Disclaimer: I own none of Fringe. Only Mercy is mine.
Chapter 1
The world is a strange place. Olivia Dunham was becoming more and more aware of this fact every single day, and today was no different. She had received a call from Broyles at six that morning, telling her to get Dr. Bishop and meet him at St. Mary's Mental Hospital. So, here she was, watching in awe as a young girl tossed three men aside like they were rag dolls. Then the girl turned her eyes on the group of FBI agents that were staring at her, and she smiled knowingly. Then she saw Walter, who was grinning like a child at Christmas, and she stopped.
"You..." she said in just above a whisper, pointing an accusing finger at the man. "I know you, old man. Who are you?" She demanded, taking a few steps toward him. Every agent nearby had one hand on a gun, ready to stop this freak of nature if they had to. Olivia, though, motioned for them to stand down, earning a questioning look from Broyles and Peter.
"Oh, yes," Walter stammered excitedly, offering a hand to the girl warmly. "I am Doctor Walter Bishop. Please, I must know what you call yourself these days." The girl looked baffled, and eyed Walter's hand like it was a venomous snake.
"Mercy." She said slowly, making Walter giggle.
"So you've kept your name! How wonderful!" Olivia wondered what Walter was talking about, but it was Peter who spoke first.
"Wait, Walter," Peter said in loud disbelief, "are you saying you know this girl?" Walter looked at his son with wide eyes, as though he should have known this already.
"Well, of course I do." He grinned, "I made her. Well, Belle and I made her. But I am the one who took care of most of the genetic engineering, he simply handled the technicalities." At this the girl began laughing hysterically. She could not seem to hide what she thought of Walter's ramblings.
"That is ridiculous!" She said incredulously.
"Tell me, Mercy," Walter pressed forward hopefully, "have you ever thought you heard voices? In school, are you the fastest and strongest of all of your classmates?" The girl stopped laughing, and looked at Walter scrutinizingly. "Do you often have dreams where you are trapped inside a giant fish tank of sorts? With all sorts of wires and tubes attached to your body?"
Olivia could see from the girl's expression that Walter was correct, and that she would not fight them anymore.
"So...what is this place?" Mercy asked as she walked into the "lab" and spotted a live cow.
"We told you, this is the lab. Pay attention, young lady." Walter scolded. Mercy rolled her eyes, and Olivia had to chuckle softly at the teen.
"Mercy, you never told us how old you are." Olivia inquired when the thought occurred to her.
"No, I didn't." Mercy responded simply, then continued after catching a dark look from Peter. "I don't know how old I am." She said bitterly. "My foster parents took me to every kind of doctor you can think of, but they were all stumped. My brain development says I should be about twenty eight, the dentist says I'm over eighteen, physically I'm at my peak, and I look sixteen, but I haven't changed in seven years. Everyone is baffled." She looked exasperated, and it made Olivia wonder what she'd been through.
"Well, I do suppose being as special as you are is difficult. Especially when you have no explanations." Walter commented absently.
"You know, Walter, you still haven't told us what exactly she is." Peter said, earning a hard glare from Olivia.
"I haven't?" Walter looked around the room, and everyone shook their heads. "Oh. Well then. She's a weapon. A genetically engineered soldier. You were our only successful attempt, and we lost you in the accident."
"Accident...?" Mercy looked distant for a moment, as though she were remembering something. Olivia grew concerned after a moment, when the girl's face filled with fear, and touched her hand. Mercy jumped back and stood in a fighting stance, fists raised, feet planted. Then she realized what had happened, and corrected herself calmly. "Sorry, my fight-or-flight reflex came minus the flight."
"Oh, yes, we did that on purpose." Walter interrupted as he busied himself with some odd task on the other side of the lab. "Can't very well fight if you're always running away."
"Okay, so you're the reason I've spent most of my high school career in ISS." She smirked, looking annoyed. Everyone except for Walter understood that it was a joke.
"Well, yes, I suppose I am...umm...what is ISS?"
"In School Suspension, Walter." Peter clarified, sounding fatigued. "It's where you go after you get into a fight at school." Walter nodded absently and continued what he was doing, seeming to lose track of the conversation.
That night Olivia brought Mercy home with her, deciding that she would be safest away from Walter. During the course of the day Walter had attempted to "study" the girl, to her loud displeasure. Which had caused Astrid to have to guide a few curious students away from the lab.
"So, Mercy," Olivia spoke calmly over a microwave dinner, as Mercy played with her mashed potatoes. "can you remember anything? Anything before your foster home?" Mercy shook her head and glared at her dinner. "Are you not hungry?"
"No, it's not that." She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "I was just thinking about something Walter said."
"What?" Olivia inquired, leaning forward curiously.
"That I'm a weapon. A genetically engineered soldier." She looked at Olivia with her large amber eyes, filled with a thoughtfulness that Olivia had never seen. It was like she was only revealing the smallest portion of her thoughts, as she formulated some elaborate plot. "I just have to wonder...why they made me."
"Maybe you can ask him." Olivia suggested. "I'm sure he'll remember, Mercy. After all, since you arrived he seems a lot more coherent than normal." Mercy gave Olivia a look of disbelief, and laughed.
"I guess he must have been almost useless before." Olivia just smiled, and took another bite of her dinner.
(A/N: So, my first chapter from my first Fringe Fic is complete. Please R&R *^^*)
