A distant, guttural roar echoed from two blocks away, followed by the sound of shattering glass and the panicked screams of civilians. Endeavor's head snapped toward the sound.
On a rooftop in the distance, he saw a lanky silhouette leaping toward the very area where Ingenium and the interns were heading with the evacuees.
"Dammit! They haven't cleared the area yet?"
__
In The Distance,
The air was thick with the scent of smoke and burning plastic. The chaotic sounds of hurried footsteps echoed on the cracked pavement.
"This way! This way!" Earthshaker stood at an intersection, his stone-coated arms gesturing as civilians sprinted past him. "No pushing! Keep moving in an orderly fashion!"
"Stay on the marked path!" another hero called from further down the street. "Keep your loved ones close! Emergency shelter is three blocks north!"
The street had become a river of terrified humanity. Families clutched children to their chests, their faces masks of barely controlled panic. Elderly citizens struggled to keep pace, some supported by younger strangers who'd abandoned their own flight to help. Office workers were numerous, their phones clutched uselessly in shaking hands.
The air reeked of smoke and fear.
"What the hell is going on?" a middle-aged man gasped as he hurried past, his briefcase long forgotten.
"Haven't you heard?" a woman beside him replied. "The whole city's under attack! They're saying it's the League Of Villains. The same group that attacked U.A."
"What the hell are these lunatics doing in Hosu?"
"My husband," an elderly woman sobbed to no one in particular, tears streaming down her face. "He isn't home yet. He was working late and I—I don't know if he's ..."
"Ma'am, please keep moving," a hero gently urged, guiding her forward. "We'll have emergency services coordinate with families once everyone's secure."
"Damn villains," a teenager muttered, helping his younger siblings along. "Why here? Why not anywhere else?"
Amidst the chaos, a ten-year-old girl clung tighter to the man carrying her, her small fingers digging into his shirt. Her eyes darted to every sound, every distant explosion.
"Are we going to be okay, Daddy?" Her voice was barely audible over the noise.
The man ... mid-thirties, his business shirt torn and dirtied, looked down at his daughter. His face was tight with worry. But when he met her gaze, his expression softened.
"Don't worry, sweetheart." He adjusted his grip. "Everything's gonna be fine. The heroes are here. They'll get us to safety and stop whatever's happening."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Behind them, an explosion lit up the night sky. Close enough to feel the heat. The little girl flinched, burying her face in her father's shoulder.
In a corner storefront, its windows blown out and interior scorched, several injured heroes rested against the wall.
Tenya stood nearby.
"You sure you're okay?" he asked for the third time.
"How many times do I have to say it?" One of the pros, a man with metallic skin that was cracked and bleeding in several places, snapped with irritation. "We're pros. We're fine, so just—"
A hand fell on his shoulder, cutting him off. "He's just trying to be helpful. Cut the kid some slack." Torque uttered.
Unlike the other, his injuries came from bearing the brunt of Endeavors rebounded flames.
The metallic hero exhaled, feeling exhausted. "...Sorry. It's just... this is bad. Real bad. And having a student worry about us when we should be protecting them..." He shook his head. "It's backwards."
"We're all doing what we can," Torque turned to Tenya. "But he's right about one thing. You should be with your brother coordinating the evacuation, not babysitting us. We can handle ourselves."
Tenya hesitated for a moment.
"Understood. Please signal if your condition worsens." He activated his engines and shot back toward the main evacuation route.
Torque watched him go, then looked at his injured colleague. "Kids are tougher than we give them credit for."
"Doesn't change anything." the metallic hero muttered.
"You're right. It doesn't."
Further down the evacuation route
"Keep moving! Don't look back!" Tensei shouted, his voice strained as he guided a group of nearly thirty civilians down a side street.
"Single file through the narrow sections! Watchbird, give me an eye on that smoke plume! Is the heat spreading?"
"Negative, Ingenium!" the aerial hero called down from above. "The main fire is contained to Endeavor's position! But I'm seeing movement on the rooftops. It's one of those things. Heading your way!"
"Dammit. Weren't they supposed to be drawn to Endeavor?" Ingenium's mind raced "Which direction?"
"Northwest! Maybe thirty seconds out!"
Tensei looked up, catching the rhythmic thrum-thrum-thrum of a news helicopter circling high above, its searchlight cutting through the bruised purple haze of the Hosu sky. He knew the world was watching, but he had no time for the cameras.
Thirty seconds wasn't enough time to clear everyone.
The street was too narrow, the crowd too dense with the elderly and the injured. If that creature landed here,
'People will die.'
He spoke into his comms. "Everyone listen up. Keep the evacuation going. Make sure all the civilians get to safety."
In that case, he would need to draw away its attention before it got here.
"I'll hold it off until the evacuation is complete."
"But captain ..."
"That's an order. Now get to work."
He dashed in the opposite direction of the crowd.
Propulsion jets shot out of his arm engines as he parkoured over the buildings onto the rooftop.
Up ahead, the news chopper followed as they recognized the number 67 Pro on the Hero billboard ranks.
