HEROES: 1961
Characters: Maury, Charles, Linderman, Angela, Alice, Chandra, OCs
Disclaimer: I own nothing. HEROES characters intellectual property of Tim Kring.
-
Coyote Sands - January, 1961
Maury Parkman and Charles Deveaux bonded over the nearly three day ride to their destination. They managed to learn a few limits to their shared telepathy. They couldn't read each other at the same time, but learned to communicate by taking turns 'talking'.
When they arrived, they were greeted by an Indian doctor, Chandra Suresh from Bombay, and given a quick tour of the grounds before learning they were to have separate cabins. Charles was sent to one cabin with two other new arrivals, Daniel Linderman and Bobby Bishop, while Maury was sent to another with a young Japanese man named Toshiro "George" Masahashi and a portly kid with glasses who went by the name of Frankie Davis.
Dr. Suresh let the new arrivals get settled before calling them to dinner and a quick overview of what they planned to do at the camp: various testing of any abilities the people showed, including medical check-ups and psychological profiles.
When the arrivals were allowed to go back to their cabins, they finally got to talk and show off their various abilities. Maury and Charles kept each other informed of the goings on in their respective cabins. Charles let Maury know that Daniel was a healer, while Bobby was an alchemist. Maury let Charles know that Frankie was telekinetic, while Toshiro aka George could generate mild electrical currents.
That was just the new kids, there were already a dozen young men in the two cabins, not counting the girl's cabin or the various adult cabins on the compound. Some of the kids' parents had come along, some with powers, some without.
It seemed there was no obvious connection everyone shared. The assembled group were from all over the States, and George and his father were originally from Japan. George even explained the difference between his Japanese-born Nisei parents, and his own American-born Issei status. Even Daniel Linderman admitted his parents immigrated to Denver after the war, explaining his British accent.
Several weeks had passed and only a few new people had joined them at "Crapola Sands", as Daniel had begun calling it, entirely dissatisfied with the accommodations, despite admitting it was better than anything he had had since he had run away from home.
Maury ingratiated himself by teaching several others to play cards, which caught the attention of more than a couple soldiers. They quickly found themselves losing to the young telepath (as well as Daniel), who denied he was cheating or tricking them. A couple took great offense at being swindled out of their money, which didn't ease some of the more tense base populace.
That was when the girls arrived. It had been a day like any other, but the news that a small group had several among them excited to see who could do what, Specials and administrators alike.
No sooner than they had been shown to their quarters than several of the kids made their own welcome wagons. Charles saw that two new girls had been shown to one of the empty cabins and he, Daniel, and Bobby went to greet them. Charles later reported to Maury about the new sisters, who were reluctant to show off what they could do. It wasn't until the following night that Maury was able to meet the new girls for himself.
While the younger crowd were watching the movie that night, Charles pointed her out to Maury in the crowd. Maury was trying to pay attention to the movie, Disney's Snow White, when he laid eyes on what he considered the cartoon heroine made real, Angela Shaw. Charles could tell he was smitten from first sight. He briefly wondered if she had some kind of pheromone or empathic seductive ability, with Bobby, himself, and now Maury taken with her young beauty.
Unfortunately, Daniel wasn't in the mood for "a kid's cartoon" that night, and caused enough of a ruckus to get their foursome, including Bobby, sent back to their cabins for the night. Daniel laughed the whole way back, much to his friends' chagrin.
The next few weeks were back to the usual pace, with the younger kids being tutored by base personnel and others being tested randomly throughout by various means.
Then Angela told Charles there was trouble brewing. He made an escape plan and urged Maury to come along, but he hesitated, wanting to stay and please the wishes of his mother and "uncle" back East.
The afternoon Charles planned to leave, he came to Maury in his cabin and implored him to join them one more time. "We won't be gone long, just to notify some authorities things aren't what they seem, here," Charles told him.
"I can't Charles," Maury replied. "I promised Ben I would stay. Learn how to help people with my ability."
"There's nothing to worry about, we'll only be gone a few hours," Charles repeated.
Maury sat on his bunk, arms crossed over his knees. "I can't, Charles," he said, hanging his head.
Charles sighed. "If that's the way you feel, can you at least keep a lookout for us so we can sneak back in?"
