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The Angel of Death lands on the building's rooftop, a paper bag within his grasp. "You're late again, old man." Crimson Chaos remarks, both legs dangling over the edge.
Phil rolls his eyes at the remark "Oh fuck off you li'l shit, you literally almost broke my back in half a while ago, of course I needed a bit of time to recover." And it was true, while Crimson was young and inexperienced, Phil had to admit, the hero was an adversary not to be messed with. But Phil wasn't someone to back down from his plans just because some superpowered kid in a mask fought him. No, Phil was a determined man. He was the Angel of Death, Kristin's chosen. He was one of the most dangerous villains in the country and here he was hanging out with one of the low-ranking heroes. Though he was sure that Crimson would make it to the big leagues one day
The idea of a high-ranking villain spending time out late at night with an amateur hero was almost humorous. Two years ago, Phil would've laughed at the thought, but Crimson had proven himself to be better company than most of Phil's villain peers. Maybe it was because of the way Crimson brought out the caring side he thought he'd lost a long time ago, maybe it was the way Crimson endeared him. Or maybe it was the way that being with Crimson let him relive those days he'd spent as someone's father.
"You almost broke your back because you're old." Crimson huffs. "They should put you in a retirement home." He adds in.
Phil ignores him and instead tugs him by the arm. "Fuck off and get off the edge, you might hurt yourself."
"No, I like it here- What's in the bag? Is it donuts again? I swear I'm getting tired of donuts." Crimson swats his hand away, in a flash, the paper bag in Phil's grasp is in the speedster's hands instead. "I was right, it's donuts. And it's not even my favorite flavor." Crimson says, clearly disappointed as he peeks inside the paper bag.
"Made sure not to buy them for almost breaking my back you li'l shit." Despite his arms now being crossed, there's a soft smile on his face.
"You really are evil." Crimson wipes away a fake tear on his mask.
"Oh stop crying and grow up, mate, how old are you? Nineteen?"
"Sixteen actually, but don't tell anyone." Crimson admits. At first Phil is taken a back, of course he knew the Hero Foundation deployed people as young as sixteen to fight villains but he didn't think Crimson would be this young. But the realization that Crimson had trusted him enough to tell him his age had sunk in. Crimson trusted him. Crimson, who'd bravely challenged him on multiple occasions, Crimson who literally stabbed him on the shoulder once...Something in Phil feels warm at the realization. If Crimson could see him through his mask right now, he'd see Phil's face which admittedly might look like he was about to cry.
Crimson snaps his fingers right at Phil's face. "Hello? Earth to the old man? I swear you really are old."
Phil brings away Crimson's fingers from his face. "Child. You are a child." He grins. "I am not a child! How dare you!" Crimson argues.
"You sure act like one, not to mention didn't you just say you were sixteen?"
"I take it back, I'm actually in my forties."
"Right." Phil exhales as he places a hand on the hero's head, playfully patting it resulting in a threat to his life from the younger. The scene reminds him of something familiar. Memories where he'd card his fingers through a younger boy's hair pop in his mind. Somehow, he wishes to live that life again.
As a hero, Tommy, under any means should not be hanging out and eating donuts on rooftops with villains. Sure, that would mean getting his hero license revoked one day but he was desperate to feel as though he was part of a family.
It was almost alarming how any semblance of paternal affection he'd received from a villain as terrifying as The Angel of Death had been enough to get him to ignore the fact that any evidence of him being seen being in good terms with the villain would get his dreams of becoming a high-ranking hero thrown down the drain.
The Angel of Death had been the closest thing he'd had to a father, albeit the fact that they'd almost come close to killing each other on several occasions.
It'd started with a temporary truce between them a few months ago, in which they would not kill each other and would, instead, help one another. A temporary truce had then turned into nightly meetings between the two, wherein they'd just talk about their day and such. It'd come to the point where it had been practically routine for The Angel to commit a crime (whether it be petty or actually pretty fucking serious), and Tommy, who was always grouped with higher ranking heroes to stop him only for them to meetup elsewhere and talk it out late at night.
The Angel, as he discovered was a father. On times where in Tommy would be alone with his thoughts, he'd wonder what kind of father The Angel was to his children. Were his children happy? Was The Angel strict or lenient? Did his kids know that their father was a villain?
