In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.
Peter tells Adam about the Shanti virus, and Adam tells him about Victoria Pratt and how she's a bioengineer who manipulated the virus into a weapon. He also explains how Peter's parents were the founders of the ElderHeroes and the virus is their sin. They decide to find Victoria and make her tell them everything she knows so that they can save the world. Tobby drops off Noah's fake remains to the Bennets and leaves. Mrs. Bennet declares that they're leaving tonight. Tobby goes to his car and orders Elle to watch Claire for the 24 hours.
Noah wakes up in a dingy hospital room with Mohinder attending to him. He tells Noah about how Claire's blood in his body. They argue about just what The Company really is. Mohinder still thinks they're all about good and helping people, while Bennet knows that they're not, especially since THEY invented the virus. Mohinder just minces off with Claire's blood so he can go save Niki.
Niki goes to visit Micah in New Orleans and tells him about the virus she has. He tells her that he's going to give her D.L.'s medal for strength, but when he goes to get it, he discovers that his backpack has been stolen by his thieving cousin who wants to make some bank on Micah's comic book collection. The cousin's located, but he got jacked for the backpack and the medal is gone. Micah wants his mother and Monica to help him get the medal back. Niki refuses, but later that night, Monica and Micah sneak out to get it.
Sylar convinces Maya that she can control her own powers without Alejandro's help. Once she proves she can do this, she runs off to tell her brother about her new trick and he tells her that Sylar murdered his own mother. Sylar cops to this, but claims it was an accident, and Maya of course totally falls for it. The trio becomes a duo faster than you can say "fifth wheel" when Alejandro pays a visit to Sylar later that night and Sylar kills him in cold blood.
Hiro and Ando look into Kensei's past and discover that he went by the name Adam Monroe and that he knew Kaito. Hiro goes back in time to 1977 and overhears that Adam was the one who wanted to release the virus. Fortunately, Victoria kept it from him. Hiro listens as his father declares that he'll take the virus to Primatech in Odessa. Victoria says it needs to be destroyed or they risk a pandemic. Kaito refuses to do this and says the rest of the group wouldn't allow it either. This forces Victoria to quit because she won't be a party to something this stupid.
Peter and Adam visit Victoria in the present, and Peter goes to talk to her on his own. After she pulls a gun on him, he tells her all about the Shanti virus and its effect on the future. They go inside her house and she thinks he's there to kill her. He says he isn't; he's just there to find the virus. She tells him he's looking for a mutated strain. She tells him where to find it, and he goes to tell Adam. Too bad that Victoria sees this and thinks that Peter working with Adam is a bad idea. She shoots them both, and is about to shoot Adam in the head, which is the only way to really kill him, when Peter knocks her out and grabs her gun. Once they have her tied up, she tries to convince Peter of the truth, but Adam keeps insisting that he's the good guy, even though we know he totally isn't. Victoria refuses to give up the location of the virus, but Peter reads her mind and finds out where it is. Adam releases her, only to have Victoria attempt to shoot Peter again. So Adam kills her and leaves behind his gruesome "S"-symbol calling card.
West visits Claire before she leaves, and she reveals how much the death of her father hurts her. She vows to find the Haitian Sensation so he can make her forget she ever had a father. West convinces her that forgetting isn't the answer. The Bennet family throws Noah's ashes into the waves, and she and West say goodbye. As they hug, Claire sees Elle watching her from a car in the distance and she confronts her. Claire states that she's going to tell everyone in the world what she can do and that will stop all the running.
Mohinder finds his cure for Niki's virus, and Tobby congratulates him. But it's not enough for Mohinder -- he wants to destroy every last virus within The Company, and he wants Tobby to help him. Mohinder calls Niki to tell her about the cure and she rushes off to tell Micah, but of course, he's out trying to steal back his medal. Monica uses her powers to get into the house where the backpack is and she finds it, but the gang arrives home while she's inside. They discover her, but instead of killing her, they knock her out and shove her into a van.
Peter and Adam show up in Odessa. Before they can get downstairs to the good stuff, Hiro shows up and stops time. Peter and Hiro face off against one another…but we don't find out what happens until DAMN WEEK. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Previously on Heroes: Hiro went back to the past to prevent his father's death, but wound up just letting him die because he may have finally learned his lesson about that whole "messing with time and space" thing. But he still managed to find out that it was his old buddy Kensei who killed his dad. Claire declared her lust for West, and he dissed her. But then Claire got kidnapped by Tobby and Mohinder, so that kind of changed West's mind about his girlfriend. Bennet retaliated by kidnapping Elle and, at Check Point SuperCharlie, Elle returned the favor by shooting West and Claire out of the sky, allowing Mohinder to shoot Bennet through the right eyeball. Luckily, Mohinder nabbed some of Claire's blood and shoved it into Bennet's arm, and at the end of the last episode, Bennet was thankfully ALIVE.
Tonight we begin with Peter, back in the future, in a deserted New York City. He picks up one of the many flyers floating around warning people about the quarantine as the HAZMAT dudes nab Caitlin in the distance. Peter shouts out for her several times and then we're back in the present where Adam's all, "No need to shout, Pretty." Peter claims he was just in the future, but Adam's like, "Dude, you were right here, only you were shouting and you still had your shirt on, which I find very disappointing." Peter insists he was in the future and shows Adam the flyer as proof. "Impressive," says Adam with the slightest of sneers as he walks away.
