#I actually don’t know if this is Lois or Diana but it still works

[theartistonthemoon]

Tell me I’m wrong. You can’t.

[cardcaptorsakura96]

Taxes, Taxes, Taxes-Chapter 28

Fandom: Supergirl

Characters: Kara Danvers, Clark Kent, Samantha Arias, Lena Luthor, Lillian Luthor, Ruby Arias, Oliver Queen, John Stewart, Diana Prince, Bruce Wayne, Barry Allen, J'onn J'onnz, Alfred Pennyworth, Lois Lane, Cat Grant, Lucy Lane, Damian Wayne, Felicity Smoak, Streaky the Supercat, Martha Kent, Selina Kyle, Talia Al Ghul, Lucius Fox, Maggie Sawyer, Alex Danvers, Jason Todd, Otis Graves, Lex Luthor

Summary: What if superheroes had to pay a property damage tax every time they had a fight in the city?

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24, Chapter 25, Chapter 26, Chapter 27

Lena smiled and leaned back into her chair at the Children’s Hospital. She closed the laptop on her desk. 

“I’m finally finished for the day,” said Lena softly. 

Today had been very productive for Lena. Ever since the commercial, business at the hospital has been booming. More doctors from across the country wanted to work with them and more importantly, they have received a massive influx of patients. It meant more paperwork, but it was a nice problem to have. Lena smiled while rubbing the back of her neck. 

I am finally able to help people.

As she stretched,  she heard a knock on her office door. 

“Come in,” said Lena.

Sam poked her head through, breath a sigh of relief, and said, “Good, you are still here.”

Lena frowned and asked, “There isn’t more paperwork, is there? I was hoping to actually be able to leave early for once.”

Sam smirked and said, “Eager to get to your girlfriend I see.”

Lena pouted and said, “Well, yeah, I haven’t seen her all day and I want to cuddle alright.”

Sam cackled and said, “I won’t delay your cuddle time with Kara. Ruby’s school just called to confirm if you and Kara are still attending the Flash’s STEM forum tomorrow.”

Lena smiled and said, “Yes, Kara texted me saying she is still coming.”

Sam smiled and said, “That is good. I will let the school know. It is so awesome that the Flash has been setting up these forums to try to get young girls into STEM fields.”

Lena nodded and said, “I wished we had something like this when I was younger. There are not many of us in the fields of math, tech, science, or engineering. I really do believe that if girls knew about these subjects at an early age, that they would be more engaged.”

Sam nodded and said, “The girls at Ruby's school have been talking about it nonstop. Granted they are more excited that the Flash is coming. Kind of surprised that Kara is going in her civilian attire though.”

Lena looked up thoughtfully and said, “She did think about going as Supergirl, but figured it was too risky in case someone linked the degree back to her civilian identity.”

Sam looked at Lena curiously and said, “I thought that she got her degree from Krypton though. Would that even apply here?”

Lena nodded and said, “Before Kara started crime fighting here, she did get her Maters’s in Mathematics from National City University.”

“Why?”

Lena mused, “To have a backup plan. With crime fighting, there is always the chance that things could go wrong or maybe she decides she had enough with that life. She wanted something just in case this or the journalism career she just started didn’t pan out.”

Sam smirked and said, “She is sexy, heroic, and smart. You definitely hit the jackpot. Does she have some friends that she could maybe introduce me to?”

Lena raised an eyebrow and said “I thought you didn’t do relationships anymore. I remember you saying it was better to hit it and quit it.”

Sam chuckled and said, “I don’t remember being that crass.”

Lena smirked and said, “I paraphrased. What you said was much more vulgar than that.”

Sam cackled and said, “Maybe I was. That’s beside the point.”

Lena raised an eyebrow and asked, “Which is?”

Sam chuckled softly and said, “You and Kara have shown me that it is possible to connect with someone on a deeper level. I would like to find that for myself too someday.”

Lena smiled widely while leaning back in her chair.

“Awww, Kara and I are your inspiration. That’s so sweet.”

Sam sighed and said, “Please don’t make me take that back.”

Lena chuckled and said, “I kid. I’ll talk to Kara to see if she has some single friends that are ready to mingle.”

