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The two years after Tommy had been kidnapped went by quicker than ever. He never expected them to, really.
Getting used to being a hero, however, that could have never dragged on longer. Of course, Tommy wasn’t truly a hero. He still considered himself a vigilante but many others disagreed. It was true, he lived at the Tower and communicated with the real heroes almost every day but he hadn’t signed up for the job.
He wasn’t getting paid for it, that was for sure.
Even still, Tommy didn’t find himself minding it. He was still himself and if he considered himself anything but a hero, that’s what he would be.
Another thing he physically had heart palpitations over, was his age. Tommy was almost nineteen. To him, that seemed impossible. He felt nowhere near adult enough to call himself anything but a teenager.
That was probably because he still held sixteen-year-old Tommy close to his heart, keeping him safe.
It could also be due to the fact he denied he would even make it to nineteen.
“Why are you sitting in silence like a weirdo? I have a plethora of papers that are aching for my signature, forged by your hand,” Wilbur called from behind the couch where Tommy was seated.
He whipped his head around to give him a death stare. “Sign your own papers you lazy fuck. I’ve been doing that shit for like, three years.”
Wilbur groaned, lips parting into a pout. He was known for the dramatics. The hero plopped on the couch beside him.
“Are you patrolling today?”
Tommy furrowed his brows in thought. “Yeah, probably tonight. Why?”
His brother waved him off. “Just curious.”
All Tommy did was nod, quickly sending over an email he had been typing before he had zoned out.
Phil walked in next, Techno following closely behind. They looked mildly serious, causing Tommy to sit up and meet their eyes.
“Hey, mate. We have a little job for you. There’s a new vigilante apparently and we want you to talk to him,” Phil began, standing in front of him.
Tommy let the scowl show on his face. What? A new vigilante even with Logstedshire’s new and improved look? It almost seemed silly. Tommy was perfectly capable of holding up his home by himself, no new vigilantes were needed.
Even so, despite how possessive he was, he was still very curious. Maybe this new vigilante would be a huge fan of him.
“Do you think he’s active tonight?”
Techno nodded instead of Phil. “Yeah,” he replied. “We have been tracking his schedule for a while and he’s supposed to be out tonight.”
Tommy noticed the similar situation.
“Tracking his schedule? Did you do that with me?”
Wilbur snorted from beside him. “We tried but you never had a routine.”
A prickle of pride shot up his spine, stabbing into his chest. “Of course, I didn’t, bitch! Tommy is too smart for that.”
“Someone tell Puffy that he’s talking in the third person again,” Techno drawled, earning a glare from the boy.
By the time night came rolling around, Tommy was shaking in his boots. As much as he hated to admit that he was nervous, it was inevitable seeing as his leg would not stop bouncing. He had never really met a true vigilante before; no one like him that was.
Occasionally, in his early days, he would come across someone fighting crime with their powers but never religiously like he did. If there ever was a vigilante, they always got caught pretty quickly. The fact that they were sending Tommy out to talk to the new one meant that he was probably pretty dangerous.
He suited up, clicking on his tracker. Phil insisted on it after he was kidnapped and Tommy easily agreed. The Hero Tower was not an enemy anymore.
“Bye! Be safe, please,” Phil yelled from somewhere in the building. Tommy hollered a few words back and quickly went on his way.
It was windy tonight, flowing through his hair like a hand running its fingers across his scalp. His powers came to him obediently, swirling around him to aid his rebellious jumps across rooftops.
Apparently, this stupid vigilante was named Purpled. Truly a disgrace to vigilantes across the globe. I mean, who named themselves after a colour?!
Tommy didn’t find himself looking for crime. He was solely set on searching for Purpled. He actually proved to be harder to find than he thought but eventually, Tommy spotted his stupidly purple figure in the distance.
It was only obvious that he was going to be wearing purple.
Tommy made sure to be quiet when approaching him. After being in the vigilante’s shoes before, the fear of being snuck up on by a hero was always on the back of his mind and Tommy wanted to test his skills out, just to see if he could mimic the pattern of a hero.
He found himself falling into the position much easier than he thought he would.
He let his powers deplete despite the very obvious danger in front of him. What could he say? He was a confident guy.
Pressing his weight onto the balls of his feet, he tiptoed closer to Purpled who still hadn’t seen him yet. Just as Tommy planned on what he was going to say, Purpled spoke.
“Sorry, I don’t talk to heroes,” He casually said without sparing him a glance.
Tommy scowled at the comment, biting his lip to keep him from yelling profanities. “I’m not a hero.”
Purpled spun around to look him in the eye. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that,” He snarked.
Tommy tilted his head, raising his brows. “Have you never heard of Crimson?”
Purpled guffawed and Crimson could hear the cockiness lacing his tone. “I’ve heard of Crimson before he became associated with heroes.”
Tommy’s eyebrows fell. “I’m the same person.”
He truly was. Perhaps after everything happened, he may not be as lighthearted and carefree as he once was but he was still Tommy. He was still himself.
