Chapter Six. “The Line.”

Sheila O’Irish is looking at a picture of her brother, Irish O’Irish. Peter says he’s sorry and that he’s not going to let Sheila be next. He’s going to Montreal to see what the painting meant. Sheila insists on going with Peter. Peter asks why. “Beekooz ahm Aiirish. I wont ta faind the broad who deed thes an’ smaish her ovur the ‘ed weth me kest airn skellit. An’ then I wont to drank sume Guenniss an’ ait sum cahrnd baif en kebbege. An’ faind a pat o’ guld ait the and oov the reenboh. Beekooz ahm Aiirish! Nah let’s goo ta Mantreyahl.” I love the Irish. BTW, Sheila wants to kill the girl who killed Irish.

Claire is trying out for cheerleader. The head cheerleader says no and tells Claire that she’s looking for girls who are extra-ordinary. And Claire is not extra-ordinary. Claire shoulda responded with, “YOU’RE extra-ordinary, as in ordinary to the extreme! BUUUUURN!”

Monica is doing backflips on a balance beam, watching the Olympics on TV. Mohindar tells her she’s doing great. She’s in Hartsdale, NY, at a private institution, and her adaptability is an extraordinary gift. Midas comes in and says he’s the director of operations, and could he please see Mohindar alone. Mohindar calls Monica extraordinary again, and the extraordinary count is up to four. I’m gonna keep a running tally throughout the show.

Mohindar says Monica can replicate any action. Midas is experimenting with the virus and wants to take away Monica’s ability, “for the greater good.” He wants Mohindar to inject Monica with the virus (without her consent) and see if it takes away her ability, because some abilities are just too dangerous for people to have. Mohindar says she’s sweet and loves her ability, and he doesn’t want to do it. He also says that giving it to people could make the virus adapt to an incurable form (just like the flu!). Because, see, Mohindar’s blood is the only cure for the virus, and if it mutates, the X-Men are kinda screwed. Midas says, doooo it. He leaves the room, and Mohindar is like, oh crap! These people might be crazy.

Mohindar tells HRG that it’s a manufactured virus and could already have mutated, so Mo doesn’t want to use it on people without their consent. HRG realizes he took Molly to the Company. HRG also says that if Mo doesn’t do what Midas says, the Company will get rid of Mo, and the “good” guys will have no in at the Company. Oh, and Mo will lose Molly. HRG says, “You’ve got principles, and that’s fine, but to bring down this Company, sometimes we have to do bad things.”

In Odessa, Ukraine, a little boy’s grama puts his coat on him to take him outside. Her husband looks very familiar. His name is Ivan, and HRG comes in and says, “Ivan, my old friend,” [knocks him out], “We need to talk.” Dun dun dunnnn.

Claire and Creepy are having lunch at school. Now Claire’s feeling very mop about the cheerleaders not letting her in and says she doesn’t know what to do about the cheerleading thing, because she’s already told HRG that she made the squad. Creepy says she should just stand up to HRG, and she’s like, “I have to listen to my parents. Duh.” He says he can fly, so by definition there is no need for parental guidance. Yes, because high-schoolers are even smart enough to *drive* and flying just requires that much less responsibility. He asks Claire what cheerleaders fear the most. She says public humiliation, and he tells her to take the head cheerleader down a notch. I hope she makes the head cheerleader drop the spirit stick, because then I’ll be like, “Awesome! Oh wow! Like totally freak me out, I mean right on! Claire’s powers sure are number one!” Extraordinary count: 5.

In Mexico, near the U.S. border, Gabe tells Maya that her ability is such a fascinating gift. He tells her he used to be able to do awesome things, too, but his abilities went away. And he needs to see Mohindar to get his powers back. Maya is befuddled that Gabe actually liked his powers, and he says powers can be gifts, they don’t have to be burdens. Alejandro starts talking to Maya in Spanish and says that they need to hire a coyote at the border, and they can’t trust Gabe, so they need to split up. Maya says they need Gabe, that he’s a gift from God, and Gabe knows something’s up, so Maya tells him Alejandro wants to leave Gabe behind. She tells Gabriel he’ll come with them and not to worry about her twiggy brother. She’s glad to have found Gabriel. The scene ends with ticking.

At the paper place, the paper restorer has started without Ando for the day. He’s so excited about Kensei and Hiro getting to White Beard’s camp. He tries to skip ahead into the battle, but Ando tells him that he must know every detail. And so must the viewers! Back in feudal Japan, Hiro and Co are planning their attack for that night. He fears for the swordsmith and his daughter. He says he loves her but cannot have her. The three of them are planning to attack the whole army tonight. Hiro tells her she should reconsider, and she says that as long as Kensei is around, they will be fine. She wants to know how to find her father among all the tents, and Hiro tells her that the story will tell them. He remembers that her father is in the tent that smolders, and she thinks he’s trying to throw out lucky guesses. He says, you’re right, I’m sorry. Kensei returns from a recon mission and tells them that he has found Yaeko’s father in the tent that smolders. Hiro distracts from the whole smoldering tent thing by telling Yaeko she’s right: they have nothing to fear as long as Mistuh Sahhhk is beautifularound.

