Gibberings: Well my computer isn't fixed yet --sadface-- BUT I did get my files off it..thus the update! I'm so sorry it took so long...blame the evil computer haha But I really really wanted this to go up before Heroes tonight...so here it is. Just barely scrapping in haha Anyway enjoy!
Betaed by Maddie, who is awesome and was nice enough to correct it under such a time restraint
Chapter 4: I'd Come For You
Gabriel studies the man in front of him. What he knows of Nathan is little, and pieced together from news reports on the politician and the brief words Angela spoke about him. One fact, however, is clear.
Nathan Petrelli is a walking contradiction. The man who loves his brother and betrayed him, who wants power but gave it up when he had it. Even now his face is trapped between anger and concern.
"What's wrong with him?"
"You are," Gabriel says levelly, his anger deflated in favor of his younger brother.
"What do you mean?"
Gabriel turns, looking straight into Nathan's eyes. "He tried to kill himself." The affect of his words is immediate. The older Petrelli drops to his knees on the floor beside his brother, looking horrified and pained.
"Oh Peter…" he breaths, and Gabriel watches those eyes. There is something so wrong about them. It bothers Gabriel that he can't figure it out. He's never handled the unknown well.
He focuses his power on the senator. It takes a great amount of strength to use more than one power at once. It takes even greater strength to use them without losing control.
He turns each on, like flipping switches to chase off the dark. He tunes into Nathan's heartbeat first, focusing on the irregular beats. Then he notices the inconsistent breaths. Finally he reaches out with his core power, the one he still has no name for. He looks into Nathan in that moment and sees it.
"You're broken."
_-_-_
Arthur always said that while Angela's first power was her dreams, her second was her patience. Really, she had just learned long ago that seeing things didn't mean controlling them and sometimes waiting was all you could do.
Despite the cold heart always attributed to her, Angela loves her boys. She worries, even when they don't realize it. She doesn't show it like Nathan's daughter. She believes in playing some cards to her chest, a lesson Claire seems incapable of learning.
The phone rings and the blonde is on it like a hawk, instantly swooping it up despite the fact that Angela is closer—and that it is her house.
"Where is he?" Claire sounds vicious, Angela can't help but find that a bit laughable. Of all the gifted that she knows Claire is one of the least dangerous, not that the teen knows it. She seems disconcerted by what she hears but she extends the phone to her grandmother.
"Angela?" A few days ago he would have called her 'Mom'. She imagines the change is more unsettling for him.
"How's Peter?" Her voice is level, not betraying even a bit of her concern.
"Bad." Gabriel does not coddle. "But Nathan is worse." Angela shifts in her chair; this was not a development she was expecting. "There is something wrong with him."
"Did you cause it?" If he isn't playing nice, neither is she.
"No," he replies, "I just noticed it." Angela understands then.
"What do you sense?"
_-_-_
When Peter comes to this time everything is clear. He blinks at the figure of Nathan, still leaning against the bed.
"Why are you here?" He asks, not fully wanting the answer.
"I don't know," Nathan answers. Peter can hear the honesty in his voice. He's getting better at catching his oldest brother's lies. Scarlet catches Peter's attention. He notices for the first time the blood oozing slowly from a cut on his brother's temple.
"Nathan you're hurt."
"Oh you now too?" The senator replies, defensive. "You think I'm 'broken' too?" Peter furrows his brow, maybe he is more out of it than he realized.
"Your forehead…" he responds, sitting up and reaching a hand to his brother's head. The older Petrelli pulls back and lifts his own hand to feel the blood. The look on his face tells Peter he really had forgotten about it till just now. "Let me see." He touches the wound again gingerly.
It's strange how after everything he has seen Peter still finds himself surprised, but he wasn't expecting the wound to heal suddenly under his touch.
"Nathan…can you heal?"
"He can't." Peter turns to see Gabriel standing in the doorway, a phone forgotten in his hand. "I think you just did." Peter's newly discovered brother puts the phone back to his ear. "Did you hear all that?" He nods as if for the speakers benefit. "Do you think it will work?"
Nathan stands, a familiar look of frustration on his face. "Who are you talking to…on my phone?" Gabriel cocks his head and, before Peter could fully register the motion, he throws Nathan across the room hard. The senator practically bounces off the wall, and crumples to the ground.
