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Scene Title | Plots, Plans, And Projects |
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Synopsis | Kimiko tells Hiro what she's found out so far, and about the clinical trial. Later, Xiulan joins them and reveals the reason she asked to be rescued. |
Date | March 24, 1979 |
An Undisclosed Hotel Room
Frankly Hiro has had it up to here playing Bruce. The invisibility isn't a problem, the way most people ignore that he's even around at the Company facilities he's infiltrated so far. It's when people DO notice him and start talking to him like a servant that he's bugged. He bears it with the reserve of a man with a mission, but it bothers him anyway. Practically throwing open the door to the hotel room that serves as a private and easily changed residence for him, his sister, and Xiulan, he turns to lock the door, strips off his frock and tosses it in a wad in the corner. He's still got one of those sleeveless white undershirts on, so no he's not exactly undressing. It's more like he's throwing the identity of Bruce away for now.
Kimiko has had it a little easier. As someone who has a bit more responsibility than just cleaning up messes, she gets treated with a small dose more of respect then your average maitenance man, even if research scientists aren't the real rock stars of the mutant agenda think tank. One of the advantages of this is already being home by the time Hiro. She looks up at him when he does walk in, waits a few moments for him to collect himself, and offers in Japanese, "Arthur Petrelli called me into his office today."
That remarks stops Hiro, who WAS headed to the bathroom to wash his face. He'd just kicked his shoes off too. "Why?" he asks, concern showing right away on his face and in his voice. Because while he doesn't really understand what it is Arthur can do, he knows that the old man is a serious cause of problems in their home timeline.
Kimiko hesitates for a moment. It's not that she doesn't want to tell him, it's more like she doesn't want him to worry, and he will. "Apparently our father - Kaito," she corrects, because in the here and now it's easier for her to get by if she thinks of him that way, "Has recommended me as a trial candidate for the synthetic abilities formula. I have a week to decide."
Hiro obviously has a lot to say about that, but everything he'd like to say has to get in line. He plops down in the chair next to the current era TV and dresser. "He knows, doesn't he? Somehow Father knows." he says, obviously for Kimiko's address but also kind of in a musing way.
"He knows that we are time travelers." Kimiko admits. "The reason I've had such good access to information is because of him. I think he suspects, and given that he suspects, and what his ability is, it is fairly certain that he has reached the correct conclusion." She looks at him. "I know you might worry Hiro, but…I want to take the Formula."
"Kimi-chan." says Hiro, his brows furrowing in that upward way of someone very worried indeed. "Why?" At least he's not automatically saying NO.
On one hand? He doesn't have a say. On the other? He's got the means to stop her, simply by grabbing her hand and taking her someplace - sometime - else. But it's not a decision she's going to make without telling him. That would be wrong in the view of how Kimiko sees they should function as a family. She gives him a little thoughtful frown and says, "Do you remember how when we were children, in the evenings we would sit together as a family? You and Father would sit reading stories of Kensei, and Mother and I would sculpt flowers?"
Quietly Hiro nods, leaning forward and watching Kimiko intently. He doesn't interrupt her or speak, but it's clear he's going to hear her out to her point.
"For a very long time, I thought that all was well, after what you and our father could do was revealed to me." Kimiko says. "I never thought it was unnatural, but I always did believe that you were special. Not just in Father's heart, but special because you were you." She lets out a little sigh. "And I believed that mother and I, we were just who we were. I wasn't different, I was like Mother. Only I am not. It's you, Father, and Mother. Do you see?"
"No, Kimi-chan, I don't see. What did Mother do?" Hiro says, somehow giving the impression he's missing something here. He gets up and walks over near his sister to sit on the bed next to her, hands in his lap but eyes on hers. "Is it just that you want to have some super-power? I think I understand, if so. I mean I know how excited I was when I discovered what I could do, but this is dangerous. You have no way of knowing if it'll work. Or if it does what you'll end up with."
"Mother is not like me. She is like you and Father, and she always was." Kimiko insists, a bit sternly. "In so much as our family might define normal, the only abnormal one is me." She gives him a faint smile. "Consider our father's ability. Do you think he would recommend me if he thought there was a chance I would die?"
