(no subject)
TITLE: Swapped: Prologue
AUTHOR: dragynflies
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: Heroes cast is not mine
SUMMARY: Playing the AU game. What if Elle hadn’t been Bob’s daughter? What if she’d gone to the Bennets, instead? Who gets Claire, then? Will have pairings later, I promise.
A/N: Birthdays are sketchy in the Heroes verse. Wiki says Elle was born in 1983, and lists about nineteen possibilities for Claire’s birthday. I just picked one.
May 16, 1983
Bob Bishop shook his head as Kaito Nakamura held out the screaming infant.
“She’s wrong,” he said, pursing his lips, “I don’t want her. What’s wrong with her? She’s too small.”
Kaito sighed; he hadn’t been happy about placing an infant with Bob Bishop in the first place. Still, the names were ordered, and Bob had been next on the list.
“She was premature. She’s healthy now, just small. Mr. Bishop, I hope you aren’t implying the Company would provide you with an ill child…”
“What can she do?”
“Her parents manifested early. Her mother had the ability to control thunderstorms.”
In Kaito’s arms, the tiny infant screamed again, arched her little back and flung her arms out. Her face was bright red from her tears, and her hands were clenched in fists. She stopped crying long enough to stare at Bob, her blue eyes angry, before she shrieked again.
“Controlling the weather is of no use to me,” Bob said, eyeing the infant critically, “Her father?”
“Deceased, so we couldn’t examine his ability in person,” Kaito said, turning the baby in his arms and offering her again to Bob, “He worked as an electrician. Stayed under the radar, for the most part, but from the look of his company records, business was good. More jobs in a day than some electricians saw in a week.”
“He might not have even had an ability. Being good at your blue collar job doesn’t make you special,” Bob clenched his teeth and looked away, “You’re trying to give me some child that probably won’t even manifest. I won’t have it. Give her to Noah. That wife of his will never let him say no. Put me back on the list, I want the next one.”
Bob Bishop walked away before the infant even stopped crying. He knew he was destined for great things. Any child of his ought to be able to compete…or she’d just be a stumbling block.
May 24, 1983
Sandra held the little baby to her chest, rocking her as she cried. Ever since Noah had brought their daughter home, the baby had been crying. She was angry, always, stopped crying just long enough to eat, and then would start right back up again.
Colic, probably, the doctor said. Nothing to worry about, just stressful for new parents. Hold her on her tummy, try this new formula, if you need a break, it’s okay to put the baby down, safe in her crib, and walk away. She had been premature, that much was obvious, and colic could potentially be the easiest problem to fix.
Sandra didn’t want to put her down. It had taken the baby all of thirty seconds to worm her way into Sandra’s heart, and every little tear broke her heart, even when Sandra wanted to pull out her own hair.
The baby cried harder, and Sandra shifted her in her arms, trying a new position. She couldn’t cry forever, she had to stop sometime.
”Ouch!” Sandra pulled her hand away, rubbed the baby’s fleece covered back, “Shock,” she murmured, pulling the fabric away from her daughter’s body, “Let’s change you into something a little less static-y.”
Elle Bennet stopped crying.
May 24, 1986
“Mama, cake, mama!” Elle bounced in her booster chair, clapping. The cake had been placed in front of her, and she was absolutely gleeful, waiting for the candles to be lit.
“Give mama a minute, Ellie-Belle,” Sandra said from the kitchen, “We have to wait for Daddy, and we will light your candles.”
“Light candles!” Elle shrieked, twisted in her booster seat to look for Noah. Her third birthday was an exciting day, three meant she was a big girl. Only big girls got to wear pretty blue party dresses and big girl underwear with ponies on them.
“You have to wait for Daddy, Ellie, don’t - “
Sandra turned around just in time to watch the blue sparks shoot from Elle’s fingertips to ignite the wicks of the candles on her cake. Unharmed, Elle giggled, holding up her hand in front of her and watching at the electricity jumped from fingertip to fingertip.
Noah walked in just in time to sees Sandra hit the floor in a dead faint.
