Day 3 - trapped underneath a collapsed building with hurt!Techno and hurt!Tubbo
Other characters: None
Other tags: Alternate Universe - superpowers, former-hero-turned-vigilante Technoblade and hero Tubbo, blood & injury, impalement, scars
Summary: The Blade and Alloys, two opposites with more in common than they think
Techno didn't understand why they kept putting rookies on high-stakes missions.
This guy wasn't even an adult - something that really rubbed him the wrong way more than their obvious inexperience did. Back in his time, minors working for the Hero Association were an exception rather than the rule. And they were all chosen with caveats in mind, some justification as to why keeping them within the government's circle was probably safer for them and humanity than letting them roam around freely.
These days he felt like every run-in he had with a pro hero was another reckless teenager they plucked off the street and thrust into working for them. Maybe Phil had been right and the Association really was losing their credence fast. Techno hadn't been the first pro to cut loose and decide to work without their support. He wouldn't be the last either.
"You shouldn't be here." The kid was quite blunt in their words at least. Which Techno did appreciate.
He adjusted the sword in his hand. "I could say the same to you, aren't you supposed to be in kindergarten or something?"
"I'm doing my job." The goggles and half-face mask obscured their expression, making it harder for Techno to read. "What's your excuse, Blade? Endangering people for fun?"
So they knew who he was? The upside of having a reputation, supposedly. Techno walked away without a word, deciding he should probably focus on the task at hand. The kid skipped to catch up with him. Techno wasn't about to tell them not to follow him, two pairs of eyes were better than one when looking for a needle in a haystack - or a bomb hidden in a courthouse.
"I'm serious, the building is on lockdown. No civilians allowed." They didn't actually try to stop him.
"I'm not a civilian."
"You're not a hero anymore either."
"What, because I don't have a fancy badge? Cute, by the way. Really compliments the outfit." He nodded at the credentials clipped to their belt, along with several other tools Techno couldn't discern the use of. They were unarmed, dark skin-tight cloth covering every inch of their body up to their chin. Over it they were wearing knee-length brown shorts and a thick jumper made of wool with a winter jacket covering it. Unlike some people, Techo couldn't guess their powers just from their clothes.
"Because you couldn't follow the rules so they kicked you out."
"That what they teach you in hero school these days?" It was hard to keep the mocking out of his voice.
They seemed about to respond when the blast happened.
The building had three exits and they weren't anywhere near them when the bombs took out the supporting beams keeping the entire foundation up. A good thousand tons of stone, steel and concrete tumbling down like a house of cards. Techno heard the ceiling start to cave in before he could even blink and the floor fell away to open up a gaping chasm into the basement.
The kid threw up their arms while they slid down, Techno felt heat scathe across his face as they summoned some sort of invisible barrier to keep safe from the cave in. Techno didn't have time to process its exact nature though because then he was falling down, debris raining on them from above. With his enhanced reflexes Techno managed to turn the fall into more of an easy roll before he hit the ground, but it didn't matter when parts of the building crashed down on top of him, pillars and brick.
A sharp pain shot through Techno's stomach suddenly. Everything went dark while the rubble closed them in, blocking out the light from reaching them.
And when the dust cleared, the silence was deafening.
Techno coughed, at least having landed on his back. Trying to lift himself and failing, something dragged against his insides, keeping him pinned down - he couldn't tell what. He reached for his own chest, wrapping his hands around a length of rebar impaling him, sticking out through his stomach.
Well… that wasn't too good.
He could feel his blood attempting to pool out from the gaping hole the protrusion had caused in his flesh. Techno inhaled and closed his eyes, redirecting its flow and forcing it to stay inside. It hurt in a strange burning sensation coursing through his veins. But this wasn't the first time he had used his powers to keep himself from bleeding out.
"Blade?" A piece of rubble shifted to his side. The boy appeared, a gash on their cheek and dragging a busted ankle. The area was lit up when they crawled towards him. They had taken their gloves off - Techno noticed burn marks across their palms. From their hand emitted a faint amount of light, just enough to see by.
"Kid," Techno acknowledged.
"Holy- fuck, okay… don't move, but I think you might have a giant piece of metal stuck in you."
"Really? I didn't notice."
"They'll send backup soon, until then we should sit tight and follow instructions." They clipped something loose from their belt, a small box made of translucent plastic. When they touched it, the cube lit up with so much light it hurt Techno's eyes and he flinched. He recovered quickly.
"I'm not waiting for backup." He'd lost his sword in the fall, so he had to make a new weapon. Techno unwrapped the bandages from his hand and drew out a modest amount of blood from the cut in his palm he never let heal. It was a convenient source for him to use his powers when solidifying and shaping. The blood moved at his command and warped itself into a dagger. With it, Techno promptly started hacking away at the rebar impaling him.
"Woah, wait!" They sounded legit panicked. "What are you doing?"
"I just told you, I'm not waiting for backup. It'll take ages for anybody to get here. Besides, I don't want to be arrested, that would be pretty cringe."
"You know if you take that out you'll die of blood loss in like, ten seconds flat."
"I won't," Techno said. "Blood wielding, remember? I'll be fine kid."
They scoffed at being called kid again. "It's Alloys."
"Alloys?"
"My hero name." They pulled away the mask and pushed the goggles up, revealing their face to him. The same burns covered most of their skin.
"That's… why Alloys?"
