InsaneJournal

If today was your last day ( Part 2 )

[ I used lines to divide the scene changes in this one to minimize confusion. There's only three, but since I used dialogue and the inner-thoughts of others, I wanted to separate them from what was going with Nathan, which is mainly what parts 1 and 3 focus on. The second segment of this section has no lead into it, but the line is there to imply the jump from one location to the next. ]

Nathan had been replaying what he'd just seen over and over again in his head, trying to figure out what it meant and what his next move should be based on what he now knew, when the second spirit arrived, as promised. This one he didn't recognize, so he was a lot more reluctant to go with him. But he didn't have much of a choice, now did he? One night: three trips, then he'd be done with it. They'd leave him alone and go pick on some other poor soul.

The first conversation they observed was one between his mother and Bennet. A somewhat odd choice, but he remained silent as he listened.

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"He is what his father and I created him to be," Angela replied. "It's a shame. We had such high hopes for Nathan." He'd had the potential to become a great leader. Perhaps they'd given him too much power with not enough purpose. Though to say that Nathan had failed in his endeavor to captivate the world or influence with his words instead of his ability would be inaccurate. He'd succeeded in using what was available to him to get the results he wanted, no matter the cost. She and Arthur had both taught him that. For that reason, Angela was willing to take partial responsibility for the way her eldest son had turned out. Also, people who lived in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

"What about Peter?"

"Peter was born more powerful than his brother, but he thinks with his heart instead of his head." She had assumed that would pose a problem. Unfortunately, seeing the future wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Her dreams didn't reveal everything, and there were so many twists in the road ahead, it was impossible to keep up. So how did she cope? By accommodating. She used whatever resources she had, and if she was running low, she gathered more by any means necessary. That's what she'd done with Sylar. That man's life had been destroyed a long time ago, and it hadn't been her doing. So anyone who dare accuse her of making Sylar a monster, well they were wrong. He'd only reverted back to his true nature.

"We made the right choice by giving Claire to you. You've kept her safe, as we assumed you would. I wish I could've done the same for my sons." Whether she chose to acknowledge her role in this disaster or not, she was still Nathan's mother, and while Peter had undeniably always been her favorite, she'd never wanted to see either of them suffer. Everything she'd done, as underhanded as it all seemed in retrospect, was for her family. She'd wanted them to have everything, and for a short while she'd almost been convinced they would obtain the unthinkable: the impossible. However, she had underestimated the impact her sons' emotions would have on the big picture and failed to foresee Arthur's unexpected return in time to prevent the fallout.

Bennet wasn't entirely sure why Angela Petrelli was sharing all this with him, but he assumed it was because she was beginning to realize the mess she'd made and had no one else to talk to. "Why didn't you?" It was a logical question. If she'd been so concerned about her sons' well-being, then why hadn't she taken a similar path to the one he'd chosen? Some of his actions he wasn't particularly proud of, but it'd kept his daughter safe. Everything he did, he did for Claire. They had their disagreements, but ultimately they always made up. He made sure that his little girl knew more than anything how much he loved her.

"Some things are beyond our control, Noah. There were larger issues at stake." Her answer sounded rehearsed, possibly because it was. She'd recited that same line for so many years, she actually believed it now.

"Was it worth it?" Bennet asked.

Even if it was only for one fleeting second, she hesitated. He presented an excellent question, one she truthfully didn't know how to respond to. She ended up offering a rational reply to his inquiry that, as usual, was void of emotion. "Arthur is dead. Peter is alive, and he has his abilities back. It's not too late." Noah had been trained well, which meant he would be able to tell if she was lying to him. For this reason, she had chosen not to deny having second thoughts about certain actions she'd taken over the course of her lifetime. She'd also chosen not to verbally disclose which decisions she regretted.

He hadn't expected anything more from Angela, but he could tell that somewhere, in her own twisted way, she did care about her children. A parent's sacrifices were never easy, and they weren't always appreciated. That much he understood. "What are you going to do about Nathan?"

Angela folded her hands and placed them neatly in her lap."I'm not going to do anything. I'm going to let his brother take care of him. It's out of my hands now."

