#Justice League membership

[shadowsndaisies]

codename: nightingale - usual suspects

Reference: Young Justice Season 1 Episode 25

WC: 7.4k

synopsis: fuck cadmus tbh, robin needs to work on his timing, kaldur’s got birdy’s back, and roy finally gets what he wanted

main masterlist

codename: nightingale series masterlist

a/n: guys, there's only one more in the season after this. i cannot belive my little hyperfixation fic of pure self-indulgence has come this far. i love you all so much and your support means so much, especially when i know that i go months without posting but you all come back so excited with each update! xoxo

WASHINTON, D.C.December 30th, 09:16 EST

You were all in the Hall. The mega screen before you shows the official Justice League Induction and announcement playing on every news channel. Wally and Dick were standing on either side of you, and all of you had your eyes glued to the screen.

“The Justice League was formed for two reasons: first, as an acknowledgment that no single individual, no matter how powerful, can solve all the world's problems alone. And second, to uphold the values of truth, liberty, and justice,” Superman was making the announcement this year. Usually, it was him or Wonder Woman, seeing as the Bat didn’t exactly exude charming. “That, uh, last one's even in the name,” Superman muses, gaining a few laughs from the crowd before him. “These five heroes have sworn to uphold those values,” he continues, and the camera pans over Doctor Fate, Plastic Man, the Atom, Icon, and finally, Red Arrow.

Your lip quirks a bit as you stare at Roy. he had sent you a message this morning, reminding you that you could be standing with him today, but you had just laughed and mused that with how badly he’d wanted this, it’s surprising anyone else can stand up there with him, never mind you, who would undoubtedly steal the spotlight. You were happy for him, you were, but you were also bummed. You all had just gotten into a groove with Roy on the Team, even if it was only for a few missions, and once again, he was gone.

“You are watching live coverage of the Justice League's induction of its five newest members,” Cat Grant’s voice pulls your focus back to the News. “Looks like the entire League has shown up to welcome the new blood. Everyone from Batman to Captain Marvel!” she exclaims.

“I’m glad they didn't kick Billy out,” Wally decides, and you can’t help but nod. Dinah had mentioned briefly that there had been a chance he wouldn’t be. “And I love the fact there's a ten-year-old on the League,” he says, taking a bite of his apple.

Dick hangs his head, and you see Kaldur turn toward your redheaded best friend while the new girl, Raquel, turns to you all, “There is?” she asks.

You elbow Wally squarely between his ribs, and he hunches over, “Ow, Birdy!” he groans.

“Way to keep a secret, genius,” you scoff, glaring at him through your blacked-out lenses.

“Hey, she's on the Team now, right?” Wally defends, one arm rubbing at his side while he eats his apple.

“Is this going to be a regular thing, you just blurt out secrets whenever we get new people?” you ask.

Wally has the audacity to look affronted, “I don’t-“

“You told me about the Watchtower,” Zatanna cuts in before he can say anything else, and you snort.

Wally retorts by taking another bite of his apple and glaring at you.

Everyone’s attention shifts back to the screen, “Superman is now handing out official League membership cards starting with Doctor Fate…” You and Dick both step forward briefly to squeeze Zatanna’s shoulder in solidarity, something she smiles gently in response to, and you can feel the comfort she takes from the action in the seconds you’re touching. “…The Atom, Plastic Man, and Icon.”

“You know, I was the one who convinced Icon to become a hero in the first place. I should be celebrating with him, not hidden away in here!” Raquel complains, and you bite your lip to keep from laughing.

“Welcome to our world,” Kaldur laments.

“Well, I suppose there's an upside, too,” Raquel flirts as she eyes Kaldur. Quietly to Rob, you roll your eyes and fake a gag, which gets a silent chuckle out of him.

“Finally, Green Arrow welcomes his former protege, Speedy, now known as Red Arrow, to this roster of heroes,” Cat’s voice continues, but it’s quickly drowned out by your cheers.

“Way to go, Roy!” Wally shouts, pumping a fist in the air.

“At last, he has his wish,” Kaldur nods.

“Woohoo!” you exclaim, smiling at the screen. “The first of us to make it,” you breathe.

“No one'll call him a sidekick anymore,” Dick nods.

“Wait- Since when is being a sidekick a bad thing?” Raquel demands, and you can feel the twinge in the air. “You sidekicks were my inspiration.”

“Well, see, six months ago-“ Robin explains, but he’s quickly cut off when his communicator starts to beep.

You hover over his shoulder to look at what he’s looking at and can’t help but frown. In the background, however, you can hear as Cat Grant finishes her report, “So there you have it. The world's officially a safer place!”

There are tons of questions being shot out to Superman, who was still running the press conference.

“Looks like we can’t stay,” you announce, and everyone turns to you.

“We have a mission,” Robin tacks on, and the shift is evident as we all turn to the Zeta.

SMOKEY MOUNTAINS December 30, 10:48 EST

“Are you sure it's her? I mean, are you absolutely positive?” Artemis asks, and it’s easy to pick up on her anxiety in the enclosed space of the bioship.

After the alert, you quickly got to the cave and changed before loading onto the bioship. The alert in question had been about a Cheshire spotting. After everything that’s happened in the last few months, especially in Taipei and then again in Louisiana, catching her was a top priority for the team.

“See for yourself,” Robin says, displaying the details on the screens in the bioship.

“This is the security footage from the Asheville Regional Airport. Facial recognition confirms that's Jade Nguyen,” you explain, having witnessed the details when they first came through Robin’s wrist computer. “But you've seen her without her mask. What do you think?”

Artemis stares at the screen for a second before her lips tug down, “It's Jade. Cheshire,” she confirms.

“Agreed, but focus on what she carries,” Aqualad hints. “Is that the case you saw in New Orleans? The one that got away?” He asks.

Artemis’ eyes harden, and her jaw sets, “Yes.”

“Okay, I'm guessing from the mug shot that this Cheshire's the bad guy. But what's so important about that case?” Rocket asks.

You have to bite back the urge to say you mean other than the fact that we fumbled the ball and lost it? Luckily, Robin speaks up first.

“Remember the Injustice League?” he asks, pulling up a photo of your friends from the bayou.

“And their giant evil plants? Uh, yeah,” Rocket confirms.

“Evil and Nasty plants,” you mutter lowly, glaring at the photo.

“The Team and the League put them in prison, but their allies still scheme, and whatever is in that containment case seems important to their plans,” Aqualad explains.

“We had a chance to grab it in New Orleans, but someone-“ Wally tacks on, but you interrupt him with a glare that he seems to miss as he focuses on Artemis.

“But we screwed up,” you correct. It was a team mission and the team’s attitudes and environment that culminated in what had happened. You weren’t going to place the blame squarely on Artemis.

Wally’s eyes dart to you, and you quirk a brow challengingly. He, in turn, scoffs and turns back to face the front instead.

“Approaching Cheshire's jet,” M’gann announces.

Everyone’s focus turns to the front, but when you get close enough, you let out a low gasp, and a wave of shock rolls over everyone at the scene of the downed plane. The crash had evidently been rough, but it’s a sharp note of grief that hits you that has you turning to Artemis, who is resolutely not staring at the crash anymore.

“Looks like there were no survivors,” M’gann notes, and your lips tug down as you try to assess the scene from the air.

“We need to go down,” you decide.

“NG-“ Wally’s scoff has everyone turning to you for an explanation.

“We need to check the wreckage,” you state.

“Are you serious?” Rocket asks, eyebrows raised.

“Cheshire and the case are our responsibilities, we check the wreckage,” you affirm.

It’s quiet for a moment before Kaldur speaks up, “open the hatches,” he agrees, and Wally lets out a puff of air, shaking his head, but stands up regardless.

M’gann opens a few drop hatches for those who can’t fly while the rest go ahead.

Soon enough, you’re spread out through the crash, analyzing anything you could find and looking for any indication that Cheshire was still in the plane when it went down or the case itself.

“How come Homeland Security and the N.T.S.B. Aren't all over this?” KF shouts, asking anyone.

“Cheshire's ID was a League alert,” you answer from where you’re crouched near the front of the plane, grabbing the black box and tossing it to Rob.

“Authorities didn't pick it up, and her jet didn't follow its flight plan,” Robin supplied.

“Flew under the radar, literally,” you note, standing back up.

“The Watchtower auto-tracked the jet and recorded the crash,” Robin continued.

“Then why isn't the League here?” Rocket pressed.

“Because our Boy Wonder has hacking skills and arranged to get the alert first,” Zatanna smirked. “Well that, and because Nightingale said to make it so,” she teases, gaining an eye roll from you.

“And because Cheshire and that case represent our unfinished business,” Aqualad corrects.

Superboy moves another part of the plane before asking the question that everyone had been wondering, “Where are the bodies?”

“Here's one. And it is stunning….” a voice all but purrs, grabbing everyone’s attention.

You can’t tell if you’re relieved or annoyed that Cheshire is standing tall, all in one piece, but you’re positive that this was the best outcome you could’ve hoped for, at least you were until the next voice pipped up.

“I am flora, not fauna,” the voice begins, and your gaze shifts as you spot the camouflaged ninjas along the mountainside. “I am foliage, not trees,” it continues, and your gaze keeps moving up, counting the adversaries before stopping on the man in green. “What am I?” The Riddler possesses his question, and you spot Shimmer and Mammoth behind him, too. He snaps his fingers, and suddenly, pylons are popping up from under the snow, and you groan at the realization.

Within seconds everyone is trapped underneath a green dome, “Seriously? A trap? We’re idiots,” you huff, soft enough for only Dick to hear, and he just shakes his head.

“Come on, you can get this. I am shrubbery, not grass. What am I?” The Riddler urges. “I…

“Am bush,” Robin grits, and you don’t hold back the groan that escapes this time.

“Didn't you think we'd be tipped you were on Cheshire's trail?” Riddler asked. “We're tired of your interference, kiddies. This is the end game. Ordered from above and executed by their master strategist, moi.”

You can’t help but roll your eyes. There was something about Riddler that screamed Narcissistic Personality Disorder, but that could be something you picked up from Dinah’s files.

“Miss Martian, is everyone linked?” Aqualad asks, and the second you hear him, your hands reach back to your back holster, fingers wrapping around your escrima sticks. “Yes,” she confirms, and you make brief eye contact with Dick, tilting your head slightly to indicate a direction. He responds with the same small action in confirmation. “Go!” Aqualad orders, and everyone splits up.

Zatanna makes her move first while you and Dick rush up behind and around her, “Ekahs siht ebolgwons!” (shake this snowglobe) she chants. Within your pylon-ed dome, snow flurries, creating an excellent interference from any direct attack.

The rest of the team jumps into action, using the moment of surprise and confusion to take on the ninjas.

You’ve just knocked one down when Aqualad speaks up again, “Superboy, the pylons,” he orders, and you risk a glance toward your friend with the S.

“Working on it,” he announces out loud, and you focus back on the enemies before you.

“KF-- cradle?” you inquire as you run up, behind Wally. “Ready,” he confirms, turning and dropping down, proffering his hands.

You run up and, with no hesitation, step into Wally’s grip. He’s pushing your body up a second later, giving you enough air to wail your escrima sticks down on the underprepared shadow. It’s reassuring that Wally will always have your back, even in disagreements. As he falls, knocked out, you quickly scan the rest of the battle and manage to spot as Rocket gets hit.

“Rocket’s down, she needs an assist K, and we’ve got a Shadow two tiers up, with some sort of electric disk device, looks like fatherbox tech to me,” you inform the team.

Robin quickly gets up, knocks out the Shadow, and Kaldur moves for the disk. You almost move to help him when you spot a Shadow coming up behind him, but you see M’gann moving in. You turn back to take on another Shadow, this time with Dick at your back fighting his own, but you see it when Conner launches into the air. You’re waiting for gravity to start pulling him back, but it doesn’t.

“That’s impossible,” you note as you use the electricity feature on a Shadow, who then crumples at your feet.

