It normally took Felix about an hour to get home. Today, it only took two seconds. After all, travelling by air was always faster than squeezing in the train along with half the country. The sun was still up, but he couldn’t be bothered this time. At the speed he landed, he’d be impressed if any witnesses even saw anything more than a slight pink blur.

The boy approached his door. There was commotion in his house. Good.

“Jin, we need to talk.” He entered the apartment.

“Done with your finals already?” The man switched off the television, bounding excitedly towards his roommate. “Must’ve been a piece of cake for you, eh? I can’t wait to go on a mission with you!”

Felix moved away from him, shaking his head. “That’s what I wanted to talk about. Why did you join the League Of Villains?”

“I thought I already told you. Like Stain said, we’re in a society full of false heroes. Little guys like us need to take a stand together and fight for ourselves. Besides, you’re in the League of Villains too. Where else would I want to go?”

“No- Dammit,” Felix muttered. “The League Of Villains is involved in extremely dangerous dealings. It’s not safe for you to be there; you could die.”

Jin frowned.

“And it’s safe for you?” he said, letting his hands fall to his sides. “Am I even a friend to you? So you’d rather die for them than with me.”

“Not for them. For you!” Felix exclaimed. “You’re like a brother to me, Jin. I don’t want to see you walk down a perilous path.”

“Then stop criticising my every action,” Jin insisted. “Stop pushing me away. We’re the same, right? We need to stick together.”

“No…” The boy shook his head vigorously. “It… It’s different for me-”

“How?”

Felix breathed heavily as his friend glared at him. His lips trembled.

“How?!”

“I’m not from your world, alright?” the boy blurted out, feeling a cold wave flush his spine. “It doesn’t matter what I do here; I’ll be going back to my own world soon!”

“The hell does that mean?” Jin’s voice was still loud, but curiosity possessed his tone now.

“I’m- Remember when I said I was exiled? I wasn’t exiled from Greece, wherever that place is. That was just a lie Giran came up with so that I could keep a low profile,” Felix said. “I come from a different world, and they banished me here. The only reason why I’m working with All For One is because he’s the only one who can help me return to my world. My goal has always been to go back and destroy my world for exiling me.”

Jin stepped back, shaking his head in disbelief. “N-no… that can’t be true. You’re lying. You’re making this up.”

“See for yourself.”

Felix pressed a thumb to the man’s head, projecting his memories into his mind. The solitary confinement, the execution; everything that took place from his irredeemable crime to his arrival into this world flowed into Jin’s brain.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The man gasped, pink flickering slightly in his eyes as Felix finally broke contact with his skin.

“Your brain naturally knows what is true, and what isn’t,” the psychic said grimly. “This is no mind trick; this is truly what happened to me.”

Jin backed away further from the boy, trembling silently as though he was facing some kind of monster.

“Look, Jin.” Felix tried his best to calm his emotions. “The path you’re on is one of no return. Whatever you do here, it’s permanent. You need to make your choices carefully, or you’ll suffer the consequences.”

“I… I can’t believe you kept this secret from me for so long…”

“I didn’t do it on purpose, man. I just- There just wasn’t a right opportunity for me to tell-”

“Shut up, Pagonis.” Jin’s voice was softer now, but it screamed of hurt and pain. “I should’ve known it wasn’t in my cards to have a long lasting friend.”

“Jin, I’m sorry I-”

“Enough.” The man swung his hand away violently, and a book dropped out of his back pocket. “Don’t strain yourself worrying about me, boy. I’m grown enough to make my own decisions.”

Jin stormed out of the room, leaving the boy alone to bask in the full glory of his mistakes.

~ ~ ~

Felix spent the next hour silently reading the book Jin dropped. It was surprisingly effective at calming him down, despite the extremely riling political message in that autobiography.

‘Meta Liberation War’ was its very fitting title, and it basically pushed the idea that the free use of quirks is a basic human right. The foreign boy found himself frowning more and more with each line. The idea that such a defining trait to a person’s individuality was restricted in this society was simply absurd to him. But then again, he didn’t think he ever understood society in the first place.

By the time he was finished with the book, he was in such a daze that he didn’t even notice the presence waiting patiently outside his apartment. And that only made it even more awkward when he crashed into the costumed man upon opening the door.

“Mister Felix Pagonis, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

The boy raised his eyebrow at the amiable looking man. He was dressed humbly enough, apart from the huge bright red wings that jutted from his back.

“Hello? Erm… do I know you?” Felix asked.

The angel looking man gave him a wry smile as his eyes darted at the book in the boy’s hand.

“I wouldn’t wave that book around so brazenly if I were you, Pagonis. There are certain political groups who would disagree with its message,” he said. “Usually, I’d leave my introductions at home. But since you’re new here, allow me to formally present myself.”

He gave him a short bow. “Number Three Hero, Hawks. At your service always.”

Hawks flashed his own copy of ‘Meta Liberation War’ before Felix could reply.

“There is a group of individuals who are very interested in recruiting you, Pagonis,” he said. “And it looks like you’ve just saved me the trouble of introducing their ideology to you.”

“How did you get my address?” Felix asked suspiciously.

“Dear boy, there are resourceful people who can find out everything about you, even if you are attempting to hide under the radar.” Hawks chuckled. “In this case, these people are part of a group known as the Meta Liberation Front.”

The boy folded his arms.

“I’m not the type to be inefficient, so I’m going to cut to the chase,” the hero continued. “You share our ideals. ‘Restricting the use of meta abilities will only blow up in your faces in the future’. That was what you said back then.”

Felix flinched in shock.

“I’m here to tell you that you’re not the only one who thinks that. The MLF has expressed interest in recruiting you, so do drop me a note if you’re interested in what we have to offer. After all, it’s better to team up with people who share your ideals.”

Hawks spread his wings, preparing to take off-

“Wait, what do you mean ‘drop you a note’? Where do I drop it?”

“Your friend will be back for his book soon. Do make your decision before that happens.” The man flashed a guile smile, before flying off in a streak of red.

Felix closed the door, pondering his next move.