All The King's Horses

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eve_icon.gif peter6_icon.gif

Scene Title All the King's Horses
Synopsis …and all the King's Men, couldn't put Peter Petrelli back together again.
Date May 4, 2009

Staten Island, The Garden

The living room takes up half of the front of the house on the ground floor. It is beginning to look civilized. The windows are new, the walls have been freshly painted off-white and the floor's bamboo. The place has two mismatched couches and a few armchairs, all well-loved, along with floor pillows in a variety of colors.


Despite the rays of sunlight coming through the curtained windows of the Garden — the Ferrymen's central holding on Staten Island — there is a pall of darkness that has come over this place. Not a physical, literal darkness, but something more worrisome, the dark uncertainty of unexplained and violent events. While the Garden's caretaker isn't present, the handful of staff at this branch of the Ferrymen's organization have been taking care of an unexpected guest, one that has seen better days.

Laid out on a cot in one of the spare rooms, Peter Petrelli looks like he decided to get into a fist-fight with a truck. With one arm bandaged and stitches in his forehead, his cheek and bandages across the left side of his face, he's looked like he's seen better days as well. The most unsettling part of this, is that none of his injuries are healing, that the man who is supposed to be as invincible as Claire Bennet, is nothing more than an ordinary and severely hurt man.

It's no surprise, however, to Eve Mas to find Peter Petrelli here. Few things do ever come as a surprise to a seer, and the dream that woke her up several nights ago was finally put out into the light when she received a call from Jezebel regarding the new guest here. From her vantage point in the doorway to the back room, it's the first time Eve has laid eyes on Peter in a long time. Injuries aside, he hardly looks like he's changed at all.

"The ah… the lady who left him here, she said he got hurt pretty badly. We obviously can't take him to a doctor," blue eyes move from the young, blonde man to Peter's prone form on the cot. "He hasn't woken up since he was brought here, Jez' took a look at him, but there's only so much she can do. I'm— if he doesn't wake up soon, there's a girl I know who works for Phoenix… she might be able to help."

What have you gotten yourself into now, Peter?

"Ok, if Jezzie arrives, please let her know I'm here." Eve says in a soft voice and she enters the room, the door is closed behind her and the seer tilts her head. Dressed in a long midnight blue dress and black boots, the woman's long raven hair falls towards her waist as she moves towards the man that she has been worried about for months.

"Petey.." she whispers softly and comes to kneel by his side, her eyes scan over his body and she shakes her head. "You've been gone a long time." She says and then begins to hum softly, her hand goes over to brush some hair out of Peter's face, then the hand comes down to rest on top of Peter's hand.

"Wake up." She whispers into Peter's ear as if her words alone would do the trick..

Watching from the door, the young Ferryman operative folds his arms and gives a silent nod to Eve. By the bedside, it's so clear to Eve just how hurt Peter is, from the wet and wheezing quality of his breathing, to the bruising around his eyes. Everything about him seems so broken, so weak, and as she brushes the hair from his face, lifting grown in locks from the scar on his brow, she can see for the first time — despite all of this — a look of peace on his face.

The whisper comes and goes as whispers are wont to do, but no reaction comes from Peter. "Jezebel tried talking to him a few times…" The young man says quietly, taking a few meandering steps into the room, "I'm actually starting to get worried now. It's been a few days, and— " motioning to Peter with one hand, the Ferryman operative seems anxious, "his breathing's only gotten worse. I didn't notice the wheezing until this morning, but… I think he might be bleeding internally."

"You may have to call Abby." Eve admits and continues to look at Peter, "Why aren't you healing?" the question is asked aloud and Eve looks actually very worried for her friend.

"None of the doctors we know, can say what's wrong? Maybe a coma.. self induced or otherwise." She says and shakes her head. She has so much to tell him, to let him know.

The dream she had comes back to her and she looks down. Who did this to Peter though?

