It had been hours since the Starkeepers had started cleaning up the Malice outbreak in Chicago.

Venus merrily snacked on one of the cheeseburgers in her inventory while Gaia and Mars fought with the most recent Malice to crawl out of its incursion point. Outwardly, Venus seemed relaxed, but the waves of monsters had left her reserves dry and her body haggard. Mars wasn't doing well, either; she'd periodically doubled back from her scouting duties to join the main unit, but Venus could tell she was running low on Faith. A phone sat next to the burger wrappings in her lap, and Venus leaned against a lamppost to relax.

If they had continued to contain Malice as planned, none of this would be a problem. They could have kept the marathon of violence going for a whole day if they needed to, or so Jupiter had maintained, but the entire team was physically and mentally worn down from the nonstop fighting. Even Venus had to stop and eat, or she'd double over and pass out.

Exhausted Divinity meant there were lapses in judgment and bad calls, which resulted in Malice breaking from containment on more than one occasion.

When Malice broke from containment, like the potted plant strangling Gaia right now—

"Hot," Venus mumbled through a mouthful of fries.

—it meant more destruction. They needed to face it head-on; that meant pulling out weapons, exhausting reserves of faith, taking strikes human bodies weren't designed to handle, and spending the last drips of their aura.

"Why do humans have such terrible designs?" Venus muttered, staring at her half-eaten burger. "If we were on Mars, we would have dealt with this already."

"Venus! Help us out a little?!" Mars shouted from within a mass of strangling vines.

Venus snapped her fingers, and the vines loosened around them— enough they could begin tearing at the planty tendrils. "Just so inefficient. They have their breathing and eating holes as shared tubes. Why not eat with your fangs and use the mouth part for breathing?"

Gaia squeaked as the potted plant grabbed her by the ankle and yoinked her in the air. Gaia squeaked out and cried, holding up her dress with onyx gauntlets. (She's doing a good job maintaining her purity and preventing any onlookers from seeing under her skirt.) Venus was already reasonably aware of what a girl's inner thighs looked like; she didn't need to see them to complete the picture in her mind.

"I think they evolved to eat fruit or meat or something." A voice on the other end of the phone chimed in. "That's why they got those molars they remove, smart teeth?"

"See? You aren't allowed to use teeth even if you have them." Venus loosely stuck her tongue out and frowned. "That's messed up, honey. I want to file a complaint against HR, give them the what for."

"I don't think that's what human resources means?" A spaced-out girl with tanned skin toyed with the camera on her end of the call, listening to Venus talk. She had long, strawberry-blonde hair and deep blue eyes, pupils shaped into moon-like slits. Her arms were covered in bangles and other kinds of jewelry, contrasting with her tan skin and thick makeup. Her ears were long and elfish, and she wore a boa around her neck, helping to complete her 'authentic' gyaru look. "I think they're supposed to use the humans as resources, not make them better or whatever." Nebulossom Luna poked her cheek, glancing at her teammate. "Is that right?"

A short Nebulossom lay nearby, small and grumpy. She had most of her auburn hair wrapped up in a leather cap and goggles, her irises dark blue and dull like stone. Her skin had a nearly imperceptible grey tint that made her look sickly, but the girl herself was fit enough to run laps around Malice. Nebulossom Mercury was panting heavily, enjoying the soft grass in the park while she still could. "Idjits. The yoomans are there for artifact craftin'. You dip 'em in the vat, and they come ou' the artifacts we use. Human resources. S'what it says on the tin."

"I don't care. What department do I go to get my human shell exchanged for something better?" Venus groaned. Living in this body was painful. Nothing worked right.

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"Who'd you get the teeth from?" Luna rightly wondered, playing with the locks of her pigtails. She would typically be chewing gum while she rested, but unfortunately ran out some seven Malice fights ago.

"My form on Earth came with it. Are they not a standard feature?" Venus gnashed her teeth, showing off her pearly whites while her friends were beaten black and blue. "They even let me drink blood."

"Oh, that's not fair. I wish my form had those." Luna pouted, and her companion groaned.

