Heroes: Entropy
Written By: The Ascended Ancient
Author's Note: First of all, I'm not making any money from this fic, nor do I own any part of Heroes. Secondly, I am of the opinion that Volume 1 of the show was incredible, but Volumes 2 and 3 have been fairly underwhelming. So I'm writing this fic as sort of a rewrite of what has happened since the end of Season 1. It starts off with a flashback, as well as a look at where some of the characters went immediately following Kirby Plaza. At first, it may seem like I am reusing a great deal of plotlines from the show, and that's because I am. A lot of what I consider to have worked for the show will stay. However, as things go on, I'm going to be taking things in a completely different direction, one that I hope you all enjoy.
Lastly, I should point out that the italicized text that is in between each segment of this chapter is the traditional Mohinder narration that begins each season.
Chapter I
"Diaspora"
Saving the world…
In New York, the fate of the world had come down to Kirby Plaza. Peter Petrelli faced off against Sylar, a nemesis so powerful and so evil that not even this pure knight of good might be able to stop him. Off to the side, others watched: Noah Bennett, his arm broken, his back hurt, unable to rise to Peter's aid; Mohinder Surresh, the genetics professor, who tended to the wounded, Matt Parkman and DL Hawkins; and Nikki Sanders, the woman whose troubled psyche was only so recently healed, and who watched over her son, Micah, and the girl Molly Walker. They all watched as Peter took the fight to Sylar, resorting to brute force to beat his enemy to the ground again and again.
Then it happened. Peter's body began to glow, his control over the power he acquired from Ted Sprague slowly slipping away. Sylar laughed at the irony; it seemed now that it would be Peter, and not him, who destroyed New York. He didn't have long to enjoy this moment, however, as suddenly Hiro Nakamura teleported in, sword in hand, and plunged his blade into the villain.
But Sylar wasn't done. Using one last burst of strength, he flung Hiro across the plaza. The Japanese man teleported away before he can slam into a nearby building, but the damage was already done. Peter was left alone, without any recourse as he slowly built up towards a nuclear explosion.
"Claire!" Peter cried out desperately as he spotted her running towards him. "You need to do it! You need to kill me!" Picking up the gun her father had left lying on the ground, Claire Bennett approached Peter with tears in her eyes.
"There's got to be a better way," she sobbed as she pointed the gun at Peter's head.
"Yes there is, Claire," Nathan Petrelli declared as he descended from the sky and approached his brother. "The future isn't written in stone."
"I took his power, Nathan," Peter told his brother. "I can't control it. I can't do anything."
"I'm not leaving you Peter," Nathan declared as he stepped closer. "There's another way to end this and you know it."
"I can't let you die," Peter protested.
"And I can't let everyone else," Nathan replied, giving a still-sobbing Claire a meaningful look. "You saved the cheerleader, so we could save the world."
"I love you, Nathan."
"I love you too."
With those words, Nathan grabs his brother and the two of them soar off into the sky.
What does that even mean?...
Nathan and Peter's flight took them as far away from New York as quickly as they could possibly get there. Its velocity was incredible, and it took all the strength of both brothers to hang on the whole way.
"Let go, Nathan!" Peter shouted over the rush of the wind. "Nathan, we're far enough, let me go!" Nathan doesn't listen, and they keep climbing higher and higher. "Natha…!"
An explosion, as bright as the sun, lights up the sky above New York. In Kirby Plaza, the other heroes look up at it, both in relief and in sadness. The city has been saved, at the expense of their friends.
For most people, it's making the world a better place, one where they can raise a family in peace…
"Careful," Nikki chided her husband as she struggled to ease him out of his hospital bed and into a wheelchair.
"Nick, I don't need your help," DL protested. "I got this."
"DL, you're still weak, and if you over-exert yourself you'll tear your stitches," Nikki explains, an exasperated tone in her voice. "Please, I just want to get out of this place and back to our house. Back to our normal life, away from Linderman and powers and... and…"
"And dual personalities?" DL finished. Nikki sighed.
"She's finally gone, DL. Jessica's gone, Linderman's not after us anymore, we can finally relax. At least, we will once we get you into this chair." DL chuckles, an act that causes him more pain than mirth.
