A/N: I don't own Death Note, NBC's Heroes, Marvel Comics, or DC Comics.
Warning: Explicit Language Parental Advisory suggested. (Cussing... oh the Internet my delicate sensibilities...)
Chapter 4 The End and the Beginning
"Now let's try this again… How did you get here?" asked the exasperated cop.
Near sighed. "You're not going to believe me no matter how many times I say it."
"C'mon, we're all ears."
Near twirled his hair "I teleported."
"You teleported..."
"I was in Winchester England just yesterday. You can call up my friend, he'll tell you…"
Near gave them Mello's cell phone number…
"Yeah, hello this is Kanzo Mogi of the Tokyo Metro Police Department we're calling on behalf of Near…"
"Near? He's been gone for a month! We looked everywhere! Wait, did you find something…?"
Near could hardly believe that the choked up sounding voice on the other end could be…
"Mello?" Near whispered.
"Wait is Near there with you? What the hell did you do! Let me talk to him! No, don't you hang up on me! HEY!"
The cop hung up on the suspect's increasingly irate friend.
"His friend says he hasn't seen him in over a month."
"It's… October second?"
"October Second? No, pal." Mogi threw a newspaper down in front of Near stating the date…. "November eighth."
…And that "Kimiko Kujo Wins in Landslide Election."
Near's wide eyes became comically wider. What happened to the month?
Just then there was a thunderous sound.
Near glanced up to see what appeared to be a mushroom cloud blossoming on the other side of the city! A shock wave crumbling buildings in its wake and…
And even before the shock wave hit… all the police and forensic guys in the room began dying… of heart attacks?
Near didn't stick around to find out….
In a surge of adrenaline Near closed his eyes… and he was back in his room.
Misa was nervous as the police officer addressed the assembled girls of the agency...
"Now there's a very grateful man who is alive thanks to one of you fine ladies, and he just wants to thank you…" said the police officer to the assembled models and actresses of Yoshida Productions.
"I've never seen anyone so reluctant to be called a hero before you sure it was someone from our agency?"
"The logo says Yoshida productions." The firefighter indicated a business card dropped at the scene.
"I'd say it was either her…" the firefighter pointed at Misa… "or her…" he pointed at Rem who had just come in with the catering…
Misa shared a look with Rem and was about to fess up… when Kiyomi Takada stepped forward.
"It wasn't her. It was me. I just couldn't stand by and you know… that poor man, I heard him coughing!"
Misa rolled her eyes and here she had thought Takada was such a good friend before… As Misa shared another look with Rem; she had an epiphany of sorts on who her true friend really was…
Matsuda couldn't believe his good luck! He was finally working with the NPA, he had these amazing new powers, and he had a hunch that Naomi Misora liked him too.
He decided if there ever was a time to celebrate, it was now…
As Matsuda nursed his drink he scanned through the thoughts and the wide range of emotions of the people in the bar….
"Why am I with this loser?" "Oh man she's totally digging me."
"Why is he looking at me? You're barking up the wrong tree pal!"
"If I just disappeared… would anyone care?"
Matsuda was quickly learning the pros and cons of listening into said thoughts...
Just then a strange-looking foreigner caught his attention. It was hard NOT to—he was pale, gangly, looking like he hadn't slept in a week, and was sitting oddly in his chair…
Matsuda tried to read his thoughts… "31415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937..."
"What?" Matsuda thought as he sipped his drink…
Just then things were beginning to get hazy…
…and then Matsuda passed out on the floor.
L shared a glance with Mr. Yagami and sighed.
That was just way too easy.
"You can handle this right?"
Mr. Yagami scoffed as he put Matsuda in the trunk of his car. "Of course, why got an appointment somewhere?"
"I want to go sight-seeing." L smiled. He knew that Mr. Yagami wouldn't object if it got the Freak out his sight…
"Just be back by the pick-up time."
L nodded. Turned the corner… and tossed his cell phone in the garbage.
