Tommy sits at his desk. He quietly mends the tears on an older jacket, careful not to do further damage. The sun starts to peek between the closed blinds in the window in front of his desk. The other windows down the line of desks have their curtains pulled tight, allowing only tinted light to seep across the wooden surfaces. Tommy considers closing his own curtains, but he decides against such a pursuit. He enjoys the hesitant warmth that seems to linger in the room from the windows. It isn't enough to stop the slow shivers hidden beneath his hoodie, but Tommy is far too used to both the colder temperature and his work to stop or accidentally do more damage. The motions are so rhythmic that his thoughts wander away from his task in his hands without any consequences.

Tommy's attention only snaps back into the moment when he hears a muted grumbling. Tommy nearly pricks his finger with the needle, quickly jerking it away from his skin in time. He looks over his shoulder at the source of the disturbance. Wilbur is slowly sitting up from the blanket and pillow mess Tommy usually uses as his bed. Wilbur drops his head into his hands, making even more noises as he tries to get familiar with the environment around him. Tommy snickers under his breath, turning away when he feels Wilbur's head jerking up to glare at Tommy. The brunette makes a horrible noise, and Tommy hears the creaking of the wood beneath Wilbur's body weight as he moves. "My head fucking hurts."

Tommy barks out another laugh. He shakes his head, trying to smooth over the amusement inside of him. He turns his chair all the way around, spinning until he's facing Wilbur. The man is sitting on the edge of the thick blanket with his legs stretched out off the side. Wilbur puts his cheek into the palm of his hand. He blinks lazily at Tommy, a soft sort of pain humming alongside his irises. "You shouldn't drink alcohol in the future."

Tommy rolls his eyes, gesturing to the messy state of Wilbur's clothes and the grumbling noises he continues to make. "How about you take your own advice, big man?"

Wilbur groans in response. Tommy snorts. He pushes off the arms of his chair to stand up. Tommy walks across the room to the mini-fridge. He pulls out a slightly cooler than lukewarm water bottle. Tommy tosses it over to Wilbur. Instead of catching it, the side of the bottle lands against Wilbur's arm. This knocks his elbow loose, nearly sending his head into his knee. Wilbur catches himself before that happens, but he rubs his arm with several complaints dancing across his tongue. Tommy laughs fully, ignoring the venom-less glare Wilbur shoots his way. Despite the bottle doing him harm, Wilbur picks it up, unscrewing the top. He sips on the water slowly. Tommy returns to his chair, dropping down onto the seat.

"Ugh, it's so cold!" Wilbur continues complaining, setting the water down beside him. He flops back down on Tommy's blanket. He reaches for a pillow, hugging it against his chest. He stares at Tommy with pleading eyes, but Tommy doesn't know what Wilbur is trying to plead for. He looks around, searching for some blanket alternative that would get Wilbur to shut up. When he comes up empty, he shrugs his shoulders and purses his lips. Wilbur huffs. "Turn the air conditioner on or something."

Tommy rolls his eyes so hard that he starts spinning back to his desk. He grabs the edge, pulling himself closer to the surface. He picks up the jacket he was working on along with the threaded needle. "The thermostat is in Madeleine's office downstairs. If you want to be warmer, you can fucking sneak into her office and incur her wrath."

"You are clearly underestimating my eloquent speech," Wilbur remarks. He gets up from the mess of blankets. He places a cold hand against the side of Tommy's face as he passes, even messing up Tommy's hair. The blonde grumbles, reaching to kick Wilbur. The man is out of range by the time Tommy turns to face him. Tommy listens to Wilbur's sinister laughter as he leaps down the steps two at a time. Tommy rolls his eyes, deciding to let Wilbur injure himself without interference or a word of concern. Tommy fixes his hair as best he can, turning back to his desk.

