Hawks abruptly opened his eyes, awakened by the violent shaking that made the small pile of rubble crushing one of his legs and his back tremble.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and saliva, coughing for a few moments before trying to look up to get his bearings. He only saw darkness.
Dust was filtering into his lungs and small pebbles were falling from above with every new tremor. His wings were immobilized, crushed against his own body by the coffin that could completely crush him at any second.
With difficulty, he brought a hand to his ear and searched for the communicator, without any success, unfortunately. He was trapped, injured, and incommunicado.
—Kuh... Dammit!— he groaned in annoyance, tensing his muscles to exert force and test the stability of the ground. His wings barely moved, which indicated that the weight on his back was not enormous, but neither was it easy to shake off.
He decided it would be best to wait for now and not make his situation worse. The Heroes should be on their way, depending on how much time has passed.
As he recalled, Power Loader should have already arrived in the city with Eraser Head's group. He could find him and help him get out of here.
Suddenly, a fleeting thought assaulted the Hero's mind, the reason he was here in the first place: Ragdoll.
—H-hello? Is anyone there? Ragdoll, are you there!?— Hawks called out, his mind returning to the moment he lost consciousness.
After Tetsumaru indicated the location, he flew at full speed and burst into the warehouse. What he found left him stunned for a few seconds.
It was a factory where there were dozens of bodies, limbs, organs, machinery. A Nomu factory.
Barely a second after entering, he was accosted by a series of monsters with different levels of strength.
The battle was tough and the Hero barely managed to emerge victorious, only to realize he had been watched the entire time.
—That was amazing. Your combat ability is dynamic and pleasant to look at— a deep voice commented in a monotonous tone, although Hawks detected a hint of sarcasm and amusement in those words.
—Who are you!?— the Hero demanded in a battle stance, ready to leap onto the unknown figure at any moment. That was until the lighting increased and he could see the figure.
Tall, with a robust body, a strange helmet whose function he didn't understand, and with the unconscious Wild Wild PussyCat resting in his arms in a princess carry.
Hawks' expression darkened at the sight.
—Relax, she's still alive— the masked man said calmly, gently setting Ragdoll on the floor. —And given her personality, I think she'll be able to recover and continue with a full life.
Hawks' gaze sharpened, his wings gathering power for a mighty beat that would carry him toward the PussyCat in a second. —What do you mean by that, you pipe-faced guy?
—I wouldn't do that if I were you. Don't get me wrong, I don't care if you take the woman, but at least wait until I'm far enough away— the Villain warned.
Hawks didn't pay attention and lunged at full speed, his gaze fixed on the shadowy figure in case he tried anything. But he looked in the wrong direction.
From behind the man emerged two figures taller than him, slender yet muscular, rushing at the Hero with enormous speed.
Hawks tried to evade, but he was too slow in his reaction and ended up being violently rammed, his bones crunching from the near-immediate deceleration.
Blood escaped from his mouth and nose, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and his strength left him for a second, a second the Nomu took advantage of to push him away from Ragdoll and smash him into a table piled with putrefied body parts.
—I told you. Those two are programmed to attack anything whose mass exceeds that of a child and whom they don't recognize— All For One commented with a slight shrug, admiring the ensuing combat with interest.
Luckily for Hawks, the man didn't intervene at any point, content to watch and wait.
At some point, Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, and Gran Torino appeared, and only then did the Villain begin to move.
What followed is something Hawks can't recall precisely. He was only sure of one thing: They were soundly beaten.
It was such that he lost consciousness after a couple of punches and a kind of air explosion that sent him slamming against a wall. And then he woke up here.
He had no idea what happened to Ragdoll, Jeanist, Edgeshot, or Gran Torino. He didn't know how many heroes had arrived, or if they had already rescued the other PussyCat and the UA student.
—This is crap...— Hawks muttered in annoyance, gritting his teeth at the shockwave that shook his prison. If he had to guess, All Might was nearby destroying everything, or MT. Lady was constantly stomping on Villains.
Minutes passed and the Hero was running out of air, his endurance was draining, and consciousness was fading once more.
The battle seemed to have reached its climax, as the tremors were less constant but more powerful, each one threatening to dump another ton of material on him and crush him.
He could barely feel his leg or his wings, his ribs protested the uncomfortable position, and the hope of getting out was diminishing. Seriously, where the hell was everyone?
Suddenly the ground vibrated right beneath his face, which immediately caught his attention.
In a fluid motion, the earth seemed to sink and fingers with metallic claws emerged from the hole, poking his nose in the process of ascending.
—Hey!— Hawks complained.
—Huh? So this is where you were— Power Loader commented.
*******************************
When Hawks returned to the surface, he found a group of local Heroes from Yokohama and some members of the Flaming Sidekickers, who were attending to the injured Endeavor, Best Jeanist, and Gran Torino. Edgeshot was the only one who could stand on his own.
However, none of those present paid attention to his appearance, all concentrated on one of the large screens on one of the buildings across the street.
The Hero lifted his gaze with difficulty, contemplating with a severe expression the same thing that everyone in Japan and probably the entire world would see in a few hours.
All Might, the Symbol of Peace, the Greatest Hero for years, lay in a skeletal, gaunt form, his suit baggy and torn, deep cuts and bloodstains decorating his skin.
He remained standing, panting, exhausted, poised above the defeated and bruised figure of the man Hawks found in the warehouse.
Around him, the Heroes maintained severe expressions, clenched fists, teary eyes, and brows furrowed in worry.
Even he tensed his jaw.
—Loader, did you find Ragdoll?— he asked the UA Hero in an empty tone.
—Yes. And Eraser Head confirmed that Sero Hanta was also located and taken to a hospital by All Might— Power Loader replied.
—... And Pixie-Bob?— Hawks asked again, but this time he received no answer.
Like him, the mood of everyone involved in the operation was heavy with conflicting emotions.
Many of the Heroes who were supposed to participate did not arrive in time, like Gang Orca, MT. Lady, and Kamui Woods, while those who did felt dissatisfied with the outcome of things.
For Aizawa, Power Loader, and Midnight, the operation was much more successful in being able to rescue the priority target: Sero himself.
But at the same time, they felt helpless for letting all the other members of the League of Villains escape, and above all, for the revelation of All Might's secret.
For the local Heroes of Yokohama, the victory was more bitter, given the destruction the city was subjected to, the injured, and the casualties on the civilian side.
For All Might, it was like taking a huge weight off his shoulders, but in a way he didn't entirely like.
He was able to stop All For One, effectively defeat him, and deprive him of his freedom. The revelation of his condition might not be a bad thing in the long run, but he still didn't like it.
However, it could hardly be said that the Heroes won.
Not only the Symbol of Peace, but also many of the top Heroes were seriously injured, a couple of them unconscious, not to mention the damage to infrastructure and those affected by the clashes.
Pixie-Bob was still missing, the League of Villains escaped again, and no one was yet aware of Ragdoll's true condition, not even Tetsumaru himself, as he didn't remember any of All For One's abilities.
Had he remembered, he would not have sent her as bait.