Heroes, "The Devil and Her Treasures" chapter 6
Fandom: Heroes
Title: The Devil and Her Treasures
Author: paynesgrey
Artist: rebelle_elle
Word Count: 23,514
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: Claire, Peter, Sylar, Elle, Noah Jr, Nathan, Rene, Danko, Knox, Daphne, Claire/Elle, Elle/Sylar, past Peter/Claire
Warnings character death, manipulation, implied incest, torture, violence, sexual situations
Notes: Written for heroes_bigboom. A huge thanks goes to bellonablack for the beta job. This is a sequel to my other fic, Grave New World, and takes place in the "exposed future" around the events of the “Second Coming” and “I am Become Death” episodes, as well as the “Resistance” online graphic novel chapter 106 (which I would recommend reading if you want some early chapters to make sense).
Summary: Renowned terrorist Peter Petrelli has been hiding Sylar, Elle and their son for a long time after Noah Bennet’s death, and when Pinehearst Agent Claire Bennet finally discovers them, they strike a deal to leave Sylar and his son alone, as long as Elle becomes Claire’s prisoner.
Link to art master post: HERE.
The Devil and Her Treasures
Chapter Six: Bartering with Blood
Even with Claire in a terrible mood, the President was congratulatory on Elle’s capture despite losing Sylar and the boy. Claire hated that Sylar ended up having to bargain with her like that, but he did threaten the lives of people in Costa Verde, and he was willing to die to keep his family out of Pinehearst’s hands. With all her power, there was really nothing she could have done to stop Sylar. Once again, he overpowered her, but she didn’t like how this time; he made her feel like the villain when she knew deep in her heart she would always feel weaker than him. It didn’t matter if he used a different name and boasted that he’d changed his life for good; Claire would always feel oppressed by him in some way.
She’d never believe he actually changed, not with all the things he’d stolen from her. Some day, despite her vow to Elle, she’d find some way to destroy Sylar once and for all. Until then, she’d just have to destroy Elle. Immediately, she requested that the President give Elle to her as her own personal prisoner, to do with as she liked. The girl could take torture, so why not? It’d certainly make Claire feel better, and she couldn’t wait to drench the bitch in water and watch her powers short out and fry her.
However, Nathan denied her request immediately. He didn’t want her to get distracted from her mission to kill Peter.
“But she’s mine! I’ve been searching for her for so long, and after what she and her stupid husband did to me? She deserves every punishment coming to her. I caught her; I had to bargain for her, and you have no right to deny me her!” she seethed at him, and in the face of her anger, the President remained calm.
“Claire, have some perspective here,” Nathan told her, resting his elbows on his desk. “What really could you get out of torturing Elle? No, I need you on the streets looking for Peter.”
“So what if I torture her? I deserve the chance more than any of your flunky guards do! She’s mine, and I want full responsibility for her,” Claire said. “I’ve earned it.”
Nathan eyed her skeptically; not knowing what she really intended to do with Elle. He sighed heavily. “You find Peter and we will discuss this later. I think...something can be arranged for Elle and who her retainer should be. In the meantime, keep your focus on Peter. Two more ports were blown up within the past two months, and we’ve heard word through some contacts that he’s planning something big to cripple us once and for all. We just don’t know what that is yet.”
“Fine, leave Peter to me, and then I get Elle. I’ll take him down for good,” Claire said, shoving some of the things off his desk in anger before she stormed out.
When she was gone, Nathan looked at the mess she left on the floor in exasperation. He buzzed a button on his phone and called for his assistant. “Dawn, could you send up a clean-up crew in here? Thanks.”
xxxxx
After a few days of combing the streets and all the possible hangouts for Peter’s presence Claire came up empty, and the less sign she found of her terrorist uncle, the more impatient and destructive she became. All her agents, even Daphne and Knox, would watch her with wide eyes and shifty glances as Claire stormed about, cursing and making a scene in anger. They said nothing, of course, and they did not encourage her quips. Knox even had to warn Daphne that she was starting to become afraid of Claire, and he told her to take it easy because she was five and a half months pregnant.
“You need to take the time off. This job is too dangerous for you right now,” Knox told her, and Daphne looked away from his gaze. She knew that he was right. “I’m tired of fielding calls from your boy too. Go home. Take the time off. You don’t want to be around Claire anymore either. It’s not safe. She’s striking up fear in everyone here.”
“I know. I’m way ahead of you,” Daphne said with a languid sigh. “I’m really going to miss bagging and tagging bad guys, but yeah, I know it’s time to take a break. Besides, we’re no closer to finding Peter than we were last year.”
