Archive of Our Own ^beta

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."

Chapter Text

It had been a few days, and being held hostage by supervillains actually wasn't that horrible. Tommy expected them to torture him or lock him in the basement with no food, but that was actually pretty far from what actually happened. Crazy how a bunch of villains treated him better than the orphanage did. 

It was quite boring actually- all he did all day was watch TV while Blade did homework (since when did villains have homework?), but it wasn't bad either. They fed him enough, bought him new clothes, more clothes than he'd ever had in his lifetime, and Crow preened his wings (that wasn't really a good thing). It wasn't what he expected. 

But Tommy knew better than to trust these villains. He wasn't gonna become a villain and engage in their petty squabbles. Besides, Blade had literally stabbed him, even if the weird drugs the villains called "healing potions" healed the wound quickly. 

And also, Crow and Symphony had no understanding of personal space. Crow seemed to touch his wings every chance he got, whether to preen them or just because. Crow would never damage his wings, but it still made him uncomfortable. And Symphony liked to cuddle up next to him and give him hair ruffles. It was like Symphony treated him like a fucking dog. 

And that wasn't even mentioning the guitar. Symphony literally brought that guitar everywhere, even as a civilian. And he loved to use it on Tommy. Tommy didn't know why, but it was probably because when Tommy was under the influence of the guitar he leaned into Symphony's touch and chirped a lot. 

Tommy was so peaceful when under the influence of the guitar, but he knew that Wilbur was feeding him poison. Because every time the guitar was played, he found that he started to like the SBI more and more. He was losing himself, little by little. And it would be even worse if he got addicted, if that could even happen. 

Blade was better than Crow and Symphony, but not by much. He seemed to understand the concept of personal space, but he had no problems with violence. 

But regardless, Tommy was really freaking bored. So, when he was home alone with Blade, he decided to cause some problems. 

"Hey Blade, wanna play a prank on Symphony?" Tommy asked. Blade looked up from his homework. 

Blade shrugged. "Sure. Why not. Haven't played a prank in years, but sure." Blade was currently wearing a pair of sweatpants and a pink T-shirt that said "World's #1 dad" even though Tommy was pretty sure he didn't have any children. It was kind of hilarious seeing a supervillain in such a stupid outfit. 

"I think we could make him get covered in something really gross." Tommy said. "I was thinking milk or something like that, but if you could think of something better we can use that." 

"I have a science experiment." Blade said. 

"So?" Tommy asked. "What does that have to do with this?" 

"Let me just show you." Blade said. "Follow me."

Tommy followed Blade, wondering what his "science experiment" was. 

They walked through the garage, Blade grabbing a bucket on his way outside. When they stepped into the backyard, the first thing Tommy noticed was the smell. It reeked. 

The second thing Tommy noticed was the kiddie pool, swirling with unknown green liquid. 

"That's your science experiment?" Tommy asked. 

"Yeah." Blade said. 

"So we're going to dump this stuff on Symphony?" Tommy asked. Blade nodded. Tommy continued, "That's disgusting. Let's do it." 

An hour later, Blade had developed an efficient system of dumping the liquid onto Symphony, activated by a tripwire that was in front of the door. 

"What's even in that stuff?" Tommy asked. 

"A lot of stuff." Blade said. "Water, some weird slime I bought, lots of algae, and a few other things." 

Tommy shrugged. "Ew." He said. "It's certainly gross enough. When is Symphony coming home?" 

"4:30." Blade said. Tommy looked at the clock. It was 4:20, which meant he was almost here. 

"Won't he notice the smell?" Tommy asked. 

Blade shrugged. "Probably not. Wilbur has a terrible sense of smell. He can’t taste either. Maybe that’s why he insults my potato soup." Now that gave Tommy some prank ideas. 

They paused when they heard someone walk up the front porch. 

"Step back." Blade said. "You wouldn't want to get that stuff on you." Tommy obeyed, staying far away from the bucket of liquid hanging from the ceiling. 

The knob turned, and the door opened. Tommy and The Blade waited in anticipation. Symphony stepped through the door, wearing his normal civilian clothes and holding his guitar. 

And then Symphony walked into the tripwire. He screamed like a little girl as the bucket poured over and spilled onto him, soaking his entire body. Tommy grinned. 

