I looked at the broken ice around us, if I looked at them for a while, I could see continuous forming patterns, what had Nezu called them... fractals. Yeah, that was it, fractals.
I looked to Toru at my side, it really seemed like the ice had stopped rising as her boots were in pristine condition all thing's considered.
"So how are we going to do this," she asked, her voice excited beyond measure even if I didn't understand were said excitement came from.
"Not sure, do you have any ideas?" I replied. During our time at karaoke, I'd gotten the impression that she was more perceptive than people gave her credit for.
"Hmm, how about you take Todoroki and I take on Shoji."
I remembered Shoji's marks in his physical tests. The guy had scored impressively across the board, and his quirk seemed incredibly versatile for reconnaissance and combat.
"How are you going to take on Shoji?" I asked, genuinely concerned. It wasn't that I doubted her abilities, but Shoji had demonstrated considerable strength and his multiple arms could be overwhelming.
"Simple," she said, and I could practically hear the grin in her voice, "with the villainous element of surprise."
With that she took off her gloves and boots, placing them carefully on a section of floor that wasn't covered in ice shards. The moment she removed them, she became completely invisible to normal sight, though I could still sense her tell where she was at all times.
"Yesh, this is cold," she said, her voice slightly muffled as she moved away from me. I watched as she walked over to a corner, her footsteps barely audible on the icy floor. I could feel her give a thumbs up to me. "Remember be villainous."
I looked toward the entrance, gripping Excalibur's hilt tighter.Guess we all had to start somewhere, and this is where my foundational hero studies began.
Then questions began piling up.
How was I going to do this? I mean, I couldn't just knock them out right? This was a test after all. They had to show what they could do, right? But at the same time, we were supposed to be villains, and villains didn't usually hold back.
I thought back to all the real villains I'd faced during my vigilante work. They never announced themselves, never gave heroes a chance to prepare. Even if this was training it wasn't as if they needed exposure to the real thing on the second day, right?
At that moment, the steps I had been hearing since the ice had made it to our floor grew louder as they walked slowly up the stairs reached, I had made my choice.
I twirled Excalibur in my hand as they approached.
This was a test and I was playing the role of a villain. I breathed in, trying to channel what I imagined a theatrical villain might sound like. How did villains in movies talk? Over the top, dramatic, menacing...
"HAHAHAHA," my voice boomed across the room, echoing off the walls in a way that surprised even me. "Welcome heroes, you have arrived to your doom, to your death, to your end!"
God this was embarrassing. I could practically hear Nezu's amusement when he saw these videos, wait they didn't have sound, I was safe.
I twirled Excalibur again. Releasing a short thought.
Sorry Excalibur and Avalon. I know this isn't really our style.
Narration POV
Todoroki had expected this to be simple. It didn't matter that this Arthur was a vigilante. Or that he had come in first place in the physical test. Ice was absolute - it could stop anyone, freeze anything. He was the stronger one, he was sure of it.
However, when he had finally reached the top, ready to secure what he assumed would be an easy win, he saw Arthur there, completely unfrozen despite the ice he'd sent up earlier, sword in his hand which along with his suit made him look like some kind of medieval warrior, just more… kingly?
"HAHAHAHA," Arthur's voice boomed across the room. "Welcome heroes, you have arrived to your doom, to your death, to your end!"
Todoroki didn't mind the theatrical monologue. Instead, he raised his right hand without hesitation and ice shot out from the earth, sharp spikes racing toward Arthur with intent to win this, as fast as possible.
However, just as the ice spikes were about to reach their target, something he hadn't expected to happen, happened.
He heard the sound of something whipping in the air, like a slash.
Then the ice broke into thousands of little pieces, as if it had struck an invisible barrier. The fragments scattered across the floor like diamond dust.
Todoroki hadn't seen how it happened.
"You may want to try to do better than that, heroes! HAHAHAHA!" Arthur released another villain laugh, Excalibur shining even brighter in his grip as if the sacred blade was somehow enjoying her master's enthusiasm for their theatrical performance.
Todoroki, however, remained as aloof as always. This was just a fluke, a lucky break. He raised his hand again, focusing more power into his attack.
This time, ice spikes burst forth from all the walls simultaneously, creating a deadly cage of frozen projectiles heading directly toward Arthur from every angle. There was no way anyone could dodge or destroy all of them at once.
And yet, impossibly, they crumbled before reaching him. Each one cut, mere inches from impaling his body, or at least what Todoroki thought would impale his body.
"Is this all you can do, heroes! Maybe try to work together to get a better advantage!" Arthur called out, his voice still carrying that theatrical villain accent, though Todoroki couldn't help but tilt his head
This didn't sound so much like a villain monologue, but rather like advice.
Work together? Todoroki thought.
He didn't need help. He was perfectly capable of handling this alone. More ice was released from his right side, this time in a continuous stream rather than individual attacks.
Arthur sighed at that response, his breath visible in the increasingly cold air. The ice crumbled just as easily as before.
"Shoji, do you want to give it a shot?" Arthur asked, turning slightly toward the multi-armed student who had been hanging back near the entrance.
"I-" Shoji began, clearly uncertain about what to do in this situation. He really wanted to help if anything to show what he was capable but Todoroki had told him to simply hang back.
He didn't get a chance to answer as ice suddenly enclosed around Arthur's leg from below, rising up like a serpent to trap him in place. This time, Todoroki had attacked from an unexpected angle, using the floor itself as his weapon.
