{Chapter: 188 - After the Storm And The City of Fate}
Aiden lay back on the mattress inside the small treehouse, the soft creaking of the wood beneath them nearly drowned out by the sound of the rain pattering gently on the roof above. The air was thick with warmth — not just from the closeness of their bodies, still tangled from earlier, but from the quiet electricity that lingered in the silence between them.
Claire rested against his chest, her cheek flushed and damp with dry sweat, her breath coming slow and steady now. Her golden hair was tousled, sticking to her face, her eyes glazed with something between peace and wonder. She felt small in his arms — soft and warm, like something fragile that had finally found a place to rest.
Aiden brushed his fingers through her hair absently, his own chest rising and falling with deep, thoughtful breaths. Despite the calm around him, his mind wandered elsewhere. There were still things to do, people to track, places to go — but at this moment, he allowed himself the stillness.
Claire shifted slightly, as if sensing his thoughts drifting. Her voice came out soft, almost unsure. "I know you're very satisfied, and... I am too."
Aiden let out a quiet chuckle, cutting her off before she could say more. His voice was low but teasing. "I'm not thinking what you think I'm thinking."
Claire lifted her head slightly, resting her chin on his chest as she looked up at him with that familiar mix of curiosity and affection. "Wait—so… can you really read my mind? Like, everything?"
He nodded slowly, tapping a finger to his temple. "It's not perfect yet. I can't control it very well — some thoughts just come through louder than others."
Claire's cheeks turned a deeper pink. She glanced away quickly, her mind already spiraling with the hundred embarrassing thoughts she had tried not to think tonight.
Aiden smirked knowingly. "Don't worry. Yours are… loud," he teased.
Claire laughed lightly, though her heart was fluttering wildly in her chest. Her teenage hormones were already a storm she barely understood — and now with someone like Aiden? Someone who saw her, who listened, who knew things without her needing to say them? It was intoxicating. Overwhelming. Beautiful.
And terrifying.
She bit her lip and looked at him again, her voice this time only in her thoughts:
"Will I ever see you again…?"
Aiden's eyes softened, and he spoke without hesitation, as if the words had been waiting on his tongue. "Of course. Even if I leave this world… you'll still be able to find me."
Claire blinked, taken aback. She smiled — a soft, sweet smile — but didn't fully understand what he meant. And she didn't press. Aiden always seemed to carry secrets like shadows. Part of her was scared of knowing too much, of pushing him away.
Instead, she just leaned into him and whispered, "You better mean that."
In the background, something invisible shifted. A faint chime echoed only in Aiden's mind — the familiar system prompt flickering across his vision.
[Claire's Friendship +80%]
[Total Friendship: 176%]
He raised a brow. I thought a hundred percent was the limit… But apparently, Claire had broken that rule, like she broke so many of his expectations.
He didn't tell her his plan to take her away from this world — not yet. But the decision had already been made. The system was his proof. That kind of number wasn't just friendship. It was devotion.
Once Claire had gathered her strength, Aiden helped her sit up and get dressed again. She was still quiet, thoughtful, but there was a gentle glow about her — something fulfilled and yet longing for more. He saw it in her eyes, in the way she lingered when they stepped out of the treehouse together and headed back to the car.
By the time they reached the outskirts of town, night had fully fallen. The soft glow of streetlights flickered in the distance. Claire looked out the window, her expression unreadable, until Aiden slowed the car.
"This your stop?" he asked, voice soft, not cold but distant in that familiar way of his.
Claire nodded slowly, but then turned to him with visible hesitation. Her fingers tightened slightly around the handle of the door. "I… I have to go back."
There was a quiet pause.
Aiden leaned in, brushed her hair back behind her ear, and kissed her — not rushed, not wild — but slow, deliberate, reassuring.
"Don't worry," he said when they pulled apart. "We'll meet again. And it won't be long."
Claire's breath caught in her throat. She nodded — once, twice — then stepped out into the night, casting one last look back at him before closing the door.
As she walked away, her thoughts echoed back in the silence:
"I wish tonight didn't have to end…"
Aiden watched until she disappeared around the corner. Only then did he turn the key, scanning for the next presence.
Rene. Found.
Sylar... Gone?
Aiden narrowed his eyes. The trail was cold — Sylar had already left Texas.
"He's fast," he muttered. "Too fast."
He adjusted the route.
"Let's head to New York."
No more delays. He'd come back for Claire. But first… he had work to do.
---
New York City
The city buzzed with life.
Yellow taxis honked as they weaved through traffic, street performers played jazz on the corners of busy sidewalks, and towering digital billboards cast their shifting light over the crowded plaza. Times Square pulsed like the beating heart of New York, and in the middle of it all, two figures walked side by side — one calmly observant, the other keeping a cautious watch on the surroundings.
Aiden took in the sights like a true outsider. His eyes moved slowly, curiously, from the glassy skyscrapers to the street vendors selling pretzels and roasted peanuts. Despite all the chaos and energy, there was something soothing about this world. Something almost... safe.
