Spider-Man and The Esper

36. Forest Battle

"That should do it. How does it feel Genos?" asked Dr. Kuseno as he released Genos from a pressurized mechanical tubing.

As Genos stood up from his "operating table" he held his arms out to inspect them. As he lightly turned on his incineration hand weapons, he smiled at the already obvious improvement of his cyborg body.

"Any problems operating your new cyborg body?"

"No, none at all, thank you Dr," Genos responded curtly. "You worked on me all night despite my sudden request." Dr. Kuseno laughed as he detected the worry in the voice of Genos. "Don't worry, all I wanted was for you to be able to return back to the battlefield." He slowly made his way to a chair beside Genos as he rubbed his eyes. "When a crisis threatens humanity, I can sacrifice some sleep. I've had many ideas for improvements, and I have no doubt that they'll make you stronger," he said with a smile.

Genos was still clenching his fist as he remembered what had happened the previous day. So after leaving the tournament where master Saitama was competing, he encountered and defeated two-level demon monsters. However, what wouldn't leave his memory was the overpowered sensation he felt when Goketsu had easily rendered him immobile. In a blink of an eye, a monster whose strength was immeasurable had defeated him, an S-Class hero. He had to be better than this. He looked at Dr. Kuseno with conviction in his eyes. "I will not lose again!" he declared.

Dr. Kuseno looked at the young man who was as close to being a son to him than anyone else. He hesitated before responding, "Just stay alive...Genos. When I saw you last night I recalled my own youth. I was full of righteousness and feared nothing..." he looked at Genos as he continued. "I always charge recklessly into situations." He stood up from his chair and began to leave his secret laboratory. "Nonetheless, last night taxed this old body of mine. I must rest, and you must fulfill your duty." He gave Genos one last look before leaving. "Genos, please don't be reckless."

Genos watched as the Dr. walked out of the room before clothing himself. There had been an upsurge of monsters out lately, and he had to be actively hunting them down in order to ensure innocents weren't hurt. "Master Saitama must already be killing monsters as I waste time thinking," he thought, "I must move out now." As his cyborg eyes lit up with energy, he walked out of the laboratory with no fear deterring him.

~~~

The next day early in the morning, Death Gatling, Wild Horn, Shooter, and Gun-Gun were the others waiting with Stinger. The Heroes' campsite was in one of D-City's forests, with each one finding a way to pass the time.

Death Gatling was a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. He had long black, unkempt hair, gray eyes, and a cross-shaped scar on his face's left side. He wore a white cloak and a black leather outfit as ammunition-belts were laid out on the ground around. He sat on a stump as he performed maintenance on the mini-gun designed to fit on his arm.

Wild Horn was a man in an all-concealing suit of red, white, and gold armor. His helmet was built with a glass visor and a pair of bison-like horns. Armored plates on his shoulders, torso, and waistline kept the rest of him safe, as a black jumpsuit, white gloves, and boots kept the rest of his body concealed. A customized piledriver was attached to the Hero's right arm and appeared to be his weapon of choice. Wild Horn seemed to be in charge of the camp's security as he patrolled the campsite's perimeter.

The Hero called Shooter was a younger fellow dressed in blue and black baggy clothes. He had blue eyes and the front of his blond hair was designed to resemble an archery bow, while the rest was kept tied in a bun with an arrow-shaped hairpin. He sat by Stinger, making sure his bow and arrows were in good shape, as Stinger examined his spear's bamboo shoot quality.