Heroes, "Petrelli Land" Peter/Claire, Rated PG-13
Fandom: Heroes
Title: Petrelli Land
Rating: R/M
Chapters: 2/17
Characters/Pairings: Mainly Peter/Claire, others to be determined
Warnings/Spoilers: AU and Canon Paire, Season One Spoilers, turns AU from "How to Stop an Exploding Man", will not follow Season Two storyline.
Notes: This fic is inspired by the Marvel comic series, "House of M". The inspiration belongs to Marvel, and the Heroes characters belong to NBC and Tim Kring, but the story is entirely mine. Thank you to karathephantom for the beta job!
FFnet Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3735029/1/
Summary: After Peter encounters someone with a dangerous ability, his lack of control causes him to shift reality to the desire of others, where most are happy except one, who vows revenge. Paire.
[ Previous Chapters]
Chapter One
Peter lifted the water glass to his lips with a shaky hand. The visions he had of the dying woman still plagued him, tugging at his empathic receptors and leaving an acidic taste like bile in his mouth. He took a sip of water, and everyone in the room watched him intently. He felt Claire's hand rub against his forearm.
"So you saw a middle-aged black woman dying from Sylar's hands? I assume this is the same woman from your drawings," Mohinder said, placing Peter's crude drawing in front of him. Peter's eyes scanned the photo, and he looked up at Mohinder with affirmation.
"That's her. Her name is Rena Slade; at least, that's what I gathered when she let me enter her mind..."
"You entered her mind?" Mrs. Bennet asked shocked. Apparently, there was a lot Mr. Bennet did not tell his wife about their powers. Peter guessed Claire's powers and Bennet's past affiliations with the Company were all she knew about the situation. There was obviously a much bigger picture here.
"So we need to find this Rena Slade woman and help her?" Mohinder asked.
"I... I think she's still alive, or at least, knows Sylar is coming, and she's trying to have me get to her before Sylar gets her powers." Peter glanced to Claire, but turned his gaze to Mohinder seriously. "I need to get to her. If we can't save her, at least I can borrow her powers."
"And what are her powers, Peter?" Mr. Bennet asked, intrigued. Peter didn't know what Bennet was thinking about all of this. He still appeared to have the same interest in these events, and he stared at Peter with a guarded yet cryptic expression.
"I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing it's like Hiro's where she can manipulate space. When I probed into her mind and asked her, all she said was that she could 'change things'. Whatever that means -"
"We have to find to find her then, and fast," Claire chimed in. Her father looked over to her and frowned. He obviously appeared distressed that Claire felt she was a part of this operation.
"I agree with Claire. Now Peter, do you know how we can find her? In your vision did you see the location where she was dying? Any landmarks?" Mohinder asked hastily. The others looked on with anxious interest.
Peter scrunched his forehead in contemplation and pursed his lips as he tried to remember. He looked ahead, and Claire's hand was on his forearm again, squeezing it in reassurance. Peter tried not to be distracted by her touch.
"I saw... I think I saw a busy intersection, next to a crosswalk. There were signs for an elementary school, and an ice cream parlor and insurance office in a nearby strip mall. Rena was lying on the ground in the parking lot of the strip mall."
"Hey, I think I know where that is!" Claire exclaimed. "It's right over by the school district. My new high school is not too far from there, and there's an ice cream shop some of the kids go to after school. I think it's called Benny Joon's?"
Peter rose from his chair and slammed the glass down a little too rough than normal. His brow furrowed with determination, and he looked at Mohinder, who was already waiting for his response. "Let's go! Claire, you can take us there, right?"
Claire stole a cautious glance at her dad, before turning to Peter and then nodding. Noah Bennet looked at the trio with a strained expression, and Mrs. Bennet could only stare on in fear and anxiety.
"Be careful," Sandra said in a low voice. Noah Bennet squeezed her shoulder and glanced at Claire. He moved toward them.
He turned to Peter sternly and said, "I should come too."
"No, Dad, please," Claire stopped him. She took her father's hand and squeezed it, pleading with him. "I have to do this with Peter and Mohinder. If I keep running and hiding behind you, I'll never learn how to be safe. You're amazing and I have no doubt of your skills, but this is my time to protect you and mom. I'll use my powers for good and end this."
