Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Hit the Target’s case had been a strange one. The hero, StampyLongNose, had been attempting to defeat him and his partner Viva Dash for years, when one night a tall person in a black hoodie, and black face mask, as well as black sweatpants and converse, joined Stampy on the rooftop.

Looking Stampy in the eyes, which were shaded by their hood, they nodded and jumped over to the roof where Hit the Target stood. Stampy followed their lead and together they led Hit the Target to an empty field. Following the masked person’s lead, they jumped over one of Hit the Target’s projected targets, Stampy stumbling slightly at the unexpected slight drop. Not noticing the masked person’s stop, he kept running.

When Stampy realised what had happened and turned back, the masked person was nowhere to be found, yet Hit the Target was on the ground knocked out, with zip ties tying his hands behind his back. On Hit the Target’s right hand, where the thumb connected to the rest of the skin, was a simple circle no larger than a quarter, with a dot in it. Dismissing it to be a target on Hit the Targets skin that was always there, as they had never gotten close enough, or bothered looking there, to know if it wasn’t usually there, Stampy called into the Lovely World Hero Association, and Hit the Target was put in prison.

The only other time The Masked One, as they had been dubbed by Stampy, was seen was a few weeks after the capture of Hit the Target, when they aided with the capture of Viva Dash, Hit the Target’s partner in crime.

The most notable factor that aided The Masked One’s capture of Viva Dash, Stampy noted, was that her potions had little to no effect on The Masked One. Potion after potion after potion was thrown at them and the potions remained virtually ineffective. The Masked One turned a corner after Viva Dash, and when Stampy followed, he saw that it was a boxed in are, the only out the way they had entered, or up the 7 storied buildings around them.

Once again, The Masked One was nowhere to be found, and the target, this time Viva Dash, was knocked out, hands tied with a zip tie behind her back, and the same circle and dot on her hand, in the same place as Hit the Target’s.

After that, The Masked One was never seen again.

A year later, the Vigilantes Aite and Sisyphus appeared for the first time.

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“Raaaannnnbooooooo” Tommy complained for the tenth time that day. “What, Tommy?” Ranboo said, exasperated. He looked over to Tommy who was draped across the couch. They had found it on the side of the road, with some questionable stains on it, and it had been an adventure to get it into their cramped 7th story apartment.

Really, it was a miracle they had found such an item in their sector. The 7th sector was the worst off of the 7, never leaving anything that might have any value out, as it was hard to get anything here. So really, it was worth it to ignore the questionable stains to enjoy the one thing they had that was of some quality (they could ignore the holes and springs popping through if it meant an ounce of comfort).

The rest of their apartment was virtually empty, only having a fridge (that came with the apartment), a microwave (that they found on in the trash in a higher sector), a milk crate (to act as their pantry), an old box tv (found in a thrift store in a higher district, which they had spent a long time saving for), and 2 doors; one leading to the bathroom, and one leading to a room that was meant to be used as a bedroom.

“I’m booorrreeeddd” “You wouldn’t be as bored if you got an actual job.” Ranboo deadpanned. Tommy looked up at Ranboo, pouting. “But jobs aren’t funnnn” Ranboo only blinks at him. “Plus I already have a job” he laments. “An actual job.” Ranboo emphasizes. “I have an actual job ” Tommy spits out the words as if they personally offended him. 

Ranboo only sighs deeply, and returns to typing on their shared computer, which was one of the few items they had found and kept from The Before times, as they had dubbed it. Tommy huffs, and looks back to the TV. 

“Hey Tommy?” Ranboo calls. “Mmm?” Tommy looks over. Ranboo waves him over, causing him to flop off the couch and step the small space over to Ranboo. “I f-” “Are you sitting on the pantry again?” Tommy says, cutting him off. “I- Well- You were on the couch and i needed a desk-type space” Ranboo gestures to the computer which is sitting on their fridge (It’s a mini-fridge, yet with ranboo’s height it looks tiny). 

