Chapter Text
It’s early December meaning Tommy’s 17th birthday is in five months. Meaning he has to get a job this week. He’s not entirely thrilled about it but he promised Purpled that he would.
Purpled has been working his ass off doing god knows what the past year while still doing his vigilante work. Tommy was told he can do the same. Tommy rather be a vigilante than have a real job but the two are running low on money.
So when Tommy woke up he got dressed in the nicest clothes he owns. Which is a sweater he stole from someone a long time ago and a pair of shorts. Purpled looked at him as if he had grown two heads.
“So, where are you applying?” Purpled asks as he takes a bite of his lucky charms cereal. He’s using water as a replacement for milk. Tommy feels sick just looking at it.
Tommy starts putting on the red converse that he's had for many years. “The hero tower.” Purpled spits out his water. Tommy cringes at the sight. “That's a new tablecloth.” He says sadly.
Purpled turns to his best friend. “You’re a vigilante.” Tommy nods. “Vigilantes are highly illegal.” Tommy hums tying his shoes. Purpled sighs. “Don’t get caught, alright?”
Tommy grabs his apartment keys and phone then stuffs them into his bag along with the job papers Purpled managed to get. “I’m too cool to get caught.” Before Purpled can deny that sentence Tommy walks out the door.
The walk to the tower is a long distance. But the trains are always busy in the mornings with people being more sketchy than usual. The bright side of walking is he gets to check on the stray animals now instead of at night.
The tower is busy with people going in and out when Tommy arrives. He sees many people he’s seen before in L’manberg. He bumps into a woman in the lobby. She has bright pink hair with two small braids on the sides. She looks at the tall blonde haired boy who bumped into her.
The girl smiles softly. “I'm assuming you’re here for the interview?” She asks politely with a kind smile. Tommy recognizes the lady. She’s one of the only lasting female heroes in L’manberg. Her name is Nemesis if he remembers correctly. He’s never fought her before but she scares him.
Tommy clears his throat ready to put on the most polite voice he has. “I am.” Tommy almost cringes listening to himself. The last time he had to talk like that was when he and Purpled had to explain that they didn’t steal a child’s lollipop.
Nemesis smiles at Tommy. “Go into that elevator then press floor 39 and you will be right there. I hope it goes well!” Tommy thanks her and they both walk in opposite directions.
The elevator is huge, Tommy realizes. There’s a television in the left corner. It lights up and Tommy jumps back. He screams but he won't admit to it. Then the TV starts speaking to him.
“Thomas Innes, welcome to the hero tower.” The robotic voice starts saying. Tommy stares eyes wide at the screen. It's a black screen with a white line that opens when it speaks.
“How do you-” He tries saying before getting cut off by the screen.
The screen lights up again. “I know everybody in L’manberg.” Tommy wants to get out of this elevator. To his surprise, the elevator opens up and he rushes out of it.
Most of the people in the room are middle aged men. Tommy feels disgusted at the sight. He sits down near the window where nobody is sitting. The room is silent until a kid comes tripping out of the elevator. The kid is short with brown fluffy hair covering his eyes. Nobody pays any attention to him other than Tommy. The boy walks up to the desk in the front of the room.
“Kristin, they need you in the lobby.” The boy says breathily violently. The lady at the desk, Kristin, sighs.
“Fine but you stay here and watch out for everyone,” Kristin says, getting her bag and walking out from the desk. The boy smiles and nods. Kristin goes into the elevator.
The small teenager sits down at the desk and goes onto the computer. He’s playing that one dinosaur game that comes up when you don’t have wifi. Tommy can tell by the way he’s using the keyboard.
Tommy watches him until he hears his name called out. He grabs his stuff and walks over to the door. He knocks and hears a “come in” from a man's voice.
The man sitting in the chair at the desk is Icarus. Tommy has had many encounters with the man. He’s very annoying and gets complained to Purpled a bunch. The grown man wears a tan sweater with round glasses at the very moment.
