Chapter Text
Tommy unlocked the letterbox labeled 2201. A pile of spam letters sat inside, as per usual. He took all the letters out and shut the letterbox door, settling into his afternoon routine. He had just gotten home from a long shift at the cafe nearby, and it was exhausting. He was stuck in the back, restocking the fridges that lined one of the walls. It was cold, and it sucked, but he sat there anyway.
Almost automatically, Tommy sorted the mail into spam and more spam. The only time they got anything important was when bills were due, and they had paid theirs last week, with just barely enough money to spare for groceries. His eyes naturally skipped over each letter, until one stopped him. Well, two twin envelopes. One addressed to a Mr. Thomas S. Innit, and the other addressed to a Mr. Ranboo M. Beloved.
It was from the Hero Association. Tommy suddenly became very nervous. These were either acceptance letters or rejection letters, and he wouldn’t know until he got upstairs and opened them with Ranboo. Tommy rushed upstairs, turning the key to his small, dusty apartment.
Ranboo was sketching, his legs crossed awkwardly under their small coffee table. He had recently been gifted a thick sketchbook by his previous boss, when his small antique shop had gone out of business a few weeks prior.
“Ranboo!” Tommy shouted, closing the door behind himself and locking it. He certainly didn’t trust the neighborhood. Ranboo jumped.
“Wh- what?” He stuttered. Tommy held up the twin letters, and Ranboo looked like he was going to go insane.
“Our letters, big man,” Tommy explained, plopping himself down on the carpet across from his lanky enderman hybrid of a friend. Soon, Ranboo’s sketchbook was closed and each of them held their letters in their hands.
“On three?” asked Ranboo.
“On three,” Tommy answered.
“One, two, three.” They tore open the cards, Tommy with a bright ferocity and Ranboo with a calm urgency.
A green checkmark at the top of the page greeted Tommy. He quickly scanned the rest of it with his eyes, and it confirmed his suspicions: He was accepted into the Aspiring Hero Program.
“Ranboo?” Tommy asked quietly. His friend’s expression was completely neutral, not good or bad. It was uncanny.
“I’m in,” Ranboo whispered, turning the page around to show his best friends.
“Me too,” Tommy said quietly, turning his own page around.
Suddenly, Ranboo was next to Tommy, purple flecks of light floating around the duo. Tommy felt Ranboo’s arm wrap around him, and, unlike usual, he didn’t pull away. This was a good thing, he reminded himself, and sometimes it was okay to be a little clingy. Tommy smiled. According to the letter, they started in two weeks.
“Ranboo! I’ve quit my job!” Tommy burst through the door, running towards the slightly broken loveseat that they had pulled off the side of the road when they first got the apartment. It took a bit of fixing up and four spray cans of lysol to make it worth dragging up the stairs and through the apartment door.
“Great, considering that our new job starts in a week and a half,” Ranboo quipped, relaxing on the loveseat. Tommy plopped down next to him, forcing Ranboo’s legs over.
“It’s only been a few days?” Tommy groaned, rubbing his eyes, “Time is passing so slowly.”
“Couldn’t agree more,” said Ranboo. “I just wish that we could… do something, I guess, before we become official heroes.”
“We could break out the ol’ vigilante uniforms,” Tommy suggested, a glint in his eyes. Ranboo sighed.
“You mean our smelly and slightly bloody hoodies?” Ranboo said sarcastically.
“Hey, they were washed and stitched up after the last time I got stabbed,” Tommy grumbled, crossing his arms.
“I wasn’t saying that they were bad,” Ranboo said, “In fact, I’m all for a little vigilantism.”
“I knew you would be,” Tommy chuckled, “You’re so fuckin’ predictable.”
“Oh shut up dude,” Ranboo sighed, “Do you want to go beat up some atm robbers or not?”
“Ughh,” Tommy bemoaned, “Yeah I fuckin’ do.”
“Great,” Ranboo said, somehow more mischievous than Tommy, “Let’s go.”
“I should copy your powers more often,” Tommy remarked, teleporting to the other side of the roof as he and Ranboo listened to an old, slightly broken, radio scanner. He jogged back over to the other side, getting a silent eye roll from his friend.