"Kimiko." stresses Hiro, trying to get her to answer, "What could Mother do?" Because duh. It's MOM. "Forget the Formula for a second and please just tell me. What did you find out?"
Kimiko honestly thought she'd told him all of this, after her initial meeting with their father. "Cellular regeneration. Healing, I think. The file I saw indicated they were trying to assess the differences in how her ability compared to Daniel Linderman's."
That news hits Hiro like a ton of bricks. He looks away toward the wall. "Why did Father keep that from us?" he asks, seeming gutpunched. He puts a hand over his mouth and strokes it down over his chin to his throat, eyes taking on a sadness as they look down. "Our family is still poisoned by secrets."
"I do not know." Kimiko says softly. "Right now at this very moment, Mother is pregnant with me. According to Father, they'd intended for her to be the means by which to test an in utero version of the Formula. I don't know if it simply failed to work, or if by having seen me, he knew it wouldn't and had her withdrawn as a candidate for it. And for that matter, if Mother was a healer, why did she get sick and die in the first place?"
A slow nod comes with this. "That's the poison I was talking about." he explains. Hiro looks at Kimiko again and searches her eyes. He lays his hand on her shoulder nearest him and says, "Kimi-chan. You are my sister. I love you. And I worry for your safety. But you are a woman with the ability to make very responsible decisions, and I trust your judgment. I will not stop you from taking this Formula, but I want you to think it through before you do. If I lose you it will break me."
"I know." she says gently, "And there is time to think about it. I will do just that." But both of them pretty much know what her choice is going to be. Still, Kimiko doesn't dwell on it, instead she changes the subject. "Do you remember something we saw reference to at Coyote Sands called 'Project Icarus'?"
Hiro squeezes Kimiko's shoulder before putting that hand back in his lap. He nods then. "I do. Have you discovered what it was?" Honestly their roles are such that Hiro is the one more likely to hear gossip. Kimi's the one with more access to files and the like. It complements well, except lately the Kimi side of things has been a lot more fruitful.
"Apparently it is the springboard from which the current Formula research was started. It closed down, and the file on it is in the archive. One of the names mentioned as a chief scientist on the project along with Zimmerman seemed familiar…I think you may have mentioned it to me before. Kazimir Volken?"
Once again Hiro's eyes do something significant, but this time the look is one of narrowed eyes and bad history. "The one who tried to kill the world. Or so Cat told me. He was stopped by the Evolved movement Phoenix in New York, which Peter had links to. They're good people. And Volken is supposedly very dangerous."
Kimiko's own eyes narrow, and for a moment they're near mirror-images. "He was one of the heads of the project and then he misteriously died. Except obviously he didn't." She lifts her chin. "If you can get me into the archive, I could find the file and copy it. We could learn more about what happened, maybe even go back and see what we can learn."
"Yes." agrees Hiro, nodding to that. He takes a deep breath then. "But after I've had time to rest. It's been a long day. My feet are throbbing…" He flops back on the bed then, wiggling his toes on the carpet and enjoying the feeling of them NOT being in shoes or pounding on linoleum toward yet another menial task.
Kimiko wrinkles her nose. "Wash your feet if you take your socks off, they stink." With that she moves over to the second bed, sprawling on it like she's a co-ed "Sooooo." she drawls. "Tell me all about Xiulan, little brother." Brow-waggle.
"Xiulan…" groans Hiro, a hand clapping over his eyes even while he ignores Kimiko's advice about his feet. They're HIS feet. He can do what he wants with them. "I met her in New York hanging out with Magnes. She was nice. But I really don't know her much beyond that. Apparently in the future I do know her though, so I have no idea." In a roundabout way he gets to kind of avoid the gist of the question while at the same time being honest.
Kimiko cannot help grinning fiercely. "How well do you get to -know- her, then? She's very pretty."
Another groan, and Hiro puts his other hand over his eyes, willing these questions not to come anymore. Because he so knows where Kimi's going with it. "I don't know, Kimi!" he protests, "All I know is she turned up and knew me, and I recognized her, so I took her in to keep her from getting lost in this time. She told me some future me sent her here and really that's the only explanation that makes sense anyway." And he's not commenting on her prettiness!
