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Matt and Nate pay a visit to The Company facility and inform Tobby that Papa Parkman is coming to kill him. Tobby's recommendation? Hang out and wait for the guy to show up and then have Mohinder inject him with the virus. Since Matt's the only one who can stop his father, he gets the enviable task of meeting the man head-on.
Peter and Caitlin wander around the empty New York until they get captured by guys in HAZMAT suits. They're taken to a decontamination unit where they're stripped down and scrubbed because an episode without a shirtless Peter is not an episode worth watching. He gets the lowdown on what's happening in the future, and it's what we thought: the Shanti virus is what's killing everyone and it's gruesome.
Hiro's still stuck in past, held captive by Kensei along with his girlfriend and her father. Yaeko gets herself out of the shackles and wakes Hiro out of his opium haze so that he can blink them the hell out of there. Hiro decides to destroy all of White Beard's guns but when he's about to blow them up, Kensei appears and they have a big old swordfight. It ends when the place is about to explode but Kensei refuses to leave with Hiro. Hiro escapes, and the place blows to smithereens. Hiro finally goes back to the present and learns that his father died.
Mohinder and Niki partner up so that she can help him administer the virus to Papa Parkman once he's caught. But Papa Parkman starts messing with Niki's brain, so she attacks Mohinder and steals the virus. Unfortunately, it appears that Papa Parkman is the least of their problems; Adam Monroe has escaped; he's the real brains of the operation and he wants revenge. Nathan learns all this from Tobby, as well as the fact that Peter is alive. Niki busts in while they're chatting as Matt figures out how to trap his father in a nightmare of his own making. Before Nathan can stop her, Niki injects herself with the virus. When Mohinder injects her with the antibodies, he discovers that the virus has changed and his blood is no longer a cure.
Bennet and Mohinder appear to be having a tiff, due to the fact that Mohinder shows up in one of the future paintings with a gun and Bennet seems to value the lives of his family members over Mohinder's. Of course, at the end of the episode, when Tobby gives Mohinder a gun and tells him to go capture Claire, as she's the key to saving the world from the virus, it would appear that Bennet's concerns about Mohinder are valid.
Back in the future, Peter meets up with his mother, only he doesn't remember her. So she reminds him who he is and what he does. She tells him that his brother Nathan died during the first outbreak and now Peter needs to travel in time and save the world from the virus. Unfortunately, when he finally travels through time, he does so at a moment when Caitlin isn't with him, and he just…goes back to Montreal without her, trapping her in the future. Once he's there, he tries to travel in time again, but can't. He hears someone behind him and reflexively shoots some blue sparks at someone, and that's when Kensei appears from around a corner and introduces himself as Adam Monroe. "Don't you remember, Peter?"
Awesome. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Previously on Heroes: Hiro made out with Yaeko and broke the time/space continuum. The Company developed a superpower vaccine that was more like a virus, and Mohinder worried that it would mutate into an incontrollable plague. Claire and West played a nasty trick on a heinous cheertator. The Wonderless Twins finally made it to America with their hot hitchhiker Sylar. Peter and Caitlin flew to Montreal where they received a note from some guy named Adam informing them that the ElderHeroes are evil, and then Peter squinted and he and his lassie wound up in a deserted New York, circa 2008.
We begin this episode back in Japan, 1671, and I cannot WAIT for the end of this particular storyline. Hiro's being held captive via the opium-suckage method. Kensei's keeping him in a tent along with Yaeko and her father. Yaeko pleads with Kensei to let Hiro go, but her former paramour is all, "Yeah, no. Not so much. Also? White Beard gave me Hiro and half the country and YOU as my princess, so you might want to keep it down, there, sweetheart." Yaeko swears she'll never be his girl because she loves Hiro. Kensei's not only bitter about this, he's getting kind of drunk on the power of being a bad-ass superhero, so he just declares that he's going to change history and walks out.
Odessa Warehouse of FuturePaintings. Bennet's taking a bunch of pictures of the paintings for posterity and we finally see the one that we couldn't see last week: it's of Peter, standing in front of a window with a backwards biohazard sign on it. Bennet calls Mohinder in New York and asks if The Company has given him a gun. Mohinder's all, "Muh?" Bennet says that he's found the paintings and that one of them prominently features Mohinder with a broken nose pointing a smoking Company gun. I totally thought that was Sylar or Peter in the painting, not Mohinder, but now that I get a good look at the perma-stubble, yeah, it's totally Mohinder.
Mohinder asserts that he doesn't have a gun. Bennet says he needs Mohinder's help to interpret the paintings because they're "all random." But...they're numbered, dude. That's...not random. Bennet says he's going to forward the digital images to Mohinder, but Mohinder's all, "No no nonononono! Don't do that! I have a partner now! And by 'partner,' I mean, 'warden.'" He says that The Company no longer trusts him (did they ever?), and Bennet just says that his family is in danger and this makes the light bulb go on over Mohinder's head because he now realizes that Bennet thinks he's expendable. Especially since he shows up in a painting with a smoking gun and Bennet shows up with...a bullet in his eyeball. "We were supposed to take down the company together," says Mo angrily, "but I don't know WHAT your agenda is anymore." Niki shows up just then and says that Tobby needs to see them. Mohinder hangs up and Bennet takes a match to the paintings.
