I do not own Smallville, it belongs to its creators.
Rating is subject to change.
Chapter Four
Chloe returned to school feeling more confident and determined than ever. The disorderly mess her life had become just two weeks ago was now behind her. She had examined things at all angles, assessed the answers she'd gotten, and found herself satisfied with the results.
Chloe Sullivan was a new woman with a game plan that had already been put into motion in most areas of her life. Now she was about to start doing the same with the school portion of it.
First on the list was to start taking down the Wall of Weird and putting up the Wall of Theory. She even made sure to arrive at school an hour and a half early in order to get the task done before class.
Surprisingly she didn't feel any pangs of sadness at getting rid of what had essentially been her muse for the last two years. Then again, she wasn't really giving up that muse, she was just being more discreet about it.
It took about an hour to clear the wall and pack everything away, and it was weird to see the wall bare except for its new heading. Chloe didn't ponder on that for long since there was work for the Torch to be done.
While a lot had happened during the week she was out, Chloe had made the decision not to write about any of it. Her own involvement in it aside, a lot of things that happened were too personal to talk about. Not to mention the hospital and LuthorCorp had put out a statement "explaining" what had happened to those infected.
There was no need to refute their statements, nor was there anything to add to the story that wouldn't make those involved uncomfortable or angry at certain information becoming public knowledge.
It was for those same reasons that she didn't write about Lex and his involvement in the incident at Club Zero. Even though Lex wasn't really her friend, it didn't change the fact that he was Clark's. Not to mention she was sure he had been emotionally drained by such a terrible blast from the past and more than likely wanted to put the whole thing behind him. Again.
Besides, there was no reason to inform the Smallville public about it, especially when he was trying to prove himself to them. He seemed genuine in his desire to help the town. Printing an article about what had happened last week would only sour his efforts. People in Smallville tended to be very close minded despite what they proclaimed.
Speaking of which, she hadn't emailed Lex yet to set up a date to continue their interview.
Chloe distantly registered the increasing sound of voices in the hallways indicating classes would be starting soon. Opening her email she started a new letter and searched for Lex's address. Finding and entering it into the appropriate box she soon contemplated how she should address the interview.
It had been two weeks after all and neither she, nor he, had been in contact with one another. Her fingers tapped against the desk as she tried to come up with the right words to say. Glancing at the clock she saw class would start in about thirty minutes. Considering she had skipped breakfast and would need to get something from the cafeteria she had to make this quick.
Finally coming to a decision she typed: So, we didn't get to finish our interview, for obvious reasons. Are you up for another round of verbal judo? Please let me know. –Chloe
Satisfied with what she had written she sent the message. Closing down the computer Chloe grabbed her purse and book bag, and closed the Torch's doors behind her as she took off for a filling but underwhelming breakfast.
Sufficiently nourished Chloe returned to the Torch with fifteen minutes left before classes and tried to figure out what to fill a blank space on the paper's front page with. She was full of ideas but none of them seemed to be particularly eye catching.
Letting out a sigh of frustration she checked her email hoping to find some inspiration. Instead she got an annoying pop-up asking her to take a poll. Annoyed, she was just about to click out of it when the proverbial light bulb went off in her head. It was perfect. After all, Kwan had said she needed to get more in touch with what the students at Smallville were thinking about.
She could do a student wide poll. A poll on what, Chloe wasn't sure, but it was the best idea she'd come up with for now. Smiling, now that she had a topic Chloe clicked out of the pop-up and was surprised to see she already had a reply from Lex, and a new email from Justin Gaines.
Reminding herself to read and answer Justin's later, she clicked on Lex's to see his response.
Hello to you too Chloe.
Yes, it's a shame we didn't get to finish the interview, and my apologies again for how things went that day. Of course, I'm ready for another round. A Luthor is ready for anything. How does Friday at 4:00pm a week from now sound?
I look forward to testing your skills. –Lex Luthor
Chloe shook her head with a smile. So, Lex Luthor was ready for anything? She'd see about that. Chloe wrote a response accepting the date and time before shutting down the computer and heading to class.
As she left, she suddenly had an idea for what the poll would be about. What skill were you most confident about within yourself?
It wouldn't get a lot of truthful answers but the responses would be interesting enough.
The success of the poll and securing the date of her second interview with Lex had Chloe on a high for most of the day. It was temporarily brought down the couple of times she awkwardly interacted with Clark, and the one brief moment where she had to put up with his pining after Lana.
Interestingly enough, she got to meet a kid named Ryan that the Kent's were temporarily fostering. Clark had politely asked her to take some pictures of Ryan and see if she could find out anything out about him and his parents.
