Chapter Text
"Tommy, you know you're freaking stupid, right?" Tubbo's voice rang in his ear as Tommy left the train station. He let out a small sigh of relief as he glanced around at the open air.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, but this is the only interview I've gotten in a week! I'll probably not even get the job, but it doesn't hurt to try," Tommy insisted, weaving his way through the crowds of people.
"It does hurt to try! What if they find out!?" Tubbo's voice exploded from the phone.
"Find out what? There's nothing to find out," Tommy said innocently.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that you're not how old your legal documents say you are, the fact that you hid your powers from the tester teams, the fact that you're a freaking vigilante-"
"Ok, ok, I get it, but the heroes pay really well," Tommy defended. "And besides, there's nothing that could give me away." Tommy approached the large building with the Hero insignia like a billboard for all to see. It was by far the tallest skyscraper around. It was one of the most beloved places in all of L'Manburg, and yet feared by the villains, vigilantes, and common criminals of the streets alike.
And Tommy was walking right inside.
Tommy approached the front desk after saying goodbye to Tubbo. The desk was pushed up against the far wall, with a couple of doors behind it. Tommy glanced around the large, sparsely populated lobby as he walked. Behind the desk was a woman with black and blond hair, with a name tag that read 'Niki'.
"I'm here for the assistant interview," Tommy said, just as Tubbo ingrained in his head. Tubbo had tried talking Tommy out of it until the last minute, but that didn't mean his friend didn't try to prepare him.
Tommy was well versed on everything his resume said, as well as his 'like-a-secret-spy-backstory' as Tommy called it.
According to the information the Heroes had, Thomas Innit had applied for the position. Tubbo had taught Tommy to the best of his abilities (which wasn't much, as Tommy refused to listen, but it was something) how to be polite, calm, and open without revealing the truth, along with all the little details he added to Tommy's file to make it seem more believable.
"Name?" Ms. Niki asked, jerking Tommy out of his thoughts.
"Thomas Innit."
"Alright, I can see you're scheduled for 2 o'clock, so you might as well head up there now. The previous applicant should be done just about now," Ms. Niki said kindly, handing Tommy a white key card, "This will take you up to the 30th floor."
Tommy accepted the key card with a nod, walking over to the elevators she pointed out. Tommy put his key card in and one of the elevators opened, the 30th button light already on. Tommy suppressed a shudder as he entered the closed metal box.
As the elevator rose, as did Tommy's nerves. He would never admit it, but he was actually considering turning back for a second. If he said the wrong thing, he could get put in Pandora's Vault for the rest of his life.
Tommy took a deep breath, just as Tubbo had taught him. He could feel his powers coursing under his skin, wanting to be released, as they always did nowadays when he was nervous or anxious, but Tommy pushed them away. He couldn't risk being caught. He shifted his weight and winced as it sent a flair of pain up his leg.
The elevator dinged and Tommy stepped out, ignoring the pain and looking around.
There was some sort of lounge or waiting area to his left, with a bunch of couches and chairs set up. Some were facing a huge window, while others faced a large fish tank. Tommy walked over to the window, gazing at the city below him.
The 30th story wasn't the highest floor in the building by a long shot, but it was still higher than a lot of the surrounding area, save for a couple dozen office buildings around.
Tommy glanced at the watch Tubbo had made him and saw it was nearly 2. His nerves grew as he fiddled with his watch, trying to distract himself. He looked over to the right of the elevators and saw 3 doors, each set about 20 feet apart from each other. Tommy walked over, reading the golden plaques on the doors. His eyes grew wide as he read the names of 3 of the Top Ten Heroes in all of L'Manburg: Phantom, The Blade, and The Angel.
His breath caught in his throat, the gravity of what he was about to do finally setting in.
Tommy turned around to head back towards the elevators, but before he could, the door labeled Phantom swung open, hitting Tommy in the face.
"Ow," he muttered, stepping out from behind the door.
"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry," the person said, looking like more of a nervous wreck than Tommy felt. Is Phantom really that bad? Tommy thought, concerned.
"Ah, you must be my 2 o'clock!" Tommy heard a voice from inside the room. Tommy glanced to the elevators again, considering escape, but Tommy Innit doesn't run from a challenge. So instead, he turned and stepped inside Phantom's office.
