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cyb-by-lang · 6 months

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The Once and Future Thing

Summary: So, remember how the first Justice League Unlimited season finale was a time travel adventure where Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Batman ended up chasing some goober named David (or Chronos) around as he mangled the timeline with his crappy decisions? All the way back to the Old West, and to a version of Batman Beyond's future Gotham.

Here, Kei got dragged along.

Notes: So having a multi-hour obsession take hold is an interesting time. Here, take the product of my brain deciding to momentarily jump tracks.

Kei had been prepared for a lot of potential ways the future could twist in circles when the timestream was being actively manipulated by some opportunistic creep with an inferiority complex. Like, there was a level of petty, thoughtless bullshit that was only really possible for the most banal sort of everyday evil. The kind of guy who went time traveling around and dropped dinosaurs in cowboy land because he got mugged in the past…well, he fit the bill. Heading through time portals to chase after a guy like that wasn’t just heroism—it was basic self-preservation.

Chronos couldn’t be trusted with ultimate cosmic power. She wouldn’t have given the man a goddamn hamster and expected to see it alive a week later.

This was surreal enough that all semblance of thought just fell out of her head.

When the Future Justice League (obviously minus…most of them) arrived, squaring off with the cybernetically enhanced Jokerz gang members, she’d sort of expected them. Future Batman? Sure, it’d been long enough that the all-black suit with the red icon and flight bits was in circulation. Old Man Static? Okay, Kei had never met the guy personally, but it was cool to meet another electrokinetic after the Ultimen fiasco. And War Hawk! Neat that it confirmed the Hawkgirl-and-Green-Lantern relationship worked out in some fashion.

But the deceptively normal person that strode out of the darkness and made fully half of the super-Jokerz team back the fuck up? A shadow wearing a white ANBU mask.

The crown of spikes was familiar. It was a rendition of something Kei had mocked up once, depicting Isobu’s face in all its spooky glory. Glimmers around the material pointed to some kind of future-tech modification, which stretched down the jaw and neck and into the rest of the dark suit. Kei saw the vaguest suggestions of her favorite sword, the belt of materials and scrolls she often carried, and a hood that made the mask stand out that much more, like a bloody promise.

Every one of the gang enforcers who backed up, Kei noted, carried at least one obvious cybernetic enhancement. And the hyena hybrid just fucking cowered.

“And here I thought the lesson I taught you might finally stick,” said a voice with a playful lilt and a Japanese accent, even years and years on.

“Shit—”

“Oh fuck, it’s her—”

“What is she doing here?!”

“I don’t know—”

The figure cracked her knuckles. Isobu’s chakra flared hot and hateful in a way it hadn’t been for years, centered squarely on the new arrival and creeping outward in a clear threat display. “Class is back in session.”

09090

“Surprised to see me?”

“A little. I’m more surprised that I lived so long.”

Batman’s meeting with his older self was overshadowed solely because Kei didn’t really…get that far. Instead, a pair of worn but familiarly-scarred hands landed on her shoulders and dragged her away from that potential minefield. She’d only meant to ask if anybody else had made it this long, after hearing half the League had been shot out of space along with the Watchtower.

Not all heroes coordinated there, after all. It could be a mercy. Kei at least meant to ask about the other Bats, though she knew the answer would probably be “You don’t wanna know.”

Instead, Kei sat on a dilapidated future high school desk while her captor explained, “—Now watching someone retcon cybernetic enhancement into reality in real time was annoying, but we’ve worked through that!”

Kei stared, lost for words.

“Who is…?” she heard Wonder Woman begin, only to stop short as the older woman turned around, popped off her mask, and grinned.

Kei…wouldn’t say she’d aged badly. Her face more lines, and time had turned her hair super streaky with gray and white, and she’d picked up some more strange scars, but her spine was unbent and she didn’t look anywhere near Old-Batman’s age. Which made sense, since he’d started this whole drama as already in middle age, where Kei had been a teenager, like Static.

Was still a teenager.

God, time travel fucking sucked.

“Diana-san,” said Kei’s future self. “Nice to see you’ve cheated death and aging. You look good.”

