#gotta stop messing with these kryptonians man

[blackynsupremacy]

red k clark the type of dude you text a long, long paragraph to about his bullshit and he literally speed reads it, like you know how he has super speed when running? apply that to his eyes. i mean speed read every single damn word and comprehends every sentence within a millisecond and has the nerve to type back “wym” 😤😤

also i’m sorry for anyone who has went through this because that is frustrating but omg. somebody come gather khalil (kal-el) rfn! 😭

[black-coffee-and-sugar]

Supergirl 6x15

ngl, i spent a lot of time being confused in this episode (i was on an edible so) but here's what i got for ya (not in order as per usual):

that opening scene with the super fam getting esme's room ready, kara bringing a bag full of plushies that she too used as a kid, alex being a nervous mess. im so soft

kara and esme is just too much cuteness all at once. i foresee many shenanigans with these two while alex demands lena come pick up her wife from the arcade

grandpa j'onn!

they really should've told esme that j'onn and kara are aliens with powers considering her mimickry abilities that she can't control. that was so dumb

also esme is like the jack-jack of the super fam

william at the tower AGAIN. this guy has literally TWO character traits: baking and being british. and did he just swat lena's hand. you're brave man mr. dey

also william gets introduced to esme on her first trip to the tower but nia doesn't? bruh...

kara and lena simultaneously agreeing 'train' is the right gift for esme. dansen telepathy now supercorp? im fine

esme to lena: you're pretty

god the way we had to wait 5 seasons for someone to acknowledge how beautiful lena is.

did lena just say "el mayarah"??? like i don't think this is common knowledge because not even james knew before kara told him. so that means kara at some point taught lena the phrase. i think it's fair to assume lena knows some kryptonian (she used the fortress computer like nothing) but now i have so many thoughts about kara telling lena about krypton and growing up on argo and and and. fuck im fragile no one touch me

not alex immediately giving esme access to kryptonian powers that teenager and even adult kara has difficulty controlling sometimes

alex's default is deo agent STILL???

the way esme is like "cut the bullshit i know kara and supergirl are the same person". i stan this child so hard!

kara and j'onn being spectacularly useless

did kara really say she flew over kasnia and corto maltese telling people she won't let them down? and, she honestly expected that to work? bruh what happened to the paragon of hope? what happened to the woman who convinced millions to come out of the vr just a season ago? the one who broadcasted a message during non's stint with myriad in s1. who convinced that robber to turn himself in during the 'human for a day' episode just with her words? where's THAT kara?

recognize, kara spends all her downtime with lena. kara confides in lena about every single totem so far. kara is only vulnerable with lena. only smiles and is generally happy around lena. you can't make this shit up

supercorp is really just making their way around the tower eye fucking in each room huh

lena saying that kara can be just as valuable in this fight as supergirl is really a callback to the fact that lena as always seen kara as heroic and inspirational and brave. even after everything she still sees kara as kara (she hardly calls her supergirl). while she always respected and admired supergirl, kara is who she loves and believes in and i love that that hasn't changed.

andrea: *sees william getting attacked by nyxly* someone find a camera

this woman gives zero fucks about her employees. or maybe it's just william

kara: i have a soft spot for kasnia

me: you mean the time you and your girlfriend best friend took a spontaneous trip there on her private jet eating sushi and drinking expensive champagne. the place where red daughter had a lena shrine taped to her wall. i too have a soft spot for it. the content was delicious.

lena unsubtly telling kara what she did with the humanity totem was just as overreaching as disarming nations. kara trying to defend it. lena's just like 'yea sure babe'

also did kelly just call alex baby??? stop. it. like dansen and supercorp are just hogging the spotlight. i love this for them

truth seeker with esme felt like a cheat. you gotta earn that clearly traumatized child's trust with actions and time. cannot believe kelly agreed to it

but on the topic of disarming nations, kara, we gonna do something about the american nuclear warheads?

cannot believe that, after all the far more meaningful hope speeches we've had, throwing the missiles into the sun is what makes kara pass the hope gauntlet

just realized that kara kinda took her time with rescuing william. i actually forgot nyxly had him

also feeling some type of way over the fact that fucking WILLIAM with his hands tied got the courage totem from nyxly. jokes

not sure supergirl is the show to talk about the implications of superheroes taking diplomatic relationships into their own hands. the super friends have been doing whatever they fancy all season.

alex and kelly and esme are such a cute family. i love it i love it I LOVE IT

lol lex just dropping off a lexosuit to nyxly via portal watch. take the woman on a date first!

but also, the cw is telling me that, once again, im supposed to take that as a romantic gesture (giving a suit) for lex but not when lena does it? especially in 5x19 when she makes it with the knowledge that it's for kara and not just supergirl? funny

This episode was...okay I guess. Good supercorp, good Dansen and Esme. I would just like some confirmation on Nia and Brainy. Like are they dating or nah? Also less William god please.

[galactic-magick]

Headcanons for coming out to the justice league as aroace?

Of course! ☺️

They’d all be very happy for you that you’ve found yourself and would be accepting obviously, although some of them might need it explained a bit

I feel like Barry and Victor would probably know the most about it already, simply because they’re the youngest of the group so they’ve probably been more exposed to the community, or they’re part of the aro spectrum/ace spectrum themselves!

Diana definitely knew plenty of people back home on Themyscira who were just like you, although she didn’t know the term for it.

She’d love asking you questions if you’re comfortable answering, she’d want to know everything about this part of yourself.

She thinks all identities and love are beautiful, you don’t feel romantic or sexual love, but she doesn’t think that’s weird whatsoever.

Arthur doesn’t really get it at first, but he’s definitely open to learning about it, and he doesn’t let his confusion stop him from giving you a pat on the back and a smile and telling you he thinks it’s great.

He’d definitely be the one the most down to party at a pride parade with you if you want to go, and he’d probably fight any exclusionists who try to mess with you on the spot

Let’s say uh...a few people got knocked out with a trident last time shhh

Clark is very happy for you, and he mentions that there was a term for that in Kryptonian too

Especially because on Krypton most people stopped having biological kids or something right? So it would make sense that a lot of people just weren’t interested in romance or sex anyway (I gotta watch Man of Steel again that might be wrong idk lol)

Basically though he sees no problem with it and is very accepting, and Superman would no doubt be a huge advocate for aroace pride and rights!

Bruce would definitely do a lot of research after you tell him if he didn’t already know what it was

He’d find it very interesting and he loves learning about new things

He’ll probably buy you any pride merch he can find, like one day you’ll come home and there’s just like a huge pile of flags, pins, shirts, and other assorted things in your room

All of them would be super kind and comforting to you, assuring you that you’re amazing and you’re not broken in any way

They’d also be super supportive if you want or have a queer platonic partner or anything like that, or if you don’t want any committed deep relationships at all that’s totally fine too

They all love you dearly, and if you’re also a superhero you’d be an absolute icon 💚💜

[thepartyresponsible]

here’s a short fic about jason todd encountering an undercaffeinated clint barton on a rooftop in new york. it’s exactly as romantic as it sounds.

Jason’s not even supposed to be in New York. He hates this town. It’s overcrowded with heroes, which means it’s overcrowded with bullshit and bad blood, and he can’t go two blocks without running face-first into someone else’s fuck-ups.

“I swear to God, Grayson,” he says, right into the comm, because he’s sick of this shit, and this isn’t his town, and, if he makes a mess here, it’ll get one-upped by morning. “I think the Punisher just took a potshot at me.”

“Doubt it,” Grayson says, sounding insultingly unconcerned. “Do you still have a face?”

“So far,” Jason says, “but I’m about five more minutes away from blowing this mask up myself.”

“Grumpy,” Grayson observes. He doesn’t seem to appreciate the favor Jason’s doing, meeting him all the way up here. Possibly because he’s been caught in some kind of ballerina boxing match with Daredevil for something like a quarter of an hour.

Jason would be less pissed about that if he didn’t have the sneaking suspicion Dick was planning to ask the Devil on a date afterwards.

“Next time we gotta swap bullshit alien tech,” Jason says, “we’re doing it in Jersey, as God intended. If I get murdered by an Avengers groupie, I’m gonna haunt your entire family for the next millennium.”

Dick hums back thoughtfully. “Yeah, I don’t think they call themselves groupies. I think they mostly call themselves SHIELD agents.”

“All I’m saying,” Jason says, as he shifts his weight on the new rooftop, scans the skyline for whoever shot at him a minute ago, “is nobody wears that much spandex unless they’re looking to get laid. They can call themselves a government agency if they want to, but if you put a zipper on the front of your fucking tactical jumpsuit--”

“Hey.”

The voice is soft, kinda scratchy, and it is most definitely not Grayson. When Jason turns, guns out, he finds himself confronted by a sleepy-eyed blonde in a t-shirt and purple boxers, with a cup of coffee in his hand and a case of bedhead that would shame Sleepy Beauty.

“Hey, man,” the guy continues, “are they shooting at you? Can you maybe get them to stop? It‘s pretty late, you know? It’s a school night. You really gotta do this now?”

Jason stares. “Oh, sorry, princess,” he says, at a loss. “I’ll just ask real nice for a raincheck and see how they take it, okay?”

“Cool,” the blonde says, like he’s agreeing to the terms. He rubs at his face and yawns. There’s a coffee stain down the front of his white t-shirt and a target drawn in shades of purple centered right over his heart.

Jason, because he’s feeling obliging, turns in the direction of shooter. “Hey, asshole,” he yells, “get fucked.”

He ducks down behind the brick wall, waits for the answering gunshot, and then looks up at the man, who hasn’t even blinked toward cover.

“Yeah,” Jason says, when the echoes from the gunfire have faded, “they said no.”

“Well, you didn’t ask right,” the blonde tells him. “Gotta use your manners.”

He shuffles over, barefoot on a New York City rooftop like someone who thinks lockjaw’s going to do him any favor on the dating scene, and stares blearily out into the city.

“Hey, yeah, excuse me,” he calls out, “could we do this during business hours, please? I got tenants with kids in the building.”

Jason leans over, hooks a hand around the guy’s ankle, and tugs him to the ground. The blonde folds neatly, scrambling for his coffee and somehow managing not to spill a single drop. He throws Jason an affronted look and then rolls his eyes as another gunshot rings out, bullet embedding itself in the roof access door.

“Aw, bullets,” he says, sounding persecuted. “I hate patching bullet holes.”

“You almost got a bullet hole in your face,” Jason tells him.

He hates this city. At least in Gotham people have the good sense to run from snipers.

“Got enough holes in my face,” the man says. He pats Jason consolingly on the knee. “I’ll handle this. Hold my coffee.”

He passes the cup to Jason, who takes it on instinct. “What the fuck,” Jason says. “Wil you stay down? Christ’s sake, I’ll just---”

Jason shuts himself up as the blonde picks a rock off the rooftop, tests its weight for a second, and then stands up, hurling the rock into the darkness.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Jason says, incredulous.

Half a second later, there’s a scream from the roof across from them, and then a long, wailing cry that cuts off with the heavy thud of a body hitting pavement.

“Shoulda stuck to school hours,” the blonde says, alarmingly prosaic.

Jason scrambles to his feet. He stares down at the dead sniper on the sidewalk, looks up at the building across from them, and then down at the line of rocks around the perimeter of the roof. Now that he’s looking, it seems a weird place for a bunch of surprisingly large rocks to be.

“Did you fucking—did you put those there for home defense?”

The blonde shrugs. He takes his coffee out of Jason’s hands and swigs it back with the most enthusiasm Jason’s seen out of him so far. “Well, sometimes I forget my bow.”

