Litany (in which certain things are crossed out) [1/8]
My muses have been on an extended holiday (as they tend to do), this story actually has been in my head for about two years, just never sat down and wrote it. Thanks to Maria (swoon21)'s encouragement, I'm hoping this will mark my comeback to the fandom? XD
Litany (in which certain things are crossed out)
This is about freedom, choices, love, salvation,
And all the other lies this country has taught me.
Shou has a handful of life philosophies that he’s gained through years of hard-won experience.
Sleep when you can. Eat when you can, keep track of your boots because walking barefoot in this city can kill you, trust no one.
And most importantly, don’t get caught.
Until you do, then you do whatever it takes to get yourself out of there.
He hasn’t predicted complications such as Tora.
Okay, stop, rewind.
Long story short, eight months ago management fucked up, royally. And the police sniffed out their underground ring. They came loaded with the Blue Devil--- the only thing that could potentially kill a Mutant, whatever their abilities might be. One bullet, no bigger than a knuckle, and the poison went straight into the blood stream. The effect was a bit like someone taking a chainsaw to your DNA. Because no matter how evolved a Mutant was, there would always be a part of them that was human, a part of them that was mortal.
Shou took one of those babies to the leg.
Didn’t die, obviously, but it completely messed up his biology, got laid up for three months.
They dragged him in, unconscious, and dumped him in a cell. He was feverish for a week, puking and sweating. And this tall dude just sat there and watched, silent as a ghost. So Tall Dude was unlucky enough to have to share with the newbie, Shou figured it out pretty quickly, and kept his back to the wall--couldn’t be too careful in times like this.
The pain got so bad around day two, it was all Shou could do not to scream. There was no point; they wouldn’t waste codeine on freaks like him. The bone was broken; normally it wouldn’t have taken a few hours for things to mend themselves. But now, now his cells were fighting against each other.
In the end Shou caved in first, fuck his pride.
‘Hey, buddy, think you can get me some water?’
Tall Dude stared some more before shuffling away. Shou heard a tap being turned on and signed in relief. Good to know his cell mate wasn’t deaf, or a complete asshole.
He put the plastic cup at the edge of Shou’s bunk then backed off. Shou gingerly picked it up and sniffed, it smelt normal at least. He gulped it down gratefully, the fluid balmy against his burning throat.
Tall Dude quite amiably refilled his cup a couple more times. But not without Shou asking first.
Weird.
What was even weirder, Tall Dude wasn’t a mutant.
He looked like any other guy, no hidden tail or scales for skin, no pupils that shifted colours or shapes. His movements didn’t suggest increased muscle power or lightning-fast reflexes. All in all, he was extraordinarily ordinary. Shou knew how deceiving appearances could be, but he was quickly exhausting his mental checklist.
‘So, what could you do?’
The guy looked puzzled, but no offended, that was a good sign. Shou elaborated, ‘You know, abilities, powers, what is it that you can do and others can’t?’
He shook his head, frowning.
He wasn’t mute either, as Shou discovered some time ago, just, rather lacking in the art of conversation.
‘Put it this way, what did you do to get locked up in here?’
Tall Dude took so long to answer Shou was tempted to put down ‘mentally challenged’ as the answer.
‘This is…home.’
Well, either mentally challenged, or just plain mental.
Turned out that the dude wasn’t exactly wrong about this being his home. He actually grew up here, born and raised in a goddamn tin.
He didn’t tell Shou that, of course, but Shou would make a fine spy if he put his mind to it. Most people would be reluctant to talk to a Mutant, but Shou had that earnest, all-your- secrets-are-safe-with-me thing going on. It was probably the eyes, or so he had been told. It had earned him jobs and free meals in the past, getting the guards to spill the beans was a piece of cake.
His mum was a Mutant, that much was clear. No one knew about the dad, she took that secret to her grave. Died giving birth or executed straight after, who knew. The baby got bundled up and sent straight into a high security cell, and had stayed there until he was old enough to understand orders.
