Chapter Text
Helios. Named after the Greek god of the sun. Funny how he was supposed to be in the sun, and not a shadow. When he was recruited to be a hero’s sidekick at 15.. he was excited. All he wanted was to be loved for helping people. Well here he was. Staring at his reflection in his own apartment, high up in hero quarters. He grumbled and vigorously washed his face. All he could see was a tired 24 year old. This wasn’t what everyone envisioned the 2nd top hero would look like. He brushed a finger over the scar on his eye. Gosh that fight with Siren was so terrifying. His curly blonde hair had stopped the villain from seeing his eyes. He combed through what used to be vibrant curly curls. He grumbled about getting in the shower later, but he doubted he’d have the time. His once bright blue eyes now dimmed with age and fear. He knew he’d probably still have that baby face if he ate properly.. his eyes and cheeks sunken in. He sprayed some cologne on, put spray deodorant on, which he desperately needed more of, and put on his, definitely dirty, hero costume, a white now slightly grey with dirt cape with a hood over his curly blonde hair, a dark grey chest plate and leg plates over a gold body suit, meant to blend in with the sun, the sun necklace, and chunky jewelry made him look even more like a god, it’d be funnier if he had wings. He grabbed his hero mask, a gold eye cover, with mesh for his eyes, although unnoticeable to its perceiver it had jagged sides coming out and upward in a semblance of wings, covering his upper face.
He walked downstairs to his second home, the office. He turned in the maze of cubicles with expertise and ended up at an empty cubicle, littered with trash and coffee cups that had the name ‘Wilbur’ on all of them, all with at least 3-4 shots of venti in them. He heard sharp footsteps and turned around, there, coming out of the building's coffee shop, Wilbur Soot, a tall lanky man, roughly 6 '4, a healthy weight and curly brown hair that was well maintained, so not as long as Helios’s, he was wearing a light tan knitted sweater, with denim pants, and black work shoes, and on his right wrist, where it always has been, a single gold bracelet with an emerald charm. Helios stormed over and checked him over a few, dozen, times. Wilbur just laughed.
“I don't have some sort of tracker on me, you gremlin.” Wilbur teased.
“You don't know that-“
“I don't think the metal detectors would agree.”
Helios huffed and stopped his search. “Stop getting so much coffee..”
Wilbur laughed and sat in his cubicle, pulling up some documents that Helios didn’t bother trying to read. Wilbur clicked 2 buttons and they started to print.
“Can you take this to Punz please?” Wilbur used his puppy dog eyes, even if he knew Helios would take it anyway.
“Yeah whatever.” Helios snatched it and stormed off to the far corner of the room, where Punz, the manager, was sorting through paperwork, he has dirty blond short hair, and was wearing a white hoodie and black pants, his shoes were buried under papers of unorganized request forms.
“Punz, heads up.”
Punz looked up and grumbled something and snatched the new papers, handing him two stacks of papers. “BBH and Skeppy, down the hall-“
“I know where they are.” Helios took off down the winding halls, eventually ending up at a meeting room, he opened the door where the tall Netherborn and Ore halfbeings were. Despite popular belief, BadBoyHalo was in fact, nothing close to a demon, just a netherborn with a very dark tan and color palette, the netherborn didn't even have the personality of one, his in-co on the other hand, Skeppy, was the complete opposite. Heavenly palette, a diamond ore half being, and the personality of a damn demon. Skeppy walked over, grabbed the papers, winked and closed the door. The two were discussing plans with Kinoko Kingdom's incredibly sleepy king, George, about putting some heroes over there because of the kingdom's rising crime rates.
Helios was in the middle of walking to Wilbur’s cubicle to annoy the shit out of him, when loud alarms blared, he watched as some heroes and their sidekicks ran downstairs and out into the street, he turned his comms on to immediately be met with an automatic warning system, which got abruptly cut off by his comms partner, Bee.
“Helios! Helios come in Helios-" a rushed panicked voice came over his comm.
“Bee! Bee what’s happening?!” Helios demanded, running out of the building, watching civilians run the opposite way, gods he wanted to do the same, but he ran toward the loud crumbling of buildings.
“T- Helios-! The syndicate are on streets Eggers and Starborn- heroes can’t get close to them and Khonsu is out at Nevades for a business meeting- you’re the only top hero close enough-“
“On it!” Helios ran up a fire escape and across rooftops, he slid to a stop when he got to the destruction
“They couldn’t just appear and have everyone run like they always do? Seriously?” He grumbled and hopped down in front of Erebus, the 5’5 burly man, who wore a gold masquerade mask with black accents. Who caused fear in even the top hero. A red cape draped down his back, and a black button up with black dress pants, and boots. Military boots, he’d know, the mark they left on his chest that one time still stung at the thought, and the golden band ring with an emerald that left more bruises than he could remember.
“Icarus, glad you showed up, was thinking you’d leave guests unattended.”
“Erebus. Was all this necessary?”
“Yes?”
