Can you see?

He ordered Hawks to lead the evacuation and when the kid asked him what he would do, Endeavor jumped forward to go on the attack. This was some strange timing … but in the end, hadn't he come all this way here for this?

He would fight the Nomu, and show him, show them all what it meant to be the Number One.

It was a brutal fight. He watched hovering in the air, boosting himself with his flames to prevent himself from falling, as the Nomu healed seemingly effortlessly from one of his strongest attacks. This one was stronger than the ones he had faced in Hosu, but they all had regeneration. Well, the black ones, at least. He remembered that the white ones he had fought had not been able to regenerate from his flames. It seemed the black ones where stronger than the white ones.

But this one…

"Are you strong?!" it screeched, charging at him.

This one spoke. And if it spoke, it could give information, which meant …

"We'll capture it alive and get information out of it!" declared Endeavor to nobody in particular, as Hawks was long gone. He shot out more fire from his fingertips, highly concentrated. And yet, the beast regenerated.

Suddenly, he was hit. The thing was faster than him. Endeavor didn't even know what hit him as he suddenly collided with the building behind him, breaking through the wall of the restaurant he had dined in just earlier. Was it extending his arm to keep pushing Endeavor further? He wanted to stop the beast, but he couldn't use his flames to fight back here. He could see and hear the civilians on the table around him, undefined silhouettes he glimpsed briefly as he was rapidly pushed past them.

He grunted as he collided with the next wall, and the wall after that. He felt his back and ribs crack from the collisions, gritting his teeth. Then, he suddenly found himself outside again, being pushed through the entire building almost effortlessly by the great beast.

He immediately activated his quirk, burning the arm that seemed to extent endlessly, pushing with his flames thrusting from his back to halt his movement and have some leverage against the Nomu's hold on him.

He felt his body stop in mid-air. Suddenly the creature reinforced its hold on him and swiped its extended arm to the side, ripping through the building, cutting it in half, and taking Endeavor with it through a hail of rubble and shards of glass.

Gods, he hoped Hawks could evacuate this building in time.

He heard screaming. As the creature finally let go of him, throwing him away as if he were nothing, and as he struggled to halt his fall with the help of his flames, he got his first real glance at the horrific scene above him. The Nomu had ripped through the entire building with him in his grasp, splitting the skyscraper and severing its upper floors in a way that it slowly slid sideways to crash on the streets and buildings below. It would crush whoever was still down there. And there were still people inside!

Hawks! What was Hawks doing?! People were falling from the building, jumping out of the windows, even, screaming and panicking. HAWKS! Damn it, where was the winged hero? Endeavor had seen his quirk, he should be … There! He could see the feathers of the Number Two Hero swirl around the building catching people in distress, carrying them away to where Endeavor could only hope would be safe.

Endeavor tried to distract the Nomu as best as he could and shift his attention away from the civilians, until Hawks came rushing at him.

"All 72 victims have been evacuated, Endeavor!" screamed the bird-hero, shooting feathers at the beast.

Endeavor didn't need any further invitation. Immediately he let loose of his ultimate moves against both the Nomu and the building, cutting both in a thousand pieces. Fortunately, the rubble was small enough to not do any major damage as it fell on the streets and buildings below. Surely, he thought, that attack would be enough.

"Interesting," he heard the Nomu's gruesome voice.

This was not possible, thought Endeavor. This scorching fist in combination with his spider webs was just about the strongest attack he could use within the confines of a city. He was held back by the fact that he couldn't go all out without endangering everybody in the vicinity. But even so … the beast shouldn't have survived this. Not this easily, as if Endeavor hadn't even scratched it, when in fact he had reduced the beast to burned pieces.

Both he and Hawks were pushed back with the force of the exploding building in a sea of rubble and feathers. Hawks was talking … about what, Endeavor didn't even know.

"Less talking, more fighting" warned Endeavor as he righted himself from the impact of the blast.

"I'm telling you, if I use too many feathers, it lessens my ability to fly!" explained Hawks.

