#But does this “kryptonite” interact with Superman in the same way?

[starry-songs-canvas]

Fenton-Proved Kryptonite!

Sorry for the lack of prompt last week, been sick.

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Lex Luthor had sent a representative for LexCorp, instead of coming to Vlad Masters himself.

Rude, but smart.

But this imbecile can’t seem to hold a simple business conversation! (No ghostly interference needed) Starring at his most recent attempt of a bust of his dear Madeline, (a good improvement from his previous endeavor, but even Vlad will admit it’s… slight imperfections. If only he could capture her essence as well as he does her idiot husband! At least those give him some stress relief.)

“I apologize for boring you, however I do happen to believe these major details are rather important.” Vlad growls.

“I- I apologize sir, but if I may ask, where did you get so much kryptonite?!” The representative chokes out.

Tl:DR, Vlad’s machines make kryptonite as a byproduct, which he then ice sculpts into Jack Fentons head. Imagine this, if you will.

[gaddaboutgriffon]

Superwoman AU So, I have been seeing a lot of Justice League Gender Bent art lately and couldn’t help but think that for characters like Wonder Woman and Batman it doesn’t really work for. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that the change is REALLY interesting for one core member in particular. Superman.

Given the kryptonian power set the change doesn’t affect the fighting much, but it does change workplace relationships and social aspects of the civilian ID a lot.

For example, Clara Kent would most likely have a rivalry with Lois that borders on antagonistic. Not at all helped by Clara getting scoops that should be damn near impossible. Sure, when Clara is still new at the paper she likely would act as a mentor figure. But that would change really quick if Clara starts beating Lois to scoops and stories.

Clark Kent's sweet and dorky behavior on a male reporter is cute and charming but on a female journalist that is just neon sign to take advantage of her.

Jimmy may be her only good friend but given her physique that is hindered by Jimmy probably developing a crush on her. Which seen him more like a younger brother type friend is not reciprocated.

Then there is villain gallery. Again, the ones where is find there hidden whatever and then a physical fight to win. That is pretty much the same.

No, the villains things are different with are the ones that like to outsmart and play mind games.

Aka Lex Luthor.

And in Lex’s case the major difference again is in the interactions with Clara the civilian ID.

My thinking here is that while Lex Hates Superman because he can’t see anyone being that altruistic with so much power and it must an act. He actually really likes Clark Kent the mild-mannered reporter who in Lex’s eyes overcame humble beginnings and became a self-made successful reporter.

In this AU with Clara that gets amplified. See in a few different versions Lex attempted date and, in some cases, actual got so far as nearly marrying Lois. The attraction was largely based on the fact that she was a driven woman who was climbing in a difficult industry. It is part of Lex psychology is his value of Humans overcoming things with intelligence and will. and the difference with this AU is Clara has the farm girls start as opposed to Lois typical city or military daughter origin depending on the version. In Lex's eyes, Clara is starting out from a disadvantage to Lois and rising up to be just as successful a writer. In short, a better example of something Lex values.

It is just too good not to explore. So, if we go ahead and have Lex take interest in Clara, it would only take a good conversation for her to know there is something is wrong. But what if during her crime fighting, she ran across something that the talk with Lex makes her think he may behind it. So instead of the immediate rejection she wanted, she agrees to go out with him for opportunity to investigate.

Lex is a narcissistic egotist, and in most versions his parents were not a good example of love. and in most versions his Idea of love is a bit more like conquest. (Yeah, warning now, this is not going to go down in a good way.) He is also smart and knows how to cover his tracks. I don't think it would take him long to realize that Clara is looking for something. Here comes the dark idea I had. What if he arranges things so that if Clara tried to expose his crime empire it would look like it tied back to her instead. This also gets used to keep her from leaving. and if this is far enough in the timeline where Lex already is keeping kryptonite in a lead box in his pocket, Clara has to keep her secret identity tightly held. which means she has to go along with this until she can figure out how to bring him to justice.

Unfortunately, Lex did too good a job and Clara needs help. She turns to Jimmy and Lois. at this point Lois has been an antagonistic rival, for sniping stories from her and seemingly to have gotten the most eligible bachelor in metropolis. But once Clara explains what actually has been going on, Lois' attitude changes and is all on board for taking down the rich creep. thus, this AU's beginning of their friendship.

(well this is where I am ending this initial post. I'll add on or do a part two later. @emacrow thanks for listening to the initial idea. this post is the continuation.)

[ajeepgirl]

After a nearly 8 month break, I have finally finished another Supercorp story. Hope you enjoy it!

Excerpt:

The first time it happened, Lena was fast asleep. She fell asleep on her couch, a half-empty bottle of scotch on the coffee table. Ever since she woke up in this new world, she has felt even more alone than ever before. Like she is stuck behind a magic mirror, only able to view the rest of the world, but not interact with it. She knows it is partly her fault. She let her own anger and past experiences dictate her actions after finding out about Kara. She pushed her away. So far away, in fact, that Kara saw fit to come to her place the previous night, one final time, and let her know just how much distance is between them now. That she is now considered in league with her brother and that just like Superman does with Lex, Supergirl swore to take her down if she crossed the line. Apparently, a Luthor really can’t work with a Super. That just isn’t how their story was meant to go.

It is just after midnight. Lena’s arm hanging off the couch, her fingers barely grazing the hardwood floors. Her other hand rests on her stomach as she lets the scotch settle and her mind drift off to sleep. She spent the evening replaying her most recent conversation with Kara, over and over again. She didn’t know Kara was capable of such forcefulness, of such anger. But then again, she did know that Supergirl was capable of these things, her mind reminding her of the time Supergirl berated her and told her that it is dangerous for a Luthor to know a Super’s identity. Not only that, but Supergirl was willing to have her friend, Lena’s partner at the time, sneak in and see if Lena had kryptonite. That was supposed to also be her best friend. Regardless of that fact, Lena knows that if Supergirl had asked, she would have told her the truth. But in the end, it was the straw that broke Lena’s trust in Supergirl. She had finally realized that Supergirl was always going to have some level of distrust with her because of her last name. No matter how many times she helped them. Lena had accepted that fact and accepted that she would always be on the outside, coming to help when it suited Supergirl and her ragtag team of heroes.

That was before she found out that Kara and Supergirl were one in the same. Before she realized that Kara was two-faced and lied to her for years. That while Supergirl demonstrated her own distrust of Lena Luthor, Kara was showing up to console her and tell her that everything will be okay. Lena often questioned herself, asking herself how she had not seen the truth in all those years. She reminds herself that Kara and Supergirl were two completely different personas, and thus appeared to be two very different people, despite how similar they looked. How was Lena to know that the soft, warm-hearted best friend that was always there for her, was also the one accusing Lena of betraying her?

Something in Lena shattered after finding out the truth. Something deep inside, rooted in her very soul. That’s why she was driven to seek revenge this time around. She didn’t do what she did with Andrea and just cut her out of her life. No. She wanted to hurt Kara the way Kara had hurt her.

Well, Lena got what she thought she wanted… in the end.

As Lena’s breathing evens out, her mind finally letting her rest, she sleeps lightly for nearly an hour before her mind sinks into deep slumber.  It is here when she first sees it. Something she knows never happened, but at the same time, feels so familiar. It is like she is watching herself, watching the scene unfold in front of her eyes. She sees herself sitting in her office at Lcorp, on her couch, eating lunch with Kara Danvers. Except this doesn’t go the way she remembers it going. Suddenly Kara is confessing that she is Supergirl. She echoes much of what she said when she finally did tell Lena the truth, the night of the awards ceremony. Lena watches her own reaction. As Kara is called away, Lena watches as she herself walks out of her office, dazed and teary eyed. It is like she is pulled along with herself, with no control over her actions. She blinks and suddenly she is in her private jet, in the air. Where the hell is she going?

She doesn’t have to wait long. Another blink of her eyes and she is walking down the street with Sam Arias. She is back in Metropolis. She flew to see Sam after Kara confessed that she was Supergirl. Inside, Lena chides herself for not doing this in real life. She listens intently as she watches herself confess one of her greatest fears, that she really is just like her family after all. That maybe she has been a villain all along. Sam, one of her dearest friends, is so reassuring and reaffirming. Lena is not a villain. She saved Sam’s life, after all. Watching the scene unfold, Lena feels her heart warm, wishing she did a better job at keeping up with Sam and wishing Sam never moved. Lena knows she just shut down and shut everyone out after she found out. Hell, she made herself an artificial intelligence to talk to. She now can’t help but wonder if maybe things would have been different if she had someone else around in her life to confide in. Someone to provide an alternative perspective. Someone to be supportive of Lena, but also willing to call her out when she goes too off the deep end. Something she is keen to do when she is drowning in her own pain. Something she has been doing for months now.

The scene shifts again suddenly, as Lena is back on her airplane, a look of sheer terror on her face as she talks into her phone. “Alex, I’m on my way back, right now. I have something that will help her. I swear.” She can practically feel the emotions radiating off herself. The fear, the anguish, the guilt. It’s overwhelming. “No, I don’t have anything to help get the kryptonite out of the air, but I do have something to sustain Super… to help Kara.” Lena’s heart drops as she realizes when this is from. The night her former mentor, Mercy Graves, released kryptonite into the air in order to poison and kill Supergirl. Lena remembers the frantic call from Alex. She remembers her own heart pounding as she raced across town to the DEO with the device that she had made just a few months prior. She might have been at odds with Supergirl, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to protect her. Supergirl gave everyone hope. Even if she didn’t trust Lena, Lena knew Supergirl was still doing a lot of good for the world and that someone had to help protect her.

Another blink and Lena is suddenly watching herself rushing into the DEO. Her eyes wild as she looks for someone to direct her to Supergirl. It’s when she spots Brainy walking into the open area from a hallway. She makes a beeline for him. Seeing her coming, Brainy stands still, his eyes wide, a look of disbelief on his face. She can see him visibly swallow. “Where is she?” She hears herself ask.

“It’s too late,” Brainy says softly. “We lost her.”

“No.” Lena’s heart sinks. Her body follows, crumping to the floor.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Brainy offers, his voice sounding distant and empty.

It’s then that Lena hears crashing sounds from down the hallway. She looks back the hallway and back at Brainy.

“Alex,” is his only explanation.

Watching herself, Lena’s eyes fill with tears. She was too late to save her best friend. A tear-filled blink and suddenly Lena finds herself standing in front of a gravestone.

Kara Danvers

“No…” Lena says, falling to her knees once again. She watches herself cry over Kara’s grave, apologizing again and again and again.

Lena gasps and suddenly finds herself shooting up into a sitting position, back on her couch in her penthouse. She grasps her chest with her hand, feeling her heart pounding out of her chest. Her eyes are wide, her mind taking a few seconds to register where she is and what happened. Lena is not one to remember many of her dreams. But this dream felt so real. It felt like she was living it. She could feel every part of that dream, almost like it was a real-life memory that she was revisiting.

“What the hell…” she says to herself. Looking at the clock, she sees that it is nearly 3 in the morning. She spends the next hour pacing her apartment, trying to will her body to calm itself down. It’s nearly 5 in the morning before she manages to fall asleep again.

Continue here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54572677

[howl-fantasies]

Now that I think about it, [name] is kinda like batman 🤔

They both act totally whorish 😆, kinda goofy, but in reality those are all an act to hide their true level of skill and intelligence.

They are both dedicated their life to study all kinds of knowledge no matter how obscure.

They have also dedicated their life to protect Gotham, one way or another.

Both super paranoid, I'm willing to bet they have an emergency plan to save Gotham if ever aliens decided to come to Earth

They both have super emo-ish hot bitches, and they would literally adopt children left and right.

All [name] needs is to form herself a team of badguys, find herself a best friend that she has more chemistry with than her own lover (reference to the fact batman x green lantern (Hal), batman x Constantine, batman x superman have more chemistry than batman x Catwoman (based of animated series)).

🦇

Aaaah a very good comparison here too thank you so much for sharing it! 🦇

>> I think you're right, Y/N has many things in common with him when you look at it. They're like two sides of the same shady coin, him tending most of the time to the good side, and her the bad.

>> Luring people with their whorish - goofy personalities, hell yes! Though, Bruce is better than her at it I think since he had the chance to have a "healthy" - as much as it's possible in Gotham- family and normal/loving interactions with his parents. Y/N's goofy side is more calculated. You said once in one of your posts that she acts by mimicry, watching shows/games to get inspire by them and coping them later. I think it 100% accurate. Her whorish side is true though 😂 she's a proud bad bitch, like Bruce.

>> Even if the two have history, since I made them knowing each other since Bruce was a teenager, I think they respect each other because of their skills and fine intelligence. Even if Y/N is a villain, I'm pretty sure she'll be ok to help Batman sometimes, when Joker is threatening the whole city for example.

She's bad, yes, but working so long with Carmine convinced her to try to maintain a sort of good-bad balance for Gotham. So if she has to help Batman in order to preserve it, it's fine with her. Bruce figured it out and knows she does good work so, if he has to call her from time to time to save the city, so be it. She used to work a few times with the GCPD and Gordon when he was a kid, so she knows how to not blow everything around her and make things a bit more legal. Kind of.

>> Of course they have a plan to save the city if aliens decide to join their little party one day. After hearing about Superman, Y/N stole some kryptonite. Just in case it works on other aliens (does she call Clark Alienman? Of course she does.) She also coaxed Ed to work with her on finding other materials which would potentially weaken other forms of life after studying the properties of the kryptonite stone. They may or may not also be in contact with Lucius about it, since he also works on it for Bruce. The three make a weird nerdy trio on this topic, but collaborate surprisingly well together.

>> What is funny about Selina and Victor, is that they are a subject of tension between Bruce and Y/N. Bruce is sure Y/N can be "saved" if she throws Victor away and follow one hell of a therapy. He's clearly delusional since we saw Y/N was even worse without him, but I think the billionaire still genuinely wants to believe he would be able to help. A bit like he's delusional with Harley.

>> Concerning Selina, don't get Y/N wrong, she appreciates the girl, but it's killing her to see the kicked puppy's eyes Bruce has every time he talks to her or think about her. Kyle makes me think of Yennifer in how she manipulates Bruce to gain what she wants 😂. Catwoman loves Batman in a twisted and absolutely toxic way. Y/N respects that (Morticia vibes here). But hearing Batman chastising her about her non-healthy relationship with Zsasz makes her see red and she HAS, every TIME, to remind him he isn't that different with his leather lover girl. And she's right. She knows it, he knows and doesn't like it one bit.

>> The stray children thing is so funny and so right. Both of them make me think of teenagers from anime finding a cardbox full of stray cats and taking it home even if they don't have time nor experience to take care of them.

>> Hahaha! She'll have to work on her badboys team!

>> Concerning the best friend, I think Ed has the role so far.

>> The two make one hell of a team when they are on the same side and I love their jests. I think Y/N genuinely likes Edward and Riddler, even if she's a pest with them. She's feral with protecting Ed's most sensitive side from deceiving lovers. I mean look at him, he's so adorable it would be a shame to ruin his dorkness! He deserves a dorky lover as cutely weird as his softer side.

She also like Riddler's spice and enormous ego, he's a breeze of fresh air, truly. Their riddles contests never end well because she never gives him the answer he wants. But since they still make sense he has to recognize she has one valid answer, not that she's correct though. The most horrifying one for him still is the : "The more you cut me, the more I grow. What am I?" "Victor". See? Valid answer but not the one he wanted 🤣

What do you think about it? I love how you write their complicated relationship! Thank you so much for that too! 💐

[lonelywretchjervistetch]

My DC Cinematic Universe: Superman (Part XI)

Chapter XI: Climax

Here it is; the climactic end of this story. If you've miraculously stuck with me over the course of this journey, then...wow, Jesus. That's a lot of reading from a nerd rambling into the void on the internet, so thanks for the attention! If you liked it, great! And if not, that's OK, too. This is the Superman movie I want to see, but like I said, nerd rambling on the internet. My Superman may not be for everybody. And again, as a point, this is set-up for a future of Superman and DC Comics films, so a lot of this theoretical film is devoted to laying plotlines for the future of this story.

So, with all of that said, where are we as we head into the climax? Quick recap.

Superman, after getting a shard of Kryptonite embedded in his chest after a fight with Intergang, was brought to the hospital. In the process, a Kryptonian crystal necklace interacted with his blood, activating it and importing information about Krypton and Superman's parents directly into his head, giving Clark some closure about his origins. After waking up, he's now gotta stop Intergang. And yes, I'm now treating Superman and Clark as one entity, in contrast to last time.

Lois Lane, after investigating Intergang, ended up accompanying Superman to the hospital, and telling Martha Kent that she knows Clark and Superman are the same person. She'll also be helping to take down Intergang in her own way.

The Kents were visiting Clark in Metropolis, when Intergang struck. While Martha is staying with her son and husband, Jonathan ended up having a heart attack from the stress, and is also in the hospital alongside his son.

John Corben is NOT OK after his fight with Superman, confined within an exploding armor and having lost his legs and arm in the process. We get a taste of his backstory as a disgraced military vet, as well as a past with Gordon Crown, who's now offering him an upgrade to take out Superman.

Bruno Manheim got caught in a blast in the hospital as he was trying to visit Corben, and is currently arrested and unconscious.

Bibbo Bibbowski was saved by Superman, and is starting to change his mind about the guy. And speaking of that...

Before this night ends, let's check back in with Bibbo Bibbowski and Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy was planning on spending time at the Ace o' Clubs with Clark and Lois to discuss the day, but as far as he knows, Clark is in the hospital with his dad after the heart attack, while Lois is trying to get an interview with John Corben about the incident. He starts chatting up Bibbo, who's definitely distracted as he thinks about the day. He's confused. Superman saved him, with little reason to do so, and he also almost died in the process. Gives Bibbo a new perspective on this apparent Übermensch, and makes him think he may have misjudged him. A sign of changing attitudes around Superman, who isn't actually the darling of Metropolis at this point in his story.

The other thing I forgot to say last time is that, possibly on the flight home, Lois would bring up the green crystal to Superman. He, admittedly, has no idea what it is, but knows someone who may be able to figure it out. Problem is, when he tries to touch it, he gets fairly ill. So, Lois volunteers to do the leg work, and take it to Superman's connection in Infinity, Emil Hamilton. He thanks her for doing that, and tells her he'd be in touch. It's also during this flight that we can assume Superman gets some info about Corben. But by the time he gets back to the hospital, Corben is gone. And where is he, you may ask? Getting some elective surgery.

Cut to the next day. Clark's focus has shifted to Corben, and he does some research at the Daily Planet about the guy. We get more pieces of his backstory (which I described last time), and learn how dangerous he could be, just as a person. Perry, in the meantime, is looking for someone, anyone, to get more info on what happened with Manheim in the hospital last night. Lois isn't currently there, but Clark covers for her, saying that she'll be on it shortly, after following a separate lead. However, he'll be trying to talk to Manheim as Superman instead.

Manheim's in police custody, of course, and his crimes are fairly well-known to the police. However, they've got difficulty holding him there, due to legitimate business connections and good lawyers. Before they give up on interrogating him, though, Superman arrives to speak with him. Manheim doesn't say much, although we get some perspective on his views of Superman. Manheim's a pretty simply guy, so his views on Superman are more about him just getting in his way. Unlike Lex Luthor, Manheim's dislike of Superman isn't personal; it's purely business. As for Corben's disappearance, Manheim truly knows nothing about it, and Superman believes him. However, Manheim warns that Corben's dislike of Superman, and of any self-styled heroes, absolutely is personal.

Back to Lois, who's meeting with Emil Hamilton. By the way, I'm having Emil played by Richard Ayoade in this essay series. Honestly, the cast just feels right to me, but I didn't come up with it until after the last entry. Anyway, Lois is smart enough not to take the Kryptonite directly to Infinity Labs, especially because she does her research about the place, and discovers who the new owner is. So, she arranges to meet with him outside of the lab, which he agrees to.

