Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Every little noise was a threat. Each creak in the floor, rattle through the vents and spark of the faulty lights made every instinct scream to run. This was suicide. Not a single person in the vicinity was afraid to slaughter you on the spot. But no one would think to look at him. Small, harmless, inhuman. No one ever looks at the street cat.

Blond, almost golden, fur with beige mackerel stripes slips passed every guard and sentinel. People tend to stay as far away from the underweight, scarred cat missing an ear afraid of diseases and all that shit. When an idiot dares to step close, hoping to help the "poor kitty" off the streets, hackles are raised and hissing fills the air. Sharpened claws slash out leaving scars on the human just trying to help. He doesn't need help. He's never needed help. People, attachments, just drag you down. He may hate the man who taught him this lesson, but he knows it's truthful.

Thomas Innes. Sixteen year old former street kid. Completely normal to the majority of the public. Curly blond hair, unnaturally bright blue eyes, missing his right ear, massive scar running from it down his face and always coated in a layer of dirt. He looks relatively tame compared to others you see in his area of town. Hermes, on the other hand, is a completely different story. No one has ever seen the master thief. Best one in all of Manburg and a cryptid to anyone who knows the name. Just a whisper of it has people on edge, fearful. That might explain why the guards have doubled since his last scope of the building.

Small paws patter down a long hallway before slowing to a stop. Tommy feels his bones begin to crack and break as they enlarge and re position themselves. a painful process he had gotten used to. The cameras were taken out twenty minutes ago so he had no fear of this footage getting out. Standing at six foot one, the thief silently made his way through the final length of the hall before he arrived in front of two beautiful mahogany doors with golden accents running from top to bottom. Incredible craftsmanship. The boy decked from head to toe in black approached the biometric scanner and placed his eye up against it while placing his thumb on the pad. These contacts and gloves better fucking work or he's fucked.

A ping goes off and the sound of locks clicking resonated through the empty space. Tommy took a minute to process. They fucking worked. THEY FUCKING WORKED! He is a genius. Yep. Smartest and biggest man in the whole region.

Pushing open the doors and snaking around the large desk, he found his target. A large painting, Monet, hung above a massive fireplace. Tommy reached out, fingers careful not to wreck the artwork and found the invisible wire. He carefully removed it from the mounts hooking it to the frame before heaving down the painting. He had no care for it. No use. What he wanted was the large silver safe that laid just behind it. For someone so secretive and guarded, the simple pinpad was laughable. Cracked in less that a minute, the large door was slowly pulled open. Gold, diamonds, stacks of money. Everything anyone could want. But Tommy can't take it. He wasn't allowed.

Instead, he snatched the beige folder. It was far more valuable to his client. The moment it lifted off of the base of the safe, an alarm blared through the building. Tommy dropped the folder as he crumpled to the ground. The piercing  noise rattled through his head as his sensitive hearing cursed him. Being deaf in your right ear, because it's no longer there, does not do much to limit ones auditory perception when you have super hearing. Feline thing.

The blond shook off the initial shock and picked the file back up. He couldn't fuck this up. Judging by the fact of the guard routines he saw earlier, he has less than thirty seconds to leave before the office was swarmed and he was shot. The vent. The one on the ceiling. Tommy gripped the grate and yanked it right out of it's bolts, bending it in all different ways before it was tossed onto the floor. His body ached already at the thought of shifting again for the fifth time this hour but it's the only way he'd fit.

With a file carefully snatched in his jaws, Tommy leapt up onto the shelf before pulling himself into the dusty vent. He could hear the door being busted open and several sets of feet stomp into the room. The click of rifles was enough to drive him forwards. Further and further he descended into darkness, leaving the chaos of shouting behind. Electric blue eyes glowed in the dark as slit pupils expanded to let in every source of light available.

