the invisible man

claude rains. 51. peter petrelli's general. uncle. brother. friend. father. invisible.

[gemmamarston-deactivated2015052]

@Claude

[gemmamarston-deactivated2015052]

"Importance is relative, but I’ll take your word for it." She drops her pen on the desk with a faint thump, then leans back in her chair to stretch her arms over her head and maybe work that knot out of her shoulders. “At least God knows, I think I lost count around lunchtime myself.” She sighs, bringing her hands up to her face to rub away the stinging in her eyes with two fists. “You don’t go outside to breathe, Claude, let’s be real here. You go outside to smoke.” She lets her hands drop to the desktop and smiles wryly. “Turning into you would be a compliment, I don’t think I’m near that good at what I do yet.”

[crnop07in]

"Hey, breathin' is a large part of it. An' I don't only go out t' smoke." He crosses his arms, feigns insult. "Trust me, love. Turnin' into me is the last thing you want to do, should be th' opposite of what you want t' do. The exact opposite. I'm here t' stop that happening." He drums his fingers on the edge of her desk and grins at her. "C'mon, food. Y' need it."

[gemmamarston-deactivated2015052]

@Claude

She doesn’t look up from the piles of paperwork on her desk at the first slight creak of her door being opened, it was either the cleaning staff asking her if she minded if they vacuumed or some last minute favor and she knew that if she broke her concentration now it wouldn’t come back until she slept properly. If they hadn’t stepped inside her office and shut the door carefully behind them she wouldn’t have said anything at all, but it was rare that anyone would take the time to do shut the door, so she looked up, eyebrows raised. No one died, did they? Nothing exploded? Because it is way too late in the day for that shit, Claude.

[crnop07in]

"No one died, promise." He pauses for just a second. "No one important, anyways." Another pause, followed by the stupid grin that always comes when he knows his joke is terrible. He comes further into her office, pulling a chair over to her desk and sitting opposite her. "Nah, came by 'cause you've been holed up in here for God knows how long. Y' need to eat. Or at least step outside t' breathe, you're turnin' into me."

[doortotomorrow]

[crnop07in]

ticktocknami replied to your photo:Character Name: Claude Rains Age (in...

he can be nami’s friend :| she’ll give him a flower crown

.... hell yes

[crnop07in]

Character Name: Claude Rains

Age (in 2017): 52

Appearance:  Much greyer, but healthier. Definitely healthier. He’s gained back most of the weight that he lost during his captivity, and actually takes care of personal grooming things as a part of trying to shove his life back on track. He’s still scruffy as all hell, but it’s a controlled scruffy.

Place of residence: Apartment in the city

Roommates (if applicable): Still Peter

Occupation: Senior Recon Agent, PROTECT

Goals:

Control his drinking, control his substance problems (this is going quite well for him)

Ensure that his family is safe

Ensure that none of the trainees under his care ever suffer the same fate as the ones with him in France

Support Peter on PROTECT matters 

Get himself back into shape, shove himself back into his work.

MAKE SURE THAT THE PETROV THEY HAVE IN LOCKDOWN STAYS IN LOCKDOWN

Top five(ish) relationships (friends, family, etc…):

Claire Bennet- Let’s face it, Claire’s been number one since he first saw her, and she is going to be number one on this list until the day he dies. He’s incredibly happy that she’s found someone that makes her happy, but if that ever stops being the case, there will be hell to pay. He makes a point to see her as often as possible- he misses her now that she’s not in the apartment anymore.

The Alessis (as one unit)- Just because they’re on the other side of the country doesn’t mean that he’s stopped worrying about them. If anything, he worries more. He’s already been to see them two or three times since they left, calls Nico and Sophia frequently, and is prepared to haul ass to Washington in the event that anything happens to them. The fact that they now have a little one in their family is actually a huge part of his push to get sober.

Peter Petrelli- Super important to him as a friend and as his leader. Will deny it for all of eternity, but he really looks up to Peter. He stands for an incredibly bright future, and that is SO SUPER IMPORTANT. Smooched him once. 

