The NBC series' first season begins with the origin stories of several lonely, disconnected people who learn they're destined to become superheroes. At the center of the unfolding tale is Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia), a nurse haunted by cryptic dreams who believes he's meant to do great things with his life. Peter tries to convince his politico brother Nathan (Adrian Pasdar), who is running for the U.S. Senate, that something strange is happening to both of them, but Nathan is adamant about maintaining a low profile and keeping his personal life out of the press. Meanwhile, a Texas cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere) discovers she's completely indestructible, but she's in for an even bigger shock when she realizes her family is hiding a dark secret. Over in Los Angeles, a beat cop (Greg Grunberg) develops the ability to read minds, and an Internet stripper (Ali Larter) begins to manifest a murderous alternate personality. And in Tokyo, bored cubicle drone Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) is desperate for the kind of adventures found in comic books and Star Trek. (In a sly in-joke, Hiro's father shows up later in the season and is portrayed by Star Trek alum George Takei.) Hiro's wish is miraculously granted when he develops the ability to travel through time and space, teleporting himself instantly from a Tokyo subway to Times Square. But Hiro's elation quickly turns to fear when he witnesses a nuclear explosion lay waste to New York City. Upon teleporting home, he realizes he's just seen a glimpse of a catastrophe that will happen in a few weeks unless he can stop it. Heroes from across the globe gradually meet up and form alliances as they try to prevent the nuclear attack and fight back against a shadowy, superpowered serial killer known as Sylar (Zachary Quinto), who is able to murder the would-be superheroes and steal their abilities in the process.