“Good, and I don’t think we’ll make much progress from now on either. Ever since Claire’s mole said that Peter was planning something big, something so secretive he wasn’t even telling the new recruits in his cell, I imagine he’s going to be very hard to find for awhile,” Knox said.
“Meanwhile, Claire’s temper gets worse and worse the more the President denies her Elle. Why doesn’t he just let her have her? It’s not as if Elle doesn’t deserve Claire’s wrath,” Daphne said.
Knox crossed his arms and the two of them watched Claire as she stormed out of Nathan’s office again with Rene trailing silently behind. She marched toward them and glared at both suspiciously. “What?” she demanded, and Knox bit his lip, glowering unhappily at her behavior.
“I was just telling Knox I’m taking some time off for the baby. Matt has been worried for awhile about the danger,” Daphne said lightly, gauging Claire’s reaction.
Claire paused and then she snorted. “Fine, I don’t know why you didn’t take off sooner. All that running around can’t be that good for her.”
Daphne grinned. “Don’t worry. I already had her checked by the Pinehearst doctors. She’s healthy as a horse, and she actually likes when I run. I’m guessing she’ll be another speedster.”
Claire nodded, showing no more emotion than that. “Knox, while Daphne goes, you’ll have to find another speedster, even if it’s just a rookie with bought powers.”
“Sure thing,” he said, and he nodded once before heading off. Daphne walked next to Claire as she moved forward.
“Listen, Claire, there’s something I think you should know,” she said, and Claire snapped her head toward her, suspicious of Daphne’s tone. “Rumor is that the reason the President is keeping you from ...torturing Elle is because he’s cooking up a deal. Um, you remember when we joined and there was some talk about this mysterious bedridden benefactor?”
“Yeah, he’s the one that founded Pinehearst, but he needed Nathan to come in and start operations because he’s too weak. What’s he got to do with keeping Elle from me?” Claire asked.
“Well, think about it, he’s bedridden, what’s the one thing you can do besides heal yourself?” Daphne responded.
Claire stopped, her mouth opening in realization. “So...that’s Nathan’s game. He wants to use my blood to heal the sick benefactor.”
Daphne shrugged. “Probably. Listen, I have to go. Doctor’s appointment.”
Claire nodded, staring ahead in space. “Yeah, right.” But Claire was too preoccupied with her thoughts on Daphne’s news to give her friend a proper goodbye.
Standing alone in the hallway, Claire suddenly cracked a wicked smile. For once, she was starting to feel a couple steps ahead of the President.
xxxxx
By the end of the day, Claire had received even better news. There was a possible Peter sighting at an old hangar in New York. Her source said he’d been lingering around, casing the place as if he was eventually come back.
Since he was spotted at all, he must have dropped his guard for a moment thinking no one had seen him when he materialized in the open. Claire knew he usually wasn’t that careless, and used his invisibility quite frequently. Still, if Peter was showing signs of coming back, Claire would be ready for him.
Consequently, with this news, Claire felt she had enough to approach Nathan again about making a deal to hand over Elle. Now that she knew that Nathan planned to use her healing blood for the ailing benefactor, she felt that she held all the cards for once.
She made herself at home in his office again, and Nathan approached her, still unfazed by her presence in his seat. He scowled at her, and watched her rigidly as she put her dirty boots up on his pristine cedar desk. She smirked at him.
“Peter’s been spotted. Finally,” she said.
“And...you’ve caught him then?” Nathan retorted.
She sneered. “Don’t be stupid. It’s not that easy. It’s a lead. I thought you should know.”
“Well, now I know, Claire. Now, kindly leave my office so I can get back to work,” he said sighing and rounding his desk. She swiveled his chair around and began messing with his pens again. Nathan winced, preparing for their inevitable fate.
“Also, there’s something else. You’ve been keeping things from me,” she said, her eyes locking hard with his.
“And this, what, hurts you?” She met his eyes and stabbed a pen through her own hand in fury.
“Don’t play me, Nathan! I know you lie as well as you breathe. That’s genetic too, by the way, and I usually don’t care, but when I find out there’s chatter about you using me from agents that work under me, I get a little concerned,” Claire snarled at him.
“What the hell are you talking about? Use you? Who told you this?” He furrowed his brow at her as she rose to face him. As small as she was next to him, she still held a formidable presence.
“Doesn’t matter. What do you want from me? You know the price. It’s always the same,” Claire said.
