Long Night

Oh the shark babe, has such teeth dear,

and it shows them, pearly whites

In the darkness Mohinder Suresh blinked. The night crept in around him, and he found himself shivering as he turned to look at his alarm clock. It was 11:15. He'd barely slept for an hour. His hair was still damp from his shower. Rubbing his right eye with the palm of his hand, he sighed. He would need a sleeping pill to make it through the night. His body tried to protest when he climbed out from under the safety and warmth of his blankets, but he stepped onto the frigid floor anyway. He pulled on the blue over-shirt that had been hanging on the back of a chair, and started toward the kitchen to get the pills.

When he'd almost reached his bedroom door, he paused. A particularly bright street lamp had revealed his breath in a billow of air, and he realized why it was so cold. Mohinder frowned as he looked at the open window in his room. He wracked his brain to remember if he had been the one to leave it that way. His heart began to flutter when he remembered that he had actually made a point of closing the curtain that night. .

"Evening."

Mohinder turned fast, but Sylar moved just as quickly, and had soon pinned the doctor against the wall, his right hand on Mohinder's throat. Mohinder fought to free himself, to escape the grip and find air, but it was no use.

"We both knew this visit was coming. I've had some time to plan. I think you could be of use to me doctor, and I'm going to give you the chance to come willingly," Sylar's grip loosened slightly, and Mohinder was able to breathe, "keep in mind that this is a one time offer." Sylar released Mohinder fully, and stepped back. The doctor rubbed a hand gingerly over his throat, his eyes never leaving Sylar's.

"What do you want?" Mohinder asked, his voice the slightest bit raspy.

"I want you...to help me become something greater than myself. I can be so much more, and I could really use your guidance." Mohinder's thoughts strayed to the gun kept in his night-stand.

"And if I promise to go with you?" he asked calmly.

"I would ask you what kind of idiot you think I am," Sylar grinned. Mohinder smiled nervously.

"I don't. On the contrary, you've done your homework." Mohinder tested his boundaries, taking a half step toward his bed. Sylar matched his movement, but didn't stop him.

"How do you mean?"

"You showed up on a night where you knew I'd be alone," again, Mohinder moved carefully in the direction of the night-stand, "you waited until I was asleep, vulnerable."

Sylar's grin turned to a smirk, "no offense doctor, but you're not exactly a match for me at the best of times." Mohinder nodded.

"You're right. I'll admit I'm at quite a disadvantage when it comes to fighting you." Mohinder took another step toward the bed, but was taken by surprise this time when Sylar grabbed him by the front of his shirt and shoved him roughly back into the wall. Mohinder gasped in pain.

"Were you looking for this, perhaps?" Sylar reached under his jacket and pulled out the gun with his left hand. Mohinder's eyes followed the weapon, and he felt his mouth run dry. He didn't speak.

"You still thought you could get the upper hand doctor. So blissfully ignorant for such a learned man. Now I told you I would give you one chance, and this is it. This is that moment. So what do you say Suresh? Will you come with me?"

Mohinder's eyes finally left the gun, and he looked at Sylar in surprise.

"No. Of course not." His answer came out before he could revise it, and the doctor paid dearly. Sylar reached forward and ran his fingers through Mohinder's hair, before gripping a handful of curls roughly in his hand. Mohinder was forced to remain looking his captor in the eye. Sylar leaned in close, his face half an inch from Mohinder's. The doctor flinched away from the intimate distance, but the hand gripping his hair made it impossible to move.

"I have to admit, I was expecting that." Sylar released Mohinder's hair. With a wave of his hand he then used telekinesis to pin Mohinder to the wall. The doctor clenched his teeth as Sylar inflicted so much pressure on his body that Mohinder began to bleed from the mouth. Mohinder struggled not to scream as he felt like each individual organ was about to implode. Then for just a moment the pressure was gone, before Sylar made a motion with his hand, and the doctor was flung across the room, smashing into the night-stand, and falling into a crumpled heap on the floor. He lay there coughing up blood and trembling violently while Sylar watched him.

"It's painful isn't it, being treated like you're nothing. Like you're not even human," Sylar said.

Mohinder pushed himself back against the wall to a sitting position, and looked up at Sylar.

