Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 It was 15 minutes to midnight, at least he might make it to September. He always liked autumn best.

Sitting on the edge of the building, Tommy swore he could see the entire city from here. The lights below him flickered on and from the height he was sitting, they almost looked like they were reflecting the stars above. Peaceful. Or it would be if Tommy wasn’t painfully aware of the heroes and villains that ran around below him and the destruction they brought along with it. Still, that was easy enough to ignore as he let his mind wander and instead focused on the light breeze against his dangling feet.

“Mellohi,” a familiar voice spoke in his ear, which snapped Tommy back to attention. “We have reports on the three we were waiting for in your area. Are you ready?”

A dangerous smirk grew across his lips at the call to action. Turning around, he placed his feet firmly back on solid ground before stretching his arms out in preparation. “I was born ready, Big T. Didn’t you know I am the main character in all this?” as he spoke, the blonde pulled the hood over his head and a mask over his nose in attempts to hide his identity to any onlookers. “Show time.” 

They had been planning this display for quite some time now. As much as Tommy didn’t want to be involved in the politics of heroes and villains – they were also getting far too close to information they weren’t supposed to know. And that meant not only trouble for Tommy, but more for the people he cared about. So what else could a big man like Tommy do but help mislead them away from the truth. 

Walking to the other end of the building, he could see the three villains on the ground below him. Then again you would have to be a fucking idiot not to. Between Orpheus's bright yellow sweater, Prometheus’s blood red cape, and Zypherus’s large wings -- they couldn’t be more obvious. Or dramatic. The Syndicate was annoying like that. 

They had grouped around a smaller figure and seemed to just be talking, yet it was apparent that might change at any moment. Even when trying to look casual they were far too tense. Hell, they looked ready to jump the bystander at the slightest hint of trouble. 

And that was the issue. That was why Tommy was standing over them now with his finger on the trigger of a flare gun pointed above his head. He was not a distraction, he was *the* distraction. Tommy Innit would be nothing less than the best damn distraction this city had ever seen if he had a say in it. A light press on the trigger was all he needed to send the bright colored flare (what did you think he was going to shoot an actual gun? Those kill people.)  above his head and illuminated himself, a far too recognizable hooded figure, to those standing below. 

It took about 30 seconds of the villains looking dumbfounded, then looking back to the bystander, and then back to Tommy before they started moving. Fuck they were fast. Thankfully, so was Tommy. Plus the route was planned out before all this so as to take into account each of the villains' specific set of skills. First thing: get the hell off the buildings. They were an easy target for Zypherus considering all he had to do was fly above the vigilante and pick him up like he was prey. Speaking of which… he could hear the quiet flap of his wings coming in close. For anyone else they would be almost undetectable but luckily he had experience in this certain field which made it a lot easier for him to gauge how much faster he was needing to run to his exit point before the emerald themed villain was swooping him up. 

Quickly turning right Tommy leaped onto the next building’s edge when he just barely felt a rush of air from the winged bastard right on his tail. Far too close than he would have liked. He needed to put distance between the two of them so he did the most logical thing he could think of: he stopped dead in his tracks at the edge of the building and pointed the barrel of the previously used flare gun right at the one currently chasing him. 

“What the hell are you doing Mellohi!” the voice in his ear screamed yet he didn’t pay it any mind but instead held the gaze of the villain now stopped at the other end of the rooftop.

“Listen mate, you don’t want to do that.” He spoke as if in an attempt to end this conflict calmly but the tension and his body language told the vigilante another story. It was all just a waiting game of who would make the first move as their eyes deadlocked on one another. God it was annoying. If he could speak, Tommy would make some snarky comment about how the other should politely fuck off cause there was no way in hell he was going to be making the first move. Luckily, he no longer needed to do that when the door to the roof came swinging open as Orpheus joined the little standoff. The brunette’s eyes looked towards the hooded figure and then where his gun was currently pointed, which seemed to be enough to royally piss him off because he didn’t hesitate before his mouth opened to bark some command. A little too slow though. The second his lips began to part, Mellohi was already pressing down on the trigger but this time aimed at the roof between them all. Sparks and smoke filled the space within seconds. By the time the three of them pushed through the dangerous display, Tommy had already jumped. 

Well, ‘jumped’ may seem a bit dramatic. For all the villains needed to know he leaped off the edge of the building but instead what had happened was that they had loosened the lid of one of the vents near where he stood a couple days previously which allowed him to leap into the vents with the smoke covering his trail. When Ranboo first proposed the idea they had laughed at it but in this moment it was the most brilliant escape. 

