A Long-Awaited Reunion
The outskirts of Queens, New York.
A dilapidated alleyway, quite a distance from the nearest subway station.
It was a place where sunlight barely filtered through even during the day, and at night, the harsh glare of neon signs easily outshone the streetlights.
I paused for a moment at the entrance of the alley.
It's exactly the same. No, actually, it's better now than it was back then.
This place was incredibly familiar to me.
It was here that I had first met Hope, and it was here that we had always met for our subsequent rendezvous.
Back then, I had been far more bloodied and desperate than I was now.
And Hope, too, had been much more broken.
"Hands up."
Seeing Hope pointing a handgun and a plasma gun at me, I felt a strange sensation.
"You're already here."
Deep down, I was glad to see her.
Even the way she aimed her weapons and spat out curses first thing.
It was exactly the Hope I remembered.
"Cut the bullshit and put your hands up. Take your hands out of your pockets while I'm still being nice."
Her voice was low, dry, and irritable.
I slowly raised both hands in compliance with her demand.
"Take half a step back with your left foot. One wrong move and you're dead. I mean it."
"Of course. I don't doubt it."
"Then who told you to push my buttons first?"
Keeping my eyes locked on her, I scanned my surroundings.
A thermal imaging lens peeked through the broken window on the right wall.
An EMP shock grenade was nestled inside a small metal box hidden in the trash can.
And—
—Whirrrrr—
A drone?
The faint, high-pitched hum of a motor cutting through the air reached my ears.
As expected, despite her terrible personality, her preparations had been thorough even back then.
Still, there are plenty of blind spots. Well, it is early days for her, after all.
Of course, it wasn't perfect.
With this level of preparation, she would struggle to deter top-tier villains or heroes.
But none of that mattered right now.
—Step.
With my hands still raised, I turned toward the direction of the voice.
"Are you that bastard?"
Out of the darkness, the silhouette of a woman began to emerge.
Messy black hair.
Old goggles pushed up onto her forehead.
Dead eyes that looked like they hadn't seen sleep in days.
And four mechanical arms moving slowly behind her back.
An appearance that couldn't be further from the name 'Hope'...
She scanned me from head to toe, her expression completely flat as she spoke without a hint of emotion.
"The bastard who spouted that bullshit about whether I was worse than Pax."
"I am Ryu Hajun."
"Ha, Ryu Hajun. Must be one of Pax's corporate dogs."
One of the mechanical arms on her back moved silently.
—Whirrr—
A blue spark began to gather at the tip of the mechanical limb.
"How did you know that code? And how did you even find out about that messenger? Has Pax's reach extended that far?"
Well, that was undoubtedly the real reason she had come all this way.
That messenger app wasn't something official heroes used.
It was for fences, illegal modders, and villains hiding their identities.
And the nameless clients who did business with them.
Not only did I know about it, but I had also singled her out specifically.
The entire situation must have felt incredibly suspicious to her.
However, I lacked the storytelling talent to spin a plausible lie on the spot.
"I came from the future. The future version of you told me."
"...You're completely out of your mind."
I had thrown out the truth, disguised as a joke.
"But does that really matter? I'm just an individual client here to commission a job."
"The fact that this 'individual' belongs to Pax Corporation is a pretty big problem."
"I'll make sure you're well compensated. I'm willing to pay up to a hundred thousand dollars."
"A hundred thousand dollars?"
A scoff of disbelief escaped Hope's lips.
"That's enough to throw you a decent funeral."
"I hope it goes toward something more productive than my funeral."
"...How am I supposed to deal with someone who refuses to back down even a single inch?"
"I told you. A private client. That's all you need to know."
"...Sigh. Fine. Let's hear it. What is this damn gear you want?"
"Gear to survive."
"What?"
"Gear that functions without Pax's authorization. Gear that the Pax security team can't remotely shut down. Independent gear that is completely free from Pax's control."
"...Are you saying you want to commission gear behind Pax's back?"
"To be precise, I don't trust the Pax equipment team."
"So you're trying to drag me into your internal corporate power struggle."
"Hmm, I suppose you could look at it that way."
Wary suspicion flared in Hope's eyes.
Yet, beneath that wariness, I could catch a glimpse of her pride as a creator... and a lingering desire for vengeance against the countless injustices of the hero industry.
She suppressed those emotions as best she could and spoke.
"You're with Pax."
"Correct."
"And yet you want gear that Pax can't control?"
"It's the only way to survive."
"Did Pax threaten to kill you or something?"
"Well, not yet."
"Heh... 'Not yet'?"
For the first time, the corners of Hope's mouth twitched upward.
"You're a more interesting brand of crazy than I thought."
With those words, she dialed down the power of the blue spark at the tip of her mechanical arm.
"So, what exactly are you trying to survive against?"
The answer to her question was already set in stone.
"I'm not trying to survive against an opponent."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It's not an enemy I can fight and defeat. It's an 'environment'."
"What kind of bullshit wordplay is this? Speak plainly."
...
I fell silent for a moment.