Jason pauses. Blinks. Looks the blonde up and down, lingering over the way his shoulders fill out that t-shirt and the strong, defined muscles of his forearms.

“Holy shit,” Jason says, “are you Hawkeye?”

The blonde salutes him with his coffee cup. Coffee splashes over the brim of the mug and splatters all across his shirt. He sighs, heavily.

“Hawkeye,” Jason repeats, dubiously. “World’s Greatest Marksman? SHIELD agent? Avenger?”

“Yep,” Hawkeye says, brushing at the coffee stain like it’s dirt he can knock off. “You’re one of those Gotham guys?”

Jason stares at him. “Oh, nah,” he says, “I’m Power Girl.”

Hawkeye’s eyes go – incredibly and apparently unironically – right to Jason’s chest. He squints, seems to weigh it out in his head. “You don’t…” he says, slowly. “You don’t look like Power Girl.”

“Really,” Jason says. “Really? What gave me away?”

Hawkeye finishes off his coffee and then smiles at him, bright and smug and oddly sweet for a man who just dropped another guy off a ten-story building. “Power Girl’s blonde.”

“I could be blonde,” Jason says. “Under the helmet. How the hell would you know?”

“Red Helmet,” Hawkeye says, snapping his fingers. “That’s who you are.”

“Red Hood,” Jason corrects. He’d be offended, but, frankly, this guy didn’t even remember shoes. Or pants.

“Red Helmet would make more sense,” Hawkeye mumbles, mouth half-hidden behind his coffee mug.

Jason sighs. “Hey, Nightwing,” he says, activating the comm again. “Are you done playing grabass with Daredevil? Can we get this shit moving already? I’ve got places to be.”

“Oh, is that the blue guy?” Hawkeye asks, shuffling closer to him. He squints curiously into the street. “Don’t interrupt them. Devil’s been talking about him for weeks.”

“It is not—will you—I’m busy here,” Jason says, taking a pointed step away. “Nightwing,” he repeats, “I swear to God.”

“Busy,” Grayson says. He sounds a little breathless.

For a single, beautiful second, Jason’s actually worried about him, and then he hears what is almost definitely the Man Without Fear murmuring something that Jason never in his life needed to hear another person say to Dick Grayson.

“Oh my God,” Jason says. “Fuck’s sake, Nightwing, turn your Goddamn comm off.”

“You called me,” Nightwing says, and Jason yanks the comm out of his ear before he gets scandalized any further.

“Tried to warn you,” Hawkeye says, sounding smug again. He goes to take another drink of coffee, realizes all over again that he’s out, and then stares mournfully into his empty cup. “Oh,” he says, sounding personally betrayed.

“You try to help people,” Jason says. “You try to do the Golden Boy a favor. You come to this bullshit city, with all these bullshit people, and he leaves you on a roof so he can fuck around with a man who does Catholic church cosplay.”

Hawkeye gives him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. “Aw, c’mon,” he says. “The Devil’s okay. Bluebird could do much worse.”

“He’s not—Jesus Christ, Gotham is a day trip away, asshole, and Bludhaven’s even closer. The names aren’t hard. I’m Red Hood, and he’s Nightwing.”

Hawkeye shrugs with exactly the kind of agreeable unconcern that suggests he’s really not going to bother remembering. “I’m better with faces.”

“I find the helmet to be pretty fucking memorable,” Jason says.

Hawkeye gives him a considering look, eyes dragging from his helmet to his boots and then back up. “Too bad,” he says. “I was gonna invite you down for coffee, but you probably can’t drink it with the helmet on.”

Jason hesitates. God knows how long he’s going to be waiting around on this rooftop for Dick Grayson to remember he’s supposed to meet Jason and finish their latest round of Kryptonian tech swap. Coffee would be a welcome distraction.

Those forearms would be a welcome distraction.

Jason glances down at the sidewalk. There’s a bit of a ruckus now, probably because some poor bastard out for a late-night walk damn near tripped over the corpse. It’d probably be wise to get out of sight before the cops show up to do whatever song and dance they deem necessary in this neighborhood.

Anyway, he always wears a domino under the helmet.

He reaches up, goes through the whole complicated maneuver of removing the helmet, and, when he drops it into his hands, Hawkeye honest-to-God whistles at him and then flushes immediately pink.

“Oh shit,” he says, clutching his coffee cup to his chest. “I thought that was just gonna be in my head. Sorry. It’s real late, you know?”

Jason stares at him. Takes in the whole sleepy sight of him, from the blush on his cheeks to the soft spikey mess of his hair to the coffee-stained t-shirt and the bare skin of his feet. “And you’re Hawkeye,” he says, just to be absolutely certain. “SHIELD agent, super spy, best sniper in the world.”

“Yeah, man,” Hawkeye confirms. He reaches up to scrub at the back of his head, and it does absolutely nothing for his hair but the flex of his arms does something for Jason. “I just—normally people don’t speak to me until after I’ve had more than one cup of coffee.”

Jason shakes his head, not quite able to make the call between being charmed and being appalled. Maybe this city has its redeeming qualities after all.

“Okay,” he says. “C’mon, Hawkeye. Let’s get you more coffee.”

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

A/N: Decided to test out my writing skills. Lemme know what you think and definitely let me know if you catch any mistakes!

Summary: Nightwing and Superboy find themselves stranded and alone in the future. Can they trust the mysterious stranger who rescues them?

Nightwing tried not to glare at the florescent lights that lined the hallway. Every sci-fi movie he'd ever watched dictated that they should be red and flashing. Maybe while an alarm blared in the background and the sound of marching feet approached.

They were doing no such thing. The lights stayed a steady white and the only sound in the air was the clanging of metal under their feet.

Nightwing would've preferred the theatrics.

The hallway seemed to stretch out in front of them, mocking their slow progress. Their destination was a black door labeled with some kind of alien language. The three men trudged down the corridor. The man in the middle had one arm looped under Conner's armpits, hoisting him up with difficulty and the Kryptonian's feet dragged underneath him.

The other arm had Nightwing's upper arm in a vice grip. It wasn't providing support, Nightwing didn't think the other man could hold up both Conner and him. Instead the hand on his arm was pulling him along, like he was a petulant child being dragged home from the park. Conner slumped over in the man's arms and Dick just barely stopped himself from doing the same.

The steadying hand slipped away to hold up Conner and 'Wing felt the floor spin. The door seemed to get further and further away from them, stretching even further.

Or maybe, Nightwing thought as the world swayed, he was more out of it then he thought.

Giving in Dick fell against the wall, using the cold hard metal to keep himself upright. The masked man's head snapped back and forth as he looked between Nightwing, Superboy and the door. The mystery man glanced back down the hallway they had come down and Dick could see the gears turning in his head.

Nightwing knew what he was thinking. They didn't have much time before they found them and Conner wasn't in fighting shape. Truthfully, Dick wasn't in fighting shape either but at least he was conscious. He tried to pull himself straighter from where he was slumped against the wall. If he had to fight, he would.

The man in black switched his hold on Conner, moving to a bridal hold. His arms were shaking from the effort but, to his credit, he didn't drop him.

"I have a taser in my back pocket," an achingly familiar voice said, as the man turned so that his back pocket was accessible to the former boy wonder.

'Oh great,' Dick thought as he grabbed the thin black square from the other man's pocket. 'I'm hallucinating Wally again.'

He tried to ignore Wally's voice as it came out of the masked guard and barely caught him saying that he'd be right back.

Dick flashed a smile and held up the taser in a fake show of confidence. He's getting Conner out of here, but he'll have to leave Nightwing. Dick doubted he'd actually be back for him. He wasn't going to take some stranger at his word. At least he was getting Superboy out.

'He did arm me. That's good enough,' Nightwing thought as the expressionless black glass of the helmet stared back at him.

"Alright, just-" The man faltered as he adjusted his grip on the heavy alien in his arms. He grunted slightly from the weight and it sounded so much like Wally that Dick wanted to cry. "Just stay whelmed, okay?"

There was a blast of wind in his face before he could even begin to process that.

Conner was gone and so was-

Had this whole thing been a hallucination? Had he been dreaming up Conner too? Was the real Conner still back in that lab, while Dick had been stumbling blindly following figments of his imagination?

He brought his hands up to his head in an attempt to stop the world from tilting.

Smack!

Hard plastic met his forehead as the taser he'd forgotten about made contact with his face. The weapon felt heavy in his hand as he moved it into his line of sight. He studied its surface like it held the secrets of the meaning of life. In some ways it did.

It felt real.

'This- How is-'

Whatever concussed thought he was about to have was interrupted as wind, wind that he'd never thought he'd feel before, surrounded him on all sides.

The speedster slid to a stop in a way that Barry and Bart never had to. Legs extended, body low to the ground, fighting momentum and struggling to find traction. It wasn't graceful and it wasn't fast but it was the most beautiful thing Nightwing had seen in years.

He hadn't even stood up yet before the former Robin had launched himself at the disguised man. His arms flung around him desperately like if he let go the shoulders beneath him would disappear.

"Dude!" The black helmet squawked as he flailed around, trying to keep them both upright. Dick had never hated a helmet more in his entire life. He wanted it off. He wanted that helmet off more than he wanted to escape. Sure, he was concussed but 'Wing was pretty sure that he'd feel the same way, even if he wasn't.

Batman's protege pushed back with his feet, knocking the shorter man to the ground. Nightwing went down with him, pining him to the ground as he tried to unlatch the helmet.

"How do you get this stupid thing off," He muttered and, no, he wasn't slurring his words, thank you very much. His fingers felt numb as he attempted to find a latch on the sleek motorcycle-helmet-looking mask.

"The button?" Came the way too cocky and casual reply from beneath him.

There was a click and suddenly Dick was staring into the face of his dead best friend.

"Look, we-" The ginger attempted to say.

"I want a blood sample."

The man on the floor sighed. The former boy wonder watched as his freckles contorted and moved as he rolled his eyes. He studied the placement of the little spots. Freckle placement was dependent on UV exposure and had nothing to do with DNA. A clone wouldn't have that little freckle just under his left eye that disappeared whenever he scrunched his nose. Or the three freckles scattered across the ridge of his ear.

His nose and cheeks were a galaxy of dots, seemingly undecipherable, but Dick had always sworn that he could find the big dipper on his skin. Green eyes were staring at him. He was saying something but Grayson wasn't listening.

He repeated himself like a stubborn toddler.

"Blood. Sample."

"Wow, you are out of it. So you didn't hear a single thing I just said, did you?" He didn't give Nightwing time to answer. Not that he would. He was mapping out freckles. He scowled when he found a new one.

"Okay, Bud, hold on. We gotta get back to SB,"

'Wing blinked and he was in a seat.

What?

He looked around. He was in a futuristic cockpit of some kind. A control panel filled with buttons sat below the window. Space took up the entire field of vision and Dick had to struggle to look away from the view. The straps that bit into his shoulder snapped him out of it.

Conner was in a seat beside him, also strapped down, staring at something like he was trying to activate his heat vision.

Oh.

Right.

The speedster flew back and forth, hitting buttons and flipping switches. Dick must've made a noise because he swiveled around and beamed at him.

And wow.

That- that was a better view than space.

"Hey man! Good to see you up! Had me worried there for a second when you passed out." Wally turned and pointed at Conner with finger guns. "Uh, so Superboy needs immediate medical attention. I think they injected him with synthetic kryptonite."

He was beside Superboy in a flash. He started fiddling with some kind of material cuff that was wrapped around the Kryptonian's arm.

"This will dampen his powers and lessen the affect of the kryponite. It'll keep him alive but it's not a fix, just a bandaid. He needs this flushed out of his system immediately. Tell Dox about this as soon as you see him, okay?"

