Alright, the cost is clear."
Suddenly, the teen who just a moment ago seemed to be out cold sprang up with a sudden burst of energy. Briefly taking a moment to stretch their limbs, the teenager quickly covered themselves in a veil of gray slime which engulfed their being for a moment before harmlessly dissolving. As the slime subsided, it revealed a familiar head of ash-blonde hair.
Himiko Toga smiled as she returned to her normal form, turning to look at Hawks. "So, what do we do now?" Himiko asked as she adjusted her scarf.
Curling his wings inward to clean them, Hawks didn't turn to face her, instead pulling out a communicator.
"Now, we wait until Spinner can get here..." Hawks muttered as he leaned against the wall. He knew that both him and Twice were resting after their latest task, which Hawks himself had helped with. . .
𝘈 𝘍𝘦𝘸 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳. .
"So why did the doctor need 𝘶𝘴 to get this thing?"
"I don't know man, but we can't stop now. So keep pulling, lizard."
"I told you not to call me that. It's Spinner!"
Spinner groaned as he pulled from the front while Twice pushed from behind. The two villains had been tasked with receiving a "package" for Dr. Hetodah, which was proving to be easier said than done.
For one, they not only had to receive the "package" itself, but they also then had to bring it back all the way to the League of Villains' hideout, on foot. It didn't help that they were forced to take a detour in order to avoid being spotted by either civilians or any heroes on patrol. So, the two were now marching through a forested area outside of Musutafu while carrying a container which weighed at least a couple hundred pounds.
Neither of the villains had a clue as to why the damn thing was so heavy, but it was too late to question it now. All they could do was continue dragging the large container towards their base and hope to reach it before nighttime.
As the two villains struggled, they heard the sound of something above them. Before either could question it, Spinner saw a red feather float down from the sky before landing in front of him. Following this, a familiar voice rang loudly throughout the trees.
"Well, well. If it isn't Spinner! I'd say it's nice seeing you again, but the last time we met was under very unfortunate circumstances."
As both villains glanced towards the source of the voice, Twice's eyes widened in joy underneath his mask at who he saw.
"Hawks!" Twice exclaimed happily before leaping forwards, leaving Spinner to smash to the ground thanks to the extra weight without any additional support.
Hawks smirked at his friend's response. "Nice to see you as well, Twice." he greeted.
Turning around, Hawks looked over at the struggling reptile, a small smirk appearing at the edges of his mouth. "What are you doing all the way out here, hm?"
Spinner glared at the winged hero.
"Tch, the doc ordered us to get this stupid package." He answered, glaring daggers at Hawk. Unlike Twice, he wasn't particularly close to Hawks. As far as he was concerned, their relationship was purely business, something Hawks had no problem with.
Not focusing on his comrade's annoyance, Twice instead looked towards his partner, worry filling his eyes. "How are things going on your end? Did everything go fine with the plan?"
Taking a step back, Hawks sighed. "We're all ready on our end, we're just waiting for you two to get back."
Twice turned his focus back onto his coworker.
"Well, we're just bringing this thing back now. Think you could give us a hand?"
Hawks nodded. "Yeah, no problem."
Without another word, Hawks flew up as Spinner reoriented himself and grabbed the front of the container, while Twice kept his hold on the back. Finally, Hawks hovered down and grabbed the container from the center, keeping himself afloat with his crimson wings. Together, the three villains set off once again, though now at a much quicker pace thanks to Hawks.
Roughly an hour later, the trio arrived back at the League's hideout. There waiting for them were Dr. Hetodah and Kurogiri. Finally at their destination, the group put the container down as Spinner and Twice both dropped to the ground in exhaustion. Upon seeing Hawks and the others with his "package", Dr. Hetodah couldn't help but smile excitedly.
"Ahh, my friends. I'm glad you made it safely. Thank you for coming so quickly. And thank you Hawks for assisting."
The Avian Pro Hero nodded, giving Hetodah a curt nod before walking over and helping Twice drag the container around to the backside of the building. Neither of them still had any clue what was inside, and they were slightly nervous.
"Hawks," Twice started. "What do you think is in here?" The masked man turned to his friend, noting that he could see Hawks' eyes narrow even under the visor that he wore.
"I don't know, but whatever it is it has to be important," Hawks stated sternly, causing the purple tinted villain to fall silent.
Hawks and Twice eventually managed to bring the container to the back of the abandoned bar which was their base, noting that now there was an extra room.
