(8) Sylar's Gift

Sylar placed the cell phone on the table, then looked up through the side window to see the shoreline along the left edge of the lake. The swan drifted into view while he silently went over his plan again as it all became clear to him.

A moment later, Sylar vanished from home & even from time. He landed a few years past in front of a tiny shack in the middle of nowhere & waited to hear the shattering of breaking ceramic over someone's skull. Sylar froze time. He had to get at his past victim before she died so he could get the power. He walked in & stared at the familiar scene of his younger self, blood on his hands, standing over a red-haired woman lying on the floor, slowly bleeding out from the side of her head.

"After all these years, 'Michelle'," Sylar droned out her fake name. "I finally get your power." He stepped forward & knelt down by Michelle's head. She was in the process of looking up at his younger self & with time now frozen, Sylar easily moved in undetected & touched her bare shoulder, copying the Illusion ability at last. He stood up & turned to his younger self. Even though he knew he wouldn't be heard since time was frozen all around him, he still muttered, "You really are an asshole. You didn't deserve her power back then. Now I need it to save our son." He marched to the door, paused & turned back to glare at his young self still stuck in the moment. "By the way, you didn't copy it because you have the Shanti virus right now. It destroys abilities. I can't get the Shanti again since I have Regen now." He sighed heavily. "You got what you deserved." At that, he unfroze time & teleported out, leaving his young self to his own demented confusions.

Where & when he landed next would be more tricky. He had to make sure his younger version didn't see him but he had to get into the room at the precise nano-second his younger self also didn't have someone else in sight. On top of it all, he had to do this twice.

Sylar entered into the past once more, this time a bit more recently than before. He ended up in the hall just as the door was opening to let Peter & Claire out. Using the Illusion power he had just picked up, he made it look like he wasn't there as Peter & Claire rushed past him to head down stairs. He heard the crashing piano as he turned towards the room just in time to see Nathan come flying in without the use of his power.

Time freeze now!

Sylar could just see part of his younger self descending into the window as he hurried over to Nathan who was just starting to get up from the floor. Sylar put a hand on Nathan's shoulder & popped him out of the time freeze.

Nathan stood up & glared at him. "What, did you seriously take time to change your clothes before coming in here? Just wait until Peter gets you."

"Yeah, about that," Sylar said, pointing towards the window. "I'm not your Sylar." Nathan just glared at him so Sylar used the telekinetic power to forcefully turn Nathan around, only to see the other, younger, Sylar in the process of coming in. He silently enjoyed the grunt of protest as Nathan was whipped around by the force power.

"Time freeze," Nathan said, Sylar released the telekinetic force. Nathan turned back to the Sylar behind him, trying hard to not think of the fact that there were somehow two Sylars here all of a sudden. "You killed Hiro?"

"No," Sylar answered. "It is Hiro's power but I got it off Peter."

"Peter doesn't have Hiro's power," Nathan said.

"He does now," Sylar said.

"I don't know what kind of game you're trying to pull," Nathan shot at him. "But it won't work. We will stop you!"

"No, you won't," Sylar disagreed. "You're going to die here in less than a minute & I will never be stopped."

"Then kill me, if that's what you want!" Nathan dared. "Peter already has a plan to take you down."

"Like I said, it won't work," Sylar reiterated. "Listen to me very carefully. That right there," he pointed at his younger self again. "Is me about four & a half years ago. I came from the future to save you for several reasons but it will cost you about four & a half years. We can't change the perceptions we have of the past. Only the future. I'm going to take your place here." He shifted to look like Nathan for a moment before returning to himself. "I'll be fine. We need you."

"Why would you need me?" Nathan asked. "I would never take your side. What reason would you have to save me?"

"Two," Sylar said. "Claire & Peter." Nathan silently glared, not believing. Sylar went on. "We need you to stop Claire. She, much like you once did, betrayed us. Only, in her case, she went public with her ability instead of trying to confine us underground. She jumped off a Ferris Wheel in front of everyone to show off her power & now America is at war within over people with powers & synthetic powers are being sold to literally everyone. You're the only one who can talk some sense into her."

"What about Peter?"

"That's ..." Sylar held up his hands, looking at the gold band with four tiny diamonds on top. They had never legally married, for who would marry the greatest Villain to the greatest Hero? But they had quietly gone to Maui & exchanged rings while the infant Noah slept in his carry basket. "That's a lot more complicated."

"Try me," Nathan taunted.

"Ok," Sylar let his hands fall. "You know of Matt Parkman's nightmare telepathy, right?"

"Yes, same as his father," Nathan said. "I was stuck in it for a short time when his father trapped me."

"Peter & I got stuck in it for nearly half a day."

Nathan blinked once like an owl. "That would feel like ten or so years!"

Sylar nodded. "Stuff happened & it was still real to us when we broke free. We need to get out of here."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Nathan declared.

"You will die here if you don't," Sylar said. "But I can't let that happen." He clapped a hand on Nathan's shoulder & the next thing Nathan knew, he was standing outside a diner close to Central Park. "I need something from you," Sylar said a moment before he slammed his thoughts rather roughly into Nathan's mind. He sorted through everything before pulling out & vanishing before Nathan's eyes.

