(4) Sylar's Secret

In the next few days, Sylar had killed enough nightstalkers to drive them out of the old hospital. Once more, they learned to fear him & stopped returning to the place where he was.

But it was no longer enough. Now that Sylar knew what they were, his lust for human blood once more raged within him & he killed without leniency. It was worse than when he had started down his bloody path so many millennia ago, but this time, no one seemed to mind. The nightstalkers would try to eat them if left alone anyway, reduced to nothing more than beasts with basic instincts, & Claire had long since viewed them as monsters & saw Sylar as her saviour instead. He could literally get away with murder in this era & loved every moment of it!

Occasionally, Sylar would come across one with an ability. Those he would kill the old-fashioned way & take their power. It was probably the best time of his life. He could kill without consequence. Claire no longer feared him & now shared his bed. Neither Noah Bennet or Peter was around to hunt him down. He was free to do whatever he wanted. He had never been more out of control with his first ability than now but no one was around to stop him. The only hitch was that there were no lists to follow. If he came across a nightstalker with a power, it was nothing more than sheer dumb luck.

Sylar rarely killed in front of Claire. Unless they were going after her or near where she was, he would try to go out on his own after them. Claire didn't realize how many he had brought down & he didn't want to tell her. He didn't want her to start worrying about his killing sprees. What if she turned against him again if she ever found out? What she didn't know won't hurt her.

They had switched their location once more to a house still standing. The windows had been barred by the previous owners & it was relatively safe at night. They had the entire city to themselves & it became Sylar's playground at night long after Claire had gone to sleep. By day, he focused more on her & they would often explore the streets together, with Sylar silently picking his next hunting spot for the night.

The shoreline followed the metropolitan wall along the east side & often, Sylar & Claire would find themselves on a new part of the beach & watch the whales playing in the bay. Sylar had settled easily into his new life, free of having to look over his shoulder & having no laws to hide from. It had been ages since he had thought of the when of his situation or of ever going back. Why should he go back? Peter would be waiting for him as would Noah Bennet & the entire rule of America, which dictated the death penalty for his crimes back then. Even if he couldn't die easily, they still liked to threaten him with it. He was better off here. Nothing could touch him, or so he thought.

Sylar needed a major reality check & one evening while walking through the shallows with Claire, it finally happened. She had moved away from him to go out onto the rocks in the deeper waves close to where two pilot whales were feeding. She stretched out a hand towards the one closest to her, hoping to pet it. As Sylar watched her, he noticed something was different about her. She touched the whale's nose before it shyly swam away from her, then returned to Sylar's side.

"I can't believe I managed to pet it!" Claire exclaimed as she watched the whale dive out of sight. Sylar put a hand on her shoulder & turned her to face him. He looked her over, into her, through her. "What?"

Sylar slowly stepped away, letting his hand drop. "It can't be."

"What?" Claire asked again. Sylar suddenly grabbed her by force & held her against the cliff. "What are you doing?"

"Looking into you," Sylar muttered absent-mindedly. He soon let her go & turned away to look out over the ocean.

Claire shook herself a little, making sure she had control again, then went to him. "What was that all about?"

Sylar sent her a side-long glance. "Claire."

"Gabriel?" She waited, slightly impatient.

He turned to her & said in a hoarse gasp. "You're pregnant!" He walked aimlessly away, slightly shocked.

"Excuse me?" Claire yelped. "Wait a minute! How do you even know?"

"Ohh what have I done?" Sylar fell to his knees in the sand.

"You think I'm pregnant?" Claire stood before him. Sylar merely nodded, keeping his face in his hands. "You act like you never got a girl pregnant before."

Sylar finally managed to meet her gaze. "No," He could only whisper, still flabbergasted. "I haven't."

Claire burst out laughing. "Then what do you know? What makes you think I'm pregnant?"

"Because I can see it, ok?" Sylar half-snapped. In a calmer voice, he added, "The ability I was born with. It makes me look into a person. I can see into their soul, so to speak. I know if someone has an aneurysm or cancer cells or abilities. I can see if a female is pregnant. Back then, I missed out on two abilities because I came across a pregnant woman each time & I didn't want to stress the unborn child. I knew what would happen, so I left them alone." He sat back on his heels. "Your egg is firmly implanted into the left side of your uterus & has already divided once. I can see it if I use my power. You got pregnant a few nights ago." He reached out & took her hands into his. "I am so sorry! Oh God, forgive me! What have I done?"

"Alright so," Claire began, slightly concerned at his reaction. "You got a girl pregnant. It isn't the end of the world. Well sort of," she glanced around at their surroundings. "But I'm not new to this. I've had plenty of children over the eons. But none of them ever got my healing power. They'd come out with their own, or none at all. Just letting you know what to expect in eighty to ninety years. Besides that though, what's the big deal? Is this really your first child?"

