HEROES Rebirth from the Ashes
Chapter eight
Together we stand

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Molly covered her head with her arms as the flames from the SUV engulf her and the grizzled old man. For a brief moment she felt the heat and began to fear, but she stood behind the old man as he commanded. Then the grizzled old man wrapped his arms around her and carried her out of the flames. They both are unhurt. He put Molly on her feet and squatted to his heals so he can look in her eyes, "Are you OK Molly?" he asked as he moved her hair out of her face.

Molly still trying to calm herself down could only shake her head "yes" at her sudden savior. She gathered herself quickly, and placed her small hands on the old man's face grizzled, bearded face. "I know you! You feel familiar to me; I just can't remember your name." The grizzled old man grinned at Molly as he heard Noah Bennett stagger-running up to them. "Soon, Molly you will remember me: now get Mr. Bennett and Tracy to Angela Peterlli, only together can they save Claire and survive." The grizzled old man stood and hurried around the burning SUV, as Noah Bennett came around the vehicle but on the opposite side.

"Molly!" Noah dropped to his knees in relief, "you're OK!" He grabbed her with his one good arm and squeezed her in an awkward and painful hug. "I thought I had lost you." Molly's eyes danced with joy as she threw herself into Noah's arms. Her hero was alive, but hurt bad. She saw the blood staining his chest and in their brief hug she could feel his heart struggling to beat. They both looked up from their moment of affection as pounding footsteps rounded the hulk of the burning SUV and police sirens wailed in the distance. Tracy slid to a stop as Noah struggled to his feet and almost fell back to his knees. Tracy quickly grabbed Noah, and Noah used her strength to lift himself back to his feet. "Noah! We have to get you to the hospital! Your hit bad and you're losing a lot of blood."

Noah placed his hand heavily on her shoulder, "No doctors, no public places, obviously they can find us anywhere." Tracy and Molly exchanged a worried look. "Molly what happened, are you OK?" Noah gasped out as he could hear the sirens getting closer; and with his free he tried to check if Molly was wounded.

"I'm fine, the old man protected me." Molly bubbled over with glee, "He just showed up out of now where, SMASH, BOOM, Fire, and Wow! He saved me! " She said proudly, pointing toward the smashed and burning SUV, "He did that!" Tracy was confused, "What Old man?" she asked looking around.

"He is gone now, but he said we need to go to Angela Petrelli, it is our only way to save Claire and survive!" Molly whispered in awe.

Noah Bennett grabbed Molly's shoulder and pushed the group down the alleyway, "We need to go. The police will be here soon." Tracy looked once more at the blood stains growing across his chest, "We need to fix you up. You can't last much longer. Hurry, my car just is around the corner."

Tracy and the group reach her car in a steady but hurried pace, trying not to be noticed by the huge crowds now encircling the park and the opening to the alleyway. Police cars blocked off the street and uniformed men ran to the wreckage of the SUVs, while others began asking the onlookers what they had seen.

Tracy pushed Noah into the back set and shoved his legs in to the car, covering him with a few blankets. He looked worse. She had to be strong for Molly. She was thankful she had left a few blankets on the backseat from the other night when she was out shopping.

She asked Molly as they both tumbled into the front seats of the car, 'Who was this old man? Can you describe him to me?" Molly caught her breath, "He was old, hairy and gray, but he was powerful. I felt more power in him then I have felt in any other person ever before, even the boogie man!" Molly's eyes turned blue for just a moment," but he is only a shadow to me now, I know he is there, but I can't locate him. It's like he is able to block me, but he is still letting me see just a shadow on him, to know he is there."

Tracy turned toward Noah, as he groaned just slightly and commanded, "Tracy, I am sorry! I did not expect them to find you. You need to get us to New York. Angela will be there at the safe house." Tracy gunned the engine and the car sped away down the street. "Noah, you won't last five more minutes. If I had some medical supplies, something to patch you up with, you might survive. We will have to stop by my apartment, or someplace to get you help!"

Molly was worried, if they went to Tracy's apartment would the bad guys be there? Would they ever be safe again? Would Mr. Bennett die? He had lost a lot of blood, and he was so pail. She twisted in her seat to look back at him. He was covered in sweat. His eyelids were fluttering in pain. As she turned her foot kicked something on the floor by her feet. She turned back around and looked down, had she missed this when they all jumped into the car? "What's this Tracy?" Tracy looked over through the corner of her eye as they raced through the streets. Molly lifted a box onto her lap; it was a large red utility box, with white letters that read "Valley Memorial Hospital."

"Where did that come from?"

X-X-X

Angela Petrelli and the Haitian enter a small Gift shop just off of Central Ave, in New York City. She was happy to hear from Sylar and to know that He and baby Parkman were on their way. In her purse was the small box, with the jar of the detached finger, and the two reports on the Carnival massacre and the naval base explosion; and a highly valuable cell phone.

