Sorry about the delay, guys. Major real-life crisis that had to be handled. But since no one reviewed the last chapter I guess I´m not the only one. Anyway. We´re back now. So let´s get going. It´s about time.
You are like me
Sylar walked down the street, leaving the crime scene behind as fast as he could, just in case Mohinder should try to follow and stop him. It was a shame but it had to be that way, there was just no way around it. If the good doctor only hadn´t allowed that Gus spotted him. But done was done and now he had to run with it. Literally. Unfortunately leaving Mohinder behind also meant that he had lost his ride and that meant he had to walk from now on. But as soon as he was out of public sight that wouldn´t be a problem any longer. What did he have abilities for? And one could see so much more from above anyway.
He was just passing a corner and threw a glance behind to make sure that no one was paying attention to him back at the crime scene, when suddenly a hand grabbed his collar. Sylar was pushed against the wall on the other side, already expecting to see Mohinder, who wanted to teach him not to wander off like that. But instead of the familiar pissed gaze of the geneticist he had a completely strange but not less pissed face before him. He was in his mid forties, had gray eyes and a tanned face that was lined from many hard years.
„Who are you?" the man demanded to know, holding his throat in a threatening way. „I saw you change your face. What kind of a trick is that?"
„You must be confused." Sylar coughed under the grip of that angry man.
„Oh, I am." was the surprising answer. „But not that much. You are like me, aren´t you?"
„Depends on." Sylar replied. He had gotten the idea of who this guy was, as soon as he´d seen him. But now he had confirmation. „Who are you?" he asked him now. „Are you the one who committed these crimes?"
„Show me your real face or I break your neck until your bones are nothing but a heap of dust."
Sylar arched a brow at this. „I guess that was a yes then." he said.
Despite the fact that this man´s threats weren´t really a threat to him, he complied to what he´d demanded and changed his face back into his real self. The reaction in the other man´s face was one of interest. A rare reaction to the first encounter with a real shapeshifter. Sylar was interested too.
„Who are you?" the man wanted to know.
Sylar smirked, knowing what would come next. „My name is Sylar." he revealed.
The expected reaction came promptly. This time he could see the shock in the other man´s eyes. But it lasted only for a few seconds. Then the hand around his throat tightened again.
„You better don´t lie to me, pal." he hissed. „Because I wasn´t joking when I threatened to kill you."
„I know you weren´t." Sylar replied unimpressed.
His opponent didn´t say anything. He seemed to wait for some more and Sylar decided to give it to him. Without doing any more but looking at him, he shoved him backwards and threw him through the air. When one asked for it, he had to expect to really get it.
The man that called himself Nobody flew a good deal down the street before he landed on the pavement again, right in the middle of the street. It was a good thing that there was so less traffic here or this small demonstration would have caused an accident. Just as Nobody stood back up, a car passed and honked its horn. But other than that nothing happened. The real traffic was passing by beneath them, on the highway their street only bridged.
It wasn´t the best place for a standoff like that, Sylar mused but he had started it and now he had to go through with it. This whole thing had happened much faster than he would have expected it though. He started to approach Nobody, who didn´t seem a bit disturbed by that flight he´d just experienced. Quiet the contrary. He looked as if he´d enjoyed it. His gaze he threw at Sylar was almost … ecstatic.
„It´s really you." he breathed. „The real you. Sylar." He spread his arms and told him excited: „I came here all the way from the other side of the continent to find you. They tried to convince me that you were dead. But I knew that this was a lie. People like us don´t die. We´re not as weak as normal humans. We´re gods amongst the insects."
Sylar frowned. Was that guy for real? He couldn´t be as crazy as this, could he? But the look in his eyes told him that he indeed meant what he said.
„You´re insane." Sylar found.
„But so are we all." Nobody replied, smiling confidently. He talked as if Sylar had just complimented him instead of insulting him.
„Why did you do all these things?" Sylar demanded to know. „Using my name."