"Although the environment's similar, the energy here feels so different," Aiden murmured to himself, speaking more to his own thoughts than to Rene beside him. "No alien invasions. No robotic sentries. No masked men flying through the sky with repulsor beams or spider webs everywhere"
He tilted his head up to scan the skyline. "Even the Stark Tower, Oscorp is gone. as never existed here in the first place…"
Aiden couldn't help but compare this New York to the one back in the Marvel-based world he'd once traversed. That one always felt like it was on the verge of collapse — from alien armies or ancient sorcerers — while this one, by contrast, felt untouched. Peaceful. Fragile, even.
He and Rene moved deeper into Times Square, their pace unhurried. The crowd thickened as they approached the crossroads of the world. Advertisements blazed from towering LED screens: perfumes, tech gadgets, political ads — and the occasional cheesy drama teaser. The city's heartbeat was loud here.
"People are too relaxed in this world," Aiden muttered, half to himself again. "Maybe because they've never had to worry about being vaporized by a villian warship."
Rene said nothing. He remained quietly behind Aiden like a shadow, his hands tucked into the pockets of a worn jacket, ever observant but unbothered by the crowd.
Then something odd caught Aiden's eye.
Nestled between a hot dog stand and a cheap souvenir shop was an old-fashioned street stall filled with paperbacks and comics. It looked almost out of place amidst the digital chaos around it — a fading relic of an earlier era.
Curious, Aiden stepped toward the small stand. His fingers brushed over old titles, faded covers, and cracked spines. But then, one particular comic caught his attention.
The artwork on the front was colorful and cartoonish — a wide-eyed Asian man in thick glasses, looking both shocked and overjoyed, frozen mid-yell with exaggerated expression.
Aiden blinked. "...Hiro?"
Sure enough, the title in bold above the illustration read:
The Adventures of Hiro Nakamura — Master of Time and Space!
He opened it. A simple flip-through revealed a surprisingly accurate rendition of Hiro's early story. It depicted him freezing time to impress his coworkers, teleporting across the globe, and talking about destiny like an overexcited fanboy. Each panel radiated with enthusiasm and naivety — the exact sort of personality that Hiro had in Heroes, especially in Season 1.
"Hey!" the stall owner barked from behind a stack of books, glaring. "This ain't no library, buddy!"
Aiden didn't even look up. He simply snapped his fingers.
Rene stepped forward silently and handed over cash without a word. The man grumbled, but said nothing more.
The comic wasn't long — barely more than a dozen pages. But something caught Aiden's attention near the end. The final panels showed Hiro vanishing into thin air, almost as if in retreat. The expression on his face was serious — aware, even wary.
Aiden narrowed his eyes.
"Did he… sense me? Did he already figure out what I want?" he muttered, analyzing the last page. "Did he leave New York on purpose?"
The question lingered in his mind — unanswered and unsettling. Before he could dive deeper into it, an excited voice rang out through the air like a sudden alarm.
"AWESOME!!"
The shout came from behind, almost childlike in its enthusiasm. Aiden turned his head slowly.
There, standing on the edge of the plaza, was the real Hiro Nakamura — arms stretched wide as he spun in place, his voice echoing up to the rooftops.
"HELLO, NEW YORK!"
Hiro beamed like a tourist on his dream vacation, his cheeks rosy with excitement. His thick glasses sat slightly crooked on his nose, his camera bouncing against his chest as he fumbled with his phone, trying to record the moment.
He spoke English with a thick accent — clumsy, broken, but full of joy. "I love... New York! So many lights! So many... humans!"
People glanced at him with raised eyebrows or amused smiles, but Hiro didn't care. He waved at strangers like they were old friends, oblivious to the fact that most ignored him completely.
He looked utterly out of place.
Utterly himself.
"Hello there!" he called to a passing couple, who gave a polite nod and walked on. Undeterred, he greeted others as he wandered through the crowd, like an overexcited exchange student fresh off the plane.
When his eyes fell on Aiden — an Asian face among a sea of strangers — Hiro paused, eyes lighting up as if he'd just spotted a fellow countryman.
"Ah! Hello!" he said cheerfully. Then he switched to Japanese. "Sumimasen, anata wa… Nihonjin desu ka?"
Aiden blinked at him, caught off guard by the question.
"No," he said quickly, shifting in place. "I'm not."
Hiro's smile didn't falter. "Oh! It's okay! You look Japanese. But you are… um… handsome foreigner!" he added proudly, nodding at his own compliment.
Aiden raised an eyebrow, mildly amused. Hiro was exactly how he remembered — sincere, friendly, and just a little bit awkward.
"I like your… energy," Hiro said with a thumbs-up.
Rene leaned in slightly, whispering to Aiden. "He has no idea who you are."
"Good," Aiden muttered under his breath.
Hiro, meanwhile, had already turned to take a selfie with the comic stand. "Look! My story! They made comic of me! I am… hero!"
Aiden watched him with sharp eyes. Despite his childish excitement, there was something else in Hiro's aura — something hidden. His power was undeniable, even if it was buried beneath his exuberant smile.
He's strong, Aiden thought. Too strong to be this careless.
Something wasn't right.
But for now, Aiden said nothing. He simply stepped forward and extended a hand.