HEROES : Darkness Falls

Disclaimer: I own NUTTINK!

Characters: Clans Parkman and Petrelli and cohorts

Setting: following the events of "Visiting Ours"

He was on his knees, unable to rise and face the man calling for his blood. The thought crossed his mind that he could have what leaked from various wounds on his body. heh. "Please," he gasped, "I know you don't want to hurt us! I lo--" Matt never finished his thought as the pain swept through his body once more and the darkness enveloped him.

Matt Parkman started curtailing his activities as Director of PrimaTech now that he had two more reasons to stay home. Daphne didn't say anything for a few weeks, as she wanted him to bond with his long-lost son, Matthew.

He would spend the morning at the office, then return home at lunch (or as soon as he could get away), to spend the afternoon with his three sons. He even got the bright idea that he and the boys could revive his old band, "Parkman Fever", from his youth. Daniel and Joshua immediately took to the guitars, while Matthew found himself relegated to keyboards when Rabbi Blumenfeld mentioned he had taken piano lessons growing up. Matt, of course, picked up the sticks again. Daphne occasionally sat in on tambourine, but that was mostly when Mohinder couldn't make it due to some 'crisis' in the lab.

Matt had long since noticed that the twins seemed to be in synch with each other, more often than not, and this helped them learn their guitar lessons faster. He wondered to his wife and Suresh if they would continue to develop like that.

Matthew, on the other hand, tolerated the experiment, but eventually gave up, claiming he didn't like the style of music they were practicing. When Matt inquired further, he was pushed away emotionally and mentally.

Meanwhile, Micah had transferred out to LA to be with Molly and found himself taking Matthew's place as the group's keyboardist. Matthew was even less happy to find this out, when he stumbled upon the group practicing in the basement one night. Matt tried to talk to him, but he was rebuffed yet again.

When the summer ended, the boys had trouble keeping up with their schoolwork, as they preferred to jam instead. Matt put his foot down and informed them that school came first, and threatened to sell the guitars if their grades didn't improve. He decided that they would only practice on the weekends, but then the boys' schedules filled up quickly and the "Parkman Fever" band died a quiet death, yet again.

With the boys back in school, Matt found himself with less to do around the house in the afternoons that didn't involve annoying the hell out of Daphne, so he went back to the office full time.

The next few months, Matthew grew colder and more distant. Matt kept trying to inquire, but to no avail. Even Rabbi couldn't get him to talk.

At Thanksgiving dinner, Matt made it a point to say he was thankful for having Matthew back in his life. The teen merely glared at him, barely took a handful of bites, then stormed off to his room.

As the holidays rolled around, Matt and Daphne tried to incorporate their usual traditions with the classic Chanukah ones Matt had remembered from his youth, with some assistance from Blumenfeld, of course. It was another attempt to make Matthew feel part of the family, but he turned his nose up at this, too.

All three of his guardians sat him down and demanded to know the problem. Matt promised him he wouldn't read his mind, and they just wanted to help. Matthew ignored them before stomping off to his room once more.

Matt was beside himself at this. Blumenfeld claimed he had never acted like this while he was growing up, and was also at a loss for words as to why his behavior had changed.

Daphne decided to take the rabbi home and Matt knocked on his son's door once again. "Matthew, please," he begged. "Whatever's wrong, we want to help. We just...we don't know what to do. Please, son."

Silence.

Matt sent a thought of love and warmth in the room, but found himself receiving feedback in return. He sighed and went to his own room, flopped down on the bed, and was asleep before he knew it.

"I HATE YOU!"

Matt woke with a start, tensing up as the teen threw himself at his father. They struggled on the bed, wrestling for dominance.

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!!" the boy screamed.

Matt finally managed to grab him in a bear hug and found the strength of his son nearly matched his own as he tried to settle the boy down. Matt grabbed and crossed his son's wrists against his chest, but the boy still flailed, throwing his head back, nearly missing his father's nose several times as his feet tried smashing his father's toes.

He finally collapsed in a heap of sobs and Matt hugged him tight, unsure if it was a ploy or if he had finally broken through.

When it appeared that Matthew had settled down, Matt whispered to him, "Do you want to talk now?"

