I'm burning wick to fingertip with sage
IwanttobeinNewYorkIwanttobeattheAvengersmansionIwanttobeintheAvengersmansion-
William wishes. The world responds.
Blue. The press of his magic, and then-
The air is cold, in his lungs, as he takes a shallow breath, letting the buzz of teleportation magic in his throat dissipate. Cold compared to home, at least.
That’s not much of a feat, though.
Everything on the surface is cold compared to home.
He opens his eyes, blinking in the dim sunlight. “Oh.”
Beside him, Thomas shifts- he feels it more than sees it, his twin’s thoughts drifting through his mind. He can feel Tommy’s annoyance, sparking and bright, and beneath that, the fear that fuels it. “Oh?” Tommy repeats, an edge to his voice. The surface always puts him on edge- but then again, home does too.
Thomas doesn’t think they’re safe anywhere. He isn’t wrong.
“Nothing,” he says firmly, hoping that if he stays calm it’ll offset the restless turmoil he can feel flooding from Tommy’s side of their soul bond.
“It better be nothing,” Tommy mutters, disappearing in a blur to check the hallways around them before skidding to a stop once again by Billy’s side, his fingers tangled in Billy’s cape as he pulls his goggles off, letting them hang around his neck as he digs his teeth into his lip. “Focus, Billy. Father barely lets us on the surface as it is. If we mess up a mission he sent us on…”
His voice dies off, but he doesn’t need to finish. Mephisto is not a forgiving lord. At best, they’ll be confined to Hell for their failure, their duties pared down to nothing after they broke his trust. And if he decides to punish them for failing him…
He grabs Tommy’s hand, twining their fingers together. “Relax. It’ll be easy, don’t worry.”
Tommy stares at him, his gaze flickering across Billy’s face. “They’ll notice that you cut the cameras, you know. We should hurry.”
He nods- he can’t tell if the nausea swirling in his gut is from Tommy or his own fears creeping in, but it doesn’t matter.
Just focus.
He closes his eyes, letting the world fade around him as he reaches for his magic, feeling it spark under his skin.
IwanttofindthetomeIwanttofindthetome-
Magic. He’s searching for magic.
Stolen magic. Previously under the control of the Sorcerer Supreme and now here, in the Avengers Mansion. Being held by the Scarlet Witch, Mephisto had said.
And Billy needs it back.
There.
He opens his eyes, and the world comes rushing back. “The floor above us. It’s protected- magically, I mean -so I can’t teleport us to it.”
Tommy grins, lopsided and sharp. “Isn’t that what I’m here for, baby brother?”
He shoves him, hard, as Tommy laughs. “We weren’t even born, Tommy, how would you be ol-”
The world lurches, blurs, and then Tommy’s holding him by the shoulders as he gags, doubling over with the wave of nausea that hits him. “Ugh. You know I hate it when you-”
“We’re on a tight timeframe,” Tommy replies quickly, already shoving open a door. “The speed was necessary.”
“I still hate it!” he protests, as Tommy blurs through the rooms, a streak of silver as he searches for what they’re looking for. “I always get sick, Tom-”
“Found it!” Tommy yelps, reappearing at his side. “I mean- I found the room. No clue which fancy tome thing you’re locating, but-”
He takes off down the hall- he is not letting Tommy drag him again -following the tug of magic in his gut. Theretheretherethere-
He hits the wall hard, shoulder stinging from the impact, and he opens his mouth to tell his brother off for shoving him into it when his gaze catches on the arrow that should’ve landed in him, instead of the door he’d been running toward.
Tommy’s paranoia isn’t always uncalled for. He gets reminded of that more than he’d like.
He reaches for his magic, sending a wave of it down the hall where the arrow had come from- a scream, he must’ve hit someone. That doesn’t matter, though, as he looks at his twin, Tommy’s thoughts already twining with his own.
Take care of this. I’ll get the tome.
Tommy is gone in a blur, and Billy lets a part of him reach for their bond, a reassurance of his continued safety as he follows the increasing tug of the magic he’s searching for. The room is dark, messy- there. On a shelf, kept safe and in place by an enchantment he isn’t sure he can dissipate.
Shit.
Movement, behind him- he throws up a shield as he turns to see a person blocking the doorway.
Double shit.
The person- a boy, his age maybe, except he and Tommy don’t age because they aren’t real and certainly aren’t alive but they do exist and their existence grows, sorta. Green skin, muscles and armored- he could tank a hit or two, but Billy doesn’t need to hit him when there’s plenty of magic at his fingertips and he doubts this boy’s golden hair or shining eyes are shielding him from any spells.