Conner jerked, trying to get out of the straps. The clone tried to say something but it just came out a muddled mess.

Speaking of muddled messes, Dick's brain throbbed and spun. His eyes unfocused and when they refocused, green eyes were directly in front of him.

"Buddy, I need you to stay awake to tell Dox. He needs to know about the kryponite asap. Dick." He waited, concern splayed across his face. Wow, he loved any emotion on that face.

"Okay." The redhead said, seemingly to himself. "I'll write it down."

He left his line of sight and Dick, no longer distracted, thought about what he'd just said.

"Wait." He croaked out as the speedster tucked a note under Conner's seatbelt. Conner clumsily swung an arm out in an attempt to grab the speed demon but the attempt was laughable at best.

"You're coming with us." It wasn't a question. He's not leaving them. Dick started struggling against the straps.

"You're coming with us." He repeated louder and Conner grunted in agreement. Superboy's eyes were closed now but he didn't seem to notice. He continued to glare in their general direction.

"We don't exactly have a lot of options here." He was back at the control panel. He purposefully avoided looking at them. "The second this escape pod goes out, we'd be swarmed. This thing wouldn't get us ten feet. Not without a distraction."

He had the audacity to turn and smirk.

"And hey, distractions are my specialty." The ginger winked.

"I will kill you."

It wasn't what he meant to say. He meant to say 'you are not sacrificing yourself again' or 'I can't do this without you', even a 'think about this, we can figure out another way' would've worked.

"I swear to god, I will kill you." He didn't appear threatened in the slightest. He actually snorted. He just kept pushing buttons, inputting directions Dick realized belatedly, and that was when he started to panic.

"Leave me. I'll do it. I'll fight 'em off." He kept talking before he could be interrupted. "I'm fine, I can handle it, I'll be fine, I-"

"Even if you were fine- which you are not- I would still do this. Look, it has to be me. They kill Kryptonians on sight, Darkseid has some kind of personal vendetta against them. That's what they were trying to do with the synthetic kryptonite. They'd kill you too, the only reason they didn't last time was because they didn't know if you had the meta gene or not. They know now."

He looked back at him, faking a smile.

"They keep metas alive. They'll keep me alive."

He didn't look so sure.

"I'll be fine." It sounded just as fake as when Dick had used that same line ten seconds ago.

His freckles scrunched up with his face.

"Well, not fine. I'll be mind controlled but... I'll be alive."

He walked, at a human pace, from the control panel to just behind Nightwing's chair. He knew what that meant. Speedsters didn't just walk places. This was meaningful, this was his way of slowing down time and dragging it out. After all his zipping around, his saunter to the back of the cockpit could be seen for what it really was, an attempt to make the moment last. It was a goodbye.

Blue eyes strained to look behind him. His neck contorted to see the red head at the back of the room. He had flipped up a protective cover and was about to push the button underneath.

If he let him push that button, he'd never see him again. Nightwing had never felt so sure of anything before in his life.

The hand seemed to move in slow motion, another indication that the speedster didn't want to do this, and Dick played his last card.

"Blood sample!"

The hand paused.

"Please." Dick let every emotion he'd felt for the last few years seep into his words. "Please, I just- I need a blood sample. I just- I need to know."

His voice cracked.

"Yeah." The redhead hesitated before turning to face him. "Yeah, okay."

He stepped towards their seats, away from the button, and Dick felt his stomach leap into his chest. He needed to keep him away from it. Maybe he could-

Conner's arm swung out, clotheslining the smaller man and slamming him into the ground.

That worked.

"Owww."

Groaning came from the ground. Even without his super strength Conner packed a punch. Dick fought the urge to wince and instead fiddled with the taser in his hands.

He tested the weight, eyeing the button behind him. There were three buttons now, swirling around each other in an invisible dance.

Huh.

Not wasting time he chucked the taser at the center button, praying to every deity he knew.

Click.

The button lit up and a mop of redhair popped up just in time to see the airlock woosh close.

A countdown sounded out, barely audible over the boy wonder's cackling.

A robotic voice got to five and Dick gloated, feeling happier than he had in years.

"You're stuck with us!"

The freckled faced man groaned and looked at the two of them like a disapproving parent.

"Jeez, that hurt Supey."

He stood up and zipped over to the control panel. He pulled out a small vial of what looked like sand. He shook it and emptied it out. Vibrating in place, he collected the blood that poured out his nose in the now empty vial.

"Ugh, this is gross." He wrinkled his nose as he screwed the cap on. He zipped back and put it into Dick's gloved hands, careful not to let Dick grab him. "I'm sure Dox will let you use his lab to analyze this if you ask nicely."

"Wait-"

"Bad timing, I guess, but I've picked up some new tricks."

He was at the airlock doors as he said that and he started to vibrate. More blood rushed out of his nose as he looked at him sadly.

"Two." The computer warned, the number echoing around the small room.

"Hold on-" He had to stall him. He just had to stall him for one second. Just one second.

Green eyes met blue and regret flickered on his freckled face.

"Just promise me, okay? Next time you see me-"

He paused as he held his hand up to the door, vibrating through it.

"Take me down, okay?"

The engine roared to life, so loud that Dick couldn't hear his own scream as it ripped out of his throat. He watched, vial of blood clenched in his hand, as Wally disappeared for the second time.

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

So 5x18...

...Well hot d*mn.

Man when Supergirl fires on all cylinders...HOO BOY.

Case in point: *gestures to all of 5x18*

To be clear: I liked this one.

A WHOLE LOT.

Not that I disliked 5x17, necessarily. It’s just that 5x18 was more... Entertaining? ...I dunno. I dunno how to explain it.

...Okay yes I do and that explanation is: Someone remarked on Kara’s use of language and Kara overcompensated on the ‘NOooOOooOO I’m totally 100% normal!’ AND there was a musical quote AND it was WHILE TEAMING UP WITH ALEX TO FOLLOW A LEAD.

But I’m getting ahead of myself let’s backtrack...

TO THE TOWER! WITH ALEX! NIA! KARA! AND M’GAAAAAANNNNN!!!!!!

June Foray voice: WOULD YOU LIKE TO STAY FOREVER?!?!?!

I know I’m not the first person to make that reference but it’s always fitting and, for real, recurring character status WHEN. (I mean. Obviously I would prefer series regular but that feels like a big ask considering that all future TV production is...uh. Ah. Erm....

...Up in the air. At the moment.)

And then we check in with the Luthors and Non Nocere isn’t working???

I am shocked! Shocked, I say!

And then we’ve got Obsidian doing something ill-advised which is basically the company’s MO at this point but KELLY AND WILLIAM ARE ON THE CASE REGARDLESS.

(So that’s kinda the one thing I’m sad about re: the Crisis reset; Andrea’s character development. But she’s sticking around for next season so I’m not too upset that she remains...kinda...one note for now.)

And THEN the library scene. 

It was so gooooood.

Then Leviathan and okay. Alright. Okay. Huge points in this episode’s favor: Rama Khan feels like a far more significant threat. And I feel like 80% of that is the fact that they just let him wear normal clothes. Thank you, show. Thank. You.

Also the rock effects were way better in this episode because they weren’t footing the bill for a giant crossover episode this time around

I am a little confused, though, by what has and has not happened with regards to Rama Khan on Earth Prime. Did the pre-Crisis stuff...happen? The dialogue...kinda made it hard to decide one way or the other. ‘He hasn’t been seen on this Earth for 100s of years’ but then also, ‘a chilly place you know quite well.’ So...he...did go to the Fortress. And fight Kara? But...all that stuff before Crisis...???

...Not gonna bother with that right now.

POINT IS...Leviathan is finally like...invested in killing Supergirl* and menacing in a very real way which both raises the stakes and makes it personal and that’s way more interesting than ‘nebulous evil organization that must be stopped.’

*I know they kinda sorta already did the whole, ‘let’s kill the Kryptonian!’ and invaded the Fortress but I don’t know what to tell ya, it was just lackluster.

J’ONN AND M’GAAAAAANNNNN

I am firmly in camp: I don’t care if they’re never green again I love seeing them in the super suits with their human faces IT’S GREAT.

Love that Nia’s snoring interrupts the moment.

Also love the deck of Rama Khan playing cards, that must’ve been a fun project for the graphic designers.

Then we’ve got William and Kara at CatCo and it’s baked goods! A hilarious line delivery by Staz! A ridiculous fabrication involving a shy, violent cat!

...Now I want Alex to actually own a shy, violent cat!

“Cats love me, for some reason.” “Of course they do.”

Side note: Love Kara’s blazer.

And then it’s ALIEEEEEENS TO THE RESCUE!

WHAT A TEAM UP, FOLKS.

We love to see it.

The interrogation scene is good n’ tense and ramps up to a very impressive showdown in the DEO (but BEFORE the sparks really start flying we get that rad shot of Kara leaping through the window and doing the superhero landing and it’s just

Perfection.)

Also perfect? Lex playing a game of transmatter pickle with the prisoners.

Then we jump back to the DEO where things are not going well!

Like, really really bad! 

But J’onn and M’gann save the day! If not the building!

RIP DEO. 2016-2020

Obituary: The DEO headquarters is survived by its elder sibling, the DEO desert base.

Look none of the favs work there anymore save for Kara and Brainy and they’re both gonna be better off working freelance for J’onn but I do expect Brainy to at least pick up some additional cash by working as a Lyft driver next season.

Me, watching the characters struggle to make it in the gig economy: I feel so seen.

The final portion of the episode is just ALL ACTING and I must say...good stuff.

Like. This cast, man. They take the plot points I’ve been ‘meh’ about all season and they turn in some stellar performances and suddenly I’m like STANDING OVATION, CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHERE THIS GOES.

Also, reason #342 I love Jon Cryer’s Lex: that scene with Lena.

Terrifying.

Full disclosure: I went in to this episode fully prepared to be really annoyed with whatever was going to happen with Lena and I still don’t...love the trajectory of this season, being so tied up in her personal drama but. 

But.

Katie McGrath’s performance...went an awful long way here. In making this...not as bad as it could have been.

Like tearfully admitting she was hurt? And that hurt was the basis of all the nonsense she pulled? Finally owning up to the fact that this was never truly about the greater good but that it was all rooted in some personal issues and OUTRIGHT STATING SHE WAS BEHAVING LIKE A VILLAIN????

I am. Extremely impressed.

EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE THOUGH: Kara remaining distant both physically and emotionally throughout that scene! Not in like, a cold uncaring way, but in a, ‘I have emotions and I have a right to feel them and set boundaries in regards to my trusting you right now given all that has transpired’ kind of way.

GOOD. YES. GOOD.

(Lex’s outburst has that kind of same Nice Guy undertone--albeit more pronounced and rage-y--as Lena’s in the Fortress. Like, ‘I supported you and you still rejected my plot to take over the world’ and ‘I was kind to you and you still messed up my mind control’ which...I dunno I might just be digging in too deep here in order to further justify the character turn but I think Cryer’s performance regardless is a really sobering wake up call for Lena, different than Lex stuff we’ve seen before. It’s close and intense and uncomfortable in a way that really sells the motivation.)

“You’re a monster...but that doesn’t mean I have to be one too.”

Wow. Might be...the first time I’ve liked Lena all season.

...whispers: might be the first time I’ve liked her ever at all

For real: credit where it’s due, that was an excellent line read.

*insert applause here*

CUT TO ADORABLE J’ONN AND M’GANN MOMENT 

D’aaaawwwwwwwwww

But, look, it’s a little undermined by the fact that they both gotta try and embrace in those bulky super suits, I’m sorry, it’s true

...Maybe it’s more endearing that way?

