rp for witnessof_fate: playing lab rat

[heroslayer]

Truth be told, Sylar had no idea why he had agreed to helping Suresh in the first place. There were too many what-ifs, too many chances for the geneticist to have lied about what he was doing, since they had only danced around the subject in person.

What if all this research wasn't some kind of side project? What if it was for the Company and he was playing right into their hands? They'd done similar before, he was certain, and oh how they would have loved to get their claws back into him. Or, worse yet, what if all that had happened between him and Suresh in the last few weeks had been some kind of clever trick?

Be nice to the serial killer, Mohinder, and then drug him up when he put his life into your hands. He could almost hear the words coming out of Bishop's mouth. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

His temper raged. How the hell could Suresh do something like that? How could he have been so blind?

He moved towards the door of his apartment, each step echoing in the tiny room like drumbeats to war. With a flick of his fingers, the door sprang open, and with another after he had exited, it slammed shut. Maybe he was drawing unwanted attention to himself, with all that noise, but he didn't care. Right now, all he cared about was getting to Suresh. And less than a half an hour later, he was well within reach of the geneticist, standing at the foot of Mendez's old loft. Of Mohinder's shiny new lab.

Angry as he was, though, he wasn't stupid. If he just stormed in there, no matter how sneaky he was, they would catch him. It had happened last time, when he had come to the Indian for the cure. He'd gotten away, true, but he had no desire for the electric bitch to show up again, even if he would end her, this time around. So, that in mind, he did what any incensed lunatic with super powers would do.

He took out the power for blocks around Mohinder's lab.

No cameras that way, after all - they had to have cameras - and no chance of the Company getting suspicious, as they would have if he'd just taken out the building. And satisfied with his work, he slipped into the Indian's workspace without so much as a sound. Without so much as the thought that, maybe, the real reason he was doing this wasn't because he didn't trust Mohinder, but because he was terrified of having his spinal fluid drawn again.

Comments

[capableof-both.livejournal.com]

Mohinder gave him a slightly worried look, noting the difference in demeanor, wondering just what had altered. Fear didn't occur to him, not really. He was trying the best he could to make this different, anesthesia being the biggest, yes, but also consent, and not binding him.

"They don't normally anesthetize for spinal taps, but I think it should work," he said lightly, trying to be soothing. His fingers lightly traced. "It's basically an epidural. There will be just a slight pinch with this one, and then you should be numb along your back. If you can feel anything, or feel it slipping, let me know?"

[heroslayer]

He barely resisted the urge to lean back into Mohinder's fingers. "I will."

He hesitated, and then, against his better judgment, he added, "We might have to go through this, more than once. I don't know how hard it will be to keep my brain from trying to correct itself." If he could do it at all. If he could do it without hurting himself. If ...

What if, in stripping himself of his aptitudes, he lost that power forever? His original gift, his ability to see how things worked, to fix himself and others, gone forever, because he couldn't turn it back on, if and when he turned it off. He felt slightly nauseated by the thought, and as such, took a slow, deep breath, in an attempt to calm the fluttering of his heart and stomach.

[capableof-both.livejournal.com]

Mohinder nodded, feeling the tension under his fingers and he frowned, setting the anesthesia down to move around and kneel in front of him, reaching for one of Sylar's hands.

"If it does correct itself, doesn't allow the anesthetic, then we don't have to do anything else. I can find another way." Somehow. "There may even be another area that it's better to take a sample from, and ideally...it would help if I could draw the sample when you're using at least one of your abilities, to see if there is a difference..."

He was asking a lot, he knew, but he honestly wasn't sure how else to get to the answers, and no matter his personal stake in it, he really did want the answers.

[heroslayer]

"I told you I'd do this, Suresh," he started, reaching out for the other man's hand in time. "If it doesn't work, do it anyway." Or else, twisted moral structure or not, he'd go back on his word. Retreat as he had that night at Union Wells. And the idea of running away again was even less acceptable than the idea that Mohinder had, apparently, picked up on his apprehension in the first place.

He took another slow breath, and then added, "Don't tell me. Just do it. I ... keep something moving, telekinetically, either way." That was the ability that came the easiest, after all. Not that the others were anything nearing hard, but it didn't change facts that it would be the least difficult to sustain, even as he was trying to keep his brain's chemistry from adapting.

