Author's Note...

I was trying to think of a name for the project (you'll understand once you read), and I found something that I didn't expect but like. The plot changes a bit (in terms of Lex's knowledge), so please bear with me here. And if you haven't heard of Metis, you can Google her or wait until the next chapter when I explain it.
Speaking of chapters... I have about five left! The plan is to get it all up by June 30.

Since Kailtyn was walking around, looking perfectly fine, it was difficult explaining to the police that she had been shot . The officer was skeptical of her healing power until, against everyone's urgings, she cut herself again with the pocketknife. That had convinced the policeman, and the Grants were able to continue on their journey home. An awkward silence had settled in the car as they neared Smallville. "So what are you, Katie?" Brian asked. "Part lizard? Because they can grow new tails if the old one—"

"Dad!" Kaitlyn whined. "It's not funny. And I'm not a lizard."

"Brian, don't bother her right now; she's had a rough day," Kelly chided.

"Well, I'm just curious. She never mentioned it before." He glanced in the rearview mirror to see his daughter in the backseat. "How long have you been able to heal like that, Kate?"

"October," she muttered.

"And it never crossed your mind to tell us because…?" he continued.

"Why would I want to?"

"Because we want to know what's going on in your life. It wouldn't hurt to talk to us once in a while, Katie."

"Speaking of which," Kelly interrupted, "we need to have a talk when we get home."

Kaitlyn groaned. "Do we have to?" Talks with her mother didn't usually end well.

"Um, Kel, she's already pregnant. The time for 'the talk' has passed."

"Brian, not that talk!" Kelly sighed in exasperation. "We need to talk about your options for the baby, Katie."

"Abortion," Kaitlyn said quickly. "There, are we done now?"

Kelly turned in her seat to face her daughter. "No. We'll sit down and discuss every option first."

"Well, we're sitting down, and there's only one option." Duh.

"When we get home," Kelly repeated firmly.

"Fine," she huffed, annoyed. She knew that any time she argued with her mom, it was an uphill battle. This was going to be awful.

--

"Lex, what was so important that I had to meet you here? Couldn't we have discussed this in my office in Metropolis?" Lionel asked as he entered the large study of the Luthor Mansion

Lex stood up from the desk, closing his laptop. "Of course we could have, Dad, but it was inconvenient for me to take such a long trip." He smirked.

"And it isn't for me? Lex, I have meetings, important meetings, that I had to cancel to see you."

"I'm touched, Dad; I'm beginning to think that you really love me," Lex remarked sarcastically as he poured a drink for himself. "Scotch?" he offered.

"What do you want, Lex?" his father sighed impatiently, taking the profferd glass.

"Tell me about Kaitlyn Grant."

"Who?"

Lex had seen that expression, confusion, enough on his father's face to know that it was fake. Lionel had always made a point of never being confused—always one move ahead of his opponent. "You know who." He took a few steps closer to his father. "The girl you tried to kill on Friday, along with her therapist at Belle Reve."

Lionel raised his eyebrows in amusement, and he chuckled. "Really? Well, this is quite an accusation. Now why would I do something like that?"

Lex spread his hands. "You tell me, Dad."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Lionel took a sip from his glass. "If this is just your way of attracting attention, there are better ways of getting it."

"You're right; if I had wanted your attention, I would have let everyone at the plant take the week off. Maybe I can help jog your memory." Lex picked up a folder on his desk and handed it to his father. "Thomas Shopp, the killer and ex-boyfriend of a psychologist at Belle Reve, Hailey Simmons. He used to work at Luthorcorp--that is, until you fired him."

"What does this prove, Lex? You aren't even making sense."

"Simmons was killed on Friday. Open the folder, Dad; I'm sure you'll recognize Project Metis. The treatment was created to reverse the symptoms of meteor rocks, but the high concentration of lead makes it lethal. I didn't authorize its creation or testing, so that leaves only one of us. You authorized tests to be run on Friday, knowing full well that it was unsafe. The question is: why Kaitlyn Grant?"

"Lex, I believe you're making a mountain out of a molehill. The fact that this Kaitlyn Grant was the test subject is insignificant, completely coincidental."

"Really, Dad? I thought you didn't believe in coincidences. Is it a coincidence that she almost died on the same day as her therapist? What was so special about these two people?"

