The next day, Mark shuffled out of his room with dark circles under his eyes.
"Hey, Mom—and Jovian…"
Mark looked at Debbie and Jovian sitting in the dining room eating, forcing his eyes open as wide as he could.
"My God, Mark, those under-eye circles are awful. Did you sleep badly? Is something bothering you?!"
Debbie stared at the obvious dark circles, worry written all over her face.
"No, no, not at all. I'm great."
Mark shook his head over and over, trying his hardest to look more awake.
"Don't worry, Mom. Mark's just too excited."
"Like when we were in elementary school—every time there was a big field trip the next day, Mark couldn't sleep. He's only like this because he got his own custom suit and got so hyped he couldn't fall asleep…"
Jovian lounged back with one leg crossed, sipping coffee while watching Mark's half-asleep expression.
"Enough, Jovian. I'm not a little kid waiting for a field trip."
Getting exposed like that made Mark instantly feel like he'd lost face.
"Heh…"
"Look at the time. You're going to be late, Mark."
Jovian didn't bother engaging with Mark's embarrassment. He stood, grabbed his school backpack, and left Mark with nothing but a cool, effortless silhouette walking out the door.
"Be careful on the way, Jovian."
Debbie smiled softly as she watched him go.
"Oh, shit—how is it this late already?!"
Mark checked the time, eyes going wide. Jovian was right—he was about to be late.
"Mark, watch your language."
Debbie's eyes sharpened, clearly annoyed.
"Sorry, Mom."
"I can't waste any more time—I'm going to be late. Oh, and Mom, have you seen my clothes?!"
Mark raised his brows at Debbie as he asked.
"Find your own clothes."
Debbie folded her arms across her chest, displeasure all over her face.
"Today we'll continue what we didn't finish last class…"
A teacher with barely any hair on his head stood at the front, spraying spit while he lectured.
Jovian looked utterly lifeless—not because he'd been too excited to sleep like Mark, but because he simply didn't care about what was being taught.
"Hah…"
Just as Jovian closed his eyes to rest and save his energy for the afternoon's fight, a sharp whoosh sounded near his ear.
He instinctively glanced out the window—and caught a figure "sneaking" down from the sky, dropping toward the ground as if trying not to be seen.
It was Mark, freshly washed up and finally out the door.
"My dumb little brother… still ended up late."
Jovian shook his head, helpless. The guy had godlike power now and he was still this reckless and frantic—what a mess.
That afternoon, while everyone enjoyed their lunch break, Jovian used "I need the bathroom" as an excuse and slipped out of school through the restroom.
First, he went to pick up the suit, and then—
At the same time, an emergency call summoning the entire Guardians of the Globe was going out across the world…
On a beautiful hillside, a gorgeous woman was on a date with a sunny, ambitious man. The two were all over each other, drinking beer, chatting…
But the instant the woman turned her head, the man abruptly changed outfits—going from a plaid shirt, shorts, and sneakers to a crimson leather hero suit.
"Seriously?! You couldn't even give me one minute?!"
She stared at him, furious. To her, it was pure disrespect.
"Oh—sorry…"
The man's face changed. He'd forgotten to switch back. A mistake on his part. In the single minute that had just passed, he'd not only changed outfits—he'd also taken down a gang of armed robbers five kilometers away. But he'd rushed back so fast he forgot the clothes.
"We need to talk."
She was angry. She needed a real conversation with her boyfriend. She could accept that he was a superhero. She supported him unconditionally. But she wanted him to understand something: before he was a superhero, he was her boyfriend—her future husband, and the father of their future kids.
Beep-beep-beep…
Right as she was about to say more, the watch on his wrist started ringing.
"I'm sorry, babe—I have to go. The team is calling me!"
His expression turned grave as he looked at the watch.
"Ugh…"
She let out a helpless sigh.
"Go—"
Before she could even finish, the man—now back in his red suit—vanished from where he stood.
"Shit!"
She cursed at the empty air, furious and powerless, because her boyfriend was the fastest man in the world—the legendary Red Rush!
Elsewhere, in the endless depths of the ocean…
A figure sat on a throne, trident in hand, dozing off.
He was a fish-man—full-on classic American creature-feature vibes, like the Creature from the Black Lagoon: fish head, humanoid body.
Right now, he was irritable because he was bored out of his mind…
This wasn't some random sea creature. He was the ruler of the ocean—the King of Atlantis. People called him Aquarus.
Beep-beep-beep…
Just as Aquarus yawned, the watch on his wrist finally rang.
"Hahaha…"
"Finally! A mission!"
Aquarus laughed, blew a bubble, and shot through the water like an arrow, racing toward the Guardians' headquarters.
