Viridian: The Green Guide

Chapter 65: Berserker

And with that, he let the marble fly, hitting Endeavor squarely on the back of the head. Time seemed to slow down as Endeavor slowly turned, his teal eyes burning almost as bright as his flames as the pure rage of a Berserker shone through them.

Izuku tried to keep his voice from cracking but wasn't entirely successful as he yelled, "I heard you were looking for me! Good Luck!"

Izuku turned on his heel as Endeavor roared behind him. He winced at the heat as he pulled himself up onto the nearest fire escape and started running across the rooftops, avoiding any buildings that were too burned out to support his weight. He weaved as much as he could while still keeping to the evacuated areas, his goal being to keep just out of Endeavor's reach as he led the hero away. The heroes he'd been fighting helped slow him down significantly, which Izuku was grateful for, but it still seemed like no time at all by the time they'd reached the warehouse district.

He needed a building that would retain the heat. Wood would burn too quickly, so that was obviously out, but...there! Izuku saw a vacant warehouse that looked like it was mostly concrete and had a metal roof that should theoretically reflect the heat back down onto Endeavor once he was inside. He smiled cheekily back at Endeavor and made sure the hero saw him run inside, then took a deep breath. He had probably a minute and a half until Endeavor got here, maybe a little more if the heroes could distract him.

There were a few industrial grade fans on the floor and Izuku rushed to turn them on. They would cool the building down slightly, but the increased airflow would make Endeavor's flames burn hotter and help him overheat a lot faster. As soon as all the fans were on, his next priority was sabotaging the fire suppression system. It would ruin his plan if the sprinklers went off in the middle of the fight.

He found the offices and looked around, finding the fire suppression system right as Endeavor burst down the door. Izuku panicked and grabbed his knife, cutting whatever wires he thought linked the fire system to the control board and hoped it would be enough. Thankfully, no alarms went off and Endeavor was undoubtedly already burning hot enough to activate them if he was going to, so they were in the clear...for now.

"Where...brat?"

Izuku held his breath as Endeavor growled out threats. He...well, his plan was going as planned so far, but this was about as far as he had gotten thought out.

"What are you thinking?"

Izuku flinched and grabbed his pipes as he heard a harsh whisper behind him. He spun around and cringed as he saw Present Mic looking at him in exasperation, "I know Shou said you were suicidal, but seriously kid?! I thought he told you to stay away from this!"

"Shou?" Izuku shook his head, that wasn't important, "I didn't have a choice! He was gonna keep going after civilians until he found me."

"Ugh.." Present mic scowled. "I really wish I could deny that, kid. We were trying to convince him you weren't there, but...he wasn't buying it, obviously."

"Yeah, Berserkers can be single minded." Izuku nodded.

"Did you even have a plan besides self sacrifice?" Present Mic sighed.

"Yes!" Izuku blurted out. "Well, kinda. Endeavor's main weakness is overheating and the villain factory has made his quirk exponentially more powerful, which makes his weakness more powerful as well. He hasn't been missing long enough for the villain factory to be able to adequately reinforce his body against the increased heat, so..."

"So we get him to produce flames until he passes out?" Present Mic confirmed. "How do we keep ourselves from passing out before he does?"

Izuku grimaced, "I hadn't gotten that far yet?"