Full Summary:

Pro-Hero Hawks was the only graduate of the Commission. Out of all of the children, Agent Hawks was the only one to ever be presented to the world. The others, deemed failures, were tossed away and covered up. After all, the Commission couldn't taint their perfect picture.

The Commission was the backbone of Hero Society. They have the funds to sweep the, ah, undesirables, under the rug, and not have people question them. But for the children raised by the Commission, the ones who have been trained to hell and back, and the ones who have been all but ripped of their childhoods and then swept aside away when their use ran out... they knew the truth.

The truth is a powerful thing. Knowledge had the power to bring a nation to its knees when used correctly. The truth is to be feared, and rightfully so.

This is a story about the Children of the Commission, about the ones who dreamed about taking their prison and exposing them for everything and all they have ever done. This is a story about how they made that dream a reality.

OR

The Commission screwed them over, so they're going to screw them back.

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AN: :D Enjoy~

A huge thanks to my Beta, Northern . Starr, for having the patience and time of day to go through this monstrosity. Buckle up, because the next 10 chapters are prewritten, and I've got another 20 planned. It's going to be wild.

Note: Not told in chronicle order, 'cuz it's more fun this way.

Note 2: Many OCs present, but all OCs don't play a very large role.

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Chapter 1: Regardless, this is how it began

"His wings are clipped and his feet are tied, so he opens his throat to sing."

"Caged Bird" by Maya Angelou

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If, many years later, one asked about how it all started, they would receive numerous different answers.

Some would tell you it was the founding of Verity.

Others would say it began with the supposed 'death' of Todoroki Touya.

And few would even say it started the moment All for One chose a successor, directly leading to the rise of the League of Villains.

In reality though, if we were to talk about how it all started, this story would most likely bore you all to death. That's because the first seeds were already sown the moment society decided they needed to deepen the divide between 'villains' and 'heroes'.

But anyway, hypothetically, a good place to start would be the founding of the Hero Public Safety Commission. Or more specifically, the starting of the subdivision, the Breeding Program. Now, not many are privy to the knowledge of this subdivision's existence, and even fewer are willing to speak of it.

In ways, Hero Killer Stain was correct. Society was corrupt. Still, that didn't give any excuse for people to go around killing people though. (No, really. We're serious here. No unnecessary deaths, no matter how bad their morals are.)

But, here's the thing. To start from the beginning is much too much work. And not to mention quite mind-numbing. What kind of story would this be, if everything was presented to its readers on a silver platter, no mystery or confusion anywhere? After all, many of the good and legitimate, published stories start from the middle. When enough suspense and half-truths and twists have already built up, to the point that plot twists and backstories and reveals are possible. To already have the wheels rolling, so to speak.

So, the middle.

According to the official websites and government-issued article, the entire fiasco began roughly three hours after what was nicknamed the High-End incident. When the then newly named #1 and #2 Hero, Endeavor and Hawks respectively, and the bioengineered human, Nomu, clashed.

Right after the hero's had emerged victorious in battle, the League of Villain's Dabi had shown up. As if people's panic could not get any worse, the entire situation was equivalent to dumping an entire jug of metaphorical gasoline on an already raging fire. Luckily, Dabi had eventually retreated, without his supposed Nomu, and leaving everyone to calm down.

Nobody noticed the look passed between Dabi and Hawks.

Now, see, this is where things get interesting.

The moment Dabi left the scene, paramedics swarmed the scene. Wounds were treated, calls were made. Routine.

It was after, when Hawks injuries were deemed minor enough, did doctors tell him to go home and rest. And that's when things really kicked off.

The media was in a frenzy, the public's emotions were running high⎯ it was no wonder people didn't notice.

They were too caught up in the cleanup, the press publishing their new headlines- everything.

It was only a full two days later, when things had calmed down, and people started to move back on with their lives, did they notice a very fundamental detail.

Namely, nobody had seen a glimpse of their #2 Hero since the incident. The first day could be put off a much-needed break. (Though Hawks' closest friends should have noticed). Since the question stands, why would a workaholic not be working?

