Chapter 16- Problem Solved
Peter showed Sylar how to operate the door and pointed out the various amenities just as Chekov had done for him although he knew Sylar wouldn't appreciate a second of it. "I can show you the cafeteria. You must be hungry by now."
Sylar slowly turned and looked at Peter quizzically. Did he just ask him out to dinner? "I don't think so, Pete." He sneered. "I would rather starve to death."
"That could take awhile." Peter deadpanned.
"Exactly." Sylar retorted pointing at the door for him to leave.
Peter sighed and left as he was asked. As he made his way down the empty halls he was reminded of the story about the frog and the scorpion. The scorpion asked the frog to carry him across the river because he couldn't swim. The frog refused saying the scorpion would just sting him. The scorpion laughed and said if he did that, they would both drown so he promised not to. The frog got about halfway across the river before the scorpion stung him. As the frog sank he asked the scorpion why he did it to which he said 'because it is my nature' Peter was starting to think that it didn't matter how much patience and kindness he showed Sylar, he would always be stung for his efforts. The elevator opened and he smiled at Mohinder and Chekov. "Where you guys headed?" He asked stepping inside.
"I'm not sure." Mohinder laughed nervously. "I feel like I am going to see the Wizard of Oz."
"Ve are going to the bridge so you can see vhat ve found." Chekov reminded him. "About the project."
"What project?" Peter inquired with a squint.
"The project that ve think your brother vas involved in to make you all disappear." He said quietly. He didn't want to sound too accusatory, but he also thought he should answer the question. To his relief, Peter didn't seem insulted in the slightest nor did he seem at all surprised.
Mohinder stepped onto the bridge and gasped slightly at all of the technology that blinked and shone with bright white light around him. Chekov let him get an eyeful before gently directing him to his station where Noah and Matt waited. Scotty had made way for them and stood quietly talking with Sulu and Uhura.
"Mohinder, what can you make of this?" Noah asked casually.
The geneticist scanned the information that flowed across the screen and smiled lightly. "It is a mapping of the human genome." He pointed at various bits of the diagram currently on display and added, "This is an X chromosome, the long arm. Was this meant to be a quiz?"
Noah didn't even smile at his joke and instead asked in a serious tone, "Does X-PAR mean anything to you?"
"Um…..no." He thought quickly. "Is it supposed to?" He looked back at the screen that trolled with band markers and their associated functions.
"We were hoping it would." Matt sighed. "Whatever this is, it seems to have something to do with a secret program that Nathan was running."
"You think he was doing genetic research?" Mohinder asked skeptically. "What for?"
"To kill us." Peter answered folding his arms across his chest. "He was never any good at science so he wasn't doing it for his own interests."
"Can you take a closer look at this so we can have a better idea of how this fits into the bigger picture?" Noah requested.
"Of course." Mohinder agreed. Chekov loaded the file onto his PADD and gave it to him to examine.
"You guys have been working hard up here all day." Jim announced stretching. "Why don't you all clock out and get some rest. It will all still be here tomorrow."
Everyone but Peter, Noah, and Jim managed to cram onto the turbolift to go to the cafeteria. While they were waiting, Peter asked Noah, "So how is Hiro? Is he well enough to go back yet?" When Noah looked at him confused Peter laughed. "Oh come on. Don't tell me you didn't plan on going back to look for Claire."
"I did." He reluctantly admitted. "But I can't ask Hiro to make another trip, not yet. Something tells me Dr. McCoy might have something to say about that."
"Now you're getting it." Jim laughed. "Trust me, you do not want to piss off Bones. Not that this is in any way my business, but I have a suggestion. If I was in your shoes, I would move heaven and hell to go back to get my daughter. Right now Hiro can't do that, but Peter could." His eyes twinkled mischievously.
"He has a point." Peter shrugged. "I could just take it from Hiro and go get her. You know that the longer we wait the slimmer her chances."
"And what if you go back and get caught?" Noah protested. "I don't know that you should be off the ship with Sylar walking around."
"He's fine." Peter stated with authority. When Noah raised his eyebrows, he caved. "I know because I read his mind, ok? In fact he is a little freaked out by this whole situation and he is trying to spend his time figuring out how it all works."
"That's what I am afraid of." Noah groaned.
"It will buy me enough time to go back." Peter persisted. "I will be back before you know it." Noah hated himself for letting Peter play on his emotions, but nothing was more precious to him than his Claire Bear.
It didn't take Sylar long to figure out the replicator in his room which was fortunate because the last thing he had to eat was ice cream who knew how long ago. He stuck with something simple and had a bowl of wonton soup. While he sat utterly alone in his room his mind wandered to places he wished it wouldn't go.
All he could think about was the fine line between life and death. More precisely how long his life would be and how much he just wanted to die. It was no secret that he had attempted suicide in his watch shop after he had killed his first victim. He didn't want to be a monster, he just wanted to be special.
Just being present so far in the future reminded him of how much time he had to look forward to once he went back and he simply didn't want to wander the Earth that long. He had only had his powers for about three years and already he was growing weary of running. Life had no meaning anymore and he took no pleasure in anything. For the first time since that fateful day in the shop, he began to seriously ponder the possibility of successfully ending his life.
It wasn't like anyone would miss him. After all he had done there was no one to mourn him and in some respects that didn't bother him. He had been so alone for so long he had forgotten what it was like to have that kind of dependency on another. He couldn't kid himself, the only reason Noah brought him was to use as a lab rat. It wasn't for some lofty humanitarian purpose. He looked around the sterile white room and felt claustrophobic. He was being held in a tin can and he just couldn't stand having his freedom limited.
Although his regenerative ability ensured his survival, he knew the one surefire way to short circuit it. It would be messy, but it would get the job done. Now he just had to figure out a means.
Down in sickbay, Spock and McCoy poured over the hundreds of data points they had gathered looking for any kind of a pattern that could be remotely interpreted as abnormal. "Muscle response is within normal range, neurological functioning is intact, not even so much as dilated pupils." McCoy summed with an exasperated sigh. "These people look like you and…well they look like me at least."
Spock let the insult slide and continued analyzing the data in silence for quite some time until finally he muttered, "Fascinating."
For as long as McCoy had known the Vulcan he knew this to be code for 'Hot damn!' and he perked up immediately. "What? What did you find?" He asked anxiously.
"I believe I have found an anomaly within the data gathered on their brain waves." He responded trying to keep his excitement in check. "In every instance, when Sylar engaged one of his abilities, there was a slight but statistically significant increase of beta waves indicating increased alertness or concentration."
"Ok…" McCoy hummed looking through Peter's data.
"Furthermore, at the initial action of an ability there were bursts of gamma waves. This may represent the formation of different populations of neurons into a network for the purpose of carrying out the desired cognitive or motor function. If we can correlate the location of these bursts with specific actions we may have a mechanism."
McCoy chuckled as he confirmed Spock's findings.
Peter ate his tuna sandwich in silence while he planned his strategy. For some reason, Sulu sat across from him and would look away every time he glanced up. Uhura also seemed to be avoiding eye contact as well, but Scotty was peppering him with one question after another until he begged fatigue and asked politely to be left alone.
"Are you ok, Peter?" Hiro asked concerned when he abruptly got up to leave.
Peter smiled down at his friend and gave him a pat on the back. "I will be fine, Hiro. I am just a little tired." He felt bad about lying to him and worse yet surreptitiously stealing his power, but sometimes things just didn't go the way you wanted them to. It was better he go than risk Hiro's health. He glanced at Noah and gave an imperceptible nod. As soon as he was alone, he closed his eyes and vanished without a trace.