Heroes, "The Devil and Her Treasures" chapter 7
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 Seven: Her Private Prisoner
Claire took the first opportunity she could to visit Elle in her cell. Stepping into the Pinehearst elevator, Claire jabbed the bottom level button, and when she arrived, she met an iron gate where she keyed in her clearance. Quickly, she was accepted, the guard nodded to her, and she stalked down the dark recesses of the prison. She glanced at all the cells to her left and right, knowing within their secure specialized walls were dangerous criminals that could run circles around Elle in the evil department. It was sad. A majority of these people had bought these powers and became villains that wrought havoc on the country. Claire would never admit to noticing the connection: however, she didn’t want to give any merit to her uncle’s terrorist agenda.
At her request, Elle’s prison cell was located in a separate, dead-end hall that was segregated from the rest of the prisoners. Besides the guard on duty who would watch Claire to make sure she didn’t harm the prisoner, they were alone. She could barely hear the muffled wailing from the crazy prisoners nearby.
Elle’s cell was different than the rest. Instead of set off by iron or other specialized metals to keep powers in check, she was surrounded by a bulletproof glass that was barely strong enough to contain someone without powers.
But Elle had nowhere to go, and as per her promise, she wouldn’t make a move leave either. Pinehearst, however, still treated her as a prisoner to remind her what she was, and no matter how compliant she was, her cell was Spartan and stocked with only the bare essentials.
When Claire stepped in front of the glass, she saw Elle sitting on her cot, her arms around her knees as she lifted her head to meet her visitor.
“I was wondering when I’d get that conjugal visit,” Elle cracked. “What’s up, Pom-Pom? Come to keep me company?”
“Hardly,” Claire droned, watching as she wouldn’t even rise from her spot. Elle just stared at her, smiling slightly as if she was perfectly content. Didn’t she miss her son? Didn’t she miss Sylar? Claire frowned at her. This was hardly torture in any way, not even in boredom. Elle seemed to think she was Pinehearst’s guest. She’d even been drawing pictures on the wall with dirt, blood, and Claire didn’t even want to guess what that brown stuff was. There was actually the drawing of her with a demonic expression and cut in half and flailing about like a mad woman. How...touching, Claire thought.
“So, then you’re here to torture me,” Elle said. She sighed in exasperation. “I knew this would happen eventually. Pinehearst is no more creative than the Company. Well, the Company liked to drug people a lot, either to experiment on them or suppress their powers. I thought it was kind of boring if you ask me. I liked more action, like frying bad guys when they got in my way.” She chuckled. “There was this one guy in Ireland. Burnt to a crisp!” She turned to Claire with wide, manic eyes. “Did you know it smelled sort of like a cook out? When I lived in the suburbs with Noah and Gabe, I used to smell the neighbors cooking hot dogs and burgers and it’d smell just like that. Wow, brought back memories.”
“I see you’re still a sociopath,” Claire said, and Elle shrugged.
“I know, you envy me. You have a lot to learn before you become just like me,” Elle mocked her, and Claire slammed an angry palm on the glass.
“Don’t you ever compare us! I am nothing like you!” Claire hollered. Elle threw her head back and barked with laughter. As their eyes met again, Claire opened the door to her cell and stormed in, stopping as she clenched her fists at her sides. The guard arched a brow, watching carefully as she started to approach Elle.
“Ooh, now that’s interesting. You can’t hurt me, can you? You have a baby-sitter while you talk to me!” Elle laughed again. “Oh, this is rich. The president’s daughter can’t even torture a prisoner!”
Claire seethed, her hands shaking with anger. “Shut up! Soon, I swear I will, and you won’t be laughing any more.”
“Fine, whatever, Pom-Pom,” Elle said, wiping away a dry tear as she laughed mockingly. “I get it. Whenever you get Peter, you get me. But until then, you have to wait, is that it? Apparently the President has something to hold over your head while I’m in here. Trouble is, you can’t find Peter. You won’t find him,” Elle continued. “He’s already three steps ahead of you.”
