Times, They Are a Changing
Title: Times, They Are a Changing
Fandom: Young Avengers
Characters: Teddy, Billy, Kate, Tommy, Eli
Prompt: 35. Voice
Word Count: 1032
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Teddy’s finally home after years away, and he’s finding that everything’s changed while he was away.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Believe it or not, this was actually written LONG before A:CC #4, so it doesn’t count as a spoiler.
Teddy twisted the negabands around his wrists, studying his reflection on the brass colored bands. He looked up, meeting Kate’s eyes. “Why won’t you tell me what happened to Billy?” he asked. Kate looked at her watch, then looked out the window behind Teddy. “Kate-”
A chill wind swept through the room, ruffling Teddy’s hair and blowing the golden locks in to his eyes as the window suddenly opened. Teddy sprung to his feet and spun around, ready for a fight. He found himself facing a wirey man in a brown leather duster and a battered, wide brimmed hat pulled low, shadowing his face. A raven too large to be natural perched on the man’s shoulder, mantling it’s wings and cawing mocking at Teddy. The man pushed the brim of his hat up, revealing a weathered face and a black patch covering his right eye. The other was warm and brown, and his smile was slight, but genuine. “Kate knows better than to step on my dramatic entrances.” The smile grew just a little as he swept the hat off his head, revealing black hair shot through with silver. His voice was strange, whispery, like the sounds couldn’t travel far. He was undeniably different, but even after all the years, he was still Billy.
“You look good,” Billy said in that whispery voice. “The Captain Marvel look suits you.”
“Billy, you look…” Teddy trailed off as Billy sat down, the raven hopping off his shoulder and skipping across the table to peck at Teddy’s discarded donut. “You, ah…”
“I look like ten miles of bad road,” Billy said, cocking his head to one side. There was a red ring around his neck, looking kind of like a rug burn.
“Not that bad,” Teddy protested. “What happened to you?”
Billy reached his fingers out to the raven. “I went looking for power, and power takes sacrifice. You know.”
“Yeah,” Teddy murmured uncomfortably, one hand resting on a negaband. “I. Yeah.”
Silence built up, heavy and thick and slightly sad. Somehow, Kate had managed to escape without Teddy noticing.
“I’m calling myself Asgardian again.” Billy went on, fingering the red ring around his neck. “If anyone’s making jokes, they don’t do it to my face.”
***
“Sorry I’m late,” Tommy said, jogging a little to catch up with Teddy. “Not as fast as I used to be.”
“I heard, kinda,” Teddy said, looking Tommy up and down. Unlike Billy, the blonde didn’t look radically different. “But I still don’t know what happened.”
“Wanda happened,” Tommy said. “She did her thing, and me and Billy lost our powers. You seen Billy yet?” Teddy nodded, and Tommy made a face. “Yeah, he didn’t take it too well. Went on this quest, disappeared for over a year. He came back, sans eye and plus Heckle, Jekyll, and Fluffy.”
“He - what?”
Tommy grinned. “He didn’t introduce you to his new pets.”
“I saw the raven,” Teddy said.
“A raven,” Tommy corrected. “He’s got two. And a wolf. Well, Billy calls it a wolf, I say it’s a very hairy meat eating horse. And he’s gotten all weird.”
“That I noticed.”
Tommy shook his head, giving a gusty sigh. “Ted, you don’t know the half of it. Look up.”
Teddy did so, scanning the sky. “What am I looking f- oh.” There was the raven perched on a nearby ledge like a gargoyle.
“Billy keeps an eye on me,” Tommy said. “One time this guy tried to mug me, and Fluffy just showed up.” He started walking, and Teddy followed.
“God.”
“He wears the rope he hung himself with around his neck, sometimes,” Tommy went on.
“He actually…” Teddy shuddered. “He-”
“Danced the hemp fandango? Yeah.”
“You doing okay?” Teddy asked.
Tommy gave teddy a searching look, then smiled. “I’m good. I’m engaged, actually. Brianna.” His smile turned soppy as he fished out his wallet, flipping it open to show Teddy a picture of a slightly chubby woman with orange dreadlocks. “She’s a drummer.”
“She looked nice.”
“She’s got a show tonight. You should come.”
***
A red haired man answered the door, giving Teddy a sleepy look as he shoved his hair back from his face. “Hello?” He scratched at about a day’s worth of stubble, leaning against the door frame like it was the only thing holding him up. He wore no shirt, and his chest and arms were covered in scars and tattoos that looked vaguely familiar. He also had an accent that Teddy identified as Western European. Teddy found himself suddenly thinking that this was a very, very bad idea.
“Hi. Is Billy here?”
The red head blinked slowly. “William is still asleep. I can go wake him, if it is important.”
“Ah, no.” Teddy shook his head, stepping backwards, down the stoop. “Just, uh, tell him Teddy came by?”
“Of course,” the red head said, covering a yawn with his hand.
***
“You met Rolfe,” Eli noted.
Teddy winced, then caught the basketball that had almost rocketed by them. “How could you tell?” he asked, tossing the ball back to the gaggle of children that Eli was theoretically watching over. Eli laughed, calling out his appreciation as one of the boys scored a basket.
“Everyone reacts that way when they first meet Rolfe. You should have seen it when he first showed up… of course, then he was wearing armor and hauling around a sword bigger than I am.” Eli shook his head. He was watching Teddy, who was looking off in to the distance.
