Public Network Video - (Plus Two Private Messages)

[doubled_speed]

Public Video - [Posted During Ship Lock-Up]

[The video comes on and there's Tommy, a touch blurry around the edges. The background changes behind him constantly. One second he's pacing in what was clearly the dorm of the ship he's on. The next second he's in a mess hall, the protein paste machine in the background. Then the hangar. Then the bridge. Back to the mess and dorm and mess. This will be true for the whole video. There is no denying that he's very agitated, like ready to run up the walls. Or through them if he could.]

Dudes, who in the world decided this was the best plan that there was? Like, seriously, this plan? It's bogus. Being locked up on a ship is one thing. I wanna go to space. Space is fucking cool. All the stars and planets and traveling and that shit. But here, on the fucking ground, and there's like no way to go and travel between them and the space is small and itissosmallandthewalls are everywhere andican'tgetthrough

[He's shaking harder now, as he comes to a stop. This is miserable.]

Yo, Agrii or whatever. I don't fucking CARE about making friends. I can do that on my own time. But I want the fuck out. Let me go back to the greenhouse. I swear I just found a door that led to a whole section of a floor that was just fucking MINT. I like mint. Let me at the fucking mint.

justletmeoutofhere!



Private Message to Billy - October 13th

[He's calmed down a bit at this point, and it's important that he does this. That he seems calm for this. Because Billy deserves it.]

Yo, happy birthday, bro. Was gonna make you this whole salad with things from the Garden. But some ASSHOLES in charge here absolutely decided to blow birthday plans. I'm sorry this all sorta got blown up. Who you on wherever you're on with? I'm with Wanda. Which, you know, awkward. You know where V ended up? Whatever, not like it matters. Just be okay, right?



Private to Vision - October 13th

[This one has a more nervous looking Tommy. Like he isn't even sure he should be sending this.]

It's today, right? You sorta said that the math would come out to today, yeah? So you know, I don't hold it against you. Forgetting. And not, you know, doing the whole thing you said you would. But it's fine, right? I get it, that you'd want to. So don't worry about me, okay? Just make sure you wish Billy a happy birthday. This will probably be the first time he has to celebrate it without his family or friends or all that. It would mean a lot, I think, for you to reach out.

Because, you know, it's a good Dad thing to do. And he's used to having a good dad. So, you know Vision, do your best. We're nineteen now, so I guess throw that in too?



[OOC: If anyone of Tommy's cohort wants to run into him while he's recording messages, that's cool too. Just hit me up at churbooseanon and we can set it up.]

Comments

[doubled_speed]

Tommy curses and stumbles back from the manifestation.

"Shit, Chitari Leviathan. Fuck!"

Tommy puts Wanda down and pushes her behind him before raising his hands defensively.

"Get cover. I'm going to try and blow it."

[seeingscarlet]

Wanda staggers but pushes forward. "Tommy, no!" Desperation gives her strength and her power flares dangerously bright, forming a much more solid shield of wild power around them. It's not as controlled as Wanda's power in the waking world, but in the way that this shield wouldn't simply deflect. Tommy could pass through it unharmed, but it would injure the leviathan or Strucker or anyone else who wanted to hurt them.

She's struggling to hold it, but there's no other option. She just has to do this.

"I'm...not going to...let it...hurt you."

[doubled_speed]

"It won't hurt me," Tommy insists, annoyance in his voice as he raises his hands and prepares to attack the thing. "You're not the only one they tried to make into a monster, Mom. And they did so much better with me."

He pushes through the shield quickly and his hands vibrate as he turns his powers on the creature, and damn, it's powerful. Strong too. Durable, the metal, but the flesh under it is easier. It starts shaking too, and the creature finally explodes into pale blue light and sparks.

[seeingscarlet]

As the creature dissipates, Wanda drops the shield and crumples to the floor. It's too much, it hurts, and she can't--

The Ultron sentries begin their boot sequences all at once, hundreds of pairs of eyes lighting up. Slowly, indistinct figures begin to emerge from the shadows, dressed similarly to Wanda. Scientists too, dressed in manners both Wanda and Tommy would recognize. Growling dogs.

