Chapter Text
Symphony No.3 in G Minor, Op. 71 "Gabriel's Horn": 1. Presto con vendetta
At 5:40am, Gabriel woke and teleported upstairs, kissing his beloved's temple. Back in his room he swallowed nervously and cautiously opened the velvet box of answers. With a deep inhale his left hand picked up the bracelet through the center and closed around it, letting it dangle below as he braced himself and looked.
A confused hand gingerly touched his cheek and realized he was crying before he'd come back to the present. Several important things were learned. His father was an abusive bastard to them both (when he was around), which he'd already suspected.
He knew his father knew he didn't have to kill and preferred it because his mother had gotten that bracelet as a sweet 16 gift and he'd traumatized himself by watching their first time because he knew that look. He'd come there to kill her but a greedy lust filled his eyes and he used an ability to make her compliant. After he finished he narrowed his eyes and whistled and she fell asleep. That same sick satisfaction sparkled in his father's eyes telling him it was a new ability.
That tidbit pissed him off in particular. Not just that he'd raped his mother and then abducted her, but that the ability he used to try subduing him to take all his abilities had been his mother's. He watched her use it to soothe him to sleep when he had nightmares or too much adrenaline from the screaming and beatings.
His father had also gotten someone with mind control at some point and he watched him rewrite her memory of their first time to make her believe she loved him but not that he loved her. He told her he'd only chosen her as an experiment because he was curious if he could breed specific abilities to harvest so that she'd blame herself for loving him and never question it.
Gabriel had been born with the same ability as his and he rejected him as worthless because of it. He tried to kill him several times and tried to force his mother to once when she refused to suck his co*ck in front of him. The only reason he failed the first few tries was because she'd seduced him to take the attention onto herself. He knew it in the way she'd flick her eyes worryingly and apologetically at him as she lured his father away.
The few times he didn't let her protect her son completely, knowing what she was doing, he'd seen as his father abused her to the ground while calling her a desperate whor* and violently f*cking her or forcing her to fella*te him right next to Gabriel as he curled into a ball and silently cried. He learned very quickly not to run away after the second time his instincts made him back away and his father’s deadly voice said: “Stay right there, boy, and watch the consequences of your actions. She's taking a punishment for you. Least you can do is make it hurt less by obeying now. Otherwise, it'll be much, much worse.” This was driven home by hitting her or thrusting in violently, both making her scream in pain.
The night she was being controlled to hurt him herself, the phone rang and Samson made a face like he couldn't ignore it as he released the control. She ripped Gabriel out of the tub, sobbing uncontrollably as she gave him mouth to mouth until he coughed up water and cried while cowering away from her. She looked destroyed as she reached for him under the sink and begged him to come to her, telling him she didn't mean it and that she was sorry, that she loved him. He hesitantly crawled to her then held her tightly and cried. After the shock faded he rewatched it while listening and knew it was his uncle on the phone planning the arrangement. He was sold the next day.
He saw the day he stopped crying when it wasn't him. He watched his empathy die because the helplessness hurt too much. He knew from the way he was feeling now, that when it was himself it felt less upsetting than being helpless to protect the one he loved. That was why his father forced her to drown him that day. At 4 years old he stood in front of her with his arms out horizontally and said: "No," as his father approached her cowering form. He laughed at him, looked at her and said: "This, this is your fault," as he made her go to the bathroom and fill the tub enough to submerge him then march back out and snatch him up. He didn't make her think she wanted to do it. No, that would have been a dark sort of kindness. Instead he could see from the horror in her eyes that she was helplessly aware the whole time. He knew that look too. The look victims he'd silenced held as they screamed and screamed in terror but couldn't make a sound. He'd delighted in it.
That was why he'd felt such a primal fear when Arthur claimed that Angela tried to drown him as a child. He must have seen that memory and realized Gabriel was unaware of it. The deep-seated fear was still there just waiting to be exploited.
His mother was amazing and she really did love him. In the way she looked at him from the moment he was born, to the way she'd say it, and she'd shield him to take the beatings while protecting him. Everything about her was beautiful and warm. Everything he found that he loved about her reminded him of all the reasons he loves Claire and a sickness twisted deeper into his fractured soul.
He also learned why smelling Claire's hair from her neck comforted him, and doing so from the top of her head made him feel protective and strong. His mother would hold his head against her neck when he cried and the sobbing and deep sniffles would cause him to breathe her in until he calmed down or cried himself to sleep. He'd also kiss her head and pet it, while resting the side of his face on it to hold her when she was beaten unconscious and he was trying to kiss away the pain like she would do for him. On occasion, he'd manage to lift her head onto his tiny lap and pet her hair while humming the same melody to her that she used to calm him.
