Unsung Heroes
By: Ro
Chapter 6: The Sword of Kenshi
AN's
Thoughts in italics
Flashbacks in bold italics
I don't own Heroes, I just play with them.
I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long. That's college life for ya, troughs of inactivity followed by crests of insanity….Well thanks to all who reviewed, hope everyone enjoys the chapter
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Isaac's loft: 6.00 AM
Zach
Zach had lost track of time staring at the sunrise. Having never been up at anywhere near this time, he'd never seen one. He was standing near the window of the second story of Isaac's loft, wondering if Matt had come through for him…
"Hey Matt, wait up!"
"What is it Zach?"
"You're a cop right? You must have access to military equipment."
"….Yeah I do, but I'm not going to smuggle out some weapons for you."
"That's not what I was going to ask, I need you to find this for me."
"This is a high end item Zach, I might be able to find it, but the chances are slim."
"I'm going to need it for tomorrow's job."
"I'll give it a shot kid, but I'm not making any promises."
"Fair enough, thanks man."
A soft knock at the door snapped Zach out of his reverie. He looked down and saw that it was Hiro and Ando. Even though it wasn't his apartment, Zach felt secure enough letting these two in. Isaac seemed like an easygoing guy, he probably wouldn't mind.
Zach fixed them a couple of cups of coffee and settled back in a chair with his headphones over his head. He must have dozed off for a minute, because when he woke up Hiro wasn't there, it was only Ando sitting across from him. He couldn't explain it, but he felt closer to Ando than any of the others, with the exception of Claire of course, they were in similar situations.
"Hey Ando, how's your English?"
"Fine, why?"
"Have you been traveling with Hiro for long?"
"I've known Hiro for quite a while, but we've only been traveling for a few weeks. With everything that goes on, it seems like longer."
"I'll bet, have you ever felt…like you let Hiro down because you don't have a power like he does?"
"…Sometimes I do. Then I remember that we all have skills, we are all here for a reason. In my case, I help Hiro communicate with others. I'm sure you're here for a reason too; perhaps to watch out for your friend, there must be many people who are after her for her power."
"Yeah, probably…"
"What about your parents? If you don't mind my asking."
"What about them?"
"They must be worried about you."
"No, they don't even know I exist anymore. The Haitian man pulled me aside before he left and told me that he erased their memories because Mr. Bennet ordered him too."
"He what?!"
Zach nearly choked on his coffee when he heard Claire He turned around and saw her in the doorway with such a shocked look on her face that, if it wasn't such a serious subject, he'd break down laughing. Even half-asleep, disheveled, and angry, Claire still looked amazing.
For his part, Ando just looked confused. After looking back and forth at the two teens he quickly realized that this wasn't something he needed to witness. What he needed to do was get out of there, quickly.
"I…uh…better go check on Hiro."
"Zach, please tell me that this is just another one of your jokes that I just don't get!"
"Sorry Claire, it's not. After he left, that Haitian guy came back for a minute. He scared the crap out of me when he came up behind me. That guy's like a damn ninja, I never heard him coming."
"So your parents, they just don't remember you ever existed?!"
"Nope, neither does anybody in Odessa. It looks like your dad had the Haitian guy working overtime lately."
"God Zach, I'm so sorry, I…"
"Don't! Don't apologize for the things he does! It isn't your fault."
"How can you be so calm about this?! It's like you don't even exist!"
"Claire, I spent 3 years 'not existing' at Union Wells. Trust me, it's not that bad. Besides, the only people in Odessa whose opinions matter to me are you and my parents. There's nothing I can do to help them right now, and you still know I exist. That's good enough for me."
"But, you…"
"Guys, what is going on down here? It's way too early in the morning for this kind of stuff."
"Sorry for waking you Isaac. Want some coffee?"
"Yeah, thanks. We better eat up; the others should be here shortly."
"I think I hear one of them now."
Zach left before Claire could gather her thoughts. He needed to; he was more upset by the fact that his own parents would no longer recognize him than he cared to admit. The fact was, they had bigger problems right now, between people turning into nukes, and shadows after them, soap opera-ish melodrama back home just didn't seem too important. Hey, it's Matt. I hope he managed to get it.
"Did you find it?"
"Nice to see you too kid"
"Sorry, it's just that..uh…"
"I'm just messing with you, I found it."
"Thanks Matt."
"So, any ideas on how we're going to get this sword?"
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Japanese History Gallery (outside), NYC: 1:00 PM
Ted and Matt
Matt's POV
Matt couldn't believe he'd gotten himself into this. He'd lost count of how many laws he was helping these people break, and all for a sword. However, if what that painter had shown would come true, then he was helping to protect an entire city of people, including Janice and his child. His eyes shifted left and saw Ted being his usual jumpy self. Let's hope we don't get surprised, or the bomb's going to go off a lot sooner than we thought…
"Ready to cause some hell, Parkman?"
