Forget Me Not Chapter 16/22(?)
Title: Forget Me Not
Author: Bunny
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Sadly, don't own; so no profit. Just here for fun!
Summary: Set around Shadowboxing; Claire discovers an amnesiac Sylar wandering around and takes it upon herself to help him.
A/N: Finally! Next chapter completed! Also, I am thisclose to being done with the next one, so expect that in two weeks (you know, finals kinda suck time away. Can’t believe it’s that time of year again!). And just to let you guys know this fic is probably going to sit around 21 or 22 chapters, just depends how things flush out. So the end is in sight!
Anyhoo… Enjoy the latest enstallment! :)
Prelude 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 16
And life is like a pipe
And I’m a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside
We only said good-bye with words
I died a hundred times
~ Back to Black; Amy Winehouse
“You are such a terrible liar!” squealed Claire in excitement into the phone. With the mobile crooked in her neck, she used two hands to gingerly replace the lid on the red nail polish. She gave her bare toes a quick glance, but knew better than to try that at this stage of the game. Putting on socks proved difficult enough and she didn’t particularly want the coffee table ruined.
“That is not a story I could make up,” Sylar assured, sounding equally amused, if not a bit embarrassed, on the other end. “I burnt up worse than a well done bacon strip.”
“You and your food metaphors,” she teased lightly. They weren’t even finished with their conversation, but already she was immensely looking forward to the next time he called. A lively set of taps at the door caught her attention. Claire giggled while waddling over, figuring it was Sweetie. Her jaw went slack for a moment upon seeing her visitors before addressing the phone. “I’m going to have to call you back.”
As she hung up, Noah stood still looking at her wide eyed at her condition while Peter scanned the hallway they were in. “We need to talk,” stated her father in a tone that meant business.
Weighing her options Claire inhaled a calming breath and opened the door wider. “Either of you do something I don’t appreciate I am calling Sweetie over,” she warned.
Her father appeared perplexed, but Peter nodded, “We don’t stand a chance if we screw up, got it.”
Once the front door was shut she was going to speak, but Peter held a finger up to his lips for silence using his head to indicate to the other man. Noah held a small electronic device in his hands, turning to different directions and fiddling with whatever was on the screen. No matter how angry she might be at both men, Claire had enough common sense to allow him to continue uninterrupted. He ducked down the hall, leaving the pair in awkward silence. “We should be clear,” he reappeared, tucking the tech back into his jacket.
“Okay, what the hell is going on?” demanded Claire.
“I was checking for additional bugs.
Her jaw jutted out, accepting deep down that her anger was only going to grow today. “Additional?”
“Other than the ones I put in here.”
Air rushed out of her lungs in anguish, turning away for just a moment before catching onto what was left unsaid. “Why would you do that and why are you telling me now?”
“Because you’re being watched,” interjected Peter. Gesturing to her phone he referred to her previous caller, “You still haven’t told him yet.”
“He’s still working through some issues after being mind split,” she explained. “Plus at this point it might be easier to wait, because, hello,” she finished pointing dramatically to her stomach, before crossing her arm absolutely ready to argue. “So it’s fair to say I’m not being watched by Sylar, because he hasn’t said a thing about this.”
“I wouldn’t be half as worried as I am if it were him,” Noah stated, throwing her for a loop. “If there’s one thing that’s clear about his profile it’s that he is fiercely protective about family, despite all his missteps in that direction. Remember how recklessly he saved you from that black hole when he believed you were his niece?”
Claire blinked in an attempt to clear her head. “Are you trying to sell me on him as a person? Because I’ve got to tell you, I’m already there.”
“No,” he jumped quickly in anger. “I’m only trying to stress how dangerous these other people are. Sylar is the least of our problems right now.”
“Okay, making it clear right now. Sylar is not a ‘problem’,” she stressed. “And Dad, as grateful as I am for you doing this research, I’m pretty sure you haven’t thought about this kid. I mean really, I’m talking about on a personal level. Because no matter who the father is, I want you to realize that you’re going to be a grandfather very soon.” Any argument he was going to fling back died in his throat as a look of consideration fell to him. She addressed her uncle while he thought. “Tell me about this group of whatever.”
