Third person pov

Okay, so Chad has moments where he makes a split second decision that turns out to be a horrible idea. This moment? Yeah, it's one of those. He'd seen his brother midair, fighting what he assumed as a Nomu. He'd seen photos of the one at the USJ, but this one was a great deal different. It had wings for one thing, and it was a lot thinner. It still had a beak and an exposed brain like the other one, however. He wasn't about to leave his brother to try and fight that thing alone. What kind of sibling would he be if he did that?! A pretty lame one, in his personal opinion.

There was just one... little issue. Chad couldn't fly. So what did he do instead? He climbed on top of a nearby building, a tall one, mind you, and waited. Still not a good idea. He knew Brad and the Nomu couldn't see him from where he stood. There was too much smoke in the air from Endeavor's fire. Chad also didn't really have a weapon, per say. He didn't feel too good about trying to fire a gun when the outlines of his brother and the creature were so fuzzy. Not to mention they were moving at incredible speeds, twisting around each other so fast you could blink and miss it. There was a huge risk of hitting Brad. Chad was confident, but he knew his limits. It wasn't a shot he could easily say he'd make.

Chad knew Bakugo would take care of Eri. The blonde boy was gruff, but he did want to be a hero. And heroes didn't let children die, no matter how sassy they happened to be. Chad would lose his car at worst. Getting another one would be a hassle, but he'd handle it. He saved his pennies. He had cash dollars to spend. He'd even tap into the Cranberry Sprite fund if need be, seeing as they'd stopped pestering Kaminari while his psyche recovered from the big move they pulled at the Sports Festival.

His time came. For a split second, the Nomu dipped below the building he was on. Chad hopped without a second thought, arms just managing to loop around the creatures neck as he landed squarely on its back. A simple solution to the simple problem that was flightless-ness. Its flying immediately faltered, giving an indignant, ear-piercing squawk as Chad adjusted his position. It almost fell, but its wings gave a last powerful flap that somehow managed to keep it upright as it began to squirm and buck mid-air.

"Chad?!" Hawks shrieked, blood leaking from his nose. It was without a doubt broken. Chad grimaced, wondering what the fuck he was doing as the creature twisted, trying to swipe at him. He moved to the side before the things claws could take his eye out. Hawks stared dumbly at him, and Chad noticed his brother's swollen hand. Another thing that was broken. Not the mention the gashes on his arm. The claws were clearly sharper than they appeared. That, or Brad was just a little bitch with soft skin-

"Don't worry, it wasn't a suicide attempt!" Chad called over the creatures shrieking. He pulled his arm back and tightened, choking it slightly. It protested wildly, taking a dive and then stopping abruptly to try and get him off. Chad heard Brad give a strangled cry of surprise before diving after them, determined to take the creature down. Chad grit his teeth. Yes, this was a horrible idea. It was sort of too late now. Falling would mean dying or having to rely on Brad to catch him. Neither of those would end well.

Chad did literally the only thing he could think of. He couldn't very well reach his pistol at the moment, and firing it while this thing was going buck wild didn't seem like one of his brightest ideas either. A step up from jumping off a roof and onto the back of an inhuman monster, but details, details, right?! Instead, he reeled one of his fists back, and did something he was pretty sure nobody had ever done before. He delivered a swift punch right to the thing's brain.

It wasn't a pleasant sensation. There was an uncomfortable squelch before the creature began to spasm, dropping like a fly. Hawks dipped down and managed to grab Chad just in time, preventing him from falling with the thing and instead lowering him down slowly. Chad wasn't too much heavier than Shoto, so it wasn't the hardest thing to do. Hawks was careful to deposit his younger brother a reasonably distance from the fallen Nomu he had just brain-punched. The winged man landed next to his sibling a moment later, winded.

"That was absolutely disgusting. Not groovy at all, yo." Chad grimaced at the moisture he felt on his knuckles. Hawks held up a single finger as he caught his breath, trying his best to calm his erratically beating heart. Chad shrugged, wiping his slimy fist on his jeans while silently promising to wash them later. Or better yet, he'd make Bakugo do it without telling him just what was on them. He could even make a YouTube video about it. He'd probably get mad views.

Hawks stood up straighter, taking one last deep breath before shooting off at his brother. "What the hell was that?" He waved a hand in the general direction they'd been airborne not moments before. "You could have died! You don't even have a knife on you, Chad. Jumping on his back? Only a dumbass would do that!"