Since Wilbur is awake, Tommy lifts up off his chair to turn the radio on. Tommy usually has it on right around now, but since Wilbur was a guest and hungover, Tommy thought it would be best to keep the men inside the box from singing. Now, however, Tommy can catch up on the music he's been missing or the recent news. He might even catch someone's podcast or a comedy show.

As Tommy touches the knob that will turn the radio on, he hears glass shattering. Tommy jerks away, his chair spinning away from him. He turns toward the stairs, hesitantly walking over. "Wilbur? The fuck you doing down there? Are you okay?"

Tommy waits a few seconds, straining his ears for some sort of answer. When he doesn't get one, Tommy decides to go down to investigate for himself. He rushes down the stairs, hoping that Wilbur isn't seriously injured or that anything important is broken. When he gets to the bottom step, he looks around for Wilbur. He doesn't have to look long. The man is standing right beside one of the display windows, the broken glass on the floor around him reflecting back up the morning sunlight cascading across them.

Tommy freezes up when he notices the person standing right beside Wilbur. A man wearing what amounts to gym clothing with Netherite armor attachments is standing right beside Wilbur, holding the brunette's arm. The man wears a black mask with a skull crudely painted across the surface, his pink hair not exactly framing the mask very well. The secret charm affixed to his body radiates a mysterious energy around him, but his burning red eyes are unmistakable. Tommy feels a shiver run down his spine. Not from the cold but from fear. Ravager- the infamous warmonger of the Syndicate- is standing in the tailor shop. He is holding Wilbur in place. His arms are circling around Wilbur, trying to pick him up. Wilbur is, thankfully, conscious, but the only thing he can do is glare at the villain as Ravager puts a hand over Wilbur's mouth.

"Wait! Fuck, wait, wait!" Tommy calls out. Both Wilbur and Ravager stop whatever they're doing to look at Tommy. Ravager's eyes on him increase Tommy's shaking tenfold, but he pushes down the freezing cold darkness threatening to consume his mind. He takes a careful step toward the villain, raising his hands placatingly. "Wait... please, don't hurt him. He doesn't work here. He doesn't know where the money is. I do. I'm the one that works here. Shit, I'll pay you myself. I won't tell anyone. I-I... just put him down, please. I'll do whatever the hell you want. Please...."

Ravager's eyes flick away from Tommy to stare at Wilbur. The civilian glares back without as much vitriol or fear as Tommy would expect. Wilbur looks more annoyed than anything else, and Tommy feels the urge to cry for some reason. He has never cried before, not since he was harshly set in the palm of the darkness sent to crush him. Ravager is simply that terrifying, perhaps a byproduct of his powers. Tommy's shivering is definitely another byproduct, but it's also partially due to the fact that Wilbur isn't acting like a hostage should. He isn't paying any sort of reverence towards the dangerous and unstable villain currently holding him against his will. Tommy needs Wilbur to start worshiping Ravager, or neither of them are going to get out of this situation alive.

Ravager turns his eyes back to Tommy. The blonde swallows thickly. He takes another step forward, but that's only because he feels himself sliding onto his knees like snow in the sunlight. Tommy tries to remain upright and strong for Wilbur's sake, but those red eyes seem to fill Tommy's entire body with a cotton-like fuzziness built from anguish and despair. Tommy can't focus at all, and he feels like he's going to puke. His consciousness continues to ebb around the edges, ready to completely give up. Tommy puts his hands on his knees, continuing to stare in those eyes even when they slowly kill him. Tommy doesn't know if Ravager's an animal, but he certainly feels like a predator. Tommy is pretty sure a person isn't supposed to look away from predators.

Wilbur lifts his hand up like he's waiting to be called on. Ravager's attention jerks away from Tommy, landing on the brunette. Tommy startles forward, a warning on his tongue. This movement merely causes Tommy to actually fall onto his knees. He lands so pathetically hard that pain shoots up to his brain and the clacking noise calls on the attention of Ravager and Wilbur. Tommy feels the tears in his eyes grow heavier, forcing himself to look up at the two.

