#this said as the evening news shows an another alien attack in metropolis with Superman flying in the background

[thisiswhereikeepdcthings]

Today my school had an emergency assembly because apparently SOMEONE (looking at you Paige) accidentally let a bunch of bats in and some of the students got bit so now everyone has to get rabies shots (preventative and post-exposure treatment) and a Manbat shot. No Child Left Behind, I guess. At least we don't have classes tomorrow, we're just getting vaccinations in the gym and then watching a movie. As a bonus the Wayne Foundation is paying for everything, because Manbat boosters might only be a few dollars but apparently rabies treatment can run in the thousands.

Didn’t even make the evening news but at least we’re not boring like Metropolis.

[zambie-trashart]

Miraculous New Jersey Special Part 1/3

1 /2 /3

Miraculous rewritten masterlist

Miraculous New Jersey masterlist

Summary: The class is going to Metropolis! Marinette has to decide if her crush on Damian is really worth it if he's not looking for love, Jon has to worry about his relatives liking his superhero boyfriend but on top of it all, Hawkmoth follows them there and Batman and Superman might not like their kids going back to Paris. Everything is legal in New Jersey.

...

Jon looked up seeing a mass of birds flying over him and sighed ready to have to make some sort of excuse to slip away from Damian who would, in turn, do the same.

"It's the bird guy again," Jon said smiling as Mr. Pigeon on round 69 at this point and a pigeon landed on Damian's head pecking him once before Damian shooed it away aggressively with his hand.

"I HATE BIRDS! They are literally flying rodents!" Damian yelled as another pigeon attacked him walking along with Jon.

"Funny coming from you, what do you think about this whole field trip thing to you know, home?" Jon asked as a pigeon landed on his shoulder and ladybugs fixed everything around them. Marinette and Adrien had everything handled this time so Jon was finally able to catch up with Damian and not run off as Multimouse or Superboy.

"I'm sure it'll be just fine, we're going to Metropolis not Gotham at least they won't be on father's territory," Damian said and Jon just sighed.

"I personally can't wait, dad's gonna meet Adrien for real this time and who knows maybe my teen wishes of having a boyfriend that my dad actually approves of might come true," Jon said hands held together smiling like a little lovesick girl.

"Ugh, I'm gonna vomit," Damian said shoving Jon who laughed shoving his hands in his pockets. "You are the exact reason why I don't do relationships," Damian added standing outside his residence.

"You never know who you might find Damian, keep an open mind," Jon said looking slightly above him to see Ladybug swinging away clearly heartbroken.

"What a great start to a weird day," Chat yelled off the rooftop behind Jon and Damian rolled his eyes opening the door to Nino's giving a nod to Jon and closing the door behind him.

"I just want them to get together already," Jon said as Chat landed next to him throwing an arm around his shoulder.

"Think, a week of bonding in Metropolis will have to get them together, there's no way they both come out of this single," Chat said and Jon frowned.

"Promise?" Jon asked and Chat tugged at the collar of his uniform nervously.

"Well, not promise but they'll at least be closer, Marinette never meddled with us and we turned out fine," Chat said smiling which made Jon relax a little.

"I guess you're right, no meddling," Jon said and Chat jumped away waving and going home to pack on a trip that his father for once agreed with was important because he would be meeting Jon's parents. Oh no, Jon's parents, they'd hate him. He acts like a flirt, dresses in leather to fight crime, and not to mention gets Jon in a bunch of trouble superhero-wise. Adrien flumped down against his bed letting out a groan.

Marinette sighed in her room staring at a picture of Damian on her phone when she heard a knock on her trap door and saw Jon peeking his head through.

"Hey," he said not even trying to act happy about what she had heard. "Uh, sorry for grossing Damian out of love?" he offered trying to make her laugh before floating over beside her with Mullo and Tikki running a hand through her hair comfortingly. "He'll get over himself soon enough I promise," Jon said and Marinette pushed Jon away.

"I don't want him to change Jon, I want him to stay the same and if he doesn't believe in love then I'll just find someone who does, Luka's nice," Marinette said and Jon laughed a little.

"Uh-huh, very nice, good at the whole kissing thing too," Jon said and Marinette turned red.

"I forgot about that, shit!" Marinette said laughing slightly.

"We have a trip to pack for, you want to impress Kara and Connor right?" Jon asked reminding Marinette about Jon's cousin and brother whom she hadn't met yet.

"Oh no!" Marinette said running around her room pulling out outfits and panicking.

"You know we all just wear flannel or leather right?" Jon asked and Marinette sighed.

"You guys really need a new wardrobe," Marinette said packing a dress carefully.

"You can't take the Kansas out of the aliens trust me," Jon said thinking back to a time when Kara tried on heels for the first time and then proceeded to burn them with her heat vision claiming they were evil.

"Go pack Jon, we have to get to bed early tonight so we can be ready to go tomorrow," Marinette chided with a wave of her hand. "Be sure to pack clothes I made you, I want to show you off!" she called after him and Jon poked his head back in her room.

"Already done Marinette."

This field trip had to go well, for both of their sakes.

"We're going to be late!" Marinette yelled as they rushed out of the house suitcases in hand.

"There is no way we're going to miss this plane Marinette, not today," Jon said nodding to her and she got on his back as he grabbed the bags running to the next stop around the corner where the bus would stop to pick up Damian and Nino for the trip before stopping at the airport.

"Damian!" Jon said exhausted seeing his friend.

"Didn't you two have your own stop?" Damian asked and Nino smiled at Marinette starting to make small talk.

"You know we're both late to everything, can't have that here though, I've been thinking all night about what I'm going to say to mom about Adrien when I first introduce him," Jon said pulling out a small notebook from his bag. "Can you go through these?" Jon asked smiling cheekily.

"No," Damian said as the bus pulled up and Jon sighed.

The actual ride went without a hitch until they arrived over actual America. Laughter and screaming could be heard from around the plane as an engine was taken out.

"Who gave the Joker a fucking jetpack!" was screamed from one of the passengers and panic consumed the entire plane.

"You have got to be kidding me," Damian sighed from next to Jon who went to get up but saw another red cape outside the plane along with a jet and he knew they would be fine, everyone else on the plane didn't exactly get that message through as Batman poked into the com system.

"Everyone relax, and let us do our thing," Batman said and that caused more hysteria.

"We're all gonna die!" Kim screamed and lasers were suddenly behind him in the form of Supergirl's heat vision.

"No one is dying," Supergirl said grabbing parts from inside the plane and Kim blushed sitting down but staring at Supergirl as she worked. "This good enough?" Supergirl asked holding up the part to Batman who nodded and she started to assemble the plane's engine while Superman and SB Prime were fighting the Joker who seemed to get his upgrade from Lex.

"One more screw should do it Supergirl," Batman said getting out of his jet setting it to autopilot to join the blonde just to make sure she wasn't missing anything. "Heat it up and we're good to go," he added and the class stared in awe at America's heroes who by then had Joker jetpackless and quivering in the clouds.

"Welcome to Metropolis," Superman said hands on his hips in classic hero position while Supergirl and SB Prime just laughed at him and Batman hopped back into his jet.

"Enjoy your stay," Supergirl said and Prime just saluted as they left the plane.

"This is going to be crazy," Alix said and Kim nodded watching the girl of his dreams descend the clouds. "Oh you are out of your mind," Alix added as the plane landed.

The kids got off the plane and were greeted by Clark, Lois, Kara, Connor, and surprisingly Bruce.

"Ready?" Jon asked Marinette, Adrien, and slightly Damian who shrugged as they walked through the gates and suddenly a lot more people than just Bruce from the Wayne family were there.

"You know I didn't believe you before Kent, but perhaps this will be more fun than expected," Damian said tapping his shoulder before going over to greet his family and Jon buried his head in Adrien's shoulder.

"Let's go."

...

JPS:  @crystalangelluna @liquid-luck-00 @thatonecroc @ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole @shadow-mystic @mochegato @wannajointhecrabcult @ranger-gothamite @moonspiritwolf1 @mochinek0 @toodaloo-kangaroo @ash-amg @enchanted-nerd @hateswifi

[silverwhiteraven]

Borne of the Stars - Chapter 4 - An MLB Kryptonian AU

Tag List:  @eve-valution @weird-pale-blonde-person @kris-pines04 @soulmate-game @abrx2002 @amayakans @vixen-uchiha @heldtogetherbysafetypins @raisuke06 @dorkus-minimus @captainartsypants @mopester-is-here @moonlightstar64 @annabellabrookes @daminett4life @toodaloo-kangaroo @the-navistar-carol @elspethshadow

[ Posted on Ao3 ] [ Chapter 1 ] [ Chapter 3 ] [ Chapter 5 ]

[ A/N: Alright! The Metropolis ‘Intro Arc’ comes to a close, and leads right into a bit of time-skipping! Chapter 5 begins Marinette’s journey into gaining superpowers in strange ways. ]

[ Summary: Answers are given and some backstory is filled in, but blanks still remain. It’s time for new friends to part ways. ]

“Meteor shower?”

Marinette looked quizzically towards her parents, knowing nothing of such an event ever happening. But she also knew there was a chance it had happened before they had ever met her.

Sabine stepped up, a more passive, if not helpless, look of cluelessness on her features. “No, as far as Tom and I are aware, she wasn’t. But, perhaps, she may have been. You see,” she began to elaborate, wrapping a reassuring arm around her daughter alongside her husband, “Marinette is adopted.”

Supergirl blinked at that, and Tom continued where Sabine left off before the superhero could ask any premature questions. 

“There was some kind of accident that happened with her original parents. Not her birth ones as far as the adoption agency knew. They claimed the DNA didn’t match any of the residents where she was found, and there was no birth certificate.” 

Tom patted his daughter’s head and she smiled reassuringly. She knew the story, and came to terms with it long ago. It had never really been a crisis for her, it was simply a fact of her life.

Marinette decided to pick up the tale herself and explain the rest.

“They don't know what exactly caused it, but the whole building had collapsed, and I was the only survivor. They suspected some kind of explosion from the debris. 

“The people who rescued me from the aftermath knew my name was Marinette because of a note that I had been swaddled with, but that was it. The note was too damaged to read anything else, but they suspect it may have been a simple baby-care to-do list for new parents. 

“So, I guess to answer your question… We have no clue. Why? You said you saw something, an old injury, could it have been debris from the accident?” 

Tom pipes up once more to fill in more blanks and open more questions. “There was no report of injuries from that, just your pre-existing scars.”

“And I don’t think they ever checked those,” Sabine adds, “likely assuming they were taken care of before the accident.”

“Scars…” Supergirl mused, looking Marinette over once more. “Marigold, they wouldn't happen to be over your right shoulder, back, and leg, would they?”

The Dupain-Chengs’ eyes were wide as they looked at each other before Marinette stepped closer, pushing down the right shoulder of her re-dawned over-shirt and the shirt underneath, twisting around to be able to show the faint scarring there in strange jagged, spotty patterns. It definitely looked like it had been something done by multiple culprits such as a dense scattering of tiny meteors. Or shrapnel from something much closer. 

Supergirl’s resolve seemed to solidify at the sight and nodded, stepping up closer and pointing to one of the largest of the scars between her shoulder and collarbone, then another at her shoulder blade. “Your back and leg have big ones like these too, right?” A nod in response, and she continues. 

“All of those spots have large chunks of crystals that I suspect might be from… a place I call home. I felt them when I helped you out back there.” Marinette furrowed her brow, wondering if that seeming uncharacteristic weakness and tiredness of the two superheroes had been because of these hidden crystals. Did she somehow really have a weakness to the indestructible heroes just sitting around inside her?

“Oh, sorry for being snippy back there by the way, I thought the crystals had been put in you on purpose, it didn't help that I recognized that other guy, too, I hope you can forgive me, Starshine.” Marinette flushed at the attention, not expecting the apology and another nickname, but she nodded in affirmation to the apology. Supergirl then stepped back as she continued on with a returned nod, and Marinette took it to put her sleeves back in place. 

“Anyways, I’ll bet my hat, metaphorically of course, that all the smaller pieces were removed by your body naturally as you grew, but the bigger ones stuck around. Get those checked out, long term exposure of my homeworld’s rocks can have bad effects on humans. To have none so far, you're lucky. Well, as lucky as you can get with already having, ya’know… Yeah…” The hero looked sheepish now, and Marinette just laughed softly, Tom and Sabine chuckling behind her.

“We’ll be sure to get it taken care of,” Marinette nods glad to have gotten help for something she hadn't even known was wrong. “Thank you, Supergirl. For everything.”

“Hah, it was nothin’,” the hero grins, reaching up to touch her hair, and instead clocked herself in the temple with Marinette’s sketchbook that she still held. “Owch! Oh! Ha-hah, that- that's definitely not mine, here- Actually…” Before she hands it back, she pulls one of the pencils out from between the bindings and scribbles down into the blank spaces between the Superman sketches. 

When Marinette finally takes the sketchbook back, there's two names and two numbers. The first, situated below the most detailed of the Superman designs, is the name Clark Kent, and a number labeled personal cell. The second number is vertically written between the Supergirl skirt and the sash design Supergirl had been admiring, and the name was Supergirl, also labeled with personal cell. 

Marinette’s eyes go wide at both, and she slams the sketchbook closed to hide them from prying eyes. “But these are-! You-! I can’t-!” 

She’s cut off by a full and gleeful laugh from the superhero. “Geode, It’s fine, don't worry ‘bout it! Really! Superman already told me to give you Kent’s for your reporter friend, the other one you can just consider an emergency contact for anything about those crystals you’ve got. That's acceptable, right? Good!” she beams when Marinette gives a speechless nod, and the designer could swear that Supergirl was actually doing something to make herself glow with the sun framing her from above her head. 

“I should be heading off then,” the superhero continued, and her glow dimmed with it, but she stayed grinning and proud, more content in the moment. “Think you need anything else or we good?”

Having a quick thought, Marinette reached into her back and slipped out one of her home-made business cards. She never actually used them, she wasn't ready to start her own business just yet, but they were convenient if she ever needed to give her contact info to anyone. This was as good a time as any to put them to use. 

She stepped up quickly and grabbed Supergirl’s hand in her own, slipping the paper into the other teen’s fingers. 

“Thank you again, Supergirl, I mean it. Thank you.”

The hero softens just a bit as she looks back at the bright, dirt covered girl she rescued from the Daily Planet’s main symbol. Her grin returns full force and she winks. “Any time, cutie, it’s what I do.” 

Marinette let's go with a laugh at the superhero’s antics, and finally releases her hand. 

With a wave from both Supergirl and the Dupain-Chengs, they part ways. 

A few things happen for Marinette after that day in Metropolis. 

First, after Marinette got back to the hotel her family was staying in, she made a call to Alya back in Paris. She told her about the villain attack, the destruction, and the heroes rescuing her. She made sure to spare any and every personal detail, both of her own and of the heroes’. Marinette didn't want to be teased or prodded about it, and she strongly guessed the heroes didn't want the wrong things getting out. Alya had dropped her phone upon hearing about her getting not just the contact for a well known reporter, but also securing a promise for an interview in her name. Alya at least gracefully respected that Marinette refused to give up the number, and planned to set the interview up herself to make sure she didn't break their trust in her.

After that, Marinette and her parents discussed the whole alien crystals in her body thing, and decided they should get them removed as soon as they returned home, not wanting their daughter recovering from surgeries like that while travelling. Figuring Supergirl would be too busy to answer a call, she sent a text instead about the decision. A fitting string of emojis followed by a ‘sweet! update me soon, ttyl’ was the reply.

