revivalproject | When What You Are Is Violence

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When What You Are Is Violence

WHO: Tommy Shepherd, Wanda Maximoff, Open
WHERE: Near the Hangar, Later In Wanda's Home
WHAT: Rage Bug Bite, Bonding with a dragon
WHEN: During Bug Issues
WARNINGS: CW: Violence, potentially attacking other characters in one prompt. Possible Discussions of violence/abuse with Wanda.

The Violence Begins

For all that he's seen how the bites affect people, that doesn't save Tommy from his own issues. The bite of a bug, on the back of his neck. Happened not long after he left Altair's attentions, getting the electrical burns on his arm looked at (not to mention other pains). But it didn't overtake him quickly, strange given how prone he was to having everything happen. It's nearly half a day between the bite and when Tommy can't take it anymore. Half a day that he spends alone, near the hangar, hiding out from everyone and trying to put together a really awkward project of potting some seeds from the greenhouse into whatever containers he can find to move onto the Twin Roses.

But when the fury comes, it overtakes him suddenly.

The problem with a speedster with rage is just how much damage he can do. And near the hangars... Well, the targets are obvious, aren't they? So there's Tommy Shepherd, with super human strength, pulling up looks stones the size of people's heads, throwing them toward the hangar walls, like he's trying to bring it down. Strength is one thing. The fact that he can hurl the things at well over a hundred miles per hour is what gives the greatest bit of force.

It wouldn't be very safe for someone to be around that. But he wouldn't hurt a person, right? Tommy's a good guy.

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He wakes... slowly. Which is odd for Tommy. Normally he's there in an instant. But the freeing him of the parasite, not to mention how much energy he blew, they meant he was burnt out energy wise. But not enough that he doesn't wake up and very quickly realize there is a dragon on his chest.

"Thistle?" he asks, confused for a moment, before remembering. Oh god.

"Oh god," he groans, shame felling his voice as he slams his eyes back closed and tries to pretend it didn't happen.

Thistle chirps sleepily but doesn't move. Sorry, Tommy. You're trapped. You don't want to wake the adorable sleeping dragon, do you?

Wanda had hoped that maybe he wouldn't remember attacking her, that it would all be lost to some sort of dreamlike haze. Maybe she could just tell him she'd found him passed out on the street and brought him back here to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't need to go see Altair. But as soon as she feels that wave of shame emanating from the 'living room,' it quickly becomes apparent that it was futile hope.

Wanda rushes out of the kitchen and gently places a hand on Tommy's forehead. No fever. Good. If the parasites had caused an infection then she really would have to call Altair. "Hey," she says softly. "Don't try to move yet."

Oh. Uh, okay. Take stock. Try not to freak out too much. And then lie to himself about how much he's freaking out. It works. After a moment he reaches up, his fingers curling slowly over the dragon's back.

"Nope. Too late. Moving. I didn't... I didn't mean to hurt you."

Thistle lazily curls her tail up around Tommy's hand. It's more of an instinctive reaction - her empathic powers are not as strong as Wanda's, but even asleep she has some awareness of who's around her.

"I'm all right." Although if she'd really wanted to sell it she should have seen to her scrapes, but she had more important priorities, like making sure Tommy was comfortable. But it was better that he attack her than someone else who wouldn't have been able to defend themselves.

"Are you sure it doesn't hurt anywhere? I had to be...aggressive, in healing you. But I had to keep you asleep."

"My neck aches and my..."

His arm. The one he can't really move because it's between him and the couch. Which is silly. But it's the electrical burns from his brother. A silent dismissal that he now get didn't mean that.

"A lot hurts. In a lot of ways. But I'll be fine, I think. Thanks for... uh, stopping me."

"That's where that thing was. I didn't want to try to force it out so I..." she trails off, not having a good, non-terrifying way to explain it. "I just didn't want to make it worse."

"I don't know if I can heal it but I can try. If you want me to," she adds quickly. She wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to get as far away from her as possible right now, if what she'd had to do to stop him had broken the trust between them. "Where does it hurt most?"

He doesn’t blame her. Not even in the slightest. Tommy just shivers and if he could, he’d move away from her. Mostly because he doesn’t want to explain ANYTHING right now.

“My neck. My arm. My... sense of self.”

