Paladin's Academy

Prologue Chapter 2: Sureshot

Why do I want to become a hero? Well, Sir, I can answer that question with a story. My father was a soldier first, and a hero second. He went by the codename "Devil Dog" and was one of the best golden age heroes to ever come out of the era. His story is quite popular with the vets; he was enlisted in the army as a young lad during the Vietnam war. He got several medals during the said war and racked up around 500 confirmed kills. After that war ended,  another war emerged—this time in the homeland, a war on supervillains. My father knew he could do more as a masked vigilante than a U.S. soldier, so he picked up his old codename back in the army, grabbed some guns, and became a pro "hero" known as Devil Dog. 

After years of serving his country as both a soldier and a hero, he retired and had a family. The thing was, he wasn't interested in making a happy family, only finding an effective spouse to bear a heroic offspring. He found my mother, who had the innate ability to hit anything with anything from any distance. I believe the technical term was "Aimbot." She only used her powers harmlessly to win carnival prizes and bar games. She met my father in said bar, and they quickly hit it off. 

I am his first and only child. I inherited my mother's quirk since my father never had one to begin with. He trained me to be the perfect soldier from birth. The training itself was cruel and harsh. When I was six years old, I had to undergo combat training that only the best of the best could ever possibly handle. Seeing what my father put me through, my mother filed for divorce and lost me in the custody battle. With no one to hold him back, my father continued my training and made it even more grueling. Every day was suffering and I had little to no rest. He continued to beat me, to train me, to mold me into the perfect soldier. Every mistake I committed was another punishment for the night. I was left in the woods to survive; I was locked in a cage surrounded by rats. At nine years old I was forced to kill a man, I don't even remember his name, but I remember the face he made when I shot him in the heart. It was beautiful.

I hate to admit it, but it worked, it bloody worked. All those sleepless nights, honing my skills, and mastering my quirk, all that suffering finally paid off. I was at the top of my class when it came to heroics. No one could best me in a long or short-range fight. I became a perfect soldier. My father used all his connections to get me into Paladins, as he believes that Olympus is filled with "Pussies who've never fought in their lives" and Lionheart's to be "Backwater incest-loving faggots." 

So, to answer your question, Sir, it is my duty, my responsibility to be a hero, not just to my father, but to America. Because someone has to keep these God-forsaken villains in line.