2007-10-01: What's To Come

Starring:

Peter_icon.gif Elena_icon.gif Sharon_icon.gif Kitty_icon.gif Mara_icon.gif Elle_icon.gif Benjamin_icon.gif Mariska_icon.gif Kory_icon.gif

Also Starring:

Sasha and Special Guest Stars.

Summary: Several people, interconnected more than they know, find themselves swept together in a series of events that give them a glimpse into what may come.

"Every year, if not every day, we have to wager our salvation upon some prophecy based upon imperfect knowledge."

Date It Happened: October 1st, 2007

Volume Two: Shadows

Chapter Three: Premonition

What's to Come


Lower East Side

Manhattan

New York, as they say, is more itself in the fall. There are no trees in sight this far from Central Park to let one know the colour of the leaves, but there's a quality to the air, a pleasant crispness without it being cold, that battles the heat and scents of city life that is definitely autumnal. Most of the city goes on as usual, not knowing the new dangers that lurk behind the corner, so close.

A little business called "Jeph's Garden Restaurant" is taking advantage of the nice fall weather. Its outdoor cafe section is still open, set up under a green awning surrounded by a quaint wrought iron fence to protect it from the sidewalk and its passerbys. It's a relatively quiet night on this particular street on the Lower East Side. Traffic is relatively thin, a sure sign that the world is ending, right?

Moderately close to his apartment complex, this cafe had been spotted many a time in his trips to and from work— and tonight it would seem Peter Petrelli's has chosen this restaurant/cafe for what's intended to be a quiet night out. If it stays that way, the world probably truly is ending. Seated at one of the tables, he has some tea (warm flavored tea) and a nearly finished salad bowl in front of him. And someone across the table with him, actually. "When's the next dance rehearsal?" he asks the young latina woman with him. "If nothing bad happens, I'll try to make it." But the chances of things being nearly as quiet as this moment? Pretty small.

Sharon is, as is usual for her, awake and about New York City, and thought she'd go grab herself some food over at that little restaurant she passed by on a run a few days ago. She's coming from work, and has an oversized black and purple gym bag slung over her shoulder as she approaches the location. She's dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a black windbreaker. She moves towards the front to wait and see if there is an open table, or at least if the wait isn't too terribly long.

"In about two hours or so, we have time," Elena says with a hint of a smile. "Though you know you don't have to go to every one. I think I already know who the new picks are going to be though. I don't think we could afford to let go of Monica this year. Or Miki. I didn't even know he could…do -that-." She also flashes him a look, the smile turning into a grin. "Did you think he was a girl?" she asks. Her plate is empty, just one plate this time. Like him, she had a salad - but considering she has dance rehearsal in a couple of hours, she didn't want to eat anything too heavy. She's being good! She also takes a quiet sip of her cafe au lait.

KRAK!

The sound is a disorienting one for those close to the source - but luckily, that amounts to no one, as three figures appear out of thin air in the alley beside the cafe. All clinging together, a man, woman, and dark-haired child, six years old, in a neat little powder blue cardigan and dark blue dress: Benjamin, Mariska, and Sasha. The latter finally lets go of her mother figure (little does she know…), stumbling backwards toward the mouth of the alley. "Are we lost…?" she queries in a quivering, melodic little voice." I didn— I didn't mean to get us lost…"

After a day of classes and some work at Brubaker, Kitty decides to grab herself something to eat. Wearing a dark red tank top with a pair of black jeans and some black boots. Kitty is looking pretty casual, she readjusts her messenger bag on her shoulder and is nearing the entrance to the restaurant. Her hair is up in a ponytail and she spots Sharon as she nears the place, "Hey there," she greets in a soft smile.

Benjamin looks ready to puke. The standing, the pain in his chest, he already is having a heck of a time breathing normally. The teleporting … did not help. Unexpected teleporting he must say. "What.. warning.. next time.. warning is good." Shakily, he detaches himself from Mariska and looks around the.. alley. "Wanna tell me what in the name of Lincoln's Mullet is going on here?" He looks at the woman with him, and down to the child, questioning.

"Actually I did. The first time you mentioned him, at least," Peter says, thinking back to her talking about dance rehearsals and the people she wanted for the dance team. Miki could easily be a girl's name, by the sound of it. At least in his mind. "I haven't really gotten to meet him yet, but he does dance good. A lot better than I could." But that's pretty obvious. He's surprised he hasn't suddenly felt compelled to get up and dance thanks to having met Monica, and going to those rehersals when he has the time. "I might have time tonight— if nothing comes up… Especially since I still need to lay low." The last part is said with a hint of a mutter, glancing down at what's left of his salad. Someone doesn't like laying low.

Turning at the voice, Sharon gives Kitty a casual smile. "Hey Kitty. You meeting somebody here?" Sharon asks the younger woman. "If not, I'm sure I could find a spot at my table for you. I was just going to catch up on my reading, but that can wait until later tonight". She readjusts the bag on her shoulder as she speaks with Kitty.

"That's okay," Elena says with a laugh. "He gets that a lot. He's really cool though, just…" She frowns a little bit, propping her chin on one hand and glancing out at the street. "…I don't know. He didn't tell me but I think he's got…problems at home or something." After a pause, she shakes her head, setting her coffee cup down and looking up to watch him as he mutters and glances away. She nudges her foot gently against his ankle. "Peter, if you don't like it maybe we should just call him again," she suggests tentatively. "See if there's anything we can help. We're all supposed to be working with each other on this thing, right? He might throw us a bone. You never know." He might say no too, but they won't know unless they try, and it gives Peter something else to focus on for a bit.

Oh. Oh God. Whe— where… are they? Mariska spares Benjamin a simultaneously bewildered and apologetic look. "I have no… where are we?" Wait, so… if Misha doesn't know, then… who was 'driving'? Sasha wuz driving! That's unpossible! Oh shi— Sasha! The Russian woman is quick to try on a warm and reassuring smile when she offers the little girl some heavily accented reassurance in the form of, "You didn't do anything wrong, «my little lion». Give me a hand…" Here. This hand. Mariska extends right one with the shiny new ring on. Just… don't… run.

"That would be great!" Kitty grins and stands next to Sharon. As Kitty surveys the room she spots Elena and the /hawt/ guy she is with and waves over to them in greeting with a smile. "That's, what's her name? Umm Elena! That's it" Kitty smiles and blows a loose strand of her hair out her eyes. "I'm really hungry" she states as they wait for a table. "How's things been with you?"

"Mm-mm," Sasha shakes her head, stepping backwards. "I'll get you lost again." She looks around, really, truly looks around for the first time, peeking up at the tall buildings around her. This is a child who does not remember half of her life. The other half, she was kept in a facility outside the city — the big, scary city like this — and then a house, upstate, in the country, only recently. She has never once been in New York City that she can remember, let alone a dark alley.

She starts to cry.

Fear… a rush of adrenaline… fight or flight… these are basic natures of being human. Yet so few of us fully understand this concept. What truly makes one afraid? That surge of fear that precedes the body's response to fight or flee…

The very air itself seems to buzz for a moment with a subtle shift in energy, a higher frequency. Makes you feel alive, doesn't it? That sudden spike in heartbeat, that rush of adrenaline from seemingly nowhere?

"Busy with clients mostly," Sharon tells Kitty. "She looks familiar," Sharon says, recalling Elena briefly from the coffee shop incident back in September. "Elena, right. From the coffee shop. Don't know the guy though," she confides to Kitty. A shrug is given as a waiter comes to show them to a table. "How about you?" she asks. "Been keeping busy?"

Benjamin steadies himself, still shaking off the disorienting sensation from the teleporting. He raises a hand to press against his chest, wincing a little. Bed.. maybe he should have stayed in bed. "Mariska.. /what/ is going on?" He's confused, the pain meds aren't helping, and fudge. The girl is crying. He looks down at her helplessly, "Oh no.. no no.. It's okay." Mariska, help. He's never tried to stop a kid from crying.

It's no Midtown West, but having the Lower East Side as her new stomping grounds suits Mara Damaris just fine. What doesn't suit her at all is the change in the air she's just experienced. Her ability has been going haywire as it is, but this? This is new. She falters midstep in front of the fence that separate's Jeph's from the street and looks about. Then, she spots Peter and his… date? The red-haired woman blinks, but doesn't speak to draw his attention. Not when they've already got company. And speaking of the devil, that voice in the alley sounds an awful lot like… "Winters?" Mara blinks several times as she rounds the corner and spots the trio. "…Dmitryeva?" And a crying child. Fabulous.

"I don't know the other guy either but yep her name is Elena" Kitty looks around the place again and then she begins to answer Sharon's question as they move to their seat when- "What is that?" Kitty looks down to her hands and shivers slightly. It isn't her ability what the hell is that. "Do you feel that?" she asks Sharon and she looks around again. WEIRD.
"Yeah, maybe, I mean… I guess I could call him— see if there's anything we can do…" Peter's talking to the young woman across the table from him, when all of a sudden he can just feel a surge of adrenaline, a heightened feeling— and that makes him pause, look across the table and raise a single eyebrow in surprise. Is that her way of making him act? Because the closest he's felt to that is when— um— For the moment, he's rather confused, and even more antsy than he was already. He doesn't notice the two people talking about Elena and him— or the other people nearby, but that's probably because he's distracted.

It's enough to melt even the hardest heart… unless, you know, the hardest heart happens to hate children. Crying children. Alright, let's be honest… who really likes crying children? It's not an uncommon sound to hear in the big city but, when it comes coupled with such an unusual sensation, how long can it really be ignored…?

"Oh, tsarevna… don't cry…" Mariska's dark brow wrinkles and she tries so sincerely to calm her frightened child without actually touching her and, oh crap — they've been spotted! "Mara," says Misha; it's almost a warning. Frantic eyes dart to the sobbing sweetheart in the little blue dress. Don't… move.

About to kneel down in front of the child to maybe try /something/ to get her to stop crying, Benjamin pauses. Mara's voice distracts him and he looks towards the alley entrance. "Damaris," he greets, looking uncomfortable for many reasons. Probably because his chest is suddenly feeling tight. A feeling that has nothing to do with recently being stabbed, and having his lung repaired surgically. He moves back to lean against the wall, trying to get his breathing under some form of control.

