The Light Within
Title: The Light Within
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mentions of blood-sucking. Vampirism (dealt with fairly non-graphically). A few mild curse words. A little violence.
Characters: Peter, Nathan, Claire, brief appearances by Angela, Linderman, Ted, Noah and Sylar. No romantic pairings.
Word Count: ~4,500
Summary: Peter contracts vampirism; Claire and Nathan help him. They stop the exploding man and save an unlikely victim.
Setting: Season One, slight AU. This begins in the middle of .07%, when an apparently dead Peter is brought to the Petrelli mansion after his second run-in with Sylar. I compress most of the next episode, The Hard Part.
Author's Notes: Written for twincheeks in the Heroes Exchange Winter 2010. Thank you so much to my two betas, lornrocks and jasondragon. I writer's blocked repeatedly on this. No relation to my other AUs.
Claire stroked Peter's head. She was breaking up inside. So much had happened recently and it was all so crazy. She'd barely met this man, her uncle. She'd thought he was like her, invincible, and now he was dead. Her hand contacted something hard and sharp. She bent to look as her newly discovered 'father' paced in the background, inconsolable.
It was a piece of glass. She flashed to her own 'resurrection' in the morgue or autopsy room or whatever that place had been called. She hadn't stuck around to find out. Now she pulled out the glass, wondering… hoping…
A few seconds later, Peter gasped with new life. He turned and coughed while Claire sagged with relief. He was back! He reached for her clumsily and she took his hand. That didn't seem to be what he wanted though. Eyes still fogged, barely able to focus, Peter pulled her closer and groaned, embracing her. She made a little yelp of surprise, but for a moment all he did was hug her. Nathan and Angela hurried close. Claire hugged Peter back as Nathan rubbed his brother's shoulder, reassuring himself that he really was alive, saying something exultant.
Claire's brows drew together as Peter growled at the touch. She wasn't sure anyone else heard it over their talking. He turned his head to her neck and began mouthing it. Now her brows shot upwards. "Peter!" she hissed. "What are you doing?"
He hesitated, tensing all over. He began to shake, like he was fighting some urge. "I don't know," he whispered, and then he bit her.
"Agh! What? Peter!" She tried to fight free of him, but his arms were around her and he clung like a lover.
"What? What's wrong?" Nathan said in alarm.
"He's biting me!" Claire tried again to fight him off, but Peter seemed unnaturally strong. A flash of blood confirmed her words and propelled Nathan into grabbing his brother from behind, trying to pull him off. Angela withdrew quietly, hand at her breast, alarm in her heart and ice in her veins for the second time today.
Nathan finally managed to yank Peter away, only to have him turn on him immediately. "Whoa! Pete! Stop it!" Peter lunged at him like an animal, grabbing and snapping at him.
"He was… he was sucking my blood!" Claire said incredulously, touching her neck briefly before going to help Nathan, who had dodged behind a chair and was having a hard time keeping it between them. Peter was really, really quick.
Angela's voice was low and calm, but it carried easily. "Claire, you need to let him finish. You will heal. Nathan will not."
Peter grabbed the chair and flung it out of the way, smashing it and leaping at Nathan, who clocked him across the chin with his fist. It made Peter pause for only a second, before he gave a quick shake of his head and carried on. He tackled Nathan to the ground and tried to sink his teeth into his neck. He managed to catch a little skin between his canines. Nathan shoved him away and Peter bit that chunk clean off.
Peter landed on his rear and seemed stunned for a moment, but really he was just mulling over the bit of flesh in his mouth. He spat it out with a grimace, like it wasn't what he wanted. He started forward as Nathan was scrambling back.
Claire interposed herself. "Peter!" He jerked to a halt and stared at her. She put her arms out to both sides. "Here I am - your own personal brand of heroin!"
He jumped on her, going straight for her neck again. Nathan shot to his feet. Angela called out, "Leave them be, Nathan."
Nathan could barely find the words. "What…? What is…? Why? What's wrong with him?"
Angela answered, "There is one ability that manifests this way. Trauma and near-death experiences trigger it. He won't kill her and he'll be calmer afterwards. Leave them be." She shook her head slowly. "He must have absorbed it somewhere. I thought we'd eliminated all of them."
"All of what?" Nathan said.
"All of the vampires."
Already Peter was slumping, relaxing and releasing his death grip on Claire's shoulders. He blinked and regained himself all at once, yanking himself away from Claire with a shocked look on his face, to go with the blood smeared across it.