Maury nodded. "Yeah. Good luck, Charles."
"Thanks," he replied. "I don't think we'll need it, but thanks." They shook hands and Charles left.
Within hours, hell had broken out. A storm had suddenly appeared over the base, and Maury had been woken and unnerved by it's suddenness. It wasn't until he heard the shots that he panicked. He reached out to his cabin mates, but with everyone in a mass of confusion, it was hard to tell one person from another.
Then he made brief contact with Frankie, who told Maury he had sent his baseball flying around, distracting the soldiers from firing on more people. When Frankie's thoughts suddenly went dark, Maury knew he was in real trouble.
Forcing himself to stay calm, he slipped out of his cabin and underneath it, realizing it was better to stay hidden. He managed to locate George and mentally called out to him to join him under the cabins. He sent out a general urge not to have others look under the cabins for their safety. Then, through the blowing sand, he saw her shadow moving a few cabins down.
Maury and George managed to sneak down to the girl, who Maury now recognized as Angela's sister. She kept crying for her "banana", and Maury was barely able to understand that was Angela's nickname. He finally got her to quiet down enough to keep her from betraying their position as well as calming the storm. The soldiers seemed to have settled down and were no longer firing at everything that moved in the night. Maury put the thought into their heads that the 'storm bringer' had perished, which is why the weather was beginning to settle.
Maury knew it had been a massacre, and pushed into the girl to sleep for now. He hated to do it, but their mutual survival was at stake. He and George lay there for several hours, hiding, before they saw an opportunity to leave. One soldier had been asked to escort Dr. Suresh from the grounds and Maury made them ignore the young trio stowing away in the back of the enclosed jeep.
No sooner had they gotten off base than the soldier looked in the mirror and right at Maury. He again pushed the idea to ignore them into the soldier's mind, but the man started laughing.
"You really are new to all of this, aren't you, my young friend?" he asked.
Maury was dumbfounded. "Why don't my powers work on you?" he asked.
"You're not the first telepath I've encountered in my travels," he replied. "I've learned to block certain tricks that you all seem to find easy. Making me think something is the easiest after mind reading, by the way."
"Who-who are you?" Maury asked as they drove along, glancing at the oblivious Chandra Suresh.
The man smiled. "I've been known by many names," he said. "You can call me Adam. Adam...Monroe."
Maury noticed his hesitancy, but couldn't read the man to see if he was telling the truth or not.
"Are you going to turn us in?" George asked.
"To who?" Adam replied. "Those soldiers? No, I think not."
"There are others," Maury blurted out. "There's a group that snuck out last night. They wanted to tell local authorities that things weren't right back there!"
Adam raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And do you know where they went?"
"I can try," Maury replied and concentrated on Charles. Where are you? he probed, but received no reply. He kept trying until his nose bled. At this point, Adam decided he should take a break as they were nearing town.
"I have, shall we say, 'orders' to make sure this man is delivered safely," he explained cautiously. "If I give you some money for a hotel for a few days will you be alright until I come back for you?"
Maury and George talked it over a minute before agreeing.
"I'll pose as your father, Maury, and rent the room. You kids stay out of sight until I come get you, is that understood?" The two boys nodded and soon found themselves watching over the still sleeping Alice Shaw in a motel.
"Just one thing before I leave, Maury," he asked. "If you can read minds and force people to do your bidding, what about erasing them?"
"Erase minds?" he asked. "I-I wouldn't know how."
"It's actually fairly easy," Adam said and began to explain how other telepaths had explained it to him. "Now, I need you to erase just the last year, all his time he spent at Coyote Sands and anything that could endanger the special people like ourselves. I know it may be tricky, but try not to delve too much further than that."
Maury did as he was told, and was left exhausted from the experience. George was left to tend to both teens once Adam left. The next morning, the boys were woken by Alice's screams of anguish.
"I told Banana I would wait for her!" she cried. "She'll never find me here!"
Maury and George kept trying to explain the danger, but she wouldn't listen. A storm brewed ominously outside as near hurricane force winds began tearing once more through the tiny town. The storm sirens blared again.
They finally had no choice but to let her go. Maury got one last push into her head that she should avoid everyone until Angela, Charles, or himself came for her. He would never realize she would follow that instruction for almost five decades.
