(The World's Fair: The Dawn of the 20th Century)
Had anyone looked between the booths and away from the ferris wheel, they would have witnessed a strange sight. Out of thin air appeared a motley crew: A bald British man, his stunning wife, a Hispanic woman showing way too much skin, cradling a toddler wearing full pink, a brother and sister in matching leather dusters, and a seemingly drugged out Japanese guy.
"We at the right time?" Carter asked.
Malcolm's eyes went white as he focused. "Chaos lines say we are 2 minutes from the arrival."
"Ok…so what do we need to do?" Sarah asked.
"We need to get to Derek and Marie." Malcolm stated. "Madrid, I think you can heal him if we get him to you…you'll need to regrow his heart. Vally, we need you to amp his healing factor. Between the two of you, you should be able to get him all better." Malcolm turned to Sarah. "We need you to watch Hiro…keep whammy blasting him and he should remain down for the count."
Sarah gave him a curt nod.
"Carter…"
Carter's eyes glowed silver. "I finish what Marie and I started."
"What will you be doing, Malcolm?" Ellie asked.
Malcolm frowned. "I need to make sure that our worlds divide correctly…the chaos lines are telling me just how to do that…a few seemingly random events, and we get our alternate selves out of our heads." He smiled at Ellie. "Stick with Sarah, she'll protect you."
Winds began to pick up.
"I need to get going…" Malcolm called out, "…we have to get this right. Carter…bring the rain."
"Huh?"
Malcolm shrugged. "Just…always wanted to say that." He took off in a dead run as purple lightning began to spark around them.
"Eden, you got a grip on Hiro?"
"Yeah." Sarah stated.
Carter grinned as he ignited his body, then went into his ascended Metatron form. "Good…here they come!"
The sky above them crackled, a tear in the fabric of space and time appearing above them as Marie and Derek made their grand appearance. While before, in the merged timeline, the two had fallen to Earth and died, now they found themselves greeted by Carter, who wrapped on hand around Marie's throat as he threw Derek into the waiting arms of Madrid.
"Lets chat." Carter snapped, as he rocketed into the night sky.
^&^&^&^
"What's wrong?"
The little girl looked at the strange man, her tears momentarily forgotten as she took a step away from him, frightened. His shaved head was covered with a knit hat, his dark eyes like black diamonds.
"N…nothing?"
The man's smile, however, was kind. "It's alright." He said, kneeling down, his british accent sounding funny. She giggled, despite herself. "What's got ya all said, little bit?"
The girl sniffed, laughter forgotten as she remembered what had brought her to tears. "The butterfly."
She pointed to the tall corner of a booth, where a butterfly had become ensnared in a spider's web. The spider in the web was a hideous black thing, big and digusting.
"Mama said we couldn't help her…that the butterfly was going to die."
The man shook his head. "No offense, little bit…but you mum is wrong." Moving away from her, he reached up with his bare hand and gently pulled the butterfly, and part of the web, away from the booth. As he did so, the spider darted forward, biting him on the hand. "Bloody h-" he paused. "-heck." He amended.
"Did it hurt?" The little girl asked.
Malcolm nodded. "But it was worth it." He pulled away a bit of the web, and the butterfly fluttered away. "See, little bit…butterfly is free…not doomed."
"But you got hurt." The little girl pointed out.
"It was worth it though…" He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sometimes, in this world, you have to let yourself get hurt…to save someone else." He stood up, brushing his pants clean of dirt. "Now…go find your mum and tell her to good news."
The little girl toddled off, and Malcolm shook his head in amusement.
^&^&^&^
"You think you can beat me?" Marie snarled as she and Carter hurdled through the air.
"In a heart beat. I beat you down once, and now…you are so below my attention."
Marie fired all her manipulating powers into Carter's skull. "I am going to kill you…I am going to make you scream and cry." Her breathing become more labored. "I will make you beg…beg for death…you…" She panted. "You…"
"Hard…to breath?" Carter managed to get out. "Thin atmosphere…thin air…and soon…none. I can heal, bitch…can you?" Madrid shivered, ice forming in her hair as they rushed through a cloud of moisture. "That is the blood freezing in your veins you are feeling. Hurts…doesn't it." He grimaced his skin began to lose its glow. "This…is for trying…to hurt…my…family…" Carter's skin went normal as his heart stopped beating, his blood coming to a standstill as his lungs took in their last breath. Marie had died moments earlier, still grasped in his death grip. Their rise finally came to an end, the two hovering a bit, before than began to fall once more.
Carter's eyes snapped opened moments later as his body began to superheat, his skin on fire in a whole new way. He let out a scream as he felt himself ignite, the ice shattering as it gave away to terrible heat of reentry.
Holding out his hand, Carter fired off a whammy blast, using his personal fire to slow his descent. His blackened skin began to heal as he controlled his fall, getting it to a manageable speed.
He almost sobbed with relief when he felt his body collide with someone else.