There is movement in the corner of her eye. Elena turns her head away from Peter a moment to catch sight of Kitty waving, sitting with Sharon who also looks familiar. "Hey, Kitty," she tells her with a small smile, lifting her fingers and giving her a wave. It'll be rude to interrupt what she's talking about with Sharon though, so that's all she says. But the gesture….feels a little strange. The tips of her fingers feel like they're tingling. Everything suddenly looks vibrant, clear and she can pick up the spike in her heart rate. It feels like…. she looks over at Peter. "Peter, are you…?" He's looking at her funny, and she shakes her head, mouthing 'You?' to him as a silent question. Whatever's going on, it's certainly not her fault.

Seated in the back of a nondescript black car, Elle Bishop has a cell phone to her ear, though she isn't speaking so much as listening. There are circles under her eyes, suggesting a lack of sleep the night before. Still, she's in better shape than the last time certain colleagues saw her, skull fully intact. The car is only a short distance from the cafe when Elle feels her heart race, and at first, she tries to shake it off. When the sensation only increases, she leans forward, placing a hand on the driver's seat. "Stop the car," she commands, ducking her head to peer out the windows at the surrounding street.

Kory comes up out of a subway, yawning. Well, she /was/ yawning. Now she's alert. Awake. Like somebody just handed her a turbocharged energy drink. And she carries no cup. But she /is/ hungry…and she glances around to see what food options are available before she has to walk too far.

"Oh, sh—" Mara frowns at Mariska. "What's she doing?" Because what mother doesn't hug their crying child? A mother who knows that her child would harm her, however unintentionally. What is it with dangerous children and Company links? Then again, if they weren't dangerous, they wouldn't be linked to the Company.

In the alley, Sasha blinks her teary blue eyes and stumbles backwards, almost straight into Mara, which scares the poor girl all the more. She hiccups, rubbing at her eyes with delicate, tiny knuckles. "Miss Ferris said I n-n-need my m-medicine but when her friend came to b-b-bring it, Miss Ferris l-lost all her air!"

Sharon thought she'd lost control of her ability for a moment there, until Kitty mentions feeling it. And that would be weird, as there isn't exactly a lot for her to lose control of. "…Yeah, I do. I thought it just me," she says in a whisper as they reach their table, frowning and suspicious now. "Feels…kind of like I had a coffee for the first time in a decade".

Benjamin shakes his head, and says, short of breath. "I don't know, I don't even know what we're doing here." He's still waiting for some sort of explanation from Mariska. A concerned look is shot down to Sasha. He doesn't know what the child is capable of doing. "Hey.. honey? It's okay.. what do you mean Miss Ferris lost her air?" Did she suffocate? That's what it could mean, possibly. Pushing off the wall, he walks up to the girl, looking about as threatening as a kicked puppy.

Mara's eyes cast down to the weeping child, then bavk up to Mariska. She's not quite terrified, but she's getting there. She's also perhaps a little bit mad. If this child is dangerous, what is she doing in the City? Benjamin also receives a whithering look. This look softens as Mara crouches down to peer at Sasha with a gentle smile. "It's okay. Just take a deep breath. Everything's fine. My name's Mara. You mush be Sasha." She touches the child's arm - or more accurately, her sweater.

The gasp drawn from Mara's lips is sharp and, suddenly unsteady, she goes sprawling on the pavement with wide eyes. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no." Not an ideal time for her ability to be acting up.

It's getting difficult to remain seated. That's the problem with adrenaline— it makes staying in one place difficult. When she's looking at him, Peter shakes his head slowly. He's not doing anything— but then all of a sudden he blinks, sits back away from her— and even more than before everything becomes heightened— all sound, his heart rate increasing— and if he'd felt like he had to get up and move around before… he feels it double now. And his eyes suddenly have very visible levels of green, expanding and taking over the brown in his eyes. "El—Elena?" This… this is definitely NOT coming from him, but now he's moving to stand, pushing the chair back rather suddenly.

Kory picks Jeph's, because the idea of veggies is enticing after a day spent around one of the dogs whose owner likes to raw feed. Ew. She strolls up to the window, checking the menu, before reaching for the door and popping her head in to see what the crowd is like. New York City noise comes with her, so it isn't immediately apparent to her that there's anything unusual going on.
The moment the word leaves her lips, something happens. The heartbeat spike and the adrenaline surging in her system….isn't exactly a good thing for the young biochemical manipulator. Elena's eyes widen as she feels her control, that normal safeguard she has with her abilities, slipping away from her. "P…Peter…" she utters, unable to word this without it being subtle, especially with what starts happening. She starts to try and rein it in, hold it in, but the thread begins to unravel - but just a bit. She's still got most of a hold on it. "I can't…it's slipping…" she gasps, her hands grabbing on the edge of the table. She doesn't stand yet, but when she looks up to look at her companion, her dark eyes are flickering as the indicative change of color starts. He knows what that means. She'll try to get up then, and move out of range. She knows she's affecting him, and if she can't control it, she has to get away from him.

Kitty briefly nods her head and then sits down at the table, "It just felt really weird, I've never felt anything like that befo— " Kitty decided at that moment to idly rearrange her silverware and when she touches the fork two things happen.

First, she sees a few things from the forks past. Including it having not been washed well before it was sent back out and second her eyes flutter, but she doesn't collapse. "What the hell, I have been losing more and more control over this ability and they didn't wash this fork!" Kitty whispers fiercely to Sharon and peeks around, careful not to touch anything. She notices Peter standing up and she raises an eyebrow, "I'm getting a bad feeling here Shar."

Benjamin looks over to Mara as she touches the child's arm, then smiles at the girl. He may be having trouble breathing right, but he feels alert for the first time in days. "Sasha.. that's a cute name," he starts to try and say nice things to try and calm the girl down. But then, Mara happens. "Damaris? You okay?" He moves to kneel down nex to Mara, in order to check on her. "What'd you see?" Looking up from Mara, his gaze settles on Sasha, then up at Mariska. Throw him a frickin' bone here!

For someone like Elle, who so rarely loses control of her ability, the sensation taking over her body is an unwelcome, alarming one. "Stop the car," she reiterates, and this time, the driver obeys. The wheels haven't even stopped turning before she's climbing out of the car, the phone still glued to her ear. Into the receiver, she says, "Something's happening. I'll call you back." The phone is dropped into her bag, and then the blonde is moving swiftly down the street, her hands closed into tight fists, arms crossed. Whatever she's looking for, she seems to think is down another alley— and she turns sharply, disappearing.

A moment after Elle turns down the alley, there's a burst of blue light and the loud crack of electricity. Then silence and darkness again, though she doesn't step back out onto the street.

Okay, so much for that energized feeling. Kory yawns, returning to feeling tired. But not tired enough that she misses people at the tables whispering and looking rather alarmed. She's curious; but there's the unwritten Not My Business law of being a Native New Yorker. So for the moment, she half-lids her eyes and observes. Maybe there's something she can do without getting her head bitten off. "What the…" she murmurs, confused, glancing from table to table.

KRAK!

KA-KRAK!

Anyone who's never seen a teleporter hiccup-jump, raise your hand. Ah-ah-ah… not so fast there, friendly Jeph's patrons. Mariska abruptly appears in the midst of the outdoor dining area and then disappears again in the blink of an eye. And then, oh, hey! There she is on the corner, er — wait. No. Nevermind. Gone again.

Mara stares up at Benjamin, shaking her head. "I… I didn't even see anything important." She holds out her hands, cupped together. "Toss me something from your pocket. Keys or something." She's giving him this look that says not to argue with her. The frantic tone helps in echoing the sentiment her expression already conveys. But that expression loses some of its fire quickly. Her eyes half-lid and she suppresses a yawn. "Winters, what are you…?" And then Mariska just vanishes. "Oh, crap."

"Eww, unwashed fork? Nasty," Sharon says as she starts feeling…something. Something that is tugging at her mind. She closes her eyes and focuses her power to keep awake. The infatigable lady looks around and spots Elena…. Then there's a burst of blue light from somewhere. Then there's a woman disappearing and reappearing? Whaaaa? "Okay. Something is causing this," the woman says. Sharon stands and starts looking around for anything that might be causing this feeling in the restaurant. "You might want to stay here if you're not feeling alright," she suggests. And Sharon starts looking for a ground zero, based off where the blue light flicker was.

Benjamin looks up from where he is next to Mara at the sound of Mariska teleporting. "What the .." He is officially beyond confused. Now that he's more aware of his ability, he's getting a sense that he's losing his control. Thanks brutal Company training! "No.. no no," he mutters as he complies with Mara's request. He fishes out his keys and hands them to her. "Sorry.. I think.. I haven't lost control in /months/, I don't know what the Hell is going on here!" He shakes his head, the curls of the white man afro he's sporting these days go bouncing. He's got Mara on the ground, now he feels responsible for keeping an eye on Sasha too.

All of a sudden another sensation is thrown into the mix. Two bursts of adrenaline from outside sources and now tiredness. Peter puts a hand down on the table, looks across at Elena as she starts to panic— he can tell what's going on with her, and as she starts to move away, intending to get out of range, he starts to move after her. "We'll— we'll figure this out." She wouldn't leave him if he were in trouble, and he's having a very difficult time leaving her right now too. "Maybe we should— should leave— get back to my place— get… away." Is it something here— or is this actually them? From the look of things? NO. Definitely not. A teleporter appearing and disappearing and appearing and— "El— Elena." he suddenly says, beginning to stumble backwards. For a moment it looks as if he's fading out of visibility— his feet disappearing, his fingers— and then all of a sudden the tables start to shake and move away from him, as if pushed by some outside force— and finally… words. So many people worried about what's happening. So many words— feedback— headaches— and as he stumbles back a few steps— he starts to notice his hands. They're not disappearing anymore. They're starting to glow.

Sasha whirls about this way and that, dark hair flying. She brushes past Mara and Benjamin and runs into the street, trying to keep up with Mariska — moot, of course.

Several people enjoying their light meal at the cafe also look up with confusion, especially when that blue light flashes from somewhere. It's not affecting everyone, this change in the air: only the special ones.

Suddenly wishing she hadn't been so quick to get off the phone, Elle starts to move back towards the street. The second she sets foot onto the busy New York sidewalk again, however, her hands start to glow. "No," she states defiantly, holding her hands closed tightly, her eyes downcast. Everything flickers: streetlights, window signs, everything using electricity. She walks without looking at anyone around her, back towards the car, thinking if she can just get there, get back to Kirby Plaza, this will all be figured out. She's five feet from her car when the last of her control is stripped from her. A wave of blue light breaks from her hands, this time with an unmistakable sound, arcing up and around a nearby streetlamp. It explodes with the force, and suddenly, everything in the immediate vicinity goes dead. No lights, no fans, no power.

