The Target
Title: The Target.
Characters/Pairing: Maya/Sylar
Fandom: HeroesRating: PG-13
Word count: 2, 260
Disclaimer: Do not own.
Summery: Sylar, disguised as Agent Taub, prepares to capture another target.
Note: Set after Maya gets her power removed and Sylar is working for Danko.
Incorporates some graphic novel canon.
"According to the records she's pregnant, so..." Danko trails off softly, squinting over the empty road they speed over. They had been woken early to drive to Montville, New Jersey. The sun isn't even up yet. Sylar stifles a yawn. Capturing the targets while they slept was a more ideal situation, as they're likely to be disoriented and less of a threat. Rubbing his eyes he peers into the mirror and sees another man looking back at him. He had been taking on Agent Taub's form now for a few weeks but it’s still disconcerting. Especially as he’s finding the ability more then a little...unwieldy.
"So, what's the procedure for this?" He hasn't had to deal with anyone pregnant till now. Or anyone with children. He doesn't want to admit it makes him a little perturbed. Danko flicks his eyes to him and then away, facing straight ahead.
"Softly. She'll be bagged like all the others but the right measures will be taken to make sure her baby is delivered healthy. We're here, pull up." They pull up on a quiet street across from a block of apartment and he gets out smoothly. This one he won’t kill but the thrill of the hunt washes over him almost uncontrolled.
"And then?"
"Then they get shipped off to the compound." Ah yes, the secret island somewhere out to sea where all the captured would be taken and "cured." He has mixed feelings about it. The prospect is mouth watering, so many abilities in one place but the thought of people such as himself rounded up and imprisoned like cattle is repulsive. Yawning loudly he stretches himself and nods at Danko who moves into the entrance of the building as Sylar moves around the back. Silent black glad figures ghost around his peripheral vision but he is always careful to reach the target before they do.
He looks up at the fire escape and reaches for the lowest rung.
*
The buzz of her cell phone drags her up from sleep and Maya groans into her pillow. She had forgot to turn it off before she went to bed. Knowing that it won’t stop until she answers it Maya sits up and reaches over for it. For the last few weeks she’s been getting random messages from someone calling themselves Rebel. Always the same message:
Viva Libertad!
Who they are, how they got her number or what the message even means she can’t be sure. Knowing that she has to stay low she feels a strange sort of excitement every time she gets one. It’s the only contact she has now, with anyone. Sighing she opens the message, expecting the same phrase but freezes when the message pops up:
Get out. They are coming for you.
Maya stops breathing and stares at the text. A familiar rush of adrenaline flows through her and she scrambles out of bed and to the window. The sky is still dark but a pale glow lightens the horizon as she watches. The street below is empty and still. Maya holds her breath, straining for any noise but all she can hear is her heart beating. She stands in her threadbare apartment and stares at the cell phone again.
They are coming. The police?
Even with Mr Petrelli’s assistance Maya’s freedom is a fragile thing and no matter how much time has passed she’s never felt settled. She thinks of her naive optimism about this place and the freedom it would grant her and sneers at herself.
She can’t put her trust in such a flimsy excuse for contact. For all she knows they could be the same people who are apparently after her. After months of being on the run if there’s one thing she can trust its her instincts. And right now they are telling her to run. Stripping her t-shirt over her head and flinging it aside she tears open her rucksack and pulls out a shirt and a pair of jeans. Silently blessing that fact that she never felt comfortable unpacking her meager possessions Maya slings the bag over her back and bends down to pull on some sneakers. As she does the cell phone beeps again.
They’re heading for the door. Run!
Maya rushes into her bathroom, the sound of shuffling feet outside. She forces up the window, wincing as it squeaks in protect and climbs out onto the fire escape. But a man in full SWAT gear is already there waiting. His eyes widen at the sight of her.
“Maya?”
Taking advantage of his surprise Maya throws a plant pot at him and it explodes against his visor. Maya runs for the other end of the fire escape, the sound of men rushing into her apartment filling her ears. It’s at this moment that she wishes she still had her ability.
