Heroes Fan Fiction ❯ Girl in the Painting ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

AN: Dear Evil, Clever, and Smexy Tim Kring: Try not to make this ship related for me, m'kay?

 

Just a warning for those of you who get scorpions in your pants about slight incest, I promise to keep it light if non-existent. This is an Isaac/Claire pairing, after all. Warning for underage themes. No flames please!

 

Spoilers: This takes place after “Distractions” and goes on its own from there.

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Girl in the Painting

 

Chapter One

 

Isaac Mendez cracked open his eyes, squinting through blurry vision as morning sunlight blanketed his studio. Through his exhausted haze, he heard someone banging on his front door. Popping a few tense joints in his neck, he reluctantly rose from his futon and sauntered to the door. Whoever was bothering him so early in the morning was going to get a nose-full of his rancid, stout-laced breath, and he hoped it would drive the intruder away.

 

His door creaked as he opened it, and he squinted as sunlight burned at his tired eyes. Looking up, he saw Nathan Petrelli staring down at him through sunglasses and a clenched jaw.

 

“Whoa…” Isaac yawned. “Mr. Petrelli, to what do I owe this honor?”

 

Nathan's stone face made no movement, and he continued to eye Isaac with a tight expression. Isaac was sure Mr. Petrelli felt he was taking a great risk with associating with a former drug addict and eccentric painter; however, destiny couldn't be denied, and the two odd strangers had been brought together through otherworldly circumstances.

 

“I need you to do something for me, Mr. Mendez,” Nathan said in almost a hiss. Nathan was stationary yet expectant as Isaac blocked the entrance. “Can I come in?”

 

Isaac said nothing and ushered him in mockingly with a formal gesture. “Can I get you anything to drink, Mr. Petrelli? Coffee, beer, Kool-Aid… um… coffee?” Isaac asked, giving him a lazy smile. Nathan didn't seem to appreciate the humor.

 

“No, thank you. I'll make this quick.” Nathan smoothed down his jacket, surely an automatic gesture since nothing was wrinkled about him. Clearly, today Nathan was all about business. “Something has come up that does not fair well for my upcoming election.”

 

Isaac nodded. “I'm sorry to hear that.”

 

Nathan pursed his lips and continued, slighting Isaac's kindness. “The truth is… this problem is not only bad for my reputation, but it also is very close to the… other problem we've been having.”

 

“Peter?” Isaac said automatically. Nathan sighed.

 

“Not directly, but he's a part of it, and so are you.” Nathan licked his lips and took in a heavy draught of breath. Certainly, the issue was taxing on his anxiety. “There's another connection to the cheerleader in your paintings, Mr. Mendez.” And at this point, Nathan was losing his usual cool, and he become increasingly upset. “It's been heavily unforeseen, but the little girl that Peter saved in Texas long ago… the reason for this whole holy crusade, just happens to be my long lost daughter… someone who I thought was dead fifteen years ago.”

 

Isaac's eyes widened, and he put a hand over his mouth. There was more to his surprise than Nathan even knew about, but he for now he couldn't say.

 

`Bennet's daughter,' Isaac thought to himself, and he wondered if Bennet even knew this. Isaac groaned inside. `This was bad,' he thought, and automatically his loyalties were put on a strain. Of course he was grateful for Bennet helping him get through his addiction, and he was more than willing to continue to keep tabs on Peter for him… but his daughter… now that she was in the equation again, things were getting more complex for him.

 

“What does this girl have to do with me?” Isaac asked after a pregnant pause.

 

Nathan looked at him almost desperately. “You painted her; you must know something about her…” Nathan saw Isaac shake his head.

 

“I haven't painted her since that incident… I mean, I could try.”

 

“Please see if you can, but that's not what I came here to ask you,” Nathan responded. There was a hard look in his eye, full of fear and anger for change. “She's here in New York with her mom. I set them up here in an apartment, so long as they keep quiet and near me so I can keep an eye on them. Claire has left her adoptive family… and according to her mother, her adoptive father has been lying to her all this time.”

 

Isaac inwardly squirmed, but he continued to listen.

 

“Claire's adamant to learn more about me, and I'm also curious about her… and her powers. Plus…” Nathan paused and turned around to stare at one of Isaac's paintings of his brother walking away from Isaac embracing Simone. Nathan frowned. “Peter's missing, and I have no clues of where to find him. Peter's whole life changed because of this girl. He dropped everything just so he could be a hero to her. I'm hoping that if she comes to New York, and if he sees her, he'll turn up again.”

 

Isaac laughed. “How is a missing Peter going to run into your daughter in this large city? It's impossible.”

 

Nathan turned to him, and underneath that cold exterior Isaac could see a calm, calculated man.

 

“Because my brother's not actually missing, Mr. Mendez; he's hiding from me and his family and his life, and I know that he'll be back. He'll be back to see Simone, to see if you've painted anything new, and he'll be back because he loves his family. And when he finds out the cheerleader is here, I know that he'll come home.”

