Mandy looks at Samson Gray in front of her desk, as he holds onto his oxygen tank.
MANDY: "I'm sorry, sir. Dawn isn't here. Are you a friend of hers?"
SAMSON: "Oh, yes, I know Dawn. You see, I came by to visit her, but I haven't been able to reach her. Do you know where she is?"
MANDY: "I'm sorry, sir. Dawn has the next two days off. I don't know where she is. Shall I leave her a message?"
SAMSON: "Oh, no, no. Don't do that. You see, uh..." (chuckles) "I'm trying to surprise her with my visit. I don't want to spoil the surprise if she knew I was here."
MANDY: "I understand completely. It was nice to meet you, Mister..."
SAMSON: "Gray. Samson Gray."
MANDY: "Well, have a good night, Mr. Gray."
Samson nods and smiles.
SAMSON: "You too."
Samson turns and walks away.
AFRICA - SOMEWHERE IN THE DESERT - 2:21 A.M.
Hiro and Ando lie on the sand, asleep. Claire is lying near a crudely-made campfire. Claire opens her eyes, sits up and turns around. She looks over at Matt, who is still awake and seated by the fire. Matt shudders from the cold.
CLAIRE: "You should be asleep."
MATT: "Back at you."
CLAIRE: "I can heal from anything, remember? Even exhaustion. You should get some rest."
MATT: "I can't. I can't sleep. Something's not right, about any of this. I mean, we're lost in the desert somewhere in Africa, and we have only snack foods kept in a cooler.
CLAIRE: "How did you know we're in Africa?"
MATT: (shrugs) "I just know. I've been here before. So have Ando and Matt. I think we're headed for Usutu's old home."
CLAIRE: "That shaman you met?"
MATT: "Yeah. I can't explain it, but...I've been seeing him. He's been guiding me, showing me things, like he knew they were going to be there."
Matt looks past the fire. He looks stunned.
CLAIRE: "You mean the food and water we found in the cooler."
MATT: "And I mean that."
Claire turns around, equally surprised. There is a sketch pad and drawing pencils set on top of it.
CLAIRE: "Where did those come from?"
She turns around to Matt, and looks startled. Matt's pupils are gone, his eyes now totally white. Matt stands up, walks to the drawing pad, and picks up the pencils. Matt picks up the sketch pad, opens it to a blank page, and starts to draw. Claire sneaks over to Hiro and Ando. She crouches between Hiro and Ando. She grabs Ando's shoulder with her left hand and Hiro's shoulder with her right. She shakes their shoulders and awakens her sleeping friends.
CLAIRE: (whispers) "Psst! Guys!"
HIRO (groggily): (subtitled from Japanese) "Just five more minutes..."
Ando's eyes pop open as he notices Matt.
ANDO: (subtitled from Japanese) "Where did he get those?"
Hiro looks at Matt and watches him sketch in a trance. Hiro, Ando and Claire get up and walk over to Matt. They stand around him as he sketches on the pad.
CLAIRE: "Matt said he couldn't sleep. We were talking and then we just found these art supplies. When I looked back at him, he was like this."
HIRO: "Ever since Usutu made him a prophet, he's been making a couple of drawings, but it's been so long since he last had a vision."
CLAIRE: "What is he drawing?"
Matt is oblivious to their staring. He continues to draw in his trance, sketching the outline of a medical bed.
In Austin, Sarah sits in her bedroom, reading a magazine. The clock by her bed reads 8:48 p.m. Sarah is now wearing a red T-shirt and denim jeans, with her waitress outfit hung up in her closet. watching the news report of the energy bubble on the Channel 18 News. A BALD REPORTER is on the screen.
BALD REPORTER: "The white light sighting took place last night in Austin at exactly 6:30 p.m. at the city's old water tower. Reports from eyewitnesses in New York said that an identical light was spotted at the same time, 7:30 eastern time."
There is a double-knock on the door. Sarah turns around and to her door.
SARAH: "Come in."
The door opens and Mary walks in. She walks over and sits on the end of Sarah's bed. Sarah notices her mother's sad smile.
SARAH: "What's wrong?"
MARY: "We're going to Houston, dear. It's...it's your uncle George. He's dying."
Sarah looks at Mary in shock.
THE COMPANY - MEDICAL CLINIC - 9:50 P.M.
In clinic room 1962, Angela sits by the comatose Peter's bedside. She keeps hold of his hand and watches him.
ANGELA: "I hate to see you like this, Peter. The past few months have been so hard on you. The Company, Sylar, Claire..." (pauses) "I know you can hear me, Peter. You have every right to hate me. I've done so many things and told too many lies for you to ever completely trust me again. I know you love me...but you don't like me. I'm not surprised."
Angela looks at Peter. He keeps still.
ANGELA: "You're all I have, Peter. My work, my plans...everything I've done is nothing compared to my children. You're the only person I have left to love. Don't let me lose you, too. You don't have to be in my life...you just have to wake up."
Peter's heart rate and pulse pick up a bit. They slowly get stronger. Angela looks at the monitors and then at Peter in concern.
ANGELA: "Peter?"
Peter's head leans to his left, away from Angela. He MOANS in his sleep. His heart beat and pulse climb up slowly...higher...
ANGELA: "That's it...That's it."
The heart rate and pulse levels get higher...higher... Peter starts to CHOKE in his sleep. His body twitches. Angela looks at Peter nervously.
ANGELA: "Peter?"
Peter's struggling to breathe. His heart and pulse get higher and higher. Peter GASPS to breathe. The alarm goes off in the room.
ANGELA: "Peter, no. Peter, don't!"