Kimiko puts her hand to her mouth, unable to keep from snickering. "You are blushing." she informs him gleefully, whether he is or not, because when you tell someone they're blushing, if they weren't before, they often start. They're perched in the hotel room, discussing plots and plans and Hiro's romantic prospects in Japanese.
"Iamnotblushing." counters Hiro, his hands coming away from his face to scowl at Kimiko.
Also to blush. He would demand it's because of frustration.
For good measure he takes a hand and lightly smacks Kimiko on the arm. "You are a bad person!"
Xiulan doesn't speak Japanese. Not at all. So, while she's listening from the shower, she's getting little more then fact that something terribly funny is going on in the main room. So it is that, brat that she is, she emerges from yon shower with one towel wrapped around her body and another about her hair. Not being one to blush, she bat a lash as she pads across the room to where her knapsack rests and goes about the business of fishing out clean clothes. "You," she notes over her shoulder with a wry smile to Kimiko. "Must be Hiro's sister. I am supposed to tell you he said 'he loves you'. Mind you," she adds as she straightens up with clothing in hand. "That was shortly after he demanded I take off my pants." What? Xiu give another ammo? You bet your sweet bippy, baby. "I am still quite vexed about that," she asides to the bed bound Hiro. "You didn't even comment on my thighs. It was terribly rude of you, you know?"
Kimiko just starts laughing. "I am one of the best people you know!" she says in delight. And when the topic of conversation arrives, Kimiko sits up smoothly and politely switches to English. "Hello Xiulan, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm so sorry about the pants. You'd think he'd be better with the appropriate follow-up." Oh yes. This will be fun.
Hiro half sits up in a semi-crunch just to see Xiulan come out very nearly undressed, and then he lays back down flat on the bed. Makes for a great excuse not to look at the (okay she's very pretty) Chinese girl. Out of politeness he too switches to English. "I don't understand, Xiulan. Why would I tell you to tell my sister I love her? Of course I do, she's my sister." Because that's a lot better to talk about than pants-removal. Except he can't help asking, "And WHY would I have you remove your pants?"
Which is about the worst possible opening he could leave, isn't it?
"Men very rarely are," Xiulan sighs quietly. She is, however, smiling and follows it with a polite bow to Kimiko. "It is very nice to meet you, as well. I regret having to drop in on the two of you so unexpectedly." Unfortunately, she just wasn't willing to let Arthur Petrelli eat her head. Or peer at her thigh for that matter. It is in response to Hiro that she gives a faint shake of her head. "I have no idea," she admits. "I thought the exact same thing, but then I think it is safe to say that trying to comprehend why a man out of time does something is a losing prospect." At the pants comment, she clears her throat and twitches her brow. "Well, the other -you- knew, so I don't know if I should tell the current you. I mean, you didn't say whether or not I should tell you and I would hate to damage the past by bringing future knowledge into it…." Hey, does that work? She isn't sure. At all. "Maybe you secretly wanted to see my legs?"
"He definitely wishes to see your legs." Kimiko advises Xiulan gleefully while watching her brother sidelong. Mortification, yes, this is exactly what the ancestors put big sisters on earth for. Believe it! To Xiulan, "It's probably that we may be making a sidetrip further into the past soon. I do not know if you want to come with us, or remain here in 1979. We intend to come back."
Hiro gets up from the bed, keeping his eyes away from both of the evil harpies in the room with him. Because they suck. And right now he is so very glad that the two of them don't speak a language between them that he doesn't understand. "Kimi-chan, let's try to be be serious for a moment here." he says, unfortunately fighting an uphill battle on that front. He walks over to where a garment bag with his clothes in it hangs and begins pulling out a black body-hugging shirt and some black tactical G.I. Joe type pants, tossing them on a chair. "Okay, so my future self told you something and you're not sure I ought to find out what it is from you." he states to Xiulan, tilting his head just so to look at her out of the corner of his eye. "Xiulan. Tell me about when we met. Who else was there and what ridiculous question was I asked?" Clearly some kind of test to see if she's The Real Xiulan.
