Sudden Gate Vibes: Two Weeks of Records (1)
The Oracle Institution has officially announced that the precursor phenomena for this gate appear to have been triggered by the terrorist attack carried out by Eight Bomber. Meanwhile, protests calling for strict regulations on energy-projection superhumans continue day after day. For more details, we turn to Professor Lee Cheol-hwan from the Department of Supernatural Phenomenon Analysis at Korea University.
“Looks like the world’s going to hell,” Yeon-ha muttered blankly while staring at the TV.
Iron Colossus sat beside her, sipping coffee in silence as he glared at the screen. It had only been three days since the three-week national emergency declared after Eight Bomber’s terrorist attack had finally ended. On the very first day after the crisis was lifted, Botal Rabbit had announced her temporary leave. And today, a gate had burst open. It was only natural that citizens’ anxiety was skyrocketing. Government bonds were plunging like mad, and the markets were dancing — a very unpleasant dance.
Yeon-ha sent a brief moment of mourning to the countless individual investors who were preparing to dive into the Han River regardless of water temperature, then cracked her neck with a loud pop.
“I should probably drop some good news, huh?”
“Good news?”
“Honestly, if things had stayed normal, I was planning to take a full month off like a sabbatical. But wouldn’t it be best if I just announced my return?”
Iron Colossus turned his head without a word. He didn’t like it, and if he followed his heart, he would have told her to rest a few more days. But she was right. One of the mere seven S-class heroes in Korea had declared a leave of absence. Rumors said her injuries were severe. To put it somewhat dramatically, one could say that roughly one-seventh of Korea’s fighting power had vanished overnight. That was one of the reasons domestic anxiety had exploded, even setting aside international opinion. A single individual might not seem like much — but when that individual was someone who could overcome even disasters, the story changed completely.
Watching Yeon-ha clench her fists tightly as she returned to her Botal Rabbit persona, Iron Colossus let out another short sigh.
*
They rose immediately and headed straight for TSS. The hero team Thunderstorm Strike Squad. Korea’s top combat-oriented hero team and practically Botal Rabbit’s home base. The imposing building in the heart of Gangnam looked, if you ignored the name, exactly like a foreign multinational corporation. Competent professionals in sharp suits bustling about — that kind of place.
—Screeeech!!
The orange Aventador, nicknamed “Bouncy,” left long skid marks on the asphalt before executing a stylish wheeltturn and stopping neatly in front of the entrance. The guard who recognized Bouncy came running in a hurry. Both doors lifted upward with a smooth hiss, revealing Botal Rabbit and Iron Colossus.
In her hero suit, Botal Rabbit looked completely out of place in the building. Nevertheless, she strode forward confidently and tossed the car keys to the guard.
“Park it for me!”
“Ah, yes! It’s an honor!!”
“Yep, yep!”
The moment her voice rang out, the area in front of the building turned into complete chaos. People screaming as they ran over to take photos, others making frantic phone calls, some sprinting off somewhere else. Iron Colossus wrapped his arms around her protectively and pushed through the crowd. It felt like returning to ordinary days. Not peaceful ones — but the days of a hero.
*
At Botal Rabbit’s sudden appearance, every TSS executive currently at headquarters gathered. A minimum of A-class, maximum of S-class — eight people in total. It was a lineup befitting Korea’s largest and one of the world’s most renowned hero teams.
“Now that Botal Rabbit has arrived, shall we begin the meeting?”
“Ah, wait. Team Leader. There’s an outsider mixed in here, isn’t there?”
The man who spoke in a mocking tone sneered as he looked at Iron Colossus.
“I don’t understand why a janitor from those loser Borderland Golems is sitting in our conference room?”
“Chrome Fist!”
“Team Leader! Look at this objectively! The reason our team’s stock price got completely wrecked in the first place is because of that bastard. And now he’s attending a board meeting as an observer?”
“Chrome Fist. Mr. Iron Colossus is a concerned party.”
Thunderbird frowned as she stared at Chrome Fist. But he continued glaring at Iron Colossus with sullen eyes.