Once out of the stuffy building, he bound down the street before climbing up a fire escape. The boy let his bones return to their human form with a crunch before looking up. In the moonlight, he could make out the flapping of a cloak. The man on the roof turned revealing the glint of a porcelain smiley mask and a green cloak shifting with the winds as his boots crushed the gravel and snow below them.

"You are late." The voice was distorted and seems to echo through the blond's head.

"They beefed up security Dream." Tommy rolled his eyes behind the black mesh-like mask that took up his entire face. "Would've gotten killed if I attempted it in the time frame you wanted." He stepped forward and handed the man the file.

"Hm." He responded as he replaced the papers inside. "I've swapped out the files. Take them to the buyer and bring me back the five thousand dollars tomorrow. I better not find any of it missing."

"Yes sir." With that, Dream leapt off the roof and disappeared into the night.

Tommy was being payed six thousand for this job, actually. Some gang in the depths wanted information on the heroes. Dream didn't need to know Tommy was keeping a thousand dollars for himself. He is only a few thousand away for enough to be set. Enough to find his people and then disappear off the face of the Earth. Untraceable. He's had to get quite good at that obviously. Tommy was so close to a fresh start. He needed it. But he had to make sure he had enough for everyone and enough to fully vanish.
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"Niki I'm so sorry I'm late!" Tommy came barreling through the back door of the bakery and café, voice rough from lack of sleep.

His hair was a mess, bags under his eyes and shoes were torn up. Basically, he looked like shit. He looked like he always did. A head of shoulder length pastel pink hair popped out from behind the counter. The woman, five foot five in height, bound towards the blond with the most genuine smile he had ever seen plastered across her face. She always looked at him that way. Her icy blue eyes and pale skin reflected the light and made Tommy squint his eyes slightly.

"It's alright Toms. Thank you for covering the earlier shift." Niki said as she handed him his apron; red and covered in pins and patches, his favorite being the cow pin. "Grayson is sick and Jack couldn't make it in this early to cover for him so I really appreciate it. I'm also super sorry that you still have to work overnight tonight. Everyone is just so busy and I-"

Tommy returned her smile. "Niki, I'm always happy to help anytime. Well actually no not anytime. I'm going to have to chug multiple iced coffee's just to stay awake but you get what I mean." They both got a good laugh out of that.

"Alright well I've cleaned up and got everything ready for you so you can open in a few minutes. The croissants should be done in three minutes so don't forget about them." She explained as she threw on her coat and tied up her boots. "Eret will take over for you around four."

"Thanks Niki."

She handed him a bag of tea biscuits with a quick "I know you haven't eaten" before running out the door with her car keys in hand. Tommy walked up front, setting up his syrup bottles and cleaning the empty coffee pots. He lined up the pastries and removed the croissants from the oven. When the place was finally at his liking, he unlocked the front door and flipped on the open sign.

Customers passed through at the normal rate. Tommy worked through a surprisingly slow lunch rush for the area. Niki's bakery was situated on the border of low town and middle town. The basics of the city is that smack dab in the middle is Mayor Shlatt's home and the hero commission. Next you have the rich fucks of Prime Heights and West End in up town. The working class resides in Kinoko and East End in middle town. And finally, low town is where the skum of the city live. The Badlands, an industrial shit hole, and Pogtopia, a mass of abandoned buildings and crumbling structures, are situated on all the way on the outskirts of town. Tommy is well aware that Niki has the money to open her café in Prime Heights but chooses to be here. She says it's where her people are. Tommy was grateful for the shorter commute.

"I need a large freshly roasted black coffee with eight shots of espresso." A soft, melodic, voice cut through Tommy's thoughts.

He looked up and was met with a frown. A man, lean and 6'5 at least, wearing a yellow knit hoodie, brown puffer jacket, jeans and circle rimmed glasses was tapping his fingers on the counter. He blew brown curls out of his face to reveal soft caramel eyes and a scar just above his left eye and into his eyebrow. The golden chain with the tacky giant emerald around his neck gave away everything Tommy needed to know about this dude. He was a proper tory. A rich fucker, most likely from Prime Heights.

