Unsung Heroes

By: Romako and SkyRogue

Chapter 9: The Bomb Part III

AN's

Heroes and associated characters still aren't mine. See the past chapters for a more detailed disclaimer

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NYC Penthouse

Letalis

What a tiresome night it turned out to be. After months of tracking one of those damned anomalies, one known only as Wireless when he first started tracking her, he finally tracked her to an out of the way apartment in one of the boroughs. Reports were just coming in from the one first responder who survived…

"Alpha Whiskey to Arc Angel, come in Arc Angel!"

"A. Whiskey, this is Arc Angel go."

The old man reclined in his office chair with a frustrated mental sigh. The downside to having ex Delta's at his disposal was that they insisted on treating him like a commander. He already fought his battles a long time ago; he paid for his freedom with the blood of his enemies. All Letalis wanted was to rid the world of these so called "gifted" scums. Unfortunately, that meant bringing some under his control before disposing of them.

"Target lost. Area secured, but with heavy casualties. The anomaly's communication equipment was booby trapped and timed to go off on forced entry of the apartment.

"Gather the survivors and proceed to HQ. Leave the dead, the cleanup crew will be there shortly."

"Say again your last, sir."

"You heard me, fall back!"

"What about the anomaly sir?"

"Team Bravo has secured the secondary objective, we'll get her soon."

"Yes sir. Alpha Whiskey out."

Letalis hadn't made it to where he was today by "winging it" as the young whelps on the street liked to say. Wireless would be his, and with her he could track the others. Putting away the radio, he buzzed his secretary….

"Bring him in, Leslie."

"Yes sir."

……..

"You better hope Wireless shows up, for your sake."

……..

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Graymalkin General-NYC

Sylar strode purposefully down the hall. He was determined to get Ted's power and to impress Letalis with his capabilities. Ever since he met Letalis, he had felt like he was being looked down on. He felt as if he was some sort of lackey, as if he was inferior.

If there is one thing Sylar is not, it is inferior. He thought to himself.

Suddenly Sylar stopped in his tracks. All this time he had been following the tingle in his spine, in his hands… But now, something was different.

He concentrated on what he felt. Where there had been four, there were now two. He could feel the mind reader in his original spot, but he could not feel the pulsating of power that was Ted.

Sylar was momentarily waylaid. Again he concentrated, and reached out through his surroundings. Ah there he is.

Without even bothering to retrace his steps, Sylar extended his arm and bulldozed straight through the sheetrock to get to the street. The walls exploded before him, and in only a few moments, Sylar was standing on the sidewalk in a puddle of plaster, staring at Ted Sprague.

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Ted had just rounded the corner when the wall burst forth in front of his face. Hurriedly he threw an arm up to shield his face and jumped backwards. While all the people around him were running and yelling at the sudden explosion, he stayed put out of curiosity.

Ted Sprague had just made the second worst mistake of his life.

He opened his eyes to face Sylar and was abruptly shocked into silence. Before he could recover, his neck was caught in Sylar's grip and he was being hurled across the street. A car's door broke his fall.

Ted watched as Sylar walked daringly through the street. Before, Ted had thought Sylar would shy from public eye, but now it seemed as if Sylar had lost that fear as he stalked forward in plain sight of the few early morning frightened bystanders. Before Ted could pull himself off the ground, Sylar was kneeling in front of him.

Without a word and only a facial expression Ted could not describe in a million years, Sylar raised his finger.

As the first incision began across Ted's forehead, he did not scream.

This isn't so bad. He thought. I can barely feel it anymore.

And with the last of his strength, Ted thought of his wife.

Ted Sprague was dead.

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D.L. passed through the wall cautiously. He had been gone for only a few seconds, but someone like D.L. knew the value a few seconds can have and how much can change in that short flicker of time.

He was happy to see Matt and Claire alone.

Claire automatically stepped forward, and without a word he grabbed her arm and moved to go through the wall.

"Wait!" He heard Claire's voice. Immediately he stopped and turned.

Matt was slightly bent over, a hand to his head. D.L. couldn't decipher the mumbles issuing from his mouth.

"Matt? Matt are you ok?" Claire tore herself from his grip and placed a hand on Matt's shoulder.

"Not inferior… There he is!" Matt said, his eyes directed towards the ground.

"What are you talking about?" Claire looked worried.

Suddenly Matt straightened up.