Marinette didn't encounter either of the Super-Duo for the rest of her trip, but she texted the teen again a few days before they were set to leave. She asked about music recommendations, stating a desire to get a gift of CDs or records for one of her long-time best friends back home. Not only did she get a good long list of album recommendations, but also a short list of the best music stores in the city, in order of ‘best to still-best-but-slightly-less-awesome’, as Supergirl put it. 

After the Dupain-Chengs returned to Paris, the renovations of the bakery almost complete, they set up everything they needed for the removal of the foreign crystals. Once more, Marinette made sure to text Supergirl. And this time, they did see each other again. The American hero flew all the way to France to bring Marinette something, a Non-Disclosure Agreement for the doctors handling Marinette and the crystals. Apparently, her and her cousin used them in emergencies to keep their identities safe, and their weaknesses out of the wrong hands, as best they could. It only confirmed for Marinette that the crystals were indeed weaknesses to them, and she vowed to keep them secret.

Supergirl stayed in Paris to oversee the surgeries, despite how much it embarrassed Marinatte to have a superhero acting like a bodyguard at the hospital, let alone how much the girl told the hero it was alright to leave her on her own. Yet again, Marinette vowed to never tell Alya. She made the hero swear to it, too, though she was sure that promise wouldn't hold if Alya ever got an interview. Truthfully, she wouldn't really hold the other teen to it anyways, but it was nice to know Supergirl would still make the effort to keep it the promise. 

After the crystals were removed and Marinette was home free, Supergirl handed her a leather-bound wooden box, decorated in brass bands and studs, and lined on the inside with lead and velvet. Inside sat several chunks of glowing, ethereal crystals. Most of them were shades of green, but one sat in the center and radiated a brilliant gold. Each had been carefully coated in something clear, meant to prevent skin-to-skin contact when handling, without diminishing the beauty.

“Kryptonite,” Supergirl confessed with a sheepish grin. “Pieces of Krypton, the home planet Kryptonians like Kal-El and I are from. You kept them safe without even knowing it, I can’t imagine how safe they'll be now that you know they're here. Better than being anywhere near us or our enemies, am I right?”

Marinette had laughed, exasperated at Supergirl’s antics, but decided, for once, not to refuse the gift, and accept the new responsibility that came with them. It was the least she could do for a friend from an ocean and a few galaxies away. 

After a few weeks in Paris, Supergirl had to go back to Metropolis a week before Marinette’s last year of collège started, admitting to needing to return to start her first year of high school. 

Her final statement to Marinette had been to make a bet.

Marinette had laughed and fallen down giggling when she first expressed her want to make it. She was so used to Kim and Alix doing the same thing, realizing that they would get along well with Supergirl if they ever met. 

“Geode!” She had called out and declared with the largest air of confidence she could muster, “Geode, Blue Starshine, Princess, Macaroon, Cookie Dough, Buttercup, Blossom, Lil’ Butterfly, Darlin’, Cutie. Marinette! I mean it, and this is my bet! I am going to learn French! It’s going to suck, and I’m going to hate it, but you learned English, so I’ll try to learn something else, too, and maybe I’ll do it in time to surprise you with how awesome I am at it next year.”

“And if you can’t do it?” Marinette had giggled, the last of her laughter simmering down after the bold declaration. 

“I won’t,” was the answer. Yet she still added, “But if I do fail, I’ll take you to the one place only Kal and I can go, a little piece of Home on Earth. Deal?”

Marinette softened at the whole thing, and nodded with a soft smile.

“Deal.”

[gretchensinister]

Operation Welcome Mat (preview)

I usually like to post a fic for my birthday, and well, this is a few days belated, but sometimes that’s how it goes. This is a preview of something I’m working on, now, and it’s a branching out of my usual fandom territory! I hope you’re curious, and I hope you enjoy!

It all stems from the question: Why does so much stuff that only Superman can deal with happen on the planet that Superman is on? That’s not the question that Lois Lane asks, but it’s the one she’s going to find an answer for.

Lois Lane always checks her spam folder. In fact, she always opens each individual message in there. Ninety-nine point nine nine nine percent of the time, what’s in there is garbage, but garbage is not synonymous with useless. Consider the journalists in Portland who went through the District Attorney’s garbage to make a point about privacy. Her daily ritual isn’t on that level of significance, but she feels the point still stands.

           Today, she opens an email that isn’t promising free trials of herbal supplements, contact info for hot singles in her area, or insurance policies that will cover damages caused by any and all anomalous events for as little as $10 a month. (These last annoyed her enough to ask Louise in Business to do a small expose on such companies—turns out, the fine print stated that given the regularity of attacks on Metropolis by aliens, robots, metahumans, etc., etc., these events could not be considered anomalous. Fucking scammers. She’s pretty sure they’re involved in a class-action lawsuit right now.)

           Instead, it reads thus:

           I am sending this to you because I think you are the only person in the world who might have adequate protection after I tell you this. It is for my safety and yours that I have not used your name or described what that protection might be.

           I ask you to use any and all resources you have at your disposal to investigate Operation Welcome Mat. I cannot tell you much more without compromising the slight chance this communication has of reaching you. However, I do not exaggerate when I say that the revealing—anything more I dare not hope for—of this operation will affect every human life on Earth.

           Sincerely,

                       One who works in the organization that knows you always check your spam folder

           The remaining message is a long and rambling series of testimonials for anti-aging and potency supplements, but Lois sees no reason to consider these as marks against the authenticity of the original message. Camouflage is important. As is covering one’s tracks. She opens her desk drawer and retrieves a high-quality digital camera that’s nevertheless old enough that it needs an actual physical cord to transfer the pictures on it to any computer. Lois has kept it in excellent condition, save for, oh, the pesky matter of the fact that the delete function doesn’t work on the camera itself, and that she just can never find the right kind of removable memory cards. Darn, what a problem! Fortunately the camera contains a 5000-image capacity non-removable internal memory. She takes a picture of the relevant portion of the email—well, ten pictures—and then sets about blocking every IP address that’s sent her something that ended up in her spam folder today and deleting every email indiscriminately. She’d like to perform a more thorough delete, but she never does that with any of her spam, and she’s got a feeling that now would not be a good day to start.

           Amateurs might worry about how she deleted the original email, but Lois knows that if she finds anything, she won’t need that email, and for another thing, the writer of that email most certainly doesn’t want anyone to be able to analyze their word choices and phrasing.

           She rests her arms on her desk and starts letting her mind work through everything the email told her. So, she’s the only person who “might have adequate protection” after learning about Operation Welcome Mat? The only unique protection she’s had under any circumstances is Superman. In a few well-known incidents, he’d appeared to give preference to getting her to safety before others. Lois isn’t one hundred percent sure that’s true, as she knows very well that she might’ve been the person in the greatest danger during each incident. Over her career, she’s tended to disregard danger for the sake of the story. And she can argue persuasively that in order to be a successful female journalist, she has to be prepared to face a certain amount of danger; she can argue that her years of experience have given her the ability to accurately evaluate the potential danger of a situation. These arguments have been, and are, vital to her public persona.

           But under a few layers of “I have to do this” is the chewy center of “I want to do this.” It’s true! Believe it or not, Lois Lane, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, is a bit of a thrill-seeker!

           Good thing that might be exactly what her email contact needs.

           So. Back to the email. Back to Superman. She knows well enough that she doesn’t have a raven-haired alien angel at her beck and call, but, based on what the public has seen, is it more likely that she does than any other investigative journalist? Yes. So, if only Superman can offer her adequate protection, then—

           “Hi Lois,” Clark says, setting a paper cup on her desk. “Two sugars, no milk—” He breaks off into an almost cartoonishly exaggerated yawn that Lois nevertheless is familiar enough with to know is genuine.

           “You ought to buy some coffee for yourself,” Lois says, digging a few dollars out of her wallet and tossing them at him, which he barely catches. “I mean, if you’re going to volunteer to walk down to Reeve’s every day, anyway. And didn’t you grow up waking up at 4am to milk cows or whatever?”

           Clark smiles shyly. Like he always does. It’s a good smile, and on a kid who’s six foot three and probably better built than any of the barns he ever helped raise, it could very well explain why he always seems so exhausted in the morning. Though if Lois’ theory is true, she hasn’t seen or heard any other evidence of it. A gentleman never tells, Lois thinks idly.

           “I can and have milked cows in my sleep,” he says. “I can’t do anything in my sleep, here.” He looks down. “Uh, the truth is that I haven’t been sleeping well since the—what did they call it? The Chirauga Incident?”

           Lois grimaces. Yeah, Clark and half of Metropolis. Including her. When an army of aliens that big showed up all at once, there was no way to avoid some level of freaking out, special protection from Superman or not. “Yeah, the Chirauga Incident. Ugly sons of bitches, in my opinion. I killed one personally, you know.”

           Clark’s eyes widen in shock, and Lois grins. “What? I verified they weren’t bulletproof before going out to start, you know, researching my story.” But, because she is committed to the truth, even though Clark seems like he’ll believe anything she says, she has to add, “Well, okay. I’m pretty sure I mortally wounded it. Superman took care of it before I could find out for sure.” It had been clean. Heat vision through the Chirauga equivalent of the spinal cord. And Superman had turned to her with that red glow still shimmering in the back of his eyes. “Are you all right?” he’d asked, hovering a foot above the ground like it was nothing, looking at her like she was something. And she’d looked into the terrible weapon of his gaze and been stunned by the perfect surety that he’d never use it on a human being.

           And for all that, she’d never seen him look so alien.

           “Weren’t you watching? I had this one handled,” she’d said, with a rasp in her voice she hoped he’d attribute to the heavy dust and smoke in the air.

           “Well, in that case, I guess all I can do now is tell you to be careful out there,” he’d said.

           It would be nice if there was a discreet little jump cut in her memory right after that, but, unfortunately, Lois remembers with perfect clarity that she’d responded, “Sure thing, spaceboy,” like a complete and utter dumbass. But then Superman hadn’t laughed at her, no, he’d given her the smile and wink of an old-fashioned movie star before flying away to continue saving the world. She, on the other hand, had staggered off, feeling as emotionally churned-up as a teenager.

           The worst part about it, in her opinion, is that she knows very well that Superman has this effect on almost everyone who encounters him.

           “Ah, Superman,” Clark says, drawing her back to the present. His shocked expression has been replaced by the little smile she’s often seen him wear when talk of Superman comes up. She’s always thought there was something secretive about that smile, something notably different from the rest of his farm-boy guilelessness. (Though, she doesn’t quite believe he’s as transparent as he otherwise appears. And she doesn’t think that’s just her natural suspicion kicking in. For one thing, the Daily Planet is big, but not big enough that someone who was hired as a journalist could fall through the cracks and become nothing but a friendly coffee boy. She’s read some of his articles, the neighborhood news stuff he generally covers, and the writing is as solid as he is, with words chosen with care and sensitivity. There’s more to him than meets the eye, and if he ever decides to get ambitious, Lifestyle is in for a big surprise. For another thing, he’d moved to Metropolis during a metahuman surge, and that, frankly, was not what normies did, no matter how clueless they were.)

           The running undercurrent of what she knows about Clark and the smile that’s the one noticeable discordant note in the melody of the person she works with suddenly gel into a possible conclusion, one that Lois could’ve kicked herself for not even considering earlier.

           Talented kid moves from small-town Kansas, where he could’ve been a big fish in a tiny pond. And he doesn’t even move to a city in the same state or region, where he could have been a big fish in a medium-sized pond. Instead, he moves to Metropolis, where he won’t be a big fish at all, but where it’ll be a big project for anyone who knew him in Smallville to ever visit, or know anything about him he doesn’t want them to know. Metropolis, which, despite its dangers, still lives in the cultural mind as a place where the good kind of anything can happen. (Where Superman is often seen.) And when he’s here, he never, ever says anything about even going on a date with anyone, and mentions of Superman bring out that secretive smile. And he started off writing his articles with a clear awareness of issues that Lois has seen other straight white male coworkers fail to grok even after clear, baby-step-style explanations. And he’s never, ever tried to turn getting her coffee into something uncomfortable.

           So, possible conclusion: Clark is some flavor of queer, and still closeted/uncomfortable about it. But he can’t completely hide his crush on Superman because, well. Superman. And the kid has an honest face.

           Just goes to show, she thinks, how slow and unreliable gaydar can be, even if you are bi.

           But this does give her an idea on where to send him as she starts her initial investigation of this Project Welcome Mat. If it is big, bad business like it seems, Clark doesn’t need to get mixed up in it, even to the point of overhearing a phone call. And besides, it might help him accept himself, if he needs that.

           “You know what, Clark?” Lois says. “You need something to take your mind off shit like alien invasions.”

           Clark grimaces. “I don’t know if anything can.”

           “Yeah, it’s a toughie, but you’re a Metropolitan now,” Lois says, with more bravado than she feels. Some things you don’t get used to. But some of those things you have to at least pretend to get used to. “Get outside. Write your cat-up-a-tree article tomorrow. Do something completely out of the ordinary.” And then, as if she’s just thought of it, “Powtown Pride is going on today. Powtown’s a neighborhood. Pride’s something to write about. You could go there and see what you can see.”

           “Powtown?” Clark says, raising his eyebrows. “That’s the metahuman neighborhood. That’s…a bit more interesting than where Rowlands usually sends me.”

           Lois waves her hand. “Rita is seventy-eight and still thinks anything involving a metahuman is a front-pager. Perry can tell her otherwise when you bring back something nice.”

           “Well,” Clark says, warming to the idea, “there are a lot of misconceptions about Powtown that ought to be worn away by a reliable source like the Planet. I mean—there probably are. I don’t know, personally. But if everything written about Powtown was true, no one could live there. It’d be a smoking crater in the ground.”

           “So you see? Needs you,” Lois says. She smirks. “Be careful, though. They’ve got twinks down there that could rip you in half.”

           “Says someone who just told me about personally shooting a Chirauga,” Clark says. “No, no, I know—you had it handled. Anyway. Yeah, I will go.” He looks towards the windows and sighs. “After all, it’s a beautiful day to be outside.”

           Lois waves at him as he leaves, then glances towards the windows herself. It really is a beautiful June day, not too hot, vivid blue sky, puffy clouds slowly drifting by. Does Superman prefer days like this for flying? She wonders. Or would it not affect him at all? What would it be like to fly with Superman on a day like today—Lois sticks her tongue out in an exaggerated expression of disgust. She’s better than that! She has to be!

           Anyway, she’s got something new to investigate. Before Clark interrupted, she was thinking of what things out in the world only Superman could be adequate protection from. Well, aside from horrible things from space, that leaves a very short list that prominently features a house of a certain color and a building of a certain shape. And the name—Operation Welcome Mat—it has a very particular ring to it.

           But she’s still going to look into the rest of that short list. A direct assault isn’t the correct approach here, and besides, there might be connections, even if the person she’s going to call is officially blacklisted from government contracts.

           She scrolls to the contact in her phone for “Louis L’Amour,” and reaches out to someone who definitely isn’t a dead writer of Westerns.

Notes: I’ve decided to have Superman’s code against killing be specifically about humans/earthlings because for one thing, I don’t have to answer to Standards and Practices, and for another, I don’t feel like having every alien army be robots (which with sufficiently advanced AI doesn’t help anyway), and what do you want me to do, have Superman knock all the aliens out? If they’re going down long enough to be essentially counted out of the fight, they’re getting life-threatening brain injuries anyway. 

[argyle-s]

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME CHAPTER 16/38

Rating: Mature

Read at Ao3

Start at the Beginning

Kara, the DEO and the Superfriends make preparations for the CatCo Gala, and Kara hire's Cat's new assistant.

Thanks to @ifourmindbeso for her great work as a beta. Any remaining mistakes are entirely my own.

