Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

      Tommy hated this. Hated how fake smiles decorate people’s faces at these kinds of things. Tommy stood at this ball and tried not to groan out loud and just settled for shaking hands with people who clearly were only there to show how great they were to others and their success and brag to their kids about this. Not to mention this made him feel like a trophy to be won at an auction instead of a hero whose job was to save lives. Of course, he would prefer doing that, but it was required for heroes to attend.

Not all heroes were required to go. But the ones high in power? They had to come show so face and make themselves look good and rub elbows with investors even though most of them were all horrible people. He sighed and made a peace sign for a photo being taken and looked around for his mentor Epiales. Hoping that the older man was close by but from a quick scan he wasn’t.

His mentor had taken him when he was 9 when Epiales found him and asked him if he'd like to be a hero. Tommy had said yes and here he was 7 years later. Tommy wore a skintight black suit under bulky deep red armor and underneath that he wore a black hoodie that was brought up to hide his hair. 

His mask had a frowning red face on a black mask. He also wore a belt equipped with things to help his power. They were shaped like potion bottles, but each thing held something that was not quite liquid. Tommy sighed and moved looking more thoroughly for the older.

 In contrast Tommy’s mentor wore a white skintight suit (Tommy swore that he was asking a criminal to land a hit and dirty his costume with red/maroon not that they got close enough to do so unless they were Kratos.) And lime green armor with a white mask and a black smiley face that glowed lime green when Tommy slept and dreamed about his mentor. (It freaked Tommy out of uncanny the man in his dream was to the real thing)

But Tommy hated the mask with every fiber of his being. Epiales’s mask prevent Tommy from getting a good read on his moods and often Tommy had to rely on body language which was covered by armor most of the time. This of course was Epiales training him to be able to read body language. Whereas Tommy’s prevented him from being able to see as well, not to mention the code preventing anyone but Epiales from unlocking the thing.

Or that was his excuse when Tommy asked. Tommy also had a hero name or a code name he went by. Nightmare and when the public really want to tick Tommy off (or when Tommy pretended to be a raccoon) Chaos. Which if Tommy was being honest was really funny considering Epiales found Tommy when he was stealing from a trash can just to get food.

Of course, Tommy preferred those names over the one given to him by Epiales. Eris Lotus. Fucking Eris Lotus. Not some badass name but a lame one that meant nothing. (He ignored the flower's meaning. Purity, Chastity and Virtues (And ignoring that the Greek God Eris was a joke as well to him)) And Tommy had asked to change it and was always told no.

Then there was the no speaking rule. Which was annoying. Come on it’s not like Tommy can sign anything different than saying anything. But Tommy always went with it even though his mask had a built-in voice changer for when Tommy would cry out in order to hide how ‘child-like’ he sounded. He was 16 not 9. Epiales often said that he was too annoying when he spoke and that if he did speak no one would listen to him anyways.

But Tommy had been at Epiales’s side for 6 years. 4 of those years had been Tommy being Epiales’s sidekick and the previous 2 years was him getting ready to be his sidekick. Tommy had eventually agreed with Epiales about the voice changer (He didn’t want more bruises and wounds over something so simple and stupid)

But Tommy also had to agree that if the voice changer broke or failed that people would know his age and would use that against Epiales, preventing Tommy from being able to help the older man nor the people. So, Tommy learned sign language. Epiales told the public that Tommy was mute and thus was unable to speak. Tommy had only disobeyed the rule of no talking once. And he had vowed never to do it again.

(Pain. All he could feel was pain make it stop! Please! It hurts! Oh god no no no. Someone. Anyone! Help him! Please, it's too much! Where’s Sapnap? Where’s George? It hurts so bad. Why won’t it stop? His throat hurts. It’s burning. Oh god it’s on fire. Why? WHy? WHY HIM? What did he do to deserve this?)

After that Tommy couldn’t speak properly for an entire month. Epiales had then apologized and said he had taken it too far, but it was Tommy’s fault for speaking in the first place. That he should have kept quiet and that Epiales would have never felt the need to punish Tommy and that he would have been fine if he had just behaved.

Tommy remembered that a lot of heroes had seen the bruises, but no one really asked how he got them or didn’t seem to care. Epiales was scary and everyone knew that the bruises most likely came from him. But no one ever said anything out of fear of getting hurt by him. (Tommy ignored the little voice that said that he also feared Epiales and those close to him did as well.)

Tommy had once wanted to become a hero and he still did. (Did he?) Tommy had been a sidekick far longer than any other hero or sidekick before him, but Epiales kept saying he wasn’t ready, and Tommy could understand that Epiales was afraid to let him go at all and instead kept a tight grip on the younger hero.

Epiales had been on edge for a long long time. And in the end, it was mostly because of the betrayal from Pyre that led Epiales to become more possessive of his things and much more aggressive. (Maybe it was because Pyre wasn’t there to hold back Epiales anymore.) And then Cernunnos leaving Epiales had been something that absolutely destroyed the original Dream team.

Epiales was now the only member of the original team. The Dream team consisted of three very powerful heroes. Epiales being the head and Pyre and Cernunnos being his second in command. They were able to fight against big criminal groups like the Syndicate and Las Nevadas and similar organizations. 

However, after Pyre and Liminal (A big time vigilante who was wanted in order to become a hero due to his kindness and really good at his job) switched sides with the leader of Las Nevadas and a member of the Syndicate Furtuna Epiales had snapped. (That’s what Tommy kept telling himself at least) Tommy understood that Epiales had been betrayed by the younger man.

And right after him Cernunnos followed in leaving Epiales behind and Epiales spiraled harder. Epiales was closer with Cernunnos than Pyre and Tommy never understood either of the relationships, but he also understood that some things were better left unanswered. So, Tommy ignored the pictures with scribbled out faces and the closed off places. Nothing good came from those kinds of questions.