"Sylar," He said, "He's going after Ted. Go now!"

D.L. understood completely. After all, he had sensed that Ted was planning to desert as soon as he let go of his arm. He started forward and grabbed Claire's arm, and she put up no fight as he dragged her out of the wall.

When they emerged on the other side, the screams of early morning insomniacs could be heard ringing through the streets.

"Wait right here, I'm coming back with Matt." He told her, but he could tell by the look in her eyes she wasn't looking to follow. "I mean it." He said before he reluctantly stepped through the wall.

Claire quietly ran to the edge of the alley as soon as D.L. disappeared in the wall. She poked the top of her head out and could see Ted leaning haphazardly against the side of a car. There was one problem though:

He didn't have the top of his head.

Claire immediately whipped her own head behind the corner, just in time to see D.L. and Matt materialize from the wall.

"Claire?" D.L. called.

"Over here!" She said feebly. They both ran to join her and, not bearing to look again, she pointed around the corner.

They both looked and pulled their heads back with similar looks of disgust.

"Who would do something like that?" D.L. asked, and before Claire could answer, a voice behind her did it for her.

"I would."

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Isaac's Loft-NYC

Zach sat back in the computer chair and took some time to rub his eyes. Staring at a computer screen for too long always did that to him. It's going to be a long night.

He'd been spending the last few minutes hacking into Google's servers, which were shockingly weak. Well, as weak as a major company's network could be. Of course, Micah could have used his gift to get in and out quickly, but he was feeling tired after a long day of traveling and decided to join Isaac for some Chinese take out in the kitchen.

The Google Earth Program would be ideal for inputting the coordinates to figure out where exactly that last painting was. If the version available to the public was so useful, there had to be a more powerful version that Google was withholding from the public.

After a few more frustrating attempts, Zach looked up at the clock and realized that the group had been gone way too long. They were supposed to get Ted and get out quickly, something must have gone wrong. There isn't much I can do on my own though…

A part of him knew he was in no shape to help them get Ted out, but Zach had to know if Claire was alright. He couldn't forgive himself if she was hurt while he was somewhere safe doing nothing. Zach snuck up to his room and got the G-17 that Matt left him and was about to open the front door to take off when the door opened inward to show Hiro and Ando.

"Hiro! Ando! You guys have great timing, Hiro I need your help. Could you teleport me to a place called Graymalkin General?"

"Kenshi's sword only amplifies Hiro's power; it doesn't give him precise control over it."

"Yes, Ando is right; I do not think I can do that."

"Come on Hiro, they might be in trouble! What if you just hold on to me and I'll picture it? Maybe then you can get to it!"

"Ok, let's try. Ando stay here for now."

With that, Hiro placed his hands on Zach's shoulders and they both disappeared. Ando looked around wondering what exactly he was going to do to pass the time until they returned. He was about to go off and find a good restaurant when he smelled some delicious Chinese food from Isaac's kitchen. Perhaps this day isn't a loss after all…

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Graymalkin General-NYC

Peter stirred to silence.

He was slumped against a wall, and there was no living thing around. Peter brought a hand up to scratch his head. His memory was blurry, and he couldn't exactly remember what happened to leave him unconscious on an unfamiliar floor surrounded by knocked over hospital equipment.

It didn't take long.

Suddenly, he was leaping to his feet, flashes of Sylar and Claire and pain and noise rushing through his mind's eye. He recalled Sylar dropping him to the floor and floating away through his increasingly blurry vision, but what he couldn't recall was why.

Peter set off clumsily down the hall. It was tough navigating through the mountain of mess Sylar had left behind, but he knew he couldn't stay and sulk here all the way at the end of the hall.

But where was he going?

He remembered the designated meeting place: the dumpster. Unfortunately he wasn't sure if everyone else had made it out ok…

No, he couldn't leave Claire. Not when he had last heard her screaming…

With new determination, Peter set on his way wading through the carnage.

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Peter had no idea how long it took him to get back to the T. While he had ran down this hallway in less than a minute, it took considerably longer to make his way back through all the havoc that had been left behind. He barely stopped to look towards the exit before he continued on his now clear path.

He came to the door through which he had seen Claire disappear, and cautiously, he cracked it open.

He couldn't decide whether he was relieved or frightened that she wasn't there.

She wasn't there, so that meant she was alive.

But then she wasn't there.

He took one last look at the blood glistening on the floor before he closed the door and leaned against it.

