I Can't Sleep: Future AU [Ask]

[Milicondras]

Chapter 1: Petroleum June 18th 2029 ‘Day 6 I’ll start reacting negatively in 3 days… and if I have to fight back or use my powers… even less. If I pass out from exhaustion I’ll be out for 8 hours unable to wake up…’ The woman Thought before cursing to herself resting her head against the boulder behind her as she closed her eyes even breathing as quietly as possible. ‘I can’t rest until I know I’m in a secure location but these things won’t back off long enough for me to even make myself a proper shelter.’ She thought to herself. “You’re just a damn flunky at best and a murderer at worst! How the hell do you expect to keep any of us safe!” The man’s angry voice flooding back to her from her memories, his mouth almost looking like it was ready to snarl like a rabid animal. “By doing anything and everything I can. You just need to stay alive for 4 days and then the rescue team will be here.” She remembered saying as she watched the man’s face soften.. All but his brows. She remembered the small collection of people who were beaten battered and fighting just to stay standing behind him. She remembered their faces, they didn’t want to be left alone but they knew they had to be in order to stay safe. And even if they didn’t wish to see her possibly die… they wanted to live far more, and they still only saw her as a mutant. “When they get here… don’t wait… just go.” She knew then as much as she did now. There wasn’t much of a chance of her coming back even relatively soon if at all. Her eyes snapped open as she came back from dozing off at the sound of burned and dried up soil shifting under heavy footsteps, and thin needle like ones. She pressed up against the boulder more before slowly looking up to see the long shifty neck that looked just as long as she was tall swaying back and forth above her. The sound coming from each sway sounded as if am elderly man was breathing in through collapsed lungs and exhaling like a groan through fan blades. She felt her skin prickle and stand on edge with the hairs on her arms as if her very body was trying to flee from her. She knew this creature… she couldn’t outrun it. She had to stay quiet, as quiet as possible. It lifted its front mantis-like arms over the boulder to step down with its sharp talon-like fronts easily 2 feet worth of them sinking into the ground. Tears trailing down the woman’s cheeks as she tried to keep her breathing steady looking from its talons back up to its skeletal rib cage torso with only a small chunky looking sack that looked made of pure skin at its center. It pumped like a heart as several other parts of it shifted about around the very thing that pumped at its core. It started to shutter its rib like bones clicking together like an insect calling for its mate before slowly stopping as it stepped down on the boulder above her with a human-like foot and leg coated in muscle and dwarfed its arms easily. Her eyes slowly moved from it to its neck that slowly twisted, spinning its head slowly 360 degrees before it slowly bent to hook like a candy cane in order to look under itself. And its face was the worst… because it. Was human. As well as it’s scream when it saw her. She quickly got to her feet and started to run, sending out light blue blasts from her feet to speed herself up but she knew it wouldn’t last long. She held her hand out in front of her whispering. “Visualize what you want.” a ball of bright blue energy forming in her palm slowly. “And take it.” She closed her fist as the ball stretched out and formed into a katana like blade. She kicks off the ground to back flip as a talon slams down where she had just been standing. Her feet landing on its neck that she darted across. She would have to fight, she already just used up a large amount of energy just to make it this far. But the easiest method to finish this quickly was to get to its heart from the neck before it’s head swung back around to her. She spun the blade to hold it backhanded as she neared the rib cage. She stepped down on the spinal cord as she slammed her hand down to stab the sack with the blade only for the ribs to shift and twist to face its back before slamming together like a bear trap snapping into her arm and upper thigh. Shouting in pain as her attack was stopped she looked back just in time to see the face coming at her baring its several rows of needle like teeth. She spun her hand around of her free arm to grab its face by the forehead barely holding it back as it screeched at her and started to sway its torso around. If it