*
The sight of her sends such a current of shock through his body that he’s rendered senseless. It’s electric and devastating. She stands there, hair still tucked into her shirt and glares at him with such hatred he feels another zap hit him. The last time he had seen Maya she had been lying on a couch like some kind of bizarre sleeping beauty, under the spell of a bullet he had put in her chest.
She’s alive...and pregnant?
“Maya?”
She bares her teeth at him and doesn’t register the terracotta pot until it’s inches from his face. He ducks but it hits and smashes into pieces. Shocked out of his daze Sylar straightens in time to see her almost flying down the stairwell. He had forgotten how fast she is.
“Wait!”
But she doesn’t stop or look back. She increases her speed and only a few feet from the ground she swings over the railing and hits the floor in a roll. There is a buzz of chatter over the wireless radio and Sylar listens to them squeak.
Target has escaped. In pursuit.
Not if he gets her first.
*
The soldier she had hit chases after her but she is quicker. Whoever this Rebel is they had been right and as she races down quiet leafy streets she pulls her cell out. Two more messages.
Hurry!
Get to Towaco Station. Catch the 06:10 train.
Towaco Station. That’s about half a mile from where she is now. She looks at her watch.
05:50
She can get there on time if she runs. Putting the cell phone back into her pocket she adjusts the straps on her bag and quickens her pace. She casts a look behind her and sees the soldier is still following but is obviously lumbering under the armour he wears.
He’ll never catch her.
*
Cursing, sweating and panting Sylar pulls his helmet off and throws it aside. She’s running like the wind. He’s never been particularly athletic, he lead more of a sedentary like back in the old days, but he’s been training, keeping fit. Now he feels like a lung is about to collapse.
She’d run even harder if she knew who is really chasing her. Maya turns a corner and cuts through an open air park. The months she’s lived here she must have got familiar with the surrounding area. He spots her pausing for just a second to look up at a street sign and then double back to run down a side street.
Sylar frowns. She’s not running blindly, she’s heading for something. Even as she out races him he can’t conceive that he won’t catch her. Them meeting again is fate, something he is sure she’d agree with.
The question is what will he do once he’s got her?
*
The old canal is at her shoulder. She’s close. Maya looks at her watch again and sees she’s got ten minutes.
“OK. Ten minutes to catch a train I don’t have a ticket for...” Ignoring her valid doubts Maya jumps over the dry canal and darts towards the station that’s now in view. She looks behind her and sees no one approaching. Feeling a tingle of hope Maya squashes it when the solider comes into view suddenly, running around the bend of the canal. She runs to the station and stops when she gets to the fence. The platform is on the other side of the tracks. Maya checks her watch. Five minutes to go.
“Planning on catching a train?” He pants.
Not even bothering to look around Maya volts over the low fence and jumps down to the tracks and then pulls herself up onto the platform. It’s deserted. Expecting him to be at her heels she turns to find him bent over, his hands on his knees. Maya glares at him.
“Tired?”
He looks up with a smirk and straightens. “I got up like an hour ago. You’re fast.”
“Who are you? What do you want?” Her glare is filled with anger.
Who is he? Well that’s a question for the ages. There’s a huge part of him that wants to reveal his true appearance but that would likely wind up with them trying to kill each other. This way he at least gets to talk to her. Sylar sighs and steps over the fence. She backs away and he holds up a hand. “Who I am isn’t important.”
“Why are you chasing me? Are you the police?”
He shakes his head. “No, I’m not with the police. I’m part of an organisation that...apprehends people like you.”
“Like me?” She crosses her arms, her mouth pursing. He had traveled with Maya for weeks and he can count on one hand the number of times she had shown such attitude. But a lot has happened since then.
“People with abilities.”
She steps forward suddenly, shaking her head. “I don’t have one, not anymore.”
Sylar narrows his eyes at her but he can tell that no matter how changed she is Maya doesn’t have an insincere bone in her body. She’s telling the truth. He moves closer until he stands at the lip of the ledge and stares fiercely at her. She’s powerless. If she wasn’t he’d be lying in a puddle of her strange tears by now. His radio suddenly buzzes against his shoulder and he reaches for it.
Target absconded. Requesting further orders.