"Hey!" Snapping in front of the blonds face shook him out of his head. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes I heard your order for one fucking heart attack in a large cup." Tommy grumbled in response. "Look I can't legally give you more than four espresso shots in one coffee big man."

This seemed to piss the dude off. "Well can't you just.. I don't know ignore that rule and give me the coffee?!? My brother will kill me if I don't get it."

"You want me.. to break the law and possibly loose my job so you can send your brother into cardiac arrest?" Tommy raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"..... Yes?"

"Alright well your total will be sixteen dollars and eleven cents." Tommy replied. "Would you like anything else?"

"What!?" The man yelled, startling the few customers that were in the café. "Sixteen dollars for a coffee??"

The blond rolled his eyes. "It's six dollars and ninety one cents for your coffee and then one dollar and fifteen cents for every additional espresso shot." Tommy shrugged. "We're a small business. Need to make some cash one way or another. So, anything else?"

"I.. ugh fine. One chocolate croissant please." The man finally said with a sigh.

Tommy punched the order into the till before plastering the fakest smile he could muster onto his face. "Your total comes to nineteen dollars and thirty two cents. Name for the order?"

"Fucking hell." The man whispered under his breath. "Wilbur."

Tommy stopped. Ok, he knew this man was weird. Everyone from up town is weird. But Wilbur. Really!? That is his name? HAH! Loser.

"Shit name big man." Tommy snickered. "I'll have your order ready in a minute."

The man, Wilbur, turned a took a seat in a nearby booth. There were no other customers lined up so he got to work on the drink right away. Tommy put on a fresh pot of coffee and then prepared the espresso machine. He had to run into the back to fill the fresh roast beans because the machine ran out halfway through making the espresso shots. If there is a hell, he decided this was it. What kind of crazy lunatic orders EIGHT shots of espresso!?! That is like almost two thousand mg of caffeine.

Tommy bagged up the croissant and filled up the coffee cup before walking over to the counter. Before he could even set the two items down, Wilbur snatched them from his hands and turned to storm out of the store. Tommy watched with a smirk as the man looked down at his cup and stopped right before reaching the handle of the door. He turned, face red with anger.

"Wimblur! Really?" He raised his voice. "Why did this place hire a child?" He shook his head.

Tommy's smile dropped. "I'm not a child. Haven't been one for a long time."

"Whatever." Wilbur turned and left the café, the bell ringing behind him on his way out.

Tommy decided on the spot that he hates that man. He was joking around. The blond's regulars at night normally love his jokes. This dude was a prick. And Tommy was anything but a kid. A kid would be at school right now, learning. A kid would return home to a family and ask what's for dinner. A kid wouldn't be feared by over half of the criminals polluting the streets of this shitty city. Tommy wasn't a kid. He never was one to begin with. He was a monster that put on a mask every morning and pretended to be normal like everyone else. But the constant itch below his skin reminded him what he truly was.

The day continued on like normal. Customers came and they went at a normal rate. Puffy even stopped by once! She was nice. Tommy liked her but he usually only saw her once a week when she had a night shift for whatever her job is. He's never asked. But she has always been incredibly kind to him and leaves big tips. The young blond made sure everything was clean and stocked for Eret's shift and made sure to leave out a few brownies for them.

Eret arrived a few minutes before her shift, punctual as always. Their bright white eyes just peaking over their fogged up glasses and barely visible under their long light brown curls. Look, Tommy wasn't relatively short. He was 6'1 for fucks sake. But he was offended that Eret was taller than him by almost three inches and he will never let them live it down.

"I'm 6'3 you know." Tommy said as he put his ripped up sweater on; his only protection from the frost bitten winter air outside.

"Of course." She laughed, deep voice somehow reverberating through Tommy's head.

It was creepy as fuck." Whatever. Enjoy your shift." He huffed, pushing the back door open and heading out into the wind.

