chapter four | collision

✧✧✧

Sometimes questions are more powerful than answers.
How is this happening?
What are they?
Why them and not others?
Why now?
What does it all mean?

✧✧✧

Gabi sat against her window ledge with a cup of coffee. She held a photo of her and her brother when they were younger. It was the only photo they have together.
She sighed and heard her alarm go off, she chuckled and got up and clicked it off. She then put her cup in the sink and rinsed it, then walked over to the bathroom and had a shower.

She put on her red work t-shirt, dark blue jeans and black canvas shoes, she tied her hair up in a ponytail, and put in her 3 small silver studs in each ear, and her small silver hoop in each ear. She grabbed her hand bag and headed to work.

She was at the counter of her shop, fixing the broken screen from a phone, while on the phone to her friend Jessica.

"Look, it's no big deal, we broke up like 5 months ago, and –"

"Yeah, from a 3 year relationship!" Jessica exclaimed.

"I'm trying to move on, he's trying to move on, -"Gabi was cut off by a customer walking in. "Look Jess, I gotta go back to work, okay? Talk to you later," she hung up. "Hi, welcome to All Phones, how may I help you," She sighed through a smile. The customer was Indian, short black curly hair, and wore a brown jacket and jeans.

"My name is Dr Mohinder Suresh –"He started.

Gabi's eyes widened and she opened her mouth slightly. "Suresh?"

"Yes," he looked at her with a confused look.

"You didn't happen to know a Chandra Suresh, do you?" Gabi asked, cautiously.

"That's my father's name, how did you –"He asked.

"Your father, came to me and brother, 6 months ago. Look, whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it –"

"You might be in danger –"

"Danger? By what?"

"Does the name Sylar mean anything to you?"

Sylar. Of course I know him.

"How do you know that name?" Gabi raised her voice.

"My father – I have reason to be believe he might be after you – did you know him?" He stuttered.

"I want you to leave. Please. Just go, I don't want anything to do with what you're doing." She pointed to the door.

"Please, I'm only trying to help –"

"Now, please," She raised her voice.

He sighed and turned around and walked off.

Gabi put her hands on the counter and looked down. She sighed and the phone rang, she answered.

"This is Gabriella Grey from All Phones, how may I help you?"

✧✧✧

Next Day

Hiros

When a change comes, some species feel the urge to migrate. They call it 'zugunruhe'.
A pull of the soul to a far-off place. Following a scent in the wind, a star in the sky.
The ancient message comes, calling the kindred to take flight to gather together.
Only then can they hope to survive the cruel season to come.

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A loud knock on her door rung throughout her apartment. She put on her thin grey cotton robe and answered the door. Peter was there.

"Pete, what are you doing –"she was cut off by Peter walking in her apartment, she closed the door and faced him. "How do you know where I live?"

"Nathan, told me," Peter looked around her apartment. "I found Suresh,"

She looked at him. "What? When?"

"Yesterday, he was at Nathan's Campaign office, and his men told me where he lived. Except it's his son, and his father passed away. But obviously he doesn't believe me, nothing like what his father was like."

"You don't know what his father was like, he – he tried to convince that my br – friend was special, then telling him, that it was a mistake. And it drove him into obsession, to insanity, for this, hunger to be special. It even drove him to – to murder" She sat down on a stool.

"Murder? What the hell do you mean?" Peter asked kneeling down in front of me.

"I'm not lying,"

"Who's your friend?"

"Someone you don't know," She looked at Peter.

"Look, I'm sorry that happened to your friend, but that's not happening to me. And as crazy as this sounds, a guy, on the subway, stopped time to deliver me a message."

"Stopped time?" Gabi asked with a chuckle.

"I know, it sounds crazy, but he told me, that something really bad is going to happen, and, we need to stop it, he told me to, Save the Cheerleader, Save the World."

"A cheerleader?" She sighed.

"I need to go Isaac's,"

"The painter?"

"The guy, his name is Hiro, he's from the future, told me that Isaac knows what to do."

"The future?"

"Please stop questioning me and listen to me," He put a hand on her knee. "You told me that you would,"

Gabi took a breath and let it out. "Okay," Peter's smile widened and he hugged her.

"Thank you,"

"Let me get changed," She stood up and walked into her bedroom and put on some black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt and her burgundy cardigan. They left for the subway.

✧✧✧

They reached Isaac's lobby, and the door was open. Peter knocked and walked in but stood at the door. "Hello?" Peter and Gabi walked in closer. "Isaac?" They walked down the ramp and Isaac was standing, back faced to them, with his long hair down, shirt off and blanket around him. "You doing okay?" Peter asked, walking up to him.

"Go away, man," Isaac spoke in a raspy tone.

