Life Ore Death
* July 3 [Conner PoV]
I woke up early, moved M'gann's long arm off of me—she was a much heavier sleeper when she reverted to her true body for the night, since she didn't have the mental technique that kept her from shifting back active all night—and went to get breakfast.
'
Wait. Blanket,' I realized, doubling back. '
…Does M'gann like it over, or under? Did I just step on-? …Forget it.' I went to get breakfast.
I could tell immediately that Renka was already awake and working; I couldn't tell the difference between people's heartbeats like Clark can, but I heard her heartbeat, I heard her breathing, I heard the clicking and scratching as she typed or wrote something, and I could hear Wolf's heavy heartbeat as he curled up beside her (since Jason wasn't expected over today, so Wolf wasn't at the farm to not scare him).
'
Okay,' I resolved as I walked down the hallway, '
I can do this. It's stupid that it feels stupid to do it, she won't laugh at me… I can do it.' I wiggled my toes. '
We need a roomba for the floors or something. …Oh, right, I'm usually wearing socks. Forgot those.'
"Good morning," I greeted when I reached the kitchen. Renka didn't turned around until Wolf nudged her.
"Good morning, Conner," she greeted.
"Good morning," I repeated. "Welcome back." I'd said it already, but it was a good way to start things. '
She's having oatmeal and fruit… She doesn't eat much meat, and I still burn bacon, so skip that… Toaster waffles, or else she'll offer to cook for me; she's good, but she's working, and I should learn it eventually. …Stop stalling.' "What are you working on? Today," I added, hiding my red face in the refrigerator. '
Orange juice sounds good.'
"I sent my peer reviews to Kaldur a few minutes ago; I am currently reviewing our budget and expense spending," she answered.
"He talked to M'gann about cookie ingredients already," I blurted out, because she'd feel worse if Ferris did it too.
"He noted that. Mm. I am thinking about opening a personal account for each of you, as well as the Team 'slush fund.'"
"We don't really have any money," I pointed out, not really worried about it but wondering where she was going with this.
She looked up from her work to gaze at me evenly. "You should," she said.
"This isn't a
job, right?" I pointed out. '
I'm already living here, I have everything I need.' "You didn't until you got a lot for your birthday… I'm not celebrating my birthday tomorrow," I added, "so don't give me any as a birthday present." I set my plate on the table.
"How about an Independence Day present, after you gained Autonomy from Cadmus, yes?" she suggested.
'
That's not what I really want from you.' I hesitated. "What are you doing later today?"
"Nothing much until later, when I go to Beijing to give magic lecture class."
"Okay. Any candidates for Doctor Fate?" I wondered, because Zatanna had been moving more things in with Artemis recently.
"It is very early to tell, but I think so." She smiled faintly. "Six months, if we are lucky. A year, I think, if we are unlucky."
"Good," I said. '
Should I have said something about chromium-minds? Should…?' "Would you spend some time, uh, with me?"
"Mm?" she hummed, looking up at me again.
'
Shit, that- She's not going to laugh at me. I wrote this down, what did… I left it on the bedside table, of course.' "I missed you," I blurted, trying to… Wolf padded up beside me and I buried my fingers in the scruff of his neck. "We, I mean, I'm glad you're out of the wheelchair, but you've been busy," I explained weakly. "I've… been… working on blind fighting, like you said Spook could do, and Garth dug up this magic paste recipe that let the others see some in the dark that they were working on. I haven't actually tried to punch anything with your gift yet-,"
"I will enjoy spending time with you, Conner," she interrupted warmly. "Mm. Did you have any particular plans?"
"I mean… Actually, could we go to the Fortress of Solitude? We figured out how to rig up some sun lamps so that I get just enough red sunlight that I'm like a normal human. I can work out with normal weights, pound a punching bag… I don't think we've ever sparred with no powers," I pointed out, trying not to mumble as she kept looking at me.
… … …
"Oof! Rusts, I did not see that coming," Renka complained, letting me help her up again.
