Chapter Text
Red.
It was so red.
Normally when people describe what they think death is they say darkness, or blinding light. Maybe even something like paradise or eternal damnation waiting for them. Tommy doesn’t want to disappoint anyone, but there was only one thing waiting for them on the other side.
Her.
People could believe whatever they wanted, whatever made them sleep better at night. But Tommy knew the truth, he knew how it really went. After all, he did this at least once a week.
It was the same every time. This time being no different. As Tommy closes his eyes, like he’s done so many times before, he feels the darkness swallow him as he loses consciousness. He feels his body finally relax and can no longer feel each of his bones. The wetness under his back and in his hair dissolves and he feels his lungs contract as he’s finally able to suck in oxygen he doesn’t need.
The world shifts under him as he’s placed on his feet. It took him years to get used to, but now the shift was weirdly calming. He knew he was safe here, at least for the time being.
The first thing he notices is the smell, he loves the smell. All floral and pine. He inhales deeply and smiles, immediately feeling his cheeks tint with the warm feeling in his chest. When he peels his eyelids open he's met with a scene that gives him so much joy. It never gets old, everytime feeling like the first.
A flower field stares back at him, as beautiful and flourishing as ever. The field has every flower he could ever imagine, even some he didn't think existed. The field was only interrupted by a deep, thick forest surrounding it at the edge. A perfect hidden paradise.
He hears a soft humming from behind, and his grin spreads so wide he thinks his cheeks might tear. He whips around and sees the familiar small cottage tucked away amongst the flowers and trees, the chimney lazily puffing out smoke. He then takes off in a sprint, huffing and laughing as he gets closer and closer to the cottage.
The closer he gets the louder and clearer the humming becomes. It’s beautiful and only serves to make the warmth in his chest and stomach stronger.
He then sees the door open slowly and Tommy speeds up. A face appears behind the door and his smile couldn’t be wider.
“Tommy?”
Tommys shoes stomp up the porch steps and without slowing down he throws himself into the arms of the person he never wants to leave. Not ever again.
They catch him like it’s nothing, and hug him tightly like nothing could ever hurt him again. He smiled into their stomach, they were always so much larger than anyone Tommy had met before. But it never scared him, if anything it just made him feel more protected.
“Oh Tommy..” A sad sounding voice, but Tommy barely notices, too engrossed in the softness of the dress he was wrapped around.
Regrettably the person pulled back, putting their hands on Tommys face and brushing the hair off his forehead. He knew he was bloody and gross, but they didn’t shy away from him. Face bruised from the beating he took and hair wet from the fall.
“I’m sorry to see you so soon..”
The Angel of Death.
That’s what she first introduced herself as to Tommy when he had first met her. He was eight years old when they met the first time, and has never stopped visiting her since then. He was scared at first, of course he was. This massive woman suddenly stood before him introducing herself as the goddess of death, anyone would be scared. It took months for Tommy to feel comfortable enough to enter her home. And after a particularly hard shift he broke down. She didn’t yell at him like he thought she would, instead she held him close when he cried and cleaned up his wounds. She sang to him when he left, and he cried harder. He didn’t want to leave. He knew he’d be back though. Whether it was by choice or not.
She was always so loving and cleaned him up without a second thought. Like it was second nature to her. And maybe it was. She was practically his mum at this point anyway.
Tommy leans into her touch and smiles as he looks up into her dark emerald eyes. She looks sad, though she always looked sad when she saw Tommy. But Tommy didn’t care, he was just happy to be with her for however long he was able.
She sighs, running her thumb over a cut on the bridge of Tommys nose.
“Doesn't it hurt?”
Tommy shakes his head, careful not to knock her warm hands away. She was the only one he’d ever dream of allowing to touch him like this. He’d never felt so safe with anyone. He smiles, bright blue eyes full of love for the woman holding him.
The woman’s beautiful eyes gaze back into his, and then she frowns, “Oh honey,” She brushes a tuft of hair behind his ear. His eyes try their best to follow her hand, but gives up when her hand comes to lift his chin up.
“You don’t have to be so brave, love, it’s okay..” She smiles sadly, her eyes full of nothing but love. When Tommy's ears hear her words he can’t hold it in anymore, and completely breaks down. No matter how much he wants to he can’t seem to stop his eyes' endless outpour and the snot dripping from his nose. He feels like a child. Probably looks like one too. His shoulders shudder and he absolutely sobs. He hasn’t cried this hard in years.
Just like she always does, she doesn’t even hesitate to pull him into a tight hug and lead him into her warm home. They sit at the table until Tommy can breath without stuttering, never once does The Angel remove her arms or stop her reassurances. Tommy will never know how she does it, calms him so easily and so patiently. For as long as he’s known her, she’s always been like this. Tommy will never know how to thank her, he doesn’t think he’ll ever get the chance.
When Tommy's calm enough, she stands up with more reassurances that she'll be right back and won’t leave him alone. She comes back not even a second later with a wet cloth and a box Tommy can only assume is full of medicine and plasters.
He lets her wipe the blood off his face and holds back giggles as she puts plasters over his nose and forehead. He beams when she leans down and kisses the top of his hair, ruffling his unwieldy mane.
They spend the rest of the afternoon together. Tommy helps her knit and make sweets and whatever else she wants to do. The light outside slowly transitions from soft blue to pale orange before fading to deep purple. And Tommy tries his best to ignore what he knows comes next.
He doesn’t want to think about it- he doesn’t want to leave. Not so soon.
But Tommys not lucky, and fate is cruel. Tommy jumps when he hears a horn honk, and the faint murmur of voices. He ignores it. Pushes past the noises and leans more into the body beside him. The woman hums and pulls him tighter to her side. He looks over her arm and watches her thread yarn through more yarn. Weaving and pulling patterns tight. She told him she was making him a scarf. It was red and white and probably the softest thing he’s ever felt.
She hums softly as she goes, and Tommy feels as if he might pass out. But he couldn’t- he knows what happens if he sleeps. He doesn’t want to leave, it was too soon.
She sets her yarn and needles down in her lap and brings her hands to rub his arm, her other comes up to brush the hair out of his eyes.
Tommy knows. He knows it’s time but he doesn’t want to leave. He wants nothing more than to stay here forever with her.
