Remove ads

Life Ore Death - DC Feruchemy [Young Justice]

Reader mode
Obloquy said:
"…Ferris, has anyone informed you about Doctor Fate's current host?" Kaldur asked.

I nodded soberly. "Yes, Zatanna's father the Zatara. He is not a good host, and it is not a happy answer, but…" I reached for a famous English phrase I had looked up and used when the Superman first raised this subject. "There is a saying in English: 'The best thing you can do is the right thing; the second best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing.' The Doctor Fate does not know a right host, and the Zatara is a wrong host, but the second best is good enough, I think, after Witch Boy {Wicked} did a worst since no host."

"A rational summary, as expected. Fate's requirements of the world are unpleasant, at times, but never unnecessary," he said.

"I… see…" Kaldur said slowly. "If you will excuse me, it might be a good time to compare notes on our sorcery styles with Zatanna."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Well this little misunderstanding might grow increasingly awkward...
 
Given Renka's less than pristine condition, is the whole Sandman plan still going to happen? It's supposed to be in December right, just before the human Sandman's (whose name I keep forgetting) death? I'd have thought Fate would have mentioned it at some point since he should have some knowledge of it from being hosted by Renka, plus tangling with Dream seems like a fairly important deal.
 
This is a pretty adorable friendship. But was Kaldur uncomfortable with how accepting Renka was of Fate's possession of Zatara? He seemed to leave pretty quickly after finding out her amiability wasn't due to ignorance.
 
I think they would all be better off if they were to air this misunderstanding, but there probably won't be enough in-character impetus to do so for a while yet.

Though I suspect that Fate might be willing to come to some kind of compromise if told Renka's ideas, either following her suggestion of scheduling a couple hours off, possibly with some form of means of ensuring the Helmet is donned again, or serving as a bridge to allow the Zatara's to spend time together.
 
Remove ads
Snapshots and Afterimages - part 2
  • Threadmarks
    • Life Ore Death​
    * November 17 [Artemis PoV]

    A jolt of shock lanced down my spine at the sound of Robin's laughter, echoing from around the corner. Yeah, it was reassuring in one sense, because I hadn't heard it all that often since the Disappearance Disaster, and it suggested things were getting back to normal.

    On the other hand, this was Gotham Academy mid Wednesday morning, and the Boy Wonder wasn't supposed to be anywhere around.

    I spun, raced back around the corner, and scanned the courtyard warily.

    'Nothing. Was I just imagining it…? Okay, no, stop self-deluding Artemis,' I chastened, 'it's not helping. It was faint, but I heard Robin's laugh.' I double-checked my cellphone and the League communicator. 'Nothing. So….'

    'My options are: 1) I imagined it because my mind is playing tricks on me. 2) Someone who sounds like Robin goes to Gotham Academy. 3) Robin is at Gotham Academy for some Bat business I'm not in on. 4) Robin is at Gotham Academy for innocuous reasons, i.e., he goes here.'

    It wasn't the first time I'd considered the thought, but this time I didn't dismiss it as quickly as I had in the past. Gotham was a big city, home to I wasn't sure how many million people, and I'd figured the odds of encountering Robin's identity out of uniform were slim-to-none, assuming he even had one. Now that I knew he knew my ID, and had admitted he knew from before I told the Team….

    'Okay, question time: do I really want to go there? If Robin keeps his identity secret because it could compromise Batman, I'd risk being able to expose them both if I ever got captured or a telepath got to me – which almost happened once in Bialya already.'

    'On the flip side, if I can figure out Robin's secret identity, I should so I could tell him how I knew, and he can keep other people from figuring it out the same way. He's said Batman isn't his dad, and if that's true, as long as I don't dig too deep into his family situation or social circles I should be able to ignore any evidence of Batman's secret identity. …Maybe. …Okay, maybe this is not a good idea.'

    'But…'     I turned around and headed back toward Homeroom, turning the idea over. 'I know Robin isn't happy about keeping his secret identity secret from everyone now that he's the only one keeping secrets on the Team. I don't have to look up his family situation or address to just know his first name, and having someone to confide it in at all might help him take a load off. …No, I'm rationalizing it,' I dismissed.

    I knew I could come up with any number of reason why violating the Boy Wonder's trust and privacy was 'for his own good,' but that didn't mean the reasons were true or that doing it was right. And I could find more than a little irony in the realization that I was thinking of doing more turncoat-mole activities now that I had exposed my dark secrets than when I was still wondering if I'd ever have to run back to Dad.

    'Of course you were; unless you're in a take-them-with-you situation you need to be safe from harm before you can worry about harming or helping anyone else,' observed a voice in my head that sounded a little like Superman mixed with a cop from my snitch duty time.

    I'd briefly become a little worried about the occasional voices of people popping into my head, but after Halloween I had M'gann check me out, followed by Martian Manhunter to confirm it was harmless. About 8% of all human have an unconscious that talks like that, it seemed.

    "I don't suppose I could copy your Algebra Two answers?" Bette asked as I slid into a seat beside her. She stifled a yawn.

    I grimaced. "Not enough time; I had to draw out three pain-in-the-ass graphs, but peek if you think you can." I opened my folder.

    "Thanks a-," She yawned again. "-million."

    'What's got her so exhausted?' I wondered. There were plenty of options, including the currently popular 'I couldn't sleep because of nightmares from the Disappearance Disaster and its consequences,' but this still struck me as odd. 'I think… it's just a little too new….'