„I know that was bold." Nobody admitted, still talking far too confident to be healthy. As if he didn´t even realize that Sylar was threatening him with his life if he would give the wrong answer. This guy really had to be insane.
„But I did it with the greatest respect, believe me." he now assured him.
„Respect?" Sylar repeated. „You really are crazy."
„Is it crazy to worship one of the greatest beings that ever lived on this planet?" Nobody asked, sounding like a missionary who tried to convince a doubter about he existence of god. „Is it crazy to try to be like him even if one knows that it is impossible to ever reach the same level? Is it crazy to show respect in the only way that one knows with the simple tools that he has? To build a shrine for the one that you worship the most? The one being in this world that is greater than yourself?"
Sylar just stood there, unable to compute what he´d just heard. This was more than just crazy. It was highly irritating.
„I´m not a god." he stated as if that was a shield against this irrational talk.
„Oh, but you are." Nobody replied, profoundly convinced about this fact. „Who else could be one if not you? You were the one who raised slaughter to a new level. You showed them how little one of their lives means to people like us. You …"
„Stop that." Sylar cried, when he couldn´t stand it any longer. Only one more word of this insane talk and he would have to scream. „I´m not that guy anymore." he stated and finally, finally he made him shut up.
Nobody just stared at him, totally taken aback for a change. He looked like someone who was told that the world was round after he´d believed that it was a plate, all his life. He looked at him, squinting wary as if to figure out where the mistake in that picture was hidden.
„What do you mean?" he demanded to know.
„I´m not here to thank you for what you did in my name." Sylar told him. „Or to … bless you after I was pleased with your sacrifices. If you really believe that, then you´re more than just insane."
„Then why are you here if not to take me into your circle?" Nobody wanted to know, still not understanding where this talk was supposte to go. „Are you here to kill me?" he took a guess. „I told you, I didn´t mean to insult you with my work."
„But you did." Sylar replied, jumping on that crazy train if that was the only talk this guy understood. „You insulted me." he stated. „And that´s why I have no choice but to punish you. You will not go on with these crimes."
„Crimes?" Nobody repeated, totally baffled over the use of this word.
„You won´t keep killing in my name." Sylar rephrased it. „Or in any other name for that matter. Your career ends here and now."
Sylar held his hands down, his palms up and let fire light up in them to underline his words. It didn´t scare the other man the way he had hoped it would though. The only change it caused in Nobody´s gaze was that the confusion was gone from it. Now he looked at Sylar with determination. The termination to fight.
„You will have a hard time when you try to kill me." he told him.
„I´ll give it a try." Sylar replied.
He raised his hand to throw a ball of fire at Nobody, but in this moment a car passed by and Sylar closed his fists to hide the fire from strange sight. The car passed and crossed the bridge without so much as slowing down. The driver didn´t turn his head a single time.
Nobody arched an eyebrow at Sylar in a mocking way.
„I don´t need fire to handle you." Sylar said and raised a hand.
Nobody straightened when he felt the telekinetic grip on his throat. But the knowledge that he was at Sylar´s mercy, didn´t seem to be enough to wipe that slimy grin from his face. It didn´t matter, Sylar thought angrily. Something else would. He raised his finger and pointed it at Nobody´s head.
As strange as it was, the gesture only seemed to increase this madman´s fun. Sylar started to cut, to finally make him stop grinning that stupid grin at him. It helped. For a second there was something like shocked surprise on his face. Sylar knew that gaze. It was the moment when the pain of his cutting sank into the consciousness of the victim and told him that he was gonna die. And then Nobody threw something to his side and next to Sylar something exploded.
It was a car, that had been parked a few feet away at the curbside. Sylar got hit by the shockwave and was thrown down to the ground. On the edge of his perception he noticed the flames shooting up into the air. A rolling cloud of fire that would be seen in the next two neighbourhoods by the sight of it. Down on the highway, tires were squeaking and horns got honked.
