Letters to My Niece (2/?)
Title: Letters to My Niece (2/?)
Author: lit_chick08
Rating: NC-17 overall
Pairing: Paire, Claire/West, Peter/Elle, Claire/Adam Monroe
Word Count: 6492
Spoilers: Everything shown thus far, including Season 2. I’m picking and choosing what I like, so you could be potentially spoiled if you haven’t seen the latest episodes
Summary: When everything starts to spiral out of control, Peter realizes that he needs Claire to give up the normal life he forced on her to help save the world once again. The only problem? She isn’t sure she wants to anymore
A/N: This is a sequel to “Letters to My Uncle,” which can be found HERE. You might be confused if you try to read this one without reading the first one.
Part One
Dear Claire,
Our project hasn’t been going well lately. I don’t know why, but I figured that things would move relatively quickly like they did with Sylar. We were able to save the world against him in two months; we’ve now been at this for a year and a half and sometimes I think that it’s a losing battle.
Mohinder is still working for the company, trying to come to any new conclusions about Shanti, but the virus keeps…evolving, I guess. I have no idea how he does it, but his blood contains the antibodies to cure it; however, if this thing starts to spread, we’d have no way to contain it. He’s been trying to synthesize a cure, but nothing’s worked so far.
The murder of Kaito Nakamura has officially become a cold case; Matt broke the news to us today. It was transferred out of homicide, which means that Matt doesn’t have access to it anymore. There have been more murders too; Nathan says that they were people that were friends with my parents. The latest were the Pratts. Mom isn’t taking it well; she’s become so paranoid that Nathan actually moved her into his brownstone, which is what we’ve been using for headquarters. She haunts the place, barely coming downstairs, and she still refuses to tell us what she does, what our father could do. Matt’s tried to read her mind, but she blocks her thoughts from both of us.
Nathan…I barely recognize him anymore, Claire; he’s a different man. He’s compassionate and tries to help everyone; Molly adores him and he’s so patient with her. I think he’s trying to compensate for being away from Simon and Monty, but it’s just incredible. You’d be proud of him, at how he’s changed.
Hiro Nakamura still hasn’t shown up. A friend of his, Ando, spoke to Matt about Kaito’s murder, and he told us that no one has heard from Hiro since that day in Kirby Plaza. Everyone thinks he’s dead; Molly can’t find him. It’s upsetting to think that he didn’t survive the fight; he was the only reason that I was in it and now he’s gone.
We’ve lost so many people in this: Ted, Isaac, Simone, Hiro, DL, almost the entire board of the Company, and what good have we accomplished? Sylar is still somewhere out there, and murders matching his old MO are cropping up all over the country as well as people killed by some sort of…black ooze, and we don’t have the resources to fight it all. The closest thing we even have as a weapon is Niki.
Do you remember Niki? She’s Micah’s mother, and she has two personalities that Bob somehow managed to combine into one. While that power isn’t impressive, she has this super strength that’s incredible; I’ve seen her pull a lamppost out of the ground. The only problem is that I’ve absorbed the strength and I forget myself sometimes; I’ve torn doors off their hinges more than once.
She and Micah moved in about a month ago with Micah’s cousin Monica. I like Monica and I think you would too. She’s smart and sweet; her power is that she can imitate anything she sees on TV/movie/youtube. The first night she was here Matt and Mohinder were having a great time testing it out. Thanks to her power, I can now needlepoint my own pillowcases, which I’m sure will come in handy.
Adam’s disappeared again. I know that Elle thinks he’s a valuable resource to us, but I want to kill him a lot of the time, which is pointless because he’s like us and can’t die. I understand that he’s 400 years old and that he started the Company; I understand that he wants to bring the Company down more than anybody for keeping him locked up for the past twenty-five years. But he’s arrogant and impulsive and constantly endangering us all. Sometimes he’s such a complete bastard and other times he’s normal. Elle says we can trust him, that he wants what we want, but I don’t entirely trust Elle either.
Elle…is Elle. I know what she is and how she is; I know that she tortured me in Los Angeles and that she’d kill everyone in this house if it saved her own ass should the Company find out what we’re doing. But at the same time, I have faith that she’s a decent person underneath it all. Nathan thinks that’s how I excuse sleeping with her; I think he shouldn’t cast stones.
I’m sorry that I’m with her. I know that you’ll never read this, but I feel guilty when I’m with her, like I’m cheating on you. I haven’t heard your voice in so long and I’m sure that you hate me after how cruel I was to you, but I miss you and I wonder every day what would’ve happened if you had come here like you wanted.
Mohinder thinks that your and Adam’s blood is key to the cure, but Adam won’t stay still long enough to test the theory; Mohinder wanted you to come here, but I said no. Elle said that you’re at college now in Kentucky, that you’re a cheerleader and a sorority sister, that West went with you and that you’re still dating. I’m glad that you’re happy, that you’re normal.
I wish…
I just wish.
Peter
* * *
Peter had never truly appreciated silence until he had moved into Nathan’s oversized brownstone which was never quiet. During the day was the best time to sit and bask in the complete lack of noise: Mohinder and Niki were at his lab, Matt was at work, Micah and Molly were at school, and Monica tended to sleep late, enjoying the first down time she had had since the hurricane. Nathan usually tended to business for their mother then, who wouldn’t bother Peter, and he was able to sit and relax as much as he was ever able to do.
Elle was in California this week on Company orders to observe Bennet and the Haitian to see what they were planning. Noah had refused to speak to Mohinder any longer after they had made the alliance with Elle and Adam, and Peter needed to know what they were doing in order to plan their next moves. Usually, when Elle was in town, the mornings could be spent in far more physically exerting ways, and Peter would be able to start to process his guilt before everyone descended upon the house once again.
No one knew where Adam was, which was exactly how he liked it. Peter was never quite sure what to make of the immortal Englishman, but he knew that absolute trust was not something he would ever be given. Adam had never been incorrect in the information he had given them, which had resulted in them knowing more about the inner-workings of the Company than they had ever had. Unfortunately, the moment that Angela Petrelli had seen him, she had screamed and refused to leave her room whenever he was around. That seemed to suit Adam just fine, given that he referred to her as “your bitch of a mother,” a comment that had gotten him punched the first time he had said it.
As Peter sat in the living room, he couldn’t help but stare at the “big board,” as Molly had christened it. The big board had been one of Micah’s ideas, a way to keep track of what they knew on each front. Thanks to Adam’s information, Micah had been able to gain access to certain files on the Company’s databases, specifically those relating to the Sylar attacks. Thanks to that file, the board now featured photographs and descriptions of all of the powers that Sylar had taken and who he had taken them from. Nathan had thought it was silly to put the pictures up, but Peter had insisted upon it; no one deserved to be forgotten, to be relegated to nothing more than a power and not a person.
Another section of the big board was devoted to those like them that they knew of and what their powers were. Adam was adamant that, should a war need to be fought between the Company and those that they hunted, they needed as many soldiers as possible. Peter and he had fought that this wasn’t war, that people were not expendable to the cause they did not sign up for; Adam had insisted that, if you had a power, it was your cause. Peter had been overruled on that front when it was put to a vote, and that section was established.
It wasn’t until they put the pictures and information up that Peter realized how painfully outnumbered they were. Peter stared at the picture of himself, of Nathan and Matt, Niki and Micah, Monica and Molly, and knew that they were really the only help they had. After all, Hiro Nakamura was likely dead, Claude had quite literally disappeared for parts unknown, the Haitian’s loyalties lied with Bennet, Elle’s loyalties when they chips went down were anyone’s guess, and Adam’s loyalty was…well, Adam seemed to thrive in a shade of gray so dark that even an empath couldn’t tell what was going on.
