"A boy claiming to be Tōya Todoroki was among the children when I last saw them."
Enji Todoroki's world looked devoid of color, the downpour of the rain caused the fire of his costume to sizzle. The sidekick spoke those words with a cold finality to it. The large man stepped back, fleetfooted, his earlier frustration forgotten.
His face went slack for a moment, his jaw fell open and his eyes went wide.
A new fire of anger lit up in its stead, and he reared his head back in the tall sidekick's direction.
"My son is dead!"
He enunciated those words with equal parts rage and hidden grief, balling his fists to stop himself from smashing his fist into the side of the destroyed ambulance. The paramedics were cowering in fear behind Nighteye, while Burnin's wide eyes accompanied her waving hands so fast that they smeared into a blur. But it ended once she tired herself out.
Nighteye crossed his arms as he looked at the enraged man and back to the empty ruins behind Endeavor. "I'm inclined to agree with you, for all of the factual evidence provided, your son should be dead."
The easy acquiescence left Enji on the backfoot and his shoulders fell. "Then why tell me?" He asked, truly tired, this day had gone on long enough. His hair fell down to his forehead heavy with the downpour of the rain.
"It is the right thing to do. If I was a father, then I would appreciate being informed as soon as possible. Even if the chance of it being true is second to none." Nighteye began walking away from Endeavor and towards the center of the destruction. "Hope… that is what my Symbol of Peace strives towards accomplishing, it's not as cut and dry as All Might makes it appear."
The man in business attire left an emergency locator tag next to a wounded Hero leaning on the side of a ruined building a few paces away. With his inspection done the business suited man stood up as he finished patching the downed man up with haste. "From my first hand view of the boy, he matched the description of what your son would grow up to be if he was sixteen years old. Although malnourished no doubt from being fed by an IV for the last three years. He was riddled with burn marks, his lower face and choice parts sported clear signs of reconstructive surgery."
Ugly thoughts coursed through his mind, Enji's imagination ran wild and dark. He could imagine the horrible conditions that his supposed son had suffered as easily as the heteromorphs that he had just freed. If he let them consume him, then it would never end. And so he stamped down on them, his mind slipping back into its analytical mindset of a hero.
Endeavor and his now silent intern followed after him as they crossed a wide gap between clumped up buildings that had basically tipped over instead of collapsing into themselves.
A large cliff that he knew shouldn't have been there was upraised, blocking their way. Despite himself he clung to the sidekick's word like nectar and it frustrated him. Nighteye's pace increased and they moved to match it as the sidekick used a grappling hook to jump over what appeared to be a newly formed sinkhole. And then the man swung up to get over the cliff.
"Whoever it was had the means to hide him away and patch him up with regenerative tissue. And I have an inkling regarding who it might be." Before Endeavor could stop Nighteye to interrogate him.
They caught sight of a dog heteromorph who was currently in the middle of performing aid on a young tan woman, his hands bloody and his leg sporting a large fresh burn over his whole thigh. They rushed to his location near the mound of a building, the corner of it hanging above the two heteromorphs, protecting them from the worst of the downpour. A hole was at the side of it as if the heteromorph had clawed it open from the outside. Her leg and foot were broken and she was breathing with shallow breaths. Sweat poured over her figure, the dust had caked her skin and she would no doubt receive an infection at this rate if she didn't die from blood loss first.
Enji bent down, his own medical pack was open at his side and he offered it to the heteromorph. He wouldn't butt in, the other hero no doubt knew the situation more so than he ever could and if he interrupted him? It would only lead to further waste of any short window before her state worsened. The muzzled man blearily looked at him and nodded as he graciously accepted the offer of help.
Nighteye contradicted Endeavor in that respect as he crouched down to the heteromorph's right. Pulling out his own medical kit as he joined them, his words were slow and soothing as he spoke to the man. "Inui be careful that artery is punctured, that's where the blood is coming from, you see? I can stitch it back together. May I?" Nighteye softly grasped the heteromorphs bloody shaking hands before they could mistakenly cause more damage.