"You
sure you're not letting me win?" I checked. The first time I'd thrown her, I'd felt proud. The second time, two matches later, I'd been grinning harder. Now… '
Beating her 7 in 16 matches is pretty even, but I'd thought she'd be better than this.'
"Here's a secret," Renka said drily, though I heard Motherbox translating. "The illusion of invincibility can be almost as useful as the real thing, and it's much easier to
Cultivate with people." I thought that over and snorted a laugh.
"Yeah, I see your point. Wally and I went on an anime binge while you were gone; think I should pull out some corny speeches?"
"Mm…" Her eyes got distant for a moment. "Kal-El took a 'drama class' about acting, I think, in high school."
"Yeah, I heard about that. Actually, M'gann and I spent a few hours writing a list of things in 'normal' people's lives we might want to try out." I rolled my shoulder and scrunched my face. '
I wonder if I'm going to get a black eye from this… Good chance to see how fast I heal.' "Ma's going to teach us both some cooking, and Pa said he'll help me pick up carpentry or some other stuff. Another round?"
"Let me keep my dignity, please," she deadpanned. "Mm. I asked the AI to activate a few of the robots, if you want to try-,"
"Your gift?" I grinned. "Anti-magic brass knuckles. You called them Valorium? After a guy named Valor, or-?"
"Harmonium, rather than atium, I think," she answered as I grabbed them from the bag I'd brought. "Yellow light, or red? Orange?"
"We'll try them like this for now," I decided. "I need practice punching things with baseline human strength."
… … …
'
Pity this won't let me fly,' I reflected before I put the knuckle-dusters away to help Renka gather up the debris I'd punched off the robot. '
This seems like a situation Wally would make some "nobly sacrificed for a good cause joke," but they're not really intelligent, right?'
"Bet you I learn to punch out lasers faster than you learn to deflect them with your… you called it a baton?" I checked.
"Stakes? And, mm, yes, I call it a baton. The Scadrese word means rod, but there are jokes. 'Lash' will work if it is released."
"Stakes, huh?" '
Not a lot of things I own she'd want… Chores aren't worth it… I want more than bragging rights… Oh!' "Tapping connection here lets you speak Kryptonian if you do it right, right? If I get it down reliably first, you help me practice Kryptonian."
"Mm, yes," she agreed. "If I 'get it down reliably first,' then you will help me catalogue the Tower of Fate's inventory."
"You need help with that? But deal," I agreed.
"I need company, because it is boring and a pain," she qualified.
"You mean I get what I want either way? Suits me
just fine," I faux-bragged, puffing up like Wally occasionally did.
"I think you will win, yes?" she observed. "You have no school, thus more time to practice, and you have Sphere to help you."
"Well I probably will
now, since you-? Actually, did you hear about the thing with Sphere?" I asked.
"No…" she said slowly as we carried the robot scraps off for disposal.
"You saw we have a new table in the main room? Sphere blew it up with her lasers," I explained.
She frowned faintly as we dumped the scraps into the recycler.
"Artemis said about it, yes," she agreed slowly. "I… believed it involved Garth and Tula? Motherbox, please?"
<bween! > Motherbox chimed, followed by the faint, ultrasonic hum of her translation effect.
"That was a little weird, yeah," I agreed, "but from what I understood, it didn't have to do directly with them…
doing anything. Lunch?" I suggested, and we started heading to an area with food replicators/stores/whatever. "You want the whole story?"
"Yes, please."
"Okay. Flash made a run by the Mountain to drop off some package, and he found them in the main room, and he thought something like 'they shouldn't be doing this,' or 'I hope they haven't been dosed with Poison Ivy spores.' He ran around and found Kaldur sparring with me, to let us know something fishy was going on in the main room. I don't… by the time we got the Garth and Tula were arguing instead of whatever they'd been doing, but Kaldur got pissed more than I'd expected, and I was wondering if someone was an impersonator, and then Sphere blew up the table." She gave me a look. "I mean, there was a lot of shouting first, until that snapped us out of it, but…."
