Wishing on a Dying Star

Gravity

Phil had stayed true to his word and refused to let Techno rejoin the mission even after Techno pleaded his case the next day. Techno knew Phil could be a mother hen with them, but he didn't think Phil would fully commit to this decision the second he thought Techno would be too distracted for their mission.

The mission itself wasn't that big of a deal. They had planned to travel to all the unknown safehouses that the heroes weren't using at the moment and bug them with listening devices. There was nothing even dangerous, but the safehouses were thick in numbers and in the distance between them and the city. So they estimated the time it would take to fully cover every unused safehouse would be an entire week. That's the whole week Techno has to himself with nothing to do. Sure he could do some solo crimes, but with the recent activities of the hero group Dream team, Techno doesn't want to chance it with no back up now. Dream has always had it out for Techno in the past.

Techno could understand that Dream had the power to steal other people's abilities and use them as his own, seeing him as the top hero. And who wouldn't want the power of being practically immortal? Unlike most powers, Techno's abilities didn't necessarily have a limit or hold him back in the middle of a fight. Sure he couldn't fly and have wings of blades, nor could Techno produce such disastrous sound waves from his mouth. He also didn't have to deal with sore wings or a sore throat all the time like some people he knows. He simply had strong healing abilities that made it just about impossible for him to die. His body just refused to give up to the point that Techno was sure that the only way to kill him was to rip out his heart completely. But that was a secret that only members of the SBI knew of. Just how they all knew Phil's right-wing was weaker than the left due to an accident in the past. Or like how Wilbur's power didn't affect people whose hearing was impaired. It was just the secrets of the family, really.

The next day, as expected, Techno wakes up in an empty house. Both Wilbur and Phil have already departed for their mission, leaving Techno with a small note on the kitchen table. 'Don't burn the mansion down' is written in messy handwriting at the top, Phil's sloppy work. Just below it, in semi neat writing, Wilbur has added 'Loser' to the note. Wilbur was always the eloquent one of the family.

Rolling his eyes, Techno sat down at the table and pulled out his phone. A whole week huh? Maybe he can sort out his inner troubles with Tommy today and then sleep the rest of the week... Sounds like an excellent plan to him. Tommy is probably bored out of his mind right now, so it was a win-win. Techno can release whatever attachment he was forming with a child by getting his questions answered, while the kid gets to tease and bully him for a bit. Getting up, Techno called the hospital's receptionist on one of his burner phones. He informed her that The Blade would be arriving soon to visit Tommy Soot in room 420. With that out of the way, Techno puts on some regular citizen clothes and grabs his mask. His typical suit was getting patched up at the moment by their housekeeper Edward, a selected mute who the family trusts greatly. Plus, he just doesn't feel up to wearing it for long if all he would do was sit in a chair for an hour and chat with a child. Techno refuses to believe that he would let the kid charm him into staying for six hours again. No way. Not happening.

A moment later.

"THE BLADE!!" Tommy screams as he tries to get untangled from his wires and tubing to get closer to Techno. Techno's heart swoops at the sight of the kid's desperate attempts to get closer to him. Tommy pulls at a few machines to give him more length to move closer to the villain. The bed looks just as big as the last time Techno saw Tommy in it. Only this time, Techno spots two stuffed animals sitting next to Tommy's squirming legs.

"You're going to break something at this point. Calm down, Tommy" Techno smirks as he watches Tommy now try to get all the knots out of a few wires that he tangled up while moving around. Tommy frowns, realizing that he can't get closer than he already is to Techno.