Now he knew she was relatively all right, he just had to find her.

Peter turned and set off at a brisk pace down the hall.

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Peter had to do a double take.

He had just passed what appeared to be a gigantic hole in the wall, big enough for a man to walk through. He could only think of one person capable of such a thing.

Sylar.

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Claire jumped away from the wall in fear and Matt reached a hand out to grab her shoulder.

"Run!" yelled Matt as he and D.L. turned and fled.

Claire watched Sylar move forward, ready to bolt at a moment's notice, when suddenly a parking meter swung by and hit Sylar on the back of his head.

He stumbled forward a few steps, and then angrily spun about look for the source.

Peter stepped out from behind a car.

"Looking for me?" He asked nonchalantly, hands in pockets.

Claire could have cried in relief. Sylar could have exploded with frustration. He violently thrust out a hand and lifted it up. A parked car rose with it, and Peter looked to Claire with wide eyes.

"Get out of here!" He said, "NOW!" when she didn't listen.

Reluctantly Claire turned and ran out the other end of the alleyway to meet D.L. and Matt hiding behind the corner. She skidded to a halt and pressed herself against the wall beside them.

"What are we doing?" She asked.

"I don't know… Um…" Matt poked his head around the corner and then quickly drew it back again. They winced as one as a loud crash and screams broke the morningsilence. "D.L., do you think you could go get the Haitian for us?"

D.L. looked disbelievingly at each of them, but crumbled to Claire's pleading stare.

"Yeah, I'll be right back." And with that he took off along the back of the building towards the second alleyway.

Claire slid across the wall to fill D.L.'s space.

"So, what's the plan then?"

"Back in Texas I couldn't read that guy's thoughts. I think his power might have something to do with canceling out others. We need to get him to do that to Sylar so Peter can kick his ass."

"Oh."

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Peter stood his ground as Sylar glared at him, the car lifting high and higher. He waited until he could no longer see Claire before he raised a hand and ripped a mail box from the street.

Sylar smirked. So he wants to play, does he?

"You killed Ted." Peter stated as he motioned his head to where Ted's body lay.

Sylar took a long look at the body, as if seeing it for the first time.

"So I did." He replied.

"I'm going to make you pay for that." Peter growled.

"Right."

Without warning Sylar thrust his hand forward and the car was flying towards Peter. Shocked, Peter dropped the mail box and ducked behind another car to avoid getting hit. He cringed at the crash it made upon hitting the pavement and the screams of innocents from inside the apartment buildings.

He barely dropped to his knees before the car he was hiding behind was hovering above his head.

Peter rolled forward into the street and then jumped to his feet directly in front of another car. The man inside yelled as he slammed on the brakes before opening the door and stumbling off in the opposite direction. The street was scattered with people running from their cars or from their apartments.

Sylar was advancing, and with a wave of his hand the previously occupied car went rocketing up into the sky.

Peter scrambled backwards and searched his mind for anything to use against Sylar. He was drawing a blank, and it made him furious. Furious at himself. Furious at Sylar.

Sylar paused suddenly, and then turned toward the hospital.

Peter followed his line of sight and saw the Haitian standing in the opening of the alley, and D.L. soon joined him. Damn it, why can't they stay away?

Sylar's smile nearly touched his eyes. His glinting eyes that scared the crap out of Peter with the insanity they spoke of.

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Sylar wanted to laugh. He really did. Here he was, surrounded by people with powers so great yet they were not qualified to use them. He wanted to relieve them of their burden.

All of them.

He saw the memory wiper, the phaser, and of course, the absorber. He didn't care what he had decided before, he wanted them.

The potential coursed through his veins and clouded his thought. His breathing increased in speed. He wanted them all.

Finally he couldn't take it. He let himself laugh, and he laughed hard. His eyes moving from the absorber to the phaser to the memory wiper, it was all just so perfect he had to laugh.

And then to top it off the God damn healer presented herself in the next alley, followed by the mind reader.

There was so much power. He could feel it, clawing at his senses, plugging into his brain and feeding his hunger.

And then he felt him pushing his way forward.

Gabriel.

Gabriel had enough. He didn't want all these powers. He didn't want all this guilt, but Sylar did. He wanted them so bad that it ached every moment he was without them. Every moment his hands stayed clean. Every moment Gabriel held on.