Peter's heart and pulse rate get higher, dangerously high. The doors fly open and Paramedics and the bald, mid-50s DR. JENSEN rush into the room. Angela steps back as the Paramedics gather around Peter.
DR. JENSEN: "He's going into shock."
ANGELA: "Peter, no!"
Peter's heart and pulse get higher, even higher...
ANGELA: "PETER!!"
Peter's heart stops.
The doors are shut and Angela can hear Peter's monitor remain flatlined from outside.
DR. JENSEN (from the next room): "Increase the voltage! Clear!!"
Angela shuts her eyes as she hears the defibrillator paddles shock Peter.
Peter's body drops down onto the bed after the shocks. The defibrillator is set near Peter's bed and Dr. Jensen rubs the two paddles together.
DR. JENSEN: "We'll try it again...Clear!!"
Dr. Jensen shocks Peter's chest and heart with the defibrillator paddles and his body arches from the shocks. Dr. Jensen stops the shocks and Peter drops back down. Dr. Jensen turns to the monitors and sees Peter's heart beat still hasn't started up again.
Angela looks back at the doorway. All is quiet. She hears Peter's heart beating. Angela turns her head aside and SIGHS.
ANGELA: "Oh, Peter..."
Back in Africa, Matt sketches on a new page of his sketch book. He finishes with the page, tears it off, and lets it drop to the ground. Hiro crouches down and picks it up. He looks at the pencil drawing of Peter Petrelli in his bed at the Company, awake. Angela Petrelli sits beside him and holds his hand.
HIRO: "It is Peter Petrelli. He's in a clinic."
Ando and Claire stand next to Hiro, each holding a different drawing in their hands.
CLAIRE: "How many has he drawn so far?"
HIRO: "This makes five. We should put these with the other two."
CLAIRE: "But what do they mean?"
ANDO: "I'm not sure. I'm not sure that Matt will even know when he comes out of the trance."
Hiro looks at Matt, still sketching away.
ANDO: "Maybe we should go back to sleep. We don't know when he will wake up."
CLAIRE: "I'll keep an eye on him. You two should go to bed?"
HIRO: "Are you sure?"
CLAIRE: (nods) "Go on. It'll be morning soon."
Hiro and Ando both GROAN at the mere mention of it.
HIRO: "Great. More heat."
Hiro and Ando set their drawings down on the floor, away from the fire. Hiro sets his drawing on top of Ando's, and they walk away a few feet. Both men lie down to go back to sleep.
ANDO: (subtitled from Japanese) "Do you think Parkman will be okay?"
HIRO: (subtitled from Japanese) "Matt Parkman is a hero, just like us. I'm sure he'll be fine."
ANDO: (subtitled from Japanese) "What do you think these drawings mean?"
HIRO: (subtitled from Japanese) "I'm sure that we'll find that out soon enough."
Hiro closes his eyes, and then Ando does the same.
Claire keeps her eyes on the drawing held in her hand. The drawing is of West, standing before the statue at Kirby Plaza. He is looking over his shoulder, looking afraid.
On the floor, we see the drawing Ando was holding. The drawing is of Mohinder, standing in the Benson Lab building and examining a blood sample under a microscope.
Matt, still in a trance, continues to sketch on his sketch pad.
In New York at the Benson Laboratories building, Tracy is sitting on a chair by Mohinder's desk. He is looking under the microscope, posed like he was in the drawing, at the blood sample.
TRACY: "Well, what's the verdict, Mohinder?"
MOHINDER: "Well, I'm pleased to report that that masked man, whatever he did, has cured your cellular degeneration. By the look of things, the cure indeed seems to be permanent."
TRACY: "But it's not known for sure. I mean, we don't even know who this guy is."
MOHINDER: "But we will know, Tracy, soon enough. He's only met us a few times, but he knows us all by name and seems to know where we are."
TRACY: "And you're not freaked out by this?"
MOHINDER: "He said he wasn't responsible for your cellular degeneration and I believe him. If he wanted any of us dead, we would've all had the same degeneration as you."
TRACY: "But we can't exactly trust him. We don't even know who he is or how to find him."
Mohinder's cell phone rings. Mohinder looks down and picks up his phone. He pushes the talk button and holds it to his ear.
MOHINDER: "Hello?"
ANGELA (on the phone): "Mohinder, I need your help. It's Peter."
MOHINDER: "What's happened?"
ANGELA: "Peter went into shock. His heart rate went up and up until he flatlined."
MOHINDER: "Oh, God. You mean he's..."
Angela stands in the hallway, holding the phone to her ear.
ANGELA: (interrupts) "The doctors got his heart beating again. Peter's fine now. He's exhausted, mumbled a few words in his sleep. He's sleeping."
MOHINDER (on the phone): "Then why do you need my help?"
ANGELA: "You need to come back to the Company. Peter's alive, but I need you to check on him. I don't think he's as well as the doctors think he is."
Mohinder looks down at his desk, puzzled.
MOHINDER: "What do you mean?"
ANGELA (on the phone): "See for yourself. You'll get clearance to the clinic at the front desk."
MOHINDER: "Mrs. Petrelli, wait..."
The other end hangs up. Mohinder hangs up the phone. He notices Tracy's puzzled look.
TRACY: "What is it?"
MOHINDER: "Something's wrong with Peter."
In the desert, Matt has put the finishing touches on his latest sketch. He blinks and his pupils are back. MATT GASPS and Claire goes to his side. Matt looks at Claire.
CLAIRE: "Matt! Are you all right?"
MATT: "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I just..." (pauses) "How long was I out?"
CLAIRE: "About three hours. You just kept drawing and drawing."