Mohinder and Niki walk down a hallway as alarms go off and people scramble around. Tobby shows up and says that he's evacuating the facility because of something that Matt and Nathan told him. They walk up and Niki gets this look on her face like, "Hey -- didn't we happen to have sex not too long ago?" Mohinder asks Matt what's going on, and he tells the story of Papa Parkman and how he's coming to kill Tobby. Everyone looks at each other with sort of dead expressions as we swoosh out to white.
New York of the Future. Peter and Caitlin are walking the empty streets as he yells "Hello!" in an effort to find someone, anyone, who might be alive. Caitlin tells Peter to shut the hell up because everyone's been evacuated by Homeland Securities. She asks him if HE had anything to do with this and Peter's like, "No, dumb-ass! I just blinked and we showed up here! I have no idea what's going on!" Then a big armored truck screeches up and a bunch of dudes in HAZMAT suits pile out and grab Peter and Caitlin and haul them into the truck as they check them for disease and ask them if they're sick and generally freak them the hell out. They're taken into custody and the screen shoots to the Total Eclipse of the Heroes, only this time it has a bright green halo in honor of Green Week at NBC.
Bennet Bungalow. Claire's sweetly sleeping as the camera rotates over her bed. Her cell phone buzzes with a message. It's West, texting to ask her if she's eaten breakfast yet. She texts back that she just woke up and he instantly replies that it smells like she's having waffles. Claire's like, "How the?" She gets up, leaving tonight's episode title in the dent of her pillow. She runs downstairs and asks her mom if she made waffles. She didn't. But West was kind enough to come over and MAKE THEM FOR HER. At her house. The house where her father is. The father who's not supposed to know she's dating. The father who abducted West and branded him with the Double Lines of Doom. But aside from all that, how fucking creepy is West? He shows up, uninvited, and just starts...making fucking waffles? Did he bring his own Bisquick? And eggs? Or did he just appear with a fucking waffle iron all, "Hi, Claire's Mom! You don't know me, but I flew your daughter to a beach and made out with her and I'd like to whip up a batch of waffles in your kitchen if that's cool with you!" What the fuck?
Claire's pretty much with me on this one as she looks over at West, who's playing with Mr. Muggles, and looks at him like, "Bitch? What the hell are you doing here???" Mr. Muggles: "I know, right? It's weird. I don't trust him. Any guy who would show up just to play with me is clearly fucked in the head. Also? He gave me waffles. I'm not supposed to HAVE waffles. I am in TRAINING. I hate this guy. Break up with him immediately." West is like, "Hope you don't mind but I wanted to make you breakfast!" And Claire is like, "Mind? Why should I mind? You only INVITED yourself over to MAKE ME BREAKFAST like that's not WEIRD at all or, you know, RUDE." West and Mrs. Bennet act like there's nothing at all bizarre or intrusive about his showing up to craft morning nourishment in a stranger's home while Claire looks at both of them like they have Fruit Loops coming out of their ears.
Mrs. B calls for Lyle and walks past Claire, whispering that West is adorable. Sure he's adorable. FOR A STALKER WITH BOUNDARY ISSUES. The second her mother leaves, Claire lays into West for coming to her house when she explicitly told him not to. He ignores her anger and says he wanted to show her something. The "something" is an article about the Cheertator getting suspended for seeing a "boy who could fly" and a girl who fell to her death. West is oddly thrilled about this article and says that it means they're infamous. At this point, Claire is like, "Why the fuck am I dating this guy? He stalks me, he's excited about BEING IN THE PAPER, my mother loves him -- he's clearly a serial killer."
Needless to say, Claire is royally pissed off at West for even thinking this is something cool. West tries to get back in her good graces by whining that he just wants to be part of her life. Claire looks like she's about to make him part of her life by hitting him over the head with the waffle iron and burying him in the backyard, but just then she sees a Bennet family picture behind his head and decides that distracting West from seeing it with a nice kiss on the cheek is a smarter idea. She flips down the picture and says that he can stay -- but just for waffles. NO SYRUP.
Back at The Company, Mohinder is throwing a hissy at Matt about Papa Parkman. Everyone gathers in Tobby's office to discuss the eventual arrival of Mindbender Maury Parkman. Nathan perches on the corner of a red sofa with his foot on the arm and I'm so distracted by The Pasdar's hotness back there that I'm totally ignoring the scene at hand. Matt says something about taking Tobby into protective custody, Tobby says that ain't gonna happen and they're gonna take down Mindbender Maury, Mohinder points out that this makes Tobby the bait, and Tobby responds that they all have their roles to play. PASDAR IS HOT. I mean -- it's really distracting. Almost as distracting as Ali Larter's pantsuit that looks like it was pulled off the dressing room floor at Limited Express. But Pasdar being hot is at least a PLEASANT distraction. Oooh -- wait! He's speaking.
