revivalproject | [Open] Where There's Smoke There's Tommy

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[Open] Where There's Smoke There's Tommy

WHO: Tommy Shepherd, You?
WHERE: The open space just south of the Diner
WHAT: Building A Brick Oven
WHEN: Early March
WARNINGS: Explosions possible, which could lead to injuries

I. The Build Phase

This shouldn't be that hard. It was what Tommy told himself as he looked at the materials he'd been gathering for a while now. Some of them were scavenged, some of them were hand made the best he could from a book he'd replicated about construction, some of them were... Well, he'd just got things together, alright? But the goal had been there for a while now, and filled with nervous energy like he was, Tommy needed to be active. To be doing something. To be anchored in the here and now rather than letting his brain run wild.

That was always the danger with being a speedster. The way that his mind worked he could easily mentally live weeks in a few minutes, utterly alone. It was terrifying and in this moment he needed anything but that. So here he was, stacking chunks of rock and packing the space between them with a mixture of wet mud and sand.

"Keep slow," he reminded himself, a mantra whispered under his breath. "Keep slow."

II. The Testing Phase

It had taken nearly a whole week of work for Tommy to get his work done. But hey, there it was, it looked more or less right, and Tommy looked proud at his creation, comparing the details of it to the details of the book he'd been working from.

"Alright, so... This will make Pizza."

Considering it for a moment, Tommy finally nodded and moved to the pile of wood stored by the diner.

Only then did he notice someone approaching.

"Hey! Wanna help me make pizza."

III. Oh, That's A Fire

Shit. SHIT. SHIT!

"It's not supposed to do that," Tommy said to himself, cursing under his breath. Actually, that was getting a bit louder and faster as he started working.

Because there was smoke coming from all the wrong places of his little oven. Which meant everywhere that wasn't the chimney.

"Fuck!" he shouted as fire leapt from the door of the thing.

"Shit fuck," he added creatively as he started picking up handfuls of snow to throw at the flames.

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Ash had been out nearby with Pikachu when he heard a few words that would have really upset some of the adults he knew and glanced around before he notices smoke. A lot of smoke. That much smoke is never a good thing.

"C'mon Pikachu!" He waves at his partner and the two are off, heading towards the fire despite that Ash does not currently have any Pokémon on him that might help in this situation.

He'll figure something out though. There's a snow bank just up ahead and inspiration strikes.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail on the snow- aim it towards the fire." He commands.

"Pika!" Pikachu cries out before tail starts to harden and glow. "ChuPika!" His tail hits the snow bank with force as he sends a spay of snow at the fire.

"You okay?" Ash asks Tommy as he rushes up.

Yeah, well sometimes those words are good for adults like Tommy, and sometimes smoke isn't bad. And this is not truly either of those times but hey, working through it the best he can.

Of course neither of them are really thinking with physics and how bad it can be to dump icy water on fire when you've got an easily pressurized space. Tommy's just busy trying to throw more snow at it.

"I'm fucking peachy," he curses, not looking at the kid as he tries to throw more snow. Where the rest of it is coming from he doesn't know, but he'll deal with that later.

That fire really doesn't want to go out. He could have it out in seconds if he still had Greninja but that's not an option so he's gonna have to figure out how to put a fire out with just Pikachu's attacks.

"Iron tail, again!" Ash calls out.

"ChuPika!" Pikachu slams his tail against another snow bank to send it spraying towards the fire. While Pikachu's busy with that, Ash takes a look around to see if maybe there's a bucket he can fill with water or something.

"What the hell are you shouting?" Tommy asks as another rush of snow comes sailing through the air. "Okay, that's not even directed enough to help!"

Geez, even he knows this isn't working. Fuck.

"Just, stand back whoever you are. I need to get water."

"Pi? Pi-ka..." Pikachu stops his assault on the snow banks and looks a little sheepish when Tommy says it's not directed enough.

"Yeah.. I hear ya. But I don't think hitting it with electricity would do much good." Ash lets out a sigh. "Is there a bucket around somewhere?"

"Just stand back, okay?"

And then Tommy's gone in a blink of an eye and a burst of kicked up snow. And then back, splashing sea water in another eye blink.

"Fires are dangerous," he notes as he turns to look at Ash. "And you're DEFINITELY too young to play with them."

Ash isn't one to sit around and do nothing when people need help but before he can protest the man is gone and then just as Ash is about to ask Pikachu where he went he's back again.

"Whoa, how'd you do that?" He asks, looking at the man in shock and ignoring the comment about him being too young.

"Piika." Pikachu nodded, also sounding shocked.

"The laws of physics and I aren't on speaking terms," Tommy said, and then he was gone in another blink. ANd back just as soon.

"I said step back. You're like, what, nine?"

Oh and he's gone agai-nevermind he's back. Imagine all that power in a quick attack. Fascinating.

"Ten." Ash supplies, still not moving from where he's currently standing. He doesn't think he's that close to the fire. "And it's not like I can just stand by when something's obviously wrong."

"PiKachu!" Pikachu leaps up onto Ash's shoulder to come to his trainer's defense.

Noctis was just on his way to go fishing when he saw Tommy, so he decided to stop by and see what the other was up to.

And that's when he heard the magic word.

"I haven't ever made a pizza before, but I can put toppings on it."

At least he wasn't going to get grumbled at for eating more toppings than putting them on the pizza. Ignis had let him learn that lesson a time or four.

Yeah, well neither has TOmmy, but he thinks he's got this.

"Awesome, Noctipus," he says with a smile. He gives the oven another look and then gestures for Noctis to circle the building with him.

"Probably better to prepare it inside."

Dude, he would rather not. Quick attack is a tackle, and if he tackled someone at speed, well, his clothes would have a LOT of icky stuff on them. No super speed tackles.