“I know honey...But it’s not your time yet.”
Tommy whines, “What does that even mean?”
The woman smiles sadly down at him, her thumb running under his eye. “I love you so much Toms, someday you’ll know what that means.”
Tommys confused, he knows what that means, she’s taught him what it means.
The noises get louder, and he winces at a particularly loud crash. He can hear harsh footsteps on concrete and rough voices around him.
“You know I always love to see you, but I hope to not see you so soon next time, my love.”
She kisses his forehead, and he leans into her touch. He buries his face into her dress and she squeezes him tightly. His eyes burn. Not yet- please not yet.
She hums softly and he feels his eyelids get heavy. “Please..” He mumbles, barely audible.
She shushes him and runs her fingers through his hair, “It’s okay, sleep now Toms.”
Against his will his eyes slip shut and he feels the world shift around him.
“I’ll see you later sweet pea,”
And much too soon, Tommys eyes fly open and he sucks a shuddering breath into his lungs. Pain shoots through his whole body and the once peaceful silence of his shift is at once replaced by the shouting of rain on concrete and car horns. It’s so fucking loud. He hates the city, always has. People glance down at him as they walk past, some even walk over him to get to their destinations. Gotta love Manburg, best city in Esempi hands down.
Tommy groans, feeling sticky and tired. His stomach starts growling and he’s suddenly reminded of how much energy healing takes. His cupboards are probably empty also. He can feel blood seeping into his everywhere and he feels like death. Ironic.
He smells nothing but blood and can feel his bones stitching themselves back together. He misses her already. He feels the familiar sting forming in the corners of his eyes and wills it away. He can wallow in his own flat, not out here on the pavement.
After what feels like years, he begrudgingly pulls himself up off the cement and into a sitting position. He sways and holds his head, feeling nauseous. He refuses to throw up though, he’s a big man after all. And big men don’t puke after a shift.
Gripping the wall for support he drags his legs out in front of him, leaning heavily onto the brick and staggering forward. If he had to guess by the sky he’d say it was about 10PM.
Fuck he had a shift at Nikki’s at in an hour.
Maybe he could call out? No, he needed the money. But he feels so shitty after coming back. But Prime knows he needs the money. Fucking hell. He’d just have to power through it, like he always does. What choice does he have after all.
After sliding against the brick for a while he manages to right himself and stand up straight. There’s a slight limp in his step, his ankle still a bit twisted, but it’s nothing that won’t be fixed in a few minutes so Tommy doesn’t even think about it.
He’s sure he looks gruesome, a bloody mess limping down the sidewalk. No wonder everyone’s been crossing the street when they see him. Quite frankly he looks like a zombie, feels like one too. Some would say he looked like death but he knew better, after all, nobody could look as pretty as she always did. He grumbs, the sting was back in his eyes.
He missed her already.
A woman and her child were coming towards him, the kid tugging on his mother’s sleeve to get her attention but she's glued to her phone screen. The kid looks up at Tommy with wide eyes and Tommy smiles at him, teeth and all.
The kid cowers back and whines for his mother. Said mother finally looks up with an irritated scowl and then makes eye contact with Tommy. Tommy smiles at her. Her eyes widen as she gasps and pulls her child closer, shuffling to the far end of the sidewalk.
“Mornin’” Tommy chips, polite smile still spreading his chapped lips.
The mother gapes and speedwalks past him. As she passes she mutters something under her breath that Tommy can’t hear. He’s not sure he wants to hear anyway.
In her defense, he did look haunting. Even with all his scraps and cuts healed over like they weren’t even there, he was still covered in blood, his blood. If he was her, he wouldn’t be too eager to strike up a friendly chat either.
After a while his ankle pops into place and stops crunching when he walks. He rubs at the crust in his eyes as he rounds a corner. His flat building comes into view and he makes a b line to the fire escape. He couldn’t rightly walk into the lobby looking like this after all. He’d most definitely get the police called on him. And that’s the last thing he wants to deal with right now.
Scaling the fire escape was a simple task, especially since he did it practically every night. And when he reaches his floor he slides the window open easily.
He knows he should take a shower and get all this grime off him before he has to go again. But he's just so damn exhausted. A bone deep tiredness was common after coming back, and he hates it. It's a struggle just to lift his arms sometimes. So he does what any responsible person would do. He flops down on the couch, pulls off his bloody mask and lets his eyes flutter shut.
Sleep, ever merciful after a revival, takes him swiftly. And before too long he’s breathing evenly. His responsibilities can wait a couple of minutes. It’ll be fine, right?
———-
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t fine. Maybe he slept longer than he meant to. Maybe he was only woken up when his phone started to blare The Able Sisters from somewhere in his flat. And maybe, just maybe, the noise startled him so bad he fell off the sofa. He groans as his head slams against the hardwood. He was too tired for this shit.
The music continues to blast, making him wince. Pulling himself up off the floor he rubs his face a couple times before reality begins to sink in. Wait- what time was it?? His phone vibrates and sings on his kitchen table and he scrambles to answer it, almost tripping over his own feet in the frenzy. Wait- when did he put his phone here??
He almost drops the thing in his hurry before slamming his finger down on the accept button.
“Niki-!“
“Tommy!! Oh thank Prime, I’ve been calling for an hour—I was so worried!!”
Tommy has to hold the phone away slightly from his ear with how loud the woman’s voice is coming through.
“I’m so so sorry Niki, I overslept but I'll be right there as soon as I can.” Tommy runs a hand through his hair and immediately regrets it, pulling it back and grimacing at the feeling. He really should have taken a shower before passing out.
“Oh no no it’s okay Tommy, I have Karl here till close so just rest up okay? You’ve been working so hard lately and never take days off.”
In the time Niki’d been talking Tommy had made his way to the bathroom and was currently grimacing at his reflection. The bags under his eyes seemed to have gotten darker, and his hair was covered in crusted crimson. He looked about as disgusting as he felt.
“I was just worried because you always let me know if you’re going to be late or if something comes up.”
Tommy sighs and presses his back into the counter, “I know, I’m really sorry again, Niki.”
Tommy hears her huff on the other end, though a smile is evident in her tone, “Next time just tell me okay? If you need time don’t be afraid to ask as well, yeah?”