It was on Nathan’s insistence that Meredith Gordon, Claire, and Sylar were added to the list of possible allies. While Peter doubted that Meredith Gordon was ever going to turn up, he knew that none of them would ever agree to work with Sylar no matter how desperate the situation became. When Nathan had suggested it, Molly, who had been in the room at the time, had screamed and torn up the stairs like the devil itself was after her. It had taken Matt, Mohinder, and Micah over three hours to talk her out of the bathroom, but Adam had agreed with Nathan: if the chips were down, Sylar had more ammo to fight than any of them.
It was Claire’s presence on the board that bothered him the most. The photo that was tacked up was one that Elle had taken for the Company as part of its “observation” of her. It had been taken on the University of Kentucky’s campus and Claire was wearing a pair of jeans and a pink t-shirt with black Greek letters across it, her hair blowing in the breeze, a brilliant smile on her face. She had turned eighteen in August, the same month that Noah had moved her into her dorm in Lexington; Peter knew that she was a biology major with a minor in genetics, that she was a recently inducted sister of Kappa Alpha Theta and a member of the cheerleading squad, and that she and West had celebrated their one-year anniversary last week. Claire Butler was, as Elle had so condescendingly stated, perfectly normal, unbelievably popular, and absolutely disgusting in her blandness.
To someone like Elle, that evaluation made sense. But to Peter, who had seen Claire Bennet covered in blood, tear soaked, and broken, she was the embodiment of a salvaged life, a life that she never would’ve been able to have if he had remained in the picture. It tore him apart every day to not have her in his life, but if this was the trade-off for his pain, he could cope.
* * *
Claire’s roommate’s name was Elizabeth, but she had quickly explained to Claire on the first day that she could just call her Bets. Bets was from a tiny town in Mississippi, read her Bible every night before bed, and had a long list of things she did not approve of, including but not limited to: cheerleading, sororities, underage drinking, premarital sex, talking on your cell phone after 10 o’clock, any episodes of Nip/Tuck, Democratic politics, eyeliner, tube tops, sleeping past 9 AM, and parties. In short, Bets hated everything that Claire was, enjoyed, supported, or participated in, thus making Bets a favorite of Noah Bennet.
Her father had hated the idea of her in Kentucky, far, far away from Costa Verde and out from under his watchful eye; the only thing that he had hated more than that was the fact that West had also decided to go to UK. It had taken Claire and Sandra working on him every day for almost three months to convince him to cave and let her go, and even then he insisted upon her checking in daily. When he had met Bets, he had thought that any typical college behavior would be controlled by her ultra-conservative roommate, and Claire had agreed to behave herself. Of course, definitions of proper behavior varied greatly.
It was two days in the semester when Claire had stopped sleeping in her room entirely. West, who had managed to pull the genuinely crazy roommate who had dropped out before orientation was even over, basically had a whole room to himself and Claire moved in. He had been thrilled about the whole arrangement, gushing about how it was like they had their own place and were “real adults”; Claire had considered it a temporary solution to her rooming dilemma. After all, fending off West’s amorous advances every night was less strenuous than the exorcism that Claire was convinced Bets was going to attempt when she had seen Claire hanging out with some of the KAT girls.
Claire still wasn’t sure how she had ended up with West. Well, that was a lie; she knew exactly how she had ended up with West. It had started with he-who-would-not-be-named breaking her heart; in her heartbreak and sadness, she had turned to good, ole, dependable West, who had been waiting for her to say yes to him. When she had confessed his power, that he could fly, Claire had thought that maybe - just maybe - he was the right person for her after all. Instead, Claire spent most of their relationship grinning and bearing it, putting up with his sarcastic comments about the sorority and cheerleading, laughing at her career goal of being a geneticist to figure out what made them the way they were, and generally acting like every other 18-year-old she knew. West had no concept of responsibility when it came to his power; he acted as if he could do whatever he wanted with it and there would never be any consequences. Whenever she had lectured him on it, he had always laughed, “Who could stop me?” and told her not to worry. She had tried to explain the dangers that were there, but he had placed a finger over her lips and told her she worried too much.
To West, things like the Company or Sylar were fairy tales, the vague whisperings of a girlfriend who had been lead to paranoia by her too-intense father. To Claire, they were the monsters under the bed, the nightmares that plagued her no matter where she went.
Claire had been working hard since the night she had gotten the phone call that had shattered her to forget her past. She had spent the rest of high school obliterating Claire Bennet; she had assumed the role of Claire Butler with vigor, and Noah couldn’t have been more thrilled about it. By the time she had arrived at UK, she was almost convinced of the lie herself. It was only when she really studied herself that the cracks began to show, the details that no one had noticed thus far but were likely to notice eventually: the amount of alcohol she drank without ever getting drunk, the heightened startle response whenever she was walking somewhere after dark, the Texas twang that still clung to syllables in certain words that belied her California “roots”, the way she never had a single bruise on her body even after another cheerleader had kicked her in the face during a stunt.
She had needed to insulate herself into UK society, make herself one of the people no one would call out in order to protect herself. West had called her a poseur, no better than Casey or Debbie, but Claire had needed the heightened normalcy to make sure that, if anyone from the Company came for her, there would be people who wouldn’t just let her disappear. It was why she had rushed and became the unofficial leader of her pledge class; it was why she had tried out for cheerleading and proudly wore her UK jersey on game days; it was why she tutored the starting center of the basketball team in bio and played sober sister for KAT’s favorite fraternity. Did she always like late-night practices or parties where mandatory attendance was required and she had to dress like Prostitute Barbie? Of course not but what other way was she going to insure that she would be missed?
Today was one of the unfortunate days where she couldn’t hide from Bets. As her roommate ironed her clothes to an insane perfection, Claire was checking her email to see what time she was supposed to tutor. She was deleting her junk, rolling her eyes at the porn advertisements, when she noticed the email address on one: n_petrelli@gmail.com
Claire hadn’t seen Nathan since that day in the airport; the closest they had gotten to actual contact was on her graduation day when he had sent her a card with a check for $1,000 inside as well as a platinum credit card in her name and a picture of two little boys that Claire knew were the brothers she had never met. Sandra had almost had a heart attack at the amount of money in the card, and she had almost had a stroke when the credit card company told her that Claire’s card had a limit of $20, 000, more than any of the Butler family cards. Noah had become enraged, swearing at Nathan and his throwing money around, but when all was said and done, she had been allowed to keep them.
She had called Nathan to thank him for the gift, and the conversation, short as they ever were, had stuck in Claire’s mind.
”Thank you for…well, for everything.”
“It was the least that I could do. College is expensive nowadays and it’s not like I don’t have the money.”
“Well, yeah, but you didn’t have to do it. I took out loans and everything-“
“Which I can pay too,” he cut in firmly, sounding so different from the drunken man that Claire had last spoken to. “You shouldn’t have to struggle to put yourself through school; you’ve earned this and I can give it to you. And don’t think that the card’s for emergencies or anything. You should have spending money.”
“I don’t think I’m ever going to need twenty grand in spending money.”
“Well, just in case.”
There had been a long pause and Claire was about to say goodbye when Nathan had surprised her by stating, “I’m proud of you, Claire.”
