#Probably kick her while she's down by telling her that loving Superman before Clark Kent was pathetic

[spectral-snippets-and-drabbles]

Not So Smug Now, Are Ya?

If Lois Lane had a Nickel for everytime she outed a superhero working at the Daily Planet, she'd be getting her second nickel.

She had invited one Daniel Nightingale, a junior reporter with serious potential with a serious lack of self preservation to "a smoke break" and was prepared to do exactly what she did with Clark. If her gut was right when it told her Nightingale was a hero too, the mysterious Phantom, he'd save her before she'd jump. If not, then Clark would jump in to grab her if he didn't rise to her bait.

When he finally got up there with her, she sure as hell wasn't expecting him to tell her why he shouldn't smite her soul out of existence there and now. Her blood ran cold when he told her that Clark has been "compromised", a portal opening up with a snap lf his fingers dropping an unconscious mountain of a man facefirst on the ground.

"You were supposed to die that day you jumped off this building, Ms. Lane. Did you know that?" Danny growls as a scythe made of ice, niking her neck as he has an unhinged Cheshire grin on his face "Clark was never supposed to save you that day? So... what are we going to do about this now?"

#dc x dp #dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #dp x dc prompt #Probably kick her while she's down by telling her that loving Superman before Clark Kent was pathetic #Danny would probably drag her for outing Clark and using his good heart knowing he would save her #Not everyone has the luxury of jumping off a building knowing this won't be their end #Danny will show her the Shades that did the exact same thing as her to get the point across #Clark is not happy but Danny tells him that she can't spit in Death's face and expect to Girlboss her way out it #Danny's lying about Clark not saving her but he needs to set her straight #They found each other in different universes but he won't admit that yet

[mischiefandspirits]

Bernard Figures It Out

Was reading through all the comments on @frostbittenbucky's post and all I could think of was that it was Bernard talking to Tim. Then I got to thinking...

"I've connected the two dots."

"You didn't connect shit."

"I've connected them."

Bernard figures out Tim's a superhero... sort of.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tim fidgetted nervously as he waited on the front porch of his boyfriend’s house. Bernard had sounded so serious when he’d called during Tim’s lunch to ask him to come over after work so they could talk about something.

Which Tim had done, after spending an entire board meeting just going over the past week trying to figure out what he’d done.

The only thing he could think of was that he’d ducked out halfway through their lunch date on Wednesday to give Duke some backup, but Bernard had seemed understanding when Tim explained there was an emergency at GRC Labs. It couldn’t have been a tipping point, either, since Tim had managed to only flake on three other dates over the past few months they’d been dating. Kate had been happy to cover for him as often as she could “out of queer solidarity” when she found out Tim was dating a boy for the first time and Tim had managed to trick Bruce into covering a few actual Wayne Enterprises emergencies for him when they came up.

There had to be a reason Bernard was breaking up with him, though. Had he missed something? He definitely wasn’t forgetting an important day. He was good with days and Tam was even better, so she would have reminded him on the off chance that he had forgotten.

What was he missing?

Bernard was smiling when he opened the door, but there was a nervous energy to it that had Tim’s stomach sinking. “Hey, Tim.”

“Hey.” Tim gave his own nervous smile then slipped inside.

They went into the living room and sat down on the couch.

Tim frowned when Bernard grabbed a manila folder off the coffee table. Crud, had he screwed up enough that Bernard had had to make a list? He knew he was new to dating a guy, but he hadn’t thought he’d done that bad. He’d really been trying, especially with how his and Stephanie’s relationship had fallen apart at the end. “What -”

“Just let me speak, Tim,” Bernard said, waiting for Tim’s nod. “Okay, so you know Clark Kent, right?”

Tim blinked as Bernard opened the folder to show a picture of Clark. It looked like one of the employee pictures from the Planet’s website, with his dorky “I’m just a humble country boy” smile and the golden globe from their roof photoshopped in as the background. “Uh, yeah? I think so. He works for the Daily Planet, right? I think he’s worked at a few of Bruce’s events. Not a lot of outside reporters are willing to come to Gotham.”

“Exactly!” Bernard said, snapping his fingers and pointing at Tim.

“What?”

He pulled out the picture to show the next page was an article titled, “DAILY PLANET REPORTER… BATMAN!?”

A wave of relief washed over Tim and he placed his face in his hands. “Were you up all night on the hero conspiracy boards again?”

“No. I mean, I found this on a board and was up all night thinking about it, but I found it reasonably early.”

“One in the morning isn’t reasonable, Bernard.”

“Says the guy who’s always wide awake when I call to infodump.”

“Touché.” Tim leaned against Bernard and gave him a smile. “So tell me, why is some reporter from Metropolis from all places Batman.”

“First of all, living in Metropolis is the perfect cover. Everyone assumes Batman would live in Gotham, no one would consider he could be from anywhere else. Metropolis is outside the GMA, but close enough that the commute is still possible.”

“But it’s Metropolis.”

“And who would think Gotham’s Dark Knight lives in the sunshine capital? Plus, I hear he disappears a lot on the job. There’s gotta be a reason for it!”

Tim made a note to let Clark know he needs to cut back on the disappearing act some since people are catching on.

“And have you seen the guy? He is swol AF, babe.”

“Please don’t call me babe while you’re talking about how hot another guy is.” Especially Tim’s honorary uncle.

“You know I prefer twinks.”

“BERNARD!”

“I’m just saying,” he continued, ignoring Tim’s shout. “The guy is definitely hiding something! Besides, Kent is an investigative reporter. He’s gotta know a lot about cases and the underground and detective work.”

Not as much as he likes people to think, but more than he likes people to know Superman does, Tim mused. “But what about the other vigilantes?”

“Well, Kent has a cousin…” Bernard flipped through a folder and pulled out a picture of Kara. It looked like a screenshot of her interviewing Lena for CatCo. “She’s obviously the latest Batgirl. Look at her hair. And the first Batgirl and the current Batwoman were obviously Lois Lane, the red hair is just a wig. Did you see how she kicked butt at that last event she went to? She’s not as subtle as Kent. That means their son is the latest Robin. He’s exactly the right size.”

Oh, Damian better not hear about this, Tim cackled internally. His youngest brother hated being reminded that Jon was the same height as him despite their two years age difference. Damian definitely took after Talia when it came to body type, no matter what he said.

“And Kent also has a brother.” This time he pulled out a picture of Kon. The clone must have been caught by a reporter out shopping with Ma since he was carrying some paper bags and glaring at whoever was behind the camera. “At least, he’s supposedly Kent’s brother, but he was a teenager when he first showed up with the Kents. A lot of people think he’s actually Kent’s son, that Kent got a girl pregnant when they were teenagers and something happened to the mom so Kent had to take him in. Now the Kents are trying to hide it by saying the two are brothers.”

That was… scarily accurate actually. Especially given Luthor and Clark were close friends at the time that Kon would have theoretically been born.

“And that beef would explain why the younger Kent brother went all crime lord on Gotham for a while before reconnecting with the family.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, Kent Jr.’s got the perfect build for Red Hood.”

Tim bit back a comment on how Kon was shorter than Jason by a good foot. Timothy Drake-Wayne should not know that. Add Jason to the list of people who can’t hear this theory.

“And then there’s this girl,” Bernard picked up a picture of Lois, Jon, and Natasha Irons walking down the street together. “No one’s sure exactly who she is, but she’s been spotted with the Kents a few times. I think the cover story is that she’s Jon’s babysitter.”

“And the actual story?”

“She’s Black Bat, obviously. That’s why she wears a mask that fully covers her face. She doesn’t want to stand out as the only African American Bat.”

“Isn’t Signal also Black?”

“Yeah, but he works in the daytime so he’s already a standout.”

“And who is Signal in this? And what about Nightwing and Red Robin?”

“Well, Nightwing’s just a Blüd who came to Gotham. He doesn’t count.”

Ouch. Sorry, Dick.

“And Red Robin is obviously an older Robin, the one who was Robin when we were kids. Kent wanted to keep him on, and I don’t blame him. As for Signal, he’s got the same backstory as all the other Robins Kent picked up, he just went the Signal route because he didn’t fit the usual Robin mold.”

“Because the female Robin fit the mold,” Tim snorted. Robin Mold, as if he and his brothers were even the same ethnicity. Or even had the same hair color. Jason dyes his hair, Dick’s is brown-black, Tim’s is pure black, and Damian’s is more a dark brown and it’s only getting lighter as he gets older.

“She didn’t, that’s the point. Kent tried to give breaking the Robin mold a chance by letting his cousin have a go at it, but he realized it just didn’t work so she went back to being Spoiler and he got a new Robin.”

Not touching that with a ten-foot pole. “Right, and where does he get the usual Robins? Please tell me you’re not back on the secret government orphanages theory.”

“No, no, no. Kent travels sometimes for his job, right? And a lot of the time he’s going to places that have been hit by disasters or major crimes. So he’ll take in some of the displaced children to train as his robins.”

Tim pressed his face back into his hands.

“You see it, right?”

Honestly, Tim was just wondering how his boyfriend could be so close, and yet so far off. “How would Kent even afford taking care of a bunch of secret -- possibly illegally acquired -- children without anyone noticing?”

“Simple. Bruce Wayne is funding him.”

“Bernard, I love you, but what the heck?” Tim blushed and looked up as he realized what he’d said, but Bernard didn’t seem to notice as he steamrolled ahead.

“It’d also explain how he can afford all the gear and how he’d be able to travel to Gotham or anywhere else Batman goes without anyone noticing. He probably has a secret Batplane or something.”

“Why would Bruce do that?”

“Because Wayne cares about Gotham, everyone knows that, and this way he can make sure someone’s taking care of the city without anyone putting two and two together.”

“And two plus two is?”

Bernard gave him a hard look. “I’m not stupid, Tim. Bruce Wayne is obviously Superman. His face is right there.”

Oh, the others are going to love this! Too bad I can’t tell Damian or Jason. Jason especially would have loved this. “Right. Bruce is Superman.”

“He is. Superman is known for being nice and Bruce Wayne’s basically all that’s keeping the city running at this point. That’s nice as hell.”

Oh my god.

“And Wayne does charity for the victims of cataclysms, doesn't he? I bet he first saves people from them as Superman and then builds them new homes for free.”

Oh my god! Why am I not recording this!?

“And the Wayne’s were rich enough to hide the fact they adopted an alien baby.”

Tim raised an eyebrow. “If you’re about to tell me this is why Bruce’s parents got killed, you might want to stop while you’re ahead.”

“It’d make sense. There’re all sorts of unanswered questions about their deaths,” Bernard muttered under his breath, flipping through the folder. He pulled out another picture of Kara. This time she was in full Supergirl attire with a bus held overhead. “So if Wayne is Superman, then that’d mean your ex-girlfriend could be Supergirl. They look a lot alike and it’d explain how she got involved with you all.”

“Bernard, she has a human dad. You know, Cluemaster. The supervillain.”

“Yeah, her dad. But we don’t know anything about her mom!”

“Let me guess…”

Bernard pulled out a picture of Karen. She and Helena were suited up and talking to a group of cops, two goons held over each of Karen’s shoulders. “Her mom could be Power Girl! Some makeup and a wig and she could look just like Crystal Brown! And Damian Wayne is obviously the new Superboy! That’s why his background is such a mystery, right? He had to stay a secret until he could control his alien superpowers. That’s why he’s always so mean. It’s a cover since everyone knows Superboy is super sweet!”

Sure, when he’s not helping Damian pull pranks or using his adorable powers to put the blame on Kon and I. “No, Bernard. Damian and Steph are just very human hellspawn. And Bruce and Crystal are human too. I can’t believe you called me over here just to tell me you think Superman is both Batman’s sugar daddy and my adoptive dad.”

“Well, that’s not exactly why I called you over,” Bernard admitted, the nervous energy coming back. He grabbed Tim’s hands. “Tim -”

Tim’s stomach sank. “You are breaking up with me!”

“What? No! I don’t want to break up!”

“Why are you acting all nervous and serious then!?” Tim asked, pulling his hands away to throw them up in the air.

Bernard shook the folder. “Because I’m trying to tell you I figured out you’re Superboy!”

Tim’s brain blue-screened and his hands slowly dropped. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I know you’re Superboy. The older one, obviously. By the way, you and Damian really need to figure out separate names.”

Forget Jason and Damian, Kon can never find out about this. He’d never let me live it down. “Bernard, you called me a twink five minutes ago. Su-” Shoot, I can not risk getting Kon’s attention! “The older one might not be as big as Superman, but he’s not a twink.”

“Well, yeah, that’s the shapeshifting at work.”

“The what?”

“Obviously you Kryptonians can shapeshift. Why else would you look so much like humans?”

… Why do Kryptonians look so much like humans? Was there some - Wait, no! Break into the Fortress of Solitude for research later! Reassure your boyfriend that you’re not an alien now! “Bernard -”

“And that explains why your step-mom was so hot.”

“Gross.”

“She and your dad were actors hired by Luthor so you could have a normal life! But now Bruce has custody so he adopted you.”

“No.”

“That’s why you and your dad were so weird with each other when I met him.”

“We were weird because he’d just gotten out of a coma not long before to find that his wife was dead so he decided to actually be a dad for once in his life, but overcompensated and became a helicopter parent to a kid who was mostly on his own for his entire life!” Tim blurted out. “I am not an alien, Bernard!”

“Well, not technically since you were cloned from Superman on Earth.”

“Oh my god! You were just talking about Steph being Supergirl! Why would I date my dad’s cousin?”

Bernard blinked. “Supergirl and Superman are cousins?”

Right, Timothy Drake-Wayne wasn’t supposed to know that. “I thought they’d said something like that before, yeah. Are people seriously saying I’m Superboy on the internet?”

“NO! No, I swear I would have led with that if I thought your identity was compromised. A few people have mentioned Wayne and Damian, but not you or Steph or Jason.”

“Wh-Jason!? You think Jason was an alien too!”

“No, not exactly, but a few times when I’ve visited I swear I’ve seen a guy in the manor who looks like Jason. It’s just been out of the corner of my eye and he’s gone whenever I look so I’ve always thought it was just Dick or Bruce or some picture of Jason that my mind was playing tricks with, but it makes sense now that I know Wayne is Superman. He must have been able to heal Jason with alien tech, but couldn’t say anything because that would give away that he’s Superman.”

Damn it Jason! And damn it Bernard! I’m dating the smartest moron in the world! “Bruce did not bring Jason back with alien technology and none of us are aliens!”

“It’s okay, Tim. I won’t tell anyone.”

Tim grabbed Bernard by the jacket and pulled him into a kiss. When he started to feel lightheaded, he pulled back, “Could someone whose skin is as solid as stone kiss like that?”

Bernard blinked dazedly at him for a moment. “How do you know what Superboy’s skin feels like?”

Tim screamed internally. “He’s saved me from a kidnapping before.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I can get you the police report if you want.”

“Huh… And the others?”

“Not Supers. I can stab Damian the next time we’re at the manor if that’ll prove none of us are aliens.” He’d rather stab Jason, but that would probably only confirm to Bernard that Bruce used alien technology to bring him back.

“You probably shouldn’t stab your brother if he isn’t an alien.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “I won’t stab him anywhere deadly.”

“That’s not the point,” Bernard said slowly.

“He’ll be fine.”

“If you say so.”

“So do you believe I’m not an alien now?” Tim huffed, letting go of Bernard’s jacket.

The blond’s eyes dipped down to Tim’s lips. “If I say no, will you kiss me like that again?”

“You’re ridiculous,” Tim said, but he kissed him anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay, but I still say Clark Kent is definitely Batman.”

“Sure, Bernard.”

#Tim Drake #robin #red robin #bernard dowd #timber #fanfiction

[iamtheblondestblonde]

The Clark Kent Effect

Part One

AN: So this is meant to be the beginning of a (semi short) series, depending on how well it’s received. Feedback is therefore more than appreciated and always remember I love reading tags. Feel free to message me or send me anons as well, every interaction makes my day :) 

To all my American followers: please go vote tomorrow, I don’t even live there but I still know how important it is.

Word Count: 2.9k (short boi)

Warnings: alcohol and one swear word maybe? 

Part Two

My other writing can be found here

While your costume had seemed like a great idea two days ago you now thought differently.

Technically it was a great costume, but only because you hadn’t exactly planned on needing to step out of the club to make an angry phone call. Alas here you were, legs shaking and teeth clattering because of your stupidly short dress, this situation the last nail in the coffin that would finally pronounce your disaster with Colin dead for good. You weren’t sad about it in the least, only cold. If only you’d thought of grabbing your jacket on your way outside this wouldn’t be as bad, it was the end of October and you were in New York after all, but you’d been so angry to see his caller ID on your screen that you’d stormed out without thinking, which you now deeply regretted.

Stepping back inside was like heaven and running into a wall at the same time, if said wall was made out of hot air and the smell of sweat, hairspray and alcohol. You really shouldn’t be happy about stuffy air, but at least you weren’t shivering anymore so you were going to mark it down as a success in your books. Since the restrooms were close to your right you made a quick detour, checking if everything was still where it was supposed to be.

At least your boobs hadn’t fallen out yet and you dismissed the judgy stares in the restroom as you readjusted your cleavage and reapplied your bold red lipstick. Normally you’d stare as well, not judging but usually intrigued by women who portrayed such confidence but tonight you were one of these women and you wouldn’t let anyone else ruin it. You’d earned a good night out after finally escaping Colin’s manipulative fuckboy ways and telling him to get lost for good.

So with your chin up and your shoulders straight you stepped out of the restroom, determined to find your group of friends again so you could get drunk and finally have a good time. It took a bit longer than you’d like to admit, your heels only barely giving your tiny frame a height advantage but then you finally spotted the fluffy halo of your best friend. After making sure that it was really her – there were enough angels in this room to make any priest happy after all – you quickly made your way over to her.

Or at least you tried.

You’d only gotten a few steps in when your heel got caught in the costume of a guy dressed up as mummy – which really only consisted of his regular clothes and what you estimated to be about three rolls of toilet paper – and you stumbled. You could already see yourself in the emergency room of the closest hospital with a broken nose from crashing to the ground, blood running down your face and staining your already red dress. Perhaps you could play it off as a part of your costume but it’d still hurt and your night would definitely be over.

But none of that happened because you were saved by a very handsome Superman. He’d stood with his back to you, you’d definitely spotted his broad shoulders underneath the stretched blue fabric earlier, but he’d turned in your direction right before gravity had decided to take its toll on you. Apparently his costume was justified though, because he caught you with cat-like reflexes, wrapping his hands around your arms and pulling you back towards an upright position before anything damaging could happen.

He was a lot taller than you so the first thing you really noticed of him was his throat and perhaps you really should’ve dressed up as a vampire because you noticed that he had a very sexy throat, if that was even a thing. Your weird thoughts were interrupted by him chuckling though and your gaze quickly snapped up to meet his and you really weren’t sure if you should congratulate or scold yourself for how you’d managed to end up in his arms.

The handsome stranger was wearing glasses in true Clark Kent fashion and his hair was better than any DC artist could have dreamed of, perfectly tousled in the way that showed that he liked to run his hands through it and you’d be lying if you said that you weren’t tempted to do the same. In the dim lighting of the club you couldn’t make out the color of his eyes behind his glasses but they could honestly be yellow and he’d still be hot as fuck.

Sometime during your almost-fall your hands had ended up on his chest and you really should be embarrassed about the fact that you were practically feeling him up but somehow you couldn’t find yourself to care enough to let go. You relaxed your hands from the tight grasp they had on his shirt and instead carefully splayed them out on his chest as if you were going to push yourself off of him but not really doing so. With how you were pressed against him you could feel the heat radiating through his shirt and how firm his body was, his muscular built more and more evident with every passing second. His hands had started to wander as well, moving up from the side of your arms towards the top of your shoulders, the size of them burning itself into your mind as you just stared at each other.

If one were to ask you what day it was right this moment, you honestly wouldn’t be able to answer them despite everyone in this club dressed in Halloween costumes. Mozart himself could have returned from the dead to perform “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” with a string quartett in the middle of this dancefloor and you probably wouldn’t have noticed right now, too caught up in the eyes of this handsome stranger.

When he reached up with one of his hands to adjust the little devil’s horns on top of your head you blinked in surprise, finally snapping out of your daze.

“Oh my God I’m so sorry, I totally didn’t mean to crash into you but my heel got caught and-“, you began to ramble, your sense of common decency finally kicking in but he only laughed and since neither of you had taken a step backwards yet you could feel it rumbling through his chest.

“Don’t worry about it, I don’t mind having beautiful girls quite literally falling for me”, he joked and if he were any other guy you probably would’ve scoffed at his choice of words but somehow the boyish charm worked well for him and you found yourself grinning as you came up with a response.

“Mmm let’s hope this isn’t a normal occurrence for you because I’m not a fan of getting caught in traffic.” You finally found the strength to take a, very reluctant, step back, untangling yourself from his grasp and dropping your hands but still smiling up at him. He definitely had the potential to be your catch for the night. You could really use the distraction after all.

Your blissful thoughts were interrupted by someone tugging at your arm though, a look over your shoulder revealing a pouting angel dressed in white and with a bouncing halo. It seemed like Emily had found you instead after you’d gotten distracted by your hero.

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over the place for you”, she whined and you could tell by her slurred words that she’d gotten quite the head start while you were outside on your phone as she was well on her way to get plastered. Otherwise she never would’ve interrupted a conversation with a hot guy either, it was an unspoken wingwoman rule after all.      

“Come on, Dana just brought a new round of shots and you need to catch up!” And with that she tightened her grip on your wrist and pulled you away. You barely managed to tell the handsome stranger to come find you later before he disappeared between the writhing bodies and was out of your sight.

Way too many shots later you found yourself on the dance floor, intoxicated and having a great time.

Your thoughts hadn’t wandered to Superman in quite a while, too consumed by alcohol and the thumping beat of the music, until you spotted him leaning against the banister of the top floor, drink in one hand and definitely watching you. Again, this would be creepy if he were anyone else but in this case it only made you appreciate the current sensual song even more, your eyes never leaving his as you moved your body to the beat. You were planning on going home with him later either way, you could tease him a little more before then, show him what he could have if he played his cards right.

He was still watching you a couple of songs later when your throat had gotten dry and your heels were starting to grow uncomfortable. In need of a break you pointed towards the bar, hoping that he’d understand and when he nodded you smiled brightly, excusing yourself from your group of friends so you could grab some water. You were done drinking for tonight, much more exciting things laying ahead of you and you wanted to be sober for them.

Water was apparently a welcome change from the regular orders the bartenders got because you were served immediately, a cool bottle set in front of you seconds later. You checked over your shoulder before taking a sip, spotting your Superman as he made his way towards you with a smile, one you returned before turning back around to climb on the stool that had just freed up so you could give your feet a well-deserved break.

When you felt a tap on your shoulder you fully expected it to be the hot guy, your most dazzling smile instantly on your lips as you turned around but it quickly fell off your face as you realized who it really was.

When you were younger you’d often imagined yourself in this moment, thought of what you’d say when you’d finally see him again after all this time apart. A small part of you had pined after him for years and fantasies of how your eyes would meet from across the room and how everything else would stop mattering had filled your daydreams once upon a time. But as you looked at him now there were no butterflies, no fireworks and you could still hear some remix of “Monster Mash” blaring over the speakers, the world was definitely still turning.

Perhaps you’d built up what had been between the two of you in your mind in the years of his absence, put him on a pedestal – he deserved to be one though because through everything he had been nothing short of a great guy – but as you looked at him you realized that all that was in the past. There was just a warm afterglow of what once was. As you looked at him now, there was absolutely no doubt that you didn’t love Anthony Beauvillier anymore.

“I wasn’t sure if it was really you, but wow Y/N you look great”, his familiar voice met your ears and it took you a second to realize that he’d slipped into French, the way the two of you had done countless times as teenagers.

You probably resembled a fish with the way you were opening and closing your mouth without saying anything but you couldn’t help yourself. Seeing Tito in this club had hit you like a fright train and you hadn’t expected it at all, which only made it worse.

Almost 20 Million people lived in New York State and over 8.3 Million in New York City alone. Brooklyn housed well over 500.000 people as well and yet you still managed to run into your ex in this club, despite the both of you growing up in Québec. If you were any good at math you would calculate the probability of this happening but you’d always sucked at it and it really wouldn’t help your situation either. You reminded yourself that you both worked here now but that was absolutely beside the point.

Before you managed to embarrass yourself even further you shook your head to clear your thoughts, smiling at the guy who had once held your heart before making the break into the NHL. He was dressed as a boy scout, with medals pinned to his shirt, the scarf thingy and everything and the costume was so incredibly him that you immediately felt catapulted back into your teenage years. It was easy to fall back into your old routine then.

“Oh yeah, do you think your Mom would still speak so highly of me if she saw me dressed as a slutty devil?”, you joked and he threw his head back in laughter, taking you even more by surprise when he threw his arms around you in a hug. It was a bit awkward with you sitting on the bar stool and all and it made you realize that he himself didn’t even feel the same anymore, his career of being a professional athlete shaping his body into a much more bulkier version of the one you were used to.

As you looked over his shoulder you caught the gaze of your Superman and your thoughts immediately returned to him. What must he be thinking of you hugging another stranger at the bar after telling him to come see you? The confusion was evident of his face, a crease between his eyebrows giving his thoughts away and you noticed how he scrunched up his nose in a very cute way so you immediately pulled back from Tito, reaching up to adjust your horns as a disguise for your sudden movement.

“So, did you finally manage to make your dreams of living and working in New York City come true?”, he asked as he took a step closer to let someone else pass by and you nodded, amazed that he still remembered after all these years. He really was one of the good guys.

“Yep, I finally made it, although it’s not as glamorous as I thought it would be. But maybe that’s only us working class people, I’m sure it’s a lot different in your line of work.” Thankfully he picked up on your teasing and wasn’t insulted, only laughing even more as he finally had the space to move next to you so he could look at the crowd as well.

“Speaking of work..”, he trailed off as he switched back to English and to your utter disbelief he waved your Superman over. Superman was reluctant to move at first, that much you could tell by looking at him, and since you watched him extra closely you were probably the only one to catch him flinching a little as Tito threw his arm around his shoulders but his confused expression was obvious as he looked between the two of you.

“Y/N, this is my teammate and best friend Mat, I’m sure you’ve heard of him. Mat, this is my ex Y/N. You’ve also heard of her.”

Of course you’d heard of Mathew Barzal, last year’s Calder winner and rising star among the NHL’s elite players but it seemed like you were a victim of the Clark Kent Effect because you hadn’t recognized him at all with the glasses on.

Now your Superman had a name but the only thing you could focus on were the words “best friend”. No matter how hot Mat was and how much you’d wanted him before, very much imagining him helping you out of your tight dress, you couldn’t do that to Tito.

Mat seemed to come to the same realization as you because he plastered what could only be described as a business smile on his face, extending his hand for you to shake. You took it, relishing in the way his warm palm felt against yours and allowing yourself to enjoy his touch one last time before letting go and smiling at him with sad eyes as you introduced yourself.

Tito stayed to order a drink, pulling Mat and you into a conversation and therefore preventing your escape and while that was already bad enough in itself, he unknowingly took your breath away when he asked Mat:

“Hey, did you ever find that hot klutz you told me about? The one that fell into your arms earlier?”

Tito had his back towards the both of you so he didn’t see the way Mat looked down at you with sad eyes as well before pulling himself together and responding:

“Yeah, but turns out she’s not available after all.”

The rest of the night passed in a blur, you’d returned to alcohol after saying goodbye to Tito and Mat and promising Tito to stay in touch, so you barely remembered climbing into an uber hours later and only really came to your senses when you chugged a water bottle in your kitchen.

“Wait, weren’t you planning on going home with that hot Superman you mentioned earlier? What happened to him?”, Emily asked from her spot on the couch, her usual spot after a night out since your apartment was closer.

“I guess he left”, you answered, not really willing to go into any details right now.

“Aw, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.”

And wasn’t that the truth.

#mat barzal #mat barzal x reader #mat barzal imagine #new york islanders #nhl fanfiction #hockey imagine #hockey writing #my writing #nhl players #nhl

[anjuschiffer]

Amira Wayne [Unclassified]

So I’m creating a series dedicated to unused chapters/scenes from Amira Wayne... Since these aren’t part of the actual fic, I will not be using the same tags from the fic themselves. If you wanna be tagged, just comment on the pieces themselves or send an ask :D

-

This was originally going to be the official Day 6 fic, but then I ended up changing the plot too much to be able to use it...

If I had followed my OG plot, then by this chapter, Bruce, Dick and Amira would still be in good terms, healthily healing from Jason's death.

Also, Tim would've be adopted by Bruce when Amira finds out that Tim has been severely neglected by his parents.

-

Tag: @theatreandcomicfreak @damianette-is-life @toodaloo-kangaroo @elijahcrevan

-

MASTERLIST | A03

-

Day 6 - Deleted Chapter

It was another boring day at the WatchTower, some of the heroes lounging around while those with proteges kept an eye on them. 

Wally was immersed into the new game Tim had brought in the other day, only for his ears to catch the sound of the zeta tube opening.

While his first thoughts were to ignore it, the voice of the person to whom had just come changed his mind.

“Hello everyone! Sorry for our delay! Batman has a few things to work out before coming here, so I hope these pastries make up for it.” 

“And you are?” Wonder Woman asked, wondering who this child was. 

“Diana. Barry. Arthur. Meet Ladybug, Batman’s war-“ Superman started, only to get cut off. 

“Bug!” Wally squealed with a grin on his face, running up to hug his favorite person in the world as soon as she finished handing the box over to Superman.

Sure, the two have only met a few times, but can you blame Wally? She made the best cookies in the world! And not only that, she was able to get on Batman’s good side! Batman even let her drive the Batmobile!

Ladybug erupted into a fiery pink blush, earning chuckles and giggles from some of the adults in the room. 

She quickly averted her eyes when she saw Bart and Uncle Kent smile at her, Diana giving her a knowing face. Arthur simply looked at her with confusion, Ladybug hoping he wouldn’t figure out why she seemed so familiar with him. 

“S-See too nice to you! I mean! Nice to-to see you too!” Ladybug stammered, hoping he wasn’t able to hear her heart. 

Who was she kidding? Of course he was probably able to hear her hearty happily thumping away. 

Wally finally let go of Ladybug, grinning at her. 

“You won’t believe who’s here!” Wally said with a smile, catching Amira’s attention. 

While this wasn’t Ladybug’s first time at the WatchTower, it certainly was her first time on her own and having to meet other League members. As far as Wally knew, Ladybug had only met Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Flash. And maybe Martian Manhunter...once. 

“Who?”

“Hal! You know? Green Lantern!” 

At those words, Ladybug gaped, a smile quickly overcoming it. 

“No way! This is probably the first time I’ll be able to properly meet him! Oh no!” Ladybug quickly brought her yo-yo to her face, checking for any flour left behind. “I want to make a good impression. Wally, do I look alright?” She asked as she put her yo-yo away. 

“Splendid as ever.” He replied with a grin, causing her to blush once more. 

“Careful there. Wouldn’t want Batman to hear those words towards his new ward.” Bart reminded Wally, taking a cookie from the box Ladybug had brought in for them. 

“Relax.” Wally assured, grabbing hold of Ladybug’s hand. “Now, let’s go and find Hal! He’ll be so excited to finally meet you!”

