AN June 10, 2019: The chapter has been updated to include more of Amanda's past and her relationship to Todoroki.
Amanda was woken up by the door opening. She cursed mentally and immediately began covering herself with a blanket, hoping her roommates were too oblivious to recognize what was going on.
Jasminka and Constanze entered their dorm room, while Amanda tried her best to look like nothing had happened, which given her odd demeanor at the moment, would be an impossible feat.
"Enjoying your nap?" chirped Jasminka.
"Yeah, what time is it?" quickly said Amanda, attempting to sound as confident as possible.
"Time for us to go grab our afternoon tea of course!" answered Jasminka.
Amanda rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. "Uh, thanks, but I think I'll pass."
"Are you sure?" inquired Jasminka, who wasn't sad or disappointed, but was always eager to invite people to her many meals of the day.
"Positive," assured Amanda. "Besides, I'm gonna probably snoop around Appleton in a bit if you know what I mean."
Jasminka laughed. "You're always getting into trouble. They'll find out soon you know."
"Well, they might now that I faced those dorks in my true form at the debate, but I might as well have one last laugh," replied Amanda. "So yeah, you guys can just head out while I get ready and change."
"Alrighty then!" beamed Jasminka, who was about to leave with Constanze until Amanda messed up badly.
Still clutching her blanket with one hand, Amanda was too caught up in the moment to notice that she let her other one tap the touchscreen of one of Constanze's magitek devices.
Constanze immediately heard the sound of a video player streaming something, which was an electronic Amanda and no witch at Luna Nova had no normal access to.
Constanze sprinted over before Amanda could react, a combination of the former's desire to claim what was her's and the latter's embarrassment stopping Amanda from using her quick reflexes.
The magitek video player was seized from Amanda and Constanze showed the item to Jasminka. Footage of the heroes' adventure during dungeon exploring class was playing, specifically the part with Todoroki slaughtering a horde of monsters.
Jasminka looked worried for once. "Did you steal that from Constanze's workshop?"
There was no point denying, so Amanda simply replied with a "Yep."
A nasty death glare from Constanze was shot at Amanda. She swiped her fingers across the screen to look at what videos Amanda had been watching in the two hours between then and the end of class.
Jasminka said each clip out loud. "Security footage from the boys fighting in the dungeon, their fights with the demons, and Todoroki's duel with Bakugou AND Deku during that sports festival a while back?"
Amanda tried to save herself, she was never in a situation like this. "Yeah, can you believe that Constanze somehow snagged magical security footage? Damn, that's impressive."
Constanze wasn't smiling.
Jasminka looked back to Amanda. "But why were you watching this?"
The truth was that while she was coming to terms with her inner tensions, Amanda couldn't help but think about Todoroki's heroic feats. His combat technique, strength, prowess and the mighty clash of his fire and ice quirk had been making Amanda feel a little tingly on the inside. After a minute of mental debate, she decided that the best way to relieve herself was to watch footage of his battles, which she knew Constanze would somehow have footage of on her devices.
One heist later, the next thing Amanda knew, she was getting turned on by seeing Todoroki fight.
Amanda bit her lip, trying to think of an excuse. "Um, because I wanna know how these guys fight if we're gonna beat them the next time our sadistic professors set up an exercise?"
For a second, it looked like Amanda's bluff worked.
"I getcha...wait...are you naked?" realized Jasminka as Amanda clutched her blanket tighter.
Constanze just nodded to confirm Jasminka's suspicions. Amanda took a deep breath, hoping that Jasminka was too innocent to fully put two and two together. In reality, Amanda, Diana and Akko were the ones oblivious that the rest of Luna Nova figured out the obvious.
Amanda bit her lip. "Congrats, you figured it out."
"Ohhhh….I get it." nodded Jasminka.
"You do?" Amanda quietly asked her face turned as red as her hair. She thought that if Jasminka knew the truth, it would be the end of her reputation as she knew it.
Jasminka however, decided to spare her friends feelings for her sake. "Sure I get it. Some of my friends back home sleep in the nude because it's more comfortable. It's nothing to be embarrassed about, just let us know in advance okay?"
Amanda took a breath of relief. "Sure, of course."
"Great!" beamed Jasminka. "Well, come on Constanze, let's go get tea while Amanda puts something on."