Peter follows him, saying that he has to go back and get Caitlin or at least try and prevent the virus from getting out -- he can't just leave her there. Adam asks what Peter knows about the virus and, having seen the episode already, I'm definitely hearing a slyness underlying Adam's question that I didn't hear the first time around. I was kind of on board with Adam being a good guy, but...well, I'm getting ahead of myself. Peter responds that he knows the virus kills 93% of the population. "Do you know what the virus is called?" asks Adam. "Shanti virus," says Peter, sensing a shift in Adam's mood. "It's what the guy at Homeland Security called it. Does that mean something to you?"
Adam tells him that he once knew a woman by the name of Victoria Pratt who was a biological engineer at The Company. On Valentine's Day back in 1977, she recovered a virus from a sick Indian girl by the name of Shanti. We know, of course, that Shanti was Mohinder's sister. Adam pulls out a photo of the Elders; I have it freeze-framed right now -- has anyone else noticed how Pa Petrelli's face is all blurry and isn't looking directly into the camera? Does anyone else think this is suspicious? At this moment, there are also two women and two men who we have yet to identify, but that's not nearly as interesting as the big blurry spot that is Nathan and Peter's biological father. From this angle, he looks kind of like...Adam, actually. But don't quote me on that.
Adam goes on to tell Peter that under Company orders, Victoria tried to manipulate the virus into a weapon. He thought the program had been shut down, but it would appear that it has not. Peter looks at the picture and IDs his parents (and he doesn't recognize Adam as the man in the picture, which makes me think that my possible theory that Adam is his father is totally fucking wrong) and Deveaux and Linderman. Adam tells him that the people in the photo are The Company's founders, and the virus is their crime. "They're responsible for this?" Peter asks. "Parents sin, children suffer," responds Adam. He points out Victoria in the photo and it's clearly Joanna Cassidy, one of my favorite actresses of all time. Mostly because of Blade Runner, somewhat because of Ma Chenoweth, but really because of her awesomely loopy laugh. It's truly the best thing I've ever heard. I suggest you rent ANY movie where you might get a chance to hear it. Classic.
So, anyway, Peter insists that they track down Victoria and find out everything she knows about the virus in an effort to prevent it from being released in the future. Adam thinks this is a remarkably wonderful idea, seeing as it's the only way to save the world, and also kill Victoria. What? I'm not giving anything away...
Casa Bennet. Ma Bennet has a gun pointed directly at one Tobby Tobberson, who's standing in their box-filled foyer with a silver urn in his hands. She orders him to get the hell out of her house as Lyle and Claire stand behind her in stunned silence that Tobby's even THERE. Tobby blah-blahs something about how Bennet was a loyal employee and a good friend, but Mrs. Bennet is more interested in how a total fucking STRANGER has the right to have her husband cremated. Tobby claims that Bennet's personnel file was clear on how to treat his remains, but Mrs. Bennet isn't having any of it. Claire just can't believe that's her dad in that jar. Tobby spews some bullshit about how he was just trying to help Claire use her abilities and Noah's aggression got in the way, but Claire's like, "Sell your stupid stories somewhere else, Baldy -- my DAD was trying to PROTECT me and you're ugly." Tobby places the urn on a table and walks toward the door, saying that he now has to honor Noah's wishes that Claire and her family be left alone to lead a normal life. Yeah, that and a buck fifty might buy you a tall cup of Christmas Blend at Starbucks, buddy. Tell your tale walkin'. "My father is dead," says Claire furiously. "There IS no normal." Tobby looks at her with a glimmer of fear in his eyes. An angry Claire is a dangerous Claire. Tobby says that he's sorry for their loss and then backs out of the house. "Pack your bags," Mrs. Bennet tells the kids. "We're leaving tonight."
Outside, Tobby gets into his car where Elle is waiting with her arm in a sling. Tobby tells his daughter to keep an eye on Claire for the twenty-four hours. "It'd be easier without this thing on my arm," she snots at him, scratching beneath the cast. "It itches like a muthafu--" Hee. "And I thought my little girl was tough," snits Tobby. "I am, DAD," she insists, glaring at him. "But I was SHOT. And MY body doesn't heal itself." I love Kristen Bell in this role. She's consistently entertaining. Tobby says that he's sorry she's in pain, but, um, none of this would've happened if she hadn't let down her guard. Elle's all, "Hey, MISTER. How was I to know Bennet was teaming up with the Flying Freak?" Tobby just chastises her further about how excuses don't change outcome and how she has to accept responsibility for her actions and regain his trust. She gets this deep "I hate you" line between her brows and it looks like she's about to tell her father to get stuffed, but she backs off in the end and just says, "Sure, Daddy. I'll watch the cheerleader." And then later? When you're not looking? I'm going to electrocute you in the shower. Peace out, Papa Don't Preach!
