Looking back, It wasn’t hard to see where Tommy f*cked up.
It’s pretty much a fact that unless you have a death wish, you stay out of the Syndicate’s way. Even the heroes, with their infinite training and resources, struggle to stand against the three most powerful villains in recorded history.
So obviously a very much untrained vigilante spell caster of all things should stay very far away from the Syndicate.
Well, Tommy thought as he just barely managed to dodge the throwing knife that was hurled at his chest, at least I'll have an interesting death.
The chip he had stolen from right under the Syndicate’s noses was tightly clenched in his fist as he managed to leap over the leg that Blade had thrown into his path in an effort to trip him. He was only barely able to deflect the ax that Blade sent his way with his baton, and he could see the villain’s throat moving, so he was probably trying to speak to Tommy.
Well jokes on him, Tommy is deaf, so whatever bullsh*t he is undoubtedly spouting, Tommy can’t hear it or read his lips under his crimson mask.
Tommy scrambled to dodge a punch Blade threw his way, hastily throwing together a spell, drawing magic into himself before releasing it. The result was around a dozen copies of himself splitting off into different directions. It wouldn’t hold the Syndicate off long, but it should buy him enough time to at least get into a hiding spot.
Tommy took off, not looking behind him as he ran. Eventually, once he was fairly sure that he had lost Blade he vaulted over a desk and tucked himself underneath it, arranging the chair in a way that it looked undisturbed. His heart pounded in his ears and his chest heaved as he struggled to control the panic in his mind. Tommy reached around to his ear, turning on the barely-working hearing aid that he had managed to fish out of a dumpster. He winced as it screeched in protest, before settling into static, broken by the occasional shout from the Syndicate members.
“-ake this r— i’ll ta– the one o— the–'' Blade's monotone voice came in through the glitchy feedback, followed by what Tommy could only assume was a hum of affirmation.
“Ohh These– –on’t you come on out? — can’t hide forev–” The sound wasn’t the best, and Tommy had to listen very carefully to be able to make out anything that they were saying, but he could still make out the silky melodic flow of Euphony’s voice. Through the small crack under the desk he can see the Euphony’s shadow prowling across the room. “I –ow you’re hidi– -ere, and it’ll on– – a matter of tim- —ore you’ll – mine, –eetheart.”
Tommy shivered, his heart pounding so hard he swore he could feel his rib cage rattling. He peered around the room as much as he could without moving too much and giving away his position, desperate to find some kind of escape. He froze as the desk he was hiding under creaked, and one of Euphony’s dark boots swung across the small gap between the wall and the chair.
He was sitting on top of his hiding place. Tommy placed his hand over his mask in an effort to muffle his panicked breaths.
“I'll ha– you know that I have th– —ire building rigged —h TNT,” The words were unbearably loud, powerful and scarring even with Tommy’s defective hearing aid. “-- the –ess of a button, —s whole —ce go– up in fla—.” Euphony sat in silence for much too long after that, his leg swaying slowly, before sliding off the desk without warning. Tommy watched with panicked eyes as the villain walked out of his line of sight.
“-----, get th- —--men to –ock off all th- —ts -ut —. Th— place – goi– up.” The words were hard to make out through the static, but their meaning was clear. Euphony was going to blow up the building that Tommy was stuck in.
The second he heard the footsteps retreat, he carefully squeezed out of the desk, tucking the chip into his pocket and calling upon his powers. All of his illusions had been destroyed, he realized. He cast a light cloaking spell over himself, just enough to help him blend into shadows, but light enough that he could keep it up for a longer amount of time.
Tommy slowly crept out of the room, mostly relying on the shadows to keep himself hidden and out of sight of the Syndicate henchmen swarming the building. Tommy hadn’t taken too much time to worry what exactly the purpose of this building was for while he was foiling the Syndicates plans, but now it seemed like some kind of warehouse-archive crossover. There was an open circle in the center of the building with boxes and crates scattered throughout, and the edges of the room branched off into dozens of rooms with filing cabinets and desks and safes.
Tommy shuffled into a shadow cast by a large crate, his head swiveling around to confirm that no Syndicate henchmen had seen him.
A few too-close-for-comfort almost encounters with patrolling henchmen, could see that they were definitely less than there were a few minutes ago. They were clearing out, which meant Tommy didn't have much time before this place was blown to kingdom come, along with him, and he could feel his energy slipping away the longer he kept his cloaking spell up.
Quickly thinking of a plan, Tommy dashed across the small gap separating him from a large stack of wooden boxes. Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself up, climbing up and being careful not to shift the boxes. Once he reached a high enough vantage point. He scoped out the building, his eyes locking onto a faintly glowing ‘EXIT’ sign not too far from where he was now.
He scrambled down the stack of boxes, ignoring the sinking feeling of dread deep in his stomach. He sprinted to the exit, the building now empty, but stopped short of the thick metal doors, one hand resting on the cool surface. His gut was screaming at him to get out, but something dark curled in his chest, something holding him back, because something about this whole situation was wrong. That was, until the lights in the building shut off with a barely audible ‘click’ through his hearing aid, giving Tommy a full view of the stacks of TNT and dynamite lining the walls, each one illuminated by dozens of sparks slowly creeping up the fuses.
Panic overtaking his body, Tommy slammed his shoulder against the door, only for it to stay stubbornly stuck in place. Tommy pushed at it desperately, but to no avail. Frantically, he searched the building for another exit, finding one almost all the way all the way across the building.
Knowing he had only seconds to get out of the building, Tommy launched himself away from the door, running faster than he had ever run and leaping over stray boxes.
