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heroslayerClaire wasn't surprised that neither her dad nor Nathan came back to talk to her after they realized that she wasn't going to give them what they wanted. She wasn't going to give them Sylar. She wondered if they considered the reason; did they think she was just refusing because she wanted to protect the killer or if it was really because she had no idea? She wasn't really lying when she said she had no idea where he was at the time because she didn't know.
She couldn't tell what time of day it was but she was figuring night some time, her body telling her so as she curled on her side on the hard bed. The tiny pillow gave her no comfort as she tucked it under her head, staring at the bare walls as she listened to the sound of her breathing. She was waiting.
Waiting for Danko to come put the bullet in her head or for Sylar to find her; not sure which one was going to come first.
Unfortunately for Claire, however, this time when the door opened it wasn't a friendly face that greeted her. It was Nathan's Hunter who stepped into the room, silently, and closed the door behind him. He was armed, as expected, but the gun was still in its holster by his side, rather than in his hands. Clearly, he planned on interrogating his prisoner first, just as Nathan and Bennet had, but with hopefully happier results.
Like Bennet, he moved over to the wall to undo the camera feed, and like Nathan, he leaned against the wall, calmly, once he was finished. "Miss Bennet."
Claire's body stiffened when she heard the door open and the sight of the Hunter had her heart dropping into her stomach, giving a slow trip as she watched with the hope that he wasn't alone. But of course he was which wasn't a good sign for her as she pushed herself up slowly, sitting on the bed as her eyes flickered to the gun in his holster and then back to his face.
As he undid the camera feed, she wet her lips because that wasn't a good sign. He could hurt her and there would be no proof. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice soft but cold. "Come to do the job finally?" She lifted her chin in a slightly haughty manner.
"I was thinking about it." He flashed her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "But there's something I want to show you first. Something I think you might find interesting, if nothing else."
She narrowed her eyes a little bit, a bit of worry trickling through her before she arched a brow, "What makes you think that you have anything that I'd be interested in?"
"You'd be surprised," he shot back, before pushing away from the wall. "But if you'd rather I shot you and got it over with ... " Popping his shoulders in a shrug, he reached for the gun at his waist, pulling it out and removing the safety, before leveling it at her. "... I've been waiting for this for a long time."
Her eyes flickered to the gun and then back to his face as she licked her lips once more, the only nervous action to give her away before she pushed off the bed a bit. Might as well be standing up as she faced him. "It's not like I can stop you, right? You probably like that too." She pondered leaping at him, doubting that she could really surprise him but perhaps ...
"What do you want to show me?"
He moved over to her as fast as was humanly possible, grabbing one of her arms to twist it behind her back. The gun went to the back of her head, muzzle pressed into the spot that would down her, if he so chose to pull the trigger, and then he was nudging her towards the door. "Walk," he ordered, rather than answering the question.
She barely had time to register what was happening before suddenly he had her arm, a gasp ripping out of her as he twisted her arm back and she felt the strain in her shoulder as it damn near popped out of place. "Bastard." She hissed at him, trying to jerk away once but she found she couldn't get away. So she had no choice but to move as he nudged her forward, walking briskly to the door as she wondered where he was taking her.
"Takes one to know one," he told her, calmly, and then he was manhandling her down the hallway in silence.
Whatever confusion there had been earlier, when Nathan and Bennet had been there, had apparently abated, everyone returned to their posts, the day to day operations of Building 26 back underway. They looked up in interest as Danko dragged Claire down the hallway, but no one made any motion to stop them or warn Bennet or Nathan, that he was running off with their daughter. This had apparently been the plan from the beginning, or no one really questioned what the Hunter did these days.
And within a few minutes, Danko was stopping them in front of closed door. "Open it."
Claire snarled at him for the little stab at her even if he was right; she was the bastard child and dark secret of Nathan Petrelli. The daughter out of wedlock and a freak like the rest.
She pondered screaming out to the others but she knew, she could see that none of them would come to the rescue. She also had a feeling that neither one of her fathers were even in the building, that Danko would wait till they were both gone before making his move to take their daughter away from them. She marched, comforted only by the fact that Sylar would find her at some point and he would make Danko pay.
As he stopped them in front of the door, she looked over her shoulder and sneered a bit. "Do it yourself."
He pushed the gun into the back of her head sharply, the gesture meant to be a warning, and then he was lowering his mouth to her ear. "I said open it."
Her head jerked forward, causing her upper lip to curl a bit before she shot him a dark look out of the corner of her eyes. Reaching out, she opened the door and then moved through with him on her heels. "Where are we going?"
"You really that eager to die, Miss Bennet?" he asked, pushing her down the hallway he'd made her lead them into. "I thought you'd appreciate a few more minutes, before I took care of one of Petrelli's big problems."
She merely scoffed at him as he pushed her down the hallway, "Trust me, I'm not his biggest. I'm not yours either." She gauged how long the hallway was and where she could run to if she managed to get away.
"You'd be surprised. You and you little boyfriend have been causing a lot of trouble, lately." A pause, and then he was shoving her at another door, expecting her to open it. Though judging by the way things looked, this wasn't just another hallway--the door itself looked far too heavy, more like fire doors than anything else. No, instead, this seemed to be another of the cells like the one he had taken her out of. "Which, speaking of, if you'd be nice enough to open this door for me, too?"
"You know, I have no idea what you're talking about. Seems like you're watching too much television." Or videos. She looked at the door that he was leading to, a frown racing over her features as she wondered what it was that he was up to. She looked sideways at him before opening the door, wondering what the hell was going on.
He didn't answer this time. Instead, he simply shoved her away from him, and into the room before following after her, the door slamming shut behind the both of them, loudly. And if the sound weren't nerve-wracking enough, the fact that there was a figure sitting in the center of the room, tied to a chair, a knife sticking out of the back of his head probably was. Especially when Claire realized it was Sylar.
She stumbled forward as he shoved her away from him into the room, causing her to nearly lose her balance till she caught herself. As the door slammed shut, she looked up and caught sight of the figure sitting in the room. Her breath caught then, dread rushing through her as she realized that it was ... "Sylar." She couldn't hide her reaction as her lips parted, a brief flash of something close to grief and then she whirled to face him, anger replacing everything else. Her eyes sparkled as she crouched a bit, "How did you catch him?"
"We caught him sulking around the building," Danko answered, not bothering to try restraining a smug smile. "I think he was looking for you."
"Bullshit." She couldn't believe it, she wouldn't. She looked back over her shoulder at the still figure and her gaze was calculating. She only needed to pull the blade out and then fight Danko off long enough to get Sylar to come to. That or she had to attack Danko first. She turned back to him, deciding that she wasn't just going to give up.
So she sprang at him.
He hadn't been expecting that, but he tried to react anyway, belatedly scrambling to one side in an attempt to get out of her way. It helped--he landed sideway, rather than flat on his back, with her on top of him--but it wasn't enough. He was still down, and somewhere in the fall, the gun had slid across the floor out of his reach. And when he realized it, hissing swears, he reached for it, something glittering at his wrist as his shirt sleeve hiked up, clearly pinned more soundly than he was.
She landed across his legs as he fell to the side, his knee hitting her solar plexus and nearly stealing her breath but the lack of pain was an aid at times. She didn't feel the pain across her ribs as she scrambled over him, taking advantage of him being stunned for a second as she noticed the gun had slid across the floor. She didn't see the glittering at his wrist as she twisted, diving for the gun.