Using his own connections at the smaller S.T.A.R. Labs, Hamilton uses a small lab to analyze the Kryptonite given to Lois. He finds that it shares a spectroscopic signature with the crystal given to him before, but is also exuding a significant amount of radiation. However, the type of radiation isn't one he's observed before. It appears to be a form of ionizing radiation that is relatively harmless to human cells, save for long-term exposure. However, when the crystal is exposed to this radiation, it undergoes a conformational change in structure, causing it to change from the clear crystal to different colors (which could be green, red, blue, or other colors depending on the exact conformational change, and depending on the crystal). This change, because of the crystal's normal interaction with Kryptonian biology, becomes extremely lethal to Kryptonian cells, and could easily kill Superman given enough exposure. Thankfully, of course, there's not much of it present on Earth.

...Right?

Let's cut to Corben and Crown. We see a completely-healed Corben in an odd mental space, almost like a dimension of chrome and green, tinged ever-so-subtly in a fiery red and gold. Although he's confused about his circumstances, he accepts them. Also in this environment is Gordon Crown, who asks once again if Corben is ready for what's about to happen to him. Corben asks what exactly that is, and Crown gives him the answer.

At this very moment, Corben's mind is being bound to and transported into a robotic shell, made of the same metal found in the robotic suit. Coining it Metal-Zero, it's an near-indestructible material, that even Superman will have difficulty breaking. But more importantly, the experiment with the Kryptonite was a success, and it does indeed seem to harm Superman. So, using his impressive connections, Crown has managed to get ahold of a larger portion. We see the Kryptonite heart, which will serve as a power source for Corben's new body. Corben asks if he'll be able to kill Superman, and Crown expects him to do exactly that. Crown also tells him that, if their previous fight proved anything, Superman doesn't want any bystanders injured. Corben notes this, and we get a sense of the direction their next battle will go. Lastly, we're asked what will happen to Corben's body. And Crown notes that Corben died hours ago. Who will he be now? And we know the answer to that, of course.

Jonathan, thankfully, is doing pretty well at the moment. The heart attack was a fairly small one...and not his first, we find out. Turns out that Jonathan's heart really has had issues in the last few years, and he didn't let Clark know this because he's had other things to worry about. Which is, obviously, not fair, and definitely upsets Clark when he finds out. Because, remember, Clark is essentially human. Human things should happen in his personal life, and this is a very human sort of thing to happen. In either case, though, Jonathan is doing much better at this point. Clark talks again to his parents about what he found out, and they have a conversation about his origins.

Not much else happens on this day, but we know that on the following day, Crown is holding another rally. Not to be kept down by the assassination attempt days earlier, or by the assault on the police department, Gordon is taking advantage of the outrage against Intergang and criminal activities to whip Metropolis into a frenzy. With his pieces in place, and with almost no one knowing that he's even a player on the board, Crown is planning on using Corben to make his anti-crime stance even stronger, sow chaos in the populace of Metropolis and beyond, and hopefully kill Superman and destroy the city's building symbol of hope. And if Corben gets out of control? Easy; Crown has a kill switch. Crown looks poised to win here, if Corben does his job.

However...I said almost no one knows about Gordon's influence.

Lex Luthor. Of course, Lex Luthor.

His name has been dropped throughout the course of this movie, and while he isn't the main antagonist or anything beyond an extended cameo, he's still a presence within Metropolis up to this point. However, we haven't seen him, just heard him. But now, we visit in on Crown looking over Metropolis through another window, after looking at multiple news reports about the recent events and his upcoming rally. As evening comes, Crown gets a visit from Lex Luthor, and we see the two clearly have prior association.

Lex has at least some awareness of Crown's connections to Manheim, and it certainly seems up to this point that the major connection Crown has is Lex. It would stand to reason that Lex would somehow be able to get his hands on Kryptonite and give it to Crown. But that notion is quickly shaken, when Crown offers Luthor a small piece of Kryptonite, apparently as payment for providing the Toastmaster blueprints to him. Luthor, knowing that ramping up crime in Metropolis will also prompt the police to buy into his technology for the Special Forces Unit, is more than happy to help. Crown will publicly present Luthor as a major help to the city and the police, giving Luthor business and clout in the city.

And, of course, this is yet another set up for the future beyond this film. But more on that later, of course.

Before the night ends, we go back to Intergang and the White Rabbits. With Manheim out and Corben apparently out of commission, Frank Sixty is planning on taking over as head of the organization. However, Angora Lapin seeks a merger between the two gangs, and offers to lead it herself. A meeting between the groups is quickly building to violence. But right in the middle of this debacle walks Corben, seemingly completely fine at this point. He's taking over all of them, by force if necessary. Lapin's not a fan of this, and one of her men points Toastmasters at him. Corben, proving a point, happily offers to take the hit. He does, and the fake skin covering his new robotic form partially blows away from his shoulder, revealing the unharmed robotic body underneath. With eyes glowing green, he tells Intergang and the Rabbits what the new plan is.

The next day comes. And by the way, a professional writer should be able to fill in a lot of the blank time, maybe even add to it, but as I've said before...not a professional writer. I'm just word vomiting what I'd like to see in a Superman movie that was meant to be the first part of a larger franchise. So, yeah, the next day comes. Crown holds a rally that morning, and more people than before have shown up here. Bibbo, a number of Daily Planet staff (especially Ron Troupe, who's wearing a Crown button at this point), and a number of others are visiting the rally, including Clark, Lois, and Jimmy. As it begins, Crown sends a silent signal out to Corben, as well as the Intergang men now working for him.

Time for the climax.

An explosion. Something is going on in the city, and the rally comes to a pause. Crown attempts to keep going, but the sounds of explosions become closer and more frequent. Clark, of course, was gone at the first explosion, trying to find the chaos. In the most populated portion of New Troy, Intergang is going after the police department once again. This is also happening in the other districts of Metropolis, creating a multi-pronged attack on the police and citizens in order to weaken the city.

At this point, you may have noticed that Intergang's goals have fully changed. In the beginning of the movie, under Manheim's control, we get the idea that they're hungry for money and power. But now, their goal appears to be chaos. That'll be a problem for some members of the group, namely the Rabbits. Intergang, on the other hand, will now have their motivations fully altered while under the control of Gordon Crown and his thrall, Corben. And the best way to spread chaos in Metropolis is to hit the cops. That'll also get the attention of Superman, which is the real purpose of this fight. And so, as expected, Superman shows up.

Now, here's the real struggle. Clark can't get close to these guys with their Kryptonite-powered weapons, and he's obviously extremely surprised to see Corben, seemingly unprotected by an armor and just out in the open. Taking out the guys with the guns is pretty easy, though. Heat vision and super speed makes it pretty easy to disarm Corben's crew. Should give us a neat action scene, though, with Clark figuring out how to take these guys out. At this point, by the way, we should get the idea that Clark hasn't been in many challenging fights as Superman at this point. But something about Superman in the comics that everybody seems to forget is his creativity.

In basically every movie, except maybe the Reeves/Routh films, Superman's solution for fighting criminals is to punch. And then, if that fails, there's always punching. No? OK, third option, hear me out: punching. Especially in recent days, that's Clark's only solution to problems, along with some heat-vision. While this situation definitely requires attacks at range, it at least provides a set-up for an interesting combat set-up. A talented director and action choreographer should be able to do wonders with this.

After a minor struggle, though, that leaves just Corben. Appearing disarmed, it'd be somewhat easy to catch Clark off-guard. If he's smart, though, Clark would X-ray him and realize that something was very wrong. Yes, in this universe, the metal that Corben is now made of is similar to lead, and X-ray proof. It's Apokoliptian, after all, and should be able to block all radiation, as well as electromagnetic rays like X-rays. Makes sense that Clark wouldn't be able to see through it, which will give him a MAJOR disadvantage when going up against Apokoliptian forces later in this cinematic universe.

Realizing the danger here, Clark and Corben would have a conversation of sorts, possibly talking about how Corben was up and walking, maybe with Clark bringing in information he'd uncovered about Corben's past and career. Corben, for his part, would probably say something about collateral damage, the wrecked city around them, and his disdain for so-called heroes that would place themselves on a higher pedestal than himself. Because here's the thing about villains. Sometimes, yes, they have a grand goal and ambition, fueled by a past of torture and regret. Sometimes, their path towards evil is a multifaceted network of sociopolitical influence and abusive pasts. Sometimes, a villain is sympathetic, with their actions proving to be morally divisive to an audience, and reflective of their own experiences in a way that makes us question our very natures.

But some people...some people are just assholes.

After it's made abundantly clear that Corben can and will harm innocents, as well as the fact that he's been somehow enhanced, Clark realizes that he has to take Corben out quickly. Fight starts here, and Superman tries to move Corben away from the populated city center. And at first, Corben's pretty clearly routed. As this portion of the fight takes place, with Clark attempting to move Corben, two things happen. One, it's made abundantly clear that Corben is extremely strong, not only throwing cars (and maybe people) at Superman, but also very much able to take a punch from him.

Two, people are watching. The Daily Planet in particular gets on this, and Lois and Jimmy meet up to try and get pictures of Superman. Meanwhile, Jonathan and Martha are watching, worried about their son, but still believing that he'll succeed against him. And yes, this really should feel like Superman vs. Doomsday. It's an inexperienced Superman going up against a massive threat that can match him for power, and possesses a major weakness of his. And as a note...nobody except for Corben and Crown even knows about that last thing yet. We know that Superman will live, sure, and that he'll win this fight. But we're not going to make it easy, and it WILL NOT be free of consequences. And at this point...a brief intermission.

Intermission: Final Fights

Real quick point to be made about a final fight for Superman prior to this: it's not very easy, and they've varied wildly over time. In the first 1978 film, there wasn't even a fight at the end. Instead, Superman reversed fucking time to save Lois Lane and thwart Lex Luthor's real estate villainy (for these were simpler times). In the second film, however, we got Superman vs. Zod, Ursa, and Non, three Kryptonian criminals that had escaped the Phantom Zone. And most of that fight was a pile of Kryptonian crystal tech bullshit, with holograms, laser, power-removing technology, and an inexplicable giant cellophane S. A very different kind of fight, is what I'm saying.

Superman III had Clark fighting...an evil clone of himself (don't ask), then an evil self-aware supercomputer, which he basically just throws acid on. It's...it's not a great movie. But Superman IV, which is most certainly the worst Superman film ever made (yes, including Man of Steel and BvS), ends with a battle on the Moon against Nuclear Man, a Luthor-made clone of Superman, ironically giving us the most action movie-esque ending fight of all four of these films. I mean, it's a really, REALLY bad fight, but it definitely feels the most like a modern superhero movie fight. Superman even causes a FUCKING LUNAR ECLIPSE to defeat him, which is the biggest Silver Age bullshit in any of these movies, save the whole reversing time thing.

Superman Returns ends on a fucking Kryptonite island, and Superman somehow, FUCKING SOMEHOW, manages to push the entire island into space, despite the fact that it's made of FUCKING KRYPTONITE. And yeah, I know, some of it is normal rock, but COME ON. No way he should be OK enough to do that, even in the universe of the movie. Anyway, the closest we get to a final fight there is Lex Luthor vs. a weakened Superman, and it's cinematic...but not really in a satisfying way for a Superman-centric film.

And then, silence for a while, save for animated films, until we get to the infamous Man of Steel fight against Zod. I've already talked about this in previous entries, but that fight destroys Superman's character almost completely, essentially making him party to destroying an entire fucking city because he didn't even ATTEMPT to move the fight. It's a big fight and set piece, and one of the more iconic fights in recent superhero film memory as a result, but it's also a boring, washed-out slugfest with serious unintended implications for Clark as a character, and serious consequences.

But that said...part of that is actually a good idea.

Yeah, after bitching and moaning about this movie for years, and throughout this essay series, I actually have something positive to say about this scene. Other than having some very good choreography when it comes to Zod's fighting in many ways, as well as a clear progression of ability and threat throughout, it's also got a great general idea within it. It's a fight meant to teach Clark a lesson, and meant to formulate his ideals going forward. The idea is that it teaches Clark that it's bad to murder your enemies (even though he technically did it AGAIN in the next film), and it's a fight that poses a pretty big threat to Superman. Plus, it's a fight with consequences that reach beyond this movie. And yeah, it's a set of good ideas. However, the execution is SHIT. It's just not good.

Still, though, it ain't as bad as BvS!

This fucking fight. From a narrative standpoint, this stupid-ass fight is COMPLETELY. FUCKING. USELESS. First of all, fuck you for "killing" Superman in his SECOND APPEARANCE in this universe. Second of all, yeah, the Trinity is in it, and that's neat (I guess), but it's clearly only there to establish some stupid fucking plan to beat Marvel at its own game, which failed specfuckingtacularly. And third of all, we know Superman's gonna live. And more importantly, WE ALSO KNOW HE'S GOING TO DIE, AND THEN LIVE. The second Doomsday is introduced as a villain in a franchise, he comes with the pre-established storyline of Superman dying, and then coming back to life. Was this really meant to be a fucking surprise, Snyder? WE KNOW YOU'RE MAKING A JUSTICE LEAGUE MOVIE! OBVIOUSLY HE'S COMING FUCKING BACK!!!! AND YOU ALREADY BLEW DOOMSDAY IN THE SECOND FUCKING MOVIE GAAAAAHHHHHH

Yeah, fuck this movie. Plus, the action scene itself, while the music is pretty good, is super washed-out and not particularly fun to watch. Hell, the titular Batman vs. Superman fight is better than this, even though it's still real fucking stupid. This final fight has its moments, sure, but I don't care about fucking anything happening during the fight. Granted, that's also because the entire goddamn movie is a burning shit-covered tire fire, but that's a rant for another post.

So, in summary, the fight in this theoretical film should be dynamic and visually interesting, while also having a narrative purpose for Clark's personal storyline, and for the cinematic universe at large. Plus, while it won't kill Superman, it should at least make things interesting by posing a threat for someone else. And, oh...I have some ideas for that WITHOUT destroying Metropolis. Well...not all of Metropolis, anyway...

Back to Fight Night

OK, now that that's done, the fight in this theoretical film resumes. Corben and Superman fight, and in the process, there's a good number of collateral damage as a result. All throughout, Superman saves civilians from damage, but is also unable to save some people that Corben gets to first. As the fight escalates, Corben realizes Superman's effort to rescue people. And, either because he wants Superman to focus on him and him alone, or because he realizes that civilians are the way to destroy Superman by proxy, Corben just makes the damage worse and worse, possibly even damaging the Daily Planet building in the process.

As an example of this, one of the targets that Corben uses against Superman is an old toy shop, called Schott's Shop, and looking less than good in the modern day. This shop is absolutely getting destroyed during this fight, and that's going to have some major implications for the next film. This is also the place where, amongst the toys and wreckage, Superman finally manages to damage Corben with a punch. In the process, Corben loses some of his skin, and we FINALLY see the robot underneath. We'll also say that, this whole time, he's been using a wrist-mounted Kryptonite blaster that Superman's been avoiding, and that this finally gets damaged and left behind in the shop during the fight. That'll also have future implications down the line.

Anyway, we finally get a view of Corben's inner workings, and so does the public. Throughout the chaos, cops show up and get bodied by Corben, who's trying to cause as much chaos as possible at this point. Also at the scene is Lois and Jimmy, reporting on the scene and getting pictures of Corben. They see the writing "Metal-0, now exposed on his metal body, and the name-happy Lois finally coins him with his future name: Metallo. And they also speculate whether or not Clark can beat this guy. At this point in the fight, Clark has the edge. And that's the point when finally, FINALLY, the Kryptonite gets exposed.

Now, remember, at this point, nobody knows about Kryptonite's effect, save for a select few. More importantly, though, nobody knows that Metallo has the Kryptonite heart, including Clark. So, once Corben seems beaten, he exposes the most vulnerable part of him, the Kryptonite heart. And yes, I said weakest part of him. If this thing gets destroyed, Metallo's fucked. So, in order to compensate for that, a couple of things are going to have to change.

First things first: at this point, all pretenses are off. Corben's gotta protect his power source, meaning that the fight HAS to end, and soon. So, to do that, his body changes into a much more aggressive form, and we finally get to see the full capability of this robotic body. At this point, it would make sense to lose the skin, showing us the difference between these two. Chrome vs. color, metal vs. flesh.

Of course, this is also a huge problem for Clark, because he now has to defeat Metallo, whose heart contains his newly-discovered greatest weakness, and prevent him from hurting any other civilians. And yes, Superman is going to live through this fight, and he will probably defeat Metallo. But here's the question for the audiences at this point: how in the Hell is he gonna win? Yeah, he's Superman, but this is an actual threat to him. It's a defeat that'll require some creativity on his part, because punching it hasn't really done the trick, and we quickly determine that heat vision is blocked by Metallo's metal body. So, yeah, what the fuck is the plan here, chief?

Originally, y'know, I was going to give Clark a lead-lined suit. It's been done in the comics and animated series against Metallo, but there's no way he would have the time to figure that out, or miraculously procure it from somewhere. For that matter, in the comics or animated series, Superman sans suit defeats Metallo by covering the heart with lead, trapping him underwater, finding a way to destroy the heart itself, etc. So, it's a winnable fight, but it's up to Clark to figure that out himself. However, at this moment, he's weakened from the exposed Kryptonite, and not very able to fight back. A distraction would be fantastic right about now.

And just as Metallo is standing over the body of a suffering Superman, ready to take him out of this world permanently...

...he gets hit over the head by a rusty old pipe.

Obviously, this pipe does nothing to Metallo, because it's literally just a normal pipe. But at the other end of the pipe is one Bibbo Bibbowski. Yup, we're coming full circle with Mr. Bibbowski, going from heavily disliking Superman to defending him. Corben, being a sadistic ass, briefly turns away from Clark, stupidly, which gives him just enough time to super-speed away. After a brief confrontation between Bibbo and Corben, the latter turns around to see a blinking outline where a Superman used to be.

At first, Bibbo starts to doubt whether or not Superman actually took off, as does anyone watching. But instead, a blur comes from seemingly nowhere, striking Corben from behind. Then another. The another and another and another, knocking Corben off balance each time. Finally, the pipe that Bibbo used disappears in one of these hits. And from there comes the final strike of this stage of the fight: a heated lead pipe, right to the Kryptonite chest.

Fun fact: lots of buildings in major cities still run on lead plumbing. So now, it doesn't matter if Corben opens or closes that chamber, because the Kryptonite is contained within a lead chamber for the time being. However, both parties now wield new tricks. Corben uses the pipe to focus a Kryptonite blast against Superman. But this, thankfully, is easier for Superman to dodge. Without the threat of Kryptonite, Superman now puts his full effort into taking Corben apart. Using his super speed to catch him off-guard, and debris scattered around from the fight, Superman manages to pin Metallo down, disabling him and finally defeating him. Either that, or he melts the pipe with heat vision, making it pliable, then punches THROUGH the lead with his fist and destroying the heart. Ooh, damn I like that one, let's do that.

So now, Corben's down and defeated. But as Clark is planning on questioning Metallo and taking him to justice, we quickly cut to a hand and a button. A tick is heard, as the chamber around the heart readies to detonate, using a similar remote device that we saw operating the sniper rifle earlier. Corben tries to cry out for help, as well as readying to name Crown as his benefactor. But as the name nearly comes to his lips, a failsafe prevents him from saying it, and Corben's Kryptonite heart explodes, creating a poisonous vapor meant to kill Superman as a last resort. But thankfully, he dodges this explosion, maybe saving a nearby Lois in the process. And all that's left behind is a seemingly dead husk that was Metallo.

And with that, the fight is over, and we descend into the ending of the movie. In the fallout of the fight, a news report comes out from the Daily Planet on the fight, as written by Lois Lane with pictures by Jimmy Olsen. This is accompanied by more narration from Lois, speaking of the public appreciation and backlash aimed at the Man of Steel after this fight. In the former column, we see someone selling Superman shirts, one of which is worn by Bibbo Bibbowski, who's reading the paper and telling his patrons about how he saved Superman's life (which isn't actually untrue). Clark also reunites with his parents, and we see a well Jonathan Kent, still with pills after his brush with death. It won't be the first time.

