(no subject)
TITLE: Swapped 13/13
AUTHOR: dragynflies
RATING: PG 13
DISCLAIMER: Heroes cast is not mine.
SUMMARY: Playing the AU game…the story of Elle Bennet and Claire Bishop.
Yeah, this is for real, all done. MANY thanks to ariana_paris for all her help, and for superkappa for the handholding and beta'ing.
For those of who you have forgotten this long lost fic, here are the first 12 parts:
Swapped Prologue
Swapped 1
Swapped 2
Swapped 3
Swapped 4
Swapped 5
Swapped 6
Swapped 7
Swapped 8
Swapped 9
Swapped 10
Swapped 11
Swapped 12
June 14, 2006
“What are you doing?” Gabriel pushed Elle away from him in the bed, standing up angrily, “Stay away from me.”
Elle jolted awake as she hit the floor, knocking her head against the nightstand. She’d allowed herself to forget why they were here, just long enough to fall asleep, and now she was being reminded of her mistake.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly, sitting up on the other bed, her hand cupped over her throbbing head, “You were having a nightmare and I just thought…”
“What?” Gabriel said sarcastically, “I was having a nightmare. Of course I was having a nightmare.” He didn’t remind Elle at all of the kind man she’d spent so many days with. His eyes flashed angrily and Elle is worried that he’ll send her flying away from him with a flick of his wrist at any second.
“I just…you sounded so scared, and I wanted to help,” she said quickly, wincing away from him.
“You’ve helped enough,” he spit out, and the tone of his voice clearly means there will be no more talk of his dreams or nightmares.
The awkward silence threatened to overwhelm them, and Elle sniffled in the quiet. She doesn’t even know what they’re supposed to do now; her missions have never taken her off plan before, and they are so far off plan right now she’d need more than a map and a compass to find her way back.
Gabriel turned away from her, and Elle glanced towards the half open window. It was still dark outside, not even the beginning of dawn cutting through the sky. She sighed and watched as Gabriel sank back onto the bed, pretending to sleep so that he doesn’t have to talk to her.
She would just have to come up with some sort of plan, because she doesn’t like flying blind and she doesn’t like the growing certainty that everything is about to come crashing down around her.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
June 14, 2006
“She’s 24 years old, with limited funds, contacts, and she’s trying to keep track of Gabriel Gray,” Bob said angrily, “You expect me to believe, given our resources, that we can’t track her down?”
“Of course not,” the agent said, “We just…”
“I don’t care to hear your excuses,” Bob interrupted, “I care about results. I want Elle Bennet and Gabriel Gray locked up in Level 5 by the end of the day, do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir.” The agent paused, and Bob sighed heavily.
“Are you waiting for some sort of written invitation? Take care of it.”
The agent turned on his heels and left the room, and Bob’s hands clench into fists. Elle Bennet has no right to make his life miserable, and he will make her pay.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“They can trace my car,” Elle finally said, breaking the awful silence that was threatening to overwhelm her. The sun peeked over the horizon, and Elle glanced at the door. “We have to do something else.”
“We?” Gabriel asked, “We. I did nothing. I didn’t ask for this…”
“It doesn’t matter,” Elle said, frustrated. “No one cares what you asked for or didn’t ask for. All they care about is that I took you out of Level 5, and now we’re both in trouble.”
Gabriel was silent for a long time; Elle was certain everything was over. He was going to leave, and escape and she’d be left to the wolves. She’d spend the rest of her days locked up in Level 5, she knew it. Nothing her father could do would save her now, not without Gabriel’s help too…
“You’re really trying to help me,” he said finally.
Elle nodded eagerly, coming to sit next to Gabriel on the bed. “I am, I promise. I am so sorry for what happened, but we can fix it. I can at least help you find someplace safe, but we have to leave soon. We have to get a car, because…”
“I know,” Gabriel cut her off, already glancing around the room. “Go get ready; we’ll leave soon.”
Elle nodded, hurrying towards the bathroom. Now that Gabriel believed her, everything would be better. It had to be.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“Mr. Bishop. They’re at the motel on 33rd Street.”
Bob snapped the cell phone shut without responding; it had taken too long to narrow down their location and he was impatient enough. Just another reason to remind himself that if he wanted something done, he’d have to do it himself. From the passenger seat, Claire watched him with wary eyes.