Fortunately or unfortunately, however, Danko got to it first, and he had no reservations about waving it in her face once he had his hands around it. "Back off, Bennet Jr."
She stayed on her knees as she looked up at him, breathing raggedly as her eyes were a lighter shade of green which was a sign that she was pissed off. Then she noticed the sparkling at his wrist, "Where did you get that?" she demanded.
He shot a quick, sideways glance down at the necklace that was wrapped around his wrist--her necklace, which she had given to Sylar before they'd split up--and then he was raising his eyes to her again. He didn't lift his head, however, instead contenting himself to watching her from under his eyebrows, his expression heated, and in that instant, he didn't look quite like Nathan's Hunter. Oh, he could still pass for him, was still a mirror image of Danko, but the way he looked was entirely familiar and not in a bad way.
"Take a wild guess."
She didn't see it, not right away. After all, Sylar was sitting not far from her and there was a knife in his head. As she looked at the necklace again, she had never looked more furious than she did in that moment. The idea that the Hunter had taken her necklace from Sylar and was wearing it made her skin crawl. She had given it to Sylar to hold onto her, she had given it to him because she trusted him with it and no one else.
"I'm going to take that knife out of his head and I'm going to stab you with it. And when he comes to, I'm going to make him tear. you. apart." Each vowel was a promise as she started to her feet, ready to kill the man in front of her.
He couldn't help but make a soft, amused noise at the back of his throat. "Be my guest."
Claire didn't take her eyes off of him as she backed towards the stationary figure in the chair, her breathing still ragged. She watched cautiously as she reached, curling her fingers around the handle of the knife as she yanked to pull the knife from Sylar's head, sure that Danko was going to shoot her at any second.
But Nathan's Hunter didn't. Instead, much to the contrary, he was setting the gun down on the floor, calmly, before pulling himself into a sit from where he'd laid sprawled on the ground still. A moment was spent watching Claire, and then he was shifting his gaze to Sylar's corpse where, predictably, nothing was happening. He huffed out another sigh of a laugh, shaking his head a little, and then he was pushing himself back across the floor so that he could put his back to the wall, his eyes falling closed.
Silence for a moment, and then Danko was crying out sharply, very clearly pained.
Claire was confused as she looked down at the head, alarmed when nothing was happening. Confusion showing as she wondered if perhaps they had shot Sylar first; so she pushed the head forward a bit to see if she could see a bullet hole. She wasn't paying attention to Danko, so she didn't see him sit down but the cry of pain caught her attention as she jumped.
Then she looked at him, her heart in her throat as she jumped a bit.
Danko twitched visibly, fingers digging into the floor uselessly, his face twisted in pain--or, well, it could have been pain, anyway. It was hard to tell, as his expression--no, rather his entire face--had become fluid, something pushing at his skin from the inside, distorting his face as though something was trying to climb out of his skin. Another howl from the man on the floor, though this one sounded less like him and more like someone else, and then the mess his features had become was solidifying into something more familiar. And with a final cry, it wasn't Danko sitting on the floor, breathless, it was Sylar.
Claire couldn't believe what she was seeing as she stood there, watching his features literally change and her stomach twisted. As he began to change, the knife fell from her fingers, clattering loudly against the floor as she took a small step around the body in the chair. She was breathless, almost not wanting to believe what she was seeing as Danko slowly changed into Sylar. Then it made sense, somewhat.
"Sylar." His name came out in a rush as she hurried forward, dropping down into his lap as she threw her arms around his neck and caught him in a relieved hug. A bit of emotion clogged her throat as she held onto him tightly. He was there.
"Hello, Claire," he managed, breathlessly, wrapping an arm around her waist automatically, to pull her close.
She turned her head as she pulled back a little, pressing her mouth to his in small kisses, raining them across his lips before she pulled back again. This time she hit his shoulder, glaring at him, "You're such an ass." She glared over at the image of him dead before bringing her eyes back.
"I thought it was poetic," he answered, flashing her a small, nearly manic grin. The whole process of changing how he looked had been painful, yes, but the adrenaline rush that was following in its wake was nothing short of amazing.
"I don't like your idea of poetry." Her lips twisted a bit. She had a rush of adrenaline too, making her blood run hot as she pressed her forehead to his, basking in the fact that he was there. Then she pulled back to look at him again, "Where is Danko?"
"I'll try roses are red, violets are blue, next time," he quipped, leaning in to steal a quick kiss. "But as for Danko-- " A pause, in which he sobered, slowly, and the he was nodding towards the door. "--give me a minute, and I'll show you." He needed to put the Hunter's face back on, if they were going to play show and tell.
She rolled her eyes, a little amused before giving him the kiss back, catching his chin to make it linger for a second or two more before she pulled back. She nodded a bit before climbing to her feet, moving back as she could tell that he was going to change back to Danko's form. So she watched with a slight wrinkle over her nose.
He took a deep breath before letting the process Claire had witnessed a moment before repeat itself. This time, however, unsurprisingly, it was Danko's face that clawed its way out of his among the pained noises, and just as before he took a minute to catch his breath, before trying to get to his feet.
"God, that hurts," he muttered, as he leaned down to pick up the gun he'd pushed away just moments before.
She wasn't pleased to see Danko's face and after this was all done, she was going to ask him to never use that face again. She pushed some hair back from her face as she waited for him to get to his feet and pick up the gun. "It looks like it." A slight nod before she wet her lips. "Now what?"
After they were finished here, hopefully he'd never have to wear it again, but right now it was necessary. Just as it was necessary to make a gesture that suggested she come back over to him. "We go the same way as before. Less suspicion that way."
"Sure." She rolled her eyes, "And gentle with the whole jabbing thing." Not that it hurt but she just smirked as she moved in front of him, waiting for him to put the gun back to her head. She even offered her arm so that he could twist it behind her, they needed to look real after all.
"Why? We want realism, don't we?" That said, though, he was still marginally less violent with the gun when he pressed it to the back of her head, and his hold on her wasn't quite so tight, when he pulled her arm behind her back. When he pushed her to lead, however, it wasn't towards the door but rather back towards the body of the shapeshifter that had once shared his face. "Speaking of realism. Didn't your mother ever teach you to put your toys back where you found them, Miss Bennet?"
She blinked and then rolled her eyes as she realized what he wanted to do. "Hardy har har." She muttered, pulling away from him as she moved around to grab the knife off of the floor. She didn't relish the idea of shoving a knife in someone's head but the guy was dead, so she didn't think about it as she pressed the tip of the knife to the hole and then pushed the blade in all the way. "Better?" She asked as she moved towards him.
"Much," he answered, nodding as he pulled her back into a convincing hold, the gun to her head. Putting the knife back wouldn't do much good in the long run, he knew--eventually, Bennet would get curious and pull it out, however briefly, just to make sure it was really him---but for now, they needed to think he was dead. It would buy them time to escape, if everyone thought Nathan's ship was running smoothly again.
Casting a glance back at the shapeshifter, he flashed the body a small, pleased smile, and then he was guiding Claire towards the door again.
She didn't fight him as he wrenched her arm behind her a bit, holding her tightly as he had before while leading her to the door. She managed to look pissed off and upset as she opened the door, clenching her jaw while letting him lead her to where he had Danko stashed.
And within minutes, they were standing just inside another cell. This one, like the last, had a single occupant in it, tied to the chair and stripped down to his undershirt and boxers--clearly, Sylar's shapeshifting ability hadn't come with a wardrobe change and so he'd had to make do--but where the fake Sylar had been dead, Danko was still alive. Beaten into unconsciousness, if the wet, red line drawn down one side of his face said anything, but still alive. For now.