Very true. Chad had absolutely almost last his life. The man faced near death almost every day though, so maybe that's why he was being so chill about it. Or maybe it was the sunglasses. He was pretty sure they gave him some sort of powers. Eri thought the same thing, and she was a smart kid. Albeit, most of his life-threatening experiences didn't involve bio-engineered weapons. The obstacles he faced were choking on a spoonful of icing at two in the morning and trying not to slip in the shower.

"Takes one to know o- oh, shit." Chad choked out as the Nomu silently rose from where it'd landed on the pavement. Hawks tensed immediately, wings flaring at the ready. Chad reached into his waistband and pulled out his pistol, clicking back the hammer and listening to a bullet enter then chamber. The hulking creature seemed even larger when standing on its own two feet, easily towering over the two brothers as it took a few steps forward. Chat raised his gun, and Hawks prepared himself to attack.

And then it stopped. Right in front of them, it went still, staring down at Chad with blinking eyes. Chad stared back, firearm still raised and ready. Hawks was no different, crouched low and ready to intercept the beaked creature if need be. But nothing happened. It simply stood there, arms hanging limply at its sides. Its wings also seemed to droop, its head tilted slightly as it gazed at Chad. 

"...Is it going to eat us?" Hawks whispered, eyes never moving from the Nomu before them. It no longer seemed violent, but that being said, it really didn't seem to have much free will. According to research done on the USJ's Nomu, they were mindless creatures meant to be used as pawns. This one didn't seem all that different. Hawks had shouted taunts at it, tried to tell it to fuck off, etc. It didn't respond or react to anything verbal. It attacked without a real strategy, its blows blunt and sharp.

"I don't know." Chad responded in an equally hushed tone. He scooted forward just slightly, stretching out his leg while simultaneously leaning back and away from the creature. Hawks hissed as his younger brother nudged the creature's leg with his toe, skipping back soon after and raising his gun as though expecting something. The Nomu still didn't react. "Amigo, you in there?  Tu comprende?" 

"I doubt it's Hispanic." Hawks muttered, more to himself than to Chad. Chad sighed heavily. 

"I think I fried its brain when I gave it a knuckle sandwich." Chad said. Hawks didn't look amused by his wording, but that didn't bother Chad in the slightest. Hawks was beginning to think nothing bothered his younger brother. The fact was slightly concerning, but not surprising. "We come in peace! Do you come in peace?"

The creature gave a small, buzzard-like shriek that earned a scream from both Chad and Hawks, who leapt back with wide eyes. The Nomu otherwise did nothing, still staring at Chad. The Uber Eats driver momentarily wondered if the thing was trying to guilt trip him, or perhaps lure him into a false sense of security. Only it didn't seem all that much like the type. If it was nothing more than a tool for the League, it probably couldn't really comprehend such concepts.

"...What the fuck?" Hawks breathed. Chad shrugged helplessly.

"Honestly, I think I broke it." Chad admitted. "Are you like... okay, dude?"

"Why're you asking it if it's okay?! It just tried to kill us both!" Hawks threw his hands up in the air in an exasperated manner. Chad looked vaguely offended. Again, not a surprise. Chad was so unpredictable he may as well have been a baby. Babies were full of surprises, but only because they were too dumb and underdeveloped to think long term. They were spontaneous-- like Chad.

"Yeah, and then I punched it in the brain! I think that makes us even!" Chad waved a hand in the things general direction before groaning. This was a mess. They couldn't just leave the thing here. Well, they could. But if it became aware again and started to kill people, they'd have an issue. The fight had shifted to another part of Hosu. How this Nomu had strayed out so far, there was no telling. Hawks may have attracted it when he flew in. There weren't many heroes who could fly.

"Look, I'll go find a detainment vehicle, and you shoot it if it breathes to much." Hawks seemed to decide. He didn't like the idea of leaving Chad here with the thing, but he didn't trust Chad not to get lost looking for a detainment vehicle. The guy had a great sense of direction when driving. As for when he was out of the car? Not so much. Hawks was pretty sure the guy actively got lost in his own apartment, which was the size of a fucking shoe box compared to a lot of the other residencies he could have taken root in.

"How much breathing is too much breathing?" Chad questioned, bringing up his hand to stroke his stubble. The Nomu immediately mirrored him, clawed hand coming up and cupping the bottom of its beak. Hawks and Chad both froze, Chad's hand dropping. The Nomu's hand dropped as well, and it stood there, still staring. Chad took a step to the right. It did the same. Hawks' jaw dropped.

