Kon listened to the Superman theme in his earbuds as he took a shower, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and went downstairs to the living room. Alex gave him a stern look from the kitchen. Kon took out his earbuds. "Look, I'm ready to go without you needing to nag me," he said impressed with himself.
"With ten minutes to spare, how could I have ever doubted you?" Alex rolled her eyes.
"Where's my dad at?" Kon asked curiously as he opened the fridge.
"Don't know...don't care," Alex said honestly.
Kon turned on the TV as he made himself a sandwich. The news showed Superman fighting a giant dragon in Taiwan. "Superman has been engaged against a dragon-like creature for the last ten hours destroying portions of the city," the news anchor said.
"So that's where he is," Kon said enviously. "Hey, where's Mara at?"
"She already left," Alex said, impatient with him.
Kon looked at his watch. "Oh, shit," he realized and then zipped his way to school within a few seconds.
Kansas City
Later that day, three armed robbers stole from a diamond store and took off. One of them was wearing stone armor that made him virtually bulletproof. "Boy, we really fucked that one up," the stone-man said to the other three.
"We? You were supposed to stay behind and take care of the cops while we made a calm getaway," the leader raged.
"Hey, I may be bulletproof but those bullets still hurt my sensitive skin," the stone-man complained.
"Whatever, just get us over that fence," the other one said as they reached a chain fence.
The stone-man took both thieves and jumped over the fence. As they did, a fist connected with stone-man with enough power that it sounded like a gunshot. The stone-man and his two associates fell to the ground stunned. The assailant stomped on the stone-man for extra emphasis. The stone-man punched back hitting the assailant's chest. Kon smirked at the three jewel heisters wearing a black leather jacket, black shades, a Superman t-shirt, and shiny blond hair to disguise his identity.
"You here to stop us or rob us?" the stone-man asked as he got to his feet.
"Yes," Kon smirked.
Kon punched the stone-man so hard his stone armor cracked and fell off him. Kon then casually took their bag of diamonds and flew off with it leaving the thieves to be captured by the police.
Smallville
At the dinner table, Alex contributed by cooking dinner for the Super-Insane family. "It looks like your father won't be joining us so we'll go ahead and start," Alex said to Kon and Mara.
Suddenly, Mon instantly appeared at the dinner table in civilian clothes. "There was a flood of Biblical proportions in Egypt," Mon excused himself.
"Did you take care of that dragon in Taiwan?" Alex asked concernedly.
"Fuck yeah I did. The difficult part was finding out who was controlling it. Apparently, the dragon was being controlled by some asshole in green playing a flute," Mon said.
"Kon ditched school today," Mara snitched.
"I was preventing a jewelry heist and contributing to the family funds," he said as he dumped a large bag of diamonds on the dinner table.
"Good work, son," Mon said pleased. "I mean, stealing is bad even if you're stealing from a thief," Mon backtracked as Alex gave him the evil eye.
"You know what else is theft? Taxation," Kon declared.
"You've never paid taxes in your life," Mara pointed out.
"It's the principle of the thing," Kon countered.
"Your anarcho-capitalist theory is self-serving," Mara scolded.
"And your wealth redistribution scheme based on who's naughty and who's nice is ludicrous," Kon argued.
"I'm sorry, what?" Alex thought she misheard.
"Mara's economic policy is to fund the government through moral fines rather than taxation. It makes Singapore look like a libertarian paradise," Kon rolled his eyes.
"What happens if no one is evil?" Alex asked curiously.
"She just increases the moral standard until even the priests are paying up," Kon grinned.
"Evil can never be truly extinguished. It can only be fined," Mara said defensively.
"What if the rich are good and the poor are evil?" Alex asked.
"What of it?" Mara asked confused.
"Mara was made co-ruler of several cities in Europe as an internship program with Barney in the future," Mon explained to Alex.
"Want to know how much you get fined if you're gay?" Kon antagonized.
"You're ruining the tranquility of this home," Mara scolded.
"So...what's the gay tax in your cities?" Alex asked annoyed.
"The economy is run by Barney in central planning in my cities. People are compensated according to their rank. When people violate the law, they lose rank, half their pay, and are compelled to do extra duty for their job," Mara said vaguely.
"That's very interesting but it doesn't really answer my question," Alex pressed.
