Doctor Hetra (2)
"Heh-heh, you're here? Well, it's not for anything particularly good… but it's nice seeing you this often anyway. When I finally retire someday, you should drop by once in a while just to talk."
Gulp—
"…Huu. I don't know when it'll be, but the day will come when you can finally set down your burdens and rest easy too. More importantly, I need to take your measurements, so raise your arm for me."
"Hmm? Hahaha. Sure. Ten years, twenty years—I'll keep saving everyone for as long as I can. No idea when that day will actually arrive, but when it does, I promise I'll visit often."
Inside the research lab attached to the Ability Management Department, Na-yul—her tired face now sporting even darker circles under the eyes than before—took a sip of the black coffee beside her and spoke while running something like a small handheld scanner over my outstretched body.
…Judging by the way she was talking, she was clearly laboring under some serious misunderstanding as well.
Still, unlike Ravi, she hadn't actually seen me collapse, so at least she wasn't fretting over my life itself—something that was never in any real danger. I was grateful she hadn't gone so far as to entertain that particular absurd delusion.
"Well, the basic data's all here already. But the Suitra is notoriously finicky to handle, so it's best to lock it perfectly to the wearer's body before the final adjustments. Even the tiniest mismatch can turn into a fatal injury mid-operation."
Swish—
She pressed herself even closer while scanning me with the device. Maybe it was the high heels she was wearing, but despite the considerable difference in our heights, her long hair kept brushing lightly against my cheek, leaving a strangely awkward sensation.
…Ugh. And her chest has been pressed against me this whole time. It's getting kind of hard to ignore. Wouldn't it be faster to just step into that giant airport-style body scanner in the back and get it done in one go?
Gulp.
But Na-yul was swallowing quietly and concentrating so intently on her work that…
I decided not to voice such an uncertain doubt out loud.
…Honestly, as a liberal-arts guy who was nowhere near an expert, what the hell did I know about the process of building a suit packed with this much future tech?
I had been forcibly possessed into this body with nothing more than a college dropout for a final degree, while the woman in front of me was a bona-fide genius holding multiple doctorates.
Rub, rub.
"Heh-heh-heh, so just stay still. This is incredibly important work. You absolutely must not move."
"Ahem. Right. But it's getting a little ticklish. If possible, could you go just a bit faster—"
"Heh-heh! No. You can't just rush something like this. This suit has to be molded completely to the wearer's body. So stay exactly like that a little longer."
Rub, rub.
…So even if I currently felt like a high-school girl being groped on the subway, that was clearly just a ridiculous delusion on my part.
Na-yul liked to mess around a lot, but when it came to work she was always serious. There was no way she would be touching me like this for no reason at all.
Rub, rub.
Wait a second… why is she using her hands instead of the scanner…? Don't tell me there's some actual reason for that too…?
.
.
.
"Huu, all done. The measurements are perfect—not a single micron of error—so once the suit is finished, it'll fit you like a second skin, Smile."
"…Yeah. Anyway, I really do have to thank you for this, Na-yul. Once it's complete, I'll make sure to put it to good use whenever the moment calls for it."
"Nah, don't worry about it. Your usage data will definitely help my research, so it's a win-win."
A few minutes later—
I, who had somehow managed to feel the faintest flicker of kinship with a high-school girl finally escaping a pervert on the subway, turned to Na-yul—whose dark circles had mysteriously vanished and who no longer looked the least bit tired—and offered a brief farewell.
After receiving a quick rundown of the suit's functions, I spun on my heel, ready to leave the lab and return to hero work.
Heh-heh. Anyway, she said it'll be fully finished in just a few more days. I'm weirdly looking forward to it. Doesn't seem like it fires lasers or missiles like in the movies, but it still has way more functions than I expected.
…And contrary to my original assumptions, if what Na-yul told me was true, this suit wasn't just for looking cool on the outside.
Even for someone like me—who treated every villain as either "as sturdy as a cookie" or "as sturdy as hardtack"—it actually offered genuine practical help during operations.
…It's bulkier and thicker than the suits other heroes wear, sure, but I never imagined it would let me fly all the way into the sky.
Yeah. Honestly, minor features like strength enhancement or barrier deployment had always been nothing more than cool window dressing with zero real utility.
Yet this suit, without so much as a pair of wing-like thrusters, was supposedly capable of high-speed flight on par with a jet fighter.