“Do you know where he is? What’s he going to do? What’s this big plan that has made him lie low for almost four months now?” Claire raged, and Elle only shrugged.
“How should I know? Once he dropped us off in Costa Verde, he said he couldn’t see us anymore, and we didn’t see him. We only saw the others he sent to watch us, and barely even them sometimes,” Elle said with a sigh.
“You’re lying,” Claire said quickly.
“Why would I lie?” Elle asked, cocking her head at her. “What do I gain by lying now that I’m in prison? Peter didn’t tell me anything, and if there was some small chance that you’d find us in Costa Verde, then he would have never told us.”
“He would have told Sylar; they’re brothers,” Claire said, furrowing her brow. Maybe...she was getting close to a lead on Peter with Elle. Perhaps he didn’t tell her anything, but if she knew Peter, and she did even beyond his terrorism, he was a family person, and he’d obviously grown closer to Sylar since he’d gone against Nathan. Surely, he would confide in his brother, or at least hint some things.
Elle watched Claire as she mulled over their connection. “Leave my family alone,” she warned, and Claire looked up, knowing that she’d hit a nerve. The manic, devil-may-care Elle was gone. She shot her a deadly serious look. “Don’t you touch them. You agreed.”
Claire instantly smirked at her. She crossed her arms and lifted her chin, as she seemed unfazed by Elle’s threats. “What makes you think I’m going to go back on my word now? I’m just going to have a little chat with my uncle Sylar...”
“His name is Gabriel!” Elle yelled, and Claire’s smile stretched wider.
“You’re really sensitive about that, aren’t you?” Claire asked, but then her grin quickly faded. “He’ll always be Sylar to me, no matter what. I don’t care if he’s changed. I don’t care if you’re in love, and I certainly don’t care about your brat.”
Elle inhaled a ragged breath. “Your own cousin?”
“As far as I’m concerned, Sylar, you and your kid are not my family, and even if they were, I wouldn’t care. Peter is my family and I’m going to kill him, so...you see where I’m going with this, don’t you? I don’t care!” Claire screamed. “But you can be sure about one thing, if Sylar threatens me or the people of Costa Verde again after we made this deal, all bets are off. And if he’s hiding Peter? Well, I can’t guarantee the safety of that kid either!”
“Leave them alone! They know nothing!” Elle had jumped out of her cot by then, meeting Claire evenly. Claire stepped backward as Elle silently raged at her. When Claire smelled fire in the air, she knew Elle was losing it. She stood rigidly, meeting Elle’s challenge. When the former Company agent grabbed her arm and shot a thousand volts through her system, Claire welcomed it with a smile on her face.
She could feel it. She could feel the fire within her screaming nerves - for a moment, and then everything died to a dull ache. Elle’s power still coursed through her, but Claire’s ability had kicked in, and the lack of feeling took over. Physically, her body still shuddered from the jolt, but Claire didn’t even feel death at the edge of her bones.
When she doubled over on the floor, she exhaled a rejuvenated breath and looked up at Elle, who was still glaring over her with power crackling on the tips of her fingers. Claire grinned at her, and she saw the fear still in the woman’s eyes for her family.
She left Elle without another word, knowing what she had to do. Claire was going to pay another family visit to Costa Verde.
xxxxx
He supposed he should have expected her once he heard the doorbell. Noah came out of his room in a flash, and Gabriel winced at the hopeful look on the boy’s face.
For months now since his mother’s capture, Noah had hoped every day Pinehearst would let his mommy go, even when his daddy had told him that it wasn’t possible, and that Mommy was in jail for crimes that they had committed in their past, and she was doing it to make them safe.
Noah understood it for the most part, but Gabriel knew the boy indulged in fantasies that his mother would eventually come home. He supposed it was his son’s way of coping and Gabriel probably knew it was not healthy, but he’d be there for his son to remind him if he could.
