Akako hated hospitals. He always had, even before he became a villain. Became Spitfire. His life had been irrevocably changed in hospitals far too often for him ever to hold anything other than contempt for them. Even though his brain felt like mush, he tried to get a basic idea of his condition.

His head felt like it was made of lead, and his tongue felt like sandpaper in his mouth. The cool sensation from his arm made it clear that something was being pumped into him through the IV, though if he was where he thought he was, that was concerning. Once he finally got his eyes adjusted, they were met not with the stereotypical hospital white but with a dull gray. Then he noticed the woman standing beside the bed across from his and groaned aloud, catching her attention. "Ah, so you're finally awake, then?"

Moira. The chief medical officer of the Black Order. Though, she was more of a mad scientist than a surgeon. She didn't get her vast knowledge of the human body from a medical school, but by dissecting any unwitting enemy she was brought. Judging from the figure on the bed's colorful suit, they could only be a Pro Hero or a sidekick.

Spitfire grunted as he swung his legs over the side of his cot and sat up. The wave of nausea that washed over him threatened to empty whatever they'd been pumping into his stomach during the time he was out. "Fucking hell."

"Easy there, bigshot. We don't want you going to sleep again so soon, now do we?" Moira asked, her eyes never leaving her 'patient'. As soon as he could, Spitfire pushed himself to his feet and, slightly wobbly, made his way over to her. The figure on the cot was a young girl, no older than eighteen or nineteen. Just the sight of her condition made him want to heave again.

"How long was I out?" He asked, deciding he didn't want to know about the girl. Moira glanced up at him over her half-moon spectacles and grinned.

"Three months… give or take a week or two. Happy Halloween." The information was shocking but not entirely unexpected. Moira had warned him about overdosing on Switch Trigger, but those warnings had gone out the door when the Number One Hero had shown up. Around this time, he noticed just how loud it was on the other side of the infirmary (if you could even call this make-shift laboratory an infirmary) double doors.

"What's going on?" Moira shrugged and waved her hand in the air while the other grabbed a scalpel from the nightstand.

"You know I don't associate with those grunts unless they're underneath my instruments. All I know is that there's an uproar about our next operation." This piqued Spitfire's interest. Ever since he joined up, the Black Order had been primarily underground. To have another operation so soon (at least… from his perspective) after Yonkers was surprising, to say the least.

Leaving Moira to her work, he exited the infirmary into complete mayhem. People rushed past him in both directions, though many seemed to recognize just who he was and avoided him with extreme prejudice. His reputation certainly did precede him.

He waded through the sea until he came to a heavy wooden door marked 'Command' and pushed it open. While the rest of the base looked more like a well-lit sewer, the command room would make any doomsday freak cream their pants. Every wall was covered in huge monitors, each displaying a view of potential targets, a map of the continental USA, or a bunch of data that made no sense to him. None of that mattered once he saw a familiar face standing at the center console. "Plague."

"Oh, Spitfire, you're finally awake. It's good to see you back in the world of the living, my friend." While Spitfire hated many people in this world, the Black Order's leader was not one of them (however irritated he still was with the man for his lack of transparency during the Yonkers incident). Despite his past, the man had accepted him, had given him the best opportunity to change the world.

"What's the deal? Moira mentioned a mission?" Plague studied him for a moment with calculating eyes before smiling softly.

"Right back into the fray. Unfortunately, you'll be sitting this one out. Prophet and Vesuvius are to begin targeting high-value individuals, while Puppeteer prepares for her own operation after the New Year," Plague explained. Spitfire frowned and looked down at the console for the first time. It was covered in pictures (HVI's, he presumed). He recognized members of the Hero Council, foreign ambassadors, and even a few members of the government, but, to his surprise, not a single high-ranking hero. Noticing his confusion, Plague cleared his throat and wiped away the pictures, making the console's screen go black. "In due time. The first step is destabilization. You've laid the groundwork on which the other Generals will build our new world."

"What about Cryo? He still an asshole?"

"My son has his own goals. Fortunately, in this instance, he sees the good in helping our cause. To put it short, yes. He is still an asshole." Spitfire barked a laugh. He'd never liked his 'counterpart'. The North Wind was an idiot too preoccupied with his blog to take part in Order activities. From the few times they'd spared, however, Spitfire knew the man had earned his position.

Plague looked thoughtful for a moment before clapping the young man on the back. "There is something you could do, Akako. Despite our best efforts, several of our agents have been captured. Including a member of your team."

