This is Wally talking, why don't you wait until either Fate or
Zatanna
are talking.
Life Ore Death - DC Feruchemy [Young Justice]
- Thread starter Obloquy
- Start date
- Crossover
This is Wally talking, why don't you wait until either Fate or
The Hereafter - part 5
Obloquy
CrossMyHeart And HopeToDie, StickANeedleInMyEye
- Location
- the Physical Realm
Life Ore Death
* November 7"Doctor Fate! Can you spare a moment?"
"Superman," the gold-clothed figure acknowledged, floating down to the forest floor once more. "What does the Last Son of Krypton seek from Fate?"
"It's about Zatanna." The eyes behind the Helmet – Zatanna's eyes – narrowed sharply. "Don't you-,"
"No. Fate will not have this conversation at this time."
"Doctor Fate," said Superman, a touch more tersely, clenching one fist, "you are holding a minor hostage against her will."
"Zatanna Zatara put on the Helmet of Fate under no external influence; it was her own free will and choice. She was aware of what the consequences would be. None of Fate's actions have been in opposition to her values," Dr. Fate stated simply.
"She isn't opposed to your continuing to hold her hostage?" Superman challenged. The glowing Ankhs floating above the soil faded.
"That is inaction, and prioritization, not action. She understood the benefits her sacrifice would bring. She is in company with Kent Nelson, and not alone or lonely, as I endured for five decades," Dr. Fate listed briskly. "Fate's actions to Preserve the lives of her friends were exactly as she desired. Fate's time since ensuring their survival have been to track the Witch Boy's movements in his set-up of the ritual, seeking to bring closure to his victims, identify any further assistants who were not present in the field, and learn of his… construct creation," Fate finished.
"…Can I be of assistance?" Superman offered slowly. "The faster you conclude-,"
"Make no mistake, Last Son of Krypton," Fate interrupted, turning to face him, "my patience in good faith is at an end, as the only one to have reciprocated the good faith I offered in trust now edges between life or death at this moment. Unless I am provided with a superior host, I have no intent of releasing this body, sad as the decision makes me. Fate cannot afford to offer any further kindness, not after what the Witch Boy achieved as Fate waited. Not after the sacrifices offered by my last host."
Superman narrowed his eyes. "You speak of doing this in Renka's name, as though she would ever approve of you holding her friend hostage. When Renka wakes up again, I have no doubt she will be horrified by your actions," the Man of Steel argued.
Fate laughed bitterly. "You are young, Last Son of Krypton, and you have led a privileged life. This makes you no less a good person, but for all your compassion you do not have the personal experience to truly hold empathy with those who have grievously suffered. It has only recently passed your first decade of service to the people of this world as Superman; you have such inherent might, and have been raised in a world of such blessed order and stability, that you have been spared many horrendous choices.
"The Sliver of Entropy in no way shares your illusions. She will be displeased and aggrieved, certainly, but Fate has been one with her, and she was Fate. I felt and shared her horror at what the Witch Boy had wrought, and her grief that he was left free to do so. If loss of her life or freedom would reliably prevent such a situation, she would offer them without hesitation, and she is wise enough to allow that others may feel this as well. She will be upset, yes, but she will understand the situation."
"You think she would understand-," Superman was cut off as Fate conjured an ankh, and with one savage gesture Fate tore a bundle from underground. It was wrapped in a rune-covered cloth, and his x-ray vision had not seen it. "What is that?"
"My argument to the contrary," Fate told him, and unwrapped the package. Superman recoiled, and it took much of his lifetime of experience in managing his anger with the teachings of his parents to suppress his desire to lash out blindly at this new injustice. "Her name was Camila," Fate continued softly. "Do not be fooled because the bones are stripped clean; it would have been… perhaps four days ago, that the Witch Boy took her. She lived with her mother, father, and two younger brothers in a town ten miles to the East-Southeast of here.
"The day of her death, she woke up, had her favorite breakfast, kissed her parents good-bye, boarded the school bus with her six-year-old brother, and went in to class. She read three pages of a child's book out loud, she made a few mistakes on a subtraction worksheet, and Klarion plucked her from the playground at lunch, only to kill her less than three hours later. Three long hours later. It was her eighth birthday; at the discovery of Camila's disappearance, her lunchbox at school still held the celebratory cupcake her mother had made as a treat."
Superman drifted to the left, under the cooler shade of a tree's branches, and leaned his weight against the trunk to stay steady as his head swam with a sick anger at the words. He clenched his eyes closed, to keep from seeing red or setting things afire.
"Why?" he finally forced out, knowing the 'how,' was magic, but that Dr. Fate would have- had to have a 'why' to explain-
"The Witch Boy {Wicked} murdered her for the sake of his ritual, both to spread the effect of his foul sorcery further across the world, and to act as a divider denoting the difference between adult and child, for when he split the world. You wish to aid Fate, Superman? Come along as Fate delivers Camila's remains to her family, and offer them what explanation and closure I can."
"…This isn't the first time you've had to do this. She's not the only one," he realized, his fingers squeezing a gouged out chunk of wood.
"As I said, Last Son of Krypton, it was her eighth birthday when she was lost. There are ten more remaining, up to the eighteenth birthday which served as Klarion's cut-off line. Perhaps this time, Superman, Fate need not be alone as her parents cry."
"…Yes, this is something… Yes," Superman trailed of, simply shaking his head as he mourned the innocent that had been taken.
They flew, rather than teleport; the free air and open sky stretched out wide before them.
Halfway there, Superman noticed something else.
"Your hand, is it- are you hurt? Is Zatanna hurt?" he asked worriedly.
Fate's left hand lifted up to be examined, and Fate's fingers splayed. Half of Zatanna's hand was laid bare, as though the golden glove had been cut or torn away, to leave her ring and pinkie fingers exposed.
"In the fight against Klarion, Fate reached out to the Silver City to counter the With Boy's ties to the infernal. There was no time to channel such power safely, and I suffered damage even though it also healed my host no small amount. Afterward, however, it became apparent to the Silver City that Fate's cause was just. There will be no lasting damage; an hour more will heal this."
"Ah. I didn't know you could be hurt like that. Directly, I mean, rather than through your host."
"It is difficult to accomplish," the Lord of Order agreed flatly, unwilling to say more.
____________________________________________________________________________
Superman heard them approaching easily, but he didn't know whether Dr. Fate detected anything, so he stayed quiet. They were in northeastern Angola, Fate working on reversing the desecration around a 14-year-old's remains as Superman stood by solemnly.
"Fate!" Zatara barked as he descended atop the disk of his levitation spell, with Batman beside him, and both closely followed by Wonder Woman. Zatara dropped down to the pair's sides, and grit his teeth as Fate took no notice.
