NBC Previews The First Two Hours Of Heroes Third Season

NBC has released descriptions of the first two hours of the upcoming third season of Heroes, which returns September 22 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, while SCI FI Wire has screened the first hour and can offer a few major spoilers of our own. Stop reading if you don’t want to know what happens.

Here’s NBC’s description of The Second Coming: The first chapter of Volume 3: Villains kicks off moments after shots rang out, as the shocking identity of Nathan’s (Adrian Pasdar) assassin and the reasons why the Texas press conference had to be cut short are revealed–immediately throwing Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) and Matt (Greg Grunberg) into unexpected, uncharted territory. With his powers partially restored, Sylar (Zachary Quinto) decides a visit to Claire (Hayden Panettiere) could give him a boost. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Hiro (Masi Oka) and Ando (James Kyson Lee) are charged with safeguarding a family secret that could split the planet apart and discover that the path to a grim future starts with shady speedster, Daphne (guest star Brea Grant). In New York City, thanks to Maya (Dania Ramirez), Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) makes a startling breakthrough that could change the world–or just destroy his. And who is Tracy Strauss?

Here’s NBC’s description of the second hour, The Butterfly Effect. In the shocking second chapter of Volume 3: Villains, Angela Petrelli (Cristine Rose) confronts her much-changed son, Peter, as the bursts of violence around them only hint to the catastrophes to come. First, Syla declares war on the Company by attacking their main facility and finds even more than he bargained for on Level 5. During a devastating battle with Elle (guest star Kristen Bell), a dozen savage criminals – all with terrible abilities – escape. Meanwhile, Claire discovers something new and unexpected about her abilities. Determined to reclaim his family’s terrible secret, Hiro and Ando track Daphne to Paris. After a fateful night, Suresh is thrilled to find his research, his life and his relationship with Maya evolving in leaps and bounds. Stuck in unfamiliar territory, Matt finds a guide (guest star Ntare Mwine) to help him.