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Chapter Text

“Vultures are the most righteous of birds: they do not attack even the smallest living creature”

-Plutarch 

Techno felt his legs give out underneath him, sending him sprawling into the forgotten alleyway. It’d been raining, just his luck, and he spat out the rainwater into the gutter, tinged red as it washed away. The pain blooming in his jaw told him that he’d definitely lost a tooth, but he had bigger things to worry about right now.

For starters, the heroes on his tail were a pretty big priority, but also… the gunshot wound was also a pressing matter. 

Crawling behind the dumpster, Techno couldn’t help but feel like a dying cat, barely holding back his wince of pain as he slumped against the wall. Sticky, wet red stained the front of his suit, but Techno couldn’t bring himself to peel the flimsy fabric away from his stomach just yet.

Why did it have to be them? Any other hero, and he would have been fine! It would have been an easy job- sneak into the bank, get into the vaults, steal enough money to get by for a little while, and dip just as the alarms started to blare. But no! Someone just had to go and call the Heroes, and then Techno was forced to take hostages (he wouldn’t have killed them. Despite whatever everyone thought about him, he would never kill innocent victims) and then the Crowfather and his fucking gaggle of sidekicks showed up and-

And now he was bleeding out in some alley, the scent of trash and rotting food making him want to throw up. 

Techno had to shove his fist into his mouth as he cut away the ruined fabric with his switchblade, the thick leather soft on his teeth and easy to slice through. He was met with the sight of red blood and white skin torn and ripped and-

Oh god he was gonna pass out. 

Focus Techno, focus. If you didn’t want to end up another statistic in L’Manburg’s ridiculously high crime rates, then you have to focus. 

He nearly screamed as he placed his hands either side of the wound, vision shattering white as he pushed the torn flesh together. Techno struggled to catch his breath, but pushed on, channeling his power and grimacing as he felt energy flow through his hands, tingling into the tips of his fingers and finally into his bullet wound. He shouldn’t be doing this, he didn’t have the energy reserve to be tapping in to, and if he tried to stand up he would more than definitely faint… but slowly but surely the ragged skin knitted itself back together, blood clotting and coagulating so that he didn’t bleed out. 

He’d live another day.

Great. Good for him. 

“Well hello there Bloodbath! Fancy seeing you round here!”

At that moment, Techno wanted nothing more than to slam his head into the brick wall behind him… instead, he hoisted himself up into sitting, grappling blindly for his crowbar as he looked up at the two superheroes looming over him. 

Well, superheroes would be too kind, in Techno’s opinion. They were sidekicks, bluntly put. 

The one who’d spoken to him, voice metallic and high through his voice changer, was Cardinal, the Crowfather’s newest pet project. Apparently the kid had superspeed, rumours of a blur of bright red passing by whenever the Hero was in the area. In the flesh he wasn’t much, a little short, with ratty high tops and a red bandana around his neck. Like everyone associated with the Crowfather, Cardinal wore a half face mask, slightly curved around the top to give the impression of a bird’s beak, meaning Techno could see the joy in his bright eyes as he looked the cornered villain up and down. 

Techno wasn’t too worried about him. Even injured and weak, he could take the kid. It was the other figure hovering over his shoulder that was worrying him, a smudge of navy and blue against Cardinal’s flashy red. 

Blue Jay was the Crowfather’s protégée, his closest confidant and practically a miniature of his mentor. There were rumours that he was the Crowfather’s biological son, but Techno found it hard to believe that the Hero would endanger his own flesh and blood like that.

Nevertheless, Blue Jay was terrifying, quiet and calculating with his uniform- bright electric blue in the body fading to navy in the sleeves, with off white panels and a black collar (honestly Techno couldn’t fault it. At least these heroes had some semblance of fashion sense. If he ever had to run into Hourglass and his stupid patchwork cape again, he’d actually cry). His mask was made of burnished iron, unlike Cardinal’s bright gold, and Blue Jay was never seen without his goggles, blue lenses blocking out any hint of his eyes. At his hip sat his revolver, the same bronze pistol that had been the one to shoot Techno.

He hadn’t said anything yet, thank god… Techno had been on the receiving end of his powers before, and he’d never forgotten the  sickly sweet honeyed commands that wormed their way into his brain like a parasite. 

Techno felt a tad bit overmatched. Just this once. Honestly it was a little overkill to send the number one Hero and his sidekicks to apprehend him, just a small-time villain… but alas he had to deal with it. 

Cardinal dodged his swipe with the crowbar easily, barely having to do more than flinch away… listen, Techno wasn’t exactly in peak physical condition right now. He was still exhausted, and his limbs seemed to be moving a tic slower than his mind. 

He didn’t stand a chance, did he?

“Ha! That was just sad,” Cardinal giggled, tucking his hands into his suit’s pocket as he grinned. Well, Techno assumed the kid was grinning, since he couldn’t actually see his face. “Thought you’d put up more of a fight!”

Cardinal decided to torment him even further, using the steel cap of his boot to kick at his prone form, drawing a painful hiss from behind Techno’s mask. 

“You’ve just gone all floppy, like a dead fish… Bloodbath? Are you even paying attention? What the hell-“

“Cardinal, shut up.”

Even though it wasn’t directed at him, Techno could feel the power dripping from the command, Blue Jay gently nudging Cardinal out of the way until he was crouched down in front of Techno. He could see himself in the reflection of the hero’s goggles, scrambling away with panic evident in his actions, even if his eyes were covered by his mask.

“Oi! You’re not allowed to use your powers on me dickhead, that’s the rules!” The kid had apparently regained his senses, brushing Blue Jay’s power off quicker than Techno had ever seen. “I’m gonna tell the big man.”

“Cardinal, he’s hurt.”

…

“Oh.”

The patter of rain was all that could be heard, bar Techno’s ragged breathing. Blue Jay moved to reach out, but seemingly thought better, retracting his hand like it burnt. 

“Wait, can he even talk? His partner always does it… he’s the freaky one who never speaks, right?”

Cardinal yelped as Techno used the rest of his energy to kick at the kid’s ankle. 

“Take that as a yes,” Blue Jay drawled, a hint of amusement in his voice. “As fun as it is to kick Cardinal as a way of communicating-“

“Hey!”

