Fic- Whatever it takes 28
Title- Whatever it takes 28
Author- Me
Show/Ship- Heroes, Claire/Sylar
Rating- M
Disclaimer- I own chips. that is all.
Summary- Why can;t things always go right?
A/N- This is for the reviewer who asked if Claire knew about certain murders of Sylar's. If that person is still reading- thanks for the plot bunny. Here's virtual cake.
Chapter 28
For the second time in his life Sylar awoke with Claire in his arms. But this time they weren’t fully clothed and lying on a sofa- this time they were both naked and sticky and sated.
This time there was no passing it off as an accident or the result of beer and bad acting; last night they had sex.
No. Made love.
Sylar cringed inwardly, even thinking the sappy cliché phrase made him feel sick but that’s what it had been- at least for him.
He hoped that it had been that way for Claire too. There was a ball of happiness and contentment welling up inside him in the place the darkness used to reside. He could feel the cold guilt and paranoia give way to warmth and a tentative hope for the future.
He hadn’t expected last night, had never really thought that Claire would ever willingly give herself to him, no matter how much he had wished it and, despite his euphoria, there was a part of him that wondered if she really had or if he was just dreaming, lost inside some wonderful fantasy or trapped inside his own mind- a warped parody of Matt Parkman’s ultimate torture.
Either way- he never wanted to awaken from it.
He turned slightly to see the golden strands of her hair draped over his chest and moved his hands slightly trailing the still silky tresses through his fingers. Despite their actions of last night her hair wasn’t sweat soaked. He wondered idly if it had something to do with her healing power but iy was too trivial a thought to hold him for long.
Instead he found himself cogitating on the delicateness of her flesh, the satin smoothness of her skin and the scent of warm, sleepy woman that filled his sense and made him shiver with the untapped power that she held over him.
Power was an aphrodisiac, Claire’s power was the ultimate high and he could feel himself growing more interested in the hot body resting on him.
As if she heard his thoughts Claire sighed heavily, her breathing changing as she woke slowly. She shifted, her unconscious mind gradually becoming aware that she was laying on a hard male body.
Sylar could almost see her brain race through the panic-fear-remembrance-realization and he waited with bated breath to see whether she would settle on regret or rejoicing.
Claire huffed out a breath and slowly opened her eyes, tilting he head to stare up at him.
A slow smile edged over her mouth and her eyes shone as they met his.
“Hey you.”
A sunrise-shaming blast of a smile erupted from his mouth at her tender greeting.
“Hey yourself, sleep well?”
“Mmmm,” she stretched slightly, her body undulating against his. “I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that you make a great pillow.”
“My pleasure, trust me. You make a nice blanket.”
“I hope I wasn’t too heavy.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Hardly.”
“Good.” Claire snuggled her head back against his shoulder and kissed his chest.
He wondered if she could feel his heart leap under her lips.
He wrapped his arms around her again and stroked his chin against her hair, smiling as the ends tickled his cheek.
“Claire… are you okay?”
“Umm huh,” she said sleepily. “Tired.”
He cleared his throat. “I meant with last night. Are you okay with it all?”
Claire shifted up of her elbows and looked down at him from her perch. He tried very hard not to look at the way the sheets had shifted and slid down her back exposing her breast to his view. He tried to not glance down to the enticing view and just to look her in the face. Her beautiful face with its amused expression, like she knew what he was thinking.
She chewed her lower lip for a moment. “Yeah, I’m okay. I meant what I said last night, Sylar. I believe in you and I want to trust you so bad. I do trust you in most things.”
He cut straight to the heart of the matter. “You just think now I’ve had you I’m going to leave?”
Claire shrugged one shoulder somehow managing to make it look classy even though she was naked. “Matter of experience. Most guys get the goods then get gone.”
“I’m not most guys. And I’m going nowhere.”
“Yeah.” Her tone was doubtful and he couldn’t help the sliver of hurt at her disbelief. Claire saw it, her heart giving a pang at the lost look on his face. She didn’t want to hurt him but he deserved her honesty. “I am trying to believe.”
He could no longer resist and tugged her head down for a kiss. He slid his tongue against her lips, begging for entrance.
Claire was only too happy to leave the heavy conversation and get back to the more enjoyable part.
She finally pulled away panting and grinned. “I could get used to that.”
Sylar smirked. “You will get used to that. Trust me on that.”
“Okay.” She moved slightly and then winced.
“What?”
Claire wrinkled her nose. “You know, when we got the sex-ed talk, no one ever mentioned that sex was so… icky.”
One eyebrow rose. “Icky?”
“Messy,” Claire leaned up on one elbow. “Kissing and licking and sweating and… other stuff. Wet spots and sticky spots and… I’m grossing myself out now.”