"For each incident that is proven, loss of a rank, half a month's pay, and one-week extra duty. If there is evidence of long-term cohabitating, rank is reduced to 1, half a month's pay, and one-month extra duty. So long as the incidences keep occurring, the person will lose rank, pay, and time," Mara said finally.
"How do you prove it?" Alex asked curiously.
"It requires at least two witnesses physically present," Mara replied.
"Wait...how can you ever prove it then?" Alex asked confused.
"Typically, the offenders will confess their guilt to us when they feel convicted in their hearts. Or an ill-timed police raid," Mara replied. "Of course, there are harsher penalties for more grievous crimes," she said, desperately trying to change the conversation.
"Like prison?" Alex wondered.
"Prisons are a waste of time, money, and space. Murderers, thieves, rapists, fraudsters, and so forth are simply executed," Mara said nonchalantly.
"Sounds like Kara's philosophy," Alex rolled her eyes.
"We've come to the same conclusion through different thought processes," Mara allowed.
"But you don't kill, yourself?" Alex questioned.
"Not...directly," Mara said awkwardly.
"Well...fuck, that got dark quickly," Kon chuckled.
The next day, Kon overheard a bully mess with a defenseless nerd wearing glasses in the hallway. "How about you say that to my face, this time?" Derek-the-bully said to the nerd. Apparently, the nerd had snitched him out to a teacher. "Just leave me alone," the nerd said pathetically.
"Not so brave when I'm in front of you, is it?" Derek mocked.
"Leave him alone. I'll handle him," Kon told the bully.
"What's the matter? You feeling left out or something? I'll be sure to make you feel included," Derek said as he grabbed Kon's shoulder.
Kon grabbed his shoulder and took him to the floor as he nerve-pinched his neck. Unfortunately, a teacher saw the whole thing. "Well...shit," Kon realized.
Kon sat in front of the principal once again. "Just tell me what happened?" the principal requested.
"I kicked his ass," Kon said vaguely.
"Can you be more specific on the why?" the principal asked.
"He was bullying some nerd who was black. I had to put a stop to it," Kon said righteously.
"That boy has a history of white supremacy. You don't. I just don't want to see you follow down the same path," the principal said sympathetically.
"I follow the path of my mother," Kon said wide-eyed.
"Glad to hear it. Well, that will be all. If you ever see trouble in the halls, get a teacher. You're not invincible, after all," the principal ordered.
Kansas City
In the afternoon, several armed men wearing black masks entered a bank. "Nobody moves, nobody gets hurt. We want your money, not your lives," the bank robber leader told the tellers and customers.
"It's all here," the bank manager said handing a box over to them.
"It better be or we'll be back," the leader told him. "Come on, boys. Let's get out of here."
The bank robbers bolted out of the bank rudely running into an old lady. "Move, bitch," the leader said to her as he knocked her over.
They went behind an alley to find their vehicle blasted to pieces. "The fuck?" the leader wondered pulling out a gun on Kon.
Kon raised his right hand at them. "Get out of our way or we'll blast you," the leader threatened.
"I was hoping you would say that," Kon smirked as he fired a beam at them. The beam incinerated the bank robbers completely and sent a cloud of smoke and debris through the alley into the main streets.
Kon casually walked up to the box they had stolen and used his X-ray vision to see its contents. "Nice," he smiled and then flew off. The box was empty.
Flashback 3021-New Metropolis
At the age of four, Mon-El believed it was time to share his Insane history with his son on the roof of their palace. Due to accelerated growth, Kon looked to be 10 or so. "Son, you may have noticed I'm not like ordinary dads," Mon began.
"Like, you're never around?" Kon questioned.
"No, no, many dads are like that," Mon corrected. "Your mother and I have decided it is time that you know the truth about your heritage, where you really came from."
"Mom said I came from your balls," Kon said confused.
"That's true but I meant from an ancestral perspective. I am from another planet named Mon. It was named after my forefathers all named Mon. We were not all that different from humans in appearance, but we had the ability to fly, move at super-speed, and possessed super-strength compared to these weak-assed humans. Mon had achieved a perfect global society. There was no murder, disease, or war. It was a perfect utopia," Mon recalled.
