Winter Wonderland [OTA]

[doubled_speed]

WHO: Tommy Shepherd, OTA
WHERE: Twin Roses, Winter Event Planet
WHAT: Winter Wonders, Cold Speedster, Baby Speedster, Post Baby Shenanigans
WHEN: Event Start until 1/31
WARNINGS: None will update if any are needed

Didn't Agree to This | Twin Roses Crew

It's official. Tommy wants to punch an Agrii in the face. He doesn't CARE that they only mean well. They've decided to trap him in the ship. AGAIN. This time with music. He doesn't like that he can't TRUST MUSIC NOW. Fucking assholes. Wants to punch them in the heads.

Which of course is what Tommy is grumbling under his breath as he works through the awkward process of stripping the mattress from one of the beds in the quarters and navigate the floppy thing toward the cargo hold. Strange thing to be doing, right? But damn if the super-strong speedster isn't doing it anyway, trying to get the mattress to the cargo hold and then tucked into a nice, secure corner that looks warm but not too bright.

And once that's done he's busy getting the bed made up and super comfortable.

Strange kid.

Fuck the Cold | Planet Arrival

"Oh come the fuck on!" Tommy snaps when he heads down the ramp of the ship at full speed and then comes to a skidding stop at the edge of the snow. "Snow and Speedsters don't MIX!" he shouts fruitlessly at the sky.

With a grumpy look Tommy wraps his arms tightly around himself, trying not to shiver too much. The cold is so much more acute to him. Makes sense given he runs quite a lot hotter than most other people, what with the enhanced metabolism that came with his mutation. How the hell was he supposed to eat enough food to stay warm enough with what he's wearing while they're here.

There is a part of him that is almost tempted to go back onto the ship, curl up in his bunk and never come out. But the thing is COLD in there too. So at least here he might be able to warm up some by running. So, with a distasteful look on his face he rushes onto the snow. Maybe if he goes fast enough he can Legolas this bitch and walk on top of the snow.

Nope. His foot goes through immediately and he yelps at the cold before frowning and slogging off to go find shelter. Or his family. Either works. Both work. Anything is better than standing around pointlessly in the snow.

And his first destination? What looks like a gingerbread house. Hopefully he either gets some company or someone foists something warm on him first.

"You could have warned us," he grumbles as if the Agrii could hear him. "Coulda brought my space blankets. Assholes."

Tiny Little Speedy Baby

The houses aren't bad. And the food in them isn't bad. A lot of the things in them aren't bad because it's warm and cozy and there is warm clothes. But most importantly? Sugar based candies. Damn but Tommy needs all the terrible for him sugar he can get. He works his way through some pieces in one of the houses as he pokes around, curious about the place out of boredom.

He even picks up a piece of gelt, thinking 'wow I've got to get Billy one of these, he's gonna love this shit, even if the candles here are over done'. Unwraps the piece of milk chocolate goodness and devours it in one bite.

...

And then there isn't a Tommy Shepherd poking around in the room. Instead there is an eight year old boy with his eyes and his hair and standing in his far too big clothes, crying because his clothes are too big. Maybe someone could help with that.

Once that's dealt with, well, now there is a new special sort of menace in the village. A little kid with winter clothes, joy, wonder and... Speed. Ever try and catch a kid running sixty miles per hour through the snow who wants nothing more than to dump snow down the back of your shirt? Hope you like snowballs, because once the boy learns how to make them the green clad menace will be throwing them with utter delight at anyone who gets too close. And when he gets tired the boy, friendlier and happier than Tommy ever actually was as a kid, is going to look for the nearest warm body and cuddle up next to them.

Whatever is this place going to do with an eight-year-old superboy? And how will the other kids keep up or argue the shouted challenge across the village of

I'm the fastest there ever was!

Comments

[bossofspace]

There's something zooming through the snow.

A tweenaged Carol watches curiously for half a moment, just long enough to determine it's someone rather than something, then goes tearing off after him, blazing bright and low to the ground, with the wind in her hair and a grin on her face.

Challenge accepted, she thinks, and reaches out in an attempt to tap him on the shoulder and initiate the fastest game of tag there ever was on this freezing planet.

[doubled_speed]

It takes Tommy a few seconds to realize what is going on. Mostly he's just enjoying the rush of the air in his hair. Well, the hair that isn't covered with the hat that his brother had put on him. And then there's a hand on his shoulder, and what?

He pauses for half a second and watches Carol go by and he grits his teeth before racing after her, picking up speed.

