Chapter 2

At the heroes association.

The meeting was rather interesting after Bad left, and the shadow vanished, there came an odd silence among the Heroes in the room. Zombieman took out a fresh smoke and was quick to partake in it. "What do we do now? This seems fishy to me…" he said.

"Indeed it does, however I think this is an opportunity." Said Silverfang. "Considering there has been no one who isn't a shadow has been permitted on the council before. We have heard from Snek as well Jima is his uncle. Snek's family is very well educated in the ways of various being and knows to see thing from other perspectives. That, and perhaps this council truly wishes to have proper representation." He said.

"Be that as it may, why me?" Zombieman demanded. "Why not you? Why not Flash?"

"Are you resenting this?" asked Atomic.

"Just trying to figure out what they want from someone like me." His back was up, despite what it is offering. Zombieman couldn't help but sense a trap to say the least. After all, he was nobody's fool.

He has spent his years researching the 'others' that live on this world. He was the first to discover the truth about Snek, then realized Pig God was an actual god. Slowly, the world began to reveal its secrets and many were hidden within the Heroes association. He was still out of place among the others who hide in the human world. But then again, Zombieman felt as if he weren't part of either one. One Dr. Genus made him immortal in a lab, since then, he has been called a monster among men. One who does not die no matter what is thrown at them is considered very strange and monster like.

With the meeting done, Zombieman was the first to leave the room. He wanted to do more research about this so-called Shadow King and it's role in this world.

He just stepped out of the room and took a right when suddenly…

DROP

Zombieman was tripped, yet didn't hit the ground. Instead, he sat up and was in a darkness he has never seen or felt before! "Oh good, you came. Come, we are about to start the meeting."

He looked up to see a glowing silhouette of Jima from earlier. He was still looking like a shadow but had a neon blue glow to his body, the front of his chest and his face. "What the hell… where am I?"

"The shadow realm." Jima explained. "Come Z, we are waiting for you."

"The name is Zombieman," he snapped back.

He picked himself up off the floor, in an instant a plume of smoke appeared and then a shadowy table. Representatives sat before him and yet he couldn't help but notice what sat there.

"Let's see, Hellcat, werewolf, Naga, Orc, Minotaur, vampire, Troll and a… dragon…" the dragon he noticed at the far end of the table, it was a massive thing and yet it sat with great patience. "Okay, what the hell is all of this?"

"Z, these are the strongest of our forces that are under our King's command, the lesser known races are adopted under these leaders due to similar traits they share and common battled strategies. They are the strongest of their kind and I have chosen them to represent their legions. They speak on their behalf. Shadows of the council, representing the humans, Z!" Jima announced.

"Zombieman!" he protested.

Jima however was unwavering. "Our King has called you Z, until he has told us otherwise, you are Z to us. Have a seat."

He sneered at the notion yet took a seat on the opposite side of the table. Jima took command as he explained the situation. "We are here to make certain our King has the best forces at his command, we will ensure that we will not fail, we will not waver and more importantly, we will be there for him! Agreed?" he asked.

The table roared in agreement with Jima, Zombieman froze as he saw just how blindly loyal they are to him. The dragon spoke, but even thought he understood the shadow language, the dragon didn't speak it to say the least. It was low growls and tones that merely got a nod from Jima. "For those who may not understand our dragon friend has offered to become body guard to the princess. Are there any objections?"

"I DO!" protested the Minotaur. "Why should the dragon have such honor in defending the Princess? Leave that job to me, I am better suited!"

"NO ME!" stated the Orc. "Protecting the Princess would be a great pleasure!"

The table broke out into arguments until Jima settled thing. "ENOUGH!" he called. But then turned to Zombieman. "Z, if one were to defend the princess, who among the table is worthy or better suited to the task?" he asked.

He was stunned that they sought his opinion. He took a moment to think about it. 'Protecting the princess? They must mean Bad's sister.' He thought. Looking about the table he stared down each of the shadows until he asked. "Who here can change their size and form?"

"We all can to the point of our original states!" proclaimed the Hellcat.