"But we refused to become complacent. To pay for our luxuries, we subjugated and conquered many worlds. Our empire became so great and so vast that the only thing we feared was losing our power. So, it came to pass that one of our distant ancestors, King Mon, made a deal with Darkseid. At first, all went well. With Darkseid's knowledge of the cosmos, we were able to conquer many more worlds and become stronger as a people," Mon said.
Kon merely stared at his father as he continued. "Of course, when I came of age, not much older than you are now, I became a soldier for the Insane empire. With each civilization I destroyed, I became stronger," Mon said.
"You killed people?" Kon asked excitedly.
"Oh, fuck yes, more than I could possibly count," Mon smiled. "But in the end, it was never enough to become the legend. Our people eventually became slaves to Darkseid's will. Your grandfather, King Mon, was forced to bend the knee to Darkseid. Not long afterward, we were betrayed. Darkseid destroyed our planet and scattered the Insane across the galaxy."
"That's fucked up, papa," Kon said wide-eyed.
"Indeed, it is," Mon sighed. "But instead of quantity, we must focus on quality. You have the potential within you to become the legendary Super Insane and beyond. I'm telling you this now because you're getting older. Things are going to start to change in a year when you start puberty. You're going to get bigger, taller, and hairier. You will want to kill and mate everything that moves. Know this one thing. I don't care who you fight so long as you fight. No son of mine is going to be a nerd."
"I won't let you down," Kon assured him.
Smallville-Present Day
That evening, Mon watched the football game with Alex. "Want a beer?" Mon offered.
Alex's alcoholism was immediately triggered. "Sure," she agreed as she sat down in a sofa chair.
Mara was on the couch sitting Indian-style as she made notes in a Bible. "Are you editing...the Bible?" Alex asked incredulously.
"Mother's version of the Bible was based on King James. I see quite a few errors here," Mara said as she scribbled notes in the margins.
"Wait...the Bible of the future comes from your mother's head?" Alex asked, recalling how Kara had memorized the King James Bible.
"Yep," Mara said nonchalantly.
"So...she could have omitted the verses about homosexuality if she wanted to?" Alex asked pissed-off.
"You're too legalistic. It's not just a few verses here and there that condemn your lifestyle. It's the spirit of the entire text. The text promotes heterosexual marriage, family, the raising of children, and sexuality in the context of procreation in every book," Mara replied.
"Straight people don't hook up to have children," Alex pointed out.
"We sure didn't," Mon said as he drank down his beer.
Mara gave her father a disapproving look. "The most ideal sexual act is when a man and a woman are open to life, giving up their own desires for God's will, and cooperating fully with God's plan. Anything outside of this is corruption and while most heterosexuals do not follow this understanding, it is with total certainty that all practicing homosexuals do not. For this reason, I can safely penalize all homosexual acts and relationships as a moral violation."
"Damn," Mon mocked Alex.
"So, if you knew of a heterosexual couple not following your understanding and had proof of it, you would penalize them as well?" Alex questioned.
"Of course," Mara replied and then went back to her editing.
"Not everyone believes in your interpretation," Alex told her.
"It doesn't matter. The faith is determined by Barney. He is the Holy Father of the future and outranks any pope, patriarch, or archbishop of this world in this time," Mara said dismissively.
"But Barney is a fucking machine," Alex said frustrated.
"It is for this reason he was made Holy Father. He will not be swayed by politics, personal preferences, or emotions. He interprets according to the clear understanding of the text and the intent of the author that made the text. I have yet to find fault with any of his reasoning. In any case, it wouldn't be my place to contradict him," Mara said.
"Because you're a woman, right?" Alex said smartly.
Mara gave Alex a stare that indicated she should drop the issue. "Where's Kon? He should be watching the game and having a beer with us," Mon said. Mara used her X-ray vision on his room upstairs. "He's gone," she said.
"Well...shit," Mon sighed.
Kansas City
Kon decided it would be a good idea to fly around Kansas City completely shirtless and find some crime. At Toys R Us, he found a blue-skinned tall muscular alien walking around with a crate full of board games and puzzles. "What the fuck?" Kon wondered.
As Kon came closer, the blue alien punched him aside. "Back off!"
Kon hit the wall of the store hard but quickly recovered. "Isn't it past your bedtime, little man?" the alien, named Mauler, mocked.
"Actually, yeah," Kon said then punched the alien inside the store.
