revivalproject | Rage has such focus

Entry tags:

Rage has such focus

Who: Billy Kaplan, OTA
What: Return of the Rage Bugs
When: Before the Mermaid Event
Where: Temba (Various)
Warnings: Violence, TBD

Working on building the cabin meant a lot of time outdoors. Thankfully Billy was a lot more used to that than in the past. If the weather stayed nice, he might even get a tan. Less fortunately, a hidden nest of rage bugs had awoken to the pleasant weather as well, and one had ventured out and found itself a host. Billy didn’t feel the bite, and life carried on for a while. He was testier than usual, quicker to anger, and then abruptly the rage took hold.

Eyes a glow, he banished a tree, fragments breaking apart and disappearing piece by piece. However it had offended him was unknown, but it revealed his next target to him, eyes narrowing and lightening crackling at his fingertips as he sets his sights on you.

Maybe you know Billy. If you do, you know this is very out of character. Before you have long to think about it you better start dodging.

(ooc: Set before the mermaid event. There is a planned resolution/end to the thread, so anyone tagging in won’t be able to stop Billy, but they can try their best. If you want them to get hurt/not hurt please let me know and I can make that happen for you. Also feel free to encounter Billy in a different place/set up than the one started here, he'll be flying about causing havoc all over.]

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The Soldier had to use Billy's hesitance to his advantage. Not only for the potential safety of everyone, but because he'd made Billy a promise, years ago: he would do anything necessary to stop Billy, should he have to. He meant to keep his promise.

Billy caught the shield — ultimately a good thing, considering the force with which the Soldier could throw it — but he had to be tiring. The Soldier couldn't allow himself to let up. He closed, trying to sidestep Billy's attack enough to look like an avoidance but still taking a glancing hit. He needed Billy to follow through; he needed Billy to get even closer.

The move bolstered Billy's confidence enough that he pressed his luck, letting himself get closer in an attempt to bring Soldier down. Closer, it was easy to see how exhausted he was, pure adrenaline and rage keeping him on his feet.

Closer was exactly what the Soldier wanted. He let Billy land a punch, even grunting at the hit, while that metal arm locked around Billy's waist and pulled him flush against the Soldier's body. Still, he needed a moment to pull the collar out so best to kerp Billy distracted if he could.

"Mine," he growled, putting a note of possessiveness into his voice and pressing lips to Billy's temple. Hopefully it would unbalance Billy enough to make him hesitate. A cruel trick perhaps, as a moment later he had the collar closing around him partner's neck.

The possessive sound of that word and the kiss most definitely threw Billy off. He blinked almost in confusion, that rage softening for a moment.

"Soldier-?" He sounded almost himself reaching in confusion to touch his jaw when the collar closed in place.

He jerked violently with the realization, pushing and hitting at Soldier's chest and clawing at the collar to try and remove it. "No- no- take it off-! Let me go-!" he growled desperately, that rage useless to free him.

"I'm sorry." He meant it too, and endured Billy's hits patiently. At least his weapons were out of Billy's reach and without magic, there was little enough Billy would be able to do to break the hold of his arm.

"I can't take it off until you calm down. That was what I promised you." And he kept his promises.

He continued to struggle, most definitely hurting himself as well in the process, and despite it being quite clear that he couldn't free himself, he didn't let up. The bug wouldn't let him.

"Let- let go- Let me- " Billy panted, growing weak.

"S-...Soldier make it stop-" he pleaded.

"I can't." He wrapped his arms around Billy even tighter, ignoring how Billy's struggles opened some of the wounds he'd given the Soldier. "I promised to protect you. Even from yourself."

He stayed quiet for a moment, eyes roving over the rubble. He couldn't see Tommy so either he'd gotten away or built has shifted the landscape enough that debris blocked his view. He hoped it was the former.

"You hurt your brother today. I know that's not you."

If only it was the former. Unfortunately not. But speaking of... The guy pushes himself slowly, weakly to the feet now that it's clear that Soldier has got Billy restrained a bit.

"I'm more worried about Hargrove," Tommy chokes out, his voice sounding like shit. "He really fucked the guy up. But..."

He starts limping over.

"You got him tight? Gotta deal with the rage bug."

Billy's eyes softened momentarily, a grateful look before he was struggling again.

"You don't know- you-" he argued, whining faintly when he saw Tommy approaching and how beat up he looked. Billy struggled harder.

