The drive back to the Endeavour agency was much more pleasant than the time spent driving to the facility, largely because Endeavour was quiet through the entire trip, allowing Izuku and Shoto to converse quietly from the backseats.
Soon enough they pulled into the city, and soon after that into the parking lot of Endeavour Agency.
"Get dressed." Endeavour said before Izuku had even closed the car door. "We are going on patrol."
Shoto nodded and headed off silently.
"That… might be a problem." Izuku said sheepishly.
"What?" Endeavour snapped in blatant irritation.
"Well, I don't have a hero suit yet." Izuku explained calmly. "I was in general studies until-"
"What?" Endeavour barked, furious. "How is this relevant? Why are you speaking to me?"
"You-" Izuku said nervously. "You told us to get dressed and I… well… thought you should know?"
"I was not speaking to you." Endeavour snapped. "Shoto and I are going on patrol. Your quirk is too unreliable, and your physique is, quite frankly, pathetic. You would be nothing but a liability. You will be in the gym exercising until we get back. Burnin' has a regime for you to follow."
"O-Oh." Izuku swallowed his disappointment.
"This is not an insult, Midoriya." Endeavour continued coldly. "It would reflect very poorly on myself and my agency if one of my interns was killed by a common thug."
Izuku nodded, trudging off to get changed. He passed Shoto in the hallway, too embarrassed to make eye contact.
"Would it kill you to be civil with him?" Shoto bit out.
"I am not in the habit of making worthless gestures." Endeavour grumbled. "Now come. The day draws to an end."
As usual when Shoto and Endeavour were out on patrol, Izuku was in the gym, working out with assistance from Burnin'.
"It's- not- fair-" Izuku panted, his body quivering between sit ups. "I- am- not- a- liability!"
"Well," Burnin' teased while holding down his feet. "Maybe when you master beating sit ups without halfway dying from exhaustion, Todoroki-sama will allow you on patrol with him."
"Very… funny…" Izuku gasped, scoffing down another energy bar.
"So unfair." Moe pouted.
"It's unfair that he looks down on me like that." Izuku grumbled. "He keeps taking Shoto on patrol, and just leaves me here to train. It's been like that the whole week! I can help! I've got all these heroes that can do good but I'm stuck, cooped up here. I expected interning with the number two hero would be a good opportunity to improve my control over my abilities, but all I've learned here is how to control how much cream Endeavour takes in his coffee!"
"To be fair," Moe bit her lip, smirking. "You can't really control that well either."
"You're not helping." Izuku rolled his eyes, a smile tugging at his lips. "I should have interned with Hawks."
"You don't mean that!" Moe held a hand to her head, acting faint. "You'll break my heart."
"You know what I mean." Izuku did smile that time. "I could have been gaining practical experience and actually helping people, instead of being a glorified waiter. And you could have been going on patrol instead of babysitting me."
"Midoriya-kun, don't let it get to you." Moe said kindly. "It took a while for Todoroki-sama to warm up to me too. He didn't even learn my name until I proved myself. I was just 'girl' or 'coffee' to him for my whole internship."
"I just didn't expect him to be so unreasonable." Izuku sighed.
"Unreasonable?" Endeavour's voice cut through the relaxed atmosphere like a knife.
Izuku scrambled to his feet, followed by Burnin'.
"Explain." He demanded. "I expected you to be helping Midoriya, not gossiping like a schoolgirl."
"Hey!" Izuku snapped. "I was the one gossiping! Don't put this on her!"
"Speak when spoken to!" Endeavour snapped. "As I was saying-"
"You know what?" Izuku threw his towel to the floor. "No! I have had it!"
"Think very careful-"
"Screw that!" Izuku exclaimed, walking until he was less than a meter from the flame hero. "Screw you! Why should I be respectful to you if you won't even take me seriously!?"
Judging by the look of horror from Burnin' and the paleness of Shoto's face, Izuku could tell he was being an idiot, but at that moment his brain was buzzing with anger.
"You are a child." Endeavour's voice was dangerously quiet.
"I'm older than Shoto!" Izuku crossed his arms, scowling at the hero.
"Shoto has been training for this since he was a child." Endeavour sneered. "You haven't even had your quirk for a year."
"Fat lot of good that training did him in the sports festival." Izuku smirked right back. "Did you forget who won that fight? Or is it too embarrassing for you to admit your perfect son lost to a quirkless hero wannabe!"
