"Your father is rich, he's the judge, he's the man,
he's the God that got your sentence reduced
But in the back of his mind, he well knows what
he'd find if he looked a little deeper in you"

-Pantera in "Drag the Waters"

Travis was sitting down on a rock underneath the docks. He was not in the best mood. His father was dead, and his girlfriend was seeing another man. Travis was praying, thinking, doing anything to take his mind off what was happening. But his mind was about to be shown a world that would forever change his life.

A voice from behind Travis said "Hello, Travis. How are you?"

Travis, startled turned around to see an old man. An old man who was in the water. This man was in a good suit, and keeping himself afloat in water. The dock was submerging again because of the rising tide. Travis was wondering what the hell this man was doing. No one knew about him under here. There was no splash of water, that Travis felt or heard. How did this man get here? And more importantly.....why was Travis not picking up a single thought from this man?

Whatever the case was, this man had caught Travis at a bad time, and Travis was not in the mood to talk with him.

"Who are you, and how do you know my name? This really isn't a good time."

The man simply smiled like a grandfather Travis never knew. "I am Arthur. Arthur Petrelli, and I am here to help improve your life."

A deep anger began to brew in Travis. Improve his life? What the hell would this man know about his life, and if he did....how DID he know about it? This made Travis angry.

"And how may I ask would you do that, and why the hell do you think YOU would know how to improve this?!" Travis said in a sharp tone which was slowly growing into a yell.

"Listen old man, I may have been living my life in this shit hole the past three years of my life, but let me tell you truthfully. I don't think you know how to improve the life of a sheep more than you would my life!"

Travis as he shouted, took his rage out on an incoming wave and crashed it hard against the sea wall. Travis then calmed himself.

"Yes, I have been living a hell I wish to forget about, but there are things you would not be able to know how to fix. My life needs to be left alone by people like you. Now get out of the water...and leave me..."

"Do you think you're the only one Travis?"

"I thought I told you to leave me."

"Travis...I can help you. I know of other people like you. Special people."

Travis clenched his fists. Was that the scientific name for freak? Was he considered special? Was the man in the water a special? Travis was growing suspicious of the man and even a bit fearing.

"Who are you really?" Travis asked.

"The man who can help you." Arthur said. "You live under this dock? We've had our eyes on you for quite some time."

The fact that someone knew about Travis and his abilities both angered and frightened Travis. He was isolated for a reason.

"Both your parents are dead, you never finished high school, you have a rather unusual diet, and not to mention your girlfriend just left you and is with another man."

At the mention of Krystina Travis almost wanted to punch the man despite his age, but he held himself back. This man was reading his life almost like it came out of a permanent record.

"Now let's take a look at my life. You're looking at a man who owns a corporation to help other people like you, and not to mention, I have a LOT of money. Now I ask you, who's life is better?"

Travis said nothing and simply stared into the setting sun.

"I can help you."

"Yeah, you've only mentioned it 17 times."

"Travis, I'm being serious. I can help you, if you help me. I can heal and time travel. I can save your mother from her early death, and I can get Krystina to love you. I can get you the education you need, and make your dad the man he should have been. A few things, and your life turns around 360 degrees just like that." he said with a snap of his fingers.

Travis said nothing. This man wasn't getting Travis convinced. The man grabbed his shoulder.

"If you want, we can go se your mother right now."

"What?"

Travis was a man who did not like the idea of time travel. It was too risky. He had watched Back to the Future one too many times. This man claimed to be able to save his mother, make dad a better man, make Krystina his in love again, the docks would be out of his life.

Travis mind was in a blur. If he saw his mother again, he might never meet Krystina, because they met in middle school, and his mother died when he was ten. That was one of the main reasons they had met, because of Travis' problems with his dad. Travis had run away and they met at the beach that day...

No. There had to be a better way of getting Krystina back without Time Travel. To hell with the better life. Travis could learn to improve his life now. Perhaps God was trying to tell him this. A test. God had given him another test...to find life within life. Travis would need to find a way to control his power, but perhaps this man could do it...

Travis took the man's hand off his shoulder. "You don't need to do that. I know where my parents are, and they're happier where they are than they ever were on this lifeless rock. All I want your help in is how to control my...abilities. I need to make myself better." Travis paused. "I'll get her back myself. And I will tell you now, if anything happens to her, there will be no limit to the destruction I will bring..."

However this Arthur didn't seem to get the picture of Travis and his discomfort with time travel. He grabbed Travis' shoulder again and focused.

The world around Travis changed. It grew younger. And Travis was taken back in time against his will.

"Arthur, I said not to do this!"

Arthur didn't listen. Travis looked at what he was looking at. A family of three. A young woman talking with a man who also was happy, and a young boy. Seeing the happiness of the family almost made Travis cry even more.

"I can make everything better, Travis. I also can read your thoughts. You worry about never meeting Krystina if I were to save your family. Don't think I don't have a plan, Travis. You'll meet Kystina after a nasty argument between your parents. You'll run off and meet her, and she'll help you make up with your parents."

Travis had some doubts to this man and his plan.

"Then you'll date later." he said.

They were taken back to the present time. Arthur was giving him a serious look.

"You think this is God's test? You know, I once served the Lord. I was Catholic. I ended up in the military, befriended a man who could heal, and killed many people. I am who I am today to survive, and develop my abilities even further. I forgot who the Lord was after my wife poisoned me and after I tried to kill one of my sons."

