There was a sharp and bitter edge crept into the words, a reminder that not all was well: that Thor still had a brother, but not a friend.

"Hot space catboy Shiro, please. Just hanging out with his tail and ears sticking out of his uniform, or going into heat, or maybe affectionately head-rubbing all of the crew. Anything with catboy!Shiro."

"You turned," Adaar said, "into a fucking dragon." It was good that she said it, because someone should, and to be honest the Bull was feeling a bit beyond actual words at that exact moment. "A small dragon," Dorian said, as though this was somehow relevant. He was quite a small dragon, it was true—he stared down at them now, but most of that height was the arch of his neck, the curve of it covered in shimmering black and gold scales. "A small dragon! Who saved your life!"

Zhenya ran his hand against the grain of Sid’s feathers, ruffling them up so they looked tangled. “You molty, Sid.” His hand was slapped away with a restrained giggle. “So what are you gonna do about it, huh? Wanna pluck them for me? Scratch my itch?”

“What in the hell are you on about?” Hawks bites back, and fights down the growing panic in his lungs. He hasn’t been scolded like this since he was a kid, what could he have possibly done to make Tanaka-san so angry? Hawks does everything they say, he’s careful. “I’m busy working my ass off making it into the top ten! What could I have possibly done?” Tanaka-san sighs, still agitated, but disappointed in a way that makes Hawks’ stomach churn. “Look your name up on your phone.” Hawks numbly pulls up the search bar on his phone and searches ‘pro hero hawks.’ And, there it is, the first bold headline on the page. Star-Crossed Hero Love Affair? Underneath the article is a picture of Hawks and Todoroki Natsuo at the cafe they’d visited this past weekend. Picture Hawks has his head thrown back, cackling, and Natsuo is leaning forward, drinking in his laughter with a pleased smile on his face. His arms are extended across the table, as though waiting to hold Hawks’ hand. Shit.

Tsunagu is just about to ask what she’s talking about, exactly, when the feathers strewn around them suddenly take flight again, rushing towards the jacket on the ground in front of them. When Tsunagu looks down to watch them convene on the crumpled garment, he is shocked to find a small child sticking his head out from underneath the collar. The boy looks as confused as Tsunagu feels. Or the one where Hawks is de-aged, secrets come to light, and Best Jeanist may or may not be planning the downfall of the Hero Commission.

The best thing about the SEP, if you had to ask Gabriel, was the fact that it not only boosted his aptitude for combat and made him an even better soldier than he was before, but it also brought Jack Morrison into his life. While he wouldn't say he had a fetish for catfolk specifically, the fact that the SEP also worked wonders on enhancing the cat-like qualities of their catfolk soldiers wasn't exactly something that helped Gabriel's fascination with his roommate’s (who later became his lover-then-husband) nature either.