Heroes Episode 4.09 Shadowboxing

Ashley and Olivia are seriously freaked after witnessing Becky turn invisible and Claire regenerating after her impalement. Claire claims the Alpha Chi girls must have spiked their water bottles -- they've been drugged! Playing along, Gretchen claims she just saw Ashley and Olivia making out. Claire proposes they keep the events of the scavenger hunt a secret between them, and Ashley and Olivia eagerly agree. Claire thinks their problem is solved, but Gretchen points out that it's not. There's an invisible girl on the loose who's trying to kill her!

There's been a giant train crash in New York City. In the aftermath, Peter uses his healing powers to save people, but it's taking a toll. At the hospital, Emma is overwhelmed by the colors she sees streaming from the chaotic scene. Meanwhile, Sylar still has control of Matt's body, which he's taken to LAX to board a flight to New York. The last thing he remembers is Peter stabbing him in the neck with a syringe, so he figures the Italian eagle scout will tell him where his body is. Unless of course, Matt has reconsidered his position on the matter....

Sylar puts his carry-on bag on the conveyor belt, and is stepping through the metal detector when airport security calls a Code Blue. There's a gun in Sylar's bag! Sylar tries to push the security guards thoughts -- it's all been a mistake, and there's no gun. Matt chuckles with satisfaction. Sylar may be able to control his body, but he'll never be able to control Matt's ability. Sylar tries to talk his way out of it, explaining that he's a cop, but security leads him away in handcuffs. Matt has won this round.

Sylar sleeps in Lydia's trailer, dreaming of Nathan's life. His face flickers, morphing back into Nathan's face, and it's Nathan that wakes up and looks in the mirror. Shocked by his surroundings, he rushes to put on some clothes and get out of Dodge. When he spies Samuel exiting a trailer, he flies off in a panic. Samuel admits to Lydia that he's made a mess, but he'll clean it up. She thinks that Claire's recruitment is a lost cause, but Samuel, the patron saint of lost causes, isn't ready to give up yet.

Back at the dorm, Gretchen's scared and distraught. She can't find anything about Becky on the Internet. Claire resolves to go to the sorority house and toss Becky's room for clues. Reminding Claire that Becky already killed Annie, Gretchen doesn't want to be left alone, but Claire assures her that she'll be safe. Grabbing a bottle of talcum powder, Claire spritzes the room to prove that Becky's not there. Instructing Gretchen to lock the door behind her, Claire leaves.

Spying Emma, a doctor enlists her help to apply pressure to the wound of a bleeding patient. If she sees another doctor, she is to instruct him to suture the wound. Realizing that the wound is in urgent need of care, Emma finds a suture kit and begins the procedure herself. Passing by, Peter clocks the whole scene, realizing that Emma is holding back on him. Peter heals another patient in the hallway, depleting his already scanty reserves of energy.

Claire bumps into Ashley and Olivia at the Alpha Chi sorority house. When she asks if they've seen Becky since their night in the slaughterhouse, the girls don�¢â�¬â�¢t know what she's talking about. The girls leave as the Haitian exits a hallway. Claire chuckles as her dad explains that when his daughter calls, he drops everything. Meanwhile, Sylar pulls over the car on a dusty road. After spending four and a half hours talking his way out of the airport, now he's got a flat tire. How did he not see the huge chunk of metal in the middle of the road? Maybe Matt made sure he didn't see it...

Having trouble changing the tire, Sylar complains. Doesn't Matt have any upper body strength at all? Matt claims he's deceptively strong, just as a tow truck pulls up. Hank offers to help, asking Sylar to retrieve the tire iron. Matt trips Sylar, laughing that it looks like it's going to be a long trip to New York. Angry, Sylar gets to his feet with the tire iron and clubs Hank to death, joking that Matt's right, his body is deceptively strong. Shocked, Matt laments that Sylar just killed Hank -- but in reality, it's Matt's body that has killed Hank, and will surely take the blame.

Somewhat mortified, Claire climbs the stairs of the sorority house with H.R.G., asking him to recap their rules. H.R.G. explains that he's going to make the bad stuff like Becky go away, while keeping the good stuff like Gretchen. He offers to look for clues in Becky's room, suggesting that The Haitian escort Claire back to her dorm. Fearing that The Haitian will wipe Gretchen's memory, Claire balks until H.R.G. explains that The Haitian will merely prevent Becky from turning invisible if she shows up.

Sylar sticks Hank in the trunk of the car, rifling through his pockets to find a money clip and a pocket knife. Hank's death is helping Sylar prove his point about the line -- the one he can cross and Matt can't. The one that says he can do anything he wants. The world is Sylar's hostage. Sylar's in control. Back at the hospital, Emma finds Peter collapsing against a wall, and helps him find a seat. Peter explains that power drains out of him when he heals, and it takes a little while to come back. When he asks about Emma's suturing skills, she admits that she was in medical school, but dropped out.

Claire returns to her dorm room to find Gretchen packing her stuff. Gretchen explains that the baby powder wasn't enough for her and she's going home, maybe forever. Claire understands -- that's why she called her dad in to fix everything. Gretchen is too important to her and everything's going to be fine. They've done this a thousand times. Gretchen explains that while this sort of thing may be everyday life for Claire, she can heal. She can't stay. Claire asks The Haitian to escort Gretchen to the airport, crying after they leave.

