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Tommy swears he never meant to get into this situation. Not at this calibre anyway.
Shit was going down in his district and why would anyone like himself ignore it?
He's a vigilante, this part of the city, even if decrepit and run down, it's still his city, his home. And he's been their protector for well over 3 years now, at 17 and still kicking ass.
The people appreciate it, he knows. He hasn't been out in vigilante costume not once without someone saying thank you, or giving him a gift, or free food, or even just shouting his name and waving at him. Hell, he's even had people ask for his autograph and photos.
It makes his heart warm, it makes him feel special, it makes everything worth it if it means helping these people.
So, when an explosion happened in his district while he was out, he was running there in seconds. Flying over buildings and alleyways, his ability to manipulate gravity makes it incredibly easy.
But when he got there he was surprised over what he saw. Was that the heroes?
Why were the heroes in the lower districts? He never sees them here.
But they seem to be helping and he can tell, his people are as confused as he is. Some give the heroes strange looks. Bystanders whispering to each other and pointing.
But the heroes don't seem to mind this as they help people out from rubble and fallen debris. And well, Tommy isn't gonna complain.
He also is hesitant however, since this is the heroes. They are obligated to arrest him considering his occupation is technically illegal.
He's been chased by them a few times but that's a rare occurrence and never by big heroes. And these are big heroes.
Crowfather.
Blade.
Jubilee.
Dream.
Flare.
Frequency.
The big numbers are all here. So Tommy can't blame his hesitance but he does blame his heart.
Because he hears a cry and although the heroes are there, he can't help but act.
Blade is currently trying to lift a large piece of rubble that has people under it and Tommy can't help but get involved.
He lands beside the rubble and with his presence, gravity is lifted a little. It makes it incredibly easy for the Blade to now lift the rubble and three scared kids are under it.
Immediately Tommy is there, kneeling before them.
"Hey, hey, it's okay, you're okay. Anyone hurt?" He says softly and gets three shaking heads. Okay, that's good.
"Alright, come on out, the heroes are here, you'll be okay," he holds out his hand and a little hand intertwines with his. Soon enough, he's got a little line going where all three kids are holding hands with each other and one of his as they get up.
When he looks up, his heart drops a little when several masked eyes stare at him. Oh yeah, they're here, he kind of forgot about that.
He gulps and tries to wave.
"They're not hurt, scared but they don't have any injuries that they know of," he informs, none of the heroes respond.
Okay, he's just gonna… get these kids to the ambulance.
He shuffles around them, they don't move to stop him, thank goodness. But they do go back to helping people caught in the explosion and Tommy helps.
With his ability to create low gravity, lifting and carrying people is an easy and faster task.
People are out in only an hour later, some injured but not too much for it to be immediate.
But again, everyone is still incredibly confused over the presence of the heroes. Tommy gets it.
He's the only person who saves people and patrols this area and other districts nearby. He's not the only Vigilante out there but the only one who patrol's here. So yeah, it's weird to have heroes here after they've ignored them for years.
When Tommy sees that everyone's being taken care of and families reuniting in tearful rejoice, he decides this is probably a good time to bounce.
But it seems others don't agree.
"Hey!" Someone calls and Tommy turns and dread mixes in his stomach when he meets the masked eyes of Crowfather, the winged hero.
Crowfather approaches and Tommy stays where he is. He doesn't know whether to run or not, considering it for a moment or two but realises he can't when the Crowfather is now in front of him.
"You're a vigilante, correct?" Is the man's first question and, wow, okay, straight off the bat then.
Tommy hesitates to answer for a moment.
"Why do you wanna know?" He asks instead, thanking his friend Tubbo for finishing the voice modulator in time for this day.
The winged man sighs and on closer inspection, Tommy sees some hint of reluctance in his body tone.
"Mate, you do know you're illegal, right?" Okay, Tommy is not liking where this is going. Nor does he like the fact the other heroes are congregating towards him as well.
The civilians eye them warily.
"I… am aware?" He answers cautiously, questioning in his tone.
They're silent for a beat before someone says something.