The second day was when people started asking questions. His friends knocked on his door and received no answer. Hawks hadn't shown up at all with the meeting with the Commission. In the end, they even broke into his house.

What greeted them made them pause in their tracks.

Nothing.

There was nothing.

Literally.

Furniture was so sparse, the place hardly looked lived in. Walls were bare, no signs of which the loud, enthusiastic hero they came to know had even stepped foot into the place.

No signs of struggle. The apartment even had a thin coating of dust.

After that, they started panicking. With their #1 Hero temporary out of commission, it was up to their #2, Hawks, to temporarily give people a sense of peace.

The same Hero that was currently nowhere to be found.

The last time anyone had seen him was the incident at High-End.

They searched high and low. Nothing. His phone went directly to voicemail. Even the Commission had no clue where he was.

In other words, he had vanished without a trace.

According to the Official websites, it all began with the disappearance of Hawks.

And it only spiralled from there.

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What the public did not know, was that a certain meeting occurred.

Three hours after the High-End incident, in one of the many alleyways of Musutafu, Japan, two individuals faced each other.

Both were wearing civilian clothing. To blend in, probably.

"You're late," one drawled out, twirling one of those cheap plastic pens between his fingers. Effortless.

The nationwide wanted villain, Dabi.

"No, I'm on time," the other man corrected, posture relaxed and hands shoved in his pockets.

And facing him, the Winged Hero, Hawks.

Dabi hummed. Then, after a moment of stillness, the twirling of the pen came to an abrupt stop. As the pen came to be balanced between his middle and pointer fingers, he licked his dry lips. "Not by my standards, Birdie."

"Oh really? Hate to break it to you, Blue, but your so-called standards are downright unreasonable."

"Is that so?"

"Mmhm."

Dabi gazed upwards, turquoise blue meeting a vivid shade of gold. Then, after tucking the pen away in one of the many folds of his clothes, he spoke. "Got all your stuff, Kei?"

Keigo smiled. "Everything I need," he confirmed. "And wouldn't you say your appearance after the Nomu was overkill?"

"Nah," he scoffed. "If anything, it was like one big 'fuck you' to my father's face. Felt wonderful."

"Wow Tou, and here I thought you have outgrown your rebellious teenager phase."

"Never."

"Glad to hear it."

Lips quirking upwards, the blue-eyed man, or Touya, let out a deep breath. "Let's get going already. You did remove the tracker, right?"

"Duh," Keigo replied, shoving up the sleeve of his way too oversized hoodie ("To hide my wings, what else?") to show him his freshly bandaged forearm. "It was the first thing I did. Hurt like hell, though."

"That's what happens when you remove a tracking device implanted under your skin, Keigo."

Pulling his medical mask up and baseball cap lower on his face, Touya was the first to step out of the alleyway. Stance relaxed, back slouched, turtleneck covering his scars. Nothing to hide. And following him a beat after, with his hoodie sleeve pulled back down, Keigo was thankful they were currently in one of the poorer neighbourhoods of the city.

Falling in step with one another, the pair started making their way towards the local library, where a car would be waiting for them in a few minutes time.

"Do you know who the diver's going to be?" Keigo asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Why would I? Whoever actually has a legitimate driver's license, probably."

Keigo shrugged. "You've been under the radar longer than I have. And you've made at least one trip to Verity, right?"

"Right," Touya replied, coming to a realization. "You haven't even been to Verity yet. Kind of depressing once thought about. Well, tell you what. You are definitely going to love it. Sumire-san is unreal."

"Sumire-san. She runs Verity."

Touya laughed, starchy and full. "Birdie, I keep forgetting how much you were kept in the dark from all of it. Seriously, safely reason aside, you'd be one of our senior members."

"Pays, to be childhood friends with the second in command, don't you think?"

"She was and still is everyone's friend."

"Still."

"Back to Sumire-san. You'll love her, so there's that."

"...you're not going to answer my question, are you?"

"Nope."

"Mean."

"Thank you."

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Twenty minutes, an extended conversation and distance walked later, an old Toyota pulled up at the driveway of the Public Library.