"It'll just be a minute," Superman told him tiredly, "he's almost done with this part." Superman glanced at Zatanna's form beneath Fate's robes. "She's almost done. The spell is almost done," Superman compromised awkwardly. Zatara gave a slow, grudging nod, and settled down to wait.
Finally, the glowing ankh of Dr. Fate's anti-desecration spell faded, and the Lord of Order turned to his host's father.
"Giovanni Zatara," Dr. Fate observed. "In light of recent events, are there not better uses of your time and energy than this?"
"More important than my child?" the magician asked softly. "No, never. Great Nabu," he implored, his voice breaking slightly, "please release my daughter." Batman and Wonder Woman did not miss the way Superman's lips pressed into a thin line.
"No." Zatara was unsurprised, but the word still left him almost breathless. "Witness the havoc wrought in such few hours. Hours that would have stretched far longer were it not for the sense and sacrifice of our shared comrade, the Sliver of Entropy. This world needs Doctor Fate, to say nothing of the other realms where Fate has responsibilities to fulfill, and chaos remains unchecked."
"Lord Fate," Wonder Woman interjected politely, but firmly, "please remember that Zatanna Zatara is still a child, with her own life to live."
The Lord of Order remained unmoved by his JSA comrade's argument.
"Fate requires a host, and Zatanna Zatara's affinity for the mystic arts makes her the perfect candidate. She has been treated as and recognized as an adult, capable of independent action under risk to her own well-being, by her father and her government."
"The government still recognizes the girl as a minor," Batman countered, "living under her father's supervision. Zatara has the legal right and responsibility to grant or deny on her behalf his permission and consent to any life-altering decisions, such as selling her freedom to you. That is the order of our world, Doctor Fate. Your control of her body is a criminal act, the abduction of a minor."
"The Justice League of Earth, acting under the sanctioned charter of the highest unified mortal government on this sphere, saw fit to send Zatanna Zatara into mortal combat against adult criminals, alongside other legal minors. In doing so, you her father and your mortal laws both symbolically recognized her as an adult, and capable of undertaking an adult's duties."
The League's 'Big 3' shared a silent, assessing look.
"…Take me instead," Zatara finally offered. "My daughter will still need time for her abilities to grow, and her body is that of a child, no matter how she is recognized by mystic forces. My powers are already at their peak; my body is stronger, and better able to withstand-,"
"No." All four members of the Justice League were caught off-guard by the immediate, hard response. "All these arguments are true, but for the concerns of Order in the world, they argue that you are thus a less beneficial host than your daughter.
"The difference between what you achieve in the world as an autonomous force for good, and what your daughter would achieve… that gulf is greater than how much better a host you are over your daughter. More Order will be maintained in the world with her as my host, and you acting as you have."
Zatara bristled, and glared furiously. "My daughter is the greatest- the only concern in my life," he spat. "I will see her returned, Fate, even if it means I must give up my crime-fighting and devote all my time and energies to finding a way to free her. Release her!"
"If you would hold hostage the innocents you help against Fate's surrender, Giovanni Zatara, then you are less the man I thought you were. Nor," Dr. Fate continued ominously, "is such a man as that one I would desire as a host. Your daughter has the proper priorities."
"If you wish to convince me that my daughter desires this- this fate for herself, then have her remove the Helmet and tell me so!"
"She is not happy, no, but she expected this to occur, and has admitted it is a fair exchange for her friends' lives and her own. You have already stated your belief that she cannot make her own responsible choices. If I removed the Helmet, if Zatanna confirmed that she is willing to act as the hand of Fate, you still offer no guarantee that you would permit her to once again don it.
"Or do you not intend to remove the Helmet from her possession, 'for her own good,' so that she cannot don it again, and would not violate any oath she made Fate to do so?"
Zatara had not quite thought it through so far, though Batman and Wonder Woman both had. His shoulders fell.
"Fate," Wonder Woman said softly. The lack of honorific caught everyone's attention. "We can argue about the laws of men or gods all day, but if I have to choose between doing what is legal or what is right, I will choose to do the right thing every time. Your continued control of Zatanna is not right, and I am ashamed to see someone I fought beside has now fallen so low. If necessary, I am prepared to force the issue."
Her hand drifted ominously toward her waist, and the Lasso she'd hung there, but the Lord of Order called her bluff.
"You are responsible for your own actions and none other's, just as Fate is responsible for Fate. If any were to attack me, Fate will take every precaution to preserve the wellbeing of my host, but any harm you did to her would be on your head. Do not make empty threats, daughter of Gaia, for it does not suit you to hint at an untruth," Fate chided. Wonder Woman frowned.
"It is not an empty threat; I would not need to injure you to incapacitate you, and Artemis would no doubt support me as a protector of young women. Demeter, also, knows what it is like to have a daughter taken. Could you oppose either of them, if they acted?"
"Yes. You forget my age, young child; Fate has existed on Earth for twenty thousand years. I am elder to half the twelve, and Fate aided Olympus against Othrys in the Titanomachy. I am owed favors still; your gods would not help you to fight Fate, Diana."
"We shouldn't be speaking of fighting now; we all believe in doing the right thing and making the world a better place," Superman appealed. "I've told you before, Doctor Fate, none of us will stand for you to control Zatanna. There must be some agreement we can make."
A pause.
"I met you in the middle before, and this catastrophe was the result!" Fate shouted. "Fate saw you stand before the Helmet, Giovanni Zatara, and you beside him Batman. 'We both know there is more than one way you can lose her,' you said. 'Not that desperate,' you said. 'Not yet.' Even after Kent Nelson left Fate hidden on a shelf for a half-century, even when Fate's duties were left unattended for so long and countless suffered under the yoke of Chaos, still I was willing to bargain and compromise with you! What occurred?
"The sole person to treat Fate with dignity and respect was the Sliver of Entropy herself! I have fought the forces of evil for twenty thousand years, lost more than you all have ever had, won more battles than days the four of you have ever lived.
"A child so wreathed about in destruction and death, Fate might have mistaken her for the Witch Boy's own servant, and she was the only one to respect what I have done. Kid Flash placed me on a shelf, yet within a week she had brought me two likely candidates, and initiated the search for more.
"Tell me, Giovanni Zatara, what did you do to shorten Fate's wait?" the Lord of Order challenged. "You possess enough ability to communicate with Fate even while I am impotent in the Helmet, at no risk to your own autonomy. When the Sliver of Entropy brought me to your home, you did not attempt to do so. How many candidates did you seek out?
"Queen Mera is a monarch of her own, and an expecting mother, thus it is right there are other concerns on her time. If you had the time to perform on a stage, did you have time to find Fate a host?"
The magician swallowed, and bowed his head slightly. "I… could have done more than I did, yes."
Batman stepped up to support him. "Kid Flash recognized he lacked the ability to fulfill his oath as best was possible, and entrusted the matter to the Justice League, of which I am chair. You will not punish Zatara for what should have been my responsibility to oversee."
