The watchmaker's son.

☛ 27 years old.
☛ from Queens, New York, New York
☛ a serial killer who targets evolved humans to steal their abilities by removing their brain.
☛ an expert at restoring timepieces.
☛ sorry about that thing from that night. Really, he is.
☛ not a fan of tuna sandwiches. Nor eggs.
☛ actually quite intelligent. Quite.
☛ NOT sorry about that other thing last year. Not at all.

P E R S O N A L I T Y

Sylar’s ambition consumes him. He wants to be special, he wants to be important, he wants to be better than everyone else, he wants his life to mean something. It’s almost like it turns him into a completely different person. No longer the humble and content watchmaker, Gabriel Gray, but the power-ravenous serial killer: Sylar. However, it must be said that as a person, Sylar is not completely without morals. He doesn’t murder without reason, at least he tries not to. He doesn’t kill un-evolved humans unless they get in the way of his target; He has nothing to gain from doing so. He would never kill someone just because he can. And- he says- and when he’s got enough powers, he’ll be finished. He’ll stop.

That and sometimes, Sylar really, truly, scares himself. He reasons that killing others to steal their powers is only the natural course or evolution. Survival of the Fittest. However… Deep, deep down, he knows that he is wrong. That he shouldn’t be taking peoples lives for his personal gain. And even maybe, deep, deep down, he wants to be saved. Sometimes after a kill, he is remorseful; sometimes he drives himself mad with guilt. But that never lasts long.

For some reason, Sylar hold others to a higher moral standard than himself. He thinks that if someone is aware of what he does, how he gets his powers, then they should at least have the decency to try to stop him. Even though they will inevitably fail. After all, he’s practically a super-villain, and it is important that he is stopped. After all, that’s what he would do if he was them. It’s why he despised Eden and Candice. It’s why he was truthful with Alejandro. It’s part of the reason why he sought out Mohinder like a wounded puppy to be fixed before he even knew what was wrong with him.

When he’s not feeling particularly murderous, Sylar seems to be your everyday twenty-something. In fact, in conversation, he can come off as being quite witty… charming, even. That… or Sylar also happens to be an excellent actor. From a polite southern gentleman to a quirky city music-nerd, Sylar has fooled some of the smartest people on the planet. Not to say that he himself doesn’t care about music, or art, or small furry animals. He even cares for people, sometimes.

B A C K G R O U N D

Gabriel grew up the only son of a humble watchmaker in the middle of a Queens New York. A simple, unassuming, but skillful legacy that Gabriel would someday inherit. Every since Gabriel was a young child, he'd always felt that he was meant for something Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. Not just something more, but something more important. An idea that had only been reaffirmed by his mother since his birth. She always doted on him with comments that he was special and destined to be great. Destined to be so much more than a watchmaker. And really, whose mother wouldn't think that?

However, his father always brought him back down to Earth. His father always kept both him and his mother in line, and not in a nice way. According to his father, Gabriel was to grow up to be just like his old man. A watchematician, and nothing more. He hated it. It bored him. Every day he felt like his life was meaningless. Day after day, Gabriel wished, hoped, prayed that maybe he was adopted. Maybe someone would show up to tell him that he meant more than this, and take him away. It never happened.

Gabriel was already showing exceptional... no, extraordinary skill when it came to just knowing how things ticked and being able to make them run smoothly. Gabriel would make the perfect watchmaker when his father was gone. When his father died, Gabriel did just that. He put all of his delusions of grandeur behind him, or so he thought.

They all came resurfacing when Indian geneticist by the name of Chandra Suresh knocked on the door of his shop. By now, Gabriel had fallen into a routine. He noticed Suresh's watch was broken, fixed it (gratis) and expected the unfamiliar man to be on his way. When Gabriel realized that Suresh wasn't just not leaving, but was fascinated with his talent, all of Gabriel's childhood wishes flooded back to him. This was the man that was going to rescue him from his mundane existence.

Suresh handed him a book, a book Suresh had authored himself, called Activating Evolution. Gabriel devoured it, taking in every sentence, every word. It affirmed everything that Gabriel had ever hoped. The human race was moving forward rapidly, and may have already reached the next evolutionary step. Thousands of people around the world were developing special abilities most could only call superpowers. Gabriel had to have one, he knew it.

