Heroes Fic
Title: The Speed At Which Time Passes
Author: Alex Foster
Characters/Pairing: Angela and Noah.
Word Count: 843
Rating: PG
Summary: Angela Petrelli as she moves through the years drawing ever closer to what her ability has known all along. Angela/Noah friendship, can be read as pre-relationship. Spoilers for the entire series.
...
...
Angela’s in the backseat of their procured car, young Bobby Bishop is driving, and her head rests against Charles’ shoulder. She’s half asleep, drifting in and out of consciousness, and can taste burnt tea on the back of her tongue. It should seem odd, that flavor, because despite their progress and organization the smell of Coyote Sands is still on their skin. They are far from tea.
…
…
It is Angela’s wedding night and she muses that she feels none of the nervousness a proper young lady should experience on such an occasion. But Angela is not a blushing virgin nor does she have the same concerns of most women her age.
There’s an emergency Company meeting after the ceremony that she and Arthur oversee while still in their wedding finery and tipsy on champagne and music. It’s late when they finally stumble up to their hotel room, both too exhausted to do anything but sleep.
That night she dreams of a thunderstorm on the horizon with Arthur at its head. No, not her Arthur-here he is older and harder. Around him crackles lightning and rain falls from his fingertips. His lip curls with stolen power and her heart breaks.
…
…
She’s in a different car this time, on the wrong side of what used to be called the Iron Curtain and far from the memory of Coyote Sands, but once again drifting in and out of awareness. An agent, a special like her, is driving much too fast over uneven roads-Rains, is his last name but she can’t recall his first. Her mind is muddled and it is hard not to think of him as Bobby driving them all toward an uncertain future.
A voice is next to her ear, telling her to stay awake. It’s the other agent-the one of them to Rains’ one of us-speaking and it is his folded coat pressing against the wound in her side. His glasses are askew and his face splattered with her blood. Memories of the confrontation start coming back to her as she struggles to remain conscious. Perhaps it was a mistake responding to their call for help after all. At least the mission was a success.
Angela begins slipping away again and shivers with cold deep in her body. A dream waits for her as usual. She isn’t aware at all when she starts asking Noah if he’d like a cup of tea.
…
…
It is Linderman she confesses to about Nathan and no one else. The future twists and turns around her son in so many incalculable ways she worries the dreams alone will drive her mad. He saves the world; he destroys it. He takes his father’s place at the head of that dark storm; he is a bullet shooting straight to its center to dissipate it. He rules; he sacrifices everything.
Sometimes there is a faceless blonde girl with him that changes the world. Sometimes her blood drips from his hands. Outcome swirls around Nathan, ever shifting, and her ability doesn’t know what to make of him. The only constant is Peter. He is in every dream about his brother and the only thing certain is one day when Nathan dies his brother will be there with him.
That more than anything fills Angela with worry and dread because she doesn’t know how to interpret it. Peter saves and Peter kills.
…
…
The night of Claire’s announcement to the world about specials Angela doesn’t watch the news. She doesn’t answer the phone when it rings or rushes to control the damage with the public. Instead she puts the kettle on and settles in to wait.
Arthur used to talk about mastering abilities. That the goal of each special was to understand every facet of his or her power. Perhaps that was where his gift came from, but she never pushed her ability to see how far it would go like Claire does with hers. Nor does she secretly hate her ability as Bobby deep down hated his-so deep she suspects he never knew himself.
It exists as part of her away from introspection. Over the years she’d used it to save many lives-both specials and nons. As the kettle begins to whistle Angela understands her ability knew all along this moment was coming.
She fixes two cups just in time for Noah to ring the doorbell.
They sit in her kitchen with only a single light on and make small talk. They are old friends, companions, and veterans in a war now over. Tomorrow a different kind of fight starts but they won’t be soldiers in it. Those roles belong to children and grandchildren.
Noah’s phone buzzes, but it isn’t Claire calling so he shuts it off without answering.
Angela smiles into her tea as a sense of familiarity fills her apartment. It’s been a long time since she felt that and it makes her think of dreams and the messages they send.
She is not surprised at the taste of a burnt tea leaf in her cup.