Sylar laughed. “Sex can be messy. But clearing up after can be even more fun.”
A slow smile slipped over Claire’s lips. “In that case, wanna join me in a shower? Conserve resources.”
“Since we’ll be alive to feel the effects of global warming it’s only right that we take responsibility now.”
Being green had never been more fun.
--------
It was amazing how much better she felt after a solid night’s sleep and several orgasms, Claire thought with a grin as she strolled down the corridors at work.
Rolling out of bed had been hard, leaving had been ever harder, especially when Sylar suggested they both call in sick and spend the day in bed.
Claire had been tempted but, in the end, common sense prevailed.
“I’ve never been sick a day in my life. If I called in they’d think it was code and within minutes the whole Company would be banging down the door. My dad included.”
Sylar had nodded with no little resignation. “And I really hate getting shot.”
So after many kisses and false starts Claire had wandered in to work late and set about her daily assignment with a spring in her step and a smile on her lips.
It was still there when she pushed open the little door in room 820.
“Oh god! I’m gonna hurl.”
Claire blinked. It wasn’t quite the reaction she had been hoping for when she walked in. “Uh, Sam?”
The tall boy looked decidedly green and clutched at his stomach. “This is it, isn’t it?”
She smiled slightly, feeling a little anxious at his green tinge. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. No. Not at all in any way shape or form. I’m so gonna be sick. Will they mark me down for that?” He slapped his own foreheads with enough force that Claire winced. “Of course they will. Some agent who can’t even handle exams. But tests, oh god, it’s like the Kobayashi Maru- can’t win any way.”
“Unless you cheat,” Claire put her clipboard down on the table, which turned out to be a bad idea as Sam took one look and started to hyperventilate.
“I’m gonna fail. I don’t test well and I’m a geek!” He raked his hand through his hair, his sweat-soaked palms making his hair stand on end. “What kind of geek doesn’t test well? It’s like a prerequisite. I’m going to be laughed out of chess club and beaten by the math club and they’ll take away my action figures.” He shuddered. “Even the guys who play Pokemon will laugh at me.”
Claire’s lips twitched. “I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen.”
“It’s always the same, I’ve revised, I’ve prepared and then I get in the room and someone hands me the paper and I go to pieces. My last French exam I wrote in Klingon and I got my name wrong on my English paper. My name!” He slumped into a chair. “Epic fail.”
Claire knew a little something about exam nerves and stress and felt pity for the poor deluded boy. The room probably wasn’t helping him either. It was bare except for the metal table and two chairs situated in the middle. It looked like the interrogation room from every bad cop movie, complete with coffee stained table and dubious stains on the floor.
It was the very essence of intimidating and she could see how he could be unnerved.
“Okay,” she said smoothly, deliberately placing her pen and clipboard down on the table. “It’s fine. We’ve got time. How we about we just talk for a while, okay? Sam?”
He nodded tightly and slid into the chair like he had a poker for a spine.
Claire smiled widely at him. “Easy boy, I’m not that scary.”
A slight smile tripped at his lips. “Yeah, I have met your dad.”
Claire laughed. “I didn’t say that I didn’t come with scary baggage.”
“Your dad and Sylar,”
She blinked at him. “Sylar?”
Sam nodded, his whole body starting to relax. “Uh huh, you’re totally his Rogue,”
“His what?”
“You’re Rogue to his Wolverine. Like he’d eviscerate anyone that even came close to hurting you and he thinks he’s not good enough for you but totally is.”
“Wasn’t Wolverine in love with Jean Grey?”
“Pfft!” Sam waved that away. “Everyone knows that she was the easy option. Rogue was the true love of his life.”
“Do you have a love of your life?” Claire asked interested in his answer. She quite liked the sandy-haired boy even though she knew very little about him other than what Peter had told her.
“Does Joss Whedon count?” Sam blushed. “No. Not a real girl anyway.” He had a self-deprecating look on his face. “Nerds don’t get the girl in real life. Besides I was more into comic books and gaming than making out.”
“I bet the first time your power manifested you thought you’d won the lottery.”
“Actually I thought I’d OD’ed on George Lucas and was ready to check myself into a psych ward.” Sam looked at his hands. “It wasn’t until my grandma saw the deep fryer run away that I realized it was real.”
Claire’s lips twitched. “The Fryer?”
Sam shuddered. “That woman believed in fried foods. Fried fish, fried onions, fried cucumber, fried peppers- basically if it could be covered in batter it could be fried. Trust me, making it run away was the best thing to do. Her arteries thanked me for it.”
The kid was actually funny under the geekiness. “So you did it for her own good?”