“-Do you think we could use something else? I know Kraken usually speaks whenever you two make demands, but he’s not here right now so-“

“Probably betrayed him,” Cardinal piped up, now sitting cross legged on the floor. The scalloped edge of his cape, made to imitate feathers, dragged across the puddled floor. “All villains are the same, back stabbin’ traitors.”

Both of them reeled back as Techno started to speak, words sharp and harsh, the white of his mask a flash in the dark. 

“He didn’t betray me,’ he scowled. His mask allowed the two heroes to see the bottom of his face, so his anger was evident. “I was a distraction. He got away safe. Squid would never betray me.”

“Apologies, didn’t mean to offend,” Blue Jay offered, sounding somewhat genuine. Cardinal was pouting from his seat on the floor, brows furrowed in a frown. 

“What’d he say? I didn’t know him and Kraken were so close,” Cardinal mused. “Thought you were more of a lone wolf type… doesn’t matter. I’m sure you’ll get along well with your bunk mate in Pandora.”

Techno pressed himself further into the corner, stuck between the dumpster and the wall like a cornered animal, heart racing. ‘‘I’d rather die than go back to Pandora again. You’re never getting me back there.”

“Again?”

…

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit. Techno hadn’t meant to let that slip. Oh he was so fucked now. He’d managed to escape from Pandora’s Vault out of pure luck the first time, but he definitely couldn’t do it a second time. He’d seen what happened to high security villains- solitary confinement, twenty four hour guard watch and power suppressors on at all times… he’d wouldn’t last even a month without his powers, Techno needed them to stay alive. 

He’d be dead on arrival. 

Gloved fingers graced his ankle, and Technk kicked out, hissing and spitting like a feral cat until Blue Jay’s voice washed over him. 

“Be still, calm down… I just want to check something.”

Powerless to stop him, the Hero rolled up the cuff of Techno’s trousers and wriggled his foot out of his combat boots. He could do little to hide the bulky ankle monitor he’d never figured out how to get off of him, shining metal like a beacon sealing his fate. 

“Woah!” Cardinal leant forward, poking at the anklet. “That’s so cool! I’ve never seen one before, Dad refused to let me look in Sam’s workshop-“

“We’re on duty! It’s Warden, not… not that name,” Blue Jay said, sounding fed up. Techno filed that away for later. If he was being sent back into Pandora then he’d take all he could get on the prison’s warden. Though he wouldn’t be stepping foot back in there if he could help it. “But that’s definitely a Pandora monitor, even if it’s dead… you can see the trident marking on the seam.”

The silence between the three of them was heavy with tension, both parties waiting for the other to make the first move. 

… 

Oh to hell with it! What left did he have left to lose, if he got sent back to Pandora he’d have no dignity left anyway.

‘‘Please,” he croaked out, voice shaking slightly as his tiredness started to give way to exhaustion. ‘I can’t go back there. You have no clue what it’s like, you all just hide up in the Heroes Tower lording it over the rest of us… it’s hell in there. The Warden is cruel , he’s- he’s horrific. I didn’t even do anything to deserve being locked up in the first place, it’s just my powers… please !”

“I don’t-“

Blue Jay was interrupted by the thump of someone landing in the alleyway. “Boys! Oh thank fuck, thought I’d lost you both… I’ve been shouting down the comms for the last ten minutes, what the hell are you doing?”

Seemed like the man himself had arrived. 

The number one hero, the Crowfather, was terrifying. Swooping dark wings flared out behind him, feathers dragging across the ground with a soft shshing sound, the thick soles of his boots wandering towards them. All heavy green cotton, darkened leather and silver knuckle dusters, the Crow Father was the model hero, his appearance infamous  and known amongst every single citizen in L’Manburg. The Hero was odd in the way he never wore a mask, just dark shadowed makeup around his blue eyes, and his blonde hair tied out of the way in a bun. 

“Blue Jay shot Bloodbath, and now he’s feeling guilty about it,” Cardinal said, voice cheery enough but something darker lingered beneath the surface. “Also Bloodbath has issues, we’re working through ‘em right now.”

The Crow Father stepped between his two sidekicks, joining them on looking down at Techno, still too weak to do much more than lie there like a pinned butterfly in a gilded frame. 

“I didn’t mean to shoot him!” Blue Jay insisted, panic starting to seep into his tone, now that his mentor was here. Crowfather rested a hand on his protégée’s shoulder, comforting… which, Techno was the one who had been shot and who was about to be sent to his doom. He should be the one being comforted!

“Hey, hey, hey… it’s okay songbird, it’s okay,” the Hero crooned, patting at the nest of chestnut curls, rain soaked with dew that glittered like freshwater pearls in the streetlight. “Mistakes happen, it’s fine… though I think we might rethink giving you a gun, alright mate? Maybe we’ll stick to batons.”

Techno shifted, trying his best to inch away whilst they were distracted, but the minuscule movement sent another wave of pain through him. He whimpered, and three pairs of eyes immediately found him again. 

“You failed to mention that Bloodbath’s issues were that he was bleeding out as we spoke!” The Crowfather crouched down, frowning at Techno’s wound. “Though you’ve done a decent job at stitching him back up…”

“We didn’t, it was like that when we arrived,” Cardinal said. “Think it’s his powers. Also, probably worth mentioning he’s escaped from Pandora, got the ankle monitor and everything.”

Those blue eyes bore into him, and Techno couldn’t bring himself to look away. Tar dark irises found those burning blue, night versus day, and Techno barely managed to stifle a shudder of pain. Blue Jay’s commands still lingered, Techno unable to do much more than squirm as the Crowfather unmasked him, pulling the metal away from his eyes to reveal Techno’s terrified eyes and bloodied lip.

…

Gods, why were Superheroes so cruel to prolong his fate? He just wanted them to get this over and done with- cuff him, drag him off to a holding cell and then ship him off to the Warden, where he apparently belonged. 

He said as such, voice rasping from where the Hero had grabbed him by the throat in the earlier skirmish. He’d definitely have a hand shaped bruise around his neck tomorrow.

“If you’re gonna take me in just get it over with,” he spat, the blood pooling from his knocked out tooth dribbling a little down his chin. 

“… how old are you mate?” The Hero asked. One hand was still gripping his ankle, as if to stop him from bolting (like Techno was even capable of running right now), though the grip was gentle, never bruising. “You don’t look old enough to be doing this.”

