Chapter 1: The Devil Went Down to Georgia

Sylar had been sitting in Danko's office, a scowl on his face, for quite a while. His black combat boot-clad feet rested on the metal desk surface, his arms folded across his chest. Recently, the serial killer had been having a little trouble with his newly acquired ability; shape shifting. He woke up this morning in someone else's face and body. When he phased back to himself, he had extra teeth. There were no other words to classify this problem than identity crisis. Because of this new power, there were so many parts of him… he had no idea who the real Sylar was anymore.

He growled slightly in agitation. How could he not know who he was anymore?! He was a serial killer, a monster, who had an insatiable appetite for power. The man stood from the seat at 6'2", dark brooding eyes shadowed by heavy furrowed brows, mouth down-turned in a scowl. The only thing that could remind who he was is –

"What are you doing here? Why aren't you in Agent Taub's face?!" Danko, a short balding man who lived for his job, hissed as he clicked his office door shut and made sure his blinds were secure and closed. Sylar glared at him, arms still folded tightly across his chest. Danko rounded on the serial killer, fists clenched. "You can't be walking around here like that! You know Sylar is dead now, and I need Taub!"

"No," Sylar growled defiantly. "Ever since I started using this power extensively, I don't know who I am anymore! This morning I woke up as someone else and when I changed back to me I had extra teeth!" He ripped a tooth out of his jeans pocket and brandished it in the seasoned agent's face.

Danko scowled before he took a breath and calmed down. "Look, we found a relatively dangerous ability that I thought you might be interested in. But you can't go unless you change your face," he shrugged, taking a seat at his desk and looking up at Sylar, who glared at the agent before his left eyebrow rose in intrigue.

"What kind of power?"

~*~*~*~

The sun was shining and it had started to get warm. The trees were beginning to look a little livelier and birds had been singing all morning. Every sign of winter was beginning to melt away, and spring was showing through. It was early March and Gwen Murray was not used to Spring showing its pretty face so early. She had transferred to Georgia Southern University last fall for the beginning of her sophomore year, a school about an hour west of Tybee Island and Savanna, Georgia. She had spent her freshman year at a university in the cold Virginia Mountains and before that, a boarding school in Pennsylvania. Winter never fully left the air until early April and even then you needed a few layers.

She had just left one of her art classes, her overly large portfolio banging against her legs as she walked. Gwen hated carrying the heavy thing. It was always making her shoulders hurt and forming bruises on her legs, even though those bruises never lasted long. But, she was in a rush to meet her two best friends and sister for lunch at Landrum, one of the university cafeterias. Mouthing along to the song on her iPod, she didn't watch where she was going, her sunglass-covered eyes glued to the bricks under her feet as she sped over them. It was then that she was knocked over.

Looking around in confusion, she spotted someone else on the ground opposite her. His bike lay a few feet away from him, the front wheel still turning. People walking on the sidewalk didn't pause, only averted the scene and continued on their way. Pulling out her head phones, she began to stand, making very sure to hide the injuries that were already healing. "Oh I'm sorry—"

"No, that was my fault. I was going too fast…," he said with a slight groan as he sat up, rubbing his shoulder.

"Well, I wasn't looking where I was going," Gwen responded, pulling herself up and lifting her portfolio off the ground. She walked over to him and gave him a hand, which he looked at with bright blue eyes for a second then took and stood.

"Thanks. Are you hurt?" He asked. Gwen smiled and shook her head. "Good, me neither," he replied and walked to his bike, leaning down to pick it up. When he had it standing up right, he turned back to Gwen. She was struck by him. He had piercing blue eyes and a straight nose between them leading down to his thin lips. Wavy dark hair framed his strong jaw and high cheek bones and it blew slightly in the breeze. He was wearing a Georgia Southern t-shirt over dark blue jeans and black converses on his feet.

It took Gwen a moment to realize she was staring and she blushed slightly in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, my name is Gwen Murray," she said with a smile, holding out her hand again.

He took her extended hand, "I'm Sam Taylor, nice to meet you," he said with a little laugh as they shook hands.

"Nice to meet you too," Gwen nodded and let go of his hand, using her free hand to tuck a wayward strand of curly dark brown hair behind her ear.

"So, you're an art major. I bet that portfolio is a bitch to carry around," Sam stated, indicating her grey and black portfolio leaning against her light blue jean-clad leg.

