A Mother's Work

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Martha practically jumped in surprise. Quickly whipping around to face the voice she was confronted with two people, a man and a woman. They were dressed in bright colors, much like the blankets Clark was wrapped in when Martha and Jonathan found him all those years ago. They looked like they just stepped off the set of a Flash Gordon show. “You must be Jor-El and Lara.” Martha said, surprised at how hostile she sounded. “That is correct.” said Jor-El. “Well…” said Lara, with a cheeky smirk. “…a complex simulacrum of them, at least.” She sounded strange, her accent sounding vaguely English. “And you must be Martha Kent.” “How did you know that?” asked Martha. “…Kal-El told us about you.” Replied Jor-El, slightly bewildered. “Oh! Of course!” Said Martha with a nervous laugh, embarrassed that she’d asked a rather dumb question. “Good going, Martha.” she thought. “Snap at them and then act like a moron. Great first impression there.”

She looked both of them up and down, once again. It amazed her how much Jor-El looked like Clark, obviously there would be a resemblance, but he was almost the spitting image, albeit older. Lara… Lara was flat-out gorgeous. Martha envied her looks, much to her shame. Lara had a great petite body, which her form-fitting costume complimented nicely, and her eyes… her eyes were a captivating violet. VIOLET! That’s just not fair.

“Uh, was there something you wanted to ask us? Queried Lara, causing Martha to snap back to (virtual) reality. “Oh! Uh, yeah. Clark has been acting strangely. He spends all day by himself, brushing off even his closest friends. He won’t talk to me or Jon about it. Quite frankly, I’m worried. I thought maybe you two might know what’s going on.” You could have heard a pin drop. The two seemed to freeze, just for a moment, and then quickly looked away. Obviously having trouble answering. They turned in to a half-huddle and began whispering to each other. “We have to tell her.” “I’m telling you, she won’t be able to handle it.” “Oh, that’s it. If you want to be like that, I’ll tell her by myself.” “Fine!” They turned back to Martha. Jor-El took a few steps away from Lara, gave Martha a nervous smile and began to fade away. Martha could swear he was blushing.

“Excuse my husband. He can be slightly squeamish when it comes to these matters.” Martha began to feel uneasy. Jor-El’s uncanny resemblance to Clark had given her a strange sense of comfort. Watching him disappear in to thin air, especially so nervously, had been rather unnerving. “What is going on?!” demanded Martha. “Please” pleaded Lara. “There’s no need to shout. This is something we, as mothers, should discuss.”

“Please, take a seat.” Lara’s tone had changed from slightly arrogant teasing to genuine sincerity. Martha was, once again, worried. The seat was shaped like an M&M, silver like the ship, except for the seat, a deep red that matched the sun. Martha sat down, and Lara sat in the opposite chair.

“Martha Kent. We rarely see Kal-El, he pops in every once and a while to ask about his powers, but that’s about it.” Lara seemed hurt. “But I think I might know what’s wrong.” “Well, what is it?” said Martha, growing impatient. “Kal-El has turned fourteen now, correct?” asked Lara. “Fifteen.” answered Martha, feeling slightly superior. “Oh, Rao…” said Lara, an shot of panic going through her. “What? What is it?” queried Martha.

“Uh… Oh dear. This is difficult to explain. So I’m going to be blunt.” said Lara, taking in a breath. “When Kryptonian males turn fourteen, they become…. interested in sexual activity.” “Oh, that’s all!” laughed Martha, relieved. “It’s pretty much the same here on Earth.” Lara wasn’t laughing. “No, you don’t understand.” Lara seemed annoyed. “Kryptonian development is NOT the same as that of a human. It isn’t simple curiosity, Martha. Not at this point. If left unchecked he will become more and more occupied with carnality. A simple naughty thought may become an all consuming obsession.” Martha was floored, but Lara continued. “At this rate, he is at great risk of turning in to some kind of… sex fiend…” Lara cringed at those last words.

Martha’s head was spinning, how could Clark, her little Clark, grow up in to some sort of monster? “This… this isn’t true! You’re lying!” Martha shouted, tears beginning to fall. “I wish I was, I wish to Rao it was a lie. But it’s not.” opined Lara. They sat in near silence, for over a minute, the only sound being Martha’s sobbing. Lara moved across the room, sitting next to Martha, a vain attempt to comfort her. Time passed.

“There has to be something we can do.” Martha said, regaining her composure. “There’s always a way.” Lara was silent. “Well? What do we do?!” Martha shouted once again, anger bursting from her. Lara looked away. “Damn it! Tell me! What do we do?!” “There is nothing I can do.” said Lara, her voice shaking. “But there is something you can do.” “What is it?! I’ll do anything!” Martha cried. Lara sighed. “I hope so.” She muttered under her breath.

Lara regained her own composure. Becoming somewhat stern in the process. “On Krypton…. On Krypton it is customary for the mother to guide the boy through this… awakening.” Lara paused. “What… what are you saying?” asked Martha. “I am saying, Martha Kent, that Kal-El’s first sexual partner must be you.” Martha almost fainted. What kind of nightmare had she walked in to? She wished she’d just wake up and forget this ever happened. But this was no dream. Things fell silent.

“That’s…. sick…” said Martha, her voice growing louder. “That’s perverse! It’s disgusting! I won’t do it! You can’t make me!” “You don’t have much of a choice!” snapped Lara. “If you don’t, Kal-El’s psycho-sexual development will become irreversibly warped! And with the powers he has developed under Earth’s yellow sun, the results could be catastrophic.”

Martha couldn’t take it. “If it’s so damn important, why don’t you do it!?” She yelled at the top of her lungs. “Because I’m a hologram! You moron!” Lara snapped. “I can’t touch anything!” she demonstrated by waving her hand though Martha’s body. Silence fell again. “I’m sorry.” said Lara. “I’m so sorry for that, for everything.” “I know. I’m sorry too.” replied Martha. “Oh, Jesus. I’m his mother for God’s sake! I’m married!” “Martha, I know every atom of your body is screaming at you that this is wrong. But you have to, for Clark’s sake. What matters more, cultural taboos or your son’s mental wellbeing?” Martha didn’t answer. Another silence. “I… I have to go.” Martha sobbed. “Okay, but remember what I said.” replied Lara. “Lara?” “Yes?” “How do you know he’ll even want me?” “He will, trust me.” And just like that. She was gone.