HEY remember how I foolishly assumed that the now-unemployed Alex would simply continue to work with J’onn in an investigative capacity and, ya know, NOT jump straight back into costumed badassery? 

HA. HAHA HAHAAAA.

Those leaked set photos make sense now.

OH NO, WILLIAM!

Real glad Staz confirmed he’s returning. Otherwise I would not be able to DEAL WITH THE STRESS.

I already talked a little bit about the loft scene but some additional points! Beautiful lighting. Wonderful score. Excellent performances all around.

A truly great end to a truly great episode.

Like, it makes me retroactively sad, that we’re only getting 5x19, as opposed to 5x19 and 5x20 because I wish that the crew/writers/actors had a little more space to let all of this good work they’ve done settle and breathe. 

(But also, it was good that they stopped production, from a safety standpoint, so. Can’t be too upset.)

And, regardless of how the next episode goes down (b/c I’m gonna be real, SG always does really great set-ups for their season finales and then kinda...rushes to the finish line and that can only be further exacerbated in this particular case) I’m just really impressed with this effort here.  

...but also LET’S TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SOME WILD GUESSES. Specifically, what is Alex’s vigilante name gonna be??? 

...

Alright I generally try to avoid addressing specific fandom complaints in these things b/c I generally try to avoid the fandom itself but of course some stuff has already leaked through all of my blocks/muting so:

‘Lena didn’t apologize!’ The words ‘I’m sorry’ were not said, sure, but 1.) season’s not over and 2.) for Lena, admitting she was wrong is huge. HUUUUUUUGE. It’s solid character growth and I really wish various subsets of fandom would recognize that it’s not fun, when fans hold on to negative stuff from characters’ past and refuse to acknowledge that the characters have changed.

‘Brainy should have seen this coming!’ This one is kind of more down to personal preference I guess but I feel like they’ve established that Brainy’s got a bit of a blindspot due to his feelings about his friends, so I don’t take this as a knock against his intelligence so much as him being stretched fairly thin because he’s playing all sides, and worried about the people he loves. YMMV, though. 

All the ‘fix-it’ stuff re: the last scene, by making Kara immediately forgive Lena. Lose me with that nonsense, bleh. 

[aftermathdb]

DEATH BATTLE Review: Winter Soldier vs. Red Hood.

Our second Live-Action DEATH BATTLE, and we have a big one!

Winter Soldier′s Preview.

So, we open up on the usual commentary that these comic book superheroes get.

With Boomstick pointing out just how often the whole “Dead parents, strong sense of justice” trope has been used.

It’s times like these that make you appreciate All Might for just wanting to help people.

But, as the hosts go on, Bucky… Eventually perished.

Or, so we thought. See, comic books… Actually yeah. Just that.

Bucky got resurrected as the Winter Soldier.

He got equipped with all sorts of things, like all sorts of training, and the Infinity Formula, which gave him some extra boosts in most areas, and basically was a knockoff supersoldier serum.

Downside: all the brainwashing meant that he clashed with his old mentor, Captain America.

After a bit of overview on how deadly he is, we go into an animated segment that talks about his arsenal.

After emasculating Wiz on his robotic arm, they go over just how powerful the arm is.

Unlike the movie version, which is made up of Vibranium, the canonical metal arm isn’t as impressive. But it’s still a powerful weapon. As mentioned earlier, it’s equipped with all sorts of additional weaponry, and is likely made up of a similar alloy as the Iron Man armor.

As far as feats are concerned, they mostly cover who he’s fought, like Wolverine, Daredevil, Iron Man, and Captain America, of course.

But eventually, Cap used the Cosmic Cube to restore Bucky, and get him back on the side of the angels. The guy even took up the old Shield and Stripes when cap died for a time.

Even still, Bucky’s road to redemption is a tough one, and is filled with self-doubt. But despite that, his sheer resilience makes him a hero in his own right.

Red Hood′s Preview.

We open on a few notable sidekicks throughout history, such as Tails, Diddy Kong, Chewbacca, and Kazooie. After a bit of snark, we go to the classic, the original, the Boy Wonder: Robin. Dick Grayson.

But after their falling out, Batman needed a new sidekick.

Enter: Jason Todd, who was basically introduced to Bruce by trying to steal the tires off of the Batmobile.

The kid had a rough life, so Bruce thought that training him to be Robin would put him on the right path.

Unfortunately, as Boomstick put it, he was in a literal “Dick measuring contest” and didn’t live up to expectations. So, DC did something drastic. The fans had a choice:

Jason could live…

or die.

As history has taught us, Jason ultimately perished…

And then Superboy Prime came along, punched reality, and brought him back to life.

In the words of the great Boomstick “Take that, fanbase! Your contribution means nothing!”

Anyways, understandably pissed that the Joker was still alive, Jason decided to destroy Batman, in an attempt to prove that his merciful ways were more destructive than anything.

(Sidenote: Why hasn’t Gotham done anything about Joker? Like, what?- Does that old Diplomatic Immunity that he has keep him from getting the electric chair or something?)

Regardless, the hosts go over Jason’s arsenal and skills. He obviously has his cowl that’s his main thing.

On top of his usual guns, explosives, and knives, he also managed these… “All-Blades” to fight off the supernatural.

He also uses the same Venom as Bane.

After the typical joke of “Why is the Symbiote here?” and a jab at Wiz’s physique (or lack thereof) Wiz goes over the benefits, and the downsides of the steroid. Boomstick attempts to get superpowers by drinking it, but it’s something to inject, not consume. So… he barfs all over DUMMI.

Yeah, I kinda wish that it was a better segment.

Regardless, with this drug, he’s fought off powerful monsters, torn through alien tendrils, and even broke free of Supergirl’s grip.

He’s survived numerous things, dodged bullets, and lived through a ritual called “The Cleansing”

Be it because he was worthy, or because he was just plain stubborn, this proves that Jason is one tough SOB.

And they go over some impressive feats.

Still, Jason eventually managed to mellow out, and even teamed up with Bats and the rest of the Batfamily.

So, in the end, the best case scenario is that Red Hood has managed to land in that “Anti-Hero” sweetspot, and at worst, he’s a violent vigilante who takes the law into his own hands.

The Battle Itself.

Ismahawk is doing this battle live. Winter Soldier will be portrayed by Tyler Tackett and Red Hood will be portrayed by Tim Neff. Red Winter by John Scigulinsky, and audio led by Chris Kokkinos.

So, we get a really interesting story here, one that I assume would be an Ismahawk reference- I’d have to check out more of their channel to confirm, but basically Bruce calls Jason accusing him of gunning down some members of the League of Assassins, only for Jason to 1: Deny that it’s him, and 2:

Have some lunch.

Unfortunately, this is a DEATH BATTLE, and this season’s theme seems to be “This guy messed with my food, so I’m going to kill them” so Winter Soldier shows up.

After a brief firefight, Red Hood manages to retreat, and Winter Soldier is confronted with a battle.

After disarming his disarmed opponent, the two start doing some hand-to-hand, and they eventually take the fight to the kitchen.

We eventually go into a knife fight, and it is glorious. Like, really awesome choreography.

Anyways, Winter Soldier manages to get the Red Hood into a pickle, but the ex-Robin manages to push him off and disable his arm.

Minor complaint: That is clearly a wingding. They could have at least stylized it a bit better to make it look more distinct from Nightwing’s.

Anyways, with this brief advantage, Red Hood manages to get Bucky on the ground, but Bucky fights back with the ONE THING JASON SHOULD HAVE LOOKED FOR AND THROWN AWAY THE MOMENT HE SAW IT:

A Crowbar. Naturally, this causes some major strain on Jason’s psyche, and makes him lash out a lot more.

Anyways, the Winter Soldier takes a moment to recover his arm, while Jason picks himself back up and goes for his last trick: Venom… The drug, not the Symbiote.

And after roiding out, we get Winter Soldier’s only line in the actual fight:

So, Jason starts beating around Bucky for a bit, even managing to bring him down to the floor.

So, yeah.

Finishing blow in

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Verdict + Explanation.

Anyways, Wiz says the line of “This was an even match”

And to his credit… Yeah. It really was.

They were about even in all areas, and Jason’s only major advantage was stealth. But outside of that?- Bucky blew him out of the water.

Yeah, Jason had training from monks, assassins, and Batman, but Bucky’s trained with commandos, assassins, and Captain America. He took experience easily.

And when it came down to defense, Jason was out of luck.

A knife breaks when hitting the bionic arm, but the same attack cracks the Red Hood’s helmet. 

Jason also had no real ways of stopping the arm for good. He could disable it for a time, sure, but it wasn’t going down so easily.

And as for breaking the grip from Supergirl?- Well, there’s a lot of context to that.

1: She wasn’t expecting the Venom. and

2: They weren’t fighting to begin with.

There’s no way that the Venom could actually match a Kryptonian’s raw strength.

Overall impression.

For the second Live-Action fight, I gotta say: That was awesome. I really did enjoy the lighting, and the choreography was really well-done.

I feel like there were some missed jokes here and there (For example, I would have enjoyed Boomstick making the comment of “Guess how I voted” when bringing up the vote to kill Jason), and the animated segment in Red Hood’s preview felt like it wasn’t informative enough. It was more of a joke that, in my opinion, fell flat.

As for easter eggs in the fight itself, like I said: I’d have to go back and try to find those for myself.

And the music felt a little muted. The first time I watched this, I was wondering if there was any music at all. Subsequent viewings does confirm this, but it really feels like the music was a bit muted.

And I gotta say: That Chekov’s Gun moment with Bucky’s actual gun was my favorite part.

9.3/10

Next Time…

Y’know, I’m glad we’re getting some Soul Eater and all, but…

Couldn’t they have at least made it Agent Venom instead? Switch it up a little, like c’mon…

Is there a fight that you want me to review? - Send an ask/request, and I’ll look into it!

Do you want to read my fanfic based around DEATH BATTLE itself? click here!

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you next time for…

A duo two-on-two.

[dick-g-ayson]

I couldn't resist, so here we go. If you're still taking prompts, "Join Me" for JayKon - I keep thinking bed-sharing (maybe nightmares?) and the cute kind of awkwardness. ❤️

Okay, @red-bri we discussed these at length and I am going to do both, so have some fluffy bed-sharing before the angst.

This went a bit longer than I expected, and not quite the way I envisioned, but I like it none the less. 😊

Warm light filtered in through wide open windows. Soft late evening late casting everything in a purple haze, street noise a quiet hum in the background. A quiet peaceful afternoon.

Too bad Conner couldn't enjoy a second of it.

Another round of sneezes, followed by the loud honk of a nose being blown, broke the peacefulness of the day, as Conner blew his nose for what felt like the hundredth time. His nose was bright red, and dry, his chest hurt when he breathed. Every time he tried to take a deep breath he ended up in a coughing fit.

If Tim and the others didn't get this mess figured out soon, he was going to throw himself out of the Tower and end his own misery.

"Ah-ah-ACHOO!"

"Bless you!"

Conner let his head drop back against the back of the couch, looking to see who had spoken.

He felt his heart stop for a moment, before beating again hard. For once, since this whole "no-powers, you're human now bitch + Haha you're sick too!", mess had started, Conner was glad the fever had given him a flush all over. Otherwise Jason would have seen the blush that spread across his face, and down his neck.

"Jeez, I'm s'prised y'didn't blow th'roof offa this place."

Conner just blinked at him through the haze of his fever, watched as he walked further into the communal floor. There was a slight hitch in his step. 'His knee must be acting up.'

"Although if what Timmers tells me is true, you couldn't even take the Baby-Bat right now."

Conner groaned and let himself slide down the couch, burying his face in a pillow.