He was so deeply and profoundly happy to be loved by his mother. The regret of not killing his father was festering until he reminded himself that suffering in solitude is what he'd deserved. And now he was in an awful mood knowing he deserved the same.
He threw up twice from the trauma caused by all those memories, and more unlocked as he watched them, drowning in the overwhelm of sudden onset repressed memories awakening. Then he threw up again from the revulsion he felt with himself over all the horrible things he's done and the disturbing realization that he was subconsciously reenacting his childhood while playing the role of his father. He never beat or raped women but he used them as tools and felt they deserved it for being so easily manipulated and that was exactly what his father felt. He knew it deep down.
His stomach nearly voided again but there was nothing left so he dry heaved a few times before shakily grabbing the sink and pulling himself up.
He brushed his teeth numbly while sitting on the tub and scrubbed several times, attempting to purge the taste of bile his soul left all over his tongue.
Gabriel washed his face and finally looked in the mirror while holding the sink. The glass and porcelain cracked on both sides under his hatred for his father and himself until his dangling necklace caught his attention and he closed his eyes with a fist around it. Another deep breath and he listened to Claire's heartbeat, seeking comfort in his anchor, but not feeling like he deserved to see her or that he could currently face her.
Anxiousness mounted because after searching the entire house, inside and out, it wasn't there. She wasn't there.
"Where's Claire‽"
"Jeez! You almost landed in my dinner!"
"Answer me, Micah!"
"She left with her dad."
"She what‽ When‽"
"Uh, I don't know. Since you were so insistent on installing full visual cameras a few months ago, we can just rewind to when they left. I'm still not comfortable spying on everyone."
"It's not spying. It doesn't look into anyone's rooms. Besides, you, Peter, and I all turn the ones near our rooms off when we want privacy."
"I still think it's weird you didn't tell me why."
"The reason was that Bennet broke into Claire's room in February. She didn't want anyone else to know."
"sh*t. Really‽ First that Teddy cam surrounded by a reverse camera jam to block us from detecting it and now this? It's lucky you're able to hear electronic frequencies. Here."
Gabriel clutched the back of Micah's chair in his right hand, left in a tight fist at his side, as he leaned in and watched intently reading their lips then checked the timestamp of their departure and his mouth ran dry. Without a word he went straight to Peter's hotel and teleported him out.
"Peter! Peter, wake up! Wake up, damnit!"
"H-Huh? Wha-" Peter jumped out of the chair, electricity in his hands, full of anxiety.
"It's me! It's me, Peter."
"Gabe? Gabe, what the Hell-"
"Claire's missing!"
"What‽ How‽"
"Bennet took her to breakfast."
Relief and mild annoyance went through Peter and he realized the initial fear he'd felt was being piggybacked off Gabriel.
"That's not missing. f*ck, man, you nearly gave me a heart attack."
"What are you not understanding here? I know you just woke up, but we don't have time for your brain to catch up. Bennet took her out, Peter. He never tries to take her out!"
"He's probably taking advantage of her dyed hair. Relax. It's just breakfast."
"That was 5 hours ago!"
"Did you try their phones?"
"Nothing!"
"As in no answer or-"
"Dead or turned off!"
"What? Why didn't you start with that‽ Damnit! Ok. Ok, don't panic. Let's go get Molly and try to think rationally. If you show up all freaked out and nothing is wrong, you're going to confirm Noah's every fear about you two, and potentially make Claire uncomfortable. Breathe."
"I'll breathe when I know she's safe again."
"Molly? Molly? Wake up." Peter's knocking went unanswered.
"She's not here… And neither is Parkman! Peter… It's a trap! We've got to get out now!"
"sh*t, you might be right! I thought we'd gotten Matt on our side… Hang on. No, Gabe, wait. Matt said something about this to me. He was going to take Molly to buy new clothes because she's outgrown hers. It was a late birthday present. I haven't let him know I moved out temporarily or about Emma giving birth, just in case, so he's still reporting their departures to me for the alarm deactivation. It could be a coincidence."
"I don't believe in coincidence anymore."
"Understandably. Let me try Matt's phone. Go get Micah to try Molly. I don't know her burner's number, and I'm guessing you don't either."
"Ah! You've gotta stop popping in here unannounced."
"Try to reach Molly."
"She left with her Dad to go shopping at 10:33."
"Try!"
"Ok, ok."
Gabriel teleported back to Peter the second Micah's eyes opened containing concern.
"He can't reach her."