"Crow, you know we can't ignore this," Blade is the one to speak this time and it seems to make the winged man deflate, wings shuffling on his back.
"I know mate, I know," another sigh leaves him.
He looks back up at Tommy, just staring for a moment.
"Do you go by a name around here mate?" The man questions and Tommy blinks in surprise.
"I uh, I got named Red Runner," he tells them because why not, may as well leave his mark with the top heroes before being arrested. Plus, he's proud of the name, got named by a fan on Twitter and it sort of stuck after it got over a million likes.
"But most just call me Red."
Which is also true, a sort of nickname to his vigilante name.
The winged man hums, nodding slightly.
"Red Runner, I know you do good, I can see it. The way you helped those people, they trust you and you do well but… you still are an illegal asset. And as the number 1 hero, Crowfather, I will have to arrest you. You can come peacefully, which we'd much rather prefer or you cannot, that's up to you," the man says, confidently and loud.
Fuck, okay, so he was going to get arrested. This isn't gonna end well.
Tommy tenses where he is and he isn't blind when the other heroes shuffle on their feet in almost perfect unison.
Tommy doesn't have a choice it seems. He either relents and gets himself arrested or fights and maybe gets himself arrested.
One sounds a little more appealing then the other.
So Tommy takes a step back and then another. Each step followed by the heroes.
Goddammit. Guess he has only one other weapon besides his fighting skills. His mouth.
"Come on fellas, we can talk about this. We were working so well together earlier, can't we come to a truce and move on with our lives?"
He tries, still walking backwards but they still advance, never faltering. It's incredibly unnerving.
"Sorry Red, but it's our job," Flare is the one to speak next and somehow that creates a fire of anger built up inside him. Funny how it's the fire guy who starts it.
"It's my job too, the only difference is, I don't get paid for it," he snarls, eyes set in a glare even behind his red rimmed goggles.
That makes the winged hero stop in his tracks.
"I get it Red, you got a good head on your shoulders and I'd be lying if I said I didn't admire you for it. But we still have to do this," the man says, a little too softly for Tommy.
Tommy can admit, it's a bit of an ego boost to have a big time hero say he admires you for what you do but it's a slap in the face at the same time.
"You really don't," he tells him and by the sigh he gets, he knows the man gets it.
But none of them seem to be leaving anytime soon, not without him.
So Tommy prepares himself for a fight.
And a fight he gets.
It happens quickly, Blade unsheathes his sword and Crowfather spreads his wings as both Jubilee and Blade flank Tommy on both sides.
It looks rehearsed, like they've done it a hundred times over and Tommy can say in confidence, they definitely have.
Frequency, Dream and Flare follow suit. Dream drops to the ground and places his hands flushed to the concrete road. Green lines glow from within the concrete that slither under his feet.
Tommy realises almost too late what's happening and he just avoids the trap as it springs. Glowing green strings shoot from the concrete and almost make a cage around Tommy but Tommy is quick enough to jump out, using his low gravity on his body to make his moves faster.
But it seems that was also a trap as Flare and Frequency are there. Frequency with his throwing knives and Flare with his flame. Shit, his hoodie is gonna be burnt by the end of this isn't it?
Tommy reacts fast, dodging Frequencies knives and Flares fire although he got nicked by a knife and part of his hoodie is now burned, his low gravity makes him faster by making his body lighter.
It's not over yet though, two at a time, Dream and Blade rush from the side. Crowfather having flown and dropped behind him, Frequency and Flare coming from the front.
Fuck, guess the only way out of this is up.
Tommy ducked down, avoiding a slice from Blade's sword and pushing his feet against the road, as if jumping. But he flies up instead and floats in the air. Lowering his gravity enough, he has none.
It took a lot of practice and a lot of nausea but Tommy had mastered his ability to handle no gravity enough, he could work for NASA.
Crowfather could fly up and grab him but he'd drop the moment he tried, Frequency could throw his knives or Dream could use his strings but Tommy has enough incentive to avoid those.
What he failed to realised however, was this was all a distraction from one person who hadn't joined the fray.
"Jubilee, now!!" Blade shouts and Tommy looks up to see in the distance, Jubilee in his blue trench coat, taking a deep breath.