Robin turns his head, and his eyes widen as he stares at what you are.

“SB, you're flying!” he gasps, and your eyes widen too when you catch him using heat vision a moment later.

In his rage, he seems to miss the results of his attack. Your gaze drops, and you can see the top of Artemis’ head.

“Avalanche!” you shout into the link, hoping she’d cleared out of the way in time. You really weren’t trying to relive the Arctic in the real world. It’s silent for a moment, and then your anxiety takes over, “ARTEMIS!” you’re screaming into the link.  “I’m alright!” she confirms, and you let out a breath.

Rob taps your shoulder and gestures up to where Riddler’s still standing, and you nod. The two of you make your way up, targeting Shimmer and effectively knocking her out cold with a mix of a smoke grenade, Robin’s bola, and your well-aimed punch.

With Riddler’s focus on you and Rob, Zatanna floats behind him as the smoke clears, “Tekcajtiarts!” (straightjacket!) she announces, and Riddler’s suddenly restrained, unable to get free.

“No!” he shouts. “I am not the straightjacket type! I am strictly Belle Reve not Arkham!” Riddler argues.

Zatanna huffs out a, “Gag mih!” (gag him!) effectively silencing the Riddler's little tirade.

“Hey Rob, what is broken when you name it?” you ask, a shit-eating grin on your face as you crouch down beside Riddler, who only glares at you in return.

“Silence,” Robin smirks, earning Edward Nigma’s ire.

“Hguone htiw eht ebolgwons,” (enough with the snowglobe) Zatanna’s shout echos’s across the mountain, and suddenly the snow stops.

You all quickly work on the remaining pylons before loading the bioship with Nigma and the captured Shadows.

“Cheshire?” you ask out loud.

“Gone,” Artemis confirms.

“From you? Again?” Wally challenges. “That’s like the third-“

“Enough,” Kaldur cuts in quick. “We need to drop these prisoners off at Belle Reve and return to the Cave, I imagine, the League will want a debrief and an explanation.”

“I guess it’s a good thing, I got the case, though,” Artemis adds, and you can’t help but smile at her.

MOUNT JUSTICEDecember 30, 15:45 EST

You felt like he was staring right at you. Given the whiteouts of his mask, Batman could be glaring at any of you, “Tell me if this sounds familiar. You hacked League systems, disobeyed protocol, and endangered your lives,” he pauses. 

You have to fight the wince when you catch Dinah’s eye. She’s standing behind Batman with Red Tornado and Martian Man-Hunter, and she’s got an eyebrow quirked as she stares straight at you.

“And your initiative resulted in the capture of three escaped felons proving Warden Strange runs Belle Reve as a cover for criminal activity…. Well done,” he affirms, and you let out a small breath, gaze darting over to Robin, who quirks his lips in a small smile, one you match.

“And then there's this,” he adds, forcing your attention back as he and Icon approach the case that Artemis had recovered, “Bio-technology integrated with some form of nano-circuitry.”

“Though I am unfamiliar with the species, the bio-component is clearly not of Earth,” Icon confirms.

“We'll take it to the Watchtower for further study,” Batman decides, and the Leaguers head back toward the Zeta.

Canary lingers before walking over to you, mostly everyone else disperses, but you can feel Wally and Kaldur behind you, and Dick’s still at your side.

“I get the feeling that this decision was not made on your own?” she inquires, staring at you.

“I have a team,” you reply loftily. “I don’t have to make these decisions on my own.”

“No, you don’t,” she smiles gently at you, running a hand across your cheek, and then turns to the boys, “and I’m glad to know you see it too.” She says nothing but offers you a pat on the shoulder and turns to the Zeta.

As soon as Canary and Icon zeta out, you turn to the team, shoulders set, “You realize we were set up,” your tone is even, despite the worrisome nature.

“Yes,” Aqualad confirms. “Cheshire and Riddler were tipped and ready for us.”

“They knew we were looking for her, specifically,” you point out, and you can’t help the way your gut swoops.

“Not the mole thing again,” Artemis groans, and your lips turn down. How was it that Roy got to move on, but you were still battling the same demon.

“Mole thing?” Rocket asks, concerned. “Again?”

“We had intel that there was a traitor on the Team,” Wally explains, tone resigned.

“Namely, Artemis, M'gann, or me,” Conner huffs, his bravado cutting through as he steps forward with clenched fists and levels a glare at you specifically.

“It is more complicated than that,” Kaldur argues, placing a hand on Conner’s shoulder.

“And we-“ you gesture between you and Kaldur “-never said that, we only tried to look into the claim to see if it were true,” you argue.

Conner scoffs and shoves Kaldur’s hand away, turning to leave, “But your recent behavior does concern me,” Kaldur adds, following after him. “Your attack on Mammoth nearly got Artemis killed.”

Conner doesn’t respond, though he does stop for a moment. When he winces, your brow furrows, “Conner?” you call cautiously.

“There’s something I need to do,” Conner says, turning back to face you, but his tone is wholly different. “Something I need to tell you,” he admits, and you shift as you pick up the unease of everyone in the room. “Last month, on Thanksgiving, I went back to CADMUS and found a few things out.” Your eye twitches slightly at the mention of CADMUS, but you fight to keep your expression neutral. “When I was cloned, only half the DNA was Superman’s. The other half was human,” he admits, and there’s a shift from everyone else. “That's why I don't have, will never have, full Kryptonian powers.”

Your brow furrows, thinking about what you’d seen today, “You sure? Because you sure seemed to have them today,” Robin teases, voicing your thoughts.

“I've been using these,” Conner says, pulling up his sleeve and showing a patch, “Shields. They suppress my human DNA. I get the flight, the heat-vision, but I think I also get angry. Well, angrier… I’m… sorry,” he explains and only one question comes to mind.

“Conner, where did you get those?” you ask, voice lethal.

Conner winces at the question and your tone but meets your gaze. There’s an honesty there that hasn’t existed in a while, a calmness that stems from finally unloading the truth, “From my human father… Lex Luthor.”

There’s an audible intake of breath from someone behind you, and everyone’s eyes are blowing wide, but you? You’re fuming because if Lex Luthor had that much reach, it meant he must have been the silent bankroller for CADMUS, which in turn means Lex Luthor was responsible for the death of your parents, and that? That was not something you’d be letting go of, not now, not ever.

“Lex Luthor, is your dad?” Dick asks. The surprise is evident, and if not for the topic, it would’ve been a moment to commemorate, catching the Boy Wonder off guard.

“He's summoned me to Santa Prisca,” Conner continues.

The silence is deafening. Your shoulders tense as you try to gather your thoughts, and as you open your mouth to say something about Conner’s decision to keep these things secret, Artemis speaks up.

“Ahhh, listen,” she sighs. “Superboy’s not the only one suffering from bad DNA,” she admits, and you tense further, turning to look at the blond. She pulls up three IDs on the holo-computer before beginning. “My mother is Huntress, an ex-con. The rest of my family aren't even ex. My dad's Sportsmaster, and he's sending my sister, Cheshire, to fly me to Santa Prisca, too.”

You gape at the screen, but it all makes sense: her need to prove something, her secrets, her mother’s desperation, even the reason why Cheshire always seemed to escape when up against Artemis.

“That's why-“ Wally’s voice cracks, and you’re hit with a wave of understanding and regret from the speedster as he stares at the archer.

“Yeah,” she mutters. “I was so desperate to make sure none of you found out. “

“I knew you weren’t GAs niece, but-“ you mumble but stop as eyes shift to you.

“I knew,” Dick negates, and Artemis’ eyes blow wide, and you can’t help but gape at him. “Hey, I'm a detective!” he defends but quirks a smile, “But it never mattered. You aren't your family. You're one of us,” he reminds her.

“You always have been,” you manage to choke out, “nothing to prove,” you remind her, and you can see how the tension melts away from her.

Wally pushes forward and stops beside her. He hesitates on what to say but eventually settles for a small smile, propping an arm on her shoulder and jokingly asking, “So who's next?”

“I am,” comes the somber response from M’gann, and for the first time since the start of these revelations, you watch as she seems to curl up into herself.

“I swear I was kidding,” Wally says desperately, hands up in surrender.

“Queen Bee's been blackmailing me. She wants me in Santa Prisca too,” she admits.

“Blackmailing?” Kaldur repeats as if he hadn’t heard her correctly.

“How?” you press. Your voice is rough, and you notice how M’gann’s not the only one to flinch at it.

“She knows my… true… Martian form,” M’gann admits, but the way she says it makes it seem heavier than your first instinct.

“Bald M'gann? Who cares if-“ Robin wants to make a joke, to lighten the mood, but M’gann cuts him off, and before she shifts, you know why: Bald M’gann had been another cover for a secret she hadn’t been ready to share.

“No,” she interrupts, taking a deep breath before shifting.

If you thought the reactions to Luthor being Conner’s human dad were extreme, it was nothing to how almost everyone reacted to M’gann’s true form. She stood before you, a towering creature, a White Martian. While your information was limited, you had enough to assemble a theory.

You fought not to react, to stand firm and impassive beside Kaldur, just as he did. The only other person not to react was Conner.

There’s a whispered “woah” from Rocket as everyone else releases startled gasps.

“I realized you would never accept me if you saw what I really am,” M’gann tells us, and you ache for her. You struggled sometimes balancing Nightingale and (y/n) Roxo. You couldn’t imagine having kept your true self a secret from everyone, having no one to turn to. It had to have been incredibly draining and lonely… so lonely. Your anger was fading with each revelation, but there was one point where you were still stuck.

“M’gann, did we truly seem so shallow?” Kaldur inquires, and though he sounds the same, you can hear the hurt in his words, the edge you recognize as him questioning his abilities in setting the tone of his leadership.

M’gann crosses her arms, her gaze cast down. Dinah called that stance protecting by avoidance, “I couldn't take a chance,” M’gann admits. “Being a white Martian among the green on Mars, I endured constant rejection….I couldn't face that from-“

“From me?” Conner asks, carefully stepping forward and taking her hand.

The way they stare at each other is enough to tell that they are now having a more private conversation. Dick takes the opportunity to grab your shoulder, forcing you to turn to him, Kaldur doing the same.

“Now might be a good time for anyone else to share secrets regarding CADMUS,” he hints, and your lips part- he hadn’t even bothered to whisper.

“What are you talking about?” Zatanna’s question echoes from behind him, but you standing stock still, staring at him.

“You must be joking,” you hiss as you shrug out of Dick’s grip.

“C’mon, Birdy,” he urges, and you feel Kaldur’s hand on your shoulder.

You shrug off Kaldur, too, before spinning on your heel, pushing past Artemis and Wally and to the computer. Your hands shake a bit while you type, but you pull up everything you have; the news article about your parent’s death, the report on your blood from Dinah and Bruce, and the readings on the genomorphs at CADMUS. You take a deep breath before turning back to everyone now looking at you and at everything you’ve pulled up, eyes jumping between each article and report.

You sniff before reaching into a compartment of your belt and pulling out a mask adhesive dissolution wipe. When you start pulling at your mask, there are a few wide eyes, and when your glare lands on Robin, all he does is smile in return.

“My name is (y/n) Roxo, and when I was six years old, I witnessed the murder of my parents,” you begin. Everyone but Kaldur and Robin focus on you with lips parted and wide eyes. “They were Wayne Enterprises scientists, brilliant actually. They noticed some discrepancies with a project in the labs, cover-ups, and false reports. One had to do with an instance when I was in their lab and was accidentally exposed to whatever the project had been focused on,” You begin. “When we went to CADMUS on the Fourth of July, something about the genomorphs seemed familiar. I later discovered that’s because when I was young, I was exposed to a replication of their abilities, the beginnings of the research that led to the cloning capabilities. It’s what gave me the empath abilities and why J’onn thinks I could manifest further powers, just like the genomorphs have,” you explain.

