Elle stared directly ahead of her as her father tended to her gunshot. She tried not to think about what had happened when she was captive. Her father wouldn't let that happen to her. He wouldn't let them test on her. But every time she denied it, the doubt seemed to come back in greater force. What if he had? Did he really make her the way she was?"

"I know all about your ability, Elle."

She tried to block out Bennet's voice, she had told him he didn't know anything about her.

"I was there; when your father first brought you in."

Elle winced. Her father lightened his touch as he smoothed the bandage over her arm. She felt like laughing, he thought that her gunshot was causing her pain. He didn't know what was really going on inside her head. She didn't mind pain – physical pain, at least – it was Bennet's polluting words that had caused her to finch. What if…?

"You were a normal girl, unicorns and rainbows. And then they started the testing."

She glanced at the bandage then looked away. Unicorns and rainbows; was she really like that once? A sweet, innocent little girl? Was she the way she was now because of what they had done. Had they changed her from the innocent girl into the sadistic woman she was today? What did they do to her? Did they…?

"The human brain isn't built to take that much electricity. You poor girl."

Elle watched through the corner of her eye as her father stood up and pulled his vibrating cell-phone from his pocket. Was that Dr. Anderson telling him that a testing room was ready? No! Her father wouldn't do that to her he would never let that happen. She had said that to Bennet, she had been sure then, but now...

"Your father was leading the charge."

Bennet's words were like an infestation cockroaches. No matter how many times she exterminated them; they kept coming back. She had been told once that people often trusted the word of complete strangers over the people they trusted. Was that happening now? She had said she didn't remember any of it. But what if…?

"No memories, huh; kind of like someone took them away."

Did her father get the Haitian to do this to her? Just wipe everything away. She knew Bob could do it. He had done it to Dean. Was she really the way she was because of what he had done? She didn't believe it; she couldn't believe it. He wouldn't. She shook her head. She wanted to believe her father, what if he did?

She turned her head to look at Mohinder, trying to focus on something else. He was guilty, she didn't know why. Had she felt guilt before? She shot a quick glance at her father. Bennet's words were tearing everything apart. Everything she had been sure of was crumbling down around her and the seeds of doubt were growing inside her mind.

"Why do you think I never let The Company anywhere near Claire?"

Who else knew about the testing? Did everyone? Were they all laughing behind her back as she carried on her life without the knowledge of what had been done to her? Did Dean know about it all? When did it all stop? Did it stop? Doubt plagued her. Did Bennet lie to her? Did her father lie to her? Who could she trust? Bennet had no reason to lie, in fact, he'd benefit by telling her the truth.

She saw Bob glance back at her. She saw the concern on his face. Was he concerned for her well-being, as a father was concerned for his daughter? Or was he concerned by what Bennet might have said to her? No! He couldn't have done what Bennet had said. Could he?"

"I didn't want her to become you."

She hated Bennet; he had taken her life and polluted it. He had torn it to shreds. A few simple sentences and everything solid had crumbled beneath her. She didn't know who to believe anymore. She didn't know what to think. She glanced at her father again as he closed his phone. He had said that he was trying to make up for past mistakes. Was the testing so horrible that he took her memories of it away?

"You'd be surprised what a father would do for his daughter."


Dean swallowed the handful pills and washed them down with a cup of water. He was forced to take those pills ever since he had woken up this morning; small doses which build up over time. The doctors had said that his lung had collapsed. Dean didn't know if they were lying to cover up something else, or telling him the simple truth. It didn't really matter though. He was stuck here and forced to take these stupid pills.

He handed the cup back to the waiting doctor, opening his mouth so the doctor could check that he had swallowed the pills. The doctor nodded in satisfaction and left the room.

Dean slumped back against his pillows and regarded his room in the lab. It wasn't so bad, it was better then those holding rooms; they were essentially prison cells. He was surprised that he wasn't put in one of them, especially after what he did to Dr. Anderson. He regretted his actions. Dr. Anderson was one of the nicer Company doctors; he never treated him too badly. Dean resolved to apologise the next chance he got.

The door to his room opened again and a dark-haired woman walked in. Dean looked up as she walked in but as soon as he recognised her pretty features, he sighed and swore under his breath. This was one of the last people he wanted to see.

