FFF Heroes - Page 2

June 17, 2008, 6:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faith

Niki was a hard character to cast and I thought it'd be interesting to try put you in that light. You're always seen as the good girl, right? Would you love to see yourself go bad every once in a while?

And I will try to keep it up.

Oh I'm not always nice, you know ;P So yeah, I'd love to see myself go bad every once in awhile.

June 30, 2008, 12:13 AM

Here's the next chapter, where we see one more hero being introduced into the fold!

_____________________

Chapter Two

Don’t Look Back

“We all imagine ourselves the agents of our destiny, capable of determining our own fate. But have we truly any choice in when we rise or fall? Or does a force larger than ourselves bid us our direction? Is it evolution that takes us by the hand? Does science point our way? Or is it God who intervenes, keeping us safe?”

Riku gasped, as he woke up and sat up in bed. Koloth, who was sat right by him, stood up almost immediately and grabbed his shoulder.

“Hey, hey! Take it easy, pal,” he said.

“What the …” Riku glanced around at his surroundings. “Where … am I?”

“You’re in a hospital,” Koloth pointed out the obviously.

“What? How did I get here, eh? What happened?”

“You’re saying that you don’t remember?”

Riku sighed and lay back on the bed. He tried to put it all together into one piece, but he couldn’t. “No,” he said. “No, I don’t.”

“You jumped, Riku.”

“Jumped? What do you mean – jumped?”

Koloth groaned and sat up in his seat. “Yeah, you did. I saw it happen with my own eyes … you threw yourself off a fifteen story building. You tried to kill yourself, Riku! I know that you were a little bit wound up yesterday, but I thought it wouldn’t come to this. I never thought you’d do this to yourself. To even think that you’d try to kill yourself because I wouldn’t listen –”

But Riku shook his head. The memory was slowly beginning to come back to him. “That’s wrong, it’s bull! What are you talking about, Koloth? I didn’t do that … I didn’t try to kill myself. I remember now …” He paused for a moment before speaking again. “You were there in the alley below. I jumped and then the next thing I knew … you were flying.”

“WHAT?”

“You flew up and you caught me. You saved me, Koloth.”

But Koloth, the ever politician in denial, laughed it off. “That’s the most insane thing I’ve ever heard. You jumped, Riku! It was a twenty foot jump! I climbed up the ladder and carried you down. Now that is what happened. You’re crazy saying that!”

Riku was still unconvinced.

*

Nothing really happened in the town of Odessa in Texas. But something had happened for once, all right. Faith looked at the headline on the TV that read, “Train Derails Explode” and then she looked down at the newspaper article entitled, “Mysterious Good Samaritan Saves Man”. Of course, Faith hadn’t told anyone what had happened – except for Zach, who had witnessed it all.

“Dad?” she said, tossing the newspaper aside and glancing at Mr Bennet, who was standing in front of the stove cooking breakfast. He looked towards her and waited for her to speak again. “Do you mind if I talk to you about something?”

He came over towards her after he placed the spatula down and he picked up the pitcher of orange juice, grabbing a glass in the process. “Are you pregnant?”

Faith would have laughed, but didn’t. “What? No, of course not.”

“Are you doing drugs?”

“Oh my God … Dad, come on!”

Mr Bennet came to sit next to her. “Actually, I know what it’s about.” Faith waited for him to make the next response before asking if he did. She wanted to know if a father really could read their daughter’s mind just by glancing at her expression. “Of course I know, it’s about wanting to know where you come from. Your mom told me that you’ve been asking about your biological parents.”

Faith nodded and started playing around with her plate. “Well, I think it’s time that I knew because … I know you and Mom are always going to be there for me, but I at least need to know my background, right?” she asked. Mr Bennet nodded in response. “I just keep wondering about it, that’s all. You know, what they look like, what they do for a living, what they can do –”

“What they can do?”

“Uh huh! Like hobbies, skills … stuff like that, I guess.”

She could tell he looked – or at least tried to be – distracted by the frying pan. Mr Bennet went over to it, picked it up and then filled Faith’s plate with the food he’d been making. “You know, I don’t … listen to me, Faithy. This doesn’t have to sound so strict on you and I know I should allow you to do this. This, I believe, is an adult decision. Are you willing to take that responsibility onboard?”

Faith rolled her eyes. “Oh, great. You are right. This is strict.”

“I’m serious! There are gonna be issues along the way. This isn’t some walk in the park, where you could randomly walk up to your parents and tell them who you are. You’ll have issues. They’ll have issues. It’s very complicated and emotional at the same time.”

“And I’ll take that onboard, but I’ve been ready for a while now …”

“Well, exactly. If you think you’re ready –” He handed her back her plate, which she gladly took. “Here’s my advice. Keep things light and fun as long as you can. Just like you do with cheerleading.”

“Hey! Cheerleading isn’t fun sometimes! It is very hard work.”

“Of course it is and you might find it’s hard work processing all of this.”

Once Faith was finished, she grabbed her bag. “I can’t be late, Jackie’s got us doing this new routine,” she said, rolling her eyes. Plus, I need to see Zach urgently.

Mr Bennet kissed her cheek. “Listen, Faith,” he said when she was about to leave. He looked quite confused as to how to say this, but he said what he needed to say. “I don’t want you to hurry up and grow up, ok? I know these things, you can trust me.”

Faith smiled innocently, turned around and looked guilty. Her ability was forcing her to grow up, not the damn meeting the parents thing.

*

Angelus had a long day of taxi driving and still, nothing had come out of it. She had been afraid of the horn-rimmed glasses guy that had mentioned her mother and bolted. But now, she knew that these mere meetings wouldn’t be so wide and would be limited. Hey, at least she managed to get her first payment, though! So she walked into the apartment that afternoon after her shift.

