Resurrection by SLynn

Summary: It wasn't their destiny to stop an explosion. It was their destiny to stop him. Sequel to 'Apocalypse'.

Spoilers: Up to 'Fallout'

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing and will return them all when I'm done, virtually untouched.

Notes: Thanks for all the reading and reviewing! So far, this is my favorite chapter. Thank you, again, Tripp3235!

Chapter 9: Whisper

For a few moments Claire had been worried. When Audrey and Matt had shown up to dinner, Nathan had still been sitting with them. To Claire's relief, Nathan bowed out; Nathan got up and left with just a quick goodbye to his brother before they'd gotten very far into the room, probably even before Matt or Audrey had seen him. Claire, while still far from even liking Nathan, was grateful and gave him a quick smile for his good deed.

When they did sit down just opposite her and Peter, Claire realized she'd been worrying about the wrong thing. That she should have known Matt was still going to be angry with her, and spent most of his time talking to either D.L. or Mohinder, any one other than her.

With her usual means of communicating with Matt a bust, Claire tried to be patient. She tried to just wait until she was given an opportunity to talk to him, but it seemed as if one wasn't going to happen. Everyone just kept talking and talking, and yes, she realized they probably missed him too, but enough already.

Claire hated it when he was mad, and hated it more when he was mad at her. And it was all ridiculous because if anyone should be mad at anyone, Claire should be mad at Matt and not the other way around.

"You alright?"

Claire looked up at Peter and smiled, before realizing almost everyone was looking her way.

"I'm just… It's been a long day."

"Why don't you call it a night?" Peter suggested, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"I'm not tired like that," Claire answered. "I'm just mentally drained."

Claire finally caught Matt's attention, and she knew that look; he was ready to stop fighting and at least pretend everything was okay between them.

"So," Matt said, clearing his throat, "are you two going to tell us who most of these people are? I only know about dozen people in this room."

"Yeah," Peter said. "At the end of the table with Jacobs is Maggie."

"The Maggie we were talking about?" Audrey asked in a lower voice.

Peter gave her a quick nod before he continued. "You pretty much know everyone else here, except Lauren, who is sitting next to Ando."

Both Matt and Audrey gave her a quick glance before turning their attention back to the pair in front of them.

"Who is Marissa from the council?" Matt asked.

"She's on the other side of Jacobs," Claire answered. "The older woman, gray hair, kind of short."

"You get to call people short?" Matt asked with a smile.

"Yeah, that's funny," Claire deadpanned.

"Oh," Micah said, interrupting them, "hey, Matt. Audrey wanted me to look at that um…"

Micah stopped self-consciously, not sure what to call the mark on Matt's arm.

"Why?" Matt asked, turning to Audrey with a serious expression on his face.

"Because he can kill it," Audrey explained simply. "You don't want that thing…"

"No," Matt readily agreed, as he held his wrist out for Micah to examine. "Here. Have at it."

"Was it bad?" D.L. asked quietly.

"Thankfully, I don't remember right now," Matt said, still serious. "I'm sure it wasn't good."

D.L. nodded slowly.

"Uh, Matt?"

"What?" he said, turning his attention back to Micah.

"You don't have like a pacemaker or something, right?"

"How old do you think I am?"

"Some people get them young," Micah said somewhat defensively.

"He's right," Claire added with a smirk.

"No," Matt answered. "I don't. Why?"

"Okay," Micah said skeptically.

"What's wrong?" Mohinder asked, joining the conversation.

"It's just…" Micah began to explain. "I short circuited the… the thing and well, I can still hear something inside you. Something electronic so, I thought…"

"Are you saying there's something else inside me… ticking?" Matt asked.

"Kind of," Micah said with a nod.

"What? What is it?" Audrey asked.

"I don't know," Micah admitted. "I don't think it's dangerous. I could short it out too, if you want."

"Wait a minute," Mohinder objected. "I'm not so sure you should do that. We don't know what it is, or what it does. If it does anything."

"Is there a way for you to find out?" Matt asked Micah.

"I think so," Micah said. "I can try to connect with it. It should only take a second or two. It may not tell me much but it's worth a shot."

"You're the expert," Matt said.

"Now," Micah said, as he took hold of Matt's wrist again, "you may feel a slight shock."

Matt just nodded, ready for him to begin.

"Here it goes," Micah said.

It wasn't a shock, it was a roar.

