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Tommy took off his disguise when he made sure that there was no one around, and exhaled freely, being a few blocks from the building where his mission as a journalist ended. And quite successfully.
The mission assigned to him by his Dream was to infiltrate the Fool's casino under the guise of some guy and photograph and record the deal of two mafia bosses, Schlatt and Philza.
The mission, as already mentioned, went smoothly. Even very much, which alerted Tommy. No, he is certainly a master in the use of his power, but shouldn't there be at least one intelligent person or an ability user who feels the use of other people's abilities. But if not them, then it's the same Philza who, along with his sons, Wilbur and Technoblade, kidnapped him. However, the great Tommy Innet was able to escape from them a month ago, two months after the abduction.
These two months have been too horrible and confusing for Tommy. Especially the last week before his escape. Philza, along with his sons, had been clingy before, but all that week, the man literally did not let him out of his hands. Literally and figuratively.
Then how did Tommy even manage to escape if his metamorphosis abilities were blocked by the bracelet? Well, it was a lot of luck mixed with chance. Tommy was able to get a hairpin, thanks to which he broke the lock on the bracelet, and then... He took on someone else's form and walked out the door. Yes, yes, he just came out! In fact, when Tommy accepted someone's appearance, everything always went smoothly for him, as it is now.
He couldn't get his stuff back. He was upset about it, but escaping at that moment was much more important.
So yes, the escape was a hundred percent successful. Only after that did the strangeness begin in his body.
It began to get tired faster and Tommy often felt sleepy. And in these last days, a burning desire to go somewhere and a deterioration in his ability to change his appearance were added to this. It either did not activate immediately or simply turned off during its activation. It was especially bad on his first mission this month, but thank Prime in those moments Tommy was absolutely alone.
Oh, did he mention that his back itches now? No? Well, now you know about it. Be proud.
But seriously, Tommy now needs to get out of this area quickly, while everything is calm.
With this thought in mind, the blond accelerated his pace even more and wound through the alleys in order to confuse his potential pursuer. And even if his sane part of his brain tells him that there is absolutely no one here, then his experience as a journalist and paranoia told him that someone is here after all. I think you understand who he believes more.
The sound of something falling from behind brought him out of a light doze. It could be some kind of animal, but no. Tommy knew the area and he firmly remembered that there are no animals here because of the radiation here.
Tommy didn't need to be told twice to abruptly break into a run.
With horror, he heard heavy footsteps coming from behind. As if their owner was wearing heavy boots. Tommy recognizes this step even in the crowd.
The blonde swallowed the urge to exhale convulsively and abruptly turned the corner... And then he saw the wall. Remember, he said that when he took someone's form, things went smoothly? This is the complete truth. Tommy never liked his true form. It is not only ugly (in his opinion), but also brought troubles into his life. For example, the same kidnapping. However, this is not about that now.
Tommy abruptly opened the nearest door of an abandoned house and ran inside. Blocking the door with a chair (he knew that this little thing would not be a serious obstacle for him), he began frantically searching for another way out. On the first floor of the house, Tommy found nothing but old furniture. Yes, there were no windows, but Tommy still blocked the entrance with some kind of closet, taking on the appearance of Techno for a moment in order to do this. Fortunately, he managed to do this, since the ability was turned off again, his back began to prick a little, and heavy blows began to be heard from the door.
Tommy jumped away from the last one and froze for a moment to ward off a sudden desire to curl up in some nest.
"It's not up to that now! And what kind of stupid thoughts are these anyway?!" he thought, quickly climbing the creaking stairs to the third floor and praying that at least there was an exit outside and that they didn't have time to block it.
He cursed this area and his houses for the thousandth time, where there are practically no windows and because of their height [It was because of this that they managed to catch him then. He, the great Tommy Innit, is an elusive journalist with experience!]. The sound of a falling cabinet was heard from behind. In the silence, the sound was simply deafening, especially to Tommy's sensitive ears. He suppressed the silly urge to curl up again and looked around.
The room was practically empty, so, except for the garbage lying around. However, that wasn't what hooked him. His gaze caught a broken window that looked too familiar. Tommy laughed nervously, running up to him and looking at those roofs.
"Oh, Prime, you're kidding, yes? Is this really the place where they caught me?" he thought in fright.
