ONE WEEK LATER

"I always knew it would come down to you and me." Carter said simply, circling the other man.

"Yes…" Sylar said, a dark, playful smirk ghosting his lips. "…light and dark, good and evil…if we were brothers, this would be biblical."

Carter's jacket swirled around him, seeming almost alive. Sylar was dressed in a white lab jacket, the name Suresh stitched on the breast, creating a strange Yin/Yang look between the two. "If you had bothered to read the Bible…you'd know Heaven always wins."

"Who says you're on the side of angels? Your sister was a whore, a criminal…the devil always appears most fair…"

Carter's eyes flashed. "I'd shut up if I were you."

"Then there is Claire…sweet little Claire…oh, I can just imagine the darkness in her…teenagers and hormones and all…"

His hands burst into silver flames. "Pushing it…"

"And then there is little Vally…" Sylar clicked his tongue. "Imagine what I could find in her…"

Carter slammed his fist into the ground, his entire body erupting in flames as he took his Metatron form. "Die."

Sylar laughed. "So that's all it takes to get the great Metatron to appear!" He lifted his hand, sending some dumbbells at the enraged Voice of God, not disturbed that Carter managed to dodge each one. The young man was fast, agile too; it would take a bit more work to stop him.

Using his telekinesis to fling himself into the air, Sylar held out his hand once more, catching Carter and sending the Metatron into a wall, other hand lifting up and crushing Carter's windpipe. Grunting, the hero fired off a whammy blast, hitting Sylar dead on and causing him to cry out, clutching his head in agony.

"You claim there is darkness in those I love…" Carter snapped, standing up and firing another blast. Sylar cried out again, trying to focus on sending a piece of gym equipment at the Voice of God. Carter moved two steps over, the treadmill shattered into pieces. Carter knelt down, glowing hand covering Sylar's mouth. "…lets see what darkness hides in you." He fired at point blank range, Sylar screaming, twitching…

…before reverting into a piece of paper.

"Time." Carter called out, turning to where Lee was standing.

"1 minute, 10 seconds."

Carter nodded to himself, grabbing a gym towel. The group had arrived in Las Vegas 2 days ago, and promptly decided they needed to find a suitable place to lay low. It had been Sergei who suggested Carter, using his powers, convince a casino hostess that they were high rollers.

Dressed in his duster, a pair of boots and a cowboy hat Madrid had copied, Carter had strolled into the small casino and charmed the staff. Explaining he was on an impromptu vacation with his wife (Madrid), daughter (Vally), brothers (Lee and Sergei) and sisters-in-law (Tina and Galatea), he'd asked for some rooms, some free chips, the works. A careful whammy, and Carter and Lee found themselves in a private gym, Carter training against the strongest paper clones Lee could create.

He'd already killed Sylar twice this morning.

"What next?" Lee asked. He and Carter were on shaky ground, but atleast they weren't at each other's throat.

"Breakfast." He glanced back at the destroyed room. "And explaining to the hostess this damage."

&&&

"You sure about this?" Hank said, glancing around the neighborhood. "Doesn't look like the nicest place…"

Kelly rolled her eyes. "What, to black? Too poor?"

"Too many houses with yellow police tape around them." Hank muttered, before glaring at Kelly. "And you live in Grand Blanc…Yuppieville USA. Don't try and act like your from the street."

(The Travelers-Outside Las Vegas)

"Quiet." Linda said sternly, knocking on the door once more. They heard some shuffling, then the door opened to reveal an older, but not old, African American woman. "Paulette?"

Paulette Hawkins blinked, looking at Linda carefully, before bursting into a million watt smile. "Linda…Linda Frey…look at you, girl." She pulled Linda into a hug, the professor laying her head on the woman's shoulder. "Welcome home, Linda."

"Good to be back…never thought I'd actually get to come back…"

Paulette gently placed a hand on Linda's shoulder, pulling her away so she could take her in. "Haven't seen this face in years…you look so beautiful." She glanced over at Kelly and Hank. "And who are these two?"

"Two of my students…Hank Delpine and Kelly Raegan."

Paulette frowned. "Hank?" She licked her lips. "I remember hearin' about you being on the run, the police looking for you…but that was with a Carter…" Kelly paled slightly. "What is the matter?"

"Its…a long story." Linda replied. "Can we come in?"

