Chapter Text
A tall blond sat on the edge of an apartment building, fluorescent, neon signs reflecting an array of colors off of his cybernetic features. Holoboards stood on almost every rooftop, advertising products like 'luxury shampoo' and 'the best perfume' for 'cheap', but any Southsider and their grandmother knew that the low prices were a sign of the low quality. People were desperate though, everyone wanted their share of luxury, even with the little number of bits that make their way through Southside. One of the holoboards flashed to another ad, the figure that appeared in it made the blond scoff.
Standing there, encouraging those with powers to join the hero agency, was the organization's golden boy. Dream. The supposed '#1 hero' had his signature white mask on, wearing a simple black bodysuit and high-waisted black pants. Numerous belts and small bags hung across his chest and waist. Bold text was stationed next to him, 'Forge your story! Join the hero agency today!'
The blond scoffed, forge your story his ass. The hero agency was just a way for powerful fucks to feed their damned ego. They didn't patrol Southside, didn't even think about it while they lived the good life downtown. The river waters were too dangerous to drink so clean water was limited. Food was limited. Even if you had enough bits to afford it the shit sucked ass and could only pull you over to the next week. That, and where the heroes aren't, the enforcers are. He could see them now, in their metal horned helmets, patrolling the streets looking for any wrongn's out past curfew. Them, and vigilantes, vigilantes like him. The blond's line of work was less than legal, unregistered power use was definitely illegal, could land a person in pandora if they were dangerous enough. Luckily for the blond, if they caught him, and that's a really big if, he's not that much of a threat.
"Zephyr? You there big man?" A voice cut through from the bud in the blond's ear. The blond shook his head and held his finger up to the black device,
"Copy. I'm here Pan." Zephyr responded, "You got something new?"
"Yeah, robbery at a cybernetic store two blocks down. Enforcers are there but they look like they're struggling. Me and Hermes are heading over now." Pan told him, Zephyr nodded.
"I'll meet you two there." Zephyr took his finger away from the bud and stood, stretching his arms and smiling, "Finally some real action!"
Dawning his kabuki mask, he pulled his back hood up and leaned over the edge of the building. It was a good 20 stories, a nice runway. Pulling out his phone, the blond turned on Spotify and pressed play on a Playlist of remixes. He loved to listen to the heavy bass and flying notes as he fought. It made the battle seem more like a dance than a fight. He hummed, pleased with the song that had been chosen to play first.
'Ticking' by TIN.
With the ticking beats guiding his steps, Zephyr turned and walked to the other edge with his hands in his hoodie pockets. Then he turned again, this time running to the edge. He could feel something unfurling on his back and escaping through the slits of his hoodie as he jumped. The music sped up, following the rising bpm of Zephyr's heart.
He free fell for a moment, letting the wind rush against his face. Then, just as the concrete sped to meet his face, he launched himself back into the air. Large, midnight black wings sprouted from his back, a constant fuzziness surrounding them. The blond smiled underneath the mask, he loved his wings. They were the reason he named himself Zephyr, that, and a momento to the hero that had inspired the blond to fight crime.
Zypherous.
The black-winged hero that had disappeared when Zephyr was 7. Some say the Syndicate got em', but any super fan knew that the Syndicate was founded a few months after Thanatos's disappearance, if anything the group was formed because of the hero's absence. The agency had become a lot crueler without the former #1 hero there to stop them. Thanatos was kind, he was the only hero that thought to patrol Southside. The only one that could actually convince vigilantes to join the agency, promising that he would keep them under his wing and make sure they wouldn't lose their freedom. Zephyr was dead set on joining him, ready to fight crime and defend the innocent of Southside. That was until-
An explosion rocked the air as Zephyr dived. The front of the Cybernetic store was completely blown away, a cloud of smoke and dust making it impossible to see inside. Zephyr could see the bodies of unconscious enforcers littering the ground, some lying in pools of blood. Okay, this was worse than he thought.