“I hope I make a good first impression.”

“He’s going to love you!” Wally said, giving her a toothy grin. “You’ll see.”

Wally and Ladybug ran through the doors, Flash and Wonder Woman following them, not wanting to miss the events that have yet to happen.

Arthur, meanwhile, fought with his thoughts, attempting to connect the dots in his mind. 

-

Bruce let out a sigh as he finally got to the WatchTower an hour and a half later, surprised to see Clark sitting near the Zeta Tube waiting area.

“Kent. What are you-”

“Waiting for you.” He quickly replied, handing Bruce a napkin, a bat shaped cookie on it. “Aside from Amira being a kind girl, she’s also quite the baker. Alfred must be happy to have a set of hands to help him around the kitchen.”

Clark had accidentally found out about Amira being Ladybug one foggy night while visiting Bruce. Clark was waiting for the man in his study when he caught her entering it via the window in full Ladybug costume. 

“Not only can she bake, but she also knows how to get the boys to listen to her with a single command.” Bruce said with a sigh, regretting letting Amira go ahead without him. Making sure that Dick wouldn’t go off solving cases without backup and for Tim to not wander into the BatCave by himself is what held him back. “So where is Amira?”

“Last I heard, she was busy arguing with Hal-”

“Jordan’s here?” Bruce asked, only then realising that two were heading towards the sparing room, hearing muffled shouts coming from the room.

“Knowing that Amira wanted to meet him, Wally offered to introduce her to him.” 

“And you let them?” Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, fully knowing the headache that was awaiting. “Let’s just hope-”

Bruce wasn’t expecting to see what he saw when he entered the room.

There, in front of them, Ladybug finished slamming a robot against the floor as a timer went off, the crowd cheering for their victor.

“That was amazing!” Bruce heard Wally shout, looking over to Ladybug, a prominent blush on her face as she held her hand in the air. Bruce wanted to throw a glare the boy’s way, but chose not too.

She let her hand drop to her side, feeling as her entire body almost fell down with it. She let herself take in big breaths of air, fully knowing she badly needed it.

“That’s the fifth time in row that I’ve beaten you.” Ladybug said after catching her breath. Sparring with robots was nothing compared to fighting her brothers...brother. She straightened herself up, doing a few bends to the side to calm down her aching body. “If you still want to go another round to try and prove-”

“Ladybug.” Bruce’s voice boomed, making everyone quiet down and causing Ladybug to harshly flinch.

“B-Batman.” She said, slowly turning to face. “I know you said that I should wait for you to arrive so that you can properly introduce me as your ward, but-”

“She’s your ward?” Hal asked, glancing between Batman and Ladybug. “Should’ve known.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Bruce asked, narrowing his eyes. 

“Using underhanded methods to destroy-” 

“I didn’t use any underhanded methods!” Ladybug defended, holding back a blush when she heard ‘She fought fair and square!’ from Wally. “Batman taught me how to make the most of my surroundings and of my abilities! He’s the one who taught me to access my situations instead of charging in...unlike you.”

“Excuse me? Are you-”

“Instigating that you solely rely too much on your ring’s power? Yes.” Ladybug said, stepping out of the ring. “Makes you think you’re invincible.”

“Not like you’re any different.” Hal retorted, pointing at Ladybug’s earrings. “Your earrings are also magical. As for how I know, I scanned it earlier. I know what they are.” Hal said with a smirk when he saw Ladybug scowl. 

“My earrings-”

“-are just like my ring.” Hal completed, walking up to Ladybug. “You too rely too much on your magical earrings.”

“No, I don’t.” Ladybug sternly said, straightening up. “And to prove it. Let’s have a simple sparring match. One round, no time limit. And to make things fair, no magical item for me since you believe I rely too much on it.”

Everyone watched as Ladybug went over to Bruce, who simply looked at his ward with pride. 

Everyone watched as Ladybug called off her transformation, watching as she held her earrings in her hand before giving them to Batman.

Wally’s jaw dropped at finding out that it was Amira behind the mask. 

“Dad, hold my earrings.”

“Dad?!” Hal yelled, wondering if this meant death. “Batman is-”

“My father? Yup. Name’s Marinette by the way,” Amira said, bowing her head as she said it. 

Wally looked at her in confusion. Wasn’t that Amira?

Technically, Amira wasn’t lying. “And before I forget, let me just tell you,” Marinette stepped into the ring, stretching her arms for the upcoming fight. “Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean you should underestimate me.”

-

“-and that hold you did at the end! That was...amazing!” Wally blabbered away, causing Amira to turn a shade redder than what she already was.

As soon as the match started, Hal wished he hadn’t challenged the young girl.

No matter how many times he would hold her down or throw her across the ring, she would never. Back. Down. Ever.

She fell on her back? Did a flip to get back up or twist her body to attack him from below, oftentimes kicking him in the jaw.

She rolled towards the edge of the ring? No problem. She simply stopped herself and went back to dodging Hal’s chains and weapons. He hated it when she would grab a chain and use it against him, or even better. She used it as a step stone to land a hit on him.

He hated her axe drops the most. That thing hurt like the devil.

He grabbed her? She would pull him towards her and knee him in the stomach or chest and then punch him square in the face. But wait! When she didn’t feel like doing that, she’d simply throw him towards her side and push him down, letting some distance go between them before she would flip towards him and do a dropkick on him.

Their fight continued until Amira landed the final blow. 

Hal was too late to notice the girl behind him, grinning at him like a madwoman.

Using his projectile as a foothold, Amira launched herself towards him, the heel of her foot connecting with his shoulder, causing him to fall onto the floor, Amira using that opportunity to grab Hal.

But Hal wasn’t going to go down that easily. 

Grabbing her arm, he attempted to tuck it behind her and hold her down, but she proved to be quicker than him.

She pulls him towards herself, placing his arm under his body, wrapping her legs around his body.

Hal felt his arm ache in pain from the unnatural stretching, the pressure on his back not helping his lack of breath. 

It also didn’t help that he also had pressure going against his chest due to Amira’s leg pushing his arm into his chest and her hands pulling his head into his compressed body.

His head was starting to become light, his vision starting to spin.

He wanted to breathe, but he just couldn’t. 

Feeling the last of his energy beginning to leave him, he tapped out, gasping for air when Amira released him.

“It wasn’t anything, really.” Amira finally replied to Wally, internally smiling as she recalled how smoothly her plan went.

With his focus on breathing, Hal’s concentration slipped from his ring, allowing Amira to guarantee her win. She slipped his ring off his finger temporarily, making sure that he wouldn’t attempt to use it as she waited for him to tap out.

When he did, she quickly slipped it back on, grinning as she claimed her victory.

But that was a low move, even for you.

Yes, it was, but something had to be done to knock Hal off his pedestal.

“You think you could teach me how to-” 

“Sure!” Amira chirped, internally screaming at herself for saying that. “I'd be happy to teach-“

“Nightwing could teach you.” Batman cut off, causing Wally to shudder and Amira to giggle.

While her first meeting with Hal didn’t go as planned, she sure hopes they can spar with him again in the near future. It’s not everyday she was able to spar without having to hold out after all!

“Can’t wait until our next visit Father!” Amira said, quickly slipping into her Ladybug costume. “And I can’t wait to see you again.” Amira told Wally, waving to him as she stepped into the Zeta Tube.

While she enjoyed visiting the Tower, she couldn’t help but wonder how Jason would’ve reacted had he had the opportunity to see it himself.

#maribat #amira wayne unclassified #anju writes

[itrytobeagoodkid]

1OO IMPORTANT CHARACTER QUESTIONS

taken from beth kinderman and nikki walker’s the 100 most important things to know about your character. a good list to help develop a character’s background, personality, and general aspects.

Taken from: @museinspo Tagging: Whomstever!

PART 1: THE BASICS

What is your full name?

Jordan El Kent

Where and when were you born?

Metropolis, Kansas in 2009

Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.)

Clark Kent aka Superman and Lois Lane, they used to work for the Daily Planet. But, they quit after we moved to Smallville. Now my dad’s a farmer, and my mom works for the local paper. They’re both pretty good parents. 

Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like?

I have a twin brother named Jonathan, whose my polar opposite and better than me in a lot of ways. I also would have had a little sister named Natalie but...things didn’t work out that way. 

Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people.

I live with my mom and dad in Smallville, Kansas which is a small town and it’s pretty quiet. But it’s...a good place to live. 

What is your occupation?

High school student

Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks.

I’m 5′7″, with curly black hair and a lot of people say my eyes are blue-green. They’re blue, it’s just sometimes they look kind of green depending on lighting. Um, I don’t really know how much I weigh and...I am as pale as the driven snow because I never see the sun. I prefer wearing black and dark clothes. And no tattoos or marks. 

To which social class do you belong?

I’m...guessing middle class?

Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses?

Allergies no, but I do have an aversion to Kryptonite.

Are you right- or left-handed?

Right handed

What does your voice sound like?

It’s still not that deep, or as deep as I’d like it to be.

What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently?

I have no idea, you’d have to ask my brother that one. 

What do you have in your pockets?

Currently? Um some change, keys, phone, ooh I have gum! I didn’t know that was in there. 

Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics?

Um, I guess sometimes I tend to talk with my hands a lot. It’s a little weird, and I’m sure my brother can tell you many annoying habits about me. My worst one? Diving headfirst into stuff, without thinking of consequences. That one gets me in trouble a lot. 

PART 2: GROWING UP

How would you describe your childhood in general?

Um, home wise it was pretty good. My dad was usually working or out of town, so he wasn’t always there. It was usually mom and us, which was...fine. Ok sometimes it could be a little frustrating, but I can’t complain too much. Outside of home? Like at school.....lets not talk about that. 

What is your earliest memory?

I think, I vaguely remember being in a dark place. it’s a place that’s really dark, and I can hear my mom? But she sounds muffled..like I’m underwater but I can still hear her. And there’s something else in there, so it’s a little cramped, but it’s not scary. I told my mom that, and she said there was no way I remember being in the womb. But I swear I remember that one thing. 

How much schooling have you had?

Kindergarden through freshman year. 

Did you enjoy school?

Nope. Well, back in Metropolis I didn’t. I was bullied relentlessly, and had no friends and...everyone hated my guts. Smallville High isn’t that bad, I like it here. 

Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities?

Um, depends on what you mean. Now that he’s around a lot more, I do...learn a lot of stuff from my dad. Like, how to use my strength and how to work on the farm. 

While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them.

Probably my mom, she was Superwoman...ironically. But, she was the parent who was there the most. She’s a badass, and she never lets anything stop her from doing the right thing. 

While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family?

I kept to myself a lot, I...also threw tantrums...a lot so I’m sure I didn’t make it easy on anyone. 

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Ironically, Superman. When I was a kid, my mom would tell me Superman stories and....I wanted to be just like Superman. I also wanted to be a video game programmer, and make games of my own. 

As a child, what were your favorite activities?

Drawing, I used to play the piano, writing, and reading. 

As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display?

Well I had undiagnosed Anxiety, and before we knew I used to throw tantrums a lot. Not proud of that, but...I did. I was alos a lot more shy and insecure, about a lot of things. Um, there was a time...I might have been nicer and...maybe more optimistic, but I think bullying kind of beat that right out of me. So. I was also kind of a crybaby. I was...a troubled kid....still kind of am depending on who you ask.

As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like?

Uh no, actually....I was the loser, outcast, who never talked to anyone. I didn’t have any friends, unless you counted Jonathan. I have friends now, which is weird to me.....but also nice.

When and with whom was your first kiss?

Um,  next question.

If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today.

Not technically supernatural, but I am...part...alien?  My dad is Superman, and thus I am part Kryptonian. I’m still trying to figure out my powers, though I know I’m probably going to get all of his. At first I didn’t think I had them. But then I saved my brother from these big metal tubes and....I guess that’s when they kicked in. 

PART 3: PAST INFLUENCES

What do you consider the most important event of your life so far?

Probably finding out I had powers, to be honest and then finding out my dad was Superman. Life kind of changed after that. 

Who has had the most influence on you?

My mom, and my brother. They’re the family I spent most time with. 

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Winning my first ever football game, I never played sports before and ok I did have powers to help me out. But...it still felt good to win something for once. 

What is your greatest regret?

Hurting my brother.....letting my dad down.....letting Edge take my dad.....lying to Sarah every day. 

What is the most evil thing you have ever done?

So....when I was six, mom and dad were repainting the living room. And there was paint, I have no idea why I did this. But, I dipped my hand in the paint, and I.....touched the walls.....and then blamed Jon for it. Granted in my defense, they were gonna paint it anyway. But.....yeah, I think that’s the most evil or I guess bad thing I ever did. 

Do you have a criminal record of any kind?

Nope...pretty sure my mom would kill me if I did. 

When was the time you were the most frightened?

Oh there have been plenty of times, um when my superhearing kicked in and Jon and I had to go save dad, he drove us all the way to this warehouse with weird red lights. There was Edge and what he did to dad, there was....a lot of stuff.

What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you?

Lets not open that can of worms. 

If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why?

mm, I wouldn’t have broken Jon’s arm.

What is your best memory?

So it was really hot one year, and mom and dad surprised us with a beach trip. Jon and I were seven and well we’d never been before, so we were super excited, we spent all day there and we ate this big burgers with fries and....it was nice.

What is your worst memory?

Not gonna answer that. 

PART 4: BELIEFS & OPINIONS

Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic?

Um, I’m in the middle? I think it depends on what it is. Sometimes, I can be an optimist....mostly a pessimist. 

What is your greatest fear?

Losing control of my powers...and hurting other people.

What are your religious views?

I mean, we were raised to believe in the Almighty, and granted it wouldn’t surprise me given all the aliens and supernatural stuff if he did exist. Uh, but if there is one...he has a very interesting sense of humor sometimes. 

What are your political views?

Well, still forming those but I do lean more to the left. 

What are your views on sex?

I’m gonna skip this one. 

Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable?

No. I don’t think I have it in me to kill anyone. I...I know I probably seem like the type, y’know loner, wears black, and plays violent video games, but I would never do that. To me, even if it’s a villain...all life deserves to be protected. Maybe that’s naive, but I learned that from dad.

In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do?

I think manipulating someone, taking them and just...doing whatever it is to brainwash them and turn them into someone their not. Or even just, making them do something they would never do, I think that’s pretty evil. 

Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love?

I do, because in every universe there is a Clark Kent and a Lois Lane, and in almost every universe they find one another. And they choose each other. And I think that’s pretty great.

What do you believe makes a successful life?

I’ll...get back to you on that.

How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)?

Not very, but depending on how angry I am I will infact yell and scream about my feelings. Mostly though I keep stuff bottled up, which probably isn’t healthy but I don’t want people worrying. 

Do you have any biases or prejudices?

I do not, I’m willing to give everyone at least one chance..and the benefit of the doubt. Except for Lex Luthor...screw that guy...and Jimmy Cutter while I’m at it but even then.....if he apologized? sure. 

Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why do you refuse to do it?

Wear a cape, listen I have seen the Incredibles, and sure it’s a kid’s movie but...I still would rather not have a cape snag on takeoff or get sucked into a plane’s turbines. 

Who or what, if anything, would you die for (or otherwise go to extremes for)?

My family...my friends...Sarah.

PART 5: RELATIONSHIPS W/OTHERS

In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how?

I will treat you as you treat me, you’re gonna be a dick? I will be a dick back. You’re nice? I’ll be nice back. But....I also believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt when it’s earned, in giving second chances, and helping even if I don’t like them. 

Who is the most important person in your life, and why?

I don’t think I have just one person. 

Who is the person you respect the most, and why?

um, my parents? For obvious reasons, and Jon....for a lot of reasons. 

Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people.

It’s probably weird, but my best friend is Jon. We do everything together, and he’s always been there for me. He protects me, and sometimes we annoy the heck out of each other. But we’re always there for each other. 

Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person.

I do not have a spouse...yet.

Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened.

I’m pretty sure I feel in love with Sarah after I saw her again, at grandma’s funeral which sounds weird. But in context, we hadn’t seen each other since we were kids, and when I saw her...it was like...there was something....inside that felt nice. 

What do you look for in a potential lover?

That’s a weird way to put it, but um...I want someone whose nice, whose good and sweet and smart, and someone who cares about me and who I can laugh about dumb stuff with and whose....not afraid to be them and....someone who understands...and is very understanding.

How close are you to your family?

We’re getting better, but we weren’t always super close. 

Have you started your own family? If so, describe them. If not, do you want to? Why or why not?

No not yet, but eventually? I do want to marry Sarah and have kids with her. I think I’d like....two or three kids?

Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help?

I guess it would depend on the danger. If it’s a bully at school? Jon, if it’s something more emotional? mom if...its something superhero related dad. 

Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why?

My family....they’re always there for me. 

If you died or went missing, who would miss you?

Before Smallville, I would have said no one. That everyone would be happier...but now I know that’s not true. That, there are people, who would in fact miss me. 

Who is the person you despise the most, and why?

The most? Tal-Rho, look say what you want about Lex Luthor, or Gorilla Grodd, or any other villain but Tal is an asshole to the highest possible degree. I do not even consider him an uncle, because he’s not. He’s just a tyrannical, fascist, bully, who deserves to be alone and miserable for the rest of his life. 

Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict?

Oh yeah, no I..I argue...not my best trait. I mean I’ll avoid it if I can but...mostly I will fight. 

Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations?

Nope I am not cut out to be the leader under any circumstances. 

Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not?

Also no, I have anxiety and sure I handle large groups in small doses, but mostly I prefer smaller groups of people. 

Do you care what others think of you?

Yes and no, it depends I guess. I care very much what Sarah thinks or my friends, do I care what villains and bullies think? Not really....well bullies...eh. 

PART 6: LIKES & DISLIKES

What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes?

Playing video games, sometimes football, reading, I started playing piano again. 

What is your most treasured possession?

I’ll keep that to myself.

What is your favorite color?

Black

What is your favorite food?

Spaghetti and meatballs. 

What, if anything, do you like to read?

Um, I’ll read anything honestly, but...my favorite book series has to the Percy Jackson series. Which ok I get the irony, but it’s a good series. It is. 

What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)?

Honestly? I don’t mind binging a random comedy every once in awhile. 

Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Do you want to quit?

None of the above.

How do you spend a typical Saturday night?

That would be, playing video games or just binging something and eating whatever junk food we have. 

What makes you laugh?

I have a very dark sense of humor, Jon can get me to laugh though no matter what. 

What, if anything, shocks or offends you?

Probably bullying, which is a huge one for me. 

What would you do if you had insomnia and had to find something to do to amuse yourself?

I’ve actually had insomnia before, and usually I’d get on my computer or play video games very very quietly. 

How do you deal with stress?

I don’t.

Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan?

In some cases, sometimes I like a plan, mostly though I thrive on being spontaneous. You’d think I wouldn’t but...that’s a whole other conversation. 

What are your pet peeves?

I have way too many to count. But I think the worst one? Clacking the spoon with your teeth when you’re eating. It’s like nails on a chalkboard to me. 

PART 7: SELF IMAGES & OTHER

Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted?

Um, wake up, brush my teeth, have breakfast, get dressed, go to school, and go home. If I’m not hanging out with Sarah and obviously on the weekends its different. Honestly? it gets disrupted every other week so I’m used to it. 

What is your greatest strength as a person?

I don’t really think I have any if I’m honest. 

What is your greatest weakness?

Oh where to start um, I am too human for aliens and too alien for humans, I am weak, I am way too emotionally charged, sometimes I occasionally give way too much of a crap, I am a freak of nature, and I....I’m the last person who should have ever gotten super powers. 

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Probably....the above, I don’t mind powers but....Jon should have gotten them, not me. He’s the real hero. 

Are you generally introverted or extroverted?

I am definitely an introvert.

Are you generally organized or messy?

It drives my mom crazy how messy I am.

Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at, and three things you consider yourself to be very bad at.

Um, things I’m bad at? Sports, being in a large crowd by myself, cooking and...things I’m good at? That’s a great question. 

Do you like yourself?

Before Smallville, no. I hated everything about myself, and I...didn’t think very highly of myself in regards to...other people. I thought life would be better for everyone if I...wasn’t a thing. But, I’m starting to....I can’t tell you things I’m good at or what I like about myself. But I can tell you, that I have friends, a family, a girlfriend...people who I can rely on and who rely on me. I dunno if that means I like myself, but I know it means...I have people. 

What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If so, detail both sets of reasons…)

Growing up, I idolized my mom and Superman and I wanted to be just like him. I don’t deserve these powers but now that I have them. I’m gonna use them for good. 

What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime?

Well for starters I really, really want to be a superhero

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

In five years? So when I’m 19. I will be a Superhero, and I will go to college in New York with Sarah and...we have an apartment there. We have jobs, small ones not fully careers but....I want a life with her. 

If you could choose, how would you want to die?

oof morbid, but um....I’m gonna quote Titanic a little. I want to die when I’m very old, safe and warm in my bed...having lived a good life. 

If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left.

Um, probably try to spend as much time with Sarah as I could, I would kiss her and...tell her how much I love her. I’d play one last game of football with Jon, and I would have one last dinner with my mom and dad. 

What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death?

mmm I think that’s kind of a tough one. 

What three words best describe your personality?

- Defiant - Hotheaded - Quiet

What three words would others probably use to describe you?

Oh they have uh stupid, weird, freak......yeah. 

#ask game

[singeramg]

Midnight: Chapter 15

Pairing: Clark Kent/ Metahuman! Black! OFC!

Rating: E or M, NC-17 whatever just not for under 18

Warnings: Smut! ( Finally what I promised right?) 

A/n: Okay as as mentioned above this chapter does contain smut, if its not your thing skip to the end. I give a brief summary in my ending author’s note. Please don’t blow me up talking about you weren’t warned.

Catch up HERE! 

Midnight: Chapter 15

*Flashback*

  “Come on Clark you gotta tighten up my dude. This shit is not cute.”

I was standing in the bedroom to his room at his mother's house, in jeans, yellow t-shirt 70′s writing of the words BOSS, across the chest, my silver hoop earrings and freshly applied cherry carmex. Mrs. Martha had called to to come drag Clark from his self imposed shut down, so instead of a quick mall trip by my lonesome, I was here.  He and Lois broke up two weeks ago and he went from optimistic to wanting to follow her to the assignment she picked up overseas (and I told him that might be a bad idea if Superman got a rep for stalking women) he was now in the depression stage. Martha has enough of him not coming out of his room (he also couldn’t go back to the apartment he shared with Lois.) and requests for chocolate and junk food.

Apparently I was the big guns, and I had no clue how bad it was until just now standing in the doorway to the room. It literally had enough empty bottles to become a recycling plant. He was giving me teenage boy vibes and this was a grown ass man.

The part of me that wanted Clark for myself was kind of happy that he and Lois weren’t together but a bigger part of me was crushed for my best friend. I knew how much he loved her, how he planned on proposing to her next month on their anniversary. I could feel how upset he was and I wanted him to feel better. 

 “Gia what are you doing here?”

 “I came to figure out why my best friend has been dodging my phone calls for two days the. I find out he is back at home with his mother and is doing his best to become part of the furniture.”

  “I’m sick Gia.”

I stare at him pointedly. 

  “Kiss my ass your sick....That would work if you were human Clark. You can’t catch a goddamn virus. Now if you had told me a stomach ache I might have believed you. Get your lying ass up dude!”

I walked into the room, and sat at the foot of his bed. He had the covers pulled over his face. He had reached the grief stage and it was not good. I started pulling on the covers trying to inch it down and it worked for the whole of two seconds before he put a stop to that. 

  “Gia I just want to be left alone.”

 I raise an eyebrow and look around in the chaos.

  “If this room is any indication to go by you cannot be trusted to be left to your own devices.”

“Giaaaaa.” He groans out and I stifle a giggle, because I know he is in pain but the whine he did was kinda hilarious.

“Kaaaal.”

I copy his tone and then he sighs and pulls the cover tighter. It was my turn to sigh. I kick off my shoes, and walk over to the opposite side of the bed that Clark was laying on.

I focus all my energy into my hand and yank at his cover, having just enough force to pull it away, however I don’t yank it completely off of him, choosing to slide in next to him.

Clark’s big blue eyes look about as sad as I had ever seen him and his hair looked slightly overgrown and he was growing a beard, only clothed in a pair of shorts. Laying down next to him, I  reached up to his face, because the face of the strongest man in the world did not look like the strongest. 

 “Clark you have got to come face the world sometime.”

 “Does it have to be today? The world is probably the reason she left. I was so busy saving it that I bet she didn’t want to stay around.”

 “Yes boo it has to be today. You can’t sit in here day after day, it won’t make her come back. I’m not saying it isn’t hard to get over something like this but the first step is to try.”

“What if I don’t want to try?”

 “Well I guess we could lay here all day? I mean I may or may not start doing my Britney Spears impressions, then maybe I’ll move on to Miley Cyrus, because I know just how much you love that Party in the USA song, then maybe a little “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys....”

He doesn’t move

“ Ooh baby, baby, ohh Baby baby” 

 “Okay okay. I’ll get up just please no singing.”

I start laughing as Clark flips the covers back, and gets up. I knew he absolutely could not stand those songs and/or artists. I couldn’t help but look him over, his body just as fit as ever, slightly jealous that he could spend multiple days eating and drinking nothing but crap and still look like you could grate cheese on his abs. 

-“Stop it Gia.”- I told myself because I knew I couldn’t go down that road of thinking.

   “So now that you got me out of bed what do you want me to do.”

-‘Get back in.-’ Says my inner-thoughts. Outwardly I say

 “I think you need a day out. Get dressed Kent. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

I pull myself from his bed and start walking, slightly tripping over something on the floor.

“Oh and you need to clean up this mess before we leave, Ms. Martha is not about to chew me out for your mess. No sir.”

“M’am yes M’am.” He says with a look that didn’t scream America Golden boy, but something that was up to no good. 

He says cheekily and half ass salutes in my direction. I toss up my middle finger in his direction and start singing, ‘She’s just a girl, but she’s on fire...’, much to his annoyance,  and close the door to his room on the way out, knowing he can hear me all the way down the stairs and even is whisper, which annoys him even worse...

*Later that night*

 “Clark you are such a cockblocker!”  

We were standing near the exit outside of a bar in Metropolis. We had been there about an hour and a half, Clark had a couple of beers while I sipped on a drink. I left him at the table to get us another round and some shots when a good looking guy walked over to me. He was tall, fit and looked like he kept himself together with a neat fade all waved out and a swagger about himself. Also his emotions were quite even keeled. Which was nice and rare for a change of guys coming up to radiating all the emotions of someone only looking to bone. He introduced himself as Terrance, and I gave him my name. We were talking for all of 10 minutes when Clark walked over to where we were standing, and I had just finished laughing at something Terrance had said, Clark puts his hand on my lower back and says

  “Gia darling I’ve been looking for you. Did you get the drinks? Oh who is your friend?”

I glared at him and then said “This is Terrence, Terrence this is my friend Clark.”

Clark shakes his hand but I can tell he puts just a little too much force behind it because the guy winces ever so slightly and Clark emotions go from protective, jealous to pleased.

I fight the urge to roll my eyes and instead look at Terrence.

  “It was cool to meet you both, I’ve got to get back to my friends.”

He was scurrying away before I could even say goodbye. It was then that I dragged Clark outside.

  “What do you mean Gia?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me Alien boy.” I say the last part in a whisper and poke him in his chest.

  “I didn’t do anything.”

 “So you are going to act like you didn’t just almost break ole’ boys hand in there?”

At this he laughs slightly, but it was at least more of a genuine laugh than I had gotten from him in a few weeks.

  “I wasn’t going to break it. I just wanted to see how he held up. If he even wants the potential to be in your life he’s got to pass muster.”

  “Your muster. He passed mine just fine.”

  “You would have chewed him up and spit him back out Gia. Besides he wasn’t worthy I mean he didn’t even have his pants pulled up all the way.”

 “I told you if it’s done right is called swagger. Anyway. Like I said you are a cockblocker.”

 “Sure, you will be thanking me later from saving you from a bad decision.”

I did some kind of cross between a growl and groan and turned away starting to go back inside realizing Clark wasn’t going to get it. He stops me by gently grabbing my arm.

  “Gia wait.”

He pulls me backward to him again, I end squarely folded into his arms, with his front pressed to my back, face in the curls I left down for the night. I ignore how good this feels, the smell of him, the strength corded through his arms as he holds me tightly.

  “I am sorry Gia. I guess I just don’t want you to leave me. Tonight was supposed to be about the two of hanging out, helping me get over a heartbreak. I just didn’t want my best friend to leave me to drink alone.”

He says next to my ear and I fight off a shutter. I respond by taking a deep breath and saying.

  “I wasn’t going to leave you Clark, what kind of best friend would I be if I let you drink alone?”

I did my best to be mad, but with the way he wrapped his arms around me, the small yet sweet words he used, I was putty. He didn’t have to know how turned on I got by the sound of his voice and honestly I didn’t want to figure out why my heart was racing. If I stayed like this any longer he would figure out it wasn’t from anger.

So I pulled away from him and turned back faux mad and said

  “Come on Kent bring your ass, next round is on you...”

 One hour later:

We walked into my apartment, glad that I hadn’t left it a mess before heading over to see Clark. He trailed behind me, holding the box of cookies from the late night cookie place not far from my house. 

  “I still can’t believe we stopped for cookies at 12 in the morning.”

 “Come on Clark you know there is nothing better than a warm cookie late at night. How many times have you snuck one of your mom’s cookies at night when she was sleeping.”

He ponders

  “Touché. I didn’t even know that place existed.”

  “Yes, it’s fairly new but still awesome. My coworker told me about it and I went one night.”

I didn’t tell him my first time going was the night he showed me the ring he got for Lois and I ate way too many cookies and some vanilla ice cream then had a pity party I threw for myself.

He shakes off his jacket and I cut on a lamp in the living room. He goes over to my couch and plops down, carefully as not to break it. He opens the box of treats and starts to eat one. One of the types I picked out, even though he didn’t ask for that one when specifically asked.

I came back with bottles of water from my kitchen to find the travesty in my living room.

  “Oh hell naw! You are seriously about to get put the fuck out dude! I know you are not eating my peanut butter chocolate chip cookie.”

“There’s like 3 in here.” He shrugs not giving a care in the world and looking down at his phone.

“Yep and all three were mine Kal-El. Now I’ve got to fight you...”

At this he looks up and notices I have red energy balled up on my fingertips. He has half of the cookie left and offers it to me sheepishly, I almost knock it out his hand but that would be too much of a waste so I grab it and eat the rest and wave my hand at the tv.

  “It is so easy to forget you have powers Gia. That you are like me in some ways, but then you do little things like cut a tv on with a wave of your hand or try to kill me and I remember.”

  “I’ve been trying to tamper my use but honestly I just don’t want to look for the remote.”

  “Good reason. Now since I’m not ready to go home yet and you promised me a movie. What’s on?”

I flicked through Netflix, choosing to cast some action flick I’d been meaning to watch, knowing that anything sappy would just make Clark sad again. I put my feet on the coffee table in front of me, relaxing into the cushions finally. Honestly I wanted to put on pajamas but currently they all consisted of Clark’s shirts and short-shorts (if I even wore those) it wouldn’t be appropriate to wear around him, nor did I want him to take them back. So I stayed in my clothes and Clark had come out of his shoes, socks and the glasses he didn’t need. In a surprise move however instead of sitting straight up on his end of the couch, he lays down, head in my lap. 