"If you're going to kill me, then do it," Mohinder whispered hoarsely, weakly. He coughed again, sending a spray of blood all over his over-shirt and sweat pants. Sylar's face twitched, he nodded uncomfortably. Then, looking down at the gun he held in his hand, he pointed it at Mohinder.

"This is it then?" Sylar was surprised by his own question. His finger twitched over the trigger. But after a moment he let his hand drop. Mohinder's head fell back against the wall. He was losing consciousness from the blood loss and stress on his body. Sylar walked forward, squatted down, and lifted Mohinder's chin in his hand.

"I'll be back doctor. I promise." He set the gun down on the floor beside Mohinder, then stood and looked around. When he spotted Mohinder's cell phone he twitched his hand and called it over with telekinesis. Flipping the phone open, Sylar found what he was looking for, and dialed.

"This is Sylar. You have a man down." He dropped the phone beside Mohinder, then left.

The doctor stared blankly at the phone, its light distantly reminding him of something important. Everything was becoming a blur. Nothing seemed real. And the pain had gone. It didn't hurt anymore. Distantly as he collapsed onto his side into unconsciousness his thoughts strayed back to his alarm clock. Barely an hour. Need sleeping pills. Too cold. With that the world became darkness.

------------

"I think this is it! This has to be it!"

"We need to be certain."

"It was sitting next to the label of Adam Monroe. Under B for bad-guy. Cross-filed M for monster..."

"Elle, just give me the syringe. And stop re-filing all the samples. There's a reason we keep things in order. I thought that would be pretty obvious."

"I'm sorry daddy, I just get so bored."

Mohinder's vision blurred in and out of focus. He turned his head slightly to see Bob and Elle in a heated argument. The pain had returned, and his body convulsed suddenly with the shock of it. Bob's attention snapped back to him.

"Hang in there Doctor Suresh. It'll be alright. We're doing everything we can to..."

"Daddy! Inject him! He's dying!"

Elle was right. Mohinder could feel his body starting to give out. It was an odd sensation mostly because it was the loss of sensation. He didn't feel the sharp needle in his arm as Bob hissed through gritted teeth. And he didn't hear Bob's shout a moment later when nothing happened. All had become grayness.

------------

Just a jack-knife has old Mack Heath Babe

And he keeps it out of sight

"Wakey wakey doctor."

Mohinder blinked. He looked up to see Elle beaming at him.

"We saved you! Oh, you owe us big time!" Elle giggled. Mohinder looked at the white walls of the hospital-like room, then back to Elle..

"What happened?"

"You died. We brought you back."

This must have been how Noah had felt, Mohinder thought, shifting uncomfortably. He frowned.

"How did you revive me? I don't feel any pain."

Elle glanced around nervously, there was no one in the room but them.

"We had a sample of Adam's blood. He's a healer too. Daddy said it could only be used in very rare emergencies. I think this counts, don't you?"

Mohinder's frown turned to a glare, "you had his blood all this time, and your father insisted we go after Claire?"

"He didn't want to exhaust our supply. Though after this incident, I think we're going to have to make a trip to the super-power store, if you know what I mean. Pick up some fresh supplies." Elle trailed off when she saw Mohinder's disapproval. He sat up in the bed.

"Thank you for saving me," he said finally.

"Anytime doctor."

"Elle?"

"Yes?"

"Where are my clothes?" Mohinder asked, pulling the blanket up a bit to make sure he was fully covered.

"Oh, they were in the way, so I put them in the closet," Elle grinned like a lion who'd just spotted supper.

"Could you get them for me?"

Elle turned and walked to the closet, pulling down the two hangars containing all of Mohinder's belongings, and brought them back.

"Err, could I have some privacy?" Mohinder raised an eyebrow.

Elle jutted out her bottom lip in a pout, but obeyed his wish nonetheless, adjusting the sling on her arm and leaving.

When he was certain she wasn't peaking into the room, Mohinder stood and quickly pulled on his boxers, followed by his sweat-pants and night shirt. He noted that the pants and the blue over-shirt he held in his hands both had a spray of blood all over them. He laid the shirt out on the bed studying the crimson stains.