"Flying is SO CHEATING!"

[bossofspace]

She's barely paying attention, especially with the head start she's got - she's not giving that up if she can help it - but her sportsmanship is being called into question.

"So's BEING A MUTANT!" she fires back, tongue stuck out in jest. "Here, I'll even make it easy for you!"

Light spills from her hands in steady, hot beams, and she blasts away a clear length of snow in Tommy's path. Never let it be said she didn't do anything for you, Speed.

[doubled_speed]

"Nuh uh! I STILL HAVE TO RUN!" Tommy protests. And out of stubbornness he refuses the path she makes for him. Because then he has an excuse for when he loses.

[wearingthestars]

Billy happens upon the tiny crying Tommy with a shock, and blinks at him uncertainly for a second before concern takes over, and he goes to him to try and stop him crying.

"Hey- hey it's okay- Tommy- what- what happened? It's fine, we'll figure it out," he promises. How weird is it that this is not even in like the top 10 of strangest things that's ever happened to them?

[doubled_speed]

Oh, there's someone there. Tommy cries for an extra moment to prove his point before shuffling forward to hug Billy.

"My clothes got way too big."

It's not normal for a kid his age to be crying so hard over this, but it's COLD and he's alone and someone needs to help him. Sure, he's a big kid, but whoever said big kids can't cry are completely wrong.

"And it's cold!"

[wearingthestars]

Oh.

Billy freezes up for a moment at the easily given hug, sure he can count on one hand the number of times Tommy's actually sought one out, and his heart melts a little, hugging him back tightly.

"It is cold," he agrees, echoing Tommy's words to help show he's actually listening. "Here-" Some mumbled chanting and glowy hands later, and Tommy's dressed in something much warmer, layers of clothes that actually fit him. "See, it's fine- I'll take care of you- promise."

[doubled_speed]

Well, Tommy as Billy knew him never had hugs. Never had the affection. And so it was a hard thing to consider, a hard thing to fathom. But this? This he can accept. Because this is Tommy, but Tommy as he SHOULD have been. Tommy as Thomas Maximoff with family here and knowing he's loved. Sure, he doesn't QUITE know what's going on, but he's a good child, a well adjusted child.

And hey, Billy's lucky. Unlike Tommy, he's actually got experience with being an older brother.

As for Tommy? His eyes go huge at the display of magic. And there he is, in warm clothes, and he's grinning.

"You're MAGIC! How did I get here, magic guy?"

Not like he knows who Billy is. but if he's told he's Billy's brother, well, he'll absolutely accept it.

[wearingthestars]

Magic Guy.

He laughs a little and nods. "You can call me, Billy. I'm um...I'm actually your brother," he offers, hoping that's not too weird a thing to hear.

"And a um...a space ship brought us here for a bit. Us and some other people too," he explains. He has no idea if this is going to be a permanent change or short lived, and he doesn't want to traumatize him by getting into the WHOLE story, but lying doesn't feel right either.

[geomagnetically]

There is a surprised yelp that comes from a still adult Lorna when she's met with a snowball that slides halfway down her back once it makes contact with her head. When she turns to see who did that, she's both surprised and not to see it's a small Tommy.

"How about if I float you while you get better and higher aim on other people?" Things that will end well: This. Yes.

[doubled_speed]

Bullseye! Tommy cheers at his victory, and then is just about ready to race off before he gets in trouble. Sure, she's a flying lady but he doesn't know that she'll be happy to be hit by the super hero SPEED! Nice and warm and with a CAPE! IN green. Because his brother Billy gave it to him.

But then she's offering and Tommy grins and nods eagerly.

"How am I gonna carry enough snowballs?"

[geomagnetically]

"Well, you have the cape. Pack enough snow really tightly, and carry them in that? Grab one out when you need it and pew, expert flying snowball launcher." She nods.

[doubled_speed]

Well, the issue of course was also... Tommy frowns as he looks at the ground. The problem is... he can't handle it.

"I don't know that being up high is good."

But he likes having more than one snowball at a time.

[pileofspirits]

There's some grown-up cleverly bundled in many layers against the cold just trundling their way through the snow, going about their adulty business with no clue that there is a snowball-wielding terror zooming around here somewhere. Which means they're the perfect target.

The snowball lobbed at the back of their head lands spectacularly, snow exploding in every direction at the direct impact. It's such a good hit that they're sent stumbling forward off balance, failing to catch themself and toppling completely into the snow.

And from there... they don't move. At all. Once they hit the snow, face-down, they just lay there.

