SkirtsnScribbles

TW: This chapter features moments of dysphoria and unintentional deadnaming and misgendering

The flight home to the Metropolis apartment was quiet and uneventful, and dinner with mom and dad was as normal as ever, though J might have talked a little less than she normally would. She mainly listened to her dad’s stories of a short fight with Icicle Jr. and her mom’s stories of an interview she was preparing for.

Though she listened, J’s mind was occupied with plans for the next day. How and when would she tell her parents? How would they take the news? What would she change her name to?...

Change her name… It was then she remembered another tricky detail of this plan: Her big brother, Conner. On the day that J was supposed to become the new Superboy, Conner had made plans to upgrade his codename from “Superboy” to something else. If J became Supergirl instead, Conner might not need to change his name… Would he be mad with her? Still that would be a matter for later. Right now she only had to think about her parents and how they would take the news.

“Jon? You ok sweetie?” Her mother, Lois got her attention, “I’ve been asking if you wanted some cookies for dessert but you took so long I think your dad’s eating them all.”

She smiled, being called “sweetie” dulling the sting of the name she no longer identified with, “Yeah mom. Sorry, I just have a lot on my…” she stopped, seeing that dad had actually left the table and she could hear him in the kitchen. “Dad no!” She jumped up from her seat and ran to see her dad with a huge homemade chocolate chip cookie halfway to his mouth. “That’th the latht of grandma’th cookieth! Mom thaid you had to thhare!” She lisped out hard, trying to get the words out before it was too late.

“Sorry slugger, you should have moved faster!” He said, bringing the cookie teasingly closer to his mouth before laughing and handing it to her. “I’m just kidding. You can have this one, mom and I will have the Oreos.”

“Thanks dad!” She happily took the cookie and took a big bite, however she savored it and chewed it slowly. “I’ve gotta enjoy this. No new cookies till our next visit.”

“Well you’re in luck J.” Clark said, getting the Oreos out of a cabinet on top of the fridge, “Remember we have family dinner with them tomorrow.”

J almost dropped her prized dessert at this reminder “Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa ith thith week?!”

“Yep!” Clark said, mistaking her shock for enthusiasm. “Conner and Kara are coming as well. The whole family probably means cookies and pie after dinner.”

“Yeah… yeah that’th great, dad…” J wasn’t really listening at that point. Forgetting that one detail had already ruined her plans for tomorrow. She had to decide quickly. Would she tell them tonight before bed, or should she wait another day and risk an awkward and painful night with people she cared for? She nibbled her cookie as she tried to think.

To a young mind deep in thought, time flows very quickly. J barely paid any attention to the Avengers cartoon she watched every night, and went off to bed when mom told her too without any complaint or struggle. The day was over and she couldn’t bring herself to have the talk. Not just yet.

Though not as fully developed as the rest of her Kryptonian family, J’s hearing was still very powerful, and she could hear her parents talking in the living room as she got ready for bed. “Clark, did anything happen today? Jon seemed very distracted tonight.”

J heard her father respond, “Nothing that I know about. I met Damian’s boyfriend today. He’s also a dragon. That took me a moment to come to terms with. Maybe he’s just thinking about that? I still keep thinking of how that even...”

With a little focus, like dad had taught her, J tuned out the rest of the conversation. They were both clueless to the real problem. She tried to calm her mind by focusing on one problem at a time. Her name. That was probably the easiest thing to think about.

She had been named Jonathan Samuel Kent after two of her three grandfathers. So maybe she could choose her new name from her three grandmothers: Martha, Ella or Lara.

J smiled to herself. “Lara.” She said the name softly under her breath. She had always thought it was a beautiful name… Maybe now it could be hers. As for her middle name, it came from her Mom’s dad. Perhaps she could switch to her mom’s mom instead.

“Lara Ella Kent” she whispered to herself. That sounded about right. She hoped that Grandma Kent didn’t feel bad about getting left out.

The young girl smiled. This had been one of the best days of her life. Everything, from the ballet session to talking with Colin, had helped to open her eyes and understand who she truly was. She was so excited (if nervous) to see what happened next.

Lara Ella Kent was about to finally drift to sleep when her eyes shot open with a realization; how would Grandpa Kent take the news of her giving up his name?
With that thought now filling her head, the young super was in for a very restless night.

Most normal families living on the east coast of the USA would need to plan a trip way in advance, before visiting extended family in Kansas. Even then, the trip itself would usually take up a whole day of travel. The Kents, however, were not a normal family. They could make the almost 1400 mile journey from Metropolis to Smallville, Kansas in an instant, thanks to the Justice League teleporter system.

The Justice League had hundreds of secret teleportation pods hidden in key locations around the globe. One of these pods was in a disused phone booth not too far from the Kents’ apartment, in an alleyway away from prying eyes.

On Sunday, Lara and her parents made their way to the phone booth and the three of them squeezed inside. Luckily, the League’s magic users had placed simple perception-filter charms over the pods, so that they could only be found by those who were already aware of their existence.