After a moment of awkward silence, he backed down. He met Peter's steely gaze. "You better protect her, Petrelli."
There was a promise in Peter's eyes, and automatically, he took Claire's hand. He looked into her eyes, full of hope and bursting with embers of the confession of not too long ago. His eyes turned soft.
"Let's go."
--
"Come on, move!" Peter yelled at the slowing traffic, and Mohinder and Claire looked ahead impatiently as they were stopped again behind another school bus.
"You should have let me drive," Mohinder commented, and Peter shot him a look that warned him not to start with the quips. Mohinder turned his head and stared in annoyance at the back of the stopped bus.
"There must be a faster way to get there," Peter snapped, and Claire gave him an angry look.
"Just calm down, okay? We just moved here, so this is the only way I know." The bus started to pull ahead, and Claire fell backward as Peter stepped on the gas, tailgating the back of the bus. A few children looked down at them from the back window, and one made lewd gestures at them, proudly displaying his stubby middle finger.
"That kid seriously needs a spa-"
"Look! There it is!" Claire exclaimed from the back of seat and pointed toward the strip mall on the corner of the intersection.
Mohinder was squinting, looking ahead to the area. "I don't see anyone suspicious."
Peter changed lanes jarringly, earning a loud beep from the SUV behind him. He sped up, and barely made it through the changing yellow light. When they bounced into the tight strip mall parking lot, they looked around anxiously and saw no sign of Rena Slade... or Sylar.
Claire sighed heavily. "Well, maybe it hasn't happened yet. Maybe the vision was prophetic?" She turned to Peter with hopeful eyes. "Do you feel anything?"
Peter looked at her dejectedly before jumping out of the car to walk around the parking lot. He put his hands on his hips in exasperation as he scanned the area. "I don't feel... anything familiar about this place." Claire came up to his side and met his eyes with worry. "But this is the place." Peter reassured her, and then sighed.
"Peter," Claire said beside him, her voice sounding scared and strange. She tugged on his arm, and he turned his attention to where she was pointing. "Look..."
"What is that?" Mohinder called out, joining them in their curiosity. Not more than a few feet in front of them, the environment began to warp and started to look like liquid, melting away what their eyes saw into what was truly there. Peter's mouth opened in shock, and he quickly moved in front of Claire to protect her.
In the blink of an eye they were in front of Sylar and the woman from Peter’s vision, battling out their powers in a showdown. The woman was weak, and she was kneeling from exhaustion. She looked around nervously, and Peter assumed she was trying to use her powers to shield others from any backlash of Sylar’s desperate telekinetic attacks.
But she seemed to be failing, and her powers were apparently taking their toll. Fresh, red blood seeped out through her nostrils as her brow furrowed in pain.
Immediately Peter stepped up, and Claire held out a hand, but was unable to stop him. Peter stomped toward Sylar intently, and soon his long lost telekinetic powers came surging back to him. Sylar’s eyes widened as he saw Peter come onto the scene, and his brow furrowed in shock and anger before Peter’s powers sent him backward, crashing into a couple of large disposal cans.
Quickly, Mohinder ran after Peter to the woman’s side, and Claire slowly followed behind them, horrified at the pain the woman was going through.
She appeared to be much older than Peter had drawn in his prophetic sketches, and she was short and heavy set, a physical hindrance to her when it came to fighting. Rena Slade looked nothing more than someone’s kind grandmother who taught Sunday school and volunteered for the poor. No one would think the woman would have such extreme powers.
“You came,” Rena coughed out, and despite her obvious internal pain, she smiled and took Peter’s hand willingly. “Thank you, child. You have stopped him from getting my powers.”
“We’ll keep you safe, Ms. Slade. Sylar won’t hurt you anymore, so don’t worry,” Peter soothed. Rena nodded her head and leaned back into the pavement sighing.
“I know. I know. He won’t hurt me anymore. No one will.” Rena looked up gratefully at Peter and then to Mohinder. “Now, you have these powers, correct?” Peter nodded, and suddenly Rena’s grip on his hand became tighter. “Use them carefully. If you overuse them, they will kill you quickly without warning.”
