Land of Light, the home of the Ultraman. Ultraman is known as the protector of the galaxy, they protect other living things from kaiju attacks and aliens who want to invade other planets.In Silver Cross, there was an Ultra named Max. He has cuts and bruises all over his body. Mother of Ultra, also known as Ultrawoman Marie, was treating Max.

"Max, how did you get hurt like this?" Mother of Ultra asked.

Max was silent for a moment, he looked nervous when he was asked such a question. "I... fell down the stairs. I'll be more careful next time."

Mother of Ultra actually knew that Max was lying, but she chose not to ask further about the real reason behind the injuries.

"Well, then, you should get plenty of rest and not do too much strenuous physical activity," Mother of Ultra advised. Max bowed respectfully to Mother of Ultra, then walked out of the room.

After Max walked out of Silver Cross, he sighed heavily. "I should have just told her the truth." Max held his upper arm. "But if I tell the truth, I'll definitely get beaten up by them again."

"Max."

Max turned his head towards Ultra's figure who was calling out to him. "Xenon."

"I saw you come out of Silver Cross just now. Did something happen to you?" asked Xenon.

"It's okay. It's just a minor injury," Max replied.

"What's a minor injury? Your body is bruised like this and the wound is pretty bad! Are you sure you're okay?" Xenon said.

"I'm fine, Xenon. If you'll excuse me, I still have some work to do," Max hurried away, not caring if Xenon called out to him.

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Max was now in his office, finishing up all his reports that he was going to give to Zoffy. Just as he was about to leave his seat, his senior came in and handed him a stack of assignments.

"What's this?" Max asked.

"An assignment for you, Max. And you have to complete it tonight," Max's senior replied. "But isn't it your assignment? Why should I do it?" said Max.

Max's senior looked sharply at Max, as if not accepting Max's words.

"Listen. I'm your senior, so it's only fair that you do what your senior tells you to do. If you don't want to do it, I'll report it to your superior and I'll beat the crap out of you," Max's senior threatened. Max didn't move, so he nodded his head to indicate that he would do his senior's assignment.

"Good. That's a good Junior," said Max's senior as he walked out of the office, leaving Max to work on his irresponsible senior's pile of assignments.

The next morning,

Max has finished all his assignments. Max was already feeling tired and sleepy. "Hopefully there won't be any missions or assignments today." That's what Max thought. Max remembered that he had to give his report to

Zoffy. He picked up the report and carried it out of the office.

On his way to meet Zoffy, Max met Taro.

"Hi, Max!" greeted Taro.

"Ah, Taro-san! Good morning," Max greeted Taro back.

"Max, are you okay? You look tired," Taro said. Taro took a quick look at the wounds on Max's body. "Max, what's wrong with your body?"

"I'm fine, Taro-san. I just fell down the stairs. I was just working on my assignment last night, and I finished it this morning," Max replied.

Of course Taro knew that Max was lying. Because according to Taro, it was impossible to fall down the stairs with such a severe injury, unless it was from the 1051st step.

"It's not like you're just writing a report for Zoffy. Aren't there not that many assignments from Zoffy? Or maybe...," Taro didn't finish his sentence because Max interrupted him.

"No! It's nothing. I have to quickly give this to Zoffy-san," Max said.

Suddenly Max felt weak, and he fell unconscious.

"Max!" Taro rushed over to Max who was unconscious. "Max! What's wrong, Max? It's bad, I have to take him to Silver Cross. Hang in there, Max! I'll take you to Silver Cross!" Taro carried Max to Silver Cross.

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"I don't know what happened, Max just suddenly fainted," Taro said.

"This is the 34th time this week," Mother of Ultra added.

"It's not the first time Max has been like this. I've had him faint at the training ground," Leo says.

"I've also found Max in an unconscious state, only Max collapsed in a state full of wounds," Astra said.

"Does anyone know why Max is like that?" asked Mother of Ultra.

"I asked him that after he woke up, but he never told me the truth," Astra replied.

Max now lay at Silver Cross unconscious. No one knew why Max was in that condition, because Max chose to hide what had happened.

After a long time, Max finally started to wake up. He opened his eyes slowly, and found himself in Silver Cross... again."Max? Are you awake?"

Max turned his head to the right, and he saw Xenon beside him.

"Xenon? What are you doing here?" Max asked.

"Definitely waiting for you. As soon as Taro-san told me that you fainted and were taken to Silver Cross, I came to see you," Xenon replied.

"I see," said Max. "By the way, how long have I been unconscious?"

"About two days," Xenon replied.

Max nodded, before he realized what Xenon had said.