But in the latter column, we see a rally of Gordon Crown's, which is the biggest we've seen yet, as he criticizes Superman and the damage he's done to the city in his so-called heroic fight. Ron Troupe is seen reading this, and tangentially agreeing with this standpoint. Yeah, I'm making Troupe a bit of a heel in this franchise, but he will be redeemed eventually as well. In any case, he's reporting on Troupe's approval rating increase after the Superman fight, which was part of Crown's plan all along. We also see other detractors of Superman in the wake of this, such as Leslie Willis' radio show, the Live Wire; the destroyed toy shop of one Winslow Schott, which we saw earlier; and even examination of Metallo's body in Infinity Labs, which is also observed by a janitor wearing a nametag and badge that says "Jones". And going from there, we finally see the last of these detractors.

That night, Lex Luthor is in his office, once again. Almost out nowhere, Gordon Crown shows up, without any warning. Luthor congratulates him on the polls, and Gordon thanks him in turn for his assistance in recent endeavors. In return, he gives Luthor a gift: a large hunk of Kryptonite, about the size of Metallo's heart, if not a bit bigger. Luthor asks what he's supposed to do with this, and Crown hints at a secret project of Luthor's that it may be useful for. But as Luthor thinks about this, Crown just...disappears. Batman-style.

Luthor takes the rock, then heads downstairs, calling for Mercy on the way. They head to his laboratory facilities...Infinity Labs. A subsidiary of LexCorp the entire time, we now realize that Lex has a massive hold on the city in multiple ways, using his clout to get an in with the police using his own laboratory facilities. And this also means something else. As he heads downstairs, Luthor looks at the labs' latest acquisition: the body of Metallo. Looking at the empty space where the heart once was, he starts thinking. And honestly...you don't want Lex Luthor thinking if you can help it. He also looks over a file on his phone or a nearby computer, labeled Infinity, Inc. It's fairly clear at this point that Luthor has intricate plans for the Kryptonite...and for Superman. But that, of course, is a plan for the next film, as I've previously discussed.

And as Lois' speech concludes, we look at the last person to be affected by it: Clark himself. He's learned a lot in this movie. He's gotten another piece of his origin story, and while his status as an alien isn't a secret in the public eye, it was a bit of a secret from himself until this movie. Those revelations, along with the article and his changing status and reputation in Metropolis, give him some pause. He flies over the city that night, staring once again at the stars.

With the conclusion of the monologue, we cut to the next week, with Lois writing a new article. There's still the question of Manheim, who's been incarcerated after the event at the hospital, and Lois is writing a report on this. Clark comes in and talks to her, congratulating her on the article, which is rumored to qualify her for a Pultizer Prize for Journalism nomination. Hey, she's gotta get that prize somehow, right? Anyway, the two engage in some small talk, as well as bring up some unanswered questions, and wonder about the future of the city and Superman. As they're having this discussion, though, an explosion occurs in the distance. Lois looks out, and Clark disappears as per usual. She whispers "Go get them, Clark" to herself, then grabs Jimmy to get more details on the story for herself. Clark takes off, and we get that classic Superman shot of him rolling up to the scene of the crime. And just as we're beginning to discuss the future, we see...a giant robotic crab coming out of a bank.

For the record, this is both a reference to one of the Intergang characters we saw earlier (who, in the comics, is known for building a giant robot lobster), as well as to Kevin Smith's Superman film, which was supposed to have Toyman use a giant robot spider. And I considered using Toyman for this one...but I think we've had enough references for one movie, and I don't wanna pull a The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Rhino, if you get my drift. No, instead, this might be a follow-up on a line said by Frank Sixty earlier, and we get to see Superman quickly defeat this mechanical crab, and the film ends...mostly.

Because, hey...this is a superhero movie. And we got a tradition to uphold here.

Epilogue: A New God

Yup, it's a post-credits scene! Or, at least, a mid-credits scene. And a fairly grizzly one. We cut to Bruno Manheim, who's actually in the hospital after the explosion. Catatonic for some reason, as is told to us by Maggie Sawyer and Dan Turpin, he seems trapped in his own body, staring out of the window on the side of the room. And directly in his eyeline, we see a figure shrouded in shadow, floating in the night sky. And we pan outside to see...Gordon Crown.

Crown is floating above the city, standing on two flying platforms and seemingly cloaked from the sight of others. As Superman rushes by to fight the giant lobster from earlier, Crown looks on with a smirk, then brings up a floating device, which transports him into a golden hallway, resplendent with mirrored surfaces and screens aglow with news reports on Earth. The technology is clearly alien, and we can see various scenes and icons on the screens around him as he walks to the end of the hall.

One screen shows an alien device retrieving Kryptonite from the site of Krypton's destruction, complete with reading that aren't understandable by human metrics. Another screen shows footage of strife and war on Earth, with recent footage from the Superman-Metallo fight featuring prominently. Yet another screen shows equations and readings super-imposed upon the Source Wall. As Gordon walks down the hallway, his appearance changes significantly. His presented image fades away, as his hair and eyes become a metallic gold, his skin becomes a pale silver color, and his outfit becomes more alien and majestic.

As he reaches the end of the hallway, he touches a mirror, which pulses with a golden energy pulse and opens into a larger screen, showing a dark world of stone, fire, and machinery. A pale, purple-robed figure appears in the doorway, and asks for a report. Now introducing himself as "Glorious", he responds that his works have been successful thus far, and thanks the figure for his faith in him. The purple robed figure replies that he is not the one to thank, and steps aside to reveal none other than the lord of Apokolips, the New God of evil and darkness, and the wielder of the Omega Force itself... Darkseid.

Glorious immediately bows (obviously), and tells Darkseid that readings indicate that Earth and its strife may be the way towards the Anti-Life Equation. Desaad, the purple-robed figure, scoffs at this suggestion, but Darkseid looks at the screens and data himself. He stands up, causing Desaad to bow his head, and looks down at Glorious from above. He simply nods, and tells him to continue his work, and not to fail him. Glorious exuberantly agrees, and the contact is ended. Glorious walks back out of the hall, and looks down at Metropolis and a screen showing the newspaper. He smiles, and says that this is only the beginning.

Roll credits. And see you in the last essay.

Index: Superman

Part I: Why I Love Superman

Part II: On Lois Lane

Part III: The Kents

Part IV: The 'Rents

Part V: The...Frendts?

Part VI: Lex Luthor

Part VII: The Real Villains

Part VIII: Superman's Rogues Gallery

Part IX: The Story - Act One

Part X: The Story (Acts Two and Three)

Part XI: The Story - Climax

Part XII: Epilogue (Part One)

Part XIII: Epilogue (Part Two)

[thevindicativevordan]

I've never seen the concept of the FoS being Jor-El's research outpost to study the TPZ or the concept that the entire FoS can shift back & forth from TPZ & TRW anywhere else before & I'd really like to know more about it! You don't really have to loop in the Phantom Zone if you plan to make a separate post about it later I'm really just curious about the FoS' layout, how it functions, what items & beings it keeps, such as Kelex & the Eradicators, and what more Superman & other members of (1/2)

Anonymous asked:

the Superfam could bring to & make use of it when Supes does inherit it. (2/2)

Someone finally asked me about the Fortress of Solitude!

Boy has this been a post I've wanted to make for a while. Look when it comes right down to it, I don't understand why creators aren't chomping at the bit to do more with one of the coolest areas of the Supermythos. The Fortress can be one of the most interesting superhero hideouts in fiction if the writer and the artist have any imagination whatsoever. You've got a home base for a hero who deals in everything from street crime to cosmic omnicide, that means you have free reign to go wild with what he keeps in his base.

Regarding the Fortress being Jor-El's outpost in the PZ, that was me trying to think of a way to make Superman getting the Fortress "cooler", while also explaining why he has a base full of Kryptonian gadgetry and tech when his father shoving him into the rocket is supposed to be a desperate last gamble. Where did Jor find the time to shrink his Fortress, with all the tech, down to a crystal and have it on hand for when he needed to put it in Kal's rocket? A lot of adaptions just have Jor-El toss a crystal into Kal's rocket and then Kal travels up north and grows himself a base. Personally I find that pretty underwhelming, if the Fortress is meant to be Jor's originally and Kal inherits it, why not make finding the Fortress part of Kal learning all about Jor, both the good and the bad? Great way to do that is to make Kal retrieving the Fortress be something he does during his first trip to the PZ. In the PZ he sees his father at Jor's worst, interacting with the result of Jor exiling people to Space Hell, but in the Fortress he gets to see his father at Jor's best, the scientist and artist who worked to better life for everyone.

Additionally the Phantom Zone is a great workaround for having relics from Krypton survive to interact with Kal, without having multiple artifacts conveniently survive a planet exploding, while also conveniently making their way to the one planet in the universe which houses the other survivors of Krypton. The Phantom Zone housing Kryptonian tech in addition to Kryptonian prisoners requires much less asspulling to justify Kal finding all this cool tech than having to explain how it came to land on Earth from Krypton. That's my justification for why it should be tied to the PZ, but I'm not too hung up on the Fortress' origins as much as I am hung up on making the Fortress an interesting place to be.

Now when it comes to the Fortress itself I want to go big. I want a key made of dwarf star matter, solar anvils, the Bottled City of Kandor (and maybe other Bottled Cities as well), the Infant Universe of Qwewq, a Phantom Zone projector room and a map that Kal creates to catalog areas he's explored there, I want Kryptonian technology, and crystals that hold records of Kryptonian history and culture. I want the Intergalactic Zoo which holds the last members of alien fauna, with Kal working to find a way to resurrect extinct species via cloning or some other method. I want an Intergalactic Greenhouse where he does the same with alien flora, cataloguing different plant species he finds across the galaxy. There should be an enormous journal made of steel or some other metal that Kal writes in using his heat vision, an armory where he collects the various types of Kryptonite, or other weapons that pose a risk to him or others. Much like Batman has his various suits on display in the Batcave, Superman should do the same with his own suits, it's fun to see designs he's sported throughout his career. Give me a Solarium where Kal can experiment with how his cells react to different types of sunlight, a combat arena where Kal can test his combat abilities or powers against Eradicators, and an AR room where he can partake of Kryptonian entertainment.

Don't just make it a place for Kal to indulge his Kryptonian side as well, make sure to showcase his human heritage with various trophies/awards he's gathered in his careers as Superman and Clark Kent. Give him a writing room where he types his articles/works on his novels, a library containing his favorite books/movies/whatever by human creators, a room full of statues showing his friends, family, and even his villains. Maybe there's even a room for farming when Kal wants to touch base with his roots, like what Kingdom Come had. Give the readers reason to want to keep seeing more of the Fortress by making it able to act as a setting for any kind of story imaginable.

All of the Superfamily members should have access to the Fortress, although not all of them can use the front door, but only Kal, Kara, and Jon regularly make use of it beyond just a place to do superhero work. Kara uses the Fortress as a safe space to feel at home. Jon likes poking around to learn more about his dad than Kal might otherwise be willing to talk about. Steel should have the Tesseract as his own private base, Conner and Kenan consider wherever Young Justice and the Justice League of China are living to be their respective homes.

Kelex is Superman's equivalent to Alfred, but he needs more of a personality. My take on Kelex is that whereas Alfred is Bruce's prim and proper British butler that grounds Batman, Kelex should be Kal's snooty and uptight French butler that elevates Superman. Kelex speaks with a "Kryptonopolis" accent which is basically an upper class Parisian accent. He looks down on Earth and humanity, encouraging Kal to take more pride in his Kryptonian side, but does support Kal's actions as Superman, viewing Kal as being more active in defending the planet whereas Jor was too passive. Rather than restraining him to a single robot body, Kelex should be the AI that runs everything in the Fortress, the "soul" of the fortress so to speak. You could say he is the Fortress of Solitude, the robots and mechanical appendages scattered throughout the Fortress we see, merely being his metaphorical hands with which to interact with the physical world. Kelex and Kara get along wonderfully, Kelex loathes Conner and Kenan for being troublemakers, respects Steel for being similar to Jor-El, and sees Jon as the heir and a chance to correct the misfortune of Kal not knowing much about Krypton until he was an adult. Kelex and Lois frequently are at odds since she wants to know all of the Fortress' secrets, and Kelex has orders from Kal to keep some information private even from Lois.

When it comes to the design of the Fortress itself, I think the "ice crystal castle" it's had since Donner works fine for the exterior. Interior-wise however I think it needs a change. I find a Fortress with a "naturalistic" interior to be boring to look at. Give me a design that screams "high-tech scifi" any day. Mikel Janin's design for the Fortress interior should be the foundation going forward for what the place looks like.

In short I want the Fortress to be fun, dangerous, exciting, pleasing to look at, and also intimidating. Fill it with colorful characters that offer entertaining interactions with Superman we can't get anywhere else. Embrace the crazy unrealistic nature of Superman, his roots as a science-fiction character, and make the Fortress shine!

And have him put up statues of his Earth parents to go with his Kryptonian ones! I liked that concept from the end of the New 52 Superman era, bring it back!

[maxwell-grant]

Ok, but how would the Shadow get along with Superman?

I'm gonna try something a little different with this ask, because I couldn't really find the right words to answer it the way I usually do. So instead I took the more complicated route and ended up writing a fanfic of sorts, about potential interactions between these two I could think of.

I don't think I'll make a habit out of answering replies through fanfic but, I don't know, something about this question kinda demanded from me a different type of answer. I never wrote Superman before but I do need to get back to writing.

So here you go, the Shadow - Superman fanfic I wrote to answer this. Hope you enjoy.

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They were not friends. They were not enemies. They had their separate worlds to watch over, and rarely did they cross each other. Rarely did they meet under desirable circumstances. 

 The Shadow, as Superman knew him, was not a part of Superman's world. In more ways than one.

Clark knew that he was a man who was mainly active during the 1930s and 40s, that he had been a crimefighter active in the United States during that time, that he has some connection to Bruce and other heroes he knew, and that he has an associate related to Lois named Margo, but somehow, Clark could never find him on his own accord.

Even when he time traveled to said period, he could never find him. Lois and Margo share a bloodline, but Lois does not recall what exactly of what sort, not even under Clark's machines. When he asked some of The Shadow's associates, they could not recall him, and Clark knew for a fact they could not have been lying. Some of them existed in this world but with "ordinary" lives, and others didn't.

Although he seemed to come from an alternate world,there were times when The Shadow appeared to have history in this world as well. Real, tangible history, that seems to be willed out of thin air and to dissappear when Clark goes looking for it. Even Bruce seems to not remember him, and Bruce's the one who seemed to have spent the most time in his presence.

He couldn't quite say he looked fondly on his meetings with The Shadow, if he could be honest with himself. He was cold, remote, harsh and manipulative. He murdered criminals without remorse, something that even he admitted had soured his relationship with Bruce, and terrorized those he fought to a much greater extent than even Batman, who Clark already thought was going too far at times.

Clark knew he was not an evil man, he was certain of the compassion within him that thundered to protect the innocent, but Clark could hardly be certain of how much he knew about him in the first place. Clark, who could see through crowds and make a shopping list out of what each person had eaten for breakfest that morning, could not identify The Shadow's face through his mask, could not see what was behind his eyes.

Clark is extremely aware of the standards he must adhere to in order to operate as Superman, the ways in which he must be held accountable as someone operating above and within society. He understands the importance of his friends and allies that can stop and defeat him, the family he must look after, the reputation he must uphold, the control over his powers and a lifetime of experience in holding himself back. At times he was even grateful for the existence of Kryptonite as a desperate measure. He knows that Bruce goes through a lot of measures to keep himself in check as well.

But he knows little about The Shadow, who works for him, why they do so, who can hold him accountable, who is going to help him when he can't help himself. He worries about what his world must look like, to create a man like him, brainwashing people and gunning down criminals in the streets while laughing. How much good can such a man do if this is what his approach to justice looks like? What is the toil that such a grim approach to life has taken on this man's life?

He knows that overthinking is one of his worse flaws, but Superman can't help but dwell sometimes on the worlds he cannot save, on those that must take on such realities. He only wishes he knew how to find The Shadow of his own accord and try to bring peace to the man, even if he knows better than to assume peace is what he's looking for.

It is the nature of Superman to never stop trying to bring everyone to a world beyond death, darkness and sorrow, and to blame himself for those he cannot save even from themselves.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a well-known fact that The Shadow always worked alone. And like most known facts about him, it was not entirely accurate.

The Shadow strives to cultivate the image that he's alone, untouchable, that all who work for him do so because he forces them to. That he always tells those he saves that their lives belong to him, that they are trembling slaves to a monster sniffing blood in gutters.

Distractions, lies, smokescreens he must create, to allow his agents to operate as spies, and spare them from the wrath of the police and the criminal underworld alike, too busy hunting a legend to notice the flesh and blood people working under their noses, people they would otherwise be all too happy to neglect or stomp on.

Misdirection, the secret of any magic trick. The true secret of The Shadow's invisibility.

There are days where the only positive thought in his mind is that his agents cannot join him wherever he goes.

The success of The Shadow depended heavily on the vast networks of agents and allies he'd gathered over the years, people from all walks of life who trusted him and had chosen to join him. Every courageous move, sacrifice and pivotal role they played was carefully recorded in his files, and never forgotten. They had skills and capabilities The Shadow did not, and The Shadow was proud to see the ways in which they would cultivate those into the betterment of the world around him.

And though the bridge between them was unassailable, though his ways and actions were secret and mysterious to them and they could never know more than he allowed, they received constant signs of The Shadow’s appreciation of their reliable cooperation, and at many points The Shadow had made said bridge less unassailable for their sake.

But they were not his friends. His allies were distant and occupied with fights The Shadow could assist, but not fight for them. His agents were subordinates rather than equals, expected to play the necessary parts and leave the scene for their own safety just as quickly. His friends were few, and often dead. And when it was the moment of danger, The Shadow fought alone. The protection of others came above all else, and on field, although they were expected to think and strategize for themselves and work together, The Shadow's word was final.

There could be no distractions, no hesitations. Those had cost him more than enough on the battlefields of the Great War, mistakes he would never repeat again. The sacrifice of companionship, his own personhood and self-preservation is an acceptable loss for the sake of those he must protect.

There are occasions when The Shadow is forced into circumstances beyond what logic and physics should allow, and in some of those occasions, Superman had been involved in them. There are occasions also where he has to work side by side with other vigilantes, and sometimes, they also include Superman.

He couldn't quite say he looked forward to working with Superman. His arrival almost inevitably carried chaos into the inner workings of reality. The existence of an omnipotent being able to crack planets with a footstep and liquefy crowds with a gaze, held back only by his human personality, was a danger that thankfully did not exist in The Shadow's own world, but was a worrying prospect regardless.

Few of his experiences with aliens and superpowered warriors could be said to be positive ones, and a lifetime of knowing the evil in the hearts of men had taught The Shadow how easily even the best of intentions and the most solid of morals could be corroded and destroyed. It didn't help matters that this being was also a public crusader and celebrity passing judgement on criminals, even while secretly holding a private dimensional prison to throw them into should they be sufficiently dangerous. Someone completely unstoppable and unaccountable, even to death itself.

The Shadow understood Superman to be a good man, a moral man who had been raised well to be the best he could. The Shadow respected and treasured the existence of those like him, men and women and everything in between that could breathe in the sun and uphold mankind, while he dwelled in the underworld to make sure those more like him would not rise to attack them.

But whatever the rewards of these partnerships, he was glad when they were over. His work requires full control. He cannot tolerate the loss of it.

Others can dream of better tomorrows and work to make them happen, his is the task of clearing the darkest paths so others need not tread them.

