Freeze Frame

Chapter 81

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.