(9) I Am Become Death
(If anyone has ever watched/read Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban, then the completion of this timeloop should be easily understood. Like Harry Potter (which Heroes referenced a lot), in Heroes, timelines ought not to be changed if possible, as both Hiro Nakamura himself & also Angela Petrelli once told Peter. Unlike Harry Potter, Heroes lore also allows some leeway to nudge timelines if one is careful, like what Hiro did for his sister. As always, if anything is still muddled, feel free to ask anything in comments & I will reply there.)
(Season 3, Episode 4 title. Lines in bold are taken from this episode & also 'Season 3, Episode 2 'The Butterfly Effect', not by me.)
Now that Sylar knew what to look for, it was only a matter of time before he would catch up to Claire. He sent a message to Peter with a location of where to meet up before following after her.
"On my way," Peter texted back.
"Even though we have the proper powers for this, it will still be a miracle if we pull this off," Sylar texted back.
"So long as Noah stays safe & Costa Verde doesn't get nuked, I'll be happy," Peter answered, although he was also silently fretting about it. This part of the time loop was delicate as it had in fact, all been real at one point. Now, using the Illusion power, they could fake their way through most of it to keep the past Peter intact with the memory of his time warp. But it was still tricky. One false move. One moment of inattention. Their cover would be blown. They might never end up together. Noah could still be erased, just in a different way instead of getting murdered by Claire. On the other hand, once they got through it, the loop will be completed & they could move forward with their lives. Peter put his phone away. "Time to show my young, dumb self the future." Another text dinged before he was able to transcend time. Peter checked it.
"Did you know she dyed her hair black?"
Peter smiled to himself as he tapped the keyboard. "Yup. I knew you'd figure it out, eventually."
"Thanks, Peter. Thanks a heap."
Peter laughed at that last text before heading into the past to a point before when Nathan had first been lost to retrieve his naive younger self. First thing to do back then was to shoot the younger Nathan to attract the younger Peter. Nathan would be fine as Peter didn't shoot to kill, but it was enough to garner some attention. Soon enough, he was able to get ahold of his younger self & drag him forward to his own time.
"Where are we?" Peter demanded of his older, scarred self.
"WHEN are we," the scarred Peter corrected. "This is the future I came back to stop."
"Why? It looks just like today." Peter glanced around, wondering what his older self was up to.
"With one big difference," the scarred one said, watching as several people took off with a Flight ability in plain sight.
"How is this possible?" Peter asked in surprise.
"Injections ..." the scarred one explained. He led his young self away to show him a painting done on the side of a building. It was the planet breaking into pieces. He warned his younger self of the formula that had been started on in the past. " ... You have to stop it."
"Why me? Why can't you do it?" Peter looked at his older self. He seemed to have a lot more powers.
"Because I made terrible choices," the scarred Peter said. Fighting Sylar was one of them. Thinking Claire was the mother was another. Allowing Claire to get out of hand? That was the worst. Plus a whole lot of other things he couldn't tell his younger self without overwhelming him. He knew some of it would be fixed. Abilities going public still happened, thanks to Claire but there wasn't much to be done about that. "I'd step on too many butterflies," he said instead.
"What does that mean?"
"You can't make the same mistakes as me," the scarred Peter said. He focused hard on guarding his thoughts & reactions to his younger self's face as he spoke the next words, "We need to find Sylar. With his ability, you won't make the same mistakes."
As predicted, his younger self was absolutely horrified at the mere mention of the psychotic killer's name. He didn't know yet that he would end up married to Sylar with a son between them. "Sylar? What the hell are you talking about? I want to see Nathan. Claire. Suresh!"
"They're not the people you think they are," the scarred Peter said. Claire was trying to kill him. Suresh was busy working on finessing the synth-power drug & as for Nathan, well that was a whole other story his younger self would have to wait & find out on his own.
"Why not?" Peter asked, slowly looking up at the painting of a breaking planet.
"Not all of us were born with abilities, ok? Some of us were made," the scarred Peter answered. "A line was drawn. Sides were chosen. It tore us apart—oof!"
Gunshots were heard & the scarred Peter was hit in the chest. He went down hard. Peter turned around & saw Claire, her black hair tied tightly in a long ponytail, standing there, gun raised. "Claire?"
She hesitated for a moment before taking a few shots at him. He should have died but for some reason, he was able to run down the alleyway. Seeing René, the Haitian whose ability was to block the abilities of others & even steal their memories, Peter knocked him down as he jumped over his fallen older self in a desperate bid to get away.
Claire continued to shoot at him, unloading every last slug from her gun. It was a straight alley with little to block them. She slowly lowered her empty gun, wondering why the second Peter was getting away unscathed.
Sylar was waiting on the side of the alley, watching his Peter interact with his younger version while standing under the painting of the exploding Earth. Using Illusion, he kept himself hidden; although, his own Peter knew where he was. He watched as Claire began firing her gun & froze time a split second before the bullets hit his Peter. Stepping forward, he put a hand on his Peter's shoulder, popping him out of the time freeze. "Now the fun begins," he said, kissing Peter before pulling him to the side.
"There's René," Peter nodded in the direction of the Haitian before hurrying down the alley to where the tall, black man was just coming into view. He quickly put a hand on the other man's arm to copy the ability before returning to Sylar's side. "Got his power, now."
"Good, but don't go getting any ideas," Sylar teased. "Last time you had his power, you had a little too much fun with a nail gun."
