Doctor Catherine Chesterfield

Portrayed By	Anne Hathaway
Sex	Female
Status	Registered
Ability	Panmnesia
Age	36
Date of Birth	November 12, 1982
Occupation	Renaissance Woman
Family	Deceased
Significant Other(s)	TBD
First Appearance	Need To Be Needed
Last Appearance

Character History

Even before the raid on Moab, Cat had begun to allow her visionary side to take hold. It had always been her goal and her practice to let others take the limelight in terms of activism; lending her support quietly through anonymous financial assistance, data collection, information analysis, and strategic assessments. She saw the need for a national leader to rally behind, and set out to make Helena Dean that person. The backstory of her mother’s murder for being Evolved, even though her power was so benign, made for a sympathetic figure: A young woman who just wanted to garden and attend culinary school, but was unjustly imprisoned. Cat went to work convincing Helena to embrace that strategy after being freed from Moab. The image was promoted by the media activities of Phoenix (using the facilities of Cat’s recording studio) and eventually took hold, forming the basis of Helena becoming the media darling after Phoenix were revealed as Heroes.

At Helena’s encouragement, Cat put some of her focus on making the case for using existing laws to handle crimes using Evolved abilities. She occasionally lobbied with lawmakers at the Federal, State, and Local levels, but the biggest part of this work was done through the media. Her sense of identifying with the Founding Fathers led to producing literature titled the Evolved Ethics Essays, inspired by the Federalist Papers which made the case for adopting the 1789 US Constitution, in which practical examples of legal applications were laid out. She also encouraged the Evolved to accept those guidelines as a practical necessity if there were ever to be an end of fear among the general population and non-hostile coexistence.

Specific points stated that rape, for example, could and should be defined as any violation, whether physical or mental. Use of telepathy, persuasion, and other abilities which override free will in law enforcement activities could be handled by the traditional procedure of requiring warrants for searches and seizures, with emphasis placed on the Constitutional right against self-incrimination.

Unlawful entry of a location by teleportation, phasing, or any other power is still just that: unlawful entry. While the essays do acknowledge special prisons may be needed for Evolved persons convicted of crimes, they also assert the possibility of using suppressant drugs by injection while part of the general population in standard prisons for most offenders. There would be no need for secrecy in such matters; all cases can and must be handled in open court whether or not the accused are Evolved. In cases of extremely dangerous abilities like ionizing radiation, persons could be committed to institutions in open court the same way mentally ill persons are. For that matter, the essays point out, such a person could be made non-dangerous without commitment, required instead to visit a clinic at prescribed intervals for suppressant drugs given by injection.

She never sought credit for these essays, although those inside Phoenix and those outsiders familiar with her knew their source. They were all circulated under the name Danielle Hamilton. When the organization’s heroic acts were made public, Cat’s education and Evolved ability revealed as well, many speculated they came from her. When asked about them in any public forum she insisted her murdered lover had written them before her death. It’s her way of seeing Dani remembered and recognized as a writer.

Catherine Chesterfield was active outside of Phoenix as well, continuing in her goal of bringing music and the arts back to Greenwich Village. Her headquarters and residence remained at the Village Renaissance Building. The recording studio saw many musicians, from the famous like U2 to the kid with a guitar just stepping off the train, come through its doors. A record label was started, named Renaissance Records.

And she began to perform again, whenever and wherever the mood struck. It could be a sold out gig at the new Yankee Stadium or the Rose Bowl, a street corner, the roof of her Village Renaissance building, or a small nightclub. She became known for her musical, stage, and vocal prowess; a genuine rock star with the Presidential Medal of Freedom who would hang out with Bono at a Dublin pub one day, and the next walk into a courtroom to perform free legal services for a friend or someone else found deserving. Doctor Chesterfield was still reluctant to engage in practicing law, doing so only very selectively and never once charging a fee.

In short, she was living well, heeding the instruction written on a hamburger wrapper by Dani, just before Ethan Holden murdered her.

