Mix & Match # 7 - Chloe Sullivan & Peter Petrelli
Title: New Town, Same Story
Author: Tommygirl/storydivagirl
Rating: PG
Fandoms: Smallville & Heroes, Gen Crossover
Written For: dragonsinger asked for Chloe Sullivan (SV) & Peter Petrelli (Heroes) in my Mix & Match Meme.
Word Count: 903
Chloe stared at her computer screen in the dimming light and tried to clear her thoughts. She should’ve known something was up the minute she set up the interview with Peter Petrelli. For months she had tried to establish a meeting with Nathan Petrelli to get to the bottom of his election and then withdrawal from office, but to no avail. Then suddenly, months later, she received a phone call from someone and things fell into place.
Too easily, as it were. And that was because the interview wasn’t with Nathan, but his younger brother, Peter, and Peter had a story to tell filled with secret evil companies and viruses to end the world and special powers. It was as though she put out some sort of beacon into the universe that led all the aliens, mutants, and basic freaks right to her door.
Chloe groaned and rested her head on her desk. She wondered aloud, “Why me? Why do these things always happen to me?”
“Do you always talk to yourself?”
Chloe jumped up straight in her chair at the sound. She spun around in her chair, clutching her chest, to discover Peter Petrelli smirking at her and said, “Jesus, you scared me. Could you not hover around my office?”
Peter’s expression softened and a genuine smile flickered across his face. Chloe ignored the way her heart raced a little at the sight of it - stupid boys and their killer smiles - and stood up, holding the file with her notes to her chest like a buffer between them.
Peter didn’t seem deterred, placing his hand on her arm and squeezing. He said, “I’m sorry, Chloe. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Chloe arched her eyebrows and asked, “What, exactly, are you trying to do? And how did you get into the building?”
“Special powers, remember?”
“Oh right. Of course. Great for breaking and entering.”
“It has its uses sometimes,” Peter replied. He let go of her arm and motioned to the file. “You seemed a little thrown from our interview and I wanted to check on you.”
“Only a little thrown?” Off the look on Peter’s face, Chloe continued, “Peter, you told me you could travel through time and become invisible. That’s not something I hear every day.”
“But…”
“But what?”
“I picked you to tell my story to for a reason, Chloe. You’ve dealt with this sort of thing before in Kansas.”
She groaned. Why did everything always come back to Clark in some way or another? She loved her friend, but escaping the weirdness that came with him was something she needed. Even if it didn’t seem possible.
Chloe stepped away from Peter, but he simply inched closer to her, so she settled for a dramatic sigh and replied, “I don’t write those types of stories anymore. I learned the hard way that no one wins with articles like those.”
Peter frowned. “I don’t think that’s true.”
“As you pointed out, I’m the one with experience on this subject.”
“There are people with abilities like mine who don’t care what happens to everyone else. All they want is power, no matter what it costs.”
“And you think you can stop them by outing yourself as a genetic-mutant-slash-superhero?”
“Superhero? No, not...” Peter paused, biting down on his bottom lip as he considered his response. After a few seconds, he smiled weakly and continued, “Okay, I used to want something like that. I won’t lie. I wanted to be special, to save the world...” His voice trailed off and he laughed mirthlessly before once again continuing, “...now I just don’t want the world to end, especially if I might be able to stop it.”
“And an interview with me will keep the world from ending?”
“No, but it’s a start, a way to make people aware of what’s really out there.”
Chloe sighed. She understood and admired Peter’s optimism, but she knew better. “People will write us both off as nut jobs. You know that, right?”
Peter placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed. They stood there in silence until she met his gaze and he replied, “I’m willing to take the risk, if you are.”
Chloe could hear the practical voice in her head telling her to back away slowly and forget this encounter ever happened. She really wished she could listen to that voice, but she was never very good with prudence, especially when there was an interesting story waiting to be told. She knew it would probably blow up in her face, but there was something in Peter’s smile and demeanor that made her almost believe it could work.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She reached up to her shoulder and squeezed Peter’s hand, which was still resting there. She said, “I’m in. I’ll live to regret it, but I’ll write the story and help you however I can.”
Peter leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before he stepped back and said, “This is the only way I know to start the ball rolling and to try to make things right. I just wish that I didn’t have to drag you into this.”
“No one drags me into anything against my will,” she replied. She turned around and picked up her tape recorder, waving it in front of his face. She said, “And I never could resister a great story.”
