Chapter11: Revenge: A Double Edged Spike
Brooklyn- Kate and Sylar
"Damn it!" Sylar cursed in frustration as the third vision was different from the other two. He began to write them down in full detail after each one, hoping soon to have a clear idea about what was going to happen.
"None of this is making sense. They're screwing with me…must be," he sat down on the edge of the bath tub.
Meanwhile Kate was busy going through notes and cd files searching for a Gina Feng. She wasn't on Sylar's map or the original list, but hoped to find her somewhere else. She could hear the curses coming from the bathroom as Sylar struggled to get his answers. Since they had come back from Alex's apartment he only emerged from the bathroom for a notepad and pen. It made her wonder if he was ever going to tell her what he was seeing, but judging from his anger she believed Sylar was seeing himself lose the battle.
After two hours of searching and three cups of tea she found a file. Double clicking on it a photograph and complete fact sheet had been completed on Gina.
"Sylar! I found her," She called out to him.
As he walked into the small office space his eyes looked dark and overall restless. He grabbed a chair and sat down next to her.
"That's her…" he confirmed.
"It says her ability is…ability purging," she paused a moment, "with her touch she can take abilities and return them according to her whim. No wonder…Peter wants you powerless and she's his only hope."
"Then she's next," he got up from the chair and walked to the door.
"Wait. Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Kate swung around to him in her chair.
"No. Not till I figure this out," Sylar stood in the doorway and sighed when she gave him a look of disappointment. "I don't mean to put you out... I just need to do this on my own and there isn't much time."
Kate walked towards him, "All the more reason we should be working together on this. Don't you think? Let's start by looking at what they have in common and how we can take down Gina."
"We?" Sylar raised a brow. "I can't let you come with me Kate. You'll be an easy target for Peter and I can't worry about you. I want you to stay here where they can't find you." He knew she wasn't going to like this.
"Well I'm not going to sit here and wait again! I can be invisible, they won't even know I'm there, I swear." Kate pleaded with him while running her hands down his chest. "You can fight Peter and I'll take out his secret weapon. I can do that without even being near her if I use a gun."
Sylar sighed, this was what he feared. Her plan sounded a lot like the first vision which got him thinking even more about what was going to happen.
"I'm worried about you baby," her hand caressed the side of his head as he seemed lost in thought.
He chuckled with his eyes closed, "You're worried about me? Right now I don't know which of us is the more crazy."
"Well that's an easy one," she grinned.
Sylar shook his head with a smile and became focused again. "There's something I'm not seeing...like a part is missing. No matter how many visions I have they all stop at around the same time...except for the first one."
Kate put her hands at either side of his head, "maybe you just need to take a short break. Get some rest to clear your head."
"No…this is all going down at sunset."
"Alright. I guess I'll let you get back to work, but if you need another opinion I'll be on the computer," She lowered her hands and walked back to the chair.
Sylar stood in the middle of the room watching her sit down. Before heading back into the bathroom he went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels to take with him.
After a few swigs of whisky he felt better, but the feeling didn't last as his body repaired itself from the effects. He expected this and drank some more until half the bottle of gone. Sylar set the bottle on the counter and glanced at himself in the mirror. He didn't have time to see how disheveled he looked before the reflection started to change.
The familiar scene came to him again…it was almost sickening him to be back on that bridge. This time Gina was nowhere to be seen and he had Peter by the throat. It made him chuckle to see the fear and panic on everyone's faces. But Peter managed to release spikes from his body; Sylar released his grip on Peter and fell backwards looking down as his chest was covered with large thick bone spikes. Seeing an opportunity to make his move, Peter grabbed Kate tightly and told Sylar he was going to finish what he had started.
"Here...have one last hug!" Peter said bitterly before pushing Kate into Sylar, impaling her on the spikes he had shot into him just before. There simply wasn't enough time for Sylar to react as Kate was forcibly pushed into his body.
Then the vision went black…confusing him because the other visions always ended abruptly with him in pain from Peter's attack. Then suddenly he found himself in an unfamiliar place that had to be further on in the future based upon his other self's appearance. He followed himself down the halls.
"Is this a hospital?" he questioned aloud.