She removed her jacket and hung it up to then turn around. She saw a man in the next room under the table working on something. The man hadn’t noticed Angelus soon and she wanted to keep it that way. She put her jacket back on and then picked up a heavy elephant ornament on the side. Angelus quietly sneaked up to the man about to hit him when he backed out from under the table with his hands raised above his head.

“Who are you?” shouted Angelus loudly.

“Hey, hey, hey! Sorry, sorry! Take it easy,” he gulped, standing up. “I’m the exterminator! Your landlord let us in. We’re doing the whole building today. I just got done with the lady with the dog and the cough. And now here you are threatening me! Then again, I guess a vulnerable girl like you needs to be alert.”

Angelus could only roll her eyes at this point and noticed the spray tank next to him.

“I’m almost done here, so I’ll be out of your hair soon!” he called, as he carried on with his work. The exterminator picked up the spray can and Angelus looked under the table to see the open wiring and electronics keypad in his metal tool box. “There’s a problem here … it looks like some cockroaches have, um, infested your floorboards.”

But Angelus was still carrying her suspicions around with her. She hadn’t even put down the metal elephant ornament yet. The exterminator sighed shaking his head. Suddenly, he swung the canister towards her head. Fortunately, Angelus ducked and swung the elephant at him, severely injuring him in the knee and it caused him to fall down.

“I guess someone’s playing fire with fire,” said Angelus, glaring coldly at him. “So are you going to tell me who you are then? What did you do to my mother? Did you kill her?”

But she then received a nasty surprise when the exterminator kicked Angelus in the gut, who went flying backwards across the room. She landed on the floor with a loud thud, causing her a lot of pain. The exterminator rose to his feet and pulled out a gun. Almost immediately, Angelus scrambled backwards.

“Let’s take a little breather, shall we, Professor?” he taunted.

“Well, I guess the cockroaches aren’t my problem right now,” Angelus said sarcastically. She watched him back away and pick up his metal tool kit. “Did you kill my mother? You never answered the damn question!”

“You know what? I think we’re done here, Professor,” the exterminator continued to say, “so I’ll tell you something. Have a really great day, let’s hope the cockroaches don’t come to bite ya.” He tucked the tool kit under his arm and backed away. Once away from Angelus, he turned and headed for the door.

But Angelus wasn’t giving up so easily. She got to her feet and chased after him.

The exterminator exited the apartment just as a middle-aged man returned carrying two grocery packages. The exterminator bumped into him and he fell too quickly dropping his groceries. In turn, the exterminator dropped his metal tool kit. Angelus got out of the apartment and grabbed the exterminator. The two began a fierce struggle.

It was in this struggle that the exterminator dropped his gun and smashed an bleeding Angelus up against the hallway wall. She cried out, but then the man, who had been there witnessing this, grabbed the gun and cocked it, causing the two to calm down and face him.

But then as Angelus was distracted, the exterminator elbowed Angelus. However, both of them froze at the sound of the gun and they turned to look at the guy with the groceries, causing them to raise their hands up.

“Hey, hey! I’m just the exterminator!” pleaded the exterminator. “This chick came in and pulled a gun on me!”

“He is not an exterminator!” yelled Angelus.

“She’s paranoid, I tell ya! I was just in there spraying bugs in her apartment and then she came in! She was about to attack me looking freaked out that I was even there!”

The man turned the gun to the exterminator. “Ok, let me get this straight, pal. If you call yourself a goddamn exterminator, then why the hell do you have a gun holster?” The exterminator looked afraid. “Ohhh yeah! Try figuring that one out, dumbass!”

Unexpectedly, the exterminator grabbed Angelus and pushed her into the man with the gun. The two of them began to fall, as he fled the scene. The man grabbed Angelus to stop themselves from falling. They both looked down the hallway. And then, the man released his hold on Angelus.

“Thanks for coming to my rescue,” grinned Angelus. “He could’ve killed me.”

“You’re welcome, idiots like that deserve to be in jail where they belong,” he said. “Oh, I’m Thanatos McCain. I’m your neighbour on this hallway here.”

“Angelus Mortis,” she smiled, shaking his hand.

“Are you Professor Jacqueline Mortis’s daughter? I follow her work,” said Thanatos.

*

Mitsuki Nakamura never thought that she had been in New York for such little time. She walked down the busy sidewalk greeting people, as they passed her.

“Hello! Nice to meet you! I love New York! Hello! Whassup? Justin Timberlake! Go, Yankees!”

People stared, but cared less and went back to their business quickly.

She stopped in front of a newspaper vendor, as something caught her eye. Mitsuki turned to notice a comic book called “The 9th Wonders!” on the shelf. The reason why it caught her attention? Because she was on the front cover with her arms outstretched wide and yelling, “I DID IT!” The corner caption read: “Mitsuki Arrives in New York.”

Wow, this was so amazing. Mitsuki was so stunned that she grabbed the comic off the rack and started reading. Unfortunately for her, the vendor had noticed.

“Hey, girly! This ain’t a library!” he shouted. “No pay! No read! Comprende?”

“But, uh, touch! Touchy!” she cried. She chuckled and then dug deep into her pocket for some money. She pulled out some yen and offered it to the vendor. Before he even had time to consider the offer, Mitsuki had taken off with the comic running down the sidewalk.

“Hey, get back here!” yelled the vendor.

Mitsuki laughed loudly and shouted something in Japanese, delighted with her first course of action in the future. She continued to run down the sidewalk with the comic book clutched in her hand. The vendor was chasing her shouting at her to slow down, but Mitsuki kept on running. There was no tomorrow about how fast she could go.

However, she tired out quicker than she expected. She reached a theatre that was closed, stopped, turned around and ducked behind the ticket booth. Now finally able to take a breather, she rubbed her nose and then opened the comic book to read. Her smile continued to show when she saw panels of herself at her own desk at work, his clock and arriving here in New York. She flipped several pages to see herself talking with Ando like she had done at work, the soba shop and even the bar.

But the more she read, the more freaked out she was getting.