Matt was positive his head was going to explode; the noise was so loud and intense. It was as if everyone in the entire room suddenly started screaming in his head. There was so much of it Matt couldn't hear, couldn't distinguish one sound from the next.

It was intense as it was thankfully brief.

"What the hell was that?"

Matt looked over in surprise at Peter who seemed as rattled as he felt.

"What happened?" Audrey asked, casting worried looks from Matt to Peter and back again.

"Did you hear it?" Peter asked Matt.

Matt only nodded.

His hands were shaking. It was still echoing in his head. How could he have not heard it?

"I'm sorry," Micah said quickly. "I didn't know…"

"It's not your fault," Matt just managed to say.

"What was that?" Peter repeated, dropping his head into his hands.

"I don't know," Matt answered, inadvertently mimicking Peter's position.

His head was positively throbbing and he felt like he might be sick.

"It felt like someone turned the volume all the way up," Matt said.

"I need some air," Peter said, wobbling to his feet.

"Let me help," Claire offered, standing to go with him.

"I really didn't mean…" Micah continued to apologize.

"Really," Matt said, "it's fine. I told you to do it."

"I know, but…"

"Micah, it's fine."

Micah finally nodded, accepting it.

"Was it your power? Is it back or what?" D.L. asked.

"No," Matt answered. "I mean, yes it felt… it felt like it a little, but it's not back. I can't hear… I still can't hear anything. Not anymore."

"Do you think they put something in your head?" Mohinder asked. "Something to inhibit your power?"

"Like a microchip?" Audrey asked.

"Yes," Mohinder nodded enthusiastically. "Micah, was that what it was like?"

"Yeah," he agreed. "I think so."

"Do you think you could short it out?" Mohinder asked eagerly.

"That might be it," D.L. jumped in. "Matt, if Micah can stop it then…"

"No," Matt said quickly. "Sorry, and no offense Micah, but I'm not really up for a second round right now."

"It wouldn't take long," Micah promised. "A few seconds. Now that I know where it is and what it does, it'll be much quicker."

"Is it safe?" Audrey asked skeptically. "I mean, are we even sure that this…"

"It doesn't matter," Matt said, standing abruptly, "I'm not doing it. Thank you, but no thanks."

Matt walked off without another word, leaving them all staring after him.

"Okay," D.L. said, "what was that all about?"

Audrey couldn't answer, only shook her head and looked down at the table.

"Audrey?" Mohinder said gently, coming over and taking Matt's now empty chair. "Are you alright?"

Mohinder and Audrey had become fast friends during the years they'd spent living in D.C. while everyone they knew was on the run. They'd seen more of one another during that time than of anyone else and had learned to trust and rely on one another quite a bit.

"I'm fine," she said resolutely. "It's just, she's right. He really can be impossible sometimes."


"I don't see anything yet."

"Keep looking," Niki said quietly as she and Franco crept closer and closer to their final destination.

"You know it doesn't exactly work well in the dark, right?" he returned with a slight grin. "I don't have night vision. Maybe you should have asked Maggie to come along."

"No," Niki said quickly causing Franco to chuckle slightly.

"You really don't like her, do you?"

"I don't like a lot of people," Niki retorted with a ghost of a smile, "and I trust even fewer than that."

"Remind me to stay on your good side."

"Oh, you'll know when you're not."

Franco gave another quiet laugh as he continued to look around the wooded area they were in. They were only about a quarter of a mile away from the outpost and so far had seen nothing out of the ordinary.

"So why don't you like her?" Franco continued to question.

"I just don't," Niki said, looking around and disturbed by the unnatural silence.

"It's what she can do, isn't it? The whole shadow walking bit she's got going on. It's creepy."

"My husband walks through walls," Niki said with a faint laugh. "Who am I to judge?"

Franco stopped momentarily, straining to see ahead.

"I think I see something. The lights are on in the cabin but…"

"Let's just hurry," Niki urged.

The two picked up their pace, caring less about being seen or heard.

"So why do you care so much that I don't like Maggie," Niki said after a few minutes more.

"I don't know," he said, "I just assumed you'd want to take her on these things instead of me. You know, given where I come from."

"No one cares you had to work for the Order," Niki said sincerely. "We all know why. And frankly, if Mohinder and Claire can still put in a good word for you after all of that then I'm convinced."

"Thanks," he said with a faint smile.