“What’s it to you?”

“Well, believe it or not, I’m not in the business of hurting children,” Crowfather said, the hint of a smile in his voice. “Between you and me, Cardinal’s just about fifteen and Blue Jay’s eighteen. I have a soft spot for kids..”

…

“Mate, c’mon, please? If you're just a kid, I really don’t wanna send you to Pandora! It’s not fun there.”

“Wait, hold up… I thought minors aren't allowed to be incarcerated in Pandora’s vault?” Cardinal asked. “Isn’t it just for highest security super villains?”

“Mmm, which is why I’m slightly concerned that Bloodbath here seems to be well acquainted with the Warden,” The hero said, actual concern in his voice, which Techno wasn’t expecting. “Bloodbath? I want to help you, I really do! But I can’t help you if you don’t work with me…”

…

“Sixteen,” he spat out. What was the point in lying? Blue Jay could just force it out of him anyway. “I’m sixteen.”

“Prime… okay, okay!”

The Crowfather sat down in the alley, apparently not caring about the grime that would coat his suit. He splayed his hands in a show of goodwill, but his tone never wavered as he continued. His sidekicks looked between themselves, huddled at his side like brightly coloured chicks. 

“You’re sixteen… that’s- that’s fine. Little younger than Will-“

“Code names! Why am I only the one who uses the fucking code names?”

“Hush, Will. Trust me okay?” The blonde’s gaze never left Techno, as if he was worried that if he looked away Techno would simply disappear into thin air. “My name is Phil. As I said, Blue Jay here is called Wilbur-“ Blue Jay huffed, obviously upset, but relented, waving sarcastically. “-And Cardinal’s called Tommy.”

“Ayup!”

Techno’s stomach sank. The only reason the Hero would be telling him their names would be if he wouldn’t be around long enough to tell anyone else. Prime he was so, so, fucked!

Closing his eyes, Techno didn’t stop the frustrated tear that rolled down his face. Why, why did he always get dealt the worst hand at life? He was born unlucky, with unstable powers that were way too dangerous, got thrown into Pandora at the first sign of him being trouble and when he finally escaped, he was about to meet his maker at the hands of the biggest Hero in the city… 

Techno didn’t think he deserved this fate. 

His voice wobbled as he spoke, barely hiding the pain and fear streaking through it. “If you’re gonna kill me, please just get on with it. Stop waxing poetic and just end it quickly. Least I deserve, alright?”

“What? No, no, no… oh mate!” The Crowfather sounded upset, something akin to anger bubbling in his voice. “I’m not gonna kill you, and I’m not gonna throw you back into Pandora. I’ve had a hunch that Sam’s been up to something, but seeing you… You’re just a kid! Even if you’re powerful, you shouldn’t be locked up for it.” 

Techno swallowed, harsh and biting and thick. “What are you gonna do then?”

“I have a proposal for you. You’re obviously strong, not someone to be messed with. You managed to stitch yourself back together from a bullet wound, with just your powers… that takes a lot, mate. What’s your power by the way? Advanced healing?”

“… haemokinesis,” he admitted, somewhat hesitantly. “Blood bending. I use blood to heal myself, channel the energy from it. It’s why I was locked up… the Heroes decided I was too powerful, I could cause too much potential damage.”

“Jeez that’s creepy!” Cardinal said in awe. Now that the Crowfather- Phil- was here, the kid had chilled out, staying close to the hero’s side. 

“It’s an incredibly rare power too,” Wilbur added. “No wonder Sam wanted to keep him in Pandora… the amount of medical research that power could be used for, let alone the bioweapons he could produce-“

“Will, come on, have some tact please?” Phil chided. “But yes, you’re very powerful… so that’s why I want to offer you a position as my sidekick.”

“What?”

“What the fuck Phil?!-“

“Dad please think this through-“

“Listen, listen, listen,” Phil raised his voice slightly, and all three of them fell silent. No one commented on the way Techno flinched. “Like we’ve said you’re obviously way out of your depth powers wise. You’re sixteen, I’m assuming they didn’t actually teach you how to use your powers in Pandora?”

Techno shook his head. The Warden had made sure to keep Techno as clueless and unaware of his powers or the outside world as possible… it was only when he’d escaped had he started testing things out. This was all trial and error. It was why he'd got his reputation as a fearsome villain- the first few times he’d tried to use his powers properly had ended in disaster. Techno still felt guilty about that.

Their graves were always well stocked with flowers. 

Phil continued, unperturbed. “Thought so. So you’re flying blind… I really don’t want to send you back to jail, none of this is your fault mate.”

“Dad, I’m sorry but-“ Wilbur sputtered, indignant. “Whilst I don’t think he should be in Pandora, he’s a fucking villain for Prime’s  sake! He’s killed people!”

“I didn’t mean to.” Techno’s voice sounded small, low against the patter of the rain and the ragged breathing of the three heroes. He couldn’t bring himself to look up at them. “I- I didn’t want to kill them… it was an accident, and I was scared, and they recognised my tracker so I panicked. It- My powers-“

“Hey, mate, it's okay!” Soothing, Phil’s loose grip on his ankle squeezed, apparently to reassure. 

“It’s okay, I get it. I can tell you more than most that powers suck, especially if you haven’t got the hang of ‘em yet. Which is why I don’t think you deserve to go back to Pandora. I’ve had my hunch for a while now that the Hero’s Institute has been involved in some shady business, whispers from criminals we’ve apprehended… but I didn’t think it was this bad. Locking up innocent kids and conditioning them into perfect prisoners just because they might be dangerous in the future.” 

“But it’s Sam!” Tommy piped up, sounding just as shaken as Techno. The kid was obviously conflicted, it was clear from his voice. “Sam wouldn’t do that… right? He’s always nice to me and Wilbur, always makes time to talk to me when you’re on patrol, let me hold his trident-“

“Trust me, the Warden is not what you think he is,” Techno insisted, voice almost high and reedy, as if he was begging for one of them to listen to him. “I- he’s evil. The people in there are just projects for him, criminals that he needs to break down and remould into perfect prisoners, without any chance of them using their powers, whether it be for good or bad. My bunkmate- he- he was a mind reader, could see thoughts and stuff? And- and by the time Warden was done rehabilitating him he couldn’t speak anymore, let alone think properly… I-I-I can’t go back there, please -“

Techno screwed his eyes shut, trying not to panic. He was acutely aware that he was spiralling, but he was trying not to, clawing himself back up from the deep dark pit of the memories of Pandora he’d shoved in the back of his mind. 