Chapter 16 –  Preparation

Vegas was fun.  She’d caught Zatanna’s act, courtesy of one Bruce Wayne, and then used the backstage pass he’d given her to talk to the woman who was one of the most famous stage magicians and most powerful sorceresses in the world.  The conversation had ended with Zatanna inscribing a handful of mystical glyphs onto Kara’s soul, which was a rather weird process, but short of some sort of talisman, it was the only way the magics could be made permanent.

Most of the glyphs were simple yet powerful protection spells.  A ward against lightning, a ward against sonic attacks, a specific ward against banshees, which had led to a couple of playful digs about Irish ex-girlfriends, which made Kara gag a little, which only made Zatanna laugh harder.  Kara was pretty sure, from the speed with which Zatanna had performed the ritual, she’d done the protective glyph thing more than a few times before.

The glamour had taken a bit longer, and Zatanna has explained that it was entirely related to the need to make the glamour both dynamic, and permanent.  Glamours were usually spells cast at need by the user.  Zatanna had told her that normally, she would have simply taught the person asking to cast the glamour themselves since most humans were tuned in enough to mystical energies that they could manage simple glamour and charm work, even if they couldn’t sling anything like a real spell.

The problem, she said, was that Kara’s mystical connection was tapped into the Kryptonian magisphere.  So, while it was a strong connection, strong enough that Kara could have slung some seriously heavy duty spell work, Zatanna didn’t know anything about how to teach Kryptonian magic.  That’s why the full protection package had been necessary.  Zatanna had branded the protection glyphs onto Kara’s soul as a way to forge a connection to Earth’s magisphere.  That connection was weak, but it gave her enough power to trigger the glamour which Zatanna had imbedded within another glyph.

When Zatanna was done, Kara had marveled at the result.  She could pick any color she wanted, just as long as she could picture it in her head and say the name backwards.  Saying ‘normal’ backwards would cancel the glamour, returning her to her natural hair color.  Then, Zatanna had dragged Kara out for a night on the town.

Kara was profoundly glad, when she arrived back in National City a little after 6:30 AM, that she didn’t *need* sleep.  She was also profoundly grateful alcohol didn’t affect her, because if it had she was pretty sure she’d have done unspeakable things to Zatanna.  The girl was beautiful and more than willing.  Worse, Kara could see the kind of understanding in Zatanna’s eyes that had attracted her to Sara.  The kind of understanding that only came from loss.  Even sober, she’d been hard to resist, and if Kara hadn’t known her in the future and known the kind of relationship she might destroy before it could even start, she might have given in anyway.  Instead, she’d spent the night playing the oblivious dork, a role which fit her rather well, and left Zatanna with a goodbye hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Then she’d flown home, taken a cold shower, and rushed out the door to Noonan’s with a lovely head of auburn hair.  Sally, her usual waitress, had barely recognized her at first, which was a good sign.  Three sticky buns and two breakfast burritos later, she’d picked up Cat’s latte and headed for the office.

“Wow,” Winn said.  “That’s new.”

Kara smiled as she sat down at her desk.  “You like it?”

“Yeah, but, isn’t it a bit risky?  I mean, Supergirl’s a blonde and you’re a blonde.  You become a redhead, and suddenly, so does the Girl of Steel?” he asked in a whisper.

“I can switch back and forth,” she said.

“That’s a wig?” he asked.

“No,” Kara said.  “I’ll explain later, but I will tell you, my stylist was hot.”

“Oh?” Winn said.  “Like, ‘I spent the whole time drooling,’ hot, or ‘I took her home and I had to change the sheets before I left for work,’ hot?”

Kara sighed dramatically.  “Sadly, the former more than that latter, but it was a close thing.”

“Kara, you have got to live a little,” Winn said.  “Everyone should have a smoking hot hairdresser story.”

“Do you?” Kara asked.

Winn blushed a little.

“Oh, you do,” Kara said, smiling.  She leaned forward a bit to whisper, “Him or her?”

“You’re just going to have to wonder,” Winn said.  “I promised Raphael I would never speak of it.”

Kara laughed as she checked her tablet for the day’s schedule.  “Are the servers for the website coming in today?” she asked.

Winn nodded.  “Should be here around noon.  Honestly, I can’t believe the contractors got everything done in two days.  I figured they’d be under foot for weeks.”

“It’s all about connections,” Kara said.  And it was.  She hadn’t used the normal CatCo contractors to build out the forty-second floor.  She’s used ones the DEO used for their ‘we need a new alien containment facility in under twelve hours’ type emergencies.

“Do I even want to ask?”

Kara shook her head.  “I’d tell you, but then I’d have to throw you into space.”

“Yeah,” Winn said, grinning.  “I’m okay with not knowing.”

“You have your tux for tomorrow night?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Winn said.  “I picked it up from Konex last night.”

“Good, I…” Kara stopped at the familiar hum of machinery, grinning just a little bit as she heard Cat mumbling to herself about having to listen to Angie Harmon’s long rant on how hard it was to be a Republican in the entertainment industry.  “She’s here,” she said, as she picked up Cat’s latte, adjusted so that only Winn could see her zap it, then stood up and got into position.

The door to Cat’s elevator opened up and she stepped out, eyes still on her phone as she deleted emails.

“Keira,” she said as she watched towards her office, “call the florist and send Ellen a dozen red roses, and make sure to tell her I’m always willing to do her show, any time she asks.”

“Yes, Ms. Grant,” Kara said, as she held out the latte.

Cat took it and started to raise it to her lips, onto to stop half way there.  She lifted her head and looked at Kara.  “I see you took my advice on the hair,” she said.  “Pity you weren’t so attentive on the wardrobe.”

If anyone else had said it, Kara would have been furious, but the slightly teasing hint of a grin on Cat’s face, the one she doubted anyone else would have spotted, took all the sting out of Cat’s words.

“One step at a time, Ms. Grant,” Kara said.  “I wouldn’t want anyone to die of shock, after all.”

This time, Cat did smile, though she took a sip of her latte to cover it as she started walking again.  Kara picked up her tablet and followed.

“Today is fairly clear.  The issue goes to print at 2:00 PM.  Everyone except fashion has been edited, approved and finalized.”

“What’s taking fashion so long?”

“Kelly managed to find a costume house who could make replicas of the Kryptonian outfits in the sketches Supergirl sent over.  The photo shoot was yesterday, but when I left last night, she was still waiting for the pictures to come back from the photographer.  She’s got a backup layout with just the sketches, plus some of the photos of Supergirl and an article about her costume in case the photographer doesn’t get her the prints in time.  I’ve looked over it, and the backup is really good, but she’s hoping to go with live shots.”

“Who’s the photographer?”

“Alex DeWitt,” Kara said.

“Hmmm…  Is that the girl from LA you convinced me to hire instead of Horton Spence?”

“Yes,” Kara said.

“Well, I hope she delivers,” Cat said as she picked up the remote, and turned on the TVs behind her desk.  “I…  Is that Maxwell Lord?”

Kara looked up and sure enough, there he was, sitting on the couch, getting interviewed by the host of ‘National City This Morning’.  Kara took the remote out of Cat’s hand and selected the specific monitor, turning up the volume.

“Look, it’s not a matter of inexperience.  I’ll be the first one to admit that so far, this ‘Supergirl’ as some people are calling her, has done a good job,” Max said.

“Then what *is* your concern?” the host asked.

“Look at what happened last Friday,” Max said.  “She blabs to the media that she’s Superman’s cousin, and not even six hours after the news hits, Reactron attacks her in the middle of a crowded highway.”

“An attack that seemed completely ineffective,” the host pointed out.

“This time,” Max said.  “But think about it.  How much danger were the people on that highway in?  Do you know how much Reactron’s fights with Superman have cost Metropolis?”

“No,” the host replied.

“Forty-nine million dollars in total damage,” Max said.  “And sure, Supergirl was able to shut him down, although how she managed that is still a mystery when her cousin couldn’t do it for years, but what about next time?  How many villains are going to go after Supergirl as a way to get back at her cousin?  You seriously think she’s be able to take them all down as easily as she did Reactron?  And even if she does turn out to be stronger than her cousin, that’s almost worse because all the aliens and monsters that used to go to Metropolis just to prove they were the biggest, baddest, monster on the block are going to start heading right for National City.”

“And if that’s not bad enough,” Max continued, “she seems to be some kind of glory hound.  She’s been flying around what, two weeks and she’s already giving interviews.  It’s no secret that CatCo is dedicating an entire issue to her.”

“Well, Superman gave his first interview just three days after he made his first appearance,” the host said.

“And we all know what that did,” Max replied.  “How many times has the Daily Planet been attacked?  Do we really want the same thing happening to CatCo plaza?  Mark my words.  National City does not need the kind of problems Supergirl is going to bring here.”

Kara jumped slightly as she felt Cat tug at the remote.  She forced herself to loosen her grip and watched as Cat muted the audio.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about Maxwell Lord,” Cat said.  “I’m pretty sure our girl is going to prove everything he said is wrong once we get her up and running.”

Kara took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  “I really hate that man,” she said.

“I’ve noticed,” Cat said.  “Someday, you’ll have to tell me why.”

“You mean aside from the fact that he looks at you like a piece of meat?”

Cat laughed.  “While I appreciate the sentiment, Keira, I’m a divorced mother who’s closer to fifty than forty.  You’re a little late to defend my virtue.”

Kara could feel herself blush a little, but she tried to shake it off.  “I don’t trust him,” she said.  “He doesn’t care about anyone but himself.  He uses people and throws them away, and never worries about how what he does hurts them.”

“The same could be said of me,” Cat pointed out.

Kara turned and looked at her, and she could make out the faint worry in Cat’s face, almost like she was looking for Kara’s approval.  The whole idea was ridiculous, of course, but something in Kara responded to it.  “Ms. Grant, you give two weeks’ severance to assistants who don’t last out their first day.  And yes, I’ve seen you fire half a department in one go, but I also read every single one of those termination packets, so I know every one of them deserved it.  You’re hard to work for, but you’re nowhere near as capricious or cruel as you make everyone think you are.  You care.  You may work hard to make sure people think you don’t, which I don’t understand at all, but I know you well enough to know you care every bit as much as Supergirl does.”

Kara turned back to the screen, where Max Lord was still pontificating.  “He doesn’t.  The only thing Max Lord cares about is himself.  He tells himself he’s some generous, benevolent nobleman taking care of the peasants because it makes him feel good about himself, but he doesn’t know what it means to really give or to sacrifice for someone else.  Maxwell Lord is a narcissistic little sociopath who’s going to kill a lot of people someday.  I just hope Supergirl is there to stop him.”

She started slightly when felt a hand rest on her shoulder and turned to find Cat giving her a concerned look.

“I’m sure if Supergirl is needed, she’ll be there,” Cat said.

The tension she’d felt from the moment she’d first spotted Maxwell Lord’s face seemed to melt right out of her and Kara wasn’t the least bit surprised.  Alex’s faith in her had always been her source of strength, but Cat’s faith in her had always been a guiding light, a way to find the calm in the storm until that faith itself had become the calm.  She reached up, covering Cat’s hand with her own, smiling at her, silently hoping Cat realized how much that faith meant to her.

They stayed there for a few moments, Kara knowing she must be smiling like an idiot, but too lost in the warm, caring smile Cat was giving her to care.  Much as she regretted it, she was the one who had to pull away when she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket.

“Excuse me,” she said, taking the phone out.  She sighed when she saw the call was from the DEO.  “I’ve got to take this,” she said.

Cat nodded.  “Go ahead.”

Fifteen minutes later, she was walking into J’onn’s office to find him, Alex and Susan waiting.

“You mind telling me what’s so urgent I have to walk out of work in the middle of a meeting with my boss?” Kara asked.

“You mind telling me why the President of the United States is attending your boss’s party tomorrow night?” J’onn replied.

Kara stopped and smiled.  “She’s coming?” she asked excitedly.

“Apparently,” J’onn said.

“Kara, what were you thinking?” Alex asked.

“That it would be easier to convince her to go ahead with the Alien Amnesty act if I could actually talk to her,” Kara said.

“Kara,” Susan said, “that’s not at issue.  The problem is, you invited her into a war zone.”

Kara turned to look at Susan.  “She’ll be safe,” Kara said.

“How can you be sure?” J’onn asked.

“I’ve convinced Ms. Grant to hang a Kryptonian Concord Banner on the side of the venue,” Kara said.  “No-one will attack, and if they did, even my Aunt’s forces would hunt them down.”

“Kara, I know you want to think the best of your Aunt,” Alex said, “but-“

“This isn’t about that,” Kara said.  “A Concord Banner’s sacred.  If it’s violated, every alien on this planet would hunt down the person who did it because they know what would happen if they didn’t.”

“What do you mean?” Susan asked.

“Krypton wasn’t alone out there.  Why do you think so many aliens were housed in a Kryptonian prison?  Krypton was part of a larger society.  It was a power near the heart of a league of independent worlds that spanned a sphere almost ten thousand lightyears in diameter.  If anyone violated that Concord Banner, every alien world within three thousand lightyears would send someone to hunt down the guilty party and see that they are brought to justice.”

J’onn closed his eyes and reached up to rub his temples slowly.  “Ms. Danvers,” he said.  “Did it even occur to you to consider what might happen if a human violated the banner?”

“It did, actually,” Kara said.

J’onn opened his eyes and looked at her.  “Really?  Because I don’t think you’ve thought through the possible consequences.”

Kara took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.  “You mean you don’t think I’ve realized I might have to be the one to enforce judgement if someone violates the banner?” she asked.  “That I might have to kill someone in order to protect this planet from the consequences of some ignorant, bigoted human’s actions.”  She walked over and placed her hands down on J’onn’s desk.  “Been there.  Done that.  Or did you forget already?”

“Kara!” Alex said.

J’onn held up his hand.  “No, Alex, she’s right.”  He looked at her.  “I’m sorry.”

Kara stood up, taking a step back from his desk.  “It’s okay,” she said.  “It’s a risk and I probably should have told you about the invitation and the banner first.  I’m starting to feel like I’ve spent too much time around Oliver Queen.”

“Um, Oliver Queen is dead, Kara,” Alex said.

“Unfortunately, only in this universe,” she said.

“Right,” Alex said.  “Not gonna get used to that anytime soon.”

“Tequila helps,” Susan said.  “Or it makes you forget about it.  I don’t really remember which.”

Kara laughed and Susan smiled at her.

“Okay,” J’onn said.  “There’s still a problem though.”

“What’s that?” Kara asked.

“We’ve been tasked to provide security,” J’onn said.

“Well, that’s not a problem,” Kara said.  “I’m in charge of organizing the party, so, I can slot you into the security arrangements.”

“That will certainly make things easier,” J’onn said, “though I wish we had more time to prepare.”

Kara grinned.  “Trust me,” she said.  “In about ten minutes, you’re going to have the most accurate intel on a location you’ve ever seen.  AND I know the perfect person in local law enforcement to serve as a liaison.”

“Who?” Alex said.

“Detective Maggie Sawyer,” Kara said.

“Your girlfriend?” J’onn asked.

“Really?” Kara said.  “How many times do I have to tell you I’m not dating Maggie before it sinks in?”

“I don’t know,” Susan said.  “Sounds like you might be protesting a bit much.”

Kara rolled her eyes.  “Look, we all knew Maggie in the other timeline,” Kara said.  “I ran into her at a bar after my date stood me up.  She’d just got dumped by her ex-girlfriend, who happens to be a Roltikkon by the way, but I’m really *not* Maggie’s type.”

“Okay,” Susan said, holding up her hands.  “Sorry.”

Kara nodded.  “Look, Maggie’s amazing.  I’ve seen her go toe-to-toe with an Infernian armed with nothing but a steel pipe and come out on top.”

