Chapter 2: Super Soldier Scramble
After our meal, Kite paid and we went outside. Kite said Gon and I should talk it over with each other and he'd meet us back at the restaurant in a few hours to hear our answer. He went to do some errands in town, leaving us alone. I asked one of the townspeople if the had a library that had computers with internet access.
"Yes, we do," the townsperson said, "It's just past the General Store on the right."
I thanked him and started walking toward the library. Gon followed and asked why I wanted the internet. I told him it was for research. He didn't question what research I was doing because he was thinking the same thing I was.
When we got to the library, we went to a computer and accessed the Hunter website using Gon's Hunter's license. Just like when we searched for information about Greed Island, we clicked on the bartender. In the search bar, we typed in "Super Soldier". One result came back. We clicked on it.
"T-two hundred million Jenny?!" I exclaimed so loud that I got a 'shush' from everyone else in the library. "That way more than information on Greed Island. Do you have enough money, Gon?"
"No," Gon said, "You stole most of what I had to buy yourself some sweets."
"That's not my fault," I defended, "You shouldn't have been so trusting with your money."
"But you're my best friend," Gon accused, "If I can't trust you with my money, then who can I trust?"
"That's not the point here, Gon!" I hit him on the head.
"Ow!" He cried loud enough to get a 'shush' from everybody else in the library.
"The point is," I continued as if nothing had happened, "you don't have enough money and I don't have enough money. Which means…"
I trailed off. I really did not want to think about what it meant. I dreaded what it meant. It mean the last thing I ever wanted to do.
"Which means I'll have to call my family and ask for some money." I said depressingly, "Ugh."
I took out my phone and dialled my house number. My only chance of getting money was if my grandpa picked up the phone. Grandpa Zeno always let me have what I wanted. Sometimes I thought he did it just to piss Milluki off, because he thinks I'm spoiled. The phone rang and on the other end was Grandpa Zeno. Success!
"Grandpa Zeno!" I said, "It's me, Killua. Listen, I was wondering if I could borrow some money."
On the other end, Grandpa Zeno was telling me about the value of a Jenny. And in his day, yadda, yadda, yadda. It was all stuff I'd heard before a million times. He always asked me if I understood what he just said and if I'd take it to heart. Of course, I always told him I would, but I never did.
"So, how much money do you want, Killua?" Grandpa Zeno finally asked.
"Oh, not much," I lied, "Just two hundred million Jenny."
"Hmm…" Grandpa Zeno always said that when he was deep in thought.
I crossed my fingers hoping Grandpa Zeno would let me have some. Gon saw I had my fingers crossed and crossed his own. If we couldn't get the money for this information, I wasn't sure what we would do. Finally, Grandpa Zeno spoke.
"Alright, Killua," he said, "You can have two-" he stopped himself and I wondered what was going on. "No, Killua," my heart sank, "You can have five hundred million Jenny."
My heart instantly did back flips. However, I wondered why Grandpa Zeno stopped and suddenly added three hundred more Jenny on. Was there something or someone that made him change his mind? I decided to ask.
"Grandpa Zeno," I began, "why did you just add three hundred more Jenny onto what I asked for?"
"I'm sure you can figure that out, Killua," Grandpa Zeno said, "You're a smart boy."
A thought instantly came to my mind. "Did Porky hear you talking to me?"
"Mmhm." I could tell Grandpa Zeno was trying hard not to laugh, but I couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
"Thank you, Grandpa Zeno," I said, "You're the best. Oh, and I need that money right away, too."
"It's already in your account, Killua." Grandpa Zeno said, "Goodbye."
He hung up. I did the same and put my phone away. I told Gon to click "Okay" and it asked us to transfer the money. I swiped my bank card and the bartender started talking.