Well, shit. So, that was the limitation of his quirk. And with the number of feathers he had to have used to save all the civilians, he was probably running short already. And, Hawks was not the only one slowly approaching his limits here. Endeavor's own body was already heating up.

Suddenly, there were attacks coming in from the ground and Endeavor spied a group of heroes he didn't know down on the street.

"Endeavor! Hawks! We'll provide backup!"

Their attacks didn't seem to have any effect on the Nomu, other than to distract and annoy it. It was preparing something … an attack against the heroes on the ground, and that could not do. The civilians were down there. Endeavor launched another angry scorching fist at the Nomu, but he was apparently too late, as several … things shot out of the creature and landed in the streets, on the roofs and walls in the vicinity.

God damn … He had failed to stop whatever attack that was, and a glance to the side revealed to Endeavor that the Nomu had somehow created or divided himself into several of the smaller and weaker white Nomu.

That made six quirks, Endeavor quickly surmised. One that allowed it to fly via Shoulder Jets, one that allowed its limbs to transform, turn into wings or stretch and expand, as well as splitting into multiple arms, one that strengthened its muscles, a strength booster, one that allowed it to regenerate, and now also this splitting or division quirk … whatever it was. This was madness.

Worst of all though, it was clearly intelligent. It didn't just speak, and have basic thought and instinct, but it was able to think rationally. It had used those white Nomus to get rid of the distraction, looking for its battle with the strongest opponent – that being Endeavor. And with those white creatures roaming the streets, Endeavor would need Hawks to take care of them. Which essentially meant that the Nomu had just turned this two versus one battle into a one on one duel.

This was not good. And to top it all off, Endeavor could feel the heat in his body rising to unsafe levels.

"Are you … done … shooting?" it asked in it's slow and horribly scathing voice. Like a screech that made Endeavor's skin crawl despite not being particularly high pitched. "N-no more … heat rays?" Endeavor started at the question. Did it realize …? "Or could it be … you can't shoot anymore … -more? I-if so, then …"

It had … It had realized his weakness. Its intuition had become better, as if it was learning throughout the fight. Its speech got better too. And already it was bright enough to realize the limitations of Endeavor's quirk? This was terrifying.

Endeavor had to regulate his fire, not use his scorching fist too much, to avoid heating up. But if he did hold back … the beast had proven to hardly care about his less powerful attacks. It was stronger and faster than Endeavor, that much it had proven. Using his quirk with attacks as powerful as he could was his only option to deal any damage at all. Not that it helped much with the creature healing faster than Endeavor could inflict the damage.

Still, he had to use his fire quirk to do something. It was his only option. That meant that the heat would continuously increase until he was burned from the inside out. He was already sweating profusely, his movements already getting a bit more sluggish. He needed to cool off. He found himself remembering Rei and her ice-quirk. That had been the reason why he had found her. His children. Shoto … who had the ultimate quirk, and wouldn't have to deal with this issue.

The creature's stuttered screams pulled him out of his almost feverish daydream. Right … there was a time and place to think about his family. This was not it. There were no means for him to cool off anywhere in the vicinity.

It was attacking with its outstretched transformed limbs. What a grotesque creature. He raised his arms in defense, felt some of the sharp attacks pierce his armor and skin at his arms and held onto them for dear life.

There was enough heat built up to use this attack …

His Prominence Burn ignited the sky like a miniature sun. He was far enough in the sky now that he could let purgatory loose upon this wretched creature. He would burn it to a crisp, to the last cell, until it wouldn't be able to regenerate anymore.

This beast was stronger than him, faster than him, with strong regenerative powers and a multitude of quirks … he knew by skill alone he should lose this battle. This creature was stronger than him. But he refused to lose his first fight as the Number One. He knew they were all watching. He had told them to watch him, after all!

He knew it … A battle of this magnitude, it could be seen from everywhere in the city, and TV-channels would broadcast it all over the country. In a way, for the first time in forever, he felt the eyes of the world on him. The burden of their hopes, their fears, their despair and their expectations. He would not disgrace himself by falling here! He refused to!

