As a reward for being the good kid, Mara was sent to Midvale High in Maine. The town had long been gone but was rebuilt perfectly the way it used to be in the early 21st century from Kara's memories of it. As an artificial town, there weren't any real kids present. The high school, therefore, was more of a boarding school for super-hero teenagers Kara hoped to train into Vindicators.

Mara was less than thrilled with the idea as she preferred to study alone with Brainiac 5 as a tutor. She was also accustomed to being gawked at by humans who noticed her as the royal princess. In her base form, Mara clashed in appearance with her mother. She had jet-black hair and dark eyes, inherited from her father. She managed to intentionally keep it long and straight instead of the Insane usual spikiness. However, when Mara went Super Insane, her hair and eye color went to blond and blue making her appear as a near-clone to Kara. Typically, when an Insane went Super Insane their hair would spike up in tight triangular patterns but Mara was able to reach the transformation so seamlessly that she could keep her hair straight without a flaring aura. Mara could even impersonate Kara's voice on occasion.

However, when it came to personality, Mara was completely different than Kara. Under the tutelage of Brainiac 5, Mara stressed emotional control, logic and reason, and high levels of cynicism. Mara desired to rebel against her parents in her own way by being a responsible adult. Despite this, Mara tended to have an Insane predatory gaze when her Kryptonian brain was analyzing a problem.

On the way to Midvale, Kara opted for a slow-moving hover limo to take in the Maine wilderness. "So...Mara...how long are you going to give me the cold shoulder?" Kara asked accusingly.

"Barney, remind my mother I'm not on speaking terms with her," Mara said to Brainiac 5 who was driving the car.

"I promise you, Mara, you will love Midvale. It's the perfect school for you," Kara assured her.

"Why? Because it was the perfect school for you? I have no interest in following in your footsteps, becoming the editor of the newspaper, kicker for the football team, drag-racer champion, and having the top-score in teenager kills," Mara said resolved.

"Damn...," Kara said stunned. "Hey, I did more than just those things at Midvale. In any case, what I did a thousand years ago has no bearing on what's happening in Midvale today."

"Then why send me to your ancient hometown? Sentimentality?" Mara mocked. "You can't have it both ways."

"Midvale High is now a school for gifted youngsters like yourself," Kara clarified.

"I will be the only Insane Kryptonian there. That means no one will be like myself," Mara pointed out.

"You can share in common that you're not human," Kara argued.

"Which is the opposite experience you had at Midvale," Mara reminded her.

"I learned from my mistake. People like us don't fit in with a purely human environment," Kara said.

"Or maybe the problem with your attendance at Midvale High was just you," Mara shot back.

"If I hadn't been there, all those fucked-up kids would have murdered even more people," Kara said defensively.

"And yet, all those kids became super-powered psychopaths due to the Kryptonite that came off your ship," Mara recalled.

"You will find that powers do not turn people good or evil. They just magnify what already exists underneath," Kara said seriously.

"That's certainly been the case with you," Mara said, staring right at her.

The car came up on Midvale High's entrance, not too far from the town itself. The school was a perfect replication of the 21st-century version but had additional dormitory buildings attached to it. Kara couldn't help but feel nostalgic going down the halls. It reminded her of the time when a psycho-kid forced his engineer father to make his own replication of the school and kidnapped teens for his amusement. This time, things would be different.

Kara took Mara to Principal Ream, a white-haired woman of exceptional height. Kara had to give a double take as the woman was at least a foot taller than her and looked like a softball coach. "Mara is such a unique name," Principal Ream said condescendingly.

"It comes from my favorite Star Wars character," Kara explained.

"It's just my mother's name but with an M instead of a K," Mara said obviously.

"Actually, you know what, I decided to name you Mara because it means bitter in Hebrew," Kara shot back.

"Impressive retconning, mother," Mara mocked.

"You've certainly had a very interesting educational journey: eight degrees in five years," Principal Ream noted.

"I don't really count my elementary, middle, and high school degrees as worth anything," Mara said unimpressed. "After completing my associate's and bachelor's degrees, I should be working on my master's, but here I am wasting time with you fine folks."

"What Mara is trying to say is that she's been tutored by drones her whole life and has zero social skills. That's why she's here," Kara clarified.

