"What if I told you the kidnapper was Hiro Nakamura?"

When the name escaped Sylar's lips, the images flooded into Peter's mind. But kidnapper? No! That can't be true, Peter thought. Hiro did everything he could to save New York. He had gone missing since Election Day, presumed dead. Molly and The Company tried frequently to locate him. But uncertain of whether it would work on time travellers, they really never had their hopes up. Then it struck Peter. He had every reason to trust in someone who was growing to be his friend. Why trust the madman that tried to annihilate Peter and everyone else?

"Look, get bent. Why should I trust sewer trash like you?" Sylar, who never took guff from anyone, soon zipped over to Peter, almost nose-to-nose with him, "When I come to you and bare my fears and troubles, DON'T call me SEWER TRASH! Now, I have been playing nice. I work a normal job again Peter. I went from being on the verge of evolutionary brilliance to babysitting..." Sylar took a deep breathe once he saw Peter's questioning look. He began again, calmer but still with fervor, "Bennett never told you the full extent of my penance, did he?"

Peter shook his head, "Why should he? He told me that you're an animal tagged in a wild jungle. Isn't that enough damage to your ego?" Sylar went back to sitting on the edge of the old bed. "Bennett says that he lets me live, so that I can find true retribution. For the rest of my life, I have to stand vigil over the families of the people I murdered. I switch from one family to the next each week. But I get a small stipend to travel around and watch over those that truly feel the pain of my deeds. Granted some of them had no family to leave behind, but Bennett makes me watch. It's like this Sylar, the re-emerged one, has to be strapped down and watch old Sylar commit each murder over and over again. It's a-hell-of-a form of rehabilitation. That cheerleader's family, the one I first thought was Claire, has never stopped hurting from that loss. And all because I couldn't control my urge for power. I know I was trash. But you keep those insults to yourself now. Because my hunger is gone, but not my power...or my temper."

"Sylar, I have no reason or evidence to trust you. You have to provide me with enough reason to actually believe you." The two men sat for a moment. Sylar stood. "You want proof. Fine." Sylar removed his coat. As Sylar lifted the sleeve of his right arm, Peter could barely make out what was abnormal. Slowly it came to his vision in the low light, and as soon as he saw it, he began to feel sick. There on Sylar's forearm was a gauze bandage soaked in blood. But the pattern of blood was shaped in such a way, that it looked almost like an S; a squiggle or a wave, almost. "The little freak carved out a part of my arm with his goddamn samurai sword!" Sylar exclaimed. Peter, though reluctant, looked at the wound again and asked, "How do I know you didn't do that to yourself?".

"BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE NUTS AND I AM NOT NUTS!" Sylar screamed, but cut off at the end. The lights flicked on, and there in the doorway, with her finger still on the light switch, stood Angela Petrelli. The Petrelli matriarch stood in a robe, looking tired but not without her hair looking pristine. She had been up for sometime. "Boys, why don't we go downstairs and finish this discussion over a cup of Earl Grey?"

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In the kitchen of the Petrelli mansion, Peter and Angela listened intently on Sylar's love story. He explained to them that he had met Jenny, as was her name, during one of his observations. He had been sitting in a coffee house watching Isaac Mendez' mother sell tapestry on the street. Sylar didn't know what he had done to stick out, but Jenny took notice of him, and sat at his table. The rest, as he says, was history. Sylar continued to go on about her features and just how lucky he was to have her. Eventually his ramblings turned ugly, because now he didn't have her, and Hiro Nakamura would pay for taking her. Angela knew very little of the man known as Sylar, but she never imagined this.

"You are like a school boy with a crush," she quipped. Sylar gave her his icy gaze. "Don't trivialize the one good thing I have in my life," he said with his jaw tightened. "All I mean, Mr. Gray, is that you have gone on and on about loving this girl. But what are you going to do about it? Nathan..." Peter rolled his eyes, "Mom, please this isn't an opportunity for you to tell us what Nathan would do. We need to know what Sylar SHOULD do." Angela, who hated being interrupted, turned quickly to face her son and planted her hands on the marble island. "Please Peter, do not take up rudeness as a hobby. I don't think you can fit it in with all the time you spend feeling sorry for yourself. Sure, Gabriel here is pining stupidly over a woman who can't fend for herself, but at least its active. You sit here, hoping that Nathan will fly in through that window like the bomb happened yesterday." She softly placed her hand on her sons face. "Please, all I want is for you to grow up already. I don't begrudge you, or Nathan, for thwarting our plot for change. But you have to begin to open your eyes. The world is still in a desperate place. And with so many great figures dead, its up to the living to pick up the weight. You have so much potential...so much Peter...please don't let it be too late before you reach maximum potential." Those words. Peter heard the Lancashire accent echo in his memories. A time when Peter had great hope, and a mentor...