Where were the paramedics? Did the whole area get decimated? It was going to be a nightmare for logistics to account for.
Endeavor turned his head and he could only hear the sirens in the distance. He was wasting his time here, he placed a hand to his knee and stood—
"Endeavor could you pass me those hemostatic forceps? I've depleted most of my tools" The number two was silent as he handed off the whole thing to Nighteye, the other man accepted them as he washed his hands and began his work. Endeavor shook his head and he finished his action, he decided then and there to take the heteromorph away despite his protests.
"Let the man work, Inui." Endeavor ground out. "What happened out there?" he questioned as they made it to the clearing, it was nasty work with scorch marks and a mess of shearing. Enji could see a reporter helping an old couple out of a ruined first floor, and he clenched his fist as his intern rushed to assist them. The heteromorph was breathing heavily, taking in deep gasps for breath, he could tell that the man was still hyped up on adrenaline.
"T-The villain was— he was going after the children. The plan was to distract him and get everyone out." The dog hero spoke with a slur, almost like he was punch drunk, his animalistic growls didn't help the situation. "Thats what the boy said. H-He— Tōya, he joined in as bait, it was stupid to involve a civilian and a boy at that. But he already got the man's attention before I could stop them." He growled and yipped in anger, whipping his arms out in frustration before Endeavor's heart could stop. The action kicked him out of his stupor.
"He said the villain was as strong as All Might, I didn't believe it at first, but he wasn't wrong. His quirk could do anything. I was wrong…" The dog hero's eyes gained some form of lucidity at that statement.
"Where is he now?!" Despite himself, Enji voiced his attention with naked eagerness. The heteromorph answered him by pointing in the direction of what he knew by memory to be the general location of the police station. He planned on leaving the heteromorph behind, but the mutant started to follow after him as he ignited his quirk factor post haste. Endeavor's brow creased, he was not going to allow a straggler to impede him, not with something so important.
"What about your sidekick, Inui?" He questioned, shifting his shoulder behind the man.
The heteromorph looked startled for the first time and turned back, which gave the number two enough time for him to shoot off in the general direction of the police station. It was farther than he remembered. Charred remains of a burning building met his gaze and he rushed over, blood pooled up his head.
He planned on rushing into the building if not for Burnin who had joined him mid-flight, she was waving over to a series of buildings further behind it. He skipped over the burning husk with a large leap. A light crater was surrounded on all sides by four story buildings. The apartments were charred like bricks to a kiln, the thin line of his lips set down into a deep frown. What would have been a building was reduced to nothing but a melted puddle and he crouched down to inspect the area. Pock marks cascaded one side of a surviving building facing the western cardinal direction and he turned around. Endeavor was sure of it, there was a struggle, not a one-sided display of power like he had seen earlier. He peeked a dim light in the sky far in the distance between the apartments, it blinked pale and then purple, the distance would leave him winded in his current state but it was his best bet to get any answer.
Just as he ignited his quirk factor from the ground floor, a young voice interrupted him, he was stunned for a second but his heart calmed down as he recognized that it was not the voice of a dead son. But instead it was a man fully clothed in black who was rappelling down from the top of one of the untouched buildings with a thick cloth. A grey scarf covered his upper torso and it was wrapped similarly to a harness as he descended. A green haired woman joined them from the corner of the building. She was wheeling a motorcycle from the side alleyway, wearing clothes in a mockery of a clown costume.
A scarf in this weather?
"If you're searching for the villain he went up into the sky, I wasn't able to stop him, at least not fully." Endeavor scoffed at the younger hero. Stop a man on par with All Might? He looked away, now no longer taking the young man seriously. His next words stopped him in his tracks before he could walk away.
"My quirk is Erasure, I can erase any quirk barring mutations as long as my eyesight makes contact with the person in question." The black-haired man raised his goggles up from his forehead and activated his quirk to prove his point. The light from Endeavor's flames died immediately despite his wants. His face was no longer covered by his flame-mask and his intern's eyes immediately turned into saucers from fright. The clown girl held her stomach as she stifled her guffaws. Now that raised Endeavor's interest to a peak, he was too tired to feel any more anger over the indignity. Wordlessly, he stepped up to the young man fully engulfing him in his shadow.