Tommy sits down as Icarus points to the chair. The adult clears his throat before talking. Tommy almost rolls his eyes.
“Thomas Innes, right?” Tommy nods. He hands his papers to the hero. The hero looks at them with a weird facial expression. “You're twenty?”
Tommy freezes at the skeptical reaction the hero gives him. “Yeah. Plus, call me Tommy.” Tommy blurts out. The hero nods slowly. Tommy gets asked a few more questions until a tall man with bright pink hair comes through the door. Tommy immediately knows it's The Blade by his pink hair. He’s the one hero Tommy finds interesting enough to keep fighting.
“Wilbur, I swear to god if you ate my-” He pauses and looks at Tommy. Tommy smiles at the pink haired man. “Hello?” Tommy waves at him.
Wilbur puts his hands through his hair and sighs. “Techno, I'm interviewing people. Can’t this wait?” The blade smirks in response. Wilbur looks at the man with anger. Tommy watches them go back and forth.
“I mean, did you eat his food?” Tommy asks, looking at Wilbur. Techno breaks out into a laugh that makes Tommy smile. Wilbur stands up to walk around his desk.
The top hero stands in front of Tommy. “I didn’t eat his food.” The man says in a seriously annoyed voice. He looks as if he might break down in tears. “Technoblade, you're finishing the interviews. Good day.” Wilbur walks out the door.
Techno huffs before sitting in the office chair. He picks up the paperwork to read it. There’s a slight hum to his voice as he reads. Then there's a pause with a look up at Tommy. “You’re twenty?”
The vigilante thinks about pulling out his hair at the moment. He’ll be the second person to admit he looks a bit young but he will not accept this slander. “Uh,” there's a pause, “Yes.” Techno slowly nods in response.
They go through the rest of the questions with Techno seeming more bored than ever. Tommy can’t blame him either. The questions are more boring than that one time he and purpled had to witness two grown men argue over pasta. Technoblade claps his hands making Tommy hold back a flinch.
The blade rests his elbows on the desk. Tommy looks up at him. “Who’s your favorite hero?” Techno proposed with curiosity in his voice.
Tommy looks at the floor to think. He doesn’t actually have a favorite hero. He thinks Nemesis is pretty cool though. “Nemesis is cool.” Tommy began to say. “She's a badass and has cool hair.” Techno agrees with a smile.
Techno puts the paperwork into the desk before getting up. “Tommy, you’re hired. You start tomorrow morning.” Tommy’s eyes go wide and Techno laughs.
“Surely there were other people who did better than me.” Tommy questions with a raised eyebrow.
“Sure, but you were the only one to make Wilbur annoyed which means I like you so you’re hired.” Techno answered. Tommy smiles and nods.
The walk home was the most exciting walk home in months. Purpled is going to be so proud. Maybe they will celebrate at Puffy’s diner.
Tommy shoves the building door open with all his strength when he gets home. The building hasn’t been used since the first generation villains ruined it during a massive fight with the heroes. Somehow the building’s water, lighting, and heat works perfectly fine. The staircase has holes and dirt as with the walls. The apartment Tommy and Purpled claimed was the only one that wasn’t totally destroyed.
But it’s home and it always has been. No matter the amount of holes or cobwebs will change that. It was the first place Tommy ever felt safe in. It was the first place Purpled ever lived in. It was the place Tommy and Purpled became close to brothers.
Tommy walked up the four flights of stairs to the apartment. He walked in and saw Purpled sitting on the counter eating pickles straight out of the container. “Purpled!” Tommy shouted, throwing the closet pillow at him. Purpled caught the pillow. Him and his stupid powers.
Purpled throws the pillow onto the couch and looks at Tommy. “Tommy.” Purpled replies holding back a laugh at Tommy’s disappointed face.
“I got the job!” Tommy announced with a little jump.
Purpled smiles at the boy. “Puffys for dinner?”
“Of course.”
