Heading Into The Storm

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Heading Into The Storm

WHO: Tommy Shepherd, Twin Roses Crew (or , OTA anyone heading into the Storm
WHERE: In the Storm
WHAT: Tommy can't help but be a hero; Seeing people who aren't there; Finally collapsing in a cave to wait out the storm.
WHEN: During the Storm
WARNINGS: References to the death of a teammate who was only a teen, possible discussion of his family history.

Storm Watch | Open to Twin Roses Crew or a ship heading into the storm

Agrii need you.

That had been all Tommy had needed to hear to know he was going into the storm. He'd stayed silent on the bridge while the thing had been talking, and once it was done he was gone to the dorms. Tommy stripped the pillow from his bed and then immediately started stuffing what clothes he had in there, as well as other items. Things that will help him get through the storm.

And then he heads to the cargo hold and waits by the hatch.

"You going?" he asks whoever comes close. "To the storm? I mean, that's why we're here. The sooner we fix this shit, the sooner we go home."

And later, once he's bummed a ride on another ship heading into the storm, he has a similar enough question as he waits in their cargo hold.

"You ready for this? It's not going to be easy."

Storm Warning | Anyone in the Storm

This, it turned out, was a bad idea. Tommy hadn't gotten too far into the storm before it happened. Before he could feel the weakness, draining his energy. It almost makes him sick, makes him keel over. He's had this sensation before. The way the 'juvie' he'd been in had devices all over to suppress his powers, radiating the power outwards when he wasn't in the cuffs. There's no strength, no energy, no speed. And he hates it. But he's not a coward, and he keeps moving, at a normal person's pace.

But what stops him are the people. A flash of lightning, a peal of thunder, and there he is. Vision.

"Pops!" Tommy shouts. The Agrii said he was gone, but clearly he wasn't, he was right there. Tommy runs, as fast as any other human, and he can't get there. Can't MAKE IT. No matter how fast he runs, now matter how much he reaches out, he can't catch up. Another strike and there's a voice nearby.

"Speed?"

Cassie. Tommy turns and spins and Vision is gone but there she is, on the ground, crumpled up in pain. Again he's running, and this time he closes the distance. Or nearly does. It's so hard to see, the winds and the water so hard to deal with. But the ground's uneven, and he doesn't see it coming. A crack there and Tommy's foot gets caught and he falls, his hand outstretched. But she isn't there, and the pain is there, so much pain. His ankle is... Tommy just curls up and holds his ankle because it hurts so much.

Storm Shelter

He doesn't even remember getting to the cave. Maybe someone carried him here, maybe he crawled here on the what he now realizes is broken ankle. Or maybe only sprained. But definitely hurt and the pain has Tommy curling up well away from the mouth of the cave. He can't heal as fast, and his bones are clearly weaker than they normally are. But mostly he's just curled up on himself, trying to stay warm despite his soaked through clothing.

He's a coward. He should have been out there, trying to find answers, and instead...

You're a useless boy, you deserve to die out here.

Tommy shudders against the memory of one of the things he'd seen in the storm. And he'd run away as fast as he could. For a given definition of run, since he couldn't get to his feet. But he'd crawled away and the next thing he remembered, he was here.

"I... wanna go home," he whispers, shivering. "I just want to go home to my stupid shitty apartment and my stupid shitty job and all the food I can buy and my favorite blanket. I just... I can't take this anymore."

He's a coward, and he hates it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It hurts. It hurts so much. Tommy's just about sobbing at the agony. The betrayal. Cassie was... Oh god, Cassie.

"She's here Teddy," Tommy groans, reaching for Teddy. "Cassie's here. Get her. Don't let her get away. She'll get hurt."

Teddy's breath catches and he winces even as he reaches for Tommy's hand, squeezing it gently.

"No, Tommy." He shakes his head slowly, a lump of sorrow forming in his throat, threatening to stop his words. "She's not here. It's an illusion. I'm sorry. We need to get you out of the storm."

"I saw her. Teddy we can't leave her," Tommy insists, and there is so much pain, so much suffering in his voice. Tommy had hidden his own pain over Cassie because Billy needed support more.

"Don't care about the storm. Need her."

"It's what the storm wants. For us to go chasing after her. But it's not her, Tommy. I promise you." He speaks softly even as he bends over the other boy, attempting to wedge his hands under his shoulders and knees.

He needs to get Tommy out of the storm so he can check his injury.

Why would the storm want anything? The things aren't sentient, right? But he's not going to protest Teddy picking him up. Billy gets picked up by the guy enough without losing his masculinity.

"But Cassie, T. We didn't save her last time!"

Even in a weakened state Teddy is strong enough by human standards to make lifting Tommy no trouble at all. The storm does not offer much assistance in steadying out his balance under the additional weight, but he manages to make it to his feet without either of them dropping.

The emotional burden is another thing altogether and he has to stomp down on the urge to scream. Why isn't what he saying getting through to the other teen? How could he think Teddy wouldn't be doing everything to help Cassie if she were really here?

"You're the only one here that needs saving, Speed. We need to get out of this storm. Do you remember seeing anything big enough for us to hide in?" The storm and losing his powers had disoriented him, but he's sure he had seen a cave or something similar.

Frankly, Tommy's been running sort of blind toward anyone he sees in the storm. Which was, of course, part of the problem.

"I've only seen Vision and Cassie and you."

SO no, he's got no ideas for shelter.

