Heroes Fic: "Blessed Silence" - (One-Shot)

Disclaimer: I do not own the Heroes show or any of it's characters - more's the pity...

Teaser: Matt finds a possible solution to his worsening problem...

When: Takes place after 1.08 ("Eight Minutes to Midnight"). No real spoilers. (No idea when I actually wrote it but definitely after 2006, heh.) 

A/N: I don't remember what the book, "Psychic Development for Beginners", contains exactly although I do remember there IS a book out there. Just can't remember the author. heh. I was also dissatisfied that his 'ability' was just a switch on and off so this is more realistic, imho. 

Matt was wilting visibly, trying to remain calm and centered by the time his lunch break came around - the press of all those minds was starting to get to him. He really wanted to figure out how to block them out - at least for a minute. No matter what he tried to do, it never seemed to work.

Slipping away from work at the beginning of his lunch break, he felt a sudden surge of freedom as he left the building but only for a moment for he was greeted by more voices in his head.

He winced as someone's mind screamed internally in rage somewhere in the vinicity, along with jealousy in another person's mind tugging at him to listen. I can't get away from anyone, unless I was a hermit - a mountain hermit with a cabin far from civilization. Now, there's an idea...

His mouth curved up slightly at that last thought, but he was frustrated. Even with this new power, it didn't seem to make anything easier.

Matt hadn't told Audrey how it had been getting worse until that one distraught radiation guy they had questioned briefly, and tried to help before Homeland Security had gotten there and screwed things up. They hadn't found him yet after he had escaped. He supposed they could possibly track him by his radioactive trail, but he wasn't sure if the guy'd risk exposing himself if he could keep himself off the radar.

He wasn't paying attention to where his feet were taking him until he noticed himself walking toward a bookstore. It was a natural foundation of information - usually. Perhaps he'd find some... some sort of answer there.

Entering the bookstore, he stopped just past the doors, letting them swing closed, in surprise. The constant pressure had vanished, and been replaced with a few whispers at the back of his mind. He rubbed his chin in puzzlement. Everywhere he had gone, he had always been aware of an ever increasing strength in his ability and the constant thoughts that threatened to overwhelm him at times, but not here.

It was comparative to a blessed paradise. He felt like he could finally think and relax. He slowly started wandering the bookshelves, not really sure what he wanted to look for... and ended up at the Metaphysical and New-Agey section. He thought thankfully that no one was around when he got there. He didn't know how people would react to a cop looking through metaphysical books.

He skipped most of the sections on the religions, and started skimming through the psychic book section. His fingers trailed across the spines of the various irregular sized books, until it stopped at one title: "Psychic Development for Beginners" He frowned, thinking hard, and feeling a little embarrassed to try to look through it. His fingers moved up to the top part of the book, poised to pull it out.

That looks so corny... but...what if it has some use? I may be able to find out some answers.

He felt hopeful, and pulled it out and started rifling through the table of contents. Basics of telepathy... Telepathy techniques... Shielding Techniques... Wait!

Matt tore through the pages to the indicated number of the Shielding Techniques chapter. He read the beginning of the shielding chapter - it mentioned that in making shields, you needed to practice to keep them up for longer durations of time, and advanced shielding methods would teach you how to keep them up until you dismissed them yourself. Reading it had him engrossed, since he had never knew that it could be possible to block out all the voices out there. He had regarded the whole thing with some natural skepticism, then his need for mental silence overcame this. Then he turned the page to an actual method to try. He read through the exercise once, then repeated it inside his head, and envisioned himself in an oval bubble of impenetrable light.

The effect was immediate and noticeable. He blinked. The low level whispering had all but vanished. He decided to walk by someone, trying to be unobstructive, and hiding the book in his hands, to see if they were thinking. He only heard silence. Complete silence.

It worked! It REALLY worked! I have to have this book!

Then voices gradually filtered into his mind again as two or three people passed him by. He grinned madly to himself, not caring that the people near him were regarding him dubiously. Or that he could hear their thoughts flitting in and out.

This guy's weird.

What's he on?

He started whistling softly, bringing the book to the checkout. He'd found some answers.

[Fin]