Chapter Text
Hawks closed the door to the President's office, leaving a small feather to guard against eavesdroppers. An odd sense of nostalgia washed over him. Since becoming the number two hero, the Commission had avoided sending him out on missions that might jeopardize his ranking. The unsavoury jobs of his early career had all but been discarded, which meant the task he was about to receive warranted the extra precaution. The Commission didn't send a ' please destroy after reading' folder to their shiny golden boy without reason.
The contents of the envelope abandoned beneath his apartment door in the dead of night had been enough of a surprise, the contents inside even more so.
Infiltrate and Destroy .
Hawks guessed the Commission wanted to avoid another embarrassment like that at Kamino. Losing All Might was a devastating blow from which no one would recover anytime soon. But if they could get a sleeper agent at the very heart of the League, that might just make up for the Commission's failure to take out the League before they could find their footing.
Straighting out his jacket, Hawks reached the front of the imposing desk of the President. Standing at attention, he didn't waste time on greetings. Inefficiency was highly discouraged by the Commission
"Why not go directly after Shigaraki?"
"We don't have access," the President folded her hands, her level stare pinning him in place. "But rumours are his second in command, the fire user, Dabi, the one who attacked the training camp, is out recruiting new members for the League of Villians."
Hawks reached for the folder on the desk and thumbed through it, scanning through the limited information the Commission had compiled. If this was all they had, then they were starting the game with a losing hand. None of the profiles or members had more than a page. Societal rejects that, for the most part, lived off the grid until joining Japan's most wanted terrorist group.
"What intel do we have on Dabi?" A sense of dread grew as Hawks realized that this was truly all the information they had.
"You're looking at it." The President tapped near a blank page. There wasn't even a complete photo, only a shadowy image that could be anyone if it weren’t for the clear line of staples. "We didn't even know his name until recently. From what we have gathered, excluding the incident at Kamino, his crimes rank lowest of the League."
The President spoke as if reassuring him, but the information chilled him, making his feathers sharpen reflexivity. If this guy had the skill to attack the camp and kidnap the winner of the sports festival, he was adept enough to avoid the Commission's spies. Whoever Dabi was, he was dangerous. Of that much Hawks was certain.
The thought constricted in his chest. "So you're sending me in blind."
"The Commission trusts you to do what needs to be done." The President placed a hand on his shoulder. Instantly he felt his mind slip into a cold focus, blind to everything but the task in front of him.
"Whatever means necessary," Hawks repeated, numb, as he spread his wings to take flight.
After a week of exploiting every underground contact at his disposal, Hawks was running dry on resources still with no sign of his target. No one was willing to cough up information on such a volatile member of the League, and no amount of Commission money was worth the price if you were dead.
This was his last stop, a shitty bar he found as a teenager looking for a small rebellion. Tomorrow he would have to report his failure, his first major one since making it into the top ten.
As luck would have it. In the end, Hawks didn't so much as find Dabi, but Dabi found him.
"So what name did the Commission give you this time?" A hoarse voice spoke up beside him, sending an instinctual shivering up his wings, getting ready to take flight if needed.
"Which name do you want me to give." Hawks flashed his signature smile, willing the feathers to settle back into place and not give it away that he was caught off guard.
"Funny," Dabi slid beside him, not asking for permission. "So if it's not the usual, whatcha need. I'm busy."
"A chance." Hawks trained a sideward glance at Dabi, trying to gauge body language, expression, anything that might give away some clue on how to approach the subject. But the scars and disguise made him nearly impossible to read. "Let's just say my employment at the Commission might be drawing to a close."
Dabi snorted, an ugly sound that made the air too hot, "and you think I can help with that?"
"I think," Hawks paused to lean closer, "that you've been walking around with a now hiring sign, and I want in."
Blue, Hawks, was quickly learning could be a very dangerous colour. Dabi's gaze burned through him, flaying at his nerves, making him feel raw and exposed. As if the lie he buried inside was slowly, agonizingly, being drawn to the surface. The muscles at the base of his wings pulled tight with the need to leave as the animalistic side of his brain screamed danger . Here was a predator, and he was the target.
Yet he stayed rooted in a way that a creature of the sky never should be. And the conversation with Dabi had the same thril as flying. Let the game begin .
"I think you're lying." Dabi's words broke whatever spell had been cast, and Hawks could feel the grin tugging at his lips.