His skinny frame slid down the walls of the duct at a steep angle. (Think of it like a slide but instead of fun it was more life threatening!) His eyes sealed shut as he felt panic and adrenaline flooding through him. It felt like he was falling more than sliding and god did he just want it to be over quicker. The longer he felt the falling the more fear he started thinking about the landing. They had made sure to move a dumpster at his landing site which seemed like a brilliant idea previously. But now he was really starting to question how soft garbage actually could be? 

The answer: not soft at all. In fact it was actually really fucking painful. The air in his lungs was forced out of him and there were definitely a couple cracks he heard that would necessitate any normal person being rushed to the hospital. If not being killed on impact to begin with. But Tommy Innit was no normal person, and he sure as hell was too young & too much of a big man to die pitifully in some dumpster. Too much main character energy to be wasted on a lame ending.

It took a minute for his body to get that memo, however. It burned when oxygen finally returned to his lungs as he was able to catch his breath. Next step, was pushing past the screaming pain in his side so that he could pull himself out of the garbage and instead standing on the ground in a dark alleyway. 

His moves were quiet. Calculated. There was no way for him to know if they were still above him and too much movement in the darkness would alert them immediately. Leaning against the walls, Tommy walked stealthily to the end of the alleyway before peeking his head out to check the empty street. It couldn’t really be that easy…

“Did you actually think it would be that easy?” 

A string of profanities raced through his thoughts as the voice called out to him from the other side of the alleyway. Turning slowly, he could see the massive shadow of Prometheus staring him down. The name in itself was enough to send another shot of panic through the vigilante, but it was a thousand percent more terrifying seeing the sword drawn at this side along with the dim glow of red eyes shining through his mask.

“Give up now and let's end this without making a mess.” The villain called out in a monotone voice. That was until he spoke the second option with a very obvious smirk. “Unless, you really think you can take on a god.” 

Okay. Sure. It’s a cool line. His fanboys would have a field day if they ever heard him say that. But seriously could this guy have any bigger complexes? Tommy had a big ego (he was a big enough man to admit that which proved how much better he was) but Prometheus literally just called himself a god and it was taking everything for Tommy not to break out laughing. 

Still it wasn’t enough because he couldn’t stop the little chuckle from escaping his lips. And that really pissed off the villain because he began charging at the boy. 

This was going to get a bit more complicated than previously planned. Running was not really an option considering the open street would put him at risk of Zypherus swooping down on him again. 

So fighting was his only option. 

Ignoring how hard his hands were shaking, Mellohi reached for the metal baton at his waist and extended it just in time to block the incoming attack. But the masked villain was fast and already swinging at him again. It was almost like the scene out of a movie as the hooded boy ducked underneath one swing before jumping over another one in succession. From there he was able to use his baton to stop another attack to his side. What he really needed was distance. Making an attack of his own, he swung towards Prometheus’s head. Of course, he dodged it with ease, not that it was ever in question if the villain would be able to, but it was just enough movement that Tommy could step back. 

Not that it helped. 

Prometheus was next to him within seconds and his free hand gripped the wrist of the vigilante. All it took was a pressured twist and Tommy’s weapon was dropping on the pavement. 

“Give it up.” he commanded. 

Now, Tommy was lucky for two reasons. Firstly: he wasn’t Orpheus which meant Tommy did not have to listen to a single thing he said. Secondly: if the blonde learned one thing from all heroes and villains -- it was admitting defeat was for pussies.

Plus he had a reputation to uphold so might as well go out swinging. Right? 

Lowering his head, Mellohi sighed in attempts to feign defeat to the villain. Which seemed to work because the pressure of his wrist loosened enough that it didn’t feel like it was about to snap anymore. And in Prometheus’s naivety, Tommy took the chance to grab the grappling hook from his belt and shot it towards the roof adjacent to the one he had escaped from previously. 

The force of him being pulled away by the tool was enough to pull him from Prometheus’s grasp (not without a pop from his wrist that he would definitely be feeling once the adrenaline wore off). 

Turning back around, Tommy attempted to give the villain a cocky look only to be greeted with throwing knives heading in his direction. Where the fuck did he get those?? 

The first one sunk into the wall with a terrifying amount of strength behind it. The second barely grazed his cheek leaving a scarlet streak of blood to mark the attack. But that was it? Tommy had luck on his side, but to have Prometheus miss a target was a pretty big fucking deal. 

Landing on his feet once again, he looked back down to the villain with an incredulous look. 

Hands cradling his stomach, he couldn’t help snickering to himself. Tommy Innit just escaped the self proclaimed ‘god’ and left him standing alone in an alleyway just doomed to watch a vigilante escape him. 

