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| Life in 3-D; Josh | |
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| Topic Started: Mar 22 2010, 01:23 AM (474 Views) | |
| Tommy Shepard | Mar 22 2010, 01:23 AM Post #1 |
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February 17, midday Tommy had tried, really he had. He had taken runs, had conversations with several of his fellow students, he had even gone so far as to pay attention in class, a real rarity for the boy, but nothing seemed to work. Try as he might the speedster couldn't shake from the forefront of his mind what had happened to his brother. The cycle of events kept running in loops in his mind. Billy's face, so identical to his own, was strained and different. Jibberish, mumbled and panicked, came spouting from the reality warper's mouth. Tommy shook his head, trying once again to knock the images from his thoughts. There was a connection that couldn't be ignored. Wanda, the woman he had come to know as his mother, had just had a nervous breakdown. Pietro was obviously mentally unstable, judging by his own recent actions, and Magneto, well they just didn't get much crazier than the man whom Tommy still shuddered when thinking of as his grandfather. Throwing Billy on top of that and Tommy realized that he, along with Lorna, now stood as the lone beacon of sanity in the Magnus clan. If he was being honest, he really didn't know enough about his green haired aunt to make the assumption about her. For all he knew she could be talking to her reflection and getting advice from stuffed animals over in Mutant Town, Hell, anybody would have be crazy to live in that hole. That's it, Tommy couldn't take this anymore. He was through contemplating things he couldn't change. In a flash he made his way from the school yard and into the dorms. He burst into his room in a blur. His newly dark skinned roommate was there. He hadn't really had the easiest time lately either. "Josh," he said offhandedly. "Come on, let's go to the movies." He really didn't offer the boy an option in the statement, but he knew his roommate well enough to know he too would probably be thrilled at the idea of a distraction. |
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| Elixir | Mar 22 2010, 02:05 AM Post #2 |
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Mom's a bitch who's completely given up on life, dad's a drunk and a cheat, Liam is a Ku Klux Klan wannabe. Jess left me after she found out I was a mutant, and I don't know what's up with Cess. I turn a different color and everything's suddenly different. Josh threw the rolled-up pair of clean socks in the air and caught them in the same hand as he lay sprawled on his bed. He did it repeatedly as one of his indie-rock CD's played on a low volume in the background. He couldn't handle too much noise right now; he had enough going on in his head... he didn't need to add to the ruckus. It seems like all the people in my life are getting hurt or turning on me. I wonder if I have some kind of secondary mutation... like some kind of bad luck field or something. 'Haha! I shall defeat you by developing feelings for you!' Brings a whole new meaning to turn the other cheek. He didn't like it. Billy was nulled and in the infirmary whether he liked it or not, and while he understood Scott and Jean's decision, he felt miserable for the part he played in his friend's confinement... even if it was 'for his own good'. How many atrocities had been done in the name of the greater good or for the good of a person or people? Josh didn't know. He'd been sleeping through his history classes. Suddenly the door burst open and in walked Billy's twin, his jaw set in determination, "Josh... come on, let's go to the movies." Distracted in mid throw, the ball of socks hit Josh on the head as he looked back at Tommy with a dumb expression on his face as he tried to piece together what his roommate had just suggested. “Movie,” he repeated as if he were ruminating over the word, “Yeah... okay. Sure. I guess.” He slid his legs off the bed and began to stand up as a battle was fought in his mind. Should they really be going to the movies when Billy was in such a horrible state? What if he was in a theater laughing his head off when his best friend died? I'll go, but I won't have fun. He needed the distraction. “Lemme grab my jacket.” |
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| Tommy Shepard | Mar 22 2010, 11:25 PM Post #3 |
