At the Safety Commission headquarters, they were getting reports of Edgeshot's team's attack on the mountain villa.
"Team Edgeshot has taken the villa by surprise!"
"Squads are sealing off multiple enemy escape routes!"
Groups of smaller heroes were currently demolishing the secret entrances in the area. They were doing this so that none of the villains could escape and were forced to come out into the villa, or the bulk of their force was.
"The exits are blocked!"
"The villains can now only reach the service through the compound's main building!"
Underground Re-Destro and Trumpet were currently with a group of villains directly underneath the villa for a secret meeting. They were unaware of the hero attack above ground.
"It would appear that Mister Sceptic's regiment is tardy," said Re-Destro.
"I'm sure they arrived before they started," said Trumpet.
"Re-Destro!" a voice yelled frantically. "Emergency!"
"There's no need to shout," said Re-Destro calmly. "What's the problem?"
"We're about to begin an important meeting," Trumpet pointed out. "Please, don't interrupt."
"The heroes are attacking!" the man said.
They then suddenly felt the entire place shake.
"A ton of them!" he continued. "They're rushing the front gates head-on. The mansion is already half destroyed, and they've sealed off our escape routes! Things are looking bad. We're completely surrounded!"
Re-Destro's calm expression then suddenly vanished as his power activated in conjunction with the stress he was currently under.
Back on the surface, Cementoss was ripping apart the mansion while Chargebolt absorbed the vice-commander's electrical attack.
"I see, so you can absorb electricity and expel it," said the vice-commander. "However, that means you have a limit to how much you can absorb before you burn out."
He then pulled out several tasers and began charging himself with electricity, but before he had a chance to attack, Edgeshot jumped out in front of him. Edgeshot then turned into a piercing needle and punctured right through the vice commander and a group of villains.
He pulled himself together, and the villains fell to their knees, finding it difficult to breathe as Edgeshot punctured small holes in their lungs.
"I put a small hole in your lung," he explained. "Move about too much, and it could be fatal. Remain still, and you will soon heal."
Midnight then somersaulted into the fray and unleashed her pheromones across the wide area, using fans to spread them out even further. The moment the villains inhale the pheromones, they instantly collapse and fell asleep.
"Nighty night, naughty villains," she said.
Stormcutter then jumped in, swinging his blade, unleashing a powerful gust of wind that knocked a group of villains back.
"Damn, this is a mess! Hey, we need reinforcements right now!" a villain yelled. Then, suddenly, he found himself sinking into the ground. "What?! How?!"
It wasn't just him that was sinking over the whole group of villains beside him. This was caused by Mudman, who had softened the ground.
"Nice work, Mudman!" said Black Orca as he ran by.
"Whoa, thanks," said Mudman.
"I've got him," said a villain as he pulled himself out of the mud.
However, suddenly, mushrooms began to grow on him, and he wasn't alone as mushrooms appeared over all the villains. They suddenly found breathing difficult and began choking due to the spores coming from them.
"Mushrooms?"
"Leave the crowd control to Mudman, me and my army of mushrooms!" said Fungi.
"You've done us proud," said Black Orca. "Leave the rest of the pros. We'll hit them with everything we've got while they're stunned."
Twice, he was inside the villa, but he was being pinned down by Hawks, who had just revealed his true colours and feathers.
"Wait…" said Twice confused. "What's going on? Hawks?"
"I told the Safety Commission went to attack in code," Hawks explained.
He then began using his feathers; the sites through the bugs laced his wings, much to Sceptic's annoyance.
"Our strategy for this mission is overwhelmed with numbers," Hawks explained. "So obviously, I had to make sure you didn't have a chance to start doubting yourself. I needed to keep an eye on you at all times. 'Twice, bro, we should totally review before the meeting,' I'm not a bad actor, huh?"
"Hawks…" Twice tried, but Hawks held one of his feathers towards his face.
"Please, don't put up a fight," said Hawks. "I would like to keep you nice and safe until I hand you over to the police."
Twice, he looked as if he was in a state of shock, no doubt overwhelmed by Hawks' betrayal.
"Wait, hold on," he said. "This can't be right… no!"