Arthur looked down at his enclosed leg, his muscles building for an instant breaking the ice that was trying to coil around him.
"So Shoji what do you sa-"
Before he could finish he was cut off by a cold voice.
"Are you going to stay in that spot?"
Arthur smiled at that question, and for a moment his theatrical villain persona dropped completely, replaced by something more genuine and friendly.
"Why it looks like you catch on quick," Arthur said, planting his feet more firmly and raising Excalibur slightly, "you're right, I won't move from this point, you guys make me move from this spot, and you win.".
"Shoji, stay where you are," Todoroki commanded, his voice returning to its cold, controlled tone.
"Shoji, you don't have to listen to him," Arthur said, his villain accent completely gone now, replaced by genuine concern. "You can move if you want. I promise I won't let any harm come to you."
The sincerity in Arthur's voice was unmistakable, and it only made Shoji want to stay even more rooted to his spot than he already was. There was something unsettling about a villain who could change mannerisms at the drop of a hat.
It freaked Shoji out.
Todoroki however took a deep breath, frost forming around his mouth. Then he slammed his left foot forward with tremendous force, and ice spikes burst from the floor in a coordinated wave. But this time, Todoroki didn't stay behind his attack. Instead, he ran with the ice spikes, using more ice behind his feet to propel him forward at increased speed, essentially surfing on his own creation.
Arthur's blade flashed in Todoroki's vision, a mere microcosm of time, as he slashed all the spikes in twain, each cut effortless. The sacred sword had cut through the ice like knife through hot butter, which shouldn't have been surprising by this point.
And it wasn't.
Todoroki, had expected exactly this response. Arthur was clearly faster and stronger than he was, but by rooting himself to that specific spot, he couldn't make full use of that superior speed. And Todoroki was right, his hand shot forward, aiming for Arthur's chest while the vigilante was still completing his defensive cuts.
His palm made contact with Arthur's metal-plated chest, and Todoroki released his quirk into the armor.
Ice began to form over the armor, bursting outward like a frozen flower trying to penetrate the metal plating. The frost spread rapidly, encasing Arthur's torso in a shell of ice.
It was Todoroki's win.
Or so he thought.
Before the ice could fully set, before it could truly trap him, Excalibur's hilt moved faster than the eye could follow. The pommel of the sacred sword met Todoroki's temple with a controlled but decisive impact.
The ice shattered as Todoroki was knocked to the side, the ice no longer spreading and as Arthur released Mana Burst in his chest, what little ice had encased him got destroyed to bits.
"You okay?" Arthur asked immediately, his concern genuine as he watched Todoroki struggle to regain his footing.
"I'm fine," Todoroki said, trying to stand up despite the way his legs wobbled beneath him. He really wasn't fine, getting hit by the metal pommel of a sword across the face did that to a person.. His vision was slightly blurred and his head was ringing.
"You're also out," Arthur pointed out gently, indicating the black tape that was now wrapped around Todoroki's wrist, evidence that he'd been captured according to the exercise rules.
Arthur then turned toward Shoji with an almost questioning expression, his theatrical villain persona completely abandoned now.
"So I guess it's your turn?" he asked, sounding more like he was inviting Shoji to dance than threatening him with doom.
Shoji took a moment to assess the situation. His partner was down, Arthur hadn't moved from his spot but had just demonstrated he could defend against even coordinated attacks. The smart thing would be to try a different approach entirely.
Who was he kidding?! There was no other approach!
Shoji made his mind and barreled toward Arthur with surprising speed, using his multiple arms to propel himself forward while also preparing to grapple. If ice couldn't move Arthur, maybe raw physical force could.
Arthur smiled as Shoji charged, the smile however genuine it was, sent a chill across Shoji's spine, however to the person whom the smile was directed to, it made her stomach flutter.
Something or rather someone that only Arthur could see was moving toward Shoji pretty fast, an invisible figure, Toru.
However, Shoji's multitude of ears weren't just for show. His enhanced hearing picked up the subtle sound of footsteps on ice, the barely audible whisper of fabric moving through air. He turned around just in time to see villain tape appear from nowhere, floating in mid-air as if manipulated by a ghost.
But his quick reaction only helped him identify the threat, it didn't help him avoid it. The tape wrapped around his hand quick, in a matter of seconds, marking him as captured just as surely as his partner.
"Ha! The villainous element of surprise never fails!" came Toru's voice from seemingly empty air, filled with triumphant glee.
Toru walked over to where she'd left her gloves and boots, her footsteps now clearly visible in the frost that had accumulated on the floor. As she put on her costume pieces, her hands and feet gradually became visible again.
She made a victory sign with her right hand as she let out her best villainous voice, which somehow managed to be both menacing and adorable at the same time.
"Villains for the win!!"
A/N: Ngl this chapter was a slog to write, no matter how much fun it may have been. You may be wondering why? Well remember when I told you yesterday I was going out with some friends, yeah well I couldn't exactly bring my writing PC with me.
Yeah, you're thinking right, I wrote this shit on my phone. Now you can tell why this was a slog to write. Still the last three paragraphs made it all worth it.
VILLAINS FOR THE WIN!!!!
No bonus chapter cause I'd have to write it on my phone, and I'm not fucking doing that again
Thx for reading. Author out.