Chapter 5- Not the Only One
I had lied to those men.
The thought interrupted my reading of NSP1 rotoviral replication. I lowered the book and wondered why such a thing would bother me at all, but particularly now.
You know you aren't the only one.
As much as I wanted it not to be true, I did know of one other evolved human who seemed to share my ability of collecting powers. Peter Petrelli. In another life or perhaps even 10 years ago, it all seemed the same to me, we may have been friends. If he had a broken watch and came into my shop, who knows? In fact, even now, I had no particular hatred for him other than his near constant and seemingly accidental interference in my agenda.
When I was after the cheerleader for her regenerative ability, he appeared out of nowhere to defend her. I had mistaken him for a mortal, perhaps a fellow student, so I didn't try to kill him…at first. Only when he persisted in coming between me and my goal did I decide that I had to do away with him. I had grossly misjudged the distance of the fall, but managed to turn him midway so I fell on top of him while slowing the descent as best I could with such little time. It only seemed right that he serve as a cushion after what he did. I was still badly hurt, but managed to escape to the woods. Those early mistakes cost me dearly, but I could hardly blame Petrelli for what Bennet and Primatech did to me. All of the tests that nearly killed me…the bastards would pay for that. I couldn't even blame him for taking my telekinetic ability from me while we fell, he didn't understand what he was doing anymore than I did when I discovered my ability.
The last time I saw him was in Suresh's apartment and I couldn't believe my luck when he walked through the door. I held him to the wall and tried to cut his head open only to watch him regenerate. Somehow he had gotten the cheerleader's ability and I was a bit jealous. He had also been practicing with my power and I had to admire that. But then he disappeared, and I was getting angry. How did he acquire so many abilities in such a short time? I was not going to be outdone, so I sprayed shards of glass to make him bleed. I had no intention of killing him and was frankly shocked and disappointed when he fell on the floor with a shard embedded in the back of his skull. What good was regeneration when you could die so easily? I still wanted his invisibility, but damn Suresh had to interfere.
He will get his comeuppance soon enough.
Peter was the only one like me that I knew about, but if the two of us existed, there had to be more. I wanted to open his skull and see what made him tick. What made it so easy for him to get powers when I had to go about it the hard way? It was like he was magnetic and powers were attracted to him by default. I wasn't as unique as long as he was in the world. It infuriated me to think about it.
On the table lay a crumpled piece of paper. I glanced at the back page of the 9th Wonders comic book I had stolen from Suresh's apartment. Isaac Mendez. I would have to see him soon. Deep in the pit of my stomach the monster stirred and I knew it was only a matter of time before it demanded to be fed. I couldn't wait to see what ingredients Mendez would add to the menu, but for the time being, I decided to ignore the gnawing sensation and hold out as long as I could before I had to kill again. I picked up my book and continued to fill my head with mRNA replication sequences. You never know when it might come in handy.
The End