He gave the raven-haired man his props, he did not shrink away from his imposing figure. Even without his quirk, Enji was more than capable of beating down any criminal around him. The green-haired clown girl shrunk away as his glower turned to her, she averted her eyes and whistled as she busied herself with turning a knob on her motorcycle.
"How long can you use your quirk? What are the limitations?" He asked the younger man, Endeavor felt the familiar feeling of his quirk returning as the young hero blinked. It was no longer suppressed into nothingness. And only now that he was free from the confines of the offending meta-ability did Enji's grin return. But it was filled with internalized malice, as the young man opened his mouth to answer him somewhat mollified from the impromptu questioning. Before he could finish his answer, the flame hero brought the young man into a hug and he shot off into the dark cloudy sky. All three of the younger people around him shouted in surprise, but he was too ticked off to care.
His intern and the other girl were left in the dust, his speed too much for Burnin to match.
"What's your hero name? I'm getting tired of finding adjectives to name you in my head." Endeavor genuinely asked him.
"It's Eraserhead! What are you doing!?" The young hero yelled out, his black hair was whipping around like a mop in a loud fashion as they soared. He caught the goggles before they could slip off of his head.
"You said you weren't able to stop the villain before. That same villain is on par with All Might, and as galling as it is, I won't be able to stop him without a bit of help." The explanation seemed to have calmed the younger man down, Eraserhead pulled down his goggles over his eyes to protect them from the rushing wind. The rain that fell sharply hit his face and it was all he could do to clean the lenses so that he could see.
"You could have just asked! Aren't you the number two hero?!" Despite his offended remarks the raven-haired hero turned around, his back to the hero's chest, fully trusting Endeavor not to drop him.
"We don't have time." He yelled out his response within the storm, ignoring the younger man's annoyed barb as he scanned the murky sky. He clicked the earpiece with his freehand to let his charge know that she needed to rendezvous with Nighteye and that he would be back.
Now where was this villain?
Time ticked down and both he and Eraserhead caught sight of a swarm of the mindless creatures within the dark clouds, they had the exact same appearance as the earlier ones. The young man pointed in that same direction. It was the right trail it had to be, it was also his only lead and he couldn't afford to let it slip through his fingers.
"Hold tight." His grip tightened as he used everything he had to shoot off in the swarm's direction. Eraserhead activated his quirk and an almost audible shift in momentum was felt as Enji reached the optimal distance to unleash a one handed…
"Jet —Burn!"
Endeavor increased the output of the incandescent beam to turn them into ash, his hand was sent back by the recoil, if he let them fall fully then they would no doubt kill any bystander down below just from the sheer velocity of the fall. Eraserhead protested the move as he fanned himself and inched himself away in his grip, the heavy rain wasn't helping the situation. He trusted the young man not to use his erasure quirk on him by mistake or they'd both die from the fall. Eraserhead was swiveling around looking for the supposed main villain in question and at last he could barely make out the light that had eluded them within the dark stormy clouds. It was thundering.
"Over there Endeavor!" He called out under the strike of lighting a short distance away, pointing his way to catch his attention. Enji meanwhile was preoccupied with the last dregs of the ashy remains.
"I see it now. Good looking out, Eraserhead." Doubling his pace the number two rocketed north, He could make out the small dot. The blue light looked small due to the distance and right at that moment he could see that a figure was barreling into it. The resulting effect was a large explosion, he had not noticed the large blob of skin behind the distant light until it exploded and lit the rest of it on fire.
"Can you cancel the quirk, Eraserhead? Try it on the fleshy thing." Endeavor asked.