‘Never saw him doing anything out of the ordinary. Just a normal bloke really. You just can’t tell with these things can you? They might have it or they might not. Guess the men upstairs didn’t want to take a chance.’
Shou nodded along, sure, sure.
‘So you’ve never left this place?’
A small shake of the head.
‘Never been to the cities? Seen the lights? Man they’re awesome. I lived in this flat once, top floor, at night that’s all you can see, the lights, thousands of them underneath your feet…’
Dude looked as if he understood about three words out of the whole thing. It was a damn depressing sight.
So maybe Shou overplayed the injury a little, biding his time. He purposefully started eating less and less of the glob they called food as time went on. Slept for longer and looking disorientated when he was awake. He lost quite a bit of weight; the robes hung off his frame. The room smelled ripe with stale sweat and rotting wounds (thanks to the piece of chicken he had hidden underneath the bed)
Tall Dude (he actually didn’t have name, for real) looked, well not worried, but he sort of...hovered. He gave Shou his own share of juice instead of tap water, and put up with the stink and general nuisance admirably well.
Shou almost, almost felt bad. Frankly, if the situation was reversed, he’d probably leave the guy to rot. Maybe a pillow or two just to help him on his way. Better a quick exit than a slow downward slide, he always thought.
‘Will you die?’ He suddenly blurted out one night.
Wow, tactful there. Shou had to cover up his snicker with a bout of coughing, ‘Probably, just my shitty luck.’
He didn’t look particularly saddened, just fixed a blank stare at Shou, unblinking. Shou barked out a laugh, ‘Dude, this is when you’re supposed to say, I don’t know, you’re sorry or some shit.’
He didn’t.
Seriously, it was a miracle that Tall Dude was even alive, not carved open on an autopsy table. Which, admittedly, was where he’d end up, sooner or later.
Shou turned over and huffed out a breath; well, not his problem really. He had plenty of his own to deal with.
Life tends to complicate even the best of plans---
Well, to be fair, the plan went as smoothly as it could, given the circumstances.
Shou hit the floor in the early hours of morning, unconscious. He was doing such a fine job of it Tall Dude didn’t need to be asked to get the guards. Three people came running to check out the situation, bleary eyed and irritated, probably expecting a cooling corpse by the rate Shou had been conveniently deteriorating.
They didn’t know what hit them.
Operating on instinct, Shou silently rolled to his feet when they argued among themselves about what to do next, before they could react, Shou kicked the first one in the stomach, sending him flying backwards, then spun in the other direction and landed a fist to someone’s temple-the guy dropped like a sack of potatoes. The third one was clearly the cleverest of the bunch and went for the alarm. Shou grabbed the guard’s extended arm, turned his back to him, and flipped the man over his shoulder. His head hit the floor with a dull thud, Shou pressed down on both of his carotids until he passed out for good. There was a thin sheen of sweat gathering along his forehead, Shou swiped at it crossly; there had been a time when putting down three men would be nothing but a warm-up; imprisonment really didn’t suit him.
He quickly proceeded to strip one of the guards out of his uniform, fingers steady as he pulled the garment over his head. Just then Tall Dude, who witnessed the whole episode with as much comprehension as a dazed rabbit, finally let out a startled noise; sounding more confused than scared. Shou didn’t even turn around to look, just put his finger to the red button and waited for a heartbeat.
‘Okay, you can stay here and talk yourself out of this one, or you can come with me, now.’
With that, he sounded the alarm, pushed past Tall Dude, and started running.
He wasn’t exactly surprised when hurried footsteps followed him a moment later; annoyed, but not surprised.
Shou could only hope that enough guards would be drawn to the scene of crime, and leave fewer people manning the gates.
A/N: Well, I firmly believe that every fandom needs the obligatory hooker AU, supernatural AU, film-star AU, and the list goes on and on...
