City of Kanagawa

Walking down the road alongside Burnin, katara exhaled as she looked around the lit up street. It was now Thursday, her second day here for her work studies, and so far not much had happened. The first night was surprisingly uneventful, going on several patrols through the districts and not coming across anything serious. The biggest thing they saw on the first day was a simple argument at a diner, which ended the instant Endeavor came into the customers line of sight. And now, Katara was on a separate patrol with the top sidekick.

Yawning, Burnin stretched her arms above her head as she felt her elbows pop, hissing at the light bit of pain before smacking her lips. "Damn, I'm starving. Down for a bite to eat soon?" she asked, making Katara raise her eyebrow in surprise.

"Didn't you already eat four bowls of ramen earlier?" Katara said as Burnin grinned.

"Come on, that stuff goes right through me. I gotta refill after I emptied it out in the bathroom."

"Wow, I did not need to hear that description…" Katara groaned at the gross image that came in her head, only making the sidekick laugh out loud.

"Come on girl, just learn to roll with the joke. I have always had an appetite, so I like to snack constantly." Burnin said and slowed down her pace. "Maybe you could add a meal or so in your diet and you can finally fill out."

Katara stopped walking when she heard that, feeling her eyebrow twitch. "Excuse me? what are you trying to say?"

Burnin snickered and smacked her thighs. "Hey, I'm trying to help you, kid. You add a little bit extra to what you eat, you can make these suckers really stand out, and…" she brought her hands and held them in front of her chest, "Can make these puppies grow as well."

Katara's face burnt red at what the sidekick was saying, frowning and crossing her arms over her average sized chest. Growing up, she was never really focused on something like that, but over the last ten months being in this new place, she had noticed a big focus on that with girls here. And while it certainly wasn't a big priority on her mind… she would be lying if she said it hadn't begun to enter her thoughts over time. Not only that, but she had noticed her own chest slowly growing recently as well, her bras having to be replaced just last month. With her being almost sixteen, it was certainly expected, just not something she brought up in general talk.

"I think I'm good how I am, thanks." Katara huffed out as she walked past the sidekick. "I'm not trying to draw attention that way."

"Ohh, so pure of you," Burnin taunted her. "Just put on a nun outfit and no one will look your way then." As they walked down the road once more, Burnin glanced over to the teen beside her, clicking her tongue as she sighed. "So tell me princess, what's with you?"

"Huh?" Katara tilted her head at the question. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you with that stick up your ass." Burnin shrugged. "What's with you and Endeavor? You've been glaring at him every time he walks by. I know you two didn't get along before, but something is obviously bugging you now."

Frowning, Katara looked forward and rubbed her arm. "Look, I appreciate you for how you've helped me with everything since I came here. When I was here the first time, you actually didn't judge me like the others. But this is something I am figuring out myself."

"Well that sounds cool, but here's the thing," Burnin turned and faced the teen, her face more stern than before. "I'm a hero first and your buddy second, so that doesn't fly with me. He's my boss and we are both working under him, so that means if your head isn't straight, I gotta know what's up."

Katara and Burnin stared at one another for a moment, the teen seeing the sidekick was not going to let her avoid the question. Taking a breath, she dropped her hands to her hips and looked away. "Look, me and him never saw eye to eye. He always looked down on me and I know that hasn't changed, so having to be made to come back here isn't what I planned, alright?"

"Uh huh…" Burnin raised her eyebrow at the answer, "... And?"

Katara frowned internally, seeing Burnin knew there was more to what was going on. At this point, she knew lying wasn't going to get her out, so she figured to let it out. "Fine, you wanna know why? You want to know why I don't like him?"

Burnin placed a hand on her hip as she stared at the teen. "Yeah, I'm down to know."

"Because he isn't a good person, alright?" Katara sternly said, exhaling as she recrossed her arms. "He's horrible and doesn't care about anyone but himself. All he does is take what he wants for himself no matter who gets hurt in his way. Even Shoto can't stand being around his own father, so that shows you what kind of person he really is. And the fact I have to come and work for him only makes me have to see that face of his every day now."

Burnin sat silent as she stared at the waterbender, her face stricken of any emotion as this kid said what she said. She sighed and spit on the ground in annoyance. "That's quite the thing to say to me, especially since I serve him directly."

"Well you wanted my answer, so you have it now." Katara sternly said as she continued walking down the sidewalk. "I am not going to pretend to be friendly to someone who doesn't deserve it."

Pursing her lips out, Burnin frowned and walked as well. "Look kid, I've been working for this guy for six years now, and I'm gonna be honest with you right now. On a personal life scale, I know the big buy is not the picture perfect role model. Whenever his kid came around to train, it was pretty obvious the two weren't all cuddly and close. But that's the thing," she reached forward and poked Katara in the forehead, earning a glare from the waterbender, "That's something you got to learn now is that this is hero work. Whatever a person does at home, don't bring that shit into the field. When you are on the job, that's your focus and you shouldn't let personal feelings get in the way of that when you take on villains. And that's one thing he is damn good at; taking down the bad guys like he's supposed to. "

Katara clenched her fist as she looked away, her own feelings still making her unable to accept that. "I don't know if I can see it that way. After what Shoto told me, I won't be able to just put that out of my mind."