“That would be groups actually, as in plural.” Claire felt herself blanch in terror as she instinctively flipped her hands to cover her stomach. The baby twitched at the adrenaline rush, just on alert as the mother.
“What exactly do you mean by ‘groups’?”
“Cults, sects, syndicates, mobsters, underground markets, and independent agents hold varying interests in what that baby can do,” explained Noah coming back into the conversation. “That includes harnessing or destroying this opportunity.”
“Well goddamn, I have a black market baby,” she muttered taking a second.
Peter sat next to her, squeezing her arm in a comforting manner. “From what we can tell the baby is the next step in people with abilities. There has been no record of a child being born with an active ability, much less a mother who is able to access them while they are in the womb. Everyone who has an ability was born with the potential for it, but it’s always had to take time to manifest.”
Rummaging through the backpack they had brought, Noah removed a stack of papers. Claire accepted them and began to flip through. “There’s been a legend of this coming to pass for a few centuries back. The idea is whoever holds this individual near to them will be invulnerable and will enhance their own natural talents permanently. There is also a theory that this individual will naturally gain additional powers throughout their lifetime.”
“Looking through the literature this kid is thought to be a Messiah figure,” added Peter, pointing to a few passages. “Offering protection to those who truly believe.”
Claire skimmed through several of the pages. “Who says it’s actually my baby that’s their Messiah? Couldn’t my baby just be a relatively normal kid? Not be remotely related to this?”
“Perhaps. But the point is they believe it,” Noah answered as he nodded to the window. A shiver went up Claire’s back at the notion of being watched.
“The odd part about you lending me that power was it only lasted a few days,” explained Peter, flexing his hands as though demonstrating an imaginative power. “And the entire time I accessed it, it felt like it didn’t belong to me. Like the ability didn’t appreciate being borrowed.”
“What could it do?” she asked full of curiosity.
“From what we could tell it was like a force field or a shield, blocking and deflecting any abilities we could find. It was like a void formed where I wanted it to, to where abilities I wanted to work would work.” Though his explanation was less than graceful she nodded, finding the new information made sense with everything that she had experienced. “It was tough to tell at the end, but I think I was also able to boost other people’s powers.”
With a crazed grin she looked down, stroking her belly. “You hear that? You’re a black market battery. Aren’t you so special?” she informed. She could feel her child squirm in response, almost as though it were amused by this. Claire’s smiled broadened, believing that even prior to birth her child seemed to accept tough humor.
“Your best option right now is to leave town and go into hiding.”
“I will not,” she stated insulted, coming back to the conversation.
“Claire you have two weeks left. If that,” gestured Peter to her ever widening belly. “No one watching you will expect a drastic escape this late in your pregnancy, especially since they think you’re not aware of them.”
“Then Sweetie comes too,” she negotiated immediately, not missing a beat, knowing all of this would hit her fully later. The two men side glanced at each other, an action that steadily pissed her off more and more. “Look, she is the only one who hasn’t completely freaked out and abandoned me. If she’s willing to, then she comes with.”
“I have a few places in mind, a few contacts who owe me a favor,” elaborated Noah. The fact he had skipped right over what she requested was not missed by her. “If we keep rotating you from place to place every few days, it shouldn’t raise suspicions.”
“No, I’ll stay at Angela’s,” she stated with equal certainty from before. “She offered me asylum a few weeks ago, now I want to take her up on that deal.” The men side glanced once more, the simple continuous action cemented her stubborn negotiations. “I stay with Angela and Sweetie comes to.”
“Are you really willing to take that risk?”
“With or without your permission, this is what I’m going to do,” she insisted, keeping arms crossed as best as she could. Peter’s face was clearly amused and on her side, as he turned to look to Noah with a small shrug. After a time, her dad sighed while nodding his head as he gathered his papers up. “I’ll go get a small bag then.”
***
Sylar watched the old man leave his car, assisting his younger grandson with the seatbelt before both walked to the waiting household. Once they moved inside, he moved closer to see in the large window. He watched the grandfather interact with the boy in the sitting room. The boy played on the floor while the old man sitting in one of two recliners.