Right?
“That fancy voice-changer begs to differ.”
Annoyance ran up his throat, pushing straight into his head. “I’m the original vigilante. You’re the stupid remake. What the fuck kind of name is ‘Purpled’ anyway?”
The opposing vigilante seemed to pick up on his tone, challenging him with the same childish gaze. “You’re named after the colour red, you unoriginal fuck.”
Tommy wasn’t supposed to act childish anymore but he couldn’t help the need to rival him pool in his gut and spew out of him like a broken dam.
“At least my name has to do with my powers. What can you do? Morph yourself into Barney?!”
Purpled raised his voice to counter him. “I’ll have you know my powers have nothing to do with the colour purple you-“
The vigilante froze at the smug feeling radiating off of Tommy. He had just been successfully tricked by Crimson into revealing a hint about his powers.
Tommy startled at the knife that was quickly thrown toward him, aiming to just barely nick the side of his cheek. His powers appeared just as fast, freezing the weapon in mid-air. Purpled had to have suspected that that would happen although he didn’t make a move to do anything else.
“Care to share your powers?” Crimson sang, prancing closer to him, releasing his hold on the knife, and sending it clattering to the ground.
Purpled grumbled, bringing his hands to his face as if Tommy would disappear if he couldn’t see him. Crimson expected Purpled to try and fight him again or just run away but surprisingly, he looked like he was considering telling him. He didn’t push, simply waiting to see if he would speak. Tommy liked to imagine that he came up with the tactic himself but in truth, he may have been inspired by Wilbur.
“I have probability calculation.”
Sure, Tommy prided himself on smarts but he wasn’t that intelligent.
“What the fuck is that?”
Purpled groaned, pivoting around to look at the view instead of the other vigilante. Tommy suspected that it was probably easier talking to him when he didn’t have to look at his threatening gaze. After all, Tommy used to do the same thing with the heroes.
He wasn’t liking the sudden parallels appearing.
“I can assess what action has the best probable outcome. It’s not- it doesn’t happen all the time and definitely doesn’t come naturally. I have to focus.”
Tommy soaked in the new information. “Are you using it right now?”
Purpled shook his head. “No, I don’t need to.”
Crimson walked closer to him. “Why’s that?”
“‘Cause I could beat you without it.”
Tommy puffed out his chest, angry. “Oh, fuck off.”
Purpled spun around, facing him with a smug grin. His cockiness reminded Tommy of himself.
A competitive voice nagged at the back of his mind, pushing him to start a fight. It would be fun to challenge another vigilante, especially it being someone so alike.
Tommy shifted his weight to account for any sudden weapons that would come his way. Purpled noticed and Crimson mentally checked off something in his head.
This kid has experience in fighting.
The opposing vigilante gripped his side. Another knife.
Then he tilted his head up to the sky, studying it for a few moments, and hurtling the weapon into the sky. Tommy furrowed his brows in confusion, quirking his mouth mockingly.
The probability of the knife hitting him was so exponentially low that Tommy almost backed out of the fight completely and was convinced to just tell the heroes that this guy was nothing to worry about.
Then it dawned on him. Probability.
The probability of the knife hitting him was so much higher now.
Purpled seemed to know the exact moment he realized because when Tommy looked over, the bitch was grinning.
“You are creepy as fuck,” Tommy cursed, a hint of playful disgust coating his words.
Only, as the knife began to plummet, he tried to use his powers but the weapon was falling at such a high velocity that he couldn’t possibly pinpoint where it was. He half expected to just have to run for his fucking life.
But then the knife impaled a spot on the roof right next to his feet. Crimson looked over at Purpled warily and groaned at the vigilante's scrunched-up face as if he was about to burst out laughing. His mask covered most of his face but Tommy could hear his snickering from a mile away.
“You looked so fucking scared!” Purpled howled, doubling over with laughter.
Tommy absently saw his own reflection within the person in front of him. That kind of move was something Tommy would have done. Would have done.
No- he still would. Because he was still him. Tommy was still Tommy.
Right?
He grumbled, shaking off the depriving feeling. Tommy rolled his eyes at the other vigilante's antics and reached into his pockets, freezing at what he grabbed.
Just to make sure he knew that he was imagining right, he pulled the item out of his pocket and gaped at the sight.
He had handcuffs in his suit. Handcuffs.
And not just any kind of cuffs. These were power suppressor cuffs.
Once Purpled saw what he was holding, his eyes grew and he warily stepped back out of fear.
It made Tommy feel horrible.
“Woah,” Purpled warned, splaying out his hands in front of him as if they would act as a placating force and calm Crimson down.
“It was just a joke,” Purpled continued, stammering, and Tommy didn’t even realize that he could sound that scared.
Crimson was quick to shake his head. “No! Look, I didn’t even know I had these.”
Tommy felt the gnawing feeling of déjà vu climb into his heart and rip it to pieces.
