Thank you for the compliments, questions, and suggestions! They're great encouragement, and they help me to spot things that I need to address in future chapters.
As you probably guessed from the chapter title, we get to see a few characters outside of Hawks, Tokoyami/DS, and the League - at least briefly. And violently. So I guess whether that's good news or bad news is up to you.
Chapter 13: Red Riot, Suneater, and the Nomu
Despite his best intentions, Hawks' body refuses to cooperate. He must fall asleep at some point because a crash of white noise wakes him with a start. He's on his feet immediately, ignoring the sharp aches of his body as he searches for the source of the sound. The television against the wall is glowing with static.
"What is it?" Tokoyami asks.
Hawks glances behind him; the sound must've woken him as well. "It's okay, it's just the television. Then again, I guess I shouldn't say 'it's okay' until we see what's on. It could be infomercials."
Tokoyami rubs at his eyes and squints. "There was never a television in here before."
"I have a feeling they added it for my benefit," Hawks replies. The static on the screen slowly resolves into a newscaster. The words EMERGENCY BROADCAST: VILLAIN ATTACK scroll across the bottom.
No. Not again.
"Tsukuyomi," Hawks whispers. "There's something you need to know. Toga has my blood, and she's using it to attack heroes. She and some nomu destroyed a section of Fukuoka. They killed my sidekick and surrounded Endeavor. I never say how it ended."
"They what?!" Tokoyami exclaims, all traces of his exhaustion gone.
The volume on the television bursts to life, too loud for the small room and impossible to ignore.
"…continue our ongoing coverage of the latest attack by the League of Villains, led by former Number 2 hero Hawks. We advise anyone in the Kansai region, and especially Esuha city, to shelter in place. Pro heroes Fat Gum and Rock Lock are responding alongside other members of their agencies."
"Fat Gum – that's the hero Kirishima interned with!" Tokoyami exclaims. He shoves the blanket away and rushes over to the television, as if being closer will somehow allow him to interact with those on the other side of the screen. Hawks briefly closes his eyes and prays that none of the heroes' interns are involved. He's never been religious, and when he opens his eyes to see Sun Eater, Red Riot, and Real Steal attempting to evacuate civilians while the nomu bear down upon them, he decides to remain that way. There are three nomu on the ground this time, as well as a few petty villains who the League probably dragged in as cannon fodder for the heroes. Most of them seem more interested in petty larceny than actually taking on a hero. They break into nearby stores and then mingling with the fleeing civilians.
Hawks and Tokoyami can only look on in horror as the camera pans to show Toga hovering over the scene in Hawks' skin. There's a nomu flying beside her. It's small compared to many of its brethren, but it more than makes up for the size of its body with a pair of thick, black bat wings, a mouthful of teeth, and talons that would put Hawks' namesake to shame. It keeps close to Toga and watches the scene unfold around them with those unnerving, lidless eyes.
There are no airborne heroes at the scene, no one to come to the rescue when one news team makes the mistake of getting too close in their helicopter. The nomu's eyes lock on the camera, and for a moment Hawks feels like the thing is staring at him right through the screen. Then it opens its mouth and lets out a shriek that would give Present Mic a run for his money. The video crackles and spins wildly for a moment before the screen goes black.
The newscasters in the studio cry out in fear for their coworkers, but the network is quick to pull up a visual from a different camera angle. It shows Red Riot flinging himself in front of Suneater and a fallen child before a sharpened feather can stab either of them in the back. The feather bounces harmlessly off of Riot's hardened skin, and Suneater's tentacles lift the child into the relative safety of her mother's arms.
Red Riot glares at the sky, his sharp teeth bared. Suneater touches his shoulder and says something the news crew isn't close enough to catch. Red Riot's snarl turns into a grin, and he nods. Suneater's tentacles wrap around the younger hero's body as white wings burst from his back, billowing out from beneath his cloak. He takes off with Red Riot in his grip, flying up to meet Toga and her guardian where none of the other heroes can reach them.
"No," Hawks says. He's right in front of the TV with Tokoyami now, although he doesn't remember moving. "No, you idiots, you're going to get killed!"
"They've taken on villains before," Tokoyami says, though he doesn't sound convinced. "They have allies, and there's no way Toga has mastered your quirk."
"It's not Toga I'm worried about," Hawks replies. "The League knows that she's vulnerable. They wouldn't leave just any nomu to guard her. That's a high-end, like the one that Endeavor and I fought."
He's proven right far too quickly. Red Riot is able to shield both himself and Suneater from a barrage of feathers, but before they can even reach the same altitude as Toga the nomu dives for them, letting out another ear-piercing shriek. Suneater falls back and dodges the nomu, but it's a near thing. He doesn't have the experience to maneuver well in the air. It's lucky that Toga doesn't have much finesse in flight either; if Suneater and Red Riot were up against Hawks himself, the fight would already be over.
Unfortunately, it seems the nomu has had more practice. It's quick to change direction when Suneater dodges. It attacks from behind this time, hooking its talons deep into Suneater's left shoulder even as Red Riot shouts out a warning. Suneater is dragged along and jerks Red Riot through the air. The suction cups are probably the only reason he didn't drop the younger hero immediately.
