"Excuse me?" Zack said, his attention returning to the scene before him. He was walking down the clean white and futuristic hall of the infirmary in Super Island.
"I said Bolt really did a number on you guys," Silverblade said, walking next to him.
Zack looked at her in a way one would confuse for a glare. He wasn't glaring, but trying to find out what she meant by that. Silverblade still saw it as a glare, though.
"O... oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I..."
"It's fine. Just... brief me on what happened to my friends," Zack said, raising his hand and looking away.
"Milten is dead. Blue Shadow, Red Shadow, and Black Mamba as well; however, we can't find the bodies, so either they got disintegrated or they're still alive somewhere."
Zack looked at her again, this time with a small glimmer of hope in his eyes.
"Now don't get your hopes up just yet. It's still just an assumption. A shame, really. Blue Shadow was my friend too," Silver said, placing her arm on his shoulder.
"And the others? The kids? Stacya? Paulina?"
"The kids were transferred to our Muman training facility. One of them, a blue kid, said he wanted to be a super just like you, and the others agreed. I could tell the robot boy was hesitant."
"And how are they?"
"Performing well. Despite the earlier hesitation the robot boy had, he's doing the best out of all our new recruits. Safe to say he's the strongest among them."
"Not what I meant. Are they enjoying themselves?" Zack asked, slowly approaching her.
"Rest assured, we've got state-of-the-art and top-notch facilities made to meet all our students' needs. With the growing rise of crime and disaster across the country, we know it's imperative that the next generation is not only prepared to face them, but raised with enough comfort to..."
She could see her little ramble was losing him.
"They're fine, Zack. No need to worry," she said, sparking a confused look from Zack at her sudden change of demeanor.
"Sorry about that. Standard protocol for all worrying parents. Didn't mean to use it on you."
Zack shrugged.
"Whatever. How's Stacya?"
"Well, you're about to find out," Silver said, stopping him as they reached their destination.
Stacya's room. She lay on a large bed with medical equipment hooked to various parts of her body, some parts covered in burn scars, probably from the laser attack.
Her legs were still gone.
"Oh God..."
"Yeah. She's got it rough. The doctors say she suffered an intense moment of shock. They hypothesize that Red Shadow saved her and used one of his numerous abilities to prevent her from feeling pain. Once he was killed by Bolt, the pain returned in a burst powerful enough to leave her in a coma," Silver explained.
Zack gave a long sigh and leaned on the glass window separating the two from her room. He looked at Stacya again and nearly shed a tear.
"Don't feel too bad. We've got some of the best doctors in the country working on her, along with Dr. Plus, one of the smartest people on earth. This won't be a problem for them, I assure you."
"You've been saying that a lot."
"Sorry. Just trying to help out. After what you experienced, what you did, you need all the attention you can get, especially for your mental state."
Zack's mind flashed to Bolt, leaving his head a mess of blood, brain matter, and bone. Breaking his rule not to kill. How awful it made him feel, how awful it still does...
He shook his head and returned to the conversation.
"And Paulina?" he asked.
"She's... she disappeared. When my team arrived to pick you up, we couldn't find any trace of her."
"What?!" Zack shouted, losing what little composure he had left. "Didn't you look hard enough? Did you even try?!"
"Yes! There are still supers at the scene of the attack looking for any survivors. It's been 3 days, Zack, and nothing. It's possible she woke up and left on her own."
Zack was about to speak, but stayed quiet once the realization hit him. He knew why she left. Bolt was defeated, but not dead. Zack knew this, but most others didn't.
Bolt would surely have another body somewhere, hiding, waiting. Not just him, more evil forces would come after her, and they'd kill him to get her. She left for his safety.
She left because he was weak.
Zack kept himself restrained and looked back at Stacya. How he failed her. If he was fast enough, he could've saved her.
If he was strong enough, he could've stopped Bolt without needing to kill.
If he was strong enough, he would've helped Jake, saved Ivy, saved Max, protected the kids.
If he was strong enough, Paulina wouldn't need to leave him for his own good.
But he wasn't. He was weak.
And there was nothing he could do to change that.
Until he appeared.
"Greetings," a skinny man in an oversized coat said as he strolled right next to the two. "Hope I'm not interrupting?"
"S... sir?" Silver said, stumbling back a bit. "What are you..."
"At ease, Silverblade. Just here to talk to the kid."
"What are you doing here, Tagg?" Zack asked, realizing the man's presence was enough to spook Silverblade.
"Y... you know him? How?!" Silverblade asked.
"He and I had a little encounter. Now come on, Zack, it's time," Tagg said with a smirk as he pulled out a cigar and lighter.
"Time? Time for what?" She asked.
"For me to get stronger," Zack said, walking away with Tagg.
He turned to see Silverblade staring at them wide-eyed. He knew Tagg was supposed to be a mystery to non-Super Society members, so him knowing Tagg personally must be a shock to her.
She must also be thinking about what he and Tagg are doing.
Hell, he was thinking about what he and Tagg are doing.
From their last talk, Zack could easily figure out the kind of guy Tagg was.
Mysterious.
Prideful.
Withheld important info so he could use it later.
The type to betray you at the drop of a hat.
Just like Milten.
So why was he going with him to God knows where?
He turned toward Stacya's unconscious body, lying in the infirmary.
That's why.
To make sure Bolt doesn't happen again.
To make sure no one dies under his watch again. That's all the reason he needed.
His mind drifted back to reality.
Flying high above the city with his new abilities, dodging buildings and birds left and right.
The present, 6 months after his first meeting with Tagg.
He remembered those 6 months of training he got to attain this level. The old Zack could never dream of defeating a creature that strong with one punch. Now look at him.
Zack smirked.
But his smirk vanished once he began thinking again. With this power, would he be able to stop Bolt?
Save everyone from the attack?
Beat Bolt without needing to kill him?
Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted when he reached his destination.
Empire News Station, Midtown.
He landed in an alleyway and pulled out his backpack from a nearby dumpster. Luckily, getting out of his costume didn't take more than a minute due to its simplicity. Rocket always advised him to go with the simplest designs for his outfits.
Advice he never followed until now.
Once he finished changing, he ran to the front door and started thinking of his excuse.
Had to buy lunch?
Throw some trash out?
Bathroom break?
He smiled to himself and decided to make something up on the fly. It was more fun that way. He tried to open the main door, but it was locked.
He tried again.
Still locked.
"Aw, jeez. What's happening? I just left and they're already closed?" Zack mumbled to himself, trying to open the door without breaking it with his immense strength.
Until a horn caught him off guard.
He turned to see Kevin and Stella in a car, honking at him to get in.
Zack gave a small chuckle and got inside.
To be continued....