As Jun walked toward the building, he rubbed his chin, trying to think of some way to avoid being immediately taken out by the monster that was Todoroki.
How do I not instantly fold?
Beside him, Toru raised her floating gloves. "Okay, I'm taking off my gloves and shoes. I'm going all out."
"You'll want to keep those."
Her gloves jerked toward him. "Huh? But that ruins the whole invisible-girl thing!"
"Yeah, but one of our opponents uses ice."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Just trust me on this."
Toru's gloves hovered in place for a moment before one hand gave him a thumbs-up. "Okay."
Jun continued thinking as they entered the building.
How did this fight go in canon? Shit, I don't remember.
"We're moving the bomb to the top floor."
"What?"
Jun created #1, and the two of them immediately grabbed the prop weapon.
"Wait, Jun!"
"Can't. We only have five minutes."
Jun and #1 started carrying the weapon upstairs, forcing Toru to hurry after them.
Okay. What else? What else?
Once they reached the top floor, Jun and #1 set the weapon down. Jun looked toward Toru's floating gloves.
"Okay, first things first. I'm going to cause as much of a distraction as I can. You're going to stay hidden and take any opportunity you get to wrap the capture tape around them."
Toru lifted both hands. "So I'm the sneak attack?"
"Pretty much. I'll keep them looking at me, and you take whatever opening they give you."
"Okay! I can do a sneak attack."
Jun glanced toward the stairwell. "I don't think we're taking either of these guys out head-on."
"Yeah, no argument there." Toru's gloves shifted between Jun and #1. "You're not planning to get captured immediately, right?"
"I'm planning very hard not to."
"That's reassuring."
Jun gestured toward her visible equipment. "Keep your gloves and shoes nearby until you're sure you don't need them. If you take everything off now, you might not be able to get it back when you need it."
Toru lowered her hands and studied the gloves for a moment. "Oh! I could leave them somewhere and make it look like I'm still there!"
Jun nodded. "Exactly."
"Oh, a decoy! I like it!" Toru pulled off her gloves, causing both hands to disappear. "I won't need these yet, at least."
"Yeah, probably not. Take your shoes off once you're hidden, but keep them close. You don't want to get caught barefoot against someone with an ice Quirk."
"Okay, I'll hide. Where are you going to be?"
"I'm staying here with the bomb."
"You're staying out in the open?"
"Someone has to keep them looking the wrong way."
Toru paused near the doorway. "Try not to get frozen."
"That's the goal."
"Okay. Good luck!"
Toru headed into another room, leaving Jun alone with #1. The two of them looked at each other.
"You know we're screwed, right?" #1 asked.
"Yeah, I know."
Jun reached out and touched him, remerging #1 into Prime.
Jun slotted Warm Hands into his second active slot, replacing Empath.
Never thought I'd actually use this Quirk, but against an ice guy? It might work suspiciously well.
He activated it long enough to feel heat spread through his palms and fingers, then switched it off and slotted Heavy Touch into his third active slot.
I'll pass that to #1 when I bring him back out.
While waiting for the announcement, Jun stretched, checked the escrima sticks secured to his thighs, and settled in the middle of the room.
A moment later, All Might's voice came through the speakers.
"Indoor anti-personnel battle training... START!"
Jun waited, flexing his fingers as Warm Hands spread heat through them. He activated and deactivated the Quirk a few times, getting used to the unfamiliar sensation before he heard ice rapidly spreading through the building and felt the air around him grow colder.
Okay. There it is.
Ice swept across the room and froze his boots to the floor. Jun gave one foot an experimental tug, but it remained firmly trapped.
"EEK!"
The shout came from somewhere else on the top floor.
Gotta trust her. Hopefully she got her shoes on.
Jun remained completely still and silently counted down from twenty. Once he reached zero, he created #1 and assigned Heavy Touch to him as he finished forming.
#1 pulled one of the spare escrima sticks from Jun's thigh and carefully chipped away at the ice behind his boots, keeping his work on the side hidden from the doorway. Jun tested his footing again, then gave #1 a thumbs-up when the weakened ice shifted beneath his boots.
#1 returned the gesture before quietly clipping the retractable restraint rope to the escrima stick. After testing the connection, he threw the stick over one of the exposed ceiling beams and caught it as it came back around. The rope retracted, taking up the slack as he scaled the wall. Still gripping the stick with both hands, he tucked himself above the doorway.
About a minute later, Todoroki entered the room and found Jun standing beside the weapon with his boots visibly frozen to the floor.
"Bring it on," Todoroki said. "But fighting without the soles of your feet will be painful."
Jun smirked. "Sounds painful as hell."
Todoroki paused, clearly not expecting the response.
