Wally Wackford bursting into the room, asking if anyone wanted to talk about inventing. The scene was chaotic as ever.

'I'd need to make sure this didn't happen again' I told myself realizing I'd reverted a bit back into the old Blitz's ways.

But amidst all the madness, Lyle and Loopty stood together—no longer fighting.

"There still paying for this though."