When I Return, We Shall Have Much to Say
A heavy thudding rolled over the ice. Ten hulking helicopters settled onto the Arctic, flinging a wind of snow before them, and from the one whose bulk stood out among the rest, a giant of a man set his foot in the snowfield.
He stood a good two meters tall. His head bore an uncanny resemblance to a gorilla's, and his forearms were thick as rock. He was so thoroughly furred that, while everyone else had bundled themselves in warm, heavy clothes, he alone went about in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts—and still he did not look cold. A magnificent ruff of chest hair spilled from the open front of his clothes, and fine hairs bristled along his legs like driven needles. He had chosen an animal's way of keeping warm rather than a human's.
He was one of Terra's heroes, and a man who had once taken the American hero world by storm. Tough Guy.
Hwang Seokgu and Dan Miryu put their heads together over a bit of gossip that reeked of false teeth.
"Well, now. Another big fish has turned up."
"That's Tough Guy, isn't it? They made an animated series out of him. A movie, too..."
"That wild-man fashion of his caused no end of trouble. Fans tried to copy him and went strutting around in short sleeves in the dead of winter, then came down with frostbite. I even heard one of the worse cases lost all five fingers."
Captain Kid spread both arms in welcome.
"Thank you for coming, Tough Guy. I never imagined you would come in person."
Tough Guy smiled, wide and bright, and the muscles of Captain Kid's face went into spasm. The corners of that mouth climbed as high as they could go, and the brows jutted up in uneven ridges. A face webbed with wrinkles, bearded like a thicket, was frightful and grotesque enough to crawl out of a child's nightmare. Captain Kid broke into a cold sweat down his back and fought desperately to keep his expression in order. From Tough Guy's own point of view, he was smiling with the warmest possible delight. He was, unexpectedly, a tender-hearted man; put a foot wrong, and one would have to watch that face crumple into tears.
A refined, beautiful voice and an old-fashioned turn of phrase, wholly at odds with the look of him, rang out across the snow. The crisp enunciation, as if a professional voice actor were speaking, came along with it.
"Captain Kid, my old friend. You have had a hard time of it on this mission."
"I did very little. It was all thanks to the aid of Mr. Dan Miryu and his companions."
"Oh! So those are they!"
Tough Guy's eyes lit, and he strode over to the party huddled together.
"An honor to meet you, Mr. Dan. I have long heard tell of the guardian house of Korea."
He set one hand to his chest and inclined his head in a silent salute. At that disciplined greeting, the very picture of a gentleman, Dan Miryu answered in kind.
"The honor is mine, to look upon so great a hero."
"You are too kind. Those words properly belong to another."
Tough Guy waved the praise away.
"Our thanks to you for lending Terra a hand in this subjugation. A villain we have pursued for a very long time is ours at last."
"Lend a hand? Without Terra, we could never have reached the Arctic at all. Even if we had, we could not have dreamed of follow-up work on Terra's scale."
Dan Miryu glanced at Captain Kid, who was directing the personnel climbing down from the helicopters. Armed with every kind of specialized instrument, they moved into the institute under Roadman's lead. The kit and the expert hands stood out on every single one of them. There would be scientists among that number, and heroes as well. Inside Korea, the Dan clan could have mustered forces enough, but out here—abroad, and in the remotest wilderness of all, the middle of the Arctic—it was beyond them.
Dan Miryu was impressed. As the head of an organization, he knew just how impossible a thing like that was. And this was only the advance party. Scientist's institute was no ordinary size, and the follow-up forces were due to arrive in steady succession.
"But where is the target himself, the villain Scientist? I was told he had been taken alive..."
"Ah. That..."
At Tough Guy's question, Dan Miryu let the words trail off. His eyes darted uneasily, and he extended a finger toward one side.
At the end of that finger, Scientist's body had just begun to rewrite itself.
"GWEEEEEEEEEK!!!"
Scientist retched where he lay. Spit and gastric fluid spilled between his lips, and after that the body's major organs poured out without distinction—lungs, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, liver. They rolled themselves up in the snowfield into a pizza of viscera, and the pizza crawled back to Scientist's abdomen, tore his clothes, split his belly, and settled once more into the places they had come from.
As if none of it had ever happened, Scientist was perfectly whole. His breathing was even, and his complexion peaceful.
Tough Guy, who had watched the entire sequence, clapped a hand over his mouth. His face went whiter than the snow.
"What did I just..."
"Do not look. And do not question it."
Dan Miryu opened the Stone of Resurrection a crack and mended Tough Guy's mind.
"He is merely receiving a punishment befitting the sins he committed."