Yes. This is the place where he was caught. Tommy recognized him solely by the broken window from which he stupidly jumped out and did not catch on the roof of the neighboring house, which led to a fracture of his left leg. I wonder if this time he will still be able to catch on? If not, it will be very symbolic.
Tommy grabbed the window frame, ignoring the sharp pain in his palms where the glass pierced him. He was about to jump out when he heard rapid footsteps behind him that were rapidly approaching him, as if they knew exactly where he was. Tommy, quite unexpectedly, panicked, looking down. He squeezed the frame harder in order to distract himself and tried to figure out what the fuck was going on with him? Especially now?!
Without even having time to recover, he was suddenly grabbed by the collar of his shirt and pulled back. Tommy only squeezed the frame harder in response, trying to ignore the blood flowing through it.
«Let me go, bitch!» he exclaimed through his teeth.
«For you to break your leg here again?» a monotonous voice came from behind, «and let go of the frame, your palms will be torn into meat.»
«What the hell do you care about it at all, Techno?!»
There was a sigh from behind and a second hand grabbed Tommy by the torso and pulled him sharply back.
In surprise, Tommy jerked violently and screamed when his fingers ran over the glass fragments, severely injuring them. Bitterly, he realized that if he managed to escape, he would not be able to use his hands for a long time.
«What did I tell you?» Techno said again, sitting down on the floor and taking Tommy's tattered hand and talking to him like a naughty little brother.
The thought made Tommy feel both good and bad at the same time. He always wanted an older brother, but definitely not one who was ready to chain him to a large and soft bed and enthusiastically read to him about bloody legends. No matter how bloody they were, Tommy really liked listening to them through the fog of his brain and let him not admit it. He would never say that.
«Shut up bitch, I don't care!..» Tommy cried out in pain as Techno's thumb pressed on his wounds.
«That's why you need a family to take care of you if you don't want to,» he heard Wilbur's voice coming up.
«Shut up, you tall bitch, I don't need you!..»
«But we need you, chick,» Tommy looked sharply towards the window, where Philza was standing with folded wings as black as night.
Only after seeing them did Tommy feel even more tingling in his back.
«So what? Stop making this spectacle around me and do what you should have done a long time ago!»
There was a moment of silence in the room. All that could be heard was Tommy's heavy breathing and the sound of dripping blood.
«What do you mean, kid?» Wilbur asked, dropping to Tommy's level and looking at him with genuinely curious black eyes. With this innocent action, he resembled a curious mongrel.
«Do you really think I'm stupid? No, I'm not a fool, otherwise I wouldn't have become a journalist! I know perfectly well that people like me are killed much more often than sheriffs because they mind their own business! Especially when they come to you!»
«And what do you mean by that?» Wilbur asked. Tommy could see him trying not to smile.
«That's a stupid question, bitch. To kill me, of course.»
There was silence in the room.
»I told you two that Theseus would be sure that we wanted to kill him,» Techno said suddenly, squeezing Tommy's hand harder. He suppressed a groan of pain, biting his lip until it bled.
«Chick, do you really think we want to kill you?» Philza asked worriedly, walking up to him and sinking to the floor, not caring about the dirt and debris scattered everywhere. He gently took Tommy's face in his hands— «and stop hurting yourself, we're worried.»
«Fuck off, bitch,» Tommy hissed.
He felt drowsy again and the tingling in his back was getting stronger. Tommy shook his head and tried to squeeze his hands, but even that didn't help to sober him up. Through the nebulae, he tried to understand what the three mafiosi were saying, but it was not successful because of the sharp pain that pierced his back. Tommy cried out in surprise and cringed all over. He could hear the commotion around him. The blonde felt a hand on his back and groaned when fingers touched the sore spot.
«Shouldn't they have grown significantly earlier, Dad?» Wilbur asked anxiously.
«Yes, but due to the fact that he was outside the nest and away from me, they slowed down their growth.»
«And now?»
«They're just trying to make up for lost time.»
«But... Wouldn't that lead to consequences?»
«Of course, but so that they are not heavy need to immediately...»
Another pain shot through his back and Tommy screamed, but the cry was quickly drowned out by a large calloused hand. It felt like something was trying to break out from his back. Tommy doesn't even want to think about what it is. All he cared about right now — was escaping from the clutches and finally returning home.
«Can I give him a weakness potion?»
«Must not. It disrupts the natural growth process.»
