Slow and Speedy Win the Fight

23. Power Centre

Haresa

A messenger goose honking at me for five minutes straight wasn't the most nerve-wracking thing that happened today.

I was relieved to receive the slip of paper at least but I was sure I wasn't going to have the same feeling when I leave the power centre.

I stepped into the building and the chilled air hit my skin instantly. The security guards loitered the lobby and a lone desk sat in the middle. There was a spandex-clad figure arguing with the secretary at the desk.

A random guard made eye contact with me and roll their eyes. From the look on their face, the spandex person probably has been there a long time.

I inched closer to the counter and tried to find an opening.

"I'm sorry but I can't let you in. You didn't bring your hero licence. You either have to do a retinal scan to verify your identity or you can show us your ID instead." The secretary continued to type away at her computer, her eyebrow twitching slightly.

I was able to get a better look at the guy's face as I stood next to him. The upper half of his face was covered with the mask part of his spandex and it seemed connected to the rest of his outfit. The red and white pattern wasn't anything to marvel at but I furrowed my eyebrows. There was something off with the costume.

My eyes widened when I realized. It didn't have any zippers. How did he get into it? More importantly, how does he go to the washroom in that thing?

"I drove two hours to get here! I can't just reveal my secret identity to just anybody!" He waved his hand over his masked face.

The secretary's fingers froze and she glanced up at the man. "It's not a secret to anybody. You're registered under government regulation."

"What about the general public? The villains?!"

"It's the same story with any hero. They can find it if they really try. The villains have their own rules and regulations. If you're so concerned, you can go scr—talk to them about your concerns."

I tried to keep a straight face at the woman's remark. At this point, it looked like she was going to strangle the guy and I wondered why she hadn't called security on the guy yet.

"But all of them can't be expected to follow rules, come on! They're villains!"

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "If a villain steps out of line, they wouldn't be a villain anymore and wouldn't receive funding for their master plan."

"Uh...Um—" I was quickly cut off by the angry hero.

"But superpowers?!" His voice was now at superhuman volumes and I was sure it wasn't my super hearing activating by itself.

I covered my ears with my hands and I gritted my teeth. When will he be done?

"There is a fair amount of super-powered people who aren't in the industry, sir. You should be more afraid of super-powered super fans." The secretary's gaze now was sharper than earlier as pure anger radiated off her body. "If you use your powers again, I will be forced to restrain you myself."

"Oh? What kind of power do you have? Super typing?" He scoffed.

A fork flew out from behind the desk and barreled towards the guy's forehead. It stopped midair at the last minute and the hero was very quiet.

"If you continue to resist, I will have to force you off the premises." Her tone was cold and emotionless which caused the man to grumble.

He eventually exited the building with a few guards trailing behind him to make sure he didn't try anything else.

"I'm sorry about that, what brings you here today?" The secretary smoothed down her hair and the fork floated into her hand. "Are you here as a regular citizen for the gyms?"

"No, I'm here as a hero."

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Well, I'll have to ask for your hero licence and then we can get the process started."

"Yes, here you are." My hands fumbled over the card before I managed to hand it over to her.

She swiped it in the slot on her desk and tapped away on the computer before handing it back to me. "Okay, thank you for your patience, Haresa. Please follow the nice person over there to get to the meeting room."

Her hand pointed to the right and I gave her a small thank you.

I turned to take my leave before I heard a familiar squeal.

"Haresa! Is that you, squirt?"

I froze and put on my best smile before turning around to greet the voice. "Oh, hey Lupina. I was wondering when I would see you."

She let out a bark of laughter. "Ready for the meeting?"

I swore my smile cracked at the question. "Ready as I'll ever be."

It'll only take two hours maximum. They don't usually last that long.