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Tommy gripped his caretaker’s hand tightly, dreading being separated from her despite knowing it was inevitable. Clara was always nice to him, but Tommy knew that she only had a certain amount of time to be with him before he had to return to his room. Testing was over for the day, and no one had time to play with him right now (that was fine, though, Tommy could take care of himself! He could be a good boy!).
They arrived at his door with all its complicated locks meant to keep Tommy safe and out of villainous hands. The caretakers and doctors loved him so much, even if the locks kept him inside too.
Clara slipped her hand easily out of Tommy’s solid grip, and while Tommy wanted to protest, he would be “mature” like they always ask him to be. He could be a big man! Clara went to the door and started on all the locks, mumbling something under her breath that Tommy knew he wasn’t supposed to repeat.
With a hiss, the door’s vacuum seal opened (that’s what Clara called it, Tommy thought it was a funny name for a sticky door). Despite his hesitance to leave Clara, Tommy gasped in joy and ran into his room, jumping on his bed and grabbing Henry, his cow stuffy, who he had forgotten he had to leave behind.
“Henry, I missed you! We did needle tests today! It was a little scary, but Clara gave me a lollipop, see?” Tommy said excitedly, sticking out his tinted blue tongue. Henry stared into his eyes, and Tommy knew he was asking if he could have a lollipop too.
“Lollipops aren’t good for cows, you know that, Henry!” Tommy said sternly, trying to hide a giggle. Henry could be so silly!
Tommy turned around when he heard a sigh, Clara leaning against the door frame and looking at him with a tired smile.
“It’s time for me to get back to work, Tommy. Thank you for being a good boy like usual. With your help, we’ll save this world one day. Even though the needle tests are scary, remember that you’re my little hero whenever you do them,” Clara said. It was something she repeated often but always made Tommy feel good and brave.
Tommy puffed out his chest with pride, smiling a toothy grin at Clara.
“I know, Clara, you tell me that all the time! I love you, Clara!” Tommy declared, knowing it was time for her to leave. Clara’s face did a weird eyebrow thing that it always did when he said he loved her, so Tommy was pretty sure it was how an adult said they loved a kid. Tommy had never heard any of his caretakers or doctors say it back, but he knew they loved him; they had to since it was an incredible emotion. So if Tommy felt it for them, they must feel it for him.
(Tommy wasn’t entirely sure where he heard about love, knowing it wasn’t something they taught him about. He sometimes dreamed of a woman with flowing hair who would card her fingers through Tommy’s golden locks and tell him how much she loved her family and how she would add him to hers when she found him because she loved him too. It was weird, but the caretakers always told Tommy he just had an overactive imagination. Tommy didn’t tell them he didn’t believe them because how else would he know about such an emotion?)
Clara cleared her throat, bringing Tommy back to the moment, “Thank you, Thomas, that’s very… sweet. Um, someone will be by later with food. I’ll see you tomorrow for more testing, okay? I think we’ll do an imagination test,” Clara said with a twinkle in her eyes that had Tommy smiling. It was everyone’s favorite test type, including Tommy’s.
Tommy used his hand to wave Henry’s paw, both of them saying bye to Clara as she sealed the door closed and the locks clicked into place.
It was quiet in Tommy’s room, but Tommy was used to it. He looked around his room, wondering what toys he wanted to play with. Lately, the caretakers liked to make Tommy do hard reading stuff, but today he wanted to play with his blocks. He could make a castle for Henry! He was a good cow for waiting patiently for Tommy and deserved something as a reward.
Tommy got about building, listening to Henry explain what colors he wanted for which parts of his castle (he really loved the red blocks, just like Tommy!). After a while, Tommy started to feel a bit hungry, though, knowing it was time for lunch and no one had dropped any off despite Clara saying someone would come by.
Tommy stood with a frown, letting the block in his hand fall softly as he did. He hugged Henry close to his chest as he walked to the door, placing his ear against it and listening for any approaching footsteps bringing him his food.
Tommy couldn’t hear much, even with his ear pressed to the door, but sometimes he could listen to people outside. All Tommy could hear right now, though, was… screaming? Tommy had never heard that before unless it was his own…
Tommy tried to strain his ears to hear more until suddenly a loud blaring went off in his room and the red lights on the ceiling that only appeared in emergencies started shining, spinning around and giving Tommy a headache.
Tommy slapped his hands over his ears and screamed, almost dropping Henry in the process. It was so loud!
Why were the alarms going off?! They only went off when- when-
When villains were breaking in.
