POV HAWKS

"How old are you, kid?" Ryuko Tatsuma asks, raising an eyebrow at me. My light smile, messy gold hair, and bright eyes scream naivety, but the way I introduced myself just seconds before must've left the dragon hero curious. Her face glows with ideas on how to use my quirk, I think, and I can already imagine myself flying through the air as her sidekick. A real hero.

"Seventeen and three quarters, ma'am!" I say brightly. "My birthday is in four months."

"Cute," Ryuko says with a small chuckle. "So you want to be my sidekick, Hawks?"

"I don't know," I say slyly. "Are Dragons birds?"

"No," Ryuko deadpans. "And if you thought that was going to be smooth, we have a few things to talk about. Anyway, if you're ready now, I've got a mission for you and my other new sidekick. Her name's Mirko, and I think you two will get along." Ryuko takes out a small post-it note and scribbles down a number and an address. "There's a short meeting being hosted at this address in half an hour with a small party afterwards. I'm going to need you and Mirko to attend the meeting for me and take notes while I deal with some other stuff. Get it?"

"Got it," I say, accepting the post it note. "Can I stay for the party?"

"Are dragons birds?" Ryuko says smugly. Knowing the answer is no, I slap on my best puppy eyes, puffing out my bottom lip. The dragon hero rolls her eyes, failing to hold back a smile. "Fine, bird brain, you can go to the party. But wear a tux. It's formal. And no alcohol."

"Okay!" I beam, already propelling myself into the air. I do a victory twirl before soaring off to my brand new apartment. I dive through the open window and collapse on my mattress with a wide grin on my face. My apartment is empty and dry, with chipped white walls and dust swirling around in the air. Just having moved in two days prior, I already fell in love with it all. Nevermind the dust– I'm free from the hero program, free from taking orders from the commission, free from living trapped inside one measly old building. I'm ready to explore everything the world has to offer, ready to make friends and fall in love and do all the things people are supposed to do.

After I'm dressed in my silk black tux, I flop down on the wooden floor with a jug of apple juice and a bag of potato chips. Just as the plastic crinkles in my fingertips, there's three loud knocks on the door. I bolt upward with curiosity; my red wings take me to the door, basically ripping it open. In the doorway is a girl, taller than me, with smooth milk chocolate skin and tall rabbit ears. She's wearing a white tuxedo top and a matching white skirt, showing off her muscular legs. "You're Hawks?" the girl says, stepping inside. "I'm Mirko."

"Hey Mirko," I reply, my eyes gleaming. I toss the bag of chips at her, and Mirko catches them easily, pulling the bag open and popping a chip in her mouth. "Ready for this meeting?"

"No," Mirko says with a gentle laugh. "I'm ready for the party, though. Do you drink?"

I shake my head softly. I haven't gotten to do much of anything inside the hero program. But that changes now, I think to myself, because this is the start of my real life! Fighting bad guys, playing video games, and doing drugs.

"You smile a lot," Mirko chuckles. "C'mon bird brain, let's go."

When the two of us walk into the room full of pro-heroes, the air grows stale. Edgeshot is the first to speak up. "Aren't you two just children?" he says. It's not exactly an assacutary question, but Mirko surely takes it that way. I put a hand on her shoulder before she can explode. I was trained in human interaction, after all.

"Hey! I'm Hawks, and this is Mirko," I say. I try to make my voice sound like liquid caramel, to get the heroes to sink into it. "We're Ms. Ryuko's new sidekicks, and unfortunately she had something to take care of and can't attend the meeting. We're just here to take notes and report back to her, so if you could point us in the right direction, that'd be pretty sweet. I don't know if you guys have, like, assigned seats or anything."

The president of the hero commission stands in the front of the room, her scowl making me sick to my stomach. I didn't think I'd ever have to see her face again. "There are two open seats," the president says. "Mirko, you can take Ryuko's seat beside Edgeshot, and Hawks, you can take All Might's seat beside Endeavor since he's on medical leave. If everyone is present, let's get started." The guards at the back slowly close the doors, and the president presses a button on the small black remote, making the big screen up front move to a new slide.

Pictures of All For One flash up on the screen, and I find myself staring into the darkness of his features. Chilling. This is the man I have to take down.

"All For One," the president says roughly. She clears her throat and scans over the heroes before her. "We're all aware of All Might's battle with this man approximately thirteen months ago, correct? While the two of them were both severely injured, him worse than our Number One hero, that doesn't mean he's not a threat. Thankfully, we still have the power to defeat him sitting in this room." The slide changes again, revealing eight pictures of eight different villains. "However... These are the self-proclaimed League of Villains, yet another fork in our path. While arresting All For One is high priority, this ban of terrorists have a fatal amount of power that cannot be ignored. Heroes in ranks two through nine have each been assigned to one member. You're tasked to follow, find, and arrest that member without bringing obvious attention to yourself."

I shift awkwardly in my chair while the Hero Commission president stares at me. I jot down some notes while the president keeps talking. "Lock Lock with Mr. Compress. Gang Orca with Spinner. Crust with Twice. Wash with Mange. Ryuko with Dabi. Edgeshot with Toga Himiko. Jeanist with Kurogiri, and Endeavor with Tomura Shigaraki. Understood?" 

"Yes ma'am," I say, hiding my nerves. "Time to party?"

"Yessir!" Mirko beams, hopping up to her feet. "Let's get this party started!"

"Someone is gonna have to teach these kids to behave," Gang Orca grumbles as he pushes out of his chair. The heroes chatter casually, bringing themselves to the door.

I race up to the front where Endeavor is. I wanted to talk to him the whole meeting, but I couldn't break my eyes away from the screen. With stars in my eyes, I tap on one of Endeavor's broad shoulders, smiling up at him. "Hiya, Endeavor-kun! As you know, I'm Hawks. I'm a super big fan of yours, and I thought maybe I could get a picture."

"No," Endeavor scoffs, pushing forward toward the ballroom where the party is taking place. I follow him with determination, stumbling into the cavernous room. Lots more heroes gather in this area, dancing and chatting and eating. It reminds me of a high school reunion I saw on a TV show. I catch sight of Endeavor and scurry over to him, clutching my phone. "Why are you so stubborn, bird boy?" Endeavor says, glaring at me. I just smile awkwardly as Endeavor gulps down an alcoholic drink. "Don't you ever give up?"

"Heroes don't give up," I say proudly. "I just want a selfie with you, big guy! It'll take two seconds, I swear."

"I said no," Endeavor growls, pouring himself another drink as he walks away. It takes me a second, but soon enough I locate the flaming hero again. Now Endeavor is red in the face, and alcohol takes over him. His movements are sloppier, and his eyes are duller. It's only after I wave my phone up teasingly that I realize I shouldn't be anywhere near this man. "You want a picture so bad, huh?" Endeavor slurs, violently grabbing me by the arm and dragging me to the bathroom.

"Endeavor," I squeak, laughing nervously. "Endeavor, stop it. Let go of me, please. Th-this isn't cool." Endeavor throws the bathroom door shut behind him, locking it. He tosses me as if I'm a dog's toy, watching apathetically as I skid across the floor. Quickly, I bound to my feet and race for the door, but Endeavor grabs me by the hair and smashes my head against the sink. Blood trails down the side of my face, and I'm centimeters away from unconsciousness. The sound of buttons being undone and zippers being pulled echoes throughout my ears while the taste of vomit crawls up my throat. "St...stop..." I plead, my head fuzzy.

Endeavor just grunts his response, a twisted smile on his intoxicated face. "Smile for the camera."