The trio stood completely still, completely unable to make a choice on how to deal with the situation.
They were in the Great Hall of Supers with the mission of engraving their fallen friend Jake's name on the pedestal of the statues of the world's first and greatest supers.
A mission they succeeded in and were about to leave until they were caught by the sudden appearance of Canman.
The leader of the Super Society and the strongest super known to man.
"What are you doing here?" he asked with a deep yet soothing voice, like a kind father about to scold a child.
His voice usually put people at ease. This time it did the opposite.
"Writing my friend's name on the First Five statue," Zack answered with clear conviction in his voice and a drop of sweat rolling down his left cheek.
Paulina gasped loudly enough for Zack to hear. Whether he did or didn't, it didn't seem to matter since he clearly didn't care. She moved forward and tried to nudge his shoulder to stop him from speaking further. It was extremely unwise to disrespect any member of the Society, especially their leader.
Stacya stopped her.
Paulina turned to her quickly and tried to get Stacya's hand off her shoulder, but her Atlantean grip seemed too strong. Was this how strong Stacya was, or a side effect of Jake's healing? She didn't care. All she cared about was Zack making a horrible mistake.
"Wait... I remember you. You're one of Captain Rocket's protégés. The one that didn't belong to any team of his."
Zack looked at him in silence, with no idea how to react toward being recognized by THE Canman himself.
"Well?" Canman asked again, catching Zack off guard.
"Yes, sir!" Zack shouted back with a slight stammer.
"And why would you do that?" Canman asked softly, while tilting his head like an inquisitive child.
"Because he saved the world."
"Really? Why is his name there?" Canman replied as he began to move forward.
Paulina's danger sensors were ringing like a hundred school bells all at once in her head. She almost regretted having them on after the incident. She tried to get Zack to shut up by talking to him, but Stacya moved her back.
When Paulina tried to ask why, Stacya merely gave her a scoff.
"Damn Atlantean fool!"
"Doesn't she know the danger Zack is putting them in?"
"He stopped Mr. E. Remember him? The man known to be one of Captain Rocket's greatest foes? The man who killed him, the man who was your mentor and mine? The man who could've killed a lot more if it weren't for my friend."
Canman was standing close enough to Zack he could hear him breathing. Despite his friendly, unassuming face with blue eyes hidden behind a light orange mask, he was a giant who clearly struck fear into the hearts of many foes.
He had two large capsules with similar designs to soda cans on his shoulders. He also had large cans he wore as gauntlets and boots. He wore an orange spandex suit and cape. If one didn't know better, they would say he's a mascot for a Fanta commercial.
"How exact did he stop him?" Canman asked again, smiling like a father comforting a child.
Zack paused for a moment. Canman's name alone scared the crap out of any criminal. Zack was still scared, just like with Mr. E.
And that's what led to Jake being killed.
Never again.
"Mr. E made a bomb. A bomb capable of destroying Empire City in its entirety and introducing a virus into the world that turned Mumen into rapid monsters. Jake gave his life to destroy the bomb and make sure it didn't explode, killing Mr. E in the process. That's how," he replied, moving his face closer to Canman.
Close enough to make him move back a few inches.
"I see..."
Canman's smile disappeared almost instantly.
Zack moved back, now realizing what he had done. He was sweating more now but tried to keep his emotions in check by keeping his poker face. Sadly, his lip was quivering, and it felt like torture to keep eye contact.
Paulina couldn't move. She couldn't think of a way to diffuse the situation in any way. Their best bet was to remain silent and wait for Canman to respond.
She pulled her hand behind her back and morphed it into a blaster anyway. Stacya looked at her in shock. Paulina simply shrugged.
This wasn't the first standoff she had had with Canman.
Suddenly, Canman fell to his knees. Paulina gasped out of genuine shock that startled even Stacya. Zack looked at him as he placed his large, gauntlet-covered hand over Zack's.
A small tear dripped from his face.
"I'm so sorry. I should've known. I should've done something. Not only did my negligence cause Captain Rocket to die, but it also let a weapon of such power be used on the world. Austin was right all those years ago. I'm not worthy of the title I hold," Canman said, profusely apologizing in between sentences for added measure.