"I liked this shirt," he muttered. The click of the door made him jump, and he spun around, but there was no one there. Mohinder scanned the door and the room, but saw nothing. Elle would have been upset to see him dressed already, and have gone about doing whatever it was she usually did. Mohinder smiled wryly to himself and turned back to the bed. He was tired still. Apart from being dead, and unintentionally knocked unconscious, he hadn't had much time to sleep. Now that he wasn't afraid of being molested by the electric young woman he decided a little nap in the safety of the companies walls couldn't hurt.

Mohinder crumpled up the shirt in annoyance and tossed it toward the corner. It took him a moment to realize it had stopped well before then, an invisible force freezing its progress in mid-air. Mohinder filled his lungs to cry for help, get Elle's attention, but a hand was clasped over his mouth before he could get out any more than a gasp of surprise. His body was pulled back against Sylar's as he fought to remove the hand from his mouth.

"Shh, shh. I'm sorry I tried to kill you before Mohinder. I let my feelings get away from me. That was wrong," Sylar adjusted his grip as Mohinder struggled, his voice rising in volume slightly as he fought to contain a grip on the man, "I'm not here to hurt you. But if you don't hold still I will use my powers against you." Mohinder took the hint and stopped struggling. His grip loosened on Sylar's arm as his heart thundered painfully in his chest.

"I let them save you because I need you with me. Do you understand?" Mohinder nodded as much as he could.

"I'm going to take us out of here. I found Candice's power can make me as good as invisible, and lucky for me it works." Sylar moved his hand from Mohinder's mouth.

"Let's go then." Sylar held Mohinder's upper arm firmly and pulled him along.

"Where are we going?" Mohinder asked quietly.

"That's not important." Sylar opened the door and checked the hallway. He then concentrated for a moment and Mohinder felt the strange sensation of becoming invisible. He held up his free hand and waved it before his face, it was gone. Sylar however, had taken on the appearance of a janitor. His face was young and smooth, he looked about eighteen. They walked down the hall uninterrupted for almost a minute before Mohinder spotted Elle. Sylar had let go of his arm to keep from raising suspicion, but he still held Mohinder in a telekinetic grip.

"Not a word," Sylar breathed. Elle had turned in Sylar's direction, surprised to see a janitor, but somewhat relieved as well.

"Hey, you!" she called.

Sylar smiled politely. Mohinder felt himself being pressed into a wall, out of the way as Elle walked toward them.

"Do you know if they keep spare clothes here?" Elle asked, "we brought someone in, and his clothes are all bloody. I wanted to make him more comfortable."

"I'm afraid I don't," Sylar shook his head. Elle snapped her fingers in annoyance.

"Damnit. Maybe I should go pick some up at his apartment. Think that says I care too much?"

"I wouldn't know, ma'am," Sylar smiled, trying to placate her. Elle frowned at him.

"Ma'am? How old do you think I am?"

"I dunno, about twenty?" Sylar shrugged.

Elle rolled her eyes, "you haven't been working here long have you? Move along then, and do whatever it is you're supposed to be doing." Elle pushed past him. Mohinder watched her go, then his attention turned back to his captor.

Sylar held out his left hand, which began to glow with red nuclear energy. He was focused on Elle.

"No!" Mohinder shouted.

In that moment several things happened simultaneously. Elle spun around, instantly bringing up some blue electric energy. Sylar moved to attack her in order to keep his presence a secret. And Mohinder sucked in a surprised breath when Sylar was knocked backward and skidded down the hall. Soon Mohinder was visible as he leaned against the wall. Elle looked in shock from Sylar to Mohinder. The doctor looked back at her.

"Did I just?" Mohinder goggled. Elle nodded.

"And he went..." Elle closed her hand, causing the electricity to disappear. Her eyes never left Mohinder. She nodded again.

"But how?!" Mohinder asked.

"I, sort of made a mistake," Elle gushed.

"You what?"

Elle's attention was suddenly directed at Sylar again. He was getting up, the moment of confusion had passed. He directed a ball of frozen ice at her, but she dove out of the way and returned a crackling volt of electricity at him that struck him square in the chest and sent him flying one-hundred feet down the hall. He glowered up at both of them from his position on the floor. Then Mohinder and Elle felt their feet fly out from under them, and they both landed painfully on their backs. When Mohinder finally managed to catch his breath he scrambled up to look down the hall, but Sylar was gone. He turned to Elle who was grimacing and rubbing her already wounded arm.