“Elle,” Nathan said with a bored sigh. “You’re so predictable. All right, let’s not play games. What is it that you think I want?”
Claire leaned close to him, so close she could feel his breath warm over her face. He tried to remain calm by her close, intimate presence. “You want my blood to cure that sick benefactor, am I right? Or maybe, you want something more?”
“Claire...how did you hear this?” Nathan asked annoyed, and she began to laugh.
“It’s true! I’m just another chess piece to you! Your own daughter! How funny is that?” She tossed his pens over on his desk and turned toward the door. “There is no deal unless you give me Elle. That bastard isn’t touching an ounce of my blood until you give me what I want, no restrictions.”
“Claire, be reasonable...if you only knew him,” Nathan started.
“Shut up!”
“Hey, hey, listen to me!” Nathan hollered back, his temper soaring. “Even if you were to give me your blood for him, it wouldn’t be enough. The deal is this, Claire; you take down my brother and you do it as soon as you can. Then, we’ll discuss what you can do with Elle.”
“You won’t even let me see her! I can’t even look at her stupid face and mock her or threaten her! You’re letting government dogs watch her and not me!”
“Calm down,” Nathan warned her. “You know you have more important things to do here. You do that,” Nathan said, straightening his suit jacket. “And we’ll discuss the rest of the deal.”
“Screw you, Nathan,” Claire said bitterly, meeting his eyes with anger. “Don’t worry. I will hunt down Peter, even to the ends of the earth, and I will kill him. You’ll see. I’ll bring your brother’s body to you on a freaking platter!”
Nathan sighed, composing himself. “Good. We understand each other then.”
Claire glowered at him, tossing her hair back as she stormed out his door.
xxxxx
Thankfully, when Claire had calmed down by tossing small knives at the wall in her office, one of Nathan’s lackey’s came in and gave her a message.
As an olive branch, Nathan had reluctantly agreed to allow Claire a visit Elle for two hours a day. She couldn’t torture her or cause her any harm, but she could face her behind the specialized glass and trade barbs with her all she wanted. She could even go into Elle’s cell, but a Pinehearst guard would be watching her movements, reporting back to Nathan if Claire broke their deal in any way by touching her.
Claire smiled. She supposed that was a good enough deal for now.
xxxxx
Chapter Seven: Her Private Prisoner
Title: The Devil and Her Treasures
Author: paynesgrey
Artist: rebelle_elle
Word Count: 23,514
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: Claire, Peter, Sylar, Elle, Noah Jr, Nathan, Rene, Danko, Knox, Daphne, Claire/Elle, Elle/Sylar, past Peter/Claire
Warnings character death, manipulation, implied incest, torture, violence, sexual situations
Notes: Written for heroes_bigboom. A huge thanks goes to bellonablack for the beta job. This is a sequel to my other fic, Grave New World, and takes place in the "exposed future" around the events of the “Second Coming” and “I am Become Death” episodes, as well as the “Resistance” online graphic novel chapter 106 (which I would recommend reading if you want some early chapters to make sense).
Summary: Renowned terrorist Peter Petrelli has been hiding Sylar, Elle and their son for a long time after Noah Bennet’s death, and when Pinehearst Agent Claire Bennet finally discovers them, they strike a deal to leave Sylar and his son alone, as long as Elle becomes Claire’s prisoner.
Link to art master post: HERE.
The Devil and Her Treasures
Chapter Six: Bartering with Blood
Even with Claire in a terrible mood, the President was congratulatory on Elle’s capture despite losing Sylar and the boy. Claire hated that Sylar ended up having to bargain with her like that, but he did threaten the lives of people in Costa Verde, and he was willing to die to keep his family out of Pinehearst’s hands. With all her power, there was really nothing she could have done to stop Sylar. Once again, he overpowered her, but she didn’t like how this time; he made her feel like the villain when she knew deep in her heart she would always feel weaker than him. It didn’t matter if he used a different name and boasted that he’d changed his life for good; Claire would always feel oppressed by him in some way.
She’d never believe he actually changed, not with all the things he’d stolen from her. Some day, despite her vow to Elle, she’d find some way to destroy Sylar once and for all. Until then, she’d just have to destroy Elle. Immediately, she requested that the President give Elle to her as her own personal prisoner, to do with as she liked. The girl could take torture, so why not? It’d certainly make Claire feel better, and she couldn’t wait to drench the bitch in water and watch her powers short out and fry her.
However, Nathan denied her request immediately. He didn’t want her to get distracted from her mission to kill Peter.