Tommy finally located Epiales and felt a bit lighter. The man was talking with the mayor, so Tommy slowly walked over to them giving a small nod of his head to the Mayor as the Mayor gave a big manic grin and left allowing Tommy some peace with his mentor and big brother. Epiales stood there sloshing a drink in his hand and Tommy stood close to him.

Tommy could see the older man was watching the party closely and Tommy watched until Epiales spoke, “There have been some rumors that the Syndicate is going to strike tonight.” 

At this the older man paused and took a sip of his drink. Tommy waited for him to finish and watched as the man set his glass on a waiter's tray who was leaving before he turned his full attention to Tommy.

Epiales continued with, “I need you to go patrol the neighborhood and keep something like that from reaching here.” 

Tommy blinked in shock behind his mask before nodding his head to Epiales and turning around getting ready to leave before he felt a hand grab his arm and Tommy turned back seeing the hand belonged to Epiales.

Epiales finished off by saying, “And if you fail? You know what is to come.” 

The man let go at that moment and walked over to Merc who was talking with some other heroes leaving Tommy shuddering at those final words. Tommy knew they would haunt him for the rest of the night, preventing him from relaxing. Tommy quickly ran out of there after that.

That had been an hour ago though. Tommy had spent most of his night walking around checking for anything out of place and listening to the chatter coming from the radio about anything that he needed to intervene until he finally heard the dreaded words. *Syndicate has been spotted in warehouse 22. In sector 12. 7th on your left. Over*  

Tommy let out a curse and quickly ran toward it. It was one of the few warehouses Tommy knew hadn’t been checked. He ran as fast as he could. One of Epiales’s favorite quotes to tell Tommy was that you can cut off a part of a snake's body and it lives. The only way to actually kill it was cutting off its head.

And perhaps that would be easy to do with any other organization. The Syndicate was full of vastly different members. The ‘leaders’ of the organization being the top ranked villains. Orpheus rank 6. Kratos rank 3. And finally, Seraph rank 1. There were more but this call came for the trio as one of the deadliest trios.

The only heroes that stood a chance against them was the original Dream team and after the original team was gone the replacements struggled to keep up with them often losing to them and causing whatever they were going for to disappear. Tommy was terrified of each villain for different and good reasons.

Orpheus went under many names, Siren, TNT, Psychopath, Murder. His voice was like a siren. His hybrid part was unknown. His voice was powerful enough to lead even the strongest of minds to fold to his will and make them his mindless puppets till he grew bored of them. The man wore a trench coat that was a deep brown over a yellow wool sweater and black cargo pants and black converse.

Orpheus wore a mask that didn’t allow you to see the top half of his face but allowed you to hear his voice clearly. He never wore a voice changer, but it didn’t matter as his voice could naturally be distorted. Tommy respected the man when he wasn’t trying to kill him as he often forced civilians to leave with his voice.

Kratos went under far fewer names than Orpheus, Ares being his most famous second name. Kratos was one of the strongest villains having gone toe to toe with Epiales and came out on top almost killing him. After that Tommy swore never to get in between the duo when he watched their blades meet so fast, they blurred. Kratos often was seen dressed like a king.

Even though the man said he hated governments he still dressed like a tyrant. Tommy speculated that his outfit was to spite them more than anything. People often said that Kratos’s power was to never die or perhaps it had something to do with his luck. Tommy always thought that he was simply given the power of stamina and power enhancers and was most likely a hybrid.

And the final member Seraph. The deadly of deadly. He had large black wings on his back that he never bothered to hide and wore green and white robes and a bucket hat that had a black veil on it only allowing you to see mere glimpses of his snarling face during a fight. Out of all the others Seraph was probably one of the only people you didn’t want to mess with. He had a protective streak over all members and acted like a dad to the entire group.

Usually if those three were in a group together Tommy would leave them alone and not bother taking them on but from the shadows Tommy already knew that he had to interfere if he wanted to protect people. The warehouse was not close enough for backup to arrive in time and Tommy knew all the important people were at the ball meaning Tommy was going in alone to get the thing they were after before them. 

Tommy slipped through a window near them landing lightly before walking toward them slowly catching all three’s attention before signing, ‘Hey. What are you up to at this late hour’ 

The villains paused before Kratos snarled and said, “Why are you bothering us Theseus. You usually sit by and let your mentor do the work.”

Tommy rolled his eyes at the name. Kratos had started calling Tommy Theseus when Epiales accidentally fell into Tommy knocking him off a roof top and into a garbage bin below knocking Tommy unconscious for a bit of time. Kratos had said when Tommy inquired about it one time that it was because a friend had pushed him off the ledge much like the Greek Hero.

Tommy sighed. He really didn’t want to engage with these three, but it was looking more and more like he didn’t have a choice. He reached for his chest and pressed the center, and it lit up giving Tommy full access to the powers stored in the device. Tommy's powers were the ability to copy others' powers.

And yeah, it’s great but there are many drawbacks. He can’t use it for longer than two hours, thus the machine that holds powers so he can access them. He also has to be careful to know everything about the power in order to not only be able to use it but to know what it does. And the original drawbacks of the power affect him along with his own.

Tommy can’t use it longer than two hours or he gets sick and often passes out due to exhaustion. Most times Tommy can push through for a couple minutes but not a lot. That’s why Chaos is such a funny name. He can’t take the powers of others away but rather copy them and freak them out by matching blow-to-blow.

Tommy feels his access to many powers get excited before reaching for a fire based one. While Seraph is great at dodging and protecting his wings, fire makes him weary Tommy could create a border to prevent him from getting in and joining the fight. But Seraph could just run away or extinguish the fire with wind, so Tommy had to be careful.

