The (Fake-ish) Death of Marinette Dupain-Cheng

(Chapter 9)Kon-El

Mom! Can I go to the park?” I hear from downstairs. I groan, knowing Lois will have me take him there, so I can make sure he doesn’t accidentally use his powers.

“Kon!” I hear.

“Yeah!” I reply, resigned “I heard.”

Arriving at the park, I head over to a big sycamore tree in a quiet corner. Getting closer, I see there is a small girl with iridescent black hair and blue eyes already sitting there, squinting at a sketchbook, seemingly in concentration. Looking around, there don’t appear to be any parents watching her. This may not be Gotham, but a kid her age should still have someone watching her.

Heading over to her, I start by telling her that pulling the bark off of the trees is bad for them.

Squeaking, she replies, “It’s rude to sneak up on people, you know “ with a bright, sunny smile.

Chuckling quietly to myself, I sit down with her.

“Touche, where are your parents?” I ask.

“Around here” She replied, as her heartbeat sped up, betraying her lie.

Just as I’m about to confront her about lying, Jon runs up.

“Konnie! Come play with me!” He whines.

“I told you not to call me that, Squirt.” I growl, that name really gets on my nerves, “And I think this little girl has lost her parents. Maybe we can help her find them.”

Jon turns to the girl. “Hi! I’m Jon! Don’t worry, we’ll help you find your parents. Wanna be my friend?” He asks.

“Are you a coward? Are you scared of conflict? Do you not check your facts? Do you like chaos?” The girl asks, narrowing her eyes.

There’s something wrong with this girl, no normal little kid worries about that stuff. Something must be wrong with her home life.

“No?” Jon replies, seeming confused.

She nods slightly, seemingly unconsciously “Fine. I say, we can be friends. And we’ll work on the chaos.”

“So, who’s your favorite superhero?” Jon asks, forever undeterred.

“Apoidea” She replies, seemingly unconsciously, before panic flashes in her eyes.

“I-I mean the bee one” She corrects hurriedly.

“Oh!” Jon says “You mean Bumblebee! She used to be a Titan… ”

As Jon keeps rambling about Bumblebee and other superheroes, I observe the girl. There’s something going on with her, and I will find out what. Maybe the name Apoidea is a clue. Interrupting my brother, I finish our introductions.

“I’m Kon” I offer “and Jon already introduced himself, so what’s your name?”

“I’m Mari.”

“Great, let’s find your parents.”

I take my eyes off her for one minute to stand up and when I turn around, she’s gone.

Turning to Jon, who’s still rambling about heroes, I ask him where she went. All I get in return is a blank stare.

My brother, the super and a future hero, who can’t even watch a little girl, everyone.