"We haven't… really gotten a doctor out here." He notes with a reluctant tone of voice, "I— It's hard to convince anyone to come out to Staten Island, really." Easing away from the door, the young man circles around near the cot, watching Peter with a growing look of concern. "I— don't have any contact information for — Abby was it?" Blue eyes lift up to Even then lower back down to Peter, "I figure that's the same girl I heard about, only second-hand— " one eye squints, thinking back to the news reports lately. "No, wait, yeah— that probably is h— "

The young Ferryman's words are cut off by a sudden scream as Peter bolts up from the bed, eyes wide and arms flailing, but the scream quixkly turns into a ragged and hacking cough as the scarred man crumples forward, one hand clutching at his chest, the other covering his mouth as he struggles to catch his breath. Peter scrambles away from the bed, legs tangled in the blankets before coming crashing down on the floor, eyes wide. When he first spots the Ferryman agent, he throws out hand out and two fingers pointed towards the wall— but nothing happens.

A confused look of shock comes over Peter, and then his eyes finally catch sight of Eve by the side of the bed, and all of that defensive posturing begins to drain from him, instead replaced by abject horror and confusion as he pulls one bloodied hand away from his mouth, "Wh— " coughing ensues after Peter begins to speak.

Frozen in place like a deer in the headlights, the Ferryman breathes only once Peter relaxes, looking to Eve with wide eyes, as if hoping that she might have an idea as to how to handle this situation.

"Out." She says to the Ferrymen agent, her expression not one to argue with. The precog jumps to her feet and rushes towards Peter. "Relax Peter.. relax!" she says sternly and tries to take the man by the back to lead him to sit down. "You aren't healing so you need to just sit down and relax ok?"

"What the hell happened?" Eve asks with wide eyes. "I'm assuming the raid went as planned?"

Wincing slightly, the young agent of the Ferrymen slinks out of the room and partly closes the door, disappearing out of sigh shortly before Peter's hissed response comes out. "Plan?" Dark brows lower, "Nothing about any of that looked like a plan!" As he shouts, a violent cough wracks his body, and he lurches forward, resting on ehand on his side, followed by a pained growl. "I— I don't know what happened. I— I ened up in Antarctica with Gillian and— " he shakes his head, presuming Eve and Tamara aren't acquainted. "Nothing went right, I— I don't know what's going on."

Looking around the room, Peter's eyes suddenly grow wide, "Gillian— " dark eyes flick to both sides of the bed, then back up to Eve, "Gillian— Syl— " he catches himself, "Gabriel, where are they? I— we were attacked. Some— some guy who could turn into metal, and this— I dunno, some red lightning guy he— " holding his chest, Peter doubles over and coughs, covering his mouth with his other hand. When the fingers come back, they're pinked with blood.

"My powers are gone." His eyes find Eve's, terrified, "All of them."

"What?" Eve's expression is surprised. "Gilly and Gabriel aren't here.." Eve shakes her head. "We have to find them, and get you patched up also. You are going to do no good while you're in this condition, seriously Petey."

"I dreamt about the metal man with the scar.." she says softly, "He looked so angry." Talk of no powers, "What do you mean, how can you not have your powers Peter? When was this?" she sighs and looks at Peter, "Just calm down, you're coughing up blood."

"I'm fine," Peter's temper never used to be quite this bad, even when he was separated from himself. Perhaps realizing, or remembering that spark, he eases back some, covering his mouth with one hand. "I— I'm fine." Dark eyes scan to the bedroom window, shuttered closed and dark, rays of light filtering through the boards, then back to Eve with furrowed brows. "I don't know how it happened. I just— one minute he was there, and then there was— I don't know— this red lightning was everywhere, and— I— " his hand pulls away from his mouth, looking at his bare palm. "I can't do anything."

Then, taking a moment to consider what Eve said, Peter looks back up to Eve with his head cocked to one side. "You— dreamed of the metal guy? Who is he?" There's a sense of urgency in his tone of voice, a half-step taken towards Eve, watching her with a marked curiosity.

There is a moment of silence from Eve. "It's obvious that you aren't but ok, I won't fight with you on that Pete." The singer shakes her head, "Ok… so someone did something to your powers, we'll have to find Gillian and Gabriel to see if the same happened to them."

