maskormenacelogs | AGE PLOT SHENANIGANS

[Intergalactic travelers? That makes his eyes widen, awed by the sudden realization of just how significant their presence here was. Yeah, he knows there's people from all sorts of strange and faraway places, but he never included Los Angeles among them. It's a little odd, and more than a little overwhelming, to realize that you're the space alien.

He doesn't have long to think on that, though. As soon as Kitty mentions doing things, his train of thought switches gears to a topic more familiar to him, to questions he's pondered long and hard despite his young age]

Well...

[He tilts his head, looking her in the eye. His expression is not irritated, it is not petulant, it is not judgmental. However, he does not blink or look away, and he won't until he gets an answer]

If we can do something, then shouldn't we do something?

[ Kitty meets his eye a moment, then gives a half shrug. Yes, her brain says, but there's a discordant cynicism in her heart. So her answer is measured. ]

Sure, as long as we can figure out what that something is. I mean, most people here - they've just got things like super-strength, say. But you can't exactly go and punch poverty or injustice till it gives up. You can't use laser-vision to destroy systematic discrimination on the basis of class or nationality. Unfortunately. So we're sort of stuck on wanting to do something but not knowing what.

You don't have to just sit around and wait. You just have to figure out what you're good at, and use it. Like...

[He pauses, trying to take his thoughts and put them into words, when all of a sudden his eyes light up]

Okay, so, let's say there's this one guy, he's got all of the things that you think a hero has. He's strong, he can see through walls, he can fly, he can do anything. But then there's another guy, who can't do any of that, but he's really smart. He can do math, he can do science, he knows everything.

And...and there's a bridge, and it's collapsing, right when everyone's on the road. Everyone. It's a really, really bad bridge, okay? Now the first guy, he can fly in and hold it up, and save everyone who's stuck there. But the second guy, he can design newer, better bridges, bridges that won't fall apart like that. Both of them are saving people, they're just saving them in different ways.

So, about what you said... you're right, you can't punch poverty or injustice until it goes away. But one person can punch the bad guys, while everyone else works on all the other stuff. So it's not like super strength or laser eyes are useless, you just need to know when to use them.

[ What a sweet kid. Honestly. She thinks that without any irony or sarcasm at all. He really is terribly, terribly sweet. And so Kitty is quiet for a moment, hands in her pockets, walking along, before she answers. And when she does, her voice is low, less aggressive than before. ]

How often does it happen that a bridge collapses, though? Just on its own. Maybe once every two years. And we're useful then, all right. A building burns down every month or so, and we can help then - firemen can too, sure - [ And they will, too, you haven't even got to buy insurance beforehand like you've got to in her home - ] But we're better at it. All right. We can help with those sorts of things, and we do.

Except that we don't get looked at and treated like we're people who can help out by saving a life or two every few months. We get looked at and treated like we're something really special. We get treated like we're better than everyone else. We get houses, and parties, and free cars, while other normal people go hungry. In theory - yeah. We can just be people with extra talents who get called in when the bridges break. But in practice, we're getting interwoven into a tapestry of discrimination and mistreatment of common people. Of xenophobia, paranoia, and aggression.

[ A slight pause, before quietly: ]

I wish we could just be good. I wish we could bring about only good things. But there doesn't seem to be a world that exists that'll look at the powerful and not just see a wicked opportunity.

[Miles didn't see the problem with getting a house, or money, or anything else they needed. After all, it wasn't like they chose to be here. So, what was wrong with the government helping them out until they went home? He knows deep down that this isn't what Kitty means, though, and when she mentions others going hungry, his stomach starts to twist itself in a fit of guilt.

Still, there's one thing he doesn't get. He lowers his eyes for a moment, and when he looks up at her, his gaze is more uncertain]

So, you're saying that being here, it's hurting people. But...

[He frowns, not really getting it]

But how?

[It's not the words he has a problem with. Discrimination, injustice, he understands the definitions, the meaning, though he's too young to grasp the full gravity behind them. What he doesn't understand, though, is how their presence is contributing to that. If it was something as simple as "we're taking things other people need", he could understand that, but the way Kitty speaks makes it sound far more complicated than that]

[ She's quiet a moment. ]

To begin with...they spend lots of money on us. That could be spent on social services - school, or support for the impoverished. And they use us as a threat to intimidate their enemies. And...

[ She hesitates. He's got to know this, hasn't he? So that he knows not to trust everyone as easily as...Well, as he trusted her, honestly. ]

And there are some imPorts who hurt others. Who kill the local people when they can't even defend themselves.

[Okay, that makes more sense. He still doesn't think it's wrong to spend money on them, but... maybe they could cut back on the fancier stuff. Like the cars. Or the parties. As for the second part...]

But...

[His voice is uncertain, and he grips the side of his pants before continuing.]

That's part of our job, isn't it? To stop... those imPorts.

[ Her answer is just a short, sharp shrug. ]

Maybe. They want us to stop those imPorts. But why's the government even bringing in people like that at all? Or letting people like that roam free?

[ And then - ]

Anyway, that's part of my job. Or I consider it that, at least. You shouldn't feel obligated to fight anyone.