Burnin huffed out, not wanting to get into a personal discussion about her boss like this. "Girl, I just said don't bring that stuff up. Why Shoto was bringing that stuff up with you is honestly surprising. That kid would barely say a word to anyone in general."

"It's because he trusts me, that's why." Katara said, making Burnin roll her eyes.

"What are you, his therapist? Or did you cuddle more after you went back to school?" Burnin joked to try and change the subject… but when she saw the light blush on Katara's face, she felt her own eyes widen in surprise. "Wait… wait wait wait…" Burnin's mouth curled up in a large smirk.

"What?" Katara frowned and looked away, already knowing what she was going to ask. Gods, she had to get better at hiding her blushes.

"Don't tell me…" Burnin laughed and crossed her arms. "Are you and the bosses kid going out?"

"What about it?"

"Oh god, haha! I see why you are all uppity now. You and the bosses kid are locking lips and now you are protective of him. That's so sweet." Burnin laughed as Katara glared at her. "Not gonna lie, I was joking about you two getting close, but I didn't see this happening!"

As Burnin laughed at her, Katara brought her hand up and rubbed her forehead. "What does it matter to you? Are you going to tell him this?"

Taking a breath, Burnin sighed and shook her head. "Look kid, I'm not a rat, and whoever you wanna hook up with, that's your thing. What I would reccomend is you be the one and talk to him and clear whatever shit is going on. It's not my business to learn about what you two are at odds about, but if you are here, you need to clear up whatever is the problem and get your head in the game, got it?"

Katara clicked her tongue and turned away, not expecting a lecture from the sidekick today. She could tell Burnin respected Endeavor as her boss, but obviously treated it as a business relationship and didn't know his inner personal problems, or didn't care enough to learn what exactly he did with his family. That at least meant she didn't have to worry about having him going learning from someone else what she was upset with, and that meant she wouldn't have to worry about a certain conversation coming up in front of the others here.

And that conversation was going to happen.

"Thanks." Katara muttered. "And I'll take your advice, alright? I'll deal with this."

"Just clear it up soon, got it?" Burnin chuckled as she gripped the back of her head, "Otherwise I'm gonna beat it out of you in our next sparring match."

Katara rolled her eyes at the comment, before another question rose in her mind as she stared at the sidekick. "Hey, Burnin…"

"Huh? What's up?" Burnin responded.

"You said you've been working for him for years now. I was wondering why? You didn't want to be our own hero and not just a sidekick?"

Burnin sighed and lowered her arms. "To me, Endeavor growing up was always my favorite hero. It was so cool seeing a fire quirk user so strong." She chuckled and pointed to her own hair. "I think you can guess why I thought he was cool."

"I have no clue," Katara deadpanned, earning a snicker from the fire haired woman.

"Anyway, As soon as I graduated school, I came and joined up with him since I interned under him. Within just two years, I was his number one sidekick, so that was a pretty sweet gig I got."

"But don't you want to be your own hero?" Katara asked surprised. "I've seen other heroes and what they can do. It's not like you would be a weak hero compared to them."

Laughing, Burnin nodded at her compliment. "Well that's some nice flattery kid, and you're right; I think I could be a pretty decent hero. But that's the thing; there's so much more to being your own hero, and that's something that kept me where I am now."

"Like what?" Katara asked curiously.

Burnin huffed out and shook her head. "It's just a personal preference for me. I'll let you figure it out yourself as you go through it all."

Katara frowned at the bland response she got, but her eyes caught the bright flames coming towards the two of them. Looking forward, she felt her stomach tighten when she saw Endeavor walking down the sidewalk along with Kido and the other sidekick Onima. Glancing back over to Burnin, Katara narrowed her eyes as the sidekick smirked and pretended to zip her mouth shut, signaling she would keep her new knowledge to herself. Giving a small nod of appreciation, Katara turned back and stared at the number one hero approaching her, sighing out and tightened her fists.

"Evening sir! Nothing to report on our patrol!" Burnin announced with a salute.

Grunting, Endeavor turned his attention to the girl in blue standing there, the two of them locked staring for several moments. While he frowned at the stern look she gave him, Endeavor kept his face straight and broke his stare first. "Good. The eastern portion is quiet as well. We will check out the south next."

"Yes sir!" The sidekicks all responded in unison. All except Katara.

Grunting internally, Endeavor led the way down the sidewalk as the five of them walked in a group. As the three sidekicks all began chatting amongst themselves, the flame hero felt his gaze turn towards the girl towards his right. Almost like she sensed his gaze, Katara turned and looked up towards him as well. While he still couldn't remove the ill taste in his mouth from the first encounter he had with her, his thoughts began to shift towards curiosity with her, beginning to wonder what she actually was capable of. After all this time keeping her on his shit list, he was now at a loss of words to what to think now.

For Katara however, it was different. She had grown confused as well as to what he was trying to do, since she knew he never wanted her yet accepted her again. She also didn't see the constant glare he used to give from before, noticing his look was of more… curious in nature. But every time she thought of Endeavor, her mind immediately pictured the distraught look on Shoto's face from after the license exam. Her heart sped up slightly as she remembered what she heard from him, exhaling and rubbing her fingers together in frustration to her emotions rising. Just knowing exactly what happened in his past just made her angry, and the cause of his pain was the man she had to work for now.