Tommy suddenly felt panic. Tommy knew that was meant to be impossible, that the heroes protected his home deep underground, keeping Tommy safe and out of the hands of those who wanted to use him for bad things. Still, the alarms had never gone off before. Tommy only knew they existed because people talked about it so Tommy would know what to do in an emergency. He was their most precious thing, they all loved him so much, so this was serious.
Tommy wasn’t really sure what to do. A caretaker was meant to have already come to his door to bring him to safety, but Tommy could only hear the screams outside getting louder, and no one had come for him yet. Tommy removed his hands from his ears, wincing at the action but using his hands to hold Henry in front of his face, asking him what they should do.
Henry’s black beady eyes stared back, worry shining in them as he tried to be brave.
Henry thought it would be a good idea to hide under the bed. Tommy agreed, so they darted under, tugging the sheets down to hide him from view but leaving just enough space for Tommy to peek out. Of course, if his caretakers came, Tommy would stop hiding, but for now, this was a good plan.
It felt like forever that they hid, the sirens still going off, but at least Tommy couldn’t see the lights as much anymore hidden under the bed. His stomach growled in protest every time Tommy moved. He wanted to eat, but Tommy pressed his hand into his stomach, trying to make it hurt less.
It didn’t work great, but Tommy couldn’t do anything else. Tommy knew he would be safe; he always was. No one had ever taken him before in his long five years of life where he’s lived at the facility, protected by heroes, but it had already been so long. It had been so long that eventually, the sirens stopped sounding, and the red lights turned off. But despite this, no one came for him, so Tommy stayed hidden, pretending they were all playing hide and seek.
It wasn’t the best hiding spot, but Tommy didn’t have much else to hide in. His toy chest was full of his things, and the rest of the room was empty besides the dresser against the other wall (Tommy used to try and hide when the bad testing days happened, but he knew it was pointless by now. They were meant to help him and help the world, something Tommy now knew was honorable).
Tommy peeked his head outside the bed at the sound of very loud stomps coming to the door, but before he could get out from under the bed for the caretakers or doctors who had obviously come for him, the door blasted open, falling into the room onto the floor. Tommy quickly tucked his head back under the bed, his squeak of fear covered by the loud bang of the door.
Whoever was here was not his caretakers! What if they were villains?!
Tommy gripped Henry tighter, feeling his soft fur under his fingers. Henry was trembling, but Tommy hoped holding him tighter would help him calm down.
Tommy and Henry needed to be brave; the caretakers always told him he would be a fantastic hero. Still, he just wanted his caretakers, no matter how weak that made him. He wanted Clara or Sam or Ponk or- or- just anyone! Tommy would even take the head of the superheroes, Nox, even though they were scary every time they came to see Tommy, asking about his progress and giving him really rough pats on the shoulder.
Tommy could hear three voices talking over the blood rushing in his ears, three unfamiliar male voices.
The first one was so deep Tommy could tell the heaviest footsteps had to belong to him.
“Am I crazy, or is this a child’s room? I thought this was meant to hold their ultimate weapons?” The man asked gruffly, huffing as he kicked Tommy’s blocks down. Tommy had worked hard on that castle!
“Well, maybe it's a facade?” A musical voice that made Tommy’s insides feel nice suggested, “They might just want us to leave, thinking nothing’s in here.” Tommy liked that idea; they should just leave.
“I don’t know, Mate. Maybe we’re in the wrong room? I’m not sure why they would have a child’s room. Still, I do remember rumors floating around a while ago that Nox was creating child soldiers, stolen from their cribs and everything.” An older and kind voice said. He reminded Tommy a bit of Sam in how he spoke.
“Well, what if there’s like a floor tile that lifts? My bet would be under the bed,” The gruff voice said, causing Tommy to tense. They couldn’t move his bed! They would find him.
Tommy felt his breath pick up slightly, although he tried to cover it up by putting Henry in front of his mouth.
“And I think we were sent on a wild goose chase and made this whole mess for no reason,” The musical voice said smugly. Tommy scooted further under the bed, wincing when his head lightly brushed the top of the bed, making a slight sound. It was barely noticeable, and Tommy prayed no one heard him.
Luck wasn’t on his side, though, since Tommy could see through the sheet feet approaching him before they crouched down on the side of the bed.
“Dad, what are you-”
“Shh, Wil, I heard something,” He murmured, ignoring the voice responding about stupid super hearing or something. Tommy was too focused on remaining still to care about anything happening outside of the man in front of him.
