2012-06-23 Cousins' Quarrel

Morning is well underway in Smallville, and the early chores have been finished at the Kent farm. Now, it's time for breakfast and in the kitchen, Kara is learning the fine art of making pancakes alongside Martha Kent. There's a smile on the girl's face as the worries of a few days past are apparently forgotten.

The telltale sound entrance into the Kent Farmhouse is the the creak of springs and the wooden smack of wood hitting wood from the screen door. Clark enters and smiles to his mom and to Kara. "Good morning, ladies."

The appearance of Kal startles Kara, who'd been focusing on the cooking. Martha, though, doesn't jump anymore at her son's sudden appearances. There's a sad look in Kara's eyes Kal can see before she turns back to the cooking. Martha just pats the girl on the shoulder. "Well, I think things are well in hand. I should get back to my quilting." She gives her son a kiss on the cheek before leaving and whispers, "Don't be harsh with her, she's already upset with herself."

"Come on, Mom, you know I'm not going to be harsh," Clark gives Martha a kiss on the cheek and a side hug as they pass before he smiles faintly at Kara. "How ya doin?"

"I'm okay," Kara says in a sheepish voice. She takes the griddle off the stove, setting it on a non-active burner. She turns off the burner she was using and stands there for a bit. "Is he alright?"

"He'll be okay," Clark says as he takes a seat at the large oak table. Folding his hands and looking up at her, he asks, "You wanna talk about it?"

Kara walks over to the table, pulling out a seat and sitting down in it. "I'm sorry. I know it was wrong for me to hold his father's actions against him." She looks up, the first eye contact she's made with her cousin since he walked in. "And I thought...you didn't want me in Metropolis after that."

"Of course I want you in Metropolis Kara," Clark says as he reaches out to take Kara's hand. "It's important for you to understand that losing our cool in front of humans is always unacceptable. If they come to fear us, everything we work for will be for naught. We're only able to fit in this society because of the respect that we have. If they came to the belief that we're dangerous, we would have to give up what it is we do. You must always be rational. Forward thinking. And wise."

There's a sort of laugh from Kara, one of disbelief. "Rational? Kal, I'm not a machine. I can't just switch off my memory of what happened on Krypton. I can't just forget and ignore what I lived through." She pushes away from the table and goes over to the sink, looking out the window and gripping the countertop. "I was wrong, I admit that. But can't you try to understand how I'm feeling? Consider my experiences?" There's a cracking of wood as she breaks the edge of the countertop in her grip. Kara blushes red and sighs heavily. "...sorry..."

"You're obviously not ready, Kara. It seems you don't quite comprehend the magnitude and scope of importance we hold here on Earth. Until you can grasp that, I think we're going to need to shelve your activities as Supergirl. While I can certainly empathize with your feelings and share some of my own, I think Lor's response and your response were both very telling of the maturity levels each of you have attained. He could have reacted similarly to you as a member of the family that put his family in prison. He didn't. He kept his cool, even without reason to."

Kara turns around, absolutely stunned. She can't believe what she's hearing. "Kal...his father used a nuclear device on Kryptopolis. It leveled the city and killed Three. Million. People. So I'm sorry if I'm a bit emotional when it comes to dealing with the son of the greatest war criminal and mass murderer in Krypton's history." She's shaking her head looking at someone she doesn't recognize. "I was right. I'm nothing but a stranger to you that dropped out of the sky."

"What crime did Lor Zod commit?" Clark asks raising his eyebrows. "I'll tell you what crime you committed. Assault. Which is illegal here. I don't expect you to greet the boy with open arms, but civility and simple ...abiding the law... is expected. You lost your cool. And attacked someone who came in peace. This cannot be tolerated, even if on some levels I share your concern."

"I already said i was wrong for doing that." Kara replies. "But I guess you've never made a mistake you've regretted." She wipes her hands on the dish towel and starts walking out. "I think we're done here. Nice seeing you, cousin."

"Don't take that tone with me. You're a child. I'll inform you when we're finished." Clark says growing more stern. "You're not to go out as Supergirl until you've shown me you are fit to wear that crest on this planet. Am I clear?"

Kara wheels around, truly outraged. "I'm not fit to wear my family's crest? I've been wearing it before you were even conceived, Kal-El. And I will continue wearing it because I am proud of my heritage. Proud of my family history. And what exactly are you going to do? Lock me away in the Fortress? Exile me to the Phantom Zone? How far will you go to stop me from doing what I consider to be right?"

"Go to your room," Clark says plainly. "You can come talk to me once you're rational."

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">"You mean the room that I was headed for already?" Kara puts her hands on her hips. "I tried talking to you rationally, Kal-El. I tried to make you understand my point of view. But you don't care." Kara throws her hands up in frustration. "You don't care about anyone's viewpoint but your own. You don't even try to understand someone else. All that matters to you is that I made a mistake. And that's apparently an unforgivable sin in your worldview."

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">Clark sighs and shakes his head as Kara leaves, wondering if he was as self-absorbed when he was a teen. He contemplates asking his mother, but he's pretty sure he won't like the response. Clark gets up with a slight groan and moves to open the fridge to grab the milk.