"Just drag it into there, please." Hetodah requested, pointing at the door. The villains did as they were told and walked into the dark room. The only source of light was a computer sitting on a desk which dimly illuminated the room. In the corner of the room, Himiko Toga was spinning in a chair as she held onto a magazine as she listened to music through her ears. She jumped when she noticed that the door had opened and turned to greet them. Once Twice and Hawks entered the room, Dr. Hetodah and Kurogiri followed behind, with Kurogiri closing the door behind him.
"What took so long?!" Himiko asked as she hopped out of her chair.
Hawks frowned as he spoke to her, "We had to take a slight detour, but everything went smoothly." His gaze then shifted to the container which the other two were currently lugging across the room.
"Now then doctor, what's with the new addition?" He questioned as he gestured to the container, which Twice and Spinner had managed to place on top of the desk. A small grin spread across the doctor's face as he lifted the front of the container open. Inside, the contents were covered in a layer of thick cloth. Looking up, he motioned for all of them to move closer.
Looking among themselves, the villains began slowly stepping forward until they were directly infront of the doctor. They each gave different expressions of confusion. For a moment, Hawks hesitated to approach the container. But he gritted his teeth as he stared hard at the obscured contents inside the container.
"What's this...?" He finally inquired.
Turning his head to the side, Dr. Hetodah flashed a wicked grin towards the "hero", who scowled as his hands clenched tightly against each other. "Consider it an old friend, I'm sure you all remember him."
With those words, Hetodah signaled for Kurogiri to remove the cloth which obscured the containers contents. However, what he uncovered caused everyone to gasp as their eyes widen in shock.
Even Hawks couldn't believe what he saw, especially when the object was revealed. It wasn't an object; it was a body. Its dark skin illuminated by the dim light of the computer screen while the thing's scarred body rested on its back, the most obvious damage being a large hole in its sternum which exposed several ribs and some of the organs within its body. Despite the damage the body was in, Hawks knew that this wasn't some random human being; this thing was the real deal.
After a short moment of silence, Spinner broke the silence.
"Doc. . Is this?"
"Yes, it is," answered Hetodah calmly. Turning back to the group, he smiled.
"My friends, allow me to re-introduce you to the Colossaeus."
𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦
Hawks opened his eyes as he finished recalling the sight of the beast. Normally the Hero wasn't one to be frightened, but this thing. . disturbed him. He was brought back to the present when Toga leaned over the table in front of him, trying to catch his attention.
"So, are you gonna call Spinner or what?" She asked curiously.
"Eh?" Hawks mumbled to himself before recollecting himself. "Oh, right of course."
Clicking a button on his communicator, Hawks waited for a response. A few seconds passed with static before he heard Spinner's voice on the other line.
"Yo, Hawks. What's up?" Came his voice as soon as the line connected. "You guys ready?"
Hawks spoke through the device, a serious look on his face. "Yes. Toga and I are ready. We just need you to do reconnaissance and figure out which ward Noikari is in."
"Alright, sounds like a plan. I'll call you back when I find him."
"Got it. Good luck."
On the other end, Spinner ended the call as he got up from where he was currently situated, in a dark sewer tunnel. Slipping the communicator back into his pocket, the reptilian hobbled up a ladder which led to a manhole. Carefully pushing the cover off, Spinner crawled out from the sewer and back onto the street. Stepping out of the alleyway, he looked over to the hospital before walking over and putting a hand on the wall. Then with his other hand, he began to scale the building towards the rooftop of the hospital, moving swiftly to reach the spot he wanted. With the abilities of his Quirk 'Gecko', it was no real effort for him to climb to the top. Leaning his hands over the edge, he then put his hands on the wall once again, dragging his body over the building and allowing his feet to attach to the hard surface of the concrete. He then began to crawl back and forth, checking through every window all while remaining completely hidden. After several minutes, Spinner found his prize. Peering through the glass out of the corner of his eye, the villain watched as a nurse placed Noikari's battered body onto a bed, Eraser Head behind her as his face wore an unusual expression of concern.
Leaning away from the window, Spiner quickly pulled out his communicator once again and turned it on. Almost immediately, Hawks picked up on the other line.
"Hawks? I found him," Spinner remarked proudly, happy that he was the one to be helping his team. "He's on the third floor, room 3C5."
"Alright, keep us posted. Thanks Spinner."
Glad to know the location of their next objective, Hawks promptly hung up the communicator before turning to an unamused looking Himiko.
"So now what?" Toga asked with a raised eyebrow.