"Some days, I really hate your sorry ass," Peter groaned, envisioning the time he had crucified Sylar.
Sylar sent him a smug smile before saying, "I've already pushed a thought into your younger self to knock René out." He was grateful that he had picked up Matt's nightmare telepathy a long time ago. "Ready?"
"I got the Illusion," Peter said, casting an image of himself getting shot & falling to the ground as if dead.
"I'll keep those bullets away from your younger self," Sylar said, raising a hand, telekinetic power at the ready. He unfroze time.
The Illusion blocked him & his scarred Peter from view & made it look like the scarred Peter was killed there. It would confuse Claire for a while & hopefully keep her off Peter's trail. The force power nudged the bullets to either side, protecting the younger Peter as he took off & knocked René out before he got too close to the hidden pair.
"The next part will be very confusing for Suresh," Sylar said.
"Only for a few minutes," said Peter. "I can remove the memories after."
"Let's go," Sylar said, taking Peter by the hand & teleporting them away. They ended up in the old painting loft that used to be Isaac's & now, Mohinder Suresh was there, using the place as his lab.
While Peter took control of Suresh's mind using the telepathy to push thoughts in, Sylar used Illusion to change the appearance of both the loft, giving it a run-down look & Suresh, making him look partially transformed & infected with something while keeping themselves hidden as the younger Peter came in & began looking through some old paintings.
"Mohinder?" Peter had called out as he picked through the paintings.
"What do you want?" Suresh asked from the shadows.
"I need your help," Peter said, moving closer. "I need you to tell me everything you know about Sylar."
The scarred Peter tried not to laugh as he sent Sylar a telepathic message. /Oh, I can tell him everything!/
/Don't make me laugh, right now. They can't see us but they can hear us!/ Sylar silently shot back, blinking back a single tear as he desperately fought to not burst out laughing.
/I like seeing you squirm./ Peter teased, also trying not to laugh.
/Why didn't I kill you when I had the chance?/ Sylar doubled over, trying to focus on breathing soft & slow.
/I don't know!/ Peter dug his fingers into Sylar's palm.
They focused so hard on keeping silent that they almost missed the moment they were here for.
"Sylar?" Suresh hissed, sounding someone animal-like.
"I have to find him," the younger Peter said. "He's supposed to ... help me ... but why? Why Sylar?" Suresh seemed skittish as Peter advanced towards him. "Mohinder, are you ok? What happened to you? What's going on? Mohinder!"
Dr. Suresh skittered across the floor, away from Peter, like a wild animal. A scaly hand landed on Peter's shoulder, making him step back. In a raspy voice, Suresh said, "Do not repeat my mistakes!"
"What happened to you?"
"I wanted abilities. Impetuous. Selfish. I got the formula wrong," Suresh answered in his odd grating voice. "So wrong!"
"Let me help you," Peter tried. "Tell me about Sylar?"
"Sylar's power is dangerous!" Suresh warned. "You don't understand it."
"I need to understand. Where is he? Where's Sylar?" Peter began a mental battle, trying to read Suresh's thoughts but some static got in. Sylar & the scarred Peter were working their telepathy to push thoughts around to make sure the younger Peter heard only what they needed him to hear.
/Coste Verde, the Bennet house./
The thought sounded like it was in Dr. Suresh's voice; although, it was a pushed thought by the combined telepathy of Sylar & the scarred Peter blocking the young Peter from reading Suresh & hearing the pushed thought, instead. It had the desired effect & the younger Peter stepped away from Suresh.
As it seemed that the younger Peter was about to leave all of a sudden, Suresh implored, "Don't go!"
The scarred Peter froze time at that moment as Sylar lowered the Illusion. Suresh was fine except for being very confused as to the conversation that just happened. Since the original formula had been (& will be again) destroyed by Peter in the past due to this very time loop first forming, Suresh no longer had to face a fate of deformity. The Illusion was only necessary to keep the younger Peter on track so that the delicate thread of time would not be disturbed.
Peter stepped forward, past his younger self partly invisible as he was just starting to transport out of there. Placing one hand on Suresh's forehead, he erased the recent memories of the whole encounter before turning to look at the paintings.
"Funny how it all turns out," Peter said as Sylar came to stand beside him to look at the paintings as well. "Originally, Mohinder was actually infected, but since my past self succeeds in stopping that particular formula, Mohinder is now fine."
"This particular timeline," Sylar began. "extends even into the future & we need to keep it as exact as possible since it affects the memory of your past self."
"Well, there will be one major difference," Peter said.
Sylar traced Peter's scar with his fingertip as he said, "The time is close for when you are supposed to kill Nathan, but that isn't going to happen either, is it?"
Peter reached over & took Sylar's hand, feeling up to where the old watch rested on his wrist, still broken. Never fixed. "We'll be changing that so that neither of us ever killed Nathan. But we have to let my young self think otherwise since that's what he saw."
"Your past self is so messed up," Sylar managed a soft laugh.
"Yep & it's entirely our fault," Peter smiled for a moment before letting Sylar go & heading over to his young self still frozen in time, partially teleported. "Well, you're not going to Coste Verde. You only think you are."
"Our greatest Illusion is coming up," Sylar said with a steady soft voice.
Peter understood just fine. "Noah will be ok." He pulled Sylar close, kissing him before adding, "No one's going to die. Not this time. We have all the right powers to pull this off. We just need to stay focused."
