Numbers in brackets are keyed to footnote editorial comments.
Volume III: Villains
Chapter 13: Dual
Over scenes from this volume, Sylar waxes poetic. That it is Sylar this time instead of Mohinder does not mean it's any more interesting.
Pinehearst: Peter kneels over his dead father, still holding the gun when Nathan enters from the other room. Peter explains that it was Sylar, and that it had to end this way. Nathan closes his father's eyes. It's too late to destroy the formula, a dozen marines are being injected right now. Peter has to stop the plan, even though Nathan insists it's their plan now, not their father's: making the world a better place. Peter cocks his gun. Nathan sounds just like his father. They stand and face each other, Peter aiming the gun at Nathan. Nathan talks him down, insisting Peter has to choose a side[1]. Peter hands over the gun, then slugs Nathan and takes it back.
Primatech: Noah grabs shotguns from the armory. Peter's going to need help. With Claire, Meredith, and Angela at his side, he intends to finish this. As they turn to leave, they see a couple of bodies on the floor[2]. Bars slide over the windows and the lights begin to click off. Sylar watches everything from a central room lined with televisions showing different areas of Primatech[3]. Over the P.A., he tells them that Arthur's dead, and there's no need to go to Pinehearst. He's a monster, and before the night is over he's going to show them all that they're monsters too.
Sylar taunts them as they set out to find him. Noah knows where he's broadcasting from. Claire tells him how to shut Sylar down, by jabbing something into the brain stem. Sylar tells Claire that they're alike, and when she denies it, he promises to show her. Noah and Meredith find the control room and bust down the door to find someone sitting in front of the monitors. It's a dead guard. They aren't hunting Sylar. He's hunting them.
Deveaux Building, 16 years in the past: Hiro still clings to the flagpole, talking to a pigeon and unable to save himself.
Suresh Lab, Soho: Ando feels he's the only one who can help Hiro by taking the formula and becoming a time-traveller. He, Matt and Daphne break into Mohinder's loft. Mohinder's not there, though, he's at Pinehearst. Daphne volunteers to go get him even though Matt thinks it's too dangerous.
Suresh Lab, Pinehearst: Mohinder's infection has spread to his lungs, making it difficult to breathe. He's decided to inject himself again, this time with the catalysed formula, in the hope that his changes will correct themselves. He grabs a vial of the formula and is about to apply it when Peter burst in. Peter raises his gun and orders Mohinder to put the vial down. Mohinder tries to explain that, where once he didn't even believe powers existed, he came to covet what Peter and the others had. Now it's turned him into a monster and he needs the formula to set things right. In mid-explanation, Daphne blows through the room, snatching the vial from Suresh's hand. Mohinder, convinced Peter's taken it, attacks him. Flint and Knox enter. Flint pushes Mohinder against a pillar and threatens to burn him if he moves. Flint and Knox have come to destroy the lab. They figure that if Mohinder can give everyone powers, they won't be unique anymore. Mohinder can't believe Peter's siding with the bad guys, but Peter proves it by overturning benches and tables.
Pinehearst Office: Scott the Marine brings Nathan back to consciousness. Nathan tells him that Peter has to be stopped, and Scott heads out to carry out his orders. He meets Knox in the doorway and Knox calmly breaks his neck. Nathan can't believe Knox is working for Peter now, but Knox says Peter is one of the good guys now.
Suresh Lab, Soho: Daphne arrives just as Matt and Ando are getting impatient. Ando takes the formula from her, but Matt begs him to reconsider. Just because he wants time travel doesn't mean he'll get that ability. Daphne points out that Matt was always worried about what people thought, and now he can read minds. Daphne always wanted to run, and now she's a speedster. Ando rolls up his sleeve and asks if Matt's ever had faith in something even when no one else did. Matt glances guiltily at Daphne and admits he has. Ando injects himself and, while Daphne and Matt watch, collapses onto the floor.
Deveaux Building, 16 years ago: Hiro works his way to the base of the flagpole and then back up onto the roof. He calls for someone, but no one answers and he wanders downstairs into the apartments. He finds young Hiro sitting, holding the pigeon his mother revived. Young Hiro looks sad because he misses her. Old Hiro looks sad because his father gave him a simple task and he blew it. Young Hiro reports that his mother would say if they could fix the problem today, they wouldn't have to worry about it tomorrow. Old Hiro thinks that's a marvellous piece of advice and asks Young Hiro to help him save tomorrow by finding their father's formula. Young Hiro is reluctant, but agrees.
