Everyone watched in silent anticipation as the president's bodyguards emerged from the same portal he came out of.
The first was a skinny and tall brunette wearing a black suit and red visor. She gave Canman a slight smirk, which got him to roll his eyes in annoyance.
The second was even taller but bulkier. He was a monster of a man whose incredibly swollen physique could barely fit in his black suit. He wore no visor, but his eyes were perpetually closed. Whether or not he was blind was a mystery to even the president himself. He was Agent B.
They were agents of Alpha Force, the most powerful secret organization in all of Commonwealth, outranking even the Super Society in terms of power. Only a select few knew of their existence.
Milten was one of those few.
"Well, now ain't this a surprise? You even brought your dogs with you!" Milten said with a chuckle.
The two agents turned to him with scorn written on their faces, but Bump stood in their way before they could try anything.
"Oh, you and your sense of humor, Milten! Don't ever change."
Canman didn't want to waste any more time. He had a feeling that a meeting between these two held more secrets than he already knew, and the thought of that scared him.
Badly.
"So, uh... Mr. President. What is this meeting about?"
"Ah yes, Canman, well you see, Milten asked me to call you here so you could see the team he put forth. I've already got a good look at them, but since it's your Super group, I wanted you to be the first to witness them before their big debut on stage."
"What? You put Milten up to this?!"
"More like he had a suggestion and I encouraged him. With less than 70 supers in your group, crime on the rise, and that damn demonoid invasion happening all around, I feel there is a need for more manpower. Milten here was happy to oblige."
Canman turned to Milten, who gave him a wink. He turned back to Bump as quickly as he could to avoid pouncing on him.
"If you wanted me to find more supers, you could've just asked. In fact, I have a few here."
Canman then stepped to the side to reveal the trio.
And that's when the shivering started again.
It took everything in Zack's power to stop himself from shaking while being in the same room with the president of Commonwealth himself. Now he was looking at him.
He couldn't stop the shaking. He tried to manage a smile, but his lip began to quiver. He started breathing more heavily too as Bump's eyes narrowed on him in particular.
Was he a disappointment? Was he underperforming? Being weird? Acting like a coward?
Zack didn't know, and it terrified him.
"And who's to say both of these teams assembled here can't coexist? You've assembled your little team, so I don't see why Milten can't assemble his," Bump said, looking away from Zack after what seemed like an eternity.
Zack let out a sigh of relief. One Paulina noticed quickly. Along with his sweating forehead and shaky hand.
"Sir, if I may, I don't trust Milten to assemble a team of his own without some kind of agenda. You remember what happened in Yugoslavia?"
"Yeah, but Milten paid the price for that. A man can change. Are you insinuating that his team needs to be disbanded before their big debut?"
"Well..."
"Fuck no!"
The loudness of the curse struck everyone in the room. To hear the president of an entire nation use such vulgarity was nothing short of surprising.
"I saw his team take down a member of the Dragon Klan on their own. What has your team done that proves they deserve to stay while his team deserves to go? We are in dire need of new supers..."
"Yes, sir, I know, but..."
"So why are you refusing then?"
"If I may, sir," Stacya interjected, shocking everyone in the room. Especially the Alpha agents and Milten.
"An Atlantean? What is it doing here? Why didn't I notice it sooner?!" Agent A said and reached into her pocket for a weapon.
"W-wait, I..."
"What right do you have to speak with the president, sea trash?"
"How dare you!" Agent B shouted at her as he took a step forward.
Bump raised his hand immediately after, stopping them in their tracks.
"What do you have to say, kiddo?" Bump asked her with a smile. Milten nearly puked in his mouth.
Canman turned towards her and gave her a small grin and took a step back.
"Well? What is it, Sharkwoman?"
Zack didn't know why, but he felt a bit of envy hammer through his chest.
"W-well, I wanted to propose a little competition. Usually, that's how my people decide things like this."
"Competition, you say?"
"Yes. The best fighter of each group comes forward and they battle. The winner decides what decision is made."
"What an idiotic and barbaric practice. Truly, you Atlanteans never fail to astound me with your backwards culture!" Milten laughed and laughed.
Shadow grabbed him by the shoulder, causing him to lose his composure for a minute before controlling himself.
"I don't seem to see the problem, Milten. I like it! Not only will this show Canman how valuable your team is, it would also show why his team deserves to stay. You cool with this, Canman?"
