"Previously on Heroes" "Ordinary people across the globe discovered extraordinary abilities." " A single mother lost her son..." " Mum!" "... and gives in to the dark side to save him." "I did what had to be done." "Like I always do." "A new hero is discovered..." "I remember lots and lots." "It's just something that my brain started doing." "... but meets a tragic fate." "And another hero goes back in time to rescue her." "I'll just go back..." "I'll stop her from coming to work." "Peter solves the mystery of his destiny..." "The cheerleader." "I think we're all trying to help her." "... and a father was stopping nothing to avert catastrophe." "This girl, the one you've painted here, she's my daughter." "This man here... he's gonna kill her tomorrow night at her homecoming game." "I need you to paint this painting." "Tonight, their destinies will unite them, to save the cheerleader and save the world." "Chapter Nine" " Homecoming" "We are, if anything, creatures of habit..." "Drawn to the safety and comfort of the familiar." "So do they actually believe that pudding is a vegetable?" "But what happens when the familiar becomes unsafe?" "When the fear that we have been desperately trying to avoid finds us where we live?" " Something wrong?" " Jackie just killed my appetite." "Oh, look, the principal's gonna post the homecoming queen announcement." "Whoopee." "Well, aren't you gonna go see if you won?" " What's the point?" " You're a finalist, Claire." "Go." "Good luck." "Kinda nervy for someone in your position to be running for homecoming queen." "My position?" "You know." "Pariah?" "You hospitalized the MVP, annihilating any hope of us actually winning the game." "You're not deluded enough to think you're actually gonna win?" "No delusions." "It's a popularity contest, and you've made it very clear that I am no longer popular." "It's more than a popularity contest." "Being selected homecoming queen is about serving your school." "God, Claire." "I didn't think you were that shallow." "Congratulations, ladies." "Make me proud." "Oh, my God," " don't spaz out." " What?" "I can't believe it." "I won?" "Claire!" "Claire!" "Claire!" "Shut up, you freaks!" "Claire!" "Claire!" "Claire!" "You didn't tell Peter about me buying this painting, did you?" "You asked me not to." "I don't get it." "What is it?" "It's one of a series, the work of Isaac Mendez, a rising artist." "Peter believes Isaac can paint the future." "Is it supposed to be Peter?" "I'm not sure." "But Peter thinks he needs to be there to save a cheerleader." " Union Wells High School." " Yeah." "Peter thinks if he saves a cheerleader... he'll save the world." "Right." " Is that the only copy?" " Yeah." "Why?" "Peter's got all these... ideas in his head." "Delusions of grandeur." "He thinks he's supposed to make a difference." "What are you doing?" "What are you doing?" "No!" "No!" "No!" "Saving his life." "What?" "You believe it?" "Save the cheerleader, save the world?" " I'm not sure what to believe anymore." " I am." "Nice!" "What's the range on this?" "The Kinsella 320Z, been known to pierce body armor at 400 yards." " Military grade." " That'll work." "Don't want to see his eyes, huh?" " Must really hate the guy." " You have no idea." "He took my son." "Damn." " You call the cops?" " Cops can't stop him." "but I can as long as he doesn't see it coming." " How much?" " Two large." "We're going hunting." "So how long do you plan on keeping this up?" "Till you turn around." "I told you, we can't go back!" "And I told you Mom needs me." "It's not safe with her." "Look..." "I still love her." "No matter what she does, a part of me always will." "But your mom has changed." "The good news is that it's gonna be you and me from here on out." "Partners." " You mean, like Batman and Robin?" " Yeah." "Like Batman and Robin." "Only..." "I ain't wearing no tights." "You could wear tights." "I'm not wearing tights." " Need to hit the head?" " Nah, I'm good." "Micah!" "Did you ever consider that these dreams that you've been having," " are just that, dreams?" " It's impossible." "They were talking about my sister Shanti, a sister I never knew I had!" "As children, we absorb powerful archetypes that we bury in our subconscious." "Your parents were obviously still grieving over your sister." " Freud would tell you the same thing." " What about the boy?" " The one with the soccer ball?" " Yes, how do you explain his picture being hidden in my father's desk, huh?" "He was one of them, right here in Chennai." "Sanjog Iyer, my father identified the genetic marker." "It says the boy can enter your dreams, alter your perceptions, uh, kind of spirit guide." " You must have seen that file before." " I have never seen this file before, and I have had thousands of dreams in my life." "These were different, they were..." "they were real." "We have to find this boy." "Hey, what was so important you had me meet you over here?" "That painting you wanted, Nathan bought it from Linderman," " had it shipped here." " It's here..." "Can I see it?" "There." "I-I don't understand." "He said it was to protect you, that you're gonna get yourself killed." "Okay, wait a minute." "You saw this painting, all right." " You can describe it to me." " You really believe this, don't you?" "Save the cheerleader, save the world." "For reasons I can't begin to understand..." "There are people that are counting on me to do this." "I don't know if I can, but I have to try." "This doesn't make any sense." "I probably shouldn't be showing you this." "It's a digital image, it came with the painting." "Is that you, Peter?" "I..." "I don't know." "Maybe." "If it's you, then you're gonna die at 8:12 tonight." " Don't go, Peter." " I have to." "I have to." "Union Wells High School is in Odessa, Texas." "I took the liberty and made a phone call." "Homecoming is tonight." