Ch. 14 Funerals Suck

Cecil is in a monitoring room with Donald and a bunch of low level agents sat behind computer monitors and keyboards.

"Get an extraction team out there now!" Cecil demands. "Tell the French President we have it covered"

Cecil looks up at a giant screen but pauses when he notices the rooms temperature begins to drop and his breath becomes visible. He looks around the room once. "I need the room" He loudly says. "Now!"

The big screen shuts off and the agents all get up and leave at the same time as their monitors also shut off.

Cecil watches them go as Donald stands a few feet behind him.

"Well, enlighten me" Cecil says in an extremely aggravated tone.

"Know one thing for sure" A red demon in a duster jacket and hat appears between Cecil and Donald.

Donald jumps in surprise and reaches into his suit jacket for his pistol but pauses when he realizes it's Damian Darkblood. Donald composes himself and goes back to standing regularly but doesn't take his hand off his gun.

Damian takes 2 steps towards Cecil. "No one else at scene of murder. Only Guardians. Omni-Man. And Eternal. Which means killer must be one of them" The demon explains his case in his rough and deep voice.

Cecil fully turns towards the demon detective. "One of them? Eternal was busy not getting his dick wet with his childhood sweetheart. And there are hundreds of supervillains that don't leave a trace. Can turn into smoke. Or living electricity. Or only exist in dreams" Cecil states as he walks past the detective towards Donald. He isn't pleased with Damian's work thus far.

"I know" Damian turns around to face Cecil again. "You don't listen t-"

"You listen!" Cecil shouts. "And you mention your idiotic thoughts to anyone, and I mean anybody, I'll make sure they're the last thoughts you'll ever have! You understand me? Now get out" Cecil turns around. "Get out!"

Cecil crosses his arms and taps his index finger on his bicep. "Before I send you back to hell myself"

"Grrrrrrhhhh…. Blind old man" Damian Darkblood states before he vanishes.

"Haaaah" Cecil sighs. "Put a A6 surveillance team on the Graysons"

"Sir?" Donald questions.

Cecil begins walking out of the room but looks over his shoulder at Donald. "The killer is still out there Donald" Cecil continues walking. "He might decide to finish the job"

Donald heavily swallows his saliva at what he is tasked with doing. Not only does he have to supervise the surveillance of Omni-Man's family, but also watch out for a killer who killed the Giardians of the Globe and wounded Omni-Man who they thought was practically invincible.

——————

Jay wakes up to Suzu walking out the front door. "What's up?" He groggily asks as he wipes his eyes.

"Work. And are you going to yours today?" Suzu asks as she leaves her hand on the door handle.

"Yeah, might as well. But I've got some calls to make" Jay says as he gets up off the couch.

"Ok. I've gotta go so I'll see you later" Suzu says as she walks out the door and closes it.

Jay looks around the living room as he remembers the previous night.

They just talked for a little bit before falling asleep on the couch in each other's arms.

Jay sits back down and locks his fingers together as her rests his chin on them. "Who the fuck leaked our shit?" He asks himself.

He could call Cecil. But the old man will just brush it off and say that he will look into it. And he might already be trying to find out who did it anyway.

Jay thinks about it. The pictures were too good quality to have been taken from afar. And most of the citizens were evacuated by the time he came through the portal. Robot might have some info. Or he is the one that did this. "But what does he have to gain? He knows if I find out he's screwed…."

Jay hates that he has to restrain himself. If he can cut loose like he did in the Flaxan dimension he would feel much better. But he needs to get used to the way things work here on Earth again. Which means constantly holding back and trying not to completely break the villains even if they deserve a fate way worse than death.

Jay gets up and puts his shoes on. He needs another phone. A couple centuries and the battery isn't the only thing that dies in a phone.

——————

Jay got his phone while he wore a ridiculous disguise. He saw his face all over the news right alongside the news of the Guardians death. "Can't society just pick a lane? Either grieve about your protectors dying. Or focus on the dramatic reveal of Eternal's identity and love life" He mutters beneath his breath while he wears a face mask.

*Bzzzzz* *Bzzzzz* *Bzzzzz*

His new phone buzzes. "Jayden Grayson here. Didn't even have the chance to figure out my new number yet. So what's up Cecil?"

"Listen kid. We're doing the ceremony for the late Guardians tomorrow. So don't go to your job until the day after alright? And we're looking into who leaked the other info. This whole thing is just a shit show right now" Cecil says in an annoyed and exhausted tone.

