Claire Bennet

Petrelli Mansion, New York

The massive house stood empty, still bearing slight scars from Peter's fight with Legion, God knew how long ago. Claire cursed herself; she'd decided that Heidi had to be here, and now she wasn't. Gavin seemed bored by the whole thing; Claire thought he was being ridiculous over the scuffle with the soldiers last night.

"Well?" he asked.

Claire shrugged. "She must have left," she said, watching Gavin roll his eyes.

"Of course she left! She's married to one of the most powerful mutants in the free world! You don't think they plan on letting her just walk away, do you? Hell no! She's a valuable playing piece! Imagine if, say, Lex Luthor kidnapped Lois Lane. Superman would more than likely kill him trying to get her back. They plan on using her to draw out Nathan and Peter.

"You know, if you have a better idea, than I'd like to hear it!"

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Gavin shouted. "There's nothing left here for either of us! We need to get somewhere where there aren't soldiers who want to kill us!"

"Like Kansas?" Claire asked. She knew what he was trying to do, but couldn't help fighting back. This was her plan, and it failed. Her pride was injured, and he was just trying to find a safe place to lay his head at night. "That's all you think about, is getting back to Kansas. I don't know I even brought you here." She threw her hands up and stormed off.

A few minutes later, Gavin joined her, with a slight grin on his face. "This was a good idea, it just didn't pan out. Now we need something new." His eyebrows went up. "We need to get out of New York; I don't care where, just not here."

Claire nodded, finally giving up on the Petrelli family to save her. This was something she had to do on her own. "Then let's get a move on it; there's a lot of state to cover." They headed east through the city.

Matt Parkman

Hart Center, Seattle, Washington

He burst through the front doors, looking wild. His mind reached out, touching everyone in the building's mind, frantic for Molly. He found her, up on the thirtieth floor, along with Hiro Nakamura.

It was about time the fortunes changed. Now they could head to New York and take back the city. Matt speed towards the elevator, cutting off a number of people before bursting into the small room. I'm coming, Molly, he sent to her.

I know, he heard her think back at him.

Matt laid a hand on the butt of his gun. He didn't know if Armstrong reached this facility or just if he stayed in the New York offices, but he was ready if someone made a move to stop him. The Senator's men were worse than the supped-up loonies he dealt with, much worse, because they were sanctioned by the US government. He slid his gun out of the holster and held it behind his back, thinking only of rescuing Molly and getting her to Hiro. He could get her out of here a lot faster than Matt ever could.

Unless they got Hiro already. Damn it! Matt slammed his fist into the elevator walls. There was too much doubt now. Who could he trust? He started to pace. Where the hell was Nathan, anyway? He was supposed to keep this crap from happening. Or Peter. That little brat could do so much if only he'd just show his cowardly face.

The doors slid open, and he made to bring his gun up, until her eyes settled on him; her piercing green eyes. If there was anyone left in the world he could trust, it would be Heidi Petrelli. "Agent Parkman," she said, sounding rather distant, like Nathan did when it came to business. "I'd like to say that it's good to see you're finally reporting for duty, but I don't think that's why you're here, is it? She looked down at the gun.

Matt quickly tucked the gun back in his holster. "I'm sorry; I didn't know if I could trust anyone here."

"Don't loose the edge; you still don't," she said cryptically, then walked away. Matt followed her into Mohinder's office, where the young technopath typed furiously into the computer. She shut the door and sighed. "I take it you're against Senator Armstrong's movements against the mutant community in New York."

Matt nodded. "I came to get Molly before they found out about her. If they got their hands on her, who knows what they could do?"

"Well, she's safe with Mohinder," Heidi said. She motioned out the window to the bullpen. "I'm taking over Nathan's work, as he's believed to be dead. Peter, too." That answered those questions. He watched the woman closely, and she again motioned for him to look out the window. He saw a number of heads pop up from their computer screens.

"They've been notified, Mrs. Petrelli," Viral said, spooking Matt.

One by one, the agents notified came into the office. Heidi introduced them as they came in. Ortega, Ridge, Frost, Tisdale, and Roark. While he'd heard of Frost and Tisdale, Matt never heard of Kelly Roark.

