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[Voice/Action]
[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?
[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?
[action]
Mm? [He's about to ask where Billy went, but the look on his boyfriend's face makes him pause, switch gears, and instead frown with concern.] Billy? What's wrong?
[action]
House of M, M-Day, Wanda, Magneto, no more mutants...
There's so much he hadn't known. And now he's not sure if he's better off for it.
Belatedly he realizes that Teddy's waiting for him, so he finally pushes off the door and heads over before he worries his boyfriend too much. He doesn't answer right away, but rather climbs up on the couch beside him, flopping down on his back, and lets his head pillow comfortably on Teddy's lap whether he likes it or not, staring up at the ceiling with an expression somewhere between final-exam-stressed and shellshocked.]
I'm having an existential crisis.
[Yes, again.]
[action]
Teddy gets that way with algebra lectures. But he knows it's worse than numbers, and now he wants to ask more than ever where he went. At the moment, though, talking with him about this is much more important.]
Care to share your existential crisis with me?
[action]
[Billy lifts his hands to press them against his face, eyes clenching shut. He doesn't particularly want to explain what's got his brain so addled, but he knows that he needs to at least tell Teddy. Uuuugh. When he speaks up again, his voice is half-muffled.]
Ben knew what happened on M-Day, so I asked him. Probably a huge mistake.
[action]
[And some were even killed thanks to that. It was all over the news for quite a while, sparking debates and rallies, both with concern towards the mutants and why it all happened and with relief. Teddy always changed the channel when the latter would show up.]
Was he there? ... Do you want to tell me what happened? [Truth be told, he really wants to know. But if this is something Billy's not comfortable with, then that's fine.]
[action]
[Billy shifts his hands, letting one fall against the side of the couch while the other curves around Teddy's at his collar. He's decided he just really needs that contact right now.]
It... it was Wanda. She just- she changed the whole world. She changed reality, and-
[And he's not sure how he should feel about this. Or- no, that's wrong. He knows how he should feel. He should feel terrified, worried, upset, paranoid. He should wonder if he could do something like that someday, if he were to lose what she did.
Instead he feels relieved to finally know the truth, surprised by what the truth is, and utterly confused- because he knows there has to be more to it than just this.
He also has no idea how to put any of this into words.]
[action]
[He wonders about how he should feel, and what he is feeling now. Should he be worried and upset? Probably. Should he be concerned about Billy, being the possible soul-son of the Scarlet Witch, with his powers mirroring hers, and wonder if he could do something like that? Maybe. It's something to keep in mind, at least.
But he doesn't feel these things. Instead, he's mostly just... confused. Wanda loved her team. She loved what she fought for, even flip flopped between sides because of it. He's surprised, because he expected it to be some unexplained, complicated phenomena that either had to do with space or time travel (because everyone knows how everyone else feels about time travel).
The movement of his fingers in Billy's hair stops as a result, and he frowns slightly, showing those feelings he has. Confusion and surprise, and none of the real fear and worry he maybe should be feeling right now.]
But... why? What made her do that? [Wanda, who once approached Billy just because he looked like he needed someone to talk to. Wiping out a mass number of mutants...?]
[action]
No time to dwell on it, though. He closes his eyes, worrying at his lower lip a bit.]
I think... it was because of me. I mean- because she lost us. Something must've snapped, and she just... went crazy. And she killed Hawkeye, and Vision, and Cassie's dad. Then the X-Men and the Avengers were trying to decide how to deal with her, and... she just changed the world. All of it, all at once. Like... an actual alternate reality. Magneto and his family ruled the whole world.
[action]
So she just lashed out at everyone... [And she certainly could. She has that kind of power and all.] Well, Magneto's obviously not ruling the world anymore, so what happened?
[action]
[He opens his eyes again, brows furrowed, his expression conflicted as he remembers the words.]
She said, "No more mutants", and a million of them lost their powers. Just like that.
[Just like that- the power of words. The power he's barely gotten a taste of, this last year, with his "IwantIwant" and his lightning bolts and his quiet, uncertain willpower. He's never changed the world. He can barely change his own clothes. The hardest thing he's ever done is teleport a bus fifteen miles. To take away the powers of a million people in a single moment is something so big, so terrifying, he can't even fathom it.
It couldn't have been her. He refuses to believe that. But whatever caused it was obviously stronger than her, and that meant it was stronger than him.
And that meant it could happen to him, and he has no idea how to stop it.]
[action]
Teddy had seen some of their reactions on TV. Despite how much some would want to give up their power, despite wanting to be normal, he'd seen them crying, fallen to their knees with their hands pressed to their face with someone else's arms wrapped around their shoulders. One had even shouted at the camera and shoved it away. It was awful. And, at the time, Teddy had looked down at his hand and was, shockingly, incredibly relieved to find that he could still shapeshift.
And now he knows why it all happened. He knows what caused such despair, such anger, even death. He knows what made him so afraid for himself and for others out there.
