Disclaimer- I don't own Heroes. However, I did clean my room, which proves that nothing is impossible.

"Let her go, Sargon." Calipsa stood in a perfectly balanced fighting stance in the lobby

The man with one hand wrapped around Gretchen's throat, his other arm tightly gripping her midsection, grinned at Calipsa. "What? Not going to pretend that you don't know this girl, and even if you did, you wouldn't give a damn if I snapped her pretty little neck?"

Gretchen let out a whimper well Calipsa hissed. "That plan didn't work so well last time, did it? I learn from my mistakes."

"Yes. You do. You don't attack those that I have under my protection anymore." Sargon continued to smile well he watched Calipsa carefully, his hand tightening slightly around his captives throat.

"Just- let her go, okay?" Claire stepped forward slowly. "You can keep me instead. I'm a good friend of Cal's too."

"Claire, don't." the Egyptian cautioned her.

"Little immortal, do not assume that I haven't done my homework. Using someone who cannot die as the person you are threatening to kill doesn't have an ideal effect. Never mind that this one is my dear, old friend's lover."

"Never call me your friend, Sargon." Calipsa was snarling, and the people that had been in the lobby when this had started shrunk away from her. A couple people with powers who were assembled were exchanging looks and nods. One man stepped forward, raising a hand which dripped a liquid onto the floor, burning holes where it landed.

Sargon's grip tightened on Gretchen's throat, and he turned to the acid man. "Do not come any closer unless you wish to see what would happen to this girls throat if I used your power on her."

Calipsa spoke to the people who were unfortunate enough to be there. "Do not try and stop him. Do as he says, and if any of you get her killed, I will pluck your eyelashes one by one."

Sargon chuckled. "That's a creative threat," he commented.

"Its a talent. Let her go so we can settle this ourselves."

He tilted his head. "Let me consider that." he opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by Matt and Audrey bursting into the room, guns drawn.

"FBI, let her go!" Audrey commanded.

"I think that's my cue to leave," Sargon winked at Calipsa, then teleported away.

Calipsa ran forward, clutching Gretchen to her. "Are you alright?" she asked, pulling away, checking the brunette for injuries.

"Yeah, I'm fine. He didn't hurt me," Gretchen answered her, also addressing Claire as she ran up to them before she could repeat Calipsa's question.

"You're gonna have a pretty bad bruise on your throat, Gretch." Claire told her.

Calipsa reached up to stroke her girlfriends throat, the skin going back to its original colour where she touched.

Gretchen smiled. "Thanks," she shook her head. "Why did he leave me? Why didn't he take me with him?"

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Matt told her as he joined them.

"What does that even mean?" Claire asked him. He shrugged.

"This isn't a gift. He doesn't leave gifts. At least, not good ones." Calipsa told them darkly.

"Then why did he leave me?" Gretchen repeated.

"He has something better. Someone better." Calipsa mused.

"Who?" Claire's voice was filled with dread.

Gretchen stuck her hands into the pockets on her sweater, her hand clasping around a piece of paper that she was fairly sure wasn't there before. She pulled it out.

"Uh, guys...?"

Claire, Calipsa, Matt, and Audrey turned to her as she held up the paper.

"What does that say?" Claire asked, looking closer. "Its not in English. Are those hieroglyphics?"

Calipsa took it gently from Gretchen's hands. "No. It's Sumerian."

"Can you translate it?" Matt asked.

"It was basically extinct by the time I was born, and it was a Mesopotamia language, not an Egyptian one. I know some. I can translate the first line, but the rest- not really."

"I thought you had a power for knowing any language," Matt questioned.

"Spoken language, not written." Calipsa corrected.

"Well, what does the first line say?" Claire asked, impatiently.

Calipsa shook her head. "It says, 'The Ones Who Will Die'."

..

"This guy..." Claire trailed off.

"I can't find my mom," Gretchen announced as she entered the living room of Gabriel and Peter's house, where the Peter, Gabriel, Angela, Noah, Caitlin, Matt, Audrey, Claire, and Gretchen had returned to and were using as their main point of operations.

Peter was pacing, Gabriel was holding Claire, Angela was sitting silently in the chair, attempting to fall asleep to dream, Noah was in Company Man mode, Caitlin was watching Peter pace, Matt was watching Audrey, Audrey was watching Gabriel, Claire was watching Audrey, and Gretchen was beginning to freak out.

(AN: And if that's not the longest sentence ever, I will eat my hat)

"What?" Calipsa asked, standing up.

"I called her. I assumed she ran when that Sargon guy came in, his hands all electric. But she's not answering her cell."

"Our receptionist is missing too," Angela informed them.

"Who's the receptionist again? You said we had met." Claire asked.

"It was Zach." Gabriel told her.

Claire paled. "What?" she looked around. "Why did you hire Zach?"

"He needed a job." Noah told his daughter.

"Great. And now he's been kidnapped."

"We don't know that. Maybe him and Gretchen's mother just- I don't know, snuck off to a janitors closet?" Audrey suggested

Gretchen shuddered.

"He has a boyfriend." Claire told her flatly.

"Okay. So, we have two possible hostages. Which raises the question, why is he taking hostages?" Matt asked.

Calipsa rubbed her forehead. "He's done this once before. I was living in Mexico at the time, which was about seven hundred years ago. Instead of killing those that I cared about, he choose to make those I cared about suffer."

"What did he do to the people he took then?" Gretchen asked softly.

Calipsa looked away. "He kept them hostage for a week. Then he killed them."

So. This is obviously not the end yet. I think I might just drag it out. Not sure yet. But I am technically redoing my bedroom, so... it might take a while for me to post again even if I wasn't.

I'm also not sure how I plan to save them from Sargon yet. We shall see. Maybe I won't save them.