(3) By Any Other Name

The nightly romps stopped abruptly when rain began pouring down in torrents from flashing clouds. The lightening never stopped flickering even though there was rarely any thunder. The deep purple billows pressed close, trapping the pair inside for nearly a week. When the thunder did sound, it was loud enough to shake the floor they stood on, adding to the small tremors that would happen periodically day by day.

"We never had storms like this where I come from," Sylar remarked one evening after a particularly loud bang.

"What are the storms at your home like then?"

"Well, the lightening didn't constantly flash like a camera," Sylar pointed out, wincing as another crash of thunder resounded through the halls. "Usually long breaks between one flash & one sound." He opened the door to the room with the broken windows to look at the ocean for a moment. The wind howled through the open area & he could barely see the water but the sound of the waves was enough. "Those are almost tsunami-like. No wonder Manhattan is gone. That's why this city has a high wall. It's to keep the ocean out so whatever happened to Manhattan wouldn't repeat itself here."

"That reminds me," Claire began. "Come see what I found in the lounge on the top floor." She led him upstairs past the lanterns she had set up to light the way & to the center table where a book lay. It was an encyclopedia for the letter N. She opened it to New York. "Look, it shows some of the changes over the past few hundred years."

Sylar flipped through several pages based on New York. "The Statue of Liberty was repaired or rebuilt several times it seems. Looks like that last one that we were standing on was a dark blue color. About three thousand years ago, Manhattan flipped over into the ocean due to a large earthquake. The resulting tsunamis took out half the state." He paused as he looked at some of the older pictures. "Here's the last picture of New York City before it was destroyed."

Claire looked at it, seeing cars that hovered in streets filled with people. "Is that your New York?"

"No," Sylar shook his head. "Mine was five thousand years ago. Not quite as sophisticated as that. Even your buildings have different designs. Yours are more streamlined. Mine were more angled. Wow, that survived?" He showed her another picture. "Now here's one from my time. That's the Twin Towers when they were burning. It's probably one of the most famous pictures on the planet."

Claire stared at the image for a long time. "It does have a sense of familiarity about it, but I thought maybe I dreamed it or something."

"The whole world felt like it was a dream, a nightmare," Sylar began looking through the book again. "We wished it was but then we all realized that we were awake. Here are your nightstalkers. Seems like they originated in Australia. Some sort of epidemic." He gave the book back to Claire. "I need to catch one of those things. Alive."

"Alive?" Claire gasped. "Whatever for?"

"I want to study it," Sylar answered. "I think they're the key to this whole plague & wiping out the human race thing."

"Good luck with that one," Claire scoffed.

"Were there any other books besides that one?" Sylar asked.

"Oh plenty," Claire pointed to a door on the side. "That opens up into a collection of books. I have a lot of reading to do again."

Sylar entered the tiny library, cast two flames out to light up the two torches on the walls & began systematically stalking through the area. "Where was that encyclopedia book?"

"Right here on the night stand," Claire put the book on a small table just inside the entrance door to the library. "I didn't see any others from the set."

"It's definitely someone's collection," Sylar kept moving through the three over-stuffed book cases. "Some of these are old." He fished a smaller one out from under three large ones. "Here's a medical book," He groaned under breath.

"What's wrong?" Claire asked a moment before putting her hands up to avoid getting smacked in the face. Sylar had tossed her the book. She opened the cover.

"It just makes me think of Peter," Sylar muttered. "He is a paramedic."

"Maybe this is his?"

"I doubt it," Sylar hoped. "We've been here for a while now. I can tell that the book has passed through a few hands before even getting here. Its last owner was an old man who made it a hobby to collect books. It means nothing." Despite his protests, he still snarled under breath like a grumpy old alley cat.

"Just saying the name really gets to you, doesn't it?" Claire lightly taunted. "But is it possible he's around somewhere right now? Is he immortal like us?"

"That depends," Sylar muttered. "He started out like me, being able to keep all his powers at once. But then his mimicry broke & he can only keep one at a time. So he can copy yours, but when he copies someone else's like time travel or flight, he will lose the previous one."

"I'm sensing a but here."

"Yeah," Sylar said slowly. "There's a rumor about a futuristic Peter. One with a scar across his face. No one knows how it happened. I mean, obviously he gets it while he is broken & can't heal." He fell silent.

"Another but?"

Sylar rolled his eyes. "The scarred one is more terrible in strength & a multitude of powers that his younger scar-free self does not have. His mimicry gets fixed & that one is once more immortal & apparently he also has my power which means he suffers the blood rage like I do. I never met him & from what I've heard, I don't want to. Few things terrify me. He's one of them! I think I'd rather jump into a whole nest of nightstalkers than face the scarred Peter."