    "You didn't sleep well last night?" I prodded.

    "Huh? Oh, just temperature difficulties in my bed," she dismissed airily. "You know, one blanket is too light but two is sweaty."

    'Okay, Bette usually doesn't do air-head like that, so something's up… I'll leave it for now,' I decided as our overweight, gray-haired teacher called us to order and the bell rang.

    "Bette, you know I'll help you if you need it?" I checked quietly. 'Oh, brilliant, because the scholarship kid can fix something better than the Kane family can, sure.' "Or, you know, I might be able to think of something you're missing; street smarts, all that," I added self-consciously.

    "I'll keep you in mind, but it's nothing," Bette assured me. "Present," she added when Mrs. Cotillion called her name.

    'Looks like today's another backwards day,' I assessed. Mrs. Cotillion liked to do things out of the usual order on occasion, and messing with the alphabet was one of her favorites. It also made for interesting Lit class discussions when she had us read a book's fifth or sixth chapter without any prior context, and have a talk about the things we could infer from context clues.

    That was one of the biggest differences from Gotham North public high school: all the teachers and staff actually gave a damn and were invested in their students' well-beings. Even the scholarship kids. No one was counting days until retirement or secure in tenure. There had even been almost none of the poverty-shaming I'd expected; sure, there were some sly comments and plenty of snide ego-wanking, but I only got a little more of it than all the rich kids did to each other, and overall it was far less nasty the Gotham North normally had been.

    'Probably because people actually care,' I assessed again, later, letting my mind wander while my legs led the way to 4th period chemistry.

    Except that sounded too nice and optimistic, so I tried to nail down an explanation, eyeing the teachers who were eyeing the hall.

    'It's partly that they're paid to care and held accountable, so anyone who doesn't want to be here couldn't stay to leech pay,' I half-decided, 'and partly that the school is worried about lawsuits if any students get hurt by each other. Yeah, that sounds more accurate.'

    'Not that I've got anyone to… well, actually, bringing it up with Babs and Dick couldn't hurt, and he'd know if Mr. Wayne's scholarship included filing lawsuits on a student's behalf. Bette would probably have her own ideas on it too….'

    'Ugh. Speaking of the scholarship, I've got to write that blurb,'     I noted for later, remembering the stray thought that prompted this bout of introspection. Then Mr. Wilson started talking about the Noble Gases, and I needed to take down notes on it.

    Other than Emanuel's goof with a Bunsen Burner, class passed without incident.

    When lunch came around, I claimed an empty table and started tapping away at my data pad's keyboard function as I ate. Bette knew what I was working on, so she moved off to sit with other friends. Barbara didn't, and settled down with her tray beside me.

    "What're you working on?" she asked. I tilted the screen and scrolled to show her the title. "Oooh, yeah, the advertising essay. Glad I got mine already out of the way. Want me to proofread when you're further along?"

    "Thanks. Where's Dick today?" I asked idly, tapping away to fill up a word count with explanation of why this place rocked.

    It was part of my scholarship requirement; I had to contribute a brief article for prospective inclusion in an explanatory booklet.

    "Off at a Mathlete team meet thing."

    "Still sure you don't want to join up and see more of him?" I teased lightly. Barbara didn't quite blush, but it was a close thing.

    "It would cut into my gymnastics practice," she dismissed. "People think we could get to the Junior Olympics this year. I'd invite you to join…."

    "But my other 'after hours activities' take up too much time already," I finished. "Besides, I'm more martial arts-y, aren't I?"

    "Yeah," Barbara agreed carelessly. She paused significantly. "So speaking of after hours… anything interesting?"

    I glanced around. "I met Queen Perdita before she left the country," I whispered, smiling, "and 'Karen' is out of her wheelchair more."

    "Both are awesome," Barbara intoned solemnly.

    She had dropped her possession of surreptitious evidence about my activities on Monday after the Disappearance Disaster, when I'd been a bit of a wreck and Renka was still comatose. I'd blown her off almost violently, and forgot to think about it with everything else on my plate, but 2 days ago she'd shown up again with news footage of Artemis and Green Arrow on an Ice Fortress, enhanced to show my face in better detail, and cornered me on whether or not she should tell our friends about the uncanny resemblance.

    I folded.

    In the aftermath of everything involving the Ice Fortresses and Queen Perdita I was riding too high to worry about it, and it was alright in the end. Babs was more reasonable about not being included when I listed off all the reasons why telling the vulnerable target that was Commissioner Gordon's daughter too many details, but I'd agreed to share innocuous things and not tell any of the Justice League that she'd figured me out. In exchange, she'd keep me as her main source of hero info and refrain from trying to jump into more things on her own.

    Two days in, it was working out so far, and she'd dropped everything I asked her to ignore.

    "Wait, Perdita left on Monday, right? Why didn't you bring this up then or yesterday?" she asked.

    I rolled my eyes. "'cause you were too busy grilling me about the past to talk about recent events? And it was after school ended on Monday."

    "Oh." The brilliant redhead thought that over. "So, do you think there's ever going to be a more complete press release, where Ferris can take responsibility for saving everyone from the disaster? Or is it not happening? Most people don't know if she's even alive."

    "Definitely still alive, but recovering slowly, and I'm not certain how well she's handling it," I admitted. "She still has to use crutches or the chair to go further than in the same room, but she can stand unaided again. I'm not sure if she's genuinely her usual serene self about all this, or if she's hiding it under a pretty face and pretending," I admitted, because I saw it going either way.