Nathan spun around as he heard a woman's voice. A waitress walked up to him. "Are you Nathan?"

"Uh, yes," Nathan replied, looking at her for one moment before glancing around for Sylar.

"Come with me," the waitress said. "I have a table for you & Peter."

"You don't understand," Nathan said. "I was just dropped here by a very dangerous person."

"I was told you would say something like that," said the waitress. "I am to tell you that everything will be explained. Come with me." She led Nathan forward to an outside table & let him sit down. "Peter will be with you, shortly," she said as she walked away.

Nathan kept his eye on her, planning to leave as soon as she disappeared inside. There was no knowing what Sylar was upto now, but Nathan was sure that Peter was not meeting him here. It was more likely Sylar using the Shape-shift ability. Just as she opened the door to go inside, Nathan heard two voices behind him.

"Gabriel, what are you up to now?" Peter was saying.

"I might have done something," Sylar said, grabbing Peter's hands & pulling him closer. "It wasn't Noah keeping me up. I know how much I hurt you in the past. I know you see me killing Nathan when you look at me. You've told me that."

"I'm past that, now," Peter said.

"You still miss him," Sylar said. "I've seen you look at the old photo albums. I truly hate what I've done to you."

Peter sighed, putting a hand up to Sylar's cheek. "I didn't realize how much it's still affecting you. We could try therapy for both of us."

"I can do you one better than that," Sylar said. "Trust me," he added, stepping back so that he was beside Nathan's table & pulling Peter into view. "We can't change the past but the future is not set in stone. So Nathan has to be here & skip a few years."

Peter turned his head to stare at the man sitting at the table. His lips barely formed the name 'Nathan' before suddenly, he collapsed to the ground.

"Whoa! Peter?" Sylar dropped to his knees beside him. He tapped Peter's face.

"He has his scar?" Nathan gasped as he knelt down on the other side. "What did you do?"

"It wasn't me!" Sylar defended. "You can ask him about that later. Let's just get him to wake up."

"He seems almost dead," Nathan said as he shook Peter.

"He has Regen," Sylar said. "He'll be fine. Peter?"

By now, both were poking at Peter, trying to get him to wake up. Peter's eyes slowly fluttered open & he had a clear view of the two most important men in his life. Sylar on one side & strangely, Nathan alive on the other. Both tried to help Peter up.

"Hey!" Nathan shoved Sylar away. "Easy! This is my brother."

Sylar finally lost it on Nathan. Holding up his ringed hand, he snapped, "This is my husband & he is anything but easy." He thoroughly enjoyed the look of shock on Nathan's face. He had originally planned to let Peter fill Nathan in on the past few years, but he no longer cared.

Nathan was now looking like he was about to faint. "Excuse me? Pete? What is going on?"

Peter laughed nervously as he gingerly sat down in the chair. "A lot. But first, how are you here?"

"I went back in time, popped him out & brought him here," Sylar said. He shifted to look like Nathan. "Then I went back again & took his place to keep the timeline straight. I have the Illusion ability to maintain a sight of Nathan's dead body with a cut throat. It was all me & illusions." He shifted back to himself as he reached out & put a hand on Peter's shoulder. "I didn't kill him. It was me that my younger self attacked. I just didn't know it until now. The only thing that's real is Matt pushing Nathan's memories into my younger self. Since I have Matt's nightmarish telepathy, I was able to copy Nathan's memories, go back in time & take his place & then Matt just copied those fresh memories over to my younger self."

Peter was still staring in a daze at Nathan standing in front of him. "Gabriel!"

"I didn't kill him," Sylar repeated. "I'm just sorry I took so long to realize that."

Panting in shock, Peter stood up, leaning on Sylar for support. He whispered "Thank you," softly into Sylar's ear.

"You two have a lot of catching up to do," Sylar said. "I'll see you at home." In the blink of an eye, he disappeared.

Peter stumbled forward into Nathan's arms, crying onto his shoulder. "I-I ... thought—lost you," he mumbled.

"I'm right here," Nathan held Peter close.

"FFFF ... Four mmm y-years," Peter continued. "Over ... f-four."

"Am I really four years in the future?" Nathan asked. He felt Peter nod against the side of his neck. "I gotta get back."

"NO!" Peter pushed Nathan away to look him firmly in the eyes. "Don't you get it? Y-You died! We all thought you died!"

"So let me go back & prove them wrong," Nathan said. "My campaign. My boys! Ma!"

"They're all fine," Peter said quickly. "Well, campaign is-is gone. Th-The r-rest—mmm ... can't change ... past."

"Peter? Breathe," Nathan ordered. He tried distracting Peter with something else. "Do you own the hospital yet?"

Peter shook his head. "Gave that up."

"What? Why?"

Peter took time to breath in & out for a while before saying, "Same reason we can't change the timeline. If-If you go back, you will ... die. If you stay here, everyone thinks you died & nothing changed."

"You really expect me to stay here in the future?" Nathan asked.

"F-Four years," Peter said. "It's only that f-f-far ahead."