"Vampires?" Nathan said in disbelief.
Peter wiped his mouth and looked at the crimson stain on his hand. He stared up at Claire in horror. His eyes darted to his brother and mother, then at the door. He might have lunged for it, but Claire saw his intention and grabbed his hand. "Stay!" she said in a commanding tone, like he was one of her mother's prize show dogs. He looked down at her hand, a mix of thoughts writ on his face, but he stayed.
Angela answered her older son in a patient tone, "Nathan, you can fly. Your brother absorbs the abilities of others. Your daughter regenerates all wounds. Are vampires really so far-fetched?"
"I'm a vampire?" Peter said, his voice shaky. "How the… how did that happen?"
Claire smiled suddenly, amused that Peter would have the presence of mind to refrain from cursing in front of her under the circumstances.
"You must have absorbed it from someone, Peter. And I'm afraid that unlike most of your other abilities, this one, once triggered, is not so easily ignored."
"Can I get rid of it?" Peter asked.
"Does he sparkle in sunlight?" Claire wondered aloud.
Peter gave her a less-than-pleased look. She was still holding his hand firmly.
"No. Sunlight will depress his hunger, but it will also burn him. He can be in pain and calm, or healthy and hungry. I have not yet heard of a vampire who chose the former for very long. There is only so much pain a person can endure." Her voice betrayed her feeling.
"I'll endure whatever it takes," Peter said determinedly.
"Wait, wait, wait," Nathan interjected. "Can't he just drink blood out of bags or something, like in the movies? Or cows or pigeons or something?" He ended muttering to himself, "I can't believe we're even having this discussion."
"Yes!" Claire said suddenly. "He could be a vegetarian." She furrowed her brow at Peter. "But you'd look funny with gold-colored eyes."
Angela moved over and sank heavily into a chair. She stared at the floor and shook her head. "It does not work that way. He draws directly from the life force. It has to be a human. They have to be alive. To start with."
Claire's nose wrinkled. "Oh. Then I guess they'll turn red. Ew."
Peter was staring at Claire's hand. She looked between his face and his hand. He tried to pull loose. She tightened her grip. He looked at her, then away, uncomfortable. "This isn't a joke," he mumbled. But he didn't force the issue, for which Claire was grateful.
"I know," Claire whispered to him. She looked to Angela and asked, "How often?"
"What?"
"How often does he need to do that? The life force thing?"
"I… I don't recall. We have records. Once a week, I think. Or every two weeks." She shook her head, putting her hand over her eyes and lowering her head. "Nathan, your handkerchief, please."
He produced it and handed it to his mother, who covered her eyes silently. She made no other sign of crying, but her emotion was palpable, especially to her sons. Nathan walked over to Peter and crooked up one side of his mouth. He reached up and straightened Peter's shirt. He patted his shoulder and started to hug him, then stopped. "Is… hell." He hugged Peter anyway and Claire finally let go of Peter's hand so he could return it. They parted. Nathan patted the back of Peter's head. "I'm glad you're alive. No matter what."
Peter snorted weakly. Claire took his hand again and at his look said, "You're not leaving. I know you. Hero." She smiled a little at him. "You'll run off and try to deal with this yourself."
"She's right," Nathan said. "Just like you took off down to Texas. You don't get to deal with this yourself. We're a family. We'll deal with this together."
Peter sighed and gave in to the family sentiment. "You can let go of me now, Claire."
She smiled and did. When he didn't bolt or do anything else foolish, she said, "I don't know… I feel like Bella. Now we just have to find a werew… oh! Wait!" She turned towards Angela excitedly. "You said sunlight made it stop, right?"
"Yes."
Claire asked, "What if he got too much sunlight?"
"What do you mean?" Angela asked in turn.
"What if he got a really big dose of pure radiation? Because that's all sunlight is."
"I don't… believe we ever… I don't know."
Nathan shook his head at Claire. "She said the sunlight would hurt him."
"But he can heal!" Claire pointed out.
Peter straightened. "She's right. Maybe we can drive it into remission."
"That's ridiculous," Angela said.
Nathan gave her an incredulous look. "Ma! One of your sons has turned into a vampire! Looking for a cure is not 'ridiculous.' "
Peter said, "But where would I get this? Is there… something like a big microwave oven or something?"