Taking a breath to calm herself, Katara looked forward once more as she continued down the road, pushing her focus onto what Burnin suggested. She shifted her gaze to the city around her, looking at the people walking by and for anything suspicious. She honestly just needed something to distract her, and that certainly came with the sound of a large crash ringing in the distance.

"The hell?!" Burnin yelled as she looked ahead down the road to the rising smoke above the buildings. "Looks like we got some action!"

"You're right," Endeavor sternly announced and hit his fists together. "Let's go!"

As the others cheered in agreement, Katara looked ahead as well to the sudden change of circumstances, taking a breath and cracking her knuckles. She nodded to herself and sprinted down the road after the others. As they rounded the corner, she gasped as the ground suddenly shook from another loud crash. Her eyes widened to the massive crowd of people screaming and running their direction before she saw the reason for the panic behind them. "Hey, that's…" She muttered before she glared and brought her hands up and clenched her fists.

The pro hero Death Arms coughed as he stood up from the small crater his body made from the earlier impact, glaring up at the group of villains he was facing. The two massive figures behind towered above the group of five, their bodies covered in what looked like masses of tentacles for one and dripping acid on the other. One of the other villains appeared to wear what looked like body armor and a ski mask, and the one next to him was a long, blak haired woman laughing behind the leader. The tall blue skinned man grinned as he walked towards the rising hero.

"Looks like you picked a bad day to be here alone," the gang leader chuckled and punched his knuckles together, emitting pulses of energy every time they touched. "Now how about you be a good boy and just stay out of our way?"

Growling, Death arms spit out the little bit of blood in his mouth and arched his own knuckles. "You can shove that request and get ready for me!"

Sighing, the leader's fists clenched and formed a sphere of energy around each one. "Then I guess I have to teach you a lesson in giving up when you can't win."

"Perhaps I can teach that to you."

The leader's ears perked up to the deep voice from the side, turning and feeling his heart rate spike when he saw the new number one hero standing there. "E-Endeavor?!" He gasped out.

"Shit, He's here?!" the woman panicked and stepped back.

"Endeavor?" Death Arms muttered in surprise to the sudden aid coming his way.

"Just sit there and let us handle this now," Endeavor demanded as he stomped forward, his fists becoming enshrouded in fire while staring down the gang. "How about making this easy for me tonight and I won't roast you where you stand."

The ski mask wearing man hissed and thrust his arms forward, both of them forming into a bazooka. "Oh yeah? Suck on this!"

Katara's body reacted on instinct as the new weapon erupted out, her hands ready to flip her gauntlets open. Before she even could, however, Endeavor's right hand swiped out, unleashing a massive wall of flames, the intense fire detonating the blast before it came close to the group. Her eyes glanced over towards the flame hero, shocked by how fast he could react to the attack before she could even get the water out from her gauntlets.

"All of you, focus on getting the citizens out of here," Endeavor ordered as he walked forward, "I will be dealing with them."

"Got it!" Burnin responded and turned to the others, "You heard him! Give cover to everyone else trying to get out of here! Go!"

Katara opened her mouth to protest so she could help fight, but the sudden screams from some of the people on the road behind them made her turn and see the ones that needed help. Some of the civilians looked injured from the previous fight, unable to move that fast. Knowing what had to be done, she nodded and turned to follow Burnin. "Alright, I'll get those that are hurt and help them up!"

Smirking, Burnin nodded in agreement, "Let's go!" She then reached a group of scared teens crouching behind a car, "All of you, get out of here and head with the others, go!"

While the other sidekicks guided the others out, Katara came across an elderly man clutching at his injured leg, quickly pulling water out and enshrouding her hands. "Don't worry, You'll be fine now." She calmly said as she immediately went to heal his leg, the gash quickly closing up before she helped him off the ground. "Now go, follow the others!"

"Thank you!" he happily said and ran after the other fleeing people, leaving Katara to look for the next person who needed her help.

The group of villains all stepped back as Endeavor walked their way, glancing at each other in fear before the leader gritted his teeth. "You think you can stop us alone?" he forced out a chuckle and glanced around at the buildings and people still staring at the scene, "With us being here, we know you can't just go all out without collateral damage."

Grunting, Endeavor simply smirked towards the smug villain. "And who says I need to be going all out for someone low like yourself?"

The leader's eyes went wide as Endeavor burst off the ground heading his direction, not even able to react in time as the flame hero rushed past him and barreled right into the large tentacle-covered villain. The large man yelled out in pain as he felt his many tendrils frying up from the intense heat before a powerful flame fist rose up and uppercutted his chin hidden inside the mass of limbs. As the unconscious villain fell back on the ground, the giant acid wielder glared and swung his dripping arms upward. "You bastard!"

Glaring at the stream of acid rushing his way, Endeavor's fist struck the ground and burst out a column of fire up into the air. The intense spiral of flames lit up the street in a bright display of red flames that incinerated the acid in a loud hiss, charging his left hand and focusing the fire inside until his hand glowed bright. "Flashfire Fist…"

"Shit, Nitric run!" the lead villain shouted out, but before he could aim his own quirk up to attack the hero, Endeavor seemed to move so fast he almost teleported directly in front of the acid user.