Stepping over to the bed, Xiulan perches on the edge in order to go about the business of slipping clothing on under the towel. Despite the strangeness of being out of time, she can't help smiling at Kimiko, her approval of the teasing obvious in her eyes. "Honestly, I would much rather come with the two of you. I wouldn't have any idea how to get along in America in 1979." Shimmying into shorts, she fastens them beneath the towel before tugging a halter top on and tossing the towel away. "Much better," she sighs as she curls her legs up onto the bed and drops back on her elbows. Hrm. Whether or not to mention the tattoo… It's… difficult really. For one, it could put the two of them in danger. Of course, they are back in time, so they are presumably relatively safe, but still.
Of course, there is the fact that Hiro is Hiro and quite possibly the most trustworthy evolved she's met thus far. To not tell him when he has gone out of his way to help keep her safe (And already knows in the future) just seems wrong somehow. It is that indecision that shows on her face as she nibbles at her lower lip. "As for my thigh…." Hm. "How much do you two know about Arthur Petrelli and Adam Monroe?" /Yes/, it is quite possibly the stupidest question of /all/ time. But really, that is only the case if you've read the comic books. And, while Xiulan has seen the comic books courtsey of Magnes, she really wasn't paying all that much attention to them. Really, /who/ takes comic books seriously?
Hiro's question stirs her to blinking once, a quiet laugh spilling past her lips. "Magnes, on my stoop. I'd ordered pizza, he'd delivered it and began going on about trying to be a hero and his hero from the future. Then he whipped out a comic book and proceeded to tell me all about you. At which point you showed up and warned him not to be foolish. Lets see… He was talking about Sylar being a good person at some point and you had a brief interlude about smoothies from the future."
Kimiko just sort of…blinks placidly at all this. "That sounds like Magnes very much." Kimiko supplies mildly, and tries very hard not to smile.
"Oh yeah. That's Magnes all right." Hiro mutters to himself, glad really that his back is mostly toward Xiulan as he sorts his Sneak Into The Evil Overlord Base outfit out. "I think that's enough for me to believe you're Xiulan. But the stupid question was whether there are smoothies in the future." Which was so titanically stupid that it was burned indelibly into Hiro's memory forever and ever. The mention of Adam Monroe makes Hiro pause, a still statue for a moment. His mood does a complete shift for the darker. "Adam Monroe killed our father, Xiulan." he says with a disciplined calm tinged with sadness.
Oi. A sigh spills past Xiulan's lips in response to that last, her head dipping in a faint nod. "I am sorry that that happened," she admits quietly. "If it is any consolation at all, take comfort in the fact that Monroe didn't get what he wanted from your father." Bah. Secrets, she decides, are a pain in the rump. "While I can't say for certain, since I am here and in hiding, I imagine that he is likely to be a considerable world of woe do that fact." Pushing up on her elbows, she tugs the towel off her hair and starts to go about the business of finger combing the dark strands. "You know he is working for a 'government' agency now I assume?" Pause. "Magnes I mean."
Kimiko had been remaining quiet for some time, but now speaks in surprise. "Magnes?" she echoes. "Working for a government agency?" She muses on this for a moment. "They were calling him a terrorist in the media for a time. I'm assuming it's some sort of agreement in exchange for having his charges dropped."
Hiro looks over his shoulder at Kimiko in a look of agreement. "Yes, what agency is Magnes working for? That's news to us." He glances at Xiulan then to watch her thoughtfully. Nope. Not done asking questions. Just deciding how to phrase the next one.
"Presumably," Xiulan notes in agreement with Kimiko. "Whatever he is in to, I doubt that it is good for him. Unfortunately, there seems to be very little that I can do about that." Glancing over Hiro, she raises and lowers her shoulders in a slow shrug. "I do not know for certain. He claims that is homeland security but I have my doubts concerning that. Why?"
"I think it would be reasonable to assume that we share your unease for obvious but unspoken reasons." Kimiko supplies. "Hiro, are you thinking you want to get the file from the archive now?" She assumes such, since he's changing into his sneaky sneaky gear.