“Trust me, you don’t want all the insomnia that comes with it,” Ranboo quipped, adjusting the crude black and white mask positioned over his face.
“I do need my beauty rest,” said Tommy, swinging a leg over the side of the building and sitting down next to Ranboo.
“I don’t think any amount of rest can make you beautiful.” By saying that, Ranboo earned himself a smack in the arm. As Ranboo was about to strike back, the police chatter playing over the radio snapped to a halt. It was like there was a mass-announcement going on, over every screen, radio, and other electronics.
“Attention Citizens,” Someone on the radio said, “The construction buildings around 41st and Ornbao Avenue are currently the sight of a hero versus villain battle. Zephyr, Glitch, Niche, and Foxtail have all been sighted, but it is suspected Siren may be present as well. The villains that have been spotted include Satyr, Thornrose, Royal, Warden, and possibly Diamond. All civilians and unpowered troops are advised to avoid the area, and all powered troops are advised to use extreme caution.”
“Oh shit- that’s like two blocks from here,” Tommy said.
“Yeah.” Ranboo clicks his tongue, “We should probably go home.”
“Are you crazy? This is literally the perfect opportunity to watch them fight,” Tommy complained.
“We’re literally going to be working with them in less than two weeks,” Ranboo deadpanned.
“Yeah but wouldn’t it be cool if we saw them fight now?” said Tommy.
“I mean- I guess,” Ranboo stuttered.
“Then let’s fuckin’ go!” Tommy grabbed Ranboo’s arm and they were teleporting across the rooftops. In less than 30 seconds, they were sitting on a rooftop across from the battle site, watching as the heroes and villains fought each other.
“Damn,” Tommy said, feeling ever so slightly dizzy from teleporting so much, “They’re fuckin’ beating the hell out of each other.” Ranboo steadied Tommy with a hand on his shoulder, guiding him to the edge of the rooftop so they could watch the fight from a secluded but close distance. Little words floated up through the air, and if they listened closely, Tommy and Ranboo could hear what they were saying. Both of them fell silent as the battle raged on.
“Oh Zephyr!” Satyr taunted, pointing his iconic silver swords up at the avian hybrid that swept through the sky.
“What do you want, Satyr?” Zephyr replied, diving closer to the fight.
“A little souvenir!” Satyr said, leaping into the air. He attempted to slash through one of Zephyr’s wings, but the air was not his domain. Zephyr effortlessly flew out of the way, landing semi-precariously on one of the concrete and rebar columns that extended from the very bottom of the construction site.
“I’m afraid you’ll be going home empty-handed,” Zephyr quipped. Tommy’s eyes darted from the winged man on the column down to where hundreds of vines had grown up from the ground. Niche was battling Thornrose, and both of them had the ability to manipulate plants.
Both of their eyes were glowing red as they fought for control over the plants. Tommy could almost feel the way the plants bulged and buckled as their red magic fought for dominance. Tommy noted that Niche’s eyes were more bright red, almost neon, while Thornrose’s eyes glowed dark red, almost like they had been stained with blood.
“They say a fight is better when you’re evenly matched,” Niche remarked, “Though I don’t think that this is what they meant.” Her voice was barely audible over the city noise and the fighting noise, but Tommy managed to make out what she was saying.
"You could leave," Thornrose deadpanned, pushing forward with her arms. Niche pushed back, but nothing happened with the actually visible parts of the plants. They might have been battling on a cellular level at that point.
Tommy's eyes darted to another pair. Royal and Glitch were battling it out, sparks flying from where their weapons collided. Royal's weapon was made of something called Hardlight, only usable by light manipulators.
Glitch held two gnarly-looking daggers, one red and one blue. They worked with his power, being able to glitch objects into a state of frozenness that was poorly understood. He was, allegedly, the only one who could interact with the glitched objects. Tommy watched as Glitch activated his powers and the daggers shot together. He dashed backwards and threw the daggers at Royal. They acted like a boomerang, flying back into Glitch's hands after Royal's light axe was damaged.
"Royal," said Glitch. "I thought you were better than this."
"I am," Royal replied smoothly, "But you are not better than me."
