Chapter Text
"SHIT!"
Tommy jumped out of the way of another neon green string while Ranboo teleported the others to safetey, leaving him against all three members of the Dream Team.
Tommy barely dodged an incoming fireball from Fireball (how original slash ess ae are) before Ranboo came back to get him. The two of them are teleported to Tubbo's house right before Fireball sent another ball of fire their way.
Tommy took off his dark brown 3D-printed plague mask and shoved it into his backpack, then promptly collapsed onto the couch with a few too many stains
"Tubboooo I told you we shouldn't have gone on a patrol todayyyy" he groans.
Tubbo runs over and plops down on top of him
"AH WHAT THE FUCK-"
"I didn't say shit bitch! You begged us all to patrol together, we nearly got caught, now you have to suffer the consequences!"
"Hmph"
"Bitch"
"Tubbo!"
Tommy, Tubbo, Ranboo, and Purpled all collectively shrieked at the sound of Puffy entering the room, none of them having noticed her boots clacking on the wood floors.
"You know the rules. Quarter in the jar"
Tubbo sighed and got off a coughing Tommy to deposit a quarter in the Swear Jar™
"Hi Ms.Puffy" Ranboo greeted, ever so politely
"Ranboo you know you don't have to call me that dear. But hello, you too Tommy, Purpled. How was patrol?"
Tommy opened his mouth to say that it went great when Purpled, that bitch, stepped in front of him
"We were out for a total of five minutes before the entire Dream Team got on our asses and we were nearly caught"
Puffy sighed shaking her head fondly "You four never learn" she sighed
"HEY"
"Nope!"
"Yeah, no"
"HEY"
They all yelled at once
Tommy and Tubbo both looked at Purpled and Ranboo, offended, and Ranboo tried to give his most apologetic look, but Purpled just gave an unimpressed glance before facing back to Puffy.
"I gotta go. Punz is probably gonna start worrying once he sees the news. See you later Puffy"
Puffy smiled and waved "Bye kiddo! Take care!!"
Purpled did a two finger salute and walked backwords out the front door
The four of them stood in silence for a few seconds before Puffy spoke up
"Would you boys like anything? Or-"
"I should go!" Tommy announced. Puffy looked at him weirdly before going back to her normal welcoming smile
"Are you sure you don't want to stay Tommy? I can clean up the spare room for you"
Tommy shook his head, then Ranboo spoke up as well
"I should get going too. Thank you for letting us come here for a bit Ms.Puffy"
Puffy smiled and nodded "Goodbye boys. Take care, and I'll see you later"
"BYE YOU SHITS!" Tubbo called from the kitchen
"Tubbo!!"
"Sorry-"
The rest of the conversation was cut off as Ranboo closed the door behind him.
Tommy started walking across the street while Ranboo turned left, the two saying goodbye as well.
Tommy stuck his hands in the pockets of his cargo shorts and looked around, taking in his surroundings. The chilling breeze, the slow sway of the trees, the stars shinging down as the moon gave a toothy smile. He appreciates everything around him, until he walks up to the steps of a two story house with brick walls and two cars parked in front of it.
He slid his hand under the mat in front of the dark oak door and unlocked it with the found key, then he replaced the key, slipped inside, and relocked it. He walked down the short hallway to the kitchen, where he found some dino chicken nuggets and heated them up.
He plopped onto one of the three chairs that surrounded the table and ate quickly. He cleaned the plate and went to get ready for bed, taking a shower, brushing his teeth, getting on some pajamas, and then made his way to the stairway
Instead of climbing up the stairs though, he stopped at the little door that lead to a large-ish storage compartment, aka, Tommy's Room.
There was a small shelf with trinkets and gifts he'd gotten over the years (a cool rock Wilbur found when he was 4, a small moth plush that Puffy got for his 13th birthday, a shiny bell he had stolen from Techno and never gave back, an allium in a sphere of resin given to him by Ranboo during their two year friendship anniversary, etc.), a bright red sleeping bag, Henry the cow plush (the last gift his family had ever given to him), and a Nightmare themed bright-green lava lamp, which was his only source of light.
He set his phone down to charge next to the lava lamp, which he turned off so Wilbur wouldn't get upset, and stared into the darkness.
He should be thinking of what he was going to do tomorrow, or maybe what he did yesterday, or even the day after, but outside of patroling and hanging out with Ranboo, Purpled, and Tubbo, Tommy doesn't do anything. He just takes long walks and hangs around at home.