"You really enjoy this don't you Ted?"
"The way I see it, shit like this has got to draw out Bennet, and when he finally shows his face, nuke time!"
"You do know the blonde kid is his daughter right?"
"So what? She ran from him, doesn't sound like their's much love lost there."
"Guess not…"
"Enough talk! Let's get this done."
Matt kept watch in front of the alleyway behind the museum while Ted went to work. A quick shot of fission powered heat was enough to blow the fuse box that sent electricity to the museum. Now came the hard part, Ted had too somehow raise the temperature of the whole building in order to set off the emergency sprinklers; that would cause the mass evacuation they were hoping for. Ted placed his hands on the wall of the building and started the fission reaction.
"I don't see why we couldn't have just blown the roof off of this place!"
"That would've caused too many casualties."
"As long as we get the sword, does it even matter?"
"Just shut up and focus Ted!" I hope the others are on schedule…
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Japanese History Gallery (inside), NYC 1:05 PM
Claire, Zach, Hiro, Ando
Zach's POV
As the building got hotter and hotter, people began to run towards the exits instead of the usual calm evacuation. The sprinklers had just come on, making it harder for their group to fight the crowd and move further into the museum. Guess that Ted guy is overdoing it; better get the sword quickly before he nukes this place by accident. They reached the weapons exhibit not a moment too soon, Zach was starting to sweat from the rising temperatures.
"Claire, wrong way!!"
"You've got to keep up Zach!"
"We can't all be super athletic cheerleaders!"
"Guys, focus!!"
They finally got past all the confusing twists and turns of the museums to find themselves in a small room containing displays of various weapons and statues of warriors long gone. Zach was just about to try and figure out which one was the sword when Ando pointed to one held in a glass case near the second exit of the room, to their left.
"There it is!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, the plaque says 'zatou na Kenshi'. In English, that translates to 'The Sword of Kenshi'"
With that confirmation, Claire rushed forward and slammed her fists into and through the case, shattering it with a spectacular crash. Watching her heal never got old, and he figured it never would. After all, it wasn't an everyday occurrence.
Hiro stepped forward and retrieved the sheath that held the fabled sword. He slung it over his shoulder and, with his trademark shout of "Yata!!" withdrew the sword and promptly disappeared.
"What the hell was that? Claire, did you see….."
Claire obviously wasn't listening to him. She was looking behind him towards the place where they came in with a look of abject fear in her eyes. When Zach turned around he saw why.
In the entranceway were a group of 3 people. The one in the center was staring intently at Claire and Zach knew without a doubt that it was the guy who had tried to kill her before, Sylar. The one to his left looked like the stereotypical bouncer, freakishly large stature and built like a tank. The one on his right was a relatively smaller, but still threatening looking, man who had a something slung over his shoulder that looked a lot like the sheath that housed Hiro's blade.
"Bring the girl to me, kill the spares!!"
"Yes Sir!"
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Pangea: Age of the Dinosaurs
Hiro Nakamura
Hiro looked around in shock, a second ago he was in a room full of weapons with Ando, Zach, and Claire, and now he was in a field with grass waist high. He looked up at the sky and saw it clearer than he'd ever seen it. It was crystal blue as far as the eye could see, and there were no buildings or even signs of people anywhere. Charlie would have loved this.
How did I get here? Only then did Hiro realize he was still holding the sword. That's right! The sword focuses and increases inner power, his time control ability must have been magnified just by holding the sword. Unfortunately that meant he could be anywhere, anytime.
The era Hiro was in became abundantly clear when he felt the ground rumble. He looked behind him and saw the huge T-rex charging at him. The gigantic animal's roar nearly knocked him off of his feet. Hiro started to run, but a glint of sunlight from his sword stopped him.
No, I can't run! The others need me, like Charlie needed me! What good is having this power if I'm too afraid to use it? Destiny chose me to have this gift, now I have to show that I am worthy!
Hiro turned to face the oncoming T-rex, knowing full well it could be the last thing he'd ever do. He focused, hoped, and willed his power to work. The last thing he saw before the blackness consumed him was a slow motion view of the dinosaur's jaws blotting out the clear blue sky…
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Japanese History Gallery (inside), NYC 1:08 PM
Claire, Zach, Ando
Zach's POV
After being slammed into the wall for what felt like the tenth time, Zach was starting to feel more beaten down than he'd ever thought possible. Looking to his left he saw Ando looking more tired than he felt, although in his defense, Ando had somehow managed to knock the larger thug unconscious. To his right was Claire, with her back against the wall, trying to get back up, with shards of glass being forced out of her body by her healing ability.