She felt the tears spring up so suddenly that they shocked her. “Thank you.”
“Maybe…maybe if I’m ever in the area, we could have lunch.”
Even though she knew that there would never be a reason for Nathan to be in Lexington, Kentucky, she had replied, “I’d like that.”
But that had been in May and it was November now with no contact whatsoever. The only reason that Claire even knew he was alive was the fact that her credit card bill was paid every month. Other than that, the only tie she had to Nathan was the photo of her half-brothers that was on the cork board above her bed with the pictures of the other important people in her life: her parents, Lyle, West, Zach, her pledge class, the cheerleaders, the few friends she had made at Costa Verde.
Holding her breath, Claire double-clicked and the letter popped up.
Claire,
I am sorry that I haven’t kept in contact. As I’m sure Noah has informed you, we’ve been trying to accomplish a great many things here and it’s been slow moving. I hope that you are well and that classes are good. What are you majoring in?
I’m sorry to be abrupt but I need to ask a favor of you. There is a disease that’s been affecting people like us; Dr. Suresh calls it the Shanti virus and it’s spreading. Thus far, it’s been confined to people with abilities, but there’s the chance that it could cross over and become a serious threat, as serious as AIDS. Dr. Suresh believes that if we had a sample of your blood, we could find the cure; he says that the regenerative properties could unlock everything. I hate to ask this of you, but if Dr. Suresh came to campus, would you allow us to have a sample of your blood? It’s an experiment that needs done, Claire, and I wouldn’t ask if we had other options.
Please reply as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Nathan
Claire stared at the screen, a strange anger bubbling up inside of her. An experiment… If she had wanted to be experimented on like an animal, she wouldn’t be working so hard to stay away from the Company.
With a curse, she deleted the letter, slamming the laptop that his check had paid for shut, and flinging herself across her bed. She buried her face in her pillow, tears of rage streaking her cheeks, hating the excitement she had felt thinking that maybe he had actually wanted to see her, hating that she had let herself think he was that kind of man.
“Was that really necessary?” Bets queried from her place on the floor, never ceasing the movement of her hand.
Claire wished that she had the power of invisibility in that moment more than she ever had before.
* * *
Dear Claire,
Do you remember the day that you, Ted, and I were trying to get out of New York and we saw that street performer outside the subway? You know, the one with the guitar who was badly butchering Oasis songs and making me resent the fact that I’m not deaf? I actually saw him today. I was getting off the subway near NYU and hear someone screeching “Wonderwall” and there he was, complete with that ugly bowler hat that he wears.
When we saw him the first time, I heard your thoughts about how sad it was to be trying your hardest and still not making any money, so I put a dollar in that jar of his. Today when I saw him, I thought of you and your beautiful face, and I missed you so much that I actually stood and listened to him.
Next time I see you, you owe me 15 minutes of your life and $20.
Love,
Peter
* * *
Peter got very few chances to ever laugh at his brother. Being ten years older, far more respectable, and serious to a fault, Nathan tended not to do much that would actually seem funny to Peter. However, the way that Nathan thought that no one knew that he and Niki were sleeping together every chance they got was so comical that Peter frequently laughed out loud about it.
Niki Sanders had quickly become one of Peter’s favorite people. He had been warned of the danger she could present, both from Niki and Mohinder, but Peter had never seen any of that in her demeanor or her thoughts. Niki credited that to the integration of her personalities but she frequently told Peter not to trust her, to take her out if he had to. He had agreed, but he also knew that his brother would never forgive him for that.
Matt, who had known about the dalliance almost exactly as Peter did, had chuckled about what an odd couple they made, but it made perfect sense to Peter. Nathan had married Heidi because of pressure from their father and a desperate hope to please their mother; the love that had grown between them had died the day that Linderman’s men had run them off the road. But what Matt didn’t know is that his brother, though respectable and serious, had a serious addiction to blondes, particularly blondes that lacked the decorum and upbringing of the Upper East Side debutantes he was used to. Peter vaguely remembered a fight Nathan had with their parents when he was still in high school over one such girl, and he was sure that another had occurred when he had gotten Meredith pregnant with Claire.
Even Micah knew what was going on, though he pretended not to for the sake of his mother. For a politician and a skilled liar, Nathan had never been able to keep his “indiscretions” secret, something that still irked Angela or, as Molly had dubbed her, “attic lady.”
“What is he doing with that woman?” Angela quietly raged as Peter made a Saturday breakfast for everyone. Angela rarely made trips downstairs on the weekends because she would be forced to interact with the children, whom she disliked, Niki or Elle, whom she detested, or Adam, of whom she was terrified. Even Nathan wasn’t often gifted with her presence given his newfound connection to Niki, and that left Peter, once again, stuck with the responsibility of Angela wrangling.
“I’m sure they’re just friends, Mom,” he dutifully replied, flipping the pancakes.
“Yes, that’s what your father used to call his dalliances as well. Well, I hope this…friendship runs its course soon. If he’s ever going to get his career back on track, he can’t be dating an ex-stripper with an arrest record and an illegitimate son.”
“Wouldn’t they match since he has an illegitimate daughter?”
Angela’s jaw tightened to the point that Peter became worried for her teeth. “You know, dear, I wouldn’t be so cavalier about things. We still have a place in society; our good name is sometimes all we have to make it through. Your father and I did not work for forty years to build something to have it just slip away. Now, once this nonsense is cleared up, Nathan can resume control of the firm and you can…well, it’s not too late to become a doctor, dear.”
“I like being a nurse,” Peter gently reminded her. “And besides, it’s not like I do a lot of nursing now.”
“That’s because you insist on proving a point with all of this,” she dismissively said, waving her hand in that regal way that very few could pull off.
“We’re trying to-“
“Save the world,” Angela completed with a roll of her eyes. “I’ve heard the words before, sweetheart, and if you remember, it didn’t end fabulously well for any of us.”
“That might be because you set me up that time.”
Angela couldn’t help but be suspicious at the lack of anger in her son’s voice, but she dismissed it. Even after all of this, Peter was still the lesser threat amongst her sons. “I was attempting to make a better world for all of us. That was always the Company’s goal.”
“Genocide?”
“You still don’t see the larger picture of things, Peter. This world was created for people like us, people who can lead because they do extraordinary things. You weren’t going to die when the city went, and everyone you loved would have been far from it-“
“But I would’ve had to live with the knowledge that I killed everyone.”
“Every powerful man bears a burden.”
Shoving the pancakes onto a plate, he demanded, “How can you be so cold? How can you not care what that would’ve done to those innocent people?”
“I’m not cold; I’m realistic. You think that by assembling these people here that you’re going to stop Shanti, save the world and stop the Company? We have been in existence longer than any of you have been breathing.”
“I’d beg to differ with that,” Adam drawled as he entered the kitchen, popping one of the blueberries into his mouth. “I think I have quite a few years on you, Ang, darling.”
Angela stiffened, her jaw clenched. The fear was always palpable whenever Angela was in the room with Adam, and Peter wished that he could see in either of their minds and find out why that was.
“I’m going back to my room,” she murmured. “We’ll discuss this later.”
As she moved around the corner, Adam sighed, “I hope it was something I did.”
“You’re back early.”
Adam shrugged. “Plans changed. I think I’ve found someone new for us to use, someone…good for the cause.”
“How?”
“Can’t reveal my methods, can I? Anyway, I’m going to see if she wants to join the fight and all that. Thought I’d give you a heads up on it.”
