Numbers in brackets are keyed to footnote editorial comments.

Volume III: Villains
Chapter 10: The Eclipse, Part 1

Pinehearst Office: Pan over a polished table on which are spread pencil sketches showing 1) Peter and Nathan falling 2) Sylar and Elle kissing 3) Someone pointing to a farmhouse from a field 4) Noah carrying Claire, who's bleeding. Arthur sits in a chair, his eyes pupil-less, drawing. When the trance passes, he frowns at what he's drawn.

Angela's Office, Primatech: Angela stares at a family photo before getting up from her desk and opening a window. In the sky above, the moon is drawing close to the sun.

Sam's Comics: Hiro and Ando stare at the drawing of the eclipse on the back page of 9th Wonders.

Pinehearst Office: Arthur's last drawing is of the eclipse.

Pinehearst Storeroom: Sylar blasts an empty flask sitting on a box among shards of glassware that were targets before it. He's getting better, but he doesn't think he's good enough yet. He needs to prove himself, but he won't tell her to whom because she wouldn't understand. Arthur enters. He needs Gabe to bring him Claire. Gabe's up to it. Elle's a little upset by this, and decides to go too. He's going to need help, and she was raised to be a Company girl. Gabe thought she'd left it behind, but it's all she knows. Arthur's okay with it, although he hesitates before telling them they're a good pairing.

Primatech Hallway: Claire and Angela walk along. Claire's upset that she always seems to be the focus of the trouble, and wants to help fight the bad guys. Angela insists she's got her part to play. Nathan and Peter are getting the Haitian. Daphne and Parkman are getting Hiro. Claire has to remain hidden, underground. She has to avoid getting caught. Claire wants to do a lot more. She can fight. They enter the Level 5 cell block. Angela would like to lock her up, but she's got another plan. In the cells, we see Doyle (the puppeteer). Pine (metal-arm man) has just been escorted into his cell by Noah. It looks like she's his new assignment.

Exterior Building: Nathan and Peter emerge. Peter's trying to convince Nathan to take him along. Nathan doesn't think he needs help. Peter tries to explain that without his powers he feels useless. Nathan relents. Peter climbs onto Nathan's back and they take off.

Mohinder's Lab, Pinehearst: Mohinder must have euthanized his test subject because he's performing an autopsy. One of the organs he removes has become covered in Mohindergoop. It's gotten through tears in Mohinder's rubber gloves. Mohinder removes the gloves to show scales on the backs of his hands. He storms into Arthur's office, demand the catalyst and the cure for his condition. Arthur's got people on it, but it might be for nothing. He shows Mohinder the picture of Claire bleeding and carried in her father's arms. Mohinder can't believe Claire could die. It's supposed to happen today, and Mohinder's the scientist[1], so he should know what it means. Mohinder thinks it has something to do with the eclipse. If Claire dies, then the catalyst dies with her, and there's no cure for Mohinder. Arthur plunks down a sketchbook in front of him. It shows Mohinder burning to death. Everything's going to change today. They stare out the window to see that the moon is just touching the edge of the sun.

Apartment, Brooklyn: Matt searches through files trying to find Hiro's cell number. Daphne sits, jittering. She thinks Hiro's a spaz. Matt calls him a walking do-over. She's afraid of Arthur. She betrayed him. She betrayed Matt. She's a betrayer, and a liar, and a thief. Matt tries to talk her down, telling her again about their future together. She's one of the good guys now and has to help him find Hiro. She wonders if he trusts her, and he hesitates a moment before insisting that he does. Daphne's just wondering how they're going to do that when a knock comes on the door. It's Hiro and Ando. Hiro's jiggling up and down, obviously about to have a bladder-related accident. Ando shows them the comic page with them in it and explains Hiro's memory loss. Hiro sprints for the bathroom, leaving Daphne convinced they're all going to die.

Canfield House: Claire and Noah pull up. She recognizes the house, but the last time they were in it they were almost sucked into a black hole. Noah figures it's a known and controllable environment. Claire accuses him of wanting only to keep the catalyst safe. He tries to reassure her that he wants to keep her safe, but she doesn't buy it.

Brooklyn Apartment: Matt pries his way into Hiro's mind, but all he gets is goofy faces and thoughts in Japanese. Ando and Daphne confront each other. He's supposed to be dead. She's supposed to be the enemy. They're both wrong. Matt complains that, whatever the comic shows, Arthur's work is beyond him. Still, Hiro's capable of time-travelling, teleporting and stopping time. They turn to find their walking do-over bobbing his head at Matt's turtle. Daphne panics and starts to leave. Matt tries to stop her, but she's upset that he paused when she asked him if he trusted her. He wants to know what's going on, so he tries to read her mind. He gets that Lawrence Kansas is her home, and then she zips out of the apartment.