    "I thought you said she wasn't good at lying," Barbara objected, remembering the bits I'd mentioned while she grilled me for an hour on Monday between my admittance to her and when I needed to go to the Mountain for the meeting with Queen Perdita.

    "Depends," I decided on as a good answer. "She rarely does any deception or straight lying to us, because she prefers to say she doesn't want to discuss it and ask that we drop the subject, but she's also a killer actress if you give her time to make a script."

    "Makes sense," Barbara said, nodding slowly. "Well, I hope she gets better. Incoming," she added shortly.

    "Will do," I promised, turning to look at whoever had come over. 'I know him. We… have Lit and Chemistry together. His name's Ryan, right?'

    "Hello, um, Artemis?" he greeted nervously, swiping one hand through his short brown hair.

    "Ryan, right? We both have Lit," I greeted, holding out a hand. He took my hand after a moment of staring at it.

    We'd never really talked outside of book discussions in class, and I couldn't remember him saying anything interesting on those topics.

    'Not that most of my classmates say much; I'm one of, like, four people who actually have opinions about this stuff,' I considered.

    "And we have chemistry," he agreed, and then started sputtering about it. Barbara cackled, and I waved off his apologies.

    "Pun not intended, no worries. Not even a top ten foot-in-mouth moments I've run across. What's up?" I asked blithely. "Forget the reading?"

    "I- um, right," he managed after a moment. "Okay, I know we don't know each other well, and this sort of comes out of nowhere…."

    "Oooh, Artemis is getting a confession," Barbara laughed again. "How about I just leave you two lovebirds ah, ah, ah-!"

    "Down freshie, and get your mind out of the gutter," I grumbled, pulling on her earlobe to keep her here.

    "Actually, she's, uh, kind of right," he admitted, which threw me for a loop.

    'What?'

    "What?" I repeated out loud, not too loudly.

    "Um." Ryan swallowed nervously. "I knew what I wanted to say, and now I'm… okay, can I just try to get through this?"

    I nodded evenly, my mind to blank to think much about it. I did my best to just listen and not feel uncomfortable.

    "Sure," I allowed calmly.

    "Right. Okay, so one, I swear, this is not a pity date. I think you're pretty, I know you're smart from what you say in class, especially about that disagreeing translation thing with the Odyssey, and even if we don't work out I think you'd be a pretty cool friend."

    "Thhhanks," I said carefully. Maybe I should have said he'd be a cool friend too, but he kept talking before it occurred to me.

    "So, the Kane family are throwing a gala next Tuesday and I'm invited. It's for women's shelters- um, I didn't think of you because of the shelter thing, it's because I know you know Greek from Lit class and there might be Wonder Woman or a few Amazons there," he babbled quickly. I just kept nodding absently. "But, uh, are you interested in going? With me? Like, on a date?" he asked hopefully.

    "I…" I drew the sound out, not even really aware I hadn't let go of Barbara. "Give me a second." I closed my eyes and took a breath.

    'Of all the times I really would've liked super-powers, this is one where I'd kill for – what was it – one of Renka's zinc-minds? This is not how I expected my day to be going.' I let go of Barbara's ear to rub the bridge of my nose, took another deep breath, and gave an answer.

    "Okay," I said slowly, "my turn to say something complicated, so, uh… let me just try to get through this?" I requested uneasily.

    Ryan gave a hopeful smile. "Sure."

    "Right, thanks." I rubbed the bridge of my nose again. "Okay… so, I don't know you very well, but you're nervous and not a jerk, so I've got nothing to hold against you. I don't want to say 'no'. If you'd asked me last week I'd probably say 'sure' without any of this worrying."

    'Great, lying already,' I grumbled. 'What a great way to handle this when I might start to like him. But, hero stuff pops up too often for....'

    "Damn, I didn't know about the party last week," he dismissed with a huffed laugh. I thought it sounded slightly forced.

    "…Right." 'I need to find my train of thought. …Right, found it.' "The thing is, this guy I know and sort of like, maybe, just got up the guts to ask me, and we're going on our first date this Saturday." I ignored the hissed breath of Barbara's suppressed squee. "It could be we'll want to kill each other so we crash and burn, in which case I'd be happy to go with you." 'Pretty sure I'm missing a few words there, but hell I don't want to repeat this.' "But we might also get along-," 'I hope.' "-in which case it'd be really shitty of me to go out with another guy right after that.

    "If you don't mind keeping it platonic," I finished, settling on what hoped I wanted to convey, "then if Wally and I hit it off I could still check if he didn't mind me going with you next week, but if you like me that doesn't really sound fair to you, you know?" I cringed for more than one reason. "If you want to keep the offer open I can update you on Sunday, but if there's another girl you'd like to ask, then more power to you."

    'I hope I didn't come off like a bitch. Talk about shitty timing.' It took me a second to dare to look at Ryan. 'Not happy, not upset….'

    "Let me give you my number," he said finally, bending over to scribble it down. "Either way, I meant what I said about liking your smarts and your sense of humor. I'll ask some other people who might be interested too, and we'll see how it goes. Text me on Sunday, and if things work out, awesome. If not…" He shot me a slightly forced grin, and tossed my words back at me. "More power to ya."

    "Sure." 'Great, my smile probably looks totally plastic.' "Thanks," I finished awkwardly. Ryan nodded and walked off. He turned a corner.