End
Author: Alex Foster
Characters/Pairing: Angela and Noah.
Word Count: 843
Rating: PG
Summary: Angela Petrelli as she moves through the years drawing ever closer to what her ability has known all along. Angela/Noah friendship, can be read as pre-relationship. Spoilers for the entire series.
...
...
Angela’s in the backseat of their procured car, young Bobby Bishop is driving, and her head rests against Charles’ shoulder. She’s half asleep, drifting in and out of consciousness, and can taste burnt tea on the back of her tongue. It should seem odd, that flavor, because despite their progress and organization the smell of Coyote Sands is still on their skin. They are far from tea.
…
…
It is Angela’s wedding night and she muses that she feels none of the nervousness a proper young lady should experience on such an occasion. But Angela is not a blushing virgin nor does she have the same concerns of most women her age.
There’s an emergency Company meeting after the ceremony that she and Arthur oversee while still in their wedding finery and tipsy on champagne and music. It’s late when they finally stumble up to their hotel room, both too exhausted to do anything but sleep.
That night she dreams of a thunderstorm on the horizon with Arthur at its head. No, not her Arthur-here he is older and harder. Around him crackles lightning and rain falls from his fingertips. His lip curls with stolen power and her heart breaks.
…
…
She’s in a different car this time, on the wrong side of what used to be called the Iron Curtain and far from the memory of Coyote Sands, but once again drifting in and out of awareness. An agent, a special like her, is driving much too fast over uneven roads-Rains, is his last name but she can’t recall his first. Her mind is muddled and it is hard not to think of him as Bobby driving them all toward an uncertain future.
A voice is next to her ear, telling her to stay awake. It’s the other agent-the one of them to Rains’ one of us-speaking and it is his folded coat pressing against the wound in her side. His glasses are askew and his face splattered with her blood. Memories of the confrontation start coming back to her as she struggles to remain conscious. Perhaps it was a mistake responding to their call for help after all. At least the mission was a success.
Angela begins slipping away again and shivers with cold deep in her body. A dream waits for her as usual. She isn’t aware at all when she starts asking Noah if he’d like a cup of tea.
…
…
It is Linderman she confesses to about Nathan and no one else. The future twists and turns around her son in so many incalculable ways she worries the dreams alone will drive her mad. He saves the world; he destroys it. He takes his father’s place at the head of that dark storm; he is a bullet shooting straight to its center to dissipate it. He rules; he sacrifices everything.
Sometimes there is a faceless blonde girl with him that changes the world. Sometimes her blood drips from his hands. Outcome swirls around Nathan, ever shifting, and her ability doesn’t know what to make of him. The only constant is Peter. He is in every dream about his brother and the only thing certain is one day when Nathan dies his brother will be there with him.
That more than anything fills Angela with worry and dread because she doesn’t know how to interpret it. Peter saves and Peter kills.
…
…
The night of Claire’s announcement to the world about specials Angela doesn’t watch the news. She doesn’t answer the phone when it rings or rushes to control the damage with the public. Instead she puts the kettle on and settles in to wait.
Arthur used to talk about mastering abilities. That the goal of each special was to understand every facet of his or her power. Perhaps that was where his gift came from, but she never pushed her ability to see how far it would go like Claire does with hers. Nor does she secretly hate her ability as Bobby deep down hated his-so deep she suspects he never knew himself.
It exists as part of her away from introspection. Over the years she’d used it to save many lives-both specials and nons. As the kettle begins to whistle Angela understands her ability knew all along this moment was coming.
She fixes two cups just in time for Noah to ring the doorbell.
They sit in her kitchen with only a single light on and make small talk. They are old friends, companions, and veterans in a war now over. Tomorrow a different kind of fight starts but they won’t be soldiers in it. Those roles belong to children and grandchildren.
Noah’s phone buzzes, but it isn’t Claire calling so he shuts it off without answering.
Angela smiles into her tea as a sense of familiarity fills her apartment. It’s been a long time since she felt that and it makes her think of dreams and the messages they send.
She is not surprised at the taste of a burnt tea leaf in her cup.
End