Disclaimer: I don't own Heroes. All rights go to Tim Kring.

Chapter 1 – Sudden Changes

Completely exhausted, but glad to finally be at home, Claire fell onto her couch. The way from Gretchen's to her new apartment was an adventure for itself, not that she had expected it to be anything else. Since Claire had survived her famous jump from a 10 meter high Ferris Wheel, there were reporters waiting for her around every other corner. She couldn't go outside without being recognized in a second, nor could she answer all of the reporter's questions.

The famous, indestructible girl.

Claire laughed dryly at the thought of her new nickname. It seemed, as if she had accomplished the exact opposite of what she actually wanted; a normal life, where she could show her ability in public, without being some freak show. What she had now, was a life in the spotlight, where everything was about her ability. That thing, that she previously used to separate herself from everybody else, was now used against her to make her an object of public exhibition. Deep in thoughts she remembered the day of her jump, which seemed to be a lifetime ago.

January 2nd , 2010

Claire looked into her father's eyes, but this time he would not control her and her actions. She wasn't the small girl anymore that needed to be protected. She had grown up over the years and became a woman, one who wanted to change something in the world so that people like her could live in freedom. She took a long breath, than she jumped.

The ground felt hard beneath her, but she just felt the pressure rather than the pain as her arm broke. Full of hope she stood up and looked into the reporters' stunned faces while they watched, how her arm started to put itself together again.

"My name is Claire Bennet.", she said loudly, "And this is attempt number...I guess, I kinda lost count."

A few moment the carnival was filled with silence. The reporters remained silent because they couldn't believe what they were seeing and the specials because they could just imagine the consequences her leap could have.

To Claire, it seemed as if everything happened in slow motion. She could hear her own fast and loud heartbeat, while her eyes wandered through the crowd of people so she could see how the others reacted to her jump.

She saw Lauren, who just stared at her in shock, while her mouth stood slightly open. With purpose she ignored her father; she couldn't look him in the eyes right after she destroyed everything he had worked for in only one second. Claire's eyes caught Hiro who looked at her in surprise but also with a small smile. And Peter…As she saw him, something changed within Claire. He had always been the one to support her, never lie to her and always be there for her but now as she saw his face, one full of earnest and doubts…He seemed to have changed since the day she last saw him, which was some time ago. He seemed to be harder, more serious but somehow released.

Claire almost didn't notice the man who stood right next to her uncle. Her blood froze in her veins as she watched Sylar watching her. But his presence wasn't the thing that unnerved her, it was his look; there was no self-pleased grin, no dark eyes that just waited to spot something that he could use for his own satisfaction. The corners of his mouth were slightly lifted in a totally natural way and with big eyes he stared at her, as if she had just saved the world from Lex Luther. Between all those shocked faces that looked up to her, his was the only one that appeared hopeful and honest.

She probably would have stared at him forever if there weren't those reporters. Now that the first shock was gone they approached her like vultures. Suddenly pulled out of her thoughts, Claire could only understand pieces of what they were saying.

"...you have this remarkable ability?"

"Did you know that you would survive..."

"...other people that can heal.."

"Where does that ability come from?"

Irritated Claire tried to concentrate on all of the journalists, but there was always more and more of them.

"Uhm...I..", Claire stuttered. She thought of how to show her ability, but she never thought about how to explain it to the people. Now she felt panic building up inside of her.

Oh Lord, what was I thinking?

"Do all your wounds heal that quickly?" She heard one female reporter asking.

"Yes, they do. I can't get hurt," Claire answered hastily. Well, she had to start somewhere.

"Where does this ability come from?" the young woman continued. She had short, red hair and was wearing an expensive looking blazer and stared at Claire like she was the 8th world wonder.

"I was born like this. Those abilities are anchored in my DNA," she replied.

"Are there other human beings like you? Are you human at all?"

Right as Claire wanted to answer that particular question a dark shadow appeared in front of her.