Tonight's title appears on Jack Coleman's bare arm as the camera slides up it and over to his naked chest. The guy's bod looks good for a dude in his middle years -- but I'm now recalling the interview I did with him and how he was like, "Dude, HD is NOT forgiving" and right now I feel for the guy. Being half-naked on HD is probably never fun (unless you're Britney Spears and you're delusional and possibly had half your brain taken away by a guy dressed up as Mickey Mouse but who was really an alien escaped from the Torchwood set), but being half-naked on HD when you're not, say, twenty-two and an underwear model is probably even LESS fun.
At any rate, Bennet's dead in his bed with the IV running up his arm. He regenerates his eye and comes back to life and sits straight up in bed and looks around. He falls back and looks over at the IV. "Mohinder..." he says. Mohinder appears to the bed and tells Bennet to take it easy as he secures some restraints around Bennet's wrists. "Last thing I remember..." mumbles Bennet, "did you...shoot me?" Hee. Mohinder says that he didn't have a choice. "Why am I not dead?" asks Bennet. "You would've been," says Mohinder, "were it not for an infusion of your daughter's blood." This snaps Bennet awake and he yells at Mohinder, "You took Claire's blood?!" Mohinder tells him that Claire's fine, but Bennet doesn't care; he yells at Mohinder that he betrayed him by going after his family. Mohinder yells right back that Bennet told him that The Company had to be brought down from the inside out. "Thank GOD I came to my senses before I'd done any real damage!" Bennet asks where Claire is, and Mohinder tells him she's at home, grieving the loss of her father. Bennet realizes his family thinks he's dead. Mohinder blames him for the entire situation, saying Bennet's paranoia and violence brought all of this on. He goes to remove the bag of blood from the IV and Bennet asks what he's going to do with it. Mohinder says that Bennet's recovery proves Claire's blood has regenerative properties, and that it holds the key to saving Niki from her virus. "That's what The Company does," says Mohinder. "We save lives." Bennet insists that everything The Company has told Mohinder has been lies and that they actually made the virus in the first place and have been experimenting with it for thirty years. Mohinder ignores him and leaves, slamming the door behind him. "GET BACK HERE, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" screams Bennet ineffectually from his sickbed.
It's off to New Orleans, where Micah and his cousins are entering the house after school. Micah and Damon are discussing how one of Micah's 9th Wonders comic books sells for six hundred bucks on the open market if it's in mint condition. But Micah's not interested in selling them -- he just likes the stories. Damon's thinking that selling all of Micah's books and rolling around in the collected cash is a far better yarn. Again, Micah's not interested. But he really should be, because Damon clearly prefers money over family. Monica asks why Saint Joan, on the cover of the book in Micah's hand, wears a hood if she's one of the good guys. Micah explains that every superhero has to have a secret identity -- why else would Clark Kent wear those stupid glasses that no one seems to recognize him behind? Micah goes on to say that a superhero without a normal-seeming secret identity runs the risk of having their enemies come after them at home or even hurt their families. Micah goes into his bedroom and carefully puts the comic book back in his bag. Grandma Uhura enters with a slightly sick-looking Niki. "Micah?" He runs to his mother and they embrace.
Later in the kitchen, the two discuss how much they've missed each other over peanut butter and jelly. He asks where she was, and she tells him about The Company in general terms, saying that it was a place where they help people who are sick. He asks if Jessica's still around; Niki tells him that all her Others have left the building, but...she's sick with something else. Through some tears, she tells him about the virus and that Mohinder is trying to find her a cure. Micah worries that he won't be able to cure her, but she swears that she's going to get better. He decides to give her D.L.'s medal to give her strength. He runs to get it, but when he enters his room, his bag is missing. Looks like Damon decided to make his fairytale a reality.
Oh, gross. Sylar and Maya are sitting on a blanket on a lawn somewhere, pretending to have a romance. I love Zachary Quinto, but dang if Sylar isn't totally skeeving me out more than normal lately. ["I blame Maya, as I do for everything else, because 'annoying' is not a superpower. Haaaaaaaate." -- Sars] He pours her some wine and tells her that after they go see Mohinder, she'll be normal again. She smiles and says that once she's normal, she and her brother can go back home. Um, why in the hell would you WANT to go back home, Maya? You illegally crossed the border and everyone back in the sticks thinks you're a murderer. Sylar tries to convince her to stay with him and leave Alejandro behind, or better yet, let him go back to the yellow-tinted streets of their hometown by himself. Maya says she needs her brother because he's the only one who can stop her from hurting others. Sylar tells her that maybe she can learn to control her own power and then she won't need her brother at all. "Do you love your brother enough to let him go?" "Of course -- but it is not possible." "Well, you never know unless you try." Maya gets freaked out and gets up to leave, but Sylar baits her by suggesting that she's put her brother through enough and all of this is her fault and she really wanted to kill her brother's new wife, and sure enough, as Sylar pushes her, the Black Goop of Doom starts leaking out of her eyes. Of course it travels to Sylar's eyes and he starts gasping and telling her she can control her power. "Help -- you're killing me!" he rasps from the ground. Maya, perhaps realizing that she digs him the most and that's more important than letting the Ebony Eye Crusties get the best of her, suddenly heaves a large breath and her eyes clear completely. Sylar gets his breath back and she pulls him into her arms. "You were right!" she says as he returns the embrace. "I beat it!" Sylar looks resigned to the fact that he might have to continue pretending he lurves her just to avoid dying every other day.