"I think you need to tell me a little more about this mistake," Mohinder said.

-----------

"We accidentally injected you with Sylar's blood instead of Adam's at first because I screwed up when I was doing the filing."

Elle watched Mohinder's movements as he walked quickly back and forth in Bob's office.

"So I was able to take on his powers simply by being injected with his blood. Of course, it makes perfect sense. If one can heal from the healing blood, why shouldn't I be able to use telekinesis or...or...what else can I do?"

"Well, you can freeze things, and you should have eidetic memory now," Bob smiled. Mohinder turned to him.

"When did you acquire this blood?"

"After Sylar attacked Claire Bennet. We had help from Eden then."

Mohinder's jaw dropped. Eden. He hadn't thought about her in so long. The thought of her helped him in his decision.

"I'm going to fight Sylar."

"What?" Elle stood, surprised.

"It's not safe," Bob insisted.

"I don't know how long this ability is going to last. I have to do it now," Mohinder said, "I need something more though. I need Molly's blood. When I did those tests on her I took a few samples. There should be one or two left. And anyone else's you think may be useful." He stared Bob down. The older man finally caved.

"Alright, you might as well have Peter Petrelli's too."

"You have Peter's blood? When did you get...wait. Nevermind, I don't want to know."

Bob smiled again, "good, it's best that you don't. Elle, help him get what he needs."

"Yes daddy." Elle turned and walked from the room. Mohinder followed.

-------

"So how are all these different blood types not killing you?" Elle asked as she finished injecting Mohinder with Peter's blood.

"I think it has something to do with the healing properties of Adam's blood. It kind of overrides everything if you will. If I have the chance, I'm going to study how exactly it does that."

"So lemme check. You have Molly's blood, Peter's blood, Adam's, and Sylar's. Do you want some of daddy's to round it off?"

"I'm not sure Sylar would let me get close enough now to turn him into a gold statue. I think I'm alright." Mohinder smiled as he pulled his shirt-sleeve down over the now healed needle-site.

"Then it's time to find our guy." Elle walked over to a cabinet and dug around inside it for a moment. She brought back a map of the city. Mohinder took a pencil from a nearby desk and closed his eyes as he had often seen Molly do, imagining Sylar's face before him. His hand jerked over the map, finally coming to rest on a spot with a little tree. He traced a circle around it with the pencil and opened his eyes.

Feeling a warmth on his face, Mohinder ran his fingers across his upper lip, and he held them out, looking at the blood that had been running from his nose. He wiped it quickly away while Elle was looking down at the map. She didn't see the blood, or the worried look on his face.

"He's in the park, by the river. Let's get him," she said with a grin.

"Think I might borrow a coat from your father first. And possibly some shoes?" Mohinder glanced down at his bare feet.

"I think we can figure something out."

---------

Now on the sidewalk huh huh ooh sunny morning uh-huh

Lies a body just oozing life...eeek!

And someone sneakin' round the corner

could that someone be Mack the Knife

Elle spotted Sylar just before Mohinder, tapping his arm to make him stop. The doctor turned his dark eyes to the park bench and took in the sight of the killer sitting alone, staring out into the river. The sun was just beginning to rise, and there were only a handful of people in the park. Elle held up a hand and Mohinder could hear the sizzling of electricity. Unfortunately so did Sylar. In lightning quick response, the killer turned and flicked his hand, sending Elle flying into a nearby tree. By instinct Mohinder turned and ran toward her, barely able to make out the blood running from a wound on her head. Before he could reach her he was pulled violently backward by an invisible force, and skidded painfully on his side on the grass. Sylar's shoes thudded on the ground as he walked calmly around the bench to stand over Mohinder. The doctor rolled onto his back, breathing evenly as he looked up at Sylar.

"It's been a long night, hasn't it?" Sylar asked. Mohinder nodded. He sat up slowly, barely wincing as Adam's blood healed his bruises.

"I've had a lot of time to think about things. I'm starting to see the light as it were," Sylar smirked, indicating the rising sun that was slowly cascading over the park, highlighting the grass bit by bit.