"That's all you ever do is talk!" Matthew protested.

"I'm not going to fight you, son," he soothed. "Tell me what's wrong. Let me know if I can help."

"It's the voices! They won't shut up!"

Matt was stunned. "Voices? Who's talking? Is it just us or what? Who are you hearing?" Matt vaguely remembered Niki, and how her psyche had fractured into multiple personalities. He didn't realize this the first time they met, only later at Kirby Plaza. He hoped this wasn't what was happening.

"No, not like Niki. Everyone," the boy answered grimly. "I hear every one of you. Every single thought that goes through your heads. Every image. You! Daphne! the twins! Molly! Rabbi! the neighbors! people at school! People you work with and people on the street. Every single one of you!"

Matt stammered. "Y-you can't turn it off? Is that it?" he remembered when his powers manifested and how he had collapsed several times from the onslaught.

"That doesn't compare. Not even close."

Great. What do I do, now? Matt thought at his revelation. No other telepath had come close to his level, and now, his son had become an omnipath, hearing every thought in the vicinity. Mohinder had theorized--

"Mohinder doesn't know shit."

Matt took the boy's shoulders, stared him in the eye. "Mohinder is your uncle, and you will treat him with respect, young man!" Matt fought the anger and fear down. "If anyone knows how to help, he's the one who can."

"No, he can't," Matthew replied, coldly. "I already asked. He had no clue, so I wiped it from his mind. That's not all he thinks about." He gave his father a disgusted look.

"You WHAT?" Matt was furious. "Matthew, you don't ever, EVER do that! Do you hear me? You can't invade minds and make people forget things! That's so wrong on so many levels that--"

"I told you my problem before," he replied, looking his father in the eye. "Three times, now." A dark smile spread across his face. "I made you all forget."

The words and smile made Matt's heart go cold.

"I've told you three times, but you couldn't help," he explained, pulling away from his father's grip. "You couldn't help because you don't know how to handle your own power. You keep locking it down, frightened of it, denying it's very existence. You can't handle your power, how do expect to handle mine?"

Matt sat there, dumbfounded at this revelation. This accusation. Before he could think of an answer, Matthew slugged him. Matt tumbled back on the bed, lost his balance and slid off to the floor.

"You won't even remember this time," he heard as the darkness washed over him.

"What happened to you?"

Matt looked up from the floor to see Daphne standing over him. Where was he? "How did I get down here?"

"You got me, but that's a nice bruise there, Matt," she said, touching his left cheekbone as he sat up.

Matt winced. "ow! Stop!" he batted her hand away and went to the bathroom to see for himself. "I guess I rolled off the bed in my sleep?" he offered, checking the scrape in the mirror. He turned to look at her. "Rug burn?"

"Yeah, you wish, cowboy," she teased. She leaned up and kissed the wound. He winced again. "Looks like you had a bad dream, the way the covers are messed up."

He glanced around the doorway to see what the bedding looked like. Ow. He realized his neck was a bit sore, too, but shrugged it off as part of his falling and sleeping on it.

Matt had no other explanation for it and forgot about it.

When New Year's Eve came, he tried to coax Matthew into at least watching the ball drop with them. He gloomily sat on the stairs to appease them before heading straight back up as they began cheering. Matt noticed right away, and Daphne saw the sad look when he turned to see empty stairs.

As she tucked the twins in, he once again pleaded at the door. "Matthew, don't start the new year off like this. Let us help. Please, son. Tell me what's wrong!"

Daphne came out of the twin's room, gave Matt a half-hearted hug and proceeded to their bedroom. He stood there against the door for another ten minutes before he gave up.

Matt sat on his bed, staring down the hallway. He shrugged off Daphne when she tried to coax him under the covers. He finally gave up after another twenty minutes, closed the door, and climbed in bed beside his very pregnant wife.

"I don't know what to do, anymore, Daph," he moaned.

The next month was a flurry of activity, as Matt finally got down to redecorating the two spare rooms downstairs for the boys. The twins initially insisted on having their own rooms, but then balked after they realized one bedroom was larger than the other and decided they would share.