The Soldier's eyes closed briefly as he clamped down on the feelings of regret and guilt. If he had been here earlier then perhaps he could have prevented whatever injury the other Billy had suffered.

"I do know," he said quietly to Billy, holding him securely against the Soldier's own body. He nodded to Tommy, trying not to look too closely at how beat up he looked. They needed to handle the infection first. Afterwards they could work about injuries, and about trying to hide the collar from Tommy. "I've got him. He's not going anywhere."

Tommy nods and he looks a little sick. Because this is the hard part.

"So, there's a few options here. Try and get him medical attention to cut it out, but struggling could get him seriously hurt. Try and seek someone out who can solve it with powers or..."

Yeah he doesn't look comfortable but he can do it. If Soldier agrees.

"I... have a skill that might help. But he won't like it. At all. My vibrations, I was trained to... it doesn't matter. I can kill it and then he could magic what is left of it out."

"No, get away from me! Let me go!-" Billy pleaded, twisted and writhing as much as Soldier's grip allowed.

"Don't let him do it! Don't do this to me!" Billy's voice was raw and desperate, like he feared for his life.

The Soldier locked eyes with Tommy over his brother's shoulder. He could infer well enough the kind of thing Tommy suggested. Not the exact details of course but knowing what he did about Tommy's speed he could make an assumption.

If it went wrong, it wouldn't be pretty.

"Billy." The Soldier leaned back, raised his right hand to Billy's cheek. That left arm stayed about his waist like a vice. "Look at me. Focus on me. You're mine, remember? That means I'll keep you safe. Come here."

He'd try to get Billy to lean into his shoulder, lips to his temple again. It felt dirty to trick him, but if Billy cooperated he'd mouth two words to Tommy: do it.

Well any last worries he had about a certain relationship are hereby gone. He lets Soldier do the distracting and drops into some of his highest speeds, where picoseconds can stretch for hours. Slips behind them and presses his fingers gently to the back of Billy's neck. Drops back into standard speeds because he has to feel where it is without damaging Billy's skin. But once he feels the tiny lump and sees the hint of the wound it's back to the extreme ends.

He hasn't done this for a long while when a living thing has been involved. Not one that wasn't so a monster. But if Wanda could, if Jon could, he can.

Tommy puts his fingers to Billy's neck, focuses his power and...

"It's done," he says no more than a second after he had stepped behind his brother. But he sounds exhausted. He is. He's injured, he's pushed himself hard today, and he just tapped into the highest ends of speed too many times while dealing with his most delicate skills.

"Shit, I need to sit. Billy, please tell me you're okay, because I need to sit but it has to be all you."

At least he hadn't abandoned the medical datapoint he had picked up to help his boyfriend. The advanced knowledge had helped some. Just wished he could have read up on human anatomy again first.

The struggling slowed, and Soldier's gaze was like an anchor, and despite the pent up tension Billy's head bowed against his shoulder.

A moment of discomfort later and Billy was abruptly clinging to Soldier, blinking in shock and eyes full of tears. "Oh god- what did I do??? I'm-" He panicked, not sure what to address first, and he tried to use his magic to heal but the collar prevented it. "I didn't mea- oh god, I'm sorry-"

The idea, even vaguely, of what Tommy had in mind was objectively terrifying. But they didn't have time for hesitation, for any lack of surety.

At least Tommy was fast. Faster than fast, faster than breathing. Almost faster than thought.

Damn, but he owed Tommy big after this. They both did.

"Sit," he said to Tommy, even as Billy sagged against him. The weight pulled at the wound in his side and it bled a little more freely, but he didn't have time for that. He could deal with it later.

"Billy," he said, looking into his partner's eyes, looking for clarity. "Talk to me."

Yeah. God. He can sit. Tommy just flops right down on the ground, groaning in pain. Twisted ankle and bruises and his shoulder aches. Fuck.

So he sits down heavily and sighs.

"I left all my first air supplies by the lake where I patched him up otherwise I would get to that bleeding, Soldier."

He went from trying to look back at Tommy to meeting Soldier's eye, trying to calm himself down enough that he can communicate.

"I-nnn- it's dead. The bug is dead- Take the collar off- I can fix- fuck I'm sorry-" Billy broke off, and his fingers got bloody as he tried to stop the bleed at Soldier's side.

