#does luthor have anti-ghost protections?

[mutable-manifestation]

aiobuvu;nj I have stared at this for several nonconsecutive hours since I was @'ed Minji

I love this idea so much. Just lemme- yeah here we go:

~~~

In the midst of it all, a light of hope amidst the chaos, there is: Tucker.

Tucker Foley knows what he's about. Tech. He's about tech. His first priority after entering an entirely new version of earth with who knows how many differences to temporal placement, sapient populations, flora, and fauna?

He wants to know if his PDAs still work.

He checks Sandra first, of course.

Miraculously, she works fine.

Next up is the modded ones - he skips straight his one true love: Helena.

Helena had been with them from the beginning - the first PDA, the one true PDA, with every mod and upgrade tested over time. They'd cracked open many a GIW facility together in the past - among other things.

And. It seems Desiree was feeling generous? Helena connects to the internet just fine, and her scans all come back clean. He'd set his other loves up to scan while he was waiting, but of course Helena finished the fastest, unparalleled as she was in her might as in her beauty.

So next up was research time.

And Tucker is about tech, but the first article about heroes has him distracted.

So of course he has to know more.

The first search, ghosts, doesn't really net anything.

The second for a more general "powers" leads him to an article about "metas." He only skims a few sentences before moving on.

Finally, he searches "magic."

A hero named "Captain Marvel" pops up. Guy claims to be magic instead of a meta. It's not a LOT, but it's a possibility. Tucker's gonna have to hunt the guy down. Because if magic is a real, genuine thing in this new world?

Tucker wants magitech. Badly. The things Helena could do with a magical power boost...

Well, he doesn't really know, but he wants to.

But first, time to be a good friend and help Danny (and all of Amity, really) Triple G their way into this new world.

~~~

Kon is so, so grateful he can hold his breath for a long time.

It took thirty minutes for them to arrive to the newly-existing town in middle-of-nowhere-Illinois thanks to the logistics of "the entire internet and US government just got several thousand new people as if they were always there except they clearly weren't and it's causing Issues (TM).

(Mainly, the issue is paranoia - is this another invasion, is this a trst version for a mass-brainwashing, etc etc).

Kon spent the next twenty minutes watching Clark trying and failing to get a word in edgewise.

The maybe-hero's no one's ever seen before hovering above the definitely-town that wasn't there before very politely roast Clark's costume before, essentially, dismissing him out of hand.

Then they'd gone back to squabbling. There'd been a few stray lasers from the maybe-hero's aimed at each other accompanied by pouting or protest, but they were few and far between and all very carefully aimed away from the onlooking crowds below - almost the whole town from the look of things.

And then.

And then.

Some kid in a beret waves the three down - all of whom obediently descend.

Well, the probable-siblings descend obediently. Red grumbles a bit before following - utterly ignoring Clarks "If we cou-."

Clark stared after them, dismayed, as Kon diligently kept from vibrating in place behind him.

And then, of course, Kon hears what beret-guy is saying.

There's magic in this universe, he tells them.

And, well, at least that one thing confirmed.

The four - and a nearby goth girl - grin as one, saying as one: "Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss?"

"Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss," Beret grins back.

Kon is so glad he doesn't have to breath that often.

Clark begins to descend.

"I'll get Lance on it- if- " Goth hesitates.

Beret nods. "Yep, everything's greenlit. Thankfully. I'll update the city-only page with deets - make sure he checks it before he goes live."

