Application for Claire Bennet (Heroes)

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

((Done with permission from the Heroes-muns. Spoilers for the whole first season.))



The door to the Sorting Room opened slowly, and a pretty blonde girl, about sixteen, poked her head around it. "Hello?"

Hitching her bag over her shoulder, Claire Bennet made her way inside, eyes wide as she took in the stone walls and suits of armor. "Wow. This is so just like the set to a movie." A kind of half-smile was on her face as she headed towards the table in the middle of the room. Setting her bag down, she sat, crossing her legs and glancing down at the application.

She'd come all the way to Scotland for a purpose. After the explosion, after Nathan (her bio dad, which was a concept she still couldn't wrap her brain around completely) and Peter (Uncle Peter? That just sounded weird) had disappeared - had died, probably - all Claire could think of was that she had to do something with the power she'd been given. Peter had saved her, then had died saving the world. He'd lived so brightly, so completely focused on his destiny, on what he'd been meant to do, and Claire wanted his death to mean something. She wanted her dad - her real dad, the man who had raised her - to not have taken a bullet for her for nothing. She wanted to help people.

Hey, even Nathan had come around in the end. The future wasn't set in stone. There was always hope.

Unfortunately, being a cheerleader in Odessa, TX, wasn't exactly the best background for a super hero. Unless saving people required a handstand or a human pyramid, she was going to need some help. Hopefully, she'd be able to get it here. Claire just had to remember that she was posing as a totally normal girl. Hey, she could keep cover. Not like she didn't have any experience in that.

"Um, hi," she said, not really sure what else to do. "I'm Claire Bennet. I'd like to apply for your school? Please?"

The quill jumped to life and Claire started back. At first she looked wildly around the room, heart pounding. She hadn't exactly had the best experiences with objects moving seemingly on their own. But when she didn't see anyone, Claire relaxed, looking down at the quill with a smile.

"Cool."

1. What is your favorite cheese? Why is it your favorite?

Wrinkling her nose at the question, Claire looked around the room. "This is kind of an...unusual question, don't you think? I mean, for a school application. Sounds like a question that would be on some internet quiz or something." She flashed a tiny smile, then shrugged and laughed a little. "Um, I feel like I should say brie or something, so I sound mature and sophisticated." Again she laughed, looking ruefully at the application. "But I guess the truth would be the nachos that they have at football games at my school? Even though I so shouldn't eat them. Or toasted cheese sandwiches with a glass of orange juice. I don't know, I guess I'm kinda simple."

2. Who would you kill first, Barney or Carrottop?

The smile on Claire's face faded slightly, and she looked up quickly. What kind of application was this? "Well, Barney has that annoying song," she forced a laugh, one shoulder rising and falling in a slight shrug.

But behind the friendly, if slightly bland, expression, Claire's mind was racing. Could they know? Or were they just trying to make her slip up? Or maybe this was just one of those personality things, like 'If you could only save one person from a burning building, who would it be?'. (Of course, Claire's answer to that would, in reality, be a lot different than most people's. Having the ability to heal yourself would do that.) In any case, Claire suddenly was a lot more wary of the application, and she proceeded with caution, smile frozen on her face, eyes darting around the room from time to time.

She had to be careful.


3. What time is it where you are?

Compared to the last question, this one was refreshingly normal. Taking a look at her watch, Claire said, "Well, I'm still set to Texas time. And..." she laughed. "God, I'm so bad at math. My watch says six oh-five. So whatever it would be to get it onto Scottish time."

4. If you were Albus Dumbledore returned from the dead, which member of the Order of the Phoenix would you sexually harass? How would you harass them? If you are Albus Dumbledore, please answer as if you were Sirius Black.

A look of repulsion crossed her face. "You can't force yourself on people. That's just wrong, no matter who you are. And you shouldn't encourage it, either. People who think they're above all that, they need to be stopped. You should be able to feel safe around people, especially people you think you could care about. Harassing them, forcing yourself on them, that's disgusting."