The two fought viciously inside the store destroying everything around them. Bicycles, gocarts, nerf guns, action figures, and other cool shit went flying everywhere with each punch. Kon blasted the alien several times creating fires everywhere. The fire suppression system turned on creating steam around Kon's body. "What's your deal, asshole?" Kon asked as he punched the alien into the doll section.
"By stealing things from Toys R Us, I'm ensuring its bankruptcy," Mauler said to him.
Kon looked at the nearly destroyed store. "Shit," he realized he had only furthered his enemy's cause.
The alien laughed at him. "You won't be laughing when you're dead," Kon said as he powered up an orb.
A rain of pink beams hit them both creating a massive crater where the Toys R Us store used to be. Mauler was down for the count in the wreckage. Kon, as a Super Insane, looked up and saw a girl with a pink costume in the air. She landed inside the ruined store but kept her distance from Kon. "Are you a yellow lantern?" she asked fearfully.
"Oh, this? No, I'm a Super Insane," Kon told her.
"Right...," she said not sure what to make of him.
"I'm Super...boy, yeah," Kon said lamely.
"Nice costume," the Violet Lantern said mockingly as Kon was shirtless and wearing pajama pants.
"I know, right?" Kon smirked.
"You look familiar," the Violet Lantern noted.
Brainiac 5 then decloaked near Kon's side. "Creepy as fuck. You follow me wherever I go?" Kon demanded.
"You shouldn't ask questions you don't want the answers to," Brainiac 5 said dismissively and then wrapped cables around Mauler's body to extract information from him.
"Well, I'll be seeing you," the violet lantern said awkwardly and then flew away.
"God damn it, Barney. You just cock-blocked me," Kon complained.
"I assure you, you're not her type," Brainiac 5 said knowingly.
Smallville
The next day, Kon found Elisa with Mara in the halls of Smallville High. "I fucking knew it."
"What do you know?" Mara asked condescendingly as Elisa looked away.
"That...we're in...physics together," Kon backtracked.
"I think we've had enough exposure for a while," Mara said coldly to Elisa and took off.
"It's not you. She's anti-social as fuck," Kon excused her sister.
"As anti-social as a boy that wrecks a Toys R Us?" Elisa questioned.
"I was trying to save that store...for the children," Kon lied.
"I would appreciate it if you kept all this to yourself," Elisa said under her breath.
"That you're a Violet Lantern or that you're gay?" Kon asked smirkingly.
"Yes," Elisa rolled her eyes.
"Sorry about last night. I was coming onto you a little too strong. I thought you were a straight girl," Kon apologized as he winked and pointed at a number of other girls down the hall.
"So, you find it perfectly fine to obnoxiously hit on straight girls but you have this polite etiquette with Lesbians?" Elisa wondered.
"Yeah, you're like my bro. I will hook you up with a girl just like you. I will be your wingman. I will supervise your love-making sessions to make sure you are safe at all times physically and emotionally," Kon volunteered.
"Wow, you're so understanding in the most patriarchial way," Elisa smiled amused.
"I am the son of the patriarchy," Kon said seriously.
"So, who's your robot friend?" Elisa asked curiously.
"That's Barney. He's a machine that has access to the entire digital grid, has countless units spying on people everywhere, and has infinite knowledge," Kon said. "Would you like to meet him at our secret base?"
"Sure," Elisa agreed.
"So, do you need to change or anything?" Kon asked awkwardly.
"The ring forms an armored suit of energy over my clothes," Elisa reminded him.
"Oh, yeah, right. I suppose I can change in front of you since you're...," Kon assumed.
"Let's keep it professional, shall we?" Elisa warned.
DEO Fortress
Kon and Elisa entered the DEO Fortress in costume and met up with Brainiac 5. "I've been expecting you, Elisa," Brainiac 5 said warmly.
"So, you're like a robot?" Elisa wondered.
"I am the knowledge of tens of thousands of worlds from tens of thousands of years," Brainiac 5 introduced himself.
"You're like a god," Elisa said amazed.
"God is all-powerful, all good, and all knowledge. I am merely knowledge," Brainiac 5 said humbly. "I erased Mauler's memories from last night and placed him at another Toys R Us. My hypothesis is that he will lead us to his base and we will figure out his plans with those puzzles and board games," Brainiac 5 said.
"What if he's just an asshole?" Kon asked.
"Then, you can deal with him in the normal way," Brainiac 5 said dismissively.
