Work Text:
Tommy looked up, his head dizzy from the blood loss. He pushed himself up from the cold, lifeless cement and he scanned his surroundings. There was no sign of the perpetrator he had been hunting down. Sighing, he heard Tubbo’s voice crackle through the piece of plastic sitting in his ear, wincing at the sharp noises.
“Theseus!” His best friend’s voice was a slap on the face. “What is wrong with you!? Why did you go after him, I told you not to!”
“I know, I know,” Tommy replied wearily. “Can you please just help me get home? Send the boober boy over here or something.”
“I can hear you,” Ranboo replied, unamused. “I’m on the way, hang in there.”
Smiling weakly, Tommy muttered, “Thanks.” He sat down on the curb, trying to catch his breath as he recounted the events that had occurred just seconds before. Several people walking past gave him strange looks, though it wasn’t long before a pitch black kidnapper van pulled up and the front window rolled down. A black and white head of hair poked out and grinned at Tommy, his scraggly hair covering his eyes.
“Get in loser, we’re going shopping.” He spoke in his customary monotone, gesturing to the other side of the van.
“I will if you stop quoting mean girls,” Tommy grumbled under his breath, but he climbed into the van obligingly. He sat in the passenger seat, wincing as the burns he had obtained from his fight with the villain before were jostled about with the car’s sudden movement.
“You good man?” Tubbo asked through the comm that rested in his ear. “That was a pretty bad fight. Flame jostled you up pretty good.”
Tommy growled at the mention of the supervillain. “I’m fine. It’s not too bad, I can wait till we get back to the warehouse.”
“Right,” Ranboo replied, listening to their conversation through his own set of comms.”I’ll drive carefully, just for you.” he spoke mockingly. Tommy closed his eyes, sighing tiredly. His body ached from the fight, everything was sore. As the quiet hum of the car overwhelmed his senses, Tommy let himself drift to sleep.
“Cmon, Theseus,” Flame spoke tauntingly, his smug voice seeping into my ears. “I thought you were better than this. What are people going to think when they see their number one protector like this, barely able to hold a fight against just one villain. Not even the top one at that” I looked up and saw his short but stocky frame. His eyes glinted dangerously, and although the rest of his face was obscured with a bandana, I could practically sense his smirk. I stood up shakily, breathing heavily.
“Piss off man,” I retorted, my back aching, even though my suit was supposed to be able to withstand his fire, it wasn’t working. I’d have to get Tubbo to check it out. Out of the blue, he let out a gust of his signature, crimson red fire onto me. I put up my forcefield just seconds before it reached me, heart feeling like it was about to jump out of my chest. After nearly a minute, he finally let up with the fire. Nervously, I panted, as he circled me, a fox playing with the rabbit that had fallen into its den. With no warning, he pounced, preparing to sink his fangs in. I jumped back just in time, barely dodging the punch intended for my check. He stumbled, and as he was down I punched him. Hard. He let out a growl, blood dripping down his nose. He lunged hard at me, eyes like poison. His fighting became more desperate, aggressive as he realized his lost advantage. We circled one another, trading blows back and forth. Through my comms I could hear Tubbo calling out to me, advice lost on deaf ears.
Theseus!” Tubbo screamed, finally breaking my trance of concentration. I touched my ear, shocked at the sudden noise. Flame, unfortunately, took advantage of this, landing a hard punch to my side. I scrambled to get back up, and resumed my defensive position.
I hissed at Tubbo, “Are you trying to get me killed?! I need you to get me out of here, I stopped the shipment from going through, I needed Ranboob here yesterday!” I could practically feel him flinch at my harsh words, but there was no time for regret. Flame was still circling me, waiting to strike like a snake, venom dripping from his fangs. Suddenly, behind Flame, I see a shorter brunette stick his head into the warehouse.
“Flame,” his English accent rang out through the walls, his voice monotone, almost sounding bored.
“Who is that?” Tubbo asked me, concerned.
“404,” I replied. The villain was notoriously hard to find, I had only ever encountered him a couple of times. I watched him lean his head against the doorway, his signature white clout glasses resting on his delicate nose.
“Flame,” he repeated. “C’mon. We’re all waiting for you, we need to go now. Finish it up with the kid,” he motioned to me. “Stop playing with him.” Flame groaned and rolled his eyes.
“Come on man, you’re no fun.” Despite this, he obliges, his punches no longer mocking. He is a snake, down with play, ready to go in for the kill. I continue my dance around him, but I can’t keep this up for long. He’s faster, stronger than me, better trained. Not to say I can’t hold my own, but certainly not for this long. Each moment I grow more exhausted, yet he continues his assault unbothered, I look back over to where 404 is standing, baby blue supreme hoodie resting on his delicate frame. Despite his unassuming, relaxed posture, I can tell he’s ready to jump into action at a moment’s notice. A sharp pain in my stomach brought me back to the present, Flame having gotten the jump on me. Suddenly, a loud bang came from the back of the warehouse where 404 was standing.
“Flame!” 404 called out, shaking in rage. “We need to go. Now.” I may have been thrown off by the sudden noise, though Flame certainly wasn’t. He slammed my body hard into the ground, and I saw him stalking off to where 404 was standing. I could hear Tubbo in my ear, though my brain wasn’t registering what he was saying, just a constant stream of white noise. I sighed, and let the exhaustion take over my body.
Tommy felt someone shaking him out of his vivid recollection of the fight. a monotone voice speaking. “Tommy,” Ranboo looked at him, sighing. “C'mon man, don’t make me carry you in.” Tentatively, Tommy opened his eyes, and looked at his friend’s thin and stalky frame.
“Ugh,” Tommy let out a sign of frustration. Looking out of the window, he could see the dirty, graying beige of Tubbo’s apartment. He closed his eyes one more time, his body still exhausted from the fight that had occurred what seemed like minutes ago, before stepping outside of the van.