"Monster," one of the HYDRA scientists repeats. Not to be outdone, one of the juvie scientists chimes in, "Freak!"

"Murderer," says an Ultron sentry.

"Traitor!" one of the shadowy figures shouts in an accented voice.

Wanda whimpers and slaps her hands over her ears. "No no no...stop it, stop it, stop it!" There's just enough time for one of the shadowy figures to resolve into a brunette man who looks remarkably like Wanda before the image twists sideways and--

--she wakes up, gasping and terrified. She lays there in the darkness, trying to catch her breath, before kicking off her blankets and making a beeline for the kitchen. Maybe there's not tea, but she'll take cold water instead.

[doubled_speed]

Too much. He wakes up and he manages not to scream and mostly all Tommy can think about is that it had all been too much. He rolls out of bed, instantly awake, and bolts into the kitchen to mess with the protein pastes. Gels. Whatever they are. And he starts mixing some together to eat.

Which means, given super speed, he’s there before Wanda. And flinches when he sees her come in.

“Bad night?”

[seeingscarlet]

Wanda goes pale and nods slightly. "Did I...? Oh no." It's been so long since this has happened - Vision doesn't dream, and his mind is usually comfort enough to keep her nightmares at bay. Naviadna's singing had also been an immense help; she had never really been alone.

But this? This was a perfect storm. She knew she should have tried to drag her bedding somewhere far away, or put off sleep as long as she could.

"I'm so sorry, Tommy. I didn't mean to."

[doubled_speed]

Oh. Then he wasn't seeing things. Tommy frowns and turns his attention fully onto the dispensers. Time to get more chili flavor.

"It's... it's okay. Because you didn't mean it. And it wasn't like I don't have dreams like that anyway. There was a place they kept me for a while. It was supposed to be juvie. It wanted a weapon."

[seeingscarlet]

Wanda, on the other hand, busies herself with getting some water. There's no tea, so cold water will have to do.

"The white rooms, yes? You shouldn't have to see that place anymore. I can...I can make sure that you don't while we're here." She's still not looking at him. "I am not trying to mother you or be overprotective, I just...you don't deserve this. I want to give you that choice."

[doubled_speed]

'I'm not trying to mother you'.

Tommy manages not to laugh. Because he wouldn't mind if she did. It's own complication and all of that.

"If I don't remember what happened there, I don't know that I'd keep making the choices I make, the choice to be a good person. That place is part of who I am."

[seeingscarlet]

There was really no other way to take it: he'd sounded annoyed, and obviously it couldn't have been meant literally. That's physically impossible.

"It isn't about forgetting. No one can do that. It's about not letting it torture you and keep you from sleep. We're already locked up. It shouldn't be worse."

[doubled_speed]

"You really don't want in my head," Tommy insists. "Could be a headache."

And he's definitely hurting in his own way. He wants it, but he can't risk what she might learn.

[seeingscarlet]

"And I would still do it, if you asked me to. One of us should get some rest. But it's your choice."

She scrubs a hand over her face. "Either way I am not going to let this happen again. I'll stay awake and try to sleep after everyone else wakes up."

[doubled_speed]

What? No, she needs to get sleep. Tommy looks absolutely worried. And resists reaching out to her. It's not his place.

"I'll pass. But maybe... we can set you up somewhere comfortable to sleep away from the rest of us? There's the hold. I could carry bed stuff there for you. And talk to people at bout a schedule so you can sleep when the rest of us aren't, but you don't have to be alone all the time."

[seeingscarlet]

It seems like a reasonable enough solution to her. If she is the problem, then she needs to take steps to make sure she doesn't accidentally hurt someone (again). Wanda's pretty sure Tommy was already having a nightmare, but she's absolutely certain that she just made it worse. He didn't deserve that. Neither do Sansa or Vash.

