『Chapter 2 — Origin』
Most Japanese TV channels were only showing entertainment content at this hour. It was far too late for anything else.
However, Felix forced himself to listen to a news channel about heroes and villains.
The time indicated at the top left of the screen made him grumble: only 4 a.m… Next time, he'll do his best not to sleep 28 hours straight, even if exhausted. He needed that sleep, but his business phone received three calls and two messages while he was asleep. He hadn't even dared to look at who it was coming from yet.
He tossed his phone on the bed before getting up to fetch orange juice from the fridge.
The apartment provided to him could accommodate a whole family. Even now, he wondered how the Japanese government could give this to someone who asked for nothing but a salary rather than to an actual family in need…
Well, he already knew the answer. Despite the harshness with which they treated him, the Hero Public Safety Commission was doing everything to get Felix to help them as soon as possible. It was even a priority, seemingly… despite putting him at risk.
They wouldn't do that if there weren't an emergency. As a result, the former inmate knew they hadn't told him everything, but it was probably better for him. The more you know, the more responsibility you have.
His eyes shifted to the TV after hearing something interesting. Something that every country in the world had but no one could get tired of.
—Here's the hero ranking… All Might's gonna be first, just as usual. That's why he is known all over the world, after all.
Unsurprisingly, All Might was first, with a big lead. Even so, Felix couldn't help but cringe when he thought about his motto and exaggerated, heroic behavior.
Behind him stood Endeavor, a little-known outside of Japan because of his temperament. Those behind the two top heroes were only known here in Japan. Hawks, Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, Crust, Yoroi Musha, Ryukyu… Felix didn't remember everyone, and obviously, everything was centered around the top 10. Still, some names seemed more interesting than others among the remaining heroes: the n°17 Kamui Wood seemed fairly popular with women, Wash fairly popular with kids, and Mirko, the n°14, fairly popular with men.
No wonder why.
He will probably boost most of these heroes… and yes, he would rather be here doing this than rotting in prison, hearing the inmates' lamentation.
However, boosting these people will be hard. As the Hero Commission said, discretion is advised.
He would have to make sure that the people receiving the hormones didn't notice what he was doing. This is much harder than it sounds, especially if he needs to "touch" a gland such as the thyroids or kidneys. It wasn't impossible, but it would probably require him to use melatonin and other hormones to lower the heroes's guard and reduce their awareness.
—Guess I'm both lucky and unlucky… To think that I once worked in some awful fast-food restaurant…
"I'm going places, haha…" he chuckled to himself.
After more than an hour spent reading a book, his apartment doorbell rang.
The noise was so loud that he jumped and didn't know what to do for a few seconds, half stunned. He had no idea who it could be, especially at only 5 a.m. He left to open the door with apprehension, hoping it wasn't because he hadn't answered the calls and messages.
But on the other side of the door stood a grey-haired old nurse with a visor and a syringe as a hairpin, accompanied by two men dressed in black.
"Hello, young man. We called you and came here yesterday, but apparently, you weren't there."
"…And you are?" Felix asked, raising an eyebrow while holding the door in one hand as the sun began rising. "I wasn't expecting a visit from the Men In Black."
"I'm Recovery Girl, you dumb-dumb. The Hero Commission asked this old lady to come over to treat you… It's a bit cheesy to ask to someone my age to move from her office, but I guess they have their reasons. Sadly, I can only come at this hour, so that will do."
"Ah… I'm sorry to make you do this. But… I can give you some tea and biscuits I baked earlier to make up for it. Well, if you want, of course." Felix added, thinking back to his deceased grandmother.
Felix sighed, then smiled before waving at the old lady and her two bodyguards to enter his apartment.
Sending this woman here was a risky move, even protected by two bodyguards.
Her quirk made headlines when she saved the American Prime Minister from certain death during a multicultural meeting in Japan thirty years ago. It only strengthened the Japan-American "friendship" at the cost of increased illegal activities between the two countries. Some say this is why small groups of yakuza are still active today.