A hand grabbed Sylar and dragged him back up, pushing him against a lamp post. Nobody looked at him and he was still grinning, despite the cut he had on his forehead. He touched it for a moment and then looked at the blood on his fingers.
„How did you do that?" he asked astoundingly calm. „I never bled my entire life."
Sylar raised his brow for a moment. „I´m a god, remember?"
„So that is how you did it all the time." Nobody understood. „Interesting." He shook his head. „But unfortunately you won´t get another chance to do that anymore. As I told you. You´ll have a hard time when you try to kill me. A really hard time."
With that he wound out and then rammed his fist into Sylar´s stomach, hard enough to make it come back out on the other side. On the street behind them tires were squeaking but then the car that had passed by, just increased its speed and drove away from that gory sight. Nobody watched it vanish and smiled. He was still smiling when he turned back to Sylar.
„You know." he said. „I thought we´d be one of a kind. But obviously I was wrong. That´s really a pity. But maybe it is time, that god is chased off his throne. By the devil."
Sylar, who was still not able to do any more but fighting for air, couldn´t give a response. But Nobody hadn´t expected him to say anything. There was no argument against a logic that was so punchy anyway. He held the gaze of the man he´d considered a god for one more moment, and decided that he had to rethink his idea of gods amongst men. He´d obviously looked in the wrong place. Why searching this in other people anyway? He´d proven himself worthy more than just once.
He pulled his arm out of the body and watched Sylar drop to the ground. So pitiful. And something like that had been his inspiration.
While he waited for the body of this fallen god to cease function, he wiped his hands on a cloth, like a mechanic after the finished work. Sylar lay before him, writhing on the ground like some dying vermin. It was pathetic. Finally he rolled on his stomach and lay still. Nobody threw the piece of cloth on his back and turned away from him. It was time to go and take over his place as the new king of death.
He´d crossed the bridge halfway, when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Who would dare to follow him? When he turned around to find that out, an invisible force pushed him against the railing of the bridge. What he saw made him doubt his eyes for a moment. It was Sylar. His shirt was covered in blood but there was no wound anymore.
When Sylar saw his shocked face he smiled. „You didn´t know that gods can´t get killed?" he asked.
Nobody shook his head in denial. „How did you do that?" he demanded to know.
Sylar only smiled at him. „That´s magic." he said and then threw his arm aside, making Nobody fly through the air once again.
But this time Nobody was faster. Instead of landing on the pavement like the first time, he reached out and managed it to grab the parapet. His flight got stopped abruptly and he felt the pain in his shoulder when his muscles got stretched. But he ignored it. Instead he used his other arm to take another grenade out of his pocket. Good old faithful explosives. When Sylar raised his hand to attack him again, he just threw it.
Instead of throwing Nobody onto the street, Sylar had to parry the grenade, so it wouldn´t hit him. It flew into the middle of the street and right in front of a car that had the bad luck to pass by in this moment. The driver steered the wheel in his panic and when his car hit the kerb, it jumped up and broke out, running pinpointed into the parapet … and into Nobody.
The parapet gave way easily and the car dived down the bridge like an Olympian diver. Down on the highway people were already honking their horns in expectation of the inevitable collisions. But it never came that far. Just before the car crushed down into the heavy traffic, something changed its course and guided it past the highway until it landed relatively soft on a grass verge. Cars were hitting the breaks anyway and drove into each other. Barely ten seconds later the highway was blocked and the air filled with honking horns and shouting people.
The driver of the magically saved car, managed it to climb out on his own, just before his legs gave in and he fainted on the grass.
Up on the bridge Sylar looked around to find Nobody. But Nobody was gone. In the distance he could hear sirens approach. It wouldn´t be long before the whole Santa Barbara police would be gathered here. What a great start for his secret mission.
Sylar cursed and hurried to get away before the cops would arrive.
...
