The hero Felix met was taller than him; he had to be at least 6.5 feet, a rare thing for Japanese people. His black hair with a few colored strands and his attire reminded Felix of the average Japanese businessmen he saw every day. When the former inmate entered his agency after being warned by his sidekicks, the gaze he gave to the young man proved that he was either on edge or sizing him up.
His cold and analytical gaze didn't destabilize Felix, who briefly showed his identity card to confirm that he wasn't an impostor. After waving to him to go into his office, they sat opposite to each other before silence fell.
Nighteye had prohibited his associates from entering his office, indicating that he took this meeting seriously. However... Felix had difficulty taking him seriously. Despite his stature, he was as thin as a twig and had a behavior that he found funny.
"So, for starters," grumbled the hero, pulling his glasses up on his nose. "I don't believe at all in what the Hero Commission said. They would never send someone quirkless into this office. Secondly, if I accept to give you two weeks of my time, it's because I consider it smarter to bet on a person whom the President of the Commission herself put her trust in. Therefore, I will have no remorse in making you learn everything you need to learn the hard way, even if you end up in a hospital stay."
"All the people I've met until now seem to be on their period. Is it just you, or are all Japanese people like that?"
Nighteye looked up with surprise, with a barely visible smile that disappeared almost immediately after Felix noticed it.
"I was told I had to train you to fight Mirko. Do you even know who that is?"
"A black-skinned chick with bunny ear looking like the perfect combination of Lola Bunny and an Easter egg. Except that's she ripped as fuck. Goddamn abs." Felix stopped, looking at Sir. "Yeah, you're not the funny type of guy, huh. I just got a quick look at her face on TV."
"Let me just tell you we're gonna work on your speed and reflexes; you won't be able to match her strength."
The hero then put down a piece of paper and a pen and pushed them toward Felix, who rolled his eyes as he understood what he had to do.
"The paperwork is really necessary?"
"It's an essential process in our society. Not filling them out would be to throw yourself out of the system."
"Yeah," Felix replied with irony. "So I'm some kind of intern, huh? Anyway, I have no choice but to accept, so we have no need for paperwork… waste of paper. Deforestation, all that, not cool for a hero."
Sir Nighteye took back the document without answering and put it in one of his drawers; he also seemed to pull something out of it. He wrote on his computer for a few seconds at breakneck speed.
He then looked at the young man from the corner of his eye. Felix moved back promptly by reflex as he saw Nighteye arching his arm slightly backward. A second later, a seal passed at high velocity toward his shoulder; however, thanks to his initial movement's inertia, he dodged the item, which crashed on the concrete wall at the other end of the room, shattering bits of it.
"Um… Can I ask what this is all about?"
"I'm going to judge your fighting skills right here and now. The office is big enough for that, and I have about ten copies of these same posters, so don't bother holding back. Just show me what you're made of."
Felix nodded and closed his eyelids for a moment to concentrate on his quirk, but he barely had time to open his eyes again when a second seal almost hit his knee and reversed the direction of his leg's bending.
"I haven't had my morning coffee yet, so my aim, quirk, and strength might be a little off," the hero added, jumping over his desk. "I'm going to avoid vital organs while you just try to do your best," he concluded, supplying himself with three seals in each hand.
Felix raised his eyebrows, understanding that the guy before him was dead serious. He prepared himself for a fight, his fists raised in front of his face, his left leg forward, and staring at him.
—These seals are his... weapons? I guess you can't judge a book by its cover. They told me his quirk was like mine: invisible. Probably something that is happening inside his body. Let's see if I can use my father's quirk while fighting.
Several hormones at his disposal allowed him to enter into fighting conditions, except that his lack of practice didn't leave him a lot of choices.
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[Metabolism & Libido Check → No Issue.]
[Exceeding Body's Capacities: 33%.]
[Stored Hormones & Pheromones: 16%.]
●{Adrenaline Rush}—{Increase physical capacity & reduce pain.}
●{Norepinephrine[...]}—{Increases heart rate, blood pressure, attention, and focus.}
●{Alpha Testosterone}—{Increase production of blood cells, bone mass, muscle strength, and libido.}
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He opted for a hormonal combo that worked every time in this kind of situation. Unfortunately, his gland couldn't produce much meta-hormone because of formed adrenal fatigue, so the boosts lacked potency.
—I just need a few seconds for it to take effect—
However, these two seconds of thinking were enough for him to get a high-density seal crashing down on his stomach, expelling all the air from his lungs. He recovered in a heartbeat, but Nighteye approached him and dodged the punch Felix was about to throw at his face before sliding one of his legs down to the ground in an attempt to unbalance the ex-con.
—Shit-
He managed to jump-dodge and delivered a violent punch towards the hero's chin, who also dodged before pulling Felix by the arm and then smashing his elbow directly on his diaphragm.
—Mr. Twig isn't as frail as I thought. This guy avoids everything that flies at him... but he almost gets me every time. His quirk has something to do with it… I can copy it, but he would never let me approach him enough to do this.
