CHAPTER 2: ad remedium
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries, Marvel, Avengers, or the X-Men. Please don't sue me.
There was no popping sound or sudden bursts of light, there was no indication anything occurred. But the universe knew better, the last remaining Celestials knew better, the Ancient One knew better, as did the Watcher.
Something had changed. The timelines shifted. Destinies were rewritten.
The ripple in time spread throughout the universe, affecting those it touched. Even the slightest change could lead to either destruction or reparation.
Charlie blinked her green eyes lazily, golden rays of sunlight filtered through the thin curtains. She squinted her eyes. A realization swept into her mind.
She was back.
Charlie quickly sat up in the bed, white sheets pooling in her lap. There was a man lying beside her, his back facing hers as he cuddled the pillow, snoring.
A sudden burst of pain blinded Charlie, her hands immediately going to the temples of her head. She groaned in pain. Memories of her next eighty years flashed behind her lids, making its place in her brain.
The last of the memories filtered through and the man laying beside her twitched, almost waking up from the sunlight. It was then Charlie recognized the scene. She was in Budapest on a seduction mission from HYDRA.
The year was 2012. Right on time for the Battle of New York and Search for the Cure.
She spied her red duffle bag on the ground beside the bed. Thank god it made the trip, she thought.
Something weighed down on her neck, Charlie reached her hands and felt the collar, her old power inhibitor collar.
"No, no, no," Charlie repeated in a panicked voice. She tugged at the device hard, almost bruising her neck.
She sighed, giving up on the task. The collar was connected to the base of her spine, attaching all the way up to the temporal lobe. It operated as a switch, controlling her telekinetic and telepathic abilities. Using the collar, HYDRA had complete control over her abilities, and they used it to their full advantage. Forcing her to kill, torture, and get information as they played around with her powers like a puppet.
Charlie loathed the collar with all her might.
The bed srings squeaked as her target moved in bed. He was rousing from the deep sleep and pleasurable night they had previously. Charlie rolled her eyes in contempt.
Holding the sheet to herself, Charlie glimpsed her black clutch on the nightstand table. She grabbed it. Usually for seduction missions as such, HYDRA provided her with a truth serum injection and a heart attack inducing toxin. This would come in handy later on, she mused and set it aside.
Charlie made her way to the man. He was still lying on his front, on the cusp of waking up. Perfect, she thought. She pinched the back of his neck and quickly jabbed the toxin needle. He made no sound of retaliation and slowly succumbed to his death.
Glad that's out of the way, Charlie thought in delight. Walking over to her bag, she quickly got dressed and tossed the truth serum in.
Before leaving the hotel room, she stopped at the washroom and finished up her necessary functions. She saw herself in the mirror, touching her face, she looked young, approximately twenty two. There was no happiness shining in her eyes, nothing but hardness, despair and the hope to fix the world. Charlie shook her head out of those thoughts. Now was not the time to be getting depressed.
Charlie had to make her way to Mystic Falls, Virginia, and before that she had to get rid of the trackers and the god awful collar. She grabbed the duffle bag, heaved it up her shoulder and quietly left the room. Easing herself into the role of young girl on vacation, she made her way out of the hotel, employees none the wiser.
Charlie hailed a taxi towards the airport. Her eyes widened as she took in the beautiful city of Budapest. In her time, the city was in ruins, its building and monuments decrepit, garbage and rubble littered on the streets. There was no life in the city, it was fascinating to see the once codemed city in its glory. The entirety of Europe suffered great losses, several cities were underwater and many, many lives had been taken.
Getting out a burner phone from her bag, Charlie typed in the number of a dear friend. A true friend, one who would be risking it all to help her.
The phone rang, a young woman picked up. "Dr. Williams' office. How can I help you?"
"I need to speak to Allison right now." Charlie demanded.
"M'am, you need to make an appointment first." The young woman's voice was irritated.
"Tell her it's Charlotte Grey, I'll hold." A loud beep echoed through the phone and Beethovan's Fur Elise started playing.
"M'am, I'm transferring your call to Dr. Williams."
"Hey Allie, how are you?" Charlie said, cheerfully. Finally, an old friend she could trust.
Charlie set up an appointment with Allison to once and for all get rid of the atrocious collar. The doctor's office was located in Paris and the safest thing to do right now was to get rid of the trackers embedded in her skin during a pit stop. She convinced the taxi driver to reroute the trip to Stuttergrat, Germany. It would throw HYDRA off her trail, after all she missed the rendezvous point.