Ryan was an alright kid but Chloe got the distinct impression he wasn't being truthful about his amnesia. He'd been quite fidgety at the mention of her looking into his past, almost as if he didn't want to be found. But that was a problem for the Kent's to work out with Ryan. She had quite enough on her plate as it was. Though Chloe could swear the kid was psychic or something. Some of the things he just happened to know….
Chloe was surprised and more than a little suspicious at how relieved Clark looked when he saw she'd taken down the Wall of Weird. Good thing Clark was crap at hiding his emotions or he would have known better than to show such an emotion. It only increased her curiosity about him and whatever it was he was hiding.
Unfortunately, she didn't have Pete to talk to since he was out of town attending his grandmother's funeral. While things with her and Clark had broken down, her relationship with Pete was still pretty solid. Though that didn't mean she had completely ignored the problems their relationship had either. She had just come to the decision to gradually work on them.
Part of her was glad for their time apart. While Pete didn't remember any of it, she was now painfully aware of him making his feelings for her known. Sadly, it really spoke to what a mess their friendship was that she had a crush on Clark and Pete had one on her with neither having been aware of the other's feelings. At least it wasn't even more awkward with Clark having a crush on Pete.
Please for the love of God don't let that come true. Chloe didn't think she could take it.
Crushes aside, one thing Chloe had noticed throughout the day during her classes was that everything was well…easy. Ridiculously easy to be exact. Even the subjects she usually had to put more effort into than usual seemed to pose little challenge now.
While that was great, even incredible in some ways, in other ways the idea that her current schooling was no longer informative or a challenge of any kind both frightened and disappointed her.
Would things be like this from now on? Would learning new things now lose its challenge, thus making the pursuit of knowledge meaningless? After all, if there was no challenge to gaining new knowledge, what was the point?
Chloe gained enjoyment from the pursuit of knowledge more than anything. Yes, she gained satisfaction from solving a mystery or acquiring all the facts about something. However, nothing could beat having her feet to the ground searching for the truth, navigating whatever trials were thrown in her way.
If that thrill was gone from her life, what would she do?
Chloe sincerely hoped it was just a case of the public school system being severely lacking.
Briefly pushing her disturbing worry aside Chloe focused on finishing the article about the poll. Once she was done with that she would stop by the Talon, grab a cappuccino, go home, and prepare to have an interesting conversation with her dad.
She figured it was about time she came clean about what was happening to her. Chloe was more than aware that her dad was on to her weirder than normal behavior. The only reason he hadn't approached her yet about it was that he was more than likely waiting for her to come clean.
The only times he'd relinquished his admittedly godlike patience was when she was doing something particularly destructive and harmful, not just to herself but to others.
Chloe was definitely not looking forward to the conversation ahead.
Part of her was afraid her father would look at her different, or worse outright reject her. It was a silly notion she knew. Gabe Sullivan had more than proven he would stand by his daughter no matter what. She'd not doubted his love for her since her mom had left them. And really that was only because she was afraid he'd leave her too.
Logically she knew where this fear was coming from, but she still couldn't manage to banish her fears to the deep dank pit where she usually dumped feelings of uncertainty and doubt.
Not for the first time she cursed her mother for being so selfish.
When Chloe arrived home she found that her father was already there. The moment she entered the house she was welcomed by the delicious smell of dinner cooking.
She could just barely make out the sound of her father's humming over music. Great, that meant he was in a good mood. That would definitely make explaining things a little easier. Though she had to wonder exactly what had put him in such a mood.
"Dad! I'm home!" yelled Chloe as she closed the door behind her and walked into the living room. Chloe dropped her backpack by the stairs before moving toward the kitchen.
"Hey sweetheart! How was your day?" Gabe asked. Her father was a husky man in his forties with thinning light brown hair, emerald green eyes and a face that seemed to constantly be smiling.
"It was okay. School was boring as ever, but the Torch is doing great. What about you?"
"Things are running smoothly at the plant. We've been turning a profit like never before. It won't be long before we have trouble keeping up with demand. Lex has really proven himself a very capable leader. He's really dedicated to improving things."
"That's great Dad," Chloe remarked, as she walked into the kitchen. She was greeted to the sight of her father donning his signature apron that said, Grillmaster, with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up as he stirred what looked like a pot of green beans.
The kitchen was a bit of a disaster area with flour covering most of the counters and some of the floor, along with an assortment of other ingredients being used to make what she suspected was lasagna.
"I see you're making us quite the feast," Chloe joked.