“Genbu, it’s good to see you survived amid the chaos,” said Wonder Woman, and extended a hand. As Old-Kei clasped forearms with her, her tense shoulders relaxed a little. “And that you’ve made a reputation for yourself here after all.”

“Oh, it wasn’t so hard once I put my mind to it,” said… Okay, maybe she could be Genbu. It wasn’t like Kei had ever thought that one through, and now the other Kei had finders-keepers privileges by a lot. “I found it takes a few demonstrations to really make a lesson stick.”

“Why doesn’t that hyena guy have arms?” Kei burst out.

“Because Woof thought he didn’t need to check for tripwires,” Genbu said, shrugging as she let go of Wonder Woman’s arm. She smiled again, all innocence. “I’ll get him next time.”

Your future self has taken a proactive approach to some problems.

And weirdly, Kei thought with an edge of panic, I don’t want to know how she got there.

Kei had always suspected that her particular skillset made an excellent fit for a guerilla campaign. And here was a version of herself who made good on that potential. The fact that she’d lasted this long was simultaneously depressing and encouraging. On one hand, everyone must have died if she was still here to get old and cause trouble in a warped timeline. On the other, she’d survived. Her and Isobu, by the feel of things.

What a fate.

“—Because we’ve already won! Think about it. If old Bruce is here, that means he already lived through this as Batman.” Oh, Static was talking again. “Not to mention Genbu’s mini-me. And yes, I do recognize those scars.”

“Flawless logic,” Old Bruce bit out. “Except that I have no memory of ever going to the future or of meeting my older self, or of anything else that’s happening today.”

“Those historical buildings we saw on the street—” Realization struck Batman square in the middle of the sentence. “The timeline’s been polluted.”

“So polluted that history itself is becoming fluid.”

“I could have told you that,” Genbu said, rolling her eyes. She flicked a hand out idly, and a kunai flew out of her bracer and into her palm in the same manner as New Batman’s batarangs. “But it’s like people stop listening when you get old.”

“‘Oh, it’s that Chronos dipshit again’ doesn't convey anything helpful until the disaster already hits,” said New Batman. Or Terry. Kei didn’t know if she was allowed to call him that. “You can barely pull off ‘creepy and kooky aunt.’ Quit while you’re ahead.”

“And who are you calling old? You’re barely two years older than me,” said Static, more amused than offended.

“And that’s two years you’ll never get back.” Genbu snorted. “Terry-kun, if Woof wanted to keep his arms, he should have kept them to himself. The same goes for Ghoul,” Genbu replied, unashamed. She started cleaning under her nails with the point of the kunai. “Teaching the new generation is what I do best, you see.”

Kei winced, though no one here seemed offended by Genbu’s flat refusal to dial down the violence. There weren’t any rules in this kind of war. And, unfortunately, it looked like the timeline turning into a pretzel guaranteed that there were no soft choices. Chronos had already stolen them all, and for what?

For nothing. What a selfish little bastard. The end awaiting him was almost too kind.

“So, about the Dee Dees…?” Kei asked, while the others argued for a little while. She’d noticed a pair of Raggedy Ann twins earlier among the gang members, but it had seemed a little gauche to go “wait, I retconned you out of existence by accident already” in the middle of a fight.

“Chronos’s fuckups ruined the timeline for everyone. Something, something, we’re all dead in a few hours if we don’t fix it.” Genbu had turned away from Wonder Woman and the others while they tried laying out missing bits of timeline, keeping her attention on Kei. Like some kindly old auntie who happened to carry her own weight in bombs instead of cookies. “But to answer your specific question: I think he pulled them out of some other branch and gave them duplication powers. Mostly, I’m too busy killing their copies to ask. Though I do hold out hope that, one day, they’ll realize multiplying by zero still makes zero.”

She looked entirely too proud of that.

It’s not like Kakashi’s here to make those bad jokes land. Which was a depressing thought, too. “And the Joker…?”

Genbu rubbed the back of her neck, where her high collar met her hairline, and tapped a fingertip where a microchip might have gone on Tim Drake at some point. “Irrelevant. Like most things.”

Because either the timeline held strong with Kei’s interventions and that plot hadn’t gone through, or it had and it didn’t fucking matter because Chronos’s bullshit killed all involved parties but two. Since Bruce and Terry were around. Unmaking the space-time continuum beat out a washed up comedian/serial killer any day. No amount of orbital death lasers really compared.

