Legacy isn't a dirty word...

Tommy sped into the base and collapsed on the sofa, not bothering to change or wash the dirt off himself. The cut on his face had stopped bleeding but the bruises had started to show so he probably looked a mess. He wasn't expecting anyone to be around though so he figured he had some time to rest before he needed to clean himself up. He didn't want to freak out his team mates because they'd make a big deal out of it and he wasn't really hurt that badly. He'd had worse many times before.

Teddy had been alone for most of the day. It was early afternoon on a weekday, so he assumed that many of his teammates were forced to spend some time with their families. But it was alright, though he now didn't have a family, he didn't mind it too much because he did have his teammates. The base was now his home and that was perfectly okay with him.

Teddy made a quick lap around the base to make sure he truly was alone, before he smirked at himself and threw of his clothes. It wasn't terribly hot in the base, but it sure did feel good being home and able to walk around naked. Something he was hardly ever able to do when his mother was around.

The blond was sitting on his bed reading some comics when his stomach start to rumble. He got up and headed to the kitchen, humming to himself as he contemplated to himself what he should make. Once he reach the fridge his mind was made up. "Sandwich. With the works!" He quickly set about stacking ham and cheese on his sandwich with just a little bit of anything else.

He felt a gush of wind and then something sitting down on the couch. "Oh crap." That wind could only meant one thing, Tommy was back. Teddy abandoned his sandwich as he quietly tried to make his way back to his bedroom without the speedster spotting him.

Tommy hadn't been back long when he heard faint footsteps coming from somewhere inside the base. They had a pretty decent security system installed so he wasn't particularly worried that someone had broken in but it did mean that he wasn't as alone as he'd thought. Forcing himself back to his feet, he ran to the bathroom so he could shower before whoever it was saw, passing Teddy on the way. He was so exhausted from the fight that it was until he was halfway through his shower that he realised that the other boy hadn't been wearing clothes.
"Dude! Clothes!" He yelled through the bathroom door, not wanting him to realise something was wrong from Tommy being unusually quiet.

Teddy froze in his process of putting on boxers. "Damn!" He thought he was able to get away without being seen. Then again that would explain that second gust of wind, so cold against a naked body too. He shrugged with a smile on his face. "So this is what it's like to have a brother." He wasn't used to having male in a household. It had always just been him and his mother.

Once Teddy was dressed he went back to the kitchen and finished his sandwich. He had been living with Tommy long enough to know that whenever the speedster is running he ends up eating everything in sight. So without a moment's hesitation Teddy made a second sandwich for Tommy. "Sandwich's on the counter for you!" He shouted as he sat down on the couch to watch tv and eat his meal.

Tommy finished his shower, dressed in regular clothes and then looked at himself in the mirror. Now he was clean, he didn't look too bad but he still looked pretty beat up. The only thing he could think of that might help would be some of Kate's makeup, but she wasn't here and to be honest, he couldn't be bothered to mess around with it. He skin was probably too pale anyway. He resigned himself to having to put up with Teddy's concern and headed to the kitchen, drawn by the promise of food. Picking up the sandwich, he immediately took a large bite and joined Teddy in the living room. He sprawled on the sofa, sitting upright just enough so he could still eat.
"Hey. Thanks for the sandwich. How was ...school? I'm so glad I don't have to join you losers. School's the worst," Tommy commented in between mouthfuls of sandwich. He was going to try the 'talk enough and maybe Teddy won't notice the bruises' approach.

Teddy took a quick glance up when he felt that the other boy was walking into the living area. He acknowledged him with a nod and then glued his eyes back on the tv. His favorite show, with that drop dead gorgeous actor was on and this was the only time he could admire such beauty without seeing the jealous flare in Billy's eye.

Teddy shrugged at the speedster's question before swallowing and answering. "It's not as bad as you think it is. Sure some of us get bullied, like Billy and myself, but I like to learn and interact with people. You really should think about going back to school.... though I think you need a guardian for that." The blond glanced at Tommy. He really didn't know anything about Tommy and his home situation. All he really knew was that Tommy was locked up for being a mutant and that oddly enough he was Billy's twin. And damn could he see it. Sure they weren't identical, but there was a different look in them. Billy was shy and sweet. It showed in the way he held himself. Tommy on the other hand was confident and almost a bit arrogant. He did not hide that at all.

