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[Action, July 11th-13th]
[To say that Billy is a bit of a basket case right now would be a severe understatement. His mom is here. His admittedly teenage and therefore doesn't-know-who-he-is-and-kind-of-alternate-universe mom, yes, but that doesn't seem to make the intensity of his feelings about the matter any different. One small comfort is that they're getting along (so far), and their shared powers gives them common ground, but there's still that lingering... risk that he can't stop thinking about. That he won't be able to keep his secrets, that eventually everything will come crumbling down. He's terrified of that.
The first day, he does little else but fret and mull over it, after separating from Wanda; Teddy's kind enough to cancel any of his daily doings, since he's in no state to be pretending like everything's normal. It had been hard enough with Wanda the first time. Today, though, he feels much better. His head is more clear, he's found his center of calm, and he spent at least half the day and night before meditating so he figures he has a firm grasp on his sanity again.
There are certain things that he knows he needs to do, especially since he ditched all his usual priorities the day before, so he's made himself a list, and today he's going through it all. It is as follows: He swing by the art gallery and removes some of his work, namely anything that features the Scarlet Witch (only a couple of pieces, mind you, and they're his, but art theft is still art theft). He attends training with Logan and begs for forgiveness about skipping the day before (beg may be an overstatement of what actually happens because he isn't really sorry at all). He'll attend X-Men Training and try to perform decently despite feeling ridiculously scatterbrained. And finally, he'll probably talk to some Very Important People in the process of completing the rest of his list.
In the end, well... he's decided to track down Wanda again, maybe not now, but some time in the near future. Because despite his fears and misgivings, despite everything he's likely to say to everyone else - that it's a bad idea, that he'll mess things up, that he'll accidentally reveal himself - the temptation of sharing his powers with hers, teaching her, helping her, is too strong to resist. This is about more than a lost family, now. This is about magic.]
The first day, he does little else but fret and mull over it, after separating from Wanda; Teddy's kind enough to cancel any of his daily doings, since he's in no state to be pretending like everything's normal. It had been hard enough with Wanda the first time. Today, though, he feels much better. His head is more clear, he's found his center of calm, and he spent at least half the day and night before meditating so he figures he has a firm grasp on his sanity again.
There are certain things that he knows he needs to do, especially since he ditched all his usual priorities the day before, so he's made himself a list, and today he's going through it all. It is as follows: He swing by the art gallery and removes some of his work, namely anything that features the Scarlet Witch (only a couple of pieces, mind you, and they're his, but art theft is still art theft). He attends training with Logan and begs for forgiveness about skipping the day before (beg may be an overstatement of what actually happens because he isn't really sorry at all). He'll attend X-Men Training and try to perform decently despite feeling ridiculously scatterbrained. And finally, he'll probably talk to some Very Important People in the process of completing the rest of his list.
In the end, well... he's decided to track down Wanda again, maybe not now, but some time in the near future. Because despite his fears and misgivings, despite everything he's likely to say to everyone else - that it's a bad idea, that he'll mess things up, that he'll accidentally reveal himself - the temptation of sharing his powers with hers, teaching her, helping her, is too strong to resist. This is about more than a lost family, now. This is about magic.]
[ July 11th |action ]
Seconds after listening to the entry, the journal's abandoned on the bed and she throws on a pair of sneakers. Grabbing her keys, she heads out of her apartment to Billy and Teddy's after a quick detour by the kitchen.
Something this major needs all the comfort food possible.
Shortly after picking up a carton of ice cream and some spoons, she knocks on the apartment door. Without waiting for a response, she places her key in the lock and opens the door.]
Guys? I hope you're decent. I'm coming in.
[ July 11th |action ]
Inside, Billy's made himself into a vaguely Billy-shaped burrito of blankets on the bed, huddled up and quiet. He's done the good and mature thing by meditating, and he's helped and potentially befriended Wanda already. He just needed some time to have a good sulk and a bit of a cry, dammit. He's in the sulk stage of that now more than the cry, though, admittedly. But ice cream would be welcome.]
[ July 11th | action ]
Hey, Billy? [She pushes the door open to see that Billy-shaped burrito.] Oh, Billy.
[Her voice is quiet, clearly expressing the concern she feels. Kate remembers how crazy things were when Billy met his mom - his real, amnesia-afflicted, grown-up mother. She can't imagine what he must be feeling now.
Walking over to the bed, she then takes a seat on the edge.] You awake?
[ July 11th | action ]
Do I have to be?
[Maybe he can sleep this whole thing off. Go into summer hibernation, and Wanda will have been sent home or magically aged up while he's asleep and-
...yeah, he's a horrible person.]
[ July 11th | action ]
Y'know, this stuff isn't half bad. It'd be a shame if I had to eat the whole pint on my own.
[ July 11th | action ]
You're a horrible, evil enabler, I hope you realize that.
[And he reaches over to grab a spoon for himself anyway, scooping some ice cream while he's leaning in. Comfort food is very rarely healthy, but it is, if nothing else, a delight.]
[ July 11th | action ]
[She'll just take it as praise. Because at least he's not hiding in those blankets anymore. And he's uttering more than a handful of words. Yeah, it's totally a good sign.]
[ July 11th | action ]
[Albeit rarely, and he can't actually think of an example right now. But ugh, fine, he'll eat ice cream.
....
That's good ice cream. He can't decide what's worse- that she's right, or that he has to actually talk now that he's not hiding anymore.]