He blinks, looking less like an attacker and more… confused. “Who are you?” His voice is gentle, open. Sorta nice. Billy hates it immediately.
“That’s your question?” he demands, scowling at the boy- hero, dangerous hero, keep that in mind here, William -through the blue glow of his shield. “Who am I? Who even are you?”
The hero takes a step forward, tilting his head like a… what earth animal was it that Tommy liked? Dogs? “I’m Hulkling,” he offers.
What a fucking idiot. “You’re a fucking idiot,” Billy tells him flatly. “Aren’t you going to attack me?”
“Aren’t you going to attack me?” the- Hulkling points out. Which is admittedly a good point.
Why is Billy not blasting him, again?
His eyes dart to the bookshelf, then back to Hulkling. “Get out.”
“You’re oddly polite, for a villain,” Hulking muses. “I mean, you’re very rude like, as a conversationalist, but you haven’t even tried to kill me once. Which is weird. That’s weird, isn’t it?”
“What?” he stammers, stepping back. “I- do you w- want me to kill you?”
“Don’t you want to kill me?” Hulkling asks earnestly, stepping forward to close the distance Billy just made. “Most villains do.”
“I don’t want to kill anyone!” he protests, shield flickering as his focus wavers. “I just need-”
He cuts himself off, but his eyes jump to the bookshelf again, and he can see as Hulkling follows his gaze, realization spreading across his face. “I can’t let you take that,” he says firmly.
“I don’t have a choice.”
Hulkling’s brows furrow, real concern on his face. “Why not?”
Whatever he might’ve said in reply- certainly no real information, he isn’t a fucking idiot -is interrupted by a familiar scream, a flare of pain from his soul bond, and then the world goes blue.
Tommy.
Lethimbesafelethimbesafelethim-
He snaps back into reality kneeling beside his brother, Tommy groaning as Billy knits the arrow wound in his shoulder together with shining blue.
“M’fine,” he spits out, shoving Billy’s hands away, “did you get the-”
Something whizzes in the air, the whistle of an arrow- Billy barely manages to knock it off course with a burst of magic as Tommy scrambles to his feet, eyes wide and looking for a way out. The archer blocks one way down the hall, another boy by her side, a shield in his hands, and Hulkling is still by the door Billy had left him at, blocking their other exit.
Not that they can leave without the tome. Going back to Mephisto without it-
Not an option.
Last time they’d failed Mephisto he’d separated them and-
“Hawkeye!” Hulkling cries, snapping him out of his head. “Are you trying to kill them?”
“And failing!” the archer snaps, another arrow already knocked in her bow.
“Kate!”
“What are you so worked up about, Hulkl-”
“They’re kids!” Hulkling interrupts fiercely, stepping away from the door, and Tommy finds Billy’s eyes- get in the room, get home, he thinks, flooding Billy’s mind with his desperation, and Billy nods faintly.
When I tell you to, get us both in there.
The tome?
I’ve got a solution.
“They’re villains,” the girl- Hawkeye -is snapping, gesturing with her bow. “And thieves, Teddy, and I’m not actually trying to kill them-”
“We don’t even know either of those are true, they didn’t-”
“Speedster over there tried to break my spine, what do you mean they-”
Locking spells, he thinks, drowning out the shouting to focus on the magic pooling in his lungs, are useful.
They are less useful when you don’t lock down what they’re locked to.
And apparently, the Scarlet Witch had not thought to protect her bookshelf from a teleportation spell or two.
All he needs to be is in the room with it.
Tommy?
“I hate to interrupt,” his brother calls out, grabbing Billy’s hand tightly as he grins, “but it’s been a horrible time meeting you. Here’s to hoping it doesn’t happen again.”
Hulkling’s eyes widen, and he steps toward them- and away from the door. “Wait, we’re not going to-”
Now.
A blur. The bookshelf. Tommy’s hand on his shoulder- IwanttogohomeIwanttogohomeIwant-
Blue gives way to the red glow of fires, and then he collapses against his brother, exhaustion hitting him like a wave. “Tom-”
“We’re back,” Tommy assures him, catching him as he falls and lifting him into his arms. “We’re safe.”
“Father-”
“I’ll deal with it. We got the tome. He can’t be mad.” Tommy brushes a hand through his hair, the edge in his voice finally fading. “Rest, Billy.”
He does.
And he dreams of a boy with golden hair and shining eyes.
Who are you?
And why did you save me?