"I know," Sylar sighed, resting his forehead on Peter's shoulder. "I still can't believe Claire would have killed our son."
"We have a surprise for Claire," Peter reminded him, running a hand through Sylar's waved dark hair. "Everything that will happen after that is just our Illusions."
Sylar looked over at the young Peter frozen in time & place. "Let's get this over with." He teleported from one space to another, letting Peter deal with his younger self.
Once together again, they set up the Illusion & let the younger Peter walk into the trap. He saw the Bennet home in Coste Verde, California. He had no idea that he was somewhere on the east coast at the Petrelli-Gray home, instead. The 'ocean' he heard in the back was really the small private lake.
The scarred Peter focused on keeping the Illusion up while Sylar would make sure Noah was safe.
Once brought back into focus of time & space, the younger Peter marched up to the door of his most hated enemy. He paused at the door, opening one hand to release a ball of blue flames. Holding the ability in front, he used another power to unlock the door before marching right in. He called forth another blue flame in his other hand & held both up, expecting a fight to the death. Next moment, he lowered his hands & pulled the flames in, out of sight as a young boy came down the stairs.
"Hey, Uncle Peter. Dad's making waffles."
The younger Peter could only stare as the young boy hurried to the kitchen & into the arms of none other than Sylar!
/I've got Noah in the Illusion now./ Peter alerted Sylar telepathically.
/All he knows is that you're trying out a new power./ Sylar put the boy on a chair & made his way around the kitchen counter to give a piece of waffle to Mr. Muggles, the Pomeranian dog that Claire used to have after he was retired from show business before giving him to Angela so she could go off on her crusade.
/Got the dog & my younger self is freaking out, right now./ Peter added with a laugh.
/I bet he is & it's going to get a lot worse for him./ Sylar sent back.
/Try not to have too much fun with this part. My younger self is traumatized enough./ Peter ordered.
/Oh really? Watch me!/ Sylar teased.
/So ... that's why that happened./ Peter could only watch through his Illusion as Sylar swaggered up to his younger self & gave him a hug.
"Ah, Peter! It's so good to see you!" Sylar all but purred as he grabbed the rather confused younger Peter into a hug. "I haven't seen you in so long."
/Ok, this just got hella weird!/ Was the first & only thought in the younger Peter's mind at this moment. He had expected another battle, like how they had fought each other tooth & nail & every ability they had at the time at the Kirby Plaza. Not this! Not a child. Not a friendly hug. What next, a French kiss? Oh well, that was coming for him soon enough as well, but not yet.
/Sylar, I'm going to murder you! You're flirting with my younger self!/
/Just setting him up for us later, sweetheart./
/Kirby Plaza!/ Peter swore their personal curse between them. /Oh for God's sake! Would you let him go, already?/
/Hey, what if I get the two of you in b—/
Time froze. Dropping the Illusion, the scarred Peter materialized next to Sylar holding his younger self. He popped Sylar out of the freeze frame. "You finish that sentence & I'll kill you."
"I'm just saying, two for the price of one, here."
Peter glared at him before swearing under breath. "Can we just get this over with?"
"Do you confess to your priest with that mouth?" Sylar teased as he returned to his position with the younger Peter, much to his own Peter's annoyance.
"Shut up!" Peter ordered, going back to the far corner. He re-cast the Illusion & then unfroze time.
Sylar pulled away from the younger Peter in his arms. "If you told me you were coming, I would have made extra." He put his hands on the younger Peter's face, under the jawline. Something he would do to his own Peter before pulling him in for a kiss. Sylar spun away, laughing as he trotted back to Noah, leaving the younger Peter more confused than ever.
Cautiously moving closer, the younger Peter watched in some amazement as Sylar set the boy up with some waffles & syrup. He stood by silently as Sylar spoke to his son.
"What's the magic word?"
"Abba Cadabria?" Noah tried saying a long word.
Sylar just stared at him before glancing at Peter. "Well, that's A magic word so it's ... close enough." His voice went softer as the moment his son was supposedly going to die came closer. He didn't bother correcting Noah this time. It wasn't the word he was looking for, but at the same time, he had literally asked Noah for a magic word. He poured some syrup on.
/Slow, love. Slow. One moment at a time./ The gentle caress of his Peter's thoughts touched his mind. /We'll get him through it, this time./
/I know. It's just ... I can't wait for this day to be over with. Strange how a killer like me is dreading this./
/You're not that kind of guy, anymore. Mind how much syrup you give Noah!/
/Right./ Sylar eased up on pouring the golden liquid to just a drizzle.
Noah watched the syrup drain before glancing up at Peter. "Where's your scar, Uncle Peter?"
Sylar looked up at the younger Peter who was looking back at him with a hint of fear. The kid had just unwittingly betrayed him. Was now the time for a fight? Sylar put the syrup cup aside. "You know what? Grown ups need to have a little chat in the other room. So I'm gonna get you started on your waffle." He handed Noah a fork. "Alright, there ya go. Think you'll be ok?"
"Yes," Noah pouted. He was young but he knew his father & Uncle had secrets. He couldn't possibly understand yet that his 'Uncle' was actually his birth parent & he had even less understanding of the horrific killings his father used to do to gain more powers. He only ever saw his father with glasses apart from being in bed or in the water, but had no idea that glasses on meant one thing while glasses off meant quite another. Noah was getting older now & was starting to notice when Sylar & Peter would put him aside for these 'little chats' as they said.