"No fucking way." Chad jumped in the air slightly. It did the same. "No fucking way." 

Hawks could only sigh, massaging his temples. This was shaping up to be a long, long day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rei got several texts from Shoto as they speed out of Hosu, and a relieved laugh bubbled from her mouth as the gravity of the situation settled in on her. She had just gotten out of the hospital, only to jump in the car with a stranger and quite literally drive into her shitty husband's flames. She'd gotten there, ensured her son and his friends were okay, stopped a building from killing them all, and then hopped right back in the car with her daughter, her newest ally, and a detective!

Mihoko cranked up the radio as Tsukauchi hung on for dear life, feeling dizzy and disoriented. You couldn't blame the man. His mind was racing trying to catch up with all that was going on. The music most certainly wasn't helping the situation, but he wasn't about to risk facing the wrath of whoever this woman driving was to try and turn it off, no matter how badly he just needed to hunch over and think this all through. 

"Did that just happen?" Fuyumi asked faintly, the rush of rushing off into danger fading away now that she knew Shoto was safe and that Endeavor probably wouldn't be called now that Shoto was conscious enough to stop them or call someone himself. It was a relief, for sure. Mihoko hoped they'd fall under her husband's care. She'd have to text Shoto and tell him to request Hajime's hospital. He was probably at work by now.

"I... I-I think it did." Rei smiled a smile full of a disbelief. The detective in the front seat twisted around to look at both of them, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. Their expressions weren't much different, so they were in no place to judge. Rei was almost on her back, having dove into the backseat in a desperate attempt to get off the street. One of her legs was crossed over her daughter's lap, the other braced in the floorboard. Her white hair was tinged a greyish brown from the soot and dust the rubble kicked up, and Fuyumi was no different, her glasses covered in a thin sheen of grime.

"Oh, wow." Fuyumi blinked rapidly, looking like she might be in mild shock. "Are we going to get arrested?"

"Not on my watch!" Mihoko called over 'Life Is A Highway' as she gunned it towards her house so they could regroup before heading to where Shoto was. She also needed to call Lillian, Hitoshi, probably Neito if he'd pick up, and maybe try to get someone to contact Chad to make sure he wasn't dead. The man didn't live with her or anything, but he was a part of their patchwork family nonetheless. He'd brought countless boxes of take out to the house before, almost as though he could tell when she wasn't in the mood to make dinner.

"N...No, no, of course not." Naomasa shook his head, looking almost pained. He seemed tired, bags under his eyes and stress lines more pronounced. He'd shed his coat in light of the heat, leaving him in a button up shirt also stained by ash and a simple tie that made him seem disheveled. He looked completely worn out, bug-eyed and alert. "Thank you for taking action against the fire. I doubt anyone will raise a fuss, but I'll step in if they do."

Fuyumi seemed to relax at this. Rei propped herself up, blinking wildly. They'd just rode into Hosu like they owned the place and told the Hero Killer to step down. Mihoko had flipped off the Hero Killer. They were just two mothers and a pre-school teacher! They didn't have hero licenses. Hell, they hadn't done much of anything! She was still glad Shoto, Izuku, and Iida were okay. It was a huge weight off her chest to know her little boy was alright.

"Thank you." Rei offered Naomasa a tired smile. He glanced between her and Fuyumi both, then looking to Mihoko. He clearly had questions, but Mihoko gave him a glare that would make any man wither before cranking up the radio to drown out anything he might say. Tsukauchi deflated slightly at that, resigning himself to the fact that it was just going to have to wait. And that he was stuck in the car with a trio of strangers. He sighed heavily. When he'd signed up to be a cop, this really wasn't what he'd had in mind.

A somewhat familiar red car shot past them in a flash. For a moment, Mihoko was sure she saw a screaming Bakugo Katsuki, a boy in Lillian's class. She brushed it off with a small amount of concern. She didn't have the energy for another heart attack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lillian was curled up against Aizawa's side, just barely teetering on the edge of calmness. The Underground pro was needlessly pleased with this new development, seeming awfully smug as Lillian focused on Yeet twisting between her fingers. The news was turned down as low as it could go, subtitles shooting across the screen as the woman scrambled to give them all the information they had as well as the speculations to go along with it. Hitoshi and Aizawa were holding vigilant, both relaxing slightly when Mic arrived on scene to help. It seemed like they'd detained a lot of the Nomu, but were still evacuating a great deal of civilians and combing the grounds for anymore of the beaked creatures.

