Garrett Smythe was a man who was used to getting his own way. Whether it was in business or in his personal life. He was a shrewd, intelligent man whose business acumen propelled him to the top of the PR business. His own firm was responsible for maintaining the images of some of National City's most successful companies, and some of its most powerful and influential people – himself included.
So he felt an overwhelming sense of revulsion at the thought that he was standing in the middle of a prison visitation area just so he could visit his own daughter. It's like she's going out of her way to just inconvenience me or ruin me, I can't decide which, he thought.
But rather than dwell on that at the moment, he concentrated on the sight of his daughter being brought in with shackles and a collar, looking like a mutt being toted in to be put down.
"Hi, Siobhan."
"Hi, Dad," she replied back after a short pause.
"You look terrible," Garrett told her bluntly.
"And you're a dream, Dad. To what do I owe this visit?"
"Can't a man visit his daughter?"
Siobhan scoffed at those words. Daughter or not, she knew her father did nothing without having something in it for himself.
"Considering that you visited me only once when I was in holding and never showed up to my trial or my sentencing, no, this man can't," she answered as she sat against the back wall of the Sideshow, wanting as much distance as the damn thing would allow. "So why are you finally deciding to grace me with your presence?"
Garrett smiled, not the smile one would expect from a father to his daughter in a situation like this. A smile of comfort and understanding. No, Garrett Smythe gave his daughter a smile of condescension.
"Your mother was concerned about you."
"Then she should've come."
"Like I'd allow her near this place. I barely want to be here - Lord knows what I'd catch - but I told her I'd check on you; make sure you're alright."
The goodness of his heart, she thought. Growing up she remembered being close with her father, doing everything she could to be the perfect daughter; to never disappoint him. Because when she did disappoint him, he had a habit of turning cold toward her. He called it teaching her that anything less than her best wouldn't be tolerated. Now, she realized it was him showing his true colors.
"I'm peachy. You can tell Mom that, that way you don't have to dirty your suit any further."
"Should I tell her about the sarcasm you're giving me?"
"Please do, me standing up to you for once might actually make her smile," Siobhan replied glibly, a small smile creasing her lips.
"Did you act this childish at your trial?"
The small smile faded. She leaned her head back and rested it against the glass. Her eyes closed as she tried to fight off the instinct she was feeling. He's not worth it, Siobhan, she told herself, just let him be an ass.
"Well young lady?"
Siobhan's head shot up from the glass. Her eyes locked on her father. He had the same look on his face when he got called down to her school because she decided to mouth off at the head cheerleader before slapping the taste out of her mouth. It was the look that said he was not going to tolerate her behavior any longer. Well screw that, she thought.
"Young lady? I'm not fifteen anymore Dad, so cut with authoritative father act. Stick to the lying father act, it's what you're good at," she fired at him.
"How dare you call me a liar?"
"Because you are one," she raised her voice at him, surprised that her collar hadn't come on. "You've always been one. You just hide it well...most of the time."
"When have I lied to you Siobhan?"
Siobhan got up from the floor and walked over to where her father was. Her gaze was steeled, her eyes locked onto his. "I never told you, but I know about Diamond Discretions."
Garrett's eyes widened slightly at that news. He knew that the site had been hacked, and probably like most of the other people on that site, he grew concerned of a possible fallout. But as the days went by and there were no reports of names being leaked, he grew more at ease. That didn't stop him from keeping measures in place to ensure that the damage to him would be minimal should it ever come out.
"Speechless, Daddy? I know I was, especially after you promised me all those years ago that you'd never cheat on Mom again."
"I know what was said –"
"Instead, you just got better at hiding it. At least this time I only had to found out from a flash drive, not walking in on your assistant blo –"
"Siobhan, that's enough," he interrupted her, his voice raised. "There are microphones in here, remember?"
And dear old Dad can't have anyone knowing about his indiscretions, she thought to herself, especially people he doesn't control. It would interfere with his perfect image. Then again, she mused, having a daughter in prison for trying to kill National City's most powerful person, well, that's just got to sting.
"Yeah, I know, and heaven forbid that the world know that Garrett Smythe is cheating on his wife. I mean hell, I've probably already become enough of an embarrassment to you."
"Well I certainly am working overtime to do damage control on your behalf. Which is not easy thanks to your outburst being done so publicly."
"Outburst?" Siobhan asked with incredulity. This man really does live in his own world, she thought. "Outburst. That wasn't an outburst, Dad," she raised her voice again, pointing towards the outside. "That was all the –"
"Oh stop your whining, Siobhan," Garrett cut her off. It was clear that he was growing impatient. Whether it was from being in Van Kull longer than he wanted to, or from finally being face to face with his daughter after her rampage, he couldn't decide. "You're here because of what you did. And trying to blame me is not going to fix you."