"I didn't think you'd be afraid of anything," Claire exclaimed in a low voice.

"If you ever see him with the scar across his face, just run & don't look back."

"I wouldn't know if I saw him, though," said Claire. "I don't know what he looks like."

Sylar gazed at her for a moment, remembering the effects of five thousand years. "I can show you. I can shape-shift." He shifted to Peter for a moment. Claire's jaw dropped. "That's him," Sylar went on when he shifted back to himself. "Just add a scar to it. I can't do it since I haven't touched the one with the scar or seen him."

"That's an amazing feat!" Claire was still gaping. She finally snapped her mouth closed. "So what is the real you then?"

"This is me," Sylar held up his hands for a moment.

"How many impressions can you do like that?"

"Whoever I touch," Sylar explained. "I try not to use this ability too much. It really messed me up for a while. I was almost schizophrenic until it settled. Out of all the abilities I ever copied, the shape-shifting was the hardest."

"Does it feel as weird as it looks when you shift to someone else?"

"Oh yeah," Sylar admitted. He paused for a moment, as if listening for something. "You know, I haven't heard any thunder for a while. Think maybe the storm is finally over?"

"Let's go check," Claire put the medical book aside to look at later when Sylar wouldn't be around to complain about Peter & headed for the door.

The storm had virtually stopped but the clouds remained, thick & heavy in the air. A dull light of midday only succeeded in adding to the grayish gloom under the clouds. They moved through the abandoned ghost town with Sylar a few paces ahead. It had been a while since either were out & both made use of the break in the weather to escape outside. They went farther into the city, away from the ocean still pounding on the cliffs & passed by what seemed to be a residential area.

Claire turned aside to enter into one of the yards. She found a large plant growing against the wall of what remained of a house, half of which had been turned to a pile of rubble & pulled off a large red fruit that filled both her hands. "Hey Gabriel! Look what I found."

Sylar waited near the road as she came back to him & handed over the large tomato. "That's a big one! You'll probably find a lot of things like this around here. Escaped from old gardens to grow wild now."

"I was hoping for something like that," Claire pulled out her knife but Sylar tossed the tomato into the air & sliced it in half with his ability. She sheathed her knife again. "Show off!"

"You like it," Sylar handed her a half.

"Maybe," Claire snickered between bites. "Oh! Looks like we're heading into downtown, literally." The pair stopped suddenly at the top of hill that descended sharply away from them. On their right, down below them, an immense complex spread out before them. There was even an extension from the roof for flying machines; though, no helicopters were there.

"That's a hospital & it looks like it's in much better condition than that office building we're in," Sylar crossed the street to be on the same side as the hospital once they went downhill. "It's probably because it isn't so close to the ocean. The heavy winds didn't batter it as much."

"It might be full of our nocturnal friends, too," Claire reminded him.

Sylar headed downward. "I'm counting on it."

"Oh boy," Claire half ran to keep up with him. Sylar seemed to be on a mission, but by the time they got to the large bay doors, she was the one ahead of him. "Come on, what are you waiting for?"

"Hospitals aren't really my thing."

"You're scared of hospitals?" Claire asked incredulously.

"No," Sylar looked up towards the double-pad near the roof. "It's just like, well, it's the exact opposite of what I do."

"What do you do?"

Sylar looked at her. "Hospitals are for saving people. I'm a killer by profession, remember?"

"I know that!" Claire scoffed. "Why do you think I want you to go in first, in case any of those beasts are in there?"

Sylar stalked inside. "Peter works in a hospital. He's an ambulance driver."

"Annnnd ... there's the real problem," Claire smiled, earning a glare. "Maybe he's in here."

"If he is, I'll personally hand-feed him to one of your nocturnal pets," Sylar huffed. Claire followed him deep into the hospital, snickering to herself all the while until Sylar stopped abruptly & whirled around to glare at her. She grinned sheepishly before finally falling silent. "It seems empty in here," Sylar spoke after several minutes of scanning through the place. "No nightstalkers." He opened a large steel door leading into the morgue. "You'd think this would be a perfect place for them." Standing in the doorway, Sylar yanked open every slab at once without touching them by using his force power, but they were empty.

"I guess this hospital hasn't been used in ages either," Claire said. "Don't even have any dead bodies."

"I had thought as much but those creatures might have liked hiding in here," Sylar turned away. "Perfect place to trap one, though." He started down the corridor once more but suddenly stopped, making Claire crash into him. He looked around then upto the ceiling to the next floor above them before moving on.

