Yultide Fic 4: Push - Changing Course
Jan. 1st, 2011 04:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Title: Changing Course
Fandom: Push
Pairing: Henry Carver
Rating: PG13
Wordcount: 1500+
Disclaimer: This fic was written for entertainment purposes, no copyright infringement was intended.
Betaed by: Sexybee and Muccamukk
Written for: Merriman
Summary:Henry Carver met Seth Carver at a foster home. That meeting changed the course his life would take.
Ao3 |
Henry Carver met Seth Gant at a foster home. A cute boy with blond hair and an innocent smile, Seth had their foster parents, the Cartwrights, wrapped around his finger. Henry wasn't so lucky, the Cartwrights treated him nicely enough but there was not a doubt in Henry's mind that they would be glad to see him go once he turned eighteen. He didn't blame them, he'd be glad to see the last of them too.
It was a week away from his eighteenth birthday, when his normal life fell apart. It started innocently enough with a knock on the Cartwright's door and a man dressed all in black. He would have looked average enough, had it not been wearing sunglasses in the middle of a rainstorm.
The smart thing for Henry to do would have been to return to his room and ignore the man's presence, but years in the foster care system had taught him to be wary anything unusual. So, he slid down the stairs, keeping his steps light, and pressed himself against the wall, next to the living room door where he could hear anything the man or Mrs. Cartwright said.
He could hear the gentle clink of Mrs. Cartwright's best tea set, the one she brought out when the social workers came calling. Whoever the man was, she wanted to impress him.
"So, Mr. Hargreaves, you said that Seth had qualified for a scholarship?" Mrs. Cartwright asked.
"That's right. He's a very special boy and our organization feels that children like him should be given the chance to help our country."
Hargreaves sounded pleasant, even charming, but something about his voice sent a shiver up Henry's spine. He was glad he wasn't Seth. He wouldn't want to go anywhere with hm.
"What's going on?" Seth whispered.
Henry jumped, he hadn't heard Seth come up behind him.
"Someone is here to take you to a school." Henry whispered in reply, before he turned his attention back to the conversation in the living room.
"Really, it does sound like a good opportunity, but my husband and I are in the process of adopting Seth. Now really isn't a good time for him to go with you."
"That's a shame." Hargreaves' voice suddenly lost its charming quality. He barked."You never met Seth Gant."
There was a crash of broken china. Henry risked a quick glance around the edge of the living room door. Something odd was going on, and he wanted to know what. Hargreaves was sitting across from Mrs. Cartwright. He was facing the door and Henry could make out half of his face from his vantage point. It was more than enough.
Hargreaves had taken off his sunglasses and there was something wrong with his' eyes. They were black, not just the iris, but the whites too. Henry probably would have continued standing there, trying to figure out how that was possible, but Seth jerked him away.
"We need to go, now." Seth whispered, dragging Henry down the hallway.
"Do you know what's going on?"
"It's complicated, but it won't take him long to finish with Mrs. Cartwright. We don't want to be here when he is."
Henry jerked out of Seth's grasp as soon as they were in the kitchen, and out of easy earshot of the living room. He still kept his voice quiet. "Why not? How do you know what he's going to do to us?"
"I'll explain late; just trust me, we need to go." Seth kept darting nervous glances toward the back door.
"No. Whatever trouble you're in, I don't want anything to do with it."
"Fine, but don't blame me if he catches you." Seth said before slipping outside.
Henry headed back to the living room. He'd convinced himself that he couldn't possibly have seen a man's eyes go black. Life wasn't some stupid horror flick.
He ran into Hargreaves before he even made it through the living room door. Fear pumped through his veins, and he couldn't look away from Hargreaves' eyes even though every instinct told him he should. Whoever the man was he was dangerous.
"Ah, the other foster child, I suppose I should have made sure you weren't around. Oh well, that's easy enough to fix." His eyes started to flicker, blackness swirling out from his pupils.
Henry tried to run, but it was too late.
There was something echoing in his head, something ripping at his memories. He thought he heard someone say 'You never met Seth Gant' but he couldn't be sure. He was in too much pain from whatever was raking mental claws over his brain. There was an odd tugging sensation that was far from pleasant, but didn't quite hurt, then something that felt like rage boiled through him and made the the claws disappear.
When his eyes flickered back open Hargreaves didn't look scary anymore. In fact he looks scared, backing away warily. His mouth moved, but Henry couldn't hear him. Whatever Hargreaves had let loose in Henry's head still overwhelmed his senses. Hargreaves in front of him shouldn't be here; Henry remembered that, though he didn't know how. Still, he needed to say it, needed this man to know. His voice was echoing, strange, but he forced himself to say. "You don't belong here. You should leave."
Hargreaves took a sharp step back, like he was about to run. His mouth dropped open in a scream Henry couldn't quite hear. Even if he had, he wouldn't have cared: all that mattered was the power that was pouring through his mind.