Kansas City
Mauler, the big dumb blue alien met up with his partner in a warehouse filled with robots. "Where have you been? I'm trying to figure out how to power all these robots for the next shipment," the first one said.
"I don't know what happened. Last night was a blur. I remember going to Toys R Us and then blacking out, so I came back here," Mauler said.
"I'm not sure you appreciate the importance of Toys R Us going bankrupt means for us. We badly need to make sure our short sale of their stock ends up being a positive investment. Did you have anything to do with a Toys R Us exploding last night?" the second one asked.
"I honestly don't know," Mauler admitted.
"We will use Toys R Us doll robots to wreak havoc on the city and tank their stock. We must make our move now," the second one said.
"I think I've heard enough," Kon said with his super-hearing as he entered the warehouse. Elisa was right behind him as a Violet Lantern.
"Robot army is deactivated," Brainiac 5 said calmly as he now had control of them remotely.
"Who said we needed them to defeat you?" Mauler said ready to fight.
Kon quickly beat Mauler's ass as Elisa used her ring on the second one. Pink energy zapped the second one freezing his muscles up. Kon continued to smack Mauler around with superior strength and technique. Elisa eyed him admiringly as blasted apart the robot army to scrap. After the battle, the three regrouped. "We could use someone like you as a Vindicator," Brainiac 5 invited.
"Is it always this easy?" Elisa asked surprised.
"Not always," Brainiac 5 replied.
"I'll think about it," Elisa smiled and then flew off.
"What if she says no?" Kon asked Brainiac 5.
"Then, get me her ring," Brainiac 5 replied as he collected microchips from the destroyed robots.
Smallville
The next day, Derek was minding his own business sleeping on a park bench near a mall. He awoke with a yawn and then noticed there was a bomb attached to his chest. "What the...," he wondered and then exploded.
The explosion scattered the civilians nearby and damaged the entrance to the mall. Mara walked through the wreckage and used her X-ray vision to spot internal injuries. With a healing ray, she began to heal the ones the worst off until paramedics arrived on the scene. Kon came by and looked around amazed. "Holy shit," he said stunned.
"Be useful," Mara scolded.
Kon took out a device that gave him a hologram image of what had happened just before the explosion. He saw Derek with the bomb and then saw him explode on the park bench. Looking closely, he saw that the bomb was on a timer. Once Mara was done with treating the wounded, she went over to Kon. "I can't kill the person that did this," she said.
"Yeah, I know," Kon smirked condescendingly.
"So, I need you to do it for me," Mara said seriously.
"Well, okay then," Kon agreed as Mara's power level spiked erratically with her emotions.
At Smallville High, the principal addressed the student body in the gym. "Now, just because one of our students was involved in a suicide bombing does not mean we should panic. Now, our three students that have gone missing were reported missing on separate days but knew each other. It's possible they're in a conspiracy to avoid coming to school rather than foul play. As you know, I take truancy laws very seriously. The three of them, assuming they were not kidnapped or killed, will be brought to justice."
"Now, I know there's been plenty of rumors and speculation. You now know what we know which frankly is shit. Just be safe, try not to go anywhere alone, and please report anything unusual to the authorities. If we're lucky, the three missing students will show up eventually and everything will go back to normal," the principal concluded.
Sara walked up to Kon and gave his clown t-shirt a disapproving look. "One student blew himself up and three are missing and you're wearing that?" she scolded.
"Comedy is tragedy plus time," Kon excused. "Besides, the missing kids are assholes."
"That's pretty mean to say. I talked to Todd a few times. I can't speak for the other two but he was nice to me," Sara protested.
"Yeah, because you're hot," Kon said dismissively. "I'll remind you that his name is Todd."
"So, are you going to the cafeteria or just following me?" Sara asked.
"Yes," Kon replied.
"I don't need your protection. I'm the fire chief's daughter. No one will dare to fuck with me," Sara said confidently.
As they entered the cafeteria, Mara and Elisa sat across from each other. "You're around my brother a lot," Mara said suspiciously.
"Just trying to straighten myself out," Elisa smiled.
"You should try with any other boy in this school. Kon is a bad influence," Mara told her.
"I honestly wouldn't mind being your sister-in-law," Elisa teased.
"It's not to be," Mara said knowingly.
