Who the Hell is Stuntman Mike? (fic)
"Yes. She does have certain qualities that are attractive, but we just met tonight."
"And you're taking her home? Then why aren't you dancing with her?"
"She doesn't want to dance, Palomita."
"Please stop calling me that, you know what my name is."
"Does that mean I have permission to call you 'Maya'?"
She doesn't say anything but he feels her sigh at him and allows himself a chuckle. "She just wants a ride home. Lucky for us all, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time." Sylar's hand slides over her hair and down her back again.
"Ah! So you are a Good Samaritan, then?"
"Not exactly, no."
"Then what, exactly?" She muses, resting her head against one of his shoulders while hooking the crook of her elbow over the other. He looks down at the top of her head, brushing his hands over her arms and wherever else her skin is exposed. There is a soft thud and Sylar cuts his eyes to where the sound originates.
"I think your friend just passed out."
"Shit." Maya untangles herself from him and makes a move to check on Elle. Sylar frowns, catching her arm, taking a step toward her.
"Leave her... for a little while, that is. There's nothing you can do for her now and this song is one of my favorites." He tries reeling her back in, but she snatches her arm back.
"I can't do that! She might have alcohol poisoning or something... it would serve her right." She finishes in a grumble.
"Have a good night, then. And thanks for the dance." He waves before turning back to see a less than amused Claire, sitting at the bar stool.
"Are you finished accosting the locals? Can I get my ride home now?"
"Aren't you a local?" he prods and hears her suck her teeth. "You sound more than a little jealous."
"Please. I'm tired and I just want to crawl into my own bed... and sleep." She finishes off his salacious look.
"Hold on a tick. We'll go when I'm ready to go." He sits back in the stool, leaning against the bar. Claire was getting agitated.
"And when is that gonna be?" Sylar watches Maya gather Elle up with some effort and usher her out the front doors. "Aren't you going to get her number, or was practically having sex with her on the dance floor enough for you?"
"Oh, I've got her number..." Sylar says, adjusting himself, and not bothering to be discreet about it. Claire makes a face.
"Herpes is more like it. If you are any gentleman at all, you'll leave the poor thing alone to take care of her friend."
"No way," he says as he stands up. "I gotta catch me my other girlfriends."
*
The crash was extraordinary.
It was a mess of crushed metal, ruined flesh and smooth black road. Sylar stood over his created destruction with the air of a king surveying his kingdom. He looked back as Claire's prone body in the back seat and gave a fleeting thought to the boyfriend who'd abandon her in a place to be killed off by the only person thoughtful enough to help her get back home. That man would be thinking about her for the rest of his life. Well, at least in that way she'd live past this day.
"Sorry about that, kid. You deserved better." He croons as he closer her eyes with his fingers and snatches a lock of hair from her head.
Elle was still in the car, bloodied blondish head lolling against what use to be the front passenger door. He ran his fingers over her scalp, curling a single matted braid around his finger. With a sharp tug he ripped the lock out, and then smoothed the rest of her hair over the spot. His fingers worry over the strands as he walks just ahead of the car where a broken Maya lays.
She still alive, still aware. He knelt down next to her letting his hands hover over the mess that was her body.
"That looks really painful." His mouth slid into an exaggeration of a frown as his voice hisses out in a whisper, "I bet you wished you stayed to dance with me now. Probably would have avoided this whole mess. Well... probably not." He lays his hand down next to her slips of hair, not letting his hand actually touch them. Not yet. The glass on the ground cuts into him, making him bleed as he sits beside her.
She makes a gurgling noise in her throat.
"You want to say something? I'm here for you." He raises his hand to comfort her but she flinches away from him. He feels her face turning into a snarl. Can see it in the near blackness of her eyes (the collision had caused some blowout behind them).
He makes himself relax, smiling down at her. He takes her hand as she begins to cry, her tears mixing with the blood in her eyes.
"Shh... I'm here, I'm here." She dies beside him and as the sirens come, he takes the still warm cross from her neck. He smiles fully, then licks his fingers.
~
"Are you proud of yourself?"
"Quite, actually." Candice said as she strode past Eden. The scenery around them flickered, making Eden squeeze her eyes closed to ward off nausea.
"Do I have to make you stop?" Eden threatened.
"Not if you're too busy puking to talk!"
"You're letting her get to you again." Monica smiled comfortingly at Eden and Eden relaxed a bit.
"I know, she's just really annoying."
"Maybe if you told her not to be..."
Eden paused on the thought for more than a beat then and shook her head. "You know I won't do that."
"I know you won't." Monica replied and pulled Eden into a half-hug as they walked along.
"Will you two dykes hurry it up? I'm fucking hungry over here. And tell the bitch to get her fat ass off my car!"
Eden sighed and Monica turned looking at Charlie who was leaning against Candice's pride and joy, rocking some headphones. "Would you at least consider it?" Monica asked as she waved Charlie along.
*
The girls moved into diner booth, eating and laughing and he watched from a safe corner. They were telling stories very animatedly, but the smaller one with the huge eyes -that one, he thought- was leaning over some folders. She was looking at pictures of his other girlfriends.
Just as well, he thought, it only solidified his intentions, not that he was having second thoughts. His hands worked over the warm golden cross at his neck. Not in the least.