Nathan says that Linderman and his mother used to say that thing about roles being played. "It's always these half-truths, no straight answers, constant manipulation," he says, burning my retinas with his hotness. "What the hell did you people do? Why is Maury coming here to kill you?" Instead of answering him directly, Tobby just says that now is not the time to dredge up the past; a mindbending murderer is coming to get them! Matt asks how they're going to stop his father and Tobby tells Mohinder that he and Niki are going to inject the man with the virus. Nate is all, "What virus?" Mohinder is all, "You said we'd never use it!" Tobby is all, "Dude? MINDBENDER MAURY. Circumstances have changed, you pussy!" Mohinder is all, "I am NOT a pussy! But I am still not injecting anyone with that shit and knowingly spreading that damn virus!" Tobby is all, "DID I MENTION THE MINDBENDING?" All he wants to do is somehow disable Mindbender Maury and then inject him with the virus and then make him well with Mohinder's antibodies. "Nobody dies here today!" declares Tobby.
Mohinder kind of shuts up after that and Nate points out that Mindbender Maury isn't likely to just offer up his veins for the injection. Niki just dryly says, "I can be persuasive." Heh. She sure can. Tobby appreciates the offer, but it's Matt who has to take Mindbender Maury down. Matt's like, "Whuh? All I can do is read minds!" Tobby's like, "Dude. You have the same power as your dad. You can bend minds. Now I want you to bend his." Matt totally disagrees with this because he's a wimp with confidence issues. "I can't do any of that!" he says. "Well then you'd better learn fast," says Tobby. "Because you're the only one who can stop your father." Matt looks like he just ate about nine rotten hot dogs with moldy mayo on them.
Japan. Again. Some more. Lord. The guard outside listens in as Yaeko's father bitches about how he's responsible for all this due to the fact that he made the guns that White Beard's about to use to take over the emperor. The downfall of Japan will be his fault. Yaeko waits until the guard walks away to say that they're not finished yet. She makes quick work of the lock holding her chains together as she says that women are always underestimated. Once she's out, she rushes right over to Hiro and pulls the opium away from his face. "Why is everything so purple?" he asks with a smile. Because you're high, dude. Live it up. Everything's gingham in my world right now because I just snorted champagne off the back of a Time Out New York. Rock on.
Yaeko peeks outside and sees their guard being berated for walking away from his post. He starts heading back as she hurriedly tells Hiro that he'd better wake up and do his time-traveling thing or they are DEAD. Hiro tries and tries and tries and nothing happens...until the guard walks in and all three of them are gone. Even though, you know, Hiro was lying on a board, Yaeko was with him and her father was way back over in the corner nowhere NEAR either of them. Never mind that. They got away. Can we move on now?
Oh thank GOD, we can. And we move on to Peter and Caitlin being hosed down in a decontamination chamber by the HAZMAT guys. Many thanks to the director and writers for conceiving, once again, of a scene that involves Milo Ventimiglia without his shirt. If I were the writers, I would totally try and fit that into every episode. "Scene 48: Peter enters a Starbucks. He is shirtless." "Scene 12: Peter's hands glow and he looks like he's about to explode. He is shirtless." "Scene 77: Peter breaks Sylar's neck with one hand. He is shirtless. So is Sylar." And this might be why I am not a writer of television shows.
So, after I've rewound this scene seven times, I get the idea that Peter and Caitlin are undergoing severe decontamination procedures. Peter keeps yelling out for her, but she's too busy crying and screaming to hear him. After he's dried off, Peter's placed in a large room with empty tables and chairs. A man walks toward him and says that according to the files in his hand, Peter's dead. Peter's like, "Um. I'm sitting right here." The guy then throws Peter's death certificate on the table and Peter looks at in confusion. "So," says the guy, "you're gonna have to explain to me: how's a dead guy found walking around New York without any sign of infection?" Peter's head snaps up. "Infection? I don't know what you're talking about. Where's Caitlin? I need to see her." The guy tells him that Caitlin's being deported because she's from Ireland. Peter blasts out that he can't do that and demands to know what's going on. "You really don't know?" says the guy.
They walk through a corridor as the guy tells Peter the Story of the Plague. "On March 20th, 2007, the first case was reported. After that, the Shanti Virus spread across the globe. Pandemic. It's killed ninety-three percent of the world's population to date. The rest of us live in quarantine praying to find a cure." "This can't be happening," says Peter. "I wish it wasn't," responds the guy. They walk toward a window with a biohazard symbol in the lower left corner. Peter looks through it as the guy stands back. "All these people died from the virus?" asks Peter as the view switches to behind him. In the room beyond, hundreds of bodies wrapped in plastic lay stacked on top of each other. "Yeah, it's been a tough week," says the guy. The view switches back to Peter looking through the window and we get the image that Isaac immortalized on the canvas from the beginning of the episode. Peter is thoroughly and completely freaked out.
Back in the present, Matt's at Molly's bedside, talking to her as if she can hear him. He weepily says that he should never have asked her to use her ability to find Mindbender Maury. She was just trying to make him happy; an action he's familiar with, seeing as when his dad left, he blamed himself because he thought he was too slow or too fat or too stupid. He thought that if he was better or smarter, his dad would have stayed. "And now they want me...they think that I can stop him. That I have this power. And I don't. I don't." He takes her hand and tells her that he loves her. The monitor to her bed bleeps. Matt looks at it. "Did you just hear me? Molly?" He tries to work into her mind, sending her a message of love, and the second he does, her brain wave pattern bleeps. So, it would seem, he CAN do what his father can do.