"This is not a punishment, Dark Knight. Fate takes no satisfaction from the necessity of denying freedom to my host, but it would be far more costly were Fate to return to the situation as it was. There were things you could have done to speed the search; even granting Fate a temporary, albeit obviously unsuitable host for a few minutes every day would have been enough to ward away the Witch Boy's work.
"Your own son acted as such for a time, under the Sliver of Entropy's persuasion," Dr. Fate informed Batman, who did not visibly react to the news. "If he had done so again one week later, Fate would have detected the Witch Boy's work, and alerted the Justice League to arm against it."
"We cannot change the past, only learn from it to do better in the future. Have we so sorely tried your trust?" Superman asked.
"Yes. Both the Justice League's behavior as you two stood before the Helmet, and the Team's behavior in placing me on a shelf, and in leaving me for use as a weapon of last resort against Wotan, demonstrate you see Fate as exactly that: a weapon. Chaos and Klarion were my responsibilities," Fate stated.
The four heroes heard a rare, raw, humiliated anger in Fate's voice as he continued.
"I allowed myself to be swayed from what I knew was my duty by words of agreement and compromise. Over eight thousand innocent lives have ended, and untold havoc spread across the face of Earth because I was weak enough to be persuaded to wait.
"As a lesser evil in service of greater good, I cannot allow Fate to wait impotent on the sidelines again. Not when it was only the willing sacrifice of my friend that kept the current death toll from becoming orders of magnitude above what it is. How many future children, Zatara, would you sacrifice in exchange for your daughter?"
With a furious motion, Dr. Fate tore the bundle free from underground. It unwound in the air, displaying its gruesome contents.
"Eight thousand, seven hundred, ninety-two lives, by my divinations," Fate said softly. "You mortals have a luxury in disassociating from those numbers. Fate does not. His name was Huambo, and he was taken on his fourteenth birthday.
"This could very well have been your daughter, Giovanni Zatara, when the Witch Boy {Wicked} enthralled her in early September. I know not why he left her unharmed, but make no mistake; he would have enjoyed the opportunity. With no host, it will happen; Klarion is not the only servant of chaos on Earth."
After another long moment of thought, an ankh formed. Fate teleported wordlessly away with the remains to deliver them. Giovanni Zatara staggered, as though struck by the disappearance of his daughter's form. He called out, "Tropelet em ot ym rethguad," to follow after.
The remaining three stood in brief silence.
"What are the odds?" Batman finally asked of Wonder Woman. She pursed her lips.
"I… am not certain. Certainly not good, though; I heard more rage and anger just now than Doctor Fate ever voiced before."
"Fate considers himself personally responsible for having failed to prevent what happened," Superman elaborated, having spoken more with him prior to the others' arrival. "He knows this is wrong, but after what happened Fate is prioritizing the ability to act over… He's turned this into a guilt trip about indulging what he thinks is right rather actually doing the right thing. Something like that," he sighed.
All three of them knew that little good lay along such a path; they did not need speech to agree on how muddled the idea was.
"It sounds like the type of argument Ferris would espouse, sacrificing an ideal for a visible, tangible result," contributed Batman grimly.
"Is it really? I've spoken with her, but nowhere near as much as I would have liked," Wonder Woman lamented gently. "I always have things to do, and then I remind myself that I will have more time in the future, until suddenly I do not." At this, Superman folded his arms and sighed again.
"There are similarities, but I still believe she would never support this. For all that we may disagree on some matters, we usually agree on the important ones when we talk," he answered. "Renka is self-aware enough to know that caring about the result is also an ideal. I've heard her observe more than once how a future result might never come to pass, while you've still lost all you sacrificed for it."
"The sunk cost fallacy," Batman observed. "The more you've already sacrificed, the more you feel invested in getting to the goal."
"Doesn't that sound familiar," Wonder Woman mocked gently, but she couldn't even appreciate her own humor. Seething, the demi-goddess made a fist. "I will see Zatanna free to live her life," she resolved aloud, "even if I have to defy the gods; it wouldn't be the first time, certainly."
"I had expected Fate would hold out for an exchange with Zatara; I warned him of that," Batman said, "and he accepted it may prove necessary. He made me promise to care for Zatanna if he was forced to sacrifice himself. I had thought Fate's refusal less than likely…."
"That form of brutal utilitarianism is ones of Renka's favorite philosophical approaches," Superman admitted. "Her bark is more fervent than her bite when it comes to applying it in real life, though. Has her situation improved? She could talk him out of this, I'd wager."
"As matters stand, no news is good news in her current condition," Batman answered simply.
"If Fate does take Giovanni as a host, will we let that stand?" Wonder Woman tossed out to her comrades. "A Lord of Order is a powerful force for good, but if this is how he comports himself… He has changed, since the Second World War."
"I prefer to leave mystic investigations to Orin and Zatara," Batman admitted. "My information had not included that Fate was trapped and conscious inside the Helmet while it was on the shelf; I assumed he would reside on the Plane of Order, such as I understood the matter."
"Did you never watch Aladdin with Robin? 'Awesome, cosmic power; teensy little living space'." Superman's joke went over much like Wonder Woman's had. He fidgeted uncomfortably in the short silence. "Did Zatara express anything on the subject to you?"
"Zatanna's wellbeing is of primary importance; all else is secondary, and his own wellbeing is tertiary to hers," Batman listed.
"Where there is life, there's hope. As long as Fate's host is alive, he or she can be freed, or Fate can be convinced to see reason."
"We'll wait and see, then," Superman agreed, seconding Wonder Woman's decision.
"We have other resources if we need to take action," Batman agreed with a faint nod. "Captain Marvel was granted his powers by Shazam, another Lord of Order; both Shayera and Katar excel in anti-magic combat as well, if it comes to a fight."
"Speaking of Captain Marvel," Wonder Woman remembered, her lips pursed, "were you aware that he was so young? A child?"
"Were you aware that Captain Marvel came to speak with Fate before I did? He mentioned it when we were discussing… I'll have to ask what he said, because Fate compared my own arguments unfavorably to his," Superman recalled. "He went to speak with Shazam, afterward."
"I discovered Captain Marvel's true age on my own, but saw no reason to set a precedent by revealing his identity when it had no impact on his performance in the field," Batman confirmed flatly. "He wasn't very careful with it, either, so anyone who did not know should not blame him.
"He not only revealed it to us once his age became significant to a field operation by switching between the worlds," Batman continued, "but he had previously revealed it to Ferris solely because she wanted to accompany him Trick-or-Treating, and he trusted her to meet his family. Anyone who treated him as a friend might have been told. Or do you doubt the wisdom of the several Olympians who empower him?"