"Hiya, Dean." The woman said, smiling as she sat on the end of his bed. "You don't seem too happy to see me."

"Hey, Lily," Dean replied, meeting her cheerful eyes. Lily was a Company agent who specialized with internal conflicts. She was never sent on regular assignments and was mainly called in when there was an issue that needed resolving. Her ability was one of the main reasons why she was so good at it too. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, you know," Lily replied, swinging off the bed and walking towards his bedside table. "I heard you were here and just decided to drop by, feel what you're feeling; stuff like that."

Dean opened his mouth to protest as she grabbed his cell-phone off the table. Lily was probably the most cheerful person he had ever met. He thought her attitude matched her ability perfectly. He almost admired her. All around her she felt what other people's emotions and she still manage to keep her head up high. Empath was just the name that had been given to Dean's ability. But Lily was an empath in the truest sense of the word. She was in-tune to others emotions and was even able to influence them. He knew she had prevented several fights because of this.

He cut off from his thoughts as Lily started speaking. "Who's in your phonebook?" She said, more to herself then Dean. One by one she read the names on the list. "Bob, Candice, Eden, Elle, me- Hey, when'd you get my number?"

"When you stole my phone and put it in there." Dean replied good-spiritedly. He paused; he wasn't feeling this happy a minute ago. "Lily, stop it."

Lily looked up at him, "What?" She said in fake innocence. She met his stare before looking away. "Sorry, you're just so gloomy. Well, I guess I would be too if my ability was making me sick."

"What?" Dean asked in confusion.

'Your ability," she said as she flipped the phone shut. "Your body can't handle the changes to your DNA. It's making you sick." She watched him for a second; it was obvious she was reading his emotions. "I thought you knew."

"No," Dean replied, his mind trying to grasp what Lily was implying. "My ability was making me cough up blood?"

"And it collapsed your lung." Lily said. She paused again for a moment before continuing. "You know, you're taking this pretty well. Most people would have run off screaming…okay maybe not that badly, but they'd still be pretty freaked."

"Well, it makes sense," Dean said, shrugging his shoulders. He knew that Lily was influencing his emotions now, on the chance that he did start panicking. "I mean, I start pulling out abilities that I haven't even absorbed – reabsorbed – and then my body starts shutting down."

Lily smiled, clearly relieved that her ability was affecting Dean. "Yeah, though your reusing past abilities is strange. Half the reason I was called in here was to work it out with you."

"And the other half?" Dean asked almost flirtatiously. He grinned when he realised that Lily hadn't stopped her tweaking.

"To make sure you're calm so you don't go on another rampage and collapse your lung again." Lily said simply. "Though the pills will stop that; but better safe then sorry."

"Of course." Dean nodded agreeably. He was starting to get annoyed with Lily's constant manipulations. But every time a negative feeling appeared; it was washed away by Lily's modifications.

Lily pulled over a chair and sat down, leaning her folded arms across Dean's bed. She was careful not to come into contact with Dean's skin. He only needed someone to touch his bare skin to absorb their ability. "So, describe to me how you're switching between your absorbed abilities." She asked; her tone turning all business.

Dean frowned, he could feel the happiness brought on by lily begin to trickle away. Lily noticed his expression and smiled. Dean felt calm wash through his body again. "It's kinda like different abilities have a different part in my brain. Kinda like moving an arm or a leg."

Lily nodded in understanding. It was the same as her ability. It was just there, she couldn't really explain it; nobody could. "What abilities have you used since this entire development thing started?"

"Flight, pyrokinesis and electricity manipulation," Dean said almost immediately. "That's all. I dunno who I got flight from, but it carried on from when I last had it. I was able to fully control it. But the pyrokinesis is going weird. I can barely use it anymore, it just dies down."

Lily nodded again. She had been expecting that. "I think with your new 'skipping the need to reabsorb' thing. Your abilities are starting to vie for dominance – or whatever. I think that your most recent absorbed - or reabsorbed - ability immediately comes out on top and suppresses the others. That's why you can barely use your pyrokinesis and why flight comes so easily."

"Is that what they told you to tell me?" Dean asked.

Lily looked hurt, "No, Dean. That's my professional opinion. And it's probably right too."