After a second, Hargreaves stood up straight, like a ruler had been shoved up his spine. His mouth snapped shut, and his body stiffened. He turned and walked out the front door. He didn't even stop long enough to close the door behind him, and rain started pouring in.
Once he was gone, relief washed through Henry, washing away the power. He should probably have run away, followed Seth, but even thinking about it exhausted him.
He found himself sitting slumped against the hallway wall and didn't remember how he got there.
He shut his eyes for a second, just to gain his bearings, but he couldn't seem to force them open again. The exhaustion was too much.
***
He woke up in white room, dressed in blue scrubs. He was scared and hurting and it was like the world had gone insane. People weren't supposed to be able to control other people with a look. It was the stuff of science fiction and horror movies. Even the thought of it gave him the willies, and he couldn't stop thinking about it.
He paced back and forth across the small white room, twelve steps one way, turn, twelve steps the other way. His mind was running through his memories of the power that he'd used on Hargreaves, over and over again. It didn't help the memories to make sense and his hatred of being caged didn't help his ability to think logically.
When a man opened the door to the room, what feels like hours after Henry woke up, he desperately wanted out. He reached for the power that has been twisting through his mind as he grew increasingly agitated. He stared the man right in the eyes and is about to order him to let Henry go.
Instead he was sent flying backwards, into a wall.
The man had his arm stretched out and like he's holding Henry up, despite his standing feet away. He gave Henry a shark-tooth smile. "Well, Agent Hargreaves wasn't kidding. You are very strong, you almost got me before you even said anything, pretty good for an untrained kid. Now we just have to make that strength work for us."
Henry did not like the sound of that, he reached for the power again, hoping that the man would be distracted by whatever he was doing to keep Henry pinned to the wall. He lost his ability to focus on his power when a woman came into the room, and stood beside the man. Her eyes are black, and he can't look away.
He braced himself for the pain he remembered from Hargreaves intrusion. It didn't help. She didn't just rip at his memories she shattered them. There was just a gaping pit of black nothingness filling him. He didn't even have the will left to scream. Even his power had been sucked away.
The woman whispered, "Agent Carver, welcome to your new life in Division."
It echoed through his head, his memories twisted and changed. Division, everything he was revolved around Division. They were the only thing that mattered in Henry Carver's life, once all his memories were shattered. He would do anything to make sure that Divisions' goals were met.
"What do you want me to do, Agent Litwer?" Henry asked, barely noticing when the Pusher dropped him back to the floor. They were all comrades; necessary force was nothing to worry about.
"I want you tell me anything you know about Seth Carver as well as everything he told you about a Watcher named Penelope Holmes."
Fandom: Push
Pairing: Henry Carver
Rating: PG13
Wordcount: 1500+
Disclaimer: This fic was written for entertainment purposes, no copyright infringement was intended.
Betaed by: Sexybee and Muccamukk
Written for: Merriman
Summary:Henry Carver met Seth Carver at a foster home. That meeting changed the course his life would take.
Ao3 |
Henry Carver met Seth Gant at a foster home. A cute boy with blond hair and an innocent smile, Seth had their foster parents, the Cartwrights, wrapped around his finger. Henry wasn't so lucky, the Cartwrights treated him nicely enough but there was not a doubt in Henry's mind that they would be glad to see him go once he turned eighteen. He didn't blame them, he'd be glad to see the last of them too.
It was a week away from his eighteenth birthday, when his normal life fell apart. It started innocently enough with a knock on the Cartwright's door and a man dressed all in black. He would have looked average enough, had it not been wearing sunglasses in the middle of a rainstorm.
The smart thing for Henry to do would have been to return to his room and ignore the man's presence, but years in the foster care system had taught him to be wary anything unusual. So, he slid down the stairs, keeping his steps light, and pressed himself against the wall, next to the living room door where he could hear anything the man or Mrs. Cartwright said.
He could hear the gentle clink of Mrs. Cartwright's best tea set, the one she brought out when the social workers came calling. Whoever the man was, she wanted to impress him.
"So, Mr. Hargreaves, you said that Seth had qualified for a scholarship?" Mrs. Cartwright asked.
"That's right. He's a very special boy and our organization feels that children like him should be given the chance to help our country."
Hargreaves sounded pleasant, even charming, but something about his voice sent a shiver up Henry's spine. He was glad he wasn't Seth. He wouldn't want to go anywhere with hm.
"What's going on?" Seth whispered.
Henry jumped, he hadn't heard Seth come up behind him.
"Someone is here to take you to a school." Henry whispered in reply, before he turned his attention back to the conversation in the living room.
"Really, it does sound like a good opportunity, but my husband and I are in the process of adopting Seth. Now really isn't a good time for him to go with you."
"That's a shame." Hargreaves' voice suddenly lost its charming quality. He barked."You never met Seth Gant."
There was a crash of broken china. Henry risked a quick glance around the edge of the living room door. Something odd was going on, and he wanted to know what. Hargreaves was sitting across from Mrs. Cartwright. He was facing the door and Henry could make out half of his face from his vantage point. It was more than enough.