-
Puffys diner is only a few blocks away from the apartment. It's a small place on the corner of where all the little shops are. Most buildings in L’manberg are tall so there’s two streets dedicated to the small shops. Logstedshire, the next town over, is where all small shops are. Tommy and Purpled usually go there to shop considering Logstedshire is a poor neighborhood where everything costs so little money.
Puffy is the only person working tonight. Her curly black and white hair is pulled up into a bun. She has flour all over her apron as with her hands. The bell rings when the duo walks in. Puffy looks up from the oven and waves. “Hi boys, sit down anywhere you’d like.” Puffy offers, wiping her hands on a wet rag.
Purpled immediately sits at the counter. Tommys sits right after him. The diner had faint music playing with a few people sitting at booths. Puffy gives Tommy a coke while she gives Purpled a sprite.
She stands behind the counter in front of Tommy and Purpled. “So what's the special occasion?” Puffy grabs two cupcakes out from the tray. Tommy takes them happily.
Purples rolls his eyes at Tommy. “I got a job at the hero tower.” Tommy takes a bite out of the vanilla cupcake. He licks off the icing. Purpled looks at him with disgust.
Puffy’s eyes go wide. “That’s amazing, Tommy!” She goes around the counter to give Tommy a big hug. “Dinner is on me tonight. Purpled, don't you dare argue.”
Tommy gets chicken tenders while Purpled gets waffles. Tommy would argue with Purpled about getting waffles for dinner if there weren’t people working. Tommy’s annoying but he would never interrupt someone's working time. He learned his lesson when Purpled yelled at him for interrupting his working time.
Purpled stares at Tommy when he starts eating his food. “Aren’t you part chicken?”
Tommy drops his chicken tender. “Yeah.” He says it like a question. It’s not a question. Purpled looks at him like he's crazy before sighing. They go back to eating and chatting with Puffy as she works.
The sun is far gone when the boys leave Puffys. The walk home was quiet and cold. L’manberg isn’t normally quiet at night. It’s strange, Purpled thinks. Tommy carries hot chocolate with him to warm his hands.
The apartment is cold when they get inside. Tommy puts his cup on the counter with a towel wrapped around it so it doesn’t get colder anymore. Purpled sits on the couch and grabs a book. He watches Tommy slip into the bedroom quietly.
Tommy comes out in his vigilante gear. On top, he wears a black turtleneck with a red hoodie over it. On the bottom, he wears brown pants with combat boots. His mask is a black medical one with his hoodie hood covering his eyes. His white streak is carefully tucked into his hood.
Purpled looks up from his book. He’s already halfway through it even though he just started it. “You're going out? You’re going to freeze to death.” Purpled told the boy who was trying his best to tie his shoes.
Tommy gives up and tucks them into his socks. Purpled has to hold back a laugh. “I can’t die, Purpled.” Tommy mentions.
Purpled thinks about banging his head into a pillar. “You may have healing powers but that doesn’t mean you can’t die. The white streak is enough proof of that.”
Tommy stands up to look at Purpled. “Bye, Purpled.” Tommy walks out the door with a smirk.
He doesn’t plan on doing much tonight. It’s early December, why would anyone want to be put this late doing crime anyways? Tommy walks on top of the buildings. He puts on his leather gloves when his hands start to freeze. L’manberg is still as quiet as ever tonight.
Tommy walks over to southern L’manberg to see if anything’s happening. It's silent when he arrives. The crime rate in L’manberg is the highest in the southern parts since no hero really goes there. Tommy thinks about going back over to the north until he hears a scream. It's not a good scream either. It's a bad one, like a really bad one. Meaning Tommy is very aware it's not kids just messing around in the streets.
He runs towards the screams. It's the top of a warehouse. There are three people on top who are all men. One guy is holding a bat and the other is holding a hammer. The third guy is on the floor holding his head. Tommy grabs his batons off his belt and runs onto the warehouse top. All three men look at him.
Tommy fake chuckles. “Well, this is awkward, innit?” Tommy throws the baton at the hammer guy's knee. He falls to the ground and clenches his knee.