“I don’t understand,” said Mohinder, shaking his head at her. “Don’t you have a genetic marker that helps you adapt to the strain of your powers over time? Surely your powers cannot kill you if they are encoded into your DNA.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Rena stated, her coal eyes darkening grimly. “I’ve tried my whole life to harness these powers, and the more I used them, the more things went badly for me later on. I assume you’re a doctor, so you might not believe me when I tell you this.” Rena’s voice was trailing off, and it was apparent she was fading fast. Her energy was waning, and the injuries were slowly killing her. Claire immediately had called 911, but Rena Slade shook her head.
“Within my faith, whatever energy you send into the universe, it comes back to you, whether negative or positive. Sometimes it can come back and affects you as much as three times the amount of energy you send out.” She gave Peter a desperate look, and patted his arm. “There’s no need to call an ambulance. I’ve used too much energy with this gift, and now I’m unfortunately giving them to you. I hope you’re stronger than I was, Peter Petrelli. These are very trying powers.” Her eyes closed, and her voice was just above a whisper. “It takes someone strong to use them. Sylar is strong, but he doesn’t have heart strength. He has the strength, but not the heart. He will not hesitate to use my power for something evil.”
“Ms. Slade! Ms. Slade!” Peter could feel her grip loosening, and her mouth opened as her head rolled back, the momentum fading from her body. Behind him, Peter heard Claire gasp as Rena Slade’s life expired before them. Peter’s empathy receptors high, a tear escaped from his eye, and he bowed his head down in respect. Lightly, he moved her eyelids closed and put her hands over her chest.
“Sylar’s gone,” Mohinder said, cutting through the thick somber air. Peter and Claire looked quickly behind them, and despite a huge dent in the garbage cans, there was no trace of Sylar.
“This is so awful,” Claire bemoaned, still transfixed on Rena’s lifeless body. It both sickened and intrigued her to look at a dead body like that, especially a body that was just talking and breathing seconds ago. Peter saw her cover her mouth with her hand, and he wondered if she was going to be sick.
“Yes. It is a pity we came all this way to save her, and we didn’t,” Mohinder responded in a soft voice.
“We did save her,” Peter corrected. “We saved her from losing her powers to Sylar. That’s what she wanted, and she knew that she wasn’t going to make it with her powers overloading anyway.” Peter glanced down at Rena’s face before looking back at Claire and Mohinder. “I can understand how she felt.”
“Peter…” Claire whispered, but turned her head as sirens blared in the distance.
“Should we stay here with her?” Mohinder looked around, and no one was paying attention to them. Suddenly, as soon as they realized it, the atmosphere became fuzzy, and the strange warping sensation bubbled around them again.
“What was that?” Claire exclaimed, and she squealed as Peter grabbed her and Mohinder, and led them away from the scene, bounding into the air and setting them down behind the strip mall. Looking around, Peter realized the area was clear of onlookers before turning to his bewildered friends.
“We need to stay away from the cops. I think it’s for the best,” Peter whispered. Claire nodded, but Mohinder looked at him hard.
“Are you worried about your family’s image again?” Mohinder snarled at him. “A woman died over there!”
Peter shot him a glare and came inches within the doctor’s face, his nostrils flaring with fury. “I know that, and there’s nothing I can do. And no, this isn’t about my family or me. It’s about Rena Slade. Now, she obviously did something back there to shield us from people with her powers. She consciously guarded everyone around us while Sylar was attacking her. She knew people wouldn’t understand her powers and panic. Mohinder, don’t you see?”
Mohinder was taken aback by Peter’s emotions, and he started to see that Peter understood Rena Slade. He only knew her briefly, but he reached into her mind and tapped into her powers, just like he always did with his empathy, and her plight became his.
“I understand. Ms. Slade wanted to protect the secret of her powers.”
“Exactly. Most people like us understand we’re different, and we learn to accept these powers. But everyone else… they fear and panic at what they don’t understand. Rena respected that, and she used her powers to preserve that view.”
“Peter, you’re already so in tune with this woman. Do you know what her powers are yet?” Claire asked, interrupting their heated exchange. She gave Peter a concerned look. He was starting to appear pale and sweat profusely. It was odd that one little comment from Mohinder would get him so worked up.