“Which is why you looked like you were about to whip out some kryptonite when SB here said Luthor was his dad,” Artemis pieced, gaze jumping toward you and Conner. “Because CADMUS-“

“Because CADMUS is his project, and he funded, orchestrated- he was responsible for my parents murder,” you affirm, eyes meeting Conner’s.

“Holy shit,” Wally mumbled, and you couldn’t help but agree.

Conner was staring straight at you despite how focused he had been on M’gann only moments before. His blue eyes were wide as he stared straight at you, his lips parted but closed, and then his expression shifted as he took in the rage in your eyes and again when he saw the hurt. His shoulders sag slightly, and he slowly takes steps forward until he is right in front of you.

“I- I’m so sorry, Bir- (y/n),” he stutters over your name for a second, and you want to hold onto the anger. You want to be mad at him, but his eyes are so open and honest with you right now, and you’re reminded of the Conner who saved you from Cadmus back in July, the one who wanted to do good, to be good.

“It’s not okay, but I don’t… I don’t blame you,” the fact that your blame fell squarely on Lex Luthor went without saying.

He offers a curt nod, “a problem for later?” he adds quietly, and you give a silent nod in affirmation.

“So uh.. I know I’m new, but what now?” Rocket asked, and everyone’s eyes jumped from person to person, waiting for someone to speak up.

“We know that CADMUS has played a much larger role than any of us anticipated when we began this team six months ago, and we know that Superboy, Artemis, and Miss Martian are all expected at Santa Prisca,” Kaldur begins, and everyone’s attention shifts to him. “So we go as a team. Prepared for whatever they may throw at us. The backroom deals and secret alliances end today.”

SANTA PRISCADecember 30, 17:57 ECT

“Superboy’s about to make contact,” M’gann’s voice echoes as everyone focuses on the exchange.

You and Robin were in the bioship with M’gann. At the same time, Kaldur, Wally, Rocket, and Zatanna had taken discreet positions on the island, each of you waiting for the call.

You could feel Robin staring at the back of your head, but you ignored him instead of focusing on what was happening on the ground below you.

“Welcome, Superboy,” Lex Luthor’s voice sets you on edge the second you hear it. Still, you force yourself to watch as Suberboy dismounts the Supercycle. “I'd like to introduce you to my associate, Queen Bee.”

Even though it was expected, your heart begins to speed up a bit in reaction to the developments, “My pleasure,” she greets.

“I believe you know everyone else. Sportsmaster, Mercy, Blockbuster. And our new friend Bane, who's allowed us use of his island in exchange for certain considerations,” Luthor introduces as everyone around him steps forward.

“No one wanted to listen when I said following Bane was a bad idea, and here we are,” you huff into the link, but the rest are silent.

“So the Injustice League was just a distraction. You two have been behind everything from the start,” Conner surmises, painting his expression with shock.

“Heh, a flattering notion, son, but we have many friends,” Luthor sidesteps, and your skin crawls at the way he calls SB son.

“This one of your friends now?” Conner asks as a helicopter begins to approach and then as it lands.

“No, my boy,” Luthor smirks. “One of yours.”

Conner glares at the copter until the door slides open, “Artemis?” the name rings out with a tone of shock, and you roll your shoulders, trying to force yourself to relax.

To her credit, she plays her role well, “The hero thing wasn't working out. You get how it is. No trust,” she scoffs, seemingly indifferent to the developments around her. “This is where I belong,” she adds, and you flinch.

“You’re up, Miss M,” you announce, and she backs the bioship up a bit, making a circle around the island and de-camouflaging the bioship before parking it in the air above the group.

“It's a fast-growing club,” Queen B announces as M’gann descends to the ground.

You reach for the rope, securing yourself to the repeller in preparation for when you’ll all be making your move.

“So… you’re just going to ignore me?” he asks cautiously.

Your glare sharpens in his direction, but it’s difficult to make out with your mask back.

“I know you’re upset that I-“

“Upset? Dick, I’m furious, you pushed me into revealing things they didn’t need to know! Things I trusted you enough to share about, privately!”

“They needed to know!” he argues. “(y/n) you consistently come to the rescue, you throw your life on the line for us, you did it in the Bayou, you did it for Wally in Seattle, you did it last week for me in the Circus. You do it all the time, because you know these things about everyone, you know when they need the support, but no one- outside of Kaldur and I, even had the slightest inclination. They needed to know, because today is more than the conspiracy of the last six months. Today could be the end, of it all, for you. Today could be the answers you’ve been looking for since Dinah took you in.”

“It wasn’t your call to make,” you hiss.

“No, it wasn’t. But this team fights better, fights stronger, when it’s united, and you’ve always been able to make us get our shit together better than anyone else can,” he sighs.

You glare at him but refuse to respond, and his shoulders drop.

“Why are they here?” M’gann’s startled gasp forces you both to look back to the ground from your spots within the ship. “You promised!” she cries.

“I’ve kept your secret and my promise,” Queen B argues, tone deadly. “Now, you keep yours,” when M’gann ducks her head, the monarch smirks, “Good girl.”

“Give me more shields, and I'm in, too,” Conner decides, and your lips twitch down. Espionage was not his forte.

Luthor walks closer and stares at Conner briefly before smirking, “My boy, you're a terrible liar.”

Conner’s eyes blow wide before winding back for an attack. However, before he can, Luthor plays his card, “Red Sun.”

Conner does well with his role. His entire body relaxes, face falling flat, arms hanging limply at his side as he stands straight with a muted expression, staring at Luthor.

“What do you want us to do?” Artemis asks, stepping forward, prodding the meeting along.

Luthor nods his head once, and Sportsmaster gestures to Artemis and M’gann. “You two, follow me.”

“What about Superboy?” M’gann asks, eyes sliding to Queen B.

“He'll be fine. He simply requires a few adjustments…” she trails off.

Everyone but Superboy begins to follow after Sportsmaster, “Bring him along,” Luthor orders, and Blockbuster moves toward Conner.

Your breath catches as you wait to see what happens. You’d all agreed that it’d be Artemis, M’gann, or Conner’s call on when to move, given they were the three in the thick of it. So when Artemis starts running forward, bow in hand before shooting at Blockbuster, trapping him for the moment, before turning around and aiming at her father.

“Sorry, Dad. Wanted to play you like you tried to play me but I can't let them mess with Superboy's head!” she shouted.

“M'gann, be a dear and take Artemis down,” Queen B orders.

You look at Rob as you both step up to the drop-hole.

You let out an audible groan as you stare at the boy across from you, “After,” is all you say.

He nods in affirmation, “milkshakes?” and you nod in agreement.

M’gann lifts Artemis in the air but then uses the distraction to fling Queen B backward and into a tree. She falls to the ground unconscious, and you wait for the verbal confirmation. Artemis shoots a shot at her dad, and then M’gann lets her down.

“Queen Bee is down,” M’gann confirms. “Superboy, you're safe from her control.”

"I may not be much of a liar, but I fooled you,” Conner announced as he approached Luthor.

“And I'm so proud,” Lex states sarcastically. “I take it Miss Martian cleaned Red Sun from your mind?”

“And confirmed Nightingale, Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash rescued me from Cadmus before you had time to install any other programming,” Conner shoots back.

Luthor sighs, “All true. Personally, I blame Dr. Desmond.”

As if verbally queued, Blockbuster frees himself from Artemis’ trap, charging at Superboy.

You observe as Bane’s goons start engaging, and the supercycle quickly lays down cover fire while SB gets busy with Blockbuster.

Artemis and M’gann alternate between defense and offense until, “Guys, reinforcement time,” the blonde calls.

Rocket and Wally are the first two to make it to everyone, and you glance at Rob, “Ready?”

“Go,” he confirms, and you both drop-down, trusting the rope and the bioship as you go. You yank the stop when you’re only a few feet off the ground, and both you and Robin stop abruptly before releasing yourselves, dropping to the ground and landing agilely on your feet.

You take a second to scan your surroundings. You spot Kaldur facing off with Luthor and his assistant, an unconscious Queen B in his arms. You turn instead to take on some of the goons. You and Rob were methodical in knocking down person after person, you hear the cocking of a gun behind you, and you turn with wide eyes,

“Ekoms dna srorrim!” (smoke and mirrors!) Zatanna chants and the gun turns to smoke, which then turns into a giant serpent, winding its way around the goon’s body. “Egnahc ekans otni sgnidnib!” (change snake into bindings); she continues, and the snake becomes a rope.

You’re frozen in surprise for a second, but that’s knocked away when Bane appears and charges at Robin, Zatanna, and you simultaneously.

“Shit!” you manage to grit out in surprise.

Your hands start moving blindly, a hand going to your hip where your grapple is. You quickly twist the cord out of the gun before whipping it and your arm out to the side in an arc. The tensile strength of the cable is enough to stop Bane as he falls forward with the three of you.

You and Rob push him off and to the side. Robin covers you while you quickly peek at Zatanna, who seems knocked out. You look up in time to see Bane get back up and start fighting with Robin. You're on your feet when he gets pushed back, facing off against Bane.

“Hola Chicita, it’s been some time,” he teases, head tilting down at you.

“Not nearly long enough, Bane,” you huff.

“Etaerc Elagnithgin Snoisulli!” (create nightingale illusions) Zatanna’s rushed chant whips through you, and you can feel the prickle of her magic as it washes over you, and suddenly, there are dozens of you all facing Bane.

Bane’s surprise is visible as he scans each and every duplicate of you. "Gotta love an army of NG,” Rob smirks as he pushes himself up.

You smirk in return and pull out your ring daggers, several duplicates doing the same or arming themselves with escrima sticks and marble bombs before you’re all running at Bane. He gets distracted by the ones jumping up at him directly and misses when the true you slip around him with one of your blades out. You cut through his tubes of Venom, weakening him. Then you turn with an escrima stick crackling with electricity and plant it firmly at the base of his neck, watching with satisfaction as it brings him to his knees and then as he collapses.

You pull back, and with the moment you have, you take in a deep lungful of air, finally able to breathe. As you look around, you realize the fighting has stopped. Artemis and KF are standing by an unconscious and tar-trapped Sportsmaster. Superboy, Miss M, and Rocket are posted up by Blockbuster. You stare down at Bane as you realize who isn’t still here, and Robin joins you a second later.

“NG?” his voice is hesitant, as he notices how you’re gripping your escrima stick and dagger, your body tense, as you stare at Bane.

“He got away,” your voice cracks as you say it, and your fists clench tighter. "Luthor-"

When Robin touches your shoulder, you both recoil quickly; his lips part as he stares at you and his hand.

“I.. I felt-“

“I’m sorry,” you whisper, tugging on all the strings threatening to burst free, trying to cram your emotions back in their place to keep them from leaking out and affecting everyone around you. You drop your weaponry, hugging yourself as you try to compact your feelings.

A different hand lands on your shoulder. When you turn your head, you see Kaldur beside you. You can feel yourself unraveling just as fast as you attempt to stuff it all down.

“Stop,” you say as you attempt to shrug him off.

“It is okay to feel angry, my friend,” he reminds you, eyes burning with the same rage you feel, and you know in that second that it is the same rage, it is your rage, that he’s taking it on, for you.

“Kaldur, stop, that’s not- you shouldn’t-“ you huff, but with each move back, he follows, until suddenly he’s holding you in a tight hug, and you can’t move anymore. “Stop,” you beg, gripping on to his arms.

“Allow us to help, epitrépste mou na sikóso aftó to város. stiríxou páno mou, chrisimopoíise ti dýnamí mou, méchri na anaktíseis ti dikí sou. Eímai statherós, paliós fílos. (let me carry this burden. lean on me, use my strength, until you regain your own. I am steady, old friend).”

His words wash over you, and you finally do that. You stop pushing against the bits that are bleeding. You can feel Kaldur stiffen when he finally feels the whole barrage of your emotions, but quickly, he tightens his hold on you. When tears start to fall from both of you, all you can do is sag into him in relief.