"So what? Just relax for the day? And I could care less about my identity being released, surprised it didn't happen sooner" Jay's voice gets dead serious. "But when it comes to Suzu you better fucking believe it changes. Find the person who did this before I do or they'll have to answer your questions with a keyboard after I punch their teeth out. If they can even think at that point"

Jay hangs up the call and puts his phone in his pocket. He decides to try and find the person who did this to his Suzu. They should expect a visit within the next 24 hours or so.

——————

Jay kicks a door off its hinges as he walks into an apartment in Virginia. He looks around the small and empty apartment.

There isn't much. Dirty dishes, laundry thrown about. And just generally in chaos. The laundry catches his attention. There are dresses, leggings, bras, and panties strewn about.

"Did somebody get here before me?" Jay asks himself. He walks into the apartment. There are two other doors besides the front door.

He opens the first and it's the bathroom. The second leads to a small bedroom. Both are in the same chaotic mess as the rest of the apartment.

Jay doesn't find a computer right away. But when he allows his ears to go beyond their average human limits he can hear the sound of a computers fan beneath the bed.

He lifts the bed and sees a laptop laying on the floor. Jay uses nanites to lift the laptop to his hand. But he makes sure to make the nanites form his suit's gloves so he doesn't leave fingerprints.

Jay sets the bed down and opens the laptop. And man does he get surprised by who's apartment this is.

"Hahaha! Seriously?" Jay puts his left hand over his face and looks through his fingers at the screen. "I guess you really are my number one fan"

——————

Everyone is in black suits or dresses as they make their ways to their seats. Some superhero's are in their costumes but they stay near the back or sides.

It's a bright and sunny day with little to no clouds in the sky.

This is the public funeral for the Guardians of the Globe.

Mark and Debbie are sitting amongst the crowd. Many people are there to mourn.

Overhead there are four planes flying over head. They fly in sets of two and one behind the other a fair distance. The first set has Omni-Man flying between the and the second has Eternal with his new suit flying between them.

Jay doesn't want his visor on unless he needs the tech to see thing he normally couldn't see. Which is rare for him but not too rare.

After they fly a certain distance away, Omni-Man and Eternal both burst up into the sky and disappear into the light of the sun overhead.

Both men slowly descend to a stage in front of the memorial made for the Guardians of the Globe. It's a giant stone globe with 7 pillars behind it.

There are two podiums on the stage. One for Omni-Man and the other for Eternal. Both have microphones set up.

Since there are so many people there are two giant screen that are showing the broadcast of Omni-Man and Eternal so everyone can see their faces. The screens are off to the sides but are close enough.

Omni-Man and Eternal slowly descend from the sky to their respective podium. Omni-Man on the right and Eternal on the left.

Both somberly look down just below the microphones where their speeches are written out.

Nolan speaks first. "I've fought the unimaginable, in defense of this world. I've battled alien tyrants. Defeated nightmares from the deep. Gone toe-to-toe with ancient gods…"

Jay takes his turn to speak. "I haven't done many grand things. But I've fought below our planets surface against gigantic subterranean threats. Helped push back the tide of the nightmares of the deep. And helped the common people in their daily struggles…"

""But no matter what threat I faced. I knew I wasn't facing it alone"" Both men say in unison.

Nolan and Jay take turns saying the Guardian's names with Nolan going first and last."Darkwing" "Aquarus" "War Woman" "Green Ghost" "Red Rush" "Martian Man" "Immortal"

""The Guardians of the Globe"" They say together firmly.

Nolan continues. "Today we have lost Titans. Protectors"

"Heroes. And friends" Jay adds.

"And we are left to wonder. Who will save us now?" Nolan finishes.

Omni-Man and Eternal look determinately at the cameras. ""I will"" Their voices echo.

Both men look at the crowd and spot Mark.

Nolan smiles beneath his burly mustache. "And so will others like us"

"New heroes answering the call" Jay says

"New champions ready to risk everything to keep this planet safe. All inspired by these great souls that came before us" Nolan goes on.

"You will have moments of doubt" Jay adds.

"Of fear" Nolan states.

"Of uncertainty" Jay finishes his lines.

"But in those moments have faith…." Nolan says before floating into the air in sync with Jay. "And look to the sky"

Both men burst skywards and disappear back into the sky.

——————

Jay walks behind Debbie, Mark, and Eve. He is holding the umbrella in his right hand while Suzu holds his right arm.