"Merry Christmas, Claire," the killer muttered as he let her go. Not that it was anywhere near Christmas, but he'd restrained himself from killing Nathan's Hunter so he could present him to Claire as a gift. She had as much as reason to want to see him die as he did, after all.
As they entered the new cell, she found herself looking at a similar scene but this man was at least alive. This time she could see that it was actually Danko and he looked like he had been beaten for sure. The idea only made her smirk as she studied him before hearing the muttering at her side.
She turned to look at him with a smile, "I'd kiss you but that face freaks me out." She admitted before looking back, "How did you pull this all off?" He did it all under their noses. Her dads would be pissed.
"I wouldn't want you to kiss me like this." The mental image of Claire making out with Danko was far from appealing, and so he was quick to change the subject to her question. "It wasn't hard, though. Getting all this done."
He paused, frowning as he put his thoughts in order, and then he continued. "When I got here, something was happening--one of us had gotten out of their cells." He'd managed to put that much together just by sticking to dark corners and listening as Claire's father's men ran by, hurriedly. "I ignored it, trying to find you, and ran into Danko, instead. Funny thing? It wasn't Danko."
"Thank god because it would be creepy." She wrinkles her nose at him again before nodding as he told her how he managed to pull all of this off.
She nodded because she remembered when something was going on, "Right, my dad and Nathan were in my cell when some guy named Martin escaped." She mused before glancing over at him again, "Let me guess, it was the shapeshifter." Then she looked back at the unconscious form before them, "Did he do this?"
He shook his head. "No, I did."
Another skipped beat, and then he was launching back into his explanation. "The shapeshifter didn't know who I was, and I was dressed like one of Danko's men. He led me into a room and shot me. He thought I was dead." He affected a look that all but dripped mock surprise on the dead man's part--a look that was probably disturbing on Danko's face--and then shrugged. "When I woke up, he'd taken my face. I thought I could use that to my advantage, so I killed him. And then I found the real deal here."
Sylar grinned, the expression making it easy to tell what--who--he really was, and he moved to stand in front of Danko, leaning down so that he could stare at him from under his eyebrows. "Imagine his surprise."
There was a slight noise like a little bit of a laugh as he told her that the guy shot him but she didn't really look amused. It was probably lucky for the shapeshifter that he was already dead. She pursed her lips a bit, looking back at Danko as she thought that it did work well for them that the shapeshifter had taken Sylar's face; people would think he was dead now. At least till her dad got suspicious and found out otherwise but whatever, they could use whatever time that they got.
She moved closer, nodding her head, "I can imagine." She nodded, "He's been asking to kill me, guess Nathan and my dad have been holding him off." Then she looked at her lover who was hiding behind another face, "They wanted me to give you up."
He huffed out a sigh of a laugh, unsurprised but still amused. "I'm guessing you didn't."
"Told them you were heading west." Which left the whole freaking country really and she had to smirk a bit at that.
"How descriptive," he replied, flashing her a smirk of his own before turning back to Danko. "So, what do you think, Claire? Any ideas as to how our friend here should die?"
"I thought it was a big help." She met his gaze with a wink before looking back at Danko, "I'd say the way you usually do it just for fun but now that you're dead." She paused, "It'd almost be poetic to put a bullet in the back of his head."
"Too quick. I want to see him suffer."
That said, he reached out to put a hand to the side of the Hunter's face, thumb digging into the gash he'd left him with earlier. And like magic, the other man snapped awake hissing, looking up at Sylar first in hazed confusion and then with dawning horror. "You." He nearly choked on the word as he spit it out, and the killer leaned back, smiling.
"Me." Whether Danko thought he was the shapeshifter or knew who he really was, however, was anyone's guess, but considering Claire standing at his side, he figured it wouldn't be that hard to puzzle out.
Claire chuckled faintly because she wasn't surprised that he would want Danko to suffer. "Fine, but maybe after?" She offered with a shrug.
Then she fell silent as he dug his thumb into the gash and she smirked as Danko came to rather quickly, the pain overriding the darkness to bring him back. She watched the horror on his face as he looked to the man who had his face and then registered her being there as well. She was sure that told him who was actually there before him.
"I don't think he was expecting you." A slight chuckle.
"I'm just full of surprises today." He flashed her a brief grin over his shoulder before sobering, turning back to Danko to consider him, thoughtfully. "You remember how I said I wouldn't be surprised if he was one of us?"
That made her arch an eyebrow curiously as she stepped closer and looked at Danko, "Is he?"
"He doesn't sound like you do, no, but I still wouldn't mind cutting him open just be sure." The Hunter stared at him, stunned into speechlessness. "What do you think?"
Now she looked amused as she shrugged one shoulder, waving a hand, "Sure, go ahead. Never hurts to be sure after all."
"Glad you agree."
He raised a hand, finger leveled with Danko's hairline casually, and immediately the other man started struggling against his bonds, trying to free himself from them or tip the chair over to avoid Sylar's unique brand of death. "Wait!" he pleaded, after it became apparent that he wasn't going anywhere, and the killer complied, lowering his hand to hear Danko out. There was nothing better than begging, after all, and it had been so long. "Wait. If you kill me like that, they're going to know you're not dead."
Claire watched Danko as he struggled a bit, surprised that he didn't start screaming and yet she shouldn't be surprised at all. When Sylar paused at the pleading, she pursed her lips a little bit before glancing over at Sylar, "He's right." A little bit of displeasure rippled across her features before suddenly she smirked, her eyes lighting, "Of course, I could always use my blood to heal the cut."
"Or mine," Sylar agreed, making a soft, pleased noise at the back of his throat as he raised his hand again. "Sorry. Guess it's just not your day." And that said, he started sawing into the other man's head, mercilessly.
"Either one works." She nodded her head, enjoying the look on Danko's face as she suggested using their blood because it meant that they could do whatever they wanted and erase the effects. She stood back, watching as Sylar sawed into the real Danko's head. As he did, she glanced at the door and then looked around before watching again.
He made short work of the incision--disappointing, but the window of extra time he'd bought them was rapidly closing, and he wanted to make the most of what they did have--blood spattering his face and clothes by the time he was done. He seemed unconcerned by the blood, however, instead moving casually to peel Danko's scalp back from the rest of his skull. He was dead by now--they very rarely survived having their head shredded open--but it didn't matter. Now that he had his head open, he felt compelled to look, even if he knew it would gain him nothing.
And as expected, he was replacing the top of Danko's head a moment later, as if he were a jack-o-lantern missing its top rather than a dead man, twice disappointed. "Huh. Guess not."
Claire wrinkled her nose as she got a little bit of blood splattered over her as well but she didn't care as they weren't her clothes since they had shoved her in jumpers after searching her when she arrived. She stepped a touch closer, glancing at the top of the man's brain as Sylar checked over it just for interest's sake. "Well, damn." She didn't sound so disappointed.
She looked at the door, "How much time do we have?"
"Knowing Bennet? A few more minutes, at least." Ten, maybe fifteen, until Bennet's curiosity over came him, by his estimation. "Shame, since I would have liked to have a little more fun, but you take what you can get."
"I don't think it's going to be finished." After all, her dad would probably look for her after she disappeared again. "I'd say take him with us but we should get out of here." She nodded once more. "You going to heal the cut or me?"
