Electric Firefly
Summary: The Company sets her teeth on edge, but most of the time it helps control the chaos, that darkness within her.
Author's Note: Sequel to "Just Another Day on the Job." Elle-centric. Sylar/Elle. AU. Special thanks to faded_facade for mad beta skills as well as for helping me to talk through the storyline and calm my newbie writer's jitters. ;) Sorry it's taken me to update my stories- both Electric Firefly and Frequent Flyer... hope to get chapters for these fics up soonish. Promise I'll get to some Sylar/Elle action in this story... Reviews = love.
Chapter 3
Elle sighs inwardly to herself. The electrical Company agent feels the urge to massage her sore feet. She's been running around the city following Obi-Wan Kenobi and little Skywalker lockstep throughout their entire training fest. The femme fatale is in phenomenal physical shape, but running all day long on hard concrete floors and up and down flights of stairs in five inch stilettos is just plain killer. If it wasn't for their verbal agreement, Elle would have probably fried the Brit to ashes just for the fact that her expensive Italian leather heels are slightly scuffed from the wear and tear of the day.
At the current moment, the young operative is crouched down low on her hands and knees in the greenhouse on the roof of the Deveaux penthouse. She is peering through the foggy glass watching the empath learning the ways of the Jedi. A trickle of sweat is slowly running down her spine from holding the uncomfortable position for hours. Her normally pristine pin-striped suit is covered with dirt and grime, one of the unfortunate side effects of her hands-on undercover espionage. Elle postulates that James Bond probably never ruined his sexy suit while spying on a target.
Fantasies of a warm bubble bath and a very dead Peter Petrelli fill her head while she stares at the master teaching his protégé.
Elle can feel a headache forming. Very unattractive thermo-goggles tightly strapped to her head probably isn't helping the pressure building behind her eyes. Daddy had delivered the military eye wear earlier that day when she reported her that the Boy Scout is currently invisible. The handoff of the equipment was something out of a spy movie, the package had suddenly appeared in her hands on the crowded streets of New York City while in the middle of pursuing the invisible duo. Although Elle is fully confident in her heightened senses and tracking abilities, Daddy insisted on Elle utilizing the goggles to ensure that she does not lose the rabbit.
Birdwatcher fiddles with her specialized dork glasses. Electricity itches beneath her fingertips, demanding to be released. Flaring her bright power would both surely momentarily blind her with the sensitive thermo-goggles and alert the target. So the agent bites her bottom lip hard with the hope that the pain will distract from the need to release her vibrant sparks.
Claude has picked up on Elle's presence, she can see the slight changes in his shoulders when she creeps closer for a better view. The empath is clueless as usual. Maybe Claude can knock some common sense into the youngest Petrelli boy. After hours of careful observation, Elle has officially determined Peter to be an idiot. Such a shame, the empath has so much potential. He was like a lion that doesn't know how to use his deadly teeth and claws.
The only interesting thing that has happened over the last twelve hours is that Claude threw Boy Wonder off of the roof earlier that evening. The Invisible Man must have hoped that the empath would pull a Peter Pan move, but apparently the student lacked happy thoughts and fairy dust. The lesson forced Peter to call on one of his absorbed abilities of rapid cellular regeneration to heal the damages from falling multiple stories. Elle found the entire fiasco to be absolutely hilarious.
Right now, Elle wishes she could throw Peter off the building herself. Being forced to watch the empath spar with his mentor has been incredibly painful and boring. She would rather consume a "L" pill, a lethal cyanide capsule issued to intelligence operatives to commit suicide. Peter possesses pathetic fighting skills and lacks control of his abilities. Elle doesn't think very highly of the youngest Petrelli son. Her internal beast figures she could kill him in under one second with a flick of her wrist.
"Dig into that file cabinet of yours and pull something out. Fly, stop time, paint me a pretty picture. Do something unexpected." The Invisible Man taunts his student both verbally and physically.
Claude attempts to strike Peter with a wooden staff. Peter furrows his eyebrows in concentration and holds out his hand. The staff is violently pushed back with an invisible energy. The wood board snaps in half.
Elle's mouth drops open. Well…that was unexpected. Looks like the Force is strong with the young Jedi.
Both Peter and Claude look surprised. Claude exclaims, "You pushed that away with your mind. Which one of your sorry friends has telekinesis?"
"None of them do." Peter frowns. "Oh wait. That guy who was chasing Claire in Texas. He sent some lockers flying at me."
"Texas? And you pulled that little trick out in the here and now? Well, we might just have a chance of stopping you going nuclear."
The master and his apprentice continue talking, but Elle isn't listening to the words coming out of their mouths anymore.
Telekinesis. Peter absorbed Sylar's power during their confrontation at Homecoming. Just seeing her unrequited love's ability displayed by the empath floods Elle with tremendous longing. She's never wanted anything or anyone as much as she craves the watchmaker. Her devil danced with his demon and the fiddler's tune is far from over.
A blue bolt of electricity catches Elle's attention back to Peter and Claude. An electrical arch is flowing out from Peter's fingertips. Boy Wonder keeps pulling new tricks out of his cloak. Elle's eyes widen, her breathing has completely stopped. A strange sensation is surging throughout her body, filling her up to the point that her hands are violently shaking. If Elle had any emotional intelligence, she would be able to label the sensation as the emotions of fury and anger.