"Have I told you that you make too much fuss over my oaths to my gods?" It was something of a running joke between them, and had been ever since he watched her punch Ares through a brick wall. "I follow them as you would follow a directive from the United Nations: obediently in most cases, because our beliefs often overlap, but I would disagree with or disobey them if they issued me an immoral order."
"Yes, we all know where we stand on that matter," Superman sighed. He checked a device pulled from his belt and grimaced.
"We should be going back, if we don't continue to follow Fate," Batman agreed. Zatara had his JL communicator, which was how they had found Superman with Fate in the first place, and all three could see that he (and thus Fate, presumably) had left the continent.
"No rest for the wicked," Wonder Woman concurred sadly, "nor from them."
"No good deed goes unpunished." Superman held out one hand, as did Wonder Woman, and Batman took both; this formation was the most dignified way for them to fly him anywhere when a Batwing was not usable. "Also: eight thousand, seven hundred and ninety two?"
Batman grunted. "The tallying still continues, but it would have been much higher if not for the widespread organized reaction; higher still if the divide had lasted longer. I would need more information for greater accuracy. That number sounds within the range of statistical significance.."
- Location
- somewhere over there.
- Pronouns
- They/It
The fact that he's less worried about her than he is about Ferris, or at least didn't also bring it up when he was explaining why he hit the reporter says to me that this isn't the same sort of situation as last time. This Fate has gotten a lot more time to actually talk to people, and I could see this being something where he's waiting until either Ferris wakes up to continue on her promise of finding a host, or until he can be sure there's no chance of Klarion having not been banished.
edit: Or I should have waited thirty seconds to read the next update on the topic.
edit: Or I should have waited thirty seconds to read the next update on the topic.
Last edited:
- Location
- Leeds
FAAAAAATE!
Have we seen this effect when anyone other than Renka spoke before?
Here's a horrifying thought. What would have happened if Klarion got his hands on a Fetus?
Great updates. I think its kinda adorable that Red Volcano of all people has taken up guard duty. And Fate comes across far more understandable given that he's given enough time to justify himself than he did in canon.
RyubosJ
Person that hates Mega Evolutions.
- Location
- UK
Yes, Sandman and Diana can also do so.
Why do you assume he didn't?
- Location
- Leeds
Erm... basic maths?
Klarion had 18 victims to define what it means to be a child.
no.1 - Age 0-1
no.2 - Age 1-2
no.3 - Age 2-3
no.4 - Age 3-4
no.5 - Age 4-5
no.6 - Age 5-6
no.7 - Age 6-7
no.8 - Age 7-8
no.9 - Age 8-9
no.10- Age 9-10
no.11- Age 10-11
no.12. Age 11-12
no.13- Age 12-13
no.14- Age 13-14
no.15- Age 14-15
no.16- Age 15-16
no.17- Age 16-17
no.18- Age 17-18
No room in there for a victim yet unborn.
I really like Fate in this story, I can already tell that it's not going to go well. I would imagine that Renka would be disappointed. Not for keeping Zantanna as a host she knows well that magic has it's costs but for not looking for a new host that would agree now that he can get up and move around again.
I was hoping that Fate's interlude would end with him agreeing to be a member of the great ten.
I was hoping that Fate's interlude would end with him agreeing to be a member of the great ten.
The Froggy Ninja
The Blade Will Never Die
You know, I never pegged Jinx as demonic. Always seemed more fae to me. What with the luck and the hair.
Oops. My bad.
Spear
Sun-In-Rags
- Location
- North Macedonia
Very few Young Justice fics do Fate justice, I find. And I'm glad this isn't the case here, for what its worth.
Also, it seems Ferris left a very particular impression on him as a Host, and I wonder if that's simply the usual procedure of him becoming one with someone, or if Ferris' circumstances changed that.
Also, it seems Ferris left a very particular impression on him as a Host, and I wonder if that's simply the usual procedure of him becoming one with someone, or if Ferris' circumstances changed that.
- Location
- somewhere over there.
- Pronouns
- They/It
I mean, he said it himself. She's someone drenched in destruction, Ruin, and death. All things that run against the somewhat static nature of Order, and tend to be evil besides. And despite that, despite her background, and past actions, and having channeled a mad godlike being, she still is someone he can respect, and the only person who tried to actually help him find a new host. So yeah, I think that his experience with her has him feeling like he needs to hold himself to a higher standard. If someone like her could rise so far above her own problems, why can't he? And if he did, imagine what a force for good/Order he would be.
The Hereafter - part 6
Obloquy
CrossMyHeart And HopeToDie, StickANeedleInMyEye
- Location
- the Physical Realm
Life Ore Death
* November 7There were a few too many possible approaches, as well as too great a risk of being seen, so Jade stayed put in one concealed area and kept her eyes on the window. It was a pain to watch the window from below, but (probably by Sportsmaster's design) there were no good perches on the nearby building that would let her look into the apartment without being seen. She denied any emotional discomfort.
The light behind the window finally flicked on; Jade let out a soft sigh of relief that she would have insisted was annoyance that it had taken so long, were anyone foolish enough to ask. Disguised by little more than a hoodie and ball cap, she walked over to the pay phone.
The Shadows assassin dropped in her payment, dialed the number, and waited.
It rang.
It rang.
Someone picked up.
"Hey, I don't recognize the number, who's calling?" Very few people would know Jade well enough to catch any of her emotional tells, but the teen assassin felt hours of pent-up tension in her shoulders unwind with the sound of Artemis's voice.
She opened her mouth to speak, but choked slightly: there were a few different ways to approach this subject, she'd agonized over it all evening into the night, it was the moment of truth, and she still hadn't decided what exactly she wanted to say.
"Hello?" Artemis tried again uncertainly.
"Don't hang up," Jade said quickly. Then, because that sounded too desperate and needy, she tossed out, "You wouldn't like the consequences, Artemis," in a mocking tone. Poking at Artemis was more familiar territory, and much more comfortable for her. She waited.
"Jade?"
"Who else?" Jade answered. "So it seems like you-,"
"Jade." Artemis cut her off flatly. "I don't want to hear this right now."
"I said don't hang up," Jade snapped off quickly. Then, "I'm afraid this is a business call, sister dearest, and loose lips may sink a few ships if you don't co-operate with my questions. Hate to do it, but I have my orders," she lied, as though she wasn't disobeying orders by calling at all.
"…The people you work for just caused a worldwide catastrophe," Artemis snarled, low and slow. "What do you want now?"
"Hey, we didn't have anything to do with that," she defended. Artemis humphed at her. "Knowledge is power. What happened?"
"The Justice League interrogated Wotan – technically illegal, but after putting out the sun and his part in the Injustice League I think they just lost patience with it all – and they got confirmation that the bastard who set it up received help from the Demon's Head. Not sure if they'll release that information to the public, but if they do, you can expect every government on Earth to start hunting the Shadows."