"WHAT?! TWO DAYS?! I HAVEN'T GIVEN MY REPORT TO ZOFFY-SAN!" shouted Max which could have startled all the Ultra's in Silver Cross, even Xenon was also startled because Max suddenly shouted.

"Max, you don't have to worry. Taro-san already gave it to Zoffy-san. I'm sure Taro-san has also told Zoffy-san about your condition. Zoffy-san is strict, but if he knows about your condition, he will definitely understand," Xenon

explained to calm Max down.

"Is that so? Thank goodness," Max said, although in his heart, he wished his superior could be like Zoffy, strict

but understanding. "But still..."

Xenon's hand held Max's shoulder. "You'd better rest. Don't push yourself."

"Alright. Thank you, Xenon, for keeping me company for the past two days," Max said, then he laid down on the bed.

"I have to go, because I'm still on duty. You rest first, Max," Xenon said.

When Xenon left, Max got up from the bed. He didn't care about the pain all over his body. All Max could think about was the fear of what his seniors and superior might do if he didn't do what they told him to do. Max quietly walked out of Silver Cross.

Max had walked out of Silver Cross and intended to go to his office. When he was about to start walking to the location he was going to, he bumped into Zero.

"Aren't you Max?" Zero had seen Max first. Max tried to ignore Zero, but Zero had already intercepted him.

"Where are you going, Max?" asked Zero.

"It's nothing," Max replied while taking his eyes off Zero.

Zero, just like Taro, noticed several cuts and bruises all over Max's body. "You shouldn't have gone anywhere in the first place. Look at these wounds! Should I take you to...," Zero couldn't finish his words because Max interrupted him.

"I'm fine, Zero! I have to get back to my office too, otherwise...," Max's words were cut off when Zero looked at him seriously.

"If you don't want to rest at Silver Cross, you might as well rest at home. I'll drop you off," Zero said.

"Uh, don't bother, Zero. You'll get in trouble," Max said.

Zero chuckled. "How could I get in trouble just for taking an injured ultra home. Never mind, let me take you.

Max inevitably relented. He allowed the son of Ultraseven to take him home.

On the way, they were intercepted by several ultras who were Max's seniors.

"Hey, Max. Where have you been?" asked Max's senior 1.

"Yeah, your assignments are piling up, Max," Max's senior 2 added.

"I'm sorry, I'll do everything soon," Max said.

Zero wrinkled his forehead, then he whispered to Max. "Max, who are these people?"

"They're my seniors, Zero," Max replied, whispering to Zero.

"Hey!"

Max and Zero looked at Max's seniors.

"How long are you going to stand there, Max? You need to go back to the office and do all your assignments!" said Max's senior 2.

"Don't forget to do our assignments," said Max's senior 3.

"If you don't, we'll punish you," threatened Max's senior Max 1 while clenching his fist.

Max was terrified. Zero, who saw the incident, was annoyed.

"Give Max some time to rest! Look at him! His condition is really bad like this!" exclaimed Zero who was trying to defend Max.

"Heh, Zero, you stay out of this! This is our business with Max," said Max's senior 2.

Zero, whose patience had reached its limit, punched one of Max's seniors. Making the ultra fall down.

"What the hell was that?" grumbled Max's senior who didn't accept being punched by Zero.

"Just because you're Max's seniors, you make Max do whatever you tell him to do regardless of his condition. You guys are such assholes," said Zero while pointing a middle finger at Max's seniors.

"Bastard!" Max's senior, who had been the victims of Zero's fists, got up and wanted to retaliate against Zero, but were held back by his two colleagues.

"Don't!" Max's senior 1 exclaimed.

"He's Zero, Ultraseven's son and Ultraman Leo's student. We could get into trouble if those two find out about this," said Max's senior 3.

They were about to get into a fight when Ultraman 80 came and saw what was happening.

"What's going on? Why are you making such a fuss?" 80 asked.

"Ah, 80-sensei! You see, they...," Zero tried to explain what happened just now, but Max shut his mouth.

"It's okay. It's just a misunderstanding," Max replied.

Zero didn't accept it when he heard Max's answer. He let go of Max's hand that was covering his mouth. "Why are you covering my mouth, Max? The three of them started first!"

80 tried to calm things down. "It's okay. Misunderstandings are natural. By the way, Max. How are you doing?" 80 said.

"I'm fine, 80. But I have to go back to the office. I have a lot to do," Max replied.

Zero looked back at Max with a frowning face. "No, Max. You're not..."

"It's fine. Just remember to rest," 80 interrupted Zero's words.

Max now followed his seniors, leaving Zero who still couldn't believe that Max had to follow his brash seniors.

