Jumping five years ahead, we get to see what’s happened to the surviving Heroes after the big blast ripped through New York—and it isn’t pretty. It’s also very convoluted. Let’s see if we got everything straight here:
Hiro and Ando meet Future Hiro in Isaac’s loft. Future Hiro has made a timeline, trying to trace the events so he might be able to change the past. He tells Hiro that it was Syler who exploded the bomb—and thus set the world against those who are “special.” But Hiro tells Future Hiro his time jump warning Peter to save the cheerleader worked. Claire was saved. But somehow the bomb still goes off.
Future Hiro is now convinced Hiro must go back and kill Sylar to prevent this future, since Sylar doesn’t have Claire’s regenerative powers. But just as their conversation gets more involved, Parkman and his government guys come rushing in to cut it short. Parkman’s a Bennet now. Interesting. Ando and Future Hiro escape while Parkman captures Hiro, mistaking him for the future one, who is now considered a terrorist. Parkman also has the Haitian in tow, who inhibits Hiro’s powers to teleport. Future Hiro and Ando have to go find Peter in Las Vegas to try to save Hiro. Two Hiros is mighty confusing.
In Vegas, Ando and Future Hiro go see Jessica, who is now a dancer at a strip club—and Peter’s girlfriend. She’s not Jessica anymore, however, but really Nikki, using Jessica’s name. Nikki doesn’t want to help them, so Future Hiro asks about Bennet. “He’s still rustling cattle in Texas, I think,” she tells them. Later, Peter, with a deep scar running down his face, materializes and reveals Nikki lost both D.L. and her son in the explosion. She just wants to let it all go and never have to think about it ever again. Peter feels differently. See, he was the one who really blew up New York.
Meanwhile, Parkman interrogates Hiro with a list of Future Hiro’s super-powered crimes. But Parkman can tell this Hiro has no memory of those events. Parkman reports this to the now President of the United States, Nathan Petrelli, who tells Parkman to get as much information out of Hiro as possible before taking him out. President Petrelli then calls for Prof. Mohinder. It comes out Nathan and Mohinder allowed the explosion to happen, so they could spend billions in research to eradicate the super powers. But they’re no closer to a remedy. They’ve tried forbidding breeding but people keep manifesting dangerous powers anyway. Nathan suggests extermination. Of course, Nathan would be exempt, because flying isn’t dangerous. How convenient. He comes up with the plan to tell the world a cure has been found (even though it hasn’t) and later, when it doesn’t seem to be working, and they die, he’ll blame Mohinder and lack of resources. At least, for the moment, Petrelli will look like a Hero.
At the paper company in Texas, Mr. Bennet (with far less stylish glasses) is helping families with special powers relocate. Ando and Future Hiro arrive and convince a reluctant Bennet to help by reminding him how Peter saved Claire. Guess that mind wipe still works five years later. Meanwhile, in Future Hiro’s loft, Mohinder sees the timeline and figures it out, including the moment in the subway when he remembers hearing Future Hiro give Peter the all-important message. And there’s Claire, with brunette hair, working as a waitress in Midland, Texas. She seems happy, planning her wedding to the fry cook. But then Bennet shows up, again–apparently he’s been there before. He warns her they are looking for her and she needs to leave. Now.
Ando and Future Hiro are hanging out. Although Future Hiro is a cold, kick-ass samurai now, he remembers his youthful days with Ando—and misses them. Ando inevitably asks what happened to himself in the future, but Future Hiro won’t tell him because of the space/time continuum. Just then Parkman busts in, tazors Future Hiro, but Peter comes in and freezes everyone, takes the sword and teleports Future Hiro and Ando out of there. Guess Peter’s on board. Peter also later tells Ando he died in the explosion, thus sending Hiro into a tail spin and turning him into the Future Hiro we now see.
Bennet comes back to find his lab ransacked. He had called Parkman. They have a standing deal between them: Bennet hands Parkman the dangerous supers with the understanding that Bennet gets to save the harmless ones. They also know each other’s personal secrets. Seems Bennet helped relocate Parkman’s wife and small son, while Parkman has kept the whereabouts of Claire quiet. Except now, Parkman turns on Bennet, cornering him and demanding to know where Claire is. He reads it from Bennet’s mind. Just as Claire convinces her fiancé to elope with her, there’s Parkman, waiting to take her away.
Claire is now waiting to see her father at the Petrelli mansion. She is clearly resentful and believes his politics are making people fear those who have powers. This all sound vaguely familiar, doesn’t it? X-Men, perhaps? Then Nathan tells Claire something rather odd—that his friend Candace allowed him to become president. Candace, the shape shifter? How? Oh no. Suddenly, as Claire turns her back on him, she’s frozen in place. Seems Nathan isn’t exactly who he says he is, as he morphs into Sylar before our eyes. “I’ve been waiting for this moment a very long time, Claire,” Sylar oozes as he starts cutting Claire’s head to finally take her power. All this time, he’s been playing Nathan to get to Claire. Wow.
Now more than ever, Hiro has got to get back to the present to deal with the Sylar issue. But he’s still in custody with Parkman, Mohinder and the Haitian. No matter. Peter, Future Hiro and Ando are on the move. They storm into the government building, ready for a fight. Parkman interrupts the President’s big announcement to let him know what’s happening. In front of the whole crowd, Nathan zooms into the air.
As Parkman and a team of police are waiting for Peter and the gang to show up, Mohinder has instructions to take Hiro out. Mohinder is about to inject Hiro with a death serum but sticks it in the Haitian instead. He knows Hiro might be able to change the future by changing the past. Peter gets Future Hiro and Ando past Parkman and into the room with Hiro and Mohinder. Peter then goes back outside to face Nathan, who quickly morphs into Sylar. This rematch has been long in coming, as they both start firing up the nuclear powers…
Parkman breaks through the door and shoots Future Hiro, just as he is about the teleport Hiro and Ando to the present. Mohinder manages to push Parkman out, holding the door, as all hell looks like it’s breaking loose on the other side. “Hurry, Hiro, GO!” Mohinder screams. Hiro doesn’t think he can use his powers, but Ando says he believes in him. Hiro shuts his eyes real tight and presto! They are back on the roof of Isaac’s loft, and New York is still in its pre-explosion state. They made it. “Now comes the hard part,” Hiro pronounces.
