10 The Hunt (1)
"You want me to what?!" I asked with a bit of heat in my voice.
"Six, I know you don't need me to repeat myself," Nezu spoke. "And the request was made by the Hero Public Safety Commission."
"Do I need to show you what I found about them?" I asked him.
"No, you don't need to as I already knew about that too," Nezu answered. "But what will you do about their request? What they are offering is quite substantial."
"But to be an anti-hero with the ability to kill the most wanted villains?" I said with a bit of skepticism. "I'm a bit hesitant to agree. The chances of them cutting me loose when I've outlived my usefulness is far too high. I've been cut like that before and would rather not have it happen again."
"I agree, the chance is far too high for my liking as well. But we might as well take the deal." Nezu advised me. "They're willing to pay you handsomely, give you a hero license and office, and help you with any of your endeavors." He told me. "Plus, the chance of you finding more super mutants and members of this Legion you've told me about. Maybe your family as well? It could save you a lot of time and effort."
"You want something from this as well," I stated, knowing when Nezu wanted something and was going out of his way to get it was something I picked up from my time with him. "I can see it clear as day."
"You're right, there is something I want." The chimera answered and then got a look in his eye that I'd seen one too many times. "As you well know, I was a lab rat for a certain doctor. He's managed to escape for years now and I've just found a lead on his whereabouts. I want you to hunt him down and bring me his head, or what's left of it."
"You want me to be a bounty hunter again for that reason, don't you?" I asked already knowing the answer.
"Yes, I do," The chimera stated, "But one thing wasn't clear during my rescue. I was the only survivor. There were children and toddlers that were being experimented on."
"No need to say anymore," I stopped him. "I understand. I'll bring you his ear as proof of death."
"I'll want a picture of his corpse as well," Nezu added.
"No need to be weary, I'll make sure the deed is done," I replied. "It's the least I could do for you. After all, you did take me in when I had nowhere to go."
"Thank you," The chimera sighed in relief. "And the proposal?"
"I'll accept it," I agreed. "The benefits and the possibilities outway the bad."
"Excellent!" The chimera joyously exclaimed, "I'll let them know you accepted."
"By the way, how did they find out about me?" I couldn't help but be curious as to how the Hero Public Safety Commission found out about me.
"An oversight on our part," The chimera sighed. "When they asked for a copy of the USJ incident, they asked about you and where you came from. I managed to trick them by saying you were a wandering bounty hunter."
"I see, thank you."
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x-x-x-x-x
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I sighed, something I've been doing a lot ever since I got here. I was standing in class 1-A when I overheard something that shouldn't have been announced yet.
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"Did you hear?" Kirishima whispered though I heard him clear as day. "Six is going to be out patrolling. On HPSC orders."
"Really?" Denki asked in a much louder whisper. "He's only been here a few months and now the HPSC is asking him personally to patrol? What is even going on?"
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More and more whispers broke out as they all had their eyes on me. I sighed, knowing this was gonna be a long day. Seeing Aizawa eye me from the side, I knew this was something I needed to address.
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"Alright, shut up." I nearly shouted as took up the podium. "Now as the Lighting Dolt and Hardcase tried to whisper to each other. Yes, I was asked to patrol during your internships. My objective is none of your business, as is why I was asked. Now then, I believe a few of you need this time to work on your homework. So get to it."
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With that, I curbed the questions. I hoped. But what was worrying was that it got out so quickly. It wasn't even three hours ago that I accepted the deal. Either it was leaked by someone in the HPSC or there's a mole within it.
Either way, I just needed to show what I was made of and deal with whatever they throw at me. It won't be the first time I had to deal with corrupt politicians. Surprisingly, I dealt with corrupt politicians quite often now that I think about it.
Anyway, the days passed quite well; aka, boring. By the time I realized it, the Internships were here. And my job had begun. My first mission was in Hosu City and the Hero Killer.
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x-x-x-x-x
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The first place on my mission was to visit the Hosu City hero office where Manual waited for me. I was surprised to see Tenya following behind me as I walked to the office. After talking to him, I could tell that he was hiding why exactly he had chosen Manual's agency. I suspected it had to do with the Hero Killer when we passed a couple that was talking about him. Tenya had gained a glint in his eye when he heard them. One I was all too familiar with.
So, I did the only thing reasonable. I pulled him into a side alley and slammed him against the wall.
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"Tenya," I spoke. "Listen and listen well. Do NOT go after the Hero Killer."
"I don't-" He started but I cut him off with a punch to the wall next to his head, my fist leaving an imprint in the wall.
