#You have a Green Lantern and Batman who lived in the same city!!

[emin-folly]

One of the biggest lies DC sold me is that Alan Scott and Batman/Bruce Wayne have barely any interaction together Like, what do you MEAN Alan "Dressed-up-in-bizarre-clothes-to-scare-criminals" Scott didn't influence Bruce to become a scary crimefighter of his own?? What do you MEAN Alan didn't become Bruce's mentor and teach him how to vigilante, literally hOW

[nelkcats]

Amity's hero

Don't let Amity Parkers lose their hero or you will face the consequences; even good intentions can become unforgivable

The Justice League didn't speak directly to the G.I.W, they didn't quite take their word for it but reports of ghost attacks and property damage caught their attention, the call log with the multiple Amity Park appearances being the most ignored of the list practically marked as spam broke their hearts.

So they arrived as a team, yelling about getting rid of the ghosts, certain that their presence would only cause long-term damage, Phantom immediately showed up, questioning what was wrong; they simply ignored him and began to recite that he and his kind should return to his place of origin (because these ghosts must have a place far from earth, right? They had read something about them living in another dimension), ignoring all Phantom's pleas by simply listening

Unlike a few years ago, Amity Park was not under attack, it had a direct truce with Infinite Realms in which the ghosts were on their best behavior, playing with humans, protecting them from unknown entities (because this was their Amity, they were territorial), keeping at bay the animal ghosts that came out of natural portals, and turning from villains to heroes, being led by his King Phantom, the one who started it all.

The ghosts were happy with the arrangement and with being able to visit human world; Klemper, Lunch Box and Youngblood made a lot of new friends, Ember had concerts, Johnny and Kitty formed their own biker gang, Spectra was the psychologist she'd tried to be at first, Walker kept everyone in line, even ghosts who straight up preferred the realms visited from time to time: Pandora, Frostbite, Ghost Writer, etc. Even Nocturn tried to give everyone good dreams.

But the heroes didn't care, they considered everyone as "threats" and threatened them, Phantom, completely tired of being ignored looked towards his city and gave them a sad smile, you couldn't reason with those who didn't want to listen to you "If we do that Amity could be in danger" he tried one last time, the league didn't know how to deal with liminals.

"We'll protect them, you're just invaders making them sick in the end" Green Lantern snorted, as if it was the obvious solution "So get out and leave these people alone"

"Fine, but when you see how badly you end up handling everything, call us" Danny was tired, he could reason with his own parents and not with all these "heroes", he supposed it was better to teach them the consequences. He tossed a Fentonphone at them, hoping they'd do the right thing.

Flash felt uncomfortable when he saw the ghost children approaching the humans, were they attacking them? He was about to interfere when he saw the human children approach the ghosts to hug them and cry together; he reasoned that made sense, sure the kids didn't know their friends were dangerous, but something inside of him wasn't satisfied with that answer.

Then Danny just whistled, attracting the attention of the ghosts in the city "Well, you heard them, go back to the realms" complaints could be heard, both from the ghost and the human sides. But for now, the halfa had some kind of plan in mind.

Wonder Woman felt especially uncomfortable when she saw Pandora walk past Phantom, giving her a disappointed look, Batman told her that surely she wasn't her friend, and that if she was she wouldn't be the same person, but she wasn't so sure about that.

The ghosts withdrew from Amity then, going through the portal that the Phantom himself had opened in the center of the city, each one of Justice League members could feel the hateful looks pointing directly at them "It's for the best", Batman informed them "we'll assign you heroes that monitor that they do not return"

"NO" that seemed to be what broke the silence "We don't want any more heroes, Phantom is our hero" and with that said, a girl of about 8 years old hugged the halfa's leg, crying uncontrollably "Please don't go"

The League was about to interfere when Phantom reached down, picking up the girl "I don't want to leave Stacy" he whispered stroking her back lovingly, hoping she would stop crying "But the guys over there say I'm a danger to you and you know I want to keep you safe" he kissed the girl's head, handing her over to her parents "I love you Amity Park, thank you for loving me back" he told the population affectionately, before going through the portal.

The League just looked uncomfortably, once there were no more ghosts they informed the city that they would send heroes regularly for protection and monitoring the situation but the city inhabitants just scoffed.

"You don't get it" Dash spoke, completely furious "Phantom is to Amity what Batman is to Gotham" he frowned "And rest assured that this city will protect him from you, we don't care if you told him to leave, we'll bring him back, you're way over your head on this" he continued "Of course, you don't understand because you're the hero in this scenario, and you don't know what a city feels when you take away their hero"

The Justice League only watched as the townspeople turned their backs on them, but they reasoned again that it was for the best, eventually the townspeople would understand.

A few days passed and Amity declared itself isolated from the League, every time they tried to send a hero they rejected, over and over again; dozens of different heroes couldn't get past the limits because they were shot, taunted, or simply knocked unconscious before entering. Superman was starting to regret destroying Phantom's phone but they had to know how it worked, at the end it was a regular phone with weird aesthetic.

The only "hero" who managed to cross the limits was Red Hood, who at the end of the day became a messenger "You don't understand B, that city is out for blood" Jason tried to reason with Bruce "They're furious, I swear I saw a 6-year-old boy practicing archery and the target had your head placed in the center" it was not normal for Jason to worry, Bruce was a hero, but for the same reason he did not know what it felt like when you lost one. Amity had basically been building her own army within the barriers, they even offered him refuge away from heroes "You must talk to them."

"Mhm" Batman hummed, pulling out his comlink to schedule a meeting, he'd thought of calling one anyway, he'd had sightings of what looked like animal ghosts all over Gotham but they were basically invincible, he wondered if it was Phantom's revenge.

"Just give them back their hero Batman" was what the commissioner Gordon told him when he asked for an opinion on how to deal with the reaction of the city "They're right, you don't know what it feels like"

Of course, Batman couldn't be wrong, so he guessed Gordon's comment was due more to his weariness. Upon arrival he noticed everyone completely dejected, basically stating animal ghosts and ¿drops? through all their cities. They couldn't fight any of them so they decided to go back to Amity, they figured if they had fought these things for years they must have knowledge.

Upon reaching the city, although they were allowed to pass, they were greeted with mockery, half the population carried one weapon or another, the League was tense "Having problems so soon?" Paulina looked at her neon green nails, she was sure she could cut a man with them "You should have accepted Phantom's help, you know"

"Phantom was a threat invading your city" Batman growled "we saw the reports, his continued presence caused medical changes in all of you that you won't even let us see"

"Make no mistake" Mikey interrupted him "Amity was always an access point to the Zone, we were contaminated long before you existed" and of course they would not trust this heroes with their liminal status, Frostbite was already helping them before all the mess and they did not need to add human doctors with no knowledge.

"Then what do you suggest? We let the ghosts come back and destroy the whole city?" Hal scoffed, completely incredulous of how they were being treated, from the first second they refused to give any useful information.

"It's funny that you think we can't defend ourselves" Paulina rolled her eyes "you all could be beaten by Mikey, and is Mikey, no offense" she shot a look at the boy next to her.

"None taken" Mikey shrugged, it wasn't the first time.

"The thing is, we're just used to it; we like to be protected and not have to protect ourselves, it may sound cowardly of us but we're civilians" Kwan spoke "we're not defenseless, but we prefer not taking action, our hero made sure of it so we don't like to take cards in the whole self-sacrifice thing"

"Phantom is a danger" Superman tried to stand his ground.

"For us?" Star sneered "Or for you?"

"Besides, if you think we don't move out of the city for aesthetics, you're wrong, we just like to feel safe" Dash yawned, bored with the conversation "Phantom and the other ghosts are territorial, it's kind of nice, no threat gets past that sign, rates of crime? Zero, very difficult to want to kill or assault someone if they can come back as a ghost to kill you I guess"

"But the reports" Flash was worried about the indifference.

"The reports from 5 years ago? Before we had the truce that you guys ruined?" Star sneered "I'll call Sam or Tucker and bring Phantom back, we'll start the truce again, get out of Amity"

"You can't do that." Superman crossed his arms, trying to remain threatening as Hal muttered in a panic about breaking peace treaties and the Oa wanting his head.

"Oh, but we can" Paulina approached Superman, running her hand over his arm "and we'll do it" slowly, she placed her fingernail on his suit, cutting the material and drawing blood from the hero, who immediately moved away at the threat.

"Get the hell out of Amity and don't come back" Dash rolled his eyes, stroking a ghost snake, the heroes tensing more at their newest enemy.

"It was you?" growled Batman; recognizing the snake as one of the many haunting Gotham.

"Not exactly, the veil ruptures always existed" Kwan said, stroking the head of a ghost wolf "We only tame them, or send them back to the Realms, if there were veil ruptures it's not our problem" he looked towards the League "If any of them escaped because we weren't watching and they followed your scent it's not our fault either"

"And can you tell us um, how to deal with them, or tame them?" Flash tried.

"No, since you are sooo good at gathering information I'm sure you will come up with something" With that said, Dash motioned for the snake to lead the heroes away and before they knew it they were all thrown away from the city.

[stealingyourbones]

When Danny Phantom makes a portal to another dimension, We Weston, who had been following Danny, goes into the portal. Now, he's stuck in another world filled with Superheroes, and in the most crime-filled city. But most of all, he's lucky he got adopted. He's very lucky to be adopted into the Dowd family with an older brother who understands him so well.

Together, with his brother's caffeine addicted boyfriend, they try to uncover Captain Marvel's secret identity: Danny Fenton's uncle from another universe, or Jack Fenton of the Justice League Universe?

Bernard: So, you think Captain Marvel is Phantom's (who is Danny Fenton) dad? In this universe?

Tim: ....wait ...I can see it. Those two are so close with each other, as if they're related! (They're so familiar with each other during Justice League meetings. This is just another addition to the speculation going around the league)

Wes: Maybe this is why Danny keeps visiting this world. Because his dad in this world actually pays attention to him! I won't be surprised if he brings his sister here, too.

===

Meanwhile...

Billy: DANNY! CHECK OUT HOW MANY MARSHMALLOWS I CAN FIT IN MY MOUTH!

Danny: BILLY. NO! YOU'RE GONNA CHOKE! JAZZ, SEE? YOU NEED TO HELP ME!

Jazz: *sighing lovingly at something a certain crime lord had texted her*

Jazz: Hm? What was that Danny?

=======

Mean meanwhile...

Green Lantern: I've called this meeting to inform you that Red Robin has updated us with some information that may support our "Captain Marvel is Phantom's Dad" theory.

Flash: Are... We just going to ignore that this Wes kid is... Stuck? In this dimension? And not his home dimension?

The League: *focused more on Captain Marvel being a negligent dad in another universe but a better dad in this one*

Someone in the League: It makes sense because Batman allowed him to have more offdays, the same amount as Superman and Flash! No. Not offdays!More like being more of a 'call during emergencies' kinda hero! The Bat even made a bank account for the dude, finally after months of Bats pestering him to have an income for being a hero, because gods know the man needs it to raise a kid! He's a dad, you guys!

Flash: ... *to himself* I should probably call Batman.

==========

Mean mean meanwhile...

Batman: Flash.

Flash: Hey, B-man! I just wanted to--

Batman: Wes Weston is safer with the Dowds than in his own world.... We should work to convince Phantom to stay with us as well. (I want to meet my future daughter-in-law.)

Flash: ...

Flash: Okay.

===================

Mean mean mean meanwhile...

Impulse: Hey, gramps!

Flash: Please don't call me that--

Impulse: If this is about Wes, then, yeah, he's in the future, too gottagobyeeeeee

Flash: ...

===============

Does Batman know about Captain Marvel's true identity? Yes. Does he know about Phantom's? Yes! Did he try to adopt both? Absolutely. He's failed though because Billy actually got into a good foster family (the bank account is actually a trust fund), and Danny and Jazz are content with their lives (Their parents have gotten a bit better with how they view ghosts, but if Danny and Jazz wants to move into their world, he's got the fake identities ready for them. All they gotta do is ask.)

Do the Batkids know? Surprisingly, this is a secret he kept from his family because even his kids are in on the speculating on Captain Marvel and Danny being related. He's keeping it a secret for shits and giggles. He also involved Superman to be his double-agent to update him on how close or farther away everyone is getting.

The interactions you’ve written anon give me life.

I haven’t read anything about Bernard so I don’t know his character but having his family adopt Wes? That was something I’ve never thought of before and is such a fun idea to fuck around with. Just the concept Bernard maybe not even being relatives with Wes but being good pals with him in general is such a good idea.

Billy and Danny just fuel each other’s stupidity and having the two in the same room is always a recipe for disaster. it’s always amusing to see how the disaster will unfold so instead of stopping them the adults now just make bets to see what the fuck those two will do next.

Batman respectfully not telling his family about Billy or Danny to keep their trust but still having the time of his life trying to see which kid will find it out first with Clark running interference? Brilliant.

[written-in-flowers]

Guardian Knight: Pt. 2

Pairing: Arkham!Jason x Fem!OC

Genre: angst, fluff, smut

Word Count: 8k

Rating: M

Tags: lovers to enemies, enemies to lovers, somewhat slow burn, implied/referenced torture, kidnapping, PTSD, hurt/comfort, blood and violence, canon violence, implied/referenced abuse, eventual smut, vaginal sex, vaginal fingering, oral sex, nipple play, choking (sexy and non-sexy),

Summary: After the events of Arkham City, Mia Wayne's life appeared to return to normal. But, when Scarecrow threatens to cover the city in Fear Toxin, she's thrown into the chaos by a mysterious figure: The Arkham Knight.

Part 1 < > Part 3

***

As the car sped through Gotham, Mia noticed the size of the city. The streets appeared wider and the buildings taller without the millions of people who lived there. Looking out the tinted windows, she watched the city spiral into chaos. Underneath neon signs, rioters filled the streets. They burned cars, broke windows, and looted stores. They didn’t have a care in the world. The Gotham City Police must be overwhelmed with the amount of crime going on in the streets; they’ll be outnumbered. She knew they didn’t have the manpower or the equipment to deal with mobs this size. Bruce donated money to fund their precinct, but it still wouldn’t be enough. Nobody ever anticipated such destruction. She worried about Alfred. The commander said they knocked him out, but what if it did permanent damage? What if he didn’t wake up? Worry filled her stomach. Alfred could handle himself in a fight, but he wasn't Bruce. She hoped Alfred was alright. 

Scarecrow drove everyone out of the city with his fear toxin. However, it didn’t make much sense to evacuate the city and then release his toxin. The only people who would get hit are the scum in the streets, and who cared about them? He’d implied the blast was city-wide, hence the scramble to leave. Unless it wasn’t. Mia knew Bruce would figure it out. Only he could stop Scarecrow. He had the resources and skills to defeat every criminal in the city. He outsmarted The Riddler. He beat the Penguin to a pulp. He always caught Two-Face mid-heist. None of them defeated him. Joker learned that the hard way. Scarecrow would be no trouble at all. Somehow, someway, Bruce always won in the end.

"Look at it,” the commander said. “The great Gotham City being brought to its knees. In a few hours, Scarecrow’s toxin will fill up these streets and Gotham will be finished.”

“Scarecrow is a coward who hides behind chemicals and a stupid mask,” she retorted. “Batman will stop him. He always does.”  

“Always with the blind faith,” he chuckled. “You’re surrounded by thousands of soldiers. I got drones, tanks and men all over the city. You think Batman can stop this? He’s just one man. He’s weak, old, and predictable. He can use all the billion-dollar tanks, silly gadgets, and pathetic sidekicks he wants. It’s no match for what we have in store tonight.”

 “He’ll still win. The Joker was one man with an army of his own and look what happened to him.”

 “I’m not him,” he growled. “I’m not like the others.”

“You’re all the same,” she replied. “Everyone always underestimates Batman and thinks they can outsmart him until he pops up out of nowhere and kicks their ass.”

"Funny how you put so much faith in him after everything he’s done.” 

She raised an eyebrow at the statement. “Where are you taking me?” she asked, preferring not to get into it. 

“You know this city. You figure it out.”

She looked out the window. She saw the familiar lanterns and dragon statues of Chinatown. Seeing the rows of red and gold pillars, she assumed they were heading north. Both Miagani and Founder’s island were in the opposite direction. When she spotted a Chinese restaurant she and the band visited, she knew they’re approaching the city limits. Looking up ahead, she saw the massive processing plant of Ace Chemicals. The green sign stood atop the large entrance, with dark clouds floating upwards into the sky. Normally, the plant was quiet. Tonight she saw transport helicopters flying in and out. Mia followed one helicopter leaving the plant and heading back towards Bleake Island, several drones flanking behind. These men meant business. One would’ve thought they were preparing for war, not a hostile takeover.

“He’s manufacturing the chemical here,” she stated, not asked. “Ace Chemicals is the only place in Gotham that could handle something that size. He didn’t give us a warning because he wanted the city empty.” She turned to her captor, “The blast isn’t only city wide, is it?” When he did not answer, she nodded, “No, it’s not. It’s beyond that. It doesn’t matter if people go to Bludhaven. It’ll get them there too, right?”

“See, you can be smart when you want. Open the gate,” the commander said, and she saw the iron gate open for them. 

It reminded her of a military camp. Men in red and white uniforms bearing the same insignia marched inside helicopters waiting on the top tier. The row of trucks drove into the plant, driving straight through the entrance down a long tunnel. Here, she saw men packing weapons and military-grade equipment into more trucks before heading out. The militia came prepared for their takeover. She thought of her brother facing these men alone. She knew Bruce more than most people. He would insist on taking on this army by himself. He wouldn't want anyone to die because of him. Barbara would sit in the Clock Tower, helping him with her computer skills. Tim will be off doing whatever tasks Bruce set for him, and Dick was all the way in Bludhaven. If Bruce wasn’t careful, these men could shoot him out of the sky. 

These weren’t Gotham City thugs. These men had military training. 

“You should’ve blind folded me,” she taunted the commander. “What happens when I escape and contact the big bad Batman? I don’t think you want him knowing your hideout right away.”

"We both know you don’t need to do anything,” he said. “Batman will come to the plant, and when he does, I’m ending him.”

“Is that why you kidnapped me then?” she couldn’t think of a reason otherwise. “I’m Bat-bait?”

“That,” he looked over at her, “And because he's not going to protect you like I will."

Another vague statement. It was becoming tiresome. She'd been about to question him before they hit a bump that distracted her. The truck moved through a tunnel that led underneath the plant, and Mia noticed the lack of workers in the area. “What did you do with the workers? You let them leave, right?”

“We were given orders to eliminate any chemical workers we found,” he answered, and her jaw dropped. “They’ll get caught in the blast anyways.”

“You could’ve given them a chance to leave,” she replied, shocked. “You didn’t have to kill them. They were innocent people.”

“My men were given orders, and we carried them out.”

“That’s only an excuse to deflect guilt from yourself. That’s…” she couldn’t find the right word. “That’s despicable. They’d done nothing to you.”

“They were in the way. They should’ve left Gotham when given the chance.”

“Your men most likely didn’t give them a chance,” she looked back out the window to see they’d driven into a long tunnel where they’d stationed more men. Mia imagined these men gunning down the plant workers like dogs, then taking over the factory. “You won’t get away with this. Batman will stop you. He always stops them.” 

“Oh-ho, I’m counting on it,” he said, almost too glad to admit it. “Tonight, Gotham’s Dark Knight will fall and I will be there when it happens.” He turned to her, “Now, you sit tight and wait for him to rescue you. It’s what he’s told you to do.”  

She glared at him, but didn’t retort. She hated to admit: it’s exactly what she did. Bruce always told her to stay quiet and wait for him to come. He always came. Except at Arkham City, when her savior came to her aide instead of him. Would they come again this time? 

They reached a control booth by one of the tunnel gates. “Out. Now,” her captor said, opening her door for her.

She slid out and into the grasp of the soldier she hit. When he grabbed her arm, his commander pushed him aside. He kept her at his side as they entered. She saw men inside installing monitors, communication links and data storage units around the room. They kept a map of Gotham tacked to a wall, red dots pinpointing specific areas. She supposed these were checkpoints.

“Sir, all systems are up and running,” one of the men said when he entered the control room. “Communication channels and tracking systems are officially online.”

“Good,” he said, “Batman’s on his way. I want to form a welcome party for him. Ready the drones.”

 “Yes, sir,” the man turned back to the computer behind him, quickly typing in his command codes.

 “You two head over to relay station one,” he pointed to the men behind him. “The rest of you head to Founder’s Island and set up more on the rooftops. I want squadrons four through eight setting up checkpoints on the ground. Nine and ten go assist Scarecrow in the mixing chamber." 

They all nodded and rushed towards nearby trucks to drive off. “The mixing chamber,” she said softly. “How does Scarecrow plan to get out of here when it goes off?” 

“Shut up. Spread your legs.”

“Excuse me?” 

He didn’t ask a second time. The commander put a leg between her own, causing her to gasp in shock before he started patting her down. “What are you-Woah!” she yelped when a large hand touched her backside, “Keep your hands to yourself, creep! Hey, that’s mine!”

Out of her back pocket, he pulled out a cellphone with a floral case. He examined it before saying to her, “You didn’t think I’d really let you keep this, did you?”