"It won't be, but killing him will cripple them." Even if it didn't, it felt damn good, and he'd at least to get to do it twice, once his way, and once Claire's.
That in mind, without even bothering to answer her question, he pressed a finger to his skin, slicing it open, telekinetically. He held it with his thoughts, so that it didn't seal on its own, took a moment to marvel at the fact that he still looked like Danko, and yet if he let go for a second, he'd still heal on his own, and then he was holding the gash over the Hunter's head. His other hand went up to press at either side of the wound, to make sure it bled, and then he was letting it heal over in time with his doppleganger's head.
He stepped away, pulling the gun he'd been waving in Claire's face out again to offer it to her. "Your turn," he told her, just as Danko snapped back to life, gasping.
"Which is what we need." She nodded her head.
She fell silent as he cut open his finger so that he could spill his own blood, using it on the cut he put in the other man's head when he sawed his skull open. She watched as the cut healed, leaving no mark of what they had done to him. When Danko actually came back to life, she was almost startled but then she smiled a little as Sylar handed her the gun.
"Thank you." She checked the safety as she moved around behind Danko, feeling him stiffen. She thought of saying something witty and sharp but it didn't matter. She merely pressed the gun against the base of his skull, the man's eyes widening before she pulled the trigger.
Sylar made a soft, amused noise at the back of his throat as blood rushed from Danko's nose, that the only sign she'd done anything to him, if you could ignore the hole in the back of his head, and then he was turning towards the door. "We still need to get out. Let's go."
Claire nodded her head, moving around the side of the chair as she brushed past the body that was slumping against the ropes that held him into place. She handed the gun back to Sylar, "Okay, right ahead of you." She paused to let him take her arm before opening the door so they could leave.
For a third time, Sylar manhandled her through the halls of Building 26, and for a third time, no one so much as shot them a suspicious look. This time, however, he lead her boldly towards the front door, neither stopping nor hesitating, as a single second of faltering could cost them everything. And as they reached the main doors, he barked orders at the men standing guard there, as to where he was taking Claire and why, and then he was headed out of the building. The guards, however, had looked more confused than accepting, so the sooner they got to out of sight, the better. Who knew when one of them would decide something was wrong and try to stop them or put in a call to Nathan or Bennet, after all?
Claire didn't struggle nearly as much as she had the first time but she did make sure to stumble here and there, seeming like she was resisting a bit as he walked her boldly towards the front door. She glared back at him once but she still seemed like she didn't believe anyone would come to her rescue. She knew they had to get out quickly because if her dad or Nathan, or anyone for that matter, figured out what was happening they wouldn't get out without a fight.
As if on cue, a chorus of shouts exploded behind them, and a quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that the guards they had passed earlier were now chasing after them. Sylar couldn't help but scowl, and then he was pushing her away from him. "I have a car two streets over," he informed her, his tone clipped. "Go. I'll take care of them."
Claire heard the explosion of shouts behind them and she whirled a bit, looking to the guards that were chasing after them. She turned to him then, her eyes widening just a touch as he pushed her away but then she set her jaw in a determined line. "Remember, you still have my necklace." In other words, he better meet her at the car. She almost lingered, like she wanted to do something more but then she ran.
"You'll get it back," he answered, hurriedly. "I promise." And then he was turning to stalk back across the pavement to meet the guards giving chase, his hands coming up from his side ready for the fight.
She didn't want to leave him but she knew he would be better able to fight if he wasn't trying to protect her as well. She ignored any looks she might get, running as hard and fast as she could before skidding to a stop with a curse. She didn't know which way he meant or what car she was looking for. She whirled back and then turned, heading further away from where he was facing the men.
And a moment or two later, she nearly ran head-first into him. Clearly, he'd taken care of the guards and hadn't had to face down Bennet or Nathan, as enjoyable as that would have been, and had taken a different route than her. Better to make anyone else who followed have to split up to chase the both of the separately, thinking they were going to two separate locations, rather than meeting up, than to follow directly after what was his and make it easy. Regardless, though, he hadn't liked the idea of leaving her alone for too long, now that he'd just gotten her back, and so there he was, hands at her shoulders to stop their near collision.
"This way," he all but snarled, and then he was slipping his hand down to hers to lace their fingers together so that he could tug her in the direction of the car he'd mentioned.
Her breath caught as he was suddenly there in front of her, startling her as he caught her by her shoulders and caused her to skid to a stop. She hadn't expected to see him so quickly and certainly not in front of her. That meant that he had dealt with the guards rather quickly and no one else which suited her fine because she had no idea where she was heading at the moment.
She didn't have a moment to be relieved as she caught his hand, holding on tightly as she ran after him so that he could lead her to the car that he had chosen to get them out of there.
It took more than two streets to get them to the car, Claire apparently having headed in the wrong direction, to start--his fault, he knew, as he hadn't been specific, and he was suddenly grateful that he knew her heartbeat well enough to track her by it alone--but the reached it without further complication. And without hesitation, he pulled the driver's side door open for her, before rounding the vehicle to get in the passenger's seat.
"Drive," he told her, as he climbed in. He would have done it himself, but he had a plan and it involved changing the way he looked first--something that he doubted he could do and keep them on the road at the same time.
Claire caught on quickly that she had been heading in the wrong direction but she could be sheepish later because right now they needed to get out of there. She was glad that he was able to track her now, even if it had frustrated her at one time but this time, it saved her. Once they got to the car, she nodded as he pulled open the driver side door so that she could crawl in.
This time she pulled away from the curb quickly, gliding into the lane of traffic almost effortlessly while glancing into the rear view mirror and then over to him to see what he was doing next as he seemed to have a plan.
"Pay attention to the road," he told her, half order and half in warning, and then he was taking a deep breath, Danko's face giving way to something new in a string of pained sounds that he tried to muffle, biting down on his lower lip to silence himself so she could keep her focus. And by the time he finished, it was no longer the Hunter who she shared a car with, nor was it his usual face he wore. Instead, now Claire was chauffeuring around a woman who bore only a passing resemblance to Sylar in the color of her hair and the shape of her face and eyebrows.
He--she--was silent for a moment, short of breath, vision swimming, and then she turned her attentions on Claire. "Stop the car and get in the back." A pause, and then she amended, "And keep your head down."
Claire snapped her attention back to the road, curling her fingers tightly around the steering wheel as she hated the sound that he made as he changed his appearance. Funny how she didn't mind causing him pain at one time and now she hated the sound of it. He did a good job of muffling himself this time though, so she focused on the road as she went down another road to get them away the building they had just escaped from.
The sound of the feminine voice made her blink as she looked over and saw that she was now sitting with a woman. "I ... " Wow, he could turn into a girl? That was ... odd. She waited for him to take the wheel before she twisted, quickly sliding into the back just as he told her to. She slid right down to the floor, keeping her head down as she licked her lips.
It was odd for her, too, but she ignored it. It had seemed the best plan of action--they'd be looking for a man, hopefully, regardless of what face he wore--and even if it wasn't, she had other things to focus on. Like getting them the hell out of there. Which probably explained why, the second Claire's head was out of view in the review mirror, she was speeding away from where they'd stopped, tires of the car leaving thick lines of protest on the pavement at the sudden escape.
As she heard the slight squeal of the tires, she pressed her lips together as she knew that her dad would worry again or maybe he would feel betrayed by the fact that she had escaped. Once he figured out the man wasn't Sylar, he would know too but there was nothing to be done. Sylar had made her promise and he had kept it, now she would keep her own that she had made to him. She had told him that she would stay him with and she planned to do just that.