"What the fuck is this?" Symphony yelled, outraged. "You let that stupid child dump green sludge onto me?" 

"The look on your face is priceless." Blade said, looking smug. "Better go take a bath, huh?" He chuckled. 

"You stupid-" Wilbur screamed, "You helped him out, didn't you! He doesn't know about your science experiment!" 

"I did exactly that." Blade said. "It's been a while since I last pranked you." 

"It was hilarious!" Tommy laughed. "Well worth all the work we put into it." 

Symphony marched right up to Tommy and put his hands on his hips. "You are going to pay for this!" He exclaimed. 

"I dunno what kind of vengeance you're trying to do, but you better take a shower first." Blade said. "Nobody takes people seriously if they stink." 

"Fine!" Symphony yelled. "I'll take a shower!" 

"Actually, no." Blade said. "Phil won't appreciate you making his house a mess, and Strife's sewer system won't appreciate all that green sludge. Why don't you go bathe in the river instead?" 

"Fine!" Symphony yelled. "But you will pay!" He flipped them off, walking out the door, and slamming it shut. 

"We better clean this mess up before Phil gets home," Blade said, "Or Dadza's gonna bring out the belt." 

"What?" Tommy asked, confused. "Are you okay?" Was Crow Blade’s dad or something? 

"Calm down, it's a joke." Blade said. "Anyway, follow me. We need to get some cleaning supplies." Tommy followed Blade to the garage. 

"Do you have children?" Tommy asked as they entered the garage. 

"No." Blade said. "Do I look like a father?" 

"Well, your shirt says, 'World's #1 dad'." Tommy pointed out. 

"Oh, I just bought that because I liked the color." Blade said. The shirt was bright pink. It was absurd, seeing such a buff person in a shirt like that. And Blade’s favorite color was pink? Strange. Maybe Tommy was the one being closed-minded. After all, pink was just a color. Who said it had to be inherently girly?  

It took them a long time to clean up the stuff, but when they were done, the kitchen looked good as new. It was still stinky though, so Blade and Tommy opened all the windows. When Crow came home, he asked why the kitchen stunk. 

"Oh, don't worry." Blade said. "Me and Tommy played a prank on Wilbur, and it made the kitchen stink, but we cleaned it up. Wilbur is still bathing in the river though." 

"What did you even do?" Crow asked. He didn't seem mad, more just amused. 

"We dumped Blade's science experiment onto him." Tommy said. 

"Oh death." Crow muttered. "I told you to throw that science experiment away." 

"I'm an adult, I can do whatever science experiments I want." 

"I know." Crow said. "But regardless, it’s disgusting." 

The door slammed open, and Symphony stormed into the house. He was soaking wet, but he wasn't covered in green sludge anymore. 

"Hey Wilbur." Crow said, but Symphony ignored him, flipping them off and storming upstairs. 

"He seems really mad." Crow pointed out. 

Blade shrugged. "He'll be fine." 

"Anyway," Crow said, "Let's make dinner." 

Blade grinned. "Oh! We should make baked potatoes!" 

"You always make potatoes." Crow rolled his eyes. 

"Yeah, that's because they're the best food!" Blade said. “If you don’t want baked potatoes we could make potato soup instead. 

Tommy walked away from them, into the living room. Blade was great, almost like an older brother even. And Crow was so fatherly and affectionate. 

Wait. What was he thinking? These people had literally kidnapped him. 

He sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. He didn't bother changing the channel, and it was currently playing an interview with a hero. Tommy recognized this hero as Captain Puffy, often just called The Captain. She had half-brown half-white curly hair and wore a cute pirate outfit. Her mask was one of a ram, but somehow she'd managed to make it look cute and innocent. She was also shorter than most of the broadcasting crew. 

Tommy knew that despite her innocent appearance, she was not to be messed with. She was a ruthless superhero, and had the power of creating smoke clouds and summoning throwing knives (the summoning knives thing was weird, they just appeared out of thin air and disappeared later). She also had a fancy motorcycle, called the Puffycycle. It was mostly for show, but it was really cool. 

"How does it feel being the first female superhero in the position of deputy?" The interviewer asked. 

