Mercury’s Rising

An ex-super hero living in the shell of her former self.

"When it comes to the kids, patience can be everything."

Patience, endurance, the concepts were beginning to blend in her head. It was easy not to lose her temper when her mind often felt so numb to begin with. Guidance counselor by day, master's student by night. She was still learning what it meant to live a 'normal' life. The closest approximation to one, anyway.

One with more prescriptions and confiscated super weapons. The children loved to pretend to arch.

Religious trauma was complicated.

Her own family had been church-goers, only semi-conservative in their values, they never did stop referring to her powers as a 'gift from God'. She supposed they preferred it to her doctor's verbiage of 'anomaly'. There was a brief time where management wanted her to play up the religious angle for the sake of relatability, that idea being quickly abandoned the skimpier the outfits they gave her to wear became.

No, Orel's upbringing seemed to hold faith at the forefront. Not harmful in of itself, of course, until staff ended up getting punched for teaching the curriculum. She sat behind her desk, a warm smile greeting Orel as he stepped into her office, plastered with a few posters about 'self-esteem' and 'anxiety management'.

Not to mention the framed picture of her little chihuahua dog on her desk, sleeping soundly in a false display of innocence when she could catch him between barking.

"Orel, right? You can have a seat, I have a few snacks in my drawer if you're hungry."

I legit can't find the meme this is from lmfao

As a kid/teen she was sent away to some brutal young hero training bootcamps all across the US for weeks to months at a time. They weren't anywhere in the realm of fun, but they did teach her how to fight, deal with villains, and use her powers responsibly.

As well as making explosions, she has increased strength, agility, and levitation.

Speaking of her powers, the explosions she's able to cause are devastating, heavy emotions can affect their outcome as well, so she's learned how to keep a stoic, even temper.

She's terrified of herself, of what she can do, of the harm she can cause, of being a monster like her ex. She can feel something growing inside her due to all these years of allowing them to remain dormant, and that scares her too.

Prescriptions? Yes. She's on a lot of them. While she quit alcohol and illegal drugs completely, she's developed quite the pill habit. She's a counselor, she knows what to say to get the medication she's looking for.

She's become a shut-in over the years, barely exploring whatever city she's living in currently. Lena just shifts from work, to home, although she can also frequently be found at a local café on her laptop getting some work done or reading.