Rest Easy, Rex!

Golden sunlight beat down on the Free Nation's flag as it fluttered in the wind!

One famous superhero after another sat in orderly rows among the countless seats in the plaza, accompanied by their families. Everyone remained silent, paying tribute in their own way to the greatest heroes in the world—the fallen Global Guardians.

Near the center, Mark, Deborah, and Jupiter sat quietly together.

"Whoosh! Boom..."

In the silence, two of the Free Nation's finest fighter jets roared overhead. Between them, a man cut across the sky: the strongest person on the planet, Omni-Man Nolan!

He flew between the jets, then slowly descended, the sunlight shining above him.

At last, he landed at the podium, which bore the Global Defense Bureau's insignia.

"To protect this world, I've fought in all kinds of unbelievable battles. I've defeated alien overlords, faced nightmares from the depths of hell, and gone toe-to-toe with ancient, powerful gods who walked the earth and sought to enslave humanity once more!"

"But no matter what enemy I fought, I knew I wasn't alone. Darkwing, King of the Sea, War Woman, Crimson Speed, Green Ghost, Immortal Man, Martian Man—all the members of the Global Guardians..."

"Today, we've lost giants, protectors, heroes!"

"You can't help but ask yourselves: now that the Guardians are gone, who can you turn to for help?!"

"I can tell you right here: I can! And so can my children! A new generation of heroes is answering the call!"

At the podium, Nolan glanced toward Jupiter below.

"Mark, we're going up there!"

Jupiter understood what Nolan meant. He stood and patted Mark on the shoulder.

"What? Go up there?! Now?! In our regular clothes?"

Mark looked down at his suit, utterly baffled. No one had told him he'd be part of this globally televised speech.

"Of course we're going up in our superhero suits. The people need us."

Jupiter produced two superhero suits.

"Uh... All right!"

Mark stared at the suits for a few seconds, then nodded.

A few seconds later, Mark and Jupiter, now in their suits, descended from the sky and landed beside Nolan.

"Free Man, Invincible Young Hero..."

Nolan introduced Jupiter and Mark by their hero names.

"We didn't fight alone before, and we certainly won't be alone now!"

"A new generation of superheroes has risen!"

"They hate evil and will never let it run rampant just because the Guardians are gone!"

Nolan's voice rang with passion.

"When you face danger, hold fast to your faith, and don't forget to look up at the sky..."

When he finished, Nolan patted Mark and Jupiter on the shoulders.

The next second, the three of them burst through the air and soared into the sky...

"So Nolan turned a broadcast meant to let the whole world mourn the Global Guardians into a star show for himself and his sons?! What does he take us for?! Damn alien bastard..."

Yes, Mark hadn't known he'd be going onstage, and neither had Celsus. He hadn't known Nolan would call his two sons up and introduce them to the entire world.

It was as if Nolan had deliberately used his children to climb over the Global Guardians' bodies...

Celsus wore a dark expression, like the sky outside the building, which was gradually turning from clear to cloudy. He had to start considering what Nolan thought of Jupiter, and whether Nolan had played any part in the Global Guardians' deaths. Now he suspected that Nolan's entire family might be implicated in their deaths.

After the morning broadcast ended, a light rain began to fall, as if the whole world were silently weeping in grief for the fallen superheroes of the Global Guardians.

At the heroes' cemetery, Nolan, Mark, Jupiter, and Deborah stood with the families of all the superheroes. They wore black suits and held umbrellas, watching in silence as the heroes were laid to rest.

The rain went "drip, drip, drip," beating against everyone's hearts.

Eight coffins lay in orderly rows on the lawn...

Yes, eight coffins in all. Besides those of the Global Guardians—Darkwing, King of the Sea, Crimson Speed, Green Ghost, War Woman, Martian Man, and Immortal Man—there was one more for Rex...

Normally, Rex would never have qualified to be buried alongside the seven legendary veterans of the Global Guardians.

But at Jupiter's insistence, Rex had earned the honor of being laid to rest beside seven superheroes whose fame had reached across the world!

"You can thank me, Rex!"

"From now on, you won't be some nobody. At the very least, when people come to the cemetery to lay flowers for the Guardians, kind and generous folks will ask why there are eight coffins when the Guardians had only seven members. Once the staff explain, maybe they'll even put a few extra pretty flowers on your grave~"

Jupiter gazed at Rex's grave with a hint of teasing in his eyes.

"Rex..."

Eve watched Rex being laid to rest, her face twisted with grief. Thinking back, she realized she hadn't spoken to him for a whole month. If she'd known he was going to die, she should've been more forgiving.

Eve gazed at the grave and took a few steps forward. The rain-soaked ground was both wet and slippery, and in her high heels, she lost her footing and began to stumble.

"Watch your step, Eve."

Jupiter gently steadied Eve and warned her.

"Jupiter, on behalf of the Viltrumite Youth Group, thank you for making sure Rex could receive the same honors as the heroes."

Eve looked at Jupiter, wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes, and thanked him.

"You don't need to thank me. Rex was a hero in his own right."

"Sometimes he cracked jokes at the wrong time, but I knew he was a good person."

"I'll carry on the Guardians' legacy, and Rex's too, so you don't need to worry."

Jupiter gently pulled Eve into his arms, drawing her close as he calmly watched Rex being laid to rest.

"Thank you, Jupiter. With you here, I feel so much safer."

Eve had initially resisted when Jupiter had suddenly pulled her into his arms, but after hearing what he said, she stopped resisting.

"Rest easy, Rex..."

"Eve and the Viltrumite Youth Group are in my hands now. You just focus on getting stronger down in hell. Use the lava in purgatory to scrub that foul mouth of yours—the one that insults everyone, no matter the time or place!"

Jupiter looked at Rex being laid to rest alongside the Global Guardians' superheroes, his expression utterly calm. After all, he was the one who had killed just about everyone lying here. Did he feel guilty and miserable for ending the lives of all these heroes? He did feel pretty miserable—because he was having such a hard time holding back his laughter. If this damn funeral didn't end soon, he'd hurt himself trying not to laugh...