selfhelp | [Voice/Action]

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[Today is a good day for serious business, apparently. There's a certain something he's been putting off for a while, and after one-too-many dreams interrupting his sleep, he's had enough: this morning when Billy wakes up, the first thing he does is jot out a note in the journal-]

[Private to Ben Grimm]

Hey, would it be okay if I swung by to ask you a few things?

[He'll work through his morning routine until he gets a response, after which he'll go for a visit and get a hell of a lot more than he bargained for.

After that, his mood for the day is drastically altered; he'll skip out on school, trying to sort out his feelings on the matter. Tommy's still AWOL, and he's trying not to worry Teddy, but what he's just been told has really got him thinking- about people, and heroes, and the unfairness of mankind in general. And eventually he'll just go ahead and return to his journal for it. He's kind of in over his head here.]

[Open to All]

I know Luceti's full of heroes- seems kind of a standard trait for most of us, for whatever reason. Back on my world, super-humans aren't that uncommon, and in general they're revered for everything they do for the world. Some of them were born that way, and some of them are from other planets, and some were altered to get their powers, and some have a lot of talent or skill instead of powers. But they're all considered to be super heroes. There's bad guys, too- just as diverse and unique as the heroes they fight. People fear them and celebrate their defeat.

There's another group, though... humans who got their powers because of evolution. It's much more natural, in a lot of ways. Some are heroes, some are villains. Some are just trying to get by without becoming one or the other. But regular humans fear them, and hate them for it, even if they save the world just as much as the heroes they love. They're called criminals or monsters, no matter how innocent they might be.

[He hesitates- it's probably obvious to some, what he's talking about, and he's not sure if he should lock it from the mutant population, or apologize, or something, but it relates to them even if it's not by name. Hiding it wouldn't be right.

In the end he just leaves it be.]

...Sorry for the ramble. But it's not fair, and... I just can't understand why. Why hate one and love the other, when they're basically the same?

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I think, out of all the Avengers I've met, you're the most different from the one I'm used to back home. I try to blame any awkward moments on that and just roll with it.

Probably for the best really. I don't like the feeling I have to live up to some guy I'm never likely to meet.

I don't know if it's one of you being better than the other so much as a problem with referencing stuff that hasn't happened to you yet.

Might never happen. I figure we're already running a good few years behind. Don't worry about it too much. Way I've heard it, it doesn't make a damn bit of difference when we get home.

Touche. I'm not that worried, really, just trying not to confuse or offend everyone. It can be tricky when what you grew up believing may or may not be a part of someone else's private history.

I guess that makes sense. Gotta admit, it was kind of a shock when Ben and Sue knew things 'bout my past that I've only told to Nat and Coulson and Fury before now.

Makes sense. They have way more history with the Avengers than I ever could, and the Avengers have a long history back home. Not many things can stay secret after twenty years or so.

...twenty years. Oh boy that's gonna be interesting. Yeah, things have a way of coming out. No matter how deep you try to bury them.

Since you work for SHIELD, though, and our Hawkeye never did, that's a pretty big difference. So there must be some things that you can keep to yourself if you want.

Yeah, I've heard he doesn't have much to do with SHIELD. Weird. [SHIELD has been his home for so long...]

Redacted files cover a multitude of sings, it is true.

So you're safe as long as Coulson doesn't get hit with a truth serum or something?

If Coulson gets hit by a truth serum, I'm pretty sure the world is doomed, never mind my pride.

He's got that much info on everyone, huh? Should I duck and cover?

Oh yes. I'm fairly sure he's actually running everything behind the scenes. Power behind the throne and all that.

Might be as well. He probably knows every dirty little secret you've got by now, Billy.

[He grins and winks, amused by the idea.]

[Wow, that's not menacing at all. Sheesh.]

Are you trying to give me nightmares?

...it's a joke, Billy. Really. He's a good guy.

...Yeah, I know. I mean, I haven't talked to him much- [Truth be told he's been kind of avoiding it, though it's nothing personal-] But he seems nice. Makes me wonder what my world's SHIELD would be like if it had more people like you and him in it.

[Unless his Earth's Coulson is kind of evil or something. That would be depressing.]

He keeps to himself a lot. But he doesn't bite. Not unless you really deserve it.

Well, all their paperwork would be meticulously filed and they'd have to institute new rules on nerf guns.

...Nerf guns? Have you guys got a weird story about everything?

Yup. Pretty much anything you can think of, we have a weird story about it.

[He smiles blithely.]

Entirely up to you which you want to believe of course.

I hope I get more weird stories the longer I'm doing this. Best one I've got is accidentally zapping Rapunzel hair onto our team's version of Iron Man during training.

[Just enjoy that mental image.]

I'm sure you'll get plenty of weird stories. [And oh, he is definitely enjoying it, laughing at the mental image.]

Please tell me that you got footage of that somewhere.

Evidence of our most embarrassing moment as a team? Why would I ever keep something like that?

[And then he pulls out his iPhone and starts flipping through the photo gallery. The answer is a definite maybe.]

[He grins at the appearance of the phone.]

Because it's like how family should be. You love them but damn if you don't want the blackmail material.

Sounds legit.

[A moment of searching and Billy holds the phone out to show this iron-clad teen with the aforementioned blond mop of hair, with what looks like a mini-Hulk and Lieutenant America hanging around nearby. None of them look particularly impressed by the experience, and something in the background is definitely on fire.]

Though I guess this is kind of self-incriminating, since I'm the one who did it.

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