"Hello, ladies and gents," Payne stated boldly as he stepped into the secret meeting room of the Elite.
To his left was a scoffing Forest Fire, and to his right was Mr. White, whose mask contorted in a way he'd never seen before.
But he knew what it meant.
He was angry.
And he knew why.
Payne smirked and headed towards the empty seat in front of him, the seat that belonged to Canman.
A seat that's been vacant since the Broker incident.
Not anymore.
Payne spun the chair, getting ready to sit on it, only to be met by a man already on it with his legs crossed.
"T... Tagg?" Payne said, stepping back.
"The one and only," the man, Tagg, said, nodding and getting up to shake Payne's hand.
"How can that be? You're supposed to be in..."
"Afrikania? Yeah. The disputes are all settled and done with. Got a fat stack of magic runes and shit, too. I heard what's been going on lately and decided to fast-track my mission and come here."
Payne tried his best to hide his nervousness. This was a man he knew too much and too little about at the same time: James Tagg, secret head of the Super Society.
When Bump took office, he wanted someone in charge of the Society, but a person he not only trusted, but one he could hide from the public eye.
Tagg was that man.
He ran the Society from the shadows so effectively more than half of them don't even know who he is. However, due to an event in Afrikania he needed to settle due to orders from Bump, he'd been gone for a year now.
And here he was, sitting on Canman's chair.
"And what did you hear?" Payne said, firmly shaking his hand to hide the uncomfortable feeling in his chest.
"Well, for starters, the reason this seat is empty," Tagg said, tapping Canman's chair.
"And that reason is?"
"Canman's missing."
"Really?"
"Yes, and I know he isn't at his little cabin in the middle of nowhere. No one knows where he is, and he can't be tracked. I asked Mystic Knight to track him down and he failed, and that man is the best magic user we have."
"What do you think made him go off the radar?"
"Beats me, but his timing sucks," Tagg said with a chuckle and turned to Forest Fire.
"Fiona, be a dear and tell Payne what else I know, what we discussed earlier."
"Hey, but I..."
"Wanted to present the cases?" Tagg said, cutting him off. "Well, I want Forest Fire to do it instead. Got a problem?"
It took Payne all his willpower to shut up and sit down at that moment, and luckily, he did. He didn't want another fight with Tagg. Not with the way it went last time as a reminder.
Forest Fire sighed and brought out a small tablet. She looked at Mr. White for a moment, and he merely looked back, the anger still apparent in his face.
She extended her hand even closer and he rolled his eyes, another new thing for him. He soon gave her a pen drive, which she shakily accepted and put in the tablet.
Once the file she needed was loaded, she began to read.
"So, according to the recent Super Society incident logs, Commonwealth is in a crazy mess right now. Just a few hours ago, there was a breakout at the Cage, first one in years, and we don't even know the culprits behind it. While a shit ton of prisoners escaped, only six have proven near impossible to find or catch."
Tagg's ear twitched for a moment, a moment long enough for Payne to notice.
"These guys include former kings of crime who ruled the criminal empire before being apprehended by a mysterious force. These were Jake Deal, the Wolf, Eugene, and Seaflame."
Tagg smiled once he heard the names. He knew them from somewhere, but Payne couldn't figure out where. Payne made sure to keep a note of those four, though, as whatever connections they had to Tagg could come in handy.
Although he didn't know the force that defeated them and gave them the chance to be put in jail, he was sure Tagg was involved somehow.
He just couldn't figure out how.
"Next on the escapees list is Wyvern of the Dragon Clan and some guy called Mr. Smiley. Nothing much to say on them since one was caught by Amazo and the other was an old rival of Hawk Knight."
"So not our problem, eh?" Tagg asked, pulling out a cigarette.
"Yeah, not right now at least. This Mr. Smiley guy could come bite us in the ass one day."
"Next."
"Okay, uh... along the list are..."
"Be a dear and skip all those random ones, Fiona. Go to the last one. He's very important."
"Oh. Okay..." Fiona said, but paused when she pushed the name. She looked at Tagg, back to the tablet, and back to Tagg. Tagg could only help by smiling.
"Th... Thunderstrike," Fiona said, her hands shaking.