After all, he had found her.
Muse: Gabriel Gray (Sylar)
Fandom: Heroes
Word Count: 7044 (ridiculous word count is a go!)
She couldn't tell what time of day it was but she was figuring night some time, her body telling her so as she curled on her side on the hard bed. The tiny pillow gave her no comfort as she tucked it under her head, staring at the bare walls as she listened to the sound of her breathing. She was waiting.
Waiting for Danko to come put the bullet in her head or for Sylar to find her; not sure which one was going to come first.
Unfortunately for Claire, however, this time when the door opened it wasn't a friendly face that greeted her. It was Nathan's Hunter who stepped into the room, silently, and closed the door behind him. He was armed, as expected, but the gun was still in its holster by his side, rather than in his hands. Clearly, he planned on interrogating his prisoner first, just as Nathan and Bennet had, but with hopefully happier results.
Like Bennet, he moved over to the wall to undo the camera feed, and like Nathan, he leaned against the wall, calmly, once he was finished. "Miss Bennet."
Claire's body stiffened when she heard the door open and the sight of the Hunter had her heart dropping into her stomach, giving a slow trip as she watched with the hope that he wasn't alone. But of course he was which wasn't a good sign for her as she pushed herself up slowly, sitting on the bed as her eyes flickered to the gun in his holster and then back to his face.
As he undid the camera feed, she wet her lips because that wasn't a good sign. He could hurt her and there would be no proof. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice soft but cold. "Come to do the job finally?" She lifted her chin in a slightly haughty manner.
"I was thinking about it." He flashed her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "But there's something I want to show you first. Something I think you might find interesting, if nothing else."
She narrowed her eyes a little bit, a bit of worry trickling through her before she arched a brow, "What makes you think that you have anything that I'd be interested in?"
"You'd be surprised," he shot back, before pushing away from the wall. "But if you'd rather I shot you and got it over with ... " Popping his shoulders in a shrug, he reached for the gun at his waist, pulling it out and removing the safety, before leveling it at her. "... I've been waiting for this for a long time."
Her eyes flickered to the gun and then back to his face as she licked her lips once more, the only nervous action to give her away before she pushed off the bed a bit. Might as well be standing up as she faced him. "It's not like I can stop you, right? You probably like that too." She pondered leaping at him, doubting that she could really surprise him but perhaps ...
"What do you want to show me?"
He moved over to her as fast as was humanly possible, grabbing one of her arms to twist it behind her back. The gun went to the back of her head, muzzle pressed into the spot that would down her, if he so chose to pull the trigger, and then he was nudging her towards the door. "Walk," he ordered, rather than answering the question.
She barely had time to register what was happening before suddenly he had her arm, a gasp ripping out of her as he twisted her arm back and she felt the strain in her shoulder as it damn near popped out of place. "Bastard." She hissed at him, trying to jerk away once but she found she couldn't get away. So she had no choice but to move as he nudged her forward, walking briskly to the door as she wondered where he was taking her.
"Takes one to know one," he told her, calmly, and then he was manhandling her down the hallway in silence.
Whatever confusion there had been earlier, when Nathan and Bennet had been there, had apparently abated, everyone returned to their posts, the day to day operations of Building 26 back underway. They looked up in interest as Danko dragged Claire down the hallway, but no one made any motion to stop them or warn Bennet or Nathan, that he was running off with their daughter. This had apparently been the plan from the beginning, or no one really questioned what the Hunter did these days.
And within a few minutes, Danko was stopping them in front of closed door. "Open it."
Claire snarled at him for the little stab at her even if he was right; she was the bastard child and dark secret of Nathan Petrelli. The daughter out of wedlock and a freak like the rest.
She pondered screaming out to the others but she knew, she could see that none of them would come to the rescue. She also had a feeling that neither one of her fathers were even in the building, that Danko would wait till they were both gone before making his move to take their daughter away from them. She marched, comforted only by the fact that Sylar would find her at some point and he would make Danko pay.
As he stopped them in front of the door, she looked over her shoulder and sneered a bit. "Do it yourself."
He pushed the gun into the back of her head sharply, the gesture meant to be a warning, and then he was lowering his mouth to her ear. "I said open it."
Her head jerked forward, causing her upper lip to curl a bit before she shot him a dark look out of the corner of her eyes. Reaching out, she opened the door and then moved through with him on her heels. "Where are we going?"
"You really that eager to die, Miss Bennet?" he asked, pushing her down the hallway he'd made her lead them into. "I thought you'd appreciate a few more minutes, before I took care of one of Petrelli's big problems."
She merely scoffed at him as he pushed her down the hallway, "Trust me, I'm not his biggest. I'm not yours either." She gauged how long the hallway was and where she could run to if she managed to get away.
"You'd be surprised. You and you little boyfriend have been causing a lot of trouble, lately." A pause, and then he was shoving her at another door, expecting her to open it. Though judging by the way things looked, this wasn't just another hallway--the door itself looked far too heavy, more like fire doors than anything else. No, instead, this seemed to be another of the cells like the one he had taken her out of. "Which, speaking of, if you'd be nice enough to open this door for me, too?"
"You know, I have no idea what you're talking about. Seems like you're watching too much television." Or videos. She looked at the door that he was leading to, a frown racing over her features as she wondered what it was that he was up to. She looked sideways at him before opening the door, wondering what the hell was going on.
He didn't answer this time. Instead, he simply shoved her away from him, and into the room before following after her, the door slamming shut behind the both of them, loudly. And if the sound weren't nerve-wracking enough, the fact that there was a figure sitting in the center of the room, tied to a chair, a knife sticking out of the back of his head probably was. Especially when Claire realized it was Sylar.
She stumbled forward as he shoved her away from him into the room, causing her to nearly lose her balance till she caught herself. As the door slammed shut, she looked up and caught sight of the figure sitting in the room. Her breath caught then, dread rushing through her as she realized that it was ... "Sylar." She couldn't hide her reaction as her lips parted, a brief flash of something close to grief and then she whirled to face him, anger replacing everything else. Her eyes sparkled as she crouched a bit, "How did you catch him?"
"We caught him sulking around the building," Danko answered, not bothering to try restraining a smug smile. "I think he was looking for you."
"Bullshit." She couldn't believe it, she wouldn't. She looked back over her shoulder at the still figure and her gaze was calculating. She only needed to pull the blade out and then fight Danko off long enough to get Sylar to come to. That or she had to attack Danko first. She turned back to him, deciding that she wasn't just going to give up.
So she sprang at him.
He hadn't been expecting that, but he tried to react anyway, belatedly scrambling to one side in an attempt to get out of her way. It helped--he landed sideway, rather than flat on his back, with her on top of him--but it wasn't enough. He was still down, and somewhere in the fall, the gun had slid across the floor out of his reach. And when he realized it, hissing swears, he reached for it, something glittering at his wrist as his shirt sleeve hiked up, clearly pinned more soundly than he was.
She landed across his legs as he fell to the side, his knee hitting her solar plexus and nearly stealing her breath but the lack of pain was an aid at times. She didn't feel the pain across her ribs as she scrambled over him, taking advantage of him being stunned for a second as she noticed the gun had slid across the floor. She didn't see the glittering at his wrist as she twisted, diving for the gun.
Fortunately or unfortunately, however, Danko got to it first, and he had no reservations about waving it in her face once he had his hands around it. "Back off, Bennet Jr."