He was about three-fourths of the way there when the first explosion went off in one of the far rooms, brilliant golden light cutting through the shadows. Tommy’s hearing aid screamed, and he flinched, yanking it out of his ear and throwing it to the ground. He was almost to the door, and Tommy prayed to any god that would listen that the door was unlocked.
His momentum slammed his body against the cold metal, and he fumbled for the door handle, almost forgetting about the imminent destruction of the building when it turned with no resistance.
Time seemed to slow down.
Tommy opened the door, only managing to open it a few inches before the rest of the explosives went off.
The quickly expanding air slammed into Tommy’s back, flinging him- and the door- outwards. Fiery heat clogged his lungs as he slammed into a wall and fell to the ground, tearing his suit in multiple places and knocking the breath out of him.
He screamed as something heavy slammed into his ribs, and Tommy could feel something snap. He gasped in pain, smoke stinging his eyes and tears blurring his vision. Tommy squeezed his eyes shut as something hard and rough- probably a piece of concrete- settled on one of his legs, pinning him to the ground. Tommy felt warm blood leak from a cut on his forehead and trace a bloody path across his face, his breath coming fast through clenched teeth.
His eyelids felt as if they were made of lead as he opened them, a dark shadow partially blocking the light of the flames from the brightly burning building. Tommy struggled to get his eyes to focus as the figure crouched and put their hand on Tommy’s shoulder, shaking him gently.
The figure slowly came into focus as Tommy fought the darkness encroaching on the edges of his vision. Euphony’s dark metal mask floated in front of him, and below it, the villain’s mouth moved soundlessly. Euphony turned his head away, probably calling to someone out of Tommy’s view.
Tommy’s eyes had closed, his mind succumbing to the dark warmth floating at the edges of his mind. He could feel his mind start to float away from his consciousness when the sudden blinding pain of the concrete trapping his legs shifted, a gasp of pain whispering through Tommy’s clenched teeth.
Blinking, Tommy was pulled into someone’s arms, his face pressed into someone’s shoulder as a hand combed his hair out of his hood, running their finger over his scalp as Tommy cried into their shoulder.
Far too soon, hands were pulling Tommy away from the comforting warmth, and Tommy’s eyes flew open as a hand brushed over the clasp of his mask, survival instincts kicking in as he finally registered that he was being held by one of the most dangerous people alive. Tommy kicked and shoved Euphony away from him, another pair of arms wrapping around his body and holding him in Euphony’s lap. Tommy could see the villain mouth the words “Stay down.”
Tommy struggled fruitlessly as Euphony combed his hand through his hair, pushing Tommy’s hood back and revealing the clasp of his mask. The arms holding him down- Blade’s, as he could now see- turned suffocating as Tommy struggled to pull away. He gasped as the mask was pulled away, smoky air filling his lungs and making him cough.
He could see Euphony speaking to Blade, his face tilted in a way that Tommy couldn’t read his lips. Tommy’s breath caught in his throat as Euphony’s hands gripped his jaw, tilting his head up as a glass vial filled with a red liquid was pressed against his lips.
Oh f*ck no, Tommy thought, pressing his lips together and turning his head away. Euphony yanks his head back, squeezing Tommy’s jaw so suddenly that he opens his mouth in pain and surprise.
Taking advantage of Tommy’s small moment of vulnerability, Blade shoves the potion into his mouth, pulling away as soon as it was empty and slapping a gloved hand over Tommy’s mouth to keep him from spitting it out. Another hand pinches his nose and Tommy’s eyes widen, his chest seizing in panic. Euphony’s hand brushes his throat and Tommy wants to gag but it makes some of the potion hit the back of his throat and he reflexively swallows, the overly sweet burning sensation dripping down his throat.
He can see Euphony’s mouth moving above him, it looks like he’s saying things like“almost there darling, that’s it, I know it hurts but it will feel better soon,” And Tommy wants to throw up, but Euphony strokes his neck again and the rest of the potion fall to the back of his throat, and Tommy fights the reflex but he’s in so much pain and his resolve is degrading at an alarming rate.
Eventually the pain from the lack of oxygen in his lungs forces him to swallow the rest of the potion. The hands covering his mouth and nose move and Tommy takes a deep, gasping breath, weakly fighting against Euphony’s arms clutching him to his chest.
Eventually the pain fades and Tommy can feel his bones shifting back into place as the fuzz that had clouded his thoughts fades away. Once he has full control of his body again, Tommy pushes himself away from the villain, the arms around him going loose. Tommy pushes himself against the back wall of the alleyway that he is in, dragging his hands down his face. There was no point in fighting, the only exit was thoroughly blocked by Euphony, Blade, and multiple henchmen.
“Can you hear me?” Euphony’s lips moved with deliberate slowness, forming the words carefully.
Tommy considered his options for a moment, considered lying, before giving a careful shake of his head.
“Not the explosion,” Euphony said.
Tommy snorted, the action empty of humor. No, not the f*cking explosion.
A smirk tugged at the villain’s lips that didn’t quite ring true. “Well that explains why my powers never worked on you. No matter, I’m sure we can find an easy solution for that problem,” Euphony said, his face moving in a way that made Tommy sure he was winking under his mask.
Tommy scowled at him.
The villain’s smirk turned more real, before he rose to his feet. His mouth quickened as he tossed orders to Blade and the henchmen behind him.
Tommy tried to shrink into the wall as armored bodies closed in on him, but it didn’t take much effort for the henchmen to pull him onto his feet, Tommy’s shaking and newly-healed legs barely able to support him. Euphony crouched down so that they were at eye level, the words “take a deep breath,” forming on his lips before dark fabric descended over Tommy’s eyes, sending him plummeting into darkness.