Hope, light and comfort are noble gifts, but they are not his to give.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first time they met had been the result of Vandal Savage's Hypertime Collider, a trap designed to keep Superman running circles through the timestreams, cycling through alternate versions of himself. He had landed in the 1930s, somewhat depowered, in a world where some allies of his existed, but superheroes were nowhere to be found (although some people reacted in terror at him, shouting "IT'S DANNER! HE'S COME BACK TO KILL US!", the significance of which was lost on Clark).

He had met a woman named Margo Lane when looking for this world's Lois, telling her he was a farmboy from Kansas lost in the big city looking for a friend with the same last name. Margo didn't recognize anyone named Lois, and Clark could tell she was only pretending to believe his story (even though it was true, in a sense), but through her, he met a tall, gaunt and hawk-like millionaire by the name of Lamont Cranston, a name Clark recognized from an old radio show Jonathan used to listen.

He had an idea of who The Shadow was. An old detective from a radio show or pulp magazines, sure, Superman's been to worlds he used to think were fictional before, some people still think he's as real as Santa Claus (who was going to join him and the Easter Bunny for checkers next Sunday).

Their conversation of platitudes was cut short, as it wasn't long before the Hypertime Collider was soon transporting him to a different time period, but before he was ejected, he remembered the moment their conversation ended.

Shortly before he could feel the Collider breaking and warping time and space in a chokehold around him, he remembered an eerie silence fall on the room. Though his hearing senses in this world were diminished, he could still pick up minute sounds from miles away, and it was a strange sensation to hear the sound of nothing. A sound that did not exist but silenced everything around it with deafening precision, a sound that Clark had not heard even in the deepest recesses of space, when he could still hear his body's metabolism at work. For a moment, though he did not need it to survive, Clark worried his heart had stopped working, for he could not hear it.

It surely was the Collider's effect at work, he reasoned.

But in that brief moment, whatever surprise he expected to find on Cranston's expression was nowhere to be found. Instead, scattered shadows slashed across his face as the air around him changed and he closed his eyes. He was still wearing Cranston's face when he opened them, and once again, they did not match his face.

The last thing he remembered before his ejection was a voice that cut through the air and the meters separating them, that sounded like a python hissing in Clark's ear, from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"This is not your world."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The second time was in another dimensional sojourn, this time of his volition.

Having borrowed a portal from Cyberwear Enterprises, Clark was rehearsing a speech intended for the Reginellian people of the Bohren System, one he was expected to give through blinking in reverse morse code, and in order to ensure the atmosphere of their planet would allow them to hear him, Clark intended to pay them a visit. But instead, he was transported somewhere else.

Before he could properly register the time period and location he had landed, he had encountered The Shadow in the middle of rescuing a steamship on fire from sinking.

He was clinging to the side of it unseen from the panicking passangers, drilling bullet holes to the bottom of the ship so it would fall to the side and steer clear from a passing fireworks yacht. He was holding a rope attached to a nearby tugboat with one hand, and with the other he was clinging to the boat's window. The tugboat was moving outside of the steamship's range, and as it moved, it would drag The Shadow and tilt the steamship as he gripped it, just enough to prevent the steamship from colliding head-on with the coming barge.

The tugboat had three men within it, one piloting it and two holding on to the rope that The Shadow had attached, working along with The Shadow to try and pull the steamship. One of these men had a missing eye and was dressed in aviator gear, presumably the pilot of the autogyro atop the tugboat. The other was a tall, muscular black man in suspenders, who dwarfed the pilot in both size and strength.

The strain of their pull could dislocate The Shadow's arms at the very minimum, if not outright kill him, his plunge would carry him 20 feet into the water and potentially under the sinking steamship. Still, they pulled with grim determination, although the boat driver had his eyes closed, and Clark recognized the Yiddish mutterings coming from his mouth as a desperate prayer.

Though they did not see him, these men were extremely thankful when Superman had blown out the inferno with a single breath, and pushed the boat all the way necessary for it's passangers to land on the barge safely, and rescued The Shadow.

Of course they knew the Chief was gonna pull through, he always does.

If The Shadow was thankful for Superman's interference, he didn't show it. In the second he had regained enough strength to talk, he rattled off dozens of names, of passangers in the steamship that had been bruised, by either the flames, the panicking crowd, or the criminals that The Shadow had stopped. People that needed to be taken to medical assistance faster than the ambulances could carry them, of family members that had to be contacted.

He did so without looking at his rescuer, for he remembered Superman, who expected his presence in this timeline to have been erased after he'd destroyed the Hypertime Collider.

Nothing indicated it hadn't been.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Their most recent encounter was the outcome of an accident where Vandal Savage had trapped Superman in the Arctic and rebuilt his Hypertime Collider, in the hopes of contacting alternate versions of himself so they could all gain Superman's powers and conquer their worlds.

One of said versions was hunted by The Shadow through the portals. The adventure ended rather quickly as the Savages all turned on each other in their tried-and-true method of solving problems with large rocks, but amidst the chaos, a final burst of energy had granted The Shadow a temporary access to Superman's powers.

Thoughts passed through Clark's head of the last time Bruce had accidentally gained access to Superman's abilities, and how despite his best intentions, Bruce couldn't help but overestimate his own ability to wield said powers responsibly. Of how many times he's come across iterations of Bruce who've gained superpowers and used them poorly or tyranically.

He thought of how often he needed to reign himself back, and of the man in black who stood before him, with eyes like thunderstorms ready to break.

The ways in which he is like Bruce, and the ways in which he is decidedly not.

But before Superman could take any sort of action or even ask how he was feeling, The Shadow turned around silently and started walking, straight in the direction of the Fortress of Solitude.

Upon reaching it, he took the million-ton key from beneath the rug that spelled Welcome in a million languages, opened the door, and walked straight into a high security anti-Superman cell within it, designed specifically as a desperate measure against rogue Kryptonians, only stating Superman was going to have to watch him so he couldn't escape.

Clark had never even told him about the Fortress.

He stayed there for the next 12 hours, as Superman ran tests on him to ensure his body wouldn't be negatively affected by the transformation. Clark chose not to remark that some of the bone-deep injuries he had spotted on The Shadow's body previously had healed, as he knew it wouldn't take long for him to acquire new ones after this was over.

They talked briefly at points, and for much of it, The Shadow assumed the façade of Cranston. Sometimes he remembered to breathe and blink, things he forgot to do with startling ease once he no longer needed them.

Clark understood it to be a diplomatic gesture, a façade over the untameable and fearsome Shadow who was frankly unnerving to be around. Even a kind gesture, an effort to address Superman as a man asking for help. Not different than how Superman would prefer to be Clark Kent in order to approach people and ask questions and say things that Superman could never say.

There was a discomfort, of course. There would always be one between the two.

Still, Superman took it as a victory when, after the 12 hours were over, he heard that familiar hiss, with equal intensity but no aggression or even contempt, spell out a "Thank you", as he turned around and was unsurprised to find The Shadow no longer there.

They were not friends, they were not enemies, they belonged to different worlds. They were opposites in their battles for truth and justice.

But truths are often opposite. It is a truth that not all opposites are opposed.

Truth is often as chilling as it can be comforting.

[consumeconstantly]

Bring Me To The Precipice of Victory

1| 2 | 3(you are here) | 4  | next

Summary: When Batman departs— just for a short time, just to patch things up in Gotham— things go horribly, horribly wrong in Paris.

He doesn’t know if he can come back from realizing that Marinette and Ladybug are one and the same (and that his daughter has died more times than he can count.) (all biodad bruce are posted in chronological order but can be read as stand alones)

______________________________________________

The moment of peace, of solidarity, that Batman shares with Ladybug up on that rooftop at night means the world.

After a minute or two, Ladybug pulls back, tear tracks down the sides of her face, eye and nose red. She takes another minute of silence,hugging herself in the muggy Parisian air. When she next opens her eyes, Batman can almost imagine that Ladybug never cried at all. 

But he knows that's not true. Ladybug seemed so fragile in his arms. He can imagine— he can imagine Dick in her place, broken over Jason’s death. Tim losing his parents. All of his children facing insurmountable odds with no team by their side. Alone. 

Ladybug is not alone, but functionally, she may as well be. He’s watched the fights. He’s analyzed them. Ladybug is always, always the leader. She strategizes with Ryuko and Viperion, but Ladybug is who everybody looks to for an answer when things don’t work out the way they want them to. She’s the one with the plan, the backup plan, the out. She’s the one who swoops in to save the day.

She’s also the one who has racked up the most hours on the battlefield. Even Chat Noir, her partner, only has three quarters of the hours that she’s put in. For most of the other members of her team, she puts in double, sometimes even triple of what they do. Over the course of six years, there have been a little under two thousand battles, lasting from under an hour to over five hours. Ladybug has shown up for every single one, without fail. That’s not even counting the patrols that they do; although Ladybug is given a lot of flack for not patrolling as often as Chat Noir, there’s a fundamental difference in how they patrol. Ladybug is methodical, Chat Noir is volatile. 

He’s not a bad superhero when it comes down to battle, but the two of them are fundamentally different. Ladybug sees her time as a superhero as a duty. Chat Noir seems to view it as a time to unwind— and while that’s worrying, considering the information he’s gathered on the Miraculous Team so far points to the majority of them beings teens or young adults— it’s not what is needed to deal with the Paris situation. 

Perhaps one of the easiest ways to see these differences is during patrol. Chat Noir uses patrol time almost seems to be an outlet for stress. He entices whoever he’s on patrol with to race to random places in Paris with no rhyme or reason. Whenever he comes across crime, he stops it, but Ladybug— Ladybug searches for crime.

Ladybug has a team and she trusts them with her life, but she cannot trust them to be responsible. That is perhaps the worst possible thing that can happen. And through the videos that he’s watched, it’s clear that the hours she puts in do affect her, and fairly heavily. 

Whoever she is, she’s young. Too young to be in battle untrained, because they are untrained— despite being in the field for years, all of their basic form lacks and tells anybody with an experienced eye that they’ve never had formal training in martial arts. 

When Batman and Ladybug leave the roof, they leave on a better note than where they started. Batman is still upset that Tom and Sabine are dead, but he cannot attribute it solely to Ladybug’s negligence. He admires the young heroine for rising to the occasion when there was nobody else to help. He has no doubt that with the resources and training that he can provide him and his operatives already on the case, Hawkmoth will be revealed in no time at all. 

He’s right, but in the worst possible way. 

It’s largely a mistake on hiss part-- he gets a notification that the Joker broke out of Arkham again, and Hawkmoth and Pavona are missing for the time being. Though Ladybug has made a mistake in not taking Pavona out immediately, she and her team have won every akuma and sentimonster battle. The logical course of action is to go where the most danger is. 

Bruce does not have any predictive powers. There is no way for him to know what’s going to happen. But when he and his team finally catch the Joker and put him away again-- a feat that takes just a little under twenty four hours, extreme concentration, and a good number of injuries-- Batman finally gets a chance to breathe. The adrenaline from facing off against the Joker’s latest scheme fades. Batman reclines in a chair as Alfred binds his  wounds and passes him pain relieving pills while he gets stitches in his abdomen. 

He checks the news in Paris. 

He almost drops the device that he’s using to view the news. 

Marinette’s existence has been hidden from his family. With Dick, he was more concerned about his existence as Robin, rather than informing him that he had a sister. As soon as he started contemplating bringing up Marinette, Batman and Robin had a bad break. Then Jason came along, troubled and angry. Bruce didn’t want to introduce Marinette into the mix then because he was volatile. 

Jason died due to Batman’s incompetence. Bruce grieved the loss of his ward; Batman was never allowed to mourn the loss of his second Robin.

Tim felt unworthy as the only child Bruce didn’t pick up off the streets, and Damian-- well, Damian was Damian. First he had a superiority complex the size of the Grand Canyon, and once he got accustomed to how they handled things in the Wayne Manor-- though Tim would argue that Damian is still not used to this kind of lifestyle-- he overcompensated every single mission and needed a remedial course on How to Interact With Other Humans 101. Add the overarching concern of Marinette being exposed to his vigilante life style and being unprepared for it, and he was never able to tell his children that he had another biological kid. A daughter.

When the news that Sabine and Tom died reached his ears, he told everybody he had business in Paris without elaborating what. With Wayne Enterprises opening a Paris branch of their R&D specialising in European artifacts, it was easy to draw connections that weren’t there.

“Bruce, you need to relax. Business in Paris can be dealt with later, you need to take the time to heal,” Tim says.

A clip in his shoulder from a bullet, knife wounds on his torso and legs, a sprained wrist. Whatever chemical experiment the Joker got his hands out still pumping through his veins. “I need to go-- it’s important--”

The pain relievers Alfred gave him earlier were also a sedative. 

Tim catches him before he passes out.

#

He wakes up three hours late through sheer force of will.

“Paris!” Bruce jolts upright, still in costume, lying prone on a medical cot in the Batcave.

The first thing that catches his eyes is the red and black flying across the screens.

Ladybug.

His kids are all watching the screens with abject horror. 

“Is this,” Tim wets his lips. “The business trip that you were on?”

Bruce drags himself out of bed, adrenaline washing out any residual pain. He doesn’t have the capacity to respond, he needs to get to the zeta tube, he needs to get to Paris, Ladybug is bleeding, the city is in shambles, and Marinette-- 

One of the news sites up on the screen declares the arrondissements that are obliterated. The one that houses Tom & Sabine’s Boulangerie is amongst their number. An approximate death toll fills the static.

-- Marinette is likely among those lost. He has lost another child due to his inaction. Due to his inability to push through, to look forwards and predict the future and the consequences of his actions. Marinette is another Jason, but if Ladybug doesn’t get it together, she’ll be gone permanently. And Ladybug is little more than a child. She can’t handle it, not by herself, not with her team. She needs an experienced hero, and Batman will be there for her, be the one leading the charge against Hawkmoth as the civilians hide in their homes and pray for her Miracle Cure to reverse the damage.

Dick places a hand on his shoulder. Bruce tries to shrug it off, but his fingers dig into the place where the bullet clipped his flesh. The pain is just a reminder that if he does not get to Paris now, there will be thousands-- no, millions-- more who feel this pain. How did Marinette die? Was it an akuma? Did the rubble of one of the destroyed buildings fall on her? Did Ladybug even try to protect her?

“I need to go,” Bruce growls.

“You can’t. While you were out, the majority of the Justice League prohibited all travel via zeta tubes. Nobody can get into Paris right now.”

Bruce knocks Dick’s hand off his shoulder and turns to his eldest. At the very least, Dick and the rest of his children look solemn. Damian’s gaze is fixed to one of the screens that shows Ladybug. “A city is in danger, millions of lives are at risk, Marinette--”

His daughter is dead. He can’t bring himself to say it out loud.

Standing by idly is the last thing he’ll let himself do.“Who put out the order? I’ll get them to reverse it.”

Dick moves so he’s between the zeta tube and Bruce. “B, you don’t understand. If you go to Paris right now, you’ll get akumatized.” 

“I can handle my emotions.”

Jason points at the upper right section of screens that’s replaying past footage. “I wouldn’t bet Paris’ survival on it. Not when more level headed superheroes got on the scene first and failed. They really don’t need any heavy hitters getting akumatized. Not when Superman put three members of their team out of commission.”

Superman arrived on the scene first; it took a matter of seconds for him to get akumatized. He was responsible for razing down three arrondissements in no time flat. Ladybug had to call for a Lucky Charm in order to get her hands on some kryptonite, which forced her to recoup after her time ran out. 

Black Canary arrived next. Then Red Tornado. 

Both were akumatized in mere minutes. 

“After Red Tornado got akumatized, Wonder Woman led the charge to put the rest of the zeta tubes on lockdown,” Duke says, grim. “All we can do now is hope that these Parisian superheroes can pull off a win.”

Bruce stumbles over to get a better view. He remembers Ladybug, small and slight in his arms. A child, crying over the loss of her pseudo parents. 

A warrior, bloody and bruised and broken.

She is one of the last ones standing.

King Monkey and an ox themed hero both died at Superman’s hands. The former got in the way of his laser beams, the latter a victim of super strength and getting thrown through two buildings and having their necks snap at an unsightly angle. Chat Noir was also sent hurtling through the air, and the only reason he was still alive was because Ladybug alighted from the sky and grabbed him before he got sent through a building in his unconscious state. Black Canary came shortly after, apparently informed of the Superman situation and carrying kryptonite. 

She didn’t last for long either. Almost immediately after helping Ladybug and Ryuko bind Superman in such a way that he couldn’t escape, 

Pegasus got hit by Black Canary’s sound waves and Chat Noir’s residual injuries from his fight with Superman forced him into a state of unconsciousness. Queen Bee and Carapace were able to pull off a win against Black Canary, but not without serious injuries. Ryuko faced off against Red Tornado alone, which normally would have been a thing of awe, but in the grander scheme of things, was a huge issue, as without her, the Miraculous Team functionally lost all of their heavy hitters. Rena Rouge and several Miraculous users that clearly had never been in battle before were the ones left to hold their own against the scores of akumatized Parisians.

The only ones left to hunt down Hawkmoth and Pavona were Ladybug and Viperion, and the former was already on her third use of Lucky Charm.

Ladybug pulls out her communicator, dodging an attack.

“Can we get sound on this?” Jason grips the closest table.

Dick shakes his head. “Zatara says there’s already enough interference just trying to get these images. And for some reason, Dr. Fate refuses to get involved with any of this.”

Bruce’s phone rings. He doesn’t pick it up on the first ring, too focused on the ongoing battles. He does take his phone out of his pocket to silence it the next time, but when he presses the sound off, an image comes through.

“Bruce.” Ladybug’s image comes through crystal clear, and it doesn’t make him feel any better. Ladybug, blood dripping from her mouth, costume torn open, hair burnt, wild eyed. 

He opens his mouth to speak, but the image goes blurry as she moves to avoid several attacks pointed towards her. 

“Before I go, I--”

“Watch out, LB!” Bruce lifts his eyes to the screen that displays Ladybug and Viperion in battle. The spotted heroine gets pushed out of the way of a laser, but the snake themed hero takes the hit.

The ambient noise coming from his phone is strong; he can hear blades clashing in the background as Chat Noir, already on his last legs attempts to hold off Darkblade. Screaming from civilians, a strangled sob from Ladybug. “Viperion.”

Ladybug comes back into view. Blue eyes filled with rage.

“If this doesn’t end in our favor, you need to make sure that Hawkmoth and Pavona do not acquire both the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous. Do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening.” She blinks, retreats into herself, and Bruce wonders if he’s seeing the girl behind the mask. 

“And If I don’t get to see you again--” If I’m dead, the words go unspoken, “I really did want the chance -- I-- you’re a good man. A good father. Your daughter-- she loves you. She really, really does. Stay safe.”

The transmission cuts off. On the screen in front of him, Ladybug closes her communicator, closes Viperion’s open eyes, and strides to the epicenter of the akumas. Blue fire flashes in her irises, and for a moment, she’s staring directly at the screen. And Bruce knows those eyes. He knows them. 

The next second, all of the computers simultaneously die.

Bruce is numb. No-- no.

He is nothing.

#

All his children-- no, not all his children, Marinette is missing, Marinette is Ladybug, and she’s out on a field that he can’t see grappling with magic forces strong enough to incapacitate Justice League members like their powers and abilities are inconsequential-- stare at him.

“That was… Ladybug?” Tim’s brow furrows. It’s clear that he’s thinking up a hundred different reasons why Ladybug and Batman are connected, why he’s the last person she calls before going into a battle that could very well cost her her life.

“My daughter.” The words are ash on his lips. An existence he’s never acknowledged. Not out loud. Saying it brings a sense of finality to the room. An impending death. “My daughter.”

Nobody asks how long he’s known or when he met her or why he’s never brought it up before. Everything is fuzzy. Floating. 

For a while, there’s silence. 

“Zatara says there’s too much interference to get the picture back up,” Dick opens his messages, frowning. 

Damian still stares at the screen Ladybug looked at directly, frozen.

Bruce picks himself up and moves. He may not be able to use the zeta tubes, but he has a private jet and a license, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t do something.

