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Chapter 3: Natural Selection

Sylar sat atop the statue of liberty looking down at his hands, “Others are weak, not deserving their powers, not deserving a place in the world. But I will always be on the run if I cannot end this hunt soon.”

Then Sylar saw a cockroach thinking, ‘Not him again.’

Kane appeared behind him, “Sylar, you can end this hunt by doing one thing. You must kill a boy named Maximilian Ferguson and take his power.”

Sylar stared at him, “Why would this end the hunt? Why would killing a small boy end my journey, the need for natural selection?”

“It would make you the greatest of them all Sylar,” said Kane, “This boy has the Secret to unlocking the genetic code, if you harvest him you harvested them all.”

Kane disappeared in a swarm of cockroaches, Sylar sat there pondering, “Maximilian Ferguson?”

Then he layed back on the head thinking, ‘Why would one person hold the secret, rather than many?’

He then jerked upright, “Unless…this boy…he can do what I can without the knowledge I have to seek first.”

Sylar became determined, “I must find him!”

Then he jumped off the top of the Stature of Liberty’s head. Disappearing into the fog below. The fog was only slightly disturbed as his body slipped through its white sheen.

Elsewhere, Peter knocked on Nathan’s door waiting for him to answer. Thinking, ‘He must know!’

Then to his success the door was opened Nathan stood behind it, “Hey Peter! Glad you could stop by.”

He hugged his brother than welcomed him into the home. Peter looked around, then to his surprised Nathan’s wife walked over to him saying, “Hello Peter so good of you to come!”

“You can walk?” Peter asked in shock.

“Yes Peter I can,” said Nathan’s wife, “A man with white hair grabbed my hand and I felt feelings in my legs.”

Then Peter said, “That’s a miracle Heidi!”

Nathan then interrupted before he could say anything, “So Peter you came to visit me.”

“Nathan, that murder we all tried to stop, Sylar is on the loose!” said Peter, “I need you to go to the press, announce that he is, that people have these abilities that make them dangerous or a target.”

Nathan paused for a moment then paced around the room, thinking then finally saying, “Peter as much as I would love to help I can’t announce that, there would be panic and chaos. They would ship off people like me and you to laboratories.”

“I thought you changed Nathan,” said Peter.

“I’m sorry Peter but don’t you see why a thing like this could do terrible things to society?” asked Nathan, “People would be scared to leave their homes, they would discriminate us…I just can’t do it.”

Peter seethed with anger as he left the mansion. Nathan tried to catch up with him but Peter turned invisible disappearing from sight. Nathan cursed under his breath then walked back inside.

Peter stayed invisible until he arrived outside the gate becoming visible again. Then walking away from the mansion. Just as he turned a corner he ran into Edgar, Peter fell to the ground as he looked up at him, “You again?”

“Yes, Peter was it?” said Edgar, “I have been looking for you.”

“Why, might you ask…uh…?” Peter spaced off then the man dressed in white said, “Edgar, my name is Edgar.”

“Well Edgar, why have you been looking for me?” asked Peter as he dusted himself off a bit rising off the ground.

“You defeated my brother,” said Edgar, “Well maybe we should go sit down for this, Peter.”

“Fine then,” finished Peter as they stepped off to the side to go to a restaurant.

They went inside and ordered some coffee as Edgar started up, “My brother you see, is a lunatic, he killed my parents over some chips for one thing, second he wants to kill me because he is jealous of my fame.”

“I don’t think I have seen you from anywhere else,” said Peter.

“I’m a famous boxer in England, here I am known for my rock climbing without gear,” said Edgar, “Y’see I have been followed by my brother as he has been attempting to kill me, and I need it to end. I noticed you were quite powerful and dispatched of him quickly.”

He was interrupted for a second as a waitress brought them some more coffee, then he continued again, “I need him killed or somewhere, he can’t escape from. So from the looks of it you fit the bill to kill him.”

“Kill? Are you insane?” said Peter raising his voice.

“Not so loudly,” said Edgar, “Just hear me out, the man is just plain whacked. He kills without reason, he thinks the government is spying on him and if he wears white clothes it is harder to find him.”

