Disclaimer - I own nothing except Kellyn.
Maybe it's because you don't know me at all
Chapter Four,
It was silent in the car as Sylar and Kellyn drove to Virginia Beach. They were only a few miles away from this Zane Taylor's place and while Kellyn wouldn't show it, she was having doubts. She hadn't seen Sylar at work and part of her was nervous as the other half was curious. Her fingers drummed on her thighs as she looked out at the road.
"Are you worried?" Sylar asked as he turned his gaze from the road ahead to the brunette beside him.
Shaking her head, the woman grinned. "Not at all. What would make you think that?" she asked. Perhaps she wasn't as hard to read as she had always liked to assume.
"You're fidgeting." He had the woman at this and he smirked. "You don't have to watch if you're squeamish," he said with a bit of a chuckle.
"What do you want me to do?" she inquired as she ignored his teasing jab.
Sylar thought about this for a moment as he pulled into the driveway of the house just beside Zane's. He cut the engine and looked at Kellyn. "You could show him one of your abilities. Make him feel a little more comfortable," he said as he opened the car door and stepped out.
Kellyn nodded and followed him, both walking across the plot of grass to Zane's house. As he rang the doorbell Kellyn reached out and touched Sylar's arm. "How did you find out about this guy anyway?"
"I have my ways." At this, the door opened to reveal a nervous looking man.
"Dr Suresh?" he asked, looking from Sylar to the woman behind him.
Sylar turned around and nodded his head, "Yes." Wasn't this convenient?
"Man, come in," Zane said as he opened the screen door and moved out of the way so both Sylar and Kellyn could enter. Once both were inside he closed the door behind them and locked it. Kellyn had to admit, he was making her anxious as well. "I was starting to think you weren't going to show," the man paused as he looked at Kellyn. "Who are you?"
"Sorry. My name's Kellyn. I'm Dr Suresh's assistant," she answered simply with a smile.
The man nodded before continuing on with that he was talking about. "I didn't know what I was going to do. I mean, look at what I'm living with." As he said this he turned around and Kellyn and Sylar were given a chance to look the interior of the house over. Plastic covered the floor and there were puddles, of what Kellyn wasn't sure, everywhere.
"Yes, I see what you mean," Sylar said, albeit a little distantly.
"I'm just a regular guy. I mean, I've never been different or special. I mean, no one would even look at me twice walking down the street," he explained as he looked down at the diversely shaped puddles.
When Sylar didn't say anything, Kellyn felt she should probably speak up and try to put the guy at ease. "I was the same way. Nothing special or important about me, that was until I discovered the power that I possessed," she said.
His eyes widened at this and he nodded. "You're like me?"
Kellyn nodded before staring at a cordless telephone sitting not too far from them. With a moved finger, it was zooming through the air and into her hand. "That was all until I got in contact with Dr Suresh. There are so many others out there like us, Zane. All we want to do is help you." The woman assured him as she sent the phone back to the cradle to let it charge.
The man nodded and gestured toward the puddle, "I guess I should show you, right? What I do, you need to see it, right?"
"Yes, of course," Sylar said. Kellyn didn't miss his eyes light up with interest as Zane walked toward the kitchen and hauled a pot through the wall window. They watched as he grabbed a piece of plastic and set the pot on top of it.
"I haven't left the apartment in three weeks. I'm going a little crazy," the man admitted as he stood over the pot. Sylar moved a little closer but Zane made a motion with his hand for the other man to give him some room. "Maybe you should step back. It can get a little messy."
Kellyn was impressed by Zane's ability; it was one she hadn't come across yet. Sylar thought it was a rather handy one. After both assured him they'd be able to help him Zane offered to make them some tea. Sylar lightly touched the woman's leg and she met his gaze and nodded. Leaning back, she crossed one leg over the other at the knee as Sylar got to his feet.
"Need some help?" he called out as he entered the kitchen.
The apartment was silent as Sylar did what he seemed to do best. Kellyn stood up from the couch and walked cautiously toward the kitchen. As she heard a sputtering sound, the woman paused just outside of the kitchen, leaning her back against the wall.