She nods before away, taking out a phone as she goes.

~~~

The maybe-hero trio squabble a bit more, with the boy groaning and rolling his eyes when he sees Clark's approach before grabbing the other two and dragging both into the ground.

Beret and the onlookers seem unconcerned.

Clark doesn't let it phase him, calmly allowing the three to slip away in favor of talking to the unmoved Beret, who had yet to look up from his...

Phone?

Maybe???

"Young man-"

"Sean." Beret boy cuts him off with a polite nod.

"Ah, Sean then, I have few questions for you-"

"Who???"

"You-"

"Uh, my name is Tucker," Tucker shoots back, raising a brow. And yet. His eyes still do not leave his...device? At first he'd thougt... but the more Kon looks the less it seems like a phone.

No. It isn't a phone.

Maybe it never was.

"But- you said it was Sean?" Clark asks, voice politely confused, if a bit distressed.

"I thought you were Sean. Isn't that was the 'S' stands for?"

"...No, it-"

"Spencer, then," Tucker says, finally putting away The Device. "Listen. I'm sure you're wondering "who are all these people" and "how did you get here" and "there wasn't a town here like five minutes ago how could this have happened." I gonna level with you - so is the federal government, probably. And now that the Notice-Me-Not curse afflicting our home for generations has finally been lifted-" Clark opens his mouth, but Tucker barrels on "-we kind of need to deal with that. So if you have questions maybe just watch the news. Or least go away for a minimum of five business days."

"Son-"

"We're literally not related, our town was literally isolated from the outside world by a curse for ages."

"We know you're from a different universe."

"What, Amity? Why would you think that?" The boy feigns confusion.

Kon notices a variety of people in the crowd recording them on an eclectic mixture of flip phones, Just Cameras, and oddly old-looking touch-screen phones.

"I heard you talking to your friends-"

"From that far away?" Tucker's eyes flicker doubtfully to the sky.

"I have super-hearing-"

"Then you heard wrong. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"I heard you perfectly well-"

"Uh-uh, and just how does this "super-hearing" work, exactly," he asks, and he puts the power in air quotes. And Kon is holding his breath without too much effort but he can't quite subdue the tears bubbling up as a result of suppressing his laughter at this. "If you even-"

"It's global-" Kon spits out, his desperation to know what Tucker will say next allowing him to subdue the chuckles just long enough.

"What, just everything? All of the time?"

Kon nods. Clark works his mouth wordlessly, unsure how to proceed with the odd change of topic but upbringing forbidding him from being rude just because the other person is being difficult.

"Dude, do you have any idea how many people talk about alternate universe stuff all the time? It's, like, nerd 101. And you, what, picked out one conversation? Out of billions? And don't think you might've confused any of the numerous same or similar voices throughout the world with mine?"

Tucker shakes his head pityingly.

"You heard wrong, my guy. It happens to the best of us. And speaking of the best of us," he says, pulling out another buzzing not-a-phone-and-maybe-never-was, "It seems like Monica needs some quality time with the TF."

He caresses the side of the machine and turns to leave.

Clark stares after him as the crowd moves to disperse. Among them, a girl glances at him and tells her friends, "Dios mio, all the fashion in this place had better not look like that."

A tear rolls down Kon's cheek.

'Don't. Laugh.'

You know... >.>

My Dad always used to tell me, if I get a Genuine Genie(tm)? Get a lawyer first. Before I make my Wishes(tm), so they can help me word them correctly.

Obviously, a human lawyer would not be foolproof... BUT! What about a Ghost Lawyer?

Like? Obviously Desiree would be PISSED. How DARE you twist HER wish twisting! Her THING is "what you believe is your heart's desire always comes at a terrible cost" which is what she DIED to learn.

So obviously she would NEVER, willingly, bend her Obsession for ANYONE. And you'd have to make a DAMN good case to that Lawyer for why he ISNT breaking the law by helping you. Probably some "you can: save the life of an unconscious person against their will/shove an unobservant person OFF the train tracks, even if they get hurt, to save their life" clause.

Like? Using a ghosts Obsession against them? Bad. Illegal.

Using it against their will, to save OTHER ghosts, who are in immediate danger? Not illegal, but they will be PISSED. Still not great though, you will want to apologize and fast.

So like??? Reality Bending Power. Patrick Star Method of "what if we MOVED the city... somewhere else?" Considered at 1am. Team of Ghost Laywers, acquired.

Amity and all Limnals are REMOVED from the DP-verse.

Wish worded juuuuust so. Any ghost that forms there? Yoink! Instantly removed to the Zone. Natural Portals? Cut off. Let the whole Reality fade out at an accelerated rate, as no NEW energy is fed into the system. Entropy will do, what entropy does. Exactly as they wished it.

They hated Death so much, they speed up the heat death of their ENTIRE universe by Eons. Congratulations, you guys "Won". Enjoy the wildly more fragile flora, fauna, and general ecosystems. Now that none of you have that ambient Ectoplasm strengthening your bodies. Yeah, the things you used to shrug off? Those are gonna maim or kill you now.

Doesn't MATTER if you "learn your lesson" though! Cause this is WAY past that point! This is "cutting off the tumor before it kills us" territory, and buddy? Amity ISNT the tumor. Go forth a grow, just like you wanted.

They won't be here to fix your messes anymore.

Because Danny got himself a dictionary thick "I Wish..." contract. Which was worded, as it needs to be, in one loooooooong run on sentence. Shouted "I Wish what's written on THIS, as it is currently, and without any form of editing or negotiation!" As fast as he could. Yote the document in Desiree's direction. And Flew like an INCANDESCENTLY pissed off Genie was trying to set his everything of fire.

Which she was.