Siobhan glared at her father. She almost felt like the pain of the collar might be worth trying to scream at him. But despite that anger bubbling, despite all her instincts telling to scream – despite the voice of the Banshee ordering her to embrace her anger and take him out – she tried her hardest to keep composed. She'd let loose once already in here, and regardless of the tough veneer she had put on; that outburst had scared her. It scared Doctor West enough that he'd actually medicated her.
Truth be told, being here now, and feeling all the emotion building inside her, she was becoming afraid again.
"You've done this all your life," Garrett continued. "You've walked around, feeling like the world owed you, like there was a giant chip on your shoulder, and it forced you to clamor for attention. For praise. Back then, just like now, you did not make it easy to be your father."
Siobhan's glare returned, this time with watering eyes. Just like when I was growing up, she thought, make a mess, screw up, and suddenly Dad turns. "Well, Siobhan, do you have anything to say?"
She looked at her father, and this time, it wasn't just anger inside her. It was the sadness of finally seeing her father live up the reputation he both fostered and hid. She didn't want to cry, but as she blinked in an effort to hold back the tears, one fell. She brought her hands up and wiped away the tear, and then looked back at her father.
"Growing up, everything I did; the good grades, the sports, the clubs, the summer jobs – all of it; it was all for you. I wanted to be perfect for you. Because whenever I came up short, and I saw that look in your eyes, the one I'm seeing right now, I always felt like…like Daddy didn't love me. And all I wanted was for you to love me," she said, almost beginning to sob. "But seeing you standing here, listening to you; I finally figured it out. None of that mattered. None of it was really worth it, because you don't love me. You don't love Mom. The only person Garrett Smythe loves, is Garrett Smythe."
"Siobhan, I do love you," he said flatly.
"No, no, don't you lie to me. Don't you dare lie to me," she barked at him, the wavering voice of a little girl trying not to cry gone, replaced with the firmness of a woman dead set on proving herself. Father and daughter stared at each other, Garrett impassive, Siobhan determined.
"I…I don't know if he loves me, or ever would now, but I've got someone who I know at least cares about me because he's seen the worst I can dish out, and he's still here. And when he's on the other side of that glass, I feel happy, like someone actually enjoys being around me. And all the anger, and pain, and heartache; it goes away for a while. You're standing there, and all I think…now…is how much of your rotted, sickening personality has been put into me. I am what you made me, anger personified. And maybe it's finally seeing some clarity because of the separation, or the introspection, but because of you, sometimes, I don't like myself, but after hearing you today, it abundantly clear…I hate you."
"I thought they were making you confront your problems, not deflect them."
"I hate you. I hate you. I…HATE…YOU!"
The last words were shouted at the top of her lungs, just loud enough to activate the collar. Immediately she felt the electricity surge through her. She fell to her knees, and almost stayed there. But through the haze of her vision starting to blur, she saw her father staring down at her, his face blank, and she refused to be silenced. "I…hate…," the collar shocked her again, cutting her off, and knocking her on her back.
She brought her hands toward her neck, and grabbed the collar. Now the volts were going into her hands, but she no longer cared. Mustering as much of her strength, and the Banshee's, as she could, she gripped the collar tighter. She could swear that even now, with all the pain, and all the agony, that deep inside her head, she could hear a scream echoing. With a showing of resolve that even she didn't know she was capable of, she broke the collar off of her.
With the immediate pain gone, and what she endured before quickly receding, she stumbled to her feet, clasped her hands together, and began hammering at the glass with her balled hands.
"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!"
As she shouted those three words over and over in a never ending tirade, each declaration was met with a clubbing blow to the cell. Garrett watched in terrified shock as his daughter did her absolute best, in his mind at least, to break out and get at him. After almost thirty seconds of pounding, he became concerned for his safety as he watched Siobhan actually crack the cell's glass.
Immediately an alarm sounded throughout the room and flashing red lights began strobing. As Siobhan kept pounding and screaming, the cell started filling with gas from pressurized vents near the its bottom lining. She started to cough as the gas filled her lungs every time she inhaled before a scream. But that didn't stop her from continuing to try and get at her father.
"I…I...h…hate," she coughed as she felt herself start to become dizzy. Soon, the room started to spin, and she felt an overwhelming sense of numbness overtake her. Eventually, the pounding and the shouting stopped. The only sounds left were the sounds of the alarm, and Garrett's heartbeat in his own ears. As they entered, the guards shut off the alarm and returned the lights to normal. They rushed Garrett out of the room and began venting the gas from the cell before too much leaked through the cracks Siobhan has caused.
Once it was properly vented, they looked in and saw Siobhan knocked out, her upper body pressed against the glass, her arms still limply raised in an effort to keep hammering away. But what shocked them the most was damage she'd done to the cell. A circular crack about the size of a car door window had been punched into it. They knew because of her powers from being Silver Banshee that she was strong. They'd seen on TV how sent Supergirl flying over ten feet with one punch, but they weren't truly prepared for her to give this kind of display.
"There's gonna be hell to pay for this," one guard muttered.