[Heroes] [Gen] [T] Five Ways Noah Bennett Lives
Title: Five Ways Noah Bennett Lives
Spoilers: Cautionary Tales
Genre: Gen
Rating: T
Length: 1,100 words
Notes: Unbeta’d. I never do that, but I was too excited to wait. Feel free to point out typos if there are any.
Summary: We know Noah Bennett lived, but how? Who saved him? Whose blood did they give him? Here are five theories. Feel free to let me know which you think is the most likely, or to share a theory of your own!
1.
Noah barely had a moment to register where he was (not hell, must be alive), when the door opened.
"You're awake," Elle said blandly, kicking the door closed behind her. She set down a stack of clothes and a pair of shoes on the gurney where Noah sat, still trying to catch his breath. "I thought your brat's blood would do the trick."
"Why did you bring me here? Where's Claire?"
"Relax," Elle purred, running a hand over his shoulder. "She's fine. Your friend Clark Kent swooped in and carried her away."
Noah breathed a sigh of relief. "What do you want from me, Elle?"
"Get dressed," she ordered, marching towards the door. "You're taking me to the Haitian, and the two of you are going to fill me in on a few things I seem to have... forgotten.
2.
When he heard footsteps approaching, Noah returned to the gurney and pretended to be unconscious. Listening carefully, he heard the door open, the footsteps draw closer, a soft wheeze to the breathing indicating a broken nose... Mohinder.
Noah kept very still and waited for him to approach. Fingers circled his wrist, gently checking for a pulse. As soon as his hand was released, Noah struck.
"Aren't you going to welcome me back, Suresh?" he growled, his hand gripped tight around Mohinder's throat. Mohinder's eyes were wide and pained, but Noah would swear the doctor had just started to roll his eyes at him. Carefully, not releasing his grip, Noah sat up. Hopping off the gurney, he backed Mohinder into the wall and pinned him there before letting go of his throat. "What the hell is going on? And don't lie to me, Doctor. You used up all my good will when you shot me."
"Listen to me." Mohinder's voice was rough and scratchy from having had his throat squeezed. "Yes, I shot you. If I hadn't, Elle would've killed you anyway. But I had Claire's blood."
"How?" Noah demanded.
"I took it from Bob and replaced it with samples of my own. I didn't trust him to give it to me, and I need it to create a cure for the virus."
"So he doesn't know I'm..."
"Alive?" Mohinder asked. "No. As far as he's concerned, you're in the Company's crypt."
Noah stepped back and let Mohinder go. "Suresh, you've just given me the best advantage I could have."
3.
Noah didn't recognize the facility he was in, but it was a safe bet he was in Company hands. As soon as he could stand, he tried the door. As expected, it was locked. He pounded on it, figuring that the Company would've placed guards outside - considering what happened the last time they tried to keep him locked up. There was no response, but that didn't mean they weren't there. He sat down and waited.
"Welcome back to us, Noah," Bob smiled as he strolled through the door. "How are you feeling?"
Noah smiled back, equally insincere. "Better than you'll be feeling when I'm done with you."
"Now, Noah," Bob chided. "I just saved your life. Is that any way to express your gratitude?"
"Gratitude? For which part? Trying to kidnap my daughter or having me shot in the head?"
"That was an unfortunate accident. One which Doctor Suresh deeply regrets, I assure you. But now you see what Claire's blood can do. Now you understand why we need her."
"What do you want from me, Bob?" Noah demanded.
"From you? Nothing." Bob smiled broadly as he exited the room. Noah glimpsed the two heavily-armed guards outside the door. "You're just the bait."
4.
The door burst open and Peter came barreling through. He took one look at Bennett and excitedly called out, "It worked!" through the open door.
"Hi, Noah," Peter grinned. "Feeling okay?"
"I'm feeling fine, Peter. But I'd love to know what's going on here. The last thing I remember was..." It suddenly dawned on Noah where he was before he was here. "Peter, is Claire alright? Did they get away?"
