Canman flew as fast as he could.
He had long broken the sound barrier. He didn't care. Millions of lives were on the line. He needed to reach Empire City fast. Zee City won't happen again.
Galan won't win again.
As he traversed the clouds, memories flooded his mind. Memories of facing the creature the first time. Treating it as just another big monster. Besting it quite easily. The cheers of the people he saved. The smiles on the children's faces as they looked up at him.
Like a hero. A savior.
A God...
And how quickly it all vanished. How it all turned to darkness. All because it was a sore loser.
His thoughts were interrupted by the unmistakable ringing of his Can phone. Canman ignored it. It rang again, louder, vibrating even more ferociously on his shoulder. He couldn't help but pick it up now. He saw the name on the screen and cursed.
"What is it, Payne?! I'm in the middle of something."
"Well, whatever it is, you need to drop it. Now. The Society is launching the biggest assault in years, and we need you here to lead the charge."
"Charge? What are you talking about?"
He could hear Payne scoff. "Of course you aren't aware. I can't trust Fiona to do anything."
"Payne?"
"We've tracked Broker's lair. Your vigilante friend, Archer, he infiltrated the base and got its location for us. It's deep in that wasteland we used to call Zee City. His whereabouts are unknown, though. What we do know is Broker is in Empire City right now dealing with the Danger Squad. This could be our chance to take them down."
"Yeah. I know. I'm heading there right now."
"Broker's lair?"
"Empire City."
"Cammy! Are you crazy?! Bump told us explicitly not to get involved in this affair. Why are you defying him?"
"Because the Broker called Galan."
There was an awkward pause. Canman soon realized that Payne didn't know what to say. Canman thought he was probably caught off guard by that.
"I know. I saw."
In reality, he wasn't.
"What?"
"It's all over the news. The Danger Squad seem to have it handled. A little sloppily, I might say, but they're keeping the creature at bay."
"At bay? At bay?! Payne, are you listening to yourself? This thing killed millions of people. It's going to kill millions more if it reaches land. Keeping it at bay isn't going to stop it!"
"I know, but that's Milten's problem. We have our mission, so stay out of it."
"You're really going to let millions die just because Bump told you to?"
"Cammy..."
"You disgust me."
Canman hung up the phone and flew even faster. Suddenly, he heard a ping from one of his cans. He gave a sigh of relief. He threw the can into the air in front of him and it exploded soon after, forming a giant portal. Canman flew through it and appeared in Empire City seconds later.
At that moment, he took in the scene.
Galan was down. Both his legs were gone, one sliced off by what appeared to be some kind of laser and the other turned to stone. The creature was smart enough to rip out its own leg before the infection spread. The Broker wasn't looking so good either, reduced to nothing but a puddle of blood and gore.
At least Payne and the government don't need to worry about him anymore.
The Danger Squad wasn't looking too good either. Blue Shadow was fishing out an unconscious, naked woman from a warehouse, probably a teammate who gave her life fighting Galan.
Poor soul.
Obsidian was holding an unconscious Sharkwoman and...
Zack?
Canman nearly threw up in his mouth. It happened again. He was too late. Because of him, another one of Rocket's pupils was going to die. Just like Rocket did.
Canman had enough. He turned toward the creature as its limbs were regenerating and prepared to throw one of his offensive cans at it. Suddenly, he stopped.
A figure in shining gold armor appeared, bearing a large "W" on his chest.
"Warzone?" Canman said. That couldn't be. Broker had killed him when this incident began. Why was he...
No.
"Milten?"
Warzone turned toward Canman and gave a playful salute. Then he turned toward the creature. He extended his arms, and from them came several missile launchers. They bombarded Galan with a stream of missiles, enough firepower to level entire city blocks. Galan could barely do anything to block them. Enraged, the creature shot a blue beam at him, a beam made of the same energy that leveled Zee City. Warzone kept his arms extended but opened his palms to reveal two small holes.
Once the beam reached him, it got sucked into his arms. Canman's jaw dropped. That energy wasn't like anything he had seen before. It had the ability to reverse time on its target, bringing them to the point before they even existed. And somehow, Warzone was absorbing it.
