(no subject)
Title: Define Dangerous
Characters: Sylar, Claire.
Spoilers: Up to Season 2.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2029
Chapter: 26/?
Previously: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24 , Chapter 25
Summary: While escaping the Company, Sylar meets up with someone from his past. Together, they must piece together some semblance of normality after years of captivity. Future AU.
Once they were out in the hallway, the overhead lights started flickering and the sirens only got louder. Sylar figured it was only a reaction to the company's prisoner escaping, until the lights went out completely and loud explosions were heard far in the other section of the building. Whatever Peter and Elle were doing down there, it was surely making a lot of noise.
Seeing in the dark proved to be an impossible task. Sylar felt along the side of the wall, straining to see while making sure not to fall and trip on his face. At the same time, he kept one hand on Claire's shoulder, making sure she didn't get lost behind him. They needed to stay together if they were going to get out of there alive.
At first, Claire bristled against his touched and started to move away but when another explosion was sounded, she clutched at his arm tightly. He could hear her fear, rapidly beating in her heart and wanted nothing more than to keep her safe. He didn't know what to say, not after their argument but couldn't resist trying to reassure her. “No one is going to hurt you, Claire. Not anymore.”
“How can you be so sure?” She held no hope for him anymore; there was no sign that she ever saw him as a hero. In a matter of hours, the company had destroyed everything that once filled their relationship, all the laughter and her smiles and her hope. And he was left cleaning up the debris.
He was about to say something, tell her she didn't have to worry as long as he was with her but a small light glimmering in the distance caught both their attentions. Sylar squinted, finally able to make out a dark shape coming closer. It blended in with the shadows, except for the flickering energy in its hand.
Sylar prayed it might be Peter, there to show them the way out and not someone that wished him and Claire harm. This woman that carried the flame was much taller than Elle though, with hair of red that shone in the bright fire that danced on her palm.
Before the woman could attack, Sylar pushed Claire behind him and readied his cryokinetic aim. That was the best way to attack a firestarter. They hated the cold. “You really don't want to play with me, Sparky.”
The woman neared anyway, giving off her first warning shot before saying a word. A ball of fire came hurtling down the hallway at their heads. It lit up the hallway, showing the fear etched on Claire's face as she screamed. He didn't notice she was screaming his name until the flame ball zoomed past his head, only inches away from toasting him to a crisp.
Sylar jumped out of the way, pulling Claire to the wall with him. She slammed into the wall as he covered her and protected her with his body. “Are you okay?”
“I was.. actually more worried about-” Claire bit her lip in embarrassment, then met his eyes. The fireball narrowly continued traveling down the hallway, getting lost in the dimness of the long pathway and the light was gone again. “Nothing. Forget it. I'm still angry, you know.”
“Of course you are.” Sylar only wished Claire could see how he was rolling his eyes. Let her be angry, he'd tried to do everything for her this week. He wouldn't be in this predicament almost getting his ass torched if it wasn't for her neediness. He pushed himself away from the wall with a grunt. “Why shouldn't you be angry, right? I mean.. it's not like I got you out of the company's hell hole twice.”
Sylar dodged another attack. The woman was getting angrier, all her best moves were being evaded.
“Not like I did everything in my power to keep you safe this week.” He continued with the edge of sarcasm and froze the wall behind the woman in a defensive maneuver. She rounded back, her advances more aggressive and frantic now. Sylar pulled Claire down the hall with him, getting out of range of the company's pet evolved human. “It's not like I would do anything for you.. even walk back into the company willingly just to keep you from being hurt. No. I'm still the same old Sylar, so bring on the blame game, Claire. I've heard it all before anyway.”
They ducked down a turn in the hallway and Claire shot back. “Don't you dare get angry with me. This isn't my fault. I'm not the one who killed all those people, Sylar.”
“Yeah. Well, neither am I.. not really. I'm not that person anymore.” Sylar pounded his foot against the floor. “This is very hard to explain to someone so goddamn pure and innocent, you know. God, I just wish I could make you understand but you never will Claire.”
“Why are you yelling at me?”
“Because I lov-” Sylar stopped himself, finally looking to see where they were standing. They'd entered a section of the dizzying map of hallways blocked by a dozen guards with guns and tasers. “Er.. crap, hold that thought.”
The woman with the flaming red hair came back up behind them, closing off their exit. They were trapped. He didn't mind. It only made the game more interesting.
Sylar twirled a finger and the firestarter fell to the ground, the flame she was making disintegrating into nothingness. The woman only grinned, a twisted smile that was illuminated by another fireball as energy gathered in her hand again. The woman rose back to her feet, aiming at his head. He heard some of the men behind them cocking their weapons.
