Pretty short chapter this time. Enjoy~

Everybody was surprised to see Hawks working the next day, but he said he was on a big case that couldn't be delayed because he needed a break. The staff and workers knew something big had happened based on how serious he was being. The results of the autopsy and inspection showed the exact same things on the baby than on the little girl. Same wounds, same anemia and damaged eyes.

This one had her baby teeth and finger prints. She was a baby, there was no way to identify her in any way that would help. He went into the briefing room, and Hawks called Endeavor and Best Jeanist on a dual phone call.

When he explained what he and Luffy had discovered, they were both sickened, and immediately agreed to help with the case. One dead child was bad enough, but now they knew it was a series. And the murder of a baby, as they had found she was only under two years old, was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Both of the other top pro-heroes said they'd be contacting heroes they were close to, and soon there was a network of hero agencies that were going searching and investigating. The baby was dead for three hours. Meaning the killer was closer this time.

Having multiple agencies working at the same time would be instrumental. Todoroki was working with Endeavor again, so he'd be taking part, too. Luffy didn't wish for Todoroki to be involved in something this gruesome. It was terrible. But, they'd get further with more eyes.

They spent most of that day organizing things to work with the others. They'd be going into a meeting at Endeavor's agency since his meeting room was bigger. They'd be going the next day. Luffy would miss class, but the hero work studies already made it clear they'd be missing school.

So, the next day, he and Hawks flew to Endeavor's agency. Hawks would be running the meeting, and he seemed a little nervous, which was so weird. So weird. But this was serious and needed him to push away his laid back attitude. So, he sat at the head of the table with Endeavor and Todoroki, Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, and Gang Orca. Since Hawks didn't have reach with the smaller heroes, he just had the big ones. So it was a small group but was more comfortable in the bigger room.

Hawks explained everything, and had the photos of the children up. Those at the table were disgusted, looking at the photos of the dead children, and listened closely to everything Hawks and Luffy had come up with, the connections, the smell of drugs, the time range of when they had died and when they were found.

There was a lot to go on but also barely anything. There was a map of the area around their sites within a radius of 6 hours based on the speed limit. "I know it's not a huge case, but it needs to be stopped now. We still don't know what the point of this is, and if it's an attack that causes an instant heart attack and burns to the face and eyes, it could be very bad. And it's also being used on children. That's why I want to have it solved as fast as possible."

Best Jeanist said they should put CCTV cameras at all locations that are remote and would be easy to drop a body off at and then get away without being easily spotted. Endeavor offered to go further and plant bugs at every dumpster in an even remotely private area. The three of them were the top heroes, they had more than enough influence and money to have that happen.

So, that day, Luffy and Hawks planted tiny cameras pointed at the dumpsters in every area they could. It was easy for it to be them since they were hard to see and hear, especially since they waited until nighttime to plant the cameras to be even more stealthy. They had Best Jeaist on the computer end, telling them if the cameras were placed in the right spots.

They were high quality and could record in the dark perfectly. CCTV cameras were also placed at the entrance and exits of alleyways. There was no way they wouldn't find this guy and track him back to where he may be keeping kids. They had to find them as soon as possible and stop this.

The next day, Luffy had to go to school, as did Todoroki. Luffy was distracted all day, and texted with Hawks continuously, asking if anything came up. Todoroki forced him to eat. Put his phone down and eat. The other students didn't know what the problem was, but the other work studies students looked upset and tense as well. Luffy wondered what they were working on.

After school, Luffy flew back home at warp speed and changed, jumping down to the intel room that was the Hawks agency's meeting room, now fitted with dozens of small TVs, recording everything.

From what they knew so far, this was a daily thing. They were alerted to each camera when there was movement. Many went off due to raccoons scavenging for food, most of the nighttime ones were for that. But looking over the ones going during the day in a place they knew also had a lot of gang and drug activity, there was suddenly a bright flash of light that killed the camera.

Hawks and Luffy were off in a second, Luffy zooming to the location and finding the freshest corpse. A little boy this time. He looked up and saw that the tiny camera that hadn't even been noticed was fried. But! He looked around the corner and saw that the CCTV camera they planted was fine.

Hawks landed and called HQ and asked if anything came up on that CCTV. Luffy could hear the conversation too since both of them had their headphones on the same frequency. "Yes. We've got the license plate. It's a white Subaru hatchback. We're monitoring other CCTVs in the area, and are able to follow it."

