The Beauty is in the Flaw

Summary

Michael's defection from Heaven causes another Angel to question her place in the battle ahead, so she follows him to Paradise Falls. There her shaky faith in the goodness of Humankind is confronted as are her feelings for Michael.

M/OC some G/A

I will only post a single disclaimer, and it is this: I don't own Legion. I can only take credit for Tessa and the plot tweaks I made :)

Chapter 1

At the moment Heaven was far from peaceful. A battle was coming, and there was no stopping it now. Already, it seemed, there had been a casualty, one that was a bitter blow to many of the angels preparing themselves for the onslaught ahead.

They had all been looking to Michael, their General, for guidance and for the strength to do what the Father ordered; orders that seemed to contradict everything they had believed until this point. It was easy to see that the Archangel was displeased with the task God had given him and the orders he had been forced to pass down to his soldiers. But none of them had ever expected him to disobey. It was unthinkable. As the first wave was deployed Michael's defection became known. Now, with Gabriel taking up the slack left by his brother, the Soldiers of Heaven who had yet to be summoned to the battlefield were preparing for what was to come.

All but one.

Michael stood silently regarding the pregnant woman in front of him.

"I told you not to do anything brave." Charlie's face was still white with fear from nearly being dragged out the window by the hoard of creatures outside. Before she could respond though, Kyle, a young black man with a serious bad boy look about him rushed into the diner portion of the Paradise Falls Gas'n'Grub. The adrenaline from the fight moments ago still pumping through his system, he smiled at the group in from of him.

"We got 'em runnin'!" The smile from the success of driving the creatures back fell from his face as he noticed a conspicuous absence. Mere moments ago, Howard, the upper middle-class man who had been so viciously attacked earlier that day had been pulled outside by the same creatures who had tried to take Charlie. The mournful casts on the faces of those around him dampened Kyle's mood immediately as he asked where Howard was. The only sound that answered him was that of the sobs coming from Howard's wife Sandra and 17 year-old daughter Audrey.

Kyle was soon followed by Bob, the crusty owner of the diner and Percy the cook with an obvious military past and a hook in the place of his left hand. Michael noticed their entry immediately and broke the emotion-filled silence as soon as the newcomers realized what happened.

"Someone needs to be on the roof." Percy was the first to volunteer but Bob held him back as soon as the words left his mouth.

"Hold on," he took a few steps toward Michael, intent on his desire for an explanation, "You better start talking." At once, every eye in the room was turned on the Stranger who had just effectively saved their lives. He turned and headed back to the office behind the kitchen, everyone following as he laid his weapons on the table in the center of the room. Tense moments passed before he spoke, his voice quiet and serious as his hands ran over the weapons arrayed before him.

"The first time God lost faith in Man he sent a flood. The second time . . . he sent what you see outside."

"You sayin' this is the Apocalypse...?" Percy was the first to speak, his voice incredulous. Michael turned his startling blue gaze to the cook.

"I'm saying this is an extermination." Michael could see a mix of dread and incredulity in the faces around him. "Those things outside are just vessels; they're possessed. The weakest willed are the easiest to turn." Next it was Kyle who interrupted, a similar doubt to Percy's apparent in his voice.

"Possessed by what? Demons?"

"No. No, by angels." The silence that met Michael's succinct, almost regretful answer was tangible. If the gazes fixed on him before were incredulous, that was nothing to the expressions he met now. Once again, Percy was the first to recover.

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold on, son. I don't know what book you been readin', but in my version, the angels are the good guys." The cook's gaze was once again squarely met by the stranger, the weight of his pronouncement echoed in the blue depths.

"Well, the truth, I'm afraid, is never that simple."

"Bullshit. Now I'm not a pastor, but I've never heard of no ice-cream man or old lady eating raw meat, jumping on the ceiling with baby teeth, so I don't know what the fuck you talking about!" Kyle's voice was full of doubt and he was bordering on losing his temper.

"Hold on. How come you know so much about them?" Bob's son Jeep who had been silent until now, looked at Michael with his guileless but concerned gaze. The rest eyed him suspiciously, but he didn't hesitate to answer.

"Because until last night, I was on their side." Jeep couldn't help but ask the question that was on everyone's mind.

"So you're sayin' . . ."

"Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Yesterday I was fuckin' Santa Clause. I mean, you know this is crazy, right?" Bob interrupted Jeep, not at all convinced by what Michael was saying. "I mean, I don't even believe in God!" Michael merely shrugged his shoulders; not quite the reaction anyone expected from someone who claimed to be an angel.

"That's just fine, Bob. He doesn't believe in you either. He doesn't believe in any of this anymore." All that earned him were more dubious and even scandalized looks from the haggard group around him. Michael just continued to check over his weapons. Bob was struck dumb, any response he might have come up with gone. Percy was shaking his head, taking this more seriously than anyone else.

"I knew this day was coming. I just didn't think I'd be around to see it."

"Come on, Percy. What are we even talking about this for? Angels, and possessed people? It's not real! It's— " He couldn't even finish his sentence he was so worked up.

