A Hero's First Attempt

[martha_kent]

Martha Kent is fifteen years old, and she's on the prowl.

Metropolis has become incredibly safe since Superman first took the city under his protection, but that doesn't mean all crime is eliminated. And it's a good training ground for prospective heroes... especially ones without any powers.

Martha dons her domino mask and tucks her hair up under her fedora as she gets close to the sound of breaking glass. She feels nervous but excited, about to face her first real criminal and bring him or her to justice. She peers around the corner and sees the three thieves breaking car windows and rifling through the glovebox, taking anything valuable that they find. They look tough, but Martha is confident, and she steps out of the shadows, fists up in a boxer's stance. "Freeze, morons!"

One of them glances over his shoulder at her and sizes her up. "This is the wrong part of town to play dress-up, girl. Run along."

"I don't think so," Martha answers, stepping closer, staying light on her feet.

The other two both pull out knives and turn to face her. "Just who do you think you are, girl?"

Martha hasn't decided on a name yet, and for a moment she flounders, unable to answer with her real name. And they're getting close enough that she needs to take action. "I'm Captain Kangaroo, jerk!" She throws a punch at him, trying to knock the weapon out of his hands.

The other one slashes at her, and she has to jump back and use a legsweep to take him down. The third thief takes notice of what's going on, and pulls his own knife as he runs to join the fight.

Martha uses everything she's learned about fighting, but she's never faced real opponents with real weapons before, and a blade cuts deep into her arm. She cries out and headbutts her attacker, knocking him back long enough for her to get away. Her arm is bleeding and feels weak, and she needs to come up with some way to stop these men before they hurt her even worse.

She looks around, and takes a gamble, leaping back and up as high as her good arm will allow.

The fire escape comes crashing down, pulled by her weight, and smashes into the two remaining thieves, stunning them for a moment. She takes advantage of that moment and runs, knowing that it won't be long before Superman hears the commotion and shows up. She's not supposed to be out here on her own yet, and the thought of getting in trouble when Daddy sees how she got hurt is a scary one.

Comments

[drake_kent]

"You did do something. All three guys got stunned by your attacks."

[martha_kent]

"But I didn't take them down, and I got hurt." She doubts she'll be able to use her arm normally for quite some time. In fact, she probably needs stitches.

[drake_kent]

"Hey..." Drake took a breath. "I went to jail on my first bad-guy bust."

[martha_kent]

"You did not," she says in disbelief.

[drake_kent]

"I did so."

"Drug dealers were hanging out at the park. I went to stop them... and undercover cop busted the operation. And next thing I knew, they were reading me my rights."

[martha_kent]

"When was this?" She'd heard rumors a couple of years back, but never paid any attention to them since she knew her brother wasn't into drugs. "How'd you get out of it?"

[drake_kent]

"A couple years ago." Drake replied. "Dad came and bailed me out."

"We had a good talk. He told me some things that related to my experience. And while it was hard because I felt I messed up, he didn't make me feel worse."

"He and mom both said I never had to tell any of you guys, unless I wanted to."

[martha_kent]

Martha's first response is to be mad that he never told her, but she quickly remembers that it would be rather hypocritical of her when she wants to hide her own failure from everyone too. "I guess I can see why you never did."

[drake_kent]

"Jon, Wil and Laura still don't know." Drake pointed out gently. His worst fear is for the older siblings to look down at him.

"Dru... of course sensed my distress. But she keeps my secrets. Even this one." He spins the stylized skateboard in his hands.

[martha_kent]

"Of course she does. Dru is the best secret-keeper of all of us." It's something to be admired, in Martha's opinion.

[drake_kent]

"You can go to her with anything." Drake is extemely proud of his sister. And respects that she has taken a different path than him, or the other siblings who have become heroes.

"You know... you are going to need stiches."

[martha_kent]

That has her worrying again. "I can't go to the hospital, they'll know it was me." Her hero career would be over before it's even begun.

[drake_kent]

"You can go to Watchtower. Laura should be there."

[martha_kent]

Martha's a bit reluctant to do that, too. She looks up to her siblings, and she doesn't want to see disappointment in their eyes when they see what she's done to herself.

"What if she's not there?"

[drake_kent]

"Then we will go with plan B. Don't worry M., we can face this together."

[martha_kent]

"Fine then... let's get this over with." And she really, really hopes that neither of their parents are there at the time.

[drake_kent]

Drake walks with her to Watchtower, the ground base. Most of the heroes use the orbital station now, but there is still a use for the former home of the JLA.

Today, for example, a hero in need can find medical assistance.

And even without a JLA-card, Drake and Martha can get access -- since they are known relatives of Superman himself. As they ride the elevator up to the medical bay, Drake glances over to Martha, just making sure she is okay.

[martha_kent]

Martha is nervous, but stubbornly sticking to her guns. After all, she has to be brave and stand her ground if she's going to be a hero, no matter how bad her arm hurts.

She watches the elevator count the floors, half-dreading what they might find when they reach the top.

[laura_kent]

Laura is covering the Watchtower medical clinic today, as Drake thought she might be. And she glances up at the sound of the elevator.

"Martha? Drake? What brings you here?"

[martha_kent]

Martha is pretty sure that Laura, as a half-vampire, will be able to smell the reason as they get closer, so she warns her ahead of time. "My arm needs stitches," she says, after glancing around to make sure no one else is in earshot.

[laura_kent]

Laura nods, and gestures for Martha to take a seat on the medical table. "Let me look at it."

As a doctor, she does deal with her half-vampire senses often. Fortunately, they are manageable. And she is able to follow her dreams.

"How did this happen?"

[martha_kent]

The cut is deep, going partway into the muscle layer but not quite to the bone. Nothing vital has been cut, so she won't need surgery, but she'll need sutures in the muscle as well as the skin.

It hurts, but Martha's used to dealing with pain in her kickboxing career. She also doesn't want to lie to her big sister. "I tried to stop some guys from breaking into a car. They had knives."

[laura_kent]

"They cut deep into your muscle layer. So I will need sutures in your muscle. I am going to give you a slight painkiller first." Laura is very professional with treating the wound. And she appreciated Martha telling her the truth.

[martha_kent]

"I've had worse," Martha says bravely, although she definitely appreciates having a painkiller first.

[laura_kent]

"Did you want us to check on the status of your criminals?"