He graduated from school early to try and impress his family which didn't work, so he doesnt have school to take up his days. College is too expensive, and Phil would never pay for him to go. He doesn't have many friends to hang out with on weekdays.
Tommy is all alone
He's been alone for the past seven years.
It was easier to find things to do when he was younger, but nowadays? Now he's always bored out of his mind.
He lets his thoughts drift a bit, thinking about what people usually do after they graduate. Well, there was Quackity who worked as a casino owner full time, and a villain part time, but Tommy doesn't feel like starting a million dollar casino or taking up villainy at the moment. It's just no one of those days y'know? There's also Niki who is also a villain by night but a baker by day. She works at Puffy's Cafe almost every day.
Must be nice having something like a job to distract yourself during the day
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processing data. . .
Tommy shot up with a brand new idea and nearly hit his head. For once, he was thinking of tomorrow. His plans were as follows:
-Make a "resume"
-Go job hunting
-Get a job
-Destroy boredom with a battle axe made for gods (aka Tommy)
He continued brainstorming ideas until he eventually drifted off to sleep.
A couple minutes after his brain finally shut down, the front door opened and closed with a click, and hushed whispers echoed throughout the house.
The three men who entered hadn't thought of the boy under the stairs once, instead recalling a successful night of saving little boys and girls from cars, and stopping villains in their tracks.
Finally, an hour later, the whole house went silent as everyone slept, awaiting the next day.
Tommy awoke the next day, threw on a hoodie and jeans, and got straight to work. He pulled out an old laptop his school gave him as a "hey! you graduated early! nice!" gift and started typing away at his new resume. He messaged Tubbo asking for a fake birth certificate and ID, which Tubbo dropped off right before he left for school. They looked so realistic that Tommy almost thought Tubbo just printed his picture onto somebody else's ID, but nope! Tubbo is just that amazing and cool and pog and-
You get the idea
Now that Tommy had everything ready, all he needed was an actual job.
He bound his wings with some babdages, grabbed a backpack and stuffed his vigilante gear, paperwork, laptop, charger, "ID", and some lucky charms into it and strolled out the door, not bothering to lock it
It didn't take long for him to get to town, where there should be flyers and posters everywhere advertising job openings and business opportunities, but strangely enough, there were none. All the papers that were usually taped or pinned to the wall were taken down, and replaced with the same poster with a picture of the Dream Team.
Tommy elected to ignore the flyers, and instead made his way to Puffy's Cafe. A little bell rang above the door as he walked in and was immidiately hit with a wave of different smells coming from the kitchen.
He walked up to the counter where a worker at the register greeted him
"Hi uh.." Tommy looked at their nametag which read 'Rainy Snailz' with little rainclouds and flowers doodled on it, "Rainy. Do you know where Niki is?"
"She's in the back! If you want I can go get her!!" she replied
Tommy nodded, and she turned, then hollered "NIKI THERES A SAD BLONDE KID WHO WANTS TO SEE YOU!!"
Tommy looked at them with slight offense
"She'll be right out!!" she said cheerily
Tommy sighed before Niki came out from the back kitchen and greeted Tommy herself
"Hi Tommy! How are you?"
"Can I get a job here Niki?"
Niki blinked once. Twice. Tree times. Then shoved a flyer into Tommy's hands
"We aren't hiring at the moment. The Hero Tower has a job opening, so now any and all other businesses can't hire people for the rest of the day" she said bitterly
Tommy took a look at the flyer and read through it
HELP WANTED
---
The DREAM TEAM is in need of a new PERSONAL ASSISTANT
---
If YOU wish to apply, go to the HERO TOWER at 3:00pm for the INTERVIEWS, or call the number
XXX-XXX-XXXX
---
WE HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE TOWER SOON!!1!!!1
Tommy read over it a couple more times just to make sure it was real, then proceeded to crumple it and throw it in the trash. Its not like anyone will miss it, after all they were everywhere. They weren't even pleasing to the eye! The amount of fonts wnd bright colors used on it made Tommy's eyes hurt like a bitch.
"Are you sure you won't be hiring? Because I could really use a job, I had this whole thing planned out for today, and I won't rest until I get a job! That isn't at the Hero Tower!!"
