Super: Origins

by Palladian

  “Casey,” Lex asked as her thoughts finally moved on, “did Mr. Chen ever give you anything like homework when you were his student?”

  “Well, he taught me things and expected me to practice them, but I don't think he ever really gave me homework. Did he give you some?”

  “Yes, sort of. He told me I have to figure out how to treat my body like my friend and not boss myself around so much. I'm not really sure where to start.” Lex bit her lip as she stopped talking, wondering if Casey would find that strange, but her friend just appeared to be considering the question.

  Casey remained silent for a few minutes, obviously still thinking, and finally said, “Since we've been eating together, you've been treating your body better in the sense that we've been eating all healthily cooked vegan food. So, maybe that's something, but it sounds like Mr. Chen may have been talking about something more.”

  Lex sighed. “I think he meant working on the way I usually drive myself too hard, like my father did. I'm used to pushing myself to do things no matter how I feel. When I thought about it, I realized that it took a lot of effort for me even to sense how my body was feeling.”

  Casey nodded, turning the meal out of the pan onto two plates and then adding rice. “It sounds like you're on the right track, but I don’t know if I can help much. If anything, Mr. Chen would complain that I was too laid back. Maybe that sounds strange, but you do need to learn how to pace yourself working on a farm. Maybe you could find some books to help you out.”

  Lex smiled, thinking she would try searching online later. Their conversation drifted into other topics over the course of the meal, as Lex appreciated with every breath the garlic and ginger scents the cooking had spread throughout the kitchen. She marveled in her next bite that Casey had turned the simple ingredients she’d helped prepare into a delicious meal with just the right amount of spice and heat. Once dinner ended, Lex cleaned up, and then suddenly found that she felt exhausted. She trudged upstairs and barely managed to prepare herself before tumbling into bed.

  She’d hoped to have some answers by morning, but when the alarm went off, Lex rubbed her eyes, her thoughts circling around some half-pieced together images. She recalled flashes of a dream in which she had pushed a rock up an endless hill. Her father had occasionally showed up to hit her and scream at her to go faster, while a mentor of hers from a previous job had seemed to periodically show up to give advice about how to get more leverage or push more efficiently, praising Lex when she did well. The whole thing had just left her with a feeling of anxiety and confusion. Shaking her head, Lex slowly made for the shower.

  When she went downstairs for breakfast, Lex’s thoughts still swirled restlessly, having reached no conclusions. She made breakfast preparations, and smiled at Casey when her friend arrived a little while later. The two of them ate together, trying to wake up and making occasional comments about the day ahead. After finishing her food and planning to meet Casey for lunch later, Lex took a final sip of the strong English breakfast tea she’d chosen that morning, cleaned up after herself, and waved to Casey as she left the kitchen.

  Making her way downstairs, Lex walked into the martial arts studio with a little trepidation, feeling unsure of what to expect, and bowed to Mr. Chen. He turned to her and returned her bow.

  “Good morning, Lex,” he said evenly. “Did you have time to think about your assignment last night?”

  Lex nodded. “Yes. I realize that what I've learned through my life so far is how to push my body, not listen to it. Unfortunately it seems like it takes a real effort for me to tune in to what I’m feeling. Do you have any suggestions?”

  Mr. Chen sighed. “I will try to give what help I can during our time together, but this is something you will need to learn on your own. I can't tell you how to accommodate your body, but I will recommend what things I can, such as taking up meditation. Please continue to work at learning this lesson until you have mastered it, or it is likely you will wear your body out before its time.”

  Lex bowed again, glad to hide her eyes as a strange feeling bubbled up in her chest at the idea that he cared about that at all. “I will, thank you, sir.”

