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: Thank you Tripp3235! Thank you readers! Thank you reviewers!

Chapter 12: Inside

Jenny Yi joined the two technicians in the monitor room. It was a small room with several television sets, but only two were currently being watched. Jenny didn't care about either right now; she was exhausted and a little queasy. She'd never used her power this much before and wasn't positive she could keep it up.

"What happened in there? Why isn't this working?"

"I don't know," she admitted, collapsing into the nearest chair.

"Jenny, he wants results. He wants them now."

"I know that, Taylor," she shot back. "But what am I supposed to do? I can't pull it out of her head. I can only make her see…"

"Try again," the other man interrupted. "You're already on thin ice around here."

"Mac's right," Taylor said. "You can't afford this, Jenny. Not after the last guy they brought in to see you."

"I keep telling you it's not that easy," she argued, but with a lot less enthusiasm. She'd been through this too many times before. They just didn't understand. "I can only make her see it, I can't make her believe it. She doesn't want to think her friend sold her out; she's just not buying it.

"Why not try again," Taylor asked.

"Because she might crack," Jenny answered. "I don't know what will happen if I keep forcing these images into her head. I've never worked on someone so long."

"So," Mackenzie said. "Who cares if it does?"

"I don't know what it will do to me either," Jenny returned angrily.

"What about him?" Taylor asked, trying to turn the conversation, pointing to the other monitor that showed the Indian man pacing the room. "Why don't you try him?"

"It'll be the exact same thing," Jenny said. "He won't want to believe the betrayal anymore than she did."

The two men looked uneasily at one another before turning their attention back to the monitors.

Mohinder was still pacing, shaking his head as if trying to clear it.

Audrey was still sitting, handcuffed and resting her head in her hands.

"Maybe we just need a different approach," Mac said.

"You want to try?" Jenny asked back sarcastically.

"Don't be smart," he shot back at her. "I meant, instead of trying to tell them something they don't want to hear, tell them something they do."

"Like what?"

"That's your job," he answered her. "Remember. It's the reason you're still around."

"I'll try him," Jenny said reluctantly getting to her feet, "but not her. Not her. I'm not going to be responsible for destroying someone."

"You have to think of the big picture, Jenny," Taylor gently admonished. "It doesn't matter how we do it, but we have to find that girl. We need her. The Order needs her."

"I know," she said solemnly before making her way back to the interrogation room.

She stood outside the door for a moment, preparing herself. Sensing the man on the other side; feeling her way through his memories to find a face to use.

Jenny braced herself.

She found what she needed.

Mohinder Suresh continued to walk about the room uneasily.

He'd been picked up the day before and he knew why. They were on to him. They had to know he was still helping his old friends. What he couldn't figure is why they hadn't just come out and demanded he tell them everything. A few men had come and questioned him, but nothing too serious. It was true he had some support; Mohinder wasn't so friendless in the world that the Order could just lock him away, but it was dwindling. His friends in India could only do so much.

Glaring up at the camera in the corner of the room, he decided enough was enough.

"You can't keep me here forever," he called up to it. "I demand to know what I've been charged with."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the door opened and for a moment Mohinder thought he might pass out.

"How…" he started to say, grasping the chair for support.

"I can explain."

"Explain?" Mohinder returned, almost unable to speak at all. "You're… we thought… Peter…"

"I know," Peter said with a short nod. "Just, have a seat and I can explain all of this."

Mohinder blinked several times, feeling a bit dizzy, but realized it was probably just the shock of it all. The shock of seeing a man, a friend, who you thought was dead suddenly standing before you as if nothing had ever happened.

It was unreal.

But he did it. Mohinder sat down again, staring hard and giving his head a shake. Unintentionally a smile came across him as Peter sat as well. A smile Peter just barely returned.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Peter started, "but you have to understand how important it was that you, that everyone thought I had died."

"Why? Why not tell us? Tell someone? Matt and Claire, you don't know what this did to them. What it did to all of us."

"It was Nathan's idea," Peter continued to explain. "He wanted to protect me…"

"But Nathan…" Mohinder said, bringing his voice down to a whisper as he remembered where they were. "Nathan is hunting them down. All of them. He doesn't…"

"Yes," Peter urged. "He does. He's trying to protect them too, but he just can't…"

"No, Peter, you're wrong. Your brother…"

"Do you know what Primatech is?" Peter asked pointblank.

"Of course," Mohinder answered. "Primatech was the front for Bennet, those genetic experiments. They were tracking all of you down before…"

"Now they run the Republic of Texas," Peter said blankly.

Mohinder didn't know how to respond to that.

"Nathan faked my death in order to protect me. You know the type of experiments they do, right? That they were looking for ways to genetically engineer people. They were looking for ways to stop us, change us. Use us. Once they figured out what I could do…"

"They wanted you, too," Mohinder finished.

Peter leaned back a bit in his chair and gave him a crisp nod.