…I vaguely remembered her saying it cost several hundred billion won. Thinking about the price of actual jets, that almost seemed too cheap.
Maybe she meant the materials alone cost several hundred billion, not the finished suit itself…?
If this weren't a public-service "hero" enhancement suit—and if it didn't also help Na-yul's research raise the performance of suits used by everyone—then the thing would have been so expensive that my heart getting shredded into thousands of pieces right now wouldn't have been surprising.
Heh-heh! I've been feeling pretty uneasy every time I fly these days, so this should help me breathe a little easier.
And with an exterior this stylish on top of everything else, it was truly killing two birds with one stone.
If I had to do hero work anyway, wouldn't I feel at least a little better doing it in a cool suit like this instead of a beat-up tracksuit?
"Heh-heh, how about it? Sound pretty useful once you hear the details? So while this is being finished, take extra care of yourself out there. You staying healthy and uninjured is good for the people too, right?"
"Haha! Yeah. I'll come visit again later then. In the meantime, don't push yourself too hard either, Na-yul—"
So I took one last look at the suit that would soon be fitted to my body and was just about to offer Na-yul a final goodbye before truly leaving the lab when…
KRAAAAAASH—!!!
…Suddenly a small capsule-shaped spacecraft came plummeting out of the sky.
Right into the middle of the Ability Management Department—a place packed with lab staff, department agents, the minister who sent me disaster alerts every single day, Director Na-yul herself, and every other high-ranking official imaginable.
"What the—?! Wh-what the hell is that all of a sudden?! Security team! Grab your weapons and assemble right now!"
"Hiiiek—!! I-is that a villain?! Why would a villain show up here of all places?! This place is crawling with department agents, and the Ministry of National Defense building is right next door! Wait—! Th-that face… don't tell me…!"
Squish, squish.
"Uwahahahaha!! Long time no see, Smile! Today, in this very place, I will devour you and ascend to the realm of the gods above the sky!"
…An octopus-headed villain whose tentacle-like hair dripped water strode forward, his body somehow looking even more cephalopod-like than before…
and trailing a scent that reeked of the ocean as he boldly revealed himself right in front of me.
Uh…? Wait, that guy…
Squish, squish.
"Uwahaha! What's wrong, Smile? So happy to see me after all this time that you can't even open your mouth…? Or are you just tense because I appeared at such an inconvenient 'moment'?"
.
.
.
…What the hell was that guy's name again…?
…No, of course I knew who he was.
He was that octopus-headed doctor who had once kidnapped Na-yul and held her captive.
Even among mutant ability users his appearance was uniquely grotesque, and he was one of the rare villains I had actually gone overseas to capture, so of course I remembered his face.
…But he wasn't a villain who appeared in the original game like Eternox.
How was I supposed to remember the name of some guy I had locked up more than a decade ago?
I caught several villains every single day. Honestly, just managing to remember his face was already a miracle.
Tsk. So it was Doctor Hetoran, right…? Or was it Doctor Hectoras…?
…Ah, damn it. No matter how hard I racked my brain, nothing came up.
Well, his name didn't really matter all that much.
Still, this was a truly vile bastard who had created countless victims worldwide before I put him away…
and for me—the hero who actually arrested him—to get his name wrong right in front of Na-yul of all people would just feel wrong.
"Uwahahaha! What's the matter, Smile? Freezing up like someone who's completely flustered. Shouldn't you be protecting all those trembling people around you?"
.
.
.
"…Or is it that right now… you simply aren't in any 'condition' to do so?"
Squish, squish.
…Ah, whatever. I'll just avoid using his name.
So I settled on roughly calling him "you bastard" and was about to walk toward the octopus head when…
"Uwahaha! If that's not the case, then why are you just standing there staring at me even though I, Doctor Hetra, have come all the way here? …Come on, say it like you did back then—declare with style that you're going to arrest me!"
…That wicked yet oddly considerate octopus head kindly announced his own name at the perfect timing.
Ah, right. It was Hetra. …I was pretty close, though.
Now there was no risk of the atmosphere turning weird because I got the name wrong.
Looking at the villain who had so thoughtfully delivered himself right to my doorstep—apparently eager to help me fill my daily quota—I struck my usual composed pose and spoke flatly.
"…Doctor Hetra. What business brings you here? I have been continually concerned ever since news of your escape reached me. To dare reveal yourself before me like this."