She stayed on her knees as she looked up at him, breathing raggedly as her eyes were a lighter shade of green which was a sign that she was pissed off. Then she noticed the sparkling at his wrist, "Where did you get that?" she demanded.
He shot a quick, sideways glance down at the necklace that was wrapped around his wrist--her necklace, which she had given to Sylar before they'd split up--and then he was raising his eyes to her again. He didn't lift his head, however, instead contenting himself to watching her from under his eyebrows, his expression heated, and in that instant, he didn't look quite like Nathan's Hunter. Oh, he could still pass for him, was still a mirror image of Danko, but the way he looked was entirely familiar and not in a bad way.
"Take a wild guess."
She didn't see it, not right away. After all, Sylar was sitting not far from her and there was a knife in his head. As she looked at the necklace again, she had never looked more furious than she did in that moment. The idea that the Hunter had taken her necklace from Sylar and was wearing it made her skin crawl. She had given it to Sylar to hold onto her, she had given it to him because she trusted him with it and no one else.
"I'm going to take that knife out of his head and I'm going to stab you with it. And when he comes to, I'm going to make him tear. you. apart." Each vowel was a promise as she started to her feet, ready to kill the man in front of her.
He couldn't help but make a soft, amused noise at the back of his throat. "Be my guest."
Claire didn't take her eyes off of him as she backed towards the stationary figure in the chair, her breathing still ragged. She watched cautiously as she reached, curling her fingers around the handle of the knife as she yanked to pull the knife from Sylar's head, sure that Danko was going to shoot her at any second.
But Nathan's Hunter didn't. Instead, much to the contrary, he was setting the gun down on the floor, calmly, before pulling himself into a sit from where he'd laid sprawled on the ground still. A moment was spent watching Claire, and then he was shifting his gaze to Sylar's corpse where, predictably, nothing was happening. He huffed out another sigh of a laugh, shaking his head a little, and then he was pushing himself back across the floor so that he could put his back to the wall, his eyes falling closed.
Silence for a moment, and then Danko was crying out sharply, very clearly pained.
Claire was confused as she looked down at the head, alarmed when nothing was happening. Confusion showing as she wondered if perhaps they had shot Sylar first; so she pushed the head forward a bit to see if she could see a bullet hole. She wasn't paying attention to Danko, so she didn't see him sit down but the cry of pain caught her attention as she jumped.
Then she looked at him, her heart in her throat as she jumped a bit.
Danko twitched visibly, fingers digging into the floor uselessly, his face twisted in pain--or, well, it could have been pain, anyway. It was hard to tell, as his expression--no, rather his entire face--had become fluid, something pushing at his skin from the inside, distorting his face as though something was trying to climb out of his skin. Another howl from the man on the floor, though this one sounded less like him and more like someone else, and then the mess his features had become was solidifying into something more familiar. And with a final cry, it wasn't Danko sitting on the floor, breathless, it was Sylar.
Claire couldn't believe what she was seeing as she stood there, watching his features literally change and her stomach twisted. As he began to change, the knife fell from her fingers, clattering loudly against the floor as she took a small step around the body in the chair. She was breathless, almost not wanting to believe what she was seeing as Danko slowly changed into Sylar. Then it made sense, somewhat.
"Sylar." His name came out in a rush as she hurried forward, dropping down into his lap as she threw her arms around his neck and caught him in a relieved hug. A bit of emotion clogged her throat as she held onto him tightly. He was there.
"Hello, Claire," he managed, breathlessly, wrapping an arm around her waist automatically, to pull her close.
She turned her head as she pulled back a little, pressing her mouth to his in small kisses, raining them across his lips before she pulled back again. This time she hit his shoulder, glaring at him, "You're such an ass." She glared over at the image of him dead before bringing her eyes back.
"I thought it was poetic," he answered, flashing her a small, nearly manic grin. The whole process of changing how he looked had been painful, yes, but the adrenaline rush that was following in its wake was nothing short of amazing.
"I don't like your idea of poetry." Her lips twisted a bit. She had a rush of adrenaline too, making her blood run hot as she pressed her forehead to his, basking in the fact that he was there. Then she pulled back to look at him again, "Where is Danko?"
"I'll try roses are red, violets are blue, next time," he quipped, leaning in to steal a quick kiss. "But as for Danko-- " A pause, in which he sobered, slowly, and the he was nodding towards the door. "--give me a minute, and I'll show you." He needed to put the Hunter's face back on, if they were going to play show and tell.
She rolled her eyes, a little amused before giving him the kiss back, catching his chin to make it linger for a second or two more before she pulled back. She nodded a bit before climbing to her feet, moving back as she could tell that he was going to change back to Danko's form. So she watched with a slight wrinkle over her nose.
He took a deep breath before letting the process Claire had witnessed a moment before repeat itself. This time, however, unsurprisingly, it was Danko's face that clawed its way out of his among the pained noises, and just as before he took a minute to catch his breath, before trying to get to his feet.
"God, that hurts," he muttered, as he leaned down to pick up the gun he'd pushed away just moments before.
She wasn't pleased to see Danko's face and after this was all done, she was going to ask him to never use that face again. She pushed some hair back from her face as she waited for him to get to his feet and pick up the gun. "It looks like it." A slight nod before she wet her lips. "Now what?"
After they were finished here, hopefully he'd never have to wear it again, but right now it was necessary. Just as it was necessary to make a gesture that suggested she come back over to him. "We go the same way as before. Less suspicion that way."
"Sure." She rolled her eyes, "And gentle with the whole jabbing thing." Not that it hurt but she just smirked as she moved in front of him, waiting for him to put the gun back to her head. She even offered her arm so that he could twist it behind her, they needed to look real after all.
"Why? We want realism, don't we?" That said, though, he was still marginally less violent with the gun when he pressed it to the back of her head, and his hold on her wasn't quite so tight, when he pulled her arm behind her back. When he pushed her to lead, however, it wasn't towards the door but rather back towards the body of the shapeshifter that had once shared his face. "Speaking of realism. Didn't your mother ever teach you to put your toys back where you found them, Miss Bennet?"
She blinked and then rolled her eyes as she realized what he wanted to do. "Hardy har har." She muttered, pulling away from him as she moved around to grab the knife off of the floor. She didn't relish the idea of shoving a knife in someone's head but the guy was dead, so she didn't think about it as she pressed the tip of the knife to the hole and then pushed the blade in all the way. "Better?" She asked as she moved towards him.
"Much," he answered, nodding as he pulled her back into a convincing hold, the gun to her head. Putting the knife back wouldn't do much good in the long run, he knew--eventually, Bennet would get curious and pull it out, however briefly, just to make sure it was really him---but for now, they needed to think he was dead. It would buy them time to escape, if everyone thought Nathan's ship was running smoothly again.
Casting a glance back at the shapeshifter, he flashed the body a small, pleased smile, and then he was guiding Claire towards the door again.
She didn't fight him as he wrenched her arm behind her a bit, holding her tightly as he had before while leading her to the door. She managed to look pissed off and upset as she opened the door, clenching her jaw while letting him lead her to where he had Danko stashed.
And within minutes, they were standing just inside another cell. This one, like the last, had a single occupant in it, tied to the chair and stripped down to his undershirt and boxers--clearly, Sylar's shapeshifting ability hadn't come with a wardrobe change and so he'd had to make do--but where the fake Sylar had been dead, Danko was still alive. Beaten into unconsciousness, if the wet, red line drawn down one side of his face said anything, but still alive. For now.
