Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Tower Lab was abuzz with anticipation when Tommy stepped into it. Technicians were assembling gadgets and equipment for the task ahead, some of which wasn’t used on a typical patrol. The rest of The Dream Team was already grouped together with Sam. The engineer turned when he heard Tommy approach. 

“Good, you’re here. Let’s get you guys suited up.”

Sam led the five to a separate part of the lab, one Tommy hadn’t seen before. Inside, the walls were lined with dozens of supersuits, similar in design but varying in style. They shared the common characteristic of sleek, gray metal coating that resembled armor plating. The closer Tommy studied each one, he began to see details that resembled the suits of the heroes in the tower. One with a golden lighting bolt engraved in the chest had to be Jacks, next to it was one with pink streaks and subtle hearts that belonged to Niki. Every Super in the tower had an alternate suit pre-made for them, and Tommy soon spotted his next to Dream’s. It had red paint on the shoulders, and the metallic waistband resembled the utility belt on his suit. 

“Holy shit...” Tommy mumbled. Sam pressed a button that unlatched the case’s covering and maneuvered the suit out towards him. 

“High armored suits, designed to defend against most High Level powers, and very expensive to produce,” Sam debriefed. “Safer to fight in, but restrictive on movement. You’ll want to get some practice with it before we go.”

It wasn’t until that moment that Tommy realized how intense of a mission this would be. They had a full battalion preparing outside. Whatever was going on, it was bigger than just taking out Beckett. They must have found a link to his entire network.

Only a few weeks ago Tommy, Tubbo and Ranboo had actually fought against the High Level, without employing the full extent of their powers, no less. It was crazy to think that they had gone in so underprepared in comparison. The fact that they got out unscathed had to have been a crazy fluke.

As they were stepping into their armored suits, a sixth case also unlatched. It took Tommy a moment to recognize the design of the golden painted chest piece and the green helmet. The child in him jumped with excitement. “Sam, are you coming too?”

Sam secured the helmet in place, unlatched a compartment in his suit, and held up a deep blue vial. “Someone has to administer the destabilizer.”

A convoy of trucks rumbled down the streets of L’Manburg in perfect formation. At the helm, six Supers sat in a military style jeep and prepared for their plan of attack.

As expected, Tower intel had uncovered a weak link and used it to gain access to important information about Beckett’s operation. The warehouse Tommy and his friends uncovered was a stopover point in their trafficking route, one that was “easily abandoned”. Tommy didn’t say a word about how underplayed the location was. Beckett had hidden the coin at that location for a reason. Either the warehouse was more important than anyone realized, or Beckett had it there so no one else in his organization would discover it. 

The location they were going to, conversely, was the ring’s central hub. If all things went according to plan, they would be able to take down several criminals wanted for having concealed powers. Most would be simple enough to get, but the one to worry about was Beckett.

“There’s a high chance that one of us gets possessed. For that reason, we need to be hyper vigilant. Don’t stay too close to each other, and keep watch for sudden changes in demeanor,” Sam said.

“If we get possessed, is Beckett able to access our thoughts?” Sapnap asked.

Sam wobbled his head. “We don’t think so. But the best thing to do is assume that once he gets into our heads, he knows the plan. Our strategy is to reach him before he realizes we're there, knock him out, and destabilize him.”

“And if he possesses you …” Tubbo didn’t need to finish his statement. Sam’s hand brushed against the compartment containing the destabilizer.

“Let’s hope he doesn’t figure out I have it.”

The convoy stopped just out of sight from the compound. It would be challenging to get in close enough to reach Beckett without sounding the alarm bells, so the plan was to get the Super team in first, then have the armed forces sweep the rest afterwards. Tommy missed having Ranboo with them. Having to stealth past security in their clunky suits wasn’t half as easy as being teleported. 

Luckily Sam had mapped a route through the back of the compound, where he was fairly certain Beckett’s main office was. As long as he was there, they could detain him smoothly. 