The snap of his pencil is enough to break him away from his thoughts, and he's greeted with the sight of the unanswered questionnaire on his desk. Slowly, the frustration he was feeling awhile ago comes back and he finds himself scratching the back of his head "Shit. What the fuck's the answer?"
Yes, Tommy was a hero, but that didn't mean he doesn't have a math assignment to attend to. Contrary to the popular belief where young heroes didn't need to finish schooling, the Hero Foundation still urged their younger heroes to go to school, and Tommy, who definitely did not want to go to school, was still mandated to go.
Instantly, an idea pops in his mind.
The Angel. Yes. He could help. If Tommy remembered correctly, The Angel was an architect (which is a boring job to have as a villain, in Tommy's opinion). Going to architecture school requires a lot of math, which may explain why The Angel became a villain and Tommy definitely does not blame him for it. The Angel could definitely help him later.
"What's this?" The Angel stares at the paper, perplexed.
"Math homework. I figured that you were old and wise enough so you'd be able to help me n' shit."
The Angel had looked hesitant for a moment. "I- uh- yeah sure. What gave you the idea that I was good at math though?"
Tommy raises a brow. "You were an architect, remember? You told me that ages ago!"
The Angel bursts into laughter. "No, I was just in architecture school! I dropped out!"
"You fuckin' scammed me." Tommy pouts beneath his mask. "Scammer." He throws a light punch at The Angel's shoulder.
"Not my fault, you can't remember shit properly, mate." The Angel cackles. "I'll still try my best to help, though." And Tommy's face lights up at his fathe- The Angel's words.
To anyone with no knowledge with who they are it would look like a father helping his son rather than a hero breaking the rules to get help from a villain. Still, Tommy wishes for the former to be true.
No, Phil was not good in math, that's why he dropped out of architecture school a long time ago. He would've rejected Crimson's request if it weren't for the familiarity it offered. The request had reminded him of nights in which he'd agreed to help Wilbur with his homework which would result in them completing absolutely nothing and relying on online sources for answers instead. Similarly enough, him and Crimson had ended up googling the answers instead.
The day after, Crimson had came bragging about his results, ranting to Phil about how he has to maintain high grades now because everyone thinks he's smart now. Phil could only laugh at the boy's misery as the boy went on an endless tangent about school. Despite Crimson being a hero, he was still a child. A kid. Phil wonders how Crimson's family feel about their boy being involved in dangerous situations as a hero. He wonders how much their heart aches at the thought of being in separation with their son, after all, the Hero Foundation is strict and prefers all their younger heroes staying in dorms from what Phil had gathered.
In all honesty, Phil would disapprove of Crimson being a hero if he were Crimson's parent. That is for many reasons aside from Phil just being a villain. But Phil understands why Crimson is a hero of all things despite Phil's disapproval. Crimson dreams of becoming a famous hero. And Phil knows what it's like to dream of something big. Wilbur had dreamt of becoming a famous musician once, Phil had dreamt of the same for his son and gave his son all the support he needed, his son's life was cut short unfortunately. So Phil would let Crimson be, let him enjoy his dream, let him live in the delusion of obtaining it one day.
"I'm turning seventeen next Monday." Crimson says, interrupting Phil's train of thought.
"You're celebrating?"
"Well." Crimson purses his lip. "Not really, but I figured I can- You know- Uh- Spend the day with you?"
Spend the day with him? Doesn't Crimson have family and friends to spend the day with? "What about your family? You're not spending the day with them?" Phil asks. And Phil feels as though he'd asked the wrong thing as Crimson had shrank at his words. "Don't have one." Crimson swallows thickly.
Oh.
That would actually explain a lot. The way Crimson had almost slipped up and called him Dad. The way Crimson had leaned in to his touch. The way Crimson had always sought comfort in Phil. Crimson had saw him as his family and Phil had saw him as family as well.
"Alright, I'll spend the day with you. What kind of cake would you like?"
"Wha- No, you don't need to-"
"No, no, it'll be all on me. Tell me everything you need."
You'd think that the Hero Foundation would give you a day off on your birthday, but no, that wasn't the case at all. Tommy had spent the day on vigorous training and catching low profile villains. The stress was just too much, thankfully so, The Angel had agreed to spend the rest of the day with him and even showered him with gifts. Most of the gifts had been by Tommy's request, like a gaming pc and a Nintendo switch. Even if The Angel had many reasons to decline his request, he'd still agreed to spend time with the boy.