Weeks and weeks of testing followed, during which Gabriel only grew more and more impatient. Dr. Suresh wasn't seeing signs of anything. No suspect brainwaves, no testable powers, not one blip on Gabriel's radar. And then Dr. Suresh did the unthinkable. He gave up. He said that his time would be better spent trying to contact other, more promising subjects. That it would be better for Gabriel to get on with his life.

As if he ever could.

No, now that Gabriel had a taste of what it felt like, what it might feel like for his life to mean something, he wasn't just going to throw it all away like this. No. He was fucking PISSED. Pissed at Suresh for bringing this up, pissed at himself for not being more special, pissed at his parents for being so incredibly boring, but mostly pissed at Suresh. How DARE he strut in here, like he had all the answers, then walk out and expect Gabriel to forget it all. How dare he.

In a fit of rage, and to make a point, Gabriel ripped off one of Suresh's post it notes, with the contact information of another potential patient. One Suresh had flagged as special and contacted. Remembering the small paper, Gabriel gave this person, a "Brian Davis" a call and invited him over. You know, for a chat. Gabriel introduced himself under the alias Gabriel Sylar (after the brand of watch he was working on at the moment) and then suddenly, it all clicked. There was something in this man's brain, something that worked differently than everyone else's brain, and Gabriel could practically feel it pulsing when Davis put his telekinetic powers on display.

Gabriel was excited. Davis must be excited, right?

Wrong. Davis was... scared. Weak. Davis asked him if he could make the power go away. Brian Davis didn't want to be special, Brian Davis didn't want any part in things he didn't understand, Brian Davis was insignificant and wanted to stay that way.

Gabriel, no, Sylar now, was bewildered. Stunned. Shocked and appalled. He had no idea why someone who was able to move objects with his mind would ever want to go back to being normal. Why? However, Davis seemed insistent, and now Sylar was only perfectly happy to give this man what he wanted. To be insignificant. Angry... no, furious at this man's lack of ambition, Sylar decided that Brian Davis didn't deserve this power. And that he would take it from him.

Picking up a particularly sharp crystal paperweight, Brian Davis was finished with one hard blow to the head. Half curious, half high with the rush of murder, half delirious with the anticipation of learning this power, Sylar calmly put on his watch building glasses and kneeled down to inspect the brain of Brian Davis. He would learn how this worked.

When that was all said and done, Gabriel couldn't wait to show Dr. Suresh his newfound ability. If telekinesis didn't impress the good doctor, if that didn't show him that Gabriel was unique, important, and worthy of his attention, what would? With Suresh finally convinced, Sylar set his sights on finding more gifted people, more evolved humans, under the guise of assisting Dr. Suresh. He had already wrapped his mind around the idea of a killing spree.

It didn’t work out for too long. Suresh got suspicious, and Sylar couldn’t keep going without Suresh’s information. The List. It isn’t long before he backed out. Before Suresh wanted nothing more to do with him. It wasn’t fair, and to be honest, Sylar later wondered why he was surprised. Suresh had abandoned him before. This time, Sylar suspected it had something to do with that FBI woman. Audrey Hanson.

Deciding to mess with her, Sylar returned to the scene of his latest crime after he knew she’d be there, dressed in a long dark coat and a dark baseball cap. He wanted to stand out, but he didn’t want to be seen. Watching her, Sylar waited for her to notice him. When she did and started chasing, Sylar led her to the nearest train station, trying to see how long she could keep up. Growing tired of the chase quickly, Sylar slips out of view and uses this time to give his hat and coat to a homeless man. By the time Audrey thinks she’s caught up and fires, Sylar had slipped into the crowd completely undisguised and calmly walked away, leaving Audrey with the aftermath of having killed an innocent. That ought to keep her occupied until they left Chicago at least. He smugly welcomed the competition.

It was another couple of months and two more victims before Suresh became useless and unbearable. Not to mention that Sylar still hadn’t forgiven him. So he killed him, and Sylar relished in doing it the old fashioned way. He had to be done away with before he became a liability. Sylar had all he names, so Suresh was useless now anyway.