Sylar knew the other chair would remain empty.
He had killed its owner over a year ago.
This was the 27th home he had visited in the past few weeks. He had been inspired to visit the families of his victims, to see how taking the life of one of their loved ones had affected them. With the exception of one man and another woman whose spouses clearly abused them, the results overwhelmingly indicated that he had caused irreparable harm.
The phone in his pocket buzzed, surprised to see it was Claire since she so rarely called him. He hadn’t told her of what he had been doing, feeling it was something he needed to come to terms with on his own. “This is an unexpected pleasantry.”
“Hey, where are you right now?” she asked, sounding a little on edge.
Furrowing his brow he wandered away from the house and down the street. “Somewhere in South Carolina, why?”
“Do you think you could come to New York? I - I kind of need to see you, but you have to promise you won’t freak when you get here.”
“Is everything alright? Are you alright?”
“I will be,” she responded vaguely. “You remember the hospital Peter works at? Would you mind meeting me here?”
“Why there? Claire, what’s going on?”
“Just…I’ll tell you everything when you get here, I promise. It’s way too weird over the phone.” He looked to the sky in preparation, knowing the moment she asked he was going to do whatever she requested. “See you soon?”
“I’ll be there in just over an hour.” Sylar hung up before destroying the phone, he had kept that one for too long and would steal another upon reaching New York. Dropping the pieces on the ground, he prepared to take flight when a needle lodged itself into his neck.
Instantly his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton and his vision swam to black. He lost the ability to control his body, subsequently collapsing. “Well done, Mr. X-Ray,” congratulated a voice standing above him. “Share with Mr. Alpha we have collected Mr. Gray. He will be delighted to hear the good news.”
***
Claire hated hospitals. The favorite part of her ability, normally, was that she no longer required them for herself. Also, she hated her inability to feel pain; normally. Of all the times for her baby to enhance and fix that part of her brain had to be during labor.
Twelve days after her easy apartment escape her water broke and, just like planned, was taken to a secluded wing of the hospital. Sweetie served as her breathing coach while Peter and Emma were the medical personal. Noah and Angela were instructed to wait outside the room. It was too weird to Claire to have her dad in the room while she was showing everything down below. And she was still upset at Angela for decorating the nursery in ceiling to floor pink, thus giving away the sex of the baby. She had hoped for it to be a surprise.
After 13 hours of failed labor they decided to try a C-section. That was when she decided to call Sylar. She realized she couldn’t to go through all of this without him.
He never showed.
And the C-section hadn’t worked.
Her ability wouldn’t allow for her flesh to remain cut open and her daughter wouldn’t allow for any other power intervention. At this distressing development, Emma brought out the ultrasound machine. As she looked up at the colors while trailing the wand over her stomach, she couldn’t hide the worry on her face.
Her daughter’s heartbeat was slowing down. Without it being spoken aloud, Claire knew that without an alternative the baby would die inside her.
Peter left the room to figure other options. She grabbed onto Sweetie’s hand while Emma turned her back to consult her equipment, also trying to come up with a back up plan. “Why don’t you try calling him again, Honey?”
She shook her head, struggling to keep her panic under wraps. “The line he was using is dead. I’m not going to get a response now.” A muffled, short jingle came from the older woman as she pulled out a mobile phone. Upon looking at it, she immediately began to type a reply. Furrowing her eyebrows, she asked, “You can text?”
“Just not my favorite thing to do, but for my granddaughter I’m willing to try,” she replied, slipping the phone back into its place. Squeezing her hand, her demeanor became more serious. “You’re going to be mad at me, but I think I might know someone who can help. We’ve been here over half a day and I can tell things are only getting worse.”
“What are you saying?” she asked, putting the pieces together far slower than she would if she wasn’t in perpetual labor. “Are you working for someone?”
“No exactly,” she admitted. At those two words Claire whipped around to get Emma’s attention, only to have her shoulders grabbed by Sweetie’s. “Please, hear me out. It’s my granddaughter. She has an ability of her own, knows more than a few who have some as well. I mentioned you to her and she seems to think they can help you. They’ll be here any minute.”