His gestures draw Tommy’s attention to the computer screen. Which has a job application pulled up. Tommy groans, staring at it a bit more. It’s an application for SBI hero association. In sector 1. He groans again, turning to head back to the couch, but Ranboo’s hand on his wrist stops him. 

“Please, Tommy.” His voice comes out quietly, causing Tommy to freeze. “I know you don’t want to do this, and I really don’t want to either but at this point we don’t really have another choice.” Ranboo sounds stressed, true in his words. Reality comes rushing down on Tommy all at once -- cold, like one of those safety showers he vaguely remembers seeing in one of those cheesy high school movies once.

It is as if the strings holding him up have been cut, causing his shoulders to slump and gaze to fall to his feet. “I know” is all he says, his voice matching the others. “I’m sorry.” Ranboo says. Tommy turns to face Ranboo, who has his eyes locked on Tommy’s shoes, holding in tears. “I’m sorry” He says again, slowly folding in on himself, trying to make it unnoticeable. Tommy grabs his hand, and pulls him up into a tight hug that they both need.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry” Ranboo keeps whispering, apologizing. As if it’s all he knows how to do. ( Do you have an explanation-? I’m sorry. I’m sorry, i didn’t mean to. I can do better. I will do better next time. You better. Sorry doesn’t cut it. You need to star working on it now, you can’t mess around with whatever things you are doing right now. Do better.  I’m sorry.) Tommy mutters reassurances into his ears. It’s while holding onto each other that Tommy realises the truth. 

Ranboo, the person who has been with Tommy for The Before and through thick and thin, Ranboo who has helped Tommy with any issue he faced since they met, Ranboo, who always held him, and muttered reassurances into his ears when it was tough, when Ranboo himself was about to break, Ranboo, who held himself together just to help Tommy, Ranboo who worked 3 jobs and considered working a 4th just so they could have a roof over their heads and at least something in their stomachs every night, Ranboo, who is is his brother in every single thing but blood.

Ranboo, who for once let down his walls and let himself cry and let Tommy reassure him . It was for Ranboo that Tommy would apply to the top hero association, the one in the highest sector, that he swore to never return to. For Ranboo. So that he would be able to quit his 3rd job (and maybe even his second, and relax for once.

For Ranboo.

Chapter Text

“Robbery on 3rd street at the cafe”

The voice crackled as it came through the make-shift earpiece that had been made from a walkie-talkie set, with the help of a youtube video. 

“On it”

Aite stood on the roof of an apartment building in his sector, sector 7. Climbing down the side of the fire escape as if it were a ladder, he talked to his earpiece again.

“Any other details so far?”

A crackle came through the earpiece. Aite winced.

“Hold on”

The background noise of the person on the other earpiece changed suddenly.

“3 robbers, none appear to be charged. 1 has a gun, but it looks empty”

The background noise shifted again.

“I’m about 2 blocks away”

Aite bounded over the close rooftops of the sector towards the cafe, before finally arriving at his destination.

Stopping outside the cafe, he peaked in to get a look at the situation himself. 2 robbers stood on either side of the store, while the one with the (empty) gun stood in the center in front of the cash register, pointing at the poor worker with the gun. Which, even empty, would be traumatizing for anyone.

The bell on the door jingled as Aite walked in.

“That's not very nice is it?” He said as the robbers whipped their heads around to face him.

“Therapy is very expensive, you know. Not everyone can afford it.”

“I- what- therapy-?” One of the robbers asked, confused.

“Yes. An event like this would definitely be traumatizing to someone who wasn’t used to it.”

The robber, for whatever reason, looked even more confused.

A laugh came from Aite’s earpiece, making him smile, though it wasn’t visible under the mask he wore.

“Howie-, Can I call you Howie? Howie. you’re not the brightest are you, Howie.”

The robber guy with the gun looked about done with Aite’s shit, though he had the gun still pointed at the worker behind the counter.

“Alright, Rob ert-”

Robert whipped around and aimed the gun straight at Aite’s head.