“Prescott said you can kill the both of them if you can't capture them alive.” The leader of the squadron spoke to his subordinates. “Try not to fill them with too many bullets though; the company still wants their bodies for dissection purposes.”
Claire backed herself against the wall in fear, edging herself a little ways out of the combat zone. He looked over to her and she nodded. She would be okay. That was all Sylar was waiting for and a second later he attacked. The game was on.
He froze the fire from the woman's hands first, watching as it turned to ice and shattered to the ground. A hail of bullets started next but he dodged well enough until a stray one hit the firestarter and all light in the hallway was extinguished for good.
Sylar froze anything that moved next, searching the hallway with his sensitive ears while trying to ignore the pain the loud gunfire caused. He paused a moment to listen for the sound of Claire's heartbeat. She was still there. He sighed in relief.
Satisfaction crossed his face as he heard people running and yelling in pain, until there was no more screaming and only silence filled the halls. They were alone and for all they knew, they were the only living beings in the world at the moment. Sylar waited until he felt Claire by his side, standing there in the darkness with him.
“What happened?” Claire asked as she placed a hand on his forearm.
Sylar wasn't sure. They'd won obviously.. but whether his enemies turned tail and ran away or were dead at their feet he couldn't be positive. He was hoping for both at the same time. He would have loved to have massacred them all but didn't want Claire to witness any more murders he'd committed.
One lone guard a few feet away flicked on a flashlight. He stood trembling amongst the frozen bodies of his friends, all of them dead by Sylar's own hands. That solved that question. The guard roared in anguish and then fired his gun off so quickly Sylar didn't see him do so until the bullet shot out of his company-issued gun.
“Sylar!” Claire screamed and pushed Sylar out of the way, putting her body between him and the bullet. She acted as a human shield, taking a direct hit to her chest and fell to the floor in pain. Her head hit the hard floor and she clutched at the wound as new blood poured out of it.
It didn't matter if she could heal from it, there was so much blood.. it was all Sylar could see and all logical thought flew out of his mind. She was in pain and it was all the fault of that other man. He hurt her and he needed to pay with his life. He turned, narrowed his eyes and made the man shoot out his own brains in punishment. It was over quick.
The man's flashlight bounced to the floor, giving off very little light through the hallway. It was just enough for Sylar to kneel down beside Claire and watch as her body pushed out the bullet. It was amazing, an act of evolutionary wonderment.
He continued watching as the metal shell resurfaced and popped out the hole. Her power was strong, something he once wished to have. It was good where it was though, it was saving her life.
Sylar stayed by her side until it was all over. “Are you okay? Does it hurt?”
Claire winced as she got back to her feet. He placed a steadying hand on her arm, helping her up but she just shooed him away. The girl he left back at the bed and breakfast was coming back, complete with sarcastic repartee. “Of course it hurts! I just took a bullet for you. What do you expect?”
“You didn't have to do that. You could have let me--”
“What, die? After what you've done to the world, I should have.” She cut him off, walking through the hallway to retrieved the flashlight from where it fell on the ground. She looked like an angel, bathed in white light and here they were in the depths of hell on earth. “But for some reason, I don't think I could have lived with myself if I didn't at least try to save you. Maybe I'm just a little fucked in the head that way.”
Sylar took a step towards her, though dozens of corpses that were frozen in painful expressions. His head bent to stare at them all. This was his handiwork; they were all dead because of him. He had to admit it was there in the back of his mind when the battle erupted, the thrill of the kill and the familiar amusement at hurting so many so easily. “I really haven't changed, have I?”
He sounded far away, an observer to his own life.
Claire let her shoulders sag and came to a hard realization. “It's a war, Sylar. People get hurt in wars. It's just the way it goes.” She paused before adding. “I can forgive you this once. After all.. you did just save my life.”
He blinked against the light as she shone it his way. He couldn't help but pick up on the things she left unsaid. “But you still don't trust me.”
“No. Maybe. I-- I don't know.”
“You sound very confused.” Sylar noted with a grin, as she closed in the distance between them. He hoped for a change of heart, the faintest glimmer in her eyes that maybe given enough time things could go back to the way they were. He wanted to hold her like he did the night before but too much trust had been lost between them and they both knew it.
“I don't know what I feel anymore, nothing makes sense.” She leaned in till he could feel her breath, warm against his skin but Claire pulled away again abruptly. Another explosion rocked the building, shaking the both of them out of the intimate world where only the two of them existed. There were bigger things to take care of right now. “We should go.”
He sighed. “Right. Let's go see how much trouble that uncle of yours has got himself into this time. I promise not to laugh if Elle is electrifying his ass when we find him.”