Gabe turned from tending the pot to flash Chloe a brilliant smile. The exact same smile she'd inherited from him. It, like her own, had the ability to brighten a room and make one briefly forget their worries. She felt privileged in knowing he usually reserved that smile just for her.
"Yup, I figured it had been too long since I'd cooked for us. I thought it would be a great way to help kick the week off right."
"Oh, it definitely will. I love your cooking, especially your lasagna." Chloe blushed as her stomach suddenly growled. Both she and her Dad chuckled. "I guess my stomach concurs."
Her father playfully rolled his eyes. "You'll get no arguments here. Why don't you go upstairs and wash up? Dinner will be ready in about ten more minutes."
"Okay." After planting a quick kiss on his cheek and snatching up her bag, she bounded upstairs to her room.
Chloe deposited the bag on the floor near the bed after retrieving her laptop from it. Placing it on the desk beside her desktop computer she booted up both devices. While waiting for them to warm up she made a quick trip to the bathroom to freshen up.
Returning she found them ready to use. Today would be the beginning of her plan to start hacking into government databases to find out if they had any connections to the happenings in Smallville.
For the last week she'd painstakingly nurtured and polished her skills, and now felt confident enough to start making serious attempts on those databases. The only obstacle to her plans was that the technology she currently owned wasn't up to the task.
Fortunately, she had already ordered the parts needed to build a super computer with enough power to do what she required. Since what she was going to be doing was highly illegal being caught red-handed wasn't an option. Unfortunately that meant she would have to build the damn thing completely from scratch.
She estimated that it would take about three months to get all the parts she needed. Of course, once she had all the parts she would have to assemble them with extreme care lest she have to order the parts again. All in all, she had a massively complicated task ahead of her.
If only she lived in Massachusetts, Chloe thought wistfully, then she could just break into MIT and steal all the parts she needed. She inwardly chuckled at the absurdity of the idea. One would hope such a prestigious institution wouldn't have shoddy security.
Glancing at the clock she saw her ten minutes were up. Sighing, she took the time to take out her journals of notes, ideas, and theories, and place them on her desk before going downstairs.
Stepping into the kitchen she found the table was already set, so she moved to help her father place the dishes on the table but was waved away.
"Relax honey. Have a seat. I've got this."
"You sure? I mean I could grab the…."
Gabe held up a hand cutting her off. "No, I insist. Everything is under control."
Shrugging, "Alright, if you say so." Chloe promptly plopped down onto one of the chairs at the table and waited to be served.
Soon they were both seated and chowing down on a heavenly meal of homemade lasagna, green beans, and garlic bread. They ate in relative silence preferring to fill their stomachs for a bit before engaging in any conversation.
Gabe was the first to break the silence.
"So, anything interesting happen at school?"
Chloe knew her father was subtly fishing for information about her and Clark's currently defunct friendship. He was the first person she'd told about it. Like the great dad he was, he'd listened calmly as she explained things then carefully added his own input. In the end, he'd inadvertently helped cement her decision to put their friendship on hold. She hadn't been completely sure about doing so.
"No. I ran into Clark a few times, but we mostly avoided each other. Pete's out of town so I mostly spent the day by myself."
Gabe nodded. He opened his mouth to speak but seemed to hesitate for a second before continuing. "Have you considered that maybe you should make some more friends sweetheart. I know you're just fine hanging out with the boys but…."
Chloe sighed. "I know Dad. The thought has crossed my mind lately. It's just a matter of finding someone I'll mesh well with."
"Of course. But I'm confident you'll find a friend soon enough. You have a great personality Chloe. And I'm not just saying that because I'm your father," he said with a mirthful grin.
Chloe smiled while rolling her eyes. "Of course not. As my father you are totally unbiased in all things concerning me."
They couldn't help but chuckle at that. Her father's tendency to brag about her was well known not only at the plant but all around Smallville.
"Okay, so maybe I'm a little biased." Chloe gave her father a disbelieving look. "Okay, okay, a lot biased, but you're my beautiful, talented, and wonderful daughter. Sue me for being biased about that."
Chloe couldn't help the wide grin that stretched across her face or the warmth that filled her chest. This was just one of many reasons why she loved her father. He always made her feel special.
"Thanks Dad."
"Anytime sweetheart."
Chloe's grin began to fade as she wondered how she could go about gently telling her father what was happening to her. Maybe if she broached another subject, then lead into it?
"Chloe? Are you alright?" Chloe looked up to see a worried look on her father's face. "Is everything okay? It looks like there's something pretty heavy on your mind?"
Chloe opened her mouth but hesitated, unsure of what to say. Come on, Sullivan. This shouldn't be so hard. This is Dad we're talking about. The one person we can always trust, and who loves us unconditionally.