Maya stares at him with large eyes and reaches for a cross that’s no longer there. She looks up along the tracks and he can hear a train approaching. She looks back at him.
“Why are you just standing there?”
“I don’t know...I should capture you.”
“I told you I don’t have a power! I got rid of it. I’m no longer a threat. I - I just want to be left in peace.” Her eyes no longer glare but plead with him and he finds the sight hard to look at. He’s suddenly reminded of the way she used to look at him when she thought he wasn't looking. Curiosity, adoration, kindness. Love. He had used her for his own ends but there had been a part that stored away those looks and the soft things she would whisper to him. Her kisses.
“I’d be dead by now if you did have that ability.” He reasons aloud.
She nods, not a little sadly. Taking life still pains her. “Will you let me leave?”
Sylar looks behind him, knowing that the others will catch up soon. He turns an intense gaze on her. “I will if you answer me two questions truthfully.”
“Que?”
“I’ve read your report. I know about how you travelled to get here. I know who you travelled with.” He pauses when he sees her jaw clench. “Do - did you really love him? Sylar?”
She hesitates before shaking her head and he feels his stomach plummet. Her eyes glaze over sadly. “I never loved Sylar. I loved a man called Gabriel Gray.” She looks down at the tracks sadly.
Sylar frowns at her angrily but any anger he has is for himself. “Why? Why him? He’s just a nobody.”
She looks up with a scowl. “He wasn’t to me.” Anger begins to fill her gaze again. “Why are you asking me this?”
He shrugs. “I’m just trying to understand.” He looks to the left and sees the train coming into view. As he does Maya’s cell phone buzzes and she looks at it. He watches her go to an electric ticket booth where a ticket falls into the slot and she picks it up curiously. The ticket had just appeared. Sylar frowns. “How did you get that?”
She turns to him, looking just as mystified. “I don’t know but I’m using it.”
“Never question miracles right?”
Her face hardens. “Always.”
Wincing internally he smiles at her. “Come on, you’ve escaped. I’m letting you go.” It’s the least he can do. For now.
Maya shakes her head slowly as the train approaches. “I almost wish you had caught me. I’m so tired of running.”
Something hot and writing stirs inside him, something that he’s always feared but also yearned for. He feels guilty. He stares at her, suddenly imploring. “I’m sorry Maya. I wish things had been different.”
She frowns at him but a small smile crosses her face. “What are you sorry for?”
“Everything.” His disguise allows him to voice truths but also takes away any meaning they have. Agent Taub is no one to Maya. A stranger.
“Well if you are apologising for chasing me then I accept...will you let me go?”
That depends on the next question. He stares frantically at the train that is seconds away and then back to her. He hadn’t wanted to think about it. Even after that night together he had pushed aside any questions but now that she’s facing him he can’t ignore it.
“Are you pregnant?”
Her eyes widen as the train cuts across them and he looses sight of her. Growling he prowls along the ledge until the train stops. Looking through a gap between coaches Sylar sees that she’s still there. She stares at him with a heavy scowl.
“What kind of question is that?!”
“One I need to know!”
She snorts and moves out of sight. Sylar curses and steps back to see her get into an empty compartment. She comes to stand by the window and they’re only inches apart now. He looks up at her confused face beseechingly.
“Why should I tell you?”
“If you don’t I’ll tell them where you’ve gone.”
She shakes her head and looks down. He thinks she won’t answer but then she opens her mouth to speak. He presses his hands against the glass and strains to hear.
“What?”
“I said not anymore.”
Maybe she told him because he’s the only one that’s asked. Maybe he’s the only person she’s had the opportunity to tell. She’s been completely alone for months. He looks at her bowed head and wishes he could touch her. She looks up then and her gaze is more lonely then he’s ever seen. The train begins to pull away with a whistle.
“Maya...”
She raises a hand against the glass as the carriage slides away from him and he’s left staring at the retreating train as it heads West. He stares without focus, lost in thoughts of the past. It’s only when he looks up and sees his reflection in a window opposite does he realise he’s shape shifted back into old self. Gabriel Gray.
He runs a hand over his face as the sun begins to rise over the trees.