Elsewhere in the facility, Mohinder and Niki are preparing to take Mindbender Maury down with the virus. Mohinder informs her that what's left of the virus is in the lab and each syringe contains only one dose. "So use it wisely," he says. "You don't trust [Tobby], do you?" she asks. "Did he put you up to this?" "I put me up to this," she says. "I want to hear your side." Mohinder says that Tobby is morally gray at best and the virus is like toying with a death sentence. Niki points out that he has the cure so no one has to die. Mohinder thinks that just because they have the cure doesn't make what they're doing any less reprehensible. Niki stops him and says that she's killed a lot of people and The Company could have given her the virus to end her powers but they didn't; they've made her right so that she can have a life. Short of blending her personalities into one, I'm not really sure how they can "make her right" but whatever.
Mohinder swallows this statement and turns the corner. Before Niki can follow, D.L. appears and tells her that she's never going to have a life and that she's not cured -- she's a killer. "And before this day is done, you're gonna kill everyone." Niki looks at him doubtfully, one part of her knowing that he's dead, the other part wondering if she's chewing crazy tablets again. D.L. works on this uncertainty and tells her to tell Mohinder what she's seeing; he'll only confirm that she's batshit. "And then you'll never see Micah." Niki looks truly afraid as Mohinder comes around the corner and asks if everything's alright. She looks at Mohinder, then looks back to where D.L. was just a second before and of course he's not there. "Let's go," she says, moving past Mohinder. They move down a hallway. A door opens up and Mindbender Maury appears, clearly the creator of the customized D.L. Hallucination Package. He stares after them forebodingly.
Cut to Nathan and Tobby, hanging out in Tobby's office as he watches the security monitors for evidence of Mindbender Maury. Nathan is looking at a collection of files on Tobby's shelves. We see Angela Petrelli's name printed on the spine of a file box, as well as Maury Parkman's. "I know these other families," says Nathan. "Linderman, Nakamura, Pratt, Deveaux. Everyone who's been killed." The camera rests momentarily on a set of files marked "ADAM MONROE." "But I don't know this one," says Nathan. "Who is he? Who's Adam Monroe?" Tobby looks around. "Adam is...complicated." "So...un-complicate it."
Tobby stands up and moves toward one of the bookshelves. "Adam," he says, "convinced us that we belonged together. That we could make the world a better place for our children...for you." He pulls a book out of the shelf and opens it for Nathan. It's an article from the Miami Bugle regarding snow falling in Miami. Nathan's like, "And this has to do with...what?" Tobby's like, "Yeah, that headline could have read 'Tsunami wipes out Eastern Seaboard.'" Again, Nathan's like, "And this has WHAT to do with the murders?" "Adam is the one who's trying to kill us," says Tobby. Nathan's confused -- he thought Mindbender Maury was trying to kill everyone. Tobby tells him that Mindbender Maury is just the weapon -- the blunt instrument -- Adam is the real visionary. "But with these abilities," says Tobby, "sometimes people tend to think of themselves as gods. Did you ever think that, Nathan? Adam did. And he began to talk about holocausts, plagues. Punishing humanity in order to save the world." "Sounds a lot like Linderman," says Nathan. "Linderman was Adam's disciple," says Tobby. "Adam was dangerous. So we locked him up. We threw away the key. Two weeks ago, he escapes. And now he wants revenge." "Sounds like you're reaping what you sow," says Nathan, without turning around. "Why should I care?" "Because of Peter," says Tobby. "Listen, pal," says Nathan, placing the book back on the shelf, "if you want to talk about my brother, you'd better be very careful what you say ." "Peter is alive, Nathan," says Tobby. "Your brother is alive." Nathan turns slowly and looks at Tobby as if he's suddenly a unicorn and has wings made from rainbows.
Back to the Future. The Guy, as I am now inclined to call him as he really has no name whatsoever, takes Peter back into the same area they just left and Mama Petrelli is there waiting for him. "I'll leave you two alone," he says as Mama Petrelli gets up from her chair. He walks off and Peter walks toward his mother. She embraces him immediately and he pulls back and pushes her away. "Do I know you?" he says, confusion on his face. Angela's face reads disappointment, but she immediately moves into fixer mode and tells him that she's there to help him remember who she is. "I need to find Caitlin," he says, moving off. "You need to FOCUS," she spits. Heh. I love Mama Petrelli.
She tells him that he can move objects with his mind, heal himself and paint the future. Peter's suddenly interested. "How do you know about that?" "You absorb abilities from other people," she says. "You are the most powerful of us all." Notice how she says "us". I'm still wondering what her power is. She tells him that he's kind and caring and selfless and always thinking of others, but now he needs to think about himself. "You need to fly in the face of danger," she says. "Just like your brother." "I have a brother?" Angela looks sick. "He died in the first outbreak," she says. "But you...you can change that." "How?" says Peter. "I was in Montreal in 2007, thing I know, I'm here!"