"Ugh! I can't believe he told you of all people." He raised his head enough to glare at Jason, who was now standing at the foot of the couch, hands on his hips and a smirk on his face. "That why you're hear? To mock me in my hour of pain and misery?"

Jason laughed and Conner buried his face back into the couch, ignoring the pleasant twist in his abdomen, as the rich sound of it washed over him.

"Nah, I try not t'kick a man when he's down."

That got a disbelieving snort out of Conner, muffled as it was.

"Okay, I try not to kick friends when they're down. How's that?" Conner could imagine the eye roll that accompanied that statement.

"More believable at least."

Jason laughed again as he nudged at Conner's foot, "Golly gee, thanks mister. Now, budge up SuperClone. Y'don't need th'whole couch t'yerself."

Conner scowled and kicked out sluggishly when Jason continued to prod at his legs. Not stopping until Conner reluctantly pulled his feet up and twisted his body. He was now leaning on the couch instead of laying on it face first. "God,you are such a dick!"

"Nah, that's m'brother" Jason smirked as he flopped onto the couch. "Betcha y'can breathe easier now though. Cantcha."

Conner scowled, looking away, crossing his arms huffing over his chest.

Jason cackled in response as he kicked his feet up onto the table, crossing his arms behind his head. Letting his eyes drift shut with a satisfied smile.

It was only then that Conner noticed that the other was in casual clothes. A plain dark t-shirt, blue jeans, and boots. It was probably the most casual Conner had ever seen the other man dress. It wasn't a bad look.

"So why are you here?" Conner found himself asking after a few moments of silence.

"Hmm? Oh, Tim asked me t'swing by an' make sure y'weren't workin' y'self to death."

Conner scoffed, "Please, was he looking in a mirror when he said that?"

"Right! I told the little workaholic tha' he was bein' a hypocrite, but the little shit insisted." Jason shrugged his broad shoulders, tilting his head a bit to smirk over at the flustered Clone. "So here I am."

"Joy. I'm touched really, but as you-you can see I'm f-fine." Conner's words dissolved into a coughing fit that had the teasing melting off of Jason's face. He vaulted over the arm of the couch and dissapeared from sight, as Conner fought to get his breathing under control.

The coughing stopped after a minute and Conner was panting like he'd run a marathon, tears in his eyes, and starting to trail down his cheeks.

He opened his eyes to see Jason crouched in front of him glass of water in his hand.

"Here, drink this. Slow."

Conner nodded as he reached for the cool glass with a shaking hand, and Jason didn't release it until Conner had a good grip.

Once he was sure he wasn't going to chug it down, Jason stood and disappeared again.

Conner didn't hear him again for several minutes, when the sound of heavy boots approaching roused him from the light stupor, he had fallen into, while trying to remember how to breathe.

He looked up when Jason stopped in front of him, sitting on the table before the couch. He handed him a tiny cup filled with a dark purple liquid.

"Drink that, too. It'll help wit' th'congestion."

"This shit doesn't work, I'm -"

"Half Kryptonian, blah blah." Jason waved a hand, interrupting him. "Tha's th'half that's bein' suppressed, so right now you," he reached over and poked Conner in the forehead. "Are all human. And good humans take their meds. Now drink up, or do I gotta make ya?"

Conner scowled as Jason continued to smirk at him, shaking the little cup obnoxiously.

He relented with a roll of eyes, taking the cup and downing it in one shot. The bitter black cherry flavour hits the back of his throat and makes him cough again.

"Dude! I thought you said this was supposed to help?"

"It does when y'drink it like a normal person." Jason laughed as he took the cup back, setting it on the table. "Come on, up y'get. You're goin' t'bed t'sleep."

Conner tucks his feet up onto the couch with him, pulling the blanket he had been using tight around himself. His voice is almost child like, when he asks, "Why can't I just sleep out here."

"Because ev'ry Titan knows it's impossible t'sleep on the communal floor. Y'get tired out here, but y'can't actually fall asleep." Jason pushed himself off the table and stood hands on his hips, as he stared down at the sick and grumpy man before him. "Now you gonna get up on yer own?"

"What are you gonna do if I don't? Carry me?"

The smirk that Jason gives him is almost predatory in it's eagerness. "If I have to."

'He wouldn't dare, there's no way.'

Conner opens his mouth before he can stop himself. If he's asked later what made him say it, he's gonna blame the fever.

"Prove it."

Jason grin widens and he moves without hesitation. And for the first time, Conner can see why people fear the Red Hood. He moves easily, not as fluid as Dick and Tim, but still with effortless grace and power, and he can't help but choke silently at it, losing his breath for a moment.

Although that may also be from the shoulder digging into his gut, as Jason leans down, grabs one arm, and lifts. Conner rises off the couch easily, as if he weighed nothing.

"If y'thought I wasn't gonna take th'chance to flip a Super over m'shoulder, ta spare your dignity. Y'were dead wrong."

"Jason! Put me down!" Conner tried to push off Jason's back, but he found his arms almost like noodles. "Did you put a sedative in the cough syrup!?"

"Course not." Jason just patted the back of his thigh. "It's just extra strength, and since yer not used ta takin' meds, it's hittin' ya a bit harder. That's all."

"You-you villain!"

"Guilty!"

Conner continued to spout insults and snark into the small of Jason's back, as he was carried down the hall to the teams individual rooms. Only really paying attention when he realized Jason had walked into his room.

He looked up at the taller vigilante, as he was dropped unceremoniously onto his bed. "How'd you know where my room was?"

Jason shrugged not meeting his gaze for a second, "Learned th'layout of yer teams Tower awhile ago." There was a guilty look on his face as he refused to look at Conner.

Conner blinked as he tried to get his thoughts in order, everything was starting to feel like cotton balls in his head. "Why would...oh! Oh right....umm, sorry?"

Jason looked at him then, it was an oddly fond look. "What're you apologizin' for? I'm the one that came back messed up and hurt people what didn't deserve it."

Conner opened his mouth to argue the point, that it wasn't completely his fault, but a wave ofc Jason's hand cut him off.

"Anyway, tha's'in th'past now. Present issue, is tha'you," he leaned forward and shoved gently at Conner's shoulders pushing him back onto the bed. "Need some Z's, if y'wanna kick this cold y'have goin' on."

"I'm fine, Jay honest." He tries to get his arms underneath him, to at least lean on his elbows, but Jason just grabs his ankles, and still with that same smirk, pulls him further down the bed, so he's laid out flat. "What the-"

"Now, now, language."

"Were you born this much of an asshole, or is it something every Robin learns?"

Jason laughs loud and full, and Conner can't help chuckling in response, even if it makes his chest tight.

"Would y'believe me if I'said it was both?"

"With you? Yes. Totally believable. Now are you gonna let me up?"

"Nope."

"Jaaaayy..."

"Quit your whining, Kon." Conner hears the thunk of boots hitting the floor and raises his head just in time to watch Jason drop onto the bed next to him.

He throws one leg over Conner's closest leg, effectively pinning him to the bed.

"Wh-what're-"

"Doin'? Keepin' ya company." He grabs a book that Conner now realizes he must have placed there earlier. Probably when he went to get the cold meds. "Ya mind?"

"Uh, oh no, no! I don't mind at all." Conner blushes, and he's positive that it's visible over the flush of the fever, but Jason doesn't comment on it. Just adjusts his leg, and settles further against the headboard, smirk smoothing out into something gentler.

"Alrigh' then."

They settle into a companionable silence and it's not long until Jason feels a weight settle against his hip. A quick glance down shows him exactly what he expects, Conner passed out, using his hip asxa pillow.

He reaches down with one hand, smoothing some of Conner's hair away from his face, feeling the heat rising of his skin.

He removes his hand and pulls his phone carefully out of a thigh pocket and sends an update to Tim. He drops it on the bed on his other side and settles back in to watch and wait. And make sure whatever this is doesn't kill the Clone.

Once Tim and the others find a cure for this, he and the Outlaws may have to go pay Luthor a visit, and show him just why it's a bad idea to go after someone he cares about.

[bethliveblogsmovies]

Man of Steel... not my Superman

1. Very muted colors and weathered look for the Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures, DC Comics, and Syncopy logos. I take it this is not going to be a lighthearted flick. Is this Batman? Did I click on the wrong link?

2. Ah, childbirth. Just what I want to see in my superhero films. I mean, what were they thinking? The first image we see is a lady Kryptonian's face scrunched up in pain. Maybe start with anything else? The Kryptonian tax code. Anything.

3. No blood on that baby. Gotta keep the PG-13 rating. I would have accepted a throw-away line like "yo, Ma-El is popping out a kid". Didn't need to see it.

4. Russell Crowe is now lecturing to the aliens (sorry. "interdimensional beings") from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and discount Judi Dench.

5. Oh, man. I kind of was warming up to discount Judi Dench.

6. Zod has Friar Tuck's haircut. From now on he shall be known as Friar Zod.

7. 5 minutes in and I'm already sick of Krypton.

8. Now Russell Crowe is riding a gargoyle-dragonfly. Ugh. I'm having Obi-Wan riding a lizard (apparently, a varactyl named Boga. Thanks Wookieepedia!) on Utapau in Revenge of the Sith flashbacks. Stop reminding me of bad movies!!!

9. Ok. The creepy underwater baby factory was a pretty cool visual. You get points for that, movie.

10. Russell Crowe is a bit careless with that codex. Is it indestructible or something? He leverages himself out of the water by placing his weight on his hand holding the codex. Doesn't get crushed or broken? Ok...

11. Is this supposed to be emotional? We don't know these people. They're shipping their kid off while their planet's falling apart. Fine. A bit sad? Whatever. I don't care about them so their pain isn't compelling. Move on, movie. You're wasting my time.

12. What is happening? They're making a flash drive from information that was in the codex. I think? Also, that flash drive looks cool. Gimme.

13. Why didn't Friar Zod just shoot the ship with Superbaby in it? Nothing like unnecessary dialogue to give the plot room to continue. Also, why not have Friar Zod FULLY RESTRAINED? Superman's dad is not very smart.

14. So Friar Zod gets captured and brought before the Council of Unfortunate Headdresses and sentenced to 300 cycles of somatic reconditioning. You could do that... or KILL HIM. Idiots. The entire population of Krypton must be either stupid or insane or both.

15. Michael Shannon is better than this. My god. The overacting reeks of poor direction. Watch him in Midnight Special. He's much better.

16. Why are we still on Krypton? This is all unnecessary. This should not have taken more than 5 minutes and we're approaching 20. All we needed from Krypton was to know Superman was born, establish Zod as a bad dude, ship off Superbaby, and blow up the planet. We're never going to see this planet again. We don't care about anyone on it. The prolonged destruction sequence is just runtime bloat. Blow it up. Move on. 5 seconds would do fine. Pacing is ATROCIOUS.

17. The oil rig scene was kind of cool. Superman was acting heroic. Mark that down.

18. I like the scene where he gets overwhelmed by stimuli. Been there. Kind of. Although I'm wondering why he had that sort of reaction right then. Is it his first day of school? His powers show up at different ages maybe? He should be used to his X-ray vision seeing humans from being around his parents, right?

19. Helloooo. Putting a shirt on that should be illegal.

20. Superteen saves the bus after deflating the tires under the weight of his angst!

21. "What was I supposed to do? Let them die?" "...Maybe" Screw the many to protect the powers of the one? Cold, Pa Kent. Real cold.

22. Mayyyybe dumping on your teenager the fact that he's a space alien is not going to help with the ANGST? Should have told him as a young boy that he was different and introduced the space alien angle as soon as he was old enough to keep secrets. Would have given him time to acclimate to the idea.