Characters/Pairing: Maya/Sylar
Fandom: HeroesRating: PG-13
Word count: 2, 260
Disclaimer: Do not own.
Summery: Sylar, disguised as Agent Taub, prepares to capture another target.
Note: Set after Maya gets her power removed and Sylar is working for Danko.
Incorporates some graphic novel canon.
"According to the records she's pregnant, so..." Danko trails off softly, squinting over the empty road they speed over. They had been woken early to drive to Montville, New Jersey. The sun isn't even up yet. Sylar stifles a yawn. Capturing the targets while they slept was a more ideal situation, as they're likely to be disoriented and less of a threat. Rubbing his eyes he peers into the mirror and sees another man looking back at him. He had been taking on Agent Taub's form now for a few weeks but it’s still disconcerting. Especially as he’s finding the ability more then a little...unwieldy.
"So, what's the procedure for this?" He hasn't had to deal with anyone pregnant till now. Or anyone with children. He doesn't want to admit it makes him a little perturbed. Danko flicks his eyes to him and then away, facing straight ahead.
"Softly. She'll be bagged like all the others but the right measures will be taken to make sure her baby is delivered healthy. We're here, pull up." They pull up on a quiet street across from a block of apartment and he gets out smoothly. This one he won’t kill but the thrill of the hunt washes over him almost uncontrolled.
"And then?"
"Then they get shipped off to the compound." Ah yes, the secret island somewhere out to sea where all the captured would be taken and "cured." He has mixed feelings about it. The prospect is mouth watering, so many abilities in one place but the thought of people such as himself rounded up and imprisoned like cattle is repulsive. Yawning loudly he stretches himself and nods at Danko who moves into the entrance of the building as Sylar moves around the back. Silent black glad figures ghost around his peripheral vision but he is always careful to reach the target before they do.
He looks up at the fire escape and reaches for the lowest rung.
*
The buzz of her cell phone drags her up from sleep and Maya groans into her pillow. She had forgot to turn it off before she went to bed. Knowing that it won’t stop until she answers it Maya sits up and reaches over for it. For the last few weeks she’s been getting random messages from someone calling themselves Rebel. Always the same message:
Viva Libertad!
Who they are, how they got her number or what the message even means she can’t be sure. Knowing that she has to stay low she feels a strange sort of excitement every time she gets one. It’s the only contact she has now, with anyone. Sighing she opens the message, expecting the same phrase but freezes when the message pops up:
Get out. They are coming for you.
Maya stops breathing and stares at the text. A familiar rush of adrenaline flows through her and she scrambles out of bed and to the window. The sky is still dark but a pale glow lightens the horizon as she watches. The street below is empty and still. Maya holds her breath, straining for any noise but all she can hear is her heart beating. She stands in her threadbare apartment and stares at the cell phone again.
They are coming. The police?
Even with Mr Petrelli’s assistance Maya’s freedom is a fragile thing and no matter how much time has passed she’s never felt settled. She thinks of her naive optimism about this place and the freedom it would grant her and sneers at herself.
She can’t put her trust in such a flimsy excuse for contact. For all she knows they could be the same people who are apparently after her. After months of being on the run if there’s one thing she can trust its her instincts. And right now they are telling her to run. Stripping her t-shirt over her head and flinging it aside she tears open her rucksack and pulls out a shirt and a pair of jeans. Silently blessing that fact that she never felt comfortable unpacking her meager possessions Maya slings the bag over her back and bends down to pull on some sneakers. As she does the cell phone beeps again.
They’re heading for the door. Run!
Maya rushes into her bathroom, the sound of shuffling feet outside. She forces up the window, wincing as it squeaks in protect and climbs out onto the fire escape. But a man in full SWAT gear is already there waiting. His eyes widen at the sight of her.
“Maya?”
Taking advantage of his surprise Maya throws a plant pot at him and it explodes against his visor. Maya runs for the other end of the fire escape, the sound of men rushing into her apartment filling her ears. It’s at this moment that she wishes she still had her ability.
