Endeavour's Fight
Estelle was with her class in the common room when she was interrupted from her chat with a phone call. Raising her hand to ask Momo to hold for a second, Estelle answered the line with her usual phrase, "Estelle here, report."
Listening to the news on the other end, Estelle forced her body to remain relaxed as she stood up. The class weren't aware of the current events happening in the town over, and Estelle hoped she could keep it that way.
Turning back to Momo, Estelle casually motioned that she needed to leave. Her calm demeanour put the concerned student to rest as she nodded with a small smile and relaxed on the couch. Taking no further time, Estelle moved to leave the room; the chatter of her classmates around her was like a warm symphony.
"Where do you think you're going, Lioness?"
Cursing Bakugo for stopping her, Estelle muttered, "Spirit sighting, I should be back soon."
"Hmpt, whatever. Be back for dinner."
"Hmhmm."
Finally reaching the outside, Estelle quickly unfurled her wings to zip off into the sky. Estelle tried her best to understand the words she had just heard as she soared through the sky.
Readying herself for the battle was coming, Estelle landed harshly onto the concrete. The dent she created forced the debris and pieces of rock to fly into the air from its blast. Her eyes immediately landed on those within her vicinity.
There was a person, a hundred metres from where she was told to scour. The individual was dawned in red from head to toe. Her eyes quickly trailed to their face, but she realised that it was hidden behind a red skull mask. Trying to find some indication of who they could be, Estelle wasn't given the time as the figure shot off into the air, their cape following behind frantically from the wind.
Flying behind the figure, Estelle was confused internally. The report stated there were hundreds of dark spirits, so who the hell was that?
The chase continued for a while, with nothing happening in between. Estelle's perplexity only grew from that fact; it almost felt like they were leading her somewhere rather than facing her in battle.
Finally, they came to a screeching halt above the city. Estelle floated opposite the figure as she Opened her mouth to question the new arrival. Estelle was not given a chance to speak as multiple dark and flying spirits came out from nowhere and headed directly for her. Taking her katana out of her saya, Estelle battled the creatures as her other hand whipped them with invisible air lashes to slam them down onto the surface.
Turning briskly when they had been quickly defeated, Estelle grew annoyed at the still figure standing in the air. Scowling, Estelle moved to place a blow, but they were already diving away from her.
What the fuck is going on?
Rushing through the whipping winds, Estelle was near the city grounds as she chased after the person in question. It was only when she felt the ground shake that Estelle's eyes diverted to the setting around her.
She wasn't expecting this; a black Nomu?
Her eyes flickered to the person in red and the black Nomu in suspicion. Was this planned? Was Estelle merely distracted to prevent interference with the attack? Estelle didn't know, and it was pissing her off.
Stopping briefly to mend a building that was seconds away from crashing into the ground, Estelle sighed in relief that those inside were okay. Red feathers surrounded her as she did so, helping out civilians as she kept the building standing.
Unable to keep assisting the civilians, Estelle continued her pursuit in the chase. Estelle grew increasingly frustrated at the game playing out before her. He was fast, uncomfortably so. The deep blood red cloak stood out from the rest of the nondescript buildings as he zipped past them with ease.
Startled, Estelle stared with astonishment as grey mutations of Nomu were spat out onto various buildings. They crawled about as they attempted to inflict as much damage as possible on the area they were in. Estelle had no idea what to do; this was clearly a planned misdirection for her. But the otherworldly girl needed to deal with this. Whoever this was, seemed to be connected to her in some way.
With that thought in mind, Estelle forced her fire to push her forward to attack. As ice bullets shot out of her vicinity and towards the individual, Estelle glowered when he held them back mid-air and turned it around. Melting the ice coming right back towards her, Estelle used her katana to strike, landing a hit onto their shoulder.
Hearing a male grunt, Estelle was forcibly pushed back into the air as the now known male sped forward and vanished around a building.
'Levitation?' She wondered in an attempt to pin his abilities.
Ignoring the minor setback, Estelle followed his trail around the junction. Her mind screeched to a halt as hundreds of dark creatures loomed in wait rather than the individual she was chasing. How the hell did they get here without anybody reporting to her?
As soon as they noticed her presence, the dark spirits wailed and ran to her in saliva filled hunger. Growling, Estelle let out a heated stream of fire to roast as many as she could in her vicinity. Her eyes stared in vexation when the mutated Nomu's joined them, surrounding her as they hung on the side of the building.
A colossal battle commenced as Estelle fell back into her warrior psyche to allow her body to reflexively crush them all to pieces. Her katana was in one hand as the other switched between the elements to slice, destroy, burn and obliterate those opposing her.