“We don’t know her, don’t have room-“
“Peter, this is war. You can’t let little details like that stop you. Besides, that’s all depending on if she agrees. We need the bodies.”
“We need people who are competent and want to help. How do we know she won’t disappear all the time like you?”
“Because I am the only one like me,” he stated matter-of-factly. “You worry far too much. Is the Electric Company not giving you a good enough work out anymore?”
“Shut up.”
Adam smirked before sliding a CD case to him. Peter picked it up and studied it before asking, “What’s this?”
“Surveillance on Noah Bennet and the Haitian. There’s some mightily interesting information on there that your girl might not be sharing.”
“Such as?”
“Well, I never figured him for such a big art collector. Of course, I’m sure Mr. Mendez’s paintings go for far more nowadays.”
“Isaac’s paintings?”
“Your old pal has been collecting them left and right. Rumor has it that he shot a man in Ukraine for one. He’s a little ambiguous in the moral sector, I’d say. But then, aren’t we all?” Grabbing a handful of the berries, he added, “I’ll be gone a few days and then I’ll be here for awhile. Tell Suresh that if he wants to study my blood to be prepared then.”
“You’re going to volunteer? Why?”
“Because, my friend, things are about to get very interesting.”
* * *
Dear Claire,
When I was fifteen, I was painfully in love with Heidi, Nathan’s wife. I was such a dork then, could barely speak without stuttering, and I had two friends, neither of which was any more likely than I was to ever get to first base. Nathan brought Heidi home for Thanksgiving that year to drop the bomb on our parents that they were engaged. I had met Heidi before; she was teaching then at a private school that was around the corner from the private school that I went to, and sometimes I would walk over after class and we would talk. Nathan always sent the girlfriends to me for approval, and I loved Heidi.
I knew that Heidi wasn’t in love with me, but I was still pretty heartbroken when I found out that she was marrying Nathan. I had still kept that insane little dream in my head that she would leave him and run away with me; it was a dream that was better left dying and even now, Heidi and I still have a laugh about it.
You and I are never going to be able to laugh about this.
Peter
* * *
Claire’s Big Sister’s name was Jamie; she was twenty, just as blonde as Claire was, and spoke with a pronounced Texas twang that came from growing up in Houston. Of all of her sorority sisters, it was Jamie that made Claire feel the most at home, and it was why she always met her for lunch on Tuesdays after bio lab.
Despite the chilly November weather, Jamie had poured herself into a mini-skirt and tank top, her hair straightened and blown out to perfection, her makeup flawless. Claire, who had never considered herself to be unattractive, couldn’t help but feel that way in her worn jeans, shapeless sweater, and the functional bun that kept her hair out of her eyes while she was looking into the microscope.
Jamie was in the middle of confessing every sordid detail of her latest fling with one of the many frat boys that populated campus when Claire noticed the man staring at her. He was definitely not in her class, most likely a senior or a grad student, and his blonde hair was cut close to his head. His jacket was tailored for his body, and, when he noticed her returning his look, he smiled in a way that all but encouraged Claire to immediately take off her pants and find the first available flat surface.
Jamie, noticing her distraction, turned and saw what she was looking at. “Damn.”
“You know him?”
“No, but I definitely want to. Do you-“
“Never seen him before,” Claire cut in.
“Go talk to him.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I have a boyfriend, remember?”
Jamie rolled her eyes, making no secret of her feelings toward said boyfriend. “Yeah, I remember: tall, floppy hair, judgmental as fuck?”
“West is just-“
“Pulling you down! You need to let loose, experience life, experience hot, mysterious strangers who are looking at you like a starving man does at a buffet! Go talk to him!”
“I’m not talking to some strange guy! Besides, I look like shit.”
“No way! You totally have that whole ‘Natalie Portman smart girl’ thing going right now. C’mon, Claire! Be bold!”
Last time I was bold, I ended up giving my uncle a blow job. “Why don’t you be bold for me?”
A devilish look flashing in her eye, Jamie pronounced, “Done!”
Claire watched in horror as Jamie hurried across the caf to reach the man. As she began to talk, expressively moving her hands, Claire felt herself start to burn red in shame. She was in the middle of debating jumping out the window when the man slid into the chair left empty by Jamie, who was now watching with a grin from his previous spot.
“Hello, love.”
Of course he’d have to be British and all hot with the accent. “Um, hi.”
“I’m Adam Monroe.”
“Claire Butler.”
“Your friend said you wanted to talk to me.”
“Did she?”
“Well, actually, I’m too polite to say what she actually said you wanted to do to me, but talking will have to suffice for now, eh?”
With an embarrassed chuckle, she said, “Look, I don’t know what Jamie said, but I have a boyfriend, so…”
“So you are completely uninterested in any carefully crafted lines I have,” Adam completed. “I understand, though it is disappointing. I’ve heard a great deal about you. We have several mutual friends.”
“Like who?”
“Peter Petrelli.”
Claire froze, terror starting to bloom in her chest. Softly, deliberately, she informed him, “I’m not going to go willingly. If the Company thinks-“
“Oh, I’m not the Company. I’m working with Peter and Nathan and that snooty doctor friend of theirs on the virus. Peter didn’t tell you any of this?”
“Peter and I don’t talk.”
“Well, regardless, we could really use the help. I could use the help. I’m bloody exhausted doing all that I have to do, being so damn special and all.”
“I don’t…I don’t do that anymore. I’m done with the world saving, hero worship bullshit.”
“I don’t blame you. What kind of life is that? Last time you tried, that Sylar fellow tried to cut off your head. I imagine it left a rather bitter taste in your mouth.” Leaning forward, he lowered his voice, the seductive purr making Claire suppress a shudder. “But this isn’t like last time. This time, we’re in control. You and I hold all the cards, and you’d get a choice now, a real role.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re the only people in the world who can heal any injury that comes to us. We’re even more special than your friend Peter because we can heal this disease, do anything we wish. What chance would the Company have against a pair like us, indestructible and united? We’re going to war, Claire, and you and I could be its generals.”
“I just want to be left alone. I don’t want to be a general or save the world. Can’t you just leave me alone?”
Adam was quiet for a moment before querying, “Did Noah ever tell you the true consequences of your power?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did he explain to you that you can’t die?”
“I regenerate-“
“No, darling, I mean that you’ll never die. The moment your body hits its peak, you’ll stay that way forever because your body won’t degenerate. Your heart will always beat, your lungs will always breathe, and you will never be any older than you are at that moment.”
“You’re lying,” she whispered, the horror of that knowledge sliding into her heart.
“I’m 400 years old, love. Why would I lie?” Sensing her despair, he said, “But, you see, there’s two of us now. We never need to be alone again, and be honest, Claire: aren’t you lonely here pretending that you’re normal when you know that you’re so much more?”
Claire turned away, wishing that he wasn’t telling the truth, wishing that she didn’t want to be given a reason to leave.
“You don’t belong here, Claire. You belong in New York with me and everyone like us doing what we can to save the world. Now…are you in or are you out?”
Claire sat there in that painfully loud cafeteria as her life began to implode again, as Claire Butler’s normal existence began to fade away, and she remembered how she had been before, remembered Claire Bennet. Claire Bennet would never have dated West or settled for being insignificant; she wouldn’t have turned her back on her duty or pretended that she wasn’t bothered by the pain Peter had caused her.
In her desperation to keep herself safe, she had forgotten how to be Claire Bennet and it was damn sure time to remember.
