They say that a hero can save us | I'll hold on to the wings of the eagles, watch as we all fly away

[ Spoilers ahead if you have not seen episode 3x15, Trust and Blood, but only in my little summary part here at the beginning. The rest is either common knowledge or stuff I've made up, so you can always just skip over everything that's in the brackets. I wanted to give whoever reads this a quick rundown though of where everyone stands at this point.

Hiro and Ando are in India trying to get Hiro's powers back, because Hiro deserves to have them restored, and because I didn't need him for anything else. ;x Mohinder distracted Bennet while Peter, Claire, and Matt slipped inside to free the prisoners. Nathan, disgusted by the inhumane treatment of Danko's captives released Tracy and Daphne, as well as any other unimportant people that might be in there at the time. Obviously in my version, Daphne gets shot and captured but not killed even though this takes place a couple of weeks after the last episode. ( Which might be the case on the show too, but we don't know for sure yet. ) Okay! I think that's it. Rough timeline and character placement, but there it is. ]

Somewhere along the line his plan had gone horribly wrong. It was a pattern, really. Nathan set the wheels in motion on an idea ( sometimes even an ideology ) he firmly believed in. Despite his intentions, the outcome was never what he expected. Not even remotely close. Generally, that's when he was forced to abandon his position and admit that he'd been wrong. As you can imagine, he greatly resented having to do this, but he wasn't above and beyond taking responsibility for his actions, particularly when it was a well-known fact that he had initiated this operation. Only with the President's authority could he have proceeded, but he was the one who had provided names and locations. He'd played a pivotal role in determining what would happen to the individuals he'd blacklisted, sorta speak.

Nathan's pace was slow and steady as he made his way down the corridor. With every step he took, he knew he was getting closer to what could very possibly be the end of his career as well as his social life. Assuming Peter and Claire would ever speak to him again, let alone forgive him, the others weren't likely to forget anytime soon. Letting them go with no strings attached was a risk. If any of them decided they wanted revenge, it wouldn't be hard to find him. The only assurance he had to fall back on was that these were supposed to be the good guys. It's what they claimed: what they'd tried to tell him all along. But because he didn't feel as if he belonged with the rest of them, he disagreed. He refused to believe that he was the villain, so he'd appointed himself their 'protector.'

Yet here they were. What was supposed to be a lock-down facility built to keep people with abilities separated from the general public to ensure everyone's safety had turned into a testing center where brutal experiments were being conducted without his consent or his knowledge. He hadn't even been aware this building existed until now. This was where Danko had brought them after the plane crashed. He'd gone to retrieve them from the wreckage, but instead of reporting his findings and transporting them to where they were supposed to be, he'd established his own three-ring circus.

Man, Nathan really hated that guy: had from the very beginning. He was going to enjoy informing the ruthless hunter that neither of them were permitted to carry on any further, and to do so would be considered treason.

The premises had been evacuated, and after taking a headcount ( the last of which was Claire, who had to practically be dragged out of there by her father ), Nathan had realized that Peter was unaccounted for. That's when he'd gone back inside prepared, for the first time, to get his hands dirty.

With the place empty, it didn't take him long to locate the sound of voices. He was relieved when he identified one of the speakers. He knew that tone all too well. At least it verified that Peter was alright, but he quickened his step nonetheless. Once inside the room, he swiftly pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and flashed it in Danko's direction. "We're shutting the program down. I have a signed executive order." And it came from the highest authority. While this wasn't technically a part of their previous package deal, the notice served the same purpose: it symbolized the end of this reign of terror. His opponent could either bow out gracefully, or a confrontation could ensue. Even though he was hoping for the former, considering what this guy had done, Nathan expected the latter.

However, he was willing to allow the other time to silently mourn his defeat as he turned his attention to Peter who was strapped down to a chair. Looks like he'd gotten there just in time.

