A Villain's Story

Chapter 3: Devastating News

~Azazel's P. O. V.~

Here it goes, telling my daughter that I am her father. I held the files in my hand tightly as I looked at her. She looked like Shawna; how did I not see it? Except she gained my nose. Poor girl. And my ears. The height she gained from me too. I can't bring myself to show these to her. She looked at me with fright as she continued to rub her wrists. I put the files in my lap as I rubbed my face again.

"What are those?" She asked me.

"I really don't know how to go about this, so, here." I put the files in her lap. "I will step out for a minute, as you process those." I cleared my throat and left her room, closing the door. I leaned against it to listen to her reaction. It took a few moments. But I heard her. She was crying. I opened the door, she looked at me.

"Is this a cruel joke? There is no way that these are right. You..." She paused as she wiped her eyes. I went to her and sat next to her. "You're my father?" I started to cry too. "Where the hell have you been?!" She screamed at me.

"I promise, Chloe. I didn't know. Shawna never told me." I had to wipe my own eyes. "I never expected to have kids. Let alone a daughter with a woman I met at a bar. It was only once. I was 21 and stupid." I wanted to console her. I wanted to hold my daughter for the first time in her life. "If I had known she was pregnant, I would have been there. I would have loved you and your mother." She continued to look through the file. I took out the part of her blood being villainous, though.

"I look just like her. Except for my eyes. Emerald Dragon has been dead for years. Hellhound took control and killed their mafia boss." She lightly ran her fingers over the paper. She looked at me again as the tears continued to fall. "Why now?" She wiped her eyes. "Where were you when I needed you? Not as a father, as a hero." I didn't know what she was talking about. "So much bad has happened. Things I can't even explain. You never came when I needed you. As both a father and hero." She covered her face and cried harder. I did the only thing I could think of. I got next to her and held her close. My baby girl was in pain and it was my fault.

"I am so sorry, Chloe." I didn't know what else to say. Shawna obviously had her hidden before she died. Why did she keep us apart?

"Don't touch me!" She pushed me away and got off the bed. "Why? Why are the gods cruel?" She fell to the floor on her knees. She screamed and cried. "I hate you! I hate her!" She tried to get up on her own. I went to her and lifted her up.

"Chloe, listen to me." I made her look at me. My own tears falling. "I swear. I had no idea. Your mother and I? It was a one-time thing. She was a bar tender and I was a stupid college student." I pulled her into a hug. She kept crying but her arms slowly wrapped around me. "I am so sorry."

"D-Do you know the hell I have been through?" She cried and started to hiccup. "Sexually abused. Normally abused. Starved. Was called a problem child. Had knives thrown at me. Hospitalized. Where were you?" Her grip got tighter on my shirt. "I needed a hero and no one was there. I needed parents and you were not there."

My doctor came back in, "Chloe. I ran your blood 3 times. This man is in fact your father." She cried more into my shirt. I held her head and let her, as I continued to cry as well.

I lifted her head and took a good look at my daughter. "I am so sorry, Chloe. If I had known, you and your mother would have been safe with me. I would have been there for everything."

She couldn't stop crying. "Where were you the other night? When my dog was poisoned?" I just held her. My own daughter went through so much.

I made her sit down with me. "I promise you, Chloe. I would have been there." I wiped her tears. "Gods, I am so sorry, baby girl." We both looked at each other. "You know who I am now. Why don't you tell me everything that has happened to you?"

I grabbed her a tissue and dried her eyes. "What is there to say?"

"I want to know my daughter. And why did she turn to villainy?" I calmly asked her.

She sniffled and nodded. "To begin with, I was in foster care for most of my life. My first home was burned down due to their uncontrollable child they had. Pyromancer. The next was one I thought had loved me. But it turned out that they just wanted to use me for a disguise. Robbed every bank from hell to heaven." She wiped more of her tears. "That is until I turned 12. I was given back into state's custody and given a new home. There they beat me until I ran away." That made me angrier than a bull chasing a red flag. "When I was 15, I was picked up by a gang. That's when the s****l abuse started. They took me every night. I tried to fight back, but that only had me chained like some dog." My daughter was... Oh, I will find this gang and kill them myself. "I ran from them too and found my way into Sanctum Way. Here I started stealing to live. I knew that if I tried to get a job, they would look into my past. I would have been denied left and right. But then, I found Timber. His mom and siblings had succumbed to hunger. Yet, here was this puppy, fighting for his life like I was. I named him Timber because I knew he would be as tough as a tall tree. I started stealing for him. Then, I met my boyfriends. One helps supply food for me. The other helped me with shelter." She shrugged. Wait, boyfriends? As in plural?