“I’m in.”
PART THREE
Author: lit_chick08
Rating: NC-17 overall
Pairing: Paire, Claire/West, Peter/Elle, Claire/Adam Monroe
Word Count: 6492
Spoilers: Everything shown thus far, including Season 2. I’m picking and choosing what I like, so you could be potentially spoiled if you haven’t seen the latest episodes
Summary: When everything starts to spiral out of control, Peter realizes that he needs Claire to give up the normal life he forced on her to help save the world once again. The only problem? She isn’t sure she wants to anymore
A/N: This is a sequel to “Letters to My Uncle,” which can be found HERE. You might be confused if you try to read this one without reading the first one.
Part One
Dear Claire,
Our project hasn’t been going well lately. I don’t know why, but I figured that things would move relatively quickly like they did with Sylar. We were able to save the world against him in two months; we’ve now been at this for a year and a half and sometimes I think that it’s a losing battle.
Mohinder is still working for the company, trying to come to any new conclusions about Shanti, but the virus keeps…evolving, I guess. I have no idea how he does it, but his blood contains the antibodies to cure it; however, if this thing starts to spread, we’d have no way to contain it. He’s been trying to synthesize a cure, but nothing’s worked so far.
The murder of Kaito Nakamura has officially become a cold case; Matt broke the news to us today. It was transferred out of homicide, which means that Matt doesn’t have access to it anymore. There have been more murders too; Nathan says that they were people that were friends with my parents. The latest were the Pratts. Mom isn’t taking it well; she’s become so paranoid that Nathan actually moved her into his brownstone, which is what we’ve been using for headquarters. She haunts the place, barely coming downstairs, and she still refuses to tell us what she does, what our father could do. Matt’s tried to read her mind, but she blocks her thoughts from both of us.
Nathan…I barely recognize him anymore, Claire; he’s a different man. He’s compassionate and tries to help everyone; Molly adores him and he’s so patient with her. I think he’s trying to compensate for being away from Simon and Monty, but it’s just incredible. You’d be proud of him, at how he’s changed.
Hiro Nakamura still hasn’t shown up. A friend of his, Ando, spoke to Matt about Kaito’s murder, and he told us that no one has heard from Hiro since that day in Kirby Plaza. Everyone thinks he’s dead; Molly can’t find him. It’s upsetting to think that he didn’t survive the fight; he was the only reason that I was in it and now he’s gone.
We’ve lost so many people in this: Ted, Isaac, Simone, Hiro, DL, almost the entire board of the Company, and what good have we accomplished? Sylar is still somewhere out there, and murders matching his old MO are cropping up all over the country as well as people killed by some sort of…black ooze, and we don’t have the resources to fight it all. The closest thing we even have as a weapon is Niki.
Do you remember Niki? She’s Micah’s mother, and she has two personalities that Bob somehow managed to combine into one. While that power isn’t impressive, she has this super strength that’s incredible; I’ve seen her pull a lamppost out of the ground. The only problem is that I’ve absorbed the strength and I forget myself sometimes; I’ve torn doors off their hinges more than once.
She and Micah moved in about a month ago with Micah’s cousin Monica. I like Monica and I think you would too. She’s smart and sweet; her power is that she can imitate anything she sees on TV/movie/youtube. The first night she was here Matt and Mohinder were having a great time testing it out. Thanks to her power, I can now needlepoint my own pillowcases, which I’m sure will come in handy.
Adam’s disappeared again. I know that Elle thinks he’s a valuable resource to us, but I want to kill him a lot of the time, which is pointless because he’s like us and can’t die. I understand that he’s 400 years old and that he started the Company; I understand that he wants to bring the Company down more than anybody for keeping him locked up for the past twenty-five years. But he’s arrogant and impulsive and constantly endangering us all. Sometimes he’s such a complete bastard and other times he’s normal. Elle says we can trust him, that he wants what we want, but I don’t entirely trust Elle either.
Elle…is Elle. I know what she is and how she is; I know that she tortured me in Los Angeles and that she’d kill everyone in this house if it saved her own ass should the Company find out what we’re doing. But at the same time, I have faith that she’s a decent person underneath it all. Nathan thinks that’s how I excuse sleeping with her; I think he shouldn’t cast stones.
I’m sorry that I’m with her. I know that you’ll never read this, but I feel guilty when I’m with her, like I’m cheating on you. I haven’t heard your voice in so long and I’m sure that you hate me after how cruel I was to you, but I miss you and I wonder every day what would’ve happened if you had come here like you wanted.
Mohinder thinks that your and Adam’s blood is key to the cure, but Adam won’t stay still long enough to test the theory; Mohinder wanted you to come here, but I said no. Elle said that you’re at college now in Kentucky, that you’re a cheerleader and a sorority sister, that West went with you and that you’re still dating. I’m glad that you’re happy, that you’re normal.
I wish…
I just wish.
Peter
* * *
Peter had never truly appreciated silence until he had moved into Nathan’s oversized brownstone which was never quiet. During the day was the best time to sit and bask in the complete lack of noise: Mohinder and Niki were at his lab, Matt was at work, Micah and Molly were at school, and Monica tended to sleep late, enjoying the first down time she had had since the hurricane. Nathan usually tended to business for their mother then, who wouldn’t bother Peter, and he was able to sit and relax as much as he was ever able to do.
Elle was in California this week on Company orders to observe Bennet and the Haitian to see what they were planning. Noah had refused to speak to Mohinder any longer after they had made the alliance with Elle and Adam, and Peter needed to know what they were doing in order to plan their next moves. Usually, when Elle was in town, the mornings could be spent in far more physically exerting ways, and Peter would be able to start to process his guilt before everyone descended upon the house once again.
No one knew where Adam was, which was exactly how he liked it. Peter was never quite sure what to make of the immortal Englishman, but he knew that absolute trust was not something he would ever be given. Adam had never been incorrect in the information he had given them, which had resulted in them knowing more about the inner-workings of the Company than they had ever had. Unfortunately, the moment that Angela Petrelli had seen him, she had screamed and refused to leave her room whenever he was around. That seemed to suit Adam just fine, given that he referred to her as “your bitch of a mother,” a comment that had gotten him punched the first time he had said it.
As Peter sat in the living room, he couldn’t help but stare at the “big board,” as Molly had christened it. The big board had been one of Micah’s ideas, a way to keep track of what they knew on each front. Thanks to Adam’s information, Micah had been able to gain access to certain files on the Company’s databases, specifically those relating to the Sylar attacks. Thanks to that file, the board now featured photographs and descriptions of all of the powers that Sylar had taken and who he had taken them from. Nathan had thought it was silly to put the pictures up, but Peter had insisted upon it; no one deserved to be forgotten, to be relegated to nothing more than a power and not a person.
Another section of the big board was devoted to those like them that they knew of and what their powers were. Adam was adamant that, should a war need to be fought between the Company and those that they hunted, they needed as many soldiers as possible. Peter and he had fought that this wasn’t war, that people were not expendable to the cause they did not sign up for; Adam had insisted that, if you had a power, it was your cause. Peter had been overruled on that front when it was put to a vote, and that section was established.
It wasn’t until they put the pictures and information up that Peter realized how painfully outnumbered they were. Peter stared at the picture of himself, of Nathan and Matt, Niki and Micah, Monica and Molly, and knew that they were really the only help they had. After all, Hiro Nakamura was likely dead, Claude had quite literally disappeared for parts unknown, the Haitian’s loyalties lied with Bennet, Elle’s loyalties when they chips went down were anyone’s guess, and Adam’s loyalty was…well, Adam seemed to thrive in a shade of gray so dark that even an empath couldn’t tell what was going on.