5. If you are pushing to be in:

A. Slytherin - please state the clever, witty name of the bar in which you bartend, in the dark.

"Um..." She paused, thinking. Then one corner of her mouth lifted in a sad little smile. "'Between a Rock and a Sponge'. It's...a play on the name of...of this guy I knew. He...he was a hero." Her smile was forced larger and Claire stuck out her chin, definitely not crying. "And hey, heroes get things named after them, right? I mean, a fictional bar isn't exactly a statue, but I think he'd laugh."

B. Gryffindor – Debate whether Harry should ultimately end up married to Fred or George. Use examples from a variety of world mythologies to bolster your argument.

Holding up both of her hands, Claire laughed and shook her head, eyes going wide. "Oh, no. I kinda think I'm the last person you should ask about all that. I've got, like, no experience, and the little I do have kind of...ended bad." But she considered the question for a minute, a smile playing out on her mouth. "But I guess, if I had to, I'd just say it should be whoever he loved. I mean, really loved. Like, the person he trusted and wanted to spend time with and made him feel safe. And butterflies and all that. If you're going to do the whole 'til death do you part' thing, it should be with your best friend, right?"

C. Ravenclaw – You guys are supposed to be smart. Explain why my desk is inundated with paperwork at all times, even though I’m constantly disposing of it.

"Um, I'm not exactly smart." Claire gave a self-deprecating laugh, rolling her eyes. "I mean, I totally barely passed Bio. But maybe you should just get a secretary or something? Or switch jobs? I guess I don't see paper as a huge problem. That's kind of what my dad does for a living." Claire paused, biting her lower lip, then smiled again. "He's the manager of a paper company." So far as anyone else in the world needed to know, that is.

D. Hufflepuff – Prove you are not useless.

"Me? I'm...just a cheerleader. I mean, I don't think anyone is worthless, but I'm not exactly anything special." Sticking her hands in her pockets, Claire stared down at the paper for a minute, not really seeing anything. Or, rather, seeing something very different than a rough, wooden desk and a large piece of parchment. "I've known some really extraordinary people, though," she continued quietly. "I mean, really, really amazing. There was this one guy, he saved my life. Even though he didn't even know me. He died saving the world. And there were other people, they gave up everything... I think that's special." Raising her head again, Claire blinked, then smiled softly. "I'm just a girl."

6. Offer a bribe to the members of this community so that they will not squib you. Items used in bribery do not necessarily have to belong to the person offering the bribe. Do not threaten us rather than offering a bribe. A threat indicates you either don't really want to be here, or don't have enough sense to answer the question properly. The hat will automatically squib you, regardless of other votes, if you do.

Oh. Um. Digging in her bag, Claire brought out a bag of gummy worms, a few pens (pink, glittery ones), a disposable camera, and a few paperbacks she'd bought at the airport. "Sorry, that's pretty much all I have." Glancing around, she tucked a strand of hair behind her hear, eyes questioning. "So - did I pass?"

Comments

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

((*blush* Aww, I love the soul crushing. \o/*))

Claire's eyes went wide and she froze, just utterly motionless.

Dad. Nathan. Bio-dad. Jerk-face who had been willing to let New York explode. Guy who had shown up at the last minute and done the right thing. Um, yeah, she was kind of at a loss as to what to call him.

Whatever his title, Claire had been sure he had been dead. It was a little like seeing a ghost. Making some strangled sound of disbelief, she started forward, only to stop again.

"You're alive."

Yeah, that was a good way to start.

[likeabadpenny.livejournal.com]

Peter was beginning to wish that he had some sort of power to let him see the future (that wasn't painting, because that was normally pretty vague at the best of times) - because how good would it have been to know about this beforehand? He could have been cheered up for days, weeks, even.

It had been one thing that Peter had been worrying about ever since he came here. Not that he was scared that Claire had gotten hurt in anyway, because he knew she hadn't - but simply that he hadn't been able to keep his promise to Mr. Bennet that he would keep Claire safe. Even though 'keeping her safe' rang synonymous with 'asking her to shoot him in the head'.

Ooh, who was Nathan talking to? Peter was going to kick his ass if Nathan was flirting again. Coming up behind him, Peter frowned. "Nathan, I swear if you don't stop-" He broke off, staring at Claire who he'd just spotted. "Claire?" Shock eased its way into a grin. "Claire! God, when did you get here?"

