Application for Claire Bennet (Heroes)
Sep. 1st, 2007 07:34 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
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((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 ā 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 ā You guys are supposed to be smart. Explain why my desk is inundated with paperwork at all times, even though Iām 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 ā 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?"
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 ā 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 ā You guys are supposed to be smart. Explain why my desk is inundated with paperwork at all times, even though Iām 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 ā 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?"
no subject
Date: 2007-09-03 10:55 pm (UTC)"Claire?" To say that Noah was surprised at his daughter's sudden appearance would be an understatement. She was supposed to be back in New York, safe. And this place, he had decided, might be useful but was definitely not safe. For one thing, the man who had tried to kill her, broken into their house, and assaulted Sandra when Claire hadn't been home was here, just wandering around like he owned the damn place. For another, there seemed to be no screening of the students and so just anyone could show up, with any sort of intention.
Seized with the sudden onset of surprise and worry, he didn't move for a few heartbeats. But it passed, and he was moving quickly towards her, arms open for a hug. "Claire-bear, what are you doing here?"
no subject
Date: 2007-09-03 11:14 pm (UTC)"Dad?" Even though she'd known that her dad was here, even though she'd just seen Sandra, it didn't matter. Absolute relieved joy spread across Claire's face and she launched herself to him, arms wrapping around his neck.
There really weren't words. Not for a few minutes. It was more clinging and maybe some tears and a daughter being incredibly thankful that her father - her real father - was there.
"Dad, Sylar is here." Claire's brain clicked over from little girl to the young woman who had taken his gun and held it up to shoot Peter. Big eyes were raised to his face, a flash of fear overcome in her resolve. "I'm okay," she assured him. "He can't hurt me. But he's here. And so are Nathan and Peter. I thought they were dead. All of them." No need to say that Sylar could just as well have stayed dead.
Then she was hugging him again. "I'm glad you're here. I thought I was going to be alone."
Warded for Noah and Claire
Date: 2007-09-04 02:29 am (UTC)when he wasn't sleeping on a couch in the common room... it was tremendously useful and relatively easy. He hastily cast one around them the second that he disentangled himself from Claire. "Okay, no one but us can hear what we're discussing now." His face hardened as she mentioned Sylar. "I thought they all were, too. Unfortunately, there's not much that can be done about Sylar at the moment except watch him." Noah declined to mention that he had been looking into the feasibility of everything from Unforgivables to sewing him up with rocks and chucking him into the lake. His little girl didn't need to hear any of that."I'm glad to see you too, but what are you doing here? It's not safe here." Not that it had been any safer in New York, between the Company knowing of her existence now and Sylar and God knew what else, but still. He would ask her later how on earth she had paid for any plane tickets that she might have used. Possible misuse of his credit card and the leaving of a paper trail could wait.
Re: Warded for Noah and Claire
Date: 2007-09-04 03:02 am (UTC)Looking back at him, Claire shook her head, eyes going just as hard as his. "Then we'll watch him. But there's got to be some way to stop him, Dad. I mean, he can't just keep going, after what he did."
At his question, Claire's expression turned a little sheepish. "Dad, it's not really safe anywhere." Avoiding the subject. Finally she sighed and looked down, playing with the sleeves of her sweater. "Do you remember that train that derailed and caught on fire?" she asked, glance flicking up to him, hoping he'd understand. Hoping harder he wouldn't get mad. "And everyone thought that Jackie had run into the fire to save that guy? Well...it wasn't Jackie." Deep breath. "It was me. I pulled this guy out and...and I started thinking that maybe what I can do, what I am, maybe I can use that. To help people. And then I met Peter, and I saw that you could, you know? Have a destiny." Her smile turned rueful. "Save the world. I guess I came here to learn how. I want what I can do to, I don't know...matter."
She raised her eyes back to him and wrinkled her nose in worry. "Are you mad?"
Re: Warded for Noah and Claire
Date: 2007-09-04 03:19 am (UTC)He didn't like that look in her eyes. She was much too young to have all of this on her mind. He still wasn't sure that his decision to have the Haitian wipe her memory had been a wrong one. She certainly wouldn't have had this on her mind--but she wouldn't have been able to deal with it when Sylar and Sprague and the rest had brought trouble to their doorstep, either. "I know it's not safe anywhere, sweetie. I just want... I wanted you to enjoy the rest of your youth and not have to worry about people like him." He reached down and drew her into a hug, sighing. "I know, Claire. I saw Zach's video." He didn't say how hard it had been to watch that. It hurt him every time that he saw her have to be hurt, despite knowing that she would recover from it. "No, I'm not mad. That's a good opinion to have. You're special, and special people are usually the ones who have to do things that other's can't. You don't know how proud I feel to hear you say that." She also didn't know how scared it made him. She was his little girl, after all.
Re: Warded for Noah and Claire
Date: 2007-09-04 03:46 am (UTC)Hugging him back, Claire tipped her head back to smile at him. A sad little look that was far older and more weary than a girl of 16 should carry. But carry it she did, and with a grace that made it appear almost effortless. No matter what the actual cost. "I don't think I've been young and worry free since..." Brody, hands rough and heavy on her, beer and sweat and panic making her gag. Going to Zach hoping for an ally only to find herself alone. Mom lying on the floor in a puddle of milk, unresponsive. Her mother, her bio-mom, telling her that her father wanted nothing to do with her. Nathan driving away. The first time she'd jammed a knife in her chest only to see the skin knit back up before her eyes. Holding the gun on Peter, pleading to not have to pull the trigger. "For a long time," she finished with a shrug. "It's okay. I want it this way. I didn't. But now I think I'd rather know and try to do something about it than be in the dark, you know?"