Tokyo. Hiro and Ando are in Kaito's office, boxing up his things. Hiro pulls out the picture of the ElderHeroes and says that he must avenge his father's death. Again. Some more. Ando asks if Hiro's sure that it was Kensei who killed his dad, and Hiro says he's sure -- he saw him with his own eyes. Ando says that Kensei was supposed to have died back in feudal Japan, but even if he didn't -- how could someone survive four hundred years? Hiro suppositions that perhaps, if Kensei could survive any wound, he could survive time as well. He then says that if Kensei's lived forever, he must have left a trail. He starts digging through a box in earnest.
Searsmont, Maine. Adam and Peter exit their rental car, and Adam checks his gun. Peter thinks they should leave the guns behind and just go inside and talk to Victoria -- tell her the truth. Adam says they can't trust her because she worked for The Company and locked him up. Peter says that he'll go in alone, then, because clearly Adam's ready to shoot pretty much ANYONE. Adam offers him the gun, but Peter just waves him off and heads up to the house.
Up on the lawn, Victoria is busy digging in some dirt when Peter approaches. She curtly asks him if he's lost and he tells her he's looking for Victoria Pratt. She says she's never heard of her and Peter just comes right out and tells her, "You worked for The Company." Victoria gets this look on her face and then pulls out the shotgun that she must keep by her side 24/7. Peter doesn't really look surprised. "In twenty-four hours," he says, "the Shanti virus is released. A year from now, ninety-three percent of the world's population is dead." "How can anyone know what happens a year from now?" "I've been there. I've seen it." Victoria takes this news stoically. "Time traveler?" Peter doesn't respond, instead saying that she created a virus that kills billions of people. "I don't know how it gets out, or where, only that it does. Unless you help me." She pumps the rifle and then orders him inside.
Oh my god you guys -- how awesome is Sweeney Todd going to be? Johnny Depp singing? Helena Bonham Carter acting batshit crazy as per usual? Tim Burton helming a MUSICAL? I cannot wait.
Ahem.
After the break, Hiro and Ando are trying to get to the bottom of Kensei's past. They're rifling through boxes furiously. Hiro tells Ando to be more careful because he's like a hamster making a nest. Hee. Hiro comes across a picture of his father as a younger man with Kensei standing to him. He turns the picture over; inscribed on the back are the names of his father, Victoria, and Adam Monroe. Ando says that he's seen that name before, and goes to another box to pull out a file. He hands it to Hiro, who reads a document that's from November 2, 1977. It's an order to lock Adam up that's signed by Kaito. Hiro decides that he must go back to that day. Ando reminds him that he said he'd never travel in time again. Hiro says that he HAS to go back, because the order came from Primatech in New York; he must do this. He squints his eyes and disappears. "Not again," bitches Ando. Heh. I've missed Ando.
Primatech, November 2, 1977. Alarms are blaring as Hiro appears in a hallway. A voice comes over the loudspeaker saying something about a containment breach in bio-research and that there's an evacuation protocol in full effect. Hiro peers through a window and sees his father with Adam, who's being restrained by a couple of guards. Kaito says that Adam has betrayed everything they stand for; Adam argues that he was trying to save the world. "By releasing a virus that could kill billions of innocent people?" says Kaito. "When you've been around as long as I have," spits Adam, "the patterns become clear. Constant war. Disregard for the environment. Famine. And it's only getting worse. Someone had to make the hard choice for the greater good." I have no idea how releasing a murderous virus is better for the greater good, but David Anders looks really hot in that white button down and blue v-neck, so I'm inclined to ignore his delusions of grandeur at the moment. Kaito orders that Adam be taken down to lock-up and then deactivates the alarm. He enters a room and shuts the door. Hiro follows and looks through the window as his father asks if the woman inside is all right. It's Victoria and she turns to him, holding up a vial. "He was looking for strain 138," she says. "If he'd been successful, this place would've been ground zero for a global pandemic." He thanks her for saving everyone, and she immediately says that they need to shut down the program. He just asks her for the vial. After a second of hesitation, she hands it over. He says that the virus will be locked away at the facility in Odessa, Texas and that with Adam locked up, they will be safe. Victoria disagrees, saying that something that dangerous needs to be destroyed.
"The other founders would never allow that," says Kaito. "Doesn't that concern you?" says Victoria. "Adam had help, Kaito. It's the only way he would have known what to look for." Kaito doesn't address her concerns, saying only that she should take a few days off before resuming her work. Victoria says that she won't be a part of this fucked-up-ness, and leaves. Hiro squints and gets the hell out of there.
Back in Maine, Peter enters Victoria's home with her gun pointed at his back. She says that after Kaito and the others were killed, she figured it would only be a matter of time before someone came after her. Scattered over a desk are several news articles about the ElderDeaths. There's also an article about Angela's confession. Peter looks down at them, and Victoria says that he looks like his mother. Peter says he doesn't know anything about these ElderDeaths; the last time he saw his mother, it was a year from now, in a world devastated by the Shanti virus. Victoria's like, "Yeah, I'm paranoid and shit, but I don't know you -- I only knew your parents and what they were capable of." Peter tells her about Caitlin and how he swore to protect her. "If you just tell me where I can find the virus, I know that I can save her." Victoria thinks for a second, then tells him he's looking for a mutated strain that they referred to as "138." "If it were ever released," she says, "it would kill us all." No shit. What've we been TALKING about all this time?