The office was a large space, decorated sparingly. There were a few bookshelves and bean bag chairs in one corner, and pictures of what Tommy recognized as all Top Ten Heroes in L'Manburg hung on the walls. There were a few file cabinets next to the bookshelves, and a large desk facing forward, illuminated from behind by a window the size of the entire wall.
Lastly, Tommy looked at Phantom, sitting in his chair with a look of boredom as he scanned through a stack of papers. He wasn't wearing his hero outfit. Instead, he was wearing a yellow sweater with a beanie, despite it being late summer. He motioned for Tommy to sit in one of the chairs opposite the desk, and Tommy did so hesitantly. After a moment, Phantom leaned back in his chair, the file he was looking for in his hands.
"You're Thomas Innit?" Phantom asked, flicking through the pages of the file.
"Yep! That's me, the big man himself," Tommy said, "But I just go by Tommy."
"Alright, Tommy. Tell me about yourself."
Tommy wracked his brain quickly, trying to remember everything Tubbo had told him.
"Well, I'm 19 years old," Tommy started, "I graduated from high school last year, and had a few part-time jobs but now I'm looking for something more permanent," Tommy said quickly, the words he had rehearsed so many times coming back to him, "As a kid, I always wanted to be a hero, but I didn't have any abilities so that kind of threw my plans out the window. But after I left my last job, I saw there was an opening for here, so I applied, thinking that I could at least work near the best and greatest even if I can't be one of them." Tommy shut his mouth to stop his rambling. Hr needed to stop feeling nervous. He was fine, perfectly fine, just the small fact that the person in front of him tried to kill him the night before. (Okay, that's exaggerating, but still)
Tommy shook his head slightly, plastering on a fake smile and looking up at Phantom, who was nodding at Tommy's response.
"What do you like to do in your free time?" Phantom asked, looking through Tommy's file again.
"I like to help my roommate with his little projects that he likes to do. He likes making little gadgets and stuff." Tommy searched his brain for things normal people did, "I like to go on walks and runs." That wasn't much of a lie, which Tubbo told him was good. The least lies necessary was best to help Tommy not get tangled up in the web of falsities.
Phantom nodded again, looking up from Tommy's file and into his eyes. "What is your opinion on vigilantes?" Tommy's breath caught in his chest. He froze for a second before blurting out, "What kinda crappy question is that?"
Phantom looked slightly amused, "I'm just curious how you feel about them."
Tommy paused for a moment before saying "They're illegal."
"I know they're illegal, I've put dozens in jail," Phantom said, still looking amused, "But what's your opinion on them?"
"I think that they're more flipping helpful than the heroes in the outer sections," Tommy said, a scowl crossing his face, "Do you know how freaking often people get stabbed in Sections 12, 13, and 14? And how heroes pass by maybe once a month? I swear, the vigilantes out there are the only thing holding it together. Sure, in the higher sections, they probably should let the heroes do their job with big things, but heroes don't give a flip if a random person is stabbed on the way home from the grocery store. That's the police's job, but police think it's the hero's fricking job if it has any semblance of danger in it!" Tommy said, slowly raising his voice.
The slightly amused look on Phantom's face disappeared, replaced by one of annoyance, "Vigilantes are illegal. They're off the grid, they can't be controlled. They're dangerous."
Tommy stayed silent, even though everything in him was fighting to not scream curses at the man and throw him out the window. After a moment of agitated staring, Phantom's face broke out in a grin, "I like you. You think differently than other people. Everyone else is so boring, just saying what they think I want to hear, but not you. At least not in that outburst."
"Of course I flipping think differently. The rest of the pricks trying out for the job have probably never passed Section 10."
"Which Section do you live in?
"12."
"And you say heroes don't patrol there?"
"Not very often, but I've seen them around a few times."
“You’re an interesting kid,” Phantom said, peering at him curiously.
"I'm not a frickin’ kid!" Tommy shouted, "I'm 19!"
Phantom just smirked and said, "You're practically a baby."
Tommy had to restrain himself from lunging at the man, instead hurling curses at him that would make a sailor's ears bleed, but Phantom just smiled.