While Tommy was thinking Orpheus tilted his head and got ready to scream while Seraph walked toward the object and Kratos got ready to launch an attack.

 Orpheus then said, “Is the poor little sidekick trying to get on his mentor's good side?” 

Tommy rolled his eyes. He knew what Orpheus was doing trying to distract him to get a blow, but it wouldn’t work. Tommy reached into his belt feeling around for an object before his hand finally wrapped around it and Tommy locked eyes with the villain before throwing it as hard as he could.

Tommy had thrown his claimor. The claimor pretty much took the voice of someone with no repercussions. (That was after Tommy had someone work on it and make it non-lethal nor painful.) With Orpheus rendered unable to use his voice that just left the other two. (Orpheus couldn’t fight without his voice; it was why he was always paired with another person.)

Kratos charged Tommy’s legs while Seraph went from above. Tommy shot fire at Seraph making him dodge before setting a ring of fire around the man preventing him from escaping. While doing it though Tommy forgot about Kratos who was still charging him. Tommy let out an oomph as the man tackled him and they set out fighting trading blows for blows neither one able to get the upper hand.

Suddenly Tommy noticed that Seraph had gotten out of the ring of fire while Tommy was distracted and was going for the object. Tommy ducked under Kratos’s next swing pushing the bigger man causing him to stumble and his entire force being thrown into a nearby wall and running for Seraph and knocked him out of the way and grabbed the box he was reaching for. He tucked it under his arm and glanced at the three villains.

He then signed ‘Looking for this?’ And Orpheus who was closest to him glared while Kratos was still recovering from where he had been thrown from Tommy’s blast toward the box and Seraph was flying just above the crates the box had been by. Seraph looked almost sad to Tommy hovering where he was, but any pity disappeared once the villain started talking.

“Listen Eris, we need that box. So please, give it to us.”

Tommy felt conflicted. It sounded like they really need it but. These were people that children were warned about, and civilians feared so much that people were needed to protect the innocent so Tommy shook his head and reached for a teleporting power. Allowing it all to fall into a void and allowing Steal to take over.

Tommy felt tired after all the fighting and power use, and he felt like just sleeping for the rest of the night. He felt bone tired and yet he still had to give the box over and face Epiales later on. Tommy sighed and hoped the punishment wasn’t too bad. Even though he still let the villains go in the end he got the object!

Tommy felt the object in his hands trying to guess what it was without opening it knowing that if he even tried to open it that Epiales would know and would say he had been tampering with the evidence and how he must be on the villain's side. Tommy just sighed and put it away in one of his pockets and headed to the ball.

Tommy finally reached the ball and told Epiales what had conspired that evening, showing the thing the Syndicate had tried to steal. Epiales had simply nodded and pocket the thing before saying they both were leaving the ball in order for them to go to headquarters to not only train but also to place the object in a secure place.

Once Epiales talked with a few more people he grabbed Tommy’s arm and yanked him out of the ball and headed toward their car before having someone else drive toward the headquarters. While in the car Epiales pulled out a tablet and Tommy froze cursing himself in his head. 

While Tommy had known Epiales would figure out what happened he didn’t know it would happen so soon. The tablet allowed Epiales to look at all the cameras in the city and Tommy waited for Epiales to find the battle and watch it. He watched how Epiales nodded along with certain things and mumbling to himself before freezing.

Tommy didn’t need to see what Epiales had seen that caused the man to be so mad. He knew. Tommy had let the three most dangerous men in the city go with barely a scratch on him or on them. Epiales slowly turned around and starred at Tommy utterly silent and Tommy shifted uncomfortable.

Until suddenly Epiales exploded “YOU LET THE FUCKING SYNDICATE GET AWAY?!?!?!?!?!”

Tommy flinched from the outburst of anger. He knew it was coming yet he was still surprised by it. The car came to a stop and Epiales flung the door open and yanked Tommy out. Tommy wanted to make excuses for not fighting them so much, but he knew Epiales didn’t want to hear how fighting the three of them alone would have been a death sentence.

Epiales dragged Tommy to their floor as there was no one there that day as they were all at the ball or on patrol and he took the elevator up to their floor before shoving the teen away from him causing Tommy to stumble a bit and roll his ankle before Epiales said in an angry tone.

“Get ready for training useless brat. DO NOT test me on this and meet me on the training grounds in less than ten minutes.”

Tommy nodded fearfully. Tommy knew what training really meant and he was scared to actually do it. While Epiales and Tommy had separate rooms they lived on the same floor. But that also meant Epiales had full control on what Tommy wore, ate, and how much he was healed. 

Training meant that none of those wounds would be treated unless Epiales decided that Tommy deserved it. Training was where Epiales would use his full power and fight Tommy with no breaks the only time Epiales ever stopped was when Tommy fell unconscious or when he won. Tommy never won.

Tommy entered his room grabbing his training suit. It was a much lighter suit then his normal one. It was a gray skintight one and was great for flexibility and agility. Not so much for heavy hits and weapons. But this was the only suit Tommy was allowed to wear on the training grounds.

Tommy fiddled with his mask and hair for a bit ruffling it up a bit after the hoodie he wore pressed it down. Tommy couldn’t take off the mask and Epiales hardly ever took it off himself unless he was feeling generous. The mask worked much like a face however it was also heavy and annoying to have on his face so much. (It also made it difficult to breath)

Tommy finally stepped out of his room, opening the door. He was dreading what Epiales was going to do next, but it wasn’t like he had much of a choice in the matter.