Oh, yeah. Grimacing, she said, "I forgot. There was a lot of stuff on those tapes." And she was still kind of mad that he'd taken them. "You know," she said slowly, "you could have just said something to me, then. I mean..."
Claire paused, then looked up at him, eyes reflecting both the hero-worship and the pain that he'd caused. "Why didn't you say something? I felt so alone and you knew. You could have told me that I wasn't a freak, that I wasn't some mistake." Accusation in her voice, but she sounded almost resigned. She knew what he was going to say. He was trying to protect her. She knew, but it hadn't made anything any easier. "I wish you would have told me."
Re: Warded for Noah and Claire
Date: 2007-09-04 05:07 am (UTC)He hated that. He had some clue as to what she was thinking of--Brody and Sandra, anyway, and he wished that he could do more. He wanted to find whoever was causing her pain and shoot out their kneecaps, or beat them bloody with his bare fists, or anything, but he couldn't. She was fighting her own battles now, for better or for worse.
"There's a lot of things I wish I'd done differently now," he said, grimacing. "You know I was working for some bad people, and that if they found out about you, they'd take you away. I tried to tell myself that if we didn't talk about it, it wasn't happening." He fell silent and tried to put it all as best as he could. "You remember when you found out that you were adopted? That was so much easier to tell you. You were old enough to understand that even though you aren't biologically ours, you're our daughter. My daughter." He paused again, then continued, voice a bit thick but still steady. "I was selfish. I didn't want them to take you away. I didn't want you to go off and do exactly what you're doing now. I wanted to pretend that everything was happy and normal. I was wrong, and I'm so very, very sorry."
Warded for Noah and Claire
Date: 2007-09-04 11:12 am (UTC)In the Sorting Room, Claire had confronted both of her fathers with basically the same sin - lying to her, hurting her, all in the name of protecting her. But where with Nathan's explanations had fallen flat, Noah's was taken to heart as truth. At the end of the day, Claire was a teenager. She, like most of her peers, automatically looked for tangible evidence of any fact. A bullet to the gut was fairly damn tangible. Noah had been there for Claire, in every way, her entire life. Even in the midst of what she saw as his betrayal, Claire had seen him fight to protect her, to protect their family. He had sacrificed an unknown amount to keep her safe.
So even though she hated what happened, she knew he had been doing it for her. That he loved her. She had physical evidence to that. They were more than words. And Claire desperately needed more than just words.
"You're not selfish," she said quietly, ducking her head and giving her eyes a little roll in protest. There weren't words that could come to mind to express what she wanted to. That she loved him. That she knew he'd done things for their family he shouldn't have had to and she appreciated it. All this depth of emotion about his dedication, his sacrifice, that a 16-year-old simply wasn't equipped to say.
Again, actions came easier. So she hugged him again, burying herself in his arms as if she was five years old again and he was the one who chased away the bad dreams. As if a night light and a glass of water (kitchen water, not bathroom, there was a difference) would make everything okay again. Because despite all she'd seen and done, Claire wanted the same thing Noah did - for her family to be together, for the darkness outside to be kept at bay, for everything to be truly happy and like it always had been. But she'd just been granted the maturity through recent events to know that normalcy was a fragile illusion and that the bad dreams often were all too real.
"I'm always going to be your daughter," she told him, smiling softly. "You're my dad."
Really, what else needed to be true?
Re: Warded for Noah and Claire
Date: 2007-09-04 11:45 pm (UTC)He smiled sadly. "Of course I'm selfish. Most people are. Sometimes, people are just selfish for better reasons than others." Not that it excused anything that he'd done, but thinking that was what helped him sleep at night. "But I can't tell you how much your saying that means to me."
Re: Warded for Noah and Claire
Date: 2007-09-05 03:50 am (UTC)"Of course I said it." She gave her dad that exasperated teenager look, the one that said 'Duh, you're kind of slow'. "It's true." Then she beamed a smile up at him. "When can I get my wand?" Important questions!
Re: Warded for Noah and Claire
Date: 2007-09-05 04:04 am (UTC)"We'll get you one the second you're done with this little... thing. I'm going to promise you that I'm not insane, and I don't know how much you'll believe me after I say what I'm about to say, but... a talking Hat is going to show up in a while and tell you where you'll be staying while you're here."
Re: Warded for Noah and Claire
Date: 2007-09-05 05:59 pm (UTC)Which is why Claire welcomed the subject change. Blinking slowly, a grin edged its way across her face. "A talking hat?" Glancing around, she then playfully lowered her voice. "Is that code? Does the crow fly at midnight?"
Seriously, what was he talking about? Hats couldn't talk!
Re: Warded for Noah and Claire
Date: 2007-09-05 07:25 pm (UTC)"Don't say I didn't warn you," he said, keeping his tone light. And, just because it was funny, he dropped his voice and whispered, "The owls deliver the mail." Truth and possible code.
Re: Warded for Noah and Claire
Date: 2007-09-06 05:09 am (UTC)Giggling at him, she rolled her eyes. He was such a goob.