"I got nothing on Matt either… I think you were right!"
Micah, prepare for company. We'll lure them to the tunnels as planned, if they show up. In the meantime, keep trying to find Molly and Claire. Maybe they're simply in areas with no service. I know it's unlikely, but it's worth a try.
Got it, Peter.
"I have to go."
"Where? Without Molly we can't find Claire, Gabe. And if we can't connect to her phone, we can't triangulate her location. You need to calm down. You'll be no good to anyone if you lose it."
"How calm would you be if it was Emma or one of the kids?"
"I'd be pissed, but speaking from experience, I don't let desperation cloud my judgment very often. I'm unfortunately very good at compartmentalizing. I know you are too, and I know this is the first time you've cared so much about someone and it's overwhelming you. That makes you exploitable, distractible, and sloppy. You know I'm right. Now think, where would he take her? It's not like he can turn her in to them. They'd kill him as a traitor after torturing him and the only reason he agreed to these living arrangements was to prevent her from getting taken."
"I've told you this before, you underestimate what Bennet will do when he feels he's left with no other options. He'll-"
Claire's phone is back on network. I'm getting a signal. Peter might have been right about it just being in a dead zone.
The gps data appeared in Peter and Gabriel's heads when they linked to their phones.
"Gabe, wait!" Peter grabbed his shoulder as he turned away.
"It could be a trap!"
"You think I don't know that?"
"What are you going to do?"
"What I should have from the start."
"Gabe, no!"
He vanished and Peter cursed under his breath as he carefully popped into his room to grab a few things. He heard Gabriel's anxious heartbeat coming from his own room and felt a small relief that he hadn't left yet, though there were odd sounds like writing and metal clinking together. He arrived back in India and gently woke Emma.
Wake up, my love, we have to go.
Peter? What's wrong?
They might have found us. I'm taking you to the safehouse. Hold on.
Where's Natalie and Victor‽ I want to hold them!
Shhh… They're already with you in the bed.
Emma blinked and saw her sweet baby girl beside her, and her precious baby boy on her chest. She focused on her calming breaths and carefully wrapped her arm around Natalie. The loss of her blanket made her shiver as she found herself upright, and quickly gripped the children harder at the sudden presence of their full weight. Natalie stirred with a quiet moan and stilled.
Peter guided her by the hand to an ordinary looking wall but it suddenly slid into the wall beside it revealing a generator that he powered up.
Emma was amazed to see they were in a full-sized apartment. They went through another door and she tucked Natalie in the bed, sitting beside her at the edge, unwilling to let Victor go.
I'll be back as soon as I can. The structure surrounding this is all made of lead so nothing can see through it and it's so deep normal radar can't find it. I love you. I love you all, so much!
I love you too, Peter! Come home to me.
He kissed his wife, newborn, and lastly Natalie's temple. He stared at his family with the same fear he felt before every mission, the fear of knowing it could be his last. This one was different, because this one might be the prophecy and that meant he was losing something irreplaceable today, no matter what happened. There would be no real victory. Only sacrifice and more borrowed time.
Teleporting back to the tunnels, he listened carefully above him and found only one steady, slightly high from adrenaline, heartbeat.
"Hey."
"Hey, Peter. I'm almost done pulling up all the local cameras and satellite feeds near Claire's location. I'm pretty sure you were right about it being a trap."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because she hasn't moved since it came on and, after checking for close to 100 miles in every direction, I have full access. Not a single dead zone in sight."
"Damn. Evansville? That's on the complete other side of the state!"
"There's supposed to be a traffic cam about 40' from her, but it's offline. Teleport to this location and see if you can telekinetically reconnect it. Be careful. I don't know where agents might be hiding. I'm not seeing anything obvious."
"Alright. Be right back."
Peter appeared a mile away from the location of the camera and listened in to the entire area. No one was near where he needed to be to see the camera. He laid down on the ground and landed on his stomach on the roof of a bakery 100' feet away. There were a lot of audible heartbeats from there, people bustling around the town going about their day.
He had to concentrate hard to move something so small from that distance, but he was able to plug the power supply back into the camera. He gave one last sweep of the area, concerned by the number of people he was sensing around the abandoned vehicle he recognized as Noah's then went back.
"Thanks. I've got it! Turning it around now… Ok! sh*t!"
Peter watched from behind Micah as Gabriel walked out of an alley nearest the car and opened the passenger door, lifting Claire's phone from the seat. He opened it and froze momentarily at the wallpaper of a grey bear in glasses kissing a yellow one. He sent the image to himself and crushed the phone in his angered fist as he walked to the middle of the empty street, throwing it to the ground.