Dean shrugged again. It didn't really matter to him. His abilities were playing up and as long as he knew what not to do, he'd be fine.

"Oh well, when we start testing we'll be able to discover what's making it go all weird."

Dean nodded, but Lily detected rebellion surging forward. She shouldn't have mentioned that. Dean knew what testing entailed.

"But that'll only be if Bob deems it necessary," she said quickly. "And he and Elle are off somewhere on a father, daughter plus Mohinder trip. I think Mohinder's coming back now though…" She broke off, finally noticing the worry that emerged from Dean when she mentioned Elle's name. "Why are you so desperate to find, Elle?" She asked, slightly surprised to hear faint traces of jealously in her voice.

Dean looked at her, not noticing her envy. "She owes me a haircut."

"Now you're just lying to me," Lily laughed. "It's kinda easy to tell with you. I know you, Dean. I know when you're lying; I know pretty much everything about you."

"You know all about me just from my moods?" Dean asked sceptically.

"Most of it; the rest is just observation. You know, I remember when you and Elle went on your first bag and tag training in Miami when you were sixteen. I remember when you got back; it was really awkward between the two of you. I felt uncomfortable being in the same room with you two. Then a couple of months later that went away and was replaced by a different feeling." She paused to give him a knowing look.

Dean looked away; he knew exactly what she was talking about. "Okay, so you do know a lot."

"Not just me. Bob installed a security camera in your room. Why do you think you got shipped off to Primatech, Texas all of a sudden? I know how pissed you were about that too." Lily laughed. "A fifty-fifty chance and you chose the wrong bedroom. Come on, don't tell me you never realised."

Dean scowled. The truth was he had connected the dots. He just couldn't figure out how Bob had known. He had been transferred to Texas the very next day. He didn't know what else it could have been. It was probably the reason why he was kept there for five years.

Both he and Lily looked up as one of technicians opened the door to his room. "Oh," the technician said. "Sorry, it's just, we found Sylar."

Lily stood up, her tone completely serious. Dean felt her manipulation over his emotions weaken and fade away. "Where is he?" Lily demanded.

"Cook Lake, Virginia." The tech replied. He's with a woman. She's the one who causes the black illness. She nearly killed him. He's apparently been teaching her to control her power."

"Maya Herrera," Dean said. "She and her brother Alejandro picked up Sylar in Mexico. From what I saw; her brother seems to be able to counteract the black illness."

"When were you going to tell us this?' Lily asked angrily. Dean frowned. He could feel Lily unconsciously tweaking again. It was one of the downsides to her ability. Her manipulations were greatly based on her own moods.

"Information is power, remember?" Dean replied casually. 'If you asked, I'd have told you."

Lily sucked in a deep breath. Dean felt the manipulations cease. He noticed the tech was looking relieved also. "Okay," Lily said calmly. She turned back to the technician. "Good work, go tell Anderson. Get him to contact Bob."

The tech nodded and practically ran out of the room.

Lily smiled in amusement and sat back down, regarding Dean calculatingly. "The pills will wear off by tonight; by then your DNA should be stabilised. You'll be able to risk a few ability switches, but no more then three. We need you to go after Sylar. Anderson told you that Molly Walker's in New York. That's where Sylar will go."

"Why me?" Dean asked her.

"Because you can get out of there with Molly if things get too hairy." Lily replied. "If Maya Herrera unleashes her ability, you may be able to absorb it and stay safe. If not, you'll have to kill her before she does. There's apparently warning signs before she unleashes her ability. That time will be crucial."

Dean regarded her, trying to mask his amazement at her rapid change from playful talking to full authority.

"It's not that impressive, Dean." Lily smiled. "Anyway, you won't be able to leave until the pills wear off tonight so. Hopefully you'll figure out how to pull Elle's electricity manipulation out. If not, well things will get really dangerous; really fast." She paused as she read his emotions. "You're conflicted."

Dean nodded; he really was unsure. He wanted to kill Sylar, he hated him more then he had ever hated anyone and protecting Molly would be the easiest way of doing it. He really wanted to protect Molly from Sylar. But he wanted to find Elle too; he knew something had happened to her. He knew that Bob would take care of her; her father would do anything for her. But he couldn't shake this feeling of unease. Not even Lily's ability was making it disappear.

"I don't know what to do."