2013.08.31 - Fear and Hope

While Cental Park may be NYC's biggest and best known oasis of greenery in the concrete jungle, there are a lot of smaller parks. And right now, one Eddie Thorson is entering one in Lower Metropolis. Dressed in jeans and a Spider-Man t-shirt, he's sporting some new bruises and scrapes but nothing serious. Backpack on and a bag from the magic store Billy introduced him to in one hand, Eddie finds a bench to sit down on. "Man...last n-night was tough," he murmurs.

Today was a workday for Terry. Thankfully he'd reached the end of that particular workday, and was now making his way through his various shortcuts to head on over to the Terminal and see what's going on with his teammates... only to find one on the way. "Eddie!" calls the older boy, waving an empty cardboard tube on his way. Today seems to be one of his better mood days, for what it's worth, despite the all-black attire of choice.

Eddie jumps at the call of his name, looking around until he spots Terry. The tube gets a few blinks before Eddie lifts a hand to wave back. "Hey, Terry," he greets when his friend is close enough, rising off the bench to greet him with a hug. He's apparently in a better mood today too.

Terry stops when he's hugged, eyes going wide at the physical contact. He doesn't stop it, but is clearly shocked and immobilized by the action. Granted, this /is/ the estranged from his family snarky goth that we're talking about... so that's probably about the reaction that would be expected of him. After about... five to ten seconds to recover from the shellshock he does speak up again, "You're... apparantly in a good mood!"

Letting Terry go, Eddie offers him a slightly apologetic smile and nods. "I k-kind of am. I fought two d-d-demons last night and some of my r-research on beating them is paying off. Even if what I used w-won't be enough to deal with Chthon himself, it's a step in r-r-right direction," he chimes. "What about you?"

"That's good to hear. Sounds like just the kind of thing the doctor ordered... and with any luck like you said, a step in the right direction." Terry replies -- nope, no harm, no foul from the hug! -- before letting his features twist into a bit of a frown. "How's that looking, by the way? We pretty close to the finish line on giving Chthon a good punch to the soft parts, or...?"

Sitting back down, Eddie runs his hands through his hair and gives a sigh. "I...don't know. I haven't heard back from Doctor Strange and haven't b-been able to contact anyone else. Teddy's b-b-been busy so I don't know what's up on his end...and Thor and Sif c-can't help."

Terry frowns in response and moves to take a seat of his own, hands moving to fold into his lap. "Wish I could be more help, but my powers have been..." he waves a hand in the air in a so-so motion. "...lately, you know? Haven't been able to keep focus. It's... not been good. At least no more 'accidents' lately, so it's not all /bad,/ either."

And Eddie immediately looks concerned. "What d-d-do you mean? Something's wrong with your powers?" he asks. "What do you think m-might be causing it?" he goes on, worried about his friend.

Terry shakes his head, "...maybe not so much with my powers but with the back seat driver. Normally the other me takes over and doesn't let go until the person I'm working on has either gotten far away or isn't conscious. Lately... it's kinda been stopping short of it. Maybe I'm just worried I'll end up picking up on the wrong fear again, you know," he points to his head. "Problems all up in here." On the other hand, maybe it means he's been able to exhert a little more control without even being aware of the fact. Terry, however, is a pessimist.

Eddie listens for a moment and his concerned frown turns into a concerned smile. "Well m-maybe that means you're getting better control of your powers," he offers. "If you t-t-t-take the driver's seat instead of that um...other...it'd be awesome."

"I... suppose maybe?" Terry replies with a bit of a shrug. He's not convinced, but... this /is/ Terry we're talking about. He'll believe it when it happens, and maybe only after it happens twice.

Eddie grins, reaching over to pat his friend on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll pull it off," he chimes. "I know you c-c-can. You're awesome like that, Terry," he says, more of that usual faith and hope shining through.

Terry chuckles at that - yes, he /is/ in a better mood afterall, despite his pessimism. "You never give up, Eddie. That's one of the great things about you, so don't ever change... seriously." the older boy replies, leaning back against the bench. Letting his head loll back as he looks up at the sky. "Ever wonder what it would've been like if we'd have grown up, y'know, normal?"