Hawks looked at his comrade, a dark grin spread across his face. "Now we wait."
Eraser Head sat quietly beside a bed, his eyes focused on a monitor that monitored Noikari's vitals. The nurses and doctors were busy running tests on their patient, taking notes and discussing what needed to be done to better repair his damaged rib cage, as well as to make sure the bones didn't break. After a few minutes, the doctors left to study their data, leaving Aizawa alone with Noikari's injured form. Aizawa would occasionally glance at the wall before returning to looking at his sleeping student's unconscious form. His fingers twitched ever so slightly, and the hero was about to grab the child's shoulder when suddenly the monitor began showing a steady pulse. Eraserhead glanced at it, watching it rise and fall. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the door behind him begin to open.
When he turned around, the teacher spotted Recovery Girl standing in front of the doorway, a worried expression etched upon her face. She had just finished assisting Izuku in his recovery and immediately rushed to the hospital. Shifting his gaze downwards, Aizawa caught Recovery Girls concerned gaze.
"Is he alright, Recovery Girl?" Eraser Head asked.
"The bone that was fractured has been fixed, but he will need to be on painkillers and fluids for the next couple hours as well as resting for at least a week."She replied softly. "I am not entirely sure how long he will have to remain here. But, it shouldn't be for more than a couple days.
Aizawa nodded. "Thank you..."Recovery Girl turned and began to walk back down the corridor, leaving Aizawa alone once more. He turned his gaze upwards again, watching the monitors carefully as he continued to stare at Noikari's unconscious form, glad to know that his student was going to be alright and as Eraserhead was about to turn his attention back to the child laying in the bed, his eyes met with a familiar pair of red pupils staring at him intently from the doorway.
It was Bakugo.
"Why are you here?" Aizawa questioned without any kind of emotion in his tone as he returned the blonde's glare. "You should be back in class."Bakugo simply scoffed at the teachers question before crossing his arms over his chest."I was coming to see if the kid was alright." He responded in an irritated voice. "Just. . . just to know."
Bakugo glanced down at the kid, seeing Noikari's pale face contorted into a frown as he struggled to breathe. As if sensing his students gaze, Aizawa moved his hand to grip Bakugos."It's only natural to worry about your classmate after he almost died twice." The teacher said flinched slightly as he felt the grip tighten upon his arm.
"Tch, I could care less about what happens to him!" Bakugo spat furiously.
"What happened earlier certainly seems to suggest that you still care enough to watch over him, but since you insist on doing such, please don't hesitate to let us know if anything changes. In case things get worse, we want to be prepared."
The blonde gritted his teeth before clenching his fists, glaring fiercely at the pro hero. For a brief moment, both men seemed to glare daggers at each other before Bakugo suddenly averted his glare to look away, averting the intense stare that threatened to burn into his skull. Without another word, the explosive teen walked past Eraser Head before exiting the room silently. As he exited the room, Eraserhead watched as the door shut loudly behind him, leaving him alone with the unconscious boy once again.
Taking another glance towards the monitor, the raven-haired man sighed and ran a hand tiredly across his face. Closing his eyes briefly, Aizawa figured that it would be best if he went back to UA, just in case there was an emergency. Looking down again at Noikari, Aizawa gently removed his hand from the young boy's arm and stood up slowly. As he opened the door, Aizawa peered over his shoulder to give a final glance at his protege. "Rest well, Noikari."
With those words, the teacher turned around and walked down the corridor, heading towards where he needed to go, hoping to leave behind any lingering thoughts that were occupying his mind.
𝘌𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘓𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳. .
Nighttime had fallen upon the City of Musutafu, casting its shadows over the large city skyline. The hospital was quiet, with only the soft whirs of machines and low chatter being heard. A lone doctor quietly walked down the corridors of the hospital, a clipboard in hand as he scanned some charts against it.
"Hello?" Came a voice which caused the doctor to stop in his tracks and look down the hallway. He stared intently down at the floor, unsure of what it was that he saw until...
"I think I may be ill," said a sickeningly sweet voice behind him. The doctor turned around slowly, his eyes widening at what he discovered. Standing there, facing him, was a frail-looking woman with black hair that was tied back into two buns atop her head. Behind the woman stood what appeared to be a tall blond man wearing a type of trench coat. The doctor noticed that they were holding something in their hands, but as he took closer observation, he realized that it was a cane.
"Um..." the doctor stammered weakly. "Are you alright ma'am?"
"I don't feel good." The woman replied in a sickly sweet voice. "I'm afraid that I might have contracted something awful."