As they turned a corner he stopped in front of a room and talked to a doctor who was asking him questions, such as if there was anything in his pockets. When he entered the room close behind he saw Peter was inside sitting on the padded floor.
"Why are you here Sylar…" he growled.
"Just to talk….you know? I come here every Monday. You don't remember?" Sylar had sat down across from him.
"No I don't know. The shock treatments…they make me forget sometimes," he responded sharply but his voice faded into uncertainty.
Sylar stood in the corner watching himself conversation with a mentally ill Peter. He had never seen this in any of his visions and it made him wonder what had changed to make this the future.
"I'm not mad at you Peter. I understand why you killed her, but honestly this isn't where you belong."
It shocked him that his future self was saying these things to him, because he knew they were talking about Kate. Already deep inside Sylar wanted to hurt Peter for a murder he hadn't even committed yet.
"No….no…no…" he shook his head wildly. "This is where I should be. I should be here, where I can't hurt anyone with my ability."
Peter turned away from him and his future self sat there in silence watching him.
Sylar felt a hand suddenly on his shoulders and he jumped across the room unprepared. Once he calmed down he saw it was Angela Petrelli's future self, "You can see me? How? This is my vision it's not possible!" he accused while his future self and Peter were unaware of their presence.
"I had a feeling you'd be here…Sad isn't it? I bet you're confused," her eyes staring off at a broken Peter.
"I'm confused. My visions brought me here, but I don't understand….Peter killed Kate and now he's afraid of hurting people?"
"Oh no, it didn't stop there. He killed Noah, Mohinder, and Matt. You, me and Claire were the only ones to survive before the Haitian arrived," she explained further.
"Oh…" Sylar looked away from Peter.
"You know what you need to do Sylar. This is your chance for redemption and a life free of being hunted. That's what you want deep down isn't it? You know what will happen if you take any more abilities."
"I'm not sure what I want anymore. As long as I'm left alone I have no use for more abilities."
"It's possible for the hunger to go away. But you need to go back and prevent Peter from losing control. The Haitian will alter his memories. Peter won't remember that you killed Nathan; he'll think he died in a plane crash. "
Sylar was surprised that she planned to do this, "Why? What about Claire and the others?"
"This was my mistake from the beginning. I should have never let Parkman make you believe you were Nathan. I'm still bitter that you murdered my son, but that was a risk he took" Angela paused feeling some emotion rise up. "Claire and Mohinder will also have their memories altered, however Noah's will not and for that I have my reasons. Now go….I'm doing this also because in the near future your abilities will be needed to fight a new threat. This is only a test compared to what you will be up against, and it will take both you and Peter to defeat him."
Sylar blinked and found himself back in the bathroom holding onto the counter tightly. He looked around to make sure he was alone and then turned on the sink to put some cold water on his face. It made him wonder how a future Angela was able to enter his vision. Once this was over he'd demand an answer from her since she had ignored the question in the vision.
Kate came to the doorway, "You've gotta see this."
He followed her over the television where a live feed was being shown from City Hall.
The reporter started to speak: "Breaking News: New York is in mourning this afternoon as it has been confirmed that New York Senator Nathan Petrelli was killed in a plane crash off the coast of New Jersey as he was returning to Washington. The mother of the Senator has asked for privacy and has thanked supporters for their condolences."
Sylar's jaw hanged open, this was what Angela had told him in the vision…that Peter, Claire, and Mohinder would believe Nathan died in a plane crash. Although it brought him relief to see that Nathan Petrelli was now in the past, a conclusion that must have been made possible by Angela Petrelli.
"You were in there for a long time. Find out anything new?" Kate asked.
"Yeah…I visited Peter in a mental hospital." Sylar took a seat in front of the tv. "He kills them all…Noah, Mohinder…and you. I'm not sure about Gina, she wasn't there." He rubbed his eyes and stared at the ceiling.
"Are you sure? We'll that's great! I'll just stay here and let Peter kill all those idiots. They deserve it for what they've done to you anyway." Kate sat down next to him.
"There's more. Angela Petrelli appeared in my vision and could see me…well her future self. But anyway, she told me how to avoid that future from happening. She said something about a new threat we'll have to fight together...with Peter." he said while in thought. "She said she was going to alter their memories…She wants them to think Nathan died in a plane crash. It would stop Peter from coming after us again. But the plan didn't work because Peter lost control before the Haitian could stop him."