&&&

Smack smack smack.

"Vally…" Madrid scolded, using a wet nap to wipe the girl's face. "You have to eat queitly, ok?"

"Why?" Vally asked.

"Because other people are eating, and might not want to hear you smacking."

"But syrup makes my tongue sticky!"

Tina chuckled slightly. "Let the baby eat."

"NO BABY!" Vally shouted in anger. "NO!"

"Vally!" Madrid shouted, frustrated. "Do not yell."

Vally crossed her arms, glaring at Tina as the two of them sat at the breakfast buffet table. "No baby."

Tina merely shrugged, smirking slightly, taking a bite of her bacon. Sergei rolled his eyes. "Do not torment the child, Tina."

"Spoil sport." Tina said simply.

"Who's a spoil sport?" Carter asked, Lee at his heels as the two entered the buffet room.

"Ca-ter!" Vally squealed, leaping from her seat and leaping up, the young man catching her and spinning her around. Vally nuzzled his neck, and whispered, "Daddy" before shimmying down. "Morning!"

"Morning, princess…" He knelt down, reaching into his jacket. "Got a present for you…" He pulled his hand out, wiggling the stuffed animal in herface.

"SPECIAL BEAR!" Vally screamed, snatching the now stitched-back-together stuffed bear from Carter, running to Madrid. "Maddy, special bear!"

"I see, Vally." Madrid said, lifting her into her lap. "Now, what do we say?"

"Thank you Ca-ter!" Vally exclaimed, before happily turning to chatter to her toy.

Carter shrugged, slipping into a chair. "No problem, princess."

The group at pretty much in silence after that, each absorbed in their own little world. It wasn't until Galatea marched in, flipping back and forth between herself and Jessica, that the group pulled themselves from their own thoughts.

"What's wrong?" Lee asked timidly. He was still trying to figure out how to deal with this new Galatea…perhaps that being the reason he had made efforts to stick by Carter. The student somehow scared the artist's creation.

Galatea frowned. "Linderman's casino is being torn down. The stupid foreman wouldn't let me in. Poophead."

"Poophead?" Jessica snapped, taking control. "He was an asshole, a big f…"

"HEY!" Madrid shouted, covering Vally's ears.

Galatea shrugged. "Sorry. We tried to get in, but the guards weren't in the mood. Didn't buy my story, either."

"Said she left her handbag in one of the rooms…" Jessica complained, "…and couldn't remember which room it was…then said it was on the 50th floor, when there isn't a 50th floor."

Sergei frowned. "I am getting a headache."

"You're not the only one, Omega Red." Tina quipped. "So…I'm guessing getting at my father's files will not be as easy as I thought."

"You think?" Jessica snarled.

Lee sighed, head dropping back. "How do we even know the files are still there? Wouldn't this company have already snatched them?"

"Doubt it." Tina commented. "My father did not trust a soul. He kept his files locked away in a vault to which only he had the codenumber. It will take The Company a while to crack it."

Madrid bounced Vally on her knee. "And how are we suppose to get in, then?"

"I melt, Stripper-Hulk smashes." Tina replied. She glanced over at Carter. "And the Metatron can get us in."

Carter nodded. "These files…just how important are they?"

"They contain information about us."

"How much?" Sergei asked.

"Everything. I've only seen 4: Mine, Carter's, Vally's, and Madrid's. But I think he has yours, Sergei."

"And he could have Niki's." Jessica said sternly.

Lee rolled his eyes. "Ah yes, your mysterious sister…"

Jessica shot him a dagger-like stare. "Did I ask your opinion, bug?"

"enough." Carter snapped, coming to Lee's aid. The artist had grown on him, even if he had resulted in Carter's death, and he wasn't in the mood to argue. More and more, he longed for his mother and Marshal to arrive in Vegas and get his, Vally and Madrid's extraction underway. "If we want to live, we'll need to work together."

"My mother once said that bickering among sheep only allow the wolves more dinners." Sergei chimed in.

"He's right." Madrid said, looking at Vally as the toddler played with her bear. "We can't let The Company have any more information they can use against us." She nodded at Carter. "What's the plan, Carter?"

Carter looked over at the group. "I can't believe I'm going to say this…we're going to break into the casino."

&&&

"You told people I was dead!?!"