Jasminka exited, while Constanze tucked her device in her pocket, rather risking getting caught by a teacher than have Amanda use it to get off on footage of Todoroki.
Amanda buried her face in her pillow and blanket. As fun as it was thinking about Todoroki like that, she had a few pranks to pull.
Amanda hid behind some foliage as she looked at the scene before her. There were a ton of dignitaries, businessmen and maybe even a few minor heroes and mages all heading into the entrance of Appleton Academy. Of course, they would be the type of people attracted to what was going to be presented in a few hours.
While on Cosntanze's devices, she learned about those private armed groups hosting a giant presentation in Appleton with the obvious intent to have their services bought over by people, specifically the rich ones who thought quirks and magic were a frivolous waste. With all the commotion that was going on about the villain that could turn heroes evil, it was the perfect time to invest in a more alternative solution.
It was just as Akko and Deku feared, the worst excesses of the private sector trying to bring about a broken form of social change. Of course, Amanda didn't care much for the implications and just lost herself in the delight of having a variety of targets instead of just a cute Appleton boy.
And speaking of said cute Appleton boys, Amanda checked around to make sure no one was looking into her direction and cast a spell that put on her disguise, giving her the hair and uniform typical of its students. No one was yet the wiser, but even she acknowledged this adventure had a final vibe to it since Andrew, Louis or Frank had a good idea of her features.
However, once Amanda stepped out of the bushes and began approaching the crowd, it turned out her fears would be realized, but not by an Appleton guy.
"Amanda?" suddenly said a voice that could only belong to Todoroki.
Frozen, Amanda turned around and faced the hero staring at her with a bewildered expression. She was certain that no one saw her put on her Appleton outfit, and Todoroki looked like he had only seen her at that moment without tailing her.
Amanda's pupils shrunk. "T-Todoroki?"
He looked concerned. "What are you doing?"
Unable to think clearly due to the shock of being caught by the boy she was pleasuring herself too in her dreams a few hours ago, Amanda grabbed his hand and dragged him off to the side.
Amanda looked him in the eye. "Was my disguise that obvious?"
"Disguise?" frowned Todoroki, before putting two and two together. "Oh. I get what you're doing."
"And I would have done it, but you called me out." sighed Amanda.
Todoroki shrugged. "I can't forget your eyes, face and hair. Also, I hope your intention was disguising yourself as a first year, because otherwise you'd have to explain why you're on track for the record of never hitting puberty."
Amanda laughed, while Todoroki's face remained neutral. "I'll forget that last part, but that beginning was nice."
Todoroki took a deep breath in response, another sign of his icy shell being compromised, something which turned on Amanda to no end.
She flicked out her wand and began to undo her Appleton look, while Todoroki looked on with interest. As the magical light that surrounded Amanda vanished, he was taken by surprise at her appearance not fully reverting to its old form. Rather than her uniform, she wore some street clothes consisting of a jacket, skirt and shirt that simultaneously screamed classy and confrontational.
To top it off, Amanda gave herself a longer set of majestic red hair, albeit with a few of strands of what Todoroki could only call 'hair fangs' sticking out to keep up the refined, but dangerous look.
Amanda placed a hand on her hip and smirked. "Pretty useful spell huh?"
"It is." quipped Todoroki, trying his best to stay focused. "Did you always have hair this long?"
Amanda chuckled. "Sorta, but I gave myself some length to make this work. Trying a few new things out you know?"
Todoroki nodded. "Wish I had that spell when I was infiltrating that villain hideout."
"Well, I mostly use it to pull pranks," shrugged Amanda, whose voice turned mischievous. "But I have fun with it for reasons other than sly activities, speaking of which."
Amanda activated her spell once more, and the result caused Todoroki's mouth to drop.
This time, Amanda gave herself something truly fantastical. She sprouted two fox ears and a tail, combined with a mischievous pose. He remembered foxes were Amanda's favourite animal for fitting reasons, and now she was pulling off that kitsune girl look marvelously.
Amanada's tone got more flirty and she approached Todoroki slowly. "So, do you like it?"
"I do." Todoroki gulped, but maintained firm. There were a thousand feelings rushing through him that he didn't know he had, and it was a miracle that he was still keeping still and not getting overwhelmed by alien sensations.
