Emi Fukukado, also known as the Smile Hero: Ms. Joke

They say that quirks aren't good or evil. In a world full of villains and heroes, people make decisions every day that determine their paths in life; none of it is pre-ordained. A boy can be born with a destructive quirk that, unchecked, would allow him to injure others or level buildings. That boy may go on to become one of the highest ranked hero students, but he could decide tomorrow that he'd rather stop fighting crime and start robbing banks. The point is this: the quirk you have-- or really, whether you have a quirk at all-- does not set you on railroad tracks towards an unstoppable destination. In the end, you choose your own destiny.

All of this talk of self-determination is what heroes and the government that creates them like to say. You, however, are a little different from the average case. While it may be a generally accepted truth that no one is born with a "villain's quirk," yours is exactly that in the most literal sense. You, Ren Yamada, are an 18-year-old boy who inherited an evil-doer's quirk. Although you had no name for it at the time, you would later call it "Pendelum," a fitting name not just for its mesmeric power, but also, for how you pictured that spectrum of good and evil. Would it swing to the left, allowing you to live a responsible life and overcome the dark specter of reckless villainy, or would it swing a hard right, setting you on the same self-serving path as the one who gifted it to you?

Understanding your story is as easy as reading the front page of the newspaper from a week ago. The headline:

--NOTORIOUS VILLAIN APPREHENDED BY TOP HEROES--

Salvador "Sal" Arima, a seventy-year old, single male of mixed Japanese-American descent has been apprehended by the joint efforts of pro heroes Eraser Head and Ms. Joke. The villain, known popularly as Benefactor, is thought to be behind the uptick of quirked villains in recent months. The exact details of his quirk are unknown, but his modus operandi-- the creation of quirked, mind-controlled children he called his Beneficiaries for the sake of villainous activities-- has made him the target of pursuit for the hero community. Finally, parents and their children can rest a bit easier, knowing this madman is off of the streets.

Several children were rescued from his compound. The government has not made public their status, any signs of ****, or their names. More details will be reported as they are presented.

Once again, we thank the kind heroes who keep our city safe from terrorists such as Benefactor! Three cheers for Eraser Head and a hearty applause for Ms. Joke!

That upbeat ending was probably all that the average Joe retained, reading this article. You, on the other hand, were the subject of the second paragraph. You were one of Benefactor's children... and perhaps the most important of those children. While the others had their brains scrambled like eggs, only you were given the ability to understand the name he'd chosen for himself. You'd been his beneficiary in a more literal sense... His powerful mind-altering quirk had been directly transferred into you, a quirkless vessel, little by little. You always convinced yourself you'd never use that power, no matter how he urged you. For his part, he tried to show you the "fun" of villainy, of controlling others, but how could you ever follow the same path as scum like him? There was no way he'd convert you.

... And yet, you felt an odd sense of fear as you saw him taken away in cuffs. His power had been no match for the combined strength of Eraser Head and Ms. Joke. He'd been laughing with emotions beyond his control when they took him to the pattiwagon, defeated and looking every bit his age in that tattered trench-coat he wore, with only a small island of balding gray hair upon his head. You remembered the wry smile he'd shown you at the end and the words he'd told you shortly before the arrest: "The world is a toybox for people like us and the rest of the people are the toys. I've given you the universal remote that controls any one of them. I hope you'll have a fun time, young Ren. I know you will! Perhaps, when you're older and you fully understand the joy of this quirk, you will finally become my successor; the next Benefactor!" The twinkle in his eye, like a doting father's, disgusted you. You were glad he was going to jail... but what was life going to be like now? You'd never known life outside of his control. You'd never known any relationships; the people in your life had all been either this mad-man or his victims and slaves.

But you knew a thing or two about heroes! Paragons of society, the kind of person you'd have liked to have became, if you hadn't been cursed to spend 18 years outside of the hero system or even the school system. Oh, and quirkless, besides. Ironically, now that you had a powerful quirk, it just seemed all the more likely that you'd never experience the life of a hero.

What was to become of you now? Your very existence had been covered up by the government; as far as the media knew, the children had all been mind-control targets. None of them had done anything as terrifying as inheriting that man's quirk. You were a closely guarded secret that couldn't be allowed to get out. To that end, you'd at first been isolated, with neither sight nor sound allowed to you. Once they learned who you were, the heroes took precautions, denying you each of your senses. At times, you heard the sounds of Eraser Head... he'd certainly been stationed nearby to ensure that if you acted up, your quirk could be taken away as a failsafe. Who could blame you for beginning to hate him? Nobody had better intentions than you, after years of watching that maniac, Benefactor, manipulate people, and yet you weren't offered the chance to prove your character. You were simply left blind, mute, and often deaf by way of the latest containment technology, **** to await judgment.

