Chapter 7:
The heroes entered the hospital with Matt leading the group anxious to know about Elinor. They headed for the front desk and instantly got the receptionists attentions due to Peter
"Peter? Talk about long time no see! How are you?" the girl asked and Peter looked around
"Well Beth I'm stood in front of you as a 'customer' with a group of worried people" Peter explained and Beth shook her head
"Ok dumb question, sorry. I've missed you that is all! So what can I do to help?" Beth asked and Matt cut in
"We are here to see Elinor Parkman, I'm her uncle. She's been missing for three and a half weeks" Beth nodded and checked the database
'Oh my God! They've come for her? Poor them' echoed through the minds of Peter, Gabriel and Matt
"What is it?" Claire asked noticing the faces of her friends
"I'll just be one minute" Beth picked up the phone and dialled a number. "Hi this is Beth on front desk, Elinor Parkman's relatives are here for her ... I will thank you" Beth hung up the phone and smiled softly
"She's on ward nine" she explained
"Nine?" Peter asked shocked making everyone confused. "Thanks Beth, come on guys"
"What is ward nine?" Mohinder asked
"The psychiatric ward" Peter answered as the elevator doors opened. When the elevator doors opened on ward nine Matt was surprised by the person stood waiting for him
"Audrey?" he asked she smiled softly
"Good to see again Matt, I'm so sorry it was under such circumstances"
"Guys this is Audrey, FBI" Matt explained and she gave a small wave. "Where is she?"
"Down the hall. She needs help. She keeps on talking to herself; she won't let anyone touch her. She won't change and keeps on biting her nails. She's talking gibberish but I'll tell you one thing, as far as we know from what she says the last contact she had with Gabriel three and a half weeks ago took place a few hours ago. As for the victim he was ripped to pieces and stuck on the wall the same way as Sylar would kill" everyone looked at Gabriel
"I haven't let him out" he explained trying to keep calm
"Are you sure? Four murders have taken place like the Sylar murders beginning with a guy called Joshua Morris here in New York and ending in Las Vagas with a guy called Terence Major. Now this boy Greg Wallace I can't believe that she is capable of doing any of them in her state of mind and body"
"Body? What is wrong with her exactly? Is she ok? Is she hurt?" Peter asked frantically
"It looks like she has severe Pneumonia but we can't know for sure because she won't let anyone touch her. Either way she is very weak... possibility critically weak"
"She's dying?" Matt asked and Audrey lowered her gaze
"Eli's going away, like mommy and daddy?" Molly asked Mohinder who held her hand
"Look, the sooner someone can get in there to help her, touch her, the sooner we can save her" Audrey explained and Matt composed himself and nodded
"Don't go in there" Molly suddenly said and tried to pull Mohinder back away from the door
"What is it?" he asked and she began to cry
"Don't go in there ... She'll get you" Molly whispered
"Who?" Matt asked
"The bad one"
"Maybe only a few of us should go in" DL suggested
"Ok, Matt, me and Peter" Gabriel said
"Why do you get to go and not me?" Claire asked
"Because Matt is her only relative and we have more power then you. It makes sense"
"Yeah well I don't care! I'm going in ok? If Ted couldn't kill me when he blew up my house then she is not going to kill me either! What do you think Peter?" everyone turned to Peter to find him gone. Claire, Matt, and Gabriel entered Elinor's room closely followed by Hiro and Mohinder. Claire, shocked by Elinor's appearance, turned to face Hiro and shield her sight by resting her forehead against his shoulder. He softly wrapped his arms around her
On the bed with her knees up in her chest covered head to toe in blood and rocking back and forth was Elinor. Her eyes were wide and she muttered to herself. Peter stood at the foot of the bed watching her closely. Matt stepped forward to touch her but Peter stopped him
"She's too fragile to be touched Matt, you could do more harm than good so don't go near her"
"What do you expect me to do then? I can't see her like this she needs me"
"Need you to do it, ticktockticktockticktock do it! coughThere is still time, there is still timecough cough" Elinor muttered and looked around frantically. Her illness was evident making her sweat and pale skinned and her coughing grew worse by the minute
"She needs to be sedated, she doesn't like confined spaces she told me" Gabriel explained
"Relax; I need to get inside her head. When I come back you can touch her ok" Matt just glared and him. 'Trust me I wouldn't hurt her' Matt heard Peter's voice echo in his head and Matt nodded. Peter sat on the bed in front of Elinor
"Elinor? I'm going to have a look inside your head ok?" Elinor instantly shook her head and clutched at Peter's jacket pulling him close to her
"N ... N... no no no! You have to sssssstay there ok? You ... you can't come here she'll get to you... Everything wrong ... you fix it... stay away ssssstay. I...I...I go! Die, only way" Elinor explained before letting Peter go to continue to bite her nails
"I have to look in your head, it is the only way" he rested his hands, one on each side of her face and placed his forehead against hers. She instantly closed her eyes and began to moan with pain. "Stay with me" he whispered and vanished in front of everyone
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Peter opened his eyes to find himself out of the city. In fact he was in an area he had never been before. He saw many buildings surrounding him on a clear night with a full moon, the sky full of stars with the moonlight bouncing off a lake. It was then he realised he was on a large boat and the chill of the night made him shiver.
