Austin woke up in the burning remains of the Hawk. There was an intense fire; smoke and large parts of the Hawk were scattered everywhere.
He was confused.
The Hawk had crashed.
How, though? He remembered talking with Buford, but then everything went black. It wasn't like they had an emergency landing.
Unless they were shot down?
Austin managed to pick himself up and realized his right leg and arm were broken, and he had several wounds in his torso. He was even surprised to be alive.
But where was Buford?
He walked through the wreckage, hoping to find his only friend.
He may not admit it,he may never admit it but Buford was his only friend right now, and losing him would bring back the pain of losing his team. It would add more pain to that.
"Aaargh!!"
That's when he heard voices.
"No!"
They were faint, but thanks to the incredible super-senses Austin's Hawk Knight armor gave him, he could track them.
However, it had been two whole years since Austin had worn it, so the suit was still adjusting.
Following the voices, he passed by several pieces of the Hawk with various dents and broken parts.
That's when he realized this was from a battle. He deduced that once the Hawk crashed, Buford must have gotten into a fight with someone.
But who?
He wasn't going to wait around while Buford got hurt. He had already wasted enough time being unconscious. Austin activated his Hawk Vision and scanned the area.
He saw that he was in the Empire City docks, and the Hawk had crashed into a nearby warehouse.
Looking on, he saw a trail of destruction leading away. Looking closer, he saw a small explosion from another warehouse.
Austin did his best to move to that warehouse and figure out what was going on.
And who was Buford fighting?
But he was feeling dizzy. His injuries were kicking in and were knocking him out. However, he had to control himself. He couldn't afford to lose consciousness.
And his friend.
After an agonizing experience, Austin had reached the opposite warehouse. He was so close he didn't need his Hawk senses to hear the fight as several steel beams and other objects bounced around as fists clashed.
Windows were being broken, and the roof was collapsing. Austin needed to get in there before Buford was mortally wounded or worse.
As soon as Austin's hand touched the warehouse door, there was a large explosion. Austin woke up suddenly, feeling relieved that his quick senses had saved him. Austin's armor came with a nearly indestructible cape, and thanks to his fast reflexes, he used the cape to block the explosion from killing him.
But it didn't stop him from getting more injuries in the process.
Austin crawled through the wreckage while wincing in pain. But he ignored that pain because he needed to see if Buford had survived the blast.
That's when Austin saw a shadowy figure standing on the horizon. Covered in flames, Austin could barely make him out, but thanks to his Hawk Vision, the image became clear.
But it wasn't Buford. It was someone much worse.
Mr. E.
What was he doing here? Was he the one who crashed the Hawk? Was he the one who Buford was fighting? Was Buford still alive?
In a second, he got all his answers to be "yes."
Mr. E was holding Buford by the neck and hoisting him above the ground, choking him. Austin tried to gather everything in his system so he could get up and save Buford, but he barely had anything left to begin with. But through sheer will to protect his only friend, Austin managed to stand.
As he approached Buford, he saw a hand being raised in his direction.
Buford was trying to stop him.
But Austin didn't listen, as he inched forward to save his friend. Despite his injuries, despite his weakness, he wasn't going to let Buford die.
That's when he heard Buford speak.
"Beware t..the Shadow...ugh.." Buford said meekly.
Before Austin could even think of the meaning of those words, he realized those were his last.
Mr. E extended his hand and looked at Austin.
"You wouldn't!" Austin shouted as he tried to move, but his body was failing him again.
Mr. E simply smiled as he shoved his fist right through Buford's chest.
As Buford coughed up blood, he looked at Austin and smiled. That's when his eyes faded to white.
Mr. E dropped him on the ground and noticed his pocket began to glow red, but he ignored it. He had more pressing concerns.
It wasn't over. Captain Rocket was dead.
But Hawk Knight was still alive.
As Austin watched the scene before him, his mind began to wander.
He was on the rooftop of a building, ten years ago. It was not just him, though. He and Buford had just caught a new villain calling himself Mr. E.
"Damn! This guy's pretty tough. It's a good thing that asshole Canman sent me here." Buford said as he wiped the sweat from his brow after a long, hard battle.
"You're insane, you know that?! If it weren't for me, you'd be dead by now and this bozo would be out and about doing whatever the hell he's doing," Austin said as he gave a quick glance at Mr. E, who merely smiled.
He had no idea how much of a threat Mr. E really was.
"Aw... It sounds like the big bad loner, Hawk Knight, was worried about me." Buford said jokingly as he taunted Austin.
"Oh please! If you died, I wouldn't have a care in the world, you reckless prick," Austin said.
Then the two began to laugh.
But he wasn't laughing now.
The only one laughing was Mr. E.
"Aw look at that! You were worried about him," Mr. E taunted as he laughed at Austin, who was crying.
He had lost his only friend.
To this monster.
"Y..you killed my friend."
"So? I kill people's friends all the time," Mr. E said as he gave a little chuckle.
Austin couldn't take it anymore. He rushed towards Mr. E to attack, but sadly, his body gave out.
He collapsed on the ground and Mr. E approached him, laughing.
"Besides, I couldn't have him telling you the meaning of my message, can I?"
Mr. E then grabbed Austin and threw him to the edge of the docks, near enough to the ocean.
Austin screamed in pain as he landed.
Mr. E then appeared before Austin, using bat wings he had sprouted.
But Austin wasn't surprised by this, as many heroes were whenever they encountered Mr. E. He was one of the few people who actually knew Mr. E's ability. It wasn't a surprise to him that Captain Rocket lost.
Mr. E has the abilities of every living thing on Earth.
He turned his foot into a buffalo hoof and stomped on Austin's chest, causing him to spit out blood.
He then turned his hands into gorilla fists and began punching him repeatedly.
"No, no, no, that'll take all the fun out of it. I want you primitive fools to figure it out on your own."
Mr. E turned his right hand into a swordfish and grabbed Austin's chest with his left, pulling him close.
"Any last words like your friend?"
Austin was silent. He couldn't speak. He was too ashamed of himself to do so.
"Ugh. You're no fun." Mr. E said as he lifted his swordfish hand to stab Austin.
However, just before he could reach him, Mr. E noticed a ripple in the water. That's when he remembered Captain Rocket's glowing pocket that he had ignored.
Then a giant figure pounced out of the water, and before Mr. E could react, it used giant claws on its hand to slash him in two.
"W..who are.."
"A friend," the figure said as it grabbed Austin and jumped into the air with all its might.
Austin looked down to see Mr. E regenerating and realized something.
This was a sign. He shouldn't give up now. Not as long as this monster was still alive. Austin only wore the Hawk Knight armor to see Ace, but now he had a new mission.
Destroy Mr. E.
Austin gave Mr. E a glaring look, one that Mr. E could sense even a mile away.
"Ah! Yes! That's the spirit! Come on, Hawk Knight! Entertain me like no other hero could!" Mr E shouted, cackling as his torso reattached to his waist.
At that moment, everything began to fade to black as Austin rested in the hands of his savior.
"Wait, who are you again?" Austin said with the last of his strength.
"Stacya Karin. But you can call me Shark Woman," the woman said as she began to land on a warehouse and jump again.
This time landing in what felt like a pool of water.
Then finally, everything faded to black.
To be continued...