Ability replication

Ability replication
Peter touches Mohinder and mimics his ability.
Held by:	Peter Petrelli (synthetic)
Ability to:	Mimic the abilities of other evolved humans by physically touching them
Examples of ability replication

Ability replication was acquired by Peter after he injected himself with the genetic modification formula. It allows him to mimic the abilities of other evolved humans by touching them. However, he is only able to have one ability at a time, and loses his previous ability after absorbing another one. He does, though, appear to keep the ability for as long as he does not touch another evolved human. The ability donor does not lose their ability after Peter touches them.

Characters

• Peter Petrelli was granted this ability synthetically. (Dual)

Limits

Peter Petrelli

By injecting himself with the genetic modification formula, Peter acquired an ability which allows him to replicate the abilities of other evolved humans physically touching them. He first demonstrated the ability when he grabbed and flew his brother Nathan from the burning Pinehearst facility. He has mimicked Mohinder's enhanced strength by touching him on the Flight 195 aircraft. (A Clear and Present Danger). He later did the same thing with Tracy Strauss. Soon thereafter, he suddenly manifested her ability, causing the side of the plane to freeze off, taking down the plane.

His ability has been shown to work through clothing (as with Nathan's shirt).

And he has been shown to manifest abilities by accident (as with Tracy) and with intent (as with Mohinder).

Peter can currently only hold one ability at a time, losing access to his previous ability once he absorbs a new one. He also appears to know the limitations of his ability. He has been shown to replicate abilities with little ease and in an extremely short amount of time, as shown when he quickly absorbed Nathan's flight and flew off within seconds. (Trust and Blood)

It is unclear if his ability is dependent on his hands, or what would happen if he came into contact with someone with multiple abilities, like Sylar or even someone with a passive ability like Claire Bennet.

Peter has learnt to control his ability since A Clear and Present Danger, as he chose not to replicate telepathy from Matt when he saved him from Danko's team as that would result in flight being lost. (Cold Wars)

He later replicates telepathy in order to have two telepaths enter Building 26, but noticably loses flight. When he falls off a building, the only reason he survives is Nathan flies in and saves him and he later takes flight as his power again by hugging Nathan. (Exposed)

Abilities Used

• Peter is known to have manifested the following abilitiess:
  • Flight from Nathan Petrelli (Dual, Trust and Blood, Exposed)
  • Enhanced strength from Mohinder Suresh (A Clear and Present Danger)
  • Freezing from Tracy Strauss (A Clear and Present Danger)
  • Telepathy from Matt Parkman (Exposed)

Current Ability

• Peter's current replicated ability is flight from Nathan Petrelli (as of Exposed).

Memorable Quotes

"I saw you on the plane, I don't care how many powers you have."

"One. I don't know why. I can only hang onto one at a time. If I pick up a new one, I lose the old one."

- Tracy, Peter (Trust and Blood)

Examples

• 
  Peter touches Mohinder and gains his ability...
• ...and uses it to break out of his restraints...
  ...and uses it to break out of his restraints...
• ...and then uses it on one of the guards. (A Clear and Present Danger)
  ...and then uses it on one of the guards.
  (A Clear and Present Danger)
• Peter touches Tracy and gains her ability...
  Peter touches Tracy and gains her ability...
• 
  ...and starts to freeze the plane.
  (A Clear and Present Danger)
• 
  Peter touches Nathan's shoulder...
• 
  ...and starts to fly away.
  (Trust and Blood)

Notes

• Some have found similarities between Peter's first ability of empathic mimicry and his current ability. Indeed, both abilities allow Peter to absorb abilities from those around him, and neither ability has a negative effect on the person from whom the ability is absorbed. However, there are notable differences between the two abilities. With empathic mimicry, Peter would simply have to remember an evolved human's ability and who they are in order to gain their ability, though he was apparently able to bypass this restriction as his ability evolved. With his new ability, Peter seems to have to make physical contact with the other person. Additionally, Peter used to be able to hold on to multiple abilities (at one point he had access to at least fifteen abilities). He can now hold on to only one ability at a time.

See Also

• For Arthur's ability to steal others' abilities through physical contact, see power absorption
• For Peter's original ability to mimic abilities through empathy, see empathic mimicry
• For Linda's ability to take others' auras to use their abilities, see aura absorption
• For the way in which Sylar acquires abilities from other evolved humans, see ability theft

Fan Theories

Please refer to Theory:Ability replication for fan-created theories and other speculation.