Heroes Fic: Like a Thief in the Night (Gen, DL, Claude)

[misachan]

Title: Like a Thief in the Night
Characters/Pairings: Gen. DL, Claude
Rating: PG
Spoiler alert: Spoilers for Claude's backstory in "Company Man."
Summary: DL is a bad influence.

DL never told Niki, but he knew about his powers long before he wound up in prison. He had his reasons for keeping quiet.

One of them was that when his powers kicked in, the first thing he did was steal everything not nailed down. He was young, poor, and it took a few years to realize that just because he could walk through walls and take whatever he wanted it didn't mean he should.

He'd been proud of it at the time, though. It felt good, strutting around like a big man, being able to buy his mom anything she could dream of. He'd take dares from his friends, bragging that he could get in anywhere, grab anything. He never turned down a challenge, and never failed to deliver. He was unstoppable. The best thief in the entire world.

The second reason was that one night he got busted. DL had just walked through the wall of the latest house on his wish list and started the search for cash and jewelry when he heard a voice behind him. "So you phase. Not bad."

That was the first time he'd heard the word "phase" used to describe what he could do, but what had grabbed his attention at the time was that he'd made absolutely sure the room was empty. He turned around and didn't see anyone. "Who's there?" he'd said, trying to put a tough edge to his voice and completely failing. "Where are you?"

"You're just a kid," said the same voice, same accent, still coming from thin air. "Not another kid."

The whole thing was too spooky. "All right, English, I hear you. So where are you?"

Asked and answered; all of a sudden there was a white guy in a suit standing a few feet in front of him, pointing a gun at right at his head. "Unless you're really confident you can phase faster than I can shoot, I suggest staying solid," English said, and DL immediately decided that sounded like a great plan. "You have a name?"

"Hawkins," DL said. He knew the gun should be his top priority, but the only thought running through his mind was I gotta see that again. "Hey, you can turn invisible, right? That's what you just did?"

English tilted his head. "You are aware that I've pulled a gun on you?"

"If you're going to shoot me, you're going to shoot me. I can't do anything about that." DL could hear his heart pounding, there was so much adrenaline pumping through his veins. "You can turn invisible."

"I've noticed." DL saw the corners of the man's mouth quirk up. "You want me to do it again, don't you?"

"Would you?" DL answered, probably a little too fast. "Then you can arrest me or whatever you're here to do."

English let out a little sigh, then he vanished. "The gun hasn't moved, so don't get any ideas," said the disembodied voice.

Until he said that, it hadn't even occurred to DL to try anything. He was too enthralled by what was happening right in front of him. "You're like me," he said, marveling at the suddenly empty space.

"Not just like you."

"Close enough. I didn't think there was anyone else out there like me." He grinned. "Guess I'm not as special as I thought."

There was a long pause. "We're not the only two. There's more like us."

DL tapped the barrel of the invisible gun. "Bet you meet them all the time, huh?"

"All the time." Years later, DL would wish he'd been old enough to pick up on the tone of those words, wished he'd asked some more questions.

At the time, though, all he could think about was that this was the most amazing moment of his life, second only to the day he'd first walked through a door without opening it. "Wish I could turn invisible. Man, I'm a great thief, but I bet you could be better than me if you tried."

There was a second's pause, then DL heard laughter. "Get out of here," English said, reappearing and lowering his gun. "Run right back through the wall. Before my partner catches up with us and I have to shoot you."

DL almost asked what the partner could do, but the look in English's eyes sent a chill through him. "Don't tell anyone what you can do. Stay out of trouble. Keep it a secret or I won't be the last man you meet with a gun." He disappeared again. "Now run along. I wasn't joking about having to shoot you."

DL passed through the nearest wall. Right before he was all the way through he took one last look at the room, but it seemed just as empty as when he'd entered it.

The years went by; DL grew out of being a punk teenager, fell in love, had a son. One summer, before everything went bad, he and Niki managed to scrape together enough money to take Micah on a family vacation. Micah chose New York, and off they went, hitting all of the tourist spots just any normal family.

They'd all just left the Empire State Building when DL heard a laugh that spun him around. "Hawkins," whispered a voice in his ear, a voice forever associated with darkened rooms and pointed guns. "You were right."

It wasn't until he went to pay for the cab and found his wallet missing that DL realized what he'd meant.

-end-

Comments

[lunais-cross.livejournal.com]

I laughed at the ending, and now I feel sort of guilty. >.>

I really liked how enthusiastic D.L. was when he discovered Claude could go invisible. It was cute (which is not a word commonly associated with either of these characters, come to think of it).