  Mr. Chen then sat cross-legged on the floor and gestured for Lex to join him. “I'd like to tell you what I've decided for your training, based on what I’ve already observed.” As Lex sat, he continued speaking. “I noted that in general, in the forms your father taught you, those who are bigger or stronger often end up having an advantage. Therefore, I want to teach you a particular art in response. The study of this martial art depends on you truly knowing it and perfecting it. If you do, you should be able to defeat those who have no or lesser knowledge of the art, regardless of their size compared to yours. For people like us,” Mr. Chen continued, smiling a bit ironically at Lex, who approximately matched his height and general build, “this is a good thing to know.”

  Lex was excited, unable to stop from grinning, she saw, when she caught a glance of herself in the mirror. “I'd say. What is the martial art called?”

  “Wing Chun. You may have heard of it before.”

  Lex's heart surged in her chest. She’d been interested in learning Wing Chun since hearing of it as a little girl when looking into Bruce Lee's life. “I have, and I've always wanted to study it. Thank you, Mr. Chen.”

  He nodded, and Lex thought she could detect a slight smile. “Also,” he continued, “since I know you're not used to a full day's training schedule yet, we will spend the afternoons learning Tai Chi Chuan. The movements of that art are more meditative and restful. I will also put an emphasis on learning these new things in your own time. It seems to me that your previous teacher may have put too great an emphasis on learning to do things quickly.”

  Lex nodded in response, smiling a little. “That all sounds great, Mr. Chen. I’ve always been interested to learn Tai Chi, as well.”

  “Good,” he replied, standing back up. “Shall we get started, then?”

  The rest of the week passed fairly quickly, with martial arts lessons during the day and sharing meals with Casey in between training. Lex had also managed to research and order a few books to help her with Mr. Chen's “homework.” One of the other things she’d thought about in connection with the assignment had been getting back into voice training, something Lex found made her hyper-aware of her bodily sensations, especially her breathing, and she resolved to talk to Mr. Chen about it at some point. There had also been a battery of medical tests on Friday morning in order to get all of the rest of Lex's physical information, the doctors had said.

  On Saturday morning, however, Lex woke up without an alarm clock. She yawned and sat on the edge of her bed for a few moments, waiting for her brain to wake up a little more. Lex’s room had become more functional—she’d set up her bedside table as well as her desk not far away. In order to open the drapes and have a look at the day, she walked past the little sitting area she’d created on the other side of the room, while skirting the boxes in the corner that still needed to be unpacked.

  Lex turned around afterwards to look at the pile of books that had mysteriously appeared on her desk sometime during the week. There’d been a note on them from Clara saying that she hoped that Lex was settling in and that the books represented the beginning of her training for becoming the team strategist. In the note, Clara requested that Lex read the books and prepare a paper outlining team strategies by a date three months from the day she’d signed on.

  Sighing, Lex looked at the stack and realized that she’d been too tired most of the evenings in the past week to do more than look at some of the back covers or inside jacket descriptions of the dozen or so books. Suddenly resolved, she found a small sheet of paper and a pen in her purse and noted the office supplies she thought she’d need in order to begin reviewing and taking notes on the books, then poked her head outside her door to leave the list and see if anyone had left her a schedule for today in the pocket by her door. When she found nothing there, Lex smiled to herself a
nd climbed into the shower to wash and think.

  Once out, toweling her hair dry, Lex had decided what to do. The wound on her hand had mostly healed, so Lex decided to spend some time in the weight gym after breakfast and then make a plan for her strategy book studies. Somewhere along the way she thought she’d figure out what to do this evening, maybe watch some of the films she’d brought or just go to bed early. She sighed at the last idea, already feeling lonely, but shook her head to try to mentally move on.

  That got Lex thinking about how she’d try to get to the roof that afternoon to put in a call to Kurt. Unfortunately, her phone seemed to get bad reception everywhere in the headquarters building. She’d tried to call him a couple times early in the week, but they could barely hear one another. Lex had resolved to try again on the weekend if she could get up on the roof. She’d sent an e-mail to Kurt explaining what was going on, and he’d responded back not to worry, but it had made her feel sad and anxious not to be able to talk to him more often.

