1 one-shot: Heroes

[amorphous]

Title: Dead Man Walking
Words: circa 300
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Hiro, Ando
Warnings: spoilers for 1x20
Author's Notes: Written for heroes_contest's 'return' challenge.
Summary: Hiro couldn't believe someone could come back from the dead.

Hiro couldn't believe what happened. He was gone. He was a lifeless corpse that was blown apart by the explosion that had claimed too many innocent lives. He had been an innocent life.

He was Ando.

Or he is Ando.

Because the man who was dead was standing in front of him.

A dead man can't walk, Hiro thought, fighting the urge to reach out and touch him to make sure he was real. The man was alive, because Hiro could see his chest moving with each breath and see his eyes flickering anxiously, like he didn't know where he was.

His jaded attitude that he had got after the death of the man standing before him seemed to fade slightly. It was hard not to remember the old times, the times when he was positive about the future and enjoying the use of his powers. He felt hope for the first time in years.

His curse – not powers. They weren't a gift, not like Ando had used to insist they were; Ando dying had proven that they were a curse and with evolved humans like him in this world, more innocent people, just like Ando, would die in their name, in their war.

The people who used to be heroes were now broken beings, much like Hiro was. He was a broken man with little hope left. The world had been destroyed and there was no going back. The villains had won and all the fairy tales couldn't change that.

But with Ando standing before him, alive and well, even Hiro's cynicism diminished somewhat.

"Ando?" he croaked out, his voice breaking slightly at the word. He hadn't said his deceased name out loud in years and it felt strange on his tongue, like a foreign language.

Ando's powers had surpassed even his own – he had returned from the dead.

Comments

[hinky.livejournal.com]

My god, woman. You are amazing. This is.. Aside from being my first Heroes!fic, it's incredibly well written. Each line is so strong. Purposeful. Wonderful.

This line> "more innocent people, just like Ando, would die in their name, in their war." gave me shivers.

Is it a contest? I think you have it in the bag. *nods sagely*
♥

[gatheringlight.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is lovely. There is something so endearing about Hiro and Ando's relationship and you've captured that really well here. And I adored the last few lines.

Gonna add this one to my Rec List (http://miss-vacant.livejournal.com/6933.html), if you don't mind.

[rarity.livejournal.com]

Wow. I totally don't mind. In fact I'm flattered.

[brandywine421.livejournal.com]

I really like this. Getting so much across in so few words is a rare talent.

Ando's powers had surpassed even his own – he had returned from the dead.

Ando is much more than a 'powerless' sidekick.