"Ok, you win. Let's do this."
But what if the cost of saving others can deny you that simple happiness…
"I can't believe this!" Matt Parkman through his hands in the air in disgust as his powers told him what his wife wasn't willing to. "I mean, I really cannot believe that this happened."
"I'm so sorry Matt," Janice told him desperately. "I didn't mean for this to…"
"So you not only slept with the guy, but you didn't even use protection." Matt was shouting at her now.
"Baby, please…"
"What? Love you? I want to, I really do, but every new thing I learn about you just makes it so much harder to do that."
"Matt, please, just give me a chance to make this up to you."
"How are you going to make this up to me, Janice?" Matt demanded. "You're my wife and you're carrying another man's baby, how the hell are you going to make that up to me Janice?"
What if doing the right thing could force you to leave that which you love most?...
"All right, the car's all loaded up, and your mother and brother are already out there," Noah Bennett announced as he stepped back into the hotel room that his family had been using since their house burnt down. "It's time to go, Claire."
Claire just stared out the window, at her hometown of Odessa, Texas. "So it's time to go?" she asked tentatively.
"It is, Claire-bear," Noah told her quietly.
"To Costa-Verde," Claire said. "Away from everyone and everything I've known."
"I told you already, we need to move. The Company will recover from Linderman's death, and when they do they will come after us. We need to be out of here before they do." Noah put his arms around his daughter. "I'm sorry, Claire-bear. But we have no choice." Regret written all over her face, Claire nodded in agreement and walked out the door with her father.
And what if your efforts to save the world risk making things even worse?...
As incredible as it was, there was no mistaking where he was. Hiro Nakamura had somehow inadvertently traveled to the year 1671, and at the moment he was actually staring right at Takezo Kensei, the man he'd idolized since he was a small boy. Unable to help himself, he shouted out the swordsman's name. Kensei turns to see who had called out to him, and as he does an arrow pierces his chest. Hiro shifts his attention to a nearby hillside, where a phalanx of archers was unleashing a hail of arrows upon the samurai. Quickly, before Kensei can be hurt even more, Hiro rushed to his hero's side, grabbed a hold of him, and teleported the both of them away.
Or if evil is so strong, so enduring that it can never truly be eradicated…
Sylar crawled through the sewers of New York city, bleeding profusely as he did. His strength was fading quickly, but he wasn't about to give up.
"Awe," a voice called out. "You don't look so good." Sylar turns to see a short, blonde haired woman walking towards him. "Didn't your mommy ever tell you not to play with sharp objects?"
"Who are you?" Sylar croaked out.
"Name's Elle," she replied, running her fingers down his chest until she touched his wound. Suddenly an electric jolt slammed into him, exacerbating his already inflamed nerve endings and making him scream. "Mmm, you're gonna be a fun new toy."
"Leave him alone, Elle," a male voice called out. Sylar turned to see a portly bald man step forward. "Keep this up, and he won't live long enough for you to play with."
"All right, Daddy," Elle said, her voice filled with disappointment. "If you insist."
The man stepped closer. "Don't worry, Mister Sylar, we're going to patch you right up. We have big plans for you."
Maybe the fight to save the world never actually ends. Maybe it is an endless struggle, whose costs will continue to be felt for an eternity…
Peter Petrelli stumbled along the beach, his clothes torn to shreds, his body covered in grime. In his mind's eye, he couldn't stop seeing his brother's face in that final moment, the look of grim determination that appeared an instant before everything about him was wiped out of existence. As he walked, his body flickered and glowed, the energy that had triggered one nuclear explosion still threatening to escape yet again. Peter struggled to control it, to keep his brother's death from being in vain, but he knew that it was only just a matter of time before it happened again, before he lost control and everyone paid the price for it.
"Hello, Peter," a British voice called out from behind him. Peter spun around just in time for Claude's fist to slam into his face, knocking him out cold. "You're just a load of trouble, aren't you?"
Most likely we can never truly 'save the world.' We can only buy ourselves more time.
End of Chapter I
A/N: Well, what did you all think? More will come, but please REVIEW!!!