She looked down at the incredibly bulky bag. "You'd be right. Least favorite part of my day is carrying this thing to and from the bus stop. It's a nightmare, quite honestly. Although, I do love my art classes, so I guess it's a necessary evil." Sam smirked at that, letting a little laugh out. "What about you? What's your major?"

"Criminal Justice; I'm studying to be a lawyer," he replied.

Gwen was intimidated to say the least. She knew she could never pull off a major like that. "Wow, that's really impressive. How's that working out for you?" She asked, head cocked slightly to the side in interest.

Sam laughed – his eyes seemed to brighten when he laughed – and scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's harder than I thought it would be, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"I wouldn't be able to major in law. I'm really bad at public speaking. I could never convince a jury of anything, let alone the guilt of a defendant," Gwen replied honestly.

"All you have to do is be confident in what you're telling them, even if you're spewing a bunch of lies," Sam replied with a shrug. "You can convince a group of people of anything if you're confident enough." Gwen nodded, mulling over what he had just said.

"Oh! I'm meeting a few friends and my sister for lunch at Landrum, you're welcome to come along if you like," Gwen offered.

Sam looked tempted to go, really tempted. "This sucks, but I have a business class in ten minutes. That's why I was going outrageous speeds on my bike."

"Well, maybe I'll see you later then?" Gwen asked, smiling hopefully.

Sam returned her smile. "Definitely. And to make sure we do, here's my number." He said, extending his hand out for her phone. Gwen's smile grew as the two exchanged phones to input their numbers. He gave her phone back and she returned his.

Sam got on his bike and waved before he peddled away towards the business building. Gwen turned away with a smile that couldn't leave her face, her phone clenched in her fist as if she would drop it if she held it any looser.

As Gwen started back towards Landrum, her phone buzzed in her hand. Thinking it was Sam, elation blossomed in her stomach as she whipped the phone open. But the text on the screen was from someone named 'Rebel.' She didn't know anyone named Rebel.

Get off campus now. They're looking for you.

First of all, who was looking for her? Secondly, who was this Rebel person to tell her to leave the campus in the middle of a school day? She still had classes to attend! Gwen shook her head, deleted the message, and continued on her way, stuffing the phone in her jeans pocket.

~*~*~*~

"Did you make contact?"

Sylar rolled his eyes at Danko as he got off the bike behind one of the University's buildings. He phased to Agent Taub before replying. "Yes I did. She's headed to Landrum Cafeteria to eat lunch with her friends and sister."

"Smart. It's harder to capture the target if there's a crowd," Danko replied, scratching his chin. "We could wait and grab her when she's headed back to her apartment."

"We don't know when she'll be back at her apartment; we might be waiting all day. After all, art classes are not short. Maybe we'll just have to ambush her in the cafeteria, start a fire to get the other students out or something so we can capture her. That way, people will think she just died in the fire and our operation won't be exposed," the killer offered, arms folding as he thought.

"How do you know we won't lose her in the turmoil of students trying to leave the building?" Danko asked incredulously.

Sylar frowned at him. "When I touch an object, I can see the history of it through memories. She won't leave that fire if she thinks she can put it out."

Danko was quiet while he considered Sylar's plan. "Alright, let's torch that cafeteria," the hunter smirked, looking back at the serial killer. "But before you do, you might want to change clothes."

Sylar looked down at the navy blue Georgia Southern t-shirt and blue jeans he was wearing and frowned. He looked back up at Danko and pulled his agent's clothes out of the back pack he had been carrying. "This'll just take a minute."

~*~*~*~

"Hey guys!!" Gwen exclaimed as she approached the table her sister and two best friends were sitting.

Her sister, Ana Murray, looked up from her pizza and Doritos. She had her dirty blond hair pulled back today, which was unusual as she normally wore it down to her shoulders. She had on a light sweater and a green camisole under it with a pair of dark jeans. Unlike Gwen, who stood at the short end of five feet and wore size five jeans, Ana was tall and had what women would term an 'hourglass figure.' She was big busted and had wide hips, but her waist was relatively small. Behind her black-framed glasses were her chocolate-colored eyes.

Charlie Lennox sat to Ana's right, the sleeves of her blue American Eagle sweatshirt rolled back to her elbow. She looked up at Gwen's greeting, her dark brown eyes sparkling as she smiled. Her blond hair was down and straight, as usual. "Hey, what took you so long?!" she shouted, waving a chicken tender in Gwen's direction.

