Notes and disclaimer: Begins at the start of Heroes season one, and about half way through season 2 of Criminal minds. Slight AU for both universes and there will be SLASH. It will be slow going but there will be SLASH. I do not own any of the ideas presented from either show, or the major plot points from either.

Chapter one, in which a butterfly is killed

The time stream is full of splitting point, making it more of a web than a stream. Points where a decision is to be made and it splits the time stream, one in favor of one decision, one in favor of the other. Behavioral Analysis Unit Section Chief Erin Strauss had no idea that she was sitting on one such point. In her hands she had a request for a profiler to join the just opening case for a dangerous killer, though it was unknown if they would go serial or not, though evidence pointed to the fact that he had done so. Hopefully, with the help of the BAU, the case would not last long, especially given the success rate of their top team.

In one split, Chief Strauss denied the request, stating that the best possible agent for the case, supervisory special agent Dr. Spencer Reid, was under much stress at the time. Besides, the man the case detailed, hadn't gone serial yet, so there was no need for a profiler to be assigned to the case. Life proceeded on for Dr. Reid with a continued number of cases, while still successfully keeping some of his secrets. The name Sylar ends up having no significance to him in any way, beyond being the name of a German watch company that was in business in the early 1900's.

In the other, Chief Strauss accepts the request, and assigns Dr. Spencer Reid to the case with Agent Audrey Hanson and four other FBI agents. It is a decision that has many unknown consequences, consequences that Chief Strauss could never hope to understand or see. This split goes off into darkness, because there ware many other decisions that have to be made upon it that have yet to be reached.

A butterfly hesitates a moment too long on the street outside of the BAU offices in Quantico, Virginia. It dies, killed by the tire of the passing car.

Chief Strauss assigned Dr. Reid to the case.

To say that Spencer Reid was not pleased by the chief's decision was both true and false. He didn't like that he was being taken away from his friends and co-workers. They were the only people that he really interacted with, the only people that had a chance of understanding him, at least partially. They could understand what Spencer wanted to show them about himself. However, Spencer could tell that Hotch, Morgan and Gideon were realizing that he had a problem, not that Spencer himself would call it a problem, he would call it more of a solution or a suppressing measure. Their closer looks and concerned questions and actions were coming too close for comfort. Any closer and they might find out the secrets that Spencer had been hiding for the longest time, the one secret that he managed to keep from everyone, hidden under wraps with his darker urges. Being assigned to this case would separate him from them; keep them from knowing, from even guessing what it could be.

"Your watch is broken."

Spencer looked up when he was spoken to, shocked out of the little strand of thought that he was lost in. He was greeted with the sight of a tall man. He had a Caucasian skin color, and had dark hair and eyes. He had a prominent brow and nose, but they didn't really detract from his appearance in Spencer's opinion. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Your watch. It's not working right. Mind if I take a look? I'm a watchmaker by trade." There was a curious little smile on his face, half resigned half anticipating, Spencer wondered why he would have that kind of smile on his face, what could have caused those emotions to be displayed.

"Sure," Spencer took off his watch and handed it to the other man, watching as he lifted the timepiece to his ear and listened for a moment. The old, ever present, dark hunger rang through Spencer's head, wanting to question, wanting to know, wanting to understand, always wanting and wanting more. It wasn't just the hunger that wanted to know, wanted to understand this man. Spencer did too. He was the hunger and the hunger was him, just a section of his mind that he didn't touch, tired not to use, but it always roused it self anyway when there was another out there that peaked it's interest. What was different this time, than with any other time, there seemed to be a hunger answering him back from deep within this watchmaker's eyes.

The watchmaker pulled the timepiece away from his ear and gave it back to Spencer, saying, "Yeah, it's running about five seconds slow, and a coil is loose in it."

"Really? How did you know that?" Spencer asked, tilting his head to one side and staring curiously at the watchmaker, trying to take him apart piece by piece and put him back together to find out how he worked and thought. To find out why he did what he did.

"I have a talent for the way things work, how the parts should go." Was it just Spencer or was that smile now more darkly nostalgic? "I don't have my tools here, but if you want you can come by the shop later and I'll do it for free. I'm Gabriel Gray."

"Spencer Reid, and sure, if you're sure it's alright…"

"Yeah, Spencer, it's fine." The watchmaker, Gabriel, grabbed a napkin and wrote down an address, what Spencer assumed was the address for the shop and gave it to Spencer. Spencer felt something click in his mind… and a sudden understanding occurred to him as he took the napkin. A smile spread on his face.

"Cool, I'll see you in a bit then. I'm meeting someone here in a few minutes."

"Sounds good."

Gabriel left giving Spencer a smile before he turned away and exited the coffee shop.

A few minutes later another tall man, this time with pale brown hair, and wearing horn-rimmed glasses. The man with the horn-rimmed glasses sat across from Spencer. "I'm glad that you decided to meet with me, Dr. Reid."