So she kept on flipping through the rest of the comic and came to the last page with a write-up by the author. It read: “Published by Writer/Artist: Isaac Mendez, 215 Reed St 7, New York, New York 10010”.

Mitsuki stared at the artist’s name and photo.

*

Union Wells High School – not the place where you’d want to look too geeky. Too bad because Zach Fuller was being like that right now. He rushed across the amphitheatre carrying some books looking very geek-ish. In the meantime, the quarterback, Brody Mitchum, was talking with Jackie Wilcox, captain of the cheerleading team and Faith. He leaned against the lockers demonstrating how to hold a football.

“It’s not about having big hands,” he was saying. “Most guys’ hands are too rough to pick out the details. Mine are sensitive. Feel how soft they are.” He took Faith’s hand.

She seemed clearly impressed. “Wow!”

“But you’ve got dainty hands,” he smiled.

Jackie giggled. “My mom says my hands are very dainty.” But Brody entwined his fingers with Faith’s. “Maybe I should try out for the football team!

Zach cleared his throat, interrupting. “Faith, may I possibly please borrow your ears just for one minute?” He pulled her aside, but Jackie followed them.

“Hey, Zach! Is it really true that you got an erection in the boys’ locker room?”

“It’s really important …” whispered Zach.

“Not now, not now!” hissed Faith, aware that Jackie was listening in. She pulled free and headed back to Brody. Zach rolled his eyes feeling defeated and left them. It was only a mere matter of moments later that Principal Marks walked up to Faith and Jackie.

“Faith, Jackie,” he said. “The sheriff and some firemen would like to have a word with the entire cheerleading squad.”

They both said “ok”, but Faith was worried. She knew that this would be about what happened yesterday.

*

Mandi was spooked by what she had seen. She quickly lifted the garage door and slipped outside. She then closed it again behind her and put a lock on it. Jumping into her car, she started the engine and drove away. She went driving on the driveway and was now on the phone to Logan.

“Honey, I’m so sorry,” she said, trying to comfort him. “I’m on my way now. Baby, I’m only five minutes away! You know I love you, so I’ll be there really soon.”

She hung up. But as she drove, Mandi glanced down at the video camera next to her. She came to a red light and stopped. While the car was being idle, she picked up the camera and watched the video. She saw herself on the screen – this was where it started.

It was exactly as how she had remembered it – the thugs had told her to strip off for her to repay the debt she owed to Linderman. All was normal until one of the thugs punched her in the face. However, the tape went black and only the statics remained. The audio was clear, however. There were sounds of some commotion with the men then both screaming. The sounds of two people being stabbed was heared.

The traffic light had since turned green, but Mandi didn’t make a move. She continued to watch the tape horrified with what she had heard. On the tape, the two men were screaming. At the same time, her cell phone started ringing.

She held her cell phone now, not the video camera. She was now dressed in a red top and the video camera was on the passenger seat next to her. She looked at the ringing cell phone and then down at the camera. Mandi looked at her blouse. Instead of answering the phone like she should have done, she got out of the car.

Now Mandi found herself in her car, which was parked in an empty parking lot stall. An airplane passed by overhead. Her cell phone continued to ring, she flipped it open and answered it.

“Hello?”

“Mom … where’ve you been? I called you four hours ago.”

“What? Four hours? Is that how long it’s been?”

“Yeah!”

“I’ll be right there, baby.”

Mandi hung up on the phone and looked confused as well as scared. Just where was all of her time going? She arrived at Tina’s place no sooner, where she saw Tina and Logan on the porch. Tina looked out and sighed, as Mandi ran to Logan.

“What is the matter with you, making him wait like that?” she snapped impatiently.

Mandi hugged Logan. “I’ll just be two seconds. Go wait in the car and then I’ll be there, ok?” He nodded smiling and hurried to the car.

“Mandi! Ok, what the hell is going on?” hissed Tina.

“Something terrible’s happened, Tina. I … I …”

“What? What is it?”

“Those guys that you said that Linderman would send to get his money back –”

“Yeah?”

“Well, he did. Now they’re dead on the floor of my garage.”

“What? How?”

“That’s the thing, Tina! I don’t know how it happened!”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“I mean that I don’t know! I just … I woke up and they were dead and … I think that I might … sometimes, when I look in the mirror … and I’m not sure it’s me that I’m seeing …”

“Maybe David did it. You know how he’s always trying to protect you and Logan! He still loves you both.”

However, Mandi shook her head instantly. “David wouldn’t risk coming back because the cops are after him. And when Linderman finds out his goons are dead, it won’t matter who killed them. He’ll come after me because they won’t have come back!”

Tina, although she had much hatred for Mandi right now, could only give her some advice. “Then listen closely to me, Mandi. You have to call the police!”

“No, I have to –” Mandi glanced back at Logan, who looked tired. “I have to cover my tracks. Then I’ll run. I’m sorry, but I have to go, Tina.” She hurried to the car, closed the door, put the car into gear, backed up and left.

*

Back in her apartment, Angelus was under the table examining the wiring that the exterminator had been working on with Thanatos watching quite eagerly.

“Why would anybody wanna mess around with Momma Mortis’s phone?” he said.

Angelus stared at her. “Momma Mortis?”

Thanatos rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, she told me to call her that after I butchered her name a couple of times.”

Angelus moved out from under the table and sighed. “I don’t know why someone would want to tap her phone. Back in Madras, I remember finding this man wanting to steal her computer and research … now there’s this …”

She handed Thanatos the bug she found in the phone. Thanatos looked at it.

“Why don’t you ask your mother? She must know who it is,” he said hopefully.

“I can’t,” said Angelus, trying to hold back the tears. “She died four days ago.”

And for the first time, Thanatos was shocked. “What?”

“You didn’t know?” stared Angelus. Thanatos shook his head in shock and sat down with her sat next to him. “He was murdered in his taxi.”

“I can’t believe anyone would even dare do that … it must be so awful,” he whispered silently, looking at the floor blankly.