“Freeze.”

In his defense, they had prepared for Orpheus. Communication was always key when it came to nights like these which was why he was wearing the tiny silver earbuds. The same little piece of tech was also emitting a frequency a little too high for anyone to hear but also had been proven to cancel out the control of the yellow themed villain. 

He wasn’t about to let him know that though. So he just stood there, unmoving while he waited to hear the next order. There was enough distance between the two of them that Tommy knew he could press the emergency button on his comm and be teleported out of there safely. Still, he wasn’t about to use his final escape until absolutely necessary. 

“I’ve got him. You two can meet me here.” he heard Orpheus sending out the message to his other teammates quietly before turning his attention to the hooded vigilante who’s back was currently turned to him. “Turn around slowly and put your hands up in the air.”

Without expression, Mellohi turned to the familiar villain and slowly began to lift his arms from his stomach when he noticed the change. 

Unfortunately, his luck had just run out. 

The hands previously pressed to his abdomen in laughter were now in front of him. Covered in blood. He didn’t care about keeping up the illusion anymore, as he ignored Orpheus’s command to look down where the liquid was coming from. 

… 

Wait a moment. This is the beginning of the story. You can’t start it with the tragic fall of the main character. Let’s try this again. 

From the beginning this time? 

Chapter Text

As far as Tommy could think back, all he knew was how to be a hero. He grew up in a special program for those with gifted powers that the Three Lives Agency deemed special enough to become a hero one day. Those selected for the program were moved into the school and would be trained until the age of 16. After that it was just a long process to see who made it through to graduate to becoming a sidekick for the agency’s biggest heroes. 

Tommy didn’t know that much about his life before joining the program, mostly because there wasn’t anything that notable. He was told his parents died when he was young which is why his first memories were little flashes of foster homes. Kind of shit if you asked him. It was around the time he was 8 that the program began taking its first students. Which of course had to star the biggest and best future hero ever, Tommy. 

Now, there were a few issues that came with joining the program. Not that it was his fault! If you were to ask Tommy, it could not possibly be his own fault that he was 2 years younger than the rest of the students selected. He was just too cool and powerful – they had to pick him. Also it wasn’t his fault the agency was too stupid to realize he lied about being old enough until it was too late. 

Regardless, he didn’t let such a stupid thing like his age hold him back. Surprisingly, in just two years he was able to be the top of his class. That’s probably why he was able to catch the attention of -

Prime, NOT THAT FAR BACK. Seriously, can we do this properly? (Don’t worry the tragic backstory just has to be unlocked first. Can’t give out all the good character building at once.) 

…

August was easily one of the worst months. Seriously, autumn started in one month which was a thousand percent better. 

Sure, Tommy never went to school like a normal kid which is why most people hated the month but that did not mean he didn’t have a good point. It is still too fucking hot outside yet companies want to start advertising hot drinks and pumpkin themed bullshit. And *trust him* did people buy into all of that seasonal corporate marketing because at least 3 times in the past 2 days he had people throwing a fit he didn’t have pumpkin spice flavoring to put in their drinks (which were mostly just sugar and cream half the time). 

One of those people even thought it was okay to throw a drink at him and made Tommy come home smelling like spoiled milk with cinnamon. Seriously, fuck those people. 

Not to say that he didn’t like his job. Tommy actually loved his job. 

June was when he started working there. It wasn’t that he had planned on getting a job, but he had been spending most of his weekends there anyways. He would come in during the morning, before the rush, where Niki would make him a hot chocolate and the two chatted. After that he would watch her make different drinks during the rush until it calmed down and she would take her break. She always gave him half of her sandwich saying she was too full to finish it alone. 

Yet one morning when Tommy came into the store it looked like hell had broken loose behind the counter. Apparently Niki was sick and Wilbur, the owner’s son who only came in to play music on the weekends, was being forced to take over in her place. Long-story short : it was a disaster and a big man like himself couldn’t just stand by. After about 10 minutes of watching the hipster looking prick pour caramel on the counter and burning milk, Tommy stepped in. He had been watching the pink haired barista making these drinks while also talking him through the process for about a month so most of it was pretty easy.

At least he was better at it than the aforementioned curly haired bitch, which apparently was all it took for the owner to hire him part time. 

After another month Niki decided she wanted to open her own bakery instead. Which ended up working for the best because she still came in almost every morning to drop off baked goods for the store (plus a couple extra for Tommy). And considering all his official paperwork said that Tommy was two years older he was able to begin working full time. Not his fault the owner was too stupid to realize it he lied.

