He hit the ground with a loud thud, the wind getting knocked out of him as his back made contact with the hard concrete. How the hell did he see me? He thought as he tried to stand, the breath still caught in his lungs making moving harder as he gasped for air. He'd just got kicked out of a window on the forth story of an apartment building, He wouldn't have let that happen if they weren't holding a kid hostage. The kid -of whom had to have been no younger then ten by the looks of it- they had a gun pointed at, his parents had gotten into some tricky business with the neighborhood drug dealers. Theseus, the vigilante that had just gotten kicked out the window, was attempting to stop the kidnapping of the ten year old boy before things got too violent and the cops had to be called. And that wouldn't be the best thing for him.
"There always has to be that one guy with the gun." He groaned as he finally managed to stand on shaky feet, the thugs with the kid walking out of the building and shoving them into the van while the mother came out screaming for them to stop and let go of her child whilst the father tried to hold her back so she wasn't shot. A warning shot was fired near both of their heads as - who Theseus assumed was the leader of the group- yelled at them to get back or he'd shoot the kid.
"GET YOUR ASSES BACK IN THE BUILDING OR I'LL SHOOT THE BRAT!!" Was the last thing heard before the door of the van slammed shut and it took off. Shit! He thought as he started to run after the car. His side hurt like hell and his lungs burned with every breath he took, but he ran as fast as he could. He had to at least be within ten feet of the fast moving vehicle if he didn't want to go past it once he teleported.
Come on, come on! Just a little further! And just like that, he found himself on the top of the car, shakily trying to keep his balance while the van made a sharp turn. He doesn't usually take on bigger things like this, he's more of a stop the mugger and occasional robbery type of vigilante, he's never ran into any big-time drug dealers like these guys before. Surely the Heroes are going to show up as soon as the cops are called, which means he has two options: he either needs to help them and then leave as fast as possible before they see him, or just leave it up to the actual Heroes and let them use the kid as leverage.... Yeah, no. No way in hell would he let that happen.
The problem with the Heroes arriving to do their jobs is simple; it's not that Theseus didn't like them, it's just the fact that Vigilantes aren't legal. What he's doing is illegal. Especially since no-one really knows what his Achilles Heel is. And in a world with soulmates, superpowers and the ability to be Hero or Villain, it was crucial to know where the Achilles Heel is.
In this world, the Achilles Heel is the weak spot in the body that has the ability to kill or severely injure someone. In the case of Heroes, it's essential to tell the government what and where they are so they can stop someone who-and this has almost never happened-turns from Hero to Villain. And depending what kind of power you have, the more mental than actual physical damage is done. Especially like the power to look into someone's mind, mind control, telekinesis, or telepathy; Achilles Heels are very dangerous to people with those types of powers, mainly because it involves some sort of special ray gun to knock them out.
There are many types of powers in the world, but to name them all would take too long. Especially since there are some that have yet to be discovered, as well as the fact that all the different powers on the spectrum are mostly from the evaluation of some species. Some mix of species created hybrids,a simultaneously rare and often occurrence amongst all the people of L'manberg. But the basic categories of none-hybrid related abilities: Enderian, Avian, Elytrian, Phantom, Blazeborn, Slimican, Merling, Shulk, Piglin, Guardian, Dragonborn, Starborn, and Bee, Zombie, Satyr and more. It was quite common for there to be Hybrids as descendants of all these different species that used to roam about, long since extinct, but what was rare of all the types of hybrids is what is called the Triple-Hybrid. A mix of the three different species is rare. Even more rare then that, are the Pure Blooded. Rare individuals that possess only one type of blood -whether that be Enderian, Elytrian, Piglin, Merling, or Dragonborn- that holds no other type of genes in it, therefore getting their names as Pure Bloods. More on these types later, back to Theseus on the roof of a moving vehicle.
He could hear the sirens in the distance. Damn it, I need to hurry! He didn't know how many of the guys were watching the kid below him, but he had to get in and out of there as quickly as possible. Preferably before the police or the Heroes caught a hold of him. So quickly, without a second to think or give any hesitation, he teleported himself into the back of the van. As soon as he was in he heard the surprised gasps of some of the thugs as well as the cocking of guns, to which he immediately turned around and began to fight them off so he could get to the kid. It sounded a lot easier in his head he'd have to admit, but it wasn't entirely impossible. Using the momentum of a punch directed as his gut, he managed to jump of the guy and quite literally kick his ass out of the way and into the kneecaps of two of the other guys, sending them all to the floor in a pile of mangled limbs as a hard right was taken down a street unknown to the young Vigilante. He regained his balance, quickly rushing to grab the kid as the last guy that was standing fell over. Grabbing one of his batons, he whacked him over the head to make sure he'd stay down, grabbing ahold of the kid and teleporting-or at least trying to- them back to the apartment building with his parents. He somehow managed to get them a good half block away. Huh, that's a lot better than he would usually do actually. After a moment of looking around to make sure they didn't turn back to find them, he turned to the kid and tried his best to calm him down.