"You have two men who call you their girlfriend?" Seth! I am going to kick your ass!

Again she shrugged. "Yeah. It's no big deal. I can date whomever I want." She cleared her throat. "Well, until last night, it was just me and Timber living together." I bent down and picked up the picture of her dog. "He kept me safe. He was a good dog." She curled up in her knees and buried her face. "Those damn Dolphins. They killed him to get to me." She started sobbing again.

The door burst open. "Chloe!" Seth came running over to her and kissed her. "I have been searching everywhere for you! I was worried sick!" I didn't have time to process what he just did to my little girl. I punched him in the face and sent him flying out of the room. Slamming the door shut.

"It's father/daughter time! You ingreat!" She looked at the door with wide eyes. I didn't kill him. But he will have a bloody nose. I crossed my arms and huffed.

She gave out a sigh. "Yes. Seth is one of them. He was just worried about me." She tried to explain.

I went back over to her. "He can have his time with you later. It's not his time." This got her to laugh a little.

She shook her head. "Anyway. I don't need help anymore. I'm 22. You want to be my father? Great. I would love to have you in my life. But understand that, I won't ask you for anything." She got up and gathered her things.

"Whoa, you are so not going anywhere." I blocked the door. "I just found out I have a daughter. One that didn't know me or her mother. Chloe." I put my hand on her shoulder. "I want to be there for you now. I should have been when you were born. I don't know why Shawna kept me from you." Well, that was a lie. Technically, Hellhound kept me from her. But Shawna didn't want us finding each other.

"I appreciate that, I really do. But I am a grown ass adult. You want to be my father? Let me come to you on my own terms." She pushed me away. That broke my heart. "I want to call you 'Dad'." Her voice cracked. "I want to be a child again and call you my daddy. I wish I could have grown up with you and mom." Her body started shaking. But I am a criminal. You should be taking me before the court." She took a deep breath. "I won't tell anyone that you let me go. I escaped and left the city." She opened the door and left me and the doctor there.

I was dumbfounded. "Wait, Chloe!" I rushed after her. Thank the gods, I have the ability to fly. "Listen to me, sweetheart. There is a lot you don't know. Stuff we could find out together." She looked annoyed.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" She threw her bag over her shoulder.

"Where to find Shawna's grave? Who killed her? Stuff like that." I was really grasping at straws to keep my daughter from walking out of here.

She gave a grunt. "If there is anything I want to find out? It's who that guy was that shot at you." She went around me. Why was she being difficult?

I gave in. "Okay, okay. We can start there. Just don't walk out on me. I lost you for 22 years."

She put down her bag. "You aren't going to leave me alone, are you?"

I smiled and shook my head. "Not a chance."

She leaned against one of the walls and closed her eyes. Shawna had that habit too. "Alright. Fine. You want some father/daughter quality time? Then I have rules."

I tilted my head. "Criminals don't have rules."

She glowered at me. "Rule one. Don't piss off your own flesh and blood. Rule two. I know these streets better than you do. We do this my way or no way. And lastly," She looked away. Her hair covered her eyes. "I know it wasn't your fault. It's not mom's either. Don't blame her. And don't blame yourself. Okay, dad?" My heart skipped a beat. "If anyone's to blame, it's Emerald Dragon. If they still exist, I want to find out who killed mom."

I pulled her into a hug. "I accept your conditions."

She hugged me back. "Where should we start?"

I let her go. "The bathhouse. There we can trace the person." She nodded. "Let me go get ready."

Seht came zooming up the hallway and engulfed her. Making her grunt. "I am so not leaving your side again." Again?! In front of me?! I pulled him off and tossed him. "Ah!" I acted like I had just cleaned my hands off from dirt.

"Dad. Stop that. He's my boyfriend. Let it go." She went to him.

Helping him up. "D-Dad? Oh, I just hit my head hard." She rolled her eyes.

"Great, you broke him." She made him sit in a nearby chair. "Hey. You'll be fine." She kissed his head. "I love you. I gotta go." My jaw fell open. "Get over it. I'm 22. I can drink and go to clubs." She scoffed and went ahead of me. We left Sanctum Tower. She looked down from where we entered the first time. She backed up. "Oh, that's h-high. Um..." Her back hit the wall. "Nope! I will find a safer way down."

"Chloe? There is no other way." I held out my hand for hers. She looked at it and shook her head.

"I-If yo-you h-hadn't n-noticed? I-I-I'm terrified of h-h-heights." She held onto her backpack like it was saving her life. She closed her eyes and ran back in.