"No!" Claire said. "That's why I remembered. I was thinking of werewolves and I remembered Ted. He's really hairy. Doesn't look anything like Taylor Lautner. He tried to hold us hostage."
Peter looked at her levelly. "A werewolf? I don't think a werewolf is going to help me. Assuming they even exist."
"Which they…" Nathan looked at Peter. He clearly wanted to deny the existence of werewolves, but under the circumstances... "Yeah. What he said."
"He's not a werewolf. He can control radiation. Or… emit it at least."
"He can explode like a bomb," Peter said flatly, seeing the obvious link between Isaac's paintings and Ted's ability.
Claire shrugged. "I… don't know. I kind of doubt it? I mean, if he could, then wouldn't he be dead? How would someone know they could do something like that without trying it? And since trying it is fatal…" She tilted her head, a lilt in her voice as if this was obvious.
Peter said, "Maybe I've seen the future. And no, I can't go anywhere near him. It's too dangerous. There has to be another way. And if there isn't, you can just…" He picked up the shard of glass Claire had pulled out earlier, "put this back in."
"No!" Claire said fiercely. "And why is it too dangerous? We find Ted, he irradiates you, you heal, the vampirism is gone, end of story! That's not dangerous."
Peter looked at his brother. Nathan stepped closer and put his hand on Peter's shoulder. "It's not too dangerous. Claire's right. We need to try it. This… Ted fellow… he's the one who's dangerous. We need to make sure he stays out of populated areas. Let's go find him, Pete."
Peter smiled a little. His brows drew together and he leaned forward, peering at something he hadn't noticed before. "Did… did I bite you?"
"You don't remember that?" Nathan asked.
"No… I did that?"
"Yeah, Pete. Took a chunk right out of me."
Peter chuckled a little, fighting off the edge of hysteria for everything that had happened. He punched Nathan lightly in the shoulder. "That's what you get for telling me all those times to just 'bite me.' Or maybe I was trying to take a bite out of crime."
Nathan chuckled in return. "Yeah, it's almost like you were trying to 'tear me a new one' there, or maybe chew my ass off."
"That's a little lower."
"What, 'bite my ass'? You were way too high for that."
"You are an ass. Doesn't matter where I bite."
"Oh, fangs. Fangs a lot."
"Stop it!" Claire wasn't sure whether to be exasperated or fall down laughing.
"Hey," Peter said, "You started it with the Twilight jokes."
V''''V
Nathan excused himself from Peter and Claire after they'd both cleaned up, leaving them to puzzle over some pictures Peter had drawn in a sketchbook. Even though he knew it was possible the drawings foretold the future, he had a phone call to make. He shut himself in his father's study and dialed. When the older gentleman answered the phone, Nathan greeted him tersely, saying, "We have a problem."
"Oh? What would that be?" Linderman's voice was cultured and unbothered now as always.
"Peter. He has some kind of issue. Ma says he's a vampire."
"Oh. Well, that shouldn't interfere too much. Keep him out of sunlight and he'll be fine."
Nathan almost choked on how unsurprised Linderman sounded, as though discussing vampirism was an everyday occurrence. "Sunlight's not the problem!"
"Is it his other behavior? It's not going to be much longer, Nathan. I doubt you'd have to worry about more than one corpse before all your problems dissipate."
"I want him cured. You can heal people. I've seen you do it. You can heal him."
"Nathan, I can not cure people of their abilities."
Nathan reached up and worried at the spot on his neck. He needed to bandage it or else it would infect - especially if he kept touching it. He jerked his hand away at that thought. "This isn't how it's supposed to go."
"Hm. As I said, I don't see that this changes the plan. Find someone disposable and let him have them. That should hold him over long enough for our purposes."
Nathan's grip on the phone tightened dangerously, his knuckles whitening. "Fine," he bit out, slamming it down. After it was hung up, he said, "I'll deal with it myself then. We'll see if the werewolf can fix him."
V''''V
Claire rushed over to Nathan when he rejoined her and his brother. She showed him a drawing Peter had done that showed Ted in Kirby Plaza and said, "We know where he's going to be. All we have to do is go find him!"
Peter chimed in, "And then we can tell him about the explosion, and he and I can leave New York and stay away, so it never happens!"
Nathan put on his best false smile at their youthful enthusiasm. "Of course. Right. Well, then let's go find him."