“Hah. If that’s how it is, then there’s no choice. Get out.”
“Mm.”
Iron Colossus gave a short nod and was about to stand up as if he had no regrets whatsoever when Thunderbird shook her head.
“Not you. Chrome Fist. You’re the one who’s leaving.”
“What?! Team Leader?”
“Botal Rabbit’s status is something she must decide for herself. We did not create this team to oppress our affiliated heroes. We created it to protect their rights. If she needs to rest, that is her right.”
Thunderbird spoke with firm conviction, staring sharply at Chrome Fist. At the sight, Yeon-ha let out a small snort and poked Iron Colossus in the side.
“Look at her. She’s pissed. I told you she’s the disciplinary committee chair.”
“Yeon-ha. Shh.”
“Ehehe.”
Everyone present had hearing sharp enough to catch Yeon-ha’s whisper. Yet Thunderbird showed no reaction and continued glaring at Chrome Fist.
“Therefore, you will leave. Not only is it problematic for a hero to attempt to suppress another hero’s rights, but personally, you have disrespected my guest. I also cannot tolerate referring to Borderland Golems, who have devoted themselves invisibly all this time, with such a derogatory term.”
“Ugh…!”
“Either leave the conference room or formally apologize to Colossus. Choose one, Chrome Fist.”
At Thunderbird’s stern words, Chrome Fist ground his teeth audibly. Just as he opened his mouth to shout something, Iron Colossus stepped forward.
“Enough. Miss Thunderbird. I appreciate the sentiment, but these people seated here are far too busy to waste time on this kind of discussion.”
“Colossus…!! You… bastard…!”
“Please, Chrome Fist! Stop embarrassing my team any further! Shut up!!!”
—Crackle, crackle!!
As Thunderbird shouted, lightning struck above her head. Watching the vivid blue current spark and pop, Chrome Fist flinched. The strongest lightning-wielding superhuman in existence was furious right before his eyes. When Chrome Fist finally sank back into his seat, Thunderbird cleared her throat and spoke again.
“I apologize for the disturbance. Colossus, I’m sorry. Let’s begin the meeting now.”
“Mm.”
“First, there’s something I need to confirm. Botal Rabbit?”
“Eh? Eh?”
Yeon-ha, who had been playing a game on her phone, jumped in surprise and answered. Thunderbird let out a short sigh.
“How is your body?”
“Yep, yep? I’m perfectly fine! Totally okay!”
“Really?”
“One hundred percent full power available, ma’am!”
“Good. I believe you. In our team, you are the only S-class when I’m not around. Always keep that in mind and take care of your health.”
“Got it!”
In Iron Colossus’s opinion, Thunderbird was something like Yeon-ha’s big sister. She had been a dominant S-class since Yeon-ha was still a rookie, the matriarch of Korea’s hero industry and an activist who had always fought for heroes’ rights. Despite that, she looked like she was in her early thirties, as if she had never aged. She was one of the most popular heroes in Korea. Even the great Park Yeon-ha couldn’t treat her casually. Yeon-ha was sweating nervously.
Thunderbird nodded and continued speaking to Botal Rabbit.
“I won’t ask why you wanted to rest. If the situation allowed, I would have told you to rest as long as you needed. But if you ever need to rest again, tell me first. Can you do that?”
“Yep, yep! Got it!”
“Good. Then I assume you have no objections to returning to active duty? It’s only been three days since you submitted your leave notice. Will you be all right?”
“This is exactly when heroes are needed most. Can’t be helped!”
At Yeon-ha’s answer, Thunderbird smiled with satisfaction. She tapped the table lightly with her index finger.
“The gate that has opened this time is officially listed as ‘Unknown,’ but the unofficial threat level shared by the Oracle Institution is B-class. Normally, we would dispatch two to three A-class heroes, but…”
“Since I’m back, you need results?”
“Exactly. It’s a gate you can clear by yourself with ease. Of course, we plan to inflate the threat level when announcing it publicly. This has already been coordinated with the government.”