Angela fills him in on how he met Hiro Nakamura and now he can time travel. "You can change history!" "I can't!" "You must!" "I can't control these things that are happening to me!" Peter punches the table several times. Angela moves up to him. "Then this virus will kill us all." Peter shuts his eyes. "Peter," she says, "you need to remember. Focus." Suddenly, Peter starts getting a sensory overload from his mother. Birthdays, events, conversations; they're all being downloaded to his brain. "You need to remember," she says. Peter stands up. "Mom?" he says, looking at her. Crying, Angela nods and then grabs Peter for a hug. He embraces her, looking as confused as ever.
Bennet Bungalow. It's time for Mr. Muggles's close-up. He's sitting in the window, looking oh-so-pretty, watching Claire and West make out while they're listening to some random song on her cell phone. Yes, they're actually kissing on the sofa sharing a pair of earphones. It's so completely gross that I don't know what to do with myself. Mr. Muggles: "You're telling me. Here I am, so gorgeous, and all anyone is looking at is the two horny teens on the sofa. THAT IS SO WRONG. Excuse me. I have to go poop in someone's shoe."
So, whatever, Claire and West are curled up and making out on the sofa while listening to a song. Gack. Gaaaaaack. Actually? I'm sure both of these actors were gacking DURING this scene, it's so gross. They come up for air and Claire points out West's neck marks. She stops the music and asks if they hurt. He says they don't; they're sort of just there. Painless reminders of his alien abduction by the guy with the horn-rimmed glasses. "If you're gonna be dropping in," says Claire, "there's something I need to tell you." West immediately pulls back and takes the earbud out of his ear. "I get it," he says. "I'm moving too fast. We don't have to go any further if you don't want to." Okay, 1) it's broad daylight and you're on a sofa in her parents living room and 2) she wanted to TELL you something that had nothing to do with you reaching into her pants. At which point did you think this meant that she doesn't want to "go further" with you, jackass? What? It's okay for you to stalk her and then show up at her house to make her waffles but it's not okay for you to make out with her in the middle of the day on a living room sofa because it will lead to the BAD SEX THING? What?
Claire avoids dealing with her immediate situation by saying that she wants popsicles. "Popsicles," says West, wondering if that's code for "condoms". "Awesome." Claire goes to the freezer and pulls a couple of popsicles out. West follows. Mr. Muggles starts barking and we see Mr. Bennet come in through the front door and walk up the stairs. West sees all this and starts freaking out. He grabs Claire. "He found us!" "Who?" says Claire, holding her popsicles. "The man who abducted me!" he says, grabbing her hand. "We gotta get outta here!" "No, wait!" says Claire. West drags her out of the house, but Claire stops him. "That's what I've been trying to tell you!" she says. "The guy in the glasses is my father." "What is this?" says West, horrified. "Some sort of trap?" Claire tries to explain, but West just tells her to back off. She tries to get him to wait, but she hears her father calling from inside the house, so she turns for a second and when she turns back, West is, of course, gone. Bennet comes out onto the patio. "Who're you talking to?" "No one," says Claire. "You've got...two popsicles," her father says. "Welcome home," she sweetly covers, offering him one.
Japan. Hiro looks down over White Beard's camp. Yaeko tells him that there's nothing more he can do; White Beard has won and they have to get out of there. Hiro says that something has to be done to stop White Beard. Yaeko says that, even with Hiro's ability, what can he do? Hiro says he can destroy their guns. "Without them, White Beard is nothing." "And what about Kensi?" asks Yaeko. "You cannot stop him. Nothing can." Hiro observes that Kensei's heart has been broken and that pain has made him cruel; but he's good inside. Once again, Hiro's need to feel that all people are basically good is going to kick him in the motherfucking ass. Yaeko basically agrees with me when she asks Hiro if he's really going to risk his life for his faith in Kensei. Hiro just deeply nods at her in assertion. "It won't be safe for you here," he says. "Meet me under the cherry blossoms. Wait for me." He turns away and closes his eyes and disappears.
Company Compound. Mohinder is removing vials of the virus from a cabinet. Niki's commenting that it's amazing that they're going to all this trouble over one drop of liquid. Mohinder comments that the virus could kill an entire species. "Or it could stop Maury and save our lives," says Niki. Mindbender Maury is in the distance, glowering at them from behind a window. He mind-shoots a whole slew of psycho-babble at poor Niki's brain, asking her to show him her nightmares, to show him her soul. "How do I turn you into a killer?" he asks. And Niki, being the accommodating girl she is, gives him the answer.
D.L. shows up in the doorway and tells Niki that she's basically fucking up royally by hitching up with The Company. He tells her that she's not making up for her sins; she's actually dragging poor Micah down with her. Niki starts talking to D.L., saying that he's wrong and that The Company said they'd help her. Mohinder, of course, is like, "Uh, Niki? Who you talkin' to?" But Niki's in her own little world now, so she's not listening to Mohinder. Niki continues to talk to no one and Mindbender Maury makes his D.L ghost tell Niki that The Company is lying to her, just like Linderman and just like Jessica. "But you can still do the right thing," says D.L.