When he opened the door to Claire Bennet’s smug face, he glared at her and closed the door slightly. He didn’t want Noah to see who it was. Even though he’d been told that Claire Bennet was his cousin, he didn’t want his son to think that she was family. Peter and Elle were the only family that Noah knew, and Gabriel wanted to keep it that way.
Claire was a traitor to her kind, among other things, and she was the one who took Elle away. Gabriel wanted his son to understand just what this woman had done to their family.
“Aren’t you going to let me in?” Claire asked with forced sweetness. “Uncle Gabe?”
“I don’t want you around my son, Claire,” Gabriel said sternly, and Claire flashed a mocking pout.
“Aww, I’m hurt,” Claire said, rolling her eyes at him.
“What are you doing here? What do you want?” he asked angrily, hoping his coldness would drive her away. Though, it wouldn’t work on Claire Bennet. She was here to stay, and she obviously had something on her mind.
“I visited your wife in prison today. Did you know she’s painting on the walls with her own crap? Eww! Well, she is crazy after all; I always knew it,” Claire blathered.
“Is this really why you’re here?” Gabriel sneered at her, and he almost felt the old Sylar persona bubbling to the surface. If Claire made him any angrier, he knew it’d become more difficult to keep his powers at bay.
“She said something interesting to me. Of course, she could just be talking out her ass, but she seemed to get hot when I mentioned that I’d be visiting you and the kid,” Claire said.
“What are you talking about?” Gabriel narrowed his eyes at her.
“Peter wouldn’t even tell you what he’s up to, would he? We’d been tracking him fine before he dropped you off here, and then...nothing. He blips around once in awhile, and then he vanishes like he’s not even on the planet,” Claire said, and Gabriel could feel her gaze scrutinizing him, watching for any indication that he’d lie or knew more than she did about Peter. He tried to keep his expression like a stone.
“Peter didn’t tell us his plans about the attacks against Pinehearst, if that’s what you mean. He wanted to, but Elle and I didn’t want anything to do with Pinehearst. Your grandmother even tried to convince us to help him before she died,” Gabriel added, and he saw no emotion flicker over Claire’s face. (So, she really had become this cold.) “We wouldn’t do it. We had a baby to raise, and I swore off using my powers after....” He paused, and he saw Claire’s eyes flash with anger. Her father - he knew she still despised him for that. “The only interaction we had with Peter was when he was hiding us and any sort of news about you, that’s all.”
“Me? What did Peter say about me?” Claire asked curiously, even though the information wouldn’t be relevant for Peter’s present whereabouts.
Gabriel shrugged. “He would tell me how he had to keep hidden from you, how he had to wipe your memory when you found out the truth about him.” Gabriel ignored Claire’s furious eyes and sighed. “It doesn’t matter anymore. You both have done enough. I wish you’d just leave us alone.”
“If you think it’s that easy you’re deluded,” Claire said bitingly. “He could visit you at any moment, and don’t think you’ll get away with that. The deal will be off and we have people watching you who will tell us immediately.”
“But he doesn’t visit me, and he won’t,” Gabriel said in exasperation. He began to close his door. “You’re wasting your time here, Claire.”
When he slammed the door in her face, Claire was about to kick the door down until she heard her cell phone buzz in her pocket. She snagged it up and barked into the receiver. “What?”
“Yo, down girl.” It was Knox. “I thought you’d like to know we spotted Peter again at that same hangar.”
Claire was already storming back to the car with anticipation. “I’m on my way. Tail him as much as you can until I get back, and don’t let him out of your sight!”
She looked out the window as her limo took off, and she glared at Sylar’s house, thinking of the memories she had there.
You take everything from me, Sylar. Well, I’m going take something from you, Claire thought to herself. I’m going to take away your precious brother, and then Elle is mine. The love of your life and the mother of your child will crack eventually, and I can’t wait for the day she submits to me!
xxxxx
Pinehearst agents circled around and behind her as they followed Peter’s trail down the through the dreary labyrinth around the east hangar. She watched him as agents ran behind him, failing to catch up. While the Pinehearst agents kept him busy, Claire predicted Peter’s next move. There must be something about this hangar that drew her uncle here, so she waited in the building for him to come inside. Her agents would somehow force him to take cover, and then she’d corner him, shoot him in that spot in the back of his head, and then serve him up to Nathan as a gift.