"Midvale High doesn't usually accept students mid-term, but since you are the queen of the entire planet and the founder of this school, we'll make an exception," Principal Ream allowed.

"Mara is to go to therapy sessions in town," Kara added.

"We'll make sure she's given a pass to complete those sessions," Principal Ream obliged.

"Did you hear that, Mara? You're finally going to get straightened out," Kara said optimistically.

"As straight as your late sister," Mara mocked.

"I've assigned your classes to the same classroom your mother had," Principal Ream smiled.

"Let's be clear about one thing. This is not Midvale High but a recreation from scratch," Mara shut down.

"That's the Ship of Theseus fallacy. Everything, eventually has its component parts replaced over time including our own cells," Kara told her off.

"If this were the Ship of Theseus, the ship would have been burned to ash, then nuked, then blown away into the ocean, then nuked again, before magically being restored to its original form centuries later," Mara downplayed.

Kara and Mara glared at each other with contempt. "Should we meet your new roommate?" Principal Ream asked hoping to cut the tension.

Principal Ream brought Mara over to a one-room dormitory split in half between the two roommates. Mara eyed her new roommate, a Native American human that had been genetically modified by an unknown race to have large angelic wings. As they entered, the teenage girl spread out her wings to its fullest extent. "This is Dawnstar. Her people don't do last names," Principal Ream introduced.

Dawnstar folded her wings and approached Mara. She raised her hand and said, "How...," There was an awkward silence between everyone. "...do you do?" Dawnstar smiled, amused by her own wit. "You look rather pale."

"Don't worry. I don't come from the pale faces that destroyed your race," Mara assured her.

"Funny thing, my people were kidnapped from Earth and brought to an alien planet long before the White Devils came to North America, so I have no gripes against White people whatsoever," Dawnstar explained.

"Good thing we got that cleared up," Kara said awkwardly.

"Dawnstar, please take Mara to the registry's office to get her the school uniform and a copy of her schedule and give her a tour along the way," Principal Reams ordered.

Dawnstar brought Mara to the register's office while pointing things out here and there. "Midvale High was founded in 1791 to educate exclusively white people but times have changed. Now, Midvale is a place for mutants, aliens, freaks, monsters, and various marginalized groups that the empire finds useful," Dawnstar said.

"By marginalized groups, does that include sexual deviants as well?" Mara wondered. She then stopped herself as she saw a case of the 2008 Midvale football team that featured Kara as the kicker. "This school was created as a nefarious plan to brainwash me into making me a copy of my mother."

"Well, can you clear something up for me? Rumor has it that you've killed quite a few people so far," Dawnstar said concernedly.

"That's my brother, not me," Mara corrected.

The two entered the quad, an open space between the school, itself, and the dormitories. "Let me give you a Wikipedia on the social scene. There are many flavors of weirdos here, but the four main cliques are heroes, anti-heroes, nerds, and sidekicks. Those are the nerds," Dawnstar said, pointing out teens who were busy on their computers, playing with magic cards, and conducting D&D quests.

"That bunch of do-gooders are the heroes," Dawnstar said pointing out the next group. "They tend to party like a frat and make a lot of noise at night."

"And these are the anti-heroes," Mara assumed the next group.

"They're heroic when the situation calls for it but they're generally assholes and shady as fuck," Dawnstar nodded. "The leader of the "Sound Gang" is Tyroc. He's quite the screamer. He used to be really good friends with Ulu, the Color Kid, but they had a falling out recently for reasons unknown."

"Fascinating," Mara said bored.

"Dawnstar, you won't believe what I heard about your new roommate. She's the royal princess, the queen's daughter, a Super Insane Kryptonian. You better watch your back," Dag warned her.

Dawnstar turned slightly to reveal Mara behind her. "You're not wrong," Mara said snarkily.

"Oh, shit," Dag realized.

"Dag is a member of the "Stoner's Gang" the school's metal band," Dawnstar introduced. "They take metal very seriously, literally and musically."

"What instrument do you play?" Mara asked curiously.

"Bass," Dag replied.

"And now I've lost interest," Mara sighed.

"Damn, that's colder than Polar Boy," Dag said stunned and walked off.