Jade snorted. "Good luck with that; the Shadows are tied into every government on Earth. Fingers in every pie, agents in… you know the deal," Jade tried to lazily dismiss, heart hammering as she briefly considered whether it could be true. "Besides, there'd be no profit in this."
Artemis laughed bitterly. "No profit, Jade? Really? I mean, ignoring Ra's al Ghul being recorded by the Batman while ranting about his desires to wipe out huge chunks of our population for the sake of 'letting clean nature take over again,' can you imagine what the Shadows got done in the chaos no one else expected? All the break-ins while the world was panicking, stealing documents and leaving behind bugs? All the assassinations that'll be blamed on crazy riots and the destruction caused when the worlds reunited? No profit? Yeah, right."
The line was silent for a few seconds too long, until Jade got her feet back under her to keep talking.
"Well, no one told me this was coming and I didn't have any orders until after, so I think you're talking out your ass," she mocked faux-lightly.
"Whatever," was Artemis's tired reply. "You've made it pretty clear in the past five minutes alone that our relationship means exactly as much to you as you can get out of it. Think you can imagine the size of the fuck that I do not give about your opinion?"
They had been sisters, and close, once upon a time. Jade had formerly known how to tell when Artemis was lying. Now, she wasn't sure. She could only hope that the signs she was hearing – Artemis oscillating a bit too far between emphasis and flat apathy, her word choice, and the fact she was still on the line – meant that she still mattered to the sister that she'd abandoned. Repeatedly.
She grimaced at that niggling, guilty thought. 'Shit,' she thought. Jade was not fond of uncertainty, so she got angry and defensive instead.
"Okay, look, nothing in real life is all sweetness and roses, Artemis, us included. But we are sisters, and I don't actually want you dead, or miserable, or anything. I'm trying to protect you; abusive ass though he is, Sportsmaster was powerful enough to protect us from a lot of the bad things out there while we were living with him. When I left, I find out really quickly what exactly was out there in the dark, and I did what I had to just to survive. I'm glad I never dragged you out into that mess, even if it means you're too sheltered to know the score.
"You will end up on my side eventually, Artemis – it's just the way the world works. The Justice League never solves anything, they just make people fat, happy, and stupid enough to ignore the problems they aren't solving until things start to stink. I get things done; I may not enjoy or understand everything I do, but the Shadows have wrangled in, incapacitated, or up and removed a lot of problems that were doing some disgusting things. There's work in the Shadows you'd be proud to do, if you knew we were doing it. You'll find that out in time.
"But for all that we get done, we're only a little better than the Justice League when it comes to judging people for their pasts. Blood from Sportsmaster isn't going to make anyone forget all the idiotic stuff you're getting up to on the squeaky-clean side. Information I pass along – ostensibly from you – will go far for making the people in power forget what else you're doing while you're getting that information. I stuck my neck out a lot to get placed as your handler, Artemis, and you'll be glad I did when the Justice League throws your used ass away."
"Yeah, the publicly scrutinized paragons of selflessness and virtue are totally going to tell me I've outlived my usefulness," the younger mocked.
"Selflessness?" Jade laughed back. "They're all on ego trips, Artemis, and they never bother doing anything if they can't be seen doing the right thing by the whole damn world. I was serving in Lady Talia's personal guard and staff while she was courting the Batman, you know? I saw how messed up and wrung out he left her every time they met. I heard her say that she loved him, and he strung her along.
"The Demon's Head was willing to try meeting Batman halfway, yet he got it thrown back in his face every time, and the Bat did nothing but incite Lady Talia to turn against the man who raised her. Don't make the Sportsmaster argument, because the al Ghuls are a much better family."
"…Can't say I really believe it, but whatever," Artemis decided, sounding bored. "But do you know what some of the Demon's Head's so-called 'halfway offers' were, that Batman turned them down? I hear stories from Robin, so I know: most recently, he decided to 'bend' on his policy of wiping out humanity by just targeting large population centers with his giant laser. It'd turn just the city into a smoking crater."
"I'm astounded you would buy such an obvious story," Jade replied, rolling her eyes. "Really? They couldn't come up with any better propaganda to spoon-feed you? I don't even need to rely on secondhand stories like the time Batman smiled after daring Lady Talia to shoot him, knowing she couldn't bring herself to, and then threw the Master off the tower, to 'coincidentally' land right at her feet as he watched.
"You know why I don't need that story as evidence? Because you just lived through a better example, Artemis! Get your head out of your ass and think! The Justice League spent that entire catastrophe being in the middle of the cameras, while you were in the middle of the fight!"
"Jade!" Artemis's shout cut through before Jade could go on her rant about exactly how expendable the Justice League believed her.
For a moment, the two sisters could only breathe, and listen to the other breathe over the phone, saying nothing.
"...Alright, let's say I'm listening to what you're saying," Artemis said finally. "It sounds like you know a lot about what happened."
"You'd be surprised at our sources; you're not the only one on the Team with some divided loyalties," Jade replied. She knew that Red Arrow was under Shadow control, but she also had been briefed that the position was to keep the Team in suspense like multiple members were turning against it from within. She didn't really know which if any were, but she didn't need to for this. She would follow those orders, at least.
"Ah," was all Artemis said. Then, "Tell you what, I'm going to hang up and go change my bandages before bed. Mom's asleep, but I had the kettle on for some cocoa. Think you can get up here fast enough to share a cup with me, like old times?"
"I'm not even in Gotham, silly Arty," Jade replied drily, rolling her eyes to complete the lie even though no one was present to see.
"You're calling from a Gotham area code payphone according to caller ID, and I looked up the number online while we were talking. I'm guessing you were waiting around, watching my window to see when I got back? …I could come down to meet you at a diner, instead?"
"...Well, you have gotten smarter about this stuff," Jade complimented, feeling surprised and impressed enough to be honest. "Tell you what: promise me that we'll have a two-hour truce, no calling any of your so-called friends, and-," Artemis cut her off disgustedly.
"Call and tell them what? My sister the professional assassin dropped by and is complaining about my hair care routine?"
"At least one of your little friends has been very interested in getting her hands on me, according to my source. You know her pretty well – given what she does when Superman's not in sight, do you really think she'd hesitate to wring my whereabouts out of you?"
There was a moment of silence. Jade heard Artemis swallow hard.
"Don't talk about Ferris like that," she rasped finally. Another pause, then, "I'm going to go change my bandages. See you in a few."
"Your word, goody-two-shoes?" Jade pressed. She had a sense of honor in her service, and Artemis's had always been stronger.
"My word, Jade: I promise I won't call anyone to report anything about you. Look, I'll leave my phone and the League's com-link on my bed; just promise not to touch them, because I don't want you downloading any data or whatever."