The bright and sunny sky is no more. Now just dark and gloomy clouds that are shedding tears for those that have lost their life and are being lowered and buried into the ground.

"Take the umbrella" Jay tells Suzu as he walks towards where his father is standing.

Everyone is in their funeral attire. No tights or masks. Just suits and dresses.

The families of the Giardians are present.

Two fish people. The girlfriend of Red Rush. An older man that is Darkwings only family and butler. And some others.

Jay looks around for the little girl that Martian Man looked after but didn't see her. But he just leaves that alone. Not really his problem.

He stands to his father's right. About 3 steps back as well.

"Are we really putting them through this again?" Mark asks as he sees the tears falling and the void a person leaves behind once they die.

"The big one is for show. But the public can't know where the actual bodies are buried" Eve says as she looks at Mark.

Mark raises an eyebrow as he looks at Eve.

"Souvenir hunters" She somberly says.

Mark looks at the coffins. "Jesus"

"I was never a Guardian of the Globe" Nolan says in his deep voice.

"Neither was I" Jay adds as he steps forwards and stands beside his father with their head held low as they look at the coffins. Both hold their hands clasped together down in front of them.

"But it was the Guardians who welcomed me when I first arrived on this planet. They were my mentors. My comrades. My friends" Nolan chokes slightly as he feigns sadness and grief.

Jay looks across the seven coffins. "The Guardians are the reason I was able to become who I am. They taught me when I first decided to become a hero. They taught me it doesn't matter where you come from, or how you look, what powers you have or don't have…. That everyone is the same on the inside when things came down to it" Jay looks among the people standing. "They taught me we all deserved to live. They sacrificed so much to make sure everyone on the planet learned these lessons too" He looks at Mark. "People say you shouldn't meet your heroes….. But those people must not have met the Guardians. I'm glad I did, because they were amazing both as heroes… and as people" Jay lowers his head and let's the rain drip down his face and hair.

Nolan looks at the families and friends standing around. "Martian Man was exiled from his own people. War Woman was from a different age. Darkwing, haha…" he bitterly laughs, then he clears his throat. "…Ahem, well, Darkwing made his own kind of solitude" He lowers his head for a few seconds. He then looks at his wife Debbie. "It was a rare, lucky, few of us who understood our path. Even rarer if they accepted it. I hope they will rest in piece. But at least they will rest, together"

The coffins then slowly get lowered down into the ground as a woman begins wailing, unable to keep it back any longer.

"Get your hands off me!" The woman demands as she pushes Donald backwards. She takes a step to catch herself but slips and falls down into the mud and he sunglasses fall of revealing her red eyes from the tears she has shed.

Donald drops the umbrella. "O-Olg please. C-Calm down"

Olga looks to her left as she watches Red Rush's coffin get lowered. "You wouldn't even let me see him. Joseph is finally standing still~" She says as tears begin falling after she thought they had run dry. "And I still can't see him!" She slams her fist into the mud. She then begins crying loudly as her heart aches and her arms and legs grow weaker.

Debbie steps forward. "I better go help her"

"Yeah" Mark says. He remembers Joseph and Olga coming over to their house for meatloaf some time ago. But now it feels…. Just…..

Eve nudges her elbow into Mark's side. "You ok?"

Mark glances at Eve. "Me? I-" He looks at his mother crouching next to Olga. "-I don't know. Just doesn't seem real. That could have been my mom. Putting my dad in one of those holes. Or Jay, or me…. If this could happen to the Guardians of the Globe it means none of us are invincible"

"That's because none of us are" Jay says as he walks over. "Not even I am Eternal. That's why we have to enjoy the moments we can with those we care about. And that's why we work together. To defeat the threats against Earth. We can only figure out what went wrong and fix it so it doesn't happen again to anybody else"

"Jayden" Suzu brings the umbrella over to him.

But Jay declines and pushes it back over to her. "I'm fine Suzu. The rain is actually cooling me off a bit" He gives a sad smile.

'God this is exhausting' Jay thinks to himself. Sure he's a little sad about the death of the Guardians. But he's having to fake a substantial amount of emotion. At least when he thinks about his mom orSuzu dying it actually causes him to feel sad.

Debbie helps pick Olga up from the ground and gives her an arm to lean on as they leave. They are followed by Aquarius' fish people and Darkwings only family member. A few seconds and everyone begins to leave with Omni-Man left staring at the coffins.