Twice remembered when he brought Grimmel to the League, resulting in the death of Magna and the loss of Compress' arm. He blamed himself for that fiasco; now, he had just done something worse.
"Not again," he said as tears formed in his eyes. "Why does this always happen? It was me; I was the one that brought him in because of me, my friends… No, please, no! Not again! I thought—I thought that I had to trust you because… I thought if I didn't believe in you I would be giving into darkness again. I didn't want that."
"Thank you," said Hawks. "In the end, I guess it comes down to bad luck. Atone for your crimes and start over. I'm happy to help you build a new life because I think you are a good person."
"Shut up!" Twice glared. "Is this what heroes do?"
"Don't get up," Hawks warned.
"What do you mean start over, huh?"
"Gruffnut!"
"No!" he yelled, jumping onto his feet.
Hawks then reluctantly fired one of his feathers, which sliced through his mask, but that didn't stop him.
"I stopped giving a damn about myself a long time ago!" he yelled.
"The last thing I want to do right now is fight!" Hawks yelled. "Just come quietly!"
"I really care what you want!" Twice roared and then began making clones of himself. "The only reason I'm alive is them… all my friends. I just want to make sure that they're happy."
Meanwhile, the battle outside was still commencing, and the heroes were just about to enter the villa.
"Sprite! Over here!" Fat Gum waved. "You're joining me!"
"Yes, sir!" Sprite nodded and rushed over to him and Suneater.
"From what we've heard, a whole mess of enemies are gathering deep underground," said Fat Gum.
"Several passages lead to the surface level, but most of those have been blocked off already," said Suneater.
"There are only five exits left, each of which leads up to the villa. The bad news is they are out of Cementoss' range."
"So you need someone to seal them up," Sprite concluded.
"Bingo!" Fat Gum smiled. "And that would be you! Let's do this!"
The villains were rather surprised to see so many heroes had gathered, let alone successfully attacking the villa.
"How do they know their way around inside?"
"We cannot let them through!"
"This is a job for Suneater," said Fat Gum.
Suneater then came charging in with his bottom have, now a bull, a pair of horns sticking out of his head and his fingers became tentacles with pineapples at the end of them. He instantly broke through their ranks and struck them with his pineapple tentacles, completely overwhelming them instantly.
"Apologies, but I need all of you to stand down now," he said.
"Nice line," said Fat Gum as he and Sprite continued to make their way to the secret entrance. "You sound cool!"
"Leave me alone," Suneater moaned, covering his face with his hands.
"There's no need for you to hold back," said Fat Gum.
"Understood," said Sprite.
"That's what I like to hear! I want to see your full power in action. Seal off this escape route, and then we bounce."
Sprite then slammed his hands into the ground and suddenly extended, forming a vast array of tree roots tearing through the concrete and descending into the secret passages below the villa.
Re-Destro was making his way up when he saw Sprite's hands ripping through the hideout.
"Re-Destro, get down!" a villain yelled.
Re-Destro merely ripped his shirt off and bulked it up, thanks to the stress he was currently under. He grabbed Sprite's hands and began having a wrestling match with him.
"Someone is in the way," said Sprite, astonished by the sheer power of this individual.
They did appear to be evenly matched, but suddenly, Re-Destro's prosthetic legs snapped, and he was suddenly flung forwards back into the meeting area below the villa.
"The hidden passage? How?!"
Ragnar then pulled his arms back, causing the secret passage to fall in on itself.
"That was impressive," said Fat Gum.
"We're just lucky it's a nice sunny day," said Sprite. "However, I should report that I sensed something powerful down there, and I don't mean the individual who blocked my attack. If I didn't know that, I would say that there was a real monster down there."
"Don't worry about him," said Fat Gum. "According to our source, he's not going to be a problem. The big guy only takes orders from the enemy leader, and that troublemaker is currently taking a nice long nap far way from here."
"How do we know this?" Sprite frowned. "It's a ridiculous amount of information?"
"Hawks found out while he was working here undercover," Fat Gum informed him.
Sprite's eyes widened. "The number two hero?"
"Go time," said Fat Gum. "My stomach."
"Wait, what?" Sprite blinked.