“You were close to my mother?”

“Sure was … I couldn’t really cook for one. She was the first person to make me feel welcome here in the apartments. She used to make extra when she was cooking and would occasionally invite me over. We’d eat together … she told me about her theories and the map. So yes, I suppose we were close friends.”

Angelus smiled. At least someone had been close to her. “Well, I’m glad she had someone to talk to. We weren’t very close towards the end, but she’s my mother, of course. We would have our disagreements at some point …” She rose to her feet and headed to the kitchen. “I’m glad she had someone to talk to again … I’ll get you some water.”

Thanatos kept on shaking his head. “I had no idea anything was up. I kept on knocking on the door a few times in the week when I didn’t hear anything from her. I used to keep thinking she was out and all … it was a shame really. I had this really fascinating book to show her.”

“What book would that be?”

“Darwin’s Origin of Species.”

Angelus handed him the glass of water, which he thankfully accepted.

“It’s a true first edition,” Thanatos continued to say. “I work at this antique book store and I found a copy. I just … thought she’d get a kick out of reading it.”

A smile formed on Angelus’s face. “Well, she most definitely would have gotten a kick out of it for sure. It’s very thoughtful of you.”

“You know … I do recall her telling me that she was being watched. I thought that she was just eccentric …”

“Well, I like how you’re not using the word paranoid for one.”

“Do you think that they could be watching us now?”

Angelus shrugged her shoulders. “They could have killed me when they had the chance. That is, if it’s what they wanted. For the time being, it seems I’m more important to them alive. You said that he talked to you about his theories and the map? I need you to tell me everything he said to you.” Thanatos nodded. “Everything you remember – it’s all I need to know to find this killer.”

*

The cheerleading squad was lined up in a row in the amphitheatre. Principal Marks, the sheriff and the fire marshall were there.

“Ladies!” said the sheriff loudly. “This isn’t some sort of criminal investigation. No one here has done anything wrong and aren’t in any kind of trouble. Actually, we’re here to find someone. There happens to be a very grateful man lying in the hospital who would like to thank one of you … for saving his life yesterday.”

However, Principal Marks looked suspicious. “I’ve never seen anyone so reluctant to be called a hero. Are you sure it was one of our cheerleaders?”

The fireman nodded, confirming it. “We’re sure of it. The uniform said Union Wells High.” He looked around. “I’d have to say it was –” He pointed at Faith. “Her on the end.”

Jackie looked at Faith disgusted that she was even being recognised.

“That there is Faith Bennet,” said Principal Marks.

“Faith … where did you go yesterday after cheerleading practice?” asked the sheriff.

“Well, um, I guess that I was –” began Faith.

“It wasn’t her!” interrupted Jackie, getting all the attention now. Faith didn’t know whether to feel relieved or angry. “It was me that saved that poor guy. I was taking a shortcut home from school … and … I saw the wreckage of the train. I saw what happened and I just had to help!”

Principal Marks crossed his arms. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Jackie put on a fake attitude that Faith easily recognised. “I guess I didn’t want all the attention, you know? That’s not why I did it. I did it to save that man from the fire. I didn’t want to see him die.”

The fireman smiled. “Well, on behalf of the Odessa Fire Department, I would like to congratulate you as an honourary firefighter.”

At that point, the other cheerleaders clapped and cheered Jackie on. Faith just smiled quietly. She walked up to the sheriff. “How is he?” she asked.

“Who?” questioned the sheriff.

“The man that Jackie pulled out of the train.”

“He’s got some pretty bad burns. Smoke damage to his lungs, but … he’s alive. Happy to be so.”

Faith just smiled and nodded, now glancing at Jackie. “Thanks to Jackie,” she murmured, as the sheriff nodded as well. She just continued to smile her fake smile.

Later on, the football players were practicing. Zach caught up with Faith.

“Faith!” he said, almost out of breath. “I am so glad that I finally got you alone. Look, we really have to talk –”

“Did you hear something about Jackie to be the Grand Marshall of the pioneer day parade? They’re gonna put her on the top of the fire truck!” she exclaimed, angry that Jackie had taken credit for saving a man that she, Faith, had done herself. “They should put her under the truck! She is not Superwoman!”

“It’s about the videotape,” cut in Zach, ignoring what she said, but wanted to laugh. “You know, the one where you killed yourself about twenty times?”

“Yeah, I know. And can’t we just keep that a secret?”

“It’s not a secret anymore, Faith. This is what I’m trying to tell you.” At this point, Faith turned to face him and what the truth was. “It was in my backpack and now it’s not! Someone took it and someone might know about you right now!” Faith was shaking her head. “It’s gone! I have no idea where it is! I could have sworn I put it in there!”

Faith slapped Zach in the face. “What do you mean, it’s GONE?”

And then all of a sudden, one of the football players tackled Faith. She flew across the pitch and fell down to the ground. Her head was twisted completely around her back. Fortunately, Zach only saw this. Even though he’d seen her do some pretty nasty things, his jaw still literally dropped open. Before anyone could come over, Faith immediately turned her head back facing forwards. Her bones crunched and mended.

The football player got up and then pulled off his helmet. Brody Mitchum looked shocked. He rushed over to help her back on to her feet and was completely astounded by what had happened.

“Oh my God! Faith!” he said. “I am so sorry! Are you ok?”

“Yeah,” groaned Faith, laughing nervously. “You just caught me off guard, I guess.”

“But … I thought I heard something snap …”

“Nope, no! I’m fine!” She raised her arm up high to the crowd that had formed around them. “I’m ok, people! I’m fine!” The crowd sighed with relief and applauded. “I’m fine really! I’m ok!”

“All right, that’s it! Show’s over! Get back to what you were doing!” said the coach.

“Yeah, there’s no scratch on me! No bruises! Nothing,” shrugged Faith.

“Heh, I guess you’re not so dainty after all then,” smiled Brody.

