Heroes Season 5

I'm not going to post the whole thing since it's going to get long and I don't want to flood a thread when completed pdf and ereader formats will be available. For now I will post the first look at the Heroes Expanded Universe's season 5.

Noah Bennet watched as Samuel Sullivan was placed in the back of a squad car. He knew Samuel would be heading to the Central Park precinct until they could process him and find a more suitable new home, he just hoped the walls could handle him; not that Samuel was giving him any cause for doubt, looking strangely comfortable as an officer pushed him into his seat by his head.

He looked down at his daughter, Claire. “Is everyone safe?”

Claire nodded as they walked through the Sullivan Brothers Carnival. “Yeah, Hiro’s taking care of them, they’ll be fine.”

They were both relieved that Hiro Nakamura had managed to teleport everyone away before Samuel's earthquake could harm them, though they didn't know where he'd sent them.

“Who’s taking Samuel?” Claire asked as the cop closed the car door. “Is it a new Company?”

Noah slipped a hint of a smile. As far as he knew, the Company he worked for—under the guise of Primatech Paper—was defunct. Though he was wise enough to know something else would replace it sooner or later. “An old one,” he replied. “Lauren called in some favors.”

He then noticed that Lauren was giving a formal statement to the press, the only civilians who were still around at this point.

“What’s she telling them?” Claire sounded dubious.

“There was a gas main rupture.”

Rolling her eyes, Claire said, “Of course there was.”

“And all the other stuff—the flying, the rumbling—all just special effects put on by a very gifted showman.”

“You still can’t see it, can you?”

“See what?”

“The future—one where we all get to live out in the open.”

“Claire, you know how I feel about this.” He started to walk away, not wanting to repeat a variation of the same argument they'd had countless times since Claire discovered her ability.

But Claire was insistent. “How long can we keep this under wraps?”

The conversation was stopped in its tracks as a a group of journalists started to hound them, shoving large microphones in their faces. Noah was holding up his harm to block to shield his eyes from the flashing lights when the questions started coming.

“Excuse me!”

“You were witnesses. What happened?”

Noah was taken back to his Company training and remembered that in the event that the truth was compromised, there were only four words he should ever say. “I have no comment.”

Undeterred, another reporter turned to Claire. “Can you tell us what you saw here tonight?”

Noah shot Claire a look, hoping she could understand what he was thinking, Don’t say anything!

He sighed in relief as she just muttered, “What he said.”

Proudly, Noah smiled and started to walk away.

Of course, the reporters kept at it.

“Miss, please, you have to have seen something.”

“Are you sure, Miss?”

“You look like you want to say something.”

Noah turned around. Not only had Claire not moved, but that last reporter was right. She did look like she had something to say.

Don’t say anything!

“Actually, I do have something to say.”

Noah winced. His mind immediately started weighing exit strategies—absolutely none of which would work in a huge public park while at least a dozen cameras, both video and still, were pointed right at him and Claire.

“Claire,” he said in a stern tone.

She turned to look at him. “You’re right. People don’t change.” Then she walked over to the press. “You want to know what really happened here tonight? Keep the cameras on me.”

Noah watched in horror as his daughter ran over to the giant Ferris wheel—and started to climb it.

Lauren had noticed that the press hadn’t dispersed after her statement and saw what Claire was doing. She approached Noah. “What’s she doing?”

“Breaking my heart,” was all Noah could say in reply.

Hiro and Ando returned to the carnival, looking to see if there was anything else they could help with, both were happy to see that it was a lot quieter than when they'd left. Finally a chance to relax.

They spoke in Japanese.

“Ready to go home?” Ando asked.

“Yes. Finally,” Hiro replied. He was smiling at the thought of being able to relax and put his recent ordeal behind him, that smile faded when he saw Claire growing closer to the top of the metal sculpture. Maybe they weren't done yet. “What is she doing?”

Only feet away, Peter saw it too as Gabriel was still riding the high of sparing Doyle's life.

“It's amazing, Peter,” Gabriel said.

Peter replied, his attention clearly elsewhere. “What is?”

They stopped walking and Gabriel turned to face his new ally.

“When I saved her,” Gabriel paused briefly. “I didn't have a thought for myself, I could have killed Doyle but I didn't. It felt good– it felt right.”

“What the hell does she think she's doing?” Peter asked, finally making Gabriel aware of the situation as Claire finally reached the top of the Ferris wheel. “She's gonna change everything.”

“That's right,” Gabriel started with a smile. “It's a brave new world.”

The reporters all gasped audibly as Claire jumped off the wheel. She plummeted to the ground like a rocket, yet the fall seemed to be in slow-motion to Noah.

She landed on the grass and dirt with a sickening crunch. The journalists all looked horrified—but they all ran closer as well, and Noah wondered how many of them were concerned for Claire’s safety and how many just wanted to look at the body.

But Claire was standing upright before any of them reached her. The act of standing shoved her dislocated left leg back into place, and then she grabbed her misshapen right arm with her left and snapped it into shape with a crack that echoed off the trees and carnival attractions.

The reporters were openly gaping. All eyes were on Claire.

Claire was staring right into the cameras, unblinking as the lights shone in her face, already fully healed from the fall, save for some leftover blood.

“My name is Claire Bennet, and this is attempt number…” She trailed off and chuckled. “I guess I’ve kind of lost count.”

“-unseen since the shocking events in New York, we've all been asking the same question: where is Claire Bennet?”