Matt asked Matthew if he wanted to stay upstairs with them and the baby, or move downstairs with his brothers. He didn't answer, but Matt came home from work one day to find that Matthew had already moved his things into the smaller bedroom. Daphne hadn't noticed when it occurred, but the twins were exhausted at dinner that night.

"So, are you boys getting along down there alright?" Matt inquired of them.

"Yeah, we didn't know moving was so exhausting, though," Daniel answered between bites.

"It was like we were moving twice the stuff," Joshua complained.

"Oh really?" Matt asked, while throwing a glance at his eldest. Matthew huffed and left the table. Matt and Daphne glared at each other. "I'll talk to him after dinner," he sighed.

Matt knocked on his eldest's new door. "You want desert?"

Silence.

Matt expected that. "You didn't, uh, by any chance, make your brothers move your stuff, too, while they were busy moving theirs, did you?"

To Matt's surprise, the door opened and Matthew stuck his head out. "Go. Away."

Matt stuck his foot in the doorway. "No."

The teen glared at him. "Leave me alone."

"No, Matthew, I won't."

"Get out of here!"

Matt felt a mental push. Surely he wasn't--?

"Get out!"

Matt pushed back. "I can't, Matthew! Not until you tell me what's going on with you!"

Before he knew it, his son physically shoved him, knocking him off balance. He barely caught the doorjamb as he stumbled back. "Matthew!"

SLAM!

Matt narrowly avoided losing a finger in the door. He tried the handle, but it was already locked. He sighed and leaned against the door. "Matthew, please! Please tell me what's wrong!"

Half an hour later, Matt slumped into the kitchen chair. Daphne came up behind him and rubbed his shoulders. "Do you think we should call somebody?"

"Who are we going to call, Daph? We're supposed to be the top specialists in dealing with powers. I can't even deal with my own son!" he groused, laying his head on her belly.

The next few weeks flew by, with an occasional false alarm from Daphne as her due date drew nearer. Matt asked Mohinder, Peter, Nathan, and even Sanjog for help, but none of them could offer any advice outside of patience with his teenaged son. Why couldn't he be a nice teen like Molly had been? She rarely drove him, Daphne, or Mohinder up the walls during her teen years, he sighed. It didn't help that he was also distracted by the impending arrival of another child.

Diana Ruth Parkman was born February 1, 2021. She was the apple of her father's eye from the moment she was born. They had decided against "Daniella", so as not to upset Daniel. They already had one kid sulking around the house, why add another? Diana was close enough for Matt, even if Daphne hadn't insisted it was for the better. She even offered up Ruth as a middle name. Matt's only answer was "Marry me?" She laughed him off as he deluged her with kisses.

The twins adored her right away, as did the rest of her extended family (who tried to keep the parade of visitors to a minimum). Molly started calling her "Mouse" from first sight. (Daphne still didn't get it.) Matthew barely took a glance at her and gave his father a dark scowl.

Matt and Daphne tried to keep the changes to a minimum, with Matt making an effort to spend time with the boys as often as he could. For Matthew, he often wound up sitting outside the teen's door, finishing up his work on his laptop.

Many a night, Daphne came down to find he had dozed off against the door. She finally insisted on a beanbag chair for him to sit his vigils in, since he liked retro so much.

Matt still insisted he didn't remember dozing off. He was rarely tired. He knew he was working on reports, then Daphne was waking him up. Daphne tried brushing it off, but it kept happening. Even the twins were at a loss, considering they were often watching TV or playing video games on the other side of the room when this happened.

Matt was getting worried. He asked Mohinder for a full check-up. He couldn't find anything wrong.

"Could these 'blackouts' be an effect of another power, like the Haitian's?" he asked Suresh as they went over the results in the doctor's office.

"It's possible, but it's also possible that your own power may be causing this," he replied. "Have you noticed any nosebleeds or other physical evidence?"

"No, just a sore back from being hunched over all evening in a bean bag."

Mohinder gave him a strange look. "Bean bag?"

Matt shrugged. "Daphne insisted I sit in something while sitting outside Matthew's room, so she bought me a bean bag chair."

"Tell me again why you're sitting outside Matthew's room every night?"

"I told you, he won't come to us with whatever's bothering him, so I'm going to sit there until he does."

Mohinder was puzzled. "When did you tell me this, Matt?"