"Oh, it's great." The Captain said. "It's amazing how much progress Strife Heroes has been making with representation." 

Tommy watched the interview for a while. Symphony walked downstairs and gave him the stink eye, so Tommy flipped him off. Symphony entered the kitchen to make dinner with Blade and Crow. 

After they all ate dinner together, Crow and Blade went out to do villain work. It was absurd watching them change into their outfits- Crow putting on robe after robe and Blade equipping his literal body armor. 

With Blade and Crow gone, it was just him and Symphony. Symphony still seemed pretty mad at him. They sat down on the couch to watch TV, watching the fight between the heroes and villains and eating popcorn. 

Tommy watched as Captain Puffy and the Blade threw projectiles at each other- it really was quite interesting seeing them fight. There was also another superhero, Blaze, who wore a bandana over his face and a white T-shirt with a flame on it. His outfit was surprisingly casual. 

"I'm going to destroy you!" Blaze said, hurling fireballs at Blade and Crow. Blade easily deflected the fireballs, but the Captain took the opportunity to throw knives at Blade. Blade dodged the knives, sending them back towards the Captain. 

"This is stupid." Symphony grumbled. "I do this every day, I don't need to watch it." He walked over to the remote and  turned off the TV. 

"Eh, well, sucks for you." Tommy said casually. "Captain Puffy is kickass." Tommy got up from the couch, beginning to walk away. 

"Captain Puffy sucks." Symphony grumbled. "She's stabbed me multiple times." Symphony got up to put the empty popcorn bowl away. Tommy stopped walking, deciding it would be a good idea to make fun of Symphony. 

Tommy just shrugged. "Well, I guess that's just a skill issue." If Symphony had been stabbed multiple times, this job must be really dangerous. 

“Shut up!” Symphony yelled, picking up his popcorn bowl and throwing it at Tommy. Tommy dodged it on pure instinct, the bowl shattering against the wall. 

"You're such a stupid bitch! I hate you!" Symphony yelled. 

Tommy could tell that pressing Symphony's buttons was a bad idea, considering he just threw a bowl at Tommy, but he proceeded. "Takes one to know one."

"You stupid child!" Symphony yelled. He marched over to the couch and picked up his guitar. 

Oh no. Symphony was going to use his guitar on him. That couldn't happen. Tommy was sick of this. He didn't want these goddamn villains influencing his mind! 

Symphony played the first note, and Tommy could instantly feel the effects. However, they didn't take over his mind. It was difficult, but he was still able to resist the pull. 

"Your guitar isn't working on me." Tommy informed. "It's a stupid guitar anyway, nobody likes your music." 

"What the fuck?" Symphony screamed, stopping his guitar-playing. "That-that's not supposed to happen! You must've given yourself hearing loss or something! How did you even do that?" 

Tommy hadn't tried to give himself hearing loss. He wasn't even sure how he could resist the guitar. But he wasn't going to disclose that to Symphony. Instead he said, "Trade secret."

"How dare you!" Symphony yelled, raising his guitar into the air like it was a weapon. "You got around my power! You're not supposed to fucking do that!" 

"Well, sucks for you-" Tommy was cut off as Symphony smashed the guitar onto his head. Okay. If Symphony was going to choose violence, he was going to fight back. 

Tommy leaped off the couch and charged at Symphony. Symphony was stunned by his attack, but recovered quickly and hit Tommy in the stomach with the guitar. Tommy stumbled back, stunned. 

Tommy grabbed one end of the guitar, trying to pry it out of Symphony's hands, but Symphony was way stronger than him. He pulled it out of Tommy's hands and hit him with it again. Tommy realized he wouldn't be able to get the guitar, so he grabbed a wooden coaster off the coffee table and threw it at Symphony. 

It hit Symphony on the head, and Symphony picked it up and threw it at Tommy. Tommy dodged the coaster, but he wasn't able to dodge Symphony running at him. Symphony pinned him against the wall. Tommy tried to get out of Symphony's grip, but his attempts were fruitless. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Symphony yelled. "You're not supposed to fight me! You're supposed to be obedient!" 

Tommy gave Symphony his best death glare and said, "You're not supposed to attack people!" 

"I'm a villain!" Symphony exclaimed. "I can do whatever I want! I could kill you, if I wanted to! And I might!” 