Moments later, they were exiting the villa, and Sprite was riding in Fat Gum's stomach.
"Who'd thought that I would be a taxi service, huh?" said Fat Gum.
"Is Hawks part of the raid?" Sprite asked curiously.
"I know all the particulars, but I bet he smack dab in the middle of this fight."
Sprite couldn't help but look back at the villa, curious to know how the number two hero had gotten all this information.
'It was working undercover then. How did he manage to get the villains to trust him,' he said to himself. 'I just hope he isn't forced to do something horrible.'
Hawks was currently face-to-face with Twice and began making clones of himself.
"I'll take responsibility this time!" Twice roared.
"Hero, you will die!" said the clones.
Hawks then had his feathers cut right through the clones at unbelievable speed until none were left.
"You're multiplying at an insane rate, but since you're making copies of copies, they aren't very doable," said Hawks. "Some melt and some don't, even though they're being hit by the same type of feathers."
'I can't keep up,' said Twice with tears in his eyes. 'They're too fast.'
"I won't make a mistake because I let emotions get the better of me," said Hawks. "If you had done what I said, we could have salvaged this. I really do like you, Gruffnut."
Twice, then suddenly created clones of the League of Villains. "These are my only friends! You don't get to act chummy with me!"
Hawks used his feathers to cut through the clones, but Twice refused to give up and continued to make more clones.
"Use every last feather; I don't even care, bastard!" he roared.
"I like taking enemies down quickly. Do you know why that is?" Hawks asked as he continued his attack. "Because a villain who refuses to quit is the most terrifying thing a hero can face. I've seen it; the strong-willed are hard to knock out."
Twice, then moved in, pulling out his tape measure. "Shut up!"
Hawks then moved with blinding speed and struck him with his feathered blades, creating a massive cut across his chest. Twice collapsed to the ground, and Hawks then quickly pinned him to the ground.
"That is why if neither side will give up, someone has to die," said Hawks as he pointed his feathered blades at Twice.
"You people… call yourself heroes…" said Twice as he spat out some blood, "but when things get tough… your kind always abandons the people who are the lowest. Not my side; when I fall apart, Turid wraps me in her handkerchief, and you know what? This is even the first time that I screwed up. Not long ago, I got everyone hurt, but they still kept me. I don't think that Turid's going to wrap me up today, though."
Hawks raised his blades, and Twice began to make more clones.
"But that's fine; all I want is to make sure that the people I care for end up happy!"
"I'll be sure to let them know that," said Hawks as he plunged the blade towards him.
However, before he could deal the final blow, scorching hot flames erupted into the room. Hawks barely had time to gather the way, but he was knocked to the ground and was soon pinned by Diablo, who smashed his visor.
"That won't be necessary," he said. "I heard him. You didn't notice me, did you, Hawks? Guess you did get distracted, something you'll definitely regret."
"Hey, Diablo," said Twice.
"Don't feel bad Twice; you did make a mistake," said Diablo, looking down at him. "It's the self-righteous heroes who are in the wrong… as usual!"
He then unleashed a powerful burst of flames upon Hawks, but somehow, he managed to slip free and flew off with Twice.
"He dodged that?" said Diablo stunned.
Hawks may have been able to dodge the attack, for many of his feathers had been scorched to ash.
"It doesn't matter," said Diablo, not looking concerned. "How are you going to fight with burnt-up feathers?"
"That blast would have killed your friend too," Hawks pointed out.
"Wrong again," said Diablo, smiling. "You can always count on a pro to prioritise someone else's safety."
"Answer me this this, will you," said Hawk curiously. "You act like you're not surprised that I betrayed you and your crew. How did you figure me out?"
"Didn't really have to," he shrugged. "You see, at no point did I ever trust you."
"Even though I did many awful things to prove myself loyal?"
"You're right, you were helpful, weren't you?"
"Gee, thanks," said Hawks sarcastically. 'I see much of a way out of this. It's a small space, and my feathers are scorched. Fire and I don't mix, but I still have a goal to accomplish. I've weakened Gruffnut by slicing muscle and bone while avoiding major organs; he can't do much damage now. I'll carry him out alive, and then…'
Suddenly, Twice formed the clone, which then grabbed him. The real Twice grabbed the fallen handkerchief and made a run for it despite his injuries.