Primatech Office: Claire and Angela wait. The phone is dead because the place is on lockdown. Claire tries the bars, but they're solid and she grows frustrated. Angela points out that throwing a tantrum is exactly what Sylar wants her to do. The phone rings. It's Sylar. If she wants out, she's got to make a hard choice just like the kind her father makes so often. Sylar will let Noah, Meredith and Claire go if Claire shoots Angela dead. If she doesn't, then maybe Noah and Meredith will die and it'll be Claire's fault. Claire swears that, if anyone gets hurt, she'll hunt down and kill Sylar. Sylar points out that being a cold-blooded killer will make her the monster and him the victim. Claire cocks the shotgun and blasts the phone.
Level 5: Noah opens the cells. Meredith thinks he's crazy, but Noah figures they need help. As the prisoners, including Doyle, leave their cells, Noah explains the situation: they're locked down so no-one can escape, and the one who brings Noah Sylar's head can have their freedom. As the prisoners head off, Meredith can't understand what good they'll do. Noah explains that they're Sylar bait.
Pinehearst Lab: Peter continues destroying the lab while Mohinder pleads with him. He points out that the formula is flammable, but Flint doesn't care because he's fireproof. Mohinder can't believe Peter is associating with thugs and killers[5]. Flint takes exception to that characterization and throws Mohinder across the room. Peter rushes over to check Mohinder's pulse. Flint shouldn't have done that, but he figures now the lab trashing will go twice as fast[6].
Soho Lab: Daphne wakes Ando by splashing water in his face. Ando wonders if the formula worked, but it seems his only demonstrated ability so far is being able to pass out. Matt urges Ando to try and use his time-travelling ability. Ando tries repeating a mantra, but nothing happens. Daphne suggests a super-squint, like Hiro's, only not too much because he doesn't want to end up in the stone age. They watch VERY closely as Ando tries again and again before giving up in frustration. He lashes out at a bench because they'll never be able to save Hiro. Red sparks run up and down his arm. None of them know what it was, but it wasn't time travel.
Primatech: Meredith's all by herself[7] in the hallways, scared, jumping at every sound. She uses a flashlight to aim and keeps her gun up. She finds a severed arm on the floor, its fingers still twitching. The arm is partly metal, once belonging to Pine, the level 5 escapee. The rest of Pine is probably in a trashed medical supply closet up ahead, but Meredith hasn't taken more than a step toward it before a half-empty vial of adrenaline rolls toward her. Sylar appears behind her and throws her gun away. Before he can do any more, his arm jerks away from his side, and Doyle steps out of a connecting passageway. He has control of Sylar, and tells him that Meredith is his to love and kill. Sylar mocks Doyle's attempt to control him and uses some power or other to kill Doyle from a distance. Meredith scrambles for her gun, but as she brings it up, Sylar stabs her with a needle full of adrenaline. As she collapses, Sylar tells her he has one more thing to do.
Level 5: Noah's checking out the cell block when he sees Meredith inside one of the cells. He runs in, but she forces him back with a jet of flame. She's lost control of her fire. She orders him out and Noah backs toward the door, but Sylar closes it from outside before he can escape. Noah aims through the glass at Sylar, but Sylar reminds him that the glass is bulletproof. At the rate Meredith's losing control, he may need one bullet for her. Sylar wonders what he'll tell Claire when Meredith is dead. Noah helped make Sylar the man he is, and Sylar's just returning the favor.
Pinehearst Office: Nathan sits calmly in a chair, playing with an ornament, while Knox paces back and forth behind him. Nathan tries to convince Knox to change sides again. Knox bends over Nathan and wonders, if Nathan's so confident that Peter's the wrong person to back, why he's so afraid. Nathan smashes the ornament across Knox's skull, and the two fight until Tracy arrives. Tracy freezes Knox solid and they watch as he shatters.