“But she’s mine! I’ve been searching for her for so long, and after what she and her stupid husband did to me? She deserves every punishment coming to her. I caught her; I had to bargain for her, and you have no right to deny me her!” she seethed at him, and in the face of her anger, the President remained calm.
“Claire, have some perspective here,” Nathan told her, resting his elbows on his desk. “What really could you get out of torturing Elle? No, I need you on the streets looking for Peter.”
“So what if I torture her? I deserve the chance more than any of your flunky guards do! She’s mine, and I want full responsibility for her,” Claire said. “I’ve earned it.”
Nathan eyed her skeptically; not knowing what she really intended to do with Elle. He sighed heavily. “You find Peter and we will discuss this later. I think...something can be arranged for Elle and who her retainer should be. In the meantime, keep your focus on Peter. Two more ports were blown up within the past two months, and we’ve heard word through some contacts that he’s planning something big to cripple us once and for all. We just don’t know what that is yet.”
“Fine, leave Peter to me, and then I get Elle. I’ll take him down for good,” Claire said, shoving some of the things off his desk in anger before she stormed out.
When she was gone, Nathan looked at the mess she left on the floor in exasperation. He buzzed a button on his phone and called for his assistant. “Dawn, could you send up a clean-up crew in here? Thanks.”
xxxxx
After a few days of combing the streets and all the possible hangouts for Peter’s presence Claire came up empty, and the less sign she found of her terrorist uncle, the more impatient and destructive she became. All her agents, even Daphne and Knox, would watch her with wide eyes and shifty glances as Claire stormed about, cursing and making a scene in anger. They said nothing, of course, and they did not encourage her quips. Knox even had to warn Daphne that she was starting to become afraid of Claire, and he told her to take it easy because she was five and a half months pregnant.
“You need to take the time off. This job is too dangerous for you right now,” Knox told her, and Daphne looked away from his gaze. She knew that he was right. “I’m tired of fielding calls from your boy too. Go home. Take the time off. You don’t want to be around Claire anymore either. It’s not safe. She’s striking up fear in everyone here.”
“I know. I’m way ahead of you,” Daphne said with a languid sigh. “I’m really going to miss bagging and tagging bad guys, but yeah, I know it’s time to take a break. Besides, we’re no closer to finding Peter than we were last year.”
“Good, and I don’t think we’ll make much progress from now on either. Ever since Claire’s mole said that Peter was planning something big, something so secretive he wasn’t even telling the new recruits in his cell, I imagine he’s going to be very hard to find for awhile,” Knox said.
“Meanwhile, Claire’s temper gets worse and worse the more the President denies her Elle. Why doesn’t he just let her have her? It’s not as if Elle doesn’t deserve Claire’s wrath,” Daphne said.
Knox crossed his arms and the two of them watched Claire as she stormed out of Nathan’s office again with Rene trailing silently behind. She marched toward them and glared at both suspiciously. “What?” she demanded, and Knox bit his lip, glowering unhappily at her behavior.
“I was just telling Knox I’m taking some time off for the baby. Matt has been worried for awhile about the danger,” Daphne said lightly, gauging Claire’s reaction.
Claire paused and then she snorted. “Fine, I don’t know why you didn’t take off sooner. All that running around can’t be that good for her.”
Daphne grinned. “Don’t worry. I already had her checked by the Pinehearst doctors. She’s healthy as a horse, and she actually likes when I run. I’m guessing she’ll be another speedster.”
Claire nodded, showing no more emotion than that. “Knox, while Daphne goes, you’ll have to find another speedster, even if it’s just a rookie with bought powers.”
“Sure thing,” he said, and he nodded once before heading off. Daphne walked next to Claire as she moved forward.
“Listen, Claire, there’s something I think you should know,” she said, and Claire snapped her head toward her, suspicious of Daphne’s tone. “Rumor is that the reason the President is keeping you from ...torturing Elle is because he’s cooking up a deal. Um, you remember when we joined and there was some talk about this mysterious bedridden benefactor?”
“Yeah, he’s the one that founded Pinehearst, but he needed Nathan to come in and start operations because he’s too weak. What’s he got to do with keeping Elle from me?” Claire asked.
“Well, think about it, he’s bedridden, what’s the one thing you can do besides heal yourself?” Daphne responded.
Claire stopped, her mouth opening in realization. “So...that’s Nathan’s game. He wants to use my blood to heal the sick benefactor.”
Daphne shrugged. “Probably. Listen, I have to go. Doctor’s appointment.”
