Here we go guys, next chapter. This one really sets up the rest of the story. Your feedback has been wonderful so far, especially knowing if I'm getting characterization right. So please keep it coming! Special thanks to… everyone! Expect the next chapter sometime this weekend at the earliest; it's going to a bit longer.

…"Your hair it moved." He gestured at Peter's hair, and a drop of blood slid off the metal and splattered on his cheek. "How did you do that? Can you move stuff with your mind too?"


"No."


"Have you been keeping secrets from me? Lying?"


"No."


The man was livid. "Then how?"

Peter was getting woozy from loss of blood. "I don't know."
The man couldn't take it, and reared back to punch. The last thing Peter remembered before losing consciousness was the faint recognition of a hand on his own…

Over a hundred miles away, a pair of eyes snapped open. One was brilliant blue, the other emerald green. She'd felt the blow as if it had been her strapped to the table, and all she could hope was that Peter had felt a little better from her presence.

"Grace?" She turned toward the man. "Your eyes. They're bleeding again."

"I've told you before Mr. Bennett, my eyes don't bleed when I use my abilities, I just cry tears of blood sometimes from the stress, especially when I have to do work as intricate as this. My brain can handle things my body can't." Her tone was relaxed, but the men looking at her face, the contrast of bright red to pale skin, were still shaken. "Does anyone have a tissue maybe."

All three went for a search through their pockets. Hiro was the winner, and offered the prize with a small smile. "Does it hurt?"

Grace smiled at the gentle man and his concern. "No, doesn't hurt. I just don't have the control I want."

"Yet."

"What?"

"Yet. I said you don't have the control you want yet. I'm sure it will come."

She smiled, but before she could answer Mr. Bennet cut in, obviously annoyed at what he would found to be a silly conversation all things considered. "What were you able to find out?"

Grace removed the last bit of blood from her face. "Claire seems the same as before. Unconscious but not in pain. What ever device he has her hooked up to is large and effective, but uncomplicated. Dr. Suresh should still be able to get her out of there in the time frame we've established." Suresh nodded from across the room.

"And Peter?"

Grace sighed. "He's alive. Just…" she trailed off. "It's just, did any of you talk to him before all this? Like about how he was or anything?" The men shrugged, and she had to suppress the need to say 'typical.' Maybe it was her own ability that made her more considerate of others feelings. But really she suspected that as with a lot of people with abilities, these men were excellent at taking care of themselves and the greater picture, but often fell flat when it came to a personal connection, no matter how great the effort was. The men continued to stare at her blankly. "He's alive, so is she. But we need to move tomorrow as planned if we want them both to come out of this alive."

"I'm not sure," Suresh got up from the bed and began to pace. "I have confidence that what you're telling us is the truth, Miss…"

"Just Grace."

"Grace. Fine. Yes, if what you're telling us is true, then I can easily detach the device with Hiro's help in the four minutes you've suggested. A little longer would be nice, but, yes it can be done. And against him, no need to push our luck."

Hiro leaned over to Grace and whispered, "He always says everything that comes to his mind. It's weird." They smiled.

Suresh paused for a moment. "Are you sure that Nathan is out of the picture?"

Hiro nodded. "He refused to even speak about a plan. No way is he coming now. It's just us."

"Look," said Grace, "if you're worried about what you need to do tomorrow, we can talk about changing something."

"But my fear isn't in the plan, or rather in my side of it. It's yours. You just said your abilities, they can be overwhelming to your body."

"That's true, but…"

"And since you're getting Peter, who is already physically compromised, I have to wonder if you can accomplish our mission. You yourself have admitted your power over the physical universe is much more underdeveloped then your ability as a conduit. This person who has Peter and Claire. He is very, very powerful Grace."

"I know."

"How?"

Grace quickly changed the subject. "Look Dr. Suresh, I understand your concerns, but…"

"No, I don't really think you do. He once…"

Mr. Bennet, who had been sitting in a chair silently watching the exchange, quickly stood up. If Suresh knew the truth of why Grace was important, he probably wouldn't allow the plan to happen in the first place, too risky. And then Claire and Peter would be dead. "We don't all have to like our plan completely, but I believe we can all agree there are no other options. Alright? Why don't we all get some rest? We take our shot in the morning."