To his surprise, it wasn’t Phil who reached out to comfort him this time, it was Wilbur, the older boy slipping off his mask and goggles so that Techno could see him properly. He didn’t look much older than him, with wide brown eyes and a sharp frown that softened slightly as he took in Techno’s dilated pupils. 

“It’s okay, Bloodbath, you’re not there anymore,” Wilbur said, no hint of that commanding power in his voice. “I’m sorry for snapping, I can see you regret a lot of things… you’re not a bad person for trying to defend yourself. None of our hands are clean either.”

Techno nodded, breathing slow and deep and trying not to devolve into further panicking. 

“Mate come on,” Phil added. “Let us help you… I think you’re entitled to a little bit of revenge, and I can help you get that.”

“But you’re a hero,” he insisted. Why was Phil doing this? “You don’t do revenge! You’re all high and mighty and good morals and-“

“Ha! Oh mate… whilst yes most heroes will preach justice and wax poetic about right and wrong,” Phil leant back, letting his wings come around to wrap across Wilbur and Tommy’s shoulders. “I’m not most heroes. After what you’ve just told me, about the corruption and rot infesting the Superheroes Institute… I think I’m up for a change of career paths. I’d like for you to join me, Bloodbath.”

“Techno,” he croaked out, wiping his face to rid it from the pooling rain. “My name’s Techno. Not Bloodbath.”

“Nice to meet you Techno.” Phil smiled, wide and genuine as he extended a hand towards him. “Now we can discuss semantics later, but for now… would you let me help you? I’ve got a warm bed and fresh food waiting for us back home, I’m sure you haven’t had that in a while.”

Techno swallowed harshly, thinking things over. 

Fuck it, what else did he have to lose?

Phil’s hand was warm, gripping softly as he helped pull Techno up to his feet. The man’s wings fluttered in the low breeze, a dark shadow dripping from his shoulders as he smiled. 

“Let’s get you home…”

“Wait, so is he one of us now? What’s his name gonna be? Cause Bloodbath just doesn’t fit the vibe, y’know?” Tommy asked, standing up too and immediately squaring off against Techno. It was comical, the kid was a full head shorter than him, looking like a drowned kitten facing off against a lion. 

He was growing on Techno already.

Phil shrugged, “If he wants to be.”

On his other side, Wilbur sighed, clipping his mask and goggles to his belt with a soft click. 

“Tommy, stop trying to show off. You’re not going to intimidate him by puffing up your chest and acting like a big man. Chill.”

“Oi!” In less than a second, Tommy had used his powers to appear like a puff of smoke at Wilbur’s side, shoving him half heartedly. “Phil, Wilbur’s being a dick, tell him to stop.”

“Nah,” Phil smirked, winking at Techno. He stooped to pick up Techno’s discarded crowbar, twirling it between his fingers with more ease than he ever had with the thing. Show off. “You are being kind of an idiot mate.”

“Ha!”

“Wilbur I swear to fucking god-“

The two of them shot off down the alley, shoving and play fighting with each other, their shouts echoing across the cobbles. 

“Though we do have to work on your image a bit mate,” Phil said into the quiet, two pairs of footsteps following the wave of chaos the two sidekicks had left in their way. “Tommy’s right, Bloodbath isn’t exactly within the ‘Crowfather’s brand’ as it were.”

Techno huffed a laugh for the first time in a while. 

“Hmmm what could we go with… Carrion? Nah, bit niche.” 

“Not a bird,” he muttered, making Phil frown.

“Oh yeah! Fair point mate… Blood Eagle?”

“Again, also not a bird… pretty sure that’s a torture method.”

“Right, right. Any ideas?”

…

“Vulture could be cool?” Techno said hesitantly. 

“Vulture?” Phil hummed, apparently thinking it over. Apparently it fit the standards, cause the blonde grinned, the dark smudges of makeup around his eyes creasing as he looked over at Techno, kindness in those blue eyes. “I like it!”

“Welcome to the team Vulture…”

Chapter Text

Harsh hands in his hair, pulling at the ratty strands until he is forced to look up at his tormentor. The guards manhandle him onto his knees, a sharp kick between the small of his back when he tries to pull away, the rattle of the monitor around his ankle dragging across the concrete floor. 

Thick soled boots wander closer, and Techno stills from where he was attempting to spit at the guards holding him in place, chest heaving. 

“I’m disappointed, Techno,” the Warden sighs, an iron fist in a velveteen glove reaching out to rest against his hair, tugging in a cruel facsimile of comfort. “I thought you were better than this, better than trying to break the rules, trying to use your powers. I’ve told you that you were dangerous, and look what happens.”

“I didn’t mean to!” He insists, voice hoarse and grating from disuse. He hadn’t spoken to anyone in a while. All he knew for the last few weeks had been the four clinical white walls of his cell, and the thin sliver of the Outside behind the bars of his window, high up near the ceiling. “The-the guard had a paper cut, it’s not my fault I promise-“

“It’s not your fault he’s currently incapacitated in the medical bay?” The Warden interrupts. Fingers dig deeper to his scalp, and Techno winces. “That sounds like an excuse.”

“No, I swear!”

“You know, I’d been so proud of you. You were my best asset, so well behaved and polite. It took some work, but we got there right?” The Warden mocks, using Techno’s hair to force him to nod, like a puppet on his master’s strings. “It took some time, the first couple of years were rough weren’t they? But after all those reeducation sessions, you were my favourite, Techno! A model prisoner, even if I do say so myself. Maybe I shouldn’t get so attached to my work...”

The Warden steps back, the clunk of his heavy armour ringing against the empty walls. Techno tries not to make a sound, he knows he’s not allowed to be upset at his reprimanding. He deserves it after all.

“I’ve been too lenient I think. Too soft, shown you too much favour. I even gave you a name! I shouldn’t have done that, I think… I take responsibility for your failures, T-0106. We’ll make a functioning member of society out of you yet.” 