“Whoa, just because you don’t like my joke doesn’t mean you have to aim your empty gun at me,” He said before a shot rang out and a bullet went through the window behind Aite.

“ Empty gun my ass, S .” Aite commented as he lunged forward and grabbed Robert's hand that held the gun, lifting it up over their heads and holding it in place against Robert’s back.

“How come a guy can’t make a joke to lighten the mood nowadays?” Aite said, the eyeroll audible in his voice.

“Your joke was shit,” Robert said. 

“Well that's not very nice is it,” Aite said, wrestling the gun from Robert’s grip, and knocking him out with the bottom of it.

The 3rd robber’s eyes bounced between Aite, the worker, Howie, and Robert.

“Listen fellas. You don’t have to make this hard, it can be quick and easy, ok?”

Howie and the other robber looked between each other, sharing a glance.

“Alright Howie and Gary- just come over here and sit by Robert for me, will ya?”

Knowing they were out of options, Gary and Howie walked over and sat down with their backs to each other and Robert. Knowing what to expect from the vigilante, they leaned forward so Aite could zip tie their hands together.

After dealing with the robbers, Aite walked over to the worker to make sure they were ok. A pin on the worker’s apron read “Molly - she/her”.

“Are you alright, Molly?”

“Yes, I'm fine, thank you Aite” she said.

“Alright then. Well, I'll be off. As you know, crime won’t stop itself!” He said with a chuckle, turning to leave.

“Wait before you go-”

He turned around again, head tilting like a confused dog.

“Take some pastries. Like you said, crime won’t stop itself”

Made a no motion with his hands, attempting to refuse her offer. “No- I- I couldn’t do that. You need these for the customers, and I'd feel bad-” she cuts him off.

“Take them, I insist. Besides, it’s been a slow night, and it's the least I could do for you and your friend for saving me.” she gestures behind Aite, to Sisyphus.

Walking up to them with a small wave, Sisyphus places an arm around Aite’s shoulder. “Thank you so much. I’m glad we could help” he says with a smile.

Turning Aite around, the two walk out of the shop together, turning around the corner of the shop before disappearing in a cloud of purple particles, which fade out a couple of seconds after they disappeared; the only sign of the red and black & white clad vigilantes.

Chapter Text

Tommy walked along the main road of sector 7, admiring the familiarity of the old cracked and worn down buildings, along with the vines that climbed up them, reaching for the rare sunlight that was present that day.

“ If you leave at 8, you could get to sector 4 by 10. Then, you can take the 10:05 train, which will be mostly empty and will get fuller as you get into sector 1. Then get off at the main platform. From there, it will be about 3 blocks until you’ll be at the Hero Headquarters.” Ranboo had told him.

As he reached sector 4, his anxieties grew. There was a reason he swore to never go back there, after all. No. He can’t think about &Co right now. If he did then- 

No. Just focus on…. Other things. Anything else would be better right now. Like…. Oh! That… tree next to the train station looks… cool..!

Ah right. Train station.

As Tommy got on the train, his body went on autopilot; his mind wandering elsewhere and nowhere at the same time. When he got back from wherever he was, it was to the automated voice of the train saying “approaching sector 1 main station”. He, along with many others, stood up.

Still in a floaty space, he lets himself be swept off of the train platform and onto the shining streets of sector 1. On autopilot, as he has been there before, he turns into the air-conditioned lobby of the Hero Headquarters, the cold blast snapping him out of his dazed state.

Walking up to the front desk, he takes a minute to breathe. In, and out. In, and out. 

“Hello, how can I help you?” The front desk person wheels over, their keyboard and computer somehow going with them. Its sector 1. Of course they have fancy ass tech. He thinks.

“Um, I’m Thomas Snomis and I’m here for the interview?”

“Ah. Of course. Let me get you all signed in and then you can head on up.” They say, fingers already typing away at their keyboard.