Matt looked his friend square in the eye. "Just about every time I complained about my eldest since the boys moved downstairs?"

"I'm sorry, Matt," he apologized. "I just don't recall those conversations."

Matt's jaw dropped. "What the hell, Professor? I talk to you about my family all the time!"

Mohinder was getting nervous, now. "Matthew, seriously, I don't know what you're talking about!"

"How many children do I have, Mohinder?"

"Well, I--that is," he stammered. Matt glared at him. "four?"

Four? Someone was missing. "Name them."

"Molly, of course," he started. Matt nodded and waved him on. "The twins, Daniel and Joshua, or Mish and Mash, according to Molly." Matt smirked and waved him on. "And, of course, Diana, the baby. 'Mouse,' I believe Molly has christened her."

Matt looked at him. "Forgetting someone?"

Mohinder gave him a confused look. "No, I don't believe so."

"What have we just been talking about? You don't remember Rabbi Blumenfeld coming in here on my birthday last summer and introducing me to my son, Matthew, who I thought died with Janice in Barstow a decade ago?!"

Mohinder's brow knotted, he started fidgeting like a lost child.

"You don't remember running a blood test on him, to make sure? The big Father's Day party at my place where I officially introduced him to everyone and told Nathan and Peter we were brothers?"

Mohinder nervously shook his head.

"Then when did you find out Daphne was pregnant? I seem to recall making that announcement the same day!"

The Indian fidgeted again before answering, "After her physical?"

Matt glared at him. "Please tell me you are joking."

"I'm sorry, Matthew, I don't know what you want me to say!" he protested. "You told us all that Janice's baby wasn't yours, it was some other man's, and that is why your marriage ended!"

"Mohinder, while it is true she cheated on me, the baby really was mine all along. We lied to everyone to protect them from the Company and the life I found myself in, not knowing if I would live one day to the next. We lied about it so much, it became truth as far as everyone else was concerned!"

Suresh stared at his friend, lost for a reply.

Matt whipped out his wallet, pointed to his family picture taken shortly at the end of the last summer. "How many people in this picture? Who are they?"

Mohinder examined the picture, then looked up at Matt. "Four--well, five if you count the fact Daphne looks to be showing. I remember you being upset that Molly was called away at the last minute."

Matt flipped the picture around to look at it. Surely it was the new one, and not from before his birthday? He saw five people. He flipped it back at Mohinder. "Look again."

"I'm sorry, Matthew, I only see four people in that picture. You and Daphne sitting and the twins kneeling in front of you two."

"There's no one standing behind me, his hand on my shoulder? Young teenager? Fourteen years old? Looks like me?"

"Are you feeling well, Matthew? Perhaps you should go home and get some rest?"

"I'm fine, Professor," Matt insisted. "Perhaps you're the one who's not feeling well? You've been awfully nervous talking to me."

"Honestly, Matthew?" Matt nodded. "I can feel you probing my mind and I don't like it one bit!"

"W-what?" he was taken aback. "What are you talking about? You know I don't mess with peoples minds! I don't eavesdrop or anything without permission! I've insisted on all telepaths following the same rule!"

"Power corrupts, my friend, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." He tried to keep his voice as level as possible, but he also had to make his point.

"Mohinder!" He was getting angry now. "You've known me for fourteen years and you know me! I would never invade someone's mind like that!"

"Well, someone is, and if not you, then who?" He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. If they hadn't been in his office, he would have walked out.

Matt leaned forward. Mohinder nervously moved his chair back with his feet. Matt shook his head and hit the intercom. "Molly, could you meet us in Mohinder's office, please?"

"Sure, Dad, be right there," came the reply. Matt sat back and glared at his former roommate. Molly entered and asked, "What up, doc?"

Mohinder rolled his eyes, as always, at her joke.

"Molly, how many brothers do you have?" her father inquired.

"Why?" Her father's dirty look made her grimace. "Okay, there's Mish and Mash, unless you have another one hidden away somewhere?"

"You mean the one who moved into your room last summer on my birthday?"

"Elvis?" she shrugged.

Matt held the family picture up to her. "Count."

She examined the photo. "One picture, four people."

