"Some casino." Carter muttered from the car window, the early morning sun making him squint. "I imagine it looked better open?"

"Yea." Tina admitted. "Yea, it did."

Jessica nodded in agreement. "Doesn't matter now though…we need to get in and get those files." She glanced over at Carter. "Think you can get us to the door?"

"I can try." Carter said, pulling the rental car up to the hastily made metal gate. One of the construction workers stepped towards them, glowering at Carter from beneath his hard hat.

"Closed site. Unless you have a badge, you can't come in."

Tina leaned over and whispered in Carter's ear. "What?" She whispered again. "Fine…if it will make you happy." Carter's hand flashed with energy, making the man's mind open to suggestion. "You do not need to see our badges." The man nodded, Tina motioning for Carter to keep going. "These are not the droids you are looking for. We can go about our business, and oh yes, move along."

The man nodded, letting the car through, Carter returning him to normal once they were past. Jessica glared at Tina.

"Cute."

&&&

Paulette couldn't help but smile as she watched Linda direct Hank and Kelly, the two students moving about the kitchen, cleaning up after breakfast. "A woman could get use to this."

Linda shrugged. "Putting up with 3 more mouths then your use too…it means you deserve some pampering."

Paulette waved that comment off. "Linda, you're like family. You and your students, I could never turn you away." She sighed. "It also takes my mind off of D.L…."

Linda let out her own sigh. "I know…damn that Linderman..." Her eyes narrowed. "I'd like to show him a thing or two…"

"Prof. Frey…" Kelly said quickly. Linda looked up in shock to see that, behind Paulette, the water from the sink was currently swirling like a typhoon, forming a watery fist. Closing her eyes, she shook her head, the sound of a splash filling her ears. "Oops."

Paulette clicked her tongue. "I'd stop playin' in that water, sweetheart." Taking in Kelly's drowned-rat impression, the older woman began to laugh. "Why…why don't you go and get cleaned up…I'll help Hank finish."

Kelly nodded, mumbling about "Stupid Moses parting the Red Sea" as she passed Linda, the professor looking at her sheepishly.

"Moses?"

"nothing…just…" Linda stammered, "quoting…Bible verses."

Hank rolled his eyes.

"You have a problem with quoting the Bible?" Paulette asked.

Hank frowned. "Never did anyone any good."

Linda pulled Paulette close, whispering so Hank couldn't hear her. "don't mind him. After…after we lost Carter…Hank kinda lost faith in God. Thinks his prayers went unanswered."

Paulette took a slow breath. "The boy is hurting."

"We all are." Linda admitted. "Hank…Hank's just taking it harder then the rest of us." The professor heaved a sigh. "He and Carter use to fight…you could call them enemies. Towards the very end though…they ended up becoming friends."

Paulette glanced at Hank as he dried a dish. "We can not blame God for our woes. I have suffered alot during my life. D.L.'s father left us. I have watched my son go to jail for a crime he did not commit. I can not be with my grandson because his mother is threatened by my presence." She shook her head. "Niki…I know you were friendly with her, Linda, but you have to admit…the girl is not suited to be a mother."

"Uh…I don't…"

"She doesn't know how to raise a child. She lets Micah do what he wants, she doesn't nurture his intelligence, and she is constantly making stupid mistakes. Did you know she borrowed money from Linderman? That's why she had to start that horrid website."

Linda frowned, eyes flashing. "Linderman?"

"Yes…used it to get Micah into a private school, only they kicked him out 2 months later."

"How much money did she borrow?" Linda asked, needing to know.

"10,000, I think."

"Pricey prep school." Linda muttered.

Paulette rolled her eyes. "Niki donated the money to them…thought it would help get Micah in. That dean used her like the fool she is…caused all the trouble with D.L. and New York." Linda paused, taking that in, while Paulette glanced back at Hank. "Linda…would you mind terribly taking Kelly and going off somewhere…I'd like to talk to Hank in private."

"Sure." Linda said absent-mindedly. "Sure."

Heading out of the kitchen, leaving Hank to whatever fate awaited him, Linda moved towards the front door, grabbing Kelly by the arm as she entered the foyer and dragging her outside.

"Hey hey hey!" Kelly shouted. "Where the hell are you dragging me."

"To a school." Linda said sternly, letting go of Kelly and focusing her eyes to the west.

Kelly scratched her head. "To finish our higher education?"

A fire hydrant exploded.

"To raze it." Linda snarled.