It's as a small seemingly random sense of peacefulness washes over Tommy that he realises the person in front of him is not just some random receptionist (random being a relative term as everyone the hero headquarters hires goes through extensive background checks and training- from the highest of heroes to the janitors in the lobby), but the old and now “retired” hero, IBallisticSquid. Who is able to positively or negatively affect another's emotions. 

It seems he had been affecting their moods whether or not people realised. Luckily, or unluckily depending on the situation; Tommy is hyper-aware of everything around him, a lesson he learned from one of his friends. Shroud.

Shaking the thoughts away with the need to focus, he hears IBalisticsquid’s directions.

“Just go down that hall, and take a seat in the reception area. You’ll be called up when they are ready for you” he says with a smile before returning to his work.

“Thomas Snomis?” a voice calls out.

Tommy’s head whips up, coming to a stand as he meets eyes with the person who called his name. Spectre

His eyes widen for a fraction of a second before he blinks and walks toward the hero.

When they get into the elevator, they stand there awkwardly for a bit before Tommy clears his throat and subtly nods toward the button panel. Spectre startled before stepping forward and pressing the button for floor 96, his face flushing a light grey.

It's nearing the end of their elevator ride when Spectre finally speaks.

“Phi- When you’re done with your interview, just come straight back to the lift, press the button to the lobby, and head on home. We’ll email you in up to 3 business days about whether you got the position or not.”

The spiel ends right as the elevator stops. 

“Did you time it like that on purpose?” Tommy asks before he can stop himself, his cheeks flushing as his brain caught up with his mouth, lips pursed in regret.

Spectre smiles good-naturedly. “No believe it or not” there is humor in his voice as he speaks. “The amount of times I have forgotten is embarrassing and the amount of times I’ve been cut off by the lift itself is even more” he chuckles, gesturing out of the elevator with one hand. “Third door on your left”

Tommy steps out, tripping on the lip of the floor between the elevator, and manages to catch himself at the last minute. The flush spreads like a wildfire across his face and up his ears, leaving them a bright red.

“Mind the gap!” Spectre calls after him as the elevator doors slide shut. Tommy flips the hero off over his shoulder before thinking better of it and quickly putting his hand back down and into his pocket.

Pausing before the 3rd door, he takes a deep breath.

knock

knock

knock

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knock

knock

knock

“Come on in, mate” Phil calls out, already exhausted from a day of interviews and fully prepared to meet another stuck up business person.

The door opens and reveals- a very anxious young person, very much not in business wear. They make eye contact and freeze. Phil feels drenched in the anxiety of this person, his wings poofing up in reaction under his cloak.

The person takes a minuscule step back at the movement before stepping forward again. “Um, I'm Thomas Snomis, I'm here for the interview?” It’s intended to be a statement but it comes out as a question.

Truth his charge hums through his body. Phil’s eyes squint slightly. Everyone he’s seen today has been well over 25. Granted they’ve all been the stereotypical businesspeople Phil expected. This person who stands before him, Tommy- looks young. Like, not over 20 yo ung.

“You’re in the right place. Come take a seat.” Phil says, giving Tommy a kind smile. As he sits down, Phil starts easing him into the interview.

“Let's start with a simple question. Why are you interested in this position?” Tommy takes a deep breath, tilting his head slightly in thought. Phil coos internally at the sight. “I’ve recently turned 18” he begins
Lie Phil’s charge hums, making his heart drop. “And I just moved in with my new roommate,” he continued.
Half-lie Phil’s charge hums again, his heart dropping even further. “He already has a couple jobs, and I figured I should pitch in a bit with the rent and expenses''
Half-truth “i’ve always wanted to be a hero, and figured the next best thing would be to help them since I can’t do much else”

He shifts in his seat. “And also, the money would just really help.” Truth

Phil hums in thought. “What are your charges?” At this question Phil swears he could feel Tommy’s heart stop beating for a solid 5 seconds before it continued on a bit quicker than normal.