The smartest decision would be to shut his mouth. But Tommy wanted to see how far Symphony was willing to go. So, he continued. 

"I guess you villains are just as horrible as you say." Tommy said. "Terrorists, huh? No wonder they need the heroes to stop you." Tommy knew that both the heroes and villains were terrorists, but he didn't care. He was just trying to piss off Symphony. 

"Shut up!" Symphony said. "The heroes are more of terrorists than we are!" 

Tommy chuckled. "Nah, the heroes are great. Captain Puffy, she's so cool. Like a better version of the Blade. And Blaze- he's way better than you." 

"I hate you!" Symphony yelled. He grabbed Tommy by his shirt and threw him against the wall. Tommy fell to the floor, but before he could get back up, Symphony stepped on his chest, preventing him from moving off the ground and making it hard to breathe. 

Symphony chuckled. "Nothing you can do now, Tommy. I'm going beat the shit out of you until you learn to shut your mouth. I've done it before and I'll do it again." 

Wow. That was disturbing, but Tommy tried not to think about the implications. He wanted to challenge Symphony more, but it was getting really hard to breathe with Symphony's boot pressing on his chest. So instead, he flipped him off. 

But both of them were too stubborn to stop. Tommy wasn't willing to stop insulting Symphony, no matter what Symphony did, and Symphony wouldn't stop the violence.

Chapter Text

Artemis guided Ranboo through the city. She was fast, silent, and stealthy, and Ranboo was only able to keep up with her using teleportation. Above them, the stars twinkled. Nobody knew why Strife had so many stars in the night sky, considering all the light pollution, but they were visible nevertheless. 

Artemis easily parkoured up a building, Ranboo following her by teleporting between various balconies. Artemis didn't have a traditional power- instead, her power was being a master at stealth and agility, easily being able to do things that required years of training. 

Artemis finally landed on a balcony, gesturing to Ranboo that this was the place. Ranboo teleported to the balcony. 

"We just need to break in." Artemis said. "The person we are trying to contact is on the other side of this door." 

"Why?" Ranboo asked. "I can teleport." 

"Oh right." Artemis said. "We can do things your way." 

Ranboo teleported inside the building. He was in the kitchen of a simple apartment complex, and in front of him was a boy. The boy reached for a knife on the knife rack, clearly ready to defend himself. He wore a simple purple hoodie, but was not wearing a mask. 

"Oh no!" Ranboo exclaimed. "I didn't mean to see you without your mask! I'm so sorry." 

"I don't have a mask." The boy said. "I don't need one. Tell me, Ender, why are you here?" 

So this boy knew who he was. Not a surprise. "Artemis brought me here." Ranboo said. "She says that you'll be able to help me." 

The boy groaned. "Her again? She keeps bothering me. Whatever. I'll let her in." He walked across the apartment to the door to the balcony, opening it. On the other side, Artemis was waiting for them. 

"Hello," Artemis said. "This is Purpled. He's a mercenary, and I was thinking we could hire him. He has invisibility powers, perfect for finding people." 

"Hire me?" The boy, Purpled asked. "What do you want me to do?" 

"The SBI has kidnapped someone." Ranboo said. "We need you to find him." 

"The SBI?" Purpled narrowed his eyes. "That's dangerous. You better be offering me a good deal." 

"We are." Artemis said. "I was thinking 1000 dollars." 

"1000 dollars?" Purpled said. "That's pretty good. I think I'll take that deal. Anyway, who's the person I'm looking for?" 

"His name is Tommy." Ranboo said. "He has blond hair and bright red wings." 

"Got it." Purpled nodded. "This job should be finished in about a week." 

"Thank you." Artemis said. "It's a pleasure doing business with you." With that, she and Ranboo left the apartment. 

---

Techno walked into the bathroom, ready for a shower after his long night of work. 

However, something on the ground caught his eye. It was Tommy, laying on the floor, covered in bruises. Clearly Wilbur had locked him in the bathroom. 

"Oh shit." Techno muttered. "He gave you the bathroom treatment? Really?" Techno groaned. "Well, guess I have to postpone my shower." He put down his towel on the counter. 

"Sup, Blade." Tommy said, smiling weakly. "I assume you're here to get me out of here." 