"I see."
<
bring! >
"Yes, that does seem uncharacteristic of Sphere," she agreed.
"If you want to ask her, go ahead," I said. "It was two weeks ago, and Sphere has mostly been staying on the Watchtower, here, or at the farm with Wolf when there aren't missions. Kaldur said he wouldn't mention it to the League when they've got bigger problems, asked us not to…" '
Actually, in hindsight…' "He phrased it like not bothering the Justice League, but he was really quiet before he said that, and it sounded like he didn't want us to mention it to anyone who wasn't there. Maybe? That might've been about Garth and Tula, though."
"Did he think Sphere was reacting to an infiltration attempt, or a trap? That sounds like… The Light, I think, still has Starro-alien cell with telepathy, and Sphere could detect that. Did M'gann notice anything?"
"She was still on Themyscira; Tula came back early with Wonder Woman because she was meeting someone in Atlantis."
"I heard she has been offered training by someone other than the Aquaman," Renka agreed.
"That might be it. I wasn't paying much attention," I admitted. "I'll do better next time."
"I will ask Sphere for a better explanation, I think. Do you want anything in particular? For lunch?"
'
Not really…' "Let's see if there's anything you can give me a cooking lesson about," I suggested.
… … …
"Ow! Just
great," I complained, biting back a swear word. Then, since I was with her, I added, "
Rusts this freaking hurts."
"Bleeding? Mm. I had not realized you are still not invulnerable," Renka murmured, grabbing my hand to get a look at my bleeding thumb.
"Since there's no yellow s
un-!" '
Did she just-?' "Aaare you…?" I tried to pull my hand away, and she gestured at me. "Ur. Fortress, can you send us a med kit or something? I cut my thumb open."
<First aid supplies will be delivered momentarily. >
"Thanks," I grunted absently. I was still looking at Renka now, trying not to move my hand too much. "I think you can take it- I mean, I've heard about kissing wounds better, but it doesn't-," '
Wound licking is an instinctive response in humans and many other animals to lick an injury. Dogs, cats, small rodents, horses, and primates all lick wounds. Saliva contains tissue factor, which promotes clotting. The enzymes lysozyme and peroxidase, defensins, cystatins and an antibody, IgA, are all antibacterial. Thrombospondin and some other components are antiviral. A protease inhibitor, secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor, is present in saliva and is both antibacterial and antiviral, and a promoter of wound healing. Nitrates that are naturally found in saliva break down into nitric oxide on contact with skin, which inhibits bacterial growth.' "-doesn't, uh… I guess sticking it in your mouth won't hurt. Does my blood
taste human?" '
Haven't had that happen in a while, geez.'
Renka wiggled her right hand, which answered nothing about my question, but I let it wait until we had the bandages to put on.
Part of me wanted to make a joke about some pretend dream fantasy or re-enacting this with M'gann, but we weren't going beyond kissing until her shape shifting was much more developed, and I was pretty certain Renka would call my bluff anyway.
"So, taste?" I asked when she finally let me pull my thumb out of her mouth. "Do I pass the vampire test?" '
How human am I, really?'
"I doubt I will notice any difference between our blood unless I tap a tin-mind," she answered as she applied the antiseptic. "Mm. If you want to cook a piece of meat from your arm over a campfire, I could compare that with some years-old memories, but really-?"
"Let's not and say we did," I answered, which was a 'pithy response' I'd added to my collection after I heard Robin use it.
We talked a bit about nothing at all, which felt nice to do. Wally had introduced me to Fate/Stay Night and she hadn't finished it either yet, so we'd eventually have to watch it together when we had a chance. She talked about asking Dr. Fate to track down a controllable mystic pest she could sic on her lecture students as a test, like Lockhart and the pixies, and I talked about trying to pull off the stuff from that Six Powers martial art in One Piece (we made bets on whether Plastic Man would be able to use it for inspiration with his rubber body).
