Chapter Text
There was truly nothing better than running. The adrenaline rushing through your veins and the wind rushing at you. Tommy knew this better than most. He was running across rooftops, leaping between the gaps to get to the warehouse that Tubbo had directed him to. Tubbo’s dad, Schlatt- or as he called himself, The President, had broken out of jail.
Schlatt was a nasty man, and Tommy was always happy to knock some sense into his best friend’s excuse for a father. He leapt off the side of the warehouse, latching his grappling line to the fire escape as he did, and lowered himself gracefully to the ground.
Schlatt’s ability was the same as his older sister’s. Captain’s Call. The power meant that the more allies they had, the more physical strength they had. Speaking of the Captain, Tommy probably didn’t have a lot of time to deal with Schlatt before she got here to deal with him. Tommy adjusted the mask on his face, “Goin in, Bee.” Tommy strode in like he owned the place.
Schlatt was sitting on a chair that sort of looked like a throne. Many of his men were standing around the room as the man recounted his time in prison. At the slam of the door behind him, all the heads in the room snapped up to look at him. “Hiya, fellas.”
“Deal with him!” Schlatt barked, and about a dozen men reached for the guns at their waists. Tommy didn’t waste a second, pulling his extendable staff from his waist and using it to launch up into the rafters. Bullets fired uselessly at where he’d been standing. Tommy pulled the smoke bomb from one of his many pockets and clicked the switch. He dropped it into the space below him and tugged his goggles off his forehead and over his eyes. Red mist filled the room, stinging the eyes of anyone who wasn’t shielded from it. He hopped down as silently as he could and swung his staff into the nearest one of his targets. He dropped like a ragdoll. At the thump, men raised their guns toward where Tommy stood. A few of them, the stupid ones, fired blindly.
“Don’t fire, you idiots!” Schlatt scolded, eyes shut against the mist and grimacing as he heard bodies drop. “One of those better be that little pest! And use your fuking brains! Open a window or some shit!” Tommy moved quickly and quietly. Taking out three more of the gunmen before one of them managed to find the door.
Seven down, six to go. Tommy swung his staff again, not bothering to stay quiet now that the mist was clearing. He took them out in record time. He marched up to Schlatt’s makeshift throne. “Well, now that was a little dumb of you, wasn’t it?” Tommy tutted. “Your power needs you to have allies, and it doesn’t work if they’re not conscious.” Schlatt stood from his seat and reached for his gun.
“I don’t need no power to put a bullet in you, you little shit.” He raised the gun, and Tommy surged forward, gripping the barrel and shoving it upwards before it could fire. Something that not a lot of people knew about Captain’s Call was its downsides. Like if you didn’t have anyone on your side, you were weak as shit. He yanked the weapon from his hands easily and tossed it to the side.
“You really should’ve taken better care of your son,” Tommy growled, then punched him square in the nose. “He’s lights out, Bee.” Tommy pulled zip ties from another one of his pockets and got to work.
“Don’t forget to leave the card, big man. Gotta push the brand.” At Tubbo’s reminder, Tommy pulled a card out of his pocket. A red playing card with the words ‘Wild Card’ scrawled across it in black, on the back were the four suits.
As he placed the card on Schlatt’s unconscious form, the sound of heeled boots on concrete reached his ears. Tommy turned in time to see The Captain waltz into the room. Captain Puffy stepped into the room, her curly brown and white hair flowing around her shoulders, her red coat billowing around her ankles. She wasn't a tall woman, barely taller than Tubbo, but she had a presence that made her the most intimidating person in the room at all times. The sharp horns and large sword at her side didn’t help either. Unsurprisingly, she was the number 3 hero in the country. She was one of the few heroes who wore no mask.
Behind her were two other heroes, Siren and Merling.
Merling, who was married to the Captain, was slightly taller than her wife, with shoulder-length pink hair that matched the shimmering scales on her cheekbones. Niki Nihachu, the number 6 hero in the country, could manipulate water. Her hero uniform consisted of Syndicate-blue water-resistant fabric that covered her from nose to wrist to ankle and a black cape. The reason she and The Captain worked so well together was not only because they were married but also due to the way their powers worked. Puffy’s abilities depended on her allies' loyalty, and Niki’s emotions affected her powers. Their love for each other made them impossible to defeat if they were in the same room. People often said that the only reason that they weren’t the top two heroes was that Niki was only a part-time hero.