Nathan pushed Peter onto the bench beside the table & sat down beside him. "Did you stop being a paramedic when I died?"

"No."

"Then why did you stop?"

Peter leaned forward & pushed both hands through his hair. "Same reason the timeline must remain precisely the same."

"You're not making any sense," Nathan said. "What rea—"

"My son!" Peter interrupted.

"You have a son?" Nathan smiled.

"Th-Things happened these past few years," Peter was now speaking fast enough to tumble over the stutter. "Certain things that inv ... vvv ... volve Gabriel. That can not be un-undone!"

"What does Syl—"

"Don't call him that!" Peter snapped. "No one but ... me can call him that, now."

Nathan stared at Peter. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"He's the father," Peter blurted out.

"What?" Nathan wasn't sure he heard right.

"Look, a long time ago, I met the kid in a trip to the future," Peter said. "That time loop will come full circle, s-soon. I thought the ... mother was Claire. I was wrong. I was the birth parent."

"That's not possible!"

"I wasn't finished my transition yet, so yes it was."

"I mean with him!" Nathan said. "There's no way. Unless. Wait. Did he rape you?"

"No!" Peter rolled his eyes. "Matt trapped him in one of those nightmare realms that he can do with his telepathy. I got ... stuck in there with him. We were there for almost half a day. An hour in reality is like a y-year in there. We had lots of-of time to work things out. We got very close. Then, when we broke out ... we remained close. That's what happened."

Nathan stood up & paced a bit before rounding on his young, dumb brother. "Pete, maybe it's best I do go back & die. I can't wrap my head around this. You having a son with that man!"

"Well, you're not going back," Peter said. "I'm not l-losing you a ... s-second time."

"Peter," Nathan started.

"Gabriel didn't ask to get born with that power," Peter said clearly, as he was more confident talking about a subject close to him. "It's my job to make sure that he doesn't use his power to hurt anyone. I found another way of doing that besides killing him. People seem to forget that Gabriel is his own worst victim. We've had a lot of time to work things out. If you want to be mad at anyone, it's Matt. He's the one who trapped us." He shared a look with his brother before adding, "Nathan. Try to keep up. It's been four years. Over ... f-four years. A lot happened."

"Yeah, I'm quite aware of that!" Nathan retorted. "You having a kid is one thing. But that father!"

"He is the most perfect father I have ever seen," Peter said. "The child is what we all need. Gabriel is sane because of our son. He keeps control of himself very well."

"'Our' son," Nathan repeated, not bothering to hide the disdain. He shot a dark look at Peter. "You having a kid with that man sure must have messed everyone up. No wonder Claire is on a rampage."

"Claire only found out quite recently. No one else knows except the family," Peter corrected him. Nathan looked like he was just slapped in the face. "It's just been me, Gabriel & Mom."

"Ma knows?" Nathan gasped.

"She's not fond of the situation," Peter says. "But she adores Noah. Everyone does. They just don't know where he comes from."

"Noah?" Nathan repeated. "I know the history between Noah Bennet & Sy ... Gabriel," he wisely changed his words at a glare from Peter. "So I'm guessing you didn't name the boy after him, did you?"

"No, we didn't."

"Noella? Just drop the Ell?" Nathan pressed. Peter nodded. After a long sigh, Nathan muttered, "I see." He sat down again. "Man do I ever need a drink."

"This diner does have a bar," Peter pointed out.

"Hmpf!" Nathan grunted, his face in both hands as he leaned onto the table.

Peter pulled out the menu & ordered two shots of whiskey mixed with cream soda. As he waited for the drinks to come, he put a hand on Nathan's shoulder. "Nathan. It's a lot to take in. I know. I mean, you being here after all this time I thought you were dead is a lot for me. But I am glad he did it. You'll like Noah. He knows about you, not what happened. Just you."

Nathan lifted his face from his hands. The waitress appeared & he leaned back to let her pass out the drinks before leaving. Once she was gone, he had a sip of his drink before saying, "I've got nothing against you having a son. It's just you kind of broke your Hero's code ... making him the father."

"Actually, Noah was unplanned," Peter said. "I didn't expect to get pregnant. Gabriel & I both just thought of me as a guy & didn't consider the girl parts I still had at the time. So I ended up pregnant with Noah instead of Claire."

"Easy! That's my daughter!"

"Who you abandoned for adoption to hide your silly affair," Peter returned with a smug smile.

Nathan glared into his drink, unable to deny that. "Does it have to be you or Claire with him?"

"We are immortal," Peter said. Nathan looked up at him as Peter went on. "The three of us will still be standing here millions of years from now thanks to the Regen."

"You really think so?" Nathan asked before downing the rest of his drink.

"You know it," Peter said. He finished his own drink in silence as Nathan processed everything.

Nathan pushed the empty glass aside. "So ... how did you get that scar?"

Peter finished his drink before answering that one. Only he & Sylar knew the full extent of what had happened. He had been working through it with a private therapist, only changed the story slightly, leaving out the fact that he was driving an ambulance. The therapist only knew that Peter blamed himself for causing a car accident that killed a few people. He placed his empty glass next to Nathan's. "My ambulance," he said at last. "There was a problem. I ended up in a mess & got sliced up pretty badly. I didn't have Regen at the time either so I used a vial of Claire's blood. It kept me alive but not enough to fix the massive wound, so it scarred."