So that catches up to now and as to why Tommy was sitting behind the counter of the little café. Really thrilling right? 

Now, before we can get to the really thrilling part it's important to finish up just a little more backstory. More specifically who the fuck owned this place and why was our amazing main character now forced to work with the hipster bitch and the most terrifying English major to ever exist. Or also known as Phil, Wilbur, and Techno. 

Long story short: Nepotism is the answer. 

“My favorite little gremlin child is working today!” A voice sung out in perfect time with the little bell ringing with the front door opening. Tommy didn’t even need to look to know exactly who the voice belonged to. 

Wilbur. Yes the same dickhead who couldn’t manage to make a proper latte to save his life. As it turns out, that doesn’t really matter when the owner of the place you are working at is your adopted father. If anyone asked the blonde, he would scream for days about how much he was a wrong-un and that Tommy disliked the overly tall freak more than anyone else he had ever met before. (And he knew a thing about overly tall freaks but we come back to that later.)

What the blonde wouldn’t admit was that he actually really liked Wilbur. The brunette had another office job apparently but always rushed to see Tommy before the end of his shift on weekdays. On weekends he would bring his guitar into the shop and play soft songs in the corner for customers. Tommy would never admit that he would always get sucked into the performance, utterly enchanted by the music. 

He definitely didn’t hum Wilbur’s songs at night to calm down after a particularly bad nightmare.

“I’m not a fucking child you prick.” Tommy screeched as his hands slammed down onto the counter for emphasis. His blue eyes immediately locked with the other’s deep brown in a staredown to see who might make the first move. 

“Leave Tommy alone.” The voice called out from the office in the back of the store and seconds later appeared Philza Watson himself. He had blonde hair, similar to the same color of Tommy’s own hair, but quite a bit longer as it hung right below his shoulders except for a small strand braided to the side. He always wore some dark green themed ensemble that brought out the same color hanging from a gem on his ear. 

Phil was nice. Which could honestly be really scary at times because Tommy learned a long time ago that adults are not to be trusted. They all just smile and tell you they are helping you but instead only cause you more pain and suffering. All of them. And yet here was this weirdo owner who was so nice to Tommy all the time – made sure he got breaks, checked on how he was feeling, even had invited him to their family dinners a couple times. Again, way too nice for his own good. 

So while Tommy might have to exploit that kindness for his own personal gain, there is no way in hell he would be letting his guard down around him. 

 Luckily for our protagonist, Phil’s command was enough to pull Wilbur's attention away and subsequently gave Tommy just enough time to plan his next move. Slowly he grabbed the book he had been reading behind the counter and raised it above where one of Wil’s hands was resting on the counter before slamming it down. 

Of course it wouldn’t be enough to hurt the brunette. However, in a dramatic way he pulled his hand back and looked at Tommy like all of his fingers had just broken. Really pulling out the inner theater kid…  So Tommy just responded by sticking his tongue out to taunt him. 

“Phil, I just want you to know that when I murder this child that it was in self defense.” 

And with that, Wilbur was jumping onto the counter while reaching for the blonde. (As if he could actually catch Tommy. Amateur.) A lighthearted scream squeaked from the barista as he was already running to the other end of the counter and into the store. Swerving in and out from bookshelves there was no way in hell he was getting caught. Especially by Wilbur. 

Which it should be an easy chase considering Tommy had the entire store mapped out in his head from previous little chases similar to this, however Wilbur was a total fucking weirdo. By that he means that Wil could go practically silent and unseen like some skilled stalker or some shit. Not even fucking footsteps could be heard. So while he weaved out of bookshelves the blonde made sure to keep glancing behind himself for any sign of his enemy. 

It was a great plan. The best plan even! Tommy was so skilled how could it not be the most amazing best plan ever. Although his plan didn’t account for one giant pink haired coworker / bitch face that Tommy was suddenly crashing into. Not that it really affected the other. 

Ever hear the phrase ‘you can’t move a mountain’? Tommy could. He could move 100 mountains, but Techno was easily superior to a mountain. Sure, his name was pretty fucking weird and his hair was bright pink, but somehow he also could be more tolerable to hang out with than Wilbur. During shifts sometimes Techno would mumble about greek mythology and once time punched a guy for threatening Tommy because his “caramel mocha wasn’t caramel enough”. Overall a 7/10 in Tommy’s book; pretty cool but not safe from Tommy’s insults. 

“What the fuck!” Tommy screeched, taking a step back and checking his surroundings from Wilbur. “Oi bitch could you fucking move? Your psychopath of a brother is trying to murder me.”  