“Give that back!”��

She moved forward to him, but was stopped short. Two soldiers held her by her arms when she went for the phone again, and forced her into a chair. He didn’t break it like she thought he might. He slid it into his pocket. She didn’t comment in case he did decide to do that. Bruce and Barbara will no doubt be already tracking her phone signal. They’ll find her soon enough, but seeing the army outside, she wondered how Bruce would get past them all. The commander dismissed the two soldiers, leaving them both alone. She glanced around the room for a second exit, but she only saw the one door. He moved to the control system behind him and typed away on a keyboard.

“Batman will come whether I’m here or not,” she told him. “He’ll eventually figure out how Scarecrow is manufacturing his toxin, get here, beat up all your guys and your little tanks, kick your ass and then save the day. So, you might as well let me go.”

He laughed again, “Yeah, right. Batman will definitely find out where we are. He’ll find our exact location, but we both know he’ll try to save the hostages first. He might try to save you too, if he gets around to it. Then he has to go through all my men in order to reach Scarecrow. He is only one man after all.” 

“A man with a car that’s basically a tank with cool wheels on it,” she noted. “Your little minions don’t know what they’re up against. Batman is smart, determined, tactical, and pretty damn strong. He’ll find a way past them, and when he gets to you, he’ll beat you into the ground.” 

He turned around, holding an injection gun in his hand, “That’s where you’re wrong, princess. I have taught my men everything about Batman: his moves, his skills, and the way he thinks. We know his every move before he’s made it.” He shut the control room door and locked it. The soft click of the latch made her insides squirm. “I didn’t even have to make a big deal about kidnapping you, and you want to know why?” He closed the blinds looking out into the tunnel outside. Nobody would see him and her together. It made her sick. “Because he’s going to hack into our communications, and when he hears you’re here, he’ll put you on his To-Do list.” 

He came to a level with her, and she gulped thickly. “Because you and I both know if he has to choose between finishing the mission or saving people, he’ll pick the mission every time. Batman pretends like he cares about saving innocent people. It’s all a trick. It’s a lie-”

“-It’s not a lie-”

“-Then explain why it took him so long to find you the first time?” 

She studied his helmet again. A smooth reflective surface that no doubt meant to throw off enemies, she envisioned her knight again. She focused. She truly focused on what they’d looked like. She never saw a face, but she’d seen the shape of their headgear. It was pointed and round like the commander’s. Mia thought about the armor they’d been wearing. Bruce’s suit is sleek and smooth with bits of plated metal. Her knight wore mostly metal with cloth. Bruce’s gloves were a special leather with a strong grip; her knight’s hands felt thicker and of tough material. Mia looked down at the hands at his sides. The black gloves resembled her savior’s gloves.

“You were in Arkham City,” she heard herself ask him. 

She tried concentrating on her knight. They also had wide shoulders and big arms. They hadn’t talked to her, though. No, wait. They had. She remembered it now. Underneath swaying yellow lights, her torn clothes sticking to her skin with sweat and bile, and her body a useless lump, she heard murmuring in the memory. A tender voice whispering comfort and reassurances. They’d said something to the effect of, “you’re safe now.” 

“It was you,” she breathed. “You found me in the steel mill and saved me. All this time, I thought it must’ve been my imagination or it’d been Batman, but…” she raised a hand to the helmet and the commander flinched. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, trying to picture the moment as much as possible. “But, it was you." She thought about it more, "It must've been you." She looked back at him, "Why did you save me?”

The commander stared at her. She could tell he mulled over his options, and she thought she might get an answer. Instead, he pressed the injection gun to her neck and the needle shot into her skin. In a quick flash of pain, Mia winced and rubbed at the sore lump forming there. She watched the Knight calibrate her tracker to his wrist armor, and continued. 

“Did you save me so you have Bat-bait for Scarecrow later on?” she questioned, the possibility becoming more obvious. “Can’t entice Batman to come to you without me, so you rescued me to then kill me later?” 

“That’s not why I did it.”

“Then why did you?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me. I happen to be pretty good at understanding misunderstood people.” 

Her knight didn’t answer her. Once he finished with her tracker, he said, “Now isn’t the time to explain,” he said, cutting her out of her zip-ties. 

“What is the tracker for?” she asked, soothing the aching in her throat. If she pushed deep enough, she felt a small pill-sized mass under the skin. 

“So if you run, I’ll know where to find you. Arkham City isn’t going to happen again,” he said, “Not with me around.”

"My gallant hero," she sneered. 

“Would you prefer I set you free and let the animals of this city eat you alive?” he said, the threat laced in his tone. “We both know he’s not coming to save you. He’ll try, of course, but when it comes down to the mission or you, he’ll pick the mission. Every. Time.” Mia heard the disdain in between the words. The deep seated hate that seemed to stem from somewhere painful. “If he had to choose between saving Gotham or saving you, he’s picking Gotham. Just like he did in Arkham City.”

“Arkham City wasn’t his fault,” she retorted. “He had no idea I was in any kind of danger. It’s not like I’m important to him or anything. He didn’t know I was…you know…”  

Being horrendously beaten and tortured. Her right hand stretched and curled to where the scars turned white on her skin. If she lifted up her sleeve, the faded circles of cigarette burns went up her forearm. She winced at the memory of the burning flesh and ash mixing together, and the enjoyment it gave her captors. Batman didn’t know she was there until he found her. He thought she was with the other political prisoners; it was why he made his way there before the bombings began. When a prisoner said they saw her being carried off hours ago, he knew where she’d be. But, something inside her whispered: ‘He’s not an idiot. You are Amelia Wayne. You had a target on your back the moment you stepped into that place. He knew that.’ 

"That's what he wanted you to think. He knew you were there, and he left you there to die," he grunted, tapping more keys. "You'll see. By the end of the night, The Dark Knight will fail this city and show everyone his true colors.” 

"Screw you," she hissed. "Batman will never let you win."

“He’ll put up a fight, for sure, but he won’t win. Not this time. We’ve got control of the roads and the skies. I am going to personally make sure he pays for what he did to me…what he did to you.”

“Can you please stop playing the cryptic game with me?"

“Sir,” she heard a voice through his com link, cutting off their conversation. “The drone is active and online. Target is headed towards Ace Chemicals.”

 “Perfect.” He called in the two soldiers outside the booth, “You two are on guard duty.” As he made to leave, he said, “Anyone puts a hand on her, and they're a dead man.” 

The Knight left nothing but confusion in his wake. She stayed on the chair still, rubbing her neck again as she thought about his responses. He clearly has history with Batman, but so do lots of people. He seemed to have taken her kidnapping in Arkham City more seriously than Bruce. She hated admitting to herself that her knight might be right in a way. Bruce did put the mission first, but that didn’t mean he did one thing at a time. He’d told her he had Alfred keep a lock on her signal before the goons crushed her phone. He kept an eye out for clues to her whereabouts while also trying to stop Hugo Strange’s plan. Mia knew her brother would not forget her. He cared about her. Like with Jason, he kept several things in motion at one time which is a skill she’d never mastered. 

Deep down, Mia knew he’ll look for hostages first, and then go after Scarecrow and his bomb. He’ll find her. He always did. 

“So, what do you think the deal with the chick is?” she overheard one of the soldiers ask his comrade. He wore a white coat with a red hood covering his head and black goggles. Judging by the patch on his arm, he is a medic of some kind. "Is she related to Batman somehow?”

“Beat’s me,” the other shrugged. In full black, with accents of red like the others, she assumed this one is a basic soldier. “She’s a Wayne, so maybe she’s bait?”

“But Knight’s got other ways to get his attention, like having us storm the city and Scarecrow’s poison. Why does he need her?”

“I don’t know, man,” the soldier replied, annoyed. “Maybe he thinks she’s hot, and wants to keep her for some recreational time or something.” He then snorted, “I’d do the same if it were me.” He looked over his shoulder at Mia, who scowled. 

“Eh, he can have her,” the medic dismissed.

“What? You don’t think she’s hot?”

“She’s got a nice face, but I like my women soft and delicate, you know?”

“You like the cutesy ones, huh?” 

"Love 'em."

Mia rolled her eyes. She wondered if they knew anything about the Knight. Mia recalled the time Bruce asked her to get close to one of Carmine Falcone’s men so he can eavesdrop on their conversation. Mia, at the time, wanted to prove that she could be part of the family too. She wanted him to see that she could be useful. So, instead she approached the group of men under the guise of a pretty rich girl wanting a good time. Men divulge all kinds of information when they’re drunk, especially the chatty ones. Bruce told her to fall back. She stayed. Mia learned that night about Falcone’s shipping yards, and noted they may be a place of interest. Seeing the two soldiers chatting, she might be able to do the same here. 

“So, what’re your names?” she asked casually. When they turned to her, she said, “I mean, if you’re gonna be my bodyguards, we might as well know each other’s names.” The soldiers didn’t answer, which prompted her to add, “Come on. I’ll just give you stupid nicknames anyways.”

“James,” said the soldier in black. “This is Phillips.”

“Dude, what the fuck?” hissed Phillips. “You didn’t have to answer her.”

“I don’t want a dumb nickname,” he told him. “It’s not like she’s seen our faces anyways.”

“You guys are American? Canadian?" she asked them. “Ooh, can I guess where you’re from? I’m pretty good at deciphering dialects.” If she learned that, she might gain an idea of where her knight is from. 

“I’m American,” James said, but was nudged by Phillips. 

“Stop talking to her,” he warned. 

“Hmm,” she replayed the sounds of his words and how he shaped them when he talked, then said, “You’re not from Gotham, but you lived here for a while so you picked up the slight cadence of a Gothamite accent. I’m picking up…Drescher area?”

“Close,” he said, impressed. “Not Drescher. Otisburg.”

“Damn,” she hissed, “I used to work at a bar down in Otisburg. It’s called Rocky Road. I don’t know if you ever-”

“-Aw man, I loved that place-”

“James, what are you doing?”

“It’s called talking,” he answered as if it was obvious. “Knight did say we’d be in charge of watching her when he’s not around. We might as well get to know one another.”

“If I’ve learned one thing on guard jobs, it’s not to get too friendly,” said Phillips. “The more you talk, the looser your lips get.” 

“I didn’t realize being from Otisburg and going to bars was such top-secret information,” noted Mia. 

“Right?” scoffed James. “You worked at a bar? Aren’t you crazy rich though?”

“My family is wealthy. I’m not.” 

“Hm, that makes sense. You definitely don’t dress like a rich girl, no offense.”

“None taken,” people often said Mia Wayne having a ‘normal’ job seemed strange. “I prefer a simple life. I don’t need flashy cars or designer clothes to feel important. My apartment, my guitar, and my friends are enough for me.” 

“How wholesome,” Phillips drawled, clearly unimpressed. 

“How old were you when you moved here?” she asked James, pretending to be interested. 

“Ten-”

“-James!”

“Aw, how come? Parents got a new job?”

“Nah, my parents split and I came to live with my dad here in Gotham. He was ex-military-”

“-James, shut up-”

“-Huh, why?-”

“-That’s cute,” she grinned, “You're following your dad’s footsteps into the military. Well, I don’t think he intended for you to participate in hostile takeovers, but what military guy hasn’t done that, amiright?” She and James laughed together, but Phillips remained stiff and stern. Then she said, “And you met the Knight through your career?”

“In Venezuela-”

“-Don’t you see what she’s doing, you idiot? She’s trying to get information on The Knight through us,” Phillips told him. “Face forward and don’t talk to the hostage.”

“Psh, fine. I was making conversation.”

“The more you talk, the more she’d learn about us.”

“Why does it matter if she knows anything?”

“Oh, I don’t know, because then Batman will know when he comes to get her-”

“What’s his deal, anyways?”

“Huh?”

“The Knight,” she clarified, “What’s his deal? He kinda came out of nowhere, right?”

“See,” Phillips told James. “What the Knight has planned for your stinking city is confidential. You just sit there and wait for him to come back.”

“He’s gotta have a lot of money if he’s able to drum up an army of this size,” she continued. “I might not have loads of money, but all your equipment seems really advanced and high-tech. You guys have military standard weapons and body armor too. Where do you think he gets the money for it all? Plus, he must’ve housed you all in a camp in Venezuela.”

“That’s what I’m wondering about!” James exclaimed. “I was telling one of the other guys that I think the Knight comes from money or something, because you gotta be loaded to finance all of this.”

“Will you two shut up?” Phillips grumbled. “Face forward, soldier.”

“Aren’t you, like, a little bit curious though?” she asked Phillips. “You work for the guy and don’t know anything about him?” 

“I don’t need to,” he responded. “All I know is the guy is paying me loads, and once this is over, I’m out of here.”

“Where do you wanna go?” she asked. 

“None of your business.”

“I’d go for an island landscape if I were you guys,” she said, “Especially after being in Gotham in all this cold and rain. You know, sitting on the beach with one of those pineapple drinks with the umbrella…maybe some hot girls in bikinis too?” She then added, “If he’s paying you enough, that is. I don’t know how much a mercenary is worth these days.”

“Mercenary work pays really well,” said James. “If you have the training and smarts, you can make a nice profit.”

“Shut it, the both of you!” 

“You really need to loosen up, man. It doesn’t hurt to talk-”

Mia tuned out their argument. They’d met The Knight in Venezuela. Considering his grudge against Batman and the lack of a Latin accent in his voice, The Knight is also likely from Gotham. He must if he holds such a deep grudge. At some point, he left Gotham City and traveled abroad to…to what? Train? Build an army of mercenaries and ex-military officers? That sounded like an overkill for a grievance. Then again, Batman is no ordinary man. She stood up from her chair and went to the window. Looking out the window, she saw dozens of armored tanks parked along the tunnel. Men in red, black and white uniforms marched and stood around with rifles in their hands. How could Bruce stop them? There are so many of them and one of him. 

She turned her attention to the computer "The Knight" had been using. On the screen, she saw dozens of large and small red dots going across a map of Gotham. She guessed the large dots indicated power and relay stations, and the smaller ones were roadblocks. Yes, The Knight is definitely from Gotham. Only a real Gothamite would know where exactly to place them. She noticed several small triangles moving throughout the map, as well as ones with spinning circles. Mia memorized the routes and formations of the drones and tanks. Not a single alley or street would go uncovered. Batman won’t be able to go anywhere without running into militia tanks or soldiers. A sense of unease hit her. Despite what she said, Batman has never faced an enemy of this size before. 

While her “guards” moved onto a lighter topic, she stared around the room. She needed a way out of here. Even if her tracker gave away her position, she needed to at least try. Last time, she’d waited for Batman to appear and he came too late. What if he comes too late this time? Mia wouldn’t let it happen again. 

Searching the room, she wondered what Batman would do. He’d most likely put together a few spare parts for a miracle gadget that’ll help him escape. He’d take out the two guards at the door, then sneak his way around the others in the shadows. Mia couldn’t do that. Sure, she can throw punches and kicks, but not at the expert level. She’d been about to give up when she noticed a grate on the floor in the corner. The intricate metal pattern stuck out against the tiled floors. Turning to look at Phillips and James, she carefully made her way over to the grate, and was relieved to find it open. The vent underneath appeared big enough for her to fit through, so quietly she wriggled herself into the space and shut the grate. 

The heat in the compacted space nearly suffocated her, and the steel walls were unyielding to her body. Mia took shallow breaths as she began army crawling through the narrow passage. She guessed she reached outside the control room when the grates turned into blank walls. The unlikely, irrational scenario of somehow ending up stuck under the floor crossed her mind as she wiggled through like an insect. How did Bruce do this? He’s larger than her and moves through these things like a snake. Mia knew she’d gotten around the militia and their tanks when a new grate brought more air into the vent. 

“...I’ve been down here six months…”

“...Six months in this rat infested hole? Damn, man…”

Mia continued crawling. She’d find a safe space eventually. The strain on her body became more noticeable as she moved through the vents. 

“...Heard Batman’s here. You think he’ll show his face?”

“No way, man. Not with all the tanks out there stopping him.”

“Yeah, but I heard his car’s basically a tank itself, equipped with heavy armor and a cannon.”

Her breath started dampening her face, her muscles started aching from crawling, but she kept going. Perhaps if she got far enough, the Knight will have trouble catching her. Just because he knew her location doesn’t mean she can’t be ahead of him. 

Mia reached a block at the end of the tunnel, and groaned to herself. Rolling onto her back, she peeked through the grate above her to see the faint red lights and rocky ceiling of the tunnel. From the shadow on the wall, something covered her from view. She’d put her fingers through the grate and slipped out quietly. As she’d thought, a large palette of wooden crates hid the grate from view. Keeping herself pressed against the crates, she saw the label on the side. 

‘ARMOR CRATE 204’ 

After peeking around to check for militia soldiers, Mia popped open a small crate. On top of foam cushions sat several military rifles with boxes of ammunition. Mia only held a gun once in her life, and it’d been when Alfred taught her how to use a handgun. She delicately withdrew one of the rifles, and tried assessing where the magazine clip would go. The weapon might as well be a puzzle box. She set the rifle aside and dug further into the crate. Searching for a moment, she found a set of handguns packaged in a line with magazine clips. Much easier to handle, Mia took one of the handguns and the bullets they came with. She might not be a military soldier, but how difficult could firing a gun be? She loaded the gun as Alfred showed her, then put the extra clips into her jeans. Hopefully, she won’t need to use the gun and can get out unseen. 

Ducking back down, Mia spotted more troops up ahead and dread settled into her stomach. She should go back into the vents, stay there until the coast is clear and then move out. But, with the tracker in her neck, her captor would eventually find her. She needed to get ahead of him while he’s busy. Mia watched a group of soldiers idly standing around, clearly having a smoke break while they waited on their commander. She waited until she was sure they didn’t see her, and crouched to the disabled tank across the tunnel opening. Each time she moved, she worried she’d be spotted and captured. Surely, Phillips and James will have noticed she’s disappeared and set out to go look for her. They may inform the Knight, who will then lead the party to retrieve her. No, she can’t let that happen. She needed to at least attempt an escape, however futile the effort. 

“...Who do you think he is?”

“Who? Batman?”

“No, The Knight.”

“Not a clue. I don’t really care to know either. As long as the man gives me my money, he can be whoever he wants.”

“You’re not even a little bit curious? I mean, guy comes out of nowhere with all this information on Gotham and Batman, assembles a fucking army with tanks and weapons from Germany or wherever, and has made it his mission to kill The Bat. This all sounds very personal to me.”

Yes, it did sound personal. He received his equipment from Germany, which is where Bruce has his own equipment made. Did The Knight do that on purpose? James and Phillips mentioned the Knight paying them well, which means he must have money or someone financing his crusade. She considered the other super-criminals in Gotham. Perhaps they are working together to kill Batman. It’d make sense. 

Mia dismissed this idea for now and continued moving silently past groups of soldiers and their tanks. Once or twice, the blue scope light on a tank barely grazed her feet, but she managed to bypass them until she reached a block in her journey. An empty control room was right next to the entry, and she searched the room through the window for a way to open the door. Mia wondered how she’d get past the wall when she heard commotion coming from nearby. She saw a group of soldiers walking in her direction, examining their guns as they approached an armored car. She spotted a control box nearest the door, underneath a light that would give her away if she wasn’t careful. She felt around the sides of the yellow box, trying to find a way to pry it open when a voice sent shivers up her spine. 

“Hey! What’re you doing here?!” 

Mia gasped, stunned and frozen in place. She could hear him coming closer to her, his fellows staying behind by their car. The gun against her hip became heavier and more apparent on her body. She had no choice but to use it. She didn’t know if it would work, since the soldier might have body armor. Still, she didn’t have to kill him. She only needed to get away. 

“You’re not supposed to be here.” Her body trembled as she counted his footsteps, her palms starting to sweat, “You’re coming with me, honey.”

She tightened her grip on the handgun, and in a flash, twisted around and pulled the trigger. The gun’s kickback hurt her hand, but she’d felt worse injuries before. The bullet lodged right into the soldier’s knee, causing him to cry out in pain and alert the nearby soldiers. They saw their comrade on the floor, and she took advantage of their confusion. Rushing into the control room, she quickly spotted a wall vent, and hurried towards it. Slick, sweaty palms slipped on the metal floor as she scrambled. She did not know where this new vent took her, but it got her far away from her captors. Mia heard them calling for backup and to start searching for her. 

“The Knight’s gonna be pissed!” 

‘Good,’ Mia thought. ‘Let him be pissed. I’ll be long gone before he gets to me.’ 

Once again, she found herself underneath the wheels and feet of more militia men. How long was this damn tunnel? Sweat started beading on her forehead and under her sweater as she crawled. She thought back to the soldier she’d shot. She never shot anyone before, not even a flesh wound. She kept moving, trying not to overthink it, before she reached another open grate. Carefully, she lifted the lid to see her surroundings. When she didn’t see any soldiers or tanks, she crawled out of the vent and took a look at her surroundings. 

The rocky walls transitioned into smooth stone, and the dirt path became a paved road. She must be reaching the entrance to the tunnel. The light breeze from an opening up ahead came flowing through and cooled down her hot skin. Mia thought of running towards the exit, and she almost did before she heard voices echoing down the way. 

