revivalproject | Heaven's on Fire

Entry tags:

Heaven's on Fire - KISS

WHO: Billy Hargrove and those that join him
WHERE: Mostly Temba's city-center area, maybe the Upside-Down
WHAT: Hey there's an event thingy
WHEN: During the event timeline
WARNINGS:STRANGER THINGS SPOILERS, profanity, event warnings, violence, panic/PTSD attacks, will update as they make themselves known

October 10th

Run To You - Bryan Adams
He’s in the civic center when the storm hits. Billy had seen it coming, but didn’t think anything of it. It’s a storm. It wouldn’t be anything to worry about. Earthquakes (well, volcanoes), those were something to worry about. Storms were not. So he had done his workout as usual as it hit and when he left…

…Well, Billy would wish later he hadn’t. Because upon leaving the civic center with the intention of hitting the diner and then heading home, he heard something. No, not something.

Someone.

He whirls around in place, his hair whipping about wildly as he struggles to see if it’s her. And Billy sees her in the distance. Tired muscles be damned, he breaks into a run, heading right towards the woman. She doesn’t seem to get closer no matter how far he runs.

“MOM!!” he all but screams out, determined to get to her, damn it. It’s hard to see with all of the lights out and the storm blocking out the sun. “Mom!” he shouts again. She disappears into the clouds, reappearing in different positions in the distance, never in the same spot. Billy looks confused, turning to try and track her.
 What was going on?!

The ghost of his mother disappeared and he turned, looking for her. “I DONT’ UNDERSTAND!!” he yells, feeling the echo of those words from when he was at the Steelworks building.

October 11th - 12th 

It’s The End of the World As We Know It - R.E.M.
It’s not the gate opening that starts it. It’s not the sight of the stupid looking bats or that weird flower dog.

It’s the gigantic thing that he knows from the mall. Seeing that mind flayer on the other side of the gate while trying to get from the cabin to the hotel to make sure there are others okay (hint: that didn’t happen). He freezes, the blood draining from his face to leave his skin white. Billy’s clammy and cold all in the span of a few seconds, but more importantly?

He’s terrified.

Billy knows that that monster can do. He’s felt it. It’s going to kill him when he’s sent home by the aliens here.

It’s here to kill him.

He ducks behind the fountain before darting to be against one of the side walls of the diner. Billy’s curling up, screaming and holding his head and looking like he’s agony. The guy is physically fine, but his mind is not. Guess seeing the very creature you helped create in your world while being possessed by the enemy would do that to you.

October 13th - End

If You Want Blood (You Got It) - AC/DC
No. He can’t be a pussy about this shit. It’ll kill him back home, but Billy has the tools to stop the beasts here. Gladio had found him in the chaos and dropped off an axe. Something about ‘use it if you need it, kid’ before running off to do more warrior things.

The axe had felt heavy in his lap from where he was sitting. But then Billy stood up, testing out it’s weight as he had been trained. It felt good. Felt right. He gave it a few swings before the confidence started growing in him. Billy could do this. He stopped the flayer’s tongue with his bare hands, didn’t he? He could stop the whole thing with his axe. He could stop any of them!

Heading out from where he had bunkered himself, Billy found one of those bat-things headed towards him. It took a few swings through the air (five, if you’re counting), to get it, but hitting it with the dull side knocked it down to the ground to slice through it with the blade.

“Take that you creepy fucker!” he shouted at it, giving it another smack. Black blood stained his boots and jeans as he hit something in it, before he moved on to the next one.

“COME GET SOME, FUCKERS!!” he shouted, wielding the weapon with far more confidence than he had when it had been dropped off.

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Really? Tommy blushes just a little. Good thing he can look away and not get caught.

"It's my job," he says with a shrug. "And I am a weapon, man. Speed is power, man. I'm more durable than a car. I can literally run through these things."

Billy makes his way over, things squishing under his boots as he joins Tommy. "Yeah, I know speed is power and shit. Surprised you're not taking more out doing your track star thing while I get to pick the little ones off."

Because he's not going through the gate to take anything out. Billy can't. He can't deal with the Flayers, so he lets someone else do it. A demobat squeals as it dives and Billy barely ducks it before it's turning around. This time the Californian nails it, feeling its weight added to the axe as the blade only gets halfway through it.

