Now that Selene is better, she and Gabriel are out for blood.
I do not own Heroes.
For love of a friend Part 11
Noah had ordered the lab techs to work around the clock until the ingredients in the blue pill were analyzed and replicated. Two days later, Noah was informed that the substances had been identified, and could be duplicated in a liquid form. The scientists involved in the project had determined that the poison had a two-fold effect. One, that it took away Selene's powers, weakening her. Second, it left a tracer in the victim's bloodstream, allowing them to be followed anywhere on the planet they might venture.
Now that Selene knew who her attackers were, all that remained was for her to get her powers restored, and go after those responsible.
"So you know these people, Selene?" Noah asked.
"I used to work for them. They're not taking it kindly that I'd decided to stop. And the fact that I had basically dropped off the face of the Earth, so to speak, well...this is their way of showing me they can force me to do what they want."
Gabriel reigned in the anger he was feeling. It all seemed so stupidly pointless.
Lying in her bed, with her Gabriel standing at her side, she took the cup that Noah offered her. A doctor waited nearby in case there were any nasty side effects. "Well, this had better work. I'm really tired of being grounded in this bed," Selene said bravely, her eyes on Gabriel.
"It's a double dose. The lab techs determined that the pill would have only a temporary effect. By doubling the dosage, it should completely wipe out the poison.
"The man did say the pill was temporary," Selene said, looking at the liquid inside the cup.
Feeling helpless was something Gabriel hated, never having had to confront his own weakness in a long time. He leaned down to kiss Selene, whispering in her ear, "I love you." Watching as she drank the contents of the cup, Gabriel held his breath. If this formula worked, and Selene got better, he would find the bastards who did this to her and kill them, slowly and painfully. It sounded like a cliché to him, but he would want no less than that.
Selene swallowed the bitter potion, and waited. At first, nothing felt any different, but then she felt her strength coming back. Looking at Noah, she smiled as she rose from the bed. She waved off his offer of support as she found her footing. In a fraction of a second, Gabriel was at her side as she inhaled deeply, and then exhaled. She gazed up at him and nodded.
"Stand back, Noah," Gabriel warned.
Selene held out her hand, sending an electrical charge into the wall. The wall scorched, she turned off the power, but forming a loose fist, she called up an energy ball, holding it within her hand. Smiling, she allowed the energy to dissipate, unused. "It worked, Noah!" Turning to Gabriel, she jumped into his arms, crying, "It worked. It worked!" They both laughed with joy that Selene was healed. Then she had a thought. "Noah, what about the tracer?"
"Don't worry about that," he said. "We found a way to neutralize the tracer. As long as your powers returned, well, that was the main issue at hand." He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Now that we have the antidote, no one will be able to use it on you, or any Special, ever again."
The smile left Gabriel's face as he remembered his intent. Find those responsible and kill them. He looked at Selene, who could see his thoughts in his eyes, and said, "I need something to wear. Seems we have a mission now."
"You should let us go with you, Selene. I can get together a group of sharpshooters…"
"And what, go after a government agency?" she interrupted. "No, you can't do that, Noah. The Center has to stay open. Gabriel and I will take care of things as private citizens. Enraged citizens, maybe, but hey, they started this. And I intend to finish it in their backyard." Selene found some clothing in the room's closet, and cocking an eyebrow at Noah, she waited for him and the accompanying doctor to leave.
"Selene, do you know where to go?" Gabriel asked as he waited for her to dress.
"There was an office I'd gone to a few times, when I would receive instructions for a mission. It's as good a place to start. Several of the directors worked there. I say we pay them a visit."
"Without their knowledge, of course," Gabriel said, a cruel smile on his face.
Selene finished pulling the shirt over her head, and went to stand in front of Gabriel. Sliding her arms around him, she snuggled closer, saying, "Of course. Oh, Gabriel, I know you've been successful in not using your abilities to hurt others. If you don't want to go, I can handle them myself."
Gabriel brought his hand up to cup Selene's cheek, his thumb running along her bottom lip. "Nothing will stop me from protecting you, even if it means killing again." He bent to kiss her, his mouth pressing hers open, as his tongue sparred with hers. He hugged her tightly, saying, "I won't lose you, Selene, I'll never lose you."
"I love you, Gabriel. No matter what happens, I'll always be with you."
Taking her hand, Gabriel said, "Let's go get us some bad guys."
After they left the building, giving Noah a warning not to follow them, Gabriel and Selene took a cab downtown, stopping in front of a non-descript brownstone. "Drive around to the alley," Selene ordered the cab driver, who dropped them off in an alley perpendicular to the building's front entry way.
"They have surveillance cameras at all the entrances," Selene told Gabriel.
"This is it?" Gabriel asked. He couldn't see how such a small building could house so powerful an organization as the one that was hounding Selene now.
"Typical? The entry way seems to lead nowhere important, but then, the secret closet houses the true entry into the lower levels where the real action is. That's the way it is in all the spy films, right?"
He chuckled low, taking her by the arm, and leading her to a small window. "Wonder where this goes?" he asked aloud. He reached down, and tried to open the window. It was locked. He extended his hand and tore the glass from its frame, letting the fragile pane slowly settle to the ground.
Going in first, Gabriel held out his arms, helping Selene through the opening. Together, they surveyed the room they had entered. It held nothing but a few boxes. The one thing both noticed was the heavy gauge steel door that stood in one wall of the room.
"Why such a secure door into a room that has nothing important in it?" Gabriel mused aloud.
Selene glanced around. "They know we're here."