It was on Nathan’s insistence that Meredith Gordon, Claire, and Sylar were added to the list of possible allies. While Peter doubted that Meredith Gordon was ever going to turn up, he knew that none of them would ever agree to work with Sylar no matter how desperate the situation became. When Nathan had suggested it, Molly, who had been in the room at the time, had screamed and torn up the stairs like the devil itself was after her. It had taken Matt, Mohinder, and Micah over three hours to talk her out of the bathroom, but Adam had agreed with Nathan: if the chips were down, Sylar had more ammo to fight than any of them.
It was Claire’s presence on the board that bothered him the most. The photo that was tacked up was one that Elle had taken for the Company as part of its “observation” of her. It had been taken on the University of Kentucky’s campus and Claire was wearing a pair of jeans and a pink t-shirt with black Greek letters across it, her hair blowing in the breeze, a brilliant smile on her face. She had turned eighteen in August, the same month that Noah had moved her into her dorm in Lexington; Peter knew that she was a biology major with a minor in genetics, that she was a recently inducted sister of Kappa Alpha Theta and a member of the cheerleading squad, and that she and West had celebrated their one-year anniversary last week. Claire Butler was, as Elle had so condescendingly stated, perfectly normal, unbelievably popular, and absolutely disgusting in her blandness.
To someone like Elle, that evaluation made sense. But to Peter, who had seen Claire Bennet covered in blood, tear soaked, and broken, she was the embodiment of a salvaged life, a life that she never would’ve been able to have if he had remained in the picture. It tore him apart every day to not have her in his life, but if this was the trade-off for his pain, he could cope.
* * *
Claire’s roommate’s name was Elizabeth, but she had quickly explained to Claire on the first day that she could just call her Bets. Bets was from a tiny town in Mississippi, read her Bible every night before bed, and had a long list of things she did not approve of, including but not limited to: cheerleading, sororities, underage drinking, premarital sex, talking on your cell phone after 10 o’clock, any episodes of Nip/Tuck, Democratic politics, eyeliner, tube tops, sleeping past 9 AM, and parties. In short, Bets hated everything that Claire was, enjoyed, supported, or participated in, thus making Bets a favorite of Noah Bennet.
Her father had hated the idea of her in Kentucky, far, far away from Costa Verde and out from under his watchful eye; the only thing that he had hated more than that was the fact that West had also decided to go to UK. It had taken Claire and Sandra working on him every day for almost three months to convince him to cave and let her go, and even then he insisted upon her checking in daily. When he had met Bets, he had thought that any typical college behavior would be controlled by her ultra-conservative roommate, and Claire had agreed to behave herself. Of course, definitions of proper behavior varied greatly.
It was two days in the semester when Claire had stopped sleeping in her room entirely. West, who had managed to pull the genuinely crazy roommate who had dropped out before orientation was even over, basically had a whole room to himself and Claire moved in. He had been thrilled about the whole arrangement, gushing about how it was like they had their own place and were “real adults”; Claire had considered it a temporary solution to her rooming dilemma. After all, fending off West’s amorous advances every night was less strenuous than the exorcism that Claire was convinced Bets was going to attempt when she had seen Claire hanging out with some of the KAT girls.
Claire still wasn’t sure how she had ended up with West. Well, that was a lie; she knew exactly how she had ended up with West. It had started with he-who-would-not-be-named breaking her heart; in her heartbreak and sadness, she had turned to good, ole, dependable West, who had been waiting for her to say yes to him. When she had confessed his power, that he could fly, Claire had thought that maybe - just maybe - he was the right person for her after all. Instead, Claire spent most of their relationship grinning and bearing it, putting up with his sarcastic comments about the sorority and cheerleading, laughing at her career goal of being a geneticist to figure out what made them the way they were, and generally acting like every other 18-year-old she knew. West had no concept of responsibility when it came to his power; he acted as if he could do whatever he wanted with it and there would never be any consequences. Whenever she had lectured him on it, he had always laughed, “Who could stop me?” and told her not to worry. She had tried to explain the dangers that were there, but he had placed a finger over her lips and told her she worried too much.
To West, things like the Company or Sylar were fairy tales, the vague whisperings of a girlfriend who had been lead to paranoia by her too-intense father. To Claire, they were the monsters under the bed, the nightmares that plagued her no matter where she went.
Claire had been working hard since the night she had gotten the phone call that had shattered her to forget her past. She had spent the rest of high school obliterating Claire Bennet; she had assumed the role of Claire Butler with vigor, and Noah couldn’t have been more thrilled about it. By the time she had arrived at UK, she was almost convinced of the lie herself. It was only when she really studied herself that the cracks began to show, the details that no one had noticed thus far but were likely to notice eventually: the amount of alcohol she drank without ever getting drunk, the heightened startle response whenever she was walking somewhere after dark, the Texas twang that still clung to syllables in certain words that belied her California “roots”, the way she never had a single bruise on her body even after another cheerleader had kicked her in the face during a stunt.
She had needed to insulate herself into UK society, make herself one of the people no one would call out in order to protect herself. West had called her a poseur, no better than Casey or Debbie, but Claire had needed the heightened normalcy to make sure that, if anyone from the Company came for her, there would be people who wouldn’t just let her disappear. It was why she had rushed and became the unofficial leader of her pledge class; it was why she had tried out for cheerleading and proudly wore her UK jersey on game days; it was why she tutored the starting center of the basketball team in bio and played sober sister for KAT’s favorite fraternity. Did she always like late-night practices or parties where mandatory attendance was required and she had to dress like Prostitute Barbie? Of course not but what other way was she going to insure that she would be missed?
Today was one of the unfortunate days where she couldn’t hide from Bets. As her roommate ironed her clothes to an insane perfection, Claire was checking her email to see what time she was supposed to tutor. She was deleting her junk, rolling her eyes at the porn advertisements, when she noticed the email address on one: n_petrelli@gmail.com
Claire hadn’t seen Nathan since that day in the airport; the closest they had gotten to actual contact was on her graduation day when he had sent her a card with a check for $1,000 inside as well as a platinum credit card in her name and a picture of two little boys that Claire knew were the brothers she had never met. Sandra had almost had a heart attack at the amount of money in the card, and she had almost had a stroke when the credit card company told her that Claire’s card had a limit of $20, 000, more than any of the Butler family cards. Noah had become enraged, swearing at Nathan and his throwing money around, but when all was said and done, she had been allowed to keep them.
She had called Nathan to thank him for the gift, and the conversation, short as they ever were, had stuck in Claire’s mind.
”Thank you for…well, for everything.”
“It was the least that I could do. College is expensive nowadays and it’s not like I don’t have the money.”
“Well, yeah, but you didn’t have to do it. I took out loans and everything-“
“Which I can pay too,” he cut in firmly, sounding so different from the drunken man that Claire had last spoken to. “You shouldn’t have to struggle to put yourself through school; you’ve earned this and I can give it to you. And don’t think that the card’s for emergencies or anything. You should have spending money.”
“I don’t think I’m ever going to need twenty grand in spending money.”
“Well, just in case.”
There had been a long pause and Claire was about to say goodbye when Nathan had surprised her by stating, “I’m proud of you, Claire.”
She felt the tears spring up so suddenly that they shocked her. “Thank you.”