Peter Petrelli took the one thing that Elle loves most- her beautiful indigo sparks. And now, Elle wants to cut out his heart. A bit over-dramatic, but Elle has never been one to share.
"Woah!" Peter gasps. He brings his hands up to his face to inspect the electrical ability sparking from his fingertips.
Elle wants to storm over to the empath and wipe the grin off his face with her fist. Instead she balls her hands so hard that her fingernails are cutting into her palms, forming little half moons filled with blood. The immediate pain helps her to resist the urge to slug Peter. Elle wishes that this assignment was not purely surveillance, but rather a executive action mission....otherwise known as assassination.
"Not sure where that came from. I've never seen anyone do that before." The empath forms a shaky ball of electricity between his fingertips. The loud snaps of power makes him jump in surprise.
Claude glances briefly in the direction where Elle is hiding in the shadows. "Well, mate, perhaps you picked it up from someone you didn't realize had the power of electrical manipulation. There's plenty of mysterious specials running about the city. Let's take a break, shall we?"
Peter and Claude move to chat by the pigeon coop. Elle scrunches her noise at the thought of being around such filthy, diseased-filled creatures. Decides to keep her distance.
She's back in her head, visualizing all of the different ways she can overpower and kill the evolved human. Blood, pain, and death are what the sociopath knows and loves best.
Movement out of the corner of her eye interrupts the fantasy of ripping out Peter's throat with her bare hands. Snaps Elle back to the here-and-now.
The beast in her psyche screams with rage. Elle unconsciously bares her white teeth with a low, feral growl.
Bennet and the Haitian are crashing her party.
Her mind is over-flowing with racing questions. What are they doing here? Were they sent to spy on her? Does Daddy not trust her? Are they babysitting to make sure that she's following orders? Did Linderman pick up on her super, secret solo assignment? Are they here to drag her back to the Company? Is the Haitian going to try to wipe her mind clean again? How long have they been following her? How has she not noticed them until now?
Paranoia is like breathing to Elle. She has a pervasive, long-standing suspiciousness and mistrust of everyone. Particularly of Glasses and the Memory Thief. They do not share a squeaky clean history. Elle's very much aware that she has been exploited, harmed, deceived, and manipulated her entire life. Such experiences tend to make one extremely paranoid. And in turn, she exploits, harms, deceives, and manipulates the pawns that she can control. She would never admit to herself or anyone else that one of the reasons she's obsessed with inflicting pain and suffering on others is that it gives her a false sense of power and control within her powerless existence. The caged, battered beast deludes herself that she's still wild and free.
Her initial paranoid thoughts center around herself, as Elle is a narcissist and possesses an excessive sense of self-importance. It is not until she notices the agents strap on matching thermo-goggles that she realizes that Bennet and the Haitian are not here for her. They are targeting Peter and Claude. This is her assignment. And they are going to ruin all of the hard works she's put into her clandestine operation.
She's almost willing to break the five golden rules and emerge from the shadows. The Haitian is far away enough that Elle knows her powers are not dampened. She could easily knock out both agents with her sharp shooting.
But…lose control and lose it all.
Elle watches helplessly as Claude and Peter continue to be engage in their discussion, unaware of the looming danger. She knows what's going to happen. Normally she wouldn't care, but she feels a strange connection with the smelly Brit. Sure, she doesn't remember the coloring books, sing-a-longs, and ability training sessions. Though she still has an unconscious need to protect him, to yell out a warning. It takes an incredible amount of self control to maintain her position in silence.
It was like a terrible slow-motion sequence in a movie. The two agents take aim with their stun guns. Elle holds her breath as Noah Bennet releases the blast of his weapon. Claude and Peter jump in unison to the unexpected firing sound. Claude is hit first, the electricity of the taser shakes his body and forces him to the ground. The Haitian fires to shoot Peter, but the empath uses telekinesis to stop the two small dart-like electrodes in the air. Bennet and the Haitian move forward in attempt to take out the targets. But before they can get close enough, Boy Wonder throws Claude over his shoulder and jumps off the roof.
Elle watches as Peter soars through the sky with Claude on his back. Superman figured out how to fly just in the nick of time. Maybe she had judged Boy Wonder too soon, perhaps he isn't as pathetic and weak after all.
Bennet and the Haitian rush off of the rooftop. Elle rolls her eyes. Like they could really capture Boy Wonder. The empath is probably millions of miles away from New York City.
Elle has officially lost Peter. Another failed solo mission to add to her resume. Just peachy.
Perfectly manicured red nails tap over her cell phone to a panicky rhythm while Elle debates whether or not to make the call. Daddy is not going to be happy. Not one bit. Elle sighs loudly and jerks open the phone.
Her father answers on the first ring.
"Daddy?" Elle's voice is raw and pure.
"I already know." Bob Bishop's voice is harsh with the usual disappointed undertone.
"The plan has changed. My office at the Kirby Plaza building, 8 AM sharp. And Elle, don't be late."
Click.
Elle moves towards the edge of the Deveaux rooftop to observe the view of the city, blue eyes gone suddenly cold. There was nothing there, no expression, except that awful coldness. Emptiness. Elle mumbles into the dead phone, "Love you too."
Author's Note: You likely? ;P Thanks for being patient... my muse is struggling. Reviews = love!