 

Isaac crossed his arms and gave him a challenging stare. “So what am I supposed to do? Huh? I don't get where this concerns me.”

 

“I need you to meet her and tell her what's going on. She wants to help be a hero, but I don't want her getting too involved with that. I do want her to trust me though, something she lost with her other father. I want to keep her close, not just because she's family, but because she could bring Peter back.” Nathan reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out his wallet. He handed Isaac a small bundle of one hundred dollar bills. “I'll pay you, of course, and this is all in addition to trying to paint her again.” Nathan cracked a wry smile. “It would be beneficial if you painted something that indicated that she is not my daughter, and this whole thing could be resolved. But more than anything, I'm concerned about finding Peter.”

 

Isaac nodded. He was okay with this not just because of the money, but that keeping tabs on Bennet's run-away daughter seemed like a good idea as well. It was an invaluable secret that he was entrusted with watching Nathan's daughter, and he was sure the man didn't want him revealing such things to the public.

 

“I take it you want this on the down-low, Mr. Petrelli?” Isaac asked. Nathan obviously had no idea of Isaac's ties to Mr. Bennet.

 

Nathan nodded. “Unconditionally. This must remain a secret.”

 

“So how can you trust me?” Isaac asked, and Nathan flinched. Isaac was sure Nathan had some doubts. Then, Nathan seemed to relax, and he looked at the painter gratefully. He cracked a smile.

 

“Because… you've helped my brother before and you understand him,” Nathan said, and Isaac quickly felt slightly guilty for working for Mr. Bennet - not that he had done anything evil for him, yet. Keeping an eye on his daughter could give him the leverage he needed in case he needed to get out of Bennet's organization, if that day ever came.

 

Isaac smiled in return to Nathan, and then he scratched the back of his head. “I still don't know what I'm going to do with her. You just want me to fill her in on everything, right?”

 

Nathan smiled mischievously and looked at the sign outside of Isaac's studio that read, “Assistant Needed.” Isaac's face paled as Nathan grabbed the sign. “Consider her hired for the position. If you need more funds to keep her, you just let me know.”

 

Isaac was speechless, and he sure as hell wasn't expecting to hire an assistant who was a just a teenager. Nathan smiled as he gaped at him, and he turned to leave.

 

“See that you be a little flexible with her hours. I have hired a private tutor for her to finish off this school year, and then she's going to enroll in a girl's academy in the fall. You'll have her all to yourself this summer.” Isaac felt his stomach recoil as Nathan flashed him a `do-it-or-else' smile, and then pointed a finger at him. “Just remember to keep her close, and if she tries anything to make this public, stop her and let me know. I'll have her brought here to start working tomorrow.”

 

“So how do we keep this fact that she's your daughter secret again?” Isaac looked at him skeptically.

 

Nathan waved a hand in the air and said, “I don't care. Make something up. Say she's come to New York to help us along with her mother. This isn't just a family issue… it's that other issue as well.”

 

Isaac smirked as Nathan left, quite amused that Nathan still couldn't say that he had super abilities. Slowly, Nathan was admitting to the importance of these abilities and that others were like him, especially now since he had a daughter with them too.

 

Isaac sighed and looked over at his messy studio. There was a reason he needed an assistant. Simone was, of course, against his idea to hire someone and offered to help him out. As much as he wanted an excuse to be closer to her, he still felt really awkward about their relationship. She hadn't officially left Peter yet or made any indication that she would ever leave him. Now that he was missing, Simone was even more concerned about finding him, and Isaac knew her deep feelings for him weren't just going to disappear.

 

Isaac frowned. He had to admit Peter was an amazing person. Many people cared about him, and he was highly noble, empathic and good-natured. He had an abounding zeal to help people and do the right thing.

 

But Peter's power was too amazing for his own good, and Isaac was sure he would be the one to destroy the city. Helping Mr. Bennet and finding Peter to prevent this was imperative, and now Nathan wanted his help finding him as well.

 

Isaac shook his head, trying to drive the thoughts away before they became too jumbled in his brain. He sat on his stool and stared at a ready-made canvas. He sighed again, closing his eyes and then focusing his energy. Right before he always did this, he remembered Hiro's guidance to concentrate and to believe in his ability. And as long as one person believed in him, it was enough for Isaac.

 

Opaque white haze consumed his eyes, and he picked up a brush. Erratically, he mixed color with media and coarsely jabbed the brush onto the painting. Strokes became fierce, and soon images grabbed from the future were taking life.

 

And when the power dispelled, Isaac coughed lightly and blinked his eyes several times before coming to. Frantically, he looked to the splashes of media and color exploding over his clothes and palette. When he lifted his gaze, his eyes widened at the sight of yet another prophetic painting.

 

He gasped and felt his insides go cold and then warm to the sight of it. He wondered, and if Nathan Petrelli hadn't shown up at his doorstep that morning, would he still have painted the same thing?

 

To Be Continued…

 

AN: How do you like it so far? This plot bunny was really doing a number on me and it had to be written. I don't know how long it will be, 10 chapters or so. My epic muse is on vacation.