"Yeah, same difference. Now back up before I back you up."

Because he could. And probably should.

Ash would point out that nine is not old enough to get a trainer's license but since so far exactly zero people have recognized the term Pokemon, he decides to just back up.

Sure, this is usually the point where whoever would just give into his determination but that's clearly not happening here and standing around arguing isn't going to put the fire out.

"You're sure there's nothing I can do to help?" Maybe it's not so easy to let it go after all.

Edited 2023-03-04 15:47 (UTC)

Not Tommy's fault that people of the Maximoff bloodline are stupidly stubborn in the absolute worst ways.

"Yeah, use your comm to call for help, and stay back. I'm not going to get in trouble with that new grumpy looking Doctor lady for getting a kid hurt playing with fire."

Well, calling for help is helping, he supposes but it feels a little like he's not being taken seriously.

"Why do you keep saying I'd be playing with fire? I've had to put a fire out before." He can't help himself.

"Pika!" Pikachu agrees. Even still, he pulls the communication device out to request help with the fire.

"And why would you get in trouble for something I did, anyway?"

"Because as the adult he is expected to take responsibility and ensure your safety." The reply is given by the tall man clad entirely in black that seems to have appeared out of nowhere to dump a load of snow and moist soil into the flames, transported here in one of the larger plastic containers quite commonly found within the hospital.

He tosses a second, empty container over to Tommy. "This place has functioning water if I recall correctly?"

Okay, one, where the fuck did that dude come from? See, this is why Tommy can't turn his back on people for even a few fucking seconds because apparently he's going to be fucking caught in some bullshit. Then again, whoever they are must have noticed before because no way anyone came here quickly from Ash fucking telling on him anyway.

"What tall, blond, and jacked over there said," Tommy says as he catches the container. Bigger than his bucket. Fucking score.

"Watch him," he directs Wesker, clearly indicating the kid. And then he's gone and back before the words are fully out of ringing in the air, dumping water over the fire. The steam now smells like soil and water and brick and salt. Interesting that. He must be getting it from the beach.

"Using a tap is slower," he announced as he disappeared and then was back again in the same impossible time, dumping more water on it.

"Stupid fucking thing."

Ash and Pikachu both let out a startled noise when Wesker just appears. Can everyone here do that? Once recognition sets in though, Ash goes tense and his friendly enthusiasm evaporates because he remembers this man.

"What? Why? I'm responsible for my own safety." And the safety of his Pokemon but he's not getting into that right now.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu agrees. Ash lets out a despondent sigh when he's not given a bucket and is forced to sit back and watch. This feels a little unfair.

Wesker sees no reason to argue with the young man that may seem to disappear. Yet he knows this isn't the case. Tommy may be faster than the human eye can perceive, but Wesker's eyes aren't human and he can follow Tommy's movements perfectly. He himself wouldn't be able to move as fast as he is able to if this weren't the case, but Wesker's own movements are quick bursts while Tommy seems to be maintaining his speed much more consistently. Interesting.

He lets his attention be pulled to the child. "The fact that you are questioning it is answer enough to your question." He states flatly.

"Again, what dude said," Tommy said as he returned from splashing another container of water. Now the thing seemed to mostly only be slag and steam and dirt.

"To take a page out of Clint's book, aw pizza no."

"No, that doesn't answer anything." Ash says stubbornly. "I'm responsible for my own safety back home so why would it be different here?" He demands, feeling his temper flare just a little. He's trying to keep it under control and be reasonable but at the same time he's not a fan of just being shoved to the side like his questions don't matter.

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu mirrors his tone, irritated on Ash's behalf.

Edited 2023-03-06 23:44 (UTC)

"That's what all children believe while in reality their parents or legal guardians will be held responsible for any harm and damages caused due to them neglecting their duty." At least S.T.A.R.S. has not been responsible to deal with these particular incidents.

Wesker steps over to the steaming pile of slag and stirs the muddy mix up with a foot in search of any lingering remains of the fire to put out under his boot. "So. What happened here?"

"If you're responsible for your own safety back home, I'm sorry," Tommy said, but in a tone that said more 'sorry for you' and not 'sorry to you for not treating you like an adult'. Because, you know, he's TEN.

But now his attention returns to the oven.

"I don't know. It started smoking from a lot of places. Clearly I made it wrong. Not like I've ever fucking made one before."

And he sounded angry. Easier not to think about it too much.

"Kid, thanks for trying to help."

Now that the fire's out, Ash isn't feeling the as much pressure or irritation but he's still plenty confused. He crosses his arms and looks between the two adults. He's well aware that he's not an adult but when he left on his journey to become a Pokémon master he became responsible for not only himself but all his Pokémon.

"It's nothing to be sorry about. Where I'm from, once you turn ten you can get your first Pokémon and after that you can go out on a journey and catch more Pokémon." He explains. "So I'm fine with taking care of myself." He lets out a sigh and turns to the.. what's left of the pizza.

"Anyways, I'm glad the fire's out. Too bad about the pizza though."

"Pikaa...." Pikachu agrees.

"Ten years. Barely out of elementary school." Wesker muses from his place by the ruined structure Tommy had attempted to set up.

Not that it matters to him what this child is doing back where he is from, but Tommy's reaction at least confirms to Wesker that this isn't considered the norm for him either. Oddly enough pizza appears to be universally known.

But this brings up a new question, gathered from the rather vague response Tommy has offered. "You nearly burned down this building by attempting to make a pizza?" How exactly is anything in this city still standing?

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[Open] Where There's Smoke There's Tommy

III.

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Did someone say pizza? (2)

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Just let me butt in here then

Re: Just let me butt in here then

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