Chapter Text
Minute tuned out the elevator music. His thoughts were already strained on what the leader of the hero agency could want. Sure he was one of the best heroes the agency has, yet being called so abruptly left him tapping his foot on the elevators floor in inconsistent intervals.
The elevator doors opened up revealing the agencies leader’s body guard and one of his co-workers. Minecart.
“Hey, Gaurdian, Acutulus is waiting in the office for you.” Minecart pointed towards a door at the end to the hall.
“Thank you.” Minute began walking in the pointed direction, with Minecart following close behind.
The hero agency walls had many windows. Not that Minute had noticed until now. He looked at the door, there was no number just an ominous door handle beckoning him. Sighing Minute knocked on the door.
“Come in!” A muffled voice sounded out through the door, presumably Acutulus.
The room itself was simply designed. It was mostly clean besides papers stacked to tall on the desk. Yet, the person manning said desk looked too young to do so.
Acutulus cleared his throat before offering Minute a seat across from him.
“So, Minutetech yes?”
Minute suppressed a flinch at his own name choosing to nod instead.
Acutulus pulled out two files. It was of two villains he had apprehended recently: Exploit and Maverick.
One was a voidling much like himself, yet the real issue with Exploit is the fact that his power is almost completely unknown. from flinging objects to flying the hero agency had barely mapped out what Exploit could do.
The other was a red nether demon, with the power to copy other powers. All Maverick needed was one glance at the power in action and it would be copied.
The devious duo had complete wild card abilities. Minute was shocked when he was able to catch them both off guard. Sure they were heavily in-experienced yet their abilities together created quite the conundrum.
However these two had been arrested around last week. Why would Acutulus bring them up now?
“I must say your win against these two was a major loss to the villains side. I sense that the leader of the Mafia is seething losing these two. Which only increases our odds of peace. So I truly thank you for your help Minute.”
Hearing Acutulus sing him praises was the last thing he expected. Then again when Acutulus was just a hero he had never interacted with him due to how much higher up he was in the hierarchy.
“However,” Acutulus stared at the files of the duo with an unreadable look. Yet his gaze had bordered the lines of pity. “These two are barely teenagers.”
Minute’s posture stiffened a bit. Why were children committing crimes? He knew that Exploit and Maverick seemed young but he assumed it was just apart of their disguises. Then again being confidential was a major part of the mafia they worked for.
“What’s worse is the two don’t have any thing on file other than names and each other as family.”
Acutulus turned his chair to face the outside world, gazing out the windows to see the city he swore to protect with his life.
“The main reason I called you here is because I don’t think they should go to jail.” Acutulus kept his back turned as he spoke. “The two are too young to make their own choices, plus I assume that Ashswag had hand in turning them down a darker path.”
Minute couldn’t help but agree. Ashswag’s power was mind control but that wasn’t the only reason he’s a threat. He’s manipulative and willing to kill his own members to get his way. He’s ruthless, so him taking in and manipulating teens into his ranks to make them do his evil biding wasn’t out of the question at all.
“So, with these circumstances I believe that now is the perfect time to introduce our new program.”
Turning around, Acutulus reached into his desk once more pulling out a flyer. Some of the words were misspelt and the hand writing was barely legible. The flyer itself seemed to be showing a villain rehabilitation program with poorly drawn visuals of some stereotypical looking villain turning kind with flowers surrounding them.
“Minecart helped me draft this out, so please don’t mind his—well— horrible spelling, we’re working on it.”
“It’s amazing you’re just too much of a perfectionist bro.”
“You misspelt the word villain.”
Minute watched the two banter till Acutulus realized he was getting off task and shifted his gaze back to the voidling.
“Now this is where you come in.”
“You’re one of our best heroes Minute, not only that but from what I’ve heard from your interactions you’re general a good person, and that’s what these two need to set them back on track.” Acutulus sounded reassuring as if he knew Minute could handle Exploit and Maverick.
“You’re asking me to be their father figure?”
“Yeah he is! And I know you’ll do a dang good job at it bro. You give off perfect dad vibes.” Minecart’s voice boomed throughout the room, whether his words were meant to be reassuring or convincing was unknown to Minute.
“Minecart bro you’re genuinely breaking the sound barrier.” Acutulus sighed pinching his nose bridge yet there was a subtle fondness in his voice for his friend and fellow hero.
“I’m not going to force you to do this. However, I really do hope you take me yo on this offer.”
Minute sat and pondered. Could he even be a father? How would the legalities work? Sure the hero agency would handle that but what about schooling? As questions flooded his mind he thought back to the last fight he had with Exploit and Maverick. Think back at it now the two seemed tired. Usually they put up quite the fight, yet that time they seemed out of it. Those kids needed someone.
Looking at their files he saw the faces of two boys whom he once considered villains, while the papers were upside down and hard to view he could see the eye bags under Mavericks eyes and the paranoid expression Exploit dawned now fully without their masks.
“I’ll do it.”
Acutulus smirked as if he already knew this was the predetermined outcome.
“If I may, can I ask something?”
Acutulus hummed in confirmation.
“What are their real names?”
Acutulus smirk softened into a smile as he turned the files towards Minute.
“Their names are Spoke and Mapicc.”