"Yeah, sure, I promise," Jade agreed, satisfied by how rattled and desperate to see her again this call had revealed Artemis to be.
It was a few easy minutes' worth of prowling and climbing up the fire escape to reach Artemis's window, which was open. Jade entered, and was a little surprised at how much of it was the same. Artemis appeared to have left her side mostly as is, not moved into it.
"Feels like I never left," she muttered, before scowling at the thought.
She spent a few minutes sitting on her old bed, drumming her fingers nervously – it was a tic she could suppress on the job, but didn't feel the need to then – eyeing but not touching the communication devices laid out, and just thinking on life until Artemis returned.
"Still take yours with cinnamon?"
"It's a guilty pleasure," Jade agreed nonchalantly. She gave her baby sister the once over, eyes resting briefly on each patch of gauze wrapping. "Has anyone ever told you you're too nostalgic, Artemis. I can't much tell from looking that I ever left." Artemis looked away.
"So, what does the League of Shadows want to hear from me?" she asked instead, trying to sound gruff. Jade wanted to laugh.
"So quick to business, sister dearest?" she teased, stalling to think of a good answer. "Who was responsible for… what happened?" Artemis kept a flat poker face; it was an obvious deception, Jade or any idiot could tell it was a poker face, but it served to keep her thoughts hidden.
"Klarion the Witch Boy, leading a… whatever the word for a group of magic casters is, a coven, one made up of Wotan, Felix Faust, Blackbriar Thorn, and Wizard." It was Jade's turn to assume a poker face, as her own encounter with the Witch Boy and Sportsmaster's threat to her in China raced around her head in a rush; Artemis's accusation suddenly had much more credence than Jade had expected of it.
"Any idea why, or just because he's crazy?" Jade asked distantly, turning it all over in her head.
"I told you about all the stuff I bet the Shadows got done, didn't I? Other than that, yeah, he's a psycho," Artemis dismissed.
"Huh…" Jade found that her mind wasn't quite working right, and took a sip of hot chocolate sprinkled with cinnamon. Her tongue automatically categorized the tastes, assessing for drugs and poisons on automatic even as she enjoyed it. "You fought them?"
"Me and 'my little friends,' yeah. I didn't get these injuries from babies throwing their bottles at me," Artemis deadpanned.
Jade snickered. "That would be something to see," the older girl admitted. Artemis chuckled back at her.
"It's like that joke: 'Why would anyone ever take candy from a baby? First, they've probably already slobbered on it with their baby germs, then you've got to pry that sticky, slimy mess out of their pudgy fingers and man they can grip, all the while they're screaming at the top of their lungs like a nail on glass, they might get upset enough to vomit on you, and then? Even if you succeed, all you've got is a piece of disgusting chemical sugar, and everyone around wants to beat the snot out of you, because hey you just took candy from a baby!' Am I right?" Artemis asked.
"I never h-heard that one," Jade choked out, shaking with quiet laughter. "Al-alright," she finally managed. "I'm… I'm glad you're okay, Artemis."
Artemis rolled her eyes. "See? Now was that really so hard to say? We'll make a do-gooder of you yet, Jade."
"Pfff. As if," Jade dismissed. She took another drink. "How did the fight go?" She glanced over Artemis's injuries again.
Artemis shrugged again. "I was mostly on distract-and-delay duty," she fibbed. Jade knew she was fibbing because… well, Jade had to reluctantly admit that injuries those extensive could have come from ranged sniping, etc., in a fight with a monster like the Witch Boy.
"And?" Jade pressed.
"And nothing. We worked as a Team and we got the job done. You want more details, get them from your other source."
Jade almost pressed with further threats, but on reflection, she remembered that she wasn't actually visiting on Shadow's business.
She let it slide. "Well, good for you and your sidekick friends, I guess. Bring along one or two when you come over, why don't you?"
"Only to out-number whoever's meeting me." Artemis paused. "Jade? Stupid question… have you ever known anyone who died?"
Jade bit back her automatic reply about being a part of the League of Shadows for several reasons, ranging from not wanting to drop evidence to anything after her retrieval by the Shadows had also covered up her original arrest documents, through not wanting to rub it in Artemis's face when the kid still had her silly ideals, all the way up to the bleakness in her voice when she asked the question.
"…Yes," she said. "I've lost a few mission partners, including the guy teaching me the ropes when we were in… it doesn't matter."
"Quick or slow? Were you there, could you have done anything, or was it only…?"
"A guy had been skimming off the top in drug trade, turned out he took his own makeshift super-soldier serum," she summarized.
"Feh. What is it with whack-job scientists taking their own stuff?" Artemis wondered.
"Sane people aren't crazy enough to try making anything new," Jade replied. "Who on your team died?"
Artemis flinched. "Wh-what? No one died," she denied.
"You didn't ask me that question on a whim, Artemis," Jade observed. "I would've thought I'd have heard if one of the sidekicks-,"
"It's not important. Look, Jade, I really don't want to talk about it," she deflected. Jade frowned thoughtfully & offered some advice.
"You should. Not just therapy stuff, but my debriefing when it happened helped a lot. That, and getting my own back for him."
"I'm not debriefing with you. You're not getting anything more out of me, Jade. Finish your drink and go," Artemis ordered.
"Pff. Fine, I'll hear who from the news, then." Jade finished her drink, resisted (chickened out on) an impulse to reach out to touch Artemis before they parted, and clambered out the window to disappear. She made her way down to the street again, and started walking.
Artemis's accusation about Klarion and the Shadows turned over in her head, churning out a mess of emotions she knew better than to express. She was all about control, of her life and her fate, and that's what the Shadows were supposed to be about, to her.
There had been no control in that event. No purpose that she knew of. Or maybe there had been, she didn't know.
The idea of it left a bad taste in her mouth. She didn't know enough about sorcery to guess what was supposed to happen, but she knew enough about psychosis to assume the freak with the cat had probably double-crossed whatever deal he'd made.
Beyond that… 'Were there ever any indications that anyone was planning this?' She ran over her past encounters in her head.
After about a dozen blocks of walking, something started preying on her awareness. Edgy at the unidentified threat, Jade kept scanning the area, but found nothing.
From above, a humming, swishing buzz cut through the air. Jade twitched, but it wasn't particularly aimed at her, hitting the brick wall.
Jade had just enough time to realize that a Batarang was buried two inched deep in the brick before she spun.
High above, a dark, formless shadow loomed over the building's edge. Reflective, blank white eyes narrowed at her in threat.
Heart thundering, Jade turned tail and ran.
Hestia&theCourt
Turns out we're plural too.
- Location
- In transition
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Great going, Jade. You either trusted that someone raised by Sportsmaster and who you haven't had much interaction with in years would never break their word, or you didn't account for the fact that someone was going to be keeping an eye on the person with Shadows connections to make sure nobody tried blackmail. Either way, you done goofed.