Tommy smiles and chuckles, he toes a loose thread on his bathroom rug, “I will, I promise,”
“Good. Now rest up okay? I’ll see you tomorrow Tommy!”
“Wait- are you sure it’s okay if I-“
The dial tone rings out and Tommy pulls his phone back, only to see his home screen blink back at him. He sighs, well guess he has the day off.
He walks towards his shower and turns the dial to the hottest setting. His buildings old, so the water doesn’t stay hot for very long. Cheap place; shitty utilities. Thus is the way of the worm. Once it’s hot enough, or as hot as it’ll get, he strips off his blood stained clothes and steps in. He immediately shivers at the hot temperature, quickly getting to work, riding his scalp and skin of grime. Tommy likes showers, they give him time to think, time to plan.
It doesn’t take too long, he’s out in about ten minutes and toweling off. His flat is open, basically a studio, so he doesn’t exactly have a room, rather than a small twin mattress shoved in the corner and a rack he keeps his ‘clean’ clothes on. It’s small, but it’s the nicest thing Tommys ever lived in. Even if the ceiling leaks sometimes and his oven is most definitely broken, it's home and it's his.
Throwing on a red hoodie and whatever sweatpants pass the sniff test, he wanders over to his bloody clothes and throws them in a plastic bag. He needs to wash them before the blood stains.
Groaning, he shoves on some shoes, grabs his house keys and wallet and whatever else needs to be washed and climbs down to the lobby. The elevators been broken for weeks, and at this point Tommys pretty sure it’s gonna stay like that forever.
The lobby’s basically empty aside from the lone guard at the desk who Tommy nods at, and some old lady he faintly recognizes sorting through mail.
Now, Tommy has neighbors but it’s not like he ever made any effort to talk to them or introduce himself. He keeps to himself and people leave him alone, he likes it like that. It just makes it harder if he has people watching and worrying about him all the time.
He guesses he does have Bench, they hang out sometimes, albeit mostly during patrols but hey, that's still hanging out right? He guesses they’re the closest thing he’s got to friends, aside from Nikki and Karl, but they’re work friends. They don’t know about his other life. Now that he thinks about it, neither knows about the other. His two lives are so separate they're basically different people. Maybe it’s better that way. No, it is better that way. If people knew that Tommy Innit was also the Red Devil the people he cares about would be in danger.
Tommy kicks a rock and watches it skid across the pavement. Even if it is safer to hide, he hates lying to people. He thinks if he has to lie to Nikki or Karl about why he’s late or tired or covered in a ‘strange blue liquid’ one more time he’ll die. Well- die for real. Speaking of dying, he should patrol today, maybe try and find or something. It’s been pretty boring around the city lately, what with all the new supers moving their headquarters to the heart of Esempi, there haven’t been as many criminals running around. He supposes that's a good thing, but still, he’s bored.
Tommy was getting antsy just sitting around. It didn’t help his mental state either. Who knew that breaking people’s noses was therapeutic?
Tommy rounds a corner and there it is, the laundromat that’s been cleaning his bloodstains since he’s been in Manburg. The door jingles when he enters and the person working the front speaks before looking up from their phone.
“Welcome to Quick Wash, machines are a- Hey! It’s Tommy Innit from Manburg!”
Tommy smiles and shakes his head at them, “Hey Charlie,”
“What’s going on Tommy Inside-of-it?”
Charlie holds his hand out, practically beaming and Tommy knows what he wants immediately. He smacks Charlie’s hand and then bump fists.
Tommy chuckles, “You work at a laundromat Charlie, why else would I be here?”
Charlie nods, “You're very right, you’re very right Tomathy,”
Tommy rolls his eyes but smiles.
“Well, you know the drill Mr. Innit, two bones for a cycle and a dry is by time.”
“Thanks mate,”
“No problemo Tombo, you want the usual?” Charlie says as he ducks under the counter.
“You know me so well.”
Charlie snorts as he rises back up, dropping two pods of soap into Tommys hand. “We literally only have two choices Tommy.”
“Thank you very much king,”
Charlie salutes him.
Tommy salutes back with two fingers and waves as he walks away, heading towards a vacant machine.
Looking around the laundromat it appears to be a slower day. There’s only a handful of people hanging around waiting for loads which makes Tommy's job easier. It’s a lot nicer when he can just do laundry instead of getting stared at while he scrubs blood out of a hoodie. He gets it, he really does, but sometimes he wishes people would mind their own business a bit more.
He sets his bag down and pops open the soap compartment, placing one pod inside before closing it again. He grabs his bag and begins to empty it into the washing machine. He puts his bloody hoodie and sweatpants aside, as well as his mask and sets them on top of the device.
Once the door clicks shut, he turns the knob to adjust the settings and then hits ‘start’ . The machine stutters before whirring to life and flooding the inside with water.
Tommy exhales and then goes for his next task, his nasty ass ‘suit’. He only really called it a ‘suit’ because he used it that way, but anyone could tell it was scrappy at best. It did its job though, but Prime was it a pain in the ass to have to scrub his blood out of it every other week. It was better that it was red; helped hide the blood stains better. But a piece of clothing could only be scrubbed so much before all was lost. Tommy Innit was nothing if not determined though. After all, he couldn’t exactly afford to buy new gear. He could always make his own, but he was never that great with that sort of thing. It never really worked out anyway. He’d always just end up setting off his building's fire alarm and then begrudgingly taking his failed project to Bumblebee so he could fix it.
Tommy grabs a lone hand towel and then rips the pod's packaging with his teeth, pouring a bit of it over the biggest stain on his hoodie. He scrunches his nose up at the taste of soap on his tongue. What? Not like it’s gonna kill him or anything.
He sits down in one of the chairs, still in sight of his load and then gets to work scrubbing the absolute shit out of this thing.
As he’s scrubbing the fabric, his finger snags and his heart jolts at the sound of ripping.
He cautiously sticks his hand inside the garment and then feels around, his other hand running atop the hoodie. His index pokes out through the top and Tommy pauses. He can see three more punctures of similar sizes around the chest and stomach areas. Tommy groans. Right, how could he have forgotten the dickheads that shot at him yesterday.