“Um. People's charges don’t work on me. If they would have a negative effect, that is. And the positive affecting charges are dulled down significantly.”

Truth “Well that seems like it would be a very interesting charge”

“It is, yeah” Tommy’s eyes darted around the room avoiding contact with Phil’s.

Phil checks the clock to see 20 minutes have passed. Figuring he got enough information with the 5 questions he managed to ask, he starts wrapping up the interview.

“Well thank you for showing interest, like Spectre said; you will be emailed in up to 3 business days on whether you got the position or not.” Phil smiles, allowing it to reach his eyes. “Yeah of cour-'' he cuts himself off, a flush quickly spreading across his face and up his ears “I mean- Thank you for taking the time to interview me.” He smiles, though his eyes are closed and his face displays embarrassment. Phil coos inside.

Phil stands to open the door and let him out, something he hadn’t done for anyone else. He doesn’t miss the way Tommy flinches at the sudden action, a small frown forming on his lips. Looking up, Phil sees a blank expression on Tommy’s face which reveals startlingly little emotion.

“Have a great day, mate”

Chapter Text

Ranboo was working his shift Wordsmith’s, a local bakery and cafe in sector 6, when Tommy burst through the doors. Although it wasn’t a very busy day in the cafe, Tommy bursting into the cafe caused the few non-regulars to look up in confusion. 

“Hi Tommy” Ranboo called from his spot behind the counter, not needing to look up to know it was Tommy. “Hey, Ranboo. You still working on some ‘desk stuff’?” he asked, gesturing to their shared laptop.

Said laptop was open on the counter, just out of sight of customers unless they knew where to look. On it currently, was his work for SBI. As the “Desk Hero, Eris” as he called himself, he didn’t have to do much in the field, it was mainly just paperwork and other things he could do from anywhere that wasn’t in the office in sector 2.

“Yep. Not much left, its been a pretty slow day. How was the interview?” Ranboo asked, looking up to meet Tommy’s eyes through the pair of sunglasses he was wearing. “It was alright. I should know if I got the job in 3 days”. Ranboo hummed, finding what he was looking for in Tommy’s eyes as he broke the eyecontact to turn around. “I.. Siren was the person who called people up for the interviews, and he stayed in the elevator-” Ranboo whipped his head around in alarm before taking a deep breath and calmly turning back around. “I.. also- trippedgettingoutoftheelevator-”

“Wait- say that again? I couldn’t hear what you said-” Tommy leaned against the counter on his elbows, putting his head in his hands in embarrassment. “I tripped..” Ranboo’s eyebrows furrowed as he drew out his sentence “...getting out of the elevator. In front of Siren.” Though Tommy was looking down at the counter and couldn’t see behind the sunglasses, he knew his friend well enough to know his eyes were fluttering in confusion as he processed the statement.

“Wha-??” He faced Tommy once more, placing the hot chocolate he had been making for him throughout their conversation and sliding it towards his hunched figure. Ya know what, just- thank you for doing the interview in the first place. I’m so thankful for you. And.. I’m also so proud of you.” He said softly, placing one of his hands over Tommy’s, thumb rubbing in circles over the skin where his thumb and hand connect, transferring the warmth left over from creating his hot chocolate. 

Tommy took his head out of his arms, grabbing his hot chocolate while leaving his other hand in his friend’s grasp, a soft smile on his face. “Thanks Ranboo” he whispered into his hot chocolate.

---

“I think I found our new assistant” Is the first thing out of Phil’s mouth, as he places the final dinner plater down and sits down himself. “Heh?” Comes from his oldest friend, Technoblade, on his right, followed by a “hm?” from his son, Wilbur, on his left, who isn’t paying attention, and is instead starting to fill his plate.

“He seems very sweet, and even has some sense of humor, though he was pretty embarrassed about it, I don’t think he meant to make jokes, they kind of just slipped out. Poor kid was so scared-” Phil explains. “Wait, kid-?” Techno says, confused. “Wait, there was only one young person-” Wilbur says, eyes bouncing around aimlessly as he recalls the afternoon. “Yeah he- he tripped- he tripped on his way out of the elevator before flipping me off- he- he was so embarrassed about it too-” the words are barely desiferable through his laughter. Phil’s eyes sparkled with mirth.