And it wasn't just Red Rush and Aquarus…
Darkwing—the public face being one of the biggest billionaires in the United States, while secretly playing masked vigilante in America's most "free" city—finished dealing with his enemies and received the same call to head to the Guardians' hall.
War Woman, a world-famous businesswoman and demi-god who contributed endlessly to the world, lifted off immediately after getting the message.
Martian Man, who'd been playing with his child…
A young woman whose public job was photographer, but who was actually the Green Ghost…
All of them—members who became superheroes the moment danger appeared—had their own lives and work. They blended into society, living alongside the people they protected on this blue planet…
The moment the call went out, they dropped everything and rushed to the hall—along with the Immortal, who was always in the sky: flying when there was danger, flying when there wasn't, basically always flying.
Whoosh!
A tearing sound cut the air. Darkwing—whose superpower was being "rich"—leapt from his aircraft and landed in front of the assembled Guardians.
"Darkwing, why did you summon us?"
The Guardians had been waiting in the hall for a while. They'd already talked it over—none of them had called this meeting. That meant the only one who could've issued a full-team summons was the one who couldn't fly and had to arrive by aircraft: Darkwing.
"I didn't."
What came next made everyone's blood run cold.
Darkwing's first words, standing before them, were to deny he'd summoned anyone.
"Huh? Then who called us here?"
The Immortal frowned, scanning everyone in confusion, trying to figure out who would summon the strongest superhero team on Earth.
At that moment, the Immortal still didn't understand how serious this was.
In his thousands—tens of thousands—of years of experience, he was the strongest being on this planet. And when the Guardians gathered, they were unbeatable. No enemy on Earth would dare strike while they were all together—let alone deliberately call them in to wipe them out.
"Hah!"
Just as the Immortal was puzzling over it, a violent whoosh sounded behind him.
A figure radiating terrifying pressure tore through the air at high speed—shooting straight for the Immortal.
"Look out—!"
Red Rush's senses caught it instantly. He moved in a blur, grabbed the Immortal, and yanked him aside—saving him from what would've been a head-popping impact.
"Omni-Man!"
At the same time, everyone saw the attacker clearly.
Their eyes went wide, disbelief flooding their faces.
Because the one swinging his fist at them with murderous intent wasn't some unknown enemy—
It was the strongest existence on Earth. The world's greatest superhero.
Omni-Man Nolan.
"What's wrong with him…?"
Green Ghost's legs nearly gave out. Only someone who'd fought beside Omni-Man understood how terrifyingly strong he was. When he was a teammate, she felt safe beyond words. Facing him as an enemy was pure terror.
"Omni-Man, what's going on?"
War Woman stared at him, confused.
"Omni-Man wouldn't attack us. He's probably being controlled. Damn it…"
The Immortal swore he hated this man—stronger than him, always stealing the spotlight. But he had to admit Omni-Man was the noblest man on Earth. He would never attack the Guardians.
So the Immortal decided it had to be mind control. It made sense—he'd been controlled before.
"Whatever's happening, we have to stop him. A rampaging Omni-Man… Christ, just imagining it makes my skin crawl!"
Red Rush shook his head. A crazed Omni-Man could do unimaginable damage to Earth—wipe the surface clean, erase humanity in an instant…?
"Right!"
The others hardened their resolve. They decided to fight together and bring down the strongest man on Earth.
"Hah!"
But just as everyone stared at Omni-Man, barely daring to breathe, braced for impact—
Another whoosh sounded behind them.
"Surprise, mother f*cker!"
A massive man with a huge "F" on his chest rocketed toward War Woman's head.
"Damn—!"
Red Rush spun instantly and dove, knocking War Woman down out of the way.
The fist from behind missed.
"What…?"
Everyone stared at the newcomer—the young man in white with a red cape, a giant "F" stamped across his chest—and their mouths fell open.
They could see Omni-Man's shadow in him.
Only younger…
And somehow… even more solidly built.
"Two Omni-Men…?"
The Immortal turned toward the man with the "F" and went numb.
One Omni-Man was enough to force the Guardians to go all-out.
Two?
Yeah—what the hell are you even supposed to do, fight my ass?
In the instant the Immortal turned—
His gaze went unfocused.
And by the time his brain caught up, he saw his own body spraying gore like a burst ketchup packet…
"I… I'm fucking dead?"
The Immortal blinked.
With his brain cut off from blood supply, he quickly stopped thinking at all.
Yes—when he turned around, he forgot one simple fact:
The strongest man in the world was standing behind him.
Turning your back on Omni-Man meant one outcome—
A red-gloved hand sliced through his neck in an instant.
"The Immortal!"
The moment the Immortal fell, Red Rush's eyes turned icy. He set War Woman down and unleashed a storm of punches at Omni-Man.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Against Red Rush's absolute speed, even Omni-Man struggled for a moment to keep up—
But the strongest man in the world wasn't the strongest for nothing.