The decision to bring Claire with had surprised the agents around Bob, and had surprised his daughter even more. Two weeks ago, she would have been thrilled with the assignment; free reign to take down Elle and potentially get a nice, handsome man to keep down in Level 5 at the same time? Adam had grown boring, Gabriel would have been a fun new toy. But now she wasn’t so sure she wanted Elle to be taken down…maybe Elle and Gabriel deserved a shot at the life Claire would never have.
Elle’s car was parked directly outside one of the motel room doors. She never was a very good agent, Claire thought dryly. She got out of the car quickly, cocking her gun at her father’s glance. At least she could look prepared.
“No killing shots, Claire,” Bob instructed quietly. “I want them both alive. Regardless of their intentions, they’re valuable to the Company.”
Claire nodded, following behind her father. The door to the hotel was locked, but it wasn’t hard for him to jimmy open the old lock. He kicked the door open and Claire stepped in ahead of him, her gun raised.
Elle was standing with her back turned to the door, facing Gabriel, who’d seen everything happen. His expression changed, and Elle glanced behind her.
“Bob,” she snapped, lighting up her hands with blue energy. “I should have known you’d be here.”
“You’re not a terribly adept agent, Elle,” Bob said. “I’m sure you knew your car had a tracer.”
If they’d just been a little quicker in leaving…if Gabriel hadn’t insisted on arguing…it was too late now. Elle shot a bolt of electricity at Bob’s feet, missing him by inches. Claire knew she hadn’t meant to hit him; Elle’s aim was too controlled for such a stupid mistake.
“Claire, are you going to stand there or are you going to do your job?” Bob demanded. “I brought you with for a reason. I thought you were doing better, I thought you were going to stop disappointing me.”
Elle watched as the gun Claire had pointed at them wavered slightly. She braced herself, her electricity curling in her palms. If Claire took a shot, she hoped her ability would be enough to at least knock her down so Gabriel could get away.
“Do it, Claire,” Bob ordered, and Claire visibly snapped. Elle watched, stunned, as the other girl turned on her father and fired one shot, directly through his temple. He didn’t even have time to speak as the bullet pierced his skull. His head bounced against the door jamb as he slumped to the floor, dead.
“I guess you’d guys better go,” Claire said quietly, staring down at her father with blank eyes.
Stunned, Elle stepped forward, her hand on Claire’s shoulder. “Claire…”
“I said you had better go,” Claire repeated firmly, pushing Elle away from her. “Here.” She handed Elle the keys to her father’s car. “There’s no tracker on this one, you guys should be safe.”
Elle bit her lip, tears coming to her eyes. “Thanks, Claire…if…are you going to be okay?”
Claire glanced down at her father, bleeding on the cheap motel carpet. “I think I will be.”
August 4, 2009
“Noah, come here baby!” Elle knelt down and held her arms out. The little boy grinned at his mother, toddling over to her on wobbly legs. “My big boy!” Elle squealed, scooping up the baby and pressing kisses to his chubby cheeks.
She settled herself on the floor with her son, dragging over a plastic bin of blocks so they could build. Noah loved this game - stack the tower, and then smash it down with his little hand.
They were just through their third tower when a noise from the kitchen caught their attention. Elle gently picked up Noah and padded into the kitchen with him on her hip.
“Hey, you,” she said, tipping her face up so that Gabriel could kiss first her and then Noah hello. “What’d you bring?”
“I picked up Chinese on the way home from work,” Gabriel said, holding up the bag. Elle nodded her approval and settled Noah in his high chair.
Elle cut up the noodles into tiny pieces for Noah before digging into her own dinner with chopsticks. She ate eagerly, and Gabriel laughed.
“I don’t remember this crazy craving for all things Chinese when you were pregnant with Noah,” Gabriel teased, and Elle poked at him with her chopsticks.
“Every pregnancy’s different,” Elle said, between bites of chicken. She swallowed, then chuckled, reaching for his hand. “Here, she likes it. She’s kicking.”
Gabriel waited until he felt the baby kick against his palm, then scooted out of his chair so he could press his lips to Elle’s growing belly. “Hello, Claire.”