“What could they possibly do for me here that hasn’t been tried?”
“That’s just it, you wouldn’t be staying here,” she added, obviously sensing her discomfort. “You’d have to go with her and the friend she’s bringing along.”
“They’re coming here now?” she clarified with some alarm. Upon her nod Claire shook her head vehemently, struggling to get out of the bed away from Sweetie. “Sweetie, I am not going -” Before her disagreement could be completed the door clicked open. Her head turned expecting to see her certain tall, dark, and handsome; but was greeted with empty space. The curtain attached to the ceiling moved as though someone was near it and Claire knew what ability the granddaughter had. Her stomach sank in dread. “No…”
Becky materialized with a little wave. “Long time, no see, Claire,” she poked, clearly amused at her own joke.
“She’s your granddaughter!” Claire fought to get away pushing her feeling of betrayal down, but found moving to be impossibly difficult. “No! Not you! I’m not going with you!”
“You don’t really have a choice, do you? You’re not looking so hot,” the other young girl inserted with an air of innocence, placing her hand against her forehead.
Not caring to be touched by this girl she whipped her head back. Out of the corner of her eye Claire saw Emma stand up, just now noticing the new visitor. When she moved to intercept a blur collided with her, sending her to a crumpled heap on the floor. “Now was that really necessary?” asked Sweetie with a disapproving frown while the blonde cried out in protest. “Where are your manners?”
The blur stopped by her bed and Claire felt like throwing up. A heavily scarred and skin still peeling Edgar placed a tight hand over her shoulder. “You’re supposed to be dead,” she said incredulously, barely keeping her panic from overflowing. “We watched the room blow up.”
In what could only be described as a crinkled smirk in his mangled face, a corner of his mouth quirked up as he leaned in close to her ear. “You have no idea how I wish I could return the favor.”
Claire flinched, scooting closer to the other side as another contraction started to ripple through her. “Wait, you’re the one who cut her up nice and good?” questioned Sweetie, with an accusatory point. When he didn’t answer she looked at Becky. “You never told me he was one of your new friends.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” replied Becky, feigning ignorance with top marks. Overdramatically she tilted her head to look at Claire, leaving her with the desire to pull her hair out if she wasn’t nearly paralyzed with pain. “But from the looks of things, we’d better go now if we’re going to be any good to her at all. Edgar?”
He zipped away and returned just seconds later with a wheelchair. Becky took a seat in it, patting her lap with an overzealous smile. Claire felt herself lifted up and half carried, half dragged to be placed on her legs. If she had full control of her concentration she would have extended her daughter’s ability to dampen Edgar and Becky’s powers, but the constant tensing of muscles made that, much less effective struggling, impossible.
She squirmed and shouted, but this room had been chosen due to its seclusion. “Leave me alone! I’m not leaving here!”
“Thank you so much for everything, Grandma,” Becky charmed, somehow making that smile even bigger. “You have no idea what it means to be able to help her.”
“You are going to take care of her right?” asked Sweetie, appearing somewhat uncertain all of a sudden. Panting, Claire reached out a hand in a desperate plea to not leave. “She’s not going to get hurt?”
“Of course not,” Becky assured, both bringing her arm down and grasping onto Edgar’s to force him to remain quiet. “She’s going to get everything she needs.”
Sweetie blinked and looked around. When Claire looked down at herself she could only see the floor. Knowing that Becky had turned on her ability, she started to struggle and move again, but was rushed at high speeds through the hospital halls. Any vocal scream she made must have just seemed like a quick buzz through the air, because nobody stopped or turned to see what the noise was.
After several ramps and two elevator rides, they arrived outside on the ground level to meet Samuel. Becky allowed them to become visible again, then forcing her to get off of her legs. Thankful to not have to touch the psycho anymore, Claire tried to stumble away. Besides the fact Edgar would’ve had her in seconds, a devastating cramp paralyzed her. Samuel’s arms caught her before she fell completely, a sensation that made her skin crawl with repulsion. She attempted to jerk her head away when he turned her face close towards his.
