Fanfic: Duality [Teen Wolf]

[argentum_ls]

Summary: And Mars has two moons.

Word Count: 596


Maybe it’s only because they had lived on the moon for several generations, long enough to forget the family history, that the Hale family even decided to join the colonial expedition to Mars. Laura tried to tell them not to go, that they were making a mistake. Her parents, of course, had no interest in listening to the protestations of a teenage girl. They decided that she just didn’t want to leave her friends and booked the whole family on the first flight out without further conference. Only her uncle Peter seemed to take her seriously, but he deferred to his brother, claiming that, of the two elder Hale men, Laura’s father was so alpha that there was no point in trying to talk him out of anything he’d set his mind to.

Laura next tried to convince her twin brother about the dangers of the family moving to Mars. “Haven’t you heard the family legends,” she asked.

He rolled his eyes. “They’re just legends,” he responded. He looked out the treated plexiglass dome that covered their lunar colony; the gibbous Earth hung low on the horizon, its colors bright against the blackness of space. They both knew that when the planet was full, nothing would happen except that no one would be able to resist commenting frequently on the beauty of the Earthshine. “There’s nothing to worry about--” he concluded. He reached out suddenly and grabbed the braid that she wore down her back, gave it hard yank. “—Except for how much time you’re wasting with those old computer files.” She shrieked, lashed out with her foot and kicked him in the thigh. Soon they were bouncing off the walls, wrestling like they were still kids. The conversation was forgotten.

On the big day, Captain Argent himself greeted them at the landing pad. Laura hung back behind the family. Her existing trepidation about the trip was only magnified by the way Argent kept looking at them, as if he didn’t approve of their lifestyle and he was Not Going to Say Anything. Except, as far as Laura could tell, her family didn’t appear any different than any other lunar family. As far as she knew, they weren’t any different. Even she had started to find the family legends worthy only of mockery.

Uncle Peter, however, must have sensed the tension. He discretely pulled the captain aside and spoke to him in a way that apparently required lounging inside the captain’s personal space. When Peter took his seat, he wore a small, satisfied grin. The captain didn’t speak directly to them again. His younger sister Kate—whose ample chest Derek couldn’t keep his eyes from—started to relay all the messages from Command. Laura was sure this hadn’t been planned, though she would have plenty of time to wonder about it after they arrived, after the lander carrying her parents and extended family exploded above the red planet’s surface. Freak accident, everyone said. Laura wasn’t so sure. She’d heard a buried glee in Kate’s tone when she presented the news. Only Peter survived, and he only technically. Modern medical technology might be able to keep his body alive, but it would never be able to heal his mind.

Her first day on her new home planet, she remembered. The legends had been specific and consistent. Hers was a special family, but the specialness required anger, focus, and some mystical quality of the moon. She had that anger now, was prepared to learn the focus. And Mars…. Mars had two moons.

END

For AU!Bingo square #19: Alternate Planet(s)

Comments

[fotoshop-cutout.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this one! ♥ Great job!

[argentum-ls.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading :) These are turning out to be quite fun to write.