"That is enough questions," shouted a familiar voice that filled her heart with immense relief. Peter stood face to face with the reporters and tried to keep them away from Claire as well as possible. However, those vultures immediately started to question him about his relationship to Claire or if he knew more about the phenomenon. But Peter just kept shouting that they wouldn't be answering any questions at the moment. Nevertheless, he alone wasn't able to keep them away from Claire forever and just as the reporters threatened to knock Peter down they were distracted by the sound of loud sirens. Claire stood on her toes so that she could see what happened behind her uncle. She spotted a military vehicle with armed soldiers in it that shouted into their megaphones.

"Please go home! All your questions will be answered. Please clear that place!" The carnies followed the instructions instantly and fled together with their families. They most likely didn't have that good experiences with people from the military or the government. The reporters also backed off of Claire as the soldiers started to pull them away from her. Peter quickly turned around and looked Claire in the eyes; his long hair fell loosely into his face. Claire wanted to tell him, how happy she was to see him, but he left no time for that. "We have to go," he said shortly.

Without any more words he grabbed her hand and pulled her in a direction away from the people. Behind her Claire heard the soldiers shouting, which led Peter to run even faster. Soon they reached the end of the park and ran across the street, without sparing any cars a glance. Still holding her hand Peter led his niece into a small narrow alley, where he took another corner after a few meters so that they stood in an even narrower street. They were greeted by a few hissing cats that jumped across the filled bins, "Hold on tight," was Peter's next order and Claire did as she was told.

She put her arms around his neck and in the blink of an eye they were flying through the air over New York. From up there she could still see the carnival in Central Park and the crowd of people, which became even bigger and was now curiously watching the reporters and soldiers that were still having arguments.

In silence they flew until they reached Angela Petrelli's huge mansion and Peter carefully landed on the balcony where Claire untangled herself from his arms. It was pretty dark already but there was enough light on the balcony that they could discern each other. Claire took a step back and examined Peter again. He looked at her as if she was a total stranger, as if they hadn't see each other in years.

"Claire," was the only thing he said.

Claire shifted nervously. His next action would show her if she would regret her jump or if she would celebrate it. All his face told her was that he couldn't really believe what was happening right now.

"Do you know what you just did?" he asked slowly and Claire nodded. She also just realized the gravity of her actions; soon the whole human race would know about the existence of Specials. She had started a chain of events whose outcome was unknown. If everything went like planned, her dream will become true and Specials will be able to live a normal life in freedom. But if something went wrong…Claire's face drained of color as her blood rushed away from it. If she was wrong and the world wasn't ready then everyone with abilities was doomed.

They would be all locked up, like when days when Nathan was still alive; she smiled slightly at the thought of him. Her dear father would have turned the whole country upside down just to stop her from showing the world more than she already had.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked her uncle quietly, because Nathan would have been for sure. But Peter shook his head, he wasn't his brother.

"No. No, of course not," she smiled and Peter's lips formed into something that looked similar to a smile, but wasn't his normal smile. "This was just...unexpected. We have to plan on how to deal with this."

Claire nodded and said, "But you agree with me, don't you? It's time for people to know the truth." Peter chewed on his lower lip nervously and tried to look anywhere but at Claire. Just as her heart was filled with doubt another person appeared, one who made it even harder for her not to freak out. Angela Petrelli opened—dressed elegantly as always—the glass door that separated the balcony from the hallway. "You two better come in," she said with a cold voice. Her eyes were focused on Claire and she didn't spare a glace for Peter.

Claire looked at her uncle and saw that he had that atypical facial expression on again, as if his mother was a stranger to him.

"Hiro and Noah are waiting in the living room already. I think we should all discuss the situation."

Claire and Peter looked at each other for a moment, not really happy with their guests. Claire was scared by the thought of facing her father after she destroyed everything he had worked for, all in her name, for the last 20 years. Even though she was still mad at him for all the secrets he held from her and lies he had told her she didn't want to break his heart. I might have to. Maybe we are meant to fight on two different sides. He would probably try everything to make 'everything alright again' behind her back, but this time she would fight all the lies and betrayals he had planned.

"Hey.", said Peter and nudged Claire with his elbow. "It doesn't matter what happens, I'm always on your side." His words gave Claire new hope. He knew that her hero would always be there for her, even though he didn't always have same opinion.

