Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“What were we supposed to do?! Non-humans are dying out! We can’t find anyone nearly powerful enough to use!” He first man said, the one with a flame patch on their shirt.

”Maybe we aren’t looking in the right place… what if theres someone that can supply us, there has to be! This is the biggest city on the Esempi!” Another shouted back, the one with white-framed glasses, convincing the other.

”We’ve looked everywhere, dumbass, if there was someone, we would’ve found them by now!” The first man repeated, annoyed.

“I know what we need to do.” He gave a thoughtful face, although his intentions were entirely the opposite.

“What the fuck are you two on about now? I can’t work if you keep yapping!” The third man sighed, irritatedly rubbing his temples. He had an unforgettable smile.

“The plan, remember, it won’t work without a donor?” 

“Who are you thinking of?” The third questioned.

“Remember that kid from the Las Nevada's heist?” 

“That fucker- Kid had powers like I’d never seen before..” He paused in realization, “Wait. Are you thinking what I think your thinking?” The first recalled, catching on.

“He’s retired from conning, he  disappeared into thin air, how are we even gonna find him?” White-framed glasses man folded his arms, thinking.

”It was your fuckin’ idea! Think of something!”

“I have a way..” The third interrupted, glancing at the other two, they looked back at their leader with curiosity.

-

Tommy’s car clanks unexpectedly as the two teens pull up to the curb, trash and debris making its presence known under their wheels by excessive screeching, and immediately, Tommy is thinking, 

“There the fuck are we?” 

As his hands leave the wheel, he turns to the brunette in the passenger seat, who was grinning from ear to ear, feet resting on the dashboard as Tommy sighs. His best friend of 16 years, Tubbo, a short goat hybrid who is desperately begging for a trim with that haircut of his, pulled a hand from his side to pat Tommy on the back, the smile turning from genuine to unsure as they both winced at the way the car clanked. It was an old bugger, anyway.

”Welcome home, Theseus.” Tubbo nudged Tommy in the arm, pulling his hand away to unbuckle his seatbelt. Tommy whined, trying his best to ignore the use of that name in his favor.

“Yeah, right. ‘Cause you just had to get us the shittiest place in town.” Tom got up and followed Tubbo, unbuckling his as well as he twisted the key out of the car and pushed open the door with more force then needed. 

With much frustration, he stepped forward, his heart skipping a beat as a car zoomed past, sounding as though it would break down. Looks like they aren’t the only broke ones in town. 

At that moment- as if Tubbo could read his mind, the other teen blurted out, “Lighten up, bossman. We still have to unpack in our bags and shit.” 

“What bags, Tubs? We own nothing but this shitty car and what we are wearing now.” Tommy gestured to the red-and-white jumper he was currently inhabiting, with khaki pants, and the green-collared that the other had on. And although it wasn’t true, as Tubbo had a book-bag, one that held his computer and school supplies, along with some of Tom’s old clothes, he was still half right.

”Well-“ Tubbo thought deeply,“Now we own this apartment too!”

”Owning and renting are very different things.” Tommy spat, popping the trunk to check if they had forgotten any bags, and after finding it was empty, closing it and following Tubbo to the sidewalk, the brunette desperately digging through his pocket to find a set of keys.

“Here-“ He heard Tubbo finally blurt out, shoving the key into the lock, so the two finally had their own place. Huh. Almost feels surreal that they used to “live” only a few streets over, even if the adoption place (and the back of a white van.) was just above a dump, Tommy still had standards.

The building was practically begging for a repaint, and Tommy wasn’t the one who was going to do it. Missing bricks, dirt clumps, looks like its about 100 years old. Tommy huffed, even so, it was almost a full step up from the adoption center where if you stomp accidentally, the flooring could collapse- well, they hadn’t checked yet, never speak too soon.

Tubbo pushed the door open with a creek, the inside just as lifeless and abandoned then the outside. The lobby had a loveseat that didn’t at all match the wallpaper, a sad doormat that Tommy refused to use, and a piece of gum that stuck to the bottom of his shoe. Ah. Home. Tommy doesn’t think it’ll be long until they get kicked out, as much as he never wanted to move, Tubbo actually had reason for once: 

“We need a clean slate, don’t you wanna be somewhere they don’t know that we used to sell drugs during primary school? Maybe a place where they don’t have a warrant for your arrest?” Tubbo smirked, it was after the two still lived in the adoption center, finally after moving from foster home to foster home, (Coming back with bruises more often then not) they had escaped that shithole and ate ramen in the back of a white van for a few years.

Tommy thinks back to that moment a lot, where Tubbo had lied. They both knew the reason they moved was because they wanted to get away from those memories- Nevermind that- What Tommy needs to think about was getting the piece of wet garbage off the bottom of his shoe and shaking the rain water off his cotton jumper. Not of their old home. 

The two shuffled up the steps, passing by a few doors where other people bought their apartments for dirt cheap. Lugging themselves up the stairs, the two teens finally found their door number. The only door with no numbers on it, and the way that they knew it was theirs, for one, it was the only room without a number, and two, the door number plate was sitting upside down on the floor in front the door, it had fallen off.

The two shared a look, but said no words, they could already hear the painful silence that this room brought, as Tubbo shoved the key into the lock, twisting it, the teens realized that the door was already unlocked, pushing it open, they took in the sights. It was… homely? 

Tubbo and Tommy had already looked over the pictures, and the room was almost no different. The floor was caked in a layer of dirt, but underneath was probably panels of shitty wood. They pulled themselves into the place, immediately facing the kitchen, it was very small, the old stove and fridge on one wall and the counters on the opposing wall. There was nearly no room between the two walls, a square foot of space between the fridges and counters. On the other side of the wall, was a living room, the couch on one wall, with a small box TV sitting on a broken dresser, a door on the wall across from holding the window that led to the fire escape. There was another door next to the window that led to a tiny bedroom.

”Well…theres room for improvement.” Tubbo whispered, just loud enough for Tommy to hear, he scoffed, pushing past Tubbo to go and open the door to the bedroom, taking in the sad sight. No mattress, only a dresser and an old fan in the corner. The moment he stepped in, to open the window, dust blew around like a storm, causing Tommy to cough and sputter. 

