“That was a matter of opportunity.” Billy said quietly. “You were right there, and I wasn’t.” He could have tried arguing him out of the guilt, but that would have been a waste of time. He’d almost killed someone, and he had every right to feel guilty about it. In truth, Billy would have been afraid if Teddy didn’t feel guilty about it.
Not that he felt particularly forgiving towards Sinesis. She’d kidnapped them, she’d hurt Eli and Teddy and Kate and Cassie, and she’d done something to Eliza to leave her a giant mess, and God only knew what she would have done to them if she’d had the time. “She tried to kill you.”
"Yeah. And I tried to kill her right back." Which was wrong, and Teddy knew it, and Billy knew it. Heroes didn't kill people. But she hadn't been a person, she'd just become something other that had needed to be stopped. As soon as she'd become something inhuman, he'd tried to destroy her. "She was something else. She wasn't one of us. That's what bothers me. I didn't even think that she was a person -- like us, you know?"
Billy thought about it, finally letting his hand drop away from Teddy’s stomach. “Unfortunately,” he drawled, “I think the person who would know best would be Mrs. Xanathos, and I’d be willing to bet you don’t like her very much.”
He was silent for a little while, watching the floors go past. “I’d say what she did really pushes her into the realm of not-quite-personhood, but we don’t really know that much about her to make that kind of judgment. She…” Billy chewed on his lower lip. “She seemed to care about what was going on, but like a little kid cares about seeing the ants burned up with a magnifying glass.”
"It doesn't matter if she cared or not," Teddy said, focusing his attention on the crackle of tiny blue lightning flares as they continued downward. "We don't get to make that call, if someone's a person or not. If they should die or not. And I shouldn't have attacked her because she wasn't a person like us."
His eyes narrowed as he looked at Billy, and he smiled shallowly. "Hell, I'm not a person like us, Billy. And that's -- that's what bothers me about it. Maybe that's why it won't go away yet. I don't know. I just -- need to get used to it. Get over it. Make sure that I don't ever do it again."
Billy opened his mouth to say something, but stopped and glanced around. "This is our floor," he said, moving them onto the stairs and letting the disc disapate. "If we go any further down from here, we'll hit something that I don't think I could deactivate in time. We take this door, walk down the hall, and take the stairs from there."
He reached for the door. "You didn't attack her because she wasn't a 'person like us'. You attacked her because you were in danger, and she was the cause. I know you wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose."
Teddy made a quiet noise in the back of his throat that said more clearly than words that he thought Billy's shot was far wide of the mark. "Oh yes, because every time I turn into Hulkling and smack some villains around with fists the size of their heads, I'm hurting them on accident."
He followed Billy through the door, missing the contact of that shoulder beneath his hand. "I should have stuck with fists when I fought her. That's all."
“You know what I meant,” Billy said sourly, but without much feeling. Lightning crackled and flared ahead of them, racing along the walls in a destructive wave. Billy thought it was actually kind of pretty. “Do you want me to be there when we find her?” he asked as he closed the distance between where they had come in and the door they wanted to take.
"Up to you," Teddy said, sobering with the reminder of just what they were down here for. It was easier not to think about, but -- hell. "You saw her before they took her away. I already know it's not going to be good." Didn't stop him from needing to see her at last and know for himself what had happened to her with his own eyes.
Billy nodded. It wouldn’t be much longer, and he wasn’t sure if he could be in the room with Mrs. Altman. He could still remember the stench of burning flesh, like when Dad had made burgers and left them on the stove too long, and the sickening that the smell was Teddy’s mother. He’d tried to save her. He’d have given anything to make her get back up again.
You could try again, a little voice in his head whispered to him. You could bring her back if you just tried hard enough.
Billy didn’t particularly trust this little voice. It was the same one that had gotten him in trouble too many times in the past.
But it was a seductive thought. “Two floors down,” Billy said. “We should probably walk it.”
And now he was stalling. For no other reason than that he didn’t think he could handle seeing Mrs. Altman.
Teddy nodded and for a few minutes they walked in silence. Beneath the rest of his thoughts, the notion that this was, perhaps, too easy was circulating. No one had investigated the blown-out surveillance equipment yet; that probably wasn't a good sign. There was no way it wasn't setting off an alarm somewhere, so why hadn't someone come to stop them yet? Unless the Avengers knew that it was them. That was possible, he guessed. Especially since the outages would have been easily-tracked from his new room. Still.
"They're not even trying to stop us," he muttered as they came to a stop before a door long enough that Billy could take care of the locks preventing them from continuing.
“They probably know it’s us. I wasn’t exactly being subtle.” Billy said grimly. “They’re probably waiting to see what we do next. That, or they’ve figured out that if they try and stop us, I’ll blow them into next week and now they’re working on a way to take me down.”
This brought a strange little smile that wasn’t actually a smile to his face. He felt a little weird, and he was pretty sure that by now he should have been feeling at least a little tired from what he was doing. He decided that it was probably the adrenalin keeping him going at this point. “Think they’ll kick me out for this?”
"They will not," Teddy replied firmly. "It was my idea, and they have no one but themselves to blame for putting off letting me see her. If they'd just listened to me before, we wouldn't be doing this."
If the Avengers did try to punish them for this, they were going to end up with a few angry teenagers on their hands. Teddy knew his friends, and there was no way any of them wouldn't stand behind him on this.
They passed through the now-open door and Teddy paused. "Down another set of stairs, you said?"
Billy paused, rechecking the map that had burned itself into his brain. “Yeah, but there’s something there now. It’s…” He blinked. It was hard to focus and he was feeling a little dizzy. He grabbed hold of the handrail to steady himself, closing his eyes until the dizziness passed. “Woah.”