“Are you ready to meet our future?”
Prelude 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
Author: Bunny
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Sadly, don't own; so no profit. Just here for fun!
Summary: Set around Shadowboxing; Claire discovers an amnesiac Sylar wandering around and takes it upon herself to help him.
A/N: Finally! Next chapter completed! Also, I am thisclose to being done with the next one, so expect that in two weeks (you know, finals kinda suck time away. Can’t believe it’s that time of year again!). And just to let you guys know this fic is probably going to sit around 21 or 22 chapters, just depends how things flush out. So the end is in sight!
Anyhoo… Enjoy the latest enstallment! :)
Prelude 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 16
And life is like a pipe
And I’m a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside
We only said good-bye with words
I died a hundred times
~ Back to Black; Amy Winehouse
“You are such a terrible liar!” squealed Claire in excitement into the phone. With the mobile crooked in her neck, she used two hands to gingerly replace the lid on the red nail polish. She gave her bare toes a quick glance, but knew better than to try that at this stage of the game. Putting on socks proved difficult enough and she didn’t particularly want the coffee table ruined.
“That is not a story I could make up,” Sylar assured, sounding equally amused, if not a bit embarrassed, on the other end. “I burnt up worse than a well done bacon strip.”
“You and your food metaphors,” she teased lightly. They weren’t even finished with their conversation, but already she was immensely looking forward to the next time he called. A lively set of taps at the door caught her attention. Claire giggled while waddling over, figuring it was Sweetie. Her jaw went slack for a moment upon seeing her visitors before addressing the phone. “I’m going to have to call you back.”
As she hung up, Noah stood still looking at her wide eyed at her condition while Peter scanned the hallway they were in. “We need to talk,” stated her father in a tone that meant business.
Weighing her options Claire inhaled a calming breath and opened the door wider. “Either of you do something I don’t appreciate I am calling Sweetie over,” she warned.
Her father appeared perplexed, but Peter nodded, “We don’t stand a chance if we screw up, got it.”
Once the front door was shut she was going to speak, but Peter held a finger up to his lips for silence using his head to indicate to the other man. Noah held a small electronic device in his hands, turning to different directions and fiddling with whatever was on the screen. No matter how angry she might be at both men, Claire had enough common sense to allow him to continue uninterrupted. He ducked down the hall, leaving the pair in awkward silence. “We should be clear,” he reappeared, tucking the tech back into his jacket.
“Okay, what the hell is going on?” demanded Claire.
“I was checking for additional bugs.
Her jaw jutted out, accepting deep down that her anger was only going to grow today. “Additional?”
“Other than the ones I put in here.”
Air rushed out of her lungs in anguish, turning away for just a moment before catching onto what was left unsaid. “Why would you do that and why are you telling me now?”
“Because you’re being watched,” interjected Peter. Gesturing to her phone he referred to her previous caller, “You still haven’t told him yet.”
“He’s still working through some issues after being mind split,” she explained. “Plus at this point it might be easier to wait, because, hello,” she finished pointing dramatically to her stomach, before crossing her arm absolutely ready to argue. “So it’s fair to say I’m not being watched by Sylar, because he hasn’t said a thing about this.”
“I wouldn’t be half as worried as I am if it were him,” Noah stated, throwing her for a loop. “If there’s one thing that’s clear about his profile it’s that he is fiercely protective about family, despite all his missteps in that direction. Remember how recklessly he saved you from that black hole when he believed you were his niece?”
Claire blinked in an attempt to clear her head. “Are you trying to sell me on him as a person? Because I’ve got to tell you, I’m already there.”
“No,” he jumped quickly in anger. “I’m only trying to stress how dangerous these other people are. Sylar is the least of our problems right now.”
“Okay, making it clear right now. Sylar is not a ‘problem’,” she stressed. “And Dad, as grateful as I am for you doing this research, I’m pretty sure you haven’t thought about this kid. I mean really, I’m talking about on a personal level. Because no matter who the father is, I want you to realize that you’re going to be a grandfather very soon.” Any argument he was going to fling back died in his throat as a look of consideration fell to him. She addressed her uncle while he thought. “Tell me about this group of whatever.”