"Tomm- is- are you- fuck- is Billy okay? Did I-?"

"Breathe." Quietly to Billy, and he encouraged Billy's head to his shoulder again. "I need you to calm down and breathe first."

Easier said than done, and perhaps a little egotistical of him to assume that his words alone would calm Billy. But he had to try.

He kept an eye on Tommy too, concerned for both brothers. "My wounds are not serious." He'd fought through a dislocated shoulder and a broken arm at one point; he was fine. "The two of you are in worse shape. How are you feeling, Tommy? Not close to passing out?"

Is Hargrove okay? Tommy just looks at Billy incredulously. Does he not remember? Does he have some rose tinted glasses on that make him forget some of what he did? Tommy just doesn't even know what to say.

"I'm tired enough to sleep for a week. And that's going to be... complicated."

The nightmare memories of 'super juvie' were undoubtedly going to come back after he had used that part of his training again.

"Other than that since I've got medical at the moment, I can firmly say I will recover, physically. As for my boyfriend, you are really going to owe him, William. Between the broken bones and other injuries, you burned him. He's already stupidly self-conscious about his scars, and burns are... you owe him."

Tommy can deal with his pain, physical, mental, and emotional, on his own. But he was upset for Hargrove who had done no wrong.

"You tried to kill him. Luckily Cap is doing his best to patch him up right now."

He was trying. But it hardly seemed important in the face of fixing everything he'd done. Billy lay his head down and tried to fiddle with the collar himself.

As for Tommy- 'Is he dead'? was more the terrified meaning he was trying to get at, so confirmation that Hargrove was at least sill breathing was something.

"I didn't mean t-" he started again, but broke off from making excuses and nodded, "...I'm sorry. I can fix it. I can heal him, I just-"

Edited 2024-05-13 16:26 (UTC)

Another good side effect of the Soldier's presence: Billy couldn't run and hide from the results of his actions. Perhaps it was cruel, but the Soldier believed in facing what one had done, even if one wasn't in full control of one's actions. Billy looked exhausted from the expenditure of magic, never mind the injuries Tommy and the Soldier had been able to inflict, but he still needed to face the fact that he'd done it.

"You just need to calm down. Three deep breaths, focus, and show me that you can do this. And then I'll free you to heal your brother if Tommy says it's okay." He looked over at the other twin to make sure he wasn't stepping on toes. Tommy's comfort and wants mattered too and while he looked worse for wear he might not want his brother's magic to touch him in that moment. The Soldier wouldn't blame him if that was the case.

"Then maybe we can talk to Hargrove about what he feels comfortable with. If he's with Steve now, he's in good hands." A beat. "And he'll probably want to see Tommy first, and alone."

Yes, he had caught that boyfriend comment, but wouldn't allude to the revelation any more than that.

Yeah. That boyfriend secret wasn't going to keep long now, was it? Tommy sighs because this is all stupid complicated.

"I don't care about how I am. I care about how the men that care about us got hurt by this. Heal Soldier first. Then get the bit of bug out of you. Then, when you have the strength, help Billy. The bone, the burns. I can't... I don't need that when you three need it more. For me I just..."

God he feels so vulnerable asking this.

"Am I your brother or not? Because if you don't want me now that you have someone more reliable to lean on, it's okay. Just be honest with me. I'm not Pietro. I can handle it."

Calm was going to be hard, but Billy nodded, trying to breathe for Soldier. In and out, nice and long and slow. "I can do this," he repeated.

The conflicting instructions weren't ideal right now. Billy wanted to make amends however he was able to, and he looked between them, ready to heal whoever would accept it first. He winced and pressed his cheek against Soldier, half hiding from the memory, but he nodded.

"Of course you are. I didn't mean any of that. It was the bug-"

"The bug first, then." Eliminate the source of the whole situation. Even if it was dead, the Soldier wouldn't be happy until it was gone. He opened the collar carefully, slipped it back inside his jacket. He still had a careful eye on Billy though, willing to snap the thing right back on his neck if it seemed necessary.

"Tommy." As gently as possible, because both brothers were hurting. "Do you think the other Billy would want to see this Billy right now? If any more magic is to be used on him, it has to be his choice. His explicit permission." Otherwise it was a violation as thorough as the injury had been, even if it came with good intentions. How would the guy feel about having magic used on him just whenever? It didn't sit right with the Soldier.

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