On Dream’s mark, the group moved through rows of parked trucks, past a smattering of small storage buildings, and towards a back entrance. Two guards were posted in wait. Dream gave a nod, and Tubbo sent a shrill sound wave forward. The sudden ear splitting noise caused them both to cringe inward. The grips on their guns loosened and Dream mentally pulled the objects from their hands. With Sam disabling their walkie talkies, George and Tommy sprinted forward. Tommy pulled the man on the left into a restraining hold. The guard George touched immediately dropped unconscious, he pivoted and took out the one in Tommy’s hold too. So far, so good.

Inside the building they found surprisingly little commotion. Sam anticipated more enemies to come between them, but the way towards Beckett’s office was met with no resistance. Uncertainty crept up Tommy’s spine. This was too simple. 

Before they crested the top of the stairs they halted. Sapnap went up first, scouting the path. He gave an all clear sign, to the shock of the group. Nevertheless, they followed, posting themselves outside the office door. Everyone knew the plan – spread out, Dream would pull Beckett forward, George would knock him out, and Sam would destabilize him. 

When they were ready, Tubbo and Sapnap threw open the double doors. A rush of adrenaline carried Tommy into the room, only to be met with a vacant desk. 

Sam sighed, and reached to his earpiece. “No sign of Beckett. Do not proceed with armed forces until my command.” 

Dream pivoted to the group with his mouth open, ready to reconvene, when he froze. His line of sight landed on George, and before he could shout out a warning, George lunged for Tubbo. The instant he made contact, Tubbo dropped to the floor. Dream lifted an office chair and hurled it at George as the rest of the group dispersed. 

“Everyone split up, find Beckett!” Sam shouted, throwing stealth to the wind. Tommy grabbed Tubbo, and the unpossessed heroes filed out of the office. Sapnap slammed the door behind them, fusing the metal together to lock George in. 

Dream realized what he was doing, and turned to stop him. “We need Sleepwalker to take down Beckett!”

“We might not get him back before then!” Sapnap retorted. 

Tommy continued dragging Tubbo’s sleeping body, suddenly realizing he had nowhere to put him. “Guys, Beeline needs an evac.”

Sam looked over his shoulder. “We won’t be able to get one yet. Come one, take him this way.” 

Dream and Sapnap had finished their argument and were running in the opposite direction to search for the possessor. Tommy hoisted Tubbo up and followed after Sam. 

“Here.” Sam opened a utility closet. “It’s the best we can do.”

A pit formed in Tommy’s stomach as he placed his best friend inside. Sam closed the door and gave him a stiff smile. “He’ll be okay.”

“Yeah.” His head was a whirl. Tubbo was out, George was locked away, and the team was separated. At any given point he could be possessed again. He would have to let it happen to protect his real power. But if he did, would Beckett exploit the fact that Tommy could copy powers anyway? 

“Mimic.” Sam’s voice snapped Tommy back to attention. “Stay in range of me, but not too close.”

Tommy nodded. Regaining his composure he followed Sam’s lead. As they moved down the hallway footsteps approached. Sam threw a fogger down into the path ahead of them, obscuring the view of the oncoming enemies. A few seconds later two armed men stepped through. Sam grabbed the first and shoved him into the other, Tommy dropped adhesion bonds to keep them pinned to the ground. A spray of bullets left the man’s gun as he went down, pinging off the metal armor of Sam and Tommy’s suits. Despite the protection, it left a rattling numbness where it struck his arm and chest. 

More guards were advancing, and the two heroes alone weren’t equipped to take them on. After kicking the guns away from the two they’d taken down, Sam turned to Tommy and pulled out a stun pod. “On my command.” Tommy fished one out, and Sam tapped them together. “Aim for the far wall, I’ll get the close one. Three, two, one, go.”

They threw the devices in unison, and as soon as they latched to the walls a line of electricity connected between them. Two guards ran full force into the current and crumpled with a groan. 

“Fall back, we’ll look for another route,” Sam commanded, and tuned into his comm. “Requesting backup. Beeline down, Sleepwalker incapacitated. Proceed with caution, Beckett is not detained.”