“I… I think she bends reality. She mentioned that she sends energy out, and it comes back to her. I think that has something to do not only with her faith, but also her powers.”
“Right. It’s like the Butterfly Effect; energy that is sent out could be drastically transformed in another place. A butterfly that flaps its wings here could cause a monsoon in Asia. It is also the belief of Western Pagans that good or bad energy sent out comes back to that person, three-fold.” A wry smile erupted on Mohinder’s face. “Or if you want to look at the Hindu or Buddhist sense, it’s karma.”
“So Rena Slade believed that using her powers too much affected her karma and killed her?” Claire asked in disbelief.
“I think so,” Peter said. “She believed so strongly in that rule, the ideal became a part of her powers.”
“So on the other hand if karma doesn’t exist -“ Claire shot Mohinder an apologetic look, but he seemed amused nonetheless. “Rena created her own karma for using her powers.”
“Not necessarily. The ramifications for using her powers could have been a side-effect ingrained in her genetic marker. However, that is an interesting theory, Ms. Bennet.” Mohinder smiled again at Claire, who rolled her eyes at him and grinned.
“Rena actually believed she couldn’t control her powers, does that mean Peter actually can?” Claire asked unsure, and Peter seemed bemused at her lack of confidence in him. “No offense.”
Mohinder was about to say something, but Peter stopped abruptly ahead. Claire’s face paled as they came within view of an interruption.
“So if it isn’t Saint Peter.” Peter stood protectively in front of Claire and Mohinder. Sylar leaped from a tree branch in front of them, smirking manically. “Why don’t we see if you can control those powers?”
“Sylar!” Mohinder yelled, and surprise and fear was prevalent in his voice. He looked at the serial killer with pity mixed with nostalgia.
Sylar ignored him, and he cocked his head at Claire, who was glaring at him from behind Peter.
“Ah… if you fail, I’ll be here to reap the benefits.”
“Sylar, you don’t want to test these powers. They’re dangerous and could change the whole world! Even you’re not good enough for them.”
Sylar frowned at that last statement, but he quickly lost interest as he found something more intriguing to watch.
“Peter!” Claire screamed, and Peter could feel his entire body rage with fire. He looked down at his hands, and as his anxiety rose, Ted’s powers were coming into play, just as they had before not many months ago.
“You need to gain control! Use Rena’s powers if you can!” Mohinder yelled, and quickly, Claire pushed Mohinder back, shielding him with her body as the temperature around them began to swell up.
“I don’t think I can!” Peter called out weakly. Sylar laughed at him in the background; he obviously preferred to watch as Peter was inhibited by his very own hands.
“Peter, please!” Claire cried desperately, and as the air became hotter around them, trees began to light on fire, and the ground melted at Peter’s feet.
“Please…” Claire said just above a whisper, but Peter caught it, and he looked into her desperate eyes. Claire couldn’t save him this time. It was all up to him.
‘Come on, child,’ said a voice inside him. ‘I didn’t give you those powers so you could kill everyone. Now do what I say.’
‘Rena?’
‘Breathe easy and think about something or someone that made you the happiest in your life.’ Peter closed his eyes and headed her advice. Visions of Nathan, Simone, his mother, and Claire jumped to the forefront of his mind.
‘Now, think of me and think of my powers. Use them to make those people or anyone else that have touched you happy. Change things for them, not yourself.’ Peter smiled, and he was starting to understand her. ‘One of the greatest powers is love, self-less love, and that is what you need to remember when you use my powers.
‘The world is light and dark, gray and colorful. It is ugly and beautiful, cold and warm. And in-between everything my gift breathes. It is the energy that hums within all spaces and crooks of the universe. Once someone takes hold of it, you can move and manipulate anything…’
Rena’s voice was fading, and when Peter opened his eyes, the world was stilled in time and soaked in light. Everything loomed like stone statues, and he became the only energy humming between inertia and drive.
‘Now let it go, and wish the world right again. Wish everyone safe. That is how my power should be used.’
Peter closed his eyes again, and he smiled. Light sounds of Claire’s laughter buzzed in his ears, and he could hear her singing. He blinked his tired eyes, and he could feel a soft blanket pulled over him.
A loving kiss fell on his forehead, and Peter fell into dreams.