Sam shrugged one shoulder.”Actually she was threatening to make liver fried in breadcrumbs. I think it was a spontaneous use of magic.”
“Like when Harry blew up his aunt?”
He nodded.
“You think it’s magic?” She inclined her head curiously. Most people- most Specials never openly said what they thought the origins of their abilities to be. Once the Company told them it was genetics they just accepted it. It was odd to hear them called magical powers and not abilities.
“Life is magic,” Sam gnawed on his lip. “You can package it and label it however you want- evolution, creation, intelligent design or accident of nature, the fact is that no matter how we came to be here; we are here and that’s amazing.” His eyes shone. “Genetics is just magic explained.”
Claire nodded slowly. That was kind of a cool way of looking at things. “So what do you think about the whole powers thing. Accident or design, why do we have them?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. Any way you look at it we have them because we need them- we being humans. If god gave them to us then it’s because he saw a need, in this time, for heroes, for people to do what needs to be done to protect the human race. If it evolved in us then it’s because nature required it. For the same reasons, someone to fight against the rape of nature and the destruction of life on this planet.”
“So you feel you have a responsibility to be a hero?”
Sam laughed. “I’m not a hero.”
Claire sat back in her chair. “But you just said that god or nature required heroes.”
“Aw hell no!” Sam waved his hands. “I’m not the hero type.”
“You didn’t kill Luke,” Claire pointed out. “I think that was pretty heroic.”
A bright red flush worked its way over Sam’s cheeks at the compliment. “It was touch and go after he threatened my Labyrinth poster but I’m not a villain either. I couldn’t just kill someone like that.”
“So you’re not a hero and you’re not a villain, what are you?”
Sam stared at the table as his thought about it, his fingers tracing the Bat-signal on the scarred wood.
“Sidekick maybe? I could be the Xander Harris of the Specials.”
“Never getting your moment in the spotlight? Always having someone else take the glory and the praise. Don’t you want to show everyone what you can do. I mean,” Claire leaned forwards, “Okay I was little Miss Popular, cheerleader and whatever but I did have nerds for friends and I know that if they had what you had, they’d be going Godzilla on us all.”
“With great power comes great responsibility,” Sam muttered.
“Huh?” Claire frowned. “What?”
Sam shrugged. “Spiderman mantra. You talked about nerds, I’m a geek.”
“There’s a difference?”
“Nerds are smart. They get A’s and have science fairs and stuff like that. Nerds secretly long to be cool and want to be popular. Geeks revel in their weirdness. Geeks aren’t necessarily smart and they don’t want to be cool because, to them, coolness isn’t defined by popularity but by health points. Yeah, sure if a nerd went radioactive he’d turn Green Goblin no problems but a geek- a real geek has read enough comic canon to realize that any powers have a price and if you abuse that power-you pay the price. Geeks would fight for truth and justice.”
“Is that why you wanna join the Company?”
Sam nodded. “Like the X-Men and the Justice League and even Judge Dredd, order needs to be kept and I figure that’s why I’ve been given this power- to do what’s right. And to help others do the same.”
Take away the nerd- sorry- geek references and the little boy charm and you had Peter Petrelli in miniature spouting his do-gooder attitude.
Claire smiled at him. It was kind of adorable.
“You know I saw the thing you did with Luke with the vacuum and the toaster. What’s the smallest thing you’ve ever changed?”
“A computer chip,” Sam’s eyes lit up. “I made it sprout legs and crawl all over my hands.”
“What’s the biggest?”
“A car. It was a mini and gave me a headache for an hour after.”
She licked her lips and leaned forwards. “But it’s kind of like a muscle, right, the more you use it the easier it is.”
“I guess.” Sam frowned.
“So, if you tried, you could probably work up to something bigger?”
“Probably.”
Claire gave him her very best impressed look. “I wanna see! Hey could you do one for me?”
“A what?”
She dipped into her pocket and pulled out a handful of junk. Quarters, gum, keys and a pen. “Animate a pen for me?”
He gave her a boyish look..“Really?”
“Please.”
“Okay.” Sam narrowed his eyes and focused on the ballpoint in front of Claire. It twitched and seemed to melt in front of her eyes, elongating and warping as it slithered across the desk, the nip splitting and hissing at her.
“Pocket snake!” Claire said in delight as the pen wound itself around her fingers. She tentatively traced her finger across the pens logo and the creature all but purred. “He’s happy.” She looked up at Sam curiously. “When you made the stuff in your kitchen, it was angry.”
“My mood seems to affect it. I can make them calm and cute or angry and attacking. I can change the mood of any of my creations. All except photocopiers; they are just evil.”