That hatred reversed one day when you realized those very heroes you once lauded were more than simply your saviors. When the blindfold came off and your high-tech restraints were removed, you saw the faces of two people... The first, with a resting scowl and cracked, red eyes, was Eraser Head. The second, with a beaming grin and vibrant, sea-green hair, was Ms. Joke. You weren't in some sort of court room... you were in somebody's home. The place was garishly decorated, with a lot of orange and yellow fabrics as well as a disturbing predilection to clown-themed ornaments, but you soon recognized from the photographs here and there that it must be the home of Ms. Joke. The clock on the wall, bearing a cartoony clown face with a digital reading in its open mouth, seemed to dare you to second-guess your fortune at being here, just because of some simple distaste for clowns. You held your tongue. Besides, no amount of weird circus décor could ruin the relief you felt seeing a real home with warm sunlight coming in through the windows and heroes doing anything other than preparing to put restraints back onto your head or wrists.

For a bit, you thought you'd forgotten how to speak. That was okay; Ms. Joke was plenty talkative for the both of you. Her hero gear was familiar to you: an orange kerchief around her head, a snug, sleeveless black top, and wide, parachuting orange pants like those of a circus clown, formed her outfit as the Smile Hero, along with simple gloves and boots. The fact that she wasn't wearing her prohibitive mask was noteworthy... you wondered if that was because she didn't trust you yet, or simply because she wanted you to see her smile? That beaming grin made you feel giddy... in fact, you suddenly burst out laughing! When was the last time you'd laughed? It must have been years...

"There's that smile!" the lady hero grinned, pressing an orange-gloved finger to each cheek and squinting her eyes shut in an encouraging grin. "Halloooo, Mister Ren Yamada! Welcome to Château Joke!" She kicked one leg out, then threw her arms wide, gesturing at the cramped, Japanese dwelling around herself.

The dark-haired, slouching Eraser Head looked like her polar opposite in terms of mood, up to the point that he didn't even seem to be affected into laughing. "We're finally letting you out of your restraints... Don't make us regret that," he informed you, showing his teeth in an unfriendly frown.

"There's no need to talk tough, Shota! After all, we've already tested him pretty thoroughly, haven't we? Do you know what I mean, Ren?" she questioned, clutching her hands behind her back and watching you side-ways.

You had no idea...

"Well, you haven't been wholly restrained this whole time, have you?" Ms. Joke hinted, pointing towards first her eyes, then her ears. "We happen to know that your quirk benefits from your senses. Throughout your testing period, we chose specific times to remove restraints on your eyes, ears, and mouth, to see if you'd 'make your move' or 'show your cards!' Instead, you passed the test with flying colors! You really put the 'control' in 'mind-control,' buddy! We didn't see a single hint of evidence that you planned to mind control anyone, during our whole time observing you! In short, you're a government-approved good guy!"

You wondered if you should tell her that your quirk wasn't strictly mind control... it was more like mental suggestion. You decided against it. These two had probably learned more about how your quirk works than you ever knew.

"So... getting to the point... we're moving you from lockdown to house arrest. For a trial period, you'll be allowed to live here under the watch of a pro hero. Provided you don't have any slip-ups, we'll start the necessary procedures to transition you back to ordinary life..." Aizawa explained. "Your caretaker will be Emi Fukukado-- Ms. Joke. Do you know of her already?"

The woman put on a big, open-mouthed grin, then leaned towards you, extending one hand as though offering you an invisible microphone to speak into. You blushed, feeling like she wanted you to say something flattering or witty. Right now, you were just dumbstruck... what were you supposed to say? That you'd never dreamed of having a guardian that was a decent person, let alone a hero? Would a good person fall to their hands and knees and kiss the pro hero's feet now, for allowing you to have this kind of opportunity? Should you play it cool? After all, you were going to be living with Ms. Joke for a while, by the sounds of it...

You scratched the back of your head awkwardly, then told the two of them that you knew a bit about them both.

"Ba ha ha ha! If you're trying to warm Eraser Head up to you, don't bother! If anybody's ever managed to, he's erased my memory of them!" she joked; it wasn't much of a joke, but you found yourself chuckling along anyway, this time under your own power. When she squinted her eyes shut with laughter and placed her hands on her hips, it was hard to stop yourself from smiling like a goofball.

You thought you could begin to envision it: a life where you could laugh and enjoy yourself. A life where you could throw away the grooming of the malicious Benefactor and become your own person. A life where you could have genuine fun.

"... Have a fun time, young Ren."