“You alright, Toms?” Tubbo’s voice could be heard on the other side of the door, pushing it open and getting a whiff of the storm, clearing his throat Tommy muttered a response, 

“Just fine, Tubs. They didn’t even give us a fucking mattress.” 

When they had illegally “left” the adoption center, when Tommy was 13 and Tubbo was 11, they had done some things they weren’t proud of until Toms was 18, and the two abandoned their jobs and scraped up enough money to afford an apartment. Sure, it was a few hundred a month, but they could afford it. Legally, Tommy had to make the money for the rent, since Tubbo was still in college while Tommy graduated at 14, Tubbo didn’t have enough time to do something like that. It was fine. Tommy would just have to do a few hours overtime… Thats fine. Tommy had done it before. He could do it again. 

Just in that moment, he felt a stabbing pain when he took a deep breath, wincing, he felt a deep pain that tightened around his chest. And he knew exactly what it was. 

“Hey man, I’m gonna go take it off real quick.” Tommy was vague, trying to keep his breaths short. Tubbo seemed to know what he meant, and opened his mouth to ask, but closed it when Toms shook his head. Tommy knew what he was going to ask, as he did every time. 

He pushed the door to the bathroom open, as it was right next to the bedroom and he shut it, taking another short breath as he pulled his jumper over his shoulders, his tank top coming with it. The sleek white bandages on his chest contrasting with the deep reddish brown that creeped over his shoulders, he let out a breath, sucking in another in the pain that burned into his veins. 

Taking the loose part down on the bottom of his back, he could feel the dried blood on his fingertips, he pulled, preparing for the burning that came with it, the bandages slowly became untangled, falling to his ankles and sore growths coming off his shoulder blades folding out, as Tommy hadn’t learnt how to make them entirely invisible, he had usually resorted to wearing baggy hoodies that covered them until the back of his knees, since lower than that he could make “invisible” when he wasn’t wearing bandages. 

He almost screeched as they folded out, sore and red with old and fresh blood, truthfully, Tommy wasn’t totally safe with his binding, as there weren’t really fucking books on how to do this- he had to figure it out on his own. 

He extended them out as far as he could in the small room, his off-white feathers meeting the door and shower curtain. He sighed, the soreness coming back as his wings tensed and flinched. They had drove for two hours, and before that, he hadn’t taken them off for a few days, he hadn’t let it get this bad for a while. 

Feathers fell to the floor as his wings tensed, sending painful shocks into Tommy and his ribs burned, rubbed raw and red from the bandages tied to tight around his skin. 

He bent one wing close to his hand, wincing in discomfort as he ran his fingers over the bent and crooked feathers, bolts of pain down his back and his shoulders, and he pulled the tank top over his sore shoulders, the shirt was cut perfectly to fit his wings through, and Tommy figured now was the time to wash the blood out of his feathers. 

Grabbing a rag from under the sink, he wet it and scraped the dried blood from inbetween them, leaving the feathers a light pink. As much as it was excruciatingly painful, it was done, and his feathers looked better then they had in a while. He took his time shifting between them, straightening and pulling extras, normally, Tubbo had this job, but he was busy setting up his office on the coffee table with the book-bag he brought with them.

So when Tommy stepped out of the bathroom, wings dragging against the floor, and jumper in his arms, he gave a half-hearted smile to Tubbo who seemed genuinely happy that Tommy felt better. 

He came to sit next to Tubbo, who was setting up his computer to the hotspot from his phone. It was fine, they were still getting the whole wifi thing set up while they waited for Ranboo, their third roommate who was the actual legal guardian of Tubbo, being the same age as Tommy. Both of them were 18, while Tubbo was 17. And that was fine, cause Ranboo hadn’t gone to college, making Tommy’s life a bit easier.

The three had been living in the same adoption center for as long as they remember, Tommy and Tubbo sharing a room while Ranboo slept in theirs as much as he could, (since Ranboo’s roommate was, as put politely, a proper bitch.) the three soon became best friends. They then ran away— which was the main reason there was wanted posters— and stole a white ‘free candy’ style van and slept in it for about 4 years.

Ranboo had been at his job all day, since he had worked in L’manberg, the south end of the city, for nearly 2 years, Tommy and Tubbo always thought he must of been fucking miserable driving 2 1/2 hours to work everyday, but the place paid a very good salary. Who were they to judge? Tubbo with no job and Tommy’s who barely paid half of Ranboo’s. 

His job was at a cafe, Niki’s to be exact, Tommy had never actually met the woman, but from what Ranboo had always brought back to the adoption center, stories and baked goods, she was one of Tommy’s heroes.

“When does Ranboo’s shift end again?” Tommy took a moment to look at the clock on Tubbo’s phone, 12:30. 

“3:15? 3:30- Somewhere around there..” Tubbo began to type furiously, obviously not paying attention to Tommy very well. He was writing something about coding in his doc that Tommy was too undereducated on the subject to read, and instead, he went to go fish his own backpack from the bathroom. 

Placing it next to the dresser in the bedroom, he fished through it, finding and placing his phone on the dresser, and pulling out his unfolded and dirty red jumper, black sweatpants, and black waterproof suit that he wore under his costume with small bloodstains and stains from whatever else he had gotten himself into back in Logstshire. He was never really popular as a vigilante, as he and Ranboo only ever stopped pity fights and robberies from ATM mechines, but despite that, he still had large scars down his legs, and small ones on his neck and face. But Toms was certainly famous in other ways. 

Tommy reluctantly set his clothes into the second drawer of the dresser, along with his jumper that he took off and brought his first aid kit to stuff into the cabinets in the bathroom. He’d need to restock on bandages soon, as the ones he took off were wet with blood. And he’d definitely need to wash his red and white jumper.

Standing with a sigh, Tommy pressed his wings against his back, flexing the sharp claws on the end of his fingers and pressing them into his palms, the pain grounding him.Tommy wondered mindlessly throughout the house, plugging his charger into the wall and charging his phone.

Tubbo had promised to get a mattress soon, but Tommy had decided to just get it on his own, giving Tubbo a quick departure pat on the back as his roommate waved back absently, staring into his computer screen. 

He pulled on his favorite hoodie, one large enough to cover his wings, and set off into the day.

Tommy shuffled down the stairs and unlocked the front door, unlocking his car and shuffling inside, he booted it up, it making another concerning noise as Tommy just continued to try and convince himself to ignore it. If its not there, its not a problem. 

