Most Japanese TV channels were only showing entertainment content at that time, while Felix forced himself to listen to a news channel about heroes and villains.
It was only 4 a.m… That's what happens when he uses his quirk to sleep. Melatonin and meta-melatonin make a good sleeping pill—too good. He slept like a log and woke up 28 hours later. Well, yeah, he needed that sleep, but now he has three missed calls and unread two messages.
Anyway, 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 like him who asked for nothing but a salary rather than to give this flat family in need… Well, he already knew the answer, but still… Despite the harshness with which they treated him, the Hero Public Safety Commission was doing everything to be in Felix's good grace. Seems like it's even a priority.
They wouldn't do that if there wasn'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.
—The hero ranking. All Might gonna be first, as usual. That's why he's known all over the world, after all. Also, because he worked in the US back then, too…
Unsurprisingly, All Might was first, with a big lead. Even so, Felix couldn't help but cringe when he thought about his motto and his 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. Hawk, Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, Crust, Yoroi Musha, Ryukyu… Felix didn't remember everyone, and obviously, everything was centered around the top 10, but some of the 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… It will take some time, though. And yes, he would rather be here doing this than rotting in prison for two more years. Caged fights, all the noises, the inmates' cries, and all the gay shit he has seen… No thanks.
However, boosting these people will be quite 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's doing. This is a lot 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 or pheromones to lower the hero's guard and reduce his awareness.
—I'm both unlucky and lucky… It changes from my part-time fast-food job.
After more than an hour of reading an e-book about Japanese law, 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 opened the door apprehensively, 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?" he asked, raising an eyebrow while holding the door in one hand as the sun was just beginning to rise. "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 here to treat you... It's a bit cheesy to ask this to someone my age to move from her office, but I guess they have their reasons."
"Ah... I'm sorry to make you do this. But... I can give you some tea and some biscuit I baked earlier to make up for it. Well, if you want, of course." Felix added, thinking back to his deceased grandmother.
Felix sighed and smiled before waving at the old lady and her two bodyguards to enter his apartment. Sending this woman here was risky, even protected by two bodyguards. Her quirk made headlines when she saved the American Vice President from certain death during a multicultural meeting in Japan at least twenty years ago. It only strengthened the Japan-American friendship at the cost of increased illegal activities between the two countries. Some say that this is why small yakuza groups are still active today. Well, anyway, today, the two countries were at each other throats despite All Might and Star and Stripe's yearly hero meeting.
Time takes its toll. Both physically and mentally. Japan never forgot the two bombs.
"Come in."
"Thanks," she said, taking off her shoes. "It's rare to find people your age showing this kind of gentleness. That's enough for me," she replied, narrowing her eyes. "That said, now that I take a closer look at you, you don't seem particularly hurt. The damage must be on the inside, isn't it?"
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 become neither of these two things—a bargaining ship to avoid a potential war with the West. That was what he was. A bargaining chip able to boost Japan's heroes to avoid a potential world war. He was the most important yet unknown person in the world. A kind of shadow hero, despite being what people call a scum.
Sadly for them, he had other plans. Playing the lamb is fun for a while, but he would soon be tired of all that shit.
—That's convenient for the Hero Commission, but they'll not be able 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 watered his face. For now, he didn't want to be acknowledged or famous, even though it could be beneficial to achieve his primary goal. Best to keep a low profile for the time being.
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. Felix wasn't a good person, he knew it, but he didn't want to destroy innocent people's life; it was boring. 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.
—Aaahh~ Liberty, I'm coming soon after taking care of these apes...
Felix had already been used as a tool for… years, even before going to prison. He had enough of that. He had to make the wardens' wives addicted to their husbands in exchange for food, make some inmates amorphous so the guys who gambled on one would most likely win, etc. And now he was going to continue being used? Society managed to bring out the worst of himself.
It was going to be his turn now.
"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 chuckled while stuffing her mouth. "So, if I understand correctly, I must heal your back and neck."
"Mhm."
Thanks to her quirk, she speed up a person's healing process a thousandfold, so needless to say, her quirk would heal his back and repair his damaged glands. The healing process of his glands and the pain it caused were excruciating, to the point he needed to use tons of meta-melatonin to sleep for a few hours. Nobody knew that, though. Adrenal fatigue—gland fatigue—happens when you're too stressed, vitamin deficient because of lack of sun and food, and when what you finally manage to eat is either spoiled or poisoned food. And given what he had to do in prison to survive, of course, people hated him... As always. He'd gotten used to it now.
After twenty minutes, during which they discussed the increased crime rate, she finally got up and healed him. Felix was surprised at first but accepted his fate. He had to be cured by an old lady possessing the infamous power of magical, healing kisses.
—Reminds me of grandma…
He immediately felt that his vertebrae were straightening, making him taller, and his numbness disappeared after three magical kisses. He was already feeling much more refreshed than in the past five years. His dark circles would finally disappear, and caring for himself would no longer be a daily grind.
It would also significantly increase his mobility and his ability to fight.
"Hm. Your spine was something else, young man. It must feel good to be able to stretch your back finally," chuckled Recovery Girl. "As an old crone, I understand how it feels."
"Yeah," He smiled. "Thanks for the help. I'm already feeling better."
"You're welcome. Now I need to go to this stupid UA to finish preparations for the start of the new school year. So, goodbye, maybe we will see you again."
The old woman left with her bodyguards and two cookies in each hand, wishing him a good day.
However, Felix decided it wouldn't end like that. He had to try something in order to test the water. He previously dropped one of the guards' tasers on the ground after pickpocketing it, so he went to pick it up and tapped the shoulder of one of the bodyguards, quickly touching the back of his head.
◉—▩▦▩▦▩▦▩▦▩▦▩▦▩—◉
●{Melatonin Bed}—{Cools the body, makes people sleepy, and decreases awareness.}
◉—▩▦▩▦▩▦▩▦▩▦▩▦▩—◉
"Excuse me, sir. You dropped this."
The man widened his eyes, seemingly ashamed, and bowed his head before leaving. They walked down the stairs, but before getting to the car, Felix saw the effect of the gland he had just activated in that man. It wasn't very potent, but for only a brief instant, it worked.
A high concentration of normal melatonin. The circadian cycle hormone.
—Was just an all-out test with the remaining hormone I had stored in this gland, but... it worked pretty well. Well, I'll have to empty the other glands now that they're all healthy again. Old stored hormones are just like parasites...
He didn't have the same endurance and experience as before in terms of how he could use hormones, but he still had the same knowledge. His quirk was a mix of his father's and mother's, so using his hormonal abilities without using his system was possible, but his power would be less potent if he did so. A clear and calm mind is needed if he wants to make his system appear inside his head, which is impossible during a fight. Still, now it seems like it's easier to manifest the two.
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 quiet and peaceful. Almost nobody was around at this hour, too.
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, starting the conversation with a sigh.
"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 home, 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. Obviously, we have no time to waste. The hero who will give you a chance in this fight is named Nighteye. Like you, he has a challenging quirk to notice. He will teach you how to fight against a hand-to-hand fighter, even if you're already experienced... I already sent you the 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 pretty busy, so try to learn from him. Anyway, if you can meet him today, that would be better. Now, chop chop.}
"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 to 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 was 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?}
"The Colossal Titan has just appeared, and he's sexier than I thought."
{What are you talking about... 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 go see a guy named Sir Nighteye; that was enough for him for now.
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 there and then.