“Sounds like we should be recruiting her,” J’onn said.

“That could be counterproductive,” Kara said.  “One of the things that made her so valuable to the team in the other timeline was her position at the NCPD.  She pulled us in on cases we would never have picked up on otherwise.

Kara watched as J’onn turned that over in his head, then nodded.

“I see your point, but we should at least get her consultant credentials and go ahead and start fostering that relationship now instead of waiting for whatever kicked it off in the original timeline,” he said.

“I agree,” Kara replied.  She looked over at Alex.  “You should be her handler.”

“Why me?” Alex asked.  “I mean, I’m already your handler.”

“The two of you were partners in the other timeline,” Kara said.  “Once you started working together, both of you started closing a lot more cases.”

“There’s something else,” J’onn said.

“What?”

“General Lane wants an invitation,” J’onn said.

Kara’s first instinct was to say no, but then something occurred to her and a smile spread across her face.

“Kara,” Alex said.  “What are you thinking?”

“Nothing,” Kara said.

“Kara, I know that smile,” Alex said.  “That’s your ‘I found the cookie dough mom hid under the carrots’ smile.”

“Oh, relax,” Kara said.  “It’s not like I’m going to debauch the man’s eldest daughter in front of him.”

“Okay,” Susan said, “am I the only one who noticed that she felt the need to specify which daughter she wouldn’t be debauching?”

“No,” J’onn and Alex said in unison.

“Just tell me where to send the invitation,” Kara said.  “I have to interview Cat’s new assistant in an hour.”

The woman approaching the dock was pale.  The kind of pale usually associated with someone who never went outside.  Her hair was jet black, and her lips covered in a dark red lipstick that stood out.  She was well dressed, in an expensive single breasted gray wool pant suit, covered with an even more expensive black peacoat.  The boots were well-made flats, which would have seemed slightly out of character if it weren’t for the distinct limp the woman walked with and the heavy derby cane she leaned on.  She moved quickly, but with every other step she shifted, leaning to the right as she swung an unbending left leg forward and planted it with obvious care, the cane coming down at the same time, providing support as she swung.  Her eyes were hidden behind large wraparound sunglasses.  If anyone had looked carefully, they would have noticed a slightly paler band around the ring finger on her left hand, indicating the absence of a ring that had once been worn.

Anyone on the docks who saw the woman would remember her, not just because she stood out, but because she so clearly didn’t belong there.  Yet, she moved with purpose, confidence and determination as she approached a small fishing boat.

If anyone had been able to see her eyes, they would have noticed that she was scanning the area with the skill of a veteran, watching for threats and for anything out of the ordinary, but the only one on the docks who did notice, though not from her eyes, was the target.  A tall, wiry young black man with blonde hair and tattoos running down his arms.  He was wearing heavy navy canvas cargo pants and a red t-shirt, and she could feel him watching her even as he shifted empty plastic tubs off a pallet, getting them ready to be loaded onto the boat tied up at the dock.

An older man was standing nearby, looking at her more openly, and seeing less about her than the man she’d come to see.  She dismissed him as a threat, but it was obvious he was her target’s boss.

She walked up to the target, stopping far enough away that they were out of arm’s reach, but close enough that he couldn’t ignore her without it being clearly deliberate.  He sat down the stack of tubs he was moving, and looked at her.

“Yes?” he said.

“I need to talk to you,” she said.

“Lady, I don’t know you,” he said.

“If you’re looking to hire the boat, it’s mine,” the other man said.

She turned towards him.  “Are you his boss?”

“Yeah,” the man said.

She slipped her hand into her pocket, and pulled out a wad of bills.  She peeled off five one-hundred dollar bills, and held them out to the man.  “I need two hours of his time,” she said.

He looked to the target for a moment and the target sighed and nodded.  “It’s okay,” he said.

The man reached out and took the five hundred, then watched as she counted out another five.

“This never happened,” she said, holding out the second stack of bills, which disappeared without any hesitation this time.  She turned back to the target.  “Is there someplace around here we can get lunch?” she asked.

The target nodded.  “Follow me,” he said.

She watched as he stepped by her, and even watching, she nearly missed him unbuttoning the pockets on his pants.  She smiled, impressed.  He was good.  She’d known that ahead of time, but he was better than she’d expected him to be at this point.  Of course, anyone who didn’t know him, didn’t understand, might have thought him letting her get behind him was a rookie mistake, but it wasn’t.  Not with so much water around them.  They were in his playground.

She followed along for nearly a block.  He didn’t speak until they were out of earshot of everyone else.  “Who sent you?” he asked.  “Arthur, or David?”

“Neither,” she said.  “And I apologize for the theatrics, but your friend in Metropolis had no idea what name you’d be using.”

“How’d my friend find me if he didn’t know what name to look for?”

“Long story,” she said.  “But he didn’t.  I found you.  I just checked with your friend to see if I could find an easier way to make contact.”

“You could have gone with something lower profile,” he said.

“Trust me, this is a lot lower profile than I usually am,” she said.  “Now, food.  Please.”

He turned and lead her around a corner to a little shack with a faded sign that declared ‘Best Sushi in Kodiak!’.

She felt herself smile as he waved to the old Japanese man behind the counter and headed for a booth in the back corner.  One that would leave him perfectly positioned to see anyone approaching.  She slid in opposite him.

“So,” she said.  “What do I call you?”

“Jack,” he said.  “Jack Gray.  And what do I call you?”

“Linda Lee,” she said.

“Sounds about as real as the limp,” he replied.

She frowned.  “What gave it away?”

“The cane,” he said.  “You did a good job adding wear to it, but you’re still thinking about how to use it.  The movement isn’t habitual yet.”

She grinned.  “Good catch,” she said.

Before either of them could say anything else, a waitress appeared.  The woman took a moment to scan her features.  Eurasian.  Based on phenotype, the granddaughter of the man ‘Jack’ had waved to as they entered.  Based on the smile on her face and the scent of pheromones she was giving off, she had a bit of a crush.  She was in for a bit of a disappointment and not just because ‘Jack’ would be leaving after today.

The woman watched as Jack ordered a Sashimi Platter, then turned to the waitress and ordered herself two ‘Kodiak’ rolls, two ‘Volcano’ rolls, and two ‘Godzilla’ rolls, along with a bowl of miso soup, an order of pickled garlic, a bowl of edamame and some fried oysters.

The waitress double checked the order, and looked like she watched to explain just how much food the woman was ordering, but she glanced at Jack and he gave her a slight nod, and she scrambled off to get them their drinks.

“I suppose that answers that question,” he said.

“I figured it would,” she said.  “I’m actually here to ask for your help.  The cloak and dagger stuff is less about you and more about me.  If I were seen here, it would attract the wrong kind of attention.”

“The disguise must be really good,” he said.

“Better than the one I normally wear,” she replied.

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but helping people is how I wound up in the mess I’m already in,” he said.  “I’m not in the business anymore.”

She didn’t respond immediately, because the waitress arrived with a platter loaded with their drinks, and the woman’s soup and edamame.

“Your oysters will be just another moment,” the waitress said.

“That’s fine,” the woman replied.  She waited until the waitress stepped away before turning to her soup.  “You mind?” she asked.

He shook his head, and she tucked in, devouring the soup in just a few moments, before turning to the bowl of steamed soy beans.

“Let me make my offer,” she said.  “If you don’t want to take it, I’ll give you two thousand dollars.  That should at least make up for me blowing your cover here.”

“Well, that’s more thoughtful than I expected you to be,” he said.  “Go ahead.”

“I need someone to guard a Queen,” she said.

“Not interested,” he replied.  “I’ve learned to keep away from royalty.”

She laughed.  “I can understand why,” she said.  “Arthur’s a bit full of himself.”  She watched the slight tightening of his jaws.  He’d taken offense.  That was a good sign.  It meant he still cared.  Not that she’d ever really doubted.  “But this Queen is unique,” she said.  “Like any good ruler, information is her primary weapon, but her goal isn’t power.  She wants to change the world, make it a better place.”

“Don’t they all?” he asked.

“The difference is, she’s actually doing it,” the woman said.  “Not with armies and bombs, but with words, newspapers, magazines, Twitter and tumblr, YouTube and Facebook, tv shows and radio.  She pushes and pulls.  Shapes conversations and narratives.  She inspires, leads, and gives people hope.”

“You make her sound like a Saint,” he said.

The woman snorted, and then laughed, slapping the table so hard the bowl of edamame bounced a few inches.  “Oh, Rao’s light, no,” she said, managing to keep her voice low enough that only he could hear her.  “She’s vain, conceited, self-absorbed, a little narcissistic, mean, fickle, self-aggrandizing, more than a little petty and absolutely the most pig-headed, stubborn pain in the ass I’ve ever met.”

“You’re really selling this,” he said.

She reached up and took her sunglasses off, showing him the brightest blue eyes he’d ever seen.  “I’m not interested in selling you anything, Jack.  She’s not a perfect person.  She’s hard to please, hard to get along with and some days, she’s hard to love.”

He stared at her for a moment, and nodded slightly.  “You’re not looking for someone to protect a Queen, you’re looking for someone to protect a friend.”

The woman shook her head.  “No,” she said. “Family.  I’m looking for someone to protect family.  I can’t do what I need to do if my attention is divided.  I asked your friend for advice, to help me find someone I could trust.  Someone who, if they took the job, would die before they failed.  Someone who would protect their charge, even if it was from him.  Or me.”

She saw the wheels turning behind his eyes, and saw the exact moment it clicked, and he leaned back, slightly shocked.

“You know who I am,” she said.

He nodded.  “I do.  You’re my friend’s cousin.  And I have a pretty good idea who you’re asking me to protect.  What I don’t understand is why.  She can afford to hire protection if she needs it.”

“There’s no one she could hire that can protect her from people like me.  You though, you could.”

Their conversation stopped for a few moments as the waitress arrived with their food.  The woman smiled and thanked her, and began mixing Wasabi into her soy sauce.

“Your skill set can bypass our gifts,” she said.

“I know,” he said.

“They would underestimate you.  It would give you an edge, a chance to strike from surprise.”

“Even so, those like you would be a difficult challenge.”

“And if it comes to it, I would be more difficult than most, because *I* am warded against your skills,” she said.

“Why go through such effort to protect someone if you believe you might one day be in conflict with them?” he asked.

“If you ever have to stop me from hurting her, it would be because I’m not myself.  Because something had altered my brain.  I don’t expect it to happen, but I’d be a fool not to plan for the contingency, since it *has* happened before.  And if it does happen, don’t hesitate.  Just put me down.  For everyone’s sake.”

He picked up a piece of his sushi and dipped it in soy sauce before popping it in his mouth, chewing slowly.  Once he’d swallowed, he asked, “If I did this, what would be my cover?”

“You’re be her assistant.  You’d run errands, fetch coffee, manage her schedule.”

“I can’t guard her full time if I’m off running errands,” he said.

“Neither could I, but she would never accept a dedicated bodyguard.  This is the best I can do,” she said

He shook his head.  “I’m sorry.  If you found me, I’ve already lingered too long in one place.  What you’re asking... I would be too visible, too rooted to the same spot.  Arthur and David would both know where I am.”

She picked up her chopsticks and selected a piece of her Godzilla roll, dipping it in the mixture of soy sauce and Wasabi as she spoke.  “You can’t keep running, Jack.  I understand why you’re upset with Arthur.  You trusted him, and he spent your whole life lying to you.  I understand why you hate David.  He’s a monster.  But you are giving them all the control right now.”  She placed the piece of sushi in her mouth and chewed slowly, letting her words sink in.

“I hid who I am for eleven years, not because I wanted to, but because other people were afraid.  I let other people chart the course of my life and I nearly watched everything I love burn, again.  In the end, I couldn’t do it.  If I’m going to be damned either way, I’d rather be damned for being who I am and I’m going down fighting, with my head held high.  This is your chance to make that same decision.  The decision to be who you are.  A better man than your father, and a braver man than your king.”

He stared at her for a long moment, then shook his head.  “You and Metropolis, you’re both dangerous, you know that?  You make people want to be better than they are.”

She smiled.  “You’ll do it?”

“Yeah,” he said.  “I’ll do it.  You think you could give me a lift to National City?”

“After I finish my Sushi,” she said.

Kara sat in the conference room, rubbing her temples as she waited.  Kaldur’ahm, Cat’s new assistant slash bodyguard was at her apartment getting fitted for the wardrobe Konex was making for him.  The suits were all going to be designer.  It had taken a little creative hacking to create Jackson Hyde, but Kaldur’ahm’s new cover identity would stand up to a standard DEO level security clearance.

The money issue had been a little bit trickier.  Kara was trying to do as much as possible above board, which was why she’d gone through the DEO for so many things, even before coming out as Supergirl.  But she wanted to keep Kaldur’ahm off the DEO’s radar, so there was a good bit of white collar crime involved as she transferred money pretty much no-one knew she had around, building a paper trail that didn’t lead back to her.  Konex was helpful in that regard, since most human cybersecurity was more of a suggestion to him, than anything else.

By the time CatCo’s HR department was finished digging, they were going to find that Jackson Hyde was a trust fund baby whose parents had died in a boating accident.  There would be some stuff about him working his way up and down the coast after college, before settling down in National City and applying for a job at several places around town.  It was all nice and pat, and Kara had no doubt Cat would see right through it if she ever bothered to look.  Kara really hoped she didn’t.

Kara looked up as the door to the conference room opened, and her face split into a smile as she saw the pizza boxes and the brown paper bag James was carrying.  She loved Sushi, but flying home had burned through those calories already, and she was starving.

“Pizza and pot stickers,” James said.

“That’s my favorite meal!” she said.

“I know that about you,” James replied, setting the food down on the table.  “Winn should be here any minute with Maggie and your sister.”

Kara took one of the pizzas off the stack and flipped it open.  “I love Hawaiian,” she said happily as she picked up a slice covered with ham, pineapple and bacon.

“Yeah, I noticed that the day you ate six of them,” James said.

Kara gave a slight pout.  “Alex never lets me order Hawaiian,” she said.

“That’s because pineapple does not belong on pizza,” Alex shouted from the hallway.  “It’s sick, and wrong and what the hell happened to your hair?” she asked as she walked through the door.

Kara smiled.  “You like it?”

“I… how…” she turned and looked at the door, waiting impatiently as Winn closed it behind her and Maggie.

“Damn it, Kara,” Maggie said as she looked past Alex, “stealing all the attention with the ‘hot librarian’ thing wasn’t enough?  You’ve gotta go and be a red head too?”

Kara gave Maggie a wicked grin, and said, “Elprup.”

Everyone else’s jaw dropped as her hair turned a deep, rich shade of purple.

“That… is SOOOOO cool!” Winn said.  “Is that a Kryptonian thing?  Can you change anything else?  Are you a shape shifter?”

“No, no, and no,” Kara said.  “Lamron,” she said, and her hair changed back to its normal blonde.  “Nrubua,” she said, and her hair shifted again, returning to the same shade of Auburn it had been when everyone walked into the room.  “I went and saw a friend of a friend last night.  She worked a little magic, and voilà.  Voice-activated color-changing hair.”

“Okay, wait a minute,” Winn said.  “Magic?  Like, literal magic?  As in the hot, I spent the whole time drooling, hairdresser did actual magic on your hair?”

Kara sighed.  “And yet, I’m the one who gets ragged on for not being able to keep a secret.”  She took a bite of her pizza and started chewing furiously.

“It’s okay,” Maggie said.  “I can wait until your sister is not around to get details.”

Kara glared.

“Not to be a spoil sport,” James said, “but I still need to get back and review final proofs for the digital edition of the new issue, so…”

Kara swallowed her pizza, and looked at Alex.  “Did you bring them?”