“No, wait please!” Techno begs, writhing against the hands holding him down to no avail. With wide eyes not yet hardened to the cruelty of the world, he pleads up at the Warden, only able to see his own reflection, glossy and rippling in the man’s mask. “I’ll be good, I promise! I can be quiet, and nice, and I can keep my name right? I-I’ll do all my lessons as best as I can, and do whatever you want me to do, Sir. And I won’t say bad words to the guards, or cry anymore or-or-“

He’s interrupted by the bite of cold metal around his jaw, one of the guards working a familiar muzzle settling across his face. Techno knows not to struggle, he’s had the muzzle on before, but even he can’t help from squirm as it’s strapped across his mouth. 

“There we go,” the Warden praises, and despite himself a small part of Techno beams at the kind words. “I forget how whiny the children are when they’re upset.”

One of the guards at his side huffs, laughing as Techno’s dragged up onto his feet, the cuffs around his wrists rubbing raw beneath his plain jumpsuit. 

“I assume he’s off to the Classroom?” The guard asks, and Techno can’t help how his eyes get even wider, shaking his head in protest to no avail. 

“Yep. Get him into the chair, make sure you use the strongest suppressant. He’s always been resistant to it,” the Warden stands back to let the guards drag him out of his cell, the remains of broken crayons and ripped paper on the floor trodden and stomped on by the guard’s heavy boots. 

“I’ve got a few more rounds of the prison to do, then I’ll be there to personally oversee his education.”

Techno cries out as he’s hauled out of his cell and into the depths of the prison, hands scrambling desperately. He doesn’t want to go the Classroom, his head always hurts afterward and he can never remember what’s happened and he’s always sleepy and-and-

Techno woke up with a gasp, sitting bolt upright as his chest heaved, heavy and thick as his eyes adapted to the dark. Nightmares were always horrific, the remnants of sleep drunk memories clinging to him like a drowning man to a lifeboat, refusing to let go even as he blinked himself awake. Through the gap in the curtains leaking cold light, he caught sight of the room he was in, the bed he’d woken up in, a desk, a bookshelf and wardrobe, as well as a closed door. 

It takes way too long for him to remember how he got here, fleeting memories of nearly dying in the alley, the Crowfather turning up, his offer of shelter and somewhere to stay, a hand helping him up and-

For any sense of normalcy, Techno ran through his usual routine after a night out as Bloodbath- surgery his injuries. The bullet wound had healed nicely whilst he’d been asleep, it seemed, the skin a puckered and pale scar in his abdomen. Unfortunately, his power didn’t extend to other injuries, so his nose was still crooked and out of place, his throat was rasping and sore from where he’d been choked, and he could still taste the metallic copper where one of his molars had been. But other than that?

He was alive at least…

Tensing, Techno automatically reached for his mask, only to pale when he realised it wasn’t there. All he could feel was the smudge of dark makeup he wore under the mask for situations like this- without his mask it’d hide his identity a little bit but…

Oh god… the Crowfather had his mask.

A quick scour of the wardrobe, and Techno managed to find an old scarf in the bottom. Tying it tightly around his face, making sure it covered everything below his eyes, Techno staggered to the door, stumbling out into the hallway. He needed to make sure that if he wanted to face the Crowfather, he at least had his face still anonymous, a small amount of safety to fall back on if everything went wrong. 

Heart in his throat, he couldn’t stop his racing thoughts as he tiptoed through the hallway, on edge as he passed by locked door after locked door. Family photos lined the wall, with three recurring figures in each one- a older man with kind eyes, obviously Phil, and two children, one blonde and one brunette. 

Through the photos, Techno watched the brunette, obviously Wilbur, grow up, going from a bundle in Phil’s arms, to a chubby-faced toddler, to a ruddy faced child beaming at the camera. Wilbur, barely older than ten, eyes wide behind his glasses, holding some kind of certificate with Phil’s arm around his shoulder. Wilbur, a little older, seemingly in his hero uniform for the first time, less flashy than it was now, honeyed eyes brimming with excitement at something the person behind the camera said. Tommy didn’t join the photos until further down the hallway, a young teenager with a nest of blonde curls sandwiched between Wilbur and Phil, all dressed in smart clothes, looking to be in front of a courthouse. 

What looked to be two decades worth of memories- first days of school, science fair certificates, every competition won and every day out- lain out before him on magnolia walls. The sound of metal and crockery clinking from down the hallway drew Techno from his thoughts, and he continued, slinking out through shadows into the light. 

The first thing Techno was aware of was the front door- about ten metres away through the living area and past the open plan kitchen. A few locks and bolts, but he was pretty certain he could get past those quickly if he needed to. 

Second thing, what he’d assumed to be some secret base out in the middle of nowhere turned out to be a penthouse apartment. The floor to ceiling windows off to his left gave way to a sprawling cityscape, the upper district of L’Manburg with its shining skyscrapers and towers just outside the window.

The pooling dread gnawing at his stomach only increased as Techno realised he was in the Hero’s Tower. 

Right in the belly of the beast. 

Oh fuck him, why did his luck have to get even worse?

“Hey Will, nice to see you up,” he heard someone call out. Techno swivelled, light on the balls of his feet and more than ready to bolt as he turned to face the kitchen. 

The Crowfather- Phil stood at the counter, leant against dark marble as he made breakfast, apparently, wings tucked neatly behind his back. Out of his supersuit, the hero looked… normal. Without the smudged marks around his eyes, Phil looked way less intimidating, like the man in the family photos. Hair loose round his shoulders, freshly washed, dressed in old pajamas. The blonde looked up with a grin, obviously not expecting the sixteen year old villain he’d picked up off the street to be standing there, dark smudges of paint around his eyes and a scarf tied round his face. 

“Oh! You are definitely not Wilbur! Wasn’t expecting to see you up so soon,” Phil recovered from his surprise quickly, facade cracking only for a second before beaming again. “You lost a lot of blood so- not that that’s a problem for you a guess? I’m not sure, you passed quite quickly.”

…

“I’m not- I’m sorry, I don’t quite recall your name?” Phil said when Techno didn’t reply, still hovering in the corridor’s doorway. “I don’t wanna keep calling you Bloodbath, doesn’t seem very polite, but I cannot for the life of me remember what you said your name was.”

