---
(GDA)
Cecil stood in front of several monitors, one of which was larger than the rest.
The main screen displayed footage of Nolan nearly strangling a young woman. She looked desperate, struggling to escape. Cecil recognized her as a member of Henry's team. He had no idea what Nolan wanted with her—or why he was doing this—but he had his suspicions. Still, he wasn't ready to believe them.
The GDA had been tracking Nolan's movements. Cecil hadn't fully believed Henry when he warned that Nolan was dangerous. But now, the evidence was becoming too hard to ignore.
Donald stood beside him, along with other agents monitoring the screens. Everyone looked tense.
"Sir, this is bad. What do we do?" Donald asked, eyes locked on the footage.
"Switch to another camera," Cecil ordered one of the techs.
The main screen changed, now showing something moving at incredible speed, heading straight for Nolan's location. The images were too fast to follow, so they relied on a simulation.
"Orders, sir?" Donald asked nervously.
Cecil sighed, his face heavy with disappointment and sadness as he looked at the image of Nolan holding the girl.
"I want all Guardians ready. Call every single one of them. Let them know Nolan is under investigation."
"What does that mean, sir?" Donald asked.
"It means he's betrayed us, Donald," Cecil said, his tone sharp.
"Move! Get the jets ready and send them to monitor the area."
"Yes, sir."
"And notify the Guardians—we need them," Cecil said, more serious than ever.
"Also inform Debbie. She has the right to know," Cecil added, already anticipating the storm this would bring.
Donald sent out an emergency alert to all Guardians: report to base immediately.
---
A warehouse, somewhere
A group of thieves were stealing crates filled with advanced weapons and tech. The warehouse was stacked with boxes.
"We scored big this time," one of the thieves said, prying open a crate with a crowbar.
"We need to get out of here fast. I don't want him showing up…" another muttered, clearly nervous.
"Relax. The only real threat is Darkwing, and he can't be everywhere at once—"
A shadow dropped from the ceiling.
"Don't be so sure," said a voice from the darkness. A figure dressed like a bat descended from above.
The thieves panicked and tried to shoot, but he was already too close. Darkwing kicked their weapons away and took them down using his combat skills. He tied them up and left them unconscious.
Exiting the warehouse, he called to his jet.
"Notify the police. I left some tied-up criminals inside," he told his AI system, Wing.
As he flew off, his communicator beeped.
"Emergency call from the Guardians of the Globe. Return to base immediately."
Darkwing changed course and headed for base.
---
(Moscow)
A thief pointed a gun at an elderly woman on the street.
"Give me everything! The purse too!" he barked, yanking it from her.
"No, please—!"
Before she could finish, a flash zipped by and knocked the thief out cold.
"What just…?" the woman looked around in confusion, not understanding how the man ended up unconscious in a blink.
Elsewhere, a villain with lightning powers was terrorizing a crowd, throwing bolts of electricity.
"I will rule this world! You'll all pay!"
He fired a bolt at a man, who barely dodged and fell to the ground.
Before he could attack again, an orange blur zipped past him at such speed no one saw what happened. The villain suddenly appeared nearby, sitting confused and tied up with cuffs on both wrists and ankles.
"Huh? What just…?" he muttered in shock.
Somewhere else, a kitten was stuck in a tree, about to fall. A little girl stood below, crying out for help.
"Careful, kitty! Someone help, please!"
A flash of orange zipped by, and the kitten was suddenly in the girl's arms, still trembling with fear.
"You're a magic kitty! That's amazing!" the girl said in awe.
Far from there, a woman sat on a grassy field, enjoying a picnic with her boyfriend.
"So that's how it happened. I was at work and on my way home when—"
Her boyfriend suddenly vanished.
He'd gone to help someone in need but returned almost instantly, though he forgot to take off his superhero suit.
"You jerk. Did you think I wouldn't notice you ditching me to be a superhero mid-sentence? Josef, you promised you'd take today off!" Olga said, frustrated.
"I'm sorry," Josef said, changing back into his normal clothes in a second.
"You're hopeless. Let's just hope no one realized I was on a date with Red Rush."
Olga sighed.
"Where was I?"
"You were talking about work," Red Rush replied.
"Anyway—"
His communicator lit up.
"Emergency call from the Guardians of the Globe. Return to base immediately."
Olga and Red Rush exchanged looks.
"You heard that?"
"Yeah… You should go," Olga said, saddened.
"I'm sorry, my love. I love you."
"I love you too," she said.
Red Rush vanished in a blur. Olga sighed again.
---
Holly was at home when her communicator activated.
"Emergency call from the Guardians of the Globe. Return to base immediately."
She put on her suit and flew off. She hadn't heard anything about Henry, but she believed he was okay.
---
(Atlantis)
Aquarus was deep underwater in the city of Atlantis.
He was in a sort of bar when his communicator buzzed.
"Emergency call from the Guardians of the Globe. Return to base immediately."
He quickly swam to the surface and took off toward the base.
---
Martian Man and Green Ghost were fighting a robotic serpent.
They worked together, and Green Ghost phased inside the robot, destroying it from the inside.
Right after, both of their communicators lit up.
"Emergency call from the Guardians of the Globe. Return to base immediately."
"Do we even have time to clean up?" Green Ghost asked.
"I doubt it…" Martian Man replied. They were both covered in grime.
---
(Above Denver)
Immortal was mid-air, facing off with a villain flying an old biplane.
"I thought I was done with ridiculous villains," Immortal muttered.
"You'll regret underestimating me. You have no idea what I'm capable of!"
"Uh-huh… just get on with it," Immortal replied, bored.
"This is my final battle. I'm dying of cancer. The doctors gave me two months to live…"
"But I'm taking a lot of people with me!" he shouted, holding a strange detonator.
"This thing holds radioactive and carcinogenic agents. One small release, and the entire city dies—"
Before he could finish, Immortal grabbed him and hurled him into space.
"What have you done…?" the man mumbled as he flew away.
"When in doubt, throw it into space," Immortal said, dusting off his hands.
Then his communicator beeped.
"Emergency call from the Guardians of the Globe. Return to base immediately."
"On my way," he said, flying toward the base.
The base was hidden within a mountain wall. Immortal phased through and entered.
All the Guardians were already gathered.
"So, what's the big emergency?" Immortal asked.
"We were hoping you would explain. You're the last to arrive, so we thought you knew," Red Rush replied.
Immortal frowned.
Among them, Holly was the only one who had an idea what this might be about. But Henry had told her it wasn't time to face Nolan yet. If something was happening… it meant the plan had gone wrong.
"What the hell is going on?" Darkwing asked.
Before anyone could answer, their monitor activated.
Cecil Stedman's face appeared on the screen.
"Was it you who called us, Cecil? What's going on?" Immortal asked.
"There's a chance Nolan has betrayed us," Cecil said, shocking everyone.
"Impossible," Immortal said flatly.
"I don't buy it," said Martian Man.
The others were in disbelief too.
"It doesn't matter what you believe. Nolan is about to face our best chance at victory. You need to get there and help him," Cecil said.
The screen changed to show Henry speeding toward Nolan. Then it cut again—to Nolan holding Eve by the throat.
"Henry…" Holly whispered, her hands clenched in worry.
"There's got to be an explanation for this…" the Guardians murmured, shaken.
"I don't care what you think. Go now. I'm sending coordinates. Help him," Cecil said, pointing to Henry.
Still in disbelief, the Guardians moved. They couldn't accept that their friend of many years had betrayed them. They hoped this was all a mistake—something they could talk through and resolve.
They flew off, heading toward the two.
---