Erebus was usually reserved for more brute strength hero’s, like the sidekick Flame, and Khonsu. But Helios had to deal with him. Helios’ comm crackled.
“Anubis incoming, dispatching Professor Time, estimated time is 5 minute-“
“5 minutes-?! Bee I can’t wait that long with both of them!” Helios backed away from Erebus, Erebus just got closer. A loud thud came from behind him.
“Bee send me Flame- I need a good sidekick out here now!” Helios demanded, although Bee would know he was terrified.
“On it!”
Helios immediately missed Bee's voice.. “Fellas, was all the destruction necessary? Really it's a fire safety hazard-“
“Puns? Really little phoenix? We already know Flame is on the way, he’s taken care of.” Anubis cooed. Helios snapped his head toward him, Anubis had large black wings, each could hold two people in them. He wore a sun hat with mesh to cover his face, it didn't matter as long as he wore that plague doctor mask. A dark green button up that was slightly unbuttoned, black pants and covered in a dark brown cloak that barely covered his black dress shoes, from under his hat, a golden ear cuffed earring dangled from his ear, a single emerald charm on it.
“What- Bee- come in- Bee-!” Helios snatched his comms and threw them out of his ear when he heard a familiar laugh come from them. “You jacked my shit!”
“Did you think we wouldn’t?” Erebus deadpanned, “It really wasn’t all that hard.”
“Well, I also didn't think I’d have to deal with this so..” Helios weakly teased, he tensed up when he heard sharp boots on asphalt. He raised a hand to his mask, a quick dagger sliced the side of his hand open, he quickly pulled away, gods he wished the dumb supervillains just knew of the other fun quirk of his power, which is to heal, so he could heal his dumb wound.
“Hello Sunshine!” Siren cooed, he wore a blue button up, a dark slightly torn trench coat , a hood over his hair, and brown dress pants. Those dumb voice changers on Anubis and Erebus were obvious, Siren didn't need one, he could warp sound any way he wanted, and used it to command people the same way. Anubis had a death touch, he could heal if he so wanted, but had to pull from a different life force, called metempsychosis or essence transfer. Erebus, being the brute he is, had super strength, boring until you realize it applied to everything, how much he could take and how hard he could hit. He could take a tank and still couldn’t feel it- the tank would though.
Helios grabbed his staff, one side electrical, one for power and one to send them farther than he could throw. “Is Anubis your getaway flier for when you’re defeated?”
Erebus grabbed his sword, fixing his black and gold masquerade mask, “It's gonna be a dark day when the sun is defeated.”
Almost too quickly they charged at each other, Helios grabbed the light from around Erebus, and grunted when Erebus didn't react, slamming into Helios anyway. He was sent flying into debris. He groaned and watched as Erebus shook off the temporary blindness. Helios let go of the small ball of light in his hand, he shook off the dizziness and struggled to get up, he stood and let the sun wash over his back, it helped a little, he allowed his power to heal the non visible wounds, like the concussion he was sure he had. He let power gather in his staff and sent it flying toward them, he knew it’d only stun for a moment, so he lunged at Siren, electricity running through his staff, crackling so loud he couldn’t hear what Siren said, and Siren realized that too late. He was sent flying into a building that was stable enough, Helios still has the moral compass not to kill. Anubis looked ready to murder Helios himself.
“Only incapacitate-“ Helios slurred, although Anubis’ wings were still raised, he quickly flew over to Siren, leaving him with Erebus.
“Round two, runt.” Erebus purred.
“Round two, devil.” Helios growled.
The next 3 minutes felt like 2 hours, Professor Time took way too long in Helios’s mind, he was starting to stumble, he couldn’t hear anything but ringing and his own heavy breathing, Erebus was grinning wildly, Helios stood and fell backwards by the time they finished round two, his vision spun, Erebus spat out blood as Professor Time sent a wave of shock through the floor, Erebus halted, letting his body get used to the electricity before he stood again, it didn't matter, by the time Erebus got up, Anubis was calling for a retreat, yelling that they got the message they needed. Helios had to watch from a swelling eye and heavy eyelids as Erebus purred, “Next time, Icarus.” And disappeared like a shadow, although that might be his concussion not letting him see things that move too fast. Everything was muddled afterward.. Professor Time moved too fast, he had to report on all the things that happened, Niki, the kind, bubble gum pink haired, accident manager gently guided him through it all, even when he stopped and forgot what was happening, even when he zoned out for 5 minutes. Ponk did a scan of his injuries, and made sure he had a sun room to photosynthesize.
Almost immediately after he was released from recovery, he climbed into the elevator, and swayed till it got to his floor. The moment his door closed with a soft click, he collapsed onto his couch. He let his eyes shut and his mind wander… after a well deserved nap, he was- well- starving, so he got up and ate instant noodles, he didnt even wait the 5 minutes like the package said to- (freaking hooligan) he just ate it, and watched the news about the fight.