Sylar had finally joined the fight, using his telekinesis to break the glass cases and tossing the shards at Claire to stun her. Suddenly Zach saw his gaze shift to the body of the fallen Asian thug who had been impaled with glass sent flying by Sylar. A large, glistening, dual-edged blade came floating out of the sheath that was still slung over the dead man's shoulder.
The blade flew forward with astonishing speed. Zach knew Claire, being so used to her near-invincibility, wouldn't bother dodging, but that blade was at a really bad angle. He could only hope that he'd lunged in time to intercept it…
"AARRGHH!!"
The vest he was wearing might have neutralized most of the acid and absorbed a good amount of the force, but it still sent Zach to a whole new level of pain. Having a blade sticking out of him was certainly not how he'd envisioned this day ending up. At least it was a shallow wound, what a time to learn that having 'just a flesh wound' meant more than it did on TV and in the movies.
Zach felt a little woozy as he removed the very tip of the blade from his torso with his cloth covered hand. All he could register in his mind were flashes of blonde hair, sounds of gunfire from whom he could only guess to be Matt, and Sylar running off. Then he unceremoniously hit the floor, the pain from the stab wound and the acid burns finally plunging him into unconsciousness.
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Isaac's loft, NYC: 8:00 PM
Claire's POV
How had things gone so wrong? In the panic at the museum, Matt hadn't seen Mr. Bennet and the shape shifter partner of his. They got Ted when Matt had rushed inside to take out Sylar, who had also escaped. Hiro still hadn't returned from wherever he disappeared too, and Peter was doing what he could for Zach.
"I'm no doctor, but I think he'll be alright in a day or two. Somehow that vest stopped most of the damage."
"Thanks Peter. Is he awake?"
"Yeah, but….hey!!"
Claire had just rushed past Peter and into the room where Zach was staying and closed the door. Zach was sitting up in a small bed with his back against the wall, looking tired but alive. Thank god, or whoever's out there…
"What the hell is your problem Zach?!"
"Uh, well Peter said it was just a few bruised ribs and…"
"No! You take a blade for me? For someone who's basically invincible?! What, did you start smoking something and not tell me?! 'There's no way I'm going to let you face this alone', remember that?! What was that all crap?!"
Claire almost took back her words at seeing Zach's confused and angry look in his eyes. She couldn't though, because the anger felt good. It was safe, it covered all the other feelings she couldn't even bring to her conscious mind.
"Your power may be cool and all that, but you're not invincible Miracle-Gro."
"What?! Have you forgotten all those times at the bridge? The woodchipper? The garbage disposal?"
"Haven't you ever noticed that all those times your body's repaired itself by building from stuff that's still there? Like the garbage disposal, your fingers grew back because they were still attached! Your power isn't invincibility, its regeneration. Those blades were coming at your neck, with enough speed to take your head off! Without your brain to guide the process, there would be no 'growing back….aaah!!
At that last part, Zach had tried to stand up and his body was apparently not ready. Before she could even think about what he had just finished saying, Claire was at his side holding him up. Damn you Zach, why do you have to be such a great friend?
"So, what is this thing, or was this thing?"
"You sure change tracks pretty fast"
"Shut up" It feels great to be back to normal…
"Alright, alright, just stop punching me! It's a kind of bullet proof vest. It's got some kind of special fiber woven into it. I can't remember what it's called, but it came up when I was researching the sword. The fiber is so dense that it stops blades and even small amounts of acids. I figured it might be useful, so I got Matt to find it for me. Too bad it's too messed up to use anymore."
"Well at least it kept you alive…I guess you really should rest, um, I'm sorry about how I came in here."
"Don't worry about it, we all have bad days."
"….Zach?"
"Yeah?"
"Promise me you'll never do something like that again. I've lost everyone, Mom, Dad, Lyle, if I lost you…"
"I can't promise that Claire. I don't have Miracle-Gro in my blood so I guess I should be more careful, but I meant what I said yesterday."
Claire walked away towards the door with her mind swirling. She was thinking back over all her exploits. Zach was right, she wasn't immortal, and she wasn't as much of a freak as she had thought. Thanks Zach…
Just as Claire was about to turn the doorknob and enter her room, Hiro popped out of thin air two inches behind her. After her heart started beating again, she saw that Hiro was dripping with sweat and looked like he'd seen a ghost.
"Hiro! Where have you been?! What happened?!"
"There was a dinosaur...Mr. Eyesack's painting it came true! The sword, it really works!!"
As Hiro babbled on in Japanese about his adventures, Claire guided him down the hall to the kitchen, hoping that there was at least some stale coffee for the man. It was going to be a long night…
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Post AN's
The fiber was Dyneema, it really is used in high end bullet proof vests. If you're interested in looking into it further, check out Wikipedia's article on Dyneema. It's a good starting place.
Chapter 7 Preview: The Bomb
It finally happens! The event that all our Heroes have feared! How will they deal with it? What will happen to Peter?! Stay tuned to find out!