I don't own any character in Heroes! Holly Preston is my own creation, and is copyright me.
I couldn't fit the summary I wanted on the story itself, so here is what it was supposed to be:
For ambitious 29-year-old Holly Preston, the life of an actress had always been appealing. But the manifestation of her powers put her career to an early end. When she gets a job at the Company, and becomes involved with the Petrelli family, her life changes forever. A threat from the man she once dated forces Angela Petrelli to send Holly into hiding. This eventually propels her into the not-so-glamorous world of national politics. She thinks she's finally found a place to be happy, but unbeknownst to her, tragedy has again struck the family who has sheltered her. However, she will be one of the last to know...
Thanks for reading my story! I'm always grateful to my readers. You guys are the reason I write! I want to please my fans first! Don't forget to review! I would love to know how I can continue to improve my story. (Also, if you catch any timeline mistakes, POINT THEM OUT! The HEROES timeline is so ambiguous that I'm bound to make a mistake.)
Alright! On to the story! Hope you enjoy it!
~Limited Empathy
Social Politics
Chapter 1 – "Confusion"
So often, it seems we are being carried away into the current of life, with nothing to ground us, nothing to hold on to. Seasons change, time passes, and we survive. And often, we wonder what happened to the person who felt like they were so trapped. We let our guard down, and return to our old habits. Our social worlds change, grow, shrink. And we make decisions based only on our fears of what others might think or do. Sometimes, these very thoughts are what sweep us into that river all over again.
~Mohinder Suresh
(=
-)
Holly Preston winced as the door slammed behind her. She was jobless yet again. She had been dealing with periodic unemployment for two years now, ever since her ability had manifested and made her life a living hell.
She walked to her car, frustration radiating from her body. "That's the second job this year!" She muttered. Holly's anger began to boil over as she unlocked her door and put the keys in the ignition. "I didn't do anything wrong! I hate this!" She slammed her fist against the steering wheel. Instantly, her hand went to her ears. Had they done it again? Thankfully, they remained unchanged.
It was then that she noticed the man standing behind her car. He was leaning against her back fender, seemingly unaware of her entering the vehicle. Holly rolled down the window and leaned her head out. "Can you move?" She snapped.
He calmly walked around the car to her window. "Actually, Holly, you're the person I need to talk to."
She found herself looking into icy blue eyes behind a pair of horn-rimmed glasses. He was middle aged, with graying hair and a world-weary expression. She didn't know what to say to him. How did he know her name? "I really need to get home." She told him in annoyance.
She reached for the button to roll her window up, but his next words stopped her in her tracks.
"I know about your ability."
"H-how?" Holly stuttered after a long silence.
"I work for a company. It's our job to know." He replied.
Now very frightened, Holly did begin to try and roll up the window, but the man put his hand on the window. "Holly, you're coming with us. Don't make this harder than it has to be."
Holly's eyes widened as her fear grew deeper. She wanted to resist, but her mind was beginning to turn into a fog. The edges of her vision were turning to darkness. She looked around the parking lot, hoping to see someone she could yell to for help. The last thing she saw before the blackness engulfed her was a bald, dark-skinned man staring unwaveringly at her from the car parked facing her own…
(=
-)
"So you captured her?" Angela Petrelli asked.
Miles away, Noah Bennet stood on a street corner in Trenton, New Jersey, holding a small phone to his ear. The sky was gray and the wind, chilly. He glanced around at the people milling around him. "Of course."
"I think that she would make a good agent." She said. "Unfortunately, Daniel does not agree with me."
"An agent?" Noah asked, raising his voice against a passing truck. A walk sign lit, and he began to cross with the throng. "I thought Linderman said she was dangerous."
"He thinks she is. But, there have been many agents more dangerous than Holly Preston." Angela answered simply. "However, it's not my decision. Call me when you get here."
Noah didn't understand her interest in the woman. "Alright. We'll be there in an hour."
Noah ended the call with a click, and slipped the phone into the pocket of the tan jacket he was wearing. By now, he had walked back to the black SUV where the Haitian waited for him inside. He opened the door and stepped in, then settled himself in the seat. The Haitian watched in silence as Noah started the car and began to pull away from the curb.
"Has she told you why this woman is so important?" The Haitian asked.
Noah shook his head. "If there is anyone in the world that Angela Petrelli will confide in completely, I would be surprised."
A look of understanding passed across the Haitian's face.