"Yes, I know you are," Sylar said, petting Noah's head. "We're just going to be in the other room, alright?" Sylar circled partly around Peter, watching him like the predator he could be, indicating he should follow.
Even though eyes were covered with glasses, Peter could just see that deadly gaze, like a cat looking at its next meal before the killing pounce. He hesitated before going through the door Sylar held open for him, eventually ending up in a playroom. Peter wondered how he was supposed to fight the most dangerous, powerful man in history with a child nearby. Worse, the wall & door had windows in them so he could see Noah through the blinds & if Noah looked up, the child could see them. Was it really just going to be a little chat? He watched as Sylar sent his son a short smile before closing the door. Peter stumbled back a few steps as Sylar rounded on him, the killing look rising up behind the lens.
Sylar still had to play the part to keep the younger one here as clueless as possible. He heard his own Peter's thoughts gently touch his mind.
/Remember, he is going to try a telepathic link on you in a minute. I'll help back you up to keep him out./
/Got it./ Sylar focused on the younger Peter, still hot & ready for a fight, in front of him.
"You're not from around here, are you?" Sylar moved with Peter, keeping uncomfortably close. "No scar. The past, right? Which means, to you, I'm the boogey man." With a scoff, knowing the next thing he would tell this Peter was a lie Angela had made them both believe long ago, he sat down.
/Gabriel, if you screw this next word up ... /
/Relax. I got it!/ Sylar was tempted to screw it up on purpose, but he had to stick the timeline that had been past. Peter had told him everything his younger self would see now since there was also a point in time back then that Angela had really played them which had to be kept straight. "It's a hell of a thing you coming here to find out that you & I are brothers." /I really wanted to say lovers./
/I know, but that's much later in time for him./
Sylar could feel his Peter's eye roll.
Meanwhile, the shock on the younger Peter's face was still worth it. "Brothers?!"
"Oh, I'm sorry that you've come all this way, Peter," Sylar said. "But I can't help you."
"Can't?" Peter glared.
"Won't."
"Why?" Peter demanded, feeling his abilities slowly come up. He was ready to fight this man since that was all he knew about Sylar was to fight him any chance he got.
"I'm not going to give it to you, my ability! I'm not!" Sylar declared.
/Here it comes!/
"Then I'll just take what I need from you!" Peter tried slamming into Sylar's mind without warning, not knowing that both his older version & Sylar were ready for him. He could not gain access, no matter how hard he tried.
"As if you could!" Sylar snarled, standing up. /Good God! You're younger self is an ass. No wonder we didn't get along, back then./
/Sorry./ It was genuine, but also a hint of laughter as well.
The mental battle was easily won & the younger Peter was kept out.
Peter put up one hand, trying to focus his energy into Sylar. "Peter is dead!" He snarled through gritted teeth, focusing all his hate on the man who was slowly destroying his life bit by bit in the past. "They killed him & now they're after me. I am NOT leaving without your ability, Sylar!"
Sylar blinked slowly. /The way he used my killer alias .../
/As much as I hated you then, I love you now. Just let him work it out./
Sylar sighed. He let the young Peter think he was just murdered by Claire. In time, all would be revealed. But he couldn't listen to his own Peter. He had to say something, though it was hard to keep his voice steady. He wasn't one for crying but Peter had just cut him about as deep as he used to cut with his force power. Sylar tried to remain as calm as possible as he said, "My name is Gabriel ... & you don't realize my ability is not just understanding how things work. There's a Hunger & it comes with it; to know more, to have more. I couldn't control it!" Sylar spoke quickly before his voice would break. "It turned me into a killer!" He took a moment to calm down before adding, "A monster ... ... & every day is a struggle. Every hour!" He turned to look through the blinds at his son before going on. "But I fight it, for him & I am not going to willingly condemn you to hell."
The younger Peter was starting to understand one thing: kids change a person, even one as cruel as Sylar. He softened just a little & tried to work a new angle to reason with Sylar. "If I had your ability ... if I could understand the variables, then I could—"
"You can save the world?" Sylar shot back. "The world always needs saving, Peter."
"You're all gonna die!" Peter insisted, taking a step towards Sylar who neatly stepped around the low table between them. They began circling each other as two old rivals. Peter went on. "Your family, your son. This world is going to end. You don't believe me? Here." Peter picked up one of Noah's paint brushes & handed it to Sylar. "Paint it! See for yourself. Paint the future."
"Don't let him see me. Not like this!" Sylar took off his glasses & laid them aside as he stepped up to the easel. "Do you understand?" He focused on the energy needed to bring up the precognition ability, which allowed one to draw things that would happen in the future, that he had once taken from Isaac Mendez after nailing him to the floor by slamming the hard ends of the paint brushes down with his telekinetic power before cutting in to get at the brain. He had since lost that ability to the Shanti virus. Now, he had recently jumped back in time to subtly copy it off Isaac & leave without anyone noticing, for his own Peter had warned him that he would once again need this power for this very moment.
/You didn't tell me he would make me do this in front of Noah!/ Sylar shot at his own Peter.
/I'm not that cruel, any more. Noah isn't seeing any of this. Besides, he is focused on Mr. Muggles at the moment./
Sylar tried to focus on the painting he was about to do. It only took a few minutes to complete. Though he knew what his Peter would do during these moments, he didn't notice since Peter had left him in the time freeze.