Sam smiled and said, “Awesome! Well, I won’t keep you from your sexy time with Kara…”

Lena chuckled, shook her head and said, “Bye Sam.”

Sam chuckled and said, “Bye Lena.”

As Sam closed the door behind her, Lena got up and stretched. She then went to a corner of her lab with her tablet and typed in a few things. A portal opened. 

Lena smiled and said, “Like always have a quick way home.”

After she steps through the portal she appears by the front door of Kara’s apartment in the house of El. Waiting to greet her was Streaky who instantly started to purr and rub against Lena’s leg. 

Lena smiled as she picked up Streaky and said, “It is nice to see you too.” She started to scratch Streaky behind the ears which caused him to purr more. Lena cuddled with him, looked around and said, “Let’s see if we can find your mommy.”

She walked a bit from the front part of the apartment when she noticed rose petals. Lena smiled as she followed the rose petals until she got to the kitchen. She was pleasantly surprised to see a candle lit table of food with a bottle of wine and wine glasses. 

Lena suddenly felt arms embrace her from behind and a kiss on her left cheek. She looked up to see Kara's smiling face. 

Read the rest on AO3

[cocoabubbelle]

Unpopular Opinion:

I like Bruce Wayne/Batman and all, but I can’t help but roll my eyes whenever DC does some alternative continuities and of all the heroes that become more antagonistic, he comes out unscathed and is one of the most irrevocably good guys that has to take it upon himself to fight his former friends/associates/family.

(Spoilers under the cut.)

Earth 2? That’s mostly Thomas Wayne junior after the first crisis.

The Batman who Laughs? That’s pretty much The Joker injecting a portion of himself into Bruce’s brain and overriding/mutating his personality.

Justice Lords? I don’t know much about their comic versions if they have one, but in the JSL Animated Series, the Batman of that world was the one who redeemed himself and turned against his team mates.

Injustice? Batman will always be the good one and always do the right thing even if he was the one who killed the Joker in a what if scenario because he is humble enough to accept his punishment and even the good Superman he recruits admits could have done the same thing as his world’s Superman and yadda yadda yadda.

DC vs Vampires? They seriously made Batman the only one of the golden trio that never got turned, the one who is trusted to figure out the solution to combat the vampires, and made Dick Grayson/Nightwing the King of the Vampires??

The CW version if the DCU? That Batman only showed up once for all I know, and was a failed attempt to criticize Zack Snyder’s take on the SC universe.

White Knight? Batman was only seen as the antagonist for barely the first few issues before teaming up with Jack Napier to take down the bigger threat, was the hero again when Joker returned, and is currently still a good guy (I don’t hate it, but I feel the role reversal of Batman and Joker’s usual dynamic could have been explored more.)

The Dark Knights of Steel? This one I will let slide on its thin ice since the “Kal-El” who stabbed Bruce was later revealed to be a white martian scout or something. I don’t want to suspect the writers intending the Els to be the antagonists but backtracking and introducing the White martians when reception to yet another antagonistic Superman was negative — and who knows? Maybe they purposely played into that to make the reveal over the actual antagonists more interesting—, but still.

In my opinion, Zack Snyder’s versions of the Trinity was the most successful of introducing a Bruce Wayne/Batman who could be seen as a well-meaning antagonist who was —and later recognized— that he was wrong. (and redeemed himself later too.)

Wonder Woman also gets some of this special treatment at times (most of her Superwomen counter parts are shifted to Lois Lane or Donna Troy, and even Mary Marvel at some point; in the animated adaptation of Injustice, she has reservations from the start and later turns against Superman despite heavily influencing him in the games and comics.)

Why is Superman usually the go-to for making/twisting a genuinely good, idealistic and upright hero who would never abandon his morals into an easily influenced powerhouse who totally will sacrifice/ditch his moral compass when given the opportunity? Some may excuse some of these iterations as being placed with the wrong setting and people who raised him in story, but that could easily work for Diana of Themyscira and Bruce Wayne too if given the opportunity. With the latter two, usually they still develop into the recognizable heroes we know and love, while at best Clark is manipulated and misguided and at worst he willingly embraces his newfound villainy.