"W-what? You believe me?"
"Of course I do! Rocket trained me to detect lies. I sense none of that in you! If only I could've saved him. If only I could've avenged him like you did!"
"No, it wasn't me... it was..."
"Yes, your friend. Right. He gave his life to fix my mistake. Such a fool I was! He made his debut; both me and Rocket didn't take him seriously. Then he has some big plan that the Danger Squad stopped."
Paulina shuddered a bit.
"I still didn't pay any mind. I knew of the Squad's activities but kept quiet since I had no problem with vigilantes. Then I got my promotion to this position years later. That was when I considered him nothing to me. Less than that, even."
"Despite all of Rocket's warnings, I still saw him as nothing. Then Ace kills the Danger Squad out of nowhere. Rocket and I have a fallout on why, and he assumed Mr. E could've been to blame. I merely shrugged him off. If only I knew! If only I cared enough to know!"
The trio watched him break down on his knees, crying the entire time. Stacya had rarely felt such sincere emotion in one's words. The only recent example was Jake.
This Canman was... different from how she imagined government supers.
"Then Ace appears out of the blue only to be a deception by Mr. E to taunt us. To taunt me! And still, I barely paid it any mind, leaving it for that bastard Payne to solve. It's so funny that while I did that, Captain Rocket died."
Stacya's grip on Paulina tightened. Paulina didn't care. She had never seen Canman so vulnerable. So... interesting.
"And now I hear of a bomb nearly going off and starting World War 4?! Oh, how incompetent of me! I could've stopped all of this! I could've saved everyone if I actually bothered to give a crap!"
Canman slammed his gauntlet to the ground with a loud thud, making a small crater.
Zack stared at him in silence as he spoke, insulting and belittling himself quietly. He didn't know what to say or do, so he let his emotions take over.
He bent down and helped Canman to his feet, surprising Paulina and confusing Stacya even more.
"Hey... it's not your fault. No one could've seen it coming. No one could've..."
"No. Don't try to comfort me! I don't deserve it. Hell, I don't even deserve the position I'm in. I was supposed to be at a meeting not far from here, addressing my fellow supers, guiding them in their time of need. Instead, here I am looking at statues of fallen supers I would never become. No... not supers.
Heroes. They were all heroes in their own right. Something I don't have the privilege to call myself," Canman ranted, slamming his fist into the crater he made over and over.
Zack didn't even know what to do here. He wanted to speak, but Canman was too far gone in his state. He couldn't even find the words to inspire him.
"Y-your friend deserves more than some petty name engraved on someone else's statue. He deserves one of his own. Even if no one knows him, he is still a hero."
Canman stood back up and faced the trio. The palm of his gauntlet opened to reveal a small hole. Out from that was a small soda can he placed in Zack's hand.
"I need a picture of your friend to begin crafting one for him. See to it you get one and contact me soon. Open this to get to me. Now I have to leave, and you do too. I have a meeting, and you need to get out of here before the other supers see you."
"Y-yes, sir. Thank you!" Zack said, shaking his hand with immense glee. So much so that Paulina had to pry them off and lead him away from the Hall. Stacya was not far behind with a large, sharp-toothed grin on her face.
Zack was laughing nervously as they ran as far away as they could from the hall. He turned to Paulina, who was looking away from him.
"Anything wrong, my little pearl?" Zack asked Paulina.
She was still looking away.
"I know it's a little strange that the literally head of the Super Society let us go after we essentially vandalized an important piece of their history, but..."
"No. It's not that. I feel you left something out of that whole interaction."
"What? Really?"
"It's just... Austin. The clone of Captain Rocket. I feel he deserved to know."
"I don't think so, baby. He seems really protective of the kid. I don't want the Super Society getting involved with him."
"Yes... but, this Austin, he seemed a little... unstable. If it was him before, I'd agree to leave him be, but I don't know now. Ace has really gotten to him, and it's apparent."
"No need to worry, Paulina." It was Stacya who spoke up now.
