Pieces to a puzzle...

[fixthepast]

Somehow I've found myself working for the Company.  Still not sure how that happened but it's not something I was going to turn down either.  A chance to be around all these specials?  Gain their powers and fuck with their minds?  What's not to love?  But for now I have to do all the tedious work and the first person I get to see is Sylar. He comes

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[fixthepast]

What would I do. Now that's a very interesting question and one I probably shouldn't answer, but I'm going to anyway, he's going to expect me not to. "If it were just to get back at them, I'd do subtle little things, stuff that gets their attention but doesn't point the finger at me. But, since you want to let them know it's you without getting into trouble, I'd pull out the big guns."

Leaning back in my chair, I smile. "If I had electricity, I'd send jolts through them whenever I had to shake their hands, maybe burn them a little, or when I had to touch them. I'd fuck up the cars so they didn't run right. When we'd go after a special, I'd stay in the car and maybe give the special an...extra hand. I mean, there's so much worse I'd do but since you don't want to get into trouble, you need to be careful. I'd also let an L5 or two get free..." God, that would piss Bennet off. "Maybe even make a few bullets or tasers hit the wrong targets."

He tells me about the persuasion and I really wish I could've found her, that's a power I'd really love to have. It would make things even more fun. "She died? Fuck." I sigh. It sounds like her power would've been good to use and I could've seen just how far I could push it, just what I could make someone do. Maybe there's someone else with that ability out there, I'll have to keep an eye out. I didn't expect him to admit that he had been a loner. That's good though, it means he's opening up to me more, trusting me a bit more.

"Different?" I can see he doesn't want to talk about it, which is exactly why I want to. "So things were different before, hmmm?" Wonder just how close to the line I can get without pissing him off. "Were you trying to figure them out back then or just trying to understand them?" There is a difference.

[heartofmurder]

The big guns. I like pulling out the big guns. I sit and watch his face as he tells me what he would do, noting the sparkle in his eyes when he talks about it. It's almost the same look that I get when I notice an ability in someone. "I could pull off a few of those things. I wouldn't let anyone out of Level 5, though. That would be counter effective." I still want to help, I just want to teach them a lesson at the same time.

He looks as upset as I feel about Eden being dead, but I'm glad he can't get a hold of it. That's the last thing I'd need. I still don't trust him completely. I'm still trying to figure out if he has an angle here.

Damn it, I was hoping he'd leave it alone, but of course he's very perceptive. "Yes, things were different. I was different." I look down, my drink suddenly becoming very interesting. "Back then, I was... trying to understand. But it never really worked out. This time it will, though." And I wont have to be Gabriel again. I can still be who I am now.

[fixthepast]

"I guess letting them out of L5 would be a bit too much." I would do it in a heartbeat though, after I pushed the person to the edge, just to watch how they react when the guards come. The corner of my mouth quirks up and then I smooth out my face. "The shocking would be good, give them a few burns." I chuckle. "Give them a hot foot or two." Teach them a lesson or two on how to treat someone like him.

"How were you different? And why do you think this time will work out? What sort of things did you learn from then to now?" I can see the small changes in his expression, the way his body language changes. Not everyone would catch them but I do, I know what to look for. He really must've been different. His file only gives facts, I need more than that. Gabriel was socially inept, I want to know how and why.

[heartofmurder]

"I don't want people to die, I just want to let them know that they shouldn't mess with me," I give a small shrug, "And I guess shocking them would be as good as anything," I grin, liking that idea. There's no way they can really do anything either and it will annoy them into not bothering me.

I shift uncomfortably when he asks me a bunch more questions, "I was just... different." I can't tell him. I wont tell him. I've put Gabriel far behind me. "It will work out now because people don't see me the way they used to." But in a way I guess they do. Shit. "I'm not going to let people walk all over me. I have confidence in myself now. I know how special I am. Back then... I didn't. I wanted to be, but I didn't know."

[fixthepast]

I want people to die but he doesn't, not yet at least. I'm still going to work on that, still try to get him to that point again. I want to watch him kill and maim and rend. "Shocking would be good, there would be no proof that you've done anything to them, eventually everyone else is going to think they're lying just to make trouble. The whole time you'll act innocent." The thought of their anger and frustration makes me laugh.

He looks even more uncomfortable when I ask about the differences, the past. He really does want to bury Gabriel deep and never look at him again but I do. I want to know that part of him. It's a big part of who he is now, whether he sees it or not. I will find it out, eventually. "So since you've become Sylar, you've grown." I muse, my fingers drumming on the table. "Gabriel was weaker? More socially inept?" Which would explain the dating thing immensely.