Bruce Wayne/Batman is not better than Clark Kent/Superman. Neither is Wonder Woman.

In my eyes, and from what I can tell from most of the golden/silver/bronze age of the comic book era, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman’s character arcs and story development lead them to be seen as EQUALS. Hence their most popular dynamic as a TRIO.

Is Superman arguably the most powerful one? Yes. Is Wonder Woman arguably the most skilled in combat? Yes. Is Batman arguably the most intelligent one? Yes. Do they all have strong convictions and morals? Yes. Do they ALL have weaknesses and the capacity to have momentary lapses of judgement? Yes. Do they all stand strong as both individuals and united teammates? Yes.

Am I saying that the Beware the Superman trope is an overused one? Yes and no. Yes I am sick of it popping up almost everywhere in most western media. No, I don’t think it is without potential to be used as an actually useful plot device/character arc, especially if it extends beyond the “Superman” character template and applies to all manner of superheroes.

That’s just my opinion though.

[buffyfan145]

Really happy so far with what James Gunn and Peter Safran revealed of the first part of the new DCU slate!!! :D Chapter 1 is going to be called “Gods and Monsters”. Nice to see that this will have no affect on Matt Reeves’ movies/shows, “Joker 2″, the 2nd “Constantine” films, if the CW keeps any of their DC shows for next season, and the other cartoon series as they’ll all be branded as “DC Elseworlds” from now on. They also said that “Superman and Lois” will be able to go on till at least 2025 when their movie comes out but it’s The CW’s decision and they could get a final season next season if this one isn’t written to work that way. Also they will be keeping some of the current actors after “The Flash” movie creates this new DCU with Gal Galdot’s Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, Zachary Levi’s Shazam, the “Blue Beetle” cast, Voila Davis’ Amanda Waller, and the entire “Peacemaker” cast all being confirmed to be a part of this new universe. They haven’t decided yet about Ezra Miller but I have a feeling they might just bring in Wally West as another Flash going by the new slate. So here’s my thoughts on the new movies/shows in order of how they’ll be released though “Peacemaker” season 2 is also now a part of it. The shows too will all be on HBO Max.

Creature Commandos (TV): This one is new to me as it’s a group of characters similar to the Universal Monsters that band together. It’ll be an animated show too but the actors who voice them will also play them in live action so that will be cool and it will fully connect to the other movies, shows, and games.

Waller (TV): This is the show James has been working on about Amanda Waller and it’ll include Viola Davis and fully connect to “Peacemaker”.

Superman Legacy (movie): This was the Superman movie already revealed with a new actor to be cast and we know he’ll be in his 20s and trying to live his life as a journalist and as Superman. It’s been dated now for July 2025.

Lanterns (TV): This is a new version of the “Green Lantern” show that was originally in the works from Greg Berlanti but is now being fully by Gunn and Safran. Very cool that Hal Jordan and John Stewart are going to be the leads of the first season though others will appear.

The Authority (movie): This is another I don’t know that much about but it sounds cool. I do recognize a few characters the mentioned from the comics and having appeared on shows like “Stargirl” and “Legends of Tomorrow”.

Paradise Lost (TV): This one sounds really cool as it’s a prequel about the Amazons before Diana was born. They even compared it to “Games to Thrones”. Sounds like it will still connect to Gal’s version too.

Batman & Robin: The Brave and the Bold (movie): This one got me excited as it’s another Batman movie but the Robin in this is his actual son Damian Wayne!!! :D They also confirmed the rest of the Batfamily will be in this too and starting their own movies connected of them. With Damian already here this means that Dick/Nightwing, Barbara/Batgirl/Oracle, and at least Jason/Red Hood should be around as well as Alfred. Possibly could include Tim/Red Robin, Stephanie/Spoiler, and Cassandra/Black Bat as James said these characters have been long neglected by the Batman films. Depends on what Reeves is doing too but I think they’ll be fine with Dick already as an adult here and if he’s a still a teen in Reeves’ movies/shows. They will be casting a new Bruce/Batman, so curious to find out who that will be. They also dated “The Batman 2″ for October 2025 too.