“I’m dainty enough,” she said, as she left and walked over to Zach. “We have got to find that tape or else my life is over as we know it.” She ran back to the other cheerleaders and joined them.

*

Back in Las Vegas, Mandi kept on driving home. She parked in the driveway. As soon as she switched the engine off, she and Logan got out of the car obviously arguing about something.

“What I don’t want to go on vacation?” grumbled Logan.

“You don’t have a choice,” said Mandi, not in the mood to argue. “You have to. And besides! A vacation is what we both need right now. We deserve it!”

“Why are we doing this, Mom? Why won’t you just tell me the truth?”

Mandi stopped and looked at Logan. He was such a smart and clever kid. She hated the fact that the private school didn’t want him anymore. He was far too clever for them now. It pained her to see her son confused.

“I wish that I could tell you the truth, son,” she said. “But you’re going to have to trust me for now, ok? Now go inside and pack up your stuff. I have to take care of something in the garage, but I won’t be long!”

But as soon as Logan entered the house, he looked inside and stopped immediately.

“Mom, what happened to our house?” he asked.

“Logan, you’re gonna have to trust me, ok? Now go inside and grab some stuff. Go!”

So with Logan out of the way and heading inside the house to grab some stuff for their escape, this left Mandi to go into the garage no matter how much she didn’t want to deal with the aftermath of last night. She headed to the garage, removed the lock and opened the door. But what she saw may have shocked her as well as relieved her at the same time. Everything was cleaned up. The bodies were gone!

No sooner did she find a pair of car keys hanging from a hook dangling from the ceiling. She wrapped her fingers around the keys and looked at the mirror. Her reflection was right there looking knowingly at her. It looked behind Mandi, which caused Mandi herself to turn around and see a red convertible parked across the street. She took the car keys and stepped out of the garage as well as closing the door shut.

Mandi headed across the street towards the vehicle. She got into the car and tried the key, which obviously fitted in correctly. She checked the registration in the glove compartment, which read:

The car is registered to:
MANDI SANDERS
37 PARKER STREET
HENDERSON, NY, 89014

VALIDATED: 06/15/06
EXPIRES: 06/15/07

She flipped the registration over and found a hand-written note that said: “In the trunk. Follow the map.” Whoever had wrote this note was seriously screwing with her head. Mandi got out of the car and checked the trunk. She almost fainted at the sight that she saw. The scent of the two dead bodies inside almost knocked her out, but it made her sick, all right. On the bodies was a map. Mandi picked up the map and shivers went down her spine; the blood was sticking to her fingers. She put the map down and slammed the trunk closed.

*

In New York at the hospital, Riku was recovering well. He sat in his bed drawing something. He drew two stick figures – one was floating in the air, the other was not. On the top right corner, he also drew a symbol. But when he was getting through it, Angela knocked on the glass. Riku looked up and saw her smile at him. He quickly put the drawing aside.

“Please help me understand what on earth you were doing on that rooftop, Riku,” she said, as she entered the room and sat down next to him, “because Koloth isn’t saying anything and there’s no one else in the world that knows what happened.”

Riku sighed, shaking his head. “I can’t tell you. Well, not yet, anyway. Angela, you’ll find out soon, trust me.”

Angela sighed. She sat down on the edge of Riku’s bed and started taking his clothes out of the bag she had brought with her. “There is something you need to know about Arthur’s death, Riku.” She looked at him. “He committed suicide.” Riku looked shocked, but was shaking his head at the same time. “It’s true. He committed suicide. I found him on the floor of our bathroom that day.”

“But you said Arthur had a heart attack,” Riku couldn’t process this.

“I lied to cover it all up, Riku. His heart was perfectly fine. You might say he had two more before that, but those are lies as well. They were both suicide attempts. But in the end, Arthur finally got what he wanted. You see, when he was only twenty-three years old, he was diagnosed with a major depressive disorder. He couldn’t help it. It was just … who he was.”

“And why didn’t I know anything about this before? Does Koloth even know?”

“Arthur and I decided to not to tell you both because it was too painful to say. You admired him, Riku. You admired him so much, yet you weren’t anything like him to say the least. Koloth, on the other hand, was. I was so worried that even though you weren’t related to us, I thought that you would end up the same way as Arthur. He was so sensitive and so are you.”

“Why are you telling me this now, Angela? Why not before?”

“Koloth has been worried about you for a few days now. This disorder … it can start with delusions that you’re invincible or indestructible, almost as if you’re not ordinary. They are irrational thoughts that then could turn suicidal.” She placed her hand on top of his. “Riku, you need to have time to have a hard look at your life. If there are changes to be made, I want to be here to help you. There’s something else I never told you either. Despite the fact that you’re not genetically linked to our family, I always saw you as my favourite. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you.”

Riku nodded. “Yeah,” he whispered, looking out at the window.

*

Mitsuki had finally reached her destination. She pressed the buzzer on the door and opened the comic book. She looked at the writer/artist information about Isaac Mendez again on the back cover. There was no answer and Mitsuki knocked on the glass door a few times. The door instantly swung open.

“Mr Isaac Mendez?” she called out

She stepped inside and looked around, then stepping into the studio loft.

“Hello?” she called. “Mr Isaac?”

She walked down the steps and further into the studio. She tucked the comic book into her satchel and looked at the paintings in the studio. The ones that he passed by were of a particular symbol in various forms and colours. She walked over to Isaac’s worktable and found an incomplete page with three panels all of him.

“Mr Isaac?” she said again, but softly.

The next thing she saw was blood. There was plenty of it on the floor. She followed the blood to the back of the studio. There was a lot more blood the further she went along. Next to it was a gun. Mitsuki picked up the gun and continued forwards. She was horrified when she saw Isaac’s dead body on the floor. His head was sliced open and emptied. She realised that this was where all the blood came from.

She gasped. She couldn’t move.

“Freeze! Drop your weapon!” shouted a detective, who had entered the room with several police officers.