"No, I already tried, I need a clearer line of sight on the villain's body before I can nullify his quirk. If it's a separate extension of the body it won't work." The young hero spoke as he squinted for a better chance at making his quirk stick. Endeavor growled at the answer, and increased his output further. The dome popped fully before they could reach it, tremors in the sky made the weather around them worse off and the number two could see that within the flurry of quirks that came out immediately after the explosion. That All Might was weaving between the emitted spires that shot off. He recognized that blond blur despite the attacks which caused the quirk constructs to explode into vision obscuring debris.
The obstructions made it difficult to discern where exactly All Might or the villain was, one moment he could catch them mid-attack and then he would lose them the next. He planned on rushing in to get a better stock of the situation, they wouldn't be useful at this distance otherwise.
"Don't activate it just yet, if the blond show off jumps into your line of sight by mistake, then you'll inadvertently kill him." By his estimations Endeavor could clearly see that All Might didn't require his assistance, it only made him rumble in envy. Eraserhead shouted and pointed to a larger winged creature that rivaled the size of the giant heteromorph, it was shooting up from below as it parted the clouds under them. However a mist of dark purple dissipated at the end, it stuck out barely in his mind as an oddity.
Nonetheless, It intercepted them by the force of its speed and size more than by any real conscious decision. Endeavor clicked his tongue as the large exposed brain creature spat out miniaturized little monsters in its likeness from its back like a frog, even then they were nearly one to one to Eraserhead's height.
Mid-spat, it struggled as it coughed and spasm no longer able to continue spawning more of the winged bat like creatures. Endeavor nodded to the younger man, clued in by the quirk usage from his raised hair. He cocked back a series of burning spears. The flame hero let go with a yell and continued to apply his quirk over the wide berth of enemies around them. Shooting off curved arcs of flames to catch as many of the little things all in one go. As the young Erasure hero said, the best that his quirk could do was nullify the emission of accumulated quirk factor, it wouldn't stop their flight. By now the smaller bats that he couldn't put down had swarmed around them.
Endeavor was forced into using his more limited moves or else he would burn his passenger.
The large giant was getting further away as it continued its flight to All Might's battle, as if it had forgotten them completely. Enji yelled before the rest of the bats could reach his weaker companion in his arms. The scream continued as he forced his quirk to materialize further away from his frame than he ever really needed to before. It was a cumbersome application of his meta-ability and it was weaker to show for it. But he never stopped innovating when it could give him that little edge in the fight to reach the number one spot. The flared out flames escaped in a dome like fashion that exploded outward around them, all without harming Eraserhead. He expected the bats to disintegrate from the impact like the earlier creatures but they started bursting like concentrated bags of liquid.
He pivoted away, despite his best efforts, the spray of the ichor fell to his metal bracer, the liquid sizzled as it ate at the metal and Eraserhead inched away in Endeavor's grip with a yelp from the rapidly deteriorating metal. With a heavy arc the older hero threw his younger companion towards the large creature flying away despite his dwindling protests. And Enji instantly ripped the armguard apart. Now free from the hindrance, Endeavor used all four of his appendages to aid his flight back to the falling Eraserhead. Catching him a second later much to the younger man's quiet complaints for the earlier surprise.
"I'm going to land on the creature, keep your sight on the beast. I'll let you go before I reach it. If I kill it I have a feeling that it will explode with a larger volume of acid. And I can't afford to escape unscathed with you in tow. We are near the ocean so it will dilute once it flows into it." This time he waited for the hero in his arms to nod and then they sped up on the double, wind rushing past his ears.
Endeavor dropped Eraserhead who spread out his arms to slow his fall, eyes locked to the creature's form. Enji's feet found purchase on the dark surface of the leathery skin. He planted his hands on the creature's thick tail, with a grunt he used the propulsion from the flames on his back to force his body to stick to the creature as it was slick with rain. He couldn't force a struggle right now or it would become a confusing mess of limbs for his younger companion. A killing blow was his best bet, and the soles of his feet continued up as he crossed the creature's spine near its large head.