Clark picked up the seemingly broken receiver and dialed a secret code. He then spoke three distinct codes: “Superman - A01, Lois Lane - B01, Jon Kent - C01.”

Lara winced slightly when she heard her deadname. She hoped that once she came out, she would be able to get her name changed in the Justice League’s database. Her list of coming-out-objectives just kept getting longer and longer.

Suddenly, the hidden mechanism inside the booth whirred to life, and the door automatically slid shut. There was a bright flash followed by the slightly disorientating sense of being teleported 1400 miles across the country.

When the Kents next opened their eyes, they were in a back corner of the large sturdy family barn, the space dimly lit and smelled of straw. “I wonder if we are the first ones here.” Lois said, totally used to the strangeness of life with super heroes.

Clark cocked his head and listened as he opened the barn door for his family. “I don’t hear them in the house… but I think I hear them coming.” He smiled and looked up to see two blue streaks converging on them.

Kara Zor-El, AKA Supergirl, AKA Lara’s first cousin once removed, was the first to arrive, slowing her pace and gracefully descending from the sky, her cape billowing out behind her as she reached the ground. “Hey cuz! Hi Lois!” she hugged the couple together before turning to Lara. “Hi kid! Staying out of trouble?” She held her arms wide for a hug from Lara too. Lara was all too happy to oblige, especially since being called “kid” was one of the few names that didn’t feel triggering.

Suddenly, there was a loud thud as a young man in his early 20s landed a few meters away. He was wearing a black t-shirt with a red superman logo along with faded jeans and sneakers. He had landed in a crouched position with one knee and a fist on the floor and the other hand in a raised position. A position better known as a…

“Superhero Landing!” exclaimed Conner Kent, AKA Superboy, AKA Lara’s big brother, with a big dumb grin on his face.

The force of the impact made Lara lose her footing and Clark had to catch her, “Conner! I told you to stop doing that!” He scolded, “You better held Pa fill in the crater.”

“Yeah yeah, you know I will, Pops! Don’t worry ‘bout it.” Conner stood and stretched, dusting himself off. He offered both Kara and Lara a fist to bump. Kara chuckled and returned the gesture but Lara hesitated, leaving the fist hanging. “Hey little man, don’t do this to me. Come on dude! You know you wanna!” Lara winced internally and half-heartedly bumped her fist against Conner’s. This was going to be a very long evening. The family headed towards the house.

Jonathon and Martha Kent were, quite simply, the world’s most amazing grandparents, as far as Lara was concerned. They were kind, funny, patient and could cook like nobody else. Lara always looked forward to seeing them at family dinners.

Even filled with dread, Lara couldn’t help but smile at the elderly couple waiting for them. “Grandma! Grandpa!” She ran ahead of the rest of the group to hug both of them, feeling warm and safe.

“Heya slugger! How ya been?” Grandpa Kent chuckled, ruffling her hair, not noticing her body tense up. In fact, none of the men noticed the subtle gesture, but Lois, Kara and Martha all exchanged a look.

“Not bad, Grandpa.” She tried to keep her mind off the roller coaster of emotions she was feeling today. “What’sth for dinner?”

Ma Kent laughed and smiled, kissing Lara on the cheek and motioned for everyone to follow her inside. “Trust a Kent boy to only be thinking with his stomach.”

“Hey! It’s not just the men in the family that get excited about your cooking Ma.” Kara said jokingly, hugging Martha as she walked around her. Lara held that comment in her mind as she made her way inside. Another small way Kara had accidentally helped her. “Let’s see if I can guess what’s on the menu.” The blonde took a deep breath into her nose, “Hmm... meatloaf, green beans and… mashed potatoes.”

“Close, Kara sweetie.” Martha laughed, “Clark, you’re the expert at this game, you want to guess?”

Clark gave a long, deep sniff. “Scalloped potatoes, cuz, not mashed.” He said, while taking his family’s coats to hang up in the closet.

Lara immediately perked up. Ma Kent’s meatloaf and scalloped potatoes were simply the greatest. Maybe this dinner wouldn’t be so bad.

Clark, Kara and Conner helped Martha with setting the table, their powers negating the need for oven gloves, and soon the table was all set. Lois sent Lara to go and wash her hands. The young girl was more than happy to have a moment’s privacy.

While she was in the bathroom, Lara listened in on her elders downstairs. She could hear a conversation between her mom and Kara:

“Lois” came Kara’s voice. “Is Jon feeling ok? He seemed a little… I dunno… distant?”
“Yeah... “ Lois replied. “I noticed it last night. He was really quiet, and when he did talk, he was lisping more than usual.”
“Maybe he’s nervous about his powers? Last night was training with Damian, right?”
“It’s possible. Perhaps me and Clark should talk to him tonight?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much, dear,” came a third voice, which Lara immediately recognized as her Grandma’s. “Jon should perk up after he’s had some food. And if that doesn’t work, I’ve got a surprise for him after dessert.”