Eight hours of mindless radio music and driving later, Charlie finally reached Stuttgrat. Getting out of the taxi, she stretched, getting the kinks out of her neck and back. After paying the driver the fare with a bit extra as a tip, she looked for a public washroom.
It didn't take long to find an empty washroom considering it was the middle of the day. People were immersed in their work. Locking the door, Charlie set the duffle bag in the second sink and brought out her trusty switchblade. She knew exactly where the damned trackers were located. There was one embedded deep in the bicep of her left arm, another in the base of her spine, and a last one in the ankle of her right foot.
Jabbing the knife into the meat of her left bicep, Charlie hissed in pain. She moved the knife deeper until it hit a miniscule object, Charlie set the knife on the edge of the sink and used her hand to pull out the chip. She tossed it down the drain and repeated the process twice for the other two tracking chips. The wounds healed in an instant, leaving behind no scarring and only bloody residue. Charlie wiped the blood from her back and changed into another set of clothes.
Tossing the last of the bloody tissues in the garbage bin, Charlie left the washroom and flagged down another taxi. This time it was straight to Paris. She was half asleep, half awake in the car, she didn't trust the driver, in fact she had a hard time trusting unknown people. Interactions with people in the past made her uncomfortable and anxious, but she covered it up by using her telepathic abilities. Figuring out what people were thinking, their entire thought process made it easier for her to communicate with others. Countless years under HYDRA's thumb left her unable to make friends and conversations, and taught her not to trust people. Though in the end she came out stronger, manipulative, and unafraid of using her powers.
After six hours of continuously driving with the occasional stop for washroom breaks and snacks, Charlie made it to Paris. As she got out of the car, she breathed in the fresh air, the sound of cars driving by. It was amazing to see the sheer amount of people, in her time, the human population was reduced significantly, even after people were brought back from the Blip. The constant invasions, natural disasters, and viruses contributed to the downfall of Earth. HYDRA was ever present, lurking behind the government, corrupting officials of multiple nations, forcing them to create unconstitutional and biased laws.
Night had already fallen, but it didn't matter, Charlie convinced the doctor to do the surgery the minute she arrived in Paris. She thanked the taxi driver and paid the fare. The driver dropped her off in front of a large, brown warehouse turned apartment building. It was the doctor's personal home and where her surgery would take place. Lifting the duffle bag to her shoulder, Charlie trudged inside.
Charlie's eyes squinted as a bright white light flashed in her face. Her mouth filled with cotton and her limbs felt heavy. She could barely see anything. A blob of red and white rushed toward her and Charlie panicked, she could feel something down her throat. She swung her arm, trying to punch the blob. She felt a pinch and then darkness.
When Charlie awoke the second time, she felt refreshed. Touching her neck, she could no longer feel the cold metal of the collar anymore. Her smile widened.
"It was a bitch to get off. We almost lost you towards the end." A voice called out from the side. It was Allison, flipping through a cream folder as she wrote down something.
"Thank you so much," Charlie said, lifting herself sideways on the cot. There was an apple sitting on the counter near Allison. Charlie held out her hand, white light emitting from her palm, and the apple zoomed straight to her. She bit into the apple, grinning from ear to ear, her eyes shining with happiness.
"Don't thank me, thank that regenerative healing ability of yours. You would've died if you didn't have it." Allison said as she finished writing down the last of her observations before walking towards Charlie.
"Still. If it weren't for you, I'd be back with HYDRA, murdering innocents." Charlie said with a shrug.
She hopped down from the cot, apple in hand and concentrated. A single business card flew from her bag and with a twitch of her hand, Charlie held in front of Allison's face.
"Here's my number. If you need anything, or land in any kind of trouble, call me."
Allison plucked the card from the air and swiftly tucked it in her white coat. "Thank you, Charlotte."
Charlie smiled in return and continued polishing off the apple. There was a plate piled high with sandwiches and a glass of orange juice on the bedside table. It would be enough for her to regain her strength as the stress of holding back was eliminated.
Allison walked over to her desk and got out an envelope, "Your ticket to Virginia," She said, holding it out for Charlie.
The envelope sped right in front of Charlie, the ticket slipped out as she confirmed the location. Richmond, Virgina. Replacing it back, the envelope made its way to the outer pocket of Charlie's duffle bag.