Lionel knew he was cornered; he had to think fast. "Grant has information, Lex, that would bring this company to its knees. She told Simmons, and I had to stop her from passing the information on. I couldn't sit by and watch the company crumble!"

"What is this, Dad? To Kill a Mockingbird?" Lex asked, disgusted. "So Grant knew something, and you decided to get rid of her? She isn't Tom Robinson; you cannot justify this."

"I already told you that she has information—"

"What information, Dad?" he demanded.

Lionel sighed . "Our continued testing with meteor rocks after the government closed it down in August."

"Yourtesting." Lex corrected. He had never been involved in it, so he could easily pin the whole ordeal on his father. All he needed was an opportunity, and now, with Project Metis, Lex could lock Lionel away for thirty years, at least. Especially if he provided the information of Simmons's death. "Dad, the girl lives in an asylum; no one would have believed her. You can't just bury evidence with a body," Lex said harshly. "Stop trying to kill the poor girl; Project Metis is closed. Either you're running out of Greek gods to name your projects after, or you are despicable."

"What are you implying, Lex?" Lionel asked, almost challenged

Lex ignored him. "If you try to pull one more stunt, everything I know goes straight to the authorities. The murders, the meteor testing, Project Metis. I'd watch my step if I were you."

How had the tables turned so fast? Lionel kept an indifferent mask on his face as he set his glass down on the desk. "Do you have anything else you'd like to say, Lex, or are you done threatening me? You're wasting my time."

Lex massaged his forehead. Was he not getting through? Did Lionel simply not care? "Just go, Dad." You always did think you were God--a sick, twisted god with no conscience. I shouldn't have put it past you to find your Metis.

As Lionel left, his phone rang. Safely out of earshot, he answered. "Did you finish the job?"

"I wouldn't be calling if I hadn't." The man on the other end laughed, but it sounded like a cough. Lionel was grateful that he had never taken up smoking. "Some kid trying to be a hero did it for me. He had terrible aim, tried to shoot me, but hit her instead. She probably died in his arms."

"For your sake, I hope she did." Disturbed by the extent of his son's knowledge, Lionel climbed into the helicopter that would take him back to Metropolis. She's dead now. Anything he knows is useless.

--

Kaitlyn sat down at the round kitchen table, reveling in the familiar smells of home that she had missed during her stint in the asylum. It was good to be back even if she wasn't looking forward to the upcoming conversation. Anywhere was a hundred times better than being stuck in her cell at Belle Reve. Her parents joined her at the table, Brian looking like he was ready to leave. "I told the boss I'd be back by eleven," he said. "I think I need to go."

Kelly frowned. "Brian, this is a family discussion. Sit down."

He looked hesitant but took a seat anyhow.

Kaitlyn's mother smiled. "There, much better. Now, Katie—"

"I know, I know: I'm pregnant. And now you're going to yell your head off at me for being careless. You're going to say, 'When you mess with the bull, you get the horns.' I know, Mom." Her voice was filled with frustration and helplessness. "I already learned that lesson."

"Apparently, you didn't learn it well enough," Kelly remarked. "Every action comes with a consequence. I won't allow you to get an abortion, the so-called 'easy' way out, Kaitlyn."

"Why not? Don't I get a say in what happens? Don't I have a choice? It's my body!"

"I'm going now," Brian said quietly, sensing that he didn't want to get caught up in this. Neither of the two noticed his exit.

Kelly narrowed her eyes. "No, this is not your choice. Life gives you consequences so that you learn; you can't escape them. You've been careless, now you'll have to learn how to be careful."

"But it wasn't my fault!"

"It was just as much of your fault as it was the father's, Kaitlyn."

Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. "You have no idea, Mom, what the situation was."

"I don't need to know. Speaking of the father, we already talked to John and his family. He denied everything, and I have to say that I believe him, considering that Tatiana did all the talking for you. We all know how honest she is. Who's really the father?"

Kaitlyn avoided her mother's piercing gaze. "It doesn't matter. He wouldn't help out, anyhow."

"I didn't ask if he would help or not. I want straight answers, Katie."

"Then here's a straight answer, Mom: I'm not telling you."

Kelly continued to examine her daughter's face. In a softer tone, she asked, "Who are you trying to protect?"

"No one," she answered quickly.

"Really?"

"Mom, it doesn't matter. I thought we were going to talk about options, here."