“That is amazing.” She stroked the pen again. “How long does it last?”
“About an hour.”
She looked up as there was a knock on the door. “Come in.”
Noah Bennet strolled into the room with his customary ease. “Claire, Sam.”
“Hey dad.”
“Mr. Bennet.”
“How are things going in here?”
Suddenly the calm cool, rather doltish boy had gone to be replaced by the nervous wreck he had been before. “Oh god, the test-“
“We’ve just finished,” Claire interrupted.
Sam blinked.”We have?”
“Uh huh.” Claire grabbed the clipboard and her new pet-pen. “Sam passed with flying colors. Dignified, loyal, pro-active and non-aggressive. He’s grounded and realistic but has imagination and creative solving abilities. Has a curious mind without questioning authority and is unlikely to fry his associates. He also has great control over his powers. I’d say he’s field ready.”
Sam gaped. “You were testing me?”
She grinned. “Sneaky huh?”
“You Slytherin you!”
Claire laughed. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
“I passed?”
“You passed.”
Sam turned his shining eyes to Noah Bennet.
“I passed.”
Noah raised an eyebrow. “Well, report to the administrative office to get your paperwork sorted.”
“Yes sir!” Sam saluted, realized what he’d done, blushed and then hurried away, banging into the wall as he did so.
Claire giggled. “I think you made him nervous.”
“Good.” Noah folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the desk. “At least someone around here has the proper respect.”
Claire sighed.”Dad-“
He held up a hand. “I don’t want to fight with you Claire-Bear.”
“Then don’t.”
“I can’t help it when I hear about your choices in associates.”
Claire sighed heavily. When were they going to get over this?
“Dad, I’m actually having a good day and the last thing I want is to go ten rounds of ‘I hate your friends’ with you. I get it, you hate Sylar. I’ve spent more time with him than you have and I see him differently. Can’t we just agree to disagree on this?”
He folded his arms against his chest and used his height to look down on her. “This isn’t a political opinion, Claire. Sylar is manipulative and arrogant and dangerous. You of all people should know-“
“Yes, dad, me of all people!” Claire’s voice got shrill as she faced off against the man she had idolized as a child. “It was me he attacked, me he sliced and stalked and terrified. I’ve forgiven him. Why can’t you?”
“Because he’s a stone cold killer and animals like that don’t change.”
Claire gathered up her folders suddenly tired with all of the arguing and fighting. Why did he have to be such a hard ass about this? Couldn’t he trust her enough to let her make her own decisions? “You’re wrong.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
“Chandra. Mohinder. Maya. Alejandro. Nathan. All people that he’s befriended and then killed.” He marked them off his fingers one by one. “Spending time with this guy leaves you dead.”
“I can’t die.”
“But you can be broken.” He nudged his glasses back up his nose. “And hurt, Claire. Sylar will hurt you. He may have convinced Peter that he’s turned over a new leaf but he’s just waiting until he’s gained your trust and he will turn on you. Like he’s turned on everyone who has ever loved or trusted him. Starting with his own mother.”
Claire shook her head, frustration with the same argument, the same words going round and round, causing tears to spring up in her eyes. “Why do you hate him so much, dad? Maybe because you made him, huh? Yeah I heard about you and Elle and your little experiment for the Company. He would have killed himself if you hadn’t interfered. You made him what he was but guess what, dad?” She swiped at her damp eyes angrily, “he’s risen above all of that. He’s different.”
“Let’s ask Elle that, shall we. Oh wait. She’s dead. He killed her.”
Claire froze. “What?”
Noah smirked. “Oh didn’t he mention that? Elle was his girlfriend. She loved him enough to run off with him. She trusted him and he killed her when he got what he wanted. There was no reason to kill her. He had her power; he had her trust and her love.”
“Stop.”
“-she would have followed him anywhere but he was bored with his little plaything and all we found was a pile of ashes on a beach. He immolated her, Claire. She was slowing him down and so he carved open her head-“
“Stop it.”
“-even though he already had her abilities and he set her on fire while she screamed.”
“STOP IT!” Claire yelled at him.
“That’s the kind of man he is, Claire,” Noah yelled back. “Why can’t you see he’s a monster?”
Claire stared at her father in horror, her chest heaving and tears glittering in her eyes. The pain in her expression seemed to get through to him and he stepped back, running a hand over his face.
“Claire-“ he started despondently.
“That monster stopped me from being dragged into a vortex. That monster stopped me from bleeding to death. He stopped Danko. He eradicated a global threat. That monster stopped me from being raped. He saved me. He saves me. He’s there when I need him and that’s more than you ever did.” She swallowed hard. “Don’t call, don’t visit. I don’t wanna see you.”