HRG is questioning Ivan about Isaac’s paintings. Ivan says he works in sales at the textile factory now. HRG says to cut the crap, and Ivan says, “I taught you and your invisible partner Claude everything you know.” HRG says, “Then you know what I’m capable of.” Ivan says that the Haitian can’t help HRG get info from Ivan’s brain, and HRG tells Ivan about the Haitian’s awesome new power, the way he can make people’s memories disappear. He tells Ivan if he doesn’t help them find the paintings, the Haitian will do away with all the memories that give his life meaning. Ivan says no, you’re my friend, and HRG says, “You were my friend.” HRG tells the Haitian to start with the day Ivan met his wife. A boat ride on the Danube. The Haitian Hand of Power covers up Ivan’s face.

HRG tells Ivan to tell him about Katarina. Their honeymoon, her favorite flower, etc. Ivan says he can’t remember, and HRG says they can continue, or he can tell HRG about the paintings. Ivan tells him to go to hell. Claire calls just then and asks to borrow the car. He says sure, but lock the doors this time so his car doesn’t help carry illegals across the border like hers is doing. She says she’ll be with the cheerleaders later. She also asks where he is, and he says he’s in management training in Tulsa. She calls him on an inconsistency about management training (he hasn’t been with the company a year yet), and he says he’s super-awesome, and that’s why they sent him early. Ivan is listening to HRG talk to Claire-bear. After they hang up, Creepy brings Claire a ski mask, and she says let’s do it. Cool! She’s gonna be a ninja cheerleader! The head cheerleader won’t even see the humiliation coming. In Ukraine, Ivan says it must be very difficult for Claire, always living in fear of discovery. Ivan tells HRG he can’t hide Claire forever, and HRG tells the Haitian to use his Haitian Hand of Power to take all of his memories of HRG, Claire, his whole family. Ivan says, wait! We can work together! For the greater good, I guess. He wants HRG to come back to the Company. He says the Company has changed, they have new directives. He says maybe they can make a deal. If he comes back to the Company, Ivan can give him his life back, and he’ll know everything, even about the paintings.

LOL, there’s a border fence. Right, because we have those. Gabe smiles and tells Maya and Alejandro that that’s a border fence, and it’s not finished yet. There are huge gaping holes in the fence. Yep, that’s more like it. They drive across the border into America, and the citizens on the border (in non-fantasy-land known as Minutemen) drive up and block their car. They say they’ve notified the Border Patrol, and they jump out of their trucks and have Claire’s car at gunpoint. They are supposed to be hicks, I think, because they look like hunters, and some of them are wearing cowboy hats. Yeah, um… sorry, Hollywood, but our Minutemen don’t hold people at gunpoint. They find people, notify the Border Patrol as to their whereabouts, and the Border Patrol agents get arrested and thrown in prison for trying to stop people, especially when they catch drug dealers. Because catching drug dealers is bad. But if the Minutemen *did* hold illegals at gunpoint and tell them to use the front door instead of the window, that would be perfectly fine with me.

This show is really wearing on me with all of its attempts at subtle political messages. It’s getting old. Hey, I wonder if global warming is causing the Black Oil Twins to go crazy insane. If only they had free healthcare, maybe they could get better. And I’m almost certain that guns cause Sylar to kill people. Because guns are eeeeevil.

Mohindar tells Monica that getting a shot will be the last phase of her testing, and then she can go home. She tells him she doesn’t do needles, but she finally gives in and tells him to make it quick. He says he can’t do it and runs into Midas’s office, throwing the syringe aside, breaking it, and telling Midas it’s wrong he won’t do it. Stupid Mohindar! He could have experimented on Midas instead and crippled the company. If Midas can’t make the gold, the Company goes broke. Midas says that if Mohindar won’t do it, they can find someone else who will. Mo throws a chair through the freezer that’s holding the virus. He says he’s taking Molly, and they can find someone else to do their research. Yay, Mohindar! Make like a tree, and get outta there!

Back on the border, the cowboy brown-people-haters, are banging on Claire’s car, telling them to get out, vamanos and all that. I think I heard one of them shout, “Hey, brown people! Get out of the car! We hate you and want to kill you because we hate brown people! Did I mention that we hate brown people?” The brown-people-haters are acting like monkeys, shaking the car, trying to get in, yelling, “Eee! Eee! Me monkey! Me hate brown people!” Maya starts to panic and go all Black Oil, and Alejandro tries to stop it. Gabe tells her to use her gift. “But you’ll die!” He will? The prison guards didn’t. Gabe says she must get rid of those evil American cowboys who hate brown people.