A clawed hand started to lift Tommy’s sheet up, and Tommy squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that if he couldn't see them, they couldn’t see him (that never worked with the doctors, though, and Tommy knew it was pointless).
Tommy guessed that he had failed by the way he heard three gasps in the room before a croon sounded out.
“A baby…” The man in front of him breathed out.
Tommy instantly opened his eyes and scowled.
“I’m a big man! A big hero! I’m not a baby!” Tommy shouted, ignoring how the man winced at his declaration and seemed stunned at Tommy’s existence, scanning him with his eyes in a way that made Tommy want to squirm.
Tommy watched him back, seeing he was wearing some stupid veil over his face that didn’t do much to cover his facial features. Tommy could tell he had blonde hair and blue eyes just like him, but his were worse since they weren’t Tommy’s, obviously. He also had some weird black cape behind him.
The man seemed to be done looking over Tommy as he shook his head, eyes sharpening before he blinked them back to normal.
“Oh, I see. I’m sorry little one. Could you tell me what a big man like yourself is doing under this bed, then?” The man asked with a tilt of his head. His eyes had smile lines, something Tommy rarely saw on his caretakers. They were usually serious, and if they did smile, it was a tired one.
Tommy scrunched his face up at the question, not trusting the man. He didn’t seem mean, but that didn’t mean Tommy could trust him! He was a stranger danger, and he looked stupid too!
“I- I don’t think I should answer that. I don’t know you… what if you’re a bad guy?” Tommy mumbled, squeezing Henry tighter.
The blonde man just kept smiling, looking at Tommy with something like pride. Sometimes his caretakers looked at him like that, especially when he did something really, really good, like making something perfect during an imagination test.
“You’re really smart, Darling,” The man praised, and Tommy tried to hide his smile at the compliment in Henry’s fur. He was super smart!
“Well, my name’s Phil. If you tell me your name, we won’t be strangers anymore, right?” Phil asked kindly. Tommy could hear his friends saying something about secret identities, and Tommy suddenly lit up, knowing exactly what was happening.
“Are you a hero Mr. Phil?! Is that why your friends don’t want me to know your name?” Tommy asked excitedly. If he was a hero, that meant he was here for Tommy!
Phil’s smile faltered for a second before it returned as he reached under the bed, gesturing for Tommy to take his hand, but Tommy waited, wanting to make sure he was trustworthy.
“That’s right, sweetheart, we’re here to save you from some very bad people. So why don’t you come out of there and tell me your name, hmm?” Phil asked, and Tommy quickly took his hand, now knowing he was a hero, shivering slightly from how cold it felt.
Phil pulled Tommy out from under the bed, and Tommy accidentally dropped Henry in the process when Phil hefted him onto his hip.
Tommy quickly forgot about Henry, though, when he noticed the weird black cape behind Phil was actually giant black wings! This was the coolest day ever!
“I’m Tommy! You have wings!” Tommy said in awe, mesmerized by the wings and so excited to meet a new hero. Tommy was totally distracted by the idea of touching the wings until Phil pulled his wings out of reach from Tommy’s grabby fingers. Tommy could suddenly see the other two men in the room.
His friends were a stupid-looking brunette and another man with silly pink hair that Tommy thought was really cool. They were staring at him with so much awe through their simple black masks that Tommy got uncomfortable and hid his face in Phil’s shoulder. Phil chuckled at the action.
“Aw, Toms, those are just my sons. I promise they just want to help you, too,” Phil said with a coo. Tommy peeked out from his shoulder only to find both men closer than before, looking at Tommy with a kinda scary look in their eyes (but it was also a nice look, one Tommy had never seen before. It made him feel wanted).
“Boys, why don’t you say hi?” Phil asked when Tommy clutched his robe tighter.
“Hi, Tommy! I’m Wilbur,” The brunette said excitedly. He was the one with the musical voice that Tommy had liked.
The other one with the gruff voice just quietly said, “Hullo,” and didn’t even say his name. It was so rude!
Phil must have guessed what Tommy thought because he huffed out a laugh.
“Sorry, Tommy, that’s Techno. He gets a bit nervous in front of new people, kinda like how you were a bit scared earlier, yeah?”
Oh, Tommy didn’t want him to be scared! Tommy wiggled out of Phil’s arms, who tried to keep a hold of him, but Tommy was super strong and forced himself into Techno’s arms, who stared at him with fear.
Tommy placed his hand on Techno’s cheek, maybe a little too hard by the sound, and looked at him very seriously.