It felt like it would never end as Nomu's crashed down onto her, but Estelle prevailed. Holding her side that had a gash, Estelle slit the last buffo's neck when a wave of heat shot out behind her.
The surge made her hair float from the strength of it as she turned to face the source. The number one hero used every drop of his quirk to burn the black Nomu to oblivion. As Estelle watched, she could not deny the respect for the man so willing to put his life on the line to win.
The frown was back on her face when she realised the special move had failed and the black Nomu was still alive. Moving to help support the hero, Estelle groaned in irritation when more spirits crashed into the scene.
She froze slightly in wonder when she witnessed the creature stab Endeavour's eye and side from the corner of her sight. An aggravated growl slipped as Estelle whizzed past the spirits to reach him. Rising the cemented road, Estelle blocked the creatures from hindering her side mission.
The red man was gone; Estelle hadn't seen him since he turned the corner. She wondered if he thought his mission was complete in diverting her. In a way, he was successful since the number one hero seemed to be down for the count. Speeding through the buildings, Estelle passed the civilians crowding the streets as she headed straight towards the hero in need.
Watching as Endeavour slammed into the wall from a blow, Estelle winced at the impact. She wanted to give the man a moment to get back up on his feet. She may despise who Endeavour was, but he wasn't the type to back down from a fight.
Ignoring the ugly pestering of the black Nomu, Estelle used all her might to crash into the creature and place a spike directly through its thin, floating body. It didn't do much since he was still moving after that. The Nomu simply pulled its body out before moving to land a blow on her.
Raising her katana, Estelle set the blade aflame as she blocked another attack and blasted a flood of air next to the weapon. The two elements merged as they covered the black Nomu in flames; Estelle continued to amp up the heat as it remained within the fire.
Turning to face a crushed Endeavour, Estelle grunted out a harsh "Get up, you ain't done yet."
Watching as Endeavour slowly made his stand, the top hero nodded to Estelle in understanding. This wasn't her fight; this was for the number one hero. The people needed someone stable to believe in, and it wasn't her now.
The black Nomu pierced into the air as Endeavour followed with fire streaming out of his back. Estelle could not provide the man aid as mutated Nomu's surrounded her to delay her further.
Cursing, Estelle flew back into battle as spirits crashed through the streets with the scent of Cambion filling their noses. The blood from her wound was making her a beacon in the area. Their movement was even more unhinged as the creatures the size of cars lunged at her with open mouths.
Estelle continued her fight, watching as Endeavour became a beam of light in the sky as he used everything he had left to place a final collision. Raising her hand up, Estelle sent a massive lurch of air towards him in hopes of helping him forward.
The sheer power flowed out of him, causing heat waves to drench the area. Tendrils of flames blitzed out around him as he set himself alight to obliterate the black Nomu in one final attempt.
Estelle's heart had felt tight as she fought, one eye on the sky as Endeavour fell from a high height. Letting out enormous spikes of rock, ice and earth. Estelle stabbed everything in her vicinity to give her the time to soar into the air to clutch onto him.
Her soul was hit with consolation when she realised he was okay.
Landing on the ground, Estelle placed the hero on the concrete when she met another hero she did not recognise. Unfortunately, they didn't have the time for introductions as two figures showed themselves to the trio.
Blue flames surrounded the triad as one of the men spoke to Endeavour. Estelle couldn't focus on his words as she stared the other male down. He remained silent next to the man with staples and floated in the air beside him as his head turned towards Estelle.
Scowling, Estelle held a death stare as he nodded towards her in acknowledgement.
"You better stay alive, Enji Todoroki!" The stapled man screamed.
Estelle's eyes didn't stray from the man in red as he faded away in a gloopy bubble of black. Helping Endeavour stand on his own two feet, the three walked side by side and headed to the ambulance.
As Estelle watched the two heroes go into the ambulance, the new guy turned his head to her. "You know, you should probably come with us. You're bleeding."
Keeping her face blank, Estelle gazed at the wingless man with inquisitive eyes. Turning her body away, she answered, "Later, there's more incoming. Go."
"I can help."
"Where have you been? You can't interfere with spirit activity."
"Ooooh! You're that otherworldly girl the people have been talking about. I'm Hawks - the number two hero. I can't deny that I'm impressed with how you finessed the Commission."
"Yes, yes, lovely. Now go." Estelle blandly answered, her hand taking the katana back out of the saya as she turned around.
"We'll see ya at the hospital, pumpkin!"
"Hmpt."