    I sagged that this unexpected bit of awfulness was finally over.

    I got to enjoy the sweet, blissful silence for almost ten seconds.

    Then Barbara jabbed a finger into me.

    "You," she declared slowly and gleefully, "have a date this Saturday. Why did you not mention this?" She looked just a little manic.

    'Shit. Shit. And I don't want to talk about Wally's identity… Okay, how can I get her to drop this? Guilt her…?'

    "Because it's not hero business," I grumbled faux-bitterly at her, "and that's all you ever want to talk about recently." 'Please buy it.'

    Barbara slid back a few inches, hands raised defensively, and her mouth opened.

    "Uh…"

    Nothing came out.

    Starting to wonder if I should run to the restroom and let our awkwardness cool off, I fiddled with my half-eaten apple.

    "Okay," she said finally, "you've got a point. Sorry. I just… no, I already told you all my… Right. I'll let up on asking. So… makeover Friday or Saturday to get you ready?" I smirked at her in that gleeful way that only comes from having the full, awesome truth on your side.

    "Not really. If I was having one, you'd have to fight Miss Em for it," I hinted obliquely, "but Wally told me not to gussy up all pretty. I'm supposed to wear some clothes I wouldn't mind having destroyed, which is fine, since I'm more a monster truck kind of girl any way."

    "Dammit," Barbara mumbled. "Fine, but if you don't need one for the first time and a teammate dibs the next one, I want to do your makeover for the third date, if you have one. Or for the dance with Ryan, or whatever. My fashion sense isn't half bad, I'm good to thrift if we can't mooch off of Dick's card. Speaking of Dick he learned to do make-up for performers in the circus and will make you look amazing."

    "Really?" I wondered blankly. 'Why does that sound familiar…? No way, I've seen him klutz out like 3 times, and his throwing arm just sucks.'

    I had noticed a few similarities between him and Robin, but way more differences total, and I was pretty sure Robin was homeschooled.

    "Started in the circus, learned a bit more with a favorite babysitter, and we did some for dress up when we were younger," Barbara confirmed smugly. "My blackmail photos are incredible. Now, what's this Wally guy like? Is he someone's secr- no, sorry, sorry, not going to ask, but how did you meet? Is he buff, or do you go for brains, or is he just a pretty face? Cute butt? How tall is he?" she rattled off perkily.

    'Aaargh, make it stop make it stop make it stop,' my brain pleaded tearfully. 'I know she's going overboard on purpose but ugh.'

    "No, he's not on the Team," I lied, because if I didn't deny it then Barbara was sure to assume he was someone's secret identity. "We met at a beach party over the summer and shared phone numbers. He's a bit short of a six-pack, but he kills at volleyball and could give our mutual friend Dick the midget a run for his Mathlete money. And… he… he makes me laugh," I admitted. 'About as much he frustrates me.'

    My perky friend's eyes widened, and she inhaled sharply. "What does he look like? Wally, right? Have any pictures?" Babs asked eagerly.

    "Whoa girl. We haven't exactly been exchanging cheesecake shots, but let me see…" I waved her off as I flipped through my phone's memory. I thought I had a few photos of Wally that should be civilian safe, but mostly I didn't take pictures around the Mountain…

    'Huh. I can't remember when I took this one, but it seems safe enough as long as I don't let her swipe to the next. Even darkens his hair a bit.'

    We'd gone out for pizza as a team one night, maybe after a game where M'gann performed or something, and I'd tried taking pictures of Wally's eating out of a sense of morbid curiosity. As it so happened, he was too fast for the camera to get much clear, but the very first photo was of his wide eyes goggling at the pizza in front of him right before he dove down to feed. The lighting angle even muted his hair color, so she wouldn't have any reason to put together the two brilliant redheads and conclude he was Kid Flash.

    "Here, this is the goofball." I passed my phone over and waited for Barbara's judgment.

    And waited.

    And… waited.

    'Why doesn't she say something?'

    "Oh. Mygod."

    "Barbara?" I asked uncertainly. 'Her eyes should not be getting that wide. Please don't let me have blown anything.' "You okay?"

    "Artemis." Still visibly shocked, she looked up to stare me in the eyes. "This is Wally." She took a deep breath. "You're dating Wally."

    "I… said that was his name, right?" 'Okay, seriously weird vibes here. Does she know him, or what?' "Seriously, Babs, what's up?"

    "This is Wally." She said it very significantly. I decided to stop playing along or playing dumb, and just gave her a mild, sour glare.

    "Yes, Barbara, I know who I'm going on a date with this weekend. I've known him for a few months. Now how do you know him?"

    "He's Dick's friend." I blinked at that. "Seriously, they met when he beat Dick at some Mathlete competition, so Dick demanded his number for a rematch and they've been friends ever since. He lives in Keystone but he comes to visit his grandparents in Gotham once or twice a month, so he and Dick hang out a lot. Corny jokes, flirts with everything in a skirt or tight top, and never stops eating? That Wally?"

    'I'm pretty sure the grandparents thing is a lie, but it would explain how he could run here… or heck, he could probably just use the Zeta Tubes, duh. He even admitted he knew the area around Gotham's Zeta Tubes and could find my house from all the times he visited… Rob… in….'

    "Okay," I said a little too loudly, desperate to move the conversation on. "Barbara, if you're serious about this, that he's a friend of Dick's from Mathlete stuff, then I want you to promise me you won't tell Dick about this."

