doubled_speed | For Wearingthestars

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For Wearingthestars

I wish I wasn't alone.

The words were whispered from inside the relative safety of the tiny closet in Tommy Shepherd's bedroom in Springfield, New Jersey. Whispered because there was no way that he wanted Frank or Mary, fighting in the living room, shouting and screaming, to hear them.

I wish I wasn't alone.

Repeated as Tommy held his hands out before him in the darkness palms up. He put as much conviction behind them as he put into anything he said starting with those two words. He had found rather quickly that whatever this power of his was, it came more readily when he framed it as a wish.

I wish I wasn't alone.

He repeated a third time. Three times always seemed to be the right amount when it came to willfully using his power. Even now he could see the faint green glow of energy radiating from his hands, trying to catch his words and shape them into whate he was asking for. At school he didn't always need it three times. He could feel the energy building in his gut like a tidal wave and crashing over him when he wished the bullies would leave him alone, or that he'd actually gotten a good grade so Mary wouldn't yell at him, or that the shirt that got torn up and bloody was clean so Frank wouldn't hit him for wasting good clothes.

Now, though, the words didn't seem to catch, and after a moment of held breath, the energy faded back, leaving behind only the briefest flash of sparks and static that he had to shake out of his hands. Apparently even magic, or whatever this was, couldn't help him.

It was a stupid wish, anyway, Tommy realized as he pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. And then, of course, he flinched at the sound of a breaking plate. They were getting bad tonight. He didn't want to be alone, not with them shouting like that. Sometimes it turned into Frank driving off to drink. Sometimes Mary stormed to their room and locked the door, leaving Frank on the couch. The former tended to mean Frank not coming home at all that night, and when he did the next day he smelled like booze and some other woman's perfume. The latter tended to mean Tommy couldn't sneak some breakfast in the kitchen before school, or being caught if he tried and he really didn't want to be on the receiving end of Frank's belt.

“Dammit. All I wanted was someone to talk to.”

He feels the rush of power even as he feels his body go limp and the world go dark around him. It’s a strange mix between a sneeze and passing out. When the sensation passes things are weird. For one thing, he can’t feel his body. There isn’t the cold of his room or the rough drag of his scratchy wool sweater that is too small for him or even the gnawing in his belly. No, there is just the swelling feeling of his magic, a prickly energy across his skin, and this place.

This new place is nicer than his room. There is more space. There are nerdy decorations on the wall. There are no cracks anywhere or dents from fists or broken furniture. He hates seeing how much nicer this place is than his home. But he is more interested in why his magic brought him here. And in the soft green light everything around him seems bathed in. Tommy raises his hand, or maybe just the concept of a hand, and is faced with the scary truth. His whole body is green and transparent. Okay. That is a bit weirder than normal.

Welcome, Tommy Shepherd, to the world of astral projection. And Billy Kaplan? Meet the strange, glowing ghostly boy in your room.

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Is everything okay? Is everything okay? Tommy stops the pacing he'd been up to, and he notices the others in the cockpit watching him. Them. Frustrated he waves a hand and a faint dome of green light appears around them. Well, more like a wall, but something to isolate their voices.

"Are we just supposed to believe the guy that kidnapped your boyfriend?" Tommy asks, the word just a bit sharp on his tongue.

Eyes skirting to the wall of light, Billy gives it a moment of consideration before looking back to Tommy, cheeks tinging.

"...Teddy seems to." And Billy trusts Teddy's judgement, as crazy as all this seems. "I don't-...I don't know, but...it makes sense? Right? In a weird way?"

"Yeah, except you already verified with your parents that you were born to THEM," Tommy points out. "And we're way to old for it. The guy is crazy."

But he wants it. Wants some claim on Billy. On family. On belonging.

"I did. But I also had my face twin appear to me as a ghostie thing- a lot of stuff that shouldn't be possible seems to be possible, you're kind of a prim example of that," Billy notes, gesturing to the magic surrounding them right this minute.

"It could explain how we're...connected."

Is he, though? Tommy sighs, his fingers carding nervously through his hair.

"No one ever wants me around. I mean, surely you were relieved to find out we weren't related."

"Tommy, I wanted it so badly I was hoping I was adopted some how." And he loves his family more than almost anything. "I would've come found you sooner if you'd let me. You're important to me."

"I hurt people," Tommy protests. Jail was where he belonged. Or so he'd thought until he'd had these people actually go AFTER him how they did. The torture...