They're probably fine. One snowball probably didn't kill them.

[doubled_speed]

Uh-oh. Tommy is in SO MUCH trouble. He bolts off to hide behind the nearest structure, which is the corner of a building. And he stands there, watching. Billy is going to SO yell at him. And he bites his lip nervously. But there's no movement. No movement and finally he runs off to shake the bundled person.

"You okay mister?"

[pileofspirits]

There is an alarming lack of response until there's enough shaking to finally let in any light and air in from around where their face is buried. Only then do they start to move a little, mumbling uncomfortably in the snow.

They try to roll over but they might need help. With how tangled and bulky their layers of rags are, it's not easy to leverage over when their whole body is half-sunk in a snowbank.

[doubled_speed]

Oh man, Billy's going to be SO MAD at him for doing this. Tommy bites his lips and starts rubbing at his shoulder more. He's only eight, he can't haul someone out of the snow.

"Mister, mister get UP!"

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Bucky manages to catch Tommy's not-quite-Legolas moment as he's checking out the new, snowy landscape. He does his best not to laugh, really he does, but the corner of his mouth is still twitching as he comes over and asks, "You... do know how snow works, right?"

[doubled_speed]

Oh fuck. Caught being weird. Tommy grumbles and turns to glare at Bucky. Captain Scruffy didn't need to see that.

"Snow is white and fluffy."

[stillgotmyleftarm]

That gets Tommy a raised eyebrow on top of it all. "Yeah," Bucky says carefully. "It sure is... and it's also not solid."

There are snowshoes, sure. But Tommy is definitely not wearing a pair.

[doubled_speed]

"Dude, animals walk on top of that," Tommy counters. "And I can run on water!"

[seeingscarlet]

"Did you have fun?" Wanda laughs and automatically wraps her arms around Tommy to pull him close against the cold. She can't do anything to fix the situation, so maybe she can be forgiven for taking this opportunity to give both of them something they can't have. Surely he never got to just play with his powers like this, and it isn't as if she and Vision will ever have children of their own. And she's never seen Tommy quite this happy before. If she can give him a safe space to just be a happy kid, she will.

[doubled_speed]

Wanda, Tommy has decided, gives the best hugs. Hands down. She smells like love and warmth and her hair is pretty and she clearly loves him. Okay, maybe not loves, but she cares. And he hugs her back with all his strength. Which, you know, he may be a kid but he's still got powers on scale to what he had before. Which means a squeezing hug from an eight year old has all the potential and strength of a bear hug from a beefy six foot seven guy. Luckily, his arms don't really fit around her, so it isn't that bad.

He doesn't like that his gloves are still on, but they're one of those sets where they're clipped on to a string that is laced through his sleeves because Billy was FUSSY about Tommy staying warm. Which was good because he would TOTALLY lose his gloves in the snow. Still, he's here, he's cuddled up to his favorite lady person, and he smiles because he likes her laughter.

But she isn't wrong, Tommy's never been this happy before. Then again, he totally DOES play with his powers a lot, so it's like a middle ground. So here he is, snuggling in, laughing a bit before he can finally stop and catch his own breath.

"Yeah. I made THREE snowmen. But with three eyes. Like the pictures the aliens draw us. But I didn't know what else they looked like so one has sorta tentacles and one has arms and one is just round. And then I threw snowballs at other kids and it was SO MUCH fun. And now I'm cold. Can we watch a fire?"

[seeingscarlet]

"You will have to show me your snowmen later, after you've warmed up. And then maybe we can build the biggest snowman ever together." She grins and kisses his forehead - surely Tommy can use whatever motherly affection and spoiling she can provide. There's definitely hot chocolate in his future...well, 'hot chocolate.' The taste is slightly off, but as usual Wanda's not going to complain. She's just glad they don't have to worry about where their next meal is coming from.

"Do you want to walk to the cabin? Or do you want to fly?"

[doubled_speed]

The biggest snowman ever? Tommy's eyes are absolutely huge with the excitement of it. But he definitely knows (from being told by his big brother) that if he just asks a hundred times really fast then people will be more likely to say no. So instead he just smiles and nods at her.

"That would be cool! I could sit on your shoulders to help put the head on! That tall."

Or taller. Is taller possible? Man, wouldn't that be awesome. Still, he now has a new question to face, and gives it all the determined thoughtful look of a young boy faced with something he doesn't know how to deal with.

"I don't know. Flying is scary, isn't it?"

Speedsters, they're made to have their feet on the ground.