"Who are you?" Lilith demanded, "You're not Hawks!"
"How very astute of you," The voice rasped out, "You interrupted our meeting with your little games and now we are behind schedule." A blue flame lit up in the man's hand.
"Dabi," Yuri breathed, her blood turning cold as ice, "What's The League of Villains doing here?"
"Dabi, huh?" Lilith huffed, "I don't really care for your name, you'll die anyway." Lilith sent out a wave of snakes from her fingertips but in a blink of an eye, they were gone in a wave of blue fire.
"Such a bore," Dabi shrugged, a fire in a garbage can lit the alleyway just enough to make out his expression, "You there, secretary, you alright?"
"Yeah," Yuri croaked, "Just a little tied down."
"Let me help you with that," a familiar voice sounded above her as crimson feathers rained down onto her.
"NO!" Lilith shrieked, reaching out to keep hold of her hostage, "I WILL NOT LET IT END HERE!"
"Heh," Dabi chuckled, sending out a wave of fire again, "It was over the moment you called Hawks." Yuri slowly brought herself to a standing position as the snakes disappeared from existence from Hawks' feathers shredding them.
"I thought I told you to call me if something happened!" Hawks exclaimed, landing in front of her.
"Oh, yes," Yuri rolled her eyes, "Let me just bring the object of her obsession to a dark alleyway where she's holding a hostage. Are you that much of a bird brain? That is the exact opposite of what you are supposed to do in these situations."
"I like her," Dabi huffed out a small laugh, "You should bring her around." Yuri just stared at him as she leaned heavily against the wall.
"Besides, I did technically call. Like 3 or 4 times, I think?" Yuri brought a hand to her head as the pounding began to hit her. She was so not looking forward to tomorrow.
"We need to get you to a hospital," Hawks wrapped his arm around her shoulder bringing her into his chest. Yuri pushed at him.
"I'm fine, I promise," Yuri took a step back, "They're superficial at worst."
"I don't care what you think. Your face is bleeding pretty bad and I can see your nose is broken," Hawks emphasized it by touching the tip of her nose making her flinch.
"Don't ignore me!" Lilith screamed behind her, "What about me? She attacked me! I was simply defending myself until a hero could arrive. I was so shocked to see such a little whore have your number! I just had to call! To know someone would save me!"
"Little whore?" Dabi rasped out as he came to stand next to Yuri and the winged hero, "What about her screams a whore?"
"Oh uh," Yuri stuttered, "She kinda thinks I'm sleeping with Hawks since he's always on the rooftop of my apartment complex." Yuri looked up at Hawks as she finished explaining the reasoning Lilith had given her. His expression was cold. Unlike anything Yuri had seen in all the years, she had known him.
"She does realize he's a bird, right?" Dabi questioned, "He literally lives on rooftops." Yuri attempted a shrug but it ended more like a grimace as it jostled her dislocated shoulder.
"We really should get you to a hospital," Hawks' wings rustled behind him, antsy to be used.
"Stop ignoring me, my love!" Lilith wailed, sending a flurry of snakes at them. Dabi met it with a rush of fire, but the feeling of a snake wrapping around her leg caused Yuri to yelp as her leg was pulled out from under her. Hawks sent out a few of his feathers but with each snake he destroyed another one wrapped around a different part of her body. Yuri's body collided with Lilith's as the crazed woman wrapped her arms around her. She felt her body begin to shake as the snakes began to crawl up her body pinning her against the body behind her.
"I wonder what would happen if I broke this off," Lilith whispered in her ear.
"No, you can't," Yuri pleaded, "It won't help you get to him. Just the opposite."
"Oh? That sounds interesting," Lilith hummed, "If I can't have him then neither can you!" The snakes tightened their coils and their fangs dug into various body parts. Yuri let out a scream as fire flooded her veins.
"YURI!" Hawks shouted, sending more feathers out but snakes met them head-on sacrificing themselves as shields. Dabi took a step forward.
"Uh Uh Uhhh," Lilith tutted, fingering the snake that lingered next to Yuri's neck, "The venom in my snakes is highly toxic but as long as it doesn't hit a major vein like this one here, she could live." Yuri's body was on fire, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of pain that was taking over every nerve, every surface of her skin.
"Let her go!" Hawks commanded. The snakes hissed as they coiled their bodies tighter around her body. The collar around her neck cracked at the pressure.
"I would do as he says," Dabi rasped out.
"Like hell!" Lilith spat, "I did all this for you and you won't even look at me! What does she have that I don't!?"
"She's not crazy for one," Hawks scoffed, "Besides who can say no to those honey eyes." Yuri glared at him as he winked at her. Yuri grunted as another snake dug its fangs into her left ankle.
