(10) The After Years

Unlike Claire, René could not heal, so he never regained his memory of his time working with Claire during her Villain era. He was no longer a threat to Noah. Claire, on the other hand, would eventually heal from any memory wipe, so there was no point in trying. Sylar & Peter left her in Nathan's care but it would take a long time to sort things out.

Nathan started to work on controlling the synth-powers, helping Suresh to finesse it & get inferior versions irradiated. He also kept a close eye on Claire & had restricted her from pretty much everything to owning a gun or even a phone for a while. He eventually gave back the phone.

Claire was overwhelmed to have Nathan back, but had gone into a shocked silent state as her life once more unravelled around her. She had lost her war & was now in a lot of trouble. As Nathan slowly regained his political power, he was able to help her a bit, but only as he saw fit & he never ceased to make it clear that her going Villain was one of his biggest disappointments. It took a while for even him to get through that.

Peter had cut Claire out of his life completely, preferring to stay with Sylar & Noah at their country villa. They still didn't tell anyone exactly where they were & had no plans of exposing themselves any time soon. With the time loop completed at both ends, it was time to move forward.

As Noah was reaching school age, Sylar & Peter had considered moving to a large city such as Newark, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth it since it would expose the truth to the child much sooner than they wanted. Peter also brought up the fact that neither of them had ever gotten used to city life again after their time trapped together in the nightmare realm several years ago.

"It's another reason why I think we picked this quiet place," Peter said. "City life doesn't do it for us, but this small town is good. Not so loud."

"Endless noise," Sylar said with a scoff. "There is a small school here & I heard the hospital is looking for medics. I think you should get back to that."

"You do?" Peter asked.

"Sure, why not?" Sylar replied. "Besides, you could keep an eye on Noah in town if you are working there."

"I suppose so," said Peter. "I'll look into it." He reached over to grab hold of Sylar's hand closest to him.

Both were lying on the sand by the lake, staring up at the sky as the sun started to set. No, they wouldn't be giving this up any time soon. It was a better life not only for them but for Noah as well.

Noah was getting used to having Peter around full time now. He had dim memories of rarely ever seeing Peter at all & in time, even those faded to be replaced with new ones. More than once now, he would sit in the window looking out towards the lake to see his father & his uncle together, standing in each other's arms, kissing passionately. They were out there like that right now, just beyond the back porch, standing in the path of moonlight. Noah had snuck out of bed again to find them out there.

Sylar pulled away from Peter. His eyes flicked sideways for a second before quickly kissing Peter again. "Hmm, I think it's getting close to the time we start explaining you to Noah."

"What are you talking about?" Peter laughed. "That's a long way ahead."

"Nope, don't think so," Sylar said, nudging one brow towards the window.

Peter glanced sideways. "How long has he been there?"

"Long enough & it isn't the first time," Sylar admitted.

"Fine, we'll start talking to him tomorrow," Peter gave up.

"Telling him about you is the easy part," Sylar said. "Me, on the other hand ... " He glanced down to his wrist where the Sylar timepiece ticked out the precious few moments they had left before Noah would find out that his father was the deadliest, most brutal of serial killers in the world.

"Ok, that one will be a long time from now," said Peter.

"Is it too much to ask for a 'never' here?" Sylar asked.

"Come here," Peter pulled him close. "We'll get through it. We're stronger together than we were apart. We just have to guide him through that & then ... "

"You find some way of stopping the planet from exploding," Sylar finished. "How do you manage to pull that off?"

"Well ... I did your trick you did for saving Nathan & saved that cheerleader, Jackie," Peter said. "I took her place, instead. So that was me you were pinning to the wall."

Sylar stared at Peter for a moment. Part of him wanted to berate Peter for doing something so dangerous, but all he could say was, "I like pinning you to walls to have my way with you."

"I know," Peter smiled. "We seem to do that, a lot! At least, it worked back then. But I don't think Jackie was too happy about it, being thrown several years into the future. Some boy she had a crush on is grown up & married & that's all she can whine about."

"Did you give her a home close to Claire?"

Peter slowly droned out, "Mmmmayyybeeee..."

Both turned away, giggling like idiots.

"So," Sylar gasped for air. "The cheerleader is finally saved, I guess you will save the world, after all."