It's not quite X-men, (Shou will have to Professor X in that case, oh dear) Mutants are less badass here, and more each man fights for himself. And my toenails are now purple, cuz that's totally relevant
Litany (in which certain things are crossed out)
This is about freedom, choices, love, salvation,
And all the other lies this country has taught me.
Shou has a handful of life philosophies that he’s gained through years of hard-won experience.
Sleep when you can. Eat when you can, keep track of your boots because walking barefoot in this city can kill you, trust no one.
And most importantly, don’t get caught.
Until you do, then you do whatever it takes to get yourself out of there.
He hasn’t predicted complications such as Tora.
Okay, stop, rewind.
Long story short, eight months ago management fucked up, royally. And the police sniffed out their underground ring. They came loaded with the Blue Devil--- the only thing that could potentially kill a Mutant, whatever their abilities might be. One bullet, no bigger than a knuckle, and the poison went straight into the blood stream. The effect was a bit like someone taking a chainsaw to your DNA. Because no matter how evolved a Mutant was, there would always be a part of them that was human, a part of them that was mortal.
Shou took one of those babies to the leg.
Didn’t die, obviously, but it completely messed up his biology, got laid up for three months.
They dragged him in, unconscious, and dumped him in a cell. He was feverish for a week, puking and sweating. And this tall dude just sat there and watched, silent as a ghost. So Tall Dude was unlucky enough to have to share with the newbie, Shou figured it out pretty quickly, and kept his back to the wall--couldn’t be too careful in times like this.
The pain got so bad around day two, it was all Shou could do not to scream. There was no point; they wouldn’t waste codeine on freaks like him. The bone was broken; normally it wouldn’t have taken a few hours for things to mend themselves. But now, now his cells were fighting against each other.
In the end Shou caved in first, fuck his pride.
‘Hey, buddy, think you can get me some water?’
Tall Dude stared some more before shuffling away. Shou heard a tap being turned on and signed in relief. Good to know his cell mate wasn’t deaf, or a complete asshole.
He put the plastic cup at the edge of Shou’s bunk then backed off. Shou gingerly picked it up and sniffed, it smelt normal at least. He gulped it down gratefully, the fluid balmy against his burning throat.
Tall Dude quite amiably refilled his cup a couple more times. But not without Shou asking first.
Weird.
What was even weirder, Tall Dude wasn’t a mutant.
He looked like any other guy, no hidden tail or scales for skin, no pupils that shifted colours or shapes. His movements didn’t suggest increased muscle power or lightning-fast reflexes. All in all, he was extraordinarily ordinary. Shou knew how deceiving appearances could be, but he was quickly exhausting his mental checklist.
‘So, what could you do?’
The guy looked puzzled, but no offended, that was a good sign. Shou elaborated, ‘You know, abilities, powers, what is it that you can do and others can’t?’
He shook his head, frowning.
He wasn’t mute either, as Shou discovered some time ago, just, rather lacking in the art of conversation.
‘Put it this way, what did you do to get locked up in here?’
Tall Dude took so long to answer Shou was tempted to put down ‘mentally challenged’ as the answer.
‘This is…home.’
Well, either mentally challenged, or just plain mental.
Turned out that the dude wasn’t exactly wrong about this being his home. He actually grew up here, born and raised in a goddamn tin.
He didn’t tell Shou that, of course, but Shou would make a fine spy if he put his mind to it. Most people would be reluctant to talk to a Mutant, but Shou had that earnest, all-your- secrets-are-safe-with-me thing going on. It was probably the eyes, or so he had been told. It had earned him jobs and free meals in the past, getting the guards to spill the beans was a piece of cake.
His mum was a Mutant, that much was clear. No one knew about the dad, she took that secret to her grave. Died giving birth or executed straight after, who knew. The baby got bundled up and sent straight into a high security cell, and had stayed there until he was old enough to understand orders.