The young vixen meanwhile loved Todoroki's feeble attempts to stay calm. The next thing they knew, she began circling around him like, well, a fox trapping her prey. She placed a finger on him that skirted around his elbows and chest as she spoke, Todoroki being too shocked to make a move.
"I've always really liked this form, but I think the ears need some work." cooed Amanda, as she twitched the fox ears which made Todoroki's eyes twitch in turn.
Todoroki almost gritted his teeth. "No, I think those ears are perfect."
"Would you say they make me look cute?" whispered Amanda.
"You're very cute." stammered Todoroki, whose limits were being reached as he admired the human-vixen combination.
"Aw, thank you!" beamed Amanda, and when Todoroki realized what he had just said, his face turned into that of a toothy frown, his eyes confused like never before.
Amanda even noticed Todoroki beginning to sweat. "Here, let me get that for you."
She exercised control of her magical tail and brought it forward to Todoroki's face, brushing the sweat off of him while simultaneously making him even more nervous and unable to speak.
Amanda's face turned playful and hungry. "Oh, poor thing, you're shivering. You know, I read that foxes use their tails to help keep warm so let me help you with that."
Right before Todoroki could react, Amanda the vixen lunged forward and wrapped her tail around him, the surprise causing Todoroki to lose balance and trip. Had it been a villain, Todoroki would have stood tall, but this was a gal filling him with a whole plethora of emotions.
Luckily, Todoroki fell on the grass with kitsune-Amanda lying on top of him. As for her, she was right where she wanted them to be.
Amanda took some quick breaths, excited by the position they were in. Amanda had Todoroki seduced and pinned down, his icy exterior was broken simply because he didn't know how to handle himself around girls, which Amanda thought was the most precious and hottest thing ever.
She could feel his heart beating incredibly fast as she got a rise of him, and that wasn't even getting to a certain rise making his jeans tighter. She had her handsome boy seduced.
At that moment, Amanda gave her actions some thought and dropped her smirk. Todoroki certainly wasn't used to interactions like this, and Amanda began to think she was actually making him uncomfortable for real.
To see if she needed to stop, she raised her head and finally came face to face with Todoroki, and thankfully saw that he was grinning. It was a soft grin of course, but he was clearly enjoying it much to her relief. She did feel scared for a moment.
"You really are something." said Todoroki softly, but affectionately.
Amanda's smile returned, and this one was full of warmth. She brought her forehead down to Todoroki's, the two of them taking a deep breath.
This was her chance. Amanda knew she had developed feelings for him and this was the time to confess. It was perfect. The girl having pinned down the boy after making him all flustered? She was sure that a scene straight from romance novels she never bothered to read.
Right when she was about to raise her voice however, the two were reminded they were still in public.
"Get a room you two!" yelled a passersby.
Todoroki and Amanda both turned red and realized they were acting a little too out of line for where they were. The moment was ruined, but they were glad they had it.
Amanda stood up and got rid of the magical fox ears and tails while Todoroki began cleaning his outfit, only for Amanda to help take care of that with yet another spell.
After an awkward pause, Todoroki changed the subject, with him and Amanda both implicitly knowing that they were going to have to confront this moment and their tensions quite soon. Still, it didn't change the fact that Todoroki had a crucial assignment.
"So you were gonna pull a prank during the merc exposition?" he asked.
Amanda blinked slowly, and then nodded as she came back to reality. "I was. And you?"
Todoroki groaned. "My dad got word of what was happening in Appleton and is ordering me to scout the whole thing?"
"Scout?" frowned Amanda.
"He wants to see if he can get his own private soldiers beyond his hero agency to enforce his will and ability to stay the number one hero." explained Todoroki. He remembered Endeavor calling him before he fell asleep, starting out with yelling his name over the phone and then screaming his orders like a drill sergeant.
Amanda raised an eyebrow. "And you're gonna do it? I thought you didn't like him."
He shrugged simply, but his face turned bitter. "He hasn't been too happy that I've been spending this month with witches instead of getting tougher with the British special forces. Can I let you in on a secret?"
"Of course!" quickly said Amanda.
Todoroki hesitated for a moment before speaking. "A few days ago, he actually offered to get me out of the forced joint hero-witch course at Luna Nova by exercising his will. Just so I could actually train with the SAS."