"You get that thing from your ambulance?" Nathan said. "I always thought it would be Hiro's sword."

"Why would I be fighting with Hiro, another Hero?"

"Maybe he finds out about you & Sy—" Nathan stopped himself from saying the name. "Honestly, I thought you would get it from an accident, but with your dismal teleportation skills, not your ambulance. I always envisioned you beaming yourself over to Hiro's & knocking over his sword."

"I'm not that bad when I have his power," Peter groaned, knowing full well that he was in fact, that bad. He had once ended up in the bathroom when trying to meet with Noah Bennet & Claire on one occasion. He had yet to hear the end of that teasing.

Nathan smirked before asking, "You still have to swap your powers around?"

"Nope," Peter said. "I recently got that fixed ..." He explained how he had de-transitioned & had to start over, ending with how his original power came back to him. "So now, I need to start getting my other powers back." He reached out & grabbed Nathan's hand. "I've just picked up yours again. I still have Hiro's & Claire's & my original mimicry is holding on to all of them."

"You really have been through a lot," Nathan said. "I didn't think Noella could reappear like that."

"Oh believe me, it wasn't fun being stuck as her again," Peter said, pulling out his cell phone when the ringer went off. "Mom's just sending me an update on Noah. OH!" He dropped the phone onto the table. "She still thinks you're dead!"

"We should go see her," Nathan said.

"Yeah," Peter stood up. "Let me go ahead. I need to break it to her gently so she won't have a shock like I did. She only gets visions, not Regen."

"She might see this," Nathan said, standing up as well.

"No," Peter said. "She has blocked Gabriel from her mind as much as possible. She won't see any visions involving him right now. I'll be right back." Nathan barely had time to blink before Peter returned, a small boy in his arms. He placed the boy on the ground beside him before leaning closer to Nathan. In a low voice, he said, "Noah doesn't know anything about Sylar. I suggest you keep it that way. He is allergic to strawberries. He has no powers yet. He calls me Uncle, for now. When he is a little older & starts asking about mothers, then we will explain me to him. Think you can keep him occupied for a few minutes while I talk to Mom?"

"Sure," Nathan crouched down to Noah's level. "Hello, Noah." The child instantly turned to hide his face in Peter's hips. "Ah, come now. Don't be shy. Do you want some ice cream?"

Noah looked at him. "Yeah ..."

"Alright, then," Nathan stood up & held out a hand. Noah slowly took it as Nathan looked at Peter. "Chocolate fine?"

"That's his favorite," said Peter before disappearing. He ended up in his mother's living room where she was sitting by the window, looking at her phone.

"I know something big is going on," Angela said, not looking up from the screen. "I can see some of it but the vision isn't fully manifesting."

"That's because Gabriel is involved," Peter said as he sat down in front of her.

"Then it is of no concern of mine," Angel turned the phone off & made it a point to take some extra time putting it away.

"It is," Peter insisted. "Nathan's alive. He's fine. Noah is with him right now."

There was a thud as the phone dropped to the floor. Angela stared at Peter. "What are you saying?"

"I have Hiro's power," Peter began. "Gabriel ... copied it off me. I-I didn't know he was planning this but he's been busy for a while, keeping the timeline the same ... as how we all know it. He took Nathan's place ... back then. It was his own self his younger version attacked, thinking it was Nathan. I don't really know everything Gabriel did, but he does have the Illusion power now, so that's probably a big part of it. We were planning on getting that power anyway f-for something else coming up ... soon." He finally stopped for breath. He could feel himself fighting for air as if he was having a panic attack. Nathan was alive. He was here again. "Mom, Na—" He suddenly burst into tears of relief. "N-Nathan's fi ... fine." He put his face in his hands for a moment, trying to calm down. "I didn't think I could love him more than I already do," he whispered to himself.

But Angela had heard that last bit just fine, knowing it was about Sylar. Her jaw ticked. She had hated Sylar for killing her eldest son. But Nathan was here now? Was that it? Sylar had pulled Nathan forward in time? "Peter," Angela finally spoke. "Where is Nathan?"

"He took Noah for ice cream," Peter said. He took her hand. "Let's go see him."

Peter transported them over to the diner where he had seen Nathan alive again after years of believing him dead. He followed down the sidewalk to the nearest ice cream shop & found Nathan with Noah sitting inside at the window, having ice cream.

" ... Nathan ... "

The sound was a gentle whisper. Like a breath of wind barely touching one's eyes.

Nathan put his spoon down into his bowl of rum raisin before looking up into his mother's tearful eyes. "Ma," he pushed himself up. "Are you alr—"

Angela had pulled him close, holding him tightly in a rare moment of showing public affection for her eldest son. She was usually more reserved with him, plus everyone knew that Peter was the favorite, but after four years mourning his death, she was suddenly reunited with him once more. A feat that should not be possible for anyone but God.