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Look, I don't know if this is gonna happen." " Just come back, okay?" " I will." "Hiro?" "Hiro!" "Hi, this is Peter Petrelli, is this Hiro Nakamura?" " No." "Ah, he will be right back." " Who is this?" " I'm his friend, Ando." " Ando, right." "Okay, this is very important." "You and Hiro need to get to Odessa, Texas, as soon as you can..." "Union Wells High School." "Okay, that's where the cheerleader is." "We are in Texas already." "Midland, at the Burnt Toast Café." " It's outside the airport." " You are?" "That's great!" "Listen, I'm gonna get on a flight, tell Hiro that I'll be there before he knows it." "Yes, okay." "I will tell him." "Good-bye, Peter Petrelli." "It's gonna be okay, honey." "It's useless." "How is that supposed to help me find Sylar?" "He's not a vending machine." "You can't just put the drugs in, pull a lever, and expect a clear response." "I mean, he's a person." "Your emotions are impairing your judgment." "Maybe, but I'm not the only one." "When he wakes up, have him paint another." "No." "You think I'm being emotional?" "Do you have any idea what we're up against?" "Come here." "Oh, my God." "Sylar wants to do that to my Claire." "I will do whatever I have to do to stop it." "Isaac can't help us." "It was a mistake to do that to him." "Go to the high school." "Use the paintings as a guide." "Wait for Sylar." "You'll have help." "When the time is right, neutralize him." " I'll keep Claire safe at home." " No, it's homecoming." "Find Sylar, take him out." "And let me worry about Claire." " Congratulations, Claire." " Thanks so much!" "I don't know that girl." " Holla to the queen!" " Holla back!" "Everybody who wasn't my friend is now my friend, and everybody who was my friend, isn't." "Well, it's not a popularity contest, it's an unpopularity contest 'cause you rocked the freak vote." "I what?" "Look, everybody who's like Jackie voted for Jackie, and everybody who isn't voted for you." "And in this school, the unpopular vastly outnumber the popular." "Made for a good campaign strategy." "You campaigned for me?" "Why?" "You think all this school spirit stuff is stupid." "I never said it was stupid." "I said it's beneath you." "But obviously it's important, so whatever." "Now you have a little piece of your old life back, okay?" "Just don't start acting like a bitch again." "Look, I got this off of the Internet." "It supposedly has this really big chapter on spontaneous regeneration, so I thought it might enlighten you on the whole Miracle-Gro of it all." " What's with you?" " You're being so nice." "I've never been this nice to you." "I mean," "I've been nice, but I could be nicer." "Then why don't you?" "Congratulations, Claire." "Mmm, is the gay boy your date?" "You should tell him, only one of you gets to wear the tiara." "What?" "That is so unfair!" " Hon?" " I've already made up my mind." "You are being completely unreasonable." "Do you have any idea what it means for me to miss this game?" " You'll survive." " But Dad!" "No, you listen, and you listen good." "As long as you live under my roof, you will do as I say." "You may not agree, but don't think for a moment that that matters." "You are not leaving this house tonight." "Is that clear?" "Crystal." "She's gonna hate you for a long time on this one." "Let's hope so." "Micah!" "Micah!" "What were you thinking?" "Do you know how scared I was?" "Now you know how it felt when you left us!" "Micah, what am I supposed to do here?" "Go back!" "She needs us!" "We've discussed this." " Your mom..." " Dad, I know she's different, okay?" "I see it too." "Something happened to her when you left." "It got really bad." " Then, sometimes, she'd show up instead of Mom." " She?" "Jessica." "Jessica." "Dad, Mom..." "Mom's sick." "She can't help herself." "She can't control it." "Micah." "Does your mom know about Jessica?" "No, I don't think so." "Dad, we can't just leave her." "If you still love her, you'll help her." "You're right." "Do you know this boy?" "You're wasting my afternoon because of a ridiculous dream." "No one said you had to come." "And who's gonna keep you from getting killed?" "This is a dangerous neighborhood." "One look at your fancy shoes and we'll both be running for our lives." " Have you seen this boy?" " Come now, Mohinder." "Let's stop this nonsense." "Go back to the university, talk about this like rational