“You don’t have to be scared of me! I know I’m very big and intimidating, but we can be friends!” Tommy proclaimed. Techno stared at Tommy for a minute before bursting into laughter.
Tommy wasn’t sure why he was laughing, but he started giggling too! He loved making people laugh!
“Sure, kid, we can be friends, brothers even,” Techno said with a grin, his teeth kinda sharp looking with two jutting out from his bottom teeth when Tommy looked close enough.
“No fair Tech! I was gonna say that first!” Wilbur whined, looking ready to snatch Tommy away from Techno.
“L. Get good, loser,” Techno said, and Tommy burst into laughter again.
“You said a naughty word!” Tommy said between breaths.
“If you think that’s naughty, I could teach you so much more,” Wilbur said with a smirk before Phil hit him over the head.
“Can we spend some time with him before you corrupt him, Mate? He’s cute as he is,” Phil said with a frown, but it was one of those ones adults put on for show when they tried to hide their amusement.
Tommy was really interested in what Wilbur meant, but- “I’m not supposed to say bad words. You guys are heroes, so you aren’t meant to either, right?” Tommy asked.
Wilbur smiled, his eyes lighting up. “Yes, we are heroes, and since we’re heroes, everything we do is right, so you can say whatever you want! What matters more, though, is that we’re here to rescue you! But before we can do that, why don’t you tell us why you’re in this room? We weren’t- ah told much,” Wilbur finished, his voice having a lulling quality that made Tommy want to answer. He wanted to be good.
“I’m here to save the world,” Tommy said simply from Techno’s arms, ignoring how his grip tensed slightly before loosening again.
“Save the world?” Phil asked, his brows furrowing. Tommy wasn’t sure why they were confused, but maybe they were new heroes? Although, that wouldn’t make too much sense either since Phil was super old.
“Well, I’ve been here my whole life, safe and protected, so I can one day become a hero and save the world!” Tommy stated with pride, puffing his cheeks out at the disbelief in their eyes. They were being mean!
“W-why don’t you believe me?!” Tommy asked, tears threatening to spill.
Wilbur panicked a bit, quickly stealing Tommy from Techno’s arms, who seemed glad to not have to deal with a crying child.
“Oh no, Sweetheart, we just meant that we were told we had to… protect a super secret and dangerous weapon held here. So we didn’t expect to find a child,” Wilbur explained, soothingly rocking Tommy a bit.
That made more sense then, and it was easy to explain!
“I am the weapon! My powers are the coolest in the world, and all villains would want to steal me, so I’m safe here!” Tommy said happily.
It was silent after that, Wilbur not even rocking him anymore. Three pairs of eyes stared at him, making Tommy feel weird. He wanted Henry now! He didn’t like meeting these new people anymore and regretted leaving Henry under the bed.
“Tommy-” Phil started before stopping himself and beginning again, “Tommy, have you been here your whole life because of your powers?” Phil asked gently like Tommy would get upset at the question.
“Duh, how else would I be safe?” Tommy said with a slight wobble in his voice at how all three men didn’t seem to like his answer.
“Of course,” Phil said with a strained smile, “safe and protected by the heroes in a deep underground lab. We saw the medical equipment outside. Was that all for you?”
“Yeah, they give me tests to ensure I’m healthy and that my powers are growing! I’ve gotten so strong!” Tommy said, feeling Wilbur wince under him. His caretakers always liked it when Tommy acted happy about the tests. So why were the heroes weird about it?
“Dad…” Wilbur whispered quietly, his hold a little tighter on Tommy. It felt safe, though, not scary.
Phil looked both of his sons in the eyes, having a silent conversation like adults sometimes do, before nodding his head.
Tommy wasn’t sure what that meant, but Wilbur hoisted Tommy up more so they could look each other in the eyes.
“Tommy, what are your powers?” Wilbur asked, his voice sounding like the most wonderful music in the world, a sound Tommy would never want to stop listening to.
Tommy felt compelled to answer. “I control reality,” Tommy answered a little dazedly, “They say I’m a reality man-ip-u-lator,” Tommy said, sounding the difficult word out, “I can make anything I want become real.” Tommy was super proud of his powers! They were unique, rare, and powerful. He wanted to do so much good with them (even if all he used them for right now was to make these weird toys that Tommy wasn’t supposed to touch 'cause they were dangerous. They called them weapons just like him, so it must be something good even if he wasn’t allowed to play with them).
All three men gaped at Tommy, absolutely stunned. Tommy felt some pride curl up in his chest. He was so amazing, and now they understood!
