Part 2

Past: First Week of School

Hawks was beginning to realize that no amount of training or preparation was going to be enough to deal with actual teenagers. He was well versed in social etiquette and had been caught up to speed with what the Commission considered to be essential pop culture knowledge, but as it turned out, what the Commission considered to be 'appropriate' and 'essential' was not at all what actual teenagers behaved like or talked about.

It had taken Hawks ten seconds of being surrounded by a crowd of teenagers to realize that the way he had been taught to speak was too formal. That was easy enough to correct; within his first hour at UA during the exams he had adopted a less former style of speaking and had relaxed his posture and mannerisms enough to fit in with the rest of examinees. Unfortunately, though, there was no easy way to fix the wide gaps in his knowledge of pop culture. He hadn't ever been allowed to watch live TV, read popular manga or books, or even go to see a movie in theatres before. It would take forever to catch up, so Hawks either had to fake it or admit he had lived under a rock his whole life. Neither option was especially appealing, but he had little choice. He would never be allowed to access media material that the Commission considered 'too trivial for his time' at best and 'absolute trash' at worst.

Amazingly, he wasn't alone in having zero knowledge of popular media. As they filed into their classroom for the first time and settled into their seats, it quickly became apparent that Todoroki, Iida, and a few other students all had gaps in their knowledge, though none to the same extent as Hawks. In the end, Hawks resolved to merely smile as reference after reference flew over his head and feign forgetfulness if pressed on a particular subject.

His homeroom teacher was also a problem. The Commission hadn't been sure who he would be saddled with, but they had made it clear that anyone but Eraser Head would be ideal, so naturally it ended up being him. Furthermore, it quickly became apparent that the majority of their classes would not even be with All Might, meaning that it would be more or less impossible to find out anything useful about him during class. It wasn't like he would be able to simply wander around the campus looking for intel either, not without drawing attention or setting off the security alarms. He doubted that All Might's secrets were kept laying around in a filing cabinet or in the school's database anyway, leaving him with almost no viable options. Getting close to All Might in a bid to gain his confidence, and therefore his secrets, seemed unlikely. Following the hero around wouldn't work, or else the Hero Commission would have tried it. It was looking more and more like his mission to gather intel on the Symbol of Peace was a fool's errand, but failure was not an option. If All Might had secrets, Hawks had until the end of the year to find them or… he wasn't sure what the Commission would do to him, but it wouldn't be good.

"Good morning, Yukimura!" A voice shouted from behind, using the fake last name the Commission had given him for the assignment.

Hawks turned and saw Uraraka, Iida, and Midoriya walking him towards him, waving. "Yo!" he said, plastering on a smile. Just the person I wanted to talk to.

"You were so cool yesterday!" Uraraka exclaimed, beaming at him.

"Really?" Hawks asked, rubbing his head as if embarrassed.

The teen who had broken his arm during the battle training smiled at Hawks, expression a strange mix of earnest admiration and nervousness. "Yeah! Your control over your quirk is so impressive. Can you control all of your feathers? Do you use your blood feathers? Do you have to concentrate to control each feather or do they respond to your commands-?"

Hawks blinked in surprise, the smile turning a little more genuine. There was something about him, a quality that Hawks couldn't quite place, that made Hawks feel strangely at ease. He forced himself to keep his guard up. "Whoa, that's a lot of questions. You like to study quirks, huh?"

The teen blinked, then smiled ruefully. "Uh—yeah. Sorry, I shouldn't have asked you so many personal questions about your quirk-"

"I don't mind," Hawks interjected. "To answer your questions, I can control all my feathers individually and can detach all my feathers," He willed a feather to detach and float over to tickle Uraraka's face and chin.

She giggled in delight, reaching out to stroke it before stopping short. "Can I touch it?"

"Sure," Hawks said, pleased that she had asked. He was all too accustomed to his handlers grabbing him by the wings or forcefully pulling out his feathers to get his attention.

"So soft," Uraraka said, touching the feather gently.

"I try not to use my blood feathers because it's painful to detach them, but I can if I need to," Hawks said, allowing Midoriya and Iida to feel the feather as well before reattaching it.

"Wow, so cool!" Midoriya and Uraraka exclaimed in unison.

