Chapter 32: His Comeback
"I see nine."
"Nine?! What do they look like?"
"Scrawny. Here, see for yourself," Kitty says, taking Hawks' hand and phasing their heads through the wall.
Hawks scans the dingy, open two story warehouse filled with mounds of stolen goods. As Kitty described, nine unimpressive villains scurried to sort their latest loot. They said there were ten. Where's the tenth-?
Anger cuts through the silent scuttle of the nine working villains. Hawks follows the roaring voice and finds a pair of red eyes moving towards the other nine.
"Don't you dare drop that! It's valuable!" A tall, bulky silhouette appears from the opposite wall of Kitty and Hawks. His grandiosity is emphasized compared to the other nine's rickety statures.
"Yes, sir. Sorry sir." One of the nine replies.
The booming silhouette charges the apologetic villain and throws him against the wall. The light gleaming in from the windows is just enough for Kitty and Hawks to catch the menacing grimace on the villain's elongated face and bison horns protruding from his temples.
The thrown villain ricochets off the wall, barely missing the burley villain's head, shattering a mound of crystal tableware behind him. Kitty and Hawks frantically phase their heads back outside the building.
"Holy shit!" Hawks exclaims.
"I know, right?! He's, like, a total maniac! And that bouncy ball dude is totally awesome!"
"So the burley bull leader has anger issues. We know one of the other nine's quirks is some kind of rubber quirk that is actually is quite a bit more dangerous than it first appeared. We have to assume each of the other eight villains have equally as subtle-but-dangerous quirks. Somehow these nine other villains are extremely loyal to this guy despite him being a complete ass. This might be more of a battle of wits than might, which is definitely to our advantage."
"There are ten of them, Hawks! Like, we're two people."
"Hey, where's that faith you had in me an hour ago? I'm the number 2 hero here! Just look at how much chaos Asshole caused just because of his temper. We just have to get under his skin a little bit and he'll do the destruction on his own."
"So, what are we going to do, use your wings as a red blanket and pretend to be a matador so he'll break a bunch of stuff?" Kitty gestures as if holding a blanket for a bull. "Ole, Hawks!"
"Nice try, gatito. Are ya tryin' to stick me with more paperwork? Na uh. We need to recover this stuff intact if possible so we can return it to the owners."
"So, like, what's the plan then?"
"Simple. We use his temper to our advantage. Just follow my lead and we'll be enjoying celebratory chicken yakitori in no time."
"Wait, how is that any different from what I just said?!"
"You'll see, Kit-Kat. Kurt would be perfect for this. I wish he was here."
"Why not get the police involved again?"
"They are on stand-by until we restrain the villains. Then I'll give them word when it's safe for them to arrive."
I can't tell her what real reason they assigned me this mission. I need play this smart.
.***** **** *****.
"... and, please, be careful. Lean on Deku for his knowledge of Musutafu City. I have briefed you with as much as I could gather, and, admittedly, it's not much. Work together and be diligent. There's no telling what kind of mess Keigo is in right now."
"Thanks, Professor. We will find him. We are just as worried about him as you are." Jean says as she hangs up her phone.
Moments later, Logan lands the Velocity Jet next to the X-Jet in an open field about two miles away from the city.
"Wow, surprisingly your boyfriend didn't trash it." Scott says to Jean.
"First, Scott, he's not my boyfriend, and second, you're being a douche bag so I'm not even going to entertain that comment." Jean turns to Deku.
"Do you have any ideas where they would be? I can scan that area in search of Hawks." says Jean.
"They were outside the HPSC building when we saw them on TV, and I can get you there. The problem, though, is Hawks can cover a ton of ground in a very short period of time and our hero work covers all of Japan. There is no way for me to tell you where he is now."
"Can't you just go ask the HPSC?" Scott asks.
"Unfortunately, sir, it's not that easy. We're going to have to get creative to center in on his location." Turning to Jean, Deku continues. "How large of a distance can you scan at one time, ma'am?"
"I like the way you think, Deku. Let's get to work." Jean responds with Scott sulking in the background. "We're going to find them. I have a feeling they need us."
.***** **** *****.
Hawks crouches into the shadows of the catwalk. Perfect placement. I have a great view of the whole area and am completely out of sight.
Moments later his com-link crackles to life as Kitty phases into the building and then into the large shipping container a few feet away.
*Ugh, it's, like, 100 degrees in here and totally smells like mothballs and armpits. I feel like I'm in a cross between hell and Kurt's room. Why do you get the good spot?*
*Glad to hear you feel at home, Kit Kat.*
*I despise you right now.* she jokes.
