Forced Together
Prologue
*flash/dream*
A young man in a suit stands in front of a cheering crowd. Confetti flys everywhere as the screen behind him proclaims that Noah Gray has just become the youngest president ever elected. He waves his hands at the crowd, shushing them, as he steps up to the podium, "It is an honor..."
*flash/dream*
Angela sat up, her normally stoic face replaced with an alarmed look. She picked up the phone and dialed a number she had hoped to never need, "I've had a dream..."
Chapter 1
Claire woke up slowly, staring at the blank gray walls as the wound in her head healed. She could feel the straps that held her to the bed as she tried to move. Turning her head, she looked around, all she could see was gray and then there was a flash of color at the corner of her eye. Straining her neck, Claire managed what should have been an impossible angle, she saw Sylar. He was also strapped down but he had, what looked like a spike coming out of the floor, in his head. As she watched, the spike retracted and Sylar came to life.
A needle immediately appeared and injected him, Claire looked back down at her own body and saw a needle approaching her too. Static appeared in the air as the old speaker crinkled to life, "You have just been injected with a suppressant formula. Your powers will not work so please don't try to escape. Cooperate and you will be well taken care of." a bored business-like voice informed them as the straps holding them down unlocked themselves.
Claire sat up carefully, aware that not being able to heal could quickly become a problem with Sylar in the room. She watched as he bolted upright and stared daggers at the speaker In the ceiling. She paused, biting her lip as she contemplated what she was about to do, "Sylar? How about a truce? I still hate you, you still hate me, but we work together on getting out of here. Because I really don't want to know what they have planned that requires the two of us together."
Sylar smiled, "I don't hate you Claire. Quite the contrary. So, yes, a truce." He got up and started examining their prison. After a moment, he looked at her and gestured, clearly saying, get up and help me.
Claire hopped off the bed and said, "What are we looking for? 'Cause I don't see anything other than that speaker. Not even a door. How'd they get us in here?" as she walked over to where Sylar was crouching.
He stood up and ran a finger over a faint sliver in the wall, "Here. There's a crack here that goes up, over, and back down. It must be the door. See if you can find any others. If we're lucky there'll be an old covered vent we can pry open."
They both searched high and low but the only other thing they found was a slim rectangle next to the door that they would never be able to squeeze through. "What do you think it's for?" Claire asked as they gave up.
Sylar looked at her, "Food, water, a bed pan, medicine, whatever they feel like. They slide it through so they don't have to risk opening the door." Claire slumped against the wall as the ague idea of catching someone unaware and bolting was destroyed.
Chapter 2
Days passed, then weeks with nothing happening. They settled into a routine, talking about everything and nothing and playing with the deck of cards they managed to get by 'cooperating.' This continued until something changed, Claire threw up and pills started coming with the food.
*S/C*S/C*S/C*S/C*S/C*
Claire was worried, she had never been sick before and now she was throwing up every few hours and the pills they gave her weren't really helping. Groaning, she looked up from the disgusting bucket, "What's wrong with me? Do you think it's the flu? I've never had it but it involves puke, right?"
Sylar gave her a sympathetic look, "It's not the flu. Not unless they purposefully gave it to you, in which case I'd be sick too. We've been locked up too long for you to have contracted it through any normal means. I think..."
Claire looked up again as he trailed off, "What? Do you know what's wrong with me?"
Sylar paused, clearly unsure if he should share his theory, "I think you're pregnant. Congratulations to you and, West, was it?"
Claire's mouth dropped open, she was so shocked, "But I never, we never... And I told you we broke up. I can't be pregnant."
Sylar's face lightened up from the dark glower that had overtaken him, "Oh? Well then we might have just figured out why they put us together. Who knows how long they had us before we woke up. They probably extracted and inseminated us immediately before unspiking us. Fascinating."
Claire threw up again, as soon as the heaves stopped, she asked, "What's so fascinating about it? This is a crime. A major invasion of my personal rights. I'm only seventeen, maybe eighteen since I don't know how long we've been in here. I don't think I'm ready to be a mother."
"Unless we manage to get out of here I don't see that being a concern. They obviously want it for some reason. This clinches it, the old lady is definitely behind this. She must have dreamed of our child. He or she is going to be very powerful if they're forcing this." Sylar explained, fisting the sheets under his hands as a cup wobbled behind him.
Chapter 4
More time passed and soon Claire was no longer getting sick. On the third day of her non-sick time, the door opened ad two large men entered, "Come with us girl. The doctor wants to see you." one of them said, waving his hands towards the open door.
She and Syalr stood at the sound of the door, he put his himself in front of her, ready to protect her, as she put a hand on her gently rounded stomach. As she started to move around him, Sylar flicked his hand and the two guards, nurses, whatever, slammed into the wall. He grabbed her hand and they ran.
*S/C*S/C*S/C*S/C*S/C*
Claire blinked in the bright sunlight sa they burst out of the converted warehouse's doors, their escape a blur of gray, white and red. She made a move towards the woods off to the side but Sylar grabbed her wrist, stopping her, and indicted the cars in the lot. Feeling foolish, Claire followed as Sylar used his powers to break into a dark blue Chevy truck.
*S/C*S/C*S/C*S/C*S/C*
After a short while Claire realized she had no idea where they were going, "Sylar? What happens now?"
Sylar looked over at her, "We run. We have to get you somewhere safe. Then I take care of Angela.'
Claire's face hardened as she stroked her belly, "Excellent."