He reached out with his mind, and sans gestures this time, to toy with something just beyond his field of vision. "Anesthetize away, Mohinder."

[capableof-both.livejournal.com]

Mohinder frowned just a bit, then squeezed his hand before standing again. His own peevishness was disappearing, at least, both at the faint excitement curling at the idea of a breakthrough--a nearly sexual anticipation that he didn't think he'd ever really be able to explain to someone, so kept to himself, and with the surety that Sylar at least did trust him, on some level to do this.

He still wanted to warn him before the pinch of the anesthesia needle, but, really, it was a pinch and nothing like the pain of the other, so he went ahead and did it, quickly, using a much larger dose than he would on anyone else, hoping that would help it hold on.

"How does that feel?" he asked, brushing his fingers along Sylar's spine in tender touch after a few moments, to test the numbness.

[heroslayer]

Sylar couldn't keep himself from wincing as the needle went in, even if he had experienced far greater pain than this, in all his years. It was reflex, a ghost of the face he had made when Suresh had taken his original sample. Thankfully, however, it was also just a brief visitor to his face as a moment later he was effecting an expression of perfect concentration.

To turn off his regenerative capabilities was a breeze, like flicking a switch, but to stop him body from reacting entirely? That was much, much more difficult. Especially when it came to trying to continually push the object on Suresh's desk - felt like a pencil holder - around with his mind. It was like trying to hold someone underwater, the other person flailing and fighting tooth and nail, while you waved casually to a friend on shore.

In short, it was damn near impossible.

Teeth grinding, head cocked to one side, he put all his will into keeping his mind from doing anything he didn't want it to. The pencil cup on Suresh's desk came to a halt, rattling ominously on the desk like an angry snake as he focused. It wasn't the best show of control, but it was still motion; it was still use of his telekinesis, as promised. And for as insanely difficult as this all was for him, he was managing, that much very clear in the fact that he could feel pressure at his back but not much else.

"It feels ... I can't ... " He made a face. Apparently, conversation and concentration were too much to muster together. At least it was working, though. Suresh could have his sample, and he wouldn't feel a thing, and they would both go home happy.

There was just one hitch in the plan: unbeknownst to him, blood was suddenly dribbling from his nose. Apparently the brain didn't like having parts of itself shut down, in the name of science. And if Sylar were much for thought process, at the moment, he might have thought it was a small wonder he only had a nosebleed, much less was still conscious.

[capableof-both.livejournal.com]

Mohinder noted the nosebleed with worry in his eyes, and debated telling him to stop. But they might not have another chance, and he...needed this. Steeling himself, he moved quickly. Biting his lower lip, he grabbed the syringe for the spinal tap, inserting it immediately and taking what he needed before pulling it back out and nearly dropping it back on the side table.

"I'm done," he said, softly, moving across the room to get the box of tissues for him, swiftly coming back to his side, worry etched in his eyes. "Let it go..."

And please, god, let him heal when he did. Mohinder was kneeling in front of him again, tissue in hand, more concerned than he could hide.

[heroslayer]

Sylar let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in a sharp sigh, before sucking air back into his lungs through his teeth as he tried to bring his mind back online in full. Pain exploded behind his eyes, leaving bright lines of color on the insides of his eyelids as he closed them. His stomach rolled, threatening the return of his lunch, first out of fear that his ability wouldn't come back and then, when it kicked back in, as every fiber of his being revolted against the drugs in his system.

Suddenly sure he had a fair indication of what it was like to be resuscitated after drowning, he dropped his arms to rest on his knees so he could lean forward in his seat. And after a moment of continued labored breathing, he managed, "Did you get it?"

Suresh must have. Mostly because there was suddenly a dull ache spreading out from the base of his spine, and -- and above the hum of agony in his head, as his mind shifted and settled, there was something else. Some sort of hurt that didn't come with the usual use of his ability, seated at the front of his face, just behind his eyes, and very much out of place.

He reached up, confused, and it was then and only then that he seemed to come aware of the fact that his nose had apparently been bleeding. Oh. Well, that explained Suresh and the tissues, when he felt capable of opening his eyes.