"Alright. Come in."
"Thanks," she said, taking off her shoes. "It's rare to find people your age being awake at this hour. That's enough for me," she replied, narrowing her eyes. "Now that I look closer at you, you don't seem particularly harmed. I imagine the damage must be on the inside."
He nodded and went to boil the water in the teapot while taking his cookies from a small wooden box. Despite his skills as a baker and apprentice doctor, he would soon become a kind of shadow hero; after all, no one would ever know that he was the one who would make heroes even stronger.
Sadly for them, he had other plans. Playing the lamb is fun for a while, but he would soon tire of it.
—That's convenient for the Hero Commission, but they'll be unable to hide it forever. I just have to improve and wait for a single error, one moment, one opportunity, and I'm good.
Before returning to the three people in the living room, he wiped off his machiavellian smile and wet his face with water. He didn't want to be acknowledged or famous as of right now, even though it could be helpful to achieve his goals and dreams.
His second idea was to reveal the government's shenanigans to the public to fight crime, banditry, and vigilantism.
People would then make up their minds and act with full knowledge of the facts. The people have to choose. If they accept their country's deeds, then it's okay; if not, they need to have their say. That said, Felix wasn't a good person. He was the first aware of that; however, he didn't like destroying innocent people's lives. It was dumb. Boring. Purposeless.
Being the big bad is nothing else than stupid egocentrism.
On the other hand, he had no compassion for those on the hypocritical "good" side using the same schemes as the so-called "evil" side.
—Liberty, huh… I take care of these self-righteous pricks, and then… then…
Felix had already been used as a tool for three years in his former prison to entertain the wardens. And even before in his life.
And now he was going to continue here?
This won't happen again.
He swore it.
"Something's bothering you, young man?"
"Ah, no, my back hurts because of the training, that's all," he replied, mixing truth and falsehood while putting the tray down with all the food. "And you can just call me Felix."
"Thanks for the cookies," she giggled as she ate without hesitation while both guards did the same. "So, if I understand correctly, I need to take care of your back and neck."
"Yeah, it hurt like hell."
She could heal a person's entire body in one go with her power—more so, accelerate the regenerating process—so needless to say, he also needed her quirk to repair his damaged glands from excessive and repeated use. But there was no need to tell her all this. It would only arouse suspicion.
After about twenty minutes, during which they discussed the increase in crime in the country, she finally decided to get up and treat him. Felix was surprised at first but accepted his fate, and so, to be cured, he would have to take the kisses of an old woman possessing the infamous power of magical kisses.
Wonderful.
He immediately felt that his vertebrae were straightening, making him taller as his numbness disappeared after three magical kisses.
He was already feeling much more refreshed than ever in more than four years.
His dark circles would finally disappear, and caring for himself would no longer be a daily grind. Even though his heart told him to act purely out of wrath and spite, after meeting people like Recovery Girl, he told himself that not everyone deserves to endure the government's self-centered actions.
If even an old woman was exploited by the Hero Commission, then other people suffered from their orders.
"All right, young man, you're all fixed," said Recovery Girl as she cut out Felix's thoughts.
"Thanks for the help. I'm already feeling better."
"You're welcome. Now, I need to go back to UA to finish preparations for the start of the new school year. So, goodbye, maybe I'll see you again."
The old woman left with her bodyguards and two cookies in each hand before wishing him a good day.
However, Felix decided it wouldn't end like that; he would try something. He had previously dropped one of the guards' guns on the ground, so he went to pick it up and tapped the shoulder of one of the bodyguards, quickly touching the back of his head.
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●{Melatonin Bed}—{Cools the body, making people less aware and sleepy.}
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"Excuse me, sir. You dropped this."
The man opened his eyes, seemingly ashamed that he had dropped his gun on the ground at the home of someone who had fed them.
