"…if it weren't for the strangeness I'd already seen…" Gabriel muttered, Carter having just finished telling his tale. "Different…yet similar…" He struggled to comprehend exactly what he had heard. "A different life…a different world. Are you saying that…all of this isn't real? That I'm merely a killer that has forgotten his true self?"
Tina shook her head. "He might be saying that, but it would be wrong." She quickly began drawing a diagram. "I've always wanted to chart the flow of time and space, but never found the time." She paused. "Finding a cure for cancer seemed more important."
Madrid leaned over towards Claire. "Is she serious?"
"Your lover might be a comedian, but she never lies about her smarts." Claire answered.
"Please don't call her my lover." Madrid whimpered.
"What do you mean, wrong?" Carter questioned.
The group found themselves once more back where they had begun the morning: the Gray Mansion. The fact that Carter lived in the Gray Family Mansion was only overshadowed by the fact that, in this world, he was Carter Gray, son of Gabriel.
In the eyes of the law, of course.
Gabriel, Audrey, Claire and Tina had given Carter and Madrid the run down, Vally off exploring the home. In this world, Carter had been adopted by Nathan Petrelli, who had never abandoned Meredith Gordan. Thus, Carter had grown up Carter Petrelli, heir to the Petrelli fortune.
However, much to Carter's surprise, in the world the fact that humans had powers was common knowledge, and superheroes, for this reality, were the norm…or, at least they had been.
"Adam Monroe, The Last Hero, as he liked to be called, hunted down all the superheroes that had arisen during the 60s." Audrey had informed them "He went on a brutal spree, murdering over 20 heroes and their families…including your parents, Madrid." Carter had wrapped his arms around his wife as she sobbed through the rest of the tale, of how Arthur Petrelli, Daniel Linderman and of all people, Merrick Delpine, had united to defeat Adam and finally kill him. After that dark day, all the heroes had retired, and the world had gone without protectors for 20 years. Madrid had been adopted by Daniel and become Tina's sister, the two becoming close and, after a period, lovers.
"We were tired of watching the world and not taking a part in it." Tina had explained. "So we decided to get off the bench."
The Amazons had been born. A group of young women, all with powers, joined in their mission to use their abilities to protect their city, Los Angles. They had been active for months…then Azreal had shown up.
"The night of that fire, you said you died, Carter. Born from the ashes was Azreal, the Angel of Death." Carter had listened on in growing horror at the tale; how as a young man he had been caught in a house fire and nearly burned to death, his own adopted father refusing to fly in and save him. Gabriel had found him, and taken him to Linderman, who had healed Carter of his wounds. But the scars on his soul had never gone away. Carter had sworn to murder those that failed to use their powers to save others, and Azreal had been born. Gabriel, seeing the wisdom in Carter's idea of a new type of hero, had joined with him, and eventually adopted the young man as his own son.
Others, like Nathan himself, seeking to redeem himself for the 'death' of his son, would become heroes to both protect the world and stop men like Carter, who they felt went over the line.
And thus the new age of superheroes had begun.
"Still doesn't explain how Tina ended up naked in our bed." Madrid finally stated, the others watching as Tin worked on her chart. "Or why Claire is here, or Vally being around…or how any of this came about…"
Carter held up a hand. "Time for that later…Tina, what did you mean before, about this reality?"
"This isn't an altered timeline." She stated, holding up her graph. "Anyone hear of the Mulitverse Theory?" At the blank looks, she sighed. "Ok, it goes like this…Chaos theory states that small changes can cause major changes…you go through one door and you life, the other you die. Well, everything we do causes a choice like that…and every time we make any decision, we cause 2 alternate paths. Multiverse Theory states that this causes dimensions to split in two. We our still ourselves…it is you, Carter, that is different."
Madrid frowned. "What exactly happened that cause this alternate universe to be created?'
Audrey grinned. "I think I just figured it out." She pushed a book over to them. "The world is similar…the United States, Civil War….so I figured we needed to look at the key difference: Powers." She pointed to a picture. The image showed The World's Fair in New York, at the dawn of the 20th century. Featured, front and center, were two figures engaged in battle, both wounded. "This is the moment when the world learned of you all."