"No way! I didn't know he was one of those who escaped," Payne said, standing up from his seat.
"Well, don't blame yourself, Payne. No one outside this room knows he's out and about right now. Luckily, he won't be out and about for long once my plans can begin."
"Plans?"
"Well, you see, problems have a way of solving themselves, wouldn't you know..."
"Can't we do this another time?" Fiona asked, tapping the tablet.
Once Tagg gave her a nod, she straightened right back up to read the second piece of news.
"Next on the agenda was a new super team that was spotted in Stickville. They call themselves the Alliance."
"Oh yeah, heard all about those," Tagg began. "The Stickville minister there authorized them to stop some kind of alien invasion yesterday. Bastard didn't even think to call us or notify Bump. Luckily, for that reason, that team isn't our problem."
"It's Bump's?" Fiona asked.
"Exactly. Now to the last piece of news, please," Tagg asked.
Fiona sighed and looked at Payne for a moment. He gave her an annoyed nod, and she began reading the last agenda on the tablet.
"The Danger Squad is dead."
Payne smirked.
Tagg didn't.
"What?" Tagg said, genuinely surprised at the news.
"Ah? Seems you're not as informed as we thought, Mr. Boss Man," Payne said, still smirking.
"When did this happen?"
"A few hours ago. During the time of the Cage breakout."
Mr. White's eyes widened at that.
"And how?"
"One of Broker's old comrades, Dr. Bolt, hacked into one of Milten's orbital lasers and used it to obliterate Miltron Tower, the base of the squad. Then he formed some kind of alliance with Blaze of the Dragon Clan, and the two stormed the remains of the tower in hopes of wiping them out."
"Where was Amazo in all of this?"
"Helping with the Cage breakout along with K.O. By the time he got back to Empire City, he was too late."
"Was Bolt successful?"
"Sort of. He killed all of them except for two members and some muman kids Milten was hiding there for some reason."
"I see. And those members are?"
"Green Guardian and Sharkwoman, it seems."
"I'm... not really familiar with those two. I mean, I've known of them, but nothing of note other than them being on that team," Tagg said.
"Can't blame you, honestly. All I knew was the Guardian fella was a protege of Captain Rocket back in the day. Might help explain what he did."
"What did he do?"
"That's the crazy part. This kid somehow single-handedly took down Bolt and his whole alliance."
"What?!" Tagg shouted, suddenly on his feet. "Bolt is a major threat, even more than the Broker himself, and this no-name kid managed to take him down? Who the fuck is this kid?"
"As I said, a protege of Captain Rocket," Payne said blankly. Tagg sat back down.
"I see. Well, where is he now?"
"He's here on Super Island healing up from his experience. The Sharkwoman's in the infirmary, too. Seems she lost her legs as a result of the explosion. We found her in one of Milten's bunkers. Poor thing. Seems the shock of it all got to her and put her in a coma," Fiona explained.
"And the kids you mentioned?" Tagg asked, surprising Fiona. Payne chuckled and answered.
"The muman kids have been taken to the Super Academy for training. Can't let good firepower go to waste," Payne said.
"Okay, good. If these kids are worth hiding, then they've got to have some serious power in them. See to it they receive the best training they can get."
"On it."
White shrugged.
"Anything to say, White?" Tagg asked, only to be met with a glare from the man.
Fiona sighed.
"I think White is mad about the breakout. He owns the Cage, after all," she explained.
"And what was he doing?" Payne asked, glaring at White.
"He was there fighting Thunderstrike," Fiona explained. "Weren't you, White?"
He shrugged again.
"Well, it doesn't matter. We've got too much shit on our plate. Canman's missing, a bunch of criminal leaders are on the loose, and the only outside help we had just got annihilated by Bolt."
"Well, we could hit up this new Alliance team. They seem compe..."
Tagg glared at her right there.
"Don't even. I'm not teaming up with a bunch of vigilantes. Not even if they got some political immunity. Not unless I can control them, and judging by Stickville's relationship with the government, I don't see that happening."
"So what're we gonna do about all this?"
"Simple. Get all hands on deck. Fast track the graduation for the seniors in the Super Academy. Try to get as many new teams going as possible. Deploy all our forces out there and hunt down those four kings. Especially the Elementals. Those fuckers haven't done shit in years. You hear that, Fiona?"