“That would be groups actually, as in plural.” Claire felt herself blanch in terror as she instinctively flipped her hands to cover her stomach. The baby twitched at the adrenaline rush, just on alert as the mother.
“What exactly do you mean by ‘groups’?”
“Cults, sects, syndicates, mobsters, underground markets, and independent agents hold varying interests in what that baby can do,” explained Noah coming back into the conversation. “That includes harnessing or destroying this opportunity.”
“Well goddamn, I have a black market baby,” she muttered taking a second.
Peter sat next to her, squeezing her arm in a comforting manner. “From what we can tell the baby is the next step in people with abilities. There has been no record of a child being born with an active ability, much less a mother who is able to access them while they are in the womb. Everyone who has an ability was born with the potential for it, but it’s always had to take time to manifest.”
Rummaging through the backpack they had brought, Noah removed a stack of papers. Claire accepted them and began to flip through. “There’s been a legend of this coming to pass for a few centuries back. The idea is whoever holds this individual near to them will be invulnerable and will enhance their own natural talents permanently. There is also a theory that this individual will naturally gain additional powers throughout their lifetime.”
“Looking through the literature this kid is thought to be a Messiah figure,” added Peter, pointing to a few passages. “Offering protection to those who truly believe.”
Claire skimmed through several of the pages. “Who says it’s actually my baby that’s their Messiah? Couldn’t my baby just be a relatively normal kid? Not be remotely related to this?”
“Perhaps. But the point is they believe it,” Noah answered as he nodded to the window. A shiver went up Claire’s back at the notion of being watched.
“The odd part about you lending me that power was it only lasted a few days,” explained Peter, flexing his hands as though demonstrating an imaginative power. “And the entire time I accessed it, it felt like it didn’t belong to me. Like the ability didn’t appreciate being borrowed.”
“What could it do?” she asked full of curiosity.
“From what we could tell it was like a force field or a shield, blocking and deflecting any abilities we could find. It was like a void formed where I wanted it to, to where abilities I wanted to work would work.” Though his explanation was less than graceful she nodded, finding the new information made sense with everything that she had experienced. “It was tough to tell at the end, but I think I was also able to boost other people’s powers.”
With a crazed grin she looked down, stroking her belly. “You hear that? You’re a black market battery. Aren’t you so special?” she informed. She could feel her child squirm in response, almost as though it were amused by this. Claire’s smiled broadened, believing that even prior to birth her child seemed to accept tough humor.
“Your best option right now is to leave town and go into hiding.”
“I will not,” she stated insulted, coming back to the conversation.
“Claire you have two weeks left. If that,” gestured Peter to her ever widening belly. “No one watching you will expect a drastic escape this late in your pregnancy, especially since they think you’re not aware of them.”
“Then Sweetie comes too,” she negotiated immediately, not missing a beat, knowing all of this would hit her fully later. The two men side glanced at each other, an action that steadily pissed her off more and more. “Look, she is the only one who hasn’t completely freaked out and abandoned me. If she’s willing to, then she comes with.”
“I have a few places in mind, a few contacts who owe me a favor,” elaborated Noah. The fact he had skipped right over what she requested was not missed by her. “If we keep rotating you from place to place every few days, it shouldn’t raise suspicions.”
“No, I’ll stay at Angela’s,” she stated with equal certainty from before. “She offered me asylum a few weeks ago, now I want to take her up on that deal.” The men side glanced once more, the simple continuous action cemented her stubborn negotiations. “I stay with Angela and Sweetie comes to.”
“Are you really willing to take that risk?”
“With or without your permission, this is what I’m going to do,” she insisted, keeping arms crossed as best as she could. Peter’s face was clearly amused and on her side, as he turned to look to Noah with a small shrug. After a time, her dad sighed while nodding his head as he gathered his papers up. “I’ll go get a small bag then.”
***
Sylar watched the old man leave his car, assisting his younger grandson with the seatbelt before both walked to the waiting household. Once they moved inside, he moved closer to see in the large window. He watched the grandfather interact with the boy in the sitting room. The boy played on the floor while the old man sitting in one of two recliners.
