"Shit."

A heavy feeling of trepidation had begun to set in. Your heart thumped wildly, causing the dull throbbing in your head to become a distractingly loud roar. Out of the eight nomus spread throughout the plaza, it appeared that you'd only gotten the attention of the three closest to you. You needed to weigh your options carefully.

'I've only got three knives, and, judging by the power it took to take that first one down, I doubt these blades are big enough to do any real damage.' You thought, blood still pumping obnoxiously in your ears.

You eyed the massive beast in front of you, taking note of its stubby legs and gorilla-like stature. The second, hunched over on the triangular sign of the theater, was radically different. It was still huge, but it's arms, legs, and torso were skinny. Its hands and feet looked too big for its body but helped the thing keep a firm grip on its blinking perch. It was clear these nomu were created with their own individual strengths; though, it seemed intelligence was not one of them. To your left, the third was… gone? There didn't appear to be anything in your peripheral in that direction.

"Oh fuck, oh shit. Where'd it go?" You panicked. You didn't dare take your eyes or your blades away from either of the nomus that stared you down.

'I don't have any other weapons to fight these things with. There may be something in one of these shops that could help. The one in front of me doesn't look like he was built for speed. That second one may be faster but…'

Your strategic thoughts were costing you precious seconds. In an instant, the nomu on top of the theater leapt at you from above. Thankfully, you were only distracted, not incompetent. You quickly provided a shield for yourself as protection from the nomu's attack. The creature, clearly somewhat taken aback by its premature landing, clawed at the invisible floor, desperately trying to reach you underneath it. The skinny nomu's sudden movement seemed to have provoked the large, shark-toothed one ahead of you. It began to charge awkwardly at you, teeth gnashing and tongue waving sloppily from the side of its mouth. With the smaller one distracted, you focused all three of your knives on the massive body hurling towards you. With very little effort, you forced the blades into its chest, where they stuck firmly in place. The nomu halted suddenly, looking down at the metal that just barely punctured its tough skin. You used its distraction as an opportunity. Swiftly propelling yourself backward, you aligned yourself with the nomu that sat, on all fours, on your air-barrier (an 'airrier', if you will.) You jetted forward again with your legs outstretched. Your strike landed directly on its neck and sent it flying towards the larger nomu.

The force of the impact was enough to knock the ape-like creature off of its feet, and the two monsters landed in a heap at an intersection. You raised into the air and readied yourself for another attack. Before you could carry it out, however, a speedy flicker of red and tan streaked across your line of sight, right where the two nomus laid. It happened so fast; you felt as though you'd simply blinked and suddenly blood was furiously gushing from the throat and side of the two creatures in front of you.

"He-hey, nice teamwork, huh?" The voice beside you, though familiar and friendly, nearly made you jump out of your skin.

"AHH!" You screamed, using all of your willpower to keep from taking a swing at the winged man beside you. "Keigo! That's not fucking funny!" You scolded fervently, hands balled into fists at your sides.

Keigo laughed, albeit nervously. "Jeez, Crash. I wasn't even tryin' to scare ya that time. And we're working, so please-"

"Fine, then. 'Hawks'... don't ever do that shit again." You said through gritted teeth. He focused his gaze on the two nomu, now lying dead in the road.

"Looked like you could use a hand. I'm not late, am I?" He asked with a grin. You shook your head.

"Right on time, actually. How'd you know where to find me?" You asked.

"Someone called Stiller after your call dropped. He sent out a request for back-up along with your location, so there should be others coming." He replied as your eyes flitted from one living nomu to another. None of them seemed to have noticed you just yet.

"I assume you're the one to thank for the three of those just now." You chuckled, still unsure of where that third nomu was, but confident that Keigo had taken care of it.

"Mm-hm, and the one I saw on the way here." He responded plainly.

With the five in front of you, the three you'd just taken down, the winged nomu from the office building, and the one Keigo just mentioned- that made ten. Ten of these monstrosities had been unleashed and were now on a rampage around the city. A couple of them at a time were easy to handle, but if the rest of them all locked onto you at once, you'd be in some serious trouble.

"We don't know if this is all there is." You noted. "We need to do what we can to keep them at bay until back-up arrives."