Oh no.
Jubilee screams, everyone dropping and covering their ears. A shock wave is shot straight at Tommy and Tommy being distracted by the initial shout, forgets to drop.
It hits him like a punch to the face and Tommy is flung back. The force of the wave and the disorienting scream that rings his ears, lowers his grip on gravity and he drops like a stone.
He flies and hits the ground hard, rolling on concrete.
Everything spins, everything hurts. His body aches and he holds back a scream as his bones scream for him.
His ears ring a tinny one note tune that is painful to listen too. God, he wants that to stop. His eyes blur with the world around him as he blinks, trying to come back to reality but it pulls away then comes back between blinks of his eyes.
He groans gravely, finding it too much to even move.
But he has to move, he's got to run. He can't be caught, not yet. It was supposed to be a joke, the thought of being caught. But now it's more likely to happen. He can't get arrested, not now.
Tubbo will kill him if he does.
"... Fuck," he says in a raspy whisper, it almost got harder and harder to fight the dots that cover his vision but it's becoming less and less as time goes.
The blur slowly fades and sound comes back to him in muffled waves as the ringing goes away.
"... he's down,"
"... Hit that hard?"
"... necessary Dad… illegal, remember?"
He groans again.
But it's coming back, reality is coming back and he manages to get up on his hands and knees, on all fours he blinks away at the blurriness of his vision and looks up.
People are around, bystanders and civilians watch with wide eyes.
Tommy hates that he's about to be arrested in front of these people. People he's helped and saved on multiple occasions, some faces even look familiar to him.
God, if this doesn't embarrass him to death, Tubbo will kill him himself.
He reaches a hand to his face that feels too cold and rubs at his eyes. Wait, his eyes.
Fuck, his goggles are gone.
Tommy whips his head around although it doesn't help with the dizziness still going away and he tries to avoid looking at the heroes not even a few feet away that are getting closer.
He spots it, not too far but too far for him to reach over to pick up. They lay innocently close to the street's sidewalk, a small crack in the red lense of the left one from what he can see.
Damn, he hopes it isn't fully broken, he loves those goggles.
But he needs it to get them. Even with his gaiter on, he can't help but want to hide his eyes. His blue eyes that people describe look like the clear sky on a sunny day.
He shuffles towards them, practically crawling on all fours even if it takes a lot of effort. Because it does and even with a few paces forward, he's almost out of breath.
He's very winded, the hit knocking the air out of his lungs. Plus his ribs hurt like a bitch.
He hears a pattern of feet before he sees them. Small legs attached to a small person run towards him.
A little girl wearing a purple jacket and has a pony tail of her hazel hair, runs to his goggles, picking them up.
He hopes they don't steal them, he really needs those.
"Please, wait," he tries to talk but it's hard and he feels like his voice is gonna burst. Was he screaming?
But the girl doesn't run away, she runs to him. He looks up in confusion as she kneels before him, holding out the goggles.
"Here, put them on, quickly please," she says hurriedly, placing the goggles on his bleeding hand.
Huh?
They both freeze as they hear footsteps approach, the little girl, who couldn't be older than 11, looks up and gasps at the person who comes closer.
She quickly unzips her jacket and takes it off. Throwing it over his head and covering it fully, even his hair that the hood wasn't hiding anymore due to it flying off during the fall.
When he looks up at her again, she's gone. Looking around, he quickly finds her facing the heroes, arms out like she's blocking something. She stands straight and strong as a small kid could be. Standing before Tommy, hiding him from the view of the heroes.
Looking beyond her, he sees Crowfather there, being the one who approached. He looks surprised by the little girl's actions, having stopped mid step staring.
When he comes back from his surprise, he raises his hands in placation.
"Little girl, I need you to move okay? We need-" but he's interrupted immediately.
"Go away!" The little girl shouts, rage and determination in her voice even with how small it is, "we don't want you here, go away!" She continues.
Everyone is stunned, the heroes, the other civilians, even Tommy. The girl doesn't stop there.
"You aren't touching him!" She says next, her little hands curling into fists like she's ready to punch someone. And by the frown she directs to Crowfather, it might very well be him.