Tough Guy did not press the matter. He simply trusted Captain Kid's judgment, and Captain Kid trusted these people.
"Understood. Then, might I ask you to spare me a moment?"
"A moment?"
"If you are willing, I should like to invite you to Terra."
"To Terra?"
Dan Miryu's eyes went wide.
"Yes. Our madam is preparing a modest little party. We would be most grateful if you would attend. We will see to it that nothing is made inconvenient for you."
"Hmm..."
Dan Miryu looked around at his companions.
"Is there anyone who wishes to go?"
Hwang Seokgu and Elder Wildflower shook their heads. Shrine Priest Tsukumi, Dan Miryong, Alexei, and Sipsado did the same. Dan Chuyeon and Na Wangrang were curious what sort of place the secret society that guarded the earth from the shadows might be, but the moment Mi Soryeong glared, they gave it up.
Dan Miryu counted them off on his fingers. Dan Miryu, Hong Yumin, Pele, San-gun, Do Kyungsoo. Set against the full strength of the subjugation party, the number had shrunk sharply. Tough Guy looked regretful at a tally of only four people and one beast.
"Those who are returning, we will send a separate transport. Those who are coming, please follow me at once."
He was on the point of courteously guiding the five when the badge on his chest flashed. A flippant voice, soaked in fatigue and thick with annoyance, spilled out of it.
"Wait, Tough Guy! You forgot something important!"
"Doctor. Why are you...? Have you been watching this whole time?"
"Well, obviously! Terra spent decades failing to catch that villain, and a clan from the peninsula just bagged him. You think I could sit still when I was this curious?"
"And more important than that! Why'd you forget the custody transfer on the villain?! I don't care about the rest, but we are taking that! There's a blood price owed for our people!"
The bombshell dropped by the man called the Doctor laid a silence over the gathering. Hwang Seokgu narrowed his eyes. Elder Wildflower bared his teeth in a thin line. The air around Sipsado and Dan Miryong sank.
Tough Guy spoke in a hardened voice.
"...Doctor. Do not meddle rashly in matters on the ground. I have my work, and you have yours."
"Hey, you thick-headed idiot! I'm helping you! You're just going to wipe your ass and go home like this? Terra has its standing to think of—how can you just leave the villain—!"
With a crunch, Tough Guy ground the badge to pieces under his hand.
"I apologize. There has been a mistake on our side."
"I should hope this will not happen again."
Dan Miryu could not make his voice a gentle one. He knew well enough that Terra bore ample grievance against Scientist, but they had no particular claim on the man. Looked at closely, neither did the subjugation party. There was only one person who could handle Scientist as he pleased.
"Oh, is that the North Star? First time I've seen it in my life."
Do Kyungsoo lay sprawled on his back, idly kicking one leg.
"Mr. Phantom."
"Yes?"
"You need to get up."
"Ah. Is it that time already."
Do Kyungsoo rose, patting the snow from his back.
"An invitation from Terra. Queen Knight must have wrung out some of her precious time. I look forward to seeing what sort of meeting this will be."
He gave Tough Guy a short bow. Tough Guy returned it in a fluster.
Since when has he been there?
Do Kyungsoo clapped his hands and lightened the air.
"Now, now. The Doctor did say something he shouldn't have, but don't frown so hard. He's eccentric, self-centered, and he follows feeling more than reason, but he's a good man. Just now he flew off the handle thinking of the colleagues Scientist killed."
"Let's all part on good terms. Scientist has a bit of sightseeing to do in Korea anyway."
"Ms. Mi Soryeong. Catch."
Do Kyungsoo tossed something to her. It was a remote with nothing on it but a red button.
"...What is this?"
"A punishment button. It can turn Scientist's condition on and off."
Mi Soryeong pressed it. Scientist, from whose every hole cockroaches had been crawling, froze where he was. The cockroaches vanished, scuttling backward as if time had been thrown into reverse.
"Oh."
"Hoh."
Hwang Seokgu and Elder Wildflower smacked their lips with interest.
"Once he comes to, well. One button, and you'll be able to enjoy all sorts of reactions."
"Right, then. I'll be heading for the helicopter."
Do Kyungsoo ambled off. Tough Guy let out a complicated sigh.
"You may take my helicopter. It's large enough that the tiger can ride as well."
Those bound for Terra boarded Tough Guy's helicopter. It lifted away, and the people below waved as if to see them off. Hong Yumin turned a complicated gaze on the dragon lying stretched upon the ground.
She left behind the dragon who could not answer.
The helicopter sped away.
Its destination was Terra, headquarters of the secret society that guarded the earth.