Kitty shakes her head, "I'm not staying here, that's for sure" and then she sees Misha. "Misha! What the hell?!" she says and then rubs her eyes and then Peter is going all /I can blow up everyone/, don't forget that flash of light. Kitty gets out of her seat and looks to Sharon and then to Elena and Peter, figuring the latter need her help more, Kitty begins to make her way over to them. "Hide your hands!" she whispers and blinks some more, as she is still sleepy. "I swear I took a nap today."

Kory startles at the -KRAK- noises, and glances around to see a woman she's seen before vanish before her eyes. Then reappear. Then vanish again. The only instinctive response she has to this is for her mouth to drop open, and to blink. But that lasts a second, as does a strobe of emotions across her face: astonishment, surprise, fear, delight, shock, and then the confusion reasserts over the whole emotional tapestry as the fatigue feeling returns. She staggers away from the direction of the blue light, and tries to find a wall to put her back to. "What is going on…" she breathes. There's another thundercrack, and then an explosion. Her hair frizzes wildly in the electric surge. Then there's darkness. "Great. What the hell…" the young woman murmurs. "Did I walk onto a movie set or something?"

Powers going awry.. what the.. "Stay here.. Sasha, stay with Mara.. HEY!" Benjamin takes off at a trot, hey, it's as fast as he can run right now! Anyway, he goes after the little girl to try and stop her from going too far away. Fortunately, or not so much, he reaches the street and gets a good look at what's going on. ".. Great Odin's Raven.." He's not the only one who's power is going schizo. At the electricity from Elle, he whips around and stares. "This is not good," he mutters. "..Only one thing I can try to do.." People's abilities are going haywire, as if they got some kind of boost. So he does the logical thing. He focuses on using his own power, to put as many people to sleep as he possibly can. If that can stop /any/ of this mess..

"No— no— get away from me," Peter suddenly says loudly, wanting to get as far away as possible, but he's already running into things, and stumbling— but then he stumbles— and hits the floor. Not because he tripped over something, but because he's suddenly falling asleep. This has actually happened to him once before! In a similar situation… when his hands were glowing all of a sudden. The glowing stops. The city is saved. No politicians were harmed in the saving of the world.

Stay with Mara? No, no. Stay with mama, Sasha. Mariska is desperately careening her way toward her little girl but…. oh, no. Not again! It's one step forward, two jumps back. And then? Just when she's on the cusp of reaching out for Sasha's powder blue cardigan — CONK! The Russian woman collapses abruptly on the sidewalk in a sudden attack of the dread coma nap. HONK-SHU!!

<(zzz.)

What is this weird feeling? Sharon blinks. Slows a couple steps and grabs a random chair to sit in. And for the first time in a long, long time, she yawns. And then her head is on the table, snoring. Now she's going to have to reset the calendar in her room that says 'DAYS SINCE LAST NAP'. Thanks, Benjamin. Zzzzzz.

There goes the neighbourhood. "Call Bennet," Mara orders just before the keys land in her palms. "We need the H-" Benjamin's ability getting the better of her or no, her own ability has won out. With a startled cry, Mara slumps the rest of the way to the pavement, unconscious and with the keys clutched in her hands.

At Peter's cry, Elena whirls around, spying Kitty coming near him, and….his glowing hands. She remembers. He told her. "No…no…oh my god. Oh my god!" She starts panicking, looking around. Her powers are supposed to HELP HIM NOT DO THIS. Why can't she control it? She had good control over her powers! And why did it have to pick Boost?? That aspect of her ability, however, affects two people - right now her conduit is Peter, but to affect him the way she does, -she- has to be using the power on herself as well, and if she can't control it. "Oh god. I'm so sorry!" There's only one thing she can do. So with her Boosted strength, her eyes flashing gold when she loses control of it utterly, she grabs the chair. She starts advancing towards Peter. Sorry, baby. She's heard of tough love but this was ridiculous! So she lifts the chair bodily to swing it as she advances on him with Boosted speed. Yes. She's going to CHAIR Peter in the face.

Except she doesn't get to. The chair FLIES across the room when she suddenly lets go of it, the thing smashing into the wall, but doesn't break. She's suddenly down, sprawling on the now not-glowing Petrelli, out cold.

Kory turns toward the shouting voice. "P-Peter Petrelli?" she stammers, recognizing that face. Then Mariska flashes past her, back, and past her again. How weird is that? Kory finds herself glancing this way and that as people drop like flies around her, falling unconscious to the ground. She's feeling a little dozy, but has no desire to keel over and insta-nap. She screams and scrambles for another corner as the chair flies at her. "Geez louise…this is crazy."

A short few seconds after her destructive outburst, Elle is hit by a sudden wave of fatigue, though whether it's from the exertion or an outside source, she can't be certain. There isn't time to wonder. She stumbles forward, reaching out to hold onto the side of a building for support. Before the glow in her palm can form into another arc, her eyes close and she falls to the ground. Hard.

Kitty tilts her head back and her mouth opens. And then she just /falls/ onto the floor, not to far from Peter and Elena. With a few more flutters of her eyes and a, "But I don't want sleepytimes" Kitty's head lolls and she is now.. SLEEP. (Insert snore snore).

Sasha crumples to the street, falling over Mariska, but the lingering consequences of this tiny, unwitting amplifier's presence remain as the bodies of those special people who also fall, asleep. With everyone's abilities boosted and out of control, something unusual happens when they get a moment's rest.

Lines … start to blur. The accountant turned agent, with the power of sleep; the ex-nurse who's trying to keep the world safe, who has mysterious dreams of the future; the dog-walker who stands amidst it all who can step into the dreams of others.

The result of all these abilities combined starts now.

* * *

Slowly, even gently, the sleepers start to stir and wake up. That's what feels like at first, at least, but it will become obvious very quickly that they're not waking up where they fell asleep. In fact, they're not waking up at all.

The street that spreads out before them is the very same street with Jeph's. The block is lit once more with electricity, as if Elle hadn't shut down that part of the grid - or it was since repaired. Even so, it's darker - attributed to the fact that black clouds lie overhead, pouring a hard, steady dirge of rain. Strangely, however, none of the dreamers can feel it - it's as if they stand between the raindrops.

Other people on the street, however, are getting drenched. In fact, there are people running in the rain - with the distinct urgency of individuals running for their //lives. There's a siren off in the distance, and closer, a car alarm wails. Beside it, a body.

Kory shuts her eyes for a second to get her bearings. When she opens them again — she's got a different 'scape before her eyes. She blinks again, to clear her vision. It doesn't go away. "Holy shit," she murmurs to herself, realizing what's happened. "How…I wasn't…I didn't try to…" she snaps her own mouth shut, years of practice and discipline falling into place. She wrinkles her nose, though, concentrating…

This— this is an odd sensation. Peter's had strange dreams before— very similar to this. All started with him falling down, and then standing back up… inside the dream. He blinks, pushes himself off the ground that looks as if it should be wet— but he doesn't feel the rain. The sound is off, the area is wrong, and… he looks at his hands. Not glowing. Check. He looks around, catching sight of people— drenched in rain that isn't even hitting him, and then— Where's Elena?

So, hi. When she's not a panicked little piece of crazy, the six-year-old eye of the storm (aka Sasha) looks quite the adorable lass when held in her mother's arms. Mariska rests the girl on her hip and slowly sweeps her green-eyed gaze around the dreamscape in an attempt to both orient herself in the city and determine what the hell just — wait, was that a dream? Or… is this the dream? She tilts her head back to put an eye on the crying sky and then the realization dawns that she isn't getting soaked and… oh. This is a dream.

Kitty blinks and sighs as she stands up and looks around. No sound, rain but no wetwet? And was it /really/ that dark when she got here? Kitty blinks about her and looks around the area she looks at Peter and points at the car with the body lying next to it. Her eyes close and then she strains to see without moving closer to the body.

Sharon lifts her head up off the table and rubs it. She looks around at the rain. Why isn't she getting wet? She moves closer towards Kitty, and then looks at the car with the body. Now that, that is weird. This whole thing is weird. This is why Sharon hates dreaming. The real world is weird enough.

It's safe to say that this is not quite how Elle pictured her evening going. Pushing to her feet, trying to shake off her daze, she turns to slowly take in her surroundings. She holds one hand out, testing the rain, and tips her chin back to look up at the sky. Confusion reigns over her features, her voice barely audible as she says, "Welcome home, Elle." Turning again, Elle's eyes flick to Peter, her expression shifting slightly, almost imperceptibly. Then to the car, the body, as the siren finally reaches her ears. She steels herself against the surreal dream world, hesitating at the curb, watching as others move towards the body on the street.

While he stands amidst the sleeping forms on the suddenly quiet streets, Benjamin has the idea of keeping an eye out for those missing inmates and Sylar. His luck probably isn't going to be that great, but it would be a nice bonus here. Walking along the sidewalk, he's careful to not step on any fallen bodies. There's no outward victory dance, he can't breathe enough to do one. He reaches into his pocket for his cellphone. No number is dialed just yet, as he gathers his thoughts. Just what is he going to phone in with? Brow furrowing in thought, he looks around.

She fell somewhere right between Kitty and Peter. When Elena stirs at the sound of running footsteps, she stirs, and wakes slowly. With a quiet groan, she starts to sit up, her hand moving to touch her forehead. What the…? She looks around….she has a pretty good memory, she knows it wasn't raining earlier. "…what the…" She looks at Kitty's prone form, and the other people collapsed that she could see from the vantage point - she doesn't see everyone, but she glances down at her hands. "I lost it…" she murmurs disbelievingly. She had been tampered with months before, that was the only time she lost control of her powers like that. But now…there's no excuse this time. Her eyes wander over, to where Peter wakens, and she stares at him for a while, and all she remembers are the glowing hands. With a gurgle, she shoves herself upwards. She had to get out of there. So she runs…but stops short, seeing Elle…and a body beyond where she's standing. While seeing the blonde would stop her, she…recognizes the corpse.

Walking in the direction of our heroes is a tall man with short-cropped, light hair; he stands straight and rigid as he approaches. His square jaw moves silently as he grinds his teeth almost constantly.