After stuffing her face with delicious sandwiches, Charlie washed it all down with the juice. She held out her hand, a black shirt and a pair of washed out jeans flew out of the bag and followed after her as she went to the washroom.
Rubbing her auburn hair with a soft towel, Charlie glanced at the clock. It was almost time, she thought. She could lose her chance if she took the plane to Mystic Falls. That wouldn't do at all, Charlie thought.
She walked over to her bag and searched for the ring. There. In her hand, she held a golden two-finger ring. The famed Sling Ring of Sorcerers and their apprentices. Imbued with mystical powers, it allowed users to travel between any two points in the universe. Charlie was fortunate enough to befriend a Sorcerer during the Purge.
Her name was Myra and she was an apprentice under Wong, the great protector of the New York Sanctum. Though she sacrificed her life to save thousands of people in Brooklyn from the Skrull attack. Myra gave her the ring and taught her the basic methods of travelling in between the portals. Charlie had used it only once and that moment was enough to bring back terrible memories. She used it to transfer innocents and those caught in the crossfire away from the battle. Thus, leaving Myra to deal with the attack. It was one of the worst things she had done.
Wiping away a tear, Charlie put the ring on and lifted the bag over her shoulder. She breathed in deeply and cleared her mind. She thought of the Mystic Falls town hall and holding out her right arm, she drew a circle. Charlie closed her eyes and held the picture in her mind, she continued the motion.
The portal was created, it held still and showed her the exterior of the town hall.
Charlie straightened her shoulder and with a determined look on her face, stepped into the portal. It closed after her. She glanced around to see if anyone had noticed and realized it was no one was around. The town hall was deserted and Charlie recalled there were no events scheduled for today. A regular day, one that would end up changing the lives of several people.
She looked up at the clock attached to the tower of the town hall. Charlie was right on time. Caroline and her friends would have the cure in their hands right now. Her journals noted there would be a face off between the Originals and Caroline's friends, all for the sake of the cure.
The confrontation was going to happen in about fifteen minutes in the woods. Charlie adjusted the strap of her bag and jogged to the location.
She slowed her pace as she neared the site. There was a clear divide between the groups as they stood on opposite ends of the woods. Charlie did nothing to conceal her steps or her heartbeat.
She cleared her throat, all eyes landed on her. The Mikealsons made no move, they stood together as a unit, eyes narrowed in suspicion. The older Salvatore brother, Damon glared at her, frustrated that she was interrupting. His fangs appeared and using his vampire speed he rushed towards Charlie.
Charlie rolled her eyes and held out her palm in time, stopping Damon in his tracks, "Stop, everyone just stop," she said. Charlie's iris' glowed white and froze everyone on the field.
It was unnaturally quiet, not a leaf quivered, many of the woodland animals had gone silent. She loosened her control over their eyes. The Original Vampires, the Hybrid, and the Salvatores drew out their fangs, sclera turning red and dark veins appeared underneath. All except her cousin, Caroline Forbes. She was standing there in fright and trying to fight against the invisible control.
Charlie walked over to her, noticing her two best friends, the Witch and the Doppelganger standing next to her. She ignored them and stood in front of Caroline.
"Hey there, cousin. Miss me?" Charlie asked, a cheeky smile on her face. She loosened her control over her cousin entirely, freeing her. Caroline stumbled but quickly regained her balance. Though the rest of them were captive and under her control, their eyes were fixed on the scene in front of them.
Caroline gasped, her hands going to her mouth in shock. "Charlotte…You're alive," Tears pooled in her eyes and she jumped, hugging Charlie with her vampiric strength. Charlie laughed and hugged back just as tight. She tripped and they fell down, laughing.
Charlie wiped a lone tear from her cheek. Caroline was the first to get up, she held out her hand for Charlie to grasp. She let her cousin heave her up.
"Oh my god, Charlie! How are you? Where were you for the past ten years? I missed you so much," Caroline said, her eyes filling up with tears once again. Charlie was like an older sister to her and went missing when she was eight and Charlie was ten. Over the years, Caroline would get messages and little gifts from her sister. She cherished them and wished she would come back home.
Charlie only smiled in return, "I'll tell you about it once we're done here."
"What do you mean?" Caroline asked, confused. They just returned from finding the cure. Everything was going well, as well as it could go with Klaus and his siblings fighting to get the cure. Katherine was sealed in a room in the Salvatore boarding house. Everyone was alive.