Most of the time it was Lois he laid on like this or I fell asleep on his shoulder on accident, never fully intentional. I didn't jump up, instead my hands flew up to his hair and pushed it back. He emits relaxed energy and settles further in my lap. I briefly wondered how long had it been since he allowed himself to be cared for? 

We watched the movie and I polished off two cookies and we were about halfway through when an intimate scene came on in the film. My heart rate picks up slightly as the faces on scene blur slightly and I let my mind wonder to what it would be like if that was me and Clark. 

  “You know I can hear your heartbeat right?”

I push at his head playfully and he sits up, but he is much closer than before because of how  he had moved to put his head in my lap. He is smiling one of those megawatt smiles and I Want to punch him kinda but I also want to kiss him. The thought only arouses me further and I want to disappear into the couch.

  “It’s a perfectly natural reaction to the movie.”

 “Sure, this isn’t because you find Sebastian Stan attractive or anything. Sure.”

He takes a large slip of his water, smug.

  “Hey I’ve got to take my kicks where I can get them. Since someone that shall remain nameless kept scaring the guys away from me all night.”

 “All of them were looking at you like a piece of meat.”

“ Did you ever think that I wanted them too.  I mean come on, a girl has her needs.”

 “Yes, but that doesn’t mean you have to sleep with some guy you barely know because he shows you some attention.”

I look at him hurt. He had no clue I was still a virgin but that didn’t give him the right to imply I was whoring myself out to any and everyone. Even if I did he still had no right to judge me.

 “Do you really think that low of me Clark? That I sleep with everyone?”

He immediately radiates guilt and regret.

  “No I didn’t say that.”

 “You implied it. I..I think I’m going to head to bed. You can let yourself out now Kal.”

I say and realize maybe that was one of the reasons he could never see me the way I saw him. This whole time he thought I was a hoe. I get up from my position on the couch, and as my face and eyes burn from embarrassment and sadness I walk to my room, but Clark is faster, stopping in front of me to keep me from the entrance to my bedroom.

  “Clark move.”

I say, moving very quickly to the anger stage.

  “Gia wait. Please I’m sorry. I swear I wasn’t thinking of you like that. It was bad wording...”

  “If it came out that easy then you were already thinking it.”

   “I wasn’t! Honest!”

I roll my eyes and focus my energy into my hand again, having practiced just enough strength to move Clark even if he wasn’t willing. I was proud of myself when he actually moved and I had enough time to get into my room, close and lock the door.

  “Fucking Jackass.” I whisper to the empty room.

 I don’t wait to hear the door close, settling on a hot shower to get all the grime and dirt off of me from sitting in a smoky , sweaty bar half the night. I chastised myself the entire time I was in the shower looking back on all the times we laughed together, me possibly making a sex related joke or dirty throw away comment and realizing he had been thinking that of me the entire time. I grabbed an old shirt and shorts for bed, glad that bras were not required for being in your own home. I cut off the light to en-suite bathroom and jumped nearly a foot finding Clark sitting in my accent chair next to the now open window.

  “Goddamnit  Kal-El you scared the shit out of me. How did you get in here?”

   “You should really keep your windows locked, I mean there are so many weird folks out here that could want to hurt you. Trust me I hear most of them.”

  “Well I can deal with most creepers just like I thought I had dealt with the one standing in my room right now.”

I say, waving my hand toward the lamp next to my bed that comes on to illuminate his face. I can feel that he’s sorry and then desire comes right behind the sorry emotions.

  “Are you wearing my shirt?”

Clark asks me suddenly, with his head turned slightly, almost in confusion and I take note as I looked down, that it was one of his royals shirts and it fell about mid-thigh, which regrettably hid my shorts.

  “I may or may not have borrowed it a while ago, but anyway that is off topic. Why are you still here?”

He comes from the other side of my bed rather quickly, but his gait is not relaxed, it is more of a proud quickstep. I called it his ‘determination’ look, and now I was nervous. Was he mad for me borrowing...stealing the shirt? His emotions didn’t read mad however. In fact they were the exact opposite, the intensity of them made me rub my thighs together slightly.

 “I was here to make you listen to my apology because you are being stubborn again and you know exactly how much I hate you being mad at me so I was going to volunteer servitude and grovel shamelessly but now I am not so sure.”

I could feel the tension in the room and I was sure I was just making it awkward for myself. So I crossed the room, away from him, and headed to my dresser, going to a drawer where I kept other nightwear that didn’t belong to Clark. I didn’t have many options but I certainly didn’t want to look at him. I bent down to get a new shirt from the drawer, quickly skipping over the other 6 shirts that belonged to him. 

 “So what aren’t you sure about Clark? I don’t give apologies for stealing a comfy shirt. Like you want it back or something? I mean at least let me toss it in the wash first.”

Grabbing a purple tank top that I hardly wore, I stood back up, jumping at the slight of Clark directly behind me in the mirror.

 “Oh I think I want it back but not after you’ve washed it.”

I haven’t turned around, choosing to stare at him from the mirror. Our eyes are locked and my face feels warm again, I fiddle with the shirt in my hand as lust begins to roll off of Clark in waves. In direct reaction to both of our emotions  swirling around I feel myself grow wet.

  “You know I’ve been looking for this shirt all over.”

 Clark steps close enough that I feel the warmth he radiates on my back. He doesn’t break eye contact as he pulls me backwards, I gasp feeling his hardness poke me in my back, seeing as he was quite a bit taller than me. He leans down his hand still on his waist, and sniffs, I let myself melt closer to him, so unsure of myself or what exactly was happening but unable to stop it. He pulls away from my hair and sniffs again.

  “You know Gia, one of the perks of being an ‘Alien boy’ as you like to call me, is that my sense of smell is fantastic. Do you have any clue what I smell now?”

I shake my head, too nervous to say the wrong thing and ruin whatever was happening.

  “I smell nothing but you. I can smell how aroused you are and it’s driving me crazy. Usually it’s faint, covered by your clothes and body washes, I can ignore it, chalk it up to you thinking of someone else. This time I can’t.”

  “Clark I am...”

  “Please don’t say you are sorry Gia. I don’t want you to be. What I want is my shirt back, now are you going to take it off or should I rip it? Although I have to say I’m partial to the first because I want more opportunities to take it off of you in the future.”

I feel my breath leave my lungs and it is almost embarrassing how quick I reach down to the hem of the shirt and pull it upwards. We were still standing in the mirror with my back to him, but with the shirt off and no bra, everything was on display. 

Clark delicately runs his fingers down my bare arms, then leans down and his lips meet my shoulders, kissing toward my neck where the junction of my shoulder and neck meet. His hands move to the front of my body, a light touch to my stomach and upwards. The mirror reflects as his large hands grip my breasts and squeeze. I moan out as my eyes drift shut, and my head falls back into his shoulder.   I grind myself backward against his hardness and he releases his own moan against my ear. His fingers from one hand drifts over a darkened nipple and then down space between my breasts, trailing down my stomach.

  “I could leave as you requested Gia, but I know you don’t want that do you?”

“No. Please stay.” I say and I free myself from his grasp as I turn around. He was still wearing the glasses so I pulled them off, sitting them on the dresser without breaking eye contact with his blue eyes that are blown so wide they are almost black. I reach up, and pull him down by the collar of his shirt, finally kissing him the way I had been dreaming about forever. 

He doesn’t break the kiss, only leans down to pick me up and my legs automatically wrap around his waist. He walks over to my bed, laying me down and following with him on top, my legs automatically opening to make space for him between them.  He stops kissing me to pull his shirt off revealing the glorious chest I had seen more times than I could count, but never in this context. I reach down to pull at my own shorts, but he stops me.

  “Allow me.”

I nod at him still nervous to speak much. I watch him pull my shorts and panties off and he stares at the glistening mound between my legs. 

  “So wet,  I bet you would leave a puddle if I picked you up.”

  “A..aaand what will you do about that Kent?”

I taunt him nervously, but it’s not as clear as it would be normally. The smirk he sends in my direction would have melted my panties if I had been wearing them, it screamed dirty. 

  “Guess I’ll have to clean it up won’t I?”

He says and leans down to kiss me again, my hands fly up into his curls, and meanwhile his hands drifts from my hips downwards to my thighs, his hands are warm and they skim up my thighs teasingly. His fingers don’t stop at my thighs and they finally land at my center., meanwhile he stops kissing my lips and his kisses begin to drift down my body. Warmth soon encloses one of my nipples, teasing me until it is taunt with his wet tongue, and one of his long digits enters me slowly. 

“Oh Clark” 

I groan and shift to look down. He takes it as encouragement and moves over to my other nipple and after a few more minutes he adds another finger, stretching me. My hips arch into his hand and as he moves them in and out I can feel myself shuttering around his fingers. I want more inside of me than just his fingers but I was still nervous about all of this. I had fooled around before, made it this far with exactly one guy before him but everything felt new with Clark. Before I had always been in control  of how I felt and what was being done, but I felt like I had none of that with Clark. He doesn’t stop kissing my chest, down my stomach, his lips meeting his fingers. 

This was new to me and as his lips made contact my hips lifted off the bed. My thighs try to drift shut, but of course Clark doesn’t allow that to happen, now using both hands to hold my thighs open, and my hands move back to his head again, desperately wanting to keep him there, with his tongue dancing around my clit.

 “Oh my god Clark!”

 “You taste so good Gia. I could stay down here and worship at the fountain of you forever.” 

My eyes roll shut again, his words making my juice flow even more, which he drinks up with a chuckle against me, the vibrations only driving me further into my pleasure. When he stops eating me out I glare at him like he’s gone mad, I had been so close. Did he not just say he wanted to drink from me forever? 

I glare at him, probably more like a pout I figured since he only laughs again. 

 “Such an attitude for someone who wants to cum.”

 “Clark, where are you going?”

I am afraid he’s finally changed his mind about all of this. 

 “I am not going anywhere beautiful. Everything I need is right here in this room.” He begins unbuckling his jeans, I watch as they slide down his thick thighs revealing his length which I immediately get intimidated by. He is long and thick and I wonder how that plans to fit inside of me? Clark’s eyes follow my eyes to where I had been staring.

 “Where is the famous Gia courage? Don’t think you can handle me?”

I can’t meet his eyes and look around the room. I was actually nervous about this moment. 

 “Actually...I don’t know if I can...I..”

Clark’s eyebrows furrow as he notices that I am no longer looking like I am going to pounce on him, but instead looks like I’m ready to bolt. Instead of climbing on top of me he lays next to me.

 “Gia why are you so nervous? You know I would never hurt you right?”

I nod and pull one hand across my chest covering myself, feeling more self conscious the longer he looks at me. I am staring at the wall opposite him.

 “I am just nervous that’s all. I’ve ne--- I have never done THIS before okay?”

He doesn’t say much for a moment and I just know he is about to get up and get dressed because somebody that looks like Clark doesn’t want someone inexperienced like me. Why would they? He had to notice all of the women at the bar staring him down all night. He had his pick and those women probably knew what to do and could give him a lot more pleasure than I could. 

Clark’s hand comes up to my face, fingers delicately touching, turning it so that I could look at him.

  “Gia. Are you saying you are a virgin?”

 “Fresh as the fallen snow on a mountain top. Kinda blows your “Gia is hoe” theory doesn’t it?”

I joke, trying to relieve the awkwardness of the room, but Clark doesn’t laugh with me.

 “ I’ve never thought that about you and please don’t deflect this... seriously. Are you sure about this? I mean that you want to do this with me?”

I nod. My mouth was too dry to speak, but Clark wasn’t letting that slide.

 “I need words from you Gia.”

The command is simple and direct but a turn on nonetheless. I don’t let it show outwardly however. 

 “Yes Clark. I’m sure. I trust you with this part of me.”

He searched my eyes for a lie, but I knew he wouldn’t find any. His demeanor changes as he kisses me, and his fingers find my opening again. He spends more time opening me up, and he swallows almost every gasp and moan from my lips, then drops back down creating a suction with his lips around my clit that send me soaring.I begin to cum around the fingers tapping that spot inside of me that make me writhe about on the bed. 

Once I come down from the high of my orgasm, I find him staring at me again, if I could I’d blush over the intensity of his gaze. 

  “You are breathtaking Gia.”

He turns and grabs his wallet from the jeans that had been unceremoniously dropped to the floor, producing a condom from inside. I can’t watch him put it on, and I know he can hear how fast my heart is racing again. Clark glides over my body and my legs open wider to make space for him again.

 “I promise I will never intentionally hurt you, but this may hurt slightly based off of what I’ve been told love.”

I brace my hands on his strong shoulders.

 “ It’s okay. Like I said I trust you.”

I feel his length slide in between my folds gathering the wetness there, before slowly guiding  himself inside of my welcoming body.  At least I thought it was welcoming, it felt like I was trying to push him out, and it felt like forever before he came to a stop. He stares at me and kisses me again, full engagement of his lips and tongue as he pushes forward, which makes me break the kiss to gasp into his mouth and whimper through the pain. I don’t even realize my face is wet until Clark wipes my face with the hand that is not holding him upwards. 

  “Breathe please Gia baby.”

I feel my chest rattle as I settle into the pain. Clark is whispering sweet nothings in my ear, and as the pain abates I cue him to move.

He moves out again slowly and as he sets a pace, the pain drifts into pleasure and my nails can’t dig into his back, as his skin doesn’t allow it, so they glide across his back. His hands glide down my body touching every part he could find.

 “Ugh Clark Faster.” 

The overwhelming sensation builds and I flutter around the hard flesh as it moves in and out of me. Clark is definitely holding back and I can tell as he thrusts me through my orgasm. The second one of the night for me and none for him. I start to feel that maybe this is a penance for him, maybe it me, or maybe even a mistake to him. His desire hadn’t gone away, as he was still hard inside of me.

 “Clark, is there a reason you haven’t… you know.”

His face is hovering above mine, his smile is wide following my question. I feel embarrassed considering I couldn’t even use the right words, despite him being inside of me at the current moment.

 “I’ve already asked you to use your words Gia.”

He pushes forward suddenly and I make some cross between as gasp and moan.

“ Fuck.”

“ Well that's a word. A dirty word, but word nonetheless.I’ll give you what you want.” 

He teases me.

 “I didn’t think anything else expressed that properly.” 

 “No? I think I can get a few more words out of you tonight. Then again as long as my name is one of them you can say whatever you want baby.”

His hands slide up the back of my thighs, ending behind my knees. He pulls them up and thrust downwards, deeply into me. My arms lock behind his neck and he obliges me to pull him down into a kiss. He thrusts harder and faster, his lips swallowing my groans and cries as we both hear how wet he is inside of me. He was so deep inside of me and I relished in the groans into my ears. 

I gave completely into the feelings of the moment, feeling Clark inside of me transcending the moment. As I flutter around him again, and he moves us higher and faster, I realize that us ...like this was what I had been waiting on…

*End flashback*

That night had been one of magic, at least at the time. Clark had taken his time and thoroughly taken me apart, and put me back together. Despite my later ramblings I never regretted that it had been him, and not just because of our son. I haven’t asked Clark if the condom broke and if it did he never told me.  I never regretted it because at the time it had been everything I didn’t know I needed and I seriously doubted it would have been that good with anyone else. 

The drive back to the manor was long but it gave me time to think. I needed to think about what I could say to Clark. How do you admit to someone that you’ve loved them like forever? One could guess you would just say it, but I didn’t know it would be that simple. I was about halfway home when a shadowy figure appeared in the middle of the road. It causes me to slam my breaks and I find myself spinning in a circle, then I was rolling, where it came to rest against a tree.

I cough roughly looking around for my phone and I am grateful that I was wearing a seat belt. I can feel that I am in extreme pain, blood dripping from my face, but with the smell of gasoline in the air. I can’t stay in this car or I will die. I use heat energy to create a blade to cut my seat belt since it jammed from the impact. I crawl myself from the driver's seat, ignoring the searing in my hands as the broken glass digs into them.   

 “Fuck.”

I say, noting that my ankle feels like it’s on fire again indicating some sort of injury. Coughing I try to see my way to the road for help as the car begins to smoke. My heart clenches as the shadowy figure walks toward me with nothing but hatred and determination on its heart.

I try to scramble away and try to toss a hasty shield but I’m too weak to manage it. 

The figure grows closer and closer, it laughs. Surprising me by being light and feminine.

It comes close enough as the car, that I had moved away from explodes. It pulls off the hood to reveal a familiar face.

 “Waa...Tracy?”

 “Long Time no see Gia. It’s time to come home.”

And with that she punches me in the face, and everything fades to black...

A/n: Boom.

No but really I truthfully need feedback on this one, because I like reading smut, but hate writing it. Had to get that Superababy here somehow huh? 

SUMMARY: Flashback of the night Kalen was conceived! Gia is forced to crash her car and is taken by someone by the name of Tracy who is familiar to Gia.

As always thnk you for reading, commenting and reblogging! You all rock! The taglist is open! 

Taglist: 

@romyr4​ @bloodyinspiredfuck​ @p3nny4urth0ught5​

#Henry Cavill #SUPERMAN X OFC #Superman #Clark Kent xOFC #Clark Kent #henry cavill smut #Clark Kent Smut #fanifiction #dc universe

[fishfingersandjellybabies]

After Party - freedom au

Characters: Jon Kent, Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, some Dick Grayson and Alfred Pairing: jondami Summary: After a night of shmoozing with local elites, they just want to spend some time together, alone. Of course, their superhero dads just have to drop in, right then - literally. A/N: This is probably maybe a year or so after The Easiest Difficulty and they’re both upper-20s Jon’s just really REALLY in love with Damian, mkay. No straight up mention of Lois being informed because in my brain, when Damian called the fam, they relayed it to the Supers. Though in the other two fics, I know Damian was very stoic about not being a hero anymore, he still struggles with the choice himself, especially in situations like this. Sorry if ending is awkward. If you like what I create and want to support me more/get more bts kind of stuff, support me on Ko-Fi or Patreon!

Freedom AU

~~

Jon couldn’t stop staring at Damian as he said goodnight to his coworkers, as they left the convention center. The fundraiser for the animal shelter went off without a hitch. Nothing had been counted yet, but they all had the feeling they’d doubled their goal – at least.

But Jon watched as Damian smiled and waved – genuine smiles – while he shot off a few last text messages, and they walked to Jon’s old beat up truck with the last of the decorations from the event. But he didn’t stop staring, even as Damian shut the door to the truck bed, and they both climbed into the cab.

He started the car, but didn’t take it from park, glancing around the lot, watching the last few volunteers drive off after a job well done. Then he grinned and laid his arm along the back of the bench seat, looking back to Damian, who was still typing away on his phone.

So, it took a few moments before Damian fixed his glasses and murmured, “You going to hit the gas any time soon?”

Jon silently shrugged, watching as Damian loosened his bowtie. This shindig had been a semi-formal affair. That didn’t stop Damian from dressing to the nines, of course.

With no verbal response, Damian looked up himself, and narrowed his eyes at Jon’s attention. “What? What are you looking at?”

“You, obviously.” Jon smirked. “You look great.”

“You said that earlier this evening.” Damian mumbled, breaking eye contact. “You do too, by the way. Old Mrs. Barundy couldn’t stop talking about how handsome you were. Pretty sure that was the only reason she donated as much as she did. Also asked if I would raffle a date with you at next year’s affair.”

“And what did you tell her?”

“I told her I’d think about it.” Damian admitted. “I will gladly sell you for the wellbeing of my animals.”

“Good to know.” Jon laughed, shifted a little. “…You did great tonight too, you know. I’m really proud of you.”

“…Thank you.” Damian put his phone down and smiled. “And thank you for accompanying me this evening. I’m sorry I couldn’t spend more time with you.”

“You’re the head of the most successful shelter in the tri-state area at a fundraiser for your work, of course you were going to be pulled in every big wig’s direction.” Jon waved off. But he shifted again along the seat, stretched his arm a little further so his fingers now brushed the back of Damian’s neck. “But now it’s done and over with and just you and me.”

“Mhm.” Damian smiled a little bit now, and Jon knew he was onto his game. “…You still haven’t put the truck in drive.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Do you plan to any time soon?”

“Not really.”

Damian barked a laugh, turning in the seat to face the other. “Jonathan Kent.” He warned playfully. “We are not making out in the cab of your truck.”

“Why not?” Jon grinned like a Cheshire cat, giving up all semblance of subtly, practically throwing himself across the seat. “Everyone’s left.”

But Damian was still laughing, even as Jon tugged at his bowtie, pulling it off completely. “We are not some horny teenagers after a school dance.”

“No, but you do look great, and you just raised probably almost a million dollars for the animals.” Jon was already brushing his nose along Damian’s jaw, voice getting quieter and breathier by the syllable. “So I think you deserve a reward.”

“…I can wait until we get home for my reward.” Damian whispered, slowly wrapping his arms around Jon’s neck anyway.

“Yeah, but I entertained madam mayor’s drunk husband all night, so I deserve a reward too.” Jon returned. “And I think I’d like my reward right now.”

He didn’t wait for a response, gently pressing his lips to Damian’s. Damian instantly returned the gesture, practically dragging Jon on top of him in the process. Jon grinned, gleefully boxing Damian in against the passenger door.

“You’re…lucky.” Damian breathed when he could. He still had one arm around Jon’s neck, but the other had returned to his front, and was swiftly and expertly unbuttoning the first few clasps of Jon’s shirt. “I like…you.”

“I am.” Jon agreed, as Damian ran his fingers along Jon’s bare chest up to his throat. He ducked his face along Damian’s own neck, kissing until he found the spot he wanted to mark. “I’m the luckiest guy in the whole damn world.”

Damian gasped a breath as Jon bit gently into his skin, and dug his own nails into Jon’s back, clinging like Jon would disappear if he didn’t.

When Jon pushed a little too deep, sucked a little too hard, Damian laughed at the sensation, and a little mumble of “Tickles…!” was whispered into Jon’s ear. So, at the insistence of Damian’s hands framing his jaw, Jon backed up a little, a small tease – What, a little hickey too much for you, the great Damian Wayne? – already starting vibrate in his throat.

But when he looked into Damian’s ocean green eyes, half-lidded and adoring, his throat went dry, and his heart stuttered. He couldn’t say anything, he could barely even breathe.

Damian just smiled up at him, cheeks flushed and chest heaving slightly. Quietly, fingers of one hand stroking along Jon’s face, he reached up and tugged Jon’s glasses off.

“Much better.” Damian hummed, dropping the glasses to the floor of the cab while pulling Jon back in. When their lips met this time, Damian took control, and Jon was instantly putty in his hands. All he could do was stabilize himself with one hand along the window seam of the passenger door, the other wrapped as tightly around Damian’s rising hips as he could hold.

So they weren’t paying attention to anything else – of course they weren’t. Too wrapped up in each other, in the sensation of loving and being loved, of being alone with the one he held most dear.

So they didn’t see the body falling from the sky. Didn’t notice until it crashed into the bed of their truck.

At the sudden motion of the deafening crash, after their teeth clacked together in surprise, Jon immediately dropped his body onto Damian’s, instinctively trying to protect him as quickly as possible. Damian, for his part, went along with it, arms wrapped around Jon’s torso.

The truck bounced for a few more seconds, and it wasn’t until the car was completely still that Jon raised his head.

“What the fuck was that?” Damian spat beneath him, already trying to shimmy upwards to look for himself. Jon held him down for a second more, just to make sure the coast was clear.

“Not sure.” Jon murmured, looking around the still-empty parking lot. His eyes narrowed, though, as he reached the grass field nearby. “But something landed over there.” He nodded towards the dust rising in the dark, then back to his truck bed. “…And in our car?”

“Fuck.” Damian cursed again, even as Jon finally deemed it safe enough for him to sit up. He shifted back to his side of the car, kicking the door open, just as Damian did the same on his side.

As soon as they got into the open air, they heard an agonized groan coming from the mass that was feet away from landing on top of them. Jon had his fists and powers at the ready, even as Damian all but ran up to the lump, grabbing at the fabric that seemed to cover it.

But he’d barely moved it at all before he gasped, eyes going wide behind the blue frames.

“Batman?!”

The figure shifted a little, revealing Batman’s face, his mask half torn off. Not that you could recognize Bruce Wayne under the blood his face was covered with.

Damian was already climbing the side of the bed, not even bothering with the door, shoving the now crushed boxes Batman landed on to the side.

“Father…” He whispered, trying to turn Bruce to a better position than the one he landed in. As he did, he glanced up the sky, where his father clearly came from. “What happened?!”

“Luthor.” A wheezed reply came from the side, and Jon whirled around, gripping his fists even tighter, eyes lighting up red. He released his strength almost immediately, though, as he recognized his own dad limping pathetically towards them. “Being…asshole.”

His uniform was no better than Batman’s, a large slash right through the S-shield on his chest being the most prominent flaw.

Jon ran at him instantly, barely catching him before Clark collapsed.

“Dad…” Jon breathed. “…Dad!”

“Help…Bruce.” Clark drawled, head lolling to the side. “I…I d-dropped him. He’s…he’s hurt bad…”

“Jon!” Damian called. Jon glanced back, and saw Damian staring at them. He raised his hand to point towards Clark. Jon followed the gesture to his father’s side, and found the hilt of a glowing green dagger sticking out of his skin. Jon’s eyes widened as he looked desperately back at Damian, whose face was grim. “…Get him in the truck.”

Jon nodded, and began dragging Superman towards his truck bed.

~~

Damian sighed as he hung up the phone, absently staring at it in his hand as he lowered it from his face. After a moment, he shook his head, and slowly climbed back up the stairs. When he reached the landing, he went to the closest room and leaned against the doorframe, watching Jon for a moment, as he held his father’s hand.

“Pennyworth and Grayson are on their way. Should be here soon.” Damian whispered under the beeping of a heart monitor. Of two heart monitors, with one attached to his own father in the other room. “Drake is looking into whatever conflict they had with Luthor tonight, and will update us when he can.”

Jon nodded, leaning back in his chair. Damian winced as he exposed all the blood still on the sheets, and mess of bandages on the floor. He’d done the best he could, with the medical knowledge he had. But, admittedly, he was years out of practice, since leaving the capes and masks behind, and these days tended to only work with patients of the four-legged or feathered variety. Not humans, and most definitely not Kryptonians.

“They’re going to make it, Jon.” Damian reminded, both for himself and his lover. “They’ll be okay.”

“I know.” Jon sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. He looked back at Damian and smiled sadly, holding his hand out. Damian took it, and allowed himself to be pulled to Jon’s side. Jon kissed his fingers and wrapped that arm around Damian’s waist. “This must be how Mom feels.”

“Hm?”

“Helpless. When he comes back like this from missions.” Jon muttered. “I mean…there’s nothing we can do. We can’t go out there and chase Lex down.”

“…We could.” Damian countered quietly.

Jon looked up at him, leaning his chin on Damian’s stomach. “No. We made our decision.”

“Do you regret that decision, right now?”

“…No.” Jon admitted. “I don’t regret it for a second. Not even now.” He squeezed Damian’s hip. “Do you?”

Damian shook his head. “I do feel guilty about it, though.”

“Feel guilty about not feeling regret?” Jon asked. Damian shrugged. “You only feel that at this moment. Because back in the day, you and me might’ve been out there fighting with them, and it’d have been our job to watch their backs.”

“We’re their sons. It’s always our job to watch their back, isn’t it?” Damian countered.

“I don’t think they’d see it that way.” Jon chuckled. “Besides, I’d like to think we watch their back in other ways.”

“Like?”

“Emotionally.” Jon offered. “Being actual human beings – yes, I see the irony of that for my dad.” He smiled. “Moments like now.”

Damian returned the smile, running his hand over Jon’s hair.

“Besides, even if we were still in the game, we don’t have any intel on what went down tonight, where it happened, or who besides Lex was involved.” Jon closed his eyes, and leaned into Damian’s hand. “So we couldn’t do anything even if we wanted to.”

“We could.” Damian repeated. “…We would just be going in blind and probably make complete fools of ourselves.”

“Yeah. Pass.” Jon laughed. He turned his head and kissed the palm of Damian’s hand. “…We aren’t anywhere near Metropolis.”

Damian blinked. “No, we’re not.”

Jon sat up, looked back at Clark. They’d removed the Kryptonite dagger as soon as they got to the house, but there was still a sickly green tint to his skin, though it was thankfully slowly fading. “We’re not near Gotham either.”

“Your point?”

“Where did whatever happened…happen?” Jon wondered out loud. “I mean…if it happened in either of the cities, they’d have to of come incredibly out of the way to end up…here.”

“Maybe that should be question number one when one of them wake up.” Damian suggested. “Or…Grayson can ask, when he starts his investigation.”

“I vote Dick.” Jon grinned again, but this time there was a little gleam in his eye. “Because I’m tired, I don’t want to be involved in that crap, and because our dads interrupted some very important business-”

Damian was about to laugh when a groan came from the other room. Instantly, he untangled himself from Jon, who was already moving to stand, and darted across the hall.

Bruce was still on the bed – their bed, as he was in their room – but was struggling in an attempt to sit up. Jon stopped at the door even as Damian rushed forward, pushing his father back down as gently as possible.

“You’re alright.” Damian called sweetly. “You’re safe. You’re at my house.”

Bruce blinked even as he collapsed back down. “…Damian?”

Damian smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Hello, Father.”

Bruce glanced back to Jon, eyes immediately became sad. “…No.”

Jon smiled and waved, even as Damian chuckled a little. “It’s alright. You didn’t bring any baddies here.”

“You shouldn’t be involved.” Bruce slurred, fingers twitching. Damian immediately took his hand in both of his, and glanced at the heart monitor nearby. “You shouldn’t have to even see-”

“Deep breaths, Father. Don’t panic.” Damian soothed. “You did nothing wrong.”

“I’m sorry.” Bruce breathed. “I’m so sorry, Damian…”

Damian kept his smile. “Pennyworth and Grayson are on their way. Drake is conducting the investigation. We’re just…the accidental middlemen.”

“Good. That’s…” Bruce winced in pain as he shifted a little. “That’s good.”

“…May I ask, though?” Bruce looked up at him. “What happened tonight? And how’d you end up here?”

“Luthor was trying to have a pissing contest with Clark again.” Bruce sighed. “Caught us off guard with a little more muscle and henchmen than normal. Got a few lucky shots in.”

“Oh, just a few?” Damian smirked. Bruce laughed, but grabbed at his side with his free hand after a moment.

“It was in a city not far from here. We had to retreat. We were…” Bruce frowned. “Clark grabbed me. I thought I heard him say something about maybe hiding out here for a while, to regroup or…or something. He said he was going to try to call first, to ask if we could stop by…?”

“Father, you know you don’t ever have to ask. You’re welcome here whenever, whatever the reason.” Damian promised.

“Sorry Dad apparently dropped you out of the sky before y’all made it, though.” Jon chimed in. Bruce waved him off.

“Glad he at least was able to drop me somewhere somewhat…soft.” Bruce shrugged a shoulder. “…Where did I land anyway? Did Clark get in contact with you two? How did you find us?”

“We never got a call, but you fell into the back of Jon’s truck.” Damian sounded almost apologetic. “On the left over decorations from the shelter’s fundraiser this evening.”

“…Your fundraiser.” Bruce breathed. “Did my donation come through?”

“Father, I think there are more important things right now than if your donation made it to the fundraiser.” Damian snorted.