Eddie just ends up blushing. "I'll try n-not to," he says. He doubts he'll change though, never giving up being one of the things that keeps him going. He watches Terry for a moment before canting his head to the side. "Like...without p-powers?"

"Yeah, /exactly./" Terry replies, Eddie hit the nail on the hammer right there. It's a subject that crosses the older teen's mind on a good many occasions... so it certainly doesn't hurt to ask if he's not the only one.

Eddie nods a little, looking down. "It...umm," he frowns. "It wouldn't have changed anything f-f-for me. I didn't even find out about my powers until after it was t-too late for what most people would call normal," he explains quietly.

Terry frowns and shakes his head. "Well, at least your life's gotten better from that point. Afterall, look at you know. Parents like Thor and Sif, a whole Kingdom that honors you, good friends around you... I think it's safe to say that your life got better than normal could've ever been, right?"

Blushing still, Eddie laughs a little. "I don't know about them all honoring me but y-yeah, it's all gotten way better. Especislly since I have awesome friends like you."

Terry chuckles again, head rolling forward and turning to look at Eddie. Corner of his lips edging upwards a bit. "Thanks, Eddie. I appreciate my friends too, don't get me wrong, but... I had friends before this all happened, too, you know? Then one day I work up the nerve to ask out this girl who was /way/ out of my league, kinda like someone else we know... she shoots me down hard and I go from a not-entirely-unliked teenager to the monster that people tell their children about to keep them in school. Again and again and again..."

Eddie blinks a few times. "Your p-powers activated when she said no or were they all just b-being jerks?" he asks. "And I don't think that p-person is out of your league. You're a great guy, Terry."

"All Grade A Jerks. Cheerleaders and jocks surrounding a lone goth -- you do the math. Didn't work out for them very well, and worked out even less for me." Now Terry's pessimism is kicking back into gear. There's definitely more to the story, but Terry will settle for revealing it a little bit at a time. It's clearly not easy for him to relive. "... I try to be, Eddie -- but the fact is I'm also a walking time bomb. One thing goes wrong and..."

"Oh. Those types..." Eddie trails off with a frown. He's had plenty of run-ins with those types himself. He then frowns and gives Terry a look. "And n-nothing. You're not a time bomb, you're Terry Ward. A great hero and my friend and t-t-teammate."

"Yeah, exactly." Terry replies, making a gun out of his fingers and putting it up to his head. "You know, after it happened the only good thing about it was the revenge factor -- and then later on I felt bad about that, too." To the latter, though? He shakes his head again. Nope, not going to be that easy to convince right now. "Right now? You bet. Five minutes from now? I just don't know. I thought that part was over, but then there was Thor, and Mend... and it just makes me wonder who's next? Ben? Billy? You? Kate? The only good thing is that the people I surround myself with can /do/ something about it."

Eddie frowns. "D-don't worry about me. I c-can deal with fear," he says simply. "And five minutes from now you'll still b-b-be Terry. My friend and an amazing hero and member of the Young Allies."

"I hope you're right about that Eddie, I really do." is Terry's reply, his tone a bit half-hearted, his gaze moving down towards the ground. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be - well, you know. Still..." he just trails off and sighs.

"I know I am," Eddie chimes. "I have faith in you, Terry," he adds. He listens for a moment before reaching over to pull Terry into a side hug. "C'mon. We should g-g-go get something to eat. There's a hot dog c-cart around here...my treat."

Terry doesn't respond for a few moments, just staring at the ground -- and after a bit, leaning on Eddie. When the younger boy suggests food? "... you know, that sounds pretty good to me. Maybe a bit of food will help me get my mind off of things..."

"If it d-d-doesn't, we can keep trying," Eddie says, hopping to his feet. He offers a smile and a hand to help Terry up. "I should t-tell you about the big mean purple thing me and Lor-Zod fought in Central Park the other week. I think it had fear p-powers too."