Disclaimer: I don't own Heroes.
A/N: This is just a oneshot I thought of while watching Monday's "Heroes" episode.
Gabriel watched workers replace the window that Peter had fallen out of. A hand touched his shoulder, causing him to tense, until he heard his father's voice behind him.
"Still hard to believe Peter survived that fall without his powers," Arthur commented. Gabriel instantly put on an air of nonchalance.
"Yeah, I was just thinking that myself," he said calmly.
"Come. I have something to show you." Gabriel tore his gaze from the window as he followed his father down the hallway.
"Where are you taking me?" he asked, some of his earlier suspicions resurfacing.
"It's time I stared acting like your father, Gabriel. That hunger of yours is not about killing, it's about power. You can take all the abilities you want without killing. I can teach you," Arthur said. Gabriel's heart began to race.
"How?" he breathed.
"By accessing your empathy, that part of your hear I know is there. You've had this power all along." They stopped in front of a door and Gabriel stared at his father.
"Empathy." He repeated thoughtfully. "What makes you think I'm capable of that?"
"Because I know you're the one that saved Peter from that fall," Arthur responded before motioning Gabriel into the room. He entered, jumping slightly as the door clanged shut behind him. Glancing around, he peered into the dim corners of the room. It was empty, save for a lone figure huddled in one corner. There was a snap and a flash of blue light, and he instinctively raised an arm to shield himself. As soon as it was gone, he walked slowly towards the figure. In the dim light, he saw the figure move and then stand up. Blue electricity trickled over the body and Gabriel realized in an instant who it was: Elle Bishop. She glared at him.
"You!" she snarled before hurling electricity at him. It slammed into his chest and he yelled as he felt all his organs and bones melting. He fell to the floor, groaning as his body regenerated. Gasping, he looked up at her. She yanked angrily against her chains, glowering furiously at him. "I will kill you, you son of a b-----! You murdered my father!"
"Yes, I did," he panted.
"How could you do that to me?!?!" she shrieked, crying.
"I'm not going to insult you by saying "I'm sorry"," he said, standing up and tossing what was left of his shirt aside. "You deserve so much more than that, Elle, you deserve vengeance. I'll take whatever you've got." Gritting her teeth, she zapped him again and he yelled in pain.
This isn't just pain. This is justice. I deserve this. Brian Davis and that Trevor guy deserve justice.
"MURDERER!!" Elle screamed, hitting him again. He moaned, envisioning now James Walker and his wife, their little girl Molly, whose life he'd threatened not once but three times. "MURDERER!!!!" He stood up.
"I didn't want to kill him," he said weakly. She shook her head, sobbing. "I didn't want to kill any of them. You know that. You saved my life, remember Elle? You know the pain I feel over this! The urge. But I'm not gonna let it control me. Not anymore." She zapped him again, and this time he saw Charlie Andrews, the sweet waitress from Texas, who'd served him coffee and had always been smiling.
"I will kill you; I swear to God, I will kill you!" Elle sobbed.
"I understand," he said gently. "You need to let it out." She hit him again, but this time, her jolt was weaker, and didn't last as long. "The anger….the betrayal…You can take it out on me. I can handle it." With a terrible scream, she hurled another stream of lightning at him. It hit him and he roared in pain, hearing Candace Wilmer's yelp of pain, Alejandro's startled gasp, Maya's accusing words, Molly Walker's cries, Claire Bennett's terrified scream…..
I deserve this. This is justice.
Finally, Elle stopped and dropped to her knees, whimpering in pain. Gabriel gasped, staring at her. She stared right back, her lower lip quivering.
"Go ahead. Kill me." He slowly reached towards her manacles, his two fingers sliding forward of their own accord. "Please," Elle whispered. With a mental tug, Gabriel unlatched the chains before climbing to his feet and slowly making his way towards her. She peered up at him from beneath her bangs. "Kill me. Take my power, that's what you want. Kill me and make the pain stop," she wept. He dropped to his knees in front of her.
"I want to make it stop, Elle," he whispered. "But I'm not going to kill you."
"Please do it!" she pleaded. But he remained firm.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I want to be a good person."
"You're a monster, like me." Elle said matter-of-factly. He hated hearing her say that!
"No. Your father made you this way, just like my mother made me. We were never good enough for them, Elle. You never meant to be this way. You wanted to be normal. You just didn't know how. You saved my life once, Elle. You gave me the will to live; don't you see I owe you?" He was the one pleading now, trying to make her understand.
"I only saved you so that we could use you. Like a lab rat," Elle said bitterly.
"You were just following orders," he insisted, leaning forward. "But I forgive you. Now you need to forgive yourself." She stared at him for a moment and then she jumped, as if someone had jabbed her. A gasp tore itself from her lips.
"The pain…..it's gone!"
He gasped, too and held up his hand. There was a snapping noise and then blue sparks began chasing each other across his hand. Tears ran down his cheeks. Empathy. I did it!
He looked up at Elle, who was smiling at him. After it had gone away, he held out his hand and she took it. He pulled her to her feet and together, supporting one another, they made their way over to the wall and sat down, leaning against it.
"No one's ever done anything like that for me before," Elle said suddenly.
"You forgave yourself, Elle. We're at war with ourselves, that's what it means to be human. The trick is figuring out how to be on the winning side." She smiled and then created a ball of electricity in her palm. She looked at him, a playful smile on her face. "You want to try?" she offered. Shifting slightly, he held up his hand. There was a faint crackling as a tiny spark erupted in his hand. Almost as suddenly, it faded away. Staring at his hand, he shrugged and let his hand drop back onto his leg as he laughed.
"Clearly, I don't have it figured out yet," he said wryly. She laughed, too, and stood up.
"Let me show you a few tricks."
Gabriel smiled and stood up as well.
Justice has been served.
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