"Oooh, great insult," Glitch drawled, and then they were dueling again. Neither of them landed any hits on each other, and soon Tommy's eyes darted to another pair.
Foxtail and Warden were duking it out, trident in the Warden's hands and claws poking out of Foxtail’s fingerless gloves. Warden was lumbering but hit hard, and Foxtail was extremely quick and hit light. Every time Foxtail landed a solid hit on Warden, the veritable green giant would act like it was nothing. He was terrifying, in Tommy's humble opinion.
Then, there was a sickening squelch. One of Warden's prongs was pierced through Foxtail's side. Tommy's face paled as Warden tossed Foxtail to the side.
"Retreat," Warden barked, swishing his cape over Foxtail's bleeding body. The other villains stopped fighting, practically vanishing into thin air. Tommy glanced at Ranboo, then back down at Foxtail.
"This definitely is not good," Tommy said quietly. The other heroes were rushing to their friend's side, but blood still pooled beneath Foxtail.
"We should get out of here, I think," Ranboo said slowly, "In case the heroes come back."
"I think that's a good idea," Tommy said. Both of them vanished in a flash of purple particles. Zephyrus glanced up at the slight flash, but he saw nothing. Still, there was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind that made him wonder if things were about to change.
"That was scary,” Tommy said, staring up at the ceiling. The double bed that he and Ranboo were forced to share felt colder, less inviting when they got back.
“Yeah,” Ranboo muttered.
“Well,” Tommy sighed, “We just have to wait another week or so and we’ll be in the hero training program.”
“Yep,” said Ranboo, popping the p.
“I’m impatient.”
“I know.”
“I wish time went faster.”
“As do I.”
Tommy faltered, closing his eyes. He opened them moments later.
“I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight, am I?” Tommy asked.
“What’d it take for you to figure that out?”
“Stop fuckin’ making fun of me,” Tommy grumbled.
“I don’t think I will,” Ranboo said. Tommy could hear the cheeky grin on his face as he spoke.
“You’re a bitch,” Tommy retorted.
“You say that a lot.”
“It’s the best insult.”
The week passed by like ketchup. Tommy had once seen an experiment on TV where they tested how fast liquids went down a 45 degree angle slope and ketchup was the slowest. Tommy figured that the week passed by like ketchup.
Ranboo probably felt the effects of the ketchup-ifying as well. He slept less than Tommy did, which could probably count as a world record. Tommy had to cut him off from their supply of monster energy drinks due to him drinking three a day and it sending him into a teleporting frenzy on more than one occasion.
Tommy was a bit worried that it might send Ranboo into caffeine withdrawal, but because his powers took the caffeine instead of his brain, he just couldn’t teleport for a few days and was a bit more tired than normal. Of course, because one of the side effects of his powers was insomnia, he was condemned to sleepless nights.
The night before they were set to head to the hero complex, Tommy found himself unable to sleep.
“Ranboo?” Tommy whispered.
“Yeah?” Ranboo asked, his voice slightly louder than Tommy’s.
“How… do you think that… that we’ll be the same after the hero training?” Tommy’s voice wavered.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… like, will we still be friends?”
“Of course.”
“I’d really rather not lose you.”
“Me neither.”
There was silence for a while. It wasn’t uncomfortable, or awkward, unlike most of the silences Tommy had experienced in his life. It was almost bittersweet, like the dark chocolate he had tasted ages ago when he got a big tip from a rich customer. Normally, they couldn’t afford stuff like that, but it was enough to enjoy for a day.
“Promise me we won’t drift apart,” Tommy said.
“Alright.” Ranboo paused, as if considering. “I promise we won’t drift apart.”
“Ever?”
“Ever.”
Tommy’s anxieties finally eased and he allowed himself to drift off into sleep. He hoped that Ranboo would get some sleep too. God knew he- they both needed it.
Tommy and Ranboo put on their best shirts the morning of the interviews. Now, they put them on again for their first day at the apprenticeship program.
The walk to the grand Hero HQ building was silent, long, and tense. Tommy found himself checking every alley he passed and listening for every noise possible in the city.