The large bat-like creature shifted in its flight and it almost forced him off of it entirely. Digging his fingers and heels into the rough skin he made a single leap up to its large brain. This was it! His fists smashed into the brain matter anchoring him, and his familiar sneer crept up at the change in circumstances. The large bat-like giant screeched and it was doing what it could to shake him off.
"Now you've decided to deign me with your attention? Well too late!"
His core ignited with the accumulated quirk factor and he let loose all in one go. The flames engulfed the head of the creature and he stoked the fire until it became a clean light of pure complete combustion. The death of the creature was violent as it writhed in agony and then by his earlier assumption the rest of its body started to bubble. He was sure now that whatever this large abomination was, it was not human. He flipped up into the air and used all four limbs to escape the rancid explosion. Endeavor made sure to forcefully make the flight inefficient so that it could cone out into a wide area and catch any of the noxious acid that would land in his general direction.
He got closer to the falling Eraserhead. The younger hero pulled off his scarf from his neck and held it between his hands. The scarf was tightened and he whipped the cloth like a rope. Enji caught it with a raised arm and his companion reeled himself in. "This'll be better for the both of us, if I hang on, it'll leave you open to using the rest of your limbs." The younger man added.
Eraserhead crossed his legs to the flame hero's stomach as he maneuvered his scarf to strap himself to Endeavor's back. "Catch me if I fall, because logically we won't be able to reach All Might otherwise. He went down further into Tokyo after you killed the thing." He yelled over the storm and pointed in the direction of the blond hero. Endeavor looked at him with surprise at his quick turn of ingenuity, the young man had impressed him over the course of their short time together.
With that lingering thought they rocketed down to Earth.
The wind was buffeting both of them and as the ground became closer than he was comfortable with. They could see a large sphere of purple light getting bigger by the second. The corner of Endeavor's eye reached Eraserhead and the young man nodded to him with a thumbs up. They'd have to reach the villain so that the younger hero could nullify the attack before it made contact with the city.
Propelling himself laterally, he curved the edge of the dome. A mist started to appear and he almost fell into it fully were it not for Eraserhead's timely intervention.
"There Eraserhead!" Time stood to a standstill, right at the cusp of a truly devastating attack his mind worked overdrive so that he could find a work around. When the large suited villain sent his arms down towards the earth and the dome exploded into a cascade of beams that went wildly in every direction. A golden blur had smeared its way to the villain's personal space, All Might's fist was rocketing to the offending criminal's face. But he could see that the villain's face twitched as if the unruly anger that he had been wearing was only a mask. The dome dissipated into nothingness from Eraserhead's quirk, but a shift in the criminal's stomach caused the number two to move before he could really think.
Eraserhead was inconvenienced from the turn, but he kept his gaze locked to the villain even when he widened his eyes at the sudden appearance of All Might.
"Flashfire… Fist."
His words were low, Endeavor's closed hand was pulled back, crushing a pulsing ball of fire that lanced out in two directions. It was unbearable but internalizing the heat was a necessity or he would kill the young hero behind him. And then before the instant spikes that ruptured out from the unnamed criminal could rip into All Might mid-attack, he let loose. The blond brute was too close, and he wouldn't be able to deflect the attack before he could even shift himself to safety.
"Ignited Arrow!"
A large blue spear of flame flashed forward, his hand blistered as it shot back from the recoil, the instant flash temporarily blinded him. His reserves were truly depleted and it was all he could do to slow his fall with the last of his stamina.
The augmented bone spears that were inches away from shredding All Might's stomach were melted outright, it managed to char the rest of the offending man's stomach. Endeavor felt like he could comprehend the seconds that went by with stark clarity. Both the criminal and All Might looked at the two heroes in surprise. But while the villain's face shadowed with anger, All Might gazed at Endeavor with astonishment. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination but he could have sworn that the Infuriating man winked at him. Even as his fist crashed into the villain with a deafening crescendo.
And as expected, the number one hero became a haze of movement alongside the villain, after he blinked. The attacks forced Endeavor back from the mere shockwaves. And as quickly as they had reached All Might, they left. Both the number one hero and the villain were gone back into the sky, this time in the direction of the Pacific Ocean, no doubt in part the blond hero's doing.