Gemma Marston- She came at Nico’s request to kick his drunken ass back into some sort of shape. He absolutely hated her at first, really HATED her, but at some point that hate turned to acceptance, and the acceptance turned into friendship. He respects how blunt she is, and enjoys her company.

Significant events/development from vol. 2:

im terrible and dont remember a whole ton from the beginning of vol2 so this is the best i can do

Having friends

Randi lovin’

He took Sophia to his theatre hideout and she accidentally amplified his powers and it was traumatic for the both of them

He went on a week? two week? trip to find Noah Bennet

Randi & Lilith lovin’

Winds up moving out of Sophia’s apartment (with Claire) and into Peter’s, because Sophia and Nico need their space

Has friends! And stuff. A ton of development with him actually having relationships with other living people and placing importance on said relationships and enjoying said relationships, which was previously NOT A CLAUDE THING

God I don’t even really remember.

Captured by Nexus, held for months, tortured.

Rescued by Claire

Drinking problems, PTSD

Becomes useless (in his own opinion)

Happy about Nico and Sophia getting married!!!

Happy about their baby!!!!

Him & Tracy capture Mikhail Petrov

Alessis move

Meets Gemma

Significant events/development during time jump:

Visits Alessis several times.

Gemma starts kicking his ass to stop drinking. They fight a bunch.

Claire moves out, he backslides a little because he misses her (even though he can still see her all the time)

He finally realises that yes, okay, he’s kind of destroying himself and maybe it’s a thing that needs to stop.

Becomes friends with Gemma, because both of them are kinda lonely, and hey she’s helping him anyways so

Begins getting his shit together.

Actually interacts with other humans

Takes on trainees again

Visits the Alessi crew several times, including to see the baby

Becomes closer friends with Gemma (& her little family unit as an extension)

How has your character been affected by the plot (this sort of goes with the one above):

The lull in the action has been good for him. It’s given him a chance to heal, to actually readjust to life in a normal-person type of way. It’s given him the time to make sure that he was actually prepared to re-immerse himself in his job, and to be the kind of teacher that will actually do the right thing for the people he’s responsible for. Also, not having to worry about intense danger coming to his loved ones all the time takes a lot off of his shoulders.

Anything else you would like to add:

IM GONNA TRY AND GET HIM OUT INTO THE WORLD because let’s face it he’s lonely. He needs friends.

[crnop07in]

A Mistake | Peter & Claude

[protectorpetrelli-blog]

The streets were emptier than usual though Peter knew exactly why this was.

>> BREAKING NEWS. CITIZENS OF NEW YORK CITY ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO STAY INDOORS THIS EVENING. PROTECT ECN (Emergency Communications Network) HAVE REVEALED THAT THE SITUATION HAS BECOME TOO DANGEROUS FOR CIVILIANS TO BE OUTSIDE. <<

He supposed he was lucky the broadcast got out when it did. Although a fair amount of damage had already been done, at least it wasn’t like the Black Out of 2012 again. The bureau was quicker now and better trained to deal with situations like these. Thank God too. Peter just knew, deep in his stomach, if they had screwed today up that would had been it for PROTECT and he might as well start apologizing to everybody for wasting their last four years with his wild dreams of changing the world. 

Peter was surprised to find the subway was still running, but was entirely thankful that it was. His limbs were about to give out from the work out he got from running around, more like sprinting, all day. He doubted that they could last the walk home from the hospital since the only power he had in his utility was telekinesis. Somebody during lunch once pitched the theory to him that flight was just a different type of telekinesis, more limited and localized, but he was going to have to save that for another day when he wasn’t just dying to lay in bed with some Bastille tunes in his ears.

The smell of liquor struck him right as he set foot inside the apartment. Claude… Peter already knew he messed up sending Claire out by herself. He could just tell that sending Claude out, even with the best back up PROTECT had to offer, was just another mistake of the day. “Hey,” he said. “I take it it didn’t go so well?”

[crnop07in]

Claude had made his way through about half of the bottle by the time Peter finally got back. It had given his nervous adrenaline time to wear off, leaving him feeling utterly drained, with heavy shoulders and shaking hands.