The woman let out a small cough as she began to lean forward, gripping tightly onto the edge of the table before falling into the chair. Quickly, the doctor rushed over and knelt down on one knee, his hand moving towards the woman's arm to try and calm her. As his hand touched her flesh, he felt a strange sensation wash over him, like the world around them was spinning fast and violently. He looked back up, only to realize that everything within the hall was becoming blurry. Before the doctor knew it, he fell to the ground, lying face first on the cold tiled ground.
Toga morphed back into her regular self, her acting having paid off. Behind her, Hawks removed his trench coat and tossed it aside before walking over to his comrade.
"Was that really neccesary?" Hawks inquired, his voice low so that no one else could hear him.
Toga merely shrugged as she turned and started walking off. "I couldn't have him rat us out if he found out." She replied.
The bird hero shook his head before following the woman, doing his best to make sure that they weren't spotted by any of the doctors or patients. After what felt like hours, the two finally reached their destination.
Room 3C5; The ward Noikari was being held in.
Turning around briefly to make sure no one was around, Hawks nodded to Toga, giving the girl the go-ahead to open the door. Toga quickly pushed the door open, making a loud creaking sound when she did so. She waited patiently, listening for any sign that someone might be awake. After hearing nothing, the transforming villain quietly entered, Hawks right behind her. As they approached the bed, a quick peek confirmed what the villains were expecting: the patient was asleep, but not peacefully. No matter how peaceful the kid might appear to others, to them, Noikari was far too unpredictable to truly be described as a personable boy. He always held himself rigidly, never allowing anyone to get close to him.
They stopped in front of Noikari's bed, Toga glancing at the boy briefly before turning her gaze back over to Hawks.
"So how are we gonna do this? We didn't exactly prepare much for the plan." Toga whispered.
Hawks smirked confidently as he lifted a hand up into the air, placing his fingers together beneath his chin and tapping them lightly against his lip thoughtfully.
"We just need to carefully remove him from the bed without waking him. Then we'll take him back to base."
Toga smiled widely, happy to have such a simple, straightforward job assigned to them. "Alright then! Let's wake up Sleeping Beauty!"
As the villains approached Noikari's bed, Toga reached out and pulled the covers down to expose Noikari's face and body.
"He's breathing!" The female villain announced excitedly.
Hawks grabbed her by the shoulder, forcing Toga to face him as he angrily put a finger in front of his mouth, shushing her.
"Did you not here me when I said we need to be quiet?" He asked with a scowl.
Toga innocently cupped her hands in front of her mouth, now speaking in a hushed tone as if she only just now realized their mission.
"Oh, right. Sorry." She apologized, flashing the bird man a sheepish grin.
Hawks glared at the villain while removing his index finger before looking back down at his charge, who continued to sleep with a frown on his face.
"Come on, let's make it quick so we can get back."
The two got to work, pulling Noikari out of his bed gently. Thankfully the doctors had been able to treat most of Noikari's more severe injuries earlier in the day, so there were hardly any machines or other medical instruments in the room to keep him hooked up to any sort of equipment, save for the patient monitor which kept track of his vitals. It was tough, partly because they had to stop whenever they heard somebody walking down the corridor, but after a few minutes, the villains had successfully gotten Noikari out of bed. Hawks set the sleeping boy on the floor for a moment as he pulled out his communicator, preparing to call Kurogiri and have him open a Warp Gate for them.
Unfortunately, fate intervened.
Right as Hawks had pulled out the device and Toga had lifted Noikari onto her shoulders, they both froze as a blaring sound echoed throughout the entire hospital. A second later, a voice came over the intercom system saying:
"... This is an emergency warning: There is currently a villain loose inside the building. Please evacuate immediately!"
Hawks' eyes widened as the voice continued to repeat itself. "Shit. We've been found out! We need to hurry and get out!" He exclaimed urgently as he turned to Toga, who had dropped Noikari on accident. Thankfully, the boy still hadn't woken up. As the avian spy racked his brain at an escape, he heard numerous sets of footsteps approaching the room. Knowing that they only had seconds before that door was kicked down, Hawks improvised. Rushing over to the window, Hawks shattered it with a single punch, letting all the shards of glass fall outside into the pavement below. He then ran over to Toga and scooped her up with one arm. With the other, he grabbed the unconscious Noikari. Despite Toga's shouts, Hawks ignored them as he leapt straight through the window, briefly falling before his wings caught the wind and propelled him upwards. The only sound that could be heard was the screams of alarm from Toga as Hawks flew through the night sky.
