Chapter Text
“You fucking idiot!!!”
“What do you want me to do? What’s done is done.”
“What in the world were you thinking?!” A young boy paced around the small living room in his apartment. Little horns sticking just above his messy brown hair. “We are barely making ends meet as is! Why the hell would you get yourself fired like that!?”
“I wasn’t thinking obviously. Besides, that lady was being a total bitch.” The other boy sat nonchalantly on the couch seemingly unbothered by his roommates shouting. “Don’t worry Tubbo, I'll just find another job.”
Tubbo took a deep breath in and sighed, “Listen Tommy, I don’t want to move back in with Techno. I know you don’t want to move back in with him either.” Tubbo shoved his laptop into his backpack. “Figure it out! I’ll send you different places to apply to. You better apply to all of them. Got it?”
Tommy saluted, “Sir yes sir.”
Tubbo put on a mask and tossed his hood over his head. “I’m leaving! See ya!” Tubbo left, leaving Tommy alone in the apartment to his own devices.
“He worries too much.”
Tommy Innit, legally known as Thomas Underscore, had just gotten fired from his job as a barista at a shitty cafe. Blonde hair and bright blue eyes, he was 18 years old living in a run down apartment with his best friend Tubbo. Despite their friend’s offer to get them a place in the middle districts they refused, insisting that they wanted to take care of things themselves. Which resulted in the current situation.
With no job and Tubbo currently studying at college, money was now an even bigger problem than it was before. It didn’t help that Tommy and Tubbo were from the lower districts. District 13 to be exact. The city itself had 20 total districts. Districts 1-5 were the upper districts, 6-10 middle, 11-15 lower, and 16-20 were referred to as the abandoned districts.Tommy had been born and raised in district 13 which wasn’t the poorest district but they weren’t exactly financially stable. They lived in district 10 for a while with a friend, but Tommy didn’t want to burden him now that he was 18.
Tommy sighed and booted up the PC that Tubbo put together using scraps that Tommy found in the garbage. Tubbo had already sent him several job applications that he had to apply for. Tommy clicked through them and filled out all the information needed.
He paused looking at a job that stood out. Assistant Needed At Hero Tower.
Tommy scoffed, “An assistant huh. For those pricks? Ha! Yeah Tubbo, I really want this job, it suits me soooooooo welllll.” Tommy still applied for the job, but moved on afterwards thinking nothing of it.
Time passed and eventually it was dark outside. Tubbo was back, typing something on his laptop. Tommy was watching the news off his phone as he waited for water to boil. Nothing too interesting. Just the usual headlines about heroes like Philza saving the day, rumors and speculation about the syndicate, different issues going on in the middle and upper districts.
Something caught his attention though. The mention of a new vigilante going around district 13. All photos of them were only seen as glitchy messes which made it impossible to make out what the vigilante actually looked like.
Tommy smiled, “Tubbo check this out! Recognition!”
Tubbo rolled his eyes, “Keep telling yourself that Tommy. Get the water.”
“You’re no fun. After we eat I'll head out.” Tommy poured the water into instant ramen and set one in front of Tubbo. “Everything alright man? You've been typing for a while now.”
“Mechanical engineering is stupid.”
“...wait, I thought you were a comp sci student.”
“I'm both. You know this.”
“No wonder you're so stressed all the time.” Tommy started eating, causing Tubbo to pull himself away from work and do the same. “Any luck with friends?”
Tubbo had just started going back to school. Well, not just started. It had been a month since the spring semester had started. Tubbo had been pretty busy since then.
“I barely have the time to deal with your bullshit. How do you expect me to deal with others?”
“Hey you're the one that didn't want to live in the dorms.”
“It lowers tuition costs if I commute.”
“Your commute is shit!”
“I can run, it's alright. I don't really need friends anyways. Besides, you don’t have any either.”
“Hey!” Tommy pointed his fork at him, “I can make friends so much easier compared to you.”
“Please, those are acquaintances at best.”
“Fuck you!”
“See?” Tubbo laughed. “Can’t even come up with a decent rebuttal, so you’re just swearing.”
“I'm leaving.”
