Goddamn Petrellis

Participants:

elisabeth_icon2.gif vf_kaylee_icon2.gif

Scene Title Goddamn Petrellis
Synopsis And so begins the Long Game…
Date March 24, 2012

A Park Bench


After she had hung up with Kain, the telepath had taken time to get her head back on straight. Though her method was probably not one that anyone would have approved of. So it has been a few days since she talked to Peter Petrelli in that cab. A few days before Kaylee has her head on well enough to call her friend. The one who could help her decide their next move.

Kaylee Thatcher doesn’t really like being out here in the open, but since Pinehearst was already aware of her, there was no real hiding. So she sits on that park bench, a tall cup of mocha clutched tightly. Each person that walk past her gets only a passing glance, though those that look like they might take a seat are directed away with a light mental nudge.

Elisabeth picked up her own heavy-duty mocha latte on her way into the park. Something in Kaylee's tone told her she was going to need it. As she makes her way along the path toward the telepath, there is a kind of watchfulness to her that makes Liz perhaps look far more dangerous than Kaylee's seen before — she's worried. And she's expecting trouble in some form.

Arriving at the bench, he leans down to kiss Kaylee's temple briefly and then seats herself. "All right, lady… now that you've alarmed me right out of my socks this morning… what's up?"

There is an affectionate smile offered in in greeting, though it falls away quickly enough. “Peter showed up,” Kaylee doesn’t hesitate to just throw that out there. Giving a moment for that to sink in by taking a sip of her hot mocha. Glancing back at her friend, she adds, “Seems I was spotted the day we arrived by his father’s people. He was sent to… infiltrate our group.” There is a touch of amusement with that, cause clearly the question becomes… how would he do that?

Elisabeth pulls in a sharp breath as soon as the name drops out there like a lead balloon. A single brow quirks upward and she asks drily, "And he's…. telling you this because….?"

Taking a deep breath Kaylee settles back against the bench heavily. “I’ll keep people away, if you’ll..” she motions to the air around them. The telepath waits patiently for the sound barrier to go into place, before she’ll talk.

That's a given. Elisabeth immediately nods, not even bothering to use the more subtle version — just mutes everything.

Once the sounds of the world go silent, Kaylee turns thoughtful as she turns her mind back to everything that happened. “According to Peter, Arthur sent him to be a Trojan horse, fearing we were an advance party for an invasion.” She can’t help but grin at that idea. Them an invasion force.

“Since he knows I’m from another world, I told of of the place we came from.” Kaylee holds up a hand, “I didn’t say how we got here, other then it was a one way… and I didn’t name anyone. Only talked about myself.” Incase she needed that reassurance. “Either way, he wants to be a liaison for all of us. Get his father to allow us to stay and have actual lives.” She sounds rather dubious about that offer, but… “I promised I’d think about it. Discuss it with others.”

"Well, that certainly sounds like the Arthur Petrelli I have understood," Elisabeth smirks faintly at the idea that they're invaders. Christ. She hears out the offer and sighs heavily, her blue eyes skimming over the people in the park. "Fuck," she breathes out on a long breath. Sipping her drink, she looks thoughtful.

She'd already been serious about the idea of coloring her hair, and now she's going to do it immediately. She hadn't even thought about the cameras. "You know…. I'm not sure how I feel about any of that. I don't trust them. How many of us can they identify, do you know?" There's that low-level hum again… the one that indicates she might be freaking out just a little beneath the surface calm.

“Only me,” Kaylee offers, hands spreading a little. “And maybe because the other me is a detective known to Pinehearst. Why they didn’t see Kain is beyond me.” Of all of them, K-mart had the famous face, the other of her was only a detective. “But I believe him on that. Otherwise, I think he would have named others to put pressure on me.”

Putting the cup down, she leans forward and runs hands over her face. Kaylee suddenly looks tired. “I want to believe him, Liz, but… that isn’t my Peter. Had it been the one I knew I would have said to trust him.”

