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

[laura_kent]

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

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"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.

[laura_kent]

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

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"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."

[drake_kent]

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

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"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_kent]

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?"

[kalel_ofkrypton]

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."

[drake_kent]

"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.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"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.

[drake_kent]

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

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"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.

[drake_kent]

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

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

[martha_kent]

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

[drake_kent]

"Batman would be cool to work with."

[martha_kent]

"Yeah, but he mostly works alone," Martha says. She doesn't expect that Batman would be open to training her.

[laura_kent]

"Just because he works alone, doesn't mean he won't train you. Wouldn't hurt to ask."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"And even if he turns you down, I'm sure Green Arrow would be happy to give you some lessons," Superman says. "You never know what might be open to you until you ask."

[laura_kent]

"I had to ask to get clearance to work here, and provide my medical training when needed."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"We'll discuss your training later, once you've had a chance to heal and think about what you could have done differently," Superman says to Martha. "There's no rush to make you into a hero. All of us in the Justice League trained for years before officially taking up our capes."

Martha nods, not looking happy about needing to be patient, but she knows it's just like kickboxing. You have to practice and practice and practice if you want to be great at it.

[drake_kent]

"Guess for now, all is left is to go home."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"Laura, how long is your shift?" he asks his oldest daughter. "Are you coming home with us, or staying longer?"

[laura_kent]

"I have a couple more hours here."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

He nods. "We will see you at home, then. I hope the rest of your shift goes smoothly."

[slayers_desire]

Drake gestures for Martha to follow him through the PINpoint portal in the Watchtower, which will take them to one near their home.

It is getting close to supper. April is in the kitchen, preparing supper. Dru is upstairs, working on her homework.