Niki sighed
"Good luck with that then Tommy. I'll be here tomorrow if you're still looking by then"
Tommy nodded, sighed, said his goodbyes, and exited the cafe while thinking of where he could go to get a new job. He didn't even consider going to the Hero Tower to get the job because
1, Heroes are all stuck up pricks that care more about their rules and their image than actually saving people
2, HE'S A FUCKING ILLEGAL VIGILANTE
3, His dad and brothers housemates work there. Which would be very, very awkward.
So, no. Tommy will not be going to the interview in two hours. He will find some other job that doesn't risk getting him and all his friends arrested.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy
The Hero Tower looked down at Tommy, mocking him.
After nearly two hours of searching, Tommy came up empty handed, but he was still determined, so if getting a job meant risking his life, then so be it.
Tommy walked in and was greeted by so. Many. People.
All over the place were people in suits, walking to and from different destinations and trying to keep others from doing something probably illegal.
Tommy pushed and shoved until he finally made it to the front desk where the receptionist looked like she was working hard, but in the reflection of their glasses, Tommy saw an intense game of Tetris going on
"Uh, hi?" Tommy waved in front of the receptionist, who didn't seem to hear him. He glanced at her nametag which read "Ellis Bellachick" and scrawled in blue pen after it, was "-ety Chella"
"Hey? Mister or Miss Bella Chickety Chella? Hey!"
The person jumped and groaned as the blocks stacked to the top and turned to Tommy
"Hi what do you want"
Jeez rude
"Jeez rude"
Ellis sighed
"Look man, I woke up less than an hour ago, was forced to deal with a bunch of stuck up pricks, and was really close to beating my highscore, so just tell me what you need so I can finish up the game"
Y'know what? Valid.
"Alright then, uh I'm here for the interview"
Ellis studied hin for a second before shrugging and turning to his computer and mumbling something about 'doesn't look 18' and 'guess not one to speak'.
"Alright, what's your name? Also I need to see your ID"
"Tommy uh..." he hesitated, not wanting to reveal that he was part of the Watson "family", "Innit."
Ellis raised a brow and Tommy handed his homeade ID which read 'Tomathy Careful Danger Kraken Minecraft Innit W.'
"What's the W stand for?"
Tommy stared for a second before remembering that Tubbo probably had to include the W.
"It's uh," he sighed. It won't be too bad if one receptionist knew right? "Watson. It stands for Watson. My last name"
Ellis's eyes widened
"You mean like the Watsons? As in the Sleepy Boys?? The second best hero team here??? They're your family? "
Tommy sighed "I wouldn't say that...."
"Oh, so are they as stuck up, rich, narcissistic, and bitchy to you as they are to me?"
Tommy barked out a laugh
"Yeah you can say that" he smiled and Ellis laughed a little too
"I'll just put Innit here instead. I'm assuming you want to apply to be the Dream Team's PA?"
Their who now what?
"Yup!"
"Fantastic, go to the 41st floor and wait until they call you in. Good luck kid"
Tommy took the new ID and lanyard and smiled
"Thanks Ellis. Also I'm not a kid dickhead" he walked away before they could respond and went to the elevator, pressing the 41st button
"Jeez 69 floors?? Rich fucks"
Tommy patiently waits in the elevator that is now packed with men and women in business attire. The elevator finally got to the 41st floor and Tommy, along with more than half the business people following, made his way to the door labeled "Waiting Room 03"
The room is packed with different people in business attire sitting in chairs or standing and going through notes, making sure they seem legit. Tommy made his way through the crowd to the corner in the back and waits for what feels like (and what might be) hours before someone calls
"Tomathy Innit! Please go to room 404!"
Tommy exits the room (which was now almost completely empty) and headed to room 404, which was conveniently right next to the waiting room so I dont have to write him walking there
When he turned the handle and when he walked in, he was immidiately met with an interogation room. What the fuck. The three members of the Dream Team were sitting behind a table with some papers and pens on it and they all seemed quite..... bored?
"Uh, hi"
Fireball was smiling at his phone, 404 looks like he's on the verge of falling asleep, and Nightmare is looking down at his clipboard
"Tomathy Careful Danger Kraken Minecraft Double You Innit?" he said
"That's me haha.." Tommy coughs into his hand and stands awkwardly and Nightmare sighed. Dickhead.