Ravager lifts Wilbur right off his feet as if he doesn't weigh anything. Wilbur's eyes widen like a petulant child. He kicks Ravager's shin, and a panicked noise falls from Tommy's lips instead of a warning not to do that. Wilbur firmly in his arms, Ravager leaps backward, landing all the way on the other side of the street. Tommy screams, pushing himself onto his feet. He runs toward them, crunching the glass underneath his shoes. He leaps through the already broken window, watching Ravager leap into the air again. Ravager lands on a rooftop, and he doesn't stop there. He keeps moving. Tommy wants to go after them, but he's already lost both of them.

Tommy stands in the middle of the street. He looks around in slow circles, searching for some clue that will direct him to where Ravager took Wilbur. When no such clues present themselves, Tommy is left heaving in his breaths and trying not to vomit on the asphalt. Both are hard battles that require his entire focus and send him onto the ground. He stares into the yellow and white lines of the street. His vision blurs with tears and probably sweat. Tommy doesn't know why he's sweating, but it could be for the same reason he can't seem to breathe. His lungs are burning. He feels like his entire chest is on fire. There is a fuzziness in his mind that he can't push away.

"-ommy! Hey! Will you look at me, please?" Tommy snaps his head up. The person leaning beside him stumbles back, but they quickly get back into the spot they were standing in previously. The tears in Tommy's vision disappear, allowing to see Madeleine standing right beside him. She is wearing business clothes, but they seem a little hastily put on. Her ponytail is only half up, the rubber band sliding down. Her eyes are wide, and her hands hover around Tommy like she's afraid to touch him but she wants to do so. Tommy looks back down. They are in the middle of the street.

Tommy grabs Madeleine's forearms, using them to pick himself back up. When he's back on his feet, he moves away from her immediately. Madeleine gives him a patient smile, looking around the street. She starts ushering Tommy toward the tailor shop. Tommy follows her lead. He goes in through the broken window. Madeleine unlocks the front door for herself. She even closes the door behind her like one of the windows in the front of her store isn't pieces of broken glass on the ground.

"What happened? The alarm went off, so I rushed over. The window's obviously broken, but the rest of the store looks... fine," Madeleine says quietly, looking around the store. She throws a glance over at the cash register, but it remains upright and closed. Her eyes wander to her office door, still closed and locked. Her frown grows even deeper, and she turns to Tommy, who is sitting on one of the couches.

"I hung out with Wilbur and my other friends yesterday. Wilbur got drunk as fuck, so I brought him back here to sleep it off. When he woke up, he complained about the temperature. I told him the thermostat was in your office, and he decided to try his luck. I heard glass shatter. I came downstairs to find fucking Ravager holding him hostage! Ravager has Wilbur right now!" Tommy starts screaming, tears rising to his face again. He gets to his feet, nearly falling again.

"Whoa, calm down, Toms. Deep breaths, okay? Focus on that. I'm going to call the Enforcers. Your friend is going to be fine," Madeleine tells him. She goes over to the main desk where most people make transactions or refunds. Madeleine picks up the landline communicator, calling the Enforcers. Tommy remains seated in the chair, mind absolutely reeling. Shadow Girl swore to him that Wilbur would remain unharmed, so she couldn't have told the Syndicate about Wilbur. Nemesis honestly seemed to like Wilbur when the two of them interacted. This leaves only one person: Phantasm. He must have told the Syndicate where he got his healing from, and Ravager kidnapped Wilbur as leverage.

But Phantasm told Tommy that he didn't have to heal anyone he didn't want to. Even though Phantasm is a self-serving villain, Tommy really wants to believe Phantasm was being true.

