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[Okay, so. Post-draft, he's given himself a few days of seclusion and bed-rest (apparently being infected with a zombie virus is exhausting), and even Billy can freely admit to himself that he's been pretty depressed lately, a fact for which he feels no shame considering that depression was well and truly earned. One can only spend so much time fretting, moping, and dwelling on one's own misery for so long, however, and today? He's decided that enough is enough. Billy will be going out today, limping around the village and visiting the people who were on the draft whose fate he's still uncertain of. The ones he can't find or has no reason to actually visit, he'll check with a light location spell, and he'll spend a few hours at Seventh Heaven people-watching out the window while he doodles in a book that Teddy had given him containing a series of patterns (much like this) that resemble inkblogs, and bit by bit Billy's turning them into something like this instead. It's been a tiring week, though, so you could always catch him napping on the table, instead.

At some point he'll attempt to find Peter, and when both a location spell and a teleport fails, he tries to teleport to the apartment he'd been staying at instead, finding it almost completely emptied. All he manages to dig up is a small cartridge that, after a moment of scrutiny, he identifies as a web fluid cartridge. His fanboyish glee at the discovery is tempered by the fact that the empty apartment means one more piece of bad news.

After his visits and window-watching is done, he'll return home to make the announcement, along with one more message-]

Hey out there... just wanted to let his friends know that Peter Parker went home. So... sorry. Yeah.

[Locked to Loki]

...We still on for tomorrow, or do you want to take a break? Because... you know. [Draft. Awfulness all around. He wouldn't blame Loki if he wanted to take a week off.

Later on in the evening he'll be over at Ben's barbeque, if anyone wants to bother him while he's there.]

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[She may have been in better shape those who had returned later than she had but when Selphie spotted Billy people-watching from inside Seventh Heaven's kitchen and figured that he could use a little pick-me-up. She'll wander further into the kitchen, grab a bowl and spoon a couple scoops of chicken soup into a bowl. She'll add a smaller bowl of Goldfish crackers and a spoon onto a tray as she makes her way over to the brooding boy and place the items in front of him.]

Penny for your thoughts, Billy?

Edited 2012-11-05 02:25 (UTC)

[Being a zombie is also hungry work. Robin's doing his best to cook something more elaborate than "something that fits between slices of bread". Call it penitence or whatever, but Jason deserves something decent for all the trouble he's had taking care of him during his recovery.

If Billy chooses to follow the scent of bacon and eggs to the fourth floor kitchen, he'll probably come across one particular Robin wearing civvies. He's fairly bandaged up, an eyepatch visible under oversized sunglasses, but still hobbling around with his bo staff as a makeshift cane.

Things suck enough that he might not even be opposed to sharing with a curious visitor from upstairs. Provided it's not Tommy. Tommy can totally go hungry.]

[He glances up at the voice, brows lifting, and manages a faint smile. Chicken soup, smells like. And Goldfish! Wow, there's a real blast from the past.]

Mm... if you could conjure up a penny, I'd be really impressed. It's nothing serious, though- just keeping an eye out for familiar faces.

[Awesome, they can be hobbling buddies, though Billy isn't using a cane, at least, so he's got a one-up on Robin this time. He's just on his way out the door, but as he heads down the stairs, he catches the scent of a cook at work, and it smells really, really good. (Probably the bacon.) He can't help but poke his head in to see what's going on, and when he sees who it is-]

Oh- hey, Robin. I'm glad you made it back okay.

[Peace offering! He's not calling you Dick. :D]

[Most of Pepper's time lately has been spent in bed, recovering from the infection. Today though, she feels like a change of scenery, so she's on the living room couch when Billy knocks on the door. Tony's in one of the other rooms, so Pepper sets her book down and goes to answer. She's still building her strength back up, but thankfully she can cross the living room without problems.]

Oh, hey Billy. Come in. [Pepper opens the door wider for him at the same time that she calls out.] Tony, Billy's here!

[He glances over his shoulder when Billy arrives, doing a terrible job of reacting otherwise.]

Likewise. I heard it was a rough draft. [He wasn't really conscious while it was going on.] Did you guys all make it back in one piece? [Have a peace offering in return, Billy. He hasn't been okay enough to get back to his usual stalking yet.]

[He'd meant to get to the door first, but Pepper has beat him to it. He's still in the mindset of needing to do anything he can for her, including door-answering, and he's a little sore at being beat - but at least it's only Billy. Who looks like he's still recovering himself. But seeing the pair of them on their feet - well. It's a good sight.]

I hope you're not here to work. No offense. [He means it for your own good, really.]

[That's okay, he wasn't expecting fireworks. Billy limps his way in and sits himself down in the nearest chair, giving himself a moment to relax. Stairs are hard, okay, and he's got four flights to go.]

So far so good, though I've still got a few people to check on. Teddy, Tommy and I are okay, though.

[Billy is surprised to see Pepper at the door, though the moment passes as his surprise transforms into relief. Oh god, he's so glad they're okay.]

Well... I was thinking about it on the way over, but now that I'm here I think I really need to sit down. So probably not.