Chapter Two
[mood|
productive]
Title: Petrelli Land
Rating: R/M
Chapters: 2/17
Characters/Pairings: Mainly Peter/Claire, others to be determined
Warnings/Spoilers: AU and Canon Paire, Season One Spoilers, turns AU from "How to Stop an Exploding Man", will not follow Season Two storyline.
Notes: This fic is inspired by the Marvel comic series, "House of M". The inspiration belongs to Marvel, and the Heroes characters belong to NBC and Tim Kring, but the story is entirely mine. Thank you to karathephantom for the beta job!
FFnet Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3735029/1/
Summary: After Peter encounters someone with a dangerous ability, his lack of control causes him to shift reality to the desire of others, where most are happy except one, who vows revenge. Paire.
[ Previous Chapters]
Chapter One
Peter lifted the water glass to his lips with a shaky hand. The visions he had of the dying woman still plagued him, tugging at his empathic receptors and leaving an acidic taste like bile in his mouth. He took a sip of water, and everyone in the room watched him intently. He felt Claire's hand rub against his forearm.
"So you saw a middle-aged black woman dying from Sylar's hands? I assume this is the same woman from your drawings," Mohinder said, placing Peter's crude drawing in front of him. Peter's eyes scanned the photo, and he looked up at Mohinder with affirmation.
"That's her. Her name is Rena Slade; at least, that's what I gathered when she let me enter her mind..."
"You entered her mind?" Mrs. Bennet asked shocked. Apparently, there was a lot Mr. Bennet did not tell his wife about their powers. Peter guessed Claire's powers and Bennet's past affiliations with the Company were all she knew about the situation. There was obviously a much bigger picture here.
"So we need to find this Rena Slade woman and help her?" Mohinder asked.
"I... I think she's still alive, or at least, knows Sylar is coming, and she's trying to have me get to her before Sylar gets her powers." Peter glanced to Claire, but turned his gaze to Mohinder seriously. "I need to get to her. If we can't save her, at least I can borrow her powers."
"And what are her powers, Peter?" Mr. Bennet asked, intrigued. Peter didn't know what Bennet was thinking about all of this. He still appeared to have the same interest in these events, and he stared at Peter with a guarded yet cryptic expression.
"I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing it's like Hiro's where she can manipulate space. When I probed into her mind and asked her, all she said was that she could 'change things'. Whatever that means -"
"We have to find to find her then, and fast," Claire chimed in. Her father looked over to her and frowned. He obviously appeared distressed that Claire felt she was a part of this operation.
"I agree with Claire. Now Peter, do you know how we can find her? In your vision did you see the location where she was dying? Any landmarks?" Mohinder asked hastily. The others looked on with anxious interest.
Peter scrunched his forehead in contemplation and pursed his lips as he tried to remember. He looked ahead, and Claire's hand was on his forearm again, squeezing it in reassurance. Peter tried not to be distracted by her touch.
"I saw... I think I saw a busy intersection, next to a crosswalk. There were signs for an elementary school, and an ice cream parlor and insurance office in a nearby strip mall. Rena was lying on the ground in the parking lot of the strip mall."
"Hey, I think I know where that is!" Claire exclaimed. "It's right over by the school district. My new high school is not too far from there, and there's an ice cream shop some of the kids go to after school. I think it's called Benny Joon's?"
Peter rose from his chair and slammed the glass down a little too rough than normal. His brow furrowed with determination, and he looked at Mohinder, who was already waiting for his response. "Let's go! Claire, you can take us there, right?"
Claire stole a cautious glance at her dad, before turning to Peter and then nodding. Noah Bennet looked at the trio with a strained expression, and Mrs. Bennet could only stare on in fear and anxiety.
"Be careful," Sandra said in a low voice. Noah Bennet squeezed her shoulder and glanced at Claire. He moved toward them.
He turned to Peter sternly and said, "I should come too."
"No, Dad, please," Claire stopped him. She took her father's hand and squeezed it, pleading with him. "I have to do this with Peter and Mohinder. If I keep running and hiding behind you, I'll never learn how to be safe. You're amazing and I have no doubt of your skills, but this is my time to protect you and mom. I'll use my powers for good and end this."
