torchwoodinstitute | (no subject)

(no subject)

Who: Murder Kids
When: January 15th
What: Lockdown at the Hub but some people just don't know how to play by the rules.

The fourth day of lockdown was no different from the third or the second other than a growing sense of boredom. Most of the engineering and IT folk were still working at the Rift core in an attempt to find the intrusion. It shouldn't have taken that long, and that's what bothered Jack the most was the morale of his people.

Many were fine, even with being cut off from the Archive and their work. Some, however, were not. Gabriel and Jim were the worst culprits there, pacing at times, running up and down the catwalks...

It was driving him crazy.

There were also a lot of their people gone, various agents on various missions. That they couldn't get back was worrying too. At least they did happen to have power. Otherwise, by now they would have a very dead prisoner. Jack really hated that.

But what he hated the most? People able to bypass all of his precautions and get into the Hub without any of the security systems in place to let him know.

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"I think we should be done." It was actually a lot easier to say it than he had originally thought. "All of it. I mean, I guess you turn out all right and I ain't exactly a whole lot of anything but bad news for you."

He looked at Sylar, trying to figure out how he was feeling only to realize that Jack was right...he couldn't tell. He couldn't tell because he wasn't feeling much of anything either besides a sense of impending loss. And he'd get over that okay. Attachment was just attachment....something that eventually had to become detachment, right?

It was so far from what Sylar had expected to hear that he didn't register it. It could've been a sentence in another language.

"So we'll get out of here as soon as we can, and then we can see where we feel like going. No more of these places. I'll get us to a reality where none of this exists, eventually." It would mean leaving Mohinder behind, which he didn't want to do. But right now he was worried about Luke. He'd figure out the rest later.

Wow. "Earth to Sylar. Come in you jackass." He didn't like initiating any sort of touching but he put a hand on the back of Sylar's anyway. That usually got his attention. It meant business. "I'm not going with you, fuck head. You either have to stay here or go back." To fucking Suresh. Jesus Christ. From what Luke heard, Mohinder was pretty wrapped up in Elle, but whatever. Mister Wholesome Confusing Accent was the sort of person that Sylar needed to be around.

Not him.

So Gabriel had been right in the bathroom. He'd done better without him. Which was ridiculous until he listened to Harkness. Shit. "You're on your own from here on out."

"What?" On his own? Sylar squinted, as if that would make more sense of it. As he continued to speak, it seemed to clarify things for him. He sounded more and more upset with each word. "No, that's stupid. Why-? What did Jack tell you? Where are you gonna go?"

Luke had been with him through this whole thing. They'd killed his mother together, for god's sake. They were family. He couldn't leave now! "I don't get this."

"Go?" Yeah he hadn't thought that far... "No where I guess? I have no fucking clue. Take my ability and then I won't have to do anywhere." Maybe that's what Jack meant. Thinking about what was best for Sylar didn't mean he should leave his life entirely...just that he shouldn't be in his life as he was now.

The truth was that he didn't want to be alone anymore. He was pretty sure he was dead anyway. Either Jack would do it. Or Gabriel would. Or he'd do it to himself.

"Fuck, I'm not-" He winced and rubbed at his face rather forcefully. "I'm not taking your ability. Why do you-?" He shook his head, but he stopped to look at Luke. "Do you actually want that?"

Ugh, damn it. He was tearing up, and he knew he was going to cry. This still didn't make any sense. "We're supposed to be together, Luke. Through everything. Why now? What happened?"

There were not many instances where Luke would let any of this bother him, but he couldn't stand it when Sylar was upset. It made that protective streak in him flare up and in this case, it caused him to almost completely want to shut down.

His eyes were hard as he pulled himself away. No more fucking touching. He couldn't take it right now. His skin itched at the loss...which was actually pretty crazy when you thought all about it.

"Do you see the sort of person you are without me?" Luke gestured towards the door. "A little less fun, but you're a hundred times better off. And you don't fucking need me anymore. Don't even say you do."

"That guy is not me," Sylar growled. Luke taking his hand away felt oddly final, and he didn't like it. "Things were different for him, we can't just go off of that! And I don't need you to copy powers anymore, no, but who cares? I still-"

He caught himself, because he actually didn't know if he still wanted to take powers through murder. "I want to be with you. Don't leave me alone." That wasn't quite all of it. "Don't make me leave you alone."

"You have options." Luke didn't. He had this life that Sylar helped him realize that he wanted to keep having...even if Sylar wasn't in it. For the other boy, snuffing out someone's life wasn't as good as it could get. "And I really don't think you-- Jesus, Sylar. You know me. You know I can't be like Suresh or Elle or anyone else."

Why was this so hard? Luke felt a tightness in his chest.

"I don't want to fuck you. I don't to go on vacations or get married or settle down or do anything normal like that! You only want to be with me because you're scared. Grow a fucking pair!"

He was too tired to really go into melt down mode. He slumped. This wasn't working.

Luke unfurled his fingers away from his palms and stared at the wall.