Suresh Lab, Soho: Both Ando's hands are sparking red. He can't seem to control it. Matt touches him, trying to get him to calm down, and Matt convulses, his head suddenly filled with the thoughts of the entire city. Daphne tries to restrain Ando, but vanishes, only to reappear on the other side of the room in time to watch the previous exchange. She's travelled back in time, and she gets to watch as her earlier self catches up to her present self.
Primatech: Claire watches on a monitor from the office while her father tries to free himself from the cell. Angela says Sylar is showing them this because he wants them to go down there. Claire doesn't care. She has to rescue her father. They leave the office, Claire leading and Angela following with her hand on Claire's arm. There's a noise and a flicker of light from a side corridor, so Claire investigates. While she's distracted, Sylar takes Angela's place. He lifts her against a wall and explains that, since she wouldn't play before, she now has to choose between saving her father and saving her grandmother. Sylar knows she's going after her father, even after all the lies he's told her, how he's neglected her. He lets her go and she runs off to...
Level 5: Claire pounds on the window, and Noah tells her to type in a code on the lock's keypad. Unfortunately, Sylar's ripped the keypad out. Meredith's losing control, and the room's getting hotter. Noah orders her to take as much heat in her hands as she can and press her palms to the glass. She does for several second, heating the glass. Noah has her then move away, and he shoots the glass. It cracks, but doesn't break. Claire gets them to move back and takes a running leap at the glass. Weakened by Noah's bullet, it shatters. Noah leaps from the room into cool air. Claire pulls a jagged glass shard from her back and tries to convince Meredith to follow them. She has to stay for a minute[8]. Claire promises to come back, then she and Noah run off.
Pinehearst: Tracy tries to convince Nathan to leave. The disaster with his father is still something with which she can keep him from being associated. All they need is the formula[9] and they can start over without interference from anyone else. Nathan can't run away, though, and fires Tracy for thinking he should. He leaves in search of Peter.
Soho Lab: Matt, Daphne and Ando figure out that Ando's new power is the ability to supercharge other powers. Daphne suggests she take Ando along with her, using him to supercharge her to the point where she can run backward through time. Matt's against the idea, but Daphne insists she'll be back before he knows it. Daphne and Ando hold hands and vanish.
Deveaux Building Apartment, 16 years ago: Hiro and Hiro open Kaito's safe and make off with the formula. Kaito enters in time to catch them at it. They insist they were just playing. Kaito sends young Hiro to bed and dismisses the cook[10]. They start to leave, but Kaito calls the older Hiro back. He's noticed his safe is open and demands the formula back. Kaito grabs a katana from a rack near his desk and threatens Hiro with it. Hiro backs into the kitchen, trying to explain. He gropes for something on the prep table with which he can defend himself and comes up with a french loaf. Kaito slices it into pieces. He gives Hiro one last chance to explain. Hiro wants to destroy the formula so it can never be used again[11]. Hiro rips it in two, but before he can destroy it further, Kaito lunges and Daphne and Ando snatch Hiro away.
Soho Lab: Daphne, Hiro and Ando reappear. Hiro's a little upset they couldn't have rescued him a moment later, after he'd torn up the formula. Ando's upset that Hiro isn't even grateful for the rescue. Hiro has to destroy the formula, and Daphne could help. It's a chance for her to correct her mistake. Matt lets them go, and they zoom off to...
Pinehearst: Tracy's frozen a part of Arthur's safe and broken through it. She comes out with the formula just as Daphne and Hiro arrive. Hiro demands the formula. Tracy refuses to surrender it, calling Hiro "Pikachu," and saying she's got plans. Hiro apologizes and punches her, snatching the formula while she sits on the floor in stunned surprise. He and Daphne speed off.
Pinehearst Lab: Peter and Flint overturn the last of the formula, which washes over Suresh, who lies unconscious in a corner. Mohinder's scales melt away, and his breathing eases. Flint fires up his hands, ready to burn the place down. Peter tries to stop him, but Flint doesn't care about Nathan or Peter or anyone. Before he can burn Peter, Nathan arrives and hits him over the head with a pipe. He and Peter circle each other a moment before Nathan gut-punches Peter to the floor. Peter gets up and backs away, but Nathan takes the pipe to his legs, knocking him down again. Peter broke Nathan's heart. Flint recovers enough to start a fire on the floor. Flames leap up between Peter and Nathan, surrounding Nathan and Flint. Peter grabs an unbroken syringe and jabs it into his own leg. He runs through the flames, grabs his brother, and flies him out through a window just as the lab explodes.
