Heroes: Confrontations, chapter 5

[jemmalynette]

Title: Confrontations (Chapter 5/?)
Author: Jemma
Rating: To be safe, T (13+)
Disclaimer: Not my show or characters.
Characters: Peter, Nathan, Matt, Mohinder, Sylar, Future!Claire, Future!Peter, Future!Mohinder, Future!Nathan, Future!Danko, Danko, HRG, Mary Campbell, Luke, Tracy, mentions of Hiro.
Summary: My own interpretation of “Fugitives” after “Trust And Blood”. I started this before Volume Four began but added to it as new episodes showed. It follows Future!Peter in the future Fugitives-verse and the made of Awesome Trio which is Matt, Mohinder and Peter in the present. The three fugitives go on an important mission to find Sylar in an attempt to get Peter’s abilities back while, in the future, Future!Peter struggles with the changes of reality and suddenly finds himself in the same position many of his friends had been put in before they met a cruel fate.
This Chapter: In the future, Danko prepares Peter for Surgery. Back in the present, the trio are forced to spend the night with Sylar and Luke before leaving to find Sylar's father.
Previous Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four
Read here or at FF.net
A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting this. I actually have these chapters written up already but I don't want to post the last few just yet until I'm satisfied with the ending.



Chapter 5

Three years in to the future, 5 days after visiting the past.

His eyes fluttered open and he realised he wasn’t in his cell anymore. Nor was he in the lab acting as the rat for their experiments. No, this time he was in a bed. He squinted slightly, white splodges dancing in front of his eyes. His head rested on something soft. A pillow? He looked around. It looked like he was in a hospital room. He sat up with difficulty, feeling as though he had just been hit by a ton of bricks or something similar. Maybe someone had found him, rescued him and brought him here?

“Try not to move, Mr. Petrelli. You need to rest. You’re about to have surgery after all,” a voice said cynically. Danko. He was sat by the bed behind a table of equipment and tools. Peter looked at him groggily from the corner of his eyes.

“You think you’re really going to find something in there?” he asked bitterly.

“Well, there’s no harm in trying, is there?”

That’s right. The only harm there would be was that of Peter if any mistakes were to occur. And, of course, the ominous warning he had received telling him that once he and his brain were found to be absolutely useless to their research, they would dispose of him just like a failed science experiment. That’s all he was to them. An experiment. And to think, he wasn’t the first person they had locked up and experimented on only to end their lives shortly afterwards because they were of no help to them. They had probably done this hundreds of times. Hundreds! And he asked himself how his brother could ever have allowed this to happen.

“I thought I would take the time to go through the surgery with you,” Danko grinned arrogantly as he picked up a steel bladed scalpel, “This will be used to make an incision in your scalp. After we remove part of the bone in your skull, this will be used,” he picked up another knife with a sharp and shiny blade as he held it up to the younger man’s view, “to help cut and pull back the membrane covering your brain.” Peter glared at him, unimpressed as Danko continued his petty attempt to torment him with the graphic details of the surgery, “Once the brain is exposed, we’ll use this little thing,” he picked up part of a tiny looking microscope, “to have a good thorough search around. And well, you know. You were a nurse after all. I‘m sure you have some knowledge in this field.”

“What exactly do you expect to find anyway?” Peter growled angrily as he watched the other man place the microscope back down and smile at him carelessly.

“Well, we’re not sure exactly,” he admitted, getting to his feet, “But luckily we have an expert in the building. As of a few days ago.”

Peter stared at him warily, “Wait, you mean Sylar?” he was too exhausted to show his outrage. If he had any ounce of strength left, he would’ve jumped out of the bed by now and thrown the man furiously across the room, “You want him in there with us? How are you going to manage that?”

Didn’t these people realise the danger? Peter didn’t much like the thought of his brain exposed in a room where Sylar could kick start a fight or break free and destroy something crucial at any moment. Somehow he got the feeling Sylar wasn’t going to just stand there sensibly and do as the nice people said.

“He can understand how these powers work. With him there, he’ll be able to look in to your brain - without killing you - then maybe we’ll be able to find a way to turn them off. Then you’ll be free to go,” he grinned smugly.

“That’s what this is about? You want to get rid of people’s abilities?” Peter scoffed, attempting to sit up again before sliding back down in pain.

“It’s a dangerous world out there, Peter. Without these abilities perhaps it will be a little less dangerous.”

“Then what? You’re just going to kidnap people from all over the world, get rid of their abilities and then let them go as if nothing ever happened?” he said the next part slowly and roughly, “You’re insane.”

He pursed his lips together with irritation then opened his mouth to retort when another, more familiar voice came from outside.