Emma Tallman had just returned from getting her food and she set it down on the other side of Ana. She had her short, dark brown hair pulled into a ponytail, so it wasn't in her face while she ate. She looked up at Gwen with her dark brown eyes and smiled in greeting. Emma was the quiet one in the group, but she was incredibly quick with a smart comment that could send the other three to the floor in laughter. "What are they talking about?" she asked, ripping open the salad dressing packet.

Gwen smiled as she set her bags down. "I'll tell you when I get my food," she laughed and walked over to the food area, moving to stand in the pizza line. She hadn't been standing there for more than a minute when a scream erupted from the kitchens in the back.

"FIRE!!! CALL 911 AND GET EVERYONE OUT!!!" a woman shrieked as she skidded out of the back. Fast as lighting, students and faculty were rushing for the door, buffeting people in their way and knocking others to the floor. The staff behind the food counters had either climbed over counters or got through the employees only door, heading for the crowded doors by the huge windows in the front of the building. The screams in the cafeteria were deafening and Gwen knew people were getting hurt. Flames licked at the walls behind the counters. The fire was getting way out of hand.

Not thinking any final decisions through, Gwen pushed her way behind the counters and into the kitchens behind it. The heat and smoke choked her windpipe but she plunged headlong in the blaze. Her black-and-white-checkered flannel button-up shirt was inches from catching on fire as she searched for a bucket. By the time she found a bucket and filled it with water she could barely breathe because of heat and smoke. The bucket in her hands was so hot it burned her skin and she nearly dropped it a few times. As quickly as she could, she tossed water onto the flames, but it evaporated the moment it was out in the air. The kitchen was just too hot.

Now knowing that she could do nothing to stop the blaze, she tried to find her way out, stumbling across debris in her path. The burns on her hands had already healed, but she couldn't concentrate enough to form a barrier around herself. She couldn't breathe!

Suddenly, something collided with the back of her head, sending her to the floor. When she tried to get up, she was hit again in the same spot and her vision went black.

~*~*~*~

"FIRE!! CALL 911 AND GET EVERYONE OUT!!!" a woman screamed from back in the kitchens. Ana spun around in alarm and immediately saw the black smoke gather around the ceiling. She sprang from her chair and grabbed her backpack, Charlie and Emma rising with her and grabbing their things.

They had started to run towards the doors but Ana stopped a few feet away from the tables. "WAIT!! GWEN'S STUFF!! SHE WON'T BE ABLE TO GET IT!!" she cried over the shouts and screams of the other students and staff. Charlie and Emma nodded and helped to push their way back to the table. Ana lifted the heavy portfolio onto her shoulder and Charlie grabbed her blue back pack. Turning swiftly, the three made their way toward the door.

It was like trying to fight a heavy current. Eventually they got swept up in the tide of people running towards the doors that they got out faster than they would have normally. The girls choked as they breathed in fresh air. They got as far away from the building that was safe, then turned around and gazed at the blaze.

Several minutes past as Ana kept watching the people coming out, hoping to see her sister among them. She continued to watch as the fire trucks drove up and firemen jumped out of them, pulling people away from the scene. Ana wouldn't budge. She was going to wait for her sister.

The last few people came out of the doors and the firemen weren't putting their masks on to go inside. But Gwen hadn't come out. The windows shattered and the pillars holding the roof up began to crack. Ana was panicking, her fist clenching around her back pack strap. "GWEN!!!" She screamed, throwing her sister's portfolio and her own back pack to the ground as she launched herself toward the inferno.

The firemen caught her first and pulled her away from the collapsing building. "No!!! MY SISTER IS IN THERE!!!" Ana screamed, continuing to fight the men holding her away from the building. A few looked at what was Landrum and shook their heads.

"The roof supports are weakening, we couldn't safely go in and get her," replied one of the men holding her. She shook her head, refusing to listen and tried to free herself from their grasp.

Suddenly, there was a great creaking noise and the roof collapsed to the floor with a deafening boom, sending a cloud of dust and debris out among the onlookers. Ana quit struggling, staring in complete and utter shock. The firemen holding her back pulled her to the ground so she wouldn't get knocked off her feet by the force of the cloud.

When the cloud of debris cleared, Ana broke free of the firemen and stumbled toward the smoldering ashes and crumbles of rock that was Landrum Cafeteria. Her legs buckled and she fell to her knees as tears streamed down her face.

"Gwen….," Ana whimpered before her entire body was wracked with sobs. She pounded the ground she had fallen to then lifted her head and screamed to blue sky.