He started to drive, pulling up the GPS on his phone, and setting it on the center console between the non-manual shift- or whatever the fuck else was there, Tommy had never actually gone through with the whole “drivers license.” thing, who even cares? He just got a fake one. He knows how to drive. As long as he abides by the rules then he will be fine. 

He followed the little blue dot on his phone to the nearest Tescos, cause it turns out the damn place also has inflatable beds, and Tommy, with a 50 in his pocket, was going to get those fucking inflatable beds, even if he had to fight this line of football moms in shorts and pink T-shirts to get into the fucking store. 

Once Tommy had pulled in and gotten through the doors, it was around 2:30, and he headed to the middle of the store, messy hair and all, running through the isles in a fucking Tesco so he could buy an inflatable bed. He for sure looked like a crackhead. And for once, he was fine with that.

Once he had pushed through a group of teenagers who asked him where the adult diapers were- (which Tommy replied with politely telling them to end their lives,) he found the beds, there was one left, on the shelf in all its inflatable-bed glory- and once Tommy read the tag- 90.

In the short story, he was asked almost asked to leave the store with how he angrily- and very manly- he cussed them out. Digging through his pocket, he lets out a hurried sigh. Before another scream- of course not as manly as his, made its presence known. Tommy’s heart had to of stopped for a least a few seconds before he heart the first gunshot. 

Then the second.

And then the third. 

By that time, Tommy was in an army crawl on the floor, eyes darting as sweat gathered on his forehead and his head ached with pain. He could hear blood in his ears, his heart beating quicker then a fucking humming bird’s wings. He hadn’t heard a gun shot in a few months. 

And when he heard the token, “GIVE ME THE MONEY!” Tommy decided it was a good time to act, pulling the hood of his hoodie over his head, he pushed himself out of his crawling position and slowly made his way to where the kitchen knives were held, he promptly lifted one hand, gripping it tightly in his fist with his back against the shelves. He let a small hiss escape his teeth in anger as one of the robbers started walking down the isle- 

They seemed to not have seen him, so when they got to the end, gun in hand, Tommy took a step forwards, with the robber’s back facing him- and put an elbow around his neck, taking him into a chokehold. The robber struggled underneath his grasp, opening his mouth to speak when Tommy put the knife to the robber’s throat, immediately shutting him up. He pulled the man back into the isle, where they were unvisible to the rest where he promptly dragged the knife across the man’s throat, holding the other hand over his mouth. 

He gently lead the body to the ground, when another few screams were heard, and a few sniffles from people who had started to cry out of fear. A gun was shot, and the sound of a body hitting the ground made Tommy flinch. He shuffled into the next isle, holding the gun of the man bleeding out on the floor in his arms. And luckily for him, black black didn’t let any of the blood that dripped off the ends and drenched it, be visible. 

When he heard another shout, “Give me the money in that register, too. And make it quick.” Tommy cocked the gun, carefully taking another step into the side, raising his arm to the ceiling and shooting twice. Making sure the gun wasn’t empty, he heard the confused shouts of the other robbers, and the victims who were emptying their pockets made no effort to make a noise. Tommy quickly made his move, running as far as he could from the place where he shot without making a noise.

“Who was that?” One spoke up. 

“Go look, boys.” The one who seemed to be the leader demanded.

Tommy took another step to the left, another one of the robbers spotting him and raising their gun to shoot when Tommy hid in the next isle. 

“Over here!” The robber shouted, as Tommy gritted his teeth, “Holy fuckin’ shit- Ivan-“ the robber looked down at the man that Tommy had just killed, that recon to distract him.

Tommy made a quick movement, shooting the man twice in the chest as two other shouts of surprise were heard. The man standing over “Ivan” fell to the floor, his gun sliding across it next to him. 

Tommy froze when he heard the words, “Shit- Move its Icarus!” from one of the robbers- And Tommy reminded himself that Heroes roam this city. And Icarus, the one with wings similar to Tommy’s, had just shown up. It was odd, Icarus was only ever sent out at day. But now this was another issue to deal with.

He couldn’t, of course, kill Icarus, that was for one- impossible, and two, would put a very large bounty on his head, so what he should do, was run. 

When he heard glass breaking and the sound of wings beating the air, he dropped the gun and ran- he knew it was a stupid idea- that gun had his fingerprints on it- but he truly wasn’t thinking straight. 

A few men shouted in pain and they were flung across the store, their blood coating the walls from where they were gutted and scratched by Icarus’s claws. Thats not what actually happened, but Tommy really admired the guy and imagined that it did, giving him a really good reason so run. And Tommy gulped, pulling his hoodie over his shoulders and resetting the hood. He reminded himself that Icarus was the only other avian in the city- and he was passing up the chance to meet- no. Tommy was a vigilante, a criminal, a fed-disliker, not a hero. Icarus wouldn’t pass up the chance to take him in. Even if they didn’t know he was one of their most annoying enemies yet, he still was covered in one of the robber’s blood, and therefore a suspect. 

“HELP-“ One of the robbers screeched in a low tone as he was lifted up by Icarus, who was flying near the top of the store and holding the robber by the shoulders over the ground, Tommy saw this as the perfect moment to run, catching Icarus’s eyes once when the heroes face changed, from a look of disgust to a look of terror as he saw Tommy- Tommy leaped forward, weaving past the isles and turned to run out the door- pushing through the glass, he winced at the deep cuts that he already felt in his skin. Burning that barely held through between his gasps for air and the pure adrenaline coursing through his veins.

He ran through the parking lot, cameras of all kinds probably catching him- but he didn’t stop. 

He didn’t stop even when he was nearly keeling over from exhaustion, he only stopped when he made it to his car, throwing open the door and making his escape as quick as possible. 

He turned on the car and spun the wheel as quick he could, driving out of the parking lot and down the street. Honks from cars that disliked his amazing driving skills made him even more angry- but the only thing Tommy could do was drive. 

He drove for what felt like an hour before the light on his phone blinked, signaling a call from Tubbo- Tommy answered, his heart rate. slowing to a normal pace with each breath.

He put the phone to his ear, “Tommy-“ 

“Yes..?” Tommy replied, his voice more shaky than he wished it was.