Fiona nodded reluctantly.
"Good, now that's enough trouble for one day. Meeting adjourned," Tagg said and started stepping out.
"Wait," Payne said, stopping him.
"This better be good, Payne."
"Well, I'm just thinking. With Canman gone, the world needs another number one hero, and I was thinking..."
"Imma stop you right there, Payne, cuz I don't wanna hear jack shit. From you. There was only one Canman, and there'll never be another. At least, not one I haven't chosen."
"And what's stopping you from choosing me, huh, Tagg? I've done just as much if not more than that douchebag, and yet I'm always second fiddle to him. Why can't I be the world's new Canman?"
"Simple. You're you, and he's Canman," Tagg said and pushed Payne aside as he stepped out of the room and into the elevator.
Payne stood there, unable to move out of shock. He hated Tagg before, but now he felt something else, something he hadn't felt for anyone since his kids died.
He got up and made a vow. If Tagg didn't recognize him as the new Canman, then he'd make sure the whole world did.
Just as he completed his thoughts, he felt a hand touch his shoulder.
Fiona's.
"What do you want, girl?"
"Look... I know we don't see eye to eye a lot, but hear me out," Fiona said, prompting Payne to nod. "Okay. Good. Canman's gone. I hate it so much but I've come to accept it. We gotta step up now. No more meaningless bickering. The world needs a new Canman, and it sure as hell ain't gonna be one of Tagg's lackeys. I say we drop the beef between us and actually work together here. You with me?"
"This is the most serious I've seen you being." Payne said with a sarcastic tone.
"As I said. Canman's gone and I hate it."
Payne stared at her for a moment and noticed, for the first time, her look had genuine trust in it, like she knew he was going to say yes.
And because of that, it was yes he said.
"Fine. But just this once," Payne said.
"And you, White?" Fiona turned to ask, but his chair was empty.
"Where did he..."
"Let him go, Fiona. He's got a lot on his mind. Hell, I'm surprised he even came to this meeting at all," Payne explained.
"Hmm, I just can't help but worry about him. He lost to Thunderstrike. This isn't the first time, either. I just hope he doesn't do anything too reckless."
"Funny..." Payne began.
"What?" Fiona asked.
"I was gonna say the same for us," Payne said, sitting down and pulling up a cigar of his own.
Meanwhile, Tagg had already reached the first floor of the Super Society's main meeting hall.
As he stepped out, he felt a presence near him, one that wasn't supposed to be there. He turned and saw a young man looking at the various paintings of the legends of old.
"Hey, kid. You know you're not supposed to be here, right?"
The man turned to him and smiled. His face was worn down and he had bags under his eyes, like a soldier who'd just returned from a war. In a way, Tagg felt like he'd seen the eyes before, but couldn't remember where.
"Y... yeah. Just admiring. I'll be out of your hair in a minute, Mr... uh..."
"Give me your name first, and we'll see if I give you mine," Tagg said, approaching him for a better look.
"It's Zack, but I'm better known as Green Guardian," the man said, chuckling with a miserable voice. Tagg got to see him clearly now and remembered who he was.
The very man he was talking about in the meeting.
A man who took down Bolt and the remnants of the Dragon Clan.
He was wearing a sling and had multiple bandages all over. His face could barely hide his depression, clearly from the aftermath of the Bolt attack.
As Tagg looked at him, he thought of leaving him to his own devices and allowing him to wallow in his own inability to save his friends.
However, after a much closer look, something changed.
Especially when he got a good look at his eyes.
He almost gasped.
Those eyes, he remembered where he saw them, so so many years ago, when a young man appeared on the news saving a bunch of people from some kind of monster.
Tagg remembered when he worked as a mere government agent, a simple time for him, away from all this super nonsense.
What he saw on T.V. would go on to influence him for the rest of his life.
And now he was looking at it again.
The eyes of Canman...
"Hey, kid."
"Yeah? It's Zack. You didn't give me your name, by the way."
"James. James Tagg, but enough formalities. I got a question for you."
"Oh? What's that?"
"How would you like to get stronger?"
To be continued