Kon and Sara then sat down near them. "Did you hear about another bombing in Smallville? I mean, holy shit!" Kon said obnoxiously.
"Barney will figure it out," Mara said unconcernedly.
"Barney?" Sarah asked.
"He's a friend of the family," Mara said vaguely.
After lunch, all four went separate ways. William bumped into Mara intentionally. "So the rumors are true. You're with Elisa. Nice," William said with a smile.
"You are mistaken," Mara said, keeping her cool.
"Don't play dumb with me. You and she are totally Lez with all the perks that come with that," William chuckled.
"Trust me, she's not my...girlfriend," Mara said uncomfortably.
"Yeah, bullshit. I'm going to tell the whole school," William said.
Mara slammed William against a locker and kissed him passionately so he would forget what he supposedly knew. "Nice," one boy said as he passed them by creating whole new rumors.
At the house, the Super Insane family ate together. "That casserole sure was good, Aunt Alex," Kon complimented.
"Absolutely, you truly outdid yourself this time," Mon seconded.
"Good, then you two can clean the dishes," Alex ordered.
Mon and Kon entered the kitchen and merely put a dozen plates in the dish machine rather than clean them by hand. "So, you're an active superhero now," Mon noted.
"Fuck yeah," Kon smiled.
"Time for training," Mon ordered.
The two took to the skies and flew off leaving Smallville behind. "These last few months, you haven't been bad. You're more powerful than I was at your age. But you can always be better," Mon said to him.
The two flew around at super-sonic speed towards Florida. "You want to get something to eat?" Mon asked.
"I'm starving," Kon said enthusiastically.
The two landed at a Beefy Frank stand and got some hotdogs. "So, does achieving the next level come naturally, or do you have to get really pissed-off?" Kon asked.
"To be honest, I don't know how it all works. I mastered the Ultra Super Insane in just two months but then reached a plateau for a while. I put myself through physical and mental torture to achieve the next level. Imagine your body being torn apart while the ones you care about are killed in front of you continuously," Mon said.
"So, you had to trick yourself into thinking mom, Mara, and I were killed?" Kon asked curiously.
"Something like that," Mon said vaguely. "Finally, something in me just snapped but it took seven long years to achieve it. I dare you to achieve it faster." He then noticed his watch buzz as an emergency was in progress. "Finally," Mon said pleased.
"What is it?" Kon asked excitedly.
"Battle!" Mon smiled. "You're coming with me," Mon ordered as he took to the skies as Superman.
Mara and Alex were in the mall when freaked out patrons ran past them. "I wonder what that's about," Alex said as she instinctively went for her concealed pistol. A boy was sleeping on the floor with a loud beeping noise, it was Todd. Mara went over to him and tore open his shirt revealing the bomb. She brought him to his feet to wake him. "Todd, wake up!" she shook him.
He groggily woke up and realized there was a bomb on his chest. "Can you remove it?" Alex asked urgently.
Mara scanned the bomb's inner workings. "It's connected to his heart," she said. "Who did this to you?" Mara asked as the countdown was almost up.
"Did...what?" Todd asked confused.
Mara looked around for witnesses and then aimed at the ceiling. She blasted a huge hole in the mall's ceiling and then threw Todd as hard as she could through the hole. Todd exploded in the air causing the mall to shake from the impact. "Who was that guy?" Alex asked her.
"A missing student from my school," Mara shook her head sadly.
Author's Notes: I recommend Invincible on Amazon which this chapter is based on. The ratings plummeted between Superman and Lois and Supergirl despite having the same timeslot. Viewers want a hero that kicks ass and shows like Superman and Lois, The Boys, Invincible, Wandavision, Falcon and Winter Soldier, and the Synder Cut is providing that. It's not cool to have a Kryptonian record their will and testament as if they're going to die, lure a human villain to her home turf, and then still get her ass kicked by said human villain even while surrounded by several allies. SG Lex was worse than a cartoon character while Captain Luthor of Superman and Lois shows complexity and nuanced. The gap in writing between the two shows was just incredible.
Mara and Alex clashed a little here-and-there in Adventures of Supergirl Seasons 3 and 4. However, now they're under the same roof in a different timeline. The living philosophy of the Super Insane family is to not be compatible on values, goals, and methods yet still get along. This is a foreign concept to Alex who desires and expects conformity within her inner circle.