Matt looks away from her and at the sketch pad.
CLAIRE (CONT'D) : "You've made nine pictures all together. I didn't know..."
Matt just stares at the drawing, stunned.
MATT: "Aw, crap."
Claire gives him a puzzled look. She walks over and stands behind Matt. She looks at the sketch he made in the sketch pad.
The drawing on the sketch pad is of Hiro, Ando, Claire and Matt. Matt has the sketch pad under his arm and they are all running away. Coming towards them from behind is an enormous sand storm.
CLAIRE: "Oh. Well, that...sucks."
NEW YORK - THURSDAY, 9 A.M.
Back in New York, at the parking lot of a Residence Inn hotel, it is now 9 in the morning. Dawn and Jackie walk out of the open entry/exit doors and walk ahead to the parking lot.
JACKIE: "You want to let me drive?"
DAWN: "Not a chance. We still need to drive down to that compound and with your driving record, we don't want to get pulled over to get any speeding tickets."
JACKIE: "You get busted twice for speeding too fast, and you never hear the end of it."
DAWN: "Three times. Remember Aunt Esther's funeral?"
JACKIE: "You sure 'bout that?"
DAWN: "I should know. I paid for your bail."
Jackie smirks as she walks with Dawn to her car.
JACKIE: "Fine. You drive. But drive more like a girl your age, would you? You were driving slower than most of the drivers, and I'm including those elderly couples back on the freeway."
DAWN: "Are you sure Daria's even working there today?"
Jackie scoffs as Dawn gets to the driver's seat.
JACKIE: "Girl, please. This is Daria we're talkin' 'bout."
Dawn unlocks her car door, opens it and then unlocks the other doors. Jackie opens her door.
DAWN: "All right, fine. We're going."
Dawn and Jackie get in the car, close the doors, and buckle up. Dawn starts the engine with her car key.
DAWN: "But this time...I pick the radio station."
JACKIE: "What's wrong? You don't like Whitesnake?"
Dawn smirks.
DAWN: "Listening to a few songs is fine. But listening to the same two CDs over a nearly six hour driving period yesterday was enough."
Jackie grins and shakes her head as Dawn backs out of the parking lot. She drives her car away to the exit.
At her Aunt Susan's home in Houston, Sarah sits on the end of her bed, wearing a white tank top and jeans. She holds her cell phone to her ear.
SARAH: "I'm sorry, E. I forgot to call you about Uncle George."
E.S. (on the phone): "It's all right. When are you going to see him?"
SARAH: "We're getting ready to go to the hospital now. You should come by here."
E.S. (on the phone): "I can't skip work. I'm supposed to fill in for Tony. He's going to his sister's wedding."
SARAH: "I thought his sister got married last week."
E.S. (on the phone): "That was Rebecca. This is Anna's wedding."
At his apartment, E.S. is seated on his couch, holding his cell phone to his ear with his left hand. His right is holding the 9th Wonders! comic book.
E.S.: "Listen, Sarah...When you get back tomorrow, you really need to come by. There's something you really need to see."
SARAH (on the phone): "Is it something bad?"
E.S.: "No, not exactly. More weird than bad."
SARAH (on the phone): "Really? How weird are we talking?"
E.S. looks at the third page. The first panel on the top row of the page is a drawings of the energy bubble sighting at Sarah's home. The second panel on the top row is of Sarah, staring out of her window.
E.S.: "I'd say pretty weird."
Sarah walks across the room to a reclining chair. She grabs her red jacket from the chair.
SARAH: "All right. Where do you want to meet?"
E.S. (on the phone): "Does the usual spot sound all right?"
SARAH: "Sounds good. I'll see you when I get back. Take care."
E.S. (on the phone): "I will. Tell Uncle George hello for me."
SARAH: "I will. Bye."
Sarah hangs up the phone. Sarah grabs her coat and turns around to the bed. With her back turned to us, we can see that several, flesh-colored slash scars crisscross Sarah's back behind her tank top. She puts on her jacket and turns around as she hears a knock on the doorway.
SARAH: "Yes?"
The door opens and AUNT SUSAN HENDERSON - mid-60s with silver hair - walks in. Susan is wearing a coat that is buttoned up over her clothes. She smiles at Sarah.
SUSAN: "Your mother's got the car around front. Are you ready?"
SARAH: (nods) "Just grabbing my purse."
Sarah grabs her purse from the chair and walks out of the room. Susan walks off down the hall and Sarah shuts the door behind her.
Back at the hospital in New York, in room 198, DR. GARY WRIGHT - mid-50s, bald and with thin-rimmed glasses - stands by Geoffrey's bed. Geoffrey is wearing his police uniform and he puts his coat on.
GARY: "I still think you should stay for another night, just to be sure."
GEOFFREY: "Not a chance, Doc. I've only got a bonk on the forehead from when I fell. I still think I should've left yesterday."
GARY: "You were attacked and drugged. You were unconscious for nearly six hours."
GEOFFREY: "And that's exactly why I need to get out of here. I've got a job to do, and I can't do that tucked under a blanket in a hospital bed."
GARY: "Very well. Just let me get the paperwork for you to sign out."
GEOFFREY: "I'll be here."
Gary turns and walks out of the room. Geoffrey buttons up his coat and turns to the doorway. He notices West standing in the doorway.
GEOFFREY: "You looking for someone, kid?"
WEST: "I'm here to meet Officer Geoffrey Hart."
GEOFFREY: "Who are you?"
West walks in and over to Geoffrey.
WEST: "My name's West. I was sent here to pick you up."
GEOFFREY: "Pick me up? Look, kid, I don't have time for..."
