HEROES : VIGIL

What happened to the other survivors of Kirby Plaza?

Part 1: Aftermath

Characters: Audrey H, Noah B, Angela P, Kaito N

Note: I wrote this "lost chapter" set during "Four Months Ago" up to Chapter Six BEFORE the s3 premiere on 9/22/08. Events in s3 may force this story into AU, then so be it.

(I think she's just playing GG, imho, but the other character revelation in 3.3/3.4 may prove me right)

--

FBI Agent Audrey Hanson had just received another dressing down by her superiors for the loss of Ted Sprague, the man they Bureau believed to be the serial killer known as "Sylar". At least, she thought to herself, she had them doubting Sprague was Sylar, as he met his end in a similar fashion as Sylar's victims. Of course, this meant that the REAL Sylar was still out there, ready to kill again.

She returned to her desk and hung her head in her hands, wondering how to proceed next. The phone rang, catching her off guard. "This is Agent Hanson," she answered, wondering what fresh hell she would be subjected to now.

"Agent Hanson, you don't know me, but we have a friend in common," the man on the other end said calmly. "Matt Parkman gave me this number in case anything happened to him."

"Parkman!?" she replied too loudly, as people nearby turned to look at her. "Where is he? What happened to him?" Matt had been her best shot at finding Sylar again, and the sudden thought that even that chance had been taken from her? She didn't want to even think about what trouble he was in, now.

"The good news is, he's alive," the man said, causing Audrey to breathe a sigh of relief. "The bad news is," she caught her breath again, "he was shot four times by Sylar."

"Sylar?" she quietly yelled into the phone. "What--?"

"Actually, Matt shot at Sylar, and Sylar returned his bullets, hitting him in the chest." Audrey stammered, tried to understand what this man was telling her. "I saw the whole thing, front row seat, unfortunately."

"Is Matt okay? You said he's alive--?"

"Yes, after being in surgery all night, the doctors were able to remove all the bullets, successfully. Right now he's...listen, why don't you come down here to the hospital and I can explain it to you in person?"

"I'll be right there!" Audrey exclaimed, grabbing her purse, making sure she had a fresh notepad in it and rushing out the door. "Shit! I didn't get the guy's name!" she thought in the elevator down. She hoped he would be hanging around Matt's room when he got there.

--

Angela Petrelli rushed into the Emergency Room calling out her sons' names. "Nathan! Peter!" she ran up to the nurse's desk. "Nathan Petrelli! Peter Petrelli! Where are they?"

The nurse, used to frantic parents rushing in demanding immediate answers took one look at the woman in front of her and knew she was used to being answered. She vaguely recognized the woman from the election results on the TV the night before. "Mrs. Petrelli, right?" Angela bit her lip, nodding. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Petrelli, a man we believe to be your son Nathan..." Angela stifled a gasp. "...has received massive burns and is being stabilized, you can't see him at the moment."

Angela forced herself to breathe. "And Peter?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, no one named Peter Petrelli has been admitted tonight, and it has been a very unusual night."

"Who else has been admitted?" Angela demanded, reaching for the clipboard in the nurses hand.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I can't give you that information, patient confidentiality."

Angela looked the woman in the eye, a thought occurred to her. "Who brought him in? How did he get here?"

"Unknown," the nurse answered. "The guard at the door said a man handed Mr. Petrelli off to the doctors, then seemed to vanish."

"V-vanish?" Angela didn't understand at first. Then she realized, he literally vanished. He turned invisible! She smiled at the realization, mouthing "thank you" to the air.

The nurse gave her a confused look, not understanding.

It had to be Peter using...what was his name? Claude? Yes, using Claude's invisibility to get away, but get away to where? Would he go home? Angela was tempted to return to the Petrelli Mansion to find out, but Nathan needed her more at the moment. She would stay, call home later and hope Peter answered.

"Mrs. Petrelli?" came a voice from behind her.

Angela turned, expecting to see a doctor with news of Nathan. "Mr. Bennet?" she asked in surprise, seeing her granddaughter's guardian had his arm in a sling and wincing in pain. "I see Nathan wasn't the only one trying to save the world." She didn't mean to make it come out as rude as it did, but considering the events of the last few hours, it was understandable.

"Is he here? Your son?" he asked before correcting himself, "Your sons, are they here?"

"Yes, Nathan is, he's apparently suffered severe burns," she answered him, one parent to another. She motioned him to the waiting room, mostly to get out of the bustle of the hall.

"And Peter...?"

"Vanished," she mused. "Quite literally, it seems. How is Claire?"