[capableof-both.livejournal.com]

Mohinder nodded sharply in response to Sylar's question, trying to fight to find words around the aching lump in his throat. The first time, he'd meant to hurt him. This time he'd tried so very hard not to, and still the results seemed to be the same.

"I got it," he finally managed. He could use some blood, too, but somehow even that simple request, routine and relatively painless, seemed too much watching him like this.

Instead of handing him the tissues, he reached gently to wipe the blood away, worry in his eyes, still, dark and concerned as they watched him and tried to figure out what could cause it. Matt had mentioned it as well, but this...he wasn't sure this sort of a side effect was one that needed to be occurring. Perhaps it was a sign of too much strain. He didn't know, but it worried him more than he could find words for.

"Are you all right?"

[heroslayer]

"Sick to my stomach," he admitted, leaning in slowly to submit himself to Mohinder's care. "Headache." He paused long enough to close his eyes as it was the best way he could find to fight back another wave of nausea, and then, "It happens. My body's metabolizing the drugs. I'll be alright."

Never mind the fact that, on top of it all, he felt suddenly on the edge of a sneeze, something behind his eyes knitting itself back together. He wondered idly if he hadn't taken Adam's power, if they'd even be having this conversation. He decided he didn't want to think about it.

And so, in order to forget the worrisome thought, he ventured, "... if you need anything else ... " Now would be the time to do it.

[capableof-both.livejournal.com]

"I need some blood," Mohinder admitted. "Just ... a regular blood draw." Like the last time, when he'd been glaring, but at least they'd proven that wasn't painful. He'd barely bothered to look, nor had Sylar even reacted.

Strange how that was etched in his head.

His fingers slowly traced through his hair, lightly massaging over his scalp with gentle fingers, as if that could soothe the pain the drugs, that he, he had inflicted.

Concern or not, he was torn between the scientist and the lover, having this at his fingertips, but caring too much to be as ruthless as he might otherwise have found himself being. It still stuck there in the back of his head. Parasite. But he did care...he just cared about two things tearing him in different directions.

[heroslayer]

"Alright," Sylar agreed. Though, with Suresh's hands in his hair and his head feeling as it did, at the moment, he probably would have said yes to just about anything. "Do you need me to use one of my abilities again?"

He was fairly sure he could manage to return to toying with the pencil holder on the geneticist's desk, after all. Or, if Mohinder didn't want him to use one of his powers, he'd have to wait until the tingling in his head stopped. Either way, the question was relevant.

[capableof-both.livejournal.com]

"It doesn't matter with the blood, I don't think," Mohinder said. He'd tested that on Molly back when she was healing from the virus. "At least not that I can tell."

Whatever the impetus for the abilities, it did not seem to be focused in the blood, even if it was blood that healed for Claire and Adam and...Sylar. Still that faint tinge of worry, there, where he hadn't pressed before, but part of him truly wanted to know.

His fingers dropped away just long enough for him to get a tourniquet and syringe and kneel down next to him again, watching him almost warily as he pushed up his sleeve, fingers trailing over skin, then tied the tourniquet around his upper arm.

[heroslayer]

Sylar made a small, accepting noise in the back of his throat, but failed to comment, otherwise. Instead, as the geneticist pulled away to get the tourniquet and needle, he contented himself to watching him, expression growing clearer and face less pale with every passing moment. Apparently, he'd been telling the truth about simply needing a minute or two.

Silence for a moment more, and then, hesitantly, he pointed out, "Your father assumed our abilities came from the brain." And, between how his own worked and what he needed to do to take the powers of another, he knew they did. "Have you ever thought about taking a sample from there?"

If it was even possible. If the spinal tap wasn't just as good. For as many books on anatomy as he had read, since he'd learned of his talents, his grasp on medical science was still unfortunately limited.

[capableof-both.livejournal.com]

"I've thought about it, yes," Mohinder said, almost absently as he carefully drew a blood sample. "But there hasn't been a chance. I mean, taking a brain sample isn't something that can generally be done until someone is dead, and I haven't..."

Felt like he should stoop to that, yet, especially when most of the evolved deaths he knew about had already had their brains removed.