With those thoughts in mind, Chloe shook her head clearing it of her doubts. Taking a deep breath she threw caution to the wind and said what first came to mind. "Dad. I was thinking…I was thinking about taking up martial arts again. Not so much competitively, at least not right now, but as a hobby you know? Would…would that be alright with you?"
She hadn't practiced martial arts in years. Not since she'd taken her anger out on a fellow classmate; nearly beating the poor kid to death. Chloe barely repressed a shudder as she remembered the blood and how blinded by rage she had been. He had kept picking and picking at her until she'd had enough. It had definitely been one of the lowest points in her life.
Chloe apprehensively watched as several emotions seemed to quickly flash across her father's face. Shock, surprise, curiosity, and oddly enough, though she couldn't fathom why, a little bit of fear. Eventually her father's expression settled into a neutral mask.
Seeing this made her panic slightly, so she tried to backtrack. "I mean, it's not that important. I just wanted to change things up a bit, but if that's not alright then I'll find something else. There are plenty of other hobbies I can pick up. Yeah, I'll just do…."
"Chloe," called her father in a calm but commanding tone effectively cutting through her rambling.
Chloe's mouth snapped shut as she gave her father her full attention. She watched as he seemed to gather himself together with a resigned look on his face.
It couldn't be that big of a deal now, right? Could it? I mean, she'd gone through therapy and everything. She wouldn't lose control like she had before. She wouldn't let herself go that far again. Never again.
Gabe stared down silently at his plate for a moment. When he finally looked up there was serious look on his face. "Sweetheart, I think we need to talk."
His words only put her more on edge than before. "What? What do we need to talk about? Dad?" Chloe couldn't help the note of desperation that had suddenly crept into her voice, but her dad was seriously freaking her out right now with the vibes he was currently giving off.
His face was now a blank mask, unreadable even to her new senses. She almost thought he hadn't heard her until, "Let's clean up here first, then we can discuss things properly in the living room." He stood up and began clearing the table off.
Though seriously disturbed by her father's behavior she followed his instructions and helped him clean up.
Ten minutes later they were both seated in the living room on the couch. Chloe on one end and her father on the other facing each other.
Chloe fidgeted nervously with the hem of her shirt. "So…what is it we need to talk about?"
Her father remained silent seeming to be staring at her but really it appeared he was looking through her. There was a strange look on his face giving the impression he was a thousand miles away.
"Dad?" Chloe called uncertainly.
That seemed to snap Gabe out of his trance as his eyes came to focus on her. Gabe frowned, rubbing his temples as he tried to figure out a way to start. "Chloe. Do you remember when…when your mom left us?"
Chloe's brows furrowed. "Um, yeah. Of course. How could I forget?" Why was he was bringing this up right now? They hadn't talked about her mother in quite some time. What did it have to do with what he wanted to talk about? Chloe felt her stomach twist in a knot as a sudden thought occurred to her. Had her mother contacted him recently? Was she, god forbid, coming to pay them a visit after all these years?
Gabe nodded, missing Chloe's unease, too caught up in his own thoughts. "It was a hard time for us. I know I don't have to tell you that, but it's important. I…you…" he paused for a moment.
Looking down at his hands, "After she left, you and I made a promise. We promised to always be honest with each other whether that was with how we were feeling or when something was going on in our lives that was bothering us. And," he looked up into Chloe's eyes, "I'm ashamed to say I haven't been completely honest with you like I should've been."
"Dad? It can't be that bad right?" Chloe asked shifting nervously in her seat. Maybe this wasn't about what she had thought it would be about. Although—a confession of what seemed like guilt from her father was more than unexpected. But it couldn't be that bad—could it? The knot of unease she'd felt earlier began to evolved into a pit that weighed heavily in her stomach.
"Do you remember when we took those trips around the world? You know, as part of your therapy?" her father asked suddenly.
Chloe was momentarily confused by his question. Of course, she remembered those trips. They had practically strengthened her relationship with her father beyond what she thought was possible. But why was asking questions like these out of the blue? What was he trying to get at?
"And you remember how I talked about my childhood, my family, and where I grew up? And…how I met your mother? How we got married?"
"Yeah, Dad, how could I forget? But. Where are you going with this? What does this have to do with mom?"
Gabe sighed, "Look I know I'm not making any sense right now but just bear with me. Okay? I'm getting to the point."
Not sure what else to say, she simply nodded. Chloe was amused to see her father was the one rambling this time and not her. Maybe if she just let him talk things out instead of interrupting it might make things easier for him.
