Title: "Mayhem at Metropolis!"

Rating: T

Genre: adventure, family

Character(s): Leo D., Kara Zor-El/Power Girl, Val-Zod/Superman, more DC and LR characters

Pairing(s): Dasha, past Val/Tasha, established Kara/James

Summary: Well, the Daily Planet wasn't wrong about that.

Notes: More ideas came. We're aiming for five chapters, so let's see where this goes. This could be a stand-alone, kind of, but it would help to read the prequel to this. It fills the gaps nice and neat-ish.

You'll immediately note that this starts off after something major has happened. There used to be a chapter that "shows" the event, but it presented a huge bump. Hence the "used to be." :( Anyways, hope you find it as enjoyable still (because it was a blast for me writing this).

Disclaimer: On my profile page, if you please.


01.

"Val, don't do this to him. None of what happened was his fault."

Val took a long glance inside his apartment. From where he stood, he had a good view of his son sitting at the living room. He did feel sorry for him to a degree: the sixteen year-old's hands were knotted, no doubt out of worry for what his father might tell him next. The boy's clothes and face evidenced the disaster that took place at the plaza just a couple of hours ago. He felt inclined to assure him, just as Kara wanted him to do, and he also wanted to make sure that he wasn't hurt terribly.

But then he caught sight of the t-shirt under his polo shirt, the black garment printed with the chrome House of El insignia, and suddenly he remembered why he had gotten upset.

"I can't just let this slide, Kara," Val firmly told his cousin. A cool afternoon breeze blew past the balcony while the distant sirens of ambulances and police cars echoed some blocks away. "I told him not to get ID'd, and that's exactly what he did."

"You're overreacting. How'd you know that Leo was even ID'd?"

"Do you want to wait 'til he's kidnapped and threatened to be killed before you can believe me?"

"Like I said, you're overreacting," Kara said, crossing her arms. "It was an absolute disaster there earlier. I'm sure Penguin and his goons were as confused as the citizens when what happened happened."

Val only looked down on the tablet in his hand, his jaws locking and unlocking as he shifted uncomfortably.

Taking note of these, Kara said, "I know you're afraid, but you can't be so uptight. That's too cruel on you and on Leo."

"You don't understand, Kara. One day, when you have your own child, you'll know exactly why I'm acting this way."

Kara shot him a deadpan look. "If anything, you should be proud and excited," she said. A small, sad smile formed on her face. "Kal would have been. This is a big day for our family."

Upon the mention of his brother, Val's expression darkened. "Yeah, well, Kal isn't here, is he? And there's only me to blame for that, just as there will only be me to blame if something bad happens to my son." He then headed back inside, Kara swiftly following in his tow.

Leo shot up from his seat when his father came into the living room, a terribly displeased expression on his face. He watched anxiously as his father pulled up what he had on his tablet to the television screen. MAYHEM AT METROPOLIS! the heading of the Daily Planet's fresh online article read. Underneath ran: A New Teenage Superhero on the Rise? Below was a photograph of the chaos in the plaza earlier, people running in different directions to take shelter. On the distance between the rubbles stood a figure, perhaps the only one panicked for a different kind of reason.

The photographer only caught a picture of him from the back.

"What were you thinking?" Val demanded.

"Uh…'Oh man, oh man, I almost got squashed to death by that pillar'?" Leo said half-jokingly in hopes of being spared of his father's anger.

Unfortunately, Val only demanded through a deathly look that he take the situation seriously.

"I didn't want to do it, Dad, it just happened," Leo explained. "What Grayson's weird villain guy did really scared me. I was just trying to get out of there, and the next thing I know—"

"I don't want to hear it. I really don't want to hear it," Val said. Leo closed his mouth, humiliated and hurt by this. Val continued, "How many times do I have to tell you that you have to distance yourself from these people? These people are mean and evil and downright sadistic, Leo, and they will not hesitate to hurt you and the people you care about."

Leo looked down on his shoes. "Others have tried to kill me, remember?" he muttered. "Almost died three times."

"What?" Kara exclaimed, surprised and indignant. "Who tried to kill you?"

"Yeah, well, the men and creatures we deal with will always be much worse," Val said, ignoring Kara. He pointed at the screen. "I'm sure Ron Troupe already has eyewitness accounts of you using your super strength and your heat vision. I can almost guarantee you that. You know what story they would probably run with tomorrow? That there's another Kryptonian in town, and with all of the people who would turn up and say they saw it, it would be nearly impossible to deny that. Do you know how people feel about aliens like us? They hate us. They don't want us here. Many people have no tolerance for things they do not understand."

"But there are also people who like you and Kara. They like you, and support you," Leo reasoned. "I was there, Dad. All the people that showed up today for the Appreciation Day – they were all there to show that. Why does it matter what these other people think and say? Isn't the point of all of this to do good, even to the people who don't want to do the same for you?"

Val chuckled humorlessly. "If you think you're getting out of this easily, you're sadly mistaken."

"What? You're punishing me for helping people?"

"I'm punishing you for not listening."

"You told me I can go there today!"

"Watch your tone. You're getting too excited," Val said, pulling out his phone when it started ringing.

"I just don't understand why you're mad at me," Leo said more calmly. "I did everything you told me to do. I called for you, several times. I even called Aunt Lois, but no one came. People were getting hurt. I was about to get hurt, but then the heat vision kicked in, and—that was terrifying for me, Dad! I couldn't control anything! And no one was there to help me. I did what I could under the circumstances, and I really don't think I did anything wrong."

Val looked back and forth between his son and the caller ID, which revealed it to be Agent Sato. He wanted to explain all the consequences of what happened, but he knew if he allowed the call to go unanswered it may hurt the situation more than help it. The World Army had caught wind of what happened, he knew. He had to address it. "Pack up your things," he told his son, distracted as he made his way out the front door to take the call. "You're going back to Mission Creek first thing in the morning."

"What? But Dad—"

"I'm sorry, Leo, but you can't stay here with me anymore."

Leo only stared at him, heartbroken. Then, with an undercurrent of anger he mumbled, "That's okay. You're not the first person to throw me to the curb when I mess things up anyway."

That struck Val hard. However, obligation drew him out to the hallway, closing the door behind him to answer his phone.

Meanwhile, Kara stared at her cousin pityingly, stricken, too, by what he had said. After he sat down, she took a seat beside him. She formulated the words she thought might help but didn't have the confidence to speak them. Eventually, she ended up saying, "Your dad loves you, Leo. Believe me, he does. It's just… He's scared to lose you. He's scared you'd get hurt."

"No. He just doesn't trust me."

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is." Leo huffed. "You know what? Whatever. I'll just pack my things as he said and go back. I'll just figure it all out myself."

Kara said nothing more. She knew further prodding would only aggravate her cousin. He was hurt, and at the moment it seemed like nothing anyone could say would help.

She could sympathize, in a way. If Kal hadn't taken her in and left her to figure out the strange and new things on her own, she would probably feel the same way, too. It no doubt made it worse for him, the thought that his father shunned him just when he needed him most.

Kara wanted to assure Leo that he wasn't alone, but from the looks of it she knew words weren't going to cut it. Action. Action was better. Plus, there was something she wanted to test out. "Hey Leo," she said.

"What."

"Catch me."

Leo narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"

With a grin, Kara flicked him on the nose then super sped to the balcony.

Leo gasped, covering his nose, as she took off to the skies. He growled as he jumped to his feet. "Kara!" he called after her, picturing his cousin just laughing at him. Despite not knowing whether he had super speed and flight like his cousin and his father, he took off to the balcony.

He wasn't just going to let this go.


to be continued.