“Sneaky of them to send him, I can’t read him… or obvious reasons,” it had been a smart move beyond maybe Arthur himself coming to her, if Liz was to be believed. “I can’t make the judgement call on this,” Kaylee finally admits. “I’m compromised cause of — well, cause of the relationship I had with my Peter.”

She is rapidly considering the angles of this. "Peter…" She sighs heavily. "Peter is always something of an enigma to me. He seems to want nothing more than to help people, and yet… he has a tendency to be a little on the weak side when it comes to pressure. I can't exactly say that I distrust the man himself, but … I have to admit that I distrust the motives behind telling you, when you're a perfect stranger, that his father is using him as a cat's paw. On the one hand, that's entirely an Arthur thing to do and entirely a Peter thing to do too! On the other… " Elisabeth rubs her head.

"Goddamn Petrellis," she mutters. "Swear to God, nothing is ever what it seems with them. Peter Petrelli, the source of the Midtown bomb. Or Peter Petrelli, the man who helped save all of you in Virus. Or who knows what else? I can't tell you who he is here," Liz admits, looking at Kaylee. She purses her lips. "So here's the big question… are you planning on spending whatever time you have with him no matter which way this goes?" The question is asked in a gentle tone — the way Kaylee speaks of Virus Peter, well… she can't exactly fault the woman for wanting to see what might be there, given that he approached her.

"I'm not in the business of having friends, family, or allies playing Mata Hari. But if you're looking for me to give you an answer on this… If your intentions are to spend time with him, then be careful. Don't trust with verifying. And don't give him names for right now. See what you learn, but I'm not asking you to screw a man for information, Kaylee. Just… try and keep perspective on the fact that this Peter is still apparently very much under his father's thumb. And his father is a snake."

There is amusement is very prominent, showing very plainly in the way Kaylee smiles; very lopsided. While Liz continues on, Kaylee pulls what looks like a folded piece of newspaper. This is unfolded slowly, not wanting to really interrupt the woman who has become family to her.

“I have no intentions of screwing him,” despite her amusement, there is that hint of sadness as she hands over a half page news article. “‘Cause, I’d just be repeating the past and I got my heart broken once already by the man I loved.” By Peter.

The article was an engagement announcement for Peter Petrelli and Gillian Childs. Kaylee taps it lightly, “Even here… just like Mateo and Lynette.” Kaylee gives a sad huff of laughter, picking up her mocha again. “If only we could all be so lucky to find someone like that.” Brows furrow curiously, “What about in your world?” Her head tips towards it. “Were they there, too?”

Oh…. oh God. Elisabeth takes the clipping and eyes it. She … actually knew about this part. She just didn't realize it. Now that she sees it, though, she remembers some conversation about the matter way back. "In my world, I can't honestly tell you what they were or are. It was always something of a… I dunno. She and I never talked about it." She smiles a little. "We knew one another, worked together on things, even became friends of a sort… I didn't have a lot of female friends in my life. She probably didn't think of it that way." Clearing her throat, she says, "But they were definitely something."

She hands it back to Kaylee and observes rather self-deprecatingly, "I don't know if 'lucky' is exactly the word. I mean… it hasn't exactly turned out well in very many places, has it?" Blue eyes shift up to the telepath and she admits softly, "But I have to confess that I envy them. Even knowing that in other worlds it doesn't work out for them… being that to one another?" She bumps Kaylee's shoulder very lightly. "It's the sort of thing that makes you believe in something bigger than yourself, I guess. Fate, God, whatever you want to call it. That there's something that draws the same souls back together again and again."

And then she laughs a little, embarrassed, "Wow. Let's chalk that thought up to hormones or something, okay?" Liz reaches up to wipe under her eye, really mortified to realize that was actually a freakin' tear. "Good grief. Maudlin much?"

The page is taken back, gingerly. “Yeah… you ain’t wrong. The rest of us wander around blindly and yet, they don’t have to worry.” Kaylee studied the black and white photo of Peter for a long while, before folding the paper up again, and tucking it out of sight.