"Have you looked outside Bob? I mean, those people aren't exactly our regular customers."

"Wait, so are you here to protect us?" Audrey sat in front of her mother, still shaking from the abduction of her father. A faint glimmer of hope flickered in her eyes. Michael was almost saddened by the response he knew he had to give.

"Not you . . ." he turned to look at Charlie, "her." The waitress was astonished, but not quite speechless as every eye in the diner flew to her.

"Me? Why me?"

"Because your child is the only hope humanity has of surviving." Despite the seriousness of his tone, Charlie could only laugh. How could such a thing be possible; it couldn't!

"No way!" Her laughter was cut short by the continued expression of solemnity on the angel's face. In an instant her expression of skepticism was replaced with one of unease.

"Wait, wait. Wait a minute. This can't be happening to me. I mean, I'm nobody. I'm just a waitress! I'm nobody! I can't give birth to the Savior of Mankind!" Her voice faltered for a moment as she desperately groped about for viable reasoning to contradict Michael's insane sounding pronouncement. "I don't even own a car!"

"None of that matters anymore. Either your child lives or Mankind dies." The shock of Michael's explanation so far was beginning to wear off and Kyle found his voice again.

"So what, we're supposed to just hold those things off until the baby gets here?"

"That's it."

"I'm only eight months pregnant." Dread had taken a foothold in Charlie's eyes and wasn't going anywhere soon, and Kyle's response wasn't very reassuring.

"This shit can't be happening, man!"

"How are we supposed to survive here for a month?" Sandra's fear had given her back her voice as well. Michael glanced at her briefly.

"We won't have to . . ." Charlie could feel the blood draining from her face. She was reaching whole new levels of fear now, but oddly enough, she felt detached form it. She closed her eyes for a moment.

"It's coming soon, isn't it?"

"Yes." It was the only response Michael could give. Charlie felt suddenly light-headed and the diner around her began to sway. Jeep rushed forward to steady her, concern for her over-writing the fear on his face from their situation. Michael paused from checking his guns.

"Listen, I simply don't care what you people believe, and those things outside, they don't care either. They just want the child dead." He pointed almost menacingly at Charlie's pregnant belly, before looking down at his guns again.

"Now, this first attack was a test of our strength. The next one will be a test of our weakness." He paused for a moment, fixing a stare at everyone one in the room before loading a new clip into the machine gun in his hand. "Now we can sit here and discuss it, or you can try and help me. But believe me, something much worse is on its way." No one could move for fear as Michael turned. Something worse than whatever that had been just a short time before?

Jeep shot a concerned glance at Charlie, but before anyone could react farther everyone's attention was grabbed by a quiet but distinct thud from the roof over their heads. While everyone froze in fear, Michael looked up, a concerned but curious expression on his face as he brought the gun in his hand to bear. However, he wasn't through the door when a shadowed figure appeared in the doorway.

"Michael, Michael, what have you done." A lyrical but condescending voice emanated from the shifting shadows in front of him. Michael sighed, his eyes closing briefly in what might have been regarded as pain.

"Why are you here?" The occupants of the room behind him watched on with apprehension as the shadow moved into their line of sight just outside the doorway.

"You didn't say good-bye." The hint of sarcasm didn't detract from the hypnotic quality of the voice. Michael took a deep breath. The shadow moved into the light, causing more than one person to gasp.

The woman who came from the roof access of the building was terrifyingly beautiful. She was of medium height and build but still managed to look delicate. Her hair colour was an indistinguishable dark hue that was pulled back into a messy bun with an assortment of clips to keep shorter strands in check while her bangs swished carelessly beside her face. A lithe body clad in formfitting but utilitarian clothes and leather strapping exuded a predatory power and grace while the metal breastplate and pauldrons gleamed dully in the low light from under a long black coat. A single thick band of iron encircled her elegant neck while her pale skin and blue eyes shone in the dark. Like Michael she was armed, but in a manner that baffled all those but Michael. A sword hung at her hips, as did a long dagger while the hilts of at least two others peaked out of her calf-high boots and leather gauntlets. She was, without a doubt, a warrior, and a lethal one at that.

"Tessa, you shouldn't be here. You're disobeying a direct order." Michael's voice was soft and conflicted. The woman smiled coyly, a flash of defiance and anger in her eyes. Charlie whimpered softly in the background drawing the woman's gaze for the briefest moment.

"Look who's talking?" Michael frowned. "Besides, you're not the General anymore, so I can choose to ignore your orders." She smiled sweetly, earning a few nervous shuffles behind Michael.

"He will be most displeased with you."

"I don't really care at the moment. So," she stepped lithely past Michael to survey the group arrayed behind him before turning to look at him again, "what is the plan, Michael?" His jaw tight with frustration, he turned to face her defiant gaze.

"You really shouldn't be here." Oh, but I should, Tessa silently responded to herself as Michael stepped past her and bade the others to a variety tasks he set them.

A/N: Thanks for reading!

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