  Trying to shake off her lonely feelings, Lex quickly got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast, ate on her own (finding some whole wheat bagels and eating one with peanut butter), and then went down to the gym. She started with a walk on the treadmill for a warm up, followed by stretching, and then began to explore the weight machines. After Lex had been working out for about an hour, Casey appeared as she finished a set of bench presses.

  “You get up early even on the weekends,” Casey commented with a groan, still looking a bit tired.

  Lex smiled in response, happy to see her friend. “I guess I just got used to it during the week. What are you up to this weekend?” she asked, trying not to sound like a puppy being left behind on a walk to the park.

  Casey shrugged. “I wanted to get some time in here, but beyond that I don't have much planned. I know you're stuck here, though, so I was wondering if you wanted to watch movies tonight. I can actually get them to show on the big screen downstairs, if you want to try that.”

  “Sounds great! Do we have any popcorn?” Lex asked with a grin, feeling glad and relieved all at once.

  “We should. We have plenty of other snacks, in any case. You can pick out some of the movies you told me you wanted to see from my collection, since you probably don't have all of yours here. I'm going to want to see some of those martial arts films you told me about later on, though.”

  “It's a deal. I'll pick them up next weekend.”

  The two of them settled into their workouts then, Lex feeling buoyed up with new energy. After another half-hour, Lex finished up with a post-workout stretch and waved to Casey as she headed for the hot tub. Later on that afternoon during a break in her studying, Lex slipped out of her room, after looking to see that no one else was coming down the hall, to head for the stairs to the roof.

  She felt that fortune must still be favoring her as she tried the door and found it open. Stepping out onto the roof, Lex looked first at the now mostly unobstructed view of the buildings across the water and the city in the opposite direction. Lex squinted against the nearly blinding sunlight to see a plain, flat roof surrounding her, with the occasional piece of machinery sticking up out of it. Checking her phone reception, Lex grinned to see that she now had a great signal. Dialing, she put the receiver to her ear and waited, appreciating the view as she did. After a few rings, she finally heard someone answer.

  “Kurt! It's Lex,” she said, suddenly anxious to hear his voice again.

  “Hey, honey! How are you doing?” he replied, his tone sounding somewhat distracted.

  Lex swallowed, looking out across the water at Crystal City. She suddenly felt lonely hearing him, even though she’d been starting to feel good again with Casey around. “It's going really well. I’ve been becoming friends with one of the girls here, and I'm having more martial arts training.”

  “That sounds really great,” Kurt responded, sounding cheerful and impersonal.

  “I miss you, though,” Lex said, low and quickly, as her heart seemed to contract inwards.

  “Oh, don't be silly, sweetheart! I'm right here, just a few metro stops away. You'll see me next weekend and I'm sure it will seem like no time at all.”

  Lex nodded automatically and absently rubbed her chest as the odd pain there intensified. “You're right, of course. How have things been with you?” Her mind filled with dark clouds as he briefed her on the legislative details. He seemed so happy, just like always.

  “…so don't worry; I'll see you next Friday. Do you know what time you should be home?” Kurt continued as Lex tuned back in.

  Lex shrugged, and then rolled her eyes at herself for gesturing again to someone who couldn’t see her. “Probably sometime after five, depending on the trains.”

  “I'll see you then, Lex. I've got to run now, though. I'm playing tennis with some of the boys from the office.” Suddenly, he sounded even happier. Lex felt like her mouth had filled with dust.

  “Have a good time, Kurt. I love you,” she said, her tongue feeling heavy as she mouthed the words.

  “Love you. Talk to you later.”

  Lex closed her phone slowly after hearing the click as he hung up, and then gazed out over the water for some minutes more, its sparkle and movement somehow not calming her the way it usually did. She felt unsettled and empty after the call, not what she’d expected at all. After a while, a wind picked up that felt slightly cooler than her surroundings, blowing off the water and shaking her out of her thoughts. Her nose wrinkled as Lex noted Casey had been right about the rank smell from the water. Slowly, she made her way back inside to her studies.