“Though I will say it has been interesting, hunting them down like rats.” Genbu’s expression was too placid to be trusted. Her eyes flashed red-gold, mirroring Isobu’s for just a moment. “I think they had…nine thousand members? Organized into two hundred cells or so at their peak and desperately in need of culling.”

“I…guess that’s one way choose a hobby?” Kei mumbled, trying to edge away from her older self without making it obvious. She could have just used Body Flicker, but any shinobi who lived to fifty-something in fighting shape could and would pounce like a leopard on speed.

“It keeps me active,” Genbu agreed cheerily, and let her go.

That was…one way to put it.

09090

“So, Tiny Turtle.” New Batman somehow drifted into her orbit, while both other Batmen worked on programming a solution for Chronos’s shit decisions. “Does being a seer count as a preexisting condition? Asking for a friend.”

“For…the ban on talking about your own future?” Kei made a face at the nickname, but said, “I think you’re good.”

“If Bruce doesn’t know what’s going to happen, I’ve been assuming you—or your older half—already do. So, is it true?”

“I think that if Chronos wins, this whole thing is pointless anyway.” Kei shifted from foot to foot, trying not to think about the absolutely overclocked fūinjutsu options her future self handed off like they meant nothing. She could probably vaporize one of those cyberpunk Gotham monoliths by using four of them well enough. “So, the mission is to get the thingy to his time-belt. And if we’re lucky, history snaps back into place.”

New Batman took a moment to consider that option. “And if it doesn’t, we would never know.”

“On account of all being incredibly, retroactively dead, yeah.” Kei let out a long, quiet sigh. “If I’m anything like Genbu—and I hope I am—then I know we’re both up for trying to save the world. No matter the cost.”

“Seems steep. There’s nothing for us without winning.” He rolled one shoulder. Maybe the cyber-suit wasn’t holding up as well against the time-cheated weaponry as he needed. “Chronos has been trying to kill us for forty years, one way or another. Guess it’s not really news at this point.”

“Yeah. Still sorry this is ending up on you.” Kei flexed her hand. The sense-memory of almost getting her hands on that whiny little fucker still bothered her. Sure, making sure one of the Wild West heroes didn’t get eaten by a dinosaur was important, but… “I should have killed him when I had the chance.”

There was a slight pause. “I thought—I guessed you threw out the hero rulebook when we lost the League. But the person I call Genbu and the person you are have always been like this, haven’t they? Haven’t you, I mean.” New Batman shook his head. “Time travel’s a pain.”

“Ha. You said it.”

#keisuke gekko #exorcising and exercising demons #isobu #bruce wayne #diana of themyscira #justice league #crossover #catch your breath fanfic #john stewart #virgil hawkins #terry mcginnis #rex stewart #snippet #snippets

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earth489 · 1 year

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Earth 489: Legends of Tomorrow

The Vanishing Point, a place entirely disconnected from time and space. It is here that Rip Hunter is stationed, protecting the timeline and ensuring life as everyone knows it continues its course. But when a mysterious entity begins creating time anomalies that he alone cannot fix, he must build an unlikely team with the help of his life long artifical companion, Gideon, and his timeship, the Waveider. Just don't call them heroes, because they're not. They're Legends. (Who writes this crap?)

Rip Hunter

The leader of a group known as The Time Masters (which includes members such as Gold Beetle and Ava Sharpe), Rip Hunter is the leader of the Legends. As a native of the Vanishing Point, Rip is immune to changes in time, making him the perfect candidate to fix time should anybody alter it. Together with his trusty laser revolver and his friend Gideon, Rip is determined to protect the timeline at all costs.

Sara Lance

The daughter of the original Black Canary, and younger sister of the second, Sara Lance's rebellious, carefree attitude lead to disaster when she ended up in a shipwreck which left her at the mercy of the League of Assassins. After being rescued and trained by its members, it took a long time for her to earn her freedom (an ordeal which resulted in her temporary death), but now she's back and more ready then ever to make up for her past and move past her trauma. Taking the name of White Canary in honor of her mother and sister, she acts as Rip's second in command on the Waverider.