“Claire-“
But she was already gone.
--
Author- Me
Show/Ship- Heroes, Claire/Sylar
Rating- M
Disclaimer- I own chips. that is all.
Summary- Why can;t things always go right?
A/N- This is for the reviewer who asked if Claire knew about certain murders of Sylar's. If that person is still reading- thanks for the plot bunny. Here's virtual cake.
Chapter 28
For the second time in his life Sylar awoke with Claire in his arms. But this time they weren’t fully clothed and lying on a sofa- this time they were both naked and sticky and sated.
This time there was no passing it off as an accident or the result of beer and bad acting; last night they had sex.
No. Made love.
Sylar cringed inwardly, even thinking the sappy cliché phrase made him feel sick but that’s what it had been- at least for him.
He hoped that it had been that way for Claire too. There was a ball of happiness and contentment welling up inside him in the place the darkness used to reside. He could feel the cold guilt and paranoia give way to warmth and a tentative hope for the future.
He hadn’t expected last night, had never really thought that Claire would ever willingly give herself to him, no matter how much he had wished it and, despite his euphoria, there was a part of him that wondered if she really had or if he was just dreaming, lost inside some wonderful fantasy or trapped inside his own mind- a warped parody of Matt Parkman’s ultimate torture.
Either way- he never wanted to awaken from it.
He turned slightly to see the golden strands of her hair draped over his chest and moved his hands slightly trailing the still silky tresses through his fingers. Despite their actions of last night her hair wasn’t sweat soaked. He wondered idly if it had something to do with her healing power but iy was too trivial a thought to hold him for long.
Instead he found himself cogitating on the delicateness of her flesh, the satin smoothness of her skin and the scent of warm, sleepy woman that filled his sense and made him shiver with the untapped power that she held over him.
Power was an aphrodisiac, Claire’s power was the ultimate high and he could feel himself growing more interested in the hot body resting on him.
As if she heard his thoughts Claire sighed heavily, her breathing changing as she woke slowly. She shifted, her unconscious mind gradually becoming aware that she was laying on a hard male body.
Sylar could almost see her brain race through the panic-fear-remembrance-realization and he waited with bated breath to see whether she would settle on regret or rejoicing.
Claire huffed out a breath and slowly opened her eyes, tilting he head to stare up at him.
A slow smile edged over her mouth and her eyes shone as they met his.
“Hey you.”
A sunrise-shaming blast of a smile erupted from his mouth at her tender greeting.
“Hey yourself, sleep well?”
“Mmmm,” she stretched slightly, her body undulating against his. “I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that you make a great pillow.”
“My pleasure, trust me. You make a nice blanket.”
“I hope I wasn’t too heavy.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Hardly.”
“Good.” Claire snuggled her head back against his shoulder and kissed his chest.
He wondered if she could feel his heart leap under her lips.
He wrapped his arms around her again and stroked his chin against her hair, smiling as the ends tickled his cheek.
“Claire… are you okay?”
“Umm huh,” she said sleepily. “Tired.”
He cleared his throat. “I meant with last night. Are you okay with it all?”
Claire shifted up of her elbows and looked down at him from her perch. He tried very hard not to look at the way the sheets had shifted and slid down her back exposing her breast to his view. He tried to not glance down to the enticing view and just to look her in the face. Her beautiful face with its amused expression, like she knew what he was thinking.
She chewed her lower lip for a moment. “Yeah, I’m okay. I meant what I said last night, Sylar. I believe in you and I want to trust you so bad. I do trust you in most things.”
He cut straight to the heart of the matter. “You just think now I’ve had you I’m going to leave?”
Claire shrugged one shoulder somehow managing to make it look classy even though she was naked. “Matter of experience. Most guys get the goods then get gone.”
“I’m not most guys. And I’m going nowhere.”
“Yeah.” Her tone was doubtful and he couldn’t help the sliver of hurt at her disbelief. Claire saw it, her heart giving a pang at the lost look on his face. She didn’t want to hurt him but he deserved her honesty. “I am trying to believe.”
He could no longer resist and tugged her head down for a kiss. He slid his tongue against her lips, begging for entrance.
Claire was only too happy to leave the heavy conversation and get back to the more enjoyable part.
She finally pulled away panting and grinned. “I could get used to that.”
Sylar smirked. “You will get used to that. Trust me on that.”
“Okay.” She moved slightly and then winced.
“What?”
Claire wrinkled her nose. “You know, when we got the sex-ed talk, no one ever mentioned that sex was so… icky.”
One eyebrow rose. “Icky?”
“Messy,” Claire leaned up on one elbow. “Kissing and licking and sweating and… other stuff. Wet spots and sticky spots and… I’m grossing myself out now.”