The dreamer sighs and nods her head, "He looks.. sort of like Allen Rickham. But.. that makes no sense what so ever, he looked old.. that's if a person covered with metal can even /look/ old." Eve steps closer to Peter and shakes her head. "I'm sorry.. I should have tried to warn you." Even though she didn't know that Peter was even out and about.

"You've missed a lot.. so much. Damn." She mutters softly and tilts her head at Peter.

"Hey I— " The guy outside knocks on the door, poking his head in, "I— wasn't evesdropping or— " he was, but the grimace on his face shows the guilt he feels for it. One hand pokes out from the doorway, holding a folded piece of paper. "Gillian— was here when he got dropped off, her and a guy with dark hair, really intense looking. She left this letter for him…" Peter eyes the Ferryman operative, head canting to one side, jaw shifting from one angle to another as he snatches the paper with one quick hand motion, unfolding it hastily, letting dark eyes divert down to the writing.

Managing an awkward smile, the Ferryman operative just bows his head and takes his leave, closing the door fully this time. Peter paces around the bedroom, one arm wrapped around his bandaged midsection, the other holding the paper up, eyes scanning back and forth as he reads it. "She— " he looks back up to Eve, "Gillian left- she's with Gabriel. I— don't know what's going on." A sharp sigh muffling a hissed curse slips out of his lips, and the note is crumpled up into a ball and tossed to his feet.

"Goddamnit." Eve's suggestion that the iron man was Allen Rickham flies right over Peter's head. Being in prison for as long as he was, too much of that event was lost on him. "I— I have to go," Peter turns towards the door, limping as he does, "My— I have to find my fath— " but he stops himself from going any further, eyes focused down on the floor, before he finally looks up to Eve with a rather lost expression. "I— " he breathes in slowly, "don't… have any money for a cab…"

"Ok, simple. First off you're on Staten Island, we'll take my car." Eve says and begins to walk towards the door, "You can tell me what you remember on the way, I'll tell you what you missed. We can piece the story together.. together.." The seer looks at Peter and tilts her head.

"Where is your father?" she assumes that is what he was going to say. Maybe they have to take a plane ticket.. instead of a car? She doesn't know.

"Staten Island?" Peter's brows tense, eyes narrowing to thin lines, "I— That's… not so bad, the only bridge off of the island goes into Jersey, if we're quick we can get out fast enough to not have to worry about anything in the city." Pacing around the room with a limp, Peter walks over to where his leather jacket is draped over the back of a chair, picking it up with one arm to sling over his shoulder. "My— father's in Jersey, about ten minutes out of the city. I— I'll give you directions there."

Breathing in a slow breath, Peter furrows his brows, "But— I'll go with you," there seems to be a catch, from his tone of voice, "you just— you have to promise to stay in the car once we get there. My— my father, he's— he's a really private person, and…" wetting his lips with his tongue, Peter looks away from Eve. "You have to promise me you won't tell a soul that we went to go see him, not anyone." A thought crosses his mind, and dark eyes flit back to Eve, "Especially not Claire."

A nod is given to Peter as Eve puts her hand on the knob of the door. "Of course. Not a soul Peter. I promise." She nods her head at the man and tilts her head. "How do you think your dad will be able to help?"

"I— " Looking down at his feet to make sure he's wearing shoes, Peter's words hitch for a moment in the back of his throat. "I don't know, but— he's a pretty clever guy," he adds with a faint hint of a smile, "if he doesn't know what's going on, a doubt anybody does." Working his way out, shakily, into the living room, Peter gives a hasty nod to the Ferryman operative, "If Gillian shows back up, tell her I went to Jersey, she'll know where to find me."

"W-wait— Jersey? Why— " The Ferryman's questions are lost on Peter as he limps towards the front door, opening it hastily out onto the street, stopping on the stoop to look at Eve over his shoulder. "You wanted to know what's going on, and maybe you can tell me what the hell's happened to the city since I've been gone." He looks back out to the street, "Er… which car's yours?"

"Oh you've missed all the action, though it seems you've made up for it with the short amount of time you've been free." Eve says as they exit the Garden and walk towards the street. "That's my baby, right there." Eve points the old school, 1967 Ford Mustang, black and red paint job.