"You and your classmates?" checked Amanda.
"No, just me because the last thing he wants is for Bakugou and Deku to catch up." told Todoroki.
"And you turned him down." realized Amanda.
"Yeah, because I began liking it at Luna Nova," revealed Todoroki. "And because I want to spend time with you."
"I...uhhh…" Amanda would've shed a tear of happiness if she wasn't so tough. Her warm thoughts however were interrupted by the subject at hand. "Hold on, so what does this have to do with that private military thing con?"
"My dad's threatening to come to Britain himself or send one of his goons, which is just as bad as having him here, if I don't go there myself and effectively represent him." explained Todoroki.
Amanda placed two hands on Todoroki's shoulders, catching him off guard. "Well, you ran into the right lass, because I think I'm gonna cap off my adventures in Appleton with the biggest spectacle in that school's history."
"Pranking a bunch of ultra rich types with armed soldiers and powerful quirks?" frowned Todoroki, trying not to have another heart attack.
She gave a mischievous smirk. "No way in hell does Appleton let anyone provide security besides their own, so we'll only be dealing with those rich blokes and the CEOs of the companies they wanna invest in. Hell, the army isn't even patrolling around to look for that loose villain."
Todoroki looked uncertain. "Don't know how my dad would react to this. Or everyone."
Amanda pushed herself closer to him. Turning his face redder than his hair and scar.
"Come on," insisted Amanda. "I have a pretty good plan. We won't get caught and I'm sure the embarrassment will stop your dad from pursuing his crazy dreams."
That notion of thwarting his father's plans sounded tempting Todoroki, just like Amanda's beautiful face. To have an adventure with her that would result in pissing off Endeavor was like killing two birds with one stone.
Todoroki tried to smile wide for once in his life. "Alright, I'm in."
Amanda gave an excited giggle. "And just to seal the deal, wanna know a secret?"
Todoroki froze, wondering what she'd say, but then slowly brought his head forward.
Amanda whispered closer in his ear. "I'm kinda from this elitish family. The O'Neils aren't super big like your family is in Japan, or Diana's in England, but notable in Ireland and America."
Todoroki was almost taken aback. "Really?"
"Yeah," continued Amanda. "My folks really wanted me to turn out all proper and elegant and stuff, even though that wasn't really me."
"So they wanted you to be Diana?" muttered Todoroki.
Amanda grinned. "Yeah, can you believe it? Mom and Dad kept pushing all sorts of study crap on me and sent me to Luna Nova so that I'd turn into some witchy businesswoman to keep everyone rich."
"You don't want to be here?" checked Todoroki. Although he disagreed with his father and his legacy, he always did want to go to UA to be a pro hero.
"I mean I do." insisted Amanda, trying to keep her voice down. "But, that's because Luna Nova has these sick broom flying courses, and I wanna show off to the snobs what real talent looks like."
Todoroki half grinned, which may as well would have been a full one for him. "You really are good on a broom."
"Exactly," bragged Amanda. "I wanna do something with a broom, even be a dancer like you said I could. My folks aren't too happy about that, but till then I like to cause some trouble every now and then."
"Basically to get back at them?" guessed Todoroki.
Amanda began blushing. "Yeah, because how else am I gonna send the message I ain't walking down their fancy path. So if ever feel like you're alone because of your dad, I'm here."
Todoroki took a deep breath and he began blushing too. That last part of her sentence really got to him. True, he knew he could have friends and siblings to count on as well, but those words coming from Amanda's mouth meant something new to him. Sure, Amanda's relations with her parents didn't seem too abusive compared to his, but he could certainly relate about having to be defined by a legacy rather than his own ideals and hopes.
He broke the silence. "Why are you telling me this now?"
Amanda almost laughed. "Because I don't like telling people all that much about my background. Makes them feel sorry for me and that ticks me off. You on the other hand, I can trust, especially if we're gonna be pulling this prank together."
Todoroki's face turned as red as his scar. Yet another layer to Amanda that made him feel certain that they belonged together. Sure she expressed her rebellion in a more overt way, but he couldn't help but relate to her. No wonder Amanda liked him, she understood him like no other, even amid his rather cold exterior, and make him feel things he never knew he could.