WEST: (interrupts) "It's about the prisoner that got away. Eight-zero-one-zero, right?"
GEOFFREY: "How the hell did you know that?"
WEST: "A friend of mine knows him. She wants to help you track him down, and she has news on where he was last sighted."
GEOFFREY: "What friend? Who are you, anyway?"
WEST: "I'm just a friend. Look, just come with me to Kirby Plaza. I don't know anything about this guy or what he does. But my friend knows. If you want to find the guy that took down all those people when he escaped, she can give you your answers."
Geoffrey gives him a grim look.
Back in Austin, David is working at the register at the comic book store. He hands sets a receipt in a bag of comic books and he hands the bag over to the customer.
DAVID: "Thanks. See you next month."
The customer nods his head, turns around and walks off. David glances over at the rotating rack of new comics ahead. He stares at the last issue in stock of the new 9th Wonders issue. Charles walks over and stands by David.
CHARLES: "How're you doing out here, David?"
DAVID: "Fine, sir. We're almost out of the new 9th Wonders issue."
CHARLES: "Yeah, I know. My brother, Bobby, called me from his comic shop in Jersey. Man, he says that he's already sold out of all the first print copies he had."
DAVID: "Yeah, that's great."
CHARLES: "Damn right that's great. We're finally getting some big business in here after our three month slump. Now I just need you to go into the back. There's another mess I need you to clean up at the action figures."
DAVID: "Oh, great. I'm sure there's another stack of half-opened DC and Spider-Man figure boxes to clean up again."
David walks away from the counter and over to the back left corner of the store. He stops and smiles, pleasantly surprised. He sees Kristen standing in front of him, holding a wrapped gift in his hands.
KRISTEN: "Surprise."
DAVID: "Hey, sweetie. What's the occasion?"
KRISTEN: "Well, I decided to take you out to lunch and I got you a little something. Just think of this as an early birthday gift."
DAVID: "Birthday gift? That's not till next week."
KRISTEN: "I know. I've got something else picked out for you, but I thought you'd want to see this. Go on and open it."
David turns around and looks at Charles. He smirks at David and gives him a thumbs up. David turns to Kristen and takes the gift box in his hand. David tears off the gift wrap, opens the box and notices the item inside. His eyes widen in shock. Kristen's smile fades. David just stares in the box. She gives David a puzzled look.
KRISTEN: "Well? Don't you like it?"
DAVID: (whispers) "Great Caesar's Ghost."
At the Company, Angela sits on a chair by Peter's bed. He opens his eyes and looks over at her.
PETER: "Mom."
ANGELA: "Hello, Peter. It's good to see you awake."
Peter notices the time on the clock by his bed. It is 12:45. He glances over at Angela.
PETER: "What happened to me?"
ANGELA: "You don't remember, do you?"
Peter glances at Angela, trying to remember. He shakes his head.
ANGELA: "That's too bad. We were hoping you were the only one left who did know."
PETER: "Know what?"
ANGELA: "There was an explosion, Peter. At the Beeman Warehouse. You nearly died, son. Noah, Suresh and Tracy took you to the hospital. Everyone else is missing."
PETER: "Missing?" (pauses) "I've got to go. I've got to find them..."
Peter sits up, and quickly goes down SCREAMING. Angela sets her hand on Peter's shoulder.
ANGELA: "You're not going anywhere, Peter. You're still recovering from your surgery."
Mohinder walks into the room through the open doorway, holding a chart in his hand.
PETER: (grunting) "Surgery? What surgery? Why didn't I just heal myself?"
Mohinder walks towards Peter and stands by his bed.
MOHINDER: "That's because you can't heal by yourself, Peter. You've lost your ability."
PETER: "You mean I lost Claire's healing?"
MOHINDER: "I'm afraid not. I mean you've lost your ability, Peter. I did some tests while you were unconscious. Your power is gone, Peter. You're just a normal man again."
Peter looks at Mohinder, stunned.
In a hospital in Houston, in room 222, GEORGE HENDERSON - late-60 with silver hair - lies tucked in a bed. Sarah sits on a chair to the left of her Uncle. Susan and Mary stand behind her chair and keep watch over George. He smiles at the three upset ladies.
GEORGE: "Hey, now. Don't look so glum. I ain't dead yet."
MARY: "How are you feeling?"
GEORGE: "Oh, I'm just fine, considering. Can't move much, but I haven't been able to move much in the last six years."
GEORGE CHUCKLES at his own remark. He starts COUGHING, hard. Sarah looks at him sadly. Susan puts her hand over her mouth and Mary sets her hand on her shoulder. George stops COUGHING and looks at the girls.
GEORGE: "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. I was wondering if I could have a few minutes alone...with Sarah."
MARY: "Sarah?"
GEORGE: "Please...I need to tell her something."
George gives Mary a pleading look. Mary narrows her eyes at George, upset.
MARY: "Don't talk long." (coldly) "You need your rest."
Sarah watches as Mary walks with Susan out of the room. Sarah gives her mother a puzzled look, as Mary shuts the door behind her. Sarah looks at George.
SARAH: "What is it, Uncle George?"
GEORGE: "I wanted to tell you a couple of things...Hadn't been able to talk to you alone, since your birthday party last month. You remember that?"
SARAH: "Of course I do. You and Aunt Susan were the ones who planned it. All those great decorations, the music... You took me onto the dance floor and we slow-danced."
GEORGE: "And then my brother Hank got drunk and fell face-first into the punch bowl." (smirks) "Good times."
Sarah sadly smiles. George holds his right hand out to Sarah, and she gently takes it with her own.
GEORGE: "They say I don't have much time left. I know you don't like to remember what happened during your time in London."