He hurt people. Tears sting at Tommy’s eyes. He’s worked SO HARD since he escaped, since he was busted out, to not hurt people. If he hurt people it meant he wasn’t good enough to be a hero. Oh god, what had he done?

Wanda's expression softens. "It wasn't your fault, Tommy. You weren't in control, that thing was. I know that you didn't mean to." And Wanda's sure Tommy had fought its influence as long as he could. The parasite was just stronger than willpower alone.

"It is no different than if I had forced someone to do those things. You wouldn't blame them, would you?"

Wanda, why would she... why would she force people to do things?

Tommy sighs and shakes his head.

"I wouldn't. I... I did. I didn't get why he did it. But I get it now. Billy didn't mean to hurt me."

Wanda frowns. That's...really not good. "No. He wouldn't have had a choice." A beat. "I don't know if anyone would have had a choice." Only an android or synthezoid who the parasite would have no interest in, she supposes.

She smooths some stray hair out of his face and then directs a small wisp of power towards the back of his neck. She can't see what's wrong, but maybe she can still help Tommy's body heal faster.

The pain is just lingering, some torn and twisted muscles, and his unique biology will handle that soon enough. For now, though, he's looking at her. He looks like he wants to sit up, itches to have his legs moving. Instead he keeps soothing careful fingers down Thistle's back.

"Billy's not just magic, just like I'm not just speed. He's electrokinetic. Barely uses it anymore, sometimes you forget about that. I... took a full blast to the arm."

The skin had cracked and charred and it had smelled like cooked meat. He'd been luck to have Altair to help him.

"He tried to kill me. Stark saved me, and then Billy..."

No, he won't say it. Stark was alive. They were all alive. Tommy was probably the only one worse for the wear.

"I was going to let him. Kill me."

"Tommy..." Wanda's frown deepens and Thistle echoes her in a sad trill. She's not going to ask him why. She doesn't need to - if anyone here understands temporarily losing the will to live, it's Wanda. But that doesn't mean that she's happy about it. She just wants to Tommy to be happy.

"But someone stopped him?"

"Yeah. Creepy guy, called Jon," Tommy says. "He just stopped Billy with a look and the thing..."

He screams had messed him up.

Wanda can't repress a small shudder. Someone else here with mind control, then? Yikes. She barely trusts herself with that power anymore, but this time the parasite had left her little choice.

"Is he...like me?"

Someone who had stolen some of Tommy's secrets. Yeah, he's not a fan. The guy seemed to fun on fear.

"Amazing? No, not really."

Wanda gives him an 'oh please' look but can't stop a brief smile despite herself. "No, I mean...can he control people like I can?"

"I... don't know. He can compel you to say things. Things you dont' want to say."

Things he hadn't wanted to say. Or to admit.

"So maybe something like I can do, but it doesn't sound like he can read minds." Why compel someone to talk if you could just take what you needed? Unless the horror of not being able to fight it is part of the point...

"Did he hurt you?"

"Probably not read them," Tommy agrees, hand rubbing the back of his neck. Well, no, he can't. His body is pinned, and it would hurt to do.

"No. I may have threatened him, though."

Wanda sighs. "If he starts bothering you, let me know." She wasn't there, and she doesn't know what this person had done to prompt the threat. Tommy didn't run away screaming from her despite having very good reasons to, after all.

"Let me see your arm?"

The cool thing was that there was a damn good chance that Tommy could avoid the man if he ever tried to get close.

"I'll, think about it. But if he fucks with me again, I'm just dumping him in the ocean."

There is so much bile to the words that it's... it's hard to deal with. It's violent and hateful and dark. Like Wanda and Pietro must have been about Tony.

But at her command he nods and lifts the arm nearer her. The uninjured one. Should have been specific. And not let the dragon pin him with his healing arm between himself and the back of the couch.

That sure is a lot of bile, and this isn't the end of her questioning on that point. Whatever happened, it was personal. But Tommy's health is more important, and Wanda gives him another Look. "The one that's hurt. I can try to help it heal faster."

So much bile. Made of fucking bile. He sighs and lifts his arm carefully, trying not to drag it over the poor dragon.

"Altair already helped it some. The stuff he put on it, it's supposed to speed up healing. With my powers that should be good for something."

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When What You Are Is Violence

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