Glitch (Hawks)

Chapter 1: Tartarus Prison

I wake up in a cell in Tartarus, prison reserved for the worst villains in history. Looking around me, a see a woman. I recognize her: Lady Nagant.

Another person the Public Safety Hero Commission manipulated... Perhaps this won't be that bad?

I turn towards the woman, and ask her a question. "Does it hurt when you pull out your hair to make a bullet?" She turns to face me, shock on her face, but it quickly dissapears. "No, it doesn't."

Her expression suggests that she hates every second that I talk to her, but using the skills the Hero Commission taught me, I can detect a hint of curiosity in her voice. "Well, since you answered my question, I owe you an answer now," I sighed, "So ask whatever you'd like." She seems caught off guard by this. "What is your name?"

I sighed. "My old hero name and current villain name is Glitch. I don't know my real name." Her look is still stern, but I can still detect confusion in her eyes. "You... Don't know your real name?" She seems suspicious. She probably thinks I'm lying to her. "Shortly after I joined the Hero Comission, they gave me the name Virus. Told me to forget my old name. Guess I did," you said, as if it was normal to just not know your name. "How old were you when this happened? And did this happen voluntarily, or did you forgey subconciously?" Now that was I thought to ponder. After a while, I responded. "I mean... I didn't mean to forget. Guess it just happened," you shrugged. Lady Nagant nods, seeming to understand my situation. It wouldn't surprise me if she did, afterall she was a former Hero Commission assassin, like me.

"And... Were you told why you needed to forget?" This caught me off guard. I thought, then answered. "Not really, just told me it was for a better future," I said, still thinking about her question. The villains eyebrows raise at this revelation. It looked like this had caught her off guard. "That's... strange. They never told me to forget my name." She pauses, then begins to speak once more. "Do you remember anything from before you were taken in by the Hero Commission?"

"No, they said it would be distract me from my duty." The cell was basked once more in silence, but only for a second, as Nagant started speaking once more. "I see... So you cannot remember anything from before the Hero Commission, other than a vague idea of your age when it happened?" I hesistated, then answered. "Nope," I said. It was a short answer, but it stated everything that needed to be known. "And how old are you now?"

That was a hard question to answer. I could barely remember when the Commission had taken me in. I scoured my memory for an answer. When the search came back fruitless, I reddened with embrassement. "Um..." That was the only thing that came out of you. The woman stood there, bewildered, blinking twice as she processed your answer. "Do you not know how old you are? Or are you simply reluctant to give me such information?" Once again, you searched your brain to find an answer. "18, perhaps? That's how many winters I remember passing." Her bewilderment changes into a look of suspicion. Her lips form a frown as she opens her mouth to probe you for details. "How do you not know your age?" A response quickly formed in your brain, and you spoke it immediately. "Because I do not know my birthday."

For a brief moment, I swear I saw her gaze soften as I shared this information with her. "But... You do have a guess, don't you?" I did, so I told her. "Well... It happens every year?" I said, dumbly as I chuckle awkwardly. The villain rolls her eyes as she lets out an audible sigh. Clearly, your joke did not land. "Yes, it does." She pauses before asking another question. "May I ask where you grew up before landing with the Hero Commission?" Once again, an answer did not immediately form. So, you thought, and silence reigned in the room for a while once more. "All I remember was a disgusting apartment filled with broken wine bottles and squished beer cans, with the smell of cigarette smoke filling the room." I said this with much embarassement. She seems to ponder this for a while, her gaze softening but not offering any comfort.