"Austin may seem that way now, but I know deep down he has his heart in the right place. I think it's best to trust him. Don't you agree?"
Paulina kept looking away in silence, not even bothering to answer her.
Soon, the trio reached the beach where they came from and dived inside, Stacya now leading the rest of the way to the mainland.
Meanwhile, back in the Hall
Canman stood before the statue of the world's first supers.
He saw the name written on their pedestal and chuckled a bit.
"Jake..." He said to himself. "Where have I heard that name before?"
Then his mind went back to a time long past.
Two years ago, to be exact.
"What do you mean you're going undercover, Kal?!" A younger Canman said to his former mentor in a bar on the outskirts of Barium City.
"It's only for a few years. And how many times do I have to tell you? My name is Bufford now."
"Bufford? Kal? Toby? Sam? What's the difference? You have so many identities, it's hard to keep track of you. And now you're getting another one?"
"Listen. It's important I maintain this identity for the mission."
"What mission? Tracking down that Max guy? Didn't you say it's one of Mr. E's old experiments? Why waste so much of your time on him? I even heard you're getting that new protégé of yours involved. What was his name again? Zack?"
"Because this could lead me to the Lost Light. Face it, Cammy. My Danger Squad is dead. Austin is the only one left. I can't force this on him. Not anymore."
"So now you force it on yourself? I could get one of the supers to do this for you! I recently got appointed as the head of the Super Society. I could help you!"
"No. The Super Society shouldn't know about this. Neither should the government. They've been compromised. I can't trust anyone other than you and a select few."
"Why all this secrecy?"
"The Lost Light may be making their move. My sources tell me that the experiment found refuge in the cult, but in order to join it fully, he needs to find a suitable host for the Baron."
"The Baron?"
"The leader of the Shadows who invaded a couple of years ago. They want to transfer his soul into the body with no will. I think Max has found his host."
Cammy turned towards a small photo on the table next to his Fanta.
"You mean this kid?" He asked, pointing at the photo while taking a light sip.
"Yeah. His name is Jake Murphy. A pretty unassuming guy. Failed to get into college. No job. Literally no ambitions or goals. Just an empty husk of a man."
"And he's the one Max wants to make a host."
"Yeah. I'm gonna stay undercover as his boss while Zack stays as his roommate. We keep an eye on him and wait for Max to make his move. It's pretty simple."
"I don't know how you call a hiatus like that simple."
"I won't be on hiatus. I'll just be way less active than I usually am."
"And you think we won't suffer for it? I'm already at my wits' end with this team of mine! Major Payne is a stupid jerk still upset about his kids. Forest Fire is too much of a fangirl for me to take seriously, and Mr. White is impossible to talk to. Not to mention that new group of rebellious little shots calling themselves the Guardians running around."
Rocket chuckled.
"Hey, it's not funny, man. It's hard enough keeping this whole mess together, and now I don't have you watching my back?"
Rocket then placed his hand on Cammy's shoulder and gave a slight grin, something that always calmed Cammy down.
"I'm sure you'll be fine, Cammy. There's a reason you were picked to lead."
"I sure hope so," Cammy replied. His eyes turned to the picture of the kid once again.
He was a scrawny guy with blond hair that seriously gave background character energy. How this guy could be the focal point of all this was beyond him.
That's what he thought then, and that's what he thought now as he stared at the markings forming the words Jake on the marble pedestal in front of him.
"Hm... I wonder who you were, Jake Murphy. You seem to be a swell guy from how your friends see you. Maybe I simply brushed you off. Just like Mr. E, and look how that turned out."
Suddenly, one of his shoulder cans started vibrating. He had a call. Canman gave it a quick tap.
"Hello? Canman here?" Canman answered.
He didn't like who was on the receiving end.
"Canman, you dolt! We have over a hundred supers here awaiting briefing. Get your lazy butt back here now!"
It was Major Payne, and he sounded pissed. Well, more pissed than he usually was.
"I'll be there in a second," Canman said as he strolled out of the Hall, occasionally staring at Jake's name every few seconds.
"Jake Murphy. It'd be nice to know what kind of man you were..."
To be continued....