A shot rings out. D.L. goes down. In the doorway, Tobby stands with a gun. D.L. falls into Niki's arms. "That's the only way you can save Micah," says D.L. with his last dying breath, only it's not his last dying breath because he is DEAD and Niki is STUPID and Tobby is CLEARLY an hallucination. Mohinder walks over and sees Niki cradling...nothing, and he tells her that she's talking to herself and that he thinks Mindbender Maury is responsible. He says that they need to call Tobby, and Niki responds by hitting him directly in the face. This hit sends him sailing over half of the room. As he falls, Niki picks up the virus syringe and walks out. Mindbender Maury watches from the window and smiles at his accomplishment.
Japan. AGAIN. Hiro time travels down to the gun tent and looks around. He sees several barrels of gunpowder and gets an idea. He picks up one, uncorks it, and spreads the gunpowder all over the guns and general area. Once it's empty, Hiro picks up a lantern and is about to blow the place up when..."I thought you'd come here," says Kensei, appearing from the shadows with his mask upon his face. Hiro stops and turns. "This many guns in Japan...they will crush history." He moves toward Kensei and says that they can stop White Beard together. Kensei removes his mask and says, "We did make a good team, you and I. You showed me how to be a hero. How to love. And then...you took it all away."
Kensei draws his sword and attacks Hiro, who is prepared. They cross swords and Kensei taunts Hiro to stop time and cut off his head. Hiro says he won't do it because he still has faith in him. This isn't good enough for Kensei, who draws him out into a fight on the sawdust. They cross swords several times, Hiro having learned a good many lessons at the hand of his father and Kensei having learned that falling in love with a chick after about eight hours makes one really fucking bitter when she's taken away by some short dork with glasses. A lantern falls to the ground and ignites the sawdust as Kensei says that Hiro Nakamura won't kill you, he'll only lie, cheat and steal. Hiro says that he only wanted to help Kensei become a hero. Kensei says that he never claimed to be anything more than a happy drunk.
They continue to fight as Hiro says, "Do not punish the world for my mistakes!" "I only want to punish you, Hiro!" says Kensei. "Yaeko was right. She wasn't destined to be my princess! She's destined to DIE!" Hiro shoves Kensei off of him and they have a glorious sword battle that, of course, has a moment in which Hiro is on the left and Kensei is on the right and they clearly represent the painting Isaac did of them fighting. But then the battle moves on and Hiro somehow gets both swords and Kensei is on the ground. Hiro looks around and sees the place in flames. He reaches down to Kensei and says, "Take my hand. We must get out of here now!" "Never!" says Kensei, gasping from the ground. "As long as I have breath in me, anything you love, I will lay to waste. I swear." He looks at Hiro and, in Japanese, says, "I will make you suffer." Hiro looks over at the flames near the trail of gunpowder and wisely decides to squint his eyes and go far, far away from the big bad explosion. He teleports just outside of the camp in time to watch the tent blow up big time, lending waste to all those nice shiny guns. And if anyone thinks Kensei is NOT dead, raise your hand. No really. RAISE YOUR HAND.
Tobby's Office. Tobby is showing Nathan footage of Peter at the facility from three months ago. He's getting tested in a hospital-type room. Nathan asks if his brother's here and Tobby says he's gone. Nathan wants to know where his brother is and all Tobby tells him is that he was in Cork, Ireland, but that they lost track of him from there. Nathan's like, "Bitch? You run The Company! How can you lose TRACK of someone?!" Before Tobby can answer, someone comes banging at the door. That "someone" is Niki, and she's punching into the door like she's trapped beneath it. Kind of like that painting Isaac did of a blonde woman punching her way out of somewhere. Tobby stands up and moves over to Nathan. They look toward the door. Over in Molly's room, Matt hears the rumble and gets up. He pulls his gun, ready to take care of business. "Dad!" he calls as he exits the room and...
...enters into an apartment with truly hideous wallpaper. I mean it. That is the ugliest damn wallpaper I've ever seen. It really is a nightmare and not just because Mindbender Maury is creating it. WHAT IS THAT PATTERN? It's making me nauseous. The door shuts behind him and he seems to be back in the apartment he got trapped in with Nathan. Only Molly is there and she throws herself into Matt's arms. Matt asks what she's doing there and she says that when she tried to find his father, he locked her in this apartment. She says that they're both trapped. Matt says they're not and he tries to open the door to get them out of there. Back in Tobby's office, Niki's making progress with her door punching; we can see her face through the crack she's made. She makes a final punch and the door implodes.
Matt calls out to his father, and his father hears him and turns away from his manipulation of Niki. As he walks off, we see Niki enter Tobby's office with the syringe held high in her hand. Back in the weird apartment, Matt turns and sees his father in the doorway. "Did you bring me here?" asks his father. "I...I think I did," says Matt. In Tobby's office, Nathan moves forward, ignoring Tobby's warnings that Niki is one tough motherfucker. Nathan tries to stop Niki, telling her that this isn't her -- she's not like this. She is dead-set on stabbing Tobby with the virus, though and she says that Tobby killed D.L. Tobby tries to tell her that it's Mindbender Maury who's making her think like this, but Niki's too far gone to listen.
