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.

Chapter 25: Survival

Audrey and Franco did exactly as they'd been told to do. After climbing the last of the steps up, they searched for the alternate exit that led down again.

"Shouldn't we…" Audrey started to ask, now trailing Franco.

"No," he interrupted. "Peter said to go to City Hall and…"

"Do you always do exactly what you're told?" snapped Audrey in return.

"This from you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you were FBI," Franco answered as the exited the building, both of them exhausted. "You're whole life was about following orders."

"How…"

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing," Franco continued, looking around him and lowering his voice. "I was in the navy before all of this happened. I know all about following orders. Giving them too."

"That's not what I was going to ask," Audrey said, straightening up and fixing him with a curious expression. "I was going to ask how you knew I was in the FBI. I've never told you that."

"You didn't have to," said Franco. "Petrelli did. He was on to you, that you were helping your old friends. He even had me follow you a few times."

"What?" Audrey exclaimed.

Franco just shrugged as if to say, 'following orders'.

"What else?"

"This way," Franco said instead of answering her, heading off towards City Hall as they'd been instructed to do.

"What else?" Audrey repeated.

"I'm not proud of it," Franco said, trying to defuse her anger and not succeeding. "Besides, now is not really the time for this."

Audrey nodded reluctantly in agreement.

"There are a lot of things I'm not proud of," he continued on in a near-whisper. "But we all have to do something to survive, right?"

"I guess," she conceded, not unkindly, as they picked up their pace.

Audrey knew she was overreacting, but it was a shock. It was probably the stress of the situation she reasoned with herself. Her whole life was now nothing but stress excepting a few fleeting moments she'd either spent alone or with Matt.

She could understand Franco's position at the time. He'd been sent by the colony to spy on the Order. Of course he had to follow orders. If he hadn't, he'd have been killed. Audrey had worked for them as well.

It had been about survival.

It still was.

Audrey slowed down as the approached Government Center, but to her surprise Franco did not.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Getting a better look."

Audrey nodded and watched intently as he crept forward, straining to see into the darkness.

"Well?" she whispered after a long pause. "Are they still there?"

Franco said nothing, but Audrey thought she heard the sound of a helicopter approaching; maybe even more than one.

"Franco? What's going…"

Audrey stopped as he turned back towards her. There was something about the expression on his face she didn't like. One that made her straighten up instantly, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling. It was a look she'd seen before; desperation.

"It's done."

"What are you talking about?" Audrey asked, taking a step towards him, unsure she'd heard correctly.

"I'm sorry, Audrey. I really am."

"No," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. After everything that had happened, this couldn't be real.

"I really am just following orders," he said sullenly.

That's when she knew for certain.

"Whose orders?" Audrey snapped. "You're working for them too? Why? How? I thought…"

"I was with the colony," Franco explained, feeling confession was good for the soul. "I was. Jacobs sent me down to spy on Petrelli. I stayed after he left because I was still useful, but not long after Ms. Yi took over she found me out. She knew. She could just see…"

Even as dark as it was, Audrey could see Franco pale at the memory.

"She went through the whole staff," Franco continued. "Weeding out the ones with gifts, the spies, the traitors. Finding our secrets and our weaknesses. I tried to fight it, but what could I do?"

"So you turned us all in to save yourself."

"Not me," Franco countered aggressively. "My life isn't that important. But to save my daughter, I'd do anything."

Audrey didn't want to, but she understood.

"She's three," he continued. "Three years old and Yi has her. She's keeping her hostage. I haven't even seen her in… I had no choice."

Audrey was too stunned to speak. She could only watch the man as he tried to hold himself together and wait and see what happened next.

"She knew you and Matt weren't here," he went on. "Knew you were being held by Primatech, that's why I only came back six months ago. She also knew that Matt wouldn't be able to use his powers; I'd be safe. He wouldn't be able to read my thoughts, so he wouldn't know I was the one betraying you all."

"What about Maggie?"

"Maggie must work for Primatech or for no one," Franco shrugged. "I don't know. Yi has her own spies, is branching out; getting ready to make a move and she needed a few people for that. I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" asked Audrey, her voice starting to break. Sorry was such an inadequate word for this mess. It could never cover it.

"Whatever they did to Matt at Primatech," Franco answered, "she wanted to see for herself. She's got him already. I watched her setting her trap when we were here before, earlier tonight. I was hoping Peter would look for himself so I could just confess, tell the truth and end this, but he didn't. He trusted me."

Audrey only shook her head in disbelief.