"Fixed her up myself, took me a while." Eve quickly opens the car door and slides in. "First off, that bastard that killed Cameron… Kazimir Volken. Well.. /he/ is what happened to the city."

Cameron. There's a name Peter hasn't heard in a good long while. Cameron's death is one of the few things he remembers clearly before the split, and it's something that still bothers him. Moving out onto the front lawn of the Garden, Peter limps his way towards the car, giving a bit of a whistle as he looks it over. "That's— a hell of a vehicle to have out here, Eve. You— well, I guess you might have a little forewarning." There's something of a smile there again, but it's restrained as Peter makes his way towards the passenger side door, popping ot open.

"I— Volken… Helena said he's gone. It— that's right, right?" An anxious expression crosses Peter's face as he looks over the roof of the car to Eve. "I've… been gone for so long, it hardly even feels like this is my city anymore."

"Oh yes.. I watch this car in my sleep. Don't worry." Eve smiles lightly and turns the ignition on, the car purrs to life and the engine rumbles. The woman blinks but she doesn't cry, tears don't even come to her eyes like they would have before, she can talk about Cameron now without breaking down.

"Yes he is gone, Phoenix and Abby took care of that. I sort of showed up help." Eve explains to Peter. She pulls off heading in the direction off the bridge.

"Peter, this is definitely not the city you left all those months ago. It's been getting worst here."

Just what he needed to hear, now that he's lost everything. Slouching against the window, Peter watches the crumbling scenery of Staten Island's urban decay roll by. Watches on as the gray brick and shattered windows of once expensive residences blur past. When Eve runs through the first intersection without electricity or stop lights, he tenses, but after that it begins to become so commonplace. With dark eyes staring out the window in silence, Peter watches people standing around burning barrels for warmth, watches a pack of prostitutes strolling towards a neon glow on the horizon, where a street sign has been spraypainted with the words Welcome to the Rookery.

This in't the city he left.

"I— feel like I'm in another time…" Peter whispers to her, eyes closing to shut out the sights of Staten Island's decline. "This- it's like some horrible nightmare. So— so what happened to…" he tenses up, opening his eyes slowly to look back to Eve. "Have you hear from Helena yet? She— I lost track of her after thr raid. Everything— something went crazy, I— I lost control of Hiro's power, Gillian's amplification and my own created some kind of feedback loop. It— I don't know what happened."

"Shocking, isn't it." Eve says softly and looks at Peter with sympathy. "Ha, I very much doubt Helena would get in contact with me Peter." In other words.. she has not spoken to Helena. "So two augmentations and Hiro's ability.. that explains Antarctica." Eve turns a corner and continues to make her way to the bridge. "Where is everyone? Or who made it back to the city?"

"I— I don't know." That seesm to be what's eating at Peter the most, worrying a hole straight into his chest. "I saw Gabriel at Moab, but he was back in New York so— maybe everyone else made it back okay. I— I don't really know what's going on…" with a wince, Peter reaches out to brush his fingers over his side, feeling his ribs and the tenderness they have. A hissing breath comes from the senstion, more than a few of those are likely cracked.

"I need to find Hiro is what I need to do, check the loft and see if anyone's been there." Worriedly rubbing a hand at his brow, Peter only opens his eyes once the lights of the Jersey side of the Outerbridge Crossing. As the suspension bridge looms in view, the NYPD barricade blocking traffic going into and out of Staten Island approaches.

"Christ, what the hell happened here?" The blockade is routine, by now, for Eve. Just a casual pass through a police barricade, driver's identification checked and the car searched from the outside with flashlights. As long as nothing seems out of the ordinary, they let people go. Peter does his best to try and not look crippled as they roll up towards the NYPD officer blocking the road.

As the car rolls to a stop, the officer approaches the window, while two more circle the car, flashlights in hand, peering in through the windows. "Leaving so soon?" It's the same officer Eve saw on the way in, but his attention is focused on Peter's bandaged form now. "Who's he?"

"I can check the loft while you're visiting your dad and then I'll come back to pick you up." Eve says as they reach the barricade. "Volken happened, and then things here.. they just got dark." Is Eve's simple explanation to the complicated story of how this all came to be.