Both Nathan and Tobby try to convince Niki that what she's feeling and thinking is just a byproduct of Mindbender Maury's power. Tobby tells her to regain her strength, as they taught her to, and Nathan tells her to think of Micah, her son, think of her boy. And that's when Niki stabs herself in the arm with the needle. She goes down and Nathan goes with her. "I couldn't get the nightmare out," she says. "I didn't know what else to do. I had to stop myself." A tear runs from Niki's left eye as Nathan tries to support her.
Apartment of Terrible Wallpaper. Molly stands to Matt, pleading with him to get them out of there. Matt tells her to hang tight, he just had to deal with his old man first. Mindbender Maury asks if Matt recognizes the room he's standing in. He does. It's their old place on Parthenia. Brisket and potatoes are on the table, so Matt knows that it's the night old Maury left. Maury steps up and says that he never apologized. Matt says that he wasn't sorry, he walked out that door and never turned back. Maury tries to say that leaving broke his heart. "I love you, Matt," he says. "Then turn yourself in," says Matt. Maury steps back. "That's...not gonna happen. There's no prison that can hold me."
"I think there is!" says Matt. "I think I can trap you in here just like you trapped Molly." "How're you gonna do that?" "Look around, Pop! This isn't MY nightmare -- this is YOURS! I can walk right out that door." "No you can't!" Matt grabs Molly and they move toward the back door. Matt tries the handle as his father spits at him that he's not strong enough, he's still not strong enough, because he's still that scared little boy. "No!" Matt screams, turning away from the knob. "I'm not scared of you anymore! I'm a good man! I'm a good cop!" He looks down at Molly. "I'm a good father! Which is something you know nothing about! You don't know what it's like to fight for someone that you love!" Maury looks damaged by Matt's declarations. "You left," says Matt. "You left. All you have are your nightmares." Maury looks like he's about to say something, but the knob turns beneath Matt's hand and the door opens. He grabs Molly and pulls her through the doorway as Maury runs at them begging them to not leave him alone. The door slams in his face. Maury looks at his own nightmare.
Matt awakes to Molly's bed. He looks down to his left and sees his father on the floor, passed out. He goes to him and checks his pulse. "Matt?" says Molly from her bed. Matt immediately goes to her and says that Maury's never going to hurt her again, he promises. Molly sits up and hugs him. "Oh, God, I love you," says Matt. "I heard," says Molly. Ew. I know it's supposed to be sweet but...ew.
"So what happens ?" says Peter, back in 2008, as he walks along outside a containment area with his mother. "Where do all these people go?" "Same place we are," says Angela. "Home." "Peter!" Caitlin shouts from beyond the fence. Peter runs to her. They link hands through the fence as she begs him to make them not take her away from him. Unfortunately, someone grabs her and hauls her off and as Peter protests, he slips into the past and winds up back in the antiquities holding area in Montreal. "Caitlin!" he screams as he falls to his knees.
Japan. FOR THE LAST TIME. Hiro goes down and surveys the damage that the explosion caused. He picks up Kensei's helmet and transports himself to the cherry blossom trees where Yaeko awaits. Yaeko turns when Hiro appears and he tells her that the army has scattered and she says that White Beard has been defeated. Hiro has saved them all! He wonders at what cost? Kensei was his friend. And he betrayed him. "I killed Takezo Kensei," he says. Yaeko says that all the things that Hiro said Kensei did, he really did them himself. "As sure as I live," she says, "you are Takezo Kensei." She wonders if he can now live happily with her, Takezo Kensei's princess. Hiro ponders this for a second and then remembers that the story doesn't end like this.
In the story, there is a last trial: Kensei versus the Dragon. The dragon who taught Kensei the way of the sword demands his love in turn. Kensei is supposed to cut out his own heart to save her. Yaeko asks if that's what he must do right now -- cut out his own heart. Hiro turns to her and hands her the sword, saying that he almost destroyed time by staying when he should have left. Now, he must go back. "As long as I have a voice," Yaeko says, "all shall know the story of noble Takezo Kensei. And the boy Hiro Nakamura will have tales to help him sleep." Aw. "And he will dream of the Princess," says Hiro. They kiss as the cherry blossoms fall around them. He bids her farewell and disappears.
The Company. Mohinder is attending to Niki with his cure. He tells her that the second she gets a hit of his antibodies, she'll be right as rain. She asks him if his nose hurts, and we see that Mohinder is sporting a lovely nose bandage just like the one he sports in that Isaac painting! He says it only hurts when he breathes and Niki apologizes. Something comes up on the monitor Mohinder's looking at and he says, "This can't be right." Niki asks what's wrong and Mohinder says that the antibodies aren't working. "This isn't possible, not now. It's another strain of the virus." Mohinder looks at Niki. "It's immune," he says. "My blood's no longer a cure." "I'm going to die?" asks Niki calmly. They look at each other and say nothing.