Several phones started ringing, including Caroline's. "Ugh, cellphones are so annoying," Charlie said, exasperated. She was over this entire situation already. She jerked her hand and all of the cell phones flew towards her. Charlie stopped them mid-way and clenched her hand in a fist, crushing the phones.
"What the hell, Charlie? That was the latest model," Caroline shouted, her hands gripping her blonde curls in distress. "What are you doing?" She asked once again. It was unlike Charlie to act without thinking, Caroline presumed. She must have a reason for doing this. Then again, she hadn't seen her older sister in years. Caroline frowned, annoyed at herself for doubting her sister.
"Don't worry, Care. I'll buy you another one later." Charlie said, waving it off.
Charlie folded her hair behind her ear and listened. Three distinct male voices and the sound of feet crunching over dried leaves. It was Jeremy Gilbert, Matt Donovan, and Caroline's current boyfriend, Tyler Lockwood. They stood, confused at the still vampires and Hybrid.
"Finally! Right on time boys." Charlie stretched her arms wide, greeting the three. She watched as they carefully walked to the group. Once they were close enough, Charlie's iris' glowed white and froze them, as well.
"No need to worry Caroline, I'm not here to harm your friends. There's something I need to do." Charlie walked away from Caroline and turned around, facing the Originals and Caroline's friends.
"Now, which one of you has the Cure?" Charlie clasped her hands together, waiting for a response.
The field was quiet, all eyes were on Charlie. To them, she was an unknown, a random person. There was no need for her to get the Cure. They were frustrated, their bodies fighting the invisible holds.
"No one? Well don't say I didn't give you an option?" She shrugged her shoulders and her iris' glowed. Whoever's holding the cure, come forward and give it to me. Charlie's command echoed through the minds of everyone on the field. Several closed their eyes in pain.
Elijah Mikaelson, the second eldest of the Mikaelsons came forth. Charlie already knew he had the Cure, it was just so much fun commanding people. And the fact that she wanted to make a big scene of her arrival.
Elijah slowly walked to Charlie, his steps slow. His dress shoes dragged in the mud as he attempted to stop himself from going forward. It was useless, Charlie's ability was stronger. Much stronger than regular vampirical compulsion.
From his suit pocket, he brought out a vial of rose coloured liquid. "Perfect." Charlie stated, gently grabbing it from his hand. Elijah's eyes darkened with vowed vengeance. Charlie ignored his stare and walked to Caroline.
"This is why I'm here, Caroline." Charlie said, holding the vial up for her to see.
She thrust it toward her. "Drink it."
"What? No!" Caroline stepped back, she never wanted the Cure.
She never wanted to return to the old Caroline, the selfish, immature brat she'd been. Being a vampire made her powerful, it made her realize her strengths and made her into a better person. Though she hated the bloodlust that came with being a vampire, the drinking of blood disgusted her and she hated compulsion with passion. But the Cure, Caroline thought. I would be free from the bloodlust and the vampiric nature.
Caroline sighed, "Why me?" Her body lost all fight, slouching every so slightly. She didn't understand why her cousin so desperately wanted her to take the Cure.
"You know why. Once you become a human, you can unlock your full potential." Charlie stated, her eyes drifted to and fro the frozen individuals and Caroline.
Realization swept in Caroline's eyes. Mutant powers. Her mutant abilities were supposed to activate during puberty, but she was a late bloomer. By the time she thought her abilities would arise, she died. Caroline never did get a chance to unlock her powers.
Caroline hesitated, her friends would hate her. The Cure was for Elena, not her. Everyone wanted it for Elena. Klaus, Damon, Stefan, Bonnie. They would all hate her for this, despise her, even Klaus. She didn't want to risk it and even thinking about potentially ingesting the Cure made her feel guilty.
"Drink it, Caroline." Charlie repeated. The vial was in front of Caroline's face, taunting her. She had always wanted mutant abilities, ever since she saw Charlie float her toys around her.
Caroline stepped back, "No, no, no…" She panicked, her hands clenching her curls. She didn't know what to do.
"You know you always wanted this," Charlie said, "Just take it, Caroline."
"For me, please. I will help you transition." Charlie pleaded. Her hands went to Caroline's shoulders. Caroline flinched. Charlie stepped back, holding the vial for Caroline to take.
Caroline took in a shaky breath and calmed herself, "Okay…" She was hesitant because of the repercussions she would face afterwards. But knowing that her cousin, her older sister, would help her, made her determined on her decision. Caroline grabbed the vial and gulped it down.
