Starring:
Guest Appearance: Emily Leglise
Summary: Elisabetha returns home an hour or two after the events of Thanatos, and explains what happened to Novak.
Future Date: Early 2012
An Extra Life
New York City
It took awhile, but Elisabetha has finally returned from her adventure in being kidnapped. The man her mother arranged for her to meet is long forgotten, possibly still waiting at the restaurant. The blonde-woman's clothing is a bit dusty and dirty, both from the floor of the warehouse she'd been taken to, and from a rapidly rotting wall when pieces of it fell on her. She is, however, otherwise fine. No injuries or anything, though her throat has faint bruise marks on it.
Getting out of the cab she had called for on her cellphone, Elisabetha pays the driver, and walks down the sidewalk towards the up-scale apartment building she lives in with her father and her girlfriend. Unconciously her hand comes up to massage her throat, as she thinks over what that man — Peter Petrelli — said to her. She'd been taught for years that pain was something to be avoided, and eliminated when encountered. She had been taught that life was full of suffering, and only she had the power to end that suffering. Further it was her duty to do so.
She had never met anyone who felt so strongly about life… About continuining to suffer. Not until she met that man just tonight. It is dark now, as she climbs the steps to the glass doors of the building, and waits for the doorman to let her in. When he does, he is quite startled by Elisabetha's condition, and asks, "Miss Belmont, are you alright? Did something happen to you?" Elisabetha responds, "I was kidnapped. Please have someone go across the street and tell Mister Jason Nicholas that our date will have to be postponed due to an emergency." The doorman's eyes widen as he asks, "Kidnapped!? Wha— But— Well, of course, Miss Belmont. Should I call the police?" Elisabetha is already walking past, red eyes ahead. Police? What can they do against Peter Petrelli? Still, her father might be in danger now. They could always up security at the Pinehearst laboratory that Novak works at, or have someone keep a watch on him.
"…That would be appreciated," she answers. Then she heads for the elevator.
The elevator doors on a second elevator open into the sparkling-clean lobby, with its glowing chandelier-style lighting. Novak steps out, and spots Elisabetha immediately. He takes in the condition of her clothing, the bruises on her throat, and the generally rumpled appearance of her person. He had been chatting idly with some well-to-do neighbor on the way down, whom, upon seeing Elisabetha, wrinkles her nose and asks in a haughty manner, "Young lady, are you sure you belong here?"
Novak ignores the woman as he quickly walks over to Elisabetha and asks, "Are you injured?" The woman seems a bit surprised by Novak as he willingly takes Elisabetha's arm in his hands and starts to guide her towards the elevator. Apparently touching someone who looks as dirty as Elisabetha never would have occurred to the neighbor. Novak looks back at the woman and explains, "This is my daughter. Obviously something happened to her." The woman looks startled, and then embarassed at the arrogance she had been displaying moments earlier, as she says, "Oh, I see. How dreadful. It seems that negro security guard who works here is not doing his job. I will speak to the manager about him!"
Novak does not even bother to respond, paying attention solely to his wobbly-looking daughter.
Elisabetha pauses when Novak makes his appearance, wondering what he's doing here so early. Or maybe it's later than she thought. She blinks her eyes blearily, not answering the woman who addressed her, and instead speaking to her father when he takes her arm, following towards the elevator. "No injuries that I am aware of, no. I was abducted, but managed to escape. I need to speak with you, father." She glances over at the annoying woman and adds on, "Alone."
Novak hesitates only a moment at that news, and then says, "Of course." Always one to be polite, he turns to the neighbor and asks, "Please excuse us." She blinks and nods her head, as she responds, "Oh, absolutely. Be sure to clean up, dear!" The elevator doors close on that dreadful woman, and Novak and Elisabetha are alone for the moment.
"How many were there? Did you see their faces? Did they have abilities?" Novak releases his hold on Elisabetha, no longer able to tolerate the sensation of dust and dirt on his skin. The gritty dryness makes him shiver and shake. He'll need to wash his hands when they get up to the apartment. He presses the button for the fourth floor.
Elisabetha understands to a degree how such things affect Novak, so she does not feel insulted by him not wanting to touch her when she is this dirty. Not that she would have felt anything to begin with. It is still taking some effort to push back the numbness she had immersed herself in previously. On top of that, she is tired from this whole ordeal. "Just one abductor. I saw his face and got his name. And yes, he had a few that I saw. Possibly many more." She didn't mean to drop that bombshell on Novak so suddenly, but her clarity of thought, and the perfect logic she is used to, are still a bit fuzzy.
Novak is an expert at controlling his own facial expressions, body language, and so forth. But even he tenses a bit at the news of a man with multiple abilities abducting his daughter. "Let us wait until we are in our apartment before we continue this discussion," he suggests. Then he waits for the elevator to arrive on the fourth floor. When the doors open, he leads the way to their apartment, unlocks it, and ushers Elisabetha inside, where Emily likely waits.