Minutes later, Peter walks over to Adam, who's leaning sexily against the car. He asks if Victoria spilled on the whereabouts of the virus, and Peter says that it's in a Company storage facility in New Mexico. "New Mexico?" questions Adam. "The Company never had a storage facil--" BANG! Adam's chest blows apart and he flies back into the front windshield of the car. Peter turns in surprise as Victoria comes down the lane with her gun. Peter tries to stop her but she says, "No, you're workin' with him now and that's aaallll I need to know!" She shoots Peter too and he goes down. She walks over to Adam and stands over him as his chest starts to heal. "I knew blowing your head off was the only way to be sure," she says, pumping another cartridge into the chamber. She takes aim. "Better late than never!" Peter appears and floors her with a hit to the chin before she can take a shot. Adam gets up and thanks him, then says they should get her up to the house.
Back to the twins and the story I couldn't care less about...Alejandro is in a motel room, looking at a printout of a news story with concern. Maya bursts in and shares the news about her being able to control her power now, thanks to Sylar. Alejandro isn't so impressed. He shows her the article; it's about how Sylar's wanted for questioning about his mother's murder. Maya doesn't believe it. Sylar enters and asks what's going on. Alejandro tells him that he knows what he is, only it's in Spanish, so Sylar has no idea what he just said. He asks Maya what's wrong, and she tells him that Alejandro says he murdered his mother. Maya's ready to hear that Sylar didn't do it, but he immediately says that it's true; he did it. Oddly, he tells the truth, which is that it was kind of an accident. And, having seen the murder in question, I have to agree; Sylar didn't visit his mother with the intention of killing her. He just started showing off his new powers and his ultra-religious-whackjob of a mother tried to kill him. So he killed her in self-defense. Does it mean it wasn't wrong? Nope. But it actually is the truth, which is a nice change of pace for Skeevy Sylar.
Maya goes to him and says that she understands. Alejandro can't believe his eyes. "He's a murderer!" he says to her. "I'm a murderer!" she shouts back. Good point. She tells her brother that Sylar understands exactly how she feels and what she's going through. And either Sylar's a remarkably good actor, or he's kind of feeling for her at the moment. I tend to believe the former rather than the latter, but Maya's clearly on board the Sylar Is Hot train, so she's going with the idea that he wants to marry her and make lots of Black-Goo-Leaking babies.
Alejandro tries to grab his sister and get her to leave with him now, but she says she's staying with Sylar and that they're going to see Mohinder without Alejandro. After all, she doesn't need him anymore -- she can control her powers now. Alejandro doesn't want her to do this, but she says that she knows he hates her because she killed his wife, even though said wife was a ho-bag, but Alejandro says that wasn't her fault. As Sylar creepily caresses Maya's shoulders, she says it WAS her fault because she hated the bitch and wanted her dead. Alejandro looks at Sylar and Sylar just eyebrows back at him and the trio becomes a duo in seconds flat. Alejandro busts out the door as Maya turns to Sylar for an embrace that involves him touching her head and smiling at the far corner of the room in a sinister fashion. He assures her that everything's going to be okay and that he's going to take care of her. The universe in general shudders.
Victoria's House. Adam's tying her to a chair as Peter asks why she lied about the location of the virus. She says that he's with Adam and they're trying to release the virus. Peter places the shotgun in an all-too-convenient place and says that he's not trying to release the damn thing -- he's trying to find it so he can destroy it. Victoria tells Peter that thirty years ago, Adam tried to steal the virus so that he could release it, and she stopped him; now he's trying to do it again. Peter cheats a sideline glance at Adam as Adam turns and tells Victoria that he broke into The Company to prevent them from putting the world in danger. "You killed Kaito, didn't you?" Victoria realizes. "And the others. And now it's my turn!" Adam insists that they're trying to save lives, not take them, but Victoria turns to Peter and says that Adam's a killer, which, of course, we all know is very, very true. But Peter's kind of like Maya in that he doesn't want to believe that his new boyfriend is a bad guy. And, Victoria guesses, since Peter's helping Adam, he's a killer too -- just like his parents. Peter argues that Adam helped him escape the clutches of The Company as well as save Nathan's life, so as far as he's concerned, Adam's a goddamned saint. "But what you did," he says, getting close to her face, "what you were a part of -- that will bring an end to the world. Tell me where I can find the virus so I can stop it." She shuts her eyes. "Go to hell." "Where is it, Victoria?" She turns away, saying nothing, but Peter uses his Parkman skills and gets the answer from her anyway.
"Texas," he says, standing up. "NO!" she shouts. "Thank you," says Adam politely. "I am not gonna let you do this!" says Victoria as Adam moves behind her. "Get away from me!" "We're not hurting you," says Adam. "We're letting you go." Peter turns and asks him what he's doing, but it's too late; he's released Victoria, and she jumps up and grabs the conveniently-placed shotgun and turns to shoot Peter in the head. A shot rings out, but not from her gun. Instead, it's Adam who's fired and it's Victoria who goes down. "You didn't have to kill her!" says Peter. "She was about to take your head off," says Adam. "There's no coming back from that one." Peter looks at Adam and the expression on his face seems to say, "Dude. You may not be the nice guy I think you are after all." Peter leaves to get the car and Adam walks over to Victoria's dead body. "If anyone survives," he says, simultaneously pulling a torn picture out of his pocket and running his finger through the blood on his chest, "I'll tell them I couldn't have done it without you." He marks the photo, which is of Victoria from the ElderHeroes portrait, with the "S" symbol, and then drops it to her body.