"Hey, hey buddy. Hey Big Man, you'll be alright! I'll get you back to your parents alright? You got a name kid?" He asked gently, this not being the first time he dealt with kids.
"A-Aaron.. My name is Aaron..."
"Well big man Aaron, let's get you home alright?" He said to him, effectively calming him down as well as earning a hug from the small child. A light whispered 'Thank you' the only noise coming from him. Theseus carefully got down so he could climb onto his back, hooking his arms under his legs and started running in the direction of Aaron's apartment.
Once he got close to the apartment building it was swarmed by police... And the Heroes.. Fuck, this wasn't gonna be easy. The Heroes that were that there consisted of: The Blade, a Piglin-Guardian hybrid with incredible speed, agility and strength, Zephyrus, full Pure Blooded Avian(or Elytrian if you want to get technical) with beautiful large obsidian wings able to withstand explosions and bullets; and finally Siren, a Phantom-Merling Hybrid with the ability to phase through walls, use the power of his voice to control people and, of course, flight. The entirety of the Sleepy Boys Hero team had showed up to look for Aaron. Fuckin' lovely. He thought letting the kid off his back.
"Alright Big man, do you think you can make it back to your parents from here?" Aaron nodded, having seen the Hero trio and understanding the Vigilantes problem with going over there. He went to walk around the corner before stopping and turn back to Theseus, giving him a quick hug as he spoke.
"You'll always be a hero to me, no matter what they say." He smiled at him, turning on his heel and sprinting to his parents as fast as he could. Theseus peeked around the corner just as Aaron made it to his parents, a happy smile coming to his face, but obscured by the face mask he had on. He watched for a few seconds before his eyes traveled upwards towards the heroes who were.. Looking right at him. Yeah it's time to run.
"Shit!" He cursed, turning on his heel, using his teleportation to get him to the roof of the building next to him, running as soon as he felt solid ground beneath his feet. Of course since he'd just been spotted the Heroes were hot on his trail, Blade having jumped from his place on the ground to the roof across where Theseus had been, whilst Siren and Zephyrus took to the skies. He didn't dare turn back to look at the Hero behind him, for he already knew that he had unsheathed his sword and was catching up quickly. He did, however, take a quick glance upward to see where Zephyrus and Siren were. To his slight surprise they weren't directly above him like he expected him to be, taking quick glances to the side he still didn't see them. Did they stay back at the apartment complex? He knew The Blade was strong, but had they really left him to catch the young Vigilante? It didn't seem like something they'd do..
As he got lost in his thoughts he almost didn't see the two winged Heroes pop up in front of him from the alleyway he was fixing to jump across. Cursing as he tried to bring himself to a stop so he wouldn't run into them, however that didn't work as gracefully as he'd hoped it would, almost flinging himself off the building and into the trashcan right beneath him as he grabbed onto the ledge. A sharp pain shot through his arm and chest as he made impact with the wall, the intercom on his buzzing as s shrill shriek of a "TELEPORT, TELEPORT NOW!!" shot through his ears, grimacing as he did what the voice commanded right before the Trio had the chance to grab him. As he expected he landed right where he'd let Aaron run to his family, looking around before sprinting in the opposite direction he'd gone before so as to not run into the Heroes again. He didn't feel like getting caught tonight, or at all actually.
He ran a few blocks, keeping to the alleyways so as to not be seen again, checking overhead every time he thought he'd heard the flap of a wing or the heavy footsteps of someone running along the rooftops. Finally coming to the conclusion that he wasn't being followed, he jumped back on the roof on Pogtopia Avenue to look for the bag with his change of clothes. Having found it particularly faster then he normally would have, he jumped down to the alley to change.
~~~
It took him a bit longer to get home then he previously anticipated, therefore causing the explosive reaction from his roommates.