    "But-,"

    "No buts," I insisted firmly. "Wally knows where I go to school and he never mentioned anything. Dick doesn't- shouldn't know there's anyone I'm dating." 'But Robin does, and ooohh…' I let a wicked smile cross my lips. "I am going to use this to troll them so hard…."

    Barbara just stared blankly at me.

    "…I'll keep quiet, but promise you'll take pictures," she requested finally. "Pretty please?"

    "I'll tell you the whole story when it's over with," I lied. 'Damn it's getting too easy to do that.'

    She dropped the subject and we went back to talking about my article, but I didn't get a lot of it done. My head was too busy spinning with the recent revelations, although I pled that I was brainstorming my payback when Babs called me on it.

    'It's even almost true; I need to figure out how to handle this. …Shit. Ooooooh, 'We'll laugh about this someday' indeed, you little troll.'

    The bell rang, and I headed off to my social studies class with ideas filling up my head.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • This entire situation is amusing, and I wonder how exactly she will use this to mess with them.
    Like, I'm genuinely confused, I can't see how a prank plan follows from this information, though my confusion might be because her attempts to deceive Barbra mean that she's claiming to be planning one kind of trolling, while actually planning another kind.
     
    A "Bette" Kane that's unexpectedly tired in class, as if she's started having a lot of late nights recently?

    Sounds like Babs is going to be Batgirl II in this timeline.

    Speaking of timelines, when should we expect our first visitor from the future? Hoping it's Terry McGinnis, that way he can boggle as much about the changes past as Renka will boggle about time travel being possible without the universe imploding.
     
    Lykantos said:
    Given Renka's less than pristine condition, is the whole Sandman plan still going to happen? It's supposed to be in December right, just before the human Sandman's (whose name I keep forgetting) death? I'd have thought Fate would have mentioned it at some point since he should have some knowledge of it from being hosted by Renka, plus tangling with Dream seems like a fairly important deal.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    If she's well enough by then, yes. It shouldn't require her to do much magic or be subject to it, just travel through places where there's more magic. At her current rate of recovery, no one sees much issue with it, although Diana might end up carrying her most of the way if she's not well enough to walk.

    torac said:
    Fate giving birthday gifts was somehow unexpected despite making complete sense. I still haven't fully processed that they are friends now, it seems.


    even [WHO?] does not know
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Fixed! It's "-even She does not know-," referring to Gaia.

    Grigori said:
    This is a pretty adorable friendship. But was Kaldur uncomfortable with how accepting Renka was of Fate's possession of Zatara? He seemed to leave pretty quickly after finding out her amiability wasn't due to ignorance.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Yes, but given that Renka literally laid her life on the line not too long ago, no one is quite comfortable calling her on it yet.

    thatguy said:
    This entire situation is amusing, and I wonder how exactly she will use this to mess with them.
    Like, I'm genuinely confused, I can't see how a prank plan follows from this information, though my confusion might be because her attempts to deceive Barbra mean that she's claiming to be planning one kind of trolling, while actually planning another kind.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Tell Wally she loved the date, then let "Dick" over here her complaining to Barbara about it, asking if Wally would come to Gotham Academy one day to scare off this freshman with an annoying crush on her, ask Robin some subtle G.A. related questions, or other stuff that she'd still have to think up.

    The Sandman said:
    Speaking of timelines, when should we expect our first visitor from the future? Hoping it's Terry McGinnis, that way he can boggle as much about the changes past as Renka will boggle about time travel being possible without the universe imploding.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Usually, I'd give this a RAFO, but I will say we'll probably get them before season 2, and they'll be traveling back from around 2048 (while Impulse traveled back from 2053 in canon).

    Just because 211​ is a significant number.
     
    Last edited:
    Snapshots and Afterimages - part 3
  • Threadmarks
    • Life Ore Death​
    * November 18 [Recording transcript excerpt]

    Z: -which means M'gann is sort of pouting about not getting to do the traditional makeover, so me and her have been experimenting with illusions and shape-shifting in lieu of going out shopping.

    BC: I'm glad you're spending more time together. You've also been spending more time with Robin, I've noticed.

    Z: Yeah. He's… good at being there for me. I sort of want to do more, but right now… Oh, except he met me outside school one time.

    Z: So now all my classmates know I have a boyfriend, except I think they think he's bad for me, since I'm crying so much more.

    BC: Crying is a perfectly normal and natural response after everything. You aren't being teased, are you?

    Z: I was, once. Well, twice. The first time I just started crying worse and worse and I couldn't tell anyone I don't have my dad now.

    Z: But when I was sniffling about this to Robin after, he told me to take a leaf out of Wally's book the next time it happened.

    Z: So I swore at them, slapped the rudest girl clear across her face, and stormed out to the office. And then I had to explain why.

    BC: What did you say? I haven't heard anything about you being in trouble at school.

    Z: Well, since I couldn't tell anyone about my dad not being on a leave of absence, I started listing some of the traumatic things I saw while we were running cleanup and damage control in the first hour of the disappearance, and later while I was playing host to Fate.

    Z: Add a little bit of the Christian Love and Kindness card, and my forgiving Serena if she apologized and saying sorry back, I didn't even get detention, much less suspended. I did have to get Batman to forge a signature that my Dad read the letter about it, but hey!

    BC: …

    BC: I… see… Well, I think you handled that very maturely, Zatanna. I'm very proud of you.