She suggested putting me under yellow sunlight again so I could heal faster, I told her about wanting to try bungee jumping so that I could 'fly' without M'gann's telepathy, and she made me promise not to try skydiving alone, just in case I wasn't invulnerable enough.
"Oh, hey." Something occurred to me as she was setting up the yellow sunlight lamps. "You have an iron-mind with you, right?"
"Yes," she said simply.
"I spent some time with Robin giving him boosts into the air, and with Jason because he thought it was fun, and Wally told me about the Fastball Special maneuver because he'd seen it used in Bleach and he thought Kaldur re-enacting it with Zee would be hilarious."
"Mm," she hummed neutrally, so I guessed she hadn't seen that anime yet. "It sounds funny, yes, and Zatanna can use magic to cushion her fall or fly in the air, I think. Iron Feruchemy will let me change my flight; we experimented with the Lantern Stewart."
I grinned. "You want some practice with me? We could totally make some kind of 'throw your teammate' pairs competition and win."
She laughed again. "Yes, I like the sound of trying that, thank you."
… … …
'
I remember her.' "You're… Jinx, right?" I tested as Ferris passed out quiz papers to her class of two-dozen students.
The girl—she'd looked ethnically Indian the first time I saw her, I thought, but now she was still gray-skinned like she'd been on Roanoke—wilted and cringed like I'd threatened to deck her, which was weird.
'
I'm not that scary, right?' I looked around the lecture room we were standing in the corner of—I hadn't planned on coming to Beijing with her, but we hadn't needed to call it quits for the day or anything—but no one was paying us much attention.
Well, August
Whatever In Iron was glaring at us, but he was on the other side of the room with Ghost Fox Killer, so who cared.
I turned back to Jinx; she was fiddling with her shirt hem and not looking at me.
'
I'm not speaking Mandarin, right? Great. Well, until we getting to the test punching part, I might as well practice.'
"I remember you were bald at one point, so I'm guessing you don't dye your hair," I grunted leadingly.
"I-! Oh, uh, yeah." She brushed her fingers nervously through the pink hair she'd styled in… a… '
Going from when M'gann was practicing hair styling with Batgirl, Zatanna, and Joey, I think they called that a "pixie cut"? Like the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" thing Wally mentioned when we watched Up.' "Yeah," she reaffirmed, "it's been growing in pink since I turned nine, and it won't hold dye, so I used to shave it to fit in. Course, then the gray thing… I don't bother anymore."
'
Nothing for me to answer, so I'm supposed to ask another question.' "So it's part of your superpowers?" '
Right, and if I volunteer something it might make her more comfortable.' "My hair's invulnerable, but it wears off when it gets too long… and Zatara once put a spell on some clippers for a haircut. Could someone put a spell on the dye or something, if you don't like it?"
She looked right at me for the first time, eyes wide. "That…" She smiled for the first time, too, a smug little smirk like on that cartoon cat. "That could work. You got a girlfriend who would mind if I gave you a peck on the cheek, handsome?"
'
Is she flirting? That has to be… No names.' "I'm dating Miss Martian. Just keep talking and it's fine," I told her.
"Oh. Ah. Congratulations?"
I nodded briskly. "Thanks." '
I could ask if she has a boyfriend, but would she have offered to kiss me? Probably not. Okay, more than 75% of the population has black hair, so…' "Your hair used to be black? Until you turned nine, you said."
"Uh, yeah." She glanced away, then back to my face again. "Just your average Ahmedabad girl until age ten. Well, nine for the hair, but ten is when my skin started going gray, and then I had a, you know-," She held up her hand and made a gesture, but there weren't any of the purple sparks I remembered from her magic. "-a power surge that messed up the Calico museum and thinks just got shittier."
'
I've been asking a lot of questions, so I think I'm supposed to volunteer something again, right? Status transaction stuff: she just put herself down with a bad story, so I should "lower myself" to match.' "Does Ahmedabad have those jokes about girls only needing guys to mow the lawn and open jars for them?" '
Wait, that's a bad segue.' "I mean, my teammates tease me about failing at that, sometimes. If I try to open a stuck jar… I've smashed, like, three of them. Four if you count the time I broke the neck off a soda bottle. Super-strength." I shrugged.