Tommy throws his head back, sighing and slides down the chair. His hoodie and towel lay forgotten in his lap as he rubs his eyes with the balls of his hands. He used the last of his thread last week, where the hell was he going to get more from? The closest craft store was half way across town. He groans into his hands and pulls his bottom eyelids as his hands slide down his cheeks. He runs a hand through his hair and inhales. It’s fine , he’ll just wear a different hoodie tonight until he can get more thread.
He sighs and looks up at the machine, it’s still shaking violently. Thirty minutes left though. He picks up the rag again and resumes his cleaning, careful to mind the holes so as to not make them bigger.
After about five minutes of the action he pulls the rag away. The stain has barely shrunk. Maybe he’s left it for too long this time. Bumblebee would probably make him a suit if he asked. And did the kids' English homework. Tommy groans. Maybe it’s finally time to give up and retire this nasty old thing.
He turns his head to look out the window. There’s some kids walking past, they’re in uniforms and one of the kids swings his book bag into another. They all laugh when the one who was assaulted yells.
Tommy wonders what it’s like to be that carefree. Prime knows he never had that in- nope , actually he’s not going to think about that thanks though.
The washing machine chimes and slows it's rumbling to a stop. Tommy stands up, placing the dirty and tattered hoodie back in the bag and makes his way to his laundry. After opening the hatch, he gathers the wet mass into his arms and walks around to the dryers. He proceeds to shove the contents inside and then slides a crumpled bill into the slot to start it. After eating his money, the machine jumps to life and Tommy slumps against it, folding his arms over his chest.
He's immediately struck with how tired he really is. His eyes are heavy, and even just standing there was proving to be a struggle. He really should eat something soon. Dying of starvation was a lot more fun in concept than in reality. He leans away from the shaking machine and moves towards the chairs in the corner. Maybe he could take a quick nap while he waits for his clothes.
He plops down into the seat and folds his arms. It was getting colder outside, and the laundromat was warm and smelled like clean clothes. It's a lot better than his flat is what he’s getting at. His eyes flutter shut and before he knows it he’s dozing off for the second time that day. How responsible of him.
———-
A roar, louder than anything Tommys heard before, shatters the windows sending glass flying into the store. Tommys eyes fly open and he stumbles to his feet. People are screaming and running to safety. The people inside the laundromat run out and into the crowd of screaming bystanders. Tommys heart is pounding and his breathing is heavy. Glass is all over the floor and the street outside is completely ravaged . It’s like someone took a huge knife and fork to the road and said Bon appétit.
Tommy whips his head around for anyone who needs help but it looks like everyone’s getting the hell out of there. Which is what he should be doing really. He was hardly a ‘hero’, not legally anyway.
Charlie -
He sprang up and ran to the front desk, trying to find out if Charlie was okay, only to find that he was gone. Good . Tommy hopes he’s okay and made it to somewhere safe. The thought in the back of his head that Charlie’s dead haunts him for a split second before he shuts it down immediately. Tommys known Charlie for a while. He’s smart, he wouldn’t let himself get hurt so easily.
Another roar rips Tommy out of his thoughts and he winces at the volume, fighting the urge to cover his ears. That was definitely louder than before. Whatever was making that noise was definitely getting closer.
Tommy decides to use the smashed windows to his advantage and rushes out of them to get to the street. It’s hard to run on top of rubble, but Tommy manages, stopping only when he’s in the middle of the road. He looks around and can finally get a good picture of the damage. The road is completely torn up, like a shock wave ran all the way up and to the next block. It’s not just the road either. As far as Tommy can see all the windows on each side are blown out, cracks running up buildings and papers scattered. By now, most of the people in the buildings have left, leaving the street completely devoid of life.
Another roar ripples down the street and Tommy braces himself, his hands fly to his ears as the very ground shakes beneath his feet. He can hear the buildings around him shudder and then he hears a piercing snap. A shiver runs up Tommys spine and the hair on the back of his neck stands straight up.
Oh Prime-
He snaps his head around and then looks up. Mistake number one. The top half of a building is falling towards the earth at a breakneck speed. Tommys eyes go wide and he breaks out in a sprint. He’s not dying to fucking debris .
He barely makes it. Skidding across the road and under a semi truck at the last second. The sound of the crashing building is deafening . Only second to whatever was screeching down the way.
Before the dust even settles, he’s frantically climbing out from under the truck. He’s never liked small spaces. The dust covers most of the wreckage, but he can see that the half of the building that fell is completely obstructing the street. It’s windows are shattered and parts of the structure have caved in on itself.
What the fuck was happening?
The logical part of Tommys brain was screaming at him to fucking leave already . But the other half was curious and wanted to see what was causing all this destruction.
A caw pulls his attention away. He looks around, confused, until his eyes land on a lone crow sitting atop a lamppost. It's feathers were dark and it’s eyes seemed to stare into Tommy's very soul. Tommy suppressed a shiver, it was as if the bird was studying him. He stares at it for a second, tilting his head to the side as his brows furrow further. He startles when it mimics his movement, tilting its head in a mirror of Tommy. It blinks, and then caws again.
Okay, Tommy officially hates this. Why is this thing even here? He doesn’t remember crows being native to Manburg let alone ever finding one in the heart of the city. Why didn’t it fly away when it heard the roaring, not to mention the fucking buildings falling to the earth.
It caws at him again, louder this time as it spreads its wings and leans into the motion. He squints at the animal. Maybe it was trying to tell him something? Creepy fucking bird.
Before he can even think about it any further the creature caws again loudly and then takes off, flying down the street and into a smoke cloud. What the hell?
Tommys then almost blown into the next county with the gust of wind that blows through the street. He holds his arms up to shield his face from the wind. He can hear something coming closer but can’t see because of the dust currently surrounding him. This can’t end well. Why didn’t he just stay home?
He’s then unceremoniously thrown into a car with the force of something slamming into the destroyed assfault. Tommy groans, his head slumped against the car door as a hand comes up to feel his chest. He winces but doesn’t pull away. His ribs are definitely broken, he can feel the way his bones have caved in on themselves. But he’s got bigger problems. There’s a huge chunk of rebar sticking out of his chest, right under his clavicle. It’s definitely gone through his flesh and embedded itself into the metal of the car. Fuck sake.