"Zephyr!" Zephyr turned to see Pan waving to him from an alleyway with Hermes behind him. Pan was shifted, so instead of a human standing in front of him, it was an anthro goat. Platinum blond hair covered the upper half of the origin's face, an added barrier between the world and Pan's eyes alongside his mask. Small horns poked through the tangles and curved back ever so slightly. Pan had a short, bulky stature, he wasn't one to be underestimated, Zephyrs saw him chuck a car before. The origin wore a faux leather vest that was lined with cream fur at the top and a black, long-sleeved shirt underneath. The top was matched by the black, baggy cargo pants the goat was wearing. His chocolate-colored hooves shined thanks to the fluorescent lights of the store signs.
Zephyr ran over, catching a glance of Hermes holding his side in pain. Like Pan, Hermes was an Origin. A rare one at that, it's not every day you'd run into an Endirian after all. The fucker was tall, like really tall, dressed in a simple black suit with a red tie the Enderian was able to find at a thrift store. He didn't need to cover his face, Hermes never shifted outside of work. Too risky.
"What happened?" Zephyr asked, looking at Pan.
"We got caught in front of the store when the bomb went off." Pan explained, "Hermes was able to teleport us away but the aftershock hit em'"
"I'll be fine." Hermes assured the other two, standing up straight again, "Just got the wind knocked out of me, that's all."
"If you say so. Do you two-"
"Oh, have they finally sent in the heroes?" A sickly sweet voice rang from the cloud, sending a shiver down Zephyr's spine.
The blond turned, watching as a figure strutted out of the smoke. The man was tall, not as tall as Hermes but definitely taller than Zephyr, with chocolate brown hair. A long, caramel-colored trench coat covered a muted yellow turtleneck that was tucked into waist-high black pants. The man's black combat boots clicked against the concrete and echoed through the empty streets. A mask covered the man's face, one side twisted into an unnatural smile, speaking of infinite joy, while the other side looked like it was permanently screaming in agony. Dragon-like wings sprouted from his back, a long, whip-like tail flicking idly behind him. A Phantling. A very very dangerous Phantiling.
“Fuck it's Loki,” Pan growled from behind Zephyr, the loose rocks shifting as he got into a fighting stance.
“That means Thor and Odin won't be too far behind.” Zephyr added, “You two stay behind me. I can take em’”
Pan began to protest before Zephyr shut him down, “Make sure Hermes can be good on his own first. Taking a shockwave can't feel too good. Only come in if I need back up.” He instructed as he turned to meet the gaze of the Lokis mask.
“So you three are the scrawny scraps the Heros sent in?” Loki questioned, shifting to get a good look at Hermes and Pan behind Zephyr, “What? Dream too scared to ruin his image by showing up in Southside?”
“Oh fuck no.” Zephyr spat, “I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a hero emblem.”
Lokis head tilted, “So your not heroes?”
“Nope, ya dickhead. But we are tryin’ to do the right thing.” Zephyr retorted.
“Ah! So your vigilantes!” Loki giggled, “Then I’ll try to not kill you! I always love to watch which path you vigilantes will go down.”
That's when Loki disappeared and reappeared behind Zephyr, kicking him to the ground. Zephyr quickly rolled away as Loki towered over him, the blond scrambled up and dodged another kick aimed for his side. Taking the offensive, Zephyr quickly attempted to kick the Phantlings head, it would've been enough to knock him unconscious at least. The brunette lifted his arm and used his forearm to block the attack, taking a glance at the exposed metal at the blond's ankle. Loki hummed and pivoted away, making Zephyr clumsily land and leave his back exposed. The Phantling kicked the blond right in the lower back, making Zephyr gasp and fall. He winced and flipped right as Loki pressed a boot to his chest. Zephyr coughed and shifted, leaving enough space for the nanotech on his back to slide out and wrap itself around Lokis wrist. The brunette gasped in surprise as the black blob flung him off to the side.
“ Shit !” Loki growled as he scrambled up, “Do you build all of this shit?”
Zephyr smiled, jumping up with the help of the nanotech that had disappeared back into the blonds back, “No Pan builds it.”
Loki launched forward again, but Zephyr was ready. They attacked and dodged around each other in a musicless dance, spinning and dipping around the empty streets.
“Hermes installs it.” Zephyr continued as he pressed the palm of his hand and a hidden blade slid out of its sheath.
“And what?” Loki taunted as he jumped back to dodge a swing to his chest, “You're their over-glorified guinea pig?”