23. Also, no way a scientist gives back a piece of metal that didn't originate on Earth. 0% chance. Have the writers of this movie ever met a scientist?!?

24. I would have made that jackass's skull concave, but that's why I'd be a bad Superman.

25. Also, that mangled truck belongs in the Museum of Modern Art.

26. Amy Adams! The real reason I subject myself to this movie. She's great in everything.

27. Why is Lois Lane there? Why aren't other reporters there too?

28. I hope that photo develops. Yikes. Internal hemorrhaging and cauterization via laser eyes? Kind of badass just to get a photo.

29. "I'm not printing a story about aliens walking among us." The Lone Gunmen would. Superman/X-Files crossover? Yes, please.

30. Not going to lie, I miss the underwear on the outside of the suit.

31. That monologue by Pa El is great for a trailer, but doesn't work so well in the movie.

32. Cool flying scene.

33. Yeah. Overpasses are TERRIBLE places to go during a tornado. Bad idea. Irresponsible of the movie to perpetuate that myth.

34. That whole scene with the tornado was stupid. I don't even know where to begin.

35. I like that Lois was able to track down Clark by being a good reporter. You get a point for that too, movie.

36. More quiet character moments please. Even if Henry Cavill has the acting range of a 2x4.

37. Teenage Clark reads Plato. He should be more popular.

38. Subtle, Zack Snyder. Verrrry subtle. Stained glass Jesus next to Superman's head... what could that POSSIBLY mean?

39. Clark is 33. Really, Zack? More messianic allusions? I'm not going to list them all.

40. Why would they want Lois? Makes no sense.

41. Friar Zod delivers the exposition. Boring.

42. They haven't done anything with Lois. Again I ask: why is she there? Plot contrivance so far.

43. IHOP! They must have paid for something.

44. The scene where Pa El helps Lois through the ship is cool, but still doesn't justify her being there.

45. Leave Ma Kent alone. Not cool throwing the truck into her house, Friar Zod.

46. Yeah, threatening a farm boy's mom isn't going to end well. Especially a farm boy with super powers.

47. 7-11 must have paid for something as well.

48. That street got destroyed. And that IHOP. Is this a Superman movie? Doesn't feel like it.

49. Watching supercreatures toss each other around is boring.

50. Sears paid for something too. Ma Kent had a Sears shirt on and the building just popped up.

51. Way too much destruction. And we haven't even gotten to the major stuff yet. "Realism" is sucking the heroism out of this movie. Tonally inappropriate.

52. 9-11 imagery. Wonderful. It's officially not a Superman movie.

53. Why is Lois on that plane? She's not military.

54. Oh great. Kryptonians throwing each other through buildings.

55. Did I just watch Superman casually jump over a truck that blew up a parking garage? Out of character.

56. This is so bad. I remember laughing hysterically in the theater during this sequence.

57. Some people got mad about Superman breaking Zod's neck. I'm not. It would be out of character for the Superman we knew before this film. For this Superman it is entirely within his character.

58. Destroying a military drone? Whatever. I'm too exhausted by this movie to care.

59. And now he's at the Daily Planet. The end. Thank God.

60. So Goyer and Nolan along with Snyder are responsible for this mess. Ugh. It's obvious they tried to go The Dark Knight route with Man of Steel and it doesn't mesh at all with the character of Superman. We have Kryptonian Batman. It sucks. Wonder Woman has the sort of tone Man of Steel should have had. I'd go as far as to say Man of Steel should have been even more lighthearted than Wonder Woman. To sum up Man of Steel: no, no, no, no, no. Maybe I'll do this for Wonder Woman next. Contrast a big mistake with a big triumph.

[theexperiment-hq-blog]

Conner Kent / Superboy, played by Basil

OOC Info

Name: Basil

Age: 20

Pronouns: they/them

Triggers: [redacted]

IC Info

Muse Name and Alias: Conner Kent/Kon El

What is your primary canon(s) for this character? 90s Comics

Approximate Age: 23, but looks barely 18

OTPs, BroTPs, NoTPs: all of the ships do it go

Give us a bulletpoint outline for what your character’s history might look like:

Conner was made in Cadmus labs by Lex Luthor using his own and Superman's DNA. He was initially to be a replacement for a 'dead' superman, which ended up being a complete failure given his lack of actual kryptonian abilities as well as not responding to mind control and being broken out early and escaping.

Conner is mixed and on the darker end of the spectrum, which is why he draws so much attention compared to friends like Bart who are on the same wavelength of obnoxious. On top of it, he's very out about being bisexual, which is a huge problem for most people since the last thing you need is someone who looks like a perpetual party boy kissing other boys on TV broadcasts. It's why some people can't stand him, even if Superman's initial stance on him didn't affect them. It's a race and queer thing, and he knows it is, but is very unapologetic about who he is.

Conner is closer than Lex than he is Clark for a variety of reasons; Clark initially rejected Conner, which forced him to go to Lex instead for practically everything from parental comfort to getting a piercing gun that would make it's way through his skin. He does easily find himself at odds with Lex given they both have different goals, but when it comes down to it, he knows he can count on Lex to have his back. He did initially get closer with Clark once he realized Conner wasn't completely terrible, but if he had to pick, Conner would still side with Lex in terms of the preferred parent.

He doesn't have superman's powers at all, but rather tactile telekinesis, which allows him to manipulate anything he touches, including himself. That's what gives him the ability to 'fly' and have 'super strength'. He is technically half kryptonian, meaning kryptonite weakens him, but he's 'normal' aside from that compared to other kryptonians.

Interview (Must be answered in character, third person, including both narrative and dialogue. Answer these as if you’re responding to a roleplay reply. Feel free to write as much as you like, but make sure there’s at least a good paragraph for each.)

What would it take for you to switch sides? (hero to villain; villain to hero; neutral to either)

"Well... Honestly?" Conner asked quietly, slouching back in his chair as if he was overly comfortable rather than off put at the question. "It's kind of something I quietly fight with all of the time." He admitted softly. "Heroes and villains are kind of this concept of right versus wrong, and if a lot of people think doing the right thing is wrong, then I guess I'm a bad guy." He quietly laced his gloved hands over his torso, as if preparing to settle in for a long nap. "Like with all of the current stuff going down on earth... Like Kaepernick for example-" He started, sitting up and holding his hands out to explain as if the answer was right in front of him. "The football guy who takes a knee over standing for the anthem? There are people who literally send this guy DEATH threats because of what he's doing. People think he's in the wrong- that he's a bad guy all for KNEELING because people are being KILLED. So again..." He shrugged quietly, as if it were obvious, yet terribly painful. "It's all perspective, so... it doesn't really matter- to some people we're ALREADY the bad guys. I'M already a bad guy..." He corrected softly, slouching forward on his knees and lacing his hands together, eyes locked on the floor. "As long as I'm doing what I want, it doesn't really matter... does it?" He asked, quietly looking up with a grin on his face, yet nothing about his expression said he thought this was funny- everything about it said this topic hurt.

How would you describe yourself? How would your friends describe you? How would the public describe you?

"Describe myself?" He asked with a laugh. "Dude, I’m a FULL TIME superhero and ‘Superboy’ is TRADEMARKED- Like there is an honest to god TM there, I'm a walking billboard for myself! Like I have friggin merchandise and shit, my guy. I don't HAVE to describe myself, Google me." He said with a hearty laugh as if this was genuinely funny to him. "My friends would probably say I'm a big meme, but it's whatever. If the worst they think I am is funny then I lucked out given genetics." He joked as if proving the point, giving a wide, brilliant smile. "The public's opinion can be swayed depending on the media they consume. I'm sure to some people I'm this really obnoxious punk kid who needs to get shot in the head," He made a gun motion and put it to the side of his head, sticking his pierced tongue out. "And I'm sure to others I'm a roll model- which is wild considering, but also at the same time like... I could be seriously worse." He leaned back with a wide grin, having fun with that question in particular, more than willing to show off his narcissism.

If you could gain any superpower/swap your superpower for another, what would it be and why?

"Oh man- actual Supes' powers, hands down." He quickly answered. "Like I'm basically a knock off man, everyone knows that. So like having legit xray vision that aren't in my shades or like heat ray vision or frost breath? A total package- the powers, I'm already the whole 9." He snickered, showing off his perfect teeth with a wide grin. "Sooo, this is where I make a plus one joke if you're free sometime." He added, winking at the interviewer.

What is a secret you have never told someone?

He paused, considering this. "...I mean a secret is generally something you try not to tell people, but... I mean considering, I guess now is a good a time as any to bring it up. Even people with super powers aren't like... invincible and unaffected. At the end of the day, we have to go home and deal with what happens, good or bad... and there's a lot of bad shit in there, you know?" He grumbled softly, shaking his head and resting his elbows on his knees. "Like you don't see the stuff we do- know people are being hurt and that you can help but for some reason couldn't and just... walk away from that unscathed. It messes you up. It's why good people go ape shit- they just can't do it anymore. You get PTSD and depression and like... I should probably be on meds or whatever, but..." He leaned back in his chair. "...Sometimes there are just days where I can't do sunshine and good times acts. Sometimes I gotta sit there for a week in the same shirt and not do my hair and live in a blanket cocoon while beating playing GTA seven times with some weird movie on in the back. I'm not always okay... and I guess the first step to handling that is to talk about it. I'm used to making a big scene, so... may as well let other people know that even superheroes need help some time, right?" He offered, giving an almost apologetic smile as if it was his fault he wasn't okay.

If there was one choice in your past you could change, what would it be?

He paused to think, reliving a few moments. "...I duuno. There's a lot of shit I probably shouldn't have done or changed." He admitted with a laugh. "Is this just one fuck up or can I fix a few? Because some part of me always regrets the firecracker incident." He said with a soundless snicker as he covered his hand with his mouth. "Uh... I'm not... gonna say what it is, but even though it's funny now it put my stupid ass in the hospital for a little bit because I'll basically let Tim talk me into anything because he's my favorite kind of cute." He couldn't help but snicker the entire time he was talking, occasionally pausing to wheeze at the memory. "Ohhh, man... I cannot believe I'm still such a hot mess, I'd probably still do that now if I got trashed enough because it's so funny. So I guess never mind on that? I dunno man there's serious shit I can think of too but like... Jeezus christ I can't even think now." He dissolved into laughter again, covering his face with his hand while he couldn't stop himself from laughing so hard.

If you had one day where you could do anything you want, free of consequences, what would you do?

Conner paused, thinking quietly about all of the good he could do. How he could handle the root issues of wars. How he could have Tim help him hack into obnoxiously rich people's bank accounts to solve socioeconomic issues- literally fix things like world hunger with that alone. How he could hurl some people into the sun- kiss girls and guys and anything in between without them getting upset for some reason or another. How he could take a damn day off without feeling guilty about it- maybe catch up on playing some NES games he hadn't touched in a while. So many ideas came to mind at the concept of it being 'consequence free'. But no. He could do something much more devastating. Something that would state the little terror that was always nagging at him to shove someone off of a roof or punch someone into a yard or steal a dog just because it was cute. A wide grin grew on his face that said he was very much Lex as he was Clark. "...I'd give Lex Luthor a wedgie so hard he's underwear would rip and then would leave him hanging from some really public place where everyone could see him." He couldn't help but laugh half way though his sentence, the idea fucking hysterical to him.

Extras

https://uppers-and-90s-bullshit.tumblr.com/

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

In Case of Emergency

Fandom: Supergirl Rating: T Summary: In which smol Alex is basically Kari from The Incredibles. And special guest appearance by the Super Friends via framing device! A/N: Idea came from this post. 

...

“What is this?”