Maybe it was because this was a common occurrence in the store or because Techno barely showed much interest anyways, but he just looked down at Tommy with a lifted eyebrow. “What did you do to piss him off this time?” 

“He slammed a book down on my fingers!” Wilbur shrieked coming down the little hallway between shelves. “Tech! I’m a musician! He would have ruined my career forever!” 

“You have to be good to have a career you fucking poser!” Tommy called back before squeezing behind Techno so that he was now a barrier between himself and his attacker. “Techno. Please believe me he deserved it!” 

“Do you guys have to do this everyday?” Yet as soon as the brunette lunged for him again, Techno grabbed his twin into a restraining hold. Shaking his head, he paused for a moment to look back to the younger boy. “Go get out of here before I have to clean blood off the books. Those would be pretty hard to sell.” 

“Techno you’re my hero. If you ever need a favor like to cover your shift or something, I owe you.” The younger boy laughed as he stepped backwards in a little display of victory. 

“Eat dinner with us!” Wilbur butted in, suddenly no longer struggling in Techno’s grasp. “You can even sit next to me if you want cause I know I am your favorite.”

“We are gonna go to this little diner close by. You would probably like it, unless there is someone else you might like to go.” The eldest spoke as he came closer to the commotion. Tommy genuinely felt sorry if this is how it was at home all the time. Or maybe Wilbur was only like this with him? 

“I’m pretty sure it’s Tech’s favor, not yours.” Tommy quickly cut in. It was a nice offer and considering he was sure there was no food at home it was pretty damn tempting. No emotional attachments . “Besides, I have to walk my… fish? Yep! My fish. Gotta make sure they stay fit like me ya know! Anyways, I think it's about time I clock out right? See you guys tomorrow!”

And with that Tommy raced away to grab his bag and leave the remaining three in a painful silence staring wistfully at the door the blonde exited from.

“This isn’t working.” Wilbur finally broke the silence. (Weak.) “How many times have you asked him to dinner with us for him to come up with some totally bullshit excuse.” 

“I know Wil but it’s not like we can just kidnap the kid. He has a family…” 

Which of course Phil was right, but that didn’t stop Wilbur from turning to his father with a mischievous look. “I mean…”

It’s not that Techno didn’t fully disagree with the option, he quickly shut down his brother by hitting the back of his head lightly. While Techno might think it, Wilbur would actually put it into action. “We are not kidnapping Tommy. Phil is right, he does have his own family. Besides we all know that involving him more personally in our lives is not acceptable.” 

“But Tech…” Wilbur pouted as he crumbled to the floor in some attempt to look dramatic. “He would make a cute little brother. Besides, he looks like he barely eats and I refuse to forget those bruises he had when he first started hanging out here. Pleaseee! We would be so much better.”

“Besides we both know there is a more pressing little gremlin we need to deal with first.” 

Apparently Techno’s mention was enough to pull Wilbur’s attention away from his temper tantrum and back to Phil. 

“We have a lead on some more personal information about the threat.” Phil continued. “But you boys know the rule. No work talk at… work… We have a meeting tonight. We will come back to the Tommy situation later.”

Chapter Text

Okay so it might not be the most logical thing, but here is the thing – the plan was simple! Tommy has been running every possible scenario in his head since the moment he stepped out of the shop and began walking home. That’s a lot of scenarios in case you didn’t know . How could you know? There has never been anyone with a bigger brain than Tommy. So when he's sure he has almost worked out this very serious situation, it’s important that others know it is being taken care of by the best.

He thinks he might be able to effectively walk a fish. 

Now look, it was a dumb lie to get out plans with his boss & sons, but why can’t it be real? Sorry other people are too stupid to have thought about this before. 

The first prototype in his mind would simply be putting his finned friend in an old sprite bottle. It could work and would be super adorable, but Tommy has listened to his roommates rants one too many times about ‘taking the easy way out’ and how ‘you can’t just pick that cause it's easy you have to think things through’ blah blah blah. 

So onto a new prototype idea. Obviously a fish wouldn’t be able to have enough to push the container so an internal core for the fish to vibe in would be needed while an external layer would be used for pulling it along. There would have to be stabilizers for the internal layer in place but that wouldn’t be too difficult. 

Tommy was sure he had almost worked out the blueprints in his head to a point that all it would take is explaining it to his roommate for him to make it. (Maybe he could also convince him to let them get a fish while he was at it too.) 

The point was he might have gotten a bit too into the details in his head to notice the car oncoming as he was crossing the street. 