Kelly sighed, realizing she wouldn't get an answer. "I'm giving you the options where everyone lives. Either keep the baby of give it up for adoption. I won't let innocent blood be on your hands."

It's far from innocent. It doesn't deserve to live after all it has put me through. "Why are you so anti-abortion, Mom? Why can't you let me make my own decisions?"

"I did let you choose, but you made all the wrong ones. Now it's time for the parents to step in. Oftentimes, our experiences give us more perspective."

"Yeah, whatever. Like your 'perspective' even applies here."

"It does."

"How?"

"Did you know that you were supposed to have an older brother?"

Kaitlyn's brain stopped working for a moment. "What?" she managed.

"Andrew would be twenty-three in two months, the fifth of February," Kelly said, her eyes misting over as they looked back across the years.

"What happened?" Kaitlyn almost knew the answer, but she wanted to be sure. This wasn't possible, not from her mom, the perfect Catholic girl.

"I know this might sound weird to you, but I was once young and careless. I met a young man in college, and we hit it off. Before long, we were dating, and things went too far. After classes were out for the summer, I never saw him again. I found out that I was pregnant in June. You know how your grandmother is; she would have killed me if she knew. After very little consideration, I secretly had an abortion." Kelly wasn't looking her daughter in the eye anymore, but examining the table.

"So you weren't the perfect child?" Kaitlyn asked, a bit surprised. Her mom seemed like the kind of person who was too perfect to be around, a "holier-than-thou."

"Not in the slightest. Your grandmother still doesn't know. I never" —her voice caught— "had the courage to tell her."

"So if you had the abortion, why did you name it? Doesn't it make sense to just forget about the whole thing?"

"There's the catch: I couldn't forget. I was plagued with the regrets, even years afterwards. What if I had kept him? How would my life be different? I imagined him growing up to become a doctor, a teacher, an astronaut. The emotional stress was so harmful that I eventually got counseling; naming the baby was a way to help me move on."

To Kaitlyn, it didn't look like the counseling had helped much--her mother still had tears running down her cheeks. "That's why you're so against it?"

Kelly nodded. "The emotional toll it took on me was too much. I wouldn't even want my worst enemy to go through that regret, let alone my daughter."

"But Mom, this is a completely different situation. I'm not going to regret it."

"That's what I thought, too, Katie. That's what I told myself years ago, but I was wrong. I won't have this happening again, not to you."

If only you knew, then you'd let me. "So what am I supposed to do, Mom? Keep the kid, raise it? How am I supposed to take care of it when I'm only a kid myself?" Kaitlyn demanded.

"No, I won't ask that much of you. Adoption is the best option."

"Abortion is."

Kelly stiffened. "We just went through this. Do we need to bring your dad into the conversation?"

"What's he going to say? Does he even know about your abortion? Or did you keep it a secret from him, too?"

"He knows, and he will agree with me. We are your parents, Kaitlyn; we're here to make the right decisions when you can't." Kelly stood and retrieved the phone.

Kaitlyn realized that she was fighting a losing battle. She could easily convince her dad of anything if her mom hadn't talked to him first. Kelly alone was difficult to persuade, but it was possible. The two of them together, however, was a lost cause. She covered her face with her hands. "Fine! I really don't want to do this, but I obviously don't have a choice, here. Adoption. There, are you happy now?" she yelled, eyes squeezed shut to prevent tears of frustration from forming.

Kelly set the phone back in its cradle. "I'm proud of you, Katie."

"Yeah, right." You aren't proud of me; you think I'm a whore. It's not my fault! she felt like screaming. Kaitlyn stood quickly, her chair scraping on the linoleum floor. "I'll be in my room." Make no eye contact, just run upstairs.

"I'm going Christmas shopping," her mom called after her. "I won't be back until five."

"Good for you," Kaitlyn muttered sarcastically under her breath. Wait, Christmas? "What's the date?" she called down the stairs.

"The twenty-third," her mother replied.

Seriously? I thought it was January. Huh. She would have to add December twenty-third to the list of the worst days of her life.

That's what happens when an unstoppable force meets (Kelly) and immovable object (Katie): the author wins. I feel like Kelly was talking for me rather than for herself, even though I tried everything to make her be herself. I know how annoying it is when the author throws their beliefs into their writing (*cough* Scott Westerfeld), and I apologize. Any tips for making it the character's words, not mine?
What else do I need to work on? Please review!