Thankfully, Paulina came in clutch with her History of all things Jewelry, world fashions, and Make-Up knowledge. That, coupled with the Power Of Rich Friends(tm)? (Sam. Her mother was THRILLED to take her Jewelry and clothing shopping for something other then blacks and dark purple. They went on a jet setting whurl-wind tour. Sam actually kinda liked a some of what she found.)

They have Apology Bribes.

They shamelessly HIDE behind the mountain of Apology Bribes, while they explain themselves. Is Desiree HAPPY? No. But those bracelets are magnificent and she DOES deserve nice things. Those silks will really bring out her eyes. And she... DOES... admit...

Maybe...

That things are not... SAFE. Any longer. Danny TRIES. Everyone else can see it. And he's made incredible strides! Even convinced his lunatic parents. Though they're still not quite POPULAR. (WAY too pushy and invasive with their questions, for most people.) But the fanatics in white?

They nearly killed Box Lunch. If her father hadn't BEEN there...

And the poor man will have that scar on his back for the rest of his afterlife. Desiree can see why Danny is pushing. Does she LIKE it? No. But...

She supposes she will content herself with the suffering of the Fanatics in White and all who support them. THEIR wishes, twisted. Their ugly heart's desires.

Fine.

"SO YOU WISH IT. SO IT SHALL BE!"

And? The ghost town of what WOULD of one day grown into Amity, had the witch's there not been found by those they had fled from, which sits in long rotted ruins, amongst the trees in nowhere Illinois? Poof! Two "Towns" are switched.

The roads out of town coming to a clean line stop, meeting not even goat paths. Just trees. Old growth.

But it's not ALL of Town, is it? Faces missing. New, confused, faces from every corner of the map, taking their place. No Limnal left behind. No supporter of the GIWs genocide, brought along. Family's kept together where they could be. But by the few, scared and upset, green flashing eyes of children in the crowd?

It seemed for some, it was easier to fear and hate, then love their children.

Already they were being gathered up by school teachers and PTA parents. As everyone tried to figure out what had happened. Concerned, quite muttering a dull roar as everyone tries to coordinate.

Red Huntress joins Danny and Dani in the Sky. She doesn't get a word in. Wanted to know what the HELL was going on. She was with her dad in Chicago! Dani was in Taiwan! Literally! As in, sitting in a SUBWAY station one second, the next? Outside!

But they don't get to demand those answers. Because there is a sonic boom on the horizon. And then? Floating... weird... not ghosts?

Uuuuuuhhhh?

Hi?

That much blue... sure is a Statement. Like the cape and... bloooomers? Shorts. Bikini bottoms? It.. it's a Cool Look, dude! No, really. They are being VERY supportive here! If YOU like it? That's the only thing that matters!

Red Huntress smacks the Danny/i's Repeated upside their heads and demans to know what the Not-Ghosts are doing in their airspace.

Oh YEAH. Good point! What she said! And can it WAIT? They're kinda going through A Thing right now...

Kon? Wants it on record he loves these guys. They're hilarious. The LOOK on Clark's FACE?? He wishes he could frame it. Preserve it for future generations. Thing is? There was NOT a town here a second ago.

Well, bout 30 minutes or so, but you get the idea. One moment? Tree noises. Bam! Thousands of people! Obviously the checked it out. Only to be met with two... three maybe? Heros who have NO IDEA who they are.

Clear Reality warping shenanigans. Might be time travel or multiverse. Question is... are they STAYING? And if SO? What now...

@hdgnj @ailithnight @the-witchhunter @nerdpoe @dcxdpdabbles @mutable-manifestation @hypewinter

[often-daydreaming]

Kind of a joke prompt.

I've read countless prompts and fics talking about how the Anti-Ecto Acts affect Danny, Dani, Dan, the heroes, etc, but what if it was just a random bunch of people coming up with a work around in order to finally get rid of a lot the supervillains that were protected by the law.

Like Ben (I don't know why I came up with Ben for this) and a couple of his friends start talking about how certain supervillains can get away with just about anything only to get a few months in prison when one of them brings up the Fentons who are one step away from being mad scientists. Anybody who ever went to school with them is bound to bring them up at least once but they get brought up and eventually everyone ends up joking about how many heroes have 'come back from the dead' since the everyday civilian would probably think they were on a vacation or doing some sort of undercover work whenever they aren't seen out in public for a while. Ben adds on to the idea by bringing up how many supervillains have come back from the dead and it kind of snowballs from there until it finally gets to the dumbest idea any of them have ever had.

How would you kill a ghost, zombie, whatever?

What would someone like the Joker even be considered since he's apparently died on a number of different occasions and is somehow so insane nobody can give him the death penalty. Wait... What was that about the Fentons... Their research... Huh??? Let me see that for a second... That could work... It could actually work. We just have to word it the right way, maybe make up a couple of things to make it sound scary but it could work.

It doesn't even have to be about the Joker. With the number of enemies Luthor has you can't tell me there isn't at least one rich person willing to jump on the chance of legally having a way to get rid of him for good. Cause he's faked his death before, been dying only to transfer his consciousness into a clone body and probably pulled off even more crazy things I don't know about and this insane idea might be just the thing they'd need to finally get rid of him since he'd no longer have any rights if the Anti-Ecto Acts pass.

But then they start hearing about a supposed ghost kid and what's this about a hunter in a mech suit and a biker with a sentient shadow. Obviously he's just a meta. The mech suit guy simply had way too much time on his hands and the biker has to be magic. Just look at the baby hero and his rogue gallery roughing each other up but the Fentons are screaming about ghosts again, they're even on the local news now so we have to double down on everything if we want this to work. Quick, grab a couple of guys and go act like Team Rocket until we've handled things over here. You're O, that's Q. He can be Z if he wants. I don't really care who does what just shove the alien squid whatever back into the portal before a Green Lantern shows up complaining about some sort of space law we've probably broke then go around telling everyone you destroyed it or something. They can't prove we didn't.

