A/N: We've finally watched episodes fourteen and fifteen of the current season, and it has put us in such a spectacular mood, that we've decided you all deserve another posting today. Mild spoiler, but the last minute or so will make you squeal if you like our stories or this pairing in general. It was like a particularly epic dream, and we shouted back and forth over the phone (as Chuck and I are currently several hours away from one another) like school girls. So. Moral of the story: Great writing from Heroes script writers means you get two chapters in one day.

Love, Mel and Chuck

SEPTEMBER 2532

There are some things you simply don't discuss with your wife and daughter. For example: the feel of brain matter between your fingers, soft and rubbery and fragile. You don't discuss the way you thrill when another life is lost beneath the weight of your hands. It's just not appropriate. And so, as I find myself guiding 15 year old Kale through the back streets of central city, I become anxious. How can I explain this in a way the child will understand? Somehow, "You slice off the top of their head and play around," just doesn't seem to cut it.

"Mr. Gray?" I am pulled from my musings by the boys voice. It has begun to deepen in the last couple of years, but the childish lilt is still present.

"What," I say, continuing my steady pace. Kale has to skip a few steps every so often to keep up.

"Are we really hunting wild game?" he asks, truly curious.

I smile. "Oh yes." He still doesn't seem to understand, but I can tell he suspects. I decided after I made the initial invitation that I'd let the boy draw his own opinions about my hunting habits, but as the only man I know of with the same sort of ability… who has several lifetime's worth of experience with the hunger… I figure it's my duty to enlighten him. Besides. I'd rather have a controlled killer around my little girl than a hormonally pubescent, temper tantrum throwing, child.

I find the perfect 'animal' in one of the back alleys. He's old, feeble, insane… And he has a simple enough power. A trinket, really.

"Do you see that man there, by the wall?" I ask in a hushed tone. Kale stops behind me and stands, arms crossed in front of him as he follows my gaze.

"Yes sir," he looks half interested, half frightened. I was right. The boy suspects what is coming.

"That's our wild game." The shiver of anticipation from where he stands tells me I made the right decision bringing him here. "You're going to take his power," I say. Kale looks at me, uncertain. The old man is still laying there, barely conscious in the chilling, near autumn night. His hair is long and tangled, a mixture of clumped earth and iron strands. Sores are evident on his arms and legs. His face is obscured by a wild tangle of a beard.

"I don't know if I-"

The back of my hand against the boys pale cheek makes a resounding crack in the dank ally. The animal by the wall stirs. "Don't try and use those trite excuses on me, Kale," I say, voice sharp, "They may work on your parents, but I think you're forgetting what, exactly, I am capable of, and just how much I know about your power." The boy's eyes water and he nods, shame faced.

"Now," I continue, "I'm not completely unreasonable. I realize you may be confused about what happened the last time, between you and Danielle… so I'm going to show you something new. An alternative source of sustenance, if you will," If Kale is confused, he hides it well.

"You," I address the near corpse on the ground, and as I speak, he rises. He's hobbling, legs twisted at odd angles and feet grimy and shoeless. I can tell he hasn't stood for quite some time and the strain on the fragile joints between hips and toes are aching. "Come here." The man makes no move to disobey, I'm the one in control. Usually I like the chase, but I suppose it's easier to start simply with Kale.

The boy wrinkles his nose as the man approaches and he catches the pungent scent surrounding the filth. Stale urine, old vomit, and dried blood. All the hallmarks of an absolute societal reject. Of course, the boy has lived a sheltered life. He wouldn't be familiar with this sort of climate.

"Mr. Gray?"

"Hush."

He nods. I raise my hand, and feel the power extend from two of my outstretched fingers, like a long, silken blade reaching out to expose what I want. The grinding, sawing sound of bone being cut makes Kale wince. I glance down at him and chuckle as I continue. Who would have thought a child who could cut himself repeatedly and then expose his own entrails would have a squeamish stomach.

The old man bleeds out quickly after the skull cap comes off, his grey hair a tangled mass of blood and mud on the ground and dangling down his neck. I motion for the boy to stand beside me in front of where the animal kneels, dead now and upright only by virtue of my powers.

Kale looks like he's about to be sick.

Ugh, he smells so gross. I wonder when the last time he bathed was. God, I think I'm going to be sick. Mr. Gray's going to think I'm a baby. That brain looks gross. I hope I don't have to touch it. That's it, I'm going to puke.

And he does, all over the degenerates clothing, not that it makes much of a difference. I laugh openly as he retches, chunks of Claire's home grown apples sticking to the kneeling man's beard.

"It's okay, Kale," I say, steadying the boy with a hand on the shoulder, "The smell is quite… fragrant." He gives me a watery smile and takes a few gulping breaths, happy I think, that I've realized his reaction was more for the presentation than the act itself. "Now, follow my lead," I let the tips of my fingers trace along the grooves of the brain matter. "We're looking for something that tingles, something that you recognize as out of place," my fingers settle on the spot, "Yes, there it is. Feel."

Kale extends his hand, shaking, and touches the exposed tissue, following the same trail I had. I can tell the moment he finds it, feel the wonder in his body… But still, the distaste is there. I can tell the only thing he enjoys is what he's learning. There is no thrill at the power over life, no appreciation for the coppery scent of blood. I'm not sure what to make of the lack…

In the back of my mind though, I wonder… What if he's different? What if the way he took his first power really did have a huge effect on his future acquisitions? What if his 'hunger' was for something different? I reach out with my power and brush against his. Yes, there's the lust for knowledge, the insatiable need… and the hunger, but it's a tamer hunger, a desire for connection, emotion… I should have known.

Kale finishes with the man and I let him drop to the ground. The boy is delighted, sidestepping the corpse and pointing with one finger at the darkened air before him. Ghostly letters appear, glowing bright in the dark night, they spell his name. "Kale Flint Romanov." I smile as I remember the power. Trivial. Fun.

I raise my own finger and with a hasty scrawl add to the boys name. Where 'Romanov' hung, now there is only 'Gray', pulsing bright in ghostly, pearlescent letters.

The child's face lights up. I don't know what prompted me to do it, but I can tell I've made the right decision tonight. I've discovered two things. One: the boy has no taste for killing, something that puts me at ease when it comes to Danielle, and two: he wants more than anything to be a part of my family, something I'm not completely adverse too. After all, it will be easier to keep track of his burgeoning talent if he's under my roof… and easier to control him around my daughter.

"You realize," I say, "That something will have to be done about your parents." He makes a face and scowls at his shoes.

"I don't care about them," He mutters, "You and Danielle are the only ones who really understand me anyway."

"Well then," I muse softly, "I suppose it's time to take you home."

"But you just-"

"Patience, Kale. It's a virtue."

He nods, grudgingly.

I take the child home after that, leaving him to explain away bloodied hands and no game to his parents before I make my own way across the street and into bed. Claire is sleeping, I don't mind. Tonight will be about plans. I settle my hand across her stomach and kiss her neck before curling around her and breathing deeply.

It looks like our family will be expanding soon. The thought makes me oddly content.