“-Batman’s on his way,” a man’s voice said. “It’s likely that he’ll try to enter the mixing chamber to stop Scarecrow’s plan. The Knight wants as many men helping load the stuff, but just as many guarding every entrance and exit in this place. We’re going to split into teams to cover every inch of this plant…”

Mia quickly ducked behind a nook in the wall before anyone noticed her. Her eyes scanned the floor for another vent to crawl in, but her underground paths ran out. She knew she could not simply wander past them on her way out. What would Bruce do? Fight them, obviously, but she couldn’t do that. Not all of them, anyways. She thought of keeping herself hidden in the nook before she noticed the pipes beside her. About as thick as a tree trunk, she noticed the bands keeping it taut against the wall. She could climb them if she placed her footing right. Taking hold of a ring above her head, she lifted herself up until her foot found the bottom rings. Only able to fit two fingers between pipe and wall, her hands ached by the time she reached the top. Her heart pounding in her chest, her legs felt numb and her hands ached from their stretched position. Mia worried she might miscalculate the jump and fall, making her position known. Still, she leaned over and grabbed the nearest ceiling pipe. Using the bit of wall behind her, she was able to lift herself up onto the double poles. 

The pipes were higher than she originally thought, and her legs locked together to avoid falling over the sides. The rust on the pipes peeled away in places, scratching her palms against the metal; whatever water or gas pushing through vibrated the pipe which made her uneasy. Still, she crawled. If she took things slowly, she might make it across. Batman makes this look so easy. She learned that it was not. 

“-You should see the guy fight though. I swear, he’s like one of those superhumans!”

“Oh, please! The Knight just has extensive, hardcore training, that’s all. If he’s gonna go toe-to-toe with The Bat, he’s got to keep himself in top-shape. Psh, wish I had that kind of discipline.”

“I was watching some of those tapes The Knight gave us about Batman’s fighting techniques, and I won’t lie The Knight’s got a similar fighting style to him. They both use the same counters and strikes. Their armor is more or less the same. The guy walks around like a damn shadow sometimes…The similarities are right there.”

“Maybe he wants to kill The Bat to take up the mantle?”

“Why gas the city if he plans on being the top vigilante?”

“It could be a bluff. You know, help Scarecrow but then save the city right at the last second? That could explain why he’s got Mia Wayne locked up in the central control booth at the end. He might have taken her to then pretend like he saved her at the end?”

“Seems kind of hard to pass off if people saw her get kidnapped.” 

“Okay, yeah, then why did he kidnap her?”

“Ransom, I guess.”

“I think he’s into her,” another one guessed. 

"What makes you think that?"

"I was part of the extraction team," he told him. "When Brooks punched her, Knight treated her all gently and softly. I've never seen The Knight like that."

"Well, she's a woman. Maybe he’s got a moral code or something he goes by and hurting women is crossing a line?”

"I’d understand it if the woman doesn’t deserve it. But that one? She's a bit too mouthy for me," he replied. "Brooks should've hit her harder. She's lucky I wasn't the one handling her. I would've taught her some manners real quick."

"And have The Knight pummel you into an early grave?" The other mocked him. "Psh, yeah, go for it, man. Let me know how that goes for you."

Mia glared down at them as she tentatively made her way across the ceiling. Batman did this with such ease, while she struggled to keep her balance. They did have a point, however. Amongst his men, The Knight is a forceful, intimidating commander, but with her, he acted much more gently. He still proclaimed that he’d murder her brother tonight and take over Gotham, but he did not raise a hand or knife to her. He’d swept her off to safety in Arkham City, putting her in a safe place until Bruce found her. From what she’d gathered, he seemed to have taken Bruce’s lack of urgency over her disappearance personally. Were he a cruel person, he wouldn’t show such concern. She put it out of her mind for now, and focused on making it across the pipes. 

She’d gotten right above the group when she noticed a slippery substance leaking onto the pipe. Looking up, she spotted droplets of water coming from a crack in the ceiling. Mia made her way towards it, and did her best not to press her hand on the wet spots. She withheld a squeak when her body nearly lost balance, causing her to tip to the side before she caught herself. Holding onto the pipe tightly, she took deep breaths as she tried not fixating on the possibility of falling onto the soldiers. Her single handgun won’t be of any help if she did. She kept on going, doing her best to not touch the wet pipes on her way. Unfortunately, no amount of caution helped in the end. In a single slip of the palm, Mia’s balance completely crumbled and she fell off the side of the pipe. 

Her body made a hard thud, the impact instantly bruising her back and sending shocks of pain in her limbs. The sudden appearance of their captive surprised the group for a moment, which is all Mia needed to stand up and run. One of them immediately wrapped his arm around her waist. 

“Where are you going, girlie?” he said, a taunt in his voice. “You’re not supposed to be here.” 

He dragged her back over to the group, and nearly threw her into their midst. She frantically looked between the four men, whose faces she couldn’t see behind goggles and masks. Mia instantly withdrew her handgun, but this did not faze the men carrying AK-47 rifles. They all taunted her further with groans, laughing at her weak attempt. 

“Stay back,” she said, pointing the weapon between the four of them. She saw the way their bodies moved closer to her, an almost predatory feeling creeping over her. “St-Stay away. I’ll shoot. I swear.” 

“Then go ahead, honey,” the one who’d grabbed her said. She envisioned the malicious smile underneath the mask, and she trembled. “Shoot. If you’re such a big, bad girl, then you won’t have a problem pulling that trigger.” 

“Keats, let’s just take her back to James and Phillips,” a soldier in a red coat told him. “They’re probably looking for her.”

“What’s the rush?” the soldier named Keats said. He moved closer to Mia, who aimed her gun at him. Her finger ached to pull the trigger, but something in her couldn’t see it through. “Aw, what’s the matter, big girl? Where’s all that barking you were doing earlier, hm? Not so tough when there’s no Knight to save you.” She nearly gasped when he cracked his knuckles, “You hurt my friend pretty badly. I think someone ought to teach you some manners.”

“Keats, this is a bad idea, dude,” the red coat told him, trying to get between them. “The Knight will kill you.”

Every bone in her body began shaking, and she couldn’t make it stop. Mia couldn’t stop the flood of scenarios from coming through. She saw the man coming closer to her, much like the thugs in Arkham City. He carried the same sadistic glee as them, and she felt herself press back into the wall. The barrel of the gun did not stay steady in her trembling hands, and everything told her to pull the damn trigger. 

“Psh, as if. All that ‘kill her and you’re dead’ talk is all a big bluff,” he dismissed “He needs as many boots on the ground as he can get. I think when I explain myself, he’ll see that I was right.” He moved the soldier out of his way, and moved closer to Mia, “Maybe after some time with me, you’ll be a good girl and do what we tell you to do.” 

When he extended his arm to swing, she pulled the trigger. The shot startled the men, who all ducked when the bullet went flying across the road into the wall. She took deep breaths, eyes widened, as she checked to see if she’d hit him. When he noticed a trickle of blood fall onto his shoulder, Keats touched his ear. Seeing blood on his leather gloves, they both realized she’d grazed the cartilage there. Mia saw the outrage flare up in his eyes, and he stepped forward. 

“You little bit-” 

The Knight appeared out of nowhere. None of them saw him approach, but he’d gotten between Mia and Keats without making a sound. A black gloved hand wrapped around Keats’s throat tightly, squeezing his windpipe as he lifted him off the ground. Mia and the other soldiers stood watch while Keats wriggled and kicked in the man’s tight grasp. 

“I wasn’t bluffing,” his voice remained steady as he held Keats several inches off the ground. 

Keats could not respond. Mia watched him try prying off The Knight’s hand, but failed to budge it even slightly. Soon, Keats stopped moving entirely. She did not need to ask. She knew a dead body when she saw one. The Knight dumped Keats on the floor, then turned to the other soldiers. 

“Anyone else want to call my bluff?” he asked, glaring at them. Even behind a visor, Mia sensed his anger. 

“No, sir,” the red coat answered, and his fellows shook their heads with him. “We-We tried to tell him, but he didn’t listen.”

“Because he’s an idiot. I hope you’re not idiots either,” he said. “You have your orders. Time to head out. I’m putting you all on watchtower 18. Go. Now.”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

Mia quickly tucked her gun away, and stiffened when he turned back to her. She wouldn’t lie: she liked a protective man. She saw his wide shoulders and the slim torso that no doubt led to a v-line waistline. Mia only ever saw Batman lift up a 200+ pound man with no difficulty before, but that usually scared her. When Knight did it, she didn’t feel scared because he never directed it towards her. Not a single time. Her eyes scanned down the rest of him for a moment, and she tried her best to not take in every single inch. 

‘Dude, he KIDNAPPED you! Stop it!’ 

Looking never hurts though. 

“Are you okay?” he asked tenderly. 

“I’m fine,” she replied, straightening up and trying to shake off her nerves. “Are you expecting a kiss?” she teased. 

“You shouldn’t be here,” he told her. “You could’ve been shot if one of the tanks fired at you. My men have orders to leave you untouched, but the tanks won’t know the difference between you and Batman.” 

“I can be stealthy when I want to be,” she quipped. 

“Oh yeah, very stealthy,” he replied sarcastically. “How far did you think you’d get anyways? You have a tracker in your neck, if you forgot.” 

“Far enough to stay ahead of you.”

He chuckled, and reached for her. “Right. Okay. Come on, princess. We’re leaving.” 

Suddenly, sirens started blaring. The sound echoed throughout the tunnel to ring in her ears. Panic heavied her breathing as she saw soldiers rushing into cars, calls to action going down the line with a sense of urgency. She felt the ground under her begin vibrating as cars drove past her. Mia’s heart started racing as she realized what might be happening. The thick scent of chemicals started choking her in the unfiltered space; she coughed and gasped for air as Knight led her towards another truck. 

“What’s happening?” she asked over the noise, reaching the truck with him. 

“This place is about to blow,” he said. “Get in.” 

He threw open a truck door and stuck her inside before climbing in. With a knock on the roof, the truck raced behind the others out of the quaking tunnels. She took deep breaths of clean air as she watched the ceiling and walls starting to crack from the blast pressure, and she realized it. This is it. The chemical explosion Scarecrow threatened an entire city finally happened. She jumped away from the window as the wall just behind them blasted open, fire and smoke coming through and knocking out the truck following them out. Her hand grasped something on the seat between her and Knight, and she felt an arm wrap around her waist. 

“Step on it, Sergeant,” she heard the Knight say to the driver, his voice very close to her ear. 

Why did his embrace make her feel so safe? Jason came back to mind again. Despite both of them being seventeen, he never failed to make her feel protected. When she’d gotten cornered in an alley by two thugs, Jason appeared out of nowhere in his Robin attire and took them out. Then he put his arm around her, and shot them up to a safe rooftop. Being in the Knight’s arms, even platonically, felt somewhat nice. 

The truck made it out of the tunnels and onto a helicopter pad. The soldier opened her door while the Knight went out the other side. Mia turned to see the tall roofs of the Ace Chemicals building crashing to the ground as thick clouds billowed from the smokestacks high above them. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw fire emitting amongst the clouds; more walls crumbling right as she and the Knight got into one of the cargo ships. 

Bruce. Batman. Last she heard he’d gotten into the building. Had he made it out in the nick of time as always or did the crashing walls bury him alive? She hoped he’d gotten out. Knowing what Scarecrow’s toxin is capable of, she hated thinking of him inhaling the stuff and losing his mind. Mia heard the ship’s door close and she strapped herself into a bench while she watched the plant fall into the deep waters below. She searched as long as she could, until she spotted something flying out across the bridge. The familiar black shape of the Batmobile sped down the bridge onto the mainland again right as the helicopter rose higher and higher into the air. She sighed in relief. At least he made it out. 

She, sadly, had not.

***

A/N: oooh things are getting interesting! I know stuff like this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I really hope the people who are reading it are enjoying it so far! Likes and reblogs are always appreciated!!

[itsupermanti]

My Hero Superman AU; Miscellaneous #1

Musutafu Daily News; Earth Has Not Just a Superman, But a Superfamily!

-By Inko Midoriya.

During the last UA Sports Festival, the world was shocked to learn about the existence of the Superboy, the son of Superman, the beloved hero who’s death sent shockwaves throughout the hero community. Many were shocked to realize that the hero had a son who appears to have been born shortly after his death against the monster known as “Doomsday”, and that he had the same incredible powers as his father before him.

This isn’t the only shock we’ve head within this year concerning the Man of Steel, as during a confrontation between All Might and a powerful villain known only as All for One, we learned of All Might’s weakened form, and the return of the vigilante heroine many considered the Symbol of Truth, Wonder Woman, as well as the truth concerning the true fate of Superman. He had actually survived his battle against Doomsday and after recovering from a coma, he retired to raise his son alongside his wife, the aforementioned Wonder Woman.

Superman made short work of the mysterious villain, before addressing the world and revealing the truth about his origins.

“My name is Kal-El of the planet Krypton. I was sent to this planet as an infant by my birth parents in order to save me from our planet’s destruction, and I raised here by a loving couple as their own son. You all believed me to have died in my battle against Doomsday, but I simple retired to be with my family. Know this, though I am an alien, I grew up on this planet. Earth is my home, it’s people are MY people! I’m still the one that you all called Superman, the man you all chose to be your champion.” -Superman

The mighty Man of Steel is an alien immigrant from a long dead planet. His symbol is not just an “s” but the crest of his birth family, the House of El, a family of esteemed scientists and brave heroes. An alien symbol that stands for Hope!

He and Superboy draw their powers from the radiation of Earth’s yellow sun, the more yellow sunlight they have stored, the stronger they become. This is why they seemingly have a wide array of abilities, their bodies can use the solar energy to enhance their physical capabilities, making incredibly strong and fast, and able to create ice and hurricanes with a single breath, as well as enhance their senses to see microscopic structures and hear sounds from across the planet. They can shoot this stored radiation from their eyes as beams of heat vision, and generate a personal field that grants them invulnerability and the ability to fly! Superboy has stated that since he was born a Hybrid, those last two abilities resulted in him developing telekinetic abilities, that are separate from his Kryptonian physiology, and are not the result of a quirk factor, but instead the newly discovered Metagene.

Not only are aliens indeed real, but so are the godly pantheons and magic, as Wonder Woman as revealed herself as being a demigod descendant of Zues, Greek god of lightning and the king of Olympus, and Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons of Themyscira, making Superboy an alien-demigod hybrid.

Superman and Wonder Woman have also gone on to state that their fellow vigilante and former teammate of theirs, Aquaman, is actually an Atlantean, and the King of the Lost City of Atlantis. The vigilante, “Martian Manhunter”, is indeed a Martian who was accidentally teleported to Earth, and has since adopted our planet as a second home. The second Green Lantern is a member of a galactic peacekeeping organization known as the Green Lantern Corps., the previous Ingenium was the second Flash, and he drew power from a pocket dimension he called, “the Speedforce”, and the Flaming Hero, Endeavor, used to live a double life as the second Batman, succeeding his uncle, who originally wore the cowl, after his time as his teenage protege, Robin.

They have since revealed that they had operated together as a group they dubbed, “the Justice League”, inspired by the Justice Society of the Silver Age, who many of them have modeled themselves after in inspiration. They had been working together behind the scenes to protect the world from unknown threats bigger than any normal group of pros could hope to handle.

When asked if he decided to attend UA in order become officially licensed as a pro unlike his parents, Superboy had this to say;

“I enrolled in UA in order to prepare myself to use my powers to help people. Just because I have great powers now, doesn’t mean that I always had them,” said the Teen of Steel. “My powers didn’t manifest until I was fifteen, and attending UA has helped me learn how to use them just as well as my parents, and in some cases I can use them in more creative ways. I was originally inspired to help people by All Might, since my generation didn’t really learn much about heroes of the past, I never really heard any stories about my parents’, until they told me about it when my powers developed. I want to be a like All Might and my parents, a symbol who can inspire people to be better. To let everyone know that we are ALL created equal!”

Since this major reveal, Principal Nezu of UA has gone on to official support the Justice League and acknowledge them as proper heroes, along with All Might offering his own support as well.

“Today’s society has long since forgotten the original meaning of what it meant to be a hero. When was the last time you’ve seen a hero offer to listen to a jumper’s issues and offer support, reassuring them that things WILL get better like Superman and Flash? Or take the time to talk with little children who idolize them and motivate them to be their own person like Wonder Woman and Green Lantern have? Nowadays, heroes who act to help others without a license is labeled a vigilante and treated like a villain, but the Justice Society didn’t have licenses and they’re still heralded as one of the greatest group of heroes there has ever been! I think it’s about time we go back to simpler times, where a hero could be anyone, even someone assuring a child that everything was going to be fine.” -All Might.

People are beginning to claim that the debut of Superboy to have marked the start of a new Golden Age of heroism, that began when the world looked up into the sky and saw him at the Sports Festival. A young hero determined to live up to a great legacy, with many others soon following in his footsteps. Those who have followed his example include some of his own classmates at UA, the most recent Green Lantern, daughter of the second Emerald Knight, and the newest Batman, the son of Endeavor himself, as well his recently revealed siblings, Shazam and Troy, and his girlfriend Uravity.

Though students currently enrolled in hero course aren’t the only ones following his example, as the world was shocked when a villain attack was stopped by a young 8 year old girl in a Uravity costume with a cape appeared to stop the villain, bearing the legendary “s” emblem upon her chest, introducing herself as “Supergirl; Daughter of Superboy and Uravity”. The young girl went on to later explain that she was adopted by the couple after they saved off the streets when she ran from her captors, the Eight Precepts. Supergirl later awakened a metagene and developed her own telekinetic abilities which she uses to mimic her father and grandfather’s abilities. Since her controversial debut, eye witness accounts claim to have seen the newest Batman aided by a young boy bearing the mantle and colors of “Robin; the Boy Wonder”, as well as reports of a “Shazam Jr.”, and a “Teen Lantern”.

It would appear that the young Superboy has truly brought great change in so little time. Only time will tell if people truly approve of these changes. This reporter for one, is proud of everything this young man has accomplished in his short time as a hero.

[nixalegos]

top 3 headcanons that anyone writing with me should know about !

Nixalegos is an All-Seer. He has a unique EXTENSIVE mastery over the Eye of Kil'rogg spell and other ocular based rituals. He's used this to monitor locations, people, allies. Yes. He has been watching you. He's been able to stalk you since he met you. Every time his eye has flared up over your shoulder for him to speak to someone was not a fluke of timing. He waited til it was ok to 'flare up' on them before the eye revealed itself.

The Azeroth I write is admittedly little bit harsher then Azeroth paints itself. It's grittier, a light splattering of modern urban sensibility and of moral ambiguity. It's a world at war after all. Raids are not cleared out the one time. They are festering lairs that have to be swept, lest a new evil rises in them, they require suppression. The heroes, a term used loosely, of Azeroth are stretched thin, crime isn't rampant, but an accepted facet of life. Living there is a clash of post cosmic cynicism and magically assisted angst. "The worlds still the same, there's just less in it." applies. Azeroth has less mysteries then yesterday. Its colors aren't as bright. The notion of heroic battle wiped away by decades of near extinction and in the face of cosmic horrors and reveals too depressing to even care about as anything asides tomorrows monster killing job.

Tumblr is...wobbly canon to Nix? This is a hard thing to explain. There are people who I've had the pleasure of writing with for years I have never seen in game, or partied with. I have few issues writing here with characters that aren't apart of warcraft! Be they truly original OC's, or from verses I'm not particularly familiar with. But if someone approached Nix in game and asked him what he thought of *looks up a name of a Final Fantasy city* Ishgard, he'd ask them where they buy their thistle. Even as I'm actively writing about touring the streets here. Uh, how do I put it...Batman doesn't keep the Green Lantern ring at the end of the comic book. Cause otherwise he wouldn't be Batman.

[cogentranting]

Having now seen it, I think the plot point of Diggle rejecting the Green Lantern ring makes sense. You can't have him do that and stay true to who this version of Diggle is (and if we're going off the flashforwards on Arrow, odds are him being Green Lantern would turn at least one of his kids evil).

But it still makes for a weird, fragmented story arc that goes nowhere and loops back around to exactly where we were before it was introduced.

Unless they used it to set up something else. Superman and Lois is now confirmed to be a different Earth. And they've already introduced their version of Diggle. If they brought him back and established that in the space between then and when we last saw him, he'd become Green Lantern it would fit nicely. The groundwork would already be laid for the idea of GL Diggle. It would make it feel like that scattered Earth Prime arc had a point in foreshadowing this, instead of just going in a circle.