She smiled at him as they entered the luxurious house passing hallways until they found themselves in the living room. It was a big room, the curtains were closed in front of the windows and some dimmed lights with a burning fireplace lighting the space. At the old, wooden desk stood Tracy Strauss with Noah. She was whispering something as they entered the room, but Claire was too far away to understand it.

Ando sat on one of the big leather sofas while his friend stood up to greet the newcomers. "Cheerleader!" he shouted, "And Peter Petrelli," with a grin he bowed shortly. At least there's one person around here who doesn't hate me. Nervously Claire looked at her father who still stood at the wooden desk talking to the blonde. Sighing, she took a seat on the sofa with Peter and looked up at Angela full of expectation.

She just smiled quickly and started talking to the group, "Now, I have seen this day coming, of course but I was surprised that our secrets would be revealed by Claire and not by some insane man like Samuel." She lifted one of her eyebrows, "And on purpose, too." Claire shifted uncomfortably on her seat as Noah spoke without facing the others.

"This is all going to be alright. I'll send René to the reporters and we can make everybody else believe that the recordings are a fake. In a few weeks this thing will be forgotten again."

Claire stood up abruptly and shouted, a bit louder than originally planned, "I'm not letting you do that again!"

Now her father turned around and his cold eyes locked with Claire's, "We will not let you destroy the company's decades of work. Do you have any idea of what you have done? What this might lead to?" He started stalking through the room and Claire tried not to show her anger and answered him with a look full of coolness. "You can't just change history", he continued, "The world is not ready. It will never be ready. You can't just risk the life of thousands, just because you're tired of hiding your ability, so stop behaving like a stubborn child and just do what I say."

Claire just wanted to scream at him, tell him that she wasn't a child any longer she was just the opposite. She was an adult and ready to do everything to change something, to make the world a better place. But Peter's hand on her shoulder held her anger back.

"Maybe we should look at the situation from different perspectives and think about what to do next", Peter said slowly and Noah glared at him.

"There is only one way of dealing with it and that is to undo it."

"That is not possible anymore, I fear," Angela indicated shortly, "In only half an hour Claire will be on every news channel in the country. Her video might already have had a thousand views on the internet. You can't undo something like that, not in this modern world."

The group remained silent, understanding that everything was going to change soon and no one had the power to stop it.

So that was it, Claire was going to be world-famous. She shivered at the thought; she had never planned to become some sort of icon. Maybe I should have thought this through a bit more. Everybody would know Claire Bennet, the girl that could never die.

"It has to be possible," she heard Noah shouting, but Angela just shook her head.

"Tomorrow more Specials will reveal their abilities, I saw it." Her cold and knowing eyes were focused on her granddaughter and it seemed like she was able to read her like an open book. "We will indeed, be living in a new world soon. The question is: how are we forming this world?"

Tracy took a step forward and crossed her arms over her chest. Claire smiled at her and realized that she hadn't really thanked Tracy for saving her and her dad earlier that day. The taller blonde looked at the group in concern. "We could use Claire as a sympathizer, as a representative in public." Claire didn't miss the word 'use' but she didn't interrupt because it seemed Tracy was fighting on her side.

"Absolutely not," Noah contradicted loudly.

"That's not your decision," Claire hissed trying to sound as confident as possible, even though in reality the idea of having so much responsibility scared her. But she made her bed and now she had to lay in it, besides, she would do anything to support her kind.

"I'll do it," she announced, "I revealed my ability and now I will make the best out of it."

"Where is that suddenly coming from?" Her father had asked and put both of his hands on Claire's shoulders to look her in the eye. "I thought you wanted a normal life. What you are suggesting will give you none of that."

Claire shook her head and smiled halfhearted. He really didn't understand what her problem was. "I don't want a normal life, dad!" she said trying to explain, "I just don't want to hide any longer. I don't want to use this ability to build walls around me. I want to be free." She felt her throat tighten, as she realized, that just yesterday Sylar said something very similar to her. Was it possible that his words influenced her so much, that she jumped of that Ferris Wheel? His face on the carnival appeared in front of her eyes.

The only one with hope.

Claire forced the idea out of her head and listened to Tracy, who had begun to speak again, "Claire would be perfect for the job. She is young, has a pretty face, charisma and an ability that isn't dangerous."