Amanda grabbed Todoroki's hand and began to explain the plan.
After effortlessly sneaking past security, Amanda and Todoroki walked down the hall of Appleton where the officials from those pseudo mercenary groups were organizing. As Amanda stated, the security was at Appleton's normal levels, so their prank looked like it would proceed without a hitch.
And what a great prank it would be. Amanda had created a slightly complex, but surely doable plan of action which Todoroki was sure would even earn a laugh from him. The sheer magnificence of their prank would be talked about for decades to come, but what was most important was that they were going to do it together.
"And remember," said Amanda haughtily as they strode. "When we get out on my broom, make sure you hold me close because we're gonna be moving real fast."
Todoroki almost lost his breath. The thought of holding Amanda tight on her broom sounded like a dream come true. As for Amanda, it was the perfect moment to have another chance at confessing her crush. She could already picture herself making the getaway as Todoroki clinged onto her, and when they would gaze at their victory, she'd whisper in his ear and plant a kiss on his lips.
"I think I have it figured it out," muttered Todoroki who then looked down at the magical muffins they would have to give to one of the CEOs for their project to kick off. "But what will we do with all the racoons at the end?"
Amanda didn't even open her eyes as she walked confidently. "Ah, that's what the moose will be for."
"And what will happen to the moose?" inquired Todoroki.
"The Canadians will handle them." answered Amanda.
"And all those Canadians just hanging around Blytonburry?" he continued.
"They'll just die in the winter if they have no place to go." shrugged Amanda.
"Canadians...dying in the winter?" deadpanned Todoroki, making her reevaluate her statement.
Amanda's eyes finally shot open. "Oh….I didn't think about that. Eh, I'm sure the Brits will help their fellow anglos out."
"Right." sighed Todoroki, although he wasn't going to abandon his chance to spend time with Amanda to commit the prank of the century.
Amanda tapped Todoroki's shoulder and pointed to a door. "Alright, that sign says Cynthia is staying there."
"She was the CEO of Global Heaven?" checked Todoroki.
"Yeah," confirmed Amanda. "So she'll be waiting in the conference hall, so all we gotta do is plant these muffins and then…"
Amanda once again was proven instantly wrong by the sound of a voice that belonged to none other than Cynthia. The hero and witch instantly froze in place, confused and shocked by the fact that she was still waiting in her room rather than getting ready to present.
The prank was in jeopardy. The door to Cynthia's room was open, and a conversation between her and a man was playing out. Todoroki and Amanda weren't particularly loud while walking the halls and there was still some distance to her door, so they were evidently unnoticed.
Todoroki began whispering. "What do we do?"
Amanda bit her lip and tried to form a new plan. "Maybe we can..."
And then, the two began overhearing the conversation Cynthia was having after one particular line got to them.
The man's voice rang. "There are still some SAS buggers around the area, but you'll be fine right?"
Cynthia replied without any worry. "Don't worry, I could stand in front of them forever and they'll still be unable to recognize who I am. They literally cannot."
Amanda and Todoroki, overwhelmed by curiosity and the sense of danger, tried creeping closer to listen in.
"Your memory alteration spell runs that deep?" asked the man.
"Indeed," replied Cynthia. "As far as they know, they're chasing after a woman with a quirk, not a witch, and one who looks exactly nothing like me. They're chasing that drawing O'Duffy made for us when I bailed from Hereford."
The man didn't sound too pleased. "For someone that can alter memory, why did you still give them something to chase? Doesn't sound like the best way to…"
Cynthia interrupted him. "Casting a spell that changes the mind of everyone in the SAS and MI6 is one of the hardest fucking things I had to do in my life. I vanished with all those assets to start our company and God knows what sort of paper trail I left behind during my service. There would be gaps if I just wiped myself from their memories, and I am not risking my spell being broken by those gaps."
A chuckle came out of the man. "And you're sure none of the blokes here would have their memory jogged by your appearance? I'm sure they have ties to the SAS or MI6."
Now it was Cynthia's turn to sound angry. "That was YOUR job to check the seating order. Still, having to alter the memories and records of practically every business partner I run into to disguise my lost years in the army is getting tiring. We need to have those boys on our side NOW."