"You must be amazing at long range combat and rescues!" Midoriya said, hesitating a moment before continuing on with more confidence. "Have you thought about what you'll do in close range fights? Your speed will balance out your lack of physical power if you train with a weapon or develop a strategy to handle powerhouses."

Hawks stared at him, impressed. The Commission had always seen his lack of physical power as his greatest detractor. Furthermore, since his bones were hollow, just like actual birds, he was more prone to breaking them, making straight up hand to hand combat a greater risk for him. "I have a couple of ideas about close range combat, but ultimately I'll just have to strike fast and hope to take my opponent out as fast as possible."

"Have you thought about-" Midoriya's mouth suddenly clamped shut and he paled a bit. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to criticize your quirk! I think it's amazing!"

Hawks stared at him a moment in surprise at his strange reactions to asking simple questions and his general existence. Could someone actually be this open and sincere? It was almost unnerving.

"What about your quirk?" Hawks asked, falling into stride beside them as they headed to the classroom. "It's a strength enhancer, right? Did you not get much of a chance to learn how to control it growing up?"

"In a manner of speaking," Midoriya said, chuckling hollowly. "I haven't had many chances to use it because, well…" he shrugged and gestured at his arms.

Hawks grimaced. Breaking bones was not fun. Over the course of his training, he'd had just about every bone in his body broken at least once. "What have you done to try and control it? What does it feel like when you use it?"

They spent the rest of the walk discussing quirks. Hawks quickly found that he liked Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida. Talking to them felt almost relaxing. In every conversation he'd had so far, he'd always had an agenda or was trying to figure out the agenda of the other person. But with them, he didn't have any motives in talking to them, besides being mildly curious about Midoriya's quirk. It was nice, but he knew that he couldn't let his guard down. He had a job to do.

They settled into their seats and Hawks was drawn into another conversation, but Hawks decided to make it a point to talk to Midoriya more since the other teen was seated in front of him. He gave himself the excuse that since Midoriya was interested in quirks, and had one similar to All Might's, Midoriya might have a useful analysis of All Might's quirk. It had nothing to do with simply enjoying their company. Nothing at all.

"Today," Aizawa said as class started. "You will be picking a class representative."

As the class dissolved into chaos, Hawks frowned. Everyone else was probably going to vote for themselves, but Hawks didn't want the attention or responsibility that went hand in hand with being the class representative. Plus, he had to maintain a low profile. Who should I vote for, then? Hawks wondered, mind racing as he reexamined what he knew about his classmates. His orders were strictly concerned with investigating All Might and UA's faculty and staff, so he didn't need to collect information on his classmates unless it pertained to his main mission or was something that would be of interest to the Commission. He was free to do as he liked around his classmates and had even been encouraged to interact with them, as long as he avoided forming any actual attachments.

He glanced at where Midoriya was sitting in front of him. Midoriya wouldn't be bad as a representative. Besides, he could learn to have more confidence in himself.

Hawks put his vote in for Midoriya and leaned back in his seat to watch the fun.

Present

Hawks was half asleep when the door to his cell opened and three agents stepped in, expressions grim. He tensed unconsciously and sat up at once from where he had been laying on the cold floor. He tried to guess how long he'd been asleep and came up blank.

He forced his panic down and kept himself from flinching when they reached for him and hauled him to his feet, mind whirling. Something felt off.

Should I fight? What if I'm reading this wrong? Hawks thought frantically as he was dragged forward.

Outside of the cell, a medical gurney was waiting for him with a man in a medical coat waiting beside it in anticipation. Straps dangled down its side, thick and unyielding. This was it. He'd seen this before, right before someone 'disappeared' from the facility and was never seen again.

One of the agents stepped behind him, his feathers sensing what was coming next even as his brain grappled with the reality of his situation. He started struggling in the agents' grips and willed his feathers into motion, but it was too late. In the blink of an eye, a needle plunged into Hawks' neck and his entire body seized up before going limp. The world blurred as he slumped into waiting arms and was promptly placed on the gurney and strapped down, laying on his stomach with his wings pressed down painfully against his back by one of the agents. He tried to will his feathers into motion, but everything was sluggish, and he was only able to twitch a handful of feathers loose. He watched helplessly as the doctor reached out and snapped them in two, a twinge of phantom pain racing down his spine.