But… fortunately, the pain he was feeling subsided gradually, and a kind of warrior euphoria took hold of him. It was like he was more awake and aware, more energetic, and felt like his blood was flowing inside him at tremendous speed. The constant flow of hormones into his bloodstream gave him at least about twice the capacity of a normally constituted person with just a little boost, and this would only increase if he continued to let his quirk work. He had never reached a limit; his body seemed to tolerate any amount of hormone.
Nevertheless, the higher the hormones in his blood were, the harder it was to increase their potency. The only issue was that he needed to replenish a massive stock of them in minutes or even seconds, which he... believed impossible.
Felix cocked his fist toward his attacker before withdrawing it and attempting a high kick. Yet again, Nighteye dodged his blow, and his foot crashed against the wall, tearing small pieces of concrete. Fortunately for him, his bones were more robust than average, but...
—My toes… It's going to hurt as soon as I stop my adrenaline rush…
"Focus. Now. Or you will lose," snorted Nighteye angrily while rushing at him.
Felix had no time to react as Nighteye continued the onslaught with a judo move. Still, thanks to his increased strength, he managed to escape the situation. The blood passing through his muscles, the sugar supplying them a hefty dose of energy, his brain now gradually let him use more than 50% of his muscles capacities, and coupled with his bone resistance, the kicks he gave to the floor to propel himself or hit his opponent lightly broke the tile.
He used the wall to project himself even higher and rushed towards the hero, who dodged at the right moment but couldn't stop his foot, which ended up embedded in the desk.
His foot was now just stuck in the wood.
"You've finished yourself, you know that?" asked the hero in a disappointed tone.
However, Felix didn't intend to stop there. Seeing what would happen to him, Nighteye went on the defensive and prepared to dodge. However, avoiding a large wooden structure despite knowing the future wasn't so easy, especially without his morning coffee. Moreover, Nighteye was beginning to be strangely tired for no apparent reason...
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●{Adrenaline Rush}●{x3}
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—Come on!
The former inmate cocked his foot with all his might in a circular movement and projected the desk right to his opponent like a mere soccer ball. He heard his knee and ankle crack violently, but the pain didn't befall. The hormones were gradually adding up and clumping together, but he felt his power and speed increasing more and more slowly... so that was the limit of his strength for the moment.
Nighteye managed to dodge most of the danger but got his arm squashed. As one would expect from a pro hero, he was immediately ready to charge at the young man again, despite what he had just experienced. But now, papers were flying everywhere… and so Felix's plan had matured; he didn't know if it would work, but who doesn't try anything got nothing.
After a massive rush of hormone cocktails, Felix instantly ran to the two seals lying at the other end of the room that Nighteye had used at the beginning of the fight.
Despite their weight, he picked them up and threw the first one to Nighteye's head; it caused him to move towards the wall while holding his head. Felix then threw the second seal without delay, but contrary to what he thought, Sir couldn't wholly dodge it, which broke his glasses, pieces of glass projecting towards his eyes.
—Now!
Felix jumped towards the hero and finally managed to give him a violent punch that Nighteye tried to dodge, followed by a knee kick in the stomach.
—Luckily, I touched the back of his head during his judo move. A bit of meta-melatonin is powerful if used at the right timing... that was a close call...
"That's enough." ordered the hero, rubbing his eyes. "Lucky for you, you didn't gouge my eyes out. I don't know what you did, but I felt a rush of fatigue; I didn't even know how to react when I realized what would happen to me. My fault for not taking this fight seriously."
"You were holding back, weren't you?" Felix sneered as he looked away, concealing that he, too, had been holding back and that he had not yet recovered all his former strength.
"Yes, my reflexes are sluggish in the morning, and as I said before, I didn't get my coffee yet. Bubble Girl can't even do that part of her work," he mumbled, pulling his glasses up over his nose. "Besides, my goal wasn't to knock you out as a reminder."
"Very kind of you..."
"...You're quite ironic and cynical, isn't it? Whatever. That was purely a small test to force you to show me your abilities. Now, there's still a lot of work you need to do to be exemplary. Your superspeed and super-strength are great, but the people you need to fight aren't easily defeated," he explained tactlessly, as Felix contained a mischievous smile. "We'll work on that tomorrow, but now you're gonna help me clean up this mess."
Messing up the place wasn't such a good idea after all, but at least he had some kind of trust of both Nighteye and the HPSC, thanks to this. Playing the fool and the weakling was kinda fun, especially thinking about when they would all realize their mistakes.
—Patience is a virtue.
He met Centipeder and Bubble Girl, two individuals indeed much more agreeable than Nighteye. The young heroine's costume revealed the lower part of her breasts, which proved that the shyness present in her must have been crushed a long time ago. Especially when we assume that we can see a good part of her blue belly down to her pelvis... Even Mt. Lady didn't show as much with her costume.
