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When Billy was younger, there was always something missing. Something that felt off. Something that was so fundamentally wrong that it was impossible to ignore. Many times he had found himself turing to say something to someone who simply wasn’t there. Over the years, that missing ache didn’t get better, not exactly. More like he just got better at ignoring it. He lived his life. Helped with his brothers, went to school, got bullied. Then, that day, he met Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. He’d always felt drawn to her, more so than the other Avengers. He didn’t know why. But when she healed him, talked to him, that feeling of missing lessened. Just a little. After that, he continued his life. He discovered his powers, met Nate and Eli and Teddy. Oh god, Teddy. When he was with Teddy, that feeling of missing was almost nonexistent, and Billy was happy. He joined the Young Avengers, met Cassie and Kate and fought Kang the Conqueror. Then Teddy’s mom was killed by the Super-Skrull and Billy couldn’t save her. He lost Teddy and the feeling of missing returned, just like it had never left. Break into a juvie center? For Teddy? Of course. Vision opens the door and through the smoke - their eyes lock. The sense of missing dissipates completely, replaced with the feeling of rightness.
“Woah… you guys could be twins”
Yes. Sibling. Twin. Brother. My Brother. This. This is what I was missing all these years. How could I have functioned without this. This thing.
Tommy stays. He says he doesn’t believe that we’re twins. How could you not? Don’t you feel it too? But Tommy’s actions speak louder than his words. When we were looking for Wanda, Quicksilver grabs me and Tommy. Tommy runs. He runs and runs and runs after his brother, his twin. Silly Quicksilver, you should know better then to separate us. We’re brothers after all. Don’t you understand?
We fight Dr. Doom, we change the timestream. Cassie and Vision die. My fault. All my fault. I sit there, by the window. Seeing everything pass below me but not seeing a thing. All my fault. All my fault. I know he visits me. He and Teddy. My soul and my heart. I sit there. I know I’m hurting them but. It’s all my fault.
The gray finally lifts. Cassie and Vision get the memorial they deserve. I look at Tommy. He knows what I’m trying to say.
“ It’s okay. I don’t understand, but I’ll be here.” His eyes say back. I smile for the first time in months. It will all be okay. I have my brother here by my side.