And it would be good for Superman and Lois. With the end of Flash and the show not being in the main universe, currently there isn't anyone to bring in for a crossover or big guest appearance. So if the show established the existence of one or two of the other big 7 DC heroes, they could use that character to the same purpose. Green Lantern would be a good option because 1. he not only hasn't appeared in the Arrowverse yet, but he also hasn't been in DCEU (yes there's the HBO Max GL show in development but who knows what's happening with that. and even if that does come out soon, that doesn't inherently preclude a S&L Green Lantern and if they introduced him this season he would definitely still be FIRST). So he's really only competing with the Ryan Reynolds GL and that's not hard to beat. 2. Green Lantern fits pretty well with the type of stories they've been telling, so he can easily come and keep pace with Clark against weird alien world-ending threats and feel like he's a good choice for that (as opposed to say Batman. You CAN put Batman against extra-dimensional alien nonsense and have him hold his own but if this version of Batman doesn't exist outside of the guest appearance then that doesn't feel like a great use of Batman in my opinion). 3. He's easy to write out when you don't want him there. If there's a world-ending threat and Superman is dying oh no, and Flash is hanging out over in Central City, and Wonder Woman is chilling wherever she lives, then you wonder why they're not showing up to help. The quintessential problem of a shared universe. But Green Lantern is cosmic and therefore super easy to handwave away when you don't want him there. "oh he's out in space doing a thing." and the audience is like "yeah that sounds like a thing Green Lantern would do" and he can be gone like that most of the show but he can swoop back in whenever you want a big exciting "Look a character you recognize who isn't normally on this show" episode.

It would resolve the Diggle plotline. It would open the door to more Diggle stories. It would give Superman and Lois a fun big name character to have in their back pocket for guest appearances. And it would help keep Superman and Lois from stooping to crossing over with Gotham Knights.

[dont-be-so-shy]

I came up with this weird AU. You know how sometimes you read fics where the characters have the same names as canon, and that’s pretty much all the canon compliance there is? Yeah, that’s this. 

Imagine, if you will, a time pre-canon. Perhaps the time that the Justice Society operated, when heroes were new to the world and not completely accepted. Now, do you have that picture in your head? Yeah? Well then welcome to my protégé AU! 

The basis of the protégé AU is that members of the Justice League are now the child sidekicks of their OC or role-reversed mentors, members of the Justice Society. 

For example, Bruce Wayne, Kal-El, and Diana of Themyscira are now teenage besties codenamed Orphan, Superboy, and Wonder Girl, respectively. Their mentors Batman, Superwoman, and Wonder Woman founded the JSA. When Bruce, Kal, and Diana become adults, they’ll found the JLA (named by Dinah Lance, daughter of Black Canary Dinah Drake and sister of Robin Dick Grayson-Lance). 

Getting more into Bruce, Kal, and Diana: They’re basically the Teen Titans but they’re also the animated series Young Justice’s Team, in that they don’t have an official name (other than “mini’s”) and they’re pretty casual, kind of like when your parents go to a house party and leave you with all the other parent’s kids, even though you don’t even know them. A few years after they meet, they start being called the Trinity, because while they may be teenaged hot messes in their private lives, on missions they are a put-together, well-coordinated team who conduct missions with minimum arguing and maximum efficiency. They’re the take-the-world-by-storm types. 

Bruce Wayne is a goth kid with depression who was orphaned at age eight and was adopted by the Batman. Kal-El is a brave, mom friend, big city-raised Krypton-born inviciboy. Princess Diana of Themyscira (secret identity Diana General) is Themyscira’s tragic, kind-hearted princess. Because they’re teenagers, we have all the sexuality and gender angst. Bruce, at least, has figured out that he is very, very gay. In my version, he’s also very, very in love with Hal Jordan (also a teenager). The Trinity all have multiple piercings, Bruce and Diana are tied for the most, Kal has the least. Bruce insists his are just for undercover missions but no one believes him (he’s very I-have-no-emotions in this AU, but he’s also a goth teenager so). Kal and Bruce paint their nails often but Diana does so only very rarely. 

Kal’s background: Kara Zor-El landed on Earth first, on the Kent farm where she was raised by Martha and Jonathan Kent. Martha and Jonathan know everybody’s secret identity and bring baked goods to JSA headquarters every few months. Becoming a journalist after college, she raises Kal-El, her baby cousin. Kara is Kal’s primary caretaker, legally his mother and more like his aunt mentally, while Martha and Jonathan are Kal’s grandparents. Therefore, Kara Zor-El (secret identity Kara Kent) is Superwoman and Kal-El (secret identity Clark Kent) is Superboy. 

Hal Jordan is Martin Jordan’s protégé. Martin Jordan also know as the Green Arrow (yes, Arrow) dies while on a mission with Hal and Hal quits heroing, moving to be raised by his uncle. When he turns eighteen, he becomes a pilot and becomes the first human Green Lantern. 

Mostly because I love crackships, Kal is in a polyamorous relationship with John Constantine and Barry Allen. Yeah, I know. Both Constantine and his mentor (also named John) are incredibly gay and John gets his assholishness from him. But it’s important to me that Constantine and his mentor are the best of friends. Yes, Constantine is like sixteen and his mentor is a full-grown, middle-aged adult, but they’re still really close and almost never argue. Constantine is somehow still a chain smoker and has now indoctrinated Barry into smoking during stressful occasions or at parties (you bet they attend parties, those teenaged heroes). Kal is just trying to get them both to quit. 

It’s also important to me that, similar to Roy Harper in S1 of Young Justice, there are some older but still teenage characters that appear from time to time. In this case, it’s Oliver Queen (I have no idea what his codename will be) and boy king Orin or Arthur Curry. The two are dating and on those relationship dynamic art posts, they would be labeled “One Hot Gay Mess” and “He/They Bisexual”. Guess which is which. 

Dinah Lance, who I mentioned earlier, is little younger than them, just as Oliver and Orin are a little older. 

I’ve also incorporated Vic Stone as a background character. He’s mentor-age, not a teenager and he’s more tech support. The reason for that is that he’s been fighting crime since he become part robot, back when he was a teenager and now he’s kind of (re)tired. Most other heroes his age become heroes on their own when they were adults. He has the most experience (actually he’s tied with Jay Garrick) and he’s the type of hero that seems to have endless wisdom to dispense and very little to say otherwise; someone whose words carry weight. 

Through reincarnation and time travel shenanigans, Carter Hall and Shiera Sanders/Kendra Saunders are reborn many times during this time. Originally, they are mentor-age, a married couple of bird-wing crimefighters, Carter Hall and Shiera Sanders-Hall, but after getting killed they are somehow reborn to be the Trinity’s age, then Dinah Lance’s age. Their legal names after their last reincarnation are Carter Hall and Kendra Saunders. Because of all the Death (with a capital D), they usually only operate under Vixen (who most people agree is the best hero, the myth, the legend). The two live on-base. Understandably, the Trinity are very protective of them and their thirteen-year-old written-in-the-stars puppy love. 

Dick Grayson also exists in this continuity as Black Canary’s protégé whose not a metahuman, just someone who uses Vic Stone’s Canary Cry bombs, and Wally West-Garrick Feels Things for him. Dick is only ten and Wally is around eighteen months older and going through a sexuality crisis. Wally is Jay’s orphaned grandson and at some point Barry had to watch him but also come to a JSA meeting and that’s how Wally learned that Barry was a metahuman superhero. Wally also works as Kid Flash but that’s like twice-a-year rare. (Dinah Drake, Dinah Lance, and Dick Grayson all live and operate in Gotham.) 

J’onn J’onzz is about Orin and Oliver’s age and there is no Martian war, J’onn’s just some random but insanely powerful guy who wants to explore Earth, like some Americans visit Mexico, but then he decided to be a hero so he’s being trained by an alternating roster of Dinah Drake, Kara Kent, and OG Batman, with the occasional tip from resident extraterrestrial expert Hal Jordan. 

Also similar to Orin and Oliver are Ted Kord and Michael Carter, two eighteen-year-old time travelers. Honestly, no one’s sure what’s going on with him, or even how old they are at any given time. The JSA just figured “hey, they’re not actively fucking things up” and lets them be. (Because, they, unlike a certain someone, don’t fuck up the timeline enough to create an alternate universe, Barry.) Vic Stone occasionally time travels with them. The mini’s love them. Ted and Michael are very much in True Love and very cute and everyone is jealous and pissed off at their cuteness except Orin and Oliver who are also very cute. Roy Harper is a four-year-old originally found by Martin Jordan, Orin, and Oliver on a mission raiding a Luthor base (the theory is he was being brought in to be cloned alongside another hero’s DNA but they didn’t get around to it before the JSA found them) being raised by the latter two because the former is dead. 

Billy Batson is also a teenage hero but doesn’t hang with them much, except for occasionally with Kara and Kal. He doesn’t follow the other mini’s to found the JLA, instead sticking with the JSA. Billy experiments with he/they pronouns, but ultimately sticks with he/him. 

Miscellaneous headcanons for the protégé AU: Doctor Fate is a hardass and nobody likes him, Constantine’s mentor and DF fight all the time. Jefferson Pierce and Koriand’r are both nineteen and dating. Jefferson is Vic Stone’s protégé and Koriand’r’s first Earthern friend. Bruce’s mentor is African American and has a younger cousin (in very early 20s) named Mal Duncan(!!) who kind of does hero work on the side sometimes. His girlfriend Karen Beecher is tech support training to be a Earth hero alongside J’onn. J’onn, being older, kind of takes Karen under his wing. Atom (Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi) are best friends with a five year age gap. 

Imagine the JSA base to be like the Watchtower, where the mini’s sleep over and bake in the steel kitchen at 3 AM, watch YouTube videos on the floor in the hallways outside official meetings, do math homework lounging on the futons while snacking on popcorn and Zesti’s. 

OG Batman/Batman 1.0 ([insert first name here] Duncan) uses he/they pronouns

Bruce Wayne is Batman 2.0, originally Orphan

Malcolm Duncan is Guardian (but only sometimes) 

Diana’s mentor is her aunt and the general of Themyscira, Antiope, Wonder Woman 1.0 

Diana eventually becomes Wonder Woman 2.0 

Superwoman is Kara Zor-El Kent

Superboy/Superman is Clark Kal-El Kent 

(Maybe Kon and Jon show up at some point? Jon could be Kara’s son, Kon Kara’s blonde clone)

Barry’s mentor is Jay Garrick/The Flash 1.0

Barry is Kid Flash/Flash 2.0 (Jay is getting on in years) 

Martin Jordan (Hal’s dad) is the original Green Arrow

Oliver was at some point his protégé but Hal never met before they fell out and Martin died 

Oh! A name idea for Oliver: Arsenal and Hal was Speedy

Now Oliver is Red Arrow (bathed in blood, revenge, etc.) and Hal is Green Lantern

Oliver eventually becomes Green Arrow again when he gets a protégé post-AU 

Hal and Oliver have the kind of relationship where they don’t communicate or talk at all but they know everything about each other, if you know what I mean? 

Orin’s mentor, the general of the Atlantian army is Aquaman, kind of a recluse hero

Orin goes by Tempest in this AU but he also went by Aqualad at some point in the past (he’s embarrassed by it but Oliver was there so now everyone knows) 

Orin is also the king of Atlantis, but not the current governing body, that’s Mera. He’s created a secret human identity, Arthur Curry, since he’s kind of known as the Boy King of Atlantis, a metahuman and foreign authority 

Dinah Drake, raising both Dinah Lance and Dick Grayson, is the Black Canary, the first female hero. Dinah Lance goes by “Canary” mostly and is nicknamed “Shriek” and Dick goes by “Robin”

Selina Kyle is Catgirl, Bruce’s best friend, dating Bruce’s other best friend, Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn

So yeah, that’s the uber-complicated, interconnected protégé AU! 

[longitudinalwaveme]

Longitudinalwaveme Reviews Old Comics: Batman #388

At long last, I have finally gotten around to actually reviewing this issue! (It actually arrived in the mail a couple weeks ago, I just never got around to doing this post until now.) Today we’re looking at Batman #388: “The Round-Trip Looking Glass”. It was published in 1985, written by Doug Moench, and drawn by Tom Mandrake. 

The art in this issue is much, much better than the art in Detective Comics #555, which is the second half of the two-part story. 

After the splash page, which features Batman, Captain Boomerang, and the original Mirror Master (Sam Scudder) fighting one another, the issue begins with Mirror Master breaking into a Gotham City museum to steal the Tien Hsu Jade Necklace through its side door. He does this by using his solar pistol, amplified by a“mirror-amplification device”, to melt the door’s lock and fuse the alarm wires. 

Meanwhile, Captain Boomerang knocks out the night guard with a boomerang. 

Mirror Master is about to remove the necklace from its display case when Captain Boomerang uses another one of his boomerangs to break the glass and swipe the necklace.

Sam has an amazing facial expression as Digger calls him a fool for not noticing the night guard. It is the first of many, many hilarious facial expressions to be found in this issue. 

Mirror Master and Captain Boomerang discuss the fact that they both decided to come to Gotham City at the same time, with Mirror Master saying that he did so explicitly because Gotham is “the one place without a superhero like Flash, Superman, Green Lantern..”, to which Captain Boomerang replies by saying that “superpowers or not, the Batman is just as fierce as any of the others.”

Digger knows this because he’s come to Gotham and fought Batman before. (This occurred in Batman #321, another issue that I own and have previously reviewed.) Sam, who has a fantastic confused face, asks Digger why he came to Gotham if Batman is so threatening, to which Digger explains that he wants to get revenge on Batman.

Sam suggests that he and Digger should team up against Batman (with yet another terrific facial expression). He also refers to Digger “the same old hard case from Down Under” while making this suggestion. 

Digger, who already has the necklace, isn’t particularly interested in teaming up with Sam, since he thinks that Sam only suggested the alliance because Digger’s currently the one holding the necklace. And while he tells Sam this, he spins the incredibly valuable jade necklace around his finger like an idiot. 

Mirror Master is not happy to hear this. “Just because you scooped me here--by a sneak attack--you think you’re better than me? Well, forget it! Back in Central City, I was always the Flash’s number one foe!” I would have to agree with Sam on this point. In the Pre-Crisis era, Sam really was the undisputed king of the Rogues. Also, his angry facial expression is great. 

Captain Boomerang and Mirror Master proceed to get into a hilariously petty argument. 

Digger: “Maybe things are different here in Gotham. Maybe your gimmicky mirrors can’t cut it here.” (He has an amazingly smug face as he says this, and Sam is pointing a finger angrily at him. It’s great.) 

Sam: “My gimmicky mirrors? What about your boomerangs?” 

Digger: “Listen, ace! This boomerang was good enough to-” (And during this bit, Digger is waving his fist right at Sam’s nose. Seriously, they’re both living cartoons in this comic, and it’s amazing.)

This incredible ego competition is interrupted by Batman using his Batarang to swipe the jade necklace out of Digger’s hand. He then tells both of them that Gotham is off-limits. 

Sam and Digger react to this in this most courageous manner possible: by freaking out and running away (complete with amazing facial expressions.) 

Digger: “So long, mate! I’m not ready for for revenge yet!” 

Sam: “Wait for me! I’m not even mad at him!” 

As they bravely run away, the two supervillans duck behind a pillar in Dinosaur Hall, and when Batman follows them in, Mirror Master uses one of his mirrors to blind him. Digger then uses one of his explosive boomerangs, which collapses a T. rex statue onto Batman and allows them to escape. 

The two then promptly return to their petty argument from before.  

Sam: “You missed, idiot!’ 

Digger: “At least I stopped him! What did your mirror do? Make him see stars for a bit?” 

Sam: “That does it! The team-up’s off!” 

Digger: “It was never on!” 

Sam: “Then mark my words, Boomerang,’cause I’m gonna make you eat yours! I’m the best criminal in Gotham, and I can prove it!” 

Digger: “Yeah? Have fun looking in your mirrors, chump--after I’ve humiliated you!” 

Meanwhile, Batman gets out from under the T. rex statue and goes to the Batcave, where he and Robin (Jason Todd) use the Batcomputer to view the files on Mirror Master and Captain Boomerang (after Jason notes that they still haven’t rounded up all the members of Black Mask’s False Face Society).

The files are basically just recaps of the pair’s Silver/Bronze Age origins, with two slight differences. The first is that, rather than calling himself Aussie Green as he did in the original story, Digger apparently went in for the interview as Digger Harkness. The second, and more hilarious, is that Batman’s files say that the Mirror Master’s name is Joe Scudder. Moench must have used a Cary Bates issue as reference for Mirror Master’s name. 

After reviewing the files, Batman and Robin get some sleep, since Batman doesn’t think the two Rogues will be trying anything else that night. 

Meanwhile, at the docks of Gotham Bay, “Joe” Scudder is trying to think up a crime when he’s approached by three men. One is wearing a skull mask, one is wearing a devil mask, and one is...wearing a Heathcliff cat mask. (Did that last guy miss the “scary masks” memo?) They demand to know if he’s “Joe Scudder”, the “Master of Mirrors guy”, to which “Joe” responds in the affirmative. He’s also clearly really, REALLY freaked out by them, which is hilarious. Apparently, he thought that he was getting jumped and/or mugged by some Gotham goons and actually thought they were a threat to him. His facial expression in the first panel where they show up is amazing.

The three masked dudes explain that they want Mirror Master to be their new boss, since Black Mask got arrested. “Joe” responds to this by putting on his mirrored sunglasses and using them to hypnotize the thugs. He tells them to go find Digger and put him in the hospital. 

Once the now-hypnotized thugs leave, “Joe” comes up with the most zero-effort crime imaginable.

“There’s always that bank across the street...Yeah, what the hell? When in doubt, or just plain bored, fall back on old faithful.” A+ creativity, “Joe”.  

Bruce Wayne has a brief romantic interlude with Julia Pennyworth (she’s Alfred’s niece) before he notices the Batsignal and has to leave her in the lurch. Also, even before this happens, he’s not really paying attention to her or her desire to write a book about Black Mask, since he’s too preoccupied thinking about his OTHER love interest, Vicki Vale.  As a result, Julie is very upset by his sudden departure. Smooth, Bruce. Smooth.

Batman and Jason get into the Batmobile to respond to the Batsignal, but on their way to police headquarters, they almost crash into Harvey Bullock. Bullock tells the pair that the Batsignal was sent out in response to a report of a “suspicious figure at Zindorf Jewelers” and that he himself was going out to respond to another alarm across the bay. 

Batman, realizing that both Rogues have struck at once, sends Jason with Bullock while he goes to the Jewelers.

Meanwhile, Captain Boomerang uses his “mini-rocket boomerang” to fly up to the building’s roof, then uses this same boomerang to break the padlock on the roof door. 

Digger on finances: “The people who don’t steal are always finding ways to save it--which makes it so much easier for those of us who do steal.”

Before he actually start stealing things, however, the alarm goes off as the three hypnotized goons bust into the store to attack him. 

Digger’s reaction: “Yoicks.” (combined with another hilarious facial expression.) 

Meanwhile, “Joe” has just “opened the vault with my mirror-amplified laser” when he gets taken out by Harvey Bullock and Jason Todd in the span of 4 panels. Yes, Mirror Master was defeated by an overweight cop and Jason Todd in 4 panels. Not his finest hour. 

Back at the jewelry store, Digger is trying to buy off “Joe’s” hypnotized goons when Batman arrives. Digger uses the distraction to tie the goons together with a boomerang somehow. 

Batman tries to go after Digger but is attacked by the goons, allowing Digger to escape. I guess “Joe’s” hypnotic command to kill Digger was overridden by the goons’ desire to kill Batman. 

Digger then uses his flying boomerang to break into “Joe’s” Gotham apartment. 

Digger on Sam “Joe”: “Scudder’s an arrogant fool, not caring if everyone in Gotham’s underworld knew he was in town...and not even bothering to keep his hideout a secret!” How did “Joe” set up this hideout so quickly, anyhow? 

Digger steals the mirror that “Joe” used for his hypnotic sunglasses.

Meanwhile, “Joe” escapes from Bullock’s police car by using a false front tooth (which he had previously captured Digger’s image on) to project an image of Captain Boomerang in the middle of the road. Bullock swerves and Mirror Master escapes. 

After a brief conversation between Batman, Jason, Harvey, and Commissioner Gordon, we cut back to Mirror Master’s hideout, where “Joe” is using his solar pistol to free himself from his handcuffs. 

This accomplished, he starts admiring himself in the truly astonishing number of mirrors he’s set up in his hideout. 

“Joe” on himself: “Feels good enough to be back among my mirrors-where I’m still number one and look it.” 

Suddenly, he realizes that his strobe mirror is missing and reacts in shock (and with another terrific facial expression). 

“Someone robbed me while I was out--robbed me!!” Sam “Joe’s” repeated freakouts are easily the funniest part of this story. 

Then a boomerang made of mirror flies into the room, and starts smashing all of “Joe’s” mirrors. In hopes of stopping it, he grabs the boomerang, only for the mirror to start pulsing hypnotically. 

Digger’s voice eminates from the mirror boomerang, telling Sam “Joe” that he must do anything Digger says, including murder. Seemingly hypnotized, Sam “Joe” responds by saying “Y-yes...including...murder”. (As the next issue will reveal, however, he’s actually only pretending to be hypnotized.) 

The issue ends withe Digger happily thinking about how well things are going for him (complete with one last wonderful expression.)

This comics is amazing, and Sam “Joe” and Digger are comedy gold throughout. It’s too bad the second half of the story had such terrible art. 

[roofcatfanart]

Virtual Reality Au

Ok so this is a superbat au bc fuck you I like it. Anyway, simply jotting down ideas. I was inspired A Game You Can’t Win by NightFoilage so go check it out.