What had seemed straightforward caused problems the moment they tried to walk outside. Peter scrambled back into the house immediately. He'd gotten only a few steps beyond the door. Claire and Nathan turned to look at him as he leaned out, cautious now, looking upward like he expected some manner of attack from above. As soon as the top of his head was hit by the watery sunlight, he jerked it back. The expression on his face as he looked at his brother and niece was a mix of dismay and concern.
Claire said, "You could wear a hat. And sunscreen."
Nathan looked at his watch. "It's only a few hours until dark. We can wait."
"No," Peter said stubbornly. "I'll get a jacket with a hood." He squinted upwards again. "And sunglasses. Just wait."
He came out a few minutes later. Claire burst out laughing immediately, even though Peter was obviously uncomfortable.
"You do look a bit dorky," Nathan admitted.
Claire teased, "You look like you're trying to avoid paparazzi, what with vampires being so glamorous and all."
"Very funny," Peter grumped, hands stuffed in his pockets, shoulders hunched and his face downcast. His jacket hood was up, so there was only really the lower part of his face exposed. His rose-colored lips stood out vividly against his unusually pale skin.
"At least you're not bursting into flame," Nathan offered.
"Every time the light catches my skin it feels like it," Peter said quietly. They got in Nathan's car and Peter scooted to the middle.
They staked out Kirby Plaza for the rest of the afternoon, but didn't see Ted. When the sun had finally sunk low enough that the shadows of the skyscrapers provided cover, Peter finally relaxed and emerged from the cover of the parking garage, shedding the glasses and putting his hood down. After another half hour passed, they spotted their target.
Nathan murmured, "He does look sort of like a werewolf. Or a cave man." He shook his head and followed as Peter and Claire trotted ahead.
"Hey!" Peter said.
The wild-haired man they were approaching stopped with a wary, hunted look in his eyes. Then he saw Claire and looked around quickly. "Mr. Bennet?" he called out.
"What?" Peter responded. "No, I'm Peter Petrelli."
Noah walked out from near the building, putting away his phone. "Claire!" He hurried over to embrace his daughter. They greeted each other briefly, then turned to watch Ted and Peter studying one another.
"You don't look so good," Ted said bluntly, taking in Peter's appearance.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Peter said. "You're Ted, right?" The other man nodded. "I've been told you can create radiation."
Ted shot Claire a suspicious glance, then looked back to Peter.
Peter said, "I have another ability, one that… one that if I don't get it cured, will drive me to kill people." Now Peter too looked at Claire. "Or try to kill them. I'm told that a big enough dose of radiation will end it."
Ted chuckled. "Ha. A big enough dose will end you, too."
"No, I can heal."
"Heal… what?"
"It's one of my abilities."
"Like hers?" Ted hooked his thumb back at Claire.
"Exactly. I can absorb other people's abilities. That's how I got this va-… one that I need to get rid of. Can you help me?"
"So you're saying you want me to irradiate you? Is this like chemotherapy?"
"Yeah, I guess," Peter said.
Ted shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat, man. It's a suck way to die. But I'm not going to do it here. We're in the middle of a city."
Nathan, who had been standing back listening quietly, now interjected, "That's probably a good idea. We need to get you both out of here and away from populated areas until after the election."
Ted gave Nathan the oddest look. "The election? What the hell does that have to do with anything?"
Claire agreed, "Yeah?"
Nathan shifted his weight uneasily and huffed, "Well, that's when the drawings and stuff said the explosion was going to happen, didn't it?"
Peter nodded, supporting his brother. "Right. After that, maybe it will be safer to come back. But you're right. Let's get out of the city and then discuss where we need to be. We can meet up at the first service station off of highway…" He trailed off as he felt an intense heat rising inside him, burning him from the inside out. His hands began to glow. "Oh no," he breathed, and collapsed to his knees.
"What's wrong with him?" Ted barked out.
Claire rushed to Peter's side. "He must have absorbed your ability already! He can't control it!"
"Well, shit. Then I'm getting out here!" Ted high-tailed it.
Noah Bennet looked between Claire and Ted for a moment. Fearing for her father's safety if Peter did lose it and explode, Claire mouthed to him, "Go! I'll call." Noah nodded and hurried after Ted.
Peter struggled to control the ability, feeling like every cell in his body was on fire. Every inch of skin glowed brightly, but the light began to recede and fade. Peter slumped forward. Claire patted his back, looking between him and Nathan, who had stood a distance back (he'd like to think of it as a safe distance, but if Peter was going to blow up the city, then Nathan knew a few paces made no difference).