Kate couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Wait…who's the Haitian?"
"He has the ability to alter memories. He used to work for the company. His abilities are strong…if you're around him your abilities don't work," he explained.
"Oh. Well I wonder who's got her so scared?"
"I don't know, she just said 'he'. We'll find out later." Sylar got up and put on a coat, "Grab your coat and let's go…"
"You want me to come with you?" Kate was surprised.
"In case this is a trap. Just promise me you'll stay invisible and at a distance."
Once she agreed and put on her coat, grabbed her gun and they headed downstairs and he flew them to the Brooklyn Bridge.
City Hall- Angela and Matt
Angela stepped down from the podium as she tearfully gave her address that confirmed the reports. Angela knew this was the only way to bring closure to Nathan Petrelli's name and life without an investigation. This of course this was a company job; a man with the ability to phase through objects was hired by Angela. He had flown the small plane into the waters off the coast of New Jersey, escaping just before impact. She expected the coast guard to conduct a search, but they would ultimately determine that Nathan's and the pilot's bodies were lost at sea.
Matt was waiting in the car pretending to be her driver while she spoke in front of the cameras. When she got in the car he could tell it still wasn't easy for her to speak about Nathan.
Once he started the engine and asked if the Haitian was going to make there in time. The Haitian was a new addition to their plan as Angela had another dream about the future…one that required the Haitian's services to prevent. This plan hadn't been fully revealed to Parkman she knew he wouldn't agree with it, but Angela saw them all at the mercy of a more powerful man.
"His plane just landed; I told him to go straight to the bridge," Angela said after looking at her phone.
Looking out the window she could see dark heavy clouds starting to gather around the Brooklyn area. It didn't take them long to reach the bridge since City Hall was in close proximity to the bridge.
"I can't see…" Matt said worried as a thick fog appeared. "What's happening out there?"
Cars were starting to crash into each other as some hit their breaks; theirs slid forward a result of a chain reaction crash behind them. But once all the cars seemed unable to move people started getting out of their vehicles to shout at one another to move.
"There's nowhere to move...its gridlock," Matt said looked over his shoulder at Angela.
"Sylar," she said under her breath.
"Well I'm going to see if I can see anything," he took off his seat belt.
"No. It's not time yet…we have to wait for Peter and the Haitian to get here. It's too dangerous," Angela warned.
Just as she finished her sentence people started running on the bridge back to Manhattan in a mad panic. After the crowd was gone the sound of twisting metal could be heard. Slowly the cars that were in front of them were being pushed towards them.
"Hang on" Matt said as he pulled the break and kept his foot down hoping the car wouldn't move too far. "You're right, that has to be Sylar. It seems like he's trying to get the cars off the bridge? I don't know."
"He's making room for the fight," Angela gravely replied. "Peter, where are you?" she asked aloud as the fog around them seemed to have lifted, making their visibility around twenty feet. It was just far enough to see Sylar lowering himself onto the bridge.
Luckily Noah knew about the Haitian's true purpose and agreed to the plan after hearing her most recent dream. They both knew it was for the best for them and the world. Sylar would soon be needed to defeat a greater evil, but in order to do that the others would need to be forced to forgive Sylar.
Brooklyn- Peter, Claire, Gina, Noah and Mohinder
The four of them were sitting near the television as they finished planning out their third option. This one was different because it used Kate as a tool to getting closer to Sylar. Peter hoped that while threatening Kate, Gina would be able to sneak in and take Sylar's power.
Peter shook his head as they showed tape of his mother at City Hall. "Unbelievable…He is gonna pay for all this."
His anger rose and spike threw out of his arm and pierced through the television.
They all turned to look at Peter.
"Sorry…I didn't mean to do that. Doesn't matter anyways 'cause it's time to go," Peter stood up and opened the motel door.
"He's waiting for us," he sighed to Claire who was standing behind them as they looked out at a stormy sky that covered their view of the Brooklyn Bridge.
They all got into the car and drove as close as they could to the bridge itself. They were met with tons of confused New Yorkers as their bridge was sunk in a mysterious heavy fog.
"Let's go…" Peter said annoyed by those that were standing in the way.