Hawks trilled, a high pitch sound that the Commission trained out of him when he first arrived. Dabi observed him carefully as Hawks titled backwards, wings spreading to catch the stool he was on from flying backwards.
"Maybe I'm just tired of being locked in a cage."
The fire user clapped, "That was a wonderful display, Birdie."
"So what do you say, believe me yet?"
Dabi shook his head, and Hawks felt his heart drop. "But you've convinced me enough that I think you might be a worthy investment."
Hawks rested his head on his hand and leaned forward to look at Dabi "When can you take me to meet the leader then?"
"Oh no, Birdie. You misunderstood. I'm not taking you anywhere until you've proven yourself useful to the cause. And let's make this clear." Dabi barked a hoarse laugh, the sound clinging in the air between them like stifling smoke, stealing the air from him as Hawks forgot to breathe. The light burning behind blue eyes, holding him in place even as his heartbeat furiously.
The staples around Dabi's cheek twisted with his grin as he leaned over and whispered scalding air against his ear. "I don't trust you."
Becoming a double agent was somehow more and incredibly less eventful than Hawks had expected. Dabi seemed to one on a non-existent schedule-sending cryptic messages that usually only included a location—forcing Hawks to drop everything to speed to where he was supposed to meet the fire user. Only for him to arrive to an empty room and Dabi finally showing up hours later.
“You know I have another job, right?” Hawks perched over of the rotting crate as the door opened.
Dabi just shrugged before strolling without a care that he had him waiting in a sketchy building for hours.
“So? You know I don’t give a fuck”
He was half convinced the bastard just did it because he thought it funny to have the number two hero at his beck and call.
But woe if Hawkswas even five minutes late to a meeting set without a time.
The one and only time Hawks showed up after Dabi. He never thought someone with a fire quirk could be so cold. That meeting only lasted a couple of minutes, but each second dragged on for an eternity as Dabi drilled whatever information he needed and left. The empty room stung with remains of boiling heat. Hawks hadn’t stuck around, flying back to Endeavour’s agency to continue the meeting he delayed. Yet the image of Dabi’s hard stare didn’t leave his mind, and Hawks knew then he would rather deal with a sassy Dabi than an annoyed one.
That icy smile alone made Hawks determined not to be late again.
“Heads up”
As if reading his mind, Dabi casually tossed a bag for him to catch, making Hawks lunge awkwardly forward to catch it.
“Awe, you shouldn’t have,” Hawks deadpanned, yet a traitorous warmth grew at the sight of the gift.
So far this was the warmest greeting Dabi had given him yet, and with any luck it meant his meeting with the rest of the League would follow soon after.
“Don’t get too excited, Birdie.” Dabi leaned forward, grin shifting the staples that lined scarred cheeks. His hand reached to fasten the watch around his wrist, slim fingers deftly tightening the clasp with quick movements. All the while Dabi’s eyes never left his as he pulled Hawks nearer.
Inches away, Hawks felt his body move to close the gap. But at the same moment, Dabi abruptly dropped his wrist and took a smooth step back.
His smile faltered, even as a new type of hunger found new strength. The mission was getting riskier with something the Hero Commission hadn’t predicted.
As his fingers brushed against the face of the watch, Hawks knew that he was falling into Dabi’s destructive pull. A dying star, which Hawks knew he could never escape from if he got too close. But still, Hawks moved closer, for the mission or his selfish desire, he didn’t know yet.
“Now you can show up on time.” Dabi’s hoarse laugh moved through the room like thick smoke. “You’re welcome.”
“As touching as this is.” Hawks tightened the watch around his wrist “why did you really call me here.”
Dabi took his time before speaking, blue eyes trained on Hawks’ hands. “There are some documents I need to get from an old Commission office.”
“Why does the League need old documents?” Hawks tried to keep his curiosity idle, nonchalant. If Dabi found the question suspicious, he didn’t comment.
“The League doesn’t. This is what you call a personal detour,” Dabi unfolded a small piece of paper, “time to prove your worth, Birdie. We’re breaking into the government.”
His feathers rose in preparation for a fight as he scanned the room for anything that would give him an advantage in a fight over Dabi.
But in a small space like this, neither his speed nor training wouldn’t do much to provide him with any sort of an edge.
Sending on a feather to snatch the crumpled piece of paper, he kept his eyes trained on Dabi’s sharp grin.
On it was an address Hawks didn’t recognize from any of the private offices of the Commission. Fingers crossed, Dabi’s information was wrong, and Hawks didn’t want to consider the other option.
