Confrontations (3/?)
Title: Confrontations (Chapter 3/?)
Author: Jemma
Rating: To be safe, T (13+)
Disclaimer: Not my show or characters.
Characters: Peter, Nathan, Matt, Mohinder, Sylar, Future!Claire, Future!Peter, Future!Mohinder, Future!Nathan, Future!Danko, Danko, HRG, Mary Campbell, Luke, Tracy, mentions of Hiro.
Summary: My own interpretation of “Fugitives” after “Trust And Blood”. I started this before Volume Four began but added to it as new episodes showed. It follows Future!Peter in the future Fugitives-verse and the made of Awesome Trio which is Matt, Mohinder and Peter in the present. The three fugitives go on an important mission to find Sylar in an attempt to get Peter’s abilities back while, in the future, Future!Peter struggles with the changes of reality and suddenly finds himself in the same position many of his friends had been put in before they met a cruel fate.
Previous Chapters: One, Two
Read here or at FF.net
Chapter Three.
Three Years in to the Future, Two days after visiting the Past.
They threw him down in to a small room that looked much like a prison cell. That was basically what this was. A prison. He was drugged, couldn’t tell right from left as they grabbed his arms and ankles and chained him up to the wall. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t teleport out of there. He felt too weak. Or maybe something else was stopping him. But he felt useless and he realised there was nothing more he could do. For him it was over. He had to rely on his younger self now. To stop all this before it happened. But for now, he would have to endure this brutal treatment. His head rested against the wall, showing off the bruises on his forehead and cheek. His skin throbbed with pain, even his scar began to hurt again as if it were only a few weeks old.
“My God, Pete. Look at you,” he heard his brother say from somewhere in front of him as the other men left them alone in the room. Peter’s eyes blurred, all he could see was a swirling darkness. But then Nathan came in to view. He avoided his apparently concerned stare and looked at the chains that bound him to the wall, preventing his escape. He tried to move, maybe prise himself free. But it was no use.
“For so long, I never thought I’d see you in here,” Nathan went on to say, “We lost sight of you a long time ago. Even the others wouldn’t tell us where you were hiding.”
“Is this what you did to them, Nathan?” Peter growled hatefully through his drowsiness, “Chained them up like animals in some rotting prison cell. Drugged them…beat them…Waited until they had some hope left before you lined them up against a wall…”
“I told you,” Nathan added, “None of this was what I wanted.”
“But you still let it happen,” Peter muttered, looking up at his older brother with a dark glare.
“I did what I had to. Ever since Danko decided to start executing you all…there was nothing I could do. I tried to protect you. And Claire. I don’t care if you don’t believe me. But that’s the truth.”
Peter was silent for a few moments as he dreamily looked to the ceiling, almost all hope lost. He felt like he wasn’t quite here. Like he was floating. But the fear and hatred remained, “Is that going to happen to me?” he asked Nathan, same level of bitterness in his voice, “They’ve chained me up, hit me just like with the others. They’re going to kill me too?”
“I’m not going to let that happen.”
He laughed resentfully, “You let it happen to Claire.”
“That’s different. You’re my brother. No matter what’s happened between us, I’m not going to let them do that to you.”
“Are you kidding me?” he laughed harder, “Now you’re the protective brother figure again? You’re gonna save my life, Nathan? Be the Hero?”
Nathan gnawed on his lip at his brother’s persistence, “Don’t make me change my mind, Pete.”
Peter glanced up at him, the smallest amount of light remained in his eyes and even a small smile played upon his lips, much to Nathan’s annoyance. Even with that hideous scar, Nathan could still see who he really was. His baby brother. And nothing would ever change that. He wasn’t going to change his mind. He would fight his brother, threaten him, change every aspect of his life….but he could never let him die.
“Try not to make him angry,” Nathan warned him, referring to The Hunter as he walked over to the door. He stared at his younger brother one last time, wanting to say more. Needing to say more. But no words would come to him. He simply walked out of the room and left Peter alone in the darkness.
~*~
Present Day
“You sure this is the address?” Matt asked as he got out of the car which parked on the side of the road outside a house which they assumed to be the Campbell residence.
“It’s the address I wrote down,” Mohinder answered as he and Peter joined Matt outside the house. They stared at it for a few moments, thinking of a way to approach the situation.