“Well still that is no reason to kill,” said Peter dropping his voice, “He may be insane but he is your brother.”

“He is killer who can defy gravity,” said Edgar, “He can crush people just by thinking it.”

“Still I’m not a killer Edg-” a glass window crashing open interrupted Peter, as James floated in.

James looked down at the two sitting in the chairs he looks over to Peter, “Are you the one watching me?”

Then the chair Peter is in starts to crash through the floor Peter rolls off the chair then raises his hand an icy beam flies out of it hitting the wall behind James freezing the exit. Edgar runs over to James punching him across the face knocking James onto the floor. Then the insane brother wiped the blood off of his face and mumbled something, as the entire room became an anti-gravity field.

Chairs, people, food started floating into the air as James got up withdrawing his magnum loading a round. Peter waved his arm as a chair crashed into James’ face knocking him into the icy wall. The anti-gravity field fades and Edgar kicks James in the gut as he is leaning against the wall then jabs him three times. Then the fallen figure against the wall awakens, “NOT YET!”

Edgar flew into the wall behind him sticking to it. James stood up splattered with blood and dirty from being knocked to the floor. Peter hears a though, ‘Kill the intruder.’ James then flips the gun into his opposite hand and fires a round at Peter.

The bullets pass through Peter’s body leaving him unharmed. Then Peter runs forward punching James right across the gut into a wall. Edgar then dropped to the floor, he saw James’ gun on the floor in front of him and kicked it up to his hand, readying his finger on the trigger and aiming at James.

“No don’t fire it!” Peter yelled.

Edgar started to sweat a bit and edged his finger closer to the trigger. Peter then said, “If you do it his death will be on your conscience, you would be killing your brother.”

Edgar twitched a bit then dropped the gun. Peter sighed, “That’s better, for a minute you had me worried.”

Then James woke up as he threw a black orb into the frozen wall it completely shattered and he flew out the window. Escaping his fate to be arrested, or possibly killed.

Peter sighed sitting down on the ground and their waitress stared then said, “Would you like your bill?”

Then Peter started to laugh soon followed by the waitress’ laughter. Edgar stayed silent but the rest of the room was nervously laughing. Peter got up before the room and said, “You must not tell anyone of the events that happened today!”

“I doubt they would believe us,” said the Waitress.

Then Edgar and Peter left the restaurant and Peter grabbed Edgar as they both disappeared. The two arrived at a rooftop and Peter collapsed falling on his back but still staring up at the sky as clouds passed by. Edgar looked down at him and said, “So you going to help me apprehend that madman mate?”

Peter then said, “Yeah, I will help you. But once we catch him we both need to focus on a man named Sylar.”

“Sylar?” Edgar said, “What’s he do?”

“He is a parasite,” said Peter.

The sunlight shone through the window causing Max to become very tired in fact relaxed.

He eventually started to doze off and was having some very strange dreams. Most of them about his powers, the way he wasn’t able to control them. Then a loud ringing went through his ears and he awoke. He looked up at the teacher and she said, “Sleeping in class?”

“Oh yeah, and what a good nap,” said Max casually.

“Detention Max,” the teacher said giving him a slip.

“Yeesh, you would think that you would learn giving me detention won’t stop me from snoozing in your monotonous rants,” said Max.

“Double detention,” said the teacher, “If you’re going to be a smart ass.”

Max mumbled to himself and left the classroom heading in the direction of detention when he arrived he noticed several other students there, all of them the usual suspects. One of his friends, Tom Fiddler was in the class. He was a strange kid and was usually sent to detention for stuff like, taking a bit from the teacher’s lunch, waxing their seats before they came to class, or mixing up the files.

The kid had a strange sense of humor when it came to practical jokes. Another kid in the room was a resident jock and school bully Cletus Matthews. Cletus is also a bit slow, but this never stopped him from finding a reason to beat up on someone. He was sent to detention for what he does, bully, in fact one of his more favored targets was Max himself, but when they were in detention together he never bugged him.