He finally started looking up from his clipboard as he said
"Alright why don't you come sit do. . . " he trailed off as he stared at Tommy, and Tommy started panicking slightly. Did he recognize him? His voice? That couldn't be it because of the voice changers Tubbo made.. Was it the hair? Maybe he-
"Are you in the right place kid?" he asked
Fireball finally looked up to take a peek at Tommy and then he immidiately turned off his phone and straightened up a bit
"Do you need me to direct you to the right area?" Fireball asked
"Uh, I don't think so? This is where the interview to be your PA is right?" Tommy looked at then all confused
Nightmare studied him for another second
"How old are you, uh, Tomathy?"
"It's Tommy. Also I'm 19 dic- Nightmare" he's 17 ELL OH ELL
Even with his mask on, Tommy could feel Nightmare's eyes boring into him, but eventually he sighed "Sit down"
Tommy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding wnd sat down in the chair in front of the three heroes.
"So, Tommy, why do you want this job?" Nightmare asked
"Well, I'm gonna be honest I'm bored every day and I need some extra cash so I can move out before I turn 30 y'know?"
"You still live with your parents?" 404 asked, which surprised Tommy. Wasn't he asleep??
"Uh, sort of. I live with my dad and brothers" if you could even call them that.
"Okay.. why should we pick you instead of everyone else here?"
Okay, time for the hardest question here. What does Tommy know about PAs? Nothing.. Okay, time to bullshit.
"Because I am young, not a stuck up prick, and I'm not gonna fanboy like half the people here, because let's be honest, I have never seen a person in a business suit so excited to do an interview for a job that they might not even get"
Fireball snorted and Nightmare tried to hold back a laugh, while 404 shook his head with a small smile
Puffy would be proud
"All right then, uh how good are you under stressful situations?" Nightmare finally asked after getting his giggles under control
"What kind of stressful situation?"
"Maybe someone broke into the tower, which is very unlikely by the way, or you could get kidnapped or attacked for working with us. Heroes have a lot of enemies, so you are endangering yourself greatly by working with us. It's alright if this is a dealbreaker, it is for a lot of people"
Tommy thought for a moment
"I am used to very 'stressful situations' already, since I spend most of my time in the lower districts, so I'd like to think I handle them pretty well" he didn't include the fact that half the time he was there it was because he was patroling as a highly illegal vigilante.
"Alright! We're almost done here"
"That's it?"
"Yeah pretty much. There is one more thing we need to do for security reasons though" Nightmare looked at 404 who nodded and said
"I need to use my power on you"
Oh
404's power was rarely used on the battlefield, but it was terrifying still. See, when he chants your full name three times, he can see you biggest fear, but it only works with your real full name. And Tommy gave them a fake name. Oh shit-balls-and-also-dick.
"Oh"
"This would be a great time to tell me if you gave use a fake name or something. If it's something you don't want to disclose or something you can just whisper it to me"
Tommy shifted uncomfortabley before sighing. It'll be okay if only 404 knows. Right?
George watched as the boy, Tommy he said, shifted in the seat before sighing and walking over.
"This won't change my chances at getting the job right?"
He asked, which is a common question. People often get worried that giving a fake name will put their chances at zero, but it's fine as long as they don't have anything like a criminal record, which Ellis looks through before they enter. If they have a fake name, then Ellis would have had to allow it, so they should be fine. This is just last minute thing in case they somehow were able to override the system.
George nodded "It'll be fine Tommy"
He still seemed unsure but went to his ear anyways. Before he whispered he cupped his hand in front of his mouth and it briefly made contact with George, and time seemed to stop for a moment as George saw something awful.
A part of George's power that almost nobody knew about was that when his skin came in contact with someone else's for the first time, he could see the worst thing that has ever happened to them.
He has seen some awful things and is completely unaffected by most. Some things will get past the wall he put up, but not very often.
What he saw was deffinately high up there though.
When Tommy's hand came in contact with his cheekbone, George was immidiately transported to a scene that seemed fuzzy, as if it were an old memory, but it was still clear enough for George to see everything going on.
A little blonde boy giggled as he was being picked up by a brunette who looked to be in his late teens. They were both giggling as they strolled ahead of a man with shoulder length blonde hair, a beautiful woman with wavy midnight hair and a black sunhat, and a man with longish brown hair with pink streaks pulled back in a ponytail.
The family looked happy
Then, a sudden explosion made the ground shake and the people started panicking. The man with shoulder length blonde hair told the brunette and the woman to hide. They nodded and ran towards an alley with the blonde boy, while the other two went to another alleyway, exiting it a minute later in full hero gear.