"You know, Louisa M. Alcott was right! She wrote 'over the mysteries of female life is drawn a veil, best left undisturbed'! You shouldn't be here Peter, I told you to stay away" he heard behind him and turned to see Elinor the way he always saw her looking as healthy in a floor length white coat and as understandable as always
"It was the only way I could talk to you, sorry for invading your personal space and for teaching me about Louisa M. Alcott, you know you should become an English teacher!" Peter explained but Elinor covered his mouth with her left hand to shut him up
"Look there isn't much time, she could come at any time, you are not safe here" Elinor said and lowered her hand from his face
"Where have you been for three and a half weeks? We've been frantic" he asked and she shook he head
"Shhh! Keep your voice down! If you are loud she'll come sooner. I don't know where I was and the FBI won't believe me! I swear, that conversation I had with Gabriel was a few hours ago, not 24 DAYS ago! She's taking over my mind Peter! I can't tell what reality is and what are dreams ... I'm so scared to even close my eyes or even blink because it gives her a tiny hole to get through. To get you all and I'll NEVER risk that! For now we are safe but you can't stay here" she explained softly
"Where are we exactly?" Peter looked around and saw a lighthouse
"We are in Chicago, at least what Chicago looks like in my head! This is my thinking room" she explained
"At lot more detailed then my thinking room"
"Well being a girl I'm more focused on detail, down to the music"
"Music?" he asked then suddenly he began to hear Nessun Dorma being sung
"My dad was an architect and my mum was a musician, played so many instruments she would teach all of them. She used to play this all the time when I was little. My family would come out here on our boat and look at the buildings my dad had created and listen to my mum play. It was so much fun, especially our fourth of July parties with the fireworks! I always wanted to learn how to play this music and now I never will"
"What do you mean?" Peter asked and saw the tears well up in her eyes
"Peter ... I never thought I would say this... Kill me PLEASE" she begged and Peter took a few steps back
"No, I can't" he protested and she cupped his face with her hands
"Peter, it's the only way to stop her. I trust you to make the right decision ... You won't be killing me ok? You'll be saving yourself and the other heroes" she explained as tears fell from her eyes
"Everyone I love dies because of me. You know, just because you ask me, it doesn't mean I'll do it"
"Just because you loved me, doesn't mean I didn't love you back! Just as everyone I have loved has died for me. It is now time for me to die for you. It is the only way to stop her"
"Stop who? I don't understand"
"Her name is Tabatha but she likes to be called Tabby. She was my imaginary friend I created when my parents died, now it is like she is a whole other person. I don't know how but she knows Sylar. She wants Sylar; she was the one that killed those boys... killed Greg! She needs him like how I need you... I'm not afraid to die... I just don't want to be without you" she explained and rested her forehead against him
"Then don't be! Help us by staying with me" she shook her head and turned away from him
"The only way I can help you is to die. By dying it will give me comfort to know that you and Matt are safe. That I did the right thing"
"I've already lost Simone, I won't lose you" he turned her around and cupped her face. "I can't lose you" he passionately kissed her and felt her wrap her arms around his neck. After a moment they parted and she lowered her head
"The perfect way to end the relationship that never was ... right? Goodbye Peter, I understand what you have to do so do it" he felt something heavy in his hands and looked down to see a loaded revolver.
"Elinor?" he looked around to find her gone and the music stopped before the lights began to dim. "No, don't leave me here!" he yelled showing the gun in his jacket pocket and felt tears fill his eyes. "I'm sorry" he shut them tight and felt him leave her mind and re-enter her hospital room
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"Peter?" he felt someone tugging on his jacket and opened his eyes to see an upset Claire. A single tear fell from his eyes and he lowered his head
"I'm sorry Matt" he looked at Matt who was crying and stroking Elinor's hair. "I'm sorry" Peter pulled out the loaded gun and fired making Claire and Niki scream. Elinor fell back flat against the bed being hit right in the heart
"NO!" Matt screamed and cried over her body. All Peter could do was stand and watch in what felt like slow motion. Suddenly the room was filled with laughter silencing everyone. Matt slowly looked up and felt a hand grip him tightly around his neck
"Hello Teddy!" Elinor said and sat up smiling broadly. The gunshot wound closed as she threw Matt across the room. Hiro pulled out his sword and got ready for a fight
"Don't trust Tabatha" Molly said bursting into the room and Tabatha laughed
"Oh is it not a secret anymore? God you lot are pathetic! I can't see what Elinor was thinking by becoming friends with a bunch of morons like you" Peter went to fire again but using her telekinetic power she stopped the bullet within an inch of her body and followed it as it fell to the ground. "Oldest trick in the book Peter! God even I thought you would come up with something original like this" she held up her hand and stripped the bars and other metal objects from walls before wedging everyone between the walls and the metal. Everyone that is except for Gabriel who she pushed up against the wall
