Summary: Bryant vs Shoto. The finale to the first year Festival
Note: Chapter 30, enjoy. Longer than the last couple but it's definitely got a lot of action if that's your thing. Let me know how the story is so far, and don't forget to hit me up if you have questions.
Bryant checks through his 'playlist' of forms, talking to himself, "I know which two forms I'm definitely using. But, maybe I'll mix in an extra one just to shake things up". Shoto and him meet face to face in the middle of the ring, "Hey Shoto". He stares his usual blank expression, "Hi". Bryant looks up to see Endeavor again, watching his son, "You know man, like I said before. He doesn't dictate your future. You do what you want. Got it? Don't use just your ice side". Todoroki doesn't say anything and instead walks away as the round begins, preparing both their stances for the battle.
Omni predicts, "He'll use just the ice until I can hopefully get him to use his flames more. This should be fair. That said, Ice Queen is a viable option. As the match begins, as predicted, Shoto steps on the ground, freezing it rapidly and running towards Allen. Turning into Ice Queen, Bryant holds her ground. Shoto tosses ice shards at her, while she goes intangible to avoid any of them. Now up close to her, they start fighting fist to fist. Omni creates a fist of ice around her own and socks Shoto right in the scarred part of his face, "I can make ice weapons. How about you"? He takes her up on the accusation and crafts a sword of ice, which impresses her, "Ooh, I might try that myself. Bring it on Sub Zero".
Covering both fists into spiky ice blocks, she raises her arms as the sword comes down on her, and the weapon itself shatters, giving Ice Queen an opening. Bryant takes him by the throat, "My turn". Flying up with Todoroki in hand, she flies back down head first, slamming them both into the ground, shattering it. He of course is far from being defeated, being durable if nothing else, but Bryant begins noticing his body starting to freeze, "We've dealt this hand before Shoto, remember? I thawed you out of your shell. Why won't you use fire"? Todoroki replies, "I just won't".
She pries, "There's more to it than that. Tell me". He sends more icicles her way, "You can trust me". Shoto blasts his ice upwards, freezing the air enough to cause massive hail, which Allen goes intangible against, "I can be your friend". He shouts coldly, "I don't need friends"! He angrily produces a massive glacier just by stepping onto the ground, trapping her in it, but not freezing her. Bryant flies out and traps him instead, freezing everything but his head. She walks over and tells him calmly, "You have no counter for that. Oh wait, you do. That said, it's time for me to help you". She turns into Energizer, and with that, he begins to watch his past like a movie in both of their heads.
Just like with Tenko, it's like he's an invisible bystander, going through the flashes of his life up until now. "Can I play with Fuyumi and Natsuo", he hears. Endeavor responds bluntly, "No, training takes priority. You know that Shoto. Now come". He witnesses his training, with Endeavor pushing him to his limits, "Use your fire Shoto. Don't disappoint me. You ARE my heir". Young Shoto incinerates the dummy, "Now, again", demands Enji. Another flash happens and it's sunset in the same spot, still training, "Keep going Shoto". Young Todoroki collapses to his knees, "Please, I need a break father". Enji denies him sternly, "No. Keep going". Shoto breathes heavy, "I can't". His father picks him up forcefully, "It wasn't a request".
Bryant then hears arguing outside of a door inside as another flash happens, "He's just a little boy", pleads a female voice. The other man, Enji replies, "He's not just a little boy, he's my future. Our future for this family Rei. Don't you get it? He doesn't need coddling". She begs more, "Enji, there's a difference between being his mentor and his father. He needs you to be both. Do you hear me", she raises her voice. The shadow on through the door then reveals a single hard handed backhand hit to the face, and behind Allen is the little Shoto witnessing it. He sees one more flash, of his mother making tea, "Mom, are you okay"?
The mother turns around, he eyes in psychotic rage. Without saying a word she throws the hot water, searing half his face with the scar he has now, "Crying". The mom snaps out of her delusion and immediately tries to heal him with her ice. In one more flash, he sees Shoto see his mom off, as she seeks help at a mental hospital, "Please, don't go. Father...he'll…". They both hug one more time before she leaves, "Take care Shoto. I'm sorry". Back to reality, both of them are disoriented and out of it, as Bryant recollects what he just saw, filled with a new hatred for his already most hated 'Hero'. "An abusive sack of shit. I should've guessed". Shoto breaks down into an actual emotion, as tears run down his face. Bryant lets his watch charge and apologizes, "So that's why you're so distant. I'm sorry I made you relive that".