Meanwhile, as Ingenium landed in a half kneeling posture on, a massive hand slammed into the roof of opposite building.
Concrete exploded outward as razor-sharp claws gouged into the roof's edge. The creature hauled itself up with a violent jerk and threw back its head.
Then roared into the night sky.
With the distance closed, there was no hiding its form now.
Brown, leathery skin stretched over a hunched, quadrupedal frame. Bulging muscles, a pulsing brain protected only by a translucent film, and limbs that ended in long, curved claws that scraped against the concrete.
'…A beast-type,' Ingenium assessed quickly. 'Most likely a Transformation quirk.'
His gaze narrowed.
'But Iida's classmate said these things possess multiple quirks… There's always a chance it has more than one.'
Heat rolled off his arms. The familiar warning signs of his overheating engines.
'Dammit… already overheating.'
It seemed a long brawl was out of the question. However, that wasn't up to him to decide.
'I don't know why it didn't stay focused on Endeavor, but trying to lead it away is too risky. If it decides I'm not worth the chase, it'll head straight back to that crowd. I have to pin it here.'
Close combat was unavoidable. The problem was obvious. The thing looked built for it. A biological tank that had already shrugged off a high-speed Recipro punch earlier.
'I can either attack with everything in hopes of a knockout, or try to evade and buy time... In that case, I'll—'
The Nomu didn't let him finish. With a violent spring of its hind legs, it launched itself into the sky. It reached the apex of its jump and plummeted like a falling anvil, swinging its claws in a wide arc.
Tensei engaged his side thrusters, pushing himself to the side with a desperate burst of speed.
BANG!
The roof nearly shattered. Spiderweb cracks exploded outward from the point of impact, sentries of dust and gravel flying into the air. Tensei skidded, his boots sparking against the concrete until his back hit the bulkhead of the rooftop access door.
'It's fast!' The thought had barely formed when the beast pivoted on instinct, swinging a heavy claw toward his midsection. Tensei leaped upward, the propulsion from his boots carrying him just high enough to feel the wind of the strike pass beneath him.
The reinforced concrete wall behind him was annihilated in a single blow, turning into a cloud of red brick dust and splintered wood.
Tensei frowned under his helmet, his heart hammering against his ribs. 'This strong too?'
He landed on the next building.
'A mutant-transformation quirk that grants massive enhancements to speed and power. That would explain the claws ...'
The creature didn't give him a second to breathe. It leaped again, its tail acting as a rudder in mid-air to adjust its trajectory.
'I can't play defense forever,' Tensei decided. His arm engines gave a high-pitched whine as he forced them back into a high-output state. "Recipro... Extend!"
Blue flames erupted from his elbows.
The creature swung its claws. Ingenium ducked past, blue flames propelling him laterally. The claws missed by inches, carving three deep gouges in the concrete where he'd been standing.
He didn't waste the opening.
His arm engines roared, and he twisted his body, driving his fist forward with everything his Recipro Extend could give him.
The punch connected with the Nomu's jaw, snapping its head to the side. The creature staggered backward, claws scraping against the rooftop for balance.
Tensei pressed forward immediately. He closed the distance in a heartbeat, throwing a second punch at the exposed ribs.
The Nomu twisted, taking the hit on its shoulder instead of its torso. Tensei's fist struck dense muscle that felt like hitting a car door.
But the force still drove it back another meter.
'Keep the pressure on.' He threw another attack. 'Don't let it think.'
What followed was a flurry of attacks. His engines grew hotter the longer he kept Recipro active, but couldn't let up now.
Left jab. Right cross. Uppercut. Each strike empowered by propulsive bursts from his arm engines, each one driving the creature backward inch by inch.
However,
In that moment, the Nomu's left arm flattened and expanded. The flesh knitted together, hardening into a thick, organic shielding wall that intercepted Tensei's next punch.
The shield bore the brunt of the impact while Tensei's arm felt like he'd struck solid steel.
'It transformed? Another quirk!'
Realizing the opening had vanished, Tensei attempted to leap backward to regain his footing, but the creature was faster. Its shielding arm shifted again, elongating and narrowing into a whip-like appendage.
It lashed forward, catching the Turbo Hero mid-air. The force was like being hit by a freight train, sending Tensei hurtling across the street and crashing through the upper-story window of a nearby house.
He hit the floor hard, sliding through a dining table before coming to a stop in the center of a living room. Glass shards and splinters of wood rained over him.
What followed was pain.
"Ugh!"
He groaned, forcing his eyes to focus. He was in a living room—modest, lived-in, family photos on the walls. The furniture was overturned from his violent entrance.
And huddled in the corner, pressed against each other in terror, were two children.
A girl, maybe ten years old. A boy, younger, clutching an All Might action figure.
Their eyes were wide with fear, staring at him.
'Children. They weren't evacuated.'
Tensei's blood ran cold.
"You can't be here," he gasped, trying to push himself upright. His ribs screamed in protest. "It's not safe. You need to—"
CRASH.
__
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