Apparently, it wasn't the first time this room was ransacked; it seemed like Nighteye was quite fond of fighting people in his office to gauge them. Bubble Girl told him an intern from U.A who had been working here for 2 years had to do the same to prove that he was worthy. It had been the same for Centipeder, and for her, but even now, she didn't even know why he accepted her.
"Geez, we're finally done," began Bubble Girl, wiping her forehead without taking off her gas mask. "I've never seen Sir's desk broken before; this thing's made of oak wood and stuff, kinda sturdy. Are you a guy with a bulldozer quirk or something? Haha!"
"Something like that, yeah." Felix smiled at her as he gave her a pile of files. "I'm going to have some painful reminder of that fight tonight, especially my toes. To be fair, it just proves that wasn't that much of a good fight."
"Really? From the way Sir told me about you, you put up a pretty good fight. Like, kinda, you know, from what I saw, outstanding."
"Is it?"
"Mm... Are you trying to extort compliments from me by any chance?"
"When you told me I was outstanding, it had a nice ring to it. I couldn't help but ask again," Felix joked, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Well, everything's tidied up; it should do for now since I have to dash off. I got a call from my employer."
The HPSC had called him to know if it ended well, but he wasn't really looking to call them back quickly, so he took his time to say goodbye and tidy his stuff. As for Sir, he was locked back in his office, analyzing and investigating an unusual criminal case. Thanks to his advanced hearing, he heard them talk about Yakuza a while ago, but he missed most of the information. Anyway, if he were to work with them, he would probably end up learning more about that. On a different tack, before leaving, Felix had left a small piece of himself inside Bubble Girl. Something she didn't know about.
It was merely to experiment and see what would happen by using the old skills he used at the time to make money, for his plots and pleasure still worked. Plus, Bubble Girl was appealing and inviting; she had this shy but eager aura emanating from her. Unbeknownst to her, he had touched her shoulder with a purpose. Releasing a very lovely hormone inside her body.
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●{Oxytocin Crush}—{Enhances bonding & jealousy, regulates emotional responses, including trust, empathy, positive memories & fidelity.}
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The Love Hormone, also called the Cuddle Hormone or even the Love Drug, Oxytocin.
Being one of the four hormones related to the reward/pleasure embedded inside the brain, people often end up addicted to one of the happy hormones, either serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, or oxytocin.
As oxytocin is released, for example, when people cuddle, touch each other, or lock eyes, it's easy to understand how people become in love with love itself. This is particularly true for women because testosterone blocks the effects of oxytocin. This is why women are more likely to fall in love after having sex, but men tend not to.
Plus, this hormone promotes emotional bonding between people, trust, and, if these certain studies were valid, even fidelity. All this while giving the person more genuine and joyful emotions and allowing them to memorize good and lovable events more easily.
The trap is then readily set, and they fall into the lion's den.
—She's lucky I don't use my super-hormones; that'd be a different story, but I'm in no condition to do that. That will be enough for now. I'll awaken her feminine and animal instincts bit by bit and see what happens.~ Nothing's better than to stop lying to ourselves and become what our body and quirk ask us to be. Plus, she might like it.~♪
That said, as with every hormone, it was a reasonably lengthy process if he didn't end up in bed with them. Not that he wasn't planning to do so, of course.
Playing and teasing his prey was where the fun was.
On the other hand, the more a woman is attracted, pleased, and true to herself, the more hormones she produces, which is gold for Felix.
Especially if, in addition to recovering these hormones that are present in too large quantities in their bodies, he could simultaneously boost them and pick up some of their super-hormones. Now, that would be perfect, just like killing three birds with one stone.
—Aren't I daydreaming right now? That's not like me. I'd better get busy and finish my studies on pheromones.
Returning to the subway with goals and ideas in mind, Felix scrolled the news on his phone; tweets of different heroes had a considerable number of likes, something that was alike everywhere in the world. A new fashion brand marketing their products using the eye-catching figure of the dragon heroine Ryukyu; the visit of the Wild Wild Pussycats and Wash to an inpatient children's clinic and Mt. Lady heralding her debut with a more than a suggestive picture.
—Bitches gonna do that and tell people to stop sexualizing them, goddamn.
Knowing that he would barely have time to buy food before going to the Hero Commission headquarters, he hurried to a fast-food restaurant wishing for a moment of peace. Although eating while walking in Japan wasn't correct, he didn't care that much about what was being seen as good manners here and simply continued what he was doing.
However, just after exiting the restaurant, at 12 p.m., he heard an exclamation and noticed many people stepping away from the sidewalk in a hurry as he understood what was happening.
—Fuck-
A snot-green liquid villain was running at him, or maybe just fleeing after committing a robbery. His reflexes were fast enough to avoid the robber. Still, the disgusting green and gooey liquid spread and touched him before engulfing him, unaware that close contact with Felix wasn't something you wanted if you wanted to avoid problems.
The only words Felix heard before the thing tried to take control of his body left him puzzled and... bored.
"Catch me if you can!"