Then the man said something that made Todoroki's heart skip a beat. "Well luckily, they landed right in front of us."
Amanda gasped, thankfully placing her hands on her lips right before the sound left her mouth. They were clearly talking about the heroes.
Todoroki meanwhile stood solid in shock. This woman was clearly the villainous maniac the SAS were looking for with their various patrols and checkpoints in Britain. The enigmatic villain didn't even have a quirk, nor did she look like what the public thought she did. And she was right in front of the hapless witch and hero.
A part of Todoroki wanted to charge her instantly and force her to confess, but someone having the ability to alter memories with a spell was just something he didn't know how to deal with. It seemed what was just a typical business woman had a power that could turn All Might in his prime into One For All with just a flick of her wand.
Cynthia continued. "Anyway, can you at least confirm that Todoroki is showing up here? He's the one we'd need the most now."
"Positive," confirmed the man. "Two extra seats too."
"For his friends?" inquired Cynthia.
"Nah, his father made the purchase so I'm sure he did that so little Shoto wouldn't have anyone sitting next to him." laughed the man.
"Of course," giggled Cynthia, before turning serious. "People like Endeavor are why we need to do this. All these politicians, heroes and mages...they're stuck in the past. I don't expect Todoroki to jump to our boat, but if his father hires us we'll have a foot in Japan."
"The land of heroes huh. Still, you can't just alter his memory? Sneak up on him?" asked the man.
"No, because first, Todoroki clearly clings to the old ways and I can't just have him turn out of the blue," inferred Cynthia. "Him, Bakugou and Deku need to have their opinions about hero society changed organically, and a domino effect should arise since they're the most famous young heroes in Japan. We still need our foothold in the country first."
"And is reason 2 being you're worried about SAS investigation?" guessed the man.
"I got cocky by trying to alter that hero's memories," groaned Cynthia. Evidently, that specific event was what caused the recent SAS patrols. "That ritual I used to infect the British special forces took a lot out of me, so no memory alteration outside of businessmen."
"Even if we're caught? I don't think the army is backing down soon." asked the man.
"I insist on using legal and non-lethal means," said Cynthia, who sounded offended by the idea. "We need to show we're better than the old forces, and while I can trip the memory of everyone chasing us immediately, all I can really do is probably make them suicidal or turn on each other. Until then, no gore please."
"Sure. Hopefully this chucklefuck doesn't badmouth us to his dad." stated the man.
"As if Endeavor would even listen Nicholas," replied Cynthia, revealing the man's name. "I look forward to being bought by him."
Todoroki and Amanda had tried to distance themselves from the room while trying to listen in on everything at the same time.
It was just too much to take in. The villain on the loose was a witch who was making a fortune for herself, was ex spec ops and clearly had a bunch of stolen materials to give her organization serious firepower. The worst part was the spell she specialized in.
Memory alteration was deadly. If someone believed they were something else, who knew what they could be driven to do. And apparently Cynthia knew how to screw up the minds of an entire elite intelligence community to cover her tracks. It was little wonder why she'd be hired to serve it, although we she left for some lofty ideals seemed unclear to Amanda and Todoroki.
The two immediately began darting for the other side, hoping they wouldn't be caught, and for once, something went their way.
Todoroki and Amanda managed to exit the halls where the heads of the mercenary companies were supposed to be staying and found the auditorium where a large number of guests were listening to Oswald, head of White Wolves enterprises, give out some speech.
The two weren't particularly interested in what he was saying, other than him going off on some tangent about his company was expanding its catering section and was looking into making colorful burgers. Clearly, some fool had too much money to spend.
While they wanted to return to Luna Nova ASAP, the desire to see what Cynthia would say overpowered them. Knowing an enemy was important. Second, Endeavor would have certainly figured out if Todoroki skipped the conference, and that was something he feared as much as the mind altering witch.
Right as they were about to take their seats, they noticed Andrew and Frank sitting on one of the isles, Frank of course taking the initiative to greet them.
"Hey guys!" whispered Frank. "Didn't know you'd be here."
Todoroki tried to play it cooly. "Well, I didn't want to be here."
"Your dad?" muttered Andrew, still staring blankly at Oswald's enigmatic presentation about how his mercs knew tailoring.