Another roar, louder than it's ever been, reverberates against the destruction. Tommy winces again and holds a hand to his ears, keeping one wrapped around the metal. It does practically nothing to keep the deafening sound out of his eardrums.
He looks up as the dust settles and the roar fades into an echo. He immediately regrets this decision. His eyes land on a huge beast, easily towering over lampposts even with the thing slightly slouched forward. It was heaving heavy breaths and everytime it did steam seemed to come out of it's mouth and nose.
The beast appeared to be a humanoid boar, standing on its hind legs and wearing torn clothing. It’s fur is pink and it’s eyes shine bright red. The front of it's face looks covered in a huge boar skull, whether it’s it's exposed bone or something else’s, it’s haunting all the same. Tusks stick out from under its snout and are decorated with gold rings and gems. It has pointed ears with green jewels dangling from the cartilage. It's also covered in blood. Blood slides off it's skull and drips down it's tusks, sticks in it's fur, even clings to it's tattered clothing and claws.
Tommy has never seen anything like this thing before. He's almost certain that it could easily tear him apart. Maybe it’s strong enough to keep him down for good.
He could only stare at it, frozen in place and stuck against this car. He didn’t know what to do. Even if he could get off this metal rod, could he even hold his own against something like this? He’s only ever gone up against criminals and gangs, what could he even do? Kick it really hard and then let it rip his arms off?
The ground then shook again as something else landed on the rubble. This time the impact causes only a fraction of the dust the previous caused to erupt. This allows Tommy to see what landed clearly.
It was a person, still crouched in an iconic superhero landing. And as they rose from their pose, (pretentious prick), they turned their head to stare at the beast. A hero, Tommy could only assume, what with the classic spandex and mask. The suit's blue with unnecessary seam lines running up and down it, ending at the hero’s neck. There’s an embroidered insignia on the chest that Tommy can’t quite see from this angle, and a utility belt hanging off his hips. The suit's damaged. Tommy can see little holes and tears and even some cuts underneath like he'd been in a fight recently. Tommy can guess who he was battling with. The man's eyes are covered by with a classic black and white mask, half of it obscured by the curly brown hair spilling over one eye. He also has a green gem dangling from his ear, an exact copy of the one the beast has. Huh, same ear and everything.
The more Tommy thought about it, the more familiar the hero looks... Where did Tommy know this guy from? Was he a fellow vigilante or was he the real deal?
The hero whistles as he looks around, “You really did a number on this place huh?”
The beast huffs and bares its teeth, growling at the man.
“Hey, hey it’s okay,” The hero holds his hands up in a sort of surrender and then slowly advances towards the beast. Tommy squints at the hero’s actions. From what Tommy has witnessed he's sure that thing will kill this guy the second it gets. And then it’ll come after him . Tommy wiggles and then regrets it as pain shoots through his shoulder and runs through his neck and arm. Damnit.
“The fights over Blade, we can go home now.”
Blade.
Tommy stills and his eyes widen at the name.
Of course...
The Blade was probably the strongest member of SBI , one of, if not the most well known and best hero groups Esempi has to offer. Maybe even the best the world has to offer . Tommys ran into a few of them only a handful of times. All of which consisted of him getting chucked into various hard surfaces and then trying not to get put in prison for illegal vigilantism.
To top it all off, The Server is the only thing Bench ever talks about. It’s Bumblebee's, Tubbos dream for Bench to someday be accepted as a legal hero group, and though not as enthusiastic, Tommy knows Monochrome, or Ranboo, is just as interested.
He can’t blame them, after all he would love nothing more than to rep his team proudly.
Though Tommy suspected that Bench would never be legalized. The government giving three former vigilantes licenses? Not likely. Especially with the current laws in place. Tommy couldn’t say he's never wanted in, of course he has.
He used to dream about a group of heroes smashing through the grey walls of his prison and rescuing him. But that never happened. So instead, he did it himself. Being a hero, a real one , was never a future for someone like him. But even so, looking at the scene unfolding before him, he can’t say his younger self would be all too jazzed about joining if he was sitting in Tommy's place. Though maybe he’d just be happy to be outside.
The Blade growls and backs up a bit, the hero continues to advance.
“C’mon big guy, I’m sure Krow’s worried about you.” The hero stretches out one of his hands as he gets closer and closer. The beast huffs but doesn’t retreat.
Krow, did he mean The Krow Father? As in the leader of SBI?? Wait ..If that was The Blade , and they both knew The Krow Father. Then the blue-clad hero must be the other member of SBI. Syren . How didn't Tommy see it before? It was so obvious.
Tommy watches, with this new information, in wide eyed fascination as the two interact.
Never has he seen The Blade like this . Sure he’s known about The Blades enhancement , but as far as he knows it’s never gotten this bad. Or maybe it has and it’s just never been documented before. Prime knows how powerful The Server is, it wouldn't be hard to keep something like this under wraps.
The hero’s, Syrens , boot accidentally kicks a rock and Blade flinches and growls, his eyes glowing a deep crimson as he backs up. He then hunches over, recoils, and roars at the hero. Tommy flinches, sending a searing pain through his body, but the hero doesn’t. The guy doesn’t even seem phased. Tommy wonders how many times this has happened.
Syren then reaches up to his face and— Tommy gulps. Syren removes his fucking mask , shoves it into a back pocket like it’s nothing and then pulls his hands back up.
Tommy can see his face. Syrens eyes are brown and there's a thin white scar that runs from somwhere underneeth his brown fringe and trails down, curving under his eye and running along his cheek. Admittedly, he’s got a good face. Despite the scar and grime Tommy can see caked on his chin, the man is very pretty. Hey , Tommy can admit when someone was attractive, even if he isn’t personally interested.
Tommy's eyes go wide. He’s not supposed to see this, it’s one of the golden rules—probably the rule. You don’t unmask in front of another mask unless you trust them completely. Tommy didn't even know this guy. There’s no way he’d be okay with Tommy— The Red Devil —seeing him without a mask. Tommys so dead. If he ever gets out of here that is.
“W-Wih...el..” The Blade croaks out. Syren smiles at him, continuing to advance.
“That’s right, it’s me.”
Syrens now close enough to reach out, extending his hand for seemingly The Blade to take. The Blade looks at the hand, his ear flicks and he huffs, steam coming from his nose.