Striding down the street as though he owns it, Lukas moves with a sense of purpose. His destination this evening known only to him his pacing speeds up ever so slightly. Not even appeared bothered by the down pour, other passers-by - frightened, already, no one wants to stay on this street - seem to sense his urgency and step out of his way.

A boy of twelve, Cam, stands in a nearby doorway, the frame of the shop coated in a layer of ice.

Turning his gaze on Cam, Lukas points at him with the index and middle fingers on his right hand. Whatever the effect is, it's too much to handle. The boy becomes disoriented, holding onto his head, until it becomes too much and he falls back into the building - a clothing store, its lights off. Perhaps its employees were hiding.

In the dream, Kory's still sort of translucent, just watching. And listening. Growing increasingly more disturbed, too, while she's at it.

"Elena…" Peter says, catching sight of her about the same place she was before— and she's moving away again. No, wait. He starts to move after her, pushing past someone running down the street. Everything feels wrong— so much noise and sounds— and then his eyes fall on Elle and he blinks, looks rather stunned, and just barely notices the body— one he doesn't really recognize. "Elle…" Elle and Elena and a dead body and a world gone mad— he's also pretty sure this is a dream, which means those two might not actually be here— except, like him, they're not hit by the rain… "It's okay— I'm not— not— it's okay now…" But— it's not. The sky looks closer to how it'd looked in the worst days in the future, and the sounds— there's a dead body, cut— and he'd just learned of a man who could cut people with his ability— what's happening here? He looks around, catches sight of the light haired man— the little boy.

From the alleyway, Mara groans and opens her eyes slowly. She peers at the keys clutched in her hands and then blinks as she looks around her. Is this… her vision? She never has form in her visions. She climbs to her feet and stumbles out into the street groggily. The sight of the lacerated body is enough to make her stuff her hands, and Benjamin's keys, into her pockets. She doesn't make any attempt to interact with anyone else, under the mistaken impression that this is merely one of her visions gone awry. And communication in her visions has never done her any good before, so why should it now?

She stopped, so Peter manages to catch up with her. The horror from earlier is blunted by the fact that she's a little confused while she stands there, Elena letting Peter catch up. She's got a hand up, watching the rain fall….but it…there was no moisture. She's rubbing her fingertips together to try and feel some wetness, only for it to be nonexistent. The corpse though - when Peter starts talking to her, she looks at him, her eyes still wide with shock. The urge to leave was still there, and she opens her mouth to say so. Instead… "I know him," she tells him. "He's NYPD. He said he was counter-terrorist but I don't remember his name. He saved Papa and everyone on a ferry from a gas bomb….five months ago? Six? I don't remember…" Maybe that'll jar Peter's memory. But her attention drifts past him to Lukas. Her hand reaches up to grab his arm when he attacks a kid.

After walking towards Sharon, Kitty sees Cam and Lukas and her instinct immediately pulls her towards them. She begins to jog towards them, pushing some people out of the way and trying to hurry and get to the boy's aid. "Hey!" she yells as she nears the area where the two are. "Leave the kid alone!" She rips Suzie Q from her messenger bag that she never had a chance to set down and she levels it at Lukas.

Trying to make sense of what's happening, Elle turns to look down the street, and every other thought in her mind goes silent at what she finds there. This time, there is no hesitation as a look of determination settles onto her face. A few steps in his direction, and she throws her hand out, a blue arc of electricity leaping towards Lukas. She isn't even trying to be subtle. Subtlety is for people who aren't liable to kill thousands.

Mother and child move through molasses, turning in tandem to cast their mutual gaze down the raining street in time to spy the fair-haired man's finger-waving antics though what she's witnessing doesn't really register. One plus one equals we're sorry, please try your call again later. Goodbye. Mariska looks around for a familiar face but, as of yet, no one's really… wait. That blonde. She's seen Elle so recently as framed on her Company ID; a perfect stranger's come to play. The Russian lays in a slo-mo intercept course.

Carefully, now. Kory's consciousness, the dream-self, begins moving toward the crowd, the better to see and hear. The wakeful Kory is hanging onto the wall, the better to keep her body safely in one place, out of the way, and not stepping on any of the people lying on the ground.

Kitty? Crazy lady. Sharon frowns. "This is really not the time to be pulling out a…". Then Elle does the lightning arc thing. "Okay. So subtle has just gone out the window," the trainer says, swinging her oversized gym bag around in front of her and starts moving forward in case she needs to knock Kitty away from being taken out with something painful. Like whatever that dude is doing to them.

Sasha instinctively takes Mariska's hand, looking up at the woman for guidance as she follows along. Adults are supposed to know everything.

The blue arc of electricity finds its target, straight through the rain. In fact, it goes straight through Lukas, too, as if he weren't even there.

"I don't…" Peter is surprised that she's responding to him at all, reaching up and touching her shoulder. She's solid. She's there. His eyes are no longer glowing, as far as he's aware, but he does look very concerned about things. His eyes shift down to the body, squinting. "He looks… familiar, but I don't…" His eyes quickly move away at the sound of someone yelling, a gun drawn. And then an arc of lightning. In the rain. Coming from Elle's hand. He knows her abilities don't often work well in the rain, so this startles him, but then— the rain isn't hitting him. Or her for that matter either… "Elle!" he calls out again, still gripping Elena's shoulder, not wanting to let go now that he's got his hand on her. And as the arc of lightning goes straight through the man, he inhales sharply. This isn't like his other dreams, is it?

It's raining, and Elle Bishop is throwing lightning? Mara blinks once. Twice. And then it occurs to her that Elle is just as not-soaked as she is. Or… isn't? She follows the arc of electricity to Lukas' form and feels suddenly alert. Reaching into her coat, she goes for her gun. She may not have an amazing offensive ability, but she can still pull the trigger. But the electricity goes through the villain and Mara lets out a surprised breath of air. "That is not in his file."

Kitty blinks and shakes her head, "The frak?" she looks at where the electric bolts comes from and she notices Elle, "That's Jane's friend," she says absently and then gaps as the bolt goes through Lukas, "Ok, so this is a dream. I can deal with this," Kitty says but she still looks a little scared.

No, it's not a dream. It's a nightmare.

A feminine but fierce scream sounds. As Lukas disappears down a side street, and a truck rolls down the street, another scenario becomes apparent behind it: that of a man and woman across the street from the cafe.

//"No more screaming, love. Not from you." Jeremiah Richards' raspy drawl passes through the ears like the hiss of an irritated tomcat. Stringy black hair is plastered, wet against the sallow skin of his forehead and cheeks. Glittering eyes shine down at the brunette woman from beds of dark circles, and the crooked smile on his lips reveals a sneer of teeth. Red stains the dampness of Jeremiah's thin white shirt, creating spidery webs of crimson that prickle over his chest and sides. There are no wounds. It is not his blood spilt.

Drips of rain funnel down the bare skin of his arms, tracing over other droplets and pooling mixtures of blood and water from the tips of slender fingers to the ground below. What light there is dances behind his figure; a silhouette to frame him— his unkempt, wet hair, the lean angles of his shoulders and stringy muscles sharp in their contrast.

A lump of bloody flesh by his feet is passed by when he moves forward, the edge of his boot even knocking it aside. Skin, mostly- a human tongue sits meekly between strips of it- someone has had their throat mutilated. That someone is gurgling, lying in blood, sputtering and making such horribly unintelligible noises.

Someone might recognize the woman as Jane Forrest, she of the sonic scream.

The sounds do not last much longer. Jeremiah has lifted his hands and arms into a swift, decisive conduction; one cut, two cuts, three cuts, more— what screams may come are muffled by the absence of a throat. When those twitching limbs halt in the watery air, there is more than cascades of blood pooling around the target of a young woman. There are many tears, jagged and clean all the same— and one large, menacing gash that seems to have torn her open down the middle and left what was inside to gather in pitiful, mulched, discolored piles to either side of her.

The sound of her name takes Elle by surprise, and she whips her head around, finding Peter in the crowd for a split second. That split second is all she's willing to spare, however, lest she lose sight of Lukas in the dream. She turns back, just in time for him to disappear around the corner. One step, two steps after Lukas, and then Elle hears the scream. She whirls around, a startled look on her face, to find Jeremiah and his victim all but within arm's reach. "Motherf— " Taking several swift, stumbling steps backward, she doesn't dare take her eyes off him. Blue light pulsates in her hand, just in case.

"Definitely a dream," Sharon says as the lightning fails to fry it's target. And then…there's a scene out of a horror movie. Sharon turns her head away from the sight. The woman doesn't want to look too inclined to look upon the man. "But if this is a dream, then I should be able to wake up from it," she says, trying very hard not to look at the man. Oh, snap, there she goes, turning and seeing it again.

Powers?! Kory heard that word, and her focus on the dreamstate slips a little. She slowly focuses on the waking for long enough to turn her attention and her body toward Benjamin. 'Catastrophe,' she mouths, silently, but then the people in the dream are on the move again, and her attention returns to it. There's Sharon. Another familiar face. A friendly face. "You might, under ordinary conditions," Kory calls, "Only I don't think ordinary is in the hizzy just now."

Mariska picks up the little girl by her side and hides the child's big, blue eyes against the crook of her neck in some sad attempt to keep the little girl from getting a glimpse of the pervasive carnage unfolding before their eyes; streets slowly soaked in both rain and blood. This is… no place to be. Can they… get out? Has… Bill Shatner… taken over… the keys?

She still doesn't know what's happening. Elena can barely feel Peter's hand gripping her shoulder, but when the screaming starts, and when she recognizes those screams, she spins around. It's …she doesn't recognize the man, but she recognizes, instantly, who he's killing. Especially what he says. All other thoughts fly out of her head as blood flies. Before she knows it, she's tearing out of Peter's grip. Kitty was trying to shoot someone. Elle's ready to zap someone, but all she knows is that someone was killing Jane and she has to do something. And she has to run to get closer, and so she does, her own hand shooting outwards as she concentrates to blast Jeremiah's brain matter, an attempt to activate all his pain receptors at once. It should cripple him, if not knock him out utterly. She might be too late, but Jane was a friend, and she can't just do nothing.

Hearing a scream and turning to find the source Kitty is in for a surprise as she spots Jane "NO!" Kitty yells and throws herself towards one of her closest friends. But because she is so far, she can only watch as her friend dies. She shakes her head repeatedly and she doesn't seem to be able to comprehend what is happening. Her eyes bug and she begins to run towards Jane, "Jane, Jane!!" she yells as she gets nearer.

