Title- Seeing Stars
Author- Victoria
Rating- T, for language and suggestive themes later on
Characters/Pairings- Pemma, Matt/Janice, Lauren/HRG/Sandra, Claire, Gretchen, redemption!Sylar, Tracy, Hiro, Ando/Kimiko, Edgar, Ian, various other Carnies
Summary- Picking up immediately after the Volume 6 teaser, the Heroes (and villains) have to deal with the consequences of Claire's actions. Ensemble. Multichapter.

A/N- This is my take on how Volume 6 will go. Expect updates from now until the new season (there better be one!) starts.

Prologue: Brave New World

"I'd like to make myself believe that planet Earth turns slowly..."
-Owl City, "Fireflies"

==CENTRAL PARK==

"My name is Claire Bennet, and that was attempt number... I guess I've kind of lost count."

The words were spoken softly. They sounded innocent, if you took them out of context. But the live camera feeds for six national news chains had captured the sixty-foot fall that preceded them. Forty million people watching the nightly news across the US saw a teenage girl survive a fatal fall and snap her bones back into place. They saw the cuts on her face heal before their eyes. And for a breathless second, no one in Central Park said a word. Claire stared into the camera with her gray-green eyes, and waited. Then the barrage of questions started.

Across the fairground, Peter kicked at the dirt in frustration. "Goddamn-- HIRO!"

The Japanese man standing a few yards away turned to face him. "Peter Petrelli?" he questioned. Then his eyes fell on the taller man behind him. "Why is Sylar with you?"

Peter sighed. "It's a really long story. I'll tell you sometime... look, can you turn back time? Can you stop her from--?" He gestured vaguely at where Noah was hustling Claire out of the reporter's sights and into one of the black SUVs that his pretty blonde companion had called up from somewhere.

Hiro closed his eyes and Peter felt a slight, odd ripple. Hiro's form flickered for a second, as if he'd winked out briefly, then he shook his head. "No, Peter, there is nothing I can do. From the moment she decided to reveal herself, she was in front of the cameras. Unless I go back further and risk allowing Samuel to succeed, I cannot change it. Perhaps it is better this way. Perhaps it is better that the Cheerleader is the face of our kind."

Sylar chuckled darkly. "Now that's something I haven't heard her called in awhile," he murmured.

The time-traveler shot him a wary look, then glanced back at Peter. "My brain tumor has been healed, Peter Petrelli, and I have fulfilled all my quests. Charlie is saved and the world is safe once more. But if you ever need my help, all you need to do is call."

Peter nodded and shook the other man's hand. "Maybe we should try to spend some time together when the world isn't in danger," he said with a grin. "I'll explain to you about Sylar, okay?"

Hiro smiled. "Very well, Peter. Thank you. And now we must go. Samuel's former friends are waiting for us." He laid a hand on Ando's shoulder, and the two disappeared.

As they winked out of visibility, Peter turned to Sylar with a heavy sigh. "Okay then," he said. "What do we do now?"

"Well, standing here like idiots isn't going to do us any good," Sylar pointed out. "I... I need to sort things out. Saving her, being a hero, it was like nothing I've ever felt before. I want to be that person. I'm ready to be that person. But I need to think. I'll get an apartment here in the city. And... you'll keep in contact, won't you, Peter?" The pleading tone in his voice surprised the empath. "I don't want to be alone anymore." His desperation was well-concealed, but Peter picked up on it.

"Sure. Believe me, nobody understands not wanting to be alone better than me." Unconsciously, his gaze strayed to the blue and red striped tent where Emma had remained to keep an eye on Doyle until Noah and Lauren could take the man... wherever.

Sylar smirked. "So I see," he said. "Good luck, Peter. I'll see you in a few days?"

Peter nodded. After a quick glance around to see if anyone was watching them, Sylar hurled himself upwards, disappearing against the black sky within seconds.

==SAVANNAH, GEORGIA==

"Tracy, you should see this!" Ricky exclaimed excitably the moment the blonde he was speaking of entered the old Federation-style home.

She smiled at the teenager to humor him. "Can't it wait until I've gotten my coat off? I just got back!"

Without a word, the boy pointed at the television. Tracy's breath caught at the sight of a very familiar face on the screen. Gray-green eyes seemed to meet hers defiantly. "Claire?" Tracy questioned. "What the hell is she--?" A long slice on Claire's cheek healed as they watched.

"She's one of us, isn't she?" Ricky asked.

Tracy nodded. "Yes," she said.

"This is bad, isn't it?"

"Probably," Tracy agreed. "Bad things happen when people find out about us."

"Don't need to tell me that!" Ricky exclaimed, remembering his parents.

Tracy stared morosely as Noah Bennet, still caked in mud, appeared on the screen, wrapping his jacket around Claire's shoulders and hustling her away from the cameras. Reporters shouted questions could be heard, and then the view on the screen changed to a very shocked-looking woman anchor, who made a nervous quip that fell flat. Tracy's fingertips felt cold.

==TOKYO, JAPAN==

"Will the Carnival people be alright?" Ando asked.

Hiro nodded. "Kimiko is arranging visas for them. They will be able to stay safely in Japan for a few weeks, before they find their way in this new world."