“This isn’t going to be easy. I doubt she’ll be able to help us,” Mohinder commented pessimistically. The woman had been through a lot. He presumed she wouldn’t take to three random strangers asking her a load of questions about the man who tortured her and abducted her son too well.
“Perhaps Peter and I should just go in. She might think it’s strange, the three of us at her door,” Matt suggested, showing obvious hesitation.
“And what am I supposed to do? Wait in the car?” Mohinder replied dryly.
“Well, you obviously don’t think this is a good idea!”
“Will you two stop,” Peter rolled his eyes, sick of the arguing, “You guys go in. I’ll have a look around. See if I can spot anything that may be useful. Just be careful. We‘re not the only ones looking for Sylar.”
The other two sighed but nodded before they split up and Peter headed off in the opposite direction.
The cold air of the afternoon blew through his hair as he walked along the pavement cautiously. He was tense and couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. They had ways of tracking them, ways of seeing them wherever they went. He knew he had to be ready for the unexpected. They had to be prepared no matter what. The sooner this was all over the better, he thought.
It was ironic, he added to himself, that in such a stressful and scary situation all he wanted to do was run to his brother for help. Just like he did when he feared he was going to blow up and kill so many innocent people. Nathan had helped him then and risked his own life to save others. But now, running to Nathan for guidance wasn’t going to work. Now, Nathan was the enemy. And no matter how many times he went over it in his head, he found it so hard to accept that.
As well as that, Peter couldn’t stop his thoughts drifting to Claire and what would happen to her if he didn’t do something soon. He hoped wherever she was now she was safe. The girl had been through enough in her life already. She wasn’t supposed to have to deal with such horrors. She should have the chance to be a normal young woman just like she had wanted. Peter realised now to be normal wasn’t an option for him anymore. It was far too late for the likes of him or Matt or Mohinder. They resented it, but it was something that they had slowly come to accept. There would always be something, whether it was saving the world or running for their lives. Nothing would ever be the same. And they all knew that now. But Claire had the protection she needed. She had to forget about them and all of this, no matter how hard it was. It was the only way she could be safe.
He kept telling himself he could fix this. All of it. He would find Sylar, find a way to get his abilities back and then they would fight. He would be stronger, faster. His new ability slowed him down, made him weak.
The first time, Claude had trained him to use his mimicking ability. That was the first time Peter finally felt in control of what he could do. He had tried to focus all his energy on being able to absorb more than one power, but every time he tried, failure was sure to follow. And he wasn’t about to jump off anymore buildings to test himself.
“Hey,” he heard a voice greet him. He stopped cautiously and turned to face the stranger who had spoken to him. He wore a black hood that almost covered his eyes and his clothes were dark to match.
“Can I help you?” he asked, slightly confused by the sudden disturbance. He stepped back ever so slightly, suspicions rising.
“Yeah. I’m, uh, I’m looking for someone,” the other man said gently stepping towards him.
“Oh yeah?” Peter asked, prepared to turn and walk away. He couldn’t afford to take risks. Even if this guy was completely innocent, he couldn’t be seen talking to anybody. He shouldn’t even be out in the open like this, “What does he look like?”
He pulled his hood back to reveal his face. Peter didn’t recognise the man but he had a frightening look in his eye and a threatening smirk that told Peter he was in trouble and that it was time to run. He turned away only to bump right in to another, taller man.
“Well, Mr. Petrelli. He looks just like you,” the previously hooded man smiled darkly. They raised their guns.
Peter’s mind thundered with panic. It would all be over if he didn’t do something now! He pushed the taller man away and ran right past him. That’s when he felt a shock in his back and he allowed himself a few seconds to recover before breathing through the pain and continuing to run, no matter how much it hurt. He knew Mohinder’s power would come in useful. The first couple hardly affected him. But the shocks wouldn’t stop coming and it wasn’t long before he had almost slowed to a halt. He felt two men grab him from behind and even though he felt so close to passing out, he kicked his feet and struggled and yelled until he could break free. He felt the life being sucked from him and it reminded him of when his father had torn his powers away from him. The painful sting and the betrayal mixed in to one was enough to give him enough anger and strength to fight back. And now he could feel the same rage and intense strength return to him. He kicked away the men in front of him and they soared across the ground and in to some nearby trash cans. He managed to break his arm free and hit one of the men behind him in the face. He stumbled backwards, leaving the other man so stunned it was much easier to pull away and clock him too. But then Peter did something completely unexpected.
