"If he leaves, I leave," Zack said, folding his arms.
Paulina and Stacya sat across from him, behind a long, shiny black table with a large "DS" in the center. Max stood in the corner and watched.
They were in a secret briefing room deep underground, as most Danger Squad-related facilities were located under Milten's tower. They were waiting for Jake and his verdict.
"I know, Zack. I know. It's just..." Paulina paused for a moment. "Aren't you being a bit too hasty? Milten did have some solid reasoning for what he did. I don't condone it, of course, but..."
"Hasty? That guy sold Ivy out as bait and you want to talk about hasty? What's stopping him from doing the same to us? To the kids?" Zack shouted angrily.
Paulina didn't have an answer for that.
Stacya looked at Max. He sat in the corner, content with his own thoughts. She didn't like that.
"What do you think, Max?" she asked him, catching everyone else off guard.
"What? Fuck are you asking me for?" Max spat.
"Well, you are part of the team, and it is a team affair," Stacya said innocently.
Max tilted his head for a moment and smiled. "Well, if Jake leaves, I have no reason to be here."
"Oh, so you're just like us?" Stacya mused.
"Don't get it twisted. I'm not here because he's my friend or anything. Far from it. Jake has made that abundantly clear on his own. I have my reasons for staying, and it sure as hell ain't yours."
Stacya still kept her innocent smile. Max shrugged, realizing there was no point in engaging further. Zack, however, got curious.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Again with the fuck-ass questions?"
"What are your reasons?" Zack asked, standing up from his chair.
"That's on a need-to-know basis, and you don't need to know."
"I do, actually," Zack said, approaching him.
"Why is that?" Max retorted, more annoyed than ever.
"Because you've got an interest in my best friend and I want to know why. As you said, it sure as hell ain't friendship. What is it, then? Wanna use him like Milten did?"
"And what if I do? You gonna stop me?"
"Maybe..."
"That's enough, you two."
Paulina came between the two before it was too late. By then, Zack was just a few inches from Max. She knew any further words between the two would result in a fight—a fight she knew Zack wouldn't win.
"Paulina, I..."
"Listen to your girlfriend, lover boy."
"Why, I ought to..."
Paulina held Zack by his chest and gave him a firm look. Zack backed off then and there. She gave one to Max, but he simply shrugged.
"Jake is here!" Stacya shouted, prompting the others to take their seats. Max remained where he was.
"Hey, guys," Jake said as he entered the room, Ivy by his side. Milten and Surge weren't far behind.
"Hey, man. You good?" Zack asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine. No injuries whatsoever. Fit as a fiddle, I might say," Jake said, smiling.
"You sure about that?" Paulina asked as she scanned him from head to toe. To her surprise, he wasn't lying.
"Yeah, he's sure. No need to worry," Ivy answered for him while holding his hand tight.
"Thank goodness," Stacya said with a sigh of relief. "The kids were worried sick."
"Well, they don't need to worry anymore. I'm back."
"That's good and all, but let's cut to the chase here," Max said bluntly. "Are you staying?"
Jake was silent for a moment, causing the whole room to follow suit. He looked at Ivy the whole time and made his decision.
"Yeah. I'm staying. Staying to take care of the Broker, and staying to keep this city safe. That's all that matters."
Paulina nodded, and Zack went to hug his friend. Stacya wasn't far behind.
"Well, if you're staying, I'm staying too," Zack said with a smile.
"I as well," Stacya said with a smile even more wide-eyed and cheerful than Zack's. Ivy couldn't help but notice it and frown.
"And I'm glad to hear that," Milten said, stepping into the room with Surge by his side.
"On the condition that you never use us like you used Ivy ever again," Jake continued.
"Of course. I promise. That might not mean much to you coming from me, but I'm being genuine here."
Max chuckled, but he made sure to do it so quietly that the others wouldn't hear. Jake heard it, though, and made a mental note of the implications.
"But we have no time for niceties right now," Milten said. "My sources have confirmed Broker is in the city and heading towards the docks. Let's move out."
"Oh? So soon? No plan or..." Paulina asked, but Milten cut her off.
"No time. I also have no idea what his abilities are or how they function. Same for the men he's brought. My only advice is to be careful. Try to negotiate with him on sparing Luthor. We need this to end peacefully."
"Are you sure? This guy seems fairly dangerous. Psychotic even," Paulina added.
"That's why you're in charge."
"What?!" Paulina and Zack said in unison.
"You're the most rational person here, and a situation like this requires rationale and finesse. I don't have time to elaborate. Now move."
"But Milten..."
"Move!"
Paulina was then cut off by Zack, who grabbed her arm and pulled her away with the rest of the team.
The team did as he said and made their way to the Broker. Jake was surprised for a bit to see Ivy following despite what happened, but he respected her tenacity. He looked at the others. Zack was pumped as ever. Paulina was wary, but that was common for her—however, it was intensified by her sudden position as leader of the team. Stacya looked excited, but surprisingly, she kept her eyes on Max.
Max wasn't far from them. He kept his hands in his pockets and looked away. Whatever reason he stayed on the team, Jake would never know.
As they left the building, the Broker could sense them from miles away.
The Docks. Empire City. Right outside the pier.
"Seems they're on their way," Simon said as the team entered the range of his tracking abilities.
"About fucking time," Brute said bluntly, cracking his knuckles and grunting.
"And here I was thinking they weren't gonna show," Mighty Mole retorted with a shrewd smile across his pasty lips.
"Can we kill them first?" Frostbite and Burnscar said in unison.
"No way! We gotta wait for the helicopters to come, so the city can watch as we massacre their good ol' supers," Reflector said, cleaning one of his mirrors. "What do you think, Boss?"
"I don't know. Let's ask him," the Broker said as he removed Luthor's gag. Luthor was bound to a chair and had even more scars and burn marks than in the video. He was beaten and bruised from days of torture. They didn't even ask him anything; they just did it for fun.
"You... you monsters. You killed my wife, my daughter... you..."
The Broker put the gag back in.
"What a bore. And here I was thinking he had something to say. You humans are all alike," the Broker said, turning to his team. "Listen up, Breakers. You're my best enforcers. Our mission here is simple: kill this fuck-ass team and destroy this waste of space they call a city with my secret weapon. Let's leave the whole world shaking at our power. One small step to scaring the shit out of these piss-ass humans before the big day. You got that?"
"Yes, sir!" the team said in unison.
"Good. Now let's get this over with."
And in just a few minutes, the team arrived. And the battle began...
To be continued...