Into the Dragon's Mouth: Part IV

Participants:

alexander_icon.gif claire_icon.gif eve_icon.gif helena_icon.gif matt_icon.gif peter_icon.gif sylar_icon.gif

Scene Title Into the Dragon's Mouth: Part IV
Synopsis PARIAH reunites at the scene of the rather unfortunate discovery. Peter surprises no one by taking matters into his own hands. Matt Parkman surprises everyone by taking Claire into Homeland Security custody. And Claire Bennet surprises her friends by agreeing to it. Everything is relative.
Date September 19, 2008

Primatech Research — Cell Block A


"What are you waiting for, a rainy day?" Helena shrieks. "SHOOT HIM!" She keeps the wind up, hoping to pin him against a wall with the force of it.

"What are you saying?" Eve's eyes narrow and she cants her head at Sylar, "Following Peter like a dog" she snorts at that and keeps her gun steadily leveled at Sylar. She keeps a safe distance and edges forward, her gun not moving. Eve's white-eyed gaze is centered on Sylar and she glares at him. The gears are definitely turning in her head. What is Sylar talking about? Why was he disguised as Mohinder?

There must be some kind of deep-seated plot. All these things run through Eve's head. "SHUT THE FUCK UP HEL!" she looks to Helena and then back to Sylar, "Listen to what he is saying. Something deeper is going on than what we thought" Then with out a second thought, as if a switch turned on Eve opens fire on Sylar, "Sorry bub, but we can't take any chances"

Al isn't interested in Sylar's story. Whatever his goals, they likely don't jive with PARIAH's at the best of time. He's gotten up to his knees, still panting, stifling those little pained noises….but he hasn't relinquished his grip. He'd be utterly delighted to choke the killer to death, right here.

It takes a lot of concentration and effort, but rather than focus his telekinesis on wrestling with Alexander from afar, he uses it to stop the bullets mere inches from his chest. "I help you out," he growls through gritted teeth, "and this is the thanks I get. Could have— turned you all over to Homeland… Security…" The exertion causes blood to dribble from his nostrils, onto the front of his shirt. "Grow a brain, Eve. I'm not the enemy — " Much more of this, and he's in danger of losing consciousness. "Would've… taken Claire's — in — sleep —"

Helena ignores Eve's outburst for the moment - there'll be a reckoning about that later. "Keep it up." she says softly to Alex, and toggles her comm. "Peter," she says. "We have Sylar. I don't know how long we can keep him under control. You better get here fast."

Eve's eyes widen and she looks at Alex and Helena, "Ok time to listen kiddies" She takes a breath and looks to Sylar, "Instead of being a cryptic ass? please explain really, really quickly what you are talking about. I see the future, I saw you kill me!" she shakes her head as if to clear it and then she levels a look at Helena and Alex. "This doesn't feel right Hel," she says softly and to HELL with a reckoning. Following her instincts has gotten Eve far in life. "Don't touch him," she says quietly, but Helena and Alex would be able to hear her. Her eyes study Sylar more and she squints as if trying to see inside of him.
Just in time.

"Sylar!" The voice comes before the body does, rocketing down the hall in mid air. He comes to a halt, a sudden gust of wind around his body flaring out his long and smoldering jacket. Peter Petrelli lands, boots thumping on the concrete as he does, and his expression is one of absolute rage.

The moment his feet are firmly on the ground, a wave of heat ripples away from Peter's body, sending distorting waves in the air a moment before the scarred man ignites like a torch. Flames rise in lapping waves off of his hands, arms and upper shoulders, forming a mantle of fire over his body.

"Now I know why you were so surprised that I spared your life." Peter's hands raise up to his side, a low harmonic ruble echoing around the black-clad man as tiny stress fractures appear in the walls around where he stands from what sounds like a constantly thrumming bass of telekinesis. Peter's eyes are sunken and sallow looking, dark circles shadowing them, sweat beads on his forehead. "I don't know how you survived, but this time, I'm going to make sure you don't walk away." The flames around Peter's shoulders smooth out, and that constant thrumming of telekinetic energy steadies to a low and dull rumbling as the flames crawl down his arms, becoming lashes of serpentine fire. Utilizing both his telekinesis and pyrokinesis as he is seems to take a terrible toll on Peter's body, but that seems — at the moment — to be the least of his concerns.