"Jet Burn!"

Endeavor's bright fist collided with the man's stomach, the burning flames burning away the acid and propelling his fist with the force of a train and launched him down the street in the blink of an eye. The villain crashed into a parked bus smashing the side in and was knocked out as well, the flame hero turning to the three remaining villains staring at him. "You still want to try anything stupid now?" he taunted them and charged his fist up once more.

Gritting his teeth, the leader charged his hands up and walked forward, looking back to the other two villains behind himself. "I'll distract the big guy as you find our means of escape." he ordered, making the other two look at him in confusion.

"What the hell do you mean?" the woman asked, making the leader chuckle out.

"A hero isn't supposed to hurt innocent people," the blue man's eyes shifted to a few of the stragglers still huddled around watching the battle. "Grab a couple of them and that's our ticket out of here."

Katara's eyes widened as she overheard what the villain said, turning back as she handed a crying child off to their parents. "What?" She hissed under her breath, her hand immediately grabbing onto her canteen on her side.

Endeavor heard the threat as well, narrowing his eyes and raising his fists. "Go ahead and try something like that, and you'll be needing a stretcher after this!" He shouted and charged at the villain, who ran as well at him.

"Just try and stop me, Endeavor!" the leader shouted as he threw his energized punch, his fist colliding with Endeavor's creating a powerful shockwave of fire and energy bursting outward. The villain's eyes widened as he felt the heat pushing through his energy pulse, scorching his knuckles and sending him back stumbling. "Shit!" he shouted as he shook his fist from the burning sensation, gritting his teeth and slamming his fist in the ground. "Repulse!"

Endeavor's eyes widened in surprise as the ground beneath his feet suddenly burst upward, erupting out and throwing him off balance to the side. "The hell?!" he shouted and shot fire out from his hands restabilizing himself, turning back to the villain standing back up. "His quirk sends out energy shockwaves with his punches, and it can transfer through to other objects," he quickly analyzed the quirk and tightened his fist. "Then perhaps I break those hands before they can do anything else!"

"Help!"

The scream from the side caused Endeavor's ears to perk up, turning to see the other two villains cornering a small group of teenagers. "Damn it. Going after civilians?!" Endeavor cursed as he brought his fist back to attack the pair, but was blindsided as a launched car crashed into his side. "Gah!"

"I told you that you were fighting me!" The leader shouted and charged his fist up once more, slamming it into the side of another parked car and launching it at the rising hero. Endeavor quickly unleashed a fire blast making the car explode mid air, glaring in fury as he launched at the villain and activating his earpiece.

"Burnin, two of the villains are attempting to go for civilians! Get them as I subdue the boss!"

Burnin snapped to attention when she heard that in her ear, punching her fist into her palm and smirking to herself. "Alright, time for a little action. Hey, Ryujin, time to go and…" She stopped talking when she noticed the waterbender was gone. "Where the hell is she?"

Over with the two other villains, the one with the mask chuckled as his hand shifted into a pistol. "Come on now, don't try and run on us," he said as he approached the three terrified teens, "You try anything, and I'll-

His words were cut off as a stream of water engulfed his hands and yanked him up in the air, screaming as he was suddenly thrown into the side of the nearby building. "The hell?!" the other villain shouted in surprise, turning and seeing Katara standing there. "Little bitch…"

Endeavor himself was shocked when he saw the girl there as well, almost ready to call her off to get out of the way. But something about the look of determination on her face made him hold his tongue, instead knowing this is what he brought her back for. He instead turned and faced the villain leader once more, both his hands forming fire blades as he slashed through another launched car coming at him. "I guess I have no more distractions from you now." He smirked at the panicked villain and ran forward.

"You aren't hurting any of them!" Katara ordered as she pulled back her water whip and enshrouded her arms, making the other woman bared her teeth and walked forward.

"You should just go back to school, little girl," the villain sneered as she held her hands out, her black hair suddenly shifted outward, forming what looked like serpents dancing above her. "Or we can take you along as our hostage!"

"Go ahead and try!" Katara snapped back, whipping her arm forward and shooting her water whip at the villain. The snake haired woman thrust her own hand forward guiding one of the snakes crashing through the water. Katara's eyes widened in surprise as the snake-like hair broke through her water whip, jumping to the side and slashing at it from the side, but once again was shocked as her water failed to cut through the hair.

'It's like it's made of steel.' Katara grunted internally and summoned her water back and formed multiple ice spikes and launched them forward, watching as her foe's hair shot out and whipped away the many projectiles. Glaring, Katara then opened up both of her gauntlets and spun around, forming a spiral barrier of water that she began punching rapidly. Multiple ice spikes launched over and over at the snake haired woman, forced to use both of her hands to control her extra appendages rapidly smacking away the icicles.

Crawling up and shaking his head, the masked villain growled in anger as he looked up to see his accomplice blocking the many ice attacks. "Little tramp…" he hissed out and thrust his arms above his head together, his limbs forming and shifting into a machine gun. "I'm going to kill her!"

Turning around just in time, Katara's eyes widened as she saw the weapon aimed directly at her. She quickly formed an ice barrier in front of her body as the gun unloaded at her, the bullets cracking into her ice over and over starting to crack it . Thrusting her hand forward, she sent out a water slash from the ice wall right at the gun wielder making him dodge. With that moment of freedom she received, Katara shifted her ice barrier into water and launched it straight at the hair manipulator, watching as the woman frantically swung her arms as she used her many hair pieces to attack at the water.

