Dmsp - Blog Posts

Tommy ref with some of my headcanons

Conflicting Lives: Chapter 1 - Late Start

https://archiveofourown.org/works/60544732/chapters/154573222

Word Count: 1981

-- beep - beep - beep - beep --

Scythe groaned as he reached for his phone to turn off his alarm. He rubbed his eyes as he sat up, then looked at the time on his phone. It read 8:30am.

“Shit” Scythe cursed as he scrambled to get out of bed. He must’ve slept through his alarms again, and his professor wasn't going to be the happiest with him. He regrettably chose to have an 8am class, and it was the kind of class that you had to make sure you were almost fully awake to properly understand the material for.

What was this class, you might ask? Feline Behavior and Psychology. His professor was a kind soul, relatively easy on attendance, but it was still a decent percent of his class grade. And this was the 6th time in a month in a half that this has happened.

After putting his clothes on with lightning speed, he grabbed his bag off his desk and walked out of his room. “You have food in the microwave, though it may be cold again.” He heard a voice say behind him. Scythe’s shoulders tensed just a little bit before he sighed and responded, “Thank you, Ella.”

Ella was his roommate and partner, but her classes didn't start until the afternoon. She always woke up earlier than him though, and he figures it must be a bird thing; she is a phoenix hybrid after all.

He walked into the kitchen and grabbed his, now cold, food before walking to the door of their apartment-style dorm. Before leaving, however, he looked back to the couch where Ella was sitting, watching some new tv show she found. “Alright, see you later!” he said before leaving.

Scythe’s college campus wasn't huge. It wasn’t very small either, not in the slightest, but for some reason Scythe felt as though the short bike ride to the Animal Sciences building took twice as long as it normally does. Maybe it was because he had just woken up, but that still didn't explain why it felt like he was riding for 15 minutes when it was only around 8.

Thankfully there wasn’t really anyone just sitting in the halls, so he was able to walk to his class with relative ease. It was closer to the middle of the building, so it wasn’t great to get to when everyone else was trying to get to their own classes or leave the building entirely, but the empty halls were kind of nice.

When he got to his classroom door, he peered through the small window to see if he could sneak in without being noticed too much. His professor was turned around in his wheelchair and facing the board, showing the class something he couldn't quite make out from here. After just watching for a few more seconds, Scythe decided that he had a pretty decent chance of being able to get to his seat without being noticed, so he quietly opened the door and walked in.

Closing the door quietly behind him, he made his way to his seat. He was almost there, about to put his bag behind his chair and sit down when his professor cleared his throat.

“You’re late again, Mr. Cristaal.” he said, his voice carrying a disappointed undertone to it. 

Scythe’s shoulders tensed as he felt everyone in class, who wasn’t already looking at him, turn and face in his direction. His thin tail curled around his legs subconsciously and he wished he could just disappear. Unfortunately for him, he had to respond.

“I know, I’m sorry Professor Scar.” Scythe knew that a sorry didn't really mean much anymore, but to his credit he really was sorry! 

“Unfortunately, sorry doesn't make up for lost material. Stay a minute after class and we can talk then.” He has said before turning back towards the board and continuing the lesson.

As Scythe sat down, tail and head hung low, he cursed himself for being late, and why he was even late in the first place.

~~~~~The previous night~~~~~

It was late at night, and Scythe was causing mischief with a fellow villain, Spindle. Spindle wasn't very well known, not on his own at least. But the media seemed to think Spindle was his side-kick of sorts. Neither of them really minded, and had a good laugh every time a new article came out about the both of them. A lasting favorite was one with the title “Nebula and Spindle: The New Pair to Look Out For”, and another one, “Is Spindle Stand-Alone, or under Nebula’s Wing?”

Obviously neither of them went by their real names, and the public seemed more than happy to create their names for them. Spindle got his name from being a spider hybrid, and always leaving some sort of web at a crime scene. Scythe got his name, Nebula, from his outfit of dark colors and dappled speckles of white, like a galaxy in a way. If he was able to choose though, he might’ve chosen something like Ender, but that was probably a bit too easy.

Back on topic, he and Spindle were running away from a scene together once again. They decided to break into a jewelry shop tonight, and took just about as much as they could carry while still being able to move quickly. Cops arrived at the store just as they left, and were being pursued. No heroes had shown up yet, which was a bit surprising to Scythe with how often the strongest were called for him and him alone, but he was glad to have an easy out.

They had lost the police a good few turns ago, and it definitely helped that they were jumping from roof to roof to lose them even faster. Scythe slowed down as he jumped to this roof though, and Spindle almost jumped to the next. Instead though, he realized that scythe had stopped, and turned around to look at him confused.

Scythe just stood on the roof with his bag of jewelry in his hand and listened. He didn’t hear the sirens anywhere near, nor did he hear officers talking to each other over a radio. He chucked, “We lost ‘em”

He took a deep breath and sat down on the rooftop, setting his bag next to him. He saw Spindle shrug and walk over next to him, sitting down as well. They sat in this comfortable silence for a while, content with eachothers company.

“What now?” Spindle asked, his New Zealand accent welcomingly different from what Scythe usually hears. It’s not that he didn’t see Spindle much, the two are actually quite close friends outside of being villains, Scythe is just usually around those with an American or English accent.

Scythe thought a bit to himself before he responded. Then he smirked and got up, looking at Spindle. Spindle looked back up at him with curiosity. “Whoever gets back to my dorm last is a rotten egg!”

“Hey! No fair!” Spindle said in shock as he scrambled to stand up, Scythe already taking the lead. 