Remember, we're supposed to be the 'bad guys' people.

[gorogues]

Spoilers for comics in March!

These are some of the official solicitations for the month, which you can also see at Newsarama.

There's no cover given for YEAR OF THE VILLAIN: HELL ARISEN #4, but it looks like Len is still on Team Luthor...though maybe Len rightly figures that Lex is a lesser evil than the Batman Who Laughs.

YEAR OF THE VILLAIN: HELL ARISEN #4 written by JAMES TYNION IV art and cover by STEVE EPTING variant cover by RICCARDO FEDERICI This is it! Lex Luthor has gathered a strike force of villains he’s leveled up to be the baddest bad guys around—Captain Cold, Oracle, Solomon Grundy, Black Manta, and Lobo, each and every one a recipient of one of Lex’s dark gifts. But the Batman Who Laughs has his own army of infected heroes. Six hundred sixty-six of them, all transformed into their worst selves. It’s a final showdown between two of DC’s most iconic villains, all to curry the favor of Perpetua. Whoever wins will take over the Multiverse alongside her. Does Lex ascend, or does he get laid low? Does the Batman Who Laughs finally remake the DC Universe in his own image? Either way, life for our heroes will never be the same. ON SALE 03.18.20 $4.99 US | 4 OF 4 | 32 PAGES FC | DC | FINAL ISSUE This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details.

And then we’ve got Godspeed in the Flash book, which as you can see continues the renumbering we saw in Flash #750 in February.

THE FLASH #751 written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON art by RAFA SANDOVAL cover by HOWARD PORTER variant cover by JUNGGEUN YOON The Flash battles Godspeed as “Flash Age” continues! In this issue, Paradox enlists Godspeed in his mission to erase the Flash legacy from existence! But when Godspeed’s allegiance comes into question, Paradox proves he may be the strongest foe Barry Allen’s ever faced! ON SALE 03.11.20 $3.99 US | 32 PAGES FC | DC This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details.

THE FLASH #752 written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON art and cover by HOWARD PORTER variant cover by JUNGGEUN YOON Exiled outside time and space in Paradox’s realm, the Scarlet Speedster is confronted by ghosts from his past! Meanwhile, Iris discovers the one person who may help the Flash defeat Paradox—and it’s not anyone Barry Allen would ever ask for help! Will they be able to find where—or when—this unlikely ally is hiding before it’s too late? ON SALE 03.25.20 $3.99 US | 32 PAGES FC | DC This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details.

Len might still be in DCeased: Unkillables that month, but he’s not mentioned or shown on the cover.

DCEASED: UNKILLABLES #2 written by TOM TAYLOR art by KARL MOSTERT and TREVOR SCOTT cover by HOWARD PORTER card stock variant cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA horror movie homage card stock variant cover by BEN OLIVER With the world ending around them, Red Hood and Batgirl take shelter in the most unlikely place: an orphanage full of children! Will they be able to protect the kids from the impending hordes of the infected streaming out of Gotham City and Blüdhaven? And elsewhere, Deathstroke, Vandal Savage, and some of DC’s worst villains battle the apocalypse out as an “Anti-Suicide Squad.” But a certain wondrous woman may not let them have it their own way! ON SALE 03.18.20 $4.99 US | 2 OF 3 | 48 PAGES CARD STOCK COVERS $5.99 US FC | DC This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for details.

[aacomicscorner]

Clark Kent and Ben Grimm as the Jumping off Point of their Respective Universes

So I’ve been thinking a lot about where the morality of Superhero comics have gone in the past 80 years since Action Comics 1, and I think something that’s very interesting about that is how you can see both the DC and Marvel universes having a similar progression, with Marvel simply going through the early stages much faster, and DC somewhat following behind somewhat dragging its feet, somewhat jumping in out of nowhere. But both of them start off with a similar concept: A guy who will always do the right thing. 

 Now ultimately, Clark Kent didn’t really start out perfect, I know that. But the interpretation of him that we all know now is the version of Superman that does things the right way every time. He doesn’t like that he can’t punch Lex Luthor out, but that wouldn’t be the right thing to do. (You can’t ignore that part of his image comes from being made more like Captain Marvel to compete with him, especially since he was eventually written by Otto Binder.) He’s one of the few Heroes who survived the Comics Code, and those were actually some of the stories where the Big Blue Boyscout is more of a dick. However, for a very long time, the most popular hero in the world is a guy who likes helping people with a smile on his face, and while he has complicated feelings about his place in the world and what his powers mean from a surprisingly early point, there is no truly Morally gray or Black action that defines our boy when he’s in character. 

I feel like before I get into the Ben Grimm introduction there are a few things I should say for clarity. 1. I was named after Ben Grimm, so I have a lot of affection for him and that’ll color this little essay more than I want it to I’m sure. 2. Some people might feel that Captain America is a good fit for this idea, but I disagree. Captain America was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for Timely Comics, and he didn’t save his company or change the way that comics were being written in the way the Fantastic Four did. 3. Marvel Comics was different from DC from the moment the Fantastic Four were first published, and that starts off the development I’m getting at. 

The Fantastic Four are at their core an ensemble. They are three interesting, dynamic characters and Johnny Storm, who are a family before they’re a team. The Justice League had worked together for years, but they were still a bunch of Golden Age or Silver Age dudes (and one gal at any given time, maybe two here or there) who all acted like slightly different versions of either Superman or Batman. The Fantastic Four start off with four characters very distinct from each other, and one of them distinct from the rest of comics. 

