Like a phoenix from the ashes, 'Heroes' has continually found ways to rise up for renewal over the past three seasons, despite its steadily plummeting ratings. But word on the street indicates that this year, no amount of super-powers can save the NBC drama from a fate far worse than death: cancellation.

According to Vulture, industry buzz is sounding the death-knell for the embattled series, thanks in large part to NBC's confidence in its pilot pickups; five shows have already been ordered to series ahead of the network's upfront presentation to advertisers next Monday. While it's unlikely that an official announcement will be made before the upfronts (NBC declined to comment), Vulture seems confident that the show is for the chopping block.

All hope is not lost though, 'Heroes' fans (the five of you that are determined to tough it out until the bitter end), rumor has it that the show might live on in another form ...
A half-season to tie up loose ends might be a long-shot, but there could be the possibility of a two or four-hour movie event to offer loyal fans some closure, though considering 'Heroes' creator Tim Kring hasn't yet received word that his series is canceled, we don't want to speculate too prematurely.

While many people may figure that a cancellation has been a long time coming for the series (less than 5 million viewers tuned in to watch the season 4 finale last February, compared to the 17 million who were still around for the start of season 2) the rumored axing is actually being considered a surprise among industry insiders, who figured that the prime-time fixture would be kept around as an insurance policy in case any of NBC's new pilot picks fail to deliver ratings.

But with a solid crop including new shows from J.J. Abrams and Jerry Bruckheimer, it seems that NBC is completely confident in their upcoming slate -- perhaps misguidedly, given this year's Lenogate debacle. However, a cancellation of the flagging 'Heroes' could be good news for any pilot picks that are slow to build momentum out of the gate -- in recent years, we've seen a worrying trend of networks being so trigger happy that they kill a show after only two or three low-rated episodes, never giving well-crafted but slow-burning shows a chance to find their legs. ('Kings,' anyone?)

Without 'Heroes' as a contingency plan, audiences might be given some breathing room to get comfortable with a new series, which can only mean good news for once bitten, twice shy viewers who are wary to commit to a freshman show in case the rug is pulled out from under them (sorry 'Eastwick' and 'The Forgotten' fans).

An eleventh-hour save isn't out of the question as we head towards the upfronts, but for right now, we suggest Hiro and co. head back in time and figure out where it all went wrong, since the future ain't looking too bright.