"God this place was supposed to be better than Hawkins. You know that, right?" The blade finishes the job as Billy slams it on the ground. "How the fuck are we supposed to get this stop anyways?!"

Yeah, there was a lot here to squish.

"Honestly, killing is not my favorite hobby," Tommy admits with a shrug. "But they're clearly savage animals and they're after us."

So he was going to do his best. Still, he's impressed by the display of axe there. Billy, have you been talking to Mopey Muscles? Seems like it to him.

"This shit is from back home for you? Sorry man. Sometimes this happens. Things from our homes happen, or we go to them. Once my brother was forced to put us into this dream world sorta like Wanda did once. So, you know, it happens."

Get this to stop? Tommy shrugs.

"As our powers come back? I've been trying to find my brother. He might be able to help. This shit is portals and I don't know what to do about portals. I don't know if you can explode them."

He has, in fact, been getting training from Mopey Muscles. Billy doesn't linger on that, keeping a watchful eye on ground and sky for more of the creatures. "Yeah. Yeah, this shit is from home and that thing," he points in the direction of the gate, "houses the worst one. Big, can't come through, but I won't go near it."

And he can't talk about it. Not now, maybe not ever really. If he does it now, Billy knows he'll absolutely lose it again and have to hide in the diner again until he snaps out of it or it's safe again. Billy ignores the thoughts and kicks the demobat off of his weapon before hauling it over his shoulder.

Yeah. Billy looks cool.

"Don't know. I don't know anything about portals from Hawkins. Just that one creature in there. And the vines. Maybe rats." Eyes look down and around really quick to see if there's any rats.

Then those eyes lift to Tommy's. "Don't let the vines get around you." He knows that won't be a problem for someone like Tommy being a superhero and all, but warnings are good at least. "Any idea how you want to try and explode them?"

Shit from home and something is the worst. That Billy won't go hear. Interesting. Tommy will have to investigate that later. Heroics and all of that.

"Like the vines ever could. Those would be easy to explode. But I need a thing to exist to explode it. I don't know that gates are, like... we have some back home. Krakoan gates. If I could detonate the frame of those they would collapse. I don't know that these have frames."

Nope. He's already had a meltdown about it that people had to help him through it. There might be a broken glass in the kitchen he'll have to clean up later. Billy can't remember and it's not important right this second.

"Yeah? Well they're sneaky bastards. Don't want you to get caught. Might ruin that speedy rep of yours." Billy listens, frowning. He has no idea what Tommy's talking about, but it also strangely makes sense. He thinks of an open window and the frame of it.

The axe shifts in his hands as adjusts the weight of it. "I...I don't know shit about them. Maybe one of the other Hawkins people knows something. Maybe they figured out something after I—" Billy doesn't finish that sentence. "Think we should guard the gate or just keep picking these little bastards off around the city? Like a patrol?"

"Alright," Tommy says. If that is what his friend needs, then he's going to do it. He'll make sure it works out right for Billy.

"Come on then. We'll go guard."

Guarding. He can do that. As long as Billy doesn't go through the gate or get a look at that damn creature waiting on the other side, he should be fine. He tenses, looking towards the gate for a long moment. Then he shakes out his shoulders and adjusts the grip he's got on the axe.

"I'm not going through the gate. Got it?" All bark and no bite again. He points towards it. "I'm not going through it." The bark of command doesn't show in his face. What does show is fear. Actual fear on Billy Hargrove's face. The hand holding the axe shakes, but he keeps his grip. There's no way he's going to pussy out again.

"Of course you're not," TOmmy says. It's silly to expect the guy to even consider doing so. It's not his job.

"I'll do that part if it's needed."

"You shouldn't-" the words come out in a rush, the tone like he's scared again. Then Billy stops himself, because Tommy isn't like him. He's super fast, could avoid the flayer doing flayer things inside the gate.

He breathes out for a long moment. "That thing that's in there? The big one? That's what kills me when I get home. So just... be fucking careful Shepherd." The people here needed guys like Tommy.

There's deep screeches coming towards them this time, and higher-pitched ones from the sky. A little swarm of the bats seem to have found them, and one of the flower-faced bitches.

"Fuck."