He was quick. Not that wasn’t ever in question. He was a vigilante for prime sake. But when his mind was off a million miles away it was a bit startling to suddenly have bright lights in his eyes and a horn blaring to grab his attention. Jumping the last bit of distance onto the sidewalk, Tommy turned around quickly to flip off the driver and yell at him to learn how to drive. 

From an outside perspective the blonde was fine and all observers of the incident continued on their way, not caring enough to confirm anything. For Tommy, however, the high pitched key of the car horn had transformed in his ears into a painful but familiar ringing. The longer it continued the faster his heart began racing and his hands began to shake. 

I’m fine. He reminded himself as the blonde pulled himself behind a familiar alley, away from any prying eyes, before pulling the skin colored devices out of his ears forcefully. It helped, and logically Tommy knew they were the source of the ringing. But it didn’t stop. 

The ringing never fully stopped. 

—

He remembered when it started though. 

Sometimes, when he thought about it too long, it felt less like a memory and more like Tommy was back in that moment. Warm blood was still dripping from his nose and filling his mouth with a metallic taste. 

“Why are you telling me all this?” 

“Because, you are the only one who just doesn’t listen to me. Everyone else -- all the other students, heroes, everyone -- they listen to me. I control them. And yet you always push it. You push me. And I think it's about time that stopped. That you fall in line.”  

The metal barrel of the gun was repositioned from his forehead to press harshly underneath his chin to tilt his head up so that Tommy was forced to look at his attacker's smile. 

“Oh don’t cry my little mockingbird.” The man cooed with sickening sweetness. “I’m helping you Tommy. But until you are ready to listen to me there has to be consequences. You have to learn.”

The last thing he remembered hearing was the ringing of two gunshots. 

But there was no pain. Just the ringing in his ears and muffled chaos. Almost like his head had been dunked underwater. His balance shifted as the teen fell to his knees but he could still hear what sounded like a voice talking to him. So quiet and far away. All he could focus on was the unrelenting high pitched note and the feeling of blood now coming from his ears. 

After that, Tommy spent a lot of time in silence. He made sure that he did. It wasn’t until a couple months and multiple more ruptured eardrums until someone else back then noticed his lack of responses and squinting to watch people’s lips when speaking to him. By then the damage had already been done.

—

Snapping out of these memories never happens all at once. He can still hear the ringing which makes it harder to realize what is real and a memory. It feels more like he is just standing behind a window watching these perspectives passing by. Not sure what is past or present until he can find something to ground him once again. 

It's slow, but the first thing he can register is how cold his hands are now. Tommy holds onto that numbness slowly fading from his skin to feel the chill from the present. The next thing that comes is a dull pain coming from his palms which is enough to make his eyes blink away their glazed over state so look down to find the cause. His knuckles have turned white from how hard he was gripping them shut and after a moment of manual breathing he is able to release his grasp and discover the little crescent moon imprints.  They weren’t as bad as they used to be. When these indents fade he will still have little lunar scars that decorate his skin. 

When he was younger he would pretend that his mother was the moon. Big and beautiful. A goddess. That was why she couldn’t be with Tommy. That’s why she had to watch him from afar, but every night she would be there to watch over him no matter what. And the white marks left over on his skin weren’t scars, but instead the remnants of kisses she could leave him with to remind him he wasn’t alone when she was gone during the day. 

Pretty fucking stupid looking back on it. Regardless, Tommy used his newly regained sentience to look up at the night sky and flip off the stars. 

He isn’t how long he spent with his back pressed against the rough brick of the wall in the alley but it was long enough that his body had slid down so that he was sitting on the cold concrete. It was definitely darker now than it was previously, meaning he would likely get a lecture when he got back home. It wasn’t even worth checking his phone how much time had passed, that would only make it worse. 

Pulling himself off the ground he also discovered the earpieces he removed earlier now crushed on the ground next to his boots. Great, maybe he could miss the lecture all-together and just get murdered by his roommate first instead. 

The rest of the walk home was a lot quieter now aside from the ringing still in his ears. It only took a couple minutes before he was jumping to grab the ladder attached to their fire escape. Sure he could just go in through the front door but: 1) thats fucking boring 2) there is a chance that he could lie about having been in his room the whole time. You know gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss his way out of this one. 

It wasn’t his smoothest entrance into the house. He felt the cheap desk tilt with him as he slid his feet onto the ground spilling a couple items around Tommy’s feet before he was able to fully catch the piece of furniture from falling. Watching the door, Tommy stood frozen for a minute before deciding he was probably in the clear when his roommates didn’t come charging in at the sound. 

Wasting no more time he threw his backpack on the ground and changed into a pair of sweatpants before trying to make his hair look messy from sleep. One more deep breath and he was ready to put on the show of a lifetime. 