Peter had known when he and Claire split up, he'd get caught, but if they stuck together, they'd both end up in trouble, and he couldn't let that happen. She was never supposed to be there in the first place. Provisions had been made for her, provisions to keep her safe, and she'd chosen to come help them anyway. Protecting her now was the least he could do. But in spite of his selfless act and sharp tongue after he was captured ( an attempt to make himself seem tougher than he really was ), he was glad to see Nathan. He tried not to let it show too much, because he was still mad. His big brother had betrayed all of them, and now he probably thought he could just show up at the last minute, save the day, and all would be forgiven. It wouldn't be the first time.

Regardless of how angry he was, they were still family, which made this even harder.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have someplace more important to be?" Peter asked with a glare.

He'd already announced why he was there, so Nathan didn't feel like he should have to repeat himself. Instead he responded to Pete's second question with an abrupt, "No."

He'd almost finished unfastening his brother's bindings when he heard a 'click' from behind. The familiar sound prompted him to stop what he was doing and turn around slowly. Lo and behold, he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. Was this man crazy or what? This was the end of the line. What did he think he would accomplish by shooting a Senator? Even if he was lucky enough to get immunity for his actions, this would make it virtually impossible to escape the charges that were stacked up against him. But none of that seemed to matter. Desperation, that's what it was. It still didn't change anything.

The two batted hostile remarks back and forth as Nathan attempted to reason with the one with the gun while Peter kept silent; he didn't want to make things worse. Things were tense enough already.

"I was told you'd be strong enough to handle what needed to be done. Your mother assured me-"

"My mother had no right to assure you of anything." Figures. It should've occurred to him that Ma had something to do with this. Everyone had at least one ally: a powerhouse to back that candidate. Plus she'd been insulted that he'd trusted the US government instead of her with something of this magnitude. All that aside ( their mother was an entirely different issue that they'd have to deal with later ), the bottom line was this ... "Torture was never part of the agenda." Once the statement was made, that signaled the end of the discussion as far as Nathan was concerned. "I'm going to untie my brother, and then we're leaving. It's over." Over in every sense of the word, so get a grip. Cut your losses, man up ... all those cliches. That's when he turned his back - maybe not the wisest idea. He soon learned that the hard way.

"Nathan!" Peter's eyes widened as he helplessly watched his brother get shot. Struggling to free himself the rest of the way from his constraints, he managed to break loose and immediately hopped to his feet. He extended both hands to help steady Nathan, his eyes going directly to the wound to examine it. Bet being just a normal paramedic didn't sound so bad now, did it? There was a lot of blood ...

"Don't look so worried. This isn't the first time I've been shot." He grimaced when he moved. His intent had been to prove that it didn't even hurt. Okay, so maybe it did, but it was far from fatal, and Pete knew that. "It's just a shoulder wound." Didn't they teach him anything in nursing school? Oh, right ... nursing school. "Look, I'll deal with this. I have to finish what I started. You go on. I'll be right behind you." He wasn't about to let their trigger happy adversary get off a second shot. He was still functional enough to inflict some damage himself if it came to that. But Peter was one of 'them,' therefore he was in more eminent danger. Besides, Pete was his little brother, and he wanted him out of this. He'd never wanted him involved in the first place.

Had Peter not wasted so much time making a decision, at least one of them would've gotten out before someone's unexpected arrival lessened their chances of survival considerably.

All were made aware of Sylar's presence when Danko was suddenly slung up against the wall and pinned there mid-air. He no longer had his gun, which was good, but Nathan would've preferred to take a bullet in the other shoulder compared to the alternative. Peter attempted to use his powers to improve their situation but quickly discovered that the drugs they'd been pumping everyone with here had temporarily blocked them. Needless to say Sylar didn't appreciate the gesture and flung Peter across the room and into the opposite wall. Nathan started towards him but was stopped when Sylar lifted his hand. After sending the eldest Petrelli brother into a separate corner, Sylar waved his finger back and forth and instructed him to wait his turn.