“Hey! I didn’t authorise this surgery!” Of course, it was the Hero. Nathan. Looking out for his baby brother in the worst of situations. Only, it was because of him he was here in the first place. Peter looked at him angrily. Nathan rushed towards them and glared at Danko after his eyes had dropped to see the surgical instruments lying on a small table beside him.

“Senator,” Danko began tiredly, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave. We’re trying to prep the patient for surgery.”

“Peter is not a patient. I didn’t give you permission to cut in to his brain,” Nathan replied sharply with a small, concerned glance towards Peter.

“Is this favouritism, Mr. Petrelli? No one gets a free pass anymore. Not your daughter, not your brother, not anybody.” Peter noted a pained look in his brother’s eye at the mention of her. He glanced down. Perhaps he really was hurt over her death. Perhaps he didn’t want to make the same mistake with his little brother. He probably should’ve thought about that before he began this whole ridiculous operation . So many lives could have been spared, so many years-unwasted, “Not forgetting our little deal, are you, Senator?”

Peter’s eyes raised curiously. Nathan’s appeared to be burning a whole in the man opposite him. He grit his teeth together before sighing with frustration, “I want to be in there with him.”

“I’m afraid family aren’t allowed in the operating theatre. Senator or not.”

“Danko-”

“Senator..” his tone was strict and threatening. Nathan pinched the skin in between his eyes.

“At least give me a minute with him; before he goes in.”

With a slight grunt and a nod, Danko hesitantly left the room, leaving the two brothers alone to talk.
Nathan and Peter looked at each other soulfully, neither one able to mutter a single word. So they were silent for a few moments, and Peter broke away his gaze to look at his palms resting on his lap.

“You weren’t supposed to be at the house,” muttered Nathan suddenly, running a hand through his greasy hair in agitation.

“What?”

“Three years, Pete. It’s been three years and then you suddenly decide to show up? You weren’t supposed to be there. You weren’t supposed to get caught.”

“So this is my fault?” Peter snapped, wrinkling his nose with disdain, “You don’t think that part of this might, on any level, be due to your actions.”

“I know, okay? I know this is my fault,” he fell in to the chair beside him, “But this…you…you’re not supposed to be here.”

“A lot of people shouldn’t have been here,” mumbled Peter, looking away, “And now they’re gone.”

Nathan felt his head drop in to his itching hands, “I know,” and they were silent again for a moment longer.

Peter swallowed, feeling the apprehension catch up to him. He stole a quick meaningful glance at his brother. He didn’t want his last conversation with him to be an argument. They had had so many. It didn’t matter how much he hated him at the moment - this was not how he wanted things to end between them. And he needed someone to be there with him. Someone who didn’t relish the thought of cutting open his brain, someone who at least pretended to care for him and not see him as a threat to the country or a mere science experiment. He needed reassurance. He needed his older brother.

“Nathan,” he swallowed again, choking back tears that had been held back for so long and hidden away from the world as if crying was something to be ashamed of, a weakness and nothing more, “I’m afraid.”

Nathan lifted his head from his hands slowly and stared at his younger sibling, a deep concern shining in his eyes, “I know.”

Peter looked around him, distraught, “Nothing’s changed. I couldn’t stop this. I…I couldn’t save them.”

“You couldn’t save them all, Pete. Nor could I.”

He inhaled deeply, “This is it, isn’t it? How it ends. There’s no way to bring them back. There’s no way to stop all of this from happening.”

Nathan glanced down sadly, sighing, “If there was anything I could do…”

Peter nodded, “I know,” he shivered at his thoughts. What was to become of him now? Was he to share the fate of his friends? Or was there some chance that they might find a way to undo these powers? Then instead of death, Peter would live his unextraordinary life surrounded by unextraordinary people in a unextraordinary world where the people he loved and knew were dead. He thought it too late to change things now. Nothing was different. Those people were still dead and Danko was still hunting. He was still going to look inside Peter’s head and diminish what made him who he was, if he could. And if not, well, he had already gone over that scenario several times in his head.

“I’m sorry,” Nathan told him sincerely, “I know I’ve said it before but…I never meant for this to happen. I didn’t want this. And I’m not the monster you think I am.”
Even though Nathan had spelled the same words out to him before, this time seemed different. His words seemed more desperate. Genuine. And his expression matched his tone.

“It seemed like that was what you were,” Peter replied sorely, “Ever since you started this. But deep down, I knew you were still you. You know, the same guy that helped me with my homework or drove me to school or helped me revise for my Practice Exams…the same guy who saved my life, or helped me save the world.”