"She's fine," Peter assured him. "And who's the flying kid? Don't tell me that Nathan..."
Noah laughed in relief. "No. No, he's not a relative - thank God. Just a friend of Claire's from school."
Peter nodded, running a hand through his hair. "They got away. We were following Bob and Mohinder - we saw it all. But Mohinder... Mohinder shot you. He killed you."
Noah's brow furrowed. He held out his arms, indicating he was alive, well, and in one piece. "Then, what happened?"
"We brought you back."
Noah's head jerked up at the sound of the new voice. Adam leaned casually against the doorjamb, smiling blithely. "We decided to try Peter's blood, on the off chance that you might pick up some of his abilities in addition to my regeneration."
Noah's mind reeled with the impact of that idea. "You... you gave me abilities?"
"Maybe," Peter emphasized. "We don't know. The important thing was to bring you back."
Adam's smile widened, and his eyes conveyed something darker in his words. "Welcome to our world."
5.
Regeneration was not without a physical toll.
Noah woke with a start, gasping for breath. In that instant, his body processed everything he'd just been through - the pain of dying, the pain of healing, the sudden jolt of electricity that meant life. In that split second, every cell in his body sparked excruciatingly. As his head cleared, he wondered how many times Claire had lived through that sensation.
Sitting up, he carefully removed the IV needle from his arm. He took a moment to steady himself, then headed for the door. Down the hall, he opened the second door on the right, where he found a change of clothes waiting. He dressed and washed his face, then set off to find his partner.
In a large office at the end of the hall, he heard voices. He opened the door and was instantly attacked from several fronts.
"Dad!"
"Noah!"
"Oh, Dad, we thought you were dead!"
Noah laughed, hugging his family back as they surrounded him. "You're not getting rid of me that easily." He kissed Claire's forehead and hugged his wife and son.
"What happened?" Claire asked. "I saw you get shot!"
"It was you, Claire. And my friend here, who retrieved a little something that belonged to you from Bob." Noah nodded gratefully to the Haitian, standing quietly at the back of the room with West. "Just in case that painting came true, we had a Plan B."
Spoilers: Cautionary Tales
Genre: Gen
Rating: T
Length: 1,100 words
Notes: Unbeta’d. I never do that, but I was too excited to wait. Feel free to point out typos if there are any.
Summary: We know Noah Bennett lived, but how? Who saved him? Whose blood did they give him? Here are five theories. Feel free to let me know which you think is the most likely, or to share a theory of your own!
1.
Noah barely had a moment to register where he was (not hell, must be alive), when the door opened.
"You're awake," Elle said blandly, kicking the door closed behind her. She set down a stack of clothes and a pair of shoes on the gurney where Noah sat, still trying to catch his breath. "I thought your brat's blood would do the trick."
"Why did you bring me here? Where's Claire?"
"Relax," Elle purred, running a hand over his shoulder. "She's fine. Your friend Clark Kent swooped in and carried her away."
Noah breathed a sigh of relief. "What do you want from me, Elle?"
"Get dressed," she ordered, marching towards the door. "You're taking me to the Haitian, and the two of you are going to fill me in on a few things I seem to have... forgotten.
2.
When he heard footsteps approaching, Noah returned to the gurney and pretended to be unconscious. Listening carefully, he heard the door open, the footsteps draw closer, a soft wheeze to the breathing indicating a broken nose... Mohinder.
Noah kept very still and waited for him to approach. Fingers circled his wrist, gently checking for a pulse. As soon as his hand was released, Noah struck.
"Aren't you going to welcome me back, Suresh?" he growled, his hand gripped tight around Mohinder's throat. Mohinder's eyes were wide and pained, but Noah would swear the doctor had just started to roll his eyes at him. Carefully, not releasing his grip, Noah sat up. Hopping off the gurney, he backed Mohinder into the wall and pinned him there before letting go of his throat. "What the hell is going on? And don't lie to me, Doctor. You used up all my good will when you shot me."