After a moment of awkward silence, he backed down. He met Peter's steely gaze. "You better protect her, Petrelli."
There was a promise in Peter's eyes, and automatically, he took Claire's hand. He looked into her eyes, full of hope and bursting with embers of the confession of not too long ago. His eyes turned soft.
"Let's go."
--
"Come on, move!" Peter yelled at the slowing traffic, and Mohinder and Claire looked ahead impatiently as they were stopped again behind another school bus.
"You should have let me drive," Mohinder commented, and Peter shot him a look that warned him not to start with the quips. Mohinder turned his head and stared in annoyance at the back of the stopped bus.
"There must be a faster way to get there," Peter snapped, and Claire gave him an angry look.
"Just calm down, okay? We just moved here, so this is the only way I know." The bus started to pull ahead, and Claire fell backward as Peter stepped on the gas, tailgating the back of the bus. A few children looked down at them from the back window, and one made lewd gestures at them, proudly displaying his stubby middle finger.
"That kid seriously needs a spa-"
"Look! There it is!" Claire exclaimed from the back of seat and pointed toward the strip mall on the corner of the intersection.
Mohinder was squinting, looking ahead to the area. "I don't see anyone suspicious."
Peter changed lanes jarringly, earning a loud beep from the SUV behind him. He sped up, and barely made it through the changing yellow light. When they bounced into the tight strip mall parking lot, they looked around anxiously and saw no sign of Rena Slade... or Sylar.
Claire sighed heavily. "Well, maybe it hasn't happened yet. Maybe the vision was prophetic?" She turned to Peter with hopeful eyes. "Do you feel anything?"
Peter looked at her dejectedly before jumping out of the car to walk around the parking lot. He put his hands on his hips in exasperation as he scanned the area. "I don't feel... anything familiar about this place." Claire came up to his side and met his eyes with worry. "But this is the place." Peter reassured her, and then sighed.
"Peter," Claire said beside him, her voice sounding scared and strange. She tugged on his arm, and he turned his attention to where she was pointing. "Look..."
"What is that?" Mohinder called out, joining them in their curiosity. Not more than a few feet in front of them, the environment began to warp and started to look like liquid, melting away what their eyes saw into what was truly there. Peter's mouth opened in shock, and he quickly moved in front of Claire to protect her.
In the blink of an eye they were in front of Sylar and the woman from Peter’s vision, battling out their powers in a showdown. The woman was weak, and she was kneeling from exhaustion. She looked around nervously, and Peter assumed she was trying to use her powers to shield others from any backlash of Sylar’s desperate telekinetic attacks.
But she seemed to be failing, and her powers were apparently taking their toll. Fresh, red blood seeped out through her nostrils as her brow furrowed in pain.
Immediately Peter stepped up, and Claire held out a hand, but was unable to stop him. Peter stomped toward Sylar intently, and soon his long lost telekinetic powers came surging back to him. Sylar’s eyes widened as he saw Peter come onto the scene, and his brow furrowed in shock and anger before Peter’s powers sent him backward, crashing into a couple of large disposal cans.
Quickly, Mohinder ran after Peter to the woman’s side, and Claire slowly followed behind them, horrified at the pain the woman was going through.
She appeared to be much older than Peter had drawn in his prophetic sketches, and she was short and heavy set, a physical hindrance to her when it came to fighting. Rena Slade looked nothing more than someone’s kind grandmother who taught Sunday school and volunteered for the poor. No one would think the woman would have such extreme powers.
“You came,” Rena coughed out, and despite her obvious internal pain, she smiled and took Peter’s hand willingly. “Thank you, child. You have stopped him from getting my powers.”
“We’ll keep you safe, Ms. Slade. Sylar won’t hurt you anymore, so don’t worry,” Peter soothed. Rena nodded her head and leaned back into the pavement sighing.
“I know. I know. He won’t hurt me anymore. No one will.” Rena looked up gratefully at Peter and then to Mohinder. “Now, you have these powers, correct?” Peter nodded, and suddenly Rena’s grip on his hand became tighter. “Use them carefully. If you overuse them, they will kill you quickly without warning.”