Nathan frowned and tore away his gaze as his eyes fixed to the floor tiles below him, “I’m sorry, Pete,” he said again, getting to his feet and leaning over to kiss him gently on his mess of dark hair, “I really am.”

The younger man sighed and chewed on his lip before replying, “Yeah. Me too.”

“Time’s up. I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait outside, Senator,” Danko’s unwelcome voice chimed in. Nathan shot him an angry glare before walking towards the exit. He stopped outside the room and looked uneasily through the big glass window as Peter was made to lie back and an injection was made in to his left arm. He stared back at Nathan drowsily as his eyes became too heavy to keep open. Nathan watched him helplessly as his brother slowly escaped in to a deep sleep. Somewhere better then he really was, no doubt. Peter watched the familiar figure behind the glass fade to black. And then nothing else could be seen. His time was up.

~*~

Present Day

The steam from the shower caused little cold droplets to trickle down the tiles on the wall. The water was nice and hot. It was a pleasant relief to finally be able to wash the chaos away after these tiresome few days. They had spent the last few hours questioning each other’s alliances and discussing how they were going to execute the new plan they had thought up. The Luke kid had pleaded to come and, after much disagreement, they had given in and decided to let him tag along. He seemed to find a particular interest in the whole thing. The plan was to find the headquarters of the operation, wherever that was, and once they had found that and confirmed that Sylar’s father was being held inside, Sylar would let Peter take his powers in exchange for rescuing his father. Once he had those powers, well, the rest was unspoken. Peter planned to improvise. Perhaps he would confront Nathan first. Or Bennet. Then he would concentrate on freeing the rest of the prisoners. One way or another this monstrosity was going to end.

Peter grabbed a towel from the side and wrapped it around his waist as the water from his wet hair dripped down on to his skin. They had decided to stay the night as their talking and arguments had raged on in to the late afternoon. It was a great opportunity to have a good wash and night’s sleep. Not to mention the whole fridge full of food in the kitchen that didn’t have “Cheap Diner Food” written all over it. He had also spotted some money in the study which he had quickly pocketed for future use. He was pretty sure he needed it more than the previous owner and that he wouldn’t miss a few bucks anyway. Pushing back his dripping brown hair to avoid the strands from covering his eyes, he raised his eyes and froze, startled. He could’ve sworn he saw a face in the mirror. A white haired man, pale face, older. He had looked oddly familiar. But it was his imagination playing tricks on him. Peter shook his head and swiped at his damp eyes. No one was there and it was no one he knew. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head.

Not long later, he joined the others and saw Sylar throw some blankets and pillows on to the floor, “I found these in the closet. Remember, this is no slumber party,” he told them dryly, “First thing in the morning, we’re out of here.”

The others were quiet and silently agreed. With a small grunt, Sylar left to go to the bedroom. Peter doubted he was going to sleep. It was more likely he would nose around the place first. Perhaps try and piece together some information about this estranged father of his. He walked past Mohinder who had already made up a bed for himself on the sofa. Grabbing a blanket and draping it over him, he stared up towards the ceiling and lay back tiredly, “All we have to do now is get out the box of chocolates and sappy romance films.”

To his surprise, Peter wasn’t angry at his comment. He simply let out a small laugh as he set out a space for him to sleep on the floor. He looked over at Matt nearby who’s head had a clean dressing on it-something they had conveniently found in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. He sat by the window with the gun clutched tightly in his hands.

“Hey, how’s your head?” Peter asked him, indicating to the bandage and the sore wound that lay beneath it.

Matt nodded to him and smiled briefly, “It’s fine. Thanks.”

“You should really get some sleep. Let me keep watch first.”

“That’s okay, I don’t feel like sleeping anyway.”

Peter frowned but didn’t try to convince him any longer. He lay his head down on the pillow behind him, “Just tell me if you change your mind. And wake me up if your head starts to bother you.”

“I will. Thanks.”

They heard a small scornful laugh come from the armchair in the corner, “I can’t believe I have to spend the night in here with you people.”

Peter rolled his eyes and turned on to his side to face the boy who had himself curled up on the chair opposite, “You wanted to tag along. Where else are you going to sleep?”

Luke didn’t bother replying. Instead, he moved on to a new subject, “So, I get what his power is,” he nodded to Matt who ignored him and continued to look outside in to the dark, “And I’m guessing he has super strength or something like that,” he looked towards Mohinder who returned the look suspiciously, “What are you?” he asked Peter with intrigue.

Peter sighed, lying on to his back again, “I…I’m not really anything. I just…borrow other people’s abilities. An empath, I think it’s called.”

“So, you just grab on to other people and take their powers?”