While Sue Storm became a great character, unfortunately she got the poor treatment most women got in early comics as a woman who’s trait that made her most different was that she was simply not a man. That changes, and not long after she’s introduced there are some small moments where she feels like her own character, but its not for a long time that a writer makes her someone other than a mother figure or Reed’s girlfriend/wife. Reed is interesting early on, and he develops much quicker, but at the start he reads somewhat like the other genius superheros available at DC. 

Ben Grimm was something completely new. For the first time outside of a horror story, a superpower was a curse. The nicest guy in the entire world, the guy who would do the right thing and always help the people he cares about, gets turned into an ugly rock monster. What’s more, in comics to that point the thing (no pun intended) that didn’t look human, was super strong, and spoke like a bad mobster impression? Always the bad guy. Ben Grimm “Talks like dis,” but is a sweetheart who wants people to be safe. How unfair is it that a selfish kid like Johnny gets to have a power that lets him protect himself, shoot fire balls, and fly in a way similar to his company’s grandpa’s company early star? That’s the point. 

Superman can do anything, and he chooses to do the right thing. The world has cursed the Thing, people are afraid of him, and he chooses to do the right thing. Both stories and both characters have a lot of nuance added on by writers joining the narrative over the years but are ultimately that simple. When Superman has the chance to kill Darkseid? He won’t. When Ben has to choose between being human again or helping save the day? That handsome Yancy street mug will have to wait. And just like Superman before him, everyone loves Ben Grimm. 

Ben is a favorite of readers and writers at Marvel for years. He’s similar to Superman in the end result sure, but while Clark is your friendly smiling guy, Ben Grimm’s grumbling all the way. Yeah, he’ll save the world, but then something gets worse. What a revoltin’ development. Its new, its something that hadn’t been seen and people could relate to the guy who it felt like never got a break. So from there, the Fantastic Four are THE BOOK before another one comes along. When Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, or the Avengers as a whole show up? Sorry kids, the Fantastic Four you aint. They’ll handle Galactus, you can handle Count Nefaria. What drops the FF and Ben with readers, is a character pretty similar to him in concept but boldly original in the same way as Ben was when he showed up. Spider-Man.

Ben Grimm is my second favorite Superhero, Spidey’s my first. This isn’t the place to get into it, but just like Ben he has every bad thing that can happen to him happen, and after letting a crook run past him in his origin story, he tries to do what’s right no matter how hard it makes his life from that point on. What sets us on our path with him is when Gwen Stacey dies. Comics can be serious now, superhero comics can be emotional. Most importantly, comics can get dark. 

Gwen Stacy died in 1973 and it sparked a lot of darker storylines in comics trying to follow the leader in some cases, and in others stories that were now free from scrutiny. It’s no real coincidence that Wolverine debuted in 1974. He joined the X-Men in 1975, and hated authority, loved drinking and smoking, and was a violent animal compared to Marvel’s tame roster. I love Wolverine, in fact as a disclaimer, I love every character mentioned so far in this essay. What Wolverine did however, I don’t love so much. 

The careful planning and work that went into Wolverine did not go into the characters that tried to ape his style. Chris Claremont and John Bryne, and later Frank Miller all handled him with care. Your Punishers and your Ghost Riders and your Deadpools don’t have that when they’re introduced. (Punisher was introduced before Wolvie but only as a Spider-Man villain.) There’s suddenly way more guns in comics, or rather way more guns being used by “good guys”. The Anti-Hero is the new Hero. Things get so bad across the X-Men and really almost everywhere else that characters like Lobo pop up, or you have Gail Simone reinventing Deadpool so that someone can make fun of theses characters. Lobo is a parody of the badass tough guy vigilante so over the top it stops being a parody than becomes one again. Deadpool’s a character reinvented to make fun of himself. 

However, all this aside, the other big shift is the graphic novel. Graphic novels were taken as a great opportunity for comics to be taken seriously by the people writing them. Most of the ones in the eighties are like that, very serious, very dark, and luckily very good. Watchmen is spectacular, The Dark Knight Returns is a very good Batman story despite being a bad Superman story, and God Loves Man Kills is a half optimistic half heart breaking story for the X-Men. Readers and critics agree dark is good for comics. 

The Superman of the 40s doesn’t look normal standing next to Azreal or Jason Todd as Red Hood. Ben Grimm seems like an oddity next to Cable and Shatterstar. The good guys are seen as boring by a lot of people, and while we’re lucky that Superman hasn’t fallen to the side, it seemed like Ben Grimm was in danger of just that until a few months ago. Luckily, a lot of newer characters like Moon Girl and Ms Marvel are much brighter, and the DC Rebirth reboot has given us a lot more smiles on the page for Supes, Wonder Woman, Batman, and pretty much every hero really. The right thing might be the right story people want to read again, and that means that for comics’ big two, their moral centers might just get the credit they deserve again. And that’s a hell of a thing. 

[queercapwriting]

I NEED to know how Maggie deals with that 'M' that Luthor carved into Alex's arm. Or is it not gonna leave a scar?

A follow-up to yesterday’s Savers v. Cadmus angst fest, here.

Kara is the first one, other than the medics, to see it.