Relieved Claire smiled at Tracy; she knew that Tracy didn't want to hide any longer, too. She had lost everything because of the company and her ability and even thought about joining the carnival. But there shouldn't be only one place where Specials can live free and accepted. The whole world had to change before a normal and open life for someone with an ability was really possible. People had to learn to accept others that were different rather than bagging and tagging them like animals.

"I can't believe you support her," Noah shouted and looked at everyone in the room.

"I don't like the idea that Claire wants to put herself in the line of fire either," Peter agreed, "But she can decide that for herself and she should do just that." Thankfully Claire smiled at her uncle who she knew would be right next to her until the end.

After a few more discussions with Noah and some temporary plans by Claire, Tracy and Angela the whole group was now exhausted as they sat in the Petrelli's living room. Hiro and Ando just listened most of the time, but had basically the same opinion as Claire.

Despise her little speech earlier though Angela couldn't stop planning every step for Claire: what she should be doing, what she should be saying, even what clothes she should be wearing. Noah had mostly stamped through the room angrily, somewhere between madness and deep concern. Peter had been silent during most of the discussions. He still seemed nervous and shy, which wasn't him at all. It was late after midnight as the group decided to split up and wait for the next day's events. As Claire asked Hiro if he could teleport her to the dorm, Angela pulled her last ace out of her sleeve.

"The reporters and the government are already waiting for you right there, dear," she said and pulled a small, silver key out of her handbag and gave it to her granddaughter. "I took the opportunity to rent an apartment for you. I had the feeling you might need it." Furthermore, she slipped a piece of paper with an address written on it into Claire's hand which she looked at incredulously. A student's room wasn't enough, her grandmother had to go and pick an apartment in Upper Manhattan.

Thankfully, Claire accepted the gift but a sad smile grew on her face as she thought about Gretchen, who was probably going crazy at the moment. Claire might as well call her tomorrow, so she could tell her that she was alright.

Peter took a quick glance at the piece of paper Claire was still holding in her hand. "I know where this is, I can take you there," he offered and smiled at Claire. He had already taken Hiro's power during their meeting to be faster, more mobile. Claire didn't say no to the offer, her exhaustion made itself know as her body screamed for sleep.

"I'll come see you tomorrow, then," Tracy said to Claire as she slipped into her coat, "Since you are so popular, you really shouldn't wander through the streets of New York by yourself." There was a note of concern in her voice as she spoke so Claire smiled at her encouragingly.

Noah followed the blonde as she left, but said a few more words for goodbye and hugged his daughter tightly. "I hope you know what you are doing," he whispered into her ear.

"Me too," Claire whispered back and looked after him as he took his coat under the arm and left through a dark, heavy door. Now that he was gone, she felt the previous anger coming back, as she remembered the pictures she saw in the room of mirrors. She tried not to, but she often thought about what the next secret might be that she revealed about her father. With every new lie and every new betrayal it felt like she knew her father less and less.

Actually that was just fair, because he didn't knew much about her, none of her fears, her problems or her wishes. Probably when he would start to understand the way she felt and thought, the bridges between them could be repaired, but would he ever really be able to see? They were so different sometimes, even though they fought on the same side…they did, didn't they?

Sighing Claire walked towards her uncle who was saying goodbye to his mother. Right as he was about to put his hand on Claire's shoulder to teleport them Angela raised her voice again. "Oh, and Peter?" She said slowly without looking at him directly, "Please tell your friend to stay out of this."

Peters face hardened with her words and he stared at her for a moment. "Did you know, what would happen?" he asked. Irritated Claire looked from one Petrelli to the other. Did she miss something?

"Of course I knew it, but I couldn't stop you, could I?" With her words her face turned towards her son and she examined him with sad eyes. Peter looked at her with a pained expression and shifted uncomfortably. "Please, try to understand," he began desperately, but didn't finish the sentence.

A tiny, sad smile started to form on Angela's face, which seemed to crack her white skin. She stepped in front of her son and laid her thumb and index finger on his chin, until she turned around without any other words and left the room. Peter sighed and put his hand on his confused niece's shoulder and in the blink of an eye they were standing on the roof of a different building.

The cold wind of the night lashed against Claire's face and blew her hair into all directions. She looked around and admired the beautiful New York skyline for a moment with all its lights and color then turned around and stood face to face with Peter again.