"You know, there's not much known about you on the Internet," Dawnstar said conversationally.

"That's by design," Mara said obviously. "Besides, social media is a soul-sucking void of meaningless affirmation."

"Of course, you would say that. You don't need social recognition when you're the royal princess," Dawnstar pointed out.

Mara simply stared at her. "Well said. We might get along after all."

After she fit into her new uniform and took a tour of the school, Mara returned to Kara, Brainiac 5, and Kon waiting for her outside. She was now in a black pant and jacket uniform with a dark purple shirt indicating she was a "nerd". "Oh, just look at you. Seeing you here in this school brings back so many fond memories," Kara gushed.

"The killing of your classmates, the inappropriate seductions of your teachers, your psycho boyfriend that killed his father and eventually your cousin, or was it trash-talking your classmates every day for your school newspaper?" Mara mocked.

"Kon, go back in the car while I have a word with Mara," Kara ordered.

Kon smirked victoriously as if being rewarded for his epic fail in morality not too long ago. He gave Mara an insincere hug and then went back to the car. The reason he wasn't going as well was that Kara wanted to supervise him personally. Now, alone, Kara and Mara faced off. "Any plans you have of running away end right now. You are under constant surveillance and I have spies within the school, itself."

"I wasn't planning to but this little speech of yours indicates you're even more disturbed than I realized," Mara mocked.

"You're a brilliant girl, Mara, but sometimes...you get in my way," Kara narrowed her eyes at her. "I'm sure you'll learn to love Midvale High just as I did and find it as life-changing as I did. Look, I got you something that belongs to us both." Kara then placed a Super House-El button on Mara's jacket.

"I'm not like you, mother. I will not be investigating, fighting, or killing students even for the better good. I'm here to study and no more," Mara told her.

"I would have been the same way if not for Alex," Kara said somberly.

"Then, perhaps she was a bad influence on you," Mara said insensitively.

"I'm told...girls your age, five, say hurtful things to their mothers, and I shouldn't take it personally," Kara said pissed off but then softened her look. "If you're ever in trouble, here's this," she said giving her a watch.

Mara took the watch and said nothing as Kara, Brainiac 5, and Kon drove off. In the car, Kara shed a tear as she was overwhelmed with emotion.

Dawnstar entered her dorm shocked and appalled. "What the fuck did you do to my room?" she asked as all of her Native American artifacts and trinkets were purged from the other side of the room.

"Removing superstitious tribal nonsense from my side of the room," Mara said coldly.

"This is my truth, it's what our people follow," Dawnstar said offended.

"Your people are clearly primitive imbeciles responding to acts of nature and weather with fanciful stories of personal gods," Mara mocked.

"Religion is the expressing of feelings and desires. Like, how is your Christian religion any different?" Dawnstar asked.

"I may have been baptized against my will as a child but I do not adhere to my mother's cultural appropriation of Middle Eastern myths," Mara said.

"So, you don't believe in an afterlife? Life is just the shovel to dig your grave, the rope to bury your casket, and dirt over the hole?" Dawnstar asked incredulously.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to write a new religion to show you how easy it can be done," Mara said as she went to her desk.

Dawnstar proceeded to turn on Native American dancing music. "Turn that off," Mara said instantly. "Even the slightest noise disturbs my concentration." Dawnstar ignored her. Mara then advanced on Dawnstar. "This is your final warning."

Dawnstar immediately extended her wings ready to fight. "Don't mess with me. I have wings so that means I can fly."

"I can also fly and I don't need air or wings for thrust," Mara mocked.

The door then opened revealing one of their teachers. "I'm Miss Thorn, your team sponsor. Go, Ravens! I assume Dawnstar has given you the Midvale welcome."

"She's yet to make a pot or bowl for me," Mara frowned.

"Wow...what the fuck?" Dawnstar said under her breath.

"Well, here's a little welcome gift from the conservatory," Miss Thorn said as she gave Mara a blue and red hybrid flower. "I try to match the right flower for each of my girls."

"What did you give Dawnstar? A flower out of clay?" Mara wondered.

"Oh, come on!" Dawnstar said in the background.

"When I read your application, I immediately thought of this one," Miss Thorn said.