*Hey, you told me to make the plan. Next time you make it if you want to control where you're going. Seriously, though, other than gross, is it going to work for what we need? Is there enough room?*
*It's, like, pitch black in here so I can't really see anything, but it seems to be empty. I'll walk around it to see if there are any ropes or anything we can use*
*Tap* *Tap*
The two villains sorting a pile of stolen goods a couple feet from the shipping container look alarmed and begin walking towards it.
*Kitty, stop! They can hear you!* Hawks hisses *Stay where you are. I'm going to send you some rope I found up here. Phase it through.*
As Hawks sends the rope to Kitty, he sends another feather towards a rat in the corner his wings had been sensing since he and Kitty first arrived.
Corralling the rat towards the shipping container, it scurries towards the villains.
"You dumbass!" The first villain says to the other. It was just that damn rat. Get back to work before the boss sees us off task."
"Hey, you heard it too! Don't blame me!"
As the two villains continue their arguing, Kitty whispers into the com-link.
Okay, that was impressive, but I'm totally making the plans next time. You're getting all the fun while I sit here and try not to sweat to death.*
Hawks chuckles as the feather that corralled the rat returns to him. With confidence in his wings increasing, Hawks sends another feather across the warehouse to Bison's office, wedging it between the doorframe. Bison's phone conversation comes through crystal clear.
"Three hours?" The villain says to the person on the other line. "There's no way we can finish by then-
Yes sir-
Okay, sir.
We'll have it ready for you."
*CLICK*
Hawks hears Bison get up from his seat with a grunt, quickly retracting his feather, hopefully unnoticed.
*Kitty, lets move. We've got less than 3 hours before the truck comes. We can't afford slip ups or this mission's a bust. We've got to get this show on the road.*
*Roger, Captain Hawks.*
While Kitty and Hawks crouch back into position for their first attack, the Bison heads back to his desk and makes a call. "I just saw a red flag. Get your asses here as soon as you can." He says to the villain on the other line.
.***** **** *****.
"I still can't get a signal. We're going to have to get more precise on his approximate locations or we're never going to find them-"
"Oh, there's no way we're that lucky." Scott cuts in.
Jean rolls her eyes, then continues. "Deku, are you sure there isn't anything we can glean from the news clip?"
"Let's watch it one more time."
"Wait! Go back about ten seconds."
"Right there!" He says, pointing to a group of three bystanders outside the HPSC. "The one with the bull horns! I've seen him before on the news. He's a villain, and a very dangerous one at that. What was he doing outside of the HPSC?"
"Nice catch, Green-bean." Logan says. "And the way they are standing, it looks like they didn't want to be noticed."
"Deku what do you know about this villain?" Jean asks.
"He is wanted for multiple robberies and is known to leave a bloodbath in his path. No hero has been able to catch him and his gang and he has injured many civilians and heroes over the last few years."
"Do you know where he operates?" Kurt asks.
"Historically, he seems to work in abandoned buildings and warehouses. Ms. Jean, I will give you all such locations. Let's narrow our search to that for now."
"What's with Hawks always needing a girl to save him?" Scott asks.
Ignoring Scott's comment, Jean jumps into the seat next to Deku. "Let's do this! First, can you get a list of Hawks' favorite places to go. We'll send Kurt and Scott to those places to ask around town. Meanwhile, Logan can stay here and help us locate Hawks and Kitty."
.***** **** *****.
*SWOOSH*
Hawks' feathers encircle the two arguing villains still working next to the shipping container. Tying them together with a rope, two feathers zip in to cover their mouths, quivering at the feeling of the villains' breath.
Hooking his feathers through the two villains' clothes, Hawks shoots them towards the shipping container.
Right on queue, Kitty swiftly reaches out of the container to intercept the villains and phases them through.
*Hey you're, like, right, Hawks! This is going to be a walk in the park. Two down, eight to go, and the other goons have no idea that two of them missing. I can't wait to try this yakitori you keep bragging about.*
*What did I tell you, kit-Kat. Easy sailing. Just gotta have faith in me. Ready for attack number two?*
*It's bouncy ball time!*
As the feathers return to his wings, Hawks sends another one across the room to where Rubber is carefully examining a China set.
*YELP*
The Rubber villain jumps backwards into a pile of yet-to-be-sorted loot.
*CRASH*
*Ah shit, paperwork just tripled* Hawks whispers. *hopefully this is worth it and shows us these other villain's quirks.*
As anticipated, Rubber activates his quirk to break his fall and avoid additional broken crystal.
*ZZZIP*
Hawks' feather reverses Rubber's trajectory, catapulting him across the room towards a tall, slender villain. Within milliseconds of being hit, the villain drops to the ground, transforming into a snake, and begins slithering towards Bison's office.
Rubber's trajectory continues, hitting the adjacent wall and bouncing towards Bison's office door.
