The blast sent Sam skidding across the pavement.
He rolled hard, shoulder screaming as he slammed into a parked car. Heat clung to him, skin blistered, smoke curling from his clothes.
The crowd erupted.
"Way to go, Endeavor!"
"It's over now!"
Sam pushed himself upright, vision swimming.
Endeavor didn't even look at them.
Good.
Sam's lips curled into a weak, bloodied smile.
Endeavor. Key traits: Abusive. Ego-driven. Needs dominance.
I can work with that.
"Well," Sam rasped, straightening despite the pain, "that was… a really warm welcome."
He coughed, blood speckling the pavement.
"But those flames couldn't melt a marshmallow."
The crowd gasped.
Endeavor's head snapped toward him.
"I will not be talked down to by a quirkless brat!"
He launched forward.
Sam barely dodged. Heat licked his skin, blistering exposed flesh as fire tore past where his head had been a second earlier.
He still needs to breathe, Sam realized through the haze. He's still human.
Endeavor raised his arm.
Sam charged.
Knife in hand.
A wall of fire exploded between them.
Endure it.
Flames wrapped around Sam, pain screaming through every nerve. His clothes burned. His skin blistered.
But he kept moving.
Endeavor hadn't expected that. Nor the knife Sam threw at him while in the flames.
Sam burst through the fire and slammed his fist into Endeavor's throat.
"Gah—!!"
The flames dimmed.
Endeavor staggered back, clutching his neck.
Sam surged forward—
Too slow.
"JET BURN!"
Death rushed toward him.
Sam rolled hard, but the edge of the attack still caught him.
"FUCK—!"
Agony ripped through his body. He screamed as he hit the ground, smoke rising from scorched skin.
The world twisted.
The heat.
The cheers.
The laughter.
They blurred.
A memory forced its way in.
A man with a sick smile.
Fire roaring.
Prisoners screaming while soldiers laughed.
Sam's breath hitched.
He wasn't seeing Endeavor anymore.
He saw a warlord.
Fucking animals.
"You brat!" Endeavor snarled, voice hoarse but burning with rage. "How dare you—!"
Sam's hands shook violently.
"I saw you," Sam rasped, words breaking. "I— I saw everything. The screams. The laughing."
He raised the pistol.
"I'll— I'll kill—"
The gunshot cracked.
Endeavor screamed as the bullet shattered his knee.
"AAAH—!"
He dropped to one leg—
Then roared.
"FLASHFIRE FIST!"
The world went white.
Sam felt himself falling.
Ah…
So this is it.
He saw death rushing toward him.
Then—
Live, Samuel… for me… for both of us… I love you.
A girl with a silver braid.
Bloodied. Smiling gently.
Walking alone into the forest as soldiers shouted behind her.
"No…"
Something snapped.
"NO—!!"
Sam ducked beneath the attack at the last possible instant, stopping himself from collapsing with pure will and trembling legs.
His vision tunneled.
One bullet left.
He fired.
Endeavor screamed again as his other knee shattered.
The Number Two Hero collapsed fully this time, flames sputtering as he slammed into the street.
Sam stumbled forward.
Every step felt wrong.
Before Endeavor could recover, Sam forced his body into position—perfect stance, drilled into muscle memory.
The kick flew.
CRACK.
The sound was sickening.
Endeavor's jaw dislocated as his head snapped sideways. His eyes rolled back, body going limp.
Silence fell.
Phones slipped from shaking hands.
The crowd stared at the unconscious hero.
Sam stood there for half a second longer—
Then his knees buckled.
He fell hard to the pavement, bile burning his throat as he retched violently. His hands shook uncontrollably. His vision flickered.
Burns throbbed.
Ribs screamed.
Blood soaked his bandages.
He tried to push himself up.
Failed.
Sirens wailed closer now—different tones. Faster. Panicked.
Sam dragged in a ragged breath.
"…I'm sorry," he whispered—to no one, or maybe to her.
The world tilted.
And then everything went dark.