Chapter Text
Tommy would like to believe that he was pretty good at his job.
Well, if you could actually call it a job. It was more of an unofficial, marginally illegal act that he preferred over basically anything else he could be doing. Which, quite frankly, wasn’t that much.
“Tommy, stop daydreaming. This isn't exactly something you can ignore,” Tubbo’s muffled voice filled his ear, though fractured from the pure overuse of the earpiece and the wind rushing around him. It was biting at his skin, the night not cold enough for it to bother him but not too warm that it required him to take off a layer. All in all, he was doing pretty well. He switched the microphone off in his ear (a bad idea in retrospect), so no more Tubbo.
Running down these familiar streets, adrenaline fueling every move, Tommy felt alive.
Besides the fact that he was being chased by an embarrassment of a criminal that was practically wasting his time. That definitely docked a few points.
“C’mon, face me, kid!” The said criminal had yelled from behind Tommy, waving a gun in one hand and pulling himself forward with the other.
“Oh, shove it up your own ass,” Tommy retorted, finally stopping in an open clearing and turning to the man. “I was not, in fact, avoiding you. I was just making sure we arrived in a safe area, so I could arrest you and try to not get myself arrested mid your arrest.”
The man in turn had not said anything, much to Tommy’s distaste. He actually liked conversation and was pretty damn funny if he said so himself.
He sighed. “Alright dude, this was fun and all, but I have to turn you in now. You know, the law, etcetera, etcetera.”
The man finally spoke up, raising a gun at Tommy while doing so. “You aren’t very legal.”
He smiled. “Yeah, but on the pog scale, I’m much higher than you. So it evens out, I think.”
Tommy dodged a bullet shot at him with practiced ease. The thief’s aim wasn’t even that good, so the movements Tommy was making didn’t even have to be his best or most agile for it to look effortless. Regardless of the criminal’s lack of skill, Tommy still didn’t feel spectacularly comfortable with that in his hand. A gun didn't really scream, Yay! Be comfortable with me around!
Another shot rang out, this time slightly closer to him, but still not hitting its mark. Tommy sprinted behind the man, swiftly and quietly, kicking him hard enough to make him fall but not enough to really hurt. He took his gun from the man’s hand and waved it in front of his face, before searching the criminal’s pocket and pulling out his phone.
Tommy paused slightly, then dialed the help number.
“Hullo,” He called, his voice changer activated.
“Hello, what is your emergency?” A woman’s voice announced, calm and rehearsed.
“Oh, no emergency. I’ve got a criminal who’s honestly pretty bad at this crime stuff. He stole something, I don’t know what though. Mind sending someone to take him in? I would if I could, but as you probably know since you work at the damned place and I can’t go in-”
“Yes, I’ll send someone. If you’ve done this before then you know you should wait for someone to arrive so they can get you a proper trial and avoid being arrested.” She paused. “I don’t expect that, I’m assuming?”
“Brilliant lady. Nice talking with you.” And at that, Tommy ended the call.
That whole conversation he had stood on the man below him, sounds of pain echoing out every once and a while.
“Oh you’re fine, it was just a kick. Someone’s coming soon.” Tommy picked up the man, dragging him over to a nearby light pole and tying him to it with a set of zip ties he’d gotten from the dollar store.
And right before Tommy was about to take his leave, he heard the familiar wind gush and the echo of a landing on the pavement, along with a series of footsteps a tad farther back, somehow arriving just as fast.
That was not a good sign.
“Hullo fellas, how’re you on this evening?” He was met with silence, and his voice shook more, regardless of his attempts to calm it. “I’m doing really good actually, thanks for asking. This guy right here is great too, nice and ripe. I heard you like jail cells?” The man didn't respond. Tommy frowned. Oh, well.
He turned on his heels, preparing to run.
“Ah ah ah,” The last of the trio. “Not so fast.” Willow arrived behind the two standing there, his ability already activated.