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Dang, that was fast.:) Grown-up DL is very much the strong silent type, so it was fun to write him as a kid before his life goes straight to hell. Thanks!

[gingerberrysnap.livejournal.com]

This is really cool idea, and very well-done!

An interesting look at DL-- who doesn't really get enough love. And Claude is always win.

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Thanks! The quiet types never get their fair share of the fic. And I've found that I like writing Company!Claude quite a bit.:)

[raissad.livejournal.com]

That was neat. :)

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Thank you!:)

[neonnurse.livejournal.com]

Beauty! I really liked that! Good job!

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Oh my goodness, thank you! Neon Hearts is one of the fics that got me reading fanfic in the first place, so it's very cool to hear that you liked a fic of mine.:)

[meli-64.livejournal.com]

Awww, I love DL and Claude. Great fic. Made me smile.

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad you like it.

[kattahj.livejournal.com]

*grin* That's one of my favourite parts of reading Heroes fanfic, getting to see new and awesome character combinations like this one. You really sold me on their interaction, and I would love to see more if some day you're inclined.

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you. I really appreciate it.

[hematitebadger.livejournal.com]

This is excellent. Everything about it flows beautifully; you've really captured the voices of two very different characters.

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad you liked DL especially; we know virtually nothing about him, and he doesn't get much screentime, so it's a little harder to get his voice down.

[nina-ds.livejournal.com]

Nice punchline, and good background on DL, who could use some.

I do like Claude backstory - they didn't give us much, but what there was was cherce < / Tracy & Hepburn ref >. And what Eccleston did with his eyes gives us that much and more again. This definitely fits with my personal canon that he was never a company man in the way Bennet was.

[misachan.livejournal.com]

I think he tried hard, but just the fact that he's got tracking scars on his neck means he could never be like Bennet. He's one of Them. Heroes is clearly inspired by X-Men, but Claude's the one that talks like he's right out of the comic: "she's one of us," "I won't hunt my own kind," etc. For all the trouble his power gets him into, it's clear that he's extremely proud to have it.

And yes, Eccleston is a phenomenal actor. One of the writers gave an interview in Wizard saying that Claude was written with Eccleston in mind, and it really shows.

[nina-ds.livejournal.com]

One of the joys of Eccleston as an actor is that he can make the most clichéd characters alive and interesting, and they did give him much to work with (although he told them NO on Sylar, I think for the right reasons). But what I love is that he doesn't labour anything. It's just in his breathing and in his eyes. When Peter talks about the kid in Texas and this sudden, haunted look comes into his eyes - brilliant stuff.

[sabra-n.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I love "Claude throws fishies back in the sea" stories. And DL is a character I haven't read much of, and who was underutilized in the show- phasing is so cool, and he just ended up being Niki's barely-there sidekick. So it's doubly brilliant that you decided to focus on him here. Well done.

-blue

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Throwing them back is the last step before actively hiding them, IMO. And I love phasing. It's such a fun power. DL got me through so many Niki scenes, let me tell you.:)

[lady1raven.livejournal.com]

Great fic! I love DL's reaction to Claude's invisibility.

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I defy anyone to see someone go invisible and not think "That is so cool.

[yetanothermask.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Great idea, I love the dynamic between these two. So I'm guessing that DL was the one Claude was hiding?

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Nah, he just let DL get away. Someone who walks through walls can do their own hiding.:)

Thank you!

[unlovablehands.livejournal.com]

I've finally gotten around to looking at your fic, and this story made me smiiiiiile. baby!DL makes me oddly happy. He and Claude would make a kickass team.

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Oh, geez, how did I miss this comment all this time? And hey, as far as we know, maybe they are a kickass team now!

Thank you!

[unlovablehands.livejournal.com]

Hee. I don't know. I hope they are off in some faraway country being spies and having adventures.

[dios-os-bendigo.livejournal.com]

Oh gosh, this is such a fantastic idea. They sound just like themselves, and I hate you for that, since it makes me wickedly nostalgic for the days when D.L. was still alive and Claude was throwing Peter off buildings. *sigh and re-reads*

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Weeeell, I'm sticking to the theory that DL faked his death to avoid involving Niki and Micah in any fallout from killing Linderman. He did rather grusomely murder one of the most notorious and richest men in the country, and probably got caught on tape doing it. That tends to make family life difficult.:) This is a show based on comics, so the no body, no death rule still applies.

Thanks!