I'll go left you take right." A boy orders his twin as they race towards the chaos.
"Just because your older doesn't mean you can boss me around!" the girl snaps back as they run on opposite sides of the bouncing villain with blue and green sparks of electricity illuminating between them.
The Rubber man bounces between the two younger villains as the electrical current zig-zags him left to right. The smell of burning rubber fills the room.
*THUMP*
Hawk' head whips around to see the very angry Bison standing outside his office.
The villain hits the wall, bouncing off in the direction a pile of valued loot. Another villain bravely reaches out her hand to touch the bouncing villain. Upon contact, Bouncy slows to about half speed.
Hawks begins to count over the com-link -
*One Mississippi, two Mississippi,...
The Slowdown villains scurry to build up a wall of less valuable merchandise to contain Bouncy.
*...-Nine Mississippi, ten Mississippi *
*ZZZCHUNG*
Rubber's speed increases again, missing the wall the villains tried to hard to put together, and heading straight for the crystal.
*ZZZIP*
Hawks fires some feathers at Rubber, catching him and the other villain within inches of touching a pile of diamonds. Hawks shoots them, just like the other two villains, straight to the shipping container.
Kitty flawlessly executes, phasing through the other two villains.
*Okay, we have Bison, Rubber, Snake, Positive and Negative, and Slowdown. Rubber and three other villains with unknown quirks are stuck in the shipping container which leaves us with only one we don't know anything about just- Ah shit! Kitty, get out of there! She's running straight towards you!*
Hawks sends a feather to stop the running villain, who, to his surprise, runs right through it.
Oh fuck.
*Kitty, we may have a huge problem. Looks like she has the same type of quirk as you.*
*What-?!*
*THUD*
Kitty's words are cut short as she and the villain collide.
*Kitty?!*
Hawks screams as Positive and Negative begin sprinting towards the storage container and Kitty.
*Hold them off, Kitty! We can't let them get to that storage container, or, even worse, lock us in there with four bloodthirsty villains without a way out.*
The sound of Kitty's hand-to-hand combat fills the room.
"Hawks, you coward!" Bison bellows from across the warehouse. "Show yourself! What kind of hero hides in the catwalks while a kid fights his battles?!"
Hawks stands into the light from the nearest kwindow. The shadow of his outstretched wings casts over the floor below him.
"Interesting words coming from someone who sits in his office all day while he lets his nine grunts do his dirty work. I think the media is wrong about you. You're not half the villain you think you are."
"Less talk, you damn parakeet!"
*Hawks! I need your help!*
Without breaking eye contact with Bison, Hawks fires a few feathers towards Kitty to surround her and her counterpart villain.
*Keep your focus on the fight with that phaser. I'll cover.*
Hawks stares down the five villains before him, fierce wings posed ready to fight. No backing down now.
.***** **** *****.
"This is pointless." Scott says walking out of restaurant with Kurt after another dead end. "No one has seen either them. We should just regroup with Jean and the others and see if they got a lead. This is a waste of time."
"What do you have against Hawks? Like, it seems like you really don't care whether or not we find him."
"I don't dislike him, I just... "
"Scott, you have an out for him. We all see it. Is it because of Jean-"
Kurt chokes on his words when he sees a black feathered student walking towards them.
"You know what they say about birds of a feather?" Scott smirks.
"Last ditch effort before we head back to the group with a goose egg?"
"I'm really starting to hate birds, Kurt. Do we have to?"
After a couple minutes of conversation, Scott calls into the telepath link.'Jean we're on our way, and we're bring someone with us.'
.***** **** *****.
*Crash*
Hawks winces as he sits up on the pile of shattered glass beneath him.
"Ooops.. hehe my bad you didn't need those, did you?" Hawks holds up a broken diamond studded vase. The Bison charges Hawks again.
As Bison hurls himself towards Hawks, he launches into the air, leaving Bison charging into yet another mound of loot.
*SPLAT*
The sound of Bison hitting the wall echoes through the warehouse.
Hawks whistles. "Too slow! You gotta be faster than that to catch me -
- Whoa!"
Hawks swerves to avoid a lunging snake.
With his wings throbbing, Hawks looks again towards the storage container. Every minute that ticks by highlights his current physical limitations.
*ZAP*
Hawks ducks, barely missing positive and negative's attack.
"I'll show you a charge!" Hawks exclaims as he prepares to fire four feathers to counter their next strike.
*PZZZZT*
*CRASH*
*THUD*
Hawks lies on the ground, looking up at the two story ceiling and the catwalks he so confidently crouched in before the attack. His eyes begin to drift shut. My wings. They're toast.
"His fortress is down! Get the girl! I'll finish him off." Hawks hears the Bison bark.