"Hey there." She puts on her most cheery voice, eyes twinkling in the light. "This is my brother, Derrick." She offers and tightens her hands on the wheel. They can't notice that it's Peter.. can they?"

The officer shines a light in one Derrick, making Peter squint under the scrutiny. "What happened to your face, son? You look like you've had a rough night?" The other officers have finished their sweep of the car, circling back around to return to the checkpoint, having found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Oh I— uh— " clearing his throat, Peter touches the cuts on the side of his face, "It's Staten Island, sir. I'm lucky it was just this, you know? I called my sister to come bail me out, she's taking— taking me to go see my dad."

The officer leans around, peering inside of the car from the window, "Where's your dad live?" He continues the interrogation, and Peter gently bites down on his lower lip, glancing to Eve, then to the cop.

"Jersey— Fort Lee. I just want to get as far away from here as possible, officer." The tension in Peter's voice is so evident, and as the officer watches him it's clear he recognizes it. But everyone on the Island has been on edge, rightly so. After exhaling a deep sigh, the officer waves his flashlight along the road.

"You're clear to go, drive safely." He states, taking a few steps back from the car. Peter breathes out a quiet sigh of relief, leaning back against the passenger's seat as he looks to the bridge ahead, "…good cover," he mumbles to Eve, cracking an appreciative smile.

The woman holds her breath as the officer talks to Derrick. When they are given the go ahead she pulls away and sighs. "Why thank you, can't you tell the family resemblance?" She smiles softly at Peter as they begin to cross the bridge. "I thought for sure they would recognize you."

"You know.. I found out recently.. I worked for your mother Peter. At the Orchid Lounge." Eve says and tilts her head as she drives. "It was a very big surprise to me."

For all the ease he was finally feeling after passing the checkpoint, Peter's heart rises up into his throat when he hears that from Eve. "My— you worked for— " scared for a moment, Peter presses a hand to his forehead, "I— that sounds like a pretty hard job," says in a half-joking and bitter manner. "You can't— my mother's not someone I'd trust, not someone you should trust. She— she's really dangerous."

Passing over the bridge, the distant lights of New York City fade into the horizon. Up ahead the abandoned and desolate streets of Coastal New Jersey bear the signs of the times; graffiti, burned out cars, ransacked storefronts and poorly maintained roads cracked and split from two winters worth of disrepair. Large yellow signs erected on the sides of the road read with all manner of warnings against prolonged stays in the coast of the city, due to "unsafe levels of background radiation."

"Really? She seemed… tough to me, not dangerous." Eve says and blinks, "But I don't work there.. or at least I don't think so. ." The seer's eyes widen, "What did she do to make her dangerous?"

As they cross through the ruined streets, "Man.. this city is on it's way. It's dying from the inside out.

A bitter snort escapes Peter as he rests his head against the passenger's side window. "She's…" his eyes close, patience for dancing around topics at an end. "All this?" One hand motions at the ruins of New Jersey, "She did this. All of it. She's the one responsible for the bomb happening— her and Linderman. They— they put all of this together like some sick game of chess." Glaring out the window, Peter watches the crumbling buildings roll by, gaze distant and unfocused.

"She's a monster, and everything we've been struggling with has been because she thought this would make a better future." Dark eyes narrow angrily, "She tried to kill my father, because he found out what she was doing and wanted to stop her… she can't be trusted."

"I'm sorry you have a monster for a mother." Eve says softly and takes her hand. "She must be very depressed, to be able to do all of that. Nobody has tried to bring Linderman in for his crimes?" She pauses just for a moment, "So… there is no hope of and Arthur and Angela reconciliation?"

A dry laugh comes from Peter as he shakes his head, "Reconcile? Pfft— no… no…" Dark eyes shift from the window to look over to where Eve sits in the driver's seat, "Depressed… I— I don't know, I think— " closing his eyes, Peter hangs his head and gives it a shake. "Nevermind, I— I don't know what to think about her. I just— " there's a quiet swallow to be heard, and Peter rests his head against the window again, expression dour.

"Let's— We're almost there, anyway. I— let's just drop it."


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