So this au takes place in a no powers universe but set in thee future so more furutistic stuff like holograms, underwater cities, and the ability for same sex couples to produce children by combining DNA. Clark worked in Metropolis with Louis at the Daily Planet while Bruce operates as a funder of Gotham charities and Wayne Industries. Clark and Louis were previously married but then came to the decision that they were not what each other needed but still stayed friends. They were married for about 12 years. Bruce and Selina were engage but after an accident talked to one another and admitted that they were better off as friends. The bat kids call her aunt Selina.

Now, Clark and Bruce have been playing video games together for about 20 years, 5 years together and 15 with the other league members. They all have their own lives but are fairly tight knit. Now, they haven’t met up in real life or told each other their names because they all think of each other as civilians while they all work in dangerous fields.

Diana is an ambassador and princess for her island country which she rules with her mother and aunt.

Arthur (Jason Mamoa bc he is the only valid aquaman, he made aquaman COOL)  is the heir for the throne to Atlantis working with his mother to rule and keep the peace.

Barry works as one of the countries top forensic scientists, having helped solve several high case murders and crimes.

Hal worked as a Air Force pilot before working with Green Lantern peace corps to maintain peace between nations.

John was a marine who joined the Green Lantern Corps and is often paired with Hal in game and irl.

Shayera was a double agent working to expose a terrorist group. She and John are married :3

J’oan works as a therapist for all lot of people, specifically higher profitable people (not anyone in the league).

Black Canary works as a bodyguard, is vibing with Oliver.

Ollie works in the same vain as Bruce but instead works as an investigator and aid to his city as well as a business partner to Bruce.

Clark is Louis partner editor and ex-Husband which puts a target on his back from everyone she’s exposed.

Bruce is Bruce minus Batman but in video game.

God I made this is much more complicated than it needed to be and like half of this is background stuff. Anyway carrying on!

So! The League has been playing games together for years, anything from Resident Evil to Minecraft to Among us. They are a fairly small group of content creators, mostly recording their games or doing charity streams. They trade off on editing so that its not on one person.

Then Dynamic Creation released. (yes is DC no im not being Lazy wdym)

Dynamic Creation is a virtual reality game based in a world with superheros and Villains. To take from NightFoilage’s story there are three classes players can take being civilians, heroes or villains. With realistic A.I. and amazing worlds to explore, it is one of the most looked forwarded to games that year.

So the league picks up the game, agreeing to go off on their own to explore and level up until they are at the level to make an alliance. They each have their own series of what they do as characters while still making join content about other games.

Now, the kicker?

Not a single one of the kids knows that their parent/guardian play video games or are League members. Which leads to interesting shenanigans when the kids make accounts trying to meet up with the league members.

Jason and Damian get into a fight about wether or not Batman would favor them, Dick trying to impress Batman, Tim donating money to earn his favor etc.

Bruce isn’t sure how to feel and mentions that they really seem to like Batman and they somehow got to taking about how Superman and Batman would be a cool couple. (Bruce is only barely not showing any emberessment on his face

The League was understandably laughing their asses off.

So we are focused on Bruce and Clark’s journey through DC and them trying to figure out if the other likes them back (Spoiler they’ve been crushing for a long while)

While all this is going on, there is a plot by Lex luthor to take over DC and use it for less than legal things and he uses henchmen (think ready player One where its a race to win the oasis but instead its Luthor trying to sabotage in game via sixers)

Now regarding Conner and Jon, Clark and Louis knew Lex Luthor, Clark knew him from smallvile while Louis knew him from her journalism. Lex had an obsession with the both of them and was constantly trying to be in their lives intimate (this is bc he’s a fucking creep literally nothing else). So when they got married he took their DNA (idk how just go with it) and made Conner. After Connor started to look alot like Clark he made Jon who looked like Louis. Neither Clark or Louis knew about this nor Conner and Jon so up until Conner was 15. His class took a genetics test for his science class and his results come back not as the son of Lex Luthor but as Clark and Louis.

Now young justice is a group as well as the titans with Jason and the outlaws a thing. Connor doesn’t know what to do, specifically since Lex isn’t exactly a good person, and he has Jon tested too just in-case he is Luthor’s bio-son. He isn’t so Connor went to his friends about what to do. He contacts Clark and asks to meet up for an interview while Tim does a background check on Clark.

They meet up, Connor drops the bombshell. Clark is surprised which Connor shows the DNA tests and his dono's files. Clark is also unsuprised at the fact that Luthor did this considering he and Louis have a restraining order against Luthor. Clark is conserned about Connor being raise by Luthor and then Connor mentions Jon which makes Clark even more worried so after they finish that up he asks Connor if he’s fine with Clark telling Louis. Connor agrees and Clark calls Louis who is currently working on the story of the Amazon-Atlantis- United Nations treaty.

They talk ad contact Connor and Jon again asking if they want to get too know them. So they do, Luthor finds out then tries to use the boys to get close to Clark. That goes horibble and Connor blackmails Luthor into letting them stay with Clark bc now he realizes that Luthor was a horrible person.

So the start of the fic is the first day of DC and the league growing while Clark and Bruce flutter around each other and about a yyear in deside to date, but no revealing their names admitting to each other that they are worried about their lives being dangorous.

Adventually everyone meets up at DynamicCon, which is held two years after the start of the fic. All the kids meet up and its the spiderman meme for the adults when it clicked in Barry’s head and he hugged Bruce.

Exestancal crisis for the kids though and the adults are enjoying it.

Luthor puts his plan into motion and all the league and kids deafened the game alongside other players, with Tim, Victor and Bruce ending Luthor’s reign by giving his systems a virus that breaks the connection to the game.

Happy ending :)

[pricetagofficial]

Interstellar -Part Six

Warnings: Language, angst, fluff

Masterlist

Word Count: 4.9k

Taglist: Let me know if you want to be on my taglist!

A/N: I am so sorry this took so long, I have had absolutely no time to write these days. Thank you Fish for proofing this and helping me make it better!

Part Six

Wally was The Flash, the very same Flash she despised with every fiber of her being. How was she so stupid, all the signs were there and she missed them. Everything about The Flash screamed Wally West, yet she let herself be fooled by the mask and the illusion that they were different people. 

That night he took her to the Irish Pub made so much more sense, how he was able to disappear and miraculously not get caught by Captain Cold. With the power of superspeed, anything was possible. 

The look Wally was giving her, it seemed he was thinking the same thing. 

Wally was familiar with the various Lantern Corps, and yet he somehow missed the violet ring that was always present on her finger. Everything clicked about her in his mind, from the first day he met her to the moment she opened up to him about Jackson’s death. The lack of friends, why she was never present at work, the constant traveling, all the pieces were there. 

The fact Y/N lied to him wasn’t what hurt the most. Wally eyed the way Y/N leaned against the wall holding her side. The words she said to him earlier echoing through his mind. 

“If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have gotten hit,”

If Wally was being honest with himself, it was his fault she got hurt. The evidence was staring him in the face. Y/N was hurt because of him. Maybe if she had told him who she was none of this-- no. Wally couldn’t place the blame on her, despite whether he knew or not it was still his fault. 

They stood there staring at each other not saying a word, the silence that covered them was deafening. 

“How long?” was all Wally was able to muster out. He was still in shock from finding out his girlfriend was a Star Sapphire, and he just wanted some answers. 

“Since Jackson died, the ring put itself on my finger and the rest is history,” she answered, pushing herself off the wall with a wince. The ring that rested on her finger beeped, alerting her that it was low on power. It explained why her healing was slower than it should be. Y/N didn’t miss the way Wally’s eyes glanced at the ring on her left hand and where her right one was placed, and she knew what he was thinking. 

“Wally, it’s not your fault,” she said softly stepping towards him, only for Wally to step back. 

“You said it yourself Y/N, if it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t have gotten hit,” he muttered. “Your ring is running on fumes because of me.” 

“That’s not fair! I didn’t know it was you!”

Wally’s eyes met hers and Y/N could see the conflict in his gaze. “If you'd known I was the Flash, would that have changed who’s fault it was?” 

Y/N was at a loss for words. What was she supposed to say, those words came out in anger? No matter what excuse came out of her mouth, she could see Wally genuinely felt this was all his fault and she was the one who put the idea in his head. 

Pulling the cowl back over his head, Wally looked around to make sure no one else was in the area. “I have to go, I’ll see you around Y/N.” Then he took off into the night in a blur, leaving Y/N alone in the gust of wind left in his wake. 

Now that he was gone, Y/N realized just how bad she messed up. With a wince, she took a step forward, almost tripping from the intense pain in her side. She wasn’t going to get anywhere in this state, she needed help and her list of allies was slowly dwindling. The only person she could think of that could even agree to help her lived across the country and even then, Y/N and Hal weren’t that close. 

But what choice did she have?

Reaching into her purse, Y/N pulled out her phone and dialed Hal’s number mentally grateful that he put it in there in the first place. 

“Y/N? This is a surprise, in all the years that I’ve known you you have never called me let alone acknowledge I exist.” 

“Shut up Jordan,” she hissed. “I need help and didn’t know who else to call.” 

Hal didn’t miss the whimper at the end of her sentence and was already gearing up to head her way. “Just tell me where you are and I’ll come find you.” 

“I’m in the alley off Main Street in Metro.” 

Hal nodded. “Alright, stay put. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” 

Hanging up the phone, Y/N leaned against the wall once more. She didn’t know what her side looked like under the dress, and truth be told she didn't want to. Like he said, a few minutes later there was a streak of green light before Y/N saw Hal lower to the ground next to her and power down his ring. 

“Holy fuck, you look like shit,” he said rushing over to catch Y/N before she collapsed. “What happened?” 

“Just get me home Jordan.” 

Hal nodded and helped Y/N, walking her out of the alley and catching the closest cab. It took just over half an hour for Hal to get back to her apartment, the second they were in the door he helped her sit on the couch before finding the first aid kit. 

While Hal was off searching, Y/N forced herself up and walked towards her room. She needed to change out of the dress and into something more comfortable on top of hunting down her personal battery. Hal was bound to have questions, and she would rather not be in a bright purple dress when he asked them. 

Finding a pair of sweats and a shirt on the floor, Y/N threw them on before grabbing her power battery from the closet. She usually had it on her dresser, but since Wally had been coming over she hid it out of sight to keep her identity a secret. 

Holding out her ring, Y/N took a deep breath and began to recite the oath to power up her ring. "For hearts long lost and full of fright, for those alone in blackest night, accept our ring and join our fight, love conquers all-- With violet light!"

Watching her ring power-up, Y/N looked at her side, the wound was better than she expected but it was still bad all things considered. 

Hal walked in with a knock, “Come on, let’s get you patched up.” Helping her back to the couch, he lifted her shirt just enough to clean up the large burn on her side. 

He worked in silence as Y/N sat there contemplating everything that happened that night. What was she going to do? She doubted Wally was going to talk to her anytime soon, but Y/N wasn’t sure if she was ready to talk to him herself. 

“So, you going to explain to me why your side is one degree away from a barbeque?”

Y/N looked down at him while he applied the burn cream. “I met Livewire earlier. Electricity hurts like a bitch.” 

Hal chuckled at her words. “Fair enough, but that doesn’t explain how you got hit.” he prodded. 

Clamping up, Y/N knew what Hal was getting at. What had caught her so off guard she got hit? She knew that had a strong friendship with the first Flash and therefore he probably knew Wally. It was a matter of time before Wally told his mentor, and he told Hal. 

“I was distracted,” she said softly. 

Finishing up with the burn cream, Hal raised a brow at her and huffed. “You? Distracted?” he asked. “What the hell got you distracted?”

“You remember that guy I mentioned I was seeing the last time we talked?” she asked. 

Hal nodded as he began to tape the gauze to her burn. “Yeah, never caught his name though.”

Y/N took a deep breath, now was as good a time as any. “His name is Wally.”

Hal kept working as he talked. “Wally? I know someone named that, he’s a good kid,” he commented. “A bit of a brat occasionally, but he has a heart of gold.” 

“Hal, it’s the same guy. I’m dating, or was dating Wally West,” she blurted, tired of the tiptoeing around names and secret identities. “I know he is the Flash as well and he knows I’m a Lantern.”

Putting the last piece of tape on the gauze, Hal leaned back and looked at her. “You’re dating Wally? There’s no way. The kid would have mentioned if he was dating a Star Sapphire.”

Y/N groaned. “That’s the thing, Hal, I never told him. He was there with Superman taking care of Livewire. After, he saw me power down my ring and removed his cowl.”

Giving her a look of confusion, Hal rose to his feet and began cleaning his mess. “This makes no sense. If you know who each other is, why didn’t he bring you home? The Wally I know wouldn’t have left you there alone.” 

“This is where it gets icky. I said some things to him before I knew who he was,” she sighed. “And they hurt him. Wally blames himself for what happened to me, and I’m the reason he blames himself.”

Hal listened to the story and groaned. “I am the worst person to ask for relationship advice from, but what I can tell you is that you need to talk to him. I’ve known Wally for a really long time, watched him grow up even and I know that he won’t let this go unless someone knocks some sense into him.” 

Y/N looked at Hal with surprise. “Since when did you grow a brain?”

“Since my best friend is a forensic scientist, and you tend to smarten up some when you work with Batman regularly.”

Laughing at his words, Y/N slowly rose to her feet. “Well, whatever it is, keep doing it. Who knows, maybe you'll make a great mentor or something.” 

Hal gave Y/N an unamused look. “Funny, that’s the last time I helped you out.”

Y/N rolled her eyes and walked towards the kitchen. “Well, since you’re here are you hungry? My dinner plans suddenly got canceled and I am dying of hunger right now.” 

With a shrug, Hal joined Y/N for dinner. Hal was old enough to be Y/N’s dad, but she never saw him like that. He was more of a friend, possibly a brother to her. When Carol wasn’t available, Hal was the next person she went to for help. 

And if he was going to keep up with the occasional good advice, then maybe good friends wasn’t that far of a stretch. 

While Y/N was getting patched up by Hal, Wally sped off to Central City. He didn’t know what to do. He was at fault for the girl he loved getting hurt. People were hurt on missions all the time, but none of them fully placed the blame on him like she did.

It was like Wally went into autopilot and it didn’t click in his brain where he was going until he was standing outside his Uncle’s front door. Barry would know what to do right? He had a secret hero life when he married Iris and yet they managed to make it work. 

Raising his hand to knock, the door opened in front of him, and there stood his uncle with Iris at his side. 

“Wally? What are you doing here?” Barry asked. 

“I messed up, I didn’t know where else to go,” he muttered. 

Iris’ face grew concerned as she dragged Wally in the door and had him sit on the chair. “What happened, Wally?” she asked. 

“I got someone I love hurt, and it’s my fault,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper as he rested his head in his hands. “It’s my fault she’s hurt, and I’ve lied to her about everything.” 

Barry knelt next to his nephew. “Does this have anything to do with a certain girl you’ve been seeing?” he asked. 

Wally turned to look at him with a confused look, how did he know?

Seeing the look, Barry chuckled. “I just got off the phone with Hal, he wanted to give me a heads up in case you came here. Wally, she doesn’t blame you.” 

“Yes, she does! She said it herself, I’m the reason she was hurt!” 

“From what it sounded, Y/N blames herself and not you,” Iris said.

“How could she not blame me? I got her hurt, she said it herself.” Wally argued. 

“And how many times have you said something because you were hurt or angry?” 

Wally looked at the floor as he rested his arms on his knees. Iris did have a point. Wally was nice to everyone, but there were times when he wasn’t. He was known to have a quick wit, and it showed in his jokes and pick-up lines. But it was also present in his temper, some of the things he’s said while angry were not kind. Of course, he regretted them the moment the words left his lips but it still didn’t change the fact that Y/N got hurt because of him. 

“It’s still my fault Aunt I,” he muttered. “Nothing will change that.”

“Wally, if it’s your fault then it’s also her fault,” Barry replied. “You both kept secrets from the other and this is the fallout. Do you really want to lose her because of this?” 

Letting out a sigh, Wally nodded. Of course, he didn’t want to lose her, and he never gave her the chance to explain her side of it all. Wally loved her with everything he had, and he felt like an ass for just leaving her alone like he did. If he loved her as much as he claimed he did, he needed to fix all of this starting with going back and talking to her. 

Looking up at his aunt and uncle, Wally smiled at them and rose to his feet. “Thanks, Uncle Barry, Aunt I, I think I know what I need to do.” Kissing his aunt’s cheek, Wally hugged them both and sped out of their home and to his own place. 

Wally knew what he needed to do, he just didn’t know when. He couldn’t expect Y/N to just let him in hours after he ditched her in the alley. He wanted a second opinion, and the only other person he trusted as much as he did his aunt and uncle lived across the country. 

He figured it wouldn't be the greatest idea to show up to Dick’s place in his Flash suit, so he threw on a set of civvies and took the nearest zeta tube to Bludhaven. Dick wouldn’t have cared that much, but if he was seen hanging around in his uniform it could cause some not-so-wanted questions. 

It didn’t take him long to end up outside Dick’s apartment door with two boxes of pizza. He knew that he was still out on Nightwing business, so he used the key he hid above the door frame to let himself in. Wally had shown up unannounced before so this was nothing new to them. Dick trusted Wally more than anyone else, letting him into his apartment alone didn’t seem to be that much of a stretch. 

Locking the door back behind him, Wally made his way to the fridge and looked through it. Grabbing the jug of apple juice, he grabbed a glass and poured himself some. Looking at the clock, Dick wouldn’t be back for another couple of hours. To pass the time, Wally picked up around the apartment.

With the dishes done, the floors swept and mopped, Wally had quite a while to think to himself. He knew he needed to apologize to Y/N, his fault or not. He left her there alone in an alley and that was something he shouldn’t have done. But after apologizing, he didn’t know what else to do. 

Wally was dozing off on the couch when a window to his left opened and in stumbled Dick still dressed in his Nightwing suit. The mask he wore couldn’t hide the surprise on his face when he saw Wally sitting on his couch. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked, removing the mask. 

“I brought pizza?” Wally replied, raising his brows. “Also, I need your help.”

That last part really caught Dick’s attention. “What happened? Is everyone okay?” 

Wally shook his head. “Everyone is fine, I just-- I might have messed up everything between me and Y/N and while Barry and Iris both made a good point, I wanted a second opinion.”

Dick watched his best friend and crossed his arms. “Let me go change and we can talk over the pizza you bought.” he smiled and disappeared into his bedroom. Minutes later, Dick came out dressed in sweats and a shirt running a hand through his hair. 

Wally pulled the two pizza boxes out of the oven to keep them warm and set them on the coffee table while Dick grabbed paper plates and napkins. Both of them sat on the couch and dug in. 

The quiet that wafted over them was awkward. It was obvious to Dick that Wally needed to talk about something, he was just waiting on him to start talking. It took a couple of slices, but finally, Wally was ready to start talking. 

“I’m not sure I’m even supposed to tell you this, but Y/N is a Star Sapphire Lantern.” Wally started. 

Dick looked over at him, taking a bit of his pizza as the cheese strung between his lips and the food raising a brow at him. “I might have already known that.” 

Wally turned to look at him with a dumbstruck expression. “Did she tell you, or is this one of those weird Batman things where he needs to know the secret identities of every masked person out there?” He asked with a laugh. 

Dick chuckled at his words. “Bruce told me when you told me you were dating her I didn’t want to say anything because it wasn’t my secret to tell.” 

“Fair enough.”

“Is that what’s wrong? She lied to you about that?” Dick tried.

Wally gave Dick a look. “You really think that of all things, a secret identity would bother me? Dick, come one. I have one myself.”

Dick huffed a laugh. “Okay, fair enough. But if it wasn’t that, then what happened.

Taking a deep breath, Wally told Dick everything. From the moment he showed up, to Y/N getting hurt, to their conversation after the fight and ended with his talk with Barry and Iris. The whole time Dick sat quietly and listened, giving little nods here and there to show that he was listening. 

“So, what I am gathering from all this is that you blame yourself for something that was out of your control even after she tried to tell you it wasn’t your fault?” Dick asked at the end. “Is that right?”

Wally nodded. “Yeah, basically. I know she said that it wasn’t my fault, but I know that if I didn’t distract her she wouldn’t have gotten hurt.” 

“Walls, we get hurt every day. Do you blame yourself every time I get hurt on a mission? He asked. 

“No, I usually call you a dumbass after making sure you’re okay.” 

“Exactly my point. In our line of work, we don’t have time to sit around and play the blame game with each other. I know you care a lot about her and I am willing to bet she feels the same. You’re my best friend and I don’t want to see you throw away the best thing to ever happen to you because of something like this.” Dick said, leaning on his knees to watch his friend. 

“You’re fault or not, you two need to talk to work this out and see where you go from there. She probably blames herself as much as you blame yourself.” 

Wally pursed his lips. “I swear, you and Barry talked before I came here. He said basically the same thing to me.” 

Dick laughed and patted Wally’s back. “No, we’re both smarter than you apparently.” 

Rolling his eyes, Wally stole a piece of Dick’s pizza and ate it in retaliation. 

After his talk with Dick, Wally big him farewell so he could get some sleep and left. He really needed to talk to Y/N to at least see where they stand as a couple, and if she needed more time he would give it to her. Walking back to the zeta tube transport, Wally stepped through and into Metropolis. Lucky for him, her apartment wasn’t too far from the zeta tube so he could just walk at a normal pace and be there in good time. 

