A/N: Thanks to those of you who have reviewed this crazy concept of a story! For the purposes of storyline flow, I have taken away Sylar's shape shifting ability but he still has plenty more ways in which to wreak havoc. He can do without 1. Cheers!

Chapter 5- Waking the Dead

Hiro didn't tell Noah that he had got lost on the way home, but he did. His powers were fading and he found himself in New Mexico instead of New York. He assumed it was about the same year, but the adobe buildings were constructed to withstand the test of time, so he couldn't really say. Thankfully it was late and no one saw him collapse in the street where he lay for a few minutes trying to recover. He carefully wiped away the blood that streamed from his nose and held his head to dull the sharp pain that had developed. He knew he was pushing his limits, but Bennet said there was only 1 more mission and then he could rest. He couldn't quit now.

Noah noticed the fine red dust that covered Hiro's clothing, but thought it best not to ask. He debated it all the way to Queens, but there was no other way to get the job done and keep his promise to Jim Kirk. They had stopped off at a small greasy spoon diner on the way so Hiro could refuel on waffles and French fries before facing the hardest task of this whole venture. He looked down at the shorter Asian man and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Hiro watched Sylar pass in front of his apartment windows from across the street. It seemed he was agitated and had a scowl on his face- but then again Hiro never remembered him being any other way. He hadn't dealt much with the former watchmaker after Kirby Plaza, but he had heard the stories and like everyone else just preferred to avoid him if at all possible. He knew that Sylar would slice his head open in an instant to get his power if he had half a chance and aside from a strong will to survive, he felt a deep responsibility to keep him from adding that particular trick to his bag. That power in his hands would be devastating and he knew he would not use it with honor. He nodded once to answer Noah because even though Sylar frightened him at a primal level, he knew that no matter what happened he could get away by simply disappearing. This was the only reason Sylar had not collected his power yet.

Noah led them to the fourth floor of the old brownstone walk-up and looked around at the dingy, dark hallway. This was just the place a serial killer would find comforting, he thought. Low profile, easy to escape from the multiple exits, dark so no one notices you. Perfect. He paused at the door of the apartment he knew was Sylar's and picked up a magazine that lay on the floor. He turned it in the dim light and smiled when he saw it was the latest edition of the IKEA catalog. He nodded at Hiro to be ready as he raised his hand to knock on the door.

Sylar stopped in his tracks at the sound of the thunderous banging on his door. He looked around slowly, planning his next move and wondering who the hell was at his door. Initially he thought it would be Nathan's men, but would they really be so polite as to knock first? In his experience they were more the kick down the door and shout questions later type. "Who is it?" He growled.

"Noah Bennet." Came a familiar voice. "I came to tell you that you are in danger."

No shit, Sylar thought. One step ahead as usual, Bennet. He looked through the peephole of his door because he did not have x-ray vision and saw his former partner and current nemesis alone in the hallway. Warily he opened the door against his better judgment and cursed himself when he watched a hand grab Bennet's wrist because he knew instantly who that hand belonged to and he also knew that once Hiro had succeeded in freezing time he would be powerless to defend himself.

In all his time working with people with abilities, it never ceased to amaze him what they could do, Noah thought to himself as he slowly moved around Sylar's static form to toss the catalog onto a side table. In the blink of an eye Hiro was able to tame the lion so to speak. He noted the open suitcase partially filled with clothing on the bed of the immaculate studio apartment. It looked like they had got there just in time. He wrapped his arms around Sylar's chest and drug him backwards away from the door so Hiro could close it.

Hiro looked around while Noah rummaged through the kitchen drawers. He noted stacks of books and it reminded him of the first time he had ever come face to face with the watchmaker as he was then. He was in his mother's apartment and Ando urged him to freeze time and run him through with his sword right then and there, but Hiro considered it cheating and a coward's way out. He wanted to face him directly and as soon as he returned time to its normal state, Sylar grabbed his sword and froze it to the point the steel shattered. He couldn't help but wonder if the Bushido code was always right. Had he listened to Ando, Sylar would have died just as Isaac's painting had predicted and it would have spared many lives. Who knew how many people had fallen victim to him.

"This should do it." Noah announced holding up a large carving knife. "Hold him steady."

Hiro placed one hand on the immobile man's chest and one on his forehead to brace him for what was to come. There was no honor in this, but time was of the essence. As he stood there he couldn't help but think that just under his left hand was approximately the place where his sword had entered and the bad man was left bleeding and dying in the plaza square. Just how he managed to survive was still a mystery to them because he didn't have Claire's healing ability then. It only added to his legend of near invincibility.

There was a bit of a push and a sickening crunching sound as Noah drove the knife deep into the back of his skull. Hiro held firm, but felt a little queasy. He knew that this wouldn't kill Sylar, it would only place him in a state of suspension until the knife was removed, but still it seemed barbaric. On Noah's cue, Hiro unfroze time and together they watched as Sylar gasped slightly before sinking to his knees and falling over, his dark eyes slowly turning an opaque white.