He slid the needle back out of his arm, before leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead lightly, then moved back to put both the blood and the spinal fluid into the refrigerator.

[heroslayer]

"I wonder ... " He failed to finish that sentence, fairly sure what whatever he ended it with would disturb Mohinder.

What he'd meant in starting that was to suggest that, perhaps, the geneticist could take a sample from him. He, after all, could die long enough for him to get a clear reading and then bounce back, no harm done. Maybe it was a little reckless of him to suggest that, but he'd been looking for a way to test the extent of his regenerative capabilities, and any fear he might have had had evaporated the second he'd been allowed to take his aptitude back. Possibly because every time his brain changed - to accommodate new powers, to rid himself of sedation, whatever - came a sort of pleasant insanity. And fear had no place there.

[capableof-both.livejournal.com]

Just the two words, and Mohinder knew what he was thinking. He froze where he was, breath catching a little at the idea of it, heartbeat picking up at the chance of it, and then he had to push it down. Even if Sylar was sure, he had no way of knowing that the brain itself would regenerate in Sylar, though he had some of Claire's blood left, and that, he knew at least, would do it. And Peter's brain had healed after the glass was removed, so.

It was likely anything he did, anything he took, it would heal.

But likely was not certain, and he truly feared losing him more. "Perhaps...I know my father did various scans, but none of those were while you were using any ability--your natural ones or acquired ones. A scan while you were, to see the electrical impulses, to map the way it changes with each ability could be...highly useful."

As well as painless and completely safe. Look at that, he was developing at least a slight conscience when it came to research. Maybe.

[heroslayer]

Sylar shot him a decidedly unimpressed look. "Scans also require electricity, Suresh."

The power had yet to come back up, after all. He could imagine technicians somewhere scrambling around, fumbling for a reason why it had gone down in the first place, and then striving to fix them. It would take time, maybe another half an hour or so by his best guess, but by then he would have to be gone. So they were stuck between a rock and a hard place, it seemed.

"The brain doesn't feel pain, you know. It's why they can perform brain surgery with the patient conscious."

[capableof-both.livejournal.com]

"I haven't got a MRI machine in my lab, either," Mohinder shot back with the same unimpressed look. "I can't possibly shield for the radiation here, but I do have privileges at a research hospital here in town."

He frowned slightly at the latter assertion. "The brain may not, but the scalp does."

[heroslayer]

"Really," said as if he didn't know that. That was why they screamed - why they always screamed - when he cut into them. He kept this thought to himself, however, but it didn't stop it from darkening his eyes briefly, like lightning in reverse.

He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment to banish the shadows, and when he opened them, he fixed his eyes on the Indian again. "A scan, then," he agreed. "Would you need time to set it up, or could we do it now?" It didn't matter to him, either way, but he figured he'd ask.

[capableof-both.livejournal.com]

Mohinder just gave him a look. He knew he knew. He'd pointed it out for just that reason. And he'd really rather not be working on someone who was screaming. It was distracting.

"I'd need some time to set it up," he said, finally. "To get it scheduled, though I probably could get us time in the next week or so."

[heroslayer]

If he could read minds, he would have asked Suresh if he'd honestly thought he'd scream. He hadn't when Nakamura had stabbed him, after all. Nor had he when the stitches the Company had left him with when they'd rescued him had nearly split, when he'd panicked after finding he couldn't use his ability to take Candice's. Or when he'd been hit with enough voltage to make his heart skip a beat, as he'd run from Elle. The list just went on and on, really.

But, well. His mind wasn't there, thankfully, focused instead on Mohinder's explanation. "And we'd be able to do it without drawing attention?"

[capableof-both.livejournal.com]

"I can arrange it so that we don't," Mohinder said, positively. He knew he was watched, but he'd also learned more than a few tricks of getting around those prying eyes.

[heroslayer]

He was amazed how sure of himself the geneticist sounded, considering this was the Company they were talking about. But if Mohinder could come across with such positivity, he supposed he could trust him. "Just let me know when and where, Mohinder. When you schedule it."

[capableof-both.livejournal.com]

"Of course," Mohinder said, crossing back to him. His fingers brushed lightly over his cheek, worry still flickering in his eyes.

"How are you feeling?"