Three o'clock...
"Boom!"
An explosion rang through the entire neighborhood!
Thick smoke billowed from the largest bank in the city!
"Report! A supervillain has attacked the largest bank in the city. If the attack succeeds, our losses will be incalculable..."
At Global Defense Bureau headquarters, an intelligence officer received the report and looked fearfully at Celsus behind him.
"A bunch of pieces of shit!"
Celsus's eyes blazed with fury. The Global Guardians had left this world only a few days ago, and already these damn criminals couldn't sit still.
"Contact Omni-Man Nolan."
Celsus didn't dare waste any time. He gave the order to his subordinates.
"Director, Nolan is in England right now, fighting a fire-breathing snake."
The staff member looked at Celsus, his expression troubled.
"Shit. Who else can we send?"
Celsus rubbed his hair and asked.
"Mark is at school. Maybe we could contact Jupiter, who's gone missing."
Celsus's secretary answered.
"..."
"What about the Viltrumite Youth Group? What are they doing right now?"
Celsus's gaze sharpened. He didn't respond to his secretary.
"Eve from the Viltrumite Youth Group is in class right now, too..."
"Only Robot, Exploding Rex, and Duplicate Kate are on standby at the base."
The secretary tapped away at her tablet and answered Celsus.
"Then send those three..."
Celsus felt like his head was about to explode. The Jupiter situation was still unresolved, and the Global Guardians situation hadn't been dealt with either. Yet these damn supervillains had already started causing trouble everywhere.
"Understood, Director. We've notified the Viltrumite Youth Group..."
The secretary nodded slightly, indicating that she had relayed the situation to the Viltrumite Youth Group.
Meanwhile, at the Viltrumite Youth Group's base...
"Everyone, we've got a mission!"
After receiving the message, Robot passed Celsus's orders on to the others.
"Really? I just finished training..."
At Robot's words, Rex grabbed a towel and roughly wiped the sweat off his body. He hurriedly put on his sewer-worker outfit and went to stand beside Robot, ready for action.
"The enemy attacked the largest bank in the city..."
"Mark and Eve are both at school, and Omni-Man is saving the planet. Right now, we're the only ones who can stop them."
Robot explained their mission to Rex.
"So that means that arrogant Jupiter guy isn't around, right? Hahaha... Leave it to me!"
"It's time for the great Rex to show off!"
Rex laughed loudly. He figured he'd finally found a chance to prove himself. When Jupiter was around, every fight seemed like Jupiter's personal show, with Rex relegated to the sidelines. That wasn't what he wanted—and now his chance had come...
"I hope you'll take this seriously. Jupiter isn't with us this time, so any one of us could die."
Robot spoke to Rex sternly.
"You don't have to tell me."
Rex waved him off. I know that already.
"..."
Robot looked at Rex's arrogant expression and knew he didn't understand at all. But he wasn't Rex's parent, and it wasn't his job to teach Rex a lesson. Besides, saying too much would only make Rex defiant.
Robot Jack activated the system and summoned a maglev hoverboard. They would ride it to take down the supervillains.
Meanwhile, at the city's largest bank...
"This is wonderful~"
Lightning Man tossed a huge stack of bills into the air. The green banknotes rained down around him.
"Hey! Quit fooling around. If the superheroes show up, we're finished!"
At Lightning Man's side, a supervillain holding an Electro-melt Gun and a man covered in endless streams of magma—like a weaker version of Akainu—warned him.
"Relax~"
"No one's going to bother us today."
Lightning Man strode forward confidently. He'd never felt that robbing a bank could be so easy. He felt no pressure at all.
"Huh!?"
Magma Man and the man with the Electro-melt Gun exchanged glances, unsure what Lightning Man meant.
"Haha..."
"I have my sources. You just need to follow me."
Seeing the confusion on their faces, Lightning Man looked rather pleased with himself. He knew no one would believe him even if he told them. The superheroes who always fought the worst of the worst weren't as noble as they seemed. Underneath, they were all beasts in human skin. All things considered, supervillains like them—who owned up to their motives and acted for profit—were more honorable~
"Now, use your magma to melt open these vault doors! I mean every single one of them!"
Lightning Man ordered Magma Man.
"Fine!"
After hearing Lightning Man's assurances, Magma Man nodded. His body instantly turned into flowing magma, which surged toward the vault and began to melt through it.
"Hey, you little crooks! Your grandpa Rex is here!"
Just as the three men watched the vault expectantly, a shout rang out, and several darts struck Magma Man.
"Boom!"
The moment the darts hit him, an explosion roared. Magma Man's body was blown apart, scattering in every direction...
"An attack!?"
Lightning Man and the man holding the Electro-melt Gun immediately turned toward the blast, ready for a fight.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
At the same time, the scattered parts of Magma Man's body bubbled like magma. A second later, they flowed back together and re-formed.
"Hey! Didn't you say no one would bother us?"
Magma Man turned back into a man and glanced at the person who had attacked him. He frowned and looked sideways at Lightning Man, making his dissatisfaction clear.
"He's just a nobody..."
"Take him out!"
Lightning Man watched Rex rush toward them, loosened his muscles, and ordered his companions to attack.
"Don't order me around..."
Magma Man glared at Lightning Man. They were partners, not superior and subordinate.
"Kid, that hurt like hell..."
"Have you figured out how you want to die?"
Magma Man stretched his muscles and stepped in front of Rex. His body instantly became a three-meter-tall magma giant, looming over Rex.
"Whoa~ A magma freak!"
"First, I need to explain two things to you."
"First, I'm not a nobody."
"Second, I'm not alone!"