******************************************************************************

Hiro was careful not to reappear inside the bar as he did the last time. An apparently dead man with a knife in the back of his head would be a tough thing to explain. Not that the green man waiting for them had an easier time of it judging by the way he stared at Sylar's limp form hanging by his arms between he and Noah.

Scotty once more fired up the transporter to beam up what Spock said was the final group of four. The last batch was a motley looking group, and you would swear they had never seen the inside of a ship before the way they ogled all wide eyed. Chekov escorted them to the upper decks as he was asked although he didn't know what was going on any more than they did. Scotty watched as four forms appeared on the pad and laughed in delight despite himself because the zombie with the knife in his head was simply the best costume he had seen all day! He stopped laughing though when Spock called for medical assistance.

The sickbay was full of onlookers all gathered around the new arrival's body as he lay face down on a biobed. Jim and Spock looked disturbed at the sheer brutality of the wound while Peter and Noah appeared completely unaffected.

Although he shouldn't have felt the need to state the obvious, McCoy turned to his friend and said, "He's dead, Jim."

"Actually, he isn't." Peter interjected.

McCoy turned to the young man absolutely incredulous. "The man has a large blade lodged in the back of his brain." He pointed at the quiet monitor above the bed. "And he has no heartbeat or respiration activity. His brain is dead, therefore he is dead."

"With all due respect, Doctor," Noah smiled, "Peter is right. I know it looks bad, but he isn't dead. Believe me, I wish it were that easy. He is in a state of suspended animation that he will wake up from the moment you pull that knife out of his head."

McCoy had seen and heard a lot of crazy things since he had joined Starfleet. But as far as he knew, the basic tenants of medicine were cosmological constants. If the body before him lacked any sign of biological activity, it was a pretty sure sign that he was dead. And death, he was fairly certain, was a chronic condition with a very poor prognosis.

"He will wake up because he has the ability to rapidly heal, just like me." Peter explained. "But if you disrupt the brain stem's basic functioning, his body can't heal like it normally would because his system is essentially shut down. When you remove the knife, the tissue will again heal, but it can't as long as the knife is creating a barrier."

The logic behind Peter's explanation made perfect sense to Spock, but the outcome still seemed improbable. Jim, for one, was willing to suspend all judgment because he didn't know what to think after what he had witnessed over the past hour or so. McCoy, however, couldn't believe anyone was taking this seriously. A magic trick was one thing, but this was a whole new level of insanity to think this man was some kind of Lazarus figure that could miraculously awake from the dead. Dead was dead no matter how you sliced it and he had witnessed enough of it over the course of his career to know it when he saw it.

"You are a man of science, I can appreciate that." Noah nodded with a smile. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, I get it. But believe me when I tell you that removing the knife from his head in the name of experimentation is the last thing you want to do. I wasn't joking when I said he is perhaps the most powerful evolved human in existence and trust me when I say that you do not want him awake and in a state of full consciousness. You have no idea the things he is capable of." He waited a moment to let the gravity of his words sink in before continuing. "However, as we are here for a specific purpose, I can demonstrate my point. Peter?"

Peter's face went pale as it dawned on him what Noah was getting at. He had only experienced suspended animation once when Sylar sprayed glass shards at him in Mohinder's apartment and as he recalled, it was not a pleasant experience. Still, he couldn't agree more with Noah's assertion that these people had no idea what Sylar could do and to wake him was opening a veritable Pandora's box of mayhem and misery. He knelt by Sylar's bed and placed his head on the edge with a sigh. "Just make it quick." He requested. He let out a small groan as Noah plunged a nearby scalpel deep into his head. Everyone watched as his eyes were covered with a milky white film after he had fallen to the floor.

"Sweet Jesus!" McCoy yelled rushing to Peter's still body. Regrettably people had died in his sickbay before, but never had someone been outright murdered.

"Go ahead and examine him." Noah said panting slightly from the adrenaline and exertion. "When he is dead enough for you, take the scalpel out and watch him wake up. Take your time, he can wait."

McCoy was speechless and enraged that he had been forced into this grotesque charade, but he tended to the young man as he would any other. He checked for a pulse and found none, listened for a heartbeat but Peter's chest was silent. Tried to elicit a few reflexes, but his limbs did not respond. Just to be certain, he ran a tricorder over him, but even the sensitive instrument could not pick up any sign of activity. Peter was unequivocally dead. He looked back at Jim and Spock before grasping the handle of the scalpel and giving it a good tug.

It was like waking from a deep sleep and Peter gasped as he began to regain consciousness. The fog cleared from his mind and the paralysis that held him still began to loosen its grip. He blinked his muddy green eyes rapidly until the film dissipated and he could again see. The wound in the back of his head tingled as the tissues and nerves knitted back together in perfect formation. He sat up with a sigh and accepted Noah's outstretched hand to stand. He looked at Dr. McCoy still kneeling where he had lain and smiled. "See? Good as new."

It was at that moment that McCoy gave up ever again trying to understand the world he lived in. Everything that he had known and believed in up until then was sucked out into the void of space. He had just witnessed a resurrection.