‘Never saw him doing anything out of the ordinary. Just a normal bloke really. You just can’t tell with these things can you? They might have it or they might not. Guess the men upstairs didn’t want to take a chance.’
Shou nodded along, sure, sure.
‘So you’ve never left this place?’
A small shake of the head.
‘Never been to the cities? Seen the lights? Man they’re awesome. I lived in this flat once, top floor, at night that’s all you can see, the lights, thousands of them underneath your feet…’
Dude looked as if he understood about three words out of the whole thing. It was a damn depressing sight.
So maybe Shou overplayed the injury a little, biding his time. He purposefully started eating less and less of the glob they called food as time went on. Slept for longer and looking disorientated when he was awake. He lost quite a bit of weight; the robes hung off his frame. The room smelled ripe with stale sweat and rotting wounds (thanks to the piece of chicken he had hidden underneath the bed)
Tall Dude (he actually didn’t have name, for real) looked, well not worried, but he sort of...hovered. He gave Shou his own share of juice instead of tap water, and put up with the stink and general nuisance admirably well.
Shou almost, almost felt bad. Frankly, if the situation was reversed, he’d probably leave the guy to rot. Maybe a pillow or two just to help him on his way. Better a quick exit than a slow downward slide, he always thought.
‘Will you die?’ He suddenly blurted out one night.
Wow, tactful there. Shou had to cover up his snicker with a bout of coughing, ‘Probably, just my shitty luck.’
He didn’t look particularly saddened, just fixed a blank stare at Shou, unblinking. Shou barked out a laugh, ‘Dude, this is when you’re supposed to say, I don’t know, you’re sorry or some shit.’
He didn’t.
Seriously, it was a miracle that Tall Dude was even alive, not carved open on an autopsy table. Which, admittedly, was where he’d end up, sooner or later.
Shou turned over and huffed out a breath; well, not his problem really. He had plenty of his own to deal with.
Life tends to complicate even the best of plans---
Well, to be fair, the plan went as smoothly as it could, given the circumstances.
Shou hit the floor in the early hours of morning, unconscious. He was doing such a fine job of it Tall Dude didn’t need to be asked to get the guards. Three people came running to check out the situation, bleary eyed and irritated, probably expecting a cooling corpse by the rate Shou had been conveniently deteriorating.
They didn’t know what hit them.
Operating on instinct, Shou silently rolled to his feet when they argued among themselves about what to do next, before they could react, Shou kicked the first one in the stomach, sending him flying backwards, then spun in the other direction and landed a fist to someone’s temple-the guy dropped like a sack of potatoes. The third one was clearly the cleverest of the bunch and went for the alarm. Shou grabbed the guard’s extended arm, turned his back to him, and flipped the man over his shoulder. His head hit the floor with a dull thud, Shou pressed down on both of his carotids until he passed out for good. There was a thin sheen of sweat gathering along his forehead, Shou swiped at it crossly; there had been a time when putting down three men would be nothing but a warm-up; imprisonment really didn’t suit him.
He quickly proceeded to strip one of the guards out of his uniform, fingers steady as he pulled the garment over his head. Just then Tall Dude, who witnessed the whole episode with as much comprehension as a dazed rabbit, finally let out a startled noise; sounding more confused than scared. Shou didn’t even turn around to look, just put his finger to the red button and waited for a heartbeat.
‘Okay, you can stay here and talk yourself out of this one, or you can come with me, now.’
With that, he sounded the alarm, pushed past Tall Dude, and started running.
He wasn’t exactly surprised when hurried footsteps followed him a moment later; annoyed, but not surprised.
Shou could only hope that enough guards would be drawn to the scene of crime, and leave fewer people manning the gates.
A/N: Well, I firmly believe that every fandom needs the obligatory hooker AU, supernatural AU, film-star AU, and the list goes on and on...
It's not quite X-men, (Shou will have to Professor X in that case, oh dear) Mutants are less badass here, and more each man fights for himself. And my toenails are now purple, cuz that's totally relevant