Closing Time

Peaceful times. Lore checked their Breacher and for the first time since the first act of their forced honeymoon, nothing. No alerts, no distress calls. Nothing. The universe was settling. The Paragons regrouped on The Destiny almost unsure of what to do with themselves. The imminent crisis of universal extinction had brought them together but without it, they hadn’t a clue of what to do. Scattered across the floor of the garage, they raised a glass to celebrate. Unbeknownst to them, an eighth figure had joined them.
“Congratulations.” It spoke with an unfamiliar voice that caused them all to leap to action. “Settle down, its only me.”
“And you are?” Lore darted between the others, looking for anyone who recognised the stranger before them.
“Ah yes… I forget sometimes that we haven’t yet met. I’m Time.” It held out it’s left hand. “We thought it best if I came first. But then again, I’m usually early.” It chuckled to itself.
Two more strangers joined them. Sukal, Durien and Sky stood bolt upright. The first was a large individual, a blue skinned god of a man. His muscles had muscles. Durien lowered his head in reverence as he passed. He was rewarded with a suggestive smile and a wink. Sky nodded as the second stranger passed them. She too was rather beautiful with her crimson hair covering the majority of the left side of her face but when Lore saw her, they recoiled.
“Where’s Life then?” Death looked to her siblings. “It’s your fault. You should never have shown her the late two thousands.” Death pointed an accusatory finger at Time.
“They’ll be here soon.” Time held up its hand and counted off the seconds. With its hand balled up, Life appeared.
“Sorry I’m late. Never know how to dress for these things.” She was the definition of natural beauty. Pale green skin with watery blue eyes and cascading, opalescent hair. She balanced her way down the stairs to the garage, lifting her white, silk dress to avoid tripping.
“Over dressed as usual.” Space shot a jovial smile.
Alodrass narrowed her eyes. “Life?” she blinked. “I could have sworn you…” she didn’t know how to end that thought but the meaning was conveyed none the less.
“It varies from moment to moment. Occasions like this though demand a more refined touch.” She smiled to Alodrass.
“We all going to take turns or is Time going to monologue us all to Death?” Space pointed between his siblings and laughed. “Get it?”
Time shook it’s head. “Let’s get on or that will be true. There was nothing, then there was us. None of us know who came first but perhaps it’s better that way.”
“You always act like you’re the oldest…” Death looked for support.
“Anyway, together we created everything and everyone. We watched as you grew and developed but from afar. This and The Paragons are the closest we’ve ever been with our creations.” Time looked to its siblings who all nodded.  “And it’s given us a new perspective on everything. Originally, we were going to go with something a little more controlled than a universe wide extinction event to test you all but carpe diem, c’est la vie and all that.”
“Sorry.” Death sheepishly crawled into herself. “I had a right to be pissed though.”
“Quatarr wasn’t supposed to be destroyed like that… We’ve had this argument. Let’s not do it again.” Time produced a series of cards. The one at the top of the pile simply said shut down argument. “Ah, we did have something less widespread planned but the impromptu trial provided by Death served its purpose. The universe doesn’t need us anymore. It has you.”
“So, if it’s alright with you, we’re stepping down and putting you in charge. Instead of being our Paragons, you’ll just be The Cornerstones.” Life had removed her heels to allow her to stand more comfortably.
“You want us to take over?” Lore looked to the other Paragons. “Why?”
“We made the universe but watching you lot save it was the last nail in the proverbial coffin. We never get to really enjoy our creations for long before something’s gone wrong elsewhere.” Space squeezed his Paragons in closer. “It’s far past time for us to retire. Or at least take a holiday.”
“You won’t have to worry about our other projects, we’ve left them in similarly capable hands but, we still need somebody to look after this place.” Time opened its arms wide, figuratively encircling the universe. “Your day to day will barely change. Promise.”
“So, we become you, then what? Do we get holidays or do we have to go through all this again?” Brian held Alodrass’ hand.
“Stuff like this barely comes up. You just need to be ready when it does.” Death smiled.
“And what about the other Paragons?” Sky’s eyes were burning. “Famine and The Rexian?”
“If I can’t see them, they’ll lose their powers and you become me. Only you.” Death reached to pat her Paragon. Sky moved.
Lore nodded. Char followed. The wave of nods travelled around the room until it reached the sea wall of Sky.
“Sky.” Death’s voice softened. “I’m sorry I lied to you. I knew what you wanted and I used that against you. But with the full set, things will be more normal. You’ll be able to return home without causing a riot, able to do whatever you want.” Sky glared at Death.
“She’s telling the truth. The portion of our abilities we give to our Paragons makes some of our gifts inherently unstable or uncontrollable. It’s like having a car with bike handles. It works but not very well.” Time reassured them.
“What’s a car and what’s a bike?” Sky shook their head. “Never mind, I’ll do it.”
The Cornerstones directed their Paragons into the centre of their newly created, four pointed ‘Circle’; the four siblings arms wrapped around the eight Paragons. Green, blue, white and red streamed from The Cornerstones and into the respective Paragons. Lore felt a jolt run down their spine as their eyes were truly opened to the reality around them. For a moment, if they focussed, they could see everything. All of reality at the glance of an eye. When they returned to The Destiny, the ritual was over and The Cornerstones replaced. Brimming with their newfound power but with nothing to do with it, they returned to their drinks, wishing The Cornerstones well on their way. Lore took Char’s hand into their own, enjoying the silence they had once hated together. Times Changed.