After tanking hundreds of blows, Omni-Man caught a gap.
He predicted Red Rush's angle, snapped both hands up, and clamped Red Rush's head between them—
He was going to crush Red Rush's skull alive.
"Gah—!"
Red Rush wasn't the type to stop fighting. His arms accelerated even more, hammering Omni-Man's chest.
"Red Rush!"
The others couldn't even track what was happening. Their nerves simply couldn't keep up.
To them, it was just a blur: the Immortal died, and Red Rush got caught.
But just because they couldn't keep up didn't mean nobody could.
Pff—
A white blur flashed.
Red Rush's chest got punched clean through.
"Hrk—"
Blood poured from Red Rush's mouth.
His eyes dimmed—
And he became a corpse.
The man with the big "F" watched Red Rush's life signs vanish, then slowly withdrew his hand from the hole in Red Rush's chest—
And, right in front of everyone, crushed the bright red organ he'd grabbed.
"Tch…"
Staring at his now blood-soaked white gloves, he showed a hint of disgust, then glanced at Omni-Man.
"Should I switch to red gloves too?"
"Listen, son. When we're fighting, it's best not to talk. You miss openings."
After Red Rush was dealt with, Omni-Man Nolan looked a little more relaxed.
Because the only person who might've been able to warn anyone was now dead.
"Who the hell are you?!"
Tears welled in War Woman's eyes.
In less than a second, they'd already lost two teammates.
The enemy, meanwhile, had barely dirtied his outfit.
War Woman knew she probably wasn't walking out either—but for her team, she was willing to fight to the last breath.
"Didn't you hear? He just called me 'son.' If you missed it, I'll say it again—actually, I'm your dad."
The tall man with the big "F" was no one other than Jovian, now wearing his suit.
Bzzzt—
Boom!
Just as Jovian faced War Woman, several wing-darts flew in and detonated in front of him.
"Hm?"
Omni-Man moved to help Jovian—
But a rushing wall of water blocked his path.
Aquarus.
He could fire high-pressure jets strong enough to cut through rebar.
"We take them down. All of us."
Darkwing's face was ice-cold. Even with the Immortal and Red Rush down, he stayed calm.
"You pissed me off."
Jovian flicked his hand through the air. Dust vanished from his suit like it never existed.
Then he took one step—one huge step—
And appeared right in front of Darkwing.
"Listen, kid. I've mastered over a hundred fighting styles worldwide. I'm one of the top combat masters on the planet. I don't want to bully you—"
Darkwing's face changed. The enemy was too fast—faster than his reflexes.
He tried to reason with him. The guy looked young; maybe he was mentally immature, maybe—
Pff!
With a thunderous impact, Darkwing's upper body disappeared.
What hit the floor was a scattered mess of gore and pieces—censored by reality itself, the kind of thing no normal person should ever have to see.
"Your skill means nothing in front of absolute power."
If Darkwing had been a Viltrumite, Jovian might've lost to a master with real experience.
But Darkwing was just a normal man.
Even giving everything he had, he could only output a few hundred kilograms of force.
Jovian looked at the blood-soaked ground, shook his head, and turned.
In the few dozen seconds Jovian handled Darkwing—
Aquarus was down to half a fish head.
Martian Man had been torn into segments, his core destroyed.
Green Ghost had been punched straight through.
Only War Woman was still barely holding on.
As War Woman swung her hammer against Nolan—
Jovian quietly drifted behind her.
Smack!
Omni-Man seized War Woman's wrist mid-swing.
At the same time, Jovian clamped a hand around her throat.
Crack—
A small sound.
Clean. Efficient.
Jovian ended War Woman.
"War Woman… honestly, you were my favorite in the Guardians."
Jovian looked at her twisted neck and shook his head.
His "favorite" only applied within the Guardians.
"Hah…"
Jovian exhaled and checked his watch.
Two minutes and eleven seconds.
The strongest superhero team in the world—the Guardians of the Globe—was wiped out.
"Now knock me out, then get out of here. Follow the plan—go back to school and finish class."
Nolan tossed the hammer aside, speaking to Jovian.
"…That hammer's nice. I really could use a weapon that feels right in my hands. Maybe I can—"
Jovian, mid-thought, nodded.
"See you at the hospital tonight."
Jovian smiled at Nolan.
"See you at the hospital tonight, my son…"
"Don't hold back. Hit me hard."
Nolan patted Jovian's shoulder, giving him encouragement.
Pff—
And then Nolan collapsed to the floor under Jovian's combo.
"That little bastard… his fists are heavy."
Nolan's last thought before losing consciousness was that he'd underestimated his son.
Those punches hit harder than he'd expected.