At that moment, Kimiko entered the Yamagato conference room where they were sitting. "Hiro!" she exclaimed. "I have just seen, on the television..."

"Claire Bennet," Ando said sadly. "The Cheerleader. She has revealed us."

Kimiko nodded. "What does this mean?" she asked. "What are you going to do?"

Hiro gave her a steady look. "We are going to take care of the people who were fooled by the evil Butterfly Man, until they no longer need our help."

"But that's ludicrous!" Kimiko insisted. "These people are trash! If we give them such an open-ended policy of goodwill, they will only take advantage of--"

"Kimmy!" Ando interjected. "Please! Stop thinking like a very smart businesswoman, and start thinking like a humanitarian."

She raised her eyebrows dubiously, but fell silent.

"I know they cannot stay here forever," Hiro said firmly, "but we are obligated to help them until they find their way. Edgar, the man with Nemesis's power, has told me that they plan to return to the United States once things have calmed down. Perhaps they will resume their Carnival circuit. And with no Butterfly Man to guide them wrong, they could become a safe haven for people of our kind who have nowhere else to turn to."

Kimiko frowned. "But that doesn't tell me what you are planning to do about this girl who has revealed your kind."

"Nothing," Hiro said. "I cannot change that, and I would not if I could. Perhaps it will be better this way. I do not know. I do not know, Kimiko. We will just have to wait and see."

==NEW YORK==

Peter found Emma clumsily attempting to bandage her own fingers. Smiling slightly, he took her hand in his. "Here, let me," he said. Expertly, he swiped a square of cotton soaked in antiseptic across the wounds, causing her to wince slightly. Then he applied more sterile cotton to the tips of her fingers and wrapped each with medical tape. "There," he said when he'd finished. "That should do."

He cast a hateful look at the unconscious Doyle. Emma followed his eyes and grimaced. "He's creepy," she said simply.

"You're telling me," Peter muttered once she'd looked back at him. "Emma, we have to get out of here."

"Why?"

"My niece just dove off the top of the Ferris Wheel."

At her look of confusion, Peter couldn't help but smile, despite the direness of the situation. "Claire has a healing ability. She literally can't die. And she just revealed her ability live on national television. God only knows why, but... I think it would be best if we weren't here once this place starts swarming with reporters. Keep our names out of the press."

Emma nodded, understanding. "Of course," she agreed.

"C'mon. I'll take you home." He laid a hand on her shoulder, guiding her out of the tent and away from the Carnival.

* * *

He walked her up to her apartment. Then, as they hesitated outside her door, he wondered what exactly he was supposed to say in a situation like this. He decided to keep it simple.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Emma gave him a nervous smile. "I think I'm in shock, but I'm sure I'll be alright."

In the light from the city outside that streamed through the window and fell across her face, she looked unbearably beautiful to Peter. She wasn't pretty in a conventional way, but he had always thought of her as beautiful, and in that moment, he was seized by a sudden urge to kiss her. Resisting, he opted to pull her into another tight hug instead.

When he stepped back, her tight smile had relaxed into a more natural expression. "Thanks," she said.

"I'm glad you're safe," Peter said shakily. "If we hadn't gotten there in time..." He didn't finish the sentence. He was only now realizing how very, very close they had come to not being able to stop Samuel, and the thought scared him to death. Despite telling himself that dwelling on the past was fairly pointless, it still weighed on his mind.

She, however, still looked composed. "I'm fine. It's all fine." And just like that, he had faith that it would be. How could he not, when she was so certain of the fact?

"I'll see you," he said, touching her hand gently in parting.

Emma nodded, giving his fingers a squeeze before she opened her door and disappeared inside her apartment.

Leaning up against the wall, Peter let out a heavy breath. What the hell was that?

==LOS ANGELES==

Matt bounced his young son on his knee, causing the toddler to giggle hysterically. He smiled. Everything felt right in the world. He'd done his part to ensure that they'd be able to stop Samuel Sullivan, and that was that.

But the subject of another villain was still lurking in the back of his mind. When he'd peered into Sylar's mind, he had seen a change there. Something was different. But he still had misgivings about allowing the serial killer to leave, even in the company of Peter Petrelli. Sylar had claimed to be changed before. Who was to say that this time would be any different? How could Matt in good conscience let the other man go free unsupervised?

He debated calling Peter, to check up on Sylar. But what good would that really do?

"Matt?" came Janice's worried voice from the living room. "There's something on the television you really need to see!"

Carrying Matty with him, he was shocked to see a very familiar face on the TV. "Claire?" he gasped.

"You know her?" Janice asked suspiciously.

"Uh... yeah," Matt said. "She's Bennet's daughter. Why is she...?"

"She apparently can survive a fatal fall without a scratch," Janice said dryly. "Or rather... her scratches go away pretty quickly."

"Yeah, that would be her power. She... she revealed it on television?"

"Clearly."

Unsure what to think, Matt sat down. He wasn't sure whether this boded good or ill, but one thing he was sure of: it was a brave new world, and he only hoped people were ready for it.

Ah, glorious Pemma! Considering the VERY FIRST SCENE of the new volume was full of Pemma goodness, my guess is that their relationship isn't going to be platonic much longer.
Remember, adding this to your story alert will make me happy. Leaving a review would make me even HAPPIER.