”Did you get the mattress? Sorry if you had said something while I was working, that coding law thing was due today. I called to tell-” 

“No worries, Tubs. But- no- I actually… kind of- I need help.” 

Tubbo was silent for a moment, before Tommy could hear him moving around their house, “Where are you?” 

“Pulling up..” 

And when Tommy pulled up, Tubbo was there to meet him halfway up their stairs, blood dripping down his legs as he shook. It had been months since something like this had happened, and Tommy didn’t even know if he was ready to go back to his vigilantism ways. 

How could he? After what had happend the last time.

When Tubbo guided Tommy to the couch, helping him wrap and clean the wounds from the glass windows and instructing him to stay safe for the next few days. It all felt as though it happened so fast, as Tommy had fallen asleep resting on Tubbo’s shoulder as his roommate worked on schoolwork.

Exhausted. He hadn’t felt a rush quite like this one since the first time he had stolen a car.

-

When Tommy had cracked his dry-ass eyes open, he remembered what a friend of his always told him to do when he first woke up. Notice everything new in your environment and repeat it in your head.

Ranboo was sitting next to the two, Tubbo and himself, on the couch, with their bag that held all of their belongings from the center next to them whilst watching TV. Tubbo looked down at Tommy and gave him a smile before looking back up at Ranboo and saying something that Tommy couldn’t hear.

Tom’s wings tensed, stretching and moving to get rid of the soreness. Sharp pains in his feet and arms from the glass, and his jumper draped was over him like a blanket. 

Blood still caked the tips of his fingers, trapped in red lines under his fingernails and up on his elbows. He couldn’t tell if it was his own, or the man’s life he had took by his own hand. It was all white noise. He could hardly remember his own name at that moment, let alone what happened.

“Want some dinner, Tommy?” Ranboo finally asked, patting Tommy on the arm, who pushed himself off of his roommates arm and yawned, sorely stretching.

“Yeah. I could do with a meal about now.” He paused, reminding himself of his roommate’s attendance. “When did you come back?” 

“Tubbo went to pick me up after you had come back earlier today. I heard what happend, but luckily we’ve been shifting through the news channels for about an hour and you aren’t on them- so thats good news.” Ranboo replied with sarcasm, leading Tommy by the arm into the kitchen where spaghetti was boiling in a pot. 

“Did you go shopping?” Tommy raised an eyebrow, but Ranboo only him gave a knowing smile.

”Yep, when I got home Tubbo told me about your crazy day and I thought that we all deserved some food.” Ranboo lifted the lid on the spaghetti and used an old spoon to scoop it into a paper bowel. They didn’t have sauce, but this was about good enough alone.

Tommy had nearly wolfed it down, using a plastic spoon and his very determined hands he had finally finished up the bowel and felt full for once. 

“Did you get a mattress?” Tommy remembered, turning to Ranboo who had already ate two bowels themself and was getting another one for Tubbo. 

“I got an inflatable one, if thats what you mean.” 

“Exactly, aren’t the prices bullshit?!” Tommy irritatedly stomped, waiting for someone to scold him for yelling, and when they didn’t, he continued. “We don’t even have a fucking trashcan either!”

“Tommy- my pay-time is coming up. Until then, we have to work with what we have.” Ranboo gave a long sigh, adjusting their shirt and coming to take Tommy’s empty bowl. 

“What about the van? Your clothes?” Tubbo called from the living room, the TV humming quietly with the News from today. He sounded concerned as always.

“I picked them up before work. Do you want to help me set up the bed, Tommy?” 

Tommy scoffed, “Why? I’m sure you’d do just fine.” 

Ranboo pauses, face looking at Tommy with that same pitying look as always, a frown on their cheeks. “I just thought you could do with a distraction, I know your mind gets loud. After seeing blood for the first time in months- I understand how hard that must be.” 

Tommy pushed him away, “What do you know, boob boy? I’m just fine, better yet, I’m better than fine!” Tommy spat, anger welling in his chest, “I fuckin-“ 

“Bad news everyone, they’re looking for Tommy.” Tubbo walked up next to the two as they shouted, a frown that matched Tommy and Ranboo’s own on his face as he spoke. 

Ranboo slowly began to inch away, leaving to set up the mattress that was already sitting untouched in the bedroom, leaving Tommy and Tubbo looking at each other and deciding their next set of actions. 

“We’ve ran before, we can do it again.” Tommy spoke plainly, looking away from Tubbo who’s face only scrunched with more worry.

Tubs clearly didn’t agree. “Why couldn’t you have just left?! Tommy- you always think you can be the hero, but then things like this happen. It was preventable, if you had just done what you were told and hid-“ 

“You are not speaking right now.” Tommy hissed through his teeth, wings perked up behind him as his eyebrows furrowed. “Telling me to do what I’m told? Really, Tubbo? They killed people. And you expect me to sit by as they do it?!” 

“You kill people all the time! I never have a say in what you do and don’t do! I never try and stop you!”  

“Used to. I fucking used to kill people, not anymore, okay? I don’t fucking kill people anymore.” Tommy took a step back, pushing past Tubbo. “And I didn’t do it for money, I did it to keep you safe.”

He stomped toward the bedroom and pushed the door open with anger and severe frustration. A ‘zrrrrp’ noise was heard from the corner as Ranboo started to unzip and plug in the inflatable bed. 

“Tommy.” Ranboo spoke his name, but Tommy only looked at them with daggers in his eyes.

”Yeah?”

“You… okay?”

“I’m fucking- I’m fine. Okay? I just need something to distract me- you were right I guess..”

“Well in that case-“ Ranboo paused, looking up at Tommy, “Can you help me with this?” they asked with their hands and knees on the carpeted bedroom floors while trying to unbox the inflatable bed.

Tommy only dropped to the ground next to them, plugging the cord into the wall and helping Ranboo unfold the bed. 

“Can I- I- tell you something, Tommy? I have a really good feeling about it- and- I just want to know your opinion..” 

Tommy kept his lips sealed, only giving Ranboo a half-lidded stare and after a minute Ranboo thought that was enough of an invitation to continue.

“I’m… thinking of becoming a vigilante again.” 

“What- What? After what happened with Spad-“

“Its not nearly as protected as Pogtopia, or L’manberg.” Ranboo insisted, “We need to protect our home. Especially after what happened today.” 