"Chloe!" Grr. This child. "It's the only way in and out. Most have their own ways of getting up here, like gadgets or powers. You don't." I landed in front of her. "You do have me, though. And I can keep you safe." Again I held out my hand. She closed her eyes and shook her head again. "Would it help if you kept your eyes closed?" Again, she shook her head. I had to figure a way to get her out of here without having her pass out in my arms. "Chloe, we need to get down without you sleeping or being passed out. Any suggestions?" Again, shaking her head furiously. I groaned. "Okay. I am going to blind fold you and put in ear plugs. This should help you. Are you okay with that?" She opened her eyes and looked at me. She was contemplating for a moment. Then she nodded. I tore a part of the tapestry and wrapped it around her eyes. I went back to grab the cotton balls and then put them in her ears. Once I knew she was ready to go, I lifted her into my arms. Okay. So far so good. I flew us through the air. Her body started to tremble. "You're okay. You're fine." I tried to reassure her. Once we made it to the bottom of the tower, I put her down. She took off her blind folds and unplugged her ears.

"That actually helped. How did you know that would help?" She turned and looked at me.

I smiled. "Your old man knows air travel. The altitude messes with someone's equilibrium. Sensory deprivation can calm that down. And when you are afraid of heights, you need that."

She looked at me with disgust. "Dad? Sensory deprivation is a b**m term."

"What? No it's not." I took out my phone and looked it up. Oh. Gross. "Okay. Taking away your sight and sound balances your mental state while flying in the air if you're someone afraid of heights. Better?"

She smiled and nodded. "And we are going back to the bathhouse?"

I nodded. "Lead the way." She poised and grinned.

"Gladly." She looked up at the sun. "Actually. We better not. The Ring Lords will be out in that direction soon. It's their pattern. They aren't hostile to me. But if they see you?" She gave me a quick look. "They'll kill you." She shrugged. "However. Morningstar Seal will be going back to their hideout soon. Best take their patrol area." She started heading in the opposite direction. "You will know these streets by the time I am done teaching you, dad. Oh." She looked at me again. Tilting her head. "Do you have any other suits?"

I looked over my suit. "What's wrong with it?"

"CHLOE!!!!" She looked in the direction the voice came from. Then back at me.

"Hold on... Zephyre... Stay!" She tried to warn him. But like Seth, he engulfed her in a hug and kissed her. What is up with these boys kissing my daughter in front of me? I grabbed the young man's arm and tossed him away. "Daaad. Stop that." She went over to the young man.

I shrugged it off. "I-is that Undergod?" He smirks and looks at her. "You have pretty eyes."

She glares at me and I just shrug. "You broke him! Stop that!"

She lifted him and made him snap out of it. "Whoa. That was a rush. Wait..." He looks up at me. "I wasn't dreaming that?!" He pulled Chloe behind him. "Go! I got you covered!"

She groaned and sighed. "Zephyre. This is my dad."

He looked back at her. "D-Dad?!"

I walked up to him and stared him directly in the eye. "Dad. You just kissed my daughter in front of me." He made an audible gulp.

She came in between us. "Enough. We have a job to do. Zephyre. How did you find me?"

He pulled out a trinket. "Some dude handed me this just a little bit ago. He said that it'd find you through your blood."

She tilted her head. "My blood?"

It had The Hellhound Syndicate's symbol on it. "Yeah. Looks like it worked." He shrugged.

She hugged him and kissed him too. "You are the best, you know that? Anyway, my dad and I have to get going. Get hidden. You know who wants your head."

He nodded and kissed her hand. "Alright. Be safe, my queen." He pulled her into a passionate kiss before leaving us.

I crossed my arms. "Do they know that you are dating them both?" She lowered her hand and looked at me with a smile that said guilty conscious.

"W-Well, no. Not yet, anyway." She shook her head. "Look, it's complicated. We have work to do." She cleared her throat and went ahead. I am actually disappointed in her. Do I have that right? Can I be disappointed?

She led us through a series of alleyways, tunnels and sewer pipes. Eventually, we ended up near my home. She motioned for me to go inside. I picked her up and brought her to where she should have been living. Setting her down and letting her take it all in. She looked out of place.

"This is way too pretty for me to be in." She said.

I sighed. "Chloe. This was supposed to be your home. Had it been? You wouldn't have been..." I gripped the door frame and cracked it.

"Raped? Tortured? That's in the past. Let's try to move on." She said as she sat on one of the couches. I figured I could leave her there while I changed into more fitting clothes.