Matt looked at it again. He saw five. "What the hell is going on here? You don't see Matthew in this picture?" He held it up to her again.

"Who's Matthew?"

Matt's face went slack. He got up and left the room. Molly and Mohinder followed him back to his office where he grabbed a marker from Sally's desk and proceeded to his personal bathroom. He closed the door on them.

The pair looked at each other and listened at the door. They could hear the rustling of clothes, grumbling, then silence. Suddenly a thump.

Mohinder opened the door to find Matt on the floor, shirtless, he had scrawled his name, "Matthew," over "wi" across his broad, hairy chest.

"Matthew! What in god's name are you doing?"

Matt looked around, dazed. "Mohinder? Molly? What are you two doing in my house?" He rubbed his head.

"Dad? You're not at home, you're at work," she insisted. Then she noticed the mirror. "Why did you write that?"

"Write what?" Matt asked, as Mohinder was trying to help him up, and realizing he still had the uncapped marker in his hand.

Both men stood, and looked at the mirror, which was when Matt also realized he had written on himself, as well.

"Did I just take a dump?" he asked as he looked at the crude message on the mirror: 'Matthew wipe U'.

"Not funny, dad," she said, voice shaking. "We just followed you in here, barely thirty seconds after you. Why are you writing messages to yourself ON yourself?"

He looked at his daughter, scared as she was. "I-I don't know--?"

"Matthew, your nose is bleeding," Mohinder noted before he forced his friend down on the toilet seat on top of his hastily discarded shirts and jacket. He handed a handful of tissues to the man, leaned his head forward and pulled his stethoscope from his lab coat, pressing it against his friend's back. "Sounds normal, let me check your eyes," he insisted as he tilted Matt's head back upright and grabbed his penlight. "Dilation normal, as well. Did you experience any dizziness before you fell?"

Matt shrugged. "I don't remember writing any of that, much less coming into the office today. How am I supposed to remember if I was dizzy two minutes ago?"

Mohinder looked at him a moment. "Why don't we have Molly take you home, take some aspirin, and get some rest. First thing tomorrow, you come see me, agreed?"

Matt nodded and waved them off so he could at least get off his clothes and get dressed to leave.

He mumbled "I'm taking the rest of the day off," as he passed his assistant's desk.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Director?" the russet haired woman asked as he stumbled by with Molly and Mohinder.

"I hope," he grumbled, running a hand through his peppered hair as the elevator doors opened.

Jane Sinclair nodded and went back to her paperwork. As soon as the trio had left the office, she pulled out her phone and said, "It's happening. We have to move. Now."

Matt grumbled as the pair led him into his house and up to his bedroom. Daphne had left a note she had gone out shopping. Molly went to her father's bathroom cabinet and grabbed the aspirin bottle and a glass of water, setting them on the nightstand for him.

"Would you like one of us to wait with you until Mom comes home?" Molly asked.

"Nah, I'll be fine," he said, waving them off so he could change and take a nap. He doubted he had enough energy to even undress at this point.

"Get some rest, my friend," Mohinder patted him on the shoulder as he left. "Doctor's orders."

Mohinder and Molly went down to the kitchen to leave Daphne a note about what had happened.

"Do you recall him having an episode like this before?" he asked his foster daughter.

"No, Dad, and it's got me worried. Your MRI didn't pick up anything unusual? Brain tumor or hemorrhaging?" She didn't really want to hear the answer.

"No, nothing unusual that I noticed," he consoled her. "I'll look again when we get back to the office."

She forced a smiled and they headed for the door. She stopped and looked back into the house.

"Something wrong?"

Molly paused, unsure. "No, I don't think so. It's just that...." She couldn't put the feeling into words. "I thought I sensed someone else here, but now it's not?"

Mohinder looked around. "I'm sure it's nothing. Let's go, I want to look at those scans again."

Once they were in the car, she turned to him. "It's weird, Dad. I thought someone was watching us, but then they were gone." He raised an eyebrow at her. "It was like there was a void of something, like something was hiding from me?"

"Do you feel it now?" he asked, concerned. "Who do you sense in the house?"

She focused on the house a minute. "There's Dad...and Elvis...and, no, that's it, just the two of them. But that void is so disturbing."

