My Hero Academia: The Dragon's Quirk

"WHO ARE YOU?!"

Endeavor's roar was a force of nature. It wasn't just a sound; it was a wave of pressure and heat that shook the already damaged corridor to its foundations. Flames erupted all over his body, no longer the controlled flames of combat, but the flames of pure rage. The heat was so intense that the paint on the walls began to blister and the emergency sprinkler system in the ceiling activated, creating a rain of dirty water that immediately evaporated into thick steam as it neared the Number One Hero.

For the exhausted team, it felt like escaping a collapsing hell only to come face-to-face with the sun.

Akame's and Leone's reactions were pure instinct. Akame, despite her fatigue, immediately took a defensive stance in front of Tatsumi, her Murasame raised, its dark blade seeming to absorb the light from Endeavor's flames. She wouldn't be able to withstand a direct attack, but she would be the final shield for her comrade. At her side, Leone let out a low growl, her long, sharp claws fully extended, her body low to the ground like a lioness ready to pounce. In their eyes, Endeavor was not an ally; he was an unknown and immense threat blocking their path.

Tatsumi, standing between his two battle-ready comrades and the wrathful fire god before him, felt a wave of despair. His armor was dead. His body was battered. And now they had to face their most powerful ally.

"Endeavor-san, wait!" Tatsumi shouted, stepping in front of Akame and Leone, raising both his hands in a universal gesture of surrender. The hot steam from Endeavor's flames felt like it was scorching his exposed skin. "It's not what it looks like! We're on the same side!"

Endeavor's blazing blue eyes narrowed, focusing on Tatsumi. He recognized the boy—'Tyrant,' Hawks' ghost asset. But his presence here, with two unknown women who were clearly not heroes, was a massive breach of protocol. His battle-addled mind immediately jumped to the worst conclusion: the asset had been compromised, captured, or had even turned traitor.

"Explain yourself, boy!" Endeavor roared, not lowering his flames in the slightest. "You're supposed to be in a secure location! Who are these two vigilantes?! What are you doing in my operational territory?!"

"They are allies," Tatsumi insisted, trying to keep his voice steady over the roar of the fire. "We are here on orders. We have critical intelligence that needs to be acted on immediately!"

"Intelligence?!" Endeavor laughed, a sound like grinding stones. "What I see is a secret asset operating outside the chain of command with two unknown criminals in the middle of my warzone! This smells of treason, Hawks!"

At the Command Post

"Damn, damn, DAMN!" Hawks swore, slamming his fist on the table. On his monitor, he saw the impossible meeting. "Of all the corridors on this entire island, they had to run into him now!"

He frantically tried to open a priority communication channel to Endeavor. "Endeavor, do not engage! I repeat, do not attack! Those assets are with me! They are part of the plan!"

But his communication was hampered by severe signal interference from the damage in the tower and active jamming from the PLF. His message reached Endeavor as a series of broken, static-filled words. "...do not... attack... with me... plan..."

Hawks then switched to the team channel. "Tatsumi, stall for time! Keep him talking! Don't let your friends provoke him! I'm trying to get through to him!"

A Desperate Negotiation

In the corridor, Hawks' broken message only added fuel to the fire of Endeavor's suspicion. "With you, Hawks?! What other plans have you been hiding from me?!" he roared, his anger now also directed at his communicator.

Tatsumi knew he was running out of time. Arguing wouldn't work. Pleading wouldn't work. He had to use the only language a man like Endeavor understood: threats, responsibility, and results. His analytical mind took over, pushing his fear and exhaustion aside.

"Endeavor-san, we don't have time for this!" Tatsumi said, his voice suddenly changing, no longer pleading but commanding, filled with an authority born from relentless battle. "While we stand here and argue, the Paranormal Liberation Front is in the process of evacuating their most valuable asset from this island!"

That got Endeavor's attention.

"What asset?" he growled.

"A woman," Tatsumi replied, choosing his words carefully. "A Cryokinesis user with the power to freeze this entire island in an instant. The energy pulse that made you all stop... that was her. The PLF was holding her in a sublevel lab, and now they're trying to get her away through a secret submarine dock in the southern sector."

He pointed down the corridor behind Endeavor. "They're set to depart in... less than ten minutes now. Every second we're here is another second closer to them escaping with a world-ending weapon."

Leone, understanding Tatsumi's play, added with her sharp, cynical tone. "Listen, old man flame-head. You can roast us later after we're done stopping a mini Ice Age apocalypse, okay? Priorities!"

Endeavor stared at them. The story was insane. But it also explained everything. The strange energy pulse. The PLF's panic. The presence of this secret team in the heart of the enemy's defense. It made a terrible kind of sense. His duty as the Number One Hero—to protect the world from the greatest threats—was now in direct conflict with his anger as a commander who felt betrayed.

His flames slowly subsided, though his eyes still burned with suspicion. He made a decision.

"The submarine dock..." he growled. "Show me the way."

It wasn't a request. It was an order. Nor was it a sign of trust. It was a ceasefire born of absolute necessity.

Just then, Hawks' voice finally broke through the signal interference, coming in clear on all their communicators. "Thank God you didn't kill each other! Listen, Endeavor, the kid is telling the truth! I'll explain later! Right now, you all have to work together!"

Hawks continued quickly, formulating a new plan on the fly. "Endeavor, you are our spearhead. Your power is the only thing that can break through their final defenses. Clear a path for them. Tatsumi, Akame, Leone, you are the interception team. Your job is to get to that submarine and, by any means necessary, stop it from departing. I'll guide you through the fastest route from here."

The strangest, most unstable alliance in the world had now been formed in the middle of a ruined corridor. A wrathful fire god, a legendary assassin, a lioness of the underworld, and an exhausted young dragon.

"Tch," Endeavor grunted. He turned, no longer seeing them as enemies, but as tools. "Follow me. And stay out of my way."

With a roar, he shot forward down the corridor, becoming a giant fireball that obliterated all obstacles in his path.

The team exchanged a brief look, then ran after him, into the trail of destruction he left behind.

This is insane, Tatsumi thought as he ran behind the Number One Hero. This is completely insane. But... it might be our only chance.