"Oh!" Madeleine exclaims. Tommy lifts his head, following her eyes. His breath is stolen from his chest once more as the heroes Wraith and Incognito walk into the store, both of them staring at the broken window and shattered glass. Wraith looks as frigid and imposing as she did when she was trying to murder Nymph. Incognito, on the other hand, wears purple robes with neon green accents and a silver belt around his waist. A deep purple cloak falls over his shoulders, tattered at the bottom, with silver metal along the pauldrons. A silver circlet with green gemstones holds back his purple hair, and a pair of glowing green eyes shine in a genuine skull mask on his face. Although his eyes are similar to Phantasm, there is something completely different about the aura surrounding him. It puts Tommy on edge, though that could also be from a genuinely strong secret charm or the fact that two heroes are at Madeleine's door!

"Um, it's an honor to meet you, heroes," Madeleine speaks, rushing forward to intercept both of the heroes before they can get further in the store. Wraith leans down to inspect the glass more closely, completely ignoring the woman talking to her. Incognito remains standing, smiling at Madeleine like someone who has spent years working in retail.

"There were some reports in the area about Ravager around the same time that the Enforcers got a call about a break-in," Incognito explains easily, almost kindly.

"Did Ravager break into your store?" Wraith asks tactlessly with none of the charm that her partner exudes. Wraith stands up, gazing around the store, not even looking at Madeleine as she waits for an answer.

"Yes, it was," Madeleine agrees, shifting without fully pulling away. Tommy recognizes it as a nervous habit, but he also knows that Madeleine is getting annoyed by Wraith. Madeleine has way more experience with troublesome customers than Tommy does, though, so she doesn't let the two heroes know what thoughts are currently spinning around her mind.

"I need to see your security cameras and alarm system," Wraith says blatantly, not a hint of a question in her tone. Incognito has the decency to wince, quickly striking Wraith's stomach with his elbow. Wraith's facial expression doesn't morph into pain, instead she raises an eyebrow at Incognito as if she doesn't understand what he's doing or why he's doing it. Incognito's eyes twitch, a sigh barely repressed behind his controlled smile.

"This way, then, to my office," Madeleine gestures to the back of the tailor shop. Madeleine starts walking that way. Tommy moves to sit on the couch facing forward. He puts his hands on his knees, staring down at the ground. He takes in a deep breath, holding it when the shuffling of clothing gets louder. He stays that way until Wraith and Madeleine pass by the couch. Tommy breathes out safely.

Wraith stops at the doorway of the office, she looks over her shoulder. Her eyes, sharp and cold like the northern wind, land directly on him. Tommy goes as still as a stone, feeling like frost is starting to climb his body and turn him into a frozen statue. "What is he doing over here?"

"I, um, I work here," Tommy truthfully answers. He points toward the staircase that leads to the second floor, momentarily getting Wraith's eyes off of him. "I was upstairs when the break-in happened. I saw Ravager."

Wraith's eyes slide away from the staircase. They don't immediately go to Tommy. Instead they land on Incognito. Tommy suppresses a flinch, ashamed to admit he'd forgotten the other hero was even there. Incognito is quite literally standing beside the touch Tommy is sitting on, a hand on the back of the couch. Tommy's entire body trembles as he looks up at Incognito. The hero is staring into Wraith's eyes, nodding. Tommy looks between them, wondering if he's already sealed his fate.

Wraith turns, stepping into the office. Madeleine rushes after her, shooting an apologetic look to Tommy. Incognito steps around the couch, going to sit on the coffee table right in front of it. Tommy's grip on his knees tightens as Incognito looks right at him. Incognito even has the audacity to smile with friendliness at Tommy. "How about you tell me what exactly you saw, citizen?"

"Ravager kidnapped my friend," Tommy blurts out. Incognito's eyes twitch, but his smile remains on his face. Tommy shakes his head. "Last night, I went to a bar with my friend. He drank, I didn't. I brought him back here to sleep off his hangover. When he woke up, he was cold. I told him to go downstairs to change the thermostat. He did. I heard glass shatter. I came downstairs as Ravager was holding Wilbur down. I tried begging for Wilbur's life. Ravager didn't say a word as he took Wilbur away."

