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Unwanted Heroics - for Harley (from Nexus Crossings)
[From here]
The portal opens into what looks like a long-abandoned warehouse. There's an office on the second floor, with windows that would usually overlook the rest of the warehouse floor. Right now they're all covered with blinds. But there is the occasional shine of light thrown against them, so there's clearly something up there. Sylar walks up the creaky metal staircase and heads towards the door to the office. "Home sweet home, for the moment," he explains, with a gesture. "I know it's not much, but we've been on the move and trying to stay 'off the grid'."
The door itself opens a crack, then all the way, revealing a shorter man with dark hair and a handsome face. He frowns at Harley, concerned. "Sylar, what-"
"This is Harley," he says. "She's a friend. She's from that place I keep disappearing to."
The other man stares at the two of them- particularly Harley's glittery weapon- and then shakes his head. "We don't have time for this," he says, sounding frustrated. "I just got info from Ma. I have to go get Claire."
Sylar scrunches his nose in displeasure. "From Angela," he says flatly. "And you're going alone, Peter? No, don't think so. C'mon, Harley and I will back you up." He gestures towards Harley, as if trying to display a game show prize. Maybe Peter will listen and not just run off and do his own thing for once??
The portal opens into what looks like a long-abandoned warehouse. There's an office on the second floor, with windows that would usually overlook the rest of the warehouse floor. Right now they're all covered with blinds. But there is the occasional shine of light thrown against them, so there's clearly something up there. Sylar walks up the creaky metal staircase and heads towards the door to the office. "Home sweet home, for the moment," he explains, with a gesture. "I know it's not much, but we've been on the move and trying to stay 'off the grid'."
The door itself opens a crack, then all the way, revealing a shorter man with dark hair and a handsome face. He frowns at Harley, concerned. "Sylar, what-"
"This is Harley," he says. "She's a friend. She's from that place I keep disappearing to."
The other man stares at the two of them- particularly Harley's glittery weapon- and then shakes his head. "We don't have time for this," he says, sounding frustrated. "I just got info from Ma. I have to go get Claire."
Sylar scrunches his nose in displeasure. "From Angela," he says flatly. "And you're going alone, Peter? No, don't think so. C'mon, Harley and I will back you up." He gestures towards Harley, as if trying to display a game show prize. Maybe Peter will listen and not just run off and do his own thing for once??
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Joke's on them, though- they can't handle this at all. And the remaining guards start to panic as she knocks her way through them. Someone's bones crack as he's thrown against the wall, another crumples into his own little pile on the floor, not all that far from Peter.
It might be a little surprising to Harley, but Claire is right behind her by the time she makes it to Peter. She'd spent the whole fight cursing that her regen was taking as long as it was to expel all those bullets. As soon as her legs would both support her, Claire run after Harley. "Is he-? Peter!" She falls to her knees in front of him, and he still isn't moving. Face down on the floor, a small pool of blood leaks out from his torso- it seems that he managed to get shot, as well. Claire is frantic, grabbing and squeezing his hand. "Peter, goddamn it. Take my power, take it. I'm not- I can't leave without you, you asshole. I won't."
After a long delay, he finally coughs out a breath. Claire squeezes her eyes shut, forcing herself not to cry in relief. She'd thought she'd gotten him killed.
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She leans down, blows a strand of hair out of her face, as she checks over Peter for any other injuries she can help with.
He might be a bigger man himself. But Harley has enhanced strength -- and it might seem out of place for a small framed woman like herself to just kneel down, and pick him up in her arms. But she does it.
"Okay Claire. Keep focused here. We ain't out of trouble yet."
"We have to get out of here."
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Claire nods at Harley's declaration, refocusing. There's something in her that's trying to be serious, as they need to be, but a smile keeps peeking through. This is the most hope she's had in a long time.
"Right. Right, so- did you both come here in a boat or something? Or do we need to steal our escape plan? I'm pretty sure they've got lifeboats in the back, and sometimes there's helicopters..." She wishes she could give Harley more information, but the guard that chatted with her was always too careful to mention arrivals and departures.
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"We can activate a portal to get back to Peter's base."
Harley knows that Sylar is still somewhere out on the ship. And knows that from what they discussed, he really didn't want Claire to know he was here.
"If you can manage to get Peter through, I can open it for you. Brucie... my hyena... will keep you company. I just have one loose end to tie."
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"Yeah- yeah, I can totally do that. Go ahead and...portal, or whatever. And thank you," she adds, because she doesn't want to leave Harley without at least getting that across.
Claire reaches out to grab Peter from Harley, and has to balance him over her shoulder carefully. But she manages without too much trouble. She has (unfortunately) had a lot of experience escaping things with other people, who may or may not be injured. She's used to making things work.