“But- wasn’t Icarus there? He- he saved us right?” Tommy began to tremble, his hands grasping into fists at his sides as his roommate admitted. When they had lived in Logsteshire, they were seen as a duo, Ender and Red, (since Tommy hadn’t really had a name yet-) fighting crime and fucking up people as a team, and when they had moved, neither had even spoken a word about what would happen to Red and Ender. It was a sufferable topic, that even mentioning was guaranteeing you a slap on the wrist. Even more so when the last time the two went out as vigilantes, Ranboo had his ass handed to him on a silver platter, and he had the scars on his legs to prove it, lesson learned, don’t fuck with a bitch with cards. 

“Tommy- you know the heroes, they only went because people had reported you. They wanted to catch you, Tommy.” 

“Right.. how did they even know who I was?” Tommy huffed, the furrowed brow that remained on his face never faltering even once. 

“They didn’t know.” 

“Fucking hell-“ 

“..Tommy I don’t know what you want me to say-“ 

“I want to to fucking admit that your joking, Ranboo! You know what hell happened to you last time, but this time, what if I won’t be there to save you? What if Tubbo won’t be here to save you? I’m sorry, Ranboo. But we can’t risk our lives like that-“ 

When Tommy took a step forward, the deep burning pains that made their way up his legs and arms reminded him of today. They reminded him that someone still needed to protect the city, cause the heroes weren’t able to. And Tommy had decided to ditch exactly what he was then saying. Even if it only was moments after he said it- he felt totally unlike himself as he said it. Who was Red without Ender? Who was Tommy without Ranboo? They couldn’t just abandon everyone like that.

“You know what?” Tommy interrupted himself.

Ranboo perked up at Tommy’s sudden change of speech, their eyes meeting Tommy’s for half a second before Tommy continued.

“I missed Red and Ender, whats the harm in going out for one last run, eh, Ran?” Tommy nudged Ranboo in the arm, and Ranboo gave him one of the biggest smiles he's ever seen on the their face. 

Ranboo took a step closer, the regret seeping onto their face before he asked Tommy if they had permission to hug him- they got their answer when Tommy threw his arms around Ranboo’s abdomen and curled his head into his roommate’s shoulder before Ranboo could even speak a word. 

The two shared a moment, hearing the click and clack of Tubbo’s keyboard starting again and reminding Toms that his roommate was in the other room. Tommy pulled away to ask Ranboo. 

“How will we ask Tubs?” 

Ranboo smiled, turning to pick up their backpack that they took to work with them, like they did everyday, because Ranboo had always explained their looming anxiety that the adoption center would have something bad happen to it- and Tubbo and Tommy had no doubt they were right. One of the perks of the other half of their hybridness- not the enderman part- was that their dreams and thoughts held parts of the future in them. The bad thing, they couldn’t tell what was anxiety and what was the future showing through. 

“We already spoke about it, he said he couldn’t stop us but- I think we should be careful.” 

“Careful? Careful is my middle name, big man! We can do whatever we want.” 

“But Tommy, are you sure? Your still hurt from- you know.” Ranboo inched around the subject, as it was obviously still touchy for Tommy. 

“I’ll be fine. I’ve got my powers, don’t I?” And that last part was at least true, as Tommy had the power to steal other people’s powers when looking into their eyes at least once. They had figured it out after he had recieved the powers of at least 3 other children at the center, Ranboo, Tubbo, and some other kid named Grayson. They had all found it weird until he had gained the same powers as the new center worker that had just started working at their center. Then they eventually connected the dots. 

“But Tommy… you can’t keep depending on your powers so muc-“ 

“You were the one who brought it up, big man. Besides, Ender can’t go out alone, what if he fucks himself up again? Red can’t save him if he’s stuck at home.”

Ranboo finally gave in, sighing as Tommy fished his vigilante uniform out of the dresser and promptly left Ranboo awkwardly standing in their bedroom as Tommy pushed open door. The bloody tissues and bandages still left sitting on the bathroom from when Tommy had taken the bandages on his wings off- and thank fucking prime that Tubbo and Ranboo hadn’t seen them. They’d simply kill him.

He threw off his tank top, the hoodie over it, and his pants came with them, leaving him looking over his bare arms and legs full of little scars that decorated his skin in a beautiful fashion. It wasn’t a secret that Tubbo and Ranboo looked at them with pity, but Tommy couldn’t care less. He always claimed that when he was hurting himself was when he was the most inspired, it kept him out of his head and focused. His roommates may have disagreed, but they left him alone about it for a while. It wasn’t like Tommy was the only one with visible and mental scars in this damn apartment. 

When he had finally pulled the hoodie and pants on over the black suit, put his small black mask, that held the voicechanger, over his face and the glasses on his nose, he was ready to leave. He had pulled the hood over his head and left the bathroom to go and see if Ranboo was done. He knocked, and they explained, they hadn’t finished yet, so Tommy leaned against the wall between the bedroom and bathroom as he waited. 

Tubbo finally breathed a sigh of relief as he closed the computer and looked up at Tommy, in his fill vigilante suit, “Done with that shitty essay, Tubs?” 

“After half a month, finally. I hate electronics class.” Tubbo threw himself back against the couch. 

“Yeah? At least you have straight A’s.” 

“Tommy, you fucking bypassed me in every class once in middle school, when that one kid said you were talentless, just to fucking prove a point you got A’s in every fucking class. Even history- after that they never pushed us around again.”  

“Oh please.” Tommy turned from Tubbo as the bedroom door was pushed open, “I only kept those grades for like a week before I got the progress report, after that I didn’t give a shit.” 

“Are we talking about that one time that Tommy got better grades than you?” Ranboo raised an eyebrow, almost wincing at the stern  look that covered Tubbo’s face as he huffed and turned back to the TV. 

“Fuck you!” Tubbo spat back. 

“Did you set it up?” Ranboo tilted their head when Tubbo sighed again.

“You really had to make me set up the scanner after I closed the laptop?” Tubs threw his computer back open and started to type, “I’ll let you know when its ready.” He put the earpiece over his ear, giving the two a thumbs up.

“Ready to go?” Tommy turned to Ranboo, who nodded as the two guided themselves to the window onto the fire escape, “Bye Tubs!” the two waved to Tubbo as they pushed themselves out the window and raced each other up the steps of the fire escape, Tommy hissed when Ranboo teleported since the space between the fire-escape and the one above was too small to fly through.