She smiled at Matt, giving her the look of a schoolgirl in heat. He tried to peek into her mind, and found a little song playing over and over again.

Heidi put a hand on Matt's shoulder, drawing his attention away from Kelly. "These are the only people left in the Agency I know we can trust. All of them were in my husbands personal files, and that has to mean something, doesn't it?"

Matt nodded, even though he was listening to I'm a Little Teapot in Kelly's head. Something smelled funny here, and it wasn't the political bull that the place usually stank of. He reached out and touched Ridge's mind. Who is she?
She's not one of us, Ridge thought. She's here to report to Armstrong. Mrs. Petrelli thought it would be good to pretend to play ball with her.

"We have plans in New York, and now, you're going to takeover the operations," Heidi said. "Nathan said a lot of good things about you, Parkman. Don't make me regret this."

The Agents dispersed, leaving only Heidi, Viral, and Matt. "You can't seriously think that she won't tell Armstrong about all this."

"Oh, I don't," the woman said, coldly. "I expect her to. That's why I've been feeding her faulty information. Every once in a while, she gets the truth, like you heading operations for me. However, as of yet, we have no plans of actions other than protests. They want us to do something stupid, so Armstrong can more here as well. I don't think so."

"I take it your using Molly to track Armstrong?" Matt asked.

Heidi nodded. "Among other things, yes. I did ask her to search for Nathan, but I really don't expect her to find time between everything we're having her do or her own free time." Matt thought he saw tears leaking out the corner of her eyes, and she turned away. "I'll thank you in advance for staying out of my head."

"Yes, ma'am," Matt said, and he meant it. As long as they didn't endanger Molly, he would honor her wishes. The moment Molly is put in danger, Heidi's mind becomes his new playground.

Elle Bishop

San Ribero

After the storm, Smokey flew them to the island, where Elle was now fighting with Vann over their allegiance. "We followed Michael, not you!" she spat at the one who called himself a Seraph. "He told us to join with Peter Petrelli! Besides, we know it was you who set up that attack that stole him away from us!"

"How dare you?" he asked, seething. "I set you free from the Company when no one else would, you ungrateful little…" He brought his hand up to hit her, but was interrupted by a telekinetic shove. Elle spun around and saw Peter.

"Didn't your mother every teach you not to hit a woman?" Peter asked. Elle smiled at him. he was growing in leaps and bounds, motivated by the loss of his brother. Alphonse had already accepted him to the little group on San Ribero.

Vann forced down his anger. "I'm sorry, Elle. My temper got the better of me." He pushed himself up, and stormed off. All three of them knew who Alphonse would side with in a fight, and Vann didn't want to take on the both of them.

Elle nodded to Peter, as was custom on the island. He was Seraph and she was just an Other, but she couldn't help the small tugs in her heart when he smiled at her like he did now. "I never would have thought that you would attack him in defense of me," she said.

"You remind of someone," Pete said, his eyes fading, "and she reminds me of Nathan."

Uh, the cheerleader again, little miss pom-poms. Elle could die happy if she never heard of Claire again in her life.

Pete came back with a start. "Where's Smokey and Kate? I haven't seen them around the last couple of days."

"I sent them to look for Wyrm and Will," Elle said. "If it's bothering you so much, why don't you go find Claire?" She thought it would cheer him up, but it only further depressed him.

"I'm not ready to be on my own, yet," he said, with down cast eyes.

He must think that it made her think less of him, but he didn't realize that nothing ever could. She pushed his chin up and looked him in the eyes. "I'll go with you, if you really want to." It was more than she ever really wanted to offer, but Claire was his niece, and he was the only family she had left. She should be with him.

"Alphonse wouldn't let me," Peter said. "I've already asked."

Peter sulked off, leaving Elle alone to her thoughts. Never before in her life had she wanted to do something for someone just because she liked them. Even with Michael, it was only because he brought her out of the Company, so long ago. She took a seat in the small room, waiting for Kate and Smokey to report back, and thinking about Peter and the future.

Will Stone

For a week now, Will wandered the island alone, looking for any sign of Wyrm. The place was deserted. He tried to use his powers, but they didn't seem to work here.