George recognized them as the Crowfather and the Blade during their earlier days. Why are they here?
George felt a light tug in his chest that pulled him towards the alley where the woman, the brunette, and the little blonde boy were hiding. The little boy was crying and tried to escape the brunette's grasp, and after a bit of wiggling, he did. He waddled to the outside of the alley while the brunette yelled for him to come back.
The boy waddled towards the street before a tripping on a stray rock. He started getting up, but as he rolled over, a peice of a wall from the fight going on ahead came flying over and landed right on the little boy's legs. He started crying as his little legs were stuck under the debris. The woman, despite the loud protest from the brunette, rushed out of the alley and tried to calm the little boy down and help him get out from under the debris while the brunette called an amulance from the alley.
Nobody, not even George saw what was happening with the fight, too occupied with the crying boy. It was too late by the time the Crowfather called out. It was that moment that George realized why this was such a horrible memory. It was that moment that George truly remembered how dangerous their society was.
It was that moment that a massive peice of debris with a few pipes sticking out of it hit the woman, one of the pipes piercing her chest.
If you looked closely, it looked like the woman had gotten wings of her own.
Only for a moment.
The boy stopped crying for a moment.
The heroes stopped fighting for a moment.
The brunette stopped talking for a moment.
After the moment, all hell broke loose.
The Blade went to apprehend the villain they were fighting, while the Crowfather rushed to the woman's side. The brunette dropped his phone and rushed over as well. The little boy began to cry again.
Tears streaked down their faces, and the little boy begged for his mother, while the other two were saying things to her that George couldn't hear
An ambulance finally arrived and freed the boy, laying him and the woman on a stretcher and taking them away.
George thought it was over, but then the scene began to shift, and suddenly he was in a hospital
The room had only one bed with the woman laying on it
The little boy, the brunette, and the two heroes were all sitting by her side. The boy tried asking questions and pestering the other three, but they just shooed him away.
The heart rate moniter was keeping a slow yet steady pace
Beep
Beep
Beep
Beeeeeeeeeep
When the moniter began the long beep, the three older men started yelling, and doctors and nurses crowded into the room, as the others were ushered out. The little boy tried asking what was going on, but when he got no answer he started crying
Then, the brunette in the yellow sweater, the one who had laughed as he carried the little one only hours before, started yelling at him
He yelled about how he caused their mother's death, and how if he had only listened to him, then they wouldn't be here. How he was lucky he was still alive and almost completely unscathed except for the broken ankle that he now had tiny crutches for. How it was all his fault
And the other two men, the heroes didn't do anything to help the poor kid. They just stood and watched, and when he tried asking them for help, they sinply gave him the cold shoulder.
The boy cried and cried until he wore himself out, about to fall asleep. The older blonde got up, qnd the rest followed suit.
They all walked out of the hospital, a broken family, as they waited to see if it was really the end for the woman, their beloved wife and mother
And then the scenes ended, and George was back.
Someone, Dream, was shaking his shoulder while Tommy looked at him nervously
"Sorry I uh, zoned out there for a second" he chuckled a bit, and Dream gave him a questioning glance, to which he mouthed 'later', earning a nod
That was going to be an interesting story to tell him later
Tommy was confused
He was about to whisper what his nane was, when 404 just. . . froze
Tommy wondered what he had done, but then he came back a second later after Nightmare lightly shook his shoulder
"Sorry I uh, zoned out there for a second" he chuckled a bit, "do you mind telling me your name again Tommy?"
Tommy decided to brush it off and nodded
He went to George's ear and whispered a name he rarely ever used
"Tom Watson"
And George simply nodded as Tommy backed away towards the seat.
"Is uh, is that all?"
"Yes it is. Thank you for applying Tommy, and have a nice day"
"Bye"
Tommy walked out of the room and peeked into the waiting room, only to see it completely empty.
The others must have gotten bored or something
Tommy shrugged to himself and went along his merry way, going down the the first floor of the building again (which was much less crowded than before), and outside back to the city.
He took in the fresh air and made his way back to Tubbo's house.
As he walked he thought about the interview, and how it was an absolute trainwreck. The other people who wanted jobs were so much more prepared, professional, and probably a lot more qualified than Tommy was. He went to it in a hoodie and jeans while everyone else was in suits.
Yeah, no doubt about it, Tommy is not getting a job today