10 agents came running from the side streets, alleys, and businesses, guns trained on him.
"We have you surrounded. Surrender."
"Where is she?"
"Get on the ground, facedown, now!"
"I'm only going to ask this one more time before blood is shed. Where- is- she?"
"Open fire!"
Gabriel's left arm raised with the hand up, halting all the bullets. His fingers thrust out, angled parallel to the ground, and the bullets returned to all shooters but one, piercing the weak spots on their armor. Grunts of pain and a few screams filled the air as he stalked towards the man that issued commands. He unloaded his clip but every bullet was deflected and his empty gun flew from his hands as Gabriel reached him.
"You should have answered me."
Gabriel's right hand yanked the man's helmet off and the left touched his head. The agent waited in impossibly stretched seconds for whatever horrible death was coming but the man touching him gave him a withering look as he ripped his radio off and shoved it in his back pocket, pushing him away and teleporting.
What did you find? Gabe? Gabe, answer me!
"Micah, find him!"
"Where are you- Oh."
Peter appeared on the street Micah was watching and found all the men non-critically wounded and felt hope. The only one unharmed squirmed back trying to get the knife out of his holster as Peter grabbed his bulletproof vest and lifted him closer by it.
"P- Petrelli!"
Peter smiled darkly as he also used clairsentience to find what Gabriel had.
"Thanks," he said as he let go and the man stared wide-eyed watching another person vanish before his eyes. He quickly walked to each agent under his command, taking the first's radio, and checked the pulse of the unconscious ones.
"We need medevac now! 9 wounded! I repeat, we have 9 agents wounded."
"Are there still hostiles in the area?"
"No. No, they seemed to have left. I think they teleported."
"Copy that. Medical copter 1136 is inbound and will arrive in 3 minutes, if not intercepted."
The man sat against the diner counter next to his agents, exhausted after hauling each one inside the establishment. He felt grateful they'd spread news of a gas leak the night before and told the businesses on this block they couldn't open today and closed off the roads several miles out.
Micah tracked Gabriel's phone and got a lock on his location just in time to see Peter appear behind the circle of 15 agents training their guns on Gabriel. They were standing in the middle of a highway but there were no cars and after a quick search Micah found a false report of a pileup that had this section of exits closed off by police officers redirecting traffic.
"Tell me where she is and no one gets hurt."
He sighed at the sound of the triggers beginning to squeeze and snapped. They agents looked around baffled at the space their disintegrated guns had been occupying. A few pulled out their backup pistols and the others followed suit. His arms raised overhead and his wrists flicked inward making his hands face each other and so too did every agent turn and face the one next to them.
"Sir! Sir I can't move!"
"Why are you aiming at me‽"
"It's not me!"
"Me either!"
"I think he's controlling our bodies! Oh God!"
"Sir, what do we do‽"
The agent in charge flinched at the collective shouts of every soldier.
"Calm down!"
"I will make them open fire unless you tell me what I want to know. Where are they taking her?"
"I don't know who you're talking about."
"Have it your way."
Every muzzle angled up under their chins.
"Gabe, no!"
Gabriel hesitated a moment, having forgotten he'd heard Peter get there, and the agent in charge instantly recognized him.
"Peter Petrelli. They said you might show. Been wanting to pay you back for Argentina. I lost 6 men because of you."
"Your people blew up that boat, not me!"
"You can have your little vengeance showdown after you've served your purpose."
Gabriel teleported behind the man before he could react, binding him mentally, and slid his fingers up the small exposed part of his neck.
"Gabe, wait!"
He left the instant his eyes opened and Peter cursed to himself. The man shuddered at the unwelcome intimacy of that touch and squared his shoulders, entering a fighting stance as the group hesitantly pointed their guns at Peter, grateful to have control again. Peter sighed.
"I don't have time for this."
He teleported next to the commanding agent but he was ready after Gabriel had done it and dodge rolled right the moment Peter disappeared, spinning to aim behind him with one knee on the ground. Peter teleported again and all the bullets shot at him ricocheted off the armored truck he'd been in front of, causing several agents to dive to the ground. He appeared where he'd first arrived and moved his hands out then slightly down and in pushing the others face down and holding them mentally.
Aggravated, he walked to the head agent, yanked his arm behind his back to pull him to his feet, and scanned for his recent history. The man managed to break the connection and had his gun on no one. He blinked after turning around but Peter wasn't there.
"I think they have telepathy or something, Sir. Both targets fled after touching me."
"Alright. Fall back to headquarters. They're following the trail and eventually will work their way here. We knew from the start we'd only be able to delay them until the primary target was secured."