“It’s only me,” Syren reassures.
The Blade reaches out a bloody hand and touches Syrens. Said hero then places his hand in the bigger one and, with his other, lightly taps The Blade's palm. He taps the beast twice on his hand and, with two fingers, trails them down the beast's forearm.
“just you and me.”
They break contact when Syren's fingers slip down and then off the beast's fingertips, and he whispers one word, “Shift.”
Tommy flinches, hand flying to steady the metal as The Blade recoils and turns in the opposite direction. He smashes a car with one hand and roars, loudly, though not as loud as before. The beast seems to retreat in on himself and then Tommy sees the bright pink shrink into the rosiness of his cheeks. He collapses against the car, sliding down till he's laying flat against the road. His hair turns from pink to brown and then coils into long curls that rest over his eyes. The skull falls off his face as the beast shrinks, body compressing as he goes from beast to man . It looks like it hurts. Tommy can see bones shifting from under the guy's skin and he suppresses a shiver.
Syren follows him down, sliding to the floor with The Blade. His hands land on his ally’s arms as The Blade struggles against the rubble.
Syren gently shushes The Blades grunting and rubs against his back.
“Hey bro, welcome back.” Syren smiles as he continues to rub The Blades back. The Blades clothes now seem a bit too big, bagging around his arms and ankles in a way they didn't do when he was...bigger.
When The Blade calms down Syren smiles and mumbles something Tommy can’t hear, placing his hands under The Blade's arms and hoisting him up to his feet. The Blade groans and holds his head and he’s leant against a car.
Syren leans against the vehicle with him and folds his arms over his chest.
The Blade groans again and places his head in his hands.
“How many?” He mumbles out.
Syren hums, “We won, what does it matter-“
“How . Many. Wilbur?”
Wilbur??
Tommy definitely wasn’t supposed to hear that. He’s unceremoniously made very aware of his position on this street. Thankfully the streets are big, and Tommys on the other side of it, far away from where the two heroes are having their conversation. Even though he’s very much out in the open, a couple large pieces of rubble shield him at least a little.
Syren, Wilbur , sighs, “Fourteen, you got fourteen of them. You happy now?”
The Blade sighs and then slides down so he’s sitting, back leaning against the car as he pulls his knees into his chest. His hands cover his face, obscuring the view from Tommy.
Speaking of which he should definitely leave. But how the hell is he going to sneak out unnoticed? Especially with this rod in his chest. He grips the metal protruding from his flesh. Maybe if he just pulls really hard, or is able to slide himself off of it? Prime this sucks.
Wilbur nudges The Blades shin with his boot. When he doesn’t get a reaction he sighs, and slides down to sit next to the other. They sit there for a bit before Wilbur nudges The Blades shoulder with his own. The Blade peaks an eye out from behind his knees to look at the other. When their eyes meet Wilbur cheekily smiles at him, which earns him a grumble from The Blade.
Tommy isn’t supposed to be seeing this. To be fair, he’s sure he wasn’t supposed to see a lot of shit today, but here he is.
He twists the metal in his palm and sucks in a breath. Fuck this thing is really in there. There’s no way he’s getting out of here without one or both of the hero’s seeing him. He promptly gives up, hoping that the rubble is enough to obscure him for now, at least until these two fucks leave. He hopes that's soon. At this rate his skins gonna heal over the metal, and that’s going to be a bitch and a half to fix. But then again, maybe this will kill him? Prime wouldn’t that be nice.
Soft laughter pulls Tommy back to the two unknowingly sitting across him. Wilbur chuckles slightly and wraps an arm around his companion. He sways them a bit, earning another grumble, and another laugh.
Wilbur stops rocking and pats The Blade's shoulder. They sit like that for a second and then Wilbur sighs, “I’m sorry, I know how you feel about your...” Wilbur gestures with his other hand, The Blade looks over and raises a brow. Wilbur meets his eyes and then looks off somewhere, retreating his hand to rest in his lap.
“Uh—condition,” he coughs, “but you saved a lot of people. You can’t get too caught up on the negative Techno.”
Wilbur bumps their shoulders again and The Blade, Techno?? Chuckles, “Wise words, where’d you hear ‘em?”
Wilbur glances at Techno, “Think some dumbass said something like that to me on the tube one time.”
Techno chuffs and the shoves the other rather hard, causing Wilbur to bark out a laugh. Techno smiles at his antics.
Now that his hands weren’t covering his face, Tommy could see his features clearly. Not that he really wanted to, mask code and all that. Also the fact that Tommy was certain he could be murdered for this information. But Tommy saw anyway. And seeing The Blade, or Techno , without the mask was weird. For one he looked eerily similar to the one sitting beside him, Wilbur . So much so that Tommy could only assume they were either related to twins. They had the same hair, though Technos was a bit longer, the same eyes, eyebrows, chin—even a scar across Technos' nose was somehow also on Wilburs. How that even happens is beyond Tommy.
Wilbur smiles back and goes to stand, hoisting himself up with the help of the car. Techno follows his movements with his eyes but makes no moves to rise with him.
Wilbur then out stretches his hand, “C’mon, Phil’s probably worried,”
Techno huffs but takes the others hand anyway. Wilbur pulls him up and Techno brushes the dirt off his clothes. He sighs, “I’ll have to get a new suit made,”
Wilbur hums and glances over to see his brother's tattered clothing, “Phil has to see the tailers anyway, just go with him.”
Techno grunts as he does his shirt back up with the remaining buttons he still has.
As they’re standing there talking, Tommy can’t help but feel exposed. It was fine when they were sitting, but now? Now Tommys realizing that they’re fucking tall as all hell and can probably see him over the rubble if they just glance in his direction. He hopes they don’t. He prays to Prime that they don’t look over because if they do, he’s going to have a fun time thinking of an explanation for how the hell he’s still able to breathe . Back when he was first on his own he idolized the group, still kind of does.
Oh if Bench could see him now.
Maybe sans the rebar sticking out of his chest. That was admittedly less cool and something they would both freak out over.
