Crystal shivered. It was way too cold out here.
She turned visible and walked into the small, restaurant.
She sighed with relief. It was definitely warmer in here than it had been outside.
She looked around. It was a nice place, if a little small. The lights were dim, giving the room a warmer feel to it.
She liked the place already.
She sat down. A waitress, glad of the customer to keep her busy this late, hurried over to her. "Can I help you?"
Crystal thought it over. "Do have hot chocolate?"
The waitress beamed. "Sure thing." She went back to find it.
Crystal sighed and looked at her slowly decreasing roll of cash, pulling it out of her pocket just far enough for her to see it, while no one else could. She was actually pretty hungry, but she wanted to save as much money as she could. Hot chocolate seemed like the best answer; especially since it was so cold outside.
She heard the bell on the door ring as another person came in. She gave the newcomer a quick glance.
He was tall. Brown hair fell in his face, and he had the darkest eyes of anyone she'd ever seen.
He sat down at a table closer to the door. In her world, someone who did that was the kind of person who was always running. The last thing you wanted to do was condemn yourself simply because you weren't close enough to the escape route.
But then, he probably wasn't part of that world.
The waitress hurried over to him as well. Crystal couldn't hear what they said, but she left smiling.
The man looked at her for a long time. Crystal shivered. If he kept it up, she'd end up losing control and disappearing.
Finally, he spoke up. "You really do look like your father."
Crystal swallowed. "I'm nothing like him." She replied, refusing to give him the satisfaction of thinking he'd surprised her.
The man raised an eyebrow. "You have his eyes."
Crystal glared at him. "So? What I look like doesn't matter."
He chuckled. "Yeah. He was stubborn, too."
Crystal rolled her eyes and looked away. There was silence, and the waitress brought her hot chocolate, smiled at the man, then disappeared again.
The man sighed. "Look. I know you aren't really happy with what you're father's done…"
"He left me." Crystal said coldly. "Can you find a child in the world who's happy with their parents for doing that?"
The man chuckled. "I wasn't."
She turned around and looked at him. "Who are you?" She demanded.
He smiled. "Now we get straight to the point."
"That's not an answer."
He nodded slowly. "Fair enough. My name is Gabriel Gray."
Sylar smiled inwardly. This girl had no idea what she was dealing with. Of course, that was where shape-shifting was useful. If she ever found out what his real form was, she'd never guess it was HIM.
He chuckled. "It's been a while since I've seen your father. A few years, maybe?"
He noticed Crystal was biting her lip. "That's impossible. I would have seen you."
He shook his head. "I don't think so."
"Do you know where he is now?"
"No."
"Then we have nothing further to discuss."
He sighed. "He told me to look after you. All of you. Tyler, you and Jack. And I'm going to keep that promise."
"And just how do you plan on doing that? You can't SEE ME."
She disappeared suddenly. The door opened.
"I don't need to." He replied coldly. "When you're ready to talk, you'll find me."
The door stayed open for a minute, then widened and finally closed as she left, the hot chocolate taken from the counter, invisible in her hand. She'd left some money on the counter.
A plate crashed to the floor.
Sylar turned to face the shocked waitress. She must have come in unnoticed when Crystal had turned invisible.
Sylar smiled darkly, almost feeling sorry for her.
Almost.
It was best that the waitress died.
And that anyone else who had come in that room had died as well.
He really saved himself a lot of problems. A lot of questions that needed answering.
That was the problem with most heroes. They could have avoided a lot of unnecessary confrontations.
He smirked and shifted to his original form. He glanced at his hands. They were covered in blood. He sighed. He'd have to get rid of that relatively quickly.
He walked into an alleyway, then, out of sight, took to the air.
He briefly considered going back and looking for Crystal. It would be easy enough to get her to reveal herself. Then it would all be over…
But he couldn't. There were bigger things then just her. There were more heroes than just this one.
There were three.
Crystal. Tyler. Jack. He had the names memorized. They were the names of people, people who had power.
Power that could bring the world to its downfall…
"You know why I'm here."
Her voice was soft, unreal.
"There's nothing you can do." Sylar replied. He tried to spit out the words, but it was practically impossible. This woman held such an air of grace and dignity that the venom in his words died in his throat. "Why do you keep trying?"
Her brilliant, dark eyes landed on his. "Because I want to help you, Sylar. I don't want what happened to me to happen to you."
Sylar scoffed. "And why do you care what happens to me? You are immortal. Invincible!"
"And unloved. Alone."
Sylar rolled his eyes. "And why would I care about being alone?"
"Because time can drive you insane." She hissed.
Sylar took a step back, surprised by the ferocity in her eyes.
"Listen, PLEASE! For your sake!" Her voice was urgent. "This power was never meant for one person! It will be your death!"
Sylar's eyes hardened. "I can't die."
"Nor can I." She replied. "And yet, here I am. While I may be still alive, I am, in my own way, dead. Because I have seen far more than anyone ever should. And I could change nothing."
Sylar sighed theatrically. "And you think that's such a bad thing?"
"This destroys you on a level even I don't completely understand, Sylar."
Sylar snorted and turned around, walking away from her. "It doesn't matter to me. These children have no chance."
"And what of the speedster? You think you can stop him?"
"He has no idea of his potential. It will be easy enough."
"And the youngest? It's difficult to find those who can see the future."
"The girl will lead me to them both."
"But how will you find her?"
"I'm a shape shifter. It's not exactly impossible."
She nodded. "You have obviously thought this through."
Sylar laughed darkly and turned around, facing her once more. "Of course."
She sighed. "So had I, Sylar. Believe me." Her eyes locked on his. "I'll give you a warning. It's up to you to decide weather or not to listen to it.
"If you kill these children, if you take their power, I can promise you that your love of power will never die. It will scream in your head forever, ordering you to kill. It will never get better. It can only get worse. That desperate need that you feel now is nothing compared to what will happen as you travel through the depths of time and space."
Sylar smirked. "I can live with that."
Suddenly, she was right next to him, barely a foot away. Not even that. "Can you? Listen, Sylar. Just listen. Hear it call you. Hear it take control of your thoughts. Your mind. Hear it control you. Now imagine that. Forever. It will never go away. No matter how much power you have, no matter how many times you kill, it can only get worse. Much worse."
And then she was gone. She disappeared into thin air in front of him.
Sylar rolled his eyes and turned around. He had to find Crystal again.
He needed that power.