"The 'Super Soldier' program was first thought to have existed long before the Hunter Association came into existence. It was once believed that organizations, such as the now-defunct Natsuki's Assault-Zinger Invasion task force, developed a serum that would increase one's own body strength tenfold. A united World Government at the time sent in a group of men that would eventually form the Hunter's Association to retrieve the serum and destroy everything that the NAZI task force had worked on. However, these are just rumours.
"The Hunter's Association was formed after that mission to analyze the Super Soldier serum. They started experimenting with it and eventually found that most of the results were disastrous. It had a fatal effect on both animals and humans. However, these are just rumours.
"After trying to develop their own Super Soldier serum, after many years of failed experiments, they discovered that they could see and use the auras that surrounded them. The 'Nen' that they discovered would eventually lead to perfecting the Super Soldier serum. They shared the knowledge with the World Government, who thought they could control the serum. However, these are just rumours.
"One of the original 'Hunters', as the Government called them, decided to make a deal with the Government: for giving them the Super Soldier serum, he would get a place in the World Government. However, he betrayed the Government by killing the members and forming his own Reigning Monarchy. He used the Super Soldier serum on animals and they became hybrids, almost chimera-like, of humans and animals. However, these are just rumours.
"The Hunters fought against the traitor and his hybrids. The war lasted several years and the Hunters had recruited more people to their cause, teaching the recruits about Nen and how to use it. Eventually, the Hunters had won and banished the traitor to places unknown. However, these are just rumours.
"The Hunters reformed the Government, but instead of a united body governing everything, the had formed individual bodies governing areas. The Hunters set up the Hunter Exams, looking for more recruits in case the traitor ever returned. The Super Soldier serum was all used up in the war and no trace of it was ever found. However, these are just rumours.
"Recently, reports have been coming in from 'Places Beyond' that there are 'New and Improved' Super Soldiers. Starting with the province of 'Naga' on the 'Kittana' continent, just outside of the 'Known World' boundaries, there have been sightings of a Young Man walking in front of these Super Soldiers. Strange aircrafts have also been spotted flying above the Mitene Union. However, these are just rumours."
The bartender stopped talking and we waited quietly for anything else he might have to say. After a few minutes, I took the ear bud out of my ear, as it was obvious that was all the information the bartender had. I honestly didn't know what to make of the information, but I decided to trust it because it was on the Hunter's Website. I looked over to Gon and I saw he was in the same thought process as I was.
"Killua," he asked, "what did it mean when it said they were just rumours? Does that mean it isn't true?"
"No," I explained, "What the means is nothing about what we just heard was classified as 'official.' It means that the Hunter's Association doesn't want the information about this to be released to the public. What we need to do now is find out what an 'Attack-Zinger' is and then we can help Kite, even if he doesn't want our help."
A 'ping' sound came from the computer. I looked at the screen and saw a little "1" in a red circle in the top left corner. I wondered what it was, so I told Gon to click on it. A message came up.
"'Dear Hunter,'" Gon read, "'The information you have accessed is Class-SS classified. Your license will be tracked to the computer you used to access this website and all information on it will be deleted. The money you used will not be refunded and the card used will also be traced and deleted. We thank you for using our website and-'"
"Shit." I cut Gon off, "Gon, log out. Log out!"
"I'm trying, Killua, but it won't let me!"
Gon clicked furiously on the "X" at the top right of the screen. It wasn't closing out. I had to think quickly or else all of our information would be deleted. Then I had an idea.
"Gon, move!"
I pushed him back without waiting. I heard the chair fall to the ground and Gon let out a small "ow" as he fell with it. I began clicking furiously on the "X" while I searched the tower for the power cord. I found it and followed it to where the other end was taped to an outlet.
"Damn." I cursed.
There was only a few seconds left before we were traced and all of our information was gone. I couldn't afford to lose that extra three hundred million Jenny Grandpa Zeno gave me and Gon's Hunter's License is still useful to us. I only had one option left: I had to use my Nen. I let some electricity flow through my body and concentrated it in one finger. I put the finger up to the tower and it short circuited. The power to the computer was off, but I wasn't sure if it had stopped the trace on us. I turned to Gon, who was just getting up off the ground.