"Zero, come with me!" invited 80 who had been watching Zero. Zero was still upset with the seniors who had threatened Max. Reluctantly, he obeyed 80.

80 and Zero were now sitting on a bench in the park. Zero was still upset, moreover, he was upset because he failed to defend Max.

"Zero, how long are you going to be upset like that?" asked 80.

"How can I not be upset? They told Max to do whatever they asked, even though Max's condition is not okay! Not to mention they threatened him! Max didn't do anything either! He just said he was fine, when he really wasn't!" grumbled Zero.

"Yes, Max is indeed not fine. But he still forced himself to obey them for some reason. That explains the wounds on

his body," said 80.

"80-sensei knows that?" asked Zero.

80 nodded his head. "I knew that Max was lying about his condition, it showed in his eyes. On top of that, the feeling of fear was also visible in his eyes," replied 80.

"If 80-sensei knew, why didn't you do anything?" asked Zero.

"I believe you, but we need more evidence and witnesses from other ultras that Max was really abused by them. We still need more time," replied 80.

Meanwhile, Max's seniors brought Max together with his superior.

"Hello, Max. I haven't seen you for two days," Max's superior said.

"There's no need to act like you care about me," Max snapped gruffly. "I'm tired of your treatment and theirs. I can't go on like this."

"Listen, Max. You are my subordinate. It's your duty to do what your superior asks," Max's superior said.

"That's enough! I'd better get out of here!" Max exclaimed.

Max's superior, who didn't accept Max's reply, immediately changed his face. From the smile plastered on his face, it turned into annoyance at Max's words.

"Oh, so my subordinate has the courage to fight back huh? Then let your superior discipline you," Max's superior said and got up from his seat. He was getting ready to beat Max up.

At that moment, Max was in a really bad situation.

Xenon had just finished his task when he planned to see Max again."Max must be feeling lonely in Silver Cross. It would be good if I went to see him again," Xenon thought. But on the way, he noticed something in an alley close to the building Xenon was passing by. Xenon stopped for a moment and looked at the figure lying in the alley.

"Isn't that...?" Xenon watched carefully, and when he noticed the figure lying there, Xenon was shocked by the fact that it was....

"MAX!" Xenon exclaimed, and he walked over to Max who was lying limply in the alley with his body covered in fresh wounds.

"Max, why are you here? You should have stayed at Silver Cross," Xenon said as he helped Max up to a sitting position.

"Xenon..., I...," Max didn't have enough energy to say anything to Xenon because of the wounds on his body.

"Shut up, Max. Let me take you back to Silver Cross," Xenon said, and he lifted Max up bridal style to take Max back to Silver Cross.

Arriving at Silver Cross,

"I can't believe that Max left Silver Cross secretly," Xenon said.

"I'm sorry too, Xenon. I also didn't know that Max secretly left Silver Cross without my knowledge," said Marie.

"I don't know what Max was thinking. Why would he leave when he hasn't recovered yet?" said Xenon.

"Based on the examination of the injuries on Max's body, it is suspected that Max left about five hours ago and it is possible that he had a fight with another Ultra," Marie explained.

Xenon was dumbfounded when he heard that. "What do you mean by another Ultra?" asked Xenon.

"The wound on Max's body was not caused by an accident, but it was caused by another Ultra," Marie replied. "I also got suspicious when Max kept saying that he was injured due to trivial things, when the real cause was not that."

Xenon was about to inquire further when he heard Zero's voice.

"Oh, is that so? It's a relief that Max is at Silver Cross again."

Xenon turned his head towards where Zero was. Zero was inquiring about Max's condition to one of the Ultra on duty at Silver Cross. Before that, Xenon thanked Ultrawoman Marie while bowing respectfully to her. After that, he walked over to Zero.

"Zero, can we talk for a moment?" asked Xenon.

"Sure," Zero replied.

The two of them decided to talk outside Silver Cross, and Zero told him about what happened after Max secretly left Silver Cross.

"They did what?!" Xenon was surprised after he listened to what Zero had told him.

"That's right, Xenon. I also didn't like when they told Max to do whatever they told him to do, even though Max's condition wasn't very good. Moreover, one of them threatened Max. If I meet them again, I'll beat them up!" scolded Zero.

Xenon nodded his head, then he thought that maybe that was why Max didn't want to tell the truth.

"One more thing, Xenon. When 80-sensei came and I tried to tell him about the incident, Max just shut me up and said that he was fine. It seems like there's something that makes Max afraid that the incident he experienced is known by other ultras. 80-sensei said that Max's fear can be seen in his eyes," Zero said.

"I see," Xenon said.

