Recaps are back. Sorry for the delay on this one. I didn't want to miss details.
I've included a few editorial comments in parentheses.

A Lecture Room, Cairo Egypt: Mohinder Suresh speaks over a slideshow of cell regeneration. He speaks of the virus that infects the specials, and the way it damages humanity's chance to deal with the challenges of the modern world. While he speaks, an American enters with a briefcase and leans against a pillar, listening. Mohinder urges them to request funding to fight the virus. The room is only sparsely populated, and those who listen to him do not exhibit much enthusiasm. Mohinder leaves the room, and the American follows, asking for an autograph, but Mohinder throws him against a wall when he mentions Mohinder's sister. He thinks the American's from the company, sent to bag and tag him. The American offers him a job. Nobody takes Mohinder's work seriously. His father's book (Activating Evolution) is in the library's paranormal section, between hypnosis and alien abduction. If Mohinder's serious about saving the world, he can at least let the American buy him a drink.

An Empty Village, San Cristobal, Honduras: Maya and Alejandro are chased down a road by a police car. They hop a fence, and Alejandro breaks into a house where they hide as the car passes. They argue. Maya wants to stop. They've come eight hundred miles, and people will die if they're caught. Alejandro insists they keep going toward America, where they'll find the answers to their questions. He promised their mother that he wouldn't let her quit. On the way out of the house, they pass a wanted poster with drawings of them. They're wanted for murder.



Schoolyard, Costa Verde, California: Noah and Claire Bennet step out of the school Admin office. As they walk away, Claire complains about how difficult it's going to be as a new student in the 11th grade. Noah reassures her she'll be fine, but stresses that she has to lay low. She's Claire Butler now, and if she draws attention to herself, the Company will find them. Claire figures that having her father drive her to school is probably one way to draw attention, and suggests that it'd be easier if she got her own car. He hands her the keys to a Nissan Rogue (Help, I am in product placement Hell eight minutes into the show). She thanks him as the bell rings. Noah wants her to know that he's sorry for everything he's put her through, and she gives him a hug to let him know she understands. As she walks away, she's almost hit by a car driven by a boy who's blaring rap music. She looks back at her father with a weak grimace, acknowledging that she almost slipped up.

A Field Outside Kyoto, Japan, 1671. In a replay of the last scene of last season's last episode, Hiro Nakamura crashes to the ground in front of a line of Japanese warriors dressed in red armor. As the archers step forward and nock arrows, Hiro rises and starts to run away. He is stopped by the sight of a lone soldier in white carrying a banner with the half-helix Godsend symbol on it. The white soldier and the general of the red forces draw their katannas and shout at each other. Then a solar eclipse occurs, shadowing the ground all around them. The soldiers are distracted for only a moment, then the red forces let loose their arrows. Hiro, who's seen an eclipse before, raises his arm and concentrates, stopping time when the arrows are inches from him. He approaches the lone horseman and sees that another set of arrows had been aimed at him and they are only a moment from striking their target. Hiro recognizes the Godsend symbol and realizes the rider must be Takezo Kensai. He places his hand on Takezo's horse. He, the horse, and Takezo vanish as time returns and the arrows thud into the ground.

Apartment Building, Manhattan. Matt leads a team of policemen to a door with guns drawn. There's a hostage situation inside. He tries to negotiate through the door, but then someone screams and he busts the door open. He catches sight of three perps in different rooms in the dark apartment and drops each one with two bullets before busting into a last room where a man and a woman are standing, panicked and shouting. Each claims to be the hostage and that the other is the hostage taker. Matt listens to their thoughts before shooting the woman. A moment later, lights come up and the shot woman stands up unharmed. It's a simulation, and Matt's just passed. A large black man, who seems to be the chief, wonders how he did it, and Matt makes up some stuff about noticing eye contact and tone of voice. They walk out through the simulation's door, through a room of bulletproof vests and into a hallway. The Chief figures Matt ought to have taken worker's compensation after taking four bullets to the chest, but Matt's wanted to be a cop forever, and a couple of bullet wounds aren't going to change that. The Chief tells him to take off the badge that's on a chain around his neck, and Matt, figuring he's lost the job, reluctantly does so. He's all smiles, however, when the Chief hands him a real badge.

Science Class, Costa Verde High School. Claire sits at a desk, turning on and sparking the bunsen burner at her teacher's insistence (Why start a burner before a lecture? They don't need to warm up or anything). She exchanges short but hostile glances with another blonde in a cheerleader's uniform. She passes her hand over the flame, then holds it there until her flesh sizzles. A dark-haired boy comes up beside her, wondering if she's got a death wish. Claire tries to cover, lamely, but he sits beside her. It's West, the boy who was driving the car in front of which she stepped earlier in the morning. He wonders if she's a robot, someone who always does what they're told, or an alien, who does whatever they want. Claire doesn't choose. The teacher writes a quote on the board and asks the class who said it. Claire writes a name in her notebook but doesn't put up her hand. West notices. No one else in the class puts up their hand either. The quote belonged to Charles Darwin, and Claire had it right. West smiles.