Noah would normally have been startled by such a question being asked on a national news broadcast, be these days he was finding himself becoming increasingly indifferent. In the months since she exposed herself to the world, Claire's name had been mentioned endlessly by every television network, as well as every other form of media. The internet was full of articles and podcasts talking about her– speculating and creating theories about the events at the carnival. Gossip magazines were more successful than ever by claiming to have inside scoops about her personal life. Of course they couldn't even name the correct highs chool she went to despite her ties to the Union Wells massacre being public knowledge long before her abilities.

Claire was keeping a low profile and Gretchen had promised not to talk to the press, so Noah had no reason to pay attention. The news was just background noise as he read through his files.

The presenter continued. “But that is about to change as we can reveal that she will appear in a very special interview on NBC tonight. I, for one am very interested in finding out more about this mystery girl.”

Noah drops his file and stared at the television, but the conversation between the co-anchors was lost as his mind raced, trying to comprehend what he'd just heard. It can't be true, he thought to himself.

“I take it I'm too late,” came a familiar voice.

Noah turned around to find Angela Petrelli stood in the doorway.

“I hope you don't mind, the door was unlocked,” she said.

Noah extended his arm behind him and pointed at the screen. “What is this.”

“A small inconvenience. People weren't supposed to know until right before the show, a little security measure.”

“You know what I mean,” Noah said. His voice was starting to shake.

“Indeed I do, I was already on my way to tell you when I heard that her guest spot had been leaked.”

“I didn't give permission for this.”

“You didn't need to. Claire is an adult now, there's nothing we could have done to stop her, unless we were to hold her hostage.” Angela took off her bag and coat and hung them on the back of a chair. “Besides, you know her much better than I do, how long did you really think we could keep her hidden?”

Noah didn't have an answer.

“Sit down, I'll make us some tea,” Angela continued. “We have much to discuss.”

Angela found the kettle after rummaging through cupboards and started filling it with water.

“We can't let Claire loose in the public, it's not safe.”

“She's safer than any of us,” she said grabbing two mugs she'd seen in her previous search.

“I didn't mean for Claire.” Noah sounded weak. “The last time she was on TV her face became the image for hate groups. Who knows what will happen when she does it again?”

“All the more reason to let her tell her story.” Angela placed the kettle on a burner. “What's done is done, we can't change that. We can only ensure that we're standing on the right side of history.”

This grabbed Noah's attention.

“This is a new world, and we need to make sure it doesn't fall to the same mistakes as the old one,” Angela said. “Things are shakey now, but the only way they can get better is if we let Claire carry on with what she started. People will follow, and everything will fall into place.” She stopped setting up the tea and faced Noah. “Don't stand in the way of progress.”

Noah took the words to heart, Angela seemed so sure of herself. Who was he to challenge a woman who can see the future in her dreams, especially when wasn't even sure of his own opinions anymore?

He almost jumped as the kettle started to whistle. By the time he could figure out what it was the cups were already on the table in front of him, follow shortly by a bottle of golden honey. Angela joined him.

“I've been speaking to the President,” she told him.

“You have a direct line to him now?

“In a way I have you to thank for that.”

Noah looked at her completely lost. The look wasn't lost on Angela.

“An old friend of yours, Lauren Gilmore, has been talking about us.”

“All good things, I hope.”

“very much so, in fact the President wants us to restart the Company. Lauren used to be an agent of ours if I'm not mistaken, I must remember to thank her.”

"Why would the President want a Company?" Noah asked.

Years of keeping secrets had living a double life had left him with trust issues. There had to be a catch, the last time he was involved in this business, Nathan Petrelli was kidnapping people and sending them off to some undisclosed location. Noah remembered how that resulted in a plane crash and armed soldiers sent out to recapture them.

"Because an election is growing closer and he wants to go into it in a good light by dealing with the current situation."

Noah felt an odd sense of satisfaction. People are only in it for themselves, he thought to himself.

"And you?" he asked.

Angela looked at him in disappointment. "Don't be so foolish. I've done some questionable things in my time but they've all been for a bigger cause, if anyone could see that I would have hoped it would've been you. If you want to find anyone doing this for themselves you should look at yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. He'd have been offended if it wasn't true.

Angela nodded her head towards the files piled and scattered on the table between them.

"You're clearly bored. A normal life doesn't suit you," she said.

"You didn't answer my question," Noah said.

"That's because I answered before you even asked it," she replied. She placed her cup on the table and leaned forward. "The thing is bigger than all of us, it's bigger than the President, it's bigger than Claire. How these events play out will set a course for the rest of humanity, we have to make sure it's the right course. Now are you in?"

[[Unfinished - a little stuck on how to handle this chapter]]


Peter looked inattentively out of the ambulance window as it slowly crawled forward in the traffic, his head lightly resting on the glass.

"What do you want for lunch today?" Hesam asked. His fingers drummed on the steering wheel. "I think I'm in a pizza mood."

He quickly juggled his gaze between Peter and the road when there was no answer.

"Hey, Peter."

"Huh?" Peter responded.

"You okay, man?"

Peter feigned a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Guess I got distracted."

"Can't say I blame you, I'm bored too." He thought for a moment before joking, "Is it wrong that I'm actually hoping for something to happen?"

Peter replied with a shrug and a grunt of indifference. "What were you saying?"

"Pizza for lunch?" Hesam smiled.

"Sure."

Suddenly the radio cracked and Peter looked alert, jumping forward in his seat. There'd been a traffic incident, the cause unknown. Hesam flicked the switch to sound the sirens then gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles were almost white.

After a few short moments the traffic began to part, clearing a path for them.