AN: missing scene between when Claire, Noah and Peter get held up by the agents and when we see Sylar as Nathan stealing Liam's identity.

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"You can either listen to me now, or I'll tell you after you shoot me."

"Wait," Peter stepped forward. "You don't need to do this, just call Liam Samuels. He can vouch for us. We're here to try and save the President."

Claire stared down the secret service agent, willing him to believe Peter. He looked nervous, he could pull the trigger any time. Claire thought she should probably be worried about that, but it was kind of hard to care.

The other agent spoke into his walkie. "This is Wright. We have three unknowns wanting to see Samuels, please advise."

There was crackling on the other end, but whatever the person said seemed to relax him a little.

"We're to take them up as far as the President's floor. Samuels will meet us there."

The agent with the gun to her head breathed in relief and gestured with the gun that they should precede them. "You heard him. No sudden moves and we'll have this sorted out in no time."

"Fine," Peter said, but her dad didn't look too happy. "Come on Noah, let's go."

Claire tried to keep herself between the guns and her family as they walked down the corridor and into the elevator. Her dad kept looking back at her and not for the first time she wished he was a little more like Peter. Peter got it: she was the one that couldn't be hurt, so she should be the one in harms way. It only made sense, but all her dad saw was his little girl, his Claire-bear, and as much as she loved him for it, at times like these she just needed him to understand and trust her.

The elevator dinged and Peter led them out on the President's floor where Liam was waiting for them.

"It's ok fellas," the President's aide said to the waiting agents. "I'll vouch for them." The agents looked only too happy to pass the responsibility on to someone else and got back in the elevator.

Liam led them down a corridor and Claire hopped a little as she tried to keep up with the three men while keeping a lookout for Sylar or Nathan. "What the hell happened?" Liam asked Peter. "The whole hotel is running around trying to work out what's going on up there."

"Sylar has Nathan, but he's not going to stop there. What he really wants is the President."

Liam nodded. "We're making plans to get him away using the emergency plan as we speak."

"No," her dad said forcefully as they entered a plush suite of rooms. "You can't do that. Sylar could have got access to those plans while he was acting as Nathan."

"And what do you suggest?"

Claire looked round and there was the President. The actual President. And she thought it had been something to have her biological father turn out to be a senator.

"Mr President," Liam said, gesturing to from the President to them, "these are-"

"We're sorry for barging in like this Mr President," Peter said, stepping forward, "but you're in grave danger. There is a man in this building called Sylar who is determined to kill you and take your place and trust me, he can do it."

"What are you talking about?"

Peter went on. "Sylar has abilities, like me, and Claire and my brother Nathan-"

"I know who your brother is," said the President and he did not sound impressed. "What makes you think this Sylar person can get passed the best trained men and women in the country?"

"Because of this."

Peter grabbed the President's hand and held on even as every gun in the room was cocked in his direction. Claire jumped in front of him, determined to protect him even as her dad tried to pull her away to safety.

"Wait!" her dad said. "You have to see this!"

Claire glanced behind her long enough to see Peter's face turning into the President's and looked away again. So he had taken that power. It seemed to impress the men with guns as they slowly lowered them in shock.

"My ability," said Peter in the President's voice. "Is to copy the abilities of other people. I took this one from Sylar just a few minutes ago. If he knows your escape route, he will wait for you. He can make himself look like anyone in your entourage with one touch. He can make himself look like my brother. The moment you think you are alone with your most trusted member of staff he will kill you and become you. Do you want that?"

Her dad stepped forward and pulled a syringe out of his pocket. "We have something that can take him out. Let Peter take your place and the moment Sylar makes his move we'll finally have him." He passed the syringe over Claire's head to her uncle.

Liam's voice was strong, but Claire could hear the shock in it. "And what do we do if this Sylar doesn't take the bait?"

A hand rested on her shoulder and she looked up into Peter's face. "Claire and Noah will stay here with whoever you can spare out of your staff."

"No offense," Liam said, though Claire could hear he didn't mean it. People who said 'no offense' always were offensive. "But what are a teenage girl and one more man going to do if this guy is as strong as you say."

Peter looked pissed. "Claire can't die and Noah has more experience with Sylar than anyone alive. If they can't help you then you're dead any no matter what."

"Fine," the President said. "You've made your point. Let's do this before anyone gets suspicious."

"Right."

Claire watched as her uncle became the President, his skin shifting and distorting. It looked painful, but finally he was mostly there.

"How do I look?" he asked her, and she met the familiar gaze coming out of unfamiliar eyes for a moment.

"Uh, you've still got," she gestured to the grazes and bruises he had got in the fight with Sylar.

He blinked in a look that was all Peter. "Oh right." Skin bubbled then settled. "Better?"

"Perfect."

"Ok," he kissed her on the top of her head. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck."

"Come on," Liam said, "I'll brief you on the planned route on the way. We'd better move. You and you, stay here with the President, no one comes in those doors understand? I don't care who they are. If we succeed you'll receive the all clear code on the line with the addendum 'all missions complete'. Understood? Right, let's go."

Claire watched her uncle hurried out the door by the secret service and not for the first time wondered whether she would ever see him again. Would there ever be a time where they could just be a family for a little while?

The President stepped up to stand next to her. "Well, that isn't something that happens every day."

"You'd be surprised."