“Thats cheating, you asshole!” Tommy giggled as Ranboo sat on the edge of the building. “You think we are in shape enough to go running again?” 

“I doubt it.” Ranboo smiled back through his mask when Tubbo’s voice came through the two’s earpieces. 

“Reported gang activity on Tuesday of last week on 22nd Yellow boulevard, police dismissed the case but it may be worth looking at again.Two children were found dead in an alleyway close by.” 

“On it.” Tommy sprung open his wings, “Wait- you mean the street the center is on?”

”Yep.” Tubbo spoke back, the fatigue almost obvious in his voice. 

The two vigilantes gave each other one last look as Tommy’s wings expanded all the way out and Ranboo’s body began to fade into purple scratches and marks, a strange nausea overcasting Toms whenever he saw them do so.

When Tommy took off, that same euphoria in his chest jumped up and down line a overfed rabbit when the air blew against his wings, down his back and onto the warm scars on his feet and arms that satisfied him that same light burning that lingered whenever anything touched the bandages.

He sailed for a moment, having done this thousands of times before- as he wondered about life- about his parents, and about how strange and euphoric this all was. But what was quickly overcome when he saw the sunset. 

Tommy had never took the time to check what time it was, and when he saw the small street lights flicker on and his muscles lose their tenseness, he was more than happy to stay like this as he sailed over the city. 

He saw Ranboo’s unsteady figure appear above a building, and when he did, he dove down, the air pushing his hood against his hair  as his wings fluttered to a stop, using a power that he forgot who was from- to steady his hot fall. 

His feet hit the building’s roof below him and he skirted to a stop, Ranboo crouching deep into the building’s roof and peeking over the side at a group of kids in their mid-twenties smoking in an alleyway near their old home- well home was a strong word. Shelter? 

The adoption center.

”What do you suppose we do?” Ranboo asked in a low whisper as Tommy crouched next to them down low. 

“We wait. Tubs, do you know who reported the violence?” 

”They wished to stay anonymous, but I’m sure I can find the reports system, they usually have all the info there. Give me a few minutes.”

“Can we get closer?” Tommy spoke in a low tone, hand to his ear. 

Ranboo only replied in a quick nod, the same void-like purple particles fading in around them as their lone figure appeared on the building over the alley were the group solicited. 

Tommy took a quick leap off the side of the building, using a quick boost as his hands glowed a deep red that caused him to fly forward, an honest mistake was the way his feet skirted onto the building’s roof, loud enough for someone down the street to hear. 

“What was that?” One of members of the group spoke in growl, pulling their mask over his nose higher as they spoke, a gun sitting tightly in their hands. 

“If you’re so scared then, go check it out. Its probably some kid escaping his house or some bullshit.” Another voice spat back, in a higher tone, leaning against the wall with a cigarette on their lips. 

The one who spoke first whispered something, leading them and one other member away from the group, making it a group of three and two. 

The other two rounded the counter, guns pointed skeptically, Tommy shot a look towards Ranboo, who nodded slowly as Tommy stepped forward to slip into the alley before the group. Sitting in the shadows for a moment when the group turned their heads, and Tommy took the opportunity to note that only the one in the front had a gun, the other two with small knives.

“Yikes, stupid guy am I right?” Tommy rolled his eyes through his goggles as he stayed shaded in the shadows as the group gave each other looks. One of the people took a quick step forward, hissing. 

“Who are you?” 

Tommy’s voice turned to a deep giggle, his wings stretching momentarily as he took a step forward, lifting one knee to kick the gun from his hands, hitting the ground with a clank as it was fired. 

“Call me Red.” Tommy replied with a vivid smirk.

The one who had just lost their gun, who Tommy decided to name David, swung his fist at Tommy, who ducked and sent a knee into his stomach, gripping David’s shoulders in his palms. Toms briefly acknowledged a strange flame-shaped patch on one of their suits. Odd.

David growned, holding his stomach, as he fell to the ground, the other two, who Tommy named Gang guy 1 and 2, came at Tommy with their hand knives. 

The first one came quick, knicking Tommy in the arm, Tom only huffed and threw two punches, one that hit and one that missed, and while gang guy 1 was busy gaining his breath, Tommy hooked his foot around gang guy 2’s ankle and pulled him to the ground before he could swing his knife. Swiftly, pushing gang guy 1 against the wall and pulling the knife from his hands, and stabbing it into gang guy 2’s stomach. 

The two groaned as Tommy pulled the knife back out, one screeching in a higher tone than Tommy thought was possible, and the other huffing deeply while trying to gain his breath. Deep red blood dripped from the knife, and Tommy figured it wasn’t of use anymore, throwing it to the side in the alleyway. 

He stepped over the groaning bodies, spreading his wings as Ranboo appeared down the street over a group of gang guys, just as Tommy decided to name them, all hissing in pain on the floor, and Ranboo with a red mark on their face. 

“Did they get you?” Tommy raised an eyebrow, looking at the small bruise forming on Ranboo’s face. 

“Looks like they got you worse.” Ranboo looked down at the scrape on Tommy’s arm that stung to the touch, nothing even close to the worse thing he’s ever experienced. 

“Party scars.” Tommy chuckled back, putting a hand back to his ear. “You get those files, Tubs?” 

”Yep, we can look over them when you get back. But the person’s name appears to be Bad?” 

”Tubs, I know you can be judgy but you can’t just say something about someone's name like that-“ Tommy began in a sarcastic tone.

“That's his name dumbass!” 

”Right.” Ranboo cleared their throat awkwardly.

“Fine- fine, whatever. Any other details about ‘Bad’?” Tommy spoke back into the mic, awaiting Tubbo’s reply as the sound of clacking keys hit his ears again. 

“Hm- he reported gang activity on the second of October- last week. They don’t have a lot of info on him. He’s the owner of a bakery, called, ‘Bad’s Bakery.’” Tubbo replied, the clacking of keys still adamant in Tommy and Ranboo’s ears.

”Anything else? Date of birth? Address?” Ranboo asked.

”Uhh,” Tubbo paused, “No. They don’t have any other information that I have access to.” 

