"Sylar!" Mohinder cried. Matt didn't bother to speak. Impetuously he fired three bullets at his enemy, only to have them stop in mid air and fall.

Sylar shook his head in condescension. "Parkman, Parkman. Didn't you learn anything from the last time you faced me?"

"Stop!" another voice cried. The three turned to see Claire Bennet, running towards them.

"Claire, get away from here!" Matt shouted at her.

Mohinder was sure that Sylar was going to attack the blonde haired girl, only to find, with surprise, that she now stood next to the killer.

"Officer Parkman, put away that gun," Claire pleaded. "Sylar isn't a threat anymore."

But Matt refused to listen. "He's a killer, Claire," he said. "I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I'm going to bring him down."

Claire stepped from Sylar's side and now stood in front of him. "Fire, then," she said. "You know what will happen if you do."

Mohinder couldn't believe what he was seeing. Claire Bennet, the cheerleader Sylar had been so intent on murdering for her power, was now protecting him! This was too much to comprehend.

"Claire, do you realize what this man has done?" he asked her. "He's killed over a dozen people!"

"I know he has," she said. "But he's reformed. He's not the person he was before. And—and this new killer, the one who killed in Illinois and Michigan, is a copy-cat. Please, I can vouch for him. We've been together for over a month now. He's not the one you're looking for."

Matt and Mohinder looked at each other. Together? Was the thought that was running through Mohinder's head, and Matt could hear it. But when he listened in on Claire's—and Sylar's thoughts—he knew that things had changed.

He put his gun down. "Ok, I'm listening."

Claire turned to Sylar. "Go wait out on the street. I'll explain things to them."

Sylar looked down at her, then back to the two men who were watching him with distrustful eyes. "Why should I go anywhere? This issue concerns me as much as it does them, even more in fact."

Claire sighed in frustration. "I need to convince them that you're not planning anything. Please? Just do this for me. They're both upset by your being here. Let me try to put things right."

Sylar sighed, and relented. He walked out of the alley and onto the street.

Once he was gone, Claire turned to the two men. "I know this is going to sound like the biggest pile of crap, but Sylar has changed. He's not a killer anymore. He…cares for me, in his own sort of way. We were sent by a man named Mr. Nakamura to solve crimes involving extraordinary people, like us. That's why we're here."

Mohinder groaned. "Claire, did it ever occur to you that Sylar is using you? That he's just keeping you ignorant while he achieves his own ends? That's what he did to me. He seemed genuine, caring, and interested. But he had his own plan of evil to undertake, and I was his pawn!"

Claire looked at Mohinder evenly. "The things that have happened between the two of us didn't happen between the two of you. I'm very sure of that," she said, in an eerily confident voice.

Mohinder looked confused, but Matt had heard Claire's innermost thoughts at that moment and nearly gasped in shock. Claire glared at him with such intensity that he knew not to say a word.

Mohinder wasn't convinced. He pointed in the direction of the car and said, "I've got a child whose parents were murdered by Sylar! Even if what you've said is true, that he's reformed, I can't let that child anywhere near him! Do you know what would happen to her?"

"It's ok, Mohinder," a voice said. They all turned back to see Molly standing there.

Claire looked at the adorable little brunette, and her heart fell. If what Mohinder had said was true, that Sylar had killed this poor child's parents, how could she ever look at him again? Much to her surprise, the child went up to Claire and held out her hand.

"I'm Molly. You must be Claire. Your father loves you very much."

Slowly, Claire took the child's hand and shook it. The mention of her adoptive father made her chest feel warm with emotion. "Yes. Yes, I know he does, Molly. Thank you." She felt tears begin to form in her eyes, but she quickly shook them away. "Um…what's ok, Molly?" she wanted to know.

"That the Boogey-Man is going to be here. I knew he'd be here. I knew that I would see him again."

The child had said that with such solemn conviction that they were all taken aback. Mohinder knelt down and took Molly's hands in his. "Sweetheart, you don't have to stay here. We can go home right now, if you want."

"But, Mohinder--" Matt began.