That Spring Cleaning has become a group affair is entirely to blame on Kara's insistence that the Super Friends haven't been spending nearly enough time together. Winn and James agree, of course, but they'd honestly prefer something like...mini-golf, or maybe trying out the new Italian place down on Third.

But, no. Spring Cleaning it is. For some reason.

(Neither mentions the cardboard box with large, angry Kryptonian text in thick black marker scrawled on the side, sitting in the hallway and filled to the brim with the personal effects of one recently relocated Daxamite prince.)

“That's a box, Winn,” Kara teases him, easily moving the bookshelf (books, knick-knacks and all) back where it belongs as James gathers up the chord to the vacuum.

“Har har,” Winn rolls his eyes and hoists the box from its hiding place, “I noticed, thanks. And I also noticed this,” he pivots the box so that both James and Kara can read the label.

In wide, wobbly letters, the words: KARA KIT stare back at them.

James tilts his head to the side as Kara's mouth drops open.

“That—it's—”

“Ooooh, now I'm curious,” James follows Winn to the kitchen table, where he deposits the box and begins pulling on the cardboard flaps. “Hey, man. Wait for Kara to say it's okay.” Winn pulls his hands back sheepishly. “You're gonna say it's okay, right? You gotta say it's okay.” There's a light, teasing quality to his voice, though Kara knows if she were to tell them no, they'd both leave it be.

Oh, they would whine, certainly. But they would respect her wishes.

“I don—” she begins to say, but the front door opens, interrupting her.

It's Alex, who comes bearing pizza and the promise of two more visitors, once Maggie and M'gann get off work.

“Dude, gross, get the dusty boxes off the table, come on,” Alex nods towards the item in question, and punches Winn's shoulder.

“Do you know about this?” James points at the box and turns it so that Alex can read the writing.

Kara watches the exchange, and feels a mighty groan coming on.

Because Alex grins slowly, setting the pizza aside.

“Ooooh yeah I do,” she says, “I made it.”

“I'm sensing a story,” Winn declares, grabbing a bottle of beer from the fridge and gracelessly maneuvering a cheesy slice of pizza onto a paper plate. (Since all of the actual plates are...missing in action. Thanks to Spring Cleaning.)

“Come on,” Kara protests feebly, though she still joins the trio on the couch, swiping a mere three slices as opposed to her usual five. “Alex. No.”

James grins and pats Alex's shoulder.

“Alex, yes.”

Alex was fourteen, and growing to hate the phrase, keep an eye on her.

Keep an eye on her meant Saturday nights spent at home, because no way was she taking her alien sister to the movies to hang out with her friends.

Keep an eye on her meant perfect waves, wasted, because Kara was doing something weird and she had to paddle back to shore and put an end to it.

Keep an eye on her meant risking grievous injury on numerous occasions, because the alien invader had all this superhuman power pent up in her per-pubescent frame, and absolutely zero means of controlling it.

“Keep an eye on her, sweetie,” her mom said, grabbing her coat and heading for the door. “We'll be back later tonight.”

“Ugh, come on,” Alex grumbled under her breath. Kara pretended like she couldn't hear, which would have been funny, if Alex didn't find it so annoying. “She's like, thirteen. She can look after herself.”

Her mom's hand wavered over the doorknob.

“Alex...why don't you...come out to the car, real quick,” she said with forced patience. And Alex had to bite back more grumbling, because great, now she was going to get a lecture on top of it all.

(It was her own fault, she knew.)

They walked out to the car, passing the small yet noticeable chunk of missing driveway from where Kara caught her foot and tripped last week, and the patch of burnt sod from a heat-vision mishap.

“Alex,” her mom started to say, taking a deep breath. Alex braced herself for the worst, fists clenching at her sides and shoulders going stiff. “Please.”

Well. Alex certainly hadn't been expecting...that. Nor was she prepared for the desperate exhaustion in her mother's voice. “Please just look after your sister for a few hours.”

There was something about the way her mom's coat hung on her shoulders—like it was suddenly too heavy for her, too much to bear. She was slumped inside it, weary and winded.

Alex thought about how stressful it was, suddenly having to share a bedroom with an alien.

It never really occurred to her that it might be just as stressful, suddenly becoming that alien's parent.

“Yeah, whatever,” Alex said, unable to drain all the sulking from her tone, but apparently it was enough to appease her mom.

“Thank you,” she said with what sounded like a grateful sigh. She unlocked the car and climbed in, reminding Alex of emergency numbers and which neighbors would be more apt to help, should they need it.

“Not the Stanfords...they're still angry about the window incident.”

“'Kay.”

“Mrs. Jimenez should be fine—or, no, wait...the fence—”

“Mom,” Alex said, cutting her off. “We won't need help. It's like. Three hours. Barely.”

“Never hurts to be safe.”

“Bye, mom.”

“And remember—”

“Bye, mom,” Alex called over her shoulder, not quite stomping back to the house...more like. Walking with purpose.

Kara was, unsurprisingly, exactly where Alex left her, still pretending she hadn't heard anything.

“I thought the glasses were supposed to keep you from doing that,” Alex said, stalking towards the couch. She absently brushed the inside of her forearm, the pads of her fingers registering the raised line of skin.

Kara picked at the hem of her sweater.

“Um. Stop me from doing what?” she tried to play innocent.

“I know you heard,” Alex said flatly.

Kara slumped. “It wasn't on purpose.”

Alex sighed. “It never is.”

She fell back on the couch and fumbled for the remote, turning the TV on and flicking  to one of the movie channels. Kara took a seat on the far end of the couch, reaching for one of the throw pillows as she did so.

(The throw pillow in question was threadbare and lumpy—a fairly recent development that seemed to coincide with the arrival of an alien who liked to twist it out of its shape whenever she was anxious or simply unsure of what to do with her hands.)

“Are...” Kara started, “...are you gonna watch a movie?”

“Maybe,” Alex shrugged, the heat gone from her voice. She was too tired to stay mad right now. She just wanted to tune out for a bit, watch some mindless TV. “...Yeah. Probably. Can you get the—” there was a blur of movement and some of the loose papers on the end table fluttered to the floor, only to skitter across the room as Kara came speeding back in. She slowed, but not quick enough, feet tangling in the rug as she came to a stop.

She stumbled, of course, and though Alex wasn't concerned for Kara's safety (Kara would be fine, after all; Kara could hit a brick wall at mach ten and emerge unscathed) but she was concerned for the vase Kara knocked over on her way down.

It landed with a loud crash, splitting into several large pieces upon impact.

So familiar a sight it was, however, that Alex just groaned in exasperation and made her way to the kitchen on auto-pilot. She bypassed the broom and dustpan, instead heading to the junk drawer, intent on locating some crazy glue.

(Once upon a time, the Danvers replaced the items Kara broke. It soon became apparent that such a habit would be too costly to maintain. Thus, crazy glue and duct tape were never in short supply, it seemed.)

Alex tugged the drawer open, and frowned. The spot usually occupied by the blue and orange tube was bare, save for a few bent paperclips.

So Alex headed for the study instead, quietly fuming the whole way. She was going to get in trouble for this. Somehow. Some way. She would get the blame.

She found a spare tube in one of the drawers in her dad's desk, and returned to the living room. Kara was still there, kneeling beside the ruined vase. “Sorry, sorry!” She was apologizing profusely as she gathered the shards and attempted to fit them back together like puzzle pieces. “I didn't think—I didn't mean to run. Really. I just...I wanted to be quick, and my feet kind of—”

“I know, Kara. Just...gimme that,” Alex said, reaching for the pieces. Kara obeyed mutely, handing them over, and watching with sad, sheepish eyes as Alex tried to fix the vase. Like a scolded puppy.

“Did you get the TV guide, at least?” Alex asked after a frustrating eight minutes of slotting the ceramic into place.

Kara handed over the rumpled newspaper insert. Alex put the (now lopsided and sticky) vase back on the end table to dry, and flipped through the pages. Kara curled up on the end of the couch, eyes downcast, pillow twisted out of shape in her lap.

Traitorous sympathy rose in Alex's chest, storming in like an uninvited guest. She was almost moved to offer some words of reassurance and comfort.

But then her eye was caught by one of the movies in the eight PM timeslot.

The sympathy vanished, displaced by a sort of scheming mischievousness.

“I know what we're gonna watch,” Alex said, grabbing the remote once more. “Okay?”

And Kara...sweet, naive, eager-to-please Kara, just nodded.

“Okay.”

For a while, the plan worked perfectly.

Because all Alex wanted to do, really, was give Kara a bit of a hard time. Mess with her. Make her sweat a little, to make up for being such a pain. (Unintentional, sure, but a pain nonetheless.)

The Jurassic Park movies weren't even all that scary. They was tame, compared to some of the other stuff Alex had seen. So Kara squirmed a little, hid behind the pillow one or two times, but mostly tried to put on a brave face and make like she was enjoying this.

“Liking it so far?” Alex asked with a smirk.

“Y-yeah,” Kara lied.

It was like that for a good portion of the movie.

Until.

(Alex should've known, and yet. Could not have known. Because Kara never told her.

Never explained what animals looked like on Krypton; what form of strange beasts plagued the inhabitants of Argo, or...Kandor...or wherever it was that Kara was from.)

Kara was already wound pretty tight, eyes wide and reluctantly fixed on the screen. Alex, of course, knew the film by heart. (Knew both films by heart, even if she thought the sequel was kind of lame—Lex and Tim were in it for like, two seconds, and no Dr. Grant or Sattler. What was the point?)

Alex could see the rigid fix of Kara's spine, pressed as far back into the couch cushion as it would allow.

The characters crept along on screen. The music died off. Sound effects tapered off almost completely.

Alex looked askance.

The T-Rex burst through the foliage.

Kara yelled.

“SNAGRIFF.”

There was a flash of light as Kara's heat vision went off, momentarily sending dark spots across Alex's vision before she turned away, shielding herself from the bright blue beam. There was a fizzling sort of POP that followed, and a dull roar. Alex lowered her arm and stared at where the TV used to be, now just a smolder heap of ruined plastic and wires and flames.

Flames.

���Kara!” Alex yelped, jumping over the back of the couch. “Kara, use the—put out the—do the super-breath thing!” her voice cracked with panic.

And Kara. Kara tried. But she was clearly freaking out, and Alex could see that the glasses weren't sitting straight on her ears—could see that a dozen different sounds were filtering past her weak defenses. So when she went to put out the fire...she missed.

She missed, and froze the arm chair.

Alex let out an unintelligible shout of frustration. She'd have to deal with this herself. “Damn it!”

Alex scrambled out of the living room, tripping over herself as she ran to the kitchen, fumbling with the cupboard beneath the sink.

Water, water, she repeated over and over in her mind until it occurred to her that they had no bucket and this sort of situation called for a fire extinguisher, duh.

By now, the smoke alarm had gone off, high-pitched beeping filling the house.

Alex didn't bother with shutting the cupboards, she just ran for the garage, cursing the fact that the fire extinguisher was so far away. Why wasn't it like. Inside the house?!

She nearly missed the four stairs leading down into the garage, and managed to catch herself before turning her ankle on the bottom step. She kicked aside cardboard boxes and all but fell onto the metal shelving unit against the far wall, hands running over an assortment of spray paint, camping gear, and  Turtle Wax (so much Turtle Wax—why did they have so many bottles?! They didn't even wash the car that often!) before brushing against the cool, slightly worn metal cylinder.

She tucked the extinguisher under her arm and tore back into the house, back towards the fire, and was quietly amazed that the room wasn't engulfed in flames. (To her mind, it hadn't taken five years to get the fire extinguisher; in actuality, the adrenaline had her there and back in mere minutes, if even that.)