"All of this has been one, big, trap. Primatech let you both go because they are testing something, I was never told what exactly, but it involved Matt. Primatech is coming; it's not just the Order here tonight. They're coming to collect specific people and the rest, the rest they just want dead. They want the problem to go away."

"So she's not working with them anymore?" Audrey asked.

"Not really. She's pretending to, but it's an act. She's good at that."

"Who are they after?" Audrey continued to question as if the two of them were having a perfectly normal conversations. It all was so surreal. "Do you know? Why just certain people?"

"No, I don't know. They wouldn't tell me. Yi only said who she wanted caught and who she wanted killed."

"And?"

"I'm sorry, Audrey," Franco said, drawing his gun. "You weren't on the capture list."

D.L. knew when he had to let go, had planned the whole thing out in his head, so when the time came he could just do it.

He was surprised it worked so well.

After dropping down, D.L. pushed himself away from Sylar, releasing the hold he had around the other man's neck, leaving him embedded midway through the second flight of stairs. D.L. continued to let himself fall until he landed, solidly, on the first floor.

It didn't hold him long.

Sylar, after a momentary struggle, busted free from the concrete steps with enough force to collapse the rest of the staircase. Peter had just enough of his wits about him to conger up Nathan's ability to mind, remaining in place and in the air as it happened, but as he headed towards the ground, he was struck by the falling debris and knocked unconscious.

D.L. wasn't as lucky.

Sylar lunged for him in a rage; furious that, once again, someone had gotten between him and his prey.

He had him around the throat, pushing him backwards with such force that, unknowingly, D.L. phased them both straight through the wall and into the courtyard between Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall, skidding several yards across the ground before finally coming to a rest.

D.L. was losing control.

He couldn't think straight enough to phase only himself, and he couldn't throw Sylar off of him either. That's when he realized that the other man was using more than just his brawn; he was using his powers to hold him in place.

There was nothing D.L. could do.

Sylar, sensing his advantage, stood up and stared down at him with a creepy smile plastered firmly on his face.

"Well now, it will be fun to try that –"

Sylar was stopped as something hard hit him in the face before exploding into nothing. The force of it was enough to knock him sideways for a few steps and irritate him, but nothing more.

"You again," he sneered, turning to face the young dark-haired woman that absolutely refused to die.

From inside the Market, Lauren had heard the commotion and had come out to investigate. She had only meant to take a quick look before going to alert Hiro, but after seeing Sylar hovering over D.L., she knew she didn't have time. She had to act.

Sylar threw lightening in her direction while still concentrating on keeping D.L. pinned to the ground. It took an effort, but this time he was prepared for it. The group he had encountered earlier, north of here, hadn't put up any kind of fight at all. It had been a slaughter. Way too easy. Of course most of them hadn't been gifted. It had almost been a wasted trip. But this, this was a challenge.

This could be fun.

Lauren put up her strongest shield which deflected the blow without a problem and instead of releasing it, held it in place before her knowing it wasn't over.

Sylar strode towards her with a frightening certainty and confidence that she completely lacked. Putting up his hands, she felt it. He was pushing at her shield; pushing at her essentially. For a moment she was able to hold her own, but it was a brief moment. He was too strong for her.

Lauren felt herself being pushed, felt her feet start to scrape the ground, propelling her backwards, even as she tried to keep it from happening.

She just wasn't strong enough.

The sound of her shoes dragging on the ground as she struggled for any type of traction was the only thing she could hear; that and her heartbeat.

Sylar grinned as she began to panic, backed into the wall with only the shield to protect her.

But he was too much for her.

Panting and exhausted, she had to drop it. Lauren dropped her last defense and slid to the ground only to feel her body lift up into the air. There was nothing more she could do to stop it from happening.

And then there was lightening.

Peter had made his way out of the building and used Sylar's own power against him.

Sylar took the hit, falling to the ground and simultaneously releasing Lauren and D.L. as he did so.

But he wasn't down long.

Sylar turned to face Peter.

"Go," Peter said quietly as D.L. stood up to be at his side.

D.L. started to object, but seeing the intensity in Peter's eyes, decided against it. There was no point in arguing now. Peter was obviously determined to do this his way.

"Yes," Sylar agreed. "Run along now. Take the girl, too. I'll see you both later."

Lauren, standing almost directly behind Sylar, couldn't move. She was shaking from exhaustion and fright, not believing she was still alive after all this or that Sylar would just let her walk away.

D.L. began to walk towards her, to help her out, but before he even got close she was inexplicably flung to the side.

