Prologue
Steam. Hissing loudly, billowing in clouds and consuming the vast, dim space. Heat ravaged the place, creeping through the air and soaking up all the oxygen. Rusted pipes lined every wall, every surface, casting an amber glow around the whistling, straining structure as it crumbled at the edges. A faint alarm wailed uselessly in the distance, a warning, a call to escape before it was too late. But it had been singing for a while now, and the chance to escape was long past.
Metal walkways and platforms criss-crossed through the chamber, climbing high up the vast height of the tower. The air only became thinner, so hot that it almost physically hurt to breathe, and the machinery and pipes squealed in pain as they disintegrated and broke down around four figures shrouded in the midst of it all.
"I'm only going to say this once, Peter: move."
"No." The young man declared, defiantly holding his ground even as his voice threatened to waver. He glared down the barrel of the gun and straight through those horn-rimmed glasses, sustaining his eye contact with the middle-aged man behind them. "No." Peter repeated, lowering his voice and brow into a serious, harsh line.
Noah Bennet's face rippled with anger before he once again recalled his standard, expressionless mask. He spoke steadily, almost calmly, but his tone was somehow loud enough to compete with the ringing apparatus that was straining on all sides. "He's a killer, Peter. A walking disaster. Just look around you: all this? This is his doing."
"No!" Peter recited for a third time. "It wasn't him! I'm not gonna let you take him!" He tried his best to mirror the calm authority of the man opposite, but his heart was hammering against his ribcage and he was physically shivering under the unbearable heat of this place, roiling through his body and dewing sweat along his skin.
"P-Peter... don't! You can't heal..." A pained groan sounded from Peter's back, and he held out a hand to shush his friend before he only fractured this already delicate situation further.
The Company man's glasses glinted dangerously red in the rusty light. "He's going to kill people, Peter -"
"No he's not! He just -"
"He's a monster. All he knows how to do is kill. Or have you forgotten about your own brother...?"
The words ricocheted briefly before being swallowed up in the depths of the cavern. Behind him, Peter could hear more little grunts of pain and difficult, shuffling movements. He felt his hackles rise in defence of his lost brother and his wounded friend and took the tiniest of steps towards the older man, putting himself further in the path of the bullet that was meant for another. "Noah, listen to me, you don't understand -"
Then a mutilated hiss shot through the steam, a fourth voice. "No you don't understand, Peter!" The sound stabbed right through the empath's gut, and he glanced again at the almost unrecognisable form of his niece. His heart broke a little more when he saw the rage twisting her features, the disdain being thrown his way, and the gun in her hand pointing directly at his chest. "How could you ever trust him?! After what he did to me?!" One furious tear of betrayal glistened in her eye before rolling down her cheek, only to evaporate almost instantly.
"He's changed, Claire." Peter insisted for the millionth time, although he knew she wouldn't believe him. Caught between staring down both the teenager and her adoptive father at once, Peter raised both harmless hands and tried to force as much emphasis into his next words as possible. "He's not the same person who did all those things, alright? I'm telling you – he only wants to help."
"Really? And why would he ever want to do that? What's in it for him?" Noah retorted smoothly, adjusting his grip on the handle of his weapon, his aim never faltering.
"I'm different now – I've repented -"
"Sylar -" Peter stopped him again, his mortal heart stuttering and very vulnerable body tingling with nerves as Noah's finger stroked the trigger in promise.
"In all of a few months? That's more than a little hard to believe, Peter..."
"Well it's the truth." Peter said slowly, clearly, with everything he had. "Okay, I swear. You have to trust me –"
"I did trustyou!" Claire spat suddenly, slicing Peter apart with her glare. The weapon in her clutches shook uncontrollably. "But you choose him?! I thought you were my friend! My family!"
Peter rounded on his niece, unable to bite back his frustration this time. "I am!" A loud metallic squeal pierced the air as yet another pipe burst nearby. Peter winced, but kept his gaze firmly on the ex-cheerleader. "But he's my friend too! Why do I even have to choose – we're on the same side here!"
The place was so unbearably hot, so loud, tumbling down around them like a house of cards and it was all beginning to choke Peter with mottled, claustrophobic fingers. In the midst of it all, he didn't mean to let his guard down. He didn't mean to lose sight of his other assailant, even for just one second.
Without warning this time, Mr Bennet dodged around the smaller man and set off a series of ear-splitting, echoing shots.
"Noah!" All at once Peter leapt at him, Claire flinched and Sylar yelled, and then suddenly the air was knocked out of the empath's body. He felt himself crash to the ground, scattering broken pipes and scraps of machinery everywhere as a searing gash of pain erupted through his torso.
He cried out, a reverberating yell, and clutched at his side, looking up wildly when he heard Sylar's gasp accompany three more gunshots. Peter watched in horrified silence, unable to make a coherent sound as the man he had just failed to protect toppled backwards over the railing and dropped ten metres to the level below. Metal rang out thickly as a body hit the grate.
"Dad?! You – you just..! And Peter!"
"I did what I had to, Claire Bear: both of these men are extremely dangerous and this place is about to blow! We don't have much time..."
Peter heard the heated exchange between father and daughter, then the loud ringing of two pairs of feet – one determined, one being ushered along behind – as they hurried down the stairs to reach his fallen comrade. Then he was left crumpled on the ground. Wounded. Hurting. Alone.
White-hot pain continued to rip at him with every ragged breath, his vision was beginning to blur around the edges and he knew he was vulnerable and open and unable to protect himself in this state. But he also knew that he wasn't the endangered target. He clutched at the mesh grate below him with sticky hands, gasping for air that burned down his throat and heaved himself over to the edge of the walkway with all the waning strength he possessed. The footsteps faded as Peter grew further behind and ever closer to losing this fight. Grunting and groaning at the venomous pain that seared his every movement, he grit his teeth and slid through the gap at the bottom of the railing, free-falling the distance below.
Hot clouds of gas and steam whirled past as he fell, the ground came racing up to meet him, and Peter only just managed to catch himself at the last second with his current ability of flight. He clumsily eased his landing as he reached the ground beside Sylar, scrambling to check the status of his friend. Blood flowed out of multiple holes on the other man's chest, his eyes were closed and he was sprawled out loosely. Unconscious but still breathing. Barely.
The footsteps were approaching again, louder than ever, and two rippling shadows bled through the fog, weapons drawn. "Peter! Don't do it! I'm warning you – I will kill you!"
Desperate, suffocating and fighting for much more than just his own life, Peter pressed a hand to Sylar's leaking chest, pulled out the first ability that rushed up to meet him and used it without thinking.
Fire.
A/N: This is a little teaser chapter for a new multi-chapter Heroes fic I'm working on! I really hope you enjoyed it and that your interest has been sufficiently piqued!
Chapter 1 should be up before too long, but I couldn't resist sharing this little preview with you all now X) Please let me know what you think, as ever, and I hope you'll all return to read more when I actually get the fic rolling :D
The story will be my personal continuation of the series, post S4 Ep18 "Brave New World", and will eventually pave the way into the events of Heroes Reborn. You don't need to have watched Heroes Reborn to read this – if you have done you will recognise some little Easter Eggs strewn throughout the fic, but if not I promise you won't get lost along the way X)