"It- There was- It was." He stammered, finding it difficult to actually put the evenings happenings into words. "Petrov." He offered instead, the name serving as the entirety of his explaination. He couldn’t force his brain compact the whole of his stress into a story.

After he had been so determined to find Peter and be talked down, to have a non-judgemental listener, after he had sat there so prepared for someone else who cared about him to commiserate, to maybe comfort him, after all that, seeing Peter come through the door was such a relief.

[luckyalessi]

So...

[luckyalessi]

Yeah. Nico grins like a little kid and butts his head into Claude’s hand, laughing. And you’ll— can I tell you the less happy news, now? It’s not that bad, I swear.

[crnop07in]

"What is it, are y’ not namin’ your kid after me? Can’t exactly say I’m heartbroken." He teases, unable to keep the grin off his face. And why would he? That their little family is growing is the best thing that could possibly happen. "But yeah, go on. What’s your bad news?"

[luckyalessi]

So...

[luckyalessi]

Not messin’ with you— Nico laughs again as Claude pulls him in, and hugs him back, as tight as he can manage. Yeah! I’m gonna be a dad. And buries his face in Claude’s shoulder, finally letting it really sink in all the way. 

[crnop07in]

That's fantastic! You're gonna be a dad, Sophia's gonna be a mum... He ruffles Nico's hair like a proud parent. You were just a kid, a couple'a years ago, an' now you're starting a family. God, I can't wait.

[luckyalessi]

So...

[luckyalessi]

Nico laughs, Alright. Might end up bitin’ you in the ass later on, though, and ends up wedging himself up against Claude’s side, grinning like a loon. Soph’s pregnant. 

[crnop07in]

Soph- What? You're messin' with me. He holds Nico at arm's length, looks into his eyes to figure out if its a joke or not, and pulls him into the tightest hug he can possibly manage with a laugh. You're not- that's amazing! 

[crnop07in]

A Mistake | Peter & Claude

After the evening's events, after showing up to be a glorified babysitter to some unidentified Nexus agent and staring down one of his previous captors, it had taken every ounce of self-control that Claude had left to finish things up in a professional manner. It had taken everything to not bolt in fear, to not beat the other man's face in until there was nothing left, to not shoot him or something similarly drastic. But he had succeeded. He'd managed to reign himself in, and he wound up escorting one half of the Petrovs down into the PROTECT holding cells, to be closely guarded and dealt with later.

It had also taken vast amounts of self-control to make nice with fellow agents, to explain things as briefly as possible. to fill out necessary paperwork when all he wanted was to crawl into an alcohol bottle and never re-emerge. He was drowning in all the legal bullshit that had to be completed. But the split second he was done? He was gone.

He had to find Peter. He would be able to speak to Peter, and he would understand. Claude knew he wouldn't be able to hold himself together for too very long, and hoped that Peter would at least be able to calm him down. To help him rationalise things. Put them in perspective. 

The trip up to Peter's office was completely pointless. With all the madness going on that night, it shouldn't have surprised him in the slightest that the man was probably preoccupied with more important business than waiting around for him. His need to actually decompress from the night's events in a healthy manner dissipated. The other man wasn't there. It was probably pointless to wait for him. 

Claude didn't process much from the trip back to the apartment, only seriously registering what was happening once he was already in through the front door. He kicked his boots off and dropped his coat to the ground, not bothering with tidiness. A quick grab in the cabinet returned a mostly-full bottle of scotch, and it went along with him to the sofa. He shoved himself into one corner and took a long drink straight from the bottle. Unhealthy route it was, then.

[luckyalessi]

So...

[luckyalessi]

Well… There’s kind of good and bad parts to it? Dependin’ on how you look at it. Nico absently pokes at Claude’s arm.

[crnop07in]

Damn, really? I don't suppose I can just get th' good news and pretend th' bad doesn't exist, can I? He grins a little and elbows Nico in return.

[luckyalessi]

So...

… I kind of have some news. 

[crnop07in]

Good news, I hope. Could use some of that.

[crnop07in]

omg wow that was supposed to be a private reply tumblr mobile sucks

[crnop07in]

So michael kept suggesting that andrew makes nico a metal arm in case he ever loses one. and zai and i were just spitballing for funsies on how he'd lose the arm. she says 'what if mikhail' and i'm like "claude would probably destroy him" amirite....hHAHAH /dies

CLAUDE WOULD TEAR HIM APART......