AUTHOR: dragynflies
RATING: PG 13
DISCLAIMER: Heroes cast is not mine.
SUMMARY: Playing the AU game…the story of Elle Bennet and Claire Bishop.
Yeah, this is for real, all done. MANY thanks to ariana_paris for all her help, and for superkappa for the handholding and beta'ing.
For those of who you have forgotten this long lost fic, here are the first 12 parts:
Swapped Prologue
Swapped 1
Swapped 2
Swapped 3
Swapped 4
Swapped 5
Swapped 6
Swapped 7
Swapped 8
Swapped 9
Swapped 10
Swapped 11
Swapped 12
June 14, 2006
“What are you doing?” Gabriel pushed Elle away from him in the bed, standing up angrily, “Stay away from me.”
Elle jolted awake as she hit the floor, knocking her head against the nightstand. She’d allowed herself to forget why they were here, just long enough to fall asleep, and now she was being reminded of her mistake.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly, sitting up on the other bed, her hand cupped over her throbbing head, “You were having a nightmare and I just thought…”
“What?” Gabriel said sarcastically, “I was having a nightmare. Of course I was having a nightmare.” He didn’t remind Elle at all of the kind man she’d spent so many days with. His eyes flashed angrily and Elle is worried that he’ll send her flying away from him with a flick of his wrist at any second.
“I just…you sounded so scared, and I wanted to help,” she said quickly, wincing away from him.
“You’ve helped enough,” he spit out, and the tone of his voice clearly means there will be no more talk of his dreams or nightmares.
The awkward silence threatened to overwhelm them, and Elle sniffled in the quiet. She doesn’t even know what they’re supposed to do now; her missions have never taken her off plan before, and they are so far off plan right now she’d need more than a map and a compass to find her way back.
Gabriel turned away from her, and Elle glanced towards the half open window. It was still dark outside, not even the beginning of dawn cutting through the sky. She sighed and watched as Gabriel sank back onto the bed, pretending to sleep so that he doesn’t have to talk to her.
She would just have to come up with some sort of plan, because she doesn’t like flying blind and she doesn’t like the growing certainty that everything is about to come crashing down around her.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
June 14, 2006
“She’s 24 years old, with limited funds, contacts, and she’s trying to keep track of Gabriel Gray,” Bob said angrily, “You expect me to believe, given our resources, that we can’t track her down?”
“Of course not,” the agent said, “We just…”
“I don’t care to hear your excuses,” Bob interrupted, “I care about results. I want Elle Bennet and Gabriel Gray locked up in Level 5 by the end of the day, do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir.” The agent paused, and Bob sighed heavily.
“Are you waiting for some sort of written invitation? Take care of it.”
The agent turned on his heels and left the room, and Bob’s hands clench into fists. Elle Bennet has no right to make his life miserable, and he will make her pay.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“They can trace my car,” Elle finally said, breaking the awful silence that was threatening to overwhelm her. The sun peeked over the horizon, and Elle glanced at the door. “We have to do something else.”
“We?” Gabriel asked, “We. I did nothing. I didn’t ask for this…”
“It doesn’t matter,” Elle said, frustrated. “No one cares what you asked for or didn’t ask for. All they care about is that I took you out of Level 5, and now we’re both in trouble.”
Gabriel was silent for a long time; Elle was certain everything was over. He was going to leave, and escape and she’d be left to the wolves. She’d spend the rest of her days locked up in Level 5, she knew it. Nothing her father could do would save her now, not without Gabriel’s help too…
“You’re really trying to help me,” he said finally.
Elle nodded eagerly, coming to sit next to Gabriel on the bed. “I am, I promise. I am so sorry for what happened, but we can fix it. I can at least help you find someplace safe, but we have to leave soon. We have to get a car, because…”
“I know,” Gabriel cut her off, already glancing around the room. “Go get ready; we’ll leave soon.”
Elle nodded, hurrying towards the bathroom. Now that Gabriel believed her, everything would be better. It had to be.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“Mr. Bishop. They’re at the motel on 33rd Street.”
Bob snapped the cell phone shut without responding; it had taken too long to narrow down their location and he was impatient enough. Just another reason to remind himself that if he wanted something done, he’d have to do it himself. From the passenger seat, Claire watched him with wary eyes.