"Who?" Spitfire spat, ice flowing through his veins. With the exception of maybe Switch, Spitfire valued the members of his team above even Plague himself. Each in his squad was handpicked and had been by his side for years.

"Barry was taken into custody in Yonkers after we were unable to locate him. He's now being held, with a fair few other agents, in the Bay Prison. It's no Citadel, but breaking them out should still be quite the challenge with Aeroblast in charge," Plague explained, watching Spitfire's expression very closely. The young man's grey eyes flashed, and a few licks of flame escaped from his lips.

"When do I start."

Purpose of a Hero

"I'm just saying, Melody really should have cleared it with the rest of us before conning Benji into cleaning the dorms. The fact that it took him this long to try and get a peek at my underwear drawer is an accomplishment in and of itself!" Eris ranted. Diana smiled lightly, an expression that still looked strange to Eris (her friend's reptilian face just couldn't quite pull off a friendly grin without it looking frightening), and shook her head. The two walked along the side of the road at a leisurely pace, owing to the fact that the weather had taken a turn for the cold recently, which had a very profound effect on Diana, making her more sluggish than usual.

"I still don't think it was necessary to push him down the stairs, Eris. He could have been seriously hurt," Diana remarked. Eris wrinkled her nose in response as if the thought of doing anything less than pushing Benji down the stairs was too lenient. Her response was cut off, however, when a large semi-truck roared past them. The updraft caused by the truck whipped her hair and made her companion shiver. "Why did they have to build this school on the edge of a river? Winter is going to be so awful."

"Wait, don't you hibernate?" Eris asked, looking so genuinely confused that Diana burst out into laughter.

"No, no, I'm only part reptile, remember? I just spend a few months in a living, frozen hell, but I'm right as rain by springtime. Now come on, we've still got a lot of shopping to do if we want to get back before curfew," Diana said, trying her best to pick up the pace. She had to admit, it was surprising that the normally very brash and 'in-your-face' Eris was being so accommodating for her. When the two had been stuck on dinner duty, she'd been slightly worried, but so far, the other girl had adjusted for her, even going so far as to let her choose what meal they would prepare.

Still, they'd have to pick up the pace a bit more to get to the grocery store, grab what they needed, and get back with, hopefully, enough time to prepare their meal. In the back of her mind, Diana wondered if the boy's dorm had a similar system for nightly dinners or if they did something completely different. "Hey Eris, has Alex told you what the guys do for their meals?"

"Oh yeah. That happens to be number eighty-five on the list of things he complains about daily. They order out practically every night, without fail," Eris explained, rolling her eyes. "Apparently, they all put their student I.D. cards into a hat and pick at random. Winner gets to choose what they order. From what I hear, the only ones that ever even attempt to make anything are Narruk and Dominick. They're big barbecue fans, according to Alex."

"Honestly, that's about what I expected," Diana replied, chuckling. The two continued their trek until the sidewalk widened enough that they were no longer within arm's reach of forty-ton death machines going fifty miles an hour. They passed a small array of shops, the Halloway Pizzeria (which sadly looked as if no one was home), and a few warehouses that had been refurbished into luxury apartments, the only real reminders of the area's industrial past. Finally, they arrived at the supermarket.

"So… what are we making again?" Eris asked as she grabbed a shopping cart. Diana grinned toothily and pulled out a list from the pocket of her leather jacket. She passed it to Eris, who frowned and gave her classmate a bemused look after reading over the ingredients. "You sure we're gonna be able to find all this here? And what the hell even are 'beef bones' anyway?"

"Cow bones, essentially."

"Uh-huh… and we need those… why?" Diana laughed and snatched the list back.

"We're not eating them, Eris. They're just for the broth," she reassured. Eris still looked a bit perplexed but relented and started pushing the cart. Despite the cool weather outside, the supermarket was chilly, making Diana glad she wore her jacket and jeans, though they didn't do much for her tail. "What is basko anyway?"

"It's 'bakso'. My grandma always used to make it when I was a kid. Reminded her of her childhood," Diana explained. "It's basically meatballs with noodles and bone broth. Very tasty."

"If you say so," Eris replied, though her tone was more teasing than dismissive. All in all, they were making quick progress with Eris pushing and Diana directing. They were turning out to be a good team, much to the latter's surprise.