Sarah frowns.
GEORGE (CONT'D): "You were just supposed to visit your cousin Katie at her wedding."
SARAH: "Uncle George..."
GEORGE: (interrupts) "You all looked so lovely...It was supposed to be a happy day, a celebration...Until those men came in, held up the mansion..."
SARAH: (interrupts) "Uncle George, don't. It's okay."
GEORGE: "It was my fault, Sarah... What they did...It's all my fault."
SARAH: "What are you talking about? You weren't even there. You were home sick with the flu..."
GEORGE: (interrupts) "I was supposed to give the bride away. It was what Katie wanted, marrying that nice businessman...They didn't know I was home sick. I need you to forgive me. I never meant for those men to beat you up like that."
SARAH: "There's nothing to forgive you for. It's not your fault."
GEORGE: "It was me, Sarah. You said they asked you, over and over. 'Where is the agent?' He meant me."
Sarah looks at George. He eyes her sadly with tears rolling down his cheeks.
GEORGE (CONT'D): (voice breaks) "You didn't know. You didn't know because we didn't want to put you in danger, any of you. Sweetheart, I'm so sorry. You got those scars because of me."
Sarah stares at George in shock.
SARAH: "You were..."
GEORGE: "Don't tell your mother. She doesn't want you to know. It's safer the less you know about your Uncle George. I just..."
George suddenly stiffens. He starts to twitch.
SARAH: "Uncle George?"
His eyes roll back in his head. George starts to convulse, going into a seizure. Sarah gets up, rushes to the door and pushes it open. She looks out into the hall.
SARAH: (shouts) "Somebody help us!! Please!!"
At the front desk of the enormous security compound, Dawn and Jackie stand in front and wait. Dawn looks left, and then right.
DAWN: "No sign of her yet.
JACKIE: "She'll be here."
A security guard, DARIA BROOKS - 30 years old, African-American and lovely - walks across the room and to the front desk.
JACKIE: "What'd I tell ya? You're looking gorgeous as ever, D."
DARIA: "You could get my ass into a lot of trouble for coming down here like this."
JACKIE: "We just came down here to go visit the basement. You can drop us off and let us go down, right? Ten minutes tops?"
Daria shakes her head.
DARIA: "You need a key to go down there and you don't even have clearance."
JACKIE: "Oh, yeah, I do. Just take us down there and I'll take care of everything."
Daria looks at Jackie for a moment and narrows her eyes.
In the compound's basement, the elevator doors slide open and Daria steps out. Dawn and Jackie follow Daria out of the elevator and she leads the two ladies down the hallway.
DARIA: "This way."
Daria walks over and stands at the desk of a portly, mid-30s CLEARANCE GUARD.
GUARD: "Can I help you?"
DARIA: "These two say they have an appointment to go into the basement."
GUARD: "There's nothing on the schedule for visitors."
Jackie tilts her head to her side.
JACKIE: "Dawnie, put this on and shut your eyes."
Jackie hands an oxygen mask over to her sister.
DAWN: "What are you..."
JACKIE: (interrupts, voice firm) "Do it, please."
Dawn takes the oxygen mask, puts it on and shuts her eyes. DARIA and the GUARD START COUGHING. Dawn smirks as Daria falls to her knees, COUGHING.
DARIA: (coughing) "What is..."
Daria and the Guard continue COUGHING. The Guard collapses onto the desk and Daria hits the ground, both unconscious. JACKIE CHUCKLES and she turns her head to Dawn.
JACKIE: "Clear."
Dawn opens her eyes and takes off the oxygen mask. She looks around in shock.
DAWN: "What did..."
JACKIE: "Sorry, girl. Trade secret. We need to get down there before they wake up."
DAWN: "Wake up? How are we going to get in?"
Jackie smiles as she picks something up from her pocket. It is a blue code key, the size of a credit card. It's the same code key that the dead doctor, Meghan Tan, had. Jackie smiles.
JACKIE: "With a little key I picked up."
Dawn eyes her sister, stunned, as Jackie walks over and unlocks the door at the wall to the right of the desk.
A mid-50s, African-American woman - D.W. WILLIAMS - sits in a prison cell. She is wearing a prison uniform and has her hands in her lap. D.W. looks up as she hears footsteps. She glares at the people in front of her cell door.
D.W.: "What the hell are you doing here?"
The two women in front of D.W.'s cell are Dawn and Jackie. Dawn eyes her mother in shock. Jackie scoffs at her mother.
JACKIE: "Good to see you too, Mom."
Jackie unlocks the door to D.W.'s cell with the blue code key. D.W. stands up as Jackie opens the door. D.W. walks out of the cell and to Jackie.
JACKIE: "Come on. We don't have much time left."
D.W. slaps Jackie across the face.
DAWN: "Mom!"
JACKIE: "Ow! What the hell?"
D.W.: "You bust in here like this, after I told you not to come after me?"
Jackie rubs her cheek and sneers at her mom.
JACKIE: "You were abducted and imprisoned, Mom. We didn't exactly want you to rot in here."
D.W.: "That's not for you to decide! You're ruining everything! And now, you drag your sister along from the hospital, steal the guard's code key and try to bust me out of here?"
DAWN: "Mom, this isn't right. The guys that took you weren't cops. We called the police, and they said that nobody in the area arrested you."
D.W. turns around to Dawn, eyeing her firmly.
D.W.: "Dawnie, please, stay out of this! This wasn't supposed to happen! You don't know what's at risk!"
DAWN: "Mom, please, tell me what's --"
Dawn stiffens as she's shot in the neck by a tranquilizer dart. She stumbles and falls into D.W.'s arms.