Stepping out into the living room he found his two roommates sitting on the couch. Looking up from the laptop Tommy was greeted with two very different expressions. 

Probably about time to properly introduce his best friends anyways. Ranboo and Tubbo. 

(Yeah weird fucking names. Weirder fucking people. Not that he was one to judge though he literally worked with a guy named Technoblade.)

They all met a really long time ago back in the Agency. First was Tubbo. He wasn’t in the program like Tommy. A couple years after its creation, some new people came into management of the academy and apparently Tubbo’s dad was one of them. Being one of the star students Tommy was tasked with showing the other boy around and after a couple visits they actually started to become friends. Tommy would teach him everything he knew about being a hero and in return Tubbo would teach him what the outside world was like. They became pretty inseparable after that. 

Tommy didn’t remember much about his first roommate aside from his name being Eryn but he did remember the first day he didn’t come back to their room. It was after a long day of training that he had come back to finally relax only to find half of his room bare as if no one had been there before. And then suddenly, a day later, a new roommate was transferred. He was taller than Tommy which was an immediate red flag. What made things worse was when Tubbo met him the two of them actually got along, which meant that whether Tommy agreed or not, Ranboob was in their little gang. 

Lots of bonding, trauma, and backstory later – here they all were in this shit apartment still together. 

Things had changed a lot since then though. Ranboo somehow got a lot taller, Tubbo’s brown hair now covered his eyes, and they all had a lot more pale scars that covered their skin and stories for each of them. However, what hadn’t changed was Tubbo’s ability to stare through Tommy’s fucking soul when he knew he blonde had done something he shouldn’t have. 

Which is why Ranboo was giving him a kind smile and Tubbo was currently glaring at him like Tommy had just punched his dog or something. 

“Ayup?” The blonde greeted although it could be argued he was just testing the water. 

Which apparently was not the right move because he was responded to by having a pillow thrown at his head. 

“Um… What the fuck?” 

“Don’t even start with me.” The brunette replied. “I will give you one chance to tell me why the fuck you are so late and didn’t answer your fucking phone.” 

“Tubbo, Tubs, Big T - I have been home this whole time! I fell asleep! I mean look at me! Maybe you just missed me. You really should be more observant you know. Not very pogchamp of you if you ask me.” Hell yeah. Totally girl bossing his way out of this. 

And then he is dodging another pillow. 

“We heard you come in through the window.” Ranboo interjected while keeping his hand on Tubbo’s shoulder so that he couldn’t murder Tommy in that moment. 

“Do you think we are fucking stupid? Like you were so fucking loud I would be shocked if you didn’t break anything on the desk. How did you not hear-” Tubbo paused before glaring at Tommy even more intensely. “Where the fuck are your hearing aids.”

Oh you know… those broken pieces of skin tone tech in his pocket. Yeah, Tommy was absolutely dying tonight. (Oh how the women will mourn him.) 

“Would you possibly forgive me if I told you I was almost hit by a car?” 

With that the chase was on. Tommy screamed as Tubbo chased after him around their tiny apartment while Ranboo begged them not to break anything. 

He would like to say that he won in the end, but Tubbo is infact a fucking bitch and filthy cheater. It was the only explanation as to how the smaller boy got the upperhand and made Tommy spend 10 minutes forced to lie on the ground with his face pressed into the carpet before the blonde apologized enough to be released. It took another 20 minutes and Tommy making them all sandwiches as penance before he was no longer at risk of death. 

“Look, it was nothing alright.” He tried to reassure Ranboo’s worried look. “I was just staying late to help with a shipment that came in and got a little distracted on my way home from work. Besides, I have the coolest invention but we would need to get a pet fish.” 

Okay so it wasn’t the whole truth, but they didn’t need to know about the ringing. They probably already suspected it, so just confirming it would make them worry even more. 

“Tommy if it was the ringing again…” The tallest pressed lightly. And of course if there was anyone who would understand even a fraction of what actually happened it was Ranboo, but that didn’t make it any easier to confess. 

So he wouldn’t. “I’m just tired from work. I took the aids out cause they were uncomfortable and that prick almost ran over me. If anything it’s his fault I accidentally stepped on them. Go kick his ass or something.” 

“You sure you are okay? It’s probably gonna be a late night so if you don’t think-”

“I’m fine Tubbo.” Tommy interrupted. “That's why coffee was invented. And besides, a big man like me isn’t so easily replaced.” 

It wasn’t exactly a true fact but one he would easily play up some fake offense if the other tried to object in any way. 