«Then let's finally go home!»
«Far...»
«Then we'll use the teleport!.»
Then Tommy could not understand what was happening to him, but he clearly felt warm hands that held him tightly, and a sharp jerk from which Tommy wanted to pull out, but nothing came out. He hadn't eaten all day because of this stupid mission.
Tommy could hear the separated sounds of three pairs of feet and how panicked maids who were not sleeping at this late hour because of work were diverging on their way. They must have been horrified by Tommy's sickly appearance with his hands torn to meat and the worried behavior of three of the most dangerous mafiosi.
Another twinge of pain shot through him when they entered some room, where he was then laid in something soft. Tommy, not restrained by his hands, screamed as pain shot through him. He grabbed the first missing thing and squeezed it. Opening his watery eyes, he saw red skin with a white spot and a pair of black beady eyes. Henry. His first toy in his entire life. As sad as it may sound, but it was these mafiosi who gave him this toy.
Tommy squeezed his eyes shut and curled up, hugging Henry to him. He could hear a gentle giggle and a soft touch on his long hair. The sound of laughter was like the gentle ringing of a bell, and the touch was like a light breeze. Tommy unconsciously bent down to the hand. For a moment, even the pain subsided, but its echoes remained.
Tommy didn't like pain.
«It's all right, chick. You're home. It's all right...» he heard a soft whisper.
Then he felt another pair of hands gently unclench his palms from Henry. Tommy whined softly, either in pain or because they wanted to separate him from Henry.
«Sunshine, we need to treat your wounds. You don't want your beloved Henry to be covered in blood, do you?»
The blond did not quite understand the meaning of the words, but from another touch to the head, he thawed a little.
«Well done, sunshine.»
Tommy felt through the veil how he was kissed on the forehead and a sharp pain in his arm and back. He whimpered again.
«It's all right. You're fine, it'll be over soon, kid.»
A hand touched his neck, rubbing it. From this action, Tommy thawed even more. But something in the back of his mind was beating in panic, saying that this was not normal and that he needed to run somewhere. He didn't understand why he had to run if he was so tired? Especially if it's warm here?
However, even these thoughts began to gradually disappear and Tommy became more and more immersed in something similar to a trance.
He remotely felt a touch on his hands. How the glass fragments were removed from the wounds, how she was washed and bandaged. He also felt himself being stroked on the head and back, whispering words of praise in his ear, from which he melted even more.
During all this time, Tommy even managed to doze off a little, as the pain returned with even greater force. He screamed because it was not only unexpected, but also very painful. Tommy grabbed the first thing he saw-it turned out to be Wilbur's raincoat-and pulled it on. Tears flowed from tightly closed eyes, and moans of pain escaped from his mouth. Tommy bit his lip until it bled, so as not to make any more of these sounds. He hated showing weakness, especially with these...
«Don't hold back, Theseus,» he heard the monotonous voice of Techno.
«Shut up, bitch, gh!..»
«Tommy, you don't need to restrain what wants to break out...»
«I don't care about that!» Tommy screamed through the pain, coming to himself for a moment, and began to break out of the grip of Wilbur, to whom he had previously clung— «what the fuck did you do to me, old man?! Are you finally out of your mind?!»
»What are you talking about, chick? I just gave you what you didn't have,» Philza took Tommy's face in his hands and turned him to himself. Fierce blue eyes looked into the same blue eyes that looked at him with tenderness. «I gave you wings, honey. And now they are finally ready to break out, even if they were delayed because of your escape.»
«I didn't fucking ask you to give me your fucking wings!» Tommy exclaimed in the man's face. The pain pierced he back again— «I was living so well until you all went fucking crazy and suddenly decided to adopt me!»
«We just brought you back to the family, sunshine...»
«I don't need your family!! I didn't have a family before and what's the result? I lived a wonderful life! Fulfilled his dream of becoming a journalist and collecting a collection of other people's guises!»
«Do you really think that everything is fine with you, Theseus?»
«Yes! Gh!..»
Tommy felt an even bigger wave of pain again. He broke free from Phil and Wilbur's hands and tried to crawl as deep as possible into the nest, consisting of many blankets and pillows, as well as black feathers and various gold ornaments of piglin hybrids. Surprisingly, this instinctive action helped to numb the pain a little, but the three mafiosi could not let him hide.