Under a Bridge, Somewhere in Honduras. A truck pulls up, and Maya and Alejandro creep out of the bushes toward it. Two large men come around the sides. It's ten thousand Lempiras to Sonora, within six hundred miles of the American border. Alejandro takes the money from a bag he carries. The driver makes eyes at Maya and wants her to ride up front with him, but Maya and Alejandro resist. The driver insists that she ride with him or they don't ride at all. Maya and Alejandro refuse. Instead of pressing the point, the driver laughs and walks away. Alejandro pulls open the back of the truck to find benches inside lined with people. They climb in.

A Schoolyard, Manhattan. Matt approaches, smiling, and waves. Molly Walker steps off the merry-go-round, complaining that Matt is late. Matt protests, and they laugh. She tells him a boy tried to kiss her. As they walk away, a teacher calls Matt over. Molly goes off to play a little more. The teacher, an attractive brunette, is concerned. Molly's been falling asleep in class a lot because she's having nightmares. Matt tries his best to make her feel safe. The teacher is concerned because Matt's situation, his divorce and injuries may not make her home life very stable. Matt disagrees. Molly is loved and well cared for. The teacher pulls out some papers from her satchel. It's drawings of eyes bisected by the half-helix symbol. Molly's been doing them for about a week, and every day they get a little worse. Matt is horrified.

Kirby Plaza, Manhattan, Winter. Ando brings Kaito Nakamura a cup of coffee and a newspaper. As he walks, a man in a beige trenchcoat and a beard bumps into him and glances back only briefly before moving on. Ando bows as he hands the items to Kaito. Ando sits down beside his boss. He's concerned about Hiro, that he won't come back from wherever he's gone. Kaito admits that he never thought much of Hiro, but ever since Hiro took up his quest, he's seen the boy's strength, courage and wisdom. Kaito has a legacy to hand down to Hiro, and he will wait for his son's return. He opens the newspaper, and a photograph falls onto the ground. It's a picture of Kaito, and a red half-helix symbol has been scrawled across it. Kaito jumps to his feet and looks around, frightened. Ando tells him he got the newspaper from Kaito's office and wonders what the photo means. Kaito explains that within twenty-four hours, he'll be dead.

Peter's Apartment, Soho. Nathan, the man in the trenchcoat and beard, enters to find his mother holding a picture of Nathan and Peter from Nathan's wedding. She's been packing, and Nathan's upset. Peter's going to want his stuff back when he returns. Angela believes he's dead. She and Nathan fight over the picture, which drops and shatters. Nathan's drunk. He killed his brother, drove his family away, his children. He should have listened to her, then Peter would be alive. Nathan can't believe he ever listened to her. She's evil, and he demands she leave. Angela does, but in the hall outside, she finds a picture of herself with the red half-helix across it. She stares around her nervously.

A Forest, Feudal Japan. Hiro and Kensai appear, and Kensai promptly falls off his horse. Hiro's so happy with what he's done that he dances around until Kensai gets up and puts a sword to Hiro's neck. When Hiro explains why Hiro brought him there, Kensai decides that fifty ryo isn't worth dying for and Takezo Kensai can keep his money. He then runs off. Hiro stands, confused, until another armored man steps out from behind a tree with a crossbow. This is Takezo Kensai, and he was planning an ambush for the leader of the red troops. Hiro's tricks have cost him a lot of money. Hiro begins gushing again because Kensai is his hero, and Hiro knows all about him. Kensai pulls off his armor mask, revealing a white man underneath. Hiro gapes. Kensai's surprised. No one's ever called him a hero before.

Copy Kingdom, Costa Verde. Noah “Butler” walks in, removing his jacket to reveal a Copy Kingdom golf shirt. As he walks to the time clock, his boss appears, giving him grief for being late, for not getting some toner cartridges installed. Bennet's been working there for several months now, and it's time the boss saw some commitment to excellence from him. As Bennet struggles with the toner boxes, his boss continues nagging, talking about the paper business as though it were a life and death struggle. Bennet barely controls himself as he walks off.

A Restaurant, Cairo. Mohinder sits across from the American, who explains that the company was founded thirty years ago by a group of individuals who knew about the emergence of powers. Their aim was to make the world better by finding other special people and making sure they didn't hurt anyone, either by teaching them to control their abilities, or by eliminating them. Mohinder is disturbed by this, and the American's bringing up Mohinder's own actions with Sylar doesn't soothe him. The company knows about Mohinder, and Molly and Matt. They aren't interfering with their arrangement. Far from it. They're willing to offer Mohinder resources for his research into the virus. They're concerned it may cross over into the general population. Mohinder claims that kind of research will be unbelievably expensive. The American holds out a sugar spoon and transforms it into gold while Mohinder watches. Money is not an obstacle.