Sylar knew the other chair would remain empty.
He had killed its owner over a year ago.
This was the 27th home he had visited in the past few weeks. He had been inspired to visit the families of his victims, to see how taking the life of one of their loved ones had affected them. With the exception of one man and another woman whose spouses clearly abused them, the results overwhelmingly indicated that he had caused irreparable harm.
The phone in his pocket buzzed, surprised to see it was Claire since she so rarely called him. He hadn’t told her of what he had been doing, feeling it was something he needed to come to terms with on his own. “This is an unexpected pleasantry.”
“Hey, where are you right now?” she asked, sounding a little on edge.
Furrowing his brow he wandered away from the house and down the street. “Somewhere in South Carolina, why?”
“Do you think you could come to New York? I - I kind of need to see you, but you have to promise you won’t freak when you get here.”
“Is everything alright? Are you alright?”
“I will be,” she responded vaguely. “You remember the hospital Peter works at? Would you mind meeting me here?”
“Why there? Claire, what’s going on?”
“Just…I’ll tell you everything when you get here, I promise. It’s way too weird over the phone.” He looked to the sky in preparation, knowing the moment she asked he was going to do whatever she requested. “See you soon?”
“I’ll be there in just over an hour.” Sylar hung up before destroying the phone, he had kept that one for too long and would steal another upon reaching New York. Dropping the pieces on the ground, he prepared to take flight when a needle lodged itself into his neck.
Instantly his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton and his vision swam to black. He lost the ability to control his body, subsequently collapsing. “Well done, Mr. X-Ray,” congratulated a voice standing above him. “Share with Mr. Alpha we have collected Mr. Gray. He will be delighted to hear the good news.”
***
Claire hated hospitals. The favorite part of her ability, normally, was that she no longer required them for herself. Also, she hated her inability to feel pain; normally. Of all the times for her baby to enhance and fix that part of her brain had to be during labor.
Twelve days after her easy apartment escape her water broke and, just like planned, was taken to a secluded wing of the hospital. Sweetie served as her breathing coach while Peter and Emma were the medical personal. Noah and Angela were instructed to wait outside the room. It was too weird to Claire to have her dad in the room while she was showing everything down below. And she was still upset at Angela for decorating the nursery in ceiling to floor pink, thus giving away the sex of the baby. She had hoped for it to be a surprise.
After 13 hours of failed labor they decided to try a C-section. That was when she decided to call Sylar. She realized she couldn’t to go through all of this without him.
He never showed.
And the C-section hadn’t worked.
Her ability wouldn’t allow for her flesh to remain cut open and her daughter wouldn’t allow for any other power intervention. At this distressing development, Emma brought out the ultrasound machine. As she looked up at the colors while trailing the wand over her stomach, she couldn’t hide the worry on her face.
Her daughter’s heartbeat was slowing down. Without it being spoken aloud, Claire knew that without an alternative the baby would die inside her.
Peter left the room to figure other options. She grabbed onto Sweetie’s hand while Emma turned her back to consult her equipment, also trying to come up with a back up plan. “Why don’t you try calling him again, Honey?”
She shook her head, struggling to keep her panic under wraps. “The line he was using is dead. I’m not going to get a response now.” A muffled, short jingle came from the older woman as she pulled out a mobile phone. Upon looking at it, she immediately began to type a reply. Furrowing her eyebrows, she asked, “You can text?”
“Just not my favorite thing to do, but for my granddaughter I’m willing to try,” she replied, slipping the phone back into its place. Squeezing her hand, her demeanor became more serious. “You’re going to be mad at me, but I think I might know someone who can help. We’ve been here over half a day and I can tell things are only getting worse.”
“What are you saying?” she asked, putting the pieces together far slower than she would if she wasn’t in perpetual labor. “Are you working for someone?”
“No exactly,” she admitted. At those two words Claire whipped around to get Emma’s attention, only to have her shoulders grabbed by Sweetie’s. “Please, hear me out. It’s my granddaughter. She has an ability of her own, knows more than a few who have some as well. I mentioned you to her and she seems to think they can help you. They’ll be here any minute.”
