Sylar
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
He stayed hidden in his trailer. Things were changing, and the game was becoming harder. The last message from Prometheus was that the finals had arrived, and only two people remained in the program; Sylar and Legion. The finals ended with the capture of Peter Petrelli and Jon Baker. Something didn't feel right.
Thinking back on the abilities he'd gathered over the years, he decided there was only one way to go about it.
The easel was set up, his paints spread out, and Sylar was ready. As he brought to surface the trance that signaled his time to paint, the ticking of the eternal clock grew so loud, it nearly shattered his eardrums.
When he came to, the sun was setting, again. Before him were several paintings of Legion in war with Peter Petrelli. He hunted through his work, finding several more smaller paintings of dead people, until he found the one he was looking for.
In this last painting, Sylar was engaged in his own fight with Legion. Legion was in the process of merging with the Sylar.
The killer shuddered. It was time to abandon the Prometheus Project. There were few people who could help him get free and live through it. His mind went first to Matt Parkman. Surely, the Agent could help him.
Sylar shook his head. Thanks to his phone call, he could never get Parkman on his side. But, he could use the agent as a tool to stop Legion and Prometheus. The eternal clock clicked this way and that, filling in the gaps of his plan.
There was only one person who could help.
Peter Petrelli.
Kit Frost
New York, New York
Frost and Ashe stepped into the alley, where he believed Mr. Bennet would be there to brief him. Instead, he found the Doctor, Stanley Crane. "Hello, Ashe, Kit," the doctor said, a little pale in the face.
"Doctor," Ashe said, and Frost just nodded.
"I'm sure you're wondering what you next assignment is. Well, here it is," Crane said, leading them into the alley to a covered corpse. Frost eyed the words written in blood on the wall. "He was found about two hours ago, after the second victim was found up in Maine. A couple of EA, spending the night watching the sunset, each killed execution style, with a note."
He handed the note to Ashe, who glanced at it, and then gave to Frost. It was perhaps the weirdest thing he'd ever read to date. I will destroy the demons, plaguing this earth. I will be the hand of God in purging this world. Samael.
"Cuckoo," Frost said, bringing only the slightest of grins to Ashe's face.
Crane nodded. "Be that as it may, it's your job to catch this guy."
Ashe looked over at him, with a slight frown. "Can't you do anything here?"
"What do you mean?"
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "They had to team with the moron. I mean with your ability. It said you had some kind of mental ability."
"Yeah, I do. But, it's just precognition. I can't look back in time and tell you what this guy looks like. I can just tell you when we're walking into a trap."
Ashe frowned deeper. He liked it better when she smiled. "Just try."
"Fine," he said, not wanting to upset her further.
Frost gazed over the crime scene, struggling to piece together what happened. His brow furrowed, and something in him clicked. Everything went in reverse. He saw himself walk away, join up with Ashe, and both of them walked backwards out of the alley.
Frost didn't move, afraid of what would happen if he did. He saw the medics uncover the body, and do the preliminary search of the scene, and then they, too, backed out of the alley. Soon, the whole world became a blur.
Then it stopped. Night had fallen again, and the victim was standing up, urinating on the wall. Frost thought he was going to vomit; he was so light-headed.
A man in a black hood walked up behind him, pulled a gun, and pointed it at Frost's face. "Whoa, man, what the hell?" he asked.
You fowl demon of Hell, I say to you in the name of the Lord Jesus, get off our plane!" the gunman shouted, getting the attention of the victim, and pulled the trigger. Frost nearly screamed as he watched the bullet fly at his head, slowing as it approached. It stopped an inch from his nose.
Frost stuck his hand out to grab the bullet and fought the urge to laugh hysterically as his fingers passed right through it. He felt like the world was a tape, and he was the VCR. Or DVD player, if you prefer.
He stepped around the stopped bullet, as if afraid of it would start again, and walked up to the gunman. Damn it, Ashe, he thought. I guess you will get that description after all.
Frost tried hard to memorize the features of the gunman. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a scar on his chin, and two small marks on his neck; he was dressed in jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt, hood up covering his face. He focused again, this time on the present time, and watched as the world rocketed forward until he was back.