Then came May 18, 2011. She was at Columbia University, watching and listening to the speech when the suicide bomber struck. The force of that blast missed her; Cat received only minor injuries while a number of people from Phoenix and the Ferry died. In the moments just after the detonation she tried desperately to save Helena Dean’s life, but for all her knowledge gained over the years with her perfect memory, the only thing she could do was record the slain leader’s last words in her brain and comfort her as she died from a piece of rebar through the heart. When Peter Petrelli saw the breaking news bulletins and flew to the scene, Cat was still covered in Helena’s blood as she told him his fiancée was gone and tried to keep him from seeing the body.

Her grieving for Helena, Grace Matheson, and the others among her friends and siblings in arms who died that day runs deep, for Helena especially. It isn’t the same as she felt for Dani, and to some degree still feels, but memories do often trigger at the slightest cause and send her into subdued spirits. There’s a modicum of guilt that the path she urged Stormy Dean to take got her killed, and it prompts her to take up some of the fallen leader’s mantle.

In the years following the assassinations of the Columbia 14, Cat becomes more and more a stateswoman. Her musical career continues, but is placed partly aside in favor of other things. She publicly registers under the Unity Act and works with the United States Government to establish the Chesterfield Scholarship. Her support is applied to starting and naming the Allen Rickham Evolved College at Yale University.

No objection was made when Brian Fulk began to call himself head of the Phoenix Foundation, she seems at peace with leaving that in his nominal hands. Or just at peace with not being around him.

She learns language after language, nearing thirty by 2019. Expert status in Krav Maga is reached, she learns how to fly jets and helicopters, and reads the New York Times each day. At age 36, seven months and change short of 37 when April of that year arrives, she’s been panmnesiac for nearly seventeen years. Cat delights in amassing knowledge; often just meeting someone who spoke a tongue she didn’t already know was enough to start her learning it, and if there’s a subject which catches her curiosity, she researches to some degree.

When her father dies in September 2018 and mother follows him in January 2019, Cat inherits their estate. Her father’s insurance company, which she has controlling interest in, is left to the management of others.

She’s starting to consider a run for US Senator from New York.

Timeline

Pre - April 2019

Date	Title	Summary	Participants
December 13, 2010	A Good Confession Time...	… is when Abby discovers something kept from her.	Abby
May 9, 2011	Ignorance Is Bliss	Helena celebrates with two of her best friends, unaware she'll die in nine days.	Gillian, Helena
November 8, 2011	Need To Be Needed	Six months pregnant, Elisabeth shares unexpected news with Cat.	Elisabeth
August 15, 2011	A Betrayal Of Epic Proportions	During a visit to her home, Cat greatly displeases someone.	Elisabeth

April 2019

Date	Title	Summary	Participants
April 8, 2019	Blasts From The Past...	… are what Cat finds when she visits Elisabeth's apartment.	Helena, Jessica
April 8, 2019	Not Deal With It	Jessica needs to reach Niki. Helena sets a policy about what she's being told.	Elisabeth, Helena, Jessica
April 9, 2019	Drama in the Ballroom	A Police Fundraiser Gala. This is how it went down in the ballroom.	Several.
April 9, 2019	Flying Past The Balcony	A Police Fundraiser Gala. This is how it went down on the balcony.	Several.
April 10, 2019	Let The River Run	Helena again realizes the river will flow as it must.	Helena, Elisabeth
April 11, 2019	A Possible Way Out	Cat learns things, floats an idea, and schemes behind her eyes.	Elle
April 12, 2019	The Broad Strokes	A coming together. Some of the faces are new, some aren't.	Several.
April 15, 2019	Eight For Eight	In which Peter sees a dead woman.	Helena, Peter
April 15, 2019	At Arthur's Office	In which Arthur Petrelli gives a briefing.	Arthur, Helena, Peter
April 26, 2019	Tell Me On A Sunday	Cat, Django, and Helena visit the Unity Park Memorial.	Helena, Django
April 28, 2019	Hindsight	It's what Helena will have when she gets home.	Helena, Teo
May 1, 2019	Help?	Seeking assistance from Officer Gray.	Helena, Deckard, Gabriel
May 6, 2019	Time Travelers Anonymous	Discussing a way home.	Several.
May 9, 2019	Stranger In The Sky	An aerial tour.	Elle
May 14, 2019	No Place Like Home 1	Raiding Pinehearst.	Several.
May 14, 2019	No Place Like Home 3	Time travelers depart for home.	Several.

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