Suresh's Apartment, Brooklyn. Matt's bought pizza for dinner. Molly complains that she needs vegetables once in a while. That's why Matt bought a vegetarian pizza. She misses Mohinder, who can cook. They sit down to eat. She wants to know if he passed his detective exam by cheating. He counters by bringing up her school drawings. She doesn't want to talk about it, and when he presses her, she screams at him and goes to eat in her room.

A Truck, Somewhere in Honduras. Maya sits and reads “Activating Evolution” while the truck jolts about. She's excited. The writer of this book knows what's happening, and may have a cure. She's worried that it's all her fault, and about what can happen. Alejandro insists that nothing will happen as long as he's with her. Suddenly the comes to a stop, and one of the men opens the back, calling Alejandro and Maya out. The driver wants to change their arrangement. Either Alejandro hands over another ten thousand Lempiras, or Maya rides in the front with him. Alejandro refuses, and the driver pulls a gun on him. While Maya fights with the driver's assistant, the driver pistol-whips Alejandro to the ground and begins kicking him. Maya screams that they don't understand what they're doing, but she's dragged to the cab while Alejandro lies in the mud. The truck drives off with Alejandro lurching after it calling her name.

Costa Verde High School Gym: Claire wistfully watches cheerleaders practice until her badminton partner calls her back to their game. Her partner misses a shot, trips and falls to the ground. The head cheerleader notices and taunts her. Claire steps between them, makes sure her partner is okay, then goes to find the birdie. West finds it first and as he hands it to her, accuses her of being a robot because she had the science answer in her book and didn't want anyone to know. Claire walks away. Meanwhile, the head cheerleader has challenged Claire's partner, Martha, to land a back tuck off the tower. Claire steps between them again. The head cheerleader insists she has the right to recruit talent wherever she sees it. She challenges Claire to do it instead (Where's the teacher? Do they just throw kids into the gym unsupervised?). Claire climbs the tower and turns around, ready to perform, but then remembers her father's words and announces to everyone below her that she can't do it. The bell rings. Students leave the gym, including West, who gives her a last disappointed glance.

Suresh's Apartment: Molly tosses and turns, moaning “don't hurt me,” in her sleep. Matt enters the room and bends over her, listening to her dreams. After a few moments, he makes out a man's voice saying “I can see you,” over and over again. Molly wakes with a scream and clings desperately to Matt. Matt asks her to tell him where this bogeyman is. She refuses because it's too dangerous. He'll kill Matt too. She hugs him again and begs him not to go.

Costa Verde High School Gym: Claire sits on the top of the tower. After a moment, she stands and tries the back tuck. She lands it, but there's no mat, and her leg breaks under her. She sits up and pulls it straight, waiting while the bone heals and the bruise disappears. West enters before it's completely healed, wondering why she's still there. Claire can't answer him, and West glances toward the tower with a look of comprehension.

Copy King: Noah sits in the back room, reading the paper and sipping his coffee. The door stands open although there's a “keep door closed” sign on it. His manager walks in, wondering why Noah's still on his break when there's a line of customers waiting to be served. Noah tense up, but peers around him to the service counter. There's no line. There are no customers at all, just employees stacking paper and yawning. Noah just wants to finish his coffee. Three more sips. The manager order him out, demanding that Noah look at him. He shakes his finger an inch from Noah's face. Noah grabs the finger and flips the manager onto the table on his back. Noah's sick of the crap. From now on he'll work when he wants to, take breaks when he decides to and the manager will not say a word to him ever again. The manager nods his understanding and Noah lets him go.

Forest, Medieval Japan. Hiro can't believe that his hero is a gaijin, who suddenly has to pee and chooses a convenient tree. The white guy chose the name Takezo Kensai, “Sword Saint” as a name when he arrived from England. Hiro's surprised he's English and lapses into English in surprise. Takezo is happy to meet someone who speaks the mother tongue (Which he understands, even though Hiro speaks modern American English instead of feudal British English, which even a modern Brit would find incomprehensible). He came over on a cargo ship and stayed to find his fortune. He makes a lot of money fending off bandits. Hiro is appalled. Kensai finds a scout to put on a horse and go out shouting how he's fearsome Takezo, while Kensai himself climbs a tree and shoots the bandits one at a time. He pays the scout if he lives. Hiro explains about being from the future, about how Kensai saved the village of Otsu. As they talk, they are passed by a string of peasants covered in soot. Hiro smells smoke and sees a village burning in a valley. It's the village of Otsu.