Jinx cackled, which I interpreted as doing it right.
"Oh,
wow, I never thought about that. Geez, is there like a support group for meta-humans or something we could go to? My- my therapist, I bet she'd love it if I spent some time with people other than Jessie, Lizzie, and Bea."
"Probably, though I'm not a meta-human," I pointed out. '
I can ask about the three people later.'
She shot me a surprised look. "What, really? I mean, you have super-strength, and the other Superman shit. Though, right, I haven't seen you fly or shoot lasers or anything. Hey, is there an actual, y'know, Superman connection, or is the shirt just a theme thing?"
"We're related," I grunted out tactfully, rather than just declaring myself Superman's clone like I would've last year. I folded my arms and she took a step back. "He's not a meta-human because he's an alien, and I'm not because I'm half." '
Why did she…?' I unfolded my arms slowly and raised my right hand up like I was scratching my ear; Jinx's eyes followed the move carefully. "Meta-humans are humans with a meta-gene, but there's a bunch of people who are other things. I'm not going to hit you, you know."
"What?!" Her eyes darted quickly from my hand to my face, and back again.
"Oh. Heh heh heh heh…" she laughed nervously as she slowly, slowly un-hunched her shoulders.
"Mm, Klarion abused you horribly, but you are safe here, Jinx," Renka said as she wandered over to our corner.
I'd kept my ear on her just generally, but Jinx 'jumped like a stung cat,' if I remembered Wally's phrase right.
"
Miss! Oh, uh, I mean," she stuttered, nervous all over again.
"Miss Renka, Miss Ferris, and Miss Tindwysra all are good, Jinx. Call me a name that makes you comfortable."
'
I'm not hearing the hum from Motherbox, and tapping connection would come out in Mandarin, so I guess that's her normal English.'
"Hey," I wondered, since Jinx still looked uncomfortable and Renka could have that effect on people when she wasn't tapping a duralumin-mind, so getting that gold-eyed gaze off her seemed like the thing to do, "since you're a teacher now, should I start calling you 'Miss Ferris' like I do in school?" She wrinkled her nose at me, and I tried to keep my blank 'emotionless weapon' face together.
"You currently are an assistant teacher, Superboy," she replied. "Should I ask them to call you Mr. Kon-El and Miss Jinx."
"Might be cool, but I'm not really teaching right now, am I? I'm just here to punch things," I pointed out. '
I wonder if M'gann could get away with making that Dayton guy and Rita Farr call her "Miss". Wait, is "hot teacher" one of those roleplay things? I should ask her that.'
"You are helping- you are assisting the teacher, thus assistant teachers," Renka observed. I heard a little chime—from the podium, instead of from Motherbox—and Renka called over one shoulder in Mandarin, "Twenty minutes remaining."
"We're assistants," I argued just for the sake of it, "but we're not doing any teaching." I paused as a bit of curiosity hit. "We've talked about sorcery, but I'm not sure I could pass one of the tests they're taking. Do you have a spare copy?"
"I do," she said, and handed it over.
"Thanks. Want to take a look with me?" I asked Jinx.
She hesitated, but stepped up beside me as Renka walked off. I looked over the questions for one I couldn't get.
- Rank the following options from lowest energy expense to highest energy expense when performed via an Imperforate approach:
- Generating a shield to only blocks magical fire
- Generating a shield that only blocks mundane bullets
- Generating a shield that blocks everything except magical fire
- Generating a shield that blocks everything except mundane bullets
- Generating a shield that blocks only magical fire and mundane bullets
- Generating a shield that blocks everything except magical fire and mundane bullets
- Explain why in 3-6 sentences:
"This one," I decided as we huddled over the packet. "I remember 'Imperforate' shields are ones that block out everything unless you make exceptions, but I don't know where magical fire or bullets fit into it."
