waking up (not so) dead
Sitting on the edge of the abandoned pool, spitting the water in his lungs onto the concrete, Thomas Shepherd is sure of exactly four things.
One, his name isn’t Thomas Shepherd.
Two, he isn’t Thomas Shepherd.
Three, and a bit more complicated, is that he definitely died. Not this unfamiliar, not-actually-his body. He died. Tommy. Good and truly dead, he’s pretty sure, except he clearly isn’t anymore. He would be concerned, but that kinda pales in comparison to number four, which is this:
His brother is out there, somewhere. And Tommy is going to get back to him.
For most people, being sort-of-kind-of-maybe brought back from the dead would probably be a mental struggle to comprehend. Luckily, Tommy adapts quickly.
First off, how’d he get here? He was definitely dead- he remembers that. Remembers the red walls of his mom’s Hex shrinking, remembers his parents kissing him goodnight for the last time. He remembers climbing into Billy’s bed, hugging his brother tight as the red washed over them, and then-
Nothing.
...yeah, he had definitely died. His mom had shut off the Hex, and he and Billy had died.
Not that it matters. He’ll deal with that later- he's back now. Had his mom-
No. It couldn’t be his mom. There’s no Hex around him this time, and he can’t feel the tingling warmth of his mom’s magic. Instead, he feels...
...Billy?
He squeezes his eyes shut, burying his fidgeting hands in his dripping wet hair to try and concentrate. Yeah, he recognizes that feeling now! It’s not the sparking touch of his mother’s chaos magic- it’s the gentle, insistent press of his brother’s blue.
Billy brought him back.
He files that into his “to deal with later” mental folder, and hops to his feet. The pacing helps keep his mind moving, helps keep him on track.
Billy. If his brother’s magic brought him back, that means his brother is alive. If his brother is alive, that means Tommy needs to find him. If Tommy needs to find him-
...and now he’s reached his dilemma.
Where is Billy?
He tries to focus, to reach out and feel him, the way he had always been able to in the Hex, but there’s nothing. But that’s not really a problem- if they aren’t in the Hex anymore, and aren’t being sustained by their mom’s magic, then it makes sense that they can’t find each other.
Minor setback. He can figure this out.
...how exactly does he figure this out?
His pacing turns into running, and pretty soon his hair’s dry from the speed as his thoughts spiral. Billy brought him back. Billy isn’t here. He needs to find Billy. Where is Billy?
Actually, where is he?
The thought shocks him so bad he freezes, promptly tripping over his feet and headfirst back into the pool.
Where is he? It isn’t Westview, he knows that much.
Okay, so that’s his next course of action. Bingo!
He climbs out of the pool, running a few more superspeed laps until he’s more damp than dry, and heads for the pool gate. In the parking lot behind the building, there are some kids huddled together. Teenagers, maybe?
Wait, is he a teenager? He definitely isn’t ten anymore. At least, he doesn’t think so. He hasn’t given his new body too much thought yet. Maybe he should. Another thing in the “later” column.
“Hey!” he calls at the group of boys, waving a hand to get their attention. “Anyone know where I am?”
The dudes startle, looking at him like he’s a ghost. He frowns. He doesn’t think there’s really any need for that, the weirdos. He didn’t even use his powers in front of them!
“Shepherd,” one of the kids manages, his voice faint with fear. What of, Tommy is most certainly not privy to. “What- how are you-”
“My name isn’t Shepherd, dummy,” Tommy huffs, crossing his arms. Hey, are there scars on his arms? Yikes, that’s something he should deal with later too. “It’s Tommy. Tommy Maximoff. Have any of you guys seen my brother? We’re twins- I’m older -so I guess he looks like me with shorter hair?” Billy had liked his hair short in the Hex, anyway. Tommy’s hair is still sorta close to before, long enough to brush his shoulders, so maybe Billy’s is short still. “Seen him passing through?”
Geez, these dudes move so slow. It takes ages for them to speak again, and then it’s all an overlapping rush- “What are you talking about, Shepherd?” and “What brother, you freaky-” and more than one “How are you here?” which makes no sense because he walked out here. Duh. Didn’t they see that? Surely they aren’t that stupid, right?
And then one boy speaks up, and the others fall quiet. “You- you were dead.”
Huh. Was that like, common knowledge, then? Well, Wanda had been televising their lives, so... “Good observation skills, dork,” he says, rolling his eyes. “If you can’t answer about my brother, can you at least tell me where we are?”
“You were dead,” the dude repeats, voice growing in volume. “You- you died! We checked, you didn’t have a pulse- you drowned!”
Okay, so maybe they weren’t talking about the same “dead” then. He decides it’s worth pulling out a curse word from Fietro- fake Uncle Pietro, if you will -and loudly announces, “Yeah, I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
Look, he’s a teenager now. Sorta. He’s like, totally allowed to swear. Plus, the situation calls for it. Executive decision he just made.
Another boy speaks up. “Don't’ know- he died! He drowned! Why is he here? How is he here!?”
...drowned-?
Ah. Alright then.
“Okay,” he says as slowly as he can- it’s still probably a bit fast but whatever -raising his hands. “Look, I think there’s been a mixup. I’m not who’s supposed to be in this body- long story, I think my magic witch brother brought me back from the not-dead, soooooo. Yeah.”
“Look at him,” one of them mutters. “He’s being even more of a freak than normal.”
“God, no wonder no one wants him.”
“Are we not gonna talk about the fact that he was definitely dead and now isn’t?”
“He didn’t have a pulse! He didn’t have a fuckin’ pulse!”
“Look, this just makes it easier for us, right? I mean, no harm no foul, and he isn’t even dead! We’re out of trouble, yeah?”
“Wait,” he realizes quickly, “did you. Kill me?”
...fuck. He has got to find Billy.
And yes, he’s swearing again, the situation calls for it.
One of the kids narrows his eyes. “Not entirely out of trouble. Someone grab him- we gotta make sure he doesn’t blab, yeah?”
“Do I get a say?” he asks, bouncing on his heels. “Because-”
Someone lunges for him, and he’s gone before they even take a step.
And he still doesn’t know where he is.
Damnit.