"Derek." Carter whispered, staring at the man.
"Marie." Madrid echoed. "When Derek blew…he sent the two of them back in time."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Carter and Madrid shared a look. "Vally."
^&^&^&^
"…no wonder she screamed." Madrid muttered.
Carter nodded. "Must have given her a heart attack."
Gabriel frowned. "Am I missing something?"
The room before them was Vally's…or the Vally of this new dimension.
A room filled with Dora the Explorer items.
Bedsheets, posters, dolls, rugs, tvs…everywhere was Dora, Dora, Dora.
Claire raised an eyebrow. "What the big deal…the room's filled with Vally's favorite stuff."
Carter and Madrid shared a look, rolling their eyes.
"Where is Vally?" Tina questioned.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Vally screamed, her pink Metatron form bursting from around the corner of the hall, a baseball bat in her hands. She dove at the room swinging…
…only for Carter to snatch the bat from her hands.
"Daddy!" Vally screamed in protest.
Carter shook his head. "Vally, no."
"Yes, daddy! Bad room!"
"No." Carter said sternly.
Vally couldn't believe it. Her daddy was the pushover, not the one that told her no! "Yes! Dora must die!"
"I said no!" Carter snapped, his own flames bursting out, causing Gabriel, Audrey and Claire to jump back. Madrid placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling the rage in his whammy flames. He took a breath, calming all those around him.
Vally stood tall…for about 5 seconds. Her flames flickered down as she crumpled to the floor, holding her head up and letting out a wail, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. Madrid gathered the toddler in her arms, rocking her back and forth as Vally sobbed.
"Wanna go home, mama!" Vally cried. "Wanna go home! There's Dora…and Sylar…" She hiccupped, "And daddy's mean! Wanna go home mama…" She nuzzled her face into Madrid's shoulder. "Please…go home…"
Madrid cooed softly, rubbing the girl's back. She turned, locking eyes with Carter, her message clear.
Carter turned to Gabriel. "I could care less how I ended up here…I need to figure out how to get us back." His eyes narrowed as he spun towards Tina. "Got any thoughts?"
Tina shook her head. "I'm super smart, but no one is writing about this sort of stuff, meaning I have nothing to learn. We need an expert…a time travel master."
Carter nodded. "Hiro." He turned to Gabriel and Audrey. "Where is Hiro Nakamura?"
Claire glowered. "Why would you ever want to talk to that asshole?"
"Claire…" Gabriel warned, "Carter, the Hiro you know and the Hiro here…the thing is…"
Carter grit his teeth. "I could care less if he is Hitler in this dimension. I need to get my family home. I need to lay my daughter down in her room, surrounded by the pictures and decoration her mother and father chose to guard her as she sleeps. I need to return her to a home that she knows, to the friends and family who know her…love her. " He leaned in close. "And more than that…I need to get your son and his family back, wherever they have gone. It isn't right for you to stare into the eyes of a man who wear's your son's face. Please…Gabriel…help me."
Gabriel looked at him, sorrow filling his dark eyes. "You aren't going to like what you see."
"I have made a life of facing horrors no one should witness…what's one more upon the tally?"
^&^&^&^
(London)
Claude Raines rushed through the hall, just managing to avoid a maid, pivoting on his heel and doing a little spin before he finally got back on course. In the room to his right he could hear the lady of the house singing as she took her evening shower, her assistant Caitlin's Irish vocals complimenting her perfectly.
However, Claude had business with the master of the house.
Entering the bedroom, he found his boss taking off his suit, his assistant Ricky going through the itinerary for the next day.
"And at 10 am you have tea with Queen Diana." Ricky stated, before noticing Claude standing there.
"I am sorry Ricky, but I need to speak with…"
"Of course." Ricky stated. "I'll just see if my sis is done singing to the angels." He took his leave, Claude finding himself alone with the master of the house.
"Sir…you know that matter you asked me to look into?" The man said nothing. "It happened…just a few hours ago. Mr. Prime Minister…Carter Daniels just appeared on our radar."