As the white-hot flames of his Prominence Burn died away, he was confused at first. Had it … torn off its neck, thrown its head away to avoid the damage to its brain? Madness! Endeavor was breathing heavily from the heat in his body. The attack just now had pretty much brought him to his limit.

"ENDEAVOR!" He heard Hawks scream from somewhere far away, but before he could react to the warning or grasp what was happening, it hit him brutally and painfully, ripping his side open, splitting his face.

He felt himself fall, but he couldn't halt his descent, crashing into a building taking it down with him as he felt his consciousness slipping and black dots taking over his vision. Blood loss and the built-up heat wanted to force his consciousness under, but there was the pain clawing at him, holding him in its torturous grip, keeping him rooted in reality.

He couldn't move a muscle, nor could he see through the film of blood on his face. Had he lost? But he refused to. He wasn't dead, yet, was he? So, he hadn't lost.

The beast crouched over him. Thinking him dead, maybe? It looked for a different opponent. Somebody stronger than him.

But there was nobody, Endeavor knew. Nobody since All Might had retired. Nobody who could come and take over this fight, defeat this beast, save these people … Nobody but him.

The burden laid heavy on him as his body refused to move. There was just the pain. Was this his end? His defeat, when he had just tried to rise up to his position, become the hero he always wanted to be? The hero to make his children proud …

Instead, here he lay, bloodied, weak and pathetic. Damn it, he refused to let it end like this. He was Endeavor. To struggle was in his name.

He would show them! He had promised them, had promised himself. Hawks, who was trusting him with this battle, who wanted to make him a Number One in more than just name. All Might, who he had worked so futilely to surpass. The people who needed a symbol, the villains who thought there was nobody to stop them anymore. Rei … Natsuo, Fuyumi … Shoto. He had promised them he'd be a hero they could be proud of!

As he lay amidst the rubble, he heard the rotor blades of a news helicopter flying over the destroyed parts of the city, flying over his head. He heard the noises of the battle – the smaller fights between his fellow heroes and the white Nomus – waft over him like a slow breeze. He heard the Nomu mumble, searching for another opponent. Heard his heart beat. And finally felt his fingers move again.

He propelled himself forward with a sudden burst of flames. He drew his arm back and fired another fiery attack at his opponent, when suddenly he felt himself getting hit in the stomach.

Endeavor was hardly able to see anymore and couldn't see the counterattack coming. He only felt its impact on his body, throwing him away with enough force that it broke his ribs, crashing him through several buildings. He didn't even know for certain if his own attack had hit.

He found himself sprawled over several broken desks, as if he had crashed into a school or office building, but he didn't have the energy anymore to look at his surroundings. He felt his insides burn with both the bruising of the impact and the side-effects of his quirk. Were his organs melting?

On all fours, he crawled out of the rubble he had landed in, felt his limbs tremble, his back ache. There was no inch of his body that didn't hurt. As he tried to stand his insides churned painfully and he found himself vomiting blood.

Where was it? Where was the beast? Where were the civilians? The evacuation zone …!

Unable to give up, unable to think of a different plan of attack, unable to do anything other than throw himself at his opponent again and again as often as necessary until he or his opponent would perish, he found himself turning and crawling towards the evacuation zone until he could hear their panicked screams. He was on the right track … The Nomu was there.

But he would never reach it like that. His body didn't follow his command anymore. Weak and pathetic … So, instead, he burst into flames once more. Killing himself, rather than giving up. Moving only with the desperate usage of his quirk, not the strength of his muscles.

He was chasing after the beast, no longer a man, but a burning creature of fire and rage.

"So. Y-you have … regene-regeneration, too?" asked the beast as if in confusion.

He didn't … he was just human. Way beyond his limits. His body wouldn't move, his consciousness was slipping, and only the pain kept him awake. He was grateful for that pain.

This beast wouldn't take him down. He didn't know how, yet. He had no plan, but he would find a way to prevail. He'd raise his fire power even more! Even more, to the point of his organs melting if necessary. He was Endeavor. If he knew one thing, it was to struggle on.

