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