"Gah!" the woman shouted as a stream of water shot through an opening of her hair and struck her chest, Katara immediately using the moment and swiping her hand down to freeze the water instantly. "Damn you!" she snapped and crossed her arms, sending two of her snake-like hair limbs crashing through the ice in the center breaking her free. Thrusting her arm forward, she launched another down towards Katara, the waterbender diving out of the way and slashing again at the hair, only for it to barely skim through the surface. "Nice try, but my hair is ten times stronger than steel when being manipulated!"

"She's dead!" the gun man shouted as he activated his armory quirk once more, splitting his arms from the machine gun to two smaller pistols now, smirking underneath his mask as he aimed them at the teen. "Say goodbye."

Katara simply aimed her hand in the direction of the man and yanked backward, summoning the water she slashed at him from before and slamming it right into his unsuspecting back. At the same time, she took control of the ice block still on the woman's chest and lifted both it and her in the air.

"Whoa, hey what are-" the woman couldn't say any more before she screamed as she and her partner slammed foreheads into one another, knocking her out as they both toppled to the ground. Not giving a moment's rest, Katara waved her hands out and away from her body separating the water and ice on the two villains into spheres engulfing their hands, lifting them up and freezing them out from their bodies against the nearby wall. As the woman hung there unconscious, the man thrashed about, unable to break free as his gun hands remained stuck to the wall.

"Damn it, let me down kid or I'm going to kill you!" he threatened her, only making Katara roll her eyes.

"You already tried, so no thanks. Besides, I saw you have to put your hands together to change them back and forth from weapons to hands, so I think I'll keep them like that." Katara taunted as she glanced at the knocked out hair manipulator, sighing in annoyance as the once steel like material was now loose hanging down. "Her quirk was actually pretty tough. It's a good thing she wasn't even that good at using it." she muttered under her breath, wondering what could've happened if that woman actually had good training with that quirk. Her thoughts were broken as she heard a small whimper from the side, looking over to the girls that were huddled behind a nearby car. "Are you okay?" She asked them, earning a weak nod from one of them.

"Y-yes. Thank you." The brown haired girl stuttered out as she rubbed her arm.

"Good. Head down the street now. You'll find the other heroes to guide you out." Katara said with a smile making the girls feel better as they ran off, her ears perking up to the laugh from behind, turning to see Burnin standing there.

"Shit, I got the call from Endeavor only a minute ago and you already finished the job. Not bad, Ryujin." Burnin snickered.

"I was closer when I heard what they were planning, so I acted," Katara huffed out and summoned the loose water back into her gauntlets. "I couldn't just wait for an order to do something."

Burnin simply gave a shrug. "Hey, you have a license now, so that means you technically have the right to act."

They both jumped from the loud crash to the side, turning to see the massive cloud of smoke rising up from the shattered street ahead. "Well looks like the big guy is almost done too." Burnin chuckled.

Crawling up from the ground, the battered leader gasped for air as he clenched his fist in rage. His body was littered in bruises from the hits he was taking, barely able to stand straight any longer. He looked up to see Endeavor walking his way through the smoke, his hero outfit damaged from his fists up to his elbows. The villain's repulse quirk was able to send a burst of energy out repelling through any material, which meant even the flames from the hero were launched backward if used. However, it didn't affect living beings, meaning a fist to the stomach still pushed through his defense like it was nothing.

And Endeavor figured that out as well, not even using his quirk in his hits now.

"What the hell is this guy? He hits like a damn truck!" the villain spat out in frustration, amazed at the raw strength this man possessed.

"You are pretty tough I will say, but it's such a waste for you to even be struggling now," Endeavor quietly said as he approached the coughing villain. "I'm ending this now."

Clawing at the street in fury, the gang leader ground his teeth as he felt his anger boiling up. "I'm not going back to prison again. I spent four years there and have no intention of doing any more."

Suddenly, a bright glow of energy formed around the man on the ground, causing Endeavor and the others to step back in caution. Smirking to himself, the villain looked up to Endeavor and chuckled. "If I am going back though, I'll leave my mark for you to remember!"

Seeing the pulsing sphere of energy growing larger, Endeavor stepped backwards before turning to the others. "Get down!"

Katara barely had time to react as an explosion of sparking energy burst outward from the villain's body, shattering the street and rushing outward. She and Burnin quickly ducked down as the energy blasted the cars they were by off the ground and through the air, crashing back down and tumbling through the road as windows shattered all around them. But worst of all was the energy rushing out behind the villain, the repulse wave colliding with a large delivery truck abandoned from the ongoing battle and launched it towards one of the apartment buildings nearby. In a loud crash, the truck exploded in a bright flash, the flames rushing outwards and engulfing the side of the building instantly.

"Oh no!" Katara shouted in fear as she stood back up, watching as the fire rushed up the side of the building at a terrifying speed.