D.W.: (shouts) "NO!! DON'T SHOOT THEM!!"
Several Guards, armed with tranquilizer guns or pistols, approach from the hall behind Dawn. Armed Guard #1 taps his headset.
ARMED GUARD #1: "One intruder is sedated! We're getting the other into custody!"
JACKIE: "Oh, you're so wishing."
Dawn passes out and D.W. glares at Jackie.
D.W.: "What are you doing?"
JACKIE: "Get Dawn out of here, Mom...I'll catch up.."
Jackie smiles wickedly as a white aura appears over D.W's body. D.W. shuts her eyes and she vanishes with Dawn into thin air, teleported away.
Back in the desert in Botswana, Africa, Matt, Claire, Ando and Hiro approach a large tent. Matt has the drawing pencils in his hand, and has the papers and sketch pad held under his arm. Hiro and Matt are carrying the cooler.
CLAIRE: "Is this it?"
Hiro and Ando stop walking and set the cooler down.
MATT: "I guess so."
HIRO MOANS HAPPILY and collapses to the floor, away from the cooler. He lands hard on his back.
HIRO: (subtitled from Japanese) "... Ouch."
Ando crouches down and picks up Hiro by his wrist. Ando pulls Hiro up to sit up and he sits next to Hiro.
HIRO: "Feels good not to walk."
CLAIRE: "Where are we? Looks like someone lives here."
Matt turns around and notices a long, brown walking stick near the tent.
MATT: "I think this was Usutu's place."
Hiro, Ando and Claire turn and notice the staff.
HIRO: "What do you think is inside?"
MATT: "I'll check it out."
Matt walks over and into the tent.
Matt enters the tent and looks to his left. He sees a stack of clothes, paint buckets, and a cup filled with paintbrushes. He notices a painting against the wall, of Matt looking into the tent. Matt walks over and crouches in front of the painting.
MATT: "I didn't draw that."
Usutu stands behind Matt and smiles.
USUTU: "Of course not."
Matt turns around and looks at Usutu.
USUTU: "Hello, prophet."
Usutu motions his head to his right. Matt looks at the right side of the tent and notices the food and drinks on a nearby table.
USUTU: "Plenty more where that came from."
MATT: "How did all of this get here? Who painted this?"
Hiro peeks into the tent, GASPS and then SCREAMS in fear. He staggers back and points ahead.
HIRO: (screams in Japanese) "Ghost!! Ghost!!"
MATT: "What's going on?"
USUTU: "He is saying 'ghost', Parkman."
Ando and Claire enter the tent with Hiro and they stare in shock. Ando gives a startled CRY and steps back. Matt eyes Usutu in realization, as Usutu turns around to the others.
USUTU: "Welcome to my home, Hiro. Make yourselves at home."
HIRO: (subtitled from Japanese) "How do you have a head? He was killed! He didn't have a head!"
MATT: "They can see and hear you, too?"
Usutu walks over and stands in front of Matt. He sets his hand on his shoulder.
MATT: "You're alive...How?"
USUTU: "We have much to talk about, Parkman. Here, is where our story begins."
Matt stares at Usutu, shocked. Hiro stares at Usutu, nervous.
HIRO: (subtitled from Japanese) "But... He didn't have a head."
Sarah sits on a chair in the hospital waiting room, looking sad. She holds onto her styrofoam cup of water. The clock on the wall reads 1:05 p.m. Mary walks over and sits on an empty seat next to Sarah. Mary sets her hand on Sarah's shoulder.
MARY: "You haven't spoken since George's seizure."
Sarah stares down at her styrofoam cup.
MARY: "What did he want?"
Sarah looks up from her cup to Mary.
SARAH: "My forgiveness."
MARY: "For what?"
SARAH: "For Katie's wedding. He said those creeps that crashed the ceremony, took the guests hostage... He said it was his fault."
MARY: "His fault? That's absurd. George wasn't even there."
SARAH: "That's what I said. What he said was, when those guys were questioning me, beating me up...he said they were looking for him. He said he was the agent."
Mary looks at Sarah a moment.
MARY: "He told you that?"
SARAH: "You should've seen him, Mom. He looked so scared, so ashamed... He was crying and he just kept asking for me to forgive him. He said it was safer if I didn't know."
MARY: "Sarah, you know your uncle wasn't an agent. He's been a pharmacy manager for the past thirty years, and he's never missed a day of work except for that flu he had and his hospital stay now. Hell, Susan's got footage of him at the pharmacy ever since they got those security cameras put in over a decade ago. Whatever he was talking about, dear, it never happened. He was not to blame for what happened to you."
Mary looks up as she notices Susan walking down the hall. She walks over and joins them.
MARY: "How is he?"
SUSAN: "He's better. He's resting. The doctors say that seizure's made his health deteriorate even more."
SARAH: "Because of the heart attack?"
SUSAN: "I guess so. He's awake now. He told me he wanted to speak with you again."
MARY: "I'll speak with him, Sue. Sarah's a bit shaken up. Whatever he has to say, I'll listen to George and tell her the message."
Susan nods. Mary gets up to her feet and walks away down the hall.
Back in George's hospital room, he lies weakly on his bed. The door opens and Mary walks in. George faintly smiles.
GEORGE: "I knew you'd be in here."
MARY: "What's all this nonsense about you being an agent?"
GEORGE: "I bet you're going to tell me it never happened."
MARY: "It never did. You're spewing out lies to your own niece and she's been sitting in the waiting room, scared half to death."
GEORGE: "She had to know the truth. She deserves it. Even if she never forgives me, she knows what...what really happened."