They pivoted and retreated the direction they’d come from. Sapnap’s voice flooded their earpieces.

“We’ve got eyes on Beckett. Dream’s – ” his statement drifted off to static, then the message cut. Sam pulled a mini map up on his comm and found the two dots showing Dream and Sapnap’s position. 

“This way.”

“Shouldn’t we get Sleepwalker?” Tommy asked.

“Do you have a way to unfuse that metal?”

“Take that as a no then.”

Dream and Sapnap were close, the way forward was clear of many guards. The suit’s heavy duty construction allowed them to bull through the few opponents that did cross their path, knocking them out and smashing their weapons with a few well placed hits. They were quick to find the GPS location, but before they burst in, Sam placed a hand on Tommy’s chest. “I only have one shot at getting him. When we move in go straight for Beckett and pin him however you can. No matter what comes at us, keep him down.”

“Alright. Don’t miss.”

The two burst into a large surveillance room with TVs watching the entire siege. The video feed showed the Tower forces breaking their way into the compound. Sapnap was trying desperately to fend off Dream, Beckett, and the man Beckett had been with at the warehouse. The fight stilled as the new players entered, but picked up immediately with a TV being telepathically thrown towards Sam and Tommy. Like planned, Tommy went straight for Beckett, vaulting over a desk to tackle him to the ground. They rolled together, Tommy landing on top, but he was levitated up and thrown to the side. As his body hit the tile, he felt the energy of the possession power wash over him. If he could just get into Beckett’s head, make him drop Dream’s possession...

Tommy pushed past the urge, knowing he could still do this without mimicking. He returned to Beckett, who was trying to wrestle Sam to the ground. With his attention diverted Tommy kicked the back of Beckett’s knee. He jolted forward, Tommy pulled his arms behind his back and twisted. Beckett tried to shake Tommy, desperation growing when he saw the blue vial Sam pulled from his suit. As Sam raised his arm to use it, Dream lifted a desk, unanimated eyes staring straight at Tommy. Sapnap lunged forward, sending a wave of flames towards Dream. The distraction didn’t register, even as the heat bubbled and blistered the exposed skin on Dream’s neck. Tommy braced, Sam plunged the destabilizer in Beckett’s arm, and the desk slammed into all three of them. 

They went down together, Beckett crushing Tommy as his dead weight toppled over. Seconds later, the smuggler was pulled to the side. Tommy scrambled to sit up. His eyes were glued to Beckett, who was convulsing like he was having a seizure. Grunts of pain garbled from his mouth. Slowly, they dimmed, as he faded out of consciousness. 

“Mimic?” Sam was next to him, hand on his shoulder. “You okay?”

Tommy nodded fervently. Finally broken from his trance he looked back around the room. Sapnap had cuffed the other villain, and Dream was regaining his sentience. His metal fingertips brushed the blistered skin along his neck and he flinched. 

“Did we get him?” Dream asked.

“We got him,” Sam confirmed.

Sapnap waved Sam over to the cuffed guard, leaving Tommy to watch over Beckett. It was clear he wasn’t in a position to move. His half lidded eyes glazed in pain as recursive seizes jolted his limbs. Nausea turned in Tommy’s stomach and traveled up his throat.

“Beckett’s destabilized. Dream needs medical,” Sapnap called over the comms. He knelt at his friend's side, examining the burns he’d inflicted.

“Copy. Renegades are on site, Medical inbound. Dream Team fall back.”

“I'll stay here with the detainees,” Sam said. “You guys get Sleepwalker and Beeline.”

Free from his station, Tommy scrambled to the rest of his team. With the full face mask, he couldn’t tell how much pain Dream was in. Sapnap was lifting him to his feet, but Dream was denying the help. “Let’s get Sleepwalker first,” Dream said. “Then we can wake up Beeline.”

The halls had been mostly cleared, so the path back to the office was met without any resistance. Sapnap melted the metal and pulled the doors open to reveal George waiting patiently in an office chair. 