"You know, like Tube Alloys."
Techno stopped cutting at the metal rod out of sheer confusion. "You mean like the British nuclear weapons program?"
"Yeah exactly!" They beamed at him, as if proud he got the reference.
Shield made out of ionization, the ability to generate and contain energy, the burns. Nuclear radiation manipulation as their power then. It did all add up but still…
"That's farfetched."
"Weren't you literally going by Protesilaus before? You have no right to get on my case about obscure references."
"Don't call me that, ever." Techno sighed, unpleasantly reminded. "At least it made sense in context."
"Mine does too! My-" They stopped there, reconsidering. Techno didn't know why, he just went back to cutting at the rebar - completely ineffectually mind you. If he wanted a sharper blade to cut through metal he would need to draw more blood, use more concentrated power. His main weakness had always been the limitation of his own blood supply, more advanced weaponry or effects needed more supply. But he couldn't risk it seeing as he was already using additional energy to keep the rest inside and enhance his own blood to grant him above human strength, speed, and resilience. He could stop doing that, but then he'd feel the wound a lot more and right now this numbing ability was probably all that stood between him and passing out from the pain.
"Tubbo..." they finished eventually after making up their mind. "My civilian name is Tubbo. So it's a pun, actually. Tubbo Alloys."
Techno laughed. "Okay, that's good. I'm sure the four people who get it will get a kick out of it." He stopped cutting because it was useless, letting the dagger disintegrate into a fluid again. It formed a puddle on the ground where he dropped it. "My name's Techno." At their surprised expression, he continued. "Isn't that the hero code or something? Mutual burden of the secret identity or whatever they called it."
"You don't follow the hero code," Tubbo put in. "They kicked you out, you became a vigilante. What reason would you have to play by our rules?" It didn't come across as an accusation, rather a genuine curiosity.
"They didn't kick me out, I left. And I left because I disagreed with how they ran things up top. But I can still recognize some of their principles had merit." If he wasn't currently impaled, Techno would have shrugged.
"How can you disagree with laws that are meant to keep the peace?"
Techno clenched his teeth, sick of hearing the same lies he'd been fed so many times since childhood regurgitated back at him. "Laws meant to keep peace do more harm than good if the peace they're trying to upkeep is only favorable for a select few anyway. So sorry if I disagree with them saying my brother's death was for the greater good."
Tubbo recoiled at his harsher tone, the light flickered wildly.
"And I disagree with them sending kids to wage their wars too," Techno continued, looking at him.
"I'm not- I'm not a kid. I'm seventeen."
Techno shook his head. "You're proving my point here."
"You were eleven when you became a pro," Tubbo said then. Techno didn't think he would know that. It shouldn't be regular teachings at the Association. Heroes were only enlightened on the identity of vigilantes if it was relevant, or when they sent out despatch teams to get rid of rogue heroes.
"Yeah, and it turned out so great for me," he said sarcastically. "Taken under their wing to protect me from myself because I had a scary power that could harm me." He clenched his hand around the cuts he used to spill his blood on command, then eyed Tubbo's radiation burns. "I'm imagining they told you the same."
"They helped me-"
"And then trained to be their perfect weapon until I started to ask questions about right and wrong. I'm not here to change your mind, kid. I'm sure time will be the best teacher."
Tubbo bit his lip, undecided. Techno knew there was little chance for him to actually break through the months if not years of propaganda the Association would have already put in his head with one heartfelt speech. Tubbo would learn the truth sooner or later, whether he wanted to or not.
All any of them ever could be for the government were tools.
With a weary sigh, Tubbo closed his hand around the rebar. "Don't breathe."
"Wha-"
"I said don't breathe." The heat came back, several times worse than Techno had felt it before. Radiation prickled across his skin, phantom decay and sickness attempting to sink into his cells but Tubbo's control over his powers wouldn't allow them to. Techno didn't move a muscle, concentrating on that and keeping the blood inside when Tubbo melted the metal and bent the top.
With a wet squelch, Techno pulled off.
For a split second the wound was gaping and open. And so, so painful that it blotted out all else in Techno's existence. Then he managed to close it with a herculean effort, just enough so it could last until he got real medical attention.
"Thanks," Techno said.
"I don't agree with you." Tubbo looked at him, conflicted. "But I don't agree with you being sent to prison either so, here we are. What now?"
"Now I get out of here." Techno reshaped his sword, always the better choice from his arsenal even if it took a lot more energy to sustain. It should be able to cut a clear path through the rubble anyway. Without the additional energy put in pain suppression, wielding it should be doable for a few minutes.
As soon as he got to the apartment he could pass out on the couch. Wouldn't be the first time Phil had to patch an unconscious Techno up before he bled out all over their sofa.
"I'd take you with me, but with your ankle I don't think that'll be a good idea. I sincerely hope we don't run into each other again, Alloys," Techno said lightheartedly.
Tubbo smiled. "I sincerely do, actually. It was an interesting if harrowing experience."
They didn't seem like they were lying either. Strange kid.
"...Sure. But since you have my civilian name now, you could just look me up on the internet and we could have a chat like normal people. I know that's not something they teach you at the Association but, the offer stands."
A distant sound of sirens finally cut through the silence, the top layers of rubble being removed by the rescue teams. Techno wasn't going to waste any more time.
"See you around." He gave the kid a wave, getting one in return, before disappearing into the underground passages.