Whoever wanted them dead must have old money and many connections in high places. Angela had been playing the information game for so long she knew all the names. If this person's reach touched the Pentagon then Angela needed to be worried. If they could blow up a top secret naval base and the media not even report on it, then the power this enemy could muster was limitless. They needed to gather and develop a plan. Why did Estelle have a finger in a jar? Whose finger was it? Whom did she work for? She and the Haitian needed answer.

The shop they entered was full of candles, nick-knacks, and other souvenirs typical of a gift shop in down town New York City. The scents of the candles were lovely and she inhaled deeply as she nodded in greeting to the person behind the counter. She browsed coyly around the store to give the Haitian the time he needed to sense if they were being followed. The Haitian glanced at her and gave her the "all clear" look; then with a nod of her head passed behind the counter of the store and into the storage room in the back. At the end of the alley there was a steel door built into the back wall. She placed her hand on the direct center of the door on a small rectangle shaped panel. Through the panel a red light passed up and then down over the palm of her hand. Then they heard a click as the automatic lock released.

The Haitian pulled the door open and the two entered into a dark elevator car within. Angela pressed the button and the elevator descended. As they passed each 30 foot mark a red light lit up just above the door, until they came to stop 10 lights below the streets above. As the elevator opened the dark room beyond began to light up, the overhead lights turning on up one row at a time. The room was a large office lab, with every tool and machine needed for computer research, medical examinations, and longtime coordination of activities on the surface. The room was covered in dust from longtime storage. Along the outer walls were several offices, storage rooms, and bedroom suites.

Angela ran her finger along the closet counter top, and frowned at the dirt collected on her finger tip. "Welcome to Haven Hole. We built this location 35 years ago and have stocked it over the years with medical equipment, and supplies in case we needed to move to other facilities. This should have everything we need to get some answers," She absentmindedly patted her purse.

"Now my friend, we will be having company coming soon. It is not good to have guests in a dirty home." Angela Petrelli took off her coat and rolled up her sleeves, "Let's get to work."

X-X-X

Hiro and Claire dropped back into time in a dark and cold room. The air was stale and the floor felt like stone, and Hiro pushed off it and back to his feet. His head hurt and his mouth was dry. Hiro tried to remember everything that had happened to them since the Carnival attack. His mind cleared as he remembered that Claire had healed him. Hiro reached up with tender fingers and gingerly touched a large lump on the back of his head. "What hit me?" He asked to Claire, somewhere in the darkness.

"Good to hear your voice," Claire replied as she reached out her hand to feel in the darkness for Hiro. As her hand touched his arm, she said "Eva Braun hit you. I guess she must have been upset that we dropped into her living room."

"The question to ask is…Where are we now?" Claire whispered.

Hiro reached into his pocket and took out a small Star Wars Light Saber key chain. The small key chain light lit the room in a soft blue glow. He slowly turned around, no windows, two grave tables, they were in a crypt. "Great!" Claire sat down on the closet grave table. Whoever was in the grave was dead; they would not mind her sitting on them for a moment she thought. "Hiro, we need to go back for Peter. He is stuck back there in time, alone without us."

Hiro sat across from her on the second grave table, "I am sorry cheerleader, but my powers over time and space have been having…problems. I am can't control when and where I jump. The Carnival man did something to me. Claire leaned forward so her face is in the dim blue light, "We need to go back for Peter."

"I am sorry Cheerleader, but going backwards in time is not possible with any control. Even going back to the future is going to near impossible. I might only have one jump left in me."

Claire grabbed Hiro's arm, "If we can return to the exact moment in time, before I jumped off the Farris Wheel, we could prevent the Carnival massacre. We could save Peter, before we even go back in time the first time. Please Hiro, you have to try! We need to go back to Central Park, New York City, April 30th 2010. You're our only hope."

Hiro dropped the blue light into his lap; letting it dangle over the edge of the grave table he is sitting on. "I don't know if I can, but I will try." Hiro placed his hands on the side of his head, closing them over his ears and concentrated. His body began to shake, and a drop of blood escaped his nostril as he grimaced and groaned trying to force himself to travel through time. Claire stood at his side in the darkness her hand gently on his shoulder. Then her hand squeezed suddenly, pulling Hiro out of focus.

"Hiro, remember the name of the woman I told you that hit you?" Hiro nodded his head yes as he wiped the blood away from his nose. Claire paused to catch her breath, "well you're sitting on her."

Hiro jumped off the grave table and held his light to see the name on the grave clearly. Claire got down on one knee and ran her fingers over the engraved letters in the stone. Hiro turned towards the other grave table, "I wonder who you had been sitting on?"