It never got particularly snowy in Manburg but winters were still cold as fuck and they got a decent amount of that stupid frozen crystalized water. When it wasn't snowing, it was raining. Tommy hated snow. Years on the streets, watching those around his almost die from the chill in the air that the shit brought kind of put a damper on his like for winter. So as snowflakes, white and fluffy, floated down through the air, Tommy's scowl grew larger. He couldn't get distracted though. He needed to collect his payment and deliver it to Dream before he had to return to work for the night shift. Tommy was defiantly going to sleep tomorrow all day after this.

Slipping into his signature black tactical suit was practically instinctual now. The vest that strapped over his torso and double belts hanging from his waist that were adorned in splash potions, knives, gadgets and a gun were comforting. The black mesh mask that slipped over his face like a glove brought peace to the worry always resting in the back of Tommy's head. He was in his element as Hermes.

Bounding across the roofs in middle town, he smiled. The snow crunching below the blonds feet threatened to trip him, sending him tumbling over the edge, but he never felt more alive than the rush he got from this. Tommy slowed to a stop near the border of East End and West End. He dropped from the ledge of a three story building, landing silently, before removing the grate in the alley. Slowly, the teen slipped into the hole before pulling the grate back on top. He let his eyes fade from bright blue to an electric azure; the slit pupils expanding to allow light to reach his eyes in the black tunnel.

Tommy continued down the tunnel, having to bend over slightly in the six foot tall space, and headed towards the sounds below. He felt the tunnel beginning to decline as he travelled further beneath the city. Tommy approached the end of the dark tunnel, the brightness at the end threatening to blind him. He pulled back his hybrid features, eyes returning to normal and claws retracting, before slipping out into the space below.

The massive cavern was bussing with life. Street shops lined the carefully carved pathways and performers looking for a little cash dashed across the stone roadways. Massive lanterns hung from the roof, casting just enough light to reach the third layer of the underground area. For a moment, just listening to the laughter and music, Tommy could pretend this place was a safe haven from the shit show of Manburg. But sadly, it was not.

The Depths, were what the cavern was called. A hidden city, basically, that resided just below Manburg. It was infested with crime in the form of gangs, thief's, murderers, crime rings and more. The place was run by Las Nevadas. It was just a casino to the overworld but an entrance to the criminal world to everyone else. But not even they were the biggest threat here. Obviously, the heroes knew of this place. Though they never had much information about it until one day Dream told them he had someone on the inside. He never told them who.

Tommy approached the edge of an outer street, rocks falling off into the abyss with his steps. With one final exhale, he jumped. No one batted an eye. Just as he liked it.

Falling was never a pleasant feeling to Tommy. He hated it in fact. But it was falling, being crammed in a line with petty criminals and walking for hours to the bottom level or being shoved in an elevator with the rich snobs of the criminal world. So ya, Tommy chooses falling.

He counted the seconds to make sure his timing was perfect before he pulled a grappling gun off of his belt, aimed into the dark and pulled the trigger. He felt the line go snug a second before his arms were tugged and he was jolted towards a rock cliff. Tommy aimed himself at the light before crashing down onto a stone ledge, gaining an odd look from the old man sitting nearby. He was covered in dirt, rocking back and forth in a chair as he smoked from a pipe.

"Cutting it a bit close, young one." His voice was rough from his years.

Tommy ignored the man, putting his grappling gun back onto his belt before heading into the crowd here. He quickly shook out his sore muscles from the drop before taking off to his meeting location. Cat hybrid perk? He can jump from insane heights and survive uninjured. Practically.

The lower levels of The Depths was where every aspiring criminal wished to reach. The best of the best were down here. Looking to hire an assassin? Best bet is the ninth level. Looking to topple and empire? Eighth level. Looking for a trustworthy thief? Well your not going to find any here but your best best is the tenth level where Hermes is known to roam. But you have to earn your way down here. If you took the walk down, you'd most likely be turned back at the sixth level. If you took the elevator, than you're rich and Tommy hates you. If you jumped you're either dead or you're this random kid dressed in all black that a crazy old man, literally sitting on a cliff, has been spewing stories about for the past year. Tommy hated that old man.