Keigo nodded. "It's a good thing you're fast." He opened his wings and stretched them out behind him, signaling he was ready to go. The two of you took off simultaneously but quickly changed course to go after separate targets.

'This one is up pretty high.' You thought as you approached a nomu that seemed to be digging through the broken glass of a window it had shattered. 'If I can catch it off guard and get it to the ground, I'll have the advantage.'

You wasted no time. You decided an approach from above would give you the element of surprise- just enough to catch it off guard. Keeping yourself just below the rooftops of other buildings allowed you to remain concealed from the beast's view. You began to pick up the pace, swerving around light poles and satellite antennas. Once you'd gotten close enough, you positioned yourself to kick it off of the building (and put your shock-absorbing soles to good use.) The quickly shortening distance between the two of you left you little time to accelerate further. With as much speed as you could muster, you descended onto the nomu like a bird of prey. There was an audible crack as your boots connected with the creature's side, and there was a noticeable give just before it fell.

"GYAAACHK!" The nomu let out a wild screech as it plummeted to the ground. You slowed as you followed it down. The creature landed in a small landscaped plot held together by an oval of concrete; presumably, built for pedestrians to sit. There was a tremendous crash as the stone barrier buckled beneath the nomu's weight, causing dirt and once-well-tended plants to be ejected from the small garden. You touched down about thirty feet away, watching the monster carefully.

'I broke its ribs.' You thought as you glared. 'At the very least, it won't be able to get up very easily.' You felt your body relax a bit. All you had to do now was put the thing out of its misery and make your way to the others. As you geared up to deliver your final blow, the nomu began to move. Not a hesitant or aching movement, but a purposeful and unchallenging one. The soil that tumbled out of the now-decimated garden plot shifted loosely under its massive hands and feet. Your eyes grew wide as you watched it stand effortlessly. Its expression was completely blank as it stared back at you.

'No way… I crushed that thing's ribs, I know I did. How could it just shake off that fall like it was nothing?!' Your mind reeled. A gust of wind blew in from behind you, signaling the arrival of your winged friend.

"It doesn't look like there's any people in this area. They must've all been evacuated already." Keigo said, abruptly stopping next to you. There couldn't have been much time between now and when you spotted the first nomu. How quickly did these people get out? Cars lined the parking parallel parking spaces on the side of the road, but no one was around to claim them. It made you wonder just how long this siege had been going on and how much of it you had missed.

Keigo looked concerned. "These things regenerate. You need some help with this one?" He must have been questioning your hesitance.

"Nah. This thing's tough,…" You began as you activated your quirk. A blue sedan behind the two of you began to levitate a few feet off the ground. "...but I got it." Keigo grinned upon seeing your sly smirk, happy that his friend's confidence was growing. A rush of air pushed him forward slightly as the car you'd lifted soared over your heads. It slammed through the nomu, carrying it a couple hundred feet back into a concrete pillar. It didn't look to be moving. At the very least, it was now pinned down. You smiled triumphantly at Keigo, but his elevated expression had changed to one of shock and borderline horror.

"What the hell, Crash?!" He yelled.

"What?" You questioned, feeling a bit offended.

"You can't just destroy people's property to fight bad guys! Someone owns that car, y'know." He lectured.

"We do it back home all the time…" You made it sound so innocent.

"Why are Americans crazy?" He mumbled, and you weren't sure if you were meant to hear it. "Alright." He went on. "Damage control is part of our job. Use your own weapons and powers to take down the enemy. We only cause damage if it's absolutely necessary. What about your knives?"

"They're stuck in one of the nomus, and they're too small anyway." You said. One of Keigo's longer feathers detached and floated towards you.

"Take this, then. You know how to use a sword?" He asked. Your eyes shone with excitement as you grabbed hold of the end of the feather.

"Absolutely." You beamed, looking the red 'blade' up and down. It was abnormally lightweight- much lighter than any sword you'd ever practiced with. You'd need to get used to the weight and balance. Secretly, you hoped you wouldn't break it. It also didn't feel feather-like at all. It was stiff and solid, and the edge looked incredibly sharp.