"What have you been up too?" It was only when the actor was off screen that Teddy fully took in Tommy. "What happened to you?!"

The tv show didn't interest him at all so Tommy soon finished the sandwich and slouched even further down in the sofa. With Teddy there he couldn't lie across the whole thing but with his feet up on the footstool thing, this way was almost as comfortable. The food helped him feel somewhat back normal but he was still exhausted and was contemplating just going to sleep there and then when Teddy next spoke. The protective surge of anger at the mention of his brother being bullied was still a foreign feeling, so he ignored it as best as he could. Billy wouldn't want him to fight his battles for him anyway he thought.

"Yeah, I don't think Mary and Frank would help with that," Tommy replied, "Especially after what happened to my last school." He stared at the tv, not taking in anything that was happening on screen but not wanting to look at the other boy. The fact he was even telling Teddy any of this showed just how tired he was because usually he avoided any mention of his life before meeting the rest of the team. Under his breath he muttered, "If I turned up there again, they'd probably call the cops on me." If he and Billy really were the reincarnated twins of the Scarlet Witch, then he'd definitely drawn the short straw in relation to their families. And if he was being honest, Tommy wouldn't even call his biological parents family.

Tommy was about to spin some bullshit story about hanging out with non-existent friends when Teddy obviously noticed the bruises. Better to just tell him the truth and get it over with.
"I was in town and saw some super villain robbing a bank. I couldn't just stand by and watch, could I?" So maybe it wasn't the full truth, but it was a simplified version of it.

Teddy wasn't expecting any form of acknowledgement that Tommy had a life before his time in super jail, but when the other boy told him, he kept his cool. He didn't want to frighten the boy into shutting up and not letting anyone in.

"Yeah that's true. Can't really walk away from something like that." Without a moment's hesitation Teddy got up and went back into the kitchen to retrieve some ice to help with the discoloration on that very pale boy's face. "Just remember," Teddy called from the kitchen, "you're not alone anymore. You could always call one of us to help you out." He returned with a bag of ice wrapped up in a towel. "Here." He handed it to Tommy.

Tommy was grateful that Teddy didn't make a big deal out of his comment about his previous life. He knew how most of the team felt about the fact that he'd been in juvie even if they didn't know the whole story or about what had happened to him whilst in there, and the only time that he and Billy had spoken about his past, his twin had looked horrified at the little he'd told him. It was all behind him now, so it was better if he just pretended it had never happened.

When Teddy returned with the icepack, he took it wordlessly and pressed it to his cheek, hissing a little at the cold. After a few moments he responded quietly, being careful not to move so to keep the icepack in place, "There wasn't time to go find you guys. But yeah, I know. I don't exactly enjoy getting beat up, even if I do have fast healing."

Teddy was trying to stay serious, but at the mention that there was simply not enough time made him burst into laughter. "Not enough time? Really?" He smacked his friend on the shoulder. "I don't think I have ever heard you admit that you were too slow for something." Teddy got close to Tommy and looked him straight in the eyes. "Now I know something is up with you. Spill it! What really happened."

Teddy may not have known the speedster for very long, but when Tommy mentioned that he didn't have enough time, well that just rubbed Teddy wrong. He couldn't recall a single time that Tommy ever mentioned something like that.

"Sorry man, didn't mean to laugh, but that just seemed too serious to be you."

Tommy rolled his eyes and watched the commercial that was currently showing for a few seconds before glancing at Teddy.

"It's not me that's too slow; it's you guys. You take fooorever to get ready." In a purposefully overexaggerated impression of his twin including dramatic waving of the hand not holding the icepack, he continued, "What do you mean we have to go and fight bad guys, Tommy? I can't just skip school, even if there is someone robbing a bank! Oh, you should've said it was my favourite supervillain, let me just sneak out and change into my costume then. Have you told the others? We need to get the rest of the team before we fight bad guys." He shifted the icepack back into place and then finished in his own voice, "And then by the time we got back to the scene, the bank robbers would've been half way to Mexico."

While it was true that the team always seemed to take a long time to get organised, at least from Tommy's perspective, it hadn't actually crossed his mind during the fight. He'd actually spent most of it struggling to concentrate enough to fight due to the frequency modulator the thieves were using, never mind thinking about finding his team mates. Teddy didn't need to know that however.