July 22, 1986
It was either mindwipe Sandra every day, or let her in on the secret. Elle was far too enamoured with the sparks that she could shoot out of her hands to keep them to herself. Trying to teach her to only spark at home was hard enough, Noah felt it was just cruel to ask her not to spark at all, especially when the electricity seemed so much a part of her.
“Mama, see?” Elle cupped her tiny hand, a little ball of blue light rotating on her palm, “I make it pretty.”
It was no longer frightening to Sandra when her little girl light up like a spark plug. Noah had finally sat down with Sandra, and explained. Who the Company was, and what he really did - and where Elle had come from. Knowing was better than not knowing, Sandra had decided, and Noah had been careful to help Elle cultivate her ability without making demands on her - without expectations.
“It’s very pretty Elle, baby,” Sandra said, “Do you want to help me with dinner?”
The electricty in Elle’s palms went out as the little girl scrambled to the kitchen, anxious to help mix the parts of the salad that Sandra had already chopped up. Her electricity was pretty, but it wasn’t all she was good at - even at three, Elle knew she could anything she wanted to.
April 11, 1990
“Parents were a firestater and a flyer,” Kaito Nakamura handed the baby to an eager Bob Bishop without allowing himself to second guess himself. He need not mention the child’s parents by name. Giving this child to Bishop was not his best choice, but sometimes, there were other things more important.
The infant was calm, looked at Bob with big blue eyes. He held her stiffly, away from his body, but she didn’t seem to mind, looking from Bob to Kaito curiously.
“If you do not want this one,” Kaito said, “There will be no others. We are not an adoption agency, and will no longer seek out children for this purpose.”
“I’ll take her,” Bob said. A firestarter. Fire would be a convienient ability. His gold was sufficient to create money, but a child who could fight for him, use her ability to bring people in…that would be ideal.
Kaito nodded once, then handed Bishop a file, “Here. Her birth information and her new papers. Good-bye, Mr. Bishop.”
The nurse that Bob had hired came to take the infant out of his grasp, and Bob took a moment to page through her file. It had been stripped of any information identifying her parents, but he hardly cared. The child would be his now, and would hopefully manifest her ability soon. He had big plans, and Claire would need to be prepared and trained as soon as possible.
AUTHOR: dragynflies
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: Heroes cast is not mine
SUMMARY: Playing the AU game. What if Elle hadn’t been Bob’s daughter? What if she’d gone to the Bennets, instead? Who gets Claire, then? Will have pairings later, I promise.
A/N: Birthdays are sketchy in the Heroes verse. Wiki says Elle was born in 1983, and lists about nineteen possibilities for Claire’s birthday. I just picked one.
May 16, 1983
Bob Bishop shook his head as Kaito Nakamura held out the screaming infant.
“She’s wrong,” he said, pursing his lips, “I don’t want her. What’s wrong with her? She’s too small.”
Kaito sighed; he hadn’t been happy about placing an infant with Bob Bishop in the first place. Still, the names were ordered, and Bob had been next on the list.
“She was premature. She’s healthy now, just small. Mr. Bishop, I hope you aren’t implying the Company would provide you with an ill child…”
“What can she do?”
“Her parents manifested early. Her mother had the ability to control thunderstorms.”
In Kaito’s arms, the tiny infant screamed again, arched her little back and flung her arms out. Her face was bright red from her tears, and her hands were clenched in fists. She stopped crying long enough to stare at Bob, her blue eyes angry, before she shrieked again.
“Controlling the weather is of no use to me,” Bob said, eyeing the infant critically, “Her father?”
“Deceased, so we couldn’t examine his ability in person,” Kaito said, turning the baby in his arms and offering her again to Bob, “He worked as an electrician. Stayed under the radar, for the most part, but from the look of his company records, business was good. More jobs in a day than some electricians saw in a week.”
“He might not have even had an ability. Being good at your blue collar job doesn’t make you special,” Bob clenched his teeth and looked away, “You’re trying to give me some child that probably won’t even manifest. I won’t have it. Give her to Noah. That wife of his will never let him say no. Put me back on the list, I want the next one.”
Bob Bishop walked away before the infant even stopped crying. He knew he was destined for great things. Any child of his ought to be able to compete…or she’d just be a stumbling block.