"I am not crazy!" Lilith raged, "This took months of planning and preparation. This one didn't even suspect a thing when I started showing up. I will have you as my own one way or another!" Lilith let out a hysterical laugh as she shot a stream of snakes out towards the winged hero. Dabi shoved him to the side letting out a jet of fire from his hands, successfully incinerating each one.
"You are so annoying!" Lilith outraged, "This has nothing to do with you!"
"I don't know you holding a pretty girl hostage has gathered my attention," Dabi acknowledged. Yuri sputtered as her cheeks started to warm up and something told Yuri it wasn't from the fire that was raging.
"You've managed to bewitch both of them?!" Lilith screeched, her nails digging into the thin skin of Yuri's neck drawing spall flecks of blood to the surface.
"You fucking bitch!" Yuri swore as her head dropped down in pain. Lilith let out a laugh.
"I am simply a woman in love who will do anything to get to her lover," Lilith dragged a finger down her neck along the line of her jugular.
"You said a little birdy told you about the email, who was that?" Yuri asked through her teeth. The odd question made Lilith blink.
"Why should I tell you?"
"I'm going to die anyway so what's the harm in me knowing," Yuri reasoned, "I thought my partner and I were being inconspicuous but it looks like we gained the attention of someone."
"Oh, so there is someone?" Lilith gushed.
"Yeah he's a redhead who is way too much of an asshole for his own good," Yuri croaked. She hoped the roar of the raging fire around them was loud enough so the men in front of them couldn't hear what was being discussed, "Hawks is amazing don't get me wrong but I rather like my men with red hair and a fire quirk."
"Oh? Then why?" Lilith floundered.
"I got into a situation that made him distrust me," Yuri pushed, gritting her teeth in pain, "He wasn't there to watch me but to keep an eye on me."
"That makes sense," Lilith pondered, "He did switch up his routine rather suddenly."
"Exactly!" Yuri proclaimed, "So who told you about the email?"
"I don't know their name. An older lady in a business suit. She had sandy blond hair but was otherwise rather plain," Lilith explained. 'The president?' Yuri's heart skipped a beat, 'I am so going to be under house arrest for at least a week or remedial lessons will be dealt.' Panic set into Yuri's brain at the possibilities of what this could all mean. Was she supposed to die here? Is that what this is? A messy, amateur assassination attempt. Yuri felt the snakes around her body loosen their grip on her letting her have some mobility.
"Do you know who they are?" Lilith questioned, "I would like to thank them for such an opportunity!"
"No, I can't say I do," Yuri huffed. Yuri took a deep breath steadying her breath and regulating her heartbeat.
"Yuri?! Answer me!" Hawk's voice carried above the roar of the fire that had now started to consume the alleyway. Every piece of trash, every trashcan had caught in the initial attack from Dabi. Yuri flung her head back hitting Lilith square in the face making her stumble back. The snakes fell away from her body moving to protect their mistress. Yuri snatched the villain's arm sidestepping behind her to bring her into an arm lock where Yuri landed a swift kick to the back of her knees forcing her onto the ground. Slamming Lilith's head as she fell forward effectively knocking her out. Using her knee as leverage, Yuri placed both of Lilith's hands behind her back bracing them with her other knee.
"I'm alright, but you wouldn't happen to have any handcuffs on you, would you?" Yuri called out against the sound of the now dying fire. The brilliant blue light that the flames provided started to die into the shimmering silver light of the full moon as the trash crumbled away to ash.
"I don't but my feathers should work," Hawks came racing forward, commanding two feathers to curl around Lilith's hands and two around her ankles. Yuri slumped back onto the ground coughing as the adrenaline slowly started to leave her body. Her blood felt like molten lava under her skin and the pounding in her head only intensified as she looked up to see the fire villain standing in front of her.
"Not bad taking her down," the scarred man praised, "I didn't expect that from an office worker."
"You just keep pulling up surprise after surprise," Hawks tutted as he surveyed the unconscious woman. Yuri glared at him but made no notion to comment on it. The sound of sirens started to steadily get closer. Yuri watched Hawks nod to the fire villain before said villain turned tail and ran. Yuri caught Dabi's eyes briefly before shaking her head. She brought her right hand's fingertips to her mouth, palm facing her face, and brought it down in a nonverbal sign for 'thank you'. Dabi nodded to her minutely before disappearing into the shadows.
"What did you tell him?" Hawks peered at her curiously. Yuri opened her mouth to reply but a coughing fit erupted before she could make a sound, "Shit, we really need to get you to a hospital." Yuri didn't have the energy to argue against the idea. She might die but at least she knew he was okay.
"Hey! Stay awake for me, little feather," Hawks fluttered next to her, sinking to his knees, "You probably have a concussion and I need to keep seeing those beautiful brown eyes of yours." Yuri felt his arms wrap around her waist as she leaned back against her chest. Darkness fluttered into her sight as the bright lights of flashlights and the yells of police officers filled the alleyway.