*
The sight of her sends such a current of shock through his body that he’s rendered senseless. It’s electric and devastating. She stands there, hair still tucked into her shirt and glares at him with such hatred he feels another zap hit him. The last time he had seen Maya she had been lying on a couch like some kind of bizarre sleeping beauty, under the spell of a bullet he had put in her chest.
She’s alive...and pregnant?
“Maya?”
She bares her teeth at him and doesn’t register the terracotta pot until it’s inches from his face. He ducks but it hits and smashes into pieces. Shocked out of his daze Sylar straightens in time to see her almost flying down the stairwell. He had forgotten how fast she is.
“Wait!”
But she doesn’t stop or look back. She increases her speed and only a few feet from the ground she swings over the railing and hits the floor in a roll. There is a buzz of chatter over the wireless radio and Sylar listens to them squeak.
Target has escaped. In pursuit.
Not if he gets her first.
*
The soldier she had hit chases after her but she is quicker. Whoever this Rebel is they had been right and as she races down quiet leafy streets she pulls her cell out. Two more messages.
Hurry!
Get to Towaco Station. Catch the 06:10 train.
Towaco Station. That’s about half a mile from where she is now. She looks at her watch.
05:50
She can get there on time if she runs. Putting the cell phone back into her pocket she adjusts the straps on her bag and quickens her pace. She casts a look behind her and sees the soldier is still following but is obviously lumbering under the armour he wears.
He’ll never catch her.
*
Cursing, sweating and panting Sylar pulls his helmet off and throws it aside. She’s running like the wind. He’s never been particularly athletic, he lead more of a sedentary like back in the old days, but he’s been training, keeping fit. Now he feels like a lung is about to collapse.
She’d run even harder if she knew who is really chasing her. Maya turns a corner and cuts through an open air park. The months she’s lived here she must have got familiar with the surrounding area. He spots her pausing for just a second to look up at a street sign and then double back to run down a side street.
Sylar frowns. She’s not running blindly, she’s heading for something. Even as she out races him he can’t conceive that he won’t catch her. Them meeting again is fate, something he is sure she’d agree with.
The question is what will he do once he’s got her?
*
The old canal is at her shoulder. She’s close. Maya looks at her watch again and sees she’s got ten minutes.
“OK. Ten minutes to catch a train I don’t have a ticket for...” Ignoring her valid doubts Maya jumps over the dry canal and darts towards the station that’s now in view. She looks behind her and sees no one approaching. Feeling a tingle of hope Maya squashes it when the solider comes into view suddenly, running around the bend of the canal. She runs to the station and stops when she gets to the fence. The platform is on the other side of the tracks. Maya checks her watch. Five minutes to go.
“Planning on catching a train?” He pants.
Not even bothering to look around Maya volts over the low fence and jumps down to the tracks and then pulls herself up onto the platform. It’s deserted. Expecting him to be at her heels she turns to find him bent over, his hands on his knees. Maya glares at him.
“Tired?”
He looks up with a smirk and straightens. “I got up like an hour ago. You’re fast.”
“Who are you? What do you want?” Her glare is filled with anger.
Who is he? Well that’s a question for the ages. There’s a huge part of him that wants to reveal his true appearance but that would likely wind up with them trying to kill each other. This way he at least gets to talk to her. Sylar sighs and steps over the fence. She backs away and he holds up a hand. “Who I am isn’t important.”
“Why are you chasing me? Are you the police?”
He shakes his head. “No, I’m not with the police. I’m part of an organisation that...apprehends people like you.”
“Like me?” She crosses her arms, her mouth pursing. He had traveled with Maya for weeks and he can count on one hand the number of times she had shown such attitude. But a lot has happened since then.
“People with abilities.”
She steps forward suddenly, shaking her head. “I don’t have one, not anymore.”
Sylar narrows his eyes at her but he can tell that no matter how changed she is Maya doesn’t have an insincere bone in her body. She’s telling the truth. He moves closer until he stands at the lip of the ledge and stares fiercely at her. She’s powerless. If she wasn’t he’d be lying in a puddle of her strange tears by now. His radio suddenly buzzes against his shoulder and he reaches for it.
Target absconded. Requesting further orders.