Claire nodded, staring ahead in space. “Yeah, right.” But Claire was too preoccupied with her thoughts on Daphne’s news to give her friend a proper goodbye.
Standing alone in the hallway, Claire suddenly cracked a wicked smile. For once, she was starting to feel a couple steps ahead of the President.
xxxxx
By the end of the day, Claire had received even better news. There was a possible Peter sighting at an old hangar in New York. Her source said he’d been lingering around, casing the place as if he was eventually come back.
Since he was spotted at all, he must have dropped his guard for a moment thinking no one had seen him when he materialized in the open. Claire knew he usually wasn’t that careless, and used his invisibility quite frequently. Still, if Peter was showing signs of coming back, Claire would be ready for him.
Consequently, with this news, Claire felt she had enough to approach Nathan again about making a deal to hand over Elle. Now that she knew that Nathan planned to use her healing blood for the ailing benefactor, she felt that she held all the cards for once.
She made herself at home in his office again, and Nathan approached her, still unfazed by her presence in his seat. He scowled at her, and watched her rigidly as she put her dirty boots up on his pristine cedar desk. She smirked at him.
“Peter’s been spotted. Finally,” she said.
“And...you’ve caught him then?” Nathan retorted.
She sneered. “Don’t be stupid. It’s not that easy. It’s a lead. I thought you should know.”
“Well, now I know, Claire. Now, kindly leave my office so I can get back to work,” he said sighing and rounding his desk. She swiveled his chair around and began messing with his pens again. Nathan winced, preparing for their inevitable fate.
“Also, there’s something else. You’ve been keeping things from me,” she said, her eyes locking hard with his.
“And this, what, hurts you?” She met his eyes and stabbed a pen through her own hand in fury.
“Don’t play me, Nathan! I know you lie as well as you breathe. That’s genetic too, by the way, and I usually don’t care, but when I find out there’s chatter about you using me from agents that work under me, I get a little concerned,” Claire snarled at him.
“What the hell are you talking about? Use you? Who told you this?” He furrowed his brow at her as she rose to face him. As small as she was next to him, she still held a formidable presence.
“Doesn’t matter. What do you want from me? You know the price. It’s always the same,” Claire said.
“Elle,” Nathan said with a bored sigh. “You’re so predictable. All right, let’s not play games. What is it that you think I want?”
Claire leaned close to him, so close she could feel his breath warm over her face. He tried to remain calm by her close, intimate presence. “You want my blood to cure that sick benefactor, am I right? Or maybe, you want something more?”
“Claire...how did you hear this?” Nathan asked annoyed, and she began to laugh.
“It’s true! I’m just another chess piece to you! Your own daughter! How funny is that?” She tossed his pens over on his desk and turned toward the door. “There is no deal unless you give me Elle. That bastard isn’t touching an ounce of my blood until you give me what I want, no restrictions.”
“Claire, be reasonable...if you only knew him,” Nathan started.
“Shut up!”
“Hey, hey, listen to me!” Nathan hollered back, his temper soaring. “Even if you were to give me your blood for him, it wouldn’t be enough. The deal is this, Claire; you take down my brother and you do it as soon as you can. Then, we’ll discuss what you can do with Elle.”
“You won’t even let me see her! I can’t even look at her stupid face and mock her or threaten her! You’re letting government dogs watch her and not me!”
“Calm down,” Nathan warned her. “You know you have more important things to do here. You do that,” Nathan said, straightening his suit jacket. “And we’ll discuss the rest of the deal.”
“Screw you, Nathan,” Claire said bitterly, meeting his eyes with anger. “Don’t worry. I will hunt down Peter, even to the ends of the earth, and I will kill him. You’ll see. I’ll bring your brother’s body to you on a freaking platter!”
Nathan sighed, composing himself. “Good. We understand each other then.”
Claire glowered at him, tossing her hair back as she stormed out his door.
xxxxx
Thankfully, when Claire had calmed down by tossing small knives at the wall in her office, one of Nathan’s lackey’s came in and gave her a message.
As an olive branch, Nathan had reluctantly agreed to allow Claire a visit Elle for two hours a day. She couldn’t torture her or cause her any harm, but she could face her behind the specialized glass and trade barbs with her all she wanted. She could even go into Elle’s cell, but a Pinehearst guard would be watching her movements, reporting back to Nathan if Claire broke their deal in any way by touching her.
Claire smiled. She supposed that was a good enough deal for now.
xxxxx
Chapter Seven: Her Private Prisoner