martha_kent | 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.

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"I knew you wouldn't let me go out on my own if I said something. I wanted to show you I could handle it." She knows that she was wrong, and fortunately nothing worse happened.

April takes a deep breath. The worst-case scenario could have easily happened, and Martha could have been seriously hurt without anyone knowing about it.

And she struggles to voice those concerns to her daughter.

"There are other ways to show us you are ready."

Martha knows she isn't going to be proving anything anytime soon, not while her arm is healing. "Like what?"

"By being responsible. The simple things like you doing your chores, getting your homework done, dedicating yourself to kickboxing... all that does inspire respect."

"If you had come to us and voiced your desire to be out in the field, we could have helped provided training."

"But I already do those things," Martha points out, using a fifteen-year-old's logic. "And you and Dad never had to ask anybody before you started helping people."

"I grew up in a Demon Dimension. I had no parents. I had to fight for my life on a daily basis."

"And your dad... did talk to Grandma Martha and Grandpa Jonathan often about his powers. His struggles. His identity."

It's hard for Martha to accept what she sees as a double standard, even though she can see the reasons for it. Life just doesn't seem fair when you're fifteen, especially for one with the infamous Kent stubbornness. "But if they hadn't wanted him to, they couldn't have stopped him, right?"

"Your father was raised to respect his parents. I can not imagine a dimension where the Kents didn't support him..."

"And besides, he didn't take a hero persona until well after he graduated." April points out another factor in her reasoning.

Edited 2013-09-19 05:18 (UTC)

"But he still helped people before that..."

"Martha... listen to me."

"Your father had to face difficult situations day after day. He had to lie to his friends. He had to hide his abilities. The AI pressured him to follow a pre-determined destiny. And he wasn't happy."

"He had a different path than you. Stop comparing your life to his."

It's a kind of verbal slap in the face, but it's one that she needs very much. Martha idolizes her dad, wants to be as great a hero as he is, and a big part of her does not want to acknowledge that she simply can't follow the same steps he did.

She's quiet for a long moment, fighting the prickling of tears in her eyes.

April holds her closer, running her fingers through her daughter's hair. She also has that prickling of tears in her eyes. She hated doing that. But she knows that Martha had to understand the truth.

"I believe you will be a great hero. You are passionated. Dedicated. And you will achieve your desire."

"You just have to follow your own path. Not your dads."

Edited 2013-09-19 05:34 (UTC)

"It isn't fair," Martha says with a sniff. It never is, and nothing says it has to be. But she's been trying to make it so that it is fair, when it isn't something that can be fixed, or even something that's wrong in the first place. And she's having to face that now.

"The hardest lesson to learn... is that life isn't fair." April whispers softly. "Mistakes happen. You define your life by how you handle them."

Martha's had a lot of changes in her life today, and it's a bit overwhelming. It'll take a while before some of this sinks in, but she's been pushed onto a major step on her path to being a hero.

She just hugs her mom, not answering, but listening.

It is sort of nice just to hold her youngest for a while. And she knows it will take time for Martha to process everything.

"We are proud of you."

"Even when I'm a screw-up?"

"That is when we love you the most -- because you need our love even more."

"Wow, I must've been screwing up a lot then." She's recovered her sense of humor enough to try for a joke, at least. It helps keep the tears at bay.

"Nah... you are just a teenager." April teases her back, since humor usually helps Martha recover faster.

"Same thing." Having her mom joke back with her makes her feel a little better, although it doesn't lessen the knowledge that she's been going about this all wrong.

"Tonight, we will reassign chores so you can rest your arm. And if need anything... just ask. Okay?"

"Okay... thanks, Mom." She doesn't just mean thanks for rearranging the chores.

((I think this is a good end))

((Agreed. Good thread :) ))

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