“Besides, isn’t it time we all get ready? This city isn’t going to save itself.” 

After a moment of unbroken stubbornness between the two boys, Ranboo finally interjected. “He’s right Tubbo. Besides, there have been more reports about the Syndicate in the area than normal. We can’t really be taking any chances right now.” 

“Fine… but if anything changes we are coming home early. Tommy, your other pair of hearing aids is on the desk. I will fix your other ones tonight so you can wear them to work tomorrow.”

With a little left to protest all that was left was suiting up. Now, you have met Tubbo and Ranboo, but you have yet to be introduced to the coolest fucking people (aside from Tommy of course) aka Stinger and Enderwalk. 

If you were to google them there would hardly be any real results aside from a couple of reddit posts trying to guess their powers and posting the blurry images few had managed to capture from far away. Luckily, Tommy had the inside fucking scoop.  

Stinger aka Tubbo was known for his striped sweater and wings that he used to fly. People theorized that he was some type of bee hybrid due to his wings, outfit, and the use of small insect looking things he had used in battle. The real truth was far fucking cooler though. Bee boy was actually something called a technopath which was really just a fancy way of saying that he could control technology. His wings were actually pieces of tech (more like his pride and joy). They weren’t perfect. He couldn’t fly very high with them and would sometimes begin having issues when it got too cold outside. You couldn’t really see them in the shitty fan photos, but he also wore a small headpiece that looked similar to antennas so that he could use small microbots but those were newer additions. 

But what was Stinger without his even more mysterious partner Enderwalk. Ranboo was not as commonly seen by the public. In contrast to Stinger’s bright yellow stripes, Enderwalk was seen wearing a black hooded cape to cover most of his face aside from a half black and white mask. People theorized he had some kind of superspeed or something to explain how the boy seemed to disappear and reappear in seconds. How lame would that be though. Enderwalk could actually open these portals, kind of like disc looking shapes, and use them to travel from one spot to another. According to him, the portals weren’t really teleportation though. Apparently Ranboo actually was entering some kind of limbo state he liked to call “The End” where he would travel to wherever he would want to reappear next. Time apparently also worked differently there. Like, Enderwalk would only be gone for seconds to bystanders like Tommy, but could have spent hours doing so in the other world if it was far enough away. 

He couldn’t stay there too long because of this. The time distortion caused him to sometimes get lost or forget things. It had long term effects sometimes too. When Tommy and Ranboo first met, the older boy only had a couple pieces of white in his otherwise black hair. The Agency was always about pushing them. Pushing, pushing. When they finally got out, almost half of Ranboo’s hair had been permanently bleached. 

And then there was Tommy. The final part of this little trio, and he would argue the most important. 

Mellohi. The leader of all. The most dangerous and coolest man alive. An absolute killer of the ladies. The one in charge of this whole operation. 

The man in the chair. 

Oh. You thought Tommy was the vigilante here? Damn you must feel really stupid right about now. 

Okay maybe it might be a little justified. He is the biggest man ever and the coolest protagonist of all time. Plus all that stuff in the beginning… and maybe he does have a bit of vigilante experience. Don’t worry we will get to all that. (So fucking needy you all are.) 

Not his fault. Tommy Innit has never done anything wrong in his life. Ever. 

Cracking his knuckles, he got to work opening all the applications he used. Police scanners, government databases, local maps etc. Tubbo had set up the whole operation but in time Tommy had found a way to make it his own. Notifications, reports, and any incoming news would pop up in a sidebar that he so lovingly had named ‘chat’. 

Just as Tubbo said they were, his favorite pair of hearing aids were in the little box on the desk. They were not as subtle as the other ones he preferred to wear in public. Instead they were bright red and far more comfortable. Within seconds of putting them on, a little blue light flashed for a couple of seconds and then he was connected to chat. 

“Alright boys.” Tommy spoke loudly into the microphone on the desk. “This night is gonna be so fucking pog champ.”

Chapter Text

Hello! I know its been a while since I have been active, but most of that has to do with feeling stuck with this work. I have decided to re-write it so as to better tell the story I am wanting to create. The first chapter will likely be the same but expect some really cool chapters coming in the new upload soon. I hope you guys will like this new work as much as you did this one!!

I also just wanna say thank you to everyone who not only reads my work but supports it. Its you guys who made me want to come back for this and really create something I hope you will enjoy. Especially those of you who comment really deserve the world and mean the most! You all keep me going and I can't wait to see your new thoughts too! Check out the new fic here: https://archiveofourown.info/works/42643200/chapters/107116347

xoxo
cosmiic