"Don't do this!" Hawks yelled pleadingly.
"Diablo, roast the bird!" Twice yelled.
Diablo smiled and unleashed a powerful burst of flames.
"It's heart!" Twice cried as he limped away. "I'm freezing!"
"Time for you to let loose," said Diablo, smiling evilly. "But the advantage back on our side. Go wild! Everyone is waiting for you."
"Yeah, I'm on it," said Twice, despite the fact he looked as if he was going to kill over at any moment. "Thanks."
He ran past Diablo, high-fiving him before he made a break for the door, making more clones as he did. However, suddenly, Hawks appeared in front of the door, which surprised Diablo.
"What?!" he gasped, realising what had just happened. "He flew out ahead of the flames and circled to the back?!"
Hawks was wielding his feathered blade, speeding towards Twice.
'He's too fast,' Diablo grimaced.
"Out of my way!" Twice roared.
"Thud Featherstorm!" Diablo yelled as he twisted around.
He unleashed a powerful burst of flames straight at him, but Hawks quickly flew over them.
'He knows my name?' Hawks stared. 'Who is this guy?'
Diablo continued to unleash its flames.
Twice, he had maintenance to make it out of the door just before the flames struck him, but he was finding it difficult to move. He looked down over the balcony and saw the fight raging on the lower floors, remembering what Diablo told him earlier.
"Have to… help everyone," he panted. 'Protect them Twice… defend your friends! They accepted you as you are, and all you've ever done is cause them pain.'
Using what strength he had left, he managed to create a single clone, but the Hawks' shadow was standing behind him.
A hero managed to grab hold of Turid and Compress using telekinesis.
"Turid!" Compress cried.
"Two of their lieutenants utilised," the hero reported. "You reading? I've got them here!"
"It seems your detection and evading techniques have failed," Compress noted.
"Put me down!" Turid demanded.
"I won't let you destroy this world!" said the hero defiantly. "This is where your plotting ends. You'll spend the rest of your lives locked up. Your League has ended; the heroes win!"
He was then suddenly stabbed in the back by Twice's clone with a knife.
"Gruffnut, yeah!" Turid beamed.
"Let them go," said Twice weakly as he continued to stab the hero.
"Bravo," said Compress as he and Turid were now free. "Perfect timing. Twice, get to doubling. Turid, we should head underground."
They instantly ran past him, but the clone was starting to lose consistency.
"Sorry, Compress," he said apologetically, causing them to stop in their tracks. "I can't; I barely manage this shape. It's no good. It's like when you try to hold in a dump; I've been beaten up too bad. I can't keep it together. Forgive me, you two… it was my fault again."
Both Turid and Compress just stared at him, slowly beginning to realise that he was dying, and Turid stood there, shocked.
"Hawks, got me," Twice continued. "I have ruined things a second time. Sorry… Turid." He then slowly began to walk up to them, and mud began pouring out of him like blood. "It's my fault that your adorable face got hurt."
He then pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the bruise off Turid's face as she stood there in shock.
"Take this," he said. "You're hanky."
Turid slowly reached out for the handkerchief, and tears of mud began to leak from Twice's eyes.
Turid recognised the handkerchief as the same one she tied around Twice during the mafia raid.
'It's true within my life I kept falling and failing,' said Twice. 'I got tricked, lost a friend and still ended up getting fooled again. I must have looked pretty prophetic and worthless to other people…'
The Twice was on the top floor bleeding out, and as a result, he was losing his hold on his clone, which was slowly turning to mud.
"I—I can't make more," said the clone to Turid, barely able to hold itself together. "Sorry for everything. I'm to blame for everything."
"Gruffnut," Turid gasped and hugged the clone as it disintegrated. "Thank you for saving me, friend.
'Constantly trying to find myself, but I was blessed by people I cared about. Who could ask for a better life than that? I hope you die, Hawks; what right do you have to look at me and call me unlucky? I was happy with my life with them.'
The clone then collapsed and turned to mud.