In a frantic burst of inner turmoil, Sylar's arms lit up with radiation.

No. He thought. I am staying in control of this body!

He was becoming confused. Powers, knocking on his door. Gabriel, pounding at his thoughts. He felt himself burning up.

And then Sylar felt the worst feeling in his life.

He felt out of control.

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NYC-Penthouse

Letalis/Wireless

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! GIVE ME BACK MY SON!!!"

Why look for them, if you can get them to come to you? Letalis loved it when plans came together smoothly, and this one came together smoother than the barrel of the magnum he was holding to the head of Wireless's son. It's a shame she managed to kill my guards, but at least she's here now.

"Take one more step towards me Miss, and I will be decorating my floor with your child's brain matter."

"If you hurt a hair on his head, I swear I'll…"

"You are in no position to make threats. Your only options are to listen to me and do as I say, or leave and take little Max's corpse with you."

He admired the woman, despite the defeated look in her eyes, she kept her attack stance. The waves of fury coming off of her were almost palpable. No matter, he wasn't a man who was easily intimidated, and judging by her silence he already had her under his control.

"Next to what used to be my security chief, you'll see a computer terminal. You will use your…gift…to monitor traffic on the internet and look for traces of activity that could be related to any of your kind. When you do, use the terminal to verify your findings and launch a counterattack if possible. Once your information results in the capture or kill of another of your kind, I will let you and your son go."

"Are you serious? What's the point of this?! You're obviously well connected enough to get this done on your own. You don't need Max or I, please let him go."

"I am quite serious, and luckily for your son I'm also very patient. Make no mistake; my hand will remain holding this gun until you succeed."

"Mommy, what's going on?"

"Fine, I'll do whatever you say, just don't hurt Max. Stay there sweety, we'll go home soon."

Wireless closed her eyes and opened her mind. Almost immediately she could feel the bits of data all around her. All of the information traffic over wireless networks were like wide open books to her. Hopefully she could find something fast enough, for Max.

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Near Graymalkin General-NYC

Claire was worried. Once again, D.L. was taking more time that he should have. It was unnerving.

"Where is he?" She asked Matt.

"I don't know. He should be back by now." He responded, staring at the alley down the street.

Claire let her head fall back to the wall. She suddenly noticed it was eerily quiet. The screams had died down somewhat, and she couldn't hear the sounds of battle.

Then, she heard it.

It was faint at first, but then it became more prominent in her mind. She straightened up and cocked her head to the side.

Sylar was laughing.

With a sudden burst of panic she jumped off the wall and ran around the corner and set off down the alley. She could barely hear Matt yelling behind her, but the laugh was loud and clear.

Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, please don't be dead… She repeated in her mind. She envisioned in her thoughts Sylar laughing over the dead body of Peter…

Finally she reached the end of the alley where it opened to the sidewalk, and she couldn't decide if she liked what she saw or not.

Sylar was laughing insanely in the middle of the street. Peter was leaning on the hood of a car not too far away (alive, thank God). When she looked to the side, she saw D.L. and the Haitian standing tensely in the alleyway. After a few moments Sylar seemed to have noticed her presence and turned towards her. Soon after she felt Matt come to stand at her side.

Sylar seemed to burst with glee.

Literally.

Suddenly, his arms were aflame and his bones were glowing through his skin. Claire gasped as Sylar's laughing died away and the look in his eyes hinted that he was just as scared as she was.

She looked helplessly at Peter, who she found was staring right back at her.

He nodded, and Claire knew that to mean he was going to do something rash and completely necessary.

As the glow in Sylar spread and his clothes began to smolder, Peter leapt to his feet. He took a split second poll in his head before he was flying in the air towards the exploding man.

Grabbing him by his shirt, Peter lifted Sylar with him as he flew higher and higher. He had a plan. After all this, he couldn't stop the bomb. He couldn't stop Sylar. But at least he could save a few lives.

Peter looked down. It was funny how small everything was from up here. How insignificant.

He focused all of his power into a narrow telekinetic beam and forced it upon the ground, drilling a hole. He made it deep.

Peter readjusted his grip on Sylar, and he was forced to grab a hold of his wrist. He could feel the heat scorching through his hand, and thinking of Claire he dove towards the ground.

As the street rose higher Peter could feel the disaster approaching. He swooped at the last second before the hole of his own creation and held Sylar dangling above it.

"Sylar," He panted, "Burn in hell."