It’s her first time alone with Alex – the first time that James was able to drag Maggie out of the room, the first time Alex was strong enough to encourage her to go eat, to go shower, to go get her own wounds tended to – and she’s changing Alex’s bandages when the one on her tricep makes her gasp.

She shivers and she quakes and she wishes Alex hadn’t killed Lillian Luthor because she swears she would if she could, and she swallows vomit and she caresses the swollen, reddened flesh around Alex’s tricep with gentle, trembling fingertips and tears choking her throat.

“Alex,” she shudders, and Alex takes a long, slow sigh, laboriously because breathing still hurts.

“It’s far from the worst thing she did to me, Kara,” she tells her, but her heart isn’t in it. Her heart is shattered and the pieces are in her throat, because how in the hell is she going to show Maggie that Lillian Luthor had carved the first letter of her name into Alex’s arm? 

She can’t. She won’t.

“Does Maggie know?” Kara half sobs, and Alex shakes her head painstakingly.

“And she’s not gonna find out, either.”

“Alex – “

“Kara.”

Kara doesn’t argue, for now, because Alex is still so pale with blood loss and her voice is still so ragged from exhaustion and her eyes are still so deadened from the ghosts of Maggie’s screams, her own body feeling like it was exploding, Maggie’s agony, and her complete inability to do anything about it, her complete failure to protect Maggie from watching her get tortured. Her complete failure to protect Maggie from being tortured.

Kara bends and Kara kisses her sister and Kara squeezes her hand and Kara leaves before she can completely break, because Alex doesn’t need to see that.

Winn shifts in next, fulfilling the promise Maggie had forced them all to make that Alex wouldn’t even be alone for a single second, unless she specifically requested it, while Maggie was gone.

“Kara okay?” Alex croaks, and Winn sits gingerly on the side of her bed, his hand taking hers gently after he asks with his raised eyebrows if he can.

“Alex, yesterday the medics took a bullet out of your thigh and set your cracked ribs and that’s to say nothing about your face. And you wanna know if Kara’s okay?”

“Winn, it… watching someone you love be hurt, it’s… it’s worse than being the one getting shot.”

Winn sighs and Winn runs his hand through his hair before stroking Alex’s face gently, gently, gently.

“I know. I know. And I know you’re worried about Kara and I know you’re worried about Maggie, but Alex, you’ve gotta focus on healing you right now. We’ve got Kara, we’ve got Maggie. And they’ve both got you. But the best way you can help them, is by resting, by letting your body heal. Okay?”

Alex sighs and Alex’s closes her eyes and Alex looks away.

“And you have to tell her.”

Alex’s eyes snap back open. “What.”

Winn takes a deep breath and he leans over so he can see the underside of her arm, where the “M” is carved just over the slight bulge of her tricep.

“That’s gonna scar, Alex, she’s gonna know. And if you keep it from her? She’ll find out when she’s not prepared, when she’s started to heal, and it’ll just bust all the wounds open again.”

“How did you even know?”

“Kara mentioned in her… sobbery.”

Alex breathes out a laugh and rolls her eyes and blinks out two tears.

“How the hell am I supposed to tell her, Winn? That someone started carving her name into my skin, to torture me, to torture her?”

Winn bites his lip and swallows and gives Alex a small, hopeless smile. “You can tell her it’s an upsidedown W. For Winn. It could have nothing to do with her.”

Alex laughs full on this time, and the laugh becomes a sob and the sob becomes a cough and the cough becomes a pained hiss because god everything hurts.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Winn chokes, and Alex shakes her head.

“It’s fine, I’m fine.”

There’s a soft rapping on the door and Winn turns and what’s left of Alex’s heart backflips.

“Hey babe.” Maggie’s voice is small and her hair is damp and her clothes are DEO issue: she must have flat-out refused to leave the DEO, and her stubbornness makes Alex feel loved, and it makes Alex feel warm, and it makes Alex feel nauseous and guilty because god this woman would be fine if she’d never met her, if Alex had never been so obvious about liking her, Cadmus never would have touched her…

“Hey. You’ve discovered the wonders of DEO showers.”

Maggie smiles softly and steps forward hesitantly, like if she comes too close too quickly, she’ll hurt Alex again, she’ll make Alex’s body break again.

“And the wonders of DEO uniforms, I see. It suits you, Maggie. But Agent Danvers, don’t jump her bones just yet, you’ve still got some healing to do, okay?” Winn teases as he stands, as he passes Alex’s hand to Maggie, as he touches Maggie’s shoulder and just barely resists kissing her on the forehead because he’s not sure yet if that would get him slapped or hugged and he doesn’t want to risk doing anything Maggie wouldn’t want, especially not right now.

So he shuffles to the door and he turns before he leaves and he touches his own tricep and he moves “tell her” to Alex before slipping off to find Kara and the others.

They’re both silent for a long moment, both staring at each other, both of their lips slightly parted, both of their hearts racing slightly too quickly.

“How’s your pain?” Maggie asks, and Alex lifts an unsteady hand to rest on Maggie’s thigh as she takes Winn’s place on the bed.

“They have meds for mine, Maggie. They don’t have meds for yours.”

Maggie scoffs slightly. “Sure they do. J’onn tried hopping me up on anti-anxieties and all manner of things.”

“And you didn’t take them?”

“They make me foggy. I want to be all here right now.”

“Maggie – “

“Alex. All I care about – the only thing – is that you’re okay.”

“But you had to watch – “

“I don’t need you to remind me what I had to watch. I just… you’re okay. As long as you’re okay – “

“I am.”

“Then I’m gonna be fine. We’re gonna be fine. You hear me?”

Alex nods and Alex sighs and Alex squeezes Maggie’s thigh.

“Babe. You need to know something. Do you… do you remember when Luthor had that scalpel to my arm?”

Maggie’s eyes blaze. “I remember everything.” Her voice is dead and Alex breaks but Alex is used to pressing on when she breaks, so she does, because Maggie is broken, too, and at least, at least, they’re together.

“She um… she wrote something, Maggie. Or started to, she – “