"Fine. Shaken, but fine," he confessed, wincing at his cracked ribs. The two regarded each other for a minute. "There were others who tried to stop Sylar. Hiro Nakamura, Niki Sanders, Matt Parkman. We think Sylar's dead, but someone stole the body down into the sewers."

"And what is the condition of the others?" Her heart felt like it had been stabbed at mention of two names.

"Nakamura is missing, we think he teleported away to avoid becoming one with Kirby Plaza," he explained. "He left Sylar with a nasty cut...right through his gut with a sword."

Angela mused for a moment. Hiro had power, too? "I'll contact his father, what of the other two?"

"Sanders and her son are fine, but her husband was shot by Linderman."

Angela raised an eye at Bennet. "Linderman? Is he...?"

"I'm not sure," he replied, "Sanders isn't answering any questions about what happened to her, right now."

Angela knew what came next. She braced herself. "And Parkman? What of him?"

"He came running into the Plaza, firing at Sylar," he tried to answer as best he could, "Sylar returned Matt's bullets to him." Angela caught her breath again, preparing for the worst. "Lucky for Matt, Sylar couldn't match their original velocity when he fired them back and hit him in the chest. He's still in surgery, right now." Angela winced just enough for Noah to notice, and wonder. "Like I said, he wasn't hit as hard as he was really shot, so the outlook is good."

Angela forced herself to breath again, pulling herself together. "Where is Claire? Does she know Nathan is here, yet?"

"Upstairs sitting with Dr. Suresh, Molly Walker, and the Sanders'," he explained, glancing up as if he could see them through the ceilings and floors. "And, No, she doesn't. I came down here to make a phone call when I saw you. The children--"

"Should not be here, Mr. Bennet," Angela told him regaining her usual regal composure.

"Niki won't let Micah out of her sight, and Molly won't leave until Parkman--"

"You shouldn't be here, Noah," Angela declared. "Get Claire and get out of here. The Company will be here shortly, and I don't want them anywhere near my granddaughter. I will see to it the other children are not harmed, myself."

"Yes, ma'am," he answered. "Do you want me to show you the way upstairs, or...?"

"No. No, I need to be here for Nathan, when they bring him out," she told him. "I will have two tickets waiting for the next flight out of LaGuardia for you and Claire. I will contact you later about your next step."

"I understand," Noah said. "Thank you."

Angela waved him off, trying to act nonchalant. "It's the least I can do for the man who raised my Claire."

"Our. Claire-Bear," he smiled as he left the room.

Angela raised an eyebrow at him. "You have ten minutes to get her out of here, Bennet," she ordered. He marched out and didn't see the smile that crossed her lips as soon as the door closed. "Our Claire Bear?" She found it slightly funny, suddenly wishing she could explain everything to her, hug all the trauma away. She knew she couldn't. She had other things to tend to. She pulled out her phone. "Kaito? It's Angela. I have news."

Kaito was at the hospital within the hour. He found Angela sitting by herself in the burn ward waiting room. "Angela?" he asked, coming into the room.

"Kaito," she replied starting to rise, but he waved her down, sitting beside her. "Nathan's been stabilized, radiation burns over most of his body."

"What of Peter and Hiro?" he asked, gripping her hand.

"Gone," she said, simply. "Bennet says Hiro teleported away during the fight when Sylar threw him into a building." Kaito looked at her expectantly. "He tried to slice Sylar open, but didn't get the chance for the killing stroke."

Kaito forced a grim smile. He would have to be patient and wait for his son to turn back up, where ever...or when ever he teleported to.

Angela continued, "The nurse downstairs says a man dropped Nathan off and disappeared. Kaito, it has to be Peter, I'm sure of it! I've been calling home, but the morning maid says no one else has been there. No answer at his apartment, either."

"Angela, at least we know he's alive," Kaito consoled her. "If he's using Claude's invisibility, maybe he's taken refuge with him?"

"No," Angela replied. "Bennet already confronted them on Charles' patio a few days ago. They tasered Claude, but Peter flew them away. Claude won't stay with Peter if he's been discovered." Kaito considered this, knowing the Haitian had been partnered with Bennet for some time now, and knew Angela had the man keeping a safe watch over Claire to run interference with the Company if she manifested young. He then nodded in agreement.

"There's something else, Kaito," she confessed. "Someone else was there last night, fighting Sylar. That man nearly destroyed my entire family."

Kaito gave her a questioning look, but the look she gave back made him realize what she meant. The only other person she could include in that statement. A secret held by only a select handful of people. He nodded in understanding, asking "Where is he?"

--

Next: Secrets Past