Night 47: North of the Institute

[hat_einen_vogel]

[From here]

It hadn't been the most graceful landing, but at least Prussia had landed on his feet without injury; a twisted ankle right now would not have been the best thing for his escape.

He picked up the torch from where it had landed, and took a moment to check out what lay ahead of him. The land was unfamiliar to him—even in the dark he would have recognized in an instant if it had been German land—and provided little clue as to which direction would be best to travel in. There were no paths, no roads on this side of the hospital or the side around the corner.

He decided to move along the wall for now, and started heading east. He'd see if there was anything compelling in that direction—some landmark he might recognize or a road or anything—and decide where to go from there.

Comments

[scarletspeedstr.livejournal.com]

[We can be team fail together, bb~ ♥]

The comment about stragglers got a snort of suppressed laughter from Wally, though he also had to admit Zack had a point. Splitting up worked a lot better when everyone had powers or other skills that meant they could take care of themselves. But with how Wally's powers were, and whatever Zack had left to him at the moment, sticking together would probably work better. At least in theory.

"This way seems as good as any other," he agreed. "And it's better than getting indecisive about it, right?" At least he liked to think it was. But then just getting out and doing something was good enough for him, at the moment.

Flicking his flashlight around the area again just to make sure they weren't in danger of being attacked or anything, Wally led the way in the direction Zack had indicated.

"So anyway," he asked as they walked, something from earlier clearly still on his mind. "What can you do in this place? I mean, if you don't mind that is."

[darwinism]

Sylar had dealt with enough indecision from people here to last him a lifetime, so he nodded vigorously in response to Wally's confirmation and began to walk steadily behind him. Sylar, too, kept his flashlight up, clicking it on and swinging it back and forth across their field of vision, even though it still didn't afford them much knowledge of where the hell they were going. Still, even if they did come across something dangerous, he at least found comfort in the fact that Wally would be here to take the brunt of the damage – maybe even voluntarily.

That's right. The only variables in these circumstances came from the outside, because Sylar already had complete control over everything Wally felt about 'Zack.' After all, what kind of soulless monster wouldn't do as much as they could to save their dear friend when everyone else they knew here had already vanished? Even the question that Wally asked was an expected one, and Sylar smiled faintly from behind Wally's back as they continued their trek.

"I guess it's only fair that I tell you, right?" he said with a wry laugh. "It's... kind of hard to explain. I can see how things work – like clocks, appliances, machines, and sometimes, if I study a person hard enough, I can figure out how to do... the same special things that they can."

He paused, then continued: "It's... really hit-or-miss here, though. So far, I've only been able to pick up one power – um, electricity. Just one charge of it per night." He sighed, sounding truly morose. "Pretty pathetic, right?"

[scarletspeedstr.livejournal.com]

"Really?" Wally asked, his attention split between the area around them and Zack. Maybe a little dangerous, but what the other man was saying was pretty interesting; in fact it was more difficult not to give Zack his complete attention. "You can do that for anyone with powers? That's really something."

He smiled hugely, all simple, open honesty, and continued. "I mean, I love my speed, can't imagine what it would be like without it, but something like that... It's really amazing." The smile faded out slowly. "Guess it has to bite that it's been limited that far though. But!"

He dropped back and slung an arm around Zack's shoulders. "One charge a night is still something, right? I mean, if you save it for something you need, it could make all the difference and hey-" He tilted his head to catch the man's eye, a sudden idea making him smile even more than before. "You could try picking up my power! I mean, if you wanted. It's something, right? And I don't mind at all."