"If they block out everything, I'm guessing shields that only block one thing means making more exceptions than shields that block everything
exceptwhatever, but… Yeah… No clue," Jinx finished carelessly. "My powers kinda just are; the Creep wasn't big on explaining it."
"Hm," I grunted. "Hey, 'conservation of function' means it works better if you have a non-magical part to handle part of the workload, right? Like, enchanting a sword with an edge to be super-sharp cuts better than making a blade out of magic?"
"Makes sense," she said with a shrug.
"You haven't picked up any lessons since we last saw you?" I asked, lowering the test again.
Jinx hesitated, eyeing Renka across the room, but she stayed mostly perky. "Nope. Moved into a group home, going to therapy…."
'
Group home. That's Child Protective Services or something… haven't Artemis and Robin had bad things to say?' "Is it… good there?"
I was running out of things to say, but I guess I'd touched a nerve, because she was just quiet enough to avoid ranting at me.
"Maureen is chill as fuck, the other girls haven't held shit against me even after I came out about what happened with his creepiness way back, and it's-," Her voice caught, and she cut off for a sec, looking back to the wall again. "It's the first time I've felt
safe in four years."
'
Saying good, or cool, or whatever sounds really trite in my head. I think I'm conversationed out for now,' I decided, and just nodded.
… … …
Despite being in one class, it didn't look like there was any single method or style for the shields we were testing.
Jinx went first, getting to throw three crackling pink bolts of energy at each shield to see if it held while I stood back with Renka, watching; when all the students had cycled through, I would get one punch for each shield one of them could raise again, and anyone whose shielding could keep standing against her blasts and my punches could be cleared for field usage.
The first shield looked like the two glowing symbols for shield,
Píngbì, painted in the air in front of the gray-haired student; it cracked visibly even under the first bolt of energy, but it survived all three blasts intact before the man let it fall apart.
The second shield, a ghostly yellow hemisphere around shattered after the second bolt, and the third took the guy in the chest.
I shifted, but Renka was already over there, helping him up.
"This seems excessive," the Iron guy commented.
"Not really," she replied in Mandarin as Jinx hung between thrilled and anxious. "We're preparing them to go out in the field and be attacked by enemies. Jinx shouldn't go all out, but she shouldn't hold back, either. Chùwéiong,"she called, and the next student moved up.
I decided I wasn't really interested in talking to the metal guy, even if a spar sould've been interesting, so I just hung back to watch and predict which shields I'd be punching through.
Only a few of the shields stayed up against Jinx, and she started getting more flamboyant, almost dancing in place as she attacked.
'
I was never like that…' "Is that 'getting cocky,' or something else?" I asked.
"Hubris," said the metal guy, even though I hadn't asked him.
"Mm. Jinx is getting her confidence back," Renka observed neutrally.
It wasn't until the sixteenth student that something happened.
Jinx had been on a roll, smashing four shields consecutively, taking down the fourteenth and fifteenth with one bolt each.
She added a little spin as she blasted the sixteenth shield—an actual, physical cloth held in the air by a pink aura—and for the first time the shield didn't give or show any signs of stress at all.
Jinx stood on one foot for a moment, having stopped mid-spin, as she registered this.
Then she scowled, planted both her feet, and drew back like she was literally throwing something, the way I would.
Even before she launched the biggest, loudest spear of pink energy yet, I was opening my mouth to say something, because the point was just supposed to be testing them, not actual violence.
Renka put a hand on my shoulder, so I paused.
The cloth shield swallowed the pink energy again without an issue.
"Oh, that's-!"
Jinx snarled, grit her teeth, pulled back both hands, and held them as masses of pink lightning danced and gathered.
"That-?" the metal-plated guy began.
I opened my mouth to yell to Jinx as she tensed, but Renka waved a dismissive hand as she stepped away, ready, and I paused again.
"Hah!" Jinx shouted as she released the wave of energy, tearing up the floor tiles like a snowplow.