What was he going to say to her? ‘Hey, babe, sorry for just up and ditching you in the middle of a dark alley?’ Wally cringed at his own thought, he knew he needed to be honest with Y/N but that was just rubbing salt in the wound at this point. The entire walk, Wally thought of different things to say once he saw her, finally settling on a simple apology for running off like that and not giving her the chance to explain. That was the best place to start, and if she didn’t want to see him after that, Wally would have to find a way to live with it. 

Wally had been so lost in thought he didn’t notice how quickly he got to her door. Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand and knocked on the door. The wait as he stood outside her door was torture, he knew it couldn’t have been more than twenty seconds, --thirty at max-- but it felt like an eternity.

He had half a mind to knock again when he heard the door open slowly. Wally looked up at the beautiful girl in front of him and every word he had prepared died the instant he saw her dressed in nothing more than a shirt and short shorts. Opening his mouth, the only sound that came out was a squeak.

Y/N raised a brow as she looked at him. “Wally, are you--”

Not letting her finish her sentence, Wally cupped her face and kissed her deeply. Wally kissed her with such force that she stumbled back and Wally kicked the door shut behind him. Her hands wound themselves around his neck pulling herself closer as she felt Wally nibble softly at her bottom lip, pulling a moan from her.

“I’m sorry.” he breathed in between kisses, pulling Y/N impossibly closer to him. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” was all he could say. 

Y/N pulled back from the kiss and looked up at him. “I’m sorry too, it’s not your fault. I didn’t tell you who I was or what I did not because I didn’t trust you but because I didn’t want you hurt and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if--” 

Once again, Wally interrupted her with a kiss. “I wasn’t honest with you either,” he replied kissing her cheek. “If I was honest with you earlier, things would be different.” 

Pulling away fully once more, Y/N stared into his striking green eyes. “I don’t blame you for not telling me about that. It doesn’t matter if I knew or not, I shouldn’t have said what I did,” she explained. 

“I love you Wally, and I don’t want to lose you.” 

Brushing the stray hairs out of her eyes, Wally smiled down at her. “I love you too, Y/N.” and leaned down to captured her lips with his own. This kiss was more intense than the last, slowly Wally pried her lips apart with his own and laid claim to her mouth with his tongue. 

The mixing of their breaths drove Y/N wild as she tugged at his hair. 

Leaning down, Wally gripped Y/N’s thighs and lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist. His hands moved to the swell of her ass, grabbing at it wanting to feel the soft skin under his hands. Y/N moaned against his lips, pushing back into his hands. 

Pulling away slowly, Y/N tried to catch her breath under Wally’s intense gaze. “Stay, please?” she asked. 

“Of course I’ll stay.” 

***

Wally woke the next morning wrapped in Y/N’s sheets, but she wasn’t there. He could smell the breakfast wafting in from the kitchen, so he untangled himself and pulled on his pants. Running a hand through his messy hair, he walked out of the room and saw Y/N standing at the stove wearing his shirt as she cooked. 

Crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe, Wally watched her cook with a smile on his face. It was nice to know that she didn’t blame him, but Wally still blamed himself. Even after he spent the night with her as she told him constantly she didn’t blame him, Wally still couldn’t get the idea out of his head. 

Turning to take the plates to the table, Y/N jumped in surprise to see Wally watching her. 

“Hey, you.” 

“Hey beautiful,” he smiled and walked over, placing a kiss on her temple. “Food smells amazing.” 

Y/N smiled at his words and kissed his cheek in return before taking her seat across from Wally as he too sat down to eat. Even after they made up the night before, the atmosphere still felt off. Neither of them could put their finger on it, but was that because they didn’t want to talk about the night’s events?

Looking at the plate in front of him, Wally let out a chuckle. Y/N made all of his favorite breakfast foods consisting of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. Reaching across the table to grab the syrup, his hand brushed her and they both jumped back mumbling an apology to the other. 

Something was still wrong between them and they both could feel it. 

Y/N’s eyes couldn’t meet his, it was as if she refused to look at him. She still felt guilty at the fact she placed the blame on Wally, and then he proceeded to blame himself. Things like that didn’t just go away with a simple apology sealed with a kiss. 

She was still unsure if he blamed her, but none of that mattered because it was all her fault and Wally refused to acknowledge it. 

Narrowing his eyes, Wally watched her carefully. “Y/N, what’s going on?” 

Looking up at him from her plate, Y/N smiled at him. “I’m okay, what are you talking about?” 

Raining a brow at her, Wally leaned back in his chair. “You can barely look at me, there’s something wrong.” 

“Nothing is wrong Wally.” 

Picking up on the tones in her voice, he had a feeling what it was. 

“Y/N, I don’t blame you.” 

“No, instead you blame yourself.” she snapped. 

Wally was taken back at her tone, she was still upset over this. With a sigh, Wally reached over and took her hand. “I never blamed you.” 

“But you should have!” she cried. “You should have blamed me because it was my fault! You wouldn’t be blaming yourself if I didn’t open my damn mouth!” 

“Y/N--”

“Don’t try and tell me it’s not my fault! We’ve been over this, so please leave it alone.” 

Crossing his arms with a huff, Wally frowned. “I thought we were too, but apparently you’re not.” he started. “It doesn’t matter to me if it was your fault or not, the fact is that I don’t blame you.” he got up from his chair and knelt in front of her. “I never blamed you.”

Y/N turned her head not wanting to look at him. “Well you should, the bottom line is that it’s my fault. If I wasn’t so stubborn and prideful, I wouldn’t have said those things and you wouldn’t be so upset.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I am not mad at you?” he asked. 

“Eternity, don’t waste your breath.” 

Wally gave her a deadpan look before he took her hands in his. “Y/N, look at me please.”

Slowly, Y/N turned to see his soft gaze. 

“Your fault or not, I do not blame you. I don’t want you blaming yourself over this either alright?” he said softly, his eyes not leaving hers. 

Y/N let out a sigh, “I guess you’re right.” she replied. “There’s nothing I can do to go back and change it. All I can do is use it to learn and not repeat those same mistakes.” 

Wally’s smile grew as he listened to her talk. It may not have been exactly what he wanted, but it was a start. “Good, now how about we finish eating and I give you a tour of my hometown?” he asked. 

“Wally, you live halfway across the country.” 

“Babe, I’m the fastest man alive. Distance really isn’t an issue with me.” he grinned and got up giving Y/N a quick peck to her lips. “Maybe if you behave, I’ll take you to meet someone.”

Y/N rolled her eyes and began to eat her food, the smile not leaving her face. “Whatever you say sweetheart.”

Taglist: @bluejay-the-geek​ @unknowntoanyone​ @subtleappreciation​ @catxsnow​ @littleredwing89​ @offendedfishnoises​ @lostoctaviaaugusta​ @arestorationofbalance​ @screennamealreadyused​ @woahjaybird​ @bikoncon​ @river-bottom-nightmare​ @battlenix​ 

[lovethisletters]

The Bat & The Lantern || Batman x Reader

Hi, lovely! I had so much fun writing this (I'm not gonna lie, I was quite nervous at first, since I don't know that much about the whole green lantern universe, but guess it turned out...ok?) so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and to be honest, I would like to revisit this story again in the future!

Little disclaimer: The reader is a Human green lantern but similar to star-lord she lived the majority of her life in space, that's why she's so oblivious as to whom Batman is, also this takes place during Dick Grayson early years as robin (12-13).

Word count: 2233!!!

Summary: Reader is a new member of the Justice League...but Batman doesn't seem too happy about it.

Keys: Y/S/N: Your Superhero Name | Y/N: Your (real) Name.

Hal Jordan was your friend since you joined the green lanterns (which it was barely 3 or 4 years ago)

Basically...you were "new"

But that didn't stop your fellow green lanterns (?) From seeing all your potential.

Everyone is convinced that with the right training and perseverance, you will become one of the greatest green lanterns of all time.

So, it didn't take long before you proved yourself to be capable enough to join the big leagues.

More specifically, The Justice League.

Hal was the one to introduce you to his companions.

The Amazonian, the human looking alien, the speedster, the other Alien not so human looking, the half robot; everyone was so nice to you since they met you.

Everyone except...The grumpy bat.

When you first introduced yourself, he didn't even bother to be as welcoming as the others.

He just stood there, looking all big and serious that you almost thought it was a statue or the poor guy had catatonic lapses or was way too shy or socially awkward to approach you.

You felt bad, so you approached him instead.

—Hi! I'm Y/S/N...—You said enthusiastically before being abruptly interrupted.

—I know, I heard your introduction already—His voice so devoid of any kind of emotion that you may as well had been talking to a machine.

"Scanning complete, Batman"

A voice inside his cowl informed him, it sounded like an older man with a British accent.

—Thank you, I'll check it later.

That’s when it hit you…the reason why he was watching you so intensely and standing so incredibly still: He was scanning you.

Fucking. Son. Of. A. Bitch.

You stayed there, your face paralyzed with surprise and anger, without knowing very well what to answer; you didn't want to cause a scene on your first day, but this man was just so rude; That is not an appropriate way to receive a new member. yes, it is normal to have suspicions, but you would appreciate if he had the decency to let his suspicions be known when you weren't present.

—she just introduced herself and already on with the paranoic behavior, Bats? seriously? —Hal stepped in your defense.

—this is a routine procedure; I'm just being cautious.

—He was like that at the beginning with all of us too, don’t worry he’ll warm up to you in no time—Wonder woman whispered in your ear after watching your uncomfortable expression.

Ultimatedly you decided to listen to the amazonian and let that one slide, “is normal to be wary of new things anyways” you repeated yourself.

As the months passed you have grown quite frustrated. Between all the missions and meetings even though you felt your relationship with the rest of the team grow closer and they began to trust you and respect you; your relationship with the Batman stayed pretty much the same.

Yes, there was a bit of progress….a bit.

He was bit more talkative to you, a bit more “friendly”, a bit more trusting.

But it was always just a bit never actually fully a teammate to you, your relationship felt more like distant coworkers.

At the beginning it didn’t worry you too much, until your lack of communication started to mess with your performance in the missions, sometimes something completely bizarre and unexpected would happen and because both of you didn’t know each other very well, the mission would take the double amount of time to resolve since you couldn’t coordinate at all.

One time he almost ran you over with his batwing…

The whole thing was kinda funny looking back on it but at the time you were furious (rightfully so)

In his defense, he didn’t knew you were there…I mean…you basically where standing in his parking spot (not that you knew there was such a thing, most members could fly or at least jump really high, so you kinda always forgot he couldn’t…and to be honest you didn’t know his exact powers)

—Sorry—was all he said as he got out of the strangely shaped flying vehicle and directed only one glance at you to make sure you where ok before entering the building, always maintaining that characteristic calm and cold demeanor.

One day you entered the hall of justice earlier than usual only to find an unexpected guest sitting in one of the empty chairs his gaze fixated on a book, he was wearing a rather colorful suit of some sort matching his green mask, then you realized when you were close enough…he was a C H I L D.

You panicked, why was a child here? Is he some sort of mini spy? How was he able to get through the security system?  Did he touch anything dangerous?

This and many more questions ran through your mind, the child noticed you were looking at him and only gave a polite nod as a greeting before returning his attention to his book.

Perhaps a school trip that you weren’t aware of was taking place and this kid strayed from his class? Perhaps he was looking for one of your teammates to ask for a photo and got lost and decided to wait here for his teacher? That will explain why everyone wasn’t here in the meetings room, perhaps they were busy giving the (hypothetical) group of children a tour?

—Hey kiddo! Are you lost? —you began the conversation in a friendly tone before kneeling down a little in order to appear less imposing…after all he was a child you didn’t wanna scare him.

He looked at you so incredulously.

You could almost hear him think “ma’am wtf are you doing???” through his expressions.

—What’s your name?

—Ummm…uh…Robin?­—He spoke like it was something obvious  while signaling the “R” symbol on his chest.

—Robin, uh? What a pretty name! tell me Robin…why are you here? Are you lost?

Poor boy he was so confused, you didn’t know who he was? Didn’t any of the members told you about him? And more importantly…Why where you talking to him like if he was a 5-year-old?

—No, ma’am…I’m just waiting for Batman.

“Batman? Was he a fan of Batman of all superheroes?”  It surprised you a bit, usually kids tend to like superman or wonder woman more since they are nicer and charismatic, and Batman was the opposite.

—Sorry Kiddo, I don’t think he’s one for photos, perhaps you could ask the others some other time! ­— you began explaining trying to dissuade the kid while guiding him towards the exit.

—He’s not here for photos—smooth as ever…the Bat was behind you.

—He’s my sidekick.

Your jaw dropped, a sidekick? He’s a CHILD! You knew superheroes had sidekicks, but you never knew they were that young!

Before you could even begin to protest, Batman ignored you, looking down at the child and instructing him to collect his things.

—Hurry, you’ll be late for class again. — He said before disappearing behind the door that led to his parking spot.

Robin quickly followed, hanging his backpack over his shoulder before stopping in his tracks directing an apologetic smile towards you and saying:

—Don’t worry miss, I can take care of myself! — He must have noticed the concern on your face before leaving.

Since that day your routine changed.

You would wake up earlier, many times you’ll be the first to arrive to the Hall of justice, and even have breakfast flying on your way there all for one thing: Robin.

Once you learned he was Batman’s sidekick you couldn’t help but worry over that poor child, “what if he gets hurt? Is he eating/sleeping/resting properly?” you just couldn’t help yourself.

At first it was just checking on the kid by just…seeing him in the morning and greeting him casually but there were times he wasn’t there, and you would panic internally and there was no other way to calm your anxiety until you would ask the Bat about the child.

He would always replay shortly: “He’s at home” “He’s at school” “He’s busy” and your conversations always would end there.

One day that Robin was there however, instead of your usual ‘greeting nod’ he started talking to you.

He asked you all sorts of things (that weren’t compromising to your real identity ofc) “What’s your favorite color?” “What music do you like?” “What’s your favorite movie?”

And it started from there.

The conversations with Robin grew not only more frequent but also more personal (as personal as someone with a superhero lifestyle can be), to the point it had become a routine for you to come early and talk to the boy, sometimes you had breakfast together or even helped him with his homework before the Bat would take him to school.

Perhaps it was because you didn’t have many acquittances here on earth, but Robin became family to you.

And family takes care of each other.

It had been a rather difficult and spontaneous mission; Lex Luthor was starting to act a little bit fishy (more than usual) using his connections and money Luthor had been acquiring/robbing very specifically concerning items all over the US, his next objectives: a Radion sample being investigated in a secret laboratory in Star city and a Dionesium sample...contained in the Wayne tower laboratories...

The team decided to split to put a stop to Luthor’s minions and his plan.

The Bat insisted the rest of the team should go to Star city, telling them that he and Robin could handle it, but everyone was immediately against it: Luthor had already collected relatively powerful items and being the intelligent motherfucker he is, probably transformed some of those items to give to his goon’s so they might have a chance in harming any of the members if they were to interfere.

Ultimately, the team agreed you and cyborg would accompany them to Wayne Tower.

Robin was stoked, he would get the opportunity to fight alongside you! But Batman…not so much…he kept trying to lose the two of you on the way there; fortunately, cyborg put a tracker on the batwing, he wasn’t going to get rid of you that easy.

Upon your arrival, you could spot several men (armed like if they were military but with a much more upgraded equipment) already leaving the building, carrying two tanks (presumably full of that substance Martian Manhunter had mentioned before) and heading to a truck without any plates.

Long story short: you organized a plan as quickly as you could but…something went wrong…Cyborg and Robin were supposed to create a distraction while the two of you recovered the tanks without damaging them, since the properties of the substance within remained unknown.

But something went wrong: You and Batman failed to coordinate and so you were spotted by the henchmen, they started aiming their weapons at the two of you, initially you thought a force field generated by the power of your ring would be enough...oh no, honey, you’re so wrong.

Sonic weapons were able to not only break your concentration quickly, but also made your ears bleed! One after another you kept re-making the fields, but the sonic waves so deathly and loud just kept coming.

You don’t know how but you were able to stand your ground long enough to make cover not only for Batman and allow him to get the tanks back safely but also for the rest of your team and give them a slight advantage to take down as many of Luthor’s minions as they could.

And then…you passed out.

You woke up at the infirmary in Justice Hall, your head a mess and wrapped in bandages, you had broken your arm because that shit inside a cast too for some reason…and…your ring was gone!

Panic!

No, never mind it was on the nightstand next to the chair in which batman was sitting on.

WAIT…next to the chair in which batman was sitting on?!?!?!

—How are you feeling? — you didn’t know if it was him suddenly talking or the genuine concern on his voice that startle you, so you just nodded slightly while he approached you.

—Can you hear me properly? —Surprisingly you could, but you still were a bit taken aback by his presence.

—I…­—Before responding your brain reminded you of the fact that you didn’t had your ring on, hence your secret identity was revealed to Batman. Your hands practically flew to your face in embarrassment. You didn’t know why but without your mask you felt naked and vulnerable.

He noticed.

His gaze studying your pained expression before he let out a small sigh.

—I came here…to thank you…and apologize— hesitantly his hands moved to the back of his cowl.

—You not only put yourself in danger for Cyborg and Robin, but you also concerned yourself with my safety even when it was probably my fault that we ended up in that situation —He admitted pressing a hidden button loosing up his cowl before finally taking it off and reviling the most gorgeous man you’ve had ever lay your eyes on.

—And for that I thank you and apologize…sincerely—Such sudden action left you speechless for a while, Batman not only had thanked you and apologized, but he had entrusted his identity to you.

—I think-…I think we started with the wrong foot; you know? —You finally were able to respond, breaking the silence that filled the room and surprising him slightly by your sudden declaration.

—Let’s start again…Hi! I’m Y/N—You imitated the same friendly voice tone you first used to talk to him.

The lips on the man in front of you curved forming a subtle almost imperceptive grin.

—Hello, Y/N, I’m Bruce…Bruce Wayne.

 ♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤

 WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! IT. TOOK. SO. LONG. Sorry :c

I had a bunch of ideas for this request but ended up going with this one since I wanted to expand on their beginning, I’m still trying to figure out a way to write Bruce and this was my first attempt, so…sorry if it was…bad :c I’ll try harder next time!!!

Any errors you might see, please let me know; English is not my first language so I’m trying to improve.

In the final scene I wanted Bruce to show he recognized the Reader as an equal so that’s why he took it off…still I felt like it could improve.

 ♡♤♡♤♡♤♡♤

I will forever thank you if you go check out my other profile: @aileysmirnov​ where I post things about my OC: edits, one-shots, imagines, art, etc. If you like Greek mythology and the bat family maybe you would get to be a little bit fond of her as much as I am!

Anyway! Thank you for reading!

[unmaskedagain]

Daddy’s Little Villain

So this prompt I think I got months ago. I meant to work on it for quite some time but I never got around to it. I got inspired yesterday so I decided to take a shot. I went completely off memory for this. Its been a while since I watched Young Justice or any of the DC animated shows; apart from the new Harley Quinn one. So sorry about what I got wrong.

A clown with a killer punchline.

A lantern of terror.

The king of Metropolis.

The master of shadows.

A destroyer of worlds.

Different faces, powers, histories but all categorized under one name.

Supervillain.

           Ruthless, intelligent, powerful, charismatic, tempting; villains reflect just how easily and quickly this planet, if not the universe could fall under their might. However, none of them started out evil. None of them were born evil. No one is born to be evil.

           Marinette, however, came very, very close.

           Her biological father was one of the first that came to mind when anyone thought of a Supervillian. He personally had killed thousands, and arranged the deaths of tens of thousands more. He conquered kingdoms, destroyed dynasties, annihilated empires, controlled governments, and used presidents, kings, any old politician as puppets on strings.

           And he was a good dad.

           He made sure Marinette had the best of everything. The best tutors, the best trainers, the best bodyguards (though Marinette had only ever seen them out of the corner of her eye; hiding in the shadows).

He was even okay with Tom Dupain being a father figure to his daughter. Tom had married Sabine when Marinette was four. However, the acceptance of this came after several failed assassination attempts after the first time Marinette called Tom Papa. Sabine hadn’t been happy that to have protect her new husband from assassins sent by her jealous baby daddy.

Marinette spend most of her days pretending to be a normal girl. The rest of the time she was being trained by near unstoppable assassins in every manner of fighting style her body could handle, learning how to speak various different languages ranging from Spanish to whatever the hell Atlantians’ spoke, hacking and computer skills from former spies, and being taught strategy from some of the greatest military minds that could be bought. (And this was one top of her duties as Ladybug because her dad was still a bit of an asshole.)

He just wanted what was best for her. And he made sure Marinette knew she was loved. He sent her presents every week, letters every day, and she woke to fresh roses in her room every morning.

           The presents ranged from diamond tiaras to ancient samurai swords; anything she so much as mildly expressed an interest in was always found at the foot of her bed the next day. The letters were always thoughtful and kind; always wanting to know about her day, and how she was doing. They would appear in her desk sometime during the day. Marinette would leave a reply via email because she was a sane person of the year 2020. She’d wake to red roses every morning to remind her she was special to him. Sometimes she handed them out at school. Other times she gave them away to any pedestrian who looked like they needed a pick me up.