You heard about what happened, right? About Wanda being here?
[He can't think of another reason for her to be in his room with binge snacks.]
[ July 11th | action ]
But since there's no real Hallmark card for "Hey, so, I noticed that some teenaged version of the mother-who-magicked-your-soul-into-a-previous-existence arrived," she'll just nod. And place a reassuring arm around his shoulder.]
Yeah. Kind of hard to miss. She looks like you.
[ July 11th | action ]
[He's not surprised; she wasn't given the codename Hawkeye for her looks. (And really, thank god, because she's much prettier than Clint.) He chews idly on the spoon for a moment, then forces himself to stop and goes for more ice cream instead.]
I met with her already. We talked... got along great, actually. Messed with our magic a bit.
[His tone is almost wistful now, beneath the lingering misery.]
[ July 11th | action ]
She sits there quiet for a few seconds, filling the silence by distracting herself with another scoop of the ice cream. Really, Kate can't imagine what Billy must be going through right now. And she really doesn't want to.]
I guess that's a step in the right direction. What's she like?
[ July 11th | action ]
He falls into a thoughtful silence- it's a full two-and-a-half scoops before he speaks up again.]
Pretty cool, actually. Shy- I mean, she just about zapped me when I first showed up, and I think I startled her a couple of times by being a spazz, mostly when she gave her name. She also doesn't have much control over her power... actually, I'm supposed to be training her eventually. Can you believe that? Me, teaching Wanda Maximoff to use magic.
[He ducks his head, torn between discomfort and a smile. It's... actually seriously intimidating. But still, he wants to try so badly.]
....It... felt the same, Kate. When we used our magic together. We touched- [He lifts his hand, a bit of blue flaring around his fingers for a second or two before fading-] And it was like... like I was putting my hand against a mirror. Or looking into another universe. I've never- even with Teddy, I don't-
[He blushes slightly, feeling embarrassed by the confession. He's not sure how to describe the level of... synchronization, for lack of a better word, that he'd experienced in that moment.]
...I've never felt anything like that. It's like... we were both part of the same... something. Like we were meant to be connected. Um. Magically.
[ July 11th | action ]
Billy teaching the Scarlet Witch magic? Holy shit. That might just be the strangest thing she's heard since arriving here. And there's been a whole lot of strange.
Her lips twitch when he mentions the connection and she offers him a sympathetic smile.]
She's your mom. [Kate hesitates for a moment and makes a small circle with her spoon. She is going somewhere with this, right?] I mean, you got your magic powers from somewhere, right? Maybe it's some weird sort of genetic-spiritual connection thing?
[Grasping at straws, Katie. You're grasping at straws.]
Did you ever feel something like that back home?
[ July 11th | action ]
At her question, though, he shakes his head.]
I only met her once, back there, and that was before I had powers. Or... before I even existed, I guess. [Wow, there's a brain-screwy statement for you; he dwells on it for a few seconds too long and shakes it off, scuffing a hand through his hair. He's having enough of an existential crisis across dimensions here- he doesn't need to add more to it.] Damn... um, but she used her magic on me. To heal me. And it felt the same, I think, as her powers felt with mine today. It's not as refined, but...
[ July 11th | action ]
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Back peddling quickly, she nodded. No more mentioning Wanda in the present. In Billy's time, she's still missing. Right. Got that? Good. Now to keep her big mouth shut.]
But that whole mother-son connection thing still seems to be there. [Glancing down at the pint of ice cream in her hands, she then holds it out towards Billy. He needs it way more than she does right now.] Jeez. How'd you explain it to her?
[ July 11th | action ]
[And seriously, how could he? "Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Billy, your alternate reality teenage kid!" Yeah, that'd go over well. The very idea is ridiculous, so he distracts himself by burying his spoon into the ice cream for a really big scoop. Maybe he'll feel better if his mouth is too full to say anything stupid.]
[ July 11th | action ]
[Her voice is gentle and honest, lacking any sort of condescension. There really isn't any good way to go up to a stranger and just announce that you might be their future alternate reality son or daughter. Hell, she had been there when Billy and Tommy had finally found Wanda in their own reality.
And then, Cassie and Jonas had died.]
Let her think it's some strange coincidence. It's probably easier than the truth. For both of you.
[ July 11th | action ]
[Knowing that, recognizing that, doesn't make the truth any less painful. Having her right there, and being unable to tell her anything about their shared history? It sucks.]
[ July 11th | action ]
Yeah...
[A sigh.]
You'd think someone would have come up with an "Alternate Realities for Dummies" manual by now.
[ July 11th | action ]
You'd think. Everyone else I was able to handle just fine, but this... it's just messing with my head.
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[Sigh. He's being melodramatic and he knows it. Relevant, though-]
You know, when I first got here, I actually thought that? There's these simulator machines in the prison, and I wondered...
[ July 11th | action ]
...if you never left? [Sigh.] I hate to ruin your existentialist fantasies, but this place is way too bizarre to be anything but real.
[ July 11th | action ]
[It seems so nice most of the time- peaceful, friendly, with a collection of fandoms and fantasies come to life. And it's still an amazing experience. It just isn't as great as he'd thought it out to be anymore.]
[ July 11th | action ]
Even if it sucks that we were all brought here, I think I'd rather we face this as a team than any one of us on our own. Young Avengers don't leave their own behind.
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