    Z: You're not the person I want to hear that from.

    BC: No, but I hope it means something to you anyway. We can't really stop caring about other people's opinions, as a species.

    Z: Plenty of villains do.

    BC: Plenty of villains do many things that are unhealthy, including that kind of apathy. It isn't good for anyone involved.

    Z: You're preaching to the choir, Canary.

    BC: I've told you you're allowed to call me Dinah.

    Z: I know. I don't want to. …I was talking about everyone at school, right? Well, Serena wasn't at all petty about it, and when the lead gossip tells people to lay off … and it's not like I was unpopular before, either; I'm the daughter of a celebrity. And I'm a cool person.

    BC: School is mostly stabilizing for you, then?

    Z: If you don't mind my having to lie through my teeth, then yeah, sure. I mind, but since when does my opinion matter?

    Z: You know, sometimes I wonder what would happen if I stopped pretending. If I told everyone Dad was kidnapped by Fate.

    Z: Body-napped. Whatever.

    BC: Are you planning to?

    BC: Zatanna?

    Z: …I'm not really sure it would help. I mean, it wouldn't change anything. Nabu doesn't care about what most people think. I felt it.

    Z: And if the Justice League was going to do anything to stop him, they already would have, right?

    Z: Stop. Don't answer that. I don't actually want an answer to that, Black Canary. Nothing you can say will make me feel better.

    BC: That's… Well, no, there are no easy answers or quick fixes to this.

    Z: …Canary, that really, really doesn't make me feel better. Even if it's perfectly normal.

    Z: Right, so, school is okay and I haven't broken down in the bathroom since the once on Tuesday, so that's good.

    BC: Are you crying at other places? Here, for example?

    Z: Yes, sometimes. Does it count as crying if a tear just slips out like when you're really tired even though you don't get blotchy?

    Z: Or if you just shake, sob, and hiccup without any of the waterworks? We really need more words for crying.

    Z: And yes, I know it's not unusual or shameful to cry, "It's a shower for your soul," but is it really that important?

    BC: You seem to think so?

    Z: You're the one who asked me about it; I was thinking about letting people at school know what wrong and lying, not the crying.

    BC: I see… Is there anyone at school who has been particularly helpful, or hurtful?

    Z: We're talking about I've known for years and see five times a week for several hours.

    Z: They all know something is wrong, Canary, even if I'm giving the performance of a lifetime about exactly what.

    Z: I mean, bonded by trauma or not, I know just about everyone there better than everyone here through dint of sheer duration.

    Z: Michaela, Teal, Selena, Rommy, Lexa, Kathy, Catty – yes, that's two girls both named Katherine – B.D., Lauren, Clarity, Chastity-

    Z: Snerk-! Sorry, she always starts grumbling about her name if we don't call her Chase. And that fantasy book didn't help a bit.

    BC: Which book?

    Z: It's- I wasn't the one who introduced it to everyone, but it's one of the ones Wally gave Renka, and I recognized it, so I read it.

    Z: They aren't important characters, not in the story, but there are, like, eight kids of parents who did the whole virtue naming.

    Z: Except they named the daughters after virtues, but the sons are named after vices, and none of them are what they're named for.

    BC: And one of them, Chastity, is…?

    Z: "Is…?" My god, Canary, are you really stuttering, asking me if a fiction character mentioned as a footnote in a book gets around?

    BC: Ah. I suppose that is rather silly of me. This just isn't how I expected our conversation to be going. She's rather sexually liberal, then?

    Z: Oh no, she's a professional whore. Hope is depressed, Bestiality is a baker who's decently kind to animals, and I forget the rest.

    Z: Heheheheheheh… The look on your face is just like Selena before I slapped her. Beware, when the peppy ones stop smiling.

    BC: I admit, I'd forgotten just how teenagers can talk. But, you're smiling now, aren't you?

    Z: I- Yeah, I guess I can smile now. It's sort of recent.

    Z: It feeling real again, at least.

    Z: The first time I actually smiled anything real it felt like I was betraying Dad. Robin told me he'd felt the same.

    Z: I'm not much older than him, but I felt a million years older for a little while, until he told me he saw his parents die.

    Z: It... it was... bloody.

    Z: I still don't know how, really, or when, or even know his name, but he's being there for me the way he can.

    Z: He gave me a talk about adrenaline, endorphins, and other body chemicals that get the laugh response after stress.

    Z: I think it was copying off something someone told him – maybe Wally, but with his own spin – but it didn't make things worse.

    BC: I'd certainly say it helped. You've been-

    Z: Define "help". There isn't any help for this, Canary, and it's not ever going to get better. It won't ever stop hurting.

    Z: Dad won't ever stop being gone, and it won't ever stop being my fault. But I'll get used to it. "You can get used to anything," right?

    BC: …I still haven't fully recovered from when my own mother died. But I had people to help me, and so do you. Never forget that.

    Z: Dad never recovered from when Mom died, either. You know, I did some reading about Green Lantern's Emotional Spectrum.

    BC: You have?

    Z: Yeah. Turns out they don't have any color for joy, or for grief. It's all ROY G BIV: anger, greed, fear, will, hope, compassion, love.

    BC: I never knew that much about it myself.

    Z: Neither did I until I started reading. I know it's supposed to be science, but it's a lot like magic, too. Sufficiently advanced technology.

    BC: What prompted the interest?

    Z: Just… keeping my mind busy. It said there's a technique that can look at someone's emotional state. I wondered how I looked.