wasn’t for the ribs in her right now she might have actually been thrown off. She though started to sweat from the extra pain being sent through her from the ribs jerking about in her now. Tears streaming down her face and her eyes that were now black with bright glowing blue irises and faintly tinted pupils. If she did what she was thinking of it would use up the rest of her energy and she’d pass out… if it didn’t work she’d die. But. The people were already gone by now, safe, far from here. She closed her eyes and exhaled, she was ready. Her hair turned a bright blue glowing brightly as she opened her eyes as her hand glowed brightly, focusing all of her energy in a single blast of 10 tons of compacted concussive force. The skull of the creature pressing in under her grip with a crack… but it roared in anger. Her hair fading back to brown as her blade shattered from lack of energy. It failed, and her energy left her. She felt her legs giving in on her the only thing keeping her up were the ribs. Her remaining strength barely holding back the head trying to get at her. She clenched her eyes shut along with her jaw as she felt her fingernails digging into the creature's forehead. For so long she had been more than willing to die, though at this point almost half her life she almost wished it just to avoid being a nuisance to the rest of the world. But in this moment as she faced death finally and fully. She wished to live. She rather than feeling like she was about to pass out felt a surge of energy flow through her. She opened her eyes as she heard the creature groan and sway in exhaustion as the veins in its face trialed up towards her hand that was now glowing a murky brown almost black color as it swayed more the ribs loosened their grip on her arm and thigh while her body felt like it was nearly fully rested. Her eyes fading totally black now with an aura of the same murky brown near black color while her hair grew darker. She saw its eyes roll back as she looked down to the sack below them and formed an energy ball in her stabbed hands palm, this one looked more murky and like it was dripping oil she feeling her tears growing more heavy and thick as they fell they turning to the same oil like mixture as they trailed down her cheeks. She clenching her fist forming the same blade before shoving the tired creatures head away and grabbed the rib in her arm and pulled it out with a grunt and kicked the one in her thigh with her other leg to pop it out letting herself fall off the spine only to catch it with her free uninjured arm. In the same fluent motion she shot her arm forward and stabbed into the sack with the drippy blade cutting right into it making the creature shreek one last time as it collapsed to the ground and the pumping of the sack ended. She pulled the blade out and panted looking over it with frowned brows. She normally could only convert her own energy to other forms of natural energy resources… but she had just stolen that creature's energy…. “Petroleum… oil used for fuels normally only found in fossils… remains of animals and plants…” She muttered to herself looking to the limp corpse beside her. She looked to the grey and slowly fading to night sky above her seeing several helicopters in the distance. “... Hopefully there’s no fire involved.” petroleum was pretty flammable after all. She spun the blade as it flicked off onto the ground like inanimate oil again. “Cause I think this will be my only method to get energy till I’m out of here.” She said looking back down to other creatures in the distance all different in their own way but all just as freaky as the last. And all slowly herding together to chase after the helicopters looking for a place to land. She touched her hand to her cheek feeling the oil there. “And hopefully like fire my own naturally emitted energy doesn’t hurt me cause I really don’t need the down sides to exposure to petroleum.” She Muttered as she started to walk towards where the helicopters would be trying to land any moment now She’d have time to get there, the creatures would make sure of that. And Athena really needed to conserve energy to help fight when she got there as well. OOC:This of course is an AU taking place in a future where all the worse case scenarios go through. If you wanted to join this please give me a heads up other wise I'm going to treat this as a solo story. This will also be a more dark thread for obvious reasons and also note I have been sitting on this post for a while so I made a doodle of the monster I'm not sure if I'll be doing art for each post.

