A Note From Lara: I'd just like to take this opportunity to pimp my Peter/OC story Welcome to Real Life. If you like my writing, and you HAVEN'T read WTRL, you might want to jump on the Dianne Train before it completely leaves the station. I'm rewriting the whole series, and I'm deep into S1 already, so now's the time, if you're going to start reading.

And yes, I did lift some of the convo between Claire and Sylar from the Luke Car Scene.


New Jersey Highway

Knox was silent as he slid into the driver's seat of the company van, and Matt was glad of it. He needed some time to think his own thoughts for awhile.

Daphne wasn't with Pinehearst anymore. She had stopped working for them, and apparently not because of anything he'd done, either. No, once again it was Peter Petrelli who was the hero, who rescued the damsel in distress and saved the day.

Matt would have been lying if he said he wasn't jealous. He and Daphne were supposed to get married! She wasn't supposed to suddenly quit her nightmare of a job and go gallivanting off with some stupid empath who was (presumably) back to trying to save the world. Again.

What a glory-hound, Matt thought angrily. But at the same time, he knew that wasn't justified. He was very intimately acquainted with the inner workings of Peter's mind, and the man was absolutely selfless. He never thought of himself, and put everybody else first. Matt just hoped he'd be able to do the same for Daphne, because she needed someone looking after her, and badly.

Matt just hoped that the future he'd dreamed, where the search for Peter Petrelli got her killed, never came true.

Peter's Apartment

Manhattan

He didn't have anywhere to go and he wasn't inclined towards going too far anyway, so Sylar elected to pace up and down in the hallway outside Peter's apartment. It wasn't much, but the restless motion helped balance out the similarly restless shift of his thoughts.

The problem, of course, was that he wasn't over her. That week they had spent together before all the blood and all the powers had been the best week of his life, and he hadn't been afraid to admit to himself that he was falling head over heels for her. Now, things were different. He was different. And the feelings were still there, clearing away the cotton stuffing of his Hunger and turning him completely inside out with confusion.

And that was from three minutes in a room with her when she was unconscious. Sylar was almost afraid to find out what things would be like when she was awake.

But at the same time, he tried to tell himself, he barely knew her. All of the things that she'd said and done when they'd met before had been a lie. He'd read her file when he infiltrated the Company, and the girl on paper wasn't anything like the sweet, pie-making girl he'd thought he knew. No, apparently she was a crazed sociopath with sadistic tendencies and occasional paranoid delusions.

Sylar didn't realize he'd been muttering aloud to himself, or that Claire had quietly slipped into the hallway until she laughed. He jerked his head up in surprise to find her leaning against the wall. "What's so funny?" he growled.

She just shook her head, still chuckling. When she'd managed to contain herself, she said, "I knew you liked the sound of your own voice, but I never figured you'd be one to talk to yourself." He couldn't come up with a reply to that, so he just glared at her. "You know, it's kind of ironic," she continued conversationally. "The serial killer has a thing for the psycho murderess. It's kinda poetic."

"I thought you didn't want to talk to me," he said, unable to come up with any other reply that wouldn't show how absolutely mortified he was.

Claire shrugged. "I did some thinking, after I said that, and I guess Peter's right. I mean, he always is, but still. It's time I tried to put aside the past and move on. I don't really forgive you for what you did to me- not yet. But I can at least try to get along with you. And if that means making conversation with a serial killer, then so be it."

"I'm not a serial killer," he said.

She snorted. "Uh, yeah you are. You have a signature style, you target specific victims, you collect trophies..."

He glared at her. "Alright, so I'm technically a serial killer. Do you have a point?"

"Actually, yeah. I guess I just never thought of you as human before. But I guess it was seeing the way you reacted to Elle that brought it home that you're not just the guy who attacked me. You're a person."

Sylar raised his eyebrows. "Yes, I am." This was really what she'd thought of him? Once again, he became more determined than ever to change.

After a pause, she uncrossed her arms and pushed off from the wall. "So you're really in love with her, huh?" It was phrased as a question, but she didn't seem to be asking as much as saying.

He shrugged. "No. Maybe. No. I don't even know her!"

"Seems to me she's a pretty good fit for you," Claire said. "I mean, you've both got serious issues. You both had sucky, depressing childhoods. She's killed even more people than you have, including her mother."

"How do you know all this?" Sylar demanded.

"I read her file. It was in a box of my dad's things."

There were several minutes of silence then, during which Sylar tried to digest this new information and Claire studied him closely. She was amazed by the expressiveness of his face. Now that she was looking more closely, she really could see a strong resemblance to Peter there. They both carried their hearts in their eyes, although Sylar managed to hide it better.

Finally, he looked up at her and said, "She killed her mother?"

She nodded. "It was an accident. She was six when her power first manifested, and she couldn't control it. She set the house on fire and burned the woman alive." Sylar didn't respond, but she could see sympathy, maybe even empathy, for Elle all over his face. Claire continued after pause. "Her power's out of control again. Her electricity's turned inward and she keeps overloading and shorting out."

There was another extended silence. Finally, Sylar cleared his throat. "You didn't come out here to talk about Elle," he said matter-of-factly.

"Not really," she said. "I'm not really sure what I wanted to say, besides wanting to bridge the gap."

Suddenly she winced and rubbed her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"It hurts," she said, but there was a kind of bizarre wonder in her face. "I never thought I'd feel pain again, after... But this hurts. Is it really sick that I like this?"

He gave an involuntary shudder. "I can't imagine it. Losing my powers... I can't imagine it. It would be... scary."

"Scary and wonderful," she said. "You know, ever since this happened, all I've ever wanted is to get rid of it. I just wanted to be normal again. And now I am, and it's amazing. I can get hurt again. I can die, just like everybody else."

Sylar watched her closely. "That's not such a good thing to wish for," he said. "People will start saying you're as crazy as I am... was. Aside from myself and Peter, everyone else has to fight like hell to stay alive each day. Are you sure you're ready to go back to that battle?"

She shook back her blonde curls. "Not much I can do about it if I'm not, is there?"

"I suppose not," he said.

Once again, they lapsed into silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but neither was it friendly. They simply existed in the same place, and didn't happen to speak to each other. Finally, Sylar said, "I should probably be getting back inside before they start wondering where I've gone."

"Okay," she said.

He opened the door and stepped inside, but at the last moment poked his head back outside. "Claire," he said quietly, "You won't tell them about... about me and Elle, will you?"

She shook her head. "I'm a master secret-keeper."

He gave her a tentative smile, then closed the door behind him.


As many of you may have guessed, I'm using this twist in Claire's fate to really develop her into a mature adult. Basically I'm going to move her more into the person she is in Volume 5.

I have one more chapter focusing on the Dream Team, and then there'll be some chapters exploring what's been going on with other characters as a result of Daphne's choices. Thanks for reading and reviewing. *hint hint*