Chapter Text

Tommy walked toward the training room as slow as he could without getting into trouble. He eventually stopped in front of a set of double doors. The doors themselves were steel and were heavy and hard to break in order to prevent them from being damaged by an over ecstatic hero. Tommy was a troublemaker, and a Lot of times ended up in the room no matter how hard he tried to stay on, Epiales trouble seemed to follow him like a stray dog did to a person who fed it food. (No way was he going to acknowledge how closely that related to his and Epiales’s relationship) But Epiales always had a new lesson he wanted to teach. A new way to give Tommy a lesson. Another life skill. Another thing to use in a fight against villains. It was often told to Tommy he was a horrible student. He never seemed to learn no matter how hard Epiales tried to drill it into his head to learn.

But he did learn to not speak. He learned that particular lesson rather quickly just after his first time becoming a sidekick and finally being able to go out and about. It was one of the first times he was fighting side by side with Epiales and he had been excited. If he knew how the night would turn out he would have turned back and quit.

Tommy tried not to show how ecstatic he was about being able to go out and about with Epiales at 14! He would be the youngest hero ever even if no one knew his real age but he would also be the best hero just like Epiales was the best hero! Of course, Tommy couldn’t compete with the man, but he would try to live up to him! Tommy remembered each rule Epiales had given him when they had started the patrol and where they were going. (And the consequences of going against any of the rules rang through his head) They were going to start on the west side of Manburg and it was meant to be a simple patrol to show Tommy what happened on a normal one.

Epiales had even promised to get Carbonara pizza afterwards! But Tommy disobeyed. Tommy and he were fighting Botany and Atomic; they were considered the lowest ranking of the Syndicate alone but together often were to be taken as higher ranks. Botany being rank 9 and Atomic being rank 11 and it was intense. They had tried to rob a bank but Epiales and him interfered. Tommy led the victims away and watched if Epiales needed help. But then there was a little boy, not even 6, that wouldn’t move. So, he spoke to the would-be victim even if it was quiet and the victim hadn’t heard him still speak. 

When Epiales stared at Tommy he knew he messed up. However, Tommy hadn’t expected him to snap his arm. Nor did he expect him to have intense training for weeks on end. Remembering the boiling tea he had been forced to drink. It felt like fire. Pyre hadn’t been able to help him during that week. He tried to help and when Tommy couldn’t properly speak for a month, he taught him more sign language and secret words that Epiales didn’t know the meaning of. 

He also taught him his name. Tommy saw the guilt on his face, wanting to talk but unable to with him being so close. But Tommy saw the guilt as clear as day written on his face. Heard him crying late at night and the fights that constantly happened between the Dream team. Heard him getting more and more worried. Remembered when he came home and looked at Tommy’s face and saw something that made him cry before getting his stuff and the hurried argument between the three before he walked out unable to keep pretending and becoming a villain. A traitor. A….A lover.

Tommy knew that Pyre tried to get him out. Tried to stop Epiales over and over but nothing worked. That he had gone to the other heroes with Tommy as proof only to be turned away and yelled at by Epiales. Tommy saw Pyre getting more and more tired as time went on. Could tell that he was reaching his limits. Tommy remembered the way Pyre had looked the day he left. He had eye bags under his eyes. Had taken his mask and set it on the kitchen counter. Tears streaking down his face. His hands were covered in blood, and he had a wound as well and it was easy to see that it was Epiales weapon that caused the wound. But his eyes were determined. He looked at Tommy and he knew that he was about to offer something, but Tommy just turned away and walked to the other two ignoring Pyre.

Tommy shook his head dislodging the thoughts before hurrying to training. After he got there Epiales looked at him, seeming bored. Before he started training. Tommy fought. He kept losing against him. Not that he ever thought he would succeed. He knew he’d never succeed. There were only a handful of people who ever came close to beating him. (Kratos, Pyre, Cernunnos. Though the last one might have been because Epiales would always go easy on him. The love radiated off of them slowly left until it left a bitter taste in his mouth when he watched them fight. Tommy knew Cernunnos loved Epiales still. But the love changed in Epiales’s eyes and no longer was its true love in anyway.) Tommy was shocked by the next blow.

After training Tommy was covered in bruises and wounds. He could tell his wrist was broken and his ankle strained or maybe sprained. (Epiales had thrown him at a wall and Tommy had braced with his hand, but he had been thrown high so when he landed, he twisted his ankle, and it hurt.) Of course, he cried a few tears but moved on. Epiales had called it quits when Tommy started wheezing due to some bruised ribs. Epiales then grabbed a small med-kit and had Tommy sit down before checking his ribs. Making sure none of them were broken before humming and moving on to his ankle, rotating it and listening to Tommy hisses in pain before saying, 

“Toms….You know I love you right? And I do this because I love you?”

While saying this Epiales started twisting his ankle in a painful way while looking at Tommy. His mask starring right into his soul. The black beady eyes not blinking and the smile etched on made Tommy think that Epiales was actually enjoying this. And that caused a shiver from Tommy. Tommy felt tears start to prickle the edge of his eyes before saying, 

“I know.” 

Epiales nodded before relaxing his grip releasing his ankle and grabbing some bandaged making sure to be careful and grabbing some gel ice pack that would stay with the bandages and wrapping his ankle grabbing the ankle brace, they kept in the med kit for these kinds of things and placing the brace on tightly and saying

 “Keep that elevated” 

Watching Tommy to make sure he did as he asked and nodding when Tommy did so and propped it on the bench nearby and gently checking his other bruises poking them when he found them and listening to Tommy hiss in pain before moving on to the next.  And finally moving onto his wrist and saying,

 “And you won’t leave right?”

Tommy was startled a bit. Epiales never mentioned the others leaving him behind so to hear it meant something bad. He knew that it brought them up. (He hadn’t failed to notice the death notice on his desk about…Him. Epiales hadn’t left his office when he got it and sent Tommy out and when he finally came out of his office, he let Tommy off for the next week.) Tommy quickly said,

“Of course not! I love it here! I mean you're teaching me how to be a hero, why would I not want to stay here with you?”