“Den eínai díkaio. Xéfyge. Tha éprepe na eínai edó. Tha éprepe na logodotísei gia ta enklímatá tou, ton rólo tou. Échoun fýgei kai eínai exaitías tou. Eímai tóso kourasménos kai tóso thymoménos, to niótho óli tin óra kai prospathó tóso sklirá na min to afíso éxo. Allá giatí eínai eléftheros?” (It's not fair. He got away. He should be here. He should have to answer for his crimes, his role. They're gone and it’s because of him. I am so tired and so angry, I feel it all the time, and I try so hard not to let it out. But why does he get to be free?) the words tumble from your lips in sobs of atlantean.

Part of the truth you’re admitting was too raw to admit to everyone else, none of the sidekicks had ever seen your anger, your rage— Kaldur had. Kaldur was the one who he lped you learn how to manage it. He was the one who taught you, the one who showed you how to channel it into something better.

“Thýmose, Poulí, tha diatiríso tin isorropía kai gia tous dýo,” (Be angry, Bird, I will maintain the balance for us both) he answers, his voice as calm as ever, and you can’t help but marvel at him, how he can hold your anger, your hurt, your rage, but present as calm, and keep it from seeping out when you can’t do anything but make a mess.

You know the team’s watching. You know they’re concerned and want to tell them it’s okay, that you’re okay, but you’re not. You know that. Dinah would know what to say and how to tell the team that they did a good job and that they should enjoy the win, but you can’t. You can’t tell them that you can’t enjoy it, not when the mastermind of it all managed to escape.

Quietly, Kaldur helps you back onto the Bioship. Vaguely, you hear the conversations happening around you. 

“It is always like this,” Rocket scoffs, dropping into her seat. 

“Told you,” Wally chimes, but you can feel his gaze on you.

“Hey, disaster averted. Feeling the aster,” Robin muses as he settles next to you but keeps a distance.

“Agreed, this has been a good day,” Kaldur nods, fists clenched as he turns to you, “but it is not the end.”

“No,” you ground out in confirmation, and you can feel the promise in his words, “it’s not.”

[michaeljoncarter]

justice league rules from the JLA Sourcebook! a lot going on here, but my personal favorite detail is that founding members apparently do not have to do monitor duty. so every time a comic has batman lurking around in the monitor room, he's there by choice. monitor duty is just his idea of fun, i guess

((LONG) transcription under cut)

Bylaws Governing the Justice League of America

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of the Justice League of America (hereafter referred to as the JLA) is to handle threats to Earth's security--both terrestrial and extraterrestrial--beyond the power of conventional enforcement groups. If requested to do so by concerned parties, the JLA will undertake certain mission that aid those of other planets. However, the JLA's major responsibility is the peace and welfare of Earth. The JLA will also participate in public service and charity function when not involved in higher priority duties.

Funding

The JLA is a nonprofit organization incorporated in the United States of America, and hence shall have the word "America" in its title. The money for the operations and maintenance of the JLA is funded by an annual grant from a blind trust established in its name.¹ Additional funding is also provided by donations from the United Nations and the Wayne Foundation,² who shall have no say over the use of the money within the JLA organizational structure, but shall retain the right to limit or suspend their funding for any reason. The JLA shall use its funds for the maintenance of its headquarters and equipment, and certain special benefits for members (which specifically exclude compensation for services rendered).

Active Membership Ceiling

The JLA shall have no more than twelve (12) members on active status at once, unless an individual is granted special temporary status.³ This membership ceiling is in accordance with a standing agreement with the United Nations.

Active Membership

Any applicant for membership in the JLA must be an adult of legal age, distinguished by at least one year of active public service, be willing to participate in all JLA missions, and be able to be on call 24 hours per day. Membership in the JLA is awarded regardless of race, color, creed, sex, or citizenship.

Membership Candidacy and Elections

A candidate for membership must be nominated by an active member in good standing at a regular or emergency meeting. Reserve members may petition for nomination. A candidate shall be elected by a two-thirds majority vote of the total active membership.

Founding Membership

Founding membership is a special status given to the five (5) most senior members of the JLA. The founding membership roster shall never exceed five (5) members. Founding members serve as the final authority on all matters of policy, can cast an additional vote as a group in the event of a tie, serve as the tribunal for all disciplinary matters, and have the sole authority to disband the JLA. Founding members also act as the direct liaisons between the JLA and the United Nations. Beyond these responsibilities founding members do not have any further authority or privileges over and above any other active member. Founding members must remain part of the active membership to retain their founding member status.

Only a current founding member can nominate a candidate for founding member status. A candidate is then elected into founding member status by a simple majority vote of the entire JLA roster (active, reserve, and honorary members), past and present. Founding membership is awarded for life, or until the member chooses to relinquish the responsibility and nominate a successor. Should a founding member ever be suspended or expelled, a replacement shall be chosen from the active membership at the next regular business meeting.

The founding membership roster is currently defined as Aquaman, the Batman, the Martian Manhunter, Superman, and Wonder Woman.⁴

Reserve Membership

Reservists are members who are eligible for active membership but can or will not make the commitment of being on call 24 hours a day or being present for JLA meetings.

Reservists may be summoned in the event the chairperson deems the JLA is not operating at an optimum strength to accomplish the current mission. The requirements for official reserve status are: must have assisted the JLA in at least one mission, be an adult of legal age, be distinguished by at least one year of active public service, and be willing to be on call for emergency duty. Reservists have no regular duties or number of missions they must perform. Reservists shall be awarded signal devices and can call emergency meetings. They have limited access to the JLA headquarters. They require the chairperson's permission to use JLA equipment. Reservists may participate in social functions, and they have the option of not attending regular business meetings. Like active members, they are not required to reveal their civilian identities to the JLA.

A reserve member who meets the requirements of active membership may petition for active membership. A reservist's petition shall be given priority when a vacancy occurs in the active membership. A reservist may ask to be taken off reserve status at any time. A reservist is automatically taken off reserve status if unavailable for three consecutive summons to duty.

Honorary Membership

Honorary members are those individuals who assist in a JLA missions but decline or are ineligible for reserve or active status. Honorary members may not enter JLA headquarters without being accompanied by an active member. They may not call emergency meetings but may contact an active member, who determines whether the matter requires the attention of the entire JLA. Honorary members have no regular duties. They are entitles to attend social functions, and may attend business meetings if they choose. A two-thirds vote by the total active membership is necessary to revoke honorary status.

Chairpersonship

The Duty of the chairperson is to coordinate all JLA activities. Any active member may be nominated for the position of chairperson, and who is elected by a two-thirds majority vote. The term of the chairperson shall be no less than one year. A chairperson may be elected to an unlimited number of consecutive terms.⁵ In the event that the chairperson is absent of unable to perform his or her duties, leadership will be assumed by the most senior active member until such time as a new chairperson can be elected.

Privileges of Members

Any duly elected member shall have membership in the JLA for live with according honors. He or she shall have free access to the JLA headquarters and all its facilities. Any current active member shall have his or her own private quarters and office in the JLA headquarters. Each JLA member shall have an equal vote and equal privileges. By agreement with the United Nations, each JLA member has permission to travel across international boundaries without a passport. No member is required to swear an oath of allegiance to any outside organization or body.

Requirements of Active Members

No JLA members my accept fees for services rendered while in their costumed identity. Each JLA membership shall keep a log of all missions as individuals or groups for the JLA archives. Each JLA member must provide a recorded excuse for every absence from JLA missions or meetings. Whenever possible, a JLA member shall notify the organization in advance of an absence, so the chairperson can determine the operational strength and contact alternates if need be. All JLA members shall carry their signal devices at all times and be ready for duty 24 hours a day. No JLA member is required to reveal his or her civilian identity to the membership. However, any member may do so at his or her discretion, with the implicit understanding that it will be held in the strictest confidence. JLA members are forbidden to reveal any classified JLA secrets to any nonmember, including spouses. Each active, nonfounding member shall serve his or her shift on monitor duty.

As a group or as individuals, any member, past or present, of the JLA is prohibited from using his or her talents, powers, and/or professional tools to acquire political power, abridge the civil rights of any individual, interfere with the internal affairs of nations, or take side in international conflicts under review by the United Nations. The JLA may not interfere with routine police actions or any matter under federal or local jurisprudence, unless their assistance is specifically requested. The JLA may not interfere in interplanetary matters that have no bearing on Earth security without proper authorization from the concerned parties or a recognized interstellar police organization.

Meetings

Regular business meetings shall be held at JLA Headquarters⁶ twelve (12) times per year on the last Saturday of each month for handling organizational business. All active members are expected to be in attendance. Emergency meetings may be called at any time by any active member or reservist. All available members shall attend emergency meetings. All meetings will be digitally recorded for the JLA archives.

Monitor Duty

Each active member is required to serve a 24-hour shift of monitor surveillance in JLA headquarters. Founding members are exempt from monitor duty but may volunteer to be entered into the rotation. In the event that a member cannot serve his or her shift, it is the member's responsibility to contact a replacement among the active membership. Each member must make up missed shifts. The member must remain awake for two-thirds of his or her shift. The member on monitor duty may have one guest during the shift as long as the guest does not interfere with the member's duties.

Punishment of Criminals

All alleged criminals dealt with by the JLA shall be brought to trial under whichever judicial body they are subject to, be it terrestrial, extraterrestrial, or extradimensional. Acts of interstellar aggression and misconduct shall be punished in accordance with the mandates of the appropriate recognized interstellar law enforcement agency. The governing tribunal, not the JLA itself, shall decide the severity of a criminal's punishment. Imprisonment shall be handled by conventional institutions, except in cases where the criminal cannot be detained by existing facilities. In this case, the JLA is at liberty to devise their own form of detainment under the review of the United Nations or a recognized interstellar law enforcement agency.

Leaves of Absence

Leaves of absence shall be granted to any active member or reservist who requests one for personal reasons. To remain in good standing, the member on leave must make regular summaries of activities (the number and submission period dependent on the length of absence). Leaves of absence shall be honored for as long as the member requests it. A mandatory leave shall be given to any member missing three consecutive missions with a valid excuse. To be reinstated after a leave, the member must file a notification of return to former status at a business meeting. With no valid excuse, the member will be suspended from active duty (see "Suspension").

Resignations and Discharges

Any member may resign if he or she wants to sever all connections with the JLA. A former member must submit to debriefing of JLA information. Any member who resign in sound mind with free will can only be reinstated by again undergoing the standard active or reserve membership selection process. Discharges are given to members who, for any reason, can no longer perform their duties. Discharged members are awarded honorary status and, unless deemed a security risk, are allowed to retain JLA secrets.

Suspension

Active members may be suspended from active duty for on-year periods on the following grounds: deliberate dereliction of duty, conduct unbecoming a Justice Leaguer, or willfully disobeying the chairperson. To be suspended, the accused must be indicted by at least one active member and brought before a tribunal of the founding members for a hearing, with the chairperson officiating. A simple majority of the tribunal shall determine suspension. Suspended members are prohibited from entering the JLA headquarters, attending meetings, and being summoned for any form of duty. Suspended members may be granted an early reprieve for meritorious action and granted their former status by a two-thirds vote of the active membership.

Expulsion

Active, reserve, and honorary members may be expelled from the JLA with no possibility of reinstatement on the following grounds: conviction for any crime, deliberate betrayal of classified JLA secrets, criminal acts not convicted but witness by at least one member, taking money for services rendered, or the accumulation of three suspensions. The hearings or expulsions are identical to the proceedings for suspensions, save that an active member can only be expelled by a unanimous vote of the tribunal. Expelled members must submit to debriefing of JLA information.

Disbanding and Restraints

The JLA organization may only be disbanded by either a unanimous vote of the founding members⁷ or a unanimous vote of the United National Security Council. The United Nations also has the power to put restraining orders on the JLA's various members or activities, to the extent of curtailing the JLA's operations completely. Failure to comply with the United Nation's edicts shall be interpreted as a breach of faith between the JLA and the countries that the United Nations protects. The JLA has the right to contest restraints placed on them in a special World Court. In the event that the JLA is disbanded by mutual consent or external edict, the JLA headquarters and all other facilities revert to the United Nations for dispersal.