As he spoke, Rex pulled a thirty-centimeter stick from behind him and threw it at Magma Man.
"Boom!"
An explosion went off, and Magma Man's entire right arm was blasted to pieces.
"I told you, that hurt..."
Magma Man looked at his right arm, his expression darkening. He swung his left arm at Rex.
"Look over here, big guy!"
Just as Magma Man was about to strike, he seemed to hear a series of electronic beeps.
"Hm!?"
Magma Man turned toward the sound and saw an orange robot holding a huge fire extinguisher, staring at him expressionlessly.
"Shit..."
Magma Man's expression changed when he saw the extinguisher in the robot's hands.
"Pshh!"
A second later, the robot activated the fire extinguisher. White foam splattered across Magma Man's face.
"Help me!"
Magma Man covered his face. He couldn't see a thing.
"Idiot!"
Lightning Man and the man with the Electro-melt Gun looked at Magma Man covered in foam as if he were a fool.
They both shifted into fighting stances...
Lightning Man prepared to unleash his electricity, while the man with the Electro-melt Gun aimed his weapon.
"Where are you looking?"
Just as the man with the Electro-melt Gun was grinning lecherously, ready to fire, a hoarse female voice suddenly sounded beside him.
"Hm!?"
His lecherous grin froze. He immediately turned toward the voice.
"Die!"
A small fist answered him.
"Ugh..."
The man with the Electro-melt Gun was instantly punched to the ground.
"Damn it..."
Lightning Man looked at the mushroom-haired girl who had suddenly appeared and the man who'd been knocked down with one punch. His gaze sharpened as he cursed, preparing to take her out himself.
"Hey! Where are you looking!?"
Before Lightning Man could use his special move, several darts struck him.
"Boom!"
An explosion sent Lightning Man flying.
"Bastards..."
"All of you bastards!"
Lightning Man cursed as he pushed himself up from the ground.
"I suggest you surrender now!"
"Your companions have already been subdued by mine. Just like I said, I'm not alone."
Rex held a dart and lightly tossed it from hand to hand as he walked up to Lightning Man. A smile tugged at his lips; he seemed certain he'd won.
"..."
Lightning Man said nothing. He looked at Magma Man, who had been defeated by the robot and its fire extinguisher, then at the man with the Electro-melt Gun, who was pinned to the ground by five mushroom-haired girls, each with a different number on her chest. He knew he was the only one left.
"A bunch of useless idiots!"
"Looks like I have to do everything myself!"
Anger flashed in Lightning Man's eyes. As his fury grew, the lights in the room began to flicker—bright, then dim—as if reflecting his volatile mood.
"You want a duel? Fine, I accept..."
Exploding Rex pulled two sticks from behind him. As he activated his power, they began to glow.
"I'll kill you all..."
Lightning Man roared. Endless bolts of lightning crackled through the room, and every electrical device in the entire bank building failed at once.
Darkness swallowed everyone.
"Boom!"
The instant darkness fell, a deafening explosion rang out. The terrifying shock wave sent countless copies of Duplicate Kate flying. The only body that wasn't thrown back immediately dropped to the ground to take cover...
A few seconds later, everything seemed to go quiet.
"Rex, Robot, are you okay?"
When Kate saw that the sudden shock wave had passed, she immediately got up. But, experienced as she was, she didn't stand straight. She stayed crouched, feeling her way forward as she checked whether her companions were safe.
"I'm okay, Kate, but something's pinning me down. I can't move right now..."
Robot immediately answered, letting Kate know he was fine.
"Okay, don't move. I'm coming to help you..."
"Oh, right—Rex! Rex, what about you!?"
Kate breathed a sigh of relief when Robot answered. But when Rex still didn't respond, worry immediately gripped her again.
"Bzzzt..."
Just as Kate continued to crouch and call Rex's name, the lights above them finally came back on.
As the light returned, everyone could finally see what was in front of them...
When the room brightened, Kate saw a pair of orange pants. She knew them all too well. They belonged to Rex.
"Rex, there you are! I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Why didn't you answer when I called you just now?"
Kate saw the pants and happily raised herself up. The moment she did, she finally understood why Rex hadn't answered.
That orange-yellow figure had limbs and a torso, but lacked the one thing needed for speech and thought...
"Fuck!"
Kate raised her head and stared at the body, which had lost the most important part of a human being. Bright red blood kept pouring from it, yet it still stood perfectly upright without falling. She cursed, two tear tracks running from the corners of her eyes.
"..."
Lightning Man silently watched Kate cry, silently watched the headless horseman topple before him, then silently glanced at the gaping hole smashed into his chest. Summoning the last of his strength, he turned around.
Behind him was a huge hole, more than a meter across...
"Fuck!"
Lightning Man stared at the hole behind him and cursed with the last of his strength. Then he crashed to the ground, never to rise again.
"..."
Crushed beneath countless safes, Robot's eyes flickered with signals. His night vision let him see everything clearly: a fist-sized rock had smashed through the wall behind Lightning Man, punched a hole through his chest, and taken Rex's head out along the way. It had finally landed on the floor, and the enormous shockwave had brought about everything before him...
"A meteor!?"
Robot thought it over for a moment. He found it a little ridiculous. A meteor had caused all this!?
Outer space...
"That pitch definitely deserves a perfect score."
Jupiter floated quietly in the endless starry sky. If he said Rex would die today, then Rex definitely wouldn't make it to tomorrow...
Nothing that seemed like a coincidence was ever really a coincidence...
Jupiter became a streak of light in the starry sky and headed for Britain to help his father deal with that fire-breathing snake. He'd made a pretty good pitch today, so they absolutely had to feast tonight—a whole-snake banquet.
Before you continue