Techno looked between the two before shrugging. “If you two are so attached to ‘im already, go ahead. ‘s not like I can stop ya” he shrugs before going to fill up his plate, not missing the wide smiles on the others faces.

Chapter Text

“Enyo, Eris, nice to see you two again.” “And you, Protesilaus”, Ranboo says, nodding to Technoblade. Techno begins to walk, having waited for the only two who don’t work in the tower to arrive. “Did we miss anything too big while we were out?” Enyo, better known as Tubbo by the SBI team, asks from Ranboo’s left. 

“Nothing too big, mate” Phil says from his seat on the couch as they arrive. “The only thing that really happened is why we called everyone here” he says, gesturing to the couch and chairs. Ranboo nodds his greeting at the other staff members, Edward and Steve, who have already made themselves comfortable on them.

“We are considering a few people on the new position, though one stands out the most. We would like to know what you think of him.” Phil explains.

“His name is Tom Sinomis, he’s about 18 and wants the position to help others because he feels his charges prevent him from helping in any other way” Ranboo smiles to himself, thankful for the mask fit snugly on his face. “Um, What are his charges?” he asks, curious as to what his friend told them.

“Negative effecting charges don’t work on him,” Wilbur smiles, appearing directly behind Phil. “and positive effecting ones are dulled significantly.”  “Hm.” is all Ranboo says, pretending to be in thought like the others. “Have any of you met him before? Know anything about him at all?”

“I think I knew him when we were a lot younger. We lost contact though.” Tubbo states, offering no more information. Ranboo’s eyes widen minutely behind his sunglass in surprise. Why wouldn’t Tommy..? Unless... Tommy had mentioned someone helping him before. A young boy, about his age. They don’t talk about him much because that's from before The Before.

“What were your thoughts on him?” Edward asks, deep voice startling Tubbo, as he is positioned directly next to it’s source. “He seemed very nice. Funny, could get distracted a bit easily, and always liked a good prank. Great dude though.” Wilbur smiled, a mischievous glint in his eye.

---

“Anything new happen with you while you’ve been away?” Techno asks later, once the meeting is over with. He stands in the kitchen with Ranboo, leaning against the counter in front of the coffee machine, fresh mug in hand.

“Not much. Concordia’s been seeming a bit happier now which is always nice” A soft smile forms on Techno’s face as he listens to the vague details his mentee includes in the story about his roommate as he rambles on, smile blocked by the mask on his face, though shown clearly in his voice. Though Ran doesn’t open up much, and is generally vague and secretive, he tells many details that create an image of someone, or something, without showing who they actually are. 

Take his roommate, for example. While they had been given many details about him, such as his favourite food, season, colour, given a plethora of out-of-context quotes and moments, real details, that could be used to find or notice him in real life, were never presented. All they had to go off of was an alias, Concordia, and that he was almost the same age as Ran, though a bit younger. They didn’t even know Ran’s age, and even then only Techno usually called him Ran, as he preferred his hero name, Eris, to his nickname, Ran, to his real name, Randall Booth.

“He’s a funny kid” Techno comments when Ran is done talking for the most part. “Yeah. He is” Ran says, thoughts clearly elsewhere. Techno smiles at him once more, before setting his mug in the dishwasher and walking off down the hall to his office.

Chapter Text

hey y'all - just wanted to let you know that i will definitely no longer be continuing this fic. thank you so much for enjoying it!

some of these fics have certain cc's characters featured heavily and there is no way to continue the story easily without them, nor worth the lack of motivation / burnout it would cause.

some fics will be abandoned in the next few days, though i have not made it terribly hard to find me again. i just don't want to be super connected to these fics anymore.

i wish you all well on your future endevours
<3s - author