As per usual, both boys had dark bags under their eyes. Just because they had gotten some sleep the night before, that didn't mean it would erase the weeks worth of sleepless nights they had experienced in the past.
Still, they walked along, relief flooding them as they entered the upper district. Robbers and muggers were super rare, and even then it wouldn't be full gangs of guys like it was in the slums. The gleaming white of the Hero HQ blended in with the sparse tufts of clouds that floated through the sky, though it was never invisible.
Tommy and Ranboo approached the giant building tentatively. They glanced at each other and walked inside.
The lobby was bright and bustling, with interns and business men in black suits rushing about. Tommy remembered at that moment that the heroes sold merch and had 'sponsors' so to speak, and he didn't know why but he used to think it was the heroes themselves writing up tax documents and calculating salaries. He supposed that it made sense they had a huge team of people.
Tommy and Ranboo weaved their way through the crowd and stopped at the front desk. A woman sat there, with bright red hair and lots of freckles. She waved them over to her little section of reception.
"Are you two Tommy and Ranboo?" She asked, folding her hands in her lap.
"Yes," They answered in unison. The woman, who, based on her nametag, was called Sally, smiled and typed something on her computer. She reached under her desk and pulled out two identification cards with dark green lanyards attached. Sally herself had a matching card, only it had a white lanyard.
"These are your Keycards," Sally explained, "You're technically not required to have them at all times, but almost every door is locked by one of these. Also, the green color means basic access plus. You have more access than an intern, but way less than an official hero. I’m sure you’ll learn the other colors eventually. Any questions?”
“Uh, where are we supposed to go now?” Tommy said, examining his shiny new keycard.
“Oh!” Sally exclaimed, pointing to her left, “Over there. There’s a little meeting room, and your hero mentor will probably be in there.”
“Cool. Thank you,” Tommy said, smiling. Sally waved goodbye to them as they crossed the floor. The door to the small meeting room was exactly where she had said it was.
The door was also locked with a keycard, just like Sally had said it would be. Tommy swiped the card against the sensor and the door clicked loudly, unlocking. Ranboo reached towards the handle and pulled it open. It was just a regular meeting room, with a brown central table and a bunch of chairs around the outside.
Tommy wondered why it was locked. There was literally nothing of note in the room. Well, except for the number two hero that sat at one of the chairs. His feathery black wings extended behind his back. Tommy just knew that one day he’d have wings of his own, probably copied from Zephyr himself. Though, Tommy noted, the man wasn’t in his hero gear. He wore a simple button-down and black pants. The only thing that could indicate that he was rich as hell was the emerald earring that hung from one of his ears.
“Ah! You must be Tommy and Ranboo,” Zephyr said, “I’m Zephyr, as you probably gathered, but you can call me Phil if you want.” The man’s voice was calming and bright, and it matched his golden hair. Tommy and Ranboo waved awkwardly.
“Sit down, sit down,” Phil said, gesturing to the chairs across from him. “I would explain what the program’s all about, but we’re waiting on one person. So, in the meantime, tell me about yourselves. What’s your favorite color?”
“Mine’s red,” Tommy said, confident but quiet.
“I like purple,” Ranboo said, voice barely more than a whisper.
“I personally like green,” Phil replied, smiling, “But both of those are good choices. Do you have any hobbies?”
“I learned how to sew a while back,” Tommy said, “But I wouldn’t say I’m good at it.”
“That’s nice.” Phil folded his hands over his lap. At that moment, the door unlocked and someone stepped through the door. He was really short, and his hair covered his eyes. Tommy narrowed his eyes and Ranboo waved quietly.
“Sorry I’m late,” The stranger said.
“You’re actually right on time,” Phil said genuinely, “Tubbo, right? Come on and sit down.” Tubbo nodded, sitting a chair or two down from where Ranboo and Tommy were. From the side, Tommy could see tiny horns poking out of his hair. A goat hybrid, he realized, just like Satyr. He swallowed.
“Alright, let’s get down to business, then. I’m Zephyr, also known as Phil Craft, and I’m going to mentor you three. Technically, Boar and Siren were supposed to take two of you, but they’re dealing with their own stuff right now, but I’m happy to take you three under my wing, so to speak. We’ll start with exploring your powers, then do some basic combat training, then get you guys some official gear and shit like that. All the while, we’ll be working on your branding and figuring out how we’ll reveal you to the public,” Phil explained, talking with his hands. Tommy, Ranboo, and Tubbo nodded along.