"Kid, it's oka-" Crowfather tries again but he's unsuccessful the second time as he's interrupted.
"No! It's not, you want to take him away, you want to lock him up, but we don't want you too. He's our hero, our protector, if he's gone, people are gonna be hurt!" She shouts, her small voice loud enough, everyone pays attention to it. Even the heroes.
"I get it but we can't let this continue, it's our job to arrest him. What he's doing isn't allowed," Crowfather explains but it seems to just enrage the girl more.
"That's not fair! He helps people. He helped me and my mum and Dad. Our apartment caught on fire because the neighbours left their stove on and the entire place was on fire and me, my mum and Dad got trapped inside. It was scary and I couldn't breathe but then Red Runner saved us. He broke in and got us out. Got us all out. I wouldn't be here if he didn't save me, my mum and my Dad!"
She continues, the story Tommy actually remembered since it was a month ago. Half the apartment complex burst into flames and Tommy had saved every living thing inside. Including a few cats and dogs and even a lizard.
The heroes were stunned into silence once more when she was done. Tommy is able to see the little girl shake as she tries her best not to cry.
But she isn't alone.
An older man, with a dark beard and shaved head steps forward in front of her, arms out in a similar protective fashion.
"My son got caught in a gang fight and hid under a table, alone and afraid in the middle of a restaurant while I went to grab something from the car. I couldn't go in and save him because bullets were flying everywhere. But Red Runner ran in and stopped it, found my son and delivered him to me while reassuring him the entire time," Tommy remembers that too.
Another person comes forward, a lady with long dark hair steps beside the man and the little girl.
"My wife got mugged and badly cut on the arm from the mugger's knife and Red came to her rescue and took her to a medical centre, paid for the medical bill and even got my wife her purse back the next day when we found it outside our door," he remembers that too.
People, all the civilians around, all had a story, all stepped up, surrounding Tommy in a protective circle.
Stories of themselves being saved, or those they knew. Friends, loved ones, colleagues, classmates and more.
They all stepped up, said their piece and stood before the heroes like a shield.
All the heroes stared and listened to every single one in stunned silence.
Tommy didn't even realise his eyes started flowing with tears until everyone had told their stories and stopped in silence for a beat or two.
"He's our hero, our only hero and if you take him away, you leave us with nothing. We are sick of the government ignoring us when we need help. And when we finally get it, you come here trying to take it from us. What gives you the right when you've never done anything for us before?" Someone, he thinks the same lady who's wife he helped, speaks up.
The heroes are silent in contemplation.
"We… I'm sorry, things have been complicated at the Tower. The last president didn't give us heroes free reign enough to help everyone. But the new president elected is different, she's letting us help you now. I'm sorry for the years we haven't been here, haven't helped but… we can now," the Crowfather explains and, yeah they knew the last president was shit. He was just an all around asshole.
A new president election had happened not just a few weeks ago and someone else had been elected. A lady Tommy can't remember the name of but was pretty sure she was a hybrid of some kind.
Not everyone had their hopes up for the new president but if she's a lot more lenient with heroes, maybe she won't be that bad.
Still, that creates a problem, specifically for the vigilantes. Tommy's gonna have to warn them of this, when and if he gets out of here.
"We get it, we know the last guy wasn't great, we understand but that still doesn't give you any right to come here and think you can do what you want," another person perks up, someone he remembered he helped from jumping off a bridge.
"Yeah!" Someone else shouts and other agreements echo through the crowd.
Tommy keeps his head down, not knowing if he should stand or not.
"You know, you all can be arrested from assisting an illegal vigilante right?" Dream says, sounding like a complete asshole while doing it.
Another lady steps up, this one looking dressed in a business suit and carrying a worker bag.
"Then do it, arrest us all, tell
everyone across the city how you all arrested over 20 civilians from the lower districts for protecting a local vigilante that saved all their lives. I bet my journalist friends will eat it all up for their next paper," the lady snarks, a smile resting on her lips since she knows she's right.
It forces the heroes, especially Dream, to be silent and Tommy can't help the smile that grows from his own lips.
