"Kate!"
Jonathon started to run to his sister, but stopped himself. If she hated him…
Kate sighed, exhausted. "Come here." She said.
It was enough for Jonathon. He ran to her, and she bent down so that he could hug her. He started sobbing, and trying to explain, but Kate just said, "Shhh… It's all over. It's ok. You're ok…"
After a moment, he'd calmed down enough to ask what happened.
Kate's eyes got that faraway look. She looked a lot worse then last time, and she had a lot more scars. The scar on her forehead had been ripped open again, but she didn't seem to notice, much less care.
"Can you show me?" Jonathon asked quietly.
Kate looked at her brother, and nodded. She looked at him, concentrating. Jonathon closed his eyes as her mind entered his.
Whirling around. Getting shocked by Sylar. Not caring. Remembering Jonathon's theory. So full of different types of energy, one more comes in, and it doesn't matter…
Kate threw Sylar as far as she could. A whole day of fighting. She wasn't even tired. She'd stayed awake so long when looking for her brother being tired didn't matter anymore. It was almost impossible to be tired…
Sylar, throwing her back with a blast of electricity. She'd explain later to him why that wasn't a good idea. Despite everything, she wanted him to know. Because if he didn't know, he wouldn't be able to tolerate it. He could come looking again. She knew that.
Responding with her own blast. Every time she did that, he'd look at her, surprised, and curious. He saw the scar on her ankle. She saw him, the look in his eyes. Can he remember where that came from? He splits it open, and she cries out it pain, but it's only temporary. It's nothing compared to what she's had before. Nothing compared to her death. Nothing to her betrayal…
Kate whirls around, catching him with her telekinesis. He responds. Three days, this fight has been going on. And now they're both going to end it.
They can't move, trying with everything they are to hold the other, keep THEM from moving. Free falling. This fight's been in the air too long. They start falling to the surface, both Sylar and Kate, keeping their hold on the other to stop them from using their telekinesis to slow themselves down…
They have to let go now, or they never will. They'll both die. The ground's not too far away now. Kate sees in his mind that he'll die too, with that car below him. That thing would shatter from the impact, and a piece would inevitably hit the back of his head. Both of them would be dead if they didn't LET GO.
At the very last second, they both let go. Both of them slowed themselves down, touching down on the ground as gently as possible. They both ended up demolishing a few rocks.
But they were alive.
"So… Sylar's alive?" Jonathon asked.
Kate nodded.
He looked at her. "Kate…" He looked into her eyes. "What's going to stop him from coming here?"
Far away, Sylar was wondering the same thing Jonathon was. What WAS stopping him from going there? Kate had been exhausted. She would be no match for him now. But… He found himself having an all out war in his mind. Part of him still wanted Jonathon's power. But that other part, the one that wanted a normal life for Jonathon… it wouldn't rest.
So he finally decided. He would let Kate be.
For now.
"I don't know." Kate replied, looking at Jonathon. "He could come here." She looked down. "But for some reason, I don't think he will."
Jonathon nodded. Kate and Sylar were so different, it was scary. They were on opposite sides of the argument. Two completely different people. Sylar was ready to kill so that he could live a little longer. Kate would give up her life to save someone else. Sylar was a coward, and ran away from the fights he knew he couldn't win. Kate would fight to her last breath.
And that was what was scary. Because they were so different, Kate and Sylar were exactly the same. And that was probably how she knew what he would and wouldn't do. Because they WERE the same, whether they liked it or not. And each of them knew how the other thought.
At least, that was the theory.
Jonathon looked at his sister. "Come on." He said. "We have to fix those." He pointed at the cut on her forehead and the cut on her ankle. He never knew how she'd gotten that scar on her ankle in the first place…
"It's fine, Jonathon." Kate was saying an hour later.
Jonathon rolled his eyes as he tried to sew up Kate's ankle. "Seriously, Kate. I know what I'm doing." He looked at her. "I was around more then enough doctors and scientists when I was younger."
Kate rolled her eyes as well. "It's not as though I don't trust you…" She started. Jonathon winced. He knew she shouldn't trust him. Kate hurriedly continued. "But I really don't think it's that bad. Just get it to stop bleeding, and I'll be fine without the stitches. Honest."
Jonathon ignored her.
"Please?"
Jonathon sighed. "Look. This is dangerously deep. It WILL not stop bleeding on its own. Trust me."
Kate rolled her eyes, but said nothing else.
After a moment, he looked at her. "Right. You're done. That wasn't so hard was it?"
Kate snorted. "Yeah. Getting stitches without an anesthetic is a piece of cake."
"Well, if you wanted, we could have used…" He trailed off as Kate glared at him.
"Right." He said. "Note to self. Don't mention THAT again."
Kate rolled her eyes. "Are we done here?"
He shook his head. "Your forehead."
Kate winced, as though she'd forgotten about that. "Do we have to?"
Jonathon raised an eyebrow. "Did it hit bone?"