A small breeze blows past, ruffling Tommy's hair on it's way. Tommy's hips are starting to ache from sitting on the road for so long. He needs to leave, preferably now. Looking back up at the hero’s he sees they’re still talking, even better they’re facing away from him. Perfect . Maybe he can sneak out of here undetected if he’s careful. But then again, he’s never dealt with something like this before. He’s only ever had to deal with bullets and those usually go right through him if he’s lucky, if he isn’t he’ll just fish around until he can pull it out. He’s never had to pull himself off something before. Welp, first time for everything right?
He takes in a steadying breath, and grips the metal with both hands. It’s a little difficult to do with the arm that’s beside the rebar but he manages, only cringing at the shock of pain he gets as a result. He sucks in a quick breath as he tries to twist the pole, fresh blood oozing out of the wound. Tommy can feel it slide down his hoodie and his back, pooling into a puddle on the asphalt. Great start. Tommy keeps twisting it, praying that it moves so he can pull the fucker out of him. He wants to scream. It hurts badly, but Tommy can’t risk the hero’s hearing so he bites the inside of his cheek to keep quiet. As he’s twisting his hands slip causing the metal to jolt and tear into him. He whimpers and tries to remember to breathe. Pulling his hands away from the wound reveals them to be covered in blood. To top it all off the rebar didn't even budge . Tommy inhales and tries not to panic. Fuck it’s really in there.
Tommy exhales out of his nose, trying to calm his racing heart. He’s exhausted, absolutely drained. Having to revive and then heal again within hours is bringing back bad memories. The good old days.
But Tommy hasn’t done that in years. He’s not used to it anymore and it shows. All he wants to do is sleep, but he knows this isn’t enough to kill him. He'll only make things worse if he passes out now. With his luck, his wound will heal around the metal and then he’ll just have to dig it out later. Sounds like an afternoon.
He inhales again and this time he grips the rebar and makes sure he has a good hold. Time for plan B. If it’s not going to come out of the car, he's going to have to pull himself off. Great plan, extraordinary plan—one could probably say it’s poggers. He exhales, then inhales again, building a steady rhythm. He can do this —it’s not like he hasn’t done worse. He sucks in a breath, come on pussy just do it, do it now !
With the last of his strength he pulls. The feeling of sliding off metal is something Tommy hopes nobody ever has to experience. He can feel the pole slide over his muscle and rip his tendons as he goes. A huge spurt of blood gushes from his wound and trickles to the floor with sickening splats. He doesn't even get close to halfway before he has to stop. He's breathing heavily and his brain is clouded with pain. He’s feeling light headed from all the blood he’s lost and he’s sure he’ll pass out if he continues. He could always just harden his blood to stop the bleeding, but then the rebar would just get stuck further. Prime fucking damnnit.
How the hell is he going to get out of here at this rate?
He sucks in another breath and shakes his head. He blinks a couple times and then screws his eyes shut. He then grips the rebar hard and pulls. He can hear his skin tearing, blood dripping down in clumps to smack the floor, and the fabric of his sweats scraping against the asphalt. It’s disgusting. He’s disgusting.
What he failed to realize was that the pole was curved, it’s bent at the end and thus isn’t completely straight. And so when Tommy pulls himself over a curved edge he can’t help the small cry of pain he emits. He stops and hunches forward a bit, the pain was just so much. His vision was starting to fade at the edges and he couldn’t think properly. He can feel the slick blood flowing steadily down his back and across his chest. Feel the way his skin pulses around the intrusion. And can feel the warmth of hands on his shoulders. Wait, run that last one back?
Tommy jolts back, which he immediately regrets as it sends a jolt of searing pain through his chest. He winces and screws his brows tight. The hands that he once felt on him are gone now and when he looks up he’s met with a sight he really wishes he never saw. It was the heroes, kneeling in front of him with worried expressions. Well Syren was, Tommy could no longer see The Blade's face as it was now covered by his boar skull.
Tommy tries to get away but only ends up pushing the rebar further into him, causing him to slide back over the edge. He screws his face up in pain and grunts. More blood sloshes to the ground.
“Woah there kid, easy, I’m not going to hurt you.” Syren grips Tommy's shoulders to steady him. When Tommy squints up at the hero his mask is back on, covering his chocolate eyes. If only they knew it was for nothing. Tommy's already seen everything.
“‘M not a child.” Tommy grits out, his hands swipe at the heroes to get them off and then grip the pole once again. Mostly for stability than anything else.
Syren seemingly ignores Tommy's comment and instead focuses on the piece of rebar stuck in him.
“It’s gonna be okay, alright?” The hero smiles at Tommy, but Tommy can’t smile back. He can barely focus on the details of Syren's face. His eyes are going all screwy and shit. He squints at the hero, hoping that will do something. It doesn't. Not really anyway. All it really does is make him look like a fool.
“I’m gonna move to your side to get a better look at how it’s stuck okay? Try not to move if you can.”
Tommy grunts, “Hey man listen, I’m sure a hero like you is busy as shit right? So why don’t you just let me do my business and you can get back to yours.” Tommy tries a smile, but he’s sure it comes off as more of a grimace. The hero furrows his brows at Tommy. Tommys face falls a bit, why can't this guy just leave him alone?
“What are you saying? Of course I’m not just going to leave you here with an injury.” Syren frowns at him, “Let me just...Here one sec—Blade can you come here?” The hero looks over his shoulder at the other who was backed away slightly and holding his face. The Blade perks up at the mention of his name and then walks a bit closer.
“I need you to hold him steady while I cut through the metal.”
The Blade tilts his head, “Why not just pull it out?”
Syren shakes his head, “Look how it’s placed in the car, it’d be too risky.”
The Blade huffs and then goes to kneel before he pauses for a second, then jolts back. Tommy flinches and groans, Syren follows his companions movements.
“What’s wrong-?”
“There's...A lot of…” The Blade holds his head in his hands and turns away from the two of them.
“Blade-“
“I can’t . I’m sorry.”
Syren huffs, “Okay,” The man then turns back to Tommy and pats his shoulder to get his attention, “I’m going to need you to stay still for me okay? I need to cut the rebar from behind so we can get you detached.”
Tommy frowns. He stares at the hero through blurry vision. “No no, I said I’d be fine so just leave already would you?”
The hero has such an easy smile on his face, like he could save the world if he wanted to. It makes Tommy mad.