"Shit!" Endeavor yelled out as he quickly ran towards the building past the now unconscious villain and clicked his earpiece once more. "Contacting all nearby police and firefighters in Kanagawa. This is Endeavor reporting a massive fire at an apartment complex. Track my GPS location now. We will secure the scene until support arrives." He shut it off as both Burnin and Katara ran up behind him. "We have to put this out as fast as we can and get the people out of here!" He shouted as he rushed up to the burning vehicle by the building's base, charging his fist up before yelling and slamming his flame fist into it and launched it to the center of the street before turning back. He aimed his hands at the burning entrance, taking a breath and arching his knuckles.

"Hellflame quench!"

As if a vacuum were pulling the dirt from the ground, Endeavor siphoned the energy of the fire from the base of the building out, forcing the flames down to a small smolder before clenching his fists closed. In a loud hiss, the fire blocking the main doors was put out, quickly followed as people threw the glass doors open and rushed out. People coughed and gasped through the smoke already billowing out of the doorway as they made it out, quickly guided to the side by Burnin.

"Alright people, come on! This way, make room for the others!" Burnin yelled as she helped pull the people along.

Katara watched as more people poured out the doorway, thankful to see no one really hurt. But the shouts from above made her heart jump, turning to see several areas of the next two floors were already burning. "There's people who need help above!" She shouted out and prepared to rush into the building, but was stopped when Endeavor's arm blocked her path. "What are you doing?! We have to get inside!" She snapped at him.

"I will go in and begin removing the flames floor by floor. You stay outside and help from there." Endeavor ordered, "Burnin, follow me inside and guide any stragglers out to the lobby."

"What?" Katara glared up at him at his demand, "I can put out those flames just as well as you can!"

"Then use that ability from outside to assist from outside…" he sternly declared, looking down at the girl glaring at him. "Create another exit for those we haven't reached."

Katara's mouth fell open in surprise to his statement, watching as both he and Burnin ran towards the smokey staircase and up towards the growing fire. Acting almost on instinct, she ran back outside and turned to look at the seven story building, seeing the flames were now from floors two to four and beginning to spread outward from the four patio width it was at now. She quickly turned and saw a fire hydrant behind the crowd of people gathering, sprinting towards it as fast as she could now. "Everyone, watch out!" She shouted, making the people disperse away from her. After clearing an area around the yellow hydrant, she lifted her hands and sensed the water inside, forcing it upward before the top of it burst off like a fountain spraying high in the air.

Waving her arms around her body, Katara spun and guided the water out from the hydrant and shot it out like a fire hose up to the fire outside the building face. The water sizzled and hissed as it sprayed the flames, slowly dousing some of the rooms on the second floor when she noticed movement inside one of the rooms, seeing someone open the back door as smoke billowed out as well. "Hold on, I'll get you down!" Katara shouted to the coughing man, guiding her water to the ledge and forming a slide of ice. "Here, use this!"

Not needing anything else said, the man quickly jumped over the ledge and dropped onto the cold ramp, sliding down until he was down on the ground with everyone else. Seeing he was out, Katara waved her hands and shifted the ice back into water and pulled it back down by herself before shooting it back up and striking more of the fire on the second floor, hitting room after room until the lower level was extinguished fully.

Seeing one of them done, Katara took a quick breath and saw the other two sidekicks of Endeavor running her way, both of their eyes wide in shock at the burning building. "Holy shit, what happened?!" Kido yelled as he approached.

"The villain blasted a truck and it blew up by the base. We are trying to get everyone out now!" Katara retorted and shot more of the water up to the floors above.

"Where is the boss?!" Onima asked.

"He and Burnin went inside to get people out," Katara answered as she saw more people running out from the main entrance, "Help anyone who needs it coming out!" She then pulled a massive stream of water down beneath her feet, gathering the pool of water before thrusting her hands up, lifting herself up and above the amazed crowd with a column of water. Once she reached the third floor, she guided another stream of water out from the shifting water at her feet and shot it out at the smoldering building, the water shattering the overheated glass on contact and allowing the smoke to billow out of the worst rooms. Thankfully the two worst rooms were empty, turning to the right and seeing two young kids huddled terrified in the corner of another unit, a boy and his younger sister.

"Hold on!" She shouted as she swiped her arms forcing her water column forward, spilling into the balcony as she attempted to open the glass door but found it locked. Not waiting to ask the kids to open it, she formed an ice sphere and smashed the side door open, quickly jumping inside, keeping her one hand focused to keep the water in place. She walked inside seeing the pair cowering by the couch underneath the smoke filling the room. "Don't worry, You're safe now." She said as she leaned down to them offering her hand with a smile, "Come on, let's get out of here!"

While still scared, the nine year old boy grabbed her hand and stood up from the ground, but his little sister still sat curled up on the ground crying. Katara knelt down and put her hand on the child's back comforting her, "It's alright, I'm here to keep you safe. Let's-

Katara was surprised as the girl suddenly leaped into her chest, her arms latched around her neck and squeezing tight. While startled, Katara smiled inside and stood up carrying the girl and pulling the boy along outside. "It's alright, you're safe now. Is there anyone else here?"

The boy shook his head, "M-mommy was going to the store. Sh-she said she would be back in just a few minutes and to lock the door."

"You were brave with your sister there. Now let's get you out of here."