Policy

All amendments to the charter and bylaws shall be put into effect by a two-thirds vote of the total active membership. Bylaws governing membership may be waived by a unanimous vote. All active members shall have an equal vote in JLA policymaking. A two-third vote of the active membership shall determine what missions shall be undertaken in the even that the JLA is overextended coping with the situation at hand, or in the event that a situation is of borderline concern to the JLA.

FOOTNOTES

¹ Established when the JLA was first founded, the donor who created this blind trust remains completely anonymous. The JLA continues to respect his, her, or their privacy to this day

² Due to its relief efforts for Gotham City during the "No Man's Land" catastrophe, the Wayne Foundation temporarily suspended its funding to the JLA. When or if its funding will resume remains to be seen.

³ While they are allowed up to 12 active members by their agreement with the United Nations, the JLA has opted to limit their current membership to eight active members.

⁴ In the original JLA charter, the founding membership was defined as Aquaman, Black Canary, the Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), and the Martian Manhunter. Also, the founding membership had no specific responsibilities or privileges, save for the authority to disband the JLA. This state of affairs remained in place until the Martian Manhunter disbanded the JLA and the group became Justice League International. It was with this version of the bylaws that the duties and responsibilities of the founding membership were formally defined, and Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were elected to founding member status--replacing the Flash, Green Lantern, and Black Canary (the latter of whom voluntarily chose to relinquish her status as a founding member).

⁵ Superman is currently serving as the chairperson of the JLA. By unanimous vote of the membership, he will continue to serve as chairperson until eh chooses to step down or leaves the active membership.

⁶ The current JLA headquarters is the JLA Watchtower on the moon.

⁷ In previous drafts of the bylaws, the JLA could be disbanded in one of two ways: (1) by a unanimous vote of the active membership or (2) on the sole authority of one of the founding members, (Aquaman, Black Canary, the Flash [Barry Allen], Green Lantern [Hal Jordan], and the Martian Manhunter). When the current JLA revised the bylaws, the group chose to place this power in the hands of the founding members as a group.

[bitimdrake]

pssssst hey quick question on the dl - who is helena bartinelli??

i cannot answer anon questions on the dl, so answer on the up-high, which she deserves:

HUNTRESS

a.k.a. Helena Bertinelli, a.k.a. Gotham's coolest and most notable antihero, crossbow-wielder, and purple bat-associated vigilante.

Helena was born to an Italian mob family, but spent her childhood blissfully unaware of the family business--until her entire family was slaughtered in front of her when she was eight. She stayed with family overseas for the rest of her childhood, learning how to fight and protect herself.

She came back to Gotham for both vengeance and justice, and became one of Gotham's many vigilantes. Though her focus is on the mob, she'll step in to stop any crime.

She's also a schoolteacher! Good for her.

She is discerning in who she chooses to kill, but she does kill. As you can imagine, this put her at odds with Batman for a long time. Helena is pretty much the premiere example of Bruce trying to claim control over every vigilante in Gotham, no matter how little right he has. The argument on killing/ethics is valid, but his default was basically "do exactly what I say and fall in line under my command, or stop completely," which is why he's an asshole control freak and why I'm constantly mad about how she was treated 👍

She was an absolute mainstay of the Batfamily before Flashpoint (2011) and it is personally hurtful to me that people don't know her. (Like, to be frank? She had far more of a presence than Damian or (living) Jason in the post-crisis era.)

You could count on seeing her in any major Batfamily crossover, from Cataclysm to Battle for the Cowl.

She was central to the biggest Batfamily crossover ever, No Man's Land, where Gotham was locked off from the rest of the country and turned into a lawless wasteland. Bruce left to sulk for the first couple of months and in absence of any other vigilantes in the field (only Oracle having remained in the city), Helena donned the mantle of the Bat for herself to protect the city. And when Batman came back, in return for all she'd done, she got...yelled at, assigned impossible tasks and criticized for not achieving them, her costume stolen and given to someone else, lied to, abandoned in the face of impossible odds, and shot multiple times protecting kids. Absolute fucking hero, honestly.

She also was on the Justice League for a while, though admittedly I have barely touched that run. To my understanding, despite nominating her for the position, Bruce was also the one to revoke her membership there.

Fortunately! things improved!!

In the early/mid 2000s, Helena joined the Birds of Prey, Oracle's team, and found legit friendships and support there with teammates like Dinah Lance/Black Canary. She finally got more respect in the community, and had a much better time.

Additional relationships include:

A big sister/annoying little brother type thing with Tim, who may disapprove of her killing but simply likes making friends too much :)

A great relationship with Vic Sage/the Question

One single issue where she met Steph that presented SUCH interesting potential that I desperately wish had been followed up on

On and off romantic/sexual tension with Dick, depending on the writer, which culminated in a single hook up that apparently most people around here would rather pretend didn't happen, though I really don't think it's that bad

A complicated relationship with Barbara, partially due to clashing personalities and conflicting morals (with Babs being nearly as much of a control freak as Bruce), and partially due to a shared history with Dick because DC loves making women be catty

Surely others from her first solo or time on the JLA that I don't know well enough to list!

She's rad and determined and takes no shit but cares a lot, and I love her. We deserve more stories tying her teaching day job into her night work. We also deserve more stories with her in general.

If you would like additional Helena beyond just cruising my tag, I recommend:

Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood - far more Huntress than Batman, this is a great 6-issue miniseries about Helena reckoning with her past, ft the Question.

Batman: No Man's Land - if you have the time for it, a big storyline but worth it.

Birds of Prey vol 1 (1999) - Helena starts to appear around issue #57 and becomes a central character from there.

[thatsastepladder]

I keep seeing posts on here in the DC tags that depict Billy Batson/Captain Marvel (yes, that's his name and Marvel can go cry about it) as a member of the Justice League - usually in conjunction with him acting/behaving like a child and/or Batman adopting him.

And I'm here to tell you that you've never read an appearance of Billy in your life and that you've got him all wrong.

The first big thing is that I can count on both of my hands the number of issues in which Billy's had JLA membership - pre-Flashpoint, it's a very brief period post-Crisis where he was a member of the early Justice League International. He leaves after six issues or so, and won't be a Leaguer again until the Forever Evil storyline decades later - and then again, not for very long.

I blame Young Justice for this misconception, depicting Billy as a mainstay Leaguer - when the truth is that the Elongated Man is far more of a core Justice League character than Captain Marvel ever was.

The other mistake I see made commonly is the idea that Billy is a perpetual vagabond who's ripe to be taken in by Bruce Wayne. I'm not all too familiar with the classic Fawcett continuity, but post-Crisis this isn't true.

Through his job at WHIZ Radio, Billy manages to save up for an apartment fairly quickly, and lives on his own for a while, and then under the supervision of "Uncle" Dudley, then the Wizard Shazam in human guise - until he ends up adopted by Nick and Nora Bromfield, who in this timeline are Mary Batson's adoptive parents as well.

This status quo lasts until the end of the pre-Flashpoint continuity, and then afterwards, the Bromfields are replaced by the Vasquez family, as seen in the Shazam movies.

For this one I'm blaming... I really don't know. General unfamiliarity with the character, I guess.

Which brings me to the point: if you're going to write a character, at least do some due diligence, get familiar with the character's history, and don't assume you know them based on Tumblr headcanon osmosis - because that's usually wrong.

[havendance]

Sasha Bordeaux Tim Drake Roleswap AU

Because it turns out I have a lot more thoughts on this.

Following Jason’s tragic death in Ethiopia, Bruce Wayne is coping extremely poorly. After a rather public reminder of his grief spiral—I don’t know a car accident or something—the Wayne Enterprises board of directors gets nervous and saddles Bruce with a bodyguard.

Bruce does not like this any more than he does when they pull this move on him in canon post-NML. However, he is also depressed and puts up less of a fight.

Sasha Bordeaux finds herself saddled with keeping alive a very slippery, very depressed man who will disappear on her and return with injuries he doesn’t hide particularly well or bother to explain.

Sasha is a professional. She uncovers Bruce’s secret identity fairly quickly (Bruce is very much not doing well and his secret keeping skills are at an all time low probably) and proceeds to force herself onto his team.

She was hired to keep Bruce alive and if that means she also has to keep Batman alive, then so be it.

After about a week of her following Batman around and involving herself in his business, Bruce relents and begins training Sasha in an attempt to scare her off. It doesn’t work.

Sasha Bordeaux does not become Robin. She is initially a nameless vigilante fighting at Batman’s side. Eventually, she picks up the moniker of Shadow for the way she follows him around.

She also does not have that same bone-deep commitment to the code that Batman and his other allies do. You know the jokes about how Tim only doesn’t kill because Batman says so? That’s more accurate for Sasha here.

That is not to say she’d kill people like crazy if it weren’t for Batman, but she is an adult professional and in a field where sometimes lethal force is necessary. If the decision comes down between her client’s life and the life of their attacker, she will protect her client. She respects and understands Bruce’s reason for his code, and as long as she is acting as a vigilante, she will abide by it, but her refusal to completely believe in it is a source of tension between her and Bruce.

Her attitude towards vigilantism is also different. She is learning from Batman and she fights alongside him, but she is not his sidekick. She is his employee. Her first and foremost priority is him. As time goes on, she does come to value and become more invested in the other parts of vigilantism, but her first priority always remains Bruce.

Having Sasha around does help pull Bruce out of his rut because he now has to think about having another person around him. Sasha’s lack of complete buy-in with his code also forces him to be more aware of it in his own actions.

Tim’s superpower is networking. Sasha’s is not. As a result of this, Bruce remains more isolated in his crime fighting. Without Tim there to drag Dick back, their relationship is much more distant and strained. While they eventually reconcile from the aftermath of Jason’s death, I don’t think they get to the point where Bruce formally adopts him. Likewise, he’ll work with Oracle, but they’re both far more likely to just do their own thing.

Without Tim, Helena doesn’t really make it to the point of ‘in and out’ of Batman’s circle. She stays solidly on the outside. She remains on the Justice League reserves, but she doesn’t have her JLA membership in this AU. Eventually though, she still does join up with the Birds of Prey.

Similarly, Stephanie doesn’t really have any of the teaming up with Tim that she does. All she’s got is her own gumption and Batman telling her to stop.

Let’s take a moment to talk about Knightfall. Jean-Paul Valley happens. Bruce tells Sasha to get him trained up and she does. Bruce still makes him Batman.

When he goes off to rescue Dr Kinsolving though, she refuses to stay behind and keep an eye on Jean-Paul and instead accompanies him. She’s his bodyguard after all, not Jean-Paul Valley’s.

This results in things going downhill even quicker for poor JPV.

To me, this results in Helena having a precursor to her No Man’s Land arc where she realizes that someone needs to step up, but I feel like it’s more likely that she just thinks that Batman’s rally gone off the rails, steers clear of him, and judges him for being so high and mighty for her crossing the line when he’s like this now.

Anyway, Bruce gets magicured and comes back to Gotham. He does call in Dick for help (Dick is still annoyed about the Azbats thing but he comes when called). Prodigal doesn’t happen.

Sasha eventually joins Bruce’s cast of love interests. Since they’re on the same side, there isn’t the inherent drama of Selina or Talia, but I’m sure Bruce can find a way to make it tragic.

Hmm, I’m not interested in retelling canon except Tim’s not there so we’re going to skip ahead some.

Sasha follows Bruce on his No Man’s Land guilt-bender which probably has more guilt since she’s standing there all the time judging him. She also breaks up with him. Because he’s in his guilt-bender era.

We’ve got to build isolation mode Bruce, so let’s say, somewhere during the climax of No Man’s Land, Sasha needs to kill someone, which sparks conflict—

No wait, better idea. Bruce and Dick are at a disagreement over Dick’s decision to join the police force. Officer Down drives them further apart and also results in Alfred deciding to pack up and move in with Dick instead. Barbara is also mad at Bruce because of Officer Down.