"Where is security?" Matt thought and Tabatha smiled
"You aren't the only ones who can freeze time to eliminate the guards. Sorry about your little friend Audrey Teddy but she was thinking of you when I killed her. I hope that comforts you somehow"
"You bitch! BRING HER BACK" Matt yelled and Tabatha tutted at him
"Now you wouldn't call Elinor that would you Teddy? You know saying things like that get me upset and that would be VERY bad for you. Besides, I can't bring her back ... she's dead, accept it and move on" she warned
"You can't do this! Let us go!" Claire screamed
"Oh is the little cheerleader upset?" Tabatha asked in a childish way pretending to be upset cocking her head to the right for extra effect. "Do you mind if I throw up a little? Shut your mouth little girl before I shut it for you ok?" she asked with the last question pronounced like a bimbo cheerleader. She then turned to Gabriel who stiffened
"What do you want Tabatha?" Gabriel asked and she smiled
"You know what I want sweetheart ... I want Sylar" Gabriel felt her powers try to invade his mind so he shut his eyes tightly. He screamed with pain as her power took over his mind and suddenly his eyes open widely. "Hello honey" Tabatha smiled and she leant in, softly kissing him on the lips
"How did you get here?" Sylar asked smiling softly
"I heard you honey, and I knew you couldn't do it alone. So I did my research and borrowed my old friend Elinor's head for a while. Carried on your work and got the list back"
"How? I destroyed that laptop there is no way you could have got that list" Mohinder explained and Tabatha rolled her eyes
"That is just like saying a person can't fly, or move objects, or explode! Just because you destroyed the laptop you did not destroy the hard drive or the portable hard drive in your apartment. So next time you destroy something important, make sure you actually destroy it! Now where was I?" Tabatha felt Sylar wrap his arms around her waist making her bite her bottom lip and looked up at Peter. His eyes were burning with rage. "Are you jealous Peter? The fact that he gets to wrap his arms around the girl you adore?"
"You are NOT my Elinor so don't try and get me angry because you have no idea what I'm capable of" Tabatha smiled and held Sylar's hand
"Let's find out" she raised an eyebrow and both she and Sylar vanished into thin air
"Where did they go?" Niki asked
"I don't know, but the sooner with find that list the sooner we'll know!" Mohinder explained trying to get out of the grasp of the metal but couldn't
"DL, use your power" Claire said
"I don't know if I can! When I get caught up like this I freeze. I don't quite know how to control my power yet"
"DL, we believe in you. You can do this, now concentrate" Hiro said and DL nodded. Slowly he managed to force himself through the bars and hit the floor. Peter absorbed his power and did the same. Together they were able to pull all the metal off the heroes and set them free
"How do we know they haven't already killed together? They could have travelled through time" Micha asked and Hiro shook his head
"No, with a split personality like Gabriel and Sylar we would have been able to tell if Sylar really wasn't around back in time killing people, trust me. They are out there somewhere" Hiro explained
"Molly could find them" Niki said and Molly shook her head
"No, she's too powerful for me! If I look for her she will take over my mind. I can't"
"Well Molly can't see them, but I might be able to" Micha said and everyone turned to him
"Care to explain?" Niki said
"The list, it was on a computer using a constant global database right?" Micha asked and Mohinder nodded. "Well that meant that data would have been feeding through a number of databases with the results coming to the one your father used. So with the international connection it is most likely feed through a private internet path. All I need is a working computer and I can find your list" Micha explained and the group headed out of the hospital room
"Are you sure? It has a password on it and is very secure" Mohinder asked and Micha laughed softly
"Well I managed to steal a whole backpack full of money from ATM machines throughout Texas so I think one password is not going to be a problem somehow". Hiro froze time so they could get to Beth's computer and Micha closed his eyes, his fingers softly touching the monitor. Within seconds the formula scripture of Minder's father appeared on the screen. No one had seen Micha use his powers before so everyone was taken aback. A moment later the list appeared making Mohinder smile broadly
"Where do we go?" Matt asked and checked the amount of bullets in his gun
"Matt you don't have to do this" Peter explained. "I'm sorry, but Elinor told me the only way to destroy Tabatha was to kill her so I did. She was wrong, and I've killed the niece of my best friend. Please forgive me" Peter begged
"Peter, let me kill Tabatha and we're even. I was forced to leave Elinor for her schooling in the past, I won't abandon her now in death. We have to kill Tabatha, so let me do it"
"Found her!" Micha said and everyone turned to the screen. "She's killed them in the order they appear on the list which is catalogued across the country. Now she's back in New York she's headed for 365 Fleet Street for Tracey Asher... oh no"
"What is it?" Niki asked
"Her power, Tracey! She can track just liked Molly. Except when she thinks of a person, she can kill them" Micha explained
"So we aren't safe?" Peter asked and Claire took him hand in hers. "Alright, if we freeze time we can travel safer, keep to the shadows and don't make a sound" Peter explained and turned to Matt. "Don't worry, I'll let you take her out" Matt nodded and put his gun in his pocket
