The past shapes everyone. Some people escape it, others thrive from it, still others forget about it. And then there are people like Meredith who survive through it. Life didn't give her anything that she didn't have to suffer through. She grew up on a small farm in Arkansas with a dead mother and a drunk of a father. He was one of those people who was mad at what life gave him and didn't see anything wrong with taking it out on those smaller than him. Especially his son - Flint. The one good thing about her childhood that Meredith could remember was her little brother. He wasn't very smart, but he was still her blood and a sight better than her father. She did her best to protect him and keep him from harm, but she couldn't always stop him from whipping Flint. It was while trying to protect Flint that she found out how she would be able to protect him for the rest of their lives. If only it actually turned out that way.
While attempting to stop her father from beating Flint for not finishing his chores, she manifest her ability and set fire to the house. While Flint and Meredith escaped, their father was not so lucky and the two children were left wards of the state of Arkansas. Despite both their pleas, the two were separated and put into different foster homes. During this time, she was never abused or treated horribly. Her foster parents were generally kind and made her eat her vegetables and do her homework. However, she was never officially adopted by anyone, instead being shuffled from one foster home to another. She grew to realizes that the only person she could really count on to love and take care of herself was herself.
It was around this time that she also began to practice on her ability. As it mostly showed itself when she was scared and/or angry, she knew it was a piece of herself that she was responsible for and could control. It was also a gift to make sure no one hurt her or her brother again. She was careful to make sure that no one ever caught her practicing, however she would try little tricks out in the backyard or in isolated fields where smoke and if a flame got out of hand would not be noticed. By the time she had graduated high school, the fire wasn't something that only appeared when she was scared or angry. It came when she called and she could bend it to her will.
Speaking of school; it was never an important factor for her. It seemed pointless as she never stayed in one place for longer than a few years. She wasn't stupid, but she never really cared about what was taught to her. All the moving also turned her into something of a loner. She was friendly enough to people, but never let them get too close. Over the years, her one real objective was Flint. She did her best to find her younger brother, but it wasn't until much later when they were both grown up that she finally succeeded. After bailing him out of jail, she found out that he had the same ability that she did.
Sometime after that, Meredith went back to her old life. Though she kept tabs on Flint - as she knew from both past and present examples he couldn't take care of himself - she wasn't ready to be a criminal just yet. It was during this time that she met Nathan Petrelli. He had a weakness for blondes and she had a weakness for men in uniform. Even though he was only a fighter pilot at the time, she recognized raw ambition when she saw it. It didn't matter what he focused that ambition on, she knew that he would become successful. That's not to say that their relationship was based solely upon the possibility of Nathan's future. It wasn't even that his family was filthy rich (which they certainly were). Most of it was based on the fact that he also looked really good in a military uniform. Really good. Their tryst was passionate, if short, and was enough to produce an illegitimate daughter whom Meredith named Claire. (It was also long enough for Nathan to come to Meredith's funeral either out of true mourning or due to a feeling of obligation.) At first, Meredith didn't know how to take her pregnancy or new daughter. She was only 20, still young and not sure if she was ready for motherhood. Though she startled to settle into the change in her life, and truly loved her daughter, she was never able to truly make herself comfortable with Claire because just over a year after her birth, the Company finally came for her.
Noah and Claude, on an assignment, came to bag and tag Meredith without knowing what her ability was. The attack caused Meredith to accidentally set fire to the apartment. It was enough to knock out Claude and block her from getting to Claire. Luckily, Noah rescued her child, but she didn't know that when she escaped the inferno. She thought the Company killed her baby and she was responsible. She let them think she was killed in the blaze and escaped from the city. After that, she was on the run from Agents. She joined up with Flint again and became a robber and a criminal. Quickly, she became the brains of the operation and attempted to keep her younger brother out of trouble and his temper in check. It didn't work forever. In a few years, she found herself under the eye of the Company again. And this time she wasn't lucky enough to escape.
While trapped in her cell, she was visited by Thompson and given an offer she couldn't refuse. Join the Company as an Agent, or rot in a cell for who knows how long. While she tried to bring her brother's safety as a negotiation point, it was denied. Smart enough to know she was better use to her brother outside of a cell than inside, she took the deal. It was the only way she could stomach working for a place that killed her daughter. After her first assignment of capturing Danny Pine, she discovered that Flint didn't escape from the botched robbery, he was put in a cell. Once the coast was clear, she released Flint with the plan for the two of them to hide in Mexico. There was plenty of convenience stores to rob down there, too. Discovered by Thompson, they fought aboard a train filled with highly flammable materials which she set on fire. Flint managed to escape, but after Thompson and Meredith jumped from the train, she was caught. Only revealing about her daughter saved her from being tossed back into a cell on Level 5. Thompson realized that it was Claire she was talking about and should Meredith stick around, it would mean complications he didn't want for the Company. Meredith took the opportunity and fled to Mexico, like she planned.
From there, she traveled, never comfortable at being in one place for very long. She still felt like she was a fugitive from the Company and didn't like to leave much of a trail. After a few years, she moved back to the town in Kermit where she had lived after the birth of Claire. Living in a trailer park, and without plans to stay for long, she had the shock of her life. Her daughter contacted her. After sixteen years of thinking that Claire was dead, the girl contacted her. Of all the emotions that she could think of, love was one of them. However, opportunity was the other. Using Claire's emergence as a way of finally making herself comfortable, she phoned Nathan - who had thought she was dead all these years. She extorted $100,000 from him to keep Claire's existence quiet. Telling Claire that she was entitled to half of $50,000 ($25,000 is really a lot of money for a young girl) she also gently told her that seeing her biological father wasn't a good idea and that she was planning on going back to Mexico. And so, $100,000 richer, that's exactly what she did once Claire leaves.
Most people think Meredith cold to leave her behind and make off with the money. However, she'd lived most of her life thinking that her daughter was dead. And Claire obviously had a better life than she ever had with the Bennets. What could she offer her daughter that wasn't already given to her? All she could think of was messing up her life. That all changed, however, after the Bomb. She had yet to cross the border when she heard the news of what happened in New York. Things changed quickly. Those with abilities were hunted down. She realized crossing the border was too dangerous on her own and remained hidden in Texas. Having been a fugitive for most of her life, it was easier for her to keep out of the way and remain unregistered. She tried to find Claire and Flint, however they were both too far out of reach without bringing undue attention to herself.
Meredith stumbled upon the Ferrymen in her own attempts to stay hidden and was quickly recruited into their ranks. Smart and good at keeping under the radar, she took to it like a duck takes to water. Eventually, she made her way to New York. It was really the last place she wanted to be - the center of all the action. Meredith's style was more to lie low and keep out of the line of fire. However, while she was there, she met a man she never thought she would see or hear from again: Noah Bennet. The Ferrymen, she realized, was still in it's beginning stages. There was much to be done - so many chinks in the armor of helping people out of the sight of the government. Noah - the Company man he was - realized the usefulness of someone with Meredith's powers and unique skill set and was recruited to a more prominent positing within the order. She took over a safehouse in SoHo. It's no million dollar apartment, and it's above a Vietnamese Restaurant, but on the bright side there's always cheap take out whenever anyone gets hungry. She's still unregistered and has still managed to keep below the radar, always on the look out for Flint. She's heard that Claire is in the city through Noah, but she has yet to track her down. She's too embarrassed by the past.
