DATE: 18th of April, the 70th year after the Coronation
LOCATION: Concord Metropolis
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The next day, I turned on my room's TV and started my morning routine. I believe in taking care of myself, and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on ancold towel on my face while doing push-ups. I can 200 hundred now. After I remove the towel, I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower, I use a water-activated gel cleanser.
As I was leaving the shower, I heard from the room's TV the news I had been looking forward to so much!
"UltraMan is dead. The metropolis grieves the loss of its greatest hero-"
They were explaining the events from the day before:
"UltraMan shot while delivering kindergarten opening speech"
I find such headlines sooo funny. Who would have expected? I am not Colossus, and neither The Haymaker, his greatest foes from the past. I am nobody...
Now back to preparing. Then I do a charcoal exfoliating scrub. And on the face, an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an clay purifying mask, which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I don't shave because I can't seem to grow any hair on my face. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.
At least that is what I heard online I need to do for good skin care. Kind of tiring to be honest, but it is more important than most realize. Sure, there is the idea that the disguise of a hobo is the best for not sticking out, but I am not yet a fugitive, am I? You would be impressed to know how many places you can enter just by being dressed well and having a well-taken-care-of appearance. Speaking of appearance, I need to get into the role, huh...
The rest of the day wasn't really eventful. I was told by an intermediary of the boss to stick close to the hotel, so the farthest I went was on an evening jog. There was this young woman I have no idea how I managed to bump into.
I usually don't listen to music while jogging, but then again, I usually don't jog in the city, so this was probably it. Scratching my U-pods is a pain; I really hate waiting in line to buy a new pair. And the woman? Actually, is a person in her thirties a young lady or a woman? I don't know what description is expected these days. Anyway, she was blonde and had quite a nice figure, not that I am an expert in dating. She was dressed really hipster-ish: big glasses, office shoes, a shirt with a pullover. I wasn't sure why she dressed so nerdy. I remember seeing a nametag at her neck, so she probably works in media or an office.
Another casualty of this incident, besides my right U-pod, were her glasses. They flew to the floor and broke. She appeared to be grieving, her makeup having been destroyed by tears, but her situation doesn't concern me. I was actually quite annoyed, because if she wanted compensation, it would go right out of my pocket, but without saying a word, she glared at me, picked up the half-broken glasses and went on her way. Wait, went? I thought she couldn't see.
Glasses for show? Never seen this before... or actually I did if I really think about it. I did such a thing myself one time, but it is a long story and this isn't really the time for that. Also, why was she so strong? It wasn't her that tumbled back when we hit each other; it was myself. I fell on my ass, on the hard concrete. What kind of muscles was she packing under those nerdy clothes??
On my way back I found a really fancy tea store. I wasn't really dressed for the occasion, but it's not like I would bother to return another time, so I ignored my embarrassment and went to buy a few boxes.
I returned in time for another shower so that I could attend the dinner. The food at my accommodation is pretty bland, but I am not paying for it myself so I can't really complain.
That night I slept like a baby.
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DATE: 19th of April, the 70th year after the Coronation
LOCATION: Concord Metropolis
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As I was brewing some lavender tea in the breakfast lobby, I heard on the news some breakthrough information regarding our oh-so-favored hero:
"UltraMan, our savior, has today been confirmed as having been Kevin Heart, a former wrestler turned BubbleTV reporter. His passing is a tragic loss for our city, which offers all its sympathies to his grieving family. His funeral was decided as a private service, and it is set for tomorrow. A temporary public shrine was unveiled by the city while a proper statue shall be built. Anyone who wishes to pay their respects can go to the shrine in-"
I closed the channel as I don't really care about the shrines and statues. The city is already full of them. What kind of celebration is this, building a statue every time he dies? At that point, why would they even mourn him? Do they think he will not return? How did he manage this the last two times? I should ask my boss if I ever get the chance.
In any case, public mourning doesn't concern me. I have to be there in person. And how do I do that?
They disclosed UltraMan's identity in the news, but I actually knew it already, or at least the boss knew. Kevin Heart is a 46-year-old man who grew up in the countryside surrounding Concord. His parents were farmers. The idea concocted by the planning team was that I would play the role of one of his estranged cousins, who heard on the news of his passing while traveling around and went to pay his respects. Not a bad idea, but I am worse at acting than shooting. This isn't really my strong suit.
Not that I have much of a choice though.
I do technically have enough pieces of clothing, but I realized I left my suit at the last hideout, so I have to buy a new one, and the money... I was told to just request some from the bank if I ever needed any, so off I go!
It wasn't that eventful if I were to be serious. While waiting in line at one of the branches of the boss's bank, the Maizo Commerce Hub, some criminals started robbing it. I guess they didn't get the memo that the city is grieving. A guy dumb enough to try to get at them pulled out his pistol, but was shot immediately. It seemed like one of the robbers had unnatural reflexes. I honestly don't get the hero types...
Why risk it for some praise?
Being smart, I didn't do anything and sat under a table, waiting for the police. I didn't wait for long though, as a masked man started eliminating the robbers one by one. I would say he dressed like a ninja, but I didn't see him well. I do know who he is; the man goes by the name of Hēisè, quite an unoriginal name. He has no superpowers, but with great intellect and combat training, some thugs do not pose much of a threat. Bullets came flying above me while I stayed unconcerned. A woman was trying to grip my hand, probably anxious for her life, but I shrugged it off. I was quite bored.
He and their boss exchanged a few words, while the robber took a civilian hostage. This is when he started to get pressed into the ground by an unseen force and he let go of the man he was holding. It was another hero; I think her name is Liliam? I don't really know her, though I remember she was part of UltraMan's legion of heroes. You'd think it encompasses all heroes of Concord, but that is not the case. Hēisè isn't part of any group from what I know of...
The black figure wasn't happy to see her. Liliam had a bubbly suit with a transparent visor that went over a mask covering about half of her features. Her slim body really didn't look right next to the muscular hunk that is Hēisè. Her eyes glowed a sheepish white, something I could see even from this distance. They were quite pretty.
After they were done placing the robbers in a circle, Hēisè went off to his next fight and left Liliam to talk with the police. That, or he wanted to avoid her. As the coppers entered the building, I made my way to the counter, riddled with broken glass from the bullets.
"Ma'am, I wish to withdraw some cash." She was scared, unable to move, and while I understood that, I didn't really care. I took out a coin I received from the boss to show as an ID. Danger would befall her if she didn't heed my request, at least this is what I was told about it.
Seeing it, she asked for the amount before running in the back and returning with an envelope of the amount. No paperwork was needed. I could get used to this.
I suppose many were concerned by my "courage," with even Liliam herself commenting something in the distance, but I couldn't afford to be late to the store so off with the pretenses for now. I left unconcerned as the cops tried to ask me about the events and hurried to the store. It was annoying because I would appear even more suspicious if I were to run, so it took me quite a while.
Even still, I arrived in time and bought a suit that somewhat fit me. This store in particular, owned by a certain Silvian Morris, was one of the few of its kind that operated on blitz sales. How did they do that? By having suits of all colors and sizes in the depot. All of this, of course, comes at a premium, but it wasn't my money at risk so who cares.
That night I went to sleep early. I have a lot of work to do tomorrow.