“Have fun?” He asked.

“Just a little,” Dream responded with a wince of pain.

When they returned to the utility closet Tubbo was still slumped over against a shelving unit. George tapped his neck, and he sprung awake with a sharp inhale. 

“What the fuck!” Tubbo shouted in shock, eyes blinking rapidly before realizing his team was hovering over him. “Where am I?”

“A closet. Let’s go, time to get out.”

Tubbo wobbled as he was pulled to his feet. “I did that in middle school already.”

Tommy snorted and placed an arm around his friend. “Glad you’re okay.”

“Did I pee my pants?” Tommy recoiled as Tubbo grimaced. “I feel like I peed my pants.”

George shrugged. “It’s happened before.”

Once the team was back at the convoy, the tension of the mission finally ebbed. Puffy was waiting with a team of medics as they dragged themselves into the temporary tents. Dream was immediately pulled into a secluded area with Puffy, and everyone else was flocked by doctors to assess damages. Beyond a few bruises and grogginess from possessions, each of them got a green light from the medical team.

While they were recuperating, status updates kept coming through their comms. Ponk and Punz had swept through and found three other Powereds. Among them were an X-ray, a Regeneration, and an Ice Manipulation. As the Tower forces slowly returned with prisoners in tow, Tommy caught sight of Ponk easily pulling two Powereds along with his super strength. Punz was short behind, a gun still in his grasp. There was no third with him. A minute later, a gurney wheeled by with a large, black bag. 

Rustling tarp pulled Tommy’s attention as Dream emerged from the medical tent. The burns on his skin were gone, save for a slight red tinge. 

“Looks like they finished the takedown,” Dream commented.

“Yeah...”

Tommy startled as Dream’s hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up at the masked face of his mentor. “You did great, for your first High Level mission.”

The sidekick’s face lit up. “Really?”

“Yeah. From what I actually remember, and from what Sapnap told me, you were able to help Sam take down Beckett.”

“I guess I did.”

Dream chuckled and slapped his back a bit too hard. “Give yourself credit. You’re good at what you do.”

Tommy let out an exaggerated gasp. “Did the famed Super Dream just give me a compliment?”

“Okay, I take it back.”

“No, no, you said it. I’ll never forget it either. When I go to bed at night I’ll think of those words as I drift off to sleep.”

“You’re so annoying.”

Before Tommy could fire back, a commotion from the direction of the compound quieted him. The Warden was helping drag Beckett’s limp form towards an awaiting police vehicle. The image of his twitching body returned like an awful taste in his mouth. He could still feel the way Beckett convulsed on top of him, writing in agony.

“So that’s what it’s like when someone gets destabilized.”

Dream nodded grimly. “You just made one of your first enemies, Mimic.” 

Tommy’s eyes followed Beckett as he was dragged into a heavily armored vehicle. A lump formed at the back of Tommy’s throat.

Dream bumped Tommy’s shoulder with a chuckle. “Don’t worry. I know I spooked you with the whole ‘make sure your high level gets a life sentence’, but you’ll never see him again. Considering the charge he’ll get for harboring an illegal cognitive ability, he’s going to spend the rest of his days locked in Pandora’s Vault.”

Prickling goosebumps covered Tommy’s skin. The doors on the van slammed closed, concealing the detainee inside. As it drove off Tommy couldn’t help but think about what it would feel like to be on the inside, barreling towards the misery of a prison cell. All of that for a person who hid an illegal power. A punishment fitting of the crime.

Dream clapped Tommy on the back, shaking him of his daze. “C’mon child. We’ve got to pick up some marshmallows on the way back to the Tower.”

“Marshmallows?”

“It’s a Dream Team tradition to make s’mores after a major arrest. Sapnap toasts ‘em up perfectly. But the best part is going through the grocery store checkout in your supersuit. The look on the cashier’s face never gets old.”

Tommy laughed, doing his best to shake away any lingering unease at the threat of what would happen if his own powers were found out. He told himself he wouldn’t end up the same. That guy was a criminal, but he was a hero. 