Is he afraid now? A little. But it's not for himself, or a repeat of that incident. No, he's afraid for the love of his life. Not because he doesn't trust him, but because he's thinking along the same lines as Billy. Teddy can't really believe that it was her either; it just doesn't sound like her in the slightest, even if she lost it. And if something else caused her to do that, then it might make Billy do it too. Teddy has no qualms in admitting that Billy has much, much greater power than he does, and he knows that he'd have a hard time stopping whatever force might be more powerful than him, than Wanda, no matter how much he fights it and gives whatever he can to protect him.
He purses his lips and looks away as a result, the movement in Billy's hair stopping once more as he resists the urge to clench his fists. Just three words and Wanda destroyed more than just millions of mutants' lives. She destroyed everyone's trust, possibly even her own, and created many, many enemies.
That isn't something Teddy ever wants to happen to Billy.
Thankfully, he's able to quell the mild confusion, the moderate fear, and the insanely powerful protective instinct, and instead he looks down at his boyfriend and moves a hand to pass a thumb along his brow soothingly.]
Billy... How do you feel about it? About what she did? [Because, no matter how Teddy feels, it affects Billy the most. That's his possible soul-mom and all.]
[action]
Too late for that, his cynical subconscious is telling him, but he shoves it off. This is more comfortable anyway, and it means they can have a good cuddle. It's a perfectly acceptable reason to move.
There's still the matter of Teddy's question, though... and after another pause, he breathes in deeply and gives it a shot.]
...I don't know. I wish I did, but... I haven't sorted it out yet.
[That's a weak answer, he knows, so one more pause and he tries again.]
I know a couple of things. I know it wasn't her. Something drove her to do that. She was an Avenger, a hero... I can't imagine she'd do something that extreme on her own. But that still doesn't answer what it could've been. Whether it's still out there, or it's still affecting her or... whether it could do it again. With someone else.
[With me, he doesn't say, but Teddy probably already knows he's thought of it. With him having inherited Wanda's powers, it's a natural concern.]
[action]
Wanda loved her team, too. There's no way she'd act against them like that.
[He frowns, his arms tightening their grip a little. Whatever got to her and made her do that... Just hearing that it could still be out there is enough to set his worries ablaze again.]
So we don't know what it is that got to her. And she's still in hiding back on Earth, so we can't just stroll up and ask her about it.
[And there's one more pause before he speaks up again, quietly.] Wish we could. [He doesn't want that happening to anyone else. Most especially Billy.] Did Ben tell you anything else?
[action]
I didn't want to ask. I think... it was really hard for him, whatever happened in that alternate reality. I just got the basics and left it at that. I... didn't want to hurt him.
[Not in exchange for telling him something he didn't have to share. His fist clenches in the material of Teddy's shirt, though- there's still so many unanswered questions, and he has no one left to ask. It's frustrating.]
[action]
[Even if this just leads to so many more unanswered questions. He's kind of proud, really, that Billy stopped and held his questions in. He turns his head enough to press a kiss to Billy's hairline, the nuzzles his nose against the strands. Now that it's on Teddy's mind, he knows it'll be there for a while; not just how and why it happened, but everything surrounding it as well.
Even so, he knows that Billy's probably feeling twice as much. He starts to rub Billy's arm gently while he lowers his head to touch foreheads with his boyfriend.]
Do you need the day off? I can stay here with you. [School's pretty soon and all. But they still have a little time to talk about this, at least.]
[action]
No... you should go. I know I won't be able to focus on anything today, but I'm okay, otherwise. Honest. [He attempts a smile, and even manages a half-decent one, if a little short-lived.] Besides, I'll need somebody to take notes.
[As scary and overwhelming as this news is, he doesn't want to spend the entire day moping around and being coddled by Teddy. It's tempting (and it sounds lovely) but it's also an invitation to make a habit of just that, and if he's learned anything from his mother - both of them, actually - it's that hiding from your problems solves nothing. He needs to think it through, deal with it, and get on with his life.
Curling up in his bedroom with Teddy is just one way of hiding, and... well, he does that enough already.]
[action]
But he seems satisfied by what he sees, because he gives a smile in return, warm and supportive, and rests a hand against his cheek. That's his boy.]
Is that all I've been reduced to? Your personal note taker?
[action]
Not all. You're also chef, masseuse, errand-boy, bed warmer... I could go on.
[He turns his head enough to press a light kiss against Teddy's palm, eyes opening again.]
The official job title is "best boyfriend ever", for the record.
[action]
[Still, he caresses Billy's cheekbone with his thumb, and then leans in to press a chaste kiss to his lips. He does want to stay and talk, to tell Billy it'll be okay, that he's here... But he tell himself that it's better to let Billy think about it, digest it, maybe get input from other people. He can't always stroke his hair and ensure that everything's fine, after all.
Even if he'd like to.]
I should go. Do you want me to bring anything back for you? Besides notes.