The regeneration … Despite its regeneration, he thought, it would succumb to a head injury, right? He had to kill it. Capture was long out of the question. He had to surpass its reaction and regeneration speed until that face was scorched to dead ash. He wouldn't let himself be taken down this easily.

The beast was too fast … evaded his next move. He was too slow. Suddenly, Hawks was there. Endeavor hardly even recognized him with his blurring vision, but it could have only been him.

Then suddenly, he felt something ram into his back like a thousand needles, the pain only miniscule in comparison to the agony he was in already.

The feathers, he realized, as he suddenly found himself approaching the dark Nomu with fiery wings and newfound speed.

Suddenly he was upon the Nomu, ramming his fist in its face, breaking through its teeth, scorching him from the inside of his mouth. He felt the teeth regenerate, dig into his arm, almost biting of his hand. He couldn't pull out anymore, so he kept burning from his hand, reducing its mouth to ash, pulverizing it again and again and again, until his regeneration wouldn't be able to keep up with him anymore. With the burning purgatory between his jaws it seemed unable to muster the strength to bite down more forcefully and take Endeavor's arm, but its teeth kept growing back, kept digging into Endeavor's flesh until the pain and blood loss made him numb to the feeling of his left arm entirely.

Suddenly, as if on instinct, it seemed to push him, fly into the next building, crash him against the wall and through the stone, flailing like a wild beast.

It wasn't enough, Endeavor realized in despair. The flames weren't hot enough. The feathers were burning away on his back, he could already feel their strength diminish. He needed … he needed to get away from here … out of the city, away from the houses, the civilians and his fellow heroes, up into the sky where he could let his flames loose, power up and burn as hot as he possibly could.

He needed to … "HAWKS!" He screamed for help.

The kid understood his plea, pushed him upwards, and Endeavor dragged the beast with him, arm still embedded between its sharp teeth.

He found himself rising above the streets into the sky, above the houses and office-towers, until he heard Hawks' apology. His feathers were burned, and he couldn't do much more.

It was okay … this was enough. He glanced down to make sure. Just a bit further … The beast, trying to push against him to get out of his fiery grasp, flew higher still, following the direction Hawks and Endeavor had given it. Unable to form any more rational thought, it seemed as if it were just flying higher in an attempt to throw him off.

High in the sky, he wouldn't have to pay any mind to the people and buildings around him. High in the sky, he could ignite another sun, this time with the beast's head firmly in his grasp and its own teeth holding it there. There would be no escape.

"Nomu," grumbled Endeavor, "modified human. You're just like me from the past … or perhaps from an alternate future." The Nomu looking for the strongest opponent to fight … He had been the same, indeed. "Now burn, and rest for all eternity!" He screamed his rage in one final act of defiance against this opponent so much stronger than himself.

To defeat someone so much stronger than yourself, there was only one way, he remembered from his school days. To surpass your own limits, one had to go Plus Ultra. He had hated this school credo for as long as he remembered. But now...now he embraced it.

Plus Ultra! Prominence Burn! He let his flames lose, screaming, holding onto the beast's head for dear life.

This had to be it, right?

As he felt the flames of his attack go out, he also felt the flames stabilizing him mid-air fizzle away. The thing was dead and falling and he, his arm now free, fell with it. What a waste, he thought, as he tried and failed to reactivate his quirk to boost himself just enough to stop his fall. What a waste to just fall to his death. It would be such a disappointing end to a Number One Hero.

He felt his consciousness slipping even further as something caught his body. Some of his fellow heroes used their quirks to catch him, unable to completely halt his descent but taking away from the impact while the Nomu just crashed onto the street, breaking the asphalt.

He had to … he had to stand up, he thought stupidly, unable to form a coherent thought, but he knew he had to do that at least. He pushed the hands of the heroes that had softened his descent away to struggle back to his knees, climbing to his feet with so much effort the act itself almost made him vomit more blood. As he was standing in front of the scorched and dead Nomu, in a slowly receding cloud of fire and smoke, he found himself raising his right fist into the sky.

He had won …but had they seen?