Suddenly, there's a knock on Claire's door. It's Samuel, and his agenda is awkward. Samuel explains that he's Becky's uncle and he knows that Claire is special like her, like them. Claire wants to know why she should trust Samuel, and he asks her to hear him out. Meanwhile, H.R.G. searches Becky's room to find a compass. The door slams, and he pulls out his taser, knowing Becky is there. He explains that he had a partner like Becky once. Ten thousand volts of electricity should make her materialize, but he doesn't want to use them. Becky makes herself visible, sniping that she finds H.R.G.'s sentiment hard to believe.

Matt and Sylar enter the Burnt Toast Diner where Lynette waits tables. Sylar orders the Tahitian pancakes and tells Matt that he tried to kill a waitress here once. When Matt pleads with Sylar not to kill Lynette, Sylar reminds Matt that he's a hostage, and hostages are supposed to get you things you want. Sylar wants to know where his body is, and Matt's going to tell him or he'll take Lynette in the back room and kill her. When Sylar makes off after Lynette, Matt finally promises to tell all.

Samuel explains that he heads a family of people with extraordinary abilities, prompting Claire to realize that he's not Becky's blood uncle. Samuel admits that it's more about embracing unconditional love than blood. When Claire asks if he embraces the fact that Becky killed Annie, he admits that Becky's story is complicated. She came to the Carnival when she was five years old after her father was murdered in front of her eyes.

Back at the dorm, Becky understands how H.R.G. doesn't remember her. When she was five years old, he came to her house to take her father away. Becky's father made her hide under the bed, but she saw the fight, and she saw H.R.G. shoot and kill her father. When H.R.G. looked under the bed for her, she wished herself invisible and her ability manifested for the first time. The irony? She's spent her life wondering why she could make a wish and save herself but not her father. Feeling ironic himself, H.R.G. lowers his taser.

As things are happening in Becky's room, Samuel recounts the same story for Claire. He thought Becky had moved past her past, but Claire realizes that Becky is all about getting revenge on H.R.G. H.R.G. realizes the same thing, so he apologizes to Becky and takes responsibility for his actions. Still, he won't let Becky hurt Claire. Becky is just promising to hurt them both when a bunch of girls burst through the door to find H.R.G. standing there by himself.

Samuel apologizes to Claire for Becky's actions. It was good of Claire to send Gretchen away. When Claire explains that Gretchen left of her own volition, Samuel allows that fear is easier than understanding. The way he deals with it is to surround himself with people like him, who can better understand. That's why he came to Claire and not H.R.G.; they both know what he would do in this situation. Just then, the door opens. Aiming his gun, H.R.G. asks Samuel what he's going to do next.

Samuel realizes that Claire has been stalling, keeping him talking. Claire asks if Samuel actually thought she would trust him over her father. H.R.G. tosses Samuel the compass, asking him to explain why every time he finds one, it's on a dead body. First, there was Danko. Samuel explains that Danko killed his brother and started the whole thing. His family needs to stay hidden from people like H.R.G. Meanwhile, Emma discovers a little girl, Meghan, who's stopped breathing. She screams for help and Peter comes running. When Peter fails to heal Meghan, Emma steps in, using her medical skills to save Meghan's life.

H.R.G. snaps handcuffs on Samuel and loads him into his car. Suddenly, Claire is slammed to the ground by an invisible Becky, who then slams H.R.G. to the ground, knocking the taser out of his hands. Realizing that Becky is going to attack Claire, Samuel picks up the taser and shoots, making Becky visible. H.R.G. pulls out his gun. Claire runs to stop him, and H.R.G. knocks her out of the way, stunning her heart more than her body. Samuel uses his chance to run off with Becky, as H.R.G. helps Claire to her feet with an apology.

Sylar doodles on a napkin as Matt explains that he pushed Nathan's memories into his mind. Sylar's own shapeshifting took care of the rest. Matt never did anything like that before, and didn't count on Sylar staying with him. Lynette clears Sylar's plate as he asks who else was involved. Angela, right? Matt nods, admitting that H.R.G. was also in on it. Sylar resolves to go see Nathan, then kill everyone who is remotely involved with the plot. Matt spies Lynette on the phone with the cops, after she's seen the psychotic doodles on Sylar's napkin.

Upon exiting the diner, Matt and Sylar are surrounded by squad cars. As the cops jump out and aim their weapons, Matt cautions Sylar against further napkin doodling. Now Matt is crossing the line Sylar told him he wasn't man enough to cross. Sylar calls Matt an idiot -- does he want them to die together? Resolved to sacrifice himself, Matt puts his hand in his jacket as if to pull out a weapon, and the cops open fire. As Sylar falls to the ground, Matt shimmers and vanishes into thin air.

Peter finds Emma playing piano in the rec room, where she's placed a photo of a little boy. Emma explains that she was in her second year of residency while babysitting her nephew Christopher. She was unable to save him from drowning, so she dropped out of medical school. Peter points out that Emma saved Meghan's life; maybe it's time to go back to school. Back at the Carnival, Becky apologizes to Samuel for getting impatient with Claire. Samuel promises Becky that she'll still have her revenge. Back in Manhattan, Peter is dismantling his wall of articles when there's a knock at the door. Nathan falls into Peter's arms, crying. He thinks he's in trouble...