Pin. Pin. Pin is a thing. She fumbled with it, eyes reading and yet not reading the directions for use. She recalled an incident one summer with some illegal fireworks in the backyard, her dad's patient explanation somehow piercing through the rising hysteria.

Pull the pin and aim at the base of the fire.

She did so with shaking hands, watching with sweet, sweet relief as the sodium bicarbonate did its job.

She wasn't sure how long she stood there, smothering the flames. Probably longer than necessary, really. It was with obvious reluctance that she finally took a step back and ceased the spraying.

With the fire out, and the extinguisher dangling in her grip at her side, the room was filled with only the sound of her ragged breathing, and the smoke alarm.

The sustained beeping was all she could think about, all she could focus on. It was hard to decide if the ringing in her head was from the alarm or just her ears, maybe. Eventually, her brain started formulating coherent thoughts.

And of course, the first and foremost of those thoughts:

Kara.

Her eyes darted around the room, but Kara wasn't there—hadn't been there during Alex's frantic attempts at flame suppression, had been missing since Alex had yelled for her to put out the flames with the...they needed to think of a better name than 'super breath.'

So she wasn't in the living room. She wasn't in the entryway either. She didn't remember seeing her in the kitchen...

“Kara!” Alex shouted, charging up the stairs. She probably didn't need to yell, but it felt appropriate, given the current circumstances. “Kara, where—oomf.”

And suddenly there she was, arms wrapped around Alex's middle, face buried against her shoulder, crying into her sweatshirt. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I'm sorry.

Alex sank to her knees, and Kara followed (not like she had much choice) and Alex found herself hugging Kara back, sort of folded around her sister's smaller frame.

“No,” she muttered, “I'm sorry.”

She said it over and over, and it still didn't feel like enough.

Winn sniffs loudly.

“Are you crying?” James asks.

“Are you not?!” Winn shouts indignantly.

James ignores him and addresses Alex. “So you've kind of always been trouble, huh?” He's half serious.

Alex raises her bottle of beer, clearing her throat before taking a sip.

“...That's one word for it,” she says once she places the bottle back on the table.

“I thought like. We were going to get shenanigans and hijinks,” Winn's voice is watery. “You totally sold this as lighthearted and fluffy.” Kara pats him on the back as he drowns his sorrows in beer. Or attempts to. Kara switches out the bottle with a can of Sprite.

Alex rolls her eyes at the display.

“I'm not done yet,” she tells him.

Winn sniffs again, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

“...What?”

“You think that was the only thing Kara set on fire?”

Alex didn't think she'd ever need to use the fire extinguisher again. The whole event had been traumatic enough that all involved were committed to never repeating it, either purposefully or accidentally.

“Did you borrow the CD player?”

It was weeks later, and Alex was making a conscious effort not to make Kara's life on Earth any more difficult than it already was. In fact, she was making an effort to lean into this 'older sibling' thing.

“Yeah. Do you need it back?” Kara looked up from her English homework as she answered.

“If you're not gonna use it,” Alex said, swiveling around in her desk chair. “I've got like. Five billion flash cards to get through.”

“I'll get it,” Kara offered, dog-earing the page and swinging her legs off the bed. She stood on slightly unsteady feet, which was...odd. For Kara. Well. Some of the time. Kara wasn't exactly what Alex would call graceful.

Still, she watched her closely as she rummaged through her backpack and withdrew the portable  CD player in question. (Alex really wanted an MP3 player, but she'd have to mow about fifty more lawns before that was even a remote possibility.) When she brought it to the desk, Alex noticed that Kara looked kind of...flushed. Like. The way people sometimes looked after spending the day at the beach—just a little too much heat.

“...You okay?”

“...I dunno,” Kara frowned, still holding on to the CD player. “...I feel kinda. Weird?”

“You can't get sick,” Alex felt weird herself reminding Kara of the fact. “...Did you eat lunch?”

“Yeah, I—” there was an audible crunch. They both looked down to see the plastic casing of the CD player cracked beneath Kara's fingers.

But Kara was barely holding the thing; Alex could tell.

Kara didn't even apologize, she just stared at her hand, and the broken CD player.

Alex silently reached for a roll of duct tape she'd taken to keeping close by, for situations such as this.

“Here, let me,” she said, extracting the item from Kara's (noticeably loose) grip. Kara let her take it, brow pinched with concern.

“I wasn't...” she looked at her hand and made a fist. “...I didn't even...”

“It's not a big deal,” Alex told her, wrapping the exterior in a layer of tape. “You didn't break the important stuff. It'll still work.” She placed a CD inside and pressed 'play' to illustrate her point. “...Well, okay, you broke the display so you can't see the track number, but. Who needs that anyway?”

“You've got them all memorized,” Kara said by way of agreement. Alex grinned with pride.

“Well, yeah.”

This seemed to put her sister at ease. She returned to her bed, and copy of Midsummer Night's Dream, flipping back to where she'd left off. “Did you guys really talk like this?”

“Guess so,” Alex said distractedly, mind already on the mountain of flash cards she needed to have finished and memorized before the test at the end of the week. She slid her headphones into place, finger poised above the 'play' button once more.

“So weird,” Kara muttered. And Alex couldn't see her face scrunch in concentration, couldn't see her frustration build as she struggled with the words.

But Alex could smell the smoke, once Kara burned through Titania's monologue. Literally.

“I wasn't even staring that hard!” Kara yelped as Alex stomped on the flaming book.

“Right,” Alex sighed, rolling her eyes.

“I swear!”

And it wasn't until Eliza and Jeremiah came running in with the fire extinguisher that Alex actually entertained the notion that Kara might be telling the truth, because they came bearing an explanation.

“Sol—”

“Solar storm! Solar storm,” Winn bursts out, throwing his hands in the air. “A solar storm messed with Kara's powers. Am I right? I'm right, right?”

James frowns.

“Dude. C'mon.”

“Way to ruin the flow, man,” Maggie says, nudging him in the side. Winn is undeterred by their ribbing, beaming proudly as he tucks his hands behind his head and props his feet on the coffee table. Until he removes them, catching a heated (figuratively, thank goodness) glare from Kara.

“You're...kiiiind of right,” Alex concedes.

“My powers were only affected because I was still new to the planet,” Kara explains. “Still adjusting? ...Eliza could explain it better.”

“Gee, thanks, Kar,” Alex drawls.

“...And Alex too, I guess,” Kara teases her sister.

“So, TV, book, part of the yard,” James counts off the destroyed items on his fingers. “That's an impressive list.”

“You can add 'Thanksgiving dinner,'” Alex tells him. James guffaws.

“You didn't,” he says.

Kara sighs.

“I did.”

Alex got straight A's, an MP3 player, and her very own fire extinguisher that summer. The straight A's earned the Zune, and the fire extinguisher was a gag gift more than anything else.

“You can keep it next to the duct tape,” her dad clearly did not expect her to take the advice seriously.

But she absolutely did.

She had quite the collection going, actually. She was tired of tearing apart the house any time there was a broken glass or a melted shoe. She liked having her tools close at hand.

At first, she kept them on the desk, where they could both grab them as needed.

But. They both needed the desk space for actual desk stuff. Like homework. And, as the next school year started, the refurbished Mac their parents sprang for.

So Alex relocated the items to the cardboard box the computer came in, storing it under the desk for continued quick access.

As Kara's control improved, accidents became fewer and farther between.

Accidents.

Monitored experiments 'for science?'

Those started up in earnest, once Alex grew to appreciate the unique opportunity an alien sibling afforded.

“You think you could like,” Alex broached the subject one afternoon after school, “boil water with the heat vision?”

Kara considered this.

“I mean. I probably could. Yeah.”

“...We should check.”

Thus began a series of tests that resulted in melted silicone kitchenware, dented pots and pans, the complete re-wiring of the toaster, chiseling the blender from a block of ice, and more botched recipes than either Danvers sister could count.  

“I am...thrilled that you girls are getting along,” Eliza said, pressing her palm to her temple. “But get out of my kitchen.”

They were forcibly evicted from the room, and did not set foot in it again until months later when, in a serious lapse in judgment, Eliza allowed them to return, pressed for time and dealing with surly in-laws.

“Kara,” It was Jeremiah who addressed her, as Eliza hurried to finish the green beans. “Do you think you could...” he trailed off and nodded towards the turkey, eyeing the door to the dining room, making sure none of the extended family were looking this way.

“Um,” Kara fidgeted. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, yes, of course.” He nodded firmly, even as Eliza glanced at them wearily over her shoulder. “A little bit of heat vision; it's just a little bit underdone.”

“This is a bad idea,” Eliza fretted. “The last thing we need is your family coming in here and seeing this and what if we all get radiation poisoning—?!”

“Hon, it'll be fine,” he assured his wife before turning to give Kara an encouraging thumbs up. “Right, kiddo?”

“...Sure hope so,” Kara tried to sound confident, and failed miserably. Of her powers, head vision was the most...startling? Difficult to gauge? She was getting the hang of it, but for more delicate tasks...such as reheating under-cooked turkey...well.

When the entire thing went up in flames (again, literally) Alex was right there with a cardboard box bearing the label: KARA KIT

She brandished her trusty fire extinguisher. “I got this.”

“There we go,” Winn nods, satisfied. “There's the light and fluffy.”

“So we can open the box now, right?” James rubs his hands together. All eyes slide towards Kara, who has her head in her hands, face beet red from embarrassment.

“Yeah, yes. Go ahead,” she flaps a hand at the box. “I mean you guys already know so. Why not.”

“I don't know why you're embarrassed,” Alex says as the boys tear into the cardboard box. “I'm the one who had to bare my soul and admit to being a horrible teenager.”

“Everyone was horrible as a teenager,” Kara argues.

“Mmm. Even on Mars,” M'gann chimes in. This prompts a laugh from the sisters...as well as the sudden, horrifying thought that, at some point, J'onn had been a teenager.  A child, even.

“Weird,” Alex mutters.

“So weird.” Kara agrees.

“Oh-kay,” Winn says, pulling the items from the box. “We've got the extinguisher (of course) aaaaand, looks like duct tape and glue. Just like from the stories, guys.” He tilts his head to one side and gives the girls a saccharin smile. “Cute.”

“Oven mitts?”

“For handling super-heated baking sheets,” Alex says, leaning on the table.

“Is that a welding mask?” Winn asks. And then, “Wait, wait. Where does your heat vision fall on the visible light spectrum? ...Should we all be wearing sunglasses for that?”

Maggie pushes past him and peers into the box, no longer content to sit on the sidelines. She wants in on this action. “A mirror,” she says, withdrawing the item in question. “Huh.”

James is the one who provides the explanation, surprisingly enough.

“It deflects heat vision,” he looks to Alex and Kara, who both nod. “Clark told us it's how he shaves.” James mimes the gesture, for good measure, though the accuracy was questionable at best.

“Ooooh-kay” Maggie says, processing the mental image of Superman having to shave in the morning. And then, after thinking about disparate amounts of surface area the two Kryptonians have to deal with, she gives Kara a sympathetic look. “Oh, God, that must suck.”

And they're all laughing now—even Kara, who's still a little pink, but mostly past the initial self-consciousness.

“Yeah, kinda.”

“I'm not gonna ask about the bricks,” James says, still removing stuff from the box. “...Okay, no. I'm gonna ask about the bricks and. Is that a leash?”

A new round of laughter starts up. Kara buries her face in her hands, her momentary relief short-lived. She's back to square one: complete and total humiliation.

Alex revels in it.

“Sleep-floating,” Alex says. “It's a thing.”

Notes: - Will I ever tire of referencing snagriffs? Survey says: Unlikely.