“Yeah,” Alex said.  “Though the director would have preferred to do this at HQ.”

Kara shrugged.  “I would have preferred to leave Sam Lane off the guest list for tomorrow night.  Sometimes you just have to roll with it.”

“Wait, Lucy’s dad is going to be at the party tomorrow?” James asked.

“Yeah,” Kara said.  “Lucy too, probably.  But Lois will be there too, so maybe that will keep him occupied.”  Kara did not miss the slightly raised eyebrow on Alex at the mention of Lucy, and decided distraction was the best way to keep Alex from figuring anything out.  “But right now, Alex has some papers for you guys to sign.”

“What kind of papers?” Maggie asked.

“Security clearances and NDA’s,” Alex said as she sat her briefcase on the table and pulled out three large envelopes.

“For what?” Maggie asked.

“You have to sign the NDA before I can tell you,” Alex replied.

Kara could see the argument building, and much as she’d like to watch Maggie and Alex go ten rounds, right now wasn’t a good time.  “Mags,” she said.

Maggie turned to her.  “Yeah?”

“Go with me on this, okay?”

She could see the hesitation, and she understood it, but Maggie finally nodded and sat down, taking the form from Alex and reaching for a pen.  Winn and James both sat down too, as Alex handed them their non-disclosure agreements.  Once all three were signed, Alex lay packets down in front of each of them, and they all up ended them almost immediately.  Each one dropped a leather ID folio on the table, along with a stack of paperwork with tabs indicating where signatures went.

“Welcome to the DEO,” Kara said.  “Since you all know about Supergirl, I convinced Director Henshaw to run security clearances for all of you, and issue you credentials as consultants.”

“Really,” Winn said, picking up his ID folio and flipping it open.  “This is so cool!”

“Winn,” Kara said, “You can’t show it off.”

“I know,” Winn said, curling his hands around it protectively.  “It’s still cool though.”

Kara grinned.  “Wait until Alex shows you the special features.”

“Special features?” Maggie asked.

Alex pulled out hers and held it up, showing them the DEO badge.  “These wouldn’t be much good in public, since the DEO doesn’t officially exist.  But,” she touched a spot on the side of the wallet, and the ID turned into an FBI ID, “we still get by.”

Maggie looked over at Winn, and both of them smiled at each other.  “Psychic paper,” they said together.

“Oh, no,” Kara said, looking at Maggie. “He did not get you started on Doctor Who.”

“Seriously?” Maggie said.  “I started watching Doctor who when I was five.”

Kara sighed as she felt Alex’s and come to rest on her shoulder, and turned to look up at Alex.  “I take back everything nice I ever said about her.”

“What?” Maggie asked.

Alex smiled as she shook her head.  “Please, don’t,” she said.  “No one wants to hear her rant about how insulting Doctor Who is to aliens.”

“Wait,” Winn said, “what?”

James just looked up at Alex in desperation.  “Where do I need to sign?”

“Heard the lecture?”

“From Clark,” he said, “And three of the Green Lanterns.”

“I’m not that bad,” Kara said, stomping her foot slightly, and making the whole table jump.

“Yes, you are,” Alex said.

[karaxlucy]

17. kara x lena

17. “You mean so much to me. Please let me help.” College AU, tw for suicidal thoughts

Lena’s hand was shaking as she clicked the power button on her TV remote. The screen didn’t go black the first time, and her unsteady finger had to come down again and again until the television finally clicked off and she threw the remote into the wall as hard as she could, biting back a shriek. 

Sinking onto the couch, Lena put her head in her hands. News headlines rolled across the blackness of her vision, burned into the back of her eyelids. 

“Lex Luthor Responsible for Terror Attacks in Metropolis.” 

“Superman defeats Lex Luthor, Saves Metropolis.”

“Alexander Luthor arrested for Mass Murder.”

It was on every channel. Even across the country in National City, everyone was abuzz with the news. In her head, she could hear talk show hosts musing about the exposed evil of the former playboy, about how he could never be forgiven, about who must have known about his hidden poison.

Lena felt like she was going to be sick. The musings about her and her mother on the news was one thing. The death threats that had already began popping up on her social media were another. But learning that Lex, her brother, who had played chess with her and tried to braid her hair and been to her science fairs and graduations when their mother was too busy and who had loved her so fiercely, was a mass murderer. She had loved him and he was evil. He was evil and she still loved him.

Her phone buzzed and whether it was an article being tagged for her or another horrible message on the twitter she hardly used, she didn’t care. Her brother was evil and disgusting and a murderer. She was probably evil for not being able to hate him.

And she had known how much he hated aliens. She had known but let herself be blinded to his actions and maybe this whole thing was her fault.

“I’m an awful person. I’m an awful fucking person.” Voicing the words didn’t help but she said them anyway. She gave them life and the power to drown her. She was a terrible person. The world would be a better place without Lex and it would be a better place without her, by extension. Unable to stop him, unable to hate him, unable to separate herself from him her whole life. 

Maybe all the people sending her death threats had the right idea.

There was a quiet knock on her door that made her jump as if it was a grenade. Before Lena could decide to ignore it, a soft voice said, “Lena? It’s Kara.”

Her heart swelled and Lena couldn’t tell if it was love for her girlfriend or just nauseous self disgust. As if there needed to be another reason that Lena didn’t deserve such a sweet, amazing girl.

“Lena please open the door. Are you okay?”

“Go away Kara, I’m not worth it.” Lena’s voice was thicker than she wanted, and her face burned. As if she had a reason to be crying. She was horrible.

“Lena, this isn’t your fault. Please let me in. You mean so much to me. Please let me help.” Kara’s voice was a little shaky too, and Lena felt a little pang that someone as amazing as Kara was crying over her.

The door swung open silently, as always, and the air seemed still as she met Kara’s eyes. They were shiny with tears, and Lena’s face was wet. She was suddenly aware that she was in sweatpants and had unbrushed hair and puffy eyes and then Kara’s arms were around her and she couldn’t think of anything but the warmth enveloping her.

Lena sobbed. “I didn’t know. I swear to god, he- he was just my brother.”

“I know, baby,” Kara’s voice was soft and sympathetic in her ear. Lena wasn’t sure if she imagined the bit of stiffness in Kara’s back releasing, like she hadn’t been entirely certain. “It’s not your fault. You’re going to be okay.”

“None of this is okay. He- h- I-” The words wouldn’t come out through the tears, and Kara wrapped her arm around Lena and led them both into the apartment at the sound of neighbors stirring curiously behind their doors. Maybe a little hatefully.

“It’s not your fault. You’re a good person Lena.” Kara lowered Lena back onto the couch, “Can I stay, we can talk about it or we can shut off our phones make hot chocolate and watch a movie?”

Sniffing, Lena nodded, and reached over to power off her phone without reading the sudden flood of hate on her lock screen, “I’d love some hot chocolate.”

[ciceroisthefamilycat]

So of course, the second half of SG this season is going to be a bit slow. Below the cut is what I would do to tie up the season if I had control (forgive my narcissism).

10. “Legion of Super-Heroes”

11. They’ve filmed this episode

12. They’ve written this episode

13. They’re currently writing this episode- presumably Reign escapes? Mon and Imra might have left, with Querl staying to help Kara

~Legends Episodes for 9 weeks~

14. Kara is sent to interview State Senator’s Aide, Natasha Irons (played by Samira Wiley or Zethu Dlomo), following a newfound effort to enforce stricter alien supervision (Steele is adamantly opposed to the policy, but limited on what she can do); Querl, who can’t hide his green skin, would in particular be endangered by it; a woman in a mysterious suit (like Guardian’s) saves Ruby from an untoward threat, after which Alex tries to track her down- they end up fighting and then sleeping together- unsurprisingly, the vigilante is revealed as Irons; Lena and James clash over the new policy, and he confides in her about his super identity; J’onn’s father, M’yrnn, gains an audience for speaking out about the policy

15. Laura Metcalfe guest stars as Winn’s mom. We discover that Winn is an incredibly realistic android, built by his father after the death of a flesh-and-blood Winn; James and Querl team up to offer him support during this time; Kara discovers the true origins of the Worldkillers- they were genetically engineered by the science council, which she was intended to join, and that her father Zor-El was in charge- she goes to Lena for advice about the revelation (sharing her secret if she hasn’t already by this point); Kara hypothesizes, based on something Reign said, that only a Worldkiller can kill another Worldkiller, and that “Reign” might be a parasite, which if extracted, they could save Sam

16. Lucy transports Maxima from D.C. (where she’s been working for the past year and a half) back to the D.E.O. in National City- Maxima claims to have information regarding the Worldkillers; however, she has bad blood with Braniac; Lucy brings Lois with her, and Lois offers Kara some professional advice and lets her know she’s being looked at for a newcomer award for her writing; James and Lena are nervous about what Lucy’s presence might mean for their relationship; it’s hinted that General Lane and Maxwell Lord are still in cahoots

17. Maggie guest stars; she has a strange case about missing children that she asks Alex to join her on; she is thinking of leaving for Gotham City, but wondering if Alex might still change her mind; the case leads them to an affiliate of Roulette’s, so Alex (with Maxima’s permission) uses Maxima to infiltrate the ring; she and Maggie wish each other well, but realize they’re both on a new path to happiness; her freeing of Maxima causes issues at the DEO later on

18. A special episode following minor saves of Kara’s and the team over the past month (from the perspective of those she saved) while also showing Reign assembling the Worldkillers: Flower of Heaven, Perrilus, and Deilmax (and mentioning an ominous fifth on Earth) from various planets; Alex checks in on Maxima frequently and the two bond over a desire for children (“isn’t having sex with other women antithetical to conceiving a child?” “well kinda but I love women” “how do you know?” “because… [all the reasons]” “oh… I think I might be a lesbian too” o_o )

19. James encounters the woman in the suit, calling herself Starlight; Kara is angry that more vigilantes are popping up, though James and Lena disagree and think it’s only fair humans help defend themselves; they learn that part of the supplies for her suit were stolen from one of Edge’s companies, and he’s now put a hit out on her; it comes out that Edge pushed her uncle out of his own steel company; she’s also stolen evidence of Edge’s criminal activities, which she is willing to turn over to get the other man arrested (boom, asshole is arrested); meanwhile Alex and Maxima talk about the hypotheticals of the two of them as females, but one of them an alien, being able to get pregnant, and Alex even tries an experiment (Querl might help with some of the speculation but none of the experimentation)

20.  [a-sort-of-not-really backdoor pilot, or tie-in, with Project Thirteen] Kara, James, and Lena head to Metropolis for an Awards Ceremony- Natasha and Alex go with them (with a bit of awkwardness); in Metropolis they hang out with Clark and Lois (who reveals to a jealous Alex that she is pregnant, and makes Kara think about her own future- she kind of wants to steal her cousin’s dog Krypto); James and Lena share how they feel to be back in Metropolis- that they’re happier in National City now; while out on duty that night, Superman is attacked by a vengeful vigilante, Byakko, a wraith-esque woman whose husband’s death he indirectly caused (he convinced the couple not to kill a villain, who then returned and slit the husband’s throat); Byakko is intent on punishing Superman; a local heroine in the slums, Girl 13 (Traci), shows up in the nick of time to use her urban magic to help Superman escape, though he is seriously injured- she takes him home, where Alex works on healing him while James, Kara, and Natasha get ready to help take down Byakko- they separate into two teams; while searching for Byakko Kara and James run into her husband’s murderer Sakki, and only narrowly avoid killing him in pursuit while Traci and Natasha stay to defend the house- however, despite a strong fight, they are taken out; when Byakko enters the home, and reveals that she is pregnant with her husband’s child, Alex implores her to remember that the Supers aren’t infallible- they may be aliens but they’re humans, and Clark is going to be a father too; Kara shows up with Sakki in custody and tells Byakko that she intends to take him to prison- unless Byakko is willing to do so herself, at which point Byakko agrees; Traci invites Natasha to let her know if she’s ever back in town

21. The awards banquet: Cat is the master of ceremonies (and is forced to hand an award to Lois), Maxwell is also there (he has an interesting interaction with Lena about Edge’s imprisonment) receiving a philanthropist award, Snapper Carr and his rather rebellious niece Shelly Gaynor (a long-form writer who does “participant observation” and did a story about Latinx illegal immigration) are also there, and Shelly beats Kara in their newcomers’ category; Cat makes sure to cheer Kara up and make her proud of her accomplishment; Clark asks James if he’s going back into photography at any point, prompting a heartfelt discussion between Lena and James (also businesswoman Lena takes the opportunity to offer Shelly a job down the road); there’s a subplot about (jealous former radio jockie) Livewire trying to sabotage the whole event and hurt Cat, and having an advantage because of just how much electricity there is in Metropolis; back in National City, Reign and the Worldkillers arrive and overwhelm the D.E.O. system, taking Maxima from her cell and leaving Winn’s injured (android) body (with circuits exposed) in a pool of water

22. the Superfriends (especially Alex, Querl, and Lena) try to save Winn’s life, though Alex is somewhat distracted by the abduction of Maxima; meanwhile they try to work out a plan to defeat the Worldkillers without killing them (especially Sam, who they hope to free from Reign’s influence), but they also try to figure out how to kill the Worldkillers if need be

23. cue conclusion that I’m not entirely certain about (but, hey, what if there’s a glitch in Winn’s programming now, when they do get him back, and what if there’s an ominous shot of Cyborg Superman Zor-El- with the implication that he, Henshaw, and Jeremiah will be the villains in the next season? also, in jail, Edge confronts Thomas Coville

[justdrifting]

your m'gann/maggie fic is SO GOOD. your AN said throw prompts at you so what are your headcanons for how M'gann even ended up in National City? And when did she first meet Maggie? =D (I mean id love a whole fic but only if you're interested/have time & energy :)

��thank you ok so i’ve been thinking about it, and you know i have no idea why m'gannwould choose national city. what do you think? does she like to stay in oneplace for a long time or does she prefer to move from place to place? i wonderif, with the reveal of superman and then supergirl – aliens that humans likeand trust – good aliens kind of flock to those cities, in the hopes of maybemore acceptance, protection, and community. so metropolis and then nationalcity become kind of hubs of alien populations. but i don’t know if m'gann wouldfeel the same way? also i think she’s been in national city longer thansupergirl’s been around so. i’m not sure?

but m'gann and maggie. oh boy. i’m determined to write this fic, at some point. but for now, here’s some ridiculously long headcanons.

1. m'gann has learnt that a bar/pub is kind of a perfect place to be. youcan talk and connect and socialise with people, without having to get tooclose. which is exactly what she wants, because she craves connection but shealso like, doesn’t think she deserves it. [until maggie freaking sawyer. maggie’s pretty damn good at turningpeople’s lives upside down, as we know. sometimes m'gann wishes she’d nevermaggie, because genuinely caring about someone, someone genuinely caring aboutyou – it’s hard, it’s scary, it’ssomething m'gann has had only a handful of times in her hundreds of years andsometimes it all feels too much and like things were simpler before. but thenmaggie will smile, or hug her, or just bethere, and m'gann is so goddamn grateful.] er, anyway…

2. maggie stumbles across the bar by accident. she’s tailing a suspectand they lead her there. she sits in a booth in the back, nursing a beer,watching them, thinking she’s being subtle. and probably she is – though this’dbe a few years back when she’s still a rookie so she wouldn’t be as good as sheis now – but while m'gann isn’t a detective, she pays attention and she’sperceptive, so she notices. after like an hour of maggie just sitting there,letting her beer get warm because she’s not going to drink on the job, m'ganntakes pity on her and brings over a bowl of fries. “if you’re going to sithere all night you should at least eat something.” before maggie canreply, m'gann’s like, “so what’s your deal? cop? angry ex? stalker?”maggie chokes. “god no.the first one. the first one.”“i see.”“you know anything about that alien?”and because m'gann is so nice and always trying to be good, to help, shesays yes.“well then, please.” maggie motions to the seat opposite her.they end up sharing the fries m'gann brought over.