“I — I think I’m going to offer to, at least, tell him about who he was in my world.” Kaylee shrugs her shoulders a little. “It might not be any help, but at the same time, it might give me time to get a better idea of who he is in this world.” Her hands spread a bit, “I know it is a risk, being close to him like that… I just. I think — I think he could possibly be the best bet for those of us who want to stay here.”

Elisabeth nods to the comment. "I have to admit that if he's on the level, you're absolutely right. If you can convince Peter that we are not a threat, he might be able to convince Arthur… and Arthur may well just leave well enough alone. He's all about his own power base. And in some ways he's very much like your father — always working an angle to make sure that if shit goes sideways, he and his come out on top." She looks at the telepath and nods slightly. "It's a risk," she agrees. "But… I have to agree that it is very much a risk worth taking if you're willing to take it. You might be the one to make sure that all of us leaving your world wasn't for nothing."

“It feels a little like, what choice do we have,” Kaylee admits blandly, cup turns slowly in her fingers. “We don’t know how long we can keep all of this up, before they do figure out where and who everyone is.” She feels confident it is going to happen. “This might give them all their chance.” Of course, she doesn’t plan on staying here, if she can help it.

Blue-eyes search the park beyond their quiet world. “Pinehearst knows the day we got here, because they have a way of detecting those kind of disturbances. How long before they use that to find us?”

Sipping from her drink, Elisabeth is quiet. Her blue eyes are turbulent, though she hasn't started any subtle humming. Which is a good sign. But she's definitely concerned. "I knew that basically the moment we landed… they either had tech or a Power telling them something was happening. It's why Tamara got us all off the roof so fast." She blows out a slow breath. "I know there's someone who can find all of us… but she has to have our names, I think." Elisabeth remembers Molly Parkman quite well, though she isn't as clear on the girl's ability. "But yes… eventually we're going to probably be outed. At least those of us who remain in New York," she admits quietly.

Looking at Kaylee, she tilts her head. "I'm less worried about how long until they find us and more worried about what they're going to develop while they do it," she observes. "We know they're working on a device like the one that sent Mags and me hurtling into your world. I just… have no idea what the hell to do about it."

“Why do anything?” Kaylee asks brows ticking up a little. “At least, not right away. It might be your way back.” She shrugs her shoulders a little. “I’m not saying give this Arthur guy a doorway into any world, but plan for a way to make it a one way deal, just like when we left my world. Just got to make sure to burn it all to the ground as you walk out the door.”

A little morbid, but… “I just do not see how there is much of a choice. I won’t let Mateo do that again. Pretty sure it would kill him. But Pinehearst has what we don’t have. Resources.” Kaylee offers an apologetic grin and drags fingers through long earthy locks, tucking it behind her ear. “You know that though… sorry.” She sighs a bit and looks at her phone. “No rush though, let’s see where this Peter angle goes, first. See if he is worth the time and effort.”

Elisabeth nods immediately. "He can't. I'm not willing to trade other people's lives just to get home, Kaylee," she tells the other woman softly. "We told him that already. I won't ask, even if it means never going home."

She blows out a slow breath and nods. "Keep me in the loop?" she asks. "I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm afraid, Kay. But we're on borrowed time. Eventually they're going to find some of us. Pinehearst may be the answer in the end, but I just… really would like to keep my distance. You do what you think is best — I'm here if you need me."

“You know I will,” Kaylee confirms, giving a firm nod of her head. “And you can call me anytime you need me.” Pushing to her feet and tossing her coffee in the local bin. “I gotta meet up with Kain on something. Else, I’d suggest breakfast somewhere.” Leaning down, she wraps the other woman in a half hug.

“Take care of yourself and that kiddo. I’ll see you soon.” Straightening, Kaylee offers she a bright smile, hand lingering at Liz’s shoulder long enough to give it a squeeze of support.

After returning the hug, Liz says softly, "You better… if you disappear, Kaylee…" I will burn it all. The thought is strong and brutal. She cannot take any more losses, and most especially not to the monster that is all she remembers of Arthur Petrelli. Anxiety gnaws at her, and she murmurs, "Be safe" as Kaylee leaves.


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