Axiom smiled at the lady. "I do hope you don't run while I'm gone. I may have to raze the city to the ground."
It was a lie. He had no intention of searching for her if she disappeared—unless he knew exactly where she had gone. Even then, he would never destroy the city; that would turn three Super Saiyans into his enemies.
But there was no need to tell her any of that. A threat was more than enough to ensure she stayed.
Axiom looked at the lady, who was shaking like a leaf in the wind, before speaking again. "Ah, and I'll come back every day."
She whimpered.
How cowardly, Axiom thought, before bidding her farewell and walking out of her home, flying back to Cell.
The lady breathed heavily, but as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she stood up and sat down in a nearby chair. With Axiom gone, she gradually calmed herself, eventually steady enough to reflect on the entire situation.
She chuckled weakly through her tears at the absurdity of it all. "Four years of culinary school, and it finally paid off…"
She stood and wiped her tears, glancing at the busted door in the hallway. She would need to call someone to fix it.
__
A few hours later, Axiom and Cell were once again playing Uno, with Cell still in the lead.
Cell had begun growing bored of repeating the same game for hours on end. "Do you have any other games?"
Axiom looked up, understanding the boredom. He had started feeling it too. "Hmm… no. But I could go search for another one."
Cell considered it for a moment before nodding. One thing was clear—Cell couldn't care less where Axiom went, so long as his boredom was relieved.
"Go and find one that only needs a single player. I need something to do while you sleep."
Axiom nodded and flew off in the direction of the lady's house.
__
He hovered above it briefly before landing near the door. It seemed she had already replaced it.
The door was slightly ajar.
Axiom felt faint confusion. He had never seen a human leave their door open—especially not in the evening, with the sun about to set.
Walking inside, he noticed muddy shoe prints on the floor. This time, he sensed something was wrong.
His eyes narrowed.
There was an intruder.
He quickly flew through the rooms—first the kitchen, no one; then the living room, no one—until he reached the bedroom, where he saw a dark silhouette looming over the bed.
He moved instantly.
The silhouette was a masked man dressed in black, standing over the sleeping woman. A gun was in his hand, aimed at her head. His finger had already pulled the trigger.
But to Axiom, time moved so slowly that the bullet had not yet left the muzzle.
He stared at the gun, then at the intruder, briefly wondering why he intended to kill a sleeping woman.
Then he grabbed the gun and crushed it—along with the bullet.
Time seemed to resume as Axiom seized the intruder's hand and crushed it as well.
The intruder cried out in pain and dropped to his knees. "Fuck! Who are you?!"
He panicked. His hand had been crushed effortlessly, and his shout had awakened the woman.
She jolted upright, looking around before spotting the intruder, gasping in shock.
Axiom stared at the man. "Who are you, and why are you here?" His voice was calm.
The intruder bit down on his lip. "Fuck, man! I wasn't going to shoot her, believe me!" he lied, hoping Axiom hadn't noticed the trigger being pulled.
Then the woman's voice cut through the room.
"Teddy?! Oh my God, were you going to kill me because we broke up?! What's wrong with you?!"
She sounded horrified.
Axiom narrowed his eyes at Teddy in disdain. Grabbing him by the head, Axiom flew out of the house, not wanting her to witness his death.
Once outside, he soared beyond the city and over a forest.
Landing, he pressed Teddy face-first into the ground. With his fingers, he dug into his back and tore out his shoulder blades like grotesque wings. He stepped back, then stomped on his legs, ensuring he would never use them again.
After one final look at the man, Axiom flew back toward the woman's home, intent on finding a single-player game for Cell.
Entering quietly, he found her still curled up in bed, crying from the events of the day.
He let her cry for a few more moments before speaking.
"I got rid of him. In exchange, I'd like to know what game one can play alone."
She paused before sitting up to face him. "I—I don't know. Maybe a jigsaw puzzle? I have a large one in the drawer over there." She pointed to a drawer opposite the bed.
Axiom nodded and searched through it, grabbing the first box that resembled a game. "Is this the one?" he asked, holding it up.
She nodded and quietly thanked him for saving her life.
Axiom nodded once in return. "Thank you."
Then he left, flying back to Cell.
__
Cell looked at the jigsaw puzzle with mild amusement. From the shapes alone, he understood what needed to be done.
He nodded at Axiom, knowing it would soon be his bedtime.
Axiom nodded back, curled up near a pillar, and went to sleep.