"Okay, how big can each of you become… can you become as big as the dragon there?" he asked.

The table fell silent as the Dragon appeared to have a smug look on its face now. "You can change your shape to become smaller, correct?" he asked.

The dragon nodded. "Are you full size right now?" he asked, it shook its head no. "Then let the dragon do it."

"WHAT!" the others demanded. "Princess Zenko is a treasure to our King!" protested the werewolf.

"Yeah, and I know what kind of monsters are up there in the human world. You got that dragon that can deal with all of them. For the rest of you, some will be too big to handle and you need more of you to take down a monster. Nah, you are better to leave Zenko with the dragon."

The table fell silent but reluctantly nodded. The dragon bowed its head before departing. "Where the hell did it go?"

"To protect Princess Zenko. It will remain in her shadow until needed." Jima explained.

Zombieman couldn't help but feel he may have made a mistake in judgment on this…

#

The meeting went on. Jima was merely explaining to Zombieman of those under the command of the new Shadow King. As such, those forces will do anything to protect him and do what he asks. "He could come up to us and state he wishes to consume our shadow. We will do so with honor!"

"Yeesh, you guys won't challenge him?" Zombieman asked.

"Why would we?" asked the werewolf. "You fail to understand how strong our king is. As well, how generous this one has been to us."

"Generous?"

Jima explained. "In the reign of the old king, we shadows are given nothing. We were forced to live within the king himself when he has a new vessel, until he commanded us to do his bidding. We were trapped in a confined space until the summoning. This one, has graciously allowed us to live outside of his physical body. He had given us the gracious command of 'live in comfort of my shadow, as long as it does not hinder the comfort of others' since then, the shadow realm has changed drastically. When there was darkness, there are now places we each can go to and call home. Never has such been offered to mere underlings of the King before. This isn't limited to the council either, but all under his command. Well over a few million to say the least."

Zombieman froze. A few million?

"Wait… you mean…"

"The Shadow King has been gathering legions for thousands of years, all legions created from the previous king can be absorbed into the newer one before death occurs. We were fortunate that Bad did such a thing before Pig God devoured the former ruler. As such, we are eternally grateful to our new Monarch, we will serve him well and honor him as much as possible."

'Creepy' Zombieman thought. "So, why do you need me?" he asked.

"You will be our tie breaker, as you just were now with the legions. You will also be our representative to speak on our behalf if the King does now wish for us, his shadow warriors to enter a conversation. We will refrain, but ask if you speak well on our behalf."

"Uh… huh… what's in it for me? No offence or anything…"

"None taken. Being on our council, you have our word, should there come a time where you, yourself are in need of help. We will answer you, Z, our shadowless brother!"

'This shit is getting weirder and weirder…' He paused to consider it all, but then an idea struck him. "Is it possible for me to move through the darkness like you do? In the human realm, I am more of a spy and tend to go to dangerous areas to survey monsters that could be a threat. Is it possible to gain the ability?" he asked.

The shadows appeared rather surprised. "Is that all you desire? To be able to travel through the darkness as we do and our king?" asked the Hellcat.

"As long as I don't get turned into a shadow for the sake of that lone ability, yes, please." He said graciously.

"No problem" announced Jima. His hands began to contort oddly as a glass vile appeared to have form into his hands. With a satisfied nod, he took the container and offered it to Zombieman. "Drink this in the human world, and in complete darkness. From then on, you will be table to travel as we do. You will also be able to come here if you ever feel the need to. However I should mention, you merely can't walk into a dark corner unless you know where you wish to be. Have a good sense of what is around you and the areas you tend to travel to."

He took the vial and tucked it away for the time being. "Are we done here?"

"Indeed, I will send you back. Welcome Z, to the council of the king!"

Before he could even stand up and out of the chair, Zombieman felt himself pulled down! Yet when he jolted, he sat up against a dark part of the hallway of the Heroes Association. "Goddamn it that's annoying." He muttered. Picking himself off the ground, he decided to head out and survey the areas he has been keeping an eye on. Yet he wondered if he should take the vial, after all, for all he knows, these shadows could be lying to him!