Tommy put on a mask over his face and motorcycle goggles with tinted lenses over his eyes. He put on some black sweatpants and sneakers. He drew the drawstrings on his hoodie tight, making sure none of his hair stuck out of it.
“Belt.” Tubbo reminded.
Tommy grabbed the belt and buckled it around his waist. It had everything he needed for a successful patrol. His grappling hook, a panic button, and zipties. Finally he put on some gloves, ready to leave.
Tubbo tossed him an earpiece, “Don't die.”
Tommy smiled, “I won't.”
Tommy disappeared in a flash of particles and reappeared in the alleyway a few streets down from his apartment. Pointing his grappling hook upwards he used it to bring himself up onto the roof. It was another wonderful night out on the streets of L'manberg. Tommy looked down at the city from above ready to start his patrol as the up and coming vigilante in district 13.
Today was a boring night. Nothing exciting was going on. Which was good! When things are boring there's nothing bad happening. As he helped curb the crime rate in the streets, he eventually made it to the border between the 13th and 14th districts.
“Hey kid.” Another vigilante waved from down in an alleyway. “Down here.”
Dressed in his iconic multi-colored trench coat sat Traveler, a vigilante from district 14. Known for never being spotted by heroes no matter how hard they look.
Tommy muted his end of the earpiece before he parkoured down, “Not a kid.”
“No voice changer, no talking.” Traveler reached into the messager bag that rested over his shoulder and tossed Tommy a notepad and pen. “I've told you this before.”
“Not my fault I can't afford a voice changer,” Tommy wrote, sitting down next to him.
“You build the rest of your gear, how is that any different?”
“Parts for that are harder to find.”
Traveler laughed, “Well, I saw the news. You're making a name for yourself, kid.”
“Not-” Tommy didn't finish writing the sentence as Traveler tossed him something. Tommy fumbled the catch, letting whatever Traveler passed to him hit the ground.
“Sorry, sorry, I should've warned you.” Traveler picked it up and handed it to Tommy properly. It was a can of red spray paint, the same color as Tommy's hoodie. “Here. Let people know your name, kid. Being an urban legend is fun, but you should pick out a name before the media gives you one.”
Tommy handed him the notepad and pen. He signed a quick “Thank you,” before grappling back onto the roof.
Traveler said from the alley, “Have fun kid!”
Tommy sped across the rooftops, remembering to unmute himself, “Any updates bee boy?”
“We will be talking later.”
“Car robbery, brb.” Tommy parkoured down a building and leapt off the fire escape he was descending by sending a flying kick towards the man's head. The man's head slammed into the car. He didn't want the man to die so he made sure he was still breathing before tying his wrists with zip ties.
Tommy leaned the man against the wall of a building and shook the spray paint. He sprayed out his name with big red letters without much decoration or flair. He smiled at his handiwork until he heard the sound of wings coming towards him.
Tommy tossed the spray can at the direction of the sound. Philza was flying straight towards him. He quickly pressed the button on his belt and dashed into an alley.
Tubbo frantically spoke into the earpiece, “Tommy? Tommy what the hell is going on?”
Heroes never went to the lower districts unless they were hunting down vigilantes. Tommy ran as fast as he could, hearing the sound of wings as Philza chased after him. After what felt like hours of running and weaving Tommy was starting to feel out of breath. He got into a super narrow alleyway and used his grappling hook to make it up to the roof.
It was narrow enough that Philza couldn't open his wings wide enough to follow. Philza paused and looked up as Tommy swung away. He turned around and went back to the spot where police were detaining a man that seemed to have a very bad concussion.
“Sir!” One of the men approached him. “The vigilante was using this to graffiti the wall.”
“A vigilante doing graffiti? What did they draw?” Philza followed the officer to the graffiti.
“It says Theseus.”
“Like the myth?”
“Seems so.” The officer sighed, “Well, we'll take this guy. Have a good night Philza.”
“You too.”
The officers drove away, but Philza remained. He looked at the freshly painted wall reading the name over and over again in his brain. “Theseus. I'll make sure to remember that name.”