"Let's go." Keigo commanded before taking off. You followed his lead, taking to the sky to search for the other nomus. They weren't hard to spot, given their habit for destruction. You found one hanging from a streetlamp, looking around dumbfoundedly. You raced towards it and drew the feather back, slicing through the thing's neck as you passed. You couldn't help but marvel at the durability of Keigo's feathers. Blood spewed out onto the sidewalk as the creature fell to the ground convulsing. You stepped closer and stabbed the flailing nomu through the chest. A streak of blood gushed out across your suit and helmet. The nomu stopped moving.

"Ugh, gross…" You spat, wiping what little blood you could from your uniform. Any attempt at removing the blood from your helmet, however, only smeared it across your vision. You sighed and lifted your visor.

'If I assume Keigo took care of one as well… that only leaves one left.' You yanked the feather from the nomu and flew into the air once more, desperate to find the last monster. To your left, there came an increasingly bright light, accompanied by an enormous pillar of flame. It looked too controlled to be the nomu, but you had to be sure. You perched yourself on top of a nearby roof and scanned the ground near the source of the fire. In the middle of the road, standing fearlessly with his trademark scowl, was Endeavor. For a brief moment, you thought you'd never be so relieved to see a man you hated. At least he was here to help. It dawned on you slowly, though, that he was looking in your direction- no… directly at you. His serious face turned to one of concern.

"Look out!" You heard him shout.

'Look out?' You puzzled, looking around for the immediate danger. There was a sudden and powerful strike to the right side of your head and body. The nomu's blow knocked Keigo's feather from your hand and sent you flying from the building. Though your helmet protected you from much of the impact, you were completely disoriented. You managed to pull your visor back down to protect your eyes from the inevitable crash, but the blood that stained it greatly limited your vision. You hit the asphalt hard and skidded a couple of feet. Your helmet was knocked off and bounced away, visor shattering in the process. You slowly lifted your head, sore, but feeling more grateful than ever about the extra padding on your suit. A pungent, but familiar scent wafted through the air.

'Is that… gasoline?' You looked around curiously. From where you laid, you could make out the car you'd thrown about twenty feet in front of you. The unconscious nomu, however, was gone.

'Huh?' Your brain was still hazy. You tried to get your bearings. 'W-where did it…' Your vision began flickering between clear and blurry. 'Jeez, that was one hell of a hit…' You grabbed your head and attempted to pull yourself off of the floor.

"(H/N)!" You heard a voice call out to you, but it wasn't anyone you knew.

"Who…" The sudden appearance of a man's figure beside you surprised you. He stood defensively, one hand held out in front of him and the other protecting… you? A large, blue shield appeared in front of him and a huge nomu slammed inaudibly into it. Stiller looked back at you with a worried expression.

"Sorry we're late." He said, offering his hand to you. "Are you alright?" You grasped his hand and he helped you to your feet.

"I'm fine. There's still one more." You glared at the nomu on the other side of Stiller's barrier. Just as it got to its feet, two heroes jumped onto the creature's back. They were the same two heroes from the first briefing. One had managed to get a cord around the thing's neck, while the other struggled to hold its head still.

"Out of the way." Endeavor's deep voice boomed. The duo leapt away from the nomu and landed beside you as a great burst of flame erupted from the flame hero's palm. The heat from his blast was intense. Too intense. You shouldn't be feeling the heat from behind Stiller's shield, let alone on your back.

'Wait a minute…' You spun around quickly. The busted-up sedan you'd thrown was currently engulfed in flames. They rose gradually, scorching the side of the building the car lay under. Windows began bursting from the heat, spraying glass every which way.

'Did Endeavor accidentally ignite the gasoline?' You wondered as the flames traversed the path of fuel that had leaked onto the ground. The wall of fire spread into the glass doors of the building and throughout the street, effectively blocking off the intersection. Smoke rose from the structure and out through the windows.

'How is it catching so quickly?!'

Hawks's words echoed in your head: "Damage control is part of our job…"

'Right. There must be a fire hydrant somewhere nearby.' As you began searching for a water source, something in the building caught your eye. A flicker of flame- not like the others outside.

This fire was blue.