"Cut the act," I ordered, slightly growling out the words. "I can tell you're after the Hero Killer. The question is why. Tell me, now."
"I..." Tenya started to speak but the red glow of my [Elite Riot Helmet]'s eyes made him hesitate. "The Hero killer paralyzed my brother from the waist down. The doctors said that if they found him any later, he would be dead from blood loss." He told me but the glint never left his eyes, he was going to go after the Hero Killer even if it cost him his life.
"Dumbass," I said as I gave him a slap across his face. "The Hero Killer won't hesitate to kill you if you get in his way. You are not ready for someone that is willing to kill."
"You don't know that!" Tenya yelled at me while he held his cheek.
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At that comment, I started to see red in the corners of my eyes and it wasn't my helmet's eyes. I growled, grabbed him from the front of his uniform, and lifted him up with one hand. The other went to my sidearm. Thankfully, I stopped before I did anything rash. But, from the looks of it, I may have made Tenya wet his pants. His scowl and glint disappeared. Now he was wearing an expression of fear. Seeing that I managed to get the point across without doing anything rash, I sighed then I slapped Tenya a few times to make sure he was listening.
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"Listen, I know what you're going through." I sighed, "I really do. But without training, a plan, or backup; you're likely going to die. I should know, I did the same thing, but I got innocent people killed in the crossfire. So do yourself a favor and let the right ones deal with this."
"... are you going after him?" Tenya asked me.
"I am."
"Then, please," He begged. "Please, make sure he pays for what he did." I could feel the tears fall onto my hand.
"I will, but not for you," I said as I dropped him. "But for the things he'd done."
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x-x-x-x-x
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It didn't take long for us to reach Manual's office after our little heart-to-heart. Tenya was quiet during the rest of our trip, but I just chalked that up to him finally realizing his folly. As we got to Manual's office, we found the hero waiting outside for us.
Manual was a man with messy brown hair and black eyes. His hero costume consists of a blue and white, skin-tight, long-sleeved shirt that tucks into his orange gloves. He wore dark pants, and white boots, and sports a signature helmet that features a fish-like fin and blue visor. And upon seeing us, he smiled and waved at us. Gesturing for us to come over to him.
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"There you are," He hollered as we approached. "You must be Courier Six and Tenya. Welcome to the agency."
"Thanks for the warm welcome," I replied professionally, "We're grateful for you hosting us for the week. But, we'd like to get to work straight away, if you'd please."
"Straight to the main issue, eh?" He asked and then nodded "Fair enough. Before we start, do you need anything? Bathroom break or something?"
"Other than the paperwork that the HPSC sent for me, I would like you to take the reins for young Ida here," I told him, and when he questioned why, I explained. "You see, before we got here I had discovered that Ida here planned to take the Hero Killer on his own if he ever found him. I managed to talk him out of it and see reason. But I would like for you to personally watch over him to make sure he doesn't run off in the off chance."
"I see," Manual said with a grim expression. "Well, it's a good thing you did. I'll take young Ida under my wing. Just remember young Ida, Heroes are people who save the day when all hope seems lost. It's up to us to make sure that situation never happens in the first place."
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Manual then went on a tangent which I ignored. Once the hero was done, he led us inside his agency. The interior was that of a simple office building with several floors. Some held offices for the sidekicks to do paperwork, and others were showers or training rooms for the heroes/sidekicks.
I was then led to an office space where the HPSC had left cardboard boxes filled with all the case records of the involvement of the Hero Killer. So far, there were 133 involvements that the Hero Killer was supposedly involved in. My first job was to sort through those cases and sort which ones he did and didn't cause. And judging by the amount of paper I had to go through, it was gonna take a while.
And I was right.
It took three days for me to sort through the boxes. And in those three days, I didn't sleep much and thankfully the sidekicks go out to buy coffee at all hours of the day including the night. I'm just glad coffee was so cheap.
Anyway, of the 133 cases, only 35 had the Hero Killer's modus operandi. Of those 35 cases, thirteen heroes were crippled for life, 17 were killed by him, and the last five were villains that he had encountered. The ones that weren't his doing were just plain old coincidences by a villain name Moonfish.
A villain with a quirk named 'Blade-tooth', it didn't help that the man was also a cannibal who ate most of his victims. This Moonfish was already on my radar from the HPSC. He was already marked for death, but now his is just that bit closer.
Back on track with the Hero Killer's case, he last attacked here in Hosu and he would most likely attack here again. If he didn't jump cities that were. He was a wild one though so the chance of him jumping cities to hide wouldn't be out of his MO.
All I know was this, the Hero Killer was already dead the moment I see him.