Elena's concentration is unleashed on… nothing. With his victim in pieces, Jeremiah, wholly unaffected, seems content to leave this place and move on; there's screaming, somewhere in the distance, angry shouting of //stop!, but one of his fellow escapees has that under control. "Stop!" a female voice shouts, out of sight. "Mom!" comes a boy's cry. They're just out of sight, around the corner…//

Standing at the corner of 'dude,' and 'catastrophe,' Mara just gapes as Jane Forrest, a woman she's spied on more than once, is… Well, there's just not a word for that kind of evisceration, is there? Is it gruesome? Oh yes. But being on homicide, Mara's learned to swallow back the sick feeling. She hurries toward Elle now. "Agent Bishop?" Can you hear me? Is any of this even close to real? What's going on?

"Elena!" Peter yells when she rips out of his grasp, knowing exactly why she's running that way, because he's wanting to run that way too, but he knows— he saw it with Elle's attack. Still, he runs after her, choosing to chase the latina girl instead of anyone else, and he catches her by the arm again. He knows she's trying to stop him— but Jane— god— Jane— and that man— who vaguely fits get description that Cass gave… and definitely has the right ability— they are in the rain. The rain he can't even feel. He pulls on her, trying to pull her toward him, away from the sight. "I think— I think this is a dream Elena." For the two of them— for more people… There's others reacting to it, but… god are they going to have to watch? He's had nightmares before— dozens upon dozens. He had them almost nonstop while he was in the future. He's only ever shared a dream with one man— and that man was dead. And he's not sure how that worked either. And even if he's trying to turn Elena away from it, he can't look away, eyes following the man, breath unsteady. If this is a dream of he future, it's one he wants to stop.

Kory is still hanging back, watching this whole thing with growing horror. But she gets the idea this is all important somehow. Knowing it's a dream is the only thing allowing her to remain detached enough that she's not completely panicking and losing it. She lets her dream self step timidly out into the street, toward the action, too curious to keep hidden, now.

Sharon has very little desire to watch some sort of nightmare play itself out. And then Kory shows up. "Kory?" Sharon asks. "What the hell is going on here?" She moves a few steps back towards Elena and Peter now. She doesn't let herself look upon this latest horror any further, her mind turning to ways to get out of this situation.

Jeremiah is lost, and Lukas is long gone down that alley. Muttering a curse, the electrokinetic is conflicted about which to follow when Mara approaches her. There are certain things in life that Elle has become accustomed to, and having people know her name when she doesn't know theirs is just one of those things. On an ordinary day, she wouldn't think anything amiss when Mara calls her name, assuming it was one more consequence of being her father's daughter. But today, stuck in a dream world where she is essentially powerless, Elle's guard is high. Though she doesn't move away from Mara, she does look at the woman with a wary eye. "Do I know you?"

Is it damning or dangerous to be thankful for murder as distraction? With all eyes turned toward the future's rampant villainy, Mariska and Sasha are availed some small measure of blissful anonymity and go seemingly unseen in their flight as the dreamscape unfolds into nightmare. However, when the Russian woman and her child pass by Kory on the street, Mariska's green eyes follow the dark-skinned dreamweaver until her chin nearly meets her shoulder at the turn.

Dreams don't play by the rules… even if there's something about this dream that makes it unlike a normal dream. Everything is very real. Everybody is suddenly in movement, as if teleported by Mariska — but she had nothing to do with it, this time. They find themselves standing in the same formation, but now, they're on a different street; the cafe can still be seen behind them, around the corner. It's time to see what Mandy is up to.

One would think that the pouring rain would quench the woman's ability to burn and mutilate, but it only aids it. As water drips from her fingers, it carries with it a film of acid, which hisses upon contacting the concrete. At one point, she was wearing shoes - the tatters of them are still around her ankles, around the arch of her foot - but the ragged edges have been eaten away by her own corrosive ability. Even her clothes are frayed at the edges as she steps out of the shadows, ever closer to her victim.

She has no qualms about destroying children, and the young boy under the cover of an awning (yet another, not Cam) isn't too innocent for corruption. Misery loves company - let her damage him, let her tear him apart, disable him, so that he might one day pay the favour forward to someone else. They're alone, or as close to alone as possible as they can get on a street in the city. The boy notices her, starts to run away, but even without shoes, Mandy already knows she's faster.

"Agent Damaris," Mara reminds. It has been quite some time since they last met, and she wasn't the blonde's co-worker then either. "Suresh's partner," she adds as an afterthought. By the rule of One of Us, One of Them, that should be a fair indication to Elle which category Mara falls under. When the scene around them changes, the redhead tenses and freezes. "What is going on?" Helpless, she looks to the electrokinetic for answers.

"Near as I can tell," Kory answers, letting the translucence bleed out of her and return her to looking like a solid person rather than some low budget Predator-type illusion, "This is a dream. A…shared one? I mean, I dunno. I don't usually go for more than one dreamwalk at a time. And I don't usually get so much detail. Or intensity." The scene shifts. "Whoa!" She gasps at the sight of Mandy. "This is crazy, even by my standards!" She falls silent, trying to keep track of all the other dreamers. "But maybe it means something." Her expression goes still, as she lets herself sink into a deeper level of concentration.

She's struggling with him a bit, Elena resisting the pull until she's dragged in and turned. "The guy…that's the guy! Cass said— she said— !" Confused, she's not like Peter. She doesn't know what 'shared dreams' are like. In fact most of her dreams tended to be happy and just a little bit crazy, in the good way. But not like this. She's never had a nightmare like this before where things were half real, and half not. And much like Cass, Peter's trying to keep her eyes away from things like this. So all she sees right now is his shirt, but that's because he's pressing her face against it. The panic ceases gradually, because the more his words sink in, the more it makes sense. "….okay," she says finally. "It's a dream. How do we wake up?" Because she wants out. "How does this work?" She pulls away a bit to look at him. "Have you done anything like this before?" She has to ask, he's the veteran.

Kitty blinks as Jane disappears from view and she then turns to see Mandy trying to hurt a boy and knowing she can't do anything. Kitty just stands and watches, she turns after a moment to look at Sharon and she then spots Kory as well. "Hey, I know you," is all that is said absently. "Does anyone know why we are all having the same dream?"

Something seems amiss about the woman's demeanor, but Elle can't quite put her finger on it, and ultimately, this entire day seems amiss. "Right," she says, as if she remembered the woman at all. "I don't know. But the man who just disappeared is an inm—" Suddenly finding herself in a new scene, Elle scrambles to make sense of it, searching for familiar faces. The one she finds does little to set her at east. "There. See her?" She points to Mandy, narrowing her eyes. "She shouldn't be here. Neither should the other two." Turning now to look Mara in the eye, Elle adds, "They're Level 5 prisoners, and they're worse than Sylar. They don't kill for greed." She glances back over her shoulder to Mandy, a chill creeping down her spine. "They kill for fun. We have to get them back."

"Well, there needs to be a way to force ourselves awake," Sharon says. She closes her eyes and tries to focus her power to force herself awake. She does not like dreaming. When you haven't slept for ages, it's a weird sensation. And she wants to know what's happening to them all right now. Maybe she can wake the others up if she forces herself awake? Of course, she has no idea of she's capable of forcing herself awake from a shared dream. But it is at least worth a try!

The boy's mother doesn't bear much resemble to the young boy, on first glance. Her skin is light where his is cocoa, her hair blonde and straight while his is dark and curly: Micah. Niki Sanders is running full speed ahead down the street, soaked by as much sweat as rainwater, her heels pounding on the pavement. She's trying to be faster. She's seconds away now. Just seconds. She all but collides with a metal bus stop sign as her hands wrap around it, pulling and ripping it from the sidewalk with her incredible strength. The anger on her face is raw and visceral as she swings the sign with unyielding resolve and all her considerable strength.

Strong Niki is, but when someone's swinging a metal pole at you, no matter how strong they are, you're going to want to get the hell out of the way! The post would have collided with her head, but Mandy gets out of the way enough to avoid the fatal blow. That doesn't stop Niki from dislocating her shoulder, however.

Where the sign struck, the metal begins to crumple, losing its integrity as a vapor rises from it, the whole thing bending as if it were made out of clay. The acid eats away at it; Mandy, kneeling nearby, pulls her shoulder back into socket with a pained scream. Ow.

Dark eyes turn to look upward at Niki. Will she get up? No. Instead, she falls onto the recently dislocated shoulder, and reaches to wrap both her hands around Niki's ankle.

"Curlytop said something about powers," Kory breathes, a hand splayed across her heart. She gives Kitty a quick look, recognizing another familiar face. "I…the dream walking power. That's me. But pulling other people in? No can do. It must be somebody else. I-is somebody here precognitive?" She smiles tightly, apologetically. "Maybe we're all intersect points for events we're seeing here…?" She trails off, horrified, at the sight of Mandy reaching for Niki. "Oh my god…"

The dream changes. Peter winces, watching the woman with acid hands burning people now. He still tries to shield her from the sight, holding on to her, holding her against him. There's so many people in this 'dream'… and he shakes his head. "I've never— never like this. Never." He admits it. It's never been like this. He looks from one person to the next— those who are aware. His eyes fall on Elle. Is she alive? Is she really here…? Is this… The darker skinned girl seems to know more about this than even he does. …Oh God that's Micah. He recognizes the boy as soon as Niki appears— as soon as she tries to save him the same way she saved him in Kirby Plaza. It sends a chill down his spine and he holds on even tighter to the latina woman. His one line of sanity— odd since she's part of the reason he lost control in the first place— though he certainly doesn't blame her. "Dreamwalker…" he repeats, unable to look away from Kory. "I— I have dreams that tell the future… sometimes…" Sometimes. He doesn't even know where he got that one, but he did, and this is not a good future. If this is the future. But if abilities are combining… Is this all his fault? Did he absorb too much? It's so confusing. But he does not like this. If these people are all like the ones who attacked Cass— he can't sit around and wait for the Company anymore.

"I know. I've seen them. …You're supposed to be dead on Level Five," Mara tells Elle. "Did you know that?" She's distracted by the image of Niki Sanders and her young son. No. This can't happen. Not to Niki. Not to the boy. Mara steps forward as if to help when the world is suddenly tipped on its side in her perception and she cries out. Surely as if Mariska had teleported her, she's gone.