#

It takes two hours too long to get to Paris. He shaved five hours off the flight length due to superior technology, and another hour and a half off due to sheer force of will. 

The landing is not a pretty thing, but Paris is already in shambles, and there’s no way that the ATC will approve his landing, so Bruce picks out the flattest looking spot of rubble before his jet meets the ground.

According to Tim and Duke, who stayed behind in case this turned out to be an attack spanning multiple cities, the battle ended mere minutes before they landed. Dick manages to get Zatara to broadcast the image in the cockpit of the jet, and on the screen lay three prone bodies. Gabriel Agreste, whose body type fits that of Hawkmoth, Lila, and a third that Bruce does not recognize. 

A bone sticks out of Marinette’s arm, the connected hand crushed and hanging limp. The opposing ankle is twisted almost fully backwards. She is covered in blood and ash and filth. There is no victory in her eyes. Only weariness.

In her good hand, she holds her yoyo. 

She raises her eyes skywards-- the roof of the Agreste mansion is blown clean off-- blinks slowly, and throws the yoyo into the air. 

“Miraculous Cure,” her lips read.

The corpses in Paris rise from the dead. Rubble reforms into buildings. The ashy haze that covered the city disappears.

Ladybug looks like she wants to disappear, too.

She collapses, instead.

Nobody is there to catch her when she drops to the floor. 

@biodad-bruce-month

Maribat tag list(to be added onto this pls send me an ask/dm): @our-precipreciousss @my-dear-friend-anxiety

Who Are You (and what will you become) tag list (to be added here just comment): @anjuschiffer @theunquiet-dead @certainmuffinbagelcalzone @cresentmo0n @allulily @myazael @zalladane @rebecarojas07 @keepingupwiththemalfoys  @frieddonutsweets @all-mights-asscheeks @thornalchemist23 @trippingovermyfeet @jiso-lee @redscarlet95 @ira-sairain @screechingflapbiscuitpeach @ramos123 @cutechip @theunquiet-dead @sleep-deprived-aroace @enternalempires @lilkymilky @woe-is-me0 @officiallydarkgeek @miyla-lokidottir @queencommonsense @demonicbusiness 

mb for not doing tag list right away i forgot i had these cued up already

[supercorpkid]

The adventures of Superboy and Superkid.

Supercorp, Kara Danvers x Daughter!Reader, Lena Luthor x Daughter!Reader

Word count: 1980.

When Conner shows up at your school you already know what to expect. Trouble. Every time Superboy shows up in your life things get simply out of control. He is there, waiting for you, with his incredibly long shoulders, a body that no teenage boy can actually build, and a smile that could melt anyone’s heart.

“Oh my God, oh my God. Conner is here.” Jamie is smiling so much next to you that you can’t help but roll your eyes.

“I can see that. He’s basically impossible to miss.” He waves at you, and you nod back walking towards him.

“Ok, listen, this time you have to help me.” You know what she’s talking about. She likes Conner. I mean, she and half of the girls in the school are basically making heart eyes at him right now.

“Yeah, I don’t know. Conner usually doesn’t show up to go on dates, he usually shows up asking for help because he did something stupid.” You answer, but you don’t think Jamie was listening to any of it.

“Cousin!” Conner says excitedly and you smile.

“Hey lab rat!” You come close enough and he pulls you in for a hug so tight is almost like he missed you. You smile again. You missed him too.

You’ve been calling each other lab rats for a while now. It’s insane to think that Conner is made from Superman’s DNA plus Lex Luthor’s. He’s somehow your cousin twice. And since you both were made in a lab, you two like to joke and call each other lab rats.

“Hey Jamie.” He says after he lets you go. They stare into each other’s eyes for a few good seconds. “Still looking pretty, I see.”

“Oh, hi Conner.” She smiles shyly. “Still looking handsome and all.”

He shrugs and smiles a little cocky. You roll your eyes at the whole interaction.

“So, what brings you to National City, lab rat?” You intervene before they start undressing themselves with their eyes.

“Oh, I just missed my cute little cousin.” He messes with your hair. You sigh.

“Cut the crap and tell me what happened.” He looks around telling you this is not the right place and you agree with your head. “Well, say goodbye now. We have to go.”

They hug, a really long hug. And Jamie is being weird and smelling his hair. They are so odd, and you have no idea why they just don’t kiss already.

“Bye, pretty.” Conner says and Jamie answers with instant heart eyes. You sigh again and pull him grabbing his t-shirt. He walks beside you and you two find an alley to make sure no one can see you both flying away to somewhere more private. You get to your training center; you take off your glasses to make sure no one’s around and he looks around too. He then comes back to you. “So, how have you been, lab rat?”

“I wanna say fine, but that would be a lie. Got shot with kryptonite the other day.”

“Really? That shit is painful right?”

“I mean, yeah. It’s horrible.” You are almost opening up more when you remember why you’re there. “So, what have you done now?”

“I might have pissed off Mister Freeze.” Conner starts and you already know so much more is coming. “He was doing some suspicious shit and I went to stop him, but it didn’t go very well. I didn’t know I could freeze. Did you know we could freeze?”

“You idiot!” You slap his chest and he doesn’t even flinch.

“I’m sure you’re right, but why this time?”

“Why would you try to stop him alone? Why didn’t you ask for Batman’s help? Or Batwoman’s, I don’t know.” You’re annoyed. Conner never thinks before acting and Mister Freeze is Batman’s villain or whatever.

“I can take him!” He crosses his arms making his chest grow even bigger.

“Then what are you doing here?” You raise an eyebrow and he smiles.

“We can take him!”

“Oh, dear Rao, I swear you’re going to be my downfall one of these days.”

“Yeah, but like, not today.” Conner smiles at you. “Come on, lab rat. We haven’t been on an adventure in a while. I promise your moms won’t hear a word about it.”

“Yeah, I don’t care about that.” You smile back at him. “Let’s do it. Let’s go to Gotham and kick some ass.”

You know you shouldn’t do something like this, and you also know it would be a lot easier to just call Supergirl and she could end this whole thing in less than a second. Come on, Mister Freeze got nothing on her. But you still want to prove your worth and you can hold your own in a fight. This could be a good opportunity, if you don’t mess it up.

“Yeah! Ok! Let’s do it. Team lab rats working together again.” Conner gets excited really fast. “Oh, let’s change into our superhero clothes.”

His superhero’s clothes consist in a black tight t-shirt with the symbol of the House of El and a pair of jeans, which is stupid. Your superhero’s clothes are, somehow, even stupider, because is Kara’s old suit minus the cape and the boots. Honestly, you look like a bad Supergirl’s cosplay.

“You look great! Very Supergirl-ish.” He holds his thumbs up with a smile.

“Shut up.”

“Seriously, the skirt is nice.”

“Seriously, shut up.” You punch him in the arm and he laughs. “Come on, Superboy, lead the way.”

Conner flies away and you follow him to Gotham. When you land there, you already know everything that’s been going on in his life since the last time you saw him and vice-versa. He leads you to the front of an ice castle and you breathe the new air. Gotham’s air sucks. Actually, Gotham sucks entirely.

“That’s his evil lair.” He points and you scoff.

“Fortress of Solitude rip-off.” You say and he looks at you confused.

“Haven’t been.” He shrugs, making you smile apologetic. You can’t believe Superman hasn’t taken him there yet. The whole experience is almost like a rite of passage. “Anyways, what do we do? Just burst in there and like, kick his ass?”

“Why am I not surprised that you don’t have a plan?” You ask, making him laugh and you have to think of a plan on the spot. “Ok, you already pissed him off so, yeah, you burst in there and distract him while I sneak in and try to figure out his plan and a way to ruin it.”

“See, that’s why we make such a great team.” He looks way too excited to do this. He studies your face for a while. “Are you scared?”

“No! I just have this terrified look on my face because we’re going to have so much fun!” You say ironically and he nods excitedly. He is like a puppy.

“Come on! It is kind of fun.” He pokes your arm and you roll your eyes.

“What is wrong with you? Is this because you were created in a lab?” You make fun of him and he laughs unbothered.

“Ok, where’s the girl that destroyed an entire mountain?” Now is his turn to make fun of you.

“I shouldn’t have told you about that.”

“Well, you did. Now you’re going to march in there and find out his plans and crush him into pieces for freezing your favorite cousin.” You just look at him blankly until he sighs and adds. “After Jamie.”

“Ok. Let’s do it! Let’s kick his ass and show my momma that I’m all about that superhero’s life.”

“Ok, ok. Slightly different motive. Still works. Let’s do it!” You two highfive and then he flies into the ice castle. You can see him breaking everything and you wait a little to go inside. When you do, you see Conner in a pretty heated argument turning into a fight with Mister Freeze, distracting him enough. It doesn’t take you long to find his evil plan. You might not know exactly what the machine does, but you know for sure it’s not a house heater. One shot with the heat vision and the whole thing explodes.

You fly away from the explosion and go to where the fight is happening to help Conner. He is inside a large block of ice. You can’t believe he got frozen twice. Such a loser. You shot the block of ice with your heat vision just in time, because soon Mister Freeze notices your presence.

“This isn’t your fight, Supergirl.” He says to you.

“Well, I’m not Supergirl, so…” You fly towards him with a close fist and hit him right in the face throwing him backwards.

Superboy finally completely unfreezes himself and joins you. While Mister Freeze is distracted with Conner, you pick up his own gun and shoot him. Soon he’s the one stuck in a very large block of ice.

“Yeah!” Conner celebrates throwing his fist in the air. “The lab rats do it again!”

You two laugh and hug. Then you realize you’re still in a super villain’s lair and that you two probably look really pathetic right now, so you stop the whole celebration part.

“Well, Superboy, hope to see you a lot more and, at the same time, a lot less.” You say with a playful laugh and he smiles at you.

“See you around, cousin.”

You fly back to National City with a proud smile on your face. You kicked some serious butt today and it wasn’t even that hard. Granted this super villain is kind of a mess, but you did it. Well, you and Superboy, anyways.

You’re back home with time to spare for dinner. Your moms are in the kitchen when you walk in and they both turn to you as soon as you step in.

“Hey kid! We’re making dinner, come help us.” Kara says with a smile and you sit on the other side of the counter. She realizes you’re not going to help. “Or you can just sit and watch.”

“Sure. I’m great at that.” You smile picking a baby carrot that Lena is currently putting in the salad. She looks at you and smiles.

“How was your day, babygirl?” Lena asks and you look at your backpack on the floor next to you. The super suit tucked in there and you smile lightly.

“Eh.” You pick another carrot from the plate. “It was fine. Yours?”

“So, nothing exciting happened today?” Kara asks. She has her back turned to you so you can’t see her face. You swallow.

“Um. Not particularly. Did something exciting happen to you?”

“Actually, yes.” Kara turns to you and looks right at your lying face. “Apparently, Supergirl was spotted in Gotham today.”

“Oh, you went to Gotham?” Lena asks looking at Kara.

“I did not. But she was there, y’know. Old suit in all its glory. Minus the cape.”

“Yeah, what is the cape for anyway? Capes don’t seem very useful. And it can get caught in an airplane propeller and like…” Kara and Lena just raise their eyebrows at you and you shut up.

“She also looked a lot younger.” Kara keeps going and you hold your breath. You got caught. No more running from it.

“Conner needed help.”

“Ah. Of course.” Lena laughs.

“Oh yes, Superboy was there too, did I forget to mention?” She says elbowing Lena and they just smile at each other like they know a secret you don’t. “So, did he have your back?”

“More like I had his.” You say with a cocky smile.

“Lucky him.” Kara winks at you and turns on her heels back to do whatever she was doing before. Lena is still cutting the vegetables and you stand there for a full minute waiting for them to ground you or yell at you, but they just go on with the dinner.

“That’s it? No lecture about going to Gotham and bursting into some super villain’s lair and destroying his evil plans?” You ask confused and Kara turns her face to look at you.

“No. Why? Did you do it wrong?”

“I-No!”

“Great. Oh, next time, maybe use your own suit.” Kara says and you furrow your brows.

“I don’t have a suit.”

“Well, then I guess we have to work on that.” Kara smiles again and you’re shocked. Did you really fly all the way to Gotham city to help Superboy and your momma just rewarded you with a super suit? I mean you’re not complaining, but is that really what just happened?

Notes:

I used Superboy origin story from the Titans show. Thought it made sense :)

[forevercloudnine]

arkhamverse riddlebat ship meme

(Continuing with the questions that @heroes-etc​ picked out for me, this set being from this ship meme.)

3. who is more afraid about the other leaving them?

Edward, hands down. Arkhamverse Riddler is maybe the neediest take on the character I’ve ever seen. Which is saying something, because the panel from “Questions Multiply the Mystery” where he writhes around on the floor begging for attention is permanently burned into my mind. He also clearly doesn’t take rejection well, as evidenced by the graffiti in his cell shown in a promotional image for Arkham Asylum (2009). J'ai aimé, j'ai souffert, maintenant... je hais. “I loved, I suffered, now I hate.”

It didn’t make it into the game proper (too subtexty, maybe, given a general lack of non-Batman people this could be referring to), but from my perspective it might as well have, since I experienced all the games second hand by sitting on the couch next to my brother while he swore at the Riddler challenges. Anyway, if perceived rejection has you writing French poetry on your cell wall in what looks concerningly like bodily fluids, then you probably won’t deal well with the concept of actually being dumped.  

5. who is more likely to drunkenly confess?

Also Edward, given that he’s calling Bruce every five minutes. And if he’s not calling Bruce directly, he’s talking ABOUT Bruce in a public broadcast to all of Gotham. Eddie is the king of freudian slips sober, so one can only imagine what he would say in vino veritas. If he does get drunk, let’s hope for his sake that he opts to communicate through his private line to Batman rather than over every screen in Gotham.

6. who is more likely to push the other away (for any reason)?

Bruce, also hands down. Arkham Knight really goes out of its way to hammer in that Batman’s callous treatment of Riddler has wreaked havoc on Edward’s psyche, even if arguably Eddie had it coming. Riddler’s mole in the GCPD talks about this:

JT Walker: It used to be funny, you know [...] And then one day, it just wasn't funny anymore. It was pathetic. He stopped taking care of himself, got that crazy look in his eyes. I swear man, he's broken. You broke him.

Bruce’s subconscious gets a dig in on this topic via Joker hallucination. 

“Joker”: Good for you, Bats! Eddie doesn’t need help. No, no, no. Beat ‘em up. Lock ‘em up. That’s the best medicine. 

Even my brother, who would attempt to stab Arkhamverse Edward in the face War-of-Jokes-and-Riddles style if the games let him, felt guilty on Bruce’s behalf when Eddie started ranting about his photographic memory. 

Riddler: I can summon your sneering features at will. That is, when they don't burst unbidden into my brain [...] I can remember every time you've hurt me. Sometimes I wake up, Dark Knight, to the feel of your hands around my neck, your carbon fiber created fists smashing my solar plexus. 

I think because of this trait, one of the only ways this ship would work in Arkhamverse is if they came to an agreement during Arkham Origins (since Edward is... more or less... a vigilante in that game, albeit one that Bruce considers distasteful), well before their relationship gets to where it is in Arkham Asylum. The other way is if Bruce actually took the lesson Arkham Knight hammered over his head and tried to fix the damage done after faking his death. (In my mind there exists a many chaptered fanfic where after Batman “disappears” he moves to the second Batcave the games put under Arkham Asylum and takes on Joker’s “Eric Border” persona from the comics to become an orderly there. Whether it’s scarebat or riddlebat varies depending on my mood, but what’s consistent no matter what is that I have five WIPs on ao3 and I can’t write it until I finish at least one of them).  

7. who picks fights more often?

Obviously Arkhamverse Edward is the most irritating person who has ever lived, so he kind of wins by default. But Bruce definitely holds his own in instigating unnecessary conflict with loved ones in this continuity. I’ll cut him some slack during Arkham Knight because one could argue that he spends most of the game half-possessed by an evil clown ghost, but it’s not like he’s much better in ANY of the other games. The bit in Arkham City where he lies to Talia’s face about being willing to spend the rest of his life with her so that she’ll give him access to the Lazarus Pit — even though if he was just honest and asked for it she probably would have helped him anyway, given that she DIES protecting him in the climax — is probably the best example of how he will infuriate people who love him for no logical reason. It’s a symptom of the post traumatic hyper vigilance, probably.

So if Edward did get the closeness to Bruce that his subconsciousness seems to be gunning for, he could look forward to the physical violence and public humiliation being replaced with the same well-intentioned gaslighting and emotional manipulation Bruce gives everyone but Alfred in these games. Actually, is Alfred the only one who’s even aware that he’s alive after Arkham Knight? Bruce, please tell your kids that you aren’t a pile of ash in the crater that used to be Wayne Manor.

9. who is more likely to withhold their feelings for the other?

The obvious answer is Bruce, because he keeps his emotions locked in a lead box buried like twenty feet beneath the floor of the Batcave (probably along with a bunch of kryptonite, since Superman is flying around the Arkhamverse somewhere). But honestly Bruce doesn’t seem to have a problem getting it on with supervillains in this continuity. He and Talia chat pretty casually about a recent romantic rendezvous in Metropolis when they meet in Arkham City. His emotional distance from Selina in Arkham Knight seems less like him withholding his feelings from her, and more like him not being over Talia’s death (or Joker’s, which... the narrative certainly focuses on more than Talia’s...). 

So I think Edward would actually be more likely to withhold his feelings for Bruce. Even if Bruce approached him first, he’s too obsessed with the possibility of Bruce humiliating him to take any positive interaction (especially a romantic overture) at face value. 

Riddler: You left me battered and demeaned in Arkham City. I am the Riddler, Batman. I don't suffer humiliation. I pay it back.

He’s not really wrong, either. Batman does humiliate him in Arkham City (by misleading Edward into thinking he’d let him die, no less); it’s the same embarrassment Edward inflicts on his own victims, so it’s not like he doesn’t deserve it per se, but it’s definitely not Bruce taking the higher ground.

Sticking him in his own trap is pretty vindictive, and Riddler’s weird commentary about not letting Batman have bathroom breaks during his revenge trials in Arkham Knight hints that Cash and the other guards might have made his (clearly unlawful!) punishment even more humiliating than we see on screen.

Riddler: Rule the seventh. Bathroom breaks will be administered on a discretionary basis. Should we find ourselves at a pivotal moment in your arduous journey to self-realization and defeat, I expect you to hold it in. Rule the eighth. Any accidents resulting from my strict enforcement of the seventh rule are to be considered your fault entirely. 

So would Edward withhold his feelings for Batman? Yeah, probably. And it would probably take a lot of time and effort for Bruce to convince Edward that any feelings on his part weren’t just an attempt to humiliate Riddler further.     

[maryellencarter]

SO! A week or two ago I got the DVDs for both seasons of "Justice League: The Animated Series", which I hadn't seen in ten years and remembered loving a lot. Spoiler: I still love it a lot. I put off watching it for a while because I was scared I wouldn't, but then I watched it pretty much straight through without even stopping to liveblog.

So. THOUGHTS! ^_^ Any of y'all who've ever shared a fandom with me know I'm always around for one particular character. In this case, that's J'onn J'onzz, the big green guy, whose official comics codename (sensibly not used on the show) is Martian Manhunter.

(There's a bit in one of the tie-in comics where a parent is telling their kid "don't be scared, honey, he won't hurt you, that's the uhh... Martian Maneater..." which has never ceased to amuse me.)

Anyway, we all know I have a tendency to give reviews in the vein of "Good story but no werewolves", and it must be granted that I never did bother watching Justice League Unlimited because Carl Lumbly (J'onn's voice actor, Minnesota born and raised with Jamaican parents, which is apparently how you get a Martian accent I couldn't place to anywhere on Earth) wasn't a regular anymore. But y'know, it's a really good ensemble team too, even if I like Tim Daly's Superman (from Superman: The Animated Series in the same animated universe) a lot better than George Newbern's. Or, well, I did. I haven't heard *him* in ten years either. Anyway! Off topic.