--
Tommy teleported back to his apartment, glitchy particles following behind. He collapsed onto the couch breathing heavily. Tubbo quickly got a cup of water, “Holy shit! Tommy, are you okay? What happened?”
Tommy pulled down his mask and started chugging the water, “Philza happened.”
“What!? Why the hell is he here?”
“Hell if I know! He was probably going towards 14th and happened to spot me.”
“Speaking of 14th,” Tubbo ripped the goggles off Tommy's head, “I told you to stop talking to Traveler! I'm not stupid I know you muted to talk to him!”
“I just happened to see him.” Tommy started hiding all his vigilante gear. “Why do you hate him so much anyway? He's the only reason I've survived this long doing vigilante shit.”
“He's suspicious. I don't trust him. Considering all your trust issues, I'm surprised you do.”
“Traveler is just hard to read. If he wanted me gone, he would've done something already.”
“...alright. Call it a night then. You need all the energy you can get finding a new job.”
“You sleep too.”
Tubbo shoved Tommy off the couch. “You take the bed. I'll sleep here.”
“Goodnight Tubbo.”
“Night.”
Interview after interview Tommy wasn't able to find a job. There was one more interview left that week. It was the one to be an assistant at the hero tower. It paid the most by far, but Tommy really didn't want to work there. The tower was in the center of district 1 which was pretty far. Plus he was a vigilante. I didn't help that pretty much all of Tommy's legal documents were forged, saying he was 21 instead of 18. It wasn't a big difference, but in L'manberg you aren't an adult until you turn 20.
Tubbo graduated from high school early and managed to get into university at 19, and Tommy did the same except chose not to go to college. He wanted to start working as soon as he could, but most of the better paying ones wouldn’t let some teen work for the same pay and benefits.
Legally speaking, Tommy shouldn't have been able to apply in the first place, but here he was. Walking into the hero tower lobby he immediately felt out of place. A bunch of rich snobs looking for a job only to improve their social standing. Compared to everyone in full suits, his slightly stained white button up and jeans stuck out like a sore thumb. He didn’t know how he made it to the interview stage, but here he was!
“Excuse me?” A woman approached him with a smile. “What brings you to the tower”
Tommy smiled, “I’m here for the assistant interviews. I got an email about them. Is this the right place?”
“Yes! Follow me please!” She led him to a desk and sat down, typing on a computer. “What is your name?”
“Thomas Underscore.” A lie. His name was Tommy Innit, but ever since he woke up in that hospital that name was forgotten from the world. “What’s yours?”
“My name is Kristen, I’m a front desk assistant here at the tower.” She handed him a visitor's pass and a lanyard. “Take the elevator up to the 10th floor. Interviews are being conducted there. Good luck!”
“Thank you.” Tommy put the lanyard around his neck and headed towards the elevator. He took a deep breath as he waited for one of them to reach the lobby. Once inside he closed his eyes and focused on the beeping as the elevator reached each floor.
He found a chair to sit in as he waited. He spotted the room where the interviews happened. People walked in and out every 10 to 30 minutes. He wasn’t sure when his turn would be, but he was bored waiting for it. He thought an interview with this many applicants would be group interviews not individual. Tommy brought a book to read in the meantime.
“Hello!” Someone approached him. “Would you like some refreshments?”
Tommy looked up from his book standing in front of him was the hero Blue Bird. Long brown hair, bright blue wings, and her signature gas mask. Tommy smiled, “What kind of refreshments?”
“Just some water and snacks. Any allergies?”
Tommy shook his head. “None that I'm aware of.” He was up for free food though. If he didn’t want any of it, he would just give it to Tubbo.
“Here you go!” She handed him a water bottle and a paper bag filled with snacks. “Good luck on the interview!” Blue Bird walked away to another person and said similar things, except the guy she chose to talk to next made more conversation.
Tommy went back to reading and after what felt like forever, he was finally called in. It was then he realized he had no idea who the assistant would be working for. Stepping in he saw Philza, the number 1 hero sitting at a table looking over a paper. Hearing the door open he smiled, “Oh! Hello!” He put the paper aside and picked up a new one.
“Hello.”