"Had to be the hero, huh?" Derek muttered, holding out his hand and creating a tear. They fell through, finding themselves on the ground, a new hole dumping them feet away from the rest of his group. Derek set Carter down, looking at Marie's mangled form. "Well…I'd say it was tragic, but I'd be lying." He looked at the assembled group. "Do I even want to know what happened?"
Ellie shrugged. "You went boom, altered the world, we jumped into your vortex."
Derek held up a hand. "I'm caught up. You guys remained dominate in the merged universe, and now I need to split things…" He paused, grinning as she saw Sarah. "Sarah…good to see you…guess I need to make sure you come with us." He focused, the air around him shimmering. "Ok kids…lets get started."
Before any of them could react, A new vortex opened, taking them in.
^&^&^&^
When Carter opened his eyes, he found himself…staring at himself.
"Get the hell up." The other Carter stated. "God…am I really such a lightweight?"
"Azreal." Carter grunted.
Other Carter smirked. "The Metatron."
Other Madrid smirked, wrapping an arm around her husband's waist. "Leave the poor boy alone…he can't help it if he comes from a universe of cream puffs."
Madrid glared at her other self. "I can rip a car in two…want to try me?"
"Enough!" Derek called out. The group of now 12 all looked at him, finally noticing where they were. They were all…hovering…in a world of purple lightning…a tempest tat raged around them silently. "We only have a few minutes…don't you all maybe want to share some information…ask about your lives and the differences?"
Vally floated to her doppelganger. "You like Dora?"
Other Vally frowned. "You don't like Dora?"
The two stared at each other before turning to their respective fathers.
"Daddy, this Vally is crazy!" The both shouted.
"Yes…yes she is." The Carters stated as one.
"This is freaky." The Madrids said together.
Malcolm and Other Malcolm shook their heads.
"Bloody idiots." Malcolm whispered.
"So uncivilized." Other Malcolm said with a rich upper class accent.
The Ellies just rolled their eyes.
Sarah turned to Derek. "Ok, we are done here."
Derek nodded, opening a vortex. "This one will take you to your dimension. From what I can tell, Malcolm has made sure everything is as we left it…"
"I did kill Peter Petrelli, though. And the Human's First Group." Carter called out.
Other Carter gave him a mocking salute. "Then I guess you weren't so useless afterall."
Carter gave his other self the finger as he entered the vortex. "I hate myself…and that will lead to years of therapy."
Derek clapped Carter on the shoulder. "For all of us…for all of us."
^&^&^&^
(Marie's Stronghold...Carter Daniel's Universe)
The group groaned, heads throbbing as they slowly awoke. They could hear cheering, people moving about them…and then suddenly found themselves being lifted up.
"Carter?" Lee asked, helping Carter to his feet.
"Lee?" Carter whispered, before giving the artist a hug. "LEE!"
"CARTER…CAN'T…BREATH!" Lee gasped. Carter let him go, turning to see Madrid giving Tina and Kelly a giant hug, while Hank was peppered with kisses from Vally as se squealed about "Uncle Hank!".
"What the hell is going on?" Biddy asked, waddling over to them. "Derek…"
Derek waved his hand. "Don't worry mom…everything is ok now."
"Mom?" Hank asked, confused.
"I'll explain later, Hank." Biddy said.
"Ugh…" Sarah moaned, the last of the group to awaken. "That hurt…"
"Sarah!" Kelly called out, to Carter and Madrid's shock. Kelly pulled away from the hug and ran to the newcomer in the universe, helping her up. "Are you ok?"
"Huh?" Sarah muttered, confused.
"Damn Carter..." Lee muttered, "looks like your sis got a nice shiner."
Carter stared at Lee, picking up the Kenzei blade had dropped both second and days ago. "You know her?"
"Uh…yeah." Lee stated. "Sarah Daniels…your older sister…"
"Former Company agent." Ashleigh rattled off.
"As whammy flames like yours." Hank added.
"The Harbringer…the Word of God." Tina chimed in.
Kelly frowned from where she was helping Sarah stand. "The question is…do you know her?" She crinkled her nose. "Did you change your clothes?"
Carter shook his head in amazement, running this fingers through his hair. "Yeah…I do…but…how…"
"Carter?"
Carter turned, body shaking at the sight before him. The members of The Alliance had parted revealing…
Revealing…
"Mom…dad?" Carter whispered, their deaths still burned in his brain.
"Mommy….daddy…" Sarah whispered. She took a step forward, unsure of herself.
"Sarah…what's wrong sweetheart?" Vic asked.
Sarah's eyes pooled with tears. "You…you know me?"
Helena stared at her. "Of course we know you, sweetheart…what…"
Vic and Helena found themselves on the ground, their adult children superspeeding to them, knocking them down with bear hugs and sobbing with relief. Vally soon joined them, Madrid laughing as her daughter struggled to find a good spot, finally settling for hugging her father's head.
Ellie looked at Malcolm, the two standing off to the side. "You did this…didn't you? You changed history."