"I said, she doesn't have to stay here," Mohinder interrupted, indignant. "She's a child, for God's sake. I should never have brought her here."

"No, I need to be here," Molly said. Her guardian turned back to look at her. "The new Boogey-Man is going to do something terrible, and you're going to need me then to find him."

"How do you know this, Molly?" Claire asked.

The child looked down. "I don't know," she said. "When I look for someone, I'm able to…to…see into them, for a little bit. I know that this new Boogey-Man is planning to do something very very bad. And we need to stop him."

Matt paced in place. "Well, even if that's true, we don't need Sylar. We can find the new killer ourselves."

"We do need Sylar," Molly said. "And we need Claire. That's why we're all here, together."

The three adults looked at one another. Finally, Claire asked, "Should I call Sylar back? Then we can find a private place and talk." Reluctantly, the two men agreed.

As they watched the young woman walk away, Mohinder turned to Matt. "What do you make of all this?"

"I'm not sure," Matt replied. "But I read both of their minds, and their stories are parallel. They really have been traveling together, trying to solve crimes."

Mohinder sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't see we have a choice. I guess it's better to have Sylar on our side."

"It is?"

"Yes, didn't you know? It's always good to be friends with dangerous people."

Claire found Sylar, who had been standing on the other side of the wall, and asked him to come back. They all returned to the car, and when Sylar was about to sit in the back, Matt stopped him.

"Hold it right there, killer," the former policeman said to Sylar. "If you're going to sit anywhere, it's going to be up front with me so I can keep an eye on you."

Sylar looked at Claire, who shrugged and nodded. With a sigh, he got into the front seat, while Mohinder and Claire sat on each side of Molly in the back.

"So, who are we looking for?" Matt asked as they got back on the road and headed for the hotel.

"We know it's a copycat killer. So…probably someone who admires…Sylar's past work," Claire suggested.

"Or, perhaps, someone with a vendetta against him. That widens the pool of possible suspects," Mohinder argued.

"We're going to need to look at the police and forensics reports on the murders, to get an idea of how this guy is doing it—whether he's got powers like me, or if he's merely simulating my techniques," Sylar said.

CCCCCCCCCCCCC

He had watched them from his hiding place, from the time they all met up to the moment they got into the car. So. Now he had two more to deal with, perhaps with powers as strong as Sylar's, though he doubted it. Sylar was one of a kind.

He had thought that he'd only need to contend with the Great Killer himself and the cute little blonde who had made herself his sidekick, but now things were getting more complicated. But that was all right. He wasn't afraid of a challenge. And now that they all knew about him, perhaps he should let them know that he knew about them too.

SSSSSSSSSS

Once they returned to the hotel, Mohinder immediately turned on his laptop and he and Claire began to search through all the available databases for information. Claire noticed that Matt and Mohinder both looked uneasy with Sylar there, so she tried to make him useful.

She left Mohinder's side and went up to him. "Why don't you try to get us a room in this hotel, preferably one near Matt's and Mohinder's?"

"Fine," Sylar said with a smirk. "I'm sure they'll understand that a bunch of…old friends ran into one another." With that, he left the room.

Matt groaned after he left. "Man, just having him around makes me uneasy. I'm going to have a hard time telling the creeps I get from him from the ones I get for the actual killer."

"Just focus on what we need to do for now," Claire advised. "I'll take care of Sylar."

Matt was curious as to how much influence the young woman had over Sylar, but now was not the time to ask.

Clicking away at the keys, Mohinder finally signaled to the rest of the group the he found something. Claire and Matt stood around him while Molly squeezed herself into his lap.

"Hmm…this is interesting. The killer cut off the tops of the heads in the exact same place that Sylar used to do it, only there weren't clean breaks like his work," Mohinder reported.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked, looking over the geneticist's shoulder at the report.

"The police said that it almost looked like the ends of the flesh had been burned. Like a laser had been taken to the flesh to produce a neat, cauterizing cut."

"So our killer doesn't have telekinesis like Sylar. He uses heatless energy," Claire deduced.

