These Last Four Years
By Asteria
Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes.
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Her name- the name on her file, the name she used- was Zoe Phillips. She had been placed in Level 5 not because she was particularly dangerous, but because she had managed to escape from Levels 1 through 4. She had come to the attention of the Company in 1987 when she had, according to the records, stormed into their main facility and tried to shut them down for no adequately documented reason. She'd had twenty years of incarceration to stew in her resentment. And now she was out (thanks, Elle.)
The biggest problem with Zoe Phillips was that no one knew for certain what her ability was. She had one, but refused to demonstrate, or even describe it. The Company had tried to cajole, trick, goad, even torture her into revealing her ability, and still she had refused. She had said that they were not worthy of a demonstration. Zoe Phillips was dangerous because she was an unknown. Only the highest of the higher-ups had ever spoken with her.
All that was about to change.
She wasn't even trying to hide. She was standing on the beach, her feet in the surf, staring out over the water. Noah drove the car onto the sand (Gabriel could feel the car protesting this treatment), which she had to have heard, but she didn't even acknowledge their presence until they had gotten out of the car and approached her on foot.
"The world is so full now," she said, still facing away from them. "I remember when a person could go for years at a time without seeing any but their own kin. Now, you see more people in a day than you used to in a lifetime. I'd almost forgotten."
She turned around. She looked almost exactly like the photo in her file- a silver-haired woman with dark, clear eyes and no ethnicity you could put your finger on. She seemed to be about sixty.
"I don't know you," she said, squinting to see them in the glare of headlights and moonlight, "either of you. You're not important. Why would they send two such minor functionaries after someone like me? But then, they've never really understood how much more than them I truly am."
Noah shot Gabriel a look, almost daring the younger man to attack, and possibly be killed in the process. Gabriel held his position.
Noah drew his gun and leveled it at Zoe.
"Will you come peacefully or will I have to use force?"
" 'Come peacefully?'" She gave a derisive laugh. "After twenty years in captivity, you really think I'm going to 'come peacefully?' You're going to have to use force. But I warn you: your superiors will not be pleased if you injure or kill me. So, by all means, try your best."
Noah set the gun on the hood of the car, took one slow step forward, then charged, intending to tackle her. Zoe stepped aside, and Noah stumbled forward, off balance, and landed on his hands and knees in the surf. Gabriel started toward them, but Zoe grabbed Noah's face in both hands, and Noah started to scream, a sustained howl of surprise and pain that increased in pitch as… was he shrinking?
Gabriel stumbled forward across the sand as Noah continued to scream, and, yes, shrink, in Zoe's grasp. After what felt like an eternity, but was probably closer to twenty seconds, Zoe released Noah, falling backwards. Noah was nowhere to be seen, his suit crumpled into a sodden tangle. Gabriel dropped to his knees and dug through the suit, more curious to see the results of Zoe's ability than concerned for his partner.
Gabriel sat back on his heels, eyes wide, not quite believing what he was seeing. Noah had not just shrunk, he had…
Noah was not there, not quite. Tangled in the suit was a baby- a small, squirming, screaming, blond-haired baby boy. Gabriel reached forward and tentatively picked up the baby, not entirely sure how to hold it-- him. Noah. The baby was Noah. There was no other explanation.
Now what?
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Hey, look at that. I got the second chapter to work out. I have an idea as to where I want to go from here, but, again, it might take a while to get my thoughts in order.