Horror flashes in Niki's eyes, fueling fear in their blue depths — not surprise. Desperation? Maybe some of that. With a pained scream to match Mandy's, she falls hard on her back over the curb of the sidewalk. "Micah, run!"

With her hands so wrapped around Niki's ankle, it's not long before she just twists her good arm and snaps the whole foot off, tossing it to the side. As she crawls toward Niki's face, leaving a burning handprint every few inches against her stomach, chest, then neck, it becomes apparent that when she looks into Niki's eyes, she's not insane. She's just pissed off, as if costing her the prize of destroying a child was the worst thing that's ever happened to her. "Was that yours?" she asks, dark hair falling down her shoulders, almost into Niki's face. Mandy briefly looks up, looks for Micah. "Micah, huh? 'Mom?'" There's no hesitation as the woman presses her hand against Niki's face, but there's no burning sensation, not yet. "You make a choice - you grow old without a son, or he grows up without a mother. It's one or the other. I wouldn't try to pull a fast one on me. It's hard to chase after me as I hunt down your little rat if you don't have a foot."

So much screaming. So much that Niki hardly seems able to catch a breath between broken shouts of pain. A mother's willpower wins out; her chest rapidly heaving up and down in jagged, fighting breaths, she answers Mandy. "No!" She's crying. "No." There's zero hesitation in her decision. "Kill me— leave my son alone," she shouts through a breaking voice, squirming on the concrete, trying to push at the woman but only searing herself with acid all the more. "Don't touch him!"

The brutality of this cold, gray future is impossible to escape. Even for a teleporter. Not matter how hard she tries, she just can't seem to manage a jump to anywhere else but… here. «Take us home, little lion,» she whispers into the ear of the girl clinging to her shoulder. «Take us home.»

"I only stopped people from going haywire with their abilities. I'll.. tell you more later. For now..? I need my keys back and I need you to do me a favor. Please." Benjamin says as he looks down at Mara. "Can you carry Sasha for me? I need to get her to my place. I'm not able to carry her, not unless I want to finish off Sylar's damage to my chest. We have to move, now. Before everyone wakes back up. I have to focus on keeping the girl asleep. Bennet's orders."

Sharon frowns as she can't force herself awake. "Dreamwalker?" Sharon says. "I don't get tired. I don't know what the hell I'm doing in a dream, as it's the last place I'd expect to be. Something would have had to of force me to unconsciousness in order to be here," she adds to the woman quietly, keeping with the Peter/Elena/Kitty/Kory group that seems to have formed. There's a dream change, and she watches the scene unfold among them. A cringe is given. "So this is the future?" she asks, glancing at Kitty and Peter, the latter of which did speak of seeing visions.

"You…you can call me Iah," Kory tells Peter. "Well. That explains the horror show. Question is, is this a concrete future, or one we can pull a McFly on?" Encouraged by Peter's certainty of his ability, she turns toward him. "Come on, you know that much, don't you?"

"You dream? I have visions. Maybe our abilities collided?" Kitty offers and then looks towards where Kory is looking. She recognizes Niki and then gaps at Peter's comment, "Does everyone here have some kind of ability or something?" she throws another question out there and visibly lunges almost in the direction of Niki and Micah, before she stops her herself, "Just a dream … only a dream."

Mara's statement strikes Elle in a strange way, but as she opens her mouth to reply, the other woman is pulled away. Suddenly alone on the street, she looks at the space where Mara had been a moment before, then turns a swift circle searching for her. Confused, frustrated, Elle crosses her arms over her chest and starts to move towards Mandy and Niki at a jog. She's all but ignoring the group of other dreamers gathered.

A dreamwalker? Elena squeezes her eyes shut, gripping the back of Peter's shirt tightly as screaming goes on somewhere behind her. And then a familiar voice - she's run into Niki Sanders enough times to recognize her voice. She's distracted, thankfully, by Kory the Dreamwalker as she seems to know what's going on. She shakes her head. "No," she tells Kory quietly. "His dreams are….they're only possibilities. They come true unless something actually changes." Because that's what he told her before, New York would've blown up if it wasn't for Nathan grabbing his brother and flying them both into the atmosphere. "But usually they're important. If we're all in this dream, then…I mean. We already started running into each other. Like with Peter, and Kitty, and her.." Elena gestures to Sharon. "I already met you." She sounds confused. This is a dream, but she doesn't know which people are dream-real, and people who are dream-dream. "The woman who just got killed, and the cop…" She points to Namir's corpse by the car. "I've met them already too. But you I never have."

"That's as sensible an explanation as any," Kory agrees with Kitty. "If this wasn't so damn scary, I'd be dancing for joy. I didn't know I wasn't alone." Elena speaks, and Kory listens. "You may have a point. I know her. And the tall blonde lady. And Sharon. And the Russian lady." Names, she's not so good with. Book stuff, yeah. "I think we were all in the room together before the dreamscape fell on me. I…I can probably try to force us all out. And make it so we remember this. All of us."

"I've met them as well," she gulps as she thinks of Jane. "I'll call Jane as soon as I wake? Portia would not be happy too know about this," she says and sighs. "This really sucks guys." Kitty rubs her arms and then turns away from the scene of Niki and Mandy. "Why is that blonde chick walking over there? Does she like seeing people hurt?" Kitty asks and then nods to Kory, "Maybe you should give it a try", she offers and looks towards Niki again and shudders.

Oh god. Peter can't look anymore. He closes his eyes, pushing his face into Elena's hair for the moment. Not this— anything but this. It's a dream and he can't DO ANYTHING. Right now. "It can be stopped," he says, voice deeper than before— strained. Maybe because of what he's seeing. Not one, two women he knows fairly well. And when he looks up, his eyes are golden. He wants to do something, and he can feel the power wanting to rise up— and while it might have caused problems before, now he's using it to hold on to something. No, he's not letting her watch. He'll shield the young woman from it— he wishes he could shield himself. But now he can't. That woman. He can stop this. That should be they— but unfortunately he's thinking one sided right now. He wanted to act when they attacked Cass— now… now he's not even sure Noah's warning to lay low can keep him from doing SOMETHING. Something likely stupid. And then he sees Elle again. The blonde chick. "Elle..?" Is she really here?

"I don't know how," Sasha murmurs, burying her face into Mariska's shoulder, holding on tight like a little dress-wearing monkey.

There's the smile. When you really don't offer someone a choice, it's always fun to see exactly how they give you the answer you were expecting. She missed this so much - the feeling of tissue dissolving under her touch, the way the cries reach her ears. She sounded this way once, years ago when she was first locked up in the basement of the Company facility - hopeless. For weeks. With the encouragement of the others, though, she kept hope, and all for moments like these.

Strips of cloth fly around her, shirt in tatters, except where it covers her chest, her shoulders, a strip around her stomach. There's no warning before the hand across Niki's face starts to burn - it's slow, before the pain really starts to set in. The other hand presses through the blonde woman's stomach, slowly corroding everything it touches.

She can't leave without a last word, of course. When she's sure there's no hope for Niki to survive, though while the woman is still conscious, Mandy removes her hand. "I never said I wouldn't go after him next," she says, hand descending over the distraught mother's face again, blocking out the light as the acid continues to destroy any hope for survival.

"Seems like the cafe was the focal point," Sharon agrees with the others. "I've not met any of the people who we've seen here, aside from the rest of you I'm speaking with," Sharon tells them. A look to Kory. "I say go ahead and see what you can do," she says to Kory. Then a look to Kitty. "You know, you were right the last time we talked, about the running into others".

Kory raises her hands to her head to augment her concentration. "I'll…I'll try. Better pick something obscure as the trigger word," she tells herself. "But what word?" She glances helplessly to Peter, then squinches her eyes shut as Mandy's cruel words reach her ears. "I've got it. "Balducci's!"

Beneath the din of shock and awe, horror and astonishment, there's the echoing whisper of a mother's murmured words left ringing in everyone's ears. "There's no place like home, «little lion». Remember? Just… think about home…"

"…think about home."

"…home."

The screaming is only getting worse. Niki Sanders was dying. Elena keeps her eyes open though, her gaze focued on Kory. It looks a little inhuman considering her Boost was still in effect - because Peter activated it in the dream, and whenever he or she uses it, usually the other reflects it. But this was what caused the problem in the first place, having not have forgotten what the hell happened earlier. Still, she can't pull away, because he was still stronger than her physically - and stronger now, really, thanks to her abilities. When he addresses Elle though, she turns her head. She still can't see what's going on behind her, but she looks over at the blonde. Was she alive? Was she dream-real? She crosses her fingers inwardly. Noah Bennet said she could still be alive - she hopes he wasn't just trying to protect Peter from an awful truth.

This time, when Peter speaks her name, Elle is certain he's there with her. She's reluctant to take her eyes off of Mandy, but to find Peter in the dream, she has to step to the side and peer around the woman. "Peter?" she calls, some lingering uncertainty in her voice. She raises her shoulders, another chill winding down her arms and spine, and casts a glance in each direction down the road. Something catches her eye. Turning her back to both Mandy and the cafe, she moves down the street, stooping to pick a tattered newspaper off the ground.

Elle can't quite manage to touch the newspaper - her hand passes through it - but the tattered, wet strip of paper declares the date to be November 27th, 2007.

And then, reality - such as it is - softens. The image of the street and the horrible things that have happened on this block starts to bend, burning and warping. It's not unlike the effect of a Polaroid being burned over an open flame, but it's sure a whole lot more disorienting when you happen to be in the photo. Slowly, the dark colours of the street are replaced by white.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the waking world…

After everyone in the immediate vicinity — and perhaps beyond — the street is awfully quiet. Crash! an SUV has a minor fender-bender with a taxi cab as the drivers fall asleep at their respective wheels. It is a good thing traffic was mild tonight.

Benjamin looks around him in surprise as.. that worked. May the Schwartz be with him. It worked! This is either a good thing, or a bad thing. For the moment? He's going with a good thing. His power working now, good. The reason behind needing it? Bad. He glances down at Sasha, asleep with Mariska. Everything went haywire when the child got upset. He's never read the girl's file, but he can put two and two together here. He steps away from the two Russians, marveling at what's taken place around him.

While he stands amidst the sleeping forms on the suddenly quiet streets, Benjamin has the idea of keeping an eye out for those missing inmates and Sylar. His luck probably isn't going to be that great, but it would be a nice bonus here. Walking along the sidewalk, he's careful to not step on any fallen bodies. There's no outward victory dance, he can't breathe enough to do one. He reaches into his pocket for his cellphone. No number is dialed just yet, as he gathers his thoughts. Just what is he going to phone in with? Brow furrowing in thought, he looks around.