Then, Peter would pay for his crimes. Justice would be served, and Elle would finally belong to Claire. Of course, she still had to lend her blood to heal the bedridden Pinehearst Founder, but she wouldn’t do that until Elle was definitely hers to do with as she pleased. Claire could almost taste the satisfaction in giving Elle what she truly deserved.
The desire gave her an extra burst in her sprint, and when she finally corned Peter, she held up the gun to him, ready to fire.
“Claire...” He held up his hands and looked at her, tortured and desperate, just as he had looked the last time he’d seen her. “Put down the gun.”
She tilted her head slightly and continued to stare at him, her trigger finger itching. “Can’t do that.”
Suddenly, he told her everything, about his plans, about how all the crimes he’d committed and the lives he’d destroyed was all so he could go back and time. He wanted to change the past, and Claire knew it would never be that simple.
It was over. They’d gone through the camps, the exposure on their powers, and the present was what it was, and no matter how powerful Peter believed he was, there was no coming back from that. Did he really think he could go back and change everything without consequences?
She almost pitied him. Really, Peter had never changed, not as much as she had. He was still idealistic, and though he managed to rationalize murder, he was still planning on saving everyone anyway. He was willing to even change time itself.
Claire didn’t care. His words didn’t affect her and her feelings toward him were numb. She loved him a one time, even more deeply than a niece should love her uncle, but all of that was gone now.
Peter Petrelli had to die. He held up his hand to ward off, still clinging to that last sliver of hope that she’d change and he’d believe her. But Claire Bennet wasn’t going to change today, and not by Peter’s words.
She fired her gun, and she heard a dull silence cloud over her. When she blinked, Peter was gone. She looked around frantically.
“Damn,” she spat. He really had done it. Peter had gone back in time.
xxxxx
Chapter Eight: Tipping the Tightrope
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 Seven: Her Private Prisoner
Claire took the first opportunity she could to visit Elle in her cell. Stepping into the Pinehearst elevator, Claire jabbed the bottom level button, and when she arrived, she met an iron gate where she keyed in her clearance. Quickly, she was accepted, the guard nodded to her, and she stalked down the dark recesses of the prison. She glanced at all the cells to her left and right, knowing within their secure specialized walls were dangerous criminals that could run circles around Elle in the evil department. It was sad. A majority of these people had bought these powers and became villains that wrought havoc on the country. Claire would never admit to noticing the connection: however, she didn’t want to give any merit to her uncle’s terrorist agenda.
At her request, Elle’s prison cell was located in a separate, dead-end hall that was segregated from the rest of the prisoners. Besides the guard on duty who would watch Claire to make sure she didn’t harm the prisoner, they were alone. She could barely hear the muffled wailing from the crazy prisoners nearby.
Elle’s cell was different than the rest. Instead of set off by iron or other specialized metals to keep powers in check, she was surrounded by a bulletproof glass that was barely strong enough to contain someone without powers.
But Elle had nowhere to go, and as per her promise, she wouldn’t make a move leave either. Pinehearst, however, still treated her as a prisoner to remind her what she was, and no matter how compliant she was, her cell was Spartan and stocked with only the bare essentials.
When Claire stepped in front of the glass, she saw Elle sitting on her cot, her arms around her knees as she lifted her head to meet her visitor.
“I was wondering when I’d get that conjugal visit,” Elle cracked. “What’s up, Pom-Pom? Come to keep me company?”
“Hardly,” Claire droned, watching as she wouldn’t even rise from her spot. Elle just stared at her, smiling slightly as if she was perfectly content. Didn’t she miss her son? Didn’t she miss Sylar? Claire frowned at her. This was hardly torture in any way, not even in boredom. Elle seemed to think she was Pinehearst’s guest. She’d even been drawing pictures on the wall with dirt, blood, and Claire didn’t even want to guess what that brown stuff was. There was actually the drawing of her with a demonic expression and cut in half and flailing about like a mad woman. How...touching, Claire thought.