"You expect me to believe that?" She might not appreciate the implication that she was a liar, but she had been known to stretch the truth when it served her purpose on more than one occasion. Mrs. Petrelli was also incapable of staying out of it.

"Believe it or don't. It makes no difference to me."

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"He's the one responsible for this manhunt." Claire couldn't believe Peter was still defending Nathan. Actually yeah, she could. But he had to open his eyes and stop living in denial. Things had changed. He had to see that, no matter how much he wanted to believe otherwise.

She made a strong point, but he'd heard it from all sides. He knew what his brother had done, and he didn't approve any more than Claire did. That didn't mean he was prepared to rush in to another fight till the death like that was going to solve everything. "I know it looks bad, okay? But I can talk him out of it. Just give me some time." If Nathan had started all this, he could finish it. He just had to calm down first.

"We're fugitives, Peter. We don't have time to waste."

"I get that your worried, but I don't want Nathan to get hurt either." She was afraid. He was too, but this was even harder for him. Because as angry as he was at his big brother, he still needed him.

"You think I do?" Claire snapped. "I would love to believe that there's some good left in him for both our sakes, but look at what he's done!" He was her biological father, and he had surprisingly come through for them once before, but they couldn't sit around and wait for Nathan to grow a conscience. In the meantime, they had to live in the real world which was becoming more brutal by the day.

"What are you saying?"

"It's time you accept that he's not the same person you remember. He doesn't care about you or me." How ironic that she'd already said this once before.

Peter refused to believe that. "No, you're wrong. Nathan does care, he just-"

Claire cut him off. She was sick of excuses. "Well, he has a funny way of showing it." One noble deed didn't make him a good man.

Whatever. If Peter was going to be stubborn about this, fine. She'd give him some time, but if he didn't do anything soon, she would have to take matters into her own hands. "You better figure out something fast, because the longer you wait, the more people you put at risk." Just incase he'd forgotten about everyone else whose lives were also at stake.

"He's my brother, Claire." Maybe she couldn't understood why he didn't just give up. Nathan had basically severed all ties between them. It was too complicated for Peter to explain, but what Claire didn't realize was that he had a lot of good years with his brother before everything had gotten so bad. He couldn't forget the way things used to be, and he didn't believe for a second that the Nathan he remembered wasn't still in there somewhere.

"He made his choice. We have to defend ourselves." Honestly, it was like talking to a brick wall. Peter didn't seem swayed in the slightest. Stubbornness must've been a family trait. Then he started to walk off. Uh, hello, what happened to sticking together? "Where are you going?"

"To figure something out."

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The last scene they observed involved Matt Parkman and some blonde girl he appeared to care deeply about. Nathan vaguely recognized her. It didn't take him long to figure out from where. She had an ability too, which would explain why she'd been injected with a tranquilizer right away. Only it was a special kind of drug that suppressed the person's abilities and knocked them out until they could be transported to the facility. Apparently whatever her power was ( he couldn't recall at the time ) was more threatening than Matt's telepathy, so they'd seized her first. She'd put up a good fight, but lost. That's when Parkman tried to interfere. He was just trying to help, as usual, and looked genuinely concerned about what they'd do to Daphne if they took her away.

Nathan didn't want to hurt these people. Though despite his good intentions, they didn't know that. All they knew was they were being attacked and relocated, and it had to be a frightening experience.

It was also supposed to be a harmless procedure. That was what he had been told. But there was nothing harmless about this bag and tag. Regardless of whether they were resisting or not, that's what the formula was for. Granted, it was a different formula than the super soldier one, but it was still created especially for this purpose, and it had been proven effective. So why were they abusing their power by physically assaulting Parkman, a cop? And that was after they'd roughed up his girlfriend. It was far more brutal than he had been aware of, and this exclusion of graphic detail of the round-up process might've been intentional so he would approve. Clearly, he would have to make a few adjustments, starting with firing these two who he'd previously thought were qualified for the position.

This was not what he had signed on for.

... But it was his vision. His creation. These people ... his family, his friends ... they were on the run or hiding out because of him: because of this. Nathan was trying to protect the world, but was trading one evil for another really the right way to go about it?

He'd seen all he was supposed to see. He was returned to his home, this time fully awake, as the second ghost faded away.