Shoto responds, "THAT, is exactly why I hate him. He took my whole childhood from me, even my mother's sanity". Bryant gives his own background, "I moved here to Japan a while ago, and moved out of the house a couple years back. Never really speak to my parents much, since we came here. I can kind of relate to losing parents in that sense. In either case, I see why you hate him completely". Allen looks him right in the face, "You know. You were a two person effort. You might've gotten that fire side from Enji, but it's yours, not him. You keep that ice side with pride, but you need to realize, that fire is YOURS. Fight me with everything at your disposal. Be the Hero he isn't".
These words seem to resonate with Shoto, and he remembers everything his mother had told him. Before both their eyes, he uses his fire to melt the ice, and with newfound acceptance, he looks to Bryant eye to eye, "Thank you…", he says wholeheartedly, "I understand what you mean. What my mom meant. This quirk...it IS mine, not his. So I'll use it to it's full potential", he shouts. Omni smiles and turns into Molten, "Well then go ahead. Show me everything you've got buddy". Enji smiles up in the stands, but neither of them could care less. Shoto cools the air around him and then activates his fire side, creating a blast wave big enough to send Bryant into the air. Instead of this being a hindrance, it instead reveals itself to be helpful as he, using quick thinking, begins to hover in the air with his fiery hands.
As fire streams from his palms it keeps him suspended, "Sweet. I wonder"…, he sprays flames from his feet as well into a streak, and before his eyes and the others he's basically surfing on the air with fire. He lands in front of Todoroki, "Thanks for wake up call. Got any more tricks you want to try with fire"? He switches to ice again, "Enough fire". He touches the ground and Omni is encased fully in an ice block, but this is of hardly any consequence, as he melts it almost immediately. "Come on Shoto, you can do better than that", he says confidentially. Todoroki smirks, "Maybe I was holding back". He unleashes his strongest attack again, but at it's fullest, the huge glacier. Stomping hard onto the ground, the ice acts like a tidal wave, sweeping Allen away inside of it and trapping him in inches or feet of ice. Still being fire though, it only makes his flame dowse.
He presses the watch on his chest, "Time for a switch", and changes back into the ghost, flying through the ice wall. "Alright Shoto, if that's your best. Then you really ARE holding back". Todoroki responds, "You're right, I should step up my game. Utilize them both at the same time". Firing a beam of ice and fire at once towards Bryant, he of course avoids it with his intangibility, turning invisible and flying behind him. He whispers, "You know, I've got the perfect name for this guy. 'Spectral'. What do you think"? Shoto looks all around him, replying regardless of caution, "Not bad". He appears in front of him and switches over to Ice Queen again, "Now, back to fair fighting".
She blows her ice cold breathe onto his arms, freezing his hands, "You realize that won't work, right"? Bryant acknowledges, "I know. Just trying to buy time. Maybe figure out the best strategy to exploit". He melts the ice on one arm, then uses the freed one to smash the other open. She goes invisible, and tries to sneak up behind him, but Shoto is prepared. As she goes in for the attack, her invisibility goes as she thinks she has it in the bag for an attack. But revealing herself, Shoto blasts at her with a flamethrower stream. Bryant is blasted back, "Gah. Nice shot", turning invisible once more, "But it's far from over. In fact, I think it's time for an upgrade". Twisting the watch and pressing it in, her entire body remains the same physically minus a sleek new color.
Her body is now crimson, with shades of orange in the middle of the wings and antennae edges, also forming a bit of a crown on her head, while the tips of all the said features end in a yellow. "So, this is an 'Evolved Ice Queen' huh? Have to say I prefer the blue but…". She inhales deeply, "Let's see what the new coat of paint entails". Bryant blows flames instead of ice, which create snow and ice around them both, "Ooh, ice flames? Contradictory, but nice". Shoto blasts more fire, and Allen counters with a new palm 'fire' attack she has. Out of her hand comes a stream of ice fire that looks like Shoto's, except when it makes impact with his fire arm, his flames instantly freeze up. "Check me out, I'm hot. Or is that still, cold", she tries to joke.