Primatech Office: Sylar has Angela alone in the office. He's told her about killing Arthur. Angela believes that makes him a hero, and with Arthur dead, there's no-one to hold him back. Sylar believes there's still Angela herself, and throws her into a chair. He makes her confess that she's not his mother, although for a moment he wishes she were. She lied to him because she found her sons a disappointment, and she wanted another chance. Sylar knows that's a lie. Instead, she needed his skill and never saw him as a hero. She saw him as a killer, flawed, weak, malleable. She used him because that's what she does: she's a monster. Surprisingly, this upsets Sylar more. He demands some shred of evidence that there's good in the world, that not everyone is like him. As he begins to choke the life from her, she confesses that she knows who his real parents are. It's the truth, but if he kills her, he'll never find out. He begins choking her, demanding the truth. Before things can go any further, Claire appears behind Sylar and does something. He falls to the ground, bleeding from the back of his neck. Noah runs in behind her. They have to leave. She orders him to get Angela out, then runs off to...
Level 5: Meredith lies on the floor in a cell, her hands burning. Claire arrives. Meredith's flames are spreading up her arms. She demands that Claire go. Claire tries to save her, but Noah arrives. There is no saving Meredith. She's going to bring the whole building down. Claire has time to say, "I love you, Mom," and then she and Noah run out just ahead of a fireball as Meredith explodes.
Forest: Peter and Nathan come to a landing. Nathan's furious: Peter took the formula, everything he was against. He demands to know why, and when Peter says it's because they're brothers, Nathan reveals that it's not what he would have done. Nathan then flies off.
Montage, with Mohinder speaking over: Mohinder hitch-hiking. A car pulls up and he sees himself reflected in its windows. His scales are gone. The window rolls down to reveal Tracy in the driver's seat. She motions for him to get in.
Claire, Noah and Angela watch Primatech burn.
Daphne and Hiro arrive back at the Soho lab. Hiro triumphantly rips up the formula. Daphne and Matt hug. Hiro and Ando bow to each other respectfully. Matt sees the Guide standing in the foyer.
Volume 4: Fugitives
Limousine, Night: Nathan tells an official sitting in the limo with him that he's got no choice but to get the government involved. He hands the man a folder containing photos and reports, including Chandra Suresh's book Activating Evolution, pictures of Tracy and Micah, Hiro, others, and Suresh's map. The people in the folder have the potential to be dangerous, and Nathan's giving the official all the information he needs. Nathan had a solution that didn't work out, so now he wants them all rounded up and placed in a facility where they won't be a danger to anyone. The official agrees to give Nathan whatever he needs. Nathan thanks him, revealing that the official is the president of the United States, then steps out of the limo, which turns out to be a motorcade on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.
24:50
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1. It looks to me that, with gun in hand, Peter has already chosen a side.
2. I thought the place was deserted when Angela was in her coma? Where'd all the people come from?
3. Where's the Haitian? He was two steps behind Sylar when they left Pinehearst, and he has the ability to block all of Sylar's powers. Worst. Deus Ex Machina. EVER.[4]
4. Deus Ex Machina: "God from the Machine." In Greek tragedy, near the end of the story, an actor playing one of the Gods would descend in a machine to set everything right and restore order. In modern literature, it's any trick which appears from nowhere and solves a seemingly insoluble problem: like Batman's utility belt always having exactly what he needs to escape the latest fiendish deathtrap. In Heroes, the Haitian is always conspicuously absent whenever he would be most useful because his power would solve too many problems.
5. Um. The guy who first sides with Primatech and then with Pinehearst calls Peter on his associations? The man's a doctor of hypocrisy.
6. It'd go even faster if you set fire to the place, idiot.
7. P.I.S. on an order rarely seen outside a slasher movie.
8. P.I.S.
9. And the catalyst. Which is dead on the floor. Somebody want to move him before he starts to smell?
10. At no time have we seen him in mourning for, or even burying his wife. A little continuity misstep on the part of the writers.
11. Until someone else does the research and develops the formula... or better yet, a formula that actually works.
]