“Maybe…maybe if I’m ever in the area, we could have lunch.”
Even though she knew that there would never be a reason for Nathan to be in Lexington, Kentucky, she had replied, “I’d like that.”
But that had been in May and it was November now with no contact whatsoever. The only reason that Claire even knew he was alive was the fact that her credit card bill was paid every month. Other than that, the only tie she had to Nathan was the photo of her half-brothers that was on the cork board above her bed with the pictures of the other important people in her life: her parents, Lyle, West, Zach, her pledge class, the cheerleaders, the few friends she had made at Costa Verde.
Holding her breath, Claire double-clicked and the letter popped up.
Claire,
I am sorry that I haven’t kept in contact. As I’m sure Noah has informed you, we’ve been trying to accomplish a great many things here and it’s been slow moving. I hope that you are well and that classes are good. What are you majoring in?
I’m sorry to be abrupt but I need to ask a favor of you. There is a disease that’s been affecting people like us; Dr. Suresh calls it the Shanti virus and it’s spreading. Thus far, it’s been confined to people with abilities, but there’s the chance that it could cross over and become a serious threat, as serious as AIDS. Dr. Suresh believes that if we had a sample of your blood, we could find the cure; he says that the regenerative properties could unlock everything. I hate to ask this of you, but if Dr. Suresh came to campus, would you allow us to have a sample of your blood? It’s an experiment that needs done, Claire, and I wouldn’t ask if we had other options.
Please reply as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Nathan
Claire stared at the screen, a strange anger bubbling up inside of her. An experiment… If she had wanted to be experimented on like an animal, she wouldn’t be working so hard to stay away from the Company.
With a curse, she deleted the letter, slamming the laptop that his check had paid for shut, and flinging herself across her bed. She buried her face in her pillow, tears of rage streaking her cheeks, hating the excitement she had felt thinking that maybe he had actually wanted to see her, hating that she had let herself think he was that kind of man.
“Was that really necessary?” Bets queried from her place on the floor, never ceasing the movement of her hand.
Claire wished that she had the power of invisibility in that moment more than she ever had before.
* * *
Dear Claire,
Do you remember the day that you, Ted, and I were trying to get out of New York and we saw that street performer outside the subway? You know, the one with the guitar who was badly butchering Oasis songs and making me resent the fact that I’m not deaf? I actually saw him today. I was getting off the subway near NYU and hear someone screeching “Wonderwall” and there he was, complete with that ugly bowler hat that he wears.
When we saw him the first time, I heard your thoughts about how sad it was to be trying your hardest and still not making any money, so I put a dollar in that jar of his. Today when I saw him, I thought of you and your beautiful face, and I missed you so much that I actually stood and listened to him.
Next time I see you, you owe me 15 minutes of your life and $20.
Love,
Peter
* * *
Peter got very few chances to ever laugh at his brother. Being ten years older, far more respectable, and serious to a fault, Nathan tended not to do much that would actually seem funny to Peter. However, the way that Nathan thought that no one knew that he and Niki were sleeping together every chance they got was so comical that Peter frequently laughed out loud about it.
Niki Sanders had quickly become one of Peter’s favorite people. He had been warned of the danger she could present, both from Niki and Mohinder, but Peter had never seen any of that in her demeanor or her thoughts. Niki credited that to the integration of her personalities but she frequently told Peter not to trust her, to take her out if he had to. He had agreed, but he also knew that his brother would never forgive him for that.
Matt, who had known about the dalliance almost exactly as Peter did, had chuckled about what an odd couple they made, but it made perfect sense to Peter. Nathan had married Heidi because of pressure from their father and a desperate hope to please their mother; the love that had grown between them had died the day that Linderman’s men had run them off the road. But what Matt didn’t know is that his brother, though respectable and serious, had a serious addiction to blondes, particularly blondes that lacked the decorum and upbringing of the Upper East Side debutantes he was used to. Peter vaguely remembered a fight Nathan had with their parents when he was still in high school over one such girl, and he was sure that another had occurred when he had gotten Meredith pregnant with Claire.
Even Micah knew what was going on, though he pretended not to for the sake of his mother. For a politician and a skilled liar, Nathan had never been able to keep his “indiscretions” secret, something that still irked Angela or, as Molly had dubbed her, “attic lady.”
“What is he doing with that woman?” Angela quietly raged as Peter made a Saturday breakfast for everyone. Angela rarely made trips downstairs on the weekends because she would be forced to interact with the children, whom she disliked, Niki or Elle, whom she detested, or Adam, of whom she was terrified. Even Nathan wasn’t often gifted with her presence given his newfound connection to Niki, and that left Peter, once again, stuck with the responsibility of Angela wrangling.
“I’m sure they’re just friends, Mom,” he dutifully replied, flipping the pancakes.
“Yes, that’s what your father used to call his dalliances as well. Well, I hope this…friendship runs its course soon. If he’s ever going to get his career back on track, he can’t be dating an ex-stripper with an arrest record and an illegitimate son.”
“Wouldn’t they match since he has an illegitimate daughter?”
Angela’s jaw tightened to the point that Peter became worried for her teeth. “You know, dear, I wouldn’t be so cavalier about things. We still have a place in society; our good name is sometimes all we have to make it through. Your father and I did not work for forty years to build something to have it just slip away. Now, once this nonsense is cleared up, Nathan can resume control of the firm and you can…well, it’s not too late to become a doctor, dear.”
“I like being a nurse,” Peter gently reminded her. “And besides, it’s not like I do a lot of nursing now.”
“That’s because you insist on proving a point with all of this,” she dismissively said, waving her hand in that regal way that very few could pull off.
“We’re trying to-“
“Save the world,” Angela completed with a roll of her eyes. “I’ve heard the words before, sweetheart, and if you remember, it didn’t end fabulously well for any of us.”
“That might be because you set me up that time.”
Angela couldn’t help but be suspicious at the lack of anger in her son’s voice, but she dismissed it. Even after all of this, Peter was still the lesser threat amongst her sons. “I was attempting to make a better world for all of us. That was always the Company’s goal.”
“Genocide?”
“You still don’t see the larger picture of things, Peter. This world was created for people like us, people who can lead because they do extraordinary things. You weren’t going to die when the city went, and everyone you loved would have been far from it-“
“But I would’ve had to live with the knowledge that I killed everyone.”
“Every powerful man bears a burden.”
Shoving the pancakes onto a plate, he demanded, “How can you be so cold? How can you not care what that would’ve done to those innocent people?”
“I’m not cold; I’m realistic. You think that by assembling these people here that you’re going to stop Shanti, save the world and stop the Company? We have been in existence longer than any of you have been breathing.”
“I’d beg to differ with that,” Adam drawled as he entered the kitchen, popping one of the blueberries into his mouth. “I think I have quite a few years on you, Ang, darling.”
Angela stiffened, her jaw clenched. The fear was always palpable whenever Angela was in the room with Adam, and Peter wished that he could see in either of their minds and find out why that was.
“I’m going back to my room,” she murmured. “We’ll discuss this later.”
As she moved around the corner, Adam sighed, “I hope it was something I did.”
“You’re back early.”
Adam shrugged. “Plans changed. I think I’ve found someone new for us to use, someone…good for the cause.”
“How?”
“Can’t reveal my methods, can I? Anyway, I’m going to see if she wants to join the fight and all that. Thought I’d give you a heads up on it.”