Days later, after the press briefing and the interviews, he dimly remembered his suit was scratched up, and he needed that to be taken care of before he was called back onto duty or else it would come out of his time off, as if he used it anyway. He grabbed his suit, and noticed how dirty it was, he couldn’t have the designers see his suit so gross- he walked to the laundry room and stared at his reflection, did he really look like that? He tossed his dirty hero suit in the washing machine and got in the shower, he came out and wiped away the steam that clung to his mirror, he stared at the bright wet curls, he hummed, it wouldn’t hurt to do his old curl routine right? When he finished, he smiled and laughed, it shocked him, he sounded so happy.. his hair was curled nicely, and framed his sunken cheeks, he needed a better diet… maybe another day. He grabbed a hoodie, and some semi clean pants, grabbed his wet hero suit, and tossed it in the dryer- he definitely needed some better food.. he realized this as he made another thing of instant noodles, actually waiting the 5 minutes this time. When he finished it, and grabbed his thermos of water and a peach, his suit was done, he stuffed the peach into his mouth, put his suit into a brown paper bag, and headed downstairs to the office, he grinned when he saw Wilbur wasn’t at his cubicle, he sat and waited, chewing on the peach, he saw as Wilbur walked over, saw his bright blue eyes, and dropped his coffee.
“Suprise!” Helios chuckled. “You’ve never seen me in my civilian form.. so-“
“No- no, Tom-Helios- you can’t-“ Wilbur stuttered.
“What- where did you hear that-“ for once, helios didn't hate his old name.
“It’s on your file- point is-! You can’t just show up in civilian form-! I shouldn’t be able to spot you in a crowd and know you’re Helios-!” Wilbur scolded
“no- no wait- go back- i- i wanted to hear you say my name-“ Helios stuttered, he didn’t know why it mattered so badly, maybe he just wanted to feel human again..
Wilbur grumbled, “Your name is Thomas Innes, alright-“
“No- no you- you were gonna say-“
“Tommy. I was gonna say Tommy..” Wilbur sighed.
“Yeah..” Helios- Tommy.. stared at Wilbur. “I just.. I usually don’t like people saying my name. I just- it felt nice.. hearing it from you.”
“Well either way- I shouldn’t be able to know you’re a hero if I bump into you outside of work-“ Wilbur criticized
“Well you do now.. soooo..”
Wilbur snatched the bag, and typed something on his computer, sent the file to the print and to a message named ‘Design workshop’ and shoved the bag back in his hands.
“Come back when you’re done.” Wilbur huffed, there was no aggression in his voice, Tommy beamed, snatched it and ran off to the designer's mailbox. He dropped it in, knocked on the door and ran back.
“I’m back-! Can we go get lunch-?” Tommy beamed.
“Wha-“ Wilbur sighed. “Yeah whatever, I was hungry anyway.”
They ended up at Tommy’s favorite place in town, Cloudy Pastries. An old retired hero worked here, known by the people as ‘Captain’ but she only goes by Puffy now. The door chimed as he walked in.
“Puffy! Where are you-?” Tommy chuckled when he heard a loud bleat come from the back, a clatter of pots and pans and cooking racks got closer before she emerged with steaming hot pastries.
“Of course you come when I am done with my fresh batch!” She ruffled his hair as she teased him, he gently swatted at her hand, she handed him a hot muffin, then glanced at Wilbur. “Is he uh..?”
Tommy laughed, “He works in the offices.”
Puffy let her shoulders relax, “Alright then!” She handed Wilbur a fresh muffin too, then put the rest away.
“Wilbur, this is Puffy, my old mentor!” Tommy beamed, Wilbur just stuttered, Tommy bought two hot cocoas and dragged Wilbur to the seats just behind the counter with a good view of the city, Puffy's cafe was at the very top of a skyscraper, thanks to her old status of the #1 hero. Tommy gently swung his legs and ate the hot muffin. Wilbur sighed and sat next to him.
“You should-“ Wilbur sighed. “You should- look into upgrading your tech..”
Tommy stopped the muffin from getting to his mouth. “What did you just say..?”
Wilbur sighed, “I know you dont want to- but its outdated- and its easily hackable-“
“You think I don't know that? I know it very well. It's MY SUIT. I’ve had it since I first started my hero career- I can’t just get rid of it-!” Tommy held himself, “Puffy gave it to me..”
Wilbur sighed. “I get it’s important to you- but it's not safe-!”
“When has that ever mattered..” Tommy growled
Wilbur shook his head and sighed. “If it’s so important to you.. would you at least upgrade your tech.. just a little..? We can keep everything else.”
Tommy thought for a moment. “I suppose..”
That night, as Tommy laid in bed, he couldn’t help but think about Wilbur's words, his tech was outdated, and annoying. But he doubted the Hero committee would let him keep it at some point, it was better to upgrade to at least a few years older now than completely ignoring the fact. Tommy grumbled and twisted and turned in bed, his time off was going to end when his suit was all fixed, yet he was restless now. He might as well sleep while he can.