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"
"YOU ALMOST GOT CAUGHT!! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"
"Key word in that sentence.. 'Almost', heh.." Theseus replied sheepishly, watching as his roommates sigh in frustration and annoyance.
"Oh my god Tommy, you need to be more careful!"
Tommy sighed as he began to take off his gas mask to properly look at both of his roommates. Both giving him annoyed expressions as he hid his vigilante costume. Toby, or Tubbo as Tommy had nicknamed him when they were little, was a Satyr-Bee Hybrid that just so happened to be the son of a well known Villain. Mark, or Ranboo as he's known on the streets, was a full Enderian Pure Blood with an Enderman form he only uses when he would patrol the streets with Tommy- Theseus most nights when he wasn't busy with his job. And then there was Tommy, a Enderian-Elytrian-Bee Triple Hybrid, but he was better known as Theseus, the local vigilante of the 17th District. The 17th Districts is one of the worst Districts to be in, the crime rate is high, most of the larger drug dealers and gangs hideout here, not because the police are bad at keeping them at bay, but because the Heroes are barely ever patrolling this side of town. That's why Tommy decided he wanted to be a vigilante.
"I know guys, I know... I was trying I just-" He thought back to the moment he saw Aaron reach his parents, how happy they looked to see their son, and all the memories that came from watching that sweet scene play out.
"I just got distracted...." He said in a downcast tone, both of his friends taking notice and sighing, Tubbo being the one to speak up first.
"It was a little kid wasn't it?"
He nodded.
They all had some sort of issue when it came to a little kid being in danger, mainly because of the-.. what happened when they were younger. So they understood his slight distraction that almost caused him to be caught, they just wanted him to be safe is all.
"Alright, that is understandable. But you still need to be more careful Tommy."
He nodded again, deciding to keep quiet while Tubbo gave him his usual lecture about being careful.
"I also know that you shouldn't have gone out tonight, you have an interview tomorrow!" He said in a bit of a lighter and teasing tone, a small smile on his face as he tries to brighten Tommy's mood a little.
"Speaking of, do you know if she's finished them yet?"
"No idea, go ask her."
Just as Tubbo had finished speaking, a Enderian-Elytrian-Merling Hybrid with papers in her hands.
"Yes indeed I did!" She said cheerily, handing Tommy a document.
"Thanks Alexa." He said whilst reading over his new identity.
Alexa was the youngest of the group, but also the most technically advanced. Unlike two of the other three in the apartment, she and Tubbo really knew their way around computers.
She had made the documents for the interviews tomorrow. Her and Tommy were younger than Mark and Toby by either two or three years (two for Tommy, three for Alexa), something that wouldn't be allowed if they were to try and get jobs at their actual ages. Therefore, fake documents and identities were made to accommodate.
"Damn, these really look real." Tubbo had said while looking over Tommy's with him, Mark looking over both of their shoulders to look as well. (we all know that mf is tall as crap)
"That's 'cause they are real, Tubs." She said with a proud look on her face. "Yeah if they really, and I mean really looked they could probably find our actual documents... But since I made sure to make these look as real as I could -whichmayormaynothaverequiredmetohackintothecitydatabase-" She mumbled quickly and quietly, clearing her throat to continue. "They shouldn't be able to track anything back to us!"
They just stared at her as she spoke, she always seemed so excited when it came to talking about tech stuff, that's why her and Tubbo always got along so well, she did the robotics and he did the coding for it. If only they'd have met before the incident all that time ago...
"So, to clear things up, they won't be able to track you guys back?" Mark asked with a hint of concern in his voice.
"Yep!"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you questioning my fake legal document making abilities?" She asked with a mock offended look on her face and a dramatically placed hand to her chest. They all laughed a small bit at this before she started to speak again.
"Like I said, they'd have to dig pretty deep to actually find us, and I made sure to make it all convincing enough that they wouldn't have to do so. So let's have our fingers crossed with this one so that they don't need to look that far." She said with a nervous chuckle at the end of her sentence.
"That settles it then, you two have got an interview in the morning!" Tubbo exclaimed happily, clapping his hands together.
"You should head to bed in that case, don't wanna be tired for tomorrow." Ranboo said in an older brother type of way that made everyone groan lightly.
"But what if I'm not tired?" Alexa asked playfully, almost immediately regretting her decision as he gave her a stern look, his heterochromatic eyes making her shrink back a little as her ears fell back. "It was just a question, damn..."
They all said good night and went to their rooms.
But was it really a good night when the three top heroes saw Theseus that evening?