Tommy felt big, calloused hands grab his shoulders and pull him out from under the blanket. He growled and grabbed the sheet with force. On the edge of consciousness, he was surprised that his strength had so unexpectedly increased, although just five minutes ago he was lying here without strength and was as if under some kind of potion that clouded his mind.
Tommy heard a sound very similar to a grunt, but it was definitely something new.
He couldn't think about this strange sound, because his back was pierced by pain again, which made Tommy have to loosen his grip a little. This moment was quickly taken advantage of. Tommy was quickly turned around to face Techno. Piglin's hybrid hugged him tightly to his chest, not giving the blond a chance for another escape.
Tommy tried to push the pink-haired guy away from him, but he couldn't do anything.
During all this struggle, he did not immediately notice how Phil came up behind him and again touched the places where the wings were about to break out. Tommy screamed in pain again and stopped fighting for a moment. Tears welled up in his eyes again. Sobbing, he unconsciously buried his face in the wide chest of Techno, which was rumbling right now. The sound was like something soothing.
«How much is left, Dad?» Wilbur asked anxiously, humming softly some melody that was supposed to calm Tommy down.
Tommy couldn't see the man's eyebrows furrowing.
«They're delayed.»
«Is that bad?» Wilbur asked again, taking one of Tommy's hands and running only patterns known to him over the bandaged palms.
Tommy didn't hear the answer. Maybe there was no such answer, he doesn't know.
Through the pain, the blond man felt how they were trying to take off his shirt. This action sobered him up a little and he began to resist.
«Theseus, if we don't take this off you, there will be even more pain when they break out.»
«Me... I don't care! Don't touch me!» Tommy whimpered through the pain, clutching Techno's shirt, «please leave me alone!»
«Sunny, everything will be fine, calm down! There is very little left and you can rest!»
Tommy wanted to be sarcastic, but he didn't have time, because he was again pierced by a wave of pain, from which he screamed and dug his nails into Techno's shoulders until he bled. This time it was really very, very painful. It was as if those fucking wings were going to rip him apart just to escape from his back.
As it turned out, he was not far from the truth.
Phil, hearing his son's deafening cry of pain, decided not to stand on ceremony anymore and tore shirt. He would have bought him better clothes than these cheap rags anyway. He tore his shirt just in time, because his son's newfound limbs were already very close to the long-awaited freedom.
Phil watched with admiration as his son's little wings burst out of his back with a deafening scream. This scream must have been heard outside the isolated room, but now the man does not care about it, as well as his older sons. Then, when everything settles down, they quickly get rid of those who heard his son's scream. No one is allowed to hear or see his weakness.
Phil could hear Tommy's hoarse moans and breathing. After such screams, his chick probably tore off his vocal cords, and this is bad, since he still needs to learn how to chirp on the first day of receiving wings. Phil bitterly realizes that the development of his chick will be slower than he thought when he escaped from the nest. However, along with this there was a plus. When Tommy begins to succumb to his newfound instincts (although he has already begun to succumb to them. Subconscious desire to hide as deep as possible in the nest) he will become more tenacious and even a child. Phil imagines with a smile the moment when he finds his chick creating his own hiding place in their nest.
Tommy let out another groan of pain, which brought Phil out of his reverie.
The man touched the chicken's small wings with admiration, which made him sob again in pain. The wings were all covered in blood, as was the whole back, and completely naked, but they would quickly be covered with down. Literally in a few hours.
«Will,» Phil called to his son.
The latter handed him a wet rag and a bucket of water without any questions. Phil nodded gratefully and began to clean first the back and then the wings of the chick, while Techno and Will calmed Tommy with their purring.
Half an hour later, everything was clean. The teenager was laid on his side in the depths of the nest, his beloved cow was returned and carefully wrapped in a soft fluffy blanket that should not damage his wings.
Phil chirped happily at the sight of the sleeping chick and covered all three with his big wings. The twins snorted contentedly.
After a few days of fever, which overtook Tommy due to a delay in the growth of wings. Through the haze of sleep, he felt a light weight on his ankle and the clink of a chain. But he didn't have time to realize anything, as he burrowed deeper into the softest blanket in his life. Hiding his head between the pillows, Tommy hugged Henry even closer to him and fell back into a serene sleep.
But this calm will not last long. Maybe for at least another week.