Leonard Snart

The leader of The Rogue of Central City, Leonard Snart went straight after Barry Allen's death, giving up his life of crime to pursue a legitimate career with his sister Lisa, creating a stolen item recovery firm known as Golden Snowball Recoveries. Unfortunately Lisa's return to a life of crime, followed by her supposed death, hardened Leonard's heart and he too made a return, taking up his once abandoned name of Captain Cold. In the years since then, with the return of his sister, and a genuine friendship with Wally West, Leonard's heart has softened up again, and he’s looking to take up another career path as protector of the timeline. Of course, that doesn't mean he's totally reformed. There's a whole timeline out there, filled with artifacts and money to steal, after all.

Mick Rory

Leonard's lifelong friend and opposite in many ways, Mick Rory is a simple man with simple goals: he just wants to kill people and steal stuff. How he goes about it doesn't matter much, just as long as his friend is there by his side. So if that means he more often then not ends up doing some good on this timeship? Well, he'll tolerate it for now.

Ted Kord

When Ted Kord was shot in the head by Maxwell Lord, he was presumed dead to the world. In reality, Rip Hunter had gone to the moment of his death and used the Waverider's advanced technology to save his life. Ted's technological experience makes for a great asset on the ship, but he does miss his friends on the Justice League, particularly Booster Gold. Oddly enough, however, this Rip Hunter fellow reminds Ted of him.

Sara Butters

Pulled from a time period after Ted's assumed death, Sara was an entrepreneur who idolized him and his work. When she discovered he was the second Blue Beetle, Sara used her own equipment to imitate his own and donned a similar costume to him, only in red rather then blue. After a failed audition for the Justice League, she became a short lived member of the Justice Society, until she discovered Ted was alive again. Taking this opportunity to learn from her inspiration, she joined the Waverider crew. Although things are a little awkward now, thanks to there being two Sara's.

Rex Stewart

In this timeline, John Stewart and Shiera Saunders married Mari McCabe and Carter Hall, respectively. But in another, they were a couple, getting together and having a single son by the name of Rex. A member of his timeline's Justice League by the name of Warhawk, Rex was pulled from his own timeline by Rip, as the time master had determined that Rex's presence on the main timeline would result in a better timeline for all, and that Rex's native timeline was about to be erased. It took some getting used to, being on a world where his parents never got together, but Rex is still a hero and will still do what he can to protect his new world.

Jenni Ognats

Another hero from another erased timeline, Jenni Ogants is the granddaughter of Barry Allen and Iris West. Hailing from the same Reach controlled timeline as Bart Allen, Jenni was rescued by Rip and recruited into the Legends. While thankful for his intervention, Jenni doesn't feel like she belongs on the ship and is looking for a place to call her own. She might just find it in the 31st century.

Buddy Standler

Possibly the least expected recruit anybody could imagine, Mitchell Bernard "Buddy" Standler is The Condiment King, a former enemy of Batman. After his attempt to go legit by opening a restaurant ended in him beating a would be robber with a ketchup bottle, Buddy slipped back into his villainous persona and was ready to try to rob a bank when Rip recruited him onto the team. Why he chose somebody like this is a complete mystery, but if nothing else, he makes for a good distraction, and a great cook.

Notes

Legends of Tomorrow is my favorite Arrowverse show, despite its weak first two seasons. It really found its footing in Season 3, the direct opposite of its sister shows, Arrow and Flash. So, I just had to add the team to this AU. I changed a lot of the members though. Rip, Sara, Snart, and Rory from the first season are still around, and there's some shades of some canon members to be found with other members on this team (Warhawk in place of Carter or Kendra, Ted Kord in place of Ray, etc). Other members were complete asspulls, like Condiment King and Red Beetle.

The team changed quite a lot during production, mainly because I couldn't make up my mind on who all I wanted. Examples of cut members include alternate timeline vigilante dopplegangers of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Cassie Sandsmark, a female Barry Allen from this Earth's equivalent of Earth 11 (which I have recently began calling Earth 541), and Eugene Choi. I'm fairly satisfied with this final roster, but this isn't everyone who's going to be on the team. Treat these guys like they're the equivalent of the canon Legends Season 1 roster. Some will die, some will leave the team of their own accord, and some will stick around until the very end.

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