They continued past abandoned cars on the bridge, making their way to the center where they believed Sylar and Kate were waiting.
While he stayed a little bit behind the group, Noah took this time to place a phone call to Angela.
"Yeah we're here…the others are making their way towards Sylar right now. He's not here yet? Alright, but we're going to cut it close." Noah closed his phone and caught up to the others.
Peter stopped suddenly and turned around, "Noah, take Gina and stay behind the fog. Mohinder….Claire come with me," he decided.
As they stepped forward there was a clearing, a small pocket where the fog was prevented from covering. In the center stood Sylar with his arms folded across his chest.
"Took you long enough Peter…Where's your friend?" he started to walk around.
"She's safe. Do you really think I'd be stupid enough to have her here?" Peter responded keeping his distance from him. "Guess I should ask the same...your little girlfriend here somewhere?" He looked around as if hoping to see a sign she was or to make her show herself.
Sylar laughed, "Why do you care?"
Sylar raised both his hands up and the fog moved back twenty more feet. It was enough to reveal Noah standing there, but Gina had enough time to duck down behind the car.
"Ah…I think you are stupid Peter, and I'm about to prove you right," Sylar lifted up five cars and tossed them over the side of the bridge.
"Look at what we have here…" he smiled at an exposed Gina.
As he took a step closer to her Peter charged at him defensively, firing spikes in his direction. Sylar was already wise to this and flew up out of their path.
"I've seen the future Peter…You can try to confuse me, but I know every move you're gonna make," he looked down at him.
Hearing this Mohinder ran back over to Gina and Noah to help protect her. His eyes caught sight of Matt behind the wheel of a car on the opposite side of the bridge.
"Is that Parkman?" he questioned Noah softly and couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Yeah, looks like it," was all Noah said to Mohinder.
Meanwhile, Sylar was continuing to stay out of reach.
"Get down here and fight me!" Peter shouted in frustration.
"You can't hurt me Peter. Or do you really want to die that bad?" he lowered himself to the ground and prepared to fight him.
Peter looked over at Claire briefly; she had the key to one of their plans, which was to use a sedative against Sylar. At this point he figured if one plan wasn't going to work against him he'd use them all.
She got the hint and started to run in a zigzag motion as Sylar threw bolts of electricity at her. Some of them hitting her but she recovered quickly.
At the same time Claire was charging, Peter shot spikes at him when Claire gave him an open shot.
Sylar seemed to be toying with them as he let Claire get within two feet before he pushed her back thirty feet onto a car's hood.
"Seriously that's getting old. Just me and you now Peter. Are you afraid? Don't have your big bad brother here to protect you," Sylar looked him in the eyes and the sound of a gun firing brought an eerie silence because it shocked them both.
Hearing this from their car, Angela and Matt quickly got out to see what happened, but Sylar noticed their movement and kept them back.
When they all looked towards Noah and Mohinder it was Gina lying on the ground bleeding profusely from her chest.
"Sorry…I couldn't…help," Gina whispered to Mohinder who was trying to stop the bleeding, even though he knew it wouldn't be enough.
In anger Noah pulled out his gun and pointed it in different directions ready to fire. "Show yourself!" he yelled before firing at random but it was in vain.
Kate smiled as she had successfully shot Gina while being invisible and ran away as fast as she could. That was just too easy for her, however her job was done…with Gina dead there was no one to take away Sylar's power except for some Haitian man who was supposed to be there. Kate took a seat on the curb and waited for any further directions from Sylar.
Peter stood in shock; Gina was now dead…he hadn't prepared for this. Without her there was no plan, there was no stopping Sylar. It made him feel very vulnerable as Matt Parkman and his mother were now watching them.
Sylar could tell Peter was frozen and without a plan; he took this opportunity to shock him with a couple bolts of electricity to get him down on the ground. Over his shoulder he could see Angela standing there with Matt Parkman. The sight of the mind manipulator enraged him more, but despite his feelings he couldn't harm him since he was still needed.
With his foot on Peter's chest Sylar looked around. "Is that all you got?" But really he was looking around for Haitian. He remembered in the vision Angela telling him the Haitian was too late, so he needed to prolong this as best he could.
"Get off me!" Peter growled sending spikes up into Sylar's legs and stomach.