The thing on the other side of the gate killed Billy. Well, now that's on Tommy's hit list. He's going to kill it. Decision made, bad decisions will be enacted down the line. For now, though, for now he hears the screeching and turns to interpose himself between Billy and the threats.

"Turn around. No reason to get your pretty face all splattered."

Because Tommy is angry and he raises his hands before him. Turns the full force of the explosive force outward, hands raised. There are going to be little sick explosions of gore in the air, one after the other.

Tommy gets between the blond and the bats, but Billy is moving like he's gonna be next to him. He's got an axe and while he's not 'shield to the king' level with it, he knows who not to hit with it.

And he doesn't turn around.

So the gore of the demobats rains down on him, blood streaking his hair and skin and little bits of creature smacking into him. He doesn't care. In fact, Billy finds himself a little mentally struck at the sight of the power before him. Does his heart thump a little more? Maybe, but it's been doing that since he saw the creature through the gate. And it doesn't matter in this moment. The things are dead. All that leaves is the big one running towards them.

Billy pulls himself mentally together again. "Don't fucking do anything stupid, Shepherd!" he yells, already raising his axe up. This one he didn't recognize, but he didn't recognize the bats either. Only the flayer was familiar to him unfortunately.

"And leave a little for me, c'mon!" He wants to have stories at the bar too!

Tommy laughs. Because this? This wasn't stupid. This was what he was made for. Hell, there was a lot to argue that Tommy's powers were those of a supervillain, not a hero. They were destructive. He was destructive.

But this? This was his natural element. He looks back over his shoulder and smiles, wicked and wild and alive.

"Not stupid. Just right."

He moves then. Fast. Runs right at the demogorgon which raises a clawed hand to strike at Tommy. Tommy moves, dancing away from the attack, utter grace and poetry in motion as he spins and ducks away. it lets him face Billy for a brief little moment and he's still smiling. Winks and reaches up to grab the arm he ducked below and the demogorgon roars as Tommy does something too fast to see and is behind the demogorgon. Behind it with the thing's arm between its own legs. He pulls and the creature flips, back hitting the ground. And Tommy laughs.

"Geez, the Super Skrull gave me a harder time."

Then he kicks the thing over onto its stomach and plants a foot on its back.

"You're really fucking ugly, dude. I've seen symbiotes with more class and looks than you."

Maybe it was stupid to Billy because he's felt the business end of the flayer's appendages through his body. He knows what these things can do, but he's also just a regular human. Tommy's a God damn superhero. And it shows in how elegantly he takes the demogorgon down in front of him.

Spurred on by that fucking wink, Billy starts to run over. Thankfully the thing is too busy not dealing with Tommy to notice him. "So glad you're talking to it and not me. If you had been, I would've dragged you to Temba General to get your eyes checked out."

The creature roars from where it's thrashing on the ground, but Billy's not having it. Raising the axe quick to get some power and speed behind it, Billy cleaves it down into the creature's neck. There's a sickening crunch as Billy slams his boot down on it, driving it deeper to snap through bone and muscle. There's blood everywhere, and his clothes are going to have to soak later. But the thrashing dies down until the life is gone from it.

"Can't let you have all the fun, Tommy." The axe gets pulled free and he runs a hand through his curls to get them out of his face.

Were this another guy, were the situation different, Tommy would smile and flirt. As it was he only nodded his approval.

"You should get inside, Curls. Keep yourself safe. You don't have to hunt your own monsters. Let other people take care of you. I'll protect you, okay? Promise."

He will be the superhero Billy never got and always clearly deserved.

Billy doesn't look up from where he's snapping the gore off of his blade. The only problem he's having on the outside is there's no sheath or anything to carry this thing. On the inside, he's realizing that watching Tommy fight was...

No. Don't think like that.

But he could be like that here.

Despite all the blood and gore decorating him, there's a shy glance towards Tommy, then away, before it hardens when he looks back the second time. "I've been inside long enough. Had people talking me through a nasty... what'd they call it? PTSD or some shit? Practically beat the shit out of Rogers because I didn't know what was happening. But I'm not going to fucking hide anymore when I can help. I can't help like you can or others with fucking freaky powers, but I've got an axe and I know what to hit with it. So no. I'm not going to go back inside, Shepherd."

Dude you should really just accept that Tommy is hot when he's fighting. There's nothing gay about recognizing that someone is attractive. It's the wanting to do something with that which makes it 'gay' or whatever.