Endeavor's eyes were irritated from the tiny specks in the wind, he had forcibly kept them open the whole time. And his breaths were heavy as he took lungfuls, the soles of his feet softly landed on the dusty ground. Eraserhead untangled himself from Endeavor's back, the younger man was somewhat shaky on his feet.
Despite himself, the older hero looked to the Eraserhead beside him. "I'm surprised you didn't protest my lack of attempting to pursue them."
Eraserhead's black hair that followed after his shaking head, accompanied his next words. "I'm not going to be able to track them, and you look dead on your feet." After a moment Eraserhead nodded to him.
"I'll be making my way back to my colleague Ms. Joke." and with that the younger man turned to walk away, finished with the conversation.
Endeavor was too tired to think but he cupped his mouth with one hand as he called out to him. "If you don't have one and are ever planning on joining an agency, I have an open spot if you're interested." The black-haired youth looked back at him over his shoulder with naked surprise.
"Think about it." The flame hero said, Eraserhead shook his head and left. Flinging that strange scarf onto the lightpost and swinging away.
With a heavy hand, Endeavor clicked on the button of his receiver. He stepped nearer to what he now recognized to be the dumpster's behind Central Hospital. The parking lot near it looked full.
"Report." He stated.
"This Is Onima, we're on our way to the other Flaming Sidekickers, we should reach our destination within fifteen minutes. Traffic is congested with extended families rushing into ground zero in search of their missing relatives."
He could hear his sidekick shift in his seat. "But we've taken the lane that the HPSC has set up as a fast tracked route for first responders. Over and out." The static of his voice fizzled out.
Endeavor switched the channel as he continued his walk around the hospital, He'd have to call his chauffeur Kurumada over once traffic had settled. His intern's voice reached him before he could greet her.
"Man… you left me and I had to walk back anyway." she whined.
A hint of a smile tugged at his lips, she reminded him of a time when five year old Fuyumi complained about not receiving a piggyback ride for her tired feet when they visited Ueno Zoo, he had obliged of course after her tantrum. But not before Rei crouched down to gently ask the child if she would prefer one from her mother.
"You weren't fast enough." He answered, before she could complain further he informed her that both he and Eraserhead had made contact with the villain, and until she received her hero license. Burnin would be forced into a non-combative role, thoroughly taking the wind out of her sails.
After a moment and with a low voice she updated him. "Nighteye and a hero named Snatch are taking the incapacitated hero Mirko over to Central Hospital after we crossed over to an undamaged intersection. I'm stuck with them unless you're planning on getting some more hero work in?" She added with thinly veiled eagerness.
Endeavor shook his head as he forced himself not to lean against the wall of the building. He could see the mob of civilians on the other side of the corner at the front. "I'm currently located near Central Hospital. And we've wrapped up our main tasks. You've done enough to impress me, asking anything more of you would be cruel. Once the Flaming Sidekickers are done with the relief efforts, I'll be treating the agency for a job well done." He could barely hear her muffled cheer on the other side.
"Oh! Nighteye wants to speak with you, I'll pass him over." Before an unwelcomed migraine could rise up, he heard the cool voice of the sidekick on the other end.
"Endeavor, I hear that you are currently located near our destination, I've been doing some digging and one of the children that I was charged with has been sighted within the hospital." The sidekick continued before he could interrupt him. "If you are unable to then I understand."
Endeavor's nostrils flared as he closed his eyes. "Give me their description and I'll get back to you." He ended contrite.
"Perfect." Once the tall sidekick finished giving his description, His intern took back the receiver.
"...Listen uhh about your— uhm, I'm a— looking forward to the all you can eat barbecue!" A final hasty click from his intern ended the conversation. The flame hero stepped off of the wall and towards the entrance of the Hospital. The gaping stares of the civilians washed off of his back. Despite himself, he couldn't help but glare as a few of them got in his way. He doubled his scowl on the offending reporters who shoved their microphones in his face with their inane questions. The bright flashes of the cameras almost disoriented him and he growled at the offenders, they shrink away in fight.
