More than a decade ago, there was a popular hero named Juvenile Genius.
Back then, when laws regarding "heroes" were still young, becoming a hero at such a young age was quite the controversy.
Despite that, he had quite a high standing amongst other "heroes" at that time. With his advanced devices and young age, he was quite a star amongst sci-fi lovers and similar groups.
But due to an unfortunate curse that plagues everyone, the Juvenile Genius eventually grew up,
And along with the reformation and formalization of heroes through the newly established Hero Association, he instantly lost his popularity and was replaced by new stars that overshadowed him.
After hiding for such a long time, he lost his fans and was eventually forgotten.
Coincidentally, a hero named Prodigy Prince emerged only a year ago. With the same niche that Juvenile Genius had, people quickly concluded that this was the lost hero from a decade ago.
Although, that's what the rumors said and what the die-hard fans hypothesized.
Because mysteriously, all records of Juvenile Genius were wiped from every source of information, to the point that people started questioning his existence.
But Ferris sincerely believed that Prodigy Prince was the same person!
After all, they should've been around the same age bracket. And he was quite a fan himself back then.
And especially with his old life as a knight, he saw himself in Prodigy Prince, who also became a hero at a young age, just as he became a knight as a mere child.
Looks like the battle is finished, Ferris observed as Prodigy prince finally sneaked himself on top of the aberrant's head.
Pulling out another one of his cylindrical tools, he stuck it on top of its head before igniting the static beam of sword essence, instantly penetrating the aberrant's skull using the sheer heat and essence flowing through the blade.
And there went the aberrant's brain.
Slice.
As Prodigy Prince swung his mech's arm outwards, the aberrant's head was split cleanly in half.
The colossus being eventually fell, causing a massive explosion of rocks and dust upon impact.
Now... what should I do, Ferris steadied himself. Now that the aberrant issue was dealt with, the hero's objective has been redirected to Ferris.
If Prodigy Prince were to interrogate his peculiar situation, there was no way for him to avoid it.
After confirming the aberrant's death by blasting its head again, Prodigy Prince started walking towards Ferris's position.
The 15-meter mech stared him down with its singular eye. Ferris was again surprised by its fluid and human-like motion, but he quickly stopped his fanboying the moment Prodigy Prince kneeled his mech down just in front of him.
What will happen next?
Who knows what's going through that mono-eye of his?
For all he knew, he was already being analyzed by that sophisticated camera.
"Take off your clothes."
. . .
"Huh?" Ferris's face twitched, not knowing how to react to what Prodigy Prince just said to him.
"I can tell you smell. Looks like you're not in your best shape, right?" He moved his mech's hand and pointed it at his mono-eye, highlighting its advanced camera system without the need of telling Ferris.
"My baby comes with a sonic shower. It also comes with wireless charging!" Prodigy settled his mech's hand beside Ferris, palm side up.
What is he saying? Ferris was confused. Instead of asking why he was in the middle of nowhere on some highway, why he was in his state, and the dozens of suspicious stigmas he carried, Prodigy Prince was suspiciously not asking anything that could serve to interrogate Ferris.
That eye can see through my clothes... He took out his phone and placed it on the mech's hand. Surprisingly, his phone already started charging just from making contact with the metal hand.
. . .
Prodigy Prince silently stared at him, causing Ferris some unease.
It feels like I'm stuck in a cage with nowhere to go. He begrudgingly started stripping down to his underwear.
. . .
"A sonic shower's dangerous if you're wearing even a single piece of clothing."
To put it into simple words.
Take off your underwear too.
You're kidding! Ferris was at his breaking point.
Noticing his concern, Prodigy Prince immediately raised his affirmations.
"My camera can block anything I don't wanna see, so don't worry."
Ferris sighed. It really seemed that Prodigy Prince wasn't planning to question him about anything.
But he was also sure that a so-called genius since birth wouldn't be so foolish like this.
He sacrificed his dignity and took off his last piece of clothing.
Slam.
Prodigy Prince settled his other hand beside Ferris, its palm facing towards him.
After that, Ferris's entire body felt like it was vibrating!
It felt as if every speck of dirt and impurity in his body was being shaken off. At a certain point, he could see what looked to be dust flowing off of his body.
it's ticklish...
***
Unknown facility.
The real Prodigy Prince was actually sitting in front of a computer, observing Ferris from behind the safety of a screen.
On another screen, a stream of data flowed directly from the Hero Association's vast databases.
Every digital footprint Ferris had ever left behind, from public records to some personal files, was now neatly compiled and displayed.
Prodigy Prince scanned through them, disregarding privacy while dissecting Ferris's life one detail at a time.
Failed the hero exams twice.
No criminal record.
Lives in City 13.
...
"What's he doing all the way out in City 11?" Prodigy Prince leaned back in confusion before pulling in closer to the monitor.
From the data provided, Ferris's activity lessened right after the second hero exam, but it recently started to be more active at the start of the new month.
Prodigy Prince mashed some keys on the keyboard.
Last month, Ferris was a complete shut-in and was out of shape.
Looking through all the security cameras littered around the cities, Prodigy found out that he started working out at the start of May.
Using the time and location from the security camera's video, Prodigy Prince could somewhat get a rough estimate on what he was doing.
Push-ups, sit-ups, squats. All in a park that was near Ferris's tiny apartment but there was one interesting detail.
Prodigy Prince's face twitched. If the location and time were true.
"50 kilometers? In almost 2 hours?!"
Checking the database once more, Prodigy Prince confirmed that Ferris did not have a registered Blessing. The data footprint he left also proved physically that he wasn't a Blessing user.
There has never been a case where someone got a Blessing out of the blue. All Blessings were always given to someone straight from birth.
Prodigy Prince checked the main monitor and typed some keywords.
An overlay was placed on Ferris's naked and dancing figure, displaying his vital signs and various physical data.
"Extreme essence depletion?"
"Extreme muscle damage?"
It was a miracle this person was still standing!
"What kind of constitution does this guy have?" Prodigy Prince was taken aback with the sight of a seemingly chiseled body that contradicts the facts of the mech's advanced camera eye.
But still, the most strange thing about Ferris was his sudden change. There was no way that the Ferris from last month could even run 50 km without proper training.
A sudden change in mentality.
"Could he be..." Prodigy prince was about to arrive at a conclusion before suddenly stopping.
Prodigy Prince looked at another monitor that displayed some pictures of trees and plants that suddenly sprouted from an abandoned airport—an incident that happened yesterday.
"Hmm... It's 'him' again..." Prodigy Prince thought for a while after observing the unmistakable greenery.
Knowing that Ferris was from City 13, his strange situation in City 11 was something that couldn't be ignored.
Ding!
A notification appeared on the main monitor, the sonic shower had completed its cycle.
Soon after, Prodigy Prince pressed a key and began speaking through a microphone.