"Galan..." Amy Armstrong said, beginning her news report.
She took another look at the monster and turned away soon after in disgust. It was a gigantic, 60-meter-tall horror that resembled a shark with arms and legs instead of fins. It had one large fin on the top of its back, covered head to toe in large black spikes. Its tail looked the same way.
"The creature that destroyed Zee City so long ago. The only creature to ever defeat Canman. It's here... oh God..."
Before she could continue, the cameraman cut the feed and dragged a finger across his neck. Amy got the message immediately. She composed herself and started her report again.
"This is Amy Armstrong with Empire News. A few minutes ago, we witnessed the Danger Squad's gruesome battle with the Broker and his legions. However, I'm here at the docks to report the arrival of a much greater threat..."
Another quake hit the chopper, causing it to sway from side to side. It took a few seconds for the pilot to get it back under control. Amy's heart was racing.
"Galan the Sea King! How he got here no one knows, but we do know this: he's here to destroy our fair city. We haven't received word from any authorities on the matter due to its sudden appearance, but we hope we do soon. For now, the safety of us all falls on our premier team, the Danger Squad. May God help us all..."
The television went to static soon after. Milten and the kids were all silent. Rift was shivering profusely.
"It's really him. The monster that turned Zee City into a wasteland. He's gonna do the same thing here. What's gonna happen to us?" Omniboy asked, his voice shaking.
"Nothing. The team's got this. We have nothing to worry about. Right, Milten?" Ted said nervously, trying to calm down his brother.
Milten stayed silent. He then got up and left the room. As he passed the door, Ted called to him.
"M... Milten, where are you going?"
"He's leaving the city! He knows we're fucked!" Omniboy shouted, the fear apparent in his voice.
"Shut it, Omniboy. He's not doing that," Ted shouted, not believing his own words. "Yo... you're not leaving the city, are you?"
Milten kept silent for a moment once he stopped at the door. He then turned to the trio and smiled.
"Of course not."
The fear was still present in their faces. Milten ignored it and left the room, Surge not far behind.
"Surge."
"Yes, sir?"
"Get the Warzone Mach II."
"Luthor's second model, sir?"
"Yeah. That one. And Surge?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Play Canman file number 28. The Galan incident."
"Of course, sir..."
Brute was cackling. His cackle boomed across the docks as he bore witness to the harrowing scene. He was still fighting Zack.
"Galan the Sea King! Who would've thought the boss had something so vile under his payroll? Reminds me of the time he called in that alien Wolf," Brute said, tackling Zack to the ground and choking him with his mutoxin-infused hands.
"Wh... what the hell... is that thing...?" Zack asked from the ground. He knew exactly what it was but needed to stall for time to get his second wind.
"They say it's some human-Atlantean hybrid. Beat Canman's ass and destroyed Zee City a couple years back. Didn't know he was so big. You guys are fucked!"
Zack used the distraction to pry Brute's fingers off his neck and grab his wrists.
"Don't worry about us. Your team has been eradicated, sorry to say," Zack said, holding Brute down and beginning to expand in size.
"Y... yeah," Brute said, slowly losing his breath, "... b... but the Broker is still going. As long as he's still going, I..."
"Do you really think he'd pull out something like this if the situation wasn't dire for him?"
Brute was silent. He tried his best to release Zack's grip, but it was too strong, made worse by his constant expansion. In just a few seconds, Zack was 40 meters tall, dwarfing Brute immensely. He let one hand release Brute, as the other was enough to hold him down.
"Y... you could do t... this the... whole time?!" Brute said, getting crushed by Zack's ever-expanding hand.
"Only for a short time. Thanks for the match. It was fun. But I got bigger fish to fry," Zack said, now reaching 45 meters. He stepped on Brute with enough force to knock him out and even form a large crater. He then focused his attention on the giant monster. Still expanding, he ran towards the monster, intent on keeping it from reaching the city.
"M... Max..." Jake said, staring at the monstrosity approaching him and shaking.