The next thing Sylar knew was that he had come out of focus from the precog power & his picture of an exploding planet was done. He looked at it for a moment, waiting for the all-clear signal. He suddenly felt his own Peter in his mind, once more.
/It's done. Noah & Mr. Muggles are with Mom & Claire is coming in. The rest is all Illusion./
The relief Sylar felt was strong enough to affect their close link. He turned to the younger Peter, undoing the clasp on his watch to remove it before holding it out.
Peter took it. He glanced down at the broken timepiece, cracks along its surface. But his eyes went below the surface to the name of the company from where this watch came from. That name! "Sylar?" Peter gasped, looking up at the man who had called himself this for years.
"It's a scar," Sylar began. "A reminder of what I was, of what I can be." Peter looked down at the watch again. He had never known this! Sylar added, "Fix it."
"I don't know a thing about watches!" Peter shot back.
"If you want to learn how to access my ability, fix ... the watch," Sylar ordered, trying not to snap.
By now, both he & Peter knew but the younger Peter was still figuring it out. Peter ALWAYS had Sylar's ability. They were born the same but there were two parts to the deadly power. One side was unlocked by empathy, something the ex-medic had plenty of, basically being raised with a silver spoon in his mouth; while the other side was unlocked by logic like a cold-hearted Vulcan. Sylar was raised in a dysfunctional family, with little to no empathy, even sold by his father to his aunt & uncle instead. He even missed out on having a little half brother & only randomly met Luke just a few short years ago, all because of the crazy family Sylar was a part of. By now, he knew both sides of this dreadful power & as of this moment, so would Peter regardless of where he was in time.
"Listen to it," Sylar went on as Peter turned away to concentrate on the broken watch. "Like a symphony. Every piece has its part all coming together in perfect harmony." He heard the soft clicks as the watch pieces began lifting & shifting under Peter's telekinetic care while he tried to put everything the way it should have been to make the watch work again. Sylar kept his eyes on Peter as he continued, "If you can understand the complexities of a watch, you can understand anything." /Wait, did I just ... you said that to me ... what just happened?/
The scarred Peter still hiding sent back a soft laugh. /Yes, I was throwing your own words I hear today right back at you./
/Oh, really?/ Sylar grumbled, ignoring more soft waves of laughter caressing through his mind. He continued to help the younger Peter fix the watch. "Everything. Cause. Effect. Action. Reaction. How to change the future. You have it now," he finished as Peter turned back to him, holding up the watch that Sylar had been working on so many years ago when he had made his first kill, still showing the time of the first murder but now ... oh now, it was starting to tick forward once more. It was strange, seeing the Sylar timepiece fixed. Maybe it was a sign that now, Sylar also was indeed fixed. But Peter! He now had both sides of it & it was basically Sylar's fault. Sylar said in a whisper, "I'm so sorry."
/Claire's here! Time to break it up./
Sylar had little time to react. He heard the Illusion of his son calling for him. He still said "not now, Noah" by pure instinct, but his own Peter was able to work it in. Sylar hurried back into the living room.
The younger Peter followed to find Claire with two of her friends inside. The boy was being held by another man & Peter could barely believe that Claire had changed so much to threaten the life of such a young innocent child. She had brought a gun into this home, endangering everyone, yet somehow Peter was supposed to be the terrorist? For the first time in his life, he was suddenly on Sylar's side. His only hope was to get the child back safe & sound. This child seemed to have tempered the blood rage Sylar once gave into & not only the killer but also the entire world needed the boy alive if only to stay safe from Sylar.
"You're not gonna kill me!" Peter exclaimed.
"Yes, I am!" Claire declared.
"What happened to you?" Peter demanded, unable to believe that his dear sweet niece could be worse than Sylar, himself. "How'd you get this way?"
"I learned how to take care of myself," Claire said before shifting her gun over to Sylar.
At any other point in the past, Peter would not have bothered protecting Sylar. But now, he reacted without thinking. He moved quickly, using a Speed ability to punch Claire down. The others got into the fight except for Sylar who was focused on the boy, or so Peter thought.
Peter couldn't understand then that most of what he was seeing was now Illusion being cast by his older self who was still very much alive. Claire was real as was Sylar, but nothing else anymore. Peter stayed by Sylar's side even though he was told to run for it. Staying was probably the worst mistake in his life since a fight ensued & the child was killed. Peter saw Sylar's hands glow orange. Nuclear power!
"Gabriel!" Peter yelled running forward. He saw the explosion. He felt something hit him & heard Claire's gun go off. He fell down & blacked out.
Sylar stepped back a few paces until he was next to the scarred Peter. The Illusion dropped & their home was fine as there never had been an explosion. But Claire & the younger Peter were gone. Sylar turned to his own Peter. "You did another time freeze?"
"Yeah, I sent them on their merry way," Peter said. "This loop is finally just about over. Noah is fine. Costa Verde is fine. We just have one little thing left to do."
"Claire," Sylar ground out the name. "I can't believe I kind of hate her, now. After what she almost did!"
"She only has Regen," Peter said. "She can't time travel without someone else helping her, which means she will be here in the present & moving forward like the rest of us. She is going to find out pretty quick that this was an Illusion."
"Nathan can deal with her," Sylar muttered. "Personally, I want a restraining order on her. I don't want her in the same state as our son!"
"Take a few minutes to cool off, Sy," Peter said. "I'm hoping that with Nathan's help, Claire can find herself, once more. I really doubt she ever meant harm to the child."
