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The Not-So-Average Girl

With everything else that had been going on in her life over the last few weeks, Audrey was surprised to find herself grateful to be back doing something she had some actual control over. Organising protective custody was at least something she had some experience with from past cases, so it wasn't too hard to make the obvious arrangements, but the trick lay in finding a way to justify the situation. Matt in particular had made it clear that he wasn't totally comfortable with the plan, and Bennett had observed that his company would be better suited to keep Ted contained, but at the same time they all agreed that this was the best plan they had right now. Bennett was concerned about what his former employers would do to Claire if they knew about her ability, and Audrey certainly wasn't going to rely on people who'd have no problem experimenting in teenage girls, which left them with the option of relying on the FBI and hoping for the best.

Still, when the team arrived to take Ted into 'custody', Audrey was relieved when she looked over the planned details and confirmed that everything was just as she'd requested. Protective custody was at least more straightforward than witness protection, so all they had to worry about for the moment was finding somewhere secure to keep Ted until they were sure that Sylar wasn't a further threat. They had even managed to arrange for the Haitian to accompany Ted during the transit, which would provide further assurance that he wouldn't have a 'meltdown' until he got to safety.

"You're certain of this?" Bennet looked uncertainly at the FBI agent as they waited outside the FBI safehouse that they had declared the meeting point for the pickup.

"I made all the necessary preparations," Audrey nodded at the older man. "I've worked with everyone coming here and I trust them not to ask too many questions."

Her gaze narrowed as she looked at Bennett. "Just make sure the others don't get careless with Kim on your own mission."

"We'll be careful," Bennett nodded, even as he gave her a brief smile. "Be assured I'm also interested to learn how Miss Pierce performs in the field-"

"You better not be planning on trying to recruit that girl for your group," Audrey shot him a firm stare to counter his slight grin.

"Believe me, I'm fully aware that Kim Pierce would not make a good Company agent at any point in her life," Bennett nodded at her, his expression solemn once again. "Which is one reason she's better off following your plans at this time; your side can focus on getting the innocent out of there while I deal with things from… a different angle."

Audrey decided that was as good as she was going to get from him at the moment. She still wasn't comfortable with everything this man had admitted to doing when he worked with this company, but for the moment the priority was saving New York from an unprecedented danger; she'd worry about charging Bennet's old employers with numerous human rights violations when this crisis was resolved.

When the van finally pulled up, Audrey was grateful that she wouldn't have to worry about this part of things for much longer. Ted Sprague was a decent enough person, but considering the potential for his power to go out of his control, it would frankly be a relief once he basically stopped being her problem.

Hate treating the guy like some unexploded bomb, but Ted wants to get away from the city; he'll be safer when he's somewhere less stressful and away from all this…

Sitting opposite the dark-skinned man everyone knew as the Haitian, Ted wondered at the direction his life had taken over the last few weeks. Losing his wife would have been a devastating event on its own, but finding out that he was part of the next step in human evolution only to be stuck with one of the worst kind of superpowers a person could get.

Seriously, when there was men out there who could apparently fly or manipulate time, and he'd met a girl who could heal herself from any injury and a cop that could read minds, the notion that he was stuck generating lethal radiation without any ability to control it just sucked…

At this point, it was frankly a relief to know he was going to have guaranteed peace and control for the next few days. The chains on his arms and legs were a bit uncomfortable, but if they were going to sell him as a dangerous criminal he understood that Agent Hanson had to give these kind of instructions to sell the illusion properly.

Frankly, the only thing Ted truly regretted that he had to have this Haitian guy come along with him just to be sure he wouldn't do anything until they got somewhere private. He wasn't even sure if the plan was just to drop him off or if the other man was staying with him full-time for the duration of this mess, but for the moment the man was just sitting in silence across from him, with no sign that he had any particular issue with what he was doing.

"So…" Ted said at last, feeling a need to break the silence even as he wasn't sure if they were being watched from somewhere outside, "how did you… get into this group?"

"I was found as a child and trained in my particular skills," the Haitian replied. "As you can imagine, my talents were of great use to my employers."

Ted just nodded at that comment at first, but as the silence dragged on, he felt as though it was time to ask a question he had been pondering for a while.

"Do you ever… feel like you got cheated?"

"Cheated?"