Noah lightly applied the break at a red light. "She will always be a mystery."
(=
-)
Six Months Later
Nathan Petrelli stared out the window of his hospital room. It had only been a few short days since he had been shot at a press conference in Odessa, Texas. He had miraculously survived the attempt on his life. Now, as he surveyed the flat landscape of the west Texas city, he knew that he had been saved for a reason. However, he was now tormented by the presence of someone who had been confirmed dead five months ago. Had Daniel Linderman really just appeared in his room? Was he going insane? Or had the world been mistaken, and Linderman had somehow survived? The voice of a nurse broke his train of thought.
"Mr. Petrelli, Dr. Moncrief is coming to check up on you."
Nathan nodded, running a hand through his dark hair. "Oh, thanks."
She closed the door softly.
Nathan took one last look out over the city. What on Earth was happening to him?
(=
-)
Holly awoke from her sleep. She blinked, and the room came into sharp focus. She hated the memories that came flooding into her dreams when she slept. The terror of the day she was captured still clouded her mind. She was lying on a bed inside a concrete room that she had lived in for how long, she wasn't exactly sure. There was no way to really gage the passage of time in her cell. Blue fluorescent light streamed from the ceiling, harsh and sterile. One wall of the room was actually a large window, with a door next to it. Outside the window, she could see the man who had been in the parking lot that day, along with an older woman. They were looking at her and talking. She hated it when they made her feel like a caged animal. The man had disapeared for several months, but now seemed to be back. There had been an escape a few days before, unfortunately, it had been on another floor of the facility. She was still locked up.
She heard the sound of a lock being undone, and the door opened. She got to her feet shakily, ready to defend herself as much as she could, though she was still slightly drugged.
The older woman who'd been outside entered the room. Her hair was dark brown, as were her eyes. She wore a charcoal blazer and skirt, pearl earrings, and a pearl necklace. She walked with poise, giving off an air of refinement.
"Hello, Holly." She said.
Holly glared at her. "Who are you? How long have I been here? Why am I so dangerous?!"
"My name is Angela Petrelli. You are a remarkable woman." She said, artfully sidestepping Holly's questions. She walked over to the bed and sat down. "You have a very special ability." She patted the bed next to her, motioning for Holly to join her.
"As I've been told." Holly warily sat down, but stayed far away from her.
"The ability to change form from human to other mammals is truly rare. In fact, the only other known person with this ability is a man from New Jersey named Oliver King."
Holly flinched at the mention of the name.
Angela smiled ever so slightly. "You knew him." She observed.
"That son of a bitch left me at the altar." Holly hissed. The waves of anguish that flooded from her hung in the air.
Angela didn't press the matter further. She had already confirmed her suspicions.
"We are a company that tracks people with abilities. Find them, train them. I know you were fired the day you were brought in. I can offer you a job here, as an agent. No one will question your abilities here."
"Why now?" Holly asked.
"There's been some rearranging of the staff. I'm in charge now, and I believe you are not as dangerous as those previously in charge thought."
"And if I refuse?" Holly asked with an edge in her voice.
"Then we will keep you here, in this cell." Angela said coldly.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
"I'll let you think about it." Angela said finally, rising from the bed and walking to the door. She opened it halfway, then turned to look at Holly again. "You would make an excellent agent."
Holly met her captor's cold eyes for an instant, then Angela left the room.
She sat there on the bed, contemplating the offer. She didn't need much time, though. Her choice was clear.
(=
-)
In the hall, outside the cell, Noah and Angela walked toward the entrance to the hall.
"You're not telling her everything." Noah observed.
"She can't know until she's proven to us that we can trust her not to go off the deep end." Angela said with a knowing tone.
They reached the door that lead out of the hall. Noah swiped a card and the door opened. "And she won't be angry when we tell her we've been lying to her?"
They exchanged a brief glance. Angela looked away, and then stepped through the open door. "Since when have you been against lying? Like I told you earlier," Angela said, "She's not the agent we will have to worry about."
Noah followed her through, and shut the door behind them. There was a quiet click, as the lock reset itself.
"The agent we WILL have to worry about?" Noah asked, following her through a maze of halls where company men and women worked at their desks. "What did your dreams tell you this time?"
She turned, and stared at her friend, her dark eyes boring into his.
He searched her face for any clue as to what she had seen in her vision, but her calm expression gave nothing away.
"You'll just have to trust me."