“We don’t know her, don’t have room-“
“Peter, this is war. You can’t let little details like that stop you. Besides, that’s all depending on if she agrees. We need the bodies.”
“We need people who are competent and want to help. How do we know she won’t disappear all the time like you?”
“Because I am the only one like me,” he stated matter-of-factly. “You worry far too much. Is the Electric Company not giving you a good enough work out anymore?”
“Shut up.”
Adam smirked before sliding a CD case to him. Peter picked it up and studied it before asking, “What’s this?”
“Surveillance on Noah Bennet and the Haitian. There’s some mightily interesting information on there that your girl might not be sharing.”
“Such as?”
“Well, I never figured him for such a big art collector. Of course, I’m sure Mr. Mendez’s paintings go for far more nowadays.”
“Isaac’s paintings?”
“Your old pal has been collecting them left and right. Rumor has it that he shot a man in Ukraine for one. He’s a little ambiguous in the moral sector, I’d say. But then, aren’t we all?” Grabbing a handful of the berries, he added, “I’ll be gone a few days and then I’ll be here for awhile. Tell Suresh that if he wants to study my blood to be prepared then.”
“You’re going to volunteer? Why?”
“Because, my friend, things are about to get very interesting.”
* * *
Dear Claire,
When I was fifteen, I was painfully in love with Heidi, Nathan’s wife. I was such a dork then, could barely speak without stuttering, and I had two friends, neither of which was any more likely than I was to ever get to first base. Nathan brought Heidi home for Thanksgiving that year to drop the bomb on our parents that they were engaged. I had met Heidi before; she was teaching then at a private school that was around the corner from the private school that I went to, and sometimes I would walk over after class and we would talk. Nathan always sent the girlfriends to me for approval, and I loved Heidi.
I knew that Heidi wasn’t in love with me, but I was still pretty heartbroken when I found out that she was marrying Nathan. I had still kept that insane little dream in my head that she would leave him and run away with me; it was a dream that was better left dying and even now, Heidi and I still have a laugh about it.
You and I are never going to be able to laugh about this.
Peter
* * *
Claire’s Big Sister’s name was Jamie; she was twenty, just as blonde as Claire was, and spoke with a pronounced Texas twang that came from growing up in Houston. Of all of her sorority sisters, it was Jamie that made Claire feel the most at home, and it was why she always met her for lunch on Tuesdays after bio lab.
Despite the chilly November weather, Jamie had poured herself into a mini-skirt and tank top, her hair straightened and blown out to perfection, her makeup flawless. Claire, who had never considered herself to be unattractive, couldn’t help but feel that way in her worn jeans, shapeless sweater, and the functional bun that kept her hair out of her eyes while she was looking into the microscope.
Jamie was in the middle of confessing every sordid detail of her latest fling with one of the many frat boys that populated campus when Claire noticed the man staring at her. He was definitely not in her class, most likely a senior or a grad student, and his blonde hair was cut close to his head. His jacket was tailored for his body, and, when he noticed her returning his look, he smiled in a way that all but encouraged Claire to immediately take off her pants and find the first available flat surface.
Jamie, noticing her distraction, turned and saw what she was looking at. “Damn.”
“You know him?”
“No, but I definitely want to. Do you-“
“Never seen him before,” Claire cut in.
“Go talk to him.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I have a boyfriend, remember?”
Jamie rolled her eyes, making no secret of her feelings toward said boyfriend. “Yeah, I remember: tall, floppy hair, judgmental as fuck?”
“West is just-“
“Pulling you down! You need to let loose, experience life, experience hot, mysterious strangers who are looking at you like a starving man does at a buffet! Go talk to him!”
“I’m not talking to some strange guy! Besides, I look like shit.”
“No way! You totally have that whole ‘Natalie Portman smart girl’ thing going right now. C’mon, Claire! Be bold!”
Last time I was bold, I ended up giving my uncle a blow job. “Why don’t you be bold for me?”
A devilish look flashing in her eye, Jamie pronounced, “Done!”
Claire watched in horror as Jamie hurried across the caf to reach the man. As she began to talk, expressively moving her hands, Claire felt herself start to burn red in shame. She was in the middle of debating jumping out the window when the man slid into the chair left empty by Jamie, who was now watching with a grin from his previous spot.
“Hello, love.”
Of course he’d have to be British and all hot with the accent. “Um, hi.”
“I’m Adam Monroe.”
“Claire Butler.”
“Your friend said you wanted to talk to me.”
“Did she?”
“Well, actually, I’m too polite to say what she actually said you wanted to do to me, but talking will have to suffice for now, eh?”
With an embarrassed chuckle, she said, “Look, I don’t know what Jamie said, but I have a boyfriend, so…”
“So you are completely uninterested in any carefully crafted lines I have,” Adam completed. “I understand, though it is disappointing. I’ve heard a great deal about you. We have several mutual friends.”
“Like who?”
“Peter Petrelli.”
Claire froze, terror starting to bloom in her chest. Softly, deliberately, she informed him, “I’m not going to go willingly. If the Company thinks-“
“Oh, I’m not the Company. I’m working with Peter and Nathan and that snooty doctor friend of theirs on the virus. Peter didn’t tell you any of this?”
“Peter and I don’t talk.”
“Well, regardless, we could really use the help. I could use the help. I’m bloody exhausted doing all that I have to do, being so damn special and all.”
“I don’t…I don’t do that anymore. I’m done with the world saving, hero worship bullshit.”
“I don’t blame you. What kind of life is that? Last time you tried, that Sylar fellow tried to cut off your head. I imagine it left a rather bitter taste in your mouth.” Leaning forward, he lowered his voice, the seductive purr making Claire suppress a shudder. “But this isn’t like last time. This time, we’re in control. You and I hold all the cards, and you’d get a choice now, a real role.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re the only people in the world who can heal any injury that comes to us. We’re even more special than your friend Peter because we can heal this disease, do anything we wish. What chance would the Company have against a pair like us, indestructible and united? We’re going to war, Claire, and you and I could be its generals.”
“I just want to be left alone. I don’t want to be a general or save the world. Can’t you just leave me alone?”
Adam was quiet for a moment before querying, “Did Noah ever tell you the true consequences of your power?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did he explain to you that you can’t die?”
“I regenerate-“
“No, darling, I mean that you’ll never die. The moment your body hits its peak, you’ll stay that way forever because your body won’t degenerate. Your heart will always beat, your lungs will always breathe, and you will never be any older than you are at that moment.”
“You’re lying,” she whispered, the horror of that knowledge sliding into her heart.
“I’m 400 years old, love. Why would I lie?” Sensing her despair, he said, “But, you see, there’s two of us now. We never need to be alone again, and be honest, Claire: aren’t you lonely here pretending that you’re normal when you know that you’re so much more?”
Claire turned away, wishing that he wasn’t telling the truth, wishing that she didn’t want to be given a reason to leave.
“You don’t belong here, Claire. You belong in New York with me and everyone like us doing what we can to save the world. Now…are you in or are you out?”
Claire sat there in that painfully loud cafeteria as her life began to implode again, as Claire Butler’s normal existence began to fade away, and she remembered how she had been before, remembered Claire Bennet. Claire Bennet would never have dated West or settled for being insignificant; she wouldn’t have turned her back on her duty or pretended that she wasn’t bothered by the pain Peter had caused her.
In her desperation to keep herself safe, she had forgotten how to be Claire Bennet and it was damn sure time to remember.
“I’m in.”
PART THREE