"Merry Christmas, Claire," the killer muttered as he let her go. Not that it was anywhere near Christmas, but he'd restrained himself from killing Nathan's Hunter so he could present him to Claire as a gift. She had as much as reason to want to see him die as he did, after all.
As they entered the new cell, she found herself looking at a similar scene but this man was at least alive. This time she could see that it was actually Danko and he looked like he had been beaten for sure. The idea only made her smirk as she studied him before hearing the muttering at her side.
She turned to look at him with a smile, "I'd kiss you but that face freaks me out." She admitted before looking back, "How did you pull this all off?" He did it all under their noses. Her dads would be pissed.
"I wouldn't want you to kiss me like this." The mental image of Claire making out with Danko was far from appealing, and so he was quick to change the subject to her question. "It wasn't hard, though. Getting all this done."
He paused, frowning as he put his thoughts in order, and then he continued. "When I got here, something was happening--one of us had gotten out of their cells." He'd managed to put that much together just by sticking to dark corners and listening as Claire's father's men ran by, hurriedly. "I ignored it, trying to find you, and ran into Danko, instead. Funny thing? It wasn't Danko."
"Thank god because it would be creepy." She wrinkles her nose at him again before nodding as he told her how he managed to pull all of this off.
She nodded because she remembered when something was going on, "Right, my dad and Nathan were in my cell when some guy named Martin escaped." She mused before glancing over at him again, "Let me guess, it was the shapeshifter." Then she looked back at the unconscious form before them, "Did he do this?"
He shook his head. "No, I did."
Another skipped beat, and then he was launching back into his explanation. "The shapeshifter didn't know who I was, and I was dressed like one of Danko's men. He led me into a room and shot me. He thought I was dead." He affected a look that all but dripped mock surprise on the dead man's part--a look that was probably disturbing on Danko's face--and then shrugged. "When I woke up, he'd taken my face. I thought I could use that to my advantage, so I killed him. And then I found the real deal here."
Sylar grinned, the expression making it easy to tell what--who--he really was, and he moved to stand in front of Danko, leaning down so that he could stare at him from under his eyebrows. "Imagine his surprise."
There was a slight noise like a little bit of a laugh as he told her that the guy shot him but she didn't really look amused. It was probably lucky for the shapeshifter that he was already dead. She pursed her lips a bit, looking back at Danko as she thought that it did work well for them that the shapeshifter had taken Sylar's face; people would think he was dead now. At least till her dad got suspicious and found out otherwise but whatever, they could use whatever time that they got.
She moved closer, nodding her head, "I can imagine." She nodded, "He's been asking to kill me, guess Nathan and my dad have been holding him off." Then she looked at her lover who was hiding behind another face, "They wanted me to give you up."
He huffed out a sigh of a laugh, unsurprised but still amused. "I'm guessing you didn't."
"Told them you were heading west." Which left the whole freaking country really and she had to smirk a bit at that.
"How descriptive," he replied, flashing her a smirk of his own before turning back to Danko. "So, what do you think, Claire? Any ideas as to how our friend here should die?"
"I thought it was a big help." She met his gaze with a wink before looking back at Danko, "I'd say the way you usually do it just for fun but now that you're dead." She paused, "It'd almost be poetic to put a bullet in the back of his head."
"Too quick. I want to see him suffer."
That said, he reached out to put a hand to the side of the Hunter's face, thumb digging into the gash he'd left him with earlier. And like magic, the other man snapped awake hissing, looking up at Sylar first in hazed confusion and then with dawning horror. "You." He nearly choked on the word as he spit it out, and the killer leaned back, smiling.
"Me." Whether Danko thought he was the shapeshifter or knew who he really was, however, was anyone's guess, but considering Claire standing at his side, he figured it wouldn't be that hard to puzzle out.
Claire chuckled faintly because she wasn't surprised that he would want Danko to suffer. "Fine, but maybe after?" She offered with a shrug.
Then she fell silent as he dug his thumb into the gash and she smirked as Danko came to rather quickly, the pain overriding the darkness to bring him back. She watched the horror on his face as he looked to the man who had his face and then registered her being there as well. She was sure that told him who was actually there before him.
"I don't think he was expecting you." A slight chuckle.
"I'm just full of surprises today." He flashed her a brief grin over his shoulder before sobering, turning back to Danko to consider him, thoughtfully. "You remember how I said I wouldn't be surprised if he was one of us?"
That made her arch an eyebrow curiously as she stepped closer and looked at Danko, "Is he?"
"He doesn't sound like you do, no, but I still wouldn't mind cutting him open just be sure." The Hunter stared at him, stunned into speechlessness. "What do you think?"
Now she looked amused as she shrugged one shoulder, waving a hand, "Sure, go ahead. Never hurts to be sure after all."
"Glad you agree."
He raised a hand, finger leveled with Danko's hairline casually, and immediately the other man started struggling against his bonds, trying to free himself from them or tip the chair over to avoid Sylar's unique brand of death. "Wait!" he pleaded, after it became apparent that he wasn't going anywhere, and the killer complied, lowering his hand to hear Danko out. There was nothing better than begging, after all, and it had been so long. "Wait. If you kill me like that, they're going to know you're not dead."
Claire watched Danko as he struggled a bit, surprised that he didn't start screaming and yet she shouldn't be surprised at all. When Sylar paused at the pleading, she pursed her lips a little bit before glancing over at Sylar, "He's right." A little bit of displeasure rippled across her features before suddenly she smirked, her eyes lighting, "Of course, I could always use my blood to heal the cut."
"Or mine," Sylar agreed, making a soft, pleased noise at the back of his throat as he raised his hand again. "Sorry. Guess it's just not your day." And that said, he started sawing into the other man's head, mercilessly.
"Either one works." She nodded her head, enjoying the look on Danko's face as she suggested using their blood because it meant that they could do whatever they wanted and erase the effects. She stood back, watching as Sylar sawed into the real Danko's head. As he did, she glanced at the door and then looked around before watching again.
He made short work of the incision--disappointing, but the window of extra time he'd bought them was rapidly closing, and he wanted to make the most of what they did have--blood spattering his face and clothes by the time he was done. He seemed unconcerned by the blood, however, instead moving casually to peel Danko's scalp back from the rest of his skull. He was dead by now--they very rarely survived having their head shredded open--but it didn't matter. Now that he had his head open, he felt compelled to look, even if he knew it would gain him nothing.
And as expected, he was replacing the top of Danko's head a moment later, as if he were a jack-o-lantern missing its top rather than a dead man, twice disappointed. "Huh. Guess not."
Claire wrinkled her nose as she got a little bit of blood splattered over her as well but she didn't care as they weren't her clothes since they had shoved her in jumpers after searching her when she arrived. She stepped a touch closer, glancing at the top of the man's brain as Sylar checked over it just for interest's sake. "Well, damn." She didn't sound so disappointed.
She looked at the door, "How much time do we have?"
"Knowing Bennet? A few more minutes, at least." Ten, maybe fifteen, until Bennet's curiosity over came him, by his estimation. "Shame, since I would have liked to have a little more fun, but you take what you can get."
"I don't think it's going to be finished." After all, her dad would probably look for her after she disappeared again. "I'd say take him with us but we should get out of here." She nodded once more. "You going to heal the cut or me?"
"It won't be, but killing him will cripple them." Even if it didn't, it felt damn good, and he'd at least to get to do it twice, once his way, and once Claire's.