Car Rental Place: Sylar gets off the phone with Arthur and enters to find Elle waiting. He was just updating Arthur, who thinks Claire is with her father. Elle's disgusted. HRG's not going to make things easy. Gabe sees it differently. He knows how HRG thinks. He knows where Noah will hide Claire. Elle's worried about him. He's being such a good little boy and she doesn't understand why. Gabe wonders where the rental car clerk is. Elle says he's calling the police because she's told him that Sylar's a serial killer. Sylar grabs her and they start to leave when the clerk comes out with a shotgun and forces Gabe to let her go. He does. Elle wants to know who he is. Everyone's trying to make him something: killer, saint. She wants to know who he really is. The clerk goes on about how he'll be a hero for catching a serial killer, and follows it up by smashing the shotgun butt across Gabe's face. Gabe straightens up, glaring at the clerk. Gabe hates heroes. Elle smiles.

Pinehearst Lab: Mohinder speaks into his recorder. Something is happening to him as a result of the eclipse, which has begun. He's changing and can't control it. He doubles over, coughing and grabbing a table for balance. When he straightens up, his hands are covered in more Mohindergoop than he's ever secreted before. The skin on his palms looks red and peeling.

Canfield House: As Claire wanders through the barren rooms, Noah pries up a plank from the broken floor. He hands it to Claire and orders her to hit him with it. He's going to train her now. She doesn't think she needs his training. She's done fine. No, she only caught Doyle with luck and almost got her mother killed. She's acting stupid and careless. His absence doesn't give her licence to act like a brat. She's been trying to do some good, and he's been trying to keep her safe. He demands she hit him and taunts her until she does. He blocks the swing and grabs her. She's strong enough, but clumsy, slow and obvious. He insists she try again, this time putting her weight into it, like in baseball.

Primatech Office and Pinehearst Office: Tracy calls Arthur to tell him that Nathan's going after the Haitian. Arthur can't have that. Tracy worries that Arthur might hurt Nathan, but Arthur has discovered that some things are out of his control. He orders her to go to Paris Island. She's only in this to get Nathan into the Oval Office. She only takes Arthur's orders because she knows Arthur can put him there. She agrees to go. There's a marine training facility there, and every war needs an army. Tracy hangs up and notices Angela watching her. She passes the call off as being from Washington. Angela remains suspicious.

Apartment, Brooklyn: Matt wants Hiro's help to find Daphne. Ando wants Matt's help to straighten Hiro out. Hiro reads through 9th Wonders until he comes to a panel showing the three of them in a corn field in Lawrence, Kansas. Ando tells Hiro to take them, and they go.

Cornfield, Lawrence, Kansas: They appear in the middle of the field near an old house. Matt hears Daphne's thoughts from inside. He starts off toward the house when they are covered by a huge shadow. The eclipse has begun[2].

Pinehearst Office: In a fit of symbolic frustration, Arthur sweeps his future sketches from his desk onto the floor.

Pinehearst Lab: A shot of the sketch of Mohinder's death. Mohinder's cocooned himself upside down against the wall.

Primatech Office: Angela gazes at a family photograph.

Sky Above Haiti: A shot of the sketch of Peter and Nathan falling. Peter and Nathan streak across the sky, but suddenly fall out of the air and into a pond.

Car Rental Place: Gabe hops into a sportscar beside Elle, who gives him a smile.

Canfield House: Claire swings the board against a pillar, breaking it. Her father approves.

Pinehearst Lab: Mohinder busts out of his cocoon, naked, to discover that he no longer has scales[4].

Jungle: Peter and Nathan pull themselves out of the water. They're okay, but Nathan has no idea why he can no longer fly. Peter thinks maybe the eclipse has something to do with it. Nathan figures it more likely the Haitian, who can block powers[5], saw them coming, or maybe it's the country they've landed in. They collect themselves and set off into the jungle where Nathan finds some creepy dolls tied to the tree-trunks. They're not voodoo dolls, they're prayer messengers. Nathan sets off again. Peter starts in a different direction, having read the map and seen that the Haitian's village lies ahead. Nathan saw the village from 2 kilometres in the air even though they were falling, and believes it lies ahead of him. Peter protests, but follows him.