"You always put too much faith in people," Sylar said.
"I do," Peter agreed. "Look where it's got me." He pulled Sylar close. "In the arms of my soulmate."
Sylar smiled softly against Peter's neck. He was the ice to Peter's fire, but somehow, it didn't cool Peter, only made him burn brighter. He wrapped his arms around Peter's waist, holding him close. "I'd still like to check on Noah before we take Claire down."
"We have a few minutes," Peter said. "I'll take you to him." Holding on to Sylar, Peter teleported them both to his mother's condo in New York City.
It was the first time Sylar & Angela met since Angela had walked into Peter's bedroom a few years ago, only to find Sylar there instead. They shared a silent look before Sylar stepped away from Peter & glanced around. He saw Noah sitting by the window playing with Mr. Muggles & moved over to him.
"Noah?"
"Daddy!" Noah jumped off the chair & ran into his father's arms.
"You're alright, now," Sylar sighed, holding his son close.
"That is so weird," Nathan said, coming into the living room to see the killer holding the child. Peter shot his brother a silencing glare, pointing at Noah. Nathan mutely nodded. He knew better than to say why it was weird in front of the clueless child.
Sylar turned around to look at Nathan, shifting Noah to one side. "Not as weird as seeing you back."
"Thanks for that," Nathan returned rather coolly. "So ... kid is fine. Costa Verde is fine. Ma's been filling me in on the last few details. Am I to understand that I'm supposed to go after Claire, now?"
"She literally just brought a gun into our home with the boy there," Peter said, careful to not say Noah's name in front of him. "Only we know it was an Illusion by the time she showed up, but originally, she really did get him killed."
"Yeah, I know," Nathan said. "This is a lot to take in. Do you have any idea where Claire is, right now?"
"She's got my younger self trapped," Peter said.
"So we go free him & send him back to the past where he belongs & I deal with Claire?" Nathan asked.
"Pretty much & my younger self also gets to kill you," Peter added.
"What?" Nathan stared at him. "You didn't tell me that."
Sylar laughed in spite of himself. He placed Noah back by the window with the Pomeranian dog & went to stand next to Peter. The adults continued to talk in low terms while Noah was occupied with the dog. "We all thought I killed you in the past," Sylar said. "I fixed that. But our current resident of time who belongs back then also has a run in with you. He just finished unlocking the full ability & is going a little crazy. You will be his first victim."
"Great," Nathan glared. "This is the end of all hope."
"It'll be fine. We're letting the first part play out like how it did before," Peter said. "No need for an Illusion. Claire is capturing my younger self & has René to help her. We need to find her, free my past self & save Nathan from getting killed by me."
"Peter is going to Shape-shift to look like Nathan & let his younger self cut into him," Sylar said.
"Now wait a minute!" Nathan objected. "That will kill him since René is there! He'll block Peter's powers."
"I'll be there as well," Sylar said.
"That makes me feel one hundred percent better!" Nathan groaned.
"Nathan!" Sylar raised his voice for a moment. He noticed his son looking up from the window seat. Sylar lowered his voice. "I'm going to be posing as René, alright? As soon as we find them, Peter will freeze time & kidnap the real René. He'll be locked up for the rest of the day & we'll let him go once the loop is completed. I will be with Claire but Shape-shifted to look like René. I'll be taking care of Peter. Both of them. You just need to get Claire & let us do one last Illusion to keep the younger Peter's memory of this timeline intact."
"Do we really have to do it this way?" Nathan asked, still not trusting Sylar.
"You don't screw with time!" Angela retorted. "It's called the butterfly effect. You step on a butterfly today, three years from now, a million people are wiped out! I told this idiot that," she shot a dark look at Peter. "back then when he started jumping around & do you know what he told me? He said he hoped it would be no one he knows."
"That's a bit cold, coming from you," Nathan looked at Peter.
"I was joking!" Peter defended.
"Oh, but it's no joke!" Angela snapped. "Someone you know IS in fact included in this time warp, isn't he?" She pointed at Noah before turning back to Nathan. "Now I'm telling you. The timeline has to be kept impeccably perfect. We could lose a lot of people. Or haven't you been paying attention?" She took a threatening step towards Nathan. "When this time loop first started, Costa Verde was destroyed when he," she jabbed a finger at Sylar as she continued, "went Nuclear in grief over the death of his son. Not to mention the death of the boy, himself. Now, we have to keep these memories intact in Peter's younger self so he knows what's coming & knows how to stop it, exactly like how he is doing right now. Noah is fine, now, isn't he? So is Costa Verde."
"But once the time loop ends," Peter interjected, "We still have the huge problem of what Claire did, exposing abilities to the world. Hunting me down & I will never be able to look at her in the eye for a long time after this incident with Noah. Fortunately, Claire, Gabriel & I are immortal if you don't touch our spots & block our Regen. Maybe someday down the line, I can find some way to reconcile with Claire."
"You & Claire fighting each other," Nathan mused to himself. "I never thought I'd live to see that day."
"You almost didn't," Sylar teased.
Nathan ignored him. "Can someone get me a new phone, please? I don't suppose you have mine from four years ago."
"We can do that later," Peter started.
"No," Nathan disagreed. "I need it now, but leave my new number as 'unknown' for now. Then give me Claire's number & I can call her phone. Since it's a new number, she won't have blocked it & just think it's a wrong number. We can access her GPS from there."