It was the day after Alice left that Maury was finally able to contact Charles telepathically and tell him where they were. The group reunited within hours with the exception of Alice. They never heard from her again, and Charles would later tell him Angela believed she perished that night. Since they were unable to locate her on a return trip to Coyote Sands a few days later, she had assumed the worst.
Charles and Angela let Maury in on their plan, and Maury told them about the mysterious Adam, but he never returned to Coyote Sands that they knew of. Maury wondered if it was because he had erased Dr. Suresh's memory and Adam had taken the blame for that, but he didn't even tell Charles this.
Desperate for money, Bobby had turned a handful of small rocks into gold, which they then were able to cash in, claiming they panhandled the rocks. At this point, George had insisted on returning to his family in Japan, so the group pooled their talents to send him home, leaving the five young people on their own.
Spurred on by Bobby's alchemy and Maury and Daniel's card playing, the troupe headed to Las Vegas to hide out and earn money in a slightly more legal fashion than how they had been making it, Charles insisted.
This plan lasted six months before Daniel found himself in trouble gambling with the local mafia and Maury was barely able to save him. The local judge insisted Daniel might learn to be more responsible in the Army and strongly suggested he enlist. The others in their group agreed it would be a good idea and promised they would welcome him back with open arms. While Daniel had flirted with the young Angela Shaw during the last few months, he knew she wouldn't wait for him and bade her goodbye.
Angela strengthened her bonds of friendship with Charles during this time, but both knew they were not meant for each other. She also knew Maury was smitten with her like Daniel and Bobby had been, but had rebuffed him as well. Bobby was too immature and shy to do anything than follow the orders of everyone else.
Within a month of Daniel's enlistment, Charles and Angela had decided it was time to return to New York. Maury agreed, if only not to be left behind with the needy Bobby. Bobby, having nowhere else to turn to, accompanied the trio back east.
When they arrived in New York, Charles and Bobby found an apartment with one next door for Angela. Maury, however, soon returned to the Bronx and Ben Matthew's home.
He sat across the street from Ben's building that night, mustering up the courage to reunite with his mother after nearly a year away. It was only when he spotted the police cruiser pulling up that he finally decided it was time.
The cruiser pulled up in front of the building and two officers Maury didn't know got out of the car as he approached it.
"Hi, guys," he said cheerfully. "Are you hear to see Ben, too?" he asked.
The two men exchanged stern looks and asked him his name. "You know Ben Matthews, kid?" the one asked.
Maury's telepathy picked up on the danger in his tone. "Only casually," he lied. "I thought he lived on this block and when I saw the two of you get out--" Maury didn't finish that thought, as he then picked up what these two men were here for. They weren't there to pay Ben a friendly visit.
One of the men was already pulling his weapon. Maury fought down panic. He had survived a massacre, he could get through this, he told himself.
He forced his way into their heads. "Who are you? Why do you want Ben?" he demanded.
"We're under orders," one replied.
"Boss Maroni wants him dead for snooping into his business," the other said.
Maury knew he had only seconds to act. "Put your guns away," he commanded. "Ben wasn't home. The apartment was empty. He left no trace of his whereabouts."
The two men complied, returned to their cruiser, and left. Maury breathed a sigh of relief, but he had to act fast, now. He ran inside and pounded on Ben's door.
"Ben!? Open up, it's Maury! You're in danger!" he yelled.
Ben's wife, Mary, opened the door in shock. "Maury? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Where's Ben? I need to see him, now," he demanded. "You need to get out, right now!"
"What?" she replied in shock. "Ben's not here, he took your mother to a doctor's appointment--"
"Grab your purse. We can meet them and hide," he said, grabbing her arm.
"Maury, we can't just leave like this, your mother--"
"--is in danger! We all are!" he insisted. We have to leave now!"
"What about your sister?" Mary protested.
Maury stopped and stared at her. "Sister?"
"You didn't know. Your mother was pregnant. She had a little girl while you were gone," she explained. "That's why Ben took her to the doctor. They're at the pediatrician's."
Maury was dumbfounded by this news. Still, he had to get everyone to a safe place, immediately. He and Mary grabbed the barest essentials for a few days away, Maury insisting they could buy new things later, he had a safe place they could go and gave her the address of Charles and Bobby's apartment. He then went to the doctor's office that Mary told him about.
