Author's Note: Just posting a quick note about how amazing the premiere was! I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. And, in celebration, here's my next fic. Also, please leave any form of comment (preferably good or at least constructive) if you decide to read. Not only will it give me motivation to keep writing, I'd like to hear what people think about specific things and even possible ideas for further chapters. Thanks everyone who decides to read!
"We thought, because we had power, we had wisdom."
-Stephen Vincent Benet
Misconception
Sylar motioned for Sarah to go ahead up the stairs, indicating that he would follow her. They had arrived at her apartment and he, finding great difficulty in adjusting to his crutches, decided that it'd be better if he hobbled up the stairs without fear of falling back and injuring someone else in the process. So as Sarah proceeded ahead and unlocked the door, Sylar grappled with how to use his crutches with one arm in a sling as well as in having to deal with unnaturally-steep stairs.
Unlocking the door and looking back, Sarah commented, "You know Gabriel, I know you were adamant about doing this on your own, but do you have any idea how I'll feel if you fall and break something else?"
"Trust me", Sylar assured her, as he literally did a pirouette to get to the next step, "I've got this. Look, I'm already half-way up!", he finished, a little cheerfully.
"Right…", Sarah answered, her voice trailing off.
When Sylar had finally maneuvered himself up the stairs, he smiled and they headed into her apartment. It was a nice place. Whatever she did for a living, it had to be pretty decent-paying. It was small, due to the fact that she lived alone, but it had everything one could need. Sylar followed Sarah as she led him down the hallway to what would be his room.
Sarah wasn't lying; it was a spare room, with a bed and closet and even a television, but there were several piles of boxes surrounding the bed, some blockading the closet, and others in two towers that reached almost to the ceiling, and were placed on either side of a bookshelf—the likes of which was full.
"A few boxes for storage huh?", Sylar asked Sarah sarcastically.
"Yeah…I guess I under-exaggerated a bit", Sarah replied sheepishly.
"No problem", Sylar replied, "beggars can't be choosers".
Smiling, Sarah said, "Well, I'm starving so I was going to make dinner. Are you hungry?"
"Thanks, but I'm probably just going to lie down for a while", Sylar replied, wanting a few moments of privacy.
"Alright then, let me know if you need anything", Sarah said, with a smile, as she exited and headed for the kitchen.
Sylar took this opportunity to move a few boxes away from the bed to provide a type of pathway. After this, he lay down and closed his eyes, thinking about all of his unanswered questions.
Although it concerned him, his power loss seemed to be the least of his worries at the present. He wondered how he could wake up hundreds of miles away from home, and better yet, why he didn't remember any of it. Why had he dreamed of Zane Taylor attacking him? Was it the act of a guilty conscience? He certainly didn't feel guilty about what he had done. It was evolution, and evolution can be a brutal and unfair process.
"Yeah, that's it", Sylar thought to himself in reassurance, "I am evolution."
"You know, that is an awful misconception", came a voice to Sylar's right. Startled, Sylar's eyes shot open and he was shocked at what he saw. There, leaning against the dresser across the room, was the man that Sylar had seen in one of his previous dreams. Nothing had changed about him, Sylar noted; his clothes, hair, and S-shaped tattoo remained.
"You!", Sylar exclaimed, "who are you?"
"People always say things like 'he evolved into this' or, in your case, things like 'I am evolution' or 'I'm a natural progression of the species!", the man stated, ignoring Sylar's question, "yet, they are completely wrong."
Sylar, confused, simply didn't answer, and the man quickly seized his opportunity to elaborate.
"One of the first things you learn in Biology, dear Gabriel!", the man answered, as if Sylar was clearly missing some obvious detail, "an individual cannot evolve. Only a population of those of the same species can be said to 'evolve'.
"So what you're doing is not evolution, really. Sure, you are a natural progression of the species, but not because you and you alone are special. Everyone else with any ability of their own is in the same boat.
"And don't forget another thing Gabriel,", the man finished gleefully, "your genes, no matter how many alterations you continue to make to them, are useless from an evolutionary standpoint unless they're passed on!"
Utterly and confused by the biology-babble that he had just listened to, and not really in the mood to make sense of it, Sylar decided to revert back to his previous question.
"Who..are..you?", Sylar asked, exasperatedly.
"I find it funny that 'who' is always the question that people ask first, don't you?", remarked the mysterious man.
"What do you mean?", Sylar asked.
"I mean, wouldn't you rather get to the good stuff and ask the 'what' part?", the man replied comically, "I find it much more enthralling, personally".
"Fine then", Sylar conceded, "what are you?
"Or better yet", Sylar continued, "how are you doing this? First my dream, and now in-person. What, are you a teleporter like that little Japanese pest?"
"Oh you short-sighted little gnat!", the man exclaimed, almost jubilantly, causing Sylar to glare maliciously at him, "Who ever said this isn't a dream? Or conversely, who ever said that I'm here in-person right now?"
"Well…I just assumed-", Sylar began.
"Assumptions are truly evil little things! Take my advice Gabriel, don't make assumptions", the man replied, seeming almost reproachful.
Sylar, utterly bewildered at this point, decided he only had one thing to say at this point, "I've told you before, don't call me Gabriel."
"Come now Gabriel, you can't really expect me to be afraid of you, can you?", the man asked, in a very condescending tone.
"Well, you would be if I had my powers", Sylar shot back, rather childishly.
"Really now?", the man asked, more seriously this time, "can you prove it?"
With that, the man's eyes glowed a fiery red and the entire room was engulfed in a bright, crimson light. As his surroundings came back into focus, Sylar noticed that they were in New York City. In fact, they were both standing in the middle of Times Square! The only problem Sylar noticed, was that there were no people. Nothing moved—save for electronic billboards and marquees—and Sylar found the entire situation to be very unnerving. Even more shocking still was the fact that all of his injuries had vanished, and he was wearing his usual black-attire—a change from the jeans, t-shirt, and jacket he had been wearing since waking up in Chicago.