The whole point of Hermes was his anonymity. No one knew who he was so everyone was afraid to double cross him. If you hired him for a job and didn't pay, you were never heard from again. At least that was what other people said. So that crazy wanker was a bit of a problem. The only good thing was no one believed the old bat.

Tommy broke his way out of the crowd of people he had been hiding in and rounded a corner, entering the nearby alleyway. It was quite dark down here, light from the upper levels not reaching this far down. Their only source of light down here was a lantern or streetlight here or there. Tommy snuck into a small opening in the rock wall, emerging into what looked like a storage facility. Strings of lights flickered from the metal roof, the buzz of electricity mixing in with the background noise. Hermes waited patiently, completely still.

It took almost twenty minutes for the gang to finally show their faces. One man, tall and bulk, stepped out from behind a pile of crates and began complaining.

"Yo where the fuck is that little thief with our package!" He yelled as a few more men emerged. "The trap is set up perfectly. We get the file, the thief looses their life. That simple. So where is the vermin!?!"

Huh, they were going to betray him. Fun. He hasn't had that for awhile. People were to scared to cross him even though no one had seen him in person. Tommy let his bones crack into place, watching as the world grew around him. He snuck down from the storage container he had been waiting on and pattered closer to the group of people with weapons. After a quick scope of them, he judged that no one even brought the money. Cheap fucks.

"Guess Hermes is not as good as people say they are." A woman appeared out of the shadows with what looked like a cyberkenetic arm holding some kind of high tech gun. "Wrap it up, we'll tell the boss he's not getting Hermes today."

The group turned but all quickly stopped when the sound of metal shifting hit their ears. The woman turned her nose up, fear clearly written all over her face. The only thing there was a perfectly curated file sitting on top of a wooden box they had left in the middle. Her eyes widened and she went to scream.

"THE THEIF IS HERE! RU-"

The ground shook as a giant metal cage dropped over the whole group. Shouting echoed through the space as Tommy snickered to himself from trapping them in their own trap, and walked away calmly from the scene. You don't fuck with Hermes.

The blond quickly pulled out his burner phone, typing a short "It was a trap; No money" to Dream before shutting the thing off. While he was down here, might as well visit an old friend. At least this trip to the Depths MIGHT end up productive.

Chapter Text

"No. No get out of my store." The boy behind the counter said before Tommy even fully stepped through the door.

Tommy just smiled behind the mask on his face. He was no longer in his Hermes gear, just wearing a plain black sweater and black jeans. He had his hood up to cover his hair and a black fabric mask over the bottom half of his face.

"No need to be so grumpy." Tommy laughed. "Is your brother around?."

"No. Out now." The boy said. "Your shipment is in if that's what you've come for. If not, leave. I really don't want to deal with you."

"Now is that any way to talk to your best customer, Purp." Tommy said as he leaned against the counter.

Purpled and his older brother, Deadshot, were deadly mercenaries for the leader of Las Nevadas and owner of the Depths, Gamble. No one knew their real identities, obviously, but everyone knew of their shop on the tenth level in the depths, the deepest one can go. Deadshot's elite status helped him gain access to some of the newest and best tech in the city, which Tommy greatly appreciated. Only the elite make it to this level though. Villains like those of Las Nevadas and the deadly Syndicate, rich mobsters, corrupt business men and Hermes. You only get down here if you have made a deal with Gamble.

It's how Tommy met the brothers and began doing business with them. He has stolen from Gamble countless times, like the file this morning. But he wasn't always so good at his job. He had been caught before. Only once. Luckily this was before he had become Hermes. Gamble should've killed him. But instead, the biggest crime boss in the city hired him. Tommy should've rejected the offer since he technically worked for Dream but the idea of having villains on his side... well he couldn't pass that opportunity up. The more ties and ally's he has in the city, the easier it will be for him. Though Gamble is not a huge fan of Hermes, he seems to want to keep the little blond kid he found stealing from him around. That's good for Tommy.