MARY: "You will not say another word of this to Sarah. You will not tell her of being a secret agent, you will not remind her of the torture she went through back at the wedding, and you will certainly not ask her for forgiveness. She has nothing to forgive you for. Let it go, George."
George smirks at Mary and shakes his head.
GEORGE: "I never... I never told her I was a secret agent. If it's not true, how did you know I was?"
Mary narrows her eyes at George.
MARY: "I've heard it before. You told me the same thing the night I picked Sarah up from the hospital, and you're telling Sarah the exact same fib. I'm warning you, George...Leave my little girl alone."
GEORGE: "She had to know. She does know. That's all...that's all that matters."
Mary looks at George in concern. He gives her a weak smile.
MARY: "You're getting worse, aren't you? You can't split your way out of this problem, George. You're a good man, with a big, pure heart. I'll bring Sarah in and you can tell us both goodbye. And then, I'm taking her back home."
George eyes Mary a moment. He nods at her, forcing a sad smile.
GEORGE: "I understand."
Mary nods. She holds George's hand gently and she looks a bit sad.
MARY: (whispers) "Why the hell did we have to lose a good man like you, George?"
GEORGE: "We all have to die sometime...It's what makes us human."
Mary lets go of George's hand. She turns around and walks out. George shuts his eyes and SIGHS. For a moment, he has two left hands. His second left hand twitches and then disappears back into his left hand, leaving him with only one left hand again.
Back in New York at the Residence Inn hotel room, Dawn lies unconscious on one of the beds. D.W. and Jackie are standing by her bed, arguing.
D.W.: "You're crazier than I thought you were, you know that? And a lot stupider, too!"
JACKIE: "Watch it, Mom. I'm not the same little girl that you could ground and send to my room. I've changed the past few years."
D.W.: "Not in my eyes. You're still pulling the same crap, getting into trouble and getting caught by the cops! I know what you did in Dallas, in ..."
JACKIE: "What about what you did back at the water tower? The two people who disappeared? And the other energy bubble you made in New York?"
D.W.: "That one wasn't mine. And as for the water tower, I caught two more of those creeps you broke out. If I hadn't teleported them away and into custody, they would've blown up the neighborhood nearby in another minute."
JACKIE: "You make it sound like I care. That's not my problem, or my assignment."
D.W.: "And I am?"
Jackie smiles and nods her head at Dawn.
JACKIE: "I told her I had one last job, and then I walk away for good. No more assignments, no more trips to jail."
D.W. notices Dawn groggily open her eyes. D.W. smirks at Jackie.
D.W.: "Dawn doesn't believe you. Hell, she's smart enough not to trust you. After you hand me over to your employers, you get paid and a promotion. There's no way you'd ever leave that job."
JACKIE: "Who's dumb enough to quit their dream job? The pay's great, the work is fun. You're the only problem."
Dawn sits up on her bed, shocked.
D.W.: "Dawn wouldn't have helped you get me out if she had known the whole story. She doesn't know who you work for."
JACKIE: "But you do. That's why they want you."
D.W.: "And Dawn?"
JACKIE: "I think I can take care of her."
DAWN: "I don't think so."
Jackie turns around to Dawn and glares.
JACKIE: "When did you wake up?"
D.W.: "You always were easily distracted."
Jackie turns to her mother, who looks down at Jackie's feet. Jackie looks down to see the bottom of her feet glowing white, and a white aura forms around her. Before she can react, Jackie is teleported away. Dawn stares at her mother, shocked.
DAWN: "Mom?"
D.W. looks at Dawn with a sad smile.
D.W.: "I think we need to have a talk, baby."
LAWRENCE, KANSAS
Jackie is alone on a dirt road. She turns around and sees a lone gas station in the distance. Jackie turns to her left and spots a corn field.
JACKIE: "No..."
Jackie notices a road sign. It reads LAWRENCE, KANSAS.
JACKIE: "No! No!!" (shouts angrily) "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
Back in Austin, Agent Benson and Audrey Hanson stand by the old water tower. Police caution tape is wrapped around the area and policemen stand guard around the area to let the two agents work.
BENSON: "This doesn't really make much sense, does it?"
HANSON: "What?"
BENSON: "I mean, here we are, right at the sight where the explosion took place. But there's no damage, no scorched grass, no burns. It's like the thing never happened."
HANSON: "Or it wasn't an explosion."
BENSON: "Uh-huh. So what else could it have been?"
Noah stands near the two agents and smirks.
NOAH: "I don't think you want to know the answer to that question."
Audrey turns around and sneers, recognizing Noah.
BENSON: "Hey, pal, show's over! This is official F.B.I. business and you're trespassing!"
NOAH: "So this must be your new partner, Hanson. How long have you had him around?"
Hanson stands up and looks at Noah.
BENSON: "Wait, you know each other?"
AUDREY: "A long time ago. I still see he's causing trouble and being a royal pain in the ass."
NOAH: "I didn't come here to cover anything up, Audrey. I came here to help."
HANSON: "And what makes you think we need your help?"
NOAH: "The same time this white bubble appeared in Texas, another one took place in New York. Four people disappeared. One of them was my daughter."
Noah reaches into his pocket and pulls out a photo. He holds up a photo of Matt Parkman. Audrey looks surprised at the photo of Matt, as it is the same she saw in her e-mail back in Los Angeles.
NOAH: "Another of the missing people was your old partner."
BENSON: "Parkman?"
HANSON: "It was you, wasn't it? You sent me that e-mail!"
NOAH: "E-mail? What e-mail?"