Billy swallowed and straightened, keeping his hand on the rail just in case. “I think someone’s waiting for us down there. I got an impression, for just a minute.” He ran a hand over his hair. “Hold on a minute, I just need to catch my breath.” He sat down on the stair with a little thud and put his head in his hands, taking deep, shuddering breaths. Yeah, he’d defiantly pushed himself too far this time.
"Hey, no problem," Teddy said, plunking himself down on the step next to his boyfriend, extending an arm to rest over Billy's shoulder. "Don't try too hard, okay?"
Someone waiting for them, huh? Great. He didn't really need anyone but Billy to be there when he saw his mom again. But as logn as they didn't try to stop him... who cared.
Billy leaned in to Teddy, his eyes still closed, while he waited for the world to stop with the spinning. “Whoever it is, I’ll deal with them,” he mumbled into Teddy’s shirt. “I just need a few minutes.” He opened one eye cautiously. The immediate area didn’t seem to be swimming any more. That was a good sign.
Not that anyone would blame him for not moving just a little bit longer. After all, he’d just blown who knew how many floors worth of security systems, plus levitating them down to this level. It was perfectly understandable that he would be tired after that.
(( =P Yeah, but logn isn't as funny in context as defiantly is!))
"I can deal with them," Teddy said, fingers squeezing Billy's arm gently. He was good at dealing with people, after all. If they wouldn't listen to a reasonable explanation, then he could just yell at them. Very loudly. He was good that, too.
"Don't overdo it, okay?" There was a lot that they didn't really know about Billy's powers, despite working at them for several months. It was something he'd never really had to deal with; he'd had his powers as long as he could remember, and he was for the most part intimately aware of what he was and wasn't capable of, though every once in a while he was able to surprise himself.
Not that he felt particularly forgiving towards Sinesis. She’d kidnapped them, she’d hurt Eli and Teddy and Kate and Cassie, and she’d done something to Eliza to leave her a giant mess, and God only knew what she would have done to them if she’d had the time. “She tried to kill you.”
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He was silent for a little while, watching the floors go past. “I’d say what she did really pushes her into the realm of not-quite-personhood, but we don’t really know that much about her to make that kind of judgment. She…” Billy chewed on his lower lip. “She seemed to care about what was going on, but like a little kid cares about seeing the ants burned up with a magnifying glass.”
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His eyes narrowed as he looked at Billy, and he smiled shallowly. "Hell, I'm not a person like us, Billy. And that's -- that's what bothers me about it. Maybe that's why it won't go away yet. I don't know. I just -- need to get used to it. Get over it. Make sure that I don't ever do it again."
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He reached for the door. "You didn't attack her because she wasn't a 'person like us'. You attacked her because you were in danger, and she was the cause. I know you wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose."
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He followed Billy through the door, missing the contact of that shoulder beneath his hand. "I should have stuck with fists when I fought her. That's all."
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You could try again, a little voice in his head whispered to him. You could bring her back if you just tried hard enough.
Billy didn’t particularly trust this little voice. It was the same one that had gotten him in trouble too many times in the past.
But it was a seductive thought. “Two floors down,” Billy said. “We should probably walk it.”
And now he was stalling. For no other reason than that he didn’t think he could handle seeing Mrs. Altman.
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"They're not even trying to stop us," he muttered as they came to a stop before a door long enough that Billy could take care of the locks preventing them from continuing.
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This brought a strange little smile that wasn’t actually a smile to his face. He felt a little weird, and he was pretty sure that by now he should have been feeling at least a little tired from what he was doing. He decided that it was probably the adrenalin keeping him going at this point. “Think they’ll kick me out for this?”
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If the Avengers did try to punish them for this, they were going to end up with a few angry teenagers on their hands. Teddy knew his friends, and there was no way any of them wouldn't stand behind him on this.
They passed through the now-open door and Teddy paused. "Down another set of stairs, you said?"
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Billy swallowed and straightened, keeping his hand on the rail just in case. “I think someone’s waiting for us down there. I got an impression, for just a minute.” He ran a hand over his hair. “Hold on a minute, I just need to catch my breath.” He sat down on the stair with a little thud and put his head in his hands, taking deep, shuddering breaths. Yeah, he’d defiantly pushed himself too far this time.
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"Hey, no problem," Teddy said, plunking himself down on the step next to his boyfriend, extending an arm to rest over Billy's shoulder. "Don't try too hard, okay?"
Someone waiting for them, huh? Great. He didn't really need anyone but Billy to be there when he saw his mom again. But as logn as they didn't try to stop him... who cared.
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Billy leaned in to Teddy, his eyes still closed, while he waited for the world to stop with the spinning. “Whoever it is, I’ll deal with them,” he mumbled into Teddy’s shirt. “I just need a few minutes.” He opened one eye cautiously. The immediate area didn’t seem to be swimming any more. That was a good sign.
Not that anyone would blame him for not moving just a little bit longer. After all, he’d just blown who knew how many floors worth of security systems, plus levitating them down to this level. It was perfectly understandable that he would be tired after that.
And having Teddy’s arm around him? Just a bonus.
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"I can deal with them," Teddy said, fingers squeezing Billy's arm gently. He was good at dealing with people, after all. If they wouldn't listen to a reasonable explanation, then he could just yell at them. Very loudly. He was good that, too.
"Don't overdo it, okay?" There was a lot that they didn't really know about Billy's powers, despite working at them for several months. It was something he'd never really had to deal with; he'd had his powers as long as he could remember, and he was for the most part intimately aware of what he was and wasn't capable of, though every once in a while he was able to surprise himself.
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