New Orleans. Damon's back and he has a bloody nose. Grandma Uhura is questioning him about the backpack. Damon says some kid on Third Street told him that he could find out how much the comics were worth, and that he only wanted to find that out and tell Micah how much money they could make. Micah angrily asks where his backpack is, and Damon says that it was all a setup and that he got jacked for the pack. Micah tackles his cousin and gets a solid punch in before Niki pulls him off. Micah says that his dad's medal was in that bag and Damon says that he'll get him a new one. Micah's like, "What, you gonna SAVE SOME PEOPLE FROM A FIRE OR SOMETHING, BITCH?" He asks if Damon's gonna get him a new dad too, and Monica puts a hand over her heart as Niki embraces her son. Damon apologizes, but Micah doesn't care. "I hate you!" he shouts. Grandma Uhura turns to Damon and says they're going to get him cleaned up, and then she's going to call the police and he's going to tell them everything that happened. She escorts him out.
Micah turns to his mother and says, "We need to get it back!" Niki says that Grandma Uhura is calling the police, but Micah doesn't give a crap about the boys in blue. He's talking about THEM, the Heroes! He looks at Monica and Niki both as he says, "We could get it back!" Niki pulls him aside and says that they've talked about this. "We need to be heroes," says Micah, "like Dad." Niki says that being a hero is what got his dad killed. She says that the medal's gone and she's sorry. Monica watches all of this unfold. Niki pulls Micah into her arms and he shoots a glance at Monica.
Back with the Wonderless Twins and the Man Who Shall Destroy Them. Sylar's packing his bag. There's a knock at the door. Sylar thinks it's Maya, but it's Alejandro. He attacks Sylar the second the door opens and says that there's no way Sylar's taking his sister. Again, he says this in Spanish, but Sylar gets the gist. He says that he tried to let Alejandro go the easy way, but he insisted on being persistent, so a fight is in order. "I'm taking my sister!" Alejandro says in English. He tries throwing a punch into Sylar's gut, but it falls short, and Sylar just flings him to the ground like a bag of salt. He goes down to the bed, and Sylar reaches for a knife that just happens to be sitting there, to his toiletries. He stabs Alejandro in the gut. It looks like Sylar's performing some sort of Ripper-inspired surgery on the poor lad when Maya knocks on the door and calls Sylar's name. He smiles down at Alejandro's dead body.
Outside, Maya continues to knock and call his name. Suddenly, the door swings open and Sylar appears, soaking wet and wearing only a towel. I...I'm sorry. Is...there a...scene associated with this vision? I am...excuse me. I have to get this out. ZACHARY QUINTO IS SHIRTLESS. I am currently convinced that the writers and producers and director have all made it their unified goal to have at least ONE person shirtless per episode. And for that I am thankful. Please, please, please, can this strike be settled soon so that I may look forward to even MORE shirtless hot guys every Monday night? PLEASE. I'm really only thinking of me. And the writers of course. BUT REALLY, THIS IS ABOUT ME. AND THE SHIRTLESS GUYS.
I'm so sorry about that.
So, yes, Maya knocks on the door and Sylar answers and he's naked and wet and Maya's just as thrown as I am. Sylar says that he didn't hear her with the water running and asks if everything's okay, being careful to swing the door partially shut behind him so as to hide the bloody dead body to the bed. Maya says that she has to tell him that he was right about everything; wet, shirtless guys in towels are hot. No -- I mean, Alejandro and her and is Zachary Quinto still wet? He must be cold. Um. Yeah. So Sylar says that he never meant to come between her and her brother. She says that she has to do what she can to protect her brother, but the vision of all that naked flesh in front of her is kind of distracting, so she hopes that, in time, her brother will understand why she chose an evil son-of-a-bitch over him. "Without you, I would still be somewhere in Mexico," she says. Sylar touches her face and says that he just wants to help her. "You have done that," she says, moving toward him with quivering lips. "And so much more." They kiss as Sylar's Clock Theme dances over the soundtrack and the camera slips behind him to show Alejandro's butchered body. Sylar reaches back and shuts the door.
Casa de Bennet. Claire's flinging stuff out of a box. "Your mom said you were leaving tonight," says West from the doorway. Claire turns and looks at him briefly, then turns back to her box. "I've fallen twenty stories, been stabbed in the head, crashed a car at seventy miles an hour. I've even been on fire. But this hurts...more than any of that. And it's not getting better. I've always gotten better, no matter what. But this just keeps getting worse." West moves over to her and puts his hands on her shoulders as he says that he can't stand to see her hurt like this. A core of steel enters Claire's spine and she wipes away her tears and moves away. "I won't be," she says. "Not for long." She goes on to say that there's a man who used to work for her dad who could erase memories. She digs through more boxes until she finds the wind chime that the Haitian Sensation gave her to signal him with. "He can make me forget I ever had a father," she says, holding the chime. West asks how she knows this guy will even see the chimes, and she says she doesn't know, but she has to do something. West grabs her and says that she doesn't want to forget her dad. "Forgetting isn't the answer," he says. "I just wish I could tell him how sorry I am," she says.