           He was a good dad, even if he was never actually around. They talked on the phone and over video chat as much as they could.

           He was busy. She understood that.

           Trying to take over the world wasn’t easy. It certainly wasn’t the average 9 to 5 job. The Light needed him.

           She forgave him for that; just like she forgave him for all the things he did to… ensure the future he envisioned became a reality. They were distasteful, immoral, and most of the time she didn’t have the stomach to listen to 1/12 of all the things he did or orchestrated.

           Marinette was always fine with staying out of it. Unlike most Supervillian kids, she never had any interest in taking her place in the family business. Or doing the opposite and doing everything she could to take their villainous family down. No, she had better things to do.

           And her father was just fine with that. He could forgive Marinette for wanting a normal life. He just wanted her happy, safe, and well cared for. He kept the Light and Cadmus out of Paris as best as he could.

           He could even forgive his little girl when she adorned a mask and became the Hero Ladybug. Though it did prevent him from recruiting Hawkmoth into the fold; he wouldn’t have been more than cannon fodder but still. As long as Ladybug kept out battle between good and evil that encased the rest of the world, the city of Paris, France could be hers. Hell, he would even give it to his baby girl as a birthday present should her desire for it arise. It would be good preparation should he need someone trustworthy and loyal to rule the rest of Europe.

           Still he was quick to stop any admiration for the heroes of Justice League. Or at least make sure his daughter didn’t put them on a pedestal like the rest of the world did.

“But they’re the good guys,” She remembered her seven-year-old self protesting. At the time Marinette hadn’t really understood that her father was considered one of the ‘Bad Guys.’ “The heroes.”

“I believe the Justice League’s actions leaves humanity weak,” He told her. “However, even if I didn’t find fault in them, they are only people. They make mistakes. There is good and evil in them; few realize just how easily one side could win over the other.”

           Marinette frowned, “You mean go bad. They won’t go bad. They fight for justice and what’s right.”

“What’s right is subjective,” He warned her. “And justice is in the eye of the beholder.”

“But-but they’re superheroes!”

“You know what’s more dangerous that a villain?” He asked her. “Someone who refuses to acknowledge that anyone can become one.”

           He would say more on the subject later until he was sure Marinette understood.

           He loved his daughter with all of his heart. And Marinette returned the favor.

           So when rumors spread, not long after Hawkmoth’s permanent defeat, that the Light’s founder had fallen; was dead, killed in action, murdered by superheroes, Marinette’s heart broke. She always knew the risks of her father’s job, the dangers this world had in it; it was survival of the fittest after all, that was what he taught her.

           Nevertheless, that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt; that it didn’t burn. And for the first time, the darkest part of her, the part of her that was all her father’s daughter, wanted to make the world feel her pain. However, Marinette was better than that. She wouldn’t blame the world for her sorrows.  She refuse to set fire to everyone and everything just because she wanted to vengeance.

           No, she was smarter than that. Her father, had he still lived, would expect better from her.

           Marinette blamed the Justice League; wonder woman, superman, the Green Lantern. She blamed. Artemis. She blamed Aqualad. She blamed Miss Martian. She blamed Superboy. She blamed Kid flash. She blamed all of Young Justice who set up the plan to bring down the light. (Apart from Batman and Robin who been in Gotham because Robin had all but on his death bed after a fight with DeathStroke.). And they would burn for taking her father from her.

           …The only problem was that Marinette wasn’t a killer. She didn’t want to be one unless she had no other choice. So she had to think of another way to get her revenge.

           The plan had started out very simple. Slowly the hero Ladybug would start being seen outside Paris; fighting random villains’ here and there; captain cold one day, the cheetah next. Never seen in the same place twice. Rumors spread that she was looking for someone; her partner, Chat Noir. It helped that Chat Noir had been seen in months.

           It was just a rumor, of course. Chat Noir had been officially retired. All kwami were taken back. Marinette wasn’t using Tikki to power herself up. No, she refused to use them like Hawkmoth had done. Instead, they were put away and were very well cared for; like well pampered, spoiled pets.

           Marinette used her money to buy a replica of her Ladybug suit; better armored though. She used her private plane to travel around wherever she needed to go. The more villains she fought, the more the rumor of the heartbroken Ladybug hunting down the Light to find her partner grew.

           The only downside was that Ladybug was rapidly gaining enemies left and right. It wasn’t long before The Light sent people after her. Ladybug was quick to send their minions back to them all but in a body bag.

           She had been approached multiple times be members of the Justice League; even teamed up with them multiple times to save the day. They never even feel the near microscopic camera she puts in them. It degrades three hours after but it’s plenty of time for Marinette to get the information she needs.

           It took two months for Marinette to learn the identities of nearly every member of the Justice League. She’s quick to destroy any secret identity evidence for anyone who didn’t wrong her. The batfamily was spared. The Green Arrow and his family was spared. (One day soon Oliver Queen would thank his lucky stars that Speedy went solo instead of joining Young Justice. And that Cheshire, who had a thing for the redhead, was an old friend of Marinette’s, whether the older girl remember the bluenette or not.)

           The family of Steal would burn though. As would fastest family alive. The king of ocean and his sidekicks. The “human” identities of the worlds’ favorite Martians. Woman Wonder and her sidekick. The Green Lanterns.

           The Justice League never saw her coming. All they saw was a pretty fourteen-year-old girl with tears in her big blue eyes as she swore it was her duty to right this wrong. She would fight the light on her own. A young hero, they thought, who did realize just how over her head she really was. Pity was always clear in their eyes. Every time Marinette refused their offer of help, said she could handle it herself.

           Marinette was just biding her time. She still needed the identities of Young Justice. When she got that, she would strike. Hard.

           It only took three months, and Cadmus capturing little Miss Martian.

           By the time, Young Justice arrived Ladybug had already been on the scene. Marinette had already freed an injured Miss Martian and they were trying to fight their way out. The bluenette was beaten, battered, and bleeding.  The two girls did their best to fight the bad guys that seemed to come in a never ending storm. It wasn’t long before they were surrounded.

“Go,” She whispered to the green girl. Marinette had always placed the cameras. She didn’t need to alien any longer. “You can fly. Go. I’ll hold them off, okay.”

“I won’t leave you,” Miss Martian shook her adamantly.

           Marinette frown, “You have to. You know what Cadmus. You know what these monster will do to you. You have go before it’s too late.”

“I will not!”

“Don’t be a hero!” Ladybug snapped.

“Why?!” A new voice called. Robin landed in front of them. The rest of the Young Justice was “It’s our job.”

           The fight was epic. And Marinette could admit that the members of Young Justice were skilled. But they had to be to take down her father, so it wasn’t surprising. Still, she managed to put a camera on each and every one of them.

           When it was over, and it was clear more of Cadmus’ henchman were arriving, Young Justice made moves to flee…

           Until they realized Ladybug had no intention of coming with them.

“He’s not in there,” Miss Martian told her gently.

“You don’t know that,” Ladybug murmured.

“I do,” Again the pity was clear in redhead’s eyes.

           Ladybug shook her head. “You don’t understand. I can’t give up. I won’t!”

           Robin put a hand on her shoulder, “Chat Noir isn’t in there.”

“Getting yourself killed will not help him,” Aqualad stated.

           Ladybug nodded, gave them a small smile, and then made a break for the Cadmus lab. Then Marinette felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, and everything went black.

           She woke up in the infirmary of what she guess was the Young Justice headquarters. With a huff, she got up and marched out of the room. It didn’t take her long to find the teen heroes lounging in their living room. “You guys are jerks!” She yelled at them.

           Kid Flash snorted, “We saved you from yourself.”

“Oh you self-righteous little-” Marinette groaned. “I can’t believe you! I can take care of myself” She crossed her arms and stomped her foot.

“Oh yeah because that proves it,” Artemis laughed.

“I’m a hero too, you know?”

           Robin nodded. “Everyone knows about Ladybug. But you’re like thirteen.”

“Fourteen! And a half!” Marinette corrected. “Which is basically fifteen.”

           The older heroes just looked at her, and then burst out laughing.

           Marinette forced herself to think of her most embarrassing memory so that her face would heat up and it would look like she turned red from embarrassment. As if she care what they thought.

           The bluenette grabbed a slice of pizza and asked politely for someone to send her back to Paris. She needed to regroup, she claimed.

           They tried to convince her to stay. Or let Young Justice or the Justice League help her but she refused. Marinette was back in Paris ten minutes later.

           She had the identities of every member of Young Justice an hour after that.

           It was time.

           Ladybug “tracking” down the Light had been an experience. Technically, she knew enough to figure out various locations they used. However, she also knew enough to know that Ladybug just showing up there would get her killed. It was a move of an amateur hero. And Marinette was done thinking like a hero.

           So she put down her mask, ditched her Ladybug gear, and got on a plane. Marinette arrived in Metropolis on a windy Tuesday morning.

           It took her until Friday to hack into Lex Luther’s secretary’s calendar to figure where the King of the Metropolis was scheduled to be and another week to decipher the Light’s next meeting. Hacking into pentagon was easier.

           Marinette waited watched from the shadows of the remote island she found herself on. She watched as villain after villain arrived. Until Lex Luther, surrounded by bodyguards and personal assistants, arrived in his private jet.

“Mr. Luther!” Marinette called as she stepped out of the shadows where she was hiding.

           Guns were immediately pulled on her. The secretary, Mercy, hand suddenly became weaponized. The surprise on their faces were clear. Particularly when they saw the small teen girl standing there.

           Marinette smiled.

“And you are?” Lex asked, only mildly intrigued. He wondered just who the child was that managed to be sneak up his men and possible the rest of the Light.

“My name is Marinette,” She answered. “But you and the Light know me as Ladybug. I mean you no harm.”

           Lex narrowed his eyes at her. He could see the resemblance. Ladybug and Marinette had the same stature, the same eye color, and looked to be the same age. Still, it could be a trick.

“Two months ago, I broke into one of your building.” Marinette said. “The break in was the news but LexCorp assured that nothing was taken. That wasn’t true. I took the Cuban cigars out of the safe behind the Rembrandt painting. Please. I merely wish to speak with the Light. Somewhere… not even gods among us can hear.”

           Well, that assured the villain that it wasn’t a trick.  However, for the first time in his life, Lex Luther found himself confused. On one day, Ladybug had been a slowly become a thorn in the Light’s side. On the other hand, the hero had just revealed her identity and now just wanted to talk. About what, Lex yearned to know.

           Lex nodded, “Mercy will check you for weapons. Then you will be escorted inside safely. Whether you leave alive will be up for debate.”

           Marinette sighed in relief and raised her hands. Mercy, who the bluenette tried to figure out whether she was a robot or a cyborg, was very thorough. She even scanned Marinette’s phone for any traces of explosives.

           When it was done Marinette found herself escorted inside, and then found herself a cliché Supervillian lair staring down the greatest supervillains in the world. Ra's al Ghul, Black Manta, Queen Bee, Klarion, Deathstroke, Ocean Master, and their operatives Hugo Strange, Bane, Sports Master, and Cheshire all sat at a large round table. There was four pieces of glass hanging from the ceiling in front of them; monitors, Marinette figured.

And it was clear from the anger on the faces that the bad guys had been informed of exactly who Marinette was.

           It was daunting, to say the least.

“You have our attention, Miss Marinette,” Lex said. “Do not waste it.”

           Marinette nodded, “I have information on the Justice League I thought the Light would be very interested in.”

“Why would a hero do such a thing?”  Ra's al Ghul asked. “Hoping to make a deal? Your information for the return of Chat Noir, perhaps?”

           The leader of the League of Shadows didn’t know why the rumor persevered that the Light kidnapped the Parisian hero. He had confirmed himself that it was highly inaccurate.  

           The bluenette giggled, “Chat Noir no longer exists. He was retired at the same time as Hawkmoth. The Light has never had him. Neither did Cadmus. It was just heavily implied.”

“Yet that didn’t stop you from destroying our labs,” Lex glared. “Ruining missions, capturing my associates. Months of research. Millions of dollars. Gone to hell.”

“You were a tool,” Marinette shrugged. “I used to you get to close to the Justice League. It was never personal.”

           Lex felt eye twitch. He should have Mercy shoot her on principle.

“You’re more annoying than Robin,” Deathstroke shook his head at the moxy of the girl.

“It was just business?” She offered. “I needed a way to make them pay.”

“Just… just business,” Lex pinched his nose. He was going to kill her. “What could you possible offer the Light that would stop us from destroying you and everyone you love?”

           Marinette smirked. She pulled out her phone and hacked into the monitors. Once she was done, and played a video. The villains watched on the screens with old mild interest on their faces. Slowly the interest faded as shock and astonished looks overtook it.

           Lex’s felt his entire body shake. The video had shown undeniable proof that Superman was secretly Clark Kent. It was what he dreams were made of. He could barely stop himself from snatching the phone out of Marinette’s hand and playing it the video over and over again.

           Lex forced himself to calm down. He looked at the bluenette hard. A part of him wanted offer to pay as much money as the girl could want for the video. Another part of him realized if Marinette had been a little older he would’ve proposed.

“Superman’s civilian name is Clark Kent.” Marinette smiled, “I have video proof of nearly every member of the Justice League’s secret identities; along with their sidekicks.”

           The statement was met with silence. Each villain contemplating the ramifications of what such information could mean; not just for them, but for the world.”

“I think that’s worth a little forgiveness,” Marinette slyly added. “What’s few million dollars in damages compared to bringing down the Justice League once and for all.”

           Klarion chuckled, “I suppose some things can be overlooked.”

“Why?” Black Manta asked. “That is what we should be asking. Why betray the heroes?”

“Justice,” Marinette shrugged. “Revenge. I blame them for the death of my father.”

“That’s a good a reason as any,” Cheshire said. Her mask still hid her face.

           Sportsmaster gave his daughter a side look, “You never tried to take down any heroes any of the times you thought I died,” He complained.

“Sorry,” Cheshire shrugged. “I was too busy eating ice cream and getting drunk off my ass; it’s how I usually celebrate.”

“Why come to us?” Ra's al Ghul asked still intrigued.

“Why wouldn’t she?” A new voice rang through the room. Marinette stumbled back in shock. She knew that voice. But that wasn’t possible. Right? “The Light is in her blood.”

           Door opened and in walked bane of nearly every hero in the world, the Founder of the light, Vandal Savage. “You’ve done well, daughter.”

           Her father looked exactly the same as she remember. He was tall, with broad shoulder and square jaw; three pale scars across his face. His hair was longer though, much longer, and was pulled back

           Marinette rushed over to him and threw herself into his arms. He hugged her tightly.

“I thought you were dead,” Marinette whispered. Tears stung her eyes. “Everyone said you were dead.”

           Vandal smiled gently at her, “And you decided to bring down the world’s heroes in my name. I’m truly touched,” He said. “I wasn’t dead but I was close. I got better.”

           The bluenette backed away from her father; realization slowly hit her.

“It’s been months,” Marinette ran a hand through her hair. “You have any idea what I’ve gone through, what I did! You suck! Ugh, I’m telling Mom!”

Sabine Cheng would show Vandal Savage a thing or two once she found out. She was the one who had to dry her daughter’s tears day after day once the news of Savage’s death broke. The Asian woman was possibly only one infamous Vandal Savage was afraid of.

           The others villains watched, entranced by the argument between father and daughter.

“You gallivanted around as hero,” Vandal reminded. “To get close the Justice League; leaving me to wonder if in my absence I had lost my daughter to the so-called forces of good. It turned out all my worrying was for naught.”

“You could’ve called!” Marinette complained. “Wrote. Something to tell me you were alive. Anything.”

“At the time it was best decision.”

           Marinette glared, “You seriously for even one second I’d team up with the Justice League? Really? Me?” She glared. “I’m NEVER talking to you again!”

“I’ll make it up to you, sweetheart,” Vandal assured the bluenette. “We can kill Superman together.”

“Actually,” Lex interrupted. “I have dips.”

           Vandal shot him a quick glare.

The teen girl crossed her arms, “Give me one reason I shouldn’t destroy everything I have on the Justice League?” She asked. “And before any of you threatened to kill me. I only brought the Superman video as insurance. I die; you will never get your hands of the rest of them. So again,” She hissed at her father. “Give me one reason I should hand over my Intel to the Light?”

“…Father’s day’s coming up?” Vandal offered.

“Dammit!”

           Marinette stumped over to an empty seat, next to Cheshire, and glared petulantly at the inhabitants of the room. She didn’t care that it made her look like a little kid.

           An awkward silence filled the room.

           Luther took the opportunity to finally start the meeting as it was the reason they were all there. It was long. It dragged on. Even with Marinette’s intelligence on the Justice League. Everything felt like a stuffy board meeting. Nowhere near as exciting as Marinette once imagined it would be.

           The meeting took a short break. Food was brought out. A small buffet. Marinette made herself a plate; she grabbed a fancy steak sandwich, some fruit and chips, and a rather large chocolate cupcake because she freaking deserved it. She thought she was done until her plate was grabbed by her father. He didn’t hesitate to put baked Brussel sprouts provided on her plate.

“Oh come on! No one likes Brussel sprouts,” Marinette complained. “Not even you’re that evil.”

“They’re good for you,” Vandal told his daughter. “And you will eat them.”

“You’re seeing this too, right?” Deathstroke, otherwise known as Slade, asked Bane. “It’s not just me.”

As they ate, the villains shared stories about what they’d been up to. Most just complained about the problems they were having with the Justice League; who fought who, who should they consider for Light membership, and anyone getting on their nerves.

“Some assholes decided to send the wannabe Villain current status moron after me,” Marinette cast a dark look around the room; making it clear she knew they sent the assassin. She didn’t get as much as a single sheepish look. “He kept trying to light me of fire. And then he was accidently pushed off the top of a building, twice.”

Ra's al Ghul nodded at the young girl, “I would like to mention that I have an heir not much younger than you. You would get along quite well, I believe.”

           Marinette narrowed her eyes at Leader of the League of shadows, “Are you seriously trying to get me to date your grandson right now?”

           Al Ghul didn’t answer her.

Marinette took the opportunity to excuse herself from having to come back, “I’m going to explore the island.” And then see if she could escape before her dad caught her.

“I always blew up your boat,” Vandal raised an eyebrow. “I’ll be taking you home myself.”

“You suck!”

“Love you too, sweetpea.”

           Marinette marched out of the room. She’d swim if she had too.

           It turned out she didn’t have to swim. Just hotwire Deathstroke’s ride.

           She got a video call fifteen minutes after taking off.

“Go for Marinette?” She answered cheerfully.

           Vandal Savage’s face appear on the screen, “You stole Slade’s helicopter.”

“Juuussst like you taught me.” Marinette smirked.

[chernobog13]

Another DC hero adapted to cartoon form by Filmation as a “guest star” for The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, Hawkman was the one character who underwent the most changes from his comic book stories.

The Silver Age Hawkman was Katar Hal, a police officer from the planet Thanagar who came to Earth with his wife, Shayera (Hawkgirl, later Hawkwoman), to study police methods.  Katar and Shayera adopted the secret identities of Carter and Shiera Hall, archaeologists and curators of the Midway City Museum.

In the cartoons he is just “Carter Hall, scientific genius from a far-off world” who works in a sprawling lab complex outside Midway City.  Carter shares the lab with Professor Barnes, who is also aware that his co-worker is Hawkman.

There is no mention of Shayera, but in 1967 it was pretty rare for a superhero to be married.  Or maybe the artists at Filmation did not want to draw and animate female characters.  Besides Lois Lane in the Superman cartoons, Lana Lang in Superboy, Wonder Girl in the three Teen Titans cartoons, the occasional appearance of Mera in Aquaman, and a single female villain who faced Green Lantern, I can think of no other female characters appearing at all!

So instead of Hawkgirl, we get a sidekick in the form of Skreal the Hawk to accompany Hawkman on his adventures (and before anyone takes me to task: yes, Hawkgirl/woman is Hawkman’s partner, NOT his sidekick).

Skreal is not your typical hawk: he understands English and obeys Hawkman’s commands (the cartoons never establish that Hawkman can “talk” to birds like Aquaman can “talk” to fish; Skreal is the only bird we ever see), he can smile, and he sounds like a seagull, not a hawk.

Skreal’s handy against enemy aircraft.

I think that gun barrel was stuck on with double-face tape.

Oh, and Skreal is lazy.  Very lazy.

You may notice that half-glove on Hawkman’s right hand.  Unlike the medieval weapons he used in the comics (mace, crossbow, spear, etc.), this al-purpose weapon was created specifically for the cartoons.

Like Space Ghost’s power bands, this claw fired a number of different rays, like the Repello Ray in use above, which was the ray Hawkman used most often.

Additionally, the claws were razor-sharp and able to slice through anything.

I have no idea if this claws influenced the creation of a certain clawed Canadian mutant a few years later.

The half-glove was never given a name itself; Hawkman usually just announced (like Space Ghost) what beam or ray he was going to utilize.  I always thought this was a cool weapon for Hawkman to have, and was surprised that DC never gave a similar weapon to Hawkman in the comics.

It’s only my personal theory, but I believe this half-glove was the influence behind the creation of The Claw of Horus.