But Maggie is up and Maggie is kneeling next to her bed and Maggie is gently, gently, tenderly, furiously, rolling back the bandages Kara had redone, and Maggie is clenching her fists and Maggie is swallowing vomit and Alex is reaching a shaky hand out to stroke her tear-splattered cheek and Maggie is pulling away, away, away, slamming her fist into the nearest wall, slamming her fists into her own thighs, grabbing at the unforgiving material of her DEO-issue pants with fingernails that want to do nothing but bleed.

“It’s my fault she did this to you, it’s my… it’s my…”

“Maggie, it’s not, it’s not, babe, I – “

“Ally, Ally, your skin was perfect, she… she cut it through one of your freckles, she… Ally, I’m… I’m sorry, I should’ve been faster, I should’ve – “

“Maggie, stop it, Maggie. Maggie, please, Maggie. Look at me, dammit.”

Maggie does, finally, wrenching her eyes up from her crumbled position on the floor, steadying her shaking hands by pressing them under her arms, by rocking back and forth on her heels, by holding her breath long enough to calm, calm, calm, because this is about Alex, Alex, Alex.

“No, I’m sorry, you shouldn’t be comforting me, it – “

“Maggie, no, that’s not my point. Look at me. Please.” Her voice is gentler this time, less scared, this time, because Maggie is still, now, Maggie’s knuckles are safe, now.

“You know how I have Kara’s name tattooed on my ankle?”

Maggie shudders out a breath and a nod, leaning back up to examine the cut, the cut that will scar, the cut that will scar her first initial into the arm of the woman she loves. She presses soft, soft, soft kisses to the reddened area around the mark, Alex’s muscles relaxing now, Alex’s trembling hand reaching out to hold Maggie’s, now.

“I can’t think of another person who’s name I’d want on my body, Mags. Just Kara. And you. You, because I love you like I’ve never loved anyone. And I… this scar will be… hard. Definitely the hardest one I have, and I have a lot. Hard for both of us. But Maggie, I can’t… I can’t have you thinking it’s your fault every time you see my naked, every time you see me sleeveless. Maggie, we… we survived something impossible together. She brought us there because she knew we loved each other, but you said it, babe: she didn’t understand how much. She didn’t understand that we love each other too much to do anything but get outta there alive. Together. And we did. And it was impossible. But we did. Because you and me, Mags? We do impossible things. And… this damn scar? It’s just proof of that. Just proof of how much I love you. And I would go through that again, and again, and again, if somehow it meant keeping you safe, keeping you from pain. I love you, Maggie. We’re gonna get through this. Scar or no scar, okay?”

Maggie wipes her tears with the back of her hand and she nods into the slowly decreasing space between their lips, and a fresh tear drops from her face onto Alex’s cheek as Alex parts her lips and breathes in every ounce of love, every ounce of belief, every ounce of hope, every ounce of impossible, that Maggie is pouring into her gentle, gentle, perfect kiss.

[catflowerqueen]

#yeah I maybe made Tucker's phone a little eldritch

#yeah they're gonna convince people Amity was cursed before

#“people couldn't see amity before because of the curse”

#“what's that? Magic isn't real? Do you think beloved hero captain marvel is a liar?”

#also literally what are meta powers if not magic

#“but! but it's linked to genetics!”

#my entire ass - genetics don't let you bend metal. correlation is not causation. some magic is more specific than other magic

#they be gaslighting everybody

#but

#They pay their taxes?

#and their tech updates are surprisingly good?

#especially once their scientists learn DC (or “outside world”) tech better

#yeah the gov't doesn't mind them too much

#very funny if Lex Luthor thinks they're all martians or something (re video of danny dragging dani & val through the ground) and HATES THEM

#vlad would be there

#still mayor? idk

#but if at least some of dalv co is in Amity he can prob finangle it to get some of his money back

#and elbow in on Lex tech's markets

#making about both “evil aliens” and about money

#just Vlad v Luthor

#does luthor have anti-ghost protections?

#I want Vlad to get fed up and start stealing his stuff

#idk where else to go with this but I feel like this AU has so much potential!

#alt idea: they could claim amity has been skipping around the world since forever

#but got caught in the bermuda for a good bit there

#looks like it's america this time

#Amity Parkers: *sips smoothie while wearing hawaiin shirt* hi new neighbors

If it turns out that the Lazarus pits are also ectoplasm/similar enough to ectoplasm, they could always just blame it on that. It is corrupted, yet ghostly enough that it just turned everything invisible and intangible. And then added whatever makes Youngblood unable to be seen or heard by adults as to the reason why no one could perceive anything from Amity--except it is reversed, so only those above a certain age threshold could perceive them.

Except the Lazarus corruption was so bad that it applied to, say, cultures or towns instead of individual people.

And that would just add to the "we've been here the whole time" lie. After all, if Amity are the oldest city/civilization, then of course no others could see them until they "grew up." So... happy "coming of age" to the rest of the universe? Amity will throw a stellar party in your name once they've gotten themselves organized.

From certain perspectives that might not even be a total lie--at least as far as Amity's age goes. Considering that they have a connection to the Infinite Realms via the Fenton's portal, and natural portals can open in different times--and presumably places--one could probably make an argument that it means Amity has always been connected/part of those realms. Especially since the portal is stable and Danny has time travelled before. Stable time loops and avoiding paradoxes and all that.

And if they still deny it, just cite one of the many reality altering events the DC universe has gone through. How sure are they that they didn't alter reality such that Amity has, indeed, always been there? There was that time the adults and kids got separated into different worlds--maybe that happened with literally every other city and Amity, and things just now went back to normal.

Oh? What's that? That contradicts an earlier explanation? Maybe one of your Justice League teammates just shifted realities again.

