Homecoming Night I

Striding into my room, I closed it behind me and stepped to my desk to place the small plastic bag in my hand on it.

My phone vibrated inside my pocket. I took it out and raised an eyebrow when I saw the name of the caller. It was Claire.

It had only been ten minutes or so since I dropped her back home after school so why was she calling?

The call connected as I pressed the accept button and I held it to my ear, "Missing me already Claire?"

"...This is not Claire." A familiar soft mature voice answered after a pause and I narrowed my eyebrows dangerously.

"Who is this?" I asked coldly, almost growling, as I turned my body to face the open balcony. The sky was painted golden as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon.

Had Claire been kidnapped? Had the company gotten to her? No that was impossible with her father around. So Sylar?

Hmm, this voice...why did it sound awfully familiar.

"It's her father." He replied calmly and my worries dissipated instantly, letting out a low sigh of relief.

"Oh, it's Mr. Bennet. Sorry for my tone earlier. I thought someone had gotten to Claire." I apologized, scratching the back of my head, a small embarrassed smile creeping on my face.

...Wait a minute, why did he have Claire's phone? And why did he call me?

"Don't worry Xander," He said casually, a tinge of playfulness in his voice. "If anything, I'm glad for your reaction. It's good you care this much about her safety."

"...Thank you I guess?" I muttered unsurely, not knowing how to react to something like this. "...Uhm, Mr. Bennet. Is there any particular reason you called me using Claire's phone?" I asked him politely.

The line went quiet for a few seconds, and then he answered, his tone this time serious and rigid.

"Yes. It's about the Homecoming game this evening. Don't go." His voice was flat and cold.

"...Uhm okay, can you please tell me why?" I asked, confused, my eyebrows knitting, as I pulled my chair back and sat on it.

"There's no time to explain," He said stoically, his tone a little authoritative. "Just don't go to the Homecoming game tonight and you'll be safe."

"Does that mean something bad is going to happen at the game?" I questioned as a frown settled on my face. "And what about Claire? Will she go?"

"You ask a lot of questions Xander," He commented sharply, a little annoyance leaking in his voice. "And no, Claire won't be going to the game. Just lock all your doors, stay home, and you'll be safe for the night."

"...Are you trying to say someone means to hurt me at the game? Is someone targeting me?" I probed calmly as, slowly, the realization of what was about to happen trickled in.

"Goodbye Xander. I'll see you tomorrow." He ignored my questions and just before I was about to tell him to stop, the line died.

I removed my phone from my ear, stared at it for a while, and then placed it on my desk, propping my elbows on it and interlocking my fingers, bending my head slightly in thought.

It was happening. The event I hoped, because of my interference, wouldn't come to pass.

Sylar would be coming to the game and this time, it seemed Claire wasn't his target.

It was me...

A dark chuckle escaped my lips as gradually, I began to put the bits and pieces of my meta-knowledge and the conversation I had with Mr. Bennet into place.

Before the game happened, the organization, or better yet, Mr. Bennet made them bring Isaac Mendez in because of the series of paintings he made concerning Sylar and Claire.

It was because of these paintings that Mr. Bennet knew Sylar would be at the school.

It was because of these same paintings that Peter Petrelli moved all the way from New York to these place to save Claire.

But from what I could glean from the conversation, things had changed because of me.

Mr. Bennet wouldn't have called to warn me if I wasn't the target and the way he avoided the question I asked, made it all click.

My life was in danger. And one way or the other, Claire was involved in it. Judging by his tone, it didn't seem like I would die.

It was more like I would get badly hurt or injured. Still, there was a chance I would.

After all, I can't make any concrete deductions based on his tone alone. So, it was either I would die tonight or get badly hurt.

Either way, tonight wasn't going to be a good night for me.

At the thought of this, my blood ran cold and I began to shiver as fear started blanketing me, my heartbeat racing so much that I could hear it, making some thoughts run wild in my head.

But immediately I employed my breathing method or exercise, and slowly, my heart rate and fear started receding as a deadly calm enveloped my being.

This wasn't the to be anxious or afraid. I knew this was a possibility long before this day came, and I'd been preparing myself for it ever since. It was here and I had to face it head on.

Mr. Bennet told me to skip the game and stay indoors tonight but if I was indeed Sylars target, then staying at home wouldn't do shit.

If he managed to find out where I was going to school then what was stopping him from discovering the place I live?

So no, staying here wasn't an option. I would only end up endangering the life of my dad and that wasn't acceptable.

And besides, I doubted Mr. Bennet would send some of his people to guard the house in the eventuality Sylar came here.

That man only cared about his organization and his family. In fact, I was sure that if it wasn't the fact that Claire was somehow involved in whatever danger was coming my way, he wouldn't have called me.

He would've probably even used me as bait.

So yeah, I could only count on myself for protection. The only choice, lying in front of me, was to go the game and confront Sylar face to face.

Maybe Isaac painted my death...but so what? The future was always changing and uncertain, especially in this world where time travelers and precogs ran amok.

I was the only one who could decide whether I lived or died and gods be damned if I let that crazy psychopath end my second chance at life.

I had never taken anyone's life before but today, if my luck was good and the situation called for it, I would.

Because now that he had me in his sights, Sylar had to go, otherwise I would never be safe.

It was a simple matter of self-preservation...

Exhaling sharply, I stood up as a resolve welled up in my heart and moved to where my computer was.

Crouching to the level of the system unit, I stretched my hand to where the back of it almost touched the wall, and my fingers touched dust and cobwebs.

Finding what I was looking for as my fingers wrapped around a cold metal object, I pulled my hand back and looked down at it.

A dusty silver revolver was now in my hand, the same one I found inside Nikki's stolen briefcase...

Straightening myself, I went back to the desk and poured the contents of the plastic bag onto the desk. Five silver and black folded knives, encased in transparent plastic packets were revealed.

They were needle-point knives. Knives with the right kind of blade are needed to stab someone or something in the gut.

A weapon I hadn't used in a very long time ever since I graduated high school in my former life.

I stared at them for a few seconds and then shifted my attention to the revolver in my hand, my thumb on the release latch of the cylinder

With a confident flick of my wrist, while pressing the latch, the cylinder swung open with a click and I nodded in appreciation when I saw the four bullets in their chambers.

With this, two of the knives, and my power, I was prepared for whatever came next.

Even if I didn't manage to kill Sylar tonight, I had to hurt him hard enough that he'd leave me alone until I found a way to eliminate him for good.

Still, something equally as important was bothering me. How? How was Sylar able to find out about me when I had covered all my and Claire's tracks?

Did he get some sort of tracking power that allowed him to pinpoint the location of superhumans?

No, that was impossible. There was only one power like that and the person it belonged to was deep inside the organization's grasp.

So then how? Sigh...I guess I'd know when the time came...