Chapter Text
"League of Villains, let me re-introduce you to Hawks. Pro-hero and double agent for the Hero Commission," Shigaraki says.
Hawks waves a hand awkwardly. "Hi."
"No way, it can't be true!" Twice exclaims. Then, "I knew he was a traitor all along!"
"Wow. I'm so shocked," Dabi says, deadpan.
Spinner raises an eyebrow.
Only Toga makes a token effort to cover her mouth with a hand in exaggerated fake surprise.
Hawks sighs. "So all of you knew already. Good to know that my infiltration classes were completely useless."
"You're not bad at pretending to be a villain!" Toga says encouragingly. "You're just really obvious about avoiding collateral damage, constantly saving people, and refusing to do anything bad, ever."
Hawks sighs more deeply.
Shigaraki explains the new status quo: "Now that we're all on the same page, Hawks will be part of the League of Villains openly as a double agent. Hawks will be trying to reform us. At the same time, we'll be courting Hawks to our side."
"Court?" Spinner repeats.
"Ooh, group orgy!" Toga squeals.
"There will be no orgies!" Shigaraki shouts.
"Oh." Toga looks disappointed for a moment before cheering up. "Are we all taking turns with him then?"
"No! Hawks is mine!"
There is an awkward silence resulting from his possessive declaration.
Shigaraki coughs. "What I meant is Hawks is mine to - to ultimately corrupt. The rest of you will be taking on a solely supportive role."
"Corrupt in a sexy way?" Toga asks Dabi, in what she probably thinks is a low voice.
"Corrupt morally!" Shigaraki yelps.
Dabi responds to Toga, "Probably both."
Toga boos Shigaraki. "So stingy! Don't we get any workplace perks?"
Hawks is grateful that he won't be passed around the League like some sort of morale-boosting party favor, but he wishes he had more of a say in his ultimate fate.
"Ignoring all of...that, how is it going to work having Hawks here spying on us while we know he's a spy?" Spinner interrogates.
"Same as before, we'll take measures to make sure Hawks can't sabotage our plans. Although, we'll have to put an end to sending him on missions in return for faulty or useless information," Shigaraki trails off.
"I knew it!" Hawks mutters under his breath.
Shigaraki says persuasively, "Think of how useful it would be to sway the No. 2 hero to our side!"
"Or...think about how useful it would be to permanently remove the No. 2 hero," Twice suggests, before shaking his head. "We can't do that! Even if Hawks is a hero, he's our friend!"
The air goes arctic-cold as Shigaraki growls, "We are not killing Hawks."
"Roger that, boss!" Twice immediately backpedals. "Fine. I'll watch and laugh when this decision backfires on you. Ugh, I'm so not voting for you next term."
"This is not a democracy!"
Dabi interrupts. "So Hawks, are you going to tell the Hero Commission that you've been made?"
"That would be proper procedure," Hawks says truthfully. He doesn't like imagining the considerable punishment that would await him for his failure.
"If you tell them, they'll just extract you and replace you with another agent. One that I'll definitely kill," Shigaraki threatens.
"There you have it," Hawks answers Dabi. "Besides, I have a feeling this is where I'm most needed at the moment. I'll let my handlers know if I end up making any progress, but otherwise, I don't see what good telling them would bring."
"The Hero Commission is disgusting. Forcing a five-year-old to be a hero! How is that any better than what a villain would do?" Shigaraki says murderously. "You shouldn't return to that cage they put you in."
Dabi twitches when Shigaraki mentions childhood training. His apathetic gaze towards Hawks grows more complicated.
"I didn't choose to enter the cage, but I'm choosing to stay," Hawks says steadily. "It's for the best. What else am I supposed to do with my Quirk? Become an equipment-free window cleaner?"
I'll destroy your cage, and I'll give you the wide, open world in its place. Then we'll see who dares to clip your wings again, Shigaraki thinks but knows better than to admit aloud. At least for now.
"You'd be so good at window cleaning!" Toga cheers. "Ooh! Ooh! You could also do flying tours."
Hawks shakes his head. "It's too late for me, Toga. I'm set in this path."
"So pessimistic, hero. Aren't you hoping to change us villains for the better?" Dabi purrs. "Turn us into reformed do-gooders like yourself?"
Hawks lifts his chin in defiance. "You're a 'bad boy,' Dabi. You're not an evil man."
Dabi sneers. "You wouldn't say that if you knew how many people I've killed."
"Fourteen that we're aware of. The majority of which were 'hypocritical heroes,' civilians accused of but not convicted for domestic abuse, or villains who were human traffickers and pimps." Hawks pauses. "One hero who was a good man and didn't deserve to die."
Dabi narrows his eyes dangerously. "I see that someone's done his research."
Shigaraki inserts himself in the middle, unhappy to see the sparks that seem to be flying between the two.
"Hawks, isn't it time you make up an excuse to your beloved Hero Commission about why you've been missing for the past three days?"
"It is, thanks for the reminder. I'll also need to let the child who accidentally hit me with her Quirk know about the side-effects so that she doesn't do this to someone again. And..."
Hawks doesn't quite meet his eyes. "...thanks for taking care of me."
"Hmph! You're just too weak!" Shigaraki blusters. "Don't get hurt next time. How can you save anyone if you're incapacitated?"
Hawks says teasingly, "Is that an order from the boss?"
"It is!"
"Well, I guess I'll have to be more careful next time." Hawks gives him a neat salute. "See you soon, Tomura."
Shigaraki stares longingly out of the window even after Hawks has flown out of eye-distance.
Spinner shakes his head. "This is going to go so, so poorly."