Sylar laughed. “Sex can be messy. But clearing up after can be even more fun.”
A slow smile slipped over Claire’s lips. “In that case, wanna join me in a shower? Conserve resources.”
“Since we’ll be alive to feel the effects of global warming it’s only right that we take responsibility now.”
Being green had never been more fun.
--------
It was amazing how much better she felt after a solid night’s sleep and several orgasms, Claire thought with a grin as she strolled down the corridors at work.
Rolling out of bed had been hard, leaving had been ever harder, especially when Sylar suggested they both call in sick and spend the day in bed.
Claire had been tempted but, in the end, common sense prevailed.
“I’ve never been sick a day in my life. If I called in they’d think it was code and within minutes the whole Company would be banging down the door. My dad included.”
Sylar had nodded with no little resignation. “And I really hate getting shot.”
So after many kisses and false starts Claire had wandered in to work late and set about her daily assignment with a spring in her step and a smile on her lips.
It was still there when she pushed open the little door in room 820.
“Oh god! I’m gonna hurl.”
Claire blinked. It wasn’t quite the reaction she had been hoping for when she walked in. “Uh, Sam?”
The tall boy looked decidedly green and clutched at his stomach. “This is it, isn’t it?”
She smiled slightly, feeling a little anxious at his green tinge. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. No. Not at all in any way shape or form. I’m so gonna be sick. Will they mark me down for that?” He slapped his own foreheads with enough force that Claire winced. “Of course they will. Some agent who can’t even handle exams. But tests, oh god, it’s like the Kobayashi Maru- can’t win any way.”
“Unless you cheat,” Claire put her clipboard down on the table, which turned out to be a bad idea as Sam took one look and started to hyperventilate.
“I’m gonna fail. I don’t test well and I’m a geek!” He raked his hand through his hair, his sweat-soaked palms making his hair stand on end. “What kind of geek doesn’t test well? It’s like a prerequisite. I’m going to be laughed out of chess club and beaten by the math club and they’ll take away my action figures.” He shuddered. “Even the guys who play Pokemon will laugh at me.”
Claire’s lips twitched. “I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen.”
“It’s always the same, I’ve revised, I’ve prepared and then I get in the room and someone hands me the paper and I go to pieces. My last French exam I wrote in Klingon and I got my name wrong on my English paper. My name!” He slumped into a chair. “Epic fail.”
Claire knew a little something about exam nerves and stress and felt pity for the poor deluded boy. The room probably wasn’t helping him either. It was bare except for the metal table and two chairs situated in the middle. It looked like the interrogation room from every bad cop movie, complete with coffee stained table and dubious stains on the floor.
It was the very essence of intimidating and she could see how he could be unnerved.
“Okay,” she said smoothly, deliberately placing her pen and clipboard down on the table. “It’s fine. We’ve got time. How we about we just talk for a while, okay? Sam?”
He nodded tightly and slid into the chair like he had a poker for a spine.
Claire smiled widely at him. “Easy boy, I’m not that scary.”
A slight smile tripped at his lips. “Yeah, I have met your dad.”
Claire laughed. “I didn’t say that I didn’t come with scary baggage.”
“Your dad and Sylar,”
She blinked at him. “Sylar?”
Sam nodded, his whole body starting to relax. “Uh huh, you’re totally his Rogue,”
“His what?”
“You’re Rogue to his Wolverine. Like he’d eviscerate anyone that even came close to hurting you and he thinks he’s not good enough for you but totally is.”
“Wasn’t Wolverine in love with Jean Grey?”
“Pfft!” Sam waved that away. “Everyone knows that she was the easy option. Rogue was the true love of his life.”
“Do you have a love of your life?” Claire asked interested in his answer. She quite liked the sandy-haired boy even though she knew very little about him other than what Peter had told her.
“Does Joss Whedon count?” Sam blushed. “No. Not a real girl anyway.” He had a self-deprecating look on his face. “Nerds don’t get the girl in real life. Besides I was more into comic books and gaming than making out.”
“I bet the first time your power manifested you thought you’d won the lottery.”
“Actually I thought I’d OD’ed on George Lucas and was ready to check myself into a psych ward.” Sam looked at his hands. “It wasn’t until my grandma saw the deep fryer run away that I realized it was real.”
Claire’s lips twitched. “The Fryer?”
Sam shuddered. “That woman believed in fried foods. Fried fish, fried onions, fried cucumber, fried peppers- basically if it could be covered in batter it could be fried. Trust me, making it run away was the best thing to do. Her arteries thanked me for it.”
The kid was actually funny under the geekiness. “So you did it for her own good?”