- Location
- somewhere over there.
- Pronouns
- They/It
Jokes aside, this was somewhat unfortunate timing. He just interrupted her in the middle of her starting to debate whether she was actually getting what she wanted from being a member of the Shadows.So it's not enough that he bullies Talia, he also has to ruin the warm fuzzies produced by family reunions?
- Location
- texas
According to the wiki, Nelson shelved the Helmet of Fate in 1945, which would mean he was on ice for 65 years, not fifty.
Oh, and an amusing thing about Fate being here for 20,000 years. In the comics, he was on Earth for 500,000 years. So Oblo's version is baby fate.
Trivia about Nabu. Nabu was a mesopotamian god who crossed over to be worshipped in Egypt as well, the god of literacy, scribes, wisdom, and science.
Trash talked in the bible as "Nebo," and associated with Apollo, Mercury, and Thoth by those inclined to syncretize deities.
Oh, and an amusing thing about Fate being here for 20,000 years. In the comics, he was on Earth for 500,000 years. So Oblo's version is baby fate.
Trivia about Nabu. Nabu was a mesopotamian god who crossed over to be worshipped in Egypt as well, the god of literacy, scribes, wisdom, and science.
Trash talked in the bible as "Nebo," and associated with Apollo, Mercury, and Thoth by those inclined to syncretize deities.
The Hereafter - part 7
Obloquy
CrossMyHeart And HopeToDie, StickANeedleInMyEye
- Location
- the Physical Realm
Life Ore Death
* November 7[How'd it go?] Artemis asked, feeling a familiar touch upon her mind again as she bent over her algebra homework. Camouflaged, M'gann floated in through the still-open window and returned to Megan form after getting out of sight. She smiled weakly.
"I chased her a little and let her escape; you don't think Batman will be too angry about my impersonating him?"
"What are you talking about Megan? Everyone knows you can't convincingly shape-shift into guys, how could you impersonate Batman?" Artemis asked faux-innocently, and the two shared a mischievous smile over it.
[Well it's not like I let her get close enough to notice. I mostly stayed on the roofs,] M'gann answered, sitting next to the blonde. She took the new cup of cocoa Artemis had mixed up while M'gann was finishing up and drank gratefully. "What, no cinnamon?"
Artemis jerked as though stung, and M'gann immediately knew it had been the wrong thing to say.
"What? Oh, oh yeah, I can go get-,"
"No, don't, I was just looking for something to say," M'gann interjected guiltily as Artemis started to stand.
"…Okay. Well, if you do want something, don't hesitate to ask. I do owe you the favor," the blonde said bashfully.
"It's not about a debt, Artemis," M'gann told her earnestly. Artemis hissed.
"Are you trying to sound like Ferris right now?" she grit out angrily. "Because you pulled off her pity-the-child voice perfectly."
"Sorry," M'gann apologized. "Just, friends don't need to owe friends any debts. I know you'd get me anything I asked even if I hadn't come to back you up, and you had better know I'd come to back you up at every family reunion, ever, for nothing in exchange. Like we said."
"…Yeah. Still, thanks M'gann." Artemis didn't pull away from the Martian's hug. She eyed her algebra homework hatefully.
"Here, you forgot to divide both sides on this one," M'gann pointed out as a distraction.
"Right." Artemis grabbed a pencil and started scratching. "So how are you set for homework?"
"Most of this is stuff I learned a few years ago, so it's… easy enough. Time consuming, but I need to fill the hours."
"Just waiting sucks," Artemis agreed, "and we've already done most of what we can do, so we just- ugh."
"I know." M'gann put a hand on her blonde host's shoulder. "We'll get through this. We'll all get through this; I know we will."
"Thanks," Artemis sighed, relaxing a bit at the touch. She scribbled down a bit more math before she refocused. "…So. Jade?"
"Mostly good news," M'gann reassured her. "Like, a lot. She lied through her teeth about being under orders to pump you for information; Jade actually ducked her orders to come check up on you." Artemis's eyes widened. "She just… well, the way she thinks about expressing care for people, or caring about people at all is… her mind feels a lot like Renka's does on that subject. 'Life is tough, too much coddling is bad in the long run, people need to struggle to grow,' but they've both also been on the wrong side of too much struggle enough to hold back. Some."
"I… really would not have guessed that. Don't want to take advantage of you or anything, but I'm really glad you could come. Sorr-,"
"Stop apologizing," M'gann chided, draining another draught from her mug. "I was happy to come running when you called, I was at the Mountain so it was easy to get to the Zeta, and then it was maybe a two-minute flight under camouflage to arrive. You'd do it for me."
"Yeah. That and more, if you ever need it," Artemis affirmed softly, reaching out with reassurance in her mind. M'gann reciprocated firmly.
"See? What are friends for?" She shook her head and got back on-topic. "Beyond that, she didn't know anything about this being planned, but she has met Klarion in her Shadows work, and she knows Sportsmaster has a lot more to do with Klarion.
"Sportsmaster is… she thinks he's pretty deranged," M'gann continued, "and from a threat he gave her before she crossed paths with Renka in China, I think I agree." Artemis carefully didn't ask, and M'gann didn't linger on it. "She has a lot of respect for her superiors, and it seems genuine, but your accusation rattled her. She's thinking things she doesn't feel comfortable about now, and she's worried in a lot of ways."
Breath hissed out from between Artemis's lips. "So there's still some good buried in there. I was worried."
"She still loves you, as much as she loves anyone; more than she loves anyone else," M'gann reassured her teammate. "I mean, she didn't touch your communicator or anything, and she trusted your word when you gave it. Even when she thought Batman was swooping down on her, she immediately assumed she'd triggered some perimeter alarm set against your father's return, not that you'd sold her out."
"She didn't assume I contacted someone before I made my promise? Even after I told her I'd looked up the number? Slipping."
"I think we're used to doing very different kinds of… oh, wow, I never thought about it but we do both do 'black ops,' don't we?"
"Covert versus clandestine, like Captain Atom talked about, and there's a difference between black ops and wet work. 'Sides we're pretty mild as far as our secret missions usually go… well, the ones that stay secret," Artemis amended, thinking of their numerous fights.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
* November 7
After Conner had irately crushed a few too many things with accidental spurts of super-strength while performing cleanup duties, it was gently suggested that he should take the rest of the afternoon off. Superman had- Clark had softly related a few times he'd suffered some similarly frustrating surges in his youth, and Conner relented at his testimony, returning to the Mountain.
He'd sat in Renka's temporary room for a while, (the medical equipment she needed hadn't fit in her usual room,) but seeing her so fragile just left him in a fouler mood, and neither Wolf nor Red Volcano were good for distracting conversation.