Techno went to open his mouth to respond, but hesitated. It was a rule of his that he never spoke in public, another layer of security from getting caught. So here he was, in the middle of the Hero’s Tower where there were more than definitely cameras everywhere, about to speak.

Dumbass. 

Instead, he opened for crude sign language, just hoping Phil knew what he meant. 

“T-E-C-H-N-O,” he signed, slowly and steadily as he took a step out towards the kitchen. Phil just raised a brow as Techno approached, looking very much like a spooked cat as he stuck close to the walls. “My name is Techno.”

“Right, of course how could I forget? S’not everyday I meet someone named Techno.”

Phil’s hands twitched, hesitantly raising and lowering them. “I don’t need to sign as well, right? Like you can hear me, you just don’t want to talk? Have I got that correct?”

Techno nodded. 

“Cool, cool, cool! I’m so glad you’ve said that ‘cause my sign is a little rusty. They teach it to us on the basic Hero’s course, y’know? Been a little while since I did that one.”

…

All that could be heard was the steady tick of the clock, and occasionally the soft thump of someone moving in one of the spare bedrooms.

Phil sighed. “Come and take a seat at the counter mate. I think we need to have a little chat.” 

“Mask,” Techno insisted, skirting closer to the kitchen island. “Then talk.”

“What-oh! Yes of course your mask,” Phil padded past him with fluffy socked feet, ducking into one of the locked rooms before returning with Techno’s mask. The mask seemed in one piece, the darkened metal still smooth and unchipped, the strips of paint still bright and shining. 

His mask was fashioned from a hockey mask, and his original had been one he’d stolen from a sports shop, but when he met Squid they’d decided to look the part of the villains they were trying to be. Techno was pretty certain it was a pale white colour at one point… he couldn’t remember when or why he’d changed it to the dark metal instead.

His mask, a single sheet of netherite, black and swirling, only had two holes for his eyes, otherwise completely blank. Two triangles of red painted under the eyeholes, but nothing else. Techno liked it- when he wore his full costume, cape and all, the mask melded into his hood, making him look like a spectre, a ghost. 

With a practiced ease, he dipped below the counter to slip the surprisingly light metal over his face, pulling his hair out of the way as he did the buckles up around his ears. It was cold, pressing against his skin but the feeling was grounding. Phil just watched with curiosity as Techno pressed at a small groove in the mask, running a nail across the thin line that cut down the middle, separating the metal into a half-mask and activating the voice changer. He blinked a few times, the top of his face now visible above the metal, before looking back up at Phil.

“You wanted to talk?” Techno said, voice sounding lower than it usually was, but nothing too unnatural. Phil arched a pale brow in amusement. “Then talk.”

“Cool little gadget you’ve got there,” the blonde said, just grinning as he pulled the discarded mug towards him, taking a sip of either coffee or tea, Techno wasn’t sure. He’d never had either. “But yes, we should talk about what we’re going to do…”

“So as you may have noticed,” Phil started, elbows leant against the kitchen counter. “We’re in the Hero’s tower. Thirty-second floor, in the living quarters. Myself and around forty other Heroes live on the upper floors, then we’ve got a whole load of floors for gyms, kitchens, training rooms, labs and workshops before you hit the main atrium, which is the thing you see on the TV all the time.”

Techno wasn’t exactly sure why Phil was telling him all this. For all the Hero knew, Techno was just using him to get access to the Tower’s information, and here he was just giving it out. But he kept those thoughts to one side, instead deciding to play along with whatever game Phil was setting out before him for the time being.

“How did you get me up here without someone recognising me?“ he said. The voice changer spat out his words, making him sound harsher than he meant to. 

“The balcony,” Phil said between a sip of his drink, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m one of the only Heroes who gets one, ‘cause of my wings. But I just carried you and then flew you in, no one would have noticed… you’re awfully light by the way mate, a tad bit worrying. But I’m getting distracted! The plan.”

“For reasons I think I can guess, but you obviously don’t have to disclose, you don’t like the Heroes,” Phil said. “I, on the other hand, am a Hero. Hopefully not for very much longer but that’s not the point. My point is, you don’t trust me, and I understand why, but I’m making it clear to you now Techno, that you’re free to leave whenever you want. I’m not going to force you to stay here, or hand you in, or anything like that, okay? If for any reason you want to sack this plan in and go back to being a villain, I will not stop you.”

“… I can just leave?”

“At any point. The front doors unlocked, I can give you my ID so you can get in the lift, or I can even escort you back to your base if you want. But you don’t have to stay here, and I’d understand if you didn’t want to. It would make what I’m planning to do a helluva lot more difficult, but at the end of the day it’s your choice.”

…

“You said you’d help me?” Techno said slowly, trying to keep his voice from cracking. 

“Of course, anything you need.”

“I want two things. One, I want you to try and help me find my family. I don’t remember anything from before Pandora-“

That was a lie. 

Techno had fleeting memories, snippets and smudges of his mother’s smile, or her laughter or the way her eyes shone bright whenever she looked at him. He was certain she had powers, a hazy memory of wings, maybe? Not the same as Phil’s, but he vaguely remembered them. But Phil didn’t need to know about that (the rational part of Techno’s brain argued that those snippets would help the Hero find his family, but the selfish voice took over… Phil didn’t deserve to know those memories. Hadn’t earnt Techno’s trust yet, didn’t get to see those smudges).

“-And I figured the Warden keeps files on every single one of his prisoners. So I want you to help me find them.”

Smiling sadly, Phil nodded at him, the crows feet round his eyes creasing as he went. “Consider it done. What was the second thing?”

“I want him dead. I want the Warden to pay for what he’s done in blood, and I want to be the one who takes that penance from him.” 

Phil’s face sharpened, soft features turning harsh as he frowned. The atmosphere in the kitchen turned tense, heavy and cloying like the metallic taste of blood in the air.

“I… don’t think I promise you that, Techno,” Phil said softly. The blonde refused to break eye contact, bright blue eyes staring straight back at him, unrelenting. 

“I can promise you I’ll do everything in my power to make him face his comeuppance, so you can get some fairness and justice for what he’s done… but he’s also a family friend, someone I thought I could trust. Hell, he practically raised Will with me! I can’t promise you I’ll let you kill him, Techno, but I can do my best to make sure you get your penance as you put it. Is that okay?”