Peter, why are you checking people after him? Just teleport straight to him! We need to minimize the damage.
I'm sure you can see what's happening, Micah. I have to confirm where I'm going because if I blindly follow him, I could teleport to the middle of the Antarctic next to his phone and then I'd have to go back to the last spot and scan them anyway. There's always a chance they damage his phone as well, or hit us with an emp hoping to neutralize your ability. We have to assume that Noah might be in on this, which means he knows you voluntarily gave Gabriel your ability, and it won't be long before they figure out I'm using two, meaning I'm back to normal.
Right… I wasn't thinking. I'm just worried about him.
Same. Something is off other than Claire. He's feeling really angry with himself in a way he can't contain. Can you tell a pattern based on where we've been heading?
Yeah. For some reason it's going towards California instead of D.C. Maybe they assumed that would be too obvious a place to take her.
Great. Alright, on the plus side that means more visibility and potential aid from you, Oracle.
Heh. Don't worry, I've got your back, Robin.
Robin‽
Oh, come on. Out of the two of you, he would clearly be Batman. Tragic parental background, including one being murdered before his eyes, infinite wealth, and the dark brooding thing. Plus he's closer to Bruce's height and frankly, looks illegally good in a suit.
Fair enough. Haha. I needed that. Things are getting really bad.
I'm more worried he's going to go Frank Castle for real, instead of B-man.
Me too. I won't be able to communicate much after this. I think I need to try and keep up with him before the worst happens.
Be careful.
"Gabe, wait! Let's handle this together! Gabe!"
Peter jumped back as the screaming body of the agent Gabriel was holding 30' in the air plummeted to the ground. He barely had enough time to grab him telekinetically and spare his life. The agent's momentary relief turned into new panic as he tried to move but continued to hover over the ground and felt a hand touch his shoulder.
Everyone fell over collectively and the agent whipped forward into Gabriel's beckoning hands then he flew him up and took the information from his feebly squirming body and he waited until Peter arrived to drop him. That gave Peter pause. He wasn't sure how, but Gabriel knocked them all out. Not a single death. He was still trying, and that was promising.
The next location showed that he'd just vanished a millisecond before Peter got there and he froze time as he heard a disturbing sound from the truck before him. Touching it revealed Gabriel landing on the roof, the window lowering and him ripping the driver out by hand and tossing him to the ground while opening the passenger door and telekinetically ejecting the agent there as it was still in motion.
Levitating nearby, he spun the wheel hard causing it to flip over several times and the agents inside screamed. One crawled half out as the backdoors shot open and Gabriel landed in front of him, lifted him by his bloody hair just enough so he himself could stand up straight, then let go and wiped his hand on the man's shoulder once.
Peter checked and, though alive, many agents were critical, and he swore at Gabriel internally knowing this was another thing to make a bigger window between them.
Why is he stalling me?
That's when it hit him. Gabriel didn't want Peter to see him in person. He didn't want him to see he was spiraling and watch his failure in real time. He probably didn't want to see the disappointment on his face because it might slow him down and right now he couldn't afford doubt or feelings. That mode of operation was something Peter was unpleasantly familiar with.
He moved as quickly as he could and teleported them safely away, gave them his blood from the syringe he'd brought expressly for that, then teleported out of the area and the truck exploded as time resumed.
Peter looked up when he heard gunfire and saw Gabriel hurl a fireball at a helicopter that was trying to shoot him midair. It connected with the base of the propellers, blowing them off in another direction. Peter strained mentally to ease its landing and panted a few times after succeeding, then popped over and found everyone inside terrified but fine. He got what he needed and left.
"Gabe, stop!"
"Better listen to Petrell, boy. Unless you want your little bitch to suffer worse than she already will."
That was the wrong answer and Peter quickly raised his arm to stop him as Gabriel's eye twitched, but relaxed as the gun against the agent's temple angled down and he was forced to shoot himself in his left knee.
Peter sighed in relief but knew that was a lot closer call than it seemed as Gabriel teleported out. He could feel the murderous intent clawing under Gabriel's skin, making him itch like a junkie in withdrawal. The agent was forcibly healed (much to his dismay), and Peter was on his way, not wasting any time.
Each scene had been getting progressively more violent, toeing closer and closer to that line and he knew it was only a matter of time before he crossed it.
Because of the delay in their departures Peter arrived and froze. He walked up to the closest agent and touched his shoulder.
Gabriel's jaw tensed as 25 agents encircled him and there were guns pointed at him, again. They were testing his patience and patience was never his strong suit.
