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: Again, thank you all for your reviews. I'm still not getting notifications, but I'm too lazy to complain. Thanks again Tripp3235! Also, I'm revising a few of the previous chapters. Nothing major, just a few errors I've caught along the way. Thanks again and Happy New Year!

Chapter 22: Pushed

"Parkman. Sorry if I kept you waiting."

Matt looked up at Nathan and tried to restrain himself from rolling his eyes, just tried to keep himself from passing out again.

He'd been woken up that morning by two men dragging him out of bed and so far, that had been the best part of his day.

Matt had slept heavier than normal and hadn't heard them enter the cell; no one had. He'd had no intention of putting up a fight; Matt knew there was no point in it. And the guards, now relatively sure that Matt couldn't rip their arms off with any type of abnormal strength or burn holes in them with his eyes, certain now he was almost human, weren't being as cautious as they'd once been.

It was their mistake, their mistake to discount Audrey.

Audrey had been an FBI agent, still extremely well trained in self defense and already on edge. By sneaking up on him they'd inadvertently snuck up on her as well and her instincts had naturally kicked in.

Before Matt even knew what was happening, almost as soon as he'd hit the floor, one of the guards was already bleeding profusely from his nose and shouting angrily at the two others to grab her. That done, the man seemed to forget all about Matt still on the floor and Mohinder still in his bed, making a beeline for Audrey instead.

"You stupid bitch," he said as he got right in her face, slapping her hard. "I think she broke my nose."

And for a split second there was absolute silence.

Then Matt snapped.

He jumped to his feet, ran straight for the guard and tackled him against the wall with as much force as he could manage. Matt didn't need any type of super powers for that being a just over six feet tall and having at least thirty pounds on the other man; that was the only advantage he needed.

Mohinder was only a split second behind him, not willing to stand by. One of the two guards holding back Audrey had tried to pull Matt off the guard with the broken nose who had started this altercation. Mohinder was able to get his arm around his neck and wrench him to the ground, holding him in place more or less.

Audrey was also now fighting back harder than before. She was out matched physically by the man who held her arms behind her, but she still had a few tricks to try. Starting first by scrapping her heel down the man's shin and stomping as hard as she could on his toes. It was a rudimentary self defense tactic that paid off as the man momentarily let go of her either out of shock or annoyance. As he started to double over Audrey elbowed him sharply in the face, breaking her second nose of the morning.

"Matt," Mohinder yelled as loud as he dared. "Matt!"

But by then it was too late.

Four more men had rushed into the room having heard the commotion from down the hall.

Mohinder got up and moved away quickly but still got punched in the stomach for his trouble before he was pushed face first into the wall, handcuffed and sat down in the corner.

Audrey was next. Seeing they were outnumbered, she also surrendered easily but was roughed up much the same as Mohinder had been before ending up beside him on the ground.

Matt was last and showed no sign of stopping. In fact, he showed no signs that he'd even realized that there were other men now in the room with them. He'd thrown off the first two men that had tried to pull him off the guard whom he was still punching until finally they started to hit him with their clubs.

He fought hard, but it wasn't enough. Matt was probably in the best shape he'd been in for years, owed largely to the fact that Niki had pretty much demanded that everyone work out regularly and practice her brand of self defense, but he was hardly a match against four men.

Still, he didn't show any sign of backing down until Audrey started to scream at him both out loud and in her head to stop.

It brought him back round, back to himself. Matt reluctantly put his hands up and complied when they told him to put up his hands and get on his knees.

Two more men had entered the room now, both armed and Audrey's eyes had gone wide with fear, certain they were going to kill him right then and there.

Instead one man moved in hesitantly and handcuffed Matt. Once that was done another pulled him to his feet and pushed him towards the door.

Audrey and Mohinder were left to wonder what was happening, still handcuffed and locked away in the cell, as Matt was taken away from them again.

Matt had walked a good twenty feet down the hallway before he was shoved into the nearest wall and two or three men began to hit and kick. At some point he gratefully lost consciousness and when he woke up he was back in the interrogation room, slumped up against the wall.

That's when Nathan arrived.

"What's the matter?" he asked, leaning over condescendingly to meet him eye-to-eye. "You don't look well."

Matt blinked heavily a few times.

"Still get those headaches?" Nathan continued. "If I recall, they used to be pretty bad. Are they still?"

Matt started to say something in return but ended up coughing violently instead.

Nathan took a small step back to avoid getting blood on his shoes but otherwise acted as if they were having a perfectly normal conversation.

"You know," he went on, "you really should be more careful. As I understand it you took a nasty spill down the stairs. I really had wanted to have a little talk with you, but I guess I can be content with you listening."

"I already know," Matt managed to spit out at him.

Nathan's brow lifted in surprise.

"Well, that saves me the trouble. Who told you?"

Matt shook his head at him to signal that he wasn't going to say.

"Doesn't matter," Nathan returned. "Nothing much will after Friday, right?"

He didn't answer. Matt's only response was to lean his head back against the wall and shut his eyes tight.