Head cheerleader is drawing how many pounds each girl is overweight on their foreheads with a Sharpie. She’s drinking a lot of tequila, and all the other girls are a teeny bit annoyed about the weight thing. She’s lecturing them all about being fatties. Claire walks up and asks to talk to the head girl, on the promise that she’ll do the girl’s bio homework for a week. Ok, fine, you have five minutes. They walk off, where the other cheerleaders can’t hear, and Claire says she wants another chance. Drunken cheerleader says no, it’s cute of her to want to be a cheerleader, but the answer is still no. Creepy flies down with his ski mask on, grabs Claire, flies off with her, and drops her on the stairs. She looks very dead. Head cheerleader screams, and Creepy flies at her. Finally! Someone is using their powers for something useful! Freaking out drunken cheerleaders.

Head cheerleader is talking to a cop and telling him that Claire is dead, and the flying masked man came at her after he killed Claire. She says she has no idea what happened to Claire, but she knows Claire is dead. Claire walks up and is like, “Hey, Debbie. What’s going on?” The cop asks if she saw anything weird, like flying masked men. “No, I was just hanging out with Debbie.” Another cop walks up and has a near-empty bottle of tequila to show to cop #1. Poor drunken Debbie. Outwitted. By a cheerleader.

In feudal Japan, Hiro is instructing Kensei on how everything will go down. Kensei tells Hiro he’s given him purpose and made him a better man. Kensei walks up to the guard at the swordsmith’s tent and asks, “You wouldn’t happen to have a swordsmith in there, would you?” The guard stabs him through the stomach with his sword, and Kensei fakes like he’s dying for a second. Then he gives him a perfect David Anders oopsie look, pulls the sword out, and kills the guard. “That was easy enough.” My hero! Kensei, Hiro, and Yaeko go into the smoldering tent, and the swordsmith says he thought Kensei was a drunk. “No, I’m a hero!” The swordsmith says he can’t leave, because White Beard has an arsenal of guns. He’s planning to overthrow the emperor. Hiro says, “But guns aren’t allowed in Japan… yet.” Well, if guns aren’t allowed, then it’s not possible that someone who wants to overthrow the emperor would have them! Hiro realizes that if White Beard uses guns to overthrow the emperor, the way of the sword and samurai would end in Japan. He says that must be how Kensei saves Japan, by destroying the arsenal and continuing the way of the sword. He tells the swordsmith that he and Yaeko will take him out of camp while Kensei destroys the arsenal. The swordsmith agrees, and Kensei cuts him loose.

At the lab, Mohindar kisses Molly on the head. Midas apologizes to Mohindar and says that in his haste to deal with Adam Monroe or Narrow (a file Midas has and Mohindar has seen), he didn’t think about anyone else and stepped out of bounds. He says this Adam guy is really bad. Mohindar falls for it. He tells Mohindar that he’s valuable, not just because of his blood and his knowledge, but because he can keep the Company in line. Yeah, ok. Whatevs. Mo says he can’t take Molly away yet, because she’s still not well, and he doesn’t have a choice but to help the Company.

Back in 1671, it’s now daybreak, and the swordsmith and Hiro’s gang are running around fighting, escaping. One of White Beard’s army starts to fire a rifle at Yaeko, and Hiro sees and stops time and transports Yaeko to the woods somewhere. We don’t know how far they are from the fray.

That stupid watch-me-move watch-me-move watch-me-watch-me watch-me-move commercial? I can’t even let it play in the background while I’m typing. It makes me want to stab my eardrums until I can’t hear anything. So apparently whatever kind of phone they’re trying to sell is not the phone for me. Watch me fast forward.

Huh. So there’s a tropical storm moving toward Florida.

Yaeko asks Hiro what happened. She realizes he can transport people. She realizes also that he’s the one under the cherry blossoms, the one doing everything, saving people, etc. She asks if he loves her. “Very much.” She says that everything she loved in Kensei was from Hiro. She goes in for a kiss. He stops time, mentions the space/time continuum, recklessly starts time and whams her with a kiss. The cameras pan out, and poor Mistuh Sahhk is standing a few yards away, watching sadly from behind a fallen tree.

Back at the restorer’s place, Hiro’s voice says, “It was the kiss that fractured time.” And that’s the end of the last scroll, and Ando has no idea how it ends, only knows that his friend is not back yet.