Before, Will went around the island; that's how he found out it was an island; and it took this long just to get around it. That morning, he turned inland. Now, it was noon, and found himself in a small clump of buildings. He pushed open the big iron doors of the largest building, and stepped inside.

It smelled of sour, rotting meat and the buzz of flies was thick in here. He gagged and put his hand over his nose and mouth, using his shirt as a barrier against the stench. Moving from one hallway to another, he found himself in a long hallway filled with jail cells.

At the far end of the hall was a drunk tank, and there were shadows on the wall; moving shadows. Will made his way down slowly, trying not to think about what would live so freely among the rotting smell and flies.

He was about to reach the door when it burst open and fiery haired man lunged at him. Will's first instinct was to throw his hands up and send a sound wave at him, but the man was on him before he could do anything.

The man stopped attacking when he saw what Will was. "How did you get passed them?"

Will looked back. There was nothing down there. "I didn't see anyone."

"They must have went hunting," he said, and for the first time, Will saw sanity in his eyes. The crazed man was wild with fear about something. He had a shag of crimson hair that circled his face with the addition of a thick, short beard. Over his right eye, he bore an eye-patch. "Come on, there will be time to talk later."

He grabbed Will by the arm and dragged him towards the front of the building. "At least tell me your name!" Will shouted, being forced through doors into what looked like an abandoned courthouse.

"They call me Emil Blonsky," he said, slamming the door behind him. As he did, Will heard growls on the other side. Something slammed into the door, and both of them jumped. "Little buggers are sneaky; quick and sneaky."

Will looked around the room at the rows of seats before a judges pedestal, or whatever they call them. His mind wandered. Emil Blonsky. I've heard that name before, but where?

"I'd ask how you got here, but I take it was forced on you by a large man with W's tattooed on his forearms." Will nodded. "Then there's little to talk about, other than how the hell do we get away from here. Oh," he threw in as an afterthought, "your name is?"

"Will Stone."

Emil stuck his hand out and Will shook it. "I suppose it's a pleasure to meet you."

There was another thump outside the door, but Emil didn't seem to mind. He was looking for a place to lie down.

"I got here two days after the storm," Emil said, lying down between two of the rows of chairs. "When did you get here?"

"The night of," Will said.

"Damn!" Emil said. "Do I feel sorry for you? I guess I have news for you, then, about what's going on outside this nightmare." His head popped up over the benches. "They turned New York into a military state. They're rounding up all the mutants, looking for the culprit."

Will's mind shot to Gavin and Teagan. Mackenzie was safe, that was the only good thing. "Anything else?"

"Nah," he said, lying back down. "That's the only bit of news I carry. Maybe someone else will bring more news, God forbid anyone else comes here."

Will picked out a spot between the rows of chairs and laid down. This was going to be Hell.

Claire Bennet

New York

They moved closer to the Lincoln tunnel, hoping that the soldiers would leave or something so that they could get passed. It was hard enough getting out of the state, with out having to deal with this at the end of every city. Gavin looked at the lights, intently.

"Can you do anything?" Claire asked, knowing better.

Gavin shook his head. "It's too bright, and there's not enough darkness for me to cover each of those spotlights."

Claire felt her hope slipping away. Again, they were cut off from help. Then, she was yanked back into the alley. "What the hell?"

He didn't have to answer, as a car slid past them. Claire stuck her head out, watching as the car slowed at the entrance to the tunnel. She saw the driver stick his head out of his window, talking with a soldier. Then, the car left and the soldier said something over the radio.

"What do you think that's about?" Claire asked, but again, she didn't need an answer. At that moment, she heard the rotor of a helicopter approaching. Light cut through the failing night as they threw on their spotlight. A number of armed soldiers started moving towards trucks.

"Um, Claire?" Gavin said, a little fearfully. She turned, seeing Gavin's eyes opened wide. Moving her eyes, she spotted the gun to the back of his head, leading all the way up a fatigued arm and eventually to a soldier.

"Claire Bennet?" the soldier said a little confused. Then he smiled. "Ms. Bennet, I'm afraid you're going to have to come with us. If you don't, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to spread this young man's brains all over the ground."