Sylar took the power of James Walker before leaving to continue his quest. But first, there was the matter of the girl. James Walker had a daughter, if Sylar remembered correctly, and they had both been on the list. Sylar hadn’t been able to find the girl at the house, but he soon learned she was being kept in custody of the FBI. Poor thing. It was easy enough to sneak in there, after taking out only one guard. Sylar entered the room they were keeping the girl, Molly, and looked down at her. She was asleep. And in that moment, he hesitated. He could have killed her right them and there and be out before anyone noticed anything was wrong, but… he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. She looked so sweet. Innocent. Sighing he grabbed her, not entirely sure what his plans were, but this of course caused her to wake up and start fucking screaming her tiny lungs out. Goddamn, how this much volume fit into this tiny child, he never knew, but she flailed as he dragger her into the hallway. Before he could get any farther, he was being shot at. That bitch Audrey.

Dropping the girl and fleeing Sylar had made it to the other end of the building before he had about enough of her. Using his telekinesis to force Audrey to point the gun at herself, Sylar was shot at again before he could pull the trigger. A cop. Sylar just barely prevented the bullets from hitting him, and while the cop was distracted he took the opportunity to disappear.

Fuck this town, he was heading to Texas for the last person on his list. A certain Charlene Andrews. Not quite sure what Charlie’s power was, Sylar found out where she worked and waited there, watching her until he figured it out. Eidetic memory. That would be useful. And it turned out that Sylar had another stroke of luck. Reading the newspaper while he observed Charlie in the diner, Sylar came across an article about a very… special cheerleader. If he deduced correctly, then her power could only be the one he’d been most after since he read about it in Suresh’s book. Rapid cellular regeneration. After killing Charlie and taking her power, Sylar decided he would take a small detour to Odessa. It turned out that Homecoming was tomorrow night. Cheerleaders went to Homecoming, didn’t they?

However, beginning from that night, everything just Started Going Wrong. Firstly, he had gotten the wrong cheerleader. Not that it was his fault, but the one in the newspaper, this Jackie girl, wasn’t the one with the power. He didn’t realize it until too late, when he had killed the other cheerleader and she came back to life. Interesting. It was no wonder he had never liked cheerleaders. Not in high school. Not now. They were always screwing him over, one way or another. Following after her, Sylar encountered another unexpected obstacle, in the form of some random guy. Wanting to get him out of the way as quickly as possible and focus on the cheerleader Sylar sent the locker doors flying at him and he quickly bolted, running after the cheerleader. Christ.

Sylar ran into the stranger again on the roof top and after a brief struggle they both went toppling over the side. Using his telekinesis and the body of the other man to cushion his fall, Sylar awkwardly stumbled to his feet, barely able to breathe much less walk. He made his way from the school, there were too many people around, and his night went downhill again. Coming upon a figure in the dark of the woods, Sylar paused and squinted to see who she was. Instinctively, he reached his hand out use his telekinesis, but it wouldn’t work. Strange. “You don’t want to hurt me,” she’d said. And funnily enough… he didn’t. Not really. Strange. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was a strong hand covering his face before he hit the ground.

When Sylar woke up he was…fucked. He found himself laying on a concrete slab, dressed like a mental patient, with tubes and wires sticking out of him, a shunt drilled into his skull, and oh… they’d shaved his head. Someone would pay just for that. Not to mention the fact that he couldn’t use his powers. And that he was strapped down. Sylar opened his eyes a moment before closing them. It was awfully bright. Someone had noticed he was awake. It was an uptight, smug, and altogether dangerous looking man. A man who insisted on calling him Gabriel. That was not his name. Not anymore Sylar had left that life behind him to become something better. The name Gabriel would always be associated with a meek watchmaker who’d had a boring useless childhood and would amount to nothing in his life. That’s not who he was now. He was beyond that.

Sylar saved his strength, he let them do tests on him, he didn’t protest. Still… he had figured something out. He had figured it out before they even knew he was conscious. That cheerleader… the one he’d been after, the real one. Was the daughter of this bastard in the horn-rimmed glasses. Wasn’t that interesting. And slowly… he gained his powers back. He was, after all, too smart for them. Waiting for a perfect opportunity, Sylar sat up when a young woman entered the room. She was the one from the forest. Not only that… but she had lived next to Chandra the whole time Sylar was… working with him. She must have known all along… that disgusted him. After all, if he was her, and had known what Sylar had been capable of… had been doing… he’d have tried to stop it. Not let it continue.