Epiales nodded and went to say something but that’s when the hero alarm went off and Tommy looked wide eyed at Epiales before they both darted to change into hero gear and run toward the meeting room only to get a glare by Humdinger and the Ram looking hero told them

 “Go to Green Magic bank. It’s a code marron. Head Syndicate and the Particle duo.”

Tommy was startled a bit. The Particle duo was a part of the Syndicate and was often used to cause more chaos to hide what was truly happening. To hear that the five were at a bank meant bad news. Tommy and Epiales quickly headed toward the bank dashing across roofs and vaulting over alleyways. Waving at passersby and Tommy thought about the Particles duo. It consisted of Two people. King and A-bomb they were a deadly duo together and have been known to run circles around heroes. Often getting in and out with whatever they wanted with ease unless it was Pyre and sometimes Cernunnos. (Epiales always deemed them not worthy of his time. Often stating that the Head of the Syndicate were somewhere else and that was often the case but it often annoyed the other two, but they just sighed and dealt with it whenever they were requested to deal with them)

 King was a tall Enderman hybrid with a deep purple mask covering his face and no part of his face was seen by anyone. The horns on their head gave them away for an Enderman hybrid along with the black and white hair. Merc hated the hybrid with a passion often saying that the hybrid was slippery and his ability to teleport was unclear if it was a hybrid trait or their ability. Tommy thought King was an interesting person. And was hard to defeat unless you had water on hand. 

A-bomb was the complete opposite of King. He was short and they couldn’t tell what kind of hybrid he was. His ability was known as he was able to create weapons or tools out of nothing. He remembered when he made a gun out of a paperclip and a pair of handcuffs. (He had been caught just once and simply cuffed to a desk. He broke out within seconds and ran off.) He had brown hair, and his eyes were uncovered but he wore a gas mask on the bottom part of his face. Tommy quite liked him as he often made funny jokes when they were fighting. 

Tommy sighed and they finally made it to the Green Magic and entered weapons drawn as they looked around. There were 21 hostages all tied up looking up at the villains. They were tied to a bomb with the time 02:07:22 stated on it. Tommy tensed watching the 22 go down. He quickly figured out what the timer was and got ready to have a long talk with the villains. A-bomb probably worked with another villain named Atys to create them. Tommy watched as Kratos walked toward King who was guarding their only exit. Tommy cursed himself for allowing that to happen in his head while Orpheus stood near A-bomb who was working on the bomb. And Seraph was standing there in all his glory wings out just staring at the two of them before saying, 

“Well hello boys ....As you can see, we have some hostages here for more leverage for what I’m asking.”

Epiales tensed at that, and Tommy eyed the scene carefully. Kratos and King were blocking the exits meaning they had to fight. But they couldn’t launch straight into the fight until A-bomb and Orpheus moved away from the bomb. It was too likely for them to trigger the bomb, so they needed to stop messing with it and move away before either of them took action. Suddenly Epiales spoke.

“Sorry the Government won’t accept such a thing. Nor will they give you any money.”

Orpheus stood there, his brown curly hair fluffed up a bit from the last time Tommy saw him, and he gave a sick smile that made him look insane, he waved at them and took a deep breath Epiales nor Tommy were wearing the blockers for their ears and the man knew it. Orpheus was a smart man. Easily keeping up in mind games and making fun of Ram and ran circles around him as the villain said,

“Do not move. Eris Lotus, Epiales Stay frozen until I tell you otherwise and allow you to move once more. You may twitch, change facial expressions, breath, talk please do, do that, it’s always fun when they beg, but you may not move from where you're standing.”

Seraph smirked. Tommy was instantly unnerved by it. The only time the villain smirked was when he knew he was going to win. And Tommy knew whatever Seraph wanted he’d either get willingly or forcefully. There was no other way around it. Tommy reached for his weapons, his eyes darting around. Orpheus was near the hostages seeming to stand there while A-bomb put away tools nodding to himself. Tommy’s train of thoughts was interrupted by Seraph saying,

“No Mate. I don’t want money, instead I want Eris Lotus.”

Tommy’s eyes widened beneath his mask, and he could almost tell that Epiales had stopped breathing all together seemingly frozen in time. Tommy would have laughed any other day to see such a thing but they were both shocked. (Tommy thought of Epiales being powerless and how many villains had powers in this room. Tommy only had a weak power and no backup coming. They would be unlikely to win this fight.)

Tommy worried his lip wondering why they wanted him out of all the other sidekicks or even heroes. While Tommy was the number 1’s sidekick he was just that. A sidekick who’s only power worked when others were with him who had powers he could latch onto, and he had to be aware prior to latching onto it.

Tommy was also keenly aware of the drawbacks his power held. While it wasn’t a big deal as Pyre had helped him build a machine that kept his and Cernunnos' powers it only worked if they filled it up (It was empty now. He hadn’t seen either one of them for months now. It was no longer holding any powers). Or if Tommy had recently touched someone with a similar power which.

Tommy also had to physically touch the person and then by relation their power which on different people was different places and Tommy often had to figure that out quickly. (Pyres had been his center which the fire-demon said was likely because his ‘soul’ was where his power came from, Cernunnos had been his head though he had never gotten an explanation from the man he often theorized that it was because he had to use his mind in order to grow mushrooms, Merc was his hands which was because he could only use his powers through his hands.) and Tommy had to prolong the touch for it to be stored or even kept.