Fighting the remaining spirits speeding towards her, Estelle was thankfully at the end of her own fight. The masked man, there had to be some connection there. Were spirits following him? The fact he was now gone from the scene and the number of monsters died down considerably was a red flag. But, she couldn't jump to conclusions just yet; there wasn't enough information.
Estelle's mind ran with conspiracies as she cleaned up as much as she could. The disintegrating bodies continued to float up into the air and flew away with the wind.
To her dismay, civilian's and news reporters continued to observe as Estelle fought. She stopped the spirits every time they came close to the others, so it was the first time they had ever gotten an extreme close up on the grotesque beings. She empathised with their fear, but they were idiots for sticking around. Curiosity would always cloud people's instincts.
When she was done and off to leave, Estelle's concentration was again interrupted by the same newswoman from the last incident. Estelle could hear her shout from a mile away; giving her a look and a disgruntled sigh, she waited for her to speak. "Estelle, the people are conflicted about your hero status. What do you say to that?"
"That I need to go help heal Endeavour."
"Wait! Please!"
Hearing her plea, Estelle turned back around with her wings in full view to show that she would leave at a moments notice if needed.
"Those things, they were everywhere during the fight with Endeavour. Are they related?"
Shaking her head, Estelle responded, "No, Nomu and spirits are separate issues. I could not provide as much aid as I would have liked because of this. My focus was on spirits since I am the only one who can handle them. The threat has been neutralised; now, I have a hero in need of healing. Please excuse me."
Flying off into the skies, Estelle felt the buzzing of her earpiece. She didn't have to answer to know who it was. The class sitting in Heights Alliance were probably fretting over her more than needed. Dejected when the phone kept ringing, Estelle silently answered the call.
"Lioness! What do you think you're doing?! Get to a hospital!"
"I am going."
"Oh, Good! Don't think we aren't pissed at the fact you never said anything before you left!"
"Okay."
"Tch. The hell-" Bakugo resumed before he was cut off by the sound of a tussle. Chuckling at the sound of Bakugo's yells in the background, someone else managed to come on the line.
"Estelle? It's Shoto. Are you really going to help my old man?"
"I am."
"Make sure you get yourself checked out first."
"Hmm."
"Good. I'm sure he can wait."
Estelle detested doctors treating her, so she avoided them altogether. It was different after Kamino Ward because she technically had no choice since she was unconscious. But, she would evade them as much as possible when she could; doctors couldn't always be trusted.
When she was done healing her injuries outside the hospital, Estelle headed over to Endeavour's room. Helping Recovery girl heal the number one hero emanated a strange feeling within Estelle. It innately felt wrong to her. Why does an asshole like Endeavour deserve any help from her? He doesn't. But, Estelle could not decline his ask, for she had already agreed and witnessed a willingness to change.
Still, he was an asshole.
Estelle witnessed the hero Hawks stroll into the room with a broad smile when Endeavour was fully encased in bandages. Narrowing her eyes at the male, Estelle could detect something hidden under the surface of his facade.
It wasn't necessarily bad, but the man was not wholly truthful either. The longer she thought about it, the more she realised that whatever it was, was not on her priority list. Shrugging off his gaze, Hawks spoke. "So, alien princess. What made you stop by to the party?"
Estelle deadpanned, "The man in red."
"Ah yes, strange that. Never seen that villain before, have you?" He asked, his voice finally dropping to a severe tone.
Estelle's interest piqued, but again it was not a priority, so she just shook her head in answer. "But, there's something up with him. He might be leading the charge with the spirits. That or he's working for someone who is."
"That's not good, a bunch of Cambion eating monsters listening to someone. Not good at all."
Narrowing her eyes at the male, Estelle muttered, "So, you have read the notes."
"Of course! I'm not the number two hero for nothing!"
"Really? I wouldn't have guessed."
"Ooh, I like you."
"..."
"This is where you say, I like you too!"
"..."
"Aw, come on, pumpkin!"
"Will you shut up?" Endeavour muttered, his eyes opening slowly in a flutter as he attempted to gain his bearings. Shaking her head at the older male, Estelle inwardly thanked him for his interruption. She knew he had woken up minutes ago when his breathing changed but ignored it - wanting him to take his time.
"Look who's alive, soldier."
"I feel like shit." Endeavour retorted back to the female.
"At least you ain't dead!" Hawks popped in with a grin, his shades glinting in the light.
"Shame that", Estelle murmured with a smirk, only to receive a disgruntled look from the injured hero as Hawks laughed in the background.
"Oh, I really like you!"