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Tommy was right about Josh. Though the metallic healer seemed, at least outwardly, a little more shaken than the speedster, he was no less open to the thought of a distraction. They raced down to Josh's car. Much to the white haired mutant's dismay he still didn't have one of his own. His mutant power made the case for getting a vehicle a tough sell. Still, the teenager thought it would be cool. The ride was a little more silent than he was used to while in Josh's company. They were about five minutes away from the school now and neither had said as much as a word. There was a lot on his mind, Billy's condition chief among them He was sure that Josh was worried about Billy too and the last thing he wanted was to bog down what he hoped would be an at least partially carefree afternoon with talk of the troubles. Still, the silence lingered. With each passing second the weight of what they were trying not to say became heavier and heavier. Tommy feared it would crush them. He had to say something, anything. "You know what makes me crazy ?" Tommy blurted out suddenly. "Blonds, and do you know what's worse than blonds ? The fact that blonds make me crazy. I mean, it's like I completely lose my mind whenever I'm around a pretty girl with light hair. I do the weirdest stuff. I almost kissed Laurie, did I tell you that ? Then I just ran away, left her in New York. And Kimmy, I mean, I haven't even had the nerve to face her. Some boyfriend I turned out to be." Tommy shook his head, babbling rapidly. "I mean, I wanna do the right thing, but what am I supposed to say. 'Hey, sorry about leaving you in a dangerous city in the middle of the night, but I'm a pansy boy who can't deal with awkward situations.' 'Hey Kimmy, I know I'm your boyfriend and all and that you've been through a lot, but I might be having weird feelings for my best friend.' Oh, and here's the kicker. 'Sorry about being scarce lately girls, but I just found out that I'm not a person so much as the toy surprise at the bottom of a mutant witch's box of crazy flakes." He stopped and caught his breath, looking over at Josh as he drove. "But I digress." |
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| Elixir | Mar 23 2010, 03:55 AM Post #4 |
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Josh cast his roommate a bewildered glance as he sped down the highway toward Westchester's closest theater. Was Tommy being serious? Did he really have that big of a problem with girls? For several moments, the ex-healer actually entertained the possibility that the speedster was making fun of Foley's obvious awkwardness toward the fairer sex that he'd plainly displayed since the moment he had stepped through the doors of Xavier's. Upon closer inspection, however, Josh realized that Tommy was being sincere. “You're kidding, right? You've always seemed so smooth with the ladies before. To be honest, that's one of the things that I always envied about you. I figured with your powers and everything, you were just a quick thinker. I've been tempted to hate you for that.” He focused back on the road as he contemplated what he'd just heard; if there was no hope for a good-looking, witty guy like Tommy, then he was just plain fucked. That thought depressed him even more than he already was. This certainly wasn't turning out to be a very fun trip. Should we even be talking about this? It doesn't seem right. Billy's cracked or something and there's just a lot going on, and worrying about girls just doesn't seem like something we should be doing. It's not something I should be thinking about, anyway... not right now. I'm an X-Man. I should be worried about non-losery stuff like saving the planet from really bad... bad guys, or pulling kittens out of trees. I dunno... anything but nice hair and fair skin and... hips... and pretty eyes and they way they look in tight jeans... warm... “Dude,” he finally said, “You almost kissed Laurie because your mom wigged out on you and tried to suck you into a fictional pocket dimension or something? That what you gonna tell Kimmy if she finds out? Because I don't think she'd go for it.” He hesitated before continuing, “Do you like her? Like that, I mean?” |
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| Tommy Shepard | Mar 25 2010, 01:19 AM Post #5 |
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Josh seemed a little hesitant to believe Tommy's issues, especially considering the opposite sex. That was reasonable enough. Tommy had always tried to put the cooler of his feet forward, attempting to project the aura of a confident ladies' man who had it all together. Apparently his facade had worked better than he imagined. His roommate seemed fooled. “You're kidding, right? You've always seemed so smooth with the ladies before. "Sure," Tommy said, jetting back into his put on persona. "I know how to work my way around the ladies." He did not. "And hey, I could probably have my pick of them if I really wanted." He could not. "But Kimmy's special. I mean, she's my girl and all, you know." The speedster let out an audible sigh. "But Laurie, she's Laurie. She's the greatest. She's my best friend. How am I supposed to just ignore that ?" "You know, let's change the subject. What about you ? Are you making any head ways in the Cassie department ?" Tommy looked out the window. The bushes and side streets seemed to inch by. Even in the seat of a quickly moving car the boy felt at a snail's pace, though they did seem to be going a bit quicker than normal. "How fast are you going ? You gotta watch that. You're black now dude, you get caught speeding and the cops'll be all over your ass." |