Maya stares at him with large eyes and reaches for a cross that’s no longer there. She looks up along the tracks and he can hear a train approaching. She looks back at him.
“Why are you just standing there?”
“I don’t know...I should capture you.”
“I told you I don’t have a power! I got rid of it. I’m no longer a threat. I - I just want to be left in peace.” Her eyes no longer glare but plead with him and he finds the sight hard to look at. He’s suddenly reminded of the way she used to look at him when she thought he wasn't looking. Curiosity, adoration, kindness. Love. He had used her for his own ends but there had been a part that stored away those looks and the soft things she would whisper to him. Her kisses.
“I’d be dead by now if you did have that ability.” He reasons aloud.
She nods, not a little sadly. Taking life still pains her. “Will you let me leave?”
Sylar looks behind him, knowing that the others will catch up soon. He turns an intense gaze on her. “I will if you answer me two questions truthfully.”
“Que?”
“I’ve read your report. I know about how you travelled to get here. I know who you travelled with.” He pauses when he sees her jaw clench. “Do - did you really love him? Sylar?”
She hesitates before shaking her head and he feels his stomach plummet. Her eyes glaze over sadly. “I never loved Sylar. I loved a man called Gabriel Gray.” She looks down at the tracks sadly.
Sylar frowns at her angrily but any anger he has is for himself. “Why? Why him? He’s just a nobody.”
She looks up with a scowl. “He wasn’t to me.” Anger begins to fill her gaze again. “Why are you asking me this?”
He shrugs. “I’m just trying to understand.” He looks to the left and sees the train coming into view. As he does Maya’s cell phone buzzes and she looks at it. He watches her go to an electric ticket booth where a ticket falls into the slot and she picks it up curiously. The ticket had just appeared. Sylar frowns. “How did you get that?”
She turns to him, looking just as mystified. “I don’t know but I’m using it.”
“Never question miracles right?”
Her face hardens. “Always.”
Wincing internally he smiles at her. “Come on, you’ve escaped. I’m letting you go.” It’s the least he can do. For now.
Maya shakes her head slowly as the train approaches. “I almost wish you had caught me. I’m so tired of running.”
Something hot and writing stirs inside him, something that he’s always feared but also yearned for. He feels guilty. He stares at her, suddenly imploring. “I’m sorry Maya. I wish things had been different.”
She frowns at him but a small smile crosses her face. “What are you sorry for?”
“Everything.” His disguise allows him to voice truths but also takes away any meaning they have. Agent Taub is no one to Maya. A stranger.
“Well if you are apologising for chasing me then I accept...will you let me go?”
That depends on the next question. He stares frantically at the train that is seconds away and then back to her. He hadn’t wanted to think about it. Even after that night together he had pushed aside any questions but now that she’s facing him he can’t ignore it.
“Are you pregnant?”
Her eyes widen as the train cuts across them and he looses sight of her. Growling he prowls along the ledge until the train stops. Looking through a gap between coaches Sylar sees that she’s still there. She stares at him with a heavy scowl.
“What kind of question is that?!”
“One I need to know!”
She snorts and moves out of sight. Sylar curses and steps back to see her get into an empty compartment. She comes to stand by the window and they’re only inches apart now. He looks up at her confused face beseechingly.
“Why should I tell you?”
“If you don’t I’ll tell them where you’ve gone.”
She shakes her head and looks down. He thinks she won’t answer but then she opens her mouth to speak. He presses his hands against the glass and strains to hear.
“What?”
“I said not anymore.”
Maybe she told him because he’s the only one that’s asked. Maybe he’s the only person she’s had the opportunity to tell. She’s been completely alone for months. He looks at her bowed head and wishes he could touch her. She looks up then and her gaze is more lonely then he’s ever seen. The train begins to pull away with a whistle.
“Maya...”
She raises a hand against the glass as the carriage slides away from him and he’s left staring at the retreating train as it heads West. He stares without focus, lost in thoughts of the past. It’s only when he looks up and sees his reflection in a window opposite does he realise he’s shape shifted back into old self. Gabriel Gray.
He runs a hand over his face as the sun begins to rise over the trees.