When Hugo Strange does attack Wayne Enterprises, Sasha is put in the position where the only option she can see is to shoot to kill.

This leads to a huge argument between her and Bruce where they probably have one of those “you’re fired” “well, I quit” exchanges and she storms out.

They are still, of course, tragically in love though. (I am not the hugest fan of Sasha/Bruce but it has grown on me.)

What happens to Sasha after this? Hmm, let’s say Barbara recruits her for the Birds of Prey because she knows all their secrets and is still a part of this now..

This one of the few times that Sasha is ever a team player. She mainly sticks with Bruce. The only exception is the Outsiders when it’s Bruce’s team. She probably takes over them instead of Alfred (I still think that was the silly sort of comics stupid) which Bruce is in his ‘dead’ era.

But now, it’s time to talk about Tim. For that, we go all the way back to the beginning: Haly’s Circus, the night the Graysons fell.

Tim needs to be an adult in this AU for plot reasons, so we’ll say he was the same age as Dick. Acrobatics was just the latest in a long string of interests his parents had encouraged, so when he met Dick, that was one of the coolest things ever.

And then the Graysons fall to their deaths.

This leaves Tim with recurring nightmares and a new obsession with death and the Batman, something that his parents are uncomfortable with.

One night when Tim’s in high school, while he’s out late with his friends, in places they shouldn’t be, they get into more trouble than they can handle and Robin saves them.

Robin uses a quadruple somersault.

Tim keeps the knowledge close and never talks about it.

Towards the end of his freshman year of college, his parents are killed in a car accident while abroad. He ends up taking his inheritance, dropping out of school and doing his own mini Batman training tour, going here and there, doing odd jobs, learning from whoever will teach him, and doing a class here or there.

He does manage to scrape enough credits and motivation together to get a degree, right around the time No Man’s Land is ending. He’s still pretty aimless, so when he hears that the board is hiring a personal assistant for Bruce Wayne, he applies.

Bruce is in self-isolation mode and absolutely does not want yet another person foisted upon him by the board. Unfortunately, Tim is just as tenacious as Sasha was, he kind of reminds Bruce of Dick (who he misses because he’s sabotaged that relationship so hard), and so, when Tim inadvertently lets on that he knows Bruce’s secret, he starts teaching Tim vigilantism as well. Because he’s also pretty lonely.

Tim is enthusiastic about all of this and is also trying to encourage Bruce to reconnect to people with mixed results. I think he does succeed at getting Bruce and Dick to talk for once in their lives, but most of the time Bruce is not particularly inclined to listen to him and also he had some pretty bad arguments with people.

So Bruce is still on his own when he is framed for murder. Tim, as his live-in personal assistant, is also there and arrested.

Blah blah blah Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive happens. Dick, who has recently reconnected with Bruce a little more, is like ‘that’s my emotionally distant father figure who I refuse to believe could commit murder’. Sasha also does not believe it due to their previous conflicts and ends up coming back to help the investigation.

They clear his name, but before they can get Tim out, he gets his death faked in prison and recruited by Checkmate.

Bruce still gets very upset by this because, while Tim was kind of annoying, he also reminded him of Dick and the fact that he is dead is hitting some really sore spots for him so he terrorizes Checkmate until they cough Tim up to tell him that he wants to stay.

Tim has been looking for purpose and Checkmate gives him that. It was cool, fighting with Batman, but he was also very much aware that he was coming from outside and Bruce has people supporting him now, so he doesn’t need Tim.

We’re going to skip ahead again to CheckOut because THIS is the big Dick & Tim teamup in this AU.

Tim has done all the OMAC project stuff, he tried to organize a coup against Maxwell Lord to mixed results, he got OMAC-ifified, and he got promoted to Black King afterward despite his youth because he has an A-tier networking game.

And now Checkmate wants to take on Oolong Island, but they can’t because politics, so Tim suggests they Shanghai the Outsiders for a number of practical reasons, but mainly because he is still a major Nightwing fan.

He’s over here like ‘we’ll kidnap everyone except Nightwing because clearly Nightwing is too amazing and awesome for us to kidnap so instead we’ll lure him to us.’

And they like fight and Nightwing recognizes him as that guy who was working with Batman before because of his fighting style and they banter their way across this teamup. I  don’t think Tim ever tells him about watching his parents die because Tim does in fact have tact in that regard, but he has a great time getting to team up with Nightwing. Except for all the torture of course.

But back to Sasha, when Bruce dies, Nightwing takes over as Batman and makes Damian the first new Robin since Jason.

I know I said Sasha probably ended up in charge of the Outsiders, but also I think she should do the Bruce-quest as being one of the most attached to Bruce.

Sasha and Alfred team up maybe?

Anyway, I think I’m going to call it here because this is still plenty long. 

[wolfsbanesparks]

In your story universe, how would you write Captain Marvel joining the Justice League or meeting another superhero for the first time?

I think it depends on the specific story, but most often I imagine that the first hero Captain Marvel ever meets is Superman.

For me that meeting would take place a few months after Billy became Cap, when stories of his powers and his heroics finally managed to trickle out of Fawcett City and into the wider world. Obviously the JL would take notice of a new hero, especially someone rumored to be as powerful as him. So while Batman is researching him and everyone else is speculating about him, Superman takes it upon himself to visit Fawcett and meet him in person.

He was originally just going to observe as Clark Kent, get the public's impression of the new hero, but then a villain (probably Dr Sivana) attacked and he decided to jump into the fray and give Cap a helping hand.

Cap is a bit starstruck at first because it's Superman, but then the two of them get to talking, getting on amazingly well (like in First Thunder). His earnestness and kindness leave an impression on Superman.

When Clark leaves he tells the JL about Cap and a few months and a few team ups with various heroes later, Superman nominates him for League membership. By then enough heroes had worked with him on various crises that he is voted in with little debate.

[paper-gold-theories]

What golden members look like?

Villainous Theory: Golden Rule Headcanon PlaceHolder Members and Real Life References, And What Might Happen In The Clash Between The Golden Rule and Team Black Hat based on that:

It's not revealed yet. I made some headcanon placeholder members for my fanfics based on the Villains in the show.

I also theorized that The Golden Rule Members are Seven Nobles but not all Golden Rule Members are Seven Nobles. (As Miss Heed probably would have bragged about it on her social media profile like her Golden Rule Member Status (refer to theory below for more details)

Villainous has reference real life events to shape their show. For example P.E.A.C.E is based on the United Nations. Alan mentioned actual real life events happen in Villainous.

(I also made this theory on Flug awhile ago.)

I theorised that Ringworm's Statue references the Angel of Independence in Mexico City.

(Image Source: 1, 2)

Hence based on this, it might be far fetched or I might be reading too much into this 😂 but, I theorised that The Seven Nobles might be a reference to the Seven Nobel Houses in Brussels.

I kinda imagine The Seven Nobles having their own table similar to The Justice League but it looks something like this logo from The Seven Nobels of Brussels, but instead the middle logo has P.E.A.C.E. logo, their own unique Seven Nobles Logo, or The Golden Rule's logo and each logo surrounding it represents their crest.

I also made a headcanon in article format based Seven Nobel Houses in Brussels on the wiki article on:

How The Seven Nobles of P.E.A.C.E Started,

The Power they have,

Their actions, attitudes and rule before the new P.E.A.C.E. Administration. (refer to this report on Adelita) (more details here)

Their actions, attitudes and rule after the new P.E.A.C.E. Administration and after the Golden Rule became members.

And their Downfall:

The Seven Nobles formed, since the start of P.E.A.C.E. and are a group of heroes who have civil, military and economic leadership over all the heroes in P.E.A.C.E.

Members of The Seven Nobles are responsible for defending one of the seven important P.E.A.C.E. cities which they are assigned to.

In addition to their judicial, administrative and military functions, the heroes in the Seven Nobles were also benevolent and concerned about the needs and well-being of the lives of citizens, leading them to even sacrifice them to sacrifice their lives in order to save countless lives and protect their city.

The long lived and rarely threatened authority of the Seven Nobles was based on a multitude of common interests they shared with P.E.A.C.E. as well as their selfless dedication to protecting the innocent.

However ever since the new administration of P.E.A.CE. , the current members of The Seven Nobles are reserved exclusively for the members of The Golden Rule and the leader of Seven Nobles is the leader of The Golden Rule (aka GoldHeart)

Similar to their predecessors, The Seven Nobles are responsible for defending one of the seven important P.E.A.C.E. cities which they are assigned to, as well as the additional Golden Cities under their rule.

GoldHeart asserts his team's advantage and authority on P.E.A.C.E due to his teams' memberships in The Seven Nobles, allowing him to have participation in the city's government and power and authority that superseeds P.E.A.C.E. authority and cities government, in his The Golden Cities which extends onto his onto his Golden Rule Team not bein Seven Noble Members. (such enforcing secure restrictions to as not allow the P.E.A.C.E. officers into their Goldne Cities without The Golden Rule's permission and having a reputation that the officer knows that SunBlast won't make it out there alive)

(comic translated by nightfurmoon)

However in 20XX, since the terrible events that occurred in the City of Cosmopolis, Villainy has increased at an alarming rate throughout the country new cases of villains committing robberies and atrocities for no apparent reason appear on a regular basis.

The super hero Goldheart continues his efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of villainy by leading a series of demonstrations in the most important cities in the world. (Golden Cities, I theorised)

But the fight against villainy continues everyday by these brave heroes.

The increased efforts against Villainy (including arresting several of them in Mictlán) led to an eventual clash between The Seven Nobles and Team Black Hat in the members respective cities.

The eventual results led to the downfall of The Seven Nobes and The Golden Cities.

The defeat of P.E A.C.E's top heroes caused shift in balance of power towards the Villains led citizens to fear the downfall of P.E.A.C.E. is next.

General Falchion is taking drastic measures to ensure this will not happen.

[workingclasshistory]

On this day, 24 September 1883, in a speech in Louisville, Kentucky, Frederick Douglass criticised trade unions that refused to organise Black workers. He complained that the average Black worker "is rejected by trade unions, of every trade, and refused work". And he cautioned: "It is a great mistake for any class of labourers to isolate itself and thus weaken the bond of brotherhood between those on whom the burden and hardships of labour fall. The fortunate ones of the earth, who are abundant in land and money and know nothing of the anxious care and pinching poverty of the laboring classes, may be indifferent to the appeal for justice at this point, but the labouring classes can not afford to be indifferent. What labour everywhere wants, what it ought to have and will some day demand and receive, is an honest day's pay for an honest day's work. As the labourer becomes more intelligent he will develop what capital already possesses – that is the power to organise and combine for its own protection. Experience demonstrates that there may be a wages of slavery only a little less galling and crushing in its effects than chattel slavery, and that this slavery of wages must go down with the other." However, most unions in US would ignore him and maintain whites-only memberships, with some notable exceptions like the Industrial Workers of the World. This weakened them and enabled employers to play off different groups of workers against each other in various disputes. Even after unions were eventually desegregated, nearly a century later many unions even with significant levels of Black membership maintained predominately white leaderships, and ignored the concerns of Black workers. This state of affairs was challenged and eventually largely overturned by self-organised Black workers. One example of this was in Detroit, which is covered in our podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e61-the-league-of-revolutionary-black-workers-in-detroit/ https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/2090607611124378/?type=3

[yellowocaballero]

milagro!!! i LOVE GL!milagro stuff. is guy still the first GL she meets? i am v curious what his story (and john’s) ends up looking like in this au in general, but my first exposure to him was in jaime’s bb run so i’m hoping that pseudo mentorship still exists here somehow

IS!! THAT!! A GIANT!! GREEN!! FIST!!

Green Lantern Milagro is the most god-tier take and we need to return to it. My "Kyle rebuilds the GLC to be woke and Milagro is the most feral Lantern" idea is actually super old - I think it's in the Reverse Robins Universe, in some unpublished stories - but it's still good. Let the furries make the judicial system. Do it. Let them free.