&&&

"I'm going to look around…make sure there aren't any guards lurking around." Carter held up a cell phone. "Call me if you need me."

"Yes mom." Tina muttered, focused on melting through the steel. Galatea was pounding on another section that had already stopped melting, melt slowly turning inward. "We'll call you when we finish with the hard work."

Carter shook his head, leaving his office and moving down a hallway. "Lets see…Linderman is a gangster…kidnapped my baby girl…my baby girl is poor. Should I steal something…and sell it…and give Vally the profits, then that isn't bad. I'll be like Robin Hood." He glanced at his reflection in a mirrored elevator door. "Yea…I'm not buying it…" His hand glowed. "And I doubt even whammying myself will do any good."

"That it wouldn't!" Carter whipped around, eyes narrowing as he took in the old man that was standing before him. Gray hair pulled back in a pony tail, deep dark eyes staring at him beneath bushy eyebrows and under deep bags. The old man chuckled, shaking his head. "You can try and use that power against me, my boy…but you will find that those of our level are…oh, not immune, but…well, durable. Better conditioned against other powers." He grinned. "And that is merely at your age…when you have lived as long as I…or those you will soon face…you will find that the powers others are blessed with become more and more like a simply a…nuisance."

Carter remained tense. "Who are you, old man?"

"Heaven isn't the only one that watches you with interest." The old man said simply. "Your friends are discovering that."

&&&

"One…more…punch!" Galatea shouted, slamming her fist through the metal…and yanking out a file folder. "Ha ha!"

Tina grinned. "YES!" Galatea snarled, fingers digging into the metal, and ripped the door free, leaving the file room exposed. "Everything…everything we need."

"Correction" The two women turned, finding themselves joined by two more women and a man. The first woman wore a black tank top and tight jeans, obviously the leader of the small group. The other woman was a leather vest, held together by safety pins, ripped jeans and those face portrayed a sense of playful anger. The man wore a skintight t-shirt and jeans, and was leaning against a wall. "Everything we need."

Galatea frowned, eyes flashing as Jessica took control. "That's nice, die now." She picked up the steel door and flung it at the three. Her look of victory cracked as BeeBee took the hit, grinning before she sent the door back at them, slamming it into Jessica.

Tina held up her hand, focusing as she forced the acid to fire from her palms, spraying at Riker. The male assassin's body wiggled out of the way, moving like Jell-O, leaving only Ashleigh. Their leader instantly split into two, the General Clone reforming instantly.

"The Company?" Tina asked.

Ashleigh didn't respond. "Get the papers…kill anyone in our path."

Riker and BeeBee nodded, slowly making their way towards Tina and Jessica.

&&&

"When's Ca-ter coming back?" Vally asked for the twelth time.

"I don't know." Madrid said, rubbing her temples. Since Carter, Tina and Galatea had left that morning, Vally had been a nervous little ball of energy, demanding to know when they would get back…mainly Carter. For Madrid, it made trying to keep the toddler happy that much harder.

Lee leaned against a foam pillar, watching Vally play in the ball pit of McDonalds. "Hopefully soon." He shook his head. "Should have gone with them."

"They can handle themselves, I think." Sergei said, seated in a booth, coffee in hand. "Super strength, acid…whatever it is the Metatron can do…they should have little trouble."

Lee frowned. "Can't help but feel like something is wrong." He shifted, heading over to the large window and staring out at Sin City.

"See Ca-ter?" Vally asked.

"No." Lee muttered. "I'll let you know." Vally considered this, before going back to the balls, sorting them by color as best she could.

Madrid sat down next to Sergei, taking her own coffee and getting a sip. The Russian watched Vally for a moment, before speaking. "She is attached to Metatron, isn't she?"

"Yea…Carter's her hero."

"And how does Carter view her?"

"He's nice to her…humors her…"

Sergei drew a design with some spilt sugar on the tabletop. "I am not to sure." He paused. "Forgive me for saying this…but I worked as a lawyer for many years. I have tried many cases…and seen many evils." He glanced at Vally. "I have seen this."

"Seen what?"

"The makes of…a dangerous relationship."

Madrid frowned. "What…you think Carter's some pedophile?"

Sergei shook his head. "I do not know…he is unnaturally attached to the girl. He has wormed his way into her life. He doesn't know her…yet he does so much for her. I do not see any other reason for it."

"Carter isn't like that."

