Participants:
| Scene Title | Don't Be A Hero |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Simon warned Liz that Mallory wasn't Mallory, and they meet to start working on a way to keep tabs on her. |
| Date | May 5, 2009 |
Staten Island beach
It's been a long day and Simon has had plenty to attend to and worry about. It seems like all his days keeps getting busier and busier, but that's fine by him. It just helps to pass the time, gives him something to do. At the moment he is trudging down the coast of the island, the Lighthouse standing noble and triumphant behind him. His head moves back and forth, eyes scanning for Elisabeth, who he's here to meet.
There aren't many people around, so he's sure to spot her right away. That dark form in the distance? No, that's just one of the homeless. His lips purse and for a moment he wonders if Malloreed got to her before she could make it. He hopes that's not the case.
Although she also needed to do one other thing, it conflicted with meeting up with Simon…. so Elisabeth told Felix to go ahead to the meeting with the Case informant while she went to deal with the Robin Hood-related problem. It's difficult to get to Staten Island under the best of conditions, so she's running a bit late at the moment. But she walks up the beach heading for their previous meeting spot, hands shoved into the pocket of the denim jacket she's wearing.
The twin rocks where the two met last time to discuss matters of the curious and frightening are spotted by Simon. As he heads there, the familiar blond comes into view, walking towards the same place. It looks like they're both a little late.
"Hey, thanks for meeting," Simon says when they finally make it their spot. He smiles wide and looks genuinely happy to see her, happy to see a friend. "I was planning on going to you, but things here on Staten are kind of crazy."
There's a short laugh from Liz on that one. "Things everywhere are kind of crazy. I've put the word out to the technopath that I know that Mallory may have somehow been…. swapped with Robin Hood. Wireless will search the net and see what she can spot. Christ… technopath bodysnatchers. That's right out of a sci-fi horror movie." She tilts her head. "How'd you find out what was going on?"
Simon almost visibly shudders at the idea. It's creeped him out to no end knowing that some other person is walking around in his sister's skin. Scary stuff, indeed. "Mallory got in contact with me a couple days ago. She was having a little trouble navigating the web, but she can at least open a chat window to talk." The kid crosses his arms over his chest and inclines his head to the woman. "Also, when I saw Mallory or Robin Hood or whatever we're calling him now, he was acting funny. Looking into you guys for some reason. Cops."
Elisabeth nods and says, "Yeah… I got the impression that Mallory was looking for something, but couldn't get a grip on what. She came to me with the story that HomeSec was following you around and that she thought Robin Hood was after her." She glances at him, and doesn't say what she's thinking — that if he'd trusted her just a little when she asked, she might have been able to help Mallory avoid this. He doesn't need the added guilt. "She actually gave me just enough information to figure out what happened when you said it wasn't her. I'm hoping that Wireless will be able to help me set a trap for her… maybe we can force him out of her. Are you okay? Is there anything to the issue that she brought to me — that you're being watched? Any more than I'd already warned you of, anyway."
Simon shakes his head, glancing off to the side for a moment to watch the waves crash against the shore. "No, nothing. I was just letting her know there might be a problem," he says, eyes flicking back over to Elisabeth. "That's when she told me her friend was being followed by the cops, but she wouldn't tell me what friend or why. Mallory tells me everything, though. If you're setting a trap, I want to help." He shrugs and lets out a sigh, looking more worried than he would like to let on. "And yeah, I'm fine. What about you?"
Elisabeth pauses and sighs heavily. "I'm okay." He doesn't need to know about the electrocuting asshole at this moment. "I can tell you this much — I know that Robin Hood's running with a rough group of people, so don't try to follow her yourself. If Mallory's body contacts you, Simon, I want you to play it off. Get in touch with me immediately, and we'll work out how to handle it now. The longer we can play off that you don't know, I think the safer you'll be — and possibly the safer Mallory will be. I don't know if this person could potentially KILL her in there, okay?" She can't stress enough how potentially deadly this could be. "I don't even know if we're going to be able to force Robin back into the net or if she'll be able to get back out…. so I need you to mentally prepare for the possibility. We're going to do everything we can to keep that from happening."
Simon blinks a few times, stares at Elizabeth hard as his mind races. He's always considered the possibility of her never coming back, but it was a thought he always pushed out of his head. To hear Elisabeth saying it, though, worries him. "Yeah, I understand. Just keep me in the loop, ok? It's my sister, and I want to do everything I can to help. I can talk to Mallory. Maybe her and your friend can overpower Robin Hood." He shrugs and grins. "Man, I don't even know it that makes sense."
There's an immediate nod. "I won't cut you out," Elisabeth promises him. "Your sister might be a pain in the ass to try to get along with, but she's your sister and honestly? Her ties to you may be the only thing that will save her. So there's no way I'm going to cut you out, okay? Trust me on that." She smiles a bit. "And yes, it makes sense. That was kind of my thought too — I'm waiting to hear from Wireless; hopefully she'll make contact with Mallory and with me really soon here." She hesitates. "If you do happen to see Mallory hanging out with some people, play it off like it's no big deal, and call me with locations and descriptions, all right? I can't stress enough how dangerous Robin Hood's friends are. They've already killed, Simon. Don't play hero on me, please?"
Simon can't promise that he won't play hero, but doesn't tell Elisabeth that. He's not looking to, but he's also no just going to stand by and let bad things happen. Those days are over. "Right, I'll let you know. I'm thinking about spending some more time in Manhattan while we figure this out. There's just one loose end I need to tie up here first. I'll probably bunk with the cousins, so Mallory's body will be close."
Elisabeth nods slightly, and she says, "All right. If she contacts me again, I'll call you. If she contacts you, call me. My phone's secure, but you'll need to use a phone she doesn't know to watch, okay? Otherwise the technopath might be able to block the call you make."
Simon nods and says, "Sure, of course." A breeze blows through, ruffling his hair and he takes a moment to straighten it back out. Time for a cut. "I'm sure I'll run into both of them soon. Mallory and the doppelganger." He pauses for a moment, and then adds, "You should tell me about his friends sometime. I hope they don't put her body in danger. When Mallory is put back in, she should have all her fingers and toes, you know what I mean?"
There's a chuckle, and Liz nods. "Yeah… I do. Not much I can tell you about her friends. I know one is an electrokinetic, and I suspect that one of them can swap powers among people. So he could give one of his guys your ability, but I don't know the mechanics of that." She shrugs a little. "Best to steer as much clear as you can, but if you happen to be in the right place at the right time, you may give us the break we need to actually FIND them."
Simon ponders whether or not he would want to find these guys, but if it helps Mallory get back to normal, than he'll do anything. "Ok, sure. I'll be only lookout, ok?" He smiles, uncrosses his arms. "Thanks for helping out. I'm glad I can trust you." He turns to look back at the Lighthouse, then around and back to Elisabeth. "I have to run, though. Lots more to do today. I'll talk to you soon, though." And after their brief goodbyes, Simon turns to head back to the Lighthouse.