Title: Don't Leave Me Behind
Timeline: Avengers: The Children's Crusade #3 and #4 (in between)
A/N: I'm kinda of in a Teddy/Tommy stage, I guess. Ah well. This is in-between Children's Crusade 3 and 4 where Billy leaves to Latveria in the middle of the night. So if you haven't been reading the series, this won't kinda make sense.

Wiccan.

Billy.

The gay, Jewish, Avengers nerd.

The reason why the Avengers are scared shitless even if they don't show it.

My...brother.

I stared at my bedrooms ceiling in the Wundagore Inn that Magneto had arranged for us. The soft quilt covered my body, still clad in spandex, not bothering to even take my costume off, knowing that as soon as I woke up, the hunt for the Scarlet Witch would resume. Screw running from the law and school work. We had to find mum. Some kids spend their free time hanging with friends and hooking up with chicks. Well, I spend time teaming up with a mutant terrorist and his estranged son trying to find one of the most (apparently) dangerous mutants on earth. Or something along those lines. It's kinda blurry.

If I listened close enough I could faintly hear Kate and Eli arguing out where the creepy doombot remains of the Scarlet Witch were, my uncle and grandfather were battling with snarky comebacks down the hall where Uncle Pete's room was, and Billy and Teddy's 'I love you' speeches were coming from the room next door to mine. It was kinda sad though, considering how Billy was going to betray him.

I knew Billy was going to make an escape tonight to find mum. Cause that's exactly what I would do myself. I knew him. Well, I'd like to think I did. But I know myself pretty well and that's about as close as I'm gonna get, right? Billy never talks to me unless he's yelling at me or telling me to shut up. We never really had a brother relationship, as you can see. But we had something.

So, after Teddy had practically threatened my uncle and promised to rip his legs off if he took my brother with him to Latveria, I knew exactly what Billy was going to do. Idiot.

But why Billy? Why couldn't I help?

The first time Pietro 'kidnapped' him, I felt kinda left out. It's not like I wanted to be kidnapped, but if Pietro wanted a link to his sister, well last time I checked, I'm an kind of an option as well you know. It probably would have to do with the reality altering magic that Billy has compared to the super-speed that I got stuck with in the soul transfer thingy.

The second time when Billy tried to escape to Latveria with the assistance of Uncle Pete, I had to wonder why Billy never asked me to come too. Did he just suddenly forget me? He didn't even tell me he was leaving. He didn't say goodbye. Do I mean anything to him at all.

He was the one who persisted that we were brothers and the reincarnated souls of Thomas and William Maximoff in the first place. Okay, I had to admit that I was kind of reluctant to the idea. But why wasn't I playing a bigger part in all this crap? I know that I care about Wanda as much as he does, and I don't want my baby brother doing something stupid and getting hurt.

Which, in about 2 hours or so, Teddy's gonna come up to my room and tell me exactly that and then expect me to do something about it.

And that's why I'm still awake, I just worry about Billy so much sometimes and what the Avengers are gonna do to him when he goes Wanda-Crazy (that's the new term. Quote from Eli.) I really care for Billy, I do. My mind is running at a million times per hour and so I can't sleep. Plus Uncle Pete is smashing stuff.

"TOMMY!"

Yep. Teddy. See?

"OPEN THE GOD DAMN DOOR!"

The hair that was falling into my eyes was damp with sweat as I sat up, Teddy pounding his fist into the door.

He's gone.

He's done what I thought he did. Thanks, Billy. Thanks for doing this so we can clean up after your crap. Cool. It's not like we have anything else to do, is it?

I slipped out of my bed and went to the door, putting my goggles over my eyes. As soon as I opened the door, I kept on walking, passing a distressed Teddy. "Let's go rescue my crazy ass brother."

As I realized Teddy wasn't following me, I stopped in my tracks and turned around. Teddy was still standing there, frozen, panic written all over his pale face. "Are you coming or not? Billy is in some big crap, remember? Most probably held captive by none other than Victor Von Doom himself?" Teddy still didn't say anything. "You know? The evil guy? The smartest dude in the world?"

"How did you know?" Teddy managed to choke out as he caught up with me. "You're the first person I've told."

I shrugged, offhandedly, running down the corridor with Teddy to the main room where uncle Pete, Magneto, Kate, Eli, Cass and Vision were standing there, awaiting answers. "Call it a brother thing."

-End-