Silence rang through the gym. The fire on Endeavour's body glowed violet-blue at the base. Izuku narrowed his eyes, refusing to look away from Endeavour's cold stare.
After a few moments of suffocating tension, Endeavour's fire turned its normal shade of orange.
"Very well, Midoriya." Endeavour smirked. "You wish to be taken seriously? That's fine by me. Moe, go fetch Shoto's spare costume. He and Midoriya are around the same size, don't you agree?"
"Todoroki-sama I-"
"Hurry now, Burnin'." Endeavour grinned. "The little hero is impatient it seems."
Izuku clenched his jaw, storming out of the room.
"Would it kill you to be considerate for once in your life?" Shoto snapped.
"I have had enough," Endeavour roared, his flames billowing into bright blue torrents. "Of insolent-"
He was alone in the gym. Shoto and Burnin' had left without him noticing. He ground his teeth together, blasting a line of fire, disintegrating most of the training dummies. He panted, clenching his fists to stop his hands from shaking.
Employees practically leapt out of his way as he stalked through the hallways towards reception. The receptionists nearly jumped out of her chair when he leaned forward and slammed the intercom button down with his finger.
"Sidekicks and interns!" Endeavour announced. "Pack your things. Be prepared to leave for Hosu in an hour!"
"That was…" Moe said, sitting across from Izuku in the train transporting the sidekicks, and Izuku, to Hosu.
"Really stupid?" Izuku said, his face in his hands. He was dressed in a black and white replica of Shoto's hero suit, but felt less like a hero than when he was quirkless.
"Took the words right out of my mouth." Burnin grinned. "But you got what you wanted. Something big is going to happen in Hosu. I can tell."
"How so?" Izuku asked, still not lifting his head.
"I may not know exactly," Burnin' admitted. "But I do know Todoroki-sama only ever assembles all the sidekicks for dangerous missions."
"I bet he wants me to get myself killed." Izuku mumbled dramatically.
"Don't be a baby." Burnin' chastised. "You wanted to see action, and now you're gonna get your wish!"
"Well.." Izuku raised his head, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "At the very least this will be good experience for me. And I doubt Endeavour would want anything to happen to someone at his agency, because it would look bad if nothing else."
"That's the spirit." Burnin' teased. "And don't worry. Stick with me and you'll be just fine!"
The rest of the train ride passed in a persistently companionable atmosphere with Burnin', Kido and Onima sharing stories from their internships. Onima had it the hardest of the three, having joined the agency when Endeavour 'had not mellowed out yet'.
"You're kidding!" Izuku gasped, completely engrossed. "He made you wear 20Kg in weights when you went on patrol? No way!"
"It's true." Kido confirmed. "Why do you think his previous costume had those massive wrist guards and shoulder plates?"
"That's insane!" Izuku shook his head. "I never knew. And I'm a massive hero geek."
"You don't say…" Onima teased in his gruff baritone.
"Hey, guys…" Burnin' puzzled. "Is Todoroki-Sama in Hosu yet?"
"I don't think so." Kido wondered. "According to Kirou he and Shoto-san left a while after us. Why?"
Izuku felt his gut twist into a knot.
"Because that fire seems awfully large…" Moe bit her lip nervously.
"Hey look!" A passenger a small way down the cabin cried out. "Something is attacking that train!"
The sidekicks rushed over to look outside the window.
"Holy crap!" Kido exclaimed. "What is that thing?!"
"Come on!" Onima stood up, rushing to the back of the train car. "Moe, get to the conductor, try and get him to slow the train down!"
"On it!" Burnin' nodded, leaping to her feet. "Stay close, Midoriya-kun!"
"Got it!" He said, running after the older hero.
It didn't take them long to reach the front of the train, and a quick burst of flame from Burnin' melted the lock on the door.
Izuku took the time to catch his breath as Moe 'persuaded' the conductor to stop the train. He had to give Endeavour credit, just one week of proper exercise and he was feeling less like he was going to die from sprinting the distance through the train.
His side was still in stitches as he struggled to keep up with Moe as she ran towards the other train. With effortless grace, Burnin' leapt the distance between the tracks and landed next to the stationary train. Izuku heaved for breath,k hands on his knees before assessing the distance. He shook his head and activated the Omnitrix.