“Kinda but recently I’ve only been able to keep a couple at a time.”

“Which is why you want Sylar.”

Peter stopped himself, “Maybe you should go to sleep now.”

“Not tired.”

“Well, I am.”

“Peter,” Mohinder spoke up from the sofa, “Do you still have your other abilities?”

Peter exhaled, “No, Mohinder. They’re gone.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep. Went when I took the kid’s power,” he paused and looked towards Luke again.

“It’s microwave emission,” he told him, “In case you were wondering. It’s pretty cool, if not deadly. You can melt stuff with it, boil stuff…”

“I gathered,” Peter muttered wryly. He never wanted this ability. It wouldn’t help him save his friends. Maybe help boil a person’s blood from the inside or even melt their skin from the outside. But it wouldn’t help unless he planned to viciously murder people. He wasn’t kidding when he said it was deadly. Perhaps it was too deadly. He could always change his power in the morning, if he wanted. At least he had that option.

“Do you think you’ll be able to find Sylar’s father?” Luke asked seriously, readjusting his position in the armchair.

Peter followed the question with a hopeful sigh, “Let’s worry about that tomorrow.” His main concern at the moment was to keep Sylar on their side. And to do that he would need to keep his promise. To find his father, wherever he was. Peter planned to try and take Matt’s future-seeing ability, then the both of them could try and find some answers. He sunk in to his blankets as the conversation died down and silence filled the dark room. It wasn’t long until he drifted off in to dreams of happier times. Dreams of his family before the insanity settled in to their lives. Back when they appeared to be a normal family living in a normal world. But most importantly, back when he could trust the people he loved.

Never again.

~*~

It didn’t feel like much later when he awoke to a sniffling sound coming from behind him. He sat up and swiped at his eyes, yawning. The memories of those happy times drifted away as quickly as the dream itself. He turned to see Matt still sitting at the window. He had his head held in his hands and several scraps of paper were scattered untidily around him. Peter had to come closer to be sure, but Matt was crying to himself, thinking his quiet sobs couldn’t be heard. Peter frowned and placed a hand on his shoulder. Matt jumped, surprised. Instead of being relieved to see the intruder had only been Peter, he looked away shamefully and apologised.

Peter shook his head and grabbed a chair from the side to sit opposite him, “It’s okay, Matt. I understand.”

“No, I..I should’ve been keeping watch. What if they had come? I wouldn’t have been able to warn you.”

Another frown followed. His eyes dropped to the scraps of paper on the floor. He picked up an interesting one: a man in a suit sitting at a desk, dark circles around his eyes and a phone pressed to his ear. Undoubtedly, this man was Nathan.

“I was trying to figure out where it was,” sniffed Matt, “Their base. But as I kept drawing I kept hoping she would be there. That maybe somehow she was alive,” his eyes glanced to the floor at the rest of the disappointing sketches, “It was stupid, I know.”

“No,” Peter shook his head again, his eyes focusing on Matt’s with a deep concern, “Look, you should get some sleep. I’ll take over.”

Matt forced a sad smile, “Thanks,” he got up. Peter stood with him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder again,

“It’s not stupid,” he told him, “You can come to me if you need to talk, man.”

Matt nodded a thank you and made his way towards the others to set up a place for him to sleep. Peter watched him go. He was worried about his friend. It was hard loosing somebody you loved, he knew that. And with everything else that was happening at the moment it was going to be so much harder to swallow. He only wished he could’ve saved her too. But there were people out there that could still make it. They were still alive, they still had a chance.

Before sitting at the window and keeping watch, Peter bent down to collect the drawings Matt had drawn. He sat down and began to flick through them. He saw pictures of Nathan and Bennet but none that indicated where they were. Peter cursed under his breath. Another dead end. But then he paused in disbelief as he turned to the next picture. The man he saw in the mirror. The one with the white hair and familiar leering expression. He stared at it for a minute. Who was he? Was he part of this too?
He glanced over at Matt who had already curled up to sleep beside the others and then looked momentarily outside before clutching the gun beside him. Everything seemed peaceful for now. He looked down and sighed before taking in one more deep breath and having his eyes become coated with a bright blanket of white. Discreetly, he had taken Matt’s power before he went off to sleep. He needed to know who this other man was. He needed to know where Nathan and Bennet were. He needed to know where Sylar’s dad was! He needed to know as soon as possible before Sylar began to question their loyalty. The visions began to play out in front of him.

Two men shaking hands: Nathan and this new person. Peter began to sketch out the scene automatically, capturing the moment as best he could. They stood in a big room. An office? Piles of paper mounted up on the desk. But Peter couldn’t see close enough to catch any clear details or words.