"Listen to me." Mohinder's voice was rough and scratchy from having had his throat squeezed. "Yes, I shot you. If I hadn't, Elle would've killed you anyway. But I had Claire's blood."
"How?" Noah demanded.
"I took it from Bob and replaced it with samples of my own. I didn't trust him to give it to me, and I need it to create a cure for the virus."
"So he doesn't know I'm..."
"Alive?" Mohinder asked. "No. As far as he's concerned, you're in the Company's crypt."
Noah stepped back and let Mohinder go. "Suresh, you've just given me the best advantage I could have."
3.
Noah didn't recognize the facility he was in, but it was a safe bet he was in Company hands. As soon as he could stand, he tried the door. As expected, it was locked. He pounded on it, figuring that the Company would've placed guards outside - considering what happened the last time they tried to keep him locked up. There was no response, but that didn't mean they weren't there. He sat down and waited.
"Welcome back to us, Noah," Bob smiled as he strolled through the door. "How are you feeling?"
Noah smiled back, equally insincere. "Better than you'll be feeling when I'm done with you."
"Now, Noah," Bob chided. "I just saved your life. Is that any way to express your gratitude?"
"Gratitude? For which part? Trying to kidnap my daughter or having me shot in the head?"
"That was an unfortunate accident. One which Doctor Suresh deeply regrets, I assure you. But now you see what Claire's blood can do. Now you understand why we need her."
"What do you want from me, Bob?" Noah demanded.
"From you? Nothing." Bob smiled broadly as he exited the room. Noah glimpsed the two heavily-armed guards outside the door. "You're just the bait."
4.
The door burst open and Peter came barreling through. He took one look at Bennett and excitedly called out, "It worked!" through the open door.
"Hi, Noah," Peter grinned. "Feeling okay?"
"I'm feeling fine, Peter. But I'd love to know what's going on here. The last thing I remember was..." It suddenly dawned on Noah where he was before he was here. "Peter, is Claire alright? Did they get away?"
"She's fine," Peter assured him. "And who's the flying kid? Don't tell me that Nathan..."
Noah laughed in relief. "No. No, he's not a relative - thank God. Just a friend of Claire's from school."
Peter nodded, running a hand through his hair. "They got away. We were following Bob and Mohinder - we saw it all. But Mohinder... Mohinder shot you. He killed you."
Noah's brow furrowed. He held out his arms, indicating he was alive, well, and in one piece. "Then, what happened?"
"We brought you back."
Noah's head jerked up at the sound of the new voice. Adam leaned casually against the doorjamb, smiling blithely. "We decided to try Peter's blood, on the off chance that you might pick up some of his abilities in addition to my regeneration."
Noah's mind reeled with the impact of that idea. "You... you gave me abilities?"
"Maybe," Peter emphasized. "We don't know. The important thing was to bring you back."
Adam's smile widened, and his eyes conveyed something darker in his words. "Welcome to our world."
5.
Regeneration was not without a physical toll.
Noah woke with a start, gasping for breath. In that instant, his body processed everything he'd just been through - the pain of dying, the pain of healing, the sudden jolt of electricity that meant life. In that split second, every cell in his body sparked excruciatingly. As his head cleared, he wondered how many times Claire had lived through that sensation.
Sitting up, he carefully removed the IV needle from his arm. He took a moment to steady himself, then headed for the door. Down the hall, he opened the second door on the right, where he found a change of clothes waiting. He dressed and washed his face, then set off to find his partner.
In a large office at the end of the hall, he heard voices. He opened the door and was instantly attacked from several fronts.
"Dad!"
"Noah!"
"Oh, Dad, we thought you were dead!"
Noah laughed, hugging his family back as they surrounded him. "You're not getting rid of me that easily." He kissed Claire's forehead and hugged his wife and son.
"What happened?" Claire asked. "I saw you get shot!"
"It was you, Claire. And my friend here, who retrieved a little something that belonged to you from Bob." Noah nodded gratefully to the Haitian, standing quietly at the back of the room with West. "Just in case that painting came true, we had a Plan B."