My enemy. The threat I had to prepare for. Ultimately, it was Pax Corporation and the countless villains who would emerge later.
But... when I thought about what I needed to prepare for right this second.
"Great America."
It was, without a doubt, her.
"...Are you suicidal? I saw the museum footage, and you didn't look sane."
"Then you must have seen the interview as well. I have to stay by her side."
"Shit, that was real? Are you guys actually lovers or something?"
"Not exactly. She just... needs correction."
"Correction?"
"She doesn't know how to stop. She lacks common sense, acts entirely on impulse, and is highly emotional."
"...Hah."
"But she doesn't do it out of malice. Which makes her all the more dangerous."
"And what does that have to do with you?"
"Because someone has to restrain her, stop her, and teach her."
"...And that someone is you?"
"For now, yes."
Hope stared at me for a moment, her brow furrowing as if she were looking at a complete lunatic.
"Do you honestly think you're making any sense right now?"
"I'm saying what needs to be said."
"You want to survive next to Great America, but you don't view her as an enemy?"
"Yes."
"And you have no intention of blocking her attacks?"
"Because I can't."
"I like that part."
Hope's eyebrow twitched.
"The fact that you actually know you can't block her."
She completely extinguished the spark at the tip of her mechanical arm.
Then, she slowly walked toward me, continuing to speak.
"Most of those hero bastards think they can tank whatever hits them. That's why they treat gear like fashion accessories."
—Step, step.
"But looking at you now, you seem different. You know exactly how gear should be used."
Hope stopped right in front of me.
"...Hmm."
Her dead eyes stared intently at me.
Her gaze swept over my neck, shoulders, wrists, and knees in turn.
It was the same detached, clinical look she used when dismantling and analyzing machinery.
"Target time."
"Pardon?"
"How many seconds do you want to last?"
...
I pondered for a moment before answering.
"Three seconds."
"...Three seconds?"
"Yes. I don't ask for anything more."
"You're throwing down a hundred thousand dollars just to buy yourself three seconds?"
"Those three seconds will save lives."
I continued slowly.
"It's enough time to push someone out of the way, change my position, or tell her to stop."
...
"I don't need victory. I just need the time to endure."
"...Ha. Sure. Look at Mr. Hero over here."
—Hummmm—
One of the drones hovering behind her descended, scanning my shoulders and arms.
—Whirrr—
The blue scanner emitted from the drone analyzed my body.
"183 centimeters, 83 kilograms... What's your ability?"
She asked immediately after.
"Future Predict."
At that moment, Hope's eyes focused on me properly for the first time.
"Future Predict?"
"When danger is detected, I can see the immediate future."
"So that's why you need the auxiliary gear so badly."
"Yes."
"Because if your mind knows it first but your body can't keep up, you'll just die knowing it's coming."
"Exactly."
Hope twisted her lips in annoyance.
"Cocky bastard. You're too quick with the right answers."
She rested the wrench in her hand against her shoulder and spoke again.
"You need three things."
"You've already decided?"
"Your demands are simple as hell."
She raised one of her mechanical arms and bent it like a finger.
"First, a Reaction Assist Suit to force your body to keep up with your brain's decisions."
A second mechanical arm moved.
"Second, mobility gear to forcibly pull your body out of the way before you take an unavoidable hit."
A third mechanical arm aligned itself next to the others.
"Third, an independent communication device that Pax can't shut down."
I nodded.
"Perfect."
...
Hope stared at me for a moment.
Then, she let out a tiny smirk.
"Are you really with Pax?"
"For now, yes."
"...Sigh, fine."
She folded her mechanical arms back, finally dropping her hostile stance.
"I'll make them for you."
"Really?"
"Don't get the wrong idea. It doesn't mean I trust you."
She glared at me as she continued.
"It just looks like a fun project to tear apart."
"...Fair enough. What are your conditions?"
"Your physical data, obviously."
It was the exact answer I had anticipated.
"Reaction speed, ability activation timing, physical limits, injury history, and combat data. I need all of it."
"As long as it's within the scope of what's necessary to build the gear."
"Don't make me laugh."
Hope stepped even closer to me.
The sharp scent of oil and metal grew stronger.
"I need to know everything. If you hide anything from me, you're dead. Because if you die out there, people will blame my gear. And I absolutely refuse to let that happen."
...Her personality was exactly the same as in my past life.
I smiled faintly and replied.
"Understood. Let's do that."
"Good."
Hope turned around and gestured for me to follow.
"Follow me."
But then, she said something unexpected.
"...Pardon?"
"We're going to the workshop. You said you wanted to buy three seconds."
"What does me going to the workshop have to do with that? I can just pull the data from Pax and—"
"—Sigh, why are you acting like such an amateur? I have to gather the data myself."
The mechanical arms on her back shifted slowly in the darkness.
"I'm going to see for myself exactly how many minutes and seconds it takes to break you."
...
In that moment, a sudden chill ran down my spine.
...Did I really have to go through that hellish process all over again in this life?