And with that, he released his grip on the monster named Sylar to let him plummet as far as he could go.

"My name… is Gabriel." Gabriel whispered as he burned through the air.

But Peter was long gone.

No one was there to hear him.

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Peter shot away from the chasm and made a beeline for D.L. and the Haitian. He knew that he didn't have the time to make the hole all that deep and there wasn't much time left.

He knew Claire could survive the remnants of the blast, however big that would be, and he trusted her to keep Matt from harm, as he didn't have the time nor the strength to carry him too.

Peter grabbed each of the men by their arms and swooped low before raising high in the air, high enough to overpass buildings. And then, he went straight.

Behind him he could hear the screeching of the explosion, and he knew that the look on Sylar's face as he knew he was nearing the end and the sound of destruction would haunt him as long as he lived.

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Subway Tunnel Station-NYC

Amanda was mid-yawn when it happened. A man fell onto the subway tracks. He was glowing.

She frantically pulled on the brakes, and a cacophony of screams erupted behind her when the train began to screech to a halt.

The man stood and faced her, how she could tell, she didn't know. He was bright enough to where she couldn't make out his features. As the light spread and she could feel the heat begin to suffocate her, she knew the time had come.

And as she felt the minutes shrink, she thought last of the baby she miscarried two years ago.

She was going to name him Gabriel.

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Near Graymalkin General-NYC

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Near Graymalkin General-NYC

Claire watched as Peter zoomed away with D.L. and the Haitian. Even though his choice of who to take with him was logical, she couldn't stop the feeling of pain that ran through her as he left her behind.

She felt a hand placed lightly on her shoulder, and when she turned her head she saw Matt giving her a comforting look. She gave a small smile in return.

Suddenly she could hear the roar of flames and heat traveling up the tunnel, and without further thought she pushed Matt roughly against the side of the alley.

"Get behind the-"

But before she could finish Claire was thrown suddenly off her feet by an enormous gust of white-hot air. She threw a hand in front of her face and closed her eyes, but she could feel her skin blistering under the heat. She could feel her clothes disintegrating to ash.

And just as suddenly as it had come it was gone again.

Her body has already started to stitch itself back together, but when she opened her eyes and looked at herself she was a mixture of angry red and black. Before her eyes it began to return to its normal state, however.

Suddenly Matt was kneeling at her side.

"Are… are you ok?" He asked.

"Yeah… Just… Give me a second." Her voice sounded raspy.

Matt looked on in awe as the burns on her skin were quickly covered over with healed skin, perfect as it had been just a couple seconds ago.

Moments later Claire was good as new, her only injury being that her skin was smeared with soot and he clothes were ruined. Matt quickly noticed this and gave her his jacket. As Claire slipped it on with a "Thanks," she noticed the right sleeve was burnt.

"Are you ok?" She asked, peering at Matt's right arm.

"Yeah, it's nothing."

Claire didn't buy it. His arm was tinged a red color and had a pretty nasty looking burn on it.

"I'm sorry." She said.

"It's not your fault. I would've been toast if you didn't push me behind that wall."

Claire smiled. "Yeah, it's nothing." She quoted.

Matt smiled at her.

They heard sirens in the distance.

"Do you think they're coming to get us?" She asked.

"They better."

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Near Graymalkin General-NYC

Zach and Hiro

It turned out that Ando was right, Zach had hoped that Hiro could just teleport them to a location. It looked like they had done a little bit of time traveling too. They popped into a street corner that was being rocked by some kind of underground earthquake. I don't remember feeling this outside Isaac's place. We better find the group fast.

"Hiro come on, there's the hospital!"

"Hai!"

"We better go around back, no point in looking too suspicious."

Although, as Zach looked around he could see that discretion was pretty useless by now. People were panicking all over the place, running and screaming, trying to escape the quake. Once Zach and Hiro felt the shaking starting to subside, they took off.

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Near Graymalkin General-NYC

Claire and Matt

Claire looked at Matt worriedly as the noise grew and died alternately, and still there was no sight of any familiar faces.

"Do you think we should stay here and wait for somebody to find us, or just go by ourselves?"

"I don't know… I guess we could go faster by ourselves. Let's go." And with that Matt gave Claire a hand and helped her up. Together they turned and began to walk out of the alley when suddenly their footsteps seemed to have multiplied. Matt turned to see a scraggly, mousy looking man trying to catch up to them inconspicuously. He was actually gaining.