“It’s something you worked hard at. Something you’re proud of.” Bruce rambled. “I want to be there for you. I know I’m not…”

“And I want you to rest.” Damian retorted, cutting him off. He knew his father felt enough misplaced guilt, not coming around much as Bruce Wayne, as a normal person; they didn’t need to rehash it now. “We can talk about mundane things later. Alright?”

Bruce stared blearily up at him for a moment, then twisted the hand Damian was still holding to grasp his back. Tears began to well in his eyes. “It’s so good to see you, son.”

“And you, Father.” Damian promised with a smile. “And once Pennyworth gives you and Clark the all clear, Jon and I would love for you two to stay a few days, if you can spare it.”

Bruce opened his mouth to respond, but was drowned by the sound of a doorbell, and the various animals answering its call with howls and meows of their own. So instead, he just smiled and nodded, as Jon ducked away to answer the door.

Bruce and Damian sat in silence, Bruce’s eyes fluttering slightly, as they listened to the faint conversation at the door. Moments later, the sound of heavy, frantic footsteps up the stairs.

“I’ll start with your father.” Damian heard Alfred tell Jon. He moved to stand and no sooner had he settled on his feet, he was being dragged into the arms of his eldest brother.

“Are you okay?” Dick mumbled against his hair. Damian huffed a laugh and rolled his eyes, even as Dick pulled back, eyes darting across his body.

“I’m fine.” Damian chuckled. “As I’m sure Jon tried to tell you, we weren’t involved in whatever happened. Just so happened to be in the right place at the right time aft-”

“What is that?” Dick demanded, pointing at Damian’s neck. Damian put his hand against his throat, but felt nothing, so turned to look in the nearby dresser mirror. “A bruise? Or a…”

Oh. Right.

“…It’s nothing.” Damian lied. But the heat was already rushing to his cheeks, and Dick was already smirking knowingly.

“Gross.” Dick winked. He spun Damian around and shoved him towards the door. “Please get out and let me talk to Bruce before I barf over how precious you and Jon are.”

Damian scoffed, but did as he was told. As he stepped into the hallway, he found Jon doing the same out of Clark’s room, closing the door behind him. His worried face melted into a smile when he saw Damian, though.

“You got kicked out too?” Jon asked.

“Of course.” Damian sighed, stepping into the circle of Jon’s arms. “Civilians only get in the way of investigations.”

“So…what do we do now?” Jon asked, leaning his chin on top of Damian’s head.

“Go downstairs and wait, I suppose. Make Grayson and Pennyworth some coffee for their troubles.” Damian listed. “Try to ignore the desire probably brewing to jump back into the old uniforms and avenge our fathers. Maybe sleep.”

“Could we…” Jon hummed in thought. “…Maybe continue where we left off in the truck?”

Damian hesitated a moment, then looked up at him.

“Or,” Jon tried sheepishly. “I’d even take grabbing a blanket and having hardcore cuddle time. It is almost two in the morning after all.”

Damian blinked, waited another moment, then said. “I guess Grayson was right.”

Jon tilted his head.

“You and I are absolutely, ridiculously, childishly gross.” Damian groaned in defeat. But he gently took Jon’s hand anyway, and together they walked down the stairs. “But…I’d be content with one leading to the other.”

Jon laughed, but let himself be dragged into the kitchen. As Damian started the coffee machine, he absently searched for a few blankets, setting some to the side for Dick and Alfred.

“Hey…Dames?”

“Yes, Beloved.” Damian hummed.

“…How long until everyone else in our families show up and stay for a few days?” Jon wondered allowed. “I mean, surely Mom and Conner know by now too…”

As the machine dripped, Damian plopped onto the couch, and Jon came trailing after him, fluttering the blanket over them both. As soon as the blanket stilled, a few of the animals jumped onto the couch to join them, while others puddled around their feet. “Oh, I’d be surprised if they weren’t all kicking our door down by sunrise. Even Todd.”

Jon laughed as Damian threw his arm around his shoulders. “Impromptu family reunion, with us as hosts.” He curled into Damian’s side, and closed his eyes as Damian kissed his cheek. “Can’t wait.”

#jondami #Damian Wayne #jon kent #bruce wayne #clark kent #freedom au

[zombiesbecrazy]

down in the cornfield

Summary: “No,” said Clark quietly. “I’m going to retire from being Clark.”

AO3

It wasn’t the first time that Lois had found herself randomly standing in a cornfield in the middle of Kansas.

Well, she assumed that it was Kansas but that was just based on past experience; she could be in Iowa for all she knew. She took in a deep breathe and spun around to get a better look at the view and then smiled at the familiar farmhouse roof in the distance beyond the rows of stalks, confirming that it was absolutely Kansas. It made sense. She had been having her lunch in the park, listening to a podcast and generally just minding her own business on her mandated lunch break that Perry had kicked her out of the office for when Kon had appeared in front of her said something along the lines of “he won’t listen to me or Ma so you have to come and deal with him” , scooped her up and leapt into the sky.

Kryptonian air taxi services were all well and good, but she definitely wasn’t going to tip this one because he hadn’t even given her the chance to grab her coffee off the bench or bothered to tell her what was going on before he took off again.

Three star rating at best.

Abrupt as it was there would only be one reason that Kon would have brought her here. “Smallville?”

Several seconds passed and Lois was wondering if this wasn’t some sort of elaborate Kent joke that she wasn’t privy to and was trying to figure out if she should wander around in the corn or head to the house when she finally heard a tired voice say “yeah ” a little further into the field.

She found him sitting in the dirt, bending some of the corn around him, leaning back on his hands and looking up at the sky with the sun beaming down on his face, giving him an unnaturally human glow. He was in that odd in between of not quite Clark Kent and not quite Superman, with his jeans and flannel shirt but no glasses and hair curl in place. It was the version of him that she loved the best, a complete version of who he really was. This is the Clark who she lived with behind closed doors, the one that only the chosen few got to experience. She sank down onto the ground beside him and waited for something, anything, but Clark seemed to be determined to sit in silence forever. “Dime for your thoughts?” she finally asked. That got his attention because he had an adorably confused look on his face and Lois shrugged. “I don’t have any pennies and it looks like you might be having some rather big thoughts.”

It wasn’t something that he did often, but it happened enough to recognize it when it did; the inevitable weight of the world becoming overbearing and Clark just needed to stop and hide and just get away from it all.

“I’m retiring.”

“You’re a little young for that. You can’t collect social security until you are at least 62. You are barely halfway there. And who will proofread my brilliance if you retire?” Clark didn’t say anything, just staring off into the dirt now. “Fine. I assume you were referring to the cape, but we both know how that would turn out. You’d ‘retire’ but then about two weeks would pass and something would happen and you’d say ‘just this once, Lois, they need me’ and then you’d be back to wearing the blue spandex under your work clothes again, thinking that I wouldn’t notice.” He had tried it before and it had never stuck for one reason or another, not for long anyway. It was something that was annoyingly amazing about him. His heart was just too big.

“No,” said Clark quietly. “I’m going to retire from being Clark.”

A light breeze blew through the field, and Lois was glad that she was wearing long sleeves to avoid the corn cutting up her arms. “You are making negative amounts of sense. You can’t just not be Clark. You are Clark.”

Clark reached around her and pulled her tight into his arms and rested his chin on her head and they sat there together, rocking gently in tandem. “This morning. I was at the bank ordering new cheques.”

“Who orders cheques in person? Hell, who even uses cheques anymore?” She could feel Clark clench his jaw, unbreakable teeth grinding together. She turned her head to get a better look at him, and she could suddenly see how tired he was, fatigue pulling at all of his features, maybe not in a way that anyone else could see it, but it was clear to her. “Sorry. Not the point.”

“There was a robbery. A bunch of men with guns held up with place.” Clark swallowed deeply, and pulled her in a little tighter. “There were little kids there, Lo. Scared and crying. One of them was whispering that Superman would come and save them. But I was there so he couldn’t come. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t help because I was Clark, not Superman, and I couldn’t do anything to make them not scared.” He was rambling and cyclical in the way he did when it was just the two of them, hiding from the world after a bad day. “One of the tellers got shot because I was busy being Clark instead of him. They’re in critical condition and those kids are traumatized and all because of me insisting on playing pretend with a regular life.”

“Oh, honey.” As far as bad days went, this one wasn’t terrible for Superman. No one had died, the world hadn’t ended and there was no international disaster, but it seemed to be the tipping point of a large issue that he had been secretly struggling with. She twisted around so that she could be the one to wrap her arms around him and he sank into her touch. “I hate to break it to you but you wouldn’t be able to save everyone regardless.”

“I’d be able to do so much more though. I’m here so that I can help people. That’s the whole point”

“No it’s not. You are here so that you would be able to grow up safe and happy. Your parents sent you here so that you had a chance to be Clark, even if they didn’t know that name. Superman is just a side effect of random space science. In the bank. What did you do?”

“Nothing, I couldn’t do…”

“What did you do?” She thought about it a little more and then clarified her words to avoid any confusion about what she was asking. “What did Clark Kent do?”

“I sat on the floor with the other hostages.”

“How were you sitting?” She prodded. Lois knew the answer, but wanted to hear him say the words out loud. “Were you sitting against the wall, out of the way?”

“I was… I was between the gunmen and the rest of them. I made sure that the kids were behind me. Between me and their parents.”

“Was that because you are Superman?”

“I…”

“I’ll fill you in. It wasn’t. It was because you’re Clark and you are a good man regardless of the cape or being bulletproof.”  Clark didn’t give any indication that he was going to say anything so Lois barrelled on in the way that she did when he needed her own personal brand of pep talk. “If you want to quit your job and be Superman full time, that’s fine. I can support that if that is what you really want to do. But under no circumstances will you ever be able to quit being Clark Kent. It’s who you are.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight between hers, as hard as she could, trying to force the idea through his impervious skin. “And even if it wasn’t, I won’t allow it because I think he’s pretty cool.”

“Liar. You have never thought that I was cool.” Clark chuckled softly and buried his head in her neck, giving her a light kiss on her collarbone. “ I need to think about it more,” he mumbled before stretching back up to look at her shyly. “Can we stay here for the weekend?” It was his way of saying that he needed to step away from it all, just for a little while, just to recharge in the quiet that was Smallville.

“Sure. Ma and I can whip your butt at gin.”

“I hate those lead cards Bruce made her.”

“Because you are a card cheat.”

“I’ll never admit to that.” Clark tilted his head towards the sky, and was listening to something that only he could hear. “Actually, if you’d like to join me, there is something that I’d like to do first if you don’t mind a quick trip back to the city.”

“Would love to. Kon didn’t give me a chance to pack before he kidnapped me here.”

***

Lois sat on a different bench in a different park and watched the children playing on the playground when a familiar figure in blue and red floated down nearby. A hush came over the park until a child let out a laugh and it broke the stillness and all the kids ran over to Superman, excitedly crowding around him, with the parents following suit with a more muted but obvious enthusiasm. She watched as Clark smiled and laughed with the children, answering all of their silly but earnest questions before he turned to a young boy, probably about 5 years old, on the edge of the crowd. Clark took a few steps towards him and knelt down so he was at eye level with him.

“Hi Ethan.”

A silence spread over the crowd, with a few excited whispers wondering how Superman knew Ethan. Ethan looked up at Superman with big surprised eyes, but said nothing. Superman gave him a shy smile. “I heard you had a scary trip to the bank earlier. A friend of mine was there and he told me how brave you were.” Ethan nodded his little head.  “I’m very glad that you are safe but I wanted to tell you that I’m very sorry that I wasn’t there to help.”

Ethan stood in shock, staring at Superman, and then suddenly threw himself at the hero, wrapping his arms around his neck and sobbing into his chest. Clark looked startled for a second but then wrapped his arms around the little boy and rubbed his back gently until the hiccuping tears subsided. Lois saw the look of anguish on Clark’s face as he held the younger boy.

“It’s okay,” Ethan sniffed as he pulled back and rubbed his eyes. “Mommy said that you were probably busy helping someone else in trouble. That you can’t be in two places at once.” She watched as Clark hesitated, never very good at lying, especially to kids, but he nodded. “It was so scary, but there was a man there and he told me to hide behind him. He was very brave. And tall. Almost as tall as you.” He narrowed his eyes and looked Clark up and down with careful scrutiny. “Was that your friend?”

It sounded like a loaded question, like the child knew more than he was letting on, but that was crazy. He couldn’t have figured it out. “You know what? It might have been.”

“Can you thank him for me?”

Clark looked surprised at that. “I can do that.” Superman held out his arms again, and Ethan gave him another hug, this time giggling. Clark was laughing too when they broke apart and he stood. He waved to everyone around him, and took off into the sky, with everyone waving back.

Lois stood from her bench and walked two blocks to where she found Clark, leaning against a streetlamp, waiting for her patiently. He bent down and greeted her with a kiss.

“Hi.”

“Hi yourself.” Lois took his hand and squeezed it before they started walking down the street, Clark with a bounce in his step that had been missing since the cornfield. “Still think that you are going to retire?”

“I think I might keep at it a little while longer.” He grinned and tilted his chin upwards towards the sky. “Smallville?”

“Smallville.”

#whumptober2019 #no.5 #clark kent #lois lane #superman #Clois

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z 167

There’s about nine or ten days left before the Cell Games.   Dr. Brief is busy working on fixing Android 16.    He has specs from Dr. Gero’s lab, but they’re for android 17, and 16 has a completely different design, because 16 is truly an android, and not a cyborg like 17.    Meanwhile, 16 plays with Dr. Brief’s cat.    I’m not sure if it’s safe for the kitty to lick so close to 16′s open wound, but I’m not a robot or a robot doctor or a cat, so what do I know?

Bulma’s mom serves up cake.    Eat, drink, and be merry, I guess.  

Oolong and Roshi start stuffing their gross fingers into the cakes to claim them, and it’s pretty friggin’ gross.   Seriously, I’ve seen Frieza cut in half, but this scene is what really bothers me.    Those two can’t even eat that much cake anyway, so it’s just disgusting.   Chi-Chi is right to want to keep Gohan away from them.

The others all chill out and watch TV.   This looks like a pretty cozy scene.   

I really want to know what the deal is with this show.   

Vegeta can’t sit on the floor like everyone else because he’s the PRINSUVOLLSAYINS or whatever. 

Yamcha gets restless and decides to go outside to train for Cell.    Krillin offers to join him, and then Vegeta gives them shit for being no match for Cell.    Yamcha reminds Vegeta that he’s no match for Cell either, so maybe he ought to keep his mouth shut.   Yamcha’s like “Yeah, welcome to our world.”   And Krillin starts chanting “One of us, one of us.”

Then Bulma arrives, having returned from Kami’s Lookout, and she’s all anxious to see how Future Trunks is doing, to the point where she crashes into these guys. 

This whole part right here just bugs me.    I don’t like how Vegeta gets lumped into a comedy gag like this.    Why wouldn’t he just move out of the way?   Or simply murder Bulma before she could get near?    That’s kind of his bit, isn’t it?  Also, I don’t really see Bulma being this kind of character.    Chi-Chi, sure, but not Bulma.   It just feels off.  

She calms down once she knows Future Trunks is okay, and then Baby Trunks grabs onto his hair.    Everyone laughts.    Well, not Vegeta.   

Never mind that shit!   Here comes Cell!

This whole scene fucking rules.    Cell just smashes his way into a city, makes a giant hole in a TV studio, and when he puts his hand on the reception desk, it deforms as his hand moves towards it.     I’d call this Big General Zod Energy, except General Zod wasn’t anywhere near this cool in Superman II.   

He asks where they film the TV that gets broadcast all over the world, and the frightened receptionist tells him that he needs Studio B on the top floor.   Cell just floats straight up and the floors rip open as he moves towards them.    None of that elevator nonsense like in Movie 7.    Cell just goes where he wants, how he wants.   

Back at Capsule Corp, Yamcha slips on Krilin’s bald head.    Vegeta’s probably watching them from the window.     “They’re right,” he thinks to himself as he watches Yamcha plant his bare feet into Krillin’s face.   “I’m one of them now.”

Meanwhile, Roshi watches aerobics girls on TV, and I guess in Dragon World they film that shit live, because Cell floats up into the studio and ruins the shot.  

They change it to a cooking show, and he’s there too.    

Then they switch it to... I guesss this is some sort of stage musical?   I don’t understand how TV works in this world.    They filmed all of these shows in the same building, live, and aired them on three separate channels?   

I don’t know what this was supposed to be, but it’s not shown from Bulma’s TV, so maybe this one was being taped.   

Finally, he ends up at Studio B, and smashes through the anchorman’s desk.   

Hyperbolic Time Chamber Update: Gohan has a nightmare about Cell killing Chi-Chi and Piccolo right in front of him.    Holy shit!    How does he know what Cell looks like?    How did Goku know what the androids and Vegeta were doing while he was laid up with the heart virus?    

I was telling a friend of mine how this liveblog is helping me recalibrate for the fanfic I’m writing.   I didn’t think I needed it, but this helps me remember what it is I’m trying to work from.    I gave my Super Saiyan OC a lot of reasons to have trouble sleeping, and at times, I felt like that was kind of dumb and cliche.    But now I realize why I did that in the first place.    Nightmares and sleepless nights are par for the course for Super Saiyans.   The only reason we don’t see Trunks having bizarre prophetic nightmares is because he grew up in one.    Showing him sleeping poorly seems kind of redundant, you know? 

Turns out, Gohan had a fever, which isn’t too surprising, considering the extreme conditions of this place.    Once again, Gohan apologizes for not being good enough or strong enough to live up to the expectations he has for himself, but Goku’s totally cool about this.    Goku’s been there, after all.    More importantly, Gohan is far, far stronger than Goku ever was at his age.    To put this into perspective, Gohan probably just now turned 11.    Goku was 12 when Bulma first met him.    As much as Gohan looks up to his dad, I think the reverse applies too.   

Goku tries to tuck him in, and  Gohan murmurs something about his desire to protect the others.    Gohan’s laser focused on this.    He may not enjoy fighting, but he’s completely devoted to the mission.  

Back to business, Cell is here on TV to announce his new tournament, the Cell Games.   First he introduces himself as the monster who killed all those people in Gingertown, Nickytown, and elsewhere.   He says he no longer needs to feed on people, but he will be kicking the ass of everyone who shows up at his tournament in nine days.  

Is that Piccolo’s TV, or Tien’s?    Either way, I find it hilarious. 

Basically, the Cell Game only resembles the Tenkaichi Budokai in the sense that you can lose by giving up, or by falling out of the ring.   Otherwise, it’s a very different format.    Instead of an elimination bracket, it’s a gauntlet match.    Cell stands in the ring, and fights each competitor.    If he wins, the next guy steps up and he fights that guy, and so on.    The idea is to see how many of these fights Cell can win in a row with no time to rest.    In theory, the more fighters who show up, the better chance of them wearing Cell down.   

Perhaps most critically, lethal force is not illegal, as Chi-Chi speculated.  If Cell kills you, you lose, not him.   Frankly, that just makes sense.    In the Tenkaichi Budokai, the idea was to defeat your opponent, not murder him, so lethal force would get you disqualified.    

But the Cell Games are for the fate of the Earth.    If Cell wins, he plans to kill everyone on the planet.   So why should he spare his opponents?  Why should he disqualify himself if he accidentally kills an opponent?  

On the flip side, why should his opponents worry about killing him?    If there was a no-kill rule, and Goku managed to kill Cell, that would technically make Cell the winner, but who would care?   Also, what would happen if Goku managed to beat Cell by ringout?  Would Cell abide by the rules?   He never really explained what would happen if he lost.   I assume he just didn’t see that as a possibility, or maybe he expected his opponents to try to kill him no matter what, so it wasn’t important.  

I’m not the kind of Cell fan who spends a lot of time looking for ways he could reform, although I do feel like it’s a shame that he couldn’t see the value of sparing the Earth and making the Cell Games a regular thing.   Like, let’s say he held this competition, and he survives to the end, win or lose.    Wouldn’t it make sense to stage a followup tournament for next year?     If the Saiyans could give him good sport twice, why not a third time?   And then the Cell Games just becomes this annual event where everyone gets together to see how many fights this bug man can win.   

But the reality is that Cell’s too big a dick for that.    His perfect form was built on thousands of innocent victims, and his tournament ring is sitting on top of farmland owned by a guy her murdered.   He killed that news anchor right before he announced this game, and he closes his announcement by blowing up part of the city he’s in.    Yeah, Cell loves fighting, and you might talk him into doing Cell Games II next year, but he also loves terrorizing helpless people, and he’d be doing that for the entire year until the next event.   I suppose this is what sets him apart from Vegeta and Piccolo.

Anyway, everyone is suitably terrified by Cell’s announcement.    Cell is the first villain to announce his presence to the world since King Piccolo conquered it over a decade ago.   The Saiyan invasion was known to the world, but there was very little understanding of what was going on.   Goku’s role in that battle never made it to the news media, and the other Z-Fghters who did get televised all died in battle.    To the world at large, they just knew that East City got destroyed by aliens, then there was a battle in some remote location, a bunch of martial artists and camera crews died, and then the aliens were gone.   

This is something that’s always interested me about Dragon Ball, because I’m used to comic book universes where the main heroes and their adventures are well known to the public.  I guess Superman was sort of the origin of that whole idea, since he worked for a newspaper, and he was such a powerful character that it was big news whenever he did anything, even in secret.     In some of Superman’s earliest outings, he seemed very interested in keeping a low profile, like he didn’t even want people to know he existed, but the costume sort of undermined that idea.    Eventually, he settled into the formula of being a public figure, and then writing about his own adventures as Clark Kent. 

Other superhero franchises have followed that premise, although it gets kind of strained in places.  If Mr. Fantastic invented a flying car years ago, why does everyone in Marvel still use real world technology?   A lot of fantasy worlds try to sidestep that problem by having the super-powered characters exist in secret.    Harry Potter’s whole deal is that wizards are real, and they have a whole secret society going on under the nose of the rest of the world, although it’s not very clear why they felt it so important to do this in the first place.   The real reason is that J.K. Rowling wanted Harry to grow up in a normal household, instead of some parallel world where everyone knows magic is real.  

Dragon Ball sort of tries to have it both ways.     It’s mostly like the real world, but it can have advanced technology like the Hoi-Poi capsules and hovercars, and then there’s remote parts of the world where they don’t have those things.   Trucks with wheels are still a thing, probably because Toriyama likes to draw real cars and made-up cars and he saw no reason to have to choose.   As for Goku, he just goes in, whips ass, and leaves.    If there’s media attention for his actions, so be it, but he’s not interested in it, so he doesn’t pursue it.    One day the Red Ribbon Army got wiped out, and the world has no idea how or why.    One day, King Piccolo got taken down, and the world found out about it, but they knew almost nothing about the boy who did the job.   One day, Vegeta got sent packing, but he eventually came back, and no one knows who he is, or what happened in between.  

And Goku’s fine with that.    He sees no point in giving press conferences, or explaining What Just Happened to the rest of the people.    He’s a very minor celebrity for participating in the Tenkaichi Budokai competitions, but only hardcore martial arts fans would have heard of him.    I’m a pro wrestling fan, but I’d have to look up the last three winners of the G1.  

And maybe this is one reason I dig this show so much.    Over the years, western comic books have gotten increasingly mired in pointless details.    You look at the new Spider-Man movie that’s coming up, and the general idea seems to be that Spider-Man needs Nick Fury to tell him what to do.    That’s how the comics have been for decades now.    These days you can’t be a superhero without some government agent telling you which way to pull up your tights.    It’s bullshit, but the writers think it’s more “realistic” that way.    Come to think of it, pro wrestling fell into the same trap a while back.    It used to be that you’d turn on wrestling and they’d just show a bunch of matches, and it was taken for granted that some unseen authority booked the card.    Now every American wrestling promotion has to waste time on all these in-story CEO’s, general managers, commissioners, and assistant general managers, and they all argue over which of them outranks the other.   It’s dumb.   Just let them fight.    Dragon Ball’s gonna let them fight.   

#dragon ball #2019dbliveblog #cell games saga #cell #perfect cell #goku #gohan #android 16 #dr brief #vegeta #trunks #bulma #tien #piccolo #yamcha #krillin #oolong #puar

[cxramel-cat]

(SUPERBAT WEEK 2019) day 05

Chapter Title: Baby Aid Day Five: On a mission Rating: Teen and up Audiences Warning(s): Terror attack on pride, description of violence Word Count: 5330 Summary: Clark found a baby at the front of his apartment. She clung on him like he was her dad. And she seemed to enjoy Bruce's company too! Well then, it's a job for Superman and Batman! Side-note: Written for @superbatweek Other link(s): AO3 | Wattpad 

Love, it is complicated. It manipulates you to do the unexpected. It makes your heart ache and beat. It blinds your thoughts and makes you act like a selfish child. Sometimes, when love began to drown and suffocate you, you're only left with the choice of killing it off.

The more forcefully you try to fulfil your greedy heart, the more easily you're hurt by the emotion called love. More often than not, love will lead you to regret and separation.

×

There was someone he had fallen in love with.

It was someone extremely precious to him, like family.

He was someone Clark couldn't imagine losing.

×

On a seemingly ordinary morning, Clark was interrupted by a knock and loud cries outside his door.

Morning was always busy for the man. He enjoyed it being busy, it was a part of the day which made him feel closer to human— like Clark Kent, instead of Superman. So, the sudden interruption of a beautiful, peaceful morning was not enough to break his good mood – until he saw his neighbour holding the crying baby in her arms.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your morning, Clark. I'm sure you must be very busy." Mrs Smith smiled, seemingly a little troubled. "But there was a basket in front of your doorstep, I thought you might want to take a look at it. Someone left a baby in the basket."

Clark looked at the fragile creature, dumbfounded. The baby was not older than a few months, and when his neighbour handed the bundle over to Clark, he was more bewildered than before. The baby had auburn hair and bright blue eyes. He was mesmerized by the baby's stare, like he was seeing a miracle – because he felt a sense of familiarity with her, as if she resembled someone he knew. He gently held the young life close to his chest, and he bid goodbye to his neighbour, promising to explain the entire situation to her soon.

"Hey, hey, there. Shh..." Clark whispered gently, rocking the child in his arms. He didn't know the way of taking care of a crying infant. He had never handled one before! For now, his intuition was telling him that this child was his responsibility, whether he liked it or not.

"Don't cry, little one, you're safe and sound now..."

The child stopped crying, blinking her big blue eyes as she got a clear look at the man who was holding her. Her cries stopped, as though she was seeing someone familiar, as she started to smile and laugh at him.

Clark couldn't resist the adorableness of the baby. He smiled tenderly, cradling the child in his arms and cooed at her as though she were his own daughter. The baby seemed to enjoy his touch too. It made Clark felt strangely happy, as he placed the basket on the dining table.

"Say, do you know who left you at my doorstep..." He looked through the basket she had slept in, and found a card, with the child's name written in smooth cursive words. "Marie?"

×

Clark sighed. He had made a report at the police station. As adorable as little Marie was, he couldn't have taken her up as his own. Not to mention, he didn't even have the time to take care of an infant. He was going to leave the child to the cops. However, the moment he decided to hand her over, she cried, little hand clinging to him for dear life.

Since she wouldn't stop crying unless she was in his arms, there was nothing that Clark could do but take care of her. He called Perry and told the man that he would take a break from work for a day. Then, he had started his search. He looked everywhere, searching for anyone who might have lost a baby, but he had no clues whatsoever.

The day went by very quickly, but the search came to no resolution. Clark lay down beside Marie who was facing him, at the corner of the bed.

Who would have abandoned such a cute baby?

But she didn't even seem to be abandoned. She was dressed in the finest silk that Clark had ever touched, and there were enough baby supplies to last for three days in the basket she was put in. Whoever the parents were, they must have their own reasons for placing her in front of his doorstep.

But why him?

The more he looked at Marie, the harder Clark started to think.

×

"So, you decided it was a good idea to bring her here?"

Clark winced underneath Bruce's glare. He was invincible against ordinary bullets, but Bruce's bat-glare was more chilling than arctic weather. Especially when it was directed right at himself.

"It has been a day since I made the report and there's been no news from the police, so I think it's time for the world's greatest detective to spring into action...?"

Clark quirked a hesitant smile at his best friend.

Bruce sighed. He furrowed his brow, pinching the bridge of his nose. He could never win against Clark, could he?

"Fine, I could try helping. But are you sure she wasn't abandoned?" Bruce glanced down at the child in Clark's arms, who was chewing at her own fingers. "If she was left in front of your door, it must have meant her parents didn't want her. Right?"

"That's what I thought at the time." Clark gently pulled the infant's hand from her mouth. "But there are baby supplies in the basket, along with a piece of paper, which has her name written on. I can't... believe that someone would have done so much for their baby, if they planned on abandoning her in the first place."

"Clark, don't be naïve," Bruce said. "There are all kinds of people out there. They probably just did so much out of guilt."

Marie stared at Bruce. When he was done speaking with Clark and finally paying his attention at her, she smiled.

Any normal kids would be scared if they were looked straight in the eye by Batman. Surprisingly, it didn't work the same for Marie. She giggled in excitement as she reached out for Bruce with her tiny, short arms.

At first, Bruce didn't move an inch. He was hesitant, but remorse immediately kicked in, when the child started to quiver her lips – the first sign of a terrifying wail.

When he took the child over, Marie immediately grabbed Batman around his neck – going into a hug.

Clark remembered when he took the baby from his neighbour. Marie was uncomfortable when she was held by Mrs Smith. She cried and clung to Clark when he was going to hand her over to the police. Yet, she wasn't crying when Bruce was holding her. Instead, she wanted him to hug her.

"Looks like you have no choice." Clark grinned at the sight before him. Bruce looked troubled as he held Marie. However, the moment she was in his arms, she had immediately hugged him, snuggling close against the crook of Bruce's neck. Both seemed attached to one another and Marie – from Clark's perspective – seemed to love being in Bruce's presence.

There was a weird pleasure, as he watched Bruce starting to warm up to Marie's presence. She could strengthen their bond, Clark realized. But this should be the last thing he should care about, right? They have an important mission on hand – finding Marie's parents.

×

It was strangely pleasant, seeing Bruce holding Marie in one of his arms and letting her sleep against his chest as he worked. The sight, as precious as it was, made Clark smile.

"You're not focusing, Clark."

The sudden remark surprised Clark. Without realizing, he had been staring at Bruce and Marie so long that it had caught the attention of the other man. Feeling flustered, Clark smiled, scratching his cheek.

"I was thinking, maybe it's time we put Marie to bed?"

Bruce glanced down at the child. He had only known Marie for a few hours, but the baby had taken favour to him. She clung to him like he was her father, and he had been holding her in the same position for a while – which made his arm start to cramp.

"I suppose. Alfred should have a room ready for her." He tilted his gaze towards Clark. "You're going to stay over tonight as well, right? There is still plenty of work left for us to do."

At the invitation, Clark's heart skipped a beat. It was silly, overreacting at such a small moment, but nevertheless, he was happy to see how Bruce allowed him to stay over.

"Here, let me." Clark slowly reached over to take Marie from Bruce. The moment she was out of the man's arms, Marie started to wake up.

When she realized that it was Clark who was holding her, she was calm. However, the moment Clark was a few feet away from Bruce, she started to whimper and cry.