Luffy turned to the little boy and touched his hand. "We won't let your death be meaningless," Luffy said softly. He called the police to come pick up the nameless child. He had just died and yet his fingerprints had been burnt and teeth broken. Meaning that was done while he was alive. Not only were they being killed, but tortured, too.

The only thing he could be thankful for was that the baby hadn't been hurt beforehand. He pushed the hair out of the child's face, full of sorrow. If only they'd been there moments before, they could have saved him.

For the third time in a week, Luffy watched a child's body zipped up into a body bag and taken away. Hawks put his hand on his shoulder. "We can track where he's going and stop him now. Once we find the place, both of us, Endeavor and Best Jeanist will raid their house or wherever they're keeping these kids." Luffy knew they weren't doing any surveillance beforehand because a child was murdered each day and they couldn't take their time in stopping it.

The two were standing by while the guy was tracked. The police were there, too, ready to follow them. After about 2 hours, the car stopped in a warehouse, and the guy who had been doing this walked inside. After being given the address, Luffy flew at warp speed to that location, using the GPS on his phone that he was holding, and he stopped two streets over, on the roof and making sure the guy didn't leave.

He closed his eyes and focused his scent and hearing. He heard children crying, a lot of them, at least ten… no twelve. Fourteen? A lot of them, all young. He smelled a massive amount of weed. He knew it, the guy was affiliated with weed. But what was the point of killing the kids like he had been?

He heard the sound a squeal of pain and Luffy had so much trouble not going in that moment. But he waited. Hawks arrived first, and Luffy told him about what he could hear and smell. Hawks scowled. They were both impatient, but waited. Best Jeainst, his sidekick, Todoroki and Endeavor arrived, along with a lot of police surrounding the area.

There was no easy entrance, so Luffy thrust his arm into the shudders and ripped them open to find all of the kids he was hearing, all dirty and crying. The suspect froze, and before he could do or say anything, he was trapped in a fabric web, tied up tightly so he couldn't move. He was pinned to the ground.

The guy was green and extremely buff. He had spikes on his fingers, and Todoroki froze his hands in ice. They didn't know how his quirk worked but they weren't going to wait and see. The place was like a forest of weed, and there were glass bottles of glowing liquid. Once the guy was in chains, and was shoved into a police car.

Luffy and Hawks walked in and crouched in front of the children. "You're all safe now," Luffy said kindly. He and Hawks got to untying all of their tied hands and feet. They were all well fed - not starved - but the kids they'd already found weren't starved either. What was strange was that, other than the symptoms of death, they were all well fed and hydrated.

Meaning they were being taken care of nutrients wise. So he needed them healthy. The kids stood up and started crying, some hugging Luffy or Hawks. Luffy crouched and hugged those who were around him back. "He's never going to hurt you ever again. We promise."

After that, all of the kids who had their hands burned and many of the older ones with broken teeth were identified. All of them came from one place. An orphanage that had shut down. The oldest of the group, eight years old, holding the youngest, one year old, told them that the caretaker sold them once she ran out of money to house them.

They had trouble speaking with their teeth such a mess, but they would all be getting replacements. Teeth were easy to replace, luckily. Many needed to see the dentist now as some of their mouths were infected. But they had nowhere to go. That was a problem. Twelve children, homeless and having been sold.

The oldest was able to name the address and name of the woman who'd sold them. She'd be going to jail for sure. Many of the kids were touching Luffy's or Hawks wings, commenting on how soft they were.

Luffy said, "I'm sorry we couldn't find you sooner." They all cried that they were just happy they came from them. They asked where their friends were, if they could see them. One of them was the little sister of the boy they'd found. It was heartbreaking, and Luffy didn't know what to say. He couldn't fool them.

"Why don't we worry about getting you all someplace comfy for now?" Hawks asked, saving Luffy. "And we can treat your burns, too."

They were all so happy, even if some were scared of Endeavor for his size, and flocked towards the much shorter Hawks and Luffy. Since it would be really scary for all of them to be put in police cars, there was a colorful bus that Hawks called for an hour ago after he caught up to Luffy and was told how many kids there were.

He was on the phone with a foster home he had connections to from the previous times he'd rescued kids who had nowhere to go. He never kept them besides Luffy, of course, but there were plenty of street rats, not even just where Luffy was found. And Miss. Robin was who they always were delivered to. The agency paid for her living expenses and she had a huge house that the kids were living in until they were adopted.