The doors of the entrance closed behind him and he closed in on the receptionist, she shrunk back in fear. But Endeavor couldn't help but overhear a fully suited hero garbed in silver as he explained to another hero that All Might had brought in a thin figure with full body burns. The hero with exhaust pipes on his arms was wheeling away a new gurney mid-conversation, and the flame hero intercepted his path.
The aluminum frame of the gurney clanked against his upper leg. "Can you give me a description of the burn victim?" He asked curtly. The hero shifted, more in surprise than for any ounce of fear. For a moment Endeavor thought the other hero did not hear him, and he'd have to repeat himself. But the smaller hero answered him evenly.
"Well there's not much to really say, from what little I could see, he had white hair, and a thin frame, as for height he couldn't have been less than five feet. He's currently in the ICU, the doctors are currently working to save him, but…" The hero trailed off as he shook his head at Endeavor. "You'll have to wait for All Might because I wasn't given a name or contact information." Endeavor stepped back and the silver clad hero gave his thanks as he walked out of the hospital. The bright lights looked dimmer, and he contemplated walking out entirely.
He aborted the thought, he had a task to complete and he would do so. The flame hero walked back to the receptionist, quiet as can be and skipping the new line that had formed until he slipped past the frontmost person in the queue. Without a moment to spare he questioned her on the child based on Nighteye's description. The eyes of the woman at the desk lit up at his words.
"Oh yes! I also received a call from another hero who's making his way from Yamanashi Prefecture to visit her. Mr… Endeavor… Sir? This is her room number." She added with a wince as she handed off a hastily scribbled note and pointed to the elevator behind him. So that she could get the line running again. There were faint complaints that were getting louder from the people behind him as he cut the line, but he ignored them.
Endeavor turned away from her and quietly pulled out his phone from the compartment of his belt. Once the doors of the elevator fully opened he squeezed himself between the other visitors. He flipped through the Hero Network application, ignoring the surprised civilians who entered after him.
Endeavor planned on shifting through the notes and footage for any of the earliest sightings of the spiralling catastrophe. He had missed most of it due to his late arrival back in Tokyo. But his eyes scanned the words of the application, they dimmed. The sheer speed of the updates flashing through the news tab only let him know one thing.
Endeavor knew now that It was going to be a nightmare until it was summarized. Would it be wise to force a division of his employees back in his agency to work overtime to parse it all in detail? Or would it be a better use of resources to leave it to someone else. No doubt the vultures were having a field day with this disaster. The doors opened to the floor of his destination with a final ding. He planned on shutting off his phone and clipping it back to his belt, his arm falling to his side.
He felt adrift within the sea of disorder as people rushed around him in the hallway.
The audio from an explosion at his side forced him to look down at his limp hand. His thumb paused mid-scroll. And he raised his arm up as he walked to the end of the hallway near the wall. The grainy footage captured the shape and color of flames that were not his own. They were sloppy and needlessly overdone, he recognized Hellfire Storm as it engulfed the same villain that he had earlier inconvenienced. Endeavor's eyes were glued to the screen as the video continued playing. Despite himself, he couldn't help but breathe harder as he leaned onto the wall. Bystanders passed by, not noticing the hero as they were also isolated in their own world in the frantic rush within the hospital. The aerial shot of the helicopter camera-man zoomed into the clearest image of a young boy propelled by his flames. He caught the familiar figure of Inui in the air.
—It was crystal clear and it caused him to break out into a cold sweat, his eyes widened and the mask of flame died out all in one go. Enji's heart stopped… the face, the white hair. He was sure of it, it was unmistakable, it looked like Rei's. But the scowling blue eyes, the same ones he saw in the mirror every morning…
Enji Todoroki looked up at the ceiling, the eyes reflected in the mirror at the corner of the turn mocked him. His arm fell, the face of a boy who looked identical to his son was aimed upward from his limp hand.