Dammit, what a day. First the crime scene with the newest victim, what happened to be a former suspect herself, and now a major crash on the highway, just half a mile away from that said crime scene? Somehow Lassiter couldn´t believe in a coincidence. Especially not since they´d found blood on the bridge from which that car had almost crashed into the highway – enough to think that a cow had been slaughtered there. And certainly not after all these weird statements they had gotten so far. None of them made any sense at all.
Only that they made perfect sense regarded from the right angle. A car that crashed through the railing of the bridge and dived down to the heavy traffic and then didn´t land in it? Hello. If he hadn´t known what a person with an ability could do, he would commit himself to the mental hospital just because of the explanations he was currently considering. But he knew what such a person could do so it was – as strange as it was – totally natural for him to think about these things.
But the thing with the car wasn´t even the strangest thing.
„A witness said she saw some guy ramming his fist through the body of another guy." he read off his notepad and reliable like a Swiss watch, Guster started to gag. Lassiter rolled his eyes and just went on. „Since there was no body on the bridge or anywhere near it, I assume that this didn´t kill the guy." he said, putting the word guy in airquotes. Eventually he packed the notepad away. „I know only one person that can survive such an injury." he spoke out what was on his mind.
„Considering of course that our witness didn´t smoke anything before she came here." Spencer mentioned.
„She´s not known for any drug abuse of any kind." Lassiter stated matter of factly.
Spencer threw him a disturbed face. „You actually checked that?" he cried.
„Of course I did."
„Okay, but what exactly is your suspicion?" O´Hara chipped in. But before he could even say it, she spoke it out herself. „Sylar is dead." she recalled.
„Is he?" Lassiter doubted this statement.
„We all saw him die." Juliet argued, appealing to his sense of reality.
„I saw him dead two times already in my life." Bennet told her, supporting Carlton´s suspicion. „This one doesn´t even count. I´ll never believe he´s dead. Not really."
„I saw this Dr. Suresh at the crime scene this morning." Guster spoke up all the sudden, as if he´d just remembered it.
„What?" Lassiter snapped.
„Dude. Why didn´t you say anything?" Shawn asked, not less shocked over that reveal.
„He said he was in town to visit his family." Gus explained. „Why should I report him? He´s not a suspect."
„Well, now he is." Lassiter lay it down to them after exchanging a glance with Bennet. „Let´s bring him in." he decided. „Maybe he knows something about our old friend Sylar."
„But how do we find him?" Juliet pointed out for consideration. „He´s not a registered citizen of Santa Barbara."
„I can tell you the plate of his car." Gus said.
„Seriously dude?" Shawn cried. „You don´t think of him as a suspect but you memorize his plate?"
„I memorize every plate that could be of interest, Shawn." Gus told his friend.
„Since when?"
„Since we started a certain business that deals with potentially lethal criminal cases."
„What do you mean with potentially lethal?"
„Did you see the bodies so far?"
„You two just stop it." Lassiter shushed the two bantering guys. „Guster, if you have the plate then give it to me." he demanded. „We have a suspect to catch."
...
Mohinder Suresh steered his car through the traffic, clinging to the wheel in a nervous manner. It had been barely an hour since Sylar had hung up on him, but that hour already felt like a week. He had seen the smoke that rose over the buildings barely twenty minutes after the killer had walked off and that had almost send his blood pressure up in the sky. The news now reported about an explosion and a major car crash on the highway. What the hell had Sylar done?
The streetlight went red and he stopped. Additional question: What was he supposte to do now? As if on cue his cell phone started to ring. So help him god, if that was not Sylar … He answered it.
„Yeah."
„It´s me." the familiar voice said.
„What happened?" Mohinder demanded to know. „I saw the smoke of the explosion."
„Be glad that you weren´t there, Mohinder." Sylar told him and he actually sounded exhausted. „This guy is insane."
„Sounds as if you two match pretty good." the scientist was still angry.