“So, then you’re here to torture me,” Elle said. She sighed in exasperation. “I knew this would happen eventually. Pinehearst is no more creative than the Company. Well, the Company liked to drug people a lot, either to experiment on them or suppress their powers. I thought it was kind of boring if you ask me. I liked more action, like frying bad guys when they got in my way.” She chuckled. “There was this one guy in Ireland. Burnt to a crisp!” She turned to Claire with wide, manic eyes. “Did you know it smelled sort of like a cook out? When I lived in the suburbs with Noah and Gabe, I used to smell the neighbors cooking hot dogs and burgers and it’d smell just like that. Wow, brought back memories.”
“I see you’re still a sociopath,” Claire said, and Elle shrugged.
“I know, you envy me. You have a lot to learn before you become just like me,” Elle mocked her, and Claire slammed an angry palm on the glass.
“Don’t you ever compare us! I am nothing like you!” Claire hollered. Elle threw her head back and barked with laughter. As their eyes met again, Claire opened the door to her cell and stormed in, stopping as she clenched her fists at her sides. The guard arched a brow, watching carefully as she started to approach Elle.
“Ooh, now that’s interesting. You can’t hurt me, can you? You have a baby-sitter while you talk to me!” Elle laughed again. “Oh, this is rich. The president’s daughter can’t even torture a prisoner!”
Claire seethed, her hands shaking with anger. “Shut up! Soon, I swear I will, and you won’t be laughing any more.”
“Fine, whatever, Pom-Pom,” Elle said, wiping away a dry tear as she laughed mockingly. “I get it. Whenever you get Peter, you get me. But until then, you have to wait, is that it? Apparently the President has something to hold over your head while I’m in here. Trouble is, you can’t find Peter. You won’t find him,” Elle continued. “He’s already three steps ahead of you.”
“Do you know where he is? What’s he going to do? What’s this big plan that has made him lie low for almost four months now?” Claire raged, and Elle only shrugged.
“How should I know? Once he dropped us off in Costa Verde, he said he couldn’t see us anymore, and we didn’t see him. We only saw the others he sent to watch us, and barely even them sometimes,” Elle said with a sigh.
“You’re lying,” Claire said quickly.
“Why would I lie?” Elle asked, cocking her head at her. “What do I gain by lying now that I’m in prison? Peter didn’t tell me anything, and if there was some small chance that you’d find us in Costa Verde, then he would have never told us.”
“He would have told Sylar; they’re brothers,” Claire said, furrowing her brow. Maybe...she was getting close to a lead on Peter with Elle. Perhaps he didn’t tell her anything, but if she knew Peter, and she did even beyond his terrorism, he was a family person, and he’d obviously grown closer to Sylar since he’d gone against Nathan. Surely, he would confide in his brother, or at least hint some things.
Elle watched Claire as she mulled over their connection. “Leave my family alone,” she warned, and Claire looked up, knowing that she’d hit a nerve. The manic, devil-may-care Elle was gone. She shot her a deadly serious look. “Don’t you touch them. You agreed.”
Claire instantly smirked at her. She crossed her arms and lifted her chin, as she seemed unfazed by Elle’s threats. “What makes you think I’m going to go back on my word now? I’m just going to have a little chat with my uncle Sylar...”
“His name is Gabriel!” Elle yelled, and Claire’s smile stretched wider.
“You’re really sensitive about that, aren’t you?” Claire asked, but then her grin quickly faded. “He’ll always be Sylar to me, no matter what. I don’t care if he’s changed. I don’t care if you’re in love, and I certainly don’t care about your brat.”
Elle inhaled a ragged breath. “Your own cousin?”