"I'm alright, Ma," Nathan said, awkwardly holding her. From his point of view, he had just seen her an hour or two ago. He was still catching up with the fact that it had been just over four years. "I'm fine."

It was a while before Angela let go enough so that Nathan could breathe properly, but she still held on to his hands. "I thought you were dead," she gasped, her voice still a hushed whisper.

"Pete's been telling me a lot of strange things," Nathan started. "Please tell me he is delusional & none of it is true?"

"I'm standing right here," Peter muttered.

"That he is married to Sylar & has a son?" Angela scoffed. "That he is at war with Claire? That he is fully transitioned now? Yeah, it's all true."

With a groan, Nathan dropped into the chair beside Noah & pulled his bowl towards him so that he was sitting next to the child who now had the window seat & the opposite bench was soon filled with Peter sliding in to be in front of Noah & Angela sitting last to be in front of Nathan.

"Be careful what you say," Peter ordered, nodding towards Noah who was currently focused on trying to get a silver sparkle onto his spoon. "We are trying to keep Noah as sheltered as possible, for now. We can all agree on that, at least?"

Nathan shared a look with his mother who nodded. He glanced at Peter. "Of course. I have two boys of my own. I kept them from a lot of stuff. Where is Heidi?"

"She is recently remarried," Peter said. "Lives in Mobile, Alabama now."

"Alabama?" Nathan exclaimed.

"There's a good school down there for Simon & Monty," Peter pointed out. "Away from the political drama & other stuff going on up here in New York."

Nathan twitched his brow at 'other stuff' which could mean either the abilities appearing in their family & more than one near-exposure or his multiple affairs, especially the one that came back to bite him when Claire showed up. Not that he didn't like Claire. As they had gotten to know each other, he had ended up adoring the young blonde cheerleader. He wondered how all three of his children were doing. Four years was a long time to miss out on your children's' lives. "I need to see them," Nathan said.

"You will," Angela said. "Possibly tomorrow. There's a few things we need to sort out first. Obviously, you are back & your death was an entire sham right from the beginning."

"I was told I had to be brought forward in time to keep history intact," Nathan said.

"Especially for his sake," Angela glanced at Noah. "He showed up due to ... unusual circumstances that can not be undone, or else, we would lose him."

"Hey, I'm still trying to wrap my head around that!" Nathan snapped, glaring at Peter. "This was after I ..." His eyes glanced over to Noah who was leaning over to pick up his plush dinosaur from the window sill. Nathan leaned closer & whispered, "After Sylar killed me, right? You went & bedded my murderer?"

"Like I said," Peter snarled under breath, also chancing a glance at Noah who was now 'feeding' his toy a drop or two of his own ice cream. "Blame Matt for it! He is the one who trapped us together."

Nathan only glared. "We're going to talk about THAT later, when we are alone." He flicked a finger to the boy who was now starting to notice the heated air surrounding the adults.

"Fine," Peter hissed through gritted teeth, his lips barely moving. He leaned forward & sideways to get close to Nathan. "Quit calling him Sylar! Only I can do that & I usually do that when we are together." He let a beat go by. "Alone." Another pause. "You know, kind of kinky like."

"OH GOD!" Nathan jumped up & took a few steps away from the table as Peter leaned back & burst out laughing.

Peter was quickly & thoroughly cowed by a soft tap from his mother against his cheek. Angela glared at him. She waited for Nathan to sit on the edge of his seat, as far away from Peter as he could, before saying, "This is neither the time or place for this conversation. We should go home."

Peter slipped out from the table last & grabbed Noah's hand. "I'll join you back at the house in a few minutes." He disappeared with Noah & showed up in the living room of the country home he shared with Sylar & Noah. Leaving the child with his toys on the floor, Peter hurried outside to find Sylar standing by the shoreline. He ran down to him.

"Gabriel!"

Sylar had transported himself back home after reuniting Peter & Nathan. It was strange resurrecting someone he had killed in sport. Well technically, he was now aware of what had actually transpired. Nathan had been removed from the timeline & replaced with an older Sylar, instead.

Halfway around the lake for the second time, Sylar stopped to glare up at the sky. "How many times have I asked You to undo what was done to me? I had asked for forgiveness multiple times in the beginning, even wrote it out in blood on the wall at one point. I had often begged You, pleading to stop me or that I wish I had an angel. I didn't get one, so I stopped believing." He tossed a stone across the water before continuing his walk around the small lake. All this time, Sylar now realized, there had been an angel for him. Peter had been with him from the start, but all Sylar had done was try to kill him & he had finally succeeded in burning Peter to dust by killing Nathan. He finished his second round. Now, Nathan was back thanks to Hiro's power, time travel.

Sylar glanced at the sky again, wondering why any God would allow any of this to happen. He knew what the ever-faithful Peter would say about it, the age-old classic line of 'the Lord works in mysterious ways'. He stood there, listening to the wind in the wheat bowing down before the gust on the opposite shore. He heard someone calling his name.

Sylar barely had time to turn around before something pounced on him, making him stumble back. He tried to speak but the thing had latched onto his lips. His empathy power told him the emotions of whatever was on him while his hands ran over the familiar shape of Peter as he slid them up his sides & around the back to hold on.