He lurched to his knees, and dry-heaved on the side of a nearby dumpster. He looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder, expecting to see the calm face of Dr. Crane. Instead, he saw the worrying eyes of his partner, Ashe Tisdale. For the first time, he saw true emotion in her eyes. "Are you alright?"
He couldn't resist. "You have your description, little lady." He tried to smile for her, just to let her know he was fine, but shaken.
What he got in return was not just beyond his expectations, but far beyond anything he ever could have expected. She grinned madly, threw her arms around him, and squeezed. Then, with a little bit of sarcasm, she whispered in his ear. "I told you so."
Wyrm
Peter's Apartment, New York
He watched her move about the apartment with the boy, hidden in the bathroom and ready to pop out somewhere else in case one of them came in. Listening intently, Wyrm listened to her talk about his exploits with the boy's phasing father, now trapped in between here and Nome, Alaska.
In his pocket, he pulled the syringe he'd stolen for this very occasion. Wyrm didn't know what they wanted with the girl's blood, but he wouldn't disappoint. He couldn't. He owed them too much after they got him out of that facility in Bucharest, where many more where now more than likely being tested on.
He shook the thoughts from his head, and decided now was his chance. He lunged out, jabbing the needle into Claire's neck as she walked by the bathroom on her way to the kitchen. She screamed, and threw herself back into the wall, smashing Wyrm against it. She tossed an elbow into his ribs, and let him fall to the ground, winded.
Using what little focus he had without oxygen, he opened a portal on her floor, and slipped through it, into her room.
Claire and her ward's voices echoed through the both the portal and the bedroom door, carrying the confusion as to where Wyrm had gone. He lay back on her bed and listened, catching his breath. He'd have to move faster next time.
That's when he noticed the syringe was gone, probably still sticking out of the girl's neck. Wyrm began to hyperventilate, which grew even worse when he heard the front door open and a man's voice speak, asking what had happened.
It was the boy who answered, telling the newcomer that Claire had been attacked and that he disappeared through the floor.
The first time Wyrm felt afraid was when the newcomer announced that the syringe was sticking out the girl's neck. Wyrm opened a portal, ran through it into the living room, snatching the syringe, ported back to the bedroom, and then charged out, syringe held high.
He tripped over the boys backpack, and the needle jammed itself into the girl's arm. Before he could get his sample, the newcomer slammed something into the back of his head, and Wyrm lost consciences.
Peter Petrelli
Toronto, Canada
He blinked and eyed the paintings. It was one of the gifts that he retained, apparently. So far, that made two, painting the future and invisibility. Peter smiled. They left damn near useless.
Ever since Kate removed the bracelet, Peter had tried every one of his abilities, at least the ones he thought safe to try. The radioactivity was too dangerous, and he didn't want to cut himself to see if he would heal. Those two were more well-known, anyway, and they probably did away with them.
The paintings were not something to be happy about. Four deaths, at least one of them he recognized. One of the paintings showed his mother, in a hospital bed, with severe burns across her face. The other three looked vaguely familiar.
Another one he'd done during the night was that of a storm. He assumed it was one, even though it appeared to span the globe. Tornado's in Paris, a tidal wave wiping out New York City, massive lightning storms over the Pyramids.
The next set involved a series of battles, some of which were even more bizarre. Hiro and a woman against two other combatants fighting in Kirby Plaza with swords. A Japanese man who had a gaping slash though his right eye, and two fingers missing off his left hand.
In the battles, he also saw himself fighting against two people in a massive plain. They were surrounded by people, many of them with guns. One of the people he depicted himself fighting he recognized, and it made his blood run cold. Sylar.
Outside the window, the sun was coming up, and Kate opened his door. "I'm heading off to work," She said, smiling sweetly. "Remember, none of my neighbors know about you, so stay hidden, okay?"
Peter nodded, eager to be rid of her so he can resume his search for remaining abilities. It seemed he had a war to fight, and wanted to be ready for it.