The blond boy behind the counter just rolled his bright violet eyes, "Look kid, I am still concerned about the fact that you order way to many explosives, but if your not here to pay and take your order, LEAVE."

"Alright alright." Tommy laughed, holding his hands up. "Here's your money. These better be worth the price bitch."

Purpled let out a low chuckle. "They always are."

Tommy smiled at the boy across from him. He really missed having close friends. Purpled was just his dealer. Niki, Eret, Jack and Gray were just coworkers. He really had no one. Everyone was gone.
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The lights of the casino were dim, the normal noise of busy, drunk patrons void in the space. The brunette shivered slightly in the tense atmosphere. He felt a large black wing rest up against his back and looked over to make eye contact with the shorter blond.

"Calm down. I'm sure whatever Gamble called us in for isn't that serious." The man spoke in a hushed whisper.

The brunette nodded as the doors were thrown open and four figures walked into the room. Trailing behind were Deadshot and Taranis. Deadshot held his hands carefully over the two glocks holstered on his legs, his gold chains swinging over his white hoodie as he walked. The cold look in his eyes clearly showcased the snarl he would be wearing if the brunette could see under his mask. Taranis seemed nonchalant, his Egyptian/shark golden attire seemingly blinding beside the coldness of Deadshot. His sharp trident did nothing to deter the smile appearing on the faces around him, all admiring the beauty of his golden skin and emerald green eyes.

In front of the two villains was Slimecicle, Gamble's right hand man. His translucent green skin jiggled with every care-free step the slime hybrid took. The man was nothing to be feared but still, everyone respected him. Though he definitely was in need of new glasses, the black frames sitting on his face cracked and only staying put because they were stuck to the slime.

In front of the group, in all his glory, was Gamble. The man, standing at 5'8, had shaggy hair as dark as night peaking out from under his navy beanie, a white dress shirt not fully buttoned up that was tucked into his black dress pants. He wore a plethora of golden jewelry, bedazzled with gems everywhere. He had a checkered bandana over the bottom half of his face, only showing his golden eyes and large scar on the left side of his face. No one knew if the face laying beneath the mask was even his, since he was a shapeshifter.

"Reaper, Blood Boar, Banshee. Welcome back to Las Nevadas." His voice was always surprisingly cheery, sounding like those old tv announcers; he had his voice changer programmed that way. "I am sorry to bring you in on such short notice, but it seems to me that a little thief we all know has become a bigger problem than anticipated."

"Hermes?" Blood Boar spoke up, voice gruff and deep as his pink braid swung over his shoulder. "Thought he was just a story made up by kids on the street?"

Taranis stepped forwards. "Sadly not. He's become increasingly more active the past few months and the information he's been taking could be detrimental to our organizations. Just this morning he stole one of our only full dossier on heroes. In and out like it was nothing"

This time Reaper, the blond, spoke. "Gamble," He addressed the man directly. "Did you know Hermes was around? Why did you not tell us about this?"

"Reaper, you and I both knew the rumours came from some truth."

"Yes but I thought we had both agreed those rumours were GREATLY exaggerated. Hermes was just some small Low Town thief the people had given a name." Reaper replied.

Banshee could feel the anger in his partners voice.

Gamble shook his head. "We did. This thief had obviously been around for quite some time but he must've stuck to smaller jobs or we just missed him. But his skills were not exaggerated. I found this." The man said as he pulled a remote out of his pocket.

The whole group watched as a screen to their right lit up. A frozen, blurry image of a figure in black could be seen surrounded by a very recognizably group of men.

Banshee gasped. "Are those Badland gang members? But the Badlands were arrested two years ago!?!"

"This was two years ago Banshee." Deadshot snarled.