"Shh, shh, don't worry, it's me, Marie." Usually, the gentle soothing worked well on the baby. However, this time, it did not. Marie cried loudly as she started to reach one of her arms out towards Bruce, who could no longer focus on the paper in his hand.

When Bruce approached to check on her, Marie immediately stopped crying. She giggled, when Bruce ran a hand across her cheek, wiping the damp tears away. Both Clark and Bruce sighed in relief upon seeing that.

"Glad that she had stopped crying. You should get going, I'll be here checking over the information I've collected."

But it happened. Again. When Bruce moved to leave, Marie began to whimper again. The cries stopped when Bruce walked back towards her. At this moment, the problem could be easily understood by both of the men.

"I think... she doesn't want either of us to leave her side."

Clark watched as Bruce stiffened. The crusader took a quick glance at Marie, who had held a hold on his cape, and sighed.

"Fine," Bruce pressed a kiss on the baby's forehead, soothing down her anxiety. "You drive a hard bargain, Marie."

×

That night was edgy and tense. Marie was laid in the middle of the bed, with Clark and Bruce at her sides. When the duo realized that Marie demanded both of their presences in the same room with her, Bruce had suggested for Clark to move into his bedroom; since his bed was a king-sized bed – which fit the three of them comfortably.

Clark had a hand on Marie's belly, keeping her close. He tried not to look at Bruce, realizing that it was too embarrassing for him to do so. The gap between the both of them was close to none, aside from the fact that there was a baby between them.

While Bruce could sleep peacefully without a bother, Clark found it hard to get sleepy that night. He wanted the night to last forever. He could hear Bruce's heartbeats louder than before. It warmed his own heart, and he couldn't explain the pleasure he was feeling.

They felt like a family now – Bruce and him, along with Marie. It was a selfish thought, but he almost wished that Marie's parents never came and fetched her back. They didn't deserve her, if they were abandoning her in the first place.

He might have rejected the idea in the beginning, but now he didn't mind becoming Marie's father, along with Bruce. If she could be the key which brought both of them closer than before, he didn't care about the extra burden he would carry in becoming a parent.

He didn't mind, if he could spend all his nights like this with Bruce.

×

That morning, Bruce was awakened by Marie's squeals. Out of instinct, he jolted awake, searching for the small child who was supposed to be by his side until he saw that Clark was sitting on his side of the bed, feeding Marie a bottle of milk.

"Hey," Clark greeted, upon noticing Bruce's gaze. "I'm sorry, did I wake you up? It was her feeding time, and I tried to be as quiet as possible..."

"No, it's okay." Bruce loomed over them, smiling lazily at the child who grabbed his finger. Every time he looked at Marie, he felt like he was seeing the spitting image of someone. However, Bruce couldn't say exactly who the person she reminded him of was. "She is lovely, isn't she?"

The way Bruce asked the question with such tenderness in his eyes warmed Clark. How the man took his heart away, even if the compliment wasn't directed to him.

"You're right..." Clark's voice drifted away, as he was deeply absorbed in his gaze towards the scene in front of him; Bruce with Marie – like a real father and daughter, like a family. "Hey, Bruce. Maybe it was a good idea to wake up early once in a while? What do you think?"

×

To say that Dick was amazed was an understatement.

He was so shocked he dropped his bowl of cereal upon seeing Bruce awake at eight-thirty o'clock in the morning – looking fresh and awake – not to mention, with Clark and a baby by his side. Nevertheless, to say, the breakfast of that morning was very chatty.

"Hey, do you know a fact about babies?" Dick spoke. "Babies have a memory of their mother's touch when they were born. Marie cries when I or Alfred try to hold her, but she doesn't cry when you or Clark hold her. You know what I'm trying to say, right?"

The two blinked at the same time. "That's impossible!" Clark was the first to break the awkward silence. His face flushed red. "And I found her, I didn't just... we didn't even-!"

"Men don't just give birth, Dick. Stop messing with Clark." Bruce was calm as he sipped on his coffee. He was used to Dick's wild imagination. "Maybe both Clark and I just resemble her father, or maybe we are just lucky because she enjoys our company. Either way, we will try to find her parents soon. There's an important event in Metropolis that I need to attend today."

"Oh, you mean the parade?" Dick ate another spoonful of cereal. "How about I help you with the search? I could look through the reports at the police station for you. It should be quicker than mindlessly walking around with a baby in your arms."

"I don't need your help, Dick."

"Just go, Bruce. I'm sure the people will enjoy seeing someone like Bruce Wayne at the parade. Support from high society is always welcomed. And it could be a great influence for Marie as well! Don't you think, Clark?"

Despite his refusal, Dick ignored him and started to leave – not before snatching an extra sausage from Bruce's plate.

"What parade?" Clark blinked in confusion.

×

It was a pride parade. There was not much difference between a pride parade and an ordinary parade, Clark realized. Well, it was a little more vibrant, with the rainbow flags and the flashy clothes – not to mention, there are also those people with unique hair colour.

To tell the truth, Clark had not expected Bruce to attend a pride parade. After all, he was a busy man. But it was nice to see that Bruce was showing his support to these people. Just as Dick had said, it was always great to have higher society people support these people who fought for their own rights in the world.

Marie seemed to enjoy herself as well. Her wide eyes wandered around. The flamboyant surroundings interested her, as she laughed and squealed while raising her hands up in the air.

The music blared. People around them danced and laughed.

Bruce turned to Clark, words he'd been waiting to say bubbling up.

"I'm pan, Clark," Bruce confessed.

Clark's eyes opened wide. His heart skipped a beat at the confession. "You... you are?" He realized how offending it sounded, to question someone's sexuality. "I mean...! I am not saying that it's a bad thing! It's just... a little surprising!" Clark chuckled nervously. "I mean... people in the office, and those at the Justice League, we always thought you're one straight alpha male."

Clark caught the small changes on Bruce's face. How his lips curled down to a tight frown, and his brows furrowed. It was at the moment that Clark realized that deep down, Bruce was probably insecure about his friends' point of view towards his sexuality.

"But... it doesn't matter." Clark leaned a little closer than he should, a gentle smile grazing over his lips as he placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder. "For me, or for anyone. I believe in it."

Especially not me.

He didn't have the courage to say it aloud. He was too scared to expect what could have happened. It was a bet against the friendship between Bruce and him. What if Bruce didn't feel the same?

But if he gave up, would he ever have the chance again?

"Bruce..." Clark steeled himself and leaned towards Bruce. "There is... something I want to tell you." From this distance, he could smell the rich cologne Bruce used, and he could also feel the man's warm breath. Their lips were only an inch apart, and seeing that Bruce wasn't resisting him, Clark braved himself and inched closer ̶̶̶

His sharp hearing caught the sound of a gun clicking. Clark reacted a second quicker than everyone around him. His eyes widened, his arms wrapped around Bruce – shielding the man and the baby in his arms. What happened afterwards destroyed the jovial atmosphere of the parade up until that point.

People were screaming in fear and panic. Clark didn't stay in his current position for too long. He quickly stood up, looking around at the messed-up situation.

There were people with guns and holding up flags which showed their deep hatred towards the pride parade. Although it was just a few minutes, there were already people injured and dying.

"Bruce, stay here." Clark had dragged Bruce to an empty hallway. It was probably the safest place right now, since Bruce would be away from the gaze of the world. Not to mention, his dark blue suit would blend in perfectly with the shadows.

"What do you mean stay here?" Bruce growled. "This is my mission. This is the reason I'm here!"

"No, Bruce! Stay!" Clark tried to keep his voice hushed, since he didn't want to catch anyone's notice. "You take care of Marie, while I handle this mess, okay? This is Metropolis, my city. Let me take care of it."

Without another word, Clark rushed off. Bruce wanted to halt him back, but he was taken aback when Marie started to cry. She began to wriggle in Bruce's arms as the loud gunshots startled her.

"It's okay... it's okay..." Bruce whispered, holding her close against his chest, trying his best to chase her fear away. "I'm here, don't worry..."

Due to his full attention on Marie, Bruce failed to notice an unknown stranger slowly approaching him from behind.

×

Marie's high-pitched cries caught Clark's attention. He was knocking out a few assailants when he heard the pained screams. It was different from Marie's usual cries for attention. She sounded... in fear. She was calling for Clark's help.

Bruce.

The man's heartbeats were faint. Immediately, Clark rushed back. His eyes were red.

×

"Watch out!"

Before Bruce could notice the assailant behind him, a teen rushed forward and pushed him away.

Bruce watched; eyes wide – as the teen with bright hair was shot. The scene shocked him. It brought back an unpleasant memory of the past... of a loved one who had been in the same age range as the one who protected him.

Jason.

Cold pale body on the ground.

Lifeless.

Bruce hurried over and flipped the boy over. It was a vital shot right in the head. There was no way the youngster survived. His pulse had stopped.

No.

NO!

Bruce only regained his consciousness when he felt the cold tip of the gun against his forehead. Slowly, Bruce tilted his head up – his eyes narrowed at the man, as he held Marie close against his chest. He couldn't let her witness such a bloody scene.

He was processing how to defend, when all of sudden, Clark appeared. The Kryptonian was furious, Bruce realized. He was blinded by his anger, as he zoomed forward, grasping the assailant in a bone-cracking grip at his neck.

"Superman, NO!"

It was too late. Clark's grasp on the man's throat tightened, and there was an audible snap.

×

"Do you realize what you have done?"

Bruce's question was met with silence. Clark's gaze remained on the floor.

"Clark."

If it wasn't for the child in his arms, Bruce would have yelled.

"I'm just doing what I should," Clark stated in calm. "Bruce, he was going to kill you."

"That is no excuse for you to crush his bone." Bruce frowned. "You were going to kill him. You think I didn't notice it?"

"But he isn't dead. He is lying peacefully on the bed in the hospital now." Clark said, sarcasm heavy. "You are going to blame me for trying to protect you and Marie?"

"That's not what I mean." Bruce sighed.

"I can't allow anyone to hurt Marie, or you, Bruce."

Clark's next movement was unexpected. He approached Bruce, and slowly wrapped his arms around the other's back. He leaned his face to Bruce's neck, his nose lightly brushing on the skin, tickling the human.

The familiar cologne was just too endearing to neglect. Even if someone could have used the same brand as Bruce's, they could never excite Clark as the man could. Arms tightened in the hug – but not firm enough to cause discomfort for the sleeping child in Bruce's arms, Clark pressed a soft kiss on the other's neck.

"Bruce, I like you."

Bruce flinched at the words.

"Do you feel the same as I do, Bruce?" Clark whispered into Bruce's ear. "Tell me..."

"Let me go, Kal-El!"

Clark snapped out of his trance at the tone. With shock, he loosened his grip, creating a gap for Bruce to escape and leave the room. It appeared that he had pushed too far, and he just realized it. It was supposed to be a hand grip and asking of the question, but he went outside his limits when he didn't control his strength properly.

What did he just do?

Why did this always happen, when all he wanted was to fix things with Bruce?

His legs gave way as he sat heavily on the ground. He might be entitled as the man of steel, but his heart was made from flesh – which is why it was throbbing painfully, as though he had been hit by a kryptonite bullet.

It hurt to see Bruce slowly pushing him away and avoiding him like this. He had worked so far, closing the gap between them. And he thought, the days he had spent with Bruce in taking care of Marie, would have deepened their relationship. He had never expected Bruce to accept his feelings, but maybe... he had become greedy. What was once an impossible dream had become a possibility. He was too afraid to let the chance go, and now, he had ruined everything.

"Damn it, Bruce..."

Clark closed his eyes. Bruce's smile came across his mind. They had been so happy, taking care of Marie as though they were her actual parents. But why couldn't it become a reality? Why would Bruce push him away like this? What had gone wrong between the both of them?

×

Due to their argument, Bruce had decided to stay in the hotel instead of Clark's apartment. He had brought Marie along with him, and he didn't know why. She was, after all, Clark's problem. However, a part of him began to grow fond of her, maybe a little too much.

Bruce was feeding Marie when his phone suddenly vibrated. A part of him wished that it was Clark, but instead, it was Dick. In the beginning, he was going to swipe off the notification, since he wasn't in the mood for interacting with anyone. But he saw that what Dick had sent to him was the information about a woman who was searching for a missing baby in Metropolis.

×

When Bruce reached the police station, there was a short-haired woman with black sunglasses. She seemed to be waiting for his arrival, since she had immediately stood up upon noticing his appearance.

"You don't look like her mother."

His detective mood was getting the better half of his characterization. Bruce didn't try to mask his lack of certainty towards the woman. He knew that she was safe, since he had seen through the documents which Dick had sent to him about the missing baby.

"I'm a friend of her father. He was being occupied by a sudden meeting at work, so I'm here instead."

Bruce stared at the woman. She seemed odd, but with a sense of familiarity. He had his doubts about her words, but Marie has already reached her arms out towards the woman. The infant was gurgling happily, her tiny feet kicking. It was rare, since the child had refused the touch of everyone in the Justice League aside from Clark and himself. Reluctantly, Bruce handed Marie towards the mysterious woman.

"She doesn't cry when you hold her, " Bruce stated, watching as Marie got herself comfortable in the woman's hold and played with the pendant of her necklace. The woman looked at the child in her hands, her tenderness expressed in her smile.

"You could say I'm her godmother. Right, Marie?"

The baby squealed in response and Bruce couldn't help but smile. It was a great relief to see that Marie was finally back home.

"Well, if there is nothing else, I shall leave her in your care."

He was ready to leave, when a sudden call halted his steps.

"Bruce, do not let Clark out of your grasp. Okay?"

Bruce's eyes widened at those words. He turned around, ready to question the woman about her identity. However, all there was left was a sharp gush of wind and the empty surroundings.

×

Bruce stood in front of Clark's apartment, fidgeting with the key in his hand. It was a spare key given to him by Clark, since he was supposed to stay over for the night. However, that had not happened. Now, he was hesitating on whether he should just hand the key over to the landlord, put it underneath the carpet, or hand it personally over to Clark by himself. Obviously, he should go for the final decision, since he had to apologize for what he had said on the previous night.

However, his ego was pulling him back. He was never good with apologies; just look at how it had often ended with his boys. Maybe he should have just place it underneath the carpet. It wasn't like anyone would try to barge in, right?

At the thought of it, Bruce let out an exasperated sigh.

In the end, he was still a coward. He couldn't even bother to meet with Clark for the last time. He just wanted to see if the man was okay. He should apologise, if he had hurt him.

"Bruce?"

Every part of his hair stood at its end. The key in his hand dropped to the floor. Bruce looked over, meeting Clark's calm gaze as he wasn't sure how to react in front of the other. After all, he couldn't act like the whole argument had never happened, could he?

Clark bent down, picking the key up and handed it over back to Bruce.

"Where's Marie?"

"Her family came and picked her up this evening." Bruce fiddled with the key in his hand for a little while, before he handed it over to Clark. "So... I was here, to give this back to you..."

After all, he has no right to keep the key now, did he?

"No," After a quick glance, Clark turned his gaze back to his doorknob as he started to unlock it. "Keep it."

"What?"

"I said, you could keep it." Clark sighed. "This is stupid. Isn't it, Bruce? We're adults, and yet we're fighting as though we're immature teens..."

His voice trailed off. It was a heavy silence between the both of them.

"Hey," Clark was the one who broke the awkwardness. "I know that Marie's no longer here. But I bought extra ingredients for tonight. If you're not in a rush, why don't you stay for dinner?"

×

The atmosphere was dominated by silence, even though the sound of running water from the tap and plates made small noises. Bruce was searching for the perfect moment to apologize for his harsh words the night before.

"Clark."

"Bruce."

Both flinched and looked at each other in unison as their names were called in unison.

"You first," Clark said, before going back to his cooking.

Bruce hesitated. He felt a sudden nervousness as he tried to find the words to speak.

"Bruce, do not let Clark out of your grasp. Okay?"

The words rang in his mind. Whoever the woman is, she had convinced Bruce to do the things he had never had the courage to do – chasing after love.

"Clark," He pulled the reporter in by his tie. Their lips brushed against each other's. "I love you."

×

As she stepped out of the portal, the woman pulled off her sunglasses, revealing her green eyes. At the corner of her gaze, she took notice of the blank stare given by the other figure in the room, which confused her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," the man shook his head. "I was just thinking... in that universe, the impossible is still possible. Thank you for doing this, Selina. I'm sorry for troubling you."

"Don't be." She shook her head, smiling tenderly at her friend. "You knew that I would always do this for you. And it was easy to recognize her. Little Marie sure looks like him, especially the eyes."

"Yea..." The man murmured half-heartedly as his gaze was settled at his daughter. There was a brief smile before it disappeared. "Is he okay? Is he still Clark?"

She nodded. "He still has his light. The world was in peace, for now."

There was a mild silence, as the man gazed over at the portal. "I should be grateful for that, shouldn't I?"

"It's not your fault, Bruce."

"No, it's my fault." Bruce frowned, grasping on the hem of his sleeves tightly. "Marie will never get to see her mother again... because of me. If only I had admitted my feelings earlier, none of these would have happened. Lois wouldn't have been hurt. You wouldn't have been hurt. And Clark... he wouldn't have to be in the tub, feeding on IV fluid to stay alive. We would live without having to face these unneeded complications. All of us would live happily..."

Marie, who was almost asleep, could easily sense her father's distraction. Her eyes started to fill with tears, and then, she wailed. Her body squirmed and Bruce nearly lost his balance. In panic, Selina quickly took the child over, calming her down.

"Bruce, please, stop hurting yourself like this." She held the child close, gently patting her back to calm her down. "Marie can sense it."

"You're right." Bruce breathed in deeply, walked towards his desk and started to rummage for his pills. "I've got to stay strong, for the sake of Marie and Clark."

#superbat #superbatweek2019

[thedistrictsleepsalonetonight]

There was a girl, and I accidentally fell in love Chapter 1: It was summer when I saw your face, looked like a teenage runaway

You know how sometimes in the movies the first scene is the climax, and then the protagonist goes “To explain how all of this happened, I’ll have to take you back a few months, back to where Blah-and-blah did bleh-and-bleh, and consequently, I’m here”?  

Well, here I am, up on stage on Prom night, in front of a huge crowd of students, holding the hugest Teddy Bear in my right hand, an extremely colorful bouquet of flowers in my left, and just about to start declaring my undying love for the prettiest girl in the world, and I bet you’re wondering how I ended up like this.

Would you believe me if I told you it wasn’t my fault?

Probably not. You shouldn’t, that is. A lot of this story happened because I was an idiot, an insensitive idiot, a stupid insensitive idiot, and other unflattering descriptions of me that you will probably hear from my friends’ mouths. But I will say this: it did not start with me. I was not responsible for kicking over the first domino that resulted in this clusterfuck of lives in National City High crashing down on top of each other. That person, was Lex.

See, the thing is, despite all of it, I still love him. He’s my brother, no matter how much of an asshole he is. He likes starting fires and he can be terribly mean, but he’s always been sweet to me. He is the closest thing I have to a loving home, seeing as my real one consists of a Basilisk for a mother, and a ghost for a father. He’s the reason I am up at the very top of the food chain at school. His Jock-reputation carried over to me, and made it easier for me to not only survive, but thrive. I am Lena Luthor, sister of Lex Luthor, and life, is easy for me. I wouldn’t go as far as claiming that people threw flowers at my feet when I walked down the corridors, or that they bowed whenever I passed by, but it is true that I was untouchable. Even the fact that I was a lesbian didn’t get me any bullying. One stare from Lex and his huge biceps was enough to stop any in its tracks.

All in all, Lex is a pretty good brother. The only character flaw he possibly has is his utter loathing of Clark Kent.

That brings us to Clark Kent. Charming nerd. The best actor in our school. Voted Student with the most beautiful eyes in the world two years in a row. Falls in the category of Not Exactly Popular but Everyone Lowkey Likes Him. And the arch-enemy of Lex Luthor.

Nobody knows how it started. Rumor has it Clark once made the winning catch in their Little League team, and Lex hated him getting the attention. Rumor also has it that it started when Clark got to play Superman in the school play, back in fifth grade, winning the part from Lex, who had been harboring dreams of playing a superhero since, well, forever. People say a lot of things, but nobody knows exactly why they hated each other so much, me included. Every time I’d ask Lex about it, he’d smirk it off, and distract me with something else, and after a while, I gave up on asking, and accepted it as one of the enigmas of National City High.

Either way, that was the relevant bit of backstory that was needed for you to understand this entire sordid tale of romance. It all started when Lex Luthor opened his mouth, during lunch, and asked who the girl trailing behind Clark was.

Imagine the scene. It’s lunch. There’s a lot of people milling about, eating. People talk about the classes they have attended, the classes they have yet to attend, the teachers who made an idiot out of themselves and the ones who made idiots of the students. I was sitting at the table with the most Popularity per square area in the cafeteria, with my brother at my side, Sam sitting in front of me, juggling two apples, while Jack sat next to her, frantically completing his AP Math homework. Half of the football team players with their cheerleader girlfriends filled up the rest of the chairs

“Look at them,” Lex mused, biting thoughtfully at a Tater Tot “High School hierarchy in action. The geeks sit with the geeks, talking about Star Trek or Dungeons and Dragons or whatever the fuck they’re on these days.”

Settlers of Catan, I thought, but keep my mouth shut.

“There are the less-popular cheerleaders, the AV club nightmare freaks, the Glee club rapping like idiots, and there he is, the King of the assholes himself.”

I looked up to see Clark Kent walked into the room, and five of his fan girls trail behind him, swooning and giggling. I rolled my eyes at them, but I had to admit, I did see the appeal. He had that Lord of the Nerds thing going on, with his glasses and a pen tucked into his perfectly ironed shirt, and every straight girl in the college had, at least once in their life, been charmed by his smile. But that wasn’t what was bugging Lex today.

“Who is that?” he nudged my side, bringing me back from where I had been staring into space.

“Who?”

“That girl, behind Kent,” he told me, impatiently.

I saw Alex Danvers, stomping past all the annoying girls, looking as though she was just about one hair away from ripping everyone in her immediate vicinity apart.

“That’s Alex, dude,” Sam told Lex before I could open my mouth.

“No, you idiot,” he muttered. He took my head between both his hands, and physically turned it “Look. There.”

It took me a minute, and then I saw her.

You know those movies where guys see the girl, and it’s like a light bulb goes off in their heads, or violins start playing in the background, and the world slows down? It definitely didn’t happen for me. She was pretty. Blonde hair, tied up in a ponytail, large glasses over her face, and a humongous pile of books in her hands, she did the opposite of stand out.  She seemed to be in deep thought, and as we watched, tapped Alex’s shoulder to tell her something.

“That’s Kara,” Jack spoke up, suddenly, and all three of us turned to him “She’s in AP English with me. She’s Alex’s sister.”

“Since when does Alex Danvers have a sister?” Lex asked.

“Since her parents adopted Kara,” he said, then sighed at our dumbfounded faces “It’s like none of you have any idea what’s up.”

“Start. Speaking. Now,” Lex growled at him.

“So she is Clark’s cousin, and she’s apparently very tight with him, because her parents, the Danvers’ and the Clarks were really close. Her parents got into a car accident when she was young, and she’s been brought up by the Danvers ever since, and she was studying in some private school until now. She just transferred here.”

“How did we not know Alex had an adopted sister?” I wondered aloud.

“Because she’s Alex Danvers. Nobody knows anything about her.”

I nodded, and closed my eyes, topic already forgotten in my head. But Lex apparently wasn’t.

“Did you say she was close to Clark?” he demanded of Jack.

“Yes?”

I opened my eyes when I heard him chuckle. It wasn’t his nice chuckle. This spelled more doom than anything else.

“So hurting her would be hurting him?”

“Lex,” I warned him “Please don’t tell me you’re planning on killing a person. Because I will not approve.”

“No, no,” he rushed to reassure me “But think of how devastated he’d be if someone from Lex’s circle dated her and then broke her heart.”

There was a beat of silence, then both Sam and I chucked the objects in our hands at him simultaneously. Lex ducked both a pen, and a half-eaten apple.

“What?” he asked, bewildered.

“Nothing,” I said, and walked away.

**********

Now, in a perfect world, that would have been the end of matters. Not this one, though.

I’m still not sure what it was exactly that triggered both of them, but I got out of Physics just in time for a random kid to come running up to me and show me a video of Clark punching the lights out of Lex. I watched it for half a minute, and then I was off and running towards the principal’s office. They were both sitting outside, Lex bleeding from his nose, Clark with a black eye, already done with Principal Cat, by the looks of it. I heard my mother’s rising voice from inside and winced.

“She called Lillian, huh?”

Lex mumbled something that sounded close to an affirmation. From the corner of my eye, I saw Clark scowl at us, and move even further away.

I asked Lex what had happened, whispering the question to him.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, eyes still burning with righteous fury “But I hate him. God damn it, I hate him so much. I cannot walk this earth without having revenge.”

Well. That’s drama.

His voice had started rising, so I calmed him down by rubbing his back “I know, I know. Calm down, okay?”

He turned to look at me “Please tell me you’d do that?”

“Do what?”

“That thing I was talking about earlier.”

It suddenly clicked and I started shaking my head vigorously “Lex, no, no , that’s…..”

“Please, please, please, Lena,” he implored “I’ll do anything for you, I’ll……..I’ll get you that trip!”

I paused. There had been this science competition coming up in a city nearby, and I had an idea for a great project lined up, but Lillian, being mother of the year, had no intentions of letting me go.

“You can’t,” I told him “There’s no way you can convince her to let me go.”

“Lena,” he told me back, just as seriously “If there is anyone in the world who can convince her, it is her Golden Boy, aka me.”

I took fifteen minutes “Three or four dates. There will be no prank. No humiliation. I’ll just call it quits before it gets serious. But I’m serious, Lex, no humiliation.”

“Eh, I’ll take care of the rest,” he said which didn’t really sound promising, but I convinced myself I’d just break it up before she developed feelings for me. And it was a very good possibility she wouldn’t even want to date me. That would leave me off the hook.

“We have a deal,” I admitted, grudgingly, and he wrapped me up in a tight hug.

#supercorp #supergirl #fanfiction #supergirl fanfiction #supercorp fanfic

[argyle-s]

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME CHAPTER 18/38

Rating: Mature

Read at Ao3

Start at the Beginning

Everyone Attends The CatCo Supergirl Issue Release Gala, Including a Few Uninvited Guests.

ETA:  I'm so sorry, I forgot to include a note about this.  Penelope Wayne is the Creation of @unpretty.  If you like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, or any DC character, you owe it to yourself to check out her work.

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

Chapter 18 –  The Dance of Diplomacy

Kara smiled as Kal touched down on the balcony of the hotel suite CatCo had rented for their use. She’d picked up the keys early that morning as Kara Danvers and gone to the room just long enough to unlock the balcony. She’d arrived a second time, carrying outfits for herself and Kal about two hours before Kal was set to arrive, and spent the time showering, fixing her hair and doing her makeup with the help of a DEO agent who was cross trained as a cosmetologist and aesthetician. She didn’t really ask why they had agents with that particular type of cross training any more than she asked why they had bullet proof evening gowns.

“Hey, Cous’,” Kal said as he landed. “Nice dress.”

Kara smiled. The dress was based on her mother’s robes. She’d taken the basic design, a blue ankle-length gown with a mantle that came down roughly to her elbows, and had Konex remove everything from the shoulder up, creating an off-the-shoulder gown that was still reflective of Kryptonian styling, even if it were far more daring than anything that would have ever been worn back in Argo City. She’d kept the gold belt, and instead of the simple embossing of the house crest her mother’s robes had carried, she’d added the raised red and gold from her normal costume. She’d also added a red drape which connected along a three-inch seam at the upper edge of the back of the dress, and at the wrists, giving the impression of both a cape, and of wings. With her arms down, the bottom edge of the drape hung even with the hem of her gown. She boots she wore under the dress were blue, instead of her customary red.

“Thanks,” she said. “Your outfit is hung in the bedroom.”

He frowned. “You don’t want me to wear the suit?”

Kara shook her head. “We’re here as the ambassadors of our people tonight. We’re not going down dressed for war.”

“I don’t really think of the suit that way,” he said.

“I know,” she said. “I don’t think of mine that way either. But we do wear them when we fight and tonight is about diplomacy.”

“Okay,” he said.

“Make sure you wear the kryptonite shield,” she said.

He gave her a sharp look, but finally just nodded and headed into the other room. He came out a moment later wearing the outfit she’d designed for him. It was based on her father’s Science Guild uniform. An asymmetrical jacket that opened down the right-hand side, with a smaller version of the House of El Coat of Arms Kal wore on his suit emblazoned on the chest. She’d topped it with a red cape, with round gold medallions fixed to the upper corners, and a braided gold cord running between them. She’d gotten the design for the cape from herself. At least, from Kara Zor-El of Earth 46, who’d been dubbed Powergirl by that world’s Cat Grant.

The effect was fantastic. It made him look like a prince out of some Earth fairytale. Dashing, handsome. She couldn’t help but smile, feeling the pride swell in her chest. Her baby cousin looked, for the first time in her memory, like the leader of his people he should have been, had their world not been murdered.

“Do I look okay?” he asked.

Kara nodded. “You look like your father,” she said. She stepped forward, and placed her hands on his shoulders. “I know I’ve never told you this before, Kal, but they would be so proud if they could see you.”

“You think so?” he asked, and she could hear the rare moment of hesitation and doubt in his voice.

“I know it,” she said, and there was no doubt in her voice. “They weren’t perfect people, your parents or mine, but they would have been so very, very proud of the man you’ve become. Whatever happens tonight, I want you to know that I’m proud of you as well.”

He smiled, and if it was a little watery, she pretended not to notice. “Thank you, Kara.”

She nodded. “I need you to follow my lead tonight Kal. I know that goes against the grain, but what’s happening here is important. It matters for so many reasons and I promise you, I’ll explain them all in time, but please, trust me tonight?”

“Of course,” he said. “Though I’ve got to admit, inviting Jason might not have been your best idea.”

Kara laughed. “I invited Damian too,” she said.

“Are you trying to start an interplanetary incident?” Kal asked.

“Bruce promised to keep them in line,” Kara said.

An alarmed look spread over Kal’s face. “We should probably get downstairs, right now.”

Kara smiled as they entered the ballroom. The original launch gala for the Supergirl issue had been, all things considered, a tacky affair. No matter how much she’d tried, she hadn’t been able to plan around the inherent tackiness of the hostesses Supergirl outfits. This time was different. This time, she’d worked to make everything as elegant as possible. The servant’s guild robes did bring a minor twinge of guilt, simply because being older and wiser, she could look at Kryptonian culture without the rose-colored glasses she’d worn in the past and recognize that the servant’s guild were little better than slaves. It was momentary though, because she was too swept away in the décor, which would not have been out of place in Argo City, and the music, which was one of Lara’s favorite pieces.

“Your mother loved this song,” she whispered to Kal as she noticed people start to turn to look at them.

“She did?” Kal asked.

Kara nodded slightly, her next words coming in Kryptonian, to avoid anyone listening in. “She would sing it to you, while she was pregnant. I used to sit next to her and she’d let me put my hand on her stomach so I could feel you kick. She’d sing this song and it would calm you down.”

“I had no idea,” Kal said.

She turned and looked at him and could see the watery look in his eyes again, so she reached down and gripped his hand. “/.uchahvia ,kahl,ehl,/” she said. He squeezed her hand tightly.

