: final control room and prison death flashbacks, broken finger mention, not much besides those i think

this is just retelling canon events with tommy + a streak of actual Lore because i havent been able to update in a bit but now i can atm :))

===

Chewing the side of his cheek, Tommy observes where he stands in Izuku's room. All Might posters coat the walls and merchandise fill the shelves, and in any other situation Tommy would've laughed. The area is dark save for the covered window and Izuku's lamp that shines down on an innocent envelope with U.A.'s wax seal, the faint shadow of a disk-shaped item in it (weird way to send a letter, but this entire server was weird), something so small that holds the weight of Izuku's life in it. Its the results from the exam — Toshinori hasn't said shit about what Izuku got, so Tommy's fucking valid for worrying. The exam participant himself nods, tugging the blond further in while gently closing the door with his mother outside.

Tommy grimaces and hunches his shoulders, a sharp pang of trepidation seeping into his mind. He looks around again, the walls doing their fucking enclosure around him again. The dark (obsidian seems like a void as they step into the place that Eret has brought them, a few chests and a singular button placed inside. Their clothes are ripped and stitches litter the larger tears, hastily sewed. They are weak.

They should've known to run. Should've ran when the pistons shifted, should've ran when Eret smiled as if he were at a funeral saying his final goodbye, should've -- should've --

"It was never meant to be."

And Dream is there, watching him through the pinpricks of his mask with a streak of mania, chest heaving after each breath, fingers twitching, the crushed potato in his hand bloody and decimated. The pain is so minimal compared to the fear that claws at his mind and tells him to fucking run. Tells him to strangle the bastard, tells him to rip that stupid mask off, tells him to show that man he's a fucking mortal like everyone else.

But he can't move. Can't breathe, really, as his mind shuts down and his eye pulses with phantom pains.

The obsidian stained crimson is so, so cold compared to the glacial temperature of his skin.)

"Tommy?" Izuku pinches Tommy with a tentative look, "C-Can you hear me?" The blond teen yelps, glaring at the other with as much anger as he could without the terror seeping into his eyes. He speaks, shoving that tremor down that threatens to make him garner sympathy and fucking pity, "I can hear perfectly fine. What the fuck do you want, bitch?"

"You were doing that thing again," he shrugs, unlatching his window and leaving it open.

"What thing?"

"W-Where you're out of it." He turns his lights on, the room bathed in it causing Tommy to squawk at the sudden change in lighting. As the older teen rubs his eyes and mutters curses, Izuku pokes his head out of the room and murmurs something to his mom, whom Tommy can now hear her footsteps fade. Izuku lets the door stay open. *

"You're out of it, bitch," Tommy claims, his shoulders sagging just the slightest.

Izuku shakes his head. "Nevermind. Sit down."

"But what about Inko?" Tommy protests, eyeing the two chairs near the desk. The anxiety gnaws at his skin. "She's your mom and I'm just some dickhead who helped you."

"T's probably gonna be the one to tell us the results. He's probably working there, seeing as there are more sightings of him near U.A." Izuku sits on his seat and looks down, murmuring, " Plus, I hold his quirk.** Mom... She doesn't know about T's secret. Or that we're even in contact with him. I — you wouldn't even know had you not been actively assisting me. T wouldn't be able to stay in his form for longer when you were there as the months went by, and you initially thought it was his quirk drawback and not from a wound. I also may need the comfort..." For when it's revealed I failed, is left unsaid.

"I-I mean!" He stammers, lifting his head up, "It's not like my mom isn't good comfort! It's just. I think you'd understand better, y'know?"

Tommy sighs. Right — no one can gossip about this shit, so barely anyone knows. Even for someone as kind as Inko. And what had Tubbo said before? Traumatized minors had to stick together?

"And hey, you're not a stupid person," Izuku goes on. Tommy scoffs at the replacement for the swear; it wasn't even as bad as fuck! "You've helped me a lot. R-Really."

Though he distractedly nods, Tommy hesitates to sit down in the extra seat Izuku brought for him. Once he does he notices the seat is comfortable — should be comfortable — yet the anxiety rolling in his stomach makes him and the seat anything but. Nevertheless, the blond stares at the small envelope, keeping his gaze on it even as he grumbles, "Sit the fuck down and open it already."