“That’s cool,” Tommy said, “When do we start doin’ it?”
“Preferably, now. Come on,” Phil said, pushing his chair away from the table and standing up, “Follow me, boys.” The trio scrambled up to follow him. Tommy noticed that Phil’s lanyard was black. He wondered if it was the top access level or if there was something above it.
“Where are we going?” Tommy asked, hot on Phil’s heels.
“The Cave,” Phil said, swiping his keycard across a door. He kept leading the boys through hallway after hallway, opening door after door.
“We're going into a cave?" Tommy exclaimed, confused.
"Not a cave. The Cave." Phil had a cheeky grin on his face and a glint in his eyes. Tommy grumbled something about Phil's crypticness, but he kept following behind.
After walking for quite a while, they made it to a set of double doors, similar to that of a school's entrance to their gymnasium. Phil swiped his keycard yet again and pushed them open.
"Welcome," Phil said, "To the Cave!" Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo's mouths all fell open, gazing around the room. It was huge, like a giant basketball court minus the stands. Exercise mats covered the floor, and various gymnastics equipment filled one corner of the gym. In another corner, a bunch of buckets, bins, and boxes sat. All of them appeared to be filled with things that people with certain powers could manipulate. Buckets of water, bags of soil with seeds inside, boxes of rocks, bins of flint and steel. Another corner, there were a ton of weights, machines, and even some treadmills. The final corner had a bunch of random objects and a bunch of mats, probably there for storage. At the center of the room, there was a ring of sorts, almost like a boxing ring, and two heroes were fighting inside it.
“Holy shit-” Tommy breathed, staring at what was apparently The Cave. It didn’t look very much like a cave to him, but he wasn’t going to question number two hero Zephyr.
The two heroes that were sparring appeared to be Boar and Fireball. Neither of them had any weapons, only throwing punches with their bare hands. Boar appeared to be winning.
“You two are fighting again?” asked Phil, sounding rather disappointed.
“We got bored!” Fireball shouted, ducking below one of Boar’s punches. They didn’t appear to be using their powers, either. Tommy thought that this was the coolest thing ever.
“Bored?!” Phil exclaimed, rubbing his forehead.
“Yeah,” Boar drawled loudly.
“I was going to- Whatever,” Phil said, turning around to face the trio. They stared at him with blank looks on their faces, clearly not paying attention to whatever Phil was about to say. Tommy stared at the fight, wishing he could throw punches like Boar could.
“Hey?” said Phil, snapping his fingers in front of their faces, “Hey, listen. I know you’ve probably already said this to whoever hired you, but what are your powers? Can you demonstrate them for me?”
“Yeah, I can demonstrate,” Tubbo said, cracking his knuckles. A glowing yellow-green bomb appeared in his hand. Phil jumped back, but Tubbo tossed it into the air and it poofed into harmless smoke. Phil nodded.
“Bomb generation?” Phil asked.
“And remote detonation,” Tubbo said. Tommy figured that he would look really smug if his eyes were visible.
“Nice. Ranboo?” Phil looked over at Ranboo, who seemed to be attempting to melt into the wall.
“Oh- uh,” Ranboo stuttered. He vanished in a flash of purple sparks, appearing behind Phil, who spun around and raised an eyebrow.
“Teleportation?” Phil said.
“Yep,” said Ranboo, popping the P.
“Nice,” Phil said, turning back to Tommy. “What about you, mate?”
“Whose powers do y’ want me to have?” Tommy said plainly.
“Wh- how do you mean?” Phil tilted his head. He looked like a bird.
“I mean that I can copy powers,” Tommy said, “You must ‘ave seen it on my file.”
“I did see that, but I didn’t- nevermind. Pick someone in this room,” Phil said, “And copy their powers.” Tommy looked at the pair behind Phil, focusing his eyes on Fireball. He stepped a little bit closer to the sparring ring, concentrating on Fireball and only Fireball. It was difficult to copy powers without physical touch, but he managed to do it after a good 30 seconds.
