001. [HOLO - ARRIVAL]

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"If you had just turned left when I told you, this never would have --" Elle stopped short, eyes opening mid-rant at Sylar to find that she was no longer sitting in the car, but on a raised platform that she'd never seen before. Well, that was weird. Trying to avoid becoming hysteric, she climbed to her feet, walking around, just to the edge of

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"I know," he said, honestly having found that rather odd himself. "One day I seemed to just reach an epiphany, I suppose. There wasn't much any of us can do about it, so I figured- why worry about it? I think perhaps the breakthoughs I've been making in my research may have something to do with that. And the fact that everyone else has been getting new memories as time goes on. I'm not entirely sure what that means, but it seems that we continue on, as it is." Of course, neither he nor Nathan had received any new memories, which was rather ominous as far as he was concerned, so he didn't bring it up. "Oh, and it's nearly Christmas here. I've been recently well-versed in all the holiday traditions- they've honeslty been quite fun."

He had grinned wide at Elle's reaction to the hatch (although he didn't agree with her opinion on his taste in scarves) and had been subsequently pulling her towards the door. It was about now that he reached it, and he pushed it open to reveal that, yes, it was in fact quite cold outside. There also were quite a few Christmas decorations about.

He smiled and just started climbing up the wall. "I'll be back in a moment," he called down, as he leapt to another building entirely and then disappeared onto its roof.

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Elle nodded her agreement along as he explained his zen state and allowed herself to be dragged toward the door. She shivered and crossed her arms over her chest when they stepped outside. It was pretty bad. So much for California. When Mohinder began to nonchalantly climb the wall, she took a few steps back in awe, arms falling to her sides.

"Hey, where'd you learn to do that?!" She called, pouting when she realized he was no longer in sight on the other building's roof. If he had just ditched her, Elle was going to be so mad. Her firsts curled unconsciously and sparked some.

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He appeared less than half a minute later, after a long piece of metal rebar clanked its way over the roof and down to the ground. Then he jumped over to another building, landing with precision on a small ledge. From there, he jumped the two stories left to reach the ground, landing next to Elle.

"It may not have gone so terribly well at first, but I did give myself an ability," he said, clearly enjoying being able to brag about it. "Enhanced muscular control. So I can climb buildings and also manage things like this." He picked up the piece of rebar from the ground and twisted it into a knot. It didn't appear to take any effort on his part at all.

"So, it appears I'm somewhat less of a punching bag than when you knew me before," he added, flashing a bright smile. Later, he would be mortified at his pride, but he honestly was proud of what he accomplished, despite the destruction it had ultimately caused. When he wasn't forced to bury his ability with regret, it was one of the first things on his mind.

He started walking again, looking back at her with a grin to make sure she was following.

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"I never knew you could just give people abilities," she had to admit, it made her feel a little less special. Still, she appeared fascinated and stared at the rebar for a moment longer than necessary before running to catch him. "Guess your superpower's not being a punching bag after all. What a bummer, you kind of rocked the beat up look," Elle teased, looping her arms back around one of his and keeping stride with him -- it took some effort due to height difference, but Elle was determined.

"So, if we were abducted by aliens," she didn't bother trying to keep the disbelief out of her voice, "how come we're not stuck on some freaky spaceship. I mean, this looks like a regular city." Not any city she recognized, though.

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He'd noticed her trying to keep up and had subsequently slowed down. They weren't in a hurry, after all. "It's a cave," he replied to her question. "An incredibly large cave that none have been able to penetrate. I do get the idea that whoever captured us is trying to make us comfortable, but no one has ever seen our 'keepers'. Once you've been here awhile, you'll realize just how strange it is."

He nodded vaguely at a group of Extras down the street, all of whom were smiling brightly at each other, talking- but they didn't seem to be saying anything in particular. It was all background noise. It had taken him a few hours to realize what had been wrong with the Extras- he wondered if Elle would be any quicker about it.

Mohinder headed in the direction of his (now rarely-used) apartment. It would give them a place to warm up before heading back out into the cold, and they could take the tram for a proper tour of the city.

"As for the abilities, you needn't worry." Not that he suspected she might have been- still, just about anyone would be vaguely worried about it, right? "Mine is more of an accident than anything else, and the formula to trigger someone's ability is now lost forever." He was quickly distracted by another thought, and he turned suddenly to Elle. "Do you like hot cocoa?"

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Looking confused by him pointing to the other people, Elle didn't seem to really understand what was wrong with the Extras. They just seemed like regular people to her, so she pursed her lips in a line and shrugged up at Mohinder, as if trying to avoid outright admitting that she had no idea what he was talking about. Scientists, seriously.

"I wasn't really worried, but I guess that's cool. I'd feel a lot less special with everybody running around with abilities, but I guess if it's just you, then that's okay." After a pause that was accompanied by a shrug, she added, "I love cocoa." Unlike most people, she didn't have the fond, filial memories with hot cocoa or holidays involved. But, she was shivering and had a sweet tooth, so it pretty much covered everything that she could ask for.

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"I'll have to make us both some, then, when we get back to my place. I was only recently reintroduced to the concoction myself. I hadn't had it since college, there's little need for it in India- but I do believe the weather calls for it right now."

He shrugged himself, then smiled at Elle- not that he ever really stopped. "That reminds me. Many people that arrive here bring something with them- in most cases, it's an actual place. It seems I brought my father's apartment from Brooklyn. If you look on your map, it may show you what you have."

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"You brought your dad's whole apartment? Talk about excessive. You really don't know how to pack light, do you?" Elle looked a little bewildered trying to figure out how he managed to just show up with it, but all the same, she looked thoughtfully down at her tablet, then smiled back up at Mohinder.

"We can go hunt it down together after hot chocolate! You're in such a good mood, Doc, I love it. It's almost like we're not even technically kidnapped," she admired.

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"It really doesn't seem like it, does it?" he replied. He had wondered about the good mood himself on occasion, but didn't really want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He'd been about to mention the apartment when it appeared. It was actually the whole building- or at least, it appeared so on the outside. The other rooms were completely nondescript on the inside. "Come on, then," he said, picking up the pace. "Would you like peppermint in yours? Or some orange flavoring? I did end up getting a number of different mixes." It was easy to use the hatches rather excessively in this city.

It didn't take long at all until they were inside, away from the biting cold.