"Phil, my name is Phil." Tommy blinks at the revelation. "Phil seriously? That's such a boring name for a terrifying villain."
"That's why no one suspects me." The Angel grins. To think that someone as ruthless as the news stories tell would be so trusting to give Tommy his name. Of course, Tommy would not tell anyone, but to think that The Angel, right hand man to The Blade from The Syndicate, had told Tommy his real name while overlooking the fact that Tommy might give it away to the heroes? Tommy was almost left speechless at the realization.
"Tommy, my name's Tommy."
The Angel- Phil snickers at the name. "Fitting for a chaotic li'l shit."
"Oh fuck off!" Tommy raises his middle finger at the villain before completely tackling him to make him eat his own words. Phil erupts into laughter as he struggles to get the fuming boy away from him. A phone slips out from Phil's pocket, causing it to drop, making a loud thud as both turn their heads to the ground. The phone had been left open, showing an eerily familiar photo.
Tommy knows the person in the photo.
What was a photo of Wilbur doing in the hands of a villain? More so why did Phil make it his wallpaper?
Phil had now completely managed to get Tommy off of him as he picks up the phone from the ground, Tommy still stares at the phone "My son. He died two years ago." It's clear Phil had said that while trying to bite away a tear, Tommy as well feels himself about to burst into tears at Phil's words.
Tommy had not seen Wilbur in a while. He'd known him, the both of them had considered one another as brothers. Each memory Tommy had of Wilbur had shifted from sweet to bitter the moment Wilbur had stopped all contact with him. Tommy had not known any better of course, he never received any news of the older's death. Most nights had been spent covered in tears as he wondered what he'd done wrong.
"I used to know him too. We were practically brothers. I thought he was just-" Tommy pauses, still trying to process what Phil had said. "I thought he just left, y'know? He just disappeared without a word, didn't think he was dead."
Phil grimaces "I'm sorry."
If Wilbur was still alive, would Phil still have shown Tommy mercy? Would the three of them have been a family?
Tommy tries to hold back his tears but ultimately fails, Phil who'd stood beside him was now wrapping him in an embrace. Tommy buries his head at Phil's chest as Phil's hug on him grows tighter.
Despite Phil having seen Tommy's face and having had picked him up from school on the daily, their dynamic in the fighting scene had still not changed.
"I see you're committing one of your smaller scale petty crimes again, old man." Phil smirks at the voice. It's Tommy, he's seen Tommy's face so much at this point that it was weird seeing him with the mask on.
"Ah Crimson Chaos, my arch-nemesis! Good to see you've climbed up the hero ranks to be able to fight me alone without any of those other pesky heroes." Phil clasps his hands, after having shoved a shit ton of cash he'd stolen from the bank into the sack on top of the desk next to him. "I'm proud."
"Wai- Really?" Tommy beams. Phil grabs the sack and makes a run for it, he spreads his wings as quick as he can and flies away as Tommy's screams of protest can be heard from below.
As fast as Phil's wings were, the kid was a speedster, Tommy could probably catch up with him if he wanted to. Honestly with how lenient Tommy's been with him, he just might earn suspicion from the other heroes.
Phil himself had garnered suspicion from his fellow villains, Techno who was supposed to be Phil's best friend hadn't known about Phil's encounters with the teen until recently when Phil had admitted to it after being interrogated mercilessly by his comrades.
"You're getting too soft." Techno had told him, Phil however only rolls his eyes. Wilbur's death had left a gaping hole in his chest, but Tommy? This kid completes him.
Phil was many things, a villain, an architecture school dropout and someone who Tommy swears to never bring to McDonald's again after having seen him relentlessly argue with a poor employee over forgetting to add Tommy's fries.
But also Tommy had looked up to Phil as a father-figure. (Even as a known criminal and murderer)
And that's why he's making a Father's day card for Phil. He's never made one before and he's not that good of an artist, but he can still make this work. On the middle of the card is a poorly made drawing of Phil as The Angel covered in blood and smiling widely with sharp teeth as the words 'Best Dad Ever' are written on top of it.
The morality of him making this card for a villain is questionable. In fact, his whole relationship with the villain was questionable. Why would he, a hero consider a villain as a father? It bothers him how he isn't at all bothered by the fact that The Angel is someone who kills people as his job, it bothers him how he isn't at all bothered that Phil might be using him to gather information from the Hero Foundation. Because why would that matter when he finally feels like he has a family now? Years being passed down from one foster family to another definitely did not make him feel like he was part of one.