[Lowers his head and remains quiet. He doesn't really have a good answer for that. But once Kitty talks about her job, he snaps his head back up, giving her his full attention]

Wait, I thought you weren't interested in this stuff. This... hero stuff.

[ Oh. She meets his gaze, then looks away with a self-conscious shrug. ]

I'm not. Not really. But I don't just stand by and watch people being killed. If I've got the ability to help people, I'm going to use it. That's not got anything to do with being a hero.

It sounds pretty heroic to me. But just because you're a hero, that doesn't mean you have to do all that other stuff. You don't have to go to parties or accept cars, and you don't have to work for the government. Just because you're not what they want a hero to be, that doesn't mean you can't be what you want a hero to be.

[Speaking more confidently now. He thinks he understands Kitty a bit better. Possibly. Maybe.]

[ A hesitation. Again, she looks back at him, and then...She nods. Her voice is a little quieter. Less strident. ]

I'd like to think so, at least.

[ And she reaches up and tucks her hair behind her ear. Seems like he was completely correct. ]

[Something about Kitty's response seems off, but he can't figure out what. Miles frowns for a moment, but it's shortlived, and he perks up when he thinks of another example]

And you don't have to have powers or get into fights to be a hero, either. My dad's a hero, and he doesn't do anything like what we do here.

[Or what they're supposed to do. Miles hasn't done much of anything yet, so it's purely hypothetical for him]

[ God knows Kitty's not shy - far from it - but there's certainly something in her that relaxes when the conversation shifts away from her and towards the boy's dad. So, with genuine interest, she asks: ]

What does your father do, then?

He's a lawyer.

[Puffing himself up, his voice practically oozing with pride. There's a slight pause, though, when he realizes that's not enough, and elaborates]

A defense attorney, actually. He defends people in court, when there's no one else to defend them.

[ He looks so proud, and so happy. Kitty hesitates - and then, for the first time, an actual smile comes over her glum face. ]

Yeah?

[ Her voice, too, is decidedly warmer. ]

And he's honest, is he?

[Nods vigorously]

He has to be. If he lies in court, and someone catches him, then his client just looks guilty. But a good attorney shouldn't have to lie to win, anyway. The facts and evidence should be enough - you just have to figure out what's right and what's wrong.

[ Honestly, how sweet. Kitty's smile is tempered with a little bit of melancholy as she corrects: ]

In a good system, the facts and evidence are enough. There are places where that's not true.

[ Places where you'll see your friend mutilated in a vicious attack, where you'll feel the pain of that attack yourself, and you'll go and search for justice and meet with nothing except for ridicule and hatred, where you'll be called a thug and a villain and end up saddled with an unpayable financial burden. Anger kicks up in Kitty again - But she chokes it down. Instead: ]

But good for him. That's a really noble job.

[His smiles vanishes in an instant, and he looks down, with an expression that can only be described as "glum". While the compliment alleviates some of the gloom, his face his still serious and sober, lacking the joyous pride he felt a moment ago]

It is. [Speaking quietly, free of enthusiasm] But it's not always easy for him.

[He shoves his thoughts aside, though, and straightens up, holding his head high, and speaks more confidently (but still as seriously as ever)]

That's why it's so important, though. We need people who can fight for others, no matter how hard it is.

[ She glances over at him. And, because miserable or not, this is still Kitty, and she's still curious as her namesake animal: ]

How has it been hard for him?

Well...

[He looks down again, struggling with his words]

The system, it's not always fair. Even if you've got all the facts, sometimes people twist them around, or ignore them. Or you can't get all the facts, because someone else covered them up.

[Oh, how ironic it is, for Miles "Ethics Are More of a Suggestion Than a Rule" Edgeworth to say something like this. Thankfully, there's nobody in Heropa who knows the seedier parts of his past]

[ Too true. Apparently, this kid isn't quite as sweet and wide-eyed innocent as he looks - he's a little savvier. And so, out of respect for that, he gets a bit of forthrightness. She's quiet a moment, then says: ]

No. It's not. Fair, I mean. [ A little pause. ] I could have used someone like your dad once.

[Miles blinks, surprised. Did she get in trouble? He stares at her, his expression more concerned than curious]

What happened?

[ A slight hesitation. But he deserves it. And she likes this kid, really a lot. He's smart, and level-headed. So: ]

My world's run by magicians. A friend of mine and I - we made a magician wreck his car by accident. So he hurt us. Jakob - my friend - got hurt really badly. And so I tried to sue the man who did it.

[ She can't even summon up a grim smile. ]

It didn't go well. People like me don't get a voice where I'm from.

[He furrows his brow at the mention of magicians. What, like the guys who pull rabbits out of their hats? No, no, that can't be right...

That train of thought doesn't last long, though. As Kitty continues her story, Miles' eyes widen, his jaw practically dropping]

And he got away with it?!

[Oh wow that is an awfully loud voice for such a small child. Volume has never been a problem for him when justice was on the line, though]

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[muffled alanis morisette playing in the distance]

ALANIS DOESN'T KNOW WHAT IRONY IS

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