Four-Arms appeared in a flash of green light and leapt the distance casually. As he landed, he braced, catching Onima, who had been thrown at him with considerable force.
"What is that thing?!" Four-Arms asked the sidekick as he watched the pale green creature brace itself against Burnin's flames.
"It's strong, I'll say that much!" Onima said, leaping forward again. He slammed full speed into the creature, only for it to seem largely unaffected. It screeched at him and slammed a fist into the ground causing a fissure in the concrete.
The passengers on the train screamed in terror as part of the elevated track fell away.
"I got this!" Four-Arms cried, dashing forward and slamming his fists into the creature's chin in a two-handed uppercut. The creature lifted from the ground a few feet before slamming its head into Four-Arms'.
Four-Arms shot backwards, bouncing over the concrete and through part of the train.
"Midoriya!" Burnin' cried out.
"I'm okay!" He shook his head, trying to clear the spots from his vision.
"The train!" Kido's eyes widened, touching the creature in the chest as it ran at him, sending it flying directly upwards.
Four-Arms leapt to his feet, scrambling backwards as the concrete under his feet fell, crashing to the ground far below.
"This place is falling apart!" Onima shouted, dashing out of the way of the falling creature, which shook the bridge with the force of its fall. "You're not helping, Kido! Burnin'! Distract it! Midoriya, the train!"
"You got it!" Burnin plucked two plumes of fire from her hair, lashing the creature's back with the burning strips.
The bridge rocked as part of the train started folding in on itself, falling through the collapsing bridge.
"Right!" Four-Arms dashed to the back of the train, grabbing it with all four arms and pulling it away from the hole.
"What are you doing?!" Burnin' cried, sliding between the creature's legs before hurtling three more balls of fire in its face, distracting it momentarily. "You'll destabilize the bridge even more!"
"I got it!" Kido leapt over the train, pushing with all his might from the other side. "As long as Midoriya keeps the train in motion, I can redirect the force upwards!"
"Right!" Onima leapt forward, engaging the creature alongside Burnin'. "Let's keep it occupied!"
"Yeah, no shit!" Burnin' winced as she plucked another whip of flame from her head. "Make it quick, I'm starting to run dry!"
Only three more cars! Four-Arms grit his teeth together, pulling with all his might to get the train to safety.
The creature grabbed Onima by the face, slamming him into the concrete floor. He turned, advancing on Burnin', who reached up to grab another projectile, only for her hand to close on air. Her eyes widened in fear before she was thrown into the train by the creature. She bounced off the metal, leaving a dent, before she landed, crumpled to the floor.
"Burnin'!" Four-Arms cried. "Moe! Are you okay? Can you hear me!?"
"Focus, Midoriya!" Kido hissed. His arms were buckling under the strain, and he was down on one knee. Four-Arms watched in horror as the sidekick shuddered once before collapsing.
"Kido!" He cried out in horror, feeling the full mass of the train again, already slipping back into the hole. He dug his heels into the concrete, pulling with all his strength. The tracks creaked and groaned as he wrestled the train to safety.
The creature slowly advanced, taking a moment to look at the downed Burnin' before lumbering forward to Four-Arms.
"Stay back, asshole!" He tried his best to channel Bakugou. "Or I'll… Kill you! Really bad!"
The creature cocked its head before continuing its haggard stride. Four-Arms let go with one arm, feeling the other three strain as he held the train in place. He wouldn't be able to do much, but he didn't want to be entirely helpless either. The train immediately started sliding back, forcing him to grab it again.
Okay, think! He watched the thing advance. I have a few seconds to do something before I have to grab the train again! If I can divert his energy, I can Pull the train to safety!
He braced as the creature leapt towards him, still pulling the train. Before he could even put his plan into place, he watched the creature plummet off the bridge, tackled by Onima.
"NO!" He watched the sidekick plummet, helpless as he hauled the train faster. When it was sufficiently far back, Four-Arms dashed forwards, ignoring the clapping passengers to check on Burnin' and Kido. When he established both were breathing, he laid them carefully out of harm's way, near the back of the train.
"Call an ambulance!" He barked, leaping off the bridge after the creature. He found Onima unconscious, one of his arms twisted at an odd angle, but still breathing and cradled him carefully in his second pair of arms.
If I kept time right, I should have two minutes left as Four-Arms! He dashed down the street. If I can find the pro's, I can make sure a rescue team can see to the train!