{Fin}
Author: Tommygirl/storydivagirl
Rating: PG
Fandoms: Smallville & Heroes, Gen Crossover
Written For: dragonsinger asked for Chloe Sullivan (SV) & Peter Petrelli (Heroes) in my Mix & Match Meme.
Word Count: 903
Chloe stared at her computer screen in the dimming light and tried to clear her thoughts. She should’ve known something was up the minute she set up the interview with Peter Petrelli. For months she had tried to establish a meeting with Nathan Petrelli to get to the bottom of his election and then withdrawal from office, but to no avail. Then suddenly, months later, she received a phone call from someone and things fell into place.
Too easily, as it were. And that was because the interview wasn’t with Nathan, but his younger brother, Peter, and Peter had a story to tell filled with secret evil companies and viruses to end the world and special powers. It was as though she put out some sort of beacon into the universe that led all the aliens, mutants, and basic freaks right to her door.
Chloe groaned and rested her head on her desk. She wondered aloud, “Why me? Why do these things always happen to me?”
“Do you always talk to yourself?”
Chloe jumped up straight in her chair at the sound. She spun around in her chair, clutching her chest, to discover Peter Petrelli smirking at her and said, “Jesus, you scared me. Could you not hover around my office?”
Peter’s expression softened and a genuine smile flickered across his face. Chloe ignored the way her heart raced a little at the sight of it - stupid boys and their killer smiles - and stood up, holding the file with her notes to her chest like a buffer between them.
Peter didn’t seem deterred, placing his hand on her arm and squeezing. He said, “I’m sorry, Chloe. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Chloe arched her eyebrows and asked, “What, exactly, are you trying to do? And how did you get into the building?”
“Special powers, remember?”
“Oh right. Of course. Great for breaking and entering.”
“It has its uses sometimes,” Peter replied. He let go of her arm and motioned to the file. “You seemed a little thrown from our interview and I wanted to check on you.”
“Only a little thrown?” Off the look on Peter’s face, Chloe continued, “Peter, you told me you could travel through time and become invisible. That’s not something I hear every day.”
“But…”
“But what?”
“I picked you to tell my story to for a reason, Chloe. You’ve dealt with this sort of thing before in Kansas.”
She groaned. Why did everything always come back to Clark in some way or another? She loved her friend, but escaping the weirdness that came with him was something she needed. Even if it didn’t seem possible.
Chloe stepped away from Peter, but he simply inched closer to her, so she settled for a dramatic sigh and replied, “I don’t write those types of stories anymore. I learned the hard way that no one wins with articles like those.”
Peter frowned. “I don’t think that’s true.”
“As you pointed out, I’m the one with experience on this subject.”
“There are people with abilities like mine who don’t care what happens to everyone else. All they want is power, no matter what it costs.”
“And you think you can stop them by outing yourself as a genetic-mutant-slash-superhero?”
“Superhero? No, not...” Peter paused, biting down on his bottom lip as he considered his response. After a few seconds, he smiled weakly and continued, “Okay, I used to want something like that. I won’t lie. I wanted to be special, to save the world...” His voice trailed off and he laughed mirthlessly before once again continuing, “...now I just don’t want the world to end, especially if I might be able to stop it.”
“And an interview with me will keep the world from ending?”
“No, but it’s a start, a way to make people aware of what’s really out there.”
Chloe sighed. She understood and admired Peter’s optimism, but she knew better. “People will write us both off as nut jobs. You know that, right?”
Peter placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed. They stood there in silence until she met his gaze and he replied, “I’m willing to take the risk, if you are.”
Chloe could hear the practical voice in her head telling her to back away slowly and forget this encounter ever happened. She really wished she could listen to that voice, but she was never very good with prudence, especially when there was an interesting story waiting to be told. She knew it would probably blow up in her face, but there was something in Peter’s smile and demeanor that made her almost believe it could work.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She reached up to her shoulder and squeezed Peter’s hand, which was still resting there. She said, “I’m in. I’ll live to regret it, but I’ll write the story and help you however I can.”
Peter leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before he stepped back and said, “This is the only way I know to start the ball rolling and to try to make things right. I just wish that I didn’t have to drag you into this.”
“No one drags me into anything against my will,” she replied. She turned around and picked up her tape recorder, waving it in front of his face. She said, “And I never could resister a great story.”
{Fin}