people." " I am not leaving until I find him." " I know this boy." "For 500 rupees, I can tell you where he is." "This man is a crook, give him nothing." " What are you doing?" " Where?" "You came to me in my dream last night." "I don't come to anyone." " They come to me." " Why?" "Why do they come to you?" "They have questions that need answers." "I'm not sure that I have a question." "Yes, you do." "I have two paths in front of me." "I need to know which one to take." "Which one is my destiny." "You already have the answer you seek." "What is it?" "What's my answer?" "Hiro." "Excuse me." "When was this picture taken?" "Oh, that was Charlie's birthday." "About six months ago." " Do you know him?" " Hiro?" "Sure." "He and Charlie were tight." "Please, where is he now?" "I have no idea, darlin'." "He popped out of her life weeks ago." "Zach?" "What r u doing?" "Throwing rocks at ur window." "Open up!" "What's going on?" "I'm here to rescue you." " Let's go." " I'm grounded." "No one grounds the queen, come on." "Yeah, tell that to my dad." "You only get to be homecoming queen once." "You know what?" "You've already cemented your victory in the eyes of the student body by punching Jackie." "Plus, if you back out now, she becomes the queen." "My dad would pitch a fit." "So, big deal." "What?" "He grounds you more." "He double grounds you." "Come on, you deserve this." "I do deserve this." "And tonight, you can be my date to the dance." " Me?" " Sure, why not?" "Uh..." "For a million different reasons." "Is it about what Jackie said?" " Because I don't care..." " I don't care about that, you think I care about that?" "She can call me whatever she wants." "I'm not gonna be embarrassed by it." "I know who I am." "I like who I am." "I like who you are." "I just..." "I just wish that you liked who you are." "I'm finally realizing who my friends really are." "And that maybe being different isn't the end of the world." "That's just who I am." "Exactly, you gotta embrace your inner freak." "Because the only thing that you'll regret is denying who you really are." "Ando?" "Hey, I'm Peter Petrelli." "How are you?" "So sorry it took forever." "I-I couldn't get a flight, and then taxis in this town..." "We still have time." "Where's... where's Hiro?" "Hiro traveled back in time to rescue Charlie." "I told him it wasn't a good idea," "Peter Petrelli might call, but he insisted." " What happened to her?" " She was killed." "We were sitting right here." "It happened so fast." "Next thing we know, she was dead and the killer was gone in a flash." "Like, Okage." "Uh... boogeyman." "Hiro says maybe it is the same man that is going to attack the cheerleader." "I told Hiro do over, is too risky." "But Hiro says man who is too afraid to use power, does not deserve to have power." "I know when, and I know where the cheerleader gets attacked." "I have to stop him." " Is this you?" " Maybe." " You have a power, right?" " Sort of." "Super strength?" "You bend time and space like Hiro!" "No, I..." "I kind of absorb the abilities of others." " But only when they're close." " Hmm?" "Truthfully, when I'm by myself, I don't..." "I'm not really anything." "I've got less than an hour." "Okay, it happens at 8:12, I have to go." "Coming?" "No." "I will wait for Hiro." "Without him, I'm not really anything either." " Maybe you should wait too." " There's no time." " I have to save the cheerleader." " But, Peter!" "You die." " Where is she?" "She's gone!" " Oh, right." "I saw her and Zach skip out across the lawn ten minutes ago." "She must have climbed out her window." "Why didn't you try to stop her?" "Because she's a good girl, and she deserves this." "You are being way too harsh." "You don't know what you've done." "If you hear from her, call me immediately!" "You're wasting your time." "Freud would tell you the boy is merely a manifestation of your subconscious." "Nirad?" "Haven't we already had this conversation?" "No, wait!" "You're wasting your time." "Freud would tell you that the boy's merely a manifestation of your subconscious." "It was more than a dream, it was real." "This boy can give me the answers I seek." "I'm your friend, Chandra, but you sound like a madman." "Well, all great thinkers were said to be madmen in their time..." "Darwin, Einstein, Gandhi." "Darwin was not ridiculed by his university's biology round table." " They weren't even listening." " You're the one who's not listening!" "You think you're actually gonna find these people?" "Levitation, spontaneous regeneration?" "Chandra, I know that Shanti's death drove you to find answers, but it is time to let go." "If you persist on espousing this insanity in your writing and in your classroom, they will strip you of your tenure." "So be it." "I just finished reading." "It's fantastic, Father." "To think that today, all around us, the evolutionary process continues so dramatically!" "Who told you to read this?" "No one, I saw it on your desk, so I picked it up." "You invaded my privacy, Mohinder." "This was not for you to read." "Well, I'm sorry, but I think it's extraordinary, and I want to help." "By using the Human