AN: Vacation to Orlando, here I come! As soon as I'm back (Thursday), expect updates every day, every other day, or every two days. Finally time to write. Halleluiah!
Disclaimer: Nope.
Acknowledgement
"What's new with you, Tommy Boy?"
The other teen glances from his comic book and grins. "I gots more comics!" Reaching over to his desk, he holds up a stack of brightly colored pages. "One of the nurse got 'em for me!"
"Aw, sweet dude." Cam takes a seat at the end of the bed, as far away from Tommy as possible—because head injury or not, he raped Artemis, and Cam can't ever forget that—and extends a hand. He flips through the pile and lets out a low whistle. "Spider Man, Wolverine, Captain America. Impressive."
"Yeah, I know! I've already—Tuppy!"
At first, the exclamation is lost on him. That's when a voice from the doorway says, "Hey, Tommy."
Cam whirls around to see the female half of the villainous duo, decked out in Belle Reve orange. She's smiling, but there's something off, like it's stretched too tight.
Tommy practically jumps off the bed and slams into her with a hug. "I miss'd you, Tuppy! It's been forever!"
"It's only been two weeks," she objects gently, but the statement is tinged with sadness, and Cam can only imagine how long two weeks are to the twins.
"How comes you weren't here 'fore now?"
"Some things came up. I'm sorry, Tommy. But look." She reaches into her pocket and takes out a chocolate bar. "Here you go."
"Oh, thanks!" The wrapping is already on the floor and the candy in his mouth.
"Eat slowly; you don't want a belly ache." For the first time, her eyes meet Cam's. "Listen, Tommy, I need to talk to Cameron for a little. We'll be right outside, okay? You'll be good, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
She heads for the hallway, and the hero reluctantly follows. Outside, they assume opposite sides, the space between them a battleground not yet used.
"Why do you visit him?" she finally asks quietly. "I see yer name on the visitor's sheet every week, and he talks about you…why?"
He doesn't know how to answer, how to possibly respond, because nothing he says will appease her. Tommy is in the hospital, a twelve-year-old trapped in a nineteen-year-old's body, confused and scared, and it's because of him. And she, who's spent her whole life beside her brother, can do nothing but visit every so often and try to restore some sense of normalcy. How can he validate anything he's done?
"I…I feel guilty," he manages. "For doing this to him." He pauses, the words stuck. "I put him in this place. It's my fault."
He expects her to agree. To shout. To hit him. Instead, she sighs, one so small and quick he almost misses it, and replies, "You shouldn't be blaming yerself."
"What? But I—"
"I know what you did. And I know what he did." Her nails dig into her palms. "Do you think that just because I'm a villain, or because I'm his sister, I'm okay with him raping someone? 'Cause above all else, I'm a woman, and it still disgusts me to think that my brother could do that."
"I'm sorry." He doesn't know for what he's apologizing, but it seems right.
"He wasn't always like this," she continues, more to herself than to Cam. "When we were kids, he was harmless. Then we discovered our powers and…somethin' changed. He changed. Now, I'm not saying I was a saint, but Tommy…he done flipped a switch. All he wanted to do was fight. That strength went to his head. Made him feel invincible. When our parents tried to control how he used them, he up and left. I should've stayed behind but…we were two halves to a whole; I couldn't let him go alone.
"I never figured he could do something like this, not when he had me, y'know? He always looked out fer me, took care a me, so how could he ever do something like that? When I heard 'bout what he did to the hero, I didn't believe it. Told people to shut their damn mouths. Then Tommy never got captured, and there were so many people talking 'bout it, and I couldn't pretend anymore."
Cam leans back, studies her face, the creases that make her look so much older. How much must it hurt for her, to see what her brother has become?
"He wasn't always like this," she repeats.
"People change," is all he says, hoping it sounds knowledgeable, understanding. He's gone from traumatized child to villain to hero—yeah, people can definitely change.
"I can't abandon him. Sometimes, I get so angry that I want to—but I can't. He's kin. He needs me." She thinks for a second. "You know about that."
And he does. Because Dad is still Icicle and Crystal is still Killer Frost and yet he continues to visit them. Family is more than blood and genetic similarities; it's love, and compassion, and concern, and even though his childhood was by no means perfect, those things were wrapped up in there, scattered and few but still there.
"I understand."
They're quiet for a moment, musing over the invisible bonds that keep them anchored to those they shouldn't love but do.
"How come you haven't seen Tommy in two weeks?"
Anger crosses her face. "Bastard guard at Reve—Wilcox? Managed to keep his job after that first outbreak. Caught him leering at me, so I flipped him off. Wrote me up for subservience and kept me from seeing Tommy." She bites her lip, and Cam doesn't need to be a Martian to feel the waves of rage emanating from her. "Only good thing's that I'm in the work release program, and the owner of the shop gave me a free chocolate bar when I told him 'bout my sick brother in the hospital. 'Course, I didn't tell him why my brother was in the hospital…"
"I'll take to supervisors at Belle Reve," Cam promises. "Get Wilcox fired."
Tuppence offers a wry smile. "Being a hero gets you lots of favors."
"Yeah, well, what can I say?"
She seems about to laugh but does a one-eighty instead. Staring at her nails, she murmurs, "Look, I need you to tell me the truth. I know you hurt Tommy when he was fighting for Kobra, and I know your Team was with you, so…is the reason you did what you did because Tommy was going to rape that girl again?"
He's never disliked being a horrible liar, but at this moment, he would have given anything to look at her and swear that her brother hadn't tried to rape Artemis again. But he can't, so he only nods slowly.
She shakes her head. "God, that bastard," she whispers. "I can't believe he'd do that! He has a sister, damn him!"
"Tuppence, please, it's, it's alright. Artemis is getting better and, and it's over. Don't hold this against him, okay? He's suffering and he needs you."
The blonde tilts her head slightly. "How in the Hell did you last so long as a villain when you like this?"
"Perseverance," he offers. Gesturing to the door, he asks, "Shall we?"
She starts behind him but stops, her hand on his elbow. "You think, if Tommy gets better, he'll be like he were when we were kids? Or like he were before?"
There's a right answer and a wrong answer. He goes for a third option.
"If you're here throughout this, by his side, he'll go back to normal."