"Gon, we need to check to see if the trace stopped." I said, "Quick, try and log back in to the Hunter's website from another computer."
Gon stood up and went to the computer right beside the one I had just short circuited. When he got to the website, he tried to log in with his Hunter's License. I held my breath in anticipation. Success! Gon was able to log in which meant that the trace had stopped before it found the information. I sighed in relief.
No sooner had I done that, that I heard somebody clear their throat behind me. I turned around to see the head librarian glaring down at us. She was one of those librarians you would see in a movie; with gray-ish hair tied up in a style that has not been in for decades and glasses with rims so thick, you couldn't see her face clearly tied around her head with a chain of gold. I told Gon to log out and we tried to walk away. She grabbed us by our shirt collars and led us to the front doors.
I tried to fight her off, but her grip was tight for her age. Granted, I didn't know how old she actually was, but I guessed she was really old. She was also strong enough to lift us off our feet. When she opened the front doors of the library, she threw us out. She threw me out first and I landed on my front, face down on the ground. As I was getting up, Gon landed on his butt and on my back. That sent my face smashing into the ground again.
"I don't want to see you two in my library again," the librarian said, "Troublemakers."
Well, this is just great, I thought, We get the information we want and then get kicked out before we could learn more because of the stupid Hunter's Association. I was in a bad mood the whole time I was laying there.
I lifted my head up a little and said, "Gon, get off."
"Oh," Gon said as if he'd just realized that he'd been sitting on top of me, "Sorry, Killua."
Gon got up and I got up immediately afterwards. I brushed myself off and thought about what we were gonna do next. We found out what the creatures in the woods were and how they were made, but we still didn't know what an "Air-Zinger" was. I could only think of two things we could do to find out. The first one, I didn't really want to do, because it involved calling home again and the second wasn't all that plausible to pull off.
I told Gon to follow me and we walked to an alley that was a few blocks away from the library. I took off my backpack and opened it. I rummaged around in it until I found what I was looking for. I pulled out a kit that I always carried with me, in case I needed to change my appearance.
"Gon," I began, "take off your clothes."
Gon blushed, "Wh-what?"
Seeing him blush made me blush and I looked away. I hit him on the head and said, "Idiot! We're changing clothes. Take off your backpack and give me some of your clean clothes. We're about the same height, so your clothes should fit me and my clothes should fit you."
Gon did what I told him to do. I gave him some of my clothes as well. Before we left the alley, though, I opened the kit up and took out some hair gel. I took a handful of it and rubbed it into Gon's hair, messing it up. He pushed my hand away and told me to stop.
"Look, Gon," I told him, "If I don't mess up your hair and give myself a different hairstyle, that librarian lady will recognize us and throw us out again. Do you want to be thrown again?"
"I don't know," Gon said, "I kind of liked being on top of you."
He grinned. I blushed and hit him on the head. "Idiot!" I said while looking away, "Now hold still."
I held his hands down while I rubbed the gel in some more. Then I put some gel in my hair, spiking it up in the front and on the sides. I closed the gel and took out a marker. I told Gon to close his eyes and I drew a circle around his left eye, which I filled in afterwards.
"Alright, now you do one around my right eye." I told Gon.
I closed my eyes and felt the cold tip of the marker on my face. I felt as it traced my eye, leaving a cold trail where it had been. I felt the marker going from side to side, filling in the circle. I only hoped this would work.
When we returned to the library, I told Gon to keep his fingers crossed. He crossed them and I slapped his hands. I told him I didn't mean it literally and that it was just a figure of speech. I was pretty sure the he knew what I had meant all along and was just toying with me. He tended to do that. A lot.