Cut to Micah, lying in bed, not sleeping. Monica enters and touches his shoulder. He turns over and asks her why she's dressed all in black. She just says that she knows what it's like to lose someone you love and to wish that you had a piece of them, something solid to hold onto. "Anybody tried to steal my mom's piano?" she says. "I'd feed 'em their teeth." Micah smiles. Monica goes on to say that she knows where the kids live who stole his backpack. "You're gonna help me get back my dad's medal?" "As long as you stay out of the way!" Monica says with a grin. "Anything crazy happens, you gotta stay put." Micah immediately agrees, but Monica tells him to hush, as they still have to sneak him out of the house.
The Company. Mohinder and Tobby are watching some entertaining blood videos on a computer screen. Mohinder declares that Claire's blood has fortified his antibodies, so now they're strong enough to defeat the mutated virus. Tobby congratulates him. Mohinder reminds him that he promised The Company's viral research would end. "In working up this cure," he says, "I've been pouring over records that reveal the full extent of your program." "Then you of all people should understand what it would mean to find a safe way to remove the abilities of dangerous individuals," says Tobby. Mohinder reaches behind him and grabs a file. "Here!" he says, passing it to Tobby. "Strain 138. If even the smallest amount were released, it would wipe out all of human civilization." Tobby cursorily looks at the file, and then says that the strain is locked away safely in Texas and that The Company is vigilant about security. Mohinder's like, "Yeah, so I infiltrated your organization in order to take it the hell down and you had no goddamned idea -- so much for security!" "What can I do for you?" asks Tobby, at his wit's end. Mohinder turns. "Help me hunt down every strain of virus within this company and destroy them." Tobby nods, but I don't think he's actually agreeing to this.
New Orleans. A cell phone buzzes on a bedside table. A hand reaches for it, and it's Niki. She answers and it's Mohinder on the line, telling her that he's found a cure for her. He's coming on the flight. "Your nightmare's over," he says. "I don't know what to say, Doctor! Thank you!" She immediately hangs up and goes to find Micah to tell him the good news. Unfortunately, he's across town with Monica, looking over at the house of the kids who took his pack. Micah's doing something with what looks to be a cell phone, but I can't be sure. Whatever it is, it lets him know that no one's home at the moment and Monica should be fine to break in.
He asks if she knows how to get up into the house yet, and she just says, "Almost," and looks at the iPod in her hand. It's showing a scene of a guy climbing up a porch, and she watches as the scene replays itself on her glowing eyeballs. It looks like the guy's actually performing parkour, but I can't be sure. Monica watches the video and goes, "Got it. I just wish it wasn't so bright -- I don't want people thinking I'm robbing the place!" Micah looks up at the street light and puts his hand on the surface of it. He blinks his eyes a bit, and the lights go out on the entire street. "How did you do that?" asks Monica. "I told the lights I need them to be out for awhile," says Micah. Aw. He politely asks the lights to go out, and they do. His superpower is as sweet as he is!
Monica pulls her hood up over her head, and Micah looks at her in awe. "What?" "You're Saint Joan!" "You really gotta stop reading those comic books!" Hee. She's totally Saint Joan, though. She tells him to stay there, she'll be right back. She runs across the street, vaults over the fence, climbs up onto the balcony, and makes it into the house. It's an impressive series of moves. She turns on her flashlight and finds Micah's pack immediately. But a look inside it reveals that it's empty. Just then, down on the street, headlights appear. Micah sees them and hides. It's the gang that lives in the house. Inside, Monica hears the cars approaching and looks up in fear. She looks back down and sees the comic books and Micah's medal on the floor. She gathers them up and shoves them into the backpack.
Outside, the gang makes its way into the house as Micah watches from his hiding place. As the gang enters, one of them says to the others that they should put some cans of gas into the van. "Y'all figured out why they paying us so much to torch these buildings?" asks another. "Who cares?" responds yet another. "As long as he comes with dat cash, we come with da matches." I missed this conversation the first time around, and I'm inclined to think that it may be important; after all, D.L. saved a child from a burning building, didn't he? Could be this gang has more of a part to play than just some random thugs who jacked poor Damon.
The gang walks up the stairs for some reason, and we see Monica stapled to the ceiling with the backpack hanging from her arm. As she's desperately hanging on, one of the comic books falls out of the pack and hits the stairs. The gang members all look up and see her. They pull guns. Instead of shooting her, however, they just grab her and drag her outside. Micah sees this from across the street. Monica looks directly at him with fear, but also a warning, on her face. She knows she's screwed, but she doesn't want Micah anywhere near this. One of the gang hits her in the face and she goes down and then they throw her in the back of a van and shut the doors. Micah runs.