"Let's just deal with Noah, for now," Peter said, grabbing Sylar's hand & leading him back inside.

It was rather easy as time went on to explain to Noah about Peter. By now, Noah only called Nathan 'Uncle' but he was strangely, still not allowed anywhere near Nathan's daughter. Peter had still refused to reconcile even though Sylar himself had stopped worrying about her. It was fortunate that the three of them were immortal. They had the time to repair the personal damage Claire had done.

As Noah got older, it got harder to conceal the New York terror once known as Sylar from him. Even at school, Noah's last name Gray was starting to attract attention. Noah still couldn't figure out why one of his fathers would rarely make a public appearance & any school function requiring parental presence was only done by Peter. Noah started to question this & was naturally met with half-answers or a simple 'maybe later' to deflect him.

When Noah went into town with his friends one day, Sylar shook his head & looked at Peter. "We have to tell him. Sylar is all over the internet thanks to Claire. It's been years since it was mentioned but it's still there & families of ... of my victims ... still talk about it."

"They don't understand why it happened," Peter tried. "They don't have that ability like we do."

"Exactly," Sylar said. "To them, I'm just a killer. Either Noah finds out from a third source & ends up with a warped view of it, or we can tell him how it really happened."

"We'll tell him soon but let's wait for the eclipse tomorrow," Peter said. "Just in case Noah gets upset & tries something, you don't want to be without powers."

Sylar agreed with a groan as he put his face in his hands. They waited for the eclipse to pass, but all thoughts of telling Noah about Sylar's dark past vanished when Peter & Sylar both saw in Noah an ability at last. He had a kind of Regen like his parents, but much faster. Peter & Sylar both had Regen & their combined genetics manifested in their son as a super-Regen.

"Now we really have to tell him," Peter remarked. "He has all of eternity to figure it out."

"Figure what out?" Noah asked, making Peter jump.

Sylar & Peter shared a look. Was this the day to tell him?

"Hurry up, guys," Noah said. "Jason is waiting for me in town."

"Know what?" Sylar finally spoke. "Um ... why don't you ... go out on your date. It will give us some time to sort things out."

"Alright," Noah shrugged before laughing. "You two can be so weird at times." He headed for the door. "Jason & I are driving out to a concert, so I probably won't be back until late."

"Or you could stay overnight with him," Peter offered. "I know you won't do anything I would."

"Pa," Noah rolled his eyes. He used Dad for Sylar but used Pa for Peter in much the same way Nathan would use Ma for Angela. Noah held up his hand where a black ring adorned his middle finger.

"Too bad," Sylar said. "I think it's cool to explore both sides of one's sexuality."

"That doesn't have sides," Noah groaned.

"Sure it does," Sylar said, wagging his hawk-like brow. "Top & bottom."

"Ok, I'm going now," Noah hurried out the door to his car. "Good night!"

Peter burst out laughing. "I think I've been a bad influence on you."

"I think you're right," Sylar agreed, laughing as well. "You know, even with our power, I don't think I'll ever understand asexuality. I'm trying, for his sake."

"Well, we're born the way we're born," Peter said. "But considering he comes from a whole line of sex-crazed bunnies on all sides, I'm amazed he turned out that way."

"Ace & a metal-head," Sylar mused.

"Nightwish is a symphonic power metal band," Peter corrected.

"Whatever," Sylar waved it away. "Dunno where he got that one, either. No one in my family would allow it. Too conservative, which is why I don't mind at all. What about yours?"

Peter thought for a moment. "I don't think any of us ever got into that sort of music, but not 'cause of any Christian stuff. We just never got into it." He grabbed Sylar by the hands & pulled him close. "Anyway ... so which side do you want to explore tonight?"

"Hmm," Sylar purred. "Let's find out."

Needless to say, it was a good thing Noah stayed out late. He didn't see Peter until late the next morning. He grabbed some breakfast before sitting at the table in front of Peter. "So," Noah started. "You guys wanted to tell me something?"

Peter took a long time pushing his bowl of cereal aside. When he finally spoke, an old habit kicked in. "You-You know ... I mmm mean ... your f-f-father & I ... same power. Born with-with ... same power."

"Easy, Pa," Noah dropped his spoon into his own bowl & sat back. "I haven't heard you stutter since I was a little kid."

