martha_kent | A Hero's First Attempt

A Hero's First Attempt

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Every step he takes, Drake feels better about his decision. And is glad he has this chance to plan his hero career with his father.

"I gave myself a name. Sk8tr."

((bed time))

"It's always a good idea to incorporate other skills into your hero strategies," Superman says with a nod. He isn't sure the name will stick, but Drake seems to like it, and at this point he doesn't need criticism so much as he needs support in his endeavor.

"It is a little hard sometimes... being out there and not knowing if I am doing the right thing or not." Darke is not only voicing his worries her, but also addressing the ones he knows Martha has.

"But I am so glad you support me."

"I'd say that second-guessing yourself is a good thing, in moderation. If you always assume you're doing what's right and can't do wrong, you can end up in some big messes as a result. And this is a path with consequences for more than just yourself, so weighing the options is more important than ever." He wants Drake to know that what he's facing is not only normal, but expected, giving him the confidence he needs to face that uncertainty.

"I'd imagine you faced many consequences yourself as a young hero."

"I did. And I still do." He looks over to where the girls are, in the medical area. "Martha's facing her own first consequences, isn't she?"

"She is." Drake admits. "The thing that scares her the most -- is your reaction."

His youngest daughter is headstrong and stubborn, so it doesn't surprise him that she's gotten herself into trouble again. But he's also aware that she takes restrictions as challenges, nor does he want her to get the impression that she's forbidden from carving out her own hero career.

"Let's go speak with your sisters." He approaches the med station, taking a closer look at Martha's injury as he does. "How bad is it?"

Laura finishes bandaging her stitch-work. "I had to stitch the muscle. The cut was pretty deep into her arm. She will be restricting in using it."

Martha doesn't want to meet her dad's eyes, fearing what she'll see there. Especially when he asks his next question.

"What happened?" Superman knows what happened, but he wants to hear her say it. To see if she'll own up to what she did, and understand what went wrong. It's an important lesson to learn, if you're going to be a hero.

"There were some guys breaking into cars," Martha says, still not quite looking him in the eye. "I tried to stop them."

Neither Laura nor Drake know how to best support Martha right now. Especially since she needs to admit her own errors, to move forward as a person and a hero.

Gently Laura touches her hand, not saying anything right now. And Drake sends her emotional support using his abilities.

It's okay M. Look at him. He will respect you for telling the truth

"So you were just walking by?" he asks, testing her.

Martha takes a deep breath and looks up. "No, I went looking for trouble. I thought I could handle it."

There's no condemnation in his eyes, although he is disappointed that she disobeyed. More than that, that she went out alone, without backup or proper equipment. "I found the men you were facing. You managed to get in some good hits on them before you left. But you showed good sense in taking the chance to run when you did."

"I didn't want to get in trouble..."

"I suspect you also knew you were in over your head," he adds, entirely accurately.

"Were they all armed?" Laura wonders if she was able to defend herself against other weapons.

"They all had knives," Martha says. "But only one of them got me."

"All it takes is one," Superman tells her. "The more that hit you, the more will. But it could only take one strike to seriously hurt or kill you. You went out without proper protection, and although you got away this time, it might not have gone that way."

"I know... I shouldn't have been out there," Martha says. Her dad's disappointment is more of a punishment than anything he could dream up for her to do. "I screwed up. I don't know what I would've done if Drake hadn't showed up."

"There is a reason why Green Arrow and Doc are so protected with armor. You should ask them about designing your own."

"Martha... I have no problem with you wanting to go into the family business. But I want you to be prepared, and as safe as possible. And you deliberately disobeyed your mother and me. This time, I think your injury is punishment enough, so you won't be grounded for this."

Drake is glad that Martha won't be grounded. He thinks his father was tough, but fair. And respectful.

"In the future, as long as we talk to you ahead of time... could she come out with me?"

He considers that. "Drake, I don't believe you would deliberately endanger yourself or your sister, but I'm going to say no, unless you're both with someone who has more experience."

"That's not bad." Drake accepts his point. His goal is to work towards the point where he can be called on as a leader... but he knows it will take a lot of work. Responsibility. Dedication.

"Wait... could we do that?" Martha asks. "Go out with someone experienced, I mean."

"The best way to learn is to learn from someone who's been doing this for a while," Clark responds.

"Dad already said it was okay for me to train with J'onn or Green Lantern."

"That's not fair, why can't I do that?" Martha wants to know.

Superman looks at her. "You've never asked."

Martha's a bit embarrassed by that, because it's true. She just always assumed she had to sneak around to try and be a hero, because of her lack of powers.

Sneaking around and trying to be a hero -- unfortunately never works well for anyone.

"If you could train with anyone, who would it be?"

"Batman," Martha says without hesitation. "Or Green Arrow, but mostly Batman."

"Batman would be cool to work with."

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