She got them out and stepped onto the column of water, ready to lower it just as the door inside the unit was kicked open, Katara turning back to see Endeavor standing there. The flame hero stared at the scene for a moment, with Katara holding the two kids on the water not something he expected. But he didn't need to say anything to her, simply giving a nod before he turned and ran down the hall to another unit.

Katara took a breath and guided the water down, lowering the two kids towards the ground until they were both safe below. The crowd immediately began cheering as she handed the kids off to the other sidekicks, but she didn't stop to take it in. In fact, Katara barely heard it as she guided the water back up to the floors above, carrying herself up with it. She was too focused on finding anyone else in need, and she was going to keep doing that. For several minutes she checked the other rooms, finding another woman struggling to breathe and helping her down. During that time, Endeavor and Burnin had nearly cleared out the other floors as well, the flame hero having nearly extinguished all the other flames as well with his quirk. Everything seemed to be going well.

Until Burnin burst out of the fifth story carrying an unconscious victim. "Everybody get down!"

BOOOOM!

Everyone down below gasped as the section of the complex still on fire suddenly burst out in a blazing inferno, the fire blasting outward and engulfing the right side of the building. "What happened?!" Katara shouted out, turning to see Burnin slowly descending with her flame hair.

"Damn gas line," Burnin hissed out as she landed and set the man down. "As I got this one out, I heard the line crack from the fire."

"What? Is everyone out?!" Katara asked in worry, only making Burnin frown.

"Endeavor was clearing out the ones above me so they should be good. The right side of that floor was all I had left to check, So…"

Katara's eyes widened as she looked back up to the floor Burnin escaped from, seeing there were two more units to the side, both of which were completely engulfed in flames. Even from down below she could feel the intense flames blasting out from the building face."We have to go and see if anyone is still in there!"

"You are not going in!" Burnin snapped at the teen, "If the gas lines in those rooms go off as well, you'll be inside of a minefield. It's too dangerous!"

"I'm not sitting down here if there are people up there!" Katara yelled back in anger.

"It's too dangerous I said!" Burnin yelled and turned back towards the building hitting her earpiece. "Endeavor! The fifth floor eastern side has gone off. The gas lines are going off and I'm not sure if they were fully cleared!"

"I'm Almost there! The sixth floor was almost empty when the explosion hit just now! I'm bringing three more out now!" Endeavor shouted in the earpiece.

Clenching her fists, Katara looked back to the hydrant still gushing water out from the top, huffing out through her nose and aiming her hand at the top. She quickly summoned all of the water coming out from it towards her, forming a massive swirling pool by her feet. Burnin turned back wide eyed as the water grew thicker and wider. "What the hell are you doing?! I said to-

"And I said I am not waiting!" Katara snapped back, lifting her arms and forcing the water to spin faster. In a shocking display to the people around, Katara was lifted up into the air by the swirling tower of water, the others stepping back from what looked like a water tornado beneath the girls feet. In a split second, the column burst outward and carried the waterbender high into the air directly towards the flaming building.

"God Damn it!" Burnin shouted in anger as Katara refused to listen, watching as the girl was carried higher in the sky. "Endeavor, the kid went inside the fire!"

"WHAT?!" Endeavor yelled out.

As Katara reached the fifth floor, she shielded her face from the insane heat coming from the inferno. Waving her hands, she formed a water cloak over her body and thrust her right hand forward and shot it at the window on the end of the building. The water gushed through the destroyed opening and battled against the raging fire, but at the height her water vortex was, she could only bring so much water up to battle the flames without compromising her support. Glaring, she pulled up a large sphere and shot it forward, creating a path through the flames for her to get through. With a leap of courage, she jumped off her tower and into the burning building, pulling behind her a massive stream of water as well.

Immediately she was overwhelmed by the insane heat striking her body, even through the water covering herself. Her eyes instantly burned from the thick smoke already engulfing the room, coughing and covering her mouth. "Hello! Is anyone here?!" She shouted through the smoke, coughing once more before lifting her hand and forming a water bubble around her face. Breathing in some clean air, she shook her head before swiping her arms and thrusting the water out, striking against the growing flames around her. To her frustration, every time she seemed to extinguish a section, another burst out nearby, the intense heat evaporating the water used to smother the other flames.

She knew trying to take it out like this was a waste of time, instead running towards the nearby bedroom and striking it open with her water. "Hello! Anyone!" She yelled into the room, looking around in case anyone was hiding or unconscious. After checking the other bedroom, she saw this unit was clear, leaving the other next door to check. Not waiting to try and run to the hallway, Katara brought her hands together and formed a thick water sphere, yelling out and shooting it forward, breaking through the dividing wall.

"If you can hear me, yell!" Katara shouted as she stepped through the opening, barely able to see through the immense amount of smoke in the room. She could hardly see even her hands in front of her now, having to send water out ahead to feel her way through the apartment bedroom. Even with her water shield, she felt like she was almost sweating, breathing heavily in the air pocket she had around her. "Anyone!"

Suddenly, her eyes widened as she came through the doorway of the bedroom, able to pick up the light sound of crying. She quickly moved through the smoke until she made out the shape of something on the ground, dropping down and feeling her heart race in fear of what she saw. "Oh no…"

Laying on the ground was the still form of a man, his back burned and still smoking from being scorched. Katara quickly rolled him over to check on him, but felt her throat tighten when she saw the blanket bundled up underneath. She reached down and pulled the blanket aside, her eyes widened in fear as she saw an infant laying there, tears rolling down her stained face. She looked back to the man laying there not moving, her hand going to his neck and feeling for anything.