He morphs his free hand into a hoof and beats it against the nomu's talons and arm, while Red Riot aims for the creature's body and legs whenever Suneater brings him in range. They get a couple of good shots in; Red Riot hits hard enough to fracture the nomu's leg, and it releases Suneater with a furious scream.
"Yes!" Tokoyami cheers. "You see? I told you they could-"
A red feather slices through Suneater's tentacles, and Red Riot drops from the sky. Far below, Rock Lock throws a nearby tarp into the air and locks it in place, but from that height Hawks knows the tarp will only slow the fall, not catch him. Suneater dives and hurls a new set of tentacles after Red Riot. They wrap around his leg inches before he hits the tarp, jerking him to a stop. Red Riot cries out, and both young heroes grimace.
"Flying lesson of the day," Hawks mutters, "physics is a bitch. If you grab a falling civilian by the limbs, they will dislocate something."
"Shit," says Tokoyami.
"Yeah. Beats cracking your skull on the pavement, though."
"Not that – the nomu!"
Tokoyami frantically points at the top of the screen, where a dark shape is rapidly descending. Rock Lock shouts a warning, but this time Suneater can't dodge in time. The nomu grabs hold of his bad shoulder and uses it's feet to shred his wings, scattering bloody feathers like a fox in a chicken coup. Suneater yells and struggles, one hand cycling through various animal parts to attack whatever part of it he can reach while the other keeps a tight hold on Red Riot. The nomu's only reaction is to drag him higher; it's skin and bones have already regenerated from the heroes' earlier attacks.
Suneater glances down at Red Riot dangling from his tentacles. He mouths something that looks suspiciously like I'm sorry, and then releases him as close to the tarp as he can. Hawks can hear shouting, but the camera follows the nomu. They never see if Red Riot hits the ground.
The nomu drags Suneater towards Toga. She's lower to the ground than before, and she's moving Hawks' wings a lot more in order to stay airborne. She used too many feathers. The fight will be over soon, but not soon enough for Suneater. She has a needle in her hand this time rather than a knife. Hawks doesn't want to imagine how dangerous Suneater's quirk would be in the hands of the villains.
Suddenly, her maniacal grin falls away. Something off screen has caught her attention.
"Reinforcements have arrived! It's Ryukyu!" the reporter announces. The camera pans out, showing an enormous dragon closing in with several more heroes on her back.
Finally, Hawks thinks, someone who can show Toga what it really means to fly.
Toga seems to realize her latest challenger is a better match as well. She tucks the needle away and mutters into the collar of Hawks' jacket. Black smoke pours from her mouth and the nomu's, enveloping them both. Ryukyu speeds up, and for a moment Hawks thinks she might actually catch Toga before they lose her to the fog. Then Toga gives a command and the nomu drops Suneater. If Ryukyu wants to save him, she will have to give up on Toga.
She's a different hero than Hawks; she doesn't even hesitate to dive after Suneater.
The television goes dark right before she reaches him, leaving Hawks to wonder at his allies' fate once more. For a moment he and Tokoyami sit in silence, staring at the empty screen and picturing what might be happening now in the aftermath of the attack.
"Kirishim- I mean, Red Riot. He…do you think he's alright?" Tokoyami whispers.
Hawks swallows. "He has a hardening quirk, right? He probably did more damage to whatever he fell on."
"And Suneater?"
"Alive. They're both alive. The League would want us to see if any of the heroes were killed."
Hawks has never been especially close with his fellow heroes. He operates at an entirely different level than those his own age, and he's well aware that many of his top ten peers find him arrogant and obnoxious – and that was before a villain stole his body. He doesn't keep up with heroes-in-training either; Tokoyami is his only intern, and even that's because he needed a 1-A student. He's familiar with Red Riot's quirk from the Sports Festival and conversations with Tokoyami, but that's all. The only thing he remembers about Suneater is refusing Fat Gum's request to give flying lessons to a promising young hero that needed help getting out of his shell - literally. Hawks had just made the top ten at the time, and he'd had neither the time nor the patience for amateurs.
He wonders how the fight would have ended if he'd spent even one afternoon showing Suneater how to make use of those borrowed wings.
"Why are they doing this?" Tokoyami asks. He's shaking again, and Hawks has the urge to wrap his wings around him. Tokoyami is the only one he can protect right now, and platitudes will not do him any good.
He sighs. "From what I've been able to gather, their goal is nothing less than the destruction of hero society as we know it. The why is a little more difficult; they've all got different motivations."
"I understand that, more now than I ever have before," says Tokoyami. "But why use you to do it? They're typically happy to take credit for their dirty work."
"That's not entirely true. They do a lot of underground things that the public doesn't know about. As for using me, it actually makes a lot of sense. One, they get their revenge. This is honestly a lot worse than if they'd decided to publicly disembowel me and get it over with. Two, villain attacks are scary, but how much scarier are they when they come from someone you thought you could trust?"
"And if the people can't trust you, the number 2 hero, how can they trust any other?" Tokoyami adds quietly.