~~~~~~~~~~

“...ythe, are you awake?” Scythe sat up with a jolt. He didn’t even realize he had fallen asleep, just more missed material. Scar was next to him in his wheelchair, and Scythe couldn’t meet his gaze. Instead he looked around the room to see that there were no other students, it was just him and Scar.

“I’m sorry.” Is all Scythe could manage to say. He still avoided Scars eyes. Not because he was angry or anything, but because he knew that they were filled with worry and pity. The last thing he wanted was his mentor to throw him a pity party.

Scar sighed and turned to face the same way Scythe was while still being next to him. “I heard about the bank, you know. You were lucky that no one was called.” Scythe tensed and shrunk in on himself a little. He wasn’t surprised that Scar knew, it was more so that he said it so casually, and was completely right.

“I know…” Was all he could reply with. Scar changed the topic, “Scythe, you can’t keep…” he chose his next words very carefully, “going out so late.” He turned his head to look at Scythe, who was still avoiding eye contact. “The other students are starting to notice that you’re getting the materials when you haven’t been here. As much as I want to help you as a friend, I won't be able to do much more as your professor.” he continued

Scythe took a deep breath before responding. “I know, I’m sorry. I’ll try to do better.” he ended up saying. He meant it, he really did, but man was his time management skills absolutely abysmal on top of his non-existent sleep schedule.

Scar nodded and started wheeling back to his desk. “I’ll send you the material from today, but I don’t think I'll be able to from here on out. I’m sorry Scythe, but you’ll have to be on your own.”

Scythe got up and walked towards the door of the classroom. “I understand. Thank you for helping me so far through my stupidity.” He walked out and towards the entrance to the building without waiting to hear Scar’s response.

He had just left the building and had turned to go in the direction of the building his next class was in when his phone buzzed. He pulled his phone out to look at it. It had to be important, there were only a few things he had set to go through his do not disturb.

New message from Spore: Mandatory meeting at HQ for all recipients. Meet in 30 minutes.

Scythe sighed and  turned around to start walking back to his dorm. He was going to put his phone away, but another message popped up.

Scar: I’m assuming you got the message as well? Scythe: Yeah, walking back to my dorm to drop off stuff and get changed. Scar: Will you be able to make it on time?

Scythe winces slightly as the reminder of his untimeliness.

Scar: That came off worse than I meant it. I wanted to offer a ride if you needed. Scythe: No worries, I get it. A ride would probably be nice just so I don't have to stress as much. Scar: Alright, I’ll meet you off of xxxx and xxxx. Scythe: Sounds good, I'll be there in 10 min, max.

With that, Scythe actually puts his phone in his pocket and starts making his way back to his dorm. With the help of his teleportation, he made it back to his hall in 3 minutes flat. Once he got in, he went straight to his room to change, not seeing Ella’s curious glace.

He changed quickly, and tossed a hoodie on to cover the most recognizable part of his hero uniform. The unique pattern and neckpiece were too easily recognized to risk walking around campus with them showing, and he had his eye mask around his neck which made it look like a scarf more than anything. It was autumn after all so a scarf made sense to wear.

He was about to leave again when Ella grabbed his wrist, making him turn. “What happened, and where are you going?” She asked.

“Mandatory Agency meeting. Scar’s helping me get there but they sent it out last minute, like they always do.” He replied, apologizing with his eyes and hoping she would forgive him.

Ella let go of his wrist almost immediately. “Alright, be safe and let me know when you’re on your way back.” Scythe smiled and leaned down to give her forehead a small kiss. “I will, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” 

With that, he left the room and started walking towards the location he and Scar had agreed on.