“What could they possibly do for me here that hasn’t been tried?”
“That’s just it, you wouldn’t be staying here,” she added, obviously sensing her discomfort. “You’d have to go with her and the friend she’s bringing along.”
“They’re coming here now?” she clarified with some alarm. Upon her nod Claire shook her head vehemently, struggling to get out of the bed away from Sweetie. “Sweetie, I am not going -” Before her disagreement could be completed the door clicked open. Her head turned expecting to see her certain tall, dark, and handsome; but was greeted with empty space. The curtain attached to the ceiling moved as though someone was near it and Claire knew what ability the granddaughter had. Her stomach sank in dread. “No…”
Becky materialized with a little wave. “Long time, no see, Claire,” she poked, clearly amused at her own joke.
“She’s your granddaughter!” Claire fought to get away pushing her feeling of betrayal down, but found moving to be impossibly difficult. “No! Not you! I’m not going with you!”
“You don’t really have a choice, do you? You’re not looking so hot,” the other young girl inserted with an air of innocence, placing her hand against her forehead.
Not caring to be touched by this girl she whipped her head back. Out of the corner of her eye Claire saw Emma stand up, just now noticing the new visitor. When she moved to intercept a blur collided with her, sending her to a crumpled heap on the floor. “Now was that really necessary?” asked Sweetie with a disapproving frown while the blonde cried out in protest. “Where are your manners?”
The blur stopped by her bed and Claire felt like throwing up. A heavily scarred and skin still peeling Edgar placed a tight hand over her shoulder. “You’re supposed to be dead,” she said incredulously, barely keeping her panic from overflowing. “We watched the room blow up.”
In what could only be described as a crinkled smirk in his mangled face, a corner of his mouth quirked up as he leaned in close to her ear. “You have no idea how I wish I could return the favor.”
Claire flinched, scooting closer to the other side as another contraction started to ripple through her. “Wait, you’re the one who cut her up nice and good?” questioned Sweetie, with an accusatory point. When he didn’t answer she looked at Becky. “You never told me he was one of your new friends.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” replied Becky, feigning ignorance with top marks. Overdramatically she tilted her head to look at Claire, leaving her with the desire to pull her hair out if she wasn’t nearly paralyzed with pain. “But from the looks of things, we’d better go now if we’re going to be any good to her at all. Edgar?”
He zipped away and returned just seconds later with a wheelchair. Becky took a seat in it, patting her lap with an overzealous smile. Claire felt herself lifted up and half carried, half dragged to be placed on her legs. If she had full control of her concentration she would have extended her daughter’s ability to dampen Edgar and Becky’s powers, but the constant tensing of muscles made that, much less effective struggling, impossible.
She squirmed and shouted, but this room had been chosen due to its seclusion. “Leave me alone! I’m not leaving here!”
“Thank you so much for everything, Grandma,” Becky charmed, somehow making that smile even bigger. “You have no idea what it means to be able to help her.”
“You are going to take care of her right?” asked Sweetie, appearing somewhat uncertain all of a sudden. Panting, Claire reached out a hand in a desperate plea to not leave. “She’s not going to get hurt?”
“Of course not,” Becky assured, both bringing her arm down and grasping onto Edgar’s to force him to remain quiet. “She’s going to get everything she needs.”
Sweetie blinked and looked around. When Claire looked down at herself she could only see the floor. Knowing that Becky had turned on her ability, she started to struggle and move again, but was rushed at high speeds through the hospital halls. Any vocal scream she made must have just seemed like a quick buzz through the air, because nobody stopped or turned to see what the noise was.
After several ramps and two elevator rides, they arrived outside on the ground level to meet Samuel. Becky allowed them to become visible again, then forcing her to get off of her legs. Thankful to not have to touch the psycho anymore, Claire tried to stumble away. Besides the fact Edgar would’ve had her in seconds, a devastating cramp paralyzed her. Samuel’s arms caught her before she fell completely, a sensation that made her skin crawl with repulsion. She attempted to jerk her head away when he turned her face close towards his.
“Are you ready to meet our future?”
Prelude 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