"You're the only thing that means anything to me and you want to change. You're going to be such a fucking pussy when you do, Sy, that I will probably kill you myself."

So we MAKE options... was Sylar's immediate response. But he wanted to hear what else Luke had to say, so he didn't speak up.

He regretted that decision, as Luke continued. He had good points, and more importantly, they were points that Sylar didn't want to hear. Scared, really?

At least the last part was easy to respond to. "Yeah, you could try."

It was almost automatic, and it left an oppressive cloud of silence in its wake. Sylar stared down at his hands, flexing them slowly.

"If I mean something to you-" he said eventually. But he didn't finish the sentence. "You fucking suck, you know that? You want to be all selfless and shit for me? Because these assholes think they know better?"

And now he was crying. Great. He wiped his eyes angrily. "Are they gonna kill you?"

Christ on a pogo stick...there was literally nothing worse in the world than to have the other boy in tears. "I'm not being selfless, fuck you," Luke muttered. The instinct in him, the learned lesson and the muscle memory, told him to pull Sylar against him and hold him. But he couldn't be that person anymore, right? He shouldn't hide who he was.

And who he was just so happened to be no one Sylar really wanted.

Fuck. He couldn't take the tears and so he slung an arm around the other boy's shoulders...if he'd even let him, of course.

"Is it really that fucking wrong for me to want you to be.. I dunno. You're what we've always been working towards."

Sylar did not, in fact, mind Luke's arm around him, not at all. He leaned slightly towards Luke, but otherwise didn't move much. He continued to stare at his hands. It was hard to tell if he even heard what Luke was saying, at first.

"Is this what you want?" he asked in a near whisper.

"I just want you to be safe." That might not be something a psychopath said, but Luke meant it. For the moment at least. It was hard to tell which way that the wind would move him.

And honestly? Sylar was in danger of having that protective streak turn on him. If Luke thought he was losing Sylar in any way that wasn't his own doing, he could well end him.

But maybe Sylar was right about options...Luke pressed his head, his lips, to Sylar's ear.

"If I stay with you...that's it. Just me and you. I'll kill anyone that touches you."

Luke's lips brushing against his ear, combined with the words, made Sylar shiver. Having one person so wholly devoted to him- it sounded perfect. But if that was the case...well, he'd had that with his mother. Right?

He'd reached a point where he couldn't compromise anymore. He couldn't have research and Mohinder and respect along with Luke and something close to love.

He was so used to not being given a choice. He could only react, most of the time. But there was nothing to rage against here, and that was so frustrating...

"Fuck...goddamn it," he muttered, shutting his eyes tight. "This isn't fair. I'm not ready. If I hadn't brought us here I wouldn't have to decide. Why are you always right?" He let out a puff of a sigh, then opened his eyes. "If I'm with you, I'm not going to be safe. There'll always be more people coming after us. If that's what you want, then. We can't." His speech stilted until it came to a halt. He couldn't completely say it.

"Be together." Yeah, that's pretty much exactly what Luke thought too. That's what Jack told him and now that he said it out loud, he knew it. Sylar just had to force his hand. They could have ended so spectacularly.

The trouble was life and life was never, never fair.

"So now comes the big questions." Luke pulled his arm back from his friend. He'd never felt more alive than he had with Sylar, he'd never been happier...or as close to happy as he could possibly get. "But that's not something I need to ask you. You decide them for yourself."

There wasn't going to be any romantic last kiss. Luke wasn't that type of guy.

"It's been fun. Thanks for being my friend, Sy."

His eyes narrowed, but he managed to hold in the tears this time. For the most part. He knew Luke hated to see him upset and he wanted to try to do whatever he could for him in the small time they had left. "What question could be bigger than that?" he croaked, genuinely confused but figuring it probably didn't matter.

He took a deep breath, nodded. "Thanks for being my friend, Luke. I'll never forget you."

He put a hand on his thigh, where the initials were. Forgetting him would be impossible.

Shit. He didn't want to do this. He got up to head to the door, getting ready to knock on it.

"Sy?"

He'd been seconds from knocking on the door when Luke said his name again. He figured that Sylar would figure out what he was going to ask him, but it not, Luke would let his head fall back against the wall.

"You know I'm dead, right?" He pushed a hand to his chest. "I've been for a really long time. Can't you let me go with you?"

Sylar turned around, almost too quickly. He hadn't been surprised by the request. He just had to be sure.

"Yeah," he said, his downcast eyes sliding upwards until they met Luke's. "I can do that."

He rose a hand up, almost in a surrender gesture, and used telekinesis to hold Luke against the wall. He just stood there for a moment, regulating his breathing and gathering himself back up. He wiped his eyes with his free hand, and then reached out, pointing.

Nothing happened for a moment, and Sylar choked out a laugh. "I can't think of anything to say. I always have something." A one-liner wasn't right here, though. "I'm gonna miss you, so much."

"Come here." He wasn't trying to draw any of this out, but they had been through enough that Luke didn't want to go out like those other chumps. He wanted this to be special. Upclose. Personal.