“As far as I’m concerned, Sylar, you and your kid are not my family, and even if they were, I wouldn’t care. Peter is my family and I’m going to kill him, so...you see where I’m going with this, don’t you? I don’t care!” Claire screamed. “But you can be sure about one thing, if Sylar threatens me or the people of Costa Verde again after we made this deal, all bets are off. And if he’s hiding Peter? Well, I can’t guarantee the safety of that kid either!”
“Leave them alone! They know nothing!” Elle had jumped out of her cot by then, meeting Claire evenly. Claire stepped backward as Elle silently raged at her. When Claire smelled fire in the air, she knew Elle was losing it. She stood rigidly, meeting Elle’s challenge. When the former Company agent grabbed her arm and shot a thousand volts through her system, Claire welcomed it with a smile on her face.
She could feel it. She could feel the fire within her screaming nerves - for a moment, and then everything died to a dull ache. Elle’s power still coursed through her, but Claire’s ability had kicked in, and the lack of feeling took over. Physically, her body still shuddered from the jolt, but Claire didn’t even feel death at the edge of her bones.
When she doubled over on the floor, she exhaled a rejuvenated breath and looked up at Elle, who was still glaring over her with power crackling on the tips of her fingers. Claire grinned at her, and she saw the fear still in the woman’s eyes for her family.
She left Elle without another word, knowing what she had to do. Claire was going to pay another family visit to Costa Verde.
xxxxx
He supposed he should have expected her once he heard the doorbell. Noah came out of his room in a flash, and Gabriel winced at the hopeful look on the boy’s face.
For months now since his mother’s capture, Noah had hoped every day Pinehearst would let his mommy go, even when his daddy had told him that it wasn’t possible, and that Mommy was in jail for crimes that they had committed in their past, and she was doing it to make them safe.
Noah understood it for the most part, but Gabriel knew the boy indulged in fantasies that his mother would eventually come home. He supposed it was his son’s way of coping and Gabriel probably knew it was not healthy, but he’d be there for his son to remind him if he could.
When he opened the door to Claire Bennet’s smug face, he glared at her and closed the door slightly. He didn’t want Noah to see who it was. Even though he’d been told that Claire Bennet was his cousin, he didn’t want his son to think that she was family. Peter and Elle were the only family that Noah knew, and Gabriel wanted to keep it that way.
Claire was a traitor to her kind, among other things, and she was the one who took Elle away. Gabriel wanted his son to understand just what this woman had done to their family.
“Aren’t you going to let me in?” Claire asked with forced sweetness. “Uncle Gabe?”
“I don’t want you around my son, Claire,” Gabriel said sternly, and Claire flashed a mocking pout.
“Aww, I’m hurt,” Claire said, rolling her eyes at him.
“What are you doing here? What do you want?” he asked angrily, hoping his coldness would drive her away. Though, it wouldn’t work on Claire Bennet. She was here to stay, and she obviously had something on her mind.
“I visited your wife in prison today. Did you know she’s painting on the walls with her own crap? Eww! Well, she is crazy after all; I always knew it,” Claire blathered.
“Is this really why you’re here?” Gabriel sneered at her, and he almost felt the old Sylar persona bubbling to the surface. If Claire made him any angrier, he knew it’d become more difficult to keep his powers at bay.
“She said something interesting to me. Of course, she could just be talking out her ass, but she seemed to get hot when I mentioned that I’d be visiting you and the kid,” Claire said.
“What are you talking about?” Gabriel narrowed his eyes at her.
“Peter wouldn’t even tell you what he’s up to, would he? We’d been tracking him fine before he dropped you off here, and then...nothing. He blips around once in awhile, and then he vanishes like he’s not even on the planet,” Claire said, and Gabriel could feel her gaze scrutinizing him, watching for any indication that he’d lie or knew more than she did about Peter. He tried to keep his expression like a stone.
“Peter didn’t tell us his plans about the attacks against Pinehearst, if that’s what you mean. He wanted to, but Elle and I didn’t want anything to do with Pinehearst. Your grandmother even tried to convince us to help him before she died,” Gabriel added, and he saw no emotion flicker over Claire’s face. (So, she really had become this cold.) “We wouldn’t do it. We had a baby to raise, and I swore off using my powers after....” He paused, and he saw Claire’s eyes flash with anger. Her father - he knew she still despised him for that. “The only interaction we had with Peter was when he was hiding us and any sort of news about you, that’s all.”