"My eyes aren't as sharp without my powers."

Yeah, he's ONLY got normal human vision now.

"Vision? I thought he-" He cuts off abruptly. Yeah, never mind. He's really beginning to hate this stupid storm.

"Well, try to help me keep an eye out for something. And...try to ignore anyone else you see that shouldn't be here."

Without his shifting ability he isn't able to fly them out of the storm, so they'll have to settle for trudging slowly through it until one of them sees something. He knows that cave can't be far off, but it's impossible to tell if he's going in the right direction.

"Who knows what is and isn't supposed to be here?" Tommy mumbles under his breath. His words are still fast, even if they aren't as lightning fast as he's normally capable of.

"The people we came with are supposed to be here, for one."

He's not sure how long it's been since he lost sight of Billy. He can only hope he's managing alright. But he can't borrow worry now when he has to focus on getting Tommy to safety. He pushes forward, adjusting Tommy's weight on his back as he goes as gently as he can.

Eventually, he begins to see something up ahead. A dark shadow on the horizon. He can only hope that it'll be some place they can rest.

Yeah, but who knows who the Agrii brought when they weren't looking for it?

"You don't know. We don't know what these storms are. Maybe they're like, a portal?"

"A portal to where? The afterlife? Even if it was really Cassie, why can't we get close to her? If it's really her, why does she appear and disappear at random?"

They're closer now and Teddy can now make out the shape of a cave.

"We can argue about this later. Right now we need to get to safety and have you looked over."

It wouldn't be easy finding someone with medical expertise, but he's not going to let the storm stop him from doing so.

Stop being logical in the face of his broken heart, dude. That's not polite.

"Ain't no safety in a place like this," Tommy groans. This is all a mess. And he doesn't know where to go or what to do.

Sorry Tommy. You'll just have to put up with his tough love right now.

"We'll make do with what we have then." They're now close enough to spot the entrance of the cave. "Duck your head a bit, I'm going in."

Well that's just tough for Tommy, right? Can't even adapt to that without his powers. His arms tighten around Teddy and he tries to lower his head some. He doesn't know.

Teddy ducks as well, stooping low enough that he hopes they'll be able to squeeze inside without Tommy being knocked off his back.

They make it, and he steps carefully further inside the cave, straining his hearing in case they aren't alone.

"We can avoid the storm in here for a bit."

Tommy just, well, he pouts. Not that Teddy can see it. There are people out there who need them, and they're just... abandoning those people.

"Didn't know you were a coward, Ted."

He freezes mid-step, the muscles in his back tightening. As far as he sees it, he is saving someone. Tommy wouldn't have lasted much longer out there in his current state.

"Funny, because I always knew you could be an asshole."

He starts forward again, getting far enough inside the cave that he doesn't have to worry about Tommy trying to crawl his way back out. Only then does he stop and slowly fall into a crouch so the other teen can get down.

"I'm going to look for others later. But I need time to rest. And you need medical attention."

It's less that Tommy gets off Teddy gracefully, and more that he falls to the ground and shouts in pain as he absorbs some of it on his ankle. And it was AGONIZING. He sobs in pain as he stays there on the ground, curled around his ankle.

Yeah, medical attention wasn't going to be helpful.

"Fuck you. I saw Vision out there too!"

Biting back a curse, Teddy drops to his knees next to Tommy, his hands hovering in the air over him, not sure if or where he should be touching. Useless. He's utterly useless in a situation like this. If he could shift he could at least fly out there and cover more ground, find someone who can help.

There is something he can do, although he hates the idea of leaving Tommy here alone like this. Not that the other teen appears to care for the company. He pushes up to his feet.

"Fine. You want me to go out there and look for the others? I will. And if I find Vision--and it's actually him--I'll bring him to you. But you need to promise me you're not going to try and leave."

Alone. He's going to be left alone. Sure, he's upset, sure he wants Teddy to go out there and find people. But there's another thing. A deeper fear. That now he's useless because of his injury. He's useless and Teddy is leaving. Abandoning him. Because... because he doesn't have a use for Tommy anymore.

It's stupid. He should want Teddy to go out there and find and protect Billy. But mostly, he's just scared of being abandoned again.

"You're leaving?"

Confusion and frustration twist Teddy's expression as he stares down at Tommy. Was he leaving? It had seemed like the only thing to do just a moment ago, but something in his friend's voice has him doubting himself.

"Isn't that what you want?"

"I..."

Tommy doesn't know what he wants. He's scared and he's hurt and he's ruined and Teddy's just going to go.

"Do what you want," he says softly. Because he WANTS Teddy to stay, but he can't ask.

He releases a sigh of frustration before taking a seat on the cave floor next to Tommy. It's not entirely clear to him what to do, or what his friend needs, but he knows Tommy needs something. So he might as well sit here until Tommy is ready is ready to share.

"...Do you think it's broken?" When he speaks again his voice is soft. It might just trigger another argument, but he can't help but worry about the extent of Tommy's injury. And what it would do to the Speedster if it really was that bad.

Turns out Tommy is an inherently frustrating person to be around. Sometimes people get used to it. But he sighs and shakes his head. Except it’s hard to stay that stable, really, to deal with the pain in his ankle.

“I don’t know. It’s just... I can’t put any weight on it. So I’m pretty useless.”

And there’s the problem. He was useless to his team. He wasn’t needed. He didn’t want Teddy to go because the moment he did, he knew the guy wouldn’t come back.

But am I?

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