[Milicondras]

June 12th 2029 There was something staring at her. It didn’t know she knew, but she was well aware. If she wasn’t she may actually be asleep rather than just laying in this bed pretending time was passing faster than it was all night perusal waiting to be let out of her room for the usual routine of the day. She rolled her head from looking at the wall to the ceiling. Her sight slowly trailing along the bumps and grooves of the ceiling each of them usually overlooked making one assume the ceiling as perfectly flat rather than the textured hand painted texture it really was before it stopped at the ridge of the ceiling vent before stopping. She slowly gripping her thin sheet a bit more as a voice from below her bed whispered. “You see it too right?” She didn’t sleep in a bunk bed cell. Her eyes grew wide s she followed the grate slots following long things and sharp fingers up to the dark shadows that featured at the center of the grate, solid white eyes looking back at her. She couldn’t see its face but she could tell that it was starting to smile somehow. Hearing her room door click she shifted and darted away from her room and into the main hall. She looked to the guard towers that oversaw the isolation rooms but only saw slowly running dark liquid from them. Letting out a strained shaky breath out only to see it slowly growing visible as the temperature rapidly began to drop around her she heard shouting from afar. Looking over she saw a guard running her way followed by a few others waving at her. She finally registering what he was saying as the collar around her neck beeped and unlocked dropping from her neck. “Behind you!” She turned to see the long arm trailing from her door reaching out towards her it was like pure shadows. Her room no longer visible like the crate but the beings eyes still visible and its smile felt wicked but just as masked as before. She focusing on her energy inside of herself for a moment on converting it, her irises and the glow over her pupils turning orange almost yellow as her hands glowed similarly before holding them up as her irises turned black. Two orbs forming around her palms before stretching out to a tower shield-like shape that fire licked off like an actively burning piece of wood. The claw sizzling as the shadows creeped back. What layer underneath looked like real skin slowly cooking from touching a flame directly. A roar let out from the room as it shaked and the claw retracted back into the room. The guard and people following him raced by her as they shouted for her to follow. Athena shifting the shield to her back to protect her from behind but frying her top a bit where it touched. She rushed with the others down the hall past the sudden screams of many of the rooms they ran by. “Listen killer, the only reason you’re out is cause we need you to help us get out of here… that and your stupid powers. So play nice and I won’t put a new collar on you when were outside.” The guard threatened as they ran. Athena looking back to the cells seeing them bend and bow as what was trapped ont he other side tried to get out desperately. “Good to know you woulda let me die along with everyone else just now… that and I’m not the only one we can call a killer.” Athena said flatly getting a glare from the guard. “Look just get me to where you’re holding my stuff, that way-” “That way you can use that and your powers to kill us then contact that demon of a sister of yours and get out of here by yourself? Yeah right I’m not stupid you freak.” Athena narrowed her eyes kicking off the ground with a fire blast pushing through the crowd grabbing the guards head and slamming it to the ground leaning in looking him dead in the eye. “Never talk about them like that…. And if I wanted you dead you wouldn't be breathing right about now….” Fear filled his eyes before he spoke again. “O o okay… your stuff is that way.” He pointed as a mountain of black ooze rolled from the direction he was pointing. Giggling coming from it as heads rolled to the surface. They looked like the nurses on staff… “And the exit…?” Athena asked for help. He pointed to the hallway off to the side of them. Athena’s hands started to glow white as her eyes turned silver and white. Then the creature’s heads all screamed at once in pure pain and agony before it started barreling towards them. “All aboard the nope train!” Athena shouted as the shield on her back blew away like it was in the wind and the group all hugged her as she sent out a beam from her hands that the air around it rushed to. It smacked against the hall wall while the other end where she was bursting from her hands pushed back against her before shooting them all down the hall in seconds. Turning off the beam as they neared the end Athena skid to a stop as the others fell down from the sudden stop. The Guard rushed to get up as Athena helped the others up and they all followed the guard to the exit. Bursting out from the front door the sound of sirens from all over were blaring as they all looked before them at a massive creature with mantis like talons and a horrifically long neck looking down at them with its human-like face. Athena letting out a curse and sigh. June 18th 2029 Athena shouted as she plunged her oil like a short sword into the head of the creature whose back she was on. Its torso and head are all human but with 10 arms on each side and its mouth region replaces with a pincher like mouth. From the hips down it resembles that of a very long centipede. It had been flailing around up until now but dropped to the ground slamming her into the ground knocking the wind out of her. Trying to catch her breath she slowly looked up to the small troop of soldiers looking down to her. Several aimed their weapons at her before the troop leader placed a hand on one of the barrels guiding it down leading the others to lower their weapons. “She’s not one of them.” “Her clothes, they’re of the prison. Clearly she’s a prisoner and only-” “Inmate or not right now she’s a civilian… one that just stopped one of those things.” The leader said holding a hand out to Athena. Athena looked at it before gripping it, jerking her blade out and standing up. “That and considering those things came from the prison she may be able to help us figure out where so we can stop the spread before too many form and they leave the island.” He said looking hopefully to Athena. Athena sighed but nodded. “I need my stuff anyways… That and you need things dead in bulk….” She spun her sword looking down towards the prison where creatures ran about attacking crash landed helicopters and a few smaller ones ran along the walls of the prison. “I know two girls who’d love to raise their kill count….” She looked back to them most looking concerned but the leader focused. “Any of you know where they keep the inmate’s belongings…?” OOC:Reminder - This of course is an AU taking place in a future where all the worse case scenarios go through. If you wanted to join this please give me a heads up other wise I'm going to treat this as a solo story. This will also be a more dark thread for obvious reasons.