Sylar pushed himself up to stand. "I'm a killer, Claire. Remember?"

"Yes & you've done an excellent job at keeping me safe from those monsters," Claire replied. "Now we have a little one to protect as well."

"From the time I come from, I'm the monster. I would get the death penalty if I didn't have the Regen."

"But why though?" Claire didn't understand, didn't remember something so long ago. "You're excellent at it. You can easily keep a person safe."

"The only person I was interested in keeping safe back then was myself," Sylar began. "Remember I said Peter & I are both mimics?"

"Yeah, what does Peter have to do with anything?"

"We both copy powers, but differently. He just has to be near someone," Sylar hesitated before finishing in a whisper. "I ... I—I killed them."

Claire slowly blinked once like an owl as she began to realize something. "You're a professional killer."

"I'm a whole lot worse than your average hit man for hire."

Claire stared at him for a moment. "When you say you're a killer, what you really mean is ... are you ... ?"

"A murderer," Sylar finished for her. "A serial killer. I'm actually the world's worst one. I've taken so many lives, just to have what they have!"

"You use abilities to kill," Claire started, trying to think through what she was hearing.

"It's more than that," Sylar admitted. "I kill BECAUSE of an ability I have. The ability I was born with drives me to blood. It has a need for understanding, a hunger if you will. It's next to impossible to control. I was labelled a murderer for it, a serial killer & it's because of my ability I inherited from my father. The blood rage is genetic. I was very careful when I would sleep with women back then. Made sure to never get one pregnant & pass this curse on. I can see the cycles of women as well, if I look into them with my power. I did that with you here often but sometimes, we were too busy with each other for me to think straight & now I might have passed this power on." They stared at each other for a moment. "I stalked people for their powers. I hunted them down for my own gain. Even went after Peter & I killed Nathan, his brother, who could fly. This is why Peter tossed me so far ahead into the future. They can't execute me so he got rid of me some other way. Peter's the Hero, not me. I'm the main Villain of the age back there. They're all terrified of me & rightly so. I'm like a vampire, only I don't drink the blood. I hunted people down like animals & ... & that includes you, Claire."

"Me? Why?"

"People were trying to put me down, to stop me," Sylar explained. "Even ran me through with a sword. I killed without mercy back then, much the same as I do to the nightstalkers now. Only one has ever survived."

"Who?" Claire asked in a shocked whisper.

Sylar looked at her & raised a finger to point at her. "You."

Claire gasped, looking away. "Wait a minute. You say I was born back then. That you knew me then. So, when you called me Claire, that is my real name, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Sylar answered. "The cheerleader who could not die. You are the reason I am eternal. It's too far back, you don't remember me ripping you apart, do you?"

Claire slowly touched the side of her head with one hand. "You did ... did what you do to the nightstalkers with powers ... you did that to me?" She searched his eyes, trying to understand but she didn't have his terrible power.

"You were very young back then, not even twenty years old," Sylar began slowly. "Where do you think I got my immortality from, hmm? That's why I know you can survive it, because you already did," he added softly. "It's also why I'm not going after you now. I have your ability. My power isn't roused by you anymore. You're safe from me."

"Am I?" Claire gasped. "You don't want me dead?"

"No, never," Sylar shook his head. "I just wanted your ability. I knew you can't die so I went after you, copied your power & left."

"You knew I would not die?" Claire all but snarled.

"Yes, that's why I wanted your power in the first place," Sylar answered. "I knew you'd be fine & I wanted to be fine as well so I could be unstoppable. I'm also the reason you can't feel pain, Claire. I shut it all off while I went in there to copy your power. I didn't like seeing you in pain & I knew the misery I was causing you wouldn't end in death, so I switched it all off."

A few moments of silence passed. "I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Claire crossed her arms & turned to face him. "Why would you DO that?"

"My ability I was born with," Sylar moved away a few steps to sit under a tree. "It has a hunger for knowledge. A need to know more & more & more. It turned me into a—a monster. I would see something I didn't understand, like an ability, then this thing would take over & I'd get high on its lust. Then, when I come out of the trance, I'm soaked in blood. I have a new ability but I suddenly know exactly how it works. I can't control it! Claire," He looked up at her. "I wasn't always like this. I had a perfectly simple life growing up, fixing watches & timepieces. Sylar didn't invade my life until I was an adult. Then that eclipse happened. Abilities awakened everywhere in a lot of people & I got landed with the most destructive one imaginable, passed down to me from my father. Then people started testing those who were special, myself included. They even fed the hunger with blood by putting someone with a power before me & then leaving me alone with them without explanation. Sylar would take over & someone died. Every time! Sylar took over my life. There is very little of Gabriel left. As Gabriel, I wouldn't have hurt anyone. I was the nerd in the back of the class at school. The shy guy. I didn't ask for this ability to appear in me. It just happened." He closed his eyes & put both hands over his face, unable to look at her. Claire knelt beside him & reached up to pull his hands away. "No. Don't!" Sylar pulled out of her grasp. "There is so much blood on these hands, Claire & I'm not talking about your nightstalkers!" He sighed heavily before daring to look at her. "Why are you still here? I thought you'd be running from me by now."

