Midnight Snippets

Valkyrie - Apocalypse Beasts AU

    Mercy was not in the town.

    She huffed as the thought occurred, not sure whether to laugh or scowl. She settled on the latter. Mercy was indeed not in the town, because the townspeople had no mercy.

    She took another step up the hill and wrapped her jacket tighter around her middle, not daring to look back. It was cold, and the sky was grey and darkening by the minute. Her breath came out in white puffs as she trudged along. She had no doubt that by morning the bare ground would be covered in snow. She did have doubts about whether she would share the same fate or not.

    She hadn't even done anything wrong. Someone had been hoarding food stores and she called them out. Yet she was the one that was exiled, not the greedy thief. Stupid. What kind of people would kick out a fourteen year old girl in the middle of winter for catching a criminal?

    She should have expected it, really. She knew better than to use her abilities for these people. It was the same thing that happened to her mother, after all. Too perceptive. Sees right through you. Terrifying. Freak.

    Incredible, just like your mom. Papa had always said that. Papa. He was back home. No, not home. He had made the same face when they shut the gate as he had when Mom left. No! Don't take my baby away! She's not dangerous! No! You monsters! He had fought so hard. He'd be back in the holding cells again, not at home. Poor Papa.

    She shivered as the wind passed through the trees. It was so quiet. So still. So lonely. She was used to being lonely, but she hated the quiet more than anything.

    So she stilled.

    And listened.

There was something behind her.

    She felt it's warm breath on her neck. Daring not to move, she didn't turn. She didn't need to see it to know what it was.

    The creature, sensing that it's prey was aware of its presence, prowled around her, soft and elegant. It was cat-like, with a majestic mane and striking tawny coat, and terrifying claws and fangs that could tear through steel like butter. It easy dwarfed the vehicles the hunters used when they went out. The beast was huge.

    She had heard about this one before. The hunters had described it as an enormous lion-like creature with wicked claws and teeth. They had said that once it had slammed it's paw on the ground and the earth had shaken and split in its wake. There had been an earthquake that day.

    She had always wondered about that, though. If it was a powerful, hungry beast, what was stopping it from tearing down the town's walls and eating everyone?

    Actually, what was stopping it from eating her now?

    The beast was sitting in front of her now, watching her, still as the trees around them. It was waiting. Waiting for what? To kill her? Why?

    Curiosity broke through her terror. She wanted to know, and it was so, so quiet. She wanted to hear it.

    Don't be afraid, please.

    Mercy startled and tripped backwards over her own feet. The beast blinked.

    Did something startle her? Maybe it took a minute to process... I don't want to scare her.

    "You..."

    Me?

    "Are you... not going to eat me?"

    The beast's eyes widened.

    Can you... hear me?

    Great, now even the monster thinks I'm a freak.

    Telepathy can go both ways, you know.

    "No one's ever heard my thoughts before."

    They probably have, they just didn't realize that was what it was.

     Oh. "Okay...." How...?

    The beast hummed mentally. She (it was a woman's voice speaking to her) responded to her unfinished question.

    You're one of us.

    No. No way. "I'm human. Not a beast." I'm not a monster. I'm not a freak.

    I know. We weren't always the way we are now, either.

    An image was impressed in Mercy's mind. A woman, late twenties maybe, with long hair and bright, brown eyes. The same eyes as the beast in front of her.

    "Is that you?"

    It was. A long time ago.

    "Were all the beasts human?"

    Yes. We were like you. Humans with abilities far beyond what others are capable of. They called us Deviants. There used to be a lot of us.

    Deviants... "Will I turn into a beast, too?"

    I don't think so.

    "What happened then? To all the deviants?"

    I... don't really know, to be honest. One day we all just... changed. A lot of people didn't survive the change. Most of the others caused a lot of damage on accident.

    Mercy saw the memory before she could help it. Bustling cities in places that were now only ruins. People using their powers freely. People screaming as they transformed against their will.

    She pulled away from the beast's mind. A beast. Suddenly she remembered what she was talking to.

    "If... if you're all human, why do so many beasts hurt people?"

    The beast laughed darkly.

    Humans are capable of terrible things. You already know that, don't you?

    "Are you?"

    Capable? Yes. But I prefer not to cause harm if I can help it. And no, she continued, deadpan, I haven't eaten anyone.

    Mercy breathed a sigh of relief she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She glanced up at the now-dark sky, then back at the beast, and stood. The beast watched her hesitantly.

    I can give you shelter, if you want. I won't hurt you, I promise.

    She paused. Looked up at the beast. No, she couldn't think of her as a beast anymore.

    "My name's Mercy. What's yours?"

    The intelligent, impossibly human eyes smiled back at her.

    Madeline. It's very nice to meet you, Mercy.

~
A/N: This is a very complicated AU in which all the Deviants in the world somehow turned into the physical manifestations of their abilities. This ended up being an apocalyptic event that pretty much caused the collapse of modern society. Decades later, most people live in fear of both the beast that roam the earth and the rare Deviant in their midst.

So yeah. Very different from canon. :P