"We adopted her when she was just a baby," Noah went on. "She was given to me and my wife by people who knew about abilities. They told me that Claire was special and that her powers would manifest eventually. Her biological parents both had abilities, so there was a good chance that Claire would have one as well." He could've said something about Claire surviving the fire in her old home, because that's how they knew about her ability. But that way they could find out about Meredith being the birth mother and he didn't know if Claire wanted people to know about that.

It was silent in the press room for a few seconds.

"Do you know who they are, your biological parents?" Dr. Gibson asked.

"Yes," Claire answered truthfully.

"Would you like to tell us something about them?"

Tell the world that Senator Nathan Petrelli had an ability? "Um…" And Meredith… "My birth mother had the ability to create and manipulate fire... She died..." Claire figured that if she told them that her mother had died, she wouldn't have to tell them who she was. She didn't just die, though. Sylar killed her.Just like he had killed her father. He even killed her grandfather, Arthur Petrelli. He might have killed her uncle too. Sylar had tried to kill Peter many times, but something told her he actually succeeded this time. It seemed like he was going after her entire family. He even killed me… Sort of.

"What about your father?"

Claire snapped out of her thoughts and remembered that they were on live television. Dr. Gibson somehow made it seem like they were on their own. Focus, Claire. "Um, flight. He had the ability to fly."

"Had?"

"He also died…" Please, don't ask me who he was or how he died. They would probably find out one way or the other, but she didn't feel like talking about him at that moment. It wasn't her place to tell people that he had an ability. Besides, there was nothing more she could have said about him. She never had that father-daughter relationship, not really. He had never been there for her when she needed him, even less than her adoptive father had been.

Dr. Gibson didn't ask who her father was. She smiled reassuringly at Claire and nodded. "Go on."

"Yes, of course. Um… There are a lot of different kinds of abilities. I've just shown you regeneration, Edgar has shown his super speed. My parents had pyrokinesis and flight, but there is so much more out there. Super strength, invisibility, telepathy, time-travel. It's like I said before. Everything you've ever read about in comic books or have seen on television, it's real. Super powers exist."

"Yes," Noah interrupted. "It all sounds great and wonderful when you say it like that, but it's not always like that. There are people who use their abilities to do..." he paused.

The door behind them opened and two police officers entered the room. One of them walked straight towards Dr. Gibson and whispered something in her ear. She got to her feet immediately.

"Mr. Bennet, I have to ask you to come with me," the police officer said.

Claire frowned at the man and then at her dad. "What's going on?"

Noah shrugged. I have no idea… "Let's find out."

Dr. Gibson told the journalists and reporters that they were going to have a short break and left the room, followed by Noah and Claire. As soon as they were back in the hallway the police officer approached Noah, showed his NYPD badge and said, "Turn around now. Hands above your head."

Noah did as he was told and turned around.

He's getting arrested?! "Dad, what did you do?!" Claire panicked.

The police officer grabbed Noah's wrists and handcuffed him as he said, "Noah Bennet, I'm arresting you on suspicion of attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent when questioned. Anything you say or do may be used against you in a court of law…"

Claire watched with growing disbelief as the police officer read her dad his rights. Attempted murder? Something must have happened after she left the carnival. "What's going on?!"

Noah couldn't help but scoff after hearing about the attempted murder. How was it attempted murder when the other person couldn't die? They had obviously seen the video of him shooting Sylar, but they had no idea who Sylar was and what he was capable of. "You're arresting the wrong man," he said after the officer had finished talking.

"What's going on here?" Dr. Gibson asked the police officer as she showed him her own badge. There were more of them in the hallway and at the entrance.

"We found evidence that Mr. Bennet shot an unknown man in Central Park, about an hour ago."

"Yes, I shot him, but it wasn't my intention to kill him." If they only knew what Sylar was like, they wouldn't be arresting him now. They'd be cheering him on instead.

Dr. Gibson shook her head disapprovingly. "Noah, I think it'd be wise if you stopped talking."

Noah ignored her advice. "That man I shot, he's a serial killer. Just look into your database, you'll find him under the name of Gabriel Gray."

He shot Sylar?! Claire didn't know what to think of that. Sylar didn't die, obviously. So where did he go? Where did Peter go? Her dad said that Peter was fine, but what if he wasn't?God, I wish I had stayed.

The police officer asked one of his colleagues to stay with Noah while he went away to make a phone call.

Dr. Gibson frowned at Noah after hearing that name. "Gabriel Gray you said?"

"Yes," Claire and Noah answered at the same time. They made it sound like the name itself was poison.

"We've always known him as Sylar." Noah didn't care about being overheard by the police officer standing next to him. He knew that he hadn't done anything wrong. He would shoot Sylar again in a heartbeat, if he got the chance.

"Dad, why did you shoot him?" He said that he wouldn't go after Sylar, but that was just another lie, apparently. When will he ever stop lying to me?

"I had no choice, Claire."

"Why?" Dr. Gibson asked.

Apart from him being a psycho killer? "The man has done a lot of bad things in the past few years. He murdered people with special abilities by cutting off the top of their heads and stealing their brains. That's how he took their powers."

"He took mine, as well," Claire said quietly.

"He took yourpower? You mean he…"

Claire smiled grimly. "Yes. He used telekinesis to cut my head open and then took my ability. I healed, obviously. He even left a little present behind..."

"What kind of present?"

Claire clenched her teeth and stared at the wall behind Dr. Gibson as she answered her question. "He did something to my brain… I don't know how…" That disgusting feeling of lying there, him sitting there... The moment he started touching her brain... "He's the reason I can no longer feel pain." He had taken away the one thing that always made her feel like a normal human being.