Teddy laughed so hard he was doubled over. The mimicking of his boyfriend was so exact that he just couldn't help but laugh. At was at moments like this that he truly believed that Billy and Tommy were twins, even if they did not grow up together. Even with just the voice he could see of hint of Billy in Tommy. And for just a moment he admire just how handsome the other boy was. "Alright, alright. That is true. Billy is such a fanboy. I think it's endearing." Teddy said that with a smile on his face. "I think he would take the longest to get ready out of all of us."

Teddy sunk back into the couch and resumed watching tv. "So what's on the agenda for today? I don't think anyone else will be showing up for another few hours, if at all today."

Tommy smirked at Teddy's reaction, secretly pleased that he apparently had the ability to make the other boy laugh so much.

"Billy is the biggest fanboy to ever fanboy," Tommy laughed, teasing a little, "And you're second. You can't deny it. You two argue about continuity in the middle of fights." He raised an eyebrow before adding, "You only think it's endearing because you're sickeningly whipped."

"I was just gonna crash," Tommy admitted, finally giving into the urge to lie down fully. He let his head drop down onto the arm and kicked his feet up so his legs were draped across Teddy's. "But I guess could stretch to kicking your ass at a video game."

Teddy gave a little smile. "Hey, we just know what we love and love what we know. Hey! I'm not whipped.... he's just really cute. How could you not give in to his adorable-ness.... what's a word, right." Teddy let one hand rest on Tommy's shin. "Ha! You really think you can beat me at any of these games? Go ahead and pick one and I'll set it up, but first things first, what do I get if I win?"

"If you say so," Tommy replied, his smirk making it clear that he didn't believe Teddy. It was obvious to people who'd only just met them that Teddy and Billy were in love, never mind someone who actually knew them well.
"Easily. He's my brother so I really don't find him adorable." Tommy tilted his head to the side so he could see the pile of games by the tv, reading through the titles as he retorted, "There's no way you'll win, but I gueeessss I can humour you. If you win... well what do you want?"

With Tommy mentioning that Billy was his brother it made Teddy think for a moment before he asked Tommy a question that really only the two of them would understand. "What's it like for you, Tommy?"

As he asked that Teddy pushed off the speedsters legs and bent down to set up the system for some Mario Kart. "I mean, you had a whole life, a family, and an identity of who you were and then we came barging in to your jail cell to tell you that Billy is your twin and you are the children of Wanda and Vision. How does it feel? How do you deal with that? I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of my new found family. My mother is still and always will be my mother, but now I know that I am the son of a Skrull princess and Mar-Vel. MAR-VEL! I heard he had other children, or something like that. What do I do when ever, if ever, I meet them?" Teddy handed Tommy a controller before sitting back down, replacing Tommy's legs on his lap and clicking through the start screen.

Tommy took the controller when Teddy handed it to him and started flicking through the character options as quickly as the game would allow. By the time he'd thought about the other boy's questions, he'd picked his character and car.

"It definitely weird to think that Jonas is maybe sort of my father," He commented, whilst still trying to figure out how to answer the questions without really saying anything about his past. "I still find it hard to believe all that mystical reincarnated souls stuff, especially seeing as we were already born when the Scarlet Witch had her kids, but it doesn't really make a difference seeing as she disappeared. I'dtakeBillyoverFrankandMaryanyday." The last part was muttered fast enough to be barely understandable although he guessed Teddy had probably caught the gist of it at least.

"Treat it like they were regular half siblings?" He suggested.

Teddy blinked at how fast Tommy was flipping through the characters. At times he forgot that the world was filled with such incredible people, and that's coming from someone who is a strong shapeshifter.

"Yeah I really don't understand that, though Wanda's powers are manipulation of reality, so I guess when you really want something, that something being having kids with an android, you are going to have that baby one way or another, even when evil steps in to take your happiness away."

Teddy selected his character. "Yeah I suppose they are my half siblings anyways, so it's really not that odd. Just different I suppose going from being an only child to having dead parents and unknown siblings." He chuckled. "We really are a bunch of odd balls."

"Uh-huh. I always knew you guys were odd." Tommy didn't really want the conversation about family to continue in case it got uncomfortably close to topics he wasn't willing to discuss, so he deliberately changed the topic.

"You never said what you wanted in the very unlikely event that you win. When I win, you can buy me pizza. Or well you can give me money so I can go and buy pizza from that really good place in Florence, even if they do give me dirty looks because apparently pizza isn't proper italian food or something?"