(Pyre had built him something that stored the part of the power that was needed in order for Tommy to copy it. He didn’t necessarily have to touch them. Only their power but it was easier to say he needed to touch them somewhere specifically in order to copy their powers) Plus too much use of Tommy’s power and he got the drawbacks of the original power plus his own.  (Exhaustion hit him like a freight train. He could only sleep and wake up physically drained and unable to move or anything)

Tommy knew that they didn’t want him for his power then what did they want him for? Epiales also seemed confused. He was looking from Seraph to Tommy like he was trying to put together a puzzle. All the members of the syndicate stood there seemingly waiting. Epiales then said,

“Why do you want him? Why him out of everybody?”

Seraph smirked and just pointed at a woman who Tommy hadn’t been really paying attention to. She was easily in her mid-thirties, and pink sweater and grey pants with raven hair and yellow eyes. She had freckles decorating her face and there was a child next to her not hers given the fact the child didn’t look anything like her nor was close to her but rather than a man, who looked more like him, but she was protecting the duo. Orpheus grabbed her causing Tommy and Epiales to tense. Orpheus dragged her to Seraph who took her and pressed a gun to her head with a smile and Tommy knew this wouldn’t end well. A-bomb had joined Kratos and King by the door leaving the bomb to be open now he just needed a moment to dash to the bomb and turn it off. Tommy snapped back into attention when he saw that Orpheus was heading toward Epiales who just stood there and Seraph finally said,

“Well because I do like my shiny things. Now either give him up or this poor girl will no longer have a brain to think with!”

Orpheus giggled and draped himself on Epiales who was frozen by his earlier command allowing the hero to feel him and smirking up at him. Tommy could tell his mentor was annoyed at the annoying villain and was done with his shit. But he simply shifted a bit more and leaned and whispered something into his ear that caused Epiales to start shaking in anger. Before leaving. Epiales snarled at Orpheus and whispered something back that made the man shrug and walk away to Seraph. Tommy didn’t know what Epiales said but he knew whatever it was wasn’t good. And that whatever Orpheus had said first made the man snap as not even a second later Epiales screamed,

“ I WILL NEVER GIVE UP ERIS! HE’S MINE! FUCK YOU! ”

Seraph sighed. Perhaps exasperated and tired of them but Tommy knew better he could see the giant smile on the man's face and he knew that the next words out of his mouth would not be good. Nor would it be nice for the girl. Tommy could see the villains relaxing and moving away from the bomb now he had to wait for the moment they were stunned and Seraph applauded with, 

“Oh well. Guess this girl will have to die.”

Epiales froze, finally realizing what he said but it was too late. Seraph shot the girl as she screamed and cried. She dropped quickly. She was gone and Tommy knew not even Veluta could save him. His blood stained the ground and Tommy couldn’t help the way he paled. The way he realized what he had to do. Tommy looked at the villain and all he could feel was fear. But he jumped in before Epiales could say something and signed,

‘Stop! I’ll go with you! I promise just no more death! Please…’

Seraph smirked, nodding and Tommy with the moment of distraction launched himself at the bomb and quickly turned it off before turning and blocking a blow from A-bomb who had been teleported by King who was holding .... An empty syringe which was in his arm. Fuck. Tommy could hear Epiales in battle with Seraph in Kratos while Orpheus cursed at the bomb behind him, dismantling it more. Tommy swayed while the Particle duo took him. The last thing Tommy saw was Epiales landing blows on Kratos while Orpheus and Seraph were getting money from the bank and letting hostages go. Tommy felt a bit of hope that they were following what Tommy asked, and the bomb was turned off fully. Tommy welcomed the darkness that greeted him as he entered the void.

Chapter Text

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Chapter Text

Tommy woke up alone, cold. He shivered. He was lying flat on a metal cot, and his uniform was still on. He looked around, it looked more like a jail cell then anything. There were bars for a door, he only had a cot, toilet and sink. There was nothing else. The sink stuck out from the wall, and he couldn't see any piping. The toilet was rather low on the ground. He looked around and noted the camera in the high corner in the left of the room. To tall and high for him to reach. Not that he would know what to do even if he could reach the camera anyways. Tommy was so lost in his head that when the suddenly the door creaked open, he startled a bit. He glanced back at the cell door and in walked in Seraph. Seraph had a smile, it looked slightly sweet, but Tommy knew better. It was one the Seraphin wore when he was going to give a bad and worse option.

Seraph sighed, noting Tommy's tenseness and says, "Oh Eris Lotus, don't fret or look so tense. You'll gain wrinkles under that silly mask of yours."

Tommy slowly blinked. What was going on? He'd expect such a statement from Orpheus or maybe A-bomb not Seraph. Seraph was known for more cunning tactics. More likely to draw out pain like Kratos but also manipulate minds like Orpheus. (Those two had to learn from somewhere and why not their father?) Tommy watched Seraph cautiously. Whatever the number one villain had planned for him it would likely not be good. Oh how he wished Epiales was hear... was his mentor going to be mad at him for failing to escape by now? Mad that Tommy broke his promise. That thought made Tommy shiver and instead of focusing on that thought he looked at Seraph and signed,

"What do you want Seraph."

Seraph blinked, his gaze felt heavy on Tommy. Tommy resisted the urge to squirm. To get away such an intense gaze that he couldn't even see. Tommy hated this. He wanted to go home. Did he even have a home? Pyre was the only one who truly cared for him? Or was it Epiales who cared? Perhaps there is something Tommy is missing. Seraph sighed, it was a weary and tired sigh, it spoke of pain and sorrow that had festered for a long time... Perhaps this war between heroes and villains had gone on long enough Tommy thought? After all Seraph was the eldest of the villains, having started out two decades ago perhaps, it was time the man retired however his thoughts were interrupted when Seraph said,

"Nothing from you I'm afraid. This all goes to how your precious the number one hero responds to my little... message and request."