Roof of the Deveaux Building: Kaito looks around nervously while Ando wonders who would kill Kaito. Kaito says it could be any of “them.” They're very powerful. Ando can't stay. He's been very loyal, and Kaito would not see him killed too. Ando refuses to leave, so Kaito sends him to get a sword. As he turns to go, Ando comes face to face with Angela Petrelli. Ando leaves when Kaito indicates it's okay. Kaito and Angela show each other their photos, which fit together as pieces of a larger picture. Angela thinks it's a joke, but Kaito isn't so sure. Deveaux is dead, as is Linderman and Petrelli Sr. That leaves nine. He thinks “one of us” is doing this for the pain they've caused, for the people they've killed. Kaito helped Hiro fulfill his destiny as an act of redemption. When he asks how Angela helped her own son, she slaps him and storms off, but before she goes, Kaito tells her he's heading for Japan that night and she should disappear as well.

Outside Otsu, Medieval Japan: Hiro questions a villager and learns that the bandits Kensai was trying to ambush were responsible. He's changed the past, and worries his future will never be. Kensai grabs a passing gourd of Saki. Hiro's upset. Kensai's supposed to be a hero, but this version of him is only interested in money. Hiro tries to entice him by telling him about earning more money than the emperor and marrying the swordsmith's daughter. At that point, a young woman marches up and slaps Kensai. It's the swordsmith's daughter, and the bandits have taken her father hostage because Kensai failed to stop them. Kensai blames Hiro. She snatches the sword from Kensai's back, the payment her father gave him for his protection, and storms off to rescue her father herself. Hiro pesters Kensai, telling him what he has to do to become Kensai the hero. Kensai punches him out and walks off.

Dinner Table, Bennet (Butler) House: The Bennets eat in uncomfortable silence, or make small talk. Lyle had an uneventful day of school. Claire hesitates before lying that she too went unnoticed. Mr. Bennet does the same. Mrs. Bennet's impressed at how everyone is flourishing, how they're getting along, except Mr. Muggles, who misses being top of the show circuit. The cell phone rings, and Mr. Bennet takes it away from the table. Everyone left behind looks nervous. It's Mohinder on the phone. The company has finally taken the bait. He's in. Bennet's pleased. If Mohinder's careful, they should be able to bring the company down. Bennet hangs up.

Honduran Jungle: Alejandro catches up to the truck which is sitting idle, lights on. He opens the passenger side door to find the assistant driver dead, having bled from the eyes. The driver is the same, and so are the people who had been in the back of the truck. Maya sits in the shadow of the truck, weeping. She didn't want to do it, and doesn't know why she did. Alejandro tries to comfort her. They have to get to America, to where the doctor who wrote the book can help Maya. He pulls the driver from the truck and urges Maya to get in. They'll find someplace safe to bury the others.

Claire's Room, Bennet House: Claire uses her cell phone to call Nathan, who's drinking in a bar. He tries to dismiss her, but she needs someone to talk to. She gets it. She misses Peter too. She doesn't know if she can do what they need her to do, to pretend to be something she's not. She feels like she's going to burst. Nathan knows how hard it must be, but he certainly doesn't have any answers. He hangs up and looks in the cracked mirror by the bar. Peter's face, horribly scarred, looks back at him. Nathan looks away, and when he looks back, it's his own face again. Claire sets down her phone and lays back on her bed. West watches her from outside her window. He's hanging in the air. After a moment, he takes off, flying above the houses of the neighborhood.

Deveaux Rooftop, Night: Kaito turns from contemplating the view. He's alone until he hears a sound. A figure in a gray hoodie appears at the top of the stairs. Of all of them, Kaito didn't expect this person. Ando arrives bearing a sword, but before he can move, the hooded figure charges Kaito and they both topple over the wall surrounding the roof and fall. Ando rushes to the edge, but sees only Kaito's body lying in a pool of blood below. There's no sign of anyone else.

Cork Harbor, Ireland: A night watchman makes the rounds of a yard of containers when suddenly a man leaps out of the shadows and bashes him over the head with a large wrench (In the real world, this would cause major head trauma. Concussion. Brain damage. Death. In TV land, it never seems to do anything but knock someone out and give them a headache). Two other men appear, one with a flashlight, the leader, is upset the wrench man was so brutal. He insists the guard be taken somewhere dry and that they check to make sure he's still breathing. They're looking for a container of iPods, and find it after a short search. When they bust it open, it's empty except for a half-naked Peter Petrelli chained to a railing and wearing a necklace with the half-helix symbol (The Haitian wore one in the first season). The crooks demand to know where the iPods are, but Peter's terrified by the light and doesn't answer. The wrench man raises his weapon to beat an answer out of him, but there's a flash of blue light from Peter's raised hand and the man is thrown back several feet. The leader pulls a gun and demands to know who he is. Pete stares at his hand in horror. He doesn't know.