Everything after that started to move in slow motion, at least that's the way it seemed. Sylar was ranting about how Danko had murdered his father: the one he'd been searching for his whole life. Had it been anyone else, it might've actually been a heartbreaking story, but it wasn't anyone else. One thing was for sure: once the man formerly known as Gabriel Gray was done butchering the target of his rage, anyone left in the room would suffer the same fate.

Attempting to make any kind of conversation would only get them both killed a lot sooner, so Nathan, who was finding it harder and harder to concentrate, started looking for a way out. The good news was that Peter was closest to the door, and he could probably slip out while Sylar was distracted. Pete had gotten the wind knocked out of him, but he was moving again, which meant all he had to do was get up and high-tail it out of there. The problem was that he wouldn't do it.

Just as Danko's screams echoed throughout the room, Nathan looked up. That's when he found their ticket out of there.

There wasn't a lot of time, so he briskly stood, staggering a second or two before he was able to reclaim his footing. Then he hurried forward to grab Peter who knew what to expect because he'd followed Nathan's gaze. Peter's powers ( whatever those were these days ) were being suppressed. His were not. So after getting a firm hold of his brother, he skyrocketed through the glass ceiling that had been hovering high above them.

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It had become increasingly difficult to function, leading Nathan to believe that the bullet was either laced with or contained some kind of poison. Could just be a tranquilizer that was taking a long time to kick in. Either way, no flesh wound had this kind of effect on a person - not that he shared this with Pete. He was already worried enough. They hadn't had time to sit down and thoroughly bandage the injured area, but Peter had insisted on wrapping it up. He'd done a good job. And as soon as he was finished, they'd kept moving.

Was there a way out of these woods? It was like every time they thought they saw a clearing, once they reached it, they realized they'd been wrong: nothing but more trees. Both of them were starting to get frustrated when a distinct rustling came from up ahead. Something, or someone, was coming their way. Their first instinct was to move as fast as they could in the opposite direction, but right before they did, Peter clamped a hand onto his uninjured arm to stop him. "Wait."

'For what?' was on the tip of Nathan's tongue ... that is until he saw who it was. "Claire, what are you doing here?" They'd moved her to a safe location, and now she was wandering around out here unsupervised. What was she thinking? Better yet, where was Bennet? Wasn't he supposed to be watching her?

"What do you think? Looking for you two." She'd been more concerned about Peter since he hadn't been right behind her like he said he would. Plus she wasn't all that happy with her biological father at the moment ( for obvious reasons ), so she'd probably keep on seething over his betrayal for a little while longer. Some of that hostility faded though when she saw that the top of his sleeve was soaked in blood. "What happened?"

"I got shot ... again," Nathan responded dryly. Maybe it was time to seriously consider investing in a bulletproof vest to wear whenever he planned on inserting himself into any potentially dangerous situations, although truth was they had an even bigger problem than his throbbing pain and blurring vision. "We need to get out of here before Sylar finds us."

"Sylar's here?" Claire's eyes darted from Peter to Nathan, then back again.

"Yeah, he's inside." Last time they checked he was. Now ... there was no way to be sure, which meant Nathan was right. They needed to get going, because they were like sitting ducks out here. Fortunately Claire had observed her surroundings and was able to lead them back the way she'd came.

As they walked, Peter felt the need to fill the silence as he shot a quick glance over to his brother who looked extremely pale. "It was a close call. If Nathan hadn't flown us out of there when he did ..." No matter what had happened between them in the not-so-distant past, he believed in giving credit where it was due. When push came to shove, his big brother always came through for him. This time wasn't any different. It just ... things had gotten way out of hand.

"None of you would be in this mess if it weren't for me," Nathan gruffly pointed out - a fact he was sure neither Peter nor Claire had forgotten. They'd both been pretty furious with him lately.

"Yeah, well ... still ... " Peter had already slowed his pace to match his brother's, but when Nathan stumbled, Claire doubled back to take his other arm and offer her body weight as extra support.

The three trudged forward for what seemed like an eternity before they were finally reunited with the rest of the world.