There had been another Saiko killing today. From his prior research and calculations, L had narrowed down his search area for Saiko to just one apartment complex.
The grappling hook lodged itself in roof and L scaled the side of the building. L began his search...
Of the two cases, L would rather be hunting for Kira but given that the Kira case had far less physical evidence to go on and he already had a lead on this one…
Plus, it was just a hunch but L felt that if he found one of the killers he might find clues to finding the other…
When L broke into apartment 1012 he found what he was looking for.
Everything was in ORDER, precise… there was neat and then there was obsessed….
Which made the layer of dust that coated everything that much more conspicuous. The owner hadn't been back in a while.
That there was an anatomy textbook open to the brains section sitting on the table just made it all the more obvious...
L also noted that the room was too small… and found the hidden room behind the walk-in closet…
The walls were smeared with blood. The phrases "FORGIVE ME" and "I HAVE SINNED" were written over and over again on the walls in ink and in blood.
There was a world map covered with yarn and photos. When L looked it over he recognized many of them as previous victims…
The others L assumed were intended future victims one of which was… the little sister of one of Wammy's Directors...
Well once he reported this L would no doubt get to stay in Japan a bit longer… perhaps even have enough time to hunt down Kira…
L turned to leave when he noticed something under the table… it looked like a tape; it must have fallen…
And it was labeled Kira.
No… It couldn't be that easy…
L had also noted the old-style answering machine. It must have come from there…
He pressed play…
First there was a sound… breathing? No. Someone sighing in exasperation…
A deep, sinister voice filled the room. It was probably altered by a voice filter…
"It's me... Now we seem to be having a failure of communication here. I have been more than reasonable but you are REALLY testing my patience. Need I remind you that this is not a good idea? You're sick! You need help so get help! Stop following me and STOP CALLING ME!"
There was the sound of scrambling as someone, presumably the head-chopping serial killer, picked up the phone...
"Oh God, it's you! Please, I…"
"THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY WARNING. IF WE SEE YOU AGAIN, WE WILL PUNISH YOU!"
"Please, Kira! You helped me discover my true potential. I can't stop… I don't want to! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME LIKE THIS!"
"IT'S OVER! Goodbye! Oh and one last thing… I WANT MY WATCH BACK, YOU ASSHOLE!"
L bit his thumb a small spark buzzing by his teeth…
Now THAT was an interesting conversation.
L wondered… does Kira know? That Saiko had saved their rather nasty breakup call for posterity?
Light Yagami (age 18)
The auburn-haired man in the popped-collared trenchcoat casually leaned against the wall of the subway station... looking utterly inconspicuous.
He was a predator, used to living on the fringe of society.
He waited until his intended prey walked into view, right on schedule...
"Mr. Rokuro Iwamatsu. Don't turn around. I am Kira. I see you have your laptop with you. I want a list of every known person in your organization and I want it now. Do this for me, and I'll let you at least live…"
As Iwamatsu was leaving the subway he felt something sharp barely pressing against his back…
"I did everything you asked!"
"No you did not. We had our eyes on you… we saw that other e-mail you sent… a trap for us? Really? How cute…"
The Yakuza made a strangled noise.
"Well, perhaps it's time to show them just who they are fucking with... yes, take us to your boss… lead the way..."
The Yakuza took him to a boiler room beneath the station where a good twenty guys with guns lay waiting….
Light was insulted that they sent so few.
"He's here… "Iwamatsu got out before he was killed by friendly fire.
Light just stood there smiling, as the gangsters opened fire. His trenchcoat billowing dramatically as the bullets flew past. Ryuk's symbiote armor protected him from getting shot. In truth the noise of the guns was more painful than the actual process of getting shot but Light was not about to let them know that…
Once the bullets ran out, Light gave them all a fangy grin….
"Our turn."