He watched as she slid a gun through the glass observation window and tilted his head at her as she commanded him to kill himself. “Blow your brains out,” she’d said. Ha. Hahaha. As if he would. But this was curious. Persuasion was her power? Of course it was. Oh the things he could do with that. His eyes darken with power-lust, he wanted it now. Using his telekinesis to help, he punched through the glass, grabbing the girl by the hair and bringing her closer. Sylar made a point to tell her how pathetic she was and how he’d relish her ability, when she turned the gin on herself, and before Sylar could do anything, she’d pulled the trigger. A beautiful mind. Wasted.

When the others heard the gunshots, they rushed in and before he got over the shock, they’d tranquilized him again. Knocked him out and ties him down. Shit… there went his chance. Thankfully, Sylar had a plan B. It took a few weeks before his powers returned this time. He spent a lot of that time staring into space, with a cockroach as his only company. Sylar never even thought to kill it. A week later, it was time for his exam. Sylar faked his death. The company’s doctor, Hank, checked his vitals, sighed, and unstrapped him. As soon as this was done, Sylar overpowered and killed him. Laying him on the Concrete ‘bed’ Sylar covered him with the sheet and waited, hidden, for Bennet. Once Bennet discovered the doctor’s body, Sylar made himself known.

Sufficiently roughing his captor up a bit, Sylar stole his wallet. He didn’t even think to take the money, but there was something that’d be of great value to him. Sylar locked Bennet in his own cell and pulled out his driver’s license. That’s right his driver’s license… with his address on it. After an appropriate amount of gloating, Sylar left and made his plans to capture the cheerleader again. Posing as an employee of the paper factory Bennet’s Company used as a front, he snuck into their home. Aww, they had a dog. It was… it was adorable. Bennet’s wife came home to find him there and Sylar played up the ever –so-sweet southern gentleman character he’d adopted for the occasion and stayed to chat with Mrs. Bennet. About Claire. After a while, Mrs. Bennet got suspicious and went to call her husband or the police. Sylar couldn’t let her do that. Telekinetically slamming her into the china cabinet, Sylar got up to examine the wreck, he couldn’t have Claire suspicious when she got home. However before he could do anything, He was sent flying across the room by several gunshots and he quickly escaped. Shit, failed again.

Once he was sure he wasn’t being followed, Sylar staggered to the nearest gas station.

Stitching up his wounds, Sylar hitched a ride with a passing truck. He would head to Virginia, to the residence of the last name on his List, and when he found out the driver wouldn’t be going in the same direction for a while, Sylar had no choice but to kill him. Sylar really could not stay in Texas, and he didn’t have that kind of time. Eventually caught up to by the police, Sylar used one if his abilities to ice the roads, before driving the truck off a cliff and orchestrating the scene so the police would find the body of the original driver, all in one swift move. He was close enough to the next person, Zane Taylor by then.

Sylar wondered how he’d continue his quest after this when Zane opened the door. Oddly enough, Zane thought he was Dr. Suresh. A doctor Mohinder Suresh. Perfect. After killing Zane and stealing his ability, Sylar changed clothes and waited for Mohinder to show. Putting on a perfect impression of Zane, Sylar convinced Mohinder to let Sylar travel with him, a mirror of Sylar’s trip with Mohinder’s father. After taking one more ability, thanks to being led by Mohinder, Sylar was caught. It was a shame… Sylar was actually beginning to like Mohinder.

Sylar knew this was doomed to happen from the start, but it still sort of hurt when Mohinder drugged and tied him up. Sylar easily regained the use of his powers and tried to reason with Mohinder, but when Mohinder tried to shoot him, Sylar turned the tables. Stopping the bullet with his telekinesis, Sylar stood. He would have to punish Mohinder for this, but mostly, he wanted to know what progress Mohinder had made with the List. Sylar pinned him to the ceiling and tortured him until someone showed up.

It was the same man from Texas. The one who had tried to play hero. Peter Petrelli, apparently. After a brief fight, Sylar killed Peter, but before he could take Peter’s power (he could use the Cheerleader- Claire’s- ability, but how?) Mohinder, who Sylar had forgotten, knocked him out. When he woke, Sylar found the apartment empty, and the lsit was destroyed.