Sylar smiled.

Lauren, dazed, pulled herself to her feet. She wasn't hurt, only stunned. Once more, D.L. headed purposely towards her, wanting to get the both of them out of the way as quick as possible, but that wasn't going to happen.

Sylar, again, pushed her to the side. This time, however, there was much more force behind it. He was toying with her, using her to provoke Peter further, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

But Peter could.

Lauren felt her whole body stop in mid air and lower gently to the ground, but it wasn't over yet.

D.L. watched in morbid fascination, unable to help in the slightest.

Angered that his game had ended, Sylar made another push at Lauren, but Peter was holding her still. The combined effect was that she was being squeezed. Pressed on one side to move and the other to stay, Lauren began to struggle just to breath.

"Peter!" D.L. yelled, seeing what was happening. "Stop it! She can't get any air!"

But he wasn't listening.

Peter and Sylar had locked eyes, oblivious to what their battle of wills was actually doing.

"Peter!" D.L. yelled once more, but it was no good.

No one was going to save her, so Lauren had to do it herself.

Either by instinct, or sheer will to survive, Lauren drew in one more gasping breath before pushing out with everything she had, omitting a force field that didn't emerge from her hands but from her entire body. It shot out in all directions, a blinding blue with incredible speed leaving Lauren to fall, less than gracefully, to the ground.

There hadn't been any warning and only D.L. saw it as it happen. He steadied himself, prepared to phase through whatever came his way, but it didn't work. Whatever she had used to break free, whatever field it was, he couldn't pass through it the way he had so many things before. It hit him head on, stinging and unbreakable, knocking him to the ground in the blink of an eye.

It spread out a good hundred yards, flattening everything it touched including Sylar and Peter, in a perfect circle with Lauren at the epicenter.

No one was really hurt, only stunned and knocked breathless, but they could have been. Lauren felt it. If she hadn't held back at the very end, she could have really done some damage.

"Lauren!"

Turning awkwardly toward the sound of the voice, Lauren saw Hiro had emerged from the Market, undoubtedly drawn as she had been by the sound of the commotion.

"What happened?"

She didn't answer. Just shook her head dumbly, still in a daze before realizing that Hiro had stopped time again all around them.

"He's there," Lauren called out in excitement, rushing suddenly at Hiro and pulling him towards the others. "You did it. You stopped him now… Now just…"

Lauren knew what came next and so did Hiro, but even still she couldn't bring herself to say 'kill him.' Not out loud.

The plan had worked, sort of. Lauren had distracted Sylar, she'd been a perfect decoy, and Hiro had frozen him in place.

Now all that was left to do was end it.

Hiro drew his sword and paused as he stood before the man, the monster.

This wasn't honorable, he knew that. Hiro would be killing a man without a chance to defend himself. It wasn't lost on him, however, that that was exactly how Sylar did it. He paralyzed his victims and then moved in for the kill.

Maybe that made this fair. Sylar would be getting exactly what he gave. Dying the way he lived.

Or maybe that made Hiro as much of a murderer as Sylar was.

Sighing, Hiro pulled his sword level at the man's heart and tried not to think about it anymore.

This had to be done.

Sylar had to be stopped.

Hiro glanced once more at Lauren who looked as nervous and sick as he felt, before taking a deep breath ramming the sword straight into Sylar's chest.

Except the sword didn't move.

"This is my fight."

Turning to the sound of the voice, Hiro almost didn't believe it. There was Peter unfrozen with one hand on the hilt of the sword and a menacing gleam in his eyes.

"Stay out of it," he continued as he grabbed him by the arm and threw him to Lauren's feet.

"Peter," Hiro said, getting quickly to his feet, "you're not thinking clearly. You're not yourself. Let me just…"

"I said no!" shouted Peter, this time flinging both of them back further than before. "He's mine to fight and mine to kill. Leave."

Hiro and Lauren watched in disbelief as time started again around them.

"Did you…" Lauren started to ask, but knew the answer even before Hiro had begun to shake his head 'no'.

D.L., clearly confused by the abrupt change, paused momentarily before spotting them both and running to them.

"What's going on?" he asked, giving them both a hand up.

"We've got a problem," answered Hiro. "A big problem. Unless we want Boston to end up like New York, we've got to stop this. Now. Right now. Peter's not himself. He's not only taking on Sylar's powers, but his personality too."

"What can we do?" D.L. asked, turning to watch the terrifying scene unfolding in the courtyard.

Hiro only shook his head at a complete loss.

The real battle had begun.