…

“Look if it comes to it, I’ll just look the other way and forget this conversation ever happened,” Phil said after a moment of terse silence. “If he happens to slip and break his neck, or meet the sharp end of your crowbar, that’s no blood on my hands.”

“Thought you were a Hero, aren’t you all about peace and morals and justice?”

“Well, like I said, hopefully I’m not one for much longer so…” 

Techno didn’t understand Phil at all, the man just shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. This was a man who’d worked for years to become one of the top superheroes of the last decade, no easy feat, and here he was, willing to throw it all away for him, a low grade villain who could be lying about everything as far as Phil’s concerned. It didn’t make sense in his mind… Why would Phil do this for him?

“You keep saying you have a plan,” Techno said, flat and seemingly disinterested, all the while trying to fight the urge to turn and hightail it out of the tower, away from the Heroes. “A plan to expose the corruption of the Hero’s Institute and bring about change, a plan which I’m apparently a key part of… how exactly are you going to do that?”

“Yeah Dad, I’m also curious how we’re going to do that…”

Techno looked up to see Wilbur hovering by the kitchen, clearly having just woken up- a bed head, glasses slightly crooked, wearing a tattered band tee and checked pajama bottoms. The brunette just nodded in Techno’s direction before grabbing a bottle of juice from the fridge, dragging the stool next to him out and taking a seat. 

“Morning to you too Wilbur…” Phil said with a lazy grin. “Tommy still asleep?”

“Yep, flat out. Now stop being dramatic and tell the pair of us your big old grand plan.” 

“Fine, fine! So, not to blow my own trumpet, but I’m kinda a big Hero,” Phil said, gesturing with his hands as he talked. “One of the biggest, most well known ones anyway. Because of that, I can’t just turn on the Institute out of the blue, right? I need time to move all our shit to a new base, sort out the semantics of becoming a freelancer, a vigilante or a villain or whatever- new costumes, code names, a modus operandi. For all of our safety… so you, Techno, are going to be my newest sidekick!”

…

“Neither of you look convinced.”

To his left, Wilbur just scoffed, huffing into his glass as he rolled his eyes. The two of them shared a quick look of mutual understanding… Phil was fucking insane, there was no way Techno could ever be a superhero’s sidekick. He was a villain for Christ’s sake! 

“Just hear me out,” Phil insisted. “I can’t just ditch the whole hero gig right away even though I want to, you want to gain inside information from the heroes… I think those two things can work together!” 

“So you’re really expecting the entire Hero’s Institute to just forget that he’s a villain who’s committed a whole long list of crimes, and be okay with that?” Wilbur said, sceptical. “No offence, Techno.”

“None taken.”

“Well they wouldn’t know! Nobody has seen you without the mask or the voice changer, other than us for a moment yesterday. With a new costume and everything you’d be unrecognisable.”

“The Warden’s seen me without the mask, and he definitely knows my voice,” Techno countered. Again, Phil just shrugged, seemingly not worried about that. 

“Eh, cross that bridge when we get to it. You wouldn’t have much to do with him as my sidekick, and we can make sure he never sees you without a mask on. Plenty of things we can do to stop him from recognising you.”

“Don’t they do background checks?” Wilbur said, not looking sold on the idea at all. “I mean I didn’t cause I grew up in the tower, but I know Tommy had to go through a thorough one.”

“I can’t believe you have so little faith in me Wilbur, honestly…”

Phil ducked down below the counter, returning a moment later with a stack of papers, identification and even what looked like a passport in hand. 

“You, Techno, are now Theodore Watson, my newest adopted ward and sidekick, Vulture.”

“Theodore?” Wilbur said with a slight scoff. “Tad bit pretentious don’t y’think Dad?”

“Pot kettle black, William.”

“Touché”

A new identity… that could be useful. There were so many things Techno couldn’t do because he had no legal documents, so even if this undercover schtick with the heroes went south a new identity could be a good thing. He just nodded his head at Phil’s look, running a finger across the ID card bearing his new name and identity on the counter in front of him. 

“But yes, all the documents should hold up well. Quackity’s good at forging, so I don’t doubt they’ll work. They only need to be good enough for a couple months until everything’s sorted and Techno’s got all the information he needs to.”

“Sure, whatever you say Dad. I trust you know what you’re doing at least a little bit. Might take a while to convince Techno of that but I think if we keep him out of Warden’s way and-“

The sound of knocking interrupted their conversation, all three of them turning towards the front door. Intercom crackling, a reedy voice trickled into the apartment.

“Hey Phil, not to be a pain in the ass, but security caught something a little weird on the cameras last night so I just wanted to check everything was good. Can I come in?”

…

“Shit,” Phil cursed, getting to his feet. “Will, can you-“

“Got it.” Wilbur grabbed Techno’s wrist gently, dragging back towards the bedroom he’d woken up in. “Stall for time. I’ll make sure Techno’s not recognisable as Bloodbath.”

Techno didn’t protest as Wilbur hauled him into a room he hadn’t been into before, a plain bathroom with a shower cubicle and a mirror. 

“Take off your mask,” Wilbur said as soon as he’d closed the door, leaning against the wood with a flat expression. 

“Uh how about no?”

“I’ll give you a medical mask, and then I’ll go get you some civilian clothes to wear,” Wilbur explained, crouching down to rummage through the cabinet underneath the sink. A black medical mask, like the ones doctors wore in surgery, was pressed into his hands. “But you can’t be seen by Dream in your villain costume if we want to sell you being a random kid Phil adopted.” 

True to his word, Wilbur slipped out of the bathroom as soon Techno nodded his head, hands moving of their own accord to slip the heavy metal off the lower half of his face. He felt exposed without it, and the thin material of the medical mask wasn’t much of a barrier, but he had to admit it did look less suspicious. 

Techno barely recognised the person- kid staring back at him in the mirror. He looked so young. Even with the mask obscuring everything lower than his nose bridge… he just looked like a teenager, someone you’d pass on the street and assume they were heading off to school or a shift at work. The dark circles stamped like crescents under his dark eyes, the slight crease between his brows, the way a single strand of copper-red hair hung limp against his forehead.