„You have no idea what you´re talking about." Sylar replied unimpressed by the cynicism and that alone made Mohinder listen up. „I might be driven by a pathological hunger, but this guy is just mad." Sylar told him. „And I mean really mad. He has no reason for what he´s doing. None whatsoever. He just hates everything and everybody. I think he kinda worshipped me for what I was … but now he hates me too. He cares about nothing, Mohinder. Absolutely nothing."
The anger Mohinder had felt about Sylar only a minute ago was gone, replaced by genuine concern. When even Sylar was shaken by what he´d seen in this man´s eyes, how bad must it be? He opened his mouth to ask him for more information, but before he had a chance to do so, he noticed something on the street before him. There were two police officers in their car in the other street. They were looking at him and one of them spoke something into his radio.
„What the heck …?" he mumbled and looked around if there were any more of them. And indeed there was another police car coming around the corner just in the moment he looked at it. They were not driving fast but it looked suspiciously as if they were heading for him.
„Mohinder?" Sylar asked him confused. „What is it?"
Good question, the geneticist thought to himself.
„Hold the line for a second." he told Sylar and when the streetlight turned green, he steered the car around the bend to see if the police car would follow him. It did.
„Damn." he cursed.
„What is it?" Sylar asked frantically. „Is it Nobody?"
For a moment Mohinder was startled by the concern in Sylar´s voice. It sounded almost paranoid.
„How am I supposte to know that?" Mohinder asked. „I don´t know what he looks like."
„Then what is it?" Sylar demanded to know.
„The police is behind me." Mohinder informed him.
„What do they want?"
Mohinder kept his eyes trained on the black and white in his rearview mirror. That was something he would like to know as well.
„I´ll ask them." he then decided and stopped the car at the curbside.
The police stopped right behind him. Mohinder watched the two men get out and sighed. He was so focused on the two officers behind him that he didn´t notice the two detectives in front of him, until he heard the yell.
„Freeze!" the head detective and current chief of police demanded, his gun pointing at him. „Get out of the car!"
Mohinder jumped and raised his hands in the air.
„Mohinder?" he heard Sylar´s voice out of the cell phone in his hand. „What´s going on?"
The scientist held the phone to his ear, a gesture that didn´t slip the attention of the detectives Lassiter and O´Hara.
„I think they want to arrest me." he informed Sylar.
„What? What for?" the killer cried. „Mohinder."
But this time Mohinder wouldn´t give another answer, not to mention a more detailed explanation. He just finished the call with a short: „I´ve got to go." and hung up.
„Wait." Sylar cried into his end of the phone but the connection was gone. „Mohinder? Moh …" He shut it down in frustration and cursed, hitting his fist on a parked car. „Dammit!"
On the other end of the now finished call, Mohinder Suresh got out of his car to face the angry police detective.
„Is there a problem, detective?" he asked, the impersonated innocence. „Have I been too fast?"
„Funny guy." Lassiter growled. „I have some questions for you."
Mohinder just looked at him waiting. „Ask."
„I want to know where Sylar is." Lassiter demanded. „And don´t you dare to pretend that you don´t know what I´m talking about. Who was that on the phone?"
The scientist held the gaze of the detective stony-faced. Eventually he dropped his eyes in a let´s be reasonable manner.
„Maybe we shouldn´t talk about this in public." he suggested.
„Right." Lassiter agreed with a snarly grin. „You´re coming with us. Mohinder Suresh. You are under arrest. Let´s go."
Mohinder allowed him to lead him to his car, but couldn´t help but had to ask him. „And for what are you arresting me exactly?"
They´d reached the car and Lassiter turned him around, facing this still stoic face of the smart ass Indian guy.
„I can think of something if you like." he hissed. „Now get in the car before I decide that I want to cuff you." With that he shoved him on the backseat and closed the door.
Mohinder leaned back with a sigh. That was definitely not what he´d had in mind when they´d come here to Santa Barbara. How many things could go wrong in such a short time anyway? It didn´t matter. He was pretty sure they´d picked them all.
Halfway on their way to the police station his cell phone started to ring again. He jumped up and took it out to switch it off, but Lassiter was faster.