"Jinx!" I shouted, too late, as it bore down on the guy and his magic shield.
There was a flash of silver, a blur of brown, and Ferris moved, her Valorium baton a streak of light as it caught the lightning.
The massive wave of energy half got swallowed, half dispersed, and half shattered like glass, but the end result was a gaping empty space where the storm had been, and the impression of a deafening silence even though I could hear the students still scurrying away.
"One hand only, please, Jinx," my teammate said pleasantly. "We want, I think, to emulate danger without endangering anyone, please. Bill me for the repairs; I will cover them," she added to the iron-plated guy as Jinx cringed back and nodded rapidly. Renka turned to the man behind the magic cloth. "Zou Kang, I am giving you a pass for this portion. Shen Li Po, it is your turn."
She walked back over the broken bits of floor without checking to see if her students did as instructed.
After an awkward second of confusion, they scrambled back into… whatever you called it, to keep going.
I was frowning.
"…You saw that coming," I finally accused as Jinx—much more hesitantly now—started throwing another bolt at the next student.
"I anticipated something like that," Renka admitted easily, and I caught the ultrasonic whine of Motherbox translating.
<bling! >
"True," she said to Motherbox.
I was still fuming in discontent, but not certain
why.
"She's scared now," I observed, watching Jinx work. "She was having fun before."
"She was reveling," Renka corrected.
I didn't say anything.
"That is a hazard of having children involved in adult business," the iron-plated guy rumbled.
"There is a time and a place for coddling," Renka corrected. "As they say, 'the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.'"
"If you stay hydrated," I grunted, because it seemed like a pithy comment to make
something clear about how I… something.
"Mm. Gui, do you have an opinion?" Renka inquired.
… … …
"…Hey," I said softly, grabbing Jinx's attention as she sort of slunk off toward a corner after finishing her student testing. "You're not in any trouble, you know that right?"
She hesitated, mouth open.
I grimaced as the first student I'd be testing got into place.
"Just, tell Renka sorry, but that you don't want to talk about it," I advised. "We can talk later."
I went off to start punching students' shields, but I kept an eye on them the entire time.
… … …
"Is the purple lightning all you can do?" I asked her later, while Renka was settling up the repairs bill and everything.
"I… no? That's the stuff that's just automatic, but I can do more normal, uh, ritual stuff," Jinx admitted uncertainly.
"Do you know how to fight? Punching?" I asked.
"You'd paste me across the walls," she breathed, leaning back.
"Not me," I grunted. '
I'm… yeah, teaching? No thank you. It seems different- Wildcat and Black Canary both needed more than knowing how to do the stuff to teach it; they've got a lot of experience, and learning…' "Just, anyone? Do you know any melee fighting?"
"Noooo," she said slowly.
"You should learn," I said. '
No, that's not…' "Not just fighting. But. Look." I frowned. "Wren and I… when all else fails, fighting is what it comes down to. When you… fought… Klarion, he hurt you. But it's not just straight fighting." '
How do I-? Volunteering information.' "I used to have a shutdown command in my head," I said abruptly. "I'm powerful, like Superman, and for a long time I thought that made me unstoppable. I learned differently pretty fast, but it took a long time to stick. But it used to be, if a guy said 'Red Sun,' he'd shut me down. And… it was just luck that was the only thing in my head when my friends freed me. But. If… there'd been other orders, if someone said some words and made me obey them, made me hurt people, I'd feel really bad when I woke up. I used to want to prove that I was the strongest anyone could be. Not to other people, but prove it to me. It was how I'd feel safe. But it doesn't work like that. Fighting… can let you protect people, including you, but you need other stuff to make you feel
safe. Am I making sense?"
"Are you trying to tell me to take martial arts lessons, or not to bother?" Jinx wondered, shaking her head no.