“Well, Hotstuff, I guess I could quickly squeeze you in for some quick illegal activities.” Hawks set the sunny smile he used in front of the cameras, taking a confident step forward. Dabi’s smile faltered with confusion as Hawks took another step with his arms out.
“We better get there quick, huh, partner.”
Not letting Dabi get another word in, Hawks rushed to wrap his arms around him, scooping him up as his wings gave a power burst towards the door. Winging pushing them up and out of the city, higher, and higher, until Hawks let them drop.
The liberating freeling of dropping without a care in the world washed over him. There was nothing like trusting your life, your heart, to something that could kill you without ever noticing. Here in the sky Hawks was both in control and entirely at the mercy of gravity’s pull.
Dabi gave a quick shout, hands grasping to hold on to any part of his body. Hawks just laughed, adjusting his grip and evening out his flying. Dabi’s skin was oddly cold for a fire user, and did nothing to stave off the chill of flighting at this altitude.
All in all, Hawks didn’t think Dabi was the worst for a first-time passenger, even when he threw up immediately after landing.
“Never again, Bird,” Dabi groaned as he braced himself against a tree.
“Aw, come on, it wasn’t that bad.” So much for the big bad villain, Hawks thought to himself, unable to stop the trilling laugh that escaped as Dabi made a particularly pathetic attempt to gather himself. “Even my interns are better with their first flight.”
“Shut up.”
Hawks laughed again, nearly having to find his own tree, his ribs aching as he doubled over.
Slowly Dabi collected himself, and Hawks followed, keeping close as they wound their way around the forest.
Hawks would have preferred to fly overhead, his large wings made it tricky to maneuver around the low-hanging branches. But Dabi moved through the forest with the simple grace of a dancer on a smooth stage, making his way through the dense overgrowth with ease, as Hawks struggled to see in the darkness.
This area might be completely foreign to Hawks, but he had the nagging suspicion that Dabi had to befamiliar with the journey. They travelled in silence, weary of the things that went bump in the night and yet still much more at ease than they should be.
Slowly, the trees cleared, the moon light revealing their destination.
No wonder Hawks had never heard of this base. The charred remains of a large facility looked ready to crumble with the following light wind. A cold feeling lurked around the shadows of this place, little was left to indicate the building’s original purpose
Something about this place made the feathers by the base of Hawks’ wings stand on end., He didn’t like the looks of the jagged metal that dangled from what used to be a bed.
Hawks turned to look at Dabi, but rather than finding any type of reassurance, his expression sent another shiver down his spine. Dabi’s eyes were alight with an eerie glow, the fire he commanded we burning behind his blue eyes. Almost as if this place had absorbed him, making Dabi another creature of the night.
“Oof,” Hawks bumped into Dabi, who had stopped, dead still by a broken room. The door hung on its last hinge, Hawks tried to peer over Dabi’s shoulder, but the fire user started forward, pace quicker than before, and he was forced to abandon his curiosity so as not to be left behind.
“So Birdie,” Dabi’s voice lingered in the scorched hallways like a smokey echo. “Your Commission ever tell you what when on in this place?”
“First its not my Commision, and nope,” Hawks’ mouth went dry with the truth of the statement. “Believe it or not, them not telling me things is why I’m here.”
Dabi huffled and pushed a beam into what must have been an office “you should look into it sometime. Might prove enlightening.”
“Don’t suppose you could fill me in.”
“I could.” Dabi paused to examine a melted filling cabinet, grabbing a bundle of papers that miraculously survived whatever had happened here. “ But when the time is right.”
Hawks read the cover of the dusty folder. “Project Supernova?” The name didn’t ring a bell, nor had it come up in any of the Commission’s briefings they’d given him for this mission. But before he could take a closer look, Dabi tucked a single sheet in his jack pocket before placing a finger to the corner, letting blue flames greedily consume the yellowing pages.
“Nothing worth reporting back.” Dabi lingered a minute longer, watching the ash settle to the ground.
Hawks backed away, fluffing up his wings as he waved the fire user’s implication away with a carefree smile. “Defeats the purpose of joining the League if I turn around and let them know the plan.”
“Sure thing Birdie.” The gentle sadness in his voice made Hawks pause. He could feel his smile drop as he scanned Dabi’s face for the answer hidden in those simple words. The soft curve of Dabi’s lips set to an expression that was a mix between fondness and unexplainable grief.
This time, there was no enjoyment in the free fall.