Tommy tenses. How... Epiales responds to his message and request? Why did that matter? What did Seraph send? Wh- Seraph must have noticed his tensing from all the thought about what Seraph could have possibly given his mentor and thought it was for a different reason because the man's laughter echoed across the room. It was cruel, promising pain. Tommy's gaze lasered on the man. That laughter only happened and came from Seraph when Seraph was about to inflict so much pain on his victims that they'd do ANYTHING to get him to stop giving them pain. Then the man, who was still laughing said, 

"Mad at the number one hero Eris? You tensed when I mentioned him? Perhaps... are you jealous of your mentor? Getting the spotlight while you waste away in the dark? Are you frustrated little Eris? Upset? Tell me how you really feel about your mentor whose forcing you to remain as a sidekick while he gets all the glory from your fights."

The door creaked open again causing Tommy and Seraphs eyes to dart to the door and lose focus on the other. His gaze shifted to the opened door and on Orpheus whose head was peeking through, and he looked the room up and down. Noting Seraph's body language and seeing how he was laughing still slightly while Tommy was tense. His body felt like a live wire he wanted to lash out but how could he with two of the worse villains right there and who knows how many more lay out there not to mention Tommy was in a unfamiliar place. Orpheus cleared his throat and said, 

"Seraph, we have managed to get into contact with Epiales right now..."

Seraph sighed his laughter no longer echoing around the room. His form relaxed and he headed to the door his back to Tommy's face. However Orpheus's gaze was locked on Tommy. Orpheus looked unsure behind his mask. His grip was tight on the door... whatever the deal was it wasn't good for Tommy. Tommy knew whatever was planned wasn't good for anyone. However, Seraph just focused on Orpheus and said simply, 

"Of course... perfect timing I suppose. We have a lot to do after all-"

Tommy then shifted his body loudly, trying to get their attention back on him. Seraph turned back to Tommy his veil hiding his thoughts however Orpheus face (And most likely his eyes) were lasered on Tommy. It was slightly unnerving to have such a gaze on him. It felt like Orpheus was trying to silently ask him a question, one that Tommy had no idea what the question was nor what the answer should be and instead he focused on Serpah and he shakily signed at Seraph, 

"I don't want the spotlight, Seraph. I am content bein-"

Seraph snorted, interrupting Tommy. Even Orpheus's face looked amused like there was a joke, one that Tommy didn't know about and that it was funny. That perhaps the joke was the Tommy didn't know, and the two villains found it funny that Tommy didn't know the joke. Tommy felt his face twitched. How could these villains mock him? Mock Epiales and his care. Just because Tommy was fine where he was in life unlike these villains who could only get joy from causing harm and will NEVER get to have love or true feelings. Orpheus finally said, 

"Oh, poor Eris. Don't worry pretty birdie. You won't have to worry your little head about things for long. I guess once we get an answer from Epiales you really won't have to worry too much."

Before the duo headed out... that wording freaked Tommy out a bit... He paced back and forth for a bit before sighing and laying down on a cot. His dreams were plagued with nightmares. Epiales kept appearing asking him questions that he couldn't recall the answers too. He jolted awake with a cry in his throat. He sat up and curled up. He was alone for the first time in a long time. He ignored the fact that Epiales was hardly home anymore and when Pyre left there was no one to hold him after nightmares or comfort him from the dreams of death or pain. How Pyre always had this look on his face after Tommy had a nightmare. One that Tommy couldn't read but sometimes, when Tommy faked being asleep and Pyre left, he could hear the man screaming at Epiales... he never heard their fights all he knew is that every time without fail after he got comforted by Pyre he wouldn't have nightmares for a few weeks.

Tommy sighed and stopped crying... he knew whatever would happen in the next few days would determine his fate... And perhaps more than just his fate.

Chapter Text

           Tommy laid awake for some time. Sitting on the cot and sorting through the thoughts in his brain. Eventually he sighed and rested his head against the wall. He looked up when the door opened. Kratos stood there with Seraph. Tommy tensed. Krato's face might be covered but the excitement and bloodlust he could practically taste radiated off of the man. Tommy glanced at Seraph and the man was no better, his demeaner and the way he was standing might have suggested calm, but Tommy grew up with Epiales and those kinds of stances meant pain. 

Seraph cleared his throat and said, "Well mate. It's time for a show. You ready?"

Tommy wanted to run, or use his powers but Kratos simply grabbed his arm and dragged him out to a room full of supervillains. At the head there were two empty seats, but a third seat held Orpheus who wasn't looking at Tommy or anywhere really just seemed to be staring blankly at the table in front of him. Tommy glanced around and noted the camera set up beside a platform. Ran whose pink hair was braided and she was making shapes in the air with water and Atys were talking about something that he couldn't hear. Tommy was a little freaked out but took deep breaths and ignored it. He glanced around some more and noted Furtuna flipping a coin up and down. 

Tommy tensed as Kratos roughly shoved him towards the platform and then had him kneel before Seraph. Seraph patted Tommy's shoulder and gaze Tommy a terrifying smile. It was clear that whatever the villains had planned it wouldn't be good. Sereaph then gestured at Atys to start the camera and also bring... a phone of sorts into his hand. Seraph smiled at the camera before raising his arms and gathered everyone's attention he looks at the camera and says, 

"Good evening people of L'manburg, I am Seraph and today we are here to watch something fascinating. You see about three hours ago I was on call with your favorite hero, Epiales discussing... a rather important matter, however he has refused to bow to our demands. What do you folks think we should do about that!"

