Chapter Text
Tommy finds him rooting through a Goodwill bin in Jersey City at 11:33pm. The clothes are strewn on the ground around him, illuminated by the street lights, but nobody is around to stop him.
“This looks about your size,” Tommy says, lifting up a discarded t-shirt from the pile and holding it up for comparison.
The boy startles at Tommy’s sudden arrival, instinctively letting out a small pulse before he’s even realised who he was. Even so, it’s enough to knock the bin over, which hits the pavement with a noisy clang. Tommy cringes, half-expecting to immediately hear sirens, but no, the noise fades back into silence.
“Dude, come on,” Tommy says.
“It’s you.” The boy is tense, defensive. “What do you want?”
“If you know who I am then you already know why I’m here,” Tommy says. Yeah, he rehearsed that. So what.
“You attacked me!” the kid snaps, raising his hand as if to prepare for another blast. “I was out, and you sent me back!”
“And then I freed you again!” Tommy says, lifting his arm to cover his face. “Doesn’t that make us even?”
The boy hesitates. “That was you?”
“Well, yeah, I don’t just hang out in prison corridors for fun.”
There’s distrust written all over his face. “I thought you worked for them.”
“Why would you think that? Didn’t you see the news yesterday?”
“Do I look like I saw the news yesterday?”
“Alright,” Tommy says, a little crestfallen. “I’m here ‘cause I owe you an apology. And ‘cause I want to offer you a job.”
“A job?”
“Well, it’s probably more like an unpaid internship, at this point, but it does come with great benefits, like free accommodation and video game access courtesy of one Bishop Publishing.”
The kid pauses, taking in Tommy’s costume. “Are you a superhero?”
“I’m trying to be,” Tommy says.
A moment passes. The kid doesn’t say anything, and Tommy sits down on the curb next to him, still holding the t-shirt. “What’s your deal, anyway? Are you a mutant? Inhuman?”
“Does it matter?”
“Probably not, these days.” Tommy pauses. “Look, kid, the truth is, I was just like you, but I got out. Um, I’m not really one for speeches, but what matters is I made something of myself, and I want to help you do that too, if you want.”
“You’re Shepherd, aren’t you?”
“So you have heard of me.”
“Only ‘cause they never let me forget that I wasn’t as good as you.” He sounds bitter, angry.
“Whatever they can hold against you, they will,” Tommy says. “If you don’t have anything, they’ll find something.”
The boy puts his chin on his knees, and Tommy realises he’s shivering. It must be cold out here. When’s the last time he had something to eat?
“I didn’t mean to hurt anyone,” he says, after a moment. “They were following me, and…I just wanted them to leave me alone.”
“You didn’t hurt anyone, it was fine,” Tommy assures him. “And nobody’s coming after you now. Have you got any family?”
“No.”
Tommy doesn’t ask.
“Kid, you don’t need a costume right away, just think about it. Meantime, why don’t we get you somewhere warm, huh?”
There’s another pause, before the boy finally nods. “Alright…okay.”
Tommy stands up first, offering him a hand. “What’s your name, by the way? I don’t even know.”
“It's Timmy.”
“Timmy?”
“Timmy Sheahan.”
Tommy stifles a laugh, desperately trying to make it sound like a cough, and Timmy bristles. “What?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing, kid, you’re wonderful,” Tommy says, patting him on the back and trying hide a smile. “You want to stop for a burger on the way? My treat.”