"Peter," Sylar breathed as Peter finally gave him room for air.

"Thank you!" Peter gasped between tears & kisses as he continued to all but assault Sylar with his lips.

"Mhm," Sylar tried to speak but Peter wouldn't let him. "Mmm! P-Pet—" He waited for Peter to calm down. At last, he was able to simply hold Peter close. "Are you alright, now?"

"Are you?" Peter mumbled into his shoulder.

"Bigger question. How's Nathan? Knowing about me & you?"

"Oh he loves it!"

Sylar's lie detector went off, but he let it go as the ability did not differentiate between a lie told in sarcasm or an actual lie. "I'm sure he does," he laughed.

"Ok," Peter sighed, still giddy that he had his brother back. "I need to get back. We have to work on some ... mmm ... legal stuff to get Nathan back in-in order & tell Heidi & his kids. Noah's in the house since his nap time is coming ... coming up."

"Peter," Sylar hushed him. Peter's stutter was in full force with excitement. "Go be with your brother. I can handle Noah."

"Mhm," Peter managed to nod. He suddenly jumped on Sylar once more for another long kiss before stepping away & appearing at his mother's home in between her & Nathan.

"Where's Noah?" Nathan asked.

"Home," Peter answered. "Nap time soon." He went to the couch & sat down. "Now, we can talk."

"How many has he killed since I disappeared?" Nathan got straight to the point.

Peter's eyes drifted over to his mother who was still focused on Nathan. "You already know, don't you?" Peter began. "It's been a long road, getting from there to here."

"Damn it, Peter!" Nathan yelled. "I can't believe you'd stab me in the back like that. Ma told me how that man had cut my throat with his power & laughed about it."

"It wasn't your throat," Peter said. "It was his own older version Shape-shifted to look like you that he had attacked without knowing."

"We know that NOW!" Nathan declared. "But until a few hours ago, the whole world thought otherwise, including you, yet you still ended up on his side & gave him a son?"

"Don't you dare talk about No—"

"I've got nothing against the child," Nathan interrupted. "He's a sweet kid. He better be. He's a Petrelli. But he is also a Gray & we all know how that family seems to have the same recurring ability."

"I have that ability too," Peter defended. "Now that my power is fixed, I will be getting all my original abilities back. One of them is Intuitive Aptitude."

"You don't have to get that power back, Pete," Nathan said.

"I'm not going to have much choice in the matter since I'm with him almost every day," Peter returned evenly.

"Whoa, now! Imagery!"

Peter just smiled for a moment before going on, "Besides, I need it. Gabriel & I have a huge event we need to abort in about a year or else, Noah will die at Claire's hand!"

A stunned silence followed that. Peter had never mentioned this event before to anyone other than Sylar.

"What?" Angela finally switched her eyes from Nathan to Peter.

"Claire?" Nathan stared at Peter. "I can't see Claire killing a child, even if it is his son."

"It is not on purpose," Peter said. "But Noah's death is her fault. Gabriel & I have a plan to divert the timeline just enough to save Noah, but that is where you come in."

"Me?"

"By now, you're the only one who can get Claire to see reason," Peter said. "Especially now that she knows who Noah's parents truly are & Noah Bennet just died."

"Wait, what? Bennet is dead?" Nathan asked. After a short glare, he added, "Who killed him?"

"No one," Peter said. Ignoring Nathan's look, he went on. "Building he went in had a gas problem & blew up. Or isn't that the story we all used to tell when something involving abilities goes wrong?"

"I see," Nathan understood perfectly. Yes, some killings were done. No, it was never to be spoken of again. "Where is Claire, right now?"

"I am about to call her," Angela said, taking out her cell phone.

Peter's own phone started chiming & he pulled it out, expecting an update on Noah. But it was someone else calling. "Hello? Heidi, how are y—whoa, whoa, slow down! What?"

"Peter," Heidi took a moment to calm down. "It's in both of them, just like in Claire. Just like their father. Ever since that eclipse, earlier."

"Hang on," Peter tried again. "What ... hap-happened?"

"Simon just burned the house down & Monty was the one who stopped it."

"Heidi," Peter glanced at Nathan. "We'll be right over. I have Hiro's power & also, uh, uh, w-we need to-to talk." He shut the phone off & turned to his mother & brother. "Looks like your sons both just manifested abilities."

"What?" Nathan half-smiled. "Which ones?"

"Sounds like fire for Simon. Monty was able to stop it but she didn't say how," Peter said. "But they lost the house. We should go."

"We haven't spoken to Heidi about Nathan yet," Angela said.

"We can explain that to her when we get there," Peter said, taking one hand of each them with his own hands before pulling them into the space between all spaces. Next moment, they were standing in a street. Peter hurriedly pulled them all onto the front lawn of a burned down house, which was where he had wanted to end up in the first place. He was still learning this power, it seemed. He looked at the remnants of the house. Ice was quickly melting along the black embers.

"Simon did this?" Nathan's eyes went wide at the sight. His son seemed powerful.