"Nah." Techno said. "I was here to take a shower, actually. But I'll let you out. Let me guess, you got in a fight with Wilbur?" 

"Yeah, basically." Tommy said. He climbed to his feet, walking out of the bathroom. Techno followed him. 

Downstairs, Phil was yelling at Wilbur. 

"Wilbur, you should know better! I don't care if Tommy made you do it! This is my house, and I expect you to clean up your messes! Can you imagine how upsetting it must be to return home and find a mess of broken ceramic on the floor? Clean this up right now!" 

Techno and Tommy watched from the bottom of the stairs. "Sorry, Phil." Wilbur said. "I'll clean it up." He ran into the kitchen, returning with the broom in his hands. 

"Thank god." Phil muttered. "And you're still getting into childish fights? I thought you stopped that at 15." 

Techno and Wilbur exchanged a glance. Neither of them liked thinking about what happened that day. 

Phil walked out of the room, taking off his many black robes as he walked. Neither Techno nor Wilbur understood why Phil wore that many robes, but Phil seemed insistent on wearing them. 

"Anyway," Tommy said. "What was that about? I wouldn't want my roommates to yell at me." 

"Oh, he's our dad." Wilbur said casually. "He's just strict like that." 

"He's your dad?" Tommy exclaimed. "You call your dad Phil?" 

"Uh, yeah." Techno said. "You got a problem with it?" Techno thought that calling Phil dad would be stupid, Phil wasn't even his biological dad anyway. 

"No." Tommy said. "I don't really care." 

"So anyway," Tommy said. "Are we going to discuss the elephant in the room?" 

"What elephant?" Wilbur asked. Techno knew what Tommy was talking about, but he wasn't sure if Wilbur did. 

"You know, you beating the shit out of me." Tommy said accusatorily. "You do realize that's abuse, right?" 

"What?" Techno exclaimed, caught off guard. "It's not abuse, it's just a sibling fight. Everyone has those. Don't worry Tommy, I can teach you to fight and Wilbur will never mess with you again." 

"Sure." Tommy said, unconvinced. "Just a sibling fight. God, Blade, you are so stupid."

"Well, I'm right." Techno said. "It's simple- the strongest brother wins." 

"Yeah, they win a fight that wasn't supposed to happen in the first place!" Tommy exclaimed. "I can't believe Phil isn't doing anything about this!" 

"Did someone say my name?" Phil stood at the bottom of the stairs. 

"It's nothing." Techno said. "Don't worry about it." He didn't see the need to waste words telling Phil about this. 

"Don't worry about this?" Tommy exclaimed. "This is important! You all need to open your eyes and listen to what I'm saying! But you're villains! You don't care about morals, or the law, all you care about is power!" 

Wow. That was a low blow. Techno wasn't easily angered, but now, he felt himself becoming more than a bit irritated. He had a moral code! Tommy was just too blind to see it! 

Before Techno could speak, Phil beat him to it. 

"Don't you dare say that!" Phil exclaimed. "The SBI has morals! We may not be considered good in the eyes of the public, but we are no worse than the heroes, and we have better intentions!" 

Techno heard something. It was too small to be picked up on by anyone else, but Techno had very strong senses. 

It was a footstep, right outside the window. A human footstep. But when Techno looked, there was no one there. 

Phil was talking about how the SBI was actually good, but Techno wasn't even listening. There was definitely someone outside, watching them. This person probably had the power of invisibility. Techno didn't know anyone with this power, but there was an invisible person outside and they were watching him. 

Techno moved his body to cover up the window, preventing the person from seeing Phil, Wilbur, or Tommy. The person walked away, until their footsteps were out of earshot.

Techno knew he should tell Phil about this, but Phil would think he was going crazy. Besides, his family could easily fight against someone with the power of invisibility. 

He didn't need to tell anyone, and his decision would definitely not backfire in the future. 

---

Tubbo and Ranboo walked into a bakery. The smell hit Ranboo like a truck. It was amazing, pastries of all kinds laid out on the counter. 

Tubbo, beside him, was grinning. This was Tubbo's favorite bakery, called Niki's Baked Goods . Tubbo wasn't able to eat good food often, being homeless, but Ranboo was more than willing to spend his allowance on getting his best friend some delicious treats, and when Ranboo wasn’t there, Niki gave him stuff for free.