"It seems so," Mohinder agreed.

"So…the new Boogey-Man is just the opposite of the old one," Molly piped up. "The new one uses fire. The old one used cold."

"Are my ears burning?" A voice came from behind them. They looked up to see Sylar standing in the doorway.

Claire walked over to him. "Whoever this is, he's using some sort of cauterizing laser. That must be his power."

"And he's struck again," Sylar announced, much to the horror of his four team members. "I just saw it on the lobby television. Some man was just found dead, the top of his head cut open." He looked down at Claire. "It was on the same street we just came from—the one in my picture."

Claire's eyes widened. "We need to get down there again and get more information!"

Sylar shook his head. "Good luck with that. The place is crawling with cops. We'll never get anywhere near the scene."

"Oh, I think we can," Matt said with a smile. "I think I can put my power to good use. It's worked once before when I needed to get into Linderman's building; it can work now."

While Claire and Mohinder tried to gather more information, Sylar and Matt returned to the street corner where the crime had been committed. Matt and Sylar had gotten as far as the police tape when they stopped and began to look around.

"Have you found anyone yet?" Sylar asked.

Matt looked around, as if he could see thoughts as well as hear them. "No, not yet. This place is as dry as—no, wait. There it is."

I hope Mulroney and Steiner get here soon. I just want to get all this damn paperwork settled and get out of here.

Matt looked in the direction of the thought and pinpointed it to the grey-haired man standing in front of the restaurant, where, presumably, the murder had been committed.

"Follow my lead," he told Sylar. They walked up to the man.

"Captain Jacobson?" Matt asked.

The man looked up. "Yes?"

"I'm Agent Devon Mulroney, this is Agent Andrew Steiner. I believe you've been waiting for us, sir?"

The man stepped forward slightly. "Oh yes. Good to meet you gentlemen," he replied, shaking hands with each. "I appreciate your promptness in the matter."

"Well, when it comes to special murder cases, we at the FBI take it very seriously," Matt stated.

"That's good to hear. Now, may I see your IDs?" Jacobson asked.

Matt froze. "Well, we have it, it's just in the, uh…"

Just then, a sudden gust of wind seemed to knock the police barrier down completely, frightening several onlookers and cops alike.

"Holy shit!" Jacobson cried, turning to look at the damage. "How the hell did that happen?" Soon, other officers were gathered around, attempting to put the police barrier back into place.

Matt and Sylar began to back away. "Well, I can see you've got your hands full, sir. Why don't we just find Detective Majors ourselves?"

Jacobson didn't even look up. "Yeah, yeah. Go do what you need. I'll be with you soon."

Matt and Sylar practically ran for the restaurant, Matt leading the way as he had had some experience with investigation. It was a small restaurant, only a bar, a few tables, and the kitchen in the back. They went to the kitchen to find the body of a man, lying on the ground, the head cut open and brains removed. Matt briefly winced as he remembered the crime scenes he had scene like this before, only to realize that he was standing next to the man who had committed them. The chalk outline had already been drawn around the body. A small, husky man was there with a younger woman, giving her instructions.

"Detective Majors? Agents Mulroney and Steiner from the FBI," Matt told them.

Majors eyed them suspiciously. "Can I help you gentlemen?"

"We're here for the investigation. Do you mind if we look around? We can take it from here. Captain Jacobson needs you outside."

Matt heard the man think, Why are they bringing the feds in for this? It's our city, we'll handle it. It's only one guy, after all.

"I know you probably don't appreciate the intrusion, Detective," Matt began, taking his clue from the man's thoughts, "but we're investigating three other murders like this in New York alone. We have a feeling we're dealing with more than one copy-cat killer, which makes it a case for the FBI."

Majors eyed them suspiciously, but nodded in acquiescence and left the kitchen with the young woman. As soon as they were gone, Sylar began to walk around the kitchen, looking closely at the order of the room.

"Do you know what you're looking for?" Matt asked.

"Of course," Sylar replied. "I told you, Parkman. I've already done this."

Matt stared at the tall serial killer. "You caused that police barrier to fall, didn't you?"