"You got it," says Hawks. He swallows around the sudden lump in his throat. Saying all of it out loud suddenly makes it that much more real, and it brings his failings into a much larger perspective. "They're going to bring down the heroes, and they're using my blood to do it. Shit, this is all my fault. I can't believe I was stupid enough to-"
Tokoyami cuts him off. "I thought we agreed not to talk about blame?"
"You don't understand," says Hawks. "This really is my fault. Tsukuyomi, I'm not – I never – I didn't want you involved in any of this."
"I seem to recall being told that self-reproach only looks good on brooding heroes, and that's really not your type, Hawks," says Tokoyami. He hesitates, then rests his good hand on Hawks' shoulder. "It helps me to know that you're aware I'm alive. So, for what it's worth, I know that it wasn't you who attacked those people."
To Hawks' surprise, it actually does (even if Tokoyami is the last person in the world who owes Hawks any kind of acknowledgement). He pats Tokoyami's hand. "Thank you. Man, I should really stop talking. Everything I say can and has been used against me."
"You, stop talking? Now that would be something to see."
Hawks laughs. "Don't get your hopes up, but there is still a chance they'll gag me."
XXX
Shigaraki tempts Hawks and Tokoyami with news of their friends, promising to trade information on their survival for information about other heroes. Both refuse. Hawks is surprised when the interrogation doesn't escalate. Shigaraki merely laughs at the way Hawks places himself in front of Tokoyami, throws a take-out carton across the room, and shuts the door. If he'd been alone Hawks would never have given the League the satisfaction of seeing him scramble to scrape food off the dirty floor, but he knows Tokoyami hasn't eaten in days. The kid needs every bite, and he'll refuse to eat if Hawks doesn't take his share. That doesn't stop Hawks from subtly adding more food to Tokoyami's portion whenever he looks away.
When Tokoyami falls asleep again and Hawks tucks the blanket around him, a shadowy claw taps his hand. Hawks leans in close, blocking the camera's view of Dark Shadow with his body, and hears the shadow hiss, "You snuck him extras. I saw."
Hawks raises an eyebrow. Apparently Tokoyami wasn't bluffing when he said that Dark Shadow would always be watching him. "Yes. He needed it."
"Do it again next time. I won't tell," Dark Shadow commands. Then the quirk slips back inside his host's body, disappearing as quickly as he came.
"You got it, shadow man." Hawks laughs softly. He's growing as fond of Dark Shadow as he is of Tokoyami. As intriguing as it is to consider the origins of a sentient quirk, Hawks decides it doesn't really matter. Dark Shadow is alive as surely as Tokoyami, and that will be the downfall of anyone who overlooks it. He remembers seeing the interview with Mr. and Mrs. Tokoyami after their son was presumed dead, how they called Dark Shadow his brother, not his quirk, and shared their grief at losing them both.
The idea is tainted by a touch of bitterness for Hawks. He imagines the love and support Tokoyami and Dark Shadow will receive once they are rescued. Their parents will be overjoyed, holding both close and finally allowing them to drop their guard, to truly relax and heal. He doubts they'll even make good on their threat to pull Tokoyami from U.A., so long as Tokoyami and Dark Shadow express their desire to return. The staff and students of U.A. will be equally ecstatic. The teachers will welcome them with open arms, and their friends will smother them with more affection than Tokoyami would ever admit to enjoying.
None of that waits for Hawks. He'll be met by the stone-faced Public Safety Commission, expected to give a detailed report before he makes it ten steps out of this place – and that's if he isn't killed or jailed first. Even if Toga is publicly revealed as the one behind the attacks, the road to clearing his name will be long and hard. No one will trust him. No one will hold him. He hasn't heard from his mother in years, and he doesn't even remember his father. His friends – does he have any friends? He gets along well with Miruko and meets her for drinks from time to time, but even that started because he needed her help with an assignment. As for Endeavor, his hero…assuming he's alive, 'disappointed' is probably the best he can hope for.
It makes Hawks wonder if there's any point in going back at all. He'll keep his promise to Tokoyami, of course, and do everything in his power to return him to his family. But what then? He can't be a spy, and he will never be the popular hero he was before all of this. Hawks isn't really sure where that leaves him. The Commission didn't just train him to be a hero, they crafted every inch of him: his look, his persona, even his name. Keigo Takami feels strange and heavy on his tongue, as foreign and impersonal as a stranger's name. If he takes off the mask of Hawks, is there anything beneath it or is he hollow?
Perhaps he'll find Keigo has gained a separate sentience, his own personal Dark Shadow hiding among the dusty memories of his childhood. Something weak to the limelight, just as volatile but far more fragile than Tokoyami's quirk.
Hawks sighs and leans sideways against the wall, sparing his aching wings from the rough stone. This isn't what he had in mind when he told Endeavor he dreamed of a society where heroes could be bored. There's too much time to think, and he has no desire to confront an existential crisis while in the League's hands. Whatever the rest of the country may think, there is at least one person who is still counting on him. Tokoyami needs Hawks the hero, not Keigo, whoever he may be.