Paulette waved her hand dismissively. "I never said that. I merely never corrected them."

Linda held her head in her hands. "Everyone thinks I'm dead."

"Well, you did disappear, Linda." Paulette reasons, pouring some tea for Hank. "Did you expect them not to ask questions? When no traces of you could be found, people just assumed you'd been killed, retaliation. D.L. and I decided it was better to just let people think that."

"Bet they never thought to check CMU…" Linda muttered.

"Wait." Kelly said, holding up a hand. "Retaliation?"

Before Linda could stop her, Paulette launched into the story. "You know…how when Linda was a bit younger then you, she was having problems with drugs? Smart thing like her, I don't know why she turned to it, but she did. Took a bit more then she could manage, ended up owing men money. Stopped coming to school, and one day D.L. and I found her on our porch, beaten half to death. Took us a week to get her talking, and she told my D.L. all about how the gangbangers were after her for the money she owed. D.L., bless his soul he was always a good boy, even if he were pigheaded, decided to take matters into his own hands. He and his crew, they found the dealer, tried to fight him. Too many though…those poor boys ended up getting as messed up as Linda was. But Linda, she wouldn't let anyone fight for her. She showed up with a shotgun and blew a hole right through the dealer's stomach. D.L. helped her cover it up, then gave her what cash he'd saved up for a new car and told her to run. I thought for sure she'd only go buy more drugs. Only later found out she used the money in the casino, betting on horse races and making enough to get her through college." Paulette finally paused. "You know…that story."

Hank and Kelly slowly turned towards Prof. Frey, who was trying to shrink down into her chair.

&&&

(London, England)

Seth rushed through the manor's stately halls, past the servents and doctors, ignoring their cries of protest as he made his way towards the master bedroom. He had only just made contact with his employer, learning that Lord William had been attacked, his body broken and organs crushed. He was hanging onto life, and no one knew if he would make it another hour, let alone a day.

Seth had gotten on the next plane, his mission to protect Carter a failure, and arrived at Lord William Beckett's estate to find a mass of people gathered, working to keep the old man alive.

Shoving his way into the bedroom, Seth fell to his knees as he looked at his friend, covered in bandages, bruised and battered. Smoke poured from the frenchmen's mouth as he imagined what he would do to the person that had done this.

"Lord William…"

"Seth…" The Englishman whispered, voice hoarse. "You should not have come."

"I had too…after I heard…" he stroked the older man's hand. "Who did this to you?"

Lord William's laughed weakly. "Who else would dare such a thing."

"The Seven…" Seth whispered, seeking to pin down which it had been. "Merrick."

Lord William nodded ever so slightly. "Yes…he knows of your work with the Heir."

Seth fumed. "I'll kill him this time, old friend. He has gone to far…he will be drummed out…"

"Half the Alliance stands with him, half with us." Lord Williams coughed. "It is as predicted…the Alliance is shattering."

Seth shook his head. "Lord William…you were right. The prophecy…it is wrong. Carter Daniels is dead."

The englishman reached out a frail hand. "No…no." He smiled slightly, eyes far off. "The Great Change is coming."

"Lord William?"

"You know I was tasked with translating The Lost Gospel. When they returned to Egypt, only I was allowed to see the scrolls…" He sighed. "What I did was for the good of us all."

"Lord William…I don't…"

"I altered the prophecy…deleted many lines…to protect the Heir. I changed words to others that would sound similar…but would help hide the heir…only fate would see to it that the Heir would come from the LAND of the firestarters as well…" He gathered his strength, before Seth could stop him. "The true prophecy reads: From the womb of the firestarter, there shall come the Heir of Isaiah, and fear will be his ally. Take once in death's cold embrace, he will awaken reborn, God's voice given form." William smiled slightly, eyes growing heavy. "Seth…Carter Daniels lives."

&&&

"So Carter Daniels lives?" Merrick asked, stroking his chin. He paced his office, mind playing out this new twist. "And you believe this girl…this Vally…is the Light."

The informant nodded.

"Then it is good that he freed you from The Company's Alaskan Prison…fate seems to be on our side." Merrick nodded to himself, turning back to the video phone. "Stay with the group…stay undercover…and when the moment is right, take the girl." Merrick grinned. "You may just yet make up for the mistakes of your father."