"Worked for us…I made it work for her. Changed things…so that our Eden, the one that died, was taken over by a living one. It was simple, really." Malcolm stated. "At the fair, I rescued a butterfly. A little girl saw it, and she never forgot that lesson. Where once she had allowed her heart to become cold to the pains of the world…she now saw hope. She would teach her children the same lessons, and one, her 2nd born son, would remember them. When he got a report from a teacher of a little girl being abused by her mother, he did not ignore it like he would have in the first timeline. He came to her rescue, placed her in an orphanage ran by his sister, not a group of cruel nuns like before." Malcolm smirked. "And a year later, he would bring that little girl the greatest gift of all…her baby brother, Carter."
"Malcolm…" Ellie whispered.
"Helena would see the two of them, and adopt them. Sarah and Carter Daniels would live their lives, unknowing of their grand destinies…until an encounter with the company by Carter and Sarah's near death at the hands of Sylar would draw the two together. They would die…be reborn…and become the Voice and the Word of God."
"Malcolm…"
He smiled weakly. "They will forget the past…they will remember soon the world as I have made it. You will too, Ellie. Only I will live with the burden…such is the price of all those that play God." He paused, watching as Sarah and Carter hugged their mother tight, brother and sister smiling for the first time in tandem. "But if that is the price I must pay…so be it. They deserve it, Ellie…the two of them…they deserve it for all the pain…all the suffering." He looked up at the sky, surrounded by victory and laughter, fo families united, lovers embracing, and warriors at long last not living in fear. "The world will grow dark again…we will face dangers more terrifying than any of us can imagine…but for the first time since I got these powers…I feel something new."
"What's that?" Ellie asked.
"Hope."
^&^&^&^
The End of Volume 5
^&^&^&^
Volume 5.5
In Darkness Dwells
^&^&^&^
(The Past…4 months before Genesis)
Dr. Fredrick Frauzen rushed past the police cars, ignoring the calls for him to stop. One police officer tried to grab ahold of him, but he didn't let that stop him, shrugging off his suit jacket. His brown hair, normally slicked back and styled, was a mess, is eyes wide with panic as he made his way up the driveway to his families estate.
He heard the police whispering things…about family reunions…of horrible scenes…of a man called…Sylar…
Fredrick froze as he stared at the burning rubble that had been his family home.
His scream ripped through the night as he saw the burned remains of his family being removed.
^&^&^&^
(The Present…Thanksgiving Day)
5 am
Carter rubbed his eyes, stumbling into the kitchen. He wasn't surprised to see Biddy seated at the table, along with the new man in her life.
Who would have guessed that Hank could be replaced by someone short, chubby and bald.
"Biddy…Derek." He mumbled.
Biddy smiled tiredly at Carter, baby Derek Carter Daniels sucking greedily at his bottle. "Goodmorning."
"Is it morning…I can't tell." Carter stated, groggy as hell. He sat down at the table, resting his head against the wood.
"You ok?"
"Peachy." He whimpered. "Madrid kicked me out of the bed…literally."
"Thought I heard a wall break." Biddy quipped.
Carter groaned. "I think I still have a foot shaped bruise on my side." He buried his head in his arms. "God…I will be glad when the baby is born."
"Then you just got your wish."
Carter turned to see Madrid standing in the doorway, her large, 9 months pregnant stomach hanging out, her chest only clad in a sports bra, her hair wild and unkempt. Her pajama bottoms were soaked.
"My water just broke."
Carter's eyes went wide.
"Don't panic." Biddy warned.
"MAYDAY!" Carter screamed, superspeeding through the house, waking everyone up.
"He freaked." Biddy stated.
"Gabe's coming!" Vally squealed, superspeeding into the room, then out once more to join her father in awakening everyone.
"You think?" Madrid muttered.
^&^&^&^
(The Future…)
Ami looked over at her husband. "Did you hear that?"
Patrick shook his head. He and his wife could not be any different. Ami was barely 5 foot 1, Japanese American, a lithe and lean slip of a woman. Patrick was a hulking, 6 foot muscle bound Irishman.
"Can you go check on the baby?" Ami whispered.
Patrick mumbled but did as she asked, knowing only pain would come if he said no. He stumbled out of their room, making his way towards the nursery.
He never noticed the shadow of the man watching him from down the hall.
^&^&^&^
To Be Continued…
^&^&^&^
And now the exclusive trailer for Elsewhere, Volume 5.5
(We see a dark tunnel)
In 2010…the darkness will come
(We hear screams coming from the tunnel)
But the secrets to what lie down this path can be found throughout time
(We see Fredrick in a morgue, staring at the bodies)
In the Past
(We see Carter holding Madrid's hand as she screams, doctors moving about)
In the Present
(We see Ami and Patrick looking at a crib, a shadowy figure watching them)
And In the Future
(We cut back to the tunnel)
For the next three weeks, follow the clues, and discover the truth
(Another scream is heard, and a ghoulish figure leaps into frame)
Elsewhere
Volume 5.5
In Darkness Dwells