*
"I don't know, you guys, this pretty is stupid."
"Come on! I just got Monica to agree to it and we need you to convince this guy. We leave Charlie here to collect the intel. Easy as lyin’."
Eden rolled her eyes, sighing.
"It is easier this way, Eden." Monica added. "Plus, Candice said if you do it, she won't get mad if you accidentally use your powers on her."
Eden paused, then replied "I have no interest in doing that."
"See! I told you! Can we please just get this show on the road?"
"But Candice, I don't want to hear anymore of your whining or rudeness for the rest of the trip." Eden added finally.
"Fine!" Candice waved her hand dismissively.
"I'm fucking serious, Candice!"
This time Candice rolled her eyes, before forcing a smile. "I'll play nice."
"Good. What exactly are we supposed to be doing?"
"You'll see." Monica bounced in, enjoying their amusing exchange.
*
"We're doing what?"
"Playing Ship's Mast."
"Why?!"
"Cause I saw it in a movie once and I know I can do it."
"But do you trust her to not crash the car while you're on top of it?"
"Hey!" Candice injected.
"That's why you're coming. You're my insurance." Monica patted Eden on the shoulder.
"I know how to drive a fucking car," Candice grumbled, looking sore as she folded her arms across her chest.
*
As it turn out, Candice was a really awesome driver and Eden found that she was starting to enjoy herself. That is, until some asshole came out of nowhere and tried to ram them off the road. The most frightening seven minutes she'd ever cared to remember. Eden's voice didn't work over the roar of the wind and the shithead was laughing too hard and too busy trying to kill them all to even attempt listening. Wasn't that just like a man?
Candice was preoccupied with trying to keep Monica alive and on the hood of the car. She couldn't concentrate enough to cause even a flicker.
Monica was doing an amazing job of staying on the hood, even though she'd lost her handling and was spinning off, she stuck, how ever precarious, to the hood of the car. Eden's heart was in her throat when the car tapped hard enough to send Monica flying into a thatch of high weeds and bushes.
The stranger got out of his car laughing. He lifted the sunglasses from his eyes and stared right at Eden. "You're next, Pixie."
Just then, Candice took out her gun and shot at him.
"You're going to piss yourself when we catch up with you!" Eden voiced as Sylar sped off.
Eden and Candice sat together in shocked silence at what just happened. Neither of them moving to check on Monica. Neither of them wanting to see the broken lifelessness that was hidden behind the shrub-
"I'M OKAY!" Monica said as he hopped up into the air waving like a child at a fair.
Candice fainted, slumping back hard in the driver's seat and Eden felt like she was going to puke. Of course Monica was okay. She probably watched movies of cats falling out of buildings for fun!
"YOU ASSHOLE! DON'T EVER SCARE US LIKE THAT AGAIN!" Eden guessed Candice hadn't fainted after all.
"Aww, I love you too!" Monica said, leaning against the car like she'd just came back from a day on the beach. "Where's the maniac?"
"I shot him and he sped off crying like someone tapped him in the balls." Candice said wiping off tears from her face. She suddenly turned toward Eden, furious. "Why didn't you use your power on him?!"
"I did! Why didn't you!?"
"I really wanted to shoot him!"
"Okay, okay girls, chill out! What are we gonna do now?" Monica cut in before they could lose sight of what just happened.
"I say we kill that asshole."
"Fuck yeah!" Candice agreed as she started the car back up.
*
He was already marked for dead.
And when they caught up with him, he paid for his debt (with a little coaxing).
Just when it looked like he was finished, Monica reached down and wrenched the head off of his shoulders. The other women started at her in horrified shock.
"What?!" Monica said and shrugged her shoulders innocently. "I saw it in a movie..."
*
Afterward, they met back up with Charlie at another diner and told her about their little adventure
"So then we caught up with him stopped in this in a ditch, tending to the wound Candice gave him." Monica said, "He was weeping like baby, screaming and the like."
"He was cryin' like a little bitch, is what he was doin'!" Candice added with barely contained laughter.
"Anyway, I busted his windows out with this pipe I picked up earlier."
"You should have seen her! I don't even curse that much!"
"That motherfucker almost killed me! So, his car is all mangled thanks to Candice." Who; gave Monica a little nod in thanks. "And he's all crying for him mama and bleeding from various holes in his body, when we pull him out and proceeded to give him the ass whipping of his sorry, miserable life. He'll never fuck with anyone ever again!" They gave each other a victorious high five.
"Don't forget to tell him what Eden did!"
"Oh!" Monica breaks up so much she is almost incapable of completing the story. "So, so... Eden! When he’s out of the car, Eden walks over to him and say all cool like 'Hello' and I kid you not that psycho pissed in his pants."
Both Monica and Candice fell over into a fit of laughter.
The other occupants of the tiny diner were annoyed, to say the least. But no one had the balls to do anything about the boisterous bunch of ladies in the booth.
Eden, who hadn't said much during the entire exchange, sat quietly flipping through the picture of the other girls who hadn't been as lucky. Her mouth puckered at all the smiling, carefree faces. She glanced down at the golden cross she'd palmed after they'd finished him. Old habits die hard, huh, Sarah? She thought as she placed it back in her pocket.
~Fin~
Palomita = little dove * from Planet Terror