Sard bought a "Zero" from a vending machine outside the hospital. As he walked toward the entrance, he noticed a black official car parked outside. "That must belong to the officials," he thought to himself. Just as he was about to enter, he popped the tab on the can, but due to excess pressure, it suddenly hissed and exploded into foam. The sticky drink splattered all over Sard's hands and arms. Sard gritted his teeth. "I'm never buying this drink again," he muttered, heading toward the restroom to clean himself up.
At the same time, upstairs, a man was walking down the hallway toward room 217. When he reached the door, he stopped and knocked. Hearing Fast's voice call out, "Come in!", the young officer entered.
"Yes?" Fast asked.
"I'm from the Hero League," the young officer said. "I need to report the incident. What exactly did you experience in front of that portal? How did you use your power?"
Fast hesitated for a moment before replying, "I think I have a copying ability."
The young officer paused, looking at Fast. "The ability you have doesn't look like copying at all," he said.
Fast was surprised. "How do you know that?"
The young officer continued without answering. "I don't think you can do much anyway, but whatever. Look, kid, don't bother registering. You won't get anywhere with this power. You'd start directly at E-Rank and waste years there. If I were you, I wouldn't even attempt this for an ambiguous ability. Besides, in your current state, you don't exactly look useful."
Fast's face fell, his morale crushed. "Is... is that what you think?" he murmured. At that moment, the young officer's silhouette began to flicker, slowly shifting into his original blue form—Gecko. Gecko locked his glowing eyes onto Fast's, beginning to hypnotize him. Fast lost touch with reality, his gaze becoming dull and vacant.
Downstairs, while Sard was cleaning his hands at the sink, he heard rustling from one of the toilet stalls behind him. He tried the door, but it was locked. "Is someone in there?" he called out. No answer came, but hearing someone move inside, he said, "I'm coming in!" and fired a blast of energy at the lock. When the door swung open, he saw the real officer, bound and gagged. Sard grasped the situation instantly. He quickly untied the man's hands and shouted, "You handle the rest!" before sprinting out of the restroom.
Rushing upstairs, Sard reached Fast's room only to find the door locked. He began pounding on it. "Fast! Are you in there? Open the door!"
Inside, the monster, having Fast completely under its influence, thought, "The door is locked, he can't get in." Fast, under hypnosis, heard nothing. Outside, Sard backed away, saying, "I have to break this door down!" He leveled his hands. "Hold on, Fast, I'm coming!" he yelled and fired an energy blast at the door.
Just as he shattered the door, a voice rang out from the end of the hallway: "Hey, you there!"
The D-Rank officer had run toward the noise and seen Sard destroying the door. "What do you think you're doing? Have you targeted that kid?! Where is my partner?! Don't move!" he shouted, leveling his weapon.
An irritated expression crossed Sard's face, signaling he had no time to lose and too much to deal with. "I have no choice," he said, lunging toward the man. Even though the officer fired, Sard dodged the bullets, slipped behind him, and delivered a strike to his neck, knocking him unconscious.
He burst into the room. Fast was sitting on the bed with his back turned, his head hanging low as if unconscious. Sard scanned the room; there was no one else inside!