Flashes of Rogue fall onto his closed eyelids. This guy's a liability. He recalls Scott saying. "OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Hawks screeches.
Pushing off his back foot, he grabs a broomstick, breaks it in half, then shoots towards the villains with one half of the broomstick in each hand.
"You're going to have to do better than that!" Bison bellows, charging back at the winged hero.
Hawks dodges Bison, lunging towards the goons with the broomsticks outstretched.
"GAH!" Wails the girl twin as the broomstick loges into her shoulder, pinning her to the wall.
*Kitty, run towards the shipping container!*
*I'm- a little- BUSY!*
*Listen to me! Run!*
Kitty sprints towards the container. Out of the corner of her eyes, she sees the electrical twins on either side of her preparing to fire.
*FLASH*
Kitty feels the zap of electricity right behind her.
SHRIEK*
Whipping around, Kitty sees her counterpart suspended in the air between positive and negatives charges, negating all three of their powers.
*Three to go!* Kitty exclaims, sprinting to help Hawks.
"EEP!" she cries out, collapsing.
"Kitty!" Hawks gasps, glimpsing quickly behind him to see blood gushing out from where porcupine quills are lodged in Kitty's leg. Hawks follows the path from the quills-
*Oh fuuuuck. Kitty, we're surrounded.*
Seven new and very angry villains surround the warehouse and begin closing in on kitty and Hawks.
Kitty tries to scramble to her feet, only to fall back down.
-Hawks' flashback-
"Hawks, snap out of it. You are one of the best strategists I've ever met. You may not have your quirk but we've totally got this. We just have to work together."
"I don't want you to turn out like Rouge. I'd rather die than see another one of my friends get hurt."
"Then let me in on what we are doing so that doesn't happen."
-end of flashback-
If I don't start relying on her, we're both going to end up dead.
Hawks races towards her as his last functional feathers shoot from his wings to protect Kitty.
Kitty, I need you to keep watch for anything and anybody about to hit either of us. Phase us through everything.*
After minutes of Hawks' successful hand-to-hand combat with Kitty protecting offenses towards them, the plan takes a turn for the worse. Kitty misses phasing them through the snake villain's attack.
Coiling his body around Hawks' arms, wings, and torso, Snake begins constricting.
"Kitty!"
Shuffling towards him in an army crawl, Kitty's progress is hindered when hit by the Slow-Down quirk about ten feet away from Hawks.
Hawks begins counting down from 10 as he feels the air leaving his body. Ten seconds is all the time the slowdown quirk functions. Just... hold... on.
10- 9 - 8 - Hawks looks to the left, seeing one of the new villains preparing for their next strike on him-
-7 -6 - Hawks looks to his right, where kitty is essentially frozen in time as three villains surround her
-5 - 4 - 3 - Hawks looks forward to see Bison, red with fury at all the broken merchandise surrounding them, preparing to deliver Hawks' final blow
-2 - Hawks closes his eyes. I guess this is the end. I really am a failure.
Whoosh!*
"ARRGH!"
A blast of wind knocks Bison to the ground.
"Dark Shadow!" a familiar voice rings through air.
"On it!"
Hawks opens his eyes to a black-purple sentient-being surrounding him.
Snake uncoils under Dark Shadow's force, dropping Hawks to the ground.
His eyes dart upwards to the catwalks. Logan, Scott, Kurt, Deku, Jean and "Tsukuyomi." Hawks exhaled as the group brakes apart.
Hawks pushes himself off the ground.
"Fan out!" Hawks orders.
Deku and Kurt race over to Kitty, where the three villains are surrounding her. Log-rolling, she phases herself through one of the villains and pushes herself up to her feet, overcoming the pain of the quills still in her legs.
Logan jumps down to fight two villains running towards the catwalk ladders. "You're dealin with me now." He says to them.
At the same time Jean, Scott, and Hawks' loyal intern shoot towards Hawks.
"Kitty!" SMASH! Deku knocks a villain off his feet and colliding him with two other goons.
Deku skids to a halt in front of Kitty as Kurt pops up behind him. They stand on either side of her as crutches.
"About time." She says.
"Stay alert we aren't in the clear yet." Deku says as the villains again charge the three teens.
"Never send a boy to do a man's job!" Scott exclaims, charging towards Bison.
"Cyclops watch out!" Jean shouts as a fiery energy ball shoots from a nearby villain's body.
Scott dives to the ground, barely missing the attack by a hair. Hawks' head whips around to see Bison charging Scott.
Once.. more... just one more time! Don't let them down!
A streak of red shoots towards Scott. Colliding with the rampaging bull, Hawks bounces off Bison, then again off another villain that was charging Hawks from behind. Hawks hits the ground, and right before his world goes black, he hears Jean running to him.
"Hawks!"