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The fight ended quickly, but not quickly enough.
The villain had a werewolf quirk, the full moon’s glow casting across the city. He had been stronger than anyone expected, but luckily for the city and civilians, fur isn’t fireproof.
The air smelled like singed hair, red feathers scattered across the street. Endeavor picked one up and inspected it. The feathers were all too familiar.
He didn’t remember Hawks being here. Maybe he had flown by and left the fighting to the heroes already on the scene? No, he’d have swooped in at the last minute and taken all the glory for himself. That’s how all the young heroes were these days.
But… he saw blood, too. Splatters of blood across the ground. Neither he or the other heroes were bleeding, at least not visibly. So whose was this?
The crowd was starting to disperse, the police whisking the villain away. Endeavor decided to follow the path of blood drops. They lead down a dark alley, a shadowy lump of something at the end of it. Endeavor burned his fire hotter to light up the area.
Wings. The person at the end of the alley had red, feathery wings, and he was sitting in an even redder pool of blood. “Damn…” Endeavor approached. “Hey, what are you doing in this alley? You should be seeing a medic.”
But as he got closer, he could see how bad the injury was. Hawks had deep gashes along his stomach and chest, so deep Endeavor could see parts of his rib bones.
But Hawks still managed a laugh. “I figured I’d sneak off for one last smoke.” He placed a cigarette between his lips. “Got a light?”
Endeavor furrowed his brow, but flicked his finger to produce a small flame. He sneered with annoyance as he lit the cigarette for him. “Those will kill you, you know.”
Hawks laughed again, though as he did, his gashes gushed with more blood. “I’m flattered if you think either one of us will live that long for it to matter.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Endeavor frowned.
Hawks tilted his head up toward the sky, bright stars reflecting in his eyes. “Being a hero in these times… it's a deadly gig.” Smoke puffed from his lungs and he started to cough, more and more blood approaching Endeavor’s boots.
He knew he should help him. Pick him up from the ground and fly toward the nearest hospital. But it didn’t seem like Hawks wanted to be saved.
“Nah,” Hawks took another long drag. “This is a fine way to die. You got him anyway, right? And with barely a scratch.”
“You need a hospital.” Was all Endeavor could think to say.
“No…” Hawks disagreed. “What I need is for you to wipe that scared look off your face. You’re the number one hero, be a little more stoic or something.”
Endeavor grit his teeth. “Fine. You want me to act like a hero, you’ve got it.” He bent down and flicked the cigarette out from between his lips. “This is gonna hurt like hell, but it’s going to save your life.”
Hawks didn’t even scream as he used his flames to cauterize the wounds as best he could. This guy could handle more pain than Endeavor could even imagine.
He picked him up and blasted into the night sky, using his quirk to propel himself through the air. He’d make it to the hospital, and he’d save this pessimist’s life if it was the last thing he did.
And he did. Hawks was still breathing, though unconscious, when they got to the hospital.
Multiple surgeries and days later, Endeavor got word that Hawks would pull through. And now he was in his hospital room, waiting for the hero to wake up. He held his pack of cigarettes in his hand, crushing them in his fist. This would be the last damn time he’d be used as a lighter, for sure.