They wheeled him down endless hallways into an elevator. Nausea and unadulterated terror hit him in full force as the doctor hit the button for the basement and the elevator slowly started to descend.

He managed to lift his hand a fraction of an inch off the gurney before his muscles gave out. He couldn't even lift his head. If this was a movie, the heroes would be arriving right about now to save the day, Hawks thought ruefully, wondering if Midoriya and the others had alerted anyone else or were trying to stage a rescue by themselves. Assuming he's doing anything. There was no reason to believe that Midoriya would know that Hawks was in immediate danger. Hawks himself had played off the potential dangers of returning to the Commission when he'd said goodbye to them. They had no reason to believe Hawks's life was in imminent danger and that was entirely his own fault.

Assuming they're coming at all. He knew he was probably just fooling himself. Even if they wanted to help, there wasn't anything that could be done. Not against the Commission.

The elevator doors slid open and Hawks was almost blinded by the bright lights overhead, the smell of antiseptic burning his nose.

"Wait," Hawks mumbled, voice barely audible. "I—I can be good. I p-promise."

He was ignored. They kept pushing him forward, past doorway after doorway. A rough hand grabbed his arm and twisted it painfully so that the crook of his elbow was easily accessible. A second later a needle pierced his skin as he was injected with something else.

"P-please," Hawks slurred, everything growing disjointed as his body lost all feeling.

He blinked and they were suddenly at the end of the hallway. The last thing he saw before his vision went black was the words "Corrections Room" written in red above two wide metal doors.

Sorry, Midoriya, everyone. I don't think… I'm going to be able to wait.

Past: Hosu

Hawks's stared down at his phone, a feeling of overwhelming dread hitting him like a ton of bricks. Why would Midoriya send a location? Isn't Hosu where Iida is interning?

What's going on? He wondered, glancing up at where Best Jeanist was arguing with Bakugo. They had just gotten back from a patrol, during which Bakugo had tried to disobey Best Jeanist no less than twelve times. Best Jeanist had finally tied Bakugo up and ordered one of his sidekicks to take him back to his office. Hawks had been allowed to stay since he was content to watch from the sidelines, but only because the hero (probably) hadn't noticed him (illegally) using his feathers to help protect a few civilians from being hit by some falling debris.

Hawks was still debating what to do about the text when one of Best Jeanist's sidekicks ran in. "Sir, Hosu is being attacked! Word is that the Hero Killer is on the loose and that there are strange monsters attacking the city!"

Iida, what have you done? Hawks grit his teeth, immediately putting two and two together. He glanced down at the location and tried to calculate how long it would take him to get there. If I leave now—

Hawks's thoughts jerked to a halt. What was he thinking? Was he really going to race off just because Midoriya had sent him a location that might have something to do with Iida and the Hero Killer? If he left now, he would be in a huge amount of trouble, not just from Best Jeanist, but the Hero Commission as well. That wasn't even taking into consideration what would happen if they ended up in an actual fight.

He had to do something, though. Responding himself was risky, not to mention foolish when there was a pro-hero right in front of him. Best Jeanist was on the Commission's unofficial list of troublemakers, which meant that he was probably a decent person. If Midoriya and Iida were getting caught up in some type of fight, it would be better to alert the pros and let them handle it.

"Sir," Hawks said, walking over to the pro hero and showing him his phone. "I have reason to believe that two of my classmates might be in immediate danger in Hosu."

Best Jeanist glanced down at the location on his phone and pinched his nose. "I'm sure they're fine. As long as they're with the heroes they're interning under, they'll be safe."

Hawks blinked, surprised at how disappointed he felt. "But I think they went off on their own-"

"We're preparing to organize a response. Believe me when I say that running into a crisis willy-nilly will only endanger them more," Best Jeanist said, his attention snapping toward one of his sidekicks trying to gain his attention. "Wait here a moment."

Something shattered inside of Hawks as he watched Best Jeanist move away to confer with his interns. He'd thought—or at least hoped, that the hero would believe him. He should have known better. Best Jeanist didn't care about what happened to two interns that were in danger, just as the Commission didn't care about anyone else as long as the job was done. He had thought that since All Might, Aizawa, and the other teachers at UA had seemed so different from anyone else he had met, since they actually seemed to care, that maybe other heroes were like that too. He'd been deluding himself.