Kansas House: Hiro and Ando watch from the side of the porch while Matt knocks on the door. Daphne's father opens it, but denies that Daphne's inside. Matt calls to her, but she tells him to go away. Daphne's father tells him to leave, so Matt tries imposing his will with his power. All it gets him is a strange look from the old man, who closes the door. Matt steps back, bewildered. His power is gone. So is Hiro's. Daphne's father wonders who Matt was, but Daphne won't tell him. She just wants to come home. She's not feeling... right. "It's" happening again. He still has "them," and goes to get "them."

Haiti: Peter and Nathan stumble through the jungle until they come to the edge of a crevasse. Nathan figures they can double back and make it to the village in an hour. Peter can't believe Nathan won't even admit he's wrong. They argue. Nathan wishes he'd come alone. He only brought Peter along to protect his fragile ego. Nathan's tired of saving Peter: catching him when he threw himself off the roof, pulling him out of Kirby plaza before he exploded. If Peter wants his respect, he has to do something. Peter accuses Nathan of being spineless. Their father always found a way to get under Nathan's skin and manipulate him, make him whatever Arthur wanted him to be. Nathan wonders what brought all this up, and Peter tells him that he chooses Arthur in the future. Nathan figures he's in Haiti right now, and wonders if Peter's ready to help him. They turn to continue their journey when they're stopped by the Haitian, who motions them to be quiet.

Canfield House: Claire's going through boards pretty good. Her father preaches control first and follow-through second. She won't tell him what she's thinking. He demands she use her anger and hit him this time. She's reluctant, but he insists. She swings and misses. He demands to know what she's thinking. She swings again and again, yelling at him for always leaving her. She finally connects, knocking him to the floor. She stops swinging and grabs her jacket to go get some air. Before she gets to the door, it opens to reveal Elle who tries to fry them with a bolt and looks surprised when she fails to generate so much as a spark. Noah draws his gun and orders her to leave. They're not getting Claire. Sylar, who has come in behind, insists that they are and tries to throw Noah out of the way with his telekinesis... which doesn't work either. Noah throws Claire into a corner to keep her safe and then tackles Sylar. The two fight and the gun goes spinning across the floor. Elle picks it up. Noah gets the upper hand and smashes Sylar's skull against a metal railing. Something breaks and Sylar screams. Elle cocks and raises the gun at Noah. Claire darts from her hiding place and jumps in front of her father, taking the bullet in the upper right part of her chest. Her father takes a plank to Elle, then gathers Claire in his arms and runs from the house, leaving both Elle and Sylar on the floor. Sylar grabs the gun, but isn't fast enough to use it before Noah's out the door.

Bennet House: Noah burst through the door, yelling for Sandra, who scrambles downstairs to find her daughter shot. Claire's conscious and in obvious pain. Sandra wants to call an ambulance, but Noah insists the complications are too involved. It's just a surface wound. Sandra runs for the first aid kit. Claire realizes that she's been stupid. She thought she was invulnerable. It hurts, and she didn't think she'd ever be able to hurt again. It sucks wonderfully. Noah thanks her for saving his life.

Cornfield, Kansas: Matt's upset. Everyone's power is gone and he doesn't understand what's happening. He didn't think he'd miss his power but without it he can't get through to Daphne. With Ando interpreting, he asks Hiro what to do. Hiro begins throwing corncobs at Matt, who tells him to quit it. This is part of the hero's quest, to triumph without powers. The corn will keep coming until Matt understands how to stop it. Matt catches one of the cobs, and Hiro stops. Matt stares at the corn, understanding. He sets off through the corn to save Daphne. While Matt's doing that, Hiro's going to get their powers back. He has a plan. Hiro and Ando leave the field and set off down a road. Ando realizes they've reached the last page of the comic book. Hiro is unfazed. Every city has a place where wise men gather, and they're on their way to it. Ando doesn't know where, but Hiro does.

Pinehearst Laboratory: Mohinder confirms through testing that all manifestations of the formula have vanished. Possibly due to the eclipse. Further study is required, but he's got things he needs to do first: he looks up Maya's current address on the computer and grabs his jacket. He doesn't reach the door before Flint and Arthur enter. Everyone's powers are gone and it's up to Mohinder to get them back. Mohinder has no idea how. The eclipse is the great unknown, and the effects may be irreversible. Arthur finds that unacceptable. Flint throws Mohinder into a glass wall. He's nobody without power, and he wants to be somebody. They're staying in the lab until Mohinder gets their powers back for them.