Tommy smiled, knowing he had the jump on them from the start. Tommy was never caught with these guys often; it was out of their patrol area, but with Tommy’s growing popularity and catching the eye of the Association along with the police, he had known it would be soon. He had been near Philza a few times, The Blade even less. The encounters were slightly dreaded. But never Willow.
Even though Willow didn’t know Tommy, Tommy knew him. He was going to use this to his advantage the best he could. One of them would turn out rather useless against Tommy.
“Turn around.”
Tommy turned and was met with a not yet smiling but not yet frowning Philza, a masked Blade (no surprise), and a seemingly bored Willow.
“Put your hands on your head.”
Tommy complied.
“Walk closer, and allow us to take you to the station.”
Schlatt may not have been good for much, but he somehow gave Tommy the ability to resist this. He turned around quickly and ran down the alleyways, much to all three heroes’ surprise. The shock would wear off eventually, but the thrill of having the upper hand coursed through his veins. It didn’t last long, however, because almost immediately Philza was in the air and the Blood God was staying back to arrest the man Tommy had apprehended. Willow was frozen.
Tommy was, quite literally, beaming.
He couldn’t celebrate for long, though, with Philza on his trail. Tommy knew his best bet would be to immediately hide in the crowds, the city not reaching the time just yet where there weren’t many people out. He used his trump card, and now they knew about it.
The only reason Tommy assumed he would be alright against Willow’s power was because he’d faced someone similar before, not by choice.
Not as a vigilante. Just a poor, smaller Tommy. A stupid Tommy.
As he reached the square, he ripped off his hoodie and his mask, the most memorable parts of his vigilantism. Though despised by the heroes, the people of his district loved Tommy. He was like their own personal hero.
The blond looked up to the sky, taking heaving breaths, and was met with the familiar green flash of clothing in the sky, his head turning in different directions, searching for a certain someone.
Tommy couldn’t help but hide another smile as he made the familiar twists and turns to meet Tubbo back at home. Of course, he'd be yelled at. Turning of the earpiece was a stupid move, and he knew it. But being independent; facing things alone, being able to handle things alone felt gratifying, and he couldn't pass it up. Despite it all, he knew deep down that Tubbo was always proud of him when Tommy got home at night.
Worried, but proud nonetheless.
Tommy knew, no matter what kind of Tubbo he’d come home to, he was grateful to have one at all.
. . .
Wilbur was, quite honestly, furious.
How had a fucking vigilante done that? It wasn't like he was crazy popular; Wilbur had only heard of a few relevant cases. So what the hell was this guys problem?
“You were bested tonight, Wilbur,” Techno had said the moment they arrived home after dropping that thief off at the station.
“Oh, shut up, Techno.” Wilbur huffed. “What I don’t understand is how that even worked. I don’t think I’ve met anyone yet who was able to resist my ability that easily, let alone that fast.”
Their father had joined the conversation, not appearing as confused as Wilbur to the average set of eyes, but to his sons, it was a different story. Phil always had a poker face- maybe it came with the job. Regardless, he was just as bewildered, just as concerned.
“No clue, mate. But I think someone with that kind of ability shouldn’t just be roaming the streets, free to do as they please. I just don’t think that’s very safe for the public. We don't know enough.”
Techno nodded next to Wilbur. “I’ll look into them before I go on patrol tomorrow. Maybe we’ll be better off if we get a better grip. Quite popular, I'd say.”
Phil nodded. “Unfortunately so, and growing by the day. I just hope they stay calm and don’t pull any shit.”
Wilbur and his brother allowed a small smile, Wilbur visibly more worried about this than the other two. Worried, and confused. He would definitely do his own research and figure out what he could. He also wanted another encounter, with Techno taking the lead this time. No matter how much he detested admitting that, a fresh approach would make them easier to catch.
He was going to catch them, this time. He was ready and a bubbling fear in his throat due to the unknown of this guy was making their capture a necessity.
. . .
“Tommy, I swear to god if you keep turning off that mic, I’m going to go insane.” Tubbo greeted him as soon as he stepped into their home, the familiar smell of mildew and ramen noodles filling his nose.