Furious, Sylar wasn’t completely empty-handed. He knew there was an Isaac Mendez, right here in New York, who was precognitive. Funnily enough, Isaac knew he was coming. Easily taking Isaac’s ability, Sylar mostly ignored his rambling about how They were going to stop Him. Trying out his new ability to paint the future, Sylar discovered what Isaac was talking about… a bomb was going to destroy New York, as the result of Sylar stealing someone’s power apparently. Sylar was horrified. New York was his home… and all of these people were innocent, powerless, meaningless. Why would he kill them?

Panicked, he called Mohinder… Mohinder would be able to help him, but it was useless. Mohinder tried to call the cops on him. Betrayed again. Sylar decided then and there that he will put all of this behind him, with one phone call to his mother, Sylar… Gabriel… cleaned up and went home.

Gabriel tried to explain to his mom that he didn’t want to be special anymore. He just wanted to return to being a watchmaker, a really good one, and that would be enough, but his mother wouldn’t listen. She never did. Sylar…Gabriel… tried showing her his power, but before he knew it, he got carried away and accidentally hurt her. His mother freaked out, shouted at him, and wanted nothing more to do with him. Knowing what would happen if he left, Gabriel pleaded with her to accept him; he didn’t want to hurt anyone else. His mother picked up a pair of scissor and threatened him. Panicking, Gabriel grabbed her and tried to stop her when their struggle ended abruptly with the scissors being plunged into his mother’s heart.

Before he had time to react, someone showed up out of nowhere, a small Japanese man whose heartbeat Sylar recognized. He’d been followed and it looked as though this man was here to kill him. Honestly, Sylar welcomed the attempt. He wanted to die, but the Japanese man was a coward, like they all were, and Sylar froze the sword before the man disappeared again. Coming to his senses Sylar remember. Oh yeah… his mother. Going a bit crazy, Sylar entered a precognitive state and painted something in her blood. It was a replica of the painting Isaac Mendez had on his floor… the bomb. The bomb. It was his destiny, and who was he to fight something like that?

Going to Kirby Plaza, Sylar noted the presence of Peter Petrelli (hadn’t he killed Petrelli twice now?)… and the cheerleader… and Bennet… and the cop who tried to shoot him at the FBI headquarters… and the man in the painting. The radioactive man. Listening in on their plans, Sylar called the FBI, helpfully informing them of the whereabouts of this radioactive man, Ted Sprague. Oddly enough, his favorite person showed up, Agent Audrey Hanson. Amused, Sylar had a pleasant conversation with her – after all, she never found out what he looked like, did she? Once Ted was caught and sealed in an armored truck, Sylar kept his eye on it until nightfall, when no one was around. Flipping the truck Sylar took Ted’s power and played with it for a while.

Sylar then painted one more picture… and realized it wasn’t him that would be exploding, but Peter Petrelli. Well shit. He had to stop this. Before he left, he was confronted by a different Japanese man, who tried to kill him. Please… Furious, Sylar threatened him and attempted to kill him before the other Japanese man showed up… the one from his mother’s house, and they both disappeared. Oh well.

Sylar waited at Kirby Plaza for Petrelli to show up. When he finally did, they had an old fashioned showdown. Sylar almost had Petrelli when some blonde bitch interfered. Before he knew it, it was happening, Peter was losing control, he was going to explode, but not before Sylar stopped him. Laughing, Sylar picked himself up from the ground, but before he could do anything, that Japanese man called Hiro, the one who’d been following him, stabbed him though with that damn fucking sword. So. They were all determined to have him be the villain. Fine. Let them. All. BURN.

With the last of his strength, Sylar used his telekinesis to send Hiro flying before he could stop Peter, when he lost consciousness…
When he woke up he was… on a beach? With some random woman? What the fuck? The woman introduced herself as Michelle and apparently, Sylar had been unconscious for an entire four months, but he was alive. But it hurt. With a little coercion, Michelle revealed that the whole beach thing had been an illusion of hers and that Sylar really lay stitched up on a table with a giant gash in his stomach still healing. After four months?!