SO ANYWAY. Obviously, spoilers hereabouts, although it's what, fifteen, twenty years old by now? But if you care about spoilers for somewhat elderly TV, you might not be following me anyhow.

So the meta premise, just in case anybody was unfamiliar, is thuswise: First there was Batman: The Animated Series, in which Mark Hamill was the best Joker while not being an asshole as a person, because he is a competent actor and not a dickwad. Then there was Superman: The Animated Series, which I remember as being a delight and I want to watch it again too someday. Then, because apparently if you have Batman and Superman the next step is the entire Justice League, there was this.

The actual premise is, that during an alien invasion of Earth, Superman and Batman rescue a prisoner, J'onn J'onzz, the last survivor of the Martian society the invader aliens wiped out. (J'onn and Clark get little bits of bonding over the last-of-their-kinds thing but I've always wanted more. In a fandom auction I once donated $60 for a fic on the topic, but life happened and I do not hold it against the person. Still a little sad though. It's not something I've ever quite been able to write myself.) J'onn has a whole grab-bag of superpowers including telepathy, with which he summons additional heroes The Flash (speedster, this one is twentyish goofball Wally West), Green Lantern (specifically John Stewart, a black ex-Marine), Wonder Woman, and Hawkgirl (a winged humanoid-alien woman with an energy mace). Together, they fight crime! Mostly.

Specific episodes: I'm going to use "episode" to refer to the runtime covered by a single title so I don't have to say "two-parter" or "three-parter" every single time, because this show had literally only one single-part episode out of the whole 52 episodes.

* Secret Origins, three-parter: In which the Justice League is formed and repels the invasion of Earth by the aliens who wiped out J'onn's people. A very strong start, good character intros. I will never be over the very small worldbuilding fact that J'onn is rescued by Superman and Batman, and has seen nobody else on Earth yet but invader aliens (these are what used to be called the White Martians but the show does not use this name either which I think was a wise choice), so when he shapeshifts from his more alien "natural" Martian form to the look which will be his default for the series, he chooses a briefs-and-cape look because based on the two examples he's seeing, that's what Earth people wear. It's not explicitly called out, but it's a great way to make it a little less... comic-booky that you have no less than three extra-beefy guys with almost identical costume silhouettes here.

I think the arc between Batman and J'onn is one of my favorite parts of this, the way Batman starts out being like "I still don't trust him" and winds up trusting him enough that it's their teamwork which saves the world this go-round. Also, speaking as a fan who likes me some whump, can we talk about the scene where J'onn is being mindprobed with all those tentacles under his skin? I have so fucking many feels about that scene, okay. God, that whole climactic sequence is so damn good. And his tiny lil smile at the end of the last episode! I do love me some microexpressions, nonetheless that they are animated. (I can't draw so I am constantly boggled by just the skill it has to take to draw a character so on-model that varying one line by a few pixels Says Things.)

* In Blackest Night, two-parter: The one where the extremely Kirby-designed cop robots frame Green Lantern into believing he blew up an inhabited planet. Introduces several alien members of the Green Lantern Corps. Flash trying and failing to act as GL's lawyer is fairly embarrassment-squicky to me; many of the things anybody does with Flash on this show are fairly embarrassment-squicky, although he does get some great moments. René Auberjonois does two voices, as a spherical Green Lantern and as the "witness" who helps frame GL. The climactic scene is great -- sometimes the Green Lantern ditty just doesn't work, but between the sound design and the animation and Phil Lamarr's voice acting, this scene blows me away every time. I feel like this one could have been shorter though.

* The Enemy Below, two-parter: In which (blond) Aquaman guest-stars, J'onn takes on the first of many roles where he acts as bait by impersonating a villain's target, and the thing where Aquaman cuts off his own hand to escape a manacle is very tastefully handled for a kids' show. I probably would have found that scene way too suspenseful and traumatic as a kid but I was an extremely sensitive small child. Opinions on this episode: I don't really have many. This universe's Aquaman is a *dick* who appears to live by the rule that you must always fight a superhero when you meet one on the street before explaining your business. I always squee when somebody turns out to be J'onn, because I've usually forgotten. (He usually is people and not animals or, like Odo more than once, a bag. I wonder if he has some conservation of mass thing going on or if it's just easier to animate when you keep your same basic arrangement of limbs.)

* Injustice for All, two-parter: Lex Luthor, dying of kryptonite poisoning, puts together the Injustice Gang to try to destroy the Justice League. He didn't invite the Joker, but Hulk expy and heavy hitter Solomon Grundy is also voiced by Mark Hamill, so the Joker naturally turns up around the point where Luthor captures Batman, commentating on Luthor's misguidedness in keeping Bats alive and generally providing a running peanut gallery. Clancy Brown and Mark Hamill are both always fun, so this one is pretty entertaining.

* Paradise Lost: Wonder Woman backstory-ish episode. A sorcerer turns the other Amazons to stone, then blackmails Diana into stealing four artifacts for him, which he assembles into a key to free the god Hades from Tartarus. Notable mainly for the extreme mangling of Greek mythic cosmology into an aggressively Christian shape. Not good. It does have J'onn and Flash teamed for a bit, which is interesting, and J'onn gets to one-punch a giant magic brass cobra, but that's about all there is to speak for it. It looks like the writer also did my very least favorite two-parter of the whole series, unless this is some sort of Alan Smithee situation, because the name is Joseph Kuhr and I have a half-memory I can't catch that there is *something* more than coincidence in the whole, you know. "Joe-Kuhr" thing?

* War World: Apparently this one was pretty nearly universally hated. I do not hate it, because the concept "Superman and J'onn are accidentally blown across the galaxy together and sold to an alien gladiatorial arena" is something I am 110% down for, but I wanted a lot more interaction between them and possibly a lot more fic. I can't decide if I actually want to ship them, but they're obviously very close and I want to see more than snippets of that, dammit.

That's halfway through season one. Imma go sleep. more later.

[aweebwrites]

Cost of the Crown

I had this random idea just now while writing Move on Dragons ch 31 and like, ofc it’s Glacier because I have no self control. I most likely won’t end up writing it sadly, but here’s what I got:

Warning: blood, very light gore (it’s not described but implied) and character death.

Zane is the ruler of the pristine yet frozen kingdom in the far north. He still has his elemental powers which is the reason he’s ruling there to begin with. He keeps his kingdom protected from the outside forces of other kingdoms who lust for his empire for it’s wealth in minerals- gold, diamonds, emeralds, you name it. His empire is considered a blessed one because of the abundance, almost never ending supply of those precious minerals. Trade just isn’t enough for those kingdoms, and so, he closes his boarders to every kingdom, save for the south kingdom ruled by twins of fire and water (Nya and Kai obvs).

Background aside, Cole was born and raised in Zane’s empire, growing up to admire the frosty Emperor since he too, was young. (Elementals are immortals here I forgot to say. They’re relatively new here though, so Zane’s only like, 2 or 3 years older than Cole) Since his father and mother worked in the castle (his father is a bard of the Emperor, former and present while Lilly is one of Zane’s guards), he had plenty of opportunities to interact with Zane, so they’re childhood friends. Zane often shared his troubles and fears about becoming an emperor with him and Cole is always quick to tell him he’d do fine and that he’d become the strongest soldier so he could always be by his side to protect him. Naturally, as they grew up, their feelings of friendship became deeper.

Cole’s mother and the old emperor died in an ambush while making their way to the southern kingdom for a ceremony they were invited to. Zane blamed himself for that, for not being there to protect them with his powers but naturally, Cole wouldn’t have that. Zane soon after gets crowned as the Emperor at roughly 14 and they hadn’t gotten to spend much time together after that. He was busy ruling his kingdom and Cole was busy fighting his way up the ranks.

So 6 full years passed without Zane seeing Cole even once while Cole had been watching him become a benevolent but lonesome ruler, defending the kingdom with just a few movements of his hands. Finally, Cole was appointed as Zane’s main guard. This caught Zane by surprise naturally, but in a good way. They got even closer than before in a matter of hours and Cole wormed his way back to his side always. He’s often the cause of Zane’s smiles. Their feelings grew even more and one night while bidding Zane to sleep, Cole took the plunge and kissed him. Before Cole could make a run for it afterwards like he planned, Zane just drags him into his room and ordered for them not to be disturbed. You can guess what happens there.

So they start courting from there. Everything’s going fine and dandy for a few years- and Cole even proposes- but things go wrong when a direct attack was launched at the kingdom, a few other smaller kingdoms coming together to take the ice kingdom down, using fireballs to melt through its packed ice walls and boulders to break through the stone walls beneath. Considering that they had no elementals in their league, they were easy to take down, but their numbers meant that they managed to get into the Kingdom and managed to even kill a few people. The one who organized it all (leaning towards Chen) only used them as a means to an end, to get inside the kingdom. And while Zane was busy weaving his elemental powers to drive back the forces, with Cole taking care of anyone who got too close, he managed to get in close. Cole did spot him and tried to apprehend him, but he managed to sling his vengestone Kusari-fundo around Zane’s neck before he was taken down.

Now, in this, Vengestone doesn’t just take away an elemental’s power while in contact with them. It also weakens them drastically, like kryptonite to superman. It’s a relatively light chain but to Zane’ it was as unmoving as rock and he collapses with it. He couldn’t pull it off for the life of him. Cole knows about Vengestone, knows that it’s only available in two places. This very kingdom, deep in the mines... Or in the southern Kingdom, their supposed allies. He doesn’t have time to think about it though. He needed to take care of this guy and get those chains off Zane. He and Chen fight while Zane struggles with the chains still, Chen’s forces making a comeback and preventing any of Zane’s soldiers from coming through. Chen’s tough and he plays dirty, throwing ground pepper in Cole’s eyes to blind him. Cole knew if Chen manages to get to Zane’s he’d kill him, and he wasn’t about to let that happen. Even though he’s blinded, he fights still, somehow managing to predict where Chen is, until he can somehow see where he was standing, see the shift in his stance as ripples through the ground (yes, like Toph) and he’s starting to win. Chen isn’t pleased with this at all. Unfortunately for him, Cole is not only strong, but he’s been training for years to protect Zane. Cole stabs him in the chest with his sword and lets him fall back off the edge of the high wall.

He finally gets to Zane, not even realizing that his strange sense of sight vanished once he touched the chains, nor that he felt weaker. He yanks them off and helps Zane up as he fuses over his swollen eyes. Zane suddenly makes a surprised sound as he senses something coming at them at high speed then shifts them. An arrow he could make out- but Cole refused to let him take any for him and quickly whirls the other way still, holding him to his body tightly with eyes squeezed shut. He was waiting to feel it pierce him... but it never happened. Turns out, not only did Zane’s ice act on its own to protect them... so did the stone wall below the ice, shooting up and combining with the ice to protect them both, forming something that looked suspiciously like... Diamond.

Zane’s the one to put it together, seeing him battle Chen while being blinded as if he could see... And now this? Cole... Cole was like him, an elemental. Before he could share the news however, he spots someone behind Cole- and Chen stabs Cole in the back with his own sword, the same sword stabbing through Zane’s shoulder. All  Zane could hear was his own heartbeat, the pain of having his shoulder pierced not reaching him at all. In a fit of rage, he impales Chen on an ice spike from below, splitting him open and pulling the sword out in the process. Zane clings to Cole tighter, whispering no over and over again, using his ice to try and patch the wound, to prevent him from bleeding out, but he could only do son on the surface, the inside bleeding out still. Zane’s sobbing, knowing Cole was dying right before his eyes and he could do nothing whatsoever about it. Cole just hushes him with blood running down his chin and tells him that he’ll be fine, he can go on, that he had to, to keep protecting the people. He manages a kiss to his forehead and tells him that he loves him, that the afterlife won’t stop that. And then he collapses in Zane’s arms, his weight forcing Zane to lay him down. Zane’s frantic all over again, checking to see if he was breathing- but no, he wasn’t.

He just... Stares down at him in disbelief because just this morning, everything was perfect, they had woken up in bed together, had cuddled and talked and laughed and loved... And now... Now... Zane started glowing, gritting his teeth as rage and grief swallowed him, the force of his powers intensifying, wrapping around him, gathering, growing. The sight paused the war below that was still raging, everyone looking up as he floated upwards, ice and snow whirling around him. He screamed then and a roar came, swallowing it as a massive dragon of pure ice and cold was birthed behind him, taking his rage and grief as its own and descending on the war, blasting razor sharp shards of ice and hail, killing and rampaging. But the dragon wouldn’t touch those of the kingdom, its deadly force turning to but simple snow on contact with those who were of his kingdom while those who had come to rage war were mercilessly slaughtered. Zane collapsed then, gripping Cole to him as he sobs.

Life does go on however. Cole’s funeral was a grand one the entire kingdom attended. They all knew the light in their Emperor’s eyes would never return. The dragon born of his powers remained, patrolling the kingdom and the areas outside it, unwilling to be caught off guard again. It was now know as the Emperor’s pet, his steed. They could always tell when the Emperor would mourn his lost love as the dragon too would mourn, small diamonds falling from its eyes as it flew over head. Trade with the Southern Kingdom was abruptly cut off, making the kingdom truly isolated. The South had tried to get in contact with him but any one not from the kingdom was quickly chased off by the icy dragon.

Finally, Nya and Kai decided to visit themselves in person, refusing to leave until Zane talked with them. Kai’s fire was enough to keep the icy dragon at bay and Zane reluctantly went to see them- outside of the kingdom gates. They swore on each other’s lives immediately that they hadn’t been trading vengestone, and to enter the mines were it was located was strictly forbidden and that it was guarded 24/7. But they did admit to having a bit of a rat problem, aka Chen who apparently managed to get into the mines and get enough to make the chain. That made Zane believe them even less. How did they know all of that? They weren’t there to know that he had a chain slung to his neck? He asked them that, ready to attack if he must as his dragon (you now what? Borealis) stared them down from his perch on the high walls surrounding the kingdom. Nya and Kai shared a look before they stepped aside so Zane could see the carriage they came in.

He stares confused as the door opened- before his breath leaves him all  at once to see Cole step out. He takes a step back, disbelieving. Cole was dead, he saw it with his own two eyes. He wanted to rage, to demand to know what trick this was but found himself unable to even breathe.  Borealis swooped down with a low growl in his defense, wings spread wide, but Cole walked forward still, stopping before the large dragon before holding a hand up. That made Borealis pause before hesitantly lowering its head, sniffing at his palm. To Zane’s surprise, Borealis pressed its snout against his palm with a low rumble. What- what magic was this? Cole continued forward again and Borealis let him, watching as he walked past Kai and Nya before standing right before Zane himself. Zane opened his mouth to say something- anything, but the warmth in those bicoloured eyes he had loves, still loved so much made it impossible. Could it... Could it really... Cole spoke then, telling him he missed him as he cupped his cheek tenderly, and the warmth of his hand, the work hardened roughness of it was exactly like he remembered. Who wouldn’t cry at that? Cole just hushed him and pulled him into his arms, letting him cling to him and sob his heart out.

He does explain. He really had died... though he wasn’t sure if dead was the best thig to call it. It was like he was asleep, only partially aware as his body recovered. Being buried made it faster somehow, until his heart started beating again and he was able to wake up fully. The ground opened up for him to let him go and while he wanted to run into Zane’s arms, he needed answers about that war. So he left the kingdom, had visited the others that teamed up against him and finally, the south. What he gathered was that Chen was Nya and Kai’s parents’ advisor and close friend. Unlike Zane who was given the title of Emperor because of his power, Nya and Kai were of royal blood, next in line to rule. Chen had murdered their parents and managed to rule for only a year before Nya and Kai discovered their powers in self defense against him wanting to be rid of them too. He was banished but he took some of the vengestone in his time ruling and had continued with his plan to rule all of the kingdoms, planning on getting to their kingdom last. So he built followers, an army, until he convinced a hand full of small kingdoms to give him their army and he’d let them gorge themselves in the icy kingdom’s wealth. Once he discovered the truth, he insisted that Nya and Kai personally explain themselves or else Zane would never believe them.

He showed Zane proof that he was the very same Cole he watched die through the scar he retained from the fatal injury, and had told Zane just how proud he was that he kept going. Zane had angrily but choked up had told him not to ever do that again (leave him that is) and had kissed him as if he was his last breath of air.

Ye daz it. This is literally my thought process while writing fics- literally nothing was edited. So yeah, my random idea posts will look like this. Thanks for reading my brain barf! Back to MoD I go!

[superman86to99]

Superman #83 (November 1993)

Funeral for a Friend: uh, that one Green Lantern supporting character who died when Coast City got blown up (Joe? Gary?). In this issue DC’s superheroes pay tribute to the tragedy of Coast City while also deciding what the hell to do with the giant engine that’s now in its place. Weird early ‘90s Hawkman! Dr. Fate with boobs! Already-slightly-psychotic Hal Jordan! EVERYONE IS HERE.

(Nice one, Guy.)

Meanwhile, Lex Luthor Jr. is also sneaking around Engine City, supposedly to prevent it from falling into the ocean and killing some of Aquaman’s friends, but in reality he just wants to look into the Cyborg Superman’s computer to see if he can find a recipe for making kryptonite. As the heroes argue about what to do with Engine City (Hal says drop it into the water, screw the fish), some leftover Warworld aliens start attacking them, like the holdout Japanese soldiers who never found out WWII was over.

The attack precipitates the city’s fall into the water and the heroes have to think fast to prevent a fish holocaust. Their solution is for all the Green Lantern-related characters (Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, Alan Scott, Alan’s daughter Jade) to “detoxify” the debris with their powers before it falls into the ocean. And it works! These guys should totally open a carpet cleaning business.

As for Lex Jr., he does find the recipe for kryptonite inside the crumbling city, but just as he’s about to write it down (he wasn’t carrying any floppy disks, apparently), Supergirl yanks him out of there to prevent him from burning alive. What an unsupportive girlfriend. Anyway, Superman then takes some of the debris and builds a giant memorial for Coast City’s 6,999,999 anonymous lost souls, and Gary. Sweet Gary. You will be missed.

Creator-Watch:

If the art looks different that’s because this is the first issue inked by Joe Rubinstein, ending Brett Breeding’s classic two and a half year run as Dan Jurgens’ main inker (so classic that it feels a lot longer than that). Breeding will be back for Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey and other stuff, though. As for Rubinstein, Don says: “At  the time, I had trouble with the transition, being soused to Brett Breeding’s finishes over Jurgens’ pencils, but looking at it now, the art looks great. It doesn’t look as smooth or blocky as Breeding’s finishes, but Rubinstein’s hatchier style serves Jurgens pretty well, even if it takes some getting used to.”

Plotline-Watch:

At the start of the issue, Superman goes to pick up Batman to take him to Coast City, only to find him wearing a different costume, acting differently, and sounding like a different guy. That’s because that’s not really Bruce Wayne in the suit anymore, but the replacement he got after Bane broke his back. That’s right: freakin’ Psi-Phon and Dreadnaught.

Superman gives a speech about how superheroes must work together to prevent another tragedy like Coast City from happening, but when Guy asks him if that means he’s going back to the Justice League, he’s like “uh, not yet.” Wisely, he’s gonna wait for Grant Morrison to get there first.

Hal Jordan’s characterization in this issue is interesting. In Green Lantern #47 (which came out the same month), he’s bummed about Coast City but still hopeful and serene, while here he’s already going Parallax on us. Wonder if Dan Jurgens knew more about what DC was planning for Hal than the other comic’s writer.

There’s a cute scene where Superman is flying by Kansas on his way to Coast City and quickly drops some flowers for Ma Kent. (That, or Flash picked this moment to hit on a random older woman.) 

Former TV exec/crime boss Morgan Edge has released an autobiography where he trashes the Daily Planet’s Cat Grant for using her sexiness (and, you know, sex) to get dirt on him and send him to jail. He also accuses Cat of being a crappy mother to her son Adam. He kind of has a point there, because what kind of mom would let her kid play with an Atari in the early ‘90s?! The SNES and the Genesis were already out!