Sam shrugged one shoulder.”Actually she was threatening to make liver fried in breadcrumbs. I think it was a spontaneous use of magic.”
“Like when Harry blew up his aunt?”
He nodded.
“You think it’s magic?” She inclined her head curiously. Most people- most Specials never openly said what they thought the origins of their abilities to be. Once the Company told them it was genetics they just accepted it. It was odd to hear them called magical powers and not abilities.
“Life is magic,” Sam gnawed on his lip. “You can package it and label it however you want- evolution, creation, intelligent design or accident of nature, the fact is that no matter how we came to be here; we are here and that’s amazing.” His eyes shone. “Genetics is just magic explained.”
Claire nodded slowly. That was kind of a cool way of looking at things. “So what do you think about the whole powers thing. Accident or design, why do we have them?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. Any way you look at it we have them because we need them- we being humans. If god gave them to us then it’s because he saw a need, in this time, for heroes, for people to do what needs to be done to protect the human race. If it evolved in us then it’s because nature required it. For the same reasons, someone to fight against the rape of nature and the destruction of life on this planet.”
“So you feel you have a responsibility to be a hero?”
Sam laughed. “I’m not a hero.”
Claire sat back in her chair. “But you just said that god or nature required heroes.”
“Aw hell no!” Sam waved his hands. “I’m not the hero type.”
“You didn’t kill Luke,” Claire pointed out. “I think that was pretty heroic.”
A bright red flush worked its way over Sam’s cheeks at the compliment. “It was touch and go after he threatened my Labyrinth poster but I’m not a villain either. I couldn’t just kill someone like that.”
“So you’re not a hero and you’re not a villain, what are you?”
Sam stared at the table as his thought about it, his fingers tracing the Bat-signal on the scarred wood.
“Sidekick maybe? I could be the Xander Harris of the Specials.”
“Never getting your moment in the spotlight? Always having someone else take the glory and the praise. Don’t you want to show everyone what you can do. I mean,” Claire leaned forwards, “Okay I was little Miss Popular, cheerleader and whatever but I did have nerds for friends and I know that if they had what you had, they’d be going Godzilla on us all.”
“With great power comes great responsibility,” Sam muttered.
“Huh?” Claire frowned. “What?”
Sam shrugged. “Spiderman mantra. You talked about nerds, I’m a geek.”
“There’s a difference?”
“Nerds are smart. They get A’s and have science fairs and stuff like that. Nerds secretly long to be cool and want to be popular. Geeks revel in their weirdness. Geeks aren’t necessarily smart and they don’t want to be cool because, to them, coolness isn’t defined by popularity but by health points. Yeah, sure if a nerd went radioactive he’d turn Green Goblin no problems but a geek- a real geek has read enough comic canon to realize that any powers have a price and if you abuse that power-you pay the price. Geeks would fight for truth and justice.”
“Is that why you wanna join the Company?”
Sam nodded. “Like the X-Men and the Justice League and even Judge Dredd, order needs to be kept and I figure that’s why I’ve been given this power- to do what’s right. And to help others do the same.”
Take away the nerd- sorry- geek references and the little boy charm and you had Peter Petrelli in miniature spouting his do-gooder attitude.
Claire smiled at him. It was kind of adorable.
“You know I saw the thing you did with Luke with the vacuum and the toaster. What’s the smallest thing you’ve ever changed?”
“A computer chip,” Sam’s eyes lit up. “I made it sprout legs and crawl all over my hands.”
“What’s the biggest?”
“A car. It was a mini and gave me a headache for an hour after.”
She licked her lips and leaned forwards. “But it’s kind of like a muscle, right, the more you use it the easier it is.”
“I guess.” Sam frowned.
“So, if you tried, you could probably work up to something bigger?”
“Probably.”
Claire gave him her very best impressed look. “I wanna see! Hey could you do one for me?”
“A what?”
She dipped into her pocket and pulled out a handful of junk. Quarters, gum, keys and a pen. “Animate a pen for me?”
He gave her a boyish look..“Really?”
“Please.”
“Okay.” Sam narrowed his eyes and focused on the ballpoint in front of Claire. It twitched and seemed to melt in front of her eyes, elongating and warping as it slithered across the desk, the nip splitting and hissing at her.
“Pocket snake!” Claire said in delight as the pen wound itself around her fingers. She tentatively traced her finger across the pens logo and the creature all but purred. “He’s happy.” She looked up at Sam curiously. “When you made the stuff in your kitchen, it was angry.”
“My mood seems to affect it. I can make them calm and cute or angry and attacking. I can change the mood of any of my creations. All except photocopiers; they are just evil.”
“That is amazing.” She stroked the pen again. “How long does it last?”