"Heidi?" Peter ran forward, instinctively looking for the survivors. He found Heidi with the two boys standing off to the side & instantly went into paramedic mode. He looked over each one, asking more than once, "Are you alright? Any burns? Anything hurt?"

"Peter!" Heidi finally managed to get his attention. She smiled at him. "Ever the medic. But we've already been checked." She pointed to an ambulance just down the road, parked in front of a fire truck.

"Right," Peter smiled sheepishly for a moment. "Where's Brent?"

"He was at work," Heidi said. "He is on his way. What happened?"

"I was about to ask you that," Peter said.

"You mentioned something about needing to talk," Heidi reminded him. "Is Noah ok?"

Peter went very still. "There is ... something you need to—"

"Dad?" Monty called out. "DAD!" He ran forward before Heidi had time to grab him.

"Uh, N-Nathan's a-alive," Peter said.

Heidi's eyes went wide as she looked past Peter to see Nathan coming towards them. He stopped to greet Monty. Her eyes went back to Peter. "What is going on?"

Peter watched Nathan with Monty for a moment as Simon had now discovered his father was back & was heading towards him. Heidi was not yet privy to what was going on. She didn't know that Sylar was now part of the extended family. "Someone was able to cast Illusions in time to trick Sylar back then into thinking he killed Nathan," he said. "But to keep everything the way it is, they had to dump Nathan here in the present."

"Who?" Heidi pressed.

"Dunno yet," Peter lied, knowing that if Claire had her way, all truth would be revealed very shortly.

"Well, I'd like to meet them, if you ever find out," Heidi said, watching as Nathan was now talking to his eldest child.

"Dad," Simon looked his father up & down. "You're supposed to be dead."

"I had some issues to deal with," Nathan said. "I'll explain it all later. What happened here?"

"I don't know," Simon answered, looking close to tears.

"You have an ability," Nathan said. "It showed up when the eclipse happened, didn't it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Simon defended.

"Yes, you do," Nathan insisted before floating upwards a few feet. "I can fly. Claire can heal. Peter can copy anything he comes in contact with." He landed on the grass again. "Tell me, Simon. I'm not mad. A first time for an ability is usually quite dramatic. Peter ended up in the hospital in the beginning when his ability copied my power."

"He did?" Simon tentatively asked.

"Yeah, we kind of, possibly, crashed," Nathan said with a short nervous laugh. "He flies quite well, now." He pulled both boys closer. "So tell me. You both can do something. What is it?"

Simon glanced at his brother before turning his hands up. Fire erupted from both palms, causing Nathan to topple backwards to avoid getting burned. As he righted himself, he saw Monty cast a jet of slushy water onto his brother's flames, extinguishing them.

"Ok," Nathan coughed a little, standing up. "It takes time to control your power, but eventually, you should be able to produce flames the size of candles when you want." He turned & walked towards Heidi, saying to himself under breath, "I hope."

Brent turned into the driveway just as Nathan had reached Heidi & Peter. He parked the car on the side & hurried over. "What happened?" He stared. "Nathan? Seriously, what just happened?"

Nathan looked the new guy over. They had never met, but Nathan's face had been plastered all over the country when he was campaigning to be the next President. Turning to Heidi, he asked, "This the new guy?"

Heidi nodded. "This is Brent. Nathan, who saved you from Sylar?"

Dodging the question, Nathan said, "Look, I'm sure this is as confusing for all of you as it is for me. I've skipped ahead just over four years & I have a lot of pieces to pick up. Right now, we have to get you & the boys out of here & make sure everyone's ok."

Heidi wasn't fooled, but she let it slide for now. "Haven't changed much, have you? Still promoting family values as if you were running your campaign, again."

"Give me a break, dear," Nathan said, knowing full well that she was deriding him because of all his affairs. "All that was just a few hours ago for me, not years. Let me catch up."

"That's fine," Heidi replied, equally fake in her civility. "This will really mess up the boys."

"Do you want me dead for real?" Nathan finally snapped.

"Of course not!" Heidi shot back. "I hated what Sylar did or, I mean, what I thought he did, to you. The boys never fully recovered. It took us a while to tell them you were murdered instead of dying in a plane crash. It's just popping back into their lives again wil—"

"Heidi!" Nathan cut her off. "They are growing into fine young men. They aren't stupid & now that they have abilities, it will be much easier to explain what happened. They will be ok, eventually." He turned away to watch Peter with the boys. "Let's not fight with them around," Nathan said.

"You said you skipped ahead in time," Brent began. "Someone had saved you from Sylar."

"Yeah," Nathan answered as he watched Peter look down into his hands. He didn't need any ability to tell him that Peter had just picked up both powers from the children.

"Heidi told me all about Sylar," Brent went on. "Then, when Claire jumped off the Ferris Wheel, abilities went public & I could look up that killer for myself. He sure is brutal."

"Sylar is the deadliest serial killer in the world," Nathan said. "He is as incredibly fast as he is brutal. Few can survive him. Also hard to kill since he picked up my daughter's power." He shrugged, as if trying to hold off a shudder. "He isn't your average Zodiac Killer or Pig Farmer Killer."