Tommy held up his hand. It was like putting together a puzzle, when it was complete in his head he could activate whatever powers that he gained. He snapped his fingers, like he had seen Fireball do many times, and a small flame appeared in his hand.
“You don’t even have to touch them?” Phil questioned. Tommy closed his hand, making the flames vanish.
“I mean, it’s a lot easier and faster when I’m touching the person, but it sure as hell isn’t necessary.” Tommy shrugged. He wasn’t sure what Fireball’s power side-effects were, but he wasn’t excited to find out.
“That’s… different.” Phil scratched his head.
“How do you mean?” Tommy stepped back towards Phil.
“I used to have a friend who could copy powers,” Phil said slowly, “She had to touch the person to copy their powers.”
“Interesting…?” Tommy said.
"Nevermind that," Phil said, waving his hand, "Do you guys want a tour or…?"
"I'll take a tour," Ranboo chimed in, his hands crossed behind his back.
"Me too," Tubbo said. Tommy nodded in agreement.
"Alright then," Phil said, clapping his hands together, "Tour time!"
The tour wasn’t as exciting as Tommy thought it would be. It was mainly just walking through long hallways, Phil talking about what the place was used for, and then moving on. They didn’t meet any other heroes, only the occasional intern or office worker. Phil had said that most of the heroes were out on patrol, but Tommy didn’t believe him. He figured that they were just sleeping in.
By the time the tour was over, it was lunch break. The break room in the hero complex was huge, with tons of vending machines and things of the like. Tommy and Ranboo sat down near a window, getting only two water bottles from the nearest vending machine.
Tubbo sat down across from them, at the same table. He only had a water bottle, and although Tommy couldn’t see what he was looking at, he could tell that Tubbo was staring him down.
“Uh, hi,” Ranboo said, “How’s it going?”
“Fine,” Tubbo said curtly, his lips pressed into a fine line. Tommy didn’t like him very much.
“Uhm… N- nice weather we’re having-” Ranboo stuttered. Tommy elbowed him.
“Shut up Ranboo,” Tommy said, turning his attention back to Tubbo, “Where’d you get that jacket?” Tubbo was wearing a green bomber jacket with black around the cuffs.
“Thrift store,” Tubbo said, “It’s down the street from here.”
“It’s pretty nice,” complimented Ranboo. Tommy rolled his eyes.
“When’d you learn about your powers?” Tommy asked.
“A good couple years ago,” said Tubbo. “Maybe longer.”
They fell into silence. Ranboo sipped on his water, but Tubbo and Tommy wouldn’t stop staring at each other. Tommy tried to blink as little as possible. Out of the corner of his eye, Tommy saw Phil approaching. He had someone at his side, but it was impossible to tell who it was.
“Boys…?” Phil asked. Oh, he was right next to the table, Tommy realized. Phil waved his hand in between Tubbo and Tommy, and they both looked up at him.
“Hi Phil,” Ranboo said, his voice slightly shaky.
“Hey Ranboo. Do you guys want to spar?”
Tommy found himself standing across from none other than Zephyr, holding a blunt sword in his hand. He had never used a sword before, but Boar was there, lifting exorbitant amounts of weights, and Tommy planned to steal his power when the fight began.
“Three, two, one, go!” Tubbo and Ranboo shouted in unison. Zephyr dashed forwards, and Tommy managed to block his swing with his own sword. Tommy could tell that his stance was very lackluster compared to Phil’s, but he needed a little less than a minute to copy Boar’s power.
Phil’s force was extremely difficult to protect himself from. He made no attempt to strike back, only block. Suddenly, Tommy felt Boar’s power activate. It was suddenly very easy to counteract Phil’s force. Super strength was so cool.
What is this place? E. E. E. E. Stab him! /rainbowchat This isn’t Techno’s head, y’all Who is this guy? EEEEEEEEEEE Why are we here?
Tommy faltered. Hundreds of voices flooded his head, making it hard to hear his own thoughts. He managed to block one more of Phil’s attacks before he was knocked to the ground, a dull sword tip pointed at his neck.