"What were you two talking about?" she asked him curiously and watched, how he sighed and furrowed his brows. "That's a very long story," he said finally and smiled slightly. Claire stroked his cheek with the back of her hand as the wind blew Peter's long hair into his face, which made him appear younger than he actually was.

"You behaved weirdly today," she began with a concerned voice, "It is still about Nathan's death?" Her uncle shook his head and looked at her with a gaze, which seemed to be light years away. "No, it's not that, it's just..." Suddenly Peters face began to crack and his well-known, youthful grin lightened up his features. He took a step towards his niece and put his arms around her. Smiling Claire fell into the embrace and hid her face in the crook of his neck. "I'm just very glad to see you again," he whispered.

Short laughter escaped her mouth but Claire didn't end the contact. "It's not like we haven't seen each other in years," she giggled. Still grinning Peter let go of her and looked into her bright eyes.

"Yes, it is," he said gently while he was lifting an eyebrow, as if he was saying something totally obvious. "Like I said, it's a very long story, but I will tell you everything soon, when we are alone. But you had enough excitement today and I don't think you could take any more sudden changes."

Claire gave him a worried expression, but Peter shook his head. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad, it's just...new." The last word seemed to have an important meaning, but Claire couldn't think of one at the moment. But her uncle was right; she really didn't have any more energy for long stories or more problems.

"Fine.", she said and Peter winked at her before he disappeared in front of her.

One week later

Moaning Claire turned around on her couch. Peter still hadn't told her what happened to him, because there was no time left to catch up with him since Tracy and her grandmother were constantly chasing her around and Peter was constantly busy. Maybe she should give him a call, the last week had happened so much she wanted to talk about.

In an unbelievably short time Claire had become the icon for all Specials. With everyday more and more of them showed their ability in public, which lead to the fact that all sorts of governments had to deal with the situation. The countries with the most problems were those that were very conservative or religious, because almost every religion had categorized abilities as the devil's work.

There were so many different reactions from different groups of people: Fear, fascination, surprise, anger, rejection sometimes even violence. Even though Mohinder Surresh traveled back to the US the day after Claire's jump, to answer all the reporters' and scientists' questions about the source and effects of those abilities, most people were still in a state of shock in which they tried to keep everything that they did not know away from them with every necessary measure.

Claire tried to force the thoughts out of her head, but every day there were new stories about people who were abandoned by their families or violated because of their ability. It didn't matter, what she told herself, a small part of her would always know, that everything that would happen to Specials in the future was her fault. Because of that she tried to do whatever she could to prevent this to end in a catastrophe. For example, President Jefferson had announced a few days ago, that he demanded a general testing and compulsory registration for every Special, to evaluate their abilities, categorize them and, in the worst case, contain them.

Claire could understand why the people were scared, she knew from experience what could happen if a powerful Special loses control, or if a bad person had a mighty ability. The ideas behind Jefferson's words were good, but the method was terribly wrong.

Specials had to be offered training, so they could learn how to control their powers and how to use them for good and not hurt anybody. To let them feel hated, feared and controlled would just lead to the opposite—the old company had shown this very detailed—and Claire shivered as she thought of the escapees from level 5. The old company was re-opened, but not a word was mentioned about it in public. Apparently nobody thought it was important that Specials were kept and tested for decades against their will. For the moment Claire was under the control of her relatives, but soon she would unearth the truth and everyone would know what they did.

She scrolled down her list of contact on her cellphone to call Peter, but was interrupted by a noise from the stairwell, a noise that made her cringe. It was footsteps, footsteps of a lot of people who sounded like they stopped just in front of her door. Only one moment passed until wooden splinters from her broken door flew through her apartment and soldiers entered the room. Claire jumped off the sofa in panic and searched for an escape but it was already too late. Twitching, she fell onto the ground as several tazers bored their way into her torso and electrified her, until everything went black.

A/N: So, that's the first chapter :D I had so many ideas in my head about Sylairefictions so I decided to write them down. A thousand 'THANK YOU's go to askclairebennet who read the story and corrected the mistakes, that girl really saved my life :D

If you like leave a review :)

Doro