Hello everyone! So this is my first Stranger Things Fanfiction! I love the show a lot and I haven't written anything in a long time so it was fun getting back into it with this little story. A big shout out to .com for coming up with the idea for a superpower au. Please go check her out and also check our these awesome 'strangerpower' moodboards she created!
Thanks, Enjoy.
Cold and alone.
That is how Eleven felt sitting in the dark, wet woods. She had cried until her head pounded, and her face was swollen. And when the minutes turned into hours, and the hours stretched into days, she began to regret ever leaving her - home? Was is a home? She lived and slept and ate there but it felt more like a prison. It's cold white walls, the sterile smell of the rooms and hallways, the blank faces of scientists and specialists, the pain of being probed, poked, and prodded. Eleven shuddered at the memory and regained a sense of determination. No, she would not miss her old life, not even for a second. She was more safe here in the dark woods, hungry and cold, then she ever was at the lab. At least here she was free. Is free the right word? Eleven pondered for a moment about the meaning of the word that she had only heard a few times in her short life. Free meant unchained, free meant the ability to do whatever you wanted. All she really wanted was to be happy, and safe. Safe meant protected from people who want to hurt you. People like Papa, and the other scientists who shoved needles in her arms, and shocked her, and hit her, and locked her in dark rooms alone to cry. Cry like she was doing now.
She sobbed quietly to herself, pulling her knees into her chest and pressing herself harder against the trunk of a tall pine tree. Cold drops of rain fell on her shaved scalp, and ran down her neck, making her shiver. Cold and alone.
Then suddenly, a noise coming from somewhere behind forced her out of her sorrow, and into defense mode. Slowly she stood, tears streaming down her face, and eyes searching. She heard the noise again; Crunching, and voices muffled by the rain and wind. Elevens heart raced and she panicked as her thoughts swam with who it could be. Papa? Or the other bad men? The voices grew closer coming straight in her direction and she saw the flickering of flashlights searching the ground. Her heart pounded so loud it left her ears ringing and then in an instant, that robotic and terrifying part of her that she tried so desperately to force away clicked on. She felt the familiar trickle of blood fall from her nose and she hardened the thought that this is who she is. This is what she was built for.
She lowered her gaze at the light beams and approaching silhouettes, and channeled all of her fear, anger, pain, and panic into the heavy rocks on the ground around her. The rocks lifted from there places, buried in the mud, and rose high into the air in a circle around the girl. She was a weapon, a tool, a monster. Once the voices were loud enough, and the lights close enough, Eleven released every ounce of adrenaline she had left and threw the rocks soaring through the air at the approaching figures. She knew she had made a direct hit when she heard a scream, and saw a figure collapse. Two remained standing. Then another hit sent the figure closest to her flying backwards, knocking it into a tree. She heard a muffled yelp, and then a heavy thud. She was about to telekinetically send her last, biggest rock, at the final figure when the flashlight now pointing directly at her fell to the ground, and the figures arms erupted in flames. Had she done this? If she had, she hadnt meant to. Eleven had never set anything on fire before, she wasn't even sure if it was possible for her to do so, let alone without her knowledge of making it happen.
Her racing thoughts were cut short when a burst of hot red lights, and the zapping sound of electricity ripped through the forest, and sent Eleven flying backwards onto the ground. She gasped for breath and tried to stand back up. Her palms slipped on the muddy slope. She finally clambered back up to come face to face with her attackers. Tensing her jaw and raising more muddy rocks from the soil, she prepared to take out these men once and for all.
Eleven raised her trembling hands and sent another wave of stones through the air. She screamed as a surge of power ripped through her. Several heavy rocks flew towards the now burning figure, but they were blocked by another hot flash of light. Eleven didn't understand what was happening, but she continued sending stones, twigs, pinecones, and anything else laying on the forest floor forward. The burning man held up his own hand and all of Elevens ranged weapons erupted with flames. They fell to the ground in ashen heaps. Eleven panicked, she could hardly believe her eyes.
She turned to run, needing to put some distance between herself and the ever approaching attackers. Another loud crackling sound roared through the air like lightning, and something hot struck Eleven in the back. She fell to her knees and cried out. A thick band of warm red light wrapped around Elevens wrist like a lasso, jerking her back around to face the men again. Another hot trickle of blood fell from her nose and in a last ditch effort, she hurled one more massive log up at them. It collided with the two closest to her, but the third continued down the hill. Eleven collapsed. Using her powers in this way drained her terribly. It was no use to fight anymore. She resolved to let them capture her, and face whatever torture awaited her back in the lab with Papa.
She was staring at the ground when the last man reached her. Two heavy, mud covered boots stomped down in front of her. This must have been the burning man, because the air felt warm and the forest was now awash in flickering orange light. Eleven lifted her gaze to meet his and gasped.
These were not Papas men at all. Her attackers were children.
Lit by only the flames licking across one of the boys arms, she could now see that they were just as scared of her, as she was of them. One of the boys was holding some sort of orb of light in between his hands. Another boy had long shaggy hair covering his face, and was standing on all fours like a dog. The boys lowered there defenses, seeing now that their enemy was just a scared little girl. The ball of light disappeared, and the boy with long hair stood up, his face becoming less and less canine. Eleven didn't understand what she was seeing, and she couldn't catch her breath. Tears welled in her eyes and she began to tremble with sobs. The boy closest to her, with arms still aflame, stepped closer and knelt down to look into her tear filled eyes.
Eleven looked up preparing to see the same anger, and disappointment that she had come to expect in the eyes of others. She instead saw something she couldn't place, something that calmed her. The boys eyes were kind, his dark hair stuck to his forehead with rain and sweat, and his face was smudged with dark sut, but he looked soft and caring. He extended a hand toward her, extinguishing the flames and touching her gently on the shoulder. His hand was unbelievably warm on her skin, intensified by the fact that she was chilled down to bone from being in the woods in only a hospital gown for so long. She was searching his face, trying to figure out what he was thinking, and if she was in danger, when he spoke.
"Are you okay?"
That was all he said, and it was enough to send another wave of sadness through the frail girl. She fell forward into the arms of the young boy, partly from the longing to be comforted, and partly from exhaustion. The boy wrapped his arms around Eleven and the heat from his skin made the water on hers steam and rise up into the air. The rain slowed to only a slight drizzle and the forest fell silent aside from the sounds of this mysterious girls sobbing. The boy didn't know what to do, or what to think, all he knew is that this girl needed help, and some dry clothes. So he held her for what felt like hours, his friends kneeling in the mud beside them, they rubbed the girls back and they let her cry out every fear she had until he finally found the right words.
"Let's take you home."
The girl looked up at him with fear and confusion. To Eleven, home meant the torture of being a weapon, and a science experiment. It meant going back to the place she had just escaped, back to the place where she was a prisoner. But here, in the arms of a stranger, feeling the closest thing to safety that she had felt in a long time, she knew that 'home' to this boy had to mean something different, something better. So she nodded, and the boys helped her to her feet. The boy gave her his jacket, and held her close to him, and they walked out of the forest in silence. They walked all the way across town through back alleys and dark streets until Elevens feet hurt and she felt she might faint from exhaustion. They walked until they came up to a large house out on the outskirts of town, nestled into the woods. The house was towering, dark, and unfamiliar. Eleven hesitated to step onto the porch, and the boy understood why. He grabbed her a little tighter and said the words Eleven had been wanting to hear for so long.
"Don't worry, you will be safe here."
And for some reason she knew she could believe him.
Hope you enjoyed! Please let me know if you did in the comments down below. I have not decided how long to make this story yet but I tend to be pretty long winded so buckle up!