"So, why then is Nathan tracking down Claire and Matt? Wouldn't it be easier to just come out and tell them…."

"Tell them how? No one can find them," Peter answered. "We didn't even know they were alive, that they'd survived, until a few years ago. I wanted to tell them, I did..."

"Then why didn't you?" Mohinder said disapprovingly. "When you knew they were alive, you could have."

"No," Peter said shaking his head vehemently. "No. You don't get it. Nathan has been trying to track them down through the Order to keep them safe. To keep them out of Primatech and the Republic's hands, but he can't just come out and say that. The Republic is stronger than we are. They have people here, spying on us. They could wipe us out if they wanted to. They have technology you can't imagine; we can't even keep the lights on all the time."

"It's a cover. The wanted lists, the pursuit. It's all a cover?"

"Yes," Peter said enthusiastically. "It's a cover. All of it. But we're running out of time. They want Claire. You know what she can do. If they get a hold of her first and find a way to duplicate her power, they could engineer super soldiers. They could become nearly immortal."

Mohinder couldn't think straight. It all felt like it might be a bad dream. Peter alive. Nathan really trying to help them. The Republic. Primatech. It was confusing. It was making his head spin.

"We have to get to her first," Peter urged. "It's vital. We have to know where she is, Mohinder. Tell me where she is."

"I don't know," he said flatly.

"Please, Mohinder. It's important that we know. We have to protect her."

Mohinder considered it. Was really trying to make heads of it all, when something suddenly occurred to him.

"What about Isaac?" he asked. "What about what happened to Isaac? Why…"

"An unfortunate accident, nothing more," Peter said calmly. "You don't think…"

"Who are you?"

Peter paused for a moment as Mohinder continued to stare across the table at him.

"Tell me where she is," he finally said.

"Tell me who you are," Mohinder countered. "I know you're not really Peter."

Both men got to their feet at the same time. Peter slowly began to back his way to the door.

Mohinder, determined to find out exactly what was going on made a mad lunge in his direction without making much progress.

For a split second Peter was gone and in his place was a frightened-looking young woman, backed into a corner. The change was hard to explain, but as it happened the entire room had gone blurry. It was like watching an image through water; it was like a mirage.

It was horrible.

Watching the change made him sick, physically sick. Mohinder's knees buckled and his head swam. It was like walking off a cliff without realizing.

When he looked up again, both the woman and Peter were both gone and in their place was his father.

"No," Mohinder yelled. "I don't believe this. It isn't… how are you doing this? What did you do to me?"

Another wave of nausea passed over him and the woman was back. This time she was sitting in the corner, crying and shaking her head. Mohinder was still too weak to get to move.

It was then that two men in white coats rushed in and pulled the woman to her feet, practically dragging her away.

Mohinder couldn't do anything, couldn't even speak.

Before the door was shut on him again, he heard the woman say, "He fought too hard."

Taylor and Mackenzie deposited Jenny in the nearest chair available back at the monitor room.

"What happened in there?" Mac barked.

"I told you," Jenny gasped, still feeling sick. "He fought me. He knew it wasn't real. It's hallucination, not hypnotism. Part of them always knows it's fake. They either want to believe it enough or they don't. I can't…"

"It doesn't matter," Taylor cut in. "Forget Suresh."

"But, I didn't find out," Jenny said fearfully. Suddenly afraid she had reached the end of her usefulness within the Order. "I can. Give me another chance at him. Or the woman. Either, I don't care. I just need some time to rest, to get back my strength. I'm sure…"

"You'll get another chance," Mac said pointing to a newly activated monitor.

Jenny was still shaky, but managed to get up and take a look for herself.

There he was, one of the Orders most wanted, sitting in the interrogation room; handcuffed and staring straight ahead at nothing.

"I thought he escaped."

"Our guys caught him. Didn't say how," Mac answered. "Doesn't matter."

"Mr. Petrelli is on his way now to talk to him," Taylor added.

"Do you think he'll talk?" Jenny asked, curious.

Both men hesitated. They didn't want to say what was true. That it was very unlikely that Nathan Petrelli or anyone would be able to get Parkman to admit to knowing where Claire Bennet was; to get him to admit to knowing who she was might even be impossible. They all knew what he was capable of. He was one of the few whose powers were well documented. There wouldn't be a way of lying to him, not well at least.

"Of course he will," Mac finally said with an abundance of overconfidence. "What choice does he have?"

"As much choice as Suresh and Hanson have," Jenny pointed out.

"Are you saying…"

"I'm saying," Jenny interrupted forcefully, "that he's expecting this. He's got to be. Hanson was. So was Suresh. We need to go after him in a way he won't see coming. We've been too direct about it."

Taylor and Mac were positively staring at her now. Jenny wasn't sounding like herself. And truthfully, she didn't feel like herself much either. It was as if something had clicked inside her. As if she suddenly understood how to best use her gift.

"I've got an idea."