Relief flashed across Gabe's face briefly only to morph into uncertainty. "Right, well, I might have left out some important details when telling you those stories." Glancing down at his hands, he clasped them together squeezing tightly. After taking a deep breath and releasing it, Gabe unwound his fingers. Finally, he looked back up at her with all traces of uncertainty gone from his face. In its place was a look of steely determination.
Chloe had never quite seen that look on his face before. It actually sent shivers down her spine and caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up in warning. Even more unsettling were the warning bells going off in her head courtesy of her ability.
"What I didn't tell you was how special my family, our family, really is. You see, we have a certain quirk in our DNA. Every single person in our family is born with it, though not everyone reaps its benefits. What I'm talking about is something you're likely very familiar with: the mutant gene. Or as some of our more arrogant counterparts like to call it, the next step in evolution."
Chloe could only stare dumbly at her father at this revelation. Well, she supposed it was nice to be proven right about how she thought she'd acquired her powers. On the other hand, she had never for a second contemplated that it was a hereditary trait; simply assuming she was the first mutant in her family. Chloe tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind.
"My family wasn't really concerned about things like that. We just wanted to live our lives without worry of people finding out we were different, and sending a lynch mob after us, or worse. For a long time we were safe, nestled in a little town my parents had picked out to raise a family."
He swallowed hard as he recalled numerous childhood memories. "The gene came from my father's, your grandfather's, side of the family. Jacob Henderson had a power called thermal manipulation, while his wife, my mother, Allison, had regenerative healing. Their children, my siblings, were all blessed with an ability. Charles had the same power as your grandfather, Brenda, telekinesis and telepathy, and Howard had biological manipulation."
"Wait—did you say Henderson? Sullivan isn't your real last name?"
"No, but that's a story for another time. Now about my sibling's abilities—"
"And what ability do you have?" Chloe blurted out before she could stop herself. She hadn't forgot about the last name thing though, she would definitely be bringing it up again. Most likely when her father was least expecting it.
A grimace crossed Gabe's face. He really wished this conversation never had come up, but that was life for you. Being forced to do things you didn't want to, or having to force others. "Persuasion, both tactile and verbal," he said calmly.
Huh. Of all the abilities she could imagine her father having, persuasion wasn't one of them. Honestly she had thought they would have the same ability. Speaking of… "You have the same ability as Kyle Tippet," she thought aloud.
"Yes, though he has to touch his target in order for it to work. I simply have to tell them what I want them to do." Seeing Chloe's raised brow he explained, "I crossed paths with him and Bob Rickman almost a decade ago. It was an interesting experience to come across two people who had the same ability as I did."
Gabe reminisced with a grin, only for it to droop into a frown. "It's a shame what happened to Kyle though. Choosing to hide away from the world because of his ability had to be a hard thing to do. Then again, better that than becoming the monster Bob turned into. A monster it's so easy to become," he finished in a whisper.
His last words raised an uncomfortable question. "Do…Do you use your ability often? Or…?" she trailed off dreading his answer.
Gabe shook his head, "I haven't used it in years." His hands balled into fists as a look of shame colored his features. "I did so much wrong that I can't make up for with it. I promised myself I would never use my ability to hurt anyone again, if I could help it. So far I've been able to keep that promise."
A frown marred Chloe's face as she tried to decipher what he meant. "What do you mean? Who did you hurt? Was it really that bad?"
"No," said Gabe, shaking his head. "Now isn't the time for that. Another time, maybe. It's not what I wanted to tell you anyway."
"But—"
"Anyway," cut in Gabe loudly, "There was also my little brother, Richard. His ability was called intuitive aptitude. It was a very unique ability, special, known to show up only to those in our family. He was a lot like you, you know. Looking at you, I can almost picture what he would have been like had he made it past childhood." Gabe momentarily choked up unable to continue.
Chloe could only feel sadness as she thought of the uncle she'd never get to know and how much his death still clearly affected her father even though it had been decades.
He'd told her some summers ago stories about Richard, his youngest brother, who apparently had been a lot like her.
She watched stricken as her father painfully recalled again, how Richard, convinced he was infallible due to his ability, foolishly jumped into the Mississippi River on a dare thinking he could easily out swim the currents. Barely a minute in and he'd sank like a brick into its depths. At least, that was how his brother's friends who'd witnessed the event said it happened.
Gabe hadn't particularly cared, all he knew was that his baby brother was dead and it was his fault. He was supposed to be watching him that day but had ditched him with his friends to go do his own thing. It was a mistake he'd had to live with the rest of his life.
Deciding to change the subject Chloe asked, "So, you never explained why our family or others get the mutant gene. Do you know why?"