Due to the extreme power of the ice it takes a minute for Todoroki's fire to start up again, like it's stalling, or like a wet match. He begins to melt all the snow created from Omni's breath, culminating into a wall of fire now surrounding them both. Looking confident, Bryant rains on his parade quickly, "You have no real practice with fire due to you neglecting it. That said, given my new enhanced version of powers, this ring of fire is child's play". She extinguishes all of it in seconds, spinning around and blowing. Allen goes so far as to try a new trick, "I'll be right back pal". She flies up into the sky and blows downward with all her lung capacity, resulting in a total avalanche of snow.
Landing back to the now snow covered ground, Shoto is even impressed, "It's no glacier, but even I can feel the cold". She smiles, "I aim to please". She then raises both arms and proceeds to freeze up his legs in the ice, "Brr, it kind of burns". Omni takes into account the weirdness of that statement, "Fire so cold, it burns? That's really weird. Effective though". Bryant decides to turn back though, while Shoto readies his escape, "This is getting us nowhere. Maybe I should give Molten another go". He turns into said form, "You know, better yet". He twists the watch and evolves, his entire body the same including the shoulder volcanoes, but now he's entirely azure with blue flames and being so hot it inadvertently melts not only the blizzard planted down from him but thaws out Shoto's legs, who can even feel the heat eminating from where he is. He admires his new look, "Check me out. Less oxygen means blue flame, and blue flame means hotter. Mo' hotter, mo' better. That said, you insist on using ice, so I'll use fire".
Shoto tosses ice shurikens, which melt before even making contact, "Nice try. By the way, did you get that ice from Momo"? He admits, "She was an inspiration". Bryant sparks his palms, "I'll do my best not to melt you man". Using just one fire jet stream he blasts Todoroki, engulfing him in the flames, but do to his ice powers, his skin is luckily fine as it protected him to an extent. That said, he does fall to his knees, "Jesus. Shoto, you okay"? Walking over but keeping his distance, his friend gets up himself, "Yeah, I'm fine. But we must keep going. For my mother if nothing else". He uses his strongest ice stream and blasts the frozen vapor at him.
Surprisingly it's strong enough lightly dowse him and shove him back, but it still melts mere seconds later, "Nice, I felt that one. Got anymore frosty"? Shoto grins, "I think I know a way to take you on". He uses his full potential of power on both sides and then proceeds to use both fire and ice, creating a huge amount of water that also equalizes his weakness of using one side. Bryant is blasted back a good ways, almost getting over the ring at this point, "Now that's a badass move buddy. Kudos". Noticing how close Allen is to the ring now, he readies another glacier sized ice block, and like last time it comes crashing over him. Being cold enough, it entirely engulfs Omni, and for a few seconds, everyone thinks he's beaten, except Momo, "Come on Allen. I know you're still conscious".
Sure enough, the whole giant mass begins lighting up in blue, and in an instant, a supernova erupts in the form of a huge blue sphere, turning the ice chunk into water and shattering the rest of it. The icicles that fly into the air become water mid flight, raining on the spectators a bit. The blasts itself is so strong, it's the final nail in the coffin for the round, as Shoto is knocked all the way across the ring, and out of it. The whole stadium lights up with applause as Midnight waves the flag, "The Winner! Multi Hero: Omni"! Bryant takes it in, seeing everyone cheer for him including his new friends makes his heart soar, and in his excitement, he raises his arms up into the air and blasts both blue stream of fire into the sky. After that, he heads over to Shoto to check up on him, his watch beeping and turning him back.
"You okay dude"? Todoroki is helped up, "Yeah. That was...a very good fight. Your skill with those powers is impeccable". Bryant shakes his hand, "You're pretty awesome yourself. Your dad might've only had you to create a powerful superpower, but you're also a good guy". With respect for each other, they both head over to the podium. Meanwhile, still in the shadows, the 'Spectral' ghost is impressed himself, "Well fought Allen. You didn't disappoint. But I'm afraid that'll be the last victory you enjoy".