Voss was busy in the kitchen, preparing lunch. Even though there was a troublesome, scatterbrained goddess in the house, life still had to go on.
"I'll just make some pasta tonight," Voss muttered, opening the refrigerator. "Aqua probably isn't a picky eater… right?"
Just then, Aqua's voice rang out from the living room.
"Wow! Little Jerry, you're amazing! You can actually understand me!"
"Tom, you too! You're smarter than the angels in heaven!"
Voss peeked through the crack of the kitchen door and saw Aqua, who had completely shaken off her earlier gloom, excitedly interacting with Tom and Jerry.
"Do you want to see a goddess's magic?" Aqua asked mysteriously. "I can conjure up all kinds of fun things!"
Tom and Jerry exchanged glances, both curious. They'd seen Aqua's terrifying flood magic before, but magic itself still fascinated them.
"Then I'll perform a little magic for you!" Aqua puffed up her chest proudly. "Don't worry, this one definitely isn't dangerous!"
She raised her right hand, a faint blue glow forming in her palm.
"Watch closely! Water Ball Spell!"
A fist-sized water orb condensed in her hand, crystal clear and sparkling in the light.
Tom's eyes went wide. This was his first time seeing real magic. Jerry jumped around Aqua in excitement, practically buzzing.
"How about that? Amazing, right?" Aqua said smugly. "This is one of my specialties as a goddess!"
But suddenly, the water ball began to tremble.
"Huh? What's going on?" Aqua frowned. "It's usually stable…"
Bang!
The orb burst, splashing water everywhere and soaking Aqua, Tom, and Jerry.
"Ahhh!" Aqua shrieked. "Why did that happen?!"
Hearing the commotion, Voss rushed in from the kitchen. One look at the drenched living room and his face darkened.
"Aqua! What are you doing now?!"
"I… I just wanted to show a little magic…" Aqua said pitifully. "It usually works fine…"
Tom and Jerry stood dripping wet. Tom's fur clung to his body like a drowned rat, while Jerry looked even worse, tiny and shivering as water dripped from his whiskers.
"Look at this mess!" Voss pointed at the soggy duo. "Look at them!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Aqua quickly bowed her head. "I don't know why it failed…"
Tom shook himself dry, giving Aqua a helpless look, while Jerry twisted his tail like a wet rag, squeezing out water.
"Forget it. You two, take a bath and change. Aqua, clean up this mess."
"Huh? Why me?" Aqua protested. "This goddess doesn't do housework!"
Voss reached for his belt.
"I'll do it! I'll do it right now!" Aqua panicked, dashing off to grab a mop.
Tom and Jerry shared a look of sympathy. It seemed their new housemate was going to be a handful.
Half an hour later, the living room was finally clean. Aqua collapsed on the sofa, panting. Just mopping the floor had exhausted her.
"Hoo… hoo… this goddess is so tired…" Aqua groaned. "Why is mortal life so hard?"
"Because mortals don't get to slack off like certain airheaded goddesses." Voss emerged from the kitchen carrying steaming pasta. "Alright, food's ready."
The fragrant aroma immediately brought Aqua back to life. Her eyes sparkled at the sight of the noodles covered in rich tomato sauce.
"Wow! That smells amazing! What is it?"
"Pasta. Human food." Voss placed small servings for Tom and Jerry as well. "I doubt you've ever had it."
"Of course not! Heaven only has ambrosia and divine nectar!" Aqua grabbed a fork eagerly. "Time to dig in!"
She twirled a huge bite and shoved it in her mouth.
"Mmm! Mmm! Delicious! So delicious!" Her eyes lit up. "This sweet and sour flavor, the chewy noodles—this is a hundred times better than heavenly food!"
Tom and Jerry happily munched their small portions, savoring every bite.
"Is it really that good?" Voss asked, surprised. "I thought you'd turn your nose up at mortal food."
"Never!" Aqua shook her head, still chewing. "Heavenly food is nutritious, sure, but so bland. This flavor—this goddess is tasting it for the first time!"
Seeing her eat so joyfully actually lifted Voss's mood. At least she wasn't picky. That was something.
"By the way, Voss," Aqua said suddenly, swallowing. "Earlier you mentioned this world is dangerous. What did you mean?"
Voss set his fork down, his expression serious.
"This world has many people with superpowers, both good and bad. The good ones are called superheroes, the bad ones are supervillains."
"Superheroes? Sounds exciting!" Aqua perked up. "How strong are they?"
"For example, there's Iron Man, who wears a suit of high-tech armor that lets him fly and fight. Captain America, whose shield never misses. And the most terrifying—Hulk. When he's angry, he turns into a green giant with limitless strength."
"Hmph, doesn't sound that impressive," Aqua scoffed. "My flood magic can drown entire cities, my purification magic can wipe out evil, and my resurrection magic can even bring back the dead!"
"The problem is your magic tends to blow up in your face." Voss gestured toward the wet spot on the floor. "Like that water ball spell."
"That… that was an accident!" Aqua blushed. "My magic is usually very reliable!"
Tom rolled his eyes. Jerry ignored them and kept eating.
"There are even greater threats," Voss continued. "Like an alien named Thanos, who collected six Infinity Stones. With a snap of his fingers, he erased half of all life in the universe."
"What?!" Aqua nearly dropped her fork. "Half of all life? That's insane!"
"I'm not exaggerating." Voss's tone was grim. "So do you see why I don't want you showing off magic? If people like that notice us, we're in trouble."
Aqua fell silent, chewing nervously on her lip.
"Then… what should we do?" she asked quietly. "What if we run into them?"
"Keep a low profile. Stay out of trouble," Voss said. "As long as we mind our own business, we'll be fine."
"But… what if they come after us?" Aqua pressed.
"Then we deal with it as best we can," Voss sighed. "Let's hope it never comes to that."
Even Tom and Jerry seemed to pick up on the tension, ears twitching. But as veterans of endless cartoon "life-or-death" battles, they weren't too worried.
"Anyway, let's drop the heavy talk," Voss said, picking up his fork again. "After dinner, we'll watch some TV."
"TV?" Aqua tilted her head. "What's that?"
"You'll see." Voss smirked.
After dinner, he switched on an old television set. Colorful moving images filled the screen.
"Wow! There are people inside the black box!" Aqua exclaimed. "How did they get in there?"
"They're not real people—it's a recording," Voss explained. "Think of it like a magic mirror that shows events from elsewhere."
"Incredible!" Aqua leaned in close, fascinated. "Even clearer than the crystal orbs in heaven!"
Tom and Jerry hopped onto the sofa, eyes glued to the screen.
And so, this strange little group shared their first meal together. The evening had its chaos, but it ended in peace.
At least for now…
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