"The Sullivan's come from a long line of mutants. Our bloodline is believed to run as far back as ancient Egypt, though some believe it goes back even farther. If you're interested, I have this huge tome upstairs that was written by one of our relatives a couple decades ago. He painstakingly traced our bloodline all the way back to ancient times."
Chloe just stared at her father in disbelief. "You're joking?"
"I'm afraid not. Like I said, the x-gene is prevalent in our family. You inherited your powers from me. Well, not my particular ability, but having my DNA made its manifestation possible."
A bewildered look crossed Chloe's face. "How do you know I have any powers?" she asked, trying not to panic.
Gabe gave his daughter a patronizing look. "Chloe, please. I know you better than you know yourself. Do you really think I haven't noticed the recent changes in your behavior? Have I ever been unconcerned about what happens to you?"
A blush spread across Chloe's face as she realized the absurdity of her words. Of course, he would notice she had been acting differently. He was the man she both idolized and emulated. The one who paid the most attention to what was going on in her life.
"Okay, so that was a kind of a stupid question. However, you still didn't answer all of my questions. How do you know its powers and not something else?"
"Because you've had your ability since you were a toddler. And, it's the same ability that Richard had. It's an extremely rare ability that only shows up within a few individuals in the family at a time. You happen to be one of those few," he said with a drawn out sigh.
Chloe felt her mouth go dry and her heart start beating a hundred miles a minute. Sweat began gather at her brow as she felt anticipation at finally finding out what this ability she possessed was. "Intuitive aptitude? What is that anyway?"
Her father's expression turned grim once more. There was almost a hesitance in him to speak again before he seemed to gather his resolve with pursed lips.
"Intuitive Aptitude: The power to instantly learn and understand the complexity and exactness of organisms, objects, and more without the need for long-term or special education. Simply put, you have the power to do—pretty much anything."
Chloe was silent as she absorbed his words and turned them over and over in her mind. An ability like that…sounded impossible. Something like that would upset nature's usual balance. Though he did mention it only appeared in their family amongst only a few of their members so that might be the balance that was in place.
Still. The way her father spoke it sounded like she could conceivably do whatever she wanted. It was a startling revelation, not to mention frightening. What would she do with this ability? Should she do anything with it? She'd need to think some more on this later. For now, she would hear whatever else her father had to say.
"Chloe?" Gabe called worriedly. She had been silent for quite a while and it was making him nervous. He knew he was throwing a lot at her at once, but this needed to be done. He had put it off far too long already.
Chloe nodded slowly, her face scrunched up in thought. "Yeah, just give me a bit to process this okay?" Gabe stared at her confounded for a moment before simply nodding. It was several minutes before Chloe spoke again. "So…now that we've sorted that out. You still haven't explained how you knew what my ability was. Also, does everyone in the family really get an ability?"
"No, not everyone gets an ability. Which just so happens to be a source of bitterness in our family. There are many who have cut off all contact because they feel like they were cheated. Though, there are just as many who have abilities and don't associated with those in the family who lack an ability.
The mutant gene usually doesn't activate until puberty. This is usually why those accidents you see on TV caused by mutants are teenagers. The body's already undergoing changes, thus making the process of transformation easier. Though there are exceptions."
"I'm going to go out on a limb and assume I'm an exception. You knew I would possibly be going through this process," Chloe theorized. "Did you guess I would have the ability of someone in my immediate family? Is that how it works?"
"Sometimes. But, you're an exception because you have had your ability since you were a toddler."
And there went any semblance of Chloe trying to keep her cool. "Why didn't you tell me about this before now?" she yelled furious. "If I've actually had this ability almost all my life then why am I only noticing it now?"
To think she'd been worried asking her father about taking up martial arts again. How silly did her previous nervousness seem now?
"Sweetheart? I need you to calm down," Gabe spoke in a placating tone. He spoke calmly and softly as one would a frightened animal.
"Calm down? Calm down! You want me to calm down after you've just dropped this bombshell on me?! Are you kidding me?" Chloe jumped and began pacing trying to burn off some of her anger.
"Chloe," Gabe uttered sternly. "Getting so worked up won't help anything. Listen to me. Please. You're my little girl and I love you. Please give me the chance to explain things. Please."
Chloe was about to retort that she would decide whether getting worked up or not would help, but found some of the fight leaving her at her father's words. Looking at him she could see weariness and earnestness etched onto his face along with a plea in his eyes that she hear him out. She could see his love for her displayed openly like always.
Taking a deep breath to release the tension that had built up within her body, she looked away from her father before turning back to him a little more composed than she had been previously.
"Alright. I'll hear you out."