Alexander is now extra crispy, instead of original recipe, courtesy of Elle. Though happily he keeps his feathers numbered for just such an occasion. He's still crouched by Helena, being the little telekinetic that could. And Sylar is getting the Imperial Admiral treatment, for all that Al looks like he's on teh edge of passing out.

"Peter!" Claire comes running in full tilt, shotgun jostling back and forth at her side. She comes skidding to a halt, lungs burning as she gasps for air. "Peter, stop! You're going to hurt someone you don't mean to!" Has he got it all under control? She isn't sure. And the shotgun she has ready and pointed at her uncle reflects as much.

Claire, don't be an idiot! screams Parkman, steps behind the cheerleader with his pistol drawn. You'll turn it into a damned Russian Roulette. What happened to helping each other?!// Parkman breaths heavily, as running isn't really part of his daily routine anymore. He stares at Sylar, taking aim at the serial killing madman, but he doesn't squeeze the trigger. Assess. Then shoot. Then ask questions.

You know that point you sometimes reach when, just when you think things can't get any worse, they suddenly do? Yeah, Sylar's there. Not for the first time, either. This is just like Kirby Plaza all over again. He lets out a slow, ragged sigh through his nostrils. If he had the strength to roll his eyes, he would.

Trask comes running around the corner, somehow Parkman and Bennet passed him in the hall and he is still fuming about that part, as Parkman speaks on Russian Roulette the crazy Russian comes barreling in gun drawn looking for Suresh.

Helena's wind dies down — otherwise it might fuel Peter's fire in a way that he doesn't want. "Keep going." she urges Alex, defiant of Eve's insistance. Helena keeps supporting Alexander upright as best she can as she watches the confrontation between the two men. Then, "Claire, let him do what he needs to do!" Because Helena? She has faith in him. She knows this needs to be done.

"Pete no!" Eve yells and begins to reach out to him, but at the last second doesn't, because of the fire. "Listen to Claire, Peter!" Eve echoes Claire and she can only sit and watch, seeing as she doesn't have any nifty cool ability like telekinesis. Lifts her Desert Eagle and points it in Matt's direction, "Don't," is all she says. She looks at Sylar, like she looks at someone that she wants to help. She growls and shakes her head, stupid kids. She actually rolls her eyes for Sylar just watches and waits.

"Claire, I've got it." Peter's irises burn brightly in a strong orange hue, though his expression bears a countenance of anger and rage, it tempers for a moment with compassion as he watches Claire, then to Eve, watching her for a moment with something between pity and discomfort, then turns back to Claire. "This time," He looks down to Claire's gun, then back up to her, "This time I've got it." He says with a tone of assurance, looking back to Sylar. "This time I'm the one in control." With those words, Peter looks down to Alex, "I've got it from here…" Peter turns, and flies straight at the prone nemesis, the bones in his hands charging with a white-hot light.

Peter and Sylar collide with the force of two vehicles moving at full-speed, one fist striking out from Peter to slam against Sylar with enough strength backed by the superhuman force he unwittingly drew from Jessica weeks ago to blow both of them through the adjacent wall into one of the cells. What should have shattered Sylar's body, however only seems to have been deadened by a crackling barrier around the man's body push Peter back and away. Gaping, Peter watches as a distorted bubble of force seems to contract and expand like a heartbeat around Sylar's body, shifting like some kind of telekinetic membrane.

"Is that it?" Peter scoffs, clenching his fists again, "Is that how you survived!?" He throws up one hand, sending Sylar colliding with a nearby wall. "Parkman," He looks back, over his shoulder, "I need you to get everyone as far away from here as you can! If I can't finish this…" Peter breathes in a deep breath, not needing to remind Parkman of what happened last time. "I'm trusting you on this one." Peter turns, yanking Sylar towards himself through the air with his telekinesis, grabbing a hold of the collar of his shirt with one flaming hand.