[At least not yet. He might get fussy in a bit, but for now it's just a visit.]

[Stairs are hard. Truth be told, Robin hasn't tried them yet himself. It's his first day standing up in the first place. Billy's just overachieving.]

It's good that you looked out for them. [Except Tommy. Billy really could have just gone ahead and fed them to the zombies.] A bunch of people weren't that lucky.

[Billy isn't the only one glad for it. Each familiar face she'd seen, either over the journals or in person, made Pepper feel a little better in the aftermath of the draft. Although there are still moments of concern in the mix, like when she notices Billy's limp, or when he says he just needs to sit.]

Sure. You can join me on the couch. [There's a blanket there Pepper's been draping over her legs, but that she'll give up if Billy's cold from being outside.]

I'm not sure how much there'd be for you to do, anyway. Tony's been fantastic about taking care of things since we got back. [Which he earns a smile for; Pepper can't ask for a better caretaker.]

[In his new-found role as Pepper's post-infection caretaker, he also feels the urge to make sure Billy takes care of himself, too - and that's why it's a relief when he agrees not to work. He expects everyone back in pitch-perfect health before things get back to normal.

Even if, sure, the situation was reversed, Tony would absolutely not let healing and rest get in the way of what he needed to do. NOT IMPORTANT.]

Well - credit taken where it's given. [No, he'll never shy away from credit given. He shoots a small smile meant only for Pepper in her direction.]

Teddy didn't give you too much grief about leaving?

[Loki looks better than he did on the draft - it'd be hard to look worse - but he still looks tired. Still, he does smile.]

Unless you've a good excuse, I shall be expecting you.

[Rogue has... rather interesting ways of dealing with draft-related trauma. It started after her first draft, the draft in the jungle, when she'd broken a wing and was face down in the muck and couldn't even fight for weeks afterwards, giving the nightmare power over her.

She'd had to face it.

And she'd found facing it had helped. It had taken her weeks to do it, but recreating the scenario and fighting through it had helped.

And if it worked once, Rogue didn't see any reason why it wouldn't work again.

And so after her shift in the Item Shop, she is out in the Battle Dome, recreating a very specific scenario. Zombies. A dead run in the still of the morning. A house for a shelter. And not enough time.

She's fighting through to the rescue once again, and everything is just as bad as she remembers it.]

[Billy limps his way over, plopping down on the couch with Pepper, though he waves off the blanket. He bundled up well enough before he left, he just needs to warm up his hands a bit and rest his legs. Ahhh, feels good to be sitting again.]

No grief at all, actually. I think if I'd spent much more time lying around in bed he'd have rolled me out of it.

What, the draft isn't a good excuse?

[He's relieved, though- both that the lesson is still on, and that Loki is safe. It's been a stressful time, worrying about everyone like this.]

Since both of us survived it, I'm afraid not. [Grin.] Which perhaps gives you an idea of what I might consider a valid excuse.

[Wow, rude, stop wishing death upon my bro 8|]

Yeah... I know.

[His friends and fellow Avengers, to name a few, actually.]

What do you remember?

[There's a prolonged pause at that, and then his response comes in a serious tone.]

That's... not funny.

[He started it.]

Not much. Maybe the first day or so. I had to head about the infection secondhand. You?

[Locating spells are very specific, Billy's discovered the more he casts them- usually they give him not only a location of where to find the person he's looking for, but it also grants him a mental image of what they're up to. It's worked that way for most of the quick searches he'd done for people today thus far, and Rogue is no different.

Unfortunately.

What greets him as soon as the magical connection is made is a scene out of his nightmares- worse than that, a scene out of their reality, this past week. He sees what he hadn't been awake to witness: a dangerous rescue, a frantic search, a house in the middle of a war zone that he'd asked her to get to, a friend putting her life at risk just because he'd been stupid enough to get trapped in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.

There's a flare of instant horror and panic- why was she still there? Was this a memory, was something wrong? Had they somehow been unable to escape? How could he get to them now that he's trapped in Luceti once more? Why weren't they safe? He's almost on his feet and crying out for Teddy when clarity suddenly sets in, and he realizes that the location the spell is giving him is the Battle Dome, not the city in which the draft had taken place.

But why...? Why is she going through that again? Why would anyone want to repeat something so horrible?

He can't bear to stick around and watch more, however, or go there himself to ask- not with the images blending with his own awful memories and threatening to shove him right back into the depression he'd been trying to fend off all day. He cuts off the connection to the spell with a muffled cry, hunching over in his seat and clenching his eyes to try and force the images out of his mind.

He won't go looking for her today.]

[Loki sideeyes you so hard.] I am... sorry?

[And so it was that the NEXT DAY, Rogue was in the Item Shop, sorting through the double-mess that was The Item Shop At New Feather Season.

Her Mp3 player is currently blaring Metallica.

There is absolutely no way that she will hear the bell over the door.]

I got bitten on the night before we left. I remember up to just few hours after that, and then it gets really spotty.

...It's fine. Sorry for snapping at you.

[He looks, for a moment, like he's going to say more, then stops himself.]

I'll see you tomorrow, then.

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