The door to room 3C5 swung open as numerous guards swarmed the hospital room, guns drawn at the ready only to see that they were too late as the distant figure of Hawks became smaller and smaller in the distance until eventually disappearing entirely from sight.
The guards were silent for a moment, simply staring up at the hole in the ceiling, unable to comprehend how things had gone so terribly wrong so quickly. One of them broke the silence, clearing his throat.
"Well..." he murmured, turning around towards where the sound of commotion came from. "... Now what?"
After several minutes, Hawks finally felt himself beginning to tire, both from flying and from carrying the combined weight of Noikari and Toga. Seeing an empty park area surrounded by trees along the edges, Hawks flew towards the center where he landed, setting the two down softly on the grass next to each other. For a moment, Toga just quietly sat, trying to regain her bearings after the dizzying rush she had gone through moments ago.
A few minutes went by before a swirling portal appeared behind the duo, causing both Hawks and Toga to jump to their feet. They whipped around and saw that it was Kurogiri standing before them, the warp gate already fading away.
"Right on time." Hawks remarked sarcastically as the villain appeared, a large, purple warp gate appearing above his left shoulder.
"It would seem that our little excursion has come to an end." The mist villain informed, his eyes scanning the area. "Now, let us proceed back to the hideout."
Nodding, Hawks followed Kurogori through the Warp Gate, Toga doing the same after picking up the unconscious Noikari. A few seconds later, the portal closed, leaving the park silent once again.
The news of a break-in at the hospital spread like fire overnight. Within the hour, practically every news station in Musutafu broadcast the story over and over again, claiming that the police were investigating the incident and asking for help.
But they weren't the only ones.
Aizawa sat alone in the darkness, save for the glow of the television screen. He decided to stay the night at U.A. for reasons that would confuse most others. As he flipped through various channels, his attention kept drifting towards the clock hanging on the wall across from him. It read 1:00 AM. The man sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. Just another night on the job... He thought to himself. As he continued glossing through numerous stations, he eventually settled on simply turning on the news. Grabbing a bottle of water that sat on the table next to his couch, Eraserhead took a drink as the news broadcaster on screen began to explain about the recent break in.
"Panic in the city as a reported break-in at Musutafu's top hospital has taken everyone by surprise."
Aizawa perked up hearing this. Why would someone break into the hospital?
"The break-in was reportedly committed by at least two members of the nefarious League of Villains, and it is said that they had taken one of the patients from their ward and fled the building."
Aizawa frowned slightly. That wasn't good news. But he was still confused? Why would the League break into the hospital? Who could be there that would be so important to them?
The newscaster stopped his report for a moment as he was given a new piece of information.
"I see..." the reporter began, "That seems pretty peculiar."
Aizawa listened closely as the man continued talking.
"It appears that one of the hostages in question was a child. Apparently, the name of the patient they captured was Noikari, last name unknown."
Aizawa's water bottle fell out of his hands, its contents spilling onto the carpet beside him. He stared numbly ahead blankly for a long moment, mind racing, before jumping to his feet and rushing to turn the television off, tossing the remote aside and making sure he shut off the television completely. His movements were swift and violent, not even bothering to pick up his bottle before grabbing his capture weapon and hurrying out of the room. His brain was compromised by horrible thoughts.
No, no, no.
No.
Please don't let this be true...
His heart began to beat rapidly in his chest. No, this couldn't be happening. This couldn't be true.
Aizawa squeezed his eyes shut, his mind running wild. It couldn't be true. Not him... Not Noikari.
Kurogiri warped the group back to the League's hideout, where Dr. Hetodah was waiting for them. The scientist grinned when he saw the unconscious Noikari being carried by Toga as she walked up to join him and his associates inside the house.
"I see everything went smoothly." He commented calmly as he took the child from Toga's hands.
"Indeed," Hawks nodded. His gaze shifted slightly towards Dr. Hetodah, "So, what are your plans with the kid? I assume that you wish for him to join us."
Dr. Hetodah smirked. "That is exactly my intention."
"Oh?" Toga spoke up excitedly, grinning up at Kurogiri, "He'll be joining us?!"
"Naturally." Dr. Hetodah replied calmly, his eyes shining coldly in the dark of the underground lair. "That was the plan from the start. Even before those heroes took him from me." That last sentence from the doctor was filled with venom. The villain glanced back and forth between the group, his gaze finally resting back on Noikari.
"However... There's more than one way to skin an animal, you know."