"Take them, but not just for fighting. For… meditating. You don't have to prove anything to anyone." She drew back a step, pulling her arms in, and I got glimpse of her wrists. "You didn't have anyone to protect you from Klarion," I said suddenly, reaching out to grab her wrists, with the scars from when Klarion nailed her to that tree, "but these are here because you do what's right to protect other people when it matters. You don't have to prove that you're a good person, or a powerful person, or any kind of person. Okay?"
She nodded very, very carefully. I still wanted to say something to make it right… '
Maybe there isn't anything I can say to do that.'
"Mm." I let go and we both turned to Renka. She held out two envelopes. "Your paychecks for assistant teaching."
"I said you didn't need to give me money," I grunted, taking it carefully.
"China is giving me money, and you both did valuable work today. Thank you," she said. Then, "Jinx, may I buy you dinner before I take you home again?" She hesitated, and kept hesitating.
"Give her your number—our numbers," I suggested, "and we'll meet up when she isn't exhausted from everything."
Renka turned her eyes on me.
Then she nodded.
"That is a good idea. Jinx, do you have a cell phone?"
… … …
We ate dinner at Ma & Pa's place. Clark wasn't there but Ma & Pa (and Sphere, who was there on a sort of why-did-you-do-that time out until we could get a coherent explanation for her blowing up a table,) were happy to have us.
"So that was what happened," I explained to Ma as Renka and I finished the dishes (they cooked, we cleaned). "I'm not sure what I was trying to say, or if I said it… Can you think of anything?"
Ma took another long drink as we turned the sink off and dried our hands. Renka had let me explain the whole situation without interrupting when I'd asked her, although she had answered of few questions when we asked them.
"Well," she said slowly, "I've got a few thoughts. I do admit that it took Clark making a scary mistake with his powers for him to start being really careful with them, and they say the burned hand teaches best… but even with the burn, you still put on burn cream."
"Yes," Renka agreed placidly as we took our seats back at the table (Pa was out supervising Krypto & Wolf's play wrestling).
"You should def'nitely make sure the poor girl knows you're in her corner, but it sounds like she's feeling happy and safe where she is… Dijya know, I used to be a teacher?" We both shook our heads. "Aye, I was, but I wanted to be- well, that doesn't matter. But my advisor, he told me I should stick to- He didn't call it a more traditionally feminine job track, but he warned me that when the men got back—I went off for my schooling just around the beginning of the Vietnam War, you see—they'd be taking up all the jobs left empty from the draft.
"I grew up in the second Great War," she reflected, "and my ma, she was a real life Rosie the Riveter, but when I called her, she did say that yes, she'd lost that job later to make for the menfolk returning. So, I listened. I went to teaching.
"But my point is, I went to college to learn teaching, even though I was mostly teaching grade school until Clark came along. Sixteen years I taught at Smallville Elementary, and believe you me, I got a bit of mileage later on knowing that Clark's friends' parent had most grown up calling me Miss Kent. But the point is, I went off to college to learn teaching, even if it was just teaching children.
"I don't know but nothing about teaching magic, but it seems to me, you might want to study up on some more teaching pedagogy and maybe ask a few teachers about classroom control, and how they handle a rowdy student. Better yet, how they handle a traumatized student with trouble at home; I got old Mike Johnson arrested when I found out he was beating on young Carrie," she reminisced, "but I don't think threatening someone with a hiding or a frying pan is going to fly now. Maybe ask a bit about how to handle a troubled kid that way?"
"You threatened your students with frying pans?" I asked as Renka nodded thoughtfully. '
That's… isn't that illegal? How would Ma-?'
"Naw, sonny," she joked, "I threatened their
parents with frying pans when they complained 'bout my grading. If you two are coming over for dinner tomorrow, I'll get Lana to ask her Pa to tell about how I talked to his Pa. Will we see you?"
"Yes, I think," Renka agreed, "and I will ask about teaching. Thank you."
"Yeah, thanks," I agreed, "and we'll be there." '
Never seen an Independence Day party, if last year's fight doesn't count. Actually, have I ever seen fireworks in person?' I didn't think so. '
This should be good, then.'