A new image. This time the man was at a board with various photographs on. The pictures were small but Peter could see his own image stuck on the second row down, along side Mohinder and Matt. Sylar’s photograph was stuck high above them on the first row. Priority One, it said, Highly Dangerous. The man’s eyes appeared to be staring directly at Peter, a cold glare settling in to him. Peter needed to know his name. He needed to know where he was, immediately. He glanced down the drawing, looking at the man’s torso-he had a badge stuck to him. ID. Perfect! He had to strain his eyes to see but after a few moments of staring he could finally tell what the badge read.

“Danko. His name is Danko!”

“Peter?”

Peter jumped up in surprise as he spun around to see Mohinder staring at him with a curious and confused look. Now he knew how Matt had felt. It wasn’t a pleasant thing to be snuck up on in the dark while trying to study these images.

“Mohinder, I was just…”

“You were trying to draw the future.”

“Uh, yeah. I was just trying to figure out something,” he trailed off, studying Mohinder closely. He was expecting a long drawn out speech about how irresponsible it was for him to be doing such a thing when they were in such a dangerous situation, not to mention how ludicrous this whole thing was and the many pessimistic comments that usually followed. But instead, he sat in front of him glancing down at the drawings,

“What have you found?”

After momentarily staring at the other man, surprised by his reaction, Peter looked back down at the drawings and began to tell his companion about his findings and about this mysterious Danko person.

“So he’s in charge of all of this too?”

“I think so. I don’t think Nathan and Bennet could’ve done this alone. There’s just something about this guy that…isn’t quite right. I don’t know how to explain it. He just gives me this weird feeling. I think he’s dangerous.”

“You know, it’s okay to be scared, Peter,” assured Mohinder. Peter shook his head and stood up.

“I’m not scared, it’s just…” he looked down at Mohinder who had both his eyebrows raised and he sighed, “Okay, I am a little. I just think this guy’s not one to be messed with. I have this feeling something bad’s going to happen and it’s going to be because of him.”

“You’re not having second thoughts are you?”

“No. Of course not,” insisted Peter. He breathed deeply and leant against the wall, “I just need my powers back.”

“So you’ve said.” smiled Mohinder, “I don’t think you should give up.”

“You don’t?”

“We’ve come this far, haven’t we? We’ve spent the night with Sylar in the next room. I thought that would be risky enough. I’m surprised any of us slept!”

“Did somebody say my name?”

Sylar stared at Mohinder and Peter who remained quiet. He glanced at Luke and Matt who slept soundly,
“You should get ready. I want to be leaving soon.”

“Now?” Peter glanced at his watch. Four-thirty AM, “Don’t you think it’s a little early?”

“I thought you wanted to get a move on, Peter. To save everyone? Get revenge? And I would like to find my father as soon as possible. Do you have any objections to that?”

Peter bit down hard on his lip and avoided his intimidating glare, “No. I don’t.”

“Well then,” he stared at the two from the corner of his eyes, “Anyone for breakfast?”

~*~

“Hold still.”

“You’re hurting me.”

“Yeah, it’ll do that. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt so much if you just stayed still,” Peter warned Matt as he put a fresh bandage on to the dry wound.

“I’m not one of your patients, Peter,” Matt muttered as Peter finished up with the bandage.

“Well, I’d be lucky to have you,” Peter added teasingly, patting Matt on the shoulder, “You’re good to go.”

Luke glared from the kitchen as he munched on his cereal, “You gotta be kidding me,” he muttered, turning his attention to Sylar as he entered the room, “It’s not too late to ditch them. We can find your dad ourselves.”

“Shut up, Luke,” growled Sylar as he wandered in to the main room towards the others, “Are you done?”

They heard the car boot shut from outside and Mohinder opened the front door, nodding towards his friends, “I’ve got the car ready. Stocked it up with food and medical supplies too.”

“Great,” Sylar replied dryly, “Now there’s just the small matter of where we’re actually going,” he added, turning his attention to Peter who was, in fact, clueless.

Luckily, Mohinder appeared to have an idea, “About that,” he started, “All other methods to finding this place, wherever it is, has failed. I feel that in order for us to find out where their base is…” he paused, unsure whether he should continue, “one of us needs to get caught.”

Matt immediately didn‘t take to the idea, “What? Are you crazy? You wanna bring those people straight on to our doorstep?”

“Think about it,” Mohinder continued logically, “All it takes is one of us. They’ll capture him and take him to their base to be questioned. All we have to do is follow them while whoever it is keeps quiet until we rescue him.”

“Follow them?” Peter repeated doubtfully, “Even if we can do that, who’s gonna volunteer for something like that?”