Peter sucked in a great breath as the pain finally ended. He sat up, his skin now flushed and healthy. He blinked. "It's gone!"
Nathan walked a little closer. "What's gone?"
"The… the vampirism!" Peter looked at his hands and marveled. A huge grin formed on his face. "Just having Ted's power killed it! Wow… that was easy."
A low, threatening chuckle made itself known as a tall, dark and imposing figure walked out from his hiding place among the pillars of the nearby building. "That's what I thought!" Sylar said as he reached out one hand and made empty, yanking gestures. Claire and Nathan found themselves pulled against pillars and held there, fixed by an invisible force.
Peter struggled to his feet. "What are you doing?"
"Removing potential complications. Now, you have something I want. Something I want very, very badly. Sylar gestured again, and this time it was Peter who was thrown against the wall. Sylar stalked closer to him, taking a moment to give a long look at Nathan, then Claire, cementing his hold over them so he could free up enough concentration to deal properly with Peter.
Peter, for his part, tried to pull up an ability, any ability, that would get him out of this mess. Last time he'd somehow triggered telekinesis. Surely he could do that again? He thought about what Claude had taught him and focused on the person he'd gained the power from. He thought about Sylar, looking at him and trying to imagine what the other man thought when he used that ability. In an instant, he saw Sylar's thoughts. An ability had activated; it wasn't the one Peter was trying for.
Inside Sylar's mind, Peter could feel the constant urge to kill brewing under the surface, driving him on, goading him. Sylar had watched as Peter gained Ted's ability and was cured. Getting Ted's ability was intriguing, but what he really wanted was an end to the horrible hunger that he'd lived with now for months, struggling to master it, but having to kill again and again. For his ability was essentially the same as Peter's and the first he'd gained, from a wretched-looking goth named Brian Davis, was the vampirism.
"I can cure you!" Peter said suddenly as Sylar closed on him.
"I know," the taller man said, raising his hand, one finger extended.
"No! Don't do this!" Peter didn't know what he did, exactly, but his words vibrated in Sylar's mind with a peculiar resonance. The killer paused, finger still raised, and struggled with himself. The telekinesis faded from Peter, letting him drop back to the ground.
Seeing that, Nathan urged, "Get him, Pete! Stop him!"
"That's the bastard who killed Jackie!" Claire added.
Peter took a couple of shaky steps forward. Sylar took one back, dropping his hand. "So what are you going to do? Kill me, or cure me?" Sylar tilted his head. "Or both?"
Peter tried to sort through Sylar's thoughts, trying to make sense of him, trying to figure out how he'd apply enough radiation to purge the vampirism without killing him. Seeing Peter's intent, Sylar took several steps forward. The action led Nathan and Claire to renew their urgings for Peter to do something. He was already doing something, they just couldn't see it. Sylar stopped an arm's length away from Peter, eyeing him, their thoughts intermingled. Sylar cocked his head the other direction, eyes narrowed. "No… you don't," he murmured, answering one of Peter's thoughts in his head. "Here… like this…"
Peter lifted his hands, palms outward, and rested them on Sylar's chest. A moment later, they began to glow. Sylar winced and said, "No, that's not quite right. Try it this way." A few seconds later, Sylar's face contorted in frustration. "Do you have no idea how your own abilities work?"
"Then show me!" Peter bit out.
Sylar did, and in Peter's mind, an order was brought to his powers. Immediately, he applied the correct wavelength and amount of radiation, ending the vampirism in Sylar without killing him. The serial killer fell to his knees and rocked back against his heels. He held himself. Nathan and Claire were released. Peter looked at his hands for a long moment, then at Sylar.
Claire and Nathan rushed up next to him defensively. They peered past Peter at Sylar, who didn't move. He just looked at them and waited.
"What happened?" Nathan asked.
"I cured him. He was what I would have been without you two." Peter blinked, looking sad. He sighed and looked at his hands again. "I'm not going to blow up now. Or ever. Let's go find Ted. He's the exploding man."
"What about him?" Claire asked.
Peter looked at Sylar. "You going to be a hero or a villain?"
"A hero," he answered promptly.
Peter smirked. "That's a pretty tough road. Good luck." He turned and headed back to the car, ending an animosity that might have torn the world apart.