Tommy's Ultra-Important Keychain

Chapter 24: The other side of the coin

"Don't go!"

A young teenager yanked the sleeve of his purple hoodie away from desperate hands. His sharp glare was displayed shamelessly. After years, he had stopped trying to hide his disdain. The man in front of him was no longer his responsibility.

"Go get one of your other henchmen," he huffed, backing towards an open window. Several stories beneath them, the bustle of a busy road could be heard. It was a Monday afternoon, and everyone was rushing to get home from work or school. Each of them were entirely unaware of the events unfolding above their heads. "I'm not your babysitter."

"Please, Purpled," Quackity begged. "I can't be alone."

He felt no pity for the breaking voice of his once-mentor figure. "Poor hero," he mocked, venom thick in his tone. "It's been a long time since you've been in a completely uncontrollable situation, hasn't it?"

"Shut up," Quackity hissed. Nothing he said had a bite to it anymore. "If you're going to leave, at least keep an eye out for him. "

Purpled raised a judgemental eyebrow. "You have your own eyes around town. Make yourself useful, and utilize them."

"I did." The older hero fell to his knees. The shaking of his hands suggested he was about to have another episode. "I was so close."

"And you still failed," Purpled huffed. In one big sweep, he bent at the waist and gave a dramatic bow. "Welcome to the real world, Ace. Try not to get too attached."

He turned around and stepped onto the windowsill. The world below him threatened to fall away, a thrilling vertigo he wished he could get lost in. Anything was better than being trapped in that room another minute.

"No! Wait!"

It was too late. Purpled sprang from the room, soaring through the air. It was freeing, isolating. For a moment, it was only him and the sky. There were hundreds of feet between him and the ground.

His jump ended too quickly, and he landed on a rooftop. Quackity watched him from that dreadful window, like Rapunzel locked in her tower. Purpled wished secretly that his would be a Grimm fairytale. Heroes didn't deserve happy endings. Not anymore.

It was easy for him to reach the west side of town, especially when he didn't have to jump between skyscrapers. The buildings slowly shrunk, until they were hardly above three stories. His earrings buzzed against his skin. It wasn't his first choice to have jewelry as his magic item, but piercing his ears was ultimately better than dealing with some chunky necklace.

He stopped atop an apartment complex to check his phone. Purpled repressed his sneer at the sight of his least favorite group chat. The most recent message came from Blink, detailing how he would be skipping training that day. Quackity had been very loud after that news. Above said group chat was an unread text from Tommy. It was an address.

He pocketed his phone again, taking off. He wasn't terribly far, especially not with his gift to help him navigate. There were thousands of variations of powers that made up the hero agency, but Purpled personally thought his was the greatest. He barely needed a power enhancer, and he definitely didn't require some overrated magical thing to give him a completely new gift. Super jump was perfect.

He saw Tommy waiting for him outside a coffee shop. The other teenager hadn't noticed him yet. Purpled wasn't above messing with people. He waited until Tommy was reading something on his phone, and he dropped silently behind him.

Tommy was wearing a red hoodie, despite the weather. The younger hero had no room to talk, of course, but it was interesting that they had similar habits. He leaned over the guy's shoulder. He was writing a text, but with the glare of the sun, he could only make out the contact name. Purpled's back pocket buzzed at the same time as the message was sent.