"Ye do have those, you daft git! Ye keep fergettin' that you've got shape changing!" Mercury covered her face and loudly groaned. "I want a break from her antics. Venus, ye gotta take her, please."

"No 'cannae' do! I'm guiding the newbie at the moment, and as the eldest magical warrior, I take my duties very seriously." Venus paused to watch Gaia get launched into the air and fall on a nearby rooftop. "Very seriously. But you can be sure I'd take you any time, Luna." Venus gave a wink through the smartphone, and Luna giggled.

"Sure! But we're live-streaming next time we hang out, okay? My LonelyFans page is like, begging for content, and I'm worried that my moons aren't doing it anymore?" Luna pouts, feeling her ample rear. "Selling your body on the earth-net is hard work."

"I'm a supermodel. A little marketing is good for me, and of course I'd make time for you. I should have time after the ceremonial... party this Thor's Day." Venus checked the calendar app on her 'smart phone.'

Gaia dropped in quite literally as she hopped from the rooftop, leaving cracks in the asphalt on impact. "Venus! Is now the time to be checking your calendar? Eating a burger? We're in the middle of a fight!" Gaia hissed at Venus.

"You've got it handled, hon! I need time to recover and check in with the other teams. Now, be a good girl and exterminate the Malice, okay?" Venus gave Gaia a dismissive wave. Gaia huffed in reply and went to deal with what was left of the potted plant. "Where were we, Luna? Discussing the content of our stream?"

"I was thinking we could do a little biology lesson." Luna's eyes sparkled. "Maybe I could knock you up, and we could have, like, star babies or something? That would teach our audience a lot! It wouldn't even break the rules, since your kind breeds all weird and stuff."

"I'm certain our biology is incompatible, but stranger things have happened. Could we give it a try and see how things work? The hive could always use more members." Venus considered the offer carefully.

"Would I be the mommy or the daddy?" Luna gave a thoughtful expression, seriously considering the answer.

"We don't even have gender on my planet. You could be either!" Venus reassured Luna that she could have her pick.

"I cannae tell which is worse, listenin' to you ijits blithely ramble about weird insect-rabbit matin' rituals or goin' out to fight Malice in my condition?" Mercury groaned and straightened into a seated position. "I'd rather chance it with the Malice. At least I won't be losin' me plot armor passively."

"Oh, grow up, dear." Venus grinned slyly. "It's just filling an egg with nutrient slurry. Everyone's done it, even your parents."

"Aye, and I wish they'd gone through protection so I wouldn't 'ave to 'ear this conversation. I'm gonna have a word with Jupiter and see what's the hold-up. Mebby find somewhere to help." Mercury picked up a wrench her size and spun it in the air. She caught it with one hand, eliciting applause from Venus and Luna.

"Ah, shove it, you two. I don't need the praise; I'm just doin me job. Something ye could learn about, you buggy menace." Mercury huffed and wandered out of the selfie camera's view.

"Hey! I do my job!" Venus folded her arms, letting out a pout. "I'm an essential part of this team!"

Exhausted and covered in dirt and smashed pottery, Mars and Gaia exchanged a look. An essential part of this team? They both let out a sigh and decided to let her excuses slide.

"Hey, I'm wrapped up here, Venus. Can you watch Gaia? She isn't feeling so great, and we've got one place left to scout." Mars rubbed Gaia's back. "According to the human, her nose has been clogged all afternoon. She feels pretty woozy and warm. Maybe she's come down with some kind of fever?"

"I can take care of her, of course!" Venus let out a coo, ready to dote on Gaia without hesitation. "This is the last one? For certain?"

"Last one, Jupiter's orders. This Malice set up at the amusement park; I'll zip in and out, see if we can make this demolition quick. We already have Honeybees in the area." Mars popped open the trunk, pulling out her biking helmet.

"Come back in one piece, alright? We're all exhausted, and we don't need you playing the hero." Venus gave the dizzy Gaia a stroke on the top of her head, pressing the human's face against her bosom. "We'll be right here when you're done."