"Okay, okay, everyone just needs to calm down. We're not here to cause problems, we're only here to help," Crowfather tries to placate, giving a pointed look to his fellow heroes.
Tommy stays kneeling where he is, he feels a little better from his fall, although his ribs still ache and he's sure he's got bruises and a few cuts and scrapes. Man, Tubbo and Ranboo are gonna have a field day with the lectures.
The little girl from before remains where she is, standing before Tommy although lowering her arms as the other adults and civilians had joined the fray for Tommy's sake.
Tommy is definitely giving her a hug when this is over.
"We accept your help under one condition, that our vigilantes are not to be hunted by the heroes or the police," the same lady from before, another lady appearing next to her as they link hands. Both wearing matching rings on their ring fingers.
Tommy remembers her too, blonde hair, brown eyes and all.
"That isn't our call to make ma'am," Crowfather says carefully.
"Then tell the new president that us lower districts will accept help from the heroes if our vigilantes are left alone. If not, don't expect any support from the communities down here to support you. We'll continue helping our vigilantes as they help us," a man at the back yells, one Tommy remembers he saved from being run over by a drunk driver.
Voices of agreement echo through the people. The heroes eye each other for a moment, before looking at the crowd.
Crowfather looks at Tommy, managing to catch his eye. Tommy had long since put his goggles back on but he doesn't think that matters right now. The look Crowfather gives him makes Tommy almost think it's only him and Crowfather right now, even when they are surrounded by people.
But the moment fades when the same two married couple step in front of Crowfather, Tommy imagining the glares they are giving them.
"He is our hero, the only one we had for us. For 3 years he's protected us, which might not be much but is for us. I was 13 the last time I saw a hero, I'm 23 now and I've lived my entire life here. If you want our respect, our cooperation, our support then this is our demand," she says, low in tone but stern in her words. Her eyes never waver against the heroes, including Crowfathers who regard her equally.
After a beat, he sighs.
"Alright," he says with a nod, "we'll speak to the President," he offers and although a few of the heroes vocally disagree, he's quick to silence them.
With one last gaze to Tommy, Crowfather turns away and with it, the heroes follow suit.
And before he knows it, they are gone.
And Tommy still can't believe what he had witnessed. He's never had this much support before from the people he's helped so when they turn to him, when the ambulance steps forward to check his injuries, when he learns the names of them all.
The married couple, Julia and Sam.
The burly man with the shaved head, Jacob.
The journalist woman, Melissa.
And the little girl, Katie.
He can't help the warmth that invelopes his heart and soul of tears threatening to fall from his eyes, as each thanks him, hugs him, and he thanks them in return.
"You were pretty brave, ya know," he tells the little girl, Kate, when his arm is placed in a sling, he's given pain meds he put in his pocket and given strict instructions to take a rest for a couple of weeks, getting a stern, "do not go patrolling or crime fighting until then, okay? If I even hear a rumour about you patrolling between the next six weeks, I'm finding you and dragging your ass back home, ya hear me?" From a very sassy and intimidating nurse, he kneels before the little girl who came to him first.
She's nervous as she bites at her nail and fidgets on her feet so Tommy gives her an easy smile.
"I don't think I was ever that brave at your age," he tells her and the girl lights up a little. "Really?" She replies softly and Tommy nods.
"Yep, so thanks a lot for that, without you, I wouldn't be here right now," he lets her head with his good arm gently and she smiles and giggles a little.
"Thank you for saving me and my mum and Dad," she reciprocates and Tommy smiles just a little wider.
"No problem kiddo, it's just what I do," there's a break of silence before he suddenly has her arms around him. She had thrown herself at him and now, he's in a warm hug.
He huffs but a smile still plays on his lips as he hugs her back gently.
"There should be more people like you," she whispers in the hold. Tommy is taken a bit aback by her words and soft tone but he gets it, his own memories of his past hadn't been kind either. His past had been riddled with bruises and cruelty.
He knows the lower districts aren't a nice place, not all of the time. But it's still home so he does his best to protect the palace he calls home.
"Yeah, maybe, there's always people better than me though," he gets a vigorous head shake from her.
