HIRO

JAPAN

Hiro opened his eyes expectantly as he felt his body appearing inside the holding room where the Princess was being kept. He silently yelped for joy at the fact that his teleportation had worked as he wanted it to. The princess was sitting with her back pressed up against the wall, her legs stretched out in front of her, and her hands bound tightly with rope.

"Princess?" Hiro whispered as he knelt beside her in the heavy darkness.

"Hiro?" Kaori's whispered reply showed her excitement. "You came!"

"I am here to rescue you." He told her.

"How are you going to do that?" She held up her wrists, showing him that she was tied.

Hiro withdrew his sword and motioned for her to hold out her hands so he could sever the rope. When this was done he helped her stand.

"Are you hurt?"

She shook her head. "Not really."

He touched her face instinctively and felt that her cheeks were wet. "Why are you crying?"

"He's my brother," she reminded him. "The man who is holding me hostage here is my brother." Her tears started flowing again. "He threatened to have me killed if I tried to escape. My own brother…that's how much he hates Takezo."

"I'm sorry," Hiro didn't know what else to say to comfort her. "We will get away and he will not be able to kill you. Kensei is waiting for you."

She grasped his hands tightly and whimpered. "Hiro, you shouldn't be here."

"Why? I am here to save you."

"No, here in this time. It isn't where you're meant to be."

"I know that," Hiro wondered how much Kensei had told her.

"You have to go home Hiro. There are people there who need you."

Hiro frowned, "How do you know that?"

"I've seen them. I've seen everything."

Hiro considered what she meant for a minute and then his eyes grew wide. "You have a gift too?"

She nodded, "I see things that are going to happen."

"Like Mr. Isaac." Hiro realized. "But no painting." He wondered if Kensei knew that his girlfriend had her own set of special abilities. He had never mentioned it, and it seems like something that might have come up in all their training, but either he didn't know or he didn't want Hiro to know for some reason. There wasn't time to think about it right now though.

She didn't understand what he meant. "You have to go home."

Hiro nodded. "I will, but only after you are safe with Kensei." He took both her hands in his. "Hold onto me tight. Don't let go and don't be afraid."

She did as he was told and gripped tightly to his arms as he focused all his energy to transport both of them out of there and back to where he knew Kensei was waiting at his own fortress.

SYLAR

ROME

"I thought the assignment would make you happy."

Sylar unconsciously glanced at his wristwatch. It didn't work, it hadn't for a long time, but he refused to remove it. "Well, I suppose I'm just a little confused."

"About what?" Angela crossed her arms, staring at him intensely. "You complained for days about being taken off your last assignment—that girl in Holland—so I thought it would make you happy to have another." She scrutinized his expression. "Aren't you pleased?"

"Yes," Sylar snapped. "I did want another assignment, I just wish I understood the purpose in all this."

"Purpose?" Angela repeated. "The purpose is following orders, Mr. Sylar. Are you capable of following orders or not?"

"Of course I am," he decided it might be a good idea to calm down his tone. She was his superior after all. The assignment he had just completed still confused him though, and it was something he couldn't just ignore. "But he didn't exhibit any abilities."

"Does it matter?" Angela handed him a check. "You accomplished what we asked you to. You eliminated your target."

Sylar took the check. He didn't bother to check the amount; they were all the same—more than adequate. "I'm just used to my targets being special. This one had no powers. He wasn't special. He was a normal person, so why did I have to kill him?"

"I thought an elimination would please you."

He frowned at the condescending tone in her voice and shook his head. "Usually it would, when the purpose behind it was obvious." He briefly considered how dangerous this conversation could become if he thought he wasn't being obedient any more. "You know what, it doesn't matter. I'm just doing a job. I'll just have to get used to the fact that I'm not on my own agenda anymore."

"Good," Angela wasn't ready to let him leave yet. "Mr. Sylar, it's been quite a while since we sent you to keep an eye on Miss Banks, and yet there have still been no developments?"

"That's right," Sylar kept his voice calm, not wanting to give her any reason to be suspicious.

"She hasn't exhibited any powers, anything out of the usual?"

"No, nothing," he confirmed.

Angela peered at him curiously. "You know Mr. Sylar, you have been a great addition to our company. I would hate to have to let you go."

"Mrs. Petrelli, I have no reason to lie to you." He insisted. "If Emily had exhibited any sort of abilities, I would have let you know immediately."

"Emily?" Angela pondered the meaning of Sylar being on a first name basis with his assignment.

"Miss Banks," Sylar corrected himself.

"Fine," Angela gave up on the interrogation. "We'll have a new assignment for you within the week."

PETER & CLAIRE

NEW YORK

"Try again," Claire picked up a book from the table and threw it hard across the room.

"Dammit Claire, I can't!" Peter shouted at her as the book collided with the wall and slipped to the floor. "Stop wasting your time with me."

Claire glared at him, but he was staring at the ground and didn't see. You can if you just try.

"No I can't!" He argued.

"See!" She threw up her hands angrily. "You can read my mind whenever you feel like it because you've practiced it so much, but you can't control your other abilities because you just don't enough." She picked up another book and hurled it across the room bitterly. "You'd think that a guy who almost destroyed half a city would be a little more interested in learning how to control himself."

"Stop it," Peter lifted his dark eyes to her.

She felt like she should be afraid—he'd never looked at her that way before—but she was too frustrated with him to care what he thought about her at this moment. "You don't scare me Peter."

"I should."

Her glare hardened and she let out an irritated grunt. "Is that what this is about? Still?" She flung another book, this time coming dangerously close to his head. "You can't hurt me Peter! I'm not in danger around you and I'm not leaving you to be a danger to yourself." She crossed the room until she was standing only a foot in front of him. "Until you get your powers under control, you're stuck with me. So if you want to get rid of me that badly, I'd suggest that you start putting some effort into this."

For a moment he wondered if she would slap him if he said "no" again. He almost tested her, but as he gazed into her beautiful green eyes, his anger melted. Why does she care so much about what happens to me? In his mind he knew that she was probably only trying to help him for the good of everyone else, but he liked to pretend that he was her sole purpose.

"Fine," he conceded. "Let's try again."

Her frown faded and her lips turned up. "Really?"

"Yea, I mean if it's the only way I'm going to get rid of you…"

She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling fully again and he knew he had her back the way he liked her—perfectly sweet and caring. "You've got a long way to go." Picking up yet another book, she held it in the air for a minute, focusing her eyes on Peter. "Freeze it."

Peter put all his energy into freezing the book. He concentrated so hard it made his head burn, but when she threw the book and it was nearly about to collide with the wall, it stopped, frozen in midair.

"Oh my god!" She clapped her hands and jumped up and down, exhibiting remnants of the cheerleader within. "You did it!" In an instant she had crossed the room again and thrown her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "I knew you could do it!"

"Don't get too excited, once is easy enough. I might not be able to do it again." His arms circled around her waist automatically and he unconsciously let himself breathe in her familiar scent.

"I know you can do it again! I have faith in you!" All too soon she had broken the hug and ran back to the table to pick up the next book for more practice. "This time I want you to freeze it earlier."

"I'll try," he agreed.

"No…" She lifted the book and smiled at him. "You'll do it."

"Yes ma'am." He grinned and started to focus again.