3. days later, after maggie finishes her case, in part thanks to theinvaluable information m'gann provided, she goes back to the bar to share thegood news with her and thank her. maybe m'gann is just getting off her shiftwhen maggie arrives, and maggie insists on buying her a beer in thanks (sidenote: i wonder what/if m'gann drinks). so i imagine it would start somethinglike that. maggie keeps coming by, sitting up at the counter if m'gann isworking or waiting till she finishes. m'gann likes maggie a lot, she seems so effortlessly good and righteous and justwants to help people- m'gann likes being around her. maggie finds m'gannfascinating – she’s so quiet and reticent but tough at the same time, andalways so ready and willing to help.

4. [maggie finds out m'gann is not human when she’s coming to the bar onenight and stumbles across a fight in the alley outside. a weedy looking alienis being attacked by three much bigger, much scarier aliens. maggie’s about tostep in, though how the hell she’s going to take down three guys by herselfshe’s not sure, when another alien – female this time, green skin, black form fittingsuit with red stripes – joins the fray, knocking down one of the attackers andimmediately going for another. maggie doesn’t think twice after that, justjumps into the fight. she and the alien woman manage to fight off the attackersfairly quickly, but they run away when they realise they’re not going to win somaggie can’t arrest them. after, she turns to her crime fighting partner andstudies her. it’s dim in the alley but��“do i know you?” maggieasks.

m'gann doesn’t respond for a minute, but then she sighs, and shifts backto her human form. maggie is smart and she’ll figure it out eventually, shefigures. might as well get it over with.

maggie is shocked, but only for a second, then she laughs. “why ami not surprised?” sensing that m'gann might need some reassurance, sheputs her hand on her shoulder and directs her towards the bar. “come on,we both deserve a drink after that. and you can tell me all aboutyourself.”

over the years, m'gann has revealed herself as a green martian to acouple of people, some of them even friends, so maggie isn’t the first, but sheis the first in a long time.

this is also the night she tells maggie her name is m'gann, not megan,and when maggie softly asks if she would prefer maggie call her that, m'ganndecides yes, yes, she would. it feels good to be m’gann again, even with just one other person.]

5. maggie flirts a lot. as ifshe wouldn’t. m'gann is hot and she’s a good, interesting person, maggie is alittle bit enamoured. m'gann is kind of confused [i have so many feelings about “i feel it too, i just didn’t knowwhat it was”, my sweet sweet girl] but she likes maggie, more than shehas anyone in a long time, she likes having a friend or at least someone shefeels a connection with. i can’t decide if she knows maggie is flirting and isadorable and awkward and blushing all the time (making maggie just redouble herefforts), or if she is completely oblivious until maggie just outright asks ifshe can kiss her and m'gann is like ‘what????’ but also ‘ok, go ahead’

6. anyway, so they date for awhile. maggie has recently ended a prettyserious relationship (maybe kate kane in gotham, and the breakup the reason shemoved to national city) and m'gann has probably not had many, if any,relationships [this probably isn’t the time to go into my headcanons aboutmartian sexuality lol but i have them.]so it’s fairly…low-key? it’s not casual or a fling, and they care about eachother a whole hell of a lot and they like being together but it’s not thisintense, whirlwind, emotionally charged relationship. which is exactly whatthey both need. maggie feels like she can finally breathe easy again and m'gannhas the space and support to explore what relationships and feelings – caringand being cared for – might mean to her. m’gann never asks for anything maggieisn’t willing or able to give, and vice versa.

7. in this universe maggie also knows m'gann is a white martian. she isone of, if not the only person who has ever known this, and m'gann doesn’treveal it by choice. something with a fire happens. maybe they’re cooking and aflame gets out of control and too close to m'gann and her white skin showsthrough, or maybe there’s like a serious fire somewhere, in one of theirapartments or the bar or something, and maggie is maggie and rushes in to savepeople, and m'gann is terrified butshe’s not about to let her die so she runs in after her, and through the flamesmaggie turns and sees her girlfriend – not morphing, melting almost? and it doesn’tlook intentional either –  into somethingshe’s never seen before, definitely not her usual form.

after, m'gann won’t look at maggie. she’s convinced maggie’s going tonever want to see her again. but maggie is so soft, so kind. “you don’thave to tell me anything you don’t want to, i respect that. but if you do, iwant to know. whatever you think i’m going to hate you for, i won’t. i justwant to know you.” she’s sincere and open and m'gann can’t help butbelieve her, so she tells her. maybe not the whole story, but enough of it tobe fucking terrifying opening up about something she tries so hard to lockaway. maggie doesn’t look at her differently, doesn’t hate her, and it’s soincredibly necessary and incredibly healing from m'gann.

8. i feel like they probably date for a…not insignificant amount oftime. but as they both start healing a little –  as their relationship allows them that – theyboth independently come to the understanding that it’s love, yes,but…probably more platonic than romantic? m'gann still doesn’t really get it but she thinks that what shefeels for maggie isn’t that ‘in love’thing people talk about. and maggie’s kind of itching for that heady, rollercoaster kind of love again. they were never particularly overtly coupleyanyway, but they slowly become even less so. they’re both super awkward andtrying to hide it around each other at first, because they don’t want to hurtthe other, but eventually it comes out.

it’s pretty much the healthiest breakup of all time. they’re maggie andm’gann, they’re both such rational (ok mostly), conscientious people. they talkit out. mutually, they decide to break it off. they’ll take some time, maybe,but then they’ll give this friend thing a go. they’re kind of all each otherhas, they’re not going to lose that.

oh god i have to have to stop there, who knew i had this manyfeelings??? we haven’t even gotten to part 2: the friendship years. butbasically from then on they’re each other’s biggest cheerleaders througheverything. and they still hug a lot, because are there any characters who needa cuddle more than m’gann and maggie?! so they can cuddle each other. ok? ok.

[lenaluthorisgay]

A concept: after some disaster or another, Wonder Woman appears in National City to train Kara. Very early in this training, Maggie teases her for having Thoughts™ about Diana. Kara protests that she looks at *plenty* of her female friends that way. Maggie tilts her head. Things click. Diana is supportive.

It starts, as most things in Kara’s life seem to, with running late.

It starts with a missed alarm, a frantic rush up the elevator and into Snapper’s office, and a desperate prayer that he will not yet have noticed her absence.

(He has.)

It starts with him yelling and the sirens blaring, and her senses short out for a second at the cacophony. She has to go.

Only– he’s glaring at her and saying something about don’t you dare think about going anywhere, Danvers, and she’s frozen for a beat before she darts away.

That beat is just long enough for the rogue alien to capture three civilians. That beat, that moment of doubt, is long enough for her to have no time to plan, strategize.

Instead, she dives into the fray. The alien is strong–not quite as strong as her, but closer than most, and it takes its toll, one punch against her ribs knocking her clear back past the edge of the park.

She saves the civilians. She does not go back to work. She crashes into her bed, still costumed, and does not move until Alex’s voice wakes her.

“Kara.”

(Kara stirs, murmurs something that sounds suspiciously like Lena. Alex reminds herself to think about that later.)

“Kara.” Alex shoves her arm, and Kara mumbles, some vague no, don’t wanna get up yet, go away. 

“You’ve got to get up. You have a visitor. And I brought you breakfast.”

That is enough to fully wake her–she can smell the pancakes now that she is paying attention, can hear the extra heartbeat.

“Fine,” she grumbles, all but falling out of bed.

She expects Winn, or maybe James. Maggie, even, depending on how the park clean-up and investigation is going, or maybe Lena, if she’s secretly still asleep and having the best dream of her life.

Instead, it’s Wonder Woman.

Kara stops short in the doorway. Here she is, having changed into cat print pajamas. And there she is, all hands on hips and chin raised high, and Rao, it’s a sight she could get used to waking up to.

(Not that she wants to. Just that she could. Wonder Woman is an inspiration, that’s all.)

(That is definitely not all.)

“Supergirl,” Wonder Woman says, and it breaks Kara out of her stupor just enough to send her into another one, this time focused on the timbre of her voice, how Supergirl sounds on the other woman’s tongue.

“Y-Yes. I’m Supergirl. That is– That is me.”

Alex stares at her as she trips over words, waves her hands like they will erase all of this embarrassment.

Thankfully, Wonder Woman spares her. “Superman sent me. Managing a secret identity is hard. I’ve come to train you, teach you how to maximize your efficiency as both Kara Danvers and Supergirl.”

Kara nods. Speaking does not seem like a good idea.

She calls Winn later to brag.

“You met who?” he gasps. “And you didn’t invite me?”

“It wasn’t a super formal thing, Winn. She just kind of showed up in my apartment.”

“I wish Wonder Woman showed up in my apartment.”

“Maybe she would if you ever cleaned up.”

She can tell he wants to hmph, to pout. But curiosity gets the best of him: “So what’s she like?”

“She’s amazing. She just looks so strong. Her arms are unreal. And she was so nice. She’s probably perfect, Winn. No faults. Actually perfect.”

And so they train.

Sometimes, when Diane takes her through the city and makes her listen to the sirens blaring by, asks her what the most innocuous escape route is, what excuse she would use, Kara can hardly believe it counts as training.

But then Kara thinks a lot about all the bad excuses she has given, how she has flown places on buses before, had to save her non-existent cat from the doom of being locked in the bathroom for too long, had to rescue Alex from more fake bad dates than she ever wants to count, and she gets it. Supergirl might be brave, and confident, and righteous, but Kara Danvers wears awkwardness well, and the words often come too quickly for her mouth to ever catch up.

She tells Diane all of the stories, means for them to be light, jokes about the perils of a double identity. They turn into pleas: I want to tell them, all of them, everyone I care about.

“Like who?” Diane asks, and so Kara talks about Lena. First about how she’s pretty sure Lena knows: she has to, has to have put together the clues. Later about how smart Lena is–book smart but also just smart smart, the kind of smart that is visible in the way she looks at the world and pieces it together and figures it out. How kind.

She talks, and talks, and talks, and does not realize Diane has walked her back to her apartment until they are at the doorstep and Diane tells her we’ve done a lot today, go get some rest. Go spend some time with your friends.

Sometimes they fight.

They fight in the green room, Kara’s powers dulled from thunder to a buzz. Alex watches the first time, joins in the next.

The day after that, Maggie is there.

“Hey, Little Danvers,” she calls, and Kara looks up. “C’mere.”

She is tired enough that her walk becomes a schlep, cape draped heavily over slumped shoulders. “’m not fighting you too. Too tired.”

“That’s not what I want,” Maggie says, and if Kara were not so out of it she would be frightened of the way Maggie is smiling.

(It’s too knowing, and oh, if Maggie isn’t knowing. She figured out her identity, after all. Kara doesn’t want to know what she’ll figure out next.)

“So, Wonder Woman,” Maggie continues. “Pretty cute, right?”

Kara’s brow quirks down into what her sister would call the crinkle. “Huh?”

“Come on. You’ve been staring at her like you want to wrestle her in a whole different sorta way all day.”

Her exhaustion abruptly fades, and Kara stands up tall, fighting back the heat of her cheeks. “N–No I haven’t. I look at a lot of people like that.”

“Like–?”

“Like– Lena! I look at Lena like that!”

It is the wrong thing to say, apparently: Maggie laughs and laughs until she has to leave the room.

Kara stands for a long while, thinking.

The next day, Maggie is there to watch again. 

(”You think I’m going to miss an opportunity to watch my girlfriend get all hot and bothered? Think again, Little Danvers.”)

(”Hot an– No. Oh no. I’m sorry I asked. Okay. Oh no.”)

Only Maggie does not leave after Alex fights. She stays, props one foot against the doorframe, and grins.

Kara refuses to make eye contact. And she does not look at Wonder Woman either–the urge to blush and stutter is too strong, too unavoidable, especially when her eyes are clear, and bright, just like Lena’s when she smiles, and–

Okay. No eye contact.

She fights and ostensibly wins, but Maggie laughs as she leaves again, and Kara feels like she is still missing something.

“Why do you keep laughing at me?” she finally asks.

“What do you mean?”

“Every time you watch me fight y– you laugh at me!”

Maggie cocks her head, lets the teasing smirk fade. “I wasn’t laughing at you.”

“Then why were you laughing?” She’s not sure why she’s so bent out of shape over this: she loves Maggie, loves the way Maggie calls her Little Danvers, loves the way Maggie cares so fully about everyone in Alex’s life. But there is something about this that she just does not understand.

“Because you look at Wonder Woman the same way I look at Alex.”

Kara knows that look: it’s the one that says wow, how did I get so lucky? 

“Oh,” she replies eventually. Maggie pats her shoulder and walks away.

That night, she dreams of Lena.

She dreams of the way Lena bites her lip sometimes, and the whole world of her dream seems to freeze, to zoom: those eyes, half narrowed, pleading. Her hands, nervous.

“Of course I’ll come to the gala with you,” Kara had said.

With you. With you.

They are in the middle of training when the news comes in: an attack at L-Corp.

Kara is gone before Winn finishes the briefing, a flash of blue-red, a blink, gone.

(She has been measured before, studied. The DEO has calculated her maximum speed and strength and all of it, every piece, has been recorded carefully.)

(She breaks that record as she flies toward Lena.)

Wonder Woman leaves, and the training stops, and Kara does not know what to do with her newfound free time.

She visits Lena–thankfully uninjured, now working from home until the repairs are done.

She stands uncomfortably in the DEO, wishing she were visiting Lena.

And then she figures it out.

“Maggie, are you there?” Kara knocks, and keeps knocking, and keeps calling out.

(Any other time, she’d be worried about what she’d find behind the door. Now, she does not care.)

(Maggie is home, she knows it. And Maggie will open the door.)

“Coming, coming.”

Maggie opens the door in boxer shorts and a t-shirt that is a little too familiar. Kara does not think too much about it.

“I like her. Maggie, I like her. You were right, when you were laughing. You were totally right, and I like her, and I don’t know what to do, Maggie, you have to help.”

It is a lot to take in: Kara, pacing, hands ablaze. “Slow down, Supergirl.”

Kara stops, looking down. “I like Lena.”

And there, Maggie thinks, it is. The perhaps inevitable, certainly enjoyable, proof that she was right all along. She steps closer. 

“Then go tell her.”

“And say what? I don’t know what to say! I’ve never done this. What if it goes wrong?”

“Tell her that you like her, ask her to dinner. Believe me, she feels the same.”

“Okay. Wait, no. Are you sure? I mean, if you say so. But are you really saying so?”

“Kara. She likes you. Go.”

Kara was not aware Wonder Woman sent postcards.

It is another piece of information to store away in the little super hot amazonian superhero folder in the back of her mind, the one that had quickly been eclipsed by the super duper hot CEO that likes you too folder. It’s nice, humanizing.

The postcard bears a picture of Metropolis, all shining sun and glowing skyline. And on the back there is a Daily Planet clipping, a headline Kara knows all too well: “Lena Luthor spotted with Catco reporter.”

Below it, there is a simple message: Congrats!