"Freeze! Get on the ground with your hands behind your head!"
"Where is Claire Bennet?"
"No idea who you're talking about. We're here for you."
"I highly suggest you not lie to me."
Peter broke the connection and walked to the one in charge, wanting to see Gabriel's face, and dove back in.
"On my signal."
"WHERE IS SHE‽"
Several agents faltered back a step at the demonic booming voice.
"Hold your positions! Stand down, we have you outmanned."
"ENOUGH!"
The agents fought their instincts to run but some were shaking as Gabriel lifted them all 8' feet, parallel to the ground, and left them dangling desperately.
"Tell me where Claire is."
The threat was literally lingering in the air above the lead agent and he steeled himself for a mass murder knowing he wouldn't comply with terrorist scum. Not even if that had been the protocol, but, thankfully, it was not. They were close enough to the ground that they should survive the impact. He immediately unloaded in a perfect headshot aim but the bullets all stopped within an inch of Gabriel. His eyes narrowed and they clinked on the tar road.
"Last chance. Where are they taking Claire Bennet?"
"I don't know anyone by that name."
The agent thought he was stealthily withdrawing the pistol on his back, but to superpowered ears the metal slowly sliding out of fabric was as loud as a wave rolling in while standing on the shore.
One of the threads of Gabriel's patience and mercy that were straining under the weight of his fear and anger frayed until it broke and he grunted in aggravation from that tingle and noncompliance.
The bodies moved back and upright where they stayed a few seconds (just long enough for them to adjust and panic less), then he slammed them all together and let them fall.
The few screams before the impact as they realized their fate while moving forward were mild compared to the pained ones from the few that weren't knocked unconscious and felt their legs break on impact with the ground and various other bones breaking from the weight of their comrades crushing them.
The agent looked confused as he quickly drew the gun and shot but nothing happened. A quick inspection showed the safety had been switched on, which he knew he had just disengaged. In the few seconds he had checked, the target was looming over him with visible hostility struggling to be released.
Peter felt the anxiety grow as he got the info he needed after seeing that and followed Gabriel.
He's barely holding on. He's going to kill someone today. I mean… we both knew that because of the vision but… we were hoping it was accidental, like an explosion of something, or possibly me doing it, or the plan… not flat out murder for the sake of it. Now I'm scared it's the latter.
He didn't waste any time here. They're all knocked out again. Thank God.
"Tell me where they're taking her and I'll spare you."
"You won't let any of us live. You're all abominations and we have the freak queen to thank for exposing the truth and letting us know we had an infestation to terminate."
"Choose your next words very carefully."
"The religious types think she's some kind of angel or saint but we know the truth. She's a freak of nature, like the rest of you. A sickness that needs to be eradicated. The higher ups won't let us suppress and kill her until they've gotten enough of her blood to satisfy their curiosity. I'll never take that sh*t though. They've already had us sign new documents where we checked off options in the eventuality they caught her and we wanted to refuse being tainted by mutant blood. DNHRRs (Do not heal, revive, or resurrect.) I'd rather die. The same doesn't go for you, you sick son of a bitch. We have kill on sight orders for you, if you try to resist. They want you alive, but that's optional, so I suggest you comply."
"10," A scream pierced the air as the dominant leg of the closet agent on his left broke at the knee.
"9," The same for the one behind.
"8," and again.
"Tell me what I want to know." Another sickening crunch was followed by a grunt as they were all bracing for it now. At: "5", he started to the agent closest on his right and worked back to the leader. By: "4," it was clear what number the commander was meant to be.
"1."
He walked over and glared down.
"Talk."
With an upward flick of his eyes her helmet and goggles flew off and she spit in his face, making his jaw clench. His hand was hot as his palm flattened on her forehead and she was helpless to stop him. The grip tightened steadily and painfully.
Rage looked back at her and the predator prowling behind his eyes pounced from its cage. With a quick leftward jerk of his head her neck broke and he let her go with a disgusted face.
Dawning of what he'd just done sank into his features and body language as a maelstrom of emotions filtered through his eyes, the most obvious being horror, shame, and more anger. He grabbed onto the most familiar feeling and teleported away.
After all these years of self work and struggle, Gabriel Gray just took another life intentionally. Peter feared what would happen because they both suspected if he ever did again, it would be like a dam breaking and years of repressed homicidal tendencies would flood the streets with blood.
Peter walked to her, and thankfully the rest were just unconscious from pain or head trauma. After looking far enough back to see the next location Peter knew why he'd decided to kill her. Not that he justified it, but he knew in his current state that was too much and it was the first confirmation that the bagged body they'd been moving was Claire. After seeing her give a similar speech to the small hooded woman and then thank her for outing them all and doing the world a favor, Gabriel's tie to his anchor broke knowing how much that would destroy her to hear. Claire wasn't even at the base when they'd begun torturing her, starting with psychological first.