They entered a large waiting room with no windows & a door on either end. The second door opened into the ICU section that had eight smaller rooms. Claire went down the hallway to the walk-in closet. Several minutes later, she returned with a few extra clothes.

"The silks were used for patients," Claire laid them over one armchair. "These were what the nurses used." She handed over dark green uniforms.

"Silks? That's different," Sylar looked at the jacket, then glared at Claire. "Healer?"

"I think that is what paramedic is to you," Claire replied absent-mindedly.

"Trying to rub it in or what?"

"No," Claire groaned. "It's just what's there. Gees, Gabriel!"

"I'm just asking," Sylar managed a short laugh. "Not the same colors that he has. Peter's outfit is dark blue."

"It might be hilarious if we run into Peter now," Claire said.

"What if he has that scar?" Sylar reminded her.

"Feed him to a nightstalker."

"Sure, if I can find one soon," Sylar stated as he watched Claire check into all the rooms. She soon found two beds & rolled them together into the same room. "What are you doing?"

"These are the only two good ones," Claire answered. "All that's left is part of one other bed."

"Ok," Sylar said slowly. "Why are you putting them in the same room?"

"Don't we always share the same room?" Claire returned. "We need to stay close to each other in case one of those things or your scarred friend shows up."

"He's NOT my friend!" Sylar snarled through gritted teeth. Claire just laughed as she clamped the wheels down on both beds so they wouldn't roll. Sylar leaned on the door frame. He raised one hand & the bed on the left skidded sideways through the wall back into the other room it had just come from.

"Hey! What did you do that for?"

"What's the point of having two beds, Claire?"

"Um, let's think. One for you & one for me?"

Sylar latched onto her by power & yanked her forward into his arms. "Don't tell me you've forgotten about this, have you?" He kissed her before she had a chance to reply.

Claire put her hands up between them, as if holding him off. She looked up into his eyes for a moment. "Well, no. It's been a few centuries but I, uh, no I haven't."

"A few centuries," Sylar echoed. "How long have we been together now? Have you never once considered this could happen?"

"I, uh, um, I've been ... starting to," Claire stammered. "I think when, when we started, uh, sneaking out at night."

Sylar leaned close to her & whispered, "I know." He kissed her again, pushing her back towards the remaining bed.

She didn't fight him this time. He had wanted her for ages but in the past, she had always hated him for what he had done to her. But that was forgotten at last. Now she was letting him do what he pleased, asking for it, encouraging him to go farther. Finally after all this time, he was in bed with the cheerleader. For a split second, he wondered how long she had kept that up but was soon preoccupied with other things.

Sylar woke up in the middle of the night. Claire was curled up beside him, fast asleep. He lightly touched her hair for a moment before silently sliding out of bed. He held a small ball of electricity in one hand to shed some light & looked up at the ceiling while quickly getting dressed before stalking out into the hall.

Something was in here with them. He had felt it ever since they had entered the hospital. He closed every door he went through, blocking the way back to her in case the beast decided to come down a level, looking for them. Finding the nearest stairwell, Sylar floated straight up to the next floor. He put the light out & slowly stepped into the dark hall.

A soft wail sounded at the other end. Sylar stayed close to the wall, listening intently at the resonance. For some reason, it made him think of singing underwater, like a whale. The call came again, only closer. He felt himself being pulled in, as if he were drawn towards it & could think of nothing else. He dropped to his knees, shaking himself a little as the Regen cleared up the hypnosis.

Another soft cry & Sylar moved forward once more without thinking before taking a few steps back when the Regen healed his mind once more. "That's an ability," Sylar whispered to himself. "Some sort of hypnosis." He focused hard on healing as the nightstalker beckoned for him again. "Which means … "

The hall suddenly lit up as Sylar attacked with several abilities at once. Electricity, fire & an EMP pulse that could go nuclear if he allowed it to get too hot. The creature was right in front of him. It held up its webbed arms, shielding its eyes from the bright & sudden light. Sylar kept near the flames he had set.

The creature took off down the hall, away from the light & rounded a corner out of sight. Using force, he quickly extinguished the fires by slamming his power down over the flames, removing the oxygen just long enough to put them out. He summoned a large ball of electricity a moment later & ran after the retreating nightstalker.

He searched for almost an hour, but the creature had disappeared. Sylar knew it still had to be in the building since it was morning & the sun had once more appeared after the long storm. The nightstalker was trapped in the hospital with them for the day. He eventually decided to return to Claire, only to meet her halfway in the stairwell.

"What's all the commotion?" She asked, holding up a large candle to see him better.