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Claire had started to climb aboard the helicopter that was waiting for them when Nathan asked her what she was doing. "I'm coming with you."

"You should go with your father, Claire." There was still a lot to clean up, and he didn't want his daughter affiliated with this mess in any way. Leaving with Bennet would be for her own good.

"No. I'm coming with you." She repeated the sentiment with more determination than before; that was her final answer. There was nothing he could say to change her mind.

Stubbornness must have been a family trait. He could rarely talk her out of anything once she got her mind set. So after deciding it wouldn't hurt for her to come along ( and that he was too tired to argue ), he agreed. "Okay." He gestured towards Claire and her adoptive dad who loomed protectively by her side. "They're coming with us."

Once each passenger was safely seated inside, they lifted off the ground. First stop: the nearest hospital.

An uneasy silence fell over them, mainly because in light of everything that'd happened over the last several months, none of them really knew what to say. She doubted her dad even had anything to say, and Peter had probably already shared his feelings. As for her, well, there were a few things she wanted to get off her chest, but she wasn't sure this was the right time or place. Nathan looked like he could barely keep his eyes open, and she didn't want the last thing he saw ( before he lost consciousness ... not anything worse than that ) to be her accusing glare. Just since their trek out of the woods, she'd cooled down some. It'd still be a long time before she could trust him again, but she might've gotten a little carried away with her words when she'd first found out what he was doing. "I didn't mean it, you know."

Nathan turned his head to get a better look at her. "What?"

"When I said I hated you." Hated was a strong word - although in her defense, she'd just been reacting to the disappointment she felt.

A tired chuckle fell from his lips. "You meant it." No reason to sugar coat everything now. He'd been wrong. She called him out on his actions - a little more harshly than most would've, but she was entitled ... and she'd been right.

"Maybe at the time." But not anymore. She wasn't ready to give him any medals or anything for being the world's biggest hero, but she was proud of him for at least trying to do the right thing, even if it was too little too late. It helped that everyone she knew personally or cared about had gotten out of this ordeal in one piece. Otherwise her attitude might've been different.

One corner of Nathan's mouth drew up into a faint smile, but it only hung there for a second before it faded. That's when Peter scooted closer and placed a hand against his forehead to check his temperature.

"You're burning up." Nathan had a bad fever and an untreated bullet wound. Both of those things combined could cause serious damage if ignored long enough, but his resources were limited as long as they were in the air. Peter hated doing nothing. Nevertheless, nothing was about all he could do. He tried not to let how panicked he was show, although it was probably pretty obvious. He'd just gotten his big brother back: the one he remembered ... the one he'd missed. He couldn't lose him now. Not like this.

Funny, Nathan didn't feel warm. In fact he felt better than he had a few minutes ago. The pain was starting to subside, and other than being incredibly groggy ( and a little lightheaded ), he was doing alright - or so he thought. Maybe he was just delirious. "Hey Pete ..."

Peter lifted a curious brow. "Yeah?"

"I love you too." He hadn't said it back, and he should have. He was saying it now, though. There was just one more thing he wanted. One more assurance he needed before he slept ... "Now how about giving your big brother a hug?" You know, without getting zapped, bagged, and tagged. This time no tricks.

He frowned, finding it strange that Nathan was suddenly so interested in showing and receiving affection, but he obediently ( and carefully, so as not to agitate the injured shoulder ) embraced his brother. Because he couldn't see the other's face, he didn't immediately realize that Nathan had passed out. He did notice he'd gotten eerily quiet and still, which caused Peter to pull back. Instinct was to check for a pulse, and that's when he felt how weak it was. "Hey, is there any way you can fly faster?" He frantically called out to the pilot.

"Come on, Nathan. Stay with me." He felt Claire's reassuring hand on his arm, but he knew she was scared too. One glimpse of her face confirmed it.

Love him or hate him, Peter didn't know how to live without his brother.

There was a long pause before he added in a barely audible whisper, "I need you."