Mastermind: Strategist For Hire

Raised to be a Hero

Keigo wasn't doing too hot. On the one hand, the league seemed to be trusting him more, going so far as to invite him to hang out with them at least once a week, even when they weren't planning or doing anything nefarious. This, by all accounts, was a very good thing. The Hero Commission was happy with his work and Keigo was happy because the more time he spent around the league was more time he was gathering info. But on the other hand, the more he hung around them, the less they seemed like villains he was supposed to be spying on and the more they seemed like friends he was supposed to protect. That was weird, right? Maybe he was getting too close to the case and he should ask the Commission to pull him out?

Keigo felt a weird tug of... sadness? Reluctance? Was that what that was? Keigo sighed as he flew toward Hero Commission headquarters to give his report. He couldn't help it that spending time with the league was fun! Getting crushed at video games by Shigaraki, debating conspiracies with Shouto and Spinner, laughing with Dabi as Twice argued with himself and Toga cheered him on, Keigo had never felt anything like it. It felt...right, somehow, like this was how things were supposed to be. As weird as it was, he didn't think he'd ever been happier than he was in those stolen moments he spent with the league.

He shook his head. No! These were villains, they killed people. Keigo had watched them kill people and watched on national television as they slaughtered the last number one hero. These weren't his friends, they were....what? They were villains, that's all they were and all they needed to be. Besides, he didn't need friends anyway. Hadn't the Hero Commission always told him growing up that friends would just get in the way? He was a hero, so he was supposed to be above all that. He was a friend of the people, after all, and that was the most important thing.

But... would the Commission even let him pull out at this point? They never had before. They'd probably just tell him that it was a good thing the league saw him as a friend and tell him to stop complaining about nothing. He had a duty to the people. He had a duty to the Commission. Keigo nodded with determination. There was no point in asking to be pulled out. He could still spend time with the league and he wouldn't be wasting the Commission's time. It was a win-win!

He landed on the roof and made his way through the halls to Mera's office. The man was sleeping at his desk when Keigo walked in and snuck up to the desk. His handler had fallen asleep with a few open files and Keigo couldn't help being a curious little bird as he glanced over them before waking Mera up. Why was Mera looking over files for little kids? Were they missing? No wonder Mera was always so tired if he was trying to do the police department's job in addition to his own.

Keigo leaned a little closer as Mera shifted in his sleep, giving him a better view of the files. Each of the four children had their names and ages, none of them were older than ten, written beneath their photos along with height and their parents' names if they had any, which two of them didn't. Keigo peeked at the other data and froze.

Candidate for the Legacy Feeder Program.

He couldn't breathe. The Legacy Feeder Program was what the Commission had called it when they took him away to raise him into a hero. Were those kids...going to be like him? Were they going to grow up knowing nothing but training to be a hero until they were old enough to get a license, never going to school with kids their own age, never being allowed to do anything if it didn't help mould them into what the Commission wanted them to be? For the first time, Keigo processed the bright red ink stamped across each of the pages. Approved.

How many others like him were there? Did they see how well Keigo worked out and decide to keep the program going, or had he even been the first? Why had the Commission never told him? If they were hiding this from him, what else were they hiding?

Keigo took a deep breath and shook his head. It didn't matter. The Commission knew what they were doing. They weren't trying to hide this because it was morally wrong, it's just that confidentiality was part of the hero world, part of what made the hero system possible. Isn't that what they'd told him when he'd asked why he wasn't allowed to talk to people about his childhood? It was to keep him safe.

He forced a smile onto his face and slammed his hands on the desk, "Morning Mera!"

Mera jumped about a foot in the air and yelped, then glared at Keigo, "Just...why?"

Keigo gave him a shit-eating grin, "Why not? What'cha working on?"

Keigo didn't miss the way Mera discretely moved to close the files, "Nothing important. How is your work going with the league? Have you found anything useful?"

Keigo shrugged, "I think they're planning on going after the Dorado Casino next. Spinner was complaining that they have some super quirkest policies and don't allow some heteromorphic quirks or the quirkless in their high end rooms."

Mera was silent for a long moment and Keigo was just starting to think he'd fallen asleep again when he spoke, "For the amount of time you're spending with the league, you don't seem to be getting a whole lot of information."

Keigo froze, "Well, I mean, most of the time the league spends together is just hanging out, not planning stuff. I mean, they're just people like the rest of us, they need down time."

Mera's eyes hardened into a glare, "They are villains, Hawks, not people, and don't you forget it. They gave up their rights when they decided to disobey."

Keigo opened and closed his mouth a few times before nodding, "Yes sir."

"I don't mean to be harsh, Hawks." Mera continued softly. "But you know how important it is that we take down the league, and you are essential to that plan. People everywhere are relying on you to keep them safe from these monsters, and if you're not trying hard enough to get good information then...well, what happens to them is on you. Don't forget, Keigo, that this is your purpose, this is what we raised you for, it's your responsibility to take down the league, so don't disappoint everyone who's counting on you."

A familiar feeling of guilt settled in Keigo's stomach, "Ok, I'll try harder."

Mera smiled, "Good boy, now go out and be the number one hero we need."

Keigo nodded numbly and went back up to the roof so he could feel the familiar feeling of the wind rushing through his hair and feathers. He'd disappointed everyone again, he was...he didn't even deserve the number one spot, did he? The Commission had raised him to...

Keigo gasped softly as everything finally fell into place. No matter how much he tried to deny it the Commission had raised him to be the number one hero, just like Endeavor had tried to raise Dabi and Shouto. He hadn't dissapointed the people at all, had he? He'd disappointed the Commission and they were just using the idea of protecting innocents to guilt him into doing what they wanted. Had he ever felt this guilt when he wasn't with them? Had he ever felt this when he was with the league?

What about those kids? Those kids were going to go through the same psychological torture and manipulation he'd gone through his entire life until all that was left were perfect tools for the Commission to use. Did the Commission even see him as a human being, or just as an object to use and exploit for their own gain? At least the league saw him as a person and liked spending time with him even when he wasn't doing anything for them. And how sad was that, that the villains he was supposed to be destroying treated him better than the people who raised him.

Keigo took one deep breath then flung himself off the roof, reveling in the freedom of flying.