Lillian knew her freaking out had been counter productive. She'd tried her absolute hardest to stop herself, but the tears had come anyway. As embarrassing as it was, she'd found herself clutching Mr. Aizawa and sobbing her heart out like she was the one in danger. It was ridiculous and pathetic! She was safe, and should have been keeping calm for her friends rather than freaking out.

Hitoshi's phone buzzed, and he released a sigh of relief. "My mom says Shoto, Izuku, and Iida are all safe. They're on the way to the hospital dad works at to be treated. Endeavor won't be called." He assured. Lillian released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. They were all safe. None of them had died. As usual, she'd overreacted and caused a huge problem. Aizawa could have gone with Mic easy if she'd just gotten a hold of herself.

Relief dropped on her like a fuzzy blanket of warmth. It was the same for Aizawa, who relaxed visibly upon hearing that his students were okay and safe. Mic would probably be following them if he wasn't too wrapped up in helping evacuating citizens. Aizawa wouldn't blame him if he did get pulled into something else. Hosu needed all the help it could get. The devastation was too rough for them not to take anything they could get.

"I-I'm glad." Lillian sniffled, wiping her eyes and pulling away from her teacher. "S-Sorry, Mr. Aizawa."

His smile was soft. She'd seen it before, but it had a whole other meaning now that she knew they were father and daughter. It was weird to think about. Their relationship had changed completely, and all because of this new piece of information. She had no idea how she felt about it. It felt... It felt like a good thing, maybe. That was assuming Mr. Aizawa wanted her as a daughter. She wasn't a very good daughter. She cried, and wasn't that strong. All she seemed to do was cause problems where ever she went, and was too dramatic and self-centered for her own good. Always freaking out over the smallest things.

"It's fine, kid." He said in a reassuring sort of way that made her feel a little better. She wiped at her eyes, face red with embarrassment as her panic fell away. Hitoshi gave her a lazy grin, patting her shoulder as though she'd done nothing wrong. She took a deep breath. She couldn't take back her panic attack. She could only do her best not to have another one and to be more of a functioning human being rather than a total burden. Most of the time, she was dead weight. At least, that's how she saw herself. Hopefully she could change that.

"Hitoshi... h-how does your mom know they're okay?" Lillian realized after a moment. They hadn't heard from Shoto at all, nor had they heard from Izuku or Iida. His mother's text had been incredibly short and to the point. They always were when she was driving simply due to the fact that she used the voice feature to record the response, glancing down only to press send. Hitoshi stilled slightly, staring at his phone for a moment. Aizawa raised a brow.

"...I don't want to know." The tired teen seemed to decide, earning a snort from his freckled friend. It was a relief for Aizawa to hear such a sound escape her. Looking at her now, it was so odd. He couldn't un-see their resemblance. He didn't want to un-see it. It was just... new. Not in a bad way. In a raw, refreshing way that made his lips curl up into a smile without them wanting to. His shoulders felt a little lighter, and his eyes stung a little less.

He wondered when or if they were going to talk. They would have if not for the Hosu interruption, but that couldn't be helped. Hitoshi was so sleep deprived he'd probably process the fear later, but Lillian was a normal, relatively well-rested kid who already had an anxiety disorder. Her calling Shoto while he was being attacked and having him actually answer had to have been devastatingly realer than a simple text would have been.

Lillian shifted a little, tugging at her ponytail. Mihoko seemed sure Endeavor wouldn't be called, but she was still nervous. She was very afraid of Shoto getting caught and dragged back to the Todoroki estate. He was walking on eggshells with his father as it was. He was polite and civil in their messages, even bordering on ass-kissing to ensure he wasn't pulled from UA and to keep Endeavor from getting too pissed off. But the 'I'm staying with a friend' would only hold out so long before he got a hold of the Half-and-Half boy again.

Lillian's phone buzzed. A part of her expected it to be Bakugo, but she blinked when she saw it was Chad. She didn't hesitate to unlock her phone and tap on it.

Chad: 
I shot Stain. Yeah, I know. I'm 2 cool 4 u. Swagger.

Chad:
Kiddos are all fine. Also I know you're afraid of the Nomu, but watch this, it might help. Or make your PTSD worse I honestly don't know.

Lillian hesitated before tapping on the video that came through. Aizawa and Hitoshi leaned closer to peer down at her black screen. There was a scratching noise, something brushing the mic, before the phone was lifted a little to reveal the black asphalt of the street the cameraman was standing on. Aizawa's nose scrunched up, and Hitoshi raised a brow. Lillian's head tilted only slightly, sniffling to herself.