“/.Nahkluv/” he answered in his own, heavily accented Kryptonian.

She looked around the room and smiled when she saw Cat and Kaldur’ahm among the crowd, all of whom were looking at them, except for a handful of people she picked up as either DEO, Secret Service, or private bodyguards.

A small grin tugged at her lips at the way Alex and Maggie stood together. Winn was close to them and James and Lois were by his side. The three of them had obviously been talking.

“This is why I don’t do these,” Kal said.

“You’re the heir of nearly half of the great houses of Krypton, Kal, including the House of El. You need to get used to it,” she said. Before he could reply, she released his hand and stepped forward, giving a formal bow, in the Kryptonian style. When she spoke again, her voice was no longer a whisper. Instead, she pitched it to carry through the room.

“On behalf of the House of El, we thank you for your invitation here, tonight. We come in peace, under the banner of Concord, seeking the gift of hospitality and sanctuary, and offering our service as champions and protectors to your people and your world in return. May Father Rao light our way, guard our steps, and reveal that we are, as always, stronger together than we are apart and remind us that we are never whole when we are alone.”

The room was silent for a moment, but then the applause began, and Kara’s eyes followed the sound, spotting President Marsdin. She was standing next to Senator Miranda Crane and Senator Clancy Shoemaker. President Marsdin was the first one to clap, but Kara watched as Senator Shoemaker joined her. His enthusiasm was clear, and she wasn’t surprised. He had offices in Metropolis and knew Kal fairly well, both as Superman and as Clark Kent. Crane was a lot slower to join in. She did, because when the President of the United State clapped, you did too, but she looked like she was sucking a lemon the whole time. Her and Sam Lane both. Pretty soon, the whole room was clapping, except for Maxwell Lord, and she wondered how the hell he even got here, because she knew he wasn’t on the approved guest list.

She waited until the applause died down before she started towards the President, moving slowly so the Secret Service agents shadowing President Marsdin had plenty of time to see her coming.

“Supergirl,” President Marsdin said, before turning and nodding to Kal, “Superman.”

Kara smiled, and held out her hand, “Madame President,” she said.

“Please,” President Marsdin said, “Call me Olivia.”

“I’m afraid I couldn’t” Kara said. “Not when I can’t extend you the same courtesy.”

“Oh, nonsense,” Oliva replied. “I understand, and I insist.”

Kara laughed. “Okay, Olivia.”

“For someone who’s only been in the public eye for three weeks, you’ve made quite a splash,” President Marsdin said.

“Yes she has,” Cat said from somewhere behind Kara. Kara turned around, a smile on her face.

“Ms. Grant,” she said. “No Kara this evening?”

“No,” Cat said. “This is Jacob,” she said, gesturing to Kaldur’ahm. “Kiera’s off doing… whatever it is Millennials do on a Friday night.” Cat stepped around Kara. “Hello, Olivia,” she said.

Kara watched the interaction closely. It was pleasant enough, on the surface, but she could tell there was an undercurrent she was missing.

“Oh?” President Marsdin asked. “That’s a shame. My assistant swore she’d book me interviews with every single reporter at Fox News if I didn’t tell Kara she said hello.”

Kara laughed. “Well, I wouldn’t be much of a Superhero if I let that happen,” she said. “I’m supposed to meet with her on Monday regarding a community outreach project. Perhaps I could pass the message along?”

“Thank you,” President Marsdin said.

“Of course,” Kara said.

“Now I’m being rude,” President Marsdin said. “This is Senator Shoemaker from New York, and Senator Crane from California.”

Kara turned and bowed. “Thank you for coming,” she said.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Shoemaker said. “You cousin has been nothing but a blessing to Metropolis, and the whole world, really. I see you’re following in his footsteps.”

“I hope so, Senator” Kara said. “This world and its people have given me so much and I want nothing more than to give back.”

“Well,” Crane said, “perhaps you should have started by not arriving here illegally.”

“Miranda,” President Marsdin said in a warning tone.

“No, it’s okay,” Kara said, holding her hand up to forestall any further response from the President. “She has a valid point. After all, I did, technically, arrive as an undocumented immigrant. Of course, I was unconscious, and my ship’s navigation system were damaged at the time. But even if I had been awake, what could I have done? I knew nothing of Earth. If I’d walked into an Immigration and Naturalization Office and requested refugee status, what do you think would have happened? I can only see two possible outcomes. Either they thought I was crazy, and I ended up some place like Arkham, or they believed me, and I ended up in the custody of someone like Simon Tycho, or Mr. Lord over there. After a few days at their tender mercies, Senator Crane, you would have created the very thing you fear. A powerful alien with every reason to hate and fear humans.”

“So, what you’re saying is, you are a threat?” Crane asked.

“I’m saying that the policies you espouse could have made me a threat, Senator. My cousin hid me away to protect me from people who would fear me or hurt me or try to use me to their own advantage. People who wouldn’t care that I was a little girl who’d just watched her mother, father, aunts and uncles, and everything she cared about die right in front of her eyes. And I’m not the only one who’s arrived here like that, Senator. Contrary to popular belief, Earth’s not so special that every alien in the Galaxy is rushing to get here. Most of us are refugees, stranded here with no way back home, or in my case, no home to go back to, or in Kal’s case, stranded here so early in life this is the only home they’ve ever known. A few were even born here.”

“The people who took my cousin in, as well as the people who helped my cousin hide me may have violated the letter of the law, Senator Crane, but they and people like them are the best examples of humanity. People who are willing to give succor and refuge to those who are lost, alone and most in need of kindness. The President’s Alien Amnesty Act, the one you so vehemently oppose, creates a framework in which they can do so legally. It provides a way that the aliens you fear can join society and become people who contribute to and protect it, instead of outsiders who violate your laws out of sheer necessity in order to survive.”

“Well put,” Senator Shoemaker said, cutting Crane off before she could speak again.

“Agreed,” President Marsdin said.

“You know,” Kal said, “sometimes I forget that your mother was one of the most highly ranked Adjudicators on Krypton. Then I hear you say something like that.”

Kara grinned. “Oh, you should have listened to me lay out an argument as to why there should be chocolate pecan pie for Thanksgiving,” she said. She turned back and directed a mock whisper towards President Marsdin. “One year there was a powerpoint presentation.”

President Marsdin laughed. “I’m more of a sweet potato pie woman myself, but I’ll keep that in mind for when you visit the White House, which I hope will be a bit more often than your cousin does.”

Kara nodded her head. “We’ll have to see. National City has been keeping me busy, and I hope that I’ll eventually be able to expand my contributions beyond the City in the same way my cousin has.”

“I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully,” President Marsdin said.

“I hope so,” Kara said. “Did you have a chance to read the new issue of CatCo Magazine?” she asked.

President Marsdin nodded. “I did. Another reason I wanted to thank Ms. Danvers. She had a copy couriered to the White House yesterday afternoon.”

“What did you think?” Kara asked.

“I thought Cat’s writing was brilliant, as always,” President Marsdin replied. “I also think you did your fellow aliens an enormous favor. Your words might be the very push we need to get the Alien Amnesty Act out of committee and onto the floor of both the House and the Senate.”

“That’s good to hear,” Kara said, before turning back to Senator Crane. “Perhaps, Senator, before you pass judgement on us, you could allow me to introduce you to some of the aliens you rail against. Give us the chance to show that we’re not really so different.”

“I doubt you’ll have much luck with that,” Crane said. “But next time I’m in town, I’ll make some time in my schedule.”

“A fair hearing is all I’m asking Senator,” Kara said. She turned back to President Marsdin. “I hope you’ll excuse me, Olivia, but there are a number of people here I’d like to speak with before they decide that it’s safe to skip out.”

“Of course,” President Marsdin said, “but see me again before you vanish for the evening yourself.”

The next hour was a blur. Kara had never been especially good at schmoozing, though her time spent as Cat Grant’s assistant in both timelines had given her a lot of pointers and her time spent leading the defense of Earth in the wake of Clark and J’onn’s deaths had taught her a few lessons that applied on the field of politics as well as the field of battle. Even so, the night was hard. She had to measure every word, listen carefully to the information Konex was feeding her through the modified DEO ear piece she was wearing and at the same time, avoid anything that could link her back to Kara Danvers. It was a challenge to say the least, but by the end of the hour, she’d talked to most of the guests who she thought could be persuaded to help their cause, had Kal talk to the ones she thought would respond better to him than her, and avoided Maxwell Lord, Simon Tycho and General Lane like the plague.

She made a note to find out how Lord and Tycho had gotten invitations in the first place, because she had specifically excluded both of them from the guest list. Which meant someone had gone behind her back and added them, or they’d somehow gotten in without invitations. Either way, someone was going to get an earful. Maybe even lose their job.

But first, she needed food. Her metabolism was running high with all the stress and it had been at least two hours since she ate, so she was making her way towards the buffet line, smiling and shaking the odd hand here and there, all the while keeping an eye on the crowd, hoping to see the one person she’d added to the guest list who hadn’t shown up.

“Looking for someone?” a voice asked, making Kara jump slightly. She turned, smiling as she saw Lois.

“Yeah,” Kara said. “I don’t think she’s coming though. It was a bit of a long shot.”

“I can’t imagine who’d turn down the girl of the hour,” Lois said.

Kara smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “You’d be surprised.”

“One superhero not enough for you Lois?” Cat said, and Kara turned, spotting her approaching. Kaldur’ahm was following closely behind, carrying a plate piled high with Pot Stickers, which was only one of two non-Kryptonian dishes on the menu. She winced, because her stomach growled at the smell, but getting away from Cat and Lois was going to take time.

Except Cat turned and took the plate from Kaldur’ahm and passed it over to Kara.

“I thought you might like some food,” Cat said. “Kiera told me you were fond of these.”

Which was a bald-faced lie, but not one she could call Cat on, so instead she took the plate, and the small stack of napkins Cat passed her with it and nodded.

“Thank you,” she said, as she used her heat vision to quickly rewarm the dumplings before taking one and popping it in her mouth. The moan she made was only slightly obscene, but when she looked up, she saw two indulgent smiles directed her way.

“It’s a little like watching a puppy eat a treat,” Lois said.

“Mmmm. I’d made the same connection myself,” Cat replied.

“Hey!” Kara said. “I’m standing right here.”

“I take it yours is the same way?” Cat asked, completely ignoring her.

“Not with Pot Stickers,” Lois said, “but Superman ate two entire trays of the Swedish meatballs about ten minutes ago. I’m pretty sure you could have used the sounds he was making to score a porn film.”

Kara grumbled as she popped another pot sticker in her mouth, then pointedly turned and walked towards the bar, where Winn was sitting, nursing a beer.

“Do you mind if I sit?” she asked.

Winn shook his head, his eyes never leaving something out in the middle of the room. Kara took the seat next to him, and smiled at the bar tender. “Could I get a Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri please?”

The bartender nodded and turned to fix her drink as Kara downed another pot sticker.

“Who’s that following Cat around?” Winn asked.

“That’s her new assistant,” Kara said. “She introduced him as Jacob, but I’m pretty sure his name is Jackson Hyde.”

Winn sighed and turned towards her. “With my luck, he’s probably got a girlfriend.”

Kara shrugged, then swallowed the pot sticker she was chewing on. “I’m Supergirl, by the way. But you probably knew that.”

Winn stared at her for a moment before it clicked that they’d never officially met before. “Yes,” he said. “I did. Sorry. I didn’t mean to… um.”

Kara laughed as she turned to accept her drink from the bar tender. “It’s okay. He is kind of cute, you know, if you’re into unreasonably handsome men who look like they’re cut from marble by the divine light of Rao itself.”

Winn smiled. “No, I can’t imagine anyone who’d be into that,” he said. “I’m Winn Schott, by the way. I’m Cat Grant’s computer nerd. At least until Monday. Then I’m Kara Danvers’ computer nerd.”

“A pleasure,” she said, turning back to her plate. She made short work of the rest of the pot stickers and went through two more Daiquiris before she turned back to Winn. “Mr. Schott, would you do me the pleasure of a dance?”

Winn smiled and stood up, offering his arm. “I would be delighted,” he said.

She took his arm, and allowed him to lead the way. He took her hand once they reached the dance floor and led her through a couple of songs. For the first time that night, she felt the stress start to melt away. It felt good to be dancing with Winn again. He had always been good for her. He made her laugh and despite a bit of awkwardness after he’d kissed her in the original timeline, he’d been her best friend, right up until Indigo had killed him. Something she wasn’t going to let happen this time. The songs were all Kryptonian, the music structured, rhythmic and good for dancing. Some Kryptonian music did dabble in some odd timing, but she didn’t really think, when she’d selected the play list, that the political leaders of Earth were ready for the Kryptonian equivalent of German Death Metal.

“Excuse me,” a deep bass voice said. One Kara would recognize anywhere. She turned slightly, smiling at the solidly built man standing in front of her. Six foot two, two hundred and ten pounds of solid muscle, and a jaw line you could cut glass with. Bruce Wayne was hard to mistake. “Mind if I cut in?”

Winn, Rao love him, turned to her, the question written on his face. Kara smiled and nodded.

“Thank you for the dance,” she said.

“Any time,” Winn said, before stepping back.

Kara turned to Bruce. “Mr. Wayne,” she said.

“You know who I am?” he asked with a smile as he offered her his hand.

“I may not have been born on this planet Mr. Wayne, but I have read a few of its newspapers, and seen more than a handful of its news broadcasts.”

“Oh. I suppose my reputation precedes me then?”

Kara had to work to suppress a giggle at that. “Somewhat, but I prefer to make my own judgements about people.”

“And what judgements are you making about me?”

“That you’re a better dancer than I expected,” she said, then leaned up and whispered in his ear, “and that you have at least a dozen ceramic batarangs hidden on your person.”

He shrugged as she pulled back. “Better safe than sorry,” he said.

Kara grinned as he led them through a complicated turn. “What did you want to speak to me about?” she asked.

“Can’t a man simply want to dance with a lovely young lady?” he asked.

“Yes, though you’re rather notorious for keeping your hands off *young* ladies,” Kara said.

“Well, I may be a debauched billionaire playboy, but dating someone the same age as one of my children does seem a bit gauche.”

Kara laughed. “Considering the oldest of the boys you’ve adopted is only ten years younger than you, I imagine that limits the dating pool a bit.”

“Just a bit.”

“I could also point out that I’m technically fourteen years older than you, so your age restriction wouldn’t apply.”

“If I didn’t know better,” Bruce said, “I’d be inclined to think you were trying to seduce me.”

Kara smiled up at him. “I’m definitely not, but I am enjoying the horrified faces your youngest is making,” she said as she slipped a hand into the handkerchief pocket of his tuxedo and pulled out a small listening device. She crushed it between her thumb and forefinger, smiling as she saw Damien wince and claw at the ear piece with a pained look on his face. She turned back to Bruce. “Now, what did you want to say to me?”

Bruce turned and glared at Damian for a moment, then turned back to Kara. “I just wanted to assure you that the Alien Amnesty Act has the full support of both Wayne Enterprises, and the Wayne Foundations.”

“Thank you, Bruce. That means a lot to me. Now if you could just teach your son to respect boundaries,” she said.

“I’m trying,” Bruce said with a sigh, “it’s hard getting around the things his mother taught him.”

Kara winced. “Okay, not something I intended to bring up.”

Bruce shrugged as he led her through another turn. “Don’t worry about it.”

“How’s the cow?”

“Expensive,” Bruce said. “I preferred it when Dick, Jason and Tim were bringing home stray dogs, cats, turtles and the odd duck.”

Kara raised an eyebrow, knowing full well that Bruce was the one who brought home the duck. “How is Penelope?” she asked.

“Why does everyone know the duck’s name?” Bruce asked.

“I’m pretty sure it was the Forbes interview,” Kara replied.

“That was an excellent interview,” Bruce said.

“It was definitely memorable,” Kara replied. She tilted her head slightly as a voice caught her attention, and in an instant, she was focused on what it was saying as her eyes scanned the room, and spotted Maxwell Lord talking to Cat.

“Excuse me, Bruce,” she said. “Duty calls.”

Without waiting for his reply, she started across the room, moving as fast as she could without using her powers, her attention focused entirely on the conversation between Max and Cat.

“You look ravishing, as always,” he said.

“And you look like someone who crashed a party you weren’t invited to,” Cat replied.

Kara smiled.

“Oh, that,” Max said. “I just called the correspondence office at Catco and asked why my invitation hadn’t arrived. They assured me it was an oversight and had one printed and couriered over.”

“Mmmm… I’ll have to fire whoever fell for that trick,” Cat said.

“Cat, you wound me,” Max said.

“Oh, when I wound you, Max, you’ll know it,” Cat said. “Your stock will be hemorrhaging value.”

Max laughed. “You over estimate how much the public cares about my little indiscretions, as long as I keep giving them new electronic doodads and gizmos to keep them occupied.” He held out his hand. “Are we dancing?”

“I’m afraid not,” Kara said as she stepped through the last bit of the crowd separating her from Cat and Max. “Ms. Grant promised me the next dance.”

Max turned to her, smile still fixed on his face. “Did she now?”

Kara smiled back at him, a smile made all the brighter by imagining setting the product in his hair on fire with her heat vision. She held her hand out to Cat, and Cat took it firmly, drawing Kara after her as she started towards the dance floor.

“Sorry, Max, looks like I have a better offer,” Cat said.

Kara followed Cat as she led them out onto the dance floor, smiling as Cat took the lead and starting guiding her through a waltz.

“Coming to my rescue, Supergirl?” Cat asked.

“Always, Ms. Grant,” Kara replied.

“Oh,” Cat said. “Charming, but you shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.”

Kara did her best not to react to the sting of those words, because she remembered very clearly the day she hadn’t been able to save Cat. Instead she took a deep breath, and forced herself to smile.

“The city needs you,” she said. “The whole world needs you. Probably more than they need me.”

“Now you’re just being ridiculous,” Cat said. “I mean, I know I’m magnificent, of course…”

“And so modest,” Kara replied.

“I prefer honesty to modesty,” Cat replied.

“Well, as it happens, I agree. You are magnificent,” Kara said. “You are also inspirational, Ms. Grant. You see the world as it is, but you also see it as it could be and not a lot of people can do that.”

Cat turned her head, looking away slightly. “I’ve already put your face on the cover of a Magazine. I think we’re a bit past flattery.”

“It’s not flattery, Ms. Grant. You’ve been one of my heroes for a long time. The way you…” Kara stopped dancing as a new song started. She hadn’t even remembered adding this particular song to the play list. But she wasn’t about to miss it. She looked at Cat and smiled.

“May I lead?” she asked.

Cat nodded, shifting her hands, letting Kara take the lead. She was surprised when Kara pulled her closer, her hand slipping around behind Cat’s back, and Kara started leading her through a much slower, and more intimate dance.

“It’s been years since I’ve heard this song,” she said as she led them through a turn.

“Old favorite?” Cat asked, gasping a moment later when Kara dipped her, before pulling her back up, and moving through a lifted turn.

“Very old,” Kara said. “This song was composed by Erok-El as a wedding gift to his wife Milia almost ten thousand years ago.” She led Cat through another turn, before pulling her close, and leading her through four back steps, then another turn. “Erok was the founder of our house,” she said, “and this is the first song all newlywed couples in my house dance to.” She closed her eyes, pulling Cat in close and dipping her again. She smiled as she lifted Cat out of the dip. She opened her eyes and gasped slightly, as she found herself staring into Cat’s eyes, getting a look she didn’t quite understand, but one she found herself wanting to drown in.

She wasn’t sure how long it took her to realize they’d stopped dancing, or that the song had changed, but when she did, she felt the blush creeping up her neck, felt painfully aware of every place she was touching Cat, and of how close her lips were to Cat’s. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to let go, making sure Cat was steady on her feet before she backed up a step.

“I should… um…”

Cat nodded, “Yes,” she said, her voice a little shaky. “That’s probably a good idea.”

Kara didn’t say anything else, not to Cat, but she kicked herself the whole time as she walked away from her.

Kara seriously considered skipping out on the rest of the party and heading over to Darla’s for enough Aldebaran Rub to put her in a coma. She’d stayed away from the place for the past year, afraid of leading the DEO to the place at a time when their only response would have been to raid it and arrest all the aliens. Unfortunately, that meant she’d been cut off from the only place in the city that served Kryptonian-strength booze. The problem was, no matter how much she needed a good, stiff drink, she couldn’t really bail on the party, so instead, she headed for the bar, and ordered a glass of Ardbeg 10 Year. Something she’d made sure the bar company added to their usual stock in case Lena Luthor accepted the invitation that had been sent. She’s just accepted the drink from the bar tender when she heard one of the least welcome voices she could think of.

“I didn’t think alcohol affected your kind,” Sam Lane said.

Kara took a deep breath, steadying her nerves before she turned to face him. “It doesn’t,” she said. “Not the way you mean. But the taste has a pleasant association. One that helps calm my nerves.”

“Nervous about something?” he asked.

“Not a huge fan of playing politics,” Kara said.

He snorted and waved his left hand towards the room. “But all this is your doing,” he said.

“I said I wasn’t a fan, General and I’m not. I’m more comfortable out there, helping people, or protecting them. Politics was my mother’s arena. I was supposed to be a scientist.”

Lane made a dismissive noise. “What you are is a threat. Trying to convince people that aliens are perfectly safe. Tell me, how many more like you are out there hiding while you try to make it safe for them to reveal themselves?”

Kara raised her glass and downed the Scotch in one go, not taking time to relish the taste like she normally would have. She sat the glass down on the bar and focused her attention on Lane. “Maybe we should trade. I’ll tell you how many aliens are on Earth, and you tell me how many butchers you’ve got working in hidden labs, dissecting people who are no threat to you or anyone else.”

She saw him flinch, and knew the accusation had hit home. She could have driven the point further with a few more words, but she didn’t want to give any clues that she knew anything more about Cadmus than she could have learned from Clark.

“A word of advice, General. It’s not too late for you to be a decent human being. I think Lois would even forgive you. You should take the chance while you still have it, because sooner or later you won’t. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a whole list of people I actually want to talk to.”

Before he could say anything else, Kara turned and walked away, already focused on what she was about to do.

She approached James and Lucy, where they were dancing, plastering a smile on her face that would convince anyone except Alex that she was having a wonderful time.

“Excuse me,” she said.

James and Lucy both stopped, and looked at her.

“Hey, Supergirl,” James said, the question obvious in her voice.

“Hey,” she said. “Mind if I cut in?”

James frowned a little. “Um, I…” He turned to Lucy, and Kara had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from laughing at the disgusted look on Lucy’s face.

Lucy shook her head slightly, “No,” she said, “it’s okay.” She stepped back away from James.

Kara smiled a little wider. “Thanks,” she said to James as she stepped between the two of them. Then she turned and took a surprised Lucy’s hand. “I’ve been wanting to dance with you all evening.”

Lucy, looking slightly dazed, placed a hand on Kara’s shoulder as Kara started to dance. They were a good minute into the first song before Lucy said anything, but when she did speak, there was a smile on her face.

“This isn’t what I thought you meant,” she said.

“I know,” Kara said.

Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Honestly?”

“Please,” Lucy said.

“I got enough of your and James’ break-up story from my cousin that I knew how you’d react, and I wanted to see the look on your face,” Kara said. “Though, I would give up my spare cape to have seen the look on James’ face.”

Lucy laughed. “Oh, that would have definitely been worth the trade,” she said. “Though I have to wonder why you cared enough about James to talk to your cousin about who he’s dating.”

Kara gave a small shrug as she led Lucy through a turn. “Just family chit-chat,” she said. “How’s Metropolis? How are your friends doing? Seeing anyone? Has the dog fetched any cars lately?”

Lucy gave her a look. “Superman doesn’t have a dog.”

Kara just smiled.

“What about you?” Lucy asked.

“I love dogs, but I’m more of a cat person really,” she said. “Sadly, my apartment building has a very strict no pets policy.”

Lucy started laughing so hard for a moment Kara was worried about she’d broken the woman.

“I’m sorry, I just… The mental image…” By the time Lucy had stopped laughing more than a few people were staring at them, including Lucy’s dad. “You’re not what I expected, at all,” she said.

“Is that a good thing?” Kara asked.

Lucy nodded. “It is,” she said. “Your cousin is a little bit full of himself, to be honest.”

Kara glanced over at Kal, and had to fight not to giggle at the wounded look on his face. “I think he heard you,” she said.

Lucy shrugged. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“I’d rather not lie to you,” Kara said. “I have a feeling you wouldn’t like that very much.”

“I… No. I wouldn’t like that at all,” Lucy said.

“It’s necessary sometimes,” Kara said. “Lying, I mean.”

“It’s never necessary,” Lucy replied, and Kara could feel the heat in her tone.

“I wish it wasn’t,” Kara said, “but sometime, when we’re somewhere more private, ask me why my foster sister had to grow up without a father.”

“What makes you think we’re ever going to be somewhere private?” Lucy asked, challenge in her voice.

Kara grinned. “Maybe I’m still hoping to get your phone number,” she said.

It took a second, but Kara saw the exact moment Lucy made the connection. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. Kara had to physically carry her through the next turn in the dance before her feet started moving again.

“Why?” Lucy finally asked.

“Because I trust you,” Kara said.

“You don’t even know me,” Lucy replied.

“Trust is a choice,” Kara said. “We can make that choice based on hope or we can make it based on fear. Someone I care for a very great deal once told me that hope is stronger than fear. I chose to believe she’s right. So I’m trusting you. In part, because James is my friend and as much as I might get a kick out of flirting with you in front of him, I don’t want to be what comes between the two of you. Not the way my cousin did. But also because everyone I’ve talked to about you has told me how amazing you are. How you’re smart and funny and fun to be around. How loyal you are, how kind. I want to be your friend. James or no James, I think you’re someone worthwhile.”

Lucy was giving her a look she couldn’t quite make out and Kara was about to ask what was wrong when she heard it. The sound of someone coming in for a landing. She looked up and saw that Kal had noticed as well.

“Excuse me,” she said. She let go of Lucy and started towards the door, using her X-ray vision to peel away the walls and confirm what she already knew.

Non was outside.

“Let me handle this, Kal,” she said as she slipped a hand into the pocket of her dress and touched a button on the small remote she was carrying. Holographic Concord Glyphs appeared on every wall, with a giant one floating in the center of the room.

“Kara,” Kal said.

“/.zha ,kahl,ehl, ;duahzu khuhp w voiehd,/” she said, her tone unyielding. She reached up and touched her ear piece. “Alex, I need you near the President. Non’s here.” She didn’t check to see if Alex was moving. She didn’t have to. She knew her sister and her sister would do exactly what she needed her to.

The crowd had picked up on the fact that something was going on at the door and were starting to back away when Non walked in.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” he said.

“A parlay, protected by Concord Law,” Kara said. “You do remember the law, don’t you?”

“You dare to speak to me of the Law, you pretentious child?” Non asked. “You come here, wearing an imitation of your mother’s robes-“

“My mother’s been dead for thirty-seven years, Non,” Kara said.

“And the Galaxy’s a better place without her,” Non shot back. “If not for her interference, we might have saved Krypton.”

Kara shook her head. “Why don’t you ask your Coluan friend about that? While you’re at it, ask her what triggered the runaway reaction in the core.”

“I don’t need to ask,” Non said. “Arrogance. Greed. The hubris of the members of the Council. The same hubris I see in these small creatures that infest this planet.”

“That sounds an awful lot like the pot calling the kettle black,” President Marsdin said from somewhere behind Kara.

Kara turned around, only to find President Marsdin standing in front of the rest of the crowd, J’onn, Alex, Maggie, Kal, and a pair of very annoyed-looking secret service agents beside her. Of course, Cat Grant wasn’t more than two steps behind President Marsdin, with Lois and Kaldur’ahm on either side of her. Diana, Bruce, and Bruce’s entire team were all positioned with clear lines of fire, and all of them looked perfectly ready to throw down. Even James, Winn, Lucy and General Lane were all there.

“Oh, this *is* amusing,” Non said. Kara turned back around to face him. “You’re their leader, aren’t you? President Olivia Marsdin, isn’t it? Tell me, what’s it like, being an insect, watching as gods quibble over your fate?”

“I wouldn’t know. All I see is a small man posturing in a situation where he’s powerless,” President Marsdin said.

“Brave words,” Non said. “I wonder how brave-“

Kara picked it up a split second before Non, the sound of three people coming in for a landing, and smiled.

“You were saying something about ‘brave words’…” Kara said.

“I would rather hear an explanation as to why one of my Lieutenants has violated my orders,” Astra said as she stepped through the entry way, followed by Mur and Gor.

“I came here-“ Non started to say, but Astra cut himself off.

“You came here because your pride is wounded,” Astra said. “You were bested before by Alura and your pride has never recovered from it. Now her daughter has thwarted your intentions and you seek to humiliate her and undermine what she is attempting to accomplish out of spite. Worse, you chose to do it here and now, after I gave specific orders that our people would not interfere with her parlay. Some might even interpret what you’ve done as an attack on a meeting conducted under the Glyph of Concord.” Astra took a step towards him. “I cannot allow this to go unanswered,” she said.

“What’s it to be, then, my dear wife?” Non asked. “Will you give me over to these savages, to be locked away in one of their cages?”

“No,” Astra said. “You are still Kryptonian, so you will receive a Kryptonian punishment. /.chadi suzh zehtiaro vahsah rraop w dovrrosh vo/”

Kara shuddered. Much as she disliked Non, she had to stop herself from stepping in. Five days in absolute darkness was… She closed her eyes, trying to push down memories of the Phantom Zone.

“You would condemn me to that for-“

“You disobeyed an order,” Astra snapped. Kara opened her eyes to watch her aunt. “You very nearly violated a Concord. Were we not standing under that very same Concord Glyph,” She took a step towards Non, “I would remind you how I earned the rank of General.”

Non stepped back, his whole body language changing, becoming submissive. If Kara didn’t know better, she would have sworn he actually got smaller, but there was fear in his eyes.

“Take him,” Astra said, and Mur and Gor stepped forward, grabbing Non by the arms. Astra turned towards Kara. “I am sorry. One of my people was injured. While I attended to her, Non used the distraction to slip away. I hope it will not cause any undue difficulty.”

Kara knew she had to be careful with the crowd listening to every word and she really wanted to ask Alex, or maybe Cat, for advice on how to spin it, but that wasn’t possible and only one thing really came to mind. “I doubt this is the first time these people have seen a family squabble played out in public. Be well, General Astra. May Rao light your way.” Kara ignored the murmurs that went through the crowd behind her.

“And yours, Little One. We will speak again soon,” Astra said.

“A moment, please,” President Marsdin said.

Astra turned to look at her and before she could say anything, Kara spoke. “This is President Olivia Marsdin. She’s one of this world’s most powerful leaders and she has been a friend to our people.”

“Of course,” Astra said, giving Kara a small nod. “What do you ask of me, President Olivia?”

President Marsdin stepped forward. “I can see that you have matters to attend to, General, but if you could spare me perhaps five or ten minutes of your time for a word in private?”

Astra glanced over to Kara and Kara gave a small nod.

Astra turned to Mur and Gor. “Take him. Place him in one of the Shadow Cells. Five days. Tell Fendra to continue as we’d discussed. I will follow soon.”