Hargreaves had taken off his sunglasses and there was something wrong with his' eyes. They were black, not just the iris, but the whites too. Henry probably would have continued standing there, trying to figure out how that was possible, but Seth jerked him away.
"We need to go, now." Seth whispered, dragging Henry down the hallway.
"Do you know what's going on?"
"It's complicated, but it won't take him long to finish with Mrs. Cartwright. We don't want to be here when he is."
Henry jerked out of Seth's grasp as soon as they were in the kitchen, and out of easy earshot of the living room. He still kept his voice quiet. "Why not? How do you know what he's going to do to us?"
"I'll explain late; just trust me, we need to go." Seth kept darting nervous glances toward the back door.
"No. Whatever trouble you're in, I don't want anything to do with it."
"Fine, but don't blame me if he catches you." Seth said before slipping outside.
Henry headed back to the living room. He'd convinced himself that he couldn't possibly have seen a man's eyes go black. Life wasn't some stupid horror flick.
He ran into Hargreaves before he even made it through the living room door. Fear pumped through his veins, and he couldn't look away from Hargreaves' eyes even though every instinct told him he should. Whoever the man was he was dangerous.
"Ah, the other foster child, I suppose I should have made sure you weren't around. Oh well, that's easy enough to fix." His eyes started to flicker, blackness swirling out from his pupils.
Henry tried to run, but it was too late.
There was something echoing in his head, something ripping at his memories. He thought he heard someone say 'You never met Seth Gant' but he couldn't be sure. He was in too much pain from whatever was raking mental claws over his brain. There was an odd tugging sensation that was far from pleasant, but didn't quite hurt, then something that felt like rage boiled through him and made the the claws disappear.
When his eyes flickered back open Hargreaves didn't look scary anymore. In fact he looks scared, backing away warily. His mouth moved, but Henry couldn't hear him. Whatever Hargreaves had let loose in Henry's head still overwhelmed his senses. Hargreaves in front of him shouldn't be here; Henry remembered that, though he didn't know how. Still, he needed to say it, needed this man to know. His voice was echoing, strange, but he forced himself to say. "You don't belong here. You should leave."
Hargreaves took a sharp step back, like he was about to run. His mouth dropped open in a scream Henry couldn't quite hear. Even if he had, he wouldn't have cared: all that mattered was the power that was pouring through his mind.
After a second, Hargreaves stood up straight, like a ruler had been shoved up his spine. His mouth snapped shut, and his body stiffened. He turned and walked out the front door. He didn't even stop long enough to close the door behind him, and rain started pouring in.
Once he was gone, relief washed through Henry, washing away the power. He should probably have run away, followed Seth, but even thinking about it exhausted him.
He found himself sitting slumped against the hallway wall and didn't remember how he got there.
He shut his eyes for a second, just to gain his bearings, but he couldn't seem to force them open again. The exhaustion was too much.
***
He woke up in white room, dressed in blue scrubs. He was scared and hurting and it was like the world had gone insane. People weren't supposed to be able to control other people with a look. It was the stuff of science fiction and horror movies. Even the thought of it gave him the willies, and he couldn't stop thinking about it.
He paced back and forth across the small white room, twelve steps one way, turn, twelve steps the other way. His mind was running through his memories of the power that he'd used on Hargreaves, over and over again. It didn't help the memories to make sense and his hatred of being caged didn't help his ability to think logically.
When a man opened the door to the room, what feels like hours after Henry woke up, he desperately wanted out. He reached for the power that has been twisting through his mind as he grew increasingly agitated. He stared the man right in the eyes and is about to order him to let Henry go.
Instead he was sent flying backwards, into a wall.
The man had his arm stretched out and like he's holding Henry up, despite his standing feet away. He gave Henry a shark-tooth smile. "Well, Agent Hargreaves wasn't kidding. You are very strong, you almost got me before you even said anything, pretty good for an untrained kid. Now we just have to make that strength work for us."
Henry did not like the sound of that, he reached for the power again, hoping that the man would be distracted by whatever he was doing to keep Henry pinned to the wall. He lost his ability to focus on his power when a woman came into the room, and stood beside the man. Her eyes are black, and he can't look away.
He braced himself for the pain he remembered from Hargreaves intrusion. It didn't help. She didn't just rip at his memories she shattered them. There was just a gaping pit of black nothingness filling him. He didn't even have the will left to scream. Even his power had been sucked away.
The woman whispered, "Agent Carver, welcome to your new life in Division."
It echoed through his head, his memories twisted and changed. Division, everything he was revolved around Division. They were the only thing that mattered in Henry Carver's life, once all his memories were shattered. He would do anything to make sure that Divisions' goals were met.
"What do you want me to do, Agent Litwer?" Henry asked, barely noticing when the Pusher dropped him back to the floor. They were all comrades; necessary force was nothing to worry about.
"I want you tell me anything you know about Seth Carver as well as everything he told you about a Watcher named Penelope Holmes."