[crnop07in]

Pandora's Box | Claude, Tracy, Mikhail | Conclusion

-

Claude crossed his arms over his chest and turned his frown towards her. Everything about his posture screamed defensive.

"Him? Lots. Not things I'd like t' discuss, though, an' nothing I'd like t' give him the pleasure of reliving." For the first time that night he didn't sound angry, but scared. Embarrassed. His voice gave away the too-strong emotions that flooded to the surface in response to Tracy's question.

The man tied to the chair rolled his eyes and sighed loudly through his nose, obviously disappointed to lose the recounting of the experience.

-

The fact that he's affiliated with Nexus and has done nothing but silently complain about every single thing there was to complain about, (not that he needed to speak for Tracy to pick up on this) makes her believe what Claude is telling her.

"I understand." She starts with that, because she does understand, unlike people who only used those words just to calm someone down."But you do know that you're going to need proof to actually get him into a cell, and you're going to need a reason to justify what you just did to him, right?"

She digs through her memories and picks out a specific memory. The time she disobeyed Peter's order to split up to look for her sister, Barbara, when she knew exactly where she was. Even after she told Peter of her actions, the only punishment she received was suspension. But thinking about it, he hit Mikhail. Multiple times. She only lied.

"Otherwise this will reflect bad on you."

-

"Strauss-" He stopped, took a deep breath. Gritted his teeth and forced his voice into something civil-sounding. "There is proof. Trust me on this, yeah? Petrelli knows what happened, and I bet others on top do too. I'm not new t' this legal thing." He dragged a hand down his face. Stretched his neck side to side.

“Forgive me if I’m not exactly comfortable sharing details with you."

-

Tracy wanted to say something, but there was nothing left to be said. If this was some sort of trick, she knew she would find out sooner or later, so she keeps silence for a matter of seconds until she changes the subject. Sort of giving an order, but not. "I'll guard Mr. Petrov, you stay outside and guard the door."

-

Claude rolled his eyes, but uncrossed his arms and moved to do exactly as she told him. "If it makes you feel more useful, by all means, watch him by yourself." He said, opening the door and stepping outside before poking his head back in for a moment. "Just. Leave 'im tied up like that. For your own safety, yeah?"

-

While she doesn't see why the man needed to be restrained, she agreed to it with a nod. She knew better than to underestimate anyone, but there was a sense of superiority over the tied man and this is something she both accepts and feels shame towards. 

-

The hours went by, and things were as uneventful as could be expected with their change of location. Claude was seated outside the door (invisibly, of course) and kept changing position as his legs fell asleep. He was about to go inside and have Tracy switch with him when he felt his phone vibrate against his leg. He pulled it out to look at it and- Oh.

"Hey, Strauss." He headed inside, stowing his phone back in his pocket. "We're done here. Time t' get this one back to headquarters."

-

"About time." She hools her finger into the Mikhail's restraints and ripped them as she froze them until they shattered so that he himself could remove them. She pays close attention to Mikhail's movements and awaits for him to pass through the door to follow him just in case.

-

Claude took the lead, keeping an incredibly close watch on Mikhail. He didn't trust the man as far as he could throw him, but he knew that all he was doing would drive the Russian crazy. Allowing him dignity where he himself hadn't been. Allowing him to walk himself out of the building instead of dragging him.

"Yeah, well. It would have been longer, except our threat isn't a threat anymore." He said, opening one of Tracy's car doors and pushing the other man towards it. "The Rogue leader was apparently taken out. News travels fast when Nexus wants t' get their golden boys back."

-

"Wha--" Her eyebrows try to close in the spaces between them as wrinkles in her skin. Her jaw dropped and she had to pause for a second to let it all sink in, then forcing herself to continue walking. "As in the one they call "Death"?"

At first there was a sense of denial mixed with relief, mixed with a little bit of anger, because if that happened, it meant something big had gone down tonight. "Who got her?"

