Not Exactly Superman
by Meilanu
My heart is beating fast.
I almost laugh at the irony. When I first found out about this...ability...I remember thinking to myself, How is this going to make a difference?
I could fly up a tree to get a kitten down. But it's not like I know some martial arts. It's not like I could take down some villains and turn them into the police. It's not like I could fly into a collapsing building to grab someone before the building falls. It's not like I could pick up a tram that was about to fall off its tracks. It's not like I could save the world.
Me becoming congressman couldn't save the world either, I realized. I wanted to make a difference. And I was so engrossed into becoming congressman so this could change. But I didn't realize what this was.
Why does this bomb have to occur? What else is mom hiding from us? Am I changing the course of destiny? Too many questions to ask, but no time to find the answers. It feels right though...to be flying. I guess Peter's words finally got to me.
I didn't have a plan. Well, I sort of did. I felt so unprepared, and this was unusual for someone like me, because I'm always prepared, despite the situation I'm in.
I probably arrived at the right time because Sylar was laying on the floor...Claire was holding a gun and Peter was glowing.
I quickly descended in front of my brother and my daughter. Even though he was glowing, I could still see his eyes perfectly, and I saw how wide they were. He, obviously, wasn't expecting me. Well, I wasn't expecting me here either. Claire almost looked relieve as she lowered the gun.
"You were right, Claire. The future isn't written in stone." She looks shocked. I smirk a bit and then turn to Peter.
He looked hopeless, and it reminded me of a time where there were no such thing as politics, exploding men, destiny or superpowers.
A time when all that mattered was who was going to get the last marshmallow at the camp fire, who was going to catch a fish first. Who was going to run to the end of the line first. Who can find dad first at hide-and-seek. Who can swing the highest.
I see a flash in his eyes. A small smile began to form from his lips. I inhaled deeply.
"You saved the cheerleader so we could save the world." I gave him a firm squeeze on the shoulder, and he nodded back. This was it. This was the end of the line for me. I didn't want to look at Claire again...or the rest of the people there. I didn't want to see the face of the Japanese man, but I hope he knew now that I wasn't a villain, wherever he was. That I'm about to prove him wrong.
"I love you, Nathan." I hear him say sincerely. With almost a second of hesitation, I reply..."I love you too, Pete."
With that, I grab him and jump up.
I close my eyes as I ascend with my brother. I think of Heidi, the boys and mom. I think of dad and...I think of Claire. This is for all of them. This was my decision. No...this was our decision.
And even though I wish I had the chance to properly give everyone I cared about a sincere goodbye, I knew that there would have never been a chance, no matter what I did.
I open my eyes and I look at my brother.
"Tell everyone goodbye for me. Tell Heidi...the boys...mom...and Claire...that I loved them." I didn't know if he could hear me or not, in the state he was in, and the rushing of the wind. But I hope he did. And even though I was getting a bit soft...I had to. "Tell the Japanese man that he was wrong."
I saw Peter nod slightly, and we gave each other a firm hug. A hug that would be my last memory. A hug that would be his last memory of me. I feel the air getting shorter, and my clothing beginning to rip a little. I feel Peter beginning to expand in my grip. It was almost time.
I take my last glance at the moon, the stars. Oh, it was beautiful up here. And I usually didn't see beauty in a lot of things. I take my last long look at my brother, who has always been at my side. And I close my eyes.
So, you see, I'm not exactly Superman. I don't have the cape, the suit, the muscles.
But you know what?
I was making a difference.
And that's all that mattered.
A/N: I used to dislike Nathan. But afterwards, I grew to love him. Not a lot of people I know like him a lot...they usually tend to like Hiro or Peter more. But yeah xD This is dedicated to Brilliant5, the author of "Hero", which inspired me more to write this. This is, of course, a Nathan drabble. I didn't really like how I ended it, and I felt that Nathan was kind of out of character. It didn't seem like him. But this was his moment. This was the scene where he could bask in his glory. If someone would call this glory, anyway. Hope you enjoyed it anyway. (:
9.21.07 - I kind of rewrote a bit (a little more script and whatnot to actually fit what happened in the ending), but not much has changed. I'll try to upload new stories soon!