The last person in detention was one of their resident Goths Lily Everson. She was in detention for an oddment of reasons usually, and nobody ever asked her why because she scared the shit out of most of the students. Ever since the day she beat the crap out of the Quarterback on the football team, it was especially amazing for someone of her stature. Nobody except the Quarterback and herself knew what the fight was about, but rumors ranged from the Quarterback rejecting her to him destroying her poetry, and other creations.

The teacher in charge looked over to Max, “Ah Max ‘Rip Van Winkle’ Ferguson why don’t you come have a seat?”

“Fine Mr. Clark,” said Max.

He sat over by Tom Fiddler and twiddled his thumbs for a bit, Rip Van Winkle was a nickname the students and even some teachers called him on occasion due to falling asleep in class constantly and getting sent to detention. But the nickname was nothing new Max set his head on the desk and stared at the black board. Until his friend Tom looked over to him and whispered something, “Hey Rip you got some candies?”

Max glanced at him and whispered back, “Like you need it Fiddler.”

“True, but I need it to fuel my mind,” said Tom persistently.

“Quiet down back there Mr. Fiddler, and Mr. Ferguson!” he threw a bit of chalk at them.

Mr. Clark was well known for having a head that could show your reflection, and his unorthodox behavior. As in throwing stuff at students for misbehaving in class or getting a question wrong, many students suppose this generates from his friendship with their evil gym teacher. Others just except it and move on. But the amazing part about this is he never has been caught doing it by an authority figure and no one has told anyone about it who goes to his classes it is almost the unspoken law to not tell.

Tom returned to his sitting position, he was probably the only person that went to their high school who still wore roller skate shoes. Max turned back to his desk and stared at it, he kept gazing into the hard wood desk imagining that it was his escape a way to get out of this room. In his imagination it grew wings and flew him out of the classroom. But he realized he was sleeping again and woke up. He then looked around the room everyone was staring at him.

Tom Fiddler looked at him, “Hehehe dude you’re a chick!”

Max looked down to see breasts, and long blonde hair greet him in response. Then he looked up at the school bully, “Ha now your appearance fits how wimpy you are!”

Max tried thinking about turning back but the comments kept coming at him. The teacher was just awestruck, Lily looked unsurprised. This was possibly the worst thing that could happen to him, he saw an open window an opportunity. By an open window the term was literal he leaped out the window and escaped the view of any of those in the room. He heard a voice from the room, “Uh…Detention is over class.”

Max leaned against the wall breathing heavily next to the dumpster then he heard a voice above him, “That’s what I would do if something like that happened to me.”

Max looked up; green eyes greeted him contained within the girl with black hair flowing down near his face. She was wearing typical goth clothes and white make up all over her face. She then reached into her bag and handed him a book, “Chandra Suresh’s book, it should help you quite a bit.”

Max looked a bit surprised, “Umm…you should keep your book.”

“No you would do much better with it,” said Lily actually smiling for once, “Also I suggest trying to find Mohinder Suresh he can help you with your powers.”

Max paused staring at the book then looking back up at her, then Lily said, “Your life here is ruined anyways until gifts like yours are openly welcomed then you have to find a new life, this is a good place to start Max.”

She turned and started to leave in the direction she arrived, Max said, “Wait, how were you prepared for this?”

Lily turned to Max and said, “Do you want to know?”

“Of course,” said Max.

“I can project my astral form and possess bodies of others, the reason I fought with the Quarterback was he discovered me after I possessed him on accident,” said Lily, “So I made sure he wouldn’t tell, and it worked. I read Chadra Suresh’s book and it helped me come to terms with my powers, concentration usually keeps me from losing control.”

Max concentrates for a moment and returns to normal, “I couldn’t concentrate with all of the distractions in the room.”

But he wasn’t answered as Lily already left any point within his eyesight. Max rose from the ground and walked away from the school along with his previous life. He knew he would have to be on the road, but he couldn’t handle it on his own. He was going to try to convince Rin to come with him on his trip.

Max couldn’t ride the bus home that was the trouble with getting detention, so he walked. When Max finally arrived at Rin’s house he walked over to her window and started rapping it, “Rin you there?”