Sylar seemed to grow uneasy at the heart-to-heart Peter was having with his mother. He did what any young man instinctively would do in a kitchen with his attention diverted. He went over to the refrigerator and began to rummage through. "Peter, listen to me," Angela snapped. "I am serious about you growing up. While these aren't the most ideal circumstances to begin, I think it would be a good idea if you helped Sylar rescue his girlfriend." Peter's jaw dropped, and Sylar couldn't believe the words either. He turned to look back at the two. "Your mom's right, Peter. This could be a great way to give those powers some practice. Besides, I can't stress enough that I would be lost if I didn't have you to help me." Peter quickly looked from his mother over to Sylar at the refrigerator. "You will say anything to get me to come, won't you?" Sylar could only respond in a last resort sort-of-way, "Do it for true love?"

"First thing is first. I want you to see Dr. Suresh and Mr. Bennett in the morning," she glanced at the clock, "which I guess is in two hours. All right, both of you get upstairs. You can't go chasing a Teleporter around with no sleep." She began to shove the two men out of the kitchen, and while Peter reluctantly went he asked, "You're letting Sylar sleep here?" Sylar smiled and began "That's not necessary. I have a home just..." But he was soon interrupted by the overbearing Angela, "I won't take no for an answer. You both need a good sleep. And in the morning, I'll have waffles waiting for you." This apparently was all that was needed to seal the deal for Sylar. He, more willing than the other, let Angela push them up the stairs and unfold a cot in Peter's room. She closed the door of the room, sealing in the awkward tension between them.

This was not how Peter saw his night going; sharing a room with a reformed, power-hungry serial killer. If his mother was trying to help his insomnia, she was doing a poor job. As the two lay in their respective beds, looking up at the ceiling, Peter couldn't help but ask, "Why would Hiro do this to you? Why now?" Sylar turned his head to face Peter. In a small voice that could barely travel the distance across the room, "Because he sees I have what was taken from him. A person to cherish and hold. One of my victims was Charlene Andrews, a waitress with photographic memory, and he loved her. It's the only reason I can see. But why kidnap Jenny? He had time frozen when he left me this" He lifted his wounded forearm and continued, "He could have easily just killed her while in bed next to me. As I woke up from the pain, he already had Jenny tied up and over his shoulder. Then like that" he snapped his fingers, "he was gone. No time for me to stop him." Peter was beginning to see a new side of Sylar. This side seemed unsure, but still resilient. Sylar had become more human. Peter spoke up in the Sylar's faltering silence, "I'll do my best. Hopefully tomorrow we'll find how good my best can be."

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

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Noah had been pounding his fist on the door for 10 minutes now. Angela Petrelli had called the Company's Headquarters in the old Kirby Building that morning. Molly, who worked closely with Noah in monitoring Specials, was still deathly afraid of Sylar. She had locked herself in the women's bathroom and vowed to not come out as long as Sylar was there. Claire turned the corner of the hall, finding Noah with his ear hovering over the door. "Molly, I swear that there are too many of us here for him to overpower. Besides, Sylar is changing for the better."

A soft scream came from behind the door, "Can you promise that he is all the way changed?" Noah smiled, "Well, no. But you are going to find out in this life that there is no such thing as a sure thing..." Claire quickly threw up her hand in Noah's face to silence him. Her eyes burned with disapproval at the way he was consoling the scared girl. Claire turned to face the door, her head angled low. She couldn't hear crying, which was a good sign. "Molly, sweetheart, it's Claire." Molly liked Claire. She admired her as all little girls look up to the cool, older kids. In the past year, the two had become like sisters. Claire softened the shock of Molly losing her family and was always ready with advice. Claire was really most of the reason that Molly could tolerate Noah. If she saw something in him, then he couldn't be that big a meanie.

"Why don't you open the door and let me talk to you?" There was the soft screech of Molly's gym shoes on the tiles, then the soft click of the knob being unlocked. Claire turned the knob and slid in and closed the door quickly in order to stop her father from blurting something crass or mean. He tried, but was unsuccessful. He was now alone and irrelevant. So he turned to get back to his office. Before he disappeared into the elevator, just to get the last word in, he shouted, "Hurry it up! We have a lot of work to get done!"

Back in the bathroom, Claire was sitting on the sink counter opposite Molly. Molly sat slouched looking at her hands. "Why isn't he dead or in jail?" she said. Claire could see this was more than about being afraid. She could see the anger swollen under the surface of Molly's exterior. "Sometimes, we have to remember that we're all human. We have to treat each other fairly and judge each other as we would want to be judged. Now, Sylar has admitted that he sees where he went wrong. He's come to us, looking for help and companionship. If we killed him just because of what he did in the past, we'd be just like him. Evolution is about moving forward, not going in circles. Killing a killer does nothing. Changing a killer is making a difference. Molly, trust me. If that cycle did come back and Sylar did go nuts again, Peter will be here to stop him." Claire smiled to brighten the mood of the troubled Molly. Claire had only heard that Peter and Sylar were on their way, but nothing else. She could barely believe that the two men were on their way to the building; Together! When she thought of polar opposites, Peter and Sylar were the definition of it. What would the two of them have in common that they were joined on this visit to Headquarters?