Suresh took another long glance at Grace, and she met his stare head on. He didn't trust her completely, but he trusted Bennet's judgment. Plus, he had to admit, there was no other way. "Fine then," was all he said before walking out of the room.

Hiro watched him go. He wanted to believe that everything would work out. He liked Grace, but, as he'd been told, he liked everyone. Future Hiro had been different, changed, and secretly Hiro hoped he could become strong, but not hard. He turned to reassure Grace of his confidence, but just as his mouth opened he realized that Suresh had the room key and probably wasn't above locking him out, and Hiro refused to teleport in for fear his roommate might be changing. Instead he offered and simple goodnight and a slam of the door.

Grace stuck behind with Bennet, who was sitting agitatedly on the bed, elbows on his knees, hands clasping open and closed so tightly that they made popping sounds.

"You need to stop blaming yourself."

"You need to stop reading my mind."

"I wasn't," Grace said annoyed, but softened quickly, "I wasn't." There was silence in the room. "You must love Claire very much."

"I do. This is all my fault."

"No."

"It's too soon to let her go off on her own without protection. She wanted to go out of town for a weekend to go to an outlet mall and look what happened."

"And if you don't let an 18 year old have some freedom then she will get it the hard way and never come back. You can't protect her all the time. Look at Peter, he was just going for a drive and here he is."

"Peter can predict the future, and he couldn't see this?"

"From what you said he predicts events, not an entire life. No one can."

Mr. Bennet was getting frustrated. "I still shouldn't have let her go. The world isn't safe. For people like her. Us."

"You can't stop everything bad that happens to people like us. We have to keep going without an overwhelming fear of others."

"I doubt you actually believe that considering this life style hurt you so much, since you were a child." Mr. Bennet's overflow of emotions got the better of him, anger to be specific. He got up and got very close to Grace, who looked uncomfortable. "I wonder, why did you agree to come and help us?"

"I've told you that."

"Tell me again."

"You sought me out."

"And."

Grace squirmed. Her brain was twitching with all the emotions that Mr. Bennet was giving out. "I realize the gravity of the situation. I understand that I may be the only one who can cause enough surprise that we can accomplish this mission with such small force. And a personal reason. My reason."

"I'd like to know that reason."

"I'm sure you would."

"Yes. So tell me."

"No. And as long as we're asking questions, I'd like to know how you found me."

"I have my contacts still."

"Did you use my father."

"No."

"You're lying."

Mr. Bennet smiled and backed away a little, turning to look at the window. "Maybe I am. Or are you just so angry at the idea that he knows where you are and just doesn't stop by for a hug and hello that you don't want to believe that I haven't seen your father in years, just like you?" A lamp whipped across the room and smashed precariously close to Mr. Bennet's head. And as he turned around slowly he could see the gaudy wall paper begin to be torn to ribbons from the wall. "I see that you really don't have much control. Like father, like daughter."

"Don't. Please."

Mr. Bennet turned around completely and really looked at Grace. She wasn't that much older then Claire, early to mid-twenties maybe. Her hair was about the same length as Claire's too, but brown. And just like he could tell with his own child, Mr. Bennet knew he had pushed the wrong button. His face softened. "I know that because of who you are you have had to go through a lot of pain and sacrifice in your life."

Grace scoffed her voice rising to the point right before crying, "Please, don't lecture me on pain and sacrifice, Mr. Bennet."

"I'm not. I guess I'm just surprised and glad you agreed to this."

"Me too." The wallpaper stopped pealing. Grace took a step closer. "I have to believe in fate, Mr. Bennet. That everything happens for a reason. Or else everything that has happened to me is worthless."

Mr. Bennet nodded. "It sounds like you are looking for some answers. From what you said earlier, maybe Peter is too." Grace nodded, and hung her head. "Look, why don't you get some rest."

Grace nodded again, "After this Mr. Bennet, I might need some protection from him."

"Let me worry about that."

"Goodnight." And she left.

Mr. Bennet stayed up for a long time after Grace left, thinking about the little he knew about her past, how much he loved his own daughter, and how he doubted he would ever completely understand the choices Grace's father had made for his child. Finally convinced that he needed to sleep if he was going to help his own daughter properly, he closed his eyes.

"Rest up," Mr. Bennet told himself out loud, "tomorrow you're going to have to kick some ass."

To Be Continued…

Look for a long, action filled chapter next…
Find out who's been holding Claire and Peter, and why Grace knows him…