“I don’t understand,” said Mohinder, shaking his head at her. “Don’t you have a genetic marker that helps you adapt to the strain of your powers over time? Surely your powers cannot kill you if they are encoded into your DNA.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Rena stated, her coal eyes darkening grimly. “I’ve tried my whole life to harness these powers, and the more I used them, the more things went badly for me later on. I assume you’re a doctor, so you might not believe me when I tell you this.” Rena’s voice was trailing off, and it was apparent she was fading fast. Her energy was waning, and the injuries were slowly killing her. Claire immediately had called 911, but Rena Slade shook her head.
“Within my faith, whatever energy you send into the universe, it comes back to you, whether negative or positive. Sometimes it can come back and affects you as much as three times the amount of energy you send out.” She gave Peter a desperate look, and patted his arm. “There’s no need to call an ambulance. I’ve used too much energy with this gift, and now I’m unfortunately giving them to you. I hope you’re stronger than I was, Peter Petrelli. These are very trying powers.” Her eyes closed, and her voice was just above a whisper. “It takes someone strong to use them. Sylar is strong, but he doesn’t have heart strength. He has the strength, but not the heart. He will not hesitate to use my power for something evil.”
“Ms. Slade! Ms. Slade!” Peter could feel her grip loosening, and her mouth opened as her head rolled back, the momentum fading from her body. Behind him, Peter heard Claire gasp as Rena Slade’s life expired before them. Peter’s empathy receptors high, a tear escaped from his eye, and he bowed his head down in respect. Lightly, he moved her eyelids closed and put her hands over her chest.
“Sylar’s gone,” Mohinder said, cutting through the thick somber air. Peter and Claire looked quickly behind them, and despite a huge dent in the garbage cans, there was no trace of Sylar.
“This is so awful,” Claire bemoaned, still transfixed on Rena’s lifeless body. It both sickened and intrigued her to look at a dead body like that, especially a body that was just talking and breathing seconds ago. Peter saw her cover her mouth with her hand, and he wondered if she was going to be sick.
“Yes. It is a pity we came all this way to save her, and we didn’t,” Mohinder responded in a soft voice.
“We did save her,” Peter corrected. “We saved her from losing her powers to Sylar. That’s what she wanted, and she knew that she wasn’t going to make it with her powers overloading anyway.” Peter glanced down at Rena’s face before looking back at Claire and Mohinder. “I can understand how she felt.”
“Peter…” Claire whispered, but turned her head as sirens blared in the distance.
“Should we stay here with her?” Mohinder looked around, and no one was paying attention to them. Suddenly, as soon as they realized it, the atmosphere became fuzzy, and the strange warping sensation bubbled around them again.
“What was that?” Claire exclaimed, and she squealed as Peter grabbed her and Mohinder, and led them away from the scene, bounding into the air and setting them down behind the strip mall. Looking around, Peter realized the area was clear of onlookers before turning to his bewildered friends.
“We need to stay away from the cops. I think it’s for the best,” Peter whispered. Claire nodded, but Mohinder looked at him hard.
“Are you worried about your family’s image again?” Mohinder snarled at him. “A woman died over there!”
Peter shot him a glare and came inches within the doctor’s face, his nostrils flaring with fury. “I know that, and there’s nothing I can do. And no, this isn’t about my family or me. It’s about Rena Slade. Now, she obviously did something back there to shield us from people with her powers. She consciously guarded everyone around us while Sylar was attacking her. She knew people wouldn’t understand her powers and panic. Mohinder, don’t you see?”
Mohinder was taken aback by Peter’s emotions, and he started to see that Peter understood Rena Slade. He only knew her briefly, but he reached into her mind and tapped into her powers, just like he always did with his empathy, and her plight became his.
“I understand. Ms. Slade wanted to protect the secret of her powers.”
“Exactly. Most people like us understand we’re different, and we learn to accept these powers. But everyone else… they fear and panic at what they don’t understand. Rena respected that, and she used her powers to preserve that view.”
“Peter, you’re already so in tune with this woman. Do you know what her powers are yet?” Claire asked, interrupting their heated exchange. She gave Peter a concerned look. He was starting to appear pale and sweat profusely. It was odd that one little comment from Mohinder would get him so worked up.
“I… I think she bends reality. She mentioned that she sends energy out, and it comes back to her. I think that has something to do not only with her faith, but also her powers.”