Tommy shivers just at the memory.

"I can't... don't make me go home."

"Home? Oh-" Billy's brow softens, and he hurried shakes his head, moving to offer a hug without thinking. "No- I wouldn't- we wouldn't make you go back there- I promise. You can come home with me. Or- or we can find you somewhere if you don't...want-"

He lets Billy hug him. Of course he does. Wraps his own arms around Billy and holds him tight for a moment. A moment that is ruined when there is a reverberating gonging noise around them. Looking over finds Kate knocking on the barrier, and with a sigh, Tommy pulls away and drops the magic.

"Hey, Vision has gone through some records in his head from the original Vision. He's found some things you guys might wanna see. About what that Skrull guy told you two."

It's nice to have that moment, however brief. Technically, they still don't have time for any of this. Teddy's secure now, but they haven't exactly solved this whole mess, and things only seem to be getting more complicated by the minute.

"Really?" He grabs for Tommy's hand to pull him along. Maybe a little too familiar, but he doesn't give the action much thought. "What'd you find?"

Tommy doesn't even hesitate to grip Billy's hand as well to get pulled along. It feels natural. And he doesn't care about the others watching. Not when Vision is projecting an image of the Scarlet Witch, The Vision, and some doctor or another.

"According to the former Vision's memory files, the Scarlet Witch was so desperate to have children that she unconsciously used her reality-altering powers to create twin boys, Thomas and William, out of two lost souls."

Oh yeah, Tommy's squeezing Billy's hand tighter, moving closer so their arms brush together.

"Souls which were later claimed by Mephisto, Lord of the Netherworld, as his own. However, when he reabsorbed the twins' souls, they had been so transfigured by Wanda's magic that they destroyed the demon and dispersed. Thomas and William ceased to exist, as did the Scarlet Witch's memory of them. Until recently, when grief-stricken, the Scarlet Witch lost control of her powers, inadvertently killing Ant-Man, Hawkeye, and the former Vision."

Okay, now that doesn't make sense.

"Wait," Tommy cuts in, "I heard about that around the time of my trial. That was, like, only a few months ago, right? The whole Avengers going crazy bad shit."

Edited 2019-09-20 21:03 (UTC)

Tommy's grip keeps Billy grounded, returning the squeeze with a furrowed brow as Vision explains. It sounds familiar. Not just in so much as these are hero facts, but...like it speaks to something inside of him.

He frowns though, similarly confused by the time line.

"...Yeah, that wasn't long ago. We'd...I dunno- we'd have to have been born in the past some how? Or...we're actually only a few years old? Can magic even do that?"

"Magic can do a lot of weird things," Kate admits, frowning.

"According to the same memory files, though these are very damaged, Wanda managed to restore the Jack of Hearts back to life to..."

"Kill my father," Cassie finishes for Vision.

"This is just crazy," Eli insists, and Tommy...

Tommy just grips Billy's hand tighter. "Seriously, after what I've done today you're saying that?"

"There is a former member of the X-Men who had magic and teleportation," Vision admits.

"I made Billy a rabbit. Out of nowhere," Tommy counters. "And the Skrull guy thinks we're this. What's... He said the souls were dispersed. The Avengers do time stuff all the time. Maybe our souls went backwards."

The rabbit. Billy's expression softens at the renewed memory, and he nods. He still has it. It was important to him, though he couldn't remember where he'd gotten it, or why he cared so much about a stuffed toy.

"Like...retro...reincarnation?" he guesses uncertainly.

Retro what now? People look a bit confused by that. Tommy, though, can't help the bit of a smile.

"Really? You sound so fucking hipster calling it that."

"Perhaps there are more pressing things to consider," Vision suggests. "We could..."

"Wait, who would their dad have been then?" Kate asks.

And wow, is that not an interesting question.

Billy flushes, palming the back of his neck with a shy shrug. "You got a better suggestion?"

He pauses then at Kate's question, frowning softly, eyes skirting to Vision. Maybe waiting for him to supply an answer, maybe all ready knowing.

Tommy follows Vision's gaze, but... well, there isn't really time, is there? Vision barely has a chance to get to open his mouth before the power surge. They were under attack.

"Shit," Tommy curses, looking back.

"Skrull, actually," K'lrt says as he limps up to join them. "They think we're Kree with the Prince."

Tommy sighs and cards his fingers through his hair. "What now?"