  Sometime during the early evening, when Lex had become absorbed in her reading, she heard a jarring knock at her door, and then Casey's head poked in. “Hey! Did you forget?”

  Lex turned her face up from her books and smiled faintly. “I think I lost track of the time.”

  Casey grinned in return. “Let's have frozen dinners like Joan usually does, make popcorn, and spend the rest of the night watching movies. Don't forget to wear your pajamas!”

  Lex laughed, her mood suddenly improved, and she got changed and went downstairs. They spent the rest of the night wrapped in blankets on the couches, watching, commenting, and laughing.

  Sometime late that night, Lex's eyes opened as she felt herself being carried up the stairs. So tired she could barely keep conscious, Lex’s groggy eyes looked up to see Casey's face. Her friend chuckled. “You're so light I could probably carry you all day.”

  “Thanks…mom,” Lex said with the ghost of a smile before her eyes slid closed again. The warmth and coziness made it impossible for her to stay awake.

  Lex spent the next day working out and studying again, with a long dinner break where she and Casey cooked together. While sitting at the kitchen island chopping carrots into matchsticks, Lex asked why it was so rare for them to encounter anyone else on the team, and Casey sighed.

  “Well, a lot of people aren't here on the weekends, but during the week, Joan spends most of her time at some of the nearby military bases. I'm not sure what they have her doing, exactly. Serena just keeps different hours; she likes to be up late. I think she travels a lot. Riss doesn't leave her room much. I think they've got her on some super-secret computer thing. As for Lily, she's working at another place nearby and has a kid, so she's not here much, maybe once a month. You'll meet her eventually, though. She seems nice, I just don’t know a lot about her.”

  Lex nodded and shrugged, finding it odd and wondering how they could be considered a team if they rarely saw one another, but put that thought aside to continue meal preparations. The stir fry they ended up with that evening, tofu and carrots made more flavorful with garlic and raisins, had been delicious enough to make her forget her questions for a while.

  The following week went by in a blur, and Mr. Chen seemed put out since there were several days out of the week when Lex had to submit to some medical tests. One morning she had masses of electrodes glued to her head so the doctor
s could do some sort of brain scan. Another morning she had more blood taken and other tests done—in order to “fill in her chart,” Lex was told. Mr. Chen didn't extend the morning training, however, just telling Lex, “Don't be impatient. We will get to it in time. Just relax and try to absorb what you're being taught, not just learning to reflect it back at me quickly.”

  Lex sighed, but she did her best to calm and center herself and to continue learning. She had at first worried that she would continue to have bad reactions to being back in the martial arts studio, as she had the first time she’d walked into the room with Casey, but Mr. Chen had a completely different way of teaching than her father had. He would patiently explain things, not yell at her if she didn't immediately understand. He praised her when she got things right and didn't shriek at her when she made mistakes. Things had changed to the point where Lex seemed to regard the studio as a place of peace and learning where Mr. Chen encouraged her curiosity and questions. Lex now had little trouble feeling calm and energized the minute her bare feet hit the boards, something she’d begun anticipating happily.

  At one point, Lex realized that between working with Mr. Chen and hanging out with Casey, she’d been feeling comfortable and at home in her new job in a way she hadn't ever before. She also realized she avoided thinking about it too much because when she did she felt worried, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  The following Friday, when Lex had tried to diligently follow Mr. Chen's instruction despite her impending leave, she realized she must have snuck one too many looks at the clock when he stopped and turned to look at her.

  “Lex,” he said, meeting her eye, “I don't seem to have your full attention today. Is this your first weekend out of the facilities?”

  She gazed at him with surprise and anxiety, worried that he’d be upset with her. “Yes.”