HANSON: "Don't play dumb with me. I saw the exact same picture as Matt in my e-mail Inbox last night. The one who sent me the message had no e-mail address, and after I read it, it was gone, like it had never been sent."
NOAH: "That wasn't me. But I'm pretty sure I know who sent that e-mail to you."
Back in New York, Geoffrey and West stand before the statue at Kirby Plaza. Geoffrey looks left, and then right. He pauses a moment, waiting. Geoffrey looks down at his watch and then up at West.
GEOFFREY: "Your friend is late."
WEST: "She'll be here. Probably just stuck in traffic or something."
GEOFFREY: "You know, I could bust you right now for wasting my time and filing a false information."
WEST: "I told you, she'll be here."
Angela walks over to West and Geoffrey from behind.
ANGELA: "You should listen to West, Officer."
Geoffrey and Angela turn around and notice Angela walking towards them. She has a folder held under her arm. Geoffrey eyes Angela a moment, puzzled.
GEOFFREY: "Don't I know you?"
ANGELA: "You should. You arrested me once, months ago. You picked me up for stealing a pair of socks from a department store."
GEOFFREY: "Yeah, that's right. I remember you now. And you're my credible lead as to what happened to our missing prisoner?"
ANGELA: "I already have all of the information on prisoner eight-zero-one-zero, Officer Hart. His full name, his previous addresses, his old job resume...I even have his dental records."
GEOFFREY: "Those are all restricted files of the New York Police Department. How did you get access to those?"
ANGELA: "You have your own way of handling your job, Officer. I have mine. You could say I've got my own kind of government job. West, you need to go back to the office. I've got another assignment for you."
West nods at Angela. Geoffrey eyes West as he turns around and walks away. Angela picks up the folder from under her arm.
GEOFFREY: "Where's he going?"
ANGELA: "The less he knows about this case, Officer, the safer he'll be. He's already in enough danger as it is for helping me."
GEOFFREY: "He looks a bit young to be working in the government, don't you think? He's just a kid! And exactly what is it you have to give me?"
Angela hands Geoffrey the folder.
ANGELA: "The current location of your missing prisoner."
Geoffrey looks at Angela, stunned. He opens the folder and eyes the papers inside.
ANGELA: "We need to talk. There's a lot about this prisoner that you don't understand. And if you want to be the one who brings him back into custody, there are certain things you need to know to survive your next encounter with him."
Geoffrey looks up at Angela, puzzled.
In the clinic of the Company, Peter is seated on his bed. He looks at Mohinder and Tracy.
TRACY: "Mohinder told me what happened. Are you okay?"
PETER: "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just, uh...I'm just still sore, that's all. How long was I in surgery?"
TRACY: "About four hours or so. You barely survived that blast. But I don't get how it took away your ability."
PETER: "I just wish I knew what happened to the others. Claire, Matt..."
MOHINDER: "We'll find them, Peter. Everything will be all right. You'll see."
Peter looks at the doorway, he stares ahead.
MOHINDER: "Peter?"
PETER: "Didn't you see that?"
Mohinder and Tracy look at the wall.
MOHINDER: "See what?"
PETER: "There was a shadow...on the wall. Someone's here."
Tracy walks over to the door and looks outside. She looks left, and see no one. She looks right. No one is there. Tracy turns around and looks at Peter.
TRACY: "The hall's empty, Pete. There's no one there now."
The Invisible Man steps away from the Company building. He reappears and reveals himself to be a thin man, wearing a black mask that covers his head. He pushes a button on his headset.
INVISIBLE MAN: "Target acquired. We have a problem, though."
The Invisible Man fades away, turning invisible again.
MOHINDER (NARRATES): "There are some things in life that happen that we never thought we'd see."
West is in the air, flying over the clouds and away from New York. He's wearing a headset on his head.
MOHINDER (NARRATES): "The easy-going teenager that is growing up into a responsible young man."
Back in the desert, Usutu is at a blank canvas. His eyes are completely white and he is painting a picture with his thin paintbrush. Matt, Claire, Ando and Hiro watch as Usutu paints.
MOHINDER (NARRATES): "The surprise return of an old friend."
Over in Houston, Sarah, Susan and Mary stand at the end of George's hospital bed. Sarah eyes George sadly and he gives her a weak smile. He gently holds her right hand with his hand.
MOHINDER (NARRATES): "Saying goodbye to a dying loved one."
Back at the comic book store in Austin, E.S. walks into the comic book store and walks over to Kristen and David.
MOHINDER (NARRATES): "And then, there are some things that happen that we never imagined were possible."
DAVID: "Okay, I'm here. What's the big emergency?"
KRISTEN: "I don't know. I just gave David his early gift and he hasn't taken his eyes off of it since."
E.S.: "It's that good, huh?"
David stares at the item in his hands. It's a limited edition poster of 9th Wonders. The top half of the painting shows some of the familiar Heroes characters. Noah is at the far left, clutching a sobbing Claire in his arms. Next to Noah is Hiro, with Ando standing behind him. Ando has his back turned to Hiro, glancing angrily over his shoulder at his friend. To Hiro's left, in the middle of the line-up, is Peter Petrelli. He's wearing a black trench coat and has a familiar scar on his face. Next to Peter is Matt, who is wearing a policeman's uniform. At the far right of the line-up is Sylar, smiling wickedly from ear to ear. His arms are out at his sides, his hands glowing red with heat.
The bottom half of the painted poster is of a map of the U.S., over the part where New York is. The entire state is gone. It's just ocean. The bottom of the poster reads "HATE TO SAY GOODBYE... THE 9 ISSUE LIMITED SERIES"
DAVID: "I don't think 'good' is the word I'd use to describe it."