"Looks like Max's problem is quite complicated," Xenon thought.

Meanwhile at Silver Cross, in the room where Max was being treated, Max started to wake up and he opened his eyes slowly.

"Awake already?"

Max heard a voice, but it wasn't Xenon's. Max opened his eyes completely. To Max's surprise, the one beside his bed was his superior, Ultraman Frost.

"F-Frost?" Max was startled, making him wake up from his sleep and lean his back.

"I'm sure you must be well-rested. So it's best if you get up and come with me now," Frost said as he grabbed Max's wrist roughly.

"Let go of me!" shouted Max.

Max's screams were heard all the way to the Silver Cross hallway, and his screams were heard by the three ultras, namely Tiga, Dyna and Gaia who happened to be in the Silver Cross.

"Who's yelling at Silver Cross?" asked Tiga.

"I don't know," Gaia replied.

"We'd better go over," suggested Dyna.

Tiga, Dyna and Gaia immediately walked over to the source of the noise. On the way, they met Frost who dragged Max by force.

"Wait a minute, isn't that ultra still injured?" asked Gaia.

"Yes, you're right," replied Dyna.

The three of them walked up to Frost and Max and intercepted them.

"Hey, what are you doing?" asked Tiga.

"It's nothing. It's none of your business anyway," replied Frost.

"But he still hasn't recovered," said Gaia.

"So what? I just wanted to take Max home. That's all," Frost said.

Dyna turned to Max, and he saw Max shaking his head. Dyna took that as a signal from Max not to trust Frost right away.

"Lies! After all, you can't take an injured ultra without asking the Mother of Ultra for permission!" Dyna exclaimed.

"How did you know?" asked Frost, then he glared at Max. "You must have told them, right?"

Frost grasped Max's wrist harder, and prepared to beat Max up. Before Frost could throw a punch at Max, Dyna had already punched Frost until Frost released his grip from Max's wrist and fell down.

"Don't even dare!" Dyna snarled. Frost woke up holding his cheek that was hit by Dyna's fist. Frost ran away and left them.

"That's right! Just get out of here!" snapped Tiga. Meanwhile, Gaia helped Max up.

"Are you okay?" asked Gaia. Max nodded.

"That's good. Then let us take you to your room," Gaia said. Tiga, Dyna and Gaia took Max back to his room.

In Max's room,

"So your name is Max?" asked Tiga.

"How did you know my name?" asked Max.

"The ultra that I just punched said your name," replied Dyna.

"Who exactly is that ultra?" asked Gaia.

"His name is Frost. He's my superior," replied Max.

"So he's your superior? But his treatment of you was too....," Tiga stopped his words.

"Too what?" Max wanted to know what Tiga thought about his superior.

Tiga sighed before he uttered the single word, "abusive."

Max wrinkled his forehead.

"I mean, if he's your superior, he should understand about your condition, right? He acts like he doesn't care about your condition and always forces you to do whatever he says," Tiga explained.

"I know that," Max said.

"If you know that, why do you still want to be his subordinate?" Gaia asked.

Max was just about to answer when he heard the sound of the door opening.

"Max?" Xenon called Max's name and he was surprised by the three ultras who were with Max.

Max who realized Xenon's presence immediately told Xenon. "It's okay, Xenon. The three of them are my friends."

"Actually, we just met," said Dyna.

"I see. In that case, thank you for accompanying Max," said Xenon.

Tiga walked over to Xenon, then touched Xenon's shoulder while whispering to him. "Xenon, can we talk for a minute?"

Tiga and Xenon were now in the Silver Cross hallway, outside Max's room. Tiga also recounted what had happened at the Silver Cross in Xenon's absence.

"So that's what happened," Xenon said with a flat face, although in his heart, he felt furious after hearing that incident. Xenon clenched his fists in a show of frustration at Frost, Max's superior.

"That's what happened. And I feel that Max can't stay in Silver Cross for long without anyone to accompany him," said Tiga.

"Actually, I can accompany Max, but if there are tasks and missions...," Xenon's words stopped.

"If you want, we can help. If you have a mission, so one of us can accompany Max," suggested Tiga.

"I'm sorry. If it's like this, I'm inconveniencing you guys," Xenon said.

"That's okay. After all, we're already Max's friends," said Tiga.

Since that incident, the four of them often took turns to look after Max. Xenon also acted casually as if he still didn't understand Max's problem.

Until one day,

"Damn it, I got a mission today!" exclaimed Dyna.

"I got a mission too," said Gaia.

"Me too," said Tiga.

"Actually, I have a mission too, but I can't leave Max," said Xenon.

"HUA! How's this? There's no one to look after Max at this rate!" grumbled Dyna.