Once they are within, and the door is closed and locked behind them, Novak immediately asks, "Was it Sylar?"
Elisabetha nods in agreement with the suggestion, and waits until they are safely locked away in the apartment. Then she answers, "No. Or at least he said he wasn't. He said his name was Peter Petrelli." Just then, Emily comes into the living room, saying, "Mister Garbaldi, you are back so soon! Did you forget somethi— " She interrupts herself with a ragged gasp as she puts her hands to her mouth, eyes wide. She just saw Elisabetha. "Wha— What happened to you!?" She rushes forward to help her mistress. Elisabetha is getting a bit tired of explaining this. "Kidnapped. Escaped. Here now," she answers in fragments.
Emily's eyes practically bug out of her head at that news as she frantically tries to guide Elisabetha to the bathroom. "Kidnapped!? Are you alright? Did they… Do anything to you?" Elisabetha looks up sharply as they make their way to the bathroom, and answers, "No. Nothing like that." Emily nods and lets out a shaky breath, still upset, but at least that concern is dealt with. Elisabetha then continues, "…He just slammed me into a wall with telekinesis and nearly strangled me with the same. Probably would have done worse if I hadn't stopped him." Emily makes noises of distress in her throat, that Elisabetha finds adorable for some reason, and she helps her mistress get undressed.
Novak follows to the bathroom, that name sticking in his head. 'Petrelli'. "Peter Petrelli? Must be one of Angela's sons…" he mutters. Louder, he asks, "What did he want? You say he had multiple abilities but was not Sylar? How… Rare." He stops outside the bathroom, hands on his hips, eyes unfocused as he is lost in thought. The ramifications of this… Is it possible to use Peter instead of Sylar for the plan? It would depend on how he acquires his abilities, but the potential for TWO living individuals with Entropy Control could be just what he needs. Further, if he could study Peter's DNA and adrenal gland, he thinks he might be able to complete the formula!
Elisabetha sits on the edge of the bathtub and allows Emily to undress her part way, before her girlfriend goes to start up the bath water. She answers Novak with, "That's what I said when he told me. He asked questions about when you started working for Pinehearst, when the formula was leaked to the public, and how. He also wanted to know why you were looking for Sylar."
Emily finishes with the bath water, making sure it's not too hot or too cold, and then turns back to the partially-undressed Elisabetha. When she notices Novak standing outside the bathroom, she walks over and says, "Excuse me, Mister Garbaldi." Then she closes the door. Maybe Elisabetha isn't concerned about modesty, but Emily is concerned enough for both of them.
Novak is vaguely alarmed by Elisabetha's answer about what Peter wanted, though he doesn't show any sign of it. When she mentions Peter asking about the search for Sylar, he pieces together that Elisabetha must have mentioned that search. There's no reason why the Petrelli boy would ask otherwise, since Novak had not been obvious about it, or indeed even looked at all recently. He had given up on that search.
"Asked about me and the formula, hm? And he wanted to know WHEN for both?" He considers the clues presented, and eventually comes to a conclusion. "…I think he must be a time-traveller. I assume you did not answer any of his questions, correct?" Emily closes the door and Novak steps back and nods. It's nothing he hasn't seen before, at his age, but he can understand the desire for privacy.
From behind the door, Elisabetha calls out over the warm water pouring out of the faucet, "I told him I did not remember the exact date you started working for Pinehearst, but did provide the year and month. He had threatened harm if I did not cooperate, and I thought I could keep him from escaping. I do not know the exact date the formula was leaked, or why, or how, or by whom, so I avoided answering. As for Sylar…" She realizes now it was a mistake to tell Peter about that. But she was in a state of utter apathy at the time, and did not care enough about the ramifications of her actions to lie. "…I told him what I knew."
Emily helps Elisabetha into the tub, after shutting off the water. "Come, let us get you cleaned up, Miss Eli," Emily says. She wants to make herself useful. She wants to make up for the fact she hadn't been there to help her mistress when she was in danger, and is desperately trying to validate her existence, and her love for Elisabetha. Elisabetha barely notices, as she slips into the water and settles.
Novak takes a deep breath and lets it out, trying to empty himself of the anger he is beginning to feel. How could his daughter be so witless? She should not have revealed anything! And now a time-traveller with multiple abilities knows what Novak is planning. He can go back and kill Novak as an infant if he wanted to. That would not be a very logical thing to do, and would inflict huge changes on the timeline, but inexperienced time-travellers would probably try such a thing without thinking it through.
Still, he had threatened harm to her. If she had not cooperated, she might be dead right now, and then where would he be? Nowhere. Shaking his head, Novak says, "Well, I suppose it is time to play damage control. Get yourself cleaned up and dressed in some clean clothes. I have to make some calls." He then heads into the living room to find the phonebook… And the phone number for Angela Petrelli. Maybe she can rein in her son.