Storms Make Cowards Of It All

[doubled_speed]

WHO: Tommy Shepherd, You
WHERE: Diner, Around Temba
WHAT: Storm related panic attack, Heroics both good and failing
WHEN: October 10th-12th for first prompt, October 13th otherwise
WARNINGS: TW: panic attacks, blood, mouth related body horror, 'animal' attacks

I. Cowardly Behaviors | CW: Panic attack

Storms are the worst. Storms mess with Tommy's head like nothing else does. His powers are who he is, and the amount of times they've been taken away lately have been pretty upsetting. Which of course is why Tommy does the only thing he knows how to do. He hides. Hides in a corner of his new apartment over the diner, hiding under a blanket and shaking.

He's powerless and that scares him. Always scares him. Keeps getting him injured. Keeps reminding him he's worthless without what he can do. So he hides and tries to breathe because his whole body seems like it wants to shake out of his skin. And that's just how it goes.

This is just how his sanity goes.

II. Being A Hero | CW: 'animal attacks', possible explosions, possible blood

Power surges into his system and Tommy does the first thing he can think of. He takes off into the city, running at full speed.

Simple fact of the matter is that he wants to be a hero. More than that, you can do a hell of a lot of damage with speed. Force equals mass times acceleration. A lot of force happens when even someone wiry and slight like Tommy was bowls into something with an outstretched fist at sixty miles an hour. He's heard at mach three you basically turn a person into paste.

Really, the demodog deserves it, and Tommy has no issue at all booting it away from it's intended victim like he's a fucking... Whatever the name for the dude in football who kicks the ball when they kick it is called. Don't ask him. He doesn't watch sports.

"Well, that was fun," he says as he watches the creature go sailing limply through the air. No way it would get up wherever it landed. Then he looks to the person he rescued. "You okay? See or hear any others around?"

Because there always seemed to be others around.

III. When The Hero Needs Saved

What Tommy wasn't expecting once the powers came back in was for them to suddenly fail him again. Especially not when he had been hunting something. Something taller than him. Something with a big, screaming, flower-petal face.

"Shit," he curses as he feels it all flee him again. And he tries to back away.

"Shit," he says again as he throws himself at a tree, trying to haul himself up into it.

IV. Wildcard
[OOC: Tommy's heading into the Upside-Down on the 14th through the Fountain Gate. And he's a hero that specializes in emergency rescues. So if someone needs a rescue during the Mindflayer fights. If someone needs to be rescued and taken out for a doctor, we can wildcard Tommy showing up to rescue.]

Comments

[fatedsacrifice]

He heard Tommy's voice and the king breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Uh, I'm pretty real last I checked. I don't even know what the hell a storm ghost is. Wanna clue me in?"

He didn't want to get into the whole ghost thing, Tommy didn't need to know that.

[doubled_speed]

"You know, those things you see when the storms come that aren't really there?"

Surely Noctis had been through an Energy Storm before.

[fatedsacrifice]

"Right." the king replied. Sure he'd seen them but never thought they had a name or anything.

[doubled_speed]

"That's what we call them. And they just... I sorta hate them I guess."

Because they'd caused him to get hurt so many times before now.

[fatedsacrifice]

The king shook his head. "Ya they do have a tendency to suck, can't say I'm a fan." Not to mention all of the trauma they brought or brought back by appearing. And he pushed away the thought that someday someone might be unhappy that they thought about him.

"Are you alright?"

[doubled_speed]

"No," Tommy admits, curling in on himself more. Because how could he be okay? These storms gut him, show him lies, get him hurt. It's a Calibration but worse.

[fatedsacrifice]

"What can I do to help?" Noctis asked, feeling bad. He half wished he could put this guy in a protective plastic bubble.

[doubled_speed]

Tommy wants to scream, to cry, to crawl under his shitty bed.

"I don't fucking know," he says, and his voice cracks with the strain.

[fatedsacrifice]

Noct sighed. "I can sit with you and keep you company. I figure you don't want to go out in this mess."

[doubled_speed]

That might be something. Tommy might turn most people away. Noctis is on the short list.

"Please," he says softly. "Please don't go."

[fatedsacrifice]

"You got it."

Of course the ghosts things were a thing, but if any living thing threatened Tommy on Noct's watch, they'd regret it.

[doubled_speed]

Alright then. They can... They can do this. He stays on the floor, curled up, but he tilts his head toward the bed.

"If you wanna sit, there's... that."

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis nodded and wondered what was going on. But if Tommy was all curled up, then he was staying until he was dismissed.

Slowly he moved to sit on the bed and took a look at the other.

"I'll be here as long as you need me to be."

[doubled_speed]

"Thank you," TOmmy says, his voice a weak whisper. "Just... If something comes to talk at us, make it go away?"

He can't handle his ghosts right now.

[fatedsacrifice]

The request got an odd look from the king but he nodded.

"No worries, I'll keep you safe."

[doubled_speed]

"Thank you," he says with a soft whisper. And he clearly didn't know what to do. There was too much fear lingering in him.

[fatedsacrifice]

Tommy received a worried look from Noct, but he shook his head.

"Is there anything you need me to do while I'm here?"

Should he walk around maybe or try and cover Tommy up some more?

[doubled_speed]

"I don't know. I just..."

Tommy rubs at his chest.

"I feel so hollow."

[fatedsacrifice]

That had Noct concerned and he slowly moved a bit closer to Tommy.

"Hollow? Like something's missing?"

[doubled_speed]

Yeah. Exactly like that.

"Don't you feel that way? We're missing something in ourselves."

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis had a lot of answers, but none that might suit Tommy at the moment.

"Lots of things are missing in my life like friends and lost loved ones. But maybe that's not what you're talking about."

[doubled_speed]

"Powers," Tommy says. And his powers are what he are. "Can't you feel it? The storm, cutting you off from what you are? From who you are?"

Because for Tommy it's stupidly upsetting.

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis sighed. "I've been there before. My powers were locked away from me and it sucked. But I got them back. And this place returns them or at least they did before. So it's just a matter of waiting at this point even though I'm not really good at it either."

[doubled_speed]

"Yeah, but you're not... Not changed in the loss."

He's not a mutant. His powers are magic. Tommy's very bones almost seem more fragile when this happens. Like his body is punishing him for nto being special.

[fatedsacrifice]

The king shook his head with a sigh. "It's kind of like not being able to use something that comes natural, but your powers must be different if you describe it the way that you are."

There wasn't anything he could do which was frustrating. "But I'm gonna be here, and I'll keep you safe if anything happens."