Phil was the first to snap out of it, smiling again at Tommy.
“Hey, Toms, how would you like to go somewhere else with us? We could take you somewhere safe where you could stay with all of us and my wife. She’s pretty powerful too,” Phil leaned in and whispered, “she can walk through people’s dreams.” Tommy gasped, and Phil looked happy at having surprised Tommy, but Tommy knew who he was talking about! He knew she was real!
“Dream Lady! I’ve met her!” Tommy exclaimed.
“Y-you have?” Wilbur asked, surprised.
“Mhmm! Sometimes she talks about wanting to find me so that she can bring me home. Did she send you guys? Am I ready to move on to more testing and become a hero outside?” Tommy asked.
The three exchanged another secret glance before Wilbur hugged Tommy tighter.
“Yes, it’s time for you to come home, Tommy. We have a lot planned for you, things you will love so much more than being here. Doesn’t that sound nice?” What Phil said did sound nice. It sounded like a dream come true. He had never actually been outside of the lab, and though he tried to pretend he didn’t care, Tommy was always curious.
“Okay! Can I say bye to Clara first, though? Oh, and the other caretakers and doctors! I don’t know when I’ll see them again!” Tommy said.
“Oh, Toms,” Phil said with a sad smile, although it felt sort of fake, “they are all super busy, so you will just have to leave now, okay?” Phil said, and Tommy heard him, but, well, he couldn’t help it. Even though he knew he shouldn’t, Tommy started crying.
“Oh baby,” Wilbur said, trying to shush him and hold him close to his chest, but it didn’t matter! Tommy didn’t want them! He wanted Clara or Ponk or Sam or-
“Henry! I want Henry!” Tommy screamed, digging his nails into Wilbur’s suit.
“Henry?” Techno asked, wincing when it only made Tommy cry louder.
“My cow! I need my cow!” Tommy screamed.
“Oh, Mate, the one you were holding under the bed?” Phil said, understanding Tommy. He was definitely Tommy’s favorite.
Tommy nodded and sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve even when Wilbur looked grossed out. He was still crying, unable to stop the embarrassing tears, but he wasn’t yelling anymore. It was bad enough he was crying; he didn’t want the heroes to think he was weak.
“Oh Tech, can you-” Phil started to say, but Techno was already moving, getting Henry from under the bed and bringing him back to Tommy. Tommy immediately reached for Henry and forced his way into Techno’s arms, cuddling his cow and the man gently holding him.
“Oh, this is just precious. What happened to being the Orphan Obliterator?” Wilbur said teasingly while Techno grumbled out a mean word, but Tommy wasn’t listening. He had Henry’s soft fur between his fingers, and Techno was really warm and strong. He felt so tired after crying.
“Wilbur, I think he’s ready for a nap,” Phil said, and while Tommy wanted to protest, he didn’t really have the energy.
“Sunshine,” Wilbur whispered from in front of Tommy. Tommy batted his hand at him, earning a chuckle. “Just look at me for a moment, kiddo, then you can sleep, hmm?” Wilbur said.
Tommy grumbled but peeked his eyes open, meeting Wilbur’s soft brown ones. They made Tommy think of the chocolate he once had; it was delicious. Tommy wondered if he could have some more wherever he was going.
“Go to sleep, little one,” Wilbur suggested, and Tommy closed his eyes and slept.
——————
Wilbur walked out with his family, all of them feeling the righteous anger in their chests with no one to take it out on. They had already killed everyone working here, their bodies and blood littering the hallways.
To take a child from birth, and make him into a weapon, was evil. They knew the heroes were corrupt, the worst of the worst, but to stoop so low?
The new weapons they had been making and using lately made sense, too. A child with the power of imagination on his side, able to make anything he thinks, or anything he is told to think, come to life, could make the most powerful weapons in existence.
His family would never use Tommy for that, though. No, they were villains, but they wanted to make things better, and to do that, they had to take out the weeds. Tommy would grow beautifully under them instead of being stifled in this disgusting lab. Maybe even one day, he would want to join them, understanding everything they did was for the best.
But for now, he was perfect where he was, nestled in his brother’s arms with a smile, his golden hair making him look like an angel.
The only thing that would be more perfect was if Wilbur was holding him, but he knew he had to give Techno a turn. His instincts were probably going wild over the child’s hair, especially after hearing about how they made him into a weapon against his will, his need to protect going haywire. Sometimes being the only human in a family of hybrids was difficult, but Wilbur loved his family, and now, he would never be alone again. A little human brother was the most perfect gift in the world.