The next day, Mark walked out of his room with dark circles under his eyes.
"Hey! Mom, and big bro..."
Mark looked at Deborah and Jupiter, who were eating in the dining room, and tried his best to open his eyes wider.
"My God, Mark, those dark circles are awful. Did you not sleep well last night? Is something bothering you?!"
Deborah looked worried as she took in the dark circles Mark couldn't hide.
"No, no, nothing like that. I'm fine."
Mark shook his head repeatedly and did his best to look more alert.
"Don't worry, Mom! Mark's just too excited!"
"Just like when we were in elementary school—Mark would always lose sleep before a field trip. He's just too excited about getting his own Battle Suit, so he couldn't sleep..."
Jupiter crossed his legs, sipping his coffee as he looked at the bleary-eyed Mark.
"Enough, big bro. I'm not an elementary school kid getting ready for a field trip anymore."
After Jupiter exposed him, Mark immediately felt embarrassed.
"Heh..."
"Look at the time. You're going to be late, Mark."
"Mom, I'm heading out..."
Jupiter ignored Mark's embarrassment. He stood up, picked up his schoolbag, and left with a cool flourish.
"Be careful on your way, Jupiter."
Deborah smiled faintly as she watched Jupiter leave through the door.
"Oh, sh*t, how is it this late already?!"
After hearing Jupiter's warning, Mark checked the time and his eyes widened. Jupiter was right—he was about to be late...
"Mark, watch your language."
Deborah heard Mark use a certain unspeakable word. Her eyes flashed with anger as she looked at him.
"Sorry, Mom."
"I can't waste any more time. I'm going to be late. By the way, Mom, have you seen my clothes?!"
Mark raised an eyebrow at Deborah and asked.
"Find your own clothes..."
Deborah folded her arms across her chest, looking displeased.
"Today, we'll continue where we left off in the last lesson..."
The balding old teacher stood at the front of the classroom, spraying spit as he droned on...
Jupiter looked listless. Unlike Mark, who was too excited to sleep, he simply wasn't interested in what the teacher was talking about.
"Whoosh!"
Just as Jupiter closed his eyes to rest and prepare for the afternoon's battle, he suddenly heard a whooshing sound beside him.
Jupiter instinctively looked out the window and happened to see a figure "sneaking" down from the sky.
It was Mark, fresh from washing up.
"My foolish little brother was late after all."
Jupiter watched the figure descend and shook his head helplessly. Even after gaining superhuman powers, Mark was still so careless. It just wasn't right...
That afternoon, while everyone was enjoying their lunch break, Jupiter used going to the bathroom as an excuse to slip out of school.
Jupiter went to pick up his suit first, and then...
Meanwhile, an emergency meeting calling the entire Global Guardians together was being organized around the world...
On a beautiful hillside, a pretty woman was on a date with a sunny, ambitious man. They were sharing beers and chatting, clearly enjoying each other's company...
But the moment the woman turned away, the man suddenly changed outfits. His casual plaid shirt, shorts, and sneakers became a crimson leather suit.
"Good heavens! You couldn't even give me one minute?!"
The woman looked at the man's outfit, angry. She felt he was being disrespectful.
"Oh, I'm sorry..."
The man's expression changed as he looked at what he was wearing. He'd forgotten to change back—his mistake. In that brief minute, he'd not only changed clothes, but also dealt with a gang of thugs five kilometers away. Unfortunately, he'd been in such a rush that he'd forgotten to change back...
"We need to talk..."
The woman was angry. She needed to have a serious conversation with her boyfriend. She wanted him to understand that she could accept him being a superhero and supported him unconditionally, but she hoped he'd understand that he was a woman's boyfriend—and future husband and father—before he was a so-called superhero.
"Beep, beep, beep..."
Just as the woman was about to say something, the watch on the man's wrist suddenly began to ring.
"I'm sorry, darling, but I have to go! The Guardians are calling me!"
The man looked at his watch, his expression grave.
"Sigh..."
The woman sighed helplessly.
"You go..."
Before she could finish, the man—already back in his tight leather suit—had vanished from the spot.
"Sh*t!"
The woman cursed angrily at the empty space beside her. She was furious, but there was nothing she could do. Her boyfriend was the fastest man in the world, the famous Crimson Speed!
Elsewhere, in the endless depths of the sea...
A figure sat dozing on a throne, a trident in his hand...
He was a fish-man, like the one from Stephen Chow's Mermaid—the kind whose upper half was a fish and lower half was a man, drawn by one of the two police officers in the movie! He had a head just like a fish!
He was incredibly bored, and it was driving him crazy...
He wasn't just an ordinary fish-man, but the ruler of this sea and the King of Atlantis! People called him the King of the Sea!
"Beep, beep, beep..."
Just as the King of the Sea yawned, the watch on his wrist finally rang.
"Hahaha..."
"Wonderful! A mission!"
The King of the Sea laughed. A bubble escaped his mouth and became an arrow as he sped through the water toward the Guardians' headquarters.
Besides Crimson Speed and the King of the Sea...