"Yeah, I could see why this would be a trauma trigger. But I promise that if anyone can take the brunt of your fury and come out through the other side with no issues or even hard feelings, it's Steve Rogers."

The guy hadn't even hated TOmmy for things he should. Or the one back home. Trusted him immediately? No. Hated him? Nah. The guy was definitely sensible.

"You don't have to force yourself into exposure therapy. And if you do, someone should have your back. Just in case."

"He was wrong." As soon as he says it, Billy knows it doesn't make sense. "He had Steve's face, but he was too small. He was wrong. Looked wrong. But it was him, and I thought my brain was making shit up or something." He had barely taken the kick and God, Billy thought he had maybe wrecked the kid. Because that's what Wrong Steve Rogers looked like - a scrawny kid.

He scowls. "The fuck is 'exposure therapy'? I'm not going to therapy. I'm staying out here to fight these fucking monsters. As long as I don't go in that damn gate, I'm safe. If you wanna stay out here, fine. But just be careful if you go in that fucking gate."

"Oh, he was smol," he says, nodding as if that makes any sense at all. Because that makes a lot of sense. "Yeah, that is not expected but it's not unreasonable I suppose."

He says it like it just makes a ton of sense to him.

"Exposure therapy. It's where you get used to something you're afraid of or were hurt by through being around it. Then it hurts less."

Careful in the gate? Man, he doesn't know Tommy at all.

"Billy, I'm going to help you out here. By dealing with whatever would dare to hurt you. That's what friends do. Not just heroes. Friends."

"That's what I said. He was too small." Lingo from an era way past him, Billy definitely doesn't get what Tommy's saying. There's a slight huff.

Hurt by. That's an understatement. But Tommy didn't see how he looked when he got here, from open wounds to pink scarring. He leans against the axe, taking a breather where he can before more come out to try to get the pair of them. That scowl is still on his face, though it softens at Tommy saying he was sticking around. It's weird, hearing someone trying to be his friend, even though they talked about this already.

"Yeah? Because friends got each others back or some shit, right? I guess I could do that. Just figured you'd want to go through to take out that one that looks like the one from home."

The one he helped build, create, and unleash. The one he had been powerless to stop while being possessed. "And if you're my friend, I don't want you fucking hurt."

Because he doesn't have a lot of those here in the city. Or back home. Or...anywhere, really.

"Because friends fucking care," Tommy corrects. "Because I care."

He could move closer, he could touch. But he's icky. Super icky.

"I won't get hurt. And if I do, someone will patch me up. But if there is something out there that threatens you even more than the rest of us, I'm going to break it man. So let me do that."

They're both icky. Billy doesn't want to think about what the clumps are when he washes them out of his hair later. Hopefully later today and not in a week. He doesn't know if he can handle this for an entire week or something, now that he thinks about it.

"Doesn't mean I'm not going to get upset about it." Billy actually doesn't want people hurt on his account. But he's used to trying to fight his own battles, or weathering out the storm of them. It's just so weird having someone willing to be side-by-side with him for it. "Then go break the thing. Just make sure you fucking come back. Even if you comeback so I can drag you to wherever the medical team is bunkering down."

"Yeah," Tommy agrees with a nod. That would make sense. Billy deserved to be upset about it. "But remember. This is me. I won't get hurt that way."

He offers a smile. Someone wants him to come back. Billy has no clue what he's doing with those words. Tommy has definitely finalized the friend status and might be edging toward 'good friend' and Billy needs to catch up.

"I'll be fine," he promises. "Just find someone to watch your back. I've got to go through a portal and destroy the big thing. It will be fun."

Yep, Billy has no idea. He does wonder if the roles were reversed, if Tommy would want him coming back, too. He thinks the answer is yes, because friends.

Tommy's moving quicker into Billy's friendship books than his mind can keep up with. By the time he realizes it, it'd be too late to get him out of that spot without being an absolute asshole in an out of character way.

"You better fucking be. I'll go find someone to keep an eye on me while you go do superhero things." Billy flicks some goop off of his arm.

"Alright," he says with a nod. "Head inside if you need. Grab a shower."

Tommy? He's got to figure out how to save the day.

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Heaven's on Fire - KISS

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cw: blood and appendage removal

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