A surprise after dessert? What could that be? Lara thought to herself. She took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror. The very male looking face staring back at her did nothing to calm her nerves. “It’s ok Lara. They’re your family. They love you. They don’t mean to hurt you with thith.” Oh great, her lisp was acting up. Something else to worry about. With one final deep breath, she left the bathroom.

Entering the dining room she found everyone already seated and the table loaded with food. A huge meatloaf with its outsides topped with crispy bacon, and a huge bowl each of creamy sliced potatoes and steamed buttered string beans. To top it all off, Lara could smell cookies in the oven and see two pies cooling in the window.

Lois helped Lara into her chair and seemed to continue a conversation she had started with Grandpa. “I’ve always wondered how you manage to pay for all the food it takes to feed this bunch.” As they spoke, Conner helped illustrate her point by cutting off a whole quarter of the meatloaf and putting it on his plate. Without saying a word, Martha gave him a stern look, making Conner cut off a smaller piece and put the rest back.

He gave a deep chuckle, helping serve his guests before helping himself to potatoes. “Oh it was a bit tough at first, but once Clark was old enough to help on the farm, we had nothing to worry about. Even back when he was Jon’s age, he could do the work of three men and do it better. We saved money, we prospered. And now if we need any help, we can ask one of his friends to lend a hand.”

The idea of the Justice League helping Grandpa on the farm was something Lara found pretty funny. She imagined Green Lantern milking a cow and Batman collecting eggs. She couldn't help but giggle at the idea.

Once everyone had a full plate, they began eating. Clark, Conner and Kara began swapping superhero stories. Clark had stopped a plane crash in Brazil. Conner had been training some new recruits in the Titans. Kara had been working with her girlfriend, Donna Troy, to find and capture Circe, who had recently escaped from her prison in Hades.

Eventually, the conversation came to the subject of the “Superboy” title, which Lara was supposed to inherit. Lara quickly thought of a way to change the subject. “I don’t think we need to rush anything!” she said quickly. “I mean, I still need to train more with Damian, and Conner will need to think of a new name.”

Conner laughed. “Don’t worry, bro! I’ve been trying out some new names. Steel Swag! SuperXtreme! The Fresh Prince of Krypton! What d'ya think?” He looked around the table. Even Martha was struggling to keep a straight face.

“Bummer,” said Conner, dejectedly. “Tim and Steph said they liked those names. I guess they were just trying to be nice.”

“Nevermind.” said Lois. “Like Jon said; you’ve still got time to think about it.” She looked over at Lara. “Sweetie, you’ve been acting all quiet recently. Do you think maybe you’d like to take a break from all this “super-business”?”

Lara smiled and nodded. Even if her mom didn’t exactly get why she was being quiet, she appreciated being called “sweetie” rather than her deadname.

“Maybe you could stay with us for a week over the summer, Jon?” Grandpa suggested between bites, “Fresh air, quiet country life, real man’s work. Get ya out of the city for a while.”

Lara began to feel uneasy. She avoided looking at her grandfather as she thought of an answer. Normally she would love to spend a few days with her grandparents, but the way he had phrased it would have made her prefer a trip to the Phantom Zone. “Oh… Yeah…. Maybe, Grandpa? But I have lotsth of training to do over the thummer though. Stho I’m not thure how long I could sthtay.” Oh great. She had lisped every single S in that sentence.

Lois, Kara and Martha exchanged a look, but Clark soldiered on, assuming he knew just what was wrong. “Jon, you don’t need to worry about your training. You can afford to take some time off.”

“Yeah little dude!” Conner agreed, ruffling Lara’s hair from across the table. “So what if you can’t fly yet? This stuff takes time.”

“No that’sth not what I wasth worried about.” She moved her chair back from the table a bit so Conner couldn’t reach. “I…” She tried to calm down. She knew half her family could hear her heart rate increasing. “I only thought I… have a few homework… projectsth to get done before the fall. I can work better from home.” She had hoped that choosing her words carefully and avoiding Ss would help hide her stress. However, it was so obvious that even Conner caught that something was wrong now.

“Jon, what’s wrong, really? You can tell us.” Lois started, speaking gently.

“Nothing ith wrong!” Lara snapped back, the genuine concern only exasperating her feelings.

“Hey! Don’t raise your voice to your mother, young man!” Clark cut into the conversation.

“Calm down Clark, you’re not helping him.” Kara said, putting a hand on her cousin’s shoulder.

Conner tried to help in his own way, moving around the table to talk to Lara, “Hey little dude, you want to step outside? Tell me what’s up? Just talk brother to brother?”

Dude, bro, him, man… Jon… With everyone crowding around her, it was finally too much. “SHUT UP! Everyone just shut up!!” She screamed out, already in tears. She stood on her chair and jumped off it with enough force to shatter the wood. The force of the motion quickly propelled her over the table and the heads of her family, landing on one knee in a small hole in the wooden floor before running out the front door, into the night.

The silence lasted for a solid minute. No one knew just what to say. In the end, Conner was the first to speak. “... Superhero landing. I taught him that move.”