Chapter Text
“Y’know, Tubbo, it’s weirdly silent today.” Tommy informs. “No heroes or villains fighting or anything.”
“Huh.” Tubbo replies. “Being able to hear sure does tell you a lot about your environment, huh? Would make things way easier for me.”
“Oh come on Tubs, there’s nothing wrong with being deaf.” Tommy signs. “The heroes and villains are so obnoxious, with all their fighting. Be glad you don’t have to hear it.” The heroes and villains fought on South Street almost every night, destroying property and just causing problems in general.
“Yeah.” Tubbo signed. “Stupid heroes and villains. Good thing they don’t care about us.” Being a homeless orphan was difficult, but being a homeless kid on the run from superpowered sociopaths was a death sentence. They already had more problems to worry about, with the upcoming winter and just gathering enough food.
Tubbo picked an orange leaf out of Tommy’s orange wings, preening them to make them nice and tidy. Tommy may be homeless, but he wasn’t gonna neglect his wings.
“Well, as long as they don’t realize I have wings, they won’t care.” Tommy signed. He shivered. The air was cold, and soon they might have to go to the orphanage for winter. Tommy dreaded the idea, but they had to do what it takes to survive.
"Y eah, true. " Tubbo replied.
" I hear Symphony. " Tommy signed. " It's so beautiful. "
" What? " Tubbo signed. " I thought you thought that Symphony's music is stupid."
" It's beautiful. " Tommy repeated. He stood up, wanting to walk towards the music, but Tubbo grabbed his ankle and pulled him back.
" Tubbo, I need to see it. " Tommy signed.
"No! You can't!" Tubbo exclaimed. Tubbo didn’t usually speak around Tommy, but probably had to, considering Tubbo was currently holding onto his leg.
"He's trying to lure you into his trap!" Tubbo added. Symphony's music was special- it put the target into a trance state, luring them towards the music and clouding their judgement. But Tommy didn’t feel like his judgement was clouded. He just needed to get closer.
Tommy was trying to pull himself out of Tubbo's hold, so Tubbo put his hands over Tommy's ears.
" Oh shit! " Tommy signed. " He's trying to get me to follow him! Tubbo, you have to get me away! " What the fuck was he even thinking?
"Don't worry Tommy." Tubbo said. "Let's get out of here."
Suddenly, he saw something out of the corner of his vision. He looked up to see Crow's form diving down towards them, wings and all.
Crow crashed into him, and Tubbo gasped with surprise. Through his shock, Tubbo realized that Tommy's ears were no longer covered.
"Tommy!" Tubbo yelled, but Tommy was already running. Tubbo tried to pull himself away from Crow, but Crow's hold was tight.
Tubbo wasn't sure if Crow was saying something, but he wouldn't be able to tell. The big plague mask on his face prevented him from lip-reading.
"Let go!" Tubbo yelled, kicking and trashing to try and escape Crow's hold. Crow used one hand to lift his mask slightly, and now Tubbo was able to see what he was saying.
"The Syndicate gets their way." Crow said, finally letting go of Tubbo. He flew away, up into the sky.
"Tommy!" Tubbo yelled, stumbling onto South Street. Symphony and his music were long gone. And so was Tommy.
---
Tommy wasn't quite sure what happened when he was knocked out, but now he was awake. He was on a surprisingly comfortable couch, in what looked to be a normal home. The only thing that stood out about it was the man standing by the door, wearing body armor and a pig mask. The Blade was known to be the most dangerous villain in the SBI; more dangerous than even Crow, which was pretty crazy, considering that people called Crow the Angel of Death.
"Oh. You're awake." The Blade said. "Are you a phoenix?"
"A what?" Tommy asked.
"A phoenix. Your wings are bright red."
"Why am I even here?" Tommy asked.
"I think Phil wants you for your wings. And Wilbur is obsessed with you, but I cannot fathom why. Though I kinda have to go along with them, despite the absurdity of their goals.” Blade said. This supervillain seemed… weirdly reasonable, actually.
Tommy assumed that Wilbur and Phil were Symphony and Crow, and his hypothesis was confirmed when Symphony walked into the room.
"Sup, Wil." The Blade said. "Take off your mask, we're at home."
"You have your mask on." Symphony, or Wilbur, pointed out, but he took it off anyway. Without his mask, Symphony looked very unintimidating. He was just some dude.
"Right." Blade said, taking off his mask. Tommy stifled a laugh when he saw The Blade's face. He looked like a total nerd.
