file 2: THE MENAGERIE FOUNDATION
CONFIDENTIAL AND PRIVATE; for your eyes only
the menagerie foundation, founded in the beginning of the second generation of quirks. originally a government funded private society that ran humane tests on animals, the original founder, a kind american woman, passed away, and her successor began taking the experiments to a level where he realised that he would no longer be able to legally continue his research. however, he was convinced that society needed his research, and so he privately began inhumane experiments on animals.
eventually, it became clear that the next step would have to be human experimentation, and so the foundation took the executive decision to depart from the public eye. it wasn’t supposed to be villainous at first; they simply faked a scandal, shut down in the public and government eye, and continued undercover. however, the lack of government funding became a strain, and the final thing that pushed them into a villainous organisation happened: they received funding, equipment and even some in person help from all for one.
this is what kept them alive, and they gave him all their results. they were, for sure, partially responsible for the creation of the nomus. their experimentation was on the subject of advanced quirk evolution, if a quirk could be changed and expanded on past its initial development via external means, not just training. fusing of genetic, the genetic codes of two different quirks and how cohesively they fit together. their aim was not to make someone with more than one quirk, like the nomus, but to take an already useful quirk, and make it into a single but exceptionally stronger quirk.
although their initial funding from all for one was enough to carry them through about five years, the foundation soon realised that they’d need their own ways of funding themselves.
so they began the gifted child project. the idea of this was to use their research to create hitmen, assassins, and extremely high quality hired hands for high ranking villains to pay large amounts of money for exceptional jobs.
they gave their children animal themed code names in honour of their roots. most of the children they experimented on did not survive. the first one that did was known as child 28, code name: bright bird. bird had a quirk that allowed him to blast energy out of his hands, and was expanded by experimentation to make it stronger, and to also allow him to create ‘ghost lights’, or tiny lanterns that would follow him round. training from the day he was stable by his assigned ‘handler’, or case manager, made him incredibly capable and deadly. and then, at the age of 13, he was put up as hireable.
he was hugely popular, and had an incredibly high success rate. what was supposed to be a simple tactic for the menagerie foundation to stay in business, became their most famous selling point in the villain underworld. more children were made in response.
of over 400 attempts, only 25 children survived. however, all 25 of them are incredibly expensive to hire, and exceptionally skilled. they are all trained for years, relentlessly, by their handler, until they are more skilled than most adult assassins.
80% of the money they earn goes back to the menagerie foundation, but if they get successful enough, they are often allowed to buy their freedom, and go freelance. the only two who have been allowed to do this are bright bird and hunting viper.
CHILDREN RELEVANT TO YONA’S STORY:
child 303, code name: blue whale. called blue casually. currently known as yona howak for the mission they’re engaged in. an experimental case of a passive quirk expanded on and combat style marked entirely by ambush and extensive skill in martial arts. requested by all for one himself for this infiltration mission. our main character.
child 229, code name: red fox. called red casually. a 17 year old assassin who has already got a unique signature in her killings. people hire her when they want to make a statement. villain name: kitsune. operates in her country of birth, japan. quirk: pain gaze. if she makes eye contact with someone, she can cause them to feel incredible amounts of pain over their body. she can choose the amount of pain they feel, and can even kill with it. she prefers the katana, though. something of a femme fatale. is in the process of buying her freedom.
child 230, code name: grey wolf. called wolfy casually. red’s 15 year old younger brother. has something of an inferiority complex about her. has been promised yona’s eyes if they fair, and so are attempting to sabotage their mission in order to get one up on his talented sister. is more of a nuisance than anything. quirk is identical to his sisters, except he has to touch someone to trigger it. is not as good at combat as her, despite their quirks. however, he’s an excellent strategist held back by his temper and tendency to cry when angry.
gummygunk
dailybridgerton
ellievsbear
theartofmadeline
