How beauteous mankind is.

[drsuresh]

One minute, Chandra is caught up in the chaos of the windstorm, the gunfire, the screams. One of his patients is falling into his arms, and there is a flash of light, and.

The world goes silent. The buildings around him have fallen into what looks like years of decay in mere seconds. A faint breeze blows a loose shutter, but the sky is clear blue.

He knows instinctively that he cannot stay here. There's a cafe nearby, maybe he can ask for some help there. He's not sure exactly what he'll say. They will probably think he's lost his mind, but he's used to people thinking that about him.

The cafe, thankfully, isn't far. He's tired, and his throat is full of dust, and he has no idea what has just happened to him. He just knows that little Angela had been right, in a way. He'd killed them all.

He hardly notices that there is anything strange inside the cafe, he's so desperate for a glass of water. The waitress takes pity on him, and gives him a glass without any promise that he'll buy anything along with it. He must be quite a mess.

He's on his third gulp of water when he starts to realize that everyone in the cafe is huddling around the television. The television that is broadcasting in fairly vibrant color. He leaves his glass at the bar and walks slowly to the crowd.

A girl is climbing to the top of a ferris wheel. Everyone around him gasps as she leaps to the ground, but not Chandra. He keeps his eyes glued to the screen. When she stands up again and begins to heal in front of the camera, a smile spreads across his face.

“Where is this happening?” he asks the woman next to him, nodding toward the screen. Her face is ashen white.

“N-New York.”

“I must go to New York,” he says with a nod.

So, he does. He manages to convince a trucker to give him a ride. He's determined by now that there was some sort of time jump. The trucker had let Chandra look at his telephone, which didn't look at all like a telephone, had no cord, and was connected to something called the internet.

Chandra recognized it as a computer more than a telephone, although it didn't look like any computer he'd worked with either, but at least that way it made enough sense to him that he could use it. He looked up everything he could find on the girl and watched the newscast video several more times.

He also discovered that she was a student in Virginia, so he requests that the trucker leaves him there instead. It's only been a day and a half since his world crashed down around him and he was thrown from the wreckage into another one, but he is determined. He can worry about the rest of it later.

Comments

[indestructigirl.livejournal.com]

Claire had gone back to Arlington to attempt to regain some normalcy, and realized immediately that it was a futile effort. Word had spread about her infamous jump, despite her best efforts to remain anonymous. Gretchen bailed on her, turned out even she didn't like all the attention Claire was getting. Mostly because it took the focus off herself.

But the former cheerleader who could regenerate tried her very best to get on with her life, going back to class once they'd started up a new semester. She was still undeclared, but leaning toward psychology. She wanted to be able to help people like her.

For now, she had to focus on keeping a low profile. Noah lectured her for days after the jump, and for good reason. After the fact, she realized the foolishness of her actions, but she still believed the world should know about specials. The faster they were educated, the faster they might get over their fear.

But Noah ultimately let her go back to Arlington, hoping things would blow over, and no one would come after her... She walked around campus with her head down, trying to avoid the stares.

[chandra-suresh.livejournal.com]

The campus is a great deal more culture shock than the passenger seat of an eight-wheeler had been. Chandra has been sitting on a bench for hours, watching hundreds of people walking by with innumerable gadgets in their hands.

America is always a culture shock, but the feeling is intense enough that Chandra's skin is crawling every time he sees something else that's unfamiliar--which is practically everything around him. Then, he spots something relatively familiar; the girl from the video.

He gets to his feet and rushes over to her. "Claire Bennet? Please, I must speak with you."

[indestructigirl.livejournal.com]

It was all she could do to keep from rolling her eyes, remembering her manners at the last moment. Part of her wanted to brush him off, but she wasn't exactly in a hurry to get to her algebra class, anyway. "Okay," she said, hitching her bag more firmly on her shoulder.

Claire was mindful of the mace in the front pocket, just in case. She'd seen her fair share of weirdos, both before and after her jump.

[chandra-suresh.livejournal.com]

"I saw your recording. Which, judging by the look on your face, you've already guessed." Chandra smiles, because he can at least try to be charming, even though he's a complete mess. "I apologize. I am sure you are going through quite a lot at the moment. That is why I tried to keep it secret..." And a lot of good that had done. They're all dead. now.

"Ehm, what I mean is. I'm a geneticist, and if there is anything I can do to help you better understand your ability or-- or anything, really..." He holds out his hand, hoping he hasn't scared her away. "My name is Dr. Chandra Suresh."

[indestructigirl.livejournal.com]

Claire had very nearly begun to tune him out, until she caught him mentioning that he was a geneticist, and then her ability. And then she heard his name. "Chandra Suresh?" she repeated, eyes wide. She remembered going to Coyote Sands with her father, Angela, Peter, and Nathan. She remembered hearing Angela's story about what happened there... Was this the same Chandra Suresh? But she knew Sylar had killed him a few years ago in New York, and this man looked way too young to be Mohinder's father.

Time travel was a possibility, she knew, but she decided to let the topic slide for now, instead focusing on the parts about abilities.

"So, you work with people with abilities? Have- have you ever met someone like me?" Claire couldn't help but hope. Maybe there was another regen out there, somewhere.

[chandra-suresh.livejournal.com]

Chandra smiles hugely, relieved that he hadn't made the trip for nothing. "Not precisely your ability, no. It's really quite remarkable. Most of the abilities I've worked with are less centered in the body itself. Such as being capable of exuding concussive force or... dreaming future events." His smile falls a bit. "All very difficult to prove or conclusively test, as you can imagine. But you have done something so brave in showing everyone what you can do. Now, people will be able to come out of the woodwork, and I want to help them. Maybe we will find someone with an ability like yours."

[indestructigirl.livejournal.com]

"The dreaming the future one is legit," Claire said without thinking. If this was the same Chandra Suresh, he'd know Angela. "I've heard of that one. I've met a lot of people with abilities, actually. Some of them don't want help. Sometimes I'm not even sure I want it, or if I even need it."

There were things she wanted to understand about her ability, but she wasn't entirely convinced the elder Suresh could explain them. She supposed she could give him a chance, though. "But I'm willing to try. Don't see the harm."

[chandra-suresh.livejournal.com]

"Being willing to try itself puts you ahead of most people." Chandra smiles, but it quickly fades. He had a clear goal, and now he's reached it. This puts him in the unfortunate position of needing to contemplate his situation. He has nowhere to live, no money, no one to turn to. Perhaps he could contact friends... if they are still alive. But he has seen on the 'internet' that it is 2008, and that is a long time. Is he still alive?

He can't be sure of anything, but there is one person in this time that he knows now. "I do have one more question, Claire, and I would rather not bother you about it, but I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a difficult situation. Do you happen to know anything about time travel?"

[indestructigirl.livejournal.com]

His question, while it had confirmed her guesses, still caught her off guard. Claire smiled, nodding. "I am, actually. Done it myself and know others who have. What year are you from?" she asked. Maybe this was Mohinder's father, then, though it was unlikely Mohinder had been born when this version of Chandra was around.

She wondered if she should tell him he was dead now... was that frowned upon? Hiro had such complicated time travel rules, Claire didn't understand or even remember them all. Would he really be able to change anything? She doubted it.

[chandra-suresh.livejournal.com]

It was such a relief to be able to talk to someone who believed him so easily. "1961. As I understand it from the... internet, I have made quite a jump. I like this time period so far." Chandra eyes someone walking by, head bowed while texting a friend. "Although it is a bit strange."