“Me? What did Peter say about me?” Claire asked curiously, even though the information wouldn’t be relevant for Peter’s present whereabouts.
Gabriel shrugged. “He would tell me how he had to keep hidden from you, how he had to wipe your memory when you found out the truth about him.” Gabriel ignored Claire’s furious eyes and sighed. “It doesn’t matter anymore. You both have done enough. I wish you’d just leave us alone.”
“If you think it’s that easy you’re deluded,” Claire said bitingly. “He could visit you at any moment, and don’t think you’ll get away with that. The deal will be off and we have people watching you who will tell us immediately.”
“But he doesn’t visit me, and he won’t,” Gabriel said in exasperation. He began to close his door. “You’re wasting your time here, Claire.”
When he slammed the door in her face, Claire was about to kick the door down until she heard her cell phone buzz in her pocket. She snagged it up and barked into the receiver. “What?”
“Yo, down girl.” It was Knox. “I thought you’d like to know we spotted Peter again at that same hangar.”
Claire was already storming back to the car with anticipation. “I’m on my way. Tail him as much as you can until I get back, and don’t let him out of your sight!”
She looked out the window as her limo took off, and she glared at Sylar’s house, thinking of the memories she had there.
You take everything from me, Sylar. Well, I’m going take something from you, Claire thought to herself. I’m going to take away your precious brother, and then Elle is mine. The love of your life and the mother of your child will crack eventually, and I can’t wait for the day she submits to me!
xxxxx
Pinehearst agents circled around and behind her as they followed Peter’s trail down the through the dreary labyrinth around the east hangar. She watched him as agents ran behind him, failing to catch up. While the Pinehearst agents kept him busy, Claire predicted Peter’s next move. There must be something about this hangar that drew her uncle here, so she waited in the building for him to come inside. Her agents would somehow force him to take cover, and then she’d corner him, shoot him in that spot in the back of his head, and then serve him up to Nathan as a gift.
Then, Peter would pay for his crimes. Justice would be served, and Elle would finally belong to Claire. Of course, she still had to lend her blood to heal the bedridden Pinehearst Founder, but she wouldn’t do that until Elle was definitely hers to do with as she pleased. Claire could almost taste the satisfaction in giving Elle what she truly deserved.
The desire gave her an extra burst in her sprint, and when she finally corned Peter, she held up the gun to him, ready to fire.
“Claire...” He held up his hands and looked at her, tortured and desperate, just as he had looked the last time he’d seen her. “Put down the gun.”
She tilted her head slightly and continued to stare at him, her trigger finger itching. “Can’t do that.”
Suddenly, he told her everything, about his plans, about how all the crimes he’d committed and the lives he’d destroyed was all so he could go back and time. He wanted to change the past, and Claire knew it would never be that simple.
It was over. They’d gone through the camps, the exposure on their powers, and the present was what it was, and no matter how powerful Peter believed he was, there was no coming back from that. Did he really think he could go back and change everything without consequences?
She almost pitied him. Really, Peter had never changed, not as much as she had. He was still idealistic, and though he managed to rationalize murder, he was still planning on saving everyone anyway. He was willing to even change time itself.
Claire didn’t care. His words didn’t affect her and her feelings toward him were numb. She loved him a one time, even more deeply than a niece should love her uncle, but all of that was gone now.
Peter Petrelli had to die. He held up his hand to ward off, still clinging to that last sliver of hope that she’d change and he’d believe her. But Claire Bennet wasn’t going to change today, and not by Peter’s words.
She fired her gun, and she heard a dull silence cloud over her. When she blinked, Peter was gone. She looked around frantically.
“Damn,” she spat. He really had done it. Peter had gone back in time.
xxxxx
Chapter Eight: Tipping the Tightrope