The Claw of Horus first appeared in JSA #22 (2003) and saw limited use for the next few years before disappearing from the comics after the Blackest Night crossover event.  It was a weapon created from Nth metal by the sorcerer Nabu and given to Hawkman to use. 

Another weapon that Hawkman had in the cartoons but lacked in the comics is indestructible wings.  He uses the wings several times to protect himself from enemy weapons fire.  Which begs the question: why didn’t he construct a full suit out of the same material as the wings to protect himself?

The cartoons granted Hawkman a power that he did not have in the comics: radar vision.  This was a type of x-ray vision that allowed Hawkman to see through solid objects.

Here Hawkman uses his radar vision in one of the Justice League of America cartoons to locate Superman who is hidden in a room constructed of kryptonite.

One element from the comics that the cartoons kept was Hawkman’s orbiting spaceship.  However, the folks at Filmation greatly improved the sip’s design.

Here’s how it appears in the comics:

Yeah, that’s not a very inspired design.  In fact it looks like Hawkman borrowed this puppy from Green Arrow and just slapped on a new paint job.

Now feast your eyes on the spaceship from the cartoons:

Sleek, elegant, and resembling a bird in flight, this is a much superior design.

I remember as a kid wishing someone would release a model kit or toy of this spaceship.  I still do to this day.

Of course, inside it was little less elegant:

Hawkman is steering the ship with controls that very strongly resemble the differentials that are used to steer tanks and other tracked vehicles.  I should know, because I drove tracked vehicles for 2 1/2 years while working for my Uncle.  Those controls just don’t lend themselves to spaceships.  But hey, that’s how things work in cartoons.

Hawkman was featured in three 7-minute solo cartoons, as well as appearing in the three Justice League of America cartoons.  Filmation had plans for more series featuring additional DC characters (including a Wonder Woman cartoon), as well as continuing the omnibus format of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure.  However, all those plans went out the window when CBS (the network that was airing the show) acquired the animation rights to Batman in 1968.  Batman was still wildly popular because of the live-action show, so CBS had Filmation drop all their plans and focus on producing Batman cartoons, and we got The Batman/Superman Hour. 

Hawkman wouldn’t be seen on the screen again for 10 years, finally appearing in Super Friends in 1977. 

ADDENDUM: thanks to @roguetelemetry​ for pointing out that the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century television show totally ripped-off Hawkman’s spaceship design for the character Hawk.  

That’s pretty blatant to my eyes.

I never realized this because I never watched the Buck Rogers show.  I tried an episode but it was so bad I was gone by the first commercial break.  Pretty much my reaction to any show produced by Glen A. Larson.  I guess the daily re-runs of Star Trek: The Original Series spoiled me.

The semi-good news is that the is a model kit available of Hawk’s ship available at monster in motion.  The bad news is the kit costs $110.00.  Had I the cash and the skill, I would be inclined to get the kit so that I could modify it into Hawkman’s ship.

But perhaps that’s a project for one of you more enterprising souls out there.

[cherubcow]

“Invincible”, Season 1 (2021) Review

Somehow both very cool and very fucking stupid :D

About Created and written primarily by Robert Kirkman (principle writer for The Walking Dead comic and TV show), this Young Adult cartoon basically synthesizes a number of comic book characters (e.g., Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Hellboy, Wonder Woman, Gambit) and tries to balance their heroism with cynical twists and dark realities. It's an exercise like Brightburn (2019) in that it mirrors existing comic writing all too closely in order to make violent twists. The cool stuff arrives pretty much immediately. You can tell right away that the physics have some level of realism, and it quickly gets serious because of this. The easy comparison would be to The Boys (also by Amazon, also about violent heroes, and also very well-produced). So, if you like The Boys (2019–), you'll probably like Invincible only a little less.

(( Some spoilers but nothing too specific ))

Wrong Focus But, the stupid stuff comes from the same error that the Kick-Ass movie (2010) made: it focuses on the wrong person(s). In Kick-Ass, the error was focusing on.. well.. "Kick-Ass", an irredeemable loser and waste of screen time. Invincible makes the same mistake, focusing on.. well.. "Invincible", a (so far) irredeemable loser and waste of screen time. So, despite its virtues, this show cannot escape that it made the decision to go for the Young Adult viewing demographic. It reminds me of Alita: Battle Angel (2019) in that way too: some very cool adult concepts ruined by the dramatic devices of unrepentant teenage stupidity and irrelevance. I didn't even like that stuff when I was a teenager, though Jordan Catalano gets a pass.

Main Cast and Characters The supporting characters were also very stupid. The most annoying was definitely Amber Bennett (voiced by the otherwise cool Zazie Beetz from Deadpool 2 (2018) and Joker (2019)), 

who is supposed to be attractive somehow to Mark Grayson ("Invincible", voiced by Steven Yeun, who played Glenn on The Walking Dead) 

despite the fact that she constantly judges him, fails to understand him, often fails to give him any kind of benefit of the doubt, and continues to scowl at him and be hurtful towards him even when she has information that should change her outlook towards him. And because she is part of the love triangle shared between herself, Invincible/Mark, and "Atom Eve"/Samantha (voiced by the awesome Gillian Jacobs from Community (2009–2014)), 

audiences simply have to bear with it that Amber's annoying character will be present and wasting time until Mark can realize that Amber is in fact toxic and that Eve actually understands him and can improve him in more positive directions. That love triangle should have been a 20-minute distraction, but I'm guessing that it will eat up a season or two more, especially if the writers become cowardly and fail to change things for fear of messing up a perceived "winning" formula. In my ideal story line, they would skip ahead 10 years, drop the teen drama, the love triangle, and the stupid jokes and have Invincible and Eve paired in defense of Earth, with the main tension being from their worry that the other would be horribly gored in front of them during lethal fights against cosmic enemies ;)

Aside, I am aware of Amber’s motivation for being a bad person, I just think her justification is not based in understanding, empathy, and a regard for the gravity of Invincible’s situation. In a strict political sense, Invincible should not commit a lie of omission by keeping her in the dark about his identity — even if for the “noble lie” reason of protecting her — but in a real sense, he is a fucking teenager who just developed his super powers. For her to pretend that he should reveal his entire identity to her — a potentially transformative and even dangerous decision — after a few months of teenage romance paints an absurd portrait of her mind. It does, however, align her with Omni-Man, because where Omni-Man forces Invincible to become an adult in the fighting sense (pushing with full force early on), Amber forces Invincible to become an emotional adult by getting him to understand that toxic people such as herself need to be given boundaries — and he needs to learn to clearly delineate and communicate his real desires. By knowing that he does not want Amber, people who regiment his free time, or people who do not suit him, for instance, he can realize why Eve was an obvious decision: Eve understands, can make time when they have time, and will let him find his decisions. Part of a coming-of-age story tends to be realizing what one actually wants, and Invincible’s hesitation in telling Amber his identity shows that he does not truly want her. This separates Invincible from, say, Spider-Man, who avoided telling Mary Jane his identity not because he did not want her but because he wanted at all costs to protect her.

The next most annoying character has to be Debbie Grayson (voiced by TV-cancer Sandra Oh and who luckily was not animated to look like the real Sandra Oh and who should have been voiced instead by Bobby Lee due to Lee's successful MadTV parody of Sandra Oh). 

Debbie basically fills the role of Skyler in Breaking Bad, except that Debbie's character tends to be slightly more understanding before her inevitable and toxic Skyler-resentment and undermining behavior. Despite having an 8-episode arc of change, Debbie's character flips too quickly and lacks the empathy and Omni-Man motive-justifying that would make her interesting (the comic's development may vary). For instance, if she refused to believe that Omni-Man meant his own words, that would make her empathetic and perhaps virtuous even if misled, but instead she dropped their "20 years" of understanding after viewing Omni-Man in action, which makes her appear shallow, easily manipulated, and unsympathetic. That was a definite "Young Adult" genre move because it shows immaturity by the writers to break apart a bond of 20 years so quickly. Mediocre teens might accept such a fissure because their lives have not yet seen or may not comprehend that level of time, but adults know that even long-standing and problematic relationships (which, beyond the lie, Omni-Man's and Debbie's was not shown to be) take a lot of time to break — even with lies exposed.

Omni-Man The biggest show strength for me was of course Omni-Man, who in a success of casting was voiced by J.K. Simmons in a kind of reprisal of Simmons' role as Fletcher from Whiplash (2014). 

The Fletcher/Omni-Man parallel shows through their being incredibly harsh but extremely disciplined and principled, forcing people to become beyond even their own ideal selves (this via Omni-Man's tough-love teaching of Invincible — comically, Omni-Man was actually psychologically easier on Invincible than Fletcher was on Whiplash's Andrew character). Despite the show's attempts to villainize Omni-Man, he, like Fletcher and also like Breaking Bad's Walter White, becomes progressively more awesome, eventually representing a Spartan will, an unconquerable drive, and a realistic and martial understanding of a hero's role.

To the show's credit, while it wrote Omni-Man to be outright genocidal and from a culture of eugenicists (again, Spartan), they could not help but admire him and his "violence" and "naked force" (for a Starship Troopers reference), giving him a path to redemption. That redemption comes in part because — despite the show's attempt to be often realistic and violent — its decision to be directed at young adults via dumb jokes, petty relationship drama, the characters’ reckless lack of anonymity and security in their neighborhood (loudly taking off and landing right at the doorstep), and light indy music also made the portrayed violence far less literal. With a less literal violence, the real statement becomes not that Omni-Man really did kill so many people (though he certainly did kill those people within the show's plot) but that he was symbolically capable of terrible violence but could be reformed for good. That's the shortcoming with putting violence under demographic limitations. If it's a PG-13 Godzilla knocking down cities, the deaths in the many fallen skyscrapers don't matter so much (the audience will even forgive Godzilla for mass death if it happens mostly in removed spectacle), whereas if it's Cormac McCarthy envisioning a very realistic fiction, every death rides the edge of true trauma.

By showing light between the real and the symbolic, it is much easier to identify and agree with Omni-Man. For instance, when Robot (voiced by Zachary Quinto of Heroes and the newer Star Trek movies) 

shows too much empathy for the revealed weakness of "Monster Girl" (voiced by Grey Griffin), the audience may have thought, "Pathetic," even before Omni-Man himself said it. And this because Omni-Man knows that true and powerful enemies (including himself) will not hesitate to use ultra-violence against these avenues of weakness. "Invincible" can make his Spider-Man quips while in lethal battles, but he does so while riding the edge of death — something that Omni-Man has to teach Invincible by riding him to the brink of his own.

Other Cast/Characters and Amazon's Hidden Budget It was impressive how many big-name actors were thrown into this — a true hemorrhage of producer funding. Amazon has so far hidden the budget numbers, perhaps because they don't want people to know that the show (like many of its shows) represents a kind of loss-leader to jump-start its entertainment brand.

Aside from those already mentioned, the show borrows a number of actors from The Walking Dead (WD), including.. • Chad L. Coleman ("Martian Man"; "Tyreese" on WD),

• Khary Payton ("Black Samson"; "Ezekiel" on WD),

• Ross Marquand (several characters; "Aaron" on WD)

• Lauren Cohan ("War Woman"; "Maggie" on WD)

• Michael Cudlitz ("Red Rush"; "Abraham" on WD)

• Lennie James ("Darkwing"; "Morgan" on WD)

• Sonequa Martin-Green ("Green Ghost"; "Sasha" on WD) 

There were also connections to Rick and Morty and Community, not just with Gillian Jacobs but also with... • Justin Roiland ("Doug Cheston"), who voices both Rick and Morty in Rick and Morty,

• Jason Mantzoukas ("Rex"),

• Walton Goggins ("Cecil"),

• Chris Diamantopoulos (several characters),

• Clancy Brown ("Damien Darkblood"),

• Kevin Michael Richardson ("Mauler Twins"), and

• Ryan Ridley (writing)

That's a lot of overlap. They even had Michael Dorn from Star Trek: TNG (1987–1994) (there he played Worf) and Reginald VelJohnson from Family Matters (1989–1998) and Die Hard (1988), and even Mark Hamill. Pretty much everyone in the voice cast was significant and known. Maybe Amazon got a discount for COVID since the actors could all do voice-work from home? ;)

Overall Bad that it was for the Young Adult target demo but good for the infrequent adult themes and ultra-violence. Very high production value and a good watch for those who like dark superhero stories. I have heard that the comic gets progressively darker, which fits for Robert Kirkman, so it will likely be worth keeping up with this show.

[mageofcole]

(ONE SHOT) I’ll try to explain the infinite  DC COMICS

A03

In another world, The Flash dies a hero, saving the world. He sacrifices himself so that others may live, and he’s remembered as a figure larger than life; everyone mourns The Flash as a saint, a paragon of justice and kindness, but no one remembers Barry. No one remembers the mild and gentle forensic scientist who was at the core of who the Scarlet Speedster was. No one but the man he raised, and the man who had loved him.

In another world, The Flash dies at the hands of Professor Zoom. He dies, and his wife is dragged through time, never to see her friends and family again. He dies as he’s dragged into the Speedforce, and he becomes just another speedster trapped outside of time and space as the world goes on without him. In this world, no one knows that the Flash that follows him is a different hero entirely, they don’t know that the child their hero had raised and trained would have to grow up too fast after the loss of another set of parents. In this world, people mourn Barry Allen, the good, kind man with a heart of gold who died in a tragic accident alongside his wife.

In both these worlds, Hal hadn’t known he’d loved his best friend, or maybe he had known but had never worked up the courage to admit it until he was looking down at that plain tombstone and he realized he’d never have the chance. In both these worlds, Hal keeps losing, and losing, and  losing  until he has nothing left, and yet people still ask for  more  . In the end, he stands with nothing but hate and fear in his heart and a burning desire to make it  right again. In both these worlds, Hal buries his best friend and loses half of himself at the same time. In both these worlds, Hal loses until he breaks, and he breaks others in return. He doesn’t die a saint, he doesn’t die a hero; instead Hal becomes the villain, and dies knowing he had destroyed any and all of his morals.

But  this isn’t those worlds.

Here, when Professor Zoom appears, he targets Iris first. Here, he doesn’t drag her into the Speedforce, or into the future. Instead, he leaves the body of the fiery, gentle reporter where Barry can find it, bloodied and fully recognizable as the lovely woman Iris West Allen used to be. Here, Hal comes to the small house in Central, following the distress beacon his best friend had activated, to find Barry cradling his wife’s body, looking blank and numb, blood splattered across the room like some sort of morbid piece of art, and another body only identifiable by the yellow costume left slumped in the corner. He stands beside Barry as the truth comes out, stands beside Barry in the face of Superman’s disappointment and the loss of Batman’s friendship.

In this world, Barry kills Zoom first. In this world, Barry puts the costume away and steps down from the Justice League to make way for a younger generation. In this world, Wally becomes the Flash, but he still has a mentor to turn to when he needs help. Here, Hal refuses to be pushed away and stays beside Barry, and the reveal of his feelings comes naturally as they come together in more than one way. Here, it’s Barry who confesses first, who puts what they are into words and asks for more.

In this world, there’s someone to put him back together when Hal breaks. He has something to keep himself partially grounded when Coast City is reduced to rubble, something to help him lessen the weight on his shoulder and push away the demands placed unfairly on him. Here, he has a reason not to give in fully to the whispers in his ears, the desire for revenge, and the fear in his heart.

He still has a family to return to, so when the young Torchbearer comes to him, to ask him to let go of his fear, Hal takes his hand. He lets Kyle talk him down from the extremes, returns the rings he stole, and lets go of the illusion he’s built, because Kyle reminds him of what he still has, what he can still hold onto.

This time, when Hal dies, he has someone to mourn him, and when he returns, he has someone to welcome him. It’s not perfect, Hal still has a voice in his head, urging him to go further and further, to do more and more damage, but he also has arms to hold him back, and a warm, loving voice to talk him down.

He still has hopeful, wonderful Barry, who, in another world, would have just been a cold statue and a modest grave. He still has his children, who, in that other time, would have never existed. He has things to fight for, people to return to. Reasons to hide his bloodied hands so that he can protect them.

When he lands in the private backyard of the house he lives in with Barry and their family, he always lets the form of The Spectre melt away. He lets go of justice and retribution, lets go of wrath and redemption, to let himself be Hal again. He embraces life again, as gray melts away to tan, and green dissolves to the ever-familiar warmth of his father’s old jacket, and Hal choses  this  to anything Parallax or The Spectre can offer him.

“Papa!” A young voice shouts in excitement, and it’s only years of working with Barry that gives Hal enough time to brace himself for the super-speed missile that collides with his stomach. Nora Jordan-Allen beams up at him, all chubby cheeks and childish innocence. She’s always happy to see him, doesn’t understand what Hal had become, and loves him regardless of everything.

Hal laughs, scooping his daughter into his arms, kissing wind-swept brown hair as the four year old wraps her thin arms around his neck and kisses his cheek, “Hey there, roadrunner.” He rumbles, feeling that jumbled, hateful part of himself smooth out into something less painful. “Shouldn’t you be in bed, little lady?”

Nora pouts, and Hal can never keep up the mask of parental disappointment in the face of the big blue eyes she’s inherited from Barry, “Was waitin’ for you.” She whines, pressing her face into his neck.

Huffing fondly, Hal hefts the kid up just a little higher, resting her on his hip as he makes his way up the porch and into the house. It’s quiet, like it usually is this late in the day, when Jason and Jenny have been put down to sleep, and the sun is only a stretch of orange light streaming in through the windows as it sets and the moon takes its place in the sky. It’s peaceful, and it muffles the unending pounding of fear in his chest because Hal knows he’s safe here, in the little pocket of the world he and Barry had created for themselves. There’s memories in every corner, love in the walls, and the shadows don’t hold nightmares here.

They bought this place together, back when they’d learned that their family would be growing. Hal’s apartment in Coast City had been home for a long time, and Barry had made it warmer when he’d moved in, but it had been too small for the addition of a baby. Blue Valley had been a change from the coastal cities and beaches Hal was used to, a small, quiet midwestern town that suits them both just fine. It’s not like the big cities they’re both used to, and that helps.

It’s a new start, and Hal will always be grateful that Barry and Nora had been here instead of Coast City when it had been reduced to rubble. They’d been safe, in the little life they had been building, away from the dangers of their lives. He’s glad his enemies hadn’t known about them.

Nora whines a little when Hal puts her to bed, pouts, but he passes her her Green Lantern bear and kisses her on the forehead as he tucks her in. He knows the grumpiness is an act by the heaviness of her eyes, by how quickly she falls asleep, and for a long moment, Hal just stands there and stares. He watches her breathe, snuggled up under her covers as she clings to the bear Kyle had bought her as a gag but she had loved anyways. She’s alive, and healthy, and so many things all at once that it makes Hal feel weak in the knees.

A weakness, a part of him whispers,  something for others to exploit until you’re ruined again. Hal would burn the world to protect his family, would destroy everything to keep them safe and happy. If anyone tried to use them against him, they wouldn’t live long enough to touch a hair on their heads because Hal would make them  burn.

Gently, almost afraid that he’s taint her, Hal reaches forward to gently brush her hair away from her face, tucking the brown strands behind her ear to hopefully save it from getting chewed or drooled on, and he just sort of stands there, fingers barely brushing the shell of her ear. If they’d been in Coast City - Hal doesn’t know if even Barry would have been able to get them out on time, and it would have been  his fault, because Mongul had chosen Coast City to send a message, knowing the Green Lantern that lived there, one of the Justice League’s heaviest hitters hadn’t been planetside.

The city has since been rebuilt, and survivors had returned, but Hal hadn’t been able to bring himself to go back.  This is his home now; the small home he and Barry had bought together with the fenced-in backyard that might be a little on the small side, but private enough for Nora, and now Jenny and Jason, to play in without anyone seeing them use their powers. They decorated it together, filled it with photos of their families and enough love that Hal’s dreams are peaceful.

A peaceful enough life, a happy family, a nice house - things Hal never would have imagined for himself, but something he has regardless. He’s a bartender now, nothing like the pilot he had once dreamed of being, and there’s no adrenaline to chase, but he’s happy. He still flies, as Spectre, and he keeps his license, because someday he wants to take his kids up into the air and give them that piece of himself and his life. The sky is still a part of him, it’s in his blood, but maybe he can understand now, why his father had tried to tell him that there was more to life than just the thrill.

“How did it go?” The gentle voice in the doorway pulls Hal from his thoughts, pulls his eyes from Nora’s sleeping face, to see Barry in the doorway. His blue eyes are soft, arms crossed over his chest, and he’s leaning against the doorframe, a gentle smile on his face.

“Well.” Hal murmurs, stepping back from Nora with one last loving look. Barry opens his arms for him as Hal approaches, letting the other man slump into his arms and bury his head in his shoulder. “I missed you.” He says. It’s hard, keeping track of time in the world between life and death, and sometimes Hal finds himself away for far longer than he thought he had been, or not as long as he had believed. It’s hard to tell which until he’s back and can look at the date.

“Missed you too, glitter-glow.” Barry’s smooth midwestern drawl washes over him, taking with it the lingering tension still in his shoulders, and Hal wraps his arms around the speedster’s waist.

This is home, Hal knows.

(In most worlds, The Flash dies a hero and Green Lantern loses everything. But in this world, Barry Allen lives, and this saves Hal Jordan.)