Now he could have killed them all… instantly for that matter… but dead men don't spread rumors or report to their bosses what happened here and Light WANTED them to know…
That's why he left some of them alive... It was only a strategic move and in no way an act of mercy…
Tendrils snatched up fleeing gangsters and webbed them to the ceiling. Light ironically relied on his symbiote, Ryuk (friendly neighborhood alien Warlord), for the nonlethal approach…
Though because Ryuk was asking so nicely… Light let him rip a few apart just for shock value...
As for Light himself, he hadn't had to lift a finger, or even move from his spot in the doorway for the entire "battle…"
As Light webbed the survivors up on the ceiling he informed them "I'm calling the police now. They'll take you in. If you survive prison I strongly suggest leaving the Yakuza and then leaving the country… If we catch you out here again, you're dead. Believe me, we'll know. We never forget a face."
Light was one step closer to eliminating Matoba's criminal empire… and once he had uncovered the entire web of corruption he would kill them all in one fell swoop.
Light had been gunning for Matoba ever since he found their syndicate selling drugs outside of Sayu's school. It was Light's way of showing he cared… (Not that they could ever know… but maybe… just maybe the world would become a better place…)
Light paused on his way back to the subway as he walked by a fruit stand.
"Light-o!" Ryuk whined.
Ryuk was always hungry for apples… meaning HE was always hungry for apples… but Ryuk had been so well-behaved today and he now had some cash thanks to the generous donations of the local Yakuza. So it wouldn't hurt to indulge for once.
Kira sat in the back of the subway car, snacking on his bag of apples, and smirked in satisfaction at a job well done.
Though this didn't last for long… he was jolted out of his moment of peace when the lights flickered out and the train suddenly screeched to stop.
He was so startled that he dropped his bag of apples. Light scowled as he watched them roll across the floor. Light knew from experience that Ryuk didn't care about little things like hygiene and if given a chance, Ryuk would make him eat them anyway.
But regardless of what Ryuk thought of the current situation there really were bigger issues here than just apples.
Why had the train stopped, a power failure?
No, not just the train, the people! It was like they were frozen…
Light was on edge… but forced himself to keep up a calm façade… because Ryuk was even more on edge—and no NOT just about the apples, Ryuk was sensing something was fundamentally WRONG and was currently clawing at the walls of his mind, begging for the driver's seat, so to speak.
Light stood up and began to investigate the current situation. Yes, everyone else but him was frozen… and it wasn't just the people… Light noted the coffee spill in progress…
TIME had stopped.
"Light Yagami?"
Light spun around to see a young man dressed in tight black leather, his long white hair drawn back in a pony tail. He was also wearing a black trench coat and he had a katana strapped to his back.
"Are you doing this?" Light demanded, "What did you do?" And how did he know THAT name?
"Huh? You look different without the scar..."
"Look… You must be mistaken, I don't know you …"
"Light Yagami, a.k.a. Light Asahi a.k.a. Hikaru Ryuuzaki a.k.a. Kira!"
Light's eyes widened.
"KILL HIM ALREADY!" Ryuk screamed in his head…
Light smiled and gave a polite little chuckle as he considered whether or not to follow Ryuk's sound advice. "Well… you seem rather certain about that..."
"Believe it or not, I am not here to fight you."
From both his stance and hostile attitude… and Ryuk screaming Danger, Light didn't believe it. But Light figured there was no harm in hearing him out…
"I'm Near."
Near? Light thought that even for a foreign name it had an odd ring to it…
"I'm from the future… and I have a message for you…"
A/N: I have no idea when elections happen in Japan and I couldn't find that information out on Wikipedia. So for now just sticking with the original times…
L apparently foils telepaths by reciting the numbers of Pi in his head while Mr. Yagami slips roofies in their drink…
You can probably guess who Saiko is by now…
Hmm… in Heroes we never do learn what caused the scar…
So what do you guys think of Present!Light and Future!Near? (Sephiroth! wait wrong show...)