And that's why I shot him, Noah thought viciously. He still wanted to make Sylar pay for what he did to Claire. He would not rest until he had destroyed Sylar completely. Sylar was going to wish he never took Claire's ability.

"So, you took revenge for your daughter?" she asked him.

"Not only for her. The list of murders is a lot longer than you'd think. Probably a lot longer than I think, as well." How many people did he kill? How many lives were ruined? No one would ever know. Noah doubted if Sylar himself even knew the number.

The police officer came back. "We've just confirmed that the man on the video is indeed Mr. Gray. I still have to ask why you shot him, Mr. Bennet."

Revenge was one of the many reasons and so was the safety of society, but that wouldn't help Noah in his situation. "You could say it was out of self-defense," he said instead.

The police officer raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Mr. Gray wasn't carrying a weapon as far as we could see. Did he threaten you?"

Not carrying a weapon? Sylar didn't need to carry a weapon. Heisa weapon. "That man has threatened to kill me and my daughter many times, officer, but no, he didn't threaten me this evening."

"Was he, perhaps, threatening Mr. Petrelli?"

What? The police officer had Claire's full attention. He's talking about Peter… Her uncle was there when Sylar got shot, but they hadn't said anything about him getting hurt.

"Peter?" Noah asked, surprised by that question.

"Yes, we recognized Mr. Petrelli on the video. Did Gabriel Gray threaten to kill him?"

"Yes," Noah lied. Oops, did I just say that?

"He did?! Why?! What video?" Claire's suspicions were now reality, he was going after her entire family. So where were they now? Was Peter even still alive? Oh, God... What if he wasn't? Claire's only hope was that Peter still had regeneration, after she had given it to him a little while ago.No… wait! Peter had copied West's ability, which meant he wouldn't be able to heal if Sylar went after him. Which meant he was doomed.

"Am I still under arrest?" Noah asked the police officer, trying to avoid answering Claire's question, because he didn't want to lie to her. He was going to explain everything to her later, when no one could hear them.

"No, but we would still like to take you down to the station to ask you some further questions about what happened."

"What about the press conference?" Claire asked. They only just started and she really wanted to finish it, but not without her dad. What was she supposed to say about his absence?

"Claire's right. I'm not leaving her." Noah looked at the police officer. "Do you mind?" he asked the man as he turned around.

"Oh, right," the officer said and started to uncuff Noah.

"Thanks." So how can I fix this? "I think I have an idea. What if I talk about Sylar in there?" he said as he gestured with his eyes to the press room. "We let people know about the dangerous criminal he is and warn them not to go near him. I'll them everything I know about the murders and all the abilities he has taken from his victims." Telling the world about Sylar… Men like Sylar had to be taken down piece by piece and if Noah wanted to destroy him, exposing him would be the first step.

The police officer nodded his head. "I agree that's it's in everyone's best interest. They need to know what this man is capable of. Capturing Mr. Gray will be our first priority from now on. The evidence we found on you, by the way, Mr. Bennet. It's a video and I'm afraid it's gone all over the internet."

What video?"Dad, you have to tell me everything." She felt like she was the only one who didn't know anything about what happened. Dr.Gibson seems pretty clueless as well.

Noah's plan was working. It was exactly what he had told that girl to do. Another reason why I have to tell them. Everyone needed to know that Noah shot Sylar for a reason. That man was a villain, not a victim. "I'll tell you everything, Claire, but I'd rather do it in there. Will that be alright with you, Dr. Gibson?" Noah asked.

"Of course," she answered.

The police officer turned towards Dr. Gibson. "Can I have a word? It will only take a few minutes."

They talked in private for a few minutes and returned after shaking their hands.

"Shall we?" Dr. Gibson asked.

Claire and Noah nodded their heads and followed her into the press room.

Edgar had been waiting for them the entire time. "Where did you go? I wanted to go after you, but he wouldn't let me leave!" The other officer had stayed in the room to prevent anyone from leaving, including Edgar. "I mean, I could've easily gone passed him, but he's a cop, you know?"

The police officer rolled his eyes. "He's quite a handful."

Claire couldn't help but grin at Edgar. "You can't expect the fastest man alive to be more patient."

Edgar let out a small puff of laughter. "That's right! So, where did y'all go? These people just kept staring at me, like I had all the answers. I'm as clueless as they are!"

"I'm going to explain everything, Edgar," Noah reassured him.

"Why don't we return to our seats, so we can continue?" Dr. Gibson asked.

And that's what they did. The three of them sat down. Dr. Gibson cleared her throat to get everybody's attention. "Noah Bennet, ladies and gentlemen."

Noah thanked her and turned towards the group of reporters. "First of all, I'd like to apologize for having to leave the press conference so suddenly. These kind police officers," he said as he looked at them over his shoulder, "had to arrest me for shooting an unarmed man."

They didn't see that one coming. The man they had been looking at and listening to this entire time, had shot an unarmed man. It was written on their faces, the shock, the terror, the panic.

"Apparently, there is a video going around on the internet, showing me committing this crime. But these officers let me go when they found out who it was I shot."

And why, Claire thought impatiently. He was finally going to tell them what had happened. And please, no more lies.She was sick and tired of all the lies he had told her. She was going to see that video, as soon as they were done. No matter what.

"Let me explain how that happened. Before I left the press room, I was about to say something about people with abilities who use them to do bad things." I hope you're watching this, Sylar. Cause you're not going to like what I'm about to say. "The man I shot, he's one of them. His name is Sylar."

Next chapter: Too Much Bad Blood