Now in the U.S., Gabe and the illegal Alejandro are fighting. Alejandro and Maya are fighting. Maya’s like, I killed those people for us! Alejandro says that Gabe made her into a killer. Well, at least Alejandro wasn’t happy about the cowboys being killed for them to get into the country. Alejandro tells Maya that Gabe can stay, but the next time her Illegal Black Oil goes all wonky, she can’t reach for her illegal brother’s hand to make things all better. Maya goes around to the back hatch of the car, and when she’s out of earshot, Gabe starts talking to Alejandro, who doesn’t speak English. Gabe tells Alejandro (in English) that the reason he’s helping the Illegal Black Oil Twins is because when he gets his ability back, he’s going to kill them and steal their power, because he loves him some power. And if he doesn’t get his abilities back, he’ll use Maya, because she’s like a new shiny toy, and she’s all Gabe’s. WHAT? Sylar’s evil?? Well, I never.

Claire is upset and can’t believe Creepy talked her into the big freakout. Claire’s like, we could have been seen! Creepy says, hey, she’ll be fine. The cheerleader who actually likes Claire walks up and tells Claire that Debbie blew a .13 on the alkey meter and she’s been suspended from the squad, so they have an opening. She’ll see Claire at practice Monday. Frank and I think Creepy Boy killed his own parents.

Hey, there’s a movie ad right in the middle of my show. Can’t fast forward through it, but I can avert my eyes. Not really. Denzel’s in the little ad banner. HRG wants to know why Ivan has never mentioned his daughter in all the years HRG knew him. HRG realizes Ivan’s daughter must be dead. HRG starts threatening to take away Ivan’s memories of his daughter. This is Ivan’s breaking point, and he says the paintings are in a warehouse at the train yard where they did something. HRG says thanks and starts tearing apart the room and tells Ivan that his death will be a simple home invasion. Ivan says, “But wait, I can help you! If you kill me, there’s no turning back. You’ll condemn yourself to hell!” HRG points his non-.45 at Ivan, shoots him, and says, “I know.”

In feudal Japan, Kensei is very mop. He’s poking at a fire, and Hiro comes up and tells him they must destroy the guns. Kensei confronts Hiro for betraying Kensei and kissing Yaeko. Kensei says he loves Yaeko, and Hiro says that he and Yaeko accidentally fell in love with each other. Kensei says Hiro taught him that he can heal from any weapon and then cut him deeper than any blade possibly could. *sniff* Poor Kensei. BAD HIRO! I HATE YOU, HIRO! YOU RUIN EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING! Hiro says he’s so sorry. He tells Kensei that Yaeko is Kensei’s princess, and Hiro will not give into love and will stay away from Yaeko. He tells Kensei that he must stop White Beard. And Kensei walks behind Hiro and knocks him out from behind. Then White Beard and the swordsmith come around a corner, pushing Yaeko with them. White Beard says, “Well done, Kensei. You have done good. You will be rewarded.” Kensei walks over Hiro’s unconscious body. Eh? NO NO NO NO NO. Kensei has to be good, because I heart him.

Midas finds Monica in NOLA and tells her that he’s preloaded a video iPod for her that will teach her anything from martial arts to how to be evil. She thanks him and says he’s her own personal Oprah.

Niki walks into Mohindar’s lab and tells him that she’s all better and owes the Company so much. She says she’s going to be working with Mohindar now. She sounds a little threatening, like she’s going to be supervising him, keeping him under control. UPDATE: Yes, I think that when the Company “cured” Niki, they made her into Jessica, not Niki.

At the warehouse in the train yard in Ukraine, HRG and the Haitian pull out the paintings. Kensei and Hiro fight. Someone is holding a vial of something white. A blonde woman (maybe Niki/Jessica?) is banking on a door. 6/8: Hiro and Kensei will fight–hey, that doesn’t really predict the future, does it? It’s predicting the past, that one. 7/8: Someone is going to shoot someone else. Could be Sylar, Peter, Alejandro. Looks more like Sylar than anyone. 8/8: HRG is dead, and Claire is kissing the boy.

In Montreal, Sheila and Peter are in front of the building that Peter painted. They walk inside and turn on the lights. Peter’s name is on a tag of paper attached to a mirror. Peter takes the paper and turns it over. “We were right about the Company. The world is in danger. It’s up to us. Adam.” That’s the name on the file that Midas had. Peter doesn’t know who Adam is, and Sheila says they’ll figure it out. Peter says, “Please tell me who I am. What the future holds,” as he hugs Sheila. And suddenly, he and Sheila are in New York, which is destroyed. Peter picks up a piece of paper. It’s a mandatory evacuation order dated June 14, 2008. So we’re guessing the virus hits New York in June? Is this show going to be like 24, where every attack is aimed at L.A., except in Heroes everything is aimed at New York? They have X-Men all over the globe, so what’s the deal with New York? Just once, I want to see a show that has attacks aimed at Perm or Cairo or Liverpool. Better make it Liverpool. Between Hiro, Ando, and the Illegal Black Oil Twins, I’m reading enough of this show as it is.