2014.02.27 - Like Brother, Like Sister

It's only been a few days since she's been staying at the Kent Family Farm, but M'gann is taking to farm life like a chick to birdseed. She does her chores, she tries not to 'cheat' too much, she does her best to make Mae and Ma feel loved... And, she does it all with a smile. But, late at night, when she's lying awake in Clark's room... She stares up at the ceiling and knows that she can't keep her secret much longer. She has to tell Clark. She's come to view him as a big brother and the goodness in his heart makes her ache with regret that she ever kept a secret from him... But, how could she tell? She didn't know! Well, she knew she was keeping a secret, but... She thought she had to. But, now, with this family, she felt safe. Maybe... Maybe she could be fully honest. She really hoped so, because it gnawed away at her stomach, every night.. And, the longer she waited, the more she experienced the goodness of the people around her...the more like a fraud she felt. Today is the day. She nods to herself and starts zipping around the farm, intangible, so she's sure to break nothing...looking for her adoptive big brother.

It’s not been long at all since Darkseid stripped Clark of his powers and he seems to have settled on the farm. The way he’s been acting would make it look like he thinks he’s retired. He’s set about his chores and done it all without the aid of any super abilities. He even let M’gann keep his room, citing the need to go back to Metropolis for work at some point as his reason. He’s been sleeping on the couch but even so he seems comfortable enough.

Right now he’s out tinkering with the old tractor that has been on the farm longer than he has. His father having gone to town to run some errands, it’s been left to Clark to make the old clanker work again. He crouches by the engine, peering into its workings with purely human sight.

M'gann is silent--due to her intangibility keeping her weight off of the grass--as she comes to a stop behind Clark. She wrings her hands in front of her, her stomach already knotted up with the weight of her guilt. She watches as her adoptive big brother works on the tractor, looking into its engine with a puzzled look on his face... He is so good. So full of everything she wants to be. A tear starts working its way down her cheek and she angrily dashes it away. She's the one who's kept the secret--she has no right to feel sorry for herself. She only has herself to blame. And, with that burst of anger at herself, she speaks up before she loses her nerve. "Big brother," she blurts out of nowhere, her voice louder than she meant it to be. Her voice chokes off as she returns to a solid state and she hesitates a moment before continuing, "I've been keeping a secret and I'm sorry. I want to tell you the truth and why I felt I had to keep a secret. I feel like an awful, bad person." Her tone is one of complete contrition and self-effacing.

Clark startles at the sudden sound and appearance of M’gann. Nobody has snuck up on him in years thanks to his super senses and it’s still a novel experience for him. His head clangs against the metal hatch to the tractor’s engine compartment and he hisses through his teeth in pain. Pain. That’s another novel experience. Still, he does his best to not look discomforted as he turns around to look at his newest adopted family member and rubs the back of his head.

“I’m sure you’re not awful, M’gann,” he reassures, “What is it?”

"I /am,/" M'gann insists, her lower lip jutting out truculently. But, she's only angry at herself. She moves to rest on her knees in front of Clark. She reaches forward to touch his head where he banged it, "I'm sorry I startled you. It was not my intention... Are you all right?" After a moment, she chews on her lower lip and decides it's best to just...go through with it. "I don't know how much you know about the peoples of Mars, but... There are two types. There are green Martians, like your J'onn J'onzz... They are a peaceful race, and put more value on knowledge.." She pauses, rubbing her thighs nervously. She's wearing blue jeans that are rolled up to her knees, today, with a little cotton shirt tucked into the waist band. Her hair is swept up into a high ponytail. She looks every bit as though she belongs on this farm, with these good people. "And, there are the white Martians. They are... a violent race, who value conquering Mars, the green Martians, and probably everywhere else. And, when my parents packed us up and shipped us off to Earth, it's because there was a great War... Between the white Martians...and the green. The death tolls for the green were astounding..." She pauses, again, looking ill. "The form you saw me in, first...is not my own. I am not a green Martian, big brother," she says, lowering her gaze to her lap. And, her form shimmers, morphing to her original, true self. "I am...a white Martian," she whispers in shame. Her head is mostly bald, save for the maroon ponytail at the back of her skull. Her skin is chalk white...and she looks quite angular, and more alien than J'onn.

Clark may be lacking the powers of Superman but he still possesses his sensibilities. When he listens to M’gann’s story and watches her change he does not flinch or frown. He simply sits there, nodding his head slowly. He weighs up what she’s said for a moment before speaking up.