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

For every moment of awkward uncertainty that Claire had around Nathan, there was the exact opposite with Peter. From the second she'd met him there had been a kind of connection, a sense of belonging, which was only cemented by the fact that Peter had saved her life. Peter had made her feel safe, had been part of the reason she had been willing to finally embrace who she was.

He was kind of her hero.

So with a delighted shriek that only teenage girls could accomplish, Claire threw herself at Peter in a huge hug. "Oh my God, you're alive!" she said, beaming. "I thought you were dead! How are you not dead? Peter!" Literally too happy for cohesive sentences, Claire settled for hugging him tighter. She'd grieved him, mourned him, and now he was back. There weren't words enough to express the level of relief and joy.

So hugs would do.

[soopernathan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, okay, this was awkward. They had definitely delved into the two-word answer territory, and 'awkward' wasn't even a strong enough word for it. Maladroit, maybe. Inept. A blind fucking urge to go bolting in the other direction, fast as he possibly could, and for somebody who could break the sound barrier when he put a little kick into his abilities, his flying... that wasn't all too hard.

Give thanks for the loving uncle, right? For Peter who got the sudden embrace when Claire wouldn't even touch Nathan. He couldn't blame her for that, either. Nathan and Angela, and the big Save the World by Destroying Half of Freaking New York plan that Linderman had set in place... Shit, they'd shoved her in a fucking car and tried to ship her off to Paris. He'd just been trying to protect her - she was his daughter for God's sake - but who the hell knew what that looked like to her, right?

So. Yes. Let crazy Uncle Pete do the hugging for now. Nathan shoved his hands into his slacks, took a step back, and fixed a knowing sort of look on the two, eyes jumping back and forth, like he was soaking in every word.

[likeabadpenny.livejournal.com]

Giving Claire a squeeze of a hug in return, Peter held her out at arms length and smiled at her. "I'm not dead because of you, Claire. You saved my life, again." And not only that time of the explosion; she'd since saved his life twice again since he'd come to Hogwarts. Not that he was going to tell her about that. The smile turned crooked, self-depreciating. "You keep racking up all these points in your favor, I'm never going to be able to pay you back."

His eyes slid over to Nathan, standing off to the side, and Peter shot his brother a look. The kind that said 'She's your daughter, make an effort!' If Nathan was going to stand there the whole time, Peter was going to give him a serious talking to after this.

But back to Claire, because Peter almost couldn't believe that she was here. On purpose, by the looks of it, which was definitely a good thing. Her adopted parents were here, so she'd be safe. But as much as Sylar going after Claire wouldn't be a problem, considering she could heal, Peter still wanted to keep her safe from that. Who knew what Sylar could actually do to her. "God, it's good to see you again," he commented quietly, the smile still firmly in place. "Why did you come here? Not that I'm not happy, but it's a random place to come."

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

Rolling her eyes, she gave Peter a little smile. "I'm pretty sure you saving New York made up for it. We'll call it even." Because it wasn't as if she had done anything. She hadn't even shot him like he'd asked. In Claire's mind, Peter was way ahead in the points category.

Her eyes followed Peter's to Nathan and the girl frowned. Actually, bio-dad Jerkface could just stay over there for now. Her feelings about Nathan were a scattered jumble. There was the longing to know her family, where she'd come from, who she was. But then there was the anger and disappointment over who her father had turned out to be. What he'd been almost willing to do. The fact that he'd shown up redeemed him slightly, but that someone could even consider doing what he had been... Claire didn't know if she wanted to hug the man or hit him. So distance was okay, right at the moment.

"To learn how to be a hero," she replied, wrinkling her nose at how juvenile that sounded. "I want to help people. Like you. I want to follow my destiny." The last word was said with a grin of an inside joke. She believed everything Peter had said about destiny, of course, but she was also well aware how precocious saying it out loud was. "Why are you here?" Then she laughed, shaking her head, grin growing. "Never mind, I'm just happy you're anywhere." She reached up and squeezed his upper arm. "I still can't believe you're alive. It's like a miracle."