[foolgobi65]

finn, the last son of krypton

so theres this photo set for a superman au where finn is clark and rey is lois and i cant stop thinking about it so heres kind of a bare bones (still too fucking long) way of how it could work out. this is like ... part one.. because its too fucking long and strange and its 3:30 am 

first, since its got aliens and i needed a way to give luke the ~legend~ status he’s got in canon, i figured he could have telekinesis 

maybe there’s a mutation, and some humans develop powers. anakin skywalker is turned by senator palpatine, who seizes power in a coup, turns public opinion against mutants and uses darth vader to purge anyone with powers

there is no empire, really. there is a State of Emergency, and certain aspects of the constitution are rewritten. term limits, are taken out. 

luke and leia are born and split apart. bail organa is a senator from washington maybe, raises leia who can feel people’s emotional state (useful, for when she becomes a spy and later general of the underground resistance. until luke tells her, she thinks its just intuition) 

luke is a fighter pilot, whose big victory is when he gets in a (smuggled) plane and shoots down a nuclear bomb right before it hits san francisco

they say he saved a million lives that day, and so he can’t understand how he could have failed ben. how all that power couldnt save his students when he most needed it. 

han solo is still a smuggler, but since there never really is a war, he just ends up aiding the shadowy rebellion. 

leia runs for congress, then for senate, taking her father’s old seat. sometimes, she misses the rebellion 

she declines to run for reelection when the first order starts making some noise. she is appointed director of the cia. 

which brings us to the first order! people who are still afraid of mutants and what their freedom might mean, an extremist organization driven underground that is seeking to make its ugly return

there’s an underground bunker full of scientists trying to figure out how to self induce the mutations, in order to create an army of complacent, superpowered warriors to protect them and attack their enemies. 

so, now that that’s out of the way, imagine a universe where the last son of krypton doesn’t crash in smallville, where he isn’t taken in by the kents. 

where maybe he crashes outside that first order bunker, and two scientists come out and find a spaceship, and a child inside

they look at each other and once theyve gone past their first thought (aliens!!) they wonder at his genetic code

the first order runs tests, but they don’t see evidence of the normal superpower mutations. in fact, the alien child seems to be fairly weak compared to normal human children of the same age

(always knew we were strongest, they mutter, smirking.) 

the first two scientists, who happen to be married and like the look of the baby’s face decide to keep it (him). to raise him, because they didn’t think they could ever have children of their own

it’s all fun and games until he turns 10

at age 10, the boy who was once kal-el begins to develop powers beyond imagine. 

one day he can see through bodies, trees, buildings. another, he can hear the bees buzzing in a field five miles away. he tears the car door off its hinges

his previously “loving” parents, freak the fuck out. 

immediately, he’s taken to the underground bunker that before he had only known of as his parents’ workplace. he is tied up and tested on

he is more powerful than any mutant, and he has been allowed to grow up as an individual for too long to be controlled.

they try their best anyways. 

his parents tell him he’s disgusting, that he’s terrifying, that he’s a monster. they tell him he is unworthy of love. 

at some point they realize that he needs the sun, and so they take it away. he spends the rest of his time with the first order inside the bunker where they test him, torture him, break him. 

he grows to be afraid of what he can do, believe that he is too powerful to exist. that he should be dead, but continues to breathe only due to the benevolence of the first order

(they’re trying to crack his genetics again, and use the information in the spaceship he arrived in. they can’t understand kryptonian, so its slow going.) 

years later, commander poe dameron, intelligence operative and get away driver extraordinaire sneaks into the bunker trying to figure out what they’re doing, is captured but somehow escapes with the person the first order brands as FN-2187 (only people get to have names) 

anyways they escape in a dumpy ass truck, and when poe asks his new buddy what his name is, he replies “i dont know” 

he carefully doesnt think about how his parents once called him clark. he doesn’t get to be clark 

“imma call you finn, then” finn smiles. 

eventually, they stop at a safe spot and poe asks finn if he’ll come with him. finn, who doesn’t know anything except that he is a weapon, doomed to destroy all good things, says no

(poe is the first good thing he’s known since Before) 

he runs. 

finn has a 5th grade education, but Before, he used to be sickly and spent a lot of time in the library. he walks into one and begins to read. 

for a few months, this is all he does -- somehow the powers have affected his cognition so he can read and understand more and better than anyone in the world. he befriends the local librarian, who thinks he dropped out of school young and wants to help get him back on track

she shows him the nearest homeless shelter, which is where he sleeps. she brings him two meals a day that they eat together as she helps him learn math and science and history and literature 

behind his back, she informs someone about this genius, troubled boy she knows, and when someone comes to the library and tells finn that he’s special, he runs again

this time, he decides to run to mexico, because he wants to learn more. he works and lives and learns, and without knowing or understanding he grows strong. one day, he makes a mistake and misjudges his strength, revealing himself. he runs again

over time finn begins to learn control, mainly because he’s so afraid. he travels from place to place and realizes how Good people are, how dangerous he could be to them. he falls in love for the first time, with humanity. he lives in the anxiety that one day he might accidentally become the monster the first order insisted he was. 

eventually, he gains enough control that he realizes he could use his abilities to help, even though he knows he shouldn’t. even if he didn’t hurt anyone, finn knows that they would only react in disgust, anyways. 

he whispers this to himself everyday, that he can’t he shouldn’t he wont, but in the end, he does. he helps, and then he runs (again and again) 

at some point, he learns to fly. it becomes the only one of his powers that he enjoys, that isn’t touched by the fear.

(its FLYING) 

but at the same time, he learns -- he lives, and smiles and loves but most importantly, he listens. finn’s got a way about him that make people want to open up, and so they do. people tell him their stories while he sits on their stoops, and he begins to write them down because he wants to remember. he keeps a journal. 

one of these stories is so fantastic that he sends his write up to a local newspaper, just so someone can please interview indira she’s so freaking amazing and he wants everyone to know!

instead, they ask finn if he’ll just do it himself. finn begins freelance reporting, talking to people in the places he runs to and sending write ups to the local english language paper. he falls in love a second time, now with his chosen profession. 

someone, somewhere tells finn to find home. that he needs to stop running and set up roots. they tell him to find a big city with lots of people he can write about and stay. to try, at least. 

finn, skeptical, agrees, but only because yakov glared really hard and said he wanted weekly postcards and expected them from the same location for at least 6 months. 

finn doesnt know why this was effective, only that it was. yakov’s 15 grandchildren do. 

so finn decides to maybe stop running, and figures metropolis is as good as any place to try. he sends his portfolio to the daily planet because that was one of the newspapers he used to read in that library After. its one of the papers he’s kept up with over all these years.  

on his first day he bumps into daily planet star reporter rey, a known crusader for justice and one time winner of the pulitzer prize. 

she’s partnered with him for his first story and doesn’t like it until they clear their first scrape. it’s only when she decides to trust him that she smiles

and when she smiles, finn feels something weird, a type of warmth even greater than that first moment he soaked in the sun’s rays. 

this, he realizes later, is the beginning of how he falls in love a third time. 

at the time, its the moment he decides to stay. 

[comicsnsuch]

Quick Hits

It’s been a minute since I posted any original content but not to worry loyal readers, all is well.  I may have been gone but I read a bunch of stuff, new(er) and older! So let’s do some quick hits!

Action Comics #1021

Published by DC Comics

Written by Brian Michael Bendis

Art by John Romita, Jr & Klaus Janson

This is the last part of the Year of the Villain crossover tie-in story which saw “Apex” Lex Luthor and his amped up Legion of Doom team up with Leviathan and invade Metropolis.  I’m glad this arc is over because I found it to be a bit middling. As I have said, and will say again, I’m not reading the current Justice League run so I don’t have a real investment in the outcome of this story other than which pieces get moved forward in Action Comics. Young Justice and the Justice League guest star, and the whole thing feels a little talk-y for what should be a big slugfest. Leviathan shows what a badass he is and reminds you that his organization is a real threat to the DCU, and that you should check out the upcoming sequel mini-series. It was fun to see Conner Kent ( the 90’s clone Superboy) interact with Superman. John Romita, Jr’s art is “meh” this issue as it has been throughout this story. His depictions of Gorilla Grodd (Gorilla Man?) and Cheetah are almost painful to look at. I’m a big John Romita, Jr fan (and defender if need be). I love his run on Amazing Spider-Man with JMS, his work on Daredevil and I think he killed it on the DKR: The Last Crusade one shot that came out a few years back, but it feels like he is not dialed in on these last few issues of Action.  There is one panel where the Red Cloud has Superman on his knees and is choking him out that is a homerun. Next issue the series is going to catch up with the Superman title timeline-wise and Supes will have to deal with the repercussions of going public with his secret ID. Bendis does a good job hooking you in to come back for more with the cliffhanger between the Red Cloud and the leader of the whisper mafia.

6 out of 10.

Batman Superman #7 & 8

Published by DC Comics

Written by Joshua Williamson

Art by Nick Derington

I have not read the previous six issues of this series where Batman and Superman face off against the Batman Who Laughs’ Infected heroes.  I read the preview of the first issue that ran in the back of most DC comics and thought that was a strong preview with a good hook, but still I did not pull the trigger on the series. Nick Derington’s art as guest artist for these two issues, is what did it for me.I enjoy his artwork and said to myself “What the hey, it’s only two issues, right?” Well, turns out that was a problem because at the end of the second issue I wanted more of this story. I feel like it wrapped up a bit too quickly. Perhaps I’ve become too conditioned to the six issue story arc format? In this story Superman, Batman and Ra’s Al Ghul team up to stop General Zod from resurrecting the citizens of the bottle city of Kandor using a Lazarus pit. Joshua Williamson does a good job with the characterization of Ra’s Al Ghul. The plot moves along briskly, at almost a pulp serial pace, with new locations and fight scenes abounding. Even though I have not read the previous 6 issues and certain issues of other series referenced here I never felt lost or like I was missing out. Nick Derington killed it. Clear action and storytelling done in his signature style. Anyone wanting to see more of his work should check out the Batman Universe mini-series or the first volume of the Gerard Way Doom Patrol series. If Derington returns to this series, I’ll be back as well.

8 out of 10.

Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda # 6 & 7

Published by Marvel Comics

Written by Jim Zub

Art by Scot Eaton (#6) & Lan Medina (#7)

Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda is a fun little series for those of you who may have been thinking about picking it up, but haven’t. The stories are told quickly, with each being only two issues long so far, and the team changing up each arc. I feel like this makes this title perpetually new reader friendly-ish, as long as you have a passing familiarity with the characters and the events of their respective titles, mainly Avengers. I’m not reading Avengers and reading this series is not a problem for me. The premise here is that when smaller problems pop up that aren’t “Avengers worthy” current Avengers chairman, the Black Panther, calls on the Agents of Wakanda to save the day. Gorilla Man, Broo, Mockingbird, Kazar, the Wasp, Man-Wolf and Okoye from the Dora Milaje are a few of the characters who have popped up so far. Issue #6 was wrapping up a two parter where the Agents of Wakanda reluctantly worked with Deadpool to stop some rogue SHIELD LMDs, including the Livewires! This was the first story arc in the series that I thought was a bit of a drag, even though some prior issues were a bit predictable. I blame this on the presence of Deadpool. A character who can become annoying quickly if not handled properly. Over all issue #6 was a nice capper on the story and sent me out on a quest to track down the Livewires’ mini series from 2005.  Issue #7 is the start of a new story arc that finds the Agents on hand at Avengers Mountain dealing with attacking Fin Fang Fooms! How cool is that? It was a so-so issue but had a great cliffhanger, promising a cool follow up issue. Despite my being ho-hum on these specific issues, this series is a lot of fun. It features a lot of cool underused characters, solid stories and artwork. Jim Zub and team deliver a great meat and potatoes comic book that is deserving of a wider audience.

7 out of 10.

Butcher of Paris #3 & 4

Published by Dark Horse Comics

Written by Stephanie Phillips

Art by Dean Kotz

In case you couldn’t tell, I took the pause provided by the quarantine to pull some comics I wanted to read and organize them alphabetically.  This is another series I’ve been enjoying and am disappointed that the last issue won’t be released for who knows how long. For those interested this is the story of the hunt for a serial killer in Nazi occupied Paris. Previous issues had focused on the hunt for the killer while French authorties struggle to work under their Nazi inavders. Now that the occupation is over, new twists are introduced.  The Nazi’s are being taken to task and our hero detective is accused of having aided the Germans! Meanwhile the killer is still at large.  I feel like this comic is well researched both art and storywise. Strong plotting, smart dialogue and stylish art propel things along. The art is drawn with a slashy brush line, leaving open lines in the art and is colored with a limited palette making this book visually stand apart from your standard superhero comic. Everything about this comic, beyond the settings and characters obviously, feels very European to me, like it was previously published in album format overseas before being broken into standard comic size chunks for release in America. I mean this as a big compliment. If you’re enjoying any of the Hill House line of comics, a Euro comics fan, or looking for something without a member of the capes and tight brigade in it, allow me to recommend this to you. It’s a great mystery and I can’t wait to find out how things wrap up and the fates of our characters.

9 out of 10.

That’s the last of the new comics, on to the older stuff!

Nine Volt #1-4

Published by Marvel Comics

Written by Cliff Son and Anthony Chun

Art by Anthony Chun

Released in 1997 by the Top Cow branch of Image Comics, Nine Volt is the tale of a girl robot, an alien invader and a government agent working together to stop an alien invasion by a different race of aliens than the one on our team of heroes! 

Back in the 90’s (like the Bojack Horseman credits song) I purchased the first issue of the series and that was it.  More recently, I said to myself, you need more comic books, so I tracked this series down. I’m glad I did.

This was a fun time. 

Re-reading the first issue of the series I can see why my younger self wouldn’t seek out the rest of the series. It’s basically all set up with not a lot of action, jumping from scene to scene with little explanation of who, what or why. A lot of the story is rooted in the reader having an understanding of the book’s influences and references, which I will say that I did not have at my disposal at the time. A lifetime of nerdery later, I’m better prepared for the world of Nine Volt.

First, the art by Anthony Chun is good, a little raw, but good. Definitely has an Arthur Adams element to it as well as a good dose of general 90’s comic book-y ness. It brings to mind the art of Dan Fraga on Kid Supreme ( a book I was obsessed with for some reason).  A quick Google turns up that Anthony went on to work in animation, including stints on shows like Bob’s Burgers and Rick and Morty!

By issue #2 things are up and running. The good alien is being confronted by our girl robot character, Digit, an Impulse type character (young, raised in VR, a bit impetuous), and two governmental agencies are arguing over jurisdiction. All the FBI agents look the same, fun! After a brief dust up the alien, Ragnor, is soon working with Digit and the good guys. Meanwhile the bad aliens are taking control of a young, grunge-y looking preacher and his flock. The team assembles, led by a real Dirk Squarejaw type, Frank Holden from Defsci (Defensive Science? I dunno). A love story is started, it’s revealed that Digit is the daughter of the crazy professor that made her, Ragnor reveals the story of how the evil aliens decimated his home world. There’s a battle against the bad aliens where Digit, may or may not have heroically sacrificed herself . It’s a bit anticlimactic and some stof the plot lines mentioned advance a bit  too quickly/tritely. That being typed, the creators pull this off nicely. It was very entertaining, if a little light. 

If there was more to this series I would read it and it’s a shame there’s not more. 

I’m ready for the Kickstarter reboot!

This, as stated earlier, was a lot of fun. It’s got an X-Files/Independence Day vibe to it, with all the aliens and secret government agency stuff. Plus a good dose of 90’s Image goodness. Despite Digit being prominently featured on the cover, she pretty much equally shares page time with all the other characters and is not treated as a cheesecake pin-up.  The art, although raw and Image-y, doesn’t push style over storytelling. 

It all adds up to a good read. A back issue bin gem!

7 out of 10! Recommended!

I read more but I can’t remember what, so that should say something about the quality of those books.

Until next time!

[headquartersforlievmuses]

► Oliver Queen

Green Arrow is a vigilante superhero who fights crime using archery, martial arts and technology. In his secret identity he is Oliver Queen, living in Star City as a wealthy playboy and billionaire industrialist turned outspoken socially-progressive politician. He is the leader of Team Arrow; he has also been a member of the Justice League and the Outsiders.