What the hell was that golden suit?
Once he absorbed all the energy, his body glowed a bright blue, emphasized by the even brighter golden plating. He then released all the energy back at Galan. The creature tried to crawl to the mainland, but its efforts were futile.
In a moment, it was disintegrated. Nothing remained. No trace of blood or bone. Not even a ripple. Just like that island. Just like Zee City.
It was over. Warzone had won.
Warzone turned toward a nearby news chopper that covered the scene. He removed his mask to reveal the man hiding underneath. As Canman suspected, it was Milten.
That slimy bastard.
Just as he got closer, Milten turned toward Canman and smiled. Knowing this wouldn't be a good look for him, Canman turned away and left. His job here was done.
Little did he know, Milten chuckled as he did.
As he flew away from the city, he felt his can phone ring again. He knew instinctively it was Payne again. He was right. He threw the phone into the ocean and kept flying....
3 hours later, 5000 miles from the nearest city...
"Are you okay, honey?" Kelly said to her husband as she opened the door for him.
"I'm fine, dear. Where's Kal?" Cammy asked his wife as he stepped inside. He closed the door before any critters could get in. Who knows what could be hiding in that forest.
"He's in his room watching the news. It wasn't looking good."
"I know."
"Are you gonna..."
"Head out there? Help out? I already did."
"And what happened?"
"Oh my God! Dad?!"
Suddenly, Cammy's son Kal rushed to meet his father. It had been months since he'd seen the boy. He wasn't expecting him to grow so big.
"Hey, son! How are you?"
"I'm awesome, dad. It's been so long!"
"I know, son. I know. I'm so sorry I don't visit you. I'm a terrible father."
"Don't say that, dad. I know why you can't. You're the world's greatest..."
"No, no... enough of that now. It's family time."
"But dad! Something insane just happened over at Empire City!"
"Oh... uh, yeah?"
"Yeah! You see that monster that destroyed Zee City? The fucker that caught you off guard?"
"Kal! Language!" Kelly said, grabbing him by the ear.
"Ow! Okay! Sorry, mom. I got a little too excited."
"Let him talk, Kelly. I'm sure he didn't mean it."
"Yeah!"
"Whatever. I'm gonna get us some grub," Kelly sighed and headed toward the kitchen. She then pulled out some freshly cooked deer she hunted from the fridge.
"So, what was this about that monster?"
"Yeah! The Danger Squad tried to fight him off. They were awesome. I don't know why Blue Shadow couldn't help out, though. He's my favorite."
"Oh? What about Green Guardian?"
"Eh... he's alright. Anyway, later after the team managed to cripple it, this golden guy appeared out of nowhere wearing Warzone's symbol. That didn't make sense, since Broker had clearly killed Warzone to bait the Danger Squad into a fight."
"I see," Canman said, his innocent smile fading. "They really exposed so much violence for the world to see?"
"He was awesome, dad! He sucked in that giant beam Galan shot at him and fired it back. Next thing you know, Galan's gone like he wasn't even there! And you wanna know the best part? It turns out the new Warzone is the Danger Squad's sponsor, Milten! I never knew billionaires could be so cool!"
Canman tried his very hardest to keep his smile. Hearing his own son describe Milten in such a way made him nearly choke on his own vomit.
"That's good to hear, but let's not dwell on it. We've got so much catching up to do," Canman said, changing the topic.
Kal smiled and followed his father to the kitchen. As the two walked away, Payne sighed. From a few miles away, he observed the scene with his binoculars. As he got up to leave, his phone rang.
"You got him, Payne?"
"Yes, sir. No surprise he'd be here to let off some steam. Over."
"Well, at least we know where he is. That's a start. Head back to base and make sure he doesn't see you. We can't let him know we're aware of his secret family. And besides, you have an army to lead."
Payne sighed again and hung up the phone. He then packed his gear and headed to his secret jet. Bump was right. He had a war to lead. And if it went well... this could be his biggest chance to overthrow Canman.
To be continued...