[soopernathan.livejournal.com]

Oh, he knew that look. The 'do something constructive right now or I may shank you later' sort of look. Mostly because it was full-out trademark infringement. How many times had Nathan had to shoot it to Peter, that warning sort of glare that came with Peter's... random crazy talk or whatever he was deciding to do for the day. Jump out a window. Try to take off to Nevada! No, really, it was fun.

And he was trying! If opening and shutting his mouth like some kind of drowned guppy was any resemblance of something resembling 'trying'. Just... what did he say right now? 'So what have you been up to for the last sixteen years of your life'? 'How's the adopted parents, you know, since I kind of thought you were dead'? 'Sorry for trying to send you away to Paris because I was kind of ashamed of having an illegitimate daughter'? Oh, yes, it would all end so well. Hallmark moments here, people.

Peter got a look right back, as Nathan shifted from foot to foot and let his eyes flicker back to Claire. Clearing his throat and... letting them gossip or... what the hell ever they were doing.

[likeabadpenny.livejournal.com]

At Nathan's return look and obviously awkward throat clearing, Peter frowned slightly. He didn't have to ask; of course Nathan would be feeling awkward and not really know what to do around Claire. It had to be difficult, to come face to face with a daughter whose life you'd had no part of.

Still. Serious words were coming Nathan's way, as soon as they were alone.

He almost went to protest that he hadn't actually saved New York - it had been Nathan - but Peter stopped the words just in time. Claire sounded happy to believe that, even though she was finding heroic qualities in the wrong person. At the news that Claire wanted to learn how to be a hero, Peter's smile faltered slightly. God, she was just a teenager.

"Sorry about Nathan," Peter apologized, "I think he has a sore throat, been really hard for him to talk." Lamest excuse ever, but Peter had to try. "And I ended up here when I... ah, blew up." He looked off to the side, temporarily embarrassed. "But it's a great place, you'll really love it here."

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

At the throat clearing, Claire looked over at Nathan, slightly expectant. Only to be treated to awkward nothingness. "Funny," she said with a tiny smile, shaking her head. "I thought it was just him not knowing what to say to his illegitimate daughter." Though the words were to Peter, Claire's eyes were on Nathan's face.

Stepping back from Peter with a frown, she gave him a crooked, rueful smile. "Yeah, I'm hoping." Rubbing her hands on the sides of her jeans, she looked back and forth between the brothers.

"Wow, we're really bad at this, huh?"

[soopernathan.livejournal.com]

...What the hell? Sore throat? Nathan was automatically throwing Peter another look, because, seriously, was that the best thing he could come up with? A sore throat? Yes, because it wasn't like he'd just been talking five seconds ago. That fickle sore throat, only working on occasion. Next Peter'd be saying he had lockjaw and that came and went as it pleased, wouldn't he? Christ.

At least Claire could manage to be straightforward about things. His own eyes riveted right to her own once she spoke again, and, yes, that was it exactly, thank you for somebody getting out in the open. ...Christ, Ma was right, Claire did get her mouth. "'Bad at this' is... a bit of an understatement," Nathan finally managed to get out, and throwing Peter a bit of a glare, as if to see, 'see, there is no sore throat, and you are a dumbass'.

[likeabadpenny.livejournal.com]

Clapping his hand on Nathan's shoulder and giving him a light congratulatory shake, Peter beamed at his brother and Claire. See? That hadn't been so hard to just say something, had it? That's it, he was still giving Nathan A Talk at some point after this. Sometimes he had to step up and be a moral compass.

"We're all kind of bad at this," Peter shrugged, trying to get the tension out of the air. "But hey, that's understandable. You both found out about this at a really bad time." He smiled crookedly at both of them, looking far too excited. "And Claire, I know you have a family that you love, but I really think we could learn to be a family, too. More family is always good, right, Nathan?"

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

Crossing her arms across her chest, Claire muttered, "I don't need family that tries to kidnap me and ship me off to Paris." Yeah, that so wasn't forgiven or forgotten anytime in the future.