^&^&^&^
(Carter and Gabriel- Nevada State Prison)
Carter looked around the prison, not believing the situation he found himself in. Here he was, walking with Gabriel Gray, dressed all in black (which wasn't too different from normal, expect for the Azreal-superhero-or-villian costume Gabriel and Tina had forced him to wear under his clothing before leaving), walking through a supervillain prison that was filled with evil men and women…several of them he knew all to well…
"Come to observe the freaks, Detective?" The warden said with a smirk.
Gabriel grinned, flashing his badge, causing Carter to shake his head. "In this world, the serial killer is a detective…" he glanced at the warden, "and my Communications teacher is head of supervillain Sing Sing."
Warden Linda Fray shot Gabriel a look. "What's up with your son and his mumbling?"
Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Hit his head…acting stupid…very stupid." He smacked Carter on the back of the head, giving him a warning glance. "And yes, I need to talk to one of the freaks…your model prisoner."
Linda nodded. "Oh goodie…the chatter box." She led them down the hall, Carter watching as people he knew from his files on the Company glaring at him from their glass cells. In one, the Haitian licked his lips, running a finger along his throat. In another…
"That's Peter Petrelli!" Carter hissed, pointing to the man in a complex and almost futuristic looking straight jacket.
Gabriel nodded. "The Great White Hope?" He chuckled. "Yeah…he's an evil bastard. Killed 50 people to try and find a way to get a power…enraged that he was the only one in the family that didn't get one." Gabriel nudged Carter to keep him moving. "And before you begin feeling sorry for him…as I can only assume in your world he was a good guy…he's the one that set your house on fire those years back…he's the one that nearly killed you, then tried to rape Claire and Madrid before they fought back…and then tried to go after Vally."
Carter's eyes began to glow.
"That's my boy…but now is not the time." Gabriel whispered. Linda turned a corner, Peter no longer in their sights. "That's how Linda got this job, by the way…she was Peter's boss at the hospital, and helped us figure out it was him that was killing people using your method. We…and by we I mean you, me, Tina's father and a few others in our circle, got with Nathan's group and decided she would be the best to help us."
"How fun." Carter muttered as they stopped before a cell. "This is?"
Gabriel nodded. "Yup." He turned to Linda. "You mind if the kid…"
"Who am I to argue with the great Sylar and Azreal?" She asked, taking her leave.
"Is there anyone who doesn't know I'm a murdering superhero?" Carter muttered.
Gabriel ignored him, keying in the access code and leading Carter inside. Within the cell sat a Japanese man, dressed in a white shirt and cotton pants, his feet bare. He looked up and gave them a grin.
^&^&^&^
Outside the prison, several vans pulled up, men in SWAT gear piling out. The head of the group pulled out a walkie talkie and turned it to the right frequency.
"Dr. Suresh…we're here."
^&^&^&^
"Hello Detective." He stated.
Carter frowned. "This isn't Hiro Nakamura."
Gabriel shook his head. "No it is not."
The man held out a hand. "Ando, pleased to finally meet the great detective's son."
Carter ignored the hand. "Who the hell is Ando?"
Gabriel shrugged. "The man that killed Hiro."
^&^&^&^
To Be Continued…
^&^&^&^
And now, scenes from the upcoming season of Elsewhere
(We see Carter standing on top of a building)
Carter: And within that mirror I saw another world
(We see a grinning Carter wrap his arms around Tina and Madrid)
Carter: And the faces were those I knew but did not
(We see Carter throwing on the Azreal hood as Dr. Suresh's men storm the prison.)
Carter: And the places were those I knew but did not
(We see Nathan flying in the sky, right towards Madrid who is dressed in her dark superhero costume)
Carter: And the artifacts were those I knew but did not
(We see Hiro Nakamura's grave)
Carter: And as I saw these images, I questioned…
(We zoom down the building towards a puddle of water)
Carter: Who is the real one…
(We enter the puddle and pull back up to reveal Azreal looking down at his image, which has taken the shape of Carter)
Carter: and who is the reflection?
Elsewhere
Volume 5
Redemption
^&^&^&^
Mr. Chaos is now on Facebook! Simply look for Kevin Allen (I'm the blonde one from Michigan).