Booster Gold (TV): This has also been in the works for years and he too showed up on “Legends of Tomorrow” so it’s finally happening.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (movie): This will be cool to see too. Though not sure if Kara will still be played by Sasha Calle like in “The Flash” movie or if it’ll be a new actress as Sasha’s seems to be tied to Henry Cavill’s. They didn’t mention Sasha either as staying so might be another recast.

Swamp Thing (movie): This one has me so excited!!! :D I’ve loved Swamp Thing for years and that he’ll be in the movies again and tied to this new DCU. It’s going to be darker than the other movies and shows listed here and end the first chapter leading into the 2nd chapter.

Overall I’m really excited and glad they’re doing this more like Marvel now with such a larger plan and focusing on getting the scripts done first before they film. Also looking forward to finding out the castings as this is going to be a lot of actors.

[hearsayhorizons]

Injustice: All-In

Nine years ago, sudden upheaval fractured a world into three paths: us, the One Earth Regime enforced with a hand of steel and laser lobotomies, and the fairytale world where nothing too bad ever seems to happen, where villain plots occur just to get foiled. Sounds nice.

Superman did kill Lois Lane and their unborn child through the Joker’s machinations. He then murdered the Joker. Nothing went nuclear here—at least, not physically. Superman... shattered. He vanished.

We know he’s still alive: a silhouette waiting on rooftops for Batman, a silent shape hovering below a balcony for Wonder Woman. He’s fast and he’s elusive, but there are cameras everywhere—not that we put more up. The Initiative isn’t the regime.

Emergency protocols kept the Justice League functional until we put out the worst fires. On the face of it, two deaths probably shouldn’t have led to the League’s dissolution, but those two in that way applied pressure to existing fault lines in the League.

Other teams took up more of the burden, and some of the weight killed—dissolved—them. New ones form pretty regularly, but the heart has gone out of a lot of heroes. Waller runs the Suicide Squad ragged in a reactionary response to an unmoored and untrackable Superman. Heh. Despite her paranoia, her digital security is—lacking.

The Birds of Prey and Teen Titans didn’t fold under the pressure. Not like the others. We’ve mobilized to assist Batman (and Wonder Woman) in a move that neither of those other paths took: alleviating crime through lifting people up rather than pinning them down. With the loss of the League and the disappearance of one of its three big three pillars, Batman and Wonder Woman founded the All Initiative, which was briefly the One Earth Initiative before a chance encounter with a J’onn from another dimension.

The Initiative isn’t powered by threats, or actual violence. Not usually—we are talking about Batman. But we have information and money. Diana and her side have political weight and the personality to make sure those get put to use where they’re needed most.

We’re revitalizing Gotham, Metropolis, Atlantis, entire societies—mental and physical health support, Universal Basic Income... Arkham has renovated and expanded into out-patient services, several patients have been released, and the patients that remain are as comfortable as we can make them. Tax the rich, feed the poor. We’re not in a replicator society, and healthcare hasn’t reached everyone it should yet... but it will.

Batman and Wonder Woman employ all of their energies—and those of the civilians, supers, and Themyscirans who follow their banner—into getting this done. A work-life balance used to be a benefit of not actually being Batman. Bruce Wayne was always just a mask, but now J’onn spends more time in that face than he does; at least the investors are happy with their Bruce. We’re dumping all of the fuel at once and we know it. We’re hoping the systems we put in place will outlast our burnout.

Batman didn’t plan to pivot like this even as he oversaw the League’s last legs. He doubtless had a plan—plans—for a post-League world, but none of this infrastructure was in place even eight years ago. We caught word of a withdrawn nomad with blue-black hair righting Herculean wrongs across the world and suddenly Wonder Woman made a lot of visits to the Batcave.

I don’t think they formed this partnership and brought us all in on this just for Clark Kent. Not really. Bruce already had the connections, and Diana Prince started her association with the wider world as an ambassador. They didn’t start this for him. Not in the hope that if they eased some of the world’s burdens, that they’d ease some off his shoulders. That would be...

They probably didn’t both go all-in on this and drag everyone with them just for Superman.