Title: The Heroes Bride (7/?)
Characters/Pairings: Overall, Peter, Claude, Bennet, Adam, Mohinder, Sylar; In this chapter Peter, Adam, Elle, and more!. Oh, I'm excited.
Summary: My version of The Princess Bride, with assorted Heroes characters, centering on Plaude. In this chapter: unconscious!Peter, Adam, Elle, Matt, Mohinder, Niki, and Thompson.
Rating: PG13 in this part.
Warnings: Some implications of sexual activity. Sorta.
Spoilers: Pretty much nothing for the show, and lots for the movie.
A/N: Sorry it's been so long since the last one! I'd promise faster updates but once I do that I definitely won't manage them, so...sorry.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Heroes or The Princess Bride, and, in fact, owe the creators of both my eternal gratitude.

Special thanks to c_quinn, as always.

Previous Chapters




“Hey, Matty,” the princess cooed, taking the opportunity to run from one of his shoulders to the other as she pushed past him. “How’re my girls?”

“I, uh, what?” he blinked at the sly smile, and then took a breath, followed her as she waltzed inside and ran pale hands over brightly colored felts and feathers. “Oh, the…yeah, they’re good. Not a peep out of them all afternoon. No sneak attacks from any quarter. Nothing out the ordinary at all.”

“See, that’s why you’re my favorite, Matt,” she didn’t turn to look at him, just fiddled with the bright buckle of a leopard-skinned monstrosity, “You keep my babies all nice and safe.” She giggled, disturbingly, “Matt, guarding my hats. Just so perfect, you know?”

“I…yeah. I guess,” he started to say, before being cut off by a mild chuckle from the doorway.

“My dear sister has mastered the gift of rhyme,” the prince smirked, “God help us all. Don’t you think, Parkman?”

“I…”

“Cannot speak ill of your employers, of course,” another of those smiles the young man was known for, the kind that was most likely meant to put you at ease, but never quite managed it.

“Oh, of course he can,” smiled the princess picking up a bright blue, silk cap. “Just not to our face, right Matt? Or his own wouldn’t stay quite so…adorable, would it?”

“Well, I—“

And Elle laughed, as Adam rolled his eyes.

“As enjoyable as this is, Eleanor, I do need Officer Parkman for a moment. Surely your precious darlings will survive unscathed without him?”

The girl shrugged, and waved a casual hand at them both, and Matt wasn’t sure whether leaving the room as quickly as he could manage with his dignity intact was a good idea or a bad one.

Because between remaining in the clutches of one known psychotic and slipping into the grasp of a suspected one, he probably should’ve stuck with the one he was used to avoiding.

“You’re a good man, Officer Parkman,” the prince’s smooth voice cut through his thoughts, accompanied by a light chuckle that wasn’t any more comforting than the princess’s giggle. “Too good to be guarding hats, to be sure.”

“Oh, it’s…not bad job, sir,” he shrugged, and Adam smiled.

“Of course not,” he said, smile still wide but eyes suddenly serious. “Not terribly exciting, though?”

“Well, you know,” Matt stumbled. “Excitement’s…well, I have a wife and a kid at home, and you know, excitement’s not all it’s cracked up to be, right?”

“To be sure,” Adam nodded, the career counseling component of the conversation completed, and Matt relaxed. “Have you seen Peter around today?”

“He was…he was here about an hour ago,” he started, wondering at the expression on Adam’s face. Unreadable wouldn’t have even begun to describe it, even if he’d been able to use reading as a real reference point.

“And how did he look? Did he appear…concerned? Or happy? Did he…” and the young man stopped, bit at his lower lip, as Matt looked on curiously. “Well. How did he look?”

“Fine, sir,” and Adam frowned at him, seemed on the verge of trying to encourage more, and he hoped not to be subjected to whatever the prince found to be appropriate encouragement. “He…he mentioned he was getting married.”

Adam seemed to be holding back a smile, a lightness that snuck into his tone. “Did he? Well, how did he…seem about that? Resigned to it?”

“Still a little shocked, I’d guess, but yeah, for the most part.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“That he should…maybe go for a ride…”

“Did you?” The prince looked at him, expectant, blue eyes glimmering with possibilities he didn’t really want a part of.

“Yes, sir. Just like you told me to, sir.”

“Capital,” and the young man actually grinned, honest, as he sighed with what seemed to be honest to god relief. “Thank goodness you did, Parkman, because otherwise I’d have had fourteen other people to check in with.”

“Oh.” He said, unsure of whether he was necessary to the conversation anymore, and whether he could get away with leaving it. And then let his big, fat mouth drag him in again. “Why did you want him out of the castle, again, sir?”

The prince cocked his head at him, surprised, but his smile didn’t fade.

“Oh, I…” and the smile, Matt realized, was really much less a smile than a smirk. “I just…have a surprise planned for him, is all.”

***

“What…what just happened?” she blinked, staring around a clearing she…well, she did remember stepping into, moments ago. Her hand ached, which wasn’t unusual, as did her cheek, which was even less so and…there was the boy from before, crumpled at her feet.

“Oh my god, what did I do? What did I—”

What do you think you did, Nik? Well…not so much you as me, but—

“Shut up!” she forgot herself and said out loud, bringing a hand up to her mouth, and flinching at the sudden touch at her shoulder.

“It’s all right, Niki,” the doctor smiled at her, as he knelt by the limp body, laid careful fingers on the boy’s neck, and nodded. “He’ll be fine, if perhaps a bit bruised. But you did a very good job, with minimal collateral damage. You should be—”

“Yes, we’re all grateful for that, Suresh,” Mr. Thompson said, striding over to them. “Now, Ms. Sanders, if you could please pick our new companion up and carry him to the ship, I would be even more grateful.”

“Oh…okay,” she blinked, remembering something else. “Did you hit me?”

Mr. Thompson sighed, shut his eyes for a moment, and then opened them with a sharp smile.

“Ms. Sanders, if you are not prepared to do the job I hired you for, I feel no compunction in giving the necessary encouragement to ensure that the job does get done.”

“But you…you can’t. If you get her mad, she’ll…she could hurt you!“

“Oh, don’t worry yourself about that, Ms. Sanders; we have our own arrangement.”

We do, she could hear her sneer, And you know, Nik? The man drives a hard bargain.

“I…you…” You didn’t, she thought back, horrified. Please tell me you didn’t.

Well, someone has to be looking out for the bigger picture here, Niki. And if we’re talking about bigger…

“Oh, god,” she said out loud, as Dr. Suresh looked at her with concern and Mr. Thompson’s smile only got sharper.

“Ms. Sanders,” he just barely leered, “That job you were hired for? Well, it doesn’t involve this much thinking.”

“Of course not but—“

“But perhaps this is not a job you want, Ms. Sanders? Perhaps you’d prefer to go back to where I found you, dancing in cage in Meadow City?” and the man didn’t yell, because he never did, but his eyes reached a coldness that made her almost want to break down in tears again, even as she could hear her laughing, in the back of her mind. “No? I didn’t think so. Now pick up the boy, and let’s get going, before someone catches on.”

"Yes, sir," she answered, because what else could she really do, and let Dr. Suresh help her pick the kid up, even though she really could've managed on her own.





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