Not to mention that Sylar’s powers we entirely gone. SHIT. Michelle told him that he would be fine. That she worked for a Company that would help him regain his abilities. That she could help him… by giving him whatever he fantasized about. Stupid bitch. However, Sylar learned something important with this. That women… actually found him… geeky Gabriel Gray…attractive. He could use this. Sylar decided that he would get his powers back, starting with her. He killed her like he did all the others, but it didn’t work… he still couldn’t use her ability or any others. Panicking, Sylar also realized that he was in the middle of nowhere, without any communication or means to leave.

So he ran. He has to reach somewhere eventually, and eventually, he did. He found a road. Someone had to come… but before anyone did, Sylar passed out. At this point, he didn’t care if he died, his life was meaningless now… all that work gone. But soon, someone found him. Three someones actually. A college kid and a pair of twins, brother and sister. Rescued, Sylar traveled with them, learning that they were in Mexico now and that the twins were heading to New York. When Sylar asked why, he discovered something extraordinary. They had read Suresh’s book and wanted to see him. They must have a power…

Sylar…introducing himself as Gabriel…told them he knew Suresh, they were old friends…and that he’d help them find him. That he was going to see him, too, as a matter of fact. It was sort of true. As they traveled, Gabriel found out what the twin’s power was. They were killers. The girl created a sickness in herself and everyone around her, killing them almost instantly, and her bother controlled her power, healing those within range as well. Sylar could not have that college kid interfering; he already wanted to turn the twins into the police. Sylar did away with him easily and he and the twins continued toward the states.

The boy twin, Alejandro, did not trust Sylar and began to hate him. It was frustrating, but it was easy enough to pit the two twins against each other. After all, the girl- Maya - loved him. And so, like with Mohinder, Sylar started baring his soul to her. It wasn’t like with Mohinder, though, he couldn’t respect this girl. It was just that people were easier to manipulate when they were sympathetic. And no lie he could tell would accomplish that as well as being honest.

Eventually, Sylar taught her to control her power. Good, now he didn’t need the boy. Which was fortunate, because Alejandro came at him one night and fed up with the bullshit of having to fight him at every turn, Sylar reached for the nearest weapon and stabbed Alejandro through the chest. That was for accusing him of murdering his mother. Had he no respect?
Keeping this fact from Maya was easy when she was so distracted and even when they reached New York, she had no idea. Finally at Mohinder’s apartment, Sylar let himself and Maya inside, and to say he was surprised by what he found would be an understatement. Three people lived there now, it looked like… another man and… a little girl? Sylar quickly deduced it was the cop, Audrey’s cop from Kirby Plaza (Matt Parkman, was it?) and that Walker girl, who happened to be asleep in her room.

…did Mohinder become gay or something? Sylar thought that was something the geneticist might have mentioned, all that time they were traveling.

Sylar easily convinced the babysitter he’d been sent by Mohinder and she should take the night off. After all, she was a teenage girl in New York, she probably had some boy to fuck somewhere. Mohinder needed to choose better sitters. Sylar called the doctor to let him know he’d stopped by for a visit.

When Mohinder finally showed up, it was morning and Maya was cooking a lovely breakfast. Sylar had done some research on Mohinder’s computer and discovered that he’d been infected with the virus and that Mohinder’s blood was the cure. Mohinder… and that goddamned cheerleader!

During breakfast Maya let it slip that Sylar didn’t have his powers, and when Mohinder reached for a knife, Sylar pulled a gun on him. Maya started to lose control, using her power to kill not only him, but Mohinder and the little girl. Molly. Stopping her power before that happened, Sylar demanded to be cured.

Taken to Mohinder’s fancy Company lab, Sylar waited for the antidote, even letting Mohinder take a blood sample. Just when Mohinder presented the cure, which he’d had with him all along, Maya came back to ruin things again. Apparently she found out he killed her brother. As if that mattered. Before she could go off, Sylar shot her in the chest.

Sylar watched Mohinder revive her with the miracle-blood, to be sure it worked, before taking the rest and turning to leave. Before he could get out, there was another problem. A problem in the form of some blonde girl that was shooting lightening at him. Shooting at her and missing, Sylar kept her away long enough to escape at least, though he was now in extreme pain, cut and bloody.

When he was far enough away, Sylar injected himself with the cure and breathed a sigh of relief as his wounds healed. Immediately he tried to use his telekinesis again, grinning when he was successful.