Genome Project, we can locate these people." "Not "we"!" "You can't be part of this." " Why not?" " Because I don't want you to be!" "I don't understand." "Darwin said a scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections, a heart of stone." "That's me, Mohinder." "It's not you." "Go home." "You have your answer." "You were trying to protect me." "Heart of stone." "Why did you have a heart of stone?" "Heart of stone." "Heart of stone." "My sister." "You found them." " Ooh, sorry!" " Sorry." "That was my fault." "I wasn't looking where I was going." "Hey, do you..." "know this girl, Jackie Wilcox?" "Uh, yeah, half-time show starts in about five minutes." "She'll be out on the field." "She's a cheerleader." " Are you a reporter or something?" " Alumni." "I'm just curious." "You know, between you and me, she's not that special." "Just your average teenage girl." "She rushed into a fire and saved a man's life, sounds kinda special to me." "Yeah, you're right." "I'm jealous." "She's our town hero." "Me?" "I don't win too many popularity contests." "Hey, it gets better!" " What?" " Life after high school." "It gets a lot better." "Half-time, girls!" "Come on, pump it up!" "Whoo!" "Will the nerviness never cease." "I thought you were grounded." "It didn't take." "How's your eye?" "Nothing I can't cover up." "There's something I wanna say to you, co-captain to co-captain." "Say it." "I think you're a menace." "And I'm not just talking about you punching me over your boyfriend, the girlfriend." "I'm talking about you in general." "We used to be BFF's." "What happened?" "Maybe I've gained some perspective." "I'm tired of trying to be someone I'm not." "Well, you've been trying to be me since second grade." "And now you're trying to be me." "How do you figure?" "Your little heroic act of pulling the guy out of the burning train car... wasn't your heroic act, it was mine." "No, it wasn't." "I have it on tape." "You know, a good friend of mine once said it's more important to be honest with yourself and happy than popular." "I think he got it right." "Really?" "Sounds like a loser to me." "Public schools suck." " Did you hear that?" " Hear what?" "Hello?" "Stop it, you're freaking me out!" " I thought I heard something." " You're imagining it." "Let's go!" " What is your problem?" " Don't go that way." "What the hell?" " Jackie, something's not right." " No, duh!" "We're missing the coronation." "Believe me, if you don't want to go out there and get that homecoming crown," " I'm more than happy..." " Aah!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "Aah!" "Claire!" "Aah!" "Aah!" "Run." "Are you okay?" "Run!" "Go!" "Keep going!" "Run!" "Oh, my God." "Claire." "Hey, hey, hey!" "Run!" "Run!" " Who is it?" " Go, to the stadium, okay?" "Find people, find lights." "He doesn't want to be seen." " What about you?" " Don't worry about me." "Just go!" "Go!" "No..." "You..." "How did you..." "Where is he?" "I don't know." "He ran away before I got here." "Police." "Go get some help, okay?" "Okay." "I'll be back." "Hey." "What's your name?" "Peter." "I'm Claire." "Are you the one?" "By saving you, did I save the world?" "I don't know." "I'm just a cheerleader." "Claire!" "Dad." "Dad." "It's okay." "You're okay." "Dad, it was terrible, Jackie, she..." "I know, I know." "We have to go back." "We... we have to go back," " Peter..." " No, no, no." " He saved my life!" " No, no, no, he'll be fine." "But we can't leave him." "We can't leave him." "He almost died, but then he..." "He..." "We have to go back!" "We have to go back!" "The police'll take care of everything." "Look at you." "You're lucky to be alive." "It's not luck, Dad." "I have something I have to tell you." "You don't want to hurt me." "We just need to talk." "You can tell me all about yourself." "But first, go to sleep." "You need to sleep." "That's the guy!" "He's the one in the overcoat the janitor saw." " Put your hands on your head!" " What the hell?" " Look at all that blood." " It's not what you think, guys!" " All right, hands up." " What are you do..." "It's not me!" " He's getting away!" " Let's go!" "Stand up!" "Mira called." "She said you turned down her job offer." "You're going back to New York?" "He did it, you know." "He discovered them." "His theory, it was right." "And that is good news, yes?" "Why didn't he tell me?" "We wanted you to live your own life." "So now that you know about them, what will you do?" "Find them." "Tell them who they are, if they don't already know." "Warn them of the dangers they face." "And who will protect you?" "Next stop, Vegas." "Dad, we don't need to go back to Vegas." "Why not?" "I called Mom." "I told her where we are." "She's on her way." "Micah, get in the car." "Now, come on!" "Dad, what's wrong?" "We are all, at our cores, the sum of our fears." "To embrace destiny, we must, inevitably, face those fears and conquer them." "Whether they come from the familiar... or the unknown." "My name is Hiro Nakamura!" "I'm here to save your life!" "Hey, Charlie!" "Charlie!" "Come over and blow out the candles!" "Hold that thought, okay?" "I gotta go make a wish."