Izuku does settle, yet he doesn't move to open the letter. And if Tommy were to be in his position, barely getting anything in an exam, he would have, too. But like the impatient fuck he is, the blue-eyed teen snatches and tears it open. He pointedly ignores the indignant cry of protest that Izuku lets out, focusing on the disk that clatters down on the other's wooden desk. It lights up, something like a screen rising from the middle. Tommy glances in the envelope itself — no paper, no writing. Is the world too advanced for that, or is Izuku a special case?

"I am here as a projection!"

"Holy shit," Tommy gapes, looking back up just in time to see a fucking hologram appear. An image — a recording? A live feed? Of All Might, dressed all proper and fancy, appears in a setting, shimmering from the hologram's lines. Only Sam would've been able to create shit like this.

(He misses Sam Nook and his chittering. No matter how much he hates reflecting on the SMP and all it's done to him, he can't deny that.)

...Does U.A. just give these out to every fucking participant? Oh, Prime. What the fuck is this server on to be this technologically advanced? What kind of redstone and command blocks are built into this single thing, and then all the other devices that this server's made? Phones, TVs, tablets, computers, games you can play on the four aforementioned machines, applications that range from something as simple as reminders to entire fantasy worlds stuffed in a little square...*** Tommy can't — won't attempt to imagine how overpowered the school is (and all the fear that comes with.)

All Might goes on, leaving the question unanswered — not a live feed, it seems. Apparently, the hero had to do paperwork, so he couldn't contact Izuku nor Tommy, which he apologized for with a bow. And, just like Izuku predicted, he transitions to state that he'd come to the town to work at U.A. How much time does the freckled teen even spend scouring news forums and writing everything down?

Due to a signal to hurry up, All Might finally starts getting to the point. Tommy focuses on the man, having zoned out until now. "Even if you passed the written exam," the hero states, "you, Young Midoriya, got zero points on the practical exam. Of course, that means you didn't pass."

At that, Izuku clutches the legs of his pants, hanging his head shamefully. Tommy can see the telltale signs of his tears. "I know that," the other whispers, the start of a cry, "I knew that. I knew that, but..." The blond purses his lips and sets a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"...if that was all there was to it."

Tommy snaps his head up, feeling the other's head do the same with the sudden stiffness of his shoulders.

"I am an entertainer, as well!" All Might exclaims, turning to point a small, white remote behind him. The screen that it's pointed to flickers once a button is pressed, changing to a different scene as the camera homes in on it. "First, you two, take a look at this video!"

A girl appears on the screen. She's dressed in what Tommy can only assume is a school uniform, though it does look like a sailor's clothing. She has short brown hair that seems to defy gravity, two long bangs framing her face. Her eyes are doe-like, large, and curious, the blush dusting her cheeks a seemingly permanent characteristic.

Izuku sits straighter, viridian eyes gazing wide-eyed at the hologram. "The nice person?" He quietly questions. Tommy raises a questioning eyebrow, but the other either doesn't notice or is refusing to acknowledge it.

"Excuse me, um..." The girl stammers, stepping forwards.

All Might interrupts. "She came to negotiate directly in person after the exams!" Prime, could he not interrupt? Thankfully, the hero leans forwards, "Negotiate what, exactly? Keep watching to find out!"

The camera switches. The girl is now standing in front of someone else -- one of the (there's an admin he's an admin he's going to hurt her going to hurt hurt hurt he has to help her -- ) onlookers of the exam, maybe? A judge? Nevertheless, the fucker's got a weird style. Not as weird as maybe Fundy or Ranboo (he can't think of them right now what is he doing), but weird nonetheless. His hair is literally like a banana, standing tall and upright and colored the shade of a banana's skin. Tommy can see the sheer amount of gell from here, what the fuck. He's wearing a leather costume of some sort, from the little pixels Tommy can observe.

"Um," the girl starts, motioning with her hands as she asks, "you know the person with the curly hair and freckles? Uh... kind of plain-looking?"

The video moves on. "Is it possible to give him some of my points?" She asks. "I heard him say, 'If I could just get one more point,' so I thought that maybe he was still at zero points... At least the points he lost because of me! He saved me! Please! Please! Please!"

