Pretender

Chapter 8 - Interview with a Lie Detector

On the outside Danny was totally calm, he was cool as a cucumber. He was thoroughly chilled, the picture composed. On the inside, Danny was screaming. These people were insane, and the talk of 'quirks' only further proved it. There was no way that eighty percent of the world's population had superpowers like him. Though Bakugo creating tiny explosions was kind of cool and sure he might have a superpower. But Danny and Vlad were the only somewhat humans that had powers of any kind. Superpowers were things in cartoons, comics, movies and anime, the three previously mentioned being the exceptions. But the point still stood. These people were insane and there was nothing that would convince him otherwise.

Then there was the detective that the hobo man and Present Mic had introduced him to. They had brought the detective to him since Recovery Girl said that he was still hurting and she'd rather keep an eye on him. Danny patiently sat on the bed with his legs tucked up to his chest, the blanket over his knees as he rested his chin on them as the Detective introduced himself.

"Hello, you must be Danny, my name is Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi, I'm here to interview you about what happened last week in the shopping district." Danny nodded his head absentmindedly at the man. "Would you mind if I record this interview?"

"I don't mind." Danny had taken to looking out of the infirmary window. He couldn't look at any adult properly, it only reminded him that he wasn't at home, that he wasn't at home or with his friends in a world that made sense to him.

"Alright." The detective rooted around his leather briefcase for a moment just to pull out a recording device and pressed the red button on the side, turning it on. "Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi interviewing Daniel Fenton in the presence of pro-heroes Present Mic and Eraserhead for case number 0374 at 10:38 am, a public disturbance in Musutafu Shopping district. Please state your name and age."

"Erm, my name's Daniel James Fenton, though I prefer being called Danny, and I'm fifteen years old."

"Thank you, Danny, I'll let you know off the bat my quirk is called lie detector, so I will be able to tell if you are telling the truth or not." He waited for Danny to nod before continuing, "if you need to take a break or are unable to answer a question let me know and we'll stop," Danny nodded again, "what was your purpose for being at Musutafu shopping district on the 8th October at approximately one am?"

"I had no purpose, I just ended up there."

"True, and how did you end up at the shopping district?"

"I don't really know. I was in bed, my ghost sense went off and I went to find what caused it, only there wasn't anything. I sat on top of the town founder statue and there were air ripples in front of me, I touched it and the next thing I know I'm falling and smashing into the ground."

"True, why didn't you stay where you were and let the witnesses help you since you were heavily injured?"

"I panicked, having that many people around, in my experience, isn't a good thing, especially when all the attention is on me," he took a moment to think of his answer, "plus I normally have a healing factor, so these injuries would normally heal themselves within an hour, I didn't know my healing factor wouldn't work."

"True, do you know anything about an organisation called the League of Villains?"

"No, should I?"

"True," that one answer ruled out both the pro-heroes and Detective's theories. "It's probably a good thing you don't know who they are. Are you fleeing any sort of organisation that wish to do you harm?"

"Like now? Or in the past?" Danny asked. He wasn't sure if he could get away without mentioning the GiW or Vlad or the various other ghosts that wanted his head on a silver platter.

"I suppose both."

"Technically, yes."

"True, would you please elaborate? We need to make sure you are not in danger or dangerous to others." Danny sucked in a deep breath and debated whether he should tell the three adults or not. He snuck a glance at Present Mic, the adult he trusted most in the room. Was as sat in a typical hospital room chair at the end of his bed. When he noticed Danny looking at him he gave the teen a gentle smile and a thumbs-up.

"A little while ago, after it was proven, thanks to my parents, that ghosts do in fact exist, a law was passed and this government-sanctioned organisation revealed itself. They're called the 'Guys in White', the law states that proven that ghosts are just empty spectral entities, with no feelings, no soul, and cannot feel anything like pain, that, and that official organisations are allowed to do whatever they want to them. The 'Guys in White' capture ghosts, they torture them and experiment on them until there is nothing left, all in the name of science."

"All true, but what does these 'Guy in White' have to do with you if they hunt ghosts?"

"I'm dead, well no, I'm half dead. I'm an anomaly, a half-ghost. Being half ghost, I have a human form and a ghost form, the 'Guys in White' actively hunt me in my ghost form, they once captured me but I managed to escape after a few days."

"All true." The four of them sit there in silence. The three adults took a few moments to let the information sink in. Present Mic has a look of horror crossed over his face, his jaw had gone slack and he had a slight green tint to his skin. Eraserhead was staring intensely down at the ground, he was standing, leaning against the chair Present Mic was sat in with his arms crossed. And the Detective, well, Danny couldn't get a proper gauge on the man, he looked completely unflappable. "But if ghosts, as you say, have no feelings, emotions, no ability to feel, then what harm is this organisation doing?"

"They do," Danny took a moment himself, "Ghosts can feel things, they have emotions, obsessions, they can feel things like pain and joy and pleasure. But my parents, the scientists that submitted the study the government used to pass the law, have very narrow views on ghosts and see them as how they want to see them, not how they actually are."

"True, Danny, as far as I'm aware there is no such law, in Japan at least, I'd have to look it up for America, what is this law called?"

"The federal anti-ecto control act."

"Thank you, Danny, for answering all my questions. It is 11: 13 am, the interview is terminated." The detective reaches for the recording device and presses the red button on the side again, turning it off.

"What's going to happen now?" Danny asked the three adults. Present Mic still looks like he's going to throw up. Eraserhead had finally looked up from the floor and at the teen, but the detective decided to answer him.

"I've come to the conclusion you're not a danger to anybody else, but you are in danger. So, for now, I'll be taking that cuff off you and talking to Principle Nezu about making you a ward of U.A while we search for your parents and make sure you're going home to a safe environment."

The detective walked around to his right side with a small key in his hand, he bent down to an appropriate height to reach the cuff. He uncuffed Danny's hand first then the one around the bed's metal frame. Once free Danny rubbed his sore wrist and watched as the detective put the cuff away in his pocket. "Thank you." The teen's voice was small and unsure but Tsukauchi heard him just fine and nodded to the boy.

"I may be back with more questions at a later date, but you can rest easy for now. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a very interesting conversation with a certain principal to go to." He nods to the remaining three occupants of the room as he takes his leave.