"Mmm mhm, shh ssh-sorry," Peter stood up, giving up.

Noah got up as well & went around the table to stop Peter from leaving. Clearly something was wrong. The stutter only showed up out of nervous energy. He held Peter back. "You said you both were born with the same power, right?" Noah began. "It's the ability that lets you copy all abilities."

"Mhm," Peter sighed. "Go get your Dad. He's out in the shed with the motorbike."

"Alright," Noah said, pushing Peter back into the chair. "You stay here. I'll be right back, ok?" Peter merely nodded as Noah took off.

Sylar glanced up from the Buell as he heard Noah come in. "How did your date go?"

"Fine," Noah answered. "What's wrong with Pa? His stutter is back."

"What did he try to say?"

"Something about how you were both born with the same ability," Noah said. "I already knew that. You've mentioned it before. Frequently. I mean ..." He fell silent, noticing how Sylar seemed to fade out as if thinking over the past. It was an odd sort of look since Sylar wasn't wearing his glasses at the moment, having put them aside so as not to get oil on them while polishing the bike. Noah took a tentative step back. "Uh, Dad?"

Sylar breathed in long & slow before letting it out again. He stepped away from the Buell. "What you need to know about that power ... it's genetic. I got it from my father. Peter's father had something similar. We were afraid you would get it. You'd be the third generation, but at least that didn't happen. Third time's the charm, right?"

"Are you kidding me?" Noah laughed. "Do you have any idea how jealous I am that you both can have multiple abilities? I would have loved to ha—"

"Noah, don't you dare finish that sentence!" Sylar bellowed, taking a step towards his son, the killing glare in his eyes.

Noah took several steps back. "Dad? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sylar muttered, turning away. "Everything." He wiped his fingers & put on the old glasses before heading up to the house with Noah following at a short distance. "Couldn't do it," Sylar said the moment he entered the diner where Peter was waiting.

Noah caught up to them a moment later. "What's the matter with you guys? You're acting very ... odd."

"That power, Intuitive Aptitude, is very dangerous," Sylar said. "I'm glad you didn't get it & can never get it."

"Why?" Noah demanded.

"It-It has a ... It's kind of like a duality to it," Peter said. "He shh suf-fff-fered worse than I d-did." He moved over to the computer & called up a screen.

"I was not a good person in the past, because of this power," Sylar admitted in one breath. "It drove me insane. I could barely control it & if you hadn't been born, I never would have!"

"What are you talking about?" Noah asked.

Sylar looked at Peter before blurting out, "I'm the world's greatest ... greatest serial killer. The fastest & the most brutal."

There. It was done. Now what?

Noah stared at Sylar for a long moment. He burst out laughing, earning confused looks of disapproval from both of them. "It isn't even April yet, come on you guys!"

"It's true, Noah," Peter said without stutter. "He fought it hard for your sake & I helped him control it. We both have it, but I'm better at controlling its Hunger for knowledge since I was always more empathic than him. Come here." Peter moved away from the desk & held open the chair. "Come, sit down."

Noah did so as Sylar said, "What you're going to see is a bit gruesome. I was out of control & had no real idea what was happening to me when my ability popped up after an eclipse. That," he pointed at the screen. "is the result."

"He isn't like this anymore," Peter said. "Hasn't been for years. But we'd rather you hear it from us than from some other source who won't understand the ability that is responsible for this."

About twenty minutes later, Noah was sitting on the couch, head in hands. Peter was kneeling on the floor in front of him while Sylar stood away, close to the wall. Peter slowly reached out to touch Noah's knee, making him jump back. Like Sylar, Noah wasn't one for crying, but he did let a few angry tears escape as he glared at Peter.

"How co ..." Noah's voice died in his throat. He wiped away a few tears, keeping his eyes on Peter as he avoided Sylar at all costs.

"The ability," Peter said. "It's an awesome force & we had no training."

"I get that," Noah gasped in a hoarse whisper. "I get it. But ... the-the brutality! I don't get that!" He stood up & stepped around Peter. "HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?!" He screamed at Sylar. "I always thought you were gentle. You wouldn't hurt a fly! Why were you so cruel?"