Izuku stands, staggering. The video pauses.

"In addition to having a quirk," All Might explains, "Your actions spurred others to act." He turns. "The entrance exam the other day was not graded only on villain points!"

What?

The video unpauses. "Even if you ask to," the unknown — wait oh shit that's Present Mic, literally the guy on the ragged radio he kept. That's what he looks like? Huh. Present Mic continues, "you can't give him your points. Anyway, there's no reason to give him any, female listener!" The hero reaches out, gently patting the girl on the head.

What?

All Might stands in front of the video, the camera zooming out. "How can a hero course reject people who save others and do the right thing?" The number one hero says and oh, oh, Tommy fucking gets it. A grin stretches on his lips while in his peripheral vision, Izuku gapes. For good measure, Tommy grips his arm to make sure he knows this is fucking real. "Call that lip service? Bring it on!" All Might resumes, "This is a job that requires risking one's life to put that lip service into practice!"

"Rescue points! And they're given by a panel of judges. It's the other basic ability we at U.A. look at!"

Izuku Midoriya | Villain - 0 | Rescue - 60 |

"Holy shit," Tommy whispers, staring at the hologram. He raises his voice, beaming. "Holy shit!"

"Izuku Midoriya, sixty points!" The scene changes back to the girl, the sector of her name with the scoreboard right above her head. "And Ochako Uraraka, forty-five points!"

All Might turns. Tommy can affirm he's proud when he says, "You and her passed."

Izuku gawks with uncertainty. "No way," he says, disbelieving and a wobble to his tone, "No way. This is too insane."

"Young Midoriya; this is your hero academia!"

"Y-Yes, sir!" Izuku sniffly says, eyes tearing up.

Tommy fucking whoops in joy.

===

"Big T!" Tommy roars, running down Takoda to the man currently in his deflated form, casual clothing hanging off of his stick-like figure. The moon shines overhead, stars twinkling around it, all covering the beach in a pleasant silver moonlight. He almost expects to trip over some junk but is both surprised and satisfied when he doesn't. The blond teen almost slams the currently fragile hero down, restraining himself just enough to stop in the nick of time. His marginally torn sneakers make imprints in the sand, a little dent in the seaside from where he stands just inches away from crashing into the hero. "What the fuck, man!"

"All — I-I mean, T!" Izuku cries, rushing over not far behind. And then he promptly fucking bursts into tears and after all this time, Tommy still doesn't know how big his tear ducts were, how he holds all of that in, and how he can fucking stop it.

The man spews blood in surprise, the action making Tommy wince. Prime, should he give him a few golden apple slices? Do they fix missing organs? Do they fix All Might's type of wound? Tommy's never been in a situation wherein he's seen someone consuming an apple and regenerating their organs. Or limbs.

(Does he trust the hero enough, despite the shitty hero system?)

...Fuck it.

Tommy pops his inventory out, taking out a few of the slices. The way the moonlight reflects on its golden skin makes it appear ethereal, and he can't help but stare at it for a few moments too long. Nevertheless, he snaps out of it and hands some over to the curious eyes of the hero. "Fucking take it," Tommy grumbles, dumping the slices in the man's palms, "and eat it. They heal."

All Might opens his mouth. "T-They do!" Izuku attests, urging the man to eat the golden apple slices. As the man finally fucking does, Izuku turns to Tommy. "Why didn't we give him these earlier?!" He hisses, though there's no real anger in his tone.

"Wasn't sure if they could heal missing organs 'n' shit," Tommy responds, watching the man light up with an incredulous expression plastered all over his face. Colored steam seeps from the man's pores, a sign that the effects are taking place. All Might's skin already looks fuller, too. Huh. "They're precious items, anyway -- I can't grow them with their seeds. That just makes them normal, albeit sweeter, larger apples."***

Before the man can speak, because Tommy's absolutely not letting him have more nor know how he got the golden apple slices, he scowls and gets to his point. "Anyway! You prick, you fuckin' wrongun', you could've shot us a quick text that you had work an' shit! Not do so during the fucking exam results!"

Izuku frowns, "But he's a top hero! He's got a lot to do!"