-

Claude shook his head and climbed into her passenger seat. "I don't know. Don't know who got her, don't know the circumstances." He said, buckling himself in and drumming his fingers anxiously on the center console. "All I know is she's dead, an' I'd really love t' know the how and the where an' all that stuff. Can we go?"

-

Tracy rolled her eyes at his question. She wanted to know what had happened, and how she hurried to get into the car answered the man's question despite it being rhetorical.

Prison awaits Mikhail at PROTECT. It was only a matter of time now. Less, because the blonde rushed at a higher speed than she would normally, but still under the speed limit. Whether he got there sooner was not in her interest, getting herself there soon was. But she was sure it was in Claude's interest.

Death is dead. The grimm reaper was no more. Ironic, because death is forever immortal, which gives life to the million dollar question... What's next?

                                                                                [END]

[crnop07in]

virtues

[protectorpetrelli-blog]

"Can’t say I’m too disappointed about bein’ able to avoid a fight." Peter shrugs, trying not to look too smug. ”Um. Alright that might’ve been me.” He winces preemptively. They asked who was most experienced and capable and… My mouth shot off your name before I remembered”

[crnop07in]

"Yeah, you're just happy because y' know I'd win." It was a half-hearted attempt to lighten things up, but it was obvious that the feeling wasn't behind it. "Figured it was, Petrelli. But why me? I'm th' last person that should come t' mind when someone asks after a capable agent."

[freezing-beauty]

Pandora's Box || Claude and Tracy

[freezing-beauty]

Her irises focused on the man as he reappeared right before her. She was aware of what he could do thanks to his file and other sources, but this is the first time she’s seen him turn invisible. The tone he used to not speak, but shout at her in made it obvious that the Russian had unfinished business with Claude, because she recognizes those same eyes; the eyes she had when seeking revenge. Nothing was more important, that was the priority. It was a piercing stare. “I hate to agree with him, but you’re not being rational right now.”

Her hand is placed against his chest firmly to both self-protect and comfort Claude as she lets her glare fade into a simple, awe stare. “Set your priorities straight and stand down.” She hopes that with her words he would take the option that’s best in their interest.

Fighting wasn’t the mission. If anything it was doing the Rogue Agent’s job for them. If he didn’t do as she asked, then that would mean she would have to engage in a fight she’d rather avoid. This was made clear by her stare and reaction; they spoke for themselves. Don’t make me do this.

[crnop07in]

Claude gritted his teeth and forced himself to stop, to listen to her. Let the hand on his chest center him. She was completely right, and it burned him inside. He wasn't thinking clearly, and he was going to ruin everything if he didn't get his shit together. Clearly someone thought that protecting this asshole was important, Peter had put his trust in him. So as much as he hated it, he was going to have to suck it up and-

"Your people have you trained well, invisible man. Your leash must be tight."

His fist connected with Mikhail's nose before he was even aware it was happening. The sound it made when the other man hit the floor was absolutely beautiful, but rather than follow up on the beating, he shook his hands off and walked to the other side of the room. He had to try hard to get his breathing to something resembling a normal rhythm, but he managed it.

" 'M sorry about that one, Strauss. Had t' do it. Last time, you've got my word." He said, digging around in his bag for a roll of duct tape. Once located, he dragged one of the less-burned chairs back over to where Mikhail lay clutching his bleeding nose, and hauled the man up and into it. "You, mate, are gonna sit here."

He unrolled a long strip of tape and tore it with his teeth before fastening one of Mikhail's legs to the chair leg, followed by the other one, then wrapped it around his entire torso.

"Now listen here, you absolute waste of space-" He leaned in close, grabbing the other man's chin in one hand and slapping a strip of tape over his mouth with the other. "We are gonna guard you, from whatever's out t' get you. And when we get the all-clear, we are draggin' your miserable ass back to PROTECT headquarters, where you're gonna sit in our goddamned holding cell for as long as we please. Y' got it? Th' terms of our agreement just changed, and I don't doubt for a second that Mr. Petrelli would back me up on this 100-fuckin'-percent."

Claude turned to Tracy, looking for agreement, approval, something.

"I'm not gonna kill him, but I'm sure as shit not gonna let him walk free."