"There's a nigthstalker on this floor," Sylar pointed up behind him for a moment. "I'm trying to catch it but it's hiding for the day. Claire, it has an ability. Hypnosis. Doesn't work too well on us since we heal."

"Why would it have any powers like us?" Claire moved upwards past him to get to the floor he had just come from.

"I have an idea," Sylar replied grimly. "I think whatever happened to the human race is worse than what you thought."

Claire turned back to look at him. "You're not seriously suggesting what I think you're suggesting, are you?"

"I'll know for sure when I catch it & can look at it properly without the thing trying to eat me," Sylar said as he followed Claire into the hallway.

"What's down there?" Claire swung her light down a dark hall with no windows.

"I think it leads to the helicopter bay," Sylar tossed a bolt of electricity down the full length of the hall, lighting it up.

"I can hear screeching," Claire said.

"So can I," Sylar moved in front of her. "Must be a few more of them."

Claire put out the candle & left it on the floor. The two of them moved quickly but silently down the hall to the large bay doors opening up into a receiving area. Sylar threw out another blast of blue light. The effect was instant. There were five nighstalkers in the area, four together on one side & the one Sylar had been pursing by itself on the other. All put up their arms, using the webbing as shields against the sudden brightness.

Sylar held the light high near the roof. "They don't like the one I'm after," he whispered to Claire. "They don't have any powers & are shunning the one that does."

"What do we do now?" Claire asked under her breath as she stood behind him, peering around his right side.

"Don't move," Sylar took a few steps forward. The next moment, three of the group of four split in half & fell dead. Sylar grabbed the next one by force & threw it back, cutting it apart as it landed, then rounded on the one with the power of hypnosis. "Alright you! Let's find out exactly what you are." He raised one hand & a line of red began streaking across the nightstalker's face.

"What are you doing?" Claire called from her position near the doorway. "I thought you wanted it alive?"

"It is alive," Sylar finished his cut. "For now. It will die in a few moments. I just need its brain."

"Brain?" Claire repeated, not sure if she heard correctly.

"I'm taking that ability first," Sylar let the dying body drop & pressed his fingers to the sweet spot in the brain. A moment later, he pulled it right out.

"Ohh that's cold!" Claire exclaimed, half-shocked, half-nervous laugh. "What the hell are you going to do with that?"

"Not much more," Sylar shrugged. "But look at it. That's completely human. I knew it! We didn't die out. We just changed. Whatever plague happened, affected the DNA of humanity & we all changed. Except for people like us, since we heal & live forever."

"That's great," Claire cast a glance between the dead nighstalker lying close to Sylar's feet & the loose brain nearby. "That is the weirdest thing I have ever seen!"

Sylar moved towards her. "You ok?"

Claire sent him a sassy smile. "I almost feel sorry for the nightstalker."

"Almost?"

Claire held up one hand, pressing the tips of her index & thumb together. "Little bit." Sylar got close enough so that they would have been nose to nose if she wasn't so short, or him so tall, one of the two. Claire blinked. "Hey now. You're not thinking of doing that to me, are you?" Sylar looked away. Claire watched him for a moment. "Gabriel? Are you, I mean, why would ... Gabriel?"

"I'm already immortal like you, Claire," Sylar finally spoke. "I don't need to." He took off down the hall, not looking back.

She followed him for a few minutes before asking in a small voice, "If you did do that to me, would I die?"

Sylar stopped walking, but still avoided looking at her. "No. You have to have something pushed in—"

"In that one tiny spot," Claire finished. "I know that. I suppose you have that as well."

"Yeah & it's just temporary anyway," Sylar went on. "If the shunt gets out, we come back." He began moving again but Claire put a hand on his arm.

"Gabriel, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sylar finally lied to her. He usually didn't but now he didn't know how to tell the truth to her.

"I know something's going on," Claire pressed. "You can't even look at me right now. What happened?"

Sylar sighed heavily. "Did I scare you back there?"

"A little," Claire shrugged. "I'm over it now, though. I guess mostly just startled at how different you were in killing that thing the way you did instead of just dropping them all."

"I never wanted to cause you more pain," Sylar whispered under breath.

Claire stepped in front of him, forcing him to look at her. "Gabriel, I'm fine. Besides, I can't even feel pain. My ability I guess." She turned & walked away.

Sylar followed silently. It wasn't her ability blocking her pain receptors. It had been him! A long time ago when he took her ability, he had shut it all off. But how to tell her? How to explain something eons had wiped out of her memory? Or should he even bother since, what was the point? Perhaps it was best kept secret.