He staggered backwards and was starting to realize Peter's anger rising, things were becoming all too familiar to Sylar.
Peter managed to get on his feet thanks to Claire who was back at his side. She gave him more bad news: the sedative had been destroyed when she landed roughly on the car. This left them with only one rational option…run. But he was tired of running from Sylar, he knew he would lose to him, however, Peter was going to try and make him hurt as much as possible.
Sylar started pulled out one of the spikes from his stomach and threw it at Claire, "That hurt…" he growled.
Claire was able get out of the way of Sylar's attack. She noticed Peter's demeanor starting to change and it frightened her.
"Don't do this. You can't win Peter please don't," she pleaded having a feeling he was going to do something rash.
Claire was looking around hoping someone would step in to stop him but everyone was just watching.
Peter was beyond angry now that Kate had killed an innocent woman, the same one that was going bring justice to his and her brother's deaths.
"You're going to pay now for both of their deaths…" Peter held out his arm and started firing spikes in all directions, hoping to find Sylar's sidekick.
He knew she couldn't be too far away and he was careful to look for any sort of clue that would give away her location.
Kate was a little surprised that Peter was now going after her instead of Sylar. At first she watched in amazement as all those bone spikes were shooting from all parts of his body. There was no shelter where she was sitting, so she quickly ran towards the nearest car to hide behind. Kate was almost in the clear when one of the spikes caught her in the foot. Her attempts to keep silent were broken from the pain in her right foot. Quickly she pulled it out and managed to keep herself invisible as she rested behind the car.
Kate examined her foot and cursed herself in her thoughts for being too slow and too careless.
Noah on the other hand left Mohinder and went over to where he had heard her cry of pain. Quietly and out of Sylar's sight he sneaked around to find where she was hiding.
Sylar kept his eyes on Peter even though he cringed as he heard Kate's cry. He hoped she was alright, but started to fear the worst since he had seen this play out so many times.
"You don't want to do this Peter…you have no idea what road you're going down," Sylar pulled another spike from his leg.
"Oh I do…and I'm going to put a spike through your body for every single innocent person you've killed," Peter turned his palms up and two spikes started forming, slowly breaking through his skin as they grew in length.
"Got you…" Noah said as he followed a blood trail to Kate's foot.
As she was taken by surprise Kate's abilities were compromised and she turned to see Noah had his grip on her foot. Since Kate had been watching Sylar and Peter she had no idea Noah had been behind her.
"Sylar!" she shouted as Noah pulled his gun on her and asked her to get up.
He looked over, pale faced, as Noah had a gun to her head as she limped into their direction. Part of him however was just glad to see she was still alive…it meant he could still prevent this from going any farther.
"Make any sudden move and I pull this trigger," he warned Sylar.
Peter smirked and pointed one of the spikes at Kate, "that's alright Noah I'll deal with this."
"Don't do it Peter…you're not a killer remember?" he started to lose his cool and looked over at Angela, "Tell him…tell him what happens after this, you know as well as I do! Tell him the damn truth for once!" he demanded.
"He's right Peter…" Angela finally spoke from beside Matt. "I saw you lose control and with it came…some consequences. I swear to you I'm telling the truth. I warned you."
"Then what am I supposed to do Ma? Sylar needs to pay for what he did to Nathan! He needs to…" Peter paused as he grabbed his stomach in pain but tried to shake it off, "and you are not the one to talk about losing control of your abilities..." he pointed at Sylar.
They all noticed the strange pause in Peter's speech. Angela as well as the others had taken a few steps back from Peter. She looked at Matt for him to take charge, to try and correct Peter's first mistake.
Matt stepped forward and looked at Peter, 'now you're going to let Kate go. You're going to try and relax.' He tried to use his ability to make Peter change his mind and calm down.
Peter lowered his hand and slowly sat down on the ground. His attempt to resist releasing the spikes wasn't stopping the abilities he had obtained from his friend to stay under control. Spikes were beginning to break holes through his clothes and his entire back was covered with them.
Claire moved towards him as she became concerned, but Peter put up his hand telling her to stay back.
"I can't make it stop…" he said anxious. "I'm sorry…but I can't let him get away with this," Peter stood up and fired more spikes into Sylar, one striking him through the head.