The video began to play and even with the horrible quality, everyone realized the same thing. They had deeply underestimated Hermes. The theif was nimble and quick on his feet. He seemed to resort to non-lethal methods but no one could deny his skills. He picked apart the fifteen men surrounding him like they were nothing.

Thieves were neutral parties and that was what made them so dangerous. It meant they helped both sides. Whoever paid them more got their loyalties for a short period of time. Add in Hermes skills and you have a serious threat. Another problem was the thief's anonymity. No one had gotten a proper look at him and this video didn't help at all. He was just a man in black, maybe 6'1, quick, lean and definitely well trained.

"What do you propose Gamble?" Reaper spoke up.

"If you find the thief, bring him in alive. Maybe we can get him on our side and finally take out the heroes. If he refuses, we kill him."

The group nodded in agreement. Hermes needed to be eliminated as a threat.
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Tommy whistled as he cleaned. The shop was quiet and the streets were empty with the moon high in the sky. The pins on the boy's apron clinked as he moved effortlessly through the store, barely even thinking of his actions as he went from table to table. He couldn't fully remember the tune or where he heard it but he liked it. It was cheery and kinda nostalgic.

The bell rang just as the blond rounded the counter, putting his cleaning rags away. He had to take a deep breath to prepare himself to be civil. Sometimes Tommy regretted working in customer service.

"Hi there, what can I get for you tonight?" He said, fake smile quite obvious on his face.

A sigh rang out through the lobby and Tommy couldn't help the sour look that melted across his face. His eyes fell on a familiar brunette with caramel eyes wearing the same stupid circle rimmed glasses. Instead of a yellow jumper he was wearing a grey one.

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Can you wear nothing other than hundred dollar jumpers. Pretentious prick."

A snort came from behind the brunette. "You were right, I would like the kid who mouthed off to you." A deep, gruff voice laughed.

The man had long rose pink hair, similar to Niki's but darker, in an messy bun, his eyes were a dark brown almost black colour and he had a bunch of small scars littering his face. He had glasses resting on the tip of his nose, almost making him look like a librarian and wore a white dress shirt with dark brown khakis. His six foot tall frame and broad shoulders still looked small beside Wilbur.

"Why are you still here!" Wilbur yelled. "God, I hate children."

"Look I am sleep deprived so just order and let me get on with my cleaning. I still gotta mop this whole fucking store."

Wilbur sighed again. "Fine uh I'll get an iced caramel latte and a large freshly roasted black coffee with three shots of espresso for Techno."

"Techno?" Tommy eyed the pinkette. "Ahh you're the brother I sent into cardiac arrest this morning. So eleven shots of espresso in the span of twenty-four hours... are you just asking to be sent to a hospital."

"Yes." Techno said blankly. "Just make my coffee kid."

Tommy flinched slightly, the joking atmosphere leaving as a neutral expression took it's place on his face. "Your total is $15.75. I'll have your drinks ready in a minute."

Tommy moved away from the counter and let his mind wander as he prepared their drinks. It was basically muscle memory by now. The simplicity of it all was soothing when he needed to think. The deal this afternoon was a bust so he needed a new job, soon. The longer he plays at this game, the more tangled he gets in the web of lies he's created. The more tangled, the harder it is to get out. To pull himself out.

"Thing 1 and Thing 2! Your drinks are ready." Tommy said as the cups hit the counter.

Wilbur grabbed them, without saying thanks, before taking a seat in a booth beside his brother who was on the phone with someone. "No no we'll be home in a little bit. Wil and I are just getting some caffeine and doing some research. Yes we'll be careful." He rubbed his forehead. "Ya whatever, bye."

Tommy didn't have the time to snoop. He had a long day and just wanted to close up in an hour. He filled up the mop in the back and turned up the store speakers before resuming his cleaning. Idle chatter filled the front of the lobby and Tommy couldn't help the smile that spread across his face at the banter. He remembered how he used to joke around with his siblings. Their laughter filling the streets as they ran through the rain. He could still remember her voice as she yelled at them for being out in the cold, something about not enough cold medicine left. He missed that feeling.