“I didn’t expect him to wait for me, but this has thrown me for a loop,” Teddy admitted. “I didn’t think things would change this much. I mean, it’s not just Billy, but Tommy and Jonas, and…”
“Me?” Eli added for him, flexing the bionic hands at the ends of his arms. “Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Fandom: Young Avengers
Characters: Teddy, Billy, Kate, Tommy, Eli
Prompt: 35. Voice
Word Count: 1032
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Teddy’s finally home after years away, and he’s finding that everything’s changed while he was away.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Believe it or not, this was actually written LONG before A:CC #4, so it doesn’t count as a spoiler.
Teddy twisted the negabands around his wrists, studying his reflection on the brass colored bands. He looked up, meeting Kate’s eyes. “Why won’t you tell me what happened to Billy?” he asked. Kate looked at her watch, then looked out the window behind Teddy. “Kate-”
A chill wind swept through the room, ruffling Teddy’s hair and blowing the golden locks in to his eyes as the window suddenly opened. Teddy sprung to his feet and spun around, ready for a fight. He found himself facing a wirey man in a brown leather duster and a battered, wide brimmed hat pulled low, shadowing his face. A raven too large to be natural perched on the man’s shoulder, mantling it’s wings and cawing mocking at Teddy. The man pushed the brim of his hat up, revealing a weathered face and a black patch covering his right eye. The other was warm and brown, and his smile was slight, but genuine. “Kate knows better than to step on my dramatic entrances.” The smile grew just a little as he swept the hat off his head, revealing black hair shot through with silver. His voice was strange, whispery, like the sounds couldn’t travel far. He was undeniably different, but even after all the years, he was still Billy.
“You look good,” Billy said in that whispery voice. “The Captain Marvel look suits you.”
“Billy, you look…” Teddy trailed off as Billy sat down, the raven hopping off his shoulder and skipping across the table to peck at Teddy’s discarded donut. “You, ah…”
“I look like ten miles of bad road,” Billy said, cocking his head to one side. There was a red ring around his neck, looking kind of like a rug burn.
“Not that bad,” Teddy protested. “What happened to you?”
Billy reached his fingers out to the raven. “I went looking for power, and power takes sacrifice. You know.”
“Yeah,” Teddy murmured uncomfortably, one hand resting on a negaband. “I. Yeah.”
Silence built up, heavy and thick and slightly sad. Somehow, Kate had managed to escape without Teddy noticing.
“I’m calling myself Asgardian again.” Billy went on, fingering the red ring around his neck. “If anyone’s making jokes, they don’t do it to my face.”
***
“Sorry I’m late,” Tommy said, jogging a little to catch up with Teddy. “Not as fast as I used to be.”
“I heard, kinda,” Teddy said, looking Tommy up and down. Unlike Billy, the blonde didn’t look radically different. “But I still don’t know what happened.”
“Wanda happened,” Tommy said. “She did her thing, and me and Billy lost our powers. You seen Billy yet?” Teddy nodded, and Tommy made a face. “Yeah, he didn’t take it too well. Went on this quest, disappeared for over a year. He came back, sans eye and plus Heckle, Jekyll, and Fluffy.”
“He - what?”
Tommy grinned. “He didn’t introduce you to his new pets.”
“I saw the raven,” Teddy said.
“A raven,” Tommy corrected. “He’s got two. And a wolf. Well, Billy calls it a wolf, I say it’s a very hairy meat eating horse. And he’s gotten all weird.”
“That I noticed.”
Tommy shook his head, giving a gusty sigh. “Ted, you don’t know the half of it. Look up.”
Teddy did so, scanning the sky. “What am I looking f- oh.” There was the raven perched on a nearby ledge like a gargoyle.
“Billy keeps an eye on me,” Tommy said. “One time this guy tried to mug me, and Fluffy just showed up.” He started walking, and Teddy followed.
“God.”
“He wears the rope he hung himself with around his neck, sometimes,” Tommy went on.
“He actually…” Teddy shuddered. “He-”
“Danced the hemp fandango? Yeah.”
“You doing okay?” Teddy asked.
Tommy gave teddy a searching look, then smiled. “I’m good. I’m engaged, actually. Brianna.” His smile turned soppy as he fished out his wallet, flipping it open to show Teddy a picture of a slightly chubby woman with orange dreadlocks. “She’s a drummer.”
“She looked nice.”
“She’s got a show tonight. You should come.”
***
A red haired man answered the door, giving Teddy a sleepy look as he shoved his hair back from his face. “Hello?” He scratched at about a day’s worth of stubble, leaning against the door frame like it was the only thing holding him up. He wore no shirt, and his chest and arms were covered in scars and tattoos that looked vaguely familiar. He also had an accent that Teddy identified as Western European. Teddy found himself suddenly thinking that this was a very, very bad idea.
“Hi. Is Billy here?”
The red head blinked slowly. “William is still asleep. I can go wake him, if it is important.”
“Ah, no.” Teddy shook his head, stepping backwards, down the stoop. “Just, uh, tell him Teddy came by?”
“Of course,” the red head said, covering a yawn with his hand.
***
“You met Rolfe,” Eli noted.
Teddy winced, then caught the basketball that had almost rocketed by them. “How could you tell?” he asked, tossing the ball back to the gaggle of children that Eli was theoretically watching over. Eli laughed, calling out his appreciation as one of the boys scored a basket.
“Everyone reacts that way when they first meet Rolfe. You should have seen it when he first showed up… of course, then he was wearing armor and hauling around a sword bigger than I am.” Eli shook his head. He was watching Teddy, who was looking off in to the distance.
“I didn’t expect him to wait for me, but this has thrown me for a loop,” Teddy admitted. “I didn’t think things would change this much. I mean, it’s not just Billy, but Tommy and Jonas, and…”
“Me?” Eli added for him, flexing the bionic hands at the ends of his arms. “Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same.”