“Have a seat, uh,” Philza read over the paper. “Mr. Underscore.”
Tommy sat down, “Nice to meet you.”
“Let’s get started then,” Philza read over a paper that Tommy assumed was information about him. “So, why exactly do you want this job?”
Tommy sighed, got comfortable, and started making sure he would never get this job, “Money.”
“Alright, alright-” Philza did a double take, “I’m sorry!?”
“What?” Tommy shrugged. “I lost my last job and need a new one. I’ve just been applying for everything. Dreams don’t pay my bills y’know.”
“Sorry, most people aren’t as upfront about that. How did you lose your last job? It says on your resume you worked as a barista.”
“It’s customer service. How do you think I lost my job? Some lady was picking on one of my co-workers, so I gave her a piece of my mind.” Tommy recalled the woman picking on the part timer. They were having a bad day too. Something about a group project that wasn’t going well. “She deserved it, but my boss had to fire me.”
“I see…” Philza wrote something down. “Tell me a bit about yourself then.”
“Why? You have all my information down on those papers.” Why was everything on papers anyway? Tommy assumed that the tower would have state of the art technology, and yet the number 1 hero was doing everything on paper.
“Documents don’t give me a sense of your personality.”
“Fine. My name is Thomas Underscore, but I prefer going by Tommy. I’m from district 13. I live there with my roommate. I’m 21 years old. As for powers, I don’t have any.”
Asking about what a person's powers was generally considered rude and was a pretty personal question. When you told someone your powers that was a sign of the highest level of trust. However, Tommy kept his powers a secret simply because he had no clue what they really were. Instead, he said that he didn’t have any. In a place like the tower, knowing the powers of employees was needed or else there would be security risks. Like a vigilante getting a job there.
“You don’t have powers? That was on your application. Most people wouldn’t announce that so freely.”
“It’s not exactly a secret.”
“I see. Is there anything that you enjoy doing in your free time?”
“Reading.”
“You don’t seem like the type to enjoy reading.”
Tommy laughed, “I get that I lot.”
“I was surprised when you said you’re 21.” Philza put down the pen. “I thought you were a teen.”
“If I was, I wouldn’t have been able to apply.”
“You look incredibly young.”
“That’s malnourishment for you!” Tommy laughed seeing the way Philza’s smile dropped. “I’m joking. Mostly. The orphanage didn’t exactly have much food.”
“Oh…”
“Don’t pity me Mr. Hero, I’m eating just fine now.” Tommy leaned back. “I’m just lanky.”
“No family then?”
“Just my roommate and a friend of ours. He took us in when we were kids, but we moved out of his place recently. He should be one of my emergency contacts.”
Philza hummed, “Are you aware of the risks of working at the tower?”
“Obviously, but this place has pretty much every hero in the city. Whatever happens, I'll be fine.”
Philza stood up and extended a hand, “It was nice meeting you Mr. Underscore.”
Tommy stood up and shook Philza’s hand, “Same here.” Tommy left the tower feeling confident that he would be receiving a rejection email in a couple days.
After all the interviews were done, Blue Bird walked into the interview room with a cup of tea, “You doing alright Phil?” She handed him the cup.
“Just fine Jaiden. Did anyone give you trouble?”
“Nah, just a couple people trying to make connections. It was more annoying than anything else.” Jaiden smiled. “So, do you know who you’ll hire to be your new assistant?”
“No clue.”
“You better figure it out soon! Do you know how hard it was to keep Chayanne and Tallulah out of the room? They really need the help.”
Philza sighed, “Give me time.”
“Is there anyone you have in mind?”
“...well. There was one person.”
“Tommy!!!!” Tubbo shook him awake. “Wake up stupid!!!!”
“Wuh?” Tommy rubbed his eyes, “Did you destroy something again?”
Tubbo shoved his phone into Tommy’s face, “You got hired!”
Tommy sat up and grabbed Tubbo’s phone, “WHAT!? Holy shit. Why the fuck did the tower decide to hire me?!”
With that, the up and coming vigilante of district 13th was now working for the people that wanted to lock him up. This was going to end horribly.