The Anonymous Hero [Hawks x Reader]

~Chapter Five~

A split second of silence passed, while you and Hawks stared at the entrance in anticipation.

The hinges creaked as the door cracked open, your breath hitching with adrenaline. You were both concealed behind the door in the shadows, but it was only a matter of time until whoever it was spotted their unwelcome visitors.

To your regret, the mysterious figure was seemingly not unarmed, as you heard the familiar cock of a gun as the man crept into the room. Hoping to utilise your element of surprise, you swiftly created a light beam to blind him momentarily before knocking his feet out from underneath him, sending him sprawling to the floor. The force of the impact knocked the gun out of his hands, which skittered across the floor and hit the file cabinets with a clang. Not waiting for him to gain his bearings, you twisted one of his arms at an odd angle and pinned him to the ground with your knee, preventing his escape.

'Who- who the fuck are you?' the man grunted, spitting blood onto the floor from his bleeding nose.

'I should ask you the same question,' you replied coolly.

Glancing up, you saw Hawks pick up the gun dropped by the assailant. Slowly, he turned back to you, your eyes locking.

'I think some interrogation would give us the info we need, don't you think?'

The man's face contorted into horror as you lifted your knee from his back, roughly pulling him to his feet as you smirked back at Hawks. Pointing the gun at him, Hawks led your newly captured prisoner to the chair in the centre of the room, moving to stand in front of him but never lowering the weapon.

'What is this place and what organisation operated here?' Hawks questioned, glaring at the man with narrowed eyes.

'I-I don't know what you're-'

'Cut the crap- tell us everything you know and we might let you live.'

The man turned his pleading gaze on you, his pin-straight black hair sticking to his forehead with perspiration. Keeping your stoic expression, you fixed him with a harsh glare.

'What was the purpose of the organisation?' you repeated.

'Okay okay fine, I'll tell you! The group working here farmed quirks- I was a scientist they dragged into their schemes. At first, it seemed like a regular quirk studying organisation, but as I discovered their true intentions, it became impossible to leave. They trained me to experiment on people- find the limits of their quirks and exploit them until it was physically impossible to use them any further.'

'Well then, if you're their scientist, how come you're sneaking about their abandoned base with a gun?' you queried.

The man sighed. 'When we had to abandon this place after it was exposed to the authorities a week or so ago, we moved to another facility north of here nicknamed the 'Red Facility'. There, they had better scientists than me, but they couldn't just let me go free as I knew too much about their organisation.

'So they made me into one of their foot soldiers instead- gave me a gun and ordered me on missions. I came here today to retrieve some files left here as we had to abandon this place in a hurry.'

'Did this group have a name? And how extensive are their forces?' Hawks pressed, vying for more answers.

'To me, the organisation was always called ARQ, which stood for the Association of Research into Quirks, which is why I initially didn't suspect anything when I joined their research team. But the methods they used were barely for research purposes- it was solely exploitation and practically torture. As for the size of the thing on a whole, it was definitely way bigger than just this base. People would come and go daily- I never saw the same person twice, and they always had this mask on so you couldn't see their full face. For all I know, this could only be a small element of a mass quirk farming institution.'

Creasing your brows in thought, you reflected over what this guy had just told you. According to him, this was a massive scale business, which didn't bode well for your mission- if you had to deal with an extensive network of bases and hideouts, there was a slim chance you'd be able to recover all 11 civilians before the worst happened. But, it was the second time this 'Red Facility' had been mentioned, which could prove to be your next lead.

'If you're going to shoot me, just hurry up and do it. Once ARQ finds out I compromised their information, they'll kill me anyway.'

The morbid tone of your hostage broke you out of your train of thought, returning your gaze to him. Your eyes softened slowly in sympathy when you realised he was serious, the look of fear ripe on his features as he contemplated his fate if he was to return to the villain organisation after this interrogation.

'We're not going to kill you,' Hawks stated mildly, 'We'll hand you over to the police, where you'll be safe from this group and their repercussions. As long as you promise you've given us all the information you are able to provide.'

The man nodded subduedly, casting his gaze to the floor.

'If that's all, I can go and phone them now-' you began, before your hostage spoke up again all of a sudden.

'Wait! I remembered something else. Superiors at this base and the other would always mention this like boss dude- like the one who was in charge of everything, I'm guessing. They referred to him as 'The Vulture'- everyone was terrified of him. I never met the guy, but from the way people talked about him, he sounded like someone you did not want to cross.'

You considered this final piece of information as Hawks addressed the man.

'Thank you for the intel- it will be crucial to the stopping of these criminals. I'll call the police now, and let them know what's happened.'

-

As the hostage was loaded into the back of a police van, you turned to Hawks with a smile of relief.

'God am I glad to be out of that dingy place,' you remarked, glancing back at the run down hospital.

'You didn't strike me to be someone afraid of the dark,' Hawks teased, earning a side glare from you.

'I'm not afraid of the dark,' you grumped, 'I'm afraid of run-down creepy places that sometimes happen to be dark.'

'You keep telling yourself that, Lumina,'

Rolling your eyes, you turn your gaze to the setting sun, which cast a golden glow on your surroundings and bathed your face in a pleasant warmth. You could feel Hawks' gaze on you as you enjoyed the final rays of sunlight for the day, absorbing them into your skin.

'Hey, d'you wanna catch a drink with me later in town? I think we need a break after all that's happened today,' Hawks suggested, averting your eyes when you turned back to him.

'Sure, why not?' you replied, smiling softly. You could do with some relaxation after the last week you'd had, and it would help you get to know Hawks better.

'Great!' he grinned, 'Meet you there in an hour or so. I'll text you the address.'

And with a flap of his scarlet feathered wings, he took flight into the evening sky.

-

hey its me again

at this point im just going to update this whenever i feel like it- but i do have a good idea on how the story will pan out, so stay tuned for whenever the hell i write that

if you see any mistakes please lmk bro i cant proofread to save my life (especially accidentally switching from past to present tense i do that a LOT)

anyways hope you liked the chapter :)

reuploaded chapter