Claire placed her hand to her chest as she struggle to catch her breath. Her College history lessons coming back into her mind, putting the details together. "I know whose grave it is. Eva Braun was his wife. They both committed suicide on April 30th 1945 as the USA military stormed the last Nazi stronghold at the end of World War Two." She took the key chain Light Saber from Hiro's hand and lit up the name engraved on the tomb "Adolph Hitler"

"I will need to concentrate" Hiro sighed as he sat down on the cold floor and closed his eyes. Claire stood beside him her hand once more on his shoulder. Claire strained her ears to listen to soft sounds just outside the crypt door; there is a group of people trying to open it. "Hiro, hurry!" Claire whispered.

X-X-X

Estelle sat behind a table in a near abandoned restaurant on the edge of the Washington DC city limits. She had received a phone call from her benefactor. He was furious that she had lost the finger. He had ordered her to this restaurant and told her to wait. He was coming to her.

She was nervous. Never had she worked for such a powerful man. His hand reached across the globe, in all governments. He had agents and eyes in all military leaderships. She thought of the wall of video screens in the Washington base, and remembered he even had eyes in the Oval Office. She played with her coffee. This could be her last, she should be enjoying it and savoring every last drop. But she was not interested in it anymore. Who was he? The Blood Red Eagle resembled the Nazi symbol of the last century. She was pulled from her thoughts as a man in a waiter's uniform approached her table. "Ma'am, please follow me."

She was led to the back of the restaurant and into a special dining room, a room reserved for the elite. The very rich that did not eat with the common folk. One table was occupied. The room was not empty. Surrounding the room were men in dark suits: each man at perfect attention, and their eyes watching her. The single man at the table stood and called her by name. "Froyline Estelle, please sit."

The man appeared to be in his 80's, but he was incredibly physically fit. His hair was parted on the side and showing a little hint of black through the deep silver gray. His eyes were piercing, and his clean shaven face was lean and firm. Something looked familiar to her, something from deep inside her somewhere in her past made her heart beat faster. Estelle took her seat.

"You disappoint me Froyline Estelle. Your performance following the Carnival attack has been less than satisfactory. I want the Girl!" The man told her as he slowly cut his steak from his meal. "My informants tell me that the last of the specials are trying to assemble. They are will soon be gathering to formulate a plan to fight back. You must finish the job at hand before they can prepare."

X-X-X

The lock on the crypt clicked and the door swung wide, its heavy weight crating across the stone floor. Three men walk into the crypt each dress as doctors going to surgery. They pulled the crypt door closed behind them; as two of the men lit torches hanging on the wall beside the door. The third man walked to the Grave of Adolph Hitler.

"Are you sure this is going to work, Herr Stephen?" one of the men asked out loud looking at the grave. , "The Führer's command was clear, Herr Randolph. Come get him after five days. It has been five days and now we are here."

"Are you sure the mixture worked?" Herr Randolph asked. Herr Stephen replied, "I mixed it myself, the mixture work on all the test cases. Ground flesh, blood, and marrow from the finger into my special herb will cause apparent dead for 4 days, even the heart stops. Then the test subject recovers and is healed from all illness and infirmities; restored to their peak of health. If only we had more of those fingers, we could be invincible, the most powerful men in the universe."

"Please remove the cover panel of the grave." Stephen waited as to other two men removed the stone cover and placed it on the floor beside the grave, with a dull thud. Stephen approached the coffin and reached out to lift the top open when it lifted on its own. Two strong arms lift the top open and the occupant sat up. "I know where I can get more Herr Stephen, a whole body in fact. She is in New York City, central park, and on April 30th 2010."

X-X-X

The Man summoned the waiter, and sat back as the man ground pepper onto his meal. "Froyline Estelle, this is your last opportunity. If you fail me I will push this button." The Man uncovered a small device on the table. It looked like a key chain, car alarm trigger, with one large red button. "This device is linked to an explosive I had implanted into your chest, when you began working for me. If I push this button your lovely body will be spread across a two city block radius."

Estelle's hand leapt to her breasts, a bomb inside her!

"Fail me and die a horrible death, bring me the girl and live." The Man lifted a hand and grabbed her wrist, the strength was age defying. "That girl holds a power in her that has kept me alive for 121 years. I want her now!"

Estelle's eyes grew wide, not from the pain in her wrist, but from the recognition of who sat in from of her. He was alive, not buried in Germany. The most evil and powerful man of modern times; she would not fail him. He looked deep into her terrified eyes, "It is time for the Red Eagle to rise again. It is time I leave the shadows and step back into the world stage."

The guards in the room lifted their right arms in salute, "Hail Hitler!"

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