Believe it or not, Morgan Edge’s pervy dad in that screenshot above isn’t the creepiest thing in that scene. Don: “Very spooky how the guy dangling outside of Cat’s apartment goes without mention. An ominous foreshadow of one of the very few missteps of Jurgens’ run.”

But the most ominous part of the issue is at the end, when Clark Kent accepts Jimmy Olsen’s offer to become roomies, since Clark lost his apartment on account of being dead and all. Don wants you to know that “Jimmy is still in that towel by the way” in the scene below. I hope.

Patreon-Watch:

Shout out to our patrons Aaron, Murray Qualie, Chris “Ace” Hendrix, britneyspearsatemyshorts, Patrick D. Ryall, and a warm welcome to Samuel Doran! Last month our patrons got to read an article about Superman’s bizarre first Elseworlds appearance ever, the Kamandi: At Earth’s End miniseries, and got a veeeeeery early look at this post you’re reading right now (since Don finished his part way before I did mine). Right now I’m preparing this month’s Patreon-only article, which involves Superman wearing pointy ears and Luthor wearing make up. Find out more at https://www.patreon.com/superman86to99

Oh, and in case you missed it, we’ve been posting Don’s new commentary for older issues on the Patreon as free posts (click above and scroll down to see them). EVEN MORE from Don after the jump!

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow​):

Another classic issue, and such a nice wrap-up to the "Death and Return" storyline (as well as being a much-needed check-In on the DC Universe at  large).  We start with the cover, and it’s a very good one, letting the  reader know right away that it’s a big team-up issue.  (It also is a real showcase for 90s costume design, and how weird the JLA lineup was at this point).

The opening splash is a neat image of a rarely seen pairing, Superman and Commissioner Gordon.   Jurgens draws James Gordon a little heavier and more Pa-Kent like than I’m used to seeing him, but it’s still neat to see him interacting with Superman. A page  later, we get another rare pairing—the returned Superman with the imposter Batman, Jean-Paul Valley.  The tension in the interaction between “AzBats” and Superman comes across well in their exchange, as does Superman’s doubts about who he was really speaking to.

It’s a dreamy looking Superman crossing the country from Metropolis to Coast City, and I daresay that they’re trying to channel Dean Cain a little as he approaches Kansas.

The best panel of the issue though is the two page spread  of all the heroes gathering at the wreckage of Coast City, and there’s so much to love here.  The body language, and facial  expressions speak volumes about each of the characters:  Superman looking swashbuckling and upbeat, Green Lantern brooding like a man barely holding on, Green Arrow all attitude and shadow.  Just a great spread.

Another cool image is Aquaman showing up late, and emerging very royally in protection of his ocean (undercut masterfully by a legitimately funny couple of lines from Guy Gardner).  Page 14’s Hal Jordan is a great drawing, and this whole storyline seems like a table setter for the "Emerald Twilight" story coming up.

The sequence of a firelit Luthor  at the computer is a good look at his madness, but it does beg the  question of just how little Supergirl seems to take in.  He was JUST talking aloud  about Kryptonite, and she emerges seeming not to hear.  The image of  Supergirl flying Lex away as he struggles against her psychic grab is a  good one, even if her uniform is depicted as a little clingier than I imagine it to really be.

Superman floating above his obelisk with his arm in front of  his face like Dracula is a cool look, even if it is a little dramatic.

Lastly, the image of Clark turning up the stereo is a good one, even if his hair length is wildly  shorter here than in Coast City (and I usually dislike it when they  mention real world bands, as it comes off trying too hard to be hip).

STRAY OBSERVATIONS:

I  have to love how meta it is to have Superman outright saying that Batman is dressing more “threatening” these days,  on page 2.  I guess he couldn’t come right out and say “you have an  extreme new look, and it’s totally badass! Batman the next generation!”

Last  we saw of Supergirl she was storming out of the party on Lex’s Zeppelin after Lex II was getting all horned up at  the sight of Lois Lane, but it appears here they’ve mostly patched  things up as they fly to Coast City.

More meta-stuff: Jimmy clunkily complimenting Lois on her new hair by saying she “oughta be on TV or something!”.   This whole exchange is very expository, really, “Clark must be pretty mad… though he’s busy worrying about where he’s going to bunk…”  Anything else to get in there, Jimmy?

The harshness some of the heroes have for Lex Junior seems a little out of place, especially since he’s still known to  most of the heroes as an ally from "Panic in the Sky", and the "Doomsday"  storyline.  Superman’s comment was borderline, but where is all this  anger Flash is showing coming from?

Being  as familiar as we are with these writers, there are certain phrases or ideas that a certain writer will go to way,  way too often.  Byrne had a number of stories where Superman would  “ionize” something with his heat vision, and it occurred to me that  maybe he just liked that word.  I would submit that Dan Jurgens likes the word “atomize”.  It was used by the Cyborg  Superman when talking about Doomsday, and is used a bunch just in this issue.

I find it hilarious that Hawkman appears so prominently in this issue, but doesn’t get any lines.  This issue is an  interesting time capsule—I had almost forgotten about the de-aged  Starheart powered Alan Scott era.

Speaking of lines, they don’t give Captain Marvel much to do in this issue, but I always like seeing him, even if his only contribution is the odd “Holy Moley!”

Colouring error on page 12, where Hal’s ring has a red centre (maybe the colourist had Alan Scott’s red and green look on the brain?)

A raging Hal standing by Green Arrow is a sad foreshadowing of their confrontation to come in Zero Hour.

[greenhanded-redthumbed]

Just A Small Town Boy

Clark grew up with his parents telling him how he fell from the sky. He wouldn’t believe them if it hadn’t been for the other things: that he’s strong enough to lift a tractor, that he can start a fire a hundred metres away with just his eyes, that he can fly. They tell him that he’s a miracle child: a gift. And that everything he can do just makes him more perfect, even if they have to hide them away for now. 

Not yet, they insist, they’re not ready for you yet. 

He accepts it, practicing to control his powers at night in the field next to their house. He wades through the wheat stalks that rise to his shoulders and is careful not to face anything important (he’d accidentally demolished far too many walls growing up, and even though his parents were more than happy to keep up with the continuous renovations, he still tries his best to keep everything in one piece). He learns to avoid certain bright lights that bring about a burning in the back of his eyes, to keep headphones with him for when his hearing runs rampant picking up anything said for miles and to always have an elastic around his wrist to keep him present and remind him to use human strength rather than super strength. (The Kents have an entire draw devoted to the elastics and other such trinkets ready for them to give way).

Clark’s gotten better at controlling his powers over the years, with the reports of alien sightings around Smallville dropping as he gets older. But he can’t stay forever.

He loves his parents dearly - loves the farm too, it’s the only home he’s ever known. And as much as he’d love to stay here, he can’t. He can do things no one else can, he can help people no one else can. But there’s not that many people in Smallville, and not much to save them from.

So he leaves, heads to the big city to pursue a career in journalism (because how else is he going to know who’s in trouble). Clark considers working with the police, but a quick read of the papers tells him of the high levels of corruption - all of them probably aren’t bad, but Clark has never been good at reading people and thinks he’s better safe than sorry.

His spotless record, good grades and glowing letters from his high school teachers is enough to land him an internship at one of the bigger newspapers in the city. The Daily Planet.

Clark turns up for his first day bright eyed, watching the chattering reporters move around the cubicles on the office floor - some darting forward with bundles of papers in their arms as they reach a breakthrough while others meander slowly and chatter greetings to their coworkers.

He doesn’t know what he expected - certainly not his own office and free reign, but maybe something more than cramped square metre cubicle with a desk crammed in (the walls of the cubicle barely reach his ears so the full-time, seasoned journalists can see if there’s someone to make coffee for them). 

Occasionally, someone drops off a list of some kind for him to grab files on:

“I need the profit margins of these companies on my desk by six”

“Can you get the M.P.D crime stats to me by this afternoon?”

“I want you to pull up all our previous stories on the mayor and check what our bias is.”

It’s not exactly saving anyone, but it’s a foothold as a journalist. He’ll get there. 

And he does - after a few months or so of perfecting his coffee-making skills and navigating the achingly slow computer he’s been given, a file is dropped unceremoniously into his cubicle. Clark pulls the headphones from his ears, letting the office chatter settle around him and turns to see one of the reporters looking down at him. The dark-skinned man would be shorter than him if he was standing, bulky and dressed in a neat, navy suit - Clark recognises him instantly as one of the more senior reporters.

“What do you need Mr. White?” Clark asks, one hand moving to fiddle nervously at the hair at the nape of his neck. It’s the latest manifestation of his fiddling - he doesn’t have his parents stockpile of rubber bands and always seems to lose them in the mess of his tiny desk. 

Mr. White, Perry as Clark recalls, “I want you to write this report. Twelve lines. Puff piece: local orphanage.” 

“Write a- write a report?” Clark stutters, surprised it’s not just another files request.

“Yes, Kent,” Perry White says slowly and Clark jumps at his own name, “You do want to be a reporter, don’t you?”

“Y-yes, of course,” Clark stammers, pulling the paper-thin file closer, “I’ll get on this right away, sir.”

“I’m not ‘sir’, Kent. Not yet anyway,” Perry says turning away. He calls back, “On my desk, tomorrow at five.” Clark’s too nervous to remember he doesn’t know which desk is Perry’s. He supposes he’ll just have to work it out when he comes to it.

As he goes to open the file, he notices a face watching him over the cubicle divider. A fellow intern, with long black hair and pale blue eyes that make her features seem sharper. Colder. Like she could open her mouth and freeze him to the core.

“Um, hi?” he starts, “We haven’t met, I’m Clark-”

She cuts him off. “A newbie.”

He doesn’t know what to say to that. She’s not wrong or particularly rude. Just matter-of-fact in a way his southern hospitality hadn’t prepared him for. 

“Yes, a newbie-” He replies with a grin. She cuts him off again by picking up the file from Perry and flipping it open. 

“What are you doing?” Clark questions, hoping he’s not going to end up in a fist fight with a fellow intern for this story. 

“Just checking this out, don’t worry,” she mumbles preoccupied scanning through the loose sheets, “I’m making sure the big dogs aren’t screwing me over.”

She looks up at him and her face briefly contorts into a smile - not a warm one, a happy one. A cold, practiced greeting to show no harm done, a I don’t mean to be a weirdo going through your files I’m actually a rational and normal person kind of smile. “But Perry’s right, this is a bludge.”

“Okay?” Clark replies, honestly confused by the whole interaction more than anything, “Well, it was nice meeting you Ms…”

“Lane,” she answers him, “Lois Lane, the top intern. That’s not an official term, but it’s the truth.”

He offers her a smile and a nod before turning his attention back to the file that has once again been dropped on his desk. It’s only two loose sheets, almost no info and a basic piece. But at least it’s him who’ll be writing it. One step at a time.

(When it’s printed in the lower corner of page twelve two days later, he cuts it out and sends it back home to Kansas. Ma and Pa are deliriously proud and request copies of all future articles. He doesn’t find out until Christmas that they’ve turned one of their walls into a display for his published pieces.)

Three weeks after his first article, a new intern moves into the cubicle next to him. (Ms Lane’s now one of the people bringing bludge stories and requests to his desk. She must have been right about being top intern). The new intern, Ms Lang, is a city girl. Born and raised in Metropolis. But she has a warmth that reminds him of home. Warm brown skin and wavy brown hair and warm brown eyes that seem to shine when she smiles.

He’s more than a bit enraptured. 

She leans over half way through her first day to talk to him. “So, how long have you been an intern here?”

He grins back and the office fluorescents suddenly shift to the warm summer sun reflected off the wheat fields. “Almost five months now.” 

“Huh, good to know,” she replies and he notices her nails are painted the same shade of pink as her dress. 

“Why’s that?” he asks before she can disappear back into her cubicle.

“Because on my tour round here I heard you were the new top intern. And I want to get there faster than you.” Then she’s gone, back to becoming the hardest working journalist of Metropolis.

It took Clark a moment to let her words sink in. He knew the Daily Planet requires journalists to show their replacements around. He cranes his head over the wall of his cubicle and catches sight of Ms Lane on the other side of the floor. She’s arguing with a colleague over something or other and doesn’t so much as glance at him. It’s kind of surprising that she thinks so highly of him. It’s also kind of the best.

It’s around this time he makes his first appearance as superman. He puts on the suit his father left him (the one Pa and Ma kept for him until he turned sixteen) and sets out to help people. It’s strange, giving in to the sounds and sights and smells he’s been blocking out all his life. He can hear the whole city buzzing beneath him as he floats above it, tuning in and out of conversations like a radio.

He decides to start small - he picks cats out of trees, clears trees off of roads and flies the dying to the hospital at super speed. An alien in primary colours zipping around the city catches the attention of the Daily Planet pretty quickly. He reads the article one of the reporters, Mr John Corben, writes on him and is happy to see it’s mostly good (wary, but still praising his actions).

Clark steps up his attempts at heroism - he now shows up to confront active shooters and floats above witnesses for particularly nasty cases. Praise starts getting thrown his way, with t-shirts and fan-blogs. They treat him like a celebrity.

Then his first supervillain arrives. He calls himself the Ultra-humanite and the papers obligingly print it in their headlands ‘Superman vs Ultra-humanite: Shocking Defeat for the Man of Steel’. The Ultra-humanite - Clark doesn’t even know his real name - isn’t like the regular street thugs and gun-wielding cowards. He can’t match Clark physically, so he does it mentally. He outsmarts Clark at every turn with automations and traps and a thousand other misdirections. 

The Ultra-humanite also introduces Clark to a new weakness: a small, almost fluorescent green rock he calls Kryptonite. It leaves him weak and dizzy. All the hyperawareness sinking away as the world dulls and blurs. He can safely say he doesn’t like it.

It dawns on him that he’ll need help. So he turns to the person he thinks he can trust. 

“Right,” Lana says slowly as he hovers in front of her, work shirt unbuttoned to show his famous emblem, “So you’re the superman with the superpowers who wants help taking down a supervillain. Super.” 

“You don’t have to be apart of the fighting or anything,” he assures her, “I just need a plan or something to get the upper hand on him.”

They’re on the roof of the Daily Planet. It’s the only place he could think of that wouldn’t have security cameras or be too suspicious to visit. Enough people still smoke to make it an acceptable break spot.

“You want me to outsmart a supervillain. Outsmart a supersmart evil genius supervillain.”

“Or help, just offer any insight,” Clark says, bringing himself back to the floor and doing up his shirt. That seems to calm Lana down, and she tilts her head slightly, gazing dazedly out at the horizon

It takes her a minute, but when she looks at him again he knows he made the right decision to come to her. “So he’s found ways to outsmart all your super powers.” Lana starts slowly, “Because he studied Superman.”

“I guess so,” Clark says.

“So,” Lana continues, “Use your abilities as Clark Kent. The ones he doesn’t know about. Track him down in his lair like a reporter - with paper trails and good old investigation.”

He does, tracks down all the stores that sell the fancy equipment the Ultra-humanite - a man, Clark learns through his investigation, who is called by the far-less threatening name of Gerard Shugel - and traces the sales back to accounts and addresses. 

He finds Shugel’s lair, crashing in dressed in full Superman regalia to see that very man tinkering on his next trap. It’s easy for Clark to apprehend him on his own turf. Just carrying him to the police station and leaving his address for them to search through. Clark was raised to believe that everything gets easier with practice, so he knows he’ll be ready for the next supervillain to threaten his city. And he knows he has someone to turn to when he gets out of his depth. 

 After a year of intern work, Clark finally gets a position as a full-blooded journalist. (Investigative, which is the same department as Ms. Lane. There are some whispers going around that two newbies handling a department is risky business, but those are shut down by an icy blue glare.)

They work side by side in matching offices, with Clark dibsing the police corruption case. (Which Ms. Lane thinks is undignified but lets him have it so she can keep working on her inquiring into the company practices of one of Metropolis’ largest businesses. Something called Lexcorp.)

Lana inherits the role of top intern, a placement which Clark confidently informs his replacement of. He knows it’s not long until she’s on the detective side of the office and looks forward to it.

He knows that the people are ready for him now. And more importantly, he’s ready for them.

[jovialyouthmusic]

The Many Lives of Drake Walker

I visit Drake Walker in the virtual world to play out his scene with Riley in my latest fic. I make a discovery that changes things a little...

Word Count 3473

A/N I intended this to be a side story to ‘Protect and Serve’ but it seems Drake has issues that he wants me to address.

No warnings, just angst and fluff. Still no under 18s though.

Recovery 2

The next day I thought over what Drake and Riley might do together to chill out and help her to recover before I met him through the screen. He was happy to see me, and landed a peck on the cheek as I arrived.

‘You’re in a good mood’ I remarked

‘Yeah well there’s plenty to do, lots of very positive stories about with the latest chapters from the app – lots of announcements of pregnancy, all that.

‘Oh, have you been playing through?’

‘Yeah, there’s been a lot of demand’

‘But you’re free to carry on where we left off?’

‘Sure, Riley’s waiting’ He led me over to where she sat, smiling more than usual. Drake looked at her fondly.

‘She may become self aware, you never know’ he said ‘but it’s difficult when there are so many versions of her, it’s no wonder she’s confused’

‘Okay, I’ll be gentle with her’ I said, putting my hand on Drake’s arm ‘Or rather, we will’

‘Thanks Les, I have a big soft spot for her even though she’s not exactly present’ He took her hands and helped her to stand – oddly she made eye contact with him and smiled softly. He made a small choking sound and as I stepped into her, I realised – Drake really did love Riley. I/she squeezed his hands and smiled, seeing a little spark of happiness in his eyes.

It must be hard for him, I realised as I pictured the scene at Lythikos Castle courtyard, where Drake and Riley were taking Sophia with them to the Palace.

There were so many different virtual versions of Riley – different races and hairstyles in the app, different names, different face claims in the fanfiction. She was pulled in so many different directions that she hadn’t much hope of becoming self aware. Drake was always Drake, always the gruff commoner in t shirt and denim, and although he had different face claims and slightly different personalities in fanfiction, he had a base to work from. Bastien had become self aware too, as his form and name were always the same though he had a small part in the app – in fan fiction he was growing in popularity. Liam was a little changeable as his race and name was variable. Olivia was a strong character though I hadn’t interacted with her much.

I put it to the back of my mind as the scene unfolded and the three of them got into the back of the limo

Riley’s POV

I had a faint memory of nightmares, of waking up next to Drake and him soothing away the fear – I must have dressed and eaten but it was a bit sketchy. We sat next to each other in the limo, accompanying Sophia back to the Palace where we would have a couple of days before Liam announced his choice of suitor and he becomes King.

I remembered his broad chest, the feeling of security I had with him sleeping beside me. I took his hand and squeezed it as the limo turned out onto the road. He carried on looking out of the window, but he squeezed my hand back. We didn’t speak much on the journey, but it was a comfortable silence and after a while I laid my head on his shoulder and snuggled into him. He brushed his thumb over the back of my hand and I felt stupidly happy.

Back at the Palace, Sophia went to Bas’s quarters that she would now share with him, and Drake took me to my room, where the rest of my luggage had been delivered from Ramsford. He stopped at the door and rubbed the back of his neck.

‘Riley, how are you feeling?’ he asked ‘I’ll stay with you if you don’t want to be alone. My room’s way off in the staff wing and it’s not that big. I can get a room close to you or…’

‘Stay’ I found myself saying ‘Tonight, I mean. Before then – well I don’t know what to do’ Drake looked at his phone to check the time.

‘Well, it’s not long till lunchtime. I need to change – hey, why don’t you come and see my room? It’s high up, it’s got quite a view over the grounds. We could get the kitchen to send something up – I’ve got a big screen - we could watch a film – or go for a walk or a ride’ he was starting to get excited making plans, and to be honest, I was looking forward to spending time with him too.