He feels a bit embarrassed at the thought of giving the card to Phil, but it's the thought that counts, right? As excited as he was, he places the card in his back pocket as he skips away from his room, only to be met with Jack Manifold on his way out of the building.
"Tommy, I don't think now's the time to be leaving. " Jack Manifold warns and Tommy scrunches his nose in response. "How come?"
"Everyone's been suspicious of you, apparently there's this rumor going around that you're a spy for The Syndicate. If you leave then that might prove that what they're saying about you is true." Jack explains. Immediately, Tommy shakes his head in denial of Jack's claims. He can associate himself with villains without being a spy, thank you very much.
"It's fine, I'll just use my super speed, I'll only be back in a moment." Tommy assures resulting in a disapproving frown from Jack Manifold, but it's Jack Manifold so it doesn't really matter.
Before Tommy could activate his powers he feels something pierce through his leg leading to him collapsing against the floor, the last thing he sees is the Warden looking down at him with dark cold eyes.
The Syndicate had no plans to fight any high-ranking heroes today, as a matter of fact, Phil had initially planned to just stay at the rooftop in which he'd usually meet up with Tommy to rest. He didn't expect Lucid of all people to be there in place of Tommy instead. And it raises the question, just where was Tommy?
"You shouldn't get too cocky, Angel." Lucid says, causing something in Phil's stomach to twist and churn. Just what was the smiley-masked hero planning? "We have a spy of yours in our custody now."
A spy? The Syndicate had none. Unless he was referring to...
Shit.
"I admit it took us a while to figure out who the spy was but lo and behold!" Lucid reaches out to something from his pocket. "Really explains a lot now that I look at it." A card is then thrown to the ground. Not just any card. A father's day card, made specifically for him. Tommy was supposed to give that card to him. Tommy had been....He'd been...
"He still won't tell us about you, even with all the extra measures we've went through to get him to speak." The hero continues, causing Phil to well up in anger. "He's not really in a good state right now, any moment right now he could die."
Phil could only see red at the words spoken out to him. He doesn't pay any further attention to whatever else the hero was saying. He wasn't going to let Tommy die. He wasn't going to repeat the same mistake again. Wilbur's death had been a result of his failure to protect him, his son had died in an explosion years ago. His son had died alone, with no one to hold him and assure him.
In an instant, Phil grabs the hero by the neck, making sure his talons dig deep enough into the hero's skin to bleed "You tell me where he is now or I blow up the whole district."
Blood. A shit ton of it.
Tommy feels numb, he feels as though he's floating. The other heroes had him cornered for hours to no end, interrogating him about his relations to The Angel with the card he made earlier as one of the many evidences they found.
He wasn't going to tell them anything important of course, he'd rather die than give them something that could be of use against Phil.
Solemnly, he lets his mind drift to the good times spent with Phil. His family. The only one he has. Tommy knows he won't be able to see Phil again, he's not sure if he'll still be able to live to spend time with Phil again.
Would Phil even notice he was gone? Would he be missed? Probably not. The villain had better things to do than grieve over a hero.
At least he can see Wilbur again and apologize to him for all those nights spent cursing out his name without a clue he'd been dead.
As Tommy was about to close his eyes and await for his death, he hears a series of blood-curdling screams from the other side of the wall, causing him to swallow thickly in fear. Gods no, he doesn't want to experience what happened to him earlier again.
He feels himself go tense at the sound of footprints nearing the door.
The door slams itself open, revealing The Angel of Death, who'd now looked as scary as every news story had made him out to be. The man had been practically covered in red, fresh blood dripping from his talons. Is this even the same man as the Phil he'd grown to love as a father months ago?
But the gentleness of Phil's hold on him after having rushed towards him had made Tommy think for it to be true. This was the same Phil. "Tommy!"
"Da- d" He weakly cries out as his father pulls him into a tight hug. Phil brushes a thumb over the teen's face, smearing a bit of blood on his cheek. Phil cradles him in his arms. "You're alright." Phil hushes him as he wipes away the tears from the teens eyes, briefly pausing as he observes the wounds littered all over the younger's body.
"I'm taking you home with me, okay?"
Tommy weakly nods, not even thinking to question Phil. He's no longer a hero. But at least Phil's hugs are warm.
At least he has a family now.