Kory is still tucked against a wall, so she may not obviously be visible to Benjamin. She's completely absorbed in the dream she's found herself occupying, and as such isn't really doing anything but standing where she is, breathing and staring in an unfocused manner.

Benjamin finally dials a number into his phone and holds it up to his ear. He's still looking around, unaware of what's going on within everyone's minds.

PHONE: Into his phone, Benjamin speaks into his phone after the other end picks up, "Bennet? This is Winters. We have a situation down on the Lower East Side. It's.. a pretty big situation, sir."

PHONE: Noah says, "…Explain."

PHONE: Into his phone, Benjamin clears his throat a little as he looks around again as he speaks into his phone, "I was reporting in at Kirby when Mariska suddenly appeared with a child named Sasha. She teleported me without warning, we appeared in an alley. The child got upset, next thing we know, everyone's powers in the area went out of control. Almost as if we got a sort of boost. I managed to put everyone to sleep .. I'm not sure how big of a radius I managed, but thanks to the boost, I was able to prevent a catastrophe. Given the scope of the situation, I'm not sure how I should proceed."

PHONE: Noah is silent for awhile. "For now, keep the girl unconscious and transport her away from the area. I don't care WHERE you take her, as long as it is away from people. Should the girl regain consciousness, it could all start again. What was the range of the disturbances?"

PHONE: Into his phone, Benjamin frowns at what he hears from the other end of the phone, "Yes sir. I'll take her straight to.." Wait, don't say Kirby, "the rally point." He turns back the way he came, walking back towards Mariska and Sasha. "I'm not sure. I haven't ventured far from this corner. I would have to guess a few blocks."

PHONE: Noah firmly repeats, "DO NOT TAKE HER TO THE RALLY POINT. Considering how many Evolved are in that building and her range… If you're at the Plaza, I'll just try and come there myself. Considering I'm currently outside of New York, it might be a bit. Whatever you do, do NOT move the child far and keep her asleep."

PHONE: Into his phone, Benjamin winces, okay, stupid idea. Point made. "… Yes sir.. understood." His tone is a little meek now. "I'll keep her asleep. We aren't near the rally point. I'll take the two of them to my place instead."

PHONE: Noah is still firm, but there is no anger in his voice. "Only take the child. The mother is the one that started this. Until I am sure she is under control, she is to be kept from that child at all costs. If people have a problem with this at the Company, let them take it up with ME."

PHONE: Into his phone, Benjamin does not mistake the tone in Noah's voice at all. "Understood. Winters out."

Pocketing his phone, Benjamin walks over to Mara and focuses. Just her.. wake up. He's not ready to have /some/ people wake up. He's not even sure how long he just knocked out these folks for.. or if he's completely responsible. Yet.. once he's got Sasha out of here, then it should be safe for everyone to rise from their slumber.

In the waking world, Mara awakens with a jerk. "Winters! What did you do?!"

"I only stopped people from going haywire with their abilities. I'll.. tell you more later. For now..? I need my keys back and I need you to do me a favor. Please." Benjamin says as he looks down at Mara. "Can you carry Sasha for me? I need to get her to my place. I'm not able to carry her, not unless I want to finish off Sylar's damage to my chest. We have to move, now. Before everyone wakes back up. I have to focus on keeping the girl asleep. Bennet's orders."

Mara opens her mouth to ask more questions - maybe even to argue. But one word stops her: Bennet. Without a second thought, Mara pulls herself to her feet, handing the keys back off to Benji. "Is that where you want to take her? My place is just down the street. Or does Bennet want us to meet him somewhere?" Mara crouches down to gently lift and the sleeping six-year-old. Carefully, she stands with the child now balanced against one hip. "I… have something I'm going to need to report to him, I think."

"No. I'm taking her to my place. Where I can monitor and make sure she stays asleep." Benjamin sounds firm for once in his life. Bennet was pissed, he doesn't want that axe to fall on his neck. "Bennet will be meeting up. He's out of the city. While everyone was asleep, I called him. Gave him an update." Looking a little torn, and upset with himself for this, but he soldiers on, "Mariska is NOT to know where the child is. Further orders from Bennet. What did you see earlier? When you touched her? I think I know what her power is now, she might have been behind everyone's abilities going out of control."

"Dmitryeva won't know," Mara confirms. Especially if Bennet doesn't want Mariska to know. "Your place is fine." She strokes Sasha's hair absently, shifting the girl in her arms slightly. "All I saw was her mother dressing her. That's not the sort of event that causes my abilities to trigger. I'm assuming that her abilities heighten our abilities, though."

"Which is why Bennet doesn't want me to take her back to Kirby." Benjamin frowns a little as he leads the way, trying to release those behind them slowly from his power. Although, the longer Mariska stays asleep, the faster they can get away from her. She doesn't know where he lives, as far as he knows anyway. "I was hoping to get her to Kirby so she can get on whatever medication it is she's on. Probably just suppressants. But I'll do my best to make sure she stays asleep until Bennet gets here."

"We need the Haitian for her, ideally." Mara frowns faintly. "But I'll take whatever we can get." She shudders and follows after Benjamin. "I had a vision. Or a nightmare. I… I'm not sure. Either way, I need to report to Bennet. I can't take any chances."

"Which is why I first thought of Kirby." Oh well, moot point. Noah has spoken and Benjamin is /not/ going to argue this. Leading the way to finding quicker transport back to Greenwich, he glances over at Mara quizzically. "What was this vision or dream?"

"I… I'm not sure if this is something Bennet's going to consider need-to-know information or not. He's been big on that lately." For good reason, Mara admits silently. "I… saw the Level Five escapees." Doing what or where, she won't say.

Benjamin's expression darkens as he trudges on. "Got'cha." So he doesn't press for further details. But he does say, "Although, it seems to me that if we're going to be more effective, we need more information. If this was just seen while you were asleep.. well I missed the show. I can't control my own sleep patterns." So maybe in a way, he is pressing for details. "I wish I could have been more effective down there. Why couldn't I have gotten that boost then? They never would have gotten out, we'd have Sylar."

Mara visibly flinches at the mention of the killer's name. "Maybe. Or maybe Gray would have proved to have picked up some sort of immunity. He's been quiet for a while, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been busy." She sighs softly, "It isn't your fault."

Benjamin flashes a bitter smile over at Mara. "Maybe.. maybe not.. and I'm not saying it's my fault." Because why would it be? "I've just been given an ability that could have taken him out. I feel like I failed when I should have succeeded." From the set of his jaw, he's determined to work harder and minimize his failures with his ability.

"At least you have an ability that does you some active good. I'm a very reactive sort of woman." Mara clearly isn't happy about this, but what can she do? It seems they've both resigned to their inadequacies.

Benjamin is very resigned to his inadequacies. "When it works, and I'm getting better at it. Thank God. I've come a long way since I first met you." He glances sidelong at Mara. Yeah, like he's forgotten the duplicity.

"So've Ah, sugah," Mara drawls. Yes, she remembers. "I was only doin' my job. Bennet's orders." That's got to be something he can understand. "Your little girlfriend was watching you, too. I just took up a further perch. Less hands on. I've got other subjects I use that approach with."

Benjamin snorts a little, wincing at the bubbling laughter. "Yeah, I'm getting to understand how that goes. Getting used to the orders of being an Agent, as opposed to having a senior accountant giving me orders on paperwork and clients." He does blink a little as he looks at Mara. "My little girlfriend?" He's not sure who she's referring to.

"Nothing," Mara says quietly. "Never you mind any of what's in the past." No, the past is her worry. The future is for others. "You realize you may be put in charge of babysitting this little one, right?"

"I.." The thought did not occur to Benjamin beyond Noah coming to get the girl. "I presume I'll be making sure she stays asleep until she's taken back to where she was." He's not aware the girl was with Madson. "I can't /keep/ her sleeping. It's not healthy. Temporarily, it's okay. But past eight hours.. Hopefully she won't be sleeping that long, and she'll be back on her medication."

"Hopefully." Mara peers at the little girl briefly. "Why was she out? Do you suppose Mariska was attempting some sort of escape? And if so, why'd she grab you?" It takes some effort, but Mara's eyes don't narrow in accordance with her suspicion.

"I don't know," Benjamin admits as he looks at the girl. Adorable, he can't deny that. "I know Mariska was looking for her.. Bennet seems to think she's behind Sasha getting out. One thing I learned early, if you're held for your powers for a reason, it's a darn good one." Sighing some, he continues, "I don't even know why she grabbed me. I had just sat down at Kirby to check in."

"I'm sure she's behind her daughter's escape. And I'd say after today? There is a very good reason why Sasha was being held." Mara picks up her pace just a bit. "She needs to be back in protective custody. Not just for our sake. If those villains figure out what she can do and try to take advantage of it? We're all dead."

* * *

Back to our dreamers…

Recognizable instantly as a hospital, given away by white walls and tile floors and a general aura of antisepsis. The shadows fall in a way that is not quite right; as if someone tampered with the brightness and contrast of reality, and everything is a touch darker than it should be. A waiting area, just off of ICU, is scattered with people waiting; some rest on their folded jackets and scarves, trying to sleep. It could be any hospital, any day or night.

Two men step into the waiting room from a hall. One is Dr. Aldric, wrapped in a tan-coloured coat and colourful scarf that doesn't match his dour expression. The other is Dr. Suresh. They speak, seeming in the midst of a heated disagreement. The sound is distant, echoing, half-muted. "…how it came to be!" the older is saying. "…can't blame us for… …going to be in serious trouble if we don't…"

God, Niki… The pain in Peter's eyes grows, redness bright around the edge of his eyelids, but he's not quite crying yet— not yet. He's definitely upset, though. We can stop it. We can stop it. Trigger word? He has no idea what she means, but he's paying too much attention to the two blondes and the young woman in his arms. Still trying to shield her, he does let her turn a little to see Elle, but that's it. No more. "I thought you were— are you… okay?" Is she really here—

But then the world changes. The dying fades out. His grip on Elena loosens, giving her some freedom to move, no longer fully shielding her from everything. The sight isn't horrific, though. He recognizes the doctors and stares unknowingly. Blame for what?