"Yeah, Jake?" Max said, staring at the same creature, more curiosity in his eyes than fear.
"Look, I know we're not on the best of terms right now, but we need you to take care of this thing."
"Best of terms? You mean for that little stunt? Why would I be upset about it? That was awesome!" Max said with a smile and patted Jake on the back. "Don't worry. I've been looking to test my new abilities on something. Broker clearly wasn't it, but this guy looks..."
"Can you take anything seriously?" Ivy cut in, shocking the whole group. "Ivy?"
"That monster could destroy the city. Kill us all! And you're acting like it's no big deal? What makes you so sure you can even put a scratch on it? You know what I heard about that thing? It's on Canman's level! Fucking Canman! You really think..."
Max put his finger on her lip.
"Just watch..."
He took a few steps back and charged his red energy. He smiled at the creature and prepared to set off. He then turned to Paulina.
"Should I go, my fearless leader?"
Paulina was at a loss for words. "I... uh..."
"I'll take that as a ye..."
Suddenly, Max's private communicator buzzed. He picked it up immediately. He left it on speaker so the others could hear. He knew this would be something they'd all want to hear.
"Boss?" Max answered the call, genuinely curious as to why Milten would call him now of all times.
"You see that giant monster at the edge of the city, right?"
"Hard not to."
"Good. Don't go after it."
"What?!" Jake, Paulina, and Ivy shouted in unison.
"Let the others try their stuff on it, but don't engage in any way. Got that?" Milten continued, causing Ivy to get on her knees and cry.
"May I ask why, boss?" Max said, confused.
"Just trust me. I know what I'm doing," Milten said, cutting the call.
"Is he insane?!" Jake said, still taking it all in.
"Well, whatever he is, he has his reasons. Seems I have to back off on this one," Max said, taking a seat on the cold, wet concrete floor.
"Bullshit!" Ivy screamed and ran over to grab Max with her free arm. Max smiled.
"Oh?"
"You're dooming everyone in this city because of his cowardice? Who's to say he's not evacuating right now and trying to buy time? Who's to say we're not all fodder to him? Who's to say..."
"Ivy..."
"Oh God, Jake, you were right! He doesn't see us as anything other than... What the fuck is that?!"
Everyone turned to see a 60-meter-tall Zack running by them and rushing to the monster.
"Zack?!" Paulina screamed, her composure immediately returning once she saw Zack. "What the hell is he doing?"
"Didn't know he could grow that big," Jake said in awe of Zack's immense size.
"I didn't either. At least not for as long as now. I've never seen him that big. Usually, he'd gas out and get nauseous if he even attempted it. What could've triggered it?"
"Doesn't matter now. At least we got backup, right?"
"No. I'm certain he's going to turn back to his normal size any minute now," Paulina said bluntly.
Max snickered. Ivy did everything in her power to stop herself from tackling him to the ground and beating him to a pulp. She knew she couldn't do any damage to him, but she needed anything to release her tension. What made it worse was a small voice at the back of her mind telling her to do it. And something else.
Zack approached Galan as quickly as he could for his size, grabbing a nearby warehouse off the ground. Once he was in the water, he noticed Galan had opened his mouth and a light blue energy was radiating out of it. He also noticed he was losing consciousness fast. He wasn't used to this size; he'd never even grown to it before, but that didn't matter.
This thing leveled a city. It bested Canman. Now wasn't the time to fumble. Not with millions of lives on the line.
Just as the creature finished charging, Zack slammed the warehouse into its face, causing it to turn towards a nearby island and shoot a giant blue beam. Once the beam hit the island, it vanished. No debris. No damage. Not even a ripple. The island disappeared like it never even existed. Just like the barren wasteland Zee City was reduced to.
Zack couldn't believe what he was seeing. Sadly, before he could even react, his body gave out, and he shrunk.
"Zack!" Paulina shouted, finally finding her words. She turned towards Stacya, who was in some kind of trance. "Sharkwoman! I need you to..."
Her eyes were focused on Galan. Too focused.
