Misfits – Must Be Over
Simon stepped into a different moment
Simon kept his hoodie up as he observed his not that younger self and the rest of his (their) friends. They all looked so fed up with the community service, but so healthy and unburdened and rather happy. Alisha in particular looked lovely as always, playing the boys like the fools they were, using her sexuality like a weapon even without her powers.
God, he missed his Alisha. This Alisha was an innocent, untouched by tragedy and murder, still able to walk around with a smile on her face because she didn't know what lurked in the shadows, what terrible things people could do when given the chance, when given the opportunity. But Simon, Future Simon, he knew. If he walked over to stand beside Past Simon, of course they'd look the same, but he was sure his hooded eyes and cold expression would give him away. They were all carefree now, but the near future would not be.
He had considered going back just a little, like all of him had, to fall in love with Alisha again, because if there ever were a woman worth going back in time to die for after being able to fall for her again and again without a snit of trouble, it was Alisha, and have her feel at peace with her powers, but–
She was destined to die. She was destined to perish, and he was seemingly destined to go back in time and not save her and do it all over again for all eternity, he knew. It was for love, so maybe it was okay, right? He definitely loved her enough for that, so, maybe–
But then he stood on the edge of his decision, and he went back to the start, or before the start. He decided... He couldn't save that Alisha, not the wide eyes open Alisha, but he could save this Alisha, this perfectly wonderful girl who didn't fear touching men, because while a touch from her was already hypnotizing, it wasn't frightening to her as it once would have been. Would be.
First order of business? Making sure Rachel never had a chance to become the manipulative leader of men that she was for Simon. She looked so fresh and sweet Future Simon's hand almost steadied, but he knew the price of keeping her alive, of allowing her to be affected by the storm, and anyway, he couldn't take the chance that she wouldn't be given powers through other means. Time travel had taught him that some things were inevitable – unless dutifully stopped, and that was what he kept in mind when he plunged the knife into her stomach, lowered her to the ground and watched the light go out from her eyes.
Once upon a time, Simon could barely fathom being so close to a girl, any girl, and now he was a cold blooded killer. What was truly scary was that after getting rid of all evidence (including Rachel's body), he felt nothing but relief. She had (would have) killed his Alisha, and he killed her now, she would never manipulate anyone, Nathan would never not–die due to her fanaticism, and Alisha would never–
Rachel was dead, and if she were to come back, at least she would have no reason to go after anyone but Future Simon (who were a nondescript mask while doing the deed just in case). Alisha would be safe regardless of Rachel's return of not to the realm of the living and that was enough for him.
The storm came again, and Simon watched from the roof as Past Simon and the others were struck by lighting and thus forever transformed. Like Rachel, he had no way of knowing whether the storm would find them anyway, so he decided it was for the best that they gained their powers. He did, however, lock Tony and Gary in the former's office and barricade it. As bad as he felt about Gary, he didn't know if he might become a liability in the future, and in any case, his death had barely had an effect on the group in his timeline, so like Rachel, he shrugged at the need to get his hands dirty but didn't mourn his continuous loss of mercy.
So Tony ravaged Gary, much worse than the first time around, but was unable to escape and try to do the same to the others. The group was startled by his very loud screams to be let out, and what he was going to do to them, and called the cops on him immediately. Future Simon surveyed the situation from the rooftop again, as the police officers were forced by the barely coherent Tony to shoot and kill him.
Another death, and Future Simon carried on watching.
Events unfolded as they should, with Future Simon quietly observing from the corners. Sally was much more erratic by what happened to Tony and demanded answers from the group, but Simon paid her a visit and threatened her into submission with the knowledge that her beloved Tony had savagely killed someone, nearly killed some officers, and she shouldn't spend the rest of her life in anger, like he spent the last moments of his.
She left the community center, and Simon continued to track her movements until he was sure she wasn't going to cause trouble.
Eventually, his friends and Past Simon became aware of his existence, but unlike before, he did not show himself. Not to all of them, anyway, just himself, explaining he'd come from a much darker place, and while that timeline was now gone, Past Simon was still more than capable of becoming like Future Simon, if he wished it. It was remarkable to Future Simon how small his would be past self looked, but they shared more than just a name and face, and they started to train because Past Simon could be as determined and stubborn as Future Simon.
Future Simon paid Seth a visit the first moment he could, in between training Past Simon into the ground. He whispered in the man's ear that his quest to revive his dead girlfriend would only bring about misery to all involved, and Seth better pursue it further because Simon would not hesitate to end him if he did. The powers dealer narrowed his eyes in confusion and indignity, but then Simon showed him something that Future Seth had given him, if needs be, and he stopped.
If Curtis were ever to sell his power, Simon made sure Seth knew he was more than willing to take it off his hands, whatever the price. Seth seemed much older than he had just minutes prior, and nodded slowly.
He hadn't killed him, but Simon knew he'd broken something in Seth that day. They had not been friends, far from it, but more than anyone, he could relate to a man so in love with someone that he was willing to do anything to get the person they loved back.
Life continued, with the group getting used to their defender from the shadows and Past Simon's slow growth into a badass, as they put it, and Future Simon wondered about what he would do with his life. He hadn't died like his own future self had, but he had changed the timeline, so... What? What should he do? What could he do?
Past Simon took to his lessons very well, and Future Simon wondered if perhaps he could... Take his life, live on as him. They had the same memories, after all, it wouldn't be difficult to just... But that wasn't his life anymore, as many lives as he'd taken, and was ready to take, he couldn't kill himself in order to live a false life.
Seth warned him, one day over coffee, as they started to do on occasion since their first meeting, that since he'd erased his timeline, that even if he got the chance to go forward in time, he would remain a second Simon, an intruder out of time, out of reality. Simon had been trying to block thoughts of the sort, but he knew Seth was right, and he had to accept it. He'd made his choice, and since he hadn't died, he was going to have to live with it.
It sucked to see Past Simon become someone completely new, so unlike Future Simon himself, but at least one Simon Bellamy might have a chance at a happy ending, and wasn't that one of the reasons Future Simon went back in time? For a chance?
That Alisha might never know the truth of what could've been, of what was to him was–
He would live. She would live. Other Simon would live. It was fine.