That in mind, without even bothering to answer her question, he pressed a finger to his skin, slicing it open, telekinetically. He held it with his thoughts, so that it didn't seal on its own, took a moment to marvel at the fact that he still looked like Danko, and yet if he let go for a second, he'd still heal on his own, and then he was holding the gash over the Hunter's head. His other hand went up to press at either side of the wound, to make sure it bled, and then he was letting it heal over in time with his doppleganger's head.
He stepped away, pulling the gun he'd been waving in Claire's face out again to offer it to her. "Your turn," he told her, just as Danko snapped back to life, gasping.
"Which is what we need." She nodded her head.
She fell silent as he cut open his finger so that he could spill his own blood, using it on the cut he put in the other man's head when he sawed his skull open. She watched as the cut healed, leaving no mark of what they had done to him. When Danko actually came back to life, she was almost startled but then she smiled a little as Sylar handed her the gun.
"Thank you." She checked the safety as she moved around behind Danko, feeling him stiffen. She thought of saying something witty and sharp but it didn't matter. She merely pressed the gun against the base of his skull, the man's eyes widening before she pulled the trigger.
Sylar made a soft, amused noise at the back of his throat as blood rushed from Danko's nose, that the only sign she'd done anything to him, if you could ignore the hole in the back of his head, and then he was turning towards the door. "We still need to get out. Let's go."
Claire nodded her head, moving around the side of the chair as she brushed past the body that was slumping against the ropes that held him into place. She handed the gun back to Sylar, "Okay, right ahead of you." She paused to let him take her arm before opening the door so they could leave.
For a third time, Sylar manhandled her through the halls of Building 26, and for a third time, no one so much as shot them a suspicious look. This time, however, he lead her boldly towards the front door, neither stopping nor hesitating, as a single second of faltering could cost them everything. And as they reached the main doors, he barked orders at the men standing guard there, as to where he was taking Claire and why, and then he was headed out of the building. The guards, however, had looked more confused than accepting, so the sooner they got to out of sight, the better. Who knew when one of them would decide something was wrong and try to stop them or put in a call to Nathan or Bennet, after all?
Claire didn't struggle nearly as much as she had the first time but she did make sure to stumble here and there, seeming like she was resisting a bit as he walked her boldly towards the front door. She glared back at him once but she still seemed like she didn't believe anyone would come to her rescue. She knew they had to get out quickly because if her dad or Nathan, or anyone for that matter, figured out what was happening they wouldn't get out without a fight.
As if on cue, a chorus of shouts exploded behind them, and a quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that the guards they had passed earlier were now chasing after them. Sylar couldn't help but scowl, and then he was pushing her away from him. "I have a car two streets over," he informed her, his tone clipped. "Go. I'll take care of them."
Claire heard the explosion of shouts behind them and she whirled a bit, looking to the guards that were chasing after them. She turned to him then, her eyes widening just a touch as he pushed her away but then she set her jaw in a determined line. "Remember, you still have my necklace." In other words, he better meet her at the car. She almost lingered, like she wanted to do something more but then she ran.
"You'll get it back," he answered, hurriedly. "I promise." And then he was turning to stalk back across the pavement to meet the guards giving chase, his hands coming up from his side ready for the fight.
She didn't want to leave him but she knew he would be better able to fight if he wasn't trying to protect her as well. She ignored any looks she might get, running as hard and fast as she could before skidding to a stop with a curse. She didn't know which way he meant or what car she was looking for. She whirled back and then turned, heading further away from where he was facing the men.
And a moment or two later, she nearly ran head-first into him. Clearly, he'd taken care of the guards and hadn't had to face down Bennet or Nathan, as enjoyable as that would have been, and had taken a different route than her. Better to make anyone else who followed have to split up to chase the both of the separately, thinking they were going to two separate locations, rather than meeting up, than to follow directly after what was his and make it easy. Regardless, though, he hadn't liked the idea of leaving her alone for too long, now that he'd just gotten her back, and so there he was, hands at her shoulders to stop their near collision.
"This way," he all but snarled, and then he was slipping his hand down to hers to lace their fingers together so that he could tug her in the direction of the car he'd mentioned.
Her breath caught as he was suddenly there in front of her, startling her as he caught her by her shoulders and caused her to skid to a stop. She hadn't expected to see him so quickly and certainly not in front of her. That meant that he had dealt with the guards rather quickly and no one else which suited her fine because she had no idea where she was heading at the moment.
She didn't have a moment to be relieved as she caught his hand, holding on tightly as she ran after him so that he could lead her to the car that he had chosen to get them out of there.
It took more than two streets to get them to the car, Claire apparently having headed in the wrong direction, to start--his fault, he knew, as he hadn't been specific, and he was suddenly grateful that he knew her heartbeat well enough to track her by it alone--but the reached it without further complication. And without hesitation, he pulled the driver's side door open for her, before rounding the vehicle to get in the passenger's seat.
"Drive," he told her, as he climbed in. He would have done it himself, but he had a plan and it involved changing the way he looked first--something that he doubted he could do and keep them on the road at the same time.
Claire caught on quickly that she had been heading in the wrong direction but she could be sheepish later because right now they needed to get out of there. She was glad that he was able to track her now, even if it had frustrated her at one time but this time, it saved her. Once they got to the car, she nodded as he pulled open the driver side door so that she could crawl in.
This time she pulled away from the curb quickly, gliding into the lane of traffic almost effortlessly while glancing into the rear view mirror and then over to him to see what he was doing next as he seemed to have a plan.
"Pay attention to the road," he told her, half order and half in warning, and then he was taking a deep breath, Danko's face giving way to something new in a string of pained sounds that he tried to muffle, biting down on his lower lip to silence himself so she could keep her focus. And by the time he finished, it was no longer the Hunter who she shared a car with, nor was it his usual face he wore. Instead, now Claire was chauffeuring around a woman who bore only a passing resemblance to Sylar in the color of her hair and the shape of her face and eyebrows.
He--she--was silent for a moment, short of breath, vision swimming, and then she turned her attentions on Claire. "Stop the car and get in the back." A pause, and then she amended, "And keep your head down."
Claire snapped her attention back to the road, curling her fingers tightly around the steering wheel as she hated the sound that he made as he changed his appearance. Funny how she didn't mind causing him pain at one time and now she hated the sound of it. He did a good job of muffling himself this time though, so she focused on the road as she went down another road to get them away the building they had just escaped from.
The sound of the feminine voice made her blink as she looked over and saw that she was now sitting with a woman. "I ... " Wow, he could turn into a girl? That was ... odd. She waited for him to take the wheel before she twisted, quickly sliding into the back just as he told her to. She slid right down to the floor, keeping her head down as she licked her lips.
It was odd for her, too, but she ignored it. It had seemed the best plan of action--they'd be looking for a man, hopefully, regardless of what face he wore--and even if it wasn't, she had other things to focus on. Like getting them the hell out of there. Which probably explained why, the second Claire's head was out of view in the review mirror, she was speeding away from where they'd stopped, tires of the car leaving thick lines of protest on the pavement at the sudden escape.
As she heard the slight squeal of the tires, she pressed her lips together as she knew that her dad would worry again or maybe he would feel betrayed by the fact that she had escaped. Once he figured out the man wasn't Sylar, he would know too but there was nothing to be done. Sylar had made her promise and he had kept it, now she would keep her own that she had made to him. She had told him that she would stay him with and she planned to do just that.
After all, he had found her.
Muse: Gabriel Gray (Sylar)
Fandom: Heroes
Word Count: 7044 (ridiculous word count is a go!)
