Spiderinnit

Chapter 6

The back-of-the-wardrobe suit he'd worn yesterday was still caked with browning blood that he still wasn't quite sure how to get out (times like these he sort of wished he had a sister), so he opted instead for the bottom-of-the-school-bag one, hopping around to pull it up his legs as he locked the bedroom door and casting aside the hoodie while he opened the window, letting in heat to counter the cold that came with undressing. He had to make it before Tubbo's bus did, before any real damage could be done. Something felt important about this particular journey, and spider sense had taught him over the past few months that he should absolutely trust his instincts when it came to fights. Mask on, springboard off the windowsill, run till you can swing, then swing till you can see the enemy waiting ahead.

The Dream Team stood tall on top of the domed shopping centre at the heart of town, not visible to those who weren't looking, but pretty much everyone was looking. They were illuminated by the bright summer sunlight and by the glass ornamentation of the roof beneath them casting angled quadrilaterals across their aggressive stances. It looked like they'd prepared for exactly this moment - Sapnap, fists halfway clenched, the air shimmering around his fingers like he was twisting it to let off violent steam; 404, stoic and serious with bow in hand and mouth thin-lined in a frown; and Dream, looking if anything determined from what the lower half of his face let Tommy see, just a hint of terrifying black protruding from the strap that circled his back. Tommy swallowed and debated his ability to face them as the crowd below them grew, strangers holding out shaky vertical phones and muttering commentary for their story viewers or whoever. Okay, one problem at a time.

"Are you all idiots?" he called as introduction from atop the bank across the road, and a hundred heads whipped around, breaking out into excited whispering. Spiderman. Tommy rolled his eyes in disdain. "Get out of here! You're not going to get good footage, you're probably going to get hurt, and you can watch it on the news later. What are you doing? Run!"

Most of them did as he said within seconds, and the few stupid or brave ones were quickly pulled away by loved ones. Tommy scanned the dissipating crowd for anyone he knew, but didn't see familiar faces, which made sense since all his friends should currently be in school -

Tubbo was here, crouched in the hollow of a furniture shop on the other side, camera in hand. He'd clearly entirely ignored Tommy's orders in favour of snapping a few shots of Spiderman Being Authoritative or whatever. They met eyes (or as close as Tubbo could get with no eyes to meet behind the mask) and Tubbo waved shakily. Tommy just facepalmed and braced himself to jump to the roof closer to Dream.

"Hey, Spiderman!" called the villain cheerily.

"Dream Team," he greeted, cordial but flat, to show that he really really hated them.

"Ready to get your ass kicked again?" Sapnap taunted.

"I had to take the day off school because of you."

"Oh!" That had thrown Dream off, clearly. "So you're, like, a KID kid."

"I'm not a child, obviously, shut up."

"Whatever you say, man. Makes it less bad to kill you if you're not, I guess."

"Or you could just not kill me at all."

"Nah," Sapnap smirked, "you know I'm never gonna give up on that one, Spiderman."

"I thought this was Dream's thing? Why are you always the one who wants me dead?"

"You're just... SO annoying. I have no patience for people who annoy me."

"I am not annoying. I am a pleasure to be around."