"Dude, this is a bad idea." Hawks was the one holding the camera. Chad stepped forward and pulled Hawks' hand up, positioning the camera. A winged Nomu, thin and not at all built like the one from the USJ, stood stationary before them. It was staring at Chad in an unnerving sort of way, blinking idly.

"What the fuck?" Hitoshi whispered. Aizawa hissed between his teeth at the sight of the retched beast, and Lillian swallowed heavily. It... It didn't really look like the one Mr. Aizawa had fought. It was still a Nomu nonetheless. With its exposed brain and inky black skin. Not to mention their beaks and odd eyes that seemed to bulge from either side of the oddly shaped head. She took a deep breath, letting the video continue.

"Bro, just film it. Be chill." Chad stepped back to the Nomu's side, clearing his throat. "So, I dove off a roof and punched this guy in the brain. He's groovy now, so don't worry. Watch this."

There was an audible sigh-- Hawks without a doubt-- before Chad began to do the Fortnight dance. He did it with quick efficiency, his moves well practiced. You could practically feel Hawks' hope for his brother's future seep away as the Nomu tilted his head curiously at the sandy blonde haired Uber Eats driver. After gazing at him for only a moment, it hesitantly began to follow, though at a much slower pace as it struggled to mimic his hasty movements.

"What am I watching?" Aizawa looked as dumbfounded as Lillian and Hitoshi felt. Leave it to Chad to punch a Nomu in the brain and have it... no one was sure what it was doing. Copying Chad? That seemed to be it. It was better than trying to kill him, Lillian supposed. She couldn't help but snort as Chad shifted into doing the well-known YMCA dance, singing along to it despite Hawks' groan. The Nomu began to follow in suit.

"I think I'm getting cancer." Hitoshi whispered. 

"My tumor is growing." Lillian agreed in a hushed tone, blinking at the screen with wide eyes. Aizawa's concerned gaze flickered between her and Hitoshi for a moment before returning to the screen. He didn't want to know. He wouldn't pretend to understand teenagers.

"We should really get out of here." Hawks said as Chad sung. After a moment, the Nomu began to squawk, causing Chad to hop back and Hawks to nearly drop the phone. There was a moment before the camera shakily rose again, both Hawks and Chad gazing at the Nomu. It was once again just standing there, as though it hadn't just let out a shriek. 

"...I think he was singing." Chad realized.

"We're leaving." Hawks choked out, sounding too done for words.

The video ended there. Aizawa, Hitoshi, and Lillian all gazed at the screen for a moment longer as they processed what they'd just seen. Lillian's panic and fear had been replaced by sheer confusion. Seeing the Nomu had shaken her at first, but the absurdity of the video had done plenty to make up for it. She had absolutely no idea what she'd just witnessed or what the outcome was going to be. Hopefully it didn't snap out of whatever stupor it was in and decide to attack anyone.

"...How is he not dead yet?" Hitoshi asked. Really, Chad was such an... out there person. It was a great shock that someone like him hadn't ended up murdered and dumped in some ditch somewhere. Hitoshi wasn't sure if they were lucky to meet him or just side characters in his epic story. Taking out the Yakuza? Shooting Stain? Jumping on the back of a Nomu? What was next? Maybe he'd crash a taco truck into a pharmacy again. Of course, nobody knew Chad was the one who'd done that. 

"I-I'm really not sure." Lillian admitted, eyes shifting to Aizawa. His brows were furrowed, eyes shifting between Lillian and the phone. He was clearly concerned with... well, that. Lillian was pretty damn concerned with it as well. But Chad hadn't died so far, so they could count on him to keep on keeping on for the time being. He'd done stupider stuff than perform the YMCA with a Nomu in the past, so this probably wouldn't be his undoing. Probably. Especially with Hawks there to supervise.

"You have... interesting friends." Aizawa allowed, glancing at the phone again. Should he be concerned? From what he knew, that was Chad. The man Bakugo was interning with. Only Bakugo hadn't been in the video at all. If he'd been present, he would have been commentating in the background. Vulgarly, but still commentating. He just wasn't the quiet type. Was the explosive blonde dead?

"Yeah." Lillian smiled a small smile, her voice quiet. Hitoshi grinned as she shared a look with him. "I guess I do."

Aizawa had no idea.