"Is everything alright in here, mate?" Tommy heard. He whipped around, noticing the open door for the first time. The #5 Top Hero, The Angel, stood in the doorway, his large black wings folded behind him.
"Everything's fine, Phil, Tommy here just got mad at me because he's a child," Phantom said.
"You-!" Tommy shouted, turning around, his resolve finally breaking. He jumped towards the man, aiming a punch at Phantom's arm. Just before Tommy reached him, Phantom disappeared, showing up again a second later on the other side of the desk. Tommy picked up a fake plant and threw it at him, causing Phantom to disappear again. The Angel watched the two fight for a moment longer, before turning and walking out of the room.
Tommy tried to run at Phantom, but an excruciating pain shot through his leg and he fell to the ground, swearing loudly.
"Are you okay?" Phantom demanded, reappearing right beside Tommy, causing him to jump.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I just…fell down the stairs yesterday," Tommy said.
"Can I take a look?" Phantom asked. Tommy reluctantly pulled up his pants leg, wincing as he did so. There was a large bruise across his entire leg, a painful rainbow of blue and black. Phantom inhaled sharply.
"Like I said, I'm fine," Tommy insisted, pulling his pants leg back down, standing up somewhat shakily.
"Did you walk here?' Phantom asked indignantly.
"I took the train," Tommy shrugged.
"With your leg like that?"
"I'm a tough man. Nothing can stop me," Tommy said, taking another step forward. His knees buckled and a pair of arms caught him before he hit the floor.
"Here," Phantom said, helping Tommy back to his chair. Phantom picked up his phone and pressed a button, "Hey Niki? Can you cancel my 2:30? Thanks." He turned to Tommy, "Let's get you to the med floor.
"No, I'm fine," Tommy said, standing up, "I've dealt with worse."
"This is not negotiable, child, I am bringing you down to the med floor."
"Did you just call me a flipping child again!?"
"I did, and I will continue to do so until you come with me."
"Fine," Tommy grumbled, allowing Phantom to help him limp to the elevators. He pulled out a black key card and dragged Tommy inside as an elevator opened, not noticing Tommy’s hesitancy. Phantom hit the button for the 3rd floor, the med-floor, Tommy assumed.
The doors opened and the elevator was flooded with a harsh white light. Blinking for a second, looking around, Tommy was able to make out dozens of beds in rows, along with a few rooms at the far end of the floor.
Phantom brought Tommy over to one of the empty beds, instructing him to sit. After a minute, a doctor came over and checked on Tommy's leg. They gave him some painkillers, and some sort of special bandage that was supposed to help make the bruise go away faster, telling him that he was lucky it wasn't broken.
Phantom stayed there the entire time, watching over Tommy. When the doctor said he was good to go, just to try not to do extreme sports for a few days, Phantom took Tommy down to the lobby.
"I'm glad that's taken care of," Phantom said, smiling at him.
"It doesn't hurt now," Tommy grudgingly admitted. Phantom just smirked at him.
"Come on now," Phantom said, leading Tommy toward another set of doors.
"Is there another part to the interview?" Tommy asked as Phantom's keycard unlocked the door.
"No," Phantom said, pushing the door open to reveal a huge garage filled with every type of vehicle imaginable, "I'm taking you home."
Phantom brought Tommy over to a dark blue car, unlocking it, and nearly pushing Tommy inside. Tommy protested, saying he could take the train, but Phantom ignored him, starting the car.
They drove in relative silence, only talking when Tommy had to tell Phantom which way to turn. Tommy stared up at the sky, barely watching the streets. They left the tall gleaming buildings behind, driving farther and farther away from Section 1. After about an hour, Tommy told Phantom to pull over in his parking lot.
As Tommy got out, Phantom glanced warily at the rundown building in front of them. "You live here?" Phantom asked, making a face.
"Yeah. Not everyone is rich enough to live in a frickin’ penthouse in Section 1," Tommy said, climbing out of the car.
"Do you want help getting to your apartment?" Phantom asked, turning to step out of the car.
"I can go up two flights of stairs just fine," Tommy rolled his eyes, "But… thanks, Phantom," Tommy said, smirking a little at the irony of it all.
Phantom smiled in return, "You can call me Wilbur."