"How do you know? Have you ever talked with him?" Madrid was ashamed to admit she hadn't. Her focus had been on Vally…on what had happened…this talk with Sergei was one of the rare conversations with a member of their group she'd had since they'd escaped. "You and I…we are perhaps the only two here without questionable pasts. Lee admits to robbing the US Mint. This Galatea…has shown a violent streak I would not like to cross. Tina is the daughter of Daniel Linderman…the man that personally kidnapped me and had m tortured in that place." The Russian leaned in closer yet. "And what do we know of this Metatron? He tells us nothing…he can manipulate people's minds…he disappears for hours only to reappear as if nothing happened. How can we know what any of them want." Sergei gently touched Madrid's hand. "Think about what has happened…then…we will talk."

As Sergei got up, Lee brushed past him. "They've been gone too long…I'm going after them."

Vally grinned. "me too!"

Madrid caught her before she could run after Lee. "No…we stay here."

"NO!" Vally shouted, squirming. "Help Ca-ter!"

Madrid and Sergei shared a look.

&&&

Carter turned, hearing the sounds of battle. "Tina…Galatea…"

"Ignore them." The old man said. "There are more important things to worry about."

Carter frowned. "I doubt that." He said, getting ready to go. "Stop me if you want to…" He warned.

"Have you not wondered…why you?" The old man asked. "Have you not wondered why you were chosen for this fate?" Carter didn't say a word, though he did stop walking. "You know of only a handful of your relatives. Claire Bennet, The House of Ellis. But my boy…you are much more then that." The old man took a step forward. "You are known as The Last Scion. Seth told you this."

"You know Seth?"

"I am his teacher…his employer." The old man said. "He stated you were the Scion of two powerful households…but it is more then that…a third dwells in your veins…one marked for greatness." The old man shook his head. "Isaiah was a powerful man. A hero to many. But he was not complete. Only his Heir, one of another bloodline, would stand the chance of claiming his place. Tell me…has no one told you of Isaiah's story?"

&&&

"This is almost too easy." Riker said, taunting Jessica to punch him. He continued to contort his body, even as the woman destroyed the office with her thrashing. Tina was trying to stop BeeBee, her best plan being to melt holes in the floor and trying to trick BeeBee to fall down one.

It wasn't a good plan…but it was her best.

Ashleigh was in the vault, looking over the files in interest, slowly committing them to memory. The piece of Micah Saunders was particularly interesting.

"Stand still you freak!" Jessica shouted.

Riker frowned, elongated neck twisting around her. "Who you calling a freak?" His body snapped back to meet his head as he dodged another punch. "Atleast I know how to use my powers."

Jessica cried out, shattering a desk and sending bits of wood at BeeBee, who merely reflected them back. "Ashleigh…can we finish this? Its rather sad."

Ashleigh shrugged. "Why not. Riker…kill the girl."

"Love to, boss." He said with a laugh, wrapping around Jessica, strangling the air from her lungs, pulsing and tightening like a snake. Tina tried to help her out, but BeeBee was blocking all her shots. "Next stop, hell." Riker whispered in her ear as Jessica began to slow.

BUUUUUUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Ashleigh's head snapped up. "What the…"

A swarm of locust enveloped the room, forcing the three to back away from Jessica and Tina. The two women looked up at their savior, grinning.

"Lee." Jessica whispered.

Lee nodded, before calling the swarm of clone-locust back. "Alright…who was hurting my girl…" His voice trailed off as he stared at Ashleigh, who returned his startled look.

"You." She said, anger and shock in her voice. "The boy in my dreams…"

Lee shivered, growing pale, as he looked on the face he thought he'd never see again. "Mom?"

&&&

In the coming weeks…

A guardian will make a choice

A warrior will walk away

A fallen hero will appear

Bloodlines will be uncovered

An enemy will rise

And a traitor will be revealed

And even if a writer's strike ends HEROES prematurally…ELSEWHERE will live on

For The Heroes War…has just begun

But next week…

While HEROES journeys to the past 4 months…

(We see a figure walking through a deserted western town)

Journey back…

(The figure looks up…)

100 years ago

(and we see an older looking man that looks just like Carter)

Man: The name is Isaiah Sylvester Ellis…and I hear you have a bandit problem

ELSEWHERE

Author's Note:Augh. My stupidity knows no bounds. First, I forget to change my VCR's clock, so I missed Family Guy. Then, I forgot to program Heroes. So, it is off to reading the plot summarizes…which is why, if there was Mohinder intros in the show, there is none in this chapter for now.