“About an hour.”
She looked up as there was a knock on the door. “Come in.”
Noah Bennet strolled into the room with his customary ease. “Claire, Sam.”
“Hey dad.”
“Mr. Bennet.”
“How are things going in here?”
Suddenly the calm cool, rather doltish boy had gone to be replaced by the nervous wreck he had been before. “Oh god, the test-“
“We’ve just finished,” Claire interrupted.
Sam blinked.”We have?”
“Uh huh.” Claire grabbed the clipboard and her new pet-pen. “Sam passed with flying colors. Dignified, loyal, pro-active and non-aggressive. He’s grounded and realistic but has imagination and creative solving abilities. Has a curious mind without questioning authority and is unlikely to fry his associates. He also has great control over his powers. I’d say he’s field ready.”
Sam gaped. “You were testing me?”
She grinned. “Sneaky huh?”
“You Slytherin you!”
Claire laughed. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
“I passed?”
“You passed.”
Sam turned his shining eyes to Noah Bennet.
“I passed.”
Noah raised an eyebrow. “Well, report to the administrative office to get your paperwork sorted.”
“Yes sir!” Sam saluted, realized what he’d done, blushed and then hurried away, banging into the wall as he did so.
Claire giggled. “I think you made him nervous.”
“Good.” Noah folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the desk. “At least someone around here has the proper respect.”
Claire sighed.”Dad-“
He held up a hand. “I don’t want to fight with you Claire-Bear.”
“Then don’t.”
“I can’t help it when I hear about your choices in associates.”
Claire sighed heavily. When were they going to get over this?
“Dad, I’m actually having a good day and the last thing I want is to go ten rounds of ‘I hate your friends’ with you. I get it, you hate Sylar. I’ve spent more time with him than you have and I see him differently. Can’t we just agree to disagree on this?”
He folded his arms against his chest and used his height to look down on her. “This isn’t a political opinion, Claire. Sylar is manipulative and arrogant and dangerous. You of all people should know-“
“Yes, dad, me of all people!” Claire’s voice got shrill as she faced off against the man she had idolized as a child. “It was me he attacked, me he sliced and stalked and terrified. I’ve forgiven him. Why can’t you?”
“Because he’s a stone cold killer and animals like that don’t change.”
Claire gathered up her folders suddenly tired with all of the arguing and fighting. Why did he have to be such a hard ass about this? Couldn’t he trust her enough to let her make her own decisions? “You’re wrong.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
“Chandra. Mohinder. Maya. Alejandro. Nathan. All people that he’s befriended and then killed.” He marked them off his fingers one by one. “Spending time with this guy leaves you dead.”
“I can’t die.”
“But you can be broken.” He nudged his glasses back up his nose. “And hurt, Claire. Sylar will hurt you. He may have convinced Peter that he’s turned over a new leaf but he’s just waiting until he’s gained your trust and he will turn on you. Like he’s turned on everyone who has ever loved or trusted him. Starting with his own mother.”
Claire shook her head, frustration with the same argument, the same words going round and round, causing tears to spring up in her eyes. “Why do you hate him so much, dad? Maybe because you made him, huh? Yeah I heard about you and Elle and your little experiment for the Company. He would have killed himself if you hadn’t interfered. You made him what he was but guess what, dad?” She swiped at her damp eyes angrily, “he’s risen above all of that. He’s different.”
“Let’s ask Elle that, shall we. Oh wait. She’s dead. He killed her.”
Claire froze. “What?”
Noah smirked. “Oh didn’t he mention that? Elle was his girlfriend. She loved him enough to run off with him. She trusted him and he killed her when he got what he wanted. There was no reason to kill her. He had her power; he had her trust and her love.”
“Stop.”
“-she would have followed him anywhere but he was bored with his little plaything and all we found was a pile of ashes on a beach. He immolated her, Claire. She was slowing him down and so he carved open her head-“
“Stop it.”
“-even though he already had her abilities and he set her on fire while she screamed.”
“STOP IT!” Claire yelled at him.
“That’s the kind of man he is, Claire,” Noah yelled back. “Why can’t you see he’s a monster?”
Claire stared at her father in horror, her chest heaving and tears glittering in her eyes. The pain in her expression seemed to get through to him and he stepped back, running a hand over his face.
“Claire-“ he started despondently.
“That monster stopped me from being dragged into a vortex. That monster stopped me from bleeding to death. He stopped Danko. He eradicated a global threat. That monster stopped me from being raped. He saved me. He saves me. He’s there when I need him and that’s more than you ever did.” She swallowed hard. “Don’t call, don’t visit. I don’t wanna see you.”
“Claire-“
But she was already gone.
--