She breathed out and back in as she finally peeked around the wall, watching as Sylar rose to his feet and wiped his hands on a nearby dishtowel. Kellyn breathed in and realized the smell of blood was stronger than anything else in the house. She caught Sylar's gaze as he wrapped plastic over Zane's still body.
"We need to do something about that smell," she informed him as she looked around. There were a few candles placed around the living room and she went to each one and set the wicks on fire. It didn't help much but it was better than how the room had smelled previously. While she was at it, she worked on opening the windows and letting fresh air in. Once she was a little more comforted by the fact the room was airing out some, she turned to an amused looking Sylar. "Well, does it work?" she asked.
He grabbed a piece of plastic and the cordless phone before setting it all out like Zane had done earlier. Settling his hand over the phone, he concentrated and a few seconds later there was a puddle but the phone was sticking partially out of it. "Needs some fine tuning," he mused as he set up a few more things.
Both Kellyn and Sylar were thrown off as the sound of the doorbell broke their new game; which consisted of Kellyn finding things for Sylar to melt and him melting them. He was still a bit rusty but he'd only just acquired the ability.
Sylar was the first to his get out of his chair, nodding for Kellyn to join him as he walked toward the door. Cautiously, he opened the screen door and looked out at the man standing on the porch.
"Hello," the man greeted with an encouraging smile. "Zane Taylor?"
For a moment, the dark haired man on the other side of the door stared before nodding. "Yes. You must be Dr Suresh. Come on in." He opened the door and stepped aside as Suresh entered the house. He wrapped an arm around Kellyn's waist as they showed Dr Suresh into the semi-messy place. "This is my girlfriend, Kellyn."
"Pleased to meet you," Dr Suresh greeted as he extended his hand for her to take.
Kellyn took the man's hand and shook it gently. "You as well. Can I get you some tea?" She asked as she distanced herself from Sylar and his warm touch; feeling slightly odd. With a smile at Suresh's nod she turned toward the kitchen.
"Sorry it took me so long to get here," Suresh said as he followed Zane into what he assumed was the living room. He stood and looked at the various splotches on the plastic sheets laid out on the carpet.
"No, no it's no problem," Sylar said as he fiddled with the sleeves of his long sleeved undershirt.
Kellyn poked her head around the corner and looked at Suresh. "Is Earl Grey alright? I'm afraid that's all we have. I'm kind of selfish when it comes to the brand of tea we buy."
Suresh nodded and smiled, agreeing that that would be just fine. While she worked on that the man decided to get down to business. Looking at Zane, he took in the man's calm demeanor. "You sounded rather alarmed on the phone. You seemed to have calmed down some," he said.
At this point, Kellyn had come out of the kitchen having just set the kettle on the stovetop. Her eyes took in Suresh's curious expression and how Sylar seemed to be playing up the nervousness a bit now. She also noticed how well he seemed to fit into regular clothing, Converse and a Ramones t-shirt just to name a few things. Her eyes wandered down to the hand brushing casually on her arm as Sylar began speaking once more.
"Well, we had a kind of ephinany about it all this morning. Are you familiar with Abraham Maslow, the peak experience?" Slyar asked as he continued messing with the sleeves of his shirt.
Suresh shook his head and Kellyn was definitely with him on this one. "No, I'm afraid not."
"It's um, a single moment that takes you out of yourself. Makes you feel very tiny or very large. To some extent, one with life or nature or God."
"I see," Suresh answered.
"It's like seeing all the pieces of a puzzle fit together. All this time, I well, we were trying to fight it. Deny it. But there's no shame in having these abilities, is there?" the man asked as he looked from Suresh to Kellyn.
"None whatsoever. It would be like denying you have brown, or hazel eyes," the doctor answered as he shared a small chuckled with the pair.
Kellyn smiled as Sylar gently touched her hand again and gave her a look. Right. "I guess you want to see it? Our abilities?" the woman asked
"Well, yes. I'm quite anxious to document it," Suresh admitted.
Kellyn and Sylar looked at each other and he nodded, "Why don't you go first?"
The woman nodded as she lifted a hand and small sparks of electricity danced on her fingertips. Cupping her hand, a ball of blue light settled in the palm of her hand and the woman shot it toward one of the puddles on the floor. Both Sylar and Suresh were a little shocked by it, to be honest. Shit. That was on power she hadn't mentioned to Sylar.