It wasn't until they'd already gotten over half of the required ingredients that Diana noticed the man. He looked to be about fifty or sixty, with wispy gray hair and a cruel sneer etched onto his face. For a moment, she didn't know why the man had such a vendetta against pasta, but then his gaze shifted from the box of angel hair in his hand to glare directly at her. Then she knew. She shifted slightly and hastily grabbed a box of pasta she was sure would work (they didn't seem to have the brand her grandmother used way back in the day). With Eris none the wiser, the two retreated into the spices aisle.

"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask you. How did your meeting with Mr. Holl go? You came back looking a bit sulky," Eris remarked, sneakily adding a container of pepper to their cart (Diana did not want to know how she planned on using that).

"Well, we didn't really have much to talk about. We watched me get frozen, and then he told me not to let my weaknesses become my identity. I just hope I do better than a first-round exit last year," Diana said. In all honesty, Mr. Holl's words had really struck a chord with her. Ever since she was little, the cold had affected her in ways it never affected her father. Though not much ever did affect her father. Iko Suharto was as tough as they came, even if it did get him into trouble from time to time.

"Ugh, that's so~ much better than the crap he told me. 'You've got to learn to adapt to your teammate, Eris' and 'a Hero must be able to accept responsibility for their mistakes' and all sorts of other crap. I mean, it's not my fault Marcus got his panties in a twist and then blew himself up," she vented, unconsciously pushing the cart faster. Diana, suspecting it would end in the fracture of whatever bond the two girls had built up, wisely didn't comment. Instead, she directed her vision down to her list.

While the two had been making good progress, their cart had filled up rapidly. Thankfully, her grandmother's recipe had already been a supersized serving due to her and her father's appetites. However, she still had to adjust and calculate how much of each ingredient would be needed to feed around fifty girls. They hit their first hiccup when they found the supermarket was out of pre-made meatballs (which a passing employee had told them was due to a local business owner wanting to diversify their menu with all sorts of sub sandwiches). Luckily, Eris suggested just buying several pounds of ground beef to make their own.

On their way to the aisle with frozen meats, Diana once again made eye contact with the man from the pasta aisle. This time, however, Eris noticed the cold look he was giving her as well. She stuck her tongue out at him, quite childishly, and after he'd looked away in disgust, she chuckled. "Old fart. What, a couple of girls can't go shopping for absurd amounts of food? What has the world come to?"

Diana knew it was a bit more complicated than that but laughed nevertheless. Once they arrived at their destination, Eris sauntered up to the nearest cooler and began holding up different packets of meat for Diana to judge, becoming more and more dramatic with each one that was rejected. At one point, the reptilian girl started rejecting perfectly good meat just to keep the bit going. The more time they spent together, the more Diana was starting to like Eris. While she had always seemed a bit standoffish – or if she were honest, bitchy – there appeared to be more than meets the eye about her classmate.

"Ugh, you're hard to please, Ms. Suharto," Eris said, grinning widely as she presented another saran wrapped container.

"I just enjoy seeing you make a fool of yourself," she shot back jokingly. Eris let the package fall back into the cooler and put a hand over her heart.

"You wound me. Now come on and pick something! We don't have all night, and you know those prissy bitches will tear us apart if they don't get to eat. I'd like at least one night where Clara doesn't throw a hissy fit." Diana smiled at her classmate's whiny tone and rolled her eyes. She kindly directed Eris to a brand she'd held up a few minutes prior, earning a narrowed look in response. "You really were just enjoying me being an idiot. You are one cold reptile, Di."

"Please don't call me cold; I'm already shivering." Eris rolled her eyes and grabbed several packages and dumped them unceremoniously into the, at this point nearly full, cart. Diana's smile grew a bit and, through the cold of the freezer section, felt a bit of warmth in her face. Other than her mom, no one had ever really been close enough to her to call her by anything other than her given name. At the start of the day, she would have never expected Eris to join that very exclusive list.

"What do you think? Enough?" Diana glanced down into the cart and tried to do some mental calculations. Then she remembered that she wasn't particularly brilliant at math and shrugged.

"Better to be safe than sorry. Toss me another." It was a bad idea. She was already sluggish from the cold, and asking a riled up Eris to toss a pound of meat at her was always going to end in disaster. Of course, the throw was wide, and Diana had to turn and bend herself halfway over their cart to keep it from nailing a soup can display. In the process, her tail whipped around and slammed into something hard. Then, she heard the sound of eggs splatting and felt several thuds on her tail. Eris swore under her breath and ran over.