Billy's all ready moving before the question has left Tommy's mouth, returning to Teddy's side to make sure no one tries making off with him again, jaw set firmly.

"We tell them the Prince isn't going anywhere he doesn't want to."

Which...probably won't end well, but they're not just going to hand him over.

"No, Billy. If I go out there, maybe I can get them to stop," Teddy insists, heading back toward the door. "I've got to try. To keep you all safe if nothing else."

Tommy, of course, sighs as he looks at his not-twin. "I can go with him. I've got plenty of sparks left."

"Teddy-" Billy frowns, looking anxious, clearly not thrilled with the idea, but he doesn't catch at him or stop him from moving, though it seems to take a good deal of will power not to.

"Just...stay safe. Both of you. No one's taking anyone today."

It's a sentiment that, in the end, doesn't end up being fully true. In fact, K'lrt gets taken, and Eli ends up in the hospital, and Teddy...

"I don't really want to go home alone right now," Teddy admits when the whole group return to the Avengers HQ after the hospital. Because there is still a lot of mess to go. "They've got to figure out what to do about Mom. I've got to figure out a lot too. And then there's Tommy. Everyone's got to figure out what to do about him."

The young witch in question isn't standing close enough to hear. Instead he's standing by, trying not to fume as Captain America and Iron Man talk down to him about breaking out of jail and so many other things.

"I'm half worried they're going to send him back to wherever you found him," Teddy frowns. "He was really useful in the fight, and you two..."

Even the Avengers seemed a bit shocked over how alike Tommy and Billy looked, and what they were going to do about that. Especially since magic was involved.

"If Mom was around, I know she'd offer to adopt him," Teddy frowns. And he looks about ready to cry. He's lost so much today. The mother he knew. The parents he didn't. A whole species he was supposed to be responsible for. "I just need the evening, okay? I'll call before bed. Maybe... kidnap Tommy from under the Avengers' noses before he shocks them out of annoyance? I don't think Wolverine would take that well."

Billy's own eyes sting hearing the hurt in Teddy's voice, and he wishes there was something he could do to take it all back...make it all better for him. All he can give him right now is a long, firm hug, and a nod to promise him the time he needed.

It's been a hell of a day for all of them. No one more so than Teddy. Though Tommy's a close runner up. Billy looks over to him and nods again. "I'll look after him," he promises, "And if you need anything just call. I can be here like this," he swears, snapping his fingers.

It's hard to leave Teddy alone, but he trusts the Avengers to keep him safe. Still, his feet move a little slower than normal as he makes his way to Tommy side. "...You wanna get out of here with me?" he asks softly, "Home's kinda missing a wall right now, but...the offer still stands."

Billy's arrival does happen to make Steve and Tony flinch back a little at Billy's abrupt arrival. Apparently Pietro hasn't been around recently enough to have them on their toes.

"Well," Tommy asks of the two men, seeming a bit annoyed. "Am I at least allowed to go on a field trip with Billy? Apparently the Super Skrull blew up a wall. I can at least fix that before you make me sit in a bed while yet more people poke me."

The two Avengers sigh and there is a whispered conversation before they nod. Though Steve is quick to take a step forward.

"Billy, in light of everything, it might be best if one of us comes back to speak with your parents. It's our understanding that a lot happened today, and with Thomas's arrival..."

"Yeah, not sharing, sorry," Tommy insists, grabbing Billy's hand and pulling at it. He doesn't even care that he hasn't bothered to magic away his outfit. Probably too tired to. "When I'm ready for my new babysitters to come and pick me up, I'll have Billy call you or whatever. Or I'll magically tell you. Just let me keep the guy from having a drafty house."

"It's family stuff, Cap. No offence," Billy defends softly, taking a step back with Tommy's pulling.

"Just...let us have this, okay? You know where we'll be." He doesn't wait for approval, scared he'll lose his nerve if he doesn't go, scooping Tommy up and disappearing in a rush..

"Family stuff?" Iron Man asks, but then the boys are gone. Gone faster than Tommy was even prepared for. And when they eventually ~~though quickly~~ come to a stop, Tommy looks a bit dizzy. Which he refuses to admit.

Instead he throws a free arm over his forehead, and says in the swooniest damsel voice ever, "My hero."

Then he's floating just enough up from Billy's arms to get free and land. His eyes cast about and he pauses. Stares.

"Okay. I think I can figure out which one is yours."

From the giant hole. Huh.

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