He couldn't exactly move, but that was all right. Maybe for the first time in his life, since those assholes his dad use to hang around with, he wanted someone to touch him.

Sylar had a strong stomach. A little bit of blood between friends? Who fucking cared? Luke hated that stuff but it couldn't be helped this time.

A few verbal cues might bring Sylar into his lap or at least kneeling at his side.

"You're not gonna miss me too much, promise. You're gonna get all the best parts of me to go with you." This would be perfect. "Go ahead."

Edited 2016-01-30 22:17 (UTC)

Oh, good. Sylar hadn't approached, because he knew that Luke generally didn't want to be touched. But as he sat himself carefully down, mostly on Luke's lap, he felt better. This was how it should be, if it had to happen at all. He even smiled sadly hearing about the 'best parts' of Luke.

He leaned in close, barely touching the sides of their heads together. It was the closest he'd get to a proper hug, but it felt like both of them, anyway. Then he pulled back. His fingers went up to touch Luke's forehead, and he stared for just a moment, steeling himself.

Those fingers pulled left, as if brushing some of Luke's hair back. But under the index finger his telekinesis was cutting into the skin and the skull. The sound of the skull ripping apart was so loud here.

It would be too late by the time they reached the boys. Jack had moved Mohinder and Gabriel down the hallway. The walls were thick, and screams were swallowed up by the cavernous rooms clad in brick. At one point, Mohinder had actually left Gabriel and Jack where they were still discussing Luke's fate, stating loudly that he could not believe, after everything they both had seen, that neither seemed to accept that rehabilitation was possible.

He went to fetch the boys something to eat, a tray nicely laid out with sugary drinks and the remains of the pizza. Strangely, none of the other denizens of the Hub had found and devoured it.

He strode once more passed Gabriel (who would likely be sleeping on his own for awhile at this rate) and Jack to knock lightly on the door before he unlocked it. "I've brought you something to--"

The tray slipped from Mohinder's hands as he pushed open the door.

He'd never actually seen Sylar work before. How could he have been so wrong about everything today?

Sylar was crying as he moved his fingers through Luke's brain, but it was hard to tell. His face was smeared all over with blood, from the last few times he'd tried to clear the tears. The front of his shirt was coated with the stuff, and parts of his jeans were splattered.

He was moving as fast as possible, having had to switch to a kneeling position to see the brain properly. He knew that people would probably be barging their way in soon, and he had to find the power before then. Luke needed to come with him, as much as possible.

He heard someone come in and the tray clatter, but it didn't matter. He was following the path through, and...there. There it was. He sucked in a deep breath as he felt it settle into his brain. And then he just kind of collapsed, leaning his head on the dead kid's shoulder as he sobbed. Luke wasn't around to feel uncomfortable about it now.

Mohinder wasn't able to understand, but when Jack got to where the Indian was, leaning against the wall with his hands on his knees, crying and trying not to vomit on his shoes, and looked through the door, he understood.

"You did right by him," Jack said, knowing that the Indian was probably never look at him the same way again. He stepped into the room and crouched by where Sylar wept bitterly against Luke's bloody shirt. "Come on." He knew Sylar could fly off the handle for a touch to his shoulder but Jack thought that he might not. "I'll take care of him. I promise. But first we have to take care of you."

Jack had been with Gabriel/Sylar for so many parts of his life, unseen, just watching. That made him the best candidate for this job, even if Sylar and Gabriel had diverged along the way because of the boy laying on the bloody mattress.

Luke had the smallest smile on his face, through the blood. That was pretty telling too.

Sylar was very ready to fly off the handle. He had thought that they'd all be appalled, and maybe Gabriel would just nod and put him in another room. And then he'd have something to rage against. But Jack's words got through to him, even if Sylar didn't want them to.

He did right by him. He'd tried. Sylar sat up and wiped at his eyes, like a three-year-old. "He wanted- wanted me to-" Ugh, his voice was too shaky. He stopped talking and just nodded. Maybe he'd be mad after he calmed down. After all, Jack had kind of forced his hand. Right now, though, he was just hurting.

Gabriel had come by after Jack, and after seeing the whole scene, he sighed and leaned against the wall in the hallway. He'd wait for Jack to take Sylar out of there, and then he'd help Mohinder, if he could.

Mohinder was just a little beyond help at the moment. He rubbed at his eyes as if trying to pinch away the tears that kept flowing. He'd heard Jack's and Sylar's exchange and...

That hurt even worse.

The boy he'd barely met, the one that had killed a version of his father and had so steadfastly tried to protect Sylar in the kitchen, who had had a flare up of his ability and rushed away from the other boy... He'd given Sylar his ability. Mohinder could not believe that such a thing was ever romantic, but he hurt for them both, for their troubled relationship.

He had no idea what would become of the teenage version of his fiance... Or even what to think of Gabriel as he stood opposite him now.

"There's always another option," he said, the words in Tamil because he could not be bothered to attempt English. "There would have been-- I can't see you right now," Mohinder actually whimpered. He was not taking this well at all.