A City of Secrets and Masks

-Five- Aftermath

"Wha-" Phil slid open the drawer, revealing a large stack of blank paperwork. "Techno!"

"See ya, nerd!" Techno quickly slid out of the door and shut it behind him. He chuckled as he walked down the hall towards the elevator. The two boys had gone home for the night and had just returned a while ago. Technoblade stepped onto the elevator and thought about why he needed to associated with the children.

Finn had technically done something illegal by sending two untrained children to help out with Guardian work. After a talk with Finn, Techno and the gang decided to slide right past that. Now they just had to start the training of the two newbies before they sent in any reports. That seemed like a good loophole to exploit in this situation.

Techno finished the elevator ride and walked into a small waiting room across the hall. He paused before he opened the door and took a breath.

Then he tossed open the door and walked in, trying to ignore the awe on the blonde's face. "Sup, nerds?" He said nonchalantly

Goddammit, I should have let Finn deal with his own problems.

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Tommy was starstruck, again. He stared in complete, unhidden awe. The Technoblade was standing right there! Technoblade was Tommy's whole reason for wanting to be a hero and he was right in front of him!

Tubbo had to cough to stop a laugh from bursting out at the sight of his friend's face. Tommy's mouth was agape and for a second, Tubbo thought about asking a bee to fly into there.

"Hello, Mr. Blade," Tubbo said, trying to be more professional than his friend.

Now it was Techno's turn to laugh-cough. He sat down on the opposite side of the table. "So today I'm going to formally start your initiation into the Guardians. Your circumstances were..." Techno paused and drummed his fingers on the table, searching for the words. "Unusual to say the least."

Tommy blinked about twice before tilting his head to the side. "We're accepted already? I thought we'd have to wait a few days."

"Unusual circumstances, remember? Finn sending you to help and potentially putting you in danger was technically illegal..."

"Wait, WHAT?" Tubbo shot up in his chair.

"Technically, but that's not the point. Anyways," Techno pulled some papers out of the table's drawer and scanned over them quickly. The boys realized that those were the papers they'd filled out the night before. "Tommy and Tubbo, right?" Techno said, pointing at each in turn.

The boys nodded. "Good, good. And powers... Tubbo, it's talking to and controlling insects, specifically bees... That's an interesting one. Does it take much energy?" 

"No, it's pretty easy. Just like talking. Controlling them directly is a bit harder." Tubbo said. "I could demonstrate, but there's no bugs here."

"Ah, good, good. And Tommy..." Techno's smile faltered, confusion clear on his face. "Hold on, let me reread thi-"

Tommy cut him off, his face a bit darker. "Power unknown, you read it right."

"Oh," Techno said, looking at the boy. He probably wouldn't have been accepted if it wasn't for Finn sending him. "What else do you do?"

Tommy's eyes lit back up. "I hit things with a baseball bat. I'm pretty good at it, too. Wanna see?"

Techno stood up. "Sure. Hit me."

Tommy stood up and prepared to swing. Then he stopped for a second. "Are you sure?" Techno gave a nod and Tommy took a breath. Then he swung.

Techno caught it before it hit him. Tommy blinked for a second before trying to pull his bat back. He couldn't. "Good swing. It would've been a really good hit if you weren't fighting me."