Tokyo. Ando's sitting in front of his computer, attempting to figure out how to tunnel under the security system so he can search for anime porn. He turns away from his keyboard to get a file and when he returns, Kensei's mask is sitting staring at him. "I had to get you a souvenir!" says Hiro from behind him. Ando jumps out of his chair and goes to his friend. "You're alive! You're a samurai!" Hiro asks if he's been gone long and Ando informs him that it's been months since they saved the world. Hiro's so pleased to learn that they saved New York from the bomb that he gives us a good "Yatta!" Hiro says that there's tons to catch up on and that he wants to tell his father everything. Ando looks stricken. "Hiro...your father...he is dead. Murdered." Hiro looks like he's been smacked with a reality stick.
Company Store. Tobby's looking at a file. Mohinder enters with his big white nose plaster. "This strain has no cure," says Mohinder, handing Tobby a sheet of paper. Tobby looks hosed. "Are you sure of these results?" he asks. Mohinder just nods. "We'll keep Maury sedated and we'll destroy every last vial," says Tobby. "I promise." He hands Mohinder a file. "What's this?" asks Mohinder. "It's a chance to save Niki," says Tobby. "We got a police report." Mohinder opens it and it's Claire's file. "A girl walks away from a 50-foot fall without a scratch." "Cellular regeneration?" asks Mohinder. "Her name is Claire Bennet," says Tobby. "You remember her father, Noah? He worked for us." Mohinder closes the file after realizing who he's looking at and places it back on Tobby's desk. "Of course," says Mohinder. "He's not exactly gonna let us take his daughter, is he?" Tobby puts a Company gun on the table. Mohinder looks at it. "Are you saying we should kill him?" Tobby says, "I'm saying we should be prepared."
"This is Ivan Spector," says Tobby, handing over a folder with pictures of the man Bennet murdered in Odessa. "Our man in the Ukraine. He was Bennet's friend, his mentor. Bennet killed him." "When was this?" "Last night." "Are you sure it was him?" asks Mohinder. "He left fingerprints," says Tobby. "Bennet's getting sloppy. Emotional. And that means dangerous." Mohinder takes this all in and comes to a decision. "I have something I need to tell you," he says. "I have been working with Bennet to take down this company." "Why are you telling me this now?" says a nonplussed Tobby. "Because," says Mohinder, "I am unsure of who's right and who's wrong. And it is time to stop playing games." "There's a storm coming, Dr. Suresh," says Tobby. "Claire is the key. Her regenerative abilities -- they could cure the virus. She could save Niki." "I want to do the right thing here," says Mohinder. "For Niki." He picks up the gun. "For everyone."
Bennet Bungalow. Bennet's downloading the painting images from his camera to his laptop. Mrs. Bennet walks up and asks if he's met "him." Bennet's all, "The who?" "The boyfriend?" she says. "West? He was here today." Bennet's all, "CLAIRE HAS A BOYFRIEND?" Way to work the subtlety there, NOAH. Mrs. Bennet says that she checked him out and he is fiiiiiine. Also? He may be a stalker. Bennet looks tense and she just says that he cannot be the only man in her life forever. "No, I suppose not," he says. "We knew this day would come," she says and walks out. Bennet looks down at his computer and sees the painting of him with his left eye blown out by a bullet.
In the living room, Claire is desperately trying to contact West via her cell phone. He's not responding. Bennet walks in and throws the newspaper article about the cheertator onto her lap. "Want to tell me about this?" he asks. Claire says that it's nothing and shoves the paper aside. Bennet's all, "Nothing? Some cheertator claims that she saw a girl fall fifty feet to her death! And that's nothing?" He goes on to say that he asked her to do one thing: keep her nose clean. Claire says that the girl was drunk and that no one believes her. Bennet asks if Claire's boyfriend made her do this. "Are you kidding me?" she asks. "That's none of your business!"
"Your tiny rebellions are putting this family in danger!" he spits at her. "Me?" she says, leaning up from the sofa. "What about you, Dad? Do you think any of us really believe you were out at a copy conference? Where were you, out abducting people?" Mama Bennet comes down and asks what the hell is going on down here. Lyle comes down and asks what the hell Claire did now. Claire tells Lyle to shut the hell up. Bennet says it's not safe here anymore and they should all pack their bags and they're moving. "You can't do that," says Claire. "This is not a discussion," says Bennet. "We're leaving." Claire stands up. "Then you're going without me." She runs up the stairs and disappears as her mother and brother look to Bennet all, "Dude? What up?"
Shop of Heroes Antiquities. Peter is wandering around, looking for a clue. He stops and tries to think his way back to 2008. Nothing happens. He goes over to the mirror and picks up the note from Adam. "Adam. Adam. I don't know any Adam," he says. Just then, he hears something from elsewhere in the shop. So, he does what anyone would do: He shoots a big blue lightning bolt in their general direction. A hand comes out from behind a mirror and catches the bolt. The blue electricity disappears, leaving a burned hand that miraculously repairs itself before our very eyes.
The man behind the hand steps out and it's none other than Takezo Kensei. "Peter, what the hell was that?" Peter looks baffled. "Do you know me?" Kensei comes out from behind the wall. "Of course I know you. It's me. Adam. Don't you remember? You and I are going to change history."
Peter gulps. As do we all.
on Heroes: Some answers! Wheee!