Gabe breathed in deeply before exhaling long and loud. He ran a hand through his hair. Dropping it back down by his side he gazed at Chloe with a morose expression.
"Before I tell you why I didn't inform you of your ability until now, there are some things we need to discuss."
She really wished he wouldn't drop anymore bombshells tonight. The ones he'd dropped already had left her shell shocked and reeling from the aftermath.
"I know what's been going on Chloe," her father said, giving her a stern look.
Chloe opened her mouth to object, to what she didn't know, but object nonetheless when she was cut off by her father.
"Do you really think I haven't been paying attention? You're my daughter, my only child. It's my mission in life to love, protect and look after your best interests, which includes noticing when you start exhibiting odd behavior. And you've been acting very odd of late."
"Okay, I admit I've been acting odd. I'll give you that, but what more do you know than that?" She wouldn't insult his intelligence by pretending she didn't know what he was talking about. Her plan had been to tell him the truth tonight, after all. Yet, he was talking like he knew everything. It was making her more than a little suspicious. Was he keeping tabs on her?
"Yes, I have been keeping tabs on you. Do you really think with all the trouble you get into that I wouldn't?" he asked at her look of surprise.
Chloe could only smile sheepishly and shrug. Honestly the thought had never crossed her mind.
Gabe simply shook his head. "Well, now you know. You may have thought you were being stealthy but you're not the only person that lives here. I've seen the very expensive purchases you've recently made, and believe me, we'll be having a talk about where you got the money from."
She couldn't help but flinch at the consternation in her father's tone. Chloe knew what she'd done was wrong, just…it was for a worthy cause! It wasn't like she was just using the money to buy frivolous things. It was for research purposes!
Once again, before she could even argue her case, he cut her off. "It isn't up for debate. It doesn't matter how you were using the money if you stole it from honest hardworking people."
Chloe simply sighed, "Right. Sorry."
"What am I going to do with you?" Gabe muttered in exasperation with a wry smile.
Chloe stared at the ceiling of her room unable to sleep.
It had been almost four hours ago since her father had spilled secrets he'd been keeping from her for years. Some things she'd rather have never known.
But it was too late now. Pandora's Box had been opened and there was no going back.
Once her father had started talking he couldn't stop. From the number of times he'd let something slip or stop mid-sentence only to continue on nonchalantly, Chloe could tell there were still things he wasn't telling her
And while the experience was cathartic for him; it was anything but for her.
She constantly replayed bits and pieces of the conversation in her head over and over again. Out of all the bombshells he'd dropped on her it was only two of them that really stood out in her mind.
The thing that plagued her mind first and foremost was learning the real reason why her mother had abandoned them.
All those years she'd thought it was her fault. All the therapy she'd went through to disabuse her of that notion. How her father would always tell her that the fault lay with him and her mother as to why she'd walked out on them.
Though it really had been her fault. Not intentionally, and she certainly wasn't a deciding factor in what followed but it still hurt nonetheless. It felt like a wound that'd never really closed had been brutally ripped open again, made deeper and impossible to mend.
Her father had admitted that her mother hadn't wanted to be a wife or mother. Something she'd always been vocal about though never where Chloe could hear. They'd dated happily for over a year with vague plans for the future until her mother had gotten her pregnant.
Her father who had been raised to value family had wanted to make an honest woman out of her. Her mother while unable to stomach the idea of an abortion, had been perfectly fine with having the baby then putting it up for adoption and moving on with her life.
Gabe, however, had been dead set against the idea and thought they owed it to her to try being a family. He eventually convinced her, through sound argument, to marry him. Chloe could see it was important to her father that she realize that he didn't use his ability whenever he pleased. She'd be lying if she said the thought hadn't crossed her mind, and that it was a relief he hadn't coerced her mother in to marrying him. It helped that her ability pegged his words as being truthful.
So, they got married, moved to Metropolis, Kansas, and five months later she was born.
For a while things were good. Her parents adapted to married life and the role of doting parents. Then she'd turned two. As far as her father was concerned it has been apparent since she was a year old that she was special. She had reached all the early development milestones far faster than was normal for any infant. Talking at six months, walking at eight months, and reading at twelve months.
While her mother regarded her as a prodigy in the making, her father knew better. He wasn't completely sure at that time that her ability was Intuitive Aptitude but did suspect a similar ability such as enhanced intelligence. Either way, her displaying an ability at such a young age was dangerous.
He already knew how difficult it was for his parents to keep himself and his siblings' safe, to keep them from exposing their less than normal qualities to others and teaching them how to 'blend in' so to speak.