..to be continued..
Characters: Sylar, Claire.
Spoilers: Up to Season 2.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2029
Chapter: 26/?
Previously: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24 , Chapter 25
Summary: While escaping the Company, Sylar meets up with someone from his past. Together, they must piece together some semblance of normality after years of captivity. Future AU.
Once they were out in the hallway, the overhead lights started flickering and the sirens only got louder. Sylar figured it was only a reaction to the company's prisoner escaping, until the lights went out completely and loud explosions were heard far in the other section of the building. Whatever Peter and Elle were doing down there, it was surely making a lot of noise.
Seeing in the dark proved to be an impossible task. Sylar felt along the side of the wall, straining to see while making sure not to fall and trip on his face. At the same time, he kept one hand on Claire's shoulder, making sure she didn't get lost behind him. They needed to stay together if they were going to get out of there alive.
At first, Claire bristled against his touched and started to move away but when another explosion was sounded, she clutched at his arm tightly. He could hear her fear, rapidly beating in her heart and wanted nothing more than to keep her safe. He didn't know what to say, not after their argument but couldn't resist trying to reassure her. “No one is going to hurt you, Claire. Not anymore.”
“How can you be so sure?” She held no hope for him anymore; there was no sign that she ever saw him as a hero. In a matter of hours, the company had destroyed everything that once filled their relationship, all the laughter and her smiles and her hope. And he was left cleaning up the debris.
He was about to say something, tell her she didn't have to worry as long as he was with her but a small light glimmering in the distance caught both their attentions. Sylar squinted, finally able to make out a dark shape coming closer. It blended in with the shadows, except for the flickering energy in its hand.
Sylar prayed it might be Peter, there to show them the way out and not someone that wished him and Claire harm. This woman that carried the flame was much taller than Elle though, with hair of red that shone in the bright fire that danced on her palm.
Before the woman could attack, Sylar pushed Claire behind him and readied his cryokinetic aim. That was the best way to attack a firestarter. They hated the cold. “You really don't want to play with me, Sparky.”
The woman neared anyway, giving off her first warning shot before saying a word. A ball of fire came hurtling down the hallway at their heads. It lit up the hallway, showing the fear etched on Claire's face as she screamed. He didn't notice she was screaming his name until the flame ball zoomed past his head, only inches away from toasting him to a crisp.
Sylar jumped out of the way, pulling Claire to the wall with him. She slammed into the wall as he covered her and protected her with his body. “Are you okay?”
“I was.. actually more worried about-” Claire bit her lip in embarrassment, then met his eyes. The fireball narrowly continued traveling down the hallway, getting lost in the dimness of the long pathway and the light was gone again. “Nothing. Forget it. I'm still angry, you know.”
“Of course you are.” Sylar only wished Claire could see how he was rolling his eyes. Let her be angry, he'd tried to do everything for her this week. He wouldn't be in this predicament almost getting his ass torched if it wasn't for her neediness. He pushed himself away from the wall with a grunt. “Why shouldn't you be angry, right? I mean.. it's not like I got you out of the company's hell hole twice.”
Sylar dodged another attack. The woman was getting angrier, all her best moves were being evaded.
“Not like I did everything in my power to keep you safe this week.” He continued with the edge of sarcasm and froze the wall behind the woman in a defensive maneuver. She rounded back, her advances more aggressive and frantic now. Sylar pulled Claire down the hall with him, getting out of range of the company's pet evolved human. “It's not like I would do anything for you.. even walk back into the company willingly just to keep you from being hurt. No. I'm still the same old Sylar, so bring on the blame game, Claire. I've heard it all before anyway.”
They ducked down a turn in the hallway and Claire shot back. “Don't you dare get angry with me. This isn't my fault. I'm not the one who killed all those people, Sylar.”
“Yeah. Well, neither am I.. not really. I'm not that person anymore.” Sylar pounded his foot against the floor. “This is very hard to explain to someone so goddamn pure and innocent, you know. God, I just wish I could make you understand but you never will Claire.”
“Why are you yelling at me?”
“Because I lov-” Sylar stopped himself, finally looking to see where they were standing. They'd entered a section of the dizzying map of hallways blocked by a dozen guards with guns and tasers. “Er.. crap, hold that thought.”
The woman with the flaming red hair came back up behind them, closing off their exit. They were trapped. He didn't mind. It only made the game more interesting.
Sylar twirled a finger and the firestarter fell to the ground, the flame she was making disintegrating into nothingness. The woman only grinned, a twisted smile that was illuminated by another fireball as energy gathered in her hand again. The woman rose back to her feet, aiming at his head. He heard some of the men behind them cocking their weapons.