Mitsuki dropped the gun. More officers began to enter through the other entrance.

“Get your damn hands up!” shouted an officer.

So Mitsuki put her hands up. The detective stepped forward. She glanced at the dead body again before fainting.

*

In Los Angeles, there was a crime scene. A major one! Officer cars were gathered around a residential home. Mark Parkman was outside directing traffic.

“This is just brilliant, isn’t it?” he muttered. “Wanted to come to the States all my life to make a decent living … end up directing traffic. There’s a serial killer striking in the middle of Los Angeles, abducting a little girl and here I am doing this useless job. I’m a hundred feet away! I might as well go back home to England, where I belong! At least I can get recognised there!”

“Hey, I wouldn’t worry about it,” his friend said to him, who was also another police officer. “They don’t pay us enough to be where the action. What are you gonna do about it?”

“What do you mean? All I want to do is help people,” said Mark, crossing his arms.

“You want to help? Help me get more tape,” he said.

As they did that, two more cars arrived. FBI agents got out and headed for the house.

“So what do you think, Mark – CIA or FBI?”

“Nah, that woman … she’s dressed too nice for FBI.”

“Speaking of which, I saw the test scores got posted this morning.”

Mark didn’t want to talk about it. He had been trying those tests for a couple of years now and he still hadn’t passed. He wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t passed this time. But his friend offered his sympathies.

“Don’t worry about it, man. Not everybody’s a test taker. I don’t get why it should be about tests nowadays, anyway. It’s about skills! And hey, it doesn’t matter! Who wants to be a detective, anyway?”

Please don’t hurt me.

Mark jumped. Was he the only one who had heard that voice? He looked at his friend, who was still going on with himself.

“You got to spend half your salary buying suits. Nine out of ten of these guys …”

But instead of listening to him, Mark continued to listen to the voice.

He stole them.

“Won’t live to see their pension plan …”

Please don’t hurt me. Please don’t hurt me.

He continued to listen to the little girl’s voice and looked around.

“Are you all right, Mark?” asked his friend.

Mark didn’t answer. He turned around and followed the little girl’s voice.

“Mark?”

He headed for the house and walked past various officers in conversation.

“My back is killing me!”

Please don’t hurt me.

“There’s a bullet out there with my name on it.”

“Your ass is on the line.”

Please.

Mark walked into the house. Crime scene investigators were already inside taking photos of the body hanging along the stairway banister, stabbed with utensils and other metal objects. The woman’s head was cut open.

Please don’t hurt me.

He stopped and stared around the room for a moment as if he was trying to figure out where the little girl’s voice was coming from.

Please don’t hurt me.

He turned and headed for the living room. He walked past FBI Agent Audrey Hanson, who was talking with a CIA agent.

“You know we don’t have any idea what happened in here,” said the CIA agent.

“I’ve got a theory,” said Audrey.

“You always do,” said the FBI agent next to her.

“This is Barstow all over again,” she groaned and rolled her eyes. “It’s Saix.”

The FBI agent rolled his eyes. “There isn’t a Saix. Last words of a dying victim, but it don’t add up to much. It didn’t mean anything. And look at her, must have taken three guys to lift her up that high.” He paused and then spoke again. “What about the daughter?”

“No sign,” Audrey shook her head. “We checked the house and surrounding. We issued an amber alert. You saw what happened to the father …”

The victim, James Walker, was sitting at the table. He was frozen solid with the top of his head cut off like the others. He was holding a spoon halfway to his mouth as if he were caught while eating. Mark walked up to the body and looked at it, but his attention was still mainly focused on the little girl, whose voice was elsewhere.

“Frozen solid, skull sawed off,” continued Audrey. “We need to find out how!”

“The little girl’s the priority,” pointed out the FBI agent.

Mark walked around the body. He was still listening for the little girl and he looked around the room to see if he was getting any closer.

Please don’t hurt me. Please don’t – please don’t hurt me.

The CIA agent looked up and noticed Matt. Audrey also stopped and noticed him.

Please.

“You are not supposed to be in here!” exclaimed the FBI agent.

But Mark motioned for him to be quiet. He headed closer and closer to the panelled wall under the stairs. Everyone was silent. His attention was now focused on the cupboard.

Please … please don’t hurt me.

He looked down and saw a hallway table with a lamp on it against the panelling.

Please don’t – please don’t hurt me.

Mark removed the lamp and moved the table. He put his hands up against the panelling and pushed. The panelling opened to a small cupboard under the stairs. Inside, a little girl was huddled behind a small table and chairs. She stared at him, looking scared. He glanced back at the agents before turning back to the little girl.

“It’s ok, it’s ok,” he whispered. “You’re safe now.” He glanced at his badge. “Look, I’m a cop. I’m one of the good guys, ok?”

He hurt my mom and dad. Please don’t hurt me.

So he held out his hand to her. “I’m not gonna let anybody hurt you. No, no, no. Come on … take my hand. It’s ok. Come on! It’s ok. Come on.”

*

Angelus pointed to a spot on the wall map near a post-it with a strange symbol and two question marks on it. He turned to face Thanatos.

“For many years, my mother had been working on a mathematical theorem using human genomes and DNA migration patterns,” she was saying. “She thought that he could find a way to identify these people, the ones who were special. I never believed it was possible. We fought about it constantly.” She smiled, but sadly. “It’s the whole reason we grew apart.”

And at that moment, Jacqueline’s answering machine went off.

“You’ve reached Jacqueline Mortis. Please leave a message after the tone!”

The answering machine beeped and Thanatos went to check it.

“Hey,” he said. “She’s got messages here.” She played it back.

“Jacqueline, this is Emi. You forgot to turn in your trip sheet last week. Where is your head, woman?”

“Oh, my God! Angelus!” jumped Thanatos.

“Yes? What’s the problem?” asked Angelus.

“No, not you,” Thanatos said. “The other Angelus, Jacqueline had a pet lizard called Angelus. She has got to be around here somewhere!”