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| Elixir | Mar 27 2010, 07:36 PM Post #6 |
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“This from the guy who could have gone to Coney Island and jacked a couple of corndogs for us in seconds...” Josh contemplated Tommy's question for a moment as he let off the accelerator. His roommate was right; SHIELD knew about both of them and their status as students at Xavier's. The last thing they needed was to get flagged by them for going about ten miles over the speed limit. What a stupid way to go. “Y'know what? I think it's over between us. I mean... I think she tried, but it's just weird for her. I come back a completely different color, and she's got to get used to it. It's not like I got a tan or anything. Still...” There was a feeling in his chest... one he didn't like at all, and he really wanted it to just go away. “I kinda thought we had something there. I figured she'd be okay with the change and everything, but she's been distant, so I've just kind of let it go. I don't really want to deal with that. Things have been hard enough as it is, I don't need to go looking for ways to make myself feel worse. I kind of thought she was different though. I mean... with her being the way she was. That wouldn't have been easy to work through, but I was willing to try. I kinda wish she'd felt the same way.” He swallowed the knot of whatever that was in his throat before continuing, “Yeah... sorry to unload like that on you. I don't know what I'm gonna do about all that right now. Maybe I'll just stay off girls for a while or something.” “So... you don't think you can just be friends with Laurie? Are you actually thinking of doing something about that? You're thinking about cheating? Or dumping Kim? Or what?” |
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| Tommy Shepard | Mar 31 2010, 09:57 PM Post #7 |
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Tommy listened to his metallic skinned roommate unload his issues. It was a common issue for Tommy to forget that other people actually had problems. What with his hyped up mind going over every little thing that happened to him with a fine toothed comb at one thousand miles per hour,it was pretty easy to get wrapped up in the melodrama of what it was to be Speed. Listening to Josh knocked him out of his own head and into what was going on around him. "You know, maybe she just needs time or something. One time I heard somebody say girls were deep. Maybe she just needs to think it over." Tommy gave his friend a half smile. It was telling of how lost they were that neither of them seemed to be able to muster up any help for the other. "Then again, you probably know her better than me. If she's not interested I'm sure there are tons of girls who'd be thrilled to get with you. I mean you're a real live X Man. That's gotta be the best girl bait in the world." Josh continued, seeming a little defeated and then said something Tommy saw as near blasphemy. "Maybe I'll just stay off girls for a while or something.” "Stop the car !!!!" Tommy screamed as the words left his friend's mouth. "You have obviously lost your mind and I'm not gonna let a crazy person drive me around.Give up girls ? What's the matter with you. Girls are the best thing ever. They're the whole reason God invented beer and Corvettes. Now stop talking like that. Just let good old Tommy fix the situation. I'll have you crawling with chicks by sundown." He wasn't sure how he was going to get that accomplished. Being around women still made him nervous, but his friend needed him, so he'd have to think of something. "As far as Laurie goes, I don't know. She's awesome and all, but I'm not gonna dump Kimmy, and I could never cheat on her. That's just tacky. Maybe if I could just stop looking at her like that. If she wasn't so available, maybe things would go back to normal." |
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| Elixir | Apr 8 2010, 01:58 AM Post #8 |