"You were just going to let New York blow up! You were going to let Peter kill all those people!" Those weeks of thinking they were dead had simply compounded the frustration and disappointment and anger she'd felt at the time. "Ever since I found out I was adopted, I've been trying to imagine what my parents must have been like. Who they were. So I'd know who I was. But I don't want to be like you." Glowering, Claire set her jaw and met Nathan's eyes defiantly. "You could have done something, so people didn't get hurt. So they didn't die. You could have been brave. Why weren't you?" There was something so little-girl lost in her voice, in the tears that were threatening, even as the world-weary grief made her looks far too old for her years. That Nathan had come at the last minute wasn't enough. Not for Claire. "You're supposed to be a hero."

[soopernathan.livejournal.com]

...See! This was why he didn't speak! He didn't even say ten words and that garnered some kind of mass rant about heroism and how much he sucked. And other such topics that Nathan did not like explaining, especially within the vicinity of Peter. It never ended well. Granted, this time it wasn't Peter that was the one that was ranting at him, but damn. Maybe that just made it all that worse.

Nathan squared his jaw for a few long seconds, teeth gritting against each other as he conjured the right words in his head. He was a politician. He was a lawyer. It was his freaking job to come up with bullshit on the spot. But in light of situations like this? When what he said actually mattered? Nathan was total shit at this kind of stuff. Always saying the wrong things and everyone ended up pissed off. They could make a party out of it.

"Look," Nathan replied in a low voice, hand branching out to grasp at Claire's shoulder, as if to achieve some kind of familiarity with the girl. "I get it, all right? I'm a sucky dad. Maybe not for Simon, or Monty, but you..." Nathan screwed up his face, opening and shutting his mouth for a minute, and scratching at his forehead. "You, just, what do I do with that? Sixteen years later, and I have a daughter. What do I know about daughters? How do I work with that? And I'm sorry. Because none of this crap was supposed to happen, and it did, and for that... I apologize."

There. He'd talked. ...He could practically feel Peter breaking down into puppy tears as he spoke.

[likeabadpenny.livejournal.com]

Peter would have hugged Nathan right now if he wasn't in the middle of doing the fatherly-shoulder-touch thing, so he settled for throwing an absolutely adoring look in Nathan's direction. He was so proud of Nathan right now, for stepping up and saying what he actually felt.

"He is a hero, Claire," Peter followed up, tucking his hands in his pockets and smiling at them both. Oh, he knew that Nathan had been prepared to let him explode and let half of New York get killed, but Nathan had also changed his mind and done the right thing, in the end. That was all that mattered to Peter. "He saved New York, when I couldn't do anything. Nathan risked his own life to save millions of people."

Okay, maybe he didn't need to give Nathan a Talking To.

"Claire, Nathan only did what he did out of love. He wanted to protect you," Peter said softly, willing Claire to understand. "He's a better man than I am." Nathan had tried to protect Claire while Peter had tried to make her shoot him in the head; in Peter's view, Nathan was much more of a hero than he would ever be.

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

Jerking her shoulder out of Nathan's grasp, Claire's eyes narrowed. "You think I'm mad about me?" she asked, incredulous. "I don't care that you weren't there before. I have a dad, and he loves me, and I don't need you." The words were shouted with all the pain that completely betrayed her words. He'd left her. In Kermit, when Meredith had offered to call her, he'd just left the money and gone. He didn't love her. He used her. He shunted her away because she was an embarrassment. And he knew it, too. As Claire looked up at him, as she met his eyes, she knew that he was well aware of the reality of their relationship.

"This is about New York," she hissed, gesturing to emphasize her points. "This is about you being willing to sacrifice all those people. You weren't protecting anyone but yourself."

She rounded on Peter. "He is not a good guy, Peter! He lied to you! He lied to me. He doesn't care about anyone but himself. And if he had done something sooner, then maybe things would have been better." She pointed at him. "He didn't save New York. You fought Sylar, you're the reason Hiro could kill him. I saw it, Peter. He just showed up because he can't even commit to being a murderer. He got cold feet, that's all. He couldn't live with himself. That's not a hero." She was all but crying, now, out of frustration and anger.

"You don't love me," she shot at Nathan. "If you loved me, you wouldn't have treated me like some pawn or something to be shoved in a closet and trotted out at the right time. You don't love anyone but yourself."

Then she glared at Peter. "And you're a hundred times better than he could ever be." Claire's eyes slid to Nathan. "And he knows it."