“Why do they tell you he’s the owner of a Bakery but not his goddamn date of birth?” Tommy cursed under his breath, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

”I- I don’t know. I’d have to hack further into their system to get access to that info, but further, than this we risk getting caught.” 

Ranboo’s eyes momentarily met Tommy’s.

“Do we know what he reported?” Ranboo inquired. 

“I don’t know, but he definitely wasn’t the one who found the bodies. Here it says he reported the gang violence, he isn’t even listed as a suspect. But it was reported last week, and they closed the case, maybe they found something?” 

Tommy sighed. “I doubt it. It's probably another thing the police are covering up.” 

“If it was really important, wouldn’t they have sent out the heroes to check it out?” Ranboo tilted his head as he spoke.

”No, the heroes only seek immediate action. Like the store rob that I was at. They wouldn’t send a hero out to investigate, there's detectives for that.” Tommy spat back. “Unless..Wait- do you remember that son-of-a-bitch that was after me about 2 or so years ago?” 

Ran thought for a moment.“Uhh… Whats his name? Blade? The guy who deals with con artists?” 

“Yeah, Yeah. Him. He’s a hero, remember? 

”Tommy you are a fucking genius.” Tubbo paused his typing as he spoke. “After successes within the hero-detective unit, due to the Blade, they linked nearly every hero, besides the action-based ones, to a type of crime. Like Siren, he deals with Vigilantes.”

”I hate that guy.” Ranboo shivered breifly.

”So you think they had a hero on this case?” Tommy asked, looking around the empty street.

“If there was one, you’d know. Until then, we need to find more information on Bad.”

“Okay, dickhead, how do you suppose we do that?” 

“I know someone, they go to school with me. They can definitely help us.” Tubbo confirmed as the typing nose started again in Tommy’s ears and he sent a look towards Ranboo.

”Any other activity tonight?” Ranboo spoke into the mic, awaiting Tubbo’s reply.

”Uhh, hold on-“ He paused, “Yeah, I guess you could check down by the docks on Westside, but I can’t guarantee that there's actually activity there.”

Tommy’s wings stretched out as Ranboo started to climb the fire escape onto the building next to the two vigilantes when Tubbo’s voice shot out of the communicator again. Replacing the unnerving silence with Tubbo’s panicked breaths.

“Activity- get out of there immediately! Guys get out of Logsteshire-“ Tubbo’s voice cut off, “Get out! GO!” 

“What happened to, “If there was a hero here, we’d know?” “ Tommy sighed.

He looked up at Ranboo, who stepped down from the fire escape and had a panicked look in their eyes when their’s met Tommy’s. The two quickly made it over to each other, Tommy with trembles from the pure panic of not knowing who the fuck was there. Whatever had made those footstep noises that Tommy heard on the roof behind the two vigilantes did not want them to be here.

“Someone is here.” Tommy whispered to Ranboo as he shifted from one foot to another as his wings opened and close with pure adrenaline. His claws dug into his palms as his eyes darted around to find the threat, but by the time he heard something jump off the roof of the building and onto the street next to them, it was already too late for Tommy to react.

Ranboo's harsh breaths one after another racked Tommy, it was horrifying, Tommy felt like the main character in a horror movie, just waiting for his demise, patiently. 

He decided that was not the way he was going to die. And after all that happened today, the shopping center robbery, as he killed somebody and regretted it fully, he wasn’t going down after all of that. Oh no, he was going down with a fucking fight. 

“Show yourself.” Tommy spat into the cold night air, shifting his weight between his feet yet again. He spun his head around when he saw a shadowy figure in the distance. Not too far from where they were. 

This street would look abandoned from where they were, almost all of the street lights broken, besides one flickering light that unnerved Tommy even more. All of the people who lived here had moved out long ago, and the people who still did would preferably live in the alleyways than anywhere near the apartments.

”Who are you.” Tommy asked in not a question, but a statement-like manner. The figure shifted, its lean body almost recognizable in the one flickering street light. 

“I asked you a question, didn’t I?” Tommy hated to use other people’s powers, but in a life-death situation, he really could not have the energy to give a flying fuck. 

“Show yourself,” Tommy asked with a power he had almost never used before, it made his throat raspy and his eyes water when he used it, but it was a life-saving power. The power of a siren. One that he got from Siren himself. He was lucky to even look Siren in the eyes and leave alive, let alone get his power.

Footsteps made from heeled boots were heard in the distance, from the figure, presumably, as he walked slowly toward Tommy and Ranboo, a bit of his face was caught in the street light. It was Siren- the hero. How fucking fitting that Tommy was using the hero Siren’s powers to get him to obey Tommy’s demands. 

“Fuck- R-“ Tom corrected himself before he used Ranboo’s real name, “Ender- it's Siren-“ Tommy looked over to Ranboo as he crept a hand onto Tommy’s shoulder, eyes wide with fear. “We need to go- fuck. Ender, we need to leave."

He was really wishing he could hear what Tubbo was saying over the sound of Ranboo’s panicked breaths behind him. It ticked Tommy off, his eyes narrowing into deep glares at the figure who appeared to be way calmer than the other him and his roommate.

In the time that Tommy and Ranboo had became vigilantes, they gained a bit of a following from the members of Logsteshire, a few other places in Pogtopia as-well, and in that time, they were recognized as yet another nuisance for the heroes. 

And Siren, being the hero who was known for shoving well-beloved vigilantes behind bars made it all the harder for Tommy and Ranboo who just wished for safety for themselves, something that the heroes never achieved. The only reasons that the heroes came to their part of town was to catch the vigilantes, or when something really inherently bad happend. But it had to be like massacre bad, And

the heroes seemed to think that apparently two vigilantes was as bad as mass murder. 

It made Tommy scoff, even in his panicked state, he was still not adverse to a joke or two. And his life, put politely, was a hilarious joke. And he was the comedian, laughing about his problems as he waited for them to catch up to him. 

“Nice to see you again.” The voice was deep, raw and overused, but the pure panic that it caused Tommy had never weakened once, no matter how many times he’d heard it. “Seems you’ve nicked my powers too, then?” 

Tommy felt sweat bead on his forehead, giving one last look towards Ranboo before taking a brave step forward, even if he shook, someone so great as Tommy shouldn’t be afraid of Siren- but those thoughts felt foreign in Tommy’s brain, they felt wrong. 