He flew.
------------
“Can I help you?” a dark haired woman with pink frowning lips opened the door to see the two men staring down at her. She had droopy eyes and pale skin and it looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks.
“Uh, yes,” Matt replied, “Mary Campbell? We’re here to ask you some questions about what happened the other week.”
“I don’t want to answer anymore questions,” she muttered monotonously, beginning to close the door.
Mohinder held the door open, “Wait! What my assistant means is,” he glanced at Matt who seemed to be glaring ever so slightly at him, “is that we want to help you,” he added, turning his attention back to Mary who’s expression had become more confused.
“You want to help me?”
“I’m Doctor Murti and this is my lab assistant doctor Brookes,” explained Mohinder as he leant slightly closer, “We want to talk to you about the man who was here. Did he exhibit some strange behaviour? I mean, did he appear to have unusual abilities? Perhaps something you’ve never seen before? Like…moving objects with his mind…or…”
“Come in,” she said sharply. She held the door open and that was it.
Mohinder looked over at Matt who shrugged simply. It seemed the hard part was over. Now they needed answers. They walked in to the house and looked around. Everything seemed normal enough, except the carpet had been pulled up and it looked like the living room had been moved around quite a bit.
“So, what do you want to ask?” she muttered, they could see the pain and misery that shone in her eyes.
Mohinder opened his mouth to answer, though hesitated slightly before proceeding, “We have reason to believe that the man who broke in to your house was a man called Sylar. He’s highly dangerous. We were researching him and his abilities before he escaped and found his way here. Do you have any idea where he may have gone?”
Ms Campbell glanced down to the floor for a short while as a frown grew across her face. She sighed, “I’ve already told the police everything I know about that. He mentioned something about finding his father. I think that’s why my son went too. To show him the way.”
Mohinder shot a curious glance at Matt. His father? Last time Mohinder had heard any mention of Sylar’s family, the Petrelli’s were claiming to be his parents. That’s my son. The words he had heard Arthur Petrelli tell him as he almost killed the man he had angrily gripped in his scaly hands. He knew those were all lies now, of course. But still, this must have inspired Sylar to find his real parents. That’s where he was going and that’s where he, Peter and Matt would have to go now if they were going to complete this mission-ridiculous and far-stretched as it was.
“Do you know where he is? His father?”
Again, she hesitated, “I can write you an address, yes. But I haven’t spoken to him in ages. He’s a bad man. I didn’t want my son anywhere near him,” another sigh and she shook slightly, “But everything’s changed so much now. I don’t understand any of this. They’re all monsters. All three of them.”
“I’m sorry,” Matt replied impatiently, coming closer, “Do you think we could have that address?”
She sighed again and began to write it down on a small piece of paper. As she handed it over to Matt, she looked at him and Mohinder closely, “The things that man did….it’s impossible isn’t it? The cops think I’m crazy. But you two…you believe me,” she pushed back her mess of hair despairingly, “My son…he can do it too. He’s just like this Sylar, as you call him. He’s dangerous. Very dangerous,” she swallowed, pained, “If you find him…don’t bring him back to me. Lock him up. That’s the safest thing for all of us.”
They stared at her as her eyes began to water and she looked away. They thought it best to leave immediately. It seemed her son had an ability too. They doubted he was as dangerous as Sylar. But then again, if he were travelling with the man it could be possible he would have some influence on him. The important thing was that they now had an address. Sylar was on his way there and they had to follow him.
They paused before reaching the car, “You hear that?” Matt asked, looking up slightly.
“Hear what?”
A soft whistling sound, like an aeroplane, accompanied by an echoing cry of pain. And then it wasn’t long before the source of the noises had landed right in front of them and had collapsed on the floor agitatedly twitching in fits of agony.
“Peter?” Mohinder said aloud, astonished by the sudden arrival. Matt immediately bent down to help him, pulling the darts out from his skin. He breathed through the pain, trying his best to recover from what had just happened. Mohinder was still staring at him in amazement, “Peter…you flew.”
Peter only looked up at them both, his teeth tightly together as the pain continued to expand throughout his body, and he simply warned them, “Get in the car. Now!”
~*~
“It’s been an hour,” he heard a concerned voice say.
“Give him time, he’ll come round eventually.”