She's certainly survived worse than staying up all night.

"I think that would be best, but I was going to move my things in the morning. I've caused enough problems without waking the others up too. And I...Vash and Sansa already know what I can do, but I don't want to tell Krista yet." She shifts nervously. "She might get upset. And we can't get away from each other like this."

[doubled_speed]

"I'll move them for you in the morning. But if you want, for right now, I can help you stay awake. I'm good at annoying people into consciousness."

IT's the best he can give her, and he always tries his best when it comes to people who are important.

[seeingscarlet]

"You aren't annoying, Tommy. But if you don't think you can sleep...I would not say no to company." She manages a shy smile - she still feels absolutely terrible about all this. She hasn't had a power-related accident in so long that it had seemed like those days were behind her.

Apparently not. Maybe they never will be.

"Are you hungry? I can try to make a snack."

[doubled_speed]

"I'm always hungry," Tommy admits. He's not going to common the whole sleep thing. That he only needs four good hours. Because those weren't good hours. But he'll get more later.

"Nothing here really counts as a 'snack' though. I miss solid food."

[seeingscarlet]

"It is not so bad if you fry the chicken flavored gel it and serve it with something else," she says with a shrug. It's not good food, but a lifetime of food insecurity means that Wanda's never been one to complain. At least they're not in any danger of going hungry.

"There is fresh food in the fridge...does anything make an oil I could use to fry this?"

[doubled_speed]

Oil? Tommy frowns as he looks past her into the fridge to consider things. That's not exactly his specialty.

"I don't know. Mostly I've been eating the chili flavor stuff and living on it. But I can see if I can figure something out?"

Too bad they can't ask the Agrii. Actually, you know what, it's probably good. They'd give them motor oil.

"I can live with just a bowl of something."

[seeingscarlet]

"Our old machine was better. It made more textures, you could pretend that it was something different...and Vision found a way to freeze the chocolate gel so we could have ice cream sometimes." It had been a surprise for her unwanted birthday, and one of the reasons it hadn't been as bad as it could have been.

"If we put some fruit in it maybe you can pretend that it's a strange chocolate pudding?"

[doubled_speed]

"I like chocolate pudding," Tommy agrees after a moment. To throw her a bone. He considers her briefly, watching. Trying not to be sad for her.

Trying not to ask about the things he saw.

"That sounds like a plan. You want some too? I could help cut things up."

[seeingscarlet]

"I could eat a little. Choose any fruit you think would be good with chocolate." She doesn't recognize all of the produce in the fridge, so she'll defer to his judgment. In the meantime, she'll get a big bowl of chocolate protein gel and start stirring it vigorously. If she can get the texture to not be so weird...

If she keeps moving she can try not to focus on what she'd seen in the nightmare. Not all of those rooms had been familiar to her...but she could easily guess exactly what they were for.

"Just be careful. I don't know how good these knives are."

[doubled_speed]

Worst thing about those rooms? After what Tommy saw, if she asked, he'd tell her. No one else has ever seen the rooms, to his knowledge. No one else can look at him and call bullshit if he told them it was nothing. And... and she'd get it. Which was sad.

So he sighs and heads into the fridge to consider options. And pulls out what looks exactly like a pineapple. Bless.

"Pineapple work for you?"

[seeingscarlet]

"Is that...really a pineapple? Or is it some kind of..." Words. Help. "...space pineapple?" She shrugs helplessly. The Agrii didn't exactly label anything for them. "We can try it."

She glances down at the bowl she's stirring. Should she? Is it even her place when she's the one who made it worse in the first place?

Wanda swallows hard and glances back up at him. "Do you want to talk about it? Or do you want to be distracted?"

[doubled_speed]

"Yeah, really a pineapple," Tommy answers as he carries it over and starts looking for a knife to cut the top off. And when she asks the question, the important questions, Tommy freezes.

"I... Talk about what?"

Evasion? Yeah. He's scared she won't like him as much if she finds out how he ended up there."