"Gabriel," Claire started.

"Gabriel's dead, ok?" Sylar interrupted. "Sylar killed him too, a long time ago."

"From what you've told me, I can see Gabriel everywhere," Claire tried again. "Watching over, holding Sylar back."

"Holding Sylar back?" Sylar repeated incredulously. "Girl, did you not hear a word I said?"

"Did YOU?" Claire countered. "You told me you missed out on two abilities because they were pregnant," she started. "That was Gabriel! You told me you turned off my pain receptors while you harvested my power. Gabriel again! Gabriel is the one who removed that aneurysm from that waitress. Gabriel is the one who held me against the cliff a while ago to get a better look into me. He didn't hurt me. You told me you were careful not to have a child, worried about passing this on. Gabriel knew to be careful."

"Yeah, until he screwed up & now three of us are here."

"You think he screwed up?" Claire stated rhetorically. "What if he held Sylar back to let this happen? Don't you get it? Maybe he knows you're ready for this now."

"My father was a monster," Sylar muttered. "I'm not talking about his ability either. He killed a lot more than I ever did but he also just wasn't a good parent. He sold me to my Aunt & Uncle instead. They raised me."

"Maybe he did that to protect you from his power," Claire pointed out.

"Hardly."

"He kept you in the family didn't he? Just at a distance."

Sylar gaped at her for a long time. "Maybe. I dunno. I'll never find out now. How am I supposed to raise a child when I've had little experience in the family business, plus this damned ability on top of it all?"

"Well, whatever your family did wrong, you know what not to do with your own child," Claire said. "As for the ability, just let Gabriel lead the way."

"What if the child gets it?"

"Then we'll deal with it," Claire said. "Neither of us can die anyway & the only other things out there to kill are nightstalkers. Who cares?"

Sylar took a long moment of silence before saying, "Well ... this is true."

"Speaking of which," Claire looked up at the stars for a moment. "We should get home. It's dark now. I'm surprised they haven't come swooping down at us yet."

"It's because of me, Claire," Sylar said as he got up. "I killed enough of them to scare them off. Just like before. It's the same pattern."

"At least there's a better purpose to it now," Claire said. "We can't die & I don't want to find out what one of those things looks like from the inside out, thank you very much."

"Uhh," Sylar groaned as he picked her up to fly out. "Claire, that's disgusting!"

"It is!" Claire agreed. Both managed a laugh. They landed in the yard a few minutes later & went inside. Sylar tossed a flame into the fireplace & a few sparks around to light the candles before dropping onto the couch. Claire sat beside him. "So who came up with the name Sylar?"

"I did," Sylar began undoing the clasp on his old broken watch. "I never left fingerprints until an accident happened."

"That accident sounds like Gabriel, again," Claire mused. "Maybe a call for help, knowing the power was taking control."

"That could be," Sylar handed over the watch. "It's actually a brand name. I was in the process of fixing this when my first victim sauntered into my life. That's when I got the ability to move things without touching them. I keep that watch as a reminder of what I can do, what I can become."

Claire held it up in front of her. "A watch." She tapped the broken centerpiece. "I haven't seen one of these in almost five hundred years. Watches don't exist anymore."

"Ok then!" Sylar exclaimed. "You just made me obsolete."

Claire snickered at him. "We all had microchips built into us instead. Just tap it & a screen would appear before you. Mine doesn't work any more. No interface to connect to." She handed the old watch back. "So that's what Sylar is reduced to. A scarred watch. Obsolete."

"Thanks, Claire," Sylar took the watch back & put it on again. "That made me feel loads better."

She turned away, giggling at him for a moment. When she was finally composed, she looked up to find him laying back, gazing at her. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Sylar replied softly. "It's just, I thought you'd be afraid of me again. Hate me for what I did."

"It was a little surprising," Claire admitted. "But I know you better than that. Besides, it works out here, keeping those things away."

Sylar leaned forward & grabbed her shoulders. "But I need to control it now. I don't want to hurt you ever again & I certainly don't want to hurt our child. I have to find a different way of dealing with those things. If they get to close to us, then I'll kill for defence only. No more sporting."

"Sure, but they just want to eat us anyway," Claire shrugged. "It's a them or us kind of thing."

"Perhaps, but I have to start somewhere," Sylar lay back, pulling her onto him. "I have nine months to get it right."