"Anyway," Blade said. "I'm Techno. No need to call me Blade here. Of course, you can call me whatever you want, I don't care."
Symphony was smiling now. He didn't have his guitar, but with Blade in the room, Tommy didn't stand a chance in a fight.
"Why the fuck are you even going to do to me?" Tommy exclaimed.
Symphony grinned. "Well, we want to make you into an SBI member!" He exclaimed. "Phil- or Crow as you know him- has had his eye on you for a while. He likes your wings."
"I'm not going to become a supervillain!" Tommy exclaimed. "I don't want to get involved in any of that shit! I don't even have a power!"
Suddenly, Crow walked into the room. He wasn't wearing his signature plague doctor mask, but he was still easily recognizable by the dark wings and black robes.
"God, Phil, why are you still in your work clothing?" Symphony said. Tommy found amusement in how the Angel of Death was named Phil. "I thought you preferred green robes."
"I just got home." Crow said. "I got in a fight with Ender. Good thing he can't teleport in the air."
Symphony groaned. "Ender is a member of the Syndicate, he shouldn't be attacking you. What is his problem?"
Phil shrugged. "Apparently he thinks that kidnapping a homeless kid and giving him a home is bad . He has such a twisted moral compass.” Tommy noticed Blade’s eye twitch.
Ah, the Syndicate. It was an alliance between Blade, Crow, Ender, and Artemis. Both Artemis and Ender were vigilantes, but they worked with Crow and Blade when it benefited them.
"Anyway," Crow said. "I see you have Tommy. Thank you, Wilbur. You did a good job."
Crow took off a few of his robes and hung them up, but he still had more robes beneath. How many robes did this man have?
Crow sat next to Tommy. He grabbed one of Tommy's wings, and Tommy instantly pulled away. "Don't touch my wings!"
Crow completely ignored him and grabbed the wing again. He seemed to be examining the feathers. Tommy wasn't going to let any strangers touch his wings, avians or not, so he raised his wing and used it to slap Crow in the face.
"Ow!" Crow exclaimed, the feathers on his raven-black wings bristling. "Symphony, get your guitar."
Symphony walked out of the room. If Symphony had his guitar, Tommy wouldn't be able to escape. So, he slapped Crow with his wing again, getting him to let go, and made a run for it. Somehow, he managed to get past Technoblade and into the kitchen. He smashed a window and jumped out, ignoring the glass shards embedding themselves into his body.
Tommy barely managed to dodge a knife getting thrown at him. Right, Blade had the power of telekinesis. Tommy took flight, trying to get away, but he still had to dodge the many objects being thrown at him. Anything from the glass shards from the window to the literal kitchen sink was being thrown at him.
Crow jumped out the window, screeching in anger. He immediately took off.
Tommy knew he wouldn't be able to outfly Crow, so he'd have to lose him among the city streets.
"Crow! You can't go out there without your mask!" Blade shouted. Crow turned around, flying back towards the window. That should buy him some time. Heroes and villains were way too focused on their appearances.
Unfortunately, Blade was still launching things at him. Tommy dodged a large shard of glass, but doing so he smacked right into a chair. This threw him off slightly, and Tommy had to take a second to stabilize himself. Unfortunately, all Blade needed was a second. Tommy felt a knife go into his side, and he screamed in pain.
Tommy saw the kitchen sink flying at him, and the last thought he had before he passed out was how absurd it was that a kitchen sink would be the end of him.
---
Ranboo stood on South Street, looking around. At this time of the night, the street was almost completely devoid of cars. Instead, the danger came from the heroes and villains fighting their petty and pointless battles.
Ranboo was wearing his full vigilante attire, dressed as Ender. He wore a mask that covered the bottom half of his face and a long black and white robe. His robe had purple, red, and green highlights.
The street was completely silent tonight. Most people would wonder why the heroes and villains weren't fighting, but Ranboo knew the exact reason.
The villains had taken Tommy. Ranboo had tried to chase down Crow, without success. He couldn't teleport into the air, and as soon as Crow saw him, he'd flown up too far for Ranboo to follow.
Ranboo was worried, but he had a plan. He was going to ask Artemis to help him.
---
Tommy thought he was going to die, but apparently not. When he woke up, he was on the same couch as before.
The first thing Tommy registered was the pain. Everything hurt, a lot. No shit, he fell from the sky.
The second thing Tommy registered was the lack of SBI members around him. Blade, Crow, and Symphony were nowhere in sight. This was his chance at escape!
Tommy climbed off the couch. It made everything hurt more, but luckily neither of his legs were broken, so he could still walk.