Let's say:

Guy Gardner was the second Green Lantern on Earth. Everything that Hal was, Guy is not. He's a hothead, meathead, go-getting action hero wannabe who has to be the biggest, the best, and the strongest. He's abrasive, selfish, mean, and short-sighted.

Guy Gardner is exactly like Hal Jordan: an All-American hero, angry and rude in a way that his colleague John Stewart could never get away with. He's part of the NRA and thinks Trump has some points. Too wimpy to make a good President, though. Give him a President who can last five minutes in the ring with Guy Gardner!

Despite his differences with the more professional and cool-headed Hal, he was shocked and horrified at Coast City's destruction. Where other heroes expressed sympathies and turned away in discomfort with his overwhelming pain, Guy stayed with him. He doesn't like to spread it around, but he's a registered school councilor - doubled with his middle school gym teacher thing - and he stayed at Hal's side through his grief as long as Hal let him.

When Hal disappeared, Guy was the one who knew in his heart that he had killed himself. He had been expecting it.

He had not been expecting his ring to break.

Guy loses it all. His power, his respect. He can't go back to who he used to be. He's not a gym teacher or school counselor anymore. He's Guy Gardner. You can't ask Guy Gardner to be a civvie.

The only thing he keeps is his Justice League International membership. He wanted to quit, but his friends (family, but none of them would admit it) needed him to stay. They had already lost the second Blue Beetle so recently, and they can't lose anybody else. Booster Gold's grieving his husband too. In that way, in some way, Guy's still needed. Guy has to be needed. But Guy has to be a hero too, and he feels like he's dying slowly by degrees in powerlessness.

Then Booster calls the JLI, drunk as a skunk and deep in a panic, saying that there's this kid in El Paso running around with Dan Garret's scarab in his SPINE, how did this even HAPPEN, how did he get it WORKING, where the hell is TED - Ted's dead, he's still dead, what the FUCK do we do, he's a baby he's gonna DIE TOO, everyone's gonna DIE -

A gym teacher and licensed counselor knocks on he door of a house in El Paso.

Booster was right. Jaime Reyes is a snot-nosed kid who's getting his ass kicked up and down to Sunday in every fight, and either he's gonna get himself killed or he's gonna blow up the city. Nobody else but the JLI ever gave a shit about Ted, and nobody's gonna give a shit about this kid with an orphaned legacy. He needs a personal trainer and mentor and he needs one right now. Jaime Reyes needs a hero, even a washed up old asshole like Guy Gardner.

And his little sister throws a heck of a punch. Oh, Guy is keeping Milagro. She's learning boxing!

An asshole, shallow kid enters the scene. A new ring appears. The last Green Lantern disappears to find the truth. Guy leads his own life. It's not like his old one, but it's good. That kid Jaime's become a good hero, and his little sister is the coolest kid on the planet. A Trumper on the street says something shitty to Jaime and Milagro about illegals and Guy lands on him the signature Guy Gardner punch. Trump's an asshole idiot, anyway. Next time, Milagro lands the signature punch. She has learned well.

A young man returns. A truth is told. A fucked up orange ring is on Guy's finger. And now he'll have to learn how to be a hero all over again.

The orange ring isn't powered by bravery and willpower. It's powered by greed. It's a greedy, cruel ring. It's mean. But Guy's pretty greedy too. And Guy's a mean son of a bitch.

Guy Gardner is the first Orange Lantern. And he's everything Hal Jordan is not: a man with a voracious need to protect and help. A man with an endless appetite for love, and to give love. A school counselor, and a mentor to some pretty nifty kids. Guy can never get enough of being a hero. He'll never stop. And he'll always help.

Because he's Guy fucking Gardner!

[zahri-melitor]

Young Justice may have been a JLA-affiliated team, but I don't think categorizing its members as Leaguers is a useful way to think about team membership. There's no overlap between its members and the League (except Ray, I guess), it has its own leadership, it's well-defined enough to be recognizable when adapted separately from its parent League, and it has a unique name rather than being the Justice League [something].

There are some teams where whether or not it's helpful to call it a League depends on what you're doing, like I'd include Justice League Dark if I was counting how many Justice League books were published each year but wouldn't include Constantine in a discussion about characters who led the Justice League, but Young Justice is pretty solidly its own thing.

Well, Red Tornado, Snapper Carr and Ray Terrill are all former members of the Justice League of America at the time of Young Justice (I cannot in good conscience say 'members in good standing' about a list that includes Snapper given his usage during post-Crisis, but you know. Members), though Reddy and Snapper are assigned as mentors. Whether they count as YJ members is a little more oblique, but I can see an argument that they are, inasmuch as people like the Wonder Twins are associated JL members.

I would instinctively treat Young Justice as its own entity, but also counting as cadet members of the Justice League at least as far as YJ98 goes, in that their team was bounded by Justice League control imposed on them, and had assigned supervision and mentors. They're fringe-aligned but somewhat conceptually separate.

I suppose it is like whether or not you'd call Justice League Dark part of the Justice League or not. It's just more more tangential connection. In the spectrum of possibilities YJ is further away from JLA than JLD is, but it's still closer than the Titans or any Outsiders lineup is.

(And as I suspect we are about to as a community be plunged back into a debate over who has the right to call a team Young Justice, so you know, just stepping over this section of argument)

Hmmm. Is Young Avengers considered an Avengers line up or its own thing? Because that's probably a closer equivalent than looking at the treatment of the Teen Titans over the years.

[loweyzverse]

Explaining my no capes dc dr!!

Overview :

The ‘Justice League’ is a global aid organization bankrolled by donations and sponsorships from everyday citizens, big name corporations, and important public figures alike.

Much like the American Red Cross, the Justice League strives to provide humanitarian aid in times of crisis as its main priority.

The Justice League’s other purposes include fostering world peace, making scientific and medical advancements, exploration of the ocean and space, and more.

Based on it’s predecessor, ‘The Justice Society of America’, or the ‘JSA’ : The Justice League was founded to globalize the scope of the JSA’s original mission, focused on providing aid and criminal justice.

The Justice League, while primarily American based, is politically independent from any nation. Though the ‘JL’ does occasionally engage in political discussions and activities.

Important Members :

Bruce Wayne

A multi billionaire who is one of the primary sponsors of the JL. Using the revenue he generates from his company Wayne Enterprises and his platform as a beloved public figure, Bruce Wayne is a very important member of the JL.

Most people can only speculate the extent of his involvement in the JL, as all sponsors gain auto membership, however other members know that Wayne is a very active participant in JL activities. Preferring to do most of his humanitarian work with the JL under an alias in attempts to separate it from his less serious public persona.

Clark Kent

Clark Kent is a fairly well known American journalist. If you are in journalism circles or care a lot for the news, then you would most definitely know the names of both him and his wife, Lois Lane. Kent uses his journalistic writing to create think pieces and the occasional expose.

However where Kent really shines is with hope. In the midst of darkness, Clark Kent provides people with a positive outlook on any situation, along with actually resources they can utilize in bad situations. Kent is also very prominent during hands-on humanitarian missions, always being the first to volunteer to go into the field and make a difference.

Diana Prince

Diana Prince is a peace ambassador from the previously closed nation of the Amazons, more specifically the island of Themyscira. One of the few remaining Princesses in modern society, Prince takes a very active role in advocating for world peace.

Prince is also a big advocate when it comes to women’s rights and the intersectionality of feminism. From this Prince has become a beacon of hope for women around the world, and several help centers and shelters for women and children have been opened in her name.

Other

There are many other important and active members of the JL, each with their own areas of focus and skill set, all coming together to make the world a better place.

Additional Notes:

Because there are not superhero’s, heroism is shown through activism here

The political and like overall state of the world is much more lax so while they are activists and provide aid, there isn’t much bad stuff to provide aid about (yay!)

Most of the people in the JL are like rich and or influential people who utilize their platform

The JL is a volunteer organization, so it’s not most members day to day job

The JL has a headquarters in Washington, D.c. that used to be the headquarters for the JSA

JL members aren’t expected to come into the headquarters everyday or anything like that so they live sort of scattered

The Wayne family has a TV show

‘Villains’ are just generally people who operate extralegally, but people don’t really have superpowers or gimmicks

Even crime though is much less extreme and harmful (yay!)

Almost all the ‘sidekicks’ are massive nepo babies lol

Most of the ‘sidekicks’ just started engaging in activism when they were younger, teenage activists is not an unknown concept or anything

Due to the education mission of the JL, they opened up a school (I haven’t decided if it should be highschool or college/university) which is where most of the groups like ‘teen titans’ or ‘young justice’ could meet and operate together as like a group

^(if it’s highschool then it is likely some sort of alternative school)

Anyway that’s all for now!! thank you for readinggg <3

[thealmightyemprex]

So I havent seen the Flash movie,but I am so grumpy they made a Flash movie.....With none of his rogues gallery,cause Flashs rogues galery is unique.You have some legit dangerous villains Reverse Flash,Vandal Savage ,or Gorilla Grodd,but you also have the Rogues which makeup most of his villains,lead by Captain Cold,one of the smartest criminals in DC ,the rogues membership fluxuates (Notable members are Trickster ,Mirror Master,Heat Wave ,and Weather Wizard ).....And they have a legit code,not out of really morality as much as practicality .The rogues are supervillains for profit ,they dont wanna take over the world ,they dont wanna see it burn,they are alll about the score,so they have a few rules:No drugs ,focus on the score,no killing people (ESPECIALLY DONT KILL KIDS .CAptain Boomarang found that out the hard way ) but the biggest one :DONT KILL A SPEEDSTER .Flash has friends,and while Captain Cold doesnt mind tnagoing with Flash,if he killed him,that means bringing the unwanted attention of the friggin Justice League ,and they dont want that .I dunnno I love the idea of baddies with a code who you kind of like

@ariel-seagull-wings @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @themousefromfantasyland @the-blue-fairie @piterelizabethdevries

[cosmic-herbal-tea]

I’ve said this before but just to expand what I was saying earlier regarding Zatanna’s not necessarily being “de-aged” to be with Dick Grayson in YJ. In comics, Zatanna was moreover aged up to be closer to Batman.

Dependening on the stories, Zee starts off her heroism at 18-21. Sometimes she joins the JL after years of searching for her father or around the same time.

[Secret Origins v2 #27 - Recounted through Dr. Mist, who reveals being the mastermind behind her father & her upheavals in life by force via Felix Faust. In the story, he does realize how fucking creepy and patronizing his actions were.]

[ Justice League of America #51 - This story places her at 20 years old when she finally reunited with her father and joins the JL a short time later. But this story makes it seem like she was an orphan rather than raised by her father for a chunk of her childhood.]

[ DCU Heroes Secret Files & Origins #1 - This timeline would imply that she joined the JL first at 21.]

All these sources came prior to her history with Batman, which would naturally move her timeline to make her adjacent with him prior.

[Compared that to Dick, whom she met alongside the Titans in Tales of the Teen Titans #4 in the 1980s. By then, Dick was already college bound with high school graduation [Batman #217]or a teenager depending on your context, placing him roughly 16-18 give or take. This same series in which the picture above has him retire the Robin name in #39, which modern stories typically have that done at 18 years old.]

I think it’s very important to note that Zatanna’s character has changed overtime and that there’s no definite “Justice League generation” vs other generations of heroes. There’s not this neat little box where every DCU character conveniently fits in.

The Titans might fit in the “heroes in their 20s” box and the Teen Titans feature heroes younger than 18 but even then, some TT reached 18+ [Red Devil] and there’s been a plethora of heroes in their 20s in the JL [Kyle Rayner, Khalid Nassour, Ronnie Raymond/Jason Rusch]. Just like the JSA has younger members & successors who join, the JL features membership of varying ages.

[I literally forgot the source of this.]