Frustration bubbled inside him. Before he knew what he was doing, he was heading to the nearest window. A quick glance behind him confirmed that no one had noticed him leaving, giving him a clear get away.

What am I doing? Hawks ran a hand through his hair, feeling so conflicted it felt as if he was being split in two. I know what will happen if I go rogue and start disobeying the Commission. He could be killed, and not just from possibly facing off against the Hero Killer.

A hero protects people.

For some reason, he thought of Midoriya, broken legs trailing in the air at impossible angles as he punched the Nomu with bone shattering force. Thought of Midoriya's desperation to help, even with both his legs and one of his arms broken.

A hero protects people.

He thought of All Might, body broken and starved and bleeding.

"It's going to be all right," All Might had said as his white shirt turned crimson, standing protectively in from of Hawks and Midoriya. "Because I am here!"

Hawks dove out of the window and flew around the building until he was pointed in Hosu's direction. If he went all out, he could get still get there in time to help.

Aizawa's broken body flashed in his mind, eyes blazing red as a hand reached out to touch Hawks's forehead.

A hero protects people.

"They're really rubbing off on me, aren't they?" Hawks said aloud with a brittle laugh. "They better still be alive when I get there."

If he turned his back on someone in trouble, then he had no right calling himself a hero, no matter what the Commission or anyone else said. He remembered the faces of the people he had saved all those years ago and gritted his teeth. I only ever wanted to help people.

He pushed himself to his limit, flying faster than he'd ever managed to go before. You better still be alive when I get there, or I'll be very put out!

Present- UA

"Good, everyone is here," Nedzu said, walking into the teacher's lounge. Assembled in the room were some of the greatest heroes in all of Japan. "I'm afraid time is of the essence. I trust Eraser Head has brought all of you up to speed?" It was rhetorical question. He could see by the furious looks on their faces that he had.

It was fortunate that Yaoyorozu had given them the recording of the conversation between Hawks and the Commission agents. That recording alone had been enough to launch the investigation and thanks to the coded message asking for help, they had been able to secure the necessary permits to raid the Commission facility where Hawks was being held. Based on what Hawks's classmates had said, they had reason to believe his life was in immediate danger, only expediting the process further.

Nedzu stepped forward into the center of the room and eyed all of the gathered heroes for a moment, gaze lingering on the weakened, bandaged form of Yagi Toshinori. Nedzu had hoped to have the situation under control before he became aware of it, but one of the other teachers must have informed him. He shot a glance at Aizawa, who shrugged. "I don't recall calling you here, All Might. You should be resting."

The former number one hero grimaced but stared back at him unflinchingly. "Young Hawks is still my student and I have had numerous dealings with the HPSC. You're going to need me. Once the press gets wind of this, we could have riots on our hands if the public is not properly reassured that all of hero society is not corrupt."

"All Might raises a valid point," Endeavor said, leaning forward. "If what we've been told is true, this could result in the collapse of hero society itself. Are we really prepared to face the consequences?"

It was All Might who answered, his eyes blazing with a familiar intensity that was not at all lessened by his current form. "If hero society is so fragile that the rescue of an enslaved and abused teenager is enough to tear it down, then it has already failed us."

All eyes zeroed in on him as he spoke. Nedzu couldn't help a smile to himself as everyone in the room was reminded why All Might hadn't just been the number one hero, but the symbol of peace. It seems your purpose as a hero is not quite as over as you thought, my friend.

"What is coming will challenge all of us to our very limits," All Might continued, glancing down at his arm in obvious frustration. "Chaos is unavoidable. We must take action now that we know of the Hero Commission's corruption, which undoubtably does not end with one boy. If we do not act, knowing that a life is in danger, then we do not have the right to call ourselves heroes."

"All Might's correct," Aizawa said, crossing his arms. "Our job is to save people, not worry about politics. We'll deal with the aftermath as it comes, but right now our job is clear. We have a location on Hawks thanks to one of my students planting a tracker on him. Infiltrating the facility to free Hawks will also give us additional information on what we will be dealing with going forward. We cannot wait."