"Why are you doing this?" Matt finally said after a lengthy pause.

"You know why," Nathan shot back, for the first time sounding angry.

"No," Matt said, shaking his head slowly. "I don't know. I can't… Is this what he'd want? Is it? What would Peter say about this?"

Nathan froze and glared down at the other man.

"Go ahead and hit me," Matt taunted, knowing what the other man wanted to do. "Kill me. It's not going to bring him back. It's not going to change anything."

"Shut up."

"Really, what's it going to accomplish? Killing me? Right now you'd be doing me a favor."

He didn't answer. Instead Nathan began to pace.

"Why wait, Nathan?" Matt persisted. "Why not just get it over with? I know you want to. It's not like you have anyone to answer to anymore, do you? Let's just end this now. You win. I can't hurt you, I can't stop you. Do it already."

Nathan clenched his jaw and stood perfectly still as if suddenly rooted to the spot. After a moment, he'd recovered.

"I know what you're doing, Parkman. I know what you're trying to do. The waiting, it's brutal isn't it? Not knowing. You're not used to that, are you? You're used to having that advantage and now it's gone."

It was Matt's turn to glare at him in silence.

"No," Nathan said shaking his head. "I'm not falling for it. I can wait until Friday. I've waited this long, haven't I? You can wait too. By yourself. No more shared cell with your friends. We'll see how you like that. Next time you see them will be at the gallows. First Suresh and then Hanson. You can go last. You can watch."

With great effort Matt fought down any response he might have. He didn't want to give Nathan the satisfaction.

"Should be interesting for you," Nathan said as he headed for the door. "I'll make sure you're close enough to hear her last thoughts. Who knows, you might find some comfort in that, however brief."

"He'd be ashamed of you," Matt had to say. "You know it too."

Nathan turned back towards him briefly.

"We'll never know what he'd be, will we?"

"He was a better man than you."

Nathan swallowed hard, just barely containing his rage.

"Yes, that's true. Peter was a saint."

He didn't stay in the room any longer. He couldn't. Parkman was getting under his skin; he knew which buttons to push and it was infuriating.

A moment longer might be just enough to break Nathan's resolve causing him to end it then and there, which was exactly what he had wanted.

But Nathan wanted him to suffer.

A quick death wasn't good enough.

Nathan stalked down the hall and off towards his office. A few minutes later he breezed past his secretary, ignoring the fact that she'd started to say something, and went straight inside.

"I've been here half an hour," Heidi said as soon as the door was shut. "Where have you been?"

"Running a country," Nathan remarked as he took his usual seat behind his desk.

"You're really going to do it, aren't you? Kill them? All of them?"

Her voice was cold, but Nathan ignored that the same way he ignored most things these days.

"They're a menace," he said, head bent over the paperwork he pulled towards him as she'd begun to speak.

"They were your friends."

Nathan didn't answer her, just continued to pour through the pages he'd amassed.

"And what about the girl? When you find her, are you really just going to…"

"I have no choice," Nathan erupted.

"Yes you do," Heidi fired back. "You're the only one left who does have a choice."

"The only reason the Republic hasn't waltzed up here and taken over is because I continue to work with them. I've been trying to give them what they want. If the Republic wants Claire Bennet then I'm going to deliver her to them."

"Don't you mean if Primatech wants her?"

"Primatech. The Republic. It's all the same now," Nathan answered, calmer now.

"Do you even care what they'll do to her?" Heidi continued to ask.

"No."

"What happened to you?"

"Not now Heidi."

"Then when? When are we going to talk? Really talk Nathan."

"This does not concern you."

"Yes it does," she argued. "They're using you. They're using you to get what they want."

"We've made a deal," he said through gritted teeth. "I don't expect you to understand…"

"I'm not stupid, Nathan."

"Then stop acting like you are. You know as well as I do that Primatech has technology that we need. If we are ever going to stop these abnormalities, control them, we need Primatech's help. Handing over Claire Bennet is the only way they are going to supply us with what we need."

"And what's next?" Heidi asked. "What will they want next? Who? How many? Don't kid yourself, they haven't waltzed up here and taken over because they don't want to. It's not out of some allegiance they have towards you. You're one of them, remember? One of the abnormalities."

Nathan slammed his hands down on the desk before rising to his feet.

"Sir," a voice said following a light knock on the door that was just sliding open.

"What is it Sullivan?" Nathan asked.

"Sorry for interrupting but I thought you'd want to know right away."

"Then tell me right away."

"Yes," he said, shifting nervously and trying to ignore the hurt look on Mrs. Petrelli's face. "We just heard from our Bravo team. In New York. They've found the colony."

"And?"

"They have it under surveillance but so far haven't…"

"Tell them I want Claire Bennet captured and brought back here in under twenty-four hours."

"But…"

Nathan stopped the man with a single look.

"Yes, sir," Sullivan said obediently, making a hasty exit.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Heidi said with unmasked bitterness.

Nathan sat back down behind his desk, once more pulling his papers to him.

"I do," he said quietly, unable to look at her anymore.