You know... >.>

My Dad always used to tell me, if I get a Genuine Genie(tm)? Get a lawyer first. Before I make my Wishes(tm), so they can help me word them correctly.

Obviously, a human lawyer would not be foolproof... BUT! What about a Ghost Lawyer?

Like? Obviously Desiree would be PISSED. How DARE you twist HER wish twisting! Her THING is "what you believe is your heart's desire always comes at a terrible cost" which is what she DIED to learn.

So obviously she would NEVER, willingly, bend her Obsession for ANYONE. And you'd have to make a DAMN good case to that Lawyer for why he ISNT breaking the law by helping you. Probably some "you can: save the life of an unconscious person against their will/shove an unobservant person OFF the train tracks, even if they get hurt, to save their life" clause.

Like? Using a ghosts Obsession against them? Bad. Illegal.

Using it against their will, to save OTHER ghosts, who are in immediate danger? Not illegal, but they will be PISSED. Still not great though, you will want to apologize and fast.

So like??? Reality Bending Power. Patrick Star Method of "what if we MOVED the city... somewhere else?" Considered at 1am. Team of Ghost Laywers, acquired.

Amity and all Limnals are REMOVED from the DP-verse.

Wish worded juuuuust so. Any ghost that forms there? Yoink! Instantly removed to the Zone. Natural Portals? Cut off. Let the whole Reality fade out at an accelerated rate, as no NEW energy is fed into the system. Entropy will do, what entropy does. Exactly as they wished it.

They hated Death so much, they speed up the heat death of their ENTIRE universe by Eons. Congratulations, you guys "Won". Enjoy the wildly more fragile flora, fauna, and general ecosystems. Now that none of you have that ambient Ectoplasm strengthening your bodies. Yeah, the things you used to shrug off? Those are gonna maim or kill you now.

Doesn't MATTER if you "learn your lesson" though! Cause this is WAY past that point! This is "cutting off the tumor before it kills us" territory, and buddy? Amity ISNT the tumor. Go forth a grow, just like you wanted.

They won't be here to fix your messes anymore.

Because Danny got himself a dictionary thick "I Wish..." contract. Which was worded, as it needs to be, in one loooooooong run on sentence. Shouted "I Wish what's written on THIS, as it is currently, and without any form of editing or negotiation!" As fast as he could. Yote the document in Desiree's direction. And Flew like an INCANDESCENTLY pissed off Genie was trying to set his everything of fire.

Which she was.

Thankfully, Paulina came in clutch with her History of all things Jewelry, world fashions, and Make-Up knowledge. That, coupled with the Power Of Rich Friends(tm)? (Sam. Her mother was THRILLED to take her Jewelry and clothing shopping for something other then blacks and dark purple. They went on a jet setting whurl-wind tour. Sam actually kinda liked a some of what she found.)

They have Apology Bribes.

They shamelessly HIDE behind the mountain of Apology Bribes, while they explain themselves. Is Desiree HAPPY? No. But those bracelets are magnificent and she DOES deserve nice things. Those silks will really bring out her eyes. And she... DOES... admit...

Maybe...

That things are not... SAFE. Any longer. Danny TRIES. Everyone else can see it. And he's made incredible strides! Even convinced his lunatic parents. Though they're still not quite POPULAR. (WAY too pushy and invasive with their questions, for most people.) But the fanatics in white?

They nearly killed Box Lunch. If her father hadn't BEEN there...

And the poor man will have that scar on his back for the rest of his afterlife. Desiree can see why Danny is pushing. Does she LIKE it? No. But...

She supposes she will content herself with the suffering of the Fanatics in White and all who support them. THEIR wishes, twisted. Their ugly heart's desires.

Fine.

"SO YOU WISH IT. SO IT SHALL BE!"

And? The ghost town of what WOULD of one day grown into Amity, had the witch's there not been found by those they had fled from, which sits in long rotted ruins, amongst the trees in nowhere Illinois? Poof! Two "Towns" are switched.

The roads out of town coming to a clean line stop, meeting not even goat paths. Just trees. Old growth.

But it's not ALL of Town, is it? Faces missing. New, confused, faces from every corner of the map, taking their place. No Limnal left behind. No supporter of the GIWs genocide, brought along. Family's kept together where they could be. But by the few, scared and upset, green flashing eyes of children in the crowd?

It seemed for some, it was easier to fear and hate, then love their children.

Already they were being gathered up by school teachers and PTA parents. As everyone tried to figure out what had happened. Concerned, quite muttering a dull roar as everyone tries to coordinate.

Red Huntress joins Danny and Dani in the Sky. She doesn't get a word in. Wanted to know what the HELL was going on. She was with her dad in Chicago! Dani was in Taiwan! Literally! As in, sitting in a SUBWAY station one second, the next? Outside!

But they don't get to demand those answers. Because there is a sonic boom on the horizon. And then? Floating... weird... not ghosts?

Uuuuuuhhhh?

Hi?

That much blue... sure is a Statement. Like the cape and... bloooomers? Shorts. Bikini bottoms? It.. it's a Cool Look, dude! No, really. They are being VERY supportive here! If YOU like it? That's the only thing that matters!

Red Huntress smacks the Danny/i's Repeated upside their heads and demans to know what the Not-Ghosts are doing in their airspace.

Oh YEAH. Good point! What she said! And can it WAIT? They're kinda going through A Thing right now...

Kon? Wants it on record he loves these guys. They're hilarious. The LOOK on Clark's FACE?? He wishes he could frame it. Preserve it for future generations. Thing is? There was NOT a town here a second ago.

Well, bout 30 minutes or so, but you get the idea. One moment? Tree noises. Bam! Thousands of people! Obviously the checked it out. Only to be met with two... three maybe? Heros who have NO IDEA who they are.

Clear Reality warping shenanigans. Might be time travel or multiverse. Question is... are they STAYING? And if SO? What now...

@hdgnj @ailithnight @the-witchhunter @nerdpoe @dcxdpdabbles @mutable-manifestation @hypewinter