Siren was the tallest of the three. Wilbur Soot-Craft, number 5 hero, son of the Angel and brother to The Blade. He donned his typical dark trench coat and shimmering blue mask. His power made it so he could control people with his voice. He and Merling had been friends as teenagers and started as heroes at the same time.
All three heroes glanced around in shock as they entered the warehouse. Tommy held back the urge to fanboy over The Captain, who had always been one of his favourite heroes.
Tommy opened his mouth to bid them farewell, but Siren spoke first. “What the fuck!?” Tommy ran to the nearest window and shattered it with his staff.
“Siren, go after him. We’ll take care of this.” The Captain ordered, which made Tommy ecstatic to hear his favourite hero in action, but it also shot a wave of adrenaline through him as he leapt from the window.
He didn’t wait to hear if Siren responded. He just sent a grappling line to the nearest rooftop and flew. He heard a loud curse, followed by the sound of boots on a fire escape as Siren chased after him. Tommy had a good head start, but he was screwed if he caught up to him. Tommy may have been good in a fight, but going head-on with a top-five hero was asking to be arrested.
“GO LEFT!” Tubbo shouted in his ear, and Tommy turned without hesitation. He hopped the gap between the building he was on and the next, realizing that Tubbo was leading him into a lower district.
“Good thinking, Bee!” The people in the lower districts loved Tommy, and they hated heroes. Heroes did nothing to look out for the poorer areas of Essempe. Therefore, the people that lived there adored vigilantes and would likely give Siren a hard time.
“STOP RIGHT THERE!” Siren yelled, the sweet lilt to his voice letting Tommy know he was using his Siren Call.
“No, thank you!” Tommy called back, hearing Siren splutter in surprise. Tommy was immune to powers. He’d found it out the hard way when he was younger when Ranboo had tried to teleport him out of the course of a stray football, and they’d both gone down like rag dolls. He hopped down onto a nearby fire escape.
Tommy hopped down to street level and took off in the direction of where he lived. “It’s Wild Card!” someone shouted. The guy was probably about Tommy’s age, but he looked at Tommy like he’d hung the damn stars. He waved as people turned to look but never stopped running. Once the people around him realized what he was running from, sounds of outrage sounded through the street.
“Back off, Hero . You’re not welcome here!” One of them spat.
“LEAVE OUR HERO ALONE, SIREN!” That one was a kid. Tommy smiled softly behind his mask. He fought for his people, and they fought for him.
“Clear the way, please,” Siren commanded, and the anger only grew. None of these people could stop from stepping out of his way, but that didn’t stop them from shouting.
“WE DON’T WANT YOU HERE!” “GET OUT OF OUR DISTRICT!” “PISS OFF, YOU WALKING TOOTHPICK!” People in the lower districts really weren’t fond of heroes. Heroes like the Hermits, rescue heroes, were rarely called in unless there was a supervillain attack. The Dream Team agency only patrolled the wealthier districts. The Syndicate wasn’t as bad as that, but they still steered clear of the low districts.
The only heroes that protected the slums were the ones who’d come from them. Like Tommy, who grew up in these streets; like Tubbo, who’d escaped to them; like Ranboo, who’d been abandoned in them.
Siren was not a welcome face here.
“Get back here!” The crowd around him gasped at Siren’s command, terrified that Tommy was done for.
Tommy turned around to look Siren in the eye as he said, “Get out of my streets, Siren.” Siren looked shocked even though Tommy had dodged his voice before. “Not so tough when you’re not in control, are you?” Tommy sneered at the man, ignoring Tubbo’s warnings in his ear to keep moving. “The name’s Wild Card, and these are my fucking people. So get out.” Then Tommy shot a grappling line towards the nearest apartment building and left Siren standing there with his stunned face and a mob of pissed-off civilians.