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

Mohinder sat silently at his microscope, fuming underneath that Peter had agreed to this mission with Sylar. Mohinder had moved on since the murder of his father, for he knew that in the end Sylar would be judged by a far greater power. He had only hoped that he could bear witness, in the beyond, to see the ultimate fate of his father's killer. For sometime after Sylar's reappearance, Mohinder didn't trust Sylar. But most of those feelings also passed when he saw how willing Sylar was to undergo all these tests. Sylar was fine with occasional blood-lettings and brainwave pattern testings. He seemed to want to find the real answers this time. Not like those days as Zane Taylor, interested only in acquiring more power from unsuspecting victims. Mohinder now appreciated all the help Sylar was, but he never fully forgave. How could he? His father was dead, and so were so many others that Mohinder helped Sylar find. Sylar's sacrifice was a small payment to make, Mohinder thought.

As Mohinder pouted over his microscope, in the other corner of the room, Noah was showing Peter and Sylar a simulation on the computer screen. It was a model of Peter's DNA, adapting and recombining as was how his Empathy worked. Noah had been going on for about an hour now about the hormones, genomes, proteins, nucleotides that all played a part in Peter's power. But despite being a power-sponge, Peter was not an information sponge. Much of it went over his head. "So when you encountered Sylar, the excitement triggers your hormone receptors, while his...you aren't getting any of this are you?" Noah asked as he peered into the empty gaze of Peter.

"Don't worry, I understand what's going on" Sylar interjected. Noah and Peter both turned to him in surprise. "What? It's not much different than a clock. Peter, when you absorb a power, it's connected to an emotion..." A frustrated Peter burst out, "I know that part! Claude went through all this!"

"Right, but it is only connected to the emotion when you absorb it. What Bennett is saying is that once you have absorbed it, you're body does the work in adapting. After that it's all yours. If you concentrate certain powers more often than others, then they get stacked higher on the pile. The ones used less, move farther down the pile. When it's time to absorb a new power, it gets thrown on top and the bottom power is nixed. You have to get the powers out of your emotions, and into your mind. That will prevent another overload."

Noah smiled, "You should try to use some of Sylar's innate ability, Peter. It would come in handy." Peter shook his head, "That's the thing, when I look at stuff I see just that. I haven't absorbed the ability to 'see how things work'! That's such a vague power! And what about all of Sylar's add-on powers? How is it that I can use some, but not all?" Noah began to speak but Sylar quickly butted in "Well, I haven't used all my powers on you. You've only had a reaction to my Telekinesis. You're receptors have adapted to that one alone. We could go up on the roof for a little sparring, if you'd like?" A smirk slowly formed on the dark, unshaven face.

"We need to make sure that the powers inside of Peter stay where they are." Noah said firmly. "If he takes too many of your powers, Peter may not able to use the powers you both need." Noah went to the computer to eject the disk inside and straighten out the files on the counter. He began to give the itinerary of what was to happen next. "Sylar and I are going to map out a game plan. I have arranged for Peter to meet with one of our best teachers. Kaito Nakamura."

As the name was said, the old Japanese man appeared in the doorway. Sylar quickly stood up. That surname made his stomach churn, and he wasn't sure what the father of the kidnapper had to do with anything. When Sylar stood, the room went silent. The tension was thick. Eventually, Kaito slowly entered while speaking, "I assure you, Mr. Gray, that I have not come to stop you, or give you any grief. Just know, that Peter is there to act as a catalyst between you and my son. While I am certain that Hiro has the ability to do away with any threat, if you act as a humanitarian then you should be fine. My son is not unreasonable..."

"Then explain this!" Sylar lifted his arm quickly to show Kaito what Hiro had left there. Kaito began again, "I am sorry that he is acting out in such a way, but if everyman treats his opponent with respect, then every mother's son shall come home when the sun sets." Sylar lifted an eyebrow and chuckled, "Where did you guys pick up this old cuckoo? He needs his spring tightened, to catch up to speed." In a flash, Kaito swept his foot out and under Sylar. With no balance, Sylar began to fall, but Kaito caught him by his right wrist, then while turning him grabbed his left. He now brought both wrists up, standing behind him, Kaito held Sylar against the table. In a calm and somber tone, right in his ear, Kaito said, "Please, listen when I tell you to respect your opponent. I have taught my son many things. If you were to disrespect him, he may act as quickly as I have...without sparing your life." Kaito released Sylar, whose forearm was in far greater pain now.

"All right" Noah Bennett commanded, "Let's all get to work so we can bring a good man home. Peter, you're with Nakamura-sensei. Sylar, come with me."