With citizens’ anxiety at an extreme high, the plan was to use it to their advantage. They would publicly announce the gate’s threat level as A-class — no, even S-class — and advertise the fact that a single S-class hero had cleared it alone. It was a show of force: there is no need to worry because someone this powerful exists. At the same time, it would help TSS recover its damaged stock price and brilliantly mark Botal Rabbit’s return. It was a perfect plan. Both Yeon-ha and Thunderbird thought so.
But Iron Colossus still looked displeased.
“What if I go with her?”
“No matter how much you specialize in disaster response rather than combat, you are officially an A-class hero. If an S-class and an A-class go together, the impact will be significantly reduced.”
“Clearing a gate does not end in a single day. You must sleep and eat inside. I cannot let Yeon-ha bear that burden alone.”
No matter how sensitive a hero might be, the interior of a gate was a hostile environment. Camping alone in there? It was practically advertising for death. When he pointed that out, Thunderbird nodded.
“There’s also a lot of luggage. A camping tent, food, basic hygiene supplies, safety equipment — it all adds up. Botal Rabbit cannot carry all of that by herself, and someone needs to stand watch and provide early warning while she rests.”
“…Then?”
“Gate clearing sometimes requires a ‘porter.’ We are a team specialized in gate clearing and villain capture. Naturally, we have several experienced porters among us.”
Individuals who were awakened superhumans but had not been recognized as heroes. F-class. When they needed quick cash or had special circumstances, they would volunteer for gate porter work as a kind of part-time job. Even as porters, they needed some means of protecting themselves, so civilians could not be brought along. And since the luggage a single porter sometimes had to carry could equal the entire supplies of a four-to-five-person team, they needed to possess considerable strength. A few individuals selected under these conditions were hired as ‘full-time porters’ by each hero team. They received no public attention, yet they were indispensable for gate clearing.
The fact that they received no public attention and suffered behind the scenes of glamorous incidents — in that regard, Iron Colossus, as a disaster relief hero, felt a sense of kinship with the porters’ situation.
“Alright, Tran Van Bao? Please come in!”
“Yes, boss!”
The conference room door opened and a small man appeared. Yeon-ha took one look at him and let out a strangled “Kek!”
“It’s the Treasure Goblin!”
“That man is human.”
“No, his hero name is Treasure Goblin! F-class porter Tran Van Bao. An illegal immigrant from Vietnam!”
Indeed, his small, hunched frame gave exactly that impression. He resembled the tiny green monsters sometimes seen inside gates. A somewhat dull face, skin burned pitch black, short stature and a scrawny build — yet thanks to his long career as a porter, his body was packed with lean muscle. If he carried a club and wore a leather rag, he would look exactly like a goblin. About 150 centimeters? No, maybe a little over 160. The man, shorter than Yeon-ha, walked over with quick steps and stood beside Thunderbird.
“He is the strongest and most diligent among our F-class members. Tran Van Bao will carry Botal Rabbit’s luggage and stand guard at night.”
“I have much experience! I can do good job!”
Tran Van Bao flashed a wide smile, showing his white teeth. Thunderbird clapped her hands once, sending him out, then continued.
“Supply preparation will be finished in three hours. The gate is scheduled to begin activating this afternoon. Botal Rabbit, if you are ready, enter immediately, resolve it as quickly as possible, and return. The time limit is… four days.”
“I’ll finish it in two. I want to come home and wash.”
“Good. Then rest well. We don’t know how time flows inside the gate, so get some sleep beforehand.”
“Yep, yep. See you later, Team Leader~”
Botal Rabbit nodded, tightly holding Iron Colossus’s hand as she left the conference room.
*
In the end, both Botal Rabbit’s bold claim that she could clear the gate in two days and Miss Thunderbird’s generous estimate of four days proved wrong. After sleeping through the entire morning to restore her strength, Botal Rabbit headed confidently for the gate that afternoon. She would not set foot on Korean soil again until two weeks later.