Nikki Sanders
Location Unknown
The world was completely black. There were others here, she could tell, each with their own story, but none of which she could make out. The weirdest of all, when she tried to talk, she was answered by her own her voice, not like an echo.
She struggled to remember what happened, something to hint as to what happened. The last thing she remembered was talking with DL and Micah in the hospital. She was going on a trip to get rid of Jessica, with a man who called himself Bob.
Bucharest, Romania.
The thought came unbidden to her mind. Yes, that was where she went. Bob set her up in a dinky little place, and fed her pills by the bucket load. They helped her keep Jessica from coming out, but also kept her from wanting to do anything. Her days went by in a fog.
The man and his child.
Okay, that one made no sense at all. There was no man and his child, unless of course she was thinking of DL and Micah.
His child…
An image followed this one, that of a young man with dark black hair and eyes. He refused to look at her, seemed almost regretful to be there.
Nikki shook her head, trying to dispose of the thoughts, but a voice spoke up in the darkness. "No, you need to remember," her voice said. "Otherwise you're lost. And I won't let you give up. Micah needs you. Be strong, and remember."
"Who are you?" Nikki asked.
"Just be ready, and keep remembering!" The voice faded.
The man…
Ah, yes. The image that came this time made everything clear, or slightly clearer than mud. The tall man, long black hair, black eyes, gloved hands, ungloved, touch, the absence of…
Nikki screamed. Something bad happened when that man touched her. Something, but she couldn't tell what, couldn't remember. The voice, Jessica's voice, spoke up in the void. "It is bad, Nikki, but I can feel our way out. Just trust me on this, okay?"
Did she have a choice? Not one that she could see.
In the void, an echo, a real one this time, came to her ears. We are Legion, we are many.
Then, the pull started, and Nikki listened in horror as Jessica screamed in pain.
Jon Baker
New York, New York
The pull towards the man was compulsory. In his search for Claire Bennet, he'd come to New York and found this man. He was tall, dressed sharply for a business meeting of some sort, and seemed to avoid his gaze. Now, there was a voice in his head, calling out for help, emanating from this man.
Something reached out and tapped into his absorption power, and the man stopped in his tracks, hunching over in pain. The voice in Jon's head screamed to be let out and tugged at his ability like a fish on the hook. He released the full power of his gift on the man, absorbing the woman's voice that so clearly needs to be let out.
Nikki Sanders
Location Unknown
"Quick, take my hand!" Jessica cried out, gripping what felt more like Nikki's throat, although she knew it was probably a little higher up she grabbed. The tug was incessant, and only increased as she tried to fight it. She shut her eyes against the flood, letting Jessica win. It was only one more time that she'd have to wake up and wonder what Jessica had done now, in Nikki's name.
It was cold, and loud. She opened her eyes and viewed the New York skyline, falling below her. Two arms held her aloft, and she felt shamed when she looked up and saw the ever innocent face of man looking at her. She was naked, hundreds of feet above the earth, in the arms of a flying man.
The man who pulled her out of the void was simple, not unintelligent, just simple and innocent; she could see that in his brown muddy eyes. Sandy hair poured down over his face, and the start of dimples were forming at the corners of his lips. Sparks lit up the air around him.
"Uh, hello," she said, before he dived into the noise of New York. She shut her eyes on the ride, fearing that she'd be seen, or worse, that he was going to take her higher and then drop her from the clouds.
Once again, when she opened her eyes, she was not where she thought she'd be. Kirby Plaza, the same place that she witnessed that guy explode while clinging to her husband and child.
The flying man set her down, wrapped his coat around her, and then took off into the sky, leaving her to wonder, just what happened.
(A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, I had a hard time deciding on how to do the painting scenes. I'm also trying to get everything ready so that when I sit at the computer, I have all the key points planned out. I seem to have too many characters than needed, and I'm trying to sort out who I need, and who is "expendable". I appreciate all of the comments left, even if I don't always respond to them. And since I'm already in an authors note, I might as well go ahead and tell you what's going on with Hiro. Basically, his adventure in time is the same as his Story with Kensei on the show I haven't forgotten him; he shows up later down the line.
Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far, Traumedy101)