HEY GUYS! I’m like really on the cusp of it not being adversaries day anywhere in the world anymore... But, hopefully you understand. I had an anon ask for a superhero/villain AU for today, and I kind of got obsessed with universe... here’s part one (I’ll keep publishing if people want to keep reading - let me know). It’s firmly set in the X-Men universe, so I guess it counts as a fusion/crossover too? I don’t know.
Also, I feel I should point out that it’s pretty dark, especially this first part, allusions to Damon’s assault of Caroline, death (not Klaro-death though), homelessness, and violence. And there’s not a ton of Klaroline in this part... This is kind of setting up for the rest of it.
When Caroline Forbes had been but a child, she wished more than anything to be special.
She wished on shooting stars, when she blew dandelions, on birthday candles, eyelashes, wishbones, rainbows, four leave clovers, at fountains and anything and everything she could think of, yearning for her wish to come true.
She wished her fervent wish because, maybe, if she was special, her dad would come back, maybe, her mom wouldn’t work such long hours, maybe Damon wouldn’t be left in charge. Maybe if she was special, the other girls in the school would like her as much as they liked Elena. Maybe if she was special she would be able to make sense of the empty chasm that she felt within her.
Then late one night, not too long before her 13th birthday, Caroline was taking shelter in her room, the TV blaring downstairs not quite blocking out the stumbles and mumbles of Damon in the house, drinking himself stupid.
She knew what would come next, it always came next.
Cowering between her sheets, hearing him stagger nearer and nearer, she wished, like she always did in these moments, she could be special. Maybe if she were special enough this time it wouldn’t happen again.
Suddenly, there was another man in her room. He was much the same build as Damon, and desperate tears sprang into her eyes – there couldn’t be two of them.
“I hear your wish, little girl,” the man said. His voice wasn’t dark, or nasty. On the contrary, it was soft and gentle, and had a beautiful accent that was music to her ears. “You wish to be special.”
She nodded her head vigorously, tears streaming down her face.
“But is that what you truly wish for?” the man asked, moving closer. Even to her childish eyes, Caroline could see the man was very beautiful. Twinkling eyes, peaking dimples, and a smile that should have warned her to his mischief. “Because I believe, you’re confusing ‘special’ with ‘great’. I see countless people, everyday, and I know they’re all special. Even little old you.”
He was sitting on the edge of her bed now, and booped her nose as he said ‘you’. She wasn’t sure why he made her feel safe, but he did. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her, and, just maybe, while he was there, Damon wouldn’t come.
“I’m not special,” she said, casting her eyes down. “My dad didn’t stay, and my mom always works.”
“Special comes in many different forms, but greatness; that’s what you truly want. Special is what everyone else is, and is that not just another way of saying no one is?”
There was something hypnotic about his stare, something reeling her in, something in her mind that was making her hang on to every syllable of every word.
"But I'll let you in on a little secret: there's a whole world out there waiting for you. Great cities, and art, and music. Genuine beauty. And you could have all of it. You could have a thousand more birthdays, all you have to do is ask."
His words were worming their way into her young mind, and taking root. She could see the possibilities, hear the sounds of the music he described, feel the greatness at the tips of her fingers. Her mouth was forming around the words ‘I wish to be great’, were almost tumbling from her mouth when she felt it.
The tiniest hint of darkness seeping in with his promises.
This was a strange man, and Caroline had more experience with strange men than she wanted to think about. She could feel his darkness engulfing her mind, and suddenly she was standing up from her bed, and she could feel her limbs begin to dance of their own accord.
Somehow, she knew it was him that was making her do this, it was his darkness invading her mind. So, she did what she always did when penetrated with an unwanted force.
She fought back.
She let years worth of fighting Damon come to the forefront of her mind, and she pushed the shadows away, until she had complete control of her body again.
Her brow furrowed at the man sitting on her bed, and he had suddenly lost the gentle, playful aura he’d previously held. Now he looked cool and calculating.
“Well, well, well, quite the strong mind you have, Sweethe–“
But his words were cut short as Caroline lost control of the energy she held in her mind and unleashed it on him.
Having her mind invaded woke a dormant part of her she never realised she had. A bright white energy knocked the man from her bed, until he lay sprawled on the ground.
She stood over him, the rage she felt at having her mind invaded like that consuming her. She seemed to be humming with the mysterious force; things were falling off her her selves, and her desk as it vibrated through the room.
“What did you do to me?” she asked, her young eyes giving away how terrified she actually was.
“It seems you granted your own wish,” he said with a smirk. “I’m sure we’ll meet again, Caroline Forbes.”