"Whatever you say, sir." Canman said, looking down with a smile.
"Well then, it's settled. Here's the deal: if Canman's fighter wins, Milten, your team disbands. If Milten's team wins, then his team stays along with Canman. How's that sound?"
Canman nods while looking at Stacya and smiling.
Milten nods but with a small sigh.
The teams then stand back and clear the area for the battle. Now it's up to them to select their best fighter.
"So, who's fighting?"
The two teams are silent for a few seconds.
Suddenly a voice is heard. Low and almost painful to the ear, Blue Shadow steps forward with a simple word.
"Me."
He walks towards the center looking at the other team. Especially Stacya.
Zack notices this.
Canman holds them close and whispers, "So, uh... who wants to go?"
Stacya steps forward only to be immediately stopped by Zack. Paulina turns her head and gasps.
"Zack? What are you..."
"It's OK, Paulina. I got this."
"Are you sure? We have no idea how strong this guy is. I ran a scan on all of them, and whilst one is a human and the other is just a guy in a suit, but the black one... I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"He radiates some kind of energy. I detect shadow energy inside him, but something else. I feel like I've only seen it once, but I can't pinpoint it."
"Zack, are you sure about this? Even I get a strange feeling when we make eye contact. Like prey looking at a predator. Maybe I should go. I've been training more intensely these past few weeks, and Jake's buff he gave me from the healing makes me much stronger than I was before."
"No, Stacya. It has to be me. I need to prove myself."
"To who? You don't need to prove yourself to anyone. You might have gotten rusty without using your powers for a while. I noticed it as you brought us here. Maybe..."
"C'mon, Paulina. Give me a chance. Please."
The two stare at each other long and hard for a minute before Paulina relents. Stacya is still worried but realizes if Zack wants to go she has no authority to stop him. That's part of the rules.
Canman watches Zack walk towards the center of the factory with growing worry. He's starting to feel the same as others.
Afraid.
"Well...?" Zack says, now at the center. He stretches his hand for a handshake. Some good sportsmanship. Shadow looks at him and nods.
"Listen..." He says, his voice even worse up close, "No matter what happens, no hard feelings, man." He says as he shakes Zack's hand.
His hand is cold to the touch. Like touching a dead body. Seriously, what is this guy?
Zack is genuinely surprised by his behavior, too. Despite his appearance, he seems like a good guy. Zack doesn't like hurting good guys.
But if he must...
"OK, pal. No hard feelings."
The two separate and take three steps away from each other. Bump then walks in between them.
"OK boys, here are the rules: no killing. Winner is decided by knockout or submission. Use whatever means to win. Did I get that right, Atlantean... uh... oh yes, Sharkwoman?"
"Y-yes, sir."
"Ok, great. Then let's get started, Blue Shadow, and uh..."
"E-Expanding Man," Zack stammers.
"Ugh... that's a pretty rough name, buddy. How about Expander?"
Zack remained silent. Even the president hates his name. Maybe he does need to change it?
He hears Shadow chuckle slightly and look away once he's caught.
"Whatever." Zack says as the president runs back to the corner of the hall.
"Are you sure about this, sir? Is this not barbaric?" Agent A asks him, inciting a chuckle.
"Eh... don't really care about the ethics. I love watching a good brawl. That's what this country is made from, isn't it?"
"I... suppose." She answers, turning her attention back to the fight.
Milten pulls out a small remote-looking device and points it at the two fighters before him.
Suddenly he laughs.
"What's up, boss?" Viper asks him.
"Oh, I'm just feeling good today. That's all."
She looked at Warzone, who's too concentrated on the fighters to notice.
Shadow raised his hand and draws two of his fingers back and forth, telling Zack to come at him.
Zack grunts and obliges. He enlarges his legs and left fist and leaps towards the man at his max speed.
This is it. His chance to prove himself. To show not just Canman but even the president of Commonwealth why he deserves to be a super. This isn't the time to stammer or mess up.
He gave this all up because he felt bad about Jake, not knowing that this is what Jake probably wanted: To see him succeed. To see him become the Super he deserves to be.
This is it.
His moment.
And it's over in a second.
With one punch, Zack goes down and his vision starts to fade. Shadow approaches him and whispers something into his ear.
"Hey... you awake? Listen. You wanna be a super? Word of advice. Don't."
Zack barely hears him as everything turns dark...
To be continued...