Peter came back to the present and sat beside the corpse he was crouched next to and held his face, while punching the ground once with the side of his fist.
Micah?
What's happening Peter? I'm blind where you are and Gabe's not answering.
He's not answering me either. It's ok. I'm on to his next location, he's still carrying his phone which means he wants me to follow him and that means we're going through with the plan. Any sign of activity there?
No. Looks like they didn't give up the safehouse.
Any luck with Molly?
Not yet.
Alright. I'll be just another moment then you'll see me wherever you're monitoring Gabe from.
"No…"
Peter's heart ached painfully and he activated clairsentience.
"Claire Bennet's location. Talk."
Every gun co*cked and aimed at the suddenly there man.
"Fire!"
He sighed through his nose and shot a taser level electrical current from both hands that connected all the agents in a massive circuit. A couple dropped while being shocked, some did after it ended, while about half were shaken but still standing.
The agents on the ground got up as quickly as they could and all aimed again.
“Fire!”
Some bullets left their chambers but most agents hadn't been able to pull the trigger as another, slightly stronger, current hit them this time dropping them all.
“Tell me what I want to know and no one has to die.”
Peter could tell from the years of knowing him that Gabriel was begging them to comply because he was losing the battle. He recognized that hunger-like repression rippling through him with increasing magnitude as he struggled in vain.
The lead agent was on his feet again and the rest all stood more slowly.
“Don't push me. Just tell me where the girl is.”
They all re-aimed.
“F-”
Gabriel shouted in frustration and electricity shot from him, arcing in hectic branches as it hit every agent with immense force that caused it to illuminate some. They didn't get up after that and he stumbled towards the man in charge, panting from his outburst. A shaky hand touched the man's neck and Gabriel rounded his shoulders as he stood, taking a deep breath in and out with closed eyes before teleporting.
Peter gave them all his blood after getting what he needed and took a moment to collect himself. Watching his friend slowly losing himself was more upsetting than he thought it would be. He hadn't expected it to leave him so shaken, and mostly it was because the longer this went on the more damaging it was going to be for Gabriel.
Peter froze at the sight before him. He wasted no time and went straight to the body in the position all the other leaders had been in.
“Tell me where Claire Bennet is.”
A number of agents whipped around at the voice behind them, joining the others already training their guns at the enemy.
"Do you want to die?"
Peter's blood chilled when Gabriel spoke. There was no emotion whatsoever, just a cold rationale that reflected in his indifferent face and he knew he was shutting down from killing.
"Last chance.”
Gabriel's open right palm lifted beside his head facing forward.
“All agents, open fire! I repeat, open fire! Target is hostile #1, Grade 10. Neutralize at all costs!”
A hail of bullets unloaded into a telekinetic wall and agents strategically moved to flank him and get within CQC range, firing tranqs and suppressant darts. To their disappointment the shield was a complete sphere around him. A complex battle could be seen flickering though his tightened expression before it evened out again. The gunfire ceased and as they all quickly reloaded he felt his control slip from his will. Guns co*cked, their fingers squeezed again, and his raised hand twisted into a fist facing backwards. Peter winced at the deafening sound of 24 necks snapping simultaneously.
The agent in charge looked around at the bodies that collapsed in unison then pulled the trigger several times but only heard clicks. Looking down, he saw that at some point the clip had been removed from his gun and smelled smoke. He threw the gun to the right seconds before the bullet Gabriel slowed in time inside it went off.
"I'll never talk! You'll have to kill me!"
"I don't need you to talk. I was only asking for their sake."
"Go ahead and torture me, Sylar. Won't do any good. I'm a seal. You're not breaking me."
"You know, the last agent I tortured didn't break and I learned something from that. I was being too nice. I don't have to torture you to get what I want, though. I've only been asking for answers to avoid killing anyone, but,"
His eyes glanced at the body he passed on his left.
"that ship has sailed, and now the seas shall turn red in its wake. I tried doing the heroic thing. I truly did, but maybe no one ever really does change. Maybe I was just deluding myself into thinking I could ever have a normal, happy, and fulfilling life. Maybe I gave up that right."
"The only thing people like you deserve is-"
"Death," he asked the corpse as its neck snapped and he dropped it.
"I'm sorry, Pete. I tried."
Gabriel was looking right at the body at his feet knowing Peter would check it as he addressed him. His eyes closed remorsefully and when they reopened there was a dangerous determination in them.