"Isaac, I need – we need your help," Peter spoke, "This is Gabriella, she's a dear friend of mine,"

"You need help? As Simone," Isaac spoke. Peter looked down. Gabi sighed. "You already took her, what else do you want from me?"

"You painted me, you painted her. A picture of me flying, and a picture of her on the roof," Peter looked at Gabi, then he pointed at the picture. She looked over, and there she was, in a painting. She was wearing a red parka and stood there with tears in her eyes with her hands up, blood on her shirt.

"Okay, it happened, it was real, I flew," Peter spoke.

"Congratulations," Isaac spoke.

"I'm telling you that I believe you," Peter walked closer to Isaac. "That you can paint the future," Isaac looked at him, and pointed his finger, then looked at Gabi and turned to face his painting. "So whatever is happing to you, it's happening to me too. And I don't know why, but I'm supposed to, see you. You're supposed to have the answer."

"Is that, um, what I sound like?" He scoffed. "No wonder she left me." He grabbed some paint brushes. "I don't have any answers,"

"You're supposed to, know where I have to go." Peter sighed.

"See for yourself," Isaac was fiddling with his art supplies.

Peter and Gabi walked around his loft, at the paintings. One of them was of two young Asian men under a bloodied 'HOMECOMING' banner. Another of a blonde girl, looks like she's running, scared. Then one of –

"Is that you Peter? And me?" She asked. Peter looked at it and sighed and turned around and looked of one of the solar eclipse. He saw another painting behind it and picked it up. A painting of the blonde cheerleader running from an eerie shadow.

"It's her." Peter looked at me. "The cheerleader,"

Peter and Gabi put the paintings up against the wall, and hung them up. First Peter and her, then the young Asians under the banner, then the blonde cheerleader, then the eerie painting of the cheerleader running away.

"Wow," Gabi took a breath in wonderment. "This is amazing,"

"Look, it's telling a story, like a comic. Look, this girl's she's running and" Peter looked at the eerie painting. "And I –"Peter looked at Isaac. "Is that Gabi and I?"

"Why would I paint you? Or her?" Isaac was sitting at a table.

"These two guys," Gabi pointed at the Asians. "I think we're all trying to help her." She looks at Peter.

"The Cheerleader. Who is she?" Peter asked as he walked over to Isaac.

"I don't know,"

"Yeah, but you painted these,"

"I was high, dog,"

"So what happens next? Where is she?"

"I was high!" Isaac exclaimed before he started to cough and stood up. "I could've been clean. I tore myself apart.  I lost Simone, to try and find an answer. How to stop it. All I got was this garbage. Some Cheerleader. It's nothing." Isaac started looking around for paint supplies. Peter and Gabi looked at this unfinished painting of a Shadow Man. "I've ruined my life, for nothing."

"It's not nothing," Peter looked at Isaac. "Look, don't you get it? Everything is connected. We are all connected. If this that you painted, this bomb, is true. We're all dead. These are the key to saving us. Something's gonna happen to this girl. We need to know what. You have to finish this. You – have to finish the painting."

"Even if I wanted to, I can't. I'm out of drugs. I'm out of money to buy drugs,"

"Can't you just finish it without shooting up?" Gabi asked.

"If you got some cash on you, then that's another story. We'll call it a commission"

Peter looked at the painting intently, then his face turned into shock, like he was seeing something.

"I saw it," Peter looked at them.

"Saw what?" Gabi asked. Peter started panting and grabbed some art supplies.

"I saw something in the, uh, in the canvas. A picture. This painting!" Peter exclaimed. "I can finish it,"

"You can paint?" Isaac looked surprised. Peter took of his grey jumper.

"No, I can't. But I drew the future after I saw you the other day, it was only stick figures, but. It came true." Peter stood in front of the painting with brushes and paint. Gabi stood up with Isaac and stood next to him. She looked at his face, he closed his eyes then re-opened them, they were white.

"Jesus," Gabi whispered. Then he leaned in and started painting.

After a while, Gabi was sitting on a chair, still watching him, then all of a sudden it looked like Peter lost balance, and she stood up and walked over at him and kept him balanced. Then they all looked at the bottom of the painting, the drips of the fresh red paint on the floor. The cheerleader was dead on the floor with the Shadow Man standing over her.

"How'd you do that?" Isaac asked.

"I don't know," Peter sighed.

"We have to save her," Gabi spoke. A telephone rang and Peter and Gabi turned around.

"Ignore it, it's a wrong number. Some Japanese guy keeps calling, leaving messages." Isaac spoke. Peter looked at Gabi then quickly went and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Peter spoke. "Who is this?" She listened in the conversation.

"Uh, my name is Hiro Nakamura," The Asian spoke.

Peter smirked. "My name is Peter Petrelli, and I have a message for you."