“Can I tell you a story?”

M'gann lifts her blood-red eyes to look at her adoptive big brother in the face, a look of complete misery wrinkling her otherwise too-smooth features. She nods her head to the question, quickly morphing back into her human guise, lest someone else see her complete shame.

“Kara and I come from a planet called Krypton,” Clark begins, sitting down across from M’gann and crossing his legs, “Which is far away from Earth. It’s gone now but it had a long history. It had the kind of science and technology that we can only dream of here and it had it a hundred thousand years ago. By the time it was lost they’d removed all diseases, aging and every Kryptonian was born artificially and given a profession from birth. My parents were scientists.”

He pauses, letting that sink in a moment.

“They considered themselves and enlightened people – and they were in many ways – but they weren’t always a moral people. They fought amongst themselves in great wards that wiped out whole continents. Some of their military leaders were terrible, cruel people bent on conquest. It wasn’t that long ago that some of them even managed to find their way here. Even one of my own ancestors was a man who experimented on others with no thought for their safety.”

M'gann listens to the story with the attentiveness of a pupil who truly wishes to learn. Her bright eyes are wide and she nods along with the story as Clark tells it. She picks up a blade of grass and fiddles with it idly as she learns a little about Krypton, and its people. "Oh, no," she murmurs at the mention of the cruel ancestor. "I'm sure I'm related to a lot of very awful white Martians," she says, hoping to help lessen the sting.

“The point is that Krypton might have produced a lot of terrible people but it also produced my father Jor-El and my mother Lara. They were good people. They fought to save Krypton and even though they died trying they managed to save a little piece of it with me.”

Clark offers a warm smile, reaching out to pat M’gann on the shoulder, “Whatever your people might have done in the past. No matter who they were. You’re not bound by that. It’s what you do that decides who you are, not where you were born or who your ancestors happened to be.”

M'gann smiles softly and nods, feeling an even deeper kinship with Clark after hearing his story. "It sounds a lot like my story, except my parents came with me, but died when we got here... And, we weren't like the other white Martians... But, the enmity for white Martians... Well, green Martians would probably not pause long enough for me to explain that I'm not like the others of my race," she exhales heavily. "I think my parents drilled it into me that I should never tell and, if I were to ever show a skin color other than human, that it should be green--just to be safe. I don't recall them doing that, but I know with deep certainty that was my instinct. My parents were particularly gifted psionicists. So, it's possible they planted those suggestions in my mind without me knowing. They cared only for my safety. And, that is why I kept a secret from you....and, why I was so ill at ease about meeting J'onn J'onzz. He...very likely lost anyone he cared about in the War, the War my people started with his. So, if he were to find out, he may very well try to kill me for the sins of my race," she lifts her shoulders in a what-can-you-do sort of gesture. "But, one thing is very clear to me, brother... I want to truly be a part of this family. I want...to wear your shield.... And... I don't want to be Miss Martian, anymore!" she says with conviction, her freckled cheeks pink with emotion.

“J’onn is a good man,” Clark explains, “But I understand. Your secret is safe with me and if you don’t want to share it with anybody else then I won’t make you. I just want you to understand that people can be more understanding than you might think. Give them a chance to know you and they’ll look beyond that stigma.”

He takes another moment to weigh up her request, still smiling faintly, “If you wear the Shield, there are rules you have to follow. The first is that we don’t kill. Never. That’s never a solution and I won’t let it be. The second is that we watch our strength. Just because we can punch a guy into next week doesn’t mean we do. Always use a proportionate response. And the last is the most important one of all.”

Clark takes a look of solemnity, focusing his entire attention on M’gann, “You have to always help. You give everything you can until you can’t give anymore to help people. That’s why we’re here and that’s what we do.”

M'gann considers Clark's words. "Perhaps...sometime...I will meet your J'onn J'onzz, brother," she says hesitantly. "But, I am still very nervous about the idea. I might need to eat a LOT of Reese's cups before I do..." She trails off, blushing a bit. Then, as he begins explaining the rules to her, M'gann looks astounded. "These need to be rules? I thought it's what all good people do. I can easily agree to and promise to abide by all of those rules," she says, seeming surprised that it was so simple.

"In that case," Clark begins, climbing to his feet to give the situation a little more impact, "Welcome to the Family. I'd be proud to see you wear the shield, M'gann."