Rage Caries You Away

[wearingthestars]

WHO: Billy Kaplan, Teddy Altman, Tommy Shepherd, Tony Stark, Jon Sims, Potentially open to others
WHERE: YA house and about town
WHAT: Rage bug strikes
WHEN: End of May
WARNINGS: Violence



Billy sighs and shifts closer to Teddy, not wanting to get up yet, nuzzling against his side and closing his eyes.

"Can we just sleep 'til noon today?" he mumbles with a sleepy smile. He rubs absently at an itch on his neck, trying to hold onto that heavy eyed feeling as long as he can. How he wound up engaged to such an early bird he had no idea. "Come on, you know you want to."

Comments

[wearingthestars]

Billy's magic is all ready working to support Teddy's weight, brow twisting with guilt and the strain all this magic is taking on him, let alone all the fighting. He brushes Teddy's hair back from the nape of his neck gently.

"I'm sorry-" he murmurs, knowing this part isn't going to be pleasant. His magic targets the parasite, severing it's bonds with the host before the thing splinters away as though it had never existed.

[hulkintraining]

Teddy jerks against his touch, but nowhere near enough to get away. His limbs feel heavy but there's tension in his arms that show a clear struggle happening. A struggle to move. To escape. A struggle that does nothing but wear him down.

"No-" he growls, wanting to protect his neck but not able to move his head away. And then he feels the magic as it targets the parasite, sending an unpleasant ripple through his body. He moans but he's all out of the desire to fight. His anger has evaporated completely.

"...Billy...oh god." His voice breaks as he comes back to himself, and his Hulkling form dissipates in the blink of an eye, leaving Teddy back in his human form.

[wearingthestars]

"Teddy-!" It's really him, Billy can tell immediately, holding him close and projecting a magic disk to support them as it lowers the pair back towards the ground.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry- I couldn't stop before. I didn't mean- Let me see-" Billy murmurs out a string of worries all at once, looking up into Teddy's eyes and touching his face gingerly.

[hulkintraining]

"Am I okay? No, Billy. I'm sorry. So sorry. What I did...I couldn't stop it." It had been like someone else had control of his body, his words, his mind. All he'd been able to feel was an unceasing fury that demanded destruction.

"Did I...did I hurt you?" He'd been violent, he knows. But in the rush of everything that's happened he's not sure if he had grabbed him too hard. Threw with too much force. He had wanted to hurt him. And now he just feels sick.

[wearingthestars]

"I'm fine," he dismisses, pressing an anxious kiss to his check and smoothing a hand back through his hair, "It wasn't you. You wouldn't do that, I know-" he reassures, not wanting Teddy to linger on that guilt for a moment.

[hulkintraining]

"But what was it then? How did you free me from...whatever that was?" Not lingering on his guilt is a tall order to ask for. There's no way he's not going to feel guilty about this for awhile. Not just for Billy, but also because of the damages he's done on his rampage. But for now he can at least focus on learning why this happened at all.

[wearingthestars]

"I'm not 100% on that yet. Some kind of...bug. I don't know. But...uh- Jon- he destroyed mine, so...I knew how to stop yours." He's not sure where they came from yet, or how any of it works, but that much at least he can explain.

[hulkintraining]

"A bug?" He vaguely remembers having an irritating itch on his neck that no amount of scratching seemed to relieve. It all happened right before he began to feel the rage. So, okay, that makes a bit of sense. But it doesn't answer the rest of his questions.

"But there could be more of them," he says with dread. There always is. "I guess we better check in with everyone. Make sure there aren't any other...uh, instances happening."

[wearingthestars]

"Yeaaaah," Billy looks apprehensive. It seems a very unlikely there would just be the two.

"We'll let everyone know, and ...figure out what we can do to stop them for good, but...at least we know how to stop it short term," he assures.

[hulkintraining]

"We'll need to figure out where they're coming from."

But that can be worked on once everyone has been warned. Maybe there's someone that knows something about these bugs. Or has dealt with them before.

"Let's just hope they haven't spread very far."

[wearingthestars]

"We'll figure it out," Billy promises, even if he can't know that for sure. But first- "Are you hurt?" Teddy heals fast, he knows, but Billy doesn't want him to have to feel any kind of lingering pain if he doesn't have to.

[hulkintraining]

"Not really. Just a few scrapes and bruises. They'll heal up soon." And maybe he deserves to feel the lingering discomfort. As a reminder of what he's done. He might have been under something else's influence but he's still responsible.

[wearingthestars]

Billy doesn't fight him on it. He's low on magic and energy after everything they've been through, pressing another tired, apologetic kiss to his cheek.

"...I hurt Tommy. And...Tony- I..."

[hulkintraining]

His arms come up immediately to wrap around Billy's shoulders and try to pull him closer. As confused and horrified as he is by his own actions, it kills him to see Billy in the same state.

"Are they both alright?"

[wearingthestars]

"..." Billy bites at his lip and gives an uncertain look. "...I-...I think I killed Tony...I stopped his heart. We brought him back, but-nn...and I would have done the same to Tommy if Stark hadn't stopped me. And then Tommy ran off, and- I hurt him so bad- and--"

[hulkintraining]

Oh. Oh god. It's worse than he could have ever thought. He ducks his head to try and hide his horrified expression. It isn't directed at Billy--he couldn't blame him for this--but at the devastating situation.

"We're going to find Tommy," he finally says, trying to keep his voice from trembling. "He probably just needs some time. But if he's hurt that badly we need to make sure he gets some help. And Stark...he's fine now?"

[wearingthestars]

"He's um-...yeah- He's...Tommy gave him CPR, and-...I gave him another shock and some adrenaline..." He nods uncertainly, still pale. "I left him with Jon. He's alive. For now..." Tony's been through this kind of thing before, he should make it through, but it doesn't do much to make Billy feel better just yet.