"To be clear, my mother wrote the application for me, and due to my royal status, I didn't need one to begin with," Mara clarified.

"Okey-dokey: no loud noises, lights off at 2200, and no boys...or people who identify as boys...basically...anyone with a penis or uses one or wants one," Miss Thorn said authoritatively. "Are we clear?"

"Are you?" Mara wondered.

"Good talk," Miss Thorn said and then walked out.

The next morning on a weekend, Mara went to the gym during martial arts classes. Tyroc had recently defeated a random Naltorian loser. "Come on, professor, when am I going to get some real competition?" Tyroc asked annoyed.

"How about a Supergirl?" Mara challenged.

"Oh, you're the queen's brat. I didn't know they let five-year-olds in," Tyroc said boldly.

"And you look as if you're twenty-seven," Mara shot back.

"Sir?" Tyroc asked his professor with a pissed-off expression.

"No long-range powers," Lemnos, the teacher for the green Eagles team, ordered.

In this competition, it wasn't a matter of overpowering the other but who got a simple strike on the other first. Tyroc aggressively went after Mara but all of his strikes were easily blocked or evaded. Mara then easily got a light strike on Tyroc to win the point.

"Point to Mara," Lemnos judged.

This time, Mara aggressively attacked with linear knife-hand strikes that backed Tyroc up against the wall. Tyroc jumped up and got a hit on Mara's head. "Score is even," Lemnos judged.

"That first point must have been beginner's luck," Tyroc mocked. "Let's finish this."

"I'm no longer interested in martial arts at this speed and power. I'm having to focus extremely hard not to break you," Mara revealed.

"Is that so? Let's do this with powers," Tyroc challenged.

"It's your decision," Lemnos said to Mara.

Mara merely nodded consenting to the match. Tyroc smiled as he took a deep breath. At the same time, Mara touched the Super-button on her jacket and tossed a plastic version of the crest at him. Tyroc was covered in the elastic wrap just as he screamed. The scream stayed within the elastic wrap stunning only himself. Tyroc fell to the floor with bleeding ears. The elastic crest wrap then vanished off his body.

"What the actual fuck was that?!" Tyroc shouted as he couldn't even hear himself.

"I'm done here," Mara said bored, and walked off like a boss.

As she entered the quad, a flag pole from the top of the school fell toward her. Mara looked up, instinctively put up her hand, and let the pole bang off her arm. "Well, that was curious," Mara muttered and then continued walking.

Entering her dorm, Mara continued her work on her new false Native American religion alone.

The next day, Mara went to see her shrink in Midvale, Dr. Kong. "Do you expect we will forge a relationship based on trust and mutual respect?" Mara tested.

"Nope," Dr. Kong said realistically.

"I appreciate your honesty, but I still think this is a waste of time," Mara said dismissively.

"What is your life philosophy? We're all curious how you would run the planet and all of our lives," Dr. Kong asked.

"Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times, and I'm the zoo keeper watching it unfold," Mara said simply.

"So, you see humans as mere animals?" Dr. Kong asked.

"Am I that transparent?" Mara wondered. "Humanity compared to me is bringing a knife to a nuclear war."

"Do you feel remorse?" Dr. Kong asked.

"As long as I'm slightly better than my brother, which is an extremely low bar, then no," Mara said honestly.

"So, you don't feel guilty about any individual action so long as your darks-side points are lower than your brother?" Dr. Kong questioned.

"It's quite certain I will be the one succeeding my mother as ruler of Earth and the Galactic Federation at this rate. I merely need to be slightly less Insane than my brother to take the throne," Mara said dismissively.

"So, you know yourself pretty well then?" Dr. Kong challenged.

"My memory, intelligence, and processing speed are beyond your comprehension," Mara confirmed.

"I understand you like to write philosophy books that challenge the morality of the Church," Dr. Kong brought up.

"Someone needs to keep the clergy on their toes," Mara replied.

"So, you don't really believe in the things you write?" Dr. Kong asked.

"I don't believe in anything," Mara confirmed. "I write under a pseudo name and the Church isn't bold enough to excommunicate me. The clergy are short-sighted fear-based lifeforms."