"Wilbur is your friend, yes?" Incognito asks. Tommy nods his head firmly. Incognito hums. "Can I ask why you didn't bring your friend home?"

"I don't know where he lives," Tommy responds, failing to see how that is important.

Incognito shakes his head, "No, I meant why you didn't bring him to your home. Why did you bring him to your place of work?"

Tommy freezes. He is living at the shop because he doesn't have the appropriate paperwork. He is staying there because he would be a homeless kid otherwise. Only Madeleine knows that. The other tailors might suspect, but they don't snitch. Tommy isn't about to snitch on himself. "It was really late... like so late it was early. I thought I would just come here. I would get some work done. My friend could take a nap. Madeleine knows Wilbur, so it's totally fine for me to do that."

"I see. Did Ravager take anything else?" Incognito asks, not further commenting on Tommy's claim. Tommy doesn't know if Incognito believes him, though, so he has to remain diligent.

"Not that I'm aware of," Tommy answers.

"Are you sure he didn't say anything? Not a threat to you or your friend?"

"He didn't say anything to me. He just gave weird looks, I guess."

"Weird, how?"

"I don't fucking know," Tommy exclaims. Incognito raises an eyebrow at Tommy's outburst. The blonde reins back in his anger and his tendency to curse. He needs to be a proper citizen. "He didn't seem angry or... like he wanted me to be afraid. I was terrified, but I think that was just because it's, y'know, Ravager. He wasn't hurting Wilbur, either, even though Wilbur clearly kicked him in the shin."

"Do you know of any reason why someone like Ravager would want to kidnap Wilbur instead of leaving him alone or more commonly, simply killing him?" Incognito asks. His eyes mist over with confusion. "Do you know why he didn't kill you after you witnessed him kidnapping someone?"

"I don't know why supervillains do anything they do," Tommy replies, thinking about the supervillains he knows. "He came, he took Wilbur, he left. That was the whole story."

"Interesting," Incognito murmurs, his stare growing a little more intense and a lot less friendly. Tommy tries to keep his composure, refusing to crumple in front of the hero.

Wraith steps out of the office with Madeleine stepping out right behind her. She walks past the couch without a second glance at Tommy. Incognito rushes to his feet, reaching out to grab her arm. Wraith raises an eyebrow at him. Incognito gives her a very specific look. Wraith rolls her eyes, motioning for him to lean closer. She whispers in her head, loud enough for Tommy to hear as he pointedly looks away from both of them. "The cameras were inactive downstairs. She doesn't have any cameras upstairs."

"I see," Incognito whispers back. He steps around the corner of the couch, paying attention to both Tommy and Madeleine. "Thank you both for your time. We will get to the bottom of this immediately. We'll send someone over for the window later. Please enjoy your day in the meantime."

Incognito leaves the tailor shop. Wraith follows behind him, ice forming footprints on the ground. Tommy watches them go until he feels something warm against his hands. Tommy turns around to see Madeleine holding both of his hands. She sits on the coffee table, a stark contrast to Incognito. Madeleine gives him a small smile, whispering, "I made sure Wraith couldn't see the cameras. We wouldn't want the heroes knowing you live here without the proper paperwork, would we?"

"Thank you," Tommy tells her, squeezing her hands. He frowns, looking down at their hands. "But wouldn't this make it harder for the heroes to find Wilbur?"

Madeleine's face melts with surprise and horror. Tommy wants to reassure, but her expression quickly morphs into an apologetic one. She looks down, unable to meet his eyes. "I am so sorry, Tommy, but the heroes aren't going to look for Wilbur. To them, he's just one random person. They have different priorities."

Madeleine leans forward to hug Tommy. Because she does this, she completely misses the look in Tommy's eyes. A plan is forming inside his mind. The weight of a deal settles in his stomach.