Vote: Gryffindor

[soopernathan.livejournal.com]

Again. That whole not-talking thing? It worked so much in his favor sometimes. Why didn't he use that method more often?

Because, truth was, he did try. With Claire? God, he wasn't making up all that he'd told her, about wanting to be a good father for her, about wanting to... do better. Claire hadn't been around Nathan long enough to know just how rarely he tended to be genuine around the people around him, if the politician smile flashing all six hundred and eight seven of his teeth wasn't enough indication. And here he was, and what he'd told her was... severely not lying, but how did you make that up to somebody you'd fucked over so very royally?

Nathan automatically held up a finger of warning, towards Peter, and he could practically smell the kid coming up with various excuses right now, for why Nathan was such an ass. "Nah, she's right," he automatically commented, lightly, in a low sort of voice. He slid his hands back into his slacks, gritting his teeth together and fixing Claire with a long, knowing sort of look. "I did lie." Screw the purpose behind it. That he was trying to protect everyone around him.

"I lied, and I brushed you out of the way until it was convenient for me, and," he continued, frown tugging down the corners of his mouth, "yeah, I know Peter's a better man than me." Looking decidedly very much not at Peter when he was saying this, naturally. Because Peter was not a complete asshole. A brat at times, yet a much better man than Nathan, yes. But a better man couldn't have done what Nathan nearly did. There was a reason they picked the cold, distancing brother for all of this, rather than the hospice nurse.

What do you say to something like that? Especially words coming out of the one person in the world who can absolute terrify you - your own kids. So... he left it. Forcing another blunt sort of smile, another one of those politician ones that didn't quite reach his eyes, Nathan just took a few steps back, nodding once. "Nice seeing you again, Claire. Good luck with your sorting."

Re: Vote: Gryffindor

[ms-miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

At his departure, tears pricked in Claire's eyes. She was suddenly furious, the disappointment and hurt overwhelming her. No matter how much she loved her adopted family - her real family - she had idealized this picture in her head of what her bio-parents would be. That they would love her. That they'd want to be with her.

And now he was walking away. Again.

"I threw a stone at your car," she said, loudly, standing with feet braced, with hand curled into fists. "I was outside of Meredith's window and I heard you. You could have seen me. You could have met me! Why didn't you?" Her voice cracked, then, and she scrubbed angrily at the tears falling down her cheeks. "Why didn't you want me? Why did you walk away?"

Then, choking back a sob, she drew back. "Never mind," she hissed, glaring. "I don't care. I don't need you. And you made it pretty obvious you don't need me. But you're not going to leave me again, okay? This time, I'm walking away from you."

Turning, Claire did just that, heading off into the crowd of the Sorting Room, trying to stop herself from crying.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Re: Vote: Gryffindor

[likeabadpenny.livejournal.com]

It was a good thing that Nathan had warned Peter off speaking, because he definitely would have jumped in to defend his brother. Like all defense coming purely from the heart, it would have been completely incoherent, overly fervent and rather useless.

Not that Peter didn't know about the various bad qualities of Nathan. He knew them just as well as he knew Nathan's good qualities, but he was willing to overlook them. For all that Nathan lied to him, manipulated him and hurt him, it was okay, because Peter had faith that Nathan still loved him. That all of that was, if not for Peter's protection, then for the greater good. And if was for selfish reasons, then that was okay too, because it was Nathan, and Peter understood.

Claire was still fighting against that, and Peter hadn't really expected her to change her view of Nathan, anyway. She was upset, he got that, and that wasn't going to change without action on Nathan's part. Peter dithered on the spot, looking between Claire and Nathan, torn between who to stay with. Claire's crying broke his heart, and all he wanted to do was hug her and tell her it was okay, that Nathan was trying - but she was already leaving, and he didn't know if another Petrelli brother was really what Claire wanted to see right now.

And if he followed after Nathan to have serious words, Peter knew that nothing productive would get talked about until Nathan had had a chance to wrap his head around Claire's appearance. So that would wait until later.

For now, Peter was going stay here and watch over Claire to make sure that she was safe, and okay. Going invisible with a thought, he retreated to the back of the room and lurked, already going over what he was going to say to Nathan later. Peter had faith that they could be family if they tried.