“Oh no!” Zephyr jumped to avoid a kick to the legs. He punched Loki’s stomach and kicked him down when he stumbled back. The blond pressed his foot to the villain's chest, “I program it all.”
“Zephyr behind you!” Pan called out as Zephyr flinched and launched himself into the air, dodging a sword hilt to the head. Shit , Thors here.
“Okay! Pan this is the moment where you help!” Zephyr called out as he narrowly dodged swings from Thor's sword. Unlike Odin or even Odin, Thor dressed in much more extravagant clothing. He wore a white, button-up with belled-out sleeves matched with simple black pants. Over it all, he wore a regal, scarlet cloak lined with white fur at the top. However, the most memorable thing about him, was the pink cybernetic boar skull that covered his face alongside the pink rose-colored hair that was pulled back into intricate nordic braids. A golden, cybernetic crown rested on his head, the gems glowed with the help of LEDs that were embedded into the crown under them.
Pan surged forward and rammed into Thor with incredible force, making the much bigger man grunt. Pan could at least match the Villain in strength, which would allow for Zephyr to focus on Loki, who had recovered from the blonds assault and was staring at Thor.
“Remember Thor! We don't kill vigilantes!” He remained the other villain before turning his attention to Zephyr again, “I'm very sorry, Thor loves to intrude on my battles. Now, where were we?”
Zephyr growled, “I don't give a shit about your teammate.”
“Good!” Loki smiled, “Then you can just focus your efforts on me!”
Then, their game of cat and mouse continued. SHaring blows and dodging each other's fists and weapons.
“You know!” Loki began as he blocked another kick, “Not many people can hold their own against me! Even heroes have a hard time lasting this long, especially after having to dodge Thors attacks!” The villain ducked and kicked Zephyr's legs out from under him, making the blond stumble before gaining his footing and dodging another kick, “And now that I think about it, Your friends pretty strong for being so small, I don't think I've ever seen someone last that long, well other than Dream.”
Zephyr growled and narrowly missed punching Lokis's face, “Don't you dare compare Pan to that prick!”
“Oh! That reminds me!” Loki recalled, “Why don't you like Dream hm? Or Heros?”
Zephyr grunted at the question and thought for a moment before deciding to humor the villain, “Cuz Dreams a fucking prick that doesn't think of patroling Southside and protecting it from people like you!"
“So you do it yourself?” Loki asked, “Pretty noble of you.” He paused for a moment, glancing behind Zephyr before smirking, “But your efforts arent enough.”
Zephyr was about to demand for an answer before he felt something slam into his back and dent the metal device that sprouted from his upper back. He gasped and his legs buckled as he lost control of his lower body. Fuck they hit his implant, Fuck they hit his implant . Zephyr desperately struggled to crawl away before being picked up by his hood by Thor. He growled and struggled, trying to free himself. What happened to Pan? Where was Hermes? Why wasn't anyone helping?
“What happened to him?” Thor questioned, looking at Loki.
The Phantling hummed and poked at Zephyr's legs, noticing the blond’s upper body flinching but his lower half stayed perfectly still, like a puppet that lacked proper strings. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.
“Hmmmmm. No response… He's paralyzed.” Loki hummed, he trailed his fingers along Zephyr's back macking the vigilante flinch, “You destroyed whatever was transferring the nerve signals artificially.”
Thor's response was cut short as more boots clicked on the asphalt. Zephyr's stomach dropped when he saw the familiar smiling mask come into view. The pros were here.
“Zephyr!” Hermes' voice cut through the silence as he appeared behind Thor and hit the villain's arm.
Thor cursed and dropped Zephyr, bending his arm back towards his body. Hermes caught the blond and jumped away to keep one of the villains from grabbing them at the last moment. Then, in a flash, Zephyr's stomach turned upside down and everything turned black.
The duo appeared in a messy room, full of cords and unfinished projects.
“Lay him down here come on!” Pan instructed the taller boy. Zephyr felt himself be lowered onto a worn massage chair on his stomach, he sighed and took off his mask, hoodie, and undershirt before resting his arms on the armrests that wrapped around most of the chair. The blond laid his head on the headrest and groaned.
“Damn he got you good,” Pan commented from behind, removing the broken tech from the base, “Luckily the bastard didn't damage the base or chip so you’ll live.”