    BC: Have you used it? Or does it require a power ring?

    Z: I… I can pretty much count on one hand the number spells I've cast since… well, two hands if you count the Ice Fortress.

    BC: I see. Is that… Do you think that's a healthy decision, Zatanna? You without your magic is like, well, like me refusing to talk.

    BC: Which, incidentally, I tried for a while after my first Canary Cry half-deafened my first-grade class.

    Z: Except I'm still talking. It's a skill and I'm not practicing, just like if Robin refused to get on a computer for a few weeks.

    BC: Well, I hope… Rather, are you blaming your magic for what happened? It was not your fault, Zatanna.

    Z: ...I know that….

    BC: Which is not the same as believing it.

    Z: You can believe whatever you want, that doesn't make it true. So I'm just not believing in anything right now.

    BC: Nothing?

    Z: I believe Robin likes me too much to make a move while I just feel jagged and empty.

    Z: I believe I'm a damn good actress, so I might even be fooling myself when I say I'm okay.

    Z: I believe I stuffed my face full of M'gann's cookies 'til I puked last night, and it didn't make me feel any better, so no more of that.

    Z: I believe you're not an actual, licensed therapist, but since the Justice League is going stupidly secretive on this, whatever.

    BC: …

    BC: Well, you're not wrong, I admit, but I think there's another subject you've been dancing around, Zatanna.

    Z: Yeah. Sure. Whatever.

    BC: How are your interactions with Renka?

    Z: Hah.

    BC: Do you… believe that this is her fault, any of it? Have you spoken with her much since she woke up?

    Z: Have you looked in a mirror, Canary, because you're a total hypocrite to be bugging me about getting along with her. Pot, kettle.

    BC: Hmm. I'll admit, that's a bit more aggressive than I expected, as responses go. How so?

    Z: How about, Jericho has spent more time talking to her than you have since the Disappearance Disaster.

    Z: Jericho.

    Z: Since telepathy still makes her brain bleed, they can't even talk at all without a translator or him possessing someone.

    Z: And he's still spent more time talking to Ferris than you have, since she woke up. Even though you used to have weekly meetings.

    Z: She's injured, not invalid; moreover, she's definitely not an idiot or incompetent. Ferris knows you're avoiding her.

    BC: You keep calling her Ferris instead of Renka. Is that intentional?

    Z: She doesn't mind, at all, which you'd know if you asked her. Her given name has that harsh stop bit, and Ferris just rolls off the tongue.

    Z: You want to talk about how well I get along with her? Part of me hates her. I want to bite her throat out for what Fate did to Dad.

    Z: The rest of me is trying not to rely on her, since I'm pretty sure she'd let me take a swing at her since she gets it.

    Z: And, she gets it.

    Z: Everyone tries, but her and Robin are the only two really helping. I'd bet it's partly because they're the only ones whose families are gone.

    BC: That's-

    Z: Are we getting along? I've been avoiding her most of the time, and she lets me, and I'm grateful for it. She doesn't force anything.

    Z: She doesn't tell me how I should feel, or that it's okay that I'm not okay, or treat me like a piece of glass because my life's broken!

    Z: Last night I was trying to work on my math homework until I shut down to stare at the page for an hour because I didn't care.

    Z: Cue a hand on my shoulder giving a supportive squeeze. I spin around and it's her. I'm all ready for whatever platitude she has.

    Z: Nothing. She doesn't try to help me. Instead I get a complaint that it's late, her eyes are blurry, so would I read something to her?

    Z: So last night I spent half an hour reading stuff about the Emotional Light Spectrum to the best friend of my dad's body snatcher.

    BC: Zatanna.

    Z: She doesn't apologize. Not about that. She doesn't console me. She doesn't promise to help, tell me to be strong or that it's for the best.

    Z: She has me read to her, she pokes me a bit about my thoughts on the spectrum, and then she asks me to wheel her to her room.

    Z: When we talk, I give her my opinion on what she should make for her new metal-mind, and I even get to name it.

    Z: Eloheinum, after Eloheinu because it's a name for God, and it stores compassion, and it starts the same as electrum.

    Z: I figure, maybe I'll get smote for blasphemy or maybe He'll appreciate it or maybe I don't believe but someone might as well.

    BC: Zatanna, are-

    Z: Hey, I'm still talking! Aren't I supposed to be talking for this? Because we can talk about you instead if you want, Canary.

    Z: Because if I can help out the woman who's entirely okay with what happened to Dad, you can hold a goddamn conversation.

    Z: Because she's not an idiot, and when I mentioned I was talking to you today she said to send you her hello. Didn't say any more.

    Z: She knows you're avoiding her. She said to tell you hello because she knows she won't see you to say it.

    Z: I don't know what happened to freak you out about her, and I don't care. But I'm not going to sit here and be nattered at-

    Z: Erghhh. I'm not going to be told to talk about my teenage emotions when the grown woman can't do that much on her own.

    Z: Grow up Canary. You can cast the mote out of my tearful eye after you get that beam out of yours.

    BC: …

    Z: …

    Z: You know, I think I see why Ferris likes to do that. Tearing strips out of people with words is sort of fun.

    Z: And, oops, it looks like we're over time and I have other things to do.

    Z: Buh-bye.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • It looks like Zatanna wants to lash out and hurt something/someone and Black Canary was an easy target (since I don't think that Zatanna has a good leverage on Renka).
     