Tommy walked into the kitchen, planning on escaping using the window he'd broken earlier. The window was covered with a piece of wood, as the villains probably didn't have the time to repair it.
Tommy heard footsteps behind him, and turned to see Crow walking towards him.
"Ah, shit." He muttered.
Crow smiled. "You're awake!" He exclaimed. "I thought I was going to lose you, but luckily Techno saved you with that mattress."
Tommy was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to escape with Crow around. "What do you want?" He asked.
"I want you to be part of the SBI." Crow said. "You'll be part of our flock- my little baby bird."
"Baby bird?" Tommy exclaimed. "What the fuck?"
"I know you may not like it, but you'll be happier here." Crow said. Tommy didn't think so. "Being on the streets, it's no way to live." Crow walked into the living room, and Tommy followed him. "You should sit down, you need to conserve your energy."
Tommy sat back down on the couch.
"I'm going to make you some food." Crow said, walking into the kitchen.
Tommy heard footsteps and turned his head to see Symphony walking down the stairs. He wasn't wearing his villain outfit, dressed in a simple yellow hoodie, but he had his guitar in his arms. He looked like a bitch boy, like Ranboob but worse.
Symphony smiled when he saw Tommy on the couch.
"Wilbur!" Crow called from other room. "Help me make some food for Tommy."
Symphony walked into the kitchen, joining Crow. Tommy was finally alone, and he no longer had to deal with those awful villains. At least, for now.
Tommy knew he wouldn't be able to escape with both of them in the kitchen, but he could at least look around.
The living room was pretty simple. The furniture wasn't very interesting, but Tommy did note the two windows on either side of the room. If he wanted to escape, he would have to be resourceful.
A few minutes later, Crow and Symphony finished making the meal. Crow delivered it to Tommy. On the plate sat a grilled cheese sandwich.
It could be poisoned, but if the SBI wanted to kill him, they would've done it earlier, so he wasn't too concerned.
While they ate their sandwiches, nobody spoke and it was painfully silent. Tommy decided to ask a question.
"Crow, why isn't your name in the SBI acronym?" SBI stood for Symphony Blade Inc, but it didn't include Crow.
Crow shrugged. "I wasn't the one who founded the SBI. It's named after Techno and Wilbur, since they founded it."
"Okay." Tommy said. That made sense.
After he asked the question, they went back to eating in awkward silence. The silence was uncomfortable, but it was better than what they would probably do to him.
Finally, they finished their sandwiches. Symphony walked into the kitchen holding the plates, presumably to put them away.
Crow reached out and touched Tommy's wing again. He started shifting through his feathers, as if he was preening them.
"What is your problem?" Tommy hissed. "I can preen my own damn wings!"
Symphony walked back into the living room. "Is he being annoying?" Symphony asked. Tommy wasn’t sure if Symphony was asking if Crow was being annoying, or if Tommy was being annoying. Probably the latter.
"Yes, but you don't need to use your siren song on him." Crow said, but Symphony ignored Crow, crossing the room to where the guitar was located.
Symphony placed the guitar on his lap, and he played the first note. Suddenly, Tommy could hardly even move.
He didn't fight when Crow shuffled through his feathers, preening his wings. Instead, he let out a little bird-like chirp.
In the back of his mind, Tommy knew this was wrong, knew he shouldn't be snuggling up with the SBI, but he couldn't bring himself to act on it. He felt so warm, and fuzzy, and leaned closer to Crow, chirping more.
Tommy knew he shouldn't be enjoying this, but he didn't care. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.
---
Ranboo stared at the woman in front of him. Her vigilante outfit was pink and black, and she was one of the few vigilantes who actually wore a cape. Her pink hair flowed in the wind. Ranboo looked at her face, glad that her wolf mask prevented him from making eye contact.
This was Artemis, another member of the Syndicate. Everyone knew Artemis to be intimidating and fierce, but Ranboo knew she wouldn't hurt him.
"Ender." She spoke. "I received your letter. What do you need?"
"I need you to help rescue my friend." Ranboo said. "He's been captured by the SBI. I'm not stealthy enough to follow any of them, but you are."
"I see." Artemis said. "What should I need to know about your friend?"
"His name is Tommy. He has blond hair and bright, orange wings." Ranboo said.
"Okay, I know him." Artemis said. "But Ender, this is dangerous. If I got into a fight with any of them, it would be really precarious."
"I know." Ender said. "But you're very stealthy. It's not likely that you'd get caught."
"I'm not doing this." Artemis said. "But I know someone who might."