All Might nodded. "The problem before us is actually quite straight forward. A person in trouble needs our help and we have the power and the responsibility to save him. It's as simple as that."

"I agree," Best Jeanist said, stepping forward. "But what does the new number one have to say about this?"

All Might turned toward Endeavor, expression pained but expectant.

"I say," Endeavor said, raising his head drawing in a deep breath as he turned to face the assembled heroes. "That we are wasting time. If my son says that Hawks is in danger, then… I believe him. I am going to the facility. Who else is coming?"

Hero society could fall tonight, but it won't be because we failed to save a child in danger. Nedzu thought, mind whirling with possible outcomes.

As the other heroes quickly filed out, Nedzu approached Toshinori. "My friend," he said, drawing Toshinori's attention to him. "I know that you are frustrated that you can't go with them, but I believe the time has come for All Might's most important role yet, if you are willing."

Toshinori watched as the last of the heroes filed out, resolve solidifying in his eyes. "I am ready. What can I do?"

Past—Hosu

Hawks closed his eyes and glided through the air, the sound of shouting and sirens filling coming from all directions. He waited, senses spread out and searching, as his feathers rescued three civilians from getting caught in the fight Endeavor was in, others whipping past a group of heroes gathering to respond to the aftermath of the battle. In his mind, he could see a map of the city overlaying what he was looking at from above, the information coming in from his feathers guiding him in the right direction.

There. Hawks zeroed in on the alleyway he had been searching for and called back all his feathers as he flipped over into a dive. He couldn't see them yet, but he knew Midoriya, Iida and someone else that Hawks didn't recognize were laying on the ground, unmoving as the Hero Killer dashed towards them, Todoroki the only thing standing between them and certain death. He increased his speed and sent some of his feathers on ahead of them as he dove headfirst towards the fight happening below.

I'm going to be cutting it close. Hawks thought, gritting his teeth as Stain's knives hit one of Todoroki's arms.

Stain sprang toward Todoroki, tongue stretching out to lick the blood dripping down the teen's cheek, but even as Midoriya sprang to his feet to intervene, two dozen feathers slammed into Stain, sending him flying backwards. More feathers swarmed him, pinning him to the ground as Hawks pulled out of his dive and hit him with all his strength.

The Hero Killer's head jerked backwards, but he recovered quickly. His sword glinted in the moonlight as he slashed at the feathers holding him down with impossible speed and precision, managing to get free without cutting himself in the process.

"Another one," The Hero Killer hissed, eyes burning with deadly intensity. "What is it with you pretend heroes tonight. You can't stop me from killing those fakes!"

He lunged at Hawks, sword raised to skewer him, but Midoriya got there first, bouncing from one wall to the other to get around Hawks, before springing off another and ramming himself into Stain. They collided with the wall of one of the buildings on the opposite side of the alley, shattering it with the force of the impact. As they fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs and sharp steel, Stain leaned forward to lick at one of Midoriya's wounds. A feather pieced his tongue and lodged itself into the side of the wall before he could.

Screaming in agony, Stain grabbed Midoriya's head and slammed it against the wall before releasing him. Midoriya slumped to the ground, dazed, as Stain ripped out the feather from his tongue and crushed it in his hand.

A chill ran down Hawks spine as Stain stepped toward him, blood running down his face from his forehead and mouth. Hawks blinked and Stain was gone, darting toward him with such speed that it was almost impossible to follow his movements. Almost.

As Stain flashed into existence in front of him, sword swinging down towards his chest, Hawks called two of his primary feathers, the longest that he had, to his hand just in time to counter Stain's attack.

Stain spat a glob of blood to one side and grinned, the edges of his mouth and chin painted red.

They clashed over and over in a blur of movement, slashing, ducking, blocking, and dodging back and forth as Midoriya and Todoroki hovered in anticipation. Hawks and Stain were moving so fast they couldn't attack without risking hitting Hawks, so they were left to wait for an opening.

However, despite being a match for Stain's speed, Hawks was quickly outmatched in raw skill and strength. As Hawks leapt up to avoid a slashing blow aimed at his feet, Stain hit him in the shoulder with a dagger. Off balance, Hawks twisted out of the way just in time to avoid being stabbed in the side, wings stretching out to protect him from a blow that probably would have taken off his head in the process.