    It turns out the organization of vigilante crime fighters who dress in colorful, spandex constumes and drag kids into war zones so they can "learn" doesn't have the best handle on emotional health. Either their own, or the kids that they're supposed to be mentoring. Who would have guessed!

    Also, Zatana brings up a good point. If the JL is serious about the therapy thing, why haven't they brought in a licensed therapist or twelve? It's not like they'd have to worry about a security leak, since Batman's memetic super competence guarantees that the JL would be able to dig up plenty of therapists who take confidentiality seriously.

    And as for making that person vulnerable to supervillianc reprisal... not that big a deal. An organization like the JL must have a lot of civilian support staff. It shouldn't be harder to hide that fact that they're employing a professional therapist than it is to protect the secret identites of literally any member of the JL.
     
    That was going to get a Hug but it felt too patronising after Zatanna turned things around and showed how little she needed it. Kudos to her and kudos to you, that was interestingly awesome.
     
    The reason the Justice League doesn't have a therapist is because Batman would eventually be required to visit them.
     
    What exactly happened between Renka and Canary again? The last conversation I remember them having was about Green Arrow's infidelity and canary's reaction seems a bit extreme for that.
     
    Interregnum said:
    It turns out the organization of vigilante crime fighters who dress in colorful, spandex constumes and drag kids into war zones so they can "learn" doesn't have the best handle on emotional health. Either their own, or the kids that they're supposed to be mentoring. Who would have guessed!
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    It hasn't even been a month since the Klarion thing, you're asking waaay too much if you're expecting the one most affected by it on the team to be right as rain.

    Interregnum said:
    Also, Zatana brings up a good point. If the JL is serious about the therapy thing, why haven't they brought in a licensed therapist or twelve?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    The Team is kinda a secret.
     
    aabbcc said:
    It hasn't even been a month since the Klarion thing, you're asking waaay too much if you're expecting the one most affected by it on the team to be right as rain.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    No one is expecting Zatana to be A-OK, but it's a bit strange the way the JL is handling the fact that she is an emotional wreck when they oustensibly care about the Team's emotional health.

    The Team is kinda a secret.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    And... ? The JL has a top secret, orbital space station. Batman somehow launders hundreds of millions of dollars through Wayne Corp to pay for his crime fighting toys. The JL has access to a Martian mind reader. You're telling me that the JL as a whole doesn't have the resources to put a qualified therapist who values discretion on the payroll?!

    It's one thing for the JL to decide they don't need to get a professional therapist involved, and that BC's amateur training is sufficient for their purposes. However, once it is decided that BC isn't qualified for the job it shouldn't be that hard to hire a professional.
     
    Last edited:
    Hexxart said:
    What exactly happened between Renka and Canary again? The last conversation I remember them having was about Green Arrow's infidelity and canary's reaction seems a bit extreme for that.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    It's about the conversation and its aftermath, for the most part, yes. Dinah's later reaction to/use of some things Ferris said to her back then came up under really bad circumstances, with consequences.

    In short, Oliver has a kid he hadn't told Dinah about - largely because Oliver wasn't involved in his son's life beyond giving the kid a trust fund - and in the scary aftermath of the Disappearance Disaster he thought about being involved more in his biological kid's life.

    He surreptitiously raised the question with Dinah about whether she thought he'd be a good father, and because her talk with Renka was on her mind she gave a similar response, unaware that 1) Oliver actually had a biological kid whose life he now wanted to be a part of, and 2) that he'd never seen himself as trying to be a "father" to Roy instead of just a "guardian and mentor" because he'd have flipped if anyone tried to replace his parents.

    End result: a nasty screaming match followed by a quieter argument, culminating in the current breakup of their relationship.

    Ferris has heard off-screen from Artemis that GA and BC are not on good terms, has semi-correctly assumed that it involves her last talk with Dinah, and isn't going to push the subject until Dinah feels emotionally stable enough to approach her.
     
    Interregnum said:
    No one is expecting Zatana to be A-OK, but it's a bit strange the way the JL is handling the fact that she is an emotional wreck when they oustensibly care about the Team's emotional health.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    You mean by keeping her surrounded by friends and setting up someone she can talk to? Such a terrible job they're doing.

    Interregnum said:
    And... ? The JL has a top secret, orbital space station. Batman somehow launders hundreds of millions of dollars through Wayne Corp to pay for his crime fighting toys. The JL has access to a Martian mind reader. You're telling me that the JL as a whole doesn't have the resources to put a qualified therapist who values discretion on the payroll?!
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    The Watchtower is a decommissioned GL base they just towed in place, Bruce barely trusts anyone, and MM is not infallible, especially in YJ where most have received a nerf to their powers, and the other side has access to psychics as well.

    As for *could*? In theory, yes, in practice, Hugo Strange and Harleen Quinzel are examples of how wrong it could go, and even if things don't go that bad, the life of a superhero's supporting cast is fraught with peril, not everyone can handle it and be unaffected enough to provide therapy.

    There's that the Team is having some leak problems, and introducing additional elements carries both risk and heightened difficulty in plugging said leaks.

    And there's also the issue that the world just went through a fairly horrific situation, so I wouldn't be surprised if just about everyone with a sheet of paper saying they can counsel people is swamped with work.
     
    Remove ads
    Awesome news. If any Mistborn fic deserves a spot on TVTropes, it's this one. Pat yourself on the back, fella-- you've really hit the bigtime now!
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top