He twitched slightly, eyes opening ever so gently, the occasional headlights of a passing vehicle every so often shining on to his face through the darkness and causing him to close his eyes again and squint. Groggily, he took in a breath and swiped tiredly at his eyes as he then realised he was slumped in the back seat of the car, head resting against the windowpane. His black jacket had been taken off and rested on the seat beside him. His skin stung. Through his blurred vision he could see two figures in the front seats ahead of him.
“Peter,” Matt said gently from the driver’s seat as he spotted him waking up from his deep slumber, “How’re you feeling? You’ve been out for a while.”
“What happened?” he asked, ignoring the question and drowsily sitting upright.
“Shortly after we met up you passed out,” informed Mohinder, “Don’t worry, we got away safely. And we have an address to find Sylar…” he paused, “But we’ve been wanting to ask, is there still reason to find him now?”
Peter ran a hand through his hair, still recovering and trying to get his energy back, “What do you mean?”
Mohinder shot a small glance in Matt’s direction before continuing, “Well, it’s just…you flew.”
“I did?” Peter pinched the skin between his eyes, his head beginning to pound. Then he remembered, “I did. I flew.”
“How can that be?” Matt asked, glancing from the road to Peter, “Don’t you still have Mohinder’s power?”
Peter looked down momentarily at his hands, “Yeah.” How can that be possible? He thought he had seen the last of his old empathic power. His father had taken it from him. And now he could only have one at a time and presently, he had two.
“Are you sure?” Mohinder asked.
“I took about six or seven of those darts before I passed out, Mohinder. So yeah, I’m sure,” his gaze moved back down to his own hands as his thoughts tried to process all this in a logical way.
“What happened?”
“I was just walking along when they grabbed me. Nathan wasn’t there, I’m pretty sure of it,” he explained with a slight scowl at the mention of his brother, “I broke free and then before I knew it I was up in the air.” Perhaps this was his power returning to him? Perhaps not? All he knew was that he now had two abilities instead of one.
Well, it was a start.
Matt turned his attention to Mohinder, “Do you know how that’s possible?”
The other man furrowed his brows and thought hard for a moment before shaking his head, “It’s hard to say,” he looked at Peter, “Your powers occurred naturally, which means there must be some trace of the genetic code left in your DNA. Even when your father took them from you, he couldn’t take your DNA. The formula must have activated it again, like the eclipse. But it’s been altered some way. It’s hard to comprehend. Even I have trouble understanding it.”
“So I still have part of my old ability?”
“It’s possible,” Mohinder admitted with a small shrug, “But the question is, does this mean we can spare ourselves a visit to our old friend Sylar?”
He took a moment to think. Surely, if his powers were returning to him, he wouldn’t need Sylar? But then, none of them could explain how Peter had gotten Nathan’s power again and it couldn’t be known how long it would take for the rest of them to return to him, if they were going to return at all. And Peter didn’t have time to wait around and see what happened. Something needed to be done now.
“No,” he finally answered Mohinder in a serious tone, “I have to see him. I don’t know if this will even last. I need the others too. I need Sylar’s powers. It’s the only way.”
“You sound like a broken record,” muttered Mohinder, leaning back in his seat with frustration.
Peter shot him an angry glare, “Do you trust me, Mohinder?”
“Well, it seems I have no choice in the matter.”
“Do you trust me?” Peter repeated himself, the glare remaining.
Mohinder sighed heavily and softened a little as he admitted that he did.
“And do you, Matt? Do you trust me?”
Matt looked at him from the rear-view mirror and nodded, “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
“Then you trust my decision to do this. I don’t want to put you guys in danger,” he told them, shifting in his seat slightly, “Look, I’ve seen a different side to Sylar. He saved my life. He may have been the bad guy once but I believe he can help us. He should be on our side, they’re after him too.” The other two men listened to him intently, “I don’t know what’s going on with my powers and yeah, I don’t know if this will work. But we’re running out of options. All I know is that right now things are bad and pretty soon they’re gonna get a whole lot worse. So you’re either with me or you’re not.”
There was a brief silence as Matt and Mohinder exchanged serious glances with each other. Peter patiently awaited an answer. Looking up from the wheel one more time, Matt locked eyes with Peter and nodded confidently, “I’m with you, Peter.”
“Me too,” Mohinder added, a tiny smile playing on his lips.
Peter returned the small smile and nodded back, “Right.” Having got that out of the way, his expression became more serious, “Now, what’s this address?”