Nolan notices his breath become visible and the rain get significantly colder. He looks up and Damian Darkblood is standing across from him. "Ugh!"

Nolan marches forwards. "This is a private ceremony Darkblood!" He furiously states.

"Hmmmm. Never get invited. Show up anyway" The demon says.

Nolan clenches his fists at his sides. "What do you want?"

Darkblood points his own at Nolan as he stops writing in his notepad. "Same as you" The demon fully turns towards Nolan. "Discover clues" He puts away his pen and notepad. "Catch killer" He puts his hands in his coats pockets. "Bring to justice"

"And buy yourself a few more years out of hell" Nolan steps forward and points at Damian. "Don't pretend to do this because you care. You just don't wanna go home"

"Maybe one day. You'll know why" Damian ominously says, clearly not taunted by Nolan.

Nolan let's his arms go to his side. "I already told Cecil everything I know"

"Saw nothing. Heard nothing. Attacked in Darkness. Left for dead" Darkblood summarizes.

Nolan's face contorts. "Are you insinuating something?"

"Nnnngh…. Didn't mean to offend. Nuance of Human conversation…. difficult for me" Darkblood looks over Nolan's shoulder at Jay's back. "If you remember something-"

"I'll call you" Nolan says ending the conversation.

——————

Robot is left watching Debbie help Olga to a car. He doesn't require an umbrella and is left alone. At least until Cecil approaches him a second later.

"Robot!" Cecil calls out. "You know, for a bunch of computer code…" Cecil smiles a little as he stands a few feet in front of Robot. "You run a mean superhero team. You really saved our bacon with those Flaxans"

"Thank you Cecil. That means a lot coming from you" Robot appreciates the compliment but takes it with a grain of salt.

Cecil holds his umbrella with his right hand while his left is in his suit jacket's pocket. "I know you've always been independent. But, I want you to come work for the GDA and build me a new Giardians of the Globe. And you'll pick the team. You'll be in charge. The ONLY person that you will answer to is me"

"Forgive me. But would Omni-Man or Eternal be your natural choice?" Robot asks in his robotic voice.

"Sure" Cecil looks over at the Grayson family. "Except it's never gonna happen. I've tried for a decade to make Omni-Man a Guardian. Yeah he helps out, but he's never taken orders. And the closest I've gotten Eternal is…. Well…. you get the point" Cecil looks back over to Robot.

"Then I don't know what to say" Robot is at a loss for words.

"Easy. Say you'll do it"

——————

Jay is lost in thought as he lays down mid air looking at his phone. He's looking at the news as it's flooded with heroes and vigilante work. People trying to show that they are willing to step up.

And then there are the memes of himself talking with Omni-Man. A few are claiming they're father and son but they are struggling to keep that theory afloat. Most of the other things are people recapping the lives of the Giardians. Their work together, and their individual hero jobs. It brings back some memories Jay had forgotten over the past centuries he was gone. A good refresher in the world around him.

"Does that ever get old?"

"Huh?" Jay spins to face the ground and sees Suzu sitting at her desk with the Iron Woman suit payed out and being worked on.

"Ugh, I might change my question and ask if air headed ever gets old" Suzu says as she solders some electrical parts together before putting them down and looking up at Jay. "I mean floating"

Jay puts his phone away and drops down over the metal suit. "Never"

Suzu leans back in her chair. "When I was flying my suit felt off. I want it to feel more natural and not get whiplash every time I have to try and move at a rapid speed" She rubs her temples.

"Finding a better power source would be a good start. Then upgrading your materials. And then the good old 'trial and error' method" Jay says as he inspects the repulsors.

"Is that how you got your fancy schmancy nanites?" Suzu asks as she swivels her chair side to side slightly.

Jay goes to his side and looks at Suzu. "Yep! Believe it or not. You aren't the only genius in this relationship anymore"

Suzu smirks. "Then why does it still feel the same?"

Jay rotates until his feet are pointing at the ceiling and he moves to Suzu's eye level. "I will be taking that as a compliment"

Suzu moves her right hand to Jays face. "It's good having you back"

Jay smiles. "I was only gone for two weeks"

She grabs his tie with her other hand. "And those were a very lonely two weeks"

Jay puts his hands on Suzu's chair's arm rests and pushes it away from the table. He spins midair and plants his feet on the ground as he leans over Suzu. "You have no idea"

He kisses her and gently grabs some of her white hair. "To me, it felt like an-"

ETERNITY