[heartofmurder]

"Innocent," I snort. That's a good one. Whatever ends up happening, at least I'll feel a bit more satisfied and it will put them in their place. I can see he wants to do more, but I know if I go too far, it will end badly and I can't let that happen.

"Yeah, of course I've grown. I'm not the person I was at all. Not even close." Deep inside of me it's still there, though, I know it. I just have to keep pushing it away. I look up at him when he says Gabriel and I narrow my eyes, "What do you know about that? What does it say in my file?" I god, how much does he actually know? "You don't know anything about how I used to be, or Gabriel, so leave it the hell alone!"

I stand up, pushing my chair away from the table and cross my arms. I turn away to leave, then pause and turn back to him, "Gabriel was pathetic, a no one. Gabriel let himself be talked into a mediocre life and that's never going to happen again. I'm not him anymore and I never will be, no matter what. I will always be special and better. Gabriel died along with all those people I killed and now there's me. I'm nothing like him." And if I say it enough times, maybe I'll believe it.

[fixthepast]

No, I seriously doubt he's the same person he was before, that much is obvious really. But under all the bravado, under the rough exterior, there still beats the heart of a boy who was misunderstood and walked all over. The key is to push that boy without pissing off the guardian.

When I mention Gabriel, I can see I really hit a nerve. Keeping my face passive, I watch as he gets upset and stands up, starting to leave and then turning back. "Very little." I tell him calmly. "I know some about your family, I know what you used to do and I know a bit about Chandra. Most of the rest is blank. If you don't want to talk about him, fine, but I just wanted to get to know you, how you got to this point."

He truly hates what Gabriel represents and I wonder how he would take it if he knew that shy boy, I'm thinking he was shy from what he's said at least, still peeks out from behind the curtain from time to time. He may want him dead and gone but he'll always be a part of him. "Alright, Gabriel is no more. I didn't realize it would upset you like this and I'm sorry." I'm not completely though, he's just told me so much.

[heartofmurder]

"You don't need to know any of that. It's not important and has nothing to do with me." I don't want him to see me as Gabriel at all. I can stop killing, live my life and not have to revert back to that. I asked my mother if it was okay and she said no, she wanted me to be president and that was the last of it.

"I'm not upset! I'm just annoyed. You don't know anything and you sit there acting like you do." Sure, Sylar, deflect. That'll work. "People change, you know and that's not me. That's not my life." I want to run from it as much as possible. Then I realize that's all I've been doing lately. That's all I do. I'm trying to run forward or run away, they're both the same when nothing is quite settled inside of me.

I sit back down with a frown, grabbing my glass and finishing up my soda. I eye the bottle of wine, but I'm not doing that again.

[fixthepast]

"Okay, it has nothing to do with you." I agree, watching him. He's agitated and upset and I need to diffuse this before he truly loses his temper. That would not be a good thing for me. He tries to tell me that he's annoyed but I know better than that.

"Which is why I asked. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to Sylar, I truly won't mind." And sometimes I can learn more by what you don't tell me than by what you do. "Okay, you're nothing like he used to be, you're better now, I get it." But you're not, not deep down inside, which is why you're so defensive.

He sits back down and I just sit there, watching him for a few minutes. "Do you play backgammon?" I ask out of the blue. I'm sure he plays chess but backgammon is just as much a strategy game as chess, maybe more so. There's skill and luck involved, depending on the dice. "I haven't played a game in a long time and I'm hoping you do know. Those imbeciles at work don't have a clue, they all play poker." I make a face.

[heartofmurder]

"Of course I don't have to tell you anything I don't want to. I don't have to do anything I don't want to do." He better not mind and he better stop trying to pry into my life. It occurs to me that maybe that's what friends do, though, but it's too late now.

We don't say anything for a few moments and I wonder if I should go. I shouldn't have come here in the first place and I have no idea why I did. I look up at him when he asks me if I play backgammon. "No, I don't. But I can learn very quickly." Beat you even quicker. "I can try it if you want." I don't really want to leave and he's not telling me to go.

[fixthepast]

Well, didn't he just try putting me in my place. It's almost laughable but I let it go. I do need to be careful not to poke the sleeping tiger too much and I'm not going to fuck this up, whatever this really is. It's more than what I started out as and I think I like that. Maybe I really do want him to be a...friend. Or something along those lines.

He tells me he doesn't know how but he's a fast learner and I grin. "C'mon then." I pour myself more wine, taking the bottle and heading into my den. "I have a board set up in here. I'll put some music on and I'll explain the game to you. It's easy to learn, tricky to master." Opening the den door with my foot, I set my glass and the bottle down on the small table where the board is set up, going over to the cd player to put something good in.