Ability Replication

Ability Replication is the ability to replicate the ability of another evolved human.

Peter Petrelli's Ability Replication
By injecting himself with the genetic modification formula, Peter acquired Ability Replication, which allows him to replicate the abilities of other evolved humans by physically touching them. He first demonstrated the ability in Dual, where he grabbed and flew Nathan from the burning Pinehearst facility.

In A Clear and Present Danger, Peter has mimicked Mohinder Suresh's enhanced strength by touching him on the Flight 195 aircraft and shortly after did the same thing with Tracy Strauss. Soon thereafter, he accidently caused the side of the plane to freeze, taking down the plane.

Ability Replication has been shown to work through clothing.

Peter can only hold one ability at a time, losing access to his previous ability once he absorbs a new one.

Peter has been shown to gain use of absorbed abilities with ease and in an extremely short amount of time, as shown when he absorbed Nathan's flight and flew off within a second in Trust and Blood, and when he took Hiro Nakamura's space-time manipulation and teleported a short time after to Washington, DC, although his teleportation was a little off due to being out of practice.

Peter seems to be dependent on his hands to use Ability Replication.

Peter seems to be able to take only one ability from with someone with multiple abilities. Peter has replicated shapeshifting and flight from Sylar on separate occasions, but discarded both without showing signs of other abilities. However, by the time Peter replicated flight he could control which ability he took from Sylar.

Peter has learned to control his ability since Cold Wars, as he chose not to replicate telepathy from Matt Parkman when he saved him from Danko's team as that would result in flight being lost. It has been said that "Peter's gotten better at his touch. He can now pick and choose who he gets it from. It just took some time and effort to get it under control". He also demonstrated this when he flew Angela Petrelli multiple times and didn't replicate her ability.

Draph's Ability Replication
According to Draph's Heroes Survival Account, Draph's ability evolved from being able to hold one ability at a time, like Peter's, and can hold on to a maximum of five abilities.