[Milicondras]

--OOC: So I'm not sure what happened but like part way into this my brain just decided to vomit stuff out and I'm not sure I want to go back over this or not a this point after sitting for a while and taring at it. I don't want to to me another thing I just delete and hope to forget sooo I decided to just post it up anyways and well its not edited nor is it fully finished. Not sure if I'll continue the story or not right now for this au time line but Ill explain more down at the other ooc section.-- June 12th 2029 Athena looked back to the hill side where the other men were standing at the ready to cover her and their captain as they made their way towards the building. A few creatures that had similar tosos to humans but were mostly ribs and a horribly familiar organ sack at its center darted towards them with its limbs that looked like 4 human arms on each side and no discernible head anywhere. Athena dodged one lunging at the same time as the captain who cursed as the men’s gun fire shot at the sacks like she told them to aim and made them fall limp to the ground. “I don’t know if it's worse when they don’t have faces.” The captain muttered as they two looked through the window carefully before climbing through the side widow. “It’s not trust me…” Athena replied simply as she landed beside him on the floor though blinked at her voice. It wasn’t that different but it sounded slightly… “Don’t worry I will, I don’t want to hear any stories to prove it…” The captain's voice sounded less burly and more like someone who hadn’t hit- Athena looked over seeing the stunned captain who was now suddenly a preteen sporting baggy cargo pants, sneakers, and a short sleeve t-shirt. He slowly looked up to Athena as he looked down to herself seeing the baggy oversized T-shirt that’s sleeves reached her bicep on one and lower elbow on another as it hung off said shoulder and the naza symbol rested on the front… It was her old favorite house shirt that was a hammy down from her older brother. She shifted it up and tied its side into a knot to see the torn up leggings, long converse shoes with duct tape holding one together and short jeans but they were all clean… this didn't make any sense… these didn’t match the time the shirt was from it was lost in a fire and all of these were dirty by the time they had gotten so beaten-... Her brow twitched as she realized she was trying to find logic in something that had no logic from the start as to why it was happening. She sighed looking back up with a mess of hair shifting in her face, her hair once again down to her lower back again. She had cut it alot shorter a bit later into her late teens and kept it short since before coming here where it grew out a bit with time but the memories as to why she cut it and or had it tied back all flooding back to her in seconds. Many annoyed filled seconds. “... Poor family?” He asked, eyeing her beat up clothes. Athena rolling her eyes pushed past him. “Yes but also ex runaway now shut it and lets go head for my stuff.” She said flatly looking out the room’s door war into the hallway. “How do we know it’ll be there still it looks like out personal belongings are also changing, and we only just got here.” He asked walking over and holding up his rifle that now looked like a pistol pedestrians could get over the rifle that was definitely military tech and pointed to her hand she had been holding the sword in. She looked down and saw it was now her old skateboard she had lost long ago. Biting back the emotions it was bringing back she frowned her brows. “We don’t but we can hope something good is in there whether it be my stuff or someone else's. Maybe someone was heavily attached to their phone.” They both paused thinking back to the year they were teens and nodded muttering “Yeah well be fine.” He slipped ahead and the two made their way down the hall only stopping as Athena grabbed his shoulder and they glanced down at a vent on the lower wall as it shook mildly before suddenly the pitch darkness in it passed. It seemed like her old room buddy was still lingering about just fine. They slowly made their way into the prisoner possession room and started looking through the various drawers until they both found phones. Trying them the first two being dead. Athena muttering a curse as they kept lookign and tossing them to