"Besides," she said with a steady voice, "that shadow thing is creepy."

Franco started to laugh but stopped abruptly.

"We're here," he said.

As he'd told her, the lights were on. All of them. That in and of itself was not disturbing; what was disturbing was the fact that the front door was ajar.

"Do you see anything?" Niki whispered.

He nodded shortly as he lifted his rifle into the ready position.

"What?" she asked, tensing up as well.

"Blood."

Niki went in first.

The front room looked completely deserted but there were obvious signs of a struggle. The furniture had been pushed about, tossed even, and there was some blood on the walls and on the floor.

It's where they found the first body.

"It's Sarah," Franco said as he leaned over the body.

This had been Sarah's first assignment at an outpost. She had eagerly volunteered to man the radio, like most of the volunteers, just happy to be doing her part.

"Jason and Tom can't be far off," Niki said tightly, already fearing the worse.

She was right.

Jason, the same young man who had lead Niki and Micah to the colony from Trenton, was dead in the hallway. It looked as if his neck had been snapped. Niki could hardly look at him.

Franco scanned ahead of them, spotting the third body in the back bedroom. Leading the way, he opened the door and momentarily lost his composure.

"My God," he said quietly, lowering his gun as he stepped carefully into the room.

Niki, right behind him, took in the sight as best she could. However, she was unable to stop the sheer dread that began to well up inside her.

"This…" Franco stammered. "This is not the Order. This… It can't be. They don't…"

"No," Niki said softly. "They don't."

Tom's body was in the very center of the room, the furniture having all been shoved aside, lying in a puddle of blood.

Tom was had been in charge of this outpost. He was the one who had notified Niki via radio of the situation and he was one of those few people she thought well of.

He was also the only one of the three stationed here with a power.

Tom could bend and manipulate light, use it offensively and defensively, which explained in part why they whole place was lit up. If they were being attacked, the more light Tom had to work with the better.

But it hadn't been enough.

"How did this happen?" Franco asked, still staring down in disbelief. "I mean, have you ever seen anything…"

"Yes," was her short but full answer to the question he hadn't finished.

Niki couldn't take her eyes off of it, as grotesque as it was. And she knew, she knew what this meant. How bad it was. How bad it was going to become.

She almost wished it was the Order.

"We need to go," she finally said, snapping herself out of it.

"But the bodies," Franco argued. "We can't leave them here… Not like this."

"There's no time," Niki said, already turning and heading for the door at a brisk pace. "We've got to get back to the colony now. Warn them. Move. Do something."

"What's this about?" Franco asked, running to catch her. "What is it? How…"

"Don't you know?" Niki said, turning to face him with a look that was frightening. Frightening because it betrayed how terrified she was. "Haven't you heard of this? What this…"

"No," Franco said as he grasped what she was implying. "It's not… No. No, it can't be. That's a legend. That's a myth."

"It's not," Niki assured him. "It's not. He's real and he did this."

"I can't…"

"Start believing it," Niki practically yelled.

"Couldn't it just be a coincidence?" he suggested. He had too. It was easier to believe that.

"Coincidence?" Niki repeated. "Tom's head was sliced open and unless I'm mistaken he's missing his brain. He's the only one of the three here like that and he's the only one of the three here who had a power. That's no coincidence."

"Maybe the Order just wants us to think…"

"The Order? Tom would have blinded them. He would have fought tooth and nail. Jason and Sarah were armed. You don't think they'd manage to kill a few of them if they were being attacked? What did this couldn't stopped, couldn't be controlled. They had no warning and no way to defend themselves."

Franco nodded slowly in agreement. Niki was right and he knew it. This wasn't just an ambush or an attack, it was a slaughter.

"I don't like leaving them like this," Niki continued, her voice starting to shake ever so slightly, "but we have no choice. We've got to get back and find a way…"

"How? How are we going to stop it?"

Niki shook her head slowly.

"I don't know."

Shaking herself from her thoughts, Niki started to move again with renewed energy. She had to get back. She had to warn them. They'd need every moment to think and plan what to do next; how to defend themselves.

"So is this it?" Franco asked quietly from behind. "Does it happen all over again?"

"No," Niki said forcefully. "This time, we stop him."

Franco nodded in agreement, following silently in her footsteps.

"This time," Niki said under her breath in a near whisper. "This time, I swear, Peter isn't facing him alone."