Bennet's Fake Funeral. Claire stands on some rocks at the edge of the surf, while her mother and brother, Mr. Muggles, and West look on from behind her. She holds her father's fake ashes in her hands. "I'm sorry, Dad," she says, crying. "I'm sorry I didn't listen. I should've done everything you told me to. If I hadn't been so selfish, you'd still be here." She opens the urn and pours the ashes out over the rocks and water. "I love you, Dad," she says, replacing the lid. She returns to her family and embraces her mother. "We'd better say goodbye," says Mrs. Bennet, touching her daughter's face. "We've gotta be in Salt Lake by the morning. Come on."
Claire walks over to West. "This is all happening so fast," she says. "I'm losing everything I care about." She falls into his arms with her head against his chest and her eyes pointing toward the parking lot. And that's when she sees Elle, sitting in a rented piece of shit car, sucking on yet another Slurpee or something. She's like Brad Pitt in the Ocean's movies with this drink fetish she has. Elle looks over and realizes that Claire's made her. She hilariously tries to grab the keys and get out of there, but since her driving hand is in a damn cast, this proves harder to do than she thought. Claire pulls back from West's chest and hones in on her prey as Elle frantically fumbles with the keys.
Claire wipes the tears from her face and runs toward the car with West chasing her. Elle tries to put the keys in the ignition with her left hand, but she fumbles, and her big-ass drink falls right into her lap. The expression on her face is priceless; it's part "Damn, that's fucking COLD" and "Oh, for fuck's sake, this bitch is gonna hit me." Elle decides to be proactive and gets out of the car. She slams the door and faces Claire as she runs up. "What the HELL are you doing here?" asks Claire. "I came to watch the sunset," says Elle in full-on snot mode. "LIAR!" screams Claire, shoving Elle up against the car. West pulls her off. "Watch who you're shoving, Pom-Pom!" says Elle. Heh. God, I love her. "This isn't fair," says Claire, glaring at Elle. "HA!" chuckles Elle. "Welcome to LIFE!" "Come on, Claire," says her mother, "we gotta go." "No, Mom, we don't!" says Claire, moving toward Elle. She gets right up in Elle's face. "We can tell the world what they did. How they kidnapped me and murdered my father." "You have no proof," says Elle. "No one would believe you." "You're probably right," says Claire. "I guess I'm just gonna have to show 'em." And then she throws a punch, missing Elle's face by centimeters, driving her fist into the car window. She pulls her hand back and puts it in Elle's face. "I'll show everyone exactly what I can do," she says as her hand heals itself, pushing glass out all over the pavement. "Once the secret's out, you won't be able to touch me or my family. You'll be the ones running." The final stunning tableau is of West behind Claire, ready to fight, Lyle just to his left with Mr. Muggles in his arms, Mrs. Bennet standing just beyond the two girls holding the urn, and Claire and Elle face-to-face with barely six inches between them. Mr. Muggles: "Oh, this show kicks ASS."
Cut to Mohinder in a cab on his way to visit Niki with the cure. He checks his bag, and pulls out the case with the needle and cure in it. His phone rings. "Hello?" "Hello, Mohinder," says Sylar on the other end. Mohinder is floored. "Sylar? Where are you?" "I convinced the babysitter to take the night off," Sylar drawls into the phone. "Don't worry. I'm taking good care of the little one." The camera pans down, and Sylar is gently drawing a strand of Molly's hair away from her face. "If you...touch Molly..." stutters Mohinder. "Shh shh shh shh shh," whispers Sylar. "We don't want to wake her." He stands up and says that he's brought someone to see Mohinder. Maya's there, and she smiles at Sylar as if he hasn't just creepily touched a kid. "She needs your help. We both do. See you soon, Mohinder." He hangs up as Maya beams at him.
Meanwhile, Ando's asleep in Kaito's office. Hiro appears and raps him on the shoulder, waking him with a start. Hiro says that he knows what Adam wants -- it's a virus at Primatech in Odessa. "Where we tried to save the cheerleader?" asks Ando sleepily. "Yes!" says Hiro. "Adam wants to release this virus. If I don't stop him, they'll die!" "Who?" asks Ando. "Everyone," says Hiro. "But Adam is invincible," says Ando. "How can you stop a man like that?" "I must try," says Hiro, eyeing Kensei's sword up on a cabinet. He grabs it. "I must avenge my father's death...and save the world." Hiro disappears again. "Why is saving the world always your responsibility?" asks Ando of the empty office. Excellent point, my friend.
Primatech Paper, Odessa, Texas. Peter and Adam enter as Peter observes that this doesn't look like the sort of place where they'd store a virus that could destroy the world. Adam tells him that the paper company's just a front; the real action happens three floors down. "Laboratories, jail cells --" Before Adam can go on, time is frozen. But Peter's not. He looks around, confused. And then he sees someone he recognizes. "Hiro?" Hiro looks at him. "Peter Petrelli?" "What're you doing here?" "Adam Monroe killed my father," says Hiro, "and for that he must pay." "I can't let you do that." "Then you have chosen the wrong side." Hiro whips out the sword. "NO!" says Peter, showing some blue sparks from his hand. "I can't let you do that." Hiro ignores the sparks and launches himself at Peter, the "S" symbol on his sword filling the screen...
To be continued...
on Heroes: It's all come down to this. Two Heroes will fall. And we will all take a mini-vacation from the series that is ONLY NOW getting good again.