There was no one at the next place and Peter turned in a confused circle until he heard something underfoot. For some reason this section of street was covered in dust but nowhere else was in the town, and there was no sand for miles. He swallowed worriedly as he bent down and took a handful.
Peter's jaw clenched as he saw Gabriel arrive and snap the agents into dust, without a word. He didn't bother to check them either which meant he knew where he was going now and that confused Peter. Why wouldn't he be going straight to her? He had a terrible feeling that the next location would tell him and hoped Gabriel was still himself enough to not ditch them.
He jumped at the sound of screaming and looked up in time to see Gabriel's hands nearing each other tensely and two choppers smashed together as he clapped. He looked in Peter's direction and disappeared. He didn't bother to see the preceding events unfold and simply did what he had to catch the wreckage, save the people inside, then teleported to Gabriel's location only to see it was nearby. A whooshing sound had him spinning around and he found Gabriel in a different section of sky lobbing fireballs in multiple directions.
Despite how long it took to notice she was gone and how long it's taken on this journey, they'd been traveling backwards in time zones so it was close to the same time of day they'd started.
Peter braced himself and went to what he feared would be the final destination.
Don't you think this is strange?
What, Micah?
Why have groups of agents been sitting around as if they're waiting for you to show?
I was so caught up in what's happening I didn't stop to question that.
I think it's a misdirection…
It's a misdirection!
Jinx. Owe me a co*ke.
Pfft, you don't even drink soda.
You know, Gabe didn't get any data from that last group. I think he might have figured that out.
Yeah… I saw that. Oh no…
What?
I think maybe he's gone off the wagon…
I mean, yeah, he's killed a lot of people in the last half hour. Oh, f*ck…
Yeah.
The Naval Weapons Station in Seal Beach is close by. We've been wanting to get in there for almost two years because we know they have specials in there!
Oh, god! God, Gabe… No!
Peter teleported next to Gabriel and didn't give him a chance to argue before teleporting him into the alps.
"Listen to me! No! Stop! Look at me! Listen!"
Gabriel tried to teleport away but Peter refused to let go.
"She isn't in there! Are you listening to me? They led us on a wild goose chase and we played right into their hands! She's… She's gone, Gabe."
"Let me go, Peter."
"Not until you listen, goddamnit! I know! Alright! I f*cking know!"
"It was for nothing."
"..."
"That woman… I…"
"I know, Gabe."
"No, Peter, you don't! Your mother told Bennet I have clairsentience! I've been very intentionally hiding that from him because it was my most useful ability involving getting information from him. She's the only other person that would have, because I know you didn't say it, and I don't believe Claire would. Maybe Parkman saw me using it in her head before you started training her, but it's highly unlikely. I killed that woman because I thought… I thought she'd said those awful things to Claire and I couldn't take it anymore and it wasn't even Claire! It was a girl with the same proportions! That's why she's bagged! They really do have Claire which is why it was Bennet's car and Claire's phone, but the rest was… And because I took a life I didn't see a point in fighting against it anymore. I… I tried but it was so much harder after."
"I know. I've-"
"Wait! That's it!"
Micah, locate Bennet's car. I'm sure they moved it after we left.
Hey, Gabe. Sure thing.
"Good thinking!"
"I'm going to hurt him, Peter. If he… If he's responsible in any way… If he betrayed her this way…"
"Believe me, I'll be kicking his ass as well."
Ok. I can see an agent getting in it and driving off. sh*t, I lost it in the rural parts of that town. No, wait… Got it again on the highway but it's getting off the next ramp… Why would they go right back into a small town? It's gone again and there's nothing on traffic cams leading up to the current time.
Check all the impounds, including police, and the junkyards. Think they tried to destroy the evidence.
Good thinking. I'm scanning now.
"Hey, I need your head back in the game, none of that was what we'd planned. We needed them sh*t scared and we knew the risks of you killing, still I brought them all back. All except the ones you disintegrated. There was nothing left to resurrect, which wasn't what we'd agreed to."
"I know. I knew you were lagging behind in order to revive them but the point is I didn't mean to kill her as part of the plan, Peter. It wasn't intentional as in, I was faking it. I actually murdered her. I maliciously and deliberately killed her because I wanted her to die, not because I was thinking that she'd come back. I… I lost control. And after that I couldn't regain it."
"I'm staying by your side this time. No arguments."
Found it! They took it into a junkyard at the location I'm sending now. Good luck finding it.
That's the easy part, once I know where to look.
"Let's go. We'll find her."
Yes, I will.