"He's also been gone for a few years," Brent said. "Yet suddenly, you are somehow rescued from being murdered by him. You were one of his more famous victims considering your political fame."

"You're wondering if Sylar will show his face again to come finish me off?" Nathan asked. He turned to Brent. "I guess we'll find out."

Peter came over to Nathan, holding up his hands. In one, was a brilliant flame. In the other, a pale snowball spun, a white mist radiating from it. Peter put both powers away. "Fire & Ice. Or Yin & Yang as Hiro would say."

Angela joined the others. "There is a hotel that will take care of you for a little while until you can find a more permanent house. As for the boys, Tracy Strauss has a place for children developing their abilities. Few people know about it & even less know where she is. She will contact you when it is safe."

"I never thought they would develop abilities," Heidi said. "They are in their early teens but nothing ever showed up until now."

"It's different for everyone when abilities show up," Nathan said. "Let's get you settled at the hotel. Peter will take the boys. It's just better that way," he went on hurriedly as Heidi was about to protest. "Until either of them can control their powers better, we don't want them blowing up the car, or the hotel for that matter. Once Peter gets them connected with Tracy, he will let you know."

"You can't expect me to let them go to some stranger!" Heidi exclaimed.

"Tracy is the Ice Queen," Nathan tried. "She will be really good for Monty. But she has worked with several different abilities & does a lot better with Specials than the Company ever did. Besides, do you really want to risk the hotel ending up looking like this?" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the blackened home. A few burned timbers fell down at that moment, emphasizing his point. "It will be fine. Let Peter take care of everything."

Heidi sighed, knowing there wasn't much choice in the matter. She went to say goodbye to her sons before getting into the car with Brent. As they drove into the road & headed for town, Peter disappeared with Simon & Monty to meet up with Tracy at an arranged spot. Once they were with Tracy, Peter would be the one to arrange meetings with their mother for a while until the boys could control themselves.

Using Hiro's power, Peter took Nathan & Angela back to New York. The three of them shared a dark look, each silently daring the other to make the call. It was time to deal with Claire.

"She won't pick up for me," Peter said, looking at his mother. "You know she won't now that she knows who Noah's father is. Nathan can't do it either since he doesn't have a new phone yet."

"Must I do everything?" Angela complained, pulling out her phone. "Claire, dear. It's your Grandmother. Pick up." After a few moments, Angela sighed & lowered the phone.

"I guess she cut you out of her life too, now," Peter said. "Since you're with me."

"Great, so we have no way of telling her I'm back?" Nathan asked.

"We have to find her first," answered Peter.

"When was the last time you saw her?" Nathan pressed.

"Just after Noah was born," replied Peter. "So nearly ... uh ... three years ago. She only met Noah one time."

Nathan regarded his brother for a long moment before saying, "You haven't really seen her since then, have you?"

"All we do is argue," Peter admitted. "I warned her about this future. Told her she shouldn't have shown off. We stopped talking. My priority is Noah, now."

"Well, it's done," Angela finally spoke. She put her phone aside & turned on the TV. Claire was on, announcing to the whole world that Peter & Sylar were now on the same side. She did not mention Noah being their child, but the damage was still done.

"I gotta go," Peter said, disappearing on the spot before his mother or brother could stop him. He appeared at home in the living room next to Sylar who reflectively used the force power to pin Peter to the wall for a moment.

"Careful, Peter," Sylar said, releasing his power. "I could have killed you."

Peter dropped to the floor. "I have Regen." He picked himself up, shooting a glare at Sylar who just laughed at him. "You don't happen to-to know where Claire is, do you?"

"Claire?" Sylar echoed the name. "Peter, it's been years since I've stalked her."

"We can't reach her ... " Peter explained what happened.

"So she doesn't know that Nathan is back, yet?"

"No, sh-she won't answer our calls," Peter said. "She's probably changed her number, by now."

"I'll find her & bring her in," Sylar said.

"It might take a while," Peter pointed out.

"I've stalked her for over two years to get her power," Sylar reminded him. "Longer for other things. Thank God, that last bit didn't work out."

"God, huh?" Peter smiled.

Sylar wisely chose not to encourage that topic. "You take care of Noah," he said. "I'll bring Claire to Nathan, no matter what."

It was easier said than done. Claire had hidden herself once she had exposed the fact that Peter & Sylar were now working together. Furthermore, she had indirectly threatened Noah by claiming she had proof of her words should she ever need it. For being blonde, she was rather smart.

It took a while to figure out, but Sylar soon realized he was no longer looking for a blonde ex-cheerleader. After a few months of searching, he had briefly caught sight of her, but with black hair. She had changed her looks enough to throw people off.

"Oh, you won't get away that easily," Sylar said under breath, watching her get into a car & drive away.

Star Trek: Enterprise theme song 'It's Been A Long Road' is referenced. Heroes not only made mass amounts of Trek (& Harry Potter) references, it is also comprised of 90 percent Star Trek actors.

Swanheart, by Nightwish, is briefly symbolized by the swan's appearance on the lake.

Wish I had An Angel, by Nightwish

The Heart Asks For Pleasure First, by Michael Nyman, covered by Nightwish