It was him. Of course, it was him. And to think Diana had been having a great day, now her tail and pants are covered in yolk and eggshells, and there was a very pissed off man practically nose to snout with her. "Watch where you're swinging that damn thing, you idiot girl."

"S-So sorry," Diana mumbled, feeling her face heat up. The man glared at her for a moment, then stepped back and snorted.

"...fucking wretched mutants..." Diana cringed inwardly, trying to keep her face emotionless (a fairly easy feat when one has the face of a komodo dragon). Unfortunately, her attempt to 'turn the other cheek' was in vain because then Eris stomped forward, her face twisted in anger.

"What did you just say?" She demanded. Diana nearly groaned aloud. If there was one thing she still didn't like about Eris, it was the girl's temper.

"Eris–"

"What of it?" The man shot back, seemingly not happy that Eris was up in his face the way he'd been up in Diana's. She looked ready to deck the man, her fists clenched at her sides and her jaw set. However, before she got the chance, Diana put a hand on her shoulder and gently pulled her back.

"Sorry about knocking you over," she said hurriedly and led Eris back to their cart. In that moment, she was eternally grateful that they'd saved the meat for last. Now all they had to do was pay (using the funds given to them by Shaula) and get back to school. Eris looked at her like she'd grown a second head, clearly still ready to tear the old man apart (whether verbally or physically, she didn't want to find out).

"That damned school's standards must be abysmally low if they let you in. Who's gonna be thankful for being saved by you?" The man spat. If it hadn't been for the strong grip she had on her shoulders, Diana was sure Eris would have seriously injured that old prick. As it were, she settled for giving him a pair of obscene hand gestures.

Thankfully, the man didn't follow them as they made their way through the market until they reached the checkout lines. As they exited the building, Eris was still steaming mad but quickly calmed down (or at least pushed her anger aside) when she noticed Diana struggling to carry the dozen or so bags all by herself. "Shit. Sorry, Di. Let me take a few of those."

"Thanks," Diana said. Those would be the only words passed between the two on the first leg of their journey home, a heavy, awkward silence hanging over them. It was only when they passed the Halloway Pizzeria that Diana cleared her throat and spoke up. "Sorry about all that."

"You're sorry?" Eris said incredulously. Diana flinched at her classmate's high-pitched tone. Apparently, apologizing wasn't the right thing to do to break the silence. "Diana, you do realize what that guy was saying, right?"

"I got the gist of it," she replied quietly.

"Then you have no reason to be sorry. Hell, you should be even madder than I am! That fucking prick." Diana looked worriedly at the bags Eris was carrying, which were being flung about as she became more and more animated in her rant. "He's so lucky I don't go back there and put a sharpened femur up his ass!"

"Eris, really. It's not that big a deal." Once more, the brunette looked at her as if she'd sprouted wings. Though, this time Diana could see why. Even to her, it kinda was a big deal. She hadn't experienced anything like that since she was ten, and that time she hadn't been able to hold her father back. Before Eris could start yelling again, Diana decided that a bit of an explanation was needed. "I get my Quirk from my dad's side of the family. My mom's side has always had Emitter Quirks, and when they found out she was marrying my dad, they flipped and disowned her. Growing up, we had to deal with a lot of crap, but my mom always taught me to 'turn the other cheek', so I wouldn't end up like my dad. At the end of the day, it's just one guy. Why should I let him dictate how I see myself?"

"Still think you should've let me hit him at least once," Eris pouted, making Diana laugh. The remainder of the trip went more like the rest of the day had. Lots of easy conversation, lots of laughs, and more than a few jokes at Benji or Alex's expense. When they finally arrived back at the girl's dorm, they were greeted by Shaula.

"Took you fishies long enough. Ramirez and Kazani were starting to get a bit restless, took the threat of detention to get them to calm down. It's excellent that they don't know I can't give out detentions," she said cheerily, holding the door open for them to enter. The air in the common room was a bit tense, though that seemed to originate from the remote corner of the room where Clara sat with a scowl on her face. Once they entered the kitchen and began setting their bags down, Shaula took notice of Eris' thinly veiled anger. "Uh-oh. What happened?"

"Some dumbass went and insulted Diana," Eris growled before Diana had the chance to say "nothing". Shaula's expression went from inquisitive to annoyed and then to sympathetic fast enough to give Diana whiplash.

"You wanna talk about it?" She prodded. Diana quickly shook her head, already starting to feel uncomfortable again.