“Tommy?” Phil’s voice was so distant. He was being drowned out by the stupid voices.
L. L. L. Loser! L. Techno could never. L. L. Techno gets his ass beat by Phil all the time. I don’t think this guy likes us very much. I miss my dog…
“Hey, Tommy?” Ranboo said, suddenly kneeling beside him. Tommy managed to pull himself up to a sitting position. He attempted to deactivate the power, but it didn’t work very well. The voices got slightly fainter, and he felt way weaker.
“What’s goin’ on?” Tommy asked, talking louder than he probably should have, on account of all the voices in his head.
“Oh dear,” Phil said, “I hope he isn’t concussed.”
Concussion. L. Big Ls. Huuuge L. Imagine having a concussion. L. Couldn’t be me. Such a L move. LMAO. /rainbowchat
“‘M fine,” Tommy stumbled through his words, “Where’s that bitch Boar?”
How dare he call Boar a bitch. Boar never dies! His name is Technoblade- Imagine being concussed. L. L. Loser! L.
“What-” Phil chuckled. He glanced over in the general direction of where Boar was. “He’s uh- Over there.”
“Bring ‘im here so I can give ‘im a piece of my fuckin’ mind,” Tommy threatened. Phil held back a laugh, waving Boar over.
“What does ‘e want?” Boar asked, “I was workin’ out.”
“Oi! You’ve got voices in your ‘ead, yeah?” Tommy accused, pointing a finger at the man. He was still on the ground, so he had to crane his neck up.
“How’d you know?” Boar said sarcastically.
“How do ya’ get ‘em to shut the hell up?” Tommy retorted.
Rude. L. We’re friendly. Don’t be so mean… We are constantly talking! I don’t like silence. I want to go beat someone up! Blood would be fun.
“You can’t, actually,” Boar drawled.
“Bullshit-”
“Nah, trust me, I’ve tried. You’re the power copier, yea? Just stop copyin’ my power and they’ll leave.” Techno squatted down next to Tommy.
“It doesn’t fuckin’ work like that,” Tommy spat, narrowing his eyes.
“Mmhmm.” Techno stood back up. “Can I go back to my weights now?”
“If you want to, mate,” Phil said, still holding back laughter.
“This sucks,” Tommy bemoaned, attempting to get up. It didn’t work, and he just ended up on the ground.
Techno has dealt with us since he was a baby. Baby! Whiner. Complainer- Techno is stronger than you! Imagine not being able to handle us. L. L. L. Loser!
“How about we get you some water, mate?” Phil said, reaching out a hand. Tommy took it and pulled himself up, exhausted. The voices were really exhausting him. On the first day, too. Ranboo and Tubbo had been, this entire time, tossing each other at various mats around the room.
They were giggling together. Tommy didn’t like it. Ranboo was his friend, and Tubbo was weird, and only he and Ranboo were allowed to be weird. Tommy trailed behind Phil, giving Tubbo a hearty glare. Phil handed him a small cup of water from the nearby fountain, which he drank easily. The voices were finally fading, along with Boar’s power.
Remember meeeeee…. I love that song. La la la! L. L. Techno will love to hear what you think of him! We see all your thoughts. See you again soon! L. Bye! L. Adios! Bye loser.
As Tommy drank the last drop of water, the voices faded from his head, and he could think clearly again. It was nice.
“The side effect of Boar’s powers is… voices?” Tommy said quietly. It was the worst side effect of a power that he had ever experienced.
“Yeah,” Phil said, rubbing the back of his neck, “He’s trying his best, but sometimes it’s hard.”
“How the hell does he focus?” Tommy asked.
“The simple answer is that he doesn’t,” Phil said, “But I think you should ask him that yourself.” Tommy didn’t expect that, but he simply shrugged.
“What do we do now?” He asked, running a hand through his golden hair.
“Well, I’ll probably spar with Ranboo or Tubbo.”
The day ended with both Ranboo and Tubbo being knocked to the ground in record time. Tommy had laughed both times. It was pretty funny. It wasn’t what Tommy expected when he heard he was getting into the program, but all things considered, the day was good. Ranboo and Tommy walked home together and didn’t see a single robber or mugger. His first day was definitely a good one.