She also doesn't waste time when Harley does open the portal. She's through it like a shot, betraying her enthusiasm to get out of there.
Shortly after Claire and Peter are safely away, there's a thunderous boom coming from behind and above Harley. The aircraft carrier shakes and- is it tilting a bit?
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Harley looks up to the boom and steadies herself by placing a hand against the wall. "Well well well... what did Sylar get himself into?"
"No fair destroying the place without me!" She calls out, and runs down the hallway, trying to find her ally.
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Maybe Harley will appreciate the fact that the hallways are far more clear than they had been before. She'll come across the odd person every once in awhile, but it's mostly techies running from place to place. These people are not interested in taking on Harley. She can take them on unawares or leave them to whatever they're attempting to do.
As Harley approaches the back of the aircraft carrier, she'll hear an alarm that blares at even intervals, getting louder as she approaches. After turning one corner, she'll find Sylar, now back in his own body. He's staring at a door as he eats from a chocolate pudding cup. The door has a few signs, including "RESTRICTED", "CAUTION: RADIATION AREA," "DLR and SRD (ED) Required for Entry," and "No eating, drinking, or chewing." A few bodies litter the area- it's unclear whether they're dead or unconscious.
He sees Harley as he finishes his pudding cup and tosses it on the ground (away from her, at least?). "Oh, hey," he says with a small smile, speaking in between the blaring alarm. "I might've overdone the distraction. How're we doing?"
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"Claire and Peter are safe. I used my PINpoint to put them back in Peter's safehouse."
Harley places a piece of bubblegum in her mouth. "So we can leave anytime?"
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There's something in his face that relaxes when Harley tells him that Claire and Peter are back in the safehouse. He tries to keep it to that, but he can't help the grateful smile that then spreads across his face. "Okay, so we should probably get out, then. Let's head back to the Nexus? I can pay you and then you can go get Bruce. I guarantee you that Claire will be pampering him until you're reunited."
Of course, Claire shouldn't see Sylar, but he's also not sure if Peter's going to be mad at him for the accidental meltdown. He doesn't even want to sneak back over there until things have died down a little. So he pulls out his PINpoint, already planning on heading Nexus-bound. He opens up the portal and gestures with a bow towards it. Ladies first, apparently.
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"As long as you say so, I trust Bruce to be in good hands. Maybe she will put bows in his fur... he likes that."
"I didn't let on that you were part of the rescue team. So unless Peter says anything..." Harley shrugs. That is out of her hands.
She offers her arm to him, so they can go through the portal together.
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He snorts when hearing about Peter maybe saying something, because...yeah, Peter's like that sometimes. But they all did their best in keeping Claire from having to be extra traumatized. It feels satisfying in a way that Sylar can't really describe.
He takes her arm and heads through the portal. Once they're out of the imminently melting ship and back to the slightly safer chaos of the Nexus, Sylar tugs her into a bit of a twirl. He's feeling both pleased and dramatic right now. "Okay, that? Was perfect," he says, his smile not looking like it'll leave anytime soon. "And you were amazing, Harley. So if you ever need any help, call me up. Anytime. Now-"
He holds up a finger, then picks a small daisy growing out the ground. As he holds it, the stem is covered with a golden sheen, one that climbs up and covers every petal. After only a few seconds, he's now holding a solid gold daisy, which he holds out to Harley. "The only thing left is payment. What would you like made out of solid gold? Any special requests?"
It is cheating, a bit, paying with something that he can make effectively an infinite amount of. But she'll still be able to use it, and it's fun, isn't it?
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She does take the golden daisy, and tucks it into one of her braids.
"Sy... Sy... Sweet Sy... if I wanted gold, I would just go steal it."
"I am just glad that we are friends now."
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But hey, at least Harley doesn't seem to mind! He's glad she does take it, at least. And...friends? He seems as excited as an awkward teenager to hear that, standing just a little bit taller.
"Me, too," he replies, grinning ear-to-ear. "And- seriously. You ever feel a whim for a gold plunger or something, just let me know." He winks. "Okay, I"ll let you get back to your Very Important Hyena, then. Tell him he's adorable for me?"
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"He knows he is adorable. That is why I hang out with him."
"It is one of the top qualifiers for friends." She winks.
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However, he is smiling a small, private, proud smile. It's the same smile that he used to get when he was finishing a particularly tough timepiece, and it doesn't exactly come out a lot anymore. Combined with the way his shoulders hunch a little, he seems almost like a different person for a moment.
He clears his throat before chuckling. "Is it, now? Well. Guess I'll make sure to hang onto this face for awhile, then."
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