The two looked at each other, one with guilt, one with tense fear. Silence had never been so unwanted. Eventually, Purpled’s shoulders sagged and Tommy studied him over to try and find out what caused him to calm down.
“Oh,” Purpled voiced aloud, so quietly that Crimson doubted he was supposed to hear it.
“You won’t arrest me,” The vigilante continued, so sure, that Tommy faltered at the sudden confidence.
Even so, Tommy wanted to give extra reassurance. “No, I won’t.”
“The probability is so low that I could stab myself in the leg, collapse on the floor defenceless, and you still wouldn’t arrest me.”
The information was so true that Tommy almost began choking on the words in his mouth. “You used your powers.”
Purpled didn’t respond because he knew that he didn’t need to. They had a mutual understanding.
The vigilante, turned around, as if he was about to flee, but stopped at the edge of the roof. “Tell those heroes to stop giving you things you won’t use.”
Oh, I will.
And that was that. Purpled jumped off of the roof and Tommy didn’t bother looking to see where he had gone. In turn, Crimson spun around and used his powers to boost him away, toward the Tower. It was a lie if he said he wasn’t fuelled by rage.
______________
Tommy stormed into the building, powers fuming out of his open palm. They didn’t calm even after he stopped using them. The elevator could have not moved fast enough.
As soon as the metal doors parted, Tommy spotted the first person he saw and let his anger grow out of his chest and pour out of his mouth uncontrollably.
Unfortunately, poor Wilbur was the first one he saw.
“I knew heroes were idiots, but I didn’t think you guys were that bad! Apparently, I was wrong!” He began, lungs burning at the volume.
Wilbur’s mouth gaped open, jaw hanging slack as if he pictured anything but this happening when Tommy got home.
“What happened…?” Wilbur hesitantly asked, afraid that his words would set Tommy off.
They did.
Tommy reached into his pocket and pulled out the handcuffs, chucking them at Wilbur who caught them with a pale face.
“Why do you have these?!” Wilbur asked, horrified.
“That’s the burning question!” Tommy remarked, clenching his fists to try and combat the surge of powers.
The two other SBI members walked in at the commotion. “What’s going on?!” Phil yelled, standing between Wilbur and Tommy as if they were about to get into a fistfight. Techno stood off to the side, casually stuffing his hands into his pockets.
He would probably step in if Tommy started punching Phil or something.
Crimson took a deep breath, pulling his mask off of his face. “Why do I have power suppressor cuffs in my suit? And don’t say you ‘don’t know’ because the only people who have worked on my suit have been you guys.”
Phil let his eyes grow before returning back to normal. “Honestly Tommy, none of us gave them to you. We know your track record with them. We would never do that.”
Tommy crumpled into his hands, frustrated. “Then how- oh.”
Wilbur perked up. “What?”
“Dream worked on my suit the other day.”
The heroes quieted, letting thoughts roll around the room without saying a word. Wilbur was the first one to speak up.
“Why would he…?”
Tommy finished his sentence for him. “Because it’s mandatory for… for-“
A wave of nausea slapped him in the face. It was sudden and cruel, and one of the worst feelings he had ever had. Tommy’s face was a sheet of white, mouth drying as the words were lost on his tongue.
“For heroes,” Techno blurted, knowing what Tommy was about to say. “It’s mandatory for heroes to carry power suppressor cuffs.”
It was obvious that the heroes were confused why Tommy couldn’t say it; why he was so hesitant to admit it.
Dream considered him a hero.
Tommy wasn’t a hero.
He wasn’t a hero.
He wasn’t.
They didn’t know why it felt so wrong to say. They didn’t recognize the feeling of dread whenever Tommy heard his name and the word hero in the same sentence.
“Purpled is- he’s not a problem. Minimal action required.” Tommy changed the subject.
The SBI didn’t move or speak, glued to their spots on the floor.
“I have work to do,” Tommy muttered, walking over to his office and shutting the door.
He found out how the lock worked this time.
______________
He thought about going after Purpled, confronting him. It didn’t feel like him, yet it felt right. But it wasn’t, because that wasn’t what vigilantes did. They did not go after each other, only heroes did that.
Only heroes went out and analyzed how dangerous the vigilante was; only heroes asked about their power set.
Only heroes kept power suppressors in their pockets.
He promised himself that he would stay true. Tommy didn’t want to end up like just another rich person, fuelled by entitlement. He didn’t want to sit on a throne of money, he wanted to help people. Tommy wanted to get his hands dirty. He wanted to bleed and feel his veins on fire.
He wanted to work for the privilege.
Tommy couldn’t help the stale feeling that infected his gut, latching onto his heart like a tumour. The feeling was not welcoming. It was uneasy, tugging his head in all the wrong ways.
Purpled was a vigilante.
Tommy was a vigilante.
Yet, he had never felt more like a hero.
Tommy had been betrayed many times before, even when it was the cause leading to his inevitable death.
This time, it was different.
Tommy had never been betrayed by himself before.