Darkwing, publicly the richest man in the Lighthouse Free Nation but secretly a masked vigilante in the Free Nation's freest city, received the call to head to the Global Guardians after dealing with his enemies.
War Woman, a world-famous businesswoman and a Demigod who constantly worked to help the world, had already taken to the skies as soon as she got the message.
Martian Man, who had been playing with his children, and the girl who was publicly a photographer but secretly Green Ghost...
The Guardians' members, who all became superheroes in times of crisis, each had their own jobs in their daily lives. They blended into society, living alongside the people they protected on this blue planet...
When they received the call to assemble, they all put everything aside and headed to the Guardians' headquarters—including Immortal Man, who flew in the sky every day, flew in the sky whenever danger arose, and seemed to spend all his time flying in the sky...
"Whoosh!"
When a whoosh sounded in everyone's ears, Darkwing, whose superpower was "rich," jumped down from his plane and landed in front of the Guardians.
"Darkwing, why did you summon us?"
The superpowered Guardians had been waiting at the headquarters for quite some time. They'd already discussed it: nobody else had called them, so the only one who could have issued the summons was Darkwing, who couldn't fly and had arrived by plane.
"I didn't..."
But what happened next shocked everyone. Darkwing stepped down from his plane, looked at the assembled group, and his first words were to deny summoning them.
"Then who called us?"
Immortal Man frowned and looked around in confusion, wondering who had summoned the world's strongest superhero team.
He still hadn't realized how serious the situation was. In his thousand- or even ten-thousand-year-long life, he'd always been the strongest person on the planet. When the Guardians assembled, they were invincible! There wasn't an enemy on the planet who would dare attack when they were all together, let alone lure them together to wipe them out...
"Whoosh!"
Just as Immortal Man was wondering what was going on, a whooshing sound came from behind him!
A figure radiating terrifying pressure was flying through the air at high speed, straight toward Immortal Man.
"Look out..."
Crimson Speed's keen senses instantly detected the fast-moving figure. He quickly grabbed Immortal Man and whisked him aside, saving him from having his head blown off.
"Omni-Man!"
At the same time, everyone noticed the figure who'd attacked Immortal Man. Their eyes widened in disbelief. The murderous figure swinging his fists at them was none other than Nolan, the strongest person on the planet and the world's greatest superhero: Omni-Man.
"What's wrong with him?"
Green Ghost's legs weakened at the sight of Omni-Man. As his teammate, she knew just how powerful he was. When he was on her side, she'd always felt safe. Now that he was their enemy, she was terrified.
"Omni-Man, what's wrong with you?"
War Woman looked at Omni-Man in confusion.
"Omni-Man wouldn't attack me. He must be under mind control. Damn it..."
Immortal Man swore that he hated this stronger man who always stole his thunder, but he had to admit that Omni-Man was the most honorable person on the planet. He would never attack the Global Guardians. So he was sure Omni-Man had been mind-controlled. It made sense—he'd been controlled himself before...
"Whatever's happened, we have to find a way to stop him. A mad Omni-Man—my God, just imagining it gives me chills!"
Crimson Speed shook his head. He couldn't imagine how much damage a crazed Omni-Man could do to Earth. Could he destroy the surface and wipe out all of humanity in an instant?!
"Right!"
After hearing Crimson Speed, everyone became serious. They decided to work together and defeat the strongest person on the planet.
"Whoosh!"
But just as everyone stood facing Omni-Man, holding their breath and braced for battle, a whooshing sound came from behind them.
"Surprise! Motherf*cker!"
A burly man with a huge F printed on his chest rushed straight toward War Woman's head.
"Damn it!"
Crimson Speed was the first to react. He immediately spun around and dove, knocking War Woman—who was holding Mjolnir—to the ground.
The fist of the burly man who'd flown in from behind them missed.
"What?"
Everyone stared wide-eyed at the figure who'd suddenly appeared behind them, dressed in white with a red cape and a huge F on his chest.
They saw a resemblance to Nolan, but this young man looked younger and... maybe even more muscular?!
"Two Omni-Men?"
Immortal Man turned to look at the burly man with the huge F on his chest, completely dumbfounded. One Omni-Man was enough to make the entire Global Guardians fight with everything they had. Two Omni-Men? Heh, what the hell were they supposed to do against that?!
The moment Immortal Man turned around, his gaze suddenly went hazy. When he came to, he saw his body spraying ketchup everywhere...
"I... Did I f*cking die?"
Immortal Man froze. His brain, deprived of its blood supply, soon stopped thinking...
That's right. The moment Immortal Man turned around, he'd forgotten that the strongest man in the world was standing behind him. Turning his back on Omni-Man had cost him his life: a white-gloved hand had severed his neck in an instant...
"Immortal Man!"
The moment Crimson Speed saw Immortal Man fall, his eyes turned cold. He released War Woman and began raining punches on Omni-Man.
"Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!..."
Even Omni-Man had trouble keeping up with Crimson Speed's sheer speed...
But the strongest man in the world was capable of far more than that. After taking hundreds of punches from Crimson Speed, Nolan seized an opening, predicted his next attack, and clamped both hands around his head...