As a young child Oliver idolized his hero Robin Hood and was said to be a natural archer, frequently practicing with his bow and arrows. He was mildly traumatized the first time he accidentally killed an animal, but when his mother and father were mauled by lions in a tragic safari accident his hesitation to shoot cost them their lives. 

Afterwards he was raised by his uncle and eventually inherited the family fortune and business. Queen grew into a rich, thrill-seeking, and drunken playboy with no real sense of responsibility or direction in his life. Everything changed when he fell off his boat in the middle of the ocean and washed ashore on the remote isolated Starfish Island, clutching a bow – a memento from a Robin Hood movie – which he had used to keep himself afloat, where he was completely stranded. During this time spent without food or shelter Queen developed his skills as a hunter to survive and gained mastery over his bow. Having previously taken everything in his life for granted, this experience taught him self-reliance and made him into a man. His second test of new character was the discovery of drug smugglers on the island run by the ruthless international crime lord China White. Using his new skills, he attacked and destroyed their heroin operation, then delivered them to the authorities before returning home. Realizing that he had found his destiny, he chose to use his abilities and resources as a crime-fighter. With a nickname coined by the press, he made it his mission to protect Star City. He took his cue from Batman and built his own "Arrow Cave," complete with an "Arrowcar" and allegedly a yellow submarine. He and Speedy fought with trick arrows that were designed to be non-lethal.

A young man named Roy Harper idolized him. Harper was an incredible archer, having grown up on a Native American reservation. His mentor Brave Bow was dying and he needed someone to take care of him, so he wanted to become Green Arrow's sidekick. Proving his mettle by taking down several thugs faster than he could while they were both on the scene, Oliver adopted Roy as his legal ward. He would go on to fight crime taking the name Speedy. Speedy would later team up with a number of other costumed youths to form the Teen Titans, including Aqualad, Kid Flash, Robin and Wonder Girl.

reen Arrow would go on to become a member of the Justice League of America, although there are multiple versions of this story. Originally the Silver Age showed him joining after he rescued the League from an evil alien named Xandor. Post-Crisis stories retconned Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman out of this story, making several other changes. Queen Enterprises secretly funded the early League, never revealing his identity and speaking to them through Simon Carr. Eventually the team voted him in as their sixth member. Infinite Crisis brought back the League's original founders and beginnings. Green Arrow is shown to have joined at the same time as Black Canary, proving their value in combat against the League of Assassins. He would go on to have many further adventures with them.

Green Arrow began developing a personal crisis about which of his identities was more important and doing more good, the crime-fighter or the politician. Giving himself a new look, he had a more modern costume designed. His entire fortune and control of Queen Industries was lost to a corrupt employee named John Deleon who stole everything from him through corporate fraud. The League fights manifestations of their inner darkness and he is confronted by his character failures in combat. Part of him has only chosen to be a hero for the thrill and glory, but he realizes that he defines himself by his ability to control those instincts for the greater good. Queen begins to reevaluate his priorities, and learns to focus more on the everyday problems of regular people.

In the ensuing year after losing his fortune, Ollie travelled the country with Green Lantern Hal Jordan while his left-behind ward dabbled with drugs that caused the two to go their separate ways.

Late one night while fighting an ambush under duress, Green Arrow's arm slipped an inch and he accidentally shot a criminal in the chest, killing him instantly. The experience was so traumatizing for him that he ripped up his costume, destroyed his equipment and decided to end his heroic career entirely. After destroying the Arrowplane, he went to live in a monastery to seek redemption and get back in touch with his roots for several months. A wise man named Master Jansen taught him the secrets of zen archery and encouraged him not to abandon his destiny, sending him home with renewed confidence in himself.

Green Arrow and Black Canary relocated to Seattle, Washington where they set up a flower shop called Sherwood Florist. Having decided that years of reliance on Trick Arrows had made him weak, he returned to his basic roots as an archer and began using exclusively regular arrows again. He asked Dinah to marry him, but she believed that the strength of their relationship was in the independence they allowed each other. Although Oliver wanted children of his own, she did not want to bring children into the dangers of their world. Black Canary makes a new suit for Green Arrow and the first criminal he takes down is a serial killer known as the Seattle Slasher. There is an assassin named Shado targeting men for personal reasons that Oliver tracks down, fights with, and loses to. James Cameron is the police officer he chooses to work alongside and develops a relationship with. Black Canary went undercover to expose a drug ring, but was captured and interrogated. By the time he got to her she had been brutally tortured and they were planning to rape her, although he stopped them by shooting her assailant in the chest without hesitation. Shado appeared mysteriously and took down the other men in the building to assist him. They would go on to take down a conspiracy involving C.I.A. cocaine shipments to fund foreign wars, ran by men Shado had sworn vengeance against for her father Tomonaga.

Dinah's injuries were extensive; she lost her "canary cry" and was subsequently found to be unable to bear children. This marked a major turning point in Ollie's life. When Ollie was injured and being cared for by Shado, she proceeded to rape him while he was unconscious, conceiving a son she would name Robert.[23] When Ollie found out about the son, Shado made it clear that he would have nothing to do with the child. It also caused a rift between Ollie and Dinah, since she despaired at not being able to give Ollie the one thing he had always truly wanted (not withstanding Roy and Lian).

Distraught with grief at having killed his best friend, Oliver returned to the ashram he had visited after his last murder. Master Jansen counselled him again in finding inner peace after he swears off super-heroics. The National Security Agency had determined that they must eliminate him after the things he had seen in their employ, and assassins are sent after him. A young archer and martial artist named Connor Hawke who idolizes him helps fight them off, and the two leave together in search of answers about who set him up. Connor has his own costume and becomes the second Green Arrow, which Oliver is supportive of. They quickly find themselves entangled in a government conspiracy and Eddie Fyers is enlisted to help solve their problems. Hal Jordan reappears again at one point still alive, and wishes to rekindle their friendship although he is still clearly insane and obsessed with his cosmic energies. Before parting he accidentally lets Oliver know that Connor is actually his son by an old girlfriend named Moonday Hawke. Furious that the young man didn't tell him about their relation, Oliver has an argument with Connor and Eddie then leaves to be on his own again.

The NSA was under new management and they offered Oliver a job as an agent. They needed him to go undercover and infiltrate the Eden Corps, an extremist eco-terrorist organization. On his first mission with them he was forced to fight his closest friends and allies; gaining their confidence he also started a romantic relationship with their leader Hyrax. He fought off Connor, Eddie Fyers, Arsenal and even the Force of July. Hyrax had a bomb named the Mutajek 9-9 and planned to destroy Metropolis with it. On the plane ride there was a massive fire fight with another deep-cover agent, and most of the terrorists were killed. Green Arrow's arm was inside the detonation chamber for the bomb, which would activate if he released his hand. Superman tried to help but had no way of saving him other than tearing off his arm. Rather than allow himself to be crippled Queen let the plane explode, sacrificing himself to save thousands of people. Having been completely vaporized in the blast, there was no body. A small funeral gathering of his closest friends was held in Warriors. There was nothing to bury, so his son fired an arrow into the air and marked its landing as his final resting place, as in the legend of Robin Hood. Connor Hawke then decided to continue on his legacy.

This wasn't Oliver's end, however, as Hal Jordan (during his time as Parallax) returned to save the earth during the Final Night and used his godlike powers to bring his old friend back from the dead. Unfortunately, the reanimated hero was an empty vessel with no soul, whose memories were replicated from his earlier days when he had a stronger liberal conscience. Ollie's more experienced soul remained in a Heaven-like place for a time, until it was reunited with his body in order to defeat an evil warlock named Stanley Dover. Now, the original Green Arrow was back in action with a rare second chance at life to make up for previous mistakes with his loved ones, all while renewing his vows to be a defender of the downtrodden.

With the death of Stanley Dover, Ollie inherited Dover's estate. He renovated it, and established it as the Star City Youth Center. During this time, Ollie rescued fifteen-year-old Mia Dearden from a life of drugs and prostitution. He took her into his confidence, and into his home. Mia developed a crush on Oliver, and began emulating his actions. She even began training with a bow and arrow. Eventually, her extensive training paid off, and she became the new Speedy.

The superhero community was thrown into chaos when Elongated Man's wife Sue Dibny was murdered. Green Arrow had been part of a conspiracy that covered up a mind-wipe performed by Zatanna on Doctor Light, altering his personality after he had raped Sue on the Justice League Satellite many years before. They hunted Light down and were forced to fight unprepared against Deathstroke as his bodyguard, who decimated them until Oliver leaped onto his back and stabbed an arrow into his empty eye socket. His memory triggered again, Light was able to escape. Having gotten into many compromising situations over the years, his was not the only memory erased, but altering his personality was the furthest they ever went. This is justified on the grounds that they did what needed to be done, despite what the opinions of others would've been.[50] The shocking revelation is that Batman discovered what they were doing and tried to stop them, forcing the group to wipe his mind as well.

Deathstroke blew up his house as revenge for their earlier fight. Realizing that someone has discovered his secret identity, Oliver puts his family on lock-down and relocates to an underground bunker before teaming up with Black Lightning to take on Doctor Light again.

One Year Later, Oliver Queen is the newly elected mayor of Star City, continuing his fight on the streets and through the system. He also has a new costume, which appears to be a combination of the classic Neal Adams costume and the Mike Grell Longbow Hunters costume. At the onset, it seems Mayor Queen is most interested in the "shock value" of his office, although his controversial decisions and statements are actually meant to draw attention to and benefit the devastated Star City. 

He uses an open interpretation of the town charter to perform same-sex marriages in Star City as a both a political statement and a way to boost the local tourist economy. He also exercises the power of his office to do things such as blackmail corrupt businessmen, or have the Star City SWAT unit back up his actions as Green Arrow while publicly condemning his alter ego. (He also used his connections to enable his longtime friend and former lover Black Canary to bring a young Vietnamese girl, Sin, into the country to be raised by Canary.)

During the year long hiatus, Queen also amassed a quite large personal fortune by manipulating stocks of companies he sees as unscrupulous. While never stated outright, it appears Oliver Queen is now worth billions. The former gangster Brick now fights crime in Star City and allies himself with Green Arrow, although he evidently still traffics in drugs and prostitution.

Before long however, Ollie faced problems from opponents who wore business suits as well as costumes. Deathstroke the Terminator, having been incarcerated at Alcatraz Island after a fight with Green Arrow, conspired with fellow inmate Constantine Drakon and Star City police commissioner Brian Nudocerdo to ruin Ollie politically.

In the midst of political scandal, Oliver Queen reignited his love affair with longtime paramour, Dinah Laurel Lance. After successfully fending off an attack by Deathstroke and Constantine Drakon, Ollie asked Dinah to marry him, but she was not prepared to give him an immediate answer. 

Shortly thereafter, Ollie and Speedy helped Black Canary when Merlyn abducted Canary's "daughter" Sin. To save Sin's life, Ollie was forced to fake the young girl's death, keeping the knowledge of the plan between himself and Mia, even at the risk of losing Dinah forever. After Sin was placed into safekeeping, Ollie told Dinah what he had done. Recognizing that he was willing to sacrifice his own happiness to save a life, Dinah finally agreed to marry him. 

Green Lantern decided it was time for an era of change in the Justice League, believing they had lost sight of their goals and the true meaning of justice. He set out to form his own League alongside Green Arrow as his partner, taking a less reactionary and more aggressive stance on crime-fighting. They spent weeks together hunting and tracking down super-villains. 

Following his murder of Prometheus, Green Arrow sets out to kill the Electrocutioner. Green Lantern and the Flash are the first to discover the corpse he left behind, and attempt to take him in. Black Canary tries to get him to listen to reason, but he pushes her aside. Now with his own community after him, he continues his personal vendetta for revenge. Connor Hawke gets into a heated argument with him about the troubles in their past with Oliver's fatherhood and how much of a bastard he's been, not sure if he can ever forgive him again. Mia Dearden is the only one of his allies in agreement with him, and she captures the Electrocutioner with the intention of murdering him in cold blood. Realizing that he can't drag a child into this, Green Arrow begins to regret his crimes and turns himself in. Finally he's arrested by Brian Nudocerdo and publicly unmasked, revealing to the world that he's former Mayor Oliver Queen. Black Canary visits him in prison and returns her wedding ring, telling him their marriage is over. On trial, the jury finds him not guilty, but the judge overrules this and sentences him to a complete exile from Star City.

Oliver Queen has a very dynamic personality. His passion and intensity make him strong, although he has always had difficulty finding direction in life. Born into wealth, he didn't need to work for most of what he had and was raised with very little responsibility. His experience on Starfish Island taught him self-reliance and showed him there was more to existence, giving him an outlet. In the beginning of his career he has been portrayed as a thrill-seeker, fighting crime not for moral reasons but the sense of adventure. It wasn't until he lost his fortune that he developed his strong social conscience, and outspoken left-wing political viewpoints. This character development has made him much less egotistical in the way he deals with problems.

Acrobatics: He has displayed on many occasions that he is an expert in acrobatics, and often uses this skill while evading enemy fire.

Archery: Oliver Queen is perhaps the finest archer ever known. He claims to be able to shoot 29 arrows per minute (he stated this himself, in the Sound of Violence story arc, when he corrected Black Canary for saying 26). He has a wide-variety of trick arrows, ranging from bola arrows to time-bomb arrows to his infamous boxing-glove arrow. In recent years he has used these arrows sparingly, preferring the time-tested simple arrow. Green Arrow has shown the ability to shoot an arrow down the barrel of a gun, pierce a drop of water as it leaves a tap, and shoot almost any part of the human body; although he aims only to wound and not kill when he shoots. He once shot two arrows down two different gun barrels while upside down, in mid-flip while somersaulting off a building.

Aviation: He used to own and fly his own airplane called the Arrowplane. He still has some skill in flying different types of planes.

Cooking: Green Arrow's Chili is one of the hottest foods on the planet.

Firearms: Although not his preferred weapon, Oliver is very skilled in the use of firearms. He has displayed great accuracy with handguns and machine guns. He was even told by Deathstroke that he handles himself well with firearms.

Hunting: Archery is by far Oliver's preferred method of hunting however the ability to hunt comes from years of training, patience and survival. He is proficient enough in hunting to pursue a cougar without it ever noticing.

Martial Arts: He is proficient in several forms of hand-to-hand combat including Judo, Kickboxing and Karate. Proclaimed as a martial arts master, he has shown the ability to take on seven people at once. He spent several months dedicated to making himself a better fighter and trained with many of the world's finest martial arts teachers and even went through training from Natas, the same person who trained Deathstroke.

Eskrima

Judo

Kickboxing

Karate

Peak Human Condition: Oliver spent a fortune to hire the world's foremost martial arts masters to train him until he was in peak physical condition.

Politics: Ollie ran for office and became the mayor of Star City for a significant amount of time. He has since resigned from being the mayor and has continued to lean on political issues from time to time.

Stick Fighting: Oliver has shown to be a highly skilled stick fighter, as displayed when he gained the upper hand in a fight with Arsenal, while using one of his Eskrima sticks.

Swordsmanship: Ollie is also very proficient with a sword, though it is not his preferred weapon of choice. He has beaten Jason Todd in a sword-fight and has deflected an incoming arrow with the sword he carries.

Throwing: Oliver is a master marksman and possesses great aim with projectile objects such as darts, in addition to his skill in archery.

Weaponry: Oliver is proficient in the use of an array of weaponry, including archery, sticks, and various bladed weapons.

Ollie has a rare Rh-negative blood type, the same as his former lover, Black Canary.

Verses

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