So now she and Thanatos were crawling on the floor looking for the lizard.

The answering machine beeped again.

“Hi, I’m Koloth Petrelli. It would be an honour to represent New York’s 14th district. When the time comes, vote Petrelli.”

And then it beeped again.

“Hello, Jacqueline,” came a dark voice that sounded sinister. “Why won’t you talk to me? You can’t leave me hanging like this.”

The phone clicked and it sounded like Jacqueline picked it up.

“Hello, Mr Saix,” said Jacqueline in a stern tone of voice. “I asked you not to call here anymore.”

“This hunger, it’s … I can’t control it,” said Sylar. “I don’t want to. You made me this way.”

Jacqueline sounded shocked. “I made you a murderer?”

“You helped me to discover my potential. You wanted to see what I could as much as I did. And now you want it to stop.”

“It’s over. Goodbye.”

The answering machine beeped and clicked off.

“I found a tape of a conversation my mother had with a man named Saix,” said Angelus. “A man he believed was known as Patient Zero.”

Something fell. Angelus and Thanatos turned sharply to look. Thanatos found Angelus the lizard up on the shelf. She picked up the lizard. “Come here, you!” he said. “Angelus, this is Angelus. You want to give her a kiss?” She put the lizard back in its tank and found something.

“What is it?” said Angelus.

“It’s a portable hard drive,” he said, handing it over to her.

Angelus took it from him and then attached to his laptop. A series of letters and dashes appeared on the monitor, scrolling sideways. They formed a pattern of a strange symbol – the same one that was on the map.

“My God!” smiled Angelus, clicking her fingers. “She did it! She found an actual way to find them! Now we’re realising why someone would want to kill her … the reason for her death is this! I’m going to finish what he started.”

*

Mark walked along the pool. Audrey and the other FBI agent approached him.

“Hey, Parkman,” said the agent. “How the hell did you know that little girl was in there?”

“I don’t know, sir,” replied Mark. “I don’t know, I just – I heard her whispering and, um …”

Audrey, however, was sceptical. “House full of cops, but you’re outside and you just heard her whisper?”

“I can’t explain it! It was … I thought everybody could hear her. You guys couldn’t seriously hear her?” He then glanced at his watch.

“You got someplace better to be?” asked Audrey curiously.

“It’s my girlfriend,” replied Mark. “I’m, uh … I’m meeting her at a … therapy session. Couples counselling. We’re having some problems at home.”

Audrey looked at him closely. This guy’s worthless. Worthless.

Mark glared at her.

“Cut him loose,” said the other agent. “He got lucky.”

The agent left. However, Audrey was still not convinced. Mark started to leave.

“Not yet, Parkman!” she barked, prompting Mark to stop. “Your captain says you’ve taken the exam to advance three times?”

“That’s correct.”

“You really think you’re detective material?”

“Yes, ma’am, I do …”

“So how does it make you feel flunking out so many times?”

“I don’t know really … embarrassed for the latter part. A little angry –”

“A little angry?”

“Yeah …”

“Angry enough to do something about it? Maybe set yourself up to look like a hero?”

“Wait! What? You think I killed these people? I didn’t! Saix did.”

Audrey stopped in her tracks. Mark found it hard to put on a straight face. How did you know that name? She looked at him. “How did you know that name?” she demanded. “Six people assigned to this case know the name of Saix. How the hell did you know that?”

“I heard it from you.”

Like you heard the girl whisper.

“Yeah,” murmured Mark, debating whether to leave. Audrey was pissing him off now.

“Then hear this one,” smiled Audrey and then cuffed him when he couldn’t escape. “You’re under arrest!”

“What? Ouch! This is discrimination! You Americans don’t see the potential of Brits!”

*

Mandi had finally reached her destination on the map. She pulled to the side of the road and found a shovel upright in the dirt. She parked the car and got out. After adjusting the blanket over Logan, who was sleeping in the back seat, she headed over to the shovel and started digging.

She kept on digging and digging, her fear of getting caught ever so increasing by each passing minute. But destroying the evidence was the only choice that Mandi had. She had to bury those guys and make sure that Linderman found no evidence of their slaughter. However, knowing Linderman, he would get to the bottom of the truth.

And when she was shovelling, she found something in the dirt. Mandi used her hands to unearth it and gasped – there was skull. Shaking and shivering, Mandi shovelled again looking around this time to check if anyone was watching her.

*

The door opened and Faith walked back into her lovely home after the day she had at school. Oh, how relieved she felt to be back here …

“Faithy!” smiled Mr Bennet, as he closed his portable player.

“Hey, Dad,” said Faith.

“So how was school today then?”

“Usual. How was work?”

“Usual. By the way, I made a couple of calls today.” He patted the cushion next to him motioning for her to sit next to him. “I spoke to a very nice woman at the adoption agency and she said they were going to try to get in touch … with your birth parents and, uh, request a meeting.”

“But I thought that was an adult decision.”

“You really looked adult this morning when you told me you wanted to do it.”

Faith smiled at this point. “Thanks, Dad.”

“She also said that it was a lengthy process. And it could take weeks at this rate. I’m hoping for it to be years. That way, you can be my little girl for a while longer. I’m definitely done protecting you from the world.”

“And you’re my dad. You’ll never NOT be my dad. I promise you … I’ll be your little girl for as long as I can. But you know … I can’t be protected forever.”

“Yes, I know. And it breaks my heart to know that.”

A tear slipped down Faith’s cheek, as she snuggled next to her dad. “I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart,” smiled Mr Bennet, wiping away the tear from her cheek. She smiled her million-dollar smile. “Now go and get ready for dinner.” When Faith had gotten up and left, Mr Bennet opened the player again. Playing was Faith’s video. He shook his head at what he was seeing. “It really does break my heart …” And then he shut the player.

*

Riku found himself sat on the edge of a rooftop. He looked down at the cars below.

“I’ve been looking all over for you,” came Koloth’s voice, as he found him there.