"It's just… well, everyone else I've met so far has some kind of ability they can use anywhere, and I'm not exactly a fan of mine because of my control issues, but do you ever resent that your thing is basically… stopping other people?" Ted asked. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the help controlling my ability right now, but compared to everything else we've seen…"

"I do not feel short-changed," the Haitian said, looking at Ted with a thoughtful expression. "The powers we wield have been a great gift to many, but there are those who would abuse them to darker purposes. I do my part to help contain those who would abuse those powers, and give those who are simply out of their depth a chance to change and do better."

"Huh," Ted said, smiling thoughtfully as he considered that statement. "That's… an interesting way to look at it."

"We must all find the right way to view our gifts," the Haitian said. "I regret that your own talent has brought you pain so far, but I will do what I can to help you find control until you are sure you will be safe."

"Thanks," Ted nodded briefly at the other man, before he sighed. "It's just… it's hard to see what I could do with this. Officer Parkman's already using his talent to help him crack cases, Claire can survive things that would kill most people, and don't get me started on what Peter's capable of, while here I am stuck between shutting myself off and irradiating anyone close by if I lose control…"

"You will get there," the Haitian said, his tone firm. "We will never receive what we cannot control. You will find your purpose-"

Without warning, the whole van suddenly flipped over at least ninety degrees so that Ted was now hanging from his chains and the Haitian was lying against the floor that had previously been a wall. Ted tried to call out to the other man to ask if he was all right, but then the van flipped again and Ted was left hanging from the 'ceiling' as the van skidded along the road. Ted at least had enough space that his head didn't crash against the 'floor' as the van moved, but he definitely felt something crack as he was sent swinging back and forth between the walls of the van, until the vehicle came to a stop and the doors opened.

"I'm hurt!" Ted called out to the man on the other side of the door. The light behind the new arrival and the pain he was currently feeling made it hard to be sure, but Ted thought the new arrival had Peter's build, which at least seemed like a positive step. "I think it's bad!"

"Let me help."

The cold voice was enough to confirm that he wasn't dealing with Peter Petrelli right now, but for a moment, Ted held out hope that he was dealing with someone friendly before he clearly saw the dark-haired man who had so nearly killed him and some of his new allies the first time they'd gathered together in that hut what seemed like months ago.

When he felt the first flash of pain in his skull, all Ted could do was hope that it would be over quickly and that the people who had tried to help him would be able to stop this man before he could do anything too serious…

Even when Hiro was fully aware that he was being a bit of a fanboy about the opportunity to train with his father, he wondered what had prompted Kaito Nakamura to make the offer to train him after the initial attempts to get him to abandon his journey. His father's explanation that the recent journey had been part of a test to ascend to a new level at least sounded good, and Hiro wasn't going to complain about having a chance to prove himself, but he had to wonder what had happened in his father's past with those old allies who had lost their way.

Considering the precedent set by the likes of Magneto and Professor X, those words raised some disturbing possibilities in Hiro's mind, and he had a feeling he would have to learn the answers to those questions once this particular situation was over. As much as he liked the idea of being a more classic hero, he couldn't ignore that the worlds were becoming more complicated as time went by. Even superheroes had come a long way from the days when it was just beating up the latest plan of the Injustice Gang and the Masters of Evil; these days it was Batman being paranoid enough to come up with plans to kill the other members of the Justice League and Iron Man and Captain America dividing the entire superhero community because of their different beliefs about the Registration Act.

Maybe we can be simpler, Hiro thought hopefully to himself as he exchanged his final bow with his father. We know what not to do already; we just need to talk to right people…

Still, as promising as it was to consider such issues, for the moment his priority had to be Sylar and the explosion. He liked to think that he had responded well to his father's training, and he had hope that the other heroes he had met over the last month would also step in (even if he was worried by Flying Man's claim that the explosion couldn't be stopped), but there was still that nagging fear that his friend would meet the same fate that he had faced in that dark future…

"Ando!" he called out as he walked out of the training room. "I am ready to face Sylar!"

It was only when he looked around the shop that he realised his friend had vanished, while Ron Sinclair was standing at the corner of the main desk with an awkward expression.

"Where is Ando?" Hiro asked.

"He… well, he bought a sword and left," Ron said with a helpless shrug. "I tried to talk him down, but he basically said that he was going to save the world if you wouldn't, and-"

"Ando is after Sylar alone?" Hiro looked at Ron in horror. "He cannot-!"

"I get that, but it's not like I could talk him out of it; I don't even really know how to do anything with my talent yet-!"

Hiro didn't have time to continue this conversation; if he didn't find Ando fast, the most personally devastating part of the future he was trying to prevent would come to pass even if he was able to stop everything else.