Apocalypse by SLynn
Summary: Three years have passed since the explosion and life has drastically changed for everyone. This isn't the world they imagined they'd be saving.
Spoilers: Up to 'Fallout'
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing and will return them all when I'm done, virtually untouched.
Notes: My beta's back! Yay and thank you Tripp3235!
Chapter 5: Control
Niki had done the only thing she could do at the time.
Typically all of the check points were on the interstates, which is exactly why they'd chosen the back roads. They had only once before been caught up like this, but even then she'd been able to talk her way out of it.
As she slowed the cars she could tell immediately that wouldn't be the case tonight.
And then, just as she stopped the car, she saw just what Matt had supposed she had seen. The man with the gun.
Not thinking about the car behind them, she floored it, racing away. There was no time to think about them, only time to react. If she didn't get moving now she'd never get the chance.
Besides, there was always the contingency plan.
In case of trouble, serious trouble, Hiro would freeze time long enough for them to all regroup.
Niki had thought she was doing not just the only thing but the right thing until, in the blink of an eye, the car was filled with noise.
"Stop the car!" Hiro yelled causing D.L. and Micah to jump in their seats. "Stop! Go back!"
"They didn't make it in!" Ando yelled, looking frantically out of the rear window.
"Where are Claire and Matt?" D.L. asked anxiously, more disturbed by their absence than by the others sudden appearance.
"Mom you have to stop!" Micah shouted, the first of his family to fully comprehend what was going on.
"We can't stop," Niki shouted back. "We stop and they get us all. I'm not letting that happen."
"Niki," D.L. started to argue, but saw the determination in her eyes.
"Did they make it off the road?" she asked, oddly calm.
"Yes," Ando nodded, still looking back down the road even though they were now to far away to see anything. "I think so."
"If they did then they'll call us," Niki continued. "If not, well…"
"We can't just…"
"Micah," Niki said, quickly cutting him off, "I don't like it either but that's the way it is. We have to do what we have to do to survive."
Audrey had driven on the interstates on her way back to D.C. Having all the correct and legal credentials, and the authority to be out after curfew, she wasn't worried about being stopped. Her only concern was being followed. She rarely visited them inside their chosen safe house, but when she did she took extra care to take as many twists and turns as possible and to always be on the look out for anything suspicious.
Everything seemed to be going well until she took the final left onto the street that led to her apartment complex.
Audrey looked up in surprise at the flashing lights in her rearview mirror. She'd never even seen the patrol car.
Sighing, she pulled the car over and took her identification out of her bag; waiting for the approaching officer.
It wasn't a long wait.
"I've got clearance," she said as she rolled down the window and handing her badge and card out to him.
He said nothing, just scrutinized the information in his hands.
"Step out of the car," he finally returned.
"But..."
"Out," he said in a firmer voice.
That was when she began to worry. Audrey got out of the car, not sure what she should do. Knowing what it probably meant, hoping she was wrong.
"There must be some mix-up," Audrey tried. "I work for the government. My card is good."
"Audrey Hanson?" he asked her.
"Yes, that's…"
"Then there's no mistake. You're under arrest."
For the next two hours she sat handcuffed and alone in a nondescript room she assumed was a holding cell. It was hard to say anymore, things had changed so much. Her job didn't entail capturing criminals anymore. Mostly she sat at a desk. Even though she had seemingly distanced herself from her once partner, no one had forgotten that she had known him. Law enforcement had changed. Everything had changed.
Of course, it didn't all begin with the explosion.
Ted Sprague had done a lot of damage on his trek across the country. It was impossible to tell just how many people he had poisoned with radiation. They never would know, not now at least; the country was still in shambles.
Despite their fears, he wasn't the ultimate cause of the explosion they'd all been trying to stop. The rumor was that he had taken his own life overcome with remorse.
Rumor was all they had.
Rumors of a woman who could change faces. A man who could walk through walls. A girl who couldn't die.
A modern day bogeyman that ate his victim's brains.
And then it had happened.
Audrey didn't know what was worse, the event or the aftermath.
The explosion had been terrifying. Hundreds of thousands were killed. The city was destroyed. No one knew how or why. The waiting and wondering. Knowing Matt had been there - had been there when it had happened. Remembering how she'd asked him not to go, and how he'd gone anyway because a man who could paint the future had told him he was supposed to be there. Not hearing from him. Not knowing if he was dead or alive. Grieving. The shock of the loss. The massive loss of it all. The senselessness. The changes.
The United States had gone from democracy to near totalitarianism with frightening ease.
At first, they had been grateful. All of them. Amid the chaos and destruction and uncertainty a select few had stepped forward to lead the way. To lead the nation out of dark times.