Above the doorway, #1 released his hold and dropped. He activated Heavy Touch through the fitted material of his uniform, increasing his mass as he drove his elbow into the ice-armored side of Todoroki's head.
At the same moment, Jun tore his boots free from the weakened ice and charged. He and #1 slapped hands as they passed, #1 folding back into him just before Jun dipped his shoulder into Todoroki's chest and drove him through the doorway into the stairwell.
Carrying that momentum forward, Jun recreated #1 from his opposite side. #1 emerged already moving, leapt, and drove a kick into Todoroki's chest, slamming his back against the metal railing.
#1 landed beside him in a roll and raised one hand. Already knowing what he wanted, Jun tossed him a spare escrima stick while reaching for the capture tape with his other hand.
Todoroki let out a pained groan as #1 struck the outside of his ice-armored knee, forcing it to buckle. Jun rushed forward and began wrapping the capture tape around Todoroki, trying to secure him against the railing.
#1 saw Todoroki's eyes widen slightly and heard the sharp hiss of his breath as the temperature began dropping again.
He immediately threw himself into Jun, knocking him through the doorway and remerging on contact. Jun rolled across the floor of the main room as ice erupted throughout the stairwell.
"Damn it."
Jun pushed himself up and looked toward the doorway. The stairwell had been completely frozen.
With the unfinished capture tape torn loose by the ice eruption, Todoroki stepped back into the room, frosty air spilling from his mouth as he exhaled.
"That's annoying."
"Yeah, I know."
Jun flicked one of the escrima sticks from his thigh and hurled it toward Todoroki's head. Todoroki raised a wall of ice, blocking the stick and sending it rebounding across the room.
Jun immediately recreated #1 in its path. #1 dropped into a roll, caught the escrima stick as it bounced off the floor, and threw it back from a different angle.
The stick struck the ice-armored side of Todoroki's head as Jun rushed forward behind it. Before Todoroki could fully recover, Jun drove his armored elbow into his chest.
Todoroki fired another wave of ice across the room.
#1 lunged into Jun from the side, knocking him clear before remerging on contact. Jun hit the ground on his back, rolled through the momentum, and came onto his feet already moving.
He slid across the ice and recreated #1 above him. As #1 dropped, Jun caught him with both hands and threw him over the rising wall.
#1 clipped the top of the ice but made it across, landing behind Todoroki.
Todoroki spun and raised his right arm, but #1 met him forearm to forearm. His armored gauntlet slammed against Todoroki's bare forearm, making him wince.
Before Todoroki could pull away, #1 brought his other hand up and drove his open palm into the elbow, forcing the arm past straight. At the same time, he grabbed Todoroki's wrist and twisted, wrenching him away from the wall and off balance.
Jun rushed in behind Todoroki, wrapped both arms around his waist, and tried to suplex him. Before he could finish, ice spread across Jun's gloves, bracers, and forearms.
Jun released him halfway through and stumbled back, activating Warm Hands before the cold could lock up his fingers.
#1 was already moving.
He ripped the capture tape from Jun's waist and tackled Todoroki before he could regain his footing. Ice spread over #1 almost immediately, locking around his arm, shoulder, chest, and leg, but he kept forcing the tape around Todoroki.
His skin began turning blue as his joints stiffened. Still, he pulled the tape tight.
The speakers crackled overhead.
"Todoroki has been captured!"
Jun stared at them for half a second before grinning. "We did it."
Several arms wrapped around him from behind.
"Did you forget about me?" Shoji asked.
"No, I really didn't." Jun strained as Shoji's grip tightened around his chest, waist, arms, and legs. "Damn it."
He bucked against the hold, but Shoji barely moved.
The frozen #1 turned toward them. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Just give up," Shoji said as one of his free hands reached for the capture tape.
#1 forced his stiffened body forward. Shoji extended more arms, caught him, and dragged him into the same grapple.
The instant #1 touched Jun, he remerged.
A flash of biting cold and aching stiffness tore through Jun, then vanished almost as quickly.
Shoji's hands snapped shut around empty space, throwing his grip off for a moment.
Jun recreated #1 on Shoji's other side.
No longer encased in the ice that had locked his previous body, #1 hit the ground and drove his shoulder into Shoji's side.
Shoji's grip broke apart.
Jun and #1 rolled away before pushing themselves upright on opposite sides of him.
Shoji turned between them, staring down both Juns.
"Invisible ambush!"
Toru's voice came from behind Shoji as the capture tape suddenly whipped around his torso. Before he could turn, she circled him, winding it around his arms and pulling it tight.
Shoji's eyes widened. "What?!"
The speakers crackled overhead.
"Shoji has been captured! The villain team wins!"
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