"What are you doing?!" Peter yells, adrenaline giving him the strength to stand.
"Peter…there is something wrong with your brother," Gabriel explains, a little distain escaping into his voice on the last word. Peter looks at the ground.
"Are you sure?" He's not certain if he is concerned or hopeful.
"Yeah…and Angela thinks there is something we can do about it." He thrusts the phone into Peter's hands, and the young Petrelli puts it to his ear.
"Mom? What's wrong with him?"
"There's no time for that. Just listen. You can heal now?"
"I…guess."
"Gabriel needs to get a look inside Nathan's head, find what's wrong so you can heal it."
"Couldn't I just heal it without Gabriel taking his skull off?" The thought of Nathan's head opened by someone just barely converted from murderer is not a comfort. But if Nathan isn't himself right now…
"No, you can't heal it if you don't know what it is," she explains, as if she is talking to a child. "You have to heal him the minute Gabriel finds it, and you have to work fast because one thing you can't do is bring someone back when they are truly dead."
"Claire…"
"This is different from Claire's power. Peter…there is one more thing. Something Gabriel doesn't know." Peter meets his new brother's eyes.
"Yeah?"
"The power you have is unstable…if you aren't careful you will kill yourself trying to save him. He wouldn't do the same for you."
"I understand." Differences and pain only go so far. Peter hadn't been lying when he said he would always save Nathan.
He closes the phone and looks hard at Gabriel. "Ok I'm ready."
_-_-_
Gabriel nods and moves to the unconscious body on the floor. The blood is a sickeningly sweet smell in the air, the allure of a life in his hands wafts around him. He shudders, a smile creeping over his lips.
"Gabriel," Peter's voice pulls him up short. "Careful." Gabriel doesn't care a bit about Nathan, but he can't hurt Peter for the friggin' ability to fly. He wouldn't hurt Peter for the strongest ability in the world. He realizes how easy it would be to slip.
Peter takes Nathan's hand, gripping it firmly and nodding to Gabriel. He is ready. Gabriel aims his telekinesis at Nathan's forehead, channeling it through his finger. He never could have imagined this power would do anything but evil.
The second he starts the senator shudders awake, crying out from the pain. Gabriel can feel Peter tense beside him. He ignores the scream and tries to focus.
"Peter!" Nathan screams, anger radiating through his voice. "I always knew you would turn on me too!" Gabriel stops. Nathan shouldn't be talking like that. He shouldn't even have regained consciousness. Something Angela said comes back to the former murderer and his eyes narrow in understanding.
"Shut up…Arthur."
Nathan's dark eyes swivel to him, a glint in them that wasn't there before.
"Peter! You're gonna let him kill me? How could you! Just like you let him kill Dad!"
Gabriel looks at Peter, sees the conflict in his sibling's eyes. The pain and the guilt. Suddenly the temptation to kill the person on the floor is very strong.
"Peter it's not Nathan talking," he says, "Trust me." Those two words snap Peter's attention back to him.
"I do."
Gabriel feels something then that pushes everything else off. Peter trusts him. Blind, irrational trust. In him. The former Sylar turns to Nathan with more confidence, forcing his telekinesis out strong. Whatever control Arthur had isn't enough to keep him conscious any longer and those dark eyes shut.
As Sylar he was used to the carnage, as Gabriel he is focused. He looks at the system of Nathan's brain, and looks with the power in his head.
"There…There!" He shouts. He's not sure exactly how to make Peter understand what he saw. The younger brother moves up, his face several shades paler but he doesn't hesitate. He presses his hands against Nathan's face, nearly drilling them into the older Petrelli's temples. He shuts his eyes and Gabriel can literally feel the power coursing from them. He can see it. It's like a light. It's mesmerizing. He watches it, fighting back the thirst to take it.
The distraction of his inner conflict is almost enough to make him miss the change. Nathan's head begins heals cleanly and black veins are visible on Peter's pale skin.
"Peter?" he calls, reaching for his little brother. His hand lands on the younger's shoulder just as Peter collapses into his arms. The light is gone and he's afraid Peter is too. "PETER!"
Gibberings: Only the epilog to go now! ^_^