"Why don't we dig into the relationship with your mother?" Dr. Kong said, changing the subject.

"You'll only dig your own grave," Mara warned.

Mara walked out of her therapy session and then slammed into a man with a crate of apples sending them all over the pavement. "Really? What the hell?" the apple guy complained as Mara continued walking.

Mara entered the Talon coffee shop which also acted as a movie theater. Inside, a large portrait of a young woman was featured. Mara studied the portrait for a few seconds. "That's Vicki Donaghue, the owner of this shop a thousand years ago," the clerk on duty said to her.

"I'm aware. I'm just studying the grief-stricken obsession that is imprinted into the portrait," Mara said.

"Well, okay then. I'm Tyler," he introduced himself. "Are you into art?"

"Only as a hobby," Mara said, turning away from the portrait.

Mara noticed his coffee machine was acting up. Scanning it with her X-ray vision, she was able to see the problem clearly. "I'm taking command of this coffee shop. From now on, no caffeine is permitted and all films must be whatever I want to watch."

"Under what authority?" Tyler asked shocked and appalled, not taking her seriously. Mara flashed her O-15 ID card. "Oh, shit," he realized. "You're...,"

"My presence here is on a need-to-know basis. Inform the officer on duty of my acquisition," Mara ordered. "Also, you're now assigned to be my boyfriend. You can enjoy the perks of everything I buy for you."

"Wait...what?" Tyler thought he misheard.

"I intend to use our relationship to embarrass my mother and prove that sending me to Midvale High was a bad idea," Mara said simply.

"Look...I can't be bought so you're going to have to find someone else," Tyler refused.

Mara simply stared at Tyler, a mere private acting as a coffee shop clerk. No one had ever refused her like this on principle. Stunned, Mara simply took a seat alone. Three seminarians then entered the shop. "This is our booth?" they demanded.

"I expected better hospitality from the Church," Mara said disappointed.

"The fuck you talking about? The Church is responsible for mass genocide, cultural extinction, forced evacuations, and kidnapping of children...damn, I'm toasted," the leader said, overwhelming himself.

Mara stood up to them. "I command this coffee shop now and I reserve the right to refuse service. Now, leave."

"Don't make us pray for you," the second threatened.

"If you don't leave, I'll give you all the clap," Mara countered.

As they were about to attack, Mara clapped her hands dropping all three of them instantly. The local sheriff then entered the coffee shop. "Now, what in tarnation is this? Why do you have to beat up seminarians in my town?" he asked Mara.

"They were harassing a customer and she gave them the clap," Tyler explained.

"This little thing gave them the clap?" Sheriff Don wondered incredulously. "Did you help?"

"I swear, I wasn't involved," Tyler said defensively.

Principal Ream then entered the coffee shop. "Apologies, sheriff. She's one of mine," she said to Don. "Come on, Miss El, let's go," she said to Mara.

"Wait a minute...you're an El?" Don realized. "Don't tell me Kara Zor-El is your mother? That woman belongs behind bars for murder."

"You're not wrong," Mara said nonchalantly.

"Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Don said boldly.

"My mother wishes," Mara rolled her eyes.

"Okay...let's go," Principal Ream escorted Mara away before another fight could break out.

Principal Ream drove Mara back to the school. "Your first day and you're already on Sheriff Don's radar," she shook her head disappointed.

"What did he mean about my mother?" Mara wondered.

"Everyone knows your mother has a checkered past here, Mara. A word of advice, start making friends, not more enemies," Principal Ream replied. "You're going to need them when you come to the throne on your own."

They came upon a car accident on the road. "I hope they're okay," Principal Ream said concernedly.

Mara scanned the vehicles. "They're dead," she said without emotion.

"How can you tell?" Principal Ream asked.

"X-ray vision," Mara said simply.

"Even from this angle?" Principal Ream questioned.

"I see everything," Mara said as she scanned her entire field of vision.

That night, Mara practiced her violin playing right up to 2200 hours. Dawnstar went out to meet her on the balcony of their dorm where she was playing. It was a full moon. "Why aren't you wolfing out? Isn't that a thing you do?"

"Those are the Pacific West Native Americans...wait...you're fucking with me, aren't you?" Dawnstar realized.

