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Tragedies of the Past, chapter 2
"You've been putting it off," Max calmly said.
"No, I haven't," Conner protested. "I've just been busy."
"Methinks the gentleman doth protest too much," Lois said, smiling.
"You need to see if it fits properly," Clark said.
"I can adjust it, if it's uncomfortable," Martha offered.
"Come on, Conner," Jonathan encouraged.
Conner looked with disgust at his Romeo costume. He didn't want to wear the thing at all.
"You have to wears yours as well," he told Max.
"I'd have to put on makeup to get the full effect," Max noted.
"It's all right," Lois said with a smirk. "We've got time."
Conner sighed. "Fine. I'll go change."
Where Conner was able to change relatively quickly, it took Max longer.
"You go on down," he said, as he put on his costume. "I'll be down when I finish."
"They're going to take pictures, you know."
"Then we might as well give them the full effect. Let me dab some of the blush on you."
Conner resisted the urge to push Max away when he applied the makeup to his face. "Where'd you learn how to do this?"
"I wore the goth makeup before, remember? Maybe I should go down as a gothic Juliet."
"I don't think they'd find it funny."
"Probably not. But to answer your question, I had to help the Contessa when she was alive."
"Do you ever miss her?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"You sometimes get this wistful look when you talk about her."
Max looked critically at Conner. "I think your costume might be a little tight in the shoulders."
"You're-"
"-avoiding the question. I know. She was the closest thing I had to a mother. Not a good one or one who gave a damn about me, of course. I tried to please her, and she didn't ever notice or care. It...hurts to care about someone who doesn't care about you."
There was a pause.
"You'd better put the rest of your costume on," Conner said. "I have to go and be a charming Romeo. In these embarrassing tights."
"If you want to opt for the dress..."
Conner smiled. Max was opening up more.
"Don't you look dashing!" Martha exclaimed.
Conner had a strained smile on his face. The costume was a bit tight in the shoulders, and he felt like an idiot wearing the tights. He had worn skin-tight outfits before, but he hadn't felt this uncomfortable, or underdressed, in them.
Clark and Jonathan gave him encouraging smiles. Lois was searching in her purse.
"Where's the camera?" she muttered. "I know it's here somewhere."
"It feels a little tight in the shoulders," Conner reported.
"I'll adjust it," Martha promised.
Lois finally found her camera and snapped a few pictures.
"Now, where's Max?" she asked.
"I'm here," a soft and lightly accented voice came from the top of the stairs.
Conner turned to look and his jaw dropped. Max had worked on the costume himself, so he hadn't seen it worn yet. Rather than go for a costume that covered him entirely, Max had gone for a shoulderless dress that tied in the front. He wore full-length gloves that made his arms and hands look slender. A full-length billowing skirt concealed his legs, but what caught Conner's attention was that Max seemed to have grown a chest in the last five minutes. It appeared to be a chest that nicely fit on his body, and how did he manage that in a shoulderless dress? He looked up and saw a made up face that wouldn't be out of place in a fashion magazine.
Max adjusted the scarf that was wrapped around his neck. "How do I look?" he asked in that soft, accented voice.
Martha found her voice first. "How-how did you do it? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were a girl!"
"It isn't quite an authentic period dress," Max noted. "I made some adjustments so I could get into it on my own."
"How'd you get that chest?" Conner asked, which received stares from everyone else. "What? I know that's what all of you were thinking too."
"In the spare clothes, there was a woman's business suit from the 80s. I used the shoulder pads from that. Some tape keeps it to my chest, and some makeup blends it into my skin."
"You taped it to your chest?" Lois asked. "Doesn't it hurt to take off?"
"Only a little," Max responded. "I don't really have body hair."
"Okay, time for some pictures," Lois said, snapping pictures of Max by himself and Max and Conner together.
"What's with your voice?" Conner asked.
"I figured it might be a little disturbing if I used my man-voice while looking like this, so I'm using Juliet's voice," Max replied.
"You're going to make me look bad on stage, aren't you?"
"You'll be fine," Max promised. "You're better than you give yourself credit."
After changing back, the six sat down for dinner.
"I saw your shooting practice," Clark commented. "I didn't know you were that good with a gun."
Lois looked interested. "How good are you? I know how to shoot too."
"I didn't know that," Conner said. "Where'd you learn?"
"My father was in the Army. He raised me like a son, much to my mother's dismay. Lucy got to be more of a girl; not a lot, but more than me."
"I'm a decent enough marksman," Max replied.
"Decent enough?" Conner said. "He's John Woo-movie good!"
Clark looked confused. "Who's John Woo?"
"Are you kidding?" Martha asked. "He's a director that started in Hong Kong before coming to the US. He's got some of the best gun-fu scenes out there!"
Everybody gave her a surprised look except Jonathan.
"What?" she said. "Jonathan and I see movies on the weekend when we're alone. I like action films."
"I didn't know the movie theater here played stuff like that," Lois commented.
"We also have a Blockbuster, dear," Martha said, smiling.
"Any other talents you want to let us know about?" Clark asked Max.
"I'm an excellent hand-to-hand combatant," Max started.
"Wait a minute," Conner interrupted. "When we spar, I hold my own against you."
Max looked apologetic. "Sorry, I've been holding back."
Conner looked a bit offended as Max continued. "I'm also trained in melee weapons. I've got some acrobatics training and a good sense of balance. There are few languages that I don't speak fluently. I know how to pick locks and disable security devices without my powers. I'm pretty good at computers too. I've got my espionage training and can type comfortably at 120 works a minute. I can go faster if I need to."
"You forgot to add that you're a good chef and have a pleasant singing voice," Martha added.
Max looked embarrassed. "I didn't think anyone heard me singing along with the radio."
"Maybe we should get you a bat logo for your clothing," Conner joked.
The rest of the table chuckled as Max blushed.
"Are you okay?" Conner asked as they were in their beds that night.
"I'm fine," Max answered. "Why do you ask?"
"Just a feeling. It's okay to talk about yourself, you know."
"I guess I don't get what the fuss is over. The only reason I've got these abilities is because they were put in me."
"You must have picked up something on your own."
"I got better in them, but I started at a high level."
"It doesn't take away from what you've accomplished with them."
"I'm not sure others would agree with you."
"You're relentlessly pessimistic, aren't you?"
"It's a byproduct of my experiences."
"In that case, I'll have to make sure you have better experiences to improve your outlook."
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Answering questions from my reviews...
The Kents are still here; Conner and Max just spend the weekends away to give them some time alone.
Any and all comments welcome!