"It's fine. Nothing I haven't heard before." Shaula looked dubious and grabbed her arm. Before Diana had a chance to react, she had been dragged into the spacious pantry and drawn into a hug by her upperclassman.

"I'm sorry. People like that infuriate me," the pink-haired girl said as she released her. For the first time, Diana saw a look of actual anger on her upperclassman's face. It was common knowledge in the girl's dorm that if you pissed off Shaula, you were doing something wrong. She was the quintessential prefect of the dorm. She'd even managed to rein in her temper when dealing with Clara and Kira's constant bickering, or when Benji tried to lead an unsuccessful 'panty raid' earlier in the year, so seeing the fire in her eyes was a bit intimidating. "You shouldn't have to deal with hate like that, let alone be used to it. If you ever do want to talk, I'm all ears. Okay, Diana?"

"Thank you," she replied, letting her shoulders sag a bit. Shaula shot her a thousand-megawatt grin and led her back into the kitchen, where a small crowd of her fellow freshman had formed. Rylee and Eris had begun working on the bone broth, while most others had begun shaping the meatballs. The only freshman girls that weren't helping at the moment were Clara, Kira (who was still banned from even entering the kitchen), and, of course, Melody. Looking out at them, Diana felt a sense of belonging she'd never felt at any other school, and they'd barely known each other for three months. Shaula smiled knowingly at her and clapped her on the back.

"The head of the dorm position is generally given to juniors years since seniors have enough on their plates, but sophomores can be chosen to be assistants. Reyna's mine, and she's wonderful. Always helps me keep control. If I were her, you'd be my first choice come next year." Diana hadn't even considered the idea (she'd been too wrapped up in school work and then the tournament), but it wasn't unappealing. Although dealing with Clara, Kira, and Melody's three-way feud would probably get exhausting, she could see herself in Shaula's shoes. Plus, she would get control over the thermostat. "Get going, fishy. That bosco isn't gonna cook itself."

"It's bakso," Diana corrected. Nevertheless, she quickly began taking charge of the operation. It was turning out to be a lot more fun than she'd anticipated. Though the meatballs would all be different sizes (Andi had insisted on making mega-meatballs) and Rylee had added a bit too much spice to the broth, Diana was sure that her grandmother's recipe would be a hit. Once it was all said and done, she and Eris took their places, filling plates as all the girls began filing through.

"I think that today went well, all things considered," Eris remarked, only a little sarcasm leeching into her words. Despite that, Diana had to agree.

"Thank you for everything today. Today was super fun," Diana said. As she scooped a serving onto an upperclassman's plate, she frowned and lowered her tone. "I've never actually had anyone willing to defend me before. I don't know how to repay you for that."

"Pfft, that's what friends are for, Di." Diana couldn't help but smile and didn't even bother to fight the warmth spreading through her. For the first time, she felt like she really belonged at this school, her father's opinion be damned. Eris nudged her with her elbow and put on her best shit-eating grin. "Although there is something you could do for me, that would make me love you forever."

"And what's that?" Diana asked with a laugh. Eris quickly glanced around the room, as if looking for someone, before leaning in close and whispering in Diana's ear.

"Cover for me Saturday night if Alex comes by? I've got a date." That wasn't what she'd been expecting, but the puppy dog eyes Eris was giving her only further cemented her answer.

"Of course, but only if you tell me who." All of a sudden, Eris grew smug and puffed out her chest.

"Jason Lars."

"The runner-up from the sophomore tournament? So you like older guys, then?" Diana teased, reveling in the fact that she could tease anyone. Eris grinned like a madman and bumped their hips together.

"You know it, babe."

Purpose of a Hero

Well…. My plans fell through yet again, eh? Don't worry. I've got it all figured out. To make sure Chapter 50 is uploaded on the 13th (the 2nd anniversary), I will be uploading a chapter today (this one) and tomorrow as well—three chapters in three days, a first for me.

For this chapter, I wanted to hint at the fact that some treat mutant-type Quirks (in America at least) as inferior. Don't misunderstand; it's not many people in-universe that discriminate against Mutants but instead a very vocal minority. This chapter is really a stepping stone for building Diana and Eris, two characters who've had little character growth.

Anyway, another chapter will be out tomorrow (unless I royally fuck up) so without further ado, let's get to the preview.

Next Time on the Purpose of a Hero:

Chapter 49: Mentors