"And what have you concluded," Mohinder asked, getting to his feet to face Sylar head on.

"That you're the only one who can make me complete Mohinder. When you are around monster and man can come together, function as one. You are my conscience. You are what Gabriel was before I destroyed him. And you are the only thing that brings a shred of worth, of meaning to what Sylar has become."

Mohinder frowned, "I don't understand."

"I think you do," Sylar's mouth twisted into a smirk, "I think you did from the moment we first met."

"What I think is that you are a man who needs help. I think there's still hope for you Gabriel," Mohinder wanted to reason with the man. Sylar had appeared vulnerable for just a moment, and it had resonated with the doctor. But that moment was past, and Sylar became angry again.

"Gabriel is gone. He died long ago with the help of your father." When Sylar took an ominous step toward Mohinder, the latter man reacted instinctively. Sylar flew back five feet, smacking into the bench, and sliding to the ground. He looked up at Mohinder, eyes wide.

"That was you? You took me down? How?" Mohinder heard something new, that he hadn't noticed when concentrating on the killer. Sylar's heartbeat was erratic. Mohinder winced as a slew of sounds hit him at once. One of them he realized was Elle's pulse. It was low, but her heart was still beating. Other sounds assaulted him, including birds chirping in appreciation of the sun, the heavy breathing of a bicyclist on the other side of the river, and the droning bustle of morning cars. Each new sound felt like it was tearing at his brain, and Mohinder screamed in pain, falling to his knees and covering his ears. Despite his astonishment at this latest realization, Sylar grinned.

"Super-hearing huh? Overwhelming? Feel like your head is going to split open?" Sylar stood and walked forward, pulling Mohinder to a standing position with telekinesis. He grabbed Mohinder's wrists and pulled the doctor's hands away from his ears.

"How is this happening?" Sylar eyed Mohinder like he was a watch, wondering what was making him tick at that very moment.

"It's a fluke," Mohinder whispered, not daring to raise his own voice and exacerbate the pain in his head. His nose was beginning to bleed again.

"I knew you had to be special, but this," Sylar searched Mohinder's eyes, willing the man to look back at him.

"I'm not," Mohinder insisted. The pain in his head was starting to settle to a dull throbbing. Slowly he was beginning to isolate the sounds assaulting his auditory senses. He looked at Sylar. This was the moment. He didn't know how much longer he could last.

With the greatest mental effort Mohinder had ever mustered in his life he pushed at Sylar with all his being. Every active power that he had at his disposal in that instant was channeled into attacking the killer. Ice and nuclear energy, telekinesis and electricity combined to strike out at Sylar. The killer's powers reacted with the man instinctively and as he was hurtled backwards by the incredible force, he reached out and dragged Mohinder with him.

Doctor and killer were tossed into the river along with the shattered remains of the bench. Mohinder had lost consciousness almost instantly from the great effort, and blood began to flow from his nose, billowing around him in the murky water. His hair floated freely about him as he sank, his arms out at his sides, body peaceful and strangely ethereal in the watery depths. Sylar drifted down beside the doctor. The water around them both slowly began to turn to ice. Sylar blinked once, then let his ability take him over. He froze them both in place, feeling the coldness seep through to his very bones. His eyes lingered on Mohinder the whole time. Then the two of them were consumed by the block of ice. All the while Sylar continued to look at the doctor. The last of his breath left him. And yet his gaze lingered on Mohinder.

-----------

Look Out Old Macky is Back!

Simultaneously they woke up. Two pairs of brown eyes snapped open. Two sets of lungs gasped for air. And two newly warmed bodies shivered despite the heat.

"Welcome back you guys. Glad you could join us."

Mohinder and Sylar both turned to look at Bob and Elle from their beds on either side of this new recovery room. Elle smiled, absently touching the new bandage wrapped around her head with her good hand.

"I told you I'd bring them back, didn't I daddy."

"You did sweety."

Mohinder's gaze fell to Sylar. The other man looked right back at him. To Mohinder's surprise Sylar was smiling. Mohinder turned his gaze up to the ceiling. He was tired. It had been a very long night, and all he wanted was sleep now. Without a word Mohinder turned to his side, facing away from everyone, closed his eyes, and drifted back toward the bliss that was some much needed rest.