To her relief, she felt his pulse. However it was extremely weak, and his chest was barely moving as he laid there. "He protected his baby from the blast…" Katara whispered out as she looked back to the baby and scooped it up in her arms, reforming the water around herself and cradling the infant against her chest. She then guided a sphere of water down and engulfed the man's chest, covering his torso and was ready to lift him off the ground. Before she did, however, her ears picked up the light crack of something melting, turning around and feeling her heart stop when she saw the pipe behind the oven crack. "Oh Shit!" She shouted and quickly dropped to the ground, waving her free arm and summoned all the water she had around herself and the other two.

With a loud roar, the gas inside the line ignited and exploded outward, engulfing the room in a wave of flames. The fire collided with the water barrier like a locomotive, ripping through the outer shield and almost boiling a majority of the barrier. Katara clutched at the baby on her chest as she gritted her teeth, the intense heat blasting right through the water shield she had around them. She tried swiping her hand to freeze the water, but the fire bursting out from the gas line acted as a flamethrower, the heat too intense to allow the ice to form. Not only that, but the water was evaporating at an alarming rate, eating away at the shield she had around them.

Her eyes went down to the screaming baby in her chest, her teeth clenching in frustration as she clenched her free hand. "We are getting out of here, okay?" She said to the baby, pulling it closer to her chest with her left arm as she took a deep breath. She clicked open both of her gauntlets to ready them for the right moment. "Let's go!"

Quickly dropping the shield, Katara pushed the water down at her feet and lifted both her and the unconscious father off the ground and raced towards the glass door ahead. Dropping the water shield around her body, she launched it and a majority of the water at her feet forward and slammed into the glass, shattering it and the flames blocking her path as she and the two leaped out of the building. Screams echoed from below as the trio fell from the burning building, Katara gritting her teeth as she readied herself. "Don't worry, I got you!" She spoke to the baby trying to comfort its cries, thrusting her hand out as they passed the fourth floor.

Pulling water out from her left gauntlet, she shot out a stream and pulled the passed out man against her, encircling both of them in a barrier of water. Opening her fingers up, she shot out another stream from her right gauntlet and struck it into the side of the building. The water snapped tight as they neared the ground, stopping their descent at the last moment before Katara let go, landing on the ground panting. She lowered the man beside her to the ground just as Katara let her bending loose, the water splashing around her as she dropped to her knees. Breathing hard, she looked down and smiled at the baby in her arms, happily holding the crying infant after everything.

"We made it, don't worry." She said as she rocked it a few times.

The crowd both gasped and screamed in amazement at the teens act of bravery just now, many cheers and whistles ringing out as Katara stood back up. Paramedics rushed up to her and quickly scooped up the baby from her. "Thank you for that! Here, come with us so we can check you out." one of them told Katara, but was shook off by the waterbender.

"I'm fine, help him." She demanded and signaled to the man beside her. Immediately a few more firemen ran over with a stretcher and set the man on it, hoisting him up and rushing him towards the nearby ambulance. Through all the crowd cheering at her, she noticed Burnin stomping her direction, fists clenched at her sides. Katara breathed heavily and glared at the sidekick, not in the mood for a scolding right now. "Look, I don't want to hear it now and-

Katara was cut off as Burnin threw an arm over her shoulder, yanking her close, and a massive smile on the woman's face. "Jesus, you are a crazy son of a bitch! Now that took some damn guts, kid!" She shouted out and laughed, patting the stunned waterbender on the shoulder. "Now that… was pretty damn heroic."

Katara was speechless at the compliment, followed by the cheers erupting from the crowd as they all circled the teen. To her, Katara was just doing what was right, and didn't need to be praised by all these people. But as she looked through the crowd, she saw the two kids from earlier running up to their mom, the woman in tears after learning what had happened. The swelling feeling in the waterbender's chest made her feel so warm inside, smiling to herself and happy with what she did.

Nearby, another group cheered for Endeavor as he lowered himself to the ground as well, carrying three people in his arms. He set them down to the street as the others all chanted his name, but didn't pay attention to the cheers he was getting. Instead, he stared across the clearing to the girl in blue beside Burnin, his eyes locked onto her in amazement. When he heard from his sidekick she had gone into the building, he was expecting her to be needing rescuing after being overwhelmed. When he heard the next gas explosion from where she was, he was expecting the worst in fact. He was ready to rush over to her once he had saved the group in his arms, but saw the miraculous escape she performed from the building.

He saw the risk she was willing to take to save others in need, contradicting the nagging feeling he used to have about her from before. He saw along with talent, she really did have the urge to risk her own life to get others to safety, and she did it without a second's thought.

He stared at the waterbender with open eyes for once, realizing he may have been wrong about her before.

Notes: Wow, what an interesting chapter! Villains, fire, and Endeavor questioning himself?! What will happen next?!

What will happen between Katara and the flame hero when they finally talk one on one? that will be discovered next chapter!

Cool announcements, there is a new artwork made of Katara in hero, school and casual looks on my deviantart! follow the link on my profile!

Till next time!