I understand the basis makes it seem like Zatanna is infantalized but that’s not necessarily true. The character wasn’t always Bruce’s childhood friend and at one point, only met significantly in the JL to Batman’s own recollection. & one other time where she was disguised as a witch unknown to Bruce himself long before the retcon that made them childhood friends came to be.

It’s also hard to say “Zatanna has to be around this age bc she hangs out with so-and-so” because characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman has had their histories altered in many ways. Barry Allen’s age has never been stated so using his interest in her as an age gauge is iffy and honestly, in real life, people have relationships, flirtations, and friendships with people older and younger than them. Part of adulthood is meshing with people & it’s not always convenient that you’ll be friends with people your own age. Interpersonal relationships are also multi-faceted and complex.

I also think it’s sets a bad precedent to not examine the character’s history and go off of the “idea” of where characters are instead of their history. Various DC characters already get this:

Billy Batson is always like 10 or 12 when people think of him but like he’s been 15 & 16 too. His relationship with Courtney Whitmore for example happened when he’s in high school himself. He is also chronologically older than Jon Kent regardless of space bullshit.

Raven & Beast Boy’s character get de-aged to the point they’ve been in Dick, Tim, and Damian’s version of the Teen Titans in media & comics.

Jaime Reyes remained eternally in high school until recently and it took a movie to budge him from that.

Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Caín are out here having Damian be closer to them in age because editorials, writers, and fanon completely forget both characters have been 18 far longer than anybody thinks.

Khalid Nassour debuted in 2015 already 23 years old & a year older than DICK GRAYSON IN THE SAME YEARS. Nowadays, he’s drawn as a teen/college age guy and his timeline either implies he’s in his 30s now or in 2023, all his 100+ appearances took place in ONE YEAR so therefore, everyone he interacted with also progressed one year overtime?

Long story short, it’s really important in my opinion to consider a character’s history and not just go off of whose their friend is, what you think their idealized version is like, and do not use the characters whose timeline DC & Didio has outright played Russian Roulette with accommodate their idealized version of the characters as a placeholder.

[thebisexualdogdad]

reader is the newest member of the green lantern core and dating donna troy ( nsfw part to please)

Donna Troy x Male!reader

● shortly after Hal recruited you to be a green lantern he assigned you to join the Titans thinking you'd be able to help sector 2814 better with a team like he did with the justice league 

● you met Donna and within weeks were hooking up 

● Kori and Dawn figured out what was happening because while Donna is good at keeping secrets, you on the other hand not so much

● you gave her heart eyes everytime she was in the room 

● and were extra protective of her on missions 

● Hank "what are you guys thinking for dinner?" 

● Dick "what about tacos?" 

● you "oh there's this really great taco place on third street Donna and I went to last week-" 

● Kori "you and Donna went out for tacos alone?" She asks with a grin 

● you now realizing you messed up "I mean not alone alone… Hal and Diana were in town and-" 

● Dawn enjoying you rambling "weren't they in Europe last week helping captain marvel fight black adam?" 

● Donna sighs "well I guess the cat is out of the bag"

● Connor thinking Donna is talking about Gar's secret cat "oh no Gar Junior got out??" 

● you guys have fooled around in pretty much every room in the tower 

● neither one of you can resist watching the other working out 

● Dick has had the unfortunate luck of walking in on you guys on more than one occasion 

● "that's it I'm just getting a gym membership to train in peace" 

● you lifting your head from in between Donna's legs "Sorry Dick… now where was I?" 

● Dawn and Kori love teasing Donna about your relationship, particularly your sex life because Dawn is just happy Donna is finally dating someone… and getting laid

● Dawn "so Donna, I guess that buzzing I heard coming from your room last night wasn't a back massager, Y/N must still be on OA" 

● Kori "do they have cell reception in space? He does look pretty hot in that tight green lantern suit" 

● Donna is blushing thinking back to how she used her toys to get off to pictures you sent her

[the-antiapocalyptic-man]

What are the eras and respective members of your version of the JSA?

quick note: for the purposes of the narrative, I see the Society as generally being a bigger, more nebulously defined team that the League or the Titans, so I'm not going to list all the members of every versions, just enough to get kind of the vibe of each era across, but just because someone isn't specifically mentioned doesn't mean they weren't there or weren't active. Like, Plas isn't really mentioned, but he's implied by Offspring joining in the Revival Era, par example.

anywho, broadly speaking, there's

the First Wave (pulp adventurer types like Axel Brass, Hark, Rima, Midnight, The Gray Ghost, etc.) that collapsed when many of them were lost in a battle with the future Justice League of a dying parallel universe.

the Golden Age (Diana, Ma Hunkel, Jenny Sparks, Amaya Jiwe, Kent Nelson, Alan, Jay, Carter, Corrigan, Ted Knight, Duardo Montez/Ted Grant, Berto Jimenez/Al Pratt, etc.) that existed up through the early years of the Cold War and Diana leaving for the stars after her battles with Wraith and Maxwell Lord the First

Earth-2's alternate timeline where that didn't happen and the team thrived throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, though the World Army consistently threatens to overwhelm the Wonders of the World. Michael Holt spent some time as this Earth's Mister Terrific after becoming lost in the multiverse, Val-Zod and Lor-Zod are Superman and Superboy, Dick Grayson is Batman, Diana is succeeded by her daughter Donna, Inza Ben-Hassin is Dr. Fate, Jesse Quick and Judy Boom share the role of the Flash in fighting the Legion of Zoom, among other deviations.

The WWIII era team the initially confronted Black Adam in the early years of his (eventually permanent) takeout of his native Kahndaq (membership files redacted by order of the US Government, several alleged members of this iteration became the basis of the infamous Team 7)

Infinity Incorporated, legacies of the Golden Age team (Skyman, Jade, Obsidian, Ruby, Sardonyx, Tomcat, Jesse Quick, Judy Boom, Silver Scarab, Hourman, Dr. Mid-Nite, Nuklon, The Harlequin's Son) unknowingly funded by the Ultra-Humanite's Thorul Society using Sly Pemberton's body as a proxy

The Revival Era led by Courtney Whitmore, bringing together new members like Max Hunkel, Grant Emerson and The Offspring with members of Infinity Inc and surviving members of the original JSA.

Finally, years after the Crisis, Helena Wayne leads the New Golden Age version of the team with members like Tanya Spears, Ky Knight, Cyrus Gold and his grandchildren, Trajectory, Karen Starr, Plastoid, Arclight, The Super-Human, Ayesha Saunders, Limelight, and others.

[havendance]

World Gone MAD

AO3

Fandom: Batman, DCU

Featured Characters/Relationships: Dick & Tim

Wordcount: 5600

Summary:

Ask the GCPD about the Joker’s death and they’ll tell you he died of natural causes. Ask the Justice League and they’ll tell you that it’s a matter that has been resolved internally. Ask Batman and he won’t give you an answer because he’s Batman. The truth of the matter, however, is this: Dick Grayson beat the Joker to death.

[Or: A few months after the death of the Joker, Tim Drake comes to Haly’s Circus, looking for Dick Grayson.]

I am hyped to be finally sharing this fic with you all :) Inspired by this tumblr post by @mzminola, with special shoutout to the addition by @silverwhittlingknife, and tags from @avaraydrake.

I've also taken some liberties with the Justice League and how it operates. While ‘8 guys (gender neutral) who get together on the weekends and beat up aliens’ works for the comics, personally I think ‘self-governing group of powerful individuals’ is a much more interesting concept to work with. As such, I have expanded both the membership and scope of the Justice League (at least from what they were for this particular era of comics).

Excerpt:

Stepping into Haly’s Circus felt like stepping into the past. Surrounded by the hustle and bustle — people talking, hawkers shouting, the whir and buzz of the machines, music blasting over it all — Tim could almost pretend he was a boy again. For a moment, he closed his eyes. The summer air was thick and humid, smelling of sugar and sweat, mud and animals. For a moment he was 13, a boy with two living parents who had never been Robin, who was convinced that if he just found Dick Grayson, all of Gotham’s problems would be solved.

He’d been so naive then.

The moment ended. Tim blinked, reoriented himself in the golden light of the setting sun, and started to make his way to the ticket stand. This whole trip had been a return to his roots: stalking Dick Grayson across the country with nothing more than his wits and a bus schedule. He hadn’t been surprised when it had ended in the same place it had begun. But this wasn’t— it wasn’t the same thing. He wasn’t here to fix Gotham, to fix Batman. He was done with that. This was something different.

He bought a ticket and went in.

The circus was fun. Nobody died, or almost died, which was a nice change of pace from the last couple times Tim had gone. He spent most of the time tuning out the whispered conversation from the group of teenagers sitting in front of him, and playing “Where’s Dick?” Tim thought he might have spotted him as one of the clowns again until he came out on the trapeze, and then, well, then it was obvious.

Tim wished he’d brought his camera. Watching Dick fly, anyone could tell he belonged in the air.

—

The facts of the matter are as follows:

On March 22nd, 10:21 pm, the Joker’s location was determined to be Gotham Cathedral. A force-field of unknown origin surrounding the building prevented law enforcement from pursuing him.

At 11:48 pm, Nightwing entered the building. The force field remained up and law enforcement continued to surround the building.

Around roughly midnight, March 23rd, the forcefield dropped and law enforcement entered. According to official reports, inside were found the Joker’s dead body and two other jokerized villains. The two living villains were quickly apprehended and administered the antidote. The Joker’s death itself was ruled to be due to natural causes, likely linked to the terminal growth in his brain. 

Unofficial reports put between two and five vigilantes in the building at the time the police entered and that the Joker’s end appeared to be rather more violent in nature. When pressed, all agree that the official ruling of natural causes was correct. (If you get them drunk enough first, in a quiet enough location, then they might give you a different answer, but that always involves urban legends and rumors. The sorts of things that don’t hold up in the light of day.)

Access to classified Justice League files reveal the following additional details:

On March 16th, 9:30 am, the Joker was informed that a brain scan had revealed a terminal mass in his brain. Prognosis suggested he had less than a month to live. The Joker took in this information and decided he wanted to go out with a bang. Later investigation uncovered that the brain tumor was in fact a hoax created by a doctor out for revenge. As by that point, the Joker was already dead, from what were determined to be natural causes, the decision was made that this information would remain classified.

The Joker entered Gotham at an unknown time on March 22nd. Joker gas was released at Arkham Asylum at 4:42 pm on the same day. According to recovered comm records, Oracle sent Robin to investigate Arkham Asylum at roughly 10:30 pm. She lost contact with him at 10:48 pm, shortly after he entered the building, at which point she called in Huntress for backup. Robin was reported dead by Huntress at 11:21 pm.

In his confession, Nightwing stated that he overheard news of Robin’s death,  and then immediately stole Black Canary’s bike and raced to the Cathedral. (Black Canary corroborated this fact.) Upon arrival, he attacked and killed the Joker. Robin arrived shortly after, followed by Batman, Huntress, and Spoiler.

Robin’s confession gave the following sequence of events: Upon entering Arkham Asylum, he was attacked by various jokerized inmates. In the struggle, his uniform was torn, later leading his allies to believe him dead. He was captured and brought to the Joker who attacked him. He fought back and the Joker was killed in the struggle. Shortly afterwards, Nightwing arrived and decided to take the fall for him.

Batman and Huntress both testify to the following facts: They arrived to find Nightwing and Robin already there and the Joker dead. Batman ordered Huntress to attempt to revive the Joker through CPR. This failed and the Joker was declared dead upon the entrance of the authorities.

Oracle did not testify, but submitted audio logs from the night as evidence. Interference due to the barrier around the cathedral, damage to the comm devices, and standard issues with Gotham architecture rendered large chunks of it unusable.

Spoiler was unable to be reached for testimony.

— 

The truth of the matter is this: Every man has a breaking point. Even the best man will cross their line in the sand if pushed far enough. Sometimes you fail to do the right thing.

Nightwing walked into Gotham Cathedral that night and beat the Joker to death.

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