[Titus]

Title: Explosion [Other Chapters 2,3, 4]
Tagline: Regeneration is only blood deep.
Summary: Violence follows Claire home and changes everything.
Rating: Teen, violent content, murder
Author: Titus

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, ideas, logos or the companies involved and their logos. I do not make a profit off of this. This is canon up to uhh never.

Chapter 1: Termination

A loud bang woke up Claire Bennett from her last night of peaceful sleep she was going to get for quite awhile. That bang was quickly followed by another. "Shut that game off, now bro!" Claire yelled as she rubbed her eyes. Her eyes drifted to the clock. It was 37 AM. She covered her ears, but she could have covered her eyes instead.

She twirled her tired head. All she wanted was to get a glass of warm milk and go to bed. She assumed her brother never understand that late night gaming really does bother the other people who have to listen to it. She'd sign him up for gamers anonymous, but her father insisted that was normal.

When her eyes focused on the ground, Claire did a doubletake. Clearly, someone was playing tricks with her mind. "Mr. Morgules?" The name of her pet pomerian dog barely fell from her lips. He didn't move much, nor did she expect him to. This was a prank. Her brother had to have done something wierd. Mr. Morguels would wake up tomorrow and lick away the evidence of her superpowers from Mom.

She continued walking into the kitchen, only to find that this was no prank her brother did. Her mother was strapped to one of the dining room tables with a bullet between her eyeballs. She checked for a pulse, nothing. Then, she went to the sink and completely lost the meal she did not have. Desperately, Claire wanted to be somewhere else and call this whole experience a nightmare. She would wake up any minute, or that's how she deluded herself to keep her sanity.

A rush of footsteps was quickly followed by a large blast. Claire, retroactively, covered her ears. Yet, a large pain came to the back of her head, followed by another. And another. The successive force of each blast forced Claire to lean into the sink. There was only one shot to the back fo her head. Yet, her regenerative powers forced the bullet to tear through the skull anew when it tried to move deeper. It was these powers that saved her brain from being bisected like a high school experiment.

A glance up at the mirror showed the trench-coated assailant frowning and opening another door. It was her brother's room. His eyes, which she could barely see, looked like they had a sting of remorse.

She tried to run over, but she was too tired to get up. The feeling of a jackhammer to the back of her head drained the majority of her energy. "RUN!" She managed to shout. It was only followed by a bang though. She didn't even need to check to know what that was. The intruder ran outside to a van labeled "Unlucky Eleven Gambling".

As the headache began to die down, Claire caught the bullet that fell back out of the back of her head. Her regenerative powers pushed it out at the same trajectory that it fell in. She barely managed to put one foot in front of the other to make it into her brother's room. She checked his pulse. Nothing. The only good thing about her brother's death was that he got to be positioned like his favorite football player. That gave no solace to Claire.

Then her mind flashed to her father. He might still be alive. He might be able to help her. The only sign of activity in his room was a flashing button. Claire pressed it. An anonymous, monotone voice says "Las Vegas needs your expertise now. Time is up." The message was short yet informative. Her father was alive.

Unfortunately, she couldn't be sure for how long he was alive. Was he already in Nevada when this stuff happened? Did he know what was coming and run? Did he go for help? Was the room empty for one of his normal "buisness trips" or did he abandon us? What are his normal buisness trips?

Claire felt a mortal headache coming on and began to panic. When she changed into her favorite clothes and out of her pajamas, she noticed a USB her mother gave her. It was something her mother always kept with her. Did her mother know what was coming? What did she desperately want to say?

Without a clear plan on what to do, Claire just went outside for a walk. She had to take her mind off of things. Why would someone attack a whole family in a small Texas town? She figured the walk would free her from the confines of reality for awhile. The arcade was the best place to do it. Yet, even invinicible people must face when they are wounded.

[Gargy]

There is going to be more, right!? 8)

[Super Ordinary Guy]

Originally Posted by Titus

She assumed her brother never understand that late night gaming really does bother the other people who have to listen to it. She'd sign him up for gamers anonymous, but her father insisted that was normal.

So, you have a gaming brother, right?

someone was playing tricks with her mind. "Mr. Morgules?" <snip>. Her brother had to have done something wierd. Mr. Morguels would wake up tomorrow and lick away the evidence of her superpowers from Mom.

Did the gunman kill the dog? I'm a bit stupid, so please bear with me.

The only good thing about her brother's death was that he got to be positioned like his favorite football player. That gave no solace to Claire.

So, this favorite football player is who? Again, yet another stupid question.

Claire just went outside for a walk. She had to take her mind off of things.

No call to the police? All in all, a great piece of work! I really enjoyed it. You will probably never see me try my hand at fan fiction because, as they say, those who can't write critique. I'm going to give it a B+. I would've given it an A, but there was no mention of Pizza or Dr. Pepper. Tsk, Tsk. :P

[Titus]

Thank you for the questions. I'll answer those here below and hopefully I'll have chapter 2 up tonight. If not, then tomorrow afternoon.

Originally Posted by Super Ordinary Guy

So, you have a gaming brother, right?

Nope..I've got a gaming father and sister though. Plus, I game a little. (I used to game more often, but there's this thing called college. :P) Everyone in my family has been up at three AM playing video games... well maybe not Mom but oh well.

Originally Posted by You

Did the gunman kill the dog? I'm a bit stupid, so please bear with me.

Yes on the dog being dead, and you are not stupid.