"Now is relative. I'm just laying this stuff out for after I'm out of the shower." Because Hiros take showers too, dammit. Even after the shower has still smells of hot Chinese girl. "Xiulan," he begins, turning toward her fully and putting his palms together in front of him in an almost praying gesture. Although the meaning is more a supplication almost. "let me be very clear about something. If you decide not to tell us something to preserve the integrity of History, I will not pressure you to tell it. I know how important that is more than anybody. But considering that is there any more you can safely tell us about Adam and how he failed? Because the Formula in that time is gone. We have access to it here, but whatever Father kept, it was taken."
"File?" Glancing between the two, Xiulan arches one brow faintly, her head canting as she goes about the business of weaving her hair into a braid. Formula. Blinking once, Xiulan slants a glance at Hiro, purses her lips and /sighs/. Okay, she's in a corner that she cannot get out of unless she does the absolutely /wrong/ thing. "It isn't gone," she states with another quiet sigh. Nope, it isn't gone. Not at all. Yuck. Clearing her throat, she finishes off her braid and tosses it over her shoulder, her expression frank as she glances between the siblings and finally focuses her attention on Hiro. "I have it."
Kimiko blinks in shock, and looks at Hiro. "Does this mean that Father's enemies don't?" she says, seizing on this with a certain amount of hope. After all, it's just a piece of paper. It could have been copied at any point. She looks back to Xiulan. "Part of why we're traveling in time is to learn about how all this started. There was a 'Project Icarus' that seems to have its roots in this. It also connects to man called Kazimir Volken, who is quite dangerous."
Holy Time Travellers, Batman! Hiro blinks. "You…well now I think I know why you're here." he says with a small grin. "How do you have it? I don't understand. Until we were here and now, we didn't even really understand what the Formula does. But you're already Evolved and I knew you were before, so it's obvious you never needed it." He gives a significant nod to Kimiko's words and explains, "Volken is a terror. Unfortunately we can't really try to stop him in this time. That would really screw up our timeline. But we can learn from what he's been up to. Kimiko thinks we ought to retrieve a file from the Company that will lead us to him."
"How I have it is a long story, Hiro." Silent a beat, Xiulan nibbles her lip, drawing in a slow breath as she shifts to sit tailor style on the bed. "Adam Monroe contracted to have it stolen from your father's safe and delivered to him. It -was- stolen and he was given the original document. Unfortunately for Mister Monroe I altered the formula to be nothing more then nonsense. Of course, I made sure I had a copy of the original before altering it." Pausing a beat, she clears her throat and rolls her shoulders in a slow shrug. "It is why I am hiding from Arthur Petrelli. I don't," she admits. "Know anything about this Volken person."
Kimiko smiles at Xiulan. Here, this is my brother, would you be so kind as to be the mother of his children? She doesn't say that out loud of course. "We'll need to figure out how long to protect you. We can't keep jumping through time forever." She looks back at Hiro. "And we need to decide what to do with the Formula."
Hiro's response to this news is to scratch his head and look at Xiulan with just the SLIGHTEST bit of skepticism. "…Xiulan. Not that I am not extremely grateful to hear this, but why did you do this? It puts you at great risk. These people are evil and ruthless, and until you did that they had no reason to harm you."
Glancing back at Kimiko, Xiulan dips her chin in a nod of accord. "Unfortunately, Richard, the man who stole the formula, is still in the present. Um. Future. Um. Our… my time. And he has the exact same tattoo that I have." Pause. "Which is currently on my thigh and very hard, if not impossible to see, since I made it flesh tone. This, of course, is presumably why Arthur Petrelli is after him and why he had me run for the hills." Drawing in a slow breath, she slants a glance at Hiro. "He was trying to get in touch with you, but that fell threw. I am assuming he has a way of hiding from Arthur, I believe he said he was safe, but there is that risk." At the question, she blinks once and casts Hiro a mortified glance. "How could I possibly destroy what your father went to such lengths to protect? I am not a disrespectful woman, Hiro Nakamura. Nor, for that matter, am I a coward."