The decision to bring Claire with had surprised the agents around Bob, and had surprised his daughter even more. Two weeks ago, she would have been thrilled with the assignment; free reign to take down Elle and potentially get a nice, handsome man to keep down in Level 5 at the same time? Adam had grown boring, Gabriel would have been a fun new toy. But now she wasn’t so sure she wanted Elle to be taken down…maybe Elle and Gabriel deserved a shot at the life Claire would never have.
Elle’s car was parked directly outside one of the motel room doors. She never was a very good agent, Claire thought dryly. She got out of the car quickly, cocking her gun at her father’s glance. At least she could look prepared.
“No killing shots, Claire,” Bob instructed quietly. “I want them both alive. Regardless of their intentions, they’re valuable to the Company.”
Claire nodded, following behind her father. The door to the hotel was locked, but it wasn’t hard for him to jimmy open the old lock. He kicked the door open and Claire stepped in ahead of him, her gun raised.
Elle was standing with her back turned to the door, facing Gabriel, who’d seen everything happen. His expression changed, and Elle glanced behind her.
“Bob,” she snapped, lighting up her hands with blue energy. “I should have known you’d be here.”
“You’re not a terribly adept agent, Elle,” Bob said. “I’m sure you knew your car had a tracer.”
If they’d just been a little quicker in leaving…if Gabriel hadn’t insisted on arguing…it was too late now. Elle shot a bolt of electricity at Bob’s feet, missing him by inches. Claire knew she hadn’t meant to hit him; Elle’s aim was too controlled for such a stupid mistake.
“Claire, are you going to stand there or are you going to do your job?” Bob demanded. “I brought you with for a reason. I thought you were doing better, I thought you were going to stop disappointing me.”
Elle watched as the gun Claire had pointed at them wavered slightly. She braced herself, her electricity curling in her palms. If Claire took a shot, she hoped her ability would be enough to at least knock her down so Gabriel could get away.
“Do it, Claire,” Bob ordered, and Claire visibly snapped. Elle watched, stunned, as the other girl turned on her father and fired one shot, directly through his temple. He didn’t even have time to speak as the bullet pierced his skull. His head bounced against the door jamb as he slumped to the floor, dead.
“I guess you’d guys better go,” Claire said quietly, staring down at her father with blank eyes.
Stunned, Elle stepped forward, her hand on Claire’s shoulder. “Claire…”
“I said you had better go,” Claire repeated firmly, pushing Elle away from her. “Here.” She handed Elle the keys to her father’s car. “There’s no tracker on this one, you guys should be safe.”
Elle bit her lip, tears coming to her eyes. “Thanks, Claire…if…are you going to be okay?”
Claire glanced down at her father, bleeding on the cheap motel carpet. “I think I will be.”
August 4, 2009
“Noah, come here baby!” Elle knelt down and held her arms out. The little boy grinned at his mother, toddling over to her on wobbly legs. “My big boy!” Elle squealed, scooping up the baby and pressing kisses to his chubby cheeks.
She settled herself on the floor with her son, dragging over a plastic bin of blocks so they could build. Noah loved this game - stack the tower, and then smash it down with his little hand.
They were just through their third tower when a noise from the kitchen caught their attention. Elle gently picked up Noah and padded into the kitchen with him on her hip.
“Hey, you,” she said, tipping her face up so that Gabriel could kiss first her and then Noah hello. “What’d you bring?”
“I picked up Chinese on the way home from work,” Gabriel said, holding up the bag. Elle nodded her approval and settled Noah in his high chair.
Elle cut up the noodles into tiny pieces for Noah before digging into her own dinner with chopsticks. She ate eagerly, and Gabriel laughed.
“I don’t remember this crazy craving for all things Chinese when you were pregnant with Noah,” Gabriel teased, and Elle poked at him with her chopsticks.
“Every pregnancy’s different,” Elle said, between bites of chicken. She swallowed, then chuckled, reaching for his hand. “Here, she likes it. She’s kicking.”
Gabriel waited until he felt the baby kick against his palm, then scooted out of his chair so he could press his lips to Elle’s growing belly. “Hello, Claire.”