A painful silence followed. It seemed no one wanted to volunteer for the mission. Not even Mohinder, the brains behind the idea.

“Luke,” Sylar suddenly said, hardly looking up.

The boy nearly choked on his cereal, “Me? Nu-uh. No way.”

“You wanted to help,” Sylar told him, “Here’s your chance.”

“I never said I wanted to help,” he argued, “I just wanted to come with you.”

“If you want to come with me then you’ll do this for me. Or I can just get rid of you right now,” he replied darkly as blue static surged to his finger tips.

Luke rubbed at his pink eyes agitatedly, “So, what, I just sit there? Pumped full of drugs, waiting for you guys to save me? That sounds stupid to me, man, I got to admit.”

Stepping forward, Mohinder added, “It won’t be for long. But it’s important for you to keep quiet. They might not know you’ve been with us but they know you’ve had contact with Sylar. Under no circumstances are you to tell them anything we’ve discussed, alright?”

“I haven’t agreed to this yet,” he added bitterly, getting to his feet.

“I think you already have,” Sylar smirked.

“Wait, maybe this is a bad idea,” admitted Peter, “Maybe I should do it.”

“It’s okay, Peter,” smirked Sylar, “Luke will do it. He wanted to be part of this after all,” his eyes laughed as he glanced at Luke who looked less than amused.

“I’ll move the cars,” Mohinder offered with enthusiasm. With them hidden and out of the way it would be easier to follow them under the radar. Matt and Peter exchanged unsure glances.

“Peter can ride with me,” added Sylar, a twisted smile on his lips, “It’ll give us a chance to catch up.”

As much as Peter hated the idea, he also thought it necessary. That way he could be certain that he wouldn’t run off or break their little deal. He nodded, “Fine.”

“So we just wait?” Luke asked, more than a hint of negativity in his voice.

“We wait,” sighed Peter.

~*~

Three hours later.

“Target in sight.”

“You got a clear aim?”

“Yep.”

“Take him down.”

Luke trudged along the path, a deep frown set across his face. This was the sixth time he had pretended to take out the trash and he was getting pretty tired of it. He gripped the black bin bag in his hands and made his way towards the trash can.

“Okay,” he muttered tediously, “I’m taking out the trash. I’m lifting up the lid. Still nothing? Alright then,” he sighed, gritting his teeth together knowing the others were inside watching intently, “I’m putting the trash in the-”

He looked down, feeling a familiar sting in his right shoulder. They were here. His knees met the hard floor below him while the bag flung from his hands. Nobody said anything about being shot with a dart again. His body shook vigorously on the floor and, as he gradually lost consciousness, his last thoughts were of how much complaining he was going to do as soon as he got rescued. If he got rescued.

The others had already swiftly evacuated the house and escaped to the cars hidden in the woods behind. They watched through the trees as Luke was hauled away and thrown in to the back of a black van. It wasn’t long before the order was given to search the house.

“I swear, Matt, you better have cleaned up all that blood,” Mohinder muttered from the driver’s seat while he nervously watched them file in to the house.

“I scrubbed at the floor for hours, Mohinder. It’s spotless. And next time I’ll try not to get injured and bleed everywhere.”

Mohinder ignored the comment and gripped the steering wheel as his heart began to beat a little faster, “I wish they’d hurry up.”

Meanwhile, not far away, Peter was having similar worries, “Maybe we should all ride in the same car,” he suggested, watching the search unfold from the passenger seat.

“We might need to split up,” Sylar replied with one hand on the steering wheel, “If they go down, they’d take us with them…”

Peter bit down on his lip as he watched them bundle Luke in to the back of the van.

“You worried about the kid?” Sylar asked, glancing over at him. Peter didn’t respond, “Don’t be. Little brat, follows me around like a lost puppy. Like I’m his older brother or something.”

“If you thought that then why’d you let him tag along with you all this time?” Peter looked over at him. Sylar turned away and looked back towards the house. He didn’t reply. He waited.

“They’re leaving,” he mumbled, observing the men in uniforms file towards the van and begin to drive off as he slowly reached for the ignition but waiting until the last possible second to start the engine. He noticed the navy blue car with Matt and Mohinder sat in the front pull out ahead of them and drive off way too soon, “Idiots.” He started the engine and followed cautiously.

As they drove along, a safe distance away from the other vehicles, Sylar glanced from the road to his old empathic friend, “You better keep your hands off me,” he warned but with a small hint of humour, “I mean it. If you power-rape me while I’m driving I’ll have you killed before you’ll even get to use them.”

Sweeping a hand through his hair, Peter rolled his eyes, “Fine. I won’t try anything.”