A quick glance at the license plate earned a single nod from Touya, and the pair didn't hesitate to clamber into the backseat of the car. The fact didn't escape Keigo that it was obvious his friend had no idea who the driver was.

But hey, if it was Touya who went without any issues, then Verity's trust values spoke volumes. In a good way.

It was only a minute into the drive when they were leaving the neighbourhood behind, did their mystery driver speak.

"So, big brother. Mind introducing me to your bird friends here?"

Almost instantly, Touya blanched. "Natsu?"

(Keigo tilted his head. "You have more siblings? Other than that Shouto kid?"

"Unfortunately."

Cue sour look from their white-haired driver.

Touya rolled his eyes. "Three in total. I'm the oldest."

"...dude," was Keigo's answer.

"I know.")

The newly dubbed Natsu grinned at then through the rearview mirror. "The one and only. Is he the 'Keigo' you and Hinode always speak of?"

Keigo beamed at the thought of praise, "Got it in one." Pausing, he snuck a glance at Touya, "Speaking of, how is Hino-?"

"Wait," Touya butted in, cutting off his friend, Big Brother instincts dialled high. "Natsu, what are you doing here? Don't you have classes?"

"Finished for the day, Tou-nii," Natsu replied, not missing a beat. "And about Hinode, she's second in command, which you should already know. About her, hm. She's taken a liking to one of our new members, so there's that." Shaking his head, the car shook with his moment of distractedness, "Forget her! Tell me more about yourself, mystery Keigo."

Clutching the seats, Kei laughed nervously, "I'll tell you so long as you stay focussed on the road." He cleared his throat, "Uh...I'm an officially licensed pro-hero?"

The response was immediate. "Really? Cool! Touya and Hinode never give any hints about you! What's your Hero name?"

Blinking, Keigo glanced over at the fire user. "You didn't tell him?!"

Touya only shrugged. "Nope."

"So?" Natsu repeated, not taking his eyes off the road. "What's your hero name?"

"...It's, uh…"

"What, is it embarrassing or something?"

"Ah, well, you see—"

"Dude, just say it already!"

"...It's Hawks."

"..."

"Yeah."

"...you're not kidding."

"I'm not kidding."

"You're serious."

"I am."

"What."

"Uh, yes?"

"...Touya," the white-haired teen started. "You were childhood best friends with the #2 Hero, and you didn't think to inform any of us?"

"Does it really make that much of a difference?" Keigo asked.

"Yes, it does!" Natsu exclaimed. "Free merch!"

The conversation only escalated from there. In a good way, of course.

During the middle of Natsu (Keigo decided that he and Touya's little brother were going to get along just fine.) telling the story of how he once dared Touya to fry bacon on his body, Touya, red-faced, interrupted them mercilessly. "We're almost here."

Deciding to embarrass his brother another day, Natsu stopped his storytelling and instead opted to make a noise of agreement.

Glancing out the window himself, Keigo had to do a double-take. "Uh, Touya?"

"Yes?"

"Aren't we going to Verity?"

"We are," he confirmed. "Why?

Squinting, Keigo switched over to glance at his friend. "Then why are we at the Mall?"

And indeed, right then, Natsu pulled up to the Kiyoshi Ward Shopping Mall's parking lot and proceeded to look for an empty space.

"This is how we get to Verity, of course."

The face Keigo made at Touya must have been highly impressive, because the latter raised an eyebrow and took out his pen once more.

"Verity isn't located here, if that's what you're asking," Natsu explained, expertly maneuvering the car in an unoccupied space. "Kiyoshi Ward is just the entrance."

Touya nodded. "He's right. Verity's entrance is located underneath the shopping mall."

"...oh," Keigo replied, blinking. "Oh?"

Touya snorted. "No idea how it was built. It just was. Like I said before, Sumire-san is unreal."

Keigo must have been digesting that information for a tad bit too long because the next thing he heard was Touya's voice. "You know," the eldest Todoroki sibling started, already halfway out of the car. "I would like to show you Verity sometime before tomorrow, Hero."

At that, Keigo smiled. Without another thought, he clambered out after him, not wanting to be left behind. "By all means, Hotstuff, lead the way."

And Touya did.