Science, Sharon can understand a little easier. She crosses her arms and watches. "Could this be the cause of whatever allowed all that to happen?" A look is given over at Elle, the lightning girl, but the woman remains quiet for now, content to otherwise watch.

The screaming stops. Elena's hold on Peter relaxes, looking up when she realizes that light, white and sterile - a shade she knows pretty well, manages to sear past her eyelids and let her know that things aren't gray anymore. She doesn't know that she's in some sort of future, just some weird half-real, half-dream nightmare. And when the imagery shifts, that weird feeling of vertigo occurs again. What the hell is going on? She can hear arguing. One of the voices sounds familiar. She eases away from Peter's chest, so she could take a better look at her surroundings. She's….suddenly in a hospital. "What….?" she says softly, distracted again. This weird state of being was giving her a little bit of ADD. And then she sees Mohinder, and a man she doesn't recognize. She's never met Dr. Aldric after all. "That's Dr. Suresh…who's the other one?" she asks Peter quietly. And what are they talking about?

"I think so." Even as their surroundings change, Elle's tone is dismissive and calm, brushing off Peter's question. There are bigger things happening here. The fact that it could be any hospital doesn't stop Elle from searching for familiar faces or hallways, and she's rewarded with Suresh and Aldric appearing in the waiting room. With no doubt in her mind now that she can move freely in this world, she crosses straight to them, waving a hand between the two men as they speak. Fascination, intrigue, excitement - despite the horror of the dream until now, Elle follows the two men eagerly as they argue. "Well, well. What did you do?"

Kory gasps, as the dream shifts again. She's beginning to look a touch exhausted, being swept like a leaf on the tide on such strong and shifting dreamscape currents. She drags her hands through her hair, trying to remain focused. Yoga and meditation are good for the discipline, but not enough to prepare her for what she's been experiencing this evening. "Keep it together," she tells herself. She takes a couple deep breaths.

Oblivious to anyone spying from the dreamworld, Dr. Aldric and Dr. Suresh move aside for a nurse to pass - they emerged from is lined with patients' rooms; the nurse heads there. The doors have windows, looking in. She opens one, leaving the door ajar. Meanwhile, Aldric and Suresh speak in hushed tones. "…of this magnitude…" "…had to be released by someone who…" "What if— !"

Yeah, Suresh, what did you do this time? Peter doesn't ask outloud, nor does he answer Elena's question on who the other guy is. He just hopes that she remembers his face when he explains later. Dr. Aldric. Or at least he's pretty sure. Staying in a Company facility for months— getting a few blood tests and check ups— sure, Elle was far more common sight that 'Dr. Aldric' but he's spent time trying to remember his face since he found out Cass Aldric had a father in the Company. "Whatever it is— it can be stopped." And Elle's here— Elle's not dead. He wants to tell her he was worried about her, but… — he's trying to listen. He moves towards one of the rooms, probably not alone.

She starts to follow, though her hand remains in Peter's as he moves forward to try and eavesdrop in Dr. Suresh and Dr. Aldric's conversation. She'll get answers from Peter later but right now, Elena doesn't even know Peter knows the other guy. So she strains her ears. But another sight distracts her, and that's the nurse. She hesitates, but she squeezes his hand once, and lets go of him so she could head towards the door that was left ajar, hesitating….and walks -through- it. She can't push it open fully, and…well, it looks like she can't touch things in this weird dreamscape either.

"It's performance art," Kory says, disjointedly, by way of calming the ordinary people in the waking world, where a handful of people seem to have sprawled unconscious. "Well, before we lost power it was."

"You sure about that?" Elle glances sidelong to Peter, challenging him with her question. "Look at them." She gestures back to the waiting room, where people are bundled up or using their coats and scarves as pillows. "It's winter. This could be three months from now." Searching again for anything that might list a date, a month, even a year, Elle divides her attention carefully, listening close to what the two doctors say.

Sharon isn't going to let Elena go alone, and so the woman goes to see just what is in the room as well, following behind Elena. She can't help it. She's curious, and if there's something horrible in there, better to have two people instead of just one. Sharon doesn't trust this place fully, but that comes with not sleeping. Dreams are strange. And judging from Peter and Elena's apparent relationship, Sharon is betting that Peter would rather nobody go somewhere alone right about now.

Kory tags along bringing up the rear, mainly because she's focusing her dream talent now on making sure the group of them stay together, the better to keep the memory and the lucid dreaming intact when everyone has awakened. She is beginning to look a little taxed from operating so overclocked. "I can't wait to figure out what all this means in the light of day," she comments to no one in particular.

"We can all try. Where can we find you?" Elena asks, looking at Kory…and hoping to high heaven that she'll remember this when she wakes up. She typically has an excellent memory anyway. She also looks at Sharon as she says this, because the considerate older woman went into the room she was in with her, her eyes prompting her the same question. She and Kitty looked pretty tight though, so if anything happens - she knows to ask Kitty, who she knows goes to NYU. If someone yanks her out of the dream pretty fast. Then again, from other medical journals she's read, a person actually remembers a dream much more clearly when suddenly woken during it, so she's partly hoping it happens.

The rooms, as it turns out, are not mundane hospital rooms after all. They're outfitted by numerous precautions against infectious disease, missing all but the hazmat suit for the nurse. A sealed door exists beyond the door that opens into the room itself, and beyond that is a transparent tent that houses a young woman lying in a hospital bed, pale and hooked up to IVs and monitoring equipment. Everyone always looks less like themselves in a state of sickness. The same can be said for Evelyn Tash.

The same can also be said of Nathan Petrelli, one room over, and in a similar state, lying supine and unconscious.

Behind the group, another door opens and shuts, admitting two figures into the hallway. One is identical to a nearby dreamer: it's Peter, wearing dark, heavier clothes for winter, but otherwise the same person. If, perhaps, a touch more stressed. Given the circumstances, can you blame him?

Across from him, Angela stands outside the doorway, her face pale and gaunt. No amount of make-up can cover the dark circles beneath her eyes or the wrinkles that crease the corners of her mouth as she speaks to Peter in a tone so hushed the sound of her voice does not carry. One thing is clear: the words that she is imparting are as painful for her to speak as they are for her youngest son to hear.

Only a few words are audible in the strange, echoing quality of the dream. "… This is your fault, Peter."

"Secret Lair, comic shop, St. Mark's," Kory explains. "Or the Vault nightclub. And I think I planted the memory trigger okay. We'll know when I see any of us again." She flickers in the dreamstate as her waking body fumbles for her cellphone to call her brother. People aren't buying the 'performance art' excuse and are beginning to talk about ambulances. "We may have to wake up pretty quick, you guys…" Kory continues flickering, reaching the end of her endurance under these extreme conditions.

Evelyn. Peter recognizes her almost immediately, and he can't help but stare— but he can't stare very long because there's someone else in the next room who holds his attention even more. Nathan. There's a shuddered inhale. Winter. Can they stop this? Can this— There's another door opening. He almost can't look away from the sight of his brother, but he does, and it startles him, making him straighten and— what. And then his mother. His eyes shift again. It's almost difficult to breathe at this point. He backs away a few steps, as if trying to get away. Those words may be painful for the self of winter of this year— but they're just as painful for him. "What— what did… what did I do…" What did he do wrong? He's shaking ever so slightly.

"Okay, thanks," the Gomez girl tells Kory. And then… "….." Elena, for the second time in her life, comes face to face with the Tornado. She's been in a hospital with her once before, so that triggers the memory of knowing why the girl looks so familiar. But Peter mentioned her before, and described her, how she looked in the future and recently talked to her about how she was in the quarantine with her. She doesn't say anything to the general collective in a while. She just moves quickly to the hospital bed, staring at the monitor. "Oh my god. What is this?" How could she be SICK? Peter never mentioned Evelyn having gotten sick when he met her in the future and asked about it! She looks around the room wildly, for a chart. Anything that could tell her what was wrong with her. But while walls and doors and halls won't be a problem for her in this state….she can't exactly grab pieces of paper and look through them and digest the jargon. Peter's moving to the other room, but she restrains herself from following. She wants to see if she can find something first…if not, she'll do the same thing in Nathan's room.

"Power House Gym, ask for Sharon," Sharon tells Elena. She joins in the search, however, for anything useful that might tell them what is going on with Evelyn and what her or Nathan's illnesses are. "Don't suppose you happen to be versed in medical terminology," she says to Elena as she looks around.

Stopping in her tracks when Peter does, Elle follows his gaze first to Nathan in the bed, then to the dream-world Peter and Angela as they step into the hallway. Unconsciously, she steps nearer to Peter, standing by his side as they watch his future-self and mother, rapt, as Angela chides her son, blaming him for what they've seen. "Peter…" Acutely aware that he is trembling, she reaches out to lay a hand on his arm, meant to be comforting. She says nothing further, drawing her hand away and turning to look behind them.

"I'm pre-med," Elena tells Sharon. "At NYU. My name is Elena Gomez, I'm a sophomore there. I was thinking of switching my emphasis from practice to research though….after all this." The fact that her first romantic relationship ever in her life just happens to be a power sponge kind of sealed the deal with that decision. She'll try to find something still, searching for clues, a sign, anything….but she hears voices the more rooms she searches. When she finally steps in the same space Peter is in, she misses what Angela said to Peter, but she does look over at the older woman by the window….and the other Peter. It looks like a discussion. She's actually never met Mama Petrelli, but the resemblance was unmistakable.

Standing against the wall across from the Tash and Petrelli suites is a black-haired woman toting a black-haired toddler. She watches the goings on with an eerie sort of quiet. Mariska says, well, nothing and this could mean she's just as mute as any other faceless passerby in the dreamscape… except for the fact that, ever now and then, she momentarily interrupts the flow of phantoms like a rock in the middle of a river.

Angela and Peter - the not-so-distant future Peter, by the looks of things - remain locked in place, in argument.

Intuition and logic have long been set against each other, two halves at war. Following one's heart versus accepting the cold, seely reality a sharp mind tells us is real. But who is to say what is logic and what is intuition, when we have our ancestral memories to guide us? We can't forget that the heart and brain are connected. We cannot truly separate the two. They work in tandem, both giving us hints at what's to come…

Back in the waiting room, Dr. Aldric and Dr. Suresh both look at the clock above the entrance. A simple, round clock with a red rim, its minute hand turns, marking the hour as ten past six.

The dream starts to change again, going soft and corroding, twisting. This time, absolutely everything goes black to everyone's senses. There's no up, no down.

Just the ticking of the clock.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

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