Sam's Comics[6], Kansas: Hiro enters and begins poking through bins. Today is Wednesday, new comic day! If the old comic got them this far, the new issue will take them further. Ando goes to the desk to ask about the latest, but one of the other patrons (Breckin Meyer) is already showing the cover to Sam (Seth Green), the owner. It shows the patron showing the cover to Sam with Hiro and Ando in the background (on the back is an advertisement for "Tit-Tat," a chocolate bar which comes close to violating copyright). Hiro is sure all their questions will be answered.

Jungle: The Haitian leads Nathan and Peter through the jungle. Nathan tells him that Arthur's alive, and that only the Haitian can help them deal with him. Nathan just needs the Haitian to give him his powers back. The Haitian isn't responsible for anyone's powerlessness. He looks up at the eclipse and announces that the universe has decided their fate. Nathan wants the universe to get them a phone so he can call someone to pick them up. The Haitian isn't going anywhere until he stops "Samedi" (in Voodoo, which originated on Haiti, Baron Samedi is a death god). Samedi is a level 5 escapee, the Haitian's brother, and normally invulnerable. He's seen as a god locally, and used fear to build an army. Peter wants to help take him down, but Nathan thinks that's stupid. Before the argument can continue long, gunfire rips the undergrowth where they're standing and they have to duck and run. They are chased by men with machine guns. Nathan stops, raising his arms in surrender and shouting out his name and nationality. A man steps forward. They knew Nathan was coming because Arthur warned them. Arthur's instructions were for Samedi to be himself, and so he knocks Nathan out with the butt of a rifle. Peter and the Haitian watch from the bushes.

Bennet House: Noah sits by Claire's bedside. She's been bandaged up and there's no fever. They exchange "I love you"s and Noah heads downstairs. Sandra intercepts him as he pulls on his jacket and makes for the door. She orders him not to leave his daughter. She's scared and needs him. Noah only pauses. There's something he needs to finish.

Kansas: Daphne's father climbs into a truck and drives off. Matt emerges from the cornfield and knocks on the front door of the house, calling for Daphne. Daphne tells him to go away, but he refuses. He no longer cares if his vision of the future was real or imaginary. He's in love with her, and he won't give up. She calls him in, and he enters to find her wearing leg braces. She didn't want him to see her like this.

Bennet House: Sandra enters Claire's room to find her bleeding through her bandages and unconscious.

Canfield House: Elle ties to pop Sylar's dislocated shoulder back in while he screams with the pain of it. She calls him a baby and finally snaps it back into place. He thanks her, then tries to retrieve the gun with telekinesis. He fails. Their powers are gone, and he's good with that. The hunger's been affecting his thoughts since forever, and the last time he felt free was when they were together. She's upset because they're powerless and can't take what they want any more. Sylar disagrees, grabs her, and begins kissing her (as in Arthur's picture). Outside, Noah spies on them through a scope attached to a high-powered rifle.

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1. Does it strike anyone as odd that Arthur is asking a geneticist to interpret a precognitive sketch? It's like asking a cartoonist to identify an animal from a map of its DNA.

2. In a repeat of season one's stupidity, everyone looks at the eclipse. Public Service Announcement: don't do that. Even with the moon in front of it, the sun still emits enough light to fry your retina like an egg. If you look at an eclipse, even a full one, with the naked eye, odds are very good it will be the last thing you ever see. Use a pinhole camera, or welding goggles. Sunglasses won't do. In his blog, Greg Beeman has acknowledged that he knows (just like almost everyone does) that 1) Eclipses do not happen at the same time all over the world (since half the world is in darkness at any given time. Eclipses are also only visible over a relatively small area) 2) eclipses do not last as long as they appear to on Heroes, and 3) despite this season's claims that everyone's powers manifested during the eclipse, the writers know that contradicts everything they've said before[3]. He says his objections to this portrayal of eclipses was overruled. 'Sokay. As I've said before, you can break the laws of time and space and it won't bother me so long as you don't break the rules of character. Unfortunately, there's been a lot of that this season too.

3. It's called a "retcon" in comics vernacular: RETroactive CONtinuity. If what you say today conflicts with what you said yesterday, then rewrite history to resolve the conflict.

4. Unfortunately, he still hasn't developed an interesting storyline.

5. But not Nathan's, as shown early in the first season.

6. An international comic store? Sam's is the name of the store they were through in Japan. Is anyone making enough money off comics to open a franchise?
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