Amanda placed her hands on his hips. "Of course it's his dad."
Frank laughed. "Yeah, our dads are sceptical about these private companies, but they're making us attend anyway. Whatcha gonna do eh?"
"And why are you here?" asked Andrew.
Amanda casually wrapped her arm around Todoroki, flustering him again while his thoughts lingered about Cynthia. "Someone needs moral support. It'd be torture for him to go at it alone."
"Aw, you're such a great friend." complimented Frank.
Todoroki and Amanda glanced at each other and gave each other a warm smile, both knowing they wanted to be more than friends, but had a slightly bigger priority to worry about at the moment.
Andrew finally eyed the two and raised an eyebrow. "Are those muffins?"
They had completely forgotten about their masterful prank, which would have started with the magical muffins being eaten by Cynthia. Now, they were thankful the prank wouldn't go through and piss off someone who could wipe their memories or change it without them ever being the wiser.
Todoroki found a garbage near the bin and without saying anything, threw them all away. At least no one in Appleton was dumb enough to eat muffins straight from the garbage.
Frank looked disappointed. "Oh man, those looked good."
"Trust me, they weren't." assured Amanda as Todoroki returned.
Andrew's intuition kicked in, figuring there was more to the muffins than the two let on, but he also noticed that Amanda and Todoroki weren't as nonchalant as they usually were. "Okay, you two look like you've seen a ghost."
This was normally when either would have said 'you have no idea', but that would be giving too much. They didn't want anyone confronting Cynthia, lest they figured out a way around someone who could overpower minds in an instant.
Amanda figured she'd come clean about the prank to ward off suspicion. "We were gonna do something really funny, especially with those muffins, but Todoroki talked me out of it."
Andrew looked sceptical, but nodded. To him, it at least explained why Todoroki and Amanda looked a bit sulken.
Frank gave some encouragement. "I'm sure it would've been hilarious."
An usher came up to them. "You two! Take your seats dammit."
Todoroki grabbed Amanda's hand and began guiding her to their reserved locations. "See you guys later." he muttered to Andrew and Frank, who returned the friendly gesture.
They took their seats and waited for Oswald to finish off his drivel, which now consisted of magic nano machines and walking tanks that could fire nukes. At least he was entertaining compared to Norah, head of Warriors Without Borders, whose speech was pretty dry and uninteresting.
As Norah spoke however, Todoroki and Amanda noticed Cynthia enter the stage and quietly take her seat, a man who was clearly Nicholas behind her.
Of course, Nicholas was wearing a sort of armor that looked like an altered version of what the SAS was wearing when they were doing patrols, and obviously that was no coincidence.
A mountain of anxiety had fell upon the two of them as they waited to see what Cynthia would have to say when she would speak. All the while they desperately tried to think of plans of action against her. What worried them the most was that sending powerful people to someone who had a ton of fire power and intelligence would only give Cynthia another minion to her arsenal, making them thank God that she was going for a more merciful route to bring about some change they couldn't understand.
As Cynthia finally took her turn at the podium, speaking as like just a normal business woman, Amanda noticed Todoroki's hand shaking. Despite his cool exterior, he was clearly afraid of Cynthia's power. And why wouldn't he?
She could read what was going on in Todoroki's mind. There was the fear of this woman being able to unleash untold spells to wreak havoc if she got caught. There was the fear of him and Amanda being brainwashed into doing something they didn't want to, which included being forced to hurt each other.
They knew the truth, but they simply didn't know how to act, lest Cynthia damn the minds of everyone with her powerful magic.
Staying brave, Amanda's hand reached Todoroki's, stopping it from shaking quickly. The second their hands touched, Todoroki blinked and took a deep breath, revelling in the sensation as he still continued to watch Cynthia with fake interest.
Just to keep his spirits up, Amanda quickly brought her lips towards his cheek and planted a quick kiss to assure him that everything would be alright.
And just like that, it worked. Todoroki clearly calmed down and strengthened his grip on Amanda's hand, almost like it was a vow that he would never let go or let harm come to her.
While their moments to confess their love had indeed been ruined by a series of misfortunate events, Amanda figured she could at least rest her head on his elbow. As Todoroki caught Amanda's scent and nuzzled her back, he forgot about the villain in front of him and focused on the witch beside him.