Sylar kept an eye on the road and on the van that drove far ahead, “So why does your brother want to kill us? That’s rather hypocritical, don’t you think?”

Another sigh as Peter propped his arm up against the passenger seat window and leant his head against his fist, “I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to him since I was caught,” he replied bitterly at the memory.

“It’s a shame,” Sylar added, “If I had gotten a chance before maybe I could have saved us all this… inconvenience.” Peter eyed him cautiously, “Flying,” he continued, “That could save me a lot of time.”

Peter bit down hard on his tongue and looked out of the window. The thought of Sylar killing his brother angered him. Many times Peter had imagined doing it himself. Nathan deserved what was coming to him. But then again, he still felt lost without him. He didn’t want him to die, no matter what evil and selfish things he had done. As usual, the very presence of the man beside him caused him to feel a certain hatred towards him. He needed him but it didn’t mean he had to like it.

“You’re afraid of me,” Sylar said in a low voice as Peter twitched slightly.

“I’m not afraid of you,” he made clear, “Not anymore.”

He raised an eyebrow, “You’re a little afraid of me.”

Peter fidgeted a little bit, scratching behind his ear before leaning back again and facing the other man, “I’ve seen a different side to you,” he finally said after what seemed like several minutes, “You saved me.”

“I thought you were my brother back then. I thought I was different. But I’m not like you, Peter. I’m not like any of your twisted little family. I’m sorry I saved your pathetic life.”

“You’re not as evil as you’d like to be,” muttered Peter

“Is that so?” scorned Sylar, uninterested in the younger man’s opinion.

“I think things would’ve been different if you had been my brother. Maybe then you wouldn’t be so hesitant to do the right thing.”

“Because the Petrelli’s are a band of Heroes, right?” Sylar restrained his laugher, “Yeah, the crazy manipulative parents who tricked me in to thinking I was their son and, not forgetting, who tried to kill each other and even sent their children to do it for them,” he added bitterly, “The narcissistic flyboy senator who’s in charge of this whole Goddamn operation to wipe out his own kind and, last but not least, the youngest, the bipolar man-child who’s Hell bent on revenge and is hanging on to a ridiculous idea that he can save the world again. You’re right, Peter. I would’ve been a much better person belonging to your insane little family. God knows what you people did on ‘Family Fun Night’.”

Peter was quiet as he watched Sylar turn away and concentrate on the road again. He looked out towards the window and drifted off in to his own thoughts. Perhaps Sylar was right. His family were made up of bad people, himself included. He thought for so long his family had been perfect, or at least seemed to be. It was only recently that things appeared to be falling apart. He resented them all, he knew that. They had all done bad things but he had never seen them as bad people. Well, Nathan was the exception for that one. Peter knew what he really was now. All his life he had looked up to him, loved him and, like his mother had so correctly remarked, hero-worshipped him. Ludicrous as it was now, it was the truth. He had been wrong about him from the start. He did resent them. But he loved them all too. He couldn’t help it, it was who he was and he couldn’t change it. No matter who they were, they were a part of him and he was a part of them too.
He let the silence take over from then on and they both sat quietly, following the van ahead of them until Peter finally asked the question that had played on his mind since the start of their journey here.

“What about you? Your family. You said you want to find your real father. What do you hope to find?”

Sylar gave a little sideways smile at the question, debating whether he should bother answering or not. After a few moments, he loosened a little, “You’re…special,” he began without looking away from the road, “What if you had found out your whole life was a lie? Your parents, your home, all of it. Wouldn’t you want to know where you came from? Where these abilities came from?” he shook his head at Peter’s silence, “I’m on a mission. So are you. Let’s just keep this little alliance as short as possible and get this over with.”

“Alright,” Peter replied with a small nod before resting his head on his propped up arm again and watching the road in front of him, “I’m with you there.”

~~

“You’re driving too close, Mohinder.”

“I don’t think I can take another hour of this,” Mohinder muttered under his breath.

“Do you want to get caught?”

“I don’t want to lose the van, Matt.”

“Maybe I should drive,” suggested Matt with concern.

“It’s a little too late for that, don’t you think? I’m not stopping now.”

Matt accepted his defeat and sat back in the leather chair with a frown, “How much farther do you think this place is?”

“Hopefully not far,” Mohinder answered, making sure to keep both hands steadily on the wheel, “I just can’t wait for all of this to be over once and for all. So we can get back to our normal lives and live without all of this fear and secrecy. It’s unbearable.”

Matt sunk slowly in to the seat and chewed on his bottom lip, “I’m not even sure if I want to go back to that life anymore. Not without Daphne. Everything now just seems so…pointless.”