Syren chuckles, “Usually people aren’t this against me helping them.”
“Well maybe that’s because I didn’t ask or need your help?”
Syren scoffs at him, his smile falling, “Are you not aware of your current situation kid? I’m trying to save your life here.”
Tommy is tired of this back and forth. Frankly it was going nowhere. He grumbles and glares at the hero, who surprisingly glares right back. “My life doesn’t need saving I can assure you so just-“
Tommy goes to shove the hero away but is then reminded of his predicament. The metal cuts into his shoulder and he cries out.
“Easy!” Syren grabs his shoulders, Tommy grunts in pain, “Okay listen, I’m going to be frank with you kid, if we don’t get you to a hospital like now the likelihood of you bleeding out isn’t exactly zero .”
Tommy raises his head to look Syren in the eyes, or where his eyes should be. Damn this holier than thou bullshit. Tommy grits his teeth as he tries to focus.
Fuck it. He’s tired and exhausted and he just wants to go home. He stares Syren right in the eyes and says, “Pull me off.”
Syren pauses, “W-what?”
Tommy inhales shakily, even with his enhancement he was never that great with pain, especially when he’s tried. “Did I stutter? Pull me the fuck off, it’ll be faster.”
“You’re mad ”
“Just fucking do it hero or I’ll do it myself.”
Syren sputters, “I’m not fucking pulling you off —you’ll bleed to death!”
Tommy grits his teeth. Fine , if Syren wasn’t going to help him then he’ll just do it himself. He grips the rebar tightly and musters all the strength he has left, and pulls.
“Kid—kid! What the hell are you doing!?”
Tommy doesn’t stop, not even when Syren tries to push him back or hold him in place.
It hurts. Prime does it hurt but he’s determined . It’s not like his life is in any real danger, and even if it was Tommy wouldn’t mind all that much.
“ Stop it! ”
All at once it’s like Tommys been dropped into the bottom of a pool. His brain fogs over and he stops moving. Tommy can’t move. He actually just can’t move. What the fuck—
Tommy hears Syren sigh, “I’m really sorry, but you didn’t give me much choice.”
Tommy's heart is racing. Is this really what Syren's power feels like? He’s seen it in action, but never would he have thought it would feel this suffocating . Tommy's breath hitches. He’s completely incapacitated. In a state like this, he's completely vulnerable, Syren could do anything he wanted and Tommy couldn't do anything to stop him. Tommy's stomach rolls. He can’t even move his toes much less fight someone off like this.
“I’m going to get behind you now to cut the rebar, okay?”
It’s not like Tommy could resist anyway. What if they had an enhancement like this? ...Oh Prime what if they had an enhancement like this. Tommy can’t breathe. There would have been no way he could’ve escaped. He would still be trapped.
“ Blade , could you help me? I-I can't get through.” Syren gasps in exasperation.
With an enhancement like this they could have made Tommy do anything. It would have been so easy to get Tommy to cooperate. No more fights, no more struggle. Just compliance.
“But Syren-“
“ Please .”
He wouldn’t’ve been able to fight it. Prime it would’ve been so easy for someone like Syren. Tommy feels sick.
“...Okay.”
Tommy internally flinches at the feeling of metal scraping metal. He can feel the vibration of a sword slicing through the rebar and then a sharp pang in his chest. He would’ve recoiled if he was able to, but he was trapped. He shuts his eyes, tries to focus on his breathing before he has a full on panic attack. He can’t , not here.
“There-“
Tommy slumps over when the rebar is severed from where it's embedded in the car. He would have fallen into the pavement if it weren’t for the arms that wrapped securely around him, catching him.
And then, like breaking the water's surface tension, he can move again. He immediately recoils to get away, but then stops abruptly at the pain. He grips the rebar tightly to keep it from moving anymore. He might be detached but he’s still very impaled .
“Careful!”
The Blade inhales deeply, “What he said.”
Tommy glares at both of them. He needs to leave, like yesterday .
Syren's hands reach out but Tommy shies away, wincing at the motion. Syren frowns, but doesn’t pull his hands away. “You may not be attached to the car anymore, but you’re still very injured.”
Tommy glares at Syren, who seems to shrink back at Tommy stare. Tommys eyes flick to The Blade who inhales sharply and jolts away.
Syren snaps his head to his partner, “Blade-?”
“‘M fine .”
Syren doesn’t seem to believe him, but turns back to Tommy anyway. Tommy needs to figure a way out of this. Logically he knows there’s nothing he could say to make them leave him alone. ‘Thanks for getting me out of there fellas but I can take it from here! ’ Definitely isn’t a sentence that would get them off his ass.
Syren raises a hand to his ear, “I’m calling an ambulance, something I should have done from the start.”
Tommys eyes widen, “No-!” He cries out at the sudden motion, “N-no—you can't .”
“Do you even know what you’re saying? In case you forgot you’re fatally injured!”
Tommy flinches at the volume. He knows, Prime does he know . He’s the one sitting in the road with rebar in his chest for fuck sake.
“I’m getting you help whether you want it or not kid, you don’t get a choice.”
Tommy's been over this from the very start. He moved to this city in the first place so he could make his own choices. He’s not going to the fucking hospital and have pretentious pricks poke and prod at him like some science project. In other words...Fuck this guy. Tommy squeezes his fists around the metal and sucks air into his lungs. Tommy was nothing if not a stubborn bastard. And what do stubborn bastards do? They pull rebar out of their chests of course.
He yanks, hard , and tries not to scream. He pulls hard and fast and before the heroes can even protest, he's off. He’s free. A river of blood follows the metal on it's way out and Tommy feels incredibly light headed.
Out of the corner of his eye he sees The Blade tense and shoves a hand under his mask over his nose. The Blade huffs and staggers backwards, then put his fist through a car hood.
Tommy feels a shit ton of blood gush from his open wound and run down his body. He shivers.
“ Prime kid...”
He turns his gaze to the hero who is gaping at him with panic written across his features.
Tommy smirks at him, “See?” He slurs, “N-no hospital..” Tommy's vision swims and as he goes to rub in how right he was, when he feels himself start to fall.
The last thing he sees before his vision goes completely dark is Syren calling for The Blade before lunging forward to catch Tommy. And then the world goes dark.