the side as sthey looked until non were left. Athena sighing before blinking and looked over to the captain. “What color are my eyes?” “What…? Is thi a test or-” “Just tell me.” “Sheesh blue with tinted pupils why?” He asked confused as Athena smirked. When they shifted back her power energy source converted as well. It took her a long while to learn how to channel her energy as well as take it in but maybe she could force it. She kneeled down and grabbed a phone and took a deep breath as her eyes glowed brightly along with the phone as it slowly and progressively showed a battery on the screen flowing up to full. She cuttign the energy as she saw 99% and let her powers recede. She smiling though started to feel light headed and started to fall over but was caught by the captain. Right she was already low to begin with but her energy cost so much on her body back then. The captain lightly smacked her a few times keeping her awake long enough to channel from the phone dropping it down to 5% but got some of the energy back. Sweat trailing down her face as she slowly sat up panting. Most of her control was gone again as well… lovely. “You good?” He asked only for a nod in response and turned the phone on. It was locked. Cursign again she bit her lip before she saw the emergency call button. “You know if you call 911 they would just contact those already contacted right…?” Heh asked, seeing her swipe the button though 911 didn't show up, it just said. ‘Addelne’ He blinked but she smiled back to him when he asked. “How?” “I never would have called 911 when I was a teen… If everything is shifting to fit each person whose to say something like this wouldn’t shift too even if it's someone else's? That and… the guy working with my sisters likes to keep tabs on me.” She hit the button and a small spike shot up through her thumb. She covering her mouth from the pain but the blood shifted into a ritual circle on the phone before it glitched out and the blood sunk in with it into the phone. The captain reaching over to grab the phone but stopped seeing her hold up a hand. “.... It’s his cost to contact them thats all.” The captain looked confused but she held the phone up to her ear as she heard their voice.” “Godamala Pizza shack.” Athena smiling a little before replying. “I need a number 9… and a number 9 large.” They going silent for a moment hearing how her voice sounded along with the reply before their voice got more cold. “Are you hurt….?” “No more then usual when I do somethign stupid… but theres alot happenign oer here and i need help asap, the people here are okay but the creatures-” “On our way” She said before the line went dead. The ground shook violently as the captain looked to Athena who held up a hand to tell him to wait. From outside a loud screech of pain could be heard echoing all about. “Alright backup is here early… now let's find the source.” Athena said getting up pinching her shirt around her thumb for now as they made their way out of the room and started down the hall again though paused as the hall got bigger around them slowly. The two are looking at each other seeing the other as children now. Athena held up a hand and backed up slowly, aging backup as she did so. Then back forward deaging once again. Athena frowned her brows at the realization that the closer to the source they got the younger they would get… Athena and the captain sighed before they progressed onwards. Slowly but surely they kept de ageing until they were roughly 6. Athena’s hair a mess but still just as long and in an over sized t shirt still but this one basically a night gown and had two miss matched socks on the shirt her brother’s and one of each sock was one of her sisters. Her skateboard now a paper towel roll with a sword dawn on it. The thing she used to pretend was Excalibur when she was young and just starting to learn how to read. The captain now in a t-shirt and overalls and a toy water gun. “If we find the source we won’t have anything to fight with at this point.” The captain said in his sterniest child voice possible. Athena looked along the hall that seemed never ending at this point. “Well we can’t just turn back now…” She said simply looking back behind them. The captain shaking his head. “Look acting all hero like i s one thing but strategic planning is-” She gentlyly grabbed his chin and turned