"I don't think he's trying to infer that you would destroy it." Kimiko is quick to say. "But we have both suffered for trusting and having it turned on us. I think it is not so much you, and more that he is cautious. Please do not take insult." She bows then, as if in apology.
Hiro is equally quick to bow. And deeply. "Xiulan. You are the very opposite of a coward. And you have my complete respect for what you have done. I don't know that we could ever thank you enough for what you've done. Thank you so much." He glances up then, still holding the bow, "So that's why I asked you to take your pants off?"
Strangely, no creepy paradox occurs. Time doesn't 'jump' or get weird. Nothing strange seems to happen. It appears the Universe is just fine with events unfolding here.
"There are no apologies needed," Xiulan is quick to assure both siblings. It is in response to Hiro's last, that she smiles wryly and notes. "You'll understand if I prefer to think that you were just trying to get a peek at my thigh?" Hey, it's not -that- much to ask, really. She does, however, exhale a sigh of relief. "You have no idea how very glad I am to get that off my chest. Um. The formula information I mean, not the pants."
Kimiko looks faintly puzzled and murmurs, "I don't need to see it. I couldn't even read it if I did." She remains quiet, between the two. "The fact remains, we won't be running back and forth in time forever. At some point we'll need a straightforward solution to keep you safe. We need to determine a final hiding place for the formula. Something more intricate perhaps, than a high security safe in Tokyo."
"Yeah, uhm…" Hiro straightens up and clears his throat, reaching up with a hand to rub the back of his head in a self concious way. "I don't really need to see it either." Because it's like pasted all over the grounds of Xiulan's amusement park. "Okay, getting back to other things, we're not really sure why we're in this time and what we're doing here. Although before we go back after Volken to learn what we can, Kimiko has a decision to make and act on." He offers a slightly unhappy look at his sister, but it's brief.
Glancing between the two, Xiulan tilts her head her expression curious. "What kind of decision? Or is that none of my business?" Stretching her legs out on the bed, she leans back on her hands and considers a moment before asking. "How.. How do you not know why you are here? And who is Volken? More importantly, what can I do to help?"
"We're here to gather information." Kimiko says smoothly. "To understand why and how all this is happening, as we believe it is the key to how we may solve many of the difficulties in our present. We've learned much about the nature of our own family, as well as who's been involved with the Formula." She'll let Hiro explain Kazimir Volken.
"Well, Volken is a dangerous person who was stopped in our time by an Evolved group in New York known as Phoenix. I've helped them before. They're good people." begins Hiro. He scratches his chest through his shirt and appears to think of what more to say on that front. "I wasn't involved in it, but according to what I've heard Volken tried to sterilize the planet. They stopped it. I believe he's dead in our time."
Oh if only Abby were here.
"So… Why is it important to find him if he's dead? Shouldn't we be focusing on dealing with the living threats like Monroe and Petrelli?" Glancing between the siblings, Xiulan's brow ticks slowly higher, her confusion showing on her face. "Not that I am complaining, mind you. I'll do whatever you need me to do, but I am concerned that there is a monster in the future just waiting for us to get back." it is at that point that she glances at the black clothing Hiro has out. "You do know that with my ability I can effectively make your whole body look like the surrounding scenery. It isn't 'technically' invisibilty, but it is pretty darned close to it. Or make whoever might see you temporarily blind."
"Because you can learn from the past." Kimiko explains patiently. "If we know more about Project Icarus and Volken's role in it, it may help us in the future."
"Yes. The key factor here is that Volken seems to be heading up Project Icarus, or did. It's over with in the time we stand now. But it was the precursor to the development of the Formula." Hiro turns toward the shower and says to Kimiko with a small smile, "I'm going to jump in the shower. Tell Xiulan everything. She's one of us now."
"Enjoy your shower, Hiro." Dropping back on the bed, Xiulan slants a glance at Kimiko and just cannot keep herself from smiling. "You'll excuse me for saying so, but he is adorable when he is so serious."
"Oh," Kimiko says ever so slyly, "You like him?"