"If secrecy is no longer the issue, then let's make some noise." Gabriel tore the door open with the flick of a hand. The door flew out into a long hallway, crashing against the wall, partially sliding to the floor. Stepping over it, he waited for Selene to follow, and both headed down the corridor.
"Do you know where you're going?" he asked.
"Oh, yes. I've been there only enough times to know where, and who. Come on!" Jogging down the hall, the pair came upon a couple of guards, Selene had an idea. Steathily, she moved behind the unsuspecting men, and grabbing each by the shoulders, she sent enough electrical charge into their bodies to stop their hearts. Both fell to the floor like sacks of potatoes.
"Selene, what are you doing?" Gabriel was at her side immediately.
She knelt beside one of the dead guards, and lifted up one of his hands. "Gabriel, can you slice this off?", indicating the man's thumb. "We'll need it to access the elevators."
Doing as she bid him, and using his power, Gabriel sliced the thumb from the hand. He handed it to Selene, who wrapped it in a torn piece of shirt. "Let's go!" she said, both going to an elevator that was close by. Once inside, Selene unwrapped the bloody thumb, and wiping the pad, placed it against the access panel, then hit the 3rd floor-upper button. Reading the unique thumb print whorl, the system recognized the owner of the pattern, and the elevator began to rise. Tossing the digit to the floor, she turned to Gabriel, and asked him pointedly. "Does this bother you? Just a warning, I don't intend to take any prisoners."
Clearly, her warning was for his benefit, knowing he was no longer in the killing business.
Gabriel took Selene's hands in his. "They hurt you. All I want now...is revenge. Is that simple enough for you, Selene?"
A slow smile grew as she realized that her fiance was as much Sylar as he'd ever been. Even if he didn't still wantonly murder people, he still had the capability within him to do so. And she needed that now, this moment.
Stepping off onto the 3rd floor, Gabriel noted several doors on either side of the hallway. "So, which one?" he asked.
Selene took his hand, and led him down the hall. "This way," she responded.
When they came to a door, Selene thrust out her hand, satisfied when the door popped off its hinges and flew into the room. Upon entering, she scanned the room quickly, seeing someone behind the desk she hadn't seen for over a year. "Hello, Marcus."
The man stood, a look of shock on his face. "Selene! How did you...I thought..."
"That I was incapacitated? At your mercy? You underestimate me, Marcus. You underestimate all of us," she said, referring to the Specials hired by the organization.
Marcus glanced from Selene to Gabriel. "Who's he?"
"That is Gabriel, the strongest of us all, as far as I can tell. His power would amaze you. However, I wouldn't recommend you trying to lock him up to do your bidding. It's been done before, and I don't think he'd allow it again." She winked at Gabriel. "Would you, love."
Gabriel held up a hand, electricity crackling from finger to finger as he stepped closer to the desk. "No, I don't think so."
Marcus moved ever so slightly, then walked from behind the desk, hands out in supplication.
"I saw that, Marcus. You are getting rusty, aren't you." She looked at her watch, knowing that a silent alarm had been pushed by the fearful man. "Sent for your goons? About 2 minutes, I'd guess. No matter. We can handle them, can't we, Gabriel."
As he saw her nod, Gabriel thrust out his hand, not only sending the man flying into the wall behind him, but lighting him up with current. Not enough to kill him, though, just enough to make his thinking rummy.
Just then a group of men carrying powerful firearms tore into the room. They saw Selene and Gabriel, and started firing, the bullets falling harmlessly to the carpet. As they emptied their weapons, and familiar with what Specials could do, they realized they were already dead men.
Gabriel and Selene took out each man, either with an electrical attack, or depriving them of oxygen, or just tossing them around as if they were rag dolls. One was dispatched by being thrown out the window, and although it was only 3 stories up, the fall broke the man's neck as he impacted onto the roof of a parked car.
Finally, all were dead. Smiling, Selene walked over to Marcus. "You failed, old friend," she said, sarcastically. "You should have let me do things for you when I wanted, not just at your beck and call. I have a new life now. One that doesn't include you or your organization." She felt Gabriel come up behind her, and rest his hands on her shoulders. "I use my powers when I choose." Waving her hand as she glanced around the room, she gave her nemesis one last look. "This...was just a warning to your bosses. Nothing personal. Good bye, Marcus. Enjoy Hell."
The man refused to be cowed by his attacker and former employee. If he had to die, he would go with a curse on his lips. "As soon as you arrive there, we'll have a nice chat about it," he spat out.
Gabriel glared at Selene's torturer. Lifting his hand, he pointed his finger, and sliced the man's throat.
As Selene watched the man bleed out, she was surprised to find that she felt...nothing, as if her own emotions were bleeding out too. This was such a waste. She just wasn't the same as she'd been a year ago. Killing didn't give her any peace. "Let's go, Gabriel." She turned to leave.
Gabriel stopped her, grabbing her upper arms, gently keeping her from moving. "Selene, it's over now. You're safe. We can go back to New York, get married and work for Noah only when we want to."
"Do you think that was all it took? Gabriel, that was like cutting off the head of the Hydra. When you do that, more appear. This isn't over yet. They will keep coming back until I die or agree to work for them. They will never stop!" She pulled away from him, and stalked out, leaving the building by the front door. Coming in was always harder than leaving.
A/N: sorry for not updating sooner. My Heroes muse had abandoned me, as I started writing "Tron" and "Tron : Legacy" fictions. I'm finishing up this one in a chapter or two. To those who waited for another chapter, my apologies and hope you will enjoy the ending that is coming up soon. Thank you!