Mohinder shot him a guilt-filled glance, “I’m sorry, Matt. I just meant-”

“I know. It’s not your fault what happened to her,” he swallowed, angry thoughts entering his mind, “It’s their’s. Nathan Petrelli, Noah Bennet and this Danko. Without them we could still be living our lives together, maybe have a family…like the one I saw in my vision,” he paused, thoughts drifting back to the image of him, Daphne, Molly and their own little baby. Of course it was too good to be true. But he had been so close, “I don’t understand how the future can be changed so easily.”

“The future’s not written in stone, Matt. We make our own choices. We can change things for the better. Maybe there is such thing as destiny, but this definitely isn’t ours.”

“I think I’ve had enough of thinking about the future,” he sighed, aimlessly scratching at the small bandage on his forehead.

“Haven’t we all,” Mohinder muttered more to himself than his companion. He eyed the black van cautiously, willing for it to drive faster so they could arrive at the headquarters sooner rather than later. Mohinder still wasn’t entirely keen on driving towards the people they were supposed to be running from but if it contributed to their liberation then he was willing to help. As he concentrated on the van in front, he saw a man in the passenger seat glance in the mirror and lock eyes with him.

Mohinder’s throat ran dry.

Matt sensed something was wrong, “Mohinder?”

Mohinder tried to find the right words as the van in front of them appeared to slow down. He wasn’t sure what to do next so he slammed his foot down on the accelerator, driving as fast as he could.

“Mohinder, what are you doing?” Matt almost yelled.

“They’ve seen us, Matt,” his heart raced, “We have to get out of here!”

His muscles tightened and he watched as Mohinder overtook the black van and a high speed chase ensued, “I told you you were driving too close!”

Mohinder beeped the horn as he swerved, attempting to dodge the many cars in front, “Okay, you were right! But that’s not going to help us now!”

“Just try not to get the cops on our tail as well!”

Not far behind, Peter sat up, watching the commotion unfold, “What are they doing?”

Sylar shook his head and cursed under his breath, “Idiots exposed themselves. They’re being chased.”

“What do we do?” Peter questioned, a slight panic in his tone.

“Nothing,” Sylar replied simply.

Peter wasn’t impressed by his answer, “We have to help them.”

“No, we don’t. They don’t know we’ve been following them, it’s best we stay out of their way.”

“You’re going to have to speed up to keep up with them.”

He changed gear and increased in speed, “If your friends get us caught-”

“Yeah, I know,” Peter muttered, “Just don’t lose ‘em. We can’t lose sight of that van.”

The navy blue car rocketed along the road, the van following close behind. It didn’t look good. Peter held on to the door as he peered out the window, making sure not to be seen by the men in front. He tried to think of something he could do but nothing would come to mind.

“You’re going too slow. They’re going to get away.”

“If I go any faster they’ll see us,” Sylar growled through grit teeth.

“If they get away then we won’t be able to find your father,” reminded Peter, an angry scowl upon his face.

Sylar bit his tongue and pushed harder on the pedal. They watched as the leading blue car swerved and skidded. The men in the van weren’t giving up. They approached a red light, which the first two vehicles passed easily. Sylar was forced to slam the breaks on as a truck managed to turn and stop right in front of them. He swore to himself and nursed his aching neck. Peter jumped out of the car and watched as the van pursuing his friends began to fade off in to the distance.

He banged his fist on the car roof which prompted Sylar to roll his eyes and tell him to get back in.

“And do what?” Peter retorted, “We lost them! How are we going to find the base now?”

“Well, you certainly don’t cope well under pressure,” remarked Sylar impertinently, “Just get back in.”

Peter sat back in the passenger seat, slamming the door beside him, “What do we do now?” he asked, voice less persistent this time.

“Start by not making a show of yourself. I thought we were supposed to be in hiding.”

Peter sighed, “This just wasn’t how things were supposed to go.” A glare followed as Sylar chuckled to himself. Peter didn’t find this as amusing, “What?” he barked roughly.

“It’s just that you still think you’re in control of everything,” he laughed harder as Peter’s glare sharpened, “You have no idea what you’re doing.”

“I know what I’m doing,” hissed Peter, shifting in his seat.

“Of course. Then tell me, Peter. What do we do now?”

Peter sank back in his seat as his mind thought what to do. He couldn’t answer because he simply didn’t know. The silence felt as painful as the bruises on his back and he waited for Sylar’s typical derisive comment to follow. But convenience was just around the corner. Before the light changed, another black van emerged from the other side of the road and drove right past them. They exchanged glances and the light turned green.

“Drive.”

TBC