Kate put Noah's gun, Peter's anger, and the pain in her foot aside when she rushed to Sylar after he dropped the ground and his eyes clouded over. She couldn't believe it…but one of the spikes must have hit the switch. Using all the strength and courage she had, Kate pulled on the spike in an effort to remove it.
"Come on!" She cried, pulling as hard as she could.
Tears fell down on his face as she whimpered and pleaded for help.
Luckily Peter was trying to calm himself down before advancing and further. But once Kate dislodged it enough from Sylar's brain, his eyes began to function again.
Sylar gasped to breathe and he finished removing the spike from his skull. Immediately his wounds started to heal themselves once again and he glared back at Peter.
Peter started to walk closer to them and tried to fire spikes at them but suddenly they were nowhere to be seen. He studied his hands amazed and increasingly ticked off because his was his chance.
The Haitian stood behind Peter and placed his hands on his head. He brought him slowly down to the ground as he fell into a sleep like state and after his memories had been altered he walked over to Angela. This time it was Matt's turn, without his mind manipulating abilities he was unable to prevent the Haitian from getting inside his head.
"Sorry I'm late…security had stopped me," he informed her once Parkman's memories had been altered.
Angela looked down at Matt's sleeping body, "I know, no need to apologize for the things we have no control of."
Mohinder and Claire were next. After seeing what the Haitian had done to Peter and Matt, they were both fighting to escape. Noah was able to grab Claire and guiltily handed her over to the Haitian as she trembled in anger for her father's continuous betrayal and fear.
"I don't want to forget…I'll never forget," was the last thing she said before he erased her memories and set her down like the rest.
Mohinder had been running, giving Noah a good chase. However the Haitian allowed Sylar the use of his ability and was able to confuse Mohinder with the help of an illusion.
After he pulled Mohinder back to them the Haitian finished the job he had been sent to do. Angela thanked him kindly and further explained it was for the best.
Sylar stood up after having a look at Kate's foot, "looks like you'll be fine."
"Good...I'm going to need that foot," she smiled.
Angela approached them, "just how far in the future were you able to see?" she asked him.
"Funny thing is…you were the one to tell me about your plan. The future you told me how to prevent it," Sylar started to become confused as Angela's facial expressions made him wonder what was wrong.
"That's impossible. I don't have the ability to enter visions. What else did this 'future me' say?" she chuckled.
"A new threat you called him…someone so powerful that it will take both Peter and I to defeat. That's why you wanted me to stop Peter."
Sylar couldn't tell if Angela knew anything about this…she was always good about hiding things.
"Well I guess we'll have to see what the future holds for us both, Mr. Gray," Angela tone was intriguing.
Their conversation ended as the others were starting to wake up.
Sylar picked Kate up, "Time to go…" He gave Angela a long look before they flew off.
Noah came over to her and asked her what they had been talking about.
"I'll tell you later. It's much too serious to be discussing here. I suggest you remain unseen," she replied as Peter and Claire looked around confused.
"Mom what are we doing here?" Peter asked and Claire wondered the same.
"We were in an accident. Are you two alright?"
Tthey nodded but Peter wondered why his shirt was covered with holes.
"Ahh don't you remember borrowing that ability from that girl you know…well it's no big deal. Let's go home shall we?" she smiled.
Matt walked up to them and asked them if they knew what happened.
Peter stopped, "Yeah...looks like there was an accident. We must have been unconscious for a while," he theorized.
"Ahh , that makes sense now. Man it's late, I gotta get back to my wife and son," he started following them off the bridge.
Noah did his best to remain unseen by them and get Gina's body over the side of the bridge before the heavy fog lifted. It was the only way...since there would be too many questions. Also the others wouldn't remember her since their memories didn't include meeting Gina.
Peter wrapped an arm around Claire as they followed Angela. "Man I hope no one was hurt..." he said seeing some cars that were smashed.
While they left, the Haitian parted ways by going in the opposite direction after giving a wave to Noah.
Noah started walking off the bridge and began to realize that if Claire wasn't lied to by him about Nathan's death…then there was also no reason for her to be mad at him. A smile broke through his face and the sun had finally set on what could have been a very different day. There had been a lot of death that day and he hoped another day like that wouldn't come for a long time.