"Stacya!" Paulina said, not even using her codename, and slapping her shoulder. Stacya regained her composure and turned to her.
"Paulina?" she said, now realizing what was happening to Zack.
Before Paulina could give the order, Stacya headed out to save him.
"What the hell was that?!" Ivy shouted, terrified.
"It seems this creature can disintegrate anything with that beam. I can see how it beat Canman now," Max said with a hint of curiosity in his voice.
"Max. I'm begging you, there's no way we can stop this thing. We need your help here."
"Sorry, man. Orders are orders."
"Are you insane? Lives are on the line here and..."
Jake stopped. He took a better look at Max's face. He didn't care. He never cared. The people, the lives... it meant nothing to him. It was all one big game.
"Paulina. Do you have enough energy to deal with it?"
"I... think so. I've got something that could theoretically slow it down, but I'm not sure."
"Slow it down, take it out, hell, putting a dent in it is enough right now. Please."
Paulina quickly obeyed and got on all fours. Her entire body then began to morph.
Stacya swam as fast as she could. Zack was still falling, but she knew she'd reach him before he hit the water. That wasn't her main concern. That was Galan.
That thing was the reason her people were so hated. She remembered all those years ago when she made her debut under Captain Rocket.
The crowd.
How they nearly lynched her. All because of that thing. Just a few months prior to her debut, it appeared for no reason and destroyed an entire city. People say it defeated Canman.
It didn't.
Stacya knew the truth. He defeated it, fairly easily in fact. But it was desperate. Angry. For some odd reason, it wanted to inflict as much chaos and destruction as possible.
It blew itself up, obliterating Zee City. Canman was put in intensive care from the blast. Soon it was revealed the creature was an Atlantean. That's how it all started. That's why she went into hiding for so long. Now it was going to pay.
Stacya jumped out of the ocean and grabbed Zack with one arm. Then she pulled out her spear. Aiming at the creature, she shot the largest blast of lightning she ever had. The blast was so sharp and intense it cut right through its leg, causing it to let out a thunderous roar and fall to one knee.
She licked her lip.
She wanted to keep going and punish it more. She wanted to bite him, feel its flesh in her jaws, taste its blood on her lips. Zack winced in her arm. Stacya stared at him for a moment and turned back to shore. As she approached land, she saw something that caught her eye.
A giant gun. Paulina had turned herself into a giant gun.
Max was laughing at how outlandish she looked. Jake couldn't laugh. Too much was riding on this for him to even smile. He turned to Ivy, hoping she'd reassure him, but she seemed distracted by something. Was she as scared as he was?
The closer he looked, the more he noticed what she was doing. She was talking to her hammer.
"Ivy?! What are you..."
Paulina fired. A giant laser was sent flying out of her muzzle and instantly made contact with the beast's leg, slicing it down to the bone. With one leg severed and the other having a giant hole in it, Galan could barely stand. It let out another roar and fell to the ground, causing a small earthquake as it landed in the ocean.
"Damn, I didn't know you had that in you," Max said with a smirk.
Paulina panted as she turned back to normal.
"Yeah... I... can't... do anything more... at least we slowed it down..."
"Not for long," Max said. The both of them turned to see Galan's severed leg regenerating and the other hole closing. In just a few seconds, it would be back in action.
"M... Max," Paulina called to him nervously. "I know I'm not your boss, but please. There's too much at stake for you to be doing this. We don't know what Milten's plan is, but I doubt it's anything impactful."
Max was silent for a moment. He raised his hand to her and turned to Jake and Ivy. He felt a familiar presence. Jake was holding onto Ivy as tightly as he could. Ivy was covered head to toe in darkness. Max chuckled.
"What the hell is going on?" Paulina said, trying her hardest to get over there.
"It's Ivy... I saw her talking to her hammer and then it cracked. Then the darkness inside consumed her. I wasn't fast enough, I couldn't..."
Max quickly raised his hand to Jake, prompting him to shut up. Even he didn't know why he obeyed.
"Watch," Max said, smiling.
To be continued...