They had needed guidance more than anything else.
The first year had been a rough one. Audrey hardly remembered it. The impact was so great. She felt lucky to have her job, to be a part of the restoration effort. Lucky to have survived.
But then the laws began to be passed.
Registration. Curfews. Special rights. Internment.
The United States of America emerged after a long, hard year as the United Order.
Stronger. More Secure. Cruel.
The Order was a much smaller place, much less populated than the previous country had been. Most of the west coast had been destroyed in a series of massive earthquakes that had lit up the ring of fire. Earthquakes, rumor had it, that were caused by 'one of them'.
That was how the Order referred to people like Matt. He was 'one of them'. Not special, not gifted, not a hero, nothing but an outsider to be classified and contained.
The very people who had tried to stop it all…
Large parts of the former United States had defected, revolted, had gone against the system. The Order mainly consisted of all of the former states east of the Mississippi River and south of the state of New York, not including Florida. Florida was deemed unlivable due to massive flooding, blamed of course on 'one of them'.
Most of them were nothing more than a series of city-states, except Texas. Texas was the only former state both large enough and intact enough to merit the status of country. The newly emerged Republic of Texas was a strong ally.
As for the rest of the world, Audrey couldn't say. There was no telling. If rumor was any indication, it hadn't faired any better.
That first year had been the worst. She felt like she had lost everything, everything that mattered at least. Audrey had no hope left.
She just existed, just did what needed to be done to survive.
That's what she told herself.
Audrey was roused from her thoughts as the door swung open.
She tried not to look surprised but was certain she had not succeeded.
"Hello, Audrey. It's been quite some time since we last met."
"Three years," she said coolly. "It's been three years."
"I'm glad you remember."
"It's not often you meet a dictator."
Nathan Petrelli shook his head a smiled at her in what could be considered charming way.
"That's not nice."
"I'm sorry," she bit back, "do you prefer some other title?"
"I'm sure you know why you're here."
"Like you need an excuse to arrest people."
"I need something from you," Nathan continued, as if she hadn't interrupted him. "I need to know where Claire Bennet is."
"I don't know anyone by that name."
"See,' he said pacing the room, "now you're lying."
"Is that your talent? Are you a walking lie detector now?"
Nathan grimaced briefly as he shook off her accusations.
"Claire Bennet," he repeated. "Where is she?"
"I don't know."
"What about Matthew Parkman? Do you know where he is?"
"That's not really my job. I don't track down fugitives anymore."
"But you associate with them," Nathan replied smoothly. "We know you do. We've been watching you now for the last six months. Watching you very closely."
Nathan stopped and stared at her, fixed her with an intense gaze.
"How long have you been helping him and his friends? A year? A year and a half? It couldn't be more than two years, before we had confirmation that he'd survived. Am I right?"
Her silence was resolute.
"Tell me where Claire Bennet is. She's the only one we want. I don't care about Parkman or Nakamura or Sanders. They rest of them aren't important, but Claire Bennet is. You tell me where I can find her and they all walk free. No trial. No internment. Nothing. I'll even let you go with them if you'd like."
Audrey kept her mouth shut, content to look her displeasure.
"I'm giving you a golden opportunity here," Nathan continued. "One you should seriously consider. One I won't repeat."
"Why?" Audrey asked. "Why her?"
"She's special."
"To you or to someone else?"
Nathan stopped as if considering how much to say.
"Her family misses her."
"Okay," Audrey said after a lengthy pause. "Suppose I do tell you where you can find her. Why should I believe you? You're a liar, Nathan."
"I promise you…"
"Is that the same promise you made Simone Deveaux last year?" Audrey interrupted. "'Tell me where Claire Bennet is and Isaac Mendez can walk free?' Was that it? You must really be desperate if you're willing to let them all go this time."
"Simone was a poor choice. Couldn't be trusted. Mistakes are sometimes made when you are forging a new nation."
"Mistakes? Isaac is dead," she said bluntly. "And where is Simone? Locked up indefinitely for being a, what is that term again?"
"Enemy of the Order," Nathan provided.
"That's the one," Audrey returned. "It's hard to keep track nowadays."
"I'm disappointed in you," he said quietly through the icy silence. "I thought you could be reasoned with. I thought you'd want to help your country."
"My country died three years ago."
"Fine," Nathan said, pacing the room and obviously disgruntled. "We are going to find them. We know that right now they are on the run because of false information you gave them tonight. We might not know exactly where they are heading, but that doesn't matter. We've got the manpower and means to stop them and I guarantee you, the only one of them walking away from this now with be Claire Bennet."