And by pulling strings and advertising, Ms. Robin's home was visited a lot for adoptions that weren't perfect. Many people adopted kids with troubled pasts. And she was very, very kind. They knew that, which was why Hawks trusted her with the kids. Of course she had aids, Tashigi and Makino.

It was a healthy environment that had counseling for children who needed it. So they were happy to have the kids board the colorful bus to go to a new home. Luffy went with them while Hawks left to go with the other heroes to hear what the child murderer had to say for himself.

When they got there, the kids walked in cautiously, though this place was warm and inviting inside. There were lots of couches and bean bag chairs with other kids of various ages. Luffy stayed for a while until they were all bathed and clothed. He made sure to tell them that Ms. Robin was the nicest woman he'd ever met, and that they were lucky to stay with her until they found forever homes with kind people to love them.

It was shameful, but he was glad he left without having to be the one to tell them their friends were gone, that one girl's brother gone forever. He called Hawks, asking where he was. He was at the police station closest, so Luffy knew where to go.

When he landed, Todoroki was outside. Luffy walked up and said, "Our first hero mission finished." They gave high fives, and Luffy asked if he knew what the guy had said yet.

"Yeah. Apparently he could take life force from people and put it to other uses. Kids are the best and most youthful, so he used them. All to grow massive amounts of weed that he made millions off of." Luffy was furious. He killed children and abused them for weed?! "Yeah. It's fucked up."

Luffy shook his head. "I'm just glad I don't need to expect to see dead kids anymore. Three was more than enough," he sighed, sitting down on the bench outside. Todoroki sat down next to him. "I wonder what the others are doing. The ones in hero work studies who are all stressed."

"I don't know."

They waited for a bit before Luffy received a message in the head phones. "Come in, you and I have to do some questioning."

"Okay," Luffy said into the mic. He told Todoroki it was time for him to be interviewed. He passed Endeavor in the hallway. "Thank you for the quick help." Endeavor said nothing but gave a curt nod. He wasn't rude! Wow. He found Hawks waiting outside an open door and the two of them walked in and sat across from an officer at a table.

Luffy was surprised with how not-militarized the police station was. It didn't feel like a gaitway to jail or something like that. The questioning started at the very beginning, coming across the first body. Then the storyline was questioned all the way to what happened when Luffy went to the foster home with the kids.

It took a good two hours, and by then it was 2 AM and Luffy was tired. They still had the long flight back home, too. He had tomorrow off with Tokoyami, who hadn't taken part in the three day mission. Really, three days. It felt like an eternity but also a blink of an eye.

Both of them were tired but they stopped at a convenience store and Hawks got a nasty coffee and Luffy got a Pepsi to try and keep them awake enough to make it home safely. They flew up, cruising side by side. "Did we even have dinner?" Hawks asked.

"I had a peanut butter sandwich. I don't know about you," Luffy replied.

"Just peanut butter?"

"You got the wrong jam. I don't like strawberry."

"So… you just had peanut butter and bread? How is that a sandwich."

"Isn't anything a sandwich as long as it has bread around it?"

"I'm pretty sure that two pieces of bread with a piece of bread in between isn't a sandwich, so your statement is void."

"That's a bread sandwich."

"No, it's a loaf of bread."

"Not if it's cut into pieces."

"Then what do you call sandwich bread that comes in a bag, all cut up?"

"Sandwich bread isn't real bread."

"Yeah, I'm startin' to tell that it's gonna be 3:00 when we get home."

And they both crashed the moment they made it to their rooms, both of them falling asleep in their outfits, which was pretty uncomfortable when they woke up with their face masks glued to their cheeks.

-x-

Luffy fell asleep while eating cereal, his head falling into the bowl which Hawks pointed at and started laughing. Luffy huffed and got up and wiped his milky face on Hawks' jacket. "What the hell!"

"That's what you get for laughing at me when I'm exhausted. And for getting the wrong kind of jam so all I had was a peanut butter sandwich." Hawks threw the pillow at him, spilling the bowl of milk. "You're cleaning that up."

"It was your cereal, you're responsible."

"You threw the pillow!"

"You were supposed to catch it."

"Both of my hands were holding the bowl!"

"You could have deflected it with your wing."

"I'm not making you lunch."

"I'm sorry I was rude."

"That's what I thought."