Conner had sloppily made some breakfast-for-dinner eggs, etc., but M'gann had been the only one to return to the Mountain in time to eat much. Then she'd received a call from Artemis when they were kissing, and he'd let her run off to help out.
Conner had wanted to accompany her, but he didn't have the flight and camouflage powers needed to sneak around Gotham.
He didn't have powers good for much of anything non-violent, he reflected angrily. At any time in the past few days he'd have happily traded his vaunted strength and toughness for a healing ability – for some way he could have done anything to help.
He spent a while trying the super-hearing practices exercises he kept meaning to get around to doing, then gave up. A few people had been in and out of the Mountain at a couple different times, so he plopped down to zone with static and wait to deliver any messages.
<Recognized: Aqualad, B02. >
Superboy grunted, and turned away from the screen, uncertain exactly how long he had been there.
"Kaldur," he called gruffly.
"Conner," the Atlantean returned. He didn't look much better after his time spent at home, but his composure had improved a bit.
"Everything back under control?" It belatedly occurred to Conner that he could probably grab a re-breather and go to Atlantis for more cleanup, like he had done after Black Manta's attack; it had felt good, to help people and have them be so impressed and grateful.
"We suffered far fewer fatalities than on the surface, but there were some issues where delicate experiments and processes were left unsupervised. Ultimately, far more buildings were damaged than people. While the standard understanding of magic is greater in my home, that may only be causing people more distress, as many are aware of how… impossible such sorcery should have been."
"Atlantis didn't have anything to see it coming or stop it?"
Kaldur shook his head, and leaned his weight on the back of the couch where Conner was sitting. "We did, but the most delicate and esoteric of our thaumaturgical warning devices were recently destroyed in targeted attacks by Black Manta, and had not been replaced."
"It sounds like we've got another guy we can add to the list," Conner growled, thinking of the villain conspiracy they knew existed.
"Indeed." Kaldur stood straight again, and Conner remembered he had a message to deliver.
"Hey, wait." Kaldur stopped walking. "Black Canary was in the Mountain earlier, said she needed to talk to you."
"I will inform her of my return. Thank you for the message." Conner grunted, and returned to the soothing static on the screen.
A few minutes later, his ears pricked up as his super hearing caught the sounds of her arrival.
<Recognized: Black Canary, 13. >
"Aqualad, it's good to see you."
"You have been missed around the Mountain, Black Canary. I was told you wished to speak with me?"
"Yes." Conner guessed she must have seen, or not seen, something on Aqualad's face, because she added, "This isn't a psychological assessment, although heaven knows we all could use one sometime soon. This is a member of the Justice League seeking advice from the leader of the Team, or arguably permission, if you agree with me."
"I… see," Aqulad said slowly. They weren't walking anywhere, and Superboy could tell from the sounds that they were out of sight. His curiosity pricked, he turned off the TV, closed his eyes, and listened.
"I have… The business that took me away from the Team, these past few weeks…" Black Canary didn't exactly flounder, but it was clear she had no good ideas about how to approach the delicate subject. "There is something I had planned to do soon, the split between the worlds made me able to do it even sooner than I expected, but in the aftermath, it might not be a good idea…."
"Black Canary, I have great respect for you. Among the Justice League," Kaldur told her, "you have reliably treated the Team with seriousness and dignity. Even in your position as a psychological counselor, you have acted with the same professionalism as you show fellow members of the League, given that you perform similar services for a few of them. Please do not worry about offending me."
She took a long, deep breath. "Thank you, Aqualad. I have recently taken a sidekick, and I would like to introduce him to the Team."
"We usually prefer the term 'partners,'" Aqualad said neutrally. Both he and Superboy needed time to process the rest of her words.
"Yes, yes, of course, sorry. We just haven't been partnered very long, and Ferris is the one I-,"
She cut off, having stepped on the sensitive toes of the elephant in the room.
'Ferris might joke about being a sidekick, but she prefers the term apprentice, and so do I,' Superboy grit out in his thoughts, the rest of his mind all awhirl with the new information. Finally, "Is she trying to replace Ferris," he snarled, the armrest creaking under his grip.
"Given the… circumstances of our eldest team member, introducing a replacement so soon may be a bit… impolitic," Kaldur said.
"I am not trying to replace Ferris," Black Canary snapped, voice rich with enough pain and raw anger that Conner felt slightly calmed. "…I can understand the implications, though, which is why I wanted to receive your view on how other members of the Team would take it. She is my friend, Kaldur, even beyond our talks… I may not always like her, we may disagree, but I would never so disrespect her."
Conner decided that since he already knew, he might as well join in, so he stood and started walking over.
"I apologize for choosing my words unwisely," Aqualad said to her. "This is… it is good that you sought an opinion in private, first. I had... not realized it would prove so emotionally sensitive a subject until I experienced my own reaction."
"I guess, that's a no, then," Black Canary sighed.
"I… perhaps. On the other hand, introducing a new teammate may help us take our mind off of our comrade's situation." Aqualad paused delicately for a moment. "I have not heard of you appearing in public with a new partner."
"Yeah," Conner grunted, stepping around the corner. "You can't make any of us like whoever she is anymore than you could make Superman adopt me as a son, and it'd probably end just as bad. But Ferris would be the first one to tell us that it's good to have someone new on the Team. She ran a lot of interference for Artemis when Kid Flash had his head up his ass, and for Zatanna too."
"Conner? You overheard us, didn't you," Black Canary realized.
He shrugged. "Super-hearing. Ferris was never your partner, so you having someone new won't be replacing her-," Conner gave no voice to his slight pain at the thought of him being replaced instead. He had Superman's recognition, as well as Ma and Pa Kent, now, but for a long time Black Canary had been his primary teacher and trainer.
With no flight and no heat vision, her martial arts were his main lessons on how to use his toughness and strength; he was closest to being her sidekick, and while he'd never really wanted to – holding out for hope of acceptance from Superman – he'd thought of asking her a few times.
'I never asked, so I shouldn't feel replaced either,' he reminded himself. "-but meeting her once or twice before we were expected to trust her would help a lot. We didn't get that with Artemis," he finished, "but we did with Zatanna. There's a difference."
Black Canary huffed a little laugh. "Oh yes, I definitely should tell you a little more before I do official introductions. One part in particular..."
Hestia&theCourt
Turns out we're plural too.
- Location
- In transition
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Man, Connor's matured a lot faster than he did in canon. I approve. I wonder who Canary's apprentice is, though? I've never heard of her taking on wards.
- Location
- Leeds
More importantly how did you shapeshift a Bat-a-rang?
RyubosJ
Person that hates Mega Evolutions.
- Location
- UK
Robin left a couple in the mountain one night?
- Location
- Leeds
I assume Jade would have noticed the difference, they're generally distinct shapes although I can't remember the YJ forms.