„Don´t you dare." he warned him after he´d hit the brakes. Behind him horns got honked but the detective was so totally focused on Mohinder and his cell phone by now that he didn´t even take any notice. Only Juliet looked a little shaken by that almost-crash they´d just caused.
„Is that him?" Lassiter demanded to know. „Put it on speaker phone."
Mohinder held his gaze once again with a blank one of his own. The phone in his hand kept ringing.
„Do it or I swear to god, I throw you in a hole that you´ll never leave again." Lassiter threatened.
Mohinder arched one brow but pressed the answer button anyway. „I´m on speaker phone." he spoke bluntly into the closed space of the car, never leaving the detective´s gaze.
Lassiter stared at him in disbelieve and Mohinder could tell that he was so close to draw his gun on him again. Still he didn´t blink. Should he try it.
For a while there was nothing but silence coming from the phone in his hand. But then Sylar´s voice asked: „And who´s with you?"
The reaction in the detectives faces was instantly. Juliet gasped in silence and Lassiter´s gaze went dark.
„Son of a bitch." he cursed. „I knew it." For a moment he tried to stare daggers at Mohinder but then he fixed the cell phone in his hand. „How did you survive, huh?" he asked Sylar.
„I really can´t answer that question, detective." was the calm answer. „Not because I don´t want to. I just don´t know it myself."
„I always knew you would come back here to keep going with your killing spree." Lassiter growled.
„It wasn´t him who did all those things." Mohinder spoked up now. „We just came here yesterday."
„You´re actually defending him now?" Lassiter cried.
„I´m just telling you the truth." the geneticist stated matter of factly. „We came here to help. And I was against it."
„Yeah, as if." Lassiter snorted.
„How do you want to help?" Juliet asked now. „You know the man who did all this?"
„Juliet." Sylar´s voice came from the phone. „It´s so nice to hear your reasonable voice. No, I don´t know him. But I think after my encounter with him, I understand him now."
„Great." Lassiter huffed. „One crazy found the other."
His comment was followed by a pause. „Maybe it would be better to talk about it face to face and not on the phone." Sylar suggested after a while.
Mohinder watched how Lassiter´s face took on that snarly grin again. „Gladly." he said. „Come to the station and I take you in."
Mohinder expected a counterproposal from Sylar, but instead of doing so, the killer surprised not only him by saying: „All right. I´ll come over. Say in half an hour?"
„Sure." Lassiter replied, still speaking through his teeth. „I´m anxious to see you there."
Mohinder couldn´t believe what just happened in front of his eyes. Did Sylar really just agree to turn himself in?
„Are you sure about this?" he asked him uncertain.
„Yes." Sylar answered, not a bit uncertain himself. „Don´t worry, Mohinder. I trust detective Lassiter´s judgement. We´ll talk about it."
Again there was this almost predatory grin on the detective´s face. „Sure, we will." he said.
Mohinder was sure that Sylar had heard the smile in the detective´s voice. He just had to hear it. He was always so good in reading people. But when he spoke again, there was nothing in his voice that indicated any kind of suspicion.
„All right." he simply said. „I see you soon." And with that the phone was disconnected.
...
It was exactly thirty minutes later, almost to the second that the door to the police station was opened and Sylar walked in, just the way he´d promised it. Mohinder was still not ready to believe that this was really happening. Especially since he knew what would come next. It wouldn´t make any difference if he would try to call out for Sylar to watch out, even if he really would have wanted to. Things simply happened much too fast for that.
The killer stepped in through the door. Tasers were fired at him. He went down. And that was pretty much it.
Five of the ten men, Lassiter had assigned to do this tag and bag job, remained in a line where they were. The rest of them jumped forward and surrounded Sylar, their guns drawn and ready to fire in case the target should try to fight. He didn´t. Sylar was out for the count and wouldn´t have been able to struggle, even if he´d wanted to.
The whole thing was over in less than a minute.