"Why are you telling me these things?" Travis asked. "Do you think you'll get my help with stories like that?"

Arthur ignored him. "Your parents. You need to grow up with them."

Arthur looked around.

"I'm trying to help you." he said, handing him a gun.

A gun. Travis never fired one before, and didn't want to. Why would he want to kill anyone?

"There's a dangerous group out there known as the Company. You'll need to defend yourself somehow. I'm guessing you don't know your abilities as well as you think."

He then gave Travis a card with a simple name on it. Pinehearst.

"I can only hope you'll use your common sense."

With that, he jumped off the dock and vanished. There wasn't even a splash. He had teleported. Leaving Travis standing alone at the dock, watching the sunset.

Travis looked at the two items in his hand. The gun and the card. He put the gun in the back of his pants. He then looked at the card again.

You think this is God's test? The words rang in his head again. Your parents, you need to grow up with them.

Travis put the card in his pocket.

"Unfortunately Mr. Petrelli, Travis said looking into the horizon, "No, I don't think this is God's test, I know it is. He's tested me before, and I've come out of each one. You may be a telepath, but you will never know how much He means to me, and you will never know my trie feelings about this whole thing. No matter how hard you look into my mind."

Travis turned his back to the dock and started to walk away...but stopped.

"I will find life. With or without your help, Petrelli."

With that he ran away from the dock, and ran to a place he had not been in years...

*******

It was late in the night. No one was around. Travis stood outside an apartment. An apartment he had not seen in three years but knew its location by heart. It was Krystina's apartment complex. She didn't know he was out there, but she didn't need to know. He would let her know pretty much right now.

He pressed a button on labeled "Jackson" and waited. Her parents were night workers so he knew she was alone.

"Hello?"

Travis was silent a moment....he didn't know how to greet her anymore for some reason.

"...is somebody there?"

"It...it's me...."

"...Travis? What are you doing here?"

"Could you come down? It's...kind of important."

There was a pause.

"Okay......I'll be right down."

Travis sat down on a nearby bench and waited. She came down in a light coat. It was a bit chilly out, now that Travis thought about it, as it usually was.

"What's wrong Travis? You sounded a little down."

"Krystina, I first of all just wanted to apologize how I just left you this afternoon on the rocks. I shouldn't have done that."

"Travis, don't worry about that. If you were worried about Carl...well, lets just say I won't see him for a long time now."

"What happened?"

"Well, a few hours ago, he tried....to take advantage of me."

"Oh Krystina, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. If you really want to know, well truthfully I haven't been the same without you, so I was a little happy to see you today. I've been really worried about you these last three years."

Travis looked at the ground listening to her.

"But enough about that, Travis. You seem sad. What's wrong?"

"Today, I met someone just like me. A, what you call, special."

"Special?"

"You can call him a gifted person."

"Oh, I see. Well what happened."

"Well we talked. He said he can help me. But honestly, I don't know if I can believe him. How he wants to help me involves time travel, and that makes me so uncomfortable....."

Krystina patted him on the back. Surprisingly, Travis felt much happier. No one had ever touched him like that before in three years.

"Well Travis, if you don't want that, you don't need the man.

"Do you think so?"

"Travis, trust in your judgement better."

"He also said some stuff about a Pinehearst thing. He wanted my help."

There was a pause.

"Well, what are you going to do?"

"Krystina, first off, you can't tell anyone about these specials. I'm not sure if this Arthur would want me talking to you right now. But I had to see you again."

"Okay, but what will you do? Your starting to scare me."

"Please don't say that. I don't want you to be afraid of me."

Travis paused. Then began, "What I am going to do is find help. I don't know if I'll get it from Arthur, but I will sure as hell get it from somebody. What I think is if there are more specials, there has got to be someone who knows how to help somebody like me. Someone without the need of time travel. Someone who will teach me how to make use of my new life."

Travis paused.

"I wanted you to know this. Krystina I may not see you for a very long time......or ever again."

"Travis. Don't say that."

"I don't want to say it, but it's true. He gave me a gun, saying I wold need it from this thing called the Company. The thing is, well if I ever come across this Company, I may not have the guts to finish them off..."

"Travis, you have to promise me something now."

Travis was confused. "What?"

"Travis, my life as I said, hasn't been the same without you. You're saying we may not see each other again. Travis. I want you to promise me you'll come back. Once you do learn what you need to learn."

Travis paused.

"Krystina, you have my word. I will do my best to stay living. I love you. I love you like no one else. I've been praying these last three years to have a conversation with you like this one. Now I know 100% that there is a God and he loves us."

Travis said this, showing a little tears in his eyes. Krystina surprisingly wiped them away even showing some herself.

"I love you, Travis. Whether you're a special or not."

Travis stood up.

"I remember that day still.....the day we were in the church...."

"Me too, Travis..."

Travis then walked away into the night, and Krystina ran to her room.

I will return Krystina. I love you....I'm glad we can stay friends....I will return....and I will marry you....like we promised so long ago.....

Travis made his way to the docks. He snuck onto an oil tanker bound for New York. If any place to start his search for another special like him was better to start....he had no idea where it was. New York was the best place. It would be a scary experience, but he'd find his way around. He'd find someone who would be willing to help.