Elle app

[ellectrical]

Even from just a few canon scenes, much can be deduced about the mysterious woman who comes searching for Peter Petrelli – she's an agent (and likely more) in the Company, can produce enough electricity to incinerate a man with the flick of her wrist, and turns murderous without ever losing her calm.

Like other agents of the Company, Elle displays a mastery over her power that indicates she's had plenty of time to hone and practice it, and can produce electricity in varying strength fairly effortlessly. She also shows a distinct pleasure in simply using her ability, whether necessary or not – she makes small sparks emanate from her fingers to show off only to herself, and shows little hesitation or restraint in using it to kill a man. As she says, she can take care of herself – and enjoys it. It's also fairly apparent that she likely has a history of overusing her ability, and becoming violent with it.

But what's important to note is that while prone to violence, Elle doesn't really commit it out of rage or hatred. She doesn't show any outward signs of anger, and doesn't show much emotion when discussing it (in fact asking what the big deal is after admitting to a murder). She uses violence because she can, and simply doesn't care about the implications or consequences. While she's pulled off her case for killing a man, it's likely she's simply acting on the principles of the Company itself – the ends justify the means, and this means being "comfortable with the morally gray."

In the Bar, Elle would have to reign herself in at least a little – while she could still be flashy (perhaps moreso than on the outside), she's used to being fairly high on the food chain – she won't be accustomed to being surrounded by others more powerful than herself. However, the only things keeping her from being violent when she simply wants to will be self-preservation, and not particularly wanting to end up in the cells.

Depending on if/when she's approved, I may wait to watch a couple more episodes before bringing her in, to see if we'll get more on her back story and the extent of her powers. I already know a few spoilers and have some ideas, though I'd like to see them pan out first, and if there are other ways her abilities work (eg if she's completely invulnerable to electricity, can safely channel it, etc.). On the other hand, I also think I can pretty easily work around this until more is revealed.

I'd also like to try my hand at a female character again – I've tried before, but I tend to worry about distancing myself from them in terms of characterization, and so have only had the most success playing a very young girl. I don't feel like I'd have to worry about that nearly as much with Elle, however, as she's absolutely nothing like me, and clearly somewhat unstable, that it will be easy to keep my distance. She would also be the first character I've played with some sort of special power, and I'm looking forward to that.