Despite how intelligent Chloe was showing herself to be it wouldn't make it any easier to keep her from drawing attention to herself. So, her father did what he could to minimize the risk.
He hired tutors and had her home schooled in numerous subjects in order to satisfy her curiosity and intelligence. By the time she was old enough for school she was already on a 8th grade level. After a few heated arguments with Moira he'd allowed her to attend one of Metropolis' exclusive prep schools, guaranteeing a certain level of discretion.
However, after only a year it was apparent she would soon run out of things for them to teach her, especially since he wouldn't allow them to advance several grades. Desperate her father had resorted to a more…questionable solution. A solution Moira would never have any idea about.
Which lead to the second thing on her mind.
Gabe got in contact with an old friend of the family. A telepathic old friend. Sometime after her sixth birthday Charles Xavier paid her father a visit, and during that visit placed several mental blocks on her ability. All of them were specific, they were to dampen the metal capacity of her ability but not the physical. It couldn't be blocked completely without severe consequences, so limiting her obvious intelligence was seen as the most "optimal" answer.
Needless to say, she didn't agree with that assessment at all.
Her father had argued that the government and others in power had an uncanny interest in extremely intelligent children, let along those with mutant abilities, and did whatever it took to "collect them." He had only done what he thought would keep her safe and off anyone's radar. In Gabe's opinion nothing was worse than being hunted for the rest of your life.
Part of her could see the logic in his words and actions. However, a larger part of her felt violated and betrayed that her mind had been tampered with without her knowledge. No wonder it had felt like she'd been going through life with a veil over her eyes. He'd explained that the brain trauma from her accident along with the seizure that followed had likely shattered the blocks allowing her to access the ability fully.
In the end even though he had significantly slowed her ability to learn, she was still far ahead of her age group. In order to rectify this she was signed up for all kinds of activities to occupy her time. Unsurprisingly, she excelled at everything she tried, even winning awards and trophies to document her success.
Life in the Sullivan household became simple once again running smoothly with few problems. But like all things, the other shoe inevitably dropped. Since her mental capacity for her ability had essentially been plugged, this lead to a substantial amount of growth going towards the physical aspect.
The significance of it?
One day when she was alone with her mother she'd begged her to allow her to have a couple more cookies for lunch. Her mother denied her request of course. Angry, Chloe had demanded her mother give her the cookies with as much determination as her nine year old self could muster.
And like a puppet on invisible strings Moira had done exactly what she'd wanted fully aware that she was being controlled but able to resist until she'd carried out her daughter's demand. While her mother had snapped out of it traumatized at what happened, Chloe had been blissfully unaware, not even noticing her mother had kept her distance the rest of the day until her father arrived home and told him what happened.
Gabe, exhausted at having to keep up the charade, decided to finally come clean with the truth rather than take the easy way out. It was a decision he admitted he sometimes regretted making. But what was done was done.
Her mother hadn't taken the secret. She didn't leave right away but the way she began to withdraw from them had been his first clue. Wariness eventually turned into anger and disgust which she took out on her husband and daughter in equal. After two months of withdrawn silence, fearful looks, and heated arguments her mother left them early on a Tuesday morning. Chloe had woken up well past the time she was supposed to be up for school to find her father sitting at the dining room table rolling her mother's wedding ring between his fingers stuck in a daze with tears running down his face. It had been the start to one of the worse days of her and her father's lives.
Gabe was adamant that it wasn't her fault, that he didn't blame her. He took all the blame as his own for not being truthful with Moira before they got married, and for placing those blocks on her out of his own paranoia and fear.
It wasn't difficult to realize her father was afraid for her Afraid that what had happened to Richard would happen to her. Afraid that he wouldn't be able to protect her from those that would wish her harm. And so very afraid that she would get too full of herself, and do something foolhardy, something that would get her killed.
Chloe tried her best to assure him there was nothing to worry about, that she knew her limits. She wasn't sure if she truly convinced him of anything.
They had ended the conversation there. Both of them too emotionally exhausted to continue any further, though her father promised they would talk more about things tomorrow after school and work.
Considering she was still up, unable to sleep, Chloe wasn't particularly looking forward to another conversation, or really talking to her father at all. Even though she understood his reasons that still didn't mean she wasn't upset with him for what he'd done, and she wasn't sure when, not if, she'd forgive him.
Worse, she had the sinking suspicion that there so much more he was holding back, and that those things were more terrifying than she could imagine.
A/N: And here's the next chapter. Sorry for the wait, it took me so long to get this chapter exactly how I wanted it. Anyway, hope you guys like the direction the story is going. Please read and review. And thank you to those who reviewed, fav, and followed already.