Max overheard their conversation. Max opened the door to his room and spoke to them.

"You guys got a mission? You'd better go if the mission is that important," Max said.

Xenon, as well as Tiga, Dyna and Gaia turned to Max. They couldn't believe what Max was saying.

"But, Max...,"

"It's okay. Besides, I'll recover soon. You guys don't have to worry," Max said.

"Max, are you sure? I don't have the heart to leave you either," said Xenon.

"It's okay, Xenon. I'll be fine," said Max.

Reluctantly, the four of them left Max to carry out their mission.

After the four friends left, Max quietly left Silver Cross. However, Max didn't want to go to his office, he wanted to go home. Max knew that Frost could come again, so he decided it was better to go home and lock all the doors and windows. At least until Xenon returned from his mission.

On the other hand, Zero was with Cosmos when they both saw Max.

"Max? Why isn't he at Silver Cross? Isn't he afraid that he'll run into his seniors again?" grumbled Zero.

"How about we follow him?" Cosmos suggested.

"Good idea," said Zero.

Zero and Cosmos followed Max to make sure he didn't run into his seniors, or return to his office.

As they followed and watched Max, they realized that Max wasn't walking towards his office.

"He must be going home," said Zero.

"If that's what he wants, that's good," said Cosmos.

Just as they were breathing a sigh of relief, Max was suddenly intercepted and grabbed by his seniors. Max, who realized the presence of his seniors, rebelled and fought back, but his strength was not equal to the strength of his three seniors because Max's condition had not fully recovered. Max was dragged to a place by the three of them.

Zero and Cosmos, who witnessed the incident, immediately followed them.

Max was taken to a place. It looked like an old building. Max was brought into the place.

Zero and Cosmos followed them, but when they were about to enter, the door was locked.

"Shit! It's locked!" cursed Zero.

"Zero, how about we peek through the window?" suggested Cosmos.

"Okay, just as long as they don't catch us," said Zero.

The two of them then peeked through the window. They made sure that none of Max's seniors noticed their presence.

"Wow, Max. Long time no see," Frost said.

"I haven't seen you for five days, Frost. Don't act like you care about me," Max said.

"You're still mad about that time? It was just a misunderstanding, Max," Frost said.

Max turned his face away from Frost.

"Hey, don't turn your face away from your superior!" One of Max's seniors kicked Max until he fell down.

"Don't be rude to him. After all, he is my subordinate. Be nice to him," Frost reprimanded.

"You talk like that when you're just like them," Max snapped.

"No, it's more like your seniors follow what I say. You know that a junior must obey his senior, and a subordinate must obey his superior," Frost said.

Max tried to get up when Frost walked up to him and grabbed him by the neck. "As your superior, I have to take care of you from those ultras," Frost said.

Max struggled to get Frost to release his grip on his neck. "During my time with them, I realized that I should

have stayed away from you. At least they care more about me, especially Xenon."

"Xenon? So you'd rather be with that ultra loser than your superior?" Frost stared at Max in shock and disbelief at Max's words.

"Xenon isn't an ultra loser! He's my friend! He's always been there for me, even though I never told him the truth! Xenon is my friend who really cares about me!" Max exclaimed.

Frost began to feel annoyed that Max had begun to disobey him again.

"So this loyal and obedient subordinate of mine has dared to fight back huh? Then let your superior discipline you," Frost said. Then he released his grip from Max's neck. After that, he grabbed the back of Max's neck and dragged him until they approached a container filled with water. Frost let go of the back of Max's neck, then switched to holding the back of Max's head and submerged Max's head in the water.

Max thrashed about. He was struggling to breathe. However, Frost buried Max's head deeper into the water.

Max's seniors, including Zero and Cosmos who saw the incident, felt sorry for Max.

"Frost-san, isn't that too much?" asked one of Max's seniors. A feeling of empathy began to show on his face.

"Shut up, it's just my way as a superior to discipline my subordinates," Frost replied.

"But it's not like that!" Max's other seniors shouted.

"You guys are starting to fight too, aren't you? You better leave before I do the same to you!" threatened Frost. The three ultra seniors were scared and they left Frost because they didn't want to feel the same way.

"Insolent!" Zero was furious. He intended to break the window and go straight through it to beat Frost up, but Cosmos held him back.

"No, Zero, we can't take action on a whim! It's better if we report this to Ultra Brother," Cosmos said.

"Alright, but we have to hurry! I don't know what that jerk will do to Max after this," said Zero.

Zero and Cosmos left to report the incident to Ultra Brother.

Unbeknownst to them, Frost was about to start the most horrific deeds on Max.