Chapter Text
The weeks following the incident caused civil distress. Mandatory curfews, more heroes out on patrol, schools having to transfer their populations to farther districts - the whole she-bang. No, this wasn’t a terror group nor was it a string of villain attacks; it was what was described as a feral animal. Screeches and cries echoing through the deserted streets save for the eerily silent beat of wings and soft trills that can be heard when this thing perches.
However this was no thing, it was Hawks.
There were only one witnesses to what happened to the charismatic hero: the villain Dabi. There had been talks of a fugitive with a quirk that effects other quirks. More specifically those with more animal like mutations or attributes, the nefarious fiends first work was a man with the strength and looks of a lion who started acting a lot more like his wild counterpart. Having killed two officers, he was put down shortly after by a few heroes who hadn’t know he was once a normal man. There was a small press release that got very quickly overpowered by the newest hero news, so it never quite caught on.
Perhaps the public should’ve paid more attention before they lost the normal face that graced their glossy magazine covers.
It had been a bust for Dabi and Hawks, Shigaraki wanted them to bring this quirk guy into the PLF so they could convince to put his power to other uses beside turning random kids just developing their quirks into savage little critters. Perhaps it would’ve been better insight to send someone with Dabi who had a less… animal quirk. Truth be told the only visible thing that set Hawks apart from just being a dude with wings were when his eyes pinned around the rest of the PLF, the gold iris overtaking his pupil and creating a very menacing glare.
Dabi would find out very quickly that is ‘little bird’ was a lot more bird of prey than just his namesake would let on. He’d watched Hawks’ fall from grace in the dank warehouse they’d tracked the guy to, a simple touch to the back of Hawks’ neck and he was down. Dabi threw a handful of blue flames in the guy’s direction, missing just narrowly and only burning his clothes. He quickly jogged over to the crumbled hero, the twitching muscles of Hawks’ back and wings weren’t a comforting sight considering that bastard’s quirk.
Then it all went down hill when Hawks let out this ear shattering screech that Dabi felt like it even made his brain shutter. The hero shot up, eyes wide and pupils pinned to a point where it just looked like he had irises. There was no understanding or gears turning in Hawks’ gaze, the calculated stare Dabi had caught him with multiple times before the hero would quickly shake it off and return to the dopey grin he was known for. His head tilted in a very jerky way as he starred down at Dabi, his bushy eyebrows not furrowing or lifting in their usual, goofy way. Hawks’ face was slack except for his wide, watching eyes.
“...Hawks?” He dared.
His voice alone startled Hawks, large carmine wings immediately shooting out and flapping hard, kicking dust and debris into Dabi’s face as loud screech filled the empty air. Before Dabi could ever blink Hawks was gone, and that was that.
It’d been two weeks since Hawks had been hit by that man’s quirk. Reports of the former number two sweeping through city streets, plucking small animals up and away from their owners, and the horrid screams echoing down the alleyways came flooding in. Fans who once gawked and idolized the hero now lived in fear that instead of Fido, they’d be the next to disappear. People began to even say in the moments they caught a glimpse of the number two, they couldn’t recognize him anymore except for ragged hero outfit he still adorned. His mind was too far gone to seem to even care that he still wore the rags of domestication.
Headlines were published en masse,
Number Two Hero Gone Rogue?
Hawks gone Hawk?
The True Nature of the Winged Hero, Hawks!
Dabi burnt every paper he saw of the slandering words. He had to get Hawks back to normal, or at least get him out of the streets and into some kind of captivity (even though the thought itself disgusted him beyond words).
It was going to be simple! Lure Hawks into some warehouse or whatever and get the drop on him and hopefully a few bonks to the ol’ noggin would set the hero straight? Right…?
Ding dong, Dabi is very fucking wrong.
The matter of tracking Hawks was hard enough, his movements were sporatic yet confined to smaller parts of the city and in retrospect, it should be easy to find a 5 foot something guy with bright red wings who can’t stop letting out ear shattering screams; but, of course! It isn’t.
More reports would come in of Hawks, a photograph of his lower face dripping with blood and presumably the carcass of a small dog was spread around before his old agency requested it to be pulled. More headlines defaming the hero and more people sticking to media, some even demanding Hawks be put down like some animal.
Dabi had definitely almost thrown up once or twice from the idea of Hawks being held down like a racehorse and permanently taken out of the running.
He had to bring Hawks back. If not for him, than to prove that Hawks was still human. Somewhere. Possibly deep inside. Under y’know, all the screeching.