Setting down the mop, Tommy made his way over to the only customers in the store. "I hate to break it to you brothers Grimm, but I gotta close up so you need to get lost."

"SHIT!" Wilbur flinched, Techno just blinking beside him. "You are quiet."

Tommy just shrugged. "So you gonna pack up or am I going to have to get the bat from the storage room?"

Techno shoved his brother out of the booth, packing up his laptop. "We're leaving alright. Have a good night Tommy." He said.

The brothers left and Tommy finished up closing. He spent twenty minutes doing dishes and cleaning up the stock before locking the back door. He threw on his sweater and headed out into the freezing wind. The sting against the boy's cheeks was nothing he wasn't used to. Besides, he had big plans tonight.

Tommy made his way to the outskirts of Low Town. The windows and doors of crumbled buildings were boarded up and the few streetlights flickered as he walked under them. The warehouse district was up ahead. Tommy slipped into an alleyway and threw on a store bought mask before making his way to the roof. Bounding across the rooftops he stopped over the odd one out. A silver warehouse that stuck out like a sore thumb. It was clean and tidy, people tended to stay away since the place was constantly guarded. 24/6. Not 7. Wednesdays. Almost every Wednesday the place was empty like clockwork. Good for him, bad for them.

Tommy pulled out the bag of explosives he bought earlier, leaping down and placing them all around the lot. He did one last sweep of the building, making sure no one was inside, before blowing the place sky high. Bright blue eyes flashed with an electric pulse as he smiled wide. First responders didn't care about Low Town, they wouldn't be here for awhile. All the time in the world to get away.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

Tommy froze. Voices. People. NO ONE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE! He turns with a jolt, eyes landing on two figures he NEVER wanted to run into. There stood Banshee and Blood Boar. Banshee's trench coat flapped in the wind as the tall man's black boots crunched on the snow beneath them. His brown curls fell just over his eyes which which were covered by one of those white opera masks. Beside him stood Blood Boar who, even standing at Tommy's height, seemed to tower over everything as his red eyes burned into Tommy's skull. His broad shoulders seemed to bulge out of his royal looking white shirt. He wore a red cape adorned with golden accents and was covered in golden jewelry including a crown. The boar skull mask with void-like black eyes did nothing to ease Tommy's fear.

"Now who's this little cockroach." Banshee sneered, voice seemingly melodic. "Have you been the one causing all of the destruction to our warehouses?"

Oh how Tommy wished he was in gear. Luckily, his hood hid his hair and the mask hid his identity. Tommy was also very grateful that he remembered to wear earplugs, he did not need to be put and Banshee's will.

"Not talkative huh? Fine then." With that, The villains sprung forwards.

Tommy moved on instinct, letting his center of gravity drop and letting his instincts take over. He'd never fought Syndicate villains and had hoped he never would have to. The Syndicate were a ruthless group of killers who fought the heroes and government. While he understood their motives, Tommy wanted nothing to do with them. However, when their warehouses on his streets brought to many greedy eyes, Tommy knew he had to act. So has been methodically blowing them up. This was not the outcome he expected.

"Nimble aren't we!" Banshee laughed as he swung a fist.

Tommy ducked before swiftly turning right, only just missing a swing from Blood Boar's sword. Their dance seemed to last forever and Tommy was tiring out. The sound of Banshee's laugh and Boar's growls drove him forwards until finally, there was an opening. The boy leapt between the brunette's legs and disappeared over the ledge of the roof. When the villains ran to look for the mystery bomber, they found nothing but an empty alleyway.

"We can't tell Reaper we got bested by some kid."

"Agreed." Blood Boar nodded as the two disappeared into the night.
______________________________

Tommy's breathing finally slowed as he pulled off the mask covering his face and collapsed onto his bed. Sleep found him quickly and he tried to forget the fuck up that today was. Tomorrow would be better.