"Was it that obvious? I had to create some sort of diversion, seeing as how you were about to blow it for us." Sylar moved from looking around the room to the body, kneeling down in front of it.

Matt looked around, feeling anxious, then turned back to the taller man. He didn't really want to get in Sylar's way, but he also couldn't stand the silence. So he asked the first question that came to his mind. "So…I guess the wound you had been given healed."

"I wouldn't be here if it didn't," Sylar said, not looking up.

"It took me months to heal. I'm still not all the way there," Matt admitted, touching his side. Sylar merely grunted in reply. Matt suddenly felt infuriated.

"Doesn't it even bother you that you injured me? That I was at death's doorstep for a good long while? That my pregnant wife was terrified that her child was going to grow up without a father?"

With that, Sylar looked up from the body and at the other man. "Parkman, as far as I'm concerned, you can go put out both your eyes with a meat fork. But…I'm very sorry for your wife's suffering. My mother went through that when my father died, and I know that's not easy."

Parkman was struck by Sylar's words. He was somewhat touched for his concern for Janice, but then he remembered his first statement. "Why do you hate me so much?" he asked, knowing it sounded a little childish.

"Because you are unworthy of the gift you have. You have the extraordinary power of reading minds—a godlike ability—and all you want to do is give out speeding tickets and arrest pimps and thieves. I bet you still pick up thoughts involuntarily, don't you? You still haven't learned how to really harness the potential of your power."

Matt was confused. "What's wrong with wanting to have a normal life?"

"That's my problem exactly," Sylar said. "Why should nature give such incredible gifts to such low, unintelligent, unimaginative people like you? Most of the people I've met don't deserve to have power."

Matt was beyond irritation, but then he thought of a way to return the favor. "You said 'most people'. So is there anyone who is worthy of their gift?" he asked, knowing for sure what the answer would be.

"The only person so far is Claire. If it had been anyone else but her, you'd be looking for this copy-cat on your own."

"You changed your ways because of her. Only because of her," Matt suggested. Sylar turned around and looked at him, pointedly. It was at that point that Matt not only heard Sylar's thoughts, but saw into his heart. It caught him off guard and he nearly stumbled.

Sylar nodded. "Yes. So now you know my little secret, Parkman. I hope I can trust you to keep your fat mouth shut about it."

Matt was about to retort when they heard someone coming. The two men ducked down and hid behind the counter. It was Jacobson, probably trying to figure out where his two visiting agents from the FBI had gone.

You need to control his thoughts, Parkman, Matt heard Sylar think. Jacobson was a few feet away, looking around the room.

"How?" Parkman whispered.

Harness your power. If you can hear what's coming out, you can control what's going in, Sylar replied in thought.

Matt shook his head. "It doesn't work that way."

Sylar rolled his eyes. It will if you make it. You're never going to know your true potential if you don't test yourself. Focus on his thoughts. Think what you want his thoughts to be. Your thoughts will disrupt his. Do it!

Where the hell are those two morons? Jacobson asked himself. Then, all of a sudden a thought came into his mind. They're not important. Just keep gathering evidence.

Unsure of why he would have that thought, but feeling it course through his mind over and over again, Jacobson obeyed it and left to call his team back into the room.

As soon as he was gone, the two men slipped out of the kitchen through a back door that, thankfully, lead out onto the other side of the street.

"It worked!" Matt said, almost in elation. "That's never happened to me before."

"It wouldn't have if you didn't exercise some authority over the mind of someone else," Sylar said with a smirk. "Maybe you're not as stupid as I thought, Parkman." He began to walk back to the parked car. Matt scowled and followed behind.

CCCCCCCCCCCC

"How could we allow him to kill again?" Mohinder asked in anguish. "Even with someone as powerful as Sylar on our side, it happened."

"We can't prevent all bad things from happening at the same time," Claire said, trying to console him. "All we can do is our best."

Mohinder smiled grimly. "I never expected to find you here…with Sylar."

"Believe me, neither did I," Claire said wryly. "But…we see something in each other that other people don't. We have our moments, but we really do work well together."