“How long till it's fixed?” Zephyr asked, Pan shrugged.
“I can have it fixed by Friday.” He responded.
Zephyr groaned again, “What's our luck that we’d run into the two leaders of the Syndicate on a fucking robbery call!”
“Yeah, you'd think they’d go after the nicer cybernetic stores downtown. Like the ones by the heroes headquarters.” Pan agreed, “Why would they go after a small one in Southside?”
“Well, we are making ourselves known.” Zephyr pointed out, “Maybe they think we buy our cybernetics?”
“I doubt it. They probably wanted more cybernetic parts. It's easier for them to steal from Southside.”
“True.”
“Will he be okay?” Hermes asked from the door.
“He’ll live Ranboo don't worry.” Pan told him spinning around his chair to face the Enderian.
“Yeah, boob boy don't worry I’ll live!” Zephyr called back, “I'll be MIA till the end of the week though.”
“I think we all will.” Ranboo commented, “The Syndicate might be roaming around Southside for a bit. We were lucky that we can hold our own for a little.”
“Loki said I did better than some heroes.” Zephyr bragged, Ranboo scoffed and walked over with Zephyr's old wheelchair.
“Of course you did Tommy. You're better than most heroes even without powers.” Ranboo agreed.
“I think they'd be pretty pissed to find out the Vigilante that's been stopping most crime in Southbay and able to take Loki one on one and get away, is powerless.” Tommy joked, “Their fragile egos wouldn't be able to stand it!”
Pan snorted as Ranboo helped Tommy into his wheelchair. The Enderian was in his human form, his face still covered by sunglasses and a black and white mask. He was in a much comfier outfit, a simple grey long sleeve shirt matched with black sweatpants. He was still insanely tall, but he looked normal enough. Pan had shifted into his human form too, a platinum blond with one sapphire blue eye not covered by hair.
“Yeah and with the help of two Origins no less!” He added. Origins weren’t really liked by the elite of Twitch, it was rare for them to get well-paying and fair jobs, Even rarer for them to become heroes. Most become vigilantes or villains and don't really last long.
“Yeah Tubbo! I bet your inventions make the Techs at the Hero tower shit themselves!” Tommy chuckled.
“Well they wouldn't work without your kickass programming!” Tubbo pointed out.
“Awwww you flatter me!” Tommy replied, putting his hand on his chest.
Ranboo smiled and walked to the door, “Come on. I was able to get some food today.”
“Hell yeah food!!!” Tommy explained as he wheeled after Ranboo, quickly followed by Tubbo.
The three were writing their story, and it was pretty good.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Loki tapped his fingers against the wooden table of the meeting room, rewatching the CCTV footage over and over again. He studied the three vigilantes that had managed to hold their own against both him and Thor. Two origins and one paralyzed, cybernetic using human. He studied their movements and fighting styles, how the human danced like he was listening to an unheard song, how the goat origin focused on his kicks and punches and how he leaned into the blow with all of his strength, how the Enderian had used the element of surprise to save his companion. These vigilantes were interesting, very very interesting.
“What are ya doing mate?” A voice asked from behind Loki, “You've been rewatching the same footage for 10 minutes.”
“There are these really interesting Vigilanties Odin!” Loki exclaimed and spun around, “They're able to hold their own against me and Thor!”
“Barely.” Thor commented from his seat.
“Do you think they're a threat?” Odin asked.
“No not a threat Odin!” Loki turned back to the footage, “A possibility!”
“New allies?” Odin hummed.
“Or new enemies.” Thor spoke up again.
“Either way.” Loki smirked, turning the channel to the news reporting on a new syndicate sighting, “I think fate wants us to meet again.”
“ New vigilantes, Zephyr, Pan, and Hermes take on two Syndicate leaders tonight as the villains robbed a cybernetic store in Southside. CCTV footage shows the three fighting well-known villains Loki and Thor before running when Heros arrived. The trio was surprisingly able to hold their own against the two. The villains were able to get away from the scene and a search is still being held for the three vigilantes. If you have any information please contact the vigilante hotline at- ” Loki shut off the broadcast and looked at Odin.
The man smiled and nodded, “I think your right.”