New Target
Title: New Target
Characters: Claire Bennet, Tammy Wilcox (Jackie's mother)
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word count: 500
Setting: Post Brave New World
Summary: Claire comes clean about the real reason Jackie died and Tammy finds a new target.
Notes: Beta by dancingdragon3. Written for the heroes_contest prompt, "New". Follow-up to " Dearly Departed", where Tammy finds out that Claire knew things about her daughter's death that were never revealed.
"Jackie died because of me." The talk-show audience pulled in their breath as a collective gasp, including that of Tammy Wilcox, Jackie's mother. Having seen Claire on television after the Ferris wheel stunt, Jackie had traveled to New York to find her. Failing to locate her immediately, she'd offered the press an irresistible piece of backstory in exchange for bringing them together. It was Claire's first experience with having to answer for her past. But they were answers she wanted to give - the truth needed to be known.
"There was a man with the power to take abilities from people by killing them. He'd found out about mine because a little while before Homecoming, there was a terrible train wreck near Odessa. There was an explosion and a lot of fire. I helped get some firefighters out of the way and they noticed I wasn't hurt." Claire grimaced, looking down at her hands and clenching them together nervously.
Tammy was also on the stage with her, sitting under the too-bright lights with the heavily make-upped moderator looking for her reaction to Claire's confession. Tammy said in a low voice, "Jackie said it was her. I … I always thought the firefighters must have been exaggerating."
"No. They weren't. I left before they could find out who I was. And because I didn't tell the truth, that's why Jackie died. The guy who could take abilities came to Homecoming. He found Jackie in the locker room …" Claire felt the hot prickling of tears at the memory of her friend's murder. "I tried to stop him, but even if I could heal, I was just sixteen and he was-" She stopped to draw in a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
Tammy wiped at her own cheeks, finally learning the real reason why her daughter had been so senselessly killed.
"I went to get help," Claire continued, swallowing around the lump in her throat. "I found … Peter. I told him about …" She shook her head, not sure what she should reveal. Nathan had never acknowledged her, so her relation to the Petrelli family was still a secret. Even if it was one of many secrets Claire wanted to make known to the world, she knew she should tread carefully. There was no harm in saying Peter's name, because the police had taken him in for questioning after the fall from the Odessa stadium - that much was in the public records. "And he made Sylar leave."
"Sylar?" the moderator asked.
Claire nodded once, regretting and not regretting having said the name. In her concentration on protecting the Petrellis, it had just slipped out. "He was the one … who could take abilities."
"You knew who he was?" Tammy questioned sharply.
"I do now. I didn't then."
Tammy nodded, because that made all the difference. With angry determination in her voice, she said, "Then he's the reason Jackie died, not you. Where is he now?"