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Josh nearly jammed his foot against the break as he jumped a little in his seat, eyes darting around for the cause for alarm. Tommy's bellow for him to stop the car had scared the crap out of him, and it took him a few seconds to realize his roomie was being melodramatic. It took several more seconds before his roomie's little speech about how wonderful girls began to make sense. He blinked at the speedster as he applied pressure to the accelerator once more; the only person more girl-crazy than the healer was Tommy. He split his attention between his roommate and the road, “Dude... don't say things like that. I'm just not the type who attracts a lot of girls. I don't like dating and I don't like making a fool of myself in front of them. I fall apart in front of them. Being an X-Man doesn't help. I'm still dumb and awkward and shiny. The threads and the title don't change a thing. I'll never be like you, having two girls longing for me or anything. I'm not gonna be swimming in girls any time soon. Cess was probably only interested because she was a bit of a freak among freaks like me anyway.” Turning his attention back to the road again, he thought over Tommy's problem. It must have been a really nice one to have... stressing over two different girls like that. If the speedster wasn't such a good friend, he'd be a prime target for Josh's hate right now. He shrugged, “I dunno dude... hook her up with someone so you can bring your misery to an end and move on. Otherwise you're just gonna give yourself a headache, and I can't do anything about that.” He held up his hand and gave Tommy another glance, “The moon people stole my mojo.” |
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| Tommy Shepard | May 1 2010, 02:56 PM Post #9 |
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"You're selling yourself short dude. You're literally the golden boy around here. You're like a rock star. Do you have any idea how many people tell me 'Why can't you be like Josh'. Pisses me off." he muttered out the last line. He had always been a bit erratic. Even before his mutation kicked in, keeping Tommy in one place for too long was a losing proposition. Adding super speed to the mix didn't help anything. "You're a stud dude, seriously. You just put yourself out to pasture for some reason. And I don't wanna here anymore about this freak business. We're all freaks. I've got grandpa hair. Mr. Worthington has friggin wings sprouting out of his back and he's crawling with chicks. It's all about the swagger Bro. Don't let anybody tell you different." Tommy spoke as though he had experience in the matter, as though he himself wasn't completely lost. Josh went on to Laurie. For some reason the idea of setting her up with someone struck a nerve with the speedster. If it were that easy he would have done it already. Tommy was still sorting through that, through his feelings about all of it. "I don't know. It's Laurie, I can't just shackle her to the next dude that comes walking by. It's more complicated than that." Looking over, he processed what his roommate had said. "Wait, those damn aliens. Did they- did they violate you ?" |
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| Elixir | May 2 2010, 05:34 AM Post #10 |
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He nearly brought the car to a grinding halt again as he cast his roommate an unbelieving stare. What the hell? “Dude, what the hell?” He turned his attention back to the road, course correcting as he made sure there were no cars potential victims in the immediate vicinity... or cops. The last thing either of them needed was to be put on SHIELD's watchdog list or worse... sent to the Raft for something as stupid as a little swerving. Attention black people across the fruited planes... move aside, mutants have come to take your place as police fodder. “Violate me? You mean probe me in the ass? Like in South Park and those abduction documentaries? No dude.” His eyebrows lowered as he stared vacantly at the road in front of him, “At least... I don't think so. I'm kinda fuzzy on some of the details. I remember the guys from the jungle I got kidnapped from. Brianchild and Amphibius and Barbarus... they were really cool. Brainchild was their leader. He taught me a cool cave man game kind of like chess... but I can't really remember how it goes now. Too much happened. There was this really good looking alien chick who was sort of like our jailer though... she was really hot.” He cut a sideways glance at the speedster, “I might've let her probe me a little bit.” He sobered up a bit as other memories came back to haunt him... days in a jail cell... a trial... and what Scott and Avery had told him happened during the struggle between the X-Men and the Inhumans. He'd be lying if he said their words didn't cross his thoughts daily. He'd told Billy a bit about his new form and the theory behind it, but he'd always been hesitant to tell him everything. “How much did Scott and the others tell everyone about what happened up there?” |
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