“Did you ever know about your dad’s depression?” he asked him.

“Well, I only got told a while ago, but I always had some idea of it.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“Everyone’s entitled to their own secrets, Riku.”

Riku then rose to his feet and looked to the man he called his brother. “I was so sure when it happened. Now it turns out I’m just … going crazy.” He looked down at the cars below. “At least that’s what Angela said.”

“Why do you keep calling her Angela, Riku?” asked Koloth. “And we’ve been through this before. We’ve played this stupid game, ok? Let’s just … let’s just go.”

“I call her Angela because I haven’t been able to look at her in the same way for a while now,” sighed Riku. “Tell me what happened, Koloth! When I jumped, tell me you flew. I want to hear you say that you flew. Tell me or I’ll jump again!” He got closer to the edge of the platform. “Oh, and by the way, good luck on your campaign! Especially when I’m splattered all over the ground below in blood!”

“Fine then,” Koloth crossed his arms. “You want the truth?” Riku nodded fiercely. “The thing is … we both flew. I caught you and I lost control. You were too heavy for me. We both started falling to the ground and just before we – just before we hit, you flew. You flew.”

“Are you lying to me?” Riku glared coldly.

Koloth shook his head.

“You are! You’re lying to me, Koloth!” He took a couple of steps towards him. “You’re doing it again! You’re trying to tell me what you think I want to hear, so that everything works out for you! Well, I’m fed up of you being in denial!”

But Koloth didn’t say anything. He looked down at Riku’s feet and pointed at them. Riku looked down to see that he was floating a couple of feet above the rooftop. He looked down at Koloth and promptly fell to the ground. Koloth didn’t say anything. Riku, on the other hand, was thrilled. He hugged Koloth.

“Did you see that?” he whispered excitedly. “Did you see that? I flew!”

“Yeah, I – I know,” nodded Koloth, still trying to process it all. “I know …”

*

In the future, the coroners removed Isaac’s body. They walked over the mural on the floor of New York exploding. The detective walked over to Mitsuki.

“You are one frigging asshole, you know that?” he growled.

“I am very sorry,” said Mitsuki. “I not speak much English.”

The detective didn’t take that into account. “What I wanna know is what did you do with the man’s brain? You flush it down the toilet. You eat it. What?”

An interpreter arrived and put the folded newspaper on the table in front of her.

“We got a live one here,” the detective said to the interpreter. “No English, no passport, no American money, no ID.” He showed him Mitsuki’s purse. “Except for one thing here. ‘An honorary member of the merry marvel marching society.’ Let’s start by asking him how she got to New York, shall we?”

Detective Furakowa spoke in Japanese to Mitsuki, who replied back.

“She says he teleported himself here,” he said.

The lead detective looked confused. “Teleported? Is she pulling our strings?”

“Like Star Trek!” cried Mitsuki.

“She says she can bend the space-time continuum,” said Detective Furakowa.

“Funny, isn’t it?” snarled the detective. “I’ve seen all the Star Treks. I don’t remember you from the show.”

“If you me make a phone call, my English speaking friend will clear everything up!” squealed Mitsuki, struggling with each word.

So in the end, Mitsuki was allowed to speak with Ando.

“Moshi-moshi,” replied Ando.

“Ando-kun?” said Mitsuki.

“Mitsuki?” jumped Ando, now speaking in Japanese. “Where are you?”

“New York!” cried Mitsuki. “Teleportation!”

The translator took the phone from him and explained the situation. “Your friend says she was with you yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

“That’s not correct?”

“I have not seen Mitsuki Nakamura for five weeks. We have searched everywhere for her!”

“Her buddy hasn’t seen him for five weeks,” Detective Furakowa said to the lead detective and said the same to Mitsuki in Japanese.

“October 2nd?” asked Mitsuki.

“October 2nd?” laughed the lead detective. “Uh-uh! Today is November 8th!”

He showed Mitsuki the early edition of the New York Chronicle. The headline read, “Koloth Petrelli Wins In Landslide”. The date was November 8th.

“November? No … October!” cried Mitsuki.

Suddenly, there was an explosion. Mitsuki and the two detectives turned to look out the large windows. There was a bright flash of light and the glass cracked from the sound. The buildings in front of them exploded, as a large plume of smoke mushrooms rushed out towards them. Mitsuki closed her eyes and concentrated on getting back.

The rumbling sounds of buildings exploding gave way to the rumbling sounds of the subway train. Mitsuki had returned to Tokyo, where she had left off. She couldn’t believe how close to death she had come. She opened her eyes and looked up at the digital clock, which read 11:43. Now Mitsuki remained quiet.

She had a decision to make.

“For all his bluster, it is the sad province of man that he cannot choose his triumph. He can only choose how he will stand when the call of destiny comes. Hoping that he’ll have the courage to answer.”

_____________________

And as I think you can see, Mark (Aerith) is Matt Parkman, who can read minds. You also saw the introduction of Saix, who is our very own evil Sylar.

Leave us a comment and tell me what you think!

June 30, 2008, 12:17 AM

Ha ha. So Saix is Sylar huh? I'm starting to think you're bullying him Faith, making him a bad guy in both this and FFF Crisis lol Loved it anyways, cant wait for next one.

June 30, 2008, 4:04 PM

You said sylar a couple times and called Angelus's mom a he. Thought you should know.

"“Wait! What? You think I killed these people? I didn’t! Sylar did.”

Audrey stopped in her tracks. Mark found it hard to put on a straight face. How did you know that name? She looked at him. “How did you know that name?” she demanded. “Six people assigned to this case know the name of Sylar. How the hell did you know that?”"

"“For many years, my mother had been working on a mathematical theorem using human genomes and DNA migration patterns,” she was saying. “He thought that he could find a way to identify these people, the ones who were special. I never believed it was possible. We fought about it constantly.” She smiled, but sadly. “It’s the whole reason we grew apart.”"