"I noticed your wings are not developed enough to fly. Sup with that?" Mara asked.

Dawnstar looked down in shame. "I don't know what's wrong. My parents even sent me to Wisconsin to talk to a specialist. My parents think there's a chance I may never fly."

"What happens then?" Mara asked curiously.

"I become a lone duck. My life would be officially over. I would be kicked out of my flock with no prospect of ever having a mate. I could die alone," Dawnstar said grieved.

"I fail to see the problem in any of this," Mara said insensitively.

"You're a royal. Your job is to cheer people up," Dawnstar scolded.

"Those are symbolic figurehead royals. I rule...absolutely," Mara clarified.

"You suck at this. Don't you ever cry?" Dawnstar asked.

"No, I resort to dark cynical humor instead," Mara replied.

"I'm not offended by what you say anymore," Dawnstar determined.

"Why?" Mara asked.

"Cuz, you're weird as shit and you can't help it," Dawnstar said and then went back inside.

The next night, Mara went to the local Midvale carnival. Mara walked the booths and eyed the rides bored. At one booth, Mara lazily threw darts with perfect accuracy. Ulu Vakk aka Color Kid went up to her. "You're really good at this," he remarked.

"I know...now scram. I have a business to discuss," Mara ordered.

As Ulu departed, Tyler dropped by. "You running the Talon is going to be tricky. The town is outraged by your non-caffeine coffee rule."

"Good thing the government doesn't care about profits and neither do I," Mara said dismissively.

"You just want to see the whole world burn," Tyler assumed.

"Only Midvale. Let's not be too overdramatic," Mara replied. "I can win you a panda. Would that validate your pathetic existence?"

"No, I'm good," Tyler assured her.

"You have something for me?" Mara assumed as she scanned his jacket for a folder.

"It's your mother's police file from Midvale a thousand years ago. I think it's why my father hates her," Tyler said, handing it over. The folder was thick.

Mara took the folder and ignored him as she briefed through it. "You, okay?" Tyler asked, standing around awkwardly.

"I'm sorry. I'm not used to dealing with humans directly," Mara said with false sincerity.

"You know, for someone so powerful, you don't come off as very threatening," Tyler complimented. "Maybe a little kooky."

"I prefer Suzuki because I play the violin," Mara preferred.

"Oh," Tyler said taken aback.

"You see what I did there? I rhymed you," Mara explained.

"I got that," Tyler nodded.

"You've done well, private. Now, I intend to read this in peace," Mara said as she walked off away from him. As it was, this was a false pretense to follow another student, Rol Purtha, who had been eyeing her suspiciously.

Mara tracked Rol down into the forest with her X-ray vision. He immediately turned around and blasted Mara up against a tree and then fired energy cables around the tree and her body pinning her. "You thought you were following me? I led you here so there would be no witnesses. You're in danger now," Rol said to her.

"What are you doing?" Mara asked unconcernedly.

"I'm saving everyone from you. I have to kill you," Rol said resolved.

"The flag pole? That was you?" Mara accused.

"My mother could see the future, she drew it down. She saw a girl burn down the school. Before she died, my mother told me it was my destiny to stop this girl if she ever came to Midvale because she will destroy the school and everyone in it," Rol said passionately.

"Just the school?" Mara wondered.

Suddenly, Rol was attacked by a monster and gutted on the spot. The hold on Mara disappeared as soon as Rol was attacked. The monster then ran off. Mara eyed Rol's body. He was torn to shreds with no hope of revival.

At her dorm, Mara looked over Kara's Midvale police file. A hologram of Kara appeared before her from a hologram emitter. "So, how was your first week?" she asked.

"Uneventful," Mara lied.

"You loving it?" Kara asked expectedly.

"It has a certain charm to it," Mara allowed.

Author's Notes: The Midvale parts will have some scattered references to the AOS fic, Midvale. Wednesday (TV) is an obvious parody of horror tropes so it's a challenge to do a parody of a parody but the similarities between Nevermore and Midvale High, Wednesday and Mara, Morticia and Kara, were too much to pass up. It's not going to go nearly as exactly as the Wednesday series in plot. For those confused about Mara's personality and beliefs from other AOS stories, this is, after all, a prequel.