Ranboo could understand why Tubbo liked the bakery so much. The sweets were amazing, and the person who made them- Niki, the bakery owner- was one of the kindest people Ranboo had ever met. 

"Ranboo! Tubbo!" Niki greeted, waving to them. "What do you wanna buy?" 

"I'd like a chocolate eclair." Ranboo said. 

" Tubbo, what about you ?" Ranboo signed. 

Tubbo looked at the menu, carefully scanning it over. Eventually, he made his decision, signing " chocolate chip cookies " to Niki. 

"Uh..." Niki seemed confused. " Can you repeat that? " She signed. 

Tubbo nodded, repeating the sign. 

"Oh!" Niki exclaimed. "Chocolate chip cookies!" Ranboo nodded. Niki, unlike most people Ranboo knew, actually bothered to try and learn sign language for Tubbo. She wasn't very good, so Tubbo insisted on just lip-reading most of the time while communicating with her, but she was trying. 

Niki worked on making the sweets Ranboo and Tubbo had requested, while Ranboo and Tubbo sat down and waited for their food. 

" Any luck finding Tommy? " Tubbo signed. One advantage of sign language was they could talk about Ranboo's vigilante life without anyone spying on their conversations. Tubbo was the only person who knew that Ranboo was Ender. 

Ranboo nodded. " I hired somebody to do it for me. " He signed. " He can turn invisible, so I think he'll do a good job. " 

" That's good. " Tubbo signed. " How long will it take? " 

" He said it would be done in a week. " Ranboo replied. 

"Your food is ready." Niki said, putting two plates on the table. One held a chocolate eclair, and the other held three chocolate chip cookies. Ranboo had no clue how Niki made food that fast. 

"Thanks, Niki," Ranboo said. "I love your chocolate eclairs." 

" Thank you. " Tubbo signed. 

Ranboo bit into the eclair. God, it was even more delicious than he remembered it being. "This tastes amazing." He told Niki through a mouthful of food. 

" Can I try it? " Tubbo asked. Ranboo nodded, ripping off part of the chocolate eclair and handing it to Tubbo. Tubbo shoved it into his mouth, his eyes lighting up in amazement. " Oh my gosh. " Tubbo signed. " This is the best thing I've ever tasted. " 

Niki grinned. "I assume he likes it." She said. 

Ranboo nodded. "He does. Your sweets are the best." 

Tubbo grinned. " More. " He signed. 

" No. " Ranboo groaned. " If you want more, buy it yourself. " 

" Fine. " Tubbo grumbled. He bit into his cookie. " Oh, this is amazing! " 

Ranboo grinned, biting into his eclair. "Yeah, he loves it." He said. 

Niki smiled. "Of course he does. Anyway, enjoy your food!" Niki walked away, probably going to serve other customers. 

Ranboo watched the other people in the bakery. Across the bakery, a very buff man was sipping from a mug, a laptop open next to him. He had long pink hair, the same color as Niki. 

There were a few other people, but none of them caught his interest. Perhaps the reason he was more interested in the pink-haired man was because of how visibly buff he was- he looked like a bodybuilder- or maybe it was the dyed hair. Ranboo had always wanted to dye his hair. 

The man wore a pink shirt that said, "Wake up, Be fashionable, Sleep, Repeat." The shirt was kind of ironic, honestly, considering that this man didn't really seem to care about fashion, with his plain-white sweatpants and completely out-of-place shirt. 

The man spared him a glance, but instead of looking away, his gaze was focused on Tubbo. Tubbo didn't notice, looking away from the strange man and busy eating his cookies. 

Ranboo made eye contact with the pink-shirt-guy, and pink-shirt-guy looked right back at him. Ranboo didn't like eye contact, and he was only doing it to be threatening and get this guy to back off. 

Pink-shirt-guy eventually looked away, turning back to his coffee and laptop. Ranboo immediately relaxed. 

Ranboo knew this was important. The SBI had kidnapped Tommy, and it was no coincidence that Ranboo would encounter this guy now. The truth was obvious. It all lined up- the pink hair, the muscles, the strange interest in Tubbo. This was Blade.