"Good idea," Peter agreed, disappearing on the spot. He returned a few moments later & handed Nathan the new phone. "Claire's number is already in there."
Nathan speed-dialed the phone. He didn't expect an answer & waited for it to ring before tapping the computer board on the desk to bring up the GPS tracker. "Got her," he said a few moments later. Peter grabbed Sylar & Nathan & pulled them through space to end up close to Claire.
In an underground parking lot, Claire left her car in a space near the main elevator. She pressed the up button & waited for it to arrive. The doors opened & Nathan stood there. Claire's eyes went wide. Nathan was dead. She knew of two people who could Shape-shift. Despite their differences, she knew Peter wouldn't be this cruel to her. So that left only one option. "Sylar!"
"Guess again," Nathan said.
Claire pulled out her handgun. "How DARE you take his place in front of me?"
"Claire, wait! NO!" Nathan gasped as the gun went off.
But the bullet never reached him even though he was barely two feet in front of her. Sylar had teleported in beside him, holding up his force, catching the bullet in mid-air. He shared a dark look with Claire before releasing his power, letting the bullet clatter to the floor.
"You nearly killed your own father!"
Claire whirled around at the sound of the new voice to see Peter walking up to her. If possible, Claire looked even more shocked than before. She thought she had just killed the one with the scar, but here he was alive & well. Peter used that to his advantage & yanked the gun from her hand by using the same telekinetic power Sylar had. Claire turned back to the two men still standing in the elevator. " ... N-Nath ...?"
"We've been trying to tell you for a while," Sylar said. "Peter has Hiro's power & I copied it off Peter. I went back in time, saved Nathan & brought him forward in time to keep history the way it is." Claire glared at Sylar as he added in a low voice. "I am so sorry for what I put you through. But Nathan is fine."
"You-You destroyed ... but ... your son ... " Claire stammered.
"Everyone is fine," Sylar held up his phone, showing Costa Verde, perfectly fine, enjoying a hot sunny day by the long beaches of California.
"This round," Peter added. "First time I went through this time loop, you actually did manage to get a lot of people killed. Our son is fine, no thanks to you."
"Your son! With him!"
"That's right," Peter said. "I've been taking care of Gabriel exactly like how I was supposed to, just not in the way we all expected. You almost destroyed that today!"
"Ohh my God!" Claire exclaimed, her eyes darting from one man to the next. "What have you done? Why is Nathan here?"
"I thought you'd be happy to have Nathan back," Sylar said.
"I—" Claire stammered, looking at Nathan. "Well, of course. It's you & Peter that are the problem. Especially you, Sylar!"
"No, Claire," said Nathan. "It's you. Peter warned you about the future you would create & it's about to get a whole lot worse. The planet itself could explode now because of what you did! But the three of us will find a way to fix it."
Claire somehow knew that she was not included in that number. She looked long & hard at each of them before seething, "Nathan, are you working ... with him?" She pointed at Sylar. "Do you know what he's done after you die—disappeared?"
"I don't care about him," Nathan said, ignoring the eye roll Sylar sent him. "It's the boy! I don't want him killed."
"I'm not interested in killing an innocent child," Claire said.
"But you almost did!" Sylar declared. "Peter saw it happen when the time loop first started. But you still brought a gun into my home where my son was! Claire, you nearly got him killed. I know you hate me & I accept that. I deserve it. But I will not allow you to kill Noah. Peter & I managed to save him from you this time & if it comes to it ... I will destroy you before letting him die. Now is that what you want?"
"Sylar ... I ... I thought your son died today," Claire said.
"We got him," Sylar said. "He is fine but he will be a lot better without you around!"
"I never wanted him dead!" Claire insisted. "When I saw what happ ... Sylar, it killed me to see him dead like that! I'm sorry! I don't ever want to kill the boy!"
Taking a threatening step towards her, Sylar said, "The day you break that vow is the day I will find a way past that Regen & kill you."
"I can't believe I'm saying this," Nathan started. "But you should listen to him, Claire. He saved me to clean up the mess you made & I have to say, I am rather disappointed in you. Exposing abilities was never the way. Neither was trying to confine those with abilities in underground facilities, like what I tried to do when I was a Senator. There has to be another way."
"I just wanted to live out in the open," Claire said.
"No thanks to you," Nathan began. "there are people buying synthetic abilities on the black market. Those things aren't stable yet & people are going crazy. Dr. Suresh is working on it but it will be a long time before a true synth ability is safe. You're trying to kill Peter. You nearly got a child killed today. Claire, you have to stop."
"Peter is a traitor," Claire defended. "He not only took Sylar's side, he also produced a son with him. I have proof."
"I already know that," Nathan said. "I don't like it much either, but in the best interests of the child, I order you to stand down! The only one with any sense about abilities is Tracy. She has a private school for the next generation, something like out of a Harry Potter book. Both your half-brothers are there, did you know that? Simon can cast Fire & Monty can cast Ice, now."
"Claire, you really don't want to kill ... mmm ... my son," Peter said. "But I saw you ... & I'm not the traitor. You are. You exposed abilities to-to the world. It ruined everything, yet I'm the traitor?"
"Peter isn't a killer, Claire," Sylar said. "I am. Don't make me come out of retirement."
Nathan put a hand on Claire's shoulder. "Let's go home. We need to talk." He nodded to Peter who teleported them to Angela's condo back in New York.