And heroes didn’t belong on the inside of a jail cell.

– – – – ⊂⊃ – – – –

“Tom...” His mother pulled his hands into hers. With a steadying breath she spoke in that all-too serious parent voice. “We need to talk about your powers.”

A nervous hitch stuck in the back of Tommy’s throat. “What do you mean?”

His mother pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, looking nearly on the verge of tears. “I knew this would happen... I should have expected it...”

“Mom.” Tommy squeezed her fingers. “What is it?”

She sucked in a deep breath. “Your power isn’t super strength. It’s mimicry.”

Tommy was on his feet before he could even process it. It was like a floodgate had opened and answers were rushing to fill the questions that had plagued his brain for over a year. It wasn’t that he was a late bloomer, he couldn’t use his powers since he didn’t have anything to copy. That was why he could lift that dumpster and fend off Nate Jones. 

He had the greatest power anyone could ever imagine.

“Holy crap!” He leapt to the other side of the room, twisting his hands around as if they were suddenly new. “This is epic!” 

“Tom – ” his mother tried to quell. 

“Just wait until the kids at school hear about this! I’m going to be the coolest Super that ever lived!”

“Tom, stop.” Her sharp tone cut his triumph short, and he finally listened. “No one else can know about your powers, okay? Don’t tell anyone the truth.”

His face twisted instantly to dismay. “What do you mean?” 

“You can’t tell anyone what your power really is,” she reiterated. 

“Why not? Why can’t I tell anyone?” 

“Because not everyone gets to keep their powers,” she said, expression tightening. “If they know what you can do, they’ll take them away. You want to be a superhero, don’t you?”

“Yeah, of course.” 

“Then you can’t tell anyone what you can do. They won’t let you be a hero if they find out.”

“How do you know that?” Silence settled, his mother cast her gaze down and steadied her breath. Tommy knelt beside her on the couch. “Mom?”

She finally looked into Tommy’s eyes, finding the resemblance of her late husband in them. “Your father had the same superpower you do.”

Tommy stared on, utterly dumbfounded. “Dad had powers?” She nodded. He scooted closer to her, tripping over his words. “Why – what – why didn’t I know? Why didn’t you tell me – why wasn’t he a Super?”

“They didn’t let him keep his powers.” 

“Why not?” Tommy couldn’t fathom why Hero Tower wouldn’t want someone with power mimicry on their team. 

“There are certain powers that people aren’t allowed to have,” his mother explained. “Some abilities are too strong. So the authorities decided that it was safer to neutralize them, even if the person wants to use them for good.”

“Like what?”

“Mental powers, like mind control. It would be impossible to stop a bad guy who can make you do whatever they want.” She forced a sad smile. “And they thought that it wouldn’t be safe to have a person who could copy any power – even the dangerous ones. So when your dad found out his ability, and he tried to become a superhero, they took his powers away.”

Anger surged in Tommy’s stomach. Why should someone get to decide what he was allowed to do? Why would they take away such a special ability without even giving that person a chance to prove they were good?

“Well it’s not dad’s fault he was born with those powers!” 

“You’re right it’s not.”

“So it’s not fair for them to take them away like that!”

“I know. It isn’t fair.”

“And they shouldn’t be allowed to take away mine either!” 

“This time they won’t,” she promised. “You and I will keep it a secret. I know how much you want to be a Super. We’ll figure out a way to get you into Stronghold without them knowing your real powers.” She smoothed the sleeve of his shirt and pushed a blonde curl from his forehead. “Come here, Tom.”

She pulled him in for a hug, and he buried his head in her shoulder. Memories of his dad danced in his mind, ones that now felt tainted. All his life he’d grown up with a man who was so close to the Super’s he’d looked up to. If only he’d known that he didn’t need to search in the news to find a hero of his own. One had been with him all along.

He had been. But not anymore.

“I wish he was here,” Tommy whispered, choking back a sob. His mother hugged him tighter.

“Me too, love. Me too.”