Nathan Petrelli

Petrelli Mansion, New York

Nathan looked around the room at the faces of what he now considered his Prometheus Council. Hiro Nakamura said that he'd been to the future and had evidence as what Prometheus would do the world. Matt Parkman and Hector Ortega had been to the Nome Facility and brought back copies of several of their programs, such as the All-Gift, which included Nathan's own brother for four months. Bartholomew Ridge was injured defending Molly Parker from one of the cast-off's of one of their programs. Peter, who was in the program, wasn't here, but thanks to Parkman, he had a new ace up his sleeve. He grinned, just thinking about it.

"Well," he said to the gathered group of people. "We should probably get started simply sharing the knowledge we have on the Group. We know they have a facility in Bucharest. We know that they're killing off people who work or worked for the Company. We know that they eventually start a war that will lead to the end to the end of the world as we know it."

Hiro looked around. "Where is Peter Petrelli?" he asked, leading the others to look around for him. Puzzled faces looked back at Nathan.

"He should be here," Hector said. "He was in the files. Hell, he was in one of their programs."

"So was Claire, but she's isn't here either," Matt said, covering for Nathan. He was the only one of them who knew who they had waiting in one of the backrooms.

Nathan nodded. "Peter is dangerous to himself, not by purpose, but by design. His ability could go off at any minute, and all of us know what would happen if he lost control. He's too sensitive."

"He's the strongest person we know," Ridge said. "Without him, what chance do we stand against this bloke, Legion?"

Nathan nodded. "Nobody's arguing Peter's strength. He is an asset, but we have others, many others. Plus, we will have the element of surprise and knowledge, not to mention numbers. If he's in Bucharest, we will take him out…"

He heard the front door open, and his first thought was that his ace backed out. Then it leapt to a thousand other possibilities. Heidi brought the kids home early; the Agency found about his ace; the Agency found out about Prometheus and their little meeting and we're crashing it.

What he didn't expect was Peter, and that's who came walking in with a smirk on his face. He took a seat next to Hiro and starred at Nathan. "What are you doing here?" he asked his brother.

Peter smiled. "Doing what Mom told us to do, helping to fight Prometheus. I've been there, I know what tricks they have. You need me, Nathan. Accept it."

"That's where you wrong, Pete," Nathan said, killing Peter's smile. "We have someone who knows a little bit better than you what they're capable of." He opened the back door and let his ace into the room. Tension filled the room as his ace came in, with shackles on his wrists and ankles. Parkman went for his gun.

"Sylar," Peter whispered to himself in disgust.

"Nice to see you again, Peter," the killer known as Sylar said, grinning.

"Have you lost your mind?" Ridge asked. "You can't trust him, Nathan. He tried to kill us, on more than one occasion. You've gone nuts, man! It's the only reason I can see you doing this!"

Nathan put his hands up to call order to the meeting. "Peter stayed in a cell for four months at Prometheus; Sylar worked for them on the outside. You tell me, who would you rather get information from?"

Everyone of them said the same thing; Peter. "He hasn't tried to kill us, Nathan, or did you miss that on your up-close encounter with your colon?" Hector said. "Boss, this just isn't right, and you know it. This man is a killer and a sociopath. He's only looking out for himself."

"Sylar's in it for real," Matt whispered. Everybody heard him. They knew that strained look on his face. He read the killer's mind, and he knew that Sylar wanted to destroy Prometheus as much as anybody else in the room.

After that, everybody seemed to calm down a little, except Peter. He glared at his brother. "You'd rather have him at your side," Pete said. "Fine, you and you're little company can run off to Hell with this killer."

He stormed out, leaving the meeting, as Nathan had hoped. He hated to hurt his brother like this, but it had to be done. It was the best thing for him. Pete couldn't over-tax himself, or he could very well loose control of his abilities again, and this time, Nathan didn't know if he could help.

Elle Bishop

Bucharest, Romania

Vann stood before them like a general before his troops. "You all know the drill. Only this time, it's a fight we can't afford to lose. This time, it's for the big enchilada. They're going to come over here and enter a fight that can't win. That's where we come in. We're going to help them now, so we can win later."

Elle looked over at Michael. He didn't seem to be listening to Vann, for the first time ever. Michael loved Vann, and took in every word he says. For the first time in his life, Michael was disillusioned about his mentor. It was written ever line of his face. He didn't believe Vann.