May 24, 1983
Sandra held the little baby to her chest, rocking her as she cried. Ever since Noah had brought their daughter home, the baby had been crying. She was angry, always, stopped crying just long enough to eat, and then would start right back up again.
Colic, probably, the doctor said. Nothing to worry about, just stressful for new parents. Hold her on her tummy, try this new formula, if you need a break, it’s okay to put the baby down, safe in her crib, and walk away. She had been premature, that much was obvious, and colic could potentially be the easiest problem to fix.
Sandra didn’t want to put her down. It had taken the baby all of thirty seconds to worm her way into Sandra’s heart, and every little tear broke her heart, even when Sandra wanted to pull out her own hair.
The baby cried harder, and Sandra shifted her in her arms, trying a new position. She couldn’t cry forever, she had to stop sometime.
”Ouch!” Sandra pulled her hand away, rubbed the baby’s fleece covered back, “Shock,” she murmured, pulling the fabric away from her daughter’s body, “Let’s change you into something a little less static-y.”
Elle Bennet stopped crying.
May 24, 1986
“Mama, cake, mama!” Elle bounced in her booster chair, clapping. The cake had been placed in front of her, and she was absolutely gleeful, waiting for the candles to be lit.
“Give mama a minute, Ellie-Belle,” Sandra said from the kitchen, “We have to wait for Daddy, and we will light your candles.”
“Light candles!” Elle shrieked, twisted in her booster seat to look for Noah. Her third birthday was an exciting day, three meant she was a big girl. Only big girls got to wear pretty blue party dresses and big girl underwear with ponies on them.
“You have to wait for Daddy, Ellie, don’t - “
Sandra turned around just in time to watch the blue sparks shoot from Elle’s fingertips to ignite the wicks of the candles on her cake. Unharmed, Elle giggled, holding up her hand in front of her and watching at the electricity jumped from fingertip to fingertip.
Noah walked in just in time to sees Sandra hit the floor in a dead faint.
July 22, 1986
It was either mindwipe Sandra every day, or let her in on the secret. Elle was far too enamoured with the sparks that she could shoot out of her hands to keep them to herself. Trying to teach her to only spark at home was hard enough, Noah felt it was just cruel to ask her not to spark at all, especially when the electricity seemed so much a part of her.
“Mama, see?” Elle cupped her tiny hand, a little ball of blue light rotating on her palm, “I make it pretty.”
It was no longer frightening to Sandra when her little girl light up like a spark plug. Noah had finally sat down with Sandra, and explained. Who the Company was, and what he really did - and where Elle had come from. Knowing was better than not knowing, Sandra had decided, and Noah had been careful to help Elle cultivate her ability without making demands on her - without expectations.
“It’s very pretty Elle, baby,” Sandra said, “Do you want to help me with dinner?”
The electricty in Elle’s palms went out as the little girl scrambled to the kitchen, anxious to help mix the parts of the salad that Sandra had already chopped up. Her electricity was pretty, but it wasn’t all she was good at - even at three, Elle knew she could anything she wanted to.
April 11, 1990
“Parents were a firestater and a flyer,” Kaito Nakamura handed the baby to an eager Bob Bishop without allowing himself to second guess himself. He need not mention the child’s parents by name. Giving this child to Bishop was not his best choice, but sometimes, there were other things more important.
The infant was calm, looked at Bob with big blue eyes. He held her stiffly, away from his body, but she didn’t seem to mind, looking from Bob to Kaito curiously.
“If you do not want this one,” Kaito said, “There will be no others. We are not an adoption agency, and will no longer seek out children for this purpose.”
“I’ll take her,” Bob said. A firestarter. Fire would be a convienient ability. His gold was sufficient to create money, but a child who could fight for him, use her ability to bring people in…that would be ideal.
Kaito nodded once, then handed Bishop a file, “Here. Her birth information and her new papers. Good-bye, Mr. Bishop.”
The nurse that Bob had hired came to take the infant out of his grasp, and Bob took a moment to page through her file. It had been stripped of any information identifying her parents, but he hardly cared. The child would be his now, and would hopefully manifest her ability soon. He had big plans, and Claire would need to be prepared and trained as soon as possible.