Matt stopped.

"Hey, what are you-"

But before Matt could finish, a glint of metal appeared in his hand and suddenly it was pressed against Claire's neck. He had slipped in before Matt could react, and now they were all in a bad situation.

Claire gasped as the man gripped her arms to her side with an arm around her waist and pressed the sharp knife to her throat.

"Hand them over, or she dies" He said in a shaking voice. He emphasized his point by pressing the blade harder to Claire's neck.

"Hey man, we don't know what you're talking about, why don't you let her go and-"

"YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" he shouted.

Matt's natural cop instincts wanted him to screw the consequences and dive for the man, but Claire caught the look in his eyes and was inconspicuously but noticeably shaking her head no.

"I think you have us mistaken for somebody-" aAnd then it hit him. He noticed how the man's pupils were dilated and how taunt his muscles were, how they seemed to be vibrating. Shit. This guy was a junkie.

Matt's police history knew he was either high or going through withdrawal. This changed things a bit.

Matt was furiously wracking his brain for a plan when-

"Hey! Put your hands up, now!"

Matt spun to see Zach and Hiro in the opening of the alleyway, Zach with a gun and Hiro brandishing his sword.

Thank God. Matt thought.

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Near Graymalkin General-NYC

Zach and Hiro

After a few seconds of weaving through crowds and dodging debris from skyscrapers they found their way into an alley and saw Claire and Matt. Before he had time to feel relief, Zach drew his gun at the sight of Claire being held with a knife to her throat by a man obviously on drugs. He heard Hiro draw his sword beside him.

"Hey! Put your hands up, now!"

Zach hoped the words didn't sound as lame to the man as they sounded to him. Apparently, they carried enough authority to get his attention. The man and Matt turned to him, and while Matt's face showed relief, the druggie just seemed to grow more frantic and crazy.

"Back off man! This bitch has drugs, I know she does!"

"She doesn't have any drugs; just put the knife down slowly." He tried to stay calm, especially when he caught the look Claire was giving him. Aw, shit. Don't do it Claire!

"Shut up, I know she's got…"

The man never got to finish his sentence because Claire took that moment to shove her elbow into his stomach. Unfortunately, his immediate reaction was to slice her throat open with the knife in his hand. Her blood splattered on the ground and on the man's hand.

Apparently human blood is a lot more effective way to kick the habit than methadone. The sight of Claire's blood sent him sprawling on the ground behind her, fear in his eyes. When he looked up, he saw Claire straighten up, wiping he hand across her neck, and no wound. The junkie gasped and leapt to his feet. He scrambled over the dumpster and began to sprint out of the alleyway, not before he yelled over his shoulder:

"Freaks! Freaks, all of you!"

It didn't take long for Zach to jump on the dumpster and hesitantly raise his gun…

"Zach, no!" Claire shouted.

"We have to Claire, he saw you! If he tells others, you, your family, everybody, they're all screwed!"

"He's just a junkie! No one's going to believe him anyway."

Zach didn't say anything, but held his aim firmly on the rapidly disappearing man.

"Zach, please, you're not like my dad. I know you're not. Let's just get out of here."

Zach cursed and dropped his gun. Claire jumped on the dumpster beside him and watched the man disappear around the corner.

"You did the right thing, Zach."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Besides, what is he going to tell everyone? 'I tried to kill a girl and she came back?' He can't tell."

There was no response. Claire sighed and gave Zach a hug.

"I'm serious, Zach. Nothing good would have come of you shooting that man. Thank you."

And as if words weren't enough, Claire pressed her lips against Zach's cheek in a quick kiss. She then stepped away from Zach's now rigid and shell-shocked body and jumped down from the dumpster, leaving him to stare after her with his mouth open and cheeks red.

"Are you coming?" She asked him with a smile.

Zach shook himself out of his reverie and more fell and jumped off the dumpster. The group formed a circle and prepared to teleport away, when Zach caught Matt stifling a laugh at him.

"What?" He asked, irritated.

"Nothing." Matt said, trying his hardest to put on a straight face.

And in a flash the group was gone, leaving behind a bruised and broken city.

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Post A/N's:

Ch. 10 Preview: Multi-Front Assault

After the bomb explosion, new troubles await our Heroes. Their fellows are hunted down, and now even their families are in danger. Will they reach the sanctuary in time?