“Right. It’s like the Butterfly Effect; energy that is sent out could be drastically transformed in another place. A butterfly that flaps its wings here could cause a monsoon in Asia. It is also the belief of Western Pagans that good or bad energy sent out comes back to that person, three-fold.” A wry smile erupted on Mohinder’s face. “Or if you want to look at the Hindu or Buddhist sense, it’s karma.”
“So Rena Slade believed that using her powers too much affected her karma and killed her?” Claire asked in disbelief.
“I think so,” Peter said. “She believed so strongly in that rule, the ideal became a part of her powers.”
“So on the other hand if karma doesn’t exist -“ Claire shot Mohinder an apologetic look, but he seemed amused nonetheless. “Rena created her own karma for using her powers.”
“Not necessarily. The ramifications for using her powers could have been a side-effect ingrained in her genetic marker. However, that is an interesting theory, Ms. Bennet.” Mohinder smiled again at Claire, who rolled her eyes at him and grinned.
“Rena actually believed she couldn’t control her powers, does that mean Peter actually can?” Claire asked unsure, and Peter seemed bemused at her lack of confidence in him. “No offense.”
Mohinder was about to say something, but Peter stopped abruptly ahead. Claire’s face paled as they came within view of an interruption.
“So if it isn’t Saint Peter.” Peter stood protectively in front of Claire and Mohinder. Sylar leaped from a tree branch in front of them, smirking manically. “Why don’t we see if you can control those powers?”
“Sylar!” Mohinder yelled, and surprise and fear was prevalent in his voice. He looked at the serial killer with pity mixed with nostalgia.
Sylar ignored him, and he cocked his head at Claire, who was glaring at him from behind Peter.
“Ah… if you fail, I’ll be here to reap the benefits.”
“Sylar, you don’t want to test these powers. They’re dangerous and could change the whole world! Even you’re not good enough for them.”
Sylar frowned at that last statement, but he quickly lost interest as he found something more intriguing to watch.
“Peter!” Claire screamed, and Peter could feel his entire body rage with fire. He looked down at his hands, and as his anxiety rose, Ted’s powers were coming into play, just as they had before not many months ago.
“You need to gain control! Use Rena’s powers if you can!” Mohinder yelled, and quickly, Claire pushed Mohinder back, shielding him with her body as the temperature around them began to swell up.
“I don’t think I can!” Peter called out weakly. Sylar laughed at him in the background; he obviously preferred to watch as Peter was inhibited by his very own hands.
“Peter, please!” Claire cried desperately, and as the air became hotter around them, trees began to light on fire, and the ground melted at Peter’s feet.
“Please…” Claire said just above a whisper, but Peter caught it, and he looked into her desperate eyes. Claire couldn’t save him this time. It was all up to him.
‘Come on, child,’ said a voice inside him. ‘I didn’t give you those powers so you could kill everyone. Now do what I say.’
‘Rena?’
‘Breathe easy and think about something or someone that made you the happiest in your life.’ Peter closed his eyes and headed her advice. Visions of Nathan, Simone, his mother, and Claire jumped to the forefront of his mind.
‘Now, think of me and think of my powers. Use them to make those people or anyone else that have touched you happy. Change things for them, not yourself.’ Peter smiled, and he was starting to understand her. ‘One of the greatest powers is love, self-less love, and that is what you need to remember when you use my powers.
‘The world is light and dark, gray and colorful. It is ugly and beautiful, cold and warm. And in-between everything my gift breathes. It is the energy that hums within all spaces and crooks of the universe. Once someone takes hold of it, you can move and manipulate anything…’
Rena’s voice was fading, and when Peter opened his eyes, the world was stilled in time and soaked in light. Everything loomed like stone statues, and he became the only energy humming between inertia and drive.
‘Now let it go, and wish the world right again. Wish everyone safe. That is how my power should be used.’
Peter closed his eyes again, and he smiled. Light sounds of Claire’s laughter buzzed in his ears, and he could hear her singing. He blinked his tired eyes, and he could feel a soft blanket pulled over him.
A loving kiss fell on his forehead, and Peter fell into dreams.
Chapter Two
[mood|
productive]