Mur and Gor lead Non outside, as Astra turned back to President Marsdin. Marsdin turned to Cat. “Is there somewhere more private we can go?”

Alex answered. “We have another ballroom set up next door, Madam President. I think the space would work.”

President Marsdin nodded. “Please,” she said, indicating Alex should lead the way. “General, Supergirl, Superman, if you would.”

Alex turned and started towards the ballroom they’d set up earlier as part of the evacuation route. Supergirl took a moment to give Maggie a glance and motion for her to follow before heading towards the ballroom herself. She turned around as everyone else filed through the door, unsurprised at who was following. Cat Grant was right behind her, and Kaldur’ahm just a step behind Cat, but in front of Maxwell Lord, Sam Lane, and Simon Tycho.

“Not this time, Miss Grant,” Kara said.

“Are you telling me I have to miss the most interesting part of my own party?” Cat replied.

Kara smiled. “I’m afraid so,” she said. “But we’ll talk again soon.” She looked over to Kaldur’ahm. “Why don’t you take her over and introduce her to Mr. Wayne and Ms. Prince?” She saw the small nod of understanding from Kaldur’ahm at her implicit instructions to keep Cat close to Bruce and Diana.

“Well, Cat,” Max said as he started around her. “Better luck next-”

Max stopped talking when he walked right into Kara’s hand, which stopped him dead in his tracks, and unless Kara missed her guess, actually knocked the wind out of him.

“Not you,” she said. “/.nim zhadif rraop w :bezhgam/” Kara turned to Simon Tycho. “You can turn right around as well.”

“Now just a minute,” General Lane said. “You don’t get to make those decisions.”

“General Lane,” President Marsdin said from behind Kara, “why don’t you take your friends and go get a drink. We won’t be needing you for this meeting.”

Kara smiled at General Lane, getting a glare in return, but Lord, Tycho and Lane all seemed to realize there was no point arguing the matter, and turned around to walk away. She did notice the smug grin Cat gave her before turning around and letting Kaldur’ahm lead her away.

“Now,” President Marsdin said, “Who’s this?”

Kara turned around to find President Marsdin staring at Maggie. “This is Detective Maggie Sawyer, NCPD. She’s one of the leading experts we have on alien refugees.”

“Really,” President Marsdin said. She motioned towards the doors of the ballroom where Astra, Alex, J’onn, and Kal had already disappeared. “By all means.”

Maggie went inside, and President Marsdin and her Secret Service detail followed, leaving Kara to bring up the rear. She closed the doors behind them, locked it, and tripped the anti-eavesdropping devices they’d attached earlier.

“We’re clear,” Kara said as she turned around to face the small crowd.

“Thank you, Supergirl,” President Marsdin said.

“No problem,” Kara replied.

President Marsdin turned to Astra. “You’re Supergirl’s aunt?”

“Yes,” Astra said.

“I’m guessing based on what I just saw, you’re the leader of the Fort Rozz prisoners.”

“Very astute,” Astra said. “I suppose I should not be surprised by that, but given your predecessor…”

President Marsdin let out a small laugh. “Not one of my country’s finest moments, admittedly.”

“He was very much like the leaders who governed Krypton at the end. Small, short sighted, unwilling to believe evidence of the disaster rushing towards us all.”

“She’s referring to Climate change and the resulting ecological collapse,” Kara said.

“Yes,” Astra said. “Your world faces an end less spectacular than Krypton’s, but no less real.”

“You’re an environmentalist?” President Marsdin asked.

“Yes,” Astra said.

“How did you end up in Fort Rozz?” President Marsdin asked.

“Our world was dying. Appeals to our leaders did nothing and time was running out. I devised a method I believed would allow us to save our world. It was horrible, but I believed it to be less horrible than watching thirty billion souls be immolated. Unfortunately, while we were working to implement my plan, someone was killed. There were fifty of us, in total. Kara’s mother captured me and my capture led to the capture of the twenty-nine others. The rest died trying to escape. We were sentenced to life in Fort Rozz for our crimes.”

“But now you’re here,” President Marsdin said.

“Now we’re here,” Astra said, calmly.

“I’ve been talking to Aunt Astra for weeks, Olivia,” Kara said. “Trying to get her to surrender to the DEO so we can integrate them.”

“They’re criminals,” Olivia said.

“Yes,” Kara said.

“Eco-terrorists is the term you would use,” Astra said. “Our world was dying and we committed crimes trying to stop it. For those crimes, we were sentenced to life in prison.”

“What crimes?” President Marsdin asked.

“Murder,” Astra said. “We killed a guard during a raid.”

“*Non* killed a guard,” Kara said.

“It doesn’t matter whose hand held the weapon, Little One,” Astra said. “I was the leader. Her death was my responsibility.” Astra turned back to President Marsdin. “I will not apologize, nor ask forgiveness for what I did on Krypton. I thought we could have stopped the destruction of our world, prevent the deaths of thirty billion souls, including a girl I loved like a daughter. I swore an oath, much like the one you did. ‘All enemies, foreign or domestic’. Is that not how your oath goes?”

“It is,” President Marsdin said.

“Our own council was leading us down the path to destruction. I took the best of my people, the brightest, the ones who would follow me anywhere, and I tried to save my world.”

“What happened?” President Marsdin asked.

“She was betrayed,” Kara said. “I didn’t know what was going on. No one told me. All I knew was that everyone I loved was scared, speaking in whispers that stopped when I came into the room and my aunt, my best friend, was gone. When my mother suggested I send a signal to her, I…” Kara closed her eyes. “I didn’t know what my mother was planning. I didn’t find out for years afterwards what she’d done.” She took a deep breath and looked at Astra. “I would never have turned on the beacon.”

“It doesn’t matter, Little One,” Astra said. “In the end, you saved my life. If I hadn’t been on Fort Rozz, I would have died on Krypton.”

“You couldn’t have stopped the destruction of your planet?” President Marsdin asked.

“No,” Astra said. She turned to look at President Marsdin. “Kara showed me the proof, just recently. We always believed that we were responsible for our own end, but-“

“The Coluans conspired against us,” Kara said, cutting Astra off. President Marsdin turned towards her, missing the frown on Astra’s face. “They’re a race of what you would call artificial intelligences. Data constructs capable of taking a physical form when they wish. Immensely intelligent and incredibly strong. We hired the Brainiac Clan to administer our digital infrastructure. Brainiac One, the being Kal has fought several times, ran the Kandor network. He stole the entire city, along with its people. Suspended forever in time and compressed into a pocket dimension as some kind of sick museum. We caught Brainiac Eight. She tried to shut down our defensive network so Czarian mercenaries could kill us all. It was Brainiac Twelve that killed us. He altered the specifications for our mining machines, made small changes to surveys and proposed mining routes. Tricked us into causing, then accelerating the chain reaction in the core of our world.”

“Your people were murdered?” President Marsdin asked.

Kara frowned. “We’re not guiltless,” she said. “The Brainiacs just turned our greed against us, held the knife while we pushed it in. If the disaster had really been natural, Astra might have been able to stop it, or Kal’s father. But with the Brainiacs helping it along, our world was doomed long before anyone even realized it.”

President Marsdin turned back to Astra. “And you and your followers survived because you were in an off-world prison?”

“Yes,” Astra said.

“And what have you been doing on Earth the last eleven years?” President Marsdin asked.

“We’ve been planning to use the technology we were going to deploy on Krypton here,” Astra said. “I saw what you were doing to this world, the way you were destroying yourselves. I could not stand it.”

“Something’s changed, though,” President Marsdin said.

“My niece,” Astra said. “She’s convinced me to surrender to your DEO. There was a fight when I announced the decision. That’s how one of my other Lieutenants was injured, and why Non decided to seek out my niece.”

“And this technology?”

“I will destroy it,” Astra said. “My niece has convinced me it’s far too dangerous to ever allow it to be used.”

“What do you expect, when you surrender?” President Marsdin asked.

“My niece said she’d try to persuade your DEO to allow me to pay for my crimes with service to your world. She’s grown a great deal, but I suspect she over estimates the generosity of your people. I expect to stand for the crimes my people have committed on my orders. I expect to spend the rest of my life in a cage. As long as I am allowed to see my niece from time to time, I will be content with that fate. But I will not order my people to surrender to you if mean to cage them as well. Aside from my husband, most of them have committed no crime, save those carried out on my orders, and I will not allow them to pay for my sins a second time.”

The room was silent for a long time. Seconds stretched into one minute, then two as Astra and President Marsdin stared at each other. Finally, President Marsdin looked over at Kal.

“Superman, what’s your opinion?” she asked.

“Honestly, Madam President, I’m the wrong person to ask,” Kal said. “I only know Astra from the records my father sent along with me. I’m inclined to accept Supergirl’s judgement on this one.”

She turned to Hank. “Director Henshaw?”

“I’m with Kal on this one, Madam President. Ask Supergirl.”

She turned to Kara. “You understand the magnitude of the decision I’m making here,” she said. “One of you is so powerful it’s terrifying. There are thirty of them.”

Kara looked up at her Aunt for a moment. “I’m sorry, Aunt Astra,” she said, before turning back to President Marsdin. “Olivia, I can’t recommend allowing the release of all of them. Non is a murderer and more, I believe he may still be conspiring with Brainiac Eight. I don’t trust him. I believe he belongs in a cell. But the rest of them… If Astra vouches for them, if she orders them to follow our laws, I believe it would be safe to allow them their freedom. The crimes they committed both here and on Krypton were meant to save lives, not take them. They are soldiers. Honorable men and women, who spent more than two decades paying for what they’ve done and who can never, ever go home again. Please, give them a chance.”

President Marsdin took a deep breath, and turned to Kara.

“You have a way to contact her?” she asked.

Kara nodded. “Yes.”

Marsdin turned to Astra “Give me few days. A week at most,” she said. “When Supergirl contacts you, surrender to Director Henshaw. You and your people will be treated fairly.”

“And Non?” she asked.

“He will be comfortable, and well treated.”

Astra nodded, and turned to Kara. “I understand,” she said. “And you’re right.”

Kara walked forward and wrapped her arms around Astra, hugging her tightly. “/.ukiemodh w rraop , eh ,astruh,/”

“/.ukiem w rrip , eh shed kir/” Astra said. “Your mother would be proud of you.”

Kara squeezed her tighter. “I’d rather you be proud of me,” she said.

“I am,” Astra replied. “I am so very, very proud of you, Little One.” She pulled back, breaking the hug. “I have to go. Things are still unstable.”

Kara nodded.

Astra turned to Kal. “Take care of her for me.”

“Of course,” Kal said.

“He’ll have to get in line for the job,” Kara said. “This is Alex,” she said, pointing to her sister.

A smile spread across Astra’s face, and before Alex could say anything, Astra stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Alex. “Thank you,” she said. “I owe you a debt I cannot repay.”

Kara laughed at the completely dumbstruck look on Alex’s face, but it didn’t last long. Astra let her go and stepped back.

“Maggie,” Kara said, “can you show her out?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it.” Maggie turned to Astra. “Come on.”

Kara watched as Maggie led them out the door, then turned back to President Marsdin, who was looking at Alex with curiosity.

“Someday you’ll have to tell me what that was about,” President Marsdin said.

“You haven’t read over my DEO file have you?” Kara asked.

“No,” President Marsdin replied. “I just got the National Security Briefing on you when I took office, and again when you caught the plane, but I haven’t had a chance to read the DEO file.”

Kara glanced at the two Secret Service Agents, then shrugged. After all, the agents at the DEO already knew. “Agent Danvers is my adoptive sister,” she said.

“Oh!” President Marsdin said. “I didn’t realize. The briefing didn’t mention you had family at the DEO.” She turned to Alex. “A pleasure, Agent Danvers.” Before Alex could really say anything, President Marsdin turned to J’onn. “Director Henshaw, I’d like a conference call with you, Supergirl, Agent Danvers, and anyone else you think it would be a good idea to include about an integration plan for the aliens who come in with Astra. My assistant will set up the time once we coordinate with Justice and Homeland Security.”

“Of course, Madam President,” J’onn replied.

She turned to Kal. “I’d appreciate it if you participated as well, Superman.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Kal said. “Supergirl can get me the schedule.”

President Marsdin nodded. “Then, I suspect at this point, I’ve given my detail enough heart attacks for the night. I’ll leave out the front way so the crowd can see me, but otherwise, I think I’ve had enough excitement.”

Translated from the Kryptonian:

uchahvia ,kahl,ehl, Literal: Synergy, Kal-El Semantic: Stronger Together, Kal-El

(“El Mayarah” is not, in fact, Kryptonian, but from old Kandoran, in much the same way Latin is still used commonly for mottos in present day).

Nahkluv Thank You

.zha ,kahl,ehl, ;duahzu khuhp w voiehd No Kal-El. I will deal with this.

chadi suzh zehtiaro vahsah rraop w dovrrosh vo You will be given to shadow for five days

nim zhadif rraop w :bezhgam Literal: You are never welcome Semantic: You’re not welcome and you never will be

ukiemodh w rraop , eh ,astruh, I love you, Astra

ukiem w rrip , eh shed kir I love you, Little One

#supergirl #supercat #supercanary #sanvers #fanfiction #the shape of things to come #kara danvers #alex danvers #cat grant #maggie sawyer #sara lance #j'onn j'onzz #susan vasquez #lois lane #clark kent #james olsen #winn schott jr. #future shock

[canaryatlaw]

okay. so. today was pretty fun. I had set my alarm for 10:30 as we’d agreed Jess would pick me up at 11. Well, I woke up to said alarm at 10:30 to a series of messages from Jess telling me to get up already because she wanted nuggets before we went to the con. I told her I’d be ready in 15 minutes, because I was being good and woke up half an hour beforehand when I knew it only really took me 15 minutes to get ready when I’m not doing my make up (doing it in the car here). So I got ready, doing Peter Pan today because I gotta take advantage of my short haired red headed cosplay options because I hate wigs and will be wearing them both Saturday and Sunday. Got picked up, went to Mcdonalds, drove to con, didn’t get stuck in ridiculous traffic like we did yesterday, so that’s a win. I’m trying to remember the details of how everything went down, when you’re there all day and you’re doing different things within a small space it can be hard to remember exactly what you did when. But I think we got there and went to find some people and talked with them for a while, then found Jess’ two friends (”friends”) who were running around doing different things, after waiting for them for a little bit. And I mean, for most of the day we just did different versions of walking around and finding people and looking at things? we’d hang out with a certain group of people for a while and then they’d go off and do a photo shoot or something and we’d migrate to a different group of people. At some point during the afternoon we decided to go through the whole show floor aisle by aisle to assess options before buying anything. I knew I wanted to get a t-shirt of some sort, and sadly there were very few legends-related items out there (I think the only places we really saw them were in the sections where you have the IDs from different shows) so I figured I’d either want something Wonder Woman or Superman related, since those are my other two faves. I was also potentially looking for a cool backpack that’s somewhat bigger than the one I have now because in two weekends we’re doing HVFF New Jersey/Rose City CC in Portland over two days and are just bringing backpacks, and since I decided tonight that I am going to cosplay both days (and the NJ one I am SO excited about!!) I’m gonna need something that can fit a lot of things. What’s annoying about the t-shirt thing is pretty much all of them at cons are only in unisex sizing, not women’s sizes, and I don’t really like how they fit me so I don’t end up wearing them as much as I do the Wonder Woman or Superman shirts I have in woman’s sizes. The other thing I might potentially buy is an Elektra from Daredevil funko pop because back when I was still looking for Katniss but was getting convinced I wouldn’t be able to find her (before I found her online) I was considering making Elektra my next one, and she would fit nicely on my stack of funkos in their boxes (that are literally in a stack on my dresser right now that consists of dark haired women who totally kick ass because apparently I am predictable like that (right now it’s Wonder Woman, Jessica Jones, and Katniss) (I do have three other funkos that are out of their boxes and placed elsewhere, which are my White Canary and Captain Cold, placed in conjunction of course, and Smallville Green Arrow played by Justin Hartley love of my life and the only actor to portray Green Arrow in live action as far as I’m concerned). So we set off to do that. A number of good Wonder Woman options I took note of, a few ones that are old comics styled, a few featuring other Justice League members like Superman and such (though I’m really not a Wonder Woman/Superman shipper like, at all, so not those because Clois is the only valid ship for Clark Kent, though I am open to WonderBat possibilities). There is also a very cool Wonder Woman backpack we were looking for that I’ll probably go back and get because it had a lot of places to put stuff and looked like it could fit everything nicely, it was just 60 bucks so I wanted to make sure it was definitely the best one before actually buying it. The Elektra pop has shown up a few places, cheapest so far for $10, so I’ll keep looking at those since there are of course a ton of places with pops. We kept getting stopped by random men that wanted to talk to us because Jess was being a fucking furry (she got asked to take a picture with two people in full on fur suits and I was dying laughing while also taking a picture of it). By the time it was like 5:30 or so we were pretty much done with everything, so we ended up meeting up with some people and heading to one of the restaurants over by the parking garage, because if you eat at one of the restaurants there they’ll validate your parking so you don’t have to fork over like $15 just for parking. So we ended up going to the German restaurant, which is always a bit of an adventure lol. The first time my family went to DisneyWorld when I was like 12 our restaurant reservations got messed up for one of the days and the only other place we could get in was the German restaurant in Epcot, and all I remember is there menu being like, essentially like three different types of hot dogs, so whenever I think of German food now that’s what I think of, and how I somehow managed to not barf it all up when my brothers and I ran (literally) from Epcot over to Animal Kingdom to get to our fast pass for Expedition Everest, which we made with like 4 minutes left on it and then went on the crazy roller coaster where I was sure I was gonna puke it all up (our restaurant reservation was for like, 4:40, and the fast pass was between 6 and 7, so we thought we’d be fine, but the restaurant got super backed up and didn’t seat us till like 6:15, so we basically ate like half a meal and then ran from the middle of the Epcot circle of nations through the rest of the park, onto the tram and then all the way through Animal Kingdom to Expedition Everest, making it at 6:56). But we got some super cute pictures of my darling baby sister who was 3 at the time and like at peak cuteness dancing to the polka in the German restaurant so that was definitely worth it. ANYWAY. this restaurant seemed somewhat similar in that there was a polka band and everything but thankfully had a larger menu selection. Jess and I ended up splitting some potato pancakes (sorry Germans, they weren’t as good as latkes) and a jumbo pretzel because she doesn’t eat red meat and I’ve been getting Meat Fatigue™ (which we’re still pretending is a real thing okay). We had an interesting conversation going on around us as the guy sitting next to me was trying to say it was bs that people were making excuses for James Gunn in that situation when strongly condemning Trump for making obscene comments, except he was not explaining it well at all and it was totally being lost in translation for everybody else until I was like okay, this is what you mean and explained it and he was like “yes, exactly! I like her” to which I was like 😂😂😂 understanding what people are saying pretty much all the time and explaining things happen to be two random talents of mine that come in handy a lot. So the meal was pretty good, one of the ladies we were with graciously picked up the tab so we were very thankful to her for that. At that point we were pretty beat so we walked back to the parking garage (after getting our parking validated) and drove home. I got dropped off and we planned to pick me up at 10 am tomorrow. I fumbled in the dark with my keys for a few minutes because somehow all the outdoor lights and the lights in the hallway of my building have gone out and not been replaced (yes I could’ve turned my flashlight on on my phone but I was being stubborn and wanted to do it myself) but eventually got it figured out. NICKZANO was very happy to see me, though I told her she’s gonna have to get used to being alone more once I get a job (at some point, anyway). I think I may actually be allergic to cats though, because my legs where I’d been letting her sit on are like hella itchy, but it’s obviously not a major issue at all and I’ll just like, put pants or longer shorts on from now on and that won't be a problem. I showered and changed into my pajamas, then watched a few episodes of 30 Rock, keeping it nice and light. I’m in their 5th season now out of 7 (which is kinda funny because I’m also on the 5th season out of 7 on GoT right now) so sooner or later I’m gonna have to find something else for funny filler episodes when I just want funny tv. And yeah, I did that for a while and then finished getting ready for bed and here we be now. So yeah, lots of fun, hopefully tomorrow will as well, I will be debuting my Ava Sharpe cosplay (who I was never really planning to cosplay but ended up needing to do so for our photo op with Matt Ryan which is gonna be fucking hilarious, just wait) and seeing Matt Ryan so that will be fun. I’ll probably wait till Sunday when I’m doing my also new (and pulled together exclusively of stuff I already owned because business wear) Lois Lane cosplay to see Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum. I was considering doing a photo op with them, but their joint one was $150 which is a tad excessive, and like, Tom alone was still $90 and I wouldn't even know what to do in a single one with him because I’d rather like, have one with both of them so Tom and I could look like we were fighting Michael, but also Michael has hair now so he doesn't even really look like Lex Luthor anymore, so given all of those factors I decided meeting them and getting selfies with them in my cosplay would be good enough. Okay, that’s all I got, it’s 1 am and I’m waking up at 9:30 and I like sleeping so I’m going to go to bed now. Goodnight peeps. Have a lovely weekend.

#daily journal #August 2018 #Jess tag #Rachel's cosplay adventures

[writing-yj]

Stardust (Dick Grayson x Ren)

i know you’ve gotten a couple but there’s always room for more, yeah? well, i love you and this exists in the universe where glasses can hide your true identity. much love, cel mcclain, your beloved daughter

Summary: Ren has a project due for her boss and Dick Grayson is there to save the day. In the midst, some secrets are revealed.

Pairing: Dick Grayson x Ren

Warnings: Damian Wayne being cute, Mention of blood

I jumped from rooftop to rooftop until I finally reached the coordinates Batman gave me. But, for the twentieth time these few months, a girl beat me to it. God, I had to be quicker. She took notice of my presence and popped another chip in her mouth. She motioned to the three gang members chained to the satellite and smirked, swinging her legs over the building, “Hey, Nightwing!” She shouted, moving off of the ledge and finishing off her chips, “Are those your guys?” She asked, kicking the unconscious head of the leader.

“Yes.” I replied, checking for a pulse on each of the felons, “I don’t understand how you keep beating me to these gigs.”

“Surprising to say the least, I’m the one wearing heels.” She smirked, “The media calls me Stardust, now.”

I nodded, waiting for Commissioner Gordon to get here so I could get back to my apartment. And more importantly, get back to Ren. I was supposed to help her with some project, “I’m still Nightwing. Are you going to wait for the police or am I?”

“Loser has to wait. Plus, I have somewhere to be.” She said, before taking off, hopping from roof to roof and eventually jumping off, to skim the streets I assume. It took forever for the Commissioner Gordon to arrive and I looked down at my watch, checking the time. I was already twenty minutes late. Ren was going to kill me. When I snuck through the window into my bedroom, I heard the knocking on my door.

“Dick! Wake up!” I heard her shout. I quickly threw open my closet and stripped out of my costume before locking it in the biometric safe.

I began to throw on some pants when I began to yell back, “I’ll be out in a second I’m just getting dressed.” I felt so bad, she was so tired last night after work but she had something to throw together for her boss that was due the next day and I promised I would help her. She was probably freaking out. I speedily threw on a shirt and tightened my watch around my wrist. Sometimes I wish I had super speed. I threw open the door to see a distraught girl, her hair messed up from her hands that were running through it in nervousness, “You good?” I asked, following her into her bedroom. It was covered in pastel pink decorations and littered with flowers of all kinds. It was the definition of girly, and that’s saying something for a young adult.

She picked up a magazine from her organized desk and threw it to me in a frenzy, “I have to come up with a whole new design for the cover and I have no clue what I’m going to do. How am I supposed to make Clark Kent look like somebody worth reading about? He’s a freaking farm boy!” She shrieked, her eyes widening. I stepped forward and pushed up her glasses before taking a seat in her white chair, spinning around and opening her laptop.

“Okay, Grayson is here to save the day.” I smirked, typing in her password. It’s been the same for three years. Rookie mistake. It’s always safer to keep changing it frequently. K1dFlashIsH0t9128. Not to mention, it was way overdue for an update. The Kid Flash I know isn’t Kid Flash anymore. I doubt she’d be in love with a boy who technically isn’t even born yet. Speaking of Bart Allen, I mean. “How about… The Superman of Media?” I suggested, looking to her for approval.

“Jesus, Grayson! You’re a genius!” She sighed, taking down her ponytail to redo it. She tied it up neater and straightened her sweater, “Hey, Dick? Is this outfit okay?”

I looked her up and down, taking into account her white blouse popping out from under her pink sweater. Her jeans looked nice enough and her pink ballet flats matched her sweater, “A necklace, maybe?”

She nodded and placed a long gold necklace over her head and let it hang down near her chest.

“Yep.” I approved, opening an editing software. I inserted the picture of Clark Kent and merged it with the magazine name, GOTHAM GIRL. Nice play of words, if I said so myself. Sounded like that show Ren used to watch when we first moved in together with none other than Jaime Reyes. What was it called? Gossip Girl? I was never one to watch girly shows, but Ren would just sit and watch while sipping some coffee. Jaime would just roll his eyes and run off to god knows where. It was mostly just Ren and I. She cooked dinner. She cleaned. She baked. I paid for rent and helped her with her projects. Jaime bought groceries, took out the trash, and got the mail. That was pretty much how we all worked together. I picked out a pink font that matched the title and typed, “Superman of Media - Clark Kent”. I moved the text box beside Clark and asked Ren for the highlights of the magazine. With each headline I added a different style of text to fill up the empty white space and inserted small designs to keep it fresh. Is Bruce Wayne Getting Bruce Laid? Is Your Boyfriend a Cheater? Gotham Got ‘Em - How Star City Turned into Subpar City. The Girl of Dreams, Stardust. No Shade, No Shame - How to Stay Loyal.

“This is amazing, Dick.” She looked at me with a sympathetic smile, “Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“You would manage. It would’ve taken you two hours instead of thirty minutes, though.” I smirked, printing out the new cover. I stood up and walked over to the printer, handing her the sheet, “For you.” She accepted it into her hands and slipped it into a protective sheet before placing it into her folder.

“What did I do to deserve you, Dick Grayson?” She smiled, opening her door and walking out and into the kitchen.

“You cook for me.” I stated, sitting at the counter and watching her open the refrigerator.

She turned around with eggs, milk, blueberries, and other stuff I didn’t recognize, “I guess it’s true. Food is the way to a boy’s heart. Will Jaime be joining us this morning?” She asked, before pressing buttons to preheat the oven.

“No. Not today.” I replied, remembering he was out on a mission in Bialya. Ren wouldn’t know that. So I covered for him, “He’s on vacation.”

“Oh.” She replied, slightly hurt, “He didn’t tell me. I guess I’ll go get groceries when I get home from work.” She sighed, trying to hide her emotions. I guess she relied on Jaime more than I thought.

I smiled softly before standing up and stirring the batter she whipped together seconds ago, “No worries. I’ll get groceries today.” She smiled and walked to the bathroom, surely to finish getting ready.

“Thanks.” She said softly, playing some music to fill in the silence.

I sighed and mumbled under my breath, “Anything for you.”

She whipped around with furrowed eyebrows, “Did you say something?”

I looked up at her slender body with a face of fake confusion, “No. Why?”

“Nothing.” She looked down for a slight second, uncertainty still present on her face. She continued on her way to the bathroom as I started filling the muffin pan with the batter. I waited for the oven to ding and I placed the tray on the shelf before closing the door. I set the timer to 17 minutes under her instruction and walked into the bathroom, finding myself watching Ren do her makeup. She didn’t seem to notice me standing behind her, but once her eyes met mine she jumped up in fear, “I didn’t notice you standing there.” She laughed nervously, “Did you need to use the bathroom?”

“No. I was just watching you do stuff to your eyelashes.” I pointed to the contraption she placed on the counter.

She laughed and pointed to the silver device before telling me sit on the counter. I did as told and relaxed as her fingers grazed my face. I flinched when she brought it close to my eyes but gave in when she tilted my chin down, “This is an eyelash curler. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt.” She bit her lip, and my eyes widened when she began squeezing the device. I began to pull back but she stopped me by giving me a firm look, “It will hurt if you pull.” She released the handle and removed the device out of my line of sight before smiling. She pointed to the mirror behind me and I turned around, taking notice of my eyelashes. They seemed to move up and not out.

“How…” I started, turning to look at her.

She placed her finger on my lips, shushing me, “Don’t question it, Grayson. It’s a gift. Speaking of which, it’s almost your birthday! What do you want?”

“To spend time with my friends and family.” I smiled slightly. Ren punched my side and I winced, watching her eyes turn from playful to worry.

“Are you hurt? What happened?” She asked, searching me for any further damage.

I looked down at her in all seriousness, “It’s nothing, really. I just got a little roughed up the other day.” Roughed up by the Penguin.

“Well if it’s little then you’ll let me see it.” Ren sighed, grabbing onto my shirt, beginning to pull it up.

I quickly pushed her hand away, knowing she’ll freak once she sees it, “It’s fine.” I scolded, giving her my most reassuring look.

She poked my side once more and rolled her eyes when I sucked in a sharp breath, “It’s not fine, Richard. Let me help you.”

“I don’t need help.” I replied coolly.

She gave me a glare, rendering me motionless and she pulled up my shirt, her eyes widening, “Dick… this is not fine.” I glanced down at the open gash down my side and sighed. I should’ve told Batman - but I was told not to investigate. And I investigated.

She took my shirt off fully and reached up into the cabinet, pulling out a first aid kit, “What are you doing?” I asked, grabbing her hand for comfort.

“Cleaning then stitching.” She replied, softly, shoving a rag in my mouth, “It’s going to hurt.” She wet another rag with wound disinfectant and pressed it to my side, frowning at my disturbed face. Better get myself turbed. I shifted softly and regained my defiant composure. She stitched me up bandaged my side before staring into my eyes. “Who did this to you?” She asked as I pulled on my shirt.

I couldn’t tell her the truth. So I did something I swore I would never do to her. I lied. “Just a couple of guys on the streets who wanted some money. Don’t worry about it.”

She looked me straight in the face, “Come on, Dick. Is there something you want to tell me?”

I kept my composure, “No.”

“I know who you are. I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out, Nightwing.” She replied, letting her hair down. I watched as the bombshell curls cascaded down her face and as she removed the glasses that hid some of her most defining features. I should have known before. I should’ve seen it. But I become so blind when it comes to her.

“Stardust.” I whispered, stepping forward and pushing her hair behind her ear. “But you never seem to be hurt…” I trailed, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“You boys don’t expect a girl to fight well. They go easy on me, thinking I can’t handle it. That’s their mistake. Boys usually stick to what’s comfortable. You with your sticks or whatever. Everyone else with guns and weapons wielded from afar. They’re afraid to get close and they’re afraid to be bad at new things. So they stay with what they know, leaving them with only one strong attribute. Us women are well-rounded. We’re used to being seen as defenseless. We’re used to being seen as ones who cannot do as well as men. So we train ourselves to be better. It’s a gift and it’s a curse. It’s a blessing in that we women have an element of surprise, but it’s upsetting to know that we have to prove ourselves to be worthy of your standards. I am a woman, Dick Grayson. I was taught how to hide by you savages. I can cover my tracks. I can conceal my pain.” She smirked, “I can follow by your rules. Or at least, you think I succumb to your words. I am strong, I am beautiful, I am intelligent, and I am courageous. Those are four traits every woman is born with… and they make us dangerous.”

I nodded softly, “You’re a good detective.”