Originally Posted by You

So, this favorite football player is who? Again, yet another stupid question.

Nah, not a stupid question. This football player is just a zombie from the game. Yeah, I didn't want to go into too much detail. It's not really important how exactly his body was posed. Lazy author.

Originally Posted by You

No call to the police? All in all, a great piece of work! I really enjoyed it. You will probably never see me try my hand at fan fiction because, as they say, those who can't write critique. I'm going to give it a B+. I would've given it an A, but there was no mention of Pizza or Dr. Pepper. Tsk, Tsk. :P

Hmm... let's see... I was shot in the back of the head and regenerated... the shooter's gone. Police: Quit crank calling. [Besides people don't always think rationally when things like that happen. Oh and pizza's next chapter.]

[Super Ordinary Guy]

Originally Posted by Titus

Hmm... let's see... I was shot in the back of the head and regenerated... the shooter's gone. Police: Quit crank calling.

Yeah, very good point. Can't wait for the next installment! Thanks for the back story.

[Titus]

Chapter 2: Revelations
Disclaimer: Claire's "friend" from the trailer shows up in this chapter. His name might not really be Brandon, but I don't know the offical one.

Claire had not noticed that she had walked into the arcade and began playing Zombie Football Warriors at the local arcade until midway through the fourth quarter of the fifth game. It was her brother's favorite game.

Then, she realized that everything around her was just a faint whisper and seemed unimportant. All that seemed to matter was having a zombie player stick his arms out and waddle into the endzone like a man wrapped in toilet paper. The sweet scent of sausage pizza didn't even pull her out. "Claire," a whispering male voice said. Still, no motion from Claire but playing the video game.

The other man in the room slammed the door shut and started jumping up and down like a monkey; oooh--oooh---oooh noises included. When that did not get Claire's attention, he went over and ripped the wire from the wall. That caused the game to crash and a reaction of "What the..." to fall from Claire's lips.

"What's going on Claire?" His eyes looked into hers as he sat beside her. "You can tell me what's wrong." Slowly, he opened the pizza box, allowing the smell to fill the room again. "I usually eat half of a pizza while playing. At least today I might have someone to share with."

Claire felt an urge to lie. If she did not say what happened, then it did not happen. "Nothing..." The lie would also mean she was still invincible, inside and out. He stared at her, with his "I know you're lying stare.". "Really, Brandon, nothing is wrong."

He chuckled a little bit. "You always were a lousy liar. Usually, goth red streaks down the back of hair, ignoring people, and an outdated version of Zombie Football Warriors don't exactly make Vogue or even high school cool. Does it have to deal with jumping off a building or anything like that?"

She put her head on his shoulders and began to softly tell the story of this morning to him as they ate pizza. She looked at the video game and after telling the story, she figured out why she kept playing. If that game was going on, her brother was still alive in a way.

Telling Brandon everything though, just seemed like a nice shelter though. She always wondered why he stayed by her though. Occasionally, she treated him like a jerk when she was "popular". Now, she knew she wasn't going to be a normal, popular cheerleader anymore like she fought to be.

"There is one more thing," Claire spoke as she reached into her jean's pocket and pulled out her USB drive. "This was with me when I woke up but it's not mine. Can we look at it and I get cleaned up at your place?"

They arrived and Claire quickly showered up alone at his place. His parents were out of town at the moment, and would be for the week. They were rather rich CEO types that occasionally had to fly out to various places including Los Angeles, which was where they were for the week. It also made things easier since Friday was the last day of school at Odessa High School until next fall.

A few minutes later, they had Dr. Pepper ready to drink as they opened up the USB. There was only one file on the drive. It was a document entitled, "FYI". Brandon double clicked on the file to open it.

Dear Claire,

I just wanted to tell you that I know everything. Your fingers you lost blocked up the garbage disposal. I can tell they are yours, and not your brothers because of the birthmark. I still love you and I always will, no matter what happens. With all the changes going on, I figured you should know who your birth mother is. I never actually did get her name, but she did leave me with two clues.

The first is the bracelet I had outfitted with a diamond "C". It would obviously be yours, and something you'd fall in love with. Plus, it would be a reminder of how much we both love you. There is a crescent moon on the other side of the bracelet. This will fit in with your birth mother's bracelet.

I also know that your birth mother said for you to take a "voyeuristic gamble" in Nevada in order to find her. That was a few months ago, before your dad began "wierding out" and intercepting all mail coming from her. Me, being the foolish person I am sometimes, forgot to get her email address. I still wrote to her, letting her know about what your adopted father was doing and what was happening in your life. She welcomed all the letters.

Your adopted father did not want me to tell you, so I wrote it down on a USB for you to find. Perhaps you can have good luck in finding her. Just don't tell Dad that I told you. I don't like him when he's angry.

Love always,

Mom (well one of them at least)

Brandon began dancing and hollering "Viva Las Vegas". Claire just sighed. She should have been thrilled to get out of Odessa, but this wasn't what she had planned. She asked him if he was sure he wanted to come. After all, she reasoned, going with her might put him in harm's way. He said yes, without hesitation. She had planned on insisting that he go back after they find her birth mother but right now his company was too good to refuse.

[Gargy]

more please.........oh, and btw: your story is without a doubt non-canon as far as the Pilot I've seen!! 8)

[PeterPorker]

Creative! Keep'em coming!

[Super Ordinary Guy]

A+ :wink:

[The_Heroic_Loser]

really interesting. nice work!