it to behind them. He seeing a big wall blocking their way to go back. Sighing he muttered. “If we make it through this… I’m retiring early….” The two looked back forward and marched on for what seemed like hours before coming across a door finally. Athena reachign up and turning the door knob the door slowly swinign open as they saw in front of them a young girls bed room. In the corner sat a bed and on it was a little girl crying and holding her head as 3 other kids laid back in mid air each holding a stick in one hand and stone in another. Athena narrowed her eyes looking to the captain and sighed. “.... The guards at this prison… how do they treat you…?” He asked a bit grimly. Athena closed her eyes and spoke softly. “Everyone hero have killed before captain… and most of us are mutants.” She said opening her pale blue eyes her black pupils shifting at the changing light from closed to open eye. “How do you think they treat us…” “... If shes a mutant how is she using her powers to do this…?” “... The collars suppress the x gene… this isn’t an x gene doing this….” “Then what…?” He asked as he watched Athena walk in, his eyes looking down towards the ground at a story book labled ‘The lonely witch’ He clenched his water gun. “... Why’d it have to be magic…?” He paused. “Wait how do you-” Athena walked up to the girl the captain stepping in but when he calle dover to tell Athena to stop no voice came out as Athena stepped up to the bed and sat down beside her gently setting down the paper towel roll and pulled the girl into her arms hugging her. “It won’t stop…” The girl sobbed into her gently wrapping her arms around her. Athenas eyes got a bit watery as she leaned down and gently kissed the top of her head. “Do you want it to…?” Athena asked softly rubbing her back. The girl slowly looking up to Athena the two aging up to their late teens. The girl looking slowly to the room that looked like an abandoned buildign’s insides with a clear view of the creatures from outside wreatchign havoc and being slighted by large shadowy arms. Everything slowly going on fire asthe abandoned buildign turned into ashes and the two turned into their current ages. “I won’t…. I tried like you asked...but… but it will only get worse….” She said as tears rolled down her cheeks. Athena’s one tears rolling down as she gently caressed her cheek. “I even hurt you this time…” She said looking to Athena’s stab wounds. “All my fears… they’re just growing worse and worse Athe....” She said resting her head on Athenas shoulder. Athena clenching her jaw. “Is… is this really what you see…? When you dream…? I… I didn’t think…” She lowered her head. When this alls tarted to happen… she didn’t know what was going on but now… it should have been so obvious… She looked back down to her as she felt her fingers intertwining with her own. “It’s only going to get worse… I can’t… I can’t keep it down… and it’s going to take over any moment…” She said her voice sly shifting more dark. Athena gripped her tightly and closer as the woman cried into her. “Please… you promised… before anything further would happen you would-” Athena frowned her brows but nodded. Looking to the now black sowrd again she grabbed it. She leaning down and gently kissing the woman as tears rolled down her cheeks and pushed the sword into her. Pullign the sword out she caught her as her body went limp as the guard now normal again fell down and the screetched from outside ended. The captain panting as he walked over and grabbed Athena’s shoulder turning her to face him. “How long have you known?!” He shouted. “... Since the hall closed off… It all felt familiar but… it wasn’t until then….” He said quietly as the sword disapated into just oil. “....” The captain looked to the woman then back to Athena “... “ OOC:as stated above I'm not sure what happened like legit my brain jus tturned off and just im not too happy with how this turned out but this should have been eeral sections longer but im just likely gonna cap it her ei may try somethign else later but im capin this here. honestly i just got a sudden head ache right now so I'mma just gonna post this and leave it. I was gonna get more into my thoughts on what went wrong but I can't gather my thoughts right now lol. sorry for all the typos and such but hey its an au and such. I may fix typoss at at a later date dunno.