“It doesn’t take a detective to figure out who you are. It takes a friend.” She corrected, walking to her room. She changed out of her bloody clothes, courtesy of my stitches and walked out of her bedroom with a solid blue crop top that hugged her figure and a floral, satin blue midi-skirt that was the exact same shade. Her blue heels were a solid royal blue that matched her tank and she looked at me with a sense of content, “I am your friend, Grayson. I used to think that I was your best friend, but best friends tell each other when they’re hurt and when they’re in trouble. I understand why you didn’t tell me you’re Nightwing. I didn’t tell you I was Stardust. But I would at least expect you to tell me when you’ve been hurt. Especially of this severity.”

She pushed up her glasses and combed her hair down with her fingers when I spoke, “I’m sorry.”

“You shouldn’t be sorry, Richard. They were your choices, and you have to live by them. You should know that, of all people.” She hesitated as her hand laid on the apartment door handle, “I thought…”

The silence became deafening, “What?”

She sighed before running a hand through her perfect hair, “I love you, Richard. And I thought you loved me too. I thought…” She trailed, seconds before she spoke again, “I care for you, Richard. I just assumed you cared for me as well. I thought you cared for me and my safety. And I thought you cared for yourself and your safety. Apparently, this is only a one way street where I thought it was two.”

“I love you. So goddamn much.” I blurted out, my emotions laced with each word. Ren looked up at me in disbelief, “Yes, I love you. And I care for you. I believed that keeping these things from you would keep you safe and happy but I was wrong. I’m not afraid to admit my mistakes, Ren. I love you, okay?”

“Okay. I’ll see you later.” She whispered, not accepting my words as the truth. She grabbed her silver purse and opened the door, about to step out. I had to make her believe. I had to let her know. I ran forward before she could leave and I grabbed her hand in mine, yanking her towards me. I pressed my lips against hers before she could comprehend and felt her eventually ease into the action.

“Hey, Grayson.” The door flew open. I pulled away and saw Damian walking in with sunglasses, a black shirt with blue jeans and his regular red converses, “Hey, Star.”

“Hey, buddy!” Ren grinned, running over and wrapping Damian in a hug. Wait… Damian knew when I didn’t? He laughed softly - something Damian never did and hugged her back. “I have to get to work. You want to come with me again?” She asked, raising an eyebrow and nudging his shoulder. Damian nodded and pulled a muffin out of the pan Ren took out earlier. He scoffed it down and looked at me in all seriousness.

“Clown face is calling for all seven of our heads. Yours, Ren’s, Barbara’s, Dad’s, Idiot Number One’s, Idiot Number Two’s, and mine.” Damian stated, grabbing the whole pan and picking up his bookbag.

Ren laughed, “Oh god. That’s cute. He can barely take Batman on his own - what makes him think he can take all seven? At the same time, no less.”

I grabbed my laptop and opened the front door, pressing the button to the elevator and stepping in with the other two. Damian tapped his foot impatiently and Ren tapped away on her phone, probably to her boss. I looked towards the two, “I don’t know what he’s up to, but it’s something we’ve never faced before. He has something up his sleeves and - ” The elevator door opened and an elderly woman stepped in, her face shielded by a hat. We all stood in silence, except Ren.

“Yes.” Pause. “Yes, I have it.” Another pause. “I understand. Yes, he will be coming with me today.” She laughed softly, “Got it.” Her eyes widened and she instantly pulled a notepad and a pen out of her bag and began writing, “Okay. Cesar Salad, dressing on the side. No tomatoes. Croutons, five exactly.” Pause. “Yes, of course. The raspberry iced tea with the cylindrical ice in a separate cup. And the usual for breakfast?” Pause. “Caramel Macchiato, no foam, coconut milk with a splash of soy instead of low-fat, and a dash of cinnamon. Plus a warm apple cinnamon muffin from Jackie’s. Is that all?” There was a long pause before the elevator opened again to reveal the lobby, “Six PM at Kergesin’s for two on the terrace.” She smiled and relaxed a bit before continuing, “No. That is not a problem - at all. I’ll make it happen.” She hung up the phone and took a deep breath. The old lady seemed traumatized. Hell, even I was traumatized. Damian just walked with a smirk, eating another muffin before throwing the muffin pan in the back seat of Alfred’s car. I climbed in the front seat and smiled as Ren and Damian walked down the street quickly, making it seem easy to weave through the city goers. What did Batman need this time?

Ren’s POV

“Yeah, and then he kissed me.” I said, exasperated.

Damian smirked, “He’s gross, sometimes.”

I rolled my eyes, “I mean it wasn’t gross. It was nice. It was just unexpected. Did Tim or Jason hurt you this morning?” I asked, checking for any sign of damage, “I’ll beat them up for you.” I smiled, pulling open the door to Jackie’s. I walked up to the counter and smiled at the familiar waiter.

The day went by slowly, but this morning’s encounter with Dick made things ten times better, and having Damian help me out through the day was a blessing. Overall, today was the best so far.

Stardust, out

#not x reader #submission #ILY CELINA #THESE ARE REAL TEARS #I SCREECHED AND WOKE UP MY BROTHER #Y'ALL ARE SO SWEET #dick Grayson #dick Grayson imagine #I JUST #WHAT EVEN #THIS IS BEAUTIFUL #ILY MY BELOVED DAUGHTER

[reginasrandomthoughts]

First reaction after watching Justice League

Incoherent ramblings about how great the film was. It is long and it includes spoilers. 

So I just came out of Justice League and HOLY FUCKING COW! It was everything I hoped and dreamed of. I went in there to see Superman come back, be Superman and kick ass and I got that and so much more.

There were just so many cool moments! Like the horseback stunts of the Amazons at the beginning (and yes, the bikini armor is horrendous, idk whose idea was it but that costume designer should be BANNED from future female superhero projects).

Everything with Aquaman that happened in that village was cool especially the whole drink and look pretty strut into the spray of water. His relationship to the ocean (and all water in general) is awesome and I wanna see more of that in Aquaman. I feel really good about that movie now. I also adored the scene where he takes down the parademon through the building? Yea it was in the trailer but it was so much cooler in context. Also I adored the first time he saw Bruce in costume. I also thought that the lasso of truth scene was funny? Yea it is a bit problematic but I see it as a character study of the person Arthur is now, at the beginning of his hero's journey.

I liked the scene with Mera? Yea it was not the best, but I like the potential it has and I trust James Wan to take it to an interesting place.

I adored Diana. I liked how she saved everyone, I loved how she fought Steppenwolf, I loved her fist fight sequence and how she was just fast enough to dodge all those bullets, adored how she could relate to Cyborg, and also all of her badass moments. Like when she sliced through Steppenwolf's axe? It was a great callback to him taunting her with his axe being soaked in the blood of her sisters. I loved how she stepped up to lead when Batman decided to be a bloody idiot and I especially adored it when she smashed her shield with her bracelets instead of merely smashing them together. And how she, unlike Bruce actually noticed that Cyborg was spying on them. I loved how she downplayed how dangerous she can be simply because she did not want to hurt anyone (yet) so there was no need to show it off? At the same time I also liked that since she went into that self-prescribed exile she was still unsure of the full extent of her powers so she relied more on her Amazon training then on those (this is also an explanation to why her fight with Supes was so unbalanced, well, in addition to how she didn’t actually want to hurt him (like she could as she was at the moment)). I am sorry Diana, you are my second favourite, but Superman is first.  Also, every time she uses her lasso is so cool? My fav of that has to be the one during the ending when she ties up robbers with it to make them confess everything. And she went up to talk with the children! She is awesome and I will probably rave about her some more later on.

Also the bit about her getting so angry about Bruce’s taunts about Steve that she just shoved him was great. I am so happy that Diana was allowed to get angry in this film and was not just there to smile prettily. But it was nice to see that too of course. To see her come back after her self imposed isolation while she mourned Steve. 

Next is, because yes he is the main attraction and I just can't hold it in any more, SUPERMAN! Yes! This and some more please! I loved how he just smacked the JL around, his comment to Bruce about Bruce not letting him neither live nor die, I loved his scene with Lois when she ran ap to him (whoever put in the line about Supes smelling ood should be crucified by the way) and I loved how he saved the JL's asses during the big finale. I loved how he just carried the whole house??? And how he froze the axe? And that he had a race with Barry?? And his smile when the children interviewed him? The only thing that bothered me was how he came back in with the line to WW "is he still bothering you?" bc it was such a jock boyfriend line?? (Yea, there are some questionable line choices in this film). Also, how he helped Cyborg pull the motherbox apart and they shared a laugh after it? Superman laughs in this one and it looks so good in him like it was just meant to be (because it was). Loved it.

And now onto Bruce. He has such a crush on both Diana and Clark??? I love it but I am not quite sure if that is what they were going for here. But that look on his face when Superman joins in on the final showdown? Also he is like a really decent mentor for Barry, like he makes sure to get him out of trouble and he has faith in him being able to step up to being a hero? Never knocks him for being inexperienced and not knowing how to fight. And you can bet your ass that the recommendation came from him. He also seems to have found his dormant sense of humour? His repeat joke about Aquaman being able to talk with fish is great. Like at first I thought that he was trying to insult him but he really believed that he can? But he also still has his asshollery on esp. in that scene with Diana where he talks about Steve (he compares Diana loosing Steve to him loosing Superman, this ship sails itself, at least from his side). His suicide plan was... Meh. It really feels like he is just tired and just started believing again and feels like the only thing he has left to give is creating the League and giving his life??

And on that note, he was ready to die in the fight against Superman as well. Which is wow. I liked how they brought back the "do you bleed" line and put a twist on it. I liked how after the battle Bruce was like, yea something is definitely bleeding. I know that some people don't think that Batman should be jokey, but I think that you kinda need to be able to joke to be able to cope with this shit for as long as he did. 20 fucking years! Holy cow.) 

And now that I circled back to that fight for a bit, let me just say how cool I think it was that the whole thing started bc the power of the motherbox that created Cyborg recognized the threat that Superman posed? Loved it. The coolest part definitely was when Superman fought Barry in the .... speedforce-y thingy? (I know it was not INSIDE the speedforce, but how the hell do I describe that slow-mo-y, time stoppy thingy that illustrate Barry’s powers? Speedforce-y thingy it is)

Now back to Bruce. I love how he apologized (or at least tried to) to Diana for what he said about Steve and for poking at that wound. I love how he offered Diana that after that she can .... pretty much be Batwoman if she wants to be. Me thinks someone is rushing a bit ahead.  

I also adored Bruce’s comment of “now she’s glad” when Diana said that she too is happy that Superman could be there for the fight. Yea, those two had a really good argument about whether they should bring him back or not. 

Also, Lois being the “big guns” when it came to stopping Superman was just great. IDK how much time passed between Supes dying and coming back but I totally believe that Lois just didn’t care about reporting while she was mourning. To me their relationship is just... Like two people who are destined to be together and love each other a LOT but are still so new that they don’t have this “old married couple” level of comfort near each other. It is equal parts fascinating and awkward to watch mostly because I cannot decide if it is intentional or not. I felt that the writing was at its most awkward there. 

Also, let’s just talk a bit about that Lois being “thirsty” joke at the beginning. What the fuck is even up with that??? Clark, were you telling your Mum about your sex life or what??? I honestly don’t know how I feel about that even though I know that I should definitely swing towards “it’s bad and degrading”. Like there are only two possible explanations for that: Martha Kent is only pretending to like Lois or Clark was talking about stuff he was not supposed to with his Mum. Also maybe the “you smell good” line was meant to be a call back for that??? IDK, it did not fit. But the most awkward thing was how Lois switched from Clark trying to describe his death to how she has let him down. I am kinda inbetween, oh she just doesn’t want to remember that he ever died and oh, she wants to make it about her??? But to be honest, how do you talk with someone who just came back from the dead??? I would probably end up apologizing for “letting them down” with how I lived while they were gone as well. As I mentioned, this relationship has some growing pains. It will get there (or at least I hope so)

And now before I move onto the last two members of the League let me just say this last (hopefully) bit about Superman: I LOVED his red cape. It popped so well, and it looked so good?? I also adored the part where he changed into his Superman outfit at the end like with the iconic pulling the shirt open? I was kinda hoping that he was walking towards a phone booth but I guess not. Still was great. He is great.  Also also, it was great to see how when he returned to being him how different he was with Barry and how he joked calling him slowpoke and all (which, let’s be honest, he probably was bc for Superman to be able to catch up to the Flash when they went for the civilians, yea Barry is definitely still not used to his speed and therefore cannot reach max speeds yet). I loved how he teased him in their mid-credits race. Well, before it really, we didn’t get to see the race itself. Shame.

Now onto Barry. He was really played as socially awkward kid who dedicated so much of his time to trying to get his dad out of prison that he just forgot to live and never really was socialized well? I liked it. I saw some people comment on the weird way he runs, and yea it is weird, but I think it is part of the fact that he is still inexperienced with his powers. I felt like he was trying to mimic at parts how athletes run but failed miserably? I am sure it will get better now that his life will include some actual running (I don’t think he was doing much of that before)

He was getting a really nice mini-hero’s journey in the film, like the first person he ever saved was shown here, how he realized that now he can actually save people and just got the hang of it instantly. He got into his first fight here, which I would count as Superman, because with the parademons he wasn’t really in the fight, he just helped WW reach her sword. (but correct me if I am wrong). And that showed bc he just kept dodging and side stepping when he fought Superman and even with the parademons he tripped? So yea, definitely inexperienced but on the right track. 

And his powers look so cool? I just love how the blue lightning just lit up everything when he was using it? And when he triggered the motherbox it was so cool. I also feel like that all these super fast people just gave Snyder a really good excuse to use his slow-mo effects. It didn’t bother me, as a matter of fact I loved it whenever they just twirled the camera around these mostly frozen images. 

Now, the last member of the league I haven’t talked about yet is Cyborg and I was a bit worried. The design didn’t win me over in the first place, he looked really serious, unlike in the Teen Titans cartoon, and I was not sure if I will like it. But I did because he faced with the dilemma of becoming more and more robotic and not really knowing at first how to retain his humanity and I am really happy that Diana helped him come out of that bubble he put up around himself bc that might have just saved him. Also, how he and Barry kinda became buds by the end? I really liked the graverobbing scene as well. 

Now as for the other awesome stuff with Cyborg... I loved how he evolved at this rapid pace where new and new abilities manifested each day as he was being transformed. I liked how he got surprised by them when something new popped up. But the best part definitely was the hacking. Still, I think his best scene was with his father when he said something alongside the lines of how funny it is that his father thought that when he said that the people in the lab are not yet ready to see the monster his father thought he was referring to himself. That was a powerful scene. 

What awesomeness I still need to throw in here is Alfred. He is so sassy and so done with Bruce being single. I loved how he told Bruce when B said maybe Alfred could have called up Diana to ask if she wants to join the team that “ yea, I could have flown to Paris with a piece of paper saying ‘do you want to be my teammate? check yes or no’” savage. He is so bitter over B being single, like how usually mothers are portrayed when they really want to have grandchildren already?? I loved it. 

What else I also loved was how finally there were colours that popped? I already mentioned Superman’s cape, but his costume was brighter and bluer as well, Flash’s red costume really popped as well, Diana got a red cape as well in one scene and the lasso really emitted a bright light as well. Also, some scenes like the final battle where Diana cuts the axe and the air is full with these snowflake like particles are breathtakingly beautiful. Some others... yea, those flowers were really obviously CG. 

There was also this small cameo of a Green Lantern which got me excited that maybe we will have a Green Lantern (I am hoping for either John Stewart or Jessica Cruz, pretty please)  And in the end credits we see that Jesse Eisenberg’s Luthor is on the loose again, which I love bc I liked his Luthor in BvS (yes I know that it is not accurate to comic books but screw it, it worked for me. 

Now as for the stuff that might have bothered other people but barely if even registered with me: the jokes. yea, some were weak or I am not even sure if they were jokes (like Flash falling on Diana is like... was that a joke or just a portrayal of how clumsy Flash is still with his powers, his social awkwardness and his hero-crush all mashed together??? IDK). But overall, I liked them. I liked that I had moments of levity where I could laugh and have FUN. Because we still had the dramatic moments as well (and yes, they were better dramatic moments than anything Thor Ragnarök had. You wanna see too many jokes killing the drama? watch that.) 

The digitally removed mustache. I did not notice it all that much?? Like there were some moments where I was like... are you sure your face is supposed to look like that? But none of those moments pulled me out of the film. Diana’s clothing was like that as well. I heard some people say that she was wearing more revealing clothing now as Diana but I was not really watching for that so I really can’t tell if it is true. What I can tell, and what bothered me is that there is a scene where her skirt as WW flies up and you can see the bottom curve of her ass really clearly and.... That bit should have been taken out and they should have done a retake. There is something like good taste people. 

Steppenwolf being a kinda weak villain was like that as well. Him talking to the motherbox and calling it Mother was weird but in the good way. Made me just say, okay so this guy really is crazy. Also, he was kinda a two dimensional villain whose main goal was: amass power to become a new god (I guess) and really I was happy that we spent the time on the heroes instead of him. Evil guy tries to destroy the whole world. Got it. I don’t need more. Not from this film yet. (though now that I think about it... evil alien invasion lead buy a guy with a horned helmet that wants everyone to bow before him and has a cube... I think I saw this one before. Still works though). 

I LOVED the implication that he won’t be able to fight how his parademons in the end and that they will eat him alive. See, if I would have cared for him I would have felt bad about him or at least him being kinda permanently written out but this way? Bone appetite, parademons. 

I bet I could say even more, though this post is already definitely long and incoherent enough, so i will just leave with this: I ADORED this film, it will probably will be the first film I will pay to see in theatre twice. IDK what repeat viewing will do to the film but so long as I have Superman to look forward to I will be fine.  Overall, IDK if it is a better film than Thor:Ragnarök or not, but I definitely enjoyed and maybe even liked it better. I left the theathre feeling better after this film than I did after Thor Ragnarök, a film I will talk about as well. 

#unfiltered jibberish #Regina thinks out typed #justice league hype #justice league spoilers #justice league positivity

[firebunnylover]

Hannah Watches LOSH - Man of Tomorrow

This is my start on what will be a one episode-per-post re-watch and review/analysis of Legion of Superheroes. I am going to go through all the episodes of both seasons, and when I finish the show, I will also go into the comics afterward. I will try to aim for once a week at minimum, but that depends on school. The reviews will be made while I’m watching, with much pausing and commentary being made and screenshots being shown, and a final word at the end on both the episode overall and the characters.

I will also be comparing my view when I first saw the episode vs now. Also please keep in mind I did not start with the first episode when it aired. And these will all have my opinion alone, and if you have any feedback/comments you want to give, go ahead ^^

So, let’s start of with the first episode.

Man of Tomorrow

So we first get the preview of the Legion fighting the Fatal Five before cutting to Clark Kent during his last night in Smallville before going to Metropolis.

Watching this again, it struck me that Clark probably didn’t get the best support from his parents on the super power part.

What do I mean? Ma Kent said “Just please be careful. Remember Clark, your not like the rest of us.” Which he replies with “I know.” Now in the animated show most people are familiar with, the superpowers came into being around high school. But his parents seemed to have handled it rather well, as does Clark in the end, and he is given a device that has a message from his birth parents to give him an explanation. But here that’s not the case. I think it’s more likely that the parents were less ready to deal with superpowers, and god, given Clark didn’t know squat about Krypton as evident in the comics that tied into the show – will go into that eventually, who knows how well Clark was dealing with the powers when they first came up. Probably much worse than in the Superman animated series.

Speaking of parents, noticed that Pa was not in the episode. Where is he? Is he dead in this version? Ho geeze, adds to the stress the poor guy must be under.

And then we get our time bubble trio aka TBT: Brainiac 5, Saturn Girl, and Bouncing Boy. I wonder what the decision process was behind them. Which will be discussed in a bit.

Cutting back to the fair, we get more evidence of Clark not dealing the best way with his powers after a Jock taunts him and his physical abilities. He is getting ready to toss the ball, recalls Ma’s words. And god, the facial expressions now have the ability to pick apart my heart now.

Just. Ow.

And then comes the trope-tastic faulty Ferris wheel. I bet Grunkle Stan branched out to this fair.

And then we get back to the TBT. What do you mean food on a stick is not normal?! WHAT DO YOU DO FOR POPCICLES?! COTTON CANDY?! CANDY APPLES?!

Wait, how did he get that food? Was it samples? Or did the trio steal it?

I couldn’t help but snicker at Brainy’s and Saturn Girl’s expression at Bouncing Boy. Imma have to go with “stealing”

Also, what performance would the TBT be part of? I mean, I understand cosplay at a convention, but they look a little off the mark at the fair for me. But I would totally pay money to see that performance.

And it happens.

The beginning of what was one of the many triggers in many for shipping a gay ship.

When I first watched this show, I was in elementary. I was having some curiosity towards gay ships – I was in a very heavy weeabo state, and especially into CLAMP’s manga, which is filled with LGBT characters. I was also going through a bit of a religious phase, and my parents aren’t the most accepting people, especially back then. So I was scared by possibly shipping anything that wasn’t deemed right. I wouldn’t go bashing in public, but I wouldn’t confide with others. I wouldn’t really support the LGBT community until high school.

But now, I can fully appreciate the show and what it tried to do. The storyboards probably have more representation for the LGBT community by far, but still, I will take what I can get with this show… THAT’S A LIE I WANT THOSE STORYBOARDS.

Gotta appreciate the dramatic music that comes with the scene as well.

Look at those two concerned guardians.

Now back to Clark.

Given my earlier talk with him and his powers… THIS BOY MUST HAVE HAD A HEART ATTACK WHEN BOUNCING BOY SPOKE TO HIM. HE WAS CAUGHT. YET HE GOES “EVERYTHING IS FINE HERE,” AND PROCEEDS TO SWOOP IN WHEN THE THING STARTS TO FALL APART. KUDOS TO MY BOY IN HOLDING HIMSELF TOGETHER.

GRUNKLE STAN YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING ON THE STATE OF THAT FERRIS WHEEL.

Saturn Girl, I don’t think now is the time for intros.

Pfft, BB is confused by this as well, to the point where his animation is a wee bit off.

And then he proceeds to walk behind Clark and… what’s the best word for this…

 WHAT A PRECIOUS FACE THAT FOLLOWS THAT SILLY BOING NOISE. AND THE WAY HE SAYS “help?” AFTERWARDS IS SO CUTE. EXPRESSIONS IN THIS EPISODE ARE SO GOOD.

I never realized how big Bouncing Boy could get.

Clark starts to nope out, and Saturn Girl said she did the same thing when she saw Bouncing Boy to do that as well.

And cue more internal panicking for Clark.

So, did Saturn Girl like did the whole fair a mind wipe, or just the guys who were witnesses?

More gayness, both sides.

And Clark has a gay panic.

Which will eventually turn into “I’m not Straight” in the future. I’ve been through that phase my boy.

Saturn Girl looks like a mom here, telling the kids to stop flirting atm.

Oh man, Clark asking them not to tell anyone about the super power thing. What a heart breaker.

“It’s okay. We know all about you.”

Wow, great conversation starter B5, totally not sounding like a stalker.

BRAINY WHY DID YOU CUT OFF BOUNCY?! JEALOUSY?! LOOK AT THESE GOSHDARN EXPRESSIONS.

Good job B5, weirded out your crush.

At least Saturn Girl knows saying “Coming to the future” sounds crazy.

“Clark!”

“Wait!”

Oof. My heart at his voice.

And Cool Mom has to step in.

He looks like a kicked dog at this frame.

Let us appreciate how immediately when Saturn Girl says “Let’s just give him some time,” the episodes is edited so that they show up in the kitchen at his house.

So Saturn Girl has a coffee mug, Bouncing Boy has pie, and nothing for the green child. Oh, and embarrassment for Clark.

Well, okay, B5 kinda looks like an angry kid who’s upset their BF is an hour late to the date.

And the introduction the do at the home seems to be much smoother at the fair. Think they did rehearsals waiting for Clark to get home? Did they switch out constantly? And how far did B5 take his crush with the rehearsals?

But Clark defiantly has a lot of self-doubt at the idea of him being a super hero. He uses his powers for good, but he definitely lacks the confidence that he’s good enough for it. He laughs it off at first, then seems a little angry and scared at how much they knew about his powers. Reminds me now of Yuuri Katsuri. And given how little confidence I have had in the last few years about myself, I can further appreciate him now than what I did back then.

Clark was very tempted in coming at “Come with us and you won’t have to hide them anymore.” It’s like getting a safe place to come out, finally, after years of being told that it’s safer to hide himself. Further more appreciative with time for me.

Wow, B5 looks so demanding here.

(Where did they keep that time bubble tho?? It just appeared out of nowhere?)

I kinda laughed at the part where Ma goes “Take a sweater!” then comes down stairs, confused at what he said. “Future?”

I like the atmosphere of New Metropolis in this show. Good use of complementary colors in this shot.

AND THANK ****ING GOD LOOK AT TRIPLICATE GIRL IN HD HER SKIN IS DARKER

I CRY BLOOD AT THE FACT THAT THE FACT SHE WAS SUPPOSE TO BE MUCH DARKER AND THEN SHE CAME OUT SO PALE IN SD QUALITY THANK GOD FOR HD

Granted the concept art of her gave her darker skin but SHE’S SO BEAUTIFUL WITH DARK SKIN

And here we have Queen Sinnamon Roll and Lighting Trash Baby, who PG proceeds to sass out with an eye roll and reality, and then has Trips back her up. Positive female friendships, that’s an instant gold star.

What a jealous baby, getting phased through and shoved aside. Thinking back to the jock we saw earlier, I find it interesting that Lightning Lad was made to fit that image on the first episode. Interesting move. Perhaps it was to show the character development as we went along?

The girls look so disappointed that the skinny Superman came out instead of some muscular guy. Personally, I prefer the skinny Superman design. Muscular guys just don’t seem as attractive to me as often. Might have something to do with that I find myself attracted to girls more often. But I love all girls, and buff girls are on the list of those I am weak for, so I’m just further confused. Maybe I just need another 10 years to figure this one out.

And when Lightning Lad proceeds to poke fun at B5 and Clark…

Brainy looks like a cat who is planning his demise. I had cats for a little over ten years. I know this look. Brainy is giving him the look that says he will murder him in his sleep. Painfully.

And then Lightning Lad proceeds to be a jerk, doing the last thing Clark needs: degrading him on his powers. After everything I talked about earlier, this hurts me in the hard. Trash Baby will be sent to the garbage pit as required.

We cut to the Superman museum, where Saturn Girl brings Clark to speed what’s going on, explaining who the Fatal Five are.

While watching this episode, I realized how much emotional support and guidance Saturn Girl provided for those in need – particularly B5 and Clark in this one. And she doesn’t seem to need to read their minds to figure out what they are feeling. So really, that is really thought provoking. Maybe she studied psychology or hosts therapy groups. In any case, it makes her far more interesting as a person.

I’m kind of interested to see what the military forces were like in this show’s universe, given that they were deemed not available for help against the Fatal Five. How restricted are they? Is there restrictions based on international laws? And as for the Science Police… well, I’m going to discuss that in a future episode.

Okay so tallying up the other legionnaires who were mentioned when the code red was sent out. Shrinking Violet was undercover, Colossal Boy is on Rawl (did I spell that right?), while Cosmic Boy, the leader, is at the outpost, where it is commented he won’t make it on time. Good god, they were spread thin. Just how much shit is going on elsewhere?! Just leave less than ten people at the HQ where one of the biggest problems will find them. NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL.

So the Fatal Five show up, and at least the police try to do something, but still get their asses kicked. A for effort.

And what does Clark do when confronted with his first Comic Villain fight? At first he seems like he’s running away. Leaving the Legion to get their butts kicked. But instead he’s getting the costume, and tries to fly. He’s taking a step forward to define himself as someone who can help. He’s becoming Superman.

But how did that costume just suddenly adjust to the tinier frame? Krypton Science?

And what about his hair? It changed too! It just popped out that signature curl!

Regarding the fight, there are several things I noticed: Triplicate Girl can be forcibly merged back into one singular being, and all three of her can carry Persuader and PG with the ax. Validus chased Bouncing Boy like a dog, which was kind of funny. Lightning Lad abandons his original opponent during fight to go help his teammates, and manages to resist for a while. And then he gave Superman tips in fighting. Saturn Girl is the first to break out of the control, and uses her powers to free the others. B5 has strong robot muscles (what’s the mechanical equivalent?)

Also, I think I should thank this episode for giving the idea of the ax for a weapon in the SU AU i work with, since she got to hold it several times in the episode.

Now regarding the villains, honestly the only one who I find of any interest is Emerald Empress. She was just so causal to Superman when she sees him in costume, and sounded disappointed at the small number of the people who came to confront her team, which gives her some character. Also, I heard somewhere that she is a lesbian. If anyone has a source that can confirm, I would appreciate it so much, cuz I need more queer ladies in my life.

Post fight, Lighting Lad says he knew Superman could do it, only to get the look from everyone. Karma much?

And we see sad Brainy when he says Superman has to go home.

But then Superman is the one who proposes he stays.

And as one last boot to the episode, Superman steals what Lightning Lad’s spot during flight with Brainy’s help. Continuing Karma on the trash baby.

So final thoughts on the episode overall.

It’s a good start the first season, definitely. But I feel there could be better execution. Like the first bit can get people to think that the fight happened before the Legion went to fetch Superman. Like only some of them managed to get away from the Fatal Five, and realize they need help in rescuing the rest of the Legion. That would be more interesting for a first episode, to me anyway.

Villains could have used more development.

Maybe seeing a bit more of the life back at Smallville would have been nice as well.

And how did that decision for the Time Bubble Trio/TBT go? I know B5 probably demanded to go, justifying he was the one who built the device. And wanted to see Superman first. But why Saturn Girl and Bouncing Boy? Did they draw stick, or was it based on the idea that they are probably the most responsible of the group? TELL ME~

But given what we got, I love it. The members of the legion are fun to watch, and it’s a good take on the younger Superman, and the interpretation I got out of the episode was so much deeper than what I got when I was younger.

And kudos out to the staff in trying to squeeze that gay stuff in.

Characters in this episode:

I really like Superman/Clark’s personality here. I can relate to it now better than how I did when I was younger. And now the experience seems like a parallel to finding a safe place to come out. Gold. Star.

Brainiac 5 was nice to see, crushing on Superman. We discover more of him personality wise later on, but it’s so good to see the gay game getting on this early.

Saturn Girl – god I love how she’s so emotionally aware of others in parts of this episode. This girl is definitely someone I would talk to during a hard time.

Lightning Lad… thank god for later character development. He’s a lovable brat here, but needs that character development stat.

Bouncing Boy is a delight. Such goodness in a person. An early-version of Hunk from Voltron. Good emotional support as well.

Seeing the sass that just oozes from Phantom Girl is a joy. My beautiful daughter.

And Triplicate Girl… THANK GOD YOU ARE NOT AS PALE HERE IN HD AS YOU WERE IN SD. I feel that we could have seen more of her and PG, but I really love how they got along in the HQ before the TBT got back.

The villains. Not much to say other than what I said about Empress earlier and that they needed development overall. Sorry.

Well, that’s all for this episode! Hope this was a good read for you all! lemme know if i should put any under a Read More bar.

#losh #legion of superheroes #legion of super-heroes #dcau #superman #Hannah Watches LOSH