Suresh nodded before looking at Zane. "What is it you can do?"
Sylar asked that they both step back, not wanting to ruin their clothing or shoes. He grabbed a piece of plastic and the toaster, settling them both on the table. With a hand placed over it, he concentrated and soon the whole structure melted and formed a liquid.
"My God," Suresh said, looking from the bedroom to the puddle of metal in front of him.
"You want to see it again?" Sylar asked, looking nothing short of expectant.
Playing nice with Mohinder Suresh was a lot easier than either Sylar or Kellyn had expected. It didn't take much, just smiling and information about their respective powers. Truthfully, Kellyn liked Suresh. Sylar, well, he had his own ideas on the matter. Suresh would be useful and as long as he believed he and Kellyn were who they were pretending to be there wouldn't be much of a problem.
"I'm very interested in how you control these abilities," Dr Suresh asked as he looked from Kellyn to Sylar. To be quite honest, neither of them looked like they knew what they were doing. This must have been the reason they actually called him back, if the man had to ask.
"Well, for me it's like riding a bike for the first time." Sylar answered as he looked over at Kellyn who nodded her agreement. "It's a little wobbly at first. And then I discovered something. A kind of peace. A sense of purpose that can only be described as destiny," the man explained as he looked around at the various melted items.
Suresh nodded, somewhat understanding. He removed two swabs from his bag and handed one to Sylar and one to Kellyn. "I'd like to take DNA samples from you both."
"Sure," Sylar said as he accepted his.
Kellyn did the same not as worried as Sylar. Of course, he couldn't give his actual DNA but Kellyn would have to.
"Just swab it on the inside of your mouth," Mohinder explained with a nod.
The woman looked over at Sylar before concentrating on the kettle in the kitchen. After a second, the kettle whistled and Sylar got to his feet. "The tea. If you'll excuse me." Kellyn watched as Sylar went the kitchen before sticking the swab in her mouth and running it over the inside of her cheek. Capping the sample, she handed it over to Mohinder. "There you are."
"You're from England?" Suresh asked as they waited for Zane.
Kellyn nodded and smiled. "Born and raised in Bristol," she said proudly.
"How did you end up here, if you don't mind me asking?"
"We moved here when I was about seventeen; right before my parents died," she said with a polite smile. "Don't ask me how they died because I don't remember." That wasn't the truth but she didn't know Mohinder well enough to answer him honestly.
Mohinder nodded as he got to his feet, deciding to check on Zane.
"I just swab it on the inside of my cheek?" Sylar called out from the kitchen.
"Yes, that's right," Mohinder said as he walked closer to the kitchen.
Kellyn was already on her feet, ready to do something if need be. There was no way to warn Sylar of Mohinder's approach but she'd have to trust that the other man had things well in hand.
"There you go, DNA sample," Sylar said as he appeared around the corner just as Mohinder reached it. He handed over the swab before handing Mohinder a cup of tea as well as one for Kellyn and himself. He noticed Kellyn give him a relieved smile and he only grinned in return.
"You know, you two should be careful of who you discuss your abilities with. There are some people that might not understand, who might want to hurt you," Suresh explained as he put both DNA samples in his bag and zipped it up.
Kellyn put down her cup of tea and regarded Mohinder carefully. "Why would anyone want to hurt us?" she asked innocently.
"I don't know yet. But I do know this – There are others out there like you," he went on with a smile.
Both Sylar and Kellyn lit up at this. "Really? How many others?" the man asked as he smiled, looking genuinely excited.
"Dozens. And those are just the ones I know about. With more time and research, I could find hundreds, thousands! But, you're the first ones who've returned my phone calls," he admitted as he rubbed at the back of his neck. With this help though, maybe more people would believe him; he could save more people. "But I am going to find them. All of them," Mohinder said with renewed vigor.
Sylar gripped Kellyn's hand as he looked down at her as she nodded. "We could go with you. We could help you," he suggested. "These people could need convincing. Who better to do that?"
Kellyn watched as the man looked at the hole in the bedroom wall and the partially melted items spread around the small house. He thought about it before nodding and smiling.
( You Don't Know Me – Ben Folds )