As Stain's sword clanged harshly against Hawk's hardened feathers, Midoriya sprang into action. He landed on Hawks's left wing and punched Stain in the face, sending the man wheeling backwards. With a grunt, Hawks twisted around and flapped his wings, sending Midoriya hurtling toward Stain. He shot up into the air and sent a barrage of feathers shooting for Stain's head as the man edged backwards to dodge Midoriya, cutting him off.

"Todoroki!" Hawks shouted, propelling Midoriya forward with a handful of feathers.

In the split second before Midoriya hit him, ice crawled up Stain's legs, trapping him in place as Midoriya pulled his fist back and punched the man right in the stomach. His quirk's strength combined with the force of his momentum sent the Hero Killer crashing backwards with devastating force. He rolled to a stop at the back of the alley and stayed there, unmoving.

They waited a long moment, but when Stain didn't so much as twitch, Hawks and Midoriya edged forward. Kneeling down cautiously, Hawks tapped Stain's face, searching for signs of consciousness. When he didn't so much as twitch, Hawks checked the man's pulse. "He's out."

Midoriya sighed in relief and sagged into Hawks, who caught him and wrapped an arm around him to keep him upright. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Just peachy," Hawks responded, helping Midoriya out of the alley and back towards Todoroki, Iida and Native. Native, who had finally recovered from his paralysis, gave them a rope and soon they had Stain tightly secured after searching him for weapons.

Todoroki was holding his arm to his chest as Hawks and Midoriya dragged Stain to the mouth of the alley, looking as if he was about ready to fall over. "Backup should be here soon."

"Hawks, you came too," Iida said, closing his eyes. "Why…?"

"I figured you guys had probably gone off on your own and gotten in trouble, so I came as fast as I could," Hawks said, helping Midoriya check Iida over for injuries. "We need to get you to a doctor."

"You shouldn't have come! Do you realize the trouble we'll all be in for using our quirks?" Iida bit his lips, tears of frustration running down his face. "The three of you weren't supposed to get caught up in this!"

"Well, we were, so stop complaining about us saving your life!" Midoriya said hotly. "I still have a lot of stuff to say to you."

"I don't pretend to know much about having friends," Hawks said slowly as he and Midoriya leaned against each other in a mutual attempt to stay upright. "But friends are supposed to help each other, right? So, as heroes, it goes double for us. Just because you were stupid and reckless and went off on your own doesn't mean that you don't deserve our help."

Iida bowed his head and looked away, tears brimming in his eyes.

Sighing, Hawks ran a hand through his hair and inspected his shoulder. The wound was bleeding sluggishly and the dagger was still protruding from his shoulder, making any movement painful. He didn't dare pull out the knife without proper medical equipment though, so in it stayed. The blood loss was starting to make him a bit woozy, but at least he was still on his feet. A glance at the others revealed that none of them had fared much better.

If this is what having friends was like, no wonder the Commission was so against it; Hawks had almost had a heart attack when he'd seen Iida and Midoriya motionless on the ground, with the Hero Killer bearing down on Todoroki.

"It's troublesome," Todoroki said, brows furrowed. At the confused looks from the others, he offered a small smile. "Having friends."

Hawks smiled back. "Yeah, especially with friends like these!"

"Hey! You're just as bad as I am," Midoriya said, actually pouting.

"Really? I haven't broken all my bones trying to use my quirk," Hawks said.

"I didn't break all my bones," Midoriya protested. "Besides, you broke almost as many bones as I did during USJ."

"Okay, but not on purpose—oh, look. Isn't that-" Hawks grimaced as Gran Torino jumped into the air and kicked Midoriya in the face.

More pros arrived as Gran Torino was winding down on his angry reprimands of the four of them. Hawks grit his teeth and wondered if he should have tried to escape before the pros had come. There would be no keeping the Hero Commission in the dark about his actions now. His phone buzzed as Midoriya was lambasted by Gran Torino with several urgent texts from Best Jeanist, who was urgently asking Hawks where he had gone. Hawks drummed his fingers on the phone and weighed his options.

He was still formulating his response when the crowd parted to reveal an irate Best Jeanist. Hawks tried to hide a wince; the hero hadn't looked so angry even after Bakugo's antics.