Sylar looked at him long & hard before answering in a whisper. "The adrenaline rush." He closed his eyes for a moment. "I found out a lot sooner than Dr. Suresh where abilities are situated in the body. Pain. Fear. Sex. Anything to excite the adrenal glands would make their ability bubble up & I could ... " Sylar made a grasping motion with his hand in the air. Barely audible, he finished under breath, "Catch it." He cleared his throat before going on in a louder voice. "Catch it. I could understand the ability by looking at it & it made me better than Peter at nearly everything. It's why I was able to best him in a lot of our fights. I was simply stronger. But he was always more about empathy than logic which made him naturally better at my own power we both share & when we encountered each other for the first time, I saw my power in him that I could never study, so I attacked him. Didn't take. He had Regen. That is why it was so hard for me to control it. I couldn't study it like how I usually do. He was the best Hero, I was the best Villain & we friggen hated each other at first sight. This is why we never told you how we first met. You had such a romantic idea of it & we didn't know how to tell you." He raised a finger, pointing at Peter, then moving his finger to himself. "This never should have happened. You!" He pointed at Noah next. "Never should have happened. But it did & we are all grateful that it did. It helped to stop me. To temper me. The Hero did his job of taking care of me, just not how people expected. Instead of killing me, he ... fell in love with me."

"Kill you?" Noah gasped.

"That was the original plan," Peter stated grimly. "I kill him or he kill me."

Noah glared at Peter through tears. "How the hell did you guys end up falling for each other?"

"We got trapped in the nightmare realms ... " Peter explained. "So for what seemed like years, we had no one but each other. For a while, the cruellest heart made me forget the world outside as I wanted to keep him trapped. But I'm not very good at holding on to hate & slowly started to find the man trapped under that ability. Like frozen moments in time, bits of Gabriel beyond the horror of Sylar. Just a human heart, longing for love."

"As for me," Sylar added. "Took me a while but once Peter stopped punching me, I started getting used to his presence. In the end, a kindest heart made me believe I could be better. His heart. He never lost faith like I did & that helped him to see the good in me. We broke down the wall of the nightmare together. As equals. When we got out, we realized we are better as equals."

"You say Peter forgave you because he is Christian?" Noah asked. "Even though he thought you killed Uncle Nathan?"

"I believe so," Sylar answered. "He literally has no other reason to accept me. But this is why we are letting you grow up to decide. I personally think God failed me with this ability, but he favors Peter, for some reason."

"I prefer my way of saving everyone," Peter said. "I ended up with him & gave you to him instead. It worked out but until that point, a lot of people ... died."

Feeling his knees give out, Noah sat on the floor. "This can't be happening."

"I'm sorry, Noah," Peter said. "Whatever comes next is up to you. Is there anything you want?"

"Yes! Remove these memories from me! Please!" Noah begged.

"We can't," Sylar said. "You heal so much faster than we do. It's impossible. You don't even have a weak spot on you, unlike us or Claire. You will never know death, not even temporarily & your body can not delete memories. You heal way too fast."

"Then why the hell did you show me this?" Noah demanded.

"Because you would find out eventually," Sylar said. "You'll be going off to college & then out into the world. You're immortal like we are. There is no way you could avoid this, so it was better we told you."

After a long moment, Noah asked, "Can I—Can I stay with Uncle Luke for a few days?" He knew better than to go to Nathan who was once again caught up in politics & heading up to be the next American President. But also, he was still close to Claire & Noah had been kept separated from her.

"Sure," Sylar said. "Take all the time you need. But Luke met me in my wild days. He knows all about this. Everyone our age would probably know & I'm sure Tracy warns your generation about me as well."

"Fine," Noah got up & left without another word.

Peter sent a message to Luke, letting him know, then turned to Sylar. He let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "Talk about ripping off a band aide."

Sylar could only manage a nervous laugh as he slipped down the wall to sit on the floor. Peter joined him & they sat in silence, leaning on each other, for a while.

Once again, time would be on their side. Immortally never ceased to change from being a curse to a blessing to a curse again. Somewhere down the road, they would find each other once more.

For now, all that was left was each other ... & figuring out how to stop an exploding planet.

~the end

Noise, by Nightwish

The Heart Asks For Pleasure First, by Michael Nyman & covered by Nightwish (inspired by Emily Dickinson's poem #536)