Peter returned for Sylar. "Now the real work begins. I've already trapped René." He waited a moment as Sylar shifted to look like the Haitian. "I've also checked on my younger self. She's already tortured him but he is still alive. Now, I'll head back in time a few minutes to cast the final Illusion. Be aware of what you see up there."
"Peter," Sylar put a hand on his shoulder to hold him back. "Let me appear as Nathan. You do René."
"You lost the rock, paper, scissor game," Peter said. "You're doing René."
"You know how much it hurts when I cut through someone's head like that."
"Yup," Peter sighed. "You tried to do that to me the moment we first met. I know exactly how it feels. But just like back then, I have the Regen once more. I'll be fine."
"I don't like seeing you in pain, any more," Sylar said.
"I'll be fine. It's just a minute or two," Peter insisted. "Besides, you're no good at preaching. Nathan gave me a whole religious speech about being made in the image of God & all that here. You'd suck at that." He disappeared before Sylar could protest further.
"I wouldn't suck at that," Sylar complained pathetically to himself. He had been raised Catholic as well, after all, but gave it all up when this fantastic God of Peter's let Sylar kill a lot of people. He knew the faith inside out just fine, just didn't care about it. He hesitated a moment before heading up to the room where the younger Peter was kept. Time was frozen here so he was able to slip in & stand where René would have been. He looked the scene over. The younger Peter had a few cuts on his chest while his own scarred Peter was now lying on the next slab as if dead, but he knew that last bit was Illusion. So was Claire being here. The real Claire was at home with Nathan. This last Illusion was just to finalize the younger Peter's memories he needed.
It was time for Peter to kill Nathan. An incident he would need as it was something he & Sylar would commiserate on while stuck in the nightmare realm. It was the key to bringing them together at last & having Noah. Sylar stood there, dreading the moment. He knew his Peter disguised as Nathan would be fine, but he would still suffer for a few minutes & that was something that Sylar no longer wanted. Unfortunately, it had to be done with the real Peter & not an Illusion since Intuitive Aptitude would instantly warn the younger Peter that he was cutting into an Illusion.
/Alright, I'm here./ Sylar sent out his silent message & watched the scene come to life. He stood silent against the wall as René would do & waited for 'Nathan' to appear & free Peter from his binds. Once loose, the younger Peter turned on who he thought was his brother & Sylar understood then why Peter had attacked. Peter's ability was telling him something was wrong with Nathan. It wasn't Nathan but the older scarred version of Peter Shape-shifted to look like him. The younger Peter could not truly understand. All he knew was something was wrong & the dread ability made him seek a solution.
As it appeared that Nathan dropped dead at his feet, the younger Peter came out of his trance. He looked down on his fallen brother, seeing only now the Illusion since the scarred Peter could heal & merely lay still, holding on to the Shape-shifting ability. Hearing guards banging at the door, the younger Peter disappeared to his own time.
Dropping the Illusion, Peter stood up as Sylar dropped his own appearance to look like himself again. By telekinetic force, Sylar yanked Peter into his arms. "Was I really like that, back then?"
"No," Peter answered. "You were much worse."
Sylar managed a short laugh before gently pushing Peter aside. He appeared lost in thought for a moment. "Well, my memory of you popping into my prison cell a few years ago & throwing me against the wall are intact." He looked at Peter. "I guess we did it."
"I enjoyed throwing you against that wall," Peter said.
"You enjoy throwing me around, period," Sylar grumbled.
Peter let his eyes roam over Sylar. "Yeah. I do."
"Hold that thought," Sylar ordered, grabbing a cloth & wetting it at the sink. He wiped down Peter's forehead. No trace of the cut was to be seen since Peter had healed it almost instantly. He balled the cloth up in his hands & destroyed it, erasing any evidence of Peter's blood there. "We should let René out & remove all his memories of Claire back to when she jumped off the Ferris Wheel, then take Noah home."
"Ok," Peter said, running his fingers through Sylar's hair.
After dealing with the Haitian, they returned to Angela's home for Noah. A very subdued Claire was sitting at the dining room table across from Nathan who was all but killing her with a piercing glare.
Angela slipped around the table to Sylar. "Noah's sleeping. It's the only reason why these two are staying silent." She glanced at Nathan & Claire. "They don't want to wake him up, so they put their argument on hold."
"I'll wake him up this time," Sylar said. "I'm rather uncomfortable having her near Noah, right now."
Claire turned her head to watch Sylar, Peter & Angela & it was very clear that Peter was ignoring Claire, looking away from her & acting like she wasn't even there. Eternity aside, it would be a long wait for those two to reconcile. Claire had wounded Peter in a way that would not be healed by mere Regen this time.
Noah came running out ahead of his father. Nathan got up from the table & got on one knee to catch him as Noah said, "I dreamed I a light statue."
"A light statue?" Nathan echoed. Noah nodded vigorously. Nathan smiled as he said. "Ever dream of me?" Noah shook his head. "No?" Nathan pouted. "Why not? I have a cool ability. I can fly!"
"No, I a light statue!" Noah exclaimed as Nathan picked him up before standing.
"Perhaps someday, we'll find out," Peter said as he took Noah. "Let's get home. I'm glad this mess is almost taken care of." He glanced at Nathan before teleporting out with Noah & Sylar.
Slow, Love, Slow, by Nightwish
End Of All Hope, by Nightwish
Ever Dream, by Nightwish