"Helena…" Flames roll off of Peter's arms and shoulders in crackling waves, his irises glowing like hot-forged iron, "Go, make sure everyone gets out safely. Everyone here." His brows knit together, wrinkling that scar on his forehead. "Bethe responsible one, the leader," Peter looks away, towards the direction that Sylar ran off to, clutching his hands closed. "Be the one they need." Peter pauses as he echoes Hiro's words to him, then adds, "I love you." Peter and Sylar vanish in a cyclone of flames, ash and smoke, leaving a tiny whirlwind behind where he was. The sudden rush of air that fills the void the pair once occupied, snuffing out the flames and sending the smoke out in a ring… Gone.

"Well, shit. Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building," There's really nothing more for Alex to say. He finally pulls himself upright, and looks around. "We gotta get the hell outta here," he says, looking to the two he came in with, and then beyond. There's Claire. And there's Matt John Law. "Run."

"There goes our ride. Looks like we're hoofin' it." And they did plan for this sort of thing. You know, in case Peter decided to go nuclear and Lulu had to take his head off. "You know the plan." Claire turns to Matt and declares, "We're leaving." Don't even think about stopping us. "Hel', Eve, take Alex. Trask and I will take the rear. We worry about ourselves first. Everything else is secondary."

Matt Parkman isn't a man who needs to be told twice, let alone three times. Shotgun or no, and ignoring the girl with the gun trained on him, Parkman grabs Claire by her upper arm and shouts. "MOVE, PEOPLE!" A quick glance tells him that the occupants of the cells, or at least the ones he can see into, are long gone, but he doesn't let that fact linger in his mind. They can all run on ahead, sure. But he's got Claire, and the telepath isn't letting go anytime soon.

"Alexi, if they try to short circuit the elevator lift it out of the ground, got it?" Sergei begins falling back covering the retreat. "Helena when we hit the surface you and Eve run like Hell and don't worry about us." His eyes fall on Parkman though as they back out, "Comrade Parkman, I would suggest you let her go, before I blow that hand off, I don't think Claire would mind me taking off part of her arm."

Inside Helena right now it's ugly. Denial and despair and anger and grief, but she doesn't have time for it. There's only time to bleakly kneel and put Alexander's arm over her shoulder to begin moving as swiftly as can be managed toward the elevator. Claire's absolutely right, time to get the hell out of dodge. As long as she keeps control of herself, the area won't suddenly be awash in miserable, icy rain. She nods to Trask, lips pursed, brows furrowed and expression decidedly drawn inward.

Eve shakes her head and grins at Matt, "Guess we live to die another day." She looks at everyone in the hallway and lets her hair out of the braid and then she walks to the door quickly, "You are all fools." She shakes her head and leaves without another word. So much for following orders.

Alexander just nods, mutely. He's clinging to consciousness by the edge of his fingernails, and leaning on Helena.

Claire flashes a look to Parkman. Either she's attempting to communicate with him telepathically, or she's just trying to find out what she needs to know by looking at him. Either way, she seems satisfied. "Sergei, go," she orders. "Everybody out. Tell Cameron I will be along when I can." Whenever that may be.

It's not really a click, but the slight rub of metal on metal as Matt regrips his pistol and points it at Trask. The slide's already been racked, after all. He slowly turns his head to look at Trask. "I'd suggest you take your terrorist buddies and do what Peter /and/ the girl've said and not endanger you life anymore, Ruskie. The girl stays with me, but I'm blowing this joint, same as you. So back the fuck off." He glances around before narrowing his eyes further, settling them back on Trask once more. "GO."

With the others filing out, Sergei nods once to Claire, looking her in the eye. "If it comes down to it, we will be back for you. You have my word." He then turns to the others, "Mah-rines Ve Are Otta-here." He takes off down the hall after them.


Continued from Parts II and III (see Storyline navigation). See Peter handle Sylar in Part V.


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September 19th: Into the Dragon's Mouth: Part III

Previously in this storyline…
Into the Dragon's Mouth: Part II
and
Into the Dragon's Mouth: Part III


Next in this storyline…
Into the Dragon's Mouth: Part V

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September 19th: Into the Dragon's Mouth: Part V
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