Tommy’s confidence was never intriguing.

“Seems like I have, Sitch.” 

Siren paused, “Sitch-“ his serious stance turning into one more relaxed as he tried to hold in a laugh, “What- Whats a Sitch?” 

“Its Siren-Bitch, Sitch. Makes perfect sense to me.” Tommy only crossed his arms as he folded his wings against his back gently as he watched the hero’s every move and wake. 

“Why- Why— Nevermind. I think I-“ Siren stuttered as he tried to hold in his giggles, “I- I’m giving you two a head start.” 

Tommy and Ranboo sent each other looks as Tommy pulled his wings straight open and Ranboo’s sudden panicked look faded into the familiar purple particles. When Tommy began to fly was when Siren conducted his next move, taking a step back before he started bolting towards Tommy, who had not yet started to fly yet and reached his hands forward as Siren pushed Tommy down into the road below, he hissed. 

Sending a punch towards Siren’s head, ultimately missing when Siren raised a fist and plummeled Tommy across the face, another burst of pain spread through his cheek as he bit down hard at the pain, he extened his claws, digging them into Siren’s arms as Siren desperately tried to rip himself away from Tommy’s grasp. 

“Get off of me you-“ Siren’s unnerving voice changer produced a sound when Tommy punched him straight in the nose.

Another punch sent towards Siren’s head, that didn’t miss this time, and Siren pulled away to gain his breath, giving Tommy just enough time to knee him harshly in the stomach and pull away.

But Siren was quick to reciprocate, just as Tommy was pulling himself away from the ground, Siren gripped tightly around Tommy’s ankle and twisted is hand, making Tommy ring our another sharp wince and his body hit the ground beside Siren. 

“Stay down.” 

”Fuck you-“ Tommy spoke, gaining his breath and the sharp pains that felt like a repetitive stabbing in his ankle did not lighten his mood. “You know that shit doesn’t work on me- Sitch!”

He lifted a foot, kicking Siren in the crotch and using the wall as a makeshift handle as he got back up. Tommy pulled up Siren by the collar, sending a punch across his face and kneeing him in the stomach whilst he was stunned. Siren quickly reciprocated with a familiar grunt and a smirk, as he pushed Tommy against the wall with his forearm to his throat. 

Siren narrowed his gaze, pulling a pair of handcuffs off of the side of his belt. “Looks like the game of cat and mouse is finally over. Bummer.” but the smirk on Siren’s face that Tommy expected wasn’t there, but instead lied a deep frown that burrowed into Tommy’s mind like a drug. “I thought we could run around one last time, looks like not.”

Tommy had actually lost hope for himself when he backed away from Siren on the ground, his back meeting the cold brick wall of a building when those familiar purple particles started once again, a warm hand clutching his wrist, “Well. Looks like I’ve found the cat trap.” Tommy spat in the most sarcastic tone he could make, the same purple particles causing his vision to blurr and his stomach to churn, the only words he heard were, as Siren tried to desperately reach for Tommy inside of the portal.

“No-“

As he was transported away from the hero, Tommy let himself smirk brightly. The nauseousness that was oddly familiar to him swam into his mind once more as his vision blackened into somewhat of a confusing blurr of deep purple color. The vivid nose that imitated an ender portal filled his ears yet again, but he couldn’t remember why it was so familiar. He couldn’t grasp the reason that Ranboo’s powers were so overwhelmingly comfortable. But he didn’t mind a break from the nauseous spinning that twirled his stomach into a knot.

Tommy didn’t even realize his breaths were really that panicked until the warmness of his apartment met his skin once more, Tubbo’s stout figure appearing to fade into view as Tommy’s vision made its way back to normal. Tubbo’s mouth moved, and before Tommy could realize, he was on the floor gasping for air. 

“Tommy-“ Tubbo’s voice rung out in his ears, and Tommy gathered the strength to respond. 

“I- I’m fine. I’m fine Tubs.” 

Ranboo gave out a hand for Tommy to take, which he did gratefully as his headache calmed in the warm atmosphere. 

“Holy shit… are you two hurt?” Tubbo shifted to open the bathroom door, digging through the cabinet from what Tommy heard of the racket. 

“That was fuckin- that was insane.” Tommy breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to check his wings for any cuts or bullet holes he missed, just in case, and when he found none, pulled his mask and goggles off his face and dragged himself over to the couch. 

He only then realized that he forgot to take out the trash in the bathroom, and his bloody bandages still sat in the bin inside there. Tubbo was in there. It was only a matter of time when Tommy shot up and Tubbo pulled out the first aid kit and a handful of bloody bandages. 

Ranboo stood next to Tommy, not saying a word as he took off his mask and goggles and pulled the hoodie over his head.

“Tommy. Let me see it.” Tubbo’s stern voice blared throughout the small apartment. 

“Tubbo- I- I cleaned them.” Tommy offered a solemn smile, which Tubbo only replied with telling Tommy to sit down on the couch and take his shirts off.

Once Tommy was facing his back towards Tubbo, wings spread and shirtless, Tubbo spent the next hour, as Ranboo got their room ready, shifting through Tommy’s wings and bandaging his back, not as tightly as Tommy wished, but it would do for now. He could tighten them tomorrow. 

“I’ll sleep on the couch.” Ranboo declared as he stepped out of the room, Tubbo’s face faded into a frown but he only nodded, looking to his blonde roommate one last time before Tommy spoke. 

“You get to bed, I’m going to clean up the house real quick and I’ll meet you there.” He turned away from Tubbo before he could frown deeper than he already was before patting Tommy on the arm and heading back to their shared bedroom. 

Tommy headed around the house and stuffed the extra pasta into a plastic bag and shoved it carelessly into the refrigerator, he sorted the toothbrushes in the bathroom, and closed the windows and shades before returning to their room to get some sleep. 

Stepping over some of Ranboo’s clothes, he stuffed his suit trousers into the dresser and threw on the khaki pants he was wearing earlier, prefering to stay shirtless- he was too tired to pull anything over his head, as he practiced making his wings invisible one last time before shuffling onto the blanket-less inflatable mattress that was colder on his back then steel. Tommy usually would’ve changed his mind and put something on if he had the energy to, but instead he just curled up next to Tubbo and drifted into a deep sleep finally at 3:30 AM.