Winner: Information Literacy Classes
Number of voters: 8
The squad all signs up for information literacy classes, which include introductions to topics like philosophy, law, and and mass media. Kitty seems excited by the prospect, but Elvin seems more hesitant. Still, everyone agreed and everyone is a good sport about taking this new experience together. The group returns to the dorm for now, and the six of you set about unpacking and making the space your own. Those extended hallways lead to a semicircle of seven doors; each door except the one opposite the entrance leading do a bedroom while the final one leads to the second bath. That first week without classes seems to drag on and fly by at the same time. Getting to know your squad over that period reminds you a bit of getting to know new coworkers. You had a summer job one year at a candle store in the mall, and there's a