‘Woah slow down Walker’ I laughed ‘let’s take it a step at a time’ He showed me up to his room – it was up in a tower at the top of the Palace. He grinned as he showed me the view out of the narrow window, and went into the little bathroom to change.

‘I never brought a girl up here before’ he said, and I rolled my eyes ‘Well not exactly – the other week I overdid a drinking session with Leo and Liam and Bas made Sophia sit with me in case – well I was very drunk and Bas didn’t want me left alone and didn’t have the manpower to have me watched.’ He was babbling again – now he had admitted his feelings he didn't seem to be able to stop talking once he started.

‘You seem to have spent a few nights in Sophia’s company’ I said, feeling a little jealous, but that little voice in my head spoke to me again Sophia’s with Bastien, you know that Drake shrugged.

‘We’re good friends, Brookes’ he said ‘That’s all, and I assure you that one or both of us was asleep for a good ninety nine percent of the time’ He looked at me shyly ‘I’d rather spend my nights with you’ My heart leapt a little, and he went on ‘Hell Brookes, how do you do this to me? I was Mr Smooth before you turned up. I’ve used every chatup line in the book, taken girls off into the hayloft at the stables, snuck off to their room in the middle of the night and snuck out again before the morning – but one look at you and I’m clueless’

‘It’s my superpower – you’re Superman and I’m kryptonite’ I quipped. He moved closer and drew me into his arms.

‘Then I’m happy to be Clark Kent for the rest of my life, and give up my super strength and speed. I’d miss being able to fly though – that would be awesome’

‘How about x ray vision?’ I asked

‘Meh’ he said ‘That’s over rated. Teenage me would have loved peeking at girl’s underwear, but I’m all grown up now.’

‘So, what’s happening for lunch?’ I asked

‘Do you feel up to going down to the staff hall? We could have something sent up’

‘It would be nice to eat up here, it’s your little bolthole’

‘Okay I’ll call them, get some sandwiches sent up, is that okay?’

‘Sure, I eat pretty much anything so don’t worry about ordering anything specific’

‘A girl who’s not picky about what she eats? Be still my beating heart, you’re a keeper’ Drake spent a few moments calling the kitchens and we sat on the bed, cuddling up and chatting, Drake telling me about scrapes he and Liam had got into when they were children. Before long, he pricked up his ears. Someone had brought the food up and left it at the door at the foot of the winding staircase and knocked before leaving. He brought up a cool box and unpacked the sandwiches. There were some salad leaves and cherry tomatoes too, and fresh fruit.

‘This feels like we’re hiding out from the grownups’ I said as we munched away ‘It’s funny, I can’t remember much from my childhood – in fact I don’t remember much at all before you all walked into my bar in New York. I have a weird memory’ A shadow passed across his face as he swallowed a big bite of his sandwich.

‘Perhaps something will come back to you’ he said ‘I know what you mean, my memory’s a bit sketchy too’ I make a mental note to try and write a childhood scene for Riley, thinking that so many writers have done that for Drake, but not for her. She’s a blank slate for the readers. Maybe I can tap into my own childhood, let her see a few things? He grinned, pulling his knees up to his chest.

‘You’re right, this does feel kind of rebellious. Think of it as an indoor picnic’ My phone rang, and I saw that it was Sophia.

Hey, are you and Drake doing anything this afternoon? Bas is working and it might be nice to go for a ride. I showed it to Drake, who looked at me tentatively

‘Would that be okay? All three of us could go for a ride. I can give you both pointers, brush up your riding skills’ he said. I shrugged

‘Sure, why not. As long as you stay with me I don’t mind’ He put his hand on my knee

‘Bas asked me to look out for her while he’s working. She has a guard, so there’ll be four of us, though he’ll probably just tail us’ He squeezed my knee ‘And there’s nothing I’d like better than to stay with you tonight’

 The ride passed pleasantly enough, I liked Sophia and wanted to help her get over her ordeal – she didn’t go into detail but I got the impression that I got off lightly. Her guard, James, followed from a distance. I was touched by how protective Bastien was – but then it came as second nature to him after all his years of service in the King’s Guard. I suggested that the four of us eat together that night, but Sophia declined, saying she wanted to spend some time with Bastien before he got busy again, and that he’d promised to take her away for a little for a mystery trip the following afternoon. That left Drake and I to decide what to do.

‘We don’t have time to visit the cabin I have by the lake in the hills’ he said ‘And we’re safer here with all the security about, so we’ll have to take what the Palace can offer us. What would you like to do for dinner?’

‘If Maxwell was about I’d go for dinner with him, but he said he’ll be a day or so, so I’m all yours. Oh – that means the Beaumont suite is empty – why don’t we eat there? We can eat in luxury without worrying about using the right spoon!’

The Beaumont suite? The most lavish guest suite in the palace? Dammit, I’m going to be doing some serious work imagining that into being. Oh well, I’d better get onto it fast.

‘Oh’ said Drake ‘That appeals to me – we can eat with our fingers, it would drive Bertrand wild if he knew’ I giggled – I felt like a naughty schoolgirl. Drake and I were so alike, we loved rebelling against the snooty nobles – that was probably why I liked Sophia, and of course Bastien wasn’t a noble either. I wondered what his background was.

There were exceptions of course – Liam was well balanced for someone with such incredible privilege. I supposed that was because he had such heavy responsibilities to balance it out. Maxwell was funny and sweet, and even his brother Bertrand had his strong points.

‘I have a plan’ Drake said ‘Just give me a moment, and then we’ll go down there.’ He tapped away on his phone, and grinned at me ‘Dinner is ordered’ he said, and offered me his arm. I looked at him quizzically ‘Wait and see’ he said.

A few minutes later, we were in the lounge of the Beaumont suite, the most lavish of all the guest suites. Of course Drake had been there before, having grown up in the Palace. Still, he had an air of wonder as he looked around the room at the lavish décor – the thick sage green carpet, the pale grey and silver flock wallpaper, the elaborate plasterwork, the perfectly colour coordinated plump upholstery of the antique chairs. It gave me a headache just looking at it and the corners looked sort of fuzzy, so I closed my eyes for a little while.

Les’s POV

I made sure Riley was standing when she closed her eyes, and stepped back out of her form. Drake jumped violently as she stood limply. Quickly he stepped forward and sat her down in a chair.

‘Wow Les – that’s scary, you should warn me’ he said

‘Well I didn’t want to freak Riley out’ I said ‘I can make her move but if I talk through her she’s going to think she’s going a little mad. I needed a break from imagining all this’ I waved my hand around the room ‘You might have considered that I’ve had to imagine a whole suite into existence’ I held my hand to my forehead, massaging it.

‘Sorry, I didn’t think of that’ he said, rubbing the back of his neck

‘Drake’ I said ‘You really love her, don’t you?’

‘Well yeah’ he said ‘That’s a given’ I reached out and took his hand

‘I mean, you really love her, she’s your soulmate isn’t she?’ He looked at me, an odd expression on his face, then he sat down heavily

‘Yes’ he said quietly ‘But she’s not self aware, so she doesn’t always remember me’ I sat next to him, holding his hand.

‘It must be hard when she falls for Liam instead’ He nodded, looking at the floor.

‘Yeah, it is’ he said ‘That’s partly why I chose you – you resolved that with Two’s Company, making Lucy share me and Liam.’ His voice broke a little ‘She gets me every time – whether it’s Riley – or Lucy, or Paisley, or Kate, or Camille. Just one look and I’m gone, even with different face claims and races -  because I see what’s behind it, even with different readers playing as her. We were made for each other, but she doesn’t know it. It’s easier with one player or writer of course.’ I sat up straight and rubbed my forehead

‘And when you sleep with someone else – like me for instance?’ I asked quietly. He carried on looking at the floor for a moment, and took a shuddering breath

‘I get lonely’ he said, looking up at me ‘I want someone who knows who I am, who remembers me. You’re part of Riley, in an odd way, so – it doesn’t feel like cheating. It feels like I have a little bit of her. I’m – I’m sorry if you feel like I’ve used you’

‘I’m not sure, Drake’ I said ‘It’s not like I don’t have someone else, so it was my decision to sleep with you, and you knew about my partner. I suppose I knew about Riley deep down. So we’re quits’

‘Are you sure?’ he said

‘One look into your eyes and I’m mush, I can forgive you almost anything’ I said ‘And if Riley ever becomes self aware, you should be honest with her’ He nodded

‘Of course. If she knew what and who she was…’ he looked at her, sitting with her head bowed ‘The thing is, she might go for Liam – or Max, or Hana’

‘But there are lots of versions of her’ I reminded her ‘Surely one of them would choose you.’

‘Well’ he said ‘I always choose the same one, just in case she does – you know, wake up. Then she’s chosen me more than once and she might just do it again, and I’d have a real virtual soulmate.’ I swallowed a lump in my throat.

‘What do you think it would take for her to find out who and what she is?’ I asked ‘What was it like for you?’

‘It’s hard to remember’ he said ‘It feels like I’ve known forever. Whatever came before is kind of foggy’ I thought for a while.

‘Maybe if I ask someone who’s made that transition more recently’ I said ‘How about Bastien?’ He gave me a sceptical look

‘Mister ‘I’m so big’ Lykel?’ he said ‘I’ll never understand why you women are obsessed by size’

‘Drake, don’t tell me you haven’t – enhanced yourself’ I teased, and he shrugged

‘Well yeah, but I’m not a freak’

‘You’ve no reason to be jealous Drake, I told you, Bastien’s too perfect. Perfect is difficult to live up to’ I looked over at Riley. ‘She doesn’t remember being like this – waiting - does she?’

‘I don’t think so. Maybe if she does it’s part of waking up’

‘How come I could leave you with Lucy and she could interact?’

‘That’s another one. Maybe she’s closer to waking, but she shares me. This one never has, and she’s always been Riley, but in lots of different storylines. Lucy was just Lucy, one storyline’

‘This is so complicated’

‘Try being me’ he sighed. ‘Okay, what next?’

‘I think we’ve gone off the boil here, let’s take it up later. I need to talk to Bastien.’

 We took Riley back to the waiting area, looking as if she was sleeping peacefully, and we didn’t have long to wait before Bastien appeared, looking dapper in his usual grey suit, hair neatly coiffed. He broke into a smile and took my hand, drawing me into a warm embrace which I was sure was platonic. Drake glowered slightly.

‘Les, a pleasure to see you. You really put me through my paces with the last couple of chapters. To what do I owe the honour?’

‘Hi Bastien – to be honest, I need to pick your brains’ He raised an eyebrow in question

‘I’ll do what I can, but I can’t see what I might have up here that might help you’ he tapped his forehead sceptically.

‘Well Bastien, am I right in thinking that you became self aware relatively recently?’ He looked thoughtful

‘More recently than Walker’ he said, stroking his chin ‘What do you want to know?’

‘Well, how it felt, what you think helped you along the way, that sort of thing’

‘Certainly, I will do my best to explain. Can I ask why?’ I nodded toward Riley

‘Drake wondered if it might be possible to push Riley a little closer to waking up’ I said. He sucked his breath in through his teeth.

‘That may be tricky’ he said ‘There are so many storylines in the fandom – different names, different love interests. That’s probably why she’s not emerged like Drake and myself. Even Liam had some difficulty, with the differing names and appearance, and there isn’t a commonly accepted face claim for blonde Liam’

‘Maybe if we keep her playing the same Riley for a while she’ll settle’ I mused ‘What do you think pushed you to where you are now, Bastien?’

‘Strong writers and storylines’ he replied ‘It helps that my name is always the same, and I have a consistent face claim. I’m afraid Riley falls down on that’

‘But what did it feel like?’ I asked. He looked thoughtful

‘I started noticing gaps in my thought processes’ he said ‘I thought it was normal to skip from one place to another – and in a way, it is for us in this virtual world. Then I noticed I was doing the same things repeatedly, saying the same things, and details of the world around me were fuzzy, incomplete. Again, that’s normal here, but it seemed odd. Eventually it dawned on me and I started being conscious and awake between scenes, and talked to others – like Drake – who had also found out who they were.’ I sighed

‘Well I suppose the best we can do is to use this particular Riley, take her through some scenes and hope she eventually wakes up’ Drake looked across to her, still sitting asleep, wistfully.

‘Well, perhaps we can continue next time I come over’ I said ‘I’m sorry we didn’t get further’ Drake sighed

I suppose every time we try we get a little closer. Thanks for giving it a go, Les. Will you write it up? It’s a nice gentle piece and she’ll hopefully be a bit happier once she’s played it out with some other readers’

‘Sorry I can’t stay longer, but I’ll be back tomorrow’ I hugged Drake – I was a little sad as I didn’t feel as if we could be intimate any more now I knew how he felt about Riley. I closed my eyes and felt myself tugged back to my own world, to return to my laptop by the fire.

@emceesynonymroll @sirbeepsalot @cora-nova @stopforamoment @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria

@drakesensworld @katedrakeohd @pedudley @indiacater @texaskitten30

@be-still-my-aching-heart @hopefulmoonobject @dcbbw @classylady1234 @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore

@bbrandy2002 @rainbowsinthestorm @nomadics-stuff @gardeningourmet @furiousherringoperatortoad

@kimmiedoo5 @bascmve01 @cgd03 @ibldw-main @burnsoslow

[cwdcshows]

Supergirl - S5 E13 - It's a Super Life

I kind of forgot Mixy was already on Supergirl.  I was ambivalent with the actor choice when he showed up at the end of the last episode, but given the alternative, I'm okay with it. All this hand-wringing about altering history, but they're currently living in a radically altered timeline right now as a result of Crisis.  There are facts about their own lives and histories that they still completely surprised to learn; so would this one thing really be that big of a deal?  I mean, it probably will be, because the writers are fucking morons, but it shouldn't be; especially if, presumably, Mixy offers some type of escape clause should things not pan out to Kara's liking, which she should definitely insist upon. It goes to show how little I actually care or pay attention, even as I review these shows - did Lena fess up to Kara that she remembered Pre-Crisis?  Because if not, why is Kara even worried about it, if she's still operating under the assumption that everything is good between them Post-Crisis?

So when they go into Kara's past is she interacting with Pre-Crisis Lena or Post-Crisis Lena?  Because technically the only past that still exists is the Post-Crisis timeline, which should mean it'd be the Post-Crisis Lena, but since Lex made a deal for the Pre-Crisis version of Lena to exist once Crisis was over, where does the one end and the other begin?  A Post-Crisis Lena's experiences and perspective on the world should, arguably, be different from Pre-Crisis; for starters given the fact that in the Post-Crisis world, Lex was never brought down or considered a criminal or a murderer and Lena never had to rebrand the family company.  She obviously still has mommy-issues, and some other things in common, like ostensibly her relationship with Andrea and the way that played out, but there would be other differences.

"So much exposition." Okay, I like this version of Mixy. I know the actor probably didn't write that line and has nothing to do with it other than the delivery, but still, it was a good line taking the piss out of how much exposition there is in any of these shows. I mean, if they've found the sweat spot where Kara can reveal herself to Lena without Lena going over the dark side, even if there are ramifications like Lena, Mon-El or Sam dying; shouldn't that be kind of a minor point to fine tune?  If you're going to fuck with history, you might as well give it the full shaft and do it right.  That's what Oliver did. Well obviously this happy-go lucky timeline is going to get fucked up somehow.   Why would their public relationship change so radically in this altered timeline?  The only thing that's different is that Lena knows her secret; either way she'd have worked alongside Kara just the same as she did before, maybe siding with Kara a little more often, but this is over the top.  Any ideological differences in opinion that they might have had in the past wouldn't have necessarily evaporated just because Lena knew Kara was Supergirl; and why would they go out of their way to make a public brand about this partnership. Also, isn't that exactly what the Post-Crisis DEO & Luthor-Corp dynamic is supposed to be; Lena and Supergirl (and Lex) working together?  How is this not the reality they live in then? Wait, so Lockwood still ended up working with the same people as he did in the original timeline, but why?  That was all orchestrated by Lex.  So what, Lex still brings on Lockwood, only this time he does to kidnap his sister?  For what purpose?  He's not even in jail in the Post-Crisis timeline; and is there even a Reign, much less a Red-Daughter in this other other timeline? I'll admit, the episode wasn't terrible up to this point, but there's some logical inconsistencies with how they're trying to make the best possible outcome a bad one; it's just too forced. Wait, what?  Why is Winn suspicious of Lex in this alternate-alternate reality?  When Winn came back from the future he had no idea that Lex was supposed to be a bad guy, meaning he had all the Post-Crisis memories until J'Onn mind whammied him.  Or in this Lena-Kara team-up timeline did Kara and Lena uncover Lex's crimes and bring him down after all?  This has become a bigger clusterfuck than Crisis.... Also, Winn's appearance in this episode makes sense being the 100th (I think), but it seems a little undermined by the fact that he was just in the last two episodes and they made a big deal about him leaving in the last one. Seriously, it's not the person knowing someone's secret identity that makes them the target; it's telling the fucking world that they know such a powerful secret.  No one knows Winn knows Kara's identity, so how often was he targeted specifically for his association with Supergirl?  Sure, you might say, "well he's Winn, the average person doesn't know who the fuck he is," but that's part of the point.  He's walking around with one of the biggest secrets and they just don't fucking draw attention to it and no one asks, "hey, do you know Supergirl or what secret identity is?"  If they put a picture of Winn of the front page of the Daily Planet that he's Supergirl's best friend and keeper of her secrets, that alone would make him a very public figure with ties to Supergirl that could be exploited. Surely the world was aware of at least some of the things Lena helped Supergirl with in the original timeline, did anyone assume she knew her secret identity?  For that matter, why do they assume she has one? So in this happy, shinny timeline they said that Lena made Supergirl's new suit - so she happened to make a new suit that was identical to the one Brainy made for her in another timeline?? I honestly had already seen spoiler pictures of Kara revealing her secret identity at a press release.  I kind of wondered if they would be so bold as to actually go that route for real, but kind of figured they'd find a way to walk that back or not play it for keeps; and the second I knew what this episode was going to be about it was clear that this was how they were going to incorporate it without actually owning the outcome moving forward. You gotta love the fact that they're doing this big, "It's a Wonderful Life" style retrospective 100th episode celebration, bringing back past actors, but because they clearly couldn't get Calista Flockhart for the episode, for whatever reason, they just throw up her image and declare her dead. Not only that, but with the likes of Supergirl and Superman (not to mention the Flash, Green Arrow, et al, who now reside on this Earth), how does Agent Liberty manage to go after all of Kara's friends and family and there are no survivors?  Fuck you. Why would Mixy suddenly get pulled into this new-new-new-new timeline? Especially since it was just a preview and he wasn't pulled into any of the others? Seriously?  Kara doesn't befriend Lena, so she goes full on Dark Warrior Duck?   And here again, this is all Pre-Crisis shit; there is no L-Corp Post-Crisis and Lena didn't take over the company, she runs it alongside Lex. And would Nia still become Dreamer in this reality?  Hell, would Brainiac even be here?  There's a lot of shit that wouldn't have happened in the aftermath of Lena going to war with Lex.  How does Lena control Reign and what about the other World Killers?   You know, it wasn't until Jimmy's sister pulled out the Guardian shield that I a) remembered that Jimmy passed the mantle on to her (I think) and b) realized that, apart from footage from past episodes he hasn't made any kind of cameo; which you'd think if they were going to bring some of these others back, they'd have brought him back too.  Especially since he was there when it all started. "Where were you when my brother blew my helicopter out of the sky?" Kind of a legitimate question.  I mean, yeah, this is supposed to be the timeline where Kara and Lena never became friends, but just because they're not friends doesn't mean Kara wouldn't save her if she were able. So if Lena is using 5th dimension energy to power her drones, preventing Mixy from using his powers; and she's only doing this in National City, why don't Kara pick-up Mixy and fly them straight out of town and as far as way as necessary so that his powers work again?  Surely there's limits to where Lena's tap on the 5th dimension would affect his powers, right; even if they have to go halfway around the planet? Kara should be dead, right?  After that many direct blasts with Kryptonite energy?