"Where is it? Can you locate the general area?"

"No, that's just it, I can't sense anything wrong, now."

"Maybe your mind is just playing tricks on you?" he suggested. "Perhaps you psi-linked with your father without realizing it and it was just an echo of what he was sensing?"

Molly mused over this as they drove away. "I don't know, but if you think so?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you want me to turn back?"

"No, I'm sure it's nothing. Let's go check those results like you wanted."

Back in the house, Matt sensed them leaving as he crawled under the covers. What he didn't sense, however, was the shadow in his doorway as he drifted off.

As Mohinder led Molly into his office, he was greeted by two people at his desk, reading through Matt's file.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" he asked indignantly, as he snatched the file back from the scruffy man in his chair.

Molly looked at them, confused. "Jane? Claude? What are you two up to?"

Claude Rains eyed the young woman. "You remember us? Fantastic! There may be some hope for your father, yet!"

"I certainly hope so," came a voice from the far corner. Maury Parkman stepped out and nervously smiled at Molly.

She froze up for a second, out of instinct. "You're dead!"

He smiled. "That's what you were supposed to think, honey."

"Don't call me that! You tried to--"

He cut her off. "Keep a little girl out of harm's way?" He nodded. "I explained everything I could to your father, last summer. (Delicious cake, by the way. And your welcome for the other gift, too.) Thing is, I don't think he remembers it now, since none of you seem to remember my grandson, either."

"The twins?" Mohinder offered, confused as to which one he could be referring to.

It was Jane Sinclair who spoke up this time. "No. We're here to stop Matthew Albrecht-Parkman from destroying the world. Would you care to help?"

Molly and Mohinder looked at each other and spoke as one. "Who?"

"Yes," Claude replied. "I thought as much. Let's get to work, shall we?"

Claude nodded to Maury who tilted his head in concentration. Mohinder and Molly found themselves in an extensive library, with a large round table at the center of the room. Faces familiar and not were already seated.

Molly and Mohinder gazed at the stacks. Several shelves seemed to be shimmering. "Those are Matt's memories," Jane informed them. Several books started to fade, causing a ripple effect to several others. "They're being wiped out, just like yours were."

Foster father and daughter slowly began to understand the mission.

Molly and Mohinder took their seats and nodded to the people they already knew, Daphne, Noah, Nathan, Hiro, Sanjog, and Audrey Hanson, who Molly greeted with a hug after not having seen her for several years, as she had been the New York office's FBI liaison.

Noah introduced Hart Schwengels from Germany, Iason Galifianakis from Greece (whom Matt had worked with during the 2012 Incident), and Matt's one-time college roommate, Amid Halebi, from the Mid-East office to the unfamiliar pair, who Mohinder had only spoken to, mostly in passing, but never met in person before now.

Maury spoke up. "Now that we all know each other, I just want to warn you, what happens in here stays in here. Literally. Neither my son nor grandson will know what transpires in here. Neither will you back in the real world."

"Let's get to it then, shall we?" Claude piped up. "Save the cop, save the world."

Hiro groaned.

TBC...

Just a few notes:

Hart and Iason were Original characters mentioned in passing in an earlier chapter. Yes, I did use Zach's last name for the Greek Director (snatch MY glasses, will you, Beardo?). I didn't want to give the Greek guy a name like 'Papadopolis'. Just imagine Zach's thick bushel of hair as Brendan Gleeson's red-golden mane of hair in 'TROY'. Zach's biggest film to date is the Oscar nominated film, "INTO THE WILD", or Comedy Central staple "OUT COLD". He is founding a member of the former "Comedians of Comedy" troupe, has a couple comedy DVDs out, and briefly had his own show on VH1, "Late World with Zach". Keep watch for his inspired independent film, "VISIONEERS".

Adult Molly I would think looks something along the lines of Alyson Hannigan of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'How I Met Your Mother' fame, as well as the 'AMERICAN PIE' Trilogy. (y'know, the GOOD movies in the (please let it die!) PIE saga!)

Hart, I really don't know who he would be if I were to cast him. (Boreanaz??) He got his last name from a friend, and his full first name actually does hint at his power.

And Jane? Look to her name to see where she was inspired from. Keep reading.