He was going to crush Crimson Speed's head with his bare hands...
"Ah..."
Crimson Speed wasn't the type to give up. His arms moved faster and faster as he punched Nolan in the chest.
"Crimson Speed!"
The Global Guardians' reflexes couldn't keep up with the battle unfolding before them. One moment, their vision blurred; the next, Immortal Man was dead and Crimson Speed was in Omni-Man's grasp.
But though they couldn't keep up with the fight, they weren't the only ones who could...
"Pfft!"
A white blur flashed past, and someone punched a hole through Crimson Speed's chest...
"Gah..."
A torrent of red poured from Crimson Speed's mouth. Then his eyes went dim, and he became a corpse...
"Swish..."
The man with the huge F on his chest waited until Crimson Speed's vital signs disappeared before pulling his hand out of his chest. In front of everyone, he crushed the bright-red organ that pumped his blood.
"Tsk." The man looked at his bloodstained white glove in disgust, then turned to Omni-Man. "Should I switch to a red glove?"
"Listen, son. When we're fighting, it's best not to talk. You might miss the perfect moment to attack."
After seeing Crimson Speed dealt with, Nolan seemed to relax. The only one who might have been able to report what was happening was dead.
"Who are you?!"
Tears welled in War Woman's eyes. In less than a second, their numbers had been cut by two, while their enemies' clothes were barely dirty. She knew she probably wouldn't survive either, but for the sake of her comrades, she was willing to fight to the bitter end.
"Didn't you hear? He just called me his son! If you didn't hear, I'll say it again. Actually, I'm your daddy..."
The tall, muscular man with the huge F on his chest was none other than Jupiter, now wearing his Battle Suit.
"Bzzzt..."
"Boom!"
As Jupiter faced War Woman, several Batarangs flew toward him and suddenly exploded!
"Hm?"
Omni-Man saw Jupiter being attacked and started to go help him, but a stream of water blocked his way. It was the King of the Sea, who could produce a high-pressure jet powerful enough to cut through steel with his bare hands.
"Let's take them down with everything we've got!"
Darkwing's expression was icy. Even now, with Immortal Man and Crimson Speed defeated one after another, he remained calm.
"You've made me angry!"
Jupiter gave the air a light wave, and the dust on his suit vanished. He took a huge stride and appeared in front of Darkwing.
"Listen, kid. I've mastered more than a hundred martial arts from all over the world. I'm one of the greatest fighters alive. I don't want to bully you..."
Darkwing's expression changed as Jupiter suddenly appeared in front of him. The enemy was too fast—faster than his reflexes. He hoped he could talk the enemy into stopping. After all, the guy looked young, so he probably wasn't very mature...
"Ptuh!"
With a roar, Darkwing's upper body vanished, scattering mosaics all over the floor—covered in material unsuitable for children. No, it was more accurate to say they were unsuitable for ordinary people...
"Your techniques are meaningless before absolute power..."
If Darkwing, a martial arts master, had been a Viltrumite, Jupiter might truly have been no match for him with his wealth of combat experience. Unfortunately, Darkwing was merely an ordinary Blue Star human. Even after exhausting all his strength, he could only muster a few hundred kilograms of force...
"..."
Jupiter looked at the bright-red mess covering the floor, shook his head, and turned around.
In the few dozen seconds Jupiter had spent dealing with Darkwing, King of the Sea had been reduced to half a fish head, Martian Man's body had been torn into several pieces and his core destroyed, and Green Ghost's body had been pierced through. Only War Woman was still struggling to hold on.
Just as War Woman swung the hammer in her hand to fight Nolan, Jupiter quietly arrived behind her.
"Smack!"
Nolan immediately grabbed the wrist of the hand War Woman was using to swing her hammer, while Jupiter seized her by the neck.
"Crack~"
With a soft snap, Jupiter dispatched War Woman cleanly.
"Auntie War Woman, you're actually my favorite member of the Global Guardians..."
Jupiter looked at War Woman, whose neck had been twisted completely out of shape, and shook his head. His fondness for her was limited to the Global Guardians.
"Phew..."
Jupiter exhaled, glanced at his watch, and saw that it had taken two minutes and eleven seconds. The world's strongest superhero team, the Global Guardians, had been wiped out...
"Knock me unconscious now, then escape and go back to school for class as planned!"
Nolan looked at the bright-red mess covering the floor, tossed aside the hammer in his hand, and spoke to Jupiter.
"...That's a pretty good hammer. I really am short of a handy weapon. Maybe I could..."
Jupiter was still thinking when he heard Nolan's words and gently nodded.
"See you at the hospital tonight!"
Jupiter faced Nolan and smiled faintly.
"See you at the hospital tonight, my son..."
"Don't hold back. Hit me as hard as you can."
Upon hearing this, Nolan patted Jupiter on the shoulder, encouraging him.
"Ptuh..."
Then, in the face of Jupiter's combination of punches, Nolan collapsed onto the floor...
"That little brat... His punches are a bit heavy!"
Before losing consciousness, Nolan's final thought was that he had underestimated his own son. Those punches were even heavier than he had imagined.
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