He met Ben and his mother on the street coming out of the doctor's building. "Mom! Ben!" he called out.
"Maury?" she replied in disbelief before realizing her son had come home. "Maury!" She ran to him and hugged him tight.
Ben walked up, carrying the baby. "Hey, kiddo," he said jovially. "Welcome back. We've got a surprise for you."
"My sister?" he asked impatiently. "Mary told me, but--we have to go. Now. You're in danger!"
Ben looked him in the eye quizzically.
"Maroni's got men posing as cops. I told them you had already cleared out. I went inside and found Mary, she filled me in, and I sent her to some friends," he explained. "We can go meet her and figure out things from there."
Ben and Maeve exchanged a worried look. "Maury," he began. "It's not going to be that easy. We can't just run and hide from these people."
"We can and we will," he insisted. "I have friends, now. People like me, who can help me get you out of here."
Ben knew he was losing the argument. "Fine," he sighed, "take us to your friends."
Maury smiled and hailed a cab. He finally got to see his new sister on the way.
"Her name is Irene," Maeve informed him as he held her for the first time. "After my grandmother."
Maury smiled down at her. "Hi, Irene. I'm your big brother, Maury." He laughed at the thought of being a brother, now. He turned to his mother. "Why didn't you tell me you were--you know?"
"I didn't know myself, right away," she explained. "I was just starting to show when you left, and you didn't even notice," she said, teasing him.
"Turns out you can't hear everything," Ben teased from the other side of Maeve.
"There are certain things I learned to tune out, right away," Maury shot back with a wink and a fake shudder.
Maeve slapped him on the arm and took her daughter back. "You boys! Stop it," she scolded them to their amusement.
When the group arrived at Charles' apartment, they found Mary waiting along with Charles and Angela dozing on a couch.
"About time, Parkman," Charles scolded him. "We were starting to get worried. This is your mother and uncle?"
"Yeah, sorry to impose on everyone like this, but it couldn't be helped," he explained before introducing everyone properly. He pulled Charles aside, "Is Angie asleep on purpose or just bad timing?"
Charles sighed. "A little of both, I think," he said. "I'd wake her up, but she might not dream what she needs to dream right now."
"Well, I hope she doesn't mind sharing her place tonight," Maury replied. "We can figure out what to do and be on our way in the morning."
"Did anyone follow you?" Charles asked as Ben joined the conversation.
"Not that I saw," Ben informed him. "I've been on the beat for fifteen years, I didn't see anyone tailing us."
"Do you want me to go downstairs and keep a lookout?"
"No, Maury," Charles replied. "You have to keep your family safe. I'll--"
"Irene!" Angela suddenly shouted from the couch. Everyone looked over to see her sitting up, having woken from her dream.
"How did she know--?" Ben started to ask, then realized what Maury had said earlier about friends like himself.
Charles knelt beside the couch. "Are you okay? Everyone made it here safe."
"Charles?" she asked, still momentarily disoriented. "Yes, I saw it, we have to get Maury's family out of here. They need to go west to be safe. California."
"California?" Ben sputtered. "What are you talking about?"
"You are Sgt. Matthews, correct?" Angela asked the older man who nodded in reply. "In order for your and Maury's families to be safe, you need to move to California, immediately."
"We can't just leave," Mary protested. "We have our families here and--"
Angela held up a hand. "I'm sorry, but the people after Maury and Ben won't stop until they know they can't touch you here. If you leave now, you can save yourselves, otherwise you may not be so lucky." She turned to Maury, "You have to go with them, too. I'm sorry."
"I understand, Angie," he replied before he realized what she said. "Wait, the people after Ben and me? Why would they be after me?" He turned to his uncle for answers.
"I'm sorry, kiddo, I didn't have a chance to tell you," Ben said. "It's the same people that shot me, they wanted you all along," he explained. "They didn't believe me that you had left, and now that you're back, all our lives are in danger. We have to leave to save ourselves."
"This Boss Maroni, is it? Who is this guy?" Maury demanded.
"I don't know, kiddo," Ben told him. "The only thing I can think of is that he somehow stumbled onto your secret and tried to recruit you last fall, and we all know how that turned out."