Rin stepped over to the window and slid it open, “Yeah Max, come inside my exchange family won’t know.”

Max crawled in through the window and sat on the end of Rin’s bed, while she leapt on it behind him causing him to jump out of surprise. He turned around to her and gave a nervous smile.

“What’s wrong Max, usually you talk to me very easily,” said Rin.

“Well Rin, I morphed in detention today and everyone in the class saw me do it,” said Max.

“Well something like eye color, or hair color is something that isn’t so noticeable,” said Rin, “They probably just ignored it.”

“What about a complete change of appearance Rin?” asked Max.

“Well maybe…” said Rin starting to get his gist, “Something like that will be on the news Max!”

She grabbed the remote off of her end table and turned on the TV switching over to the news, a man stood in front of the school and he said, “Local teenager at Queens High School changed form in the middle of a class session, the claims were by two students and a teacher. One student denies it happening but the teacher assumes she was defending the boy…”

“Is that enough for you Rin,” said Max.

“Well we don’t know if it was you,” she laughed.

“This isn’t something to joke about, I came here to ask if you would help me go to see Mohinder Suresh,” said Max, “This Lily girl says that he can help me, I can’t turn back to my old life anyways.”

Rin sat up and pondered about this it would mean being a missing child, worrying her exchange family possibly having claims of Max kidnapping her she then said, “Okay Max, you are my best friend after all and I’m not sure I want to go back to Japan after this experience…I need to write a note to my exchange family.”

She quickly scrawled something down on a piece of paper and left it on the bed, “Let’s go Max.”

She crawled out the window followed by Max. She then turned to Max and said, “People will recognize you due to the description, and possibly any pictures they might show, so we need to disguise you somehow.”

Max concentrated for a moment, he became about a foot shorter, then his hair changed to brown, as his eyes became a dully gray. Rin looked at him and then abruptly said, “That’s good enough just keep that in mind.”

She grabbed his hand and they walked down a few blocks before stopping at a phone booth, “Go look up Suresh, bet there isn’t too many of them.”

Max flipped through the phonebook arriving at the letter S. He quickly narrowed it down to SU, and scanned the page for Suresh’s. Then he saw it, ‘Chandra Suresh.’

“It wasn’t the guy I was looking for but he wrote the book Lily gave me,” said Max.

He pulled up the number and inserted a quarter into the phone, “Pick up…please…”

He waited as several rings happened and a little girl answered the phone, “Suresh residence!”

“Is there a Chandra Suresh there?” asked Max, “And who is this?”

“I am Molly, and there is no Chandra Suresh here…but there is a Mohinder,” she said.

“Put Mohinder on the phone would you?” asked Max.

“Umm…Mohinder isn’t here right now he is grocery shopping but could I take a message,” said Molly.

Max hit his head and said, “No, but I need to meet with him.”

“I can give you the address,” said Molly.

“Please that would be very good,” said Max.

She said it then asked, “What is your name by the way?”

“My name is Maximilian Ferguson, I’ll be coming to the house in a bit,” said Max hanging up the phone.

He turned to Rin giving her thumbs up.

The glow of the TV shined on Matt’s face he was watching the news and he looked up to Audrey, “Here’s Sylar’s next target Audrey!”

She quickly glided over to the TV as a picture raised up, a blonde haired teenage boy, “Why this kid?”

“He just discovered his powers, and is on the news Audrey,” said Matt, “Sylar lives for things like this!”

Audrey looked at the picture a bit more, “Where is he now?”

“Nobody knows,” said Matt, “But the sooner we find him the better.”

He stood up from his chair and walked over to the door as Audrey followed him picking her gun up off the table and holstering it.

In front of electronics store a smiling man was watching the many television sets sitting in front of him, each shining in his face revealing the twisted smile. This man was considering something bad. The news then continued to state, “Maximilian Ferguson will most likely be on the run, if anyone sees this boy please call the police…”

“There will be no need to call the police,” said the man turning away from the TV.

The man’s face shone in the sunlight revealing the face of Sylar.