Tommy glances around at the villains gathered around. Ran has stopped making shapes with water and is instead smirking, Atys has his arms crossed not looking too pleased, but he does look uncaring. Orpheus is looking anywhere at Tommy. And Tommy? He can feel his heart drop. He glances around and notes a vigilante he didn't before, a new upcomer who leaned more into the side of villainy named Hestia or something. Hestia looked bored out of his mind, yet his gaze was focused on Seraph. Seraph continued his speech, 

"You see we demanded 8 thousand 500 bombs, and they refused so now. They must be punished but first let's make sure that this message is... really sent."

Seraph gestured for the phone and Atys handed it to Seraph while Kratos dragged Tommy closer to the platform, so his head laid flat, his arms tied behind his back... like an execution stand... Tommy started crying. He knows what's going to happen. What he can't stop from happening and it terrifies him. Seraph starts dialing a number and puts the phone on speaker. Tommy can't see but Furtuna has sat up straighter when Tommy's head was laid on the platform while Orpheus was clearly crying from beneath his mask. Ran and Atys had exchanged looks while Hestia looked confused. Then the call picked up and Epiales voice came through, 

"Hello? Who is this."

Tommy whimpered. Whatever was going to happen next will not be good... or fun for that matter. Epailes's voice was tense. It was defeated and tired. It meant nothing good if Tommy went home... But he doubted he would. The deal wouldn't be complete. That amount of bombs Tommy knew couldn't be produced by Epailes no matter how much power he had. Tommy's gaze focused on Seraph who simply smiled at the camera almost condescendingly and said, 

"Hello Epailes, I've called to see if you've... changed your mind about things."

Epailes, end of the call got quiet. Tommy could tell he had been running. Tommy felt his whole-body tense. His thoughts running, if Epailes was running that meant he was likely trying to find Tommy. But they hadn't been able to find the base in the years they've searched for it meaning there was no way Epailes could find it in time. Tommy felt the first tears slip as Epailes no Dream's voice snarled from the other end, 

"Don't you DARE lay a hand on him!"

Many of the villains shifted at the near desperate tone of voice Dream had. It was clear that Dream was running faster and was seemingly shouts orders when the mic went mute from time to time. Orpheus looked the most uncomfortable, but Hestia was there with him glancing around. Fortuna was leaning slightly forward while Ran was looking at Seraph. Kratos had his hand on an object Tommy couldn't see and Atys was fiddling with some tech in his hands Seraph laughed and said, 

"Then give me what I want."

Dream's breath came out haggard. Tommy could tell that Dream was conflicted. He didn't know what to do. On one hand freeing Tommy, getting Tommy back was something Dream wanted. More than anything. However, on the other hand giving into the villains demands would result in more pain and suffering then losing Tommy. Tommy clenched his eyes shut and prayed to Prime. He knew what he had to do. He took a deep breath. He remembered the good moments, Dream casually training Tommy with a laugh and giving him food and treats. George being bored yet was always willing to watch a movie or eat snacks. Sapnap laying flat on the bed telling Tommy stories. Remembered how the laughter and food and treats became hits and yelling. How George was always so tired and refused to lay with Tommy. How Tommy turned his back on Sapnap when he was offered a way out... Tommy took a deep breath and said, 

"Don't give them anything. You have to let me go Epailes"

The world went still for a moment. The humming of the AC seemed to stop. Tommy's whole world was focused on the phone, on what was going on. Tommy could tell Dream's breathing, moving everything froze because it was silent on his side of the line, yet Tommy could tell he was still there because of the noises in the background, too far to make out but loud enough to be heard. All because Tommy was telling Dream to let him die. He was speaking aloud to tell Dream it. By breaking the rule it showed Dream that it was unlikely Tommy would make it out alive. Then Seraph's and several other villains' laughter echoed out. Seraph simply said,

"Such a rough voice. But alas the choice isn't up to you Eris. So, what will it be?"

Dream's voice seemed to waiver, Tommy could sense the man was about to or was actively crying. The noises were all gone and when Dream next spoke his voice was clearer, yet it was shaking, Dream was crying hard but because how clear his words were Tommy suspect that he had taken off his mask in order to speak clearer likely wanting to try and stop the crying and rubbing away the tears. Dream's mask was important to him so when he took it off it meant business. The fact he removed it likely meant he understood what Tommy meant by speaking, that Tommy was going to die. So, when Dream spoke, his voice was soft and weak,  

"I can't give you the bombs."

Seraph sighed his voice condescending as he shook his head and clicked his tongue, it was the wrong answer and yet it was the only answer. Dream couldn't give them what they wanted. Dream wanted to save Tommy, but it would cost too much to do so and Tommy knew that. It was Tommy's time to die. Seraph simply gave a fake smile at Tommy before nodding at Kratos and saying, 

"Then you leave me no choice. Kratos, kill him."

Kratos lifted the axe, and Tommy closed his eyes as the axe headed toward his neck. This was it. Tommy's last moments. He was frightened. Scared. Worried. All these emotions and he didn't know what to feel. Not really. He was scared, but he also knew, that in his death the villains would NEVER get those bombs using him. Though it made him so nerves to die perhaps he'll see his parents again. His dead pets. Maybe even George again. Though perhaps George wouldn't be happy to see him... Perhaps his parents will hate him for what he's become and yet the last thing he heard was Dream's voice screaming,

"WAIT HE'S ALL I HAVE! HE'S A CHILD PLEASE!"

Tommy's eyes fluttered closed so he didn't see that Orpheus stood up his face a mess of tears and snot, ripping off his mask, showing his brown sad eyes, that were etched in horror and shock and fear but he did hear when the man started screaming while heading towards where Tommy was about to be decapitate on, where Tommy's final moments were, could hear the thudding of his boots and as he voice got closer Tommy's brain proccessed the last words he would hear, 

"WAIT TECHNO DON'T!"

And then it was black.