For a few minutes, everything stood still. Caroline could feel the Cure moving through her system, her stomach grumbled. She held a hand to it and turned away from Charlie to throw up. It was the B+ blood bags she drank a few hours ago. Charlie patted her back, holding back her hair as she continued throwing up blood. A hankerchief floated beside her shoulder, Caroline grabbed it and wiped her mouth.
Charlie helped Caroline stabilize herself as she got up. Caroline still felt nauseous and in a few seconds she lost consciousness. Charlie gently laid her on the ground. It won't be long now.
Charlie moved away, waiting patiently.
Caroline gasped loudly, her hands going to her throat as she took her first real breath in two years. Her heart pumped blood. Her toes twitched. She was alive. Caroline grinned widely.
She jumped up and ran to Charlie for a hug. Both of them beamed in happiness.
At the touch of Charlie's hands on her face, Caroline let out a wail of pain, her hands gripping her head. She went down on her knees, hard.
"Care! It's happening!" Charlie yelled out, stepping back from Caroline. Using her control over the others, Charlie pushed them back, giving Caroline more room. She knew what her powers would be.
Caroline screamed in pain as visions, each painful than the next flickered in her mind. Her body lifted off the ground, power strumming all around her. Caroline's eyes glowed solid white as images continued. It was all too much. Orange light flowed from her palms. Caroline continued to scream, the orange light grew stronger, forming into a shape of a ball. Charlie shielded her eyes as the light became too much. With a final scream and last visions, Caroline's body let go like a Marionette and fell down.
Charlie rushed to her, "Are you okay?" She lifted her body into a sitting position, careful not to touch her again.
"What was that?" Caroline asked, her voice scratchy and rough from the screaming. Her eyes were no longer pure white and no longer blue. The iris' were orange.
"Your abilities. You touched me and saw the future, sister."
"My head," Caroline said, her hands slowly going to her temple, "It hurts." She whimpered.
"Don't worry. Close your eyes, you'll feel better after a nap." Charlie said, patting her hair, Caroline's hair now had orange highlights.
Caroline's eyes rolled back and she fell asleep. Her breaths even out. Charlie carefully laid her back down and pushed up her jacket sleeve. She had Allison graft the futuristic device into her left forearm. Swiping her finger up, Charlie brought up a holographic screen.
"FRIDAY, bring out the hover stretcher." She commanded.
"Yes, Ms. Grey."
A light blue hoverable cot formed before the vampire and hybrid's eyes. It was astonishing to them, they had never seen anything like this before.
Charlie telepathically lifted Caroline and placed her onto the hover cot.
"Seal it and take it straight to the Forbes household. Phase through the window."
"As you wish, Ms. Grey."
"Thanks FRI, I appreciate it." The hover cot floated and sealed Caroline in, preventing her from rolling over and falling out. It held still for a second, then sped off to her house.
"Now that's done and over with. What am I going to do with you?" Charlie said to herself.
She walked back to the Originals, Salvatores, and Caroline's friends. Charlie tapped a finger on her chin as she thought about next steps. With a snap of her fingers, she realized what she had to do.
Her iris' glowed white. You will not harm, kill, maim, torture Caroline Elizabeth Forbes and/or Elizabeth "Liz" Forbes. Any attempt to do so will result in fifteen stabs to the chest as the first warning. Next attempt will be a stake to the heart. The command echoed through the minds of everyone present and implanted itself deep into their brain.
Charlie released her hold on the group. There was a collective sigh of relief as the control was lifted.
The Original Hybrid, Klaus, sped over and slammed her in the tree, holding her high by the throat. Charlie's hands gripped Klaus', but made no effort to remove them. She thought it would be better for all of them to get their frustrations off on her, rather than Caroline and Liz.
She rolled her eyes, "What?"
tbc
AN: This fanfiction is set in Season 4 of Vampire Diaries, I made the year 2012 because it makes things easier in the MCU. Occurs right after Elijah gets a hold of the cure. The Salvatore and Originals are fighting against each other to see who gets it. None of the Katherine crap of her stealing the cure and whatever. She's still gonna be alive in this. I still gotta figure out what to do with her character, so right now she's sealed in a room by Bonnie. Silas will make an appearance in the next chapter.
Pairing are: Elijah/OC, Klaroline, Kennet, Matt/Rebekah, and Delena. Caroline is now a mutant and I'll explain her abilities in the next chapter.
Hope you guys like it!