"Hiya!" Hawks chirped brightly, mind already spinning possible excuses. "Would you believe me if I said I went to the bathroom and got lost?"

Best Jeanist didn't say anything, glower softening slightly at the sight of everyone's injuries. "How badly are you injured?" He demanded, reaching out toward Hawks.

Hawks flinched away from Best Jeanist's outstretched hand, body anticipating a blow even though his mind knew that Best Jeanist probably wouldn't hit him in such a public location. An unreadable look flashed across the hero's face to quickly for Hawks too grasp, and Best Jeanist lowered his hand.

"Hold still," Best Jeanist said, none of the previous anger evident in his tone. He checked Hawks over for injuries with far more gentleness than Hawks had ever received from anyone with the Commission and seemed genuinely concerned about his wellbeing. "How are you feeling? Any dizziness or light headedness?"

Hawks swallowed hard, a strange mix of emotions he couldn't name hitting him. "A little. It's just a flesh wound."

"Good," Best Jeanist said, looking genuinely relieved. "You are going to the hospital and once you're treated, we are going to have a very, very long chat. You are in so much trouble."

"Oh, I know," Hawks murmured, spotting a hero who worked with the Commission in the crowd of heroes. "How did you get here so fast?"

"I was always going to come," Best Jeanist said, glaring at him again. "After alerting the heroes on the ground to the text you received and the fact that you ran off by yourself, we coordinated with the other heroes on the scene to ensure an effective response. I believe we left a few minutes after you did."

Glancing away with a guilty wince, Hawks found himself wishing he could disappear into the ground. Hawks had still arrived far before the other pro-heroes and Todoroki might have been severely injured if he hadn't arrived in time, so he couldn't bring himself to feel too bad about running off. That didn't mean he wasn't terrified about the consequences, though.

"Will they expel us?" Hawks blurted, wings twitching agitatedly. He could feel his anxiety slowly building up but forced himself to ignore it.

"UA won't expel you," Best Jeanist said, patting Hawks' uninjured shoulder. "I hope you know how lucky you are to be alive after going up against the Hero Killer."

Hawks opened his mouth to answer when a shiver ran down his spine, body tensing unconsciously. His eyes darted to the sky as a shadowed figure swooped down toward Midoriya.

He was moving before he could think about it. The creature reached for Midoriya, but Hawks got there first, twin feathers held in his hands like swords and fiery red wings spread out protectively as dozens of feathers slammed into the creature, cutting it to ribbons. The Nomu shrieked in pain as the twin feather blades pierced it's skin, but Hawks wasn't done. He leaped up and plunged the feather into Nomu's remaining eye, driving the feather down until the creature gave one final, cut off scream and went limp and fell to the ground.

Hawks blinked and pulled back, the feather he'd used stained with blood and ichor, and stumbled back half a step into Midoriya. From all sides, he could feel the eyes of the stunned heroes burning into his back, but he ignored them and turned to face Midoriya. It took him a second to realize what he'd done and what the consequences would be, terror bubbling up from deep inside him.

Too much. You showed too much. No first-year student should have been able to intercept that thing, they'll know something's wrong, they'll know you're not what you seem. The Commission will—don't think about it now, don't think about it, get it together! He shoved down the wild swirl of emotions and forced himself to turn toward Midoriya.

"You alright?" He asked, voice strangely detached. Had the temperature gone up? Hawks rubbed his forehead, feeling strangely dizzy and unattached to his own body.

They're going to know and kick you out of school. You just had to keep a low profile and now look what you've done. Once the Commission gets their hands on you, they'll send you to Corrections—Hawks chest tightened, and it was suddenly hard to breathe.

"Uh—uh," Midoriya's mouth was hanging open in astonishment as he stared at Hawks.

Gran Torino dashed over to them, looking equally shocked. "Are you two okay?"

"I think I'm going to have a panic attack," Hawks's said honestly, his knees wobbling.

Many things happened after that, but Hawks was too busy not breathing to notice. Someone must have done something to try and help though, because the minute he was finally able to breathe in, something sweet hit his nose and his panic left him as quickly as his consciousness.

Here's part 2 a little early! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

What did you think of the fight? I had a lot of fun writing and rewriting it.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think :) I should have the next chapter out sometime next week.