The clothes shoved through the door haphazardly were obviously Will’s, trousers slightly too long, rolled around his ankles, and the shirt bagging around his lanky form. But they fit, and they made him look like he wasn’t a super villain so…

Wilbur was waiting for him outside, giving him a once over with a slight grin. 

“You scrub up well,” he said hesitantly, pushing the bridge of his glasses up higher. “You’re not actively bleeding anymore, either… so that’s fun?”

“Well you’re the one who shot me so…”

“Semantics,” Wilbur said with a scoff and a wave of his hand, turning to head back to the living area. “Anyway, back to the matter at hand… it’s only Clay, you probably know him as Dream-“

“Dream’s here?” Techno said, stalling in his tracks, feet frozen to the floor. “As in, one of the top heroes, head of the Dream Team and the same hero who kicked my ass through a brick wall?”

“He what? Dude, he’s only ever kicked my ass at Scrabble before. I grew up with him, he’s about your age. We literally went through training together as kids!”

…

“He won’t recognise you,” Wilbur assured when Techno didn’t reply, mouth set into a thin line beneath his mask. “I promise… hell I hardly recognised you walking out of the bathroom!”

You and him both, Wilbur.

Sure enough, as Techno slinked out into the living room in Wilbur’s shadow, the hero was there, standing at the counter Techno had been at just moments ago.

“-and I get that! Honestly, I agree it’s an invasion of privacy,” Dream was saying, back to them as he leant against the countertop and ran his fingers through sandy brown hair, the other gloved hand cradling a coffee cup in the shape of a fish. Cute. “But Bad asked me to check out the strange person you dragged up into your apartment so… Here I am. Oh, thanks for the coffee by the way… it was a long shift.”

“Tell me about it mate,” the blonde said, looking over Dream’s shoulder to see Wilbur and Techno hovering by the sofas. He made a vaguely pleased face at Techno’s ‘disguise,’ gesturing for them to come closer. “Oh! There they are!”

“They?”

Dream sounded sceptical, turning round to find Wilbur waving at him, and Techno doing his best to act natural. Well, as natural as a villain attempting to pretend to be the adopted son of a superhero he met yesterday could ever be. Hazel eyes looked him up and down from above Dream’s own mask, like his but in a pale white rather than black. The Hero wore his super suit, white leather with green panels and straps, with his own merch- a hoodie with a smile scrawled across the front- on the top half.

“Oh… hi?”

Techno just shrugged, making eyes at Phil in a desperate attempt to get the man to bail him out. 

Thankfully he got the hint, crossing the room to stand between Will and Techno. “Dream, this is Theo, the strange person you saw me hauling up here last night. I’m, uh, planning on adopting him, actually.”

“Oh? Oh! Congrats to you all I guess?” Dream looked uncomfortable, rubbing at the back of his neck nervously. “I wasn’t aware you were looking on training anyone else up, Phil. Does Bad know?”

“Eh, not quite yet… but Theo’s a special case. I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“What’s your damage then Theo?” Dream asked, sticking his hands in his pockets. He had plenty of those in his suit, something Techno definitely wasn’t jealous of. “Your powers, even.”

…

Techno sighed internally, weighing up the situation as he cleared his throat. He really, really didn’t want to speak, to give away any snippet of personal information that could be traced back to him… but he had to. It’d look pretty dodgy if the random kid Phil adopted out of the blue never spoke.

“Uh, healing,” he said, trying not to react to Phil and Wilbur’s shock at hearing his natural voice. He hated how young he sounded, despite his gravelly baritone… he just sounded like a kid.

A poor, lost kid who needed a hero to save him. Great. 

“Healing?”

“Yep,” he said, popping the ‘p’. I mean, it technically wasn’t a lie… because of his powers Techno could heal blood based injuries, stop haemorrhages or even cause them. Just, bending the truth a little.

“Well, we always need more healers around the tower!” Dream said, a smile in his voice. “You should talk to Ponk, he’s our head medic, I’m sure he’d help you out… I didn’t expect that from you Phil. You usually go for the crazy powerful ones!”

Oh if only he knew…

“Don’t let Tommy hear you say that, you’ll never hear the end of it.” Phil said with a smile, the skin around his eyes crinkling as he grinned. “But Theo’s mighty powerful, actually, so much potential… just need to get him out of his shell a little.”

Now Techno knew Phil was just saying that to get Dream to believe in this whole front, acting as if he was the proud parent of his newly adopted kid, but he couldn’t help but blush a little at the praise. Techno couldn’t remember the last time someone had said he was doing well… 

“Well, if you ever need a hand with training, me and the boys are always down. Always looking to burn off some energy… Ready to get your ass handed to you sparing Theo?” Dream offered, giving Techno what could only be classed as a conspiratorial look, as if they were friends or something. He just raised an eyebrow in response, flat faced. 

Wincing, Dream shrugged, “That was a joke, by the way… just- let us know when you’ll be training, if we can help in any way. There’s not many sparring partners in our age or weight category so-“

“I’ll bear that in mind, thank you Dream.”

Phil’s hand on his shoulder was a clear but polite sign for the other blonde to leave. Just nodding slightly, Dream moved towards the door, talking over his shoulder.

“I’ll let Bad know that everything’s fine, but you’re the one who has to explain all this,” he said, lingering by the doorframe. “As nice as Theo seems, you should really go through the proper channels for adopting a sidekick Phil… and I know you’re one of the top heroes and all that, but still. It’s just a matter of safety, y’know? Anyway, I’ll leave you alone now. Nice to meet you Theo! My teams on the sixteenth floor if you ever wanna hang out or whatever… and Wilbur I’ll see you for abilities training tomorrow.”

Wilbur just scoffed, tilting his coffee cup in goodbye as Dream disappeared, “I look forward to it.”

…

Phil sighed after a terse moment, the front door swinging shut and the automatic locks clicking into place. In front of him, Wilbur did that breathy, almost scoffing laugh again, tension draining from his shoulders as he slumped against the kitchen counter. At his side, and not really sure what to do or how to feel about that, Techno took a seat on one of the high stools, the cold marble of the kitchen counter grounding his racing thoughts. 

Phil’s expression never wavering even as Techno and Wilbur stared at him, waiting for him to say something as he took a long sip from his mug.

“Well that went well!”