Adam Munroe

The Facility, Bucharest, Romania

Legion sat before Adam's desk, looking like a scolded little boy in the principal's office. Good, that's how he wanted him to feel. "This feud you have with Peter has got to end. I know it was us who sent you after him in the first place, but that stunt in Seattle looks bad to the head people. This can't go on."

Legion's head lowered further.

"That is why you're going to fly to New York, find him, and end it, one way or another. Don't come back until you do. If you die in your little chase, so be it." Adam turned away. "Now get out."

When he heard the door close, Adam smiled. He hoped Legion would arrive in time to stall the other Petrelli brother long enough for him to truly prepare the Facility for battle. There were so many things he had to do. Julie was on her way. James was near freak-out level. Lord knows what was going through David's mind, but he seemed eager to finish the Petrelli job.

The only person he trusted was Kyoko, the little Japanese minx who would help him end his own little feud with Hiro Nakamura. Four hundred years, he waited for Carp to show his face again, and now, finally he had his chance. He took so much pleasure ending Kaito's life, he wondered what it would be like to end an entire family line. Perhaps he should go after Hiro's sister before he finally faced off with Hiro.

No, there wasn't time. Hiro was on his way here, or soon would be. Time has always been Adam's side, but he never had the patience. He couldn't put it off any further.

Claire Bennet

Odessa, Texas

For the first time in a long time, Claire logged onto the little Mutant Myspace. She was amazed to find that her friend Shade was on. He sent her a message, almost immediately.

I remember you saying you lived in New York, well, we're almost there!

Claire, puzzled, sent back: What do you mean?

Bing! The message from Shade said: Things got pretty bad on my vacation, now we're going to the Big Apple. Will I see you there?
For a while Claire didn't respond. She didn't know what to do. Back to New York? She smiled. Yeah, I'll be there. We'll talk details later.

Cool, well, got's to go. We're leaving Hershey in a few minutes. Bye!

Claire's smile grew. She was back on her path.

Sylar

Hart Center, New York

They dropped him here. He'd never forget that. He gave them everything they needed on Prometheus, and then they just left him here to rot.

The cell was small, colorless, and smelled of urine. They gave him nothing to occupy his time, other than paint and canvas. They knew what he could do, and they wanted to use it for their own gain.

Maybe it won't be so bad, being helpful, he thought. It was a wild thought, and he didn't know where it came from, but before he knew it, he was stepping towards the canvas with a paint brush in his hands.

When he stepped back, his entire body ached. He must have been at it for hours. When he looked at the canvas, it was blank. What the hell?
He focused, trying to see something in the incredible whiteness of the canvas, but he painted nothing. What had he been doing, then?
Sylar gave up, letting his eyes wander. That's when he saw it.

He'd covered the wall with paint, in a very disturbing image. Two identical people were engaged in a battle to the death. The problem was they were both him.

Peter Petrelli

Peter's Apartment, New York

He stormed into his apartment, wanting to rage and destroy everything he came in contact with. Sylar! He choose Sylar over his own brother! This thought spun around his head like a tornado, and it fuelled his fury. He shot out arcs of electricity, scorching the walls.

Then the door opened and Heidi came in. "What are you doing here?" he growled

"I came to see how things went with Nathan," she said, not in the least intimidated. "I think I can figure it out, though." She motioned to the black marks on his walls.

"He picked Sylar instead of me, Heidi," Pete said, nearly crying. "Why would anyone in their right mind pick a sociopath over their own brother?"

Heidi hugged him, feeling the shoulder of her blouse dampen. He was crying now, shaking with sobs. She shushed him, patting his back in a vain attempt to comfort him. "You know exactly what he is thinking. He is trying to protect you, Pete. It may come out wrong, but his heart is in the right place. You know that, don't you?"

He shook his head. "If that were the case, I never would have exploded."

"What do you mean?" Heidi asked, wondering if she would finally get her answers about that night. She did, and it made her think of the man she'd been living with. He knew what would happen if he stood by, and still he did nothing till the last second. His mother. His damned mother. To think, just the other day, she was singing that wretched woman's praises. She didn't just know about it, she orchestrated it. How could a woman do that to her own child?

"I know what I have to do," he said, stopping his tears. "I have to prove what I could be. I have to go to Bucharest and finish this myself."

"No," Heidi said, trying to hold him back as he went for the window. "That is a very bad idea," she said, but she lost her grip and he flew out the window, off to what very well could be his death. For Nathan, again, she thought, staring after Peter.