He found the pros engaged with the creature, not in any position to help. There was another creature, flying overhead, diving down on the heroes, barely keeping the pale skinned creature that attacked the train at bay.
He laid Onima down against a building, and ran forward, leaping into the air and swiping at the flying creature. It was much faster than he had expected, but he hadn't counted on catching it anyway. He brought his fist backwards and slammed down on the pale creature with all the force he could muster. The creature stumbled away, bulging awkwardly before letting out a belch of energy.
"Another one of those things!" A horned hero called, pointing at Four-Arms.
"No! That's Midoriya! He's a student from UA!" Manual called. "He won the sports festival!"
"It has an absorption and release quirk!" Four-Arms shouted, dashing to engage the enemy again, desperate to keep any casualties to a minimum.
"Hey!" The horned hero shouted again. "This is a job for pros! Not children!"
"Power Ox!" Four-Arms weaved between the creature's wild swipes, delivering blow after blow when he had an opening. "Quirk: Bull rush! You can charge with immense force!"
He twisted out of the way of another attack, using a free arm to redirect the creature into the pavement which cracked under the force.
"Manual! Quirk: Hydrokinesis!" He pulled his head out of the way of another kick, twisting to redirect the energy into a punch that sent the creature staggering. "Red Star! Dasher! Stretch-Fist! None of your quirks are suited to dealing with a physically stronger, faster and more durable opponent head on! Focus on the perimeter and let me handle this!"
With his argument made, Four-Arms grabbed the creature by the leg, spinning it around and throwing it into the air. He crouched, leaping straight up and catching the creature mid-air. He spun, hurtling it toward the street, more than six stories below. Before the creature had time to redirect the energy, Four-Arms landed, smashing its head into the ground. He lumbered out of the small crater he caused, where the creature laid, unmoving.
The winged creature dove down towards them, barely missing a hero dressed in green and white. From the flames in the city ahead, a dark skinned creature emerged, it's eyeless head focused on Four-Arms as it slowly advanced.
"What's that noise?!" Manual demanded.
Four-Arms looked to his shoulder, watching the Omnitrix flash red.
"No!" He cried, dashing forward, exchanging blows with the scarred, black creature. "Not now! I need to save them!"
He was flung backwards as the Omnitrix flashed faster. The creature was on him in an instant, clawing and bashing. Four-Arms couldn't keep up, he was getting too tired, he couldn't even get out. The thing tore at his hair and skin, leaving red gashes where its claws made contact. A momentary opening allowed him to kick the creature off with both his legs, sending it rocketing into a nearby building.
"I refuse!" He cried, rushing forward, ignoring the Omnitrix completely. I should have timed out two minutes ago! I'm not stopping now!
Just before he could slam the creature with a double-haymaker, a torrent of flames threw the creature across the street. A flash of red light sent Izuku tumbling to the ground, heaving for breath.
"It's Endeavour!" Manual cried out in relief.
"What's he doing here?" Power Ox asked in disbelief.
"Isn't it obvious?" He smirked, striding towards the creature. "I am here, because I am a hero."
He dodged a wild attack from the creature, sending it rocketing backwards with a blast of fire. The creature stumbled upright, regrowing a missing leg.
"So you can regenerate?" Endeavour observed, his face splitting into a feral grin. "Good! I was looking for an opportunity to cut loose!"
Shoto rushed to Izuku's side, skidding forward on a path of ice.
"You okay?" He asked, concern shining in his eyes.
"Yeah!" Izuku frowned. "But Burnin'! Onima! They need help!"
Endeavour weaved between the creature's attacks, exploiting a wide swipe by placing his hands, almost lovingly on the sides of the creature's face. Bright orange fire streamed from between the flame hero's hands, slowly focusing into a narrower beam. With a smirk, Endeavour narrowed the shower of flames into a focussed, bright blue beam. After a moment, he stopped the attack, letting the headless body collapse.
"Disintegrated cells don't regenerate." He sneered.
"We may not like him, Todoroki," Izuku marveled. "But you have to admit, your father's got style."
Shoto merely nodded silently.
"You can stop cowering now." Endeavour rolled his head, as if working kinks from his neck. "I am here."
AN:
No review Review this chapter, because I'm posting the next one in a few minutes. :3
Also… I really am sorry for what I am about to do…
It's the logical thing that would happen in this universe, and I really tried but every other version came out really convoluted.