"Shut up, you All Might apologist fanboy -- you don't get to say shit."

The All Might apologist and therefore complete wrongun' squawks in offense. Suck it, dickhead.

"A-Anyway," All Might placates, placing a hand on Izuku's shoulder yet hesitating to do so on Tommy's, "congrats on getting accepted, Young Midoriya." He raises a hand and Izuku high-fives it eagerly. "T-Thank you very much!"

Tommy scoffs. See?

"And thank you, Young Tommy," the hero says, "for helping." The mentioned teen grunts a "you're welcome, old man" under his breath.

"Just so you know, I didn't tell the school about my connection to you, Young Midoriya," the hero says, and Prime Tommy doesn't know if that's the worst or mediocre fucking decision the man has made. Because he isn't subtle. At all. The man sucks at not standing out precisely because his quirk is all flashy and shit, hence why he's the top hero. His other form wouldn't help because of all the muscle, and this stick form is no better because he looks too sickly and also a total stranger.

Izuku isn't subtle either. He either mutters everything out-loud, is easy to read as an open book, lies horridly, or blurts it out on accident. This probably wouldn't go well.

But then again. "You're the type that would think it's cheating if I did, right?" All Might says, the younger blond considering that as he reflects on the man's decision. "I wasn't one of the judges."

"Th-Thank you for your concern!" Izuku bows.

Total All Might apologist.

"I-I wasn't too surprised to find out that you were a teacher at U.A., actually!" Izuku goes into his time-to-rant-about-my-favorite-hero-for-the-nth-time and oh, fuck no. "That was why you came here. After all, your agency is in Roppongi in Minato, Tokyo at --"

Tommy shoves his elbow into his chest, Izuku hissing and sending a pout in response. At least he actually listened this time instead of being a little shit and continue to rant off. "Don't you fucking dare," the blond exasperatedly groans. When the other just sticks his tongue out, Tommy gasps in mock offense and almost starts to pummel his ass.

All Might sighs, turning to the glistening ocean. That brings both of the teens eyes on him, the atmosphere turned solemn as the hero says, "I couldn't tell anyone before the school announced it. I just happened to be offered a job in U.A. while I was searching for a successor." At that, Izuku blinks, processing something before staring at his hands with a despairing look.

"...My body broke with one kick and one punch with OFA," he states. "I can't control it at all."

"That can't be helped," Tommy hums, "As the old man said, you were a vessel made as fast as he could with the time he was given. Or some shit like that. It's like if you asked a person who suddenly grew a tail to fucking do something like a trick with it; they wouldn't be able to control it." The hero nods in agreement.

"I — but you knew about it, then!" Izuku says, turning to All Might with a shocked look.

"Well, there wasn't any time; but it turned out alright," the hero replies. "It turned out 'All Might!'"

Tommy groans.

Ignorant of Tommy's pain, the hero continues past that Prime-awful joke, picking up a few spray cans on the ground. "Right now, you're either at a hundred percent or at zero. But once you can control it, you'll be able to adjust to what you can handle."

"Control?"

"Think of if as a glass cup that you can mould. The more you train a vessel — or, for the example, the more you practice moulding the glass — the more you'll be able to move and shape your power freely." With a slight burst of steam, All Might puffs up to his hero form, crushing the aluminum in his now-meaty palm. "Like this," he says, and Prime damn it for the top hero this man is fucking stupid sometimes.

Tommy hisses, garnering their attention. "You fuck!" He curses, "This is a public area! There's people right there, why did you transform — "

"Wait, is that All Might?!" A look of anguish sets in on the the aforementioned hero's face.

"No way! When did he get here?!"

Tommy can't hear any of the other exclamations because he'd already grabbed Izuku and started running, the other stumbling before running in tandem. All Might sprints close behind, soon running ahead of the two teenagers. Tommy curses under his breath the entire time, a string of nasty, foul-mouthed words as he hears the footsteps of people nearby and sees the flashes of cameras in his peripheral vision. The night sky isn't helping for shit.

Fucking hell, Tommy should've never signed up for this.

===

"Izuku, do you have tissues?"

"Yeah."

"And your handkerchief? What about your handkerchief? Your hanky?" Tommy quietly snorts, and is given a glare.