selfhelp | [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?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I mean....you're gonna want t'sit.

[He's already squeezing the ball of lead into a new shape, thick fingers pressing lines into the dense metal. Ben scrubs his face. Too tired and weary and raw to want to go over it all again.]

She changed the world. Made it 'perfect' for some. Mutant's gett'n depowered came after.

[He does just that, because- because what? Changed the world?]

I... she made it perfect? The whole world? How could she... she had that much power?

[What. What what what. That's insane.

Obviously it's true, though- he would never assume Ben would lie, and it's obviously a personal issue for him. He's hesitant to ask for details now, in light of that, but he's still itching to know.

How could she do something like that...?]

Don't know. Didn't ask. I just know she did, and it was nice for some and @#$* for most.

[His fist flexes, the lead creasing and squeezing between his thick fingers like dough. Take a guess at how it ended up for him, Billy.]

History rewritten, lives changed- everyth'n. All how she and Magneto thought it should be.

[Yeah... he's getting those hints that it wasn't so great, loud and clear. He's really not sure what to say to that.]

I... I'm sorry.

[That it happened, and for asking, and that it sucked... that it was his mom who did it, that it was for him and his brother...

...what a mess.]

But... it was fixed, right? It ended, and... everything's back to normal. Besides the mutants. Otherwise we'd still...

[God, where was he? Was he with her? Or the Kaplans? Why couldn't he remember it? Did he even exist?]

Not your fault.

[Ben knew who to blame for it- and if he wanted to waste time on being hateful and bitter he'd certainly lay it on them every @#$% day. But there are better things to live for. That keeps him mov'n forward rather than remembering what had him laid low.]

Everyth'n went back to normal. Everyone that was around or the change remembered it afterward. Anyone that wasn't either didn't ask or got told later.

[Otherwise he'd still be locked up in his shell. Not even The Thing. The It. No family, no real mind of his own, and it was everything he'd ever hated and feared in one crazy mutant's whim.]

[Even if it isn't his fault, he can still feel terrible- and he does.]

...God. Oh my god. I had no idea, I...

[If he'd known it was that bad? Maybe he wouldn't have asked. He can't imagine having his entire existence just- conveniently wiped out like that, and being able to remember that strange, alternate life? It's terrifying. And while he can't blame Wanda the way others might - whether it's a loyalty thing or he just insistently (or desperately) has to believe the best in someone until they're around to ask - he can understand why no one's really looked that hard for her. Out of sight and out of mind, or something like that.]

Did she have- I mean, do you know if-

[He pauses, suddenly reluctant to ask for more. Ben had said that he wasn't around, and the whole experience is obviously painful for him to remember. It's not fair to continue.]

...No, forget it. I'm sorry for asking all that. A-and... thank you. For telling me.

If y'did you wouldn't have asked. S'fine.

[He's not angry at Billy. Sounds tired more than anything else. He lifts a gravely hand to his face and pinches the sides of his nose. Headache coming, much like every time he talked about that mess. Maybe a few rounds in the battle dome will sort him.

He remembers the whole thing well enough- so if there's something else Billy wants to know and he knew? He'd tell. Doesn't seem like there's much by way of the mutant angle he can offer though.]

...if what?

[Another hesitation, but- it's not as bad as what he's asked before. The worst he can do is say he doesn't know.

Ugh, he hates this now. But-]

Do you know if... she had kids with her? In that alternate world...

[He can't help wondering, that's all. The nature of his and Tommy's existence has been such a mystery to him since Kl'rt first told them about it, and now that Tommy's confirmed their relationship...]

[Ben thought back as best as he's able. What he'd heard, what he picked up afterward. Every murmur of a rumor. Aside from 'house of M' and generic rumors of Magnus' family; he doesn't recall much. Doom might've mentioned a kid now and then but the It didn't pay much attention.]

Maybe. Wouldn't be surprised, but I dunno for shure. Sorry Billy.

That's okay.

[And... it is. Honestly. Though he's still unsure, and guilty, and a bit sick, truth be told, he doesn't feel horrible like he probably should. The uncertainty of his existence is still sort of up in the air, and maybe he'll worry about it later, but knowing the truth instead of just wondering about it on and off feels a lot better.

That guilt is going to bug him, though, even if he can't take back his questions now. He fidgets, uncertain again.]

I should- I mean- can I do anything for you? I just... I made you remember something terrible, and that's...

[Wow, he's still terrible at this.]

...I can fix your door?

[And that was the most he was willing to tell anyone that wasn't family. That hadn't lived through it. He hadn't even wanted to tell Suzie or Reed; but they'd needed to know. No one in this place does, but he figured Billy had some right to it if Sue felt like shar'n the story. For a long while he doesn't say anything, just sits and breathes and tries to put all of that mess behind him.

It never gets any easier.

His fist flexes around the lead in his palm, reshaping it like putty, pressing creases and rolls into it bit by bit like it was nothing. Once he's got it back more or less in the shape of a ball he opens his eyes and offers Billy a thin smile, or as least as thin of one as he can manage in this rocky hide.]

Can't undo what happened- and it's best you don't want t'try. Fix the door and we're square.

[Billy bites his lip, then nods, stepping past Ben and crouching down to be at eye level with the doorknob. After hearing that story, his confidence is a little frazzled, so it takes a bit of chanting to get him focused once more. It isn't long before the blue magic flairs between his fingers and transforms the knob until it's good as new.

Then he straightens up, still at a complete loss for what to say.]

O... okay. Um. I should- I gotta see Teddy before school. I'll just...

[Ugh, ugh, ugh. This is hard. Painfully awkward. Finally he just ducks his head in a half-nod, half-bow and twists the newly-fixed knob to duck out of the apartment, with one last uneasy apology marking his departure.

That'll teach him to ask questions, apparently; he feels terrible.]

[Voice/Action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]