"No one is better than you," is her reply and Tommy has to blink furiously at the swarm of tears that want to escape her.
Fuck, this day has been so much in a good way, he's feeling overwhelmed now.
"Thanks kid, thanks," and soon enough, she releases the hug, smiling widely at her and he smiles back before she's off and running back to her parents.
She runs into their arms and he watches as they squeeze each other in a hug. The parents lift their heads to wave at him and he waves back.
Soon enough, people say their goodbyes, he says his and after all those caught in explosions have been properly helped under his watchful gaze, he thinks it's best he gets home now.
So with one final goodbye, with them cheering their farewells and final thanks, Tommy runs home, feeling the most warm he's been in years.
Returning home with a huge smile on his face says a lot when he climbs through the window and finds both his roommates sitting on the couch. When they turn their heads to him when he enters the room, he expects worried looks or concerned questions but instead he gets twin smiles.
Tommy blinks at them, a little confused.
"Uh, what? What happened?" He questions and can see Ranboo holding in a snicker.
"You happened," Tubbo points to the tv and when Tommy looks at it, his eyes bug out.
It's a news headline about him and what happened today.
A news reporter talking about the events Tommy had just witnessed too. Even clips of him being surrounded by over 20 individuals of all the people he had helped in the past, were shown on live television.
Videos made by bystanders of the fight and the argument the members of the group had with the heroes.
They were even interviewed.
The people talking were the same people he had just spoken to. The nurse, Julia and Sam, Jacob, the journalist Melissa, all of them.
"Holy shit," he speaks softly, eyes never leaving the TV as he sits on the couch between his two friends.
Both are still wearing wide smiles.
"Someone recorded the entire thing and it got shown on the news before you got here. We heard everything they said," his best friend informs him and Tommy continues to blink dumbfounded at the TV.
Well, at least he can tick off "get on television news" off his bucket list.
Meanwhile at the Hero Tower.
"I cannot believe this," Wilbur seethes as he bounces his leg, remote in hand as he glares at the TV that shows the entire event from earlier today.
Which was a rollercoaster all in itself. None of the heroes expected a vigilante to show up and help. Much less for the general public of the district sticking up for them by facing off the literal heroes.
They made good points, none of them can deny that. Wilbur himself hated that the lower districts couldn't be helped because of the laws the last president gave that didn't allow them to even step foot in as heroes or they'd get in huge amounts of trouble.
Still, it stirs a little bit of rage in the man knowing about it.
Techno, who's currently sitting beside him with a book in his face, looks up. "We can't really do anything about it, it was to be expected it'd go everywhere," he says in his usual montone way.
They both hear a click and watch as their father walks in. When his eyes see the news headline on tv, instead of getting angry like Wilbur or indifferent like Techno, he smiles.
"You seriously can't be happy about this," Wilbur questions but when Phil meets his eyes, he knows the man is without it being answered.
"Puffy finds it funny," the man tells the younger and the curly haired man groans.
"Of course she finds it funny, she's president but can still find humour in everything. What did Niki say?" He asks as Wilbur throws his head back, looking at his Dad even with everything upside down.
"She thinks the same according to Puffy. She even said she met Red Runner once and said he was funny, apparently he's loud and energetic like a kid but has a good heart even with his loud mouth," Phil informs and gets a snort from Techno and a low hum from Wilbur.
"We're gonna have to work with vigilantes aren't we?" Wilbur questions half serious, half annoyed.
"It's not gonna be that bad Wil, it's not the end of the world nerd, who knows, maybe it'll be fun" Techno responds, patting the man's head patronisingly even when his eyes don't leave the book.
"Will it be Techno? Will it really?"
And although the question wasn't directed at him, Phil hums as he looks out the window.
"Yeah, I think it will be," and the night continues on, a vigilante and his friends chat and watch a movie throughout the night as one complains and the other two bicker with them. A family of heroes take the night to think, to rest, to gather their opinions for the next meeting that will talk about this matter.
And the world stops and thinks and wonders, what the future will hold with the weight of the world being placed on the shoulders of heroes on two different sides of the same coin.