Maury fumed. He was slightly embarrassed by his actions that day, but his life and the man he regarded as an uncle were put on the line. He had acted in anger as much as self-defense.
"I can make him forget me," he declared. "Charles, can you help?"
Charles hesitated and looked to Angela. "Maury, we vowed to keep our secret safe so no one could hurt us ever again. If that's what you want? Yes, I'll help. I still suggest getting your family here out of harm's way first. Just to be safe."
Ben raised an eyebrow at this, but knew better not to ask what these kids had been put through. That would come later, when they were all safe in California.
"Fine," Maury agreed through gritted teeth. "Fine, I'm getting my family to California, and as soon as I can, I'm coming back here and making this Boss Maroni forget he ever heard of me, Uncle Ben, and even the thought of people with abilities!"
"What if he happens to have one, himself?" Ben asked.
"Then we wipe even that knowledge from his mind," Maury said coldly.
Ben looked to Maeve and they shared the same concern. What happened to turn him so cold? It was now obvious sending him to Coyote Sands had been a mistake, but now was not the time. Those questions would be asked later, if Maury would even be willing to share his apparent trauma.
No, Ben had to know, now. He reached for Maury. "Kiddo? What happened to you out there?"
Maury turned to face the man. "Prepare yourself," he said and reached up to touch Ben's head. Images of the massacre raced through his mind's eye. He could feel the terror of that night. It sent a chill down his spine.
"My god," he said, stumbling back. "It was a war zone. Worse, even," he recalled. His own war experiences paled by comparison.
Charles had telepathically caught part of the scene Maury shared, and grabbed his own head as he tried to process it. "I'm sorry," he said. "Had we known--"
"You already made your escape," Maury informed him. "The three of us were the lucky ones," he said somberly of George and Alice.
Angela and the other women looked on. Whatever Maury shared scared a WWII and police veteran as well as the young man the older women had initially assumed shared the same experience, but it was now obvious he hadn't.
That night, the group made plans to get the Parkman and Matthews families out of the city. Charles and Angela would oversee their collective belongings were shipped out as soon as they found a place. They would also send some monetary support for the next few months to make sure. California locations were thrown about, but Irene became fussy during this discussion until Los Angeles was mentioned, when she cooed. It was decided that would be their new home, then.
Ben piped up, "Well, at least it wasn't San Francisco." Confused glances were tossed his way. "I really hate fog in the morning."
The next day, the Parkman and Matthews families made their way to the train station after a quick clothes shopping trip paid for by Angela, who had already assumed her parent's finances, and made sure Irene had extra socks of all things. Charles and Angela saw their friend off at the station.
"Well, this looks like it," Maury told them. "I'll call and let you know how things work out. Let me know if you still want to carry out that other thing you told me about, helping others like us."
"We will, Maury," Charles said. "Good luck and I hope you have a safe journey." They hugged goodbye and Maury turned to Angela.
"Take care, Maury," she told him.
"I will, and you two take care of each other, too," he said. "We really do appreciate everything you've done and are doing for us. I don't know how to make it up to you guys."
Angela smiled. "Don't worry, when the time comes, you will have repaid our efforts a thousand-fold."
Maury looked at her a second, dumbfounded. "Thank you, my princess," he whispered and kissed her cheek. Before she could react, he turned and left.
Angela stared after him. "What do you suppose that was about?"
Charles smiled. "I wouldn't worry about it, he's just a dopey kid," he laughed. He held his arm out. "Lunch? I'm buying."
She slipped her arm into his. "Why not? Suddenly I could use a slice of apple pie, right now."
-
A/N: I originally really wanted to have Kaito at CS, but the recent casting calls for young Ando and Kimiko and the already announced plans for Founders Flashbacks made me hesitant to use him. I had planned to have the escape involve Kaito's probability reading ability, but having Maury forced to learn 'pushing' on the run works just as well.
Is 'George' Masahashi Ando's father or just a coincidental surname? And is Frankie Davis related to Sylar's first victim, Brian? I leave that to the reader to decide, as I don't plan on revisiting those characters.
Also, I had to explain Matt's cousin Seth from an earlier story (at Matt and Janice's wedding), somehow, so I introduced Maury's baby sister, Irene, to be his mother.
TBC_____________