He retrieved it and bowed his head in apology before leaving. As they walked down the stairs, Felix saw the effect of his, to this day, dormant meta-melatonin and of the gland he had just activated in that man.
At first, he had difficulty walking before he had to stand upright; thanks to the roof of the car, he came to his senses as his body cooled and his breathing became too slow to maintain a high enough level of oxygen in his body. One to two minutes is necessary for it to take effect.
Melatonin, the circadian cycle hormone, can have nice effects if used correctly.
—Just a stupid all-out test with the little hormone I have still in stock… I still need to retrain myself on others, though.
He didn't have the same experience as before in terms of how he could use the hormones.
That said, he remembered almost everything about the ones he had already used. His quirk was a mix of his father's and mother's, so using his hormonal abilities without using his system was possible. A clear mind is needed if he wants to make his system manifest, which could be hard in a fight. Yet, despite a few blurry memories, he was now perfectly capable of using them without having a deficiency of another hormone.
He still didn't know when the Hero Commission would call him back, but he had some free time now, so he decided to go into town to get some fresh air and check the neighborhood. The area was nice, quiet, and peaceful, unlike the streets of other countries. The day started for everyone, and to tell the truth, the city by daylight was much pleasanter than by night, which is quite rare.
The phone in his pocket vibrated several times, alerting him that his free time would soon end.
He looked at the person's name and picked it up with apathy.
"Yes?"
{Saying hello is the minimum required when picking up the phone, Mr. Fortier.}
"Hello?"
{…Hello.} She paused and sighed before resuming with a more professional voice. {We need you to meet someone. A hero, he has an agency near your flat, only a few subway stations away.}
"What's certain is that you don't waste any time."
{Yes, we need you to recruit that heroine this month… So, obviously, wasting time isn't allowed. The hero who will give you a chance in this fight is named Nighteye. Like you, he has a quirk that is challenging to notice. He will teach you how to fight and think with this kind of ability; even if you're already well-versed, we need all the help we can get. I already sent you his address yesterday, but you didn't reply.}
"I feel like I'm being treated like a child."
{Stop complaining, you'll only be there with him for two weeks, he's quite busy, so try to learn from him. Anyway, if you can meet him today, that would be better.}
"I'm close to a subway station, so I might as well go there," he sighed, scratching his head as he watched the giant villain and the hero he had seen on TV the night before, Kamui Wood, both walking directly on the tracks. "Yeah, it might be more complex than we thought to be honest."
{Why did you say—}
Before the President of the Hero Commission could finish her sentence, a shout prevented the two from continuing their discussions.
"Canyon Cannon!"
The next second, the villain was lying on the ground, and a giant heroine crashed into the street in an uproar that shook the ground, creating a mini-earthquake. Despite having destroyed part of the road as she fell, she seemed rather satisfied and pulled the villain by his pants as if she were holding a used handkerchief.
"Today is the day of my debut! My name is Mt Lady; a pleasure to make your acquaintance." concludes the giant heroine before winking as a boring child wrote down everything he had seen in his notebook.
Felix looked at her with greater attention, analyzing the DETAILS, and he came to only one conclusion.
"Oh my, oh my."
{What happened?}
"A Colossal Titan appeared… Quite sexy…"
{What are you talking about…}
"Lass' name is Mt. Lady, I think…"
{You don't talk about her. Don't come near her. Anyway, just get ready to meet this hero. He's kind of… special. His associates will probably make you feel more comfortable. Now, I need to work, bye.}
Felix didn't pay any more attention to the fact that she had hung up. He just knew he had to see a guy named Sir Nighteye. That was enough for him.
The various heroes present on the scene attracted almost 100% of his attention, Mt. Lady being the most interesting one for many people, thanks to her pronounced sex appeal, which she voluntarily emphasized.
But Felix left without delay. His new training was waiting for him.
It would be here and now that his new life would begin.
The origin of his story began right then and there.