The bat guy looks angry, really, really angry. Tommy tries to think of a plan that doesn't get his head bashed in with a bat. He runs over to the victim. “when I say ‘go’ roll over to the left side of the building, got it?” The guy nods his head in response.
The bat guy comes running at Tommy with the bat over his head. Tommy holds onto his other baton in his right hand. “Go!” Tommy shouts as soon as the man tries to hit Tommy. He dodges him and kicks his knees. The man falls over just like his friend. The victim is safely away from the fight that's about to break out.
The hammer guy rolls over to grab the hammer that rolled out of his hand when he fell. Tommy doesn’t see him though. Tommy runs over to the victim instead of paying attention to the hammer guy.
The events that happen next feel like slow motion. One minute Tommy is running to help the guy so he doesn’t get brain trauma. The next minute Tommy is on the concrete ground with hot pain burning his ankle. The world goes silent when Tommy falls. He doesn’t see the villains anymore. Instead, he sees a hero standing above him.
Tommy immediately realizes he needs to get himself up and run. He kicks the hero with his good ankle before jumping up and running. It hurts like hell to run but he can’t get caught tonight. The vigilante looks behind him to see the hero is Icarus. Oh fuck, Tommy’s screwed if he gets caught. Icarus hates vigilantes more than anything.
Tommy tripped over his own fret multiple times before jumping to the next rooftop. He throws the baton and it hits the hero’s right arm. He’s screaming things at Tommy but the ringing in his ears is covering it up. He notices everything suddenly goes quiet.
Icarus doesn’t look too happy. Tommy tries to run faster to get away from the voice control. “Get back here, right now.” The voice waves go past the wind to Tommy. Except Tommy keeps running. The voice control doesn’t work. Icarus freezes with wide eyes. Tommy looks back at the man for a few moments. The broken hero looks up at Tommy and Tommy turns around to jump to safety.
He eventually finds safety in an alleyway by Puffy’s diner. He hides behind a dumpster before getting out of his vigilante gear. He shoves it into a backpack that sits on the ground next to him. He was in great need of a backpack anyways.
The young vigilante walks with a limp all the way home. He doesn’t know how he’ll manage to get through work tomorrow. He can’t feel his ankle anymore and notices the color of it is all different shades of purple.
The walk up the stairs was hell. He mainly had to climb up them. The lights were all off in the apartment except for the kitchen. Purpled was, yet again, sitting on the counter. He turned around and immediately jumped off the counter at the sight of Tommy.
He’s holding himself up by the doorway. While his hair is all over the place. Purpled runs over to help Tommy to the couch. “What the fuck happened.” Purpled demanded getting the first aid kit from the bathroom.
Tommy rests his ankle on the coffee table. He looks at it and feels nauseous. He’s been too weak to heal it himself since the second he started running. “Well a guy with a hammer happened and let me tell you he was anno-” Tommy gets cut off by the first aid kit hitting the table.
“Tommy.” Purpled sighs while getting a compression bandage and pain meds out of the kit.
Tommy slaps Purpled’s arm lightly. “Fine, well the hammer guy bashed my ankle in because I threw a baton at him and his friend. Oh and then Icarus showed up.”
Purpled wraps the bandage around Tommy’s ankle. He’s always been good at medical situations. Living in Logstedshire for the first many years of your life teaches you a lot about that stuff. Not that it’s a dangerous city, it's just that heroes don't patrol there since it's a poorer city.
“Don’t put lots of pressure on it until you have enough energy to heal it yourself.” Tommy nods. “Anyways, go get sleep. I’ll take the couch.” Purpled helps Tommy walk to the tiny bedroom in the back of their apartment. The two say goodnight to each other before Purpled leaves the room.
It takes Tommy forever to fall asleep. He stares out the window watching the clear sky fill up with stars. The stars light the whole city up. It reminds him of why he and Purpled stayed here in the first place. The pollution in Logstedshire made it so the sky is rarely seen. He’s happy in L’manberg. Soon enough Tommy falls asleep in his home.