"Is he going to be okay?!"
Mark stared at Nolan—beaten to the brink—then clenched his fist so hard his knuckles went white.
"It's possible…"
"But you know—we've done everything we can. This hospital barely has any Viltrumites…"
The man in the suit and sunglasses sounded helpless. To be more precise, Nolan was the only Viltrumite they had here.
"Who did this to him?!"
Veins stood out on Mark's arm. His eyes were razor-sharp. Right now, he wanted to find whoever did this to his dad and beat them into the ground.
"We don't know yet! But we're looking—"
"Please believe me. If we find that person, we'll make them pay—with injuries even worse than what your father is suffering right now!"
Just as Mark's anger peaked, an elderly man with gray hair, dressed in a black suit, walked in through the door.
"My name is Cecil Stedman. I'm the Director of the Global Defense Agency."
The old man—Cecil—stopped in front of Mark and Jovian and introduced himself.
"Cough, cough…"
Hearing Cecil speak, Jovian lightly cleared his throat a couple of times. No special reason—his throat just felt a little irritated.
"Hm?"
Cecil looked at Jovian, puzzled.
"When you find him, notify me," Jovian said, face stern. His gaze was sharp enough to cut steel, like a volcano on the verge of erupting. "I'll make him regret ever being born into this world."
"I will."
Cecil stared at Jovian for a few seconds in silence, then gave a small nod.
"Cecil, you have the nerve—!"
Debbie, who had been sitting by the bedside gripping Nolan's large hand, shot to her feet the moment she saw Cecil. She glared at him with open fury, as if in her eyes Cecil was anything but a good man.
"Just now, the Guardians of the Globe were wiped out!"
"Everyone's bodies were torn apart—Nolan is the only one still alive!"
"We don't know why Nolan was at the Guardians' headquarters, but what we're seeing is real."
"Right now, we're waiting—waiting for Nolan to wake up and tell us what happened."
Cecil sounded exhausted. If there was anyone on Earth who was the most desperate at this moment, it was him. The Guardians were gone. Omni-Man might not even wake up. And right now was the thinnest Earth's defenses had ever been—if supervillains chose this moment to strike… honestly, the planet might end up with a new owner.
"… "
Mark, Jovian, and Debbie all fell silent.
Debbie's silence came from distrust—she didn't trust Cecil. Mark's silence came from his brain trying to process information that was way beyond what someone his age should have to absorb. Jovian's silence was because he was holding back laughter—doing everything in his power not to laugh out loud…
"… "
To Cecil, it looked like three grieving people using silence to stitch themselves back together.
"In fact, our current theory is that a supervillain lured Nolan to the Guardians' headquarters—planning to eliminate all of them in one move…"
Cecil continued, revealing internal details.
"Why?!" Mark demanded, fists clenched tight. He couldn't understand how anyone could be that evil.
"Why? That's a good question."
"Every supervillain in this world wants the Guardians of the Globe—and Omni-Man—dead."
"Sigh…"
"In any case, we're doing everything we can to keep it under wraps. But the news will get out eventually. That's why we notified you first—Mark, and Jovian."
Cecil let out another heavy sigh. If there was anyone in this room who wanted Omni-Man to stand up more than anyone else, it was him. Mark, Debbie, and Jovian had family ties to Nolan. But Cecil knew something they didn't: if Omni-Man—the single greatest deterrent—was gone, what kind of hell this planet could turn into.
"Bring me ice water, ice, and a folding cot," Debbie said, unwavering. "I'm staying here to take care of him."
"… "
"Alright."
Cecil couldn't withstand the steel in Debbie's eyes. He nodded.
"Director—downtown is under attack! The enemy has heavy weapons. They're requesting backup!"
Right as Cecil was talking, the blond man in the suit and sunglasses—Cecil's subordinate—had his lenses flash with a cold blue glow. He'd received an urgent report: downtown was being attacked.
"Now?!"
"Damn it—right now we don't have any superheroes we can dispatch."
Cecil deliberately raised his voice. On the surface he was talking to his subordinate, but in reality he was saying it for Mark and Jovian to hear.
"… "
Mark looked at Nolan, then at Debbie, then at Jovian. In the end, he didn't say a word—he simply turned and walked out of the hospital room.
"Mark…"
Jovian watched his brother leave, brows tightening, but he still said nothing.
Jovian leaned back against the wall and stayed there quietly with Debbie, while Nolan lay in bed as his body's cells steadily repaired themselves.
Yes—truthfully, Nolan didn't even need treatment. Luckily, he'd been brought to the hospital quickly. Otherwise, with Viltrumite physiology, this level of injury would've healed up in about a day anyway…
"Jovian, I've got this," Debbie said, still gripping Nolan's rough, powerful hand. "Don't worry."
"Go check on your brother."
"Mom… I'm worried some supervillain might attack here…"
Jovian put on the performance of a worried kid to perfection—showing a son's fear for his parents.
"Haha…"
"Relax. This is the safest place in the world. If a day ever comes when this isn't safe, then nowhere is. Go, Jovian. Go where you need to go."
Debbie turned and looked at him with encouragement.
If Mark was going out to save people, Debbie couldn't help but worry—Mark's temperament and strength still weren't mature. But if it was Jovian… Debbie felt completely at ease, because this child of hers was outstanding.
"Alright…"
"I'll be back in one minute."
Jovian glanced at Debbie, then walked out of the room.
"I'll be here," Debbie said, watching his back.
The tight knot in Debbie's chest finally loosened a little—because in Jovian, she could see Nolan's shadow.
"Picking up some energy while I'm out isn't a bad deal."
With that thought, Jovian flew toward downtown—where beams of light kept lancing into the sky and the whole place was a true warzone.
When Jovian arrived, he happened to see Mark down in a crater, holding an elderly man as he cried alone… and the Teen Team pinned down under overwhelming firepower…
And a group of green-skinned aliens—so stereotypical it was almost funny—like they'd crawled straight out of an old sci-fi comic and into the real world.
"Looks like you could use a little help…"
Just as the Teen Team was about to call for support, a man with a huge F emblazoned across his chest descended from the sky, framed by the sun behind him!