Kate shook her head quickly. "NO!" She winced, and then nodded slowly. "Yes."
The other eyebrow joined the first. "Ok then."
He came forward, and Kate winced again. Jonathon decided to keep quiet. This wasn't about physical pain. Kate could deal with that. This was about the memory of her death, of being able to do nothing to defend herself. The two remained silent until Jonathon was finished.
"There." He said. "All done." He went over to a sink and washed his hands. Then he bleached the sink.
Kate gently touched her forehead and winced again.
"The stitches will come out in a while." Jonathon promised. "So long as you don't touch them."
Kate nodded and took her hand away from her forehead.
"So…" Kate said. "That…electricity thing…"
Jonathon smiled. "Yes…?"
"Why, exactly, can I do that?"
His smile widened. "You haven't figured it out yet? I told you it was a theory of mine."
Kate snorted. "Please. I'd have to have a memory space the size of a mountain to remember all of YOUR theories."
"Eeesh. Snappy. All right." Jonathon took a deep breath. "You're body is full of two different kinds of energies, correct?"
Kate nodded. "Telekinetic and telepathic energy. So what's that got to do with electricity?"
"Let me explain. You are full of energy, so if you add another type of energy to the mix, it's going to want to get out, right? Your body won't want it there."
Kate nodded slowly. "I think I'm following you…"
"When Sylar shocked you, your body responded. It wanted to get rid of the electricity."
Kate shook her head. "But it didn't. Not until I made it."
"Hold on. Let me finish. There's a catch. Your body is so used to storing energy, it just adapted to a different kind. It wanted the electricity out, but it was willing to keep it there, in case of emergencies."
Kate shook her head again, trying to clear it. "Ok, I'm lost. That doesn't sound at all like what your body is supposed to do."
"Normal people's bodies, maybe. But some heroes, like you, are completely different."
Kate placed her hand to her forehead, forgetting about the stitches. She winced, and pulled her hand away. "I'm confused."
Jonathon placed his hand on his forehead as well, trying to think of a way to explain this to his sister. "Ok. I'll start from the beginning." He looked at Kate. "No interruptions."
Kate nodded.
Jonathon took a deep breath. "Ok. Say a person is going to be born normal, but become telekinetic later in their life." He looked at Kate. "Like you."
Kate nodded again, and Jonathon continued.
"When a person…gets their ability, well, in our case, it's not because there was a sudden rush of a certain type of energy towards them. When you got your ability, it wasn't because you were suddenly surrounded by telekinetic energy. It was because you learned to CONTROL that energy. The energy was already there, from the moment you were born, simply because you WERE going to have an ability. It was in your very DNA.
"So, you have all of that energy in you, as a part of you. And your body knows to store it now, and eventually replace it when it's gone. But it mostly replaces itself. But the electricity won't. That's why you ran out that first time. Because you aren't surrounded with electrical energy, nor can you create it. The electricity isn't a part of you; it's just there when you have it. So now, whenever Sylar or anyone else shocks you, you store that energy, and have a new weapon. Sure, it hurts when you're shocked, but when it's over, the electricity is still there."
Kate thought about this for a moment. "So, whenever someone shocks me, I have that power."
"Well, you have as much electrical energy in your system as the person shocked you with, but yes. You have that ability until the energy is gone."
Kate's hand went to her forehead, but she remembered at the last second and lowered it. "So…technically, someone could give their power away."
Jonathon shook his head. "It doesn't quite work like that. At least, probably not for you. It might be possible for me, since I have…" He trailed off.
"Let me explain." He said. "You are a telekinetic. A strong one. That much is obvious. But, in all likelihood, you can't give your power away. While it's true that you, like me, can force pure telepathic energy into someone…" He winced, remembering, but continued. "…It would only be temporary, like the electricity. Because there isn't much of it. However, I'm a stronger telepath. And if I forced enough telepathic energy into a hero, especially one who already has a degree of telepathy, it could stay there. But only if the hero's body adapted to it, and started to draw in more energy. Or, in some cases, create it." He looked at his sister. "And though you have the energy around and in you when you're born, and when you get your ability, you also create it once your body is used to the energy, and knows how it works."
Kate shook her head, trying to clear it. "That's…confusing."
Jonathon nodded. "To say the least. It kept me wondering for days."
There was silence for a moment.
"Yes." Jonathon said at last, reading his sister's mind. "I promise." He sighed. "I've been thinking about that for a long time."
"No matter what?" Kate asked.
He looked at her. "Kate. If Sylar tries to take my power, there won't be anything else that would matter. I would give it to him, if I had to."
Kate nodded. "That all I needed to know." She looked at her brother. "Thank you. I…I just want you safe. And if giving him your ability to save your life is the only way out…" She trailed off.
Jonathon nodded. "I'll take it." He looked away. "Still. It's only a theory. It could be impossible."
Kate's eyes got that faraway look again. "Of course." She whispered. "Impossible."