"Well then, Gabriel", the man began calmly, interrupting his train of thought, "shall we begin?"
"Begin wh-", Sylar began, but immediately answered his own question when he dodged a basket-ball-sized fireball that was rocketing toward him.
Oh, sorry Gabriel were you not ready? I figured you'd have noticed you had your powers back, since they are just oh-so-important to you", the man replied mockingly.
Shocked, Sylar suddenly knew it was true as he sent a bench flying into a nearby shop window with the flick of a single finger. Sylar felt instantly different. He didn't know how to describe the feeling, even to himself, but he suddenly felt much less hesitant. It was like the part of him that made him Sylar had suddenly returned.
"Oh yes, I'm gonna enjoy this", Sylar growled, maliciously.
With that, Sylar flicked his hand and telekinetically hurled several light posts at the man. In retaliation, the man jumped high into the air, avoiding the projectiles that, consequently, went hurtling into a nearby bank. Then, almost immediately following his jump, the man—seemingly floating at this point—blasted a spherical burst of crimson back at Sylar. Much more alert this time, Sylar used his telekinesis to stop the attack. However, and to the surprise of Sylar, the blast did not stop but was, rather, deflected into a nearby structure. With a sickening, and surprising (considering that the man's projectile was quite small) fury, the building erupted in flames and exploded with such force that it shook every structure in the immediate vicinity.
Sylar was thrown off his feet and into a nearby parked truck. The wind was knocked out of him, and Sylar struggled to his feet, as he coughed and gasped for air. He had never seen a power like this before. The man had just wiped out a sizeable area with what Sylar guessed was a rather minor attack. Sylar didn't know how this was possible, nor did anything really make sense at this point, but he decided to hold the questions for when he was slicing open the man's skull and extracting this beautiful power.
Standing up straight, Sylar peered up at the man—who was still floating—and grinned.
"Quite a power", Sylar said with minor-admiration, "it'll be an amazing addition to my collection!"
"I imagine it would be", the man replied, seeming rather unfazed by Sylar's comment.
Angrily, Sylar sent three cars hurtling toward the man in quick succession, and then—even to his own surprise, as it was a new occurrence for him—sent a barrage of ice spikes flying almost immediately after the first attack. Sylar knew that he would have to employ several abilities at once, and rapidly, if he was going to defeat this interesting new foe.
Much to his dismay, however, Sylar watched as the man simply dodged two cars, blasted another (truly vaporizing the object), and erected a tremendous wall of fire (which acted as a shield), melting the ice projectiles.
However, the resulting counter-attack by the man left a large cloud of smoke that obscured the space between the two men. Sylar, seizing the opportunity, sent four more cars, five benches, and an array of various debris through the cloud of smoke, hoping to catch the man off-guard. And, working almost exactly how he'd hoped, Sylar heard, as the objects crashed into a nearby structure, a sickening sound of crunching bones, followed by a cry of pain.
As Sylar walked forward through the haze, he saw, with delight, the effects of his attack. The man was pinned under one of the cars, with what looked to be a large steel rod through his upper torso.
"What did I tell you?", Sylar laughed, staring down at the helpless man.
"I'll hand it to you", Sylar continued, "that certainly is quite the power.
"I guess it's a good thing that I'll be taking it now. You didn't deserve it after all", Sylar finished, extending his finger as he began the telekinetic incision.
However, instead of screaming, the man just laughed as Sylar went about his work. Hysterically, and loudly, the man taunted Sylar with roars of laughter. Sylar, confused by this, was about to stop and speak, but suddenly, and without warning, the man burst into flames. Sylar backed away in horror as the red ashes danced wildly around the devastated square. Sylar watched in mourning as his chance of this power slipped away from him. He couldn't believe that he'd lost the chance, but the man was almost fully a pile of burning ashes at this point.
Then, with a rush of force, the ashes converged upon one another and emitted a blinding flash of light. Turning away from the stinging flare, Sylar shielded his eyes until the light dimmed and, to his amazement and shock, the man was standing before him once more; no apparent damage or wound of any kind.
"It seems, Mr. Gray", the man began as he flicked his wrist and Sylar was thrown hard into a nearby car, pinned by some outside force, "that you are no more prepared than the last time we met!"
Sylar, held in place by what appeared to be the man's own telekinetic ability, shouted, "what the hell is going on?"
"Sadly, Gabriel", the man continued calmly, holding Sylar in place, " it seems that your lust and acquisition of power has led you down a very dark path.
"Even worse, you seem to think you have some entitlement and knowledge of these powers that makes you stand above all other 'special' people", the man added.
"That's right", Sylar seethed, "and you're just one more undeserving wretch standing in my way!"
The man, seemingly angry at Sylar's outburst, flicked his wrist and sent Sylar flying into another car. He then released his control on Sylar, causing him to fall to the ground in a painful slump.
Then, walking up and standing over Sylar, the man said bluntly, "when next we meet, Gabriel, your mind will have changed entirely".
"Heh…don't count on it!", Sylar spat back.
The man merely shook his head, held his hand above Sylar, and, in a flash of fiery light, Sylar awoke back in Sarah's apartment, screaming at the awful pain in his head. Panicked, and with the pain having dissipated, Sylar took in his surroundings. He was disoriented, and for some reason felt as if he was upside-down. No sooner had that thought crossed his mind did Sarah come bursting into the room. She threw the light on, and frantically ran to Sylar's side.
"Gabriel!", she panicked, concern in her face, "what happened?"
Sitting back up with the help of Sarah, he found his voice and muttered, heart still racing, "just another nightmare".