Disclaimer: CSI NY characters and Heroes character don't belong to me. They belong to CBS and NBC respectively. Not earing anything from this.

Yeah... I'm updating fast aren't I? Heh. I'm inspired. So there.

Chapter 3

"Do you... I mean... have you ever... experienced anything out of the ordinary?" Mohinder asked hesitantly. He hated doing this. The last few people he tried contacting on the phone have brushed him off as some maniac prankster.

Mohinder looked straight into Stella's eyes, willing her to tell him she was exactly who he, or rather his father thought she was.

"What?" Stella asked; her face set in an are-you-kidding-me expression, "Like what?" She now looked amused. Great.

Mohinder kept trying, "My father was also a geneticist. He had been working on a project called the Human Genome Project... he believed that there were people all over the world who had... well, special abilities. Powers,"

Mohinder dug into his bag and pulled out a thick blue hard-cover book entitled 'Activating Evolution'. "He wrote this... he had conducted an extensive research about the human genetic code and he believed that there are people with variations in their DNA that makes them... special,"

Stella was speechless for a few moments then she said smilingly, "What does that have to do with me?"

Mohinder didn't smile. He stared back at her, looking completely serious.

"You think I'm one of these people?" Stella asked, smiling even more. This was so amazingly absurd.

"Well, yes..." said Mohinder.

"And what kind of powers are we talking about?" Stella asked, almost laughing.

Mohinder sighed. He knew she didn't believe him. He knew she thought of this as some kind of joke, but he tried anyway, "All kinds of things. Uh... mind-reading, teleportation, object manipulation, spontaneous tissue regeneration..."

"Oh-kaaay..." Stella said, wide-eyed, "You know, I've got to get going... I don't think I'm the person you're looking for. I hate to disappoint you, but I don't have any of these abilities... no one has these kinds of abilities!" She got up and headed to the door.

"Wait!" Mohinder called out, pulling out the file his father made on her, "Look at this. Just take a look at this."

Stella stopped. He sounded so desperate. Like he really believed what he was saying. But how could he? These kind of things only existed in comic books. She looked at the file in his hand.

To her surprise, she saw her name printed on the label. No longer smiling, she opened the file. Her own face in black and white looked back at her. She had no idea this picture had been taken. She was a few years younger, walking down the street, not looking at the camera.

A piece of paper stuck out from behind the picture. Her name, birth date, address and other personal details, including the fact that she was an orphan was listed on the paper.

This was no longer funny. This Indian guy was stalking her, "How did you get this?" she demanded furiously.

"I didn't. It was my father's..."

"Well, where is your father?" Stella asked.

Mohinder hesitated, "He's dead."

Stella stopped for a moment, "I'm sorry." She didn't know whether she meant it or not. This Mohinder guy had to be insane. No other explanation.

She flipped to the other pages in the file. There were pictures and diagrams mostly on human muscles.

"My father believed that you had... well... super strength..." muttered Mohinder, almost as if bracing for an explosion, "Think back, please. Has there been any time at all that something happened to you that could mean you have this power?"

The words hit Stella like a hard punch. That proves it. He's nuts.

She slammed the filed shut and said, "You better get out of here, right now."

"But-"

"I'm keeping this," she said, clutching on the file, planning to burn it as soon as she could. She strutted out of the door.

"No, wait! You must listen! You're in danger! The man behind these serial killings... he could be after you next!" Mohinder called out.

Stella stopped short, "What do you know about the serial killings?"

Calmly and steadily, Mohinder said, "The six victims, I have reason to believe that they were all special too... the man who killed them, his name is Sylar."

"You know the killer's name?" Stella asked, incredulous.

"He is the same man who killed my father, months ago, when he was here tracking these special people down... Sylar killed him..." Mohinder continued, "Don't you see? Sylar wants all your powers, and by killing you, he can get them. That's why he cuts skulls open, that's why he removes their brains!"

Stella stayed silent for a long while. This guy could very well be a suspect. But even if she arrested him, she won't be able to hold him in custody. Other than all those ridiculous ideas, nothing points the murders in Mohinder's direction. And her gut says that he's harmless. But that was just her gut.

"You're lucky I'm not placing you under arrest. Get out of here. But don't leave town," said Stella.

Mohinder knew there was no point arguing, "Please. Be careful." He shouldered his bag and walked away.

Stella herself headed off in the direction of the locker room, very confused thoughts buzzing through her head. She was so absorbed that she didn't notice a tall dark figure, dressed in black and wearing a black cap watching her from a distance.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sheldon Hawkes was feeling happy. Sure, the case wasn't going all that well, but he felt good anyway. A good dinner, a good night's sleep and a nice morning run was all it took to make him feel on top of the world.

He walked into the locker room where he found Lindsay at her locker, "Morning."

"Someone's chipper..." Lindsay said, amused.

"Yeah well, it's one of those days, y'know," Hawkes said, smiling.

Lindsay smiled back, "Woke up at the right side of bed, huh?"

"Bingo," Hawkes grinned.

"Well, bouncy, Mac wants you to meet him in the morgue. Go over the bodies, see of we missed something," Lindsay told him.

"Right-o..." Hawkes replied, drawing a laugh from Lindsay.

Stella walked in, looking anything but happy.

"G'morning Stella," said Hawkes.

"Hi," was the dismissive reply, walking straight to her locker, a brown file in hand.

"Something wrong?" Hawkes asked, concerned. No sooner had he finished the sentence, he suddenly felt confused. It was like all the happiness was sucked out of him, only to be replaced by disturbed thoughts.

"I'm fine, Hawkes," replied Stella, pulling at her locker door. She cursed under her breath. It was jammed.

Out of nowhere, Hawkes felt a jab of frustration. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. One moment he was on top of the world, now, for no apparent reason, he felt drained... confused... annoyed.

Frowning to himself, he walked out of the locker room in search of Mac. And as quickly as it came, the cloud of despair cleared. He was in better spirits again. 'What was that?' he wondered. Shaking it off, he headed in the direction of the morgue.

Meanwhile, Stella pulled at her locker door but to no avail. Like her old locker back in high school, it remained jammed tight.

"What did that guy want, anyway, Stel?" asked Lindsay.

"Who? Oh... um... nothing important. Had some crazy theory about the serial killing, but he's just another nut job... it's nothing..." muttered Stella, pulling at the locker door but with no success.

'There you go, Mohinder... I could sure use super strength now...'she thought irritably.

She grasped the locker door handle on last time, took a breath, and yanked hard.

Stella not only got the locker door opened, she pulled it completely off its' hinges.

"Woah..." murmured Lindsay, staring at the locker door in Stella's hand, "Not bad, wonder woman..." she continued, laughing.

Stella couldn't laugh. The weight of the locker door in her hand felt like nothing. It was as if she was something as light as a pencil...

"I thought these lockers were fairly new... now they're already falling apart..." Lindsay said.

"Y-yeah..." said Stella shakily.

She quickly tossed the file Mohinder showed her into her locker and set the door down beside her now open locker. "The janitor will get it fixed, right?" she asked uneasily.

Lindsay laughed again, "Sure. Let's go."

Stella followed Lindsay out, still shaking.

Super strength... come on now...

No way...