We walked into the library and passed the head librarian, who look up and eyed us suspiciously. I was relieved when she went back to what she was doing. So far, the plan seemed to be working. We walked up to one of the librarians that was putting books away.
"Excuse me," I said which nearly made the librarian drop her book, "Could you tell me where I can find a book?"
"Uh, y-yes." She said, "I can. What kind of book did you want?"
"A book that has something about Air-Zingers." Gon blurted out.
"A-Air-Zingers?" The librarian asked, "What are those?"
"We don't know," I said matter-of-factly, "That's why we need the book."
"Oh." The librarian said, "W-wait one moment, please."
The librarian went back behind the desk. It took her a couple minutes, though, because she kept twisting her ankles. My guess was she wasn't used to wearing high heels. When she was behind the desk, she looked something up on the computer and then walked back over to us.
"I found a b-book that has Air-Zingers." She said, handing me a slip of paper, "Y-you'll find it in the 'Automotives and Aircrafts' section. Just right down there."
She pointed in the direction of the section we wanted. We thanked her and went to look for that book. Checking the slip of paper the librarian gave me, we were able to find the book without any problems. I looked in the Table of Contents of the book about all kinds of planes and found the page for the Air-Zingers.
"'Air-Zingers are a type of plane that were commonly used before the turn of the century,'" I read, "'They had many uses including the transporting of early vehicles and weapons. They were also used to transport people, but not for luxury purposes like many of today's planes. These types of planes were mostly used by militaries looking for a quick first strike.
"'They were named Air-Zingers because of their quick speeds. The fastest an Air-Zinger was recorded going was at three times the mach speed of sound. This type of plane is no longer manufactured, but some still manage to be flown every year or so. Mostly for special events like air shows and-'" I stopped reading, "It just goes on about what the Air-Zingers are used for today, but it doesn't say anything about any military using it today."
I put the book back where I had found it and we walked out of the library. We walked back to the alley where we had put on our "disguises" and I took a water bottle and a cloth out of my backpack. I told Gon to close his eyes again while I wet the cloth and rubbed Gon's left eye with it. The marker was washable, so it came off easy. I then washed my face to get the marker off.
"Okay, Gon," I said, "Take off your shirt, put your hands against the wall and put your head down. I'm gonna wash the gel out of your hair."
Gon did as I had wanted him to and for a moment I hesitated. I couldn't explain why I had hesitated because it didn't make sense. I began to pour the cold water from the bottle onto Gon's head with one hand and rubbed his hair with the other so the gel would come out. And I was blushing the whole time. It was weird.
As Gon put a clean shirt back on, I reached into my backpack again and pulled out a towel, which I gave to him and told him to dry his hair. I took off my the shirt I borrowed from him as he was changing his pants. I decided the best thing to do was put my head against the wall and look at the ground while I rubbed the gel out of my hair. After I had dried my hair and changed my pants, we walked back to the restaurant.
We found ourselves waiting outside of the restaurant for Kite, who hadn't returned from his "errands". While we were waiting, we decided to talk amongst ourselves about what we would do. Obviously, we were going to help Kite bring peace to this town, but what if Kite didn't want our help? What would we do then?
"We'd just have to explain to him that we had to help." Gon stated.
"Well, obviously," I countered, "But don't you think if he didn't want us to help, he'd send us away?"
"Then we'd come back." Gon countered my counter.
I gave up. It was useless to argue with Gon. Once he had his mind made up, it was impossible to change it. But, perhaps, that's what I like about him, I thought, almost unconsciously, Wait. What? Dammit, Killua, this is Gon we're talking about here! A boy! I can't think about boys like that!
A few moments later, we saw Kite heading back in our direction. He was carrying grocery bags, probably supplies for his "camp" in the woods. I mean, you can only live off of fish and wild berries for so long, right? And who knew how long Kite was going to be in those woods?
As soon as he saw us, he knew his answer, but he decided to ask his question anyway. "Well, boys?"
"We're in." I said.