“Hello Tubbo, I’m doing fine, thank you. No, I don’t need any refreshments or homemade meals.”
Tubbo glared at him in return. “Any injuries?”
“No sir,” Tommy smiled.
“Lemme see then?”
He took a step towards Tubbo, sitting on their couch and hearing the same tell-tale creak that basically everything in their apartment made.
“You’re injured, Tommy,” Tubbo said, his voice angered in a slightly playful way with a hint of concern as to how he had gotten hurt in the first place.
“Wait, actually? I didn’t even feel it. Cool, I guess.” What had hit him? When?
Tubbo touched a cut on his shoulder, and Tommy then realized that he had, in fact, been barely hurt.
“It’s just a bullet graze, you’ll be fine. But Tom, you know how you need to be careful. Even with lesser-known criminals, they’re still criminals. And a lot of them could stomach a kill just fine.” Tubbo had added a hint of worry to his tone, to hopefully stop Tommy from making any more reckless decisions.
“I’ll be careful, Tubbo. I’m sorry I scare you so often.” He was more serious this go around.
Tubbo smiled at him. “It’s alright. I just worry sometimes, you know.”
“Of course you do. Fuckin' mother hen.” Tommy smirked, the hint of seriousness in his tone gone. Tubbo smiled back at him, faking anger that they both knew was a ridiculous facade.
“Oh, what would I do without the spectacular Tom Simons?” Tubbo dramatically fell into Tommy’s arms, his hand on his forehead. “I am lost.”
Tommy set Tubbo down on the couch, laying next to him.
He let out a yawn only minutes after he’d sat down, and right before he was about to doze off, he felt the familiar rise and fall of Tubbo’s chest after he was asleep. Tommy smiled, the events of the day filling his mind and the comfort of his best friend happily beside him.
Tommy was glad about where he was, and he was perfectly fine with living in that moment forever. The moonlight peeking in, Tubbo’s breathing even and calm, the apartment warm and welcoming.
He knew it wouldn’t last forever, and avoiding his seemingly unavoidable problems would do him no good. So he decided that he would continue to seal his lips, seal his mind, seal what felt like entirely a horrible part of him. He would keep this moment close, so he could preserve the image of his perfect life for as long as he could manage.
. . .
Right before his patrol, Techno decided it best to head to headquarters and check up on the vigilante they’d encountered the night before. They had to be some kind of threat, for them to avoid Wilbur’s power using their own. Which brought up the topic that Techno had no clue what this guy’s ability was. A power dampener, maybe? They’d encountered villains with that kind of ability, and they’d always posed a threat. Especially to Wilbur. But he’d never met a vigilante that could do that.
Regardless of his reason, Techno wanted to learn more.
When he arrived at headquarters, he was immediately greeted by Hannah as she told him good morning, which required a nod from Techno. He made his way up to his office (being that he was a top-three hero and had his own office) and placed his hand on the security scanner.
“Show me the vigilante I encountered today,” Techno announced, and the device complied. The options that came up, however, were less informational than he would’ve liked.
Age- Unknown
Sex- Unknown, but assumed male
Ethnicity- Unknown
Ability- Unknown
Discovered- January 6th, 2020
And a series of other questions that didn’t really have answers. How did that not have more information? It’s not like this was a new occurrence, they’d been around for over a year.
Is that why the organization put Techno and his family in this case? The top three heroes, deemed fit to end this person’s time as a vigilante?
This was another problem that he had with this case. He didn’t particularly enjoy arresting people who weren’t directly harming people. They were doing the same as him, just not officially. Techno and Phil had always been on the same page- Wilbur a bit less, but still understanding. The other heroes, not so much; tradition was a fickle thing, and those at the tower clung to it. They never knew if the vigilante would begin his or her own reign of criminal activity, so they didn’t give any of them a chance. Techno knew after seeing what he could do, they would be keen on taking them off the streets.
Techno decided he would step in before the organization took this out of hand, and learn the most that he could about this guy. And his family was going to help him, whether they liked it or not.