"Is it only work, Claire?" the Indian geneticist asked as gently as he could.

Claire's eyes widened, but she smiled sadly. "It is—now."

Now it was Mohinder's turn to become wide-eyed. "Claire? You didn't—he didn't…"

He could barely get the words out. The young woman merely looked at him evenly.

"I-I can't imagine…"

"Then don't," Claire quipped. "Let's just focus on trying to figure out who this guy is."

Mohinder nodded. "Yes indeed. Now, the first victim was a man named Brian Randall, living in Illinois. He was found behind a grocery store, in the traditional Sylar-esque manner."

"Ok…what about the second victim?"

"Um…Jacqueline Forbes, of Ann Arbor, Michigan. She was found in the woods not too far away from a high school."

Claire wrinkled her brow in thought. Then, a thought came to her. "Mohinder, look up the local news. See if they have any news on the man that was found today."

Mohinder checked the news and came up successful. "Teddy Sontag. He worked as a waiter at the restaurant where he was found dead."

"Brian, Jackie, Ted," Claire said slowly. "This guy is murdering people who have the names of Sylar's previous victims. He…I think he's trying to reach out to Sylar!"

"You think that he's trying to challenge Sylar?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure what his deal is. Again, maybe he admires Sylar's work and is trying to imitate it."

"It would make sense why he kills people with the same names as Sylar's previous victims."

Just then, they heard the door turn and in came Matt and Sylar.

"Speak of the devil! What did you find out?" Claire asked.

Sylar took a deep breath. "This guy may do the ultimate kill like me, but all his actions prior to the murder are different."

"How so?" Mohinder asked.

"I saw bruises and cuts on the body at the restaurant. The guy was battered before he died. That wasn't my style. I was never interested in making people suffer; I only wanted to get what I was after and make it quick."

"Why would he want to torture his victims like that?" Matt asked.

Mohinder shrugged. "Misplaced rage, perhaps? Projecting his hatred of Sylar onto the victims."

"So that means that this guy is trying to get revenge on Sylar?" Claire asked.

"It would seem that way. I definitely have done enough to merit enemies."

"It's just that one of them was twisted enough to try to emulate you," Mohinder finished.

"So…what's our next move?" Claire asked.

"We track him down. Hopefully, he's still in the area," Matt replied.

"And we've got the perfect tracking system…little Molly," Sylar said in his snide way.

SSSSSSSSS

He now knew his next plan of attack. He had been hiding close by when he heard the Great Killer and his seemingly-unwilling partner discussing their past. He almost felt sorry for the other man. But he knew who Sylar was. He should have stayed clear.

When he got back to his lair, the other man with his face was there. "Reid?" he said. "What did you find out?"

"We've found the final portion of our revenge, bro," he said with a smile. "We don't need to sacrifice random lambs anymore. We've found our virgin….so to speak." He didn't doubt that Sylar had made love to the girl. It was almost too perfect. He was afraid that Sylar would be unaffected by his efforts; he was a killer after all. But he'd found his one weakness. God had listened to his prayers.

Reid's brother's eyes widened in fear. "I don't want to kill anymore. I just want Sylar to pay."

"I know you do, Jed," his brother reassured. "But once we do away with this one last girl, it will be done. Sylar will have lost everything. It will be worth all of our hard work these last couple of months."

Jed shook his head. "Three people we've killed. I can't forget that."

With that, Reid grabbed the collar of Jed's shirt. "You little coward! Have you forgotten what the Great Killer did to our brother? We can't let him get away with it! By any means necessary—remember?"

Jed swallowed and nodded. "You're right, Reid. I'm sorry."

Reid released this brother. "All right, then. I have a plan, and it's going to work, don't worry. All I need for you to do is to trust me and do what I say."

"I can do that."

"Good. Now, from what I gathered, they have a tracking system, and they've latched onto me. We're going to lead them right to us, and that's when the fun begins."

"And you're sure this will work?"

Reid smiled. "I guarantee by the end of tonight, this will all be over. One way, or another."