“Prescott said you can kill the both of them if you can't capture them alive.” The leader of the squadron spoke to his subordinates. “Try not to fill them with too many bullets though; the company still wants their bodies for dissection purposes.”
Claire backed herself against the wall in fear, edging herself a little ways out of the combat zone. He looked over to her and she nodded. She would be okay. That was all Sylar was waiting for and a second later he attacked. The game was on.
He froze the fire from the woman's hands first, watching as it turned to ice and shattered to the ground. A hail of bullets started next but he dodged well enough until a stray one hit the firestarter and all light in the hallway was extinguished for good.
Sylar froze anything that moved next, searching the hallway with his sensitive ears while trying to ignore the pain the loud gunfire caused. He paused a moment to listen for the sound of Claire's heartbeat. She was still there. He sighed in relief.
Satisfaction crossed his face as he heard people running and yelling in pain, until there was no more screaming and only silence filled the halls. They were alone and for all they knew, they were the only living beings in the world at the moment. Sylar waited until he felt Claire by his side, standing there in the darkness with him.
“What happened?” Claire asked as she placed a hand on his forearm.
Sylar wasn't sure. They'd won obviously.. but whether his enemies turned tail and ran away or were dead at their feet he couldn't be positive. He was hoping for both at the same time. He would have loved to have massacred them all but didn't want Claire to witness any more murders he'd committed.
One lone guard a few feet away flicked on a flashlight. He stood trembling amongst the frozen bodies of his friends, all of them dead by Sylar's own hands. That solved that question. The guard roared in anguish and then fired his gun off so quickly Sylar didn't see him do so until the bullet shot out of his company-issued gun.
“Sylar!” Claire screamed and pushed Sylar out of the way, putting her body between him and the bullet. She acted as a human shield, taking a direct hit to her chest and fell to the floor in pain. Her head hit the hard floor and she clutched at the wound as new blood poured out of it.
It didn't matter if she could heal from it, there was so much blood.. it was all Sylar could see and all logical thought flew out of his mind. She was in pain and it was all the fault of that other man. He hurt her and he needed to pay with his life. He turned, narrowed his eyes and made the man shoot out his own brains in punishment. It was over quick.
The man's flashlight bounced to the floor, giving off very little light through the hallway. It was just enough for Sylar to kneel down beside Claire and watch as her body pushed out the bullet. It was amazing, an act of evolutionary wonderment.
He continued watching as the metal shell resurfaced and popped out the hole. Her power was strong, something he once wished to have. It was good where it was though, it was saving her life.
Sylar stayed by her side until it was all over. “Are you okay? Does it hurt?”
Claire winced as she got back to her feet. He placed a steadying hand on her arm, helping her up but she just shooed him away. The girl he left back at the bed and breakfast was coming back, complete with sarcastic repartee. “Of course it hurts! I just took a bullet for you. What do you expect?”
“You didn't have to do that. You could have let me--”
“What, die? After what you've done to the world, I should have.” She cut him off, walking through the hallway to retrieved the flashlight from where it fell on the ground. She looked like an angel, bathed in white light and here they were in the depths of hell on earth. “But for some reason, I don't think I could have lived with myself if I didn't at least try to save you. Maybe I'm just a little fucked in the head that way.”
Sylar took a step towards her, though dozens of corpses that were frozen in painful expressions. His head bent to stare at them all. This was his handiwork; they were all dead because of him. He had to admit it was there in the back of his mind when the battle erupted, the thrill of the kill and the familiar amusement at hurting so many so easily. “I really haven't changed, have I?”
He sounded far away, an observer to his own life.
Claire let her shoulders sag and came to a hard realization. “It's a war, Sylar. People get hurt in wars. It's just the way it goes.” She paused before adding. “I can forgive you this once. After all.. you did just save my life.”
He blinked against the light as she shone it his way. He couldn't help but pick up on the things she left unsaid. “But you still don't trust me.”
“No. Maybe. I-- I don't know.”
“You sound very confused.” Sylar noted with a grin, as she closed in the distance between them. He hoped for a change of heart, the faintest glimmer in her eyes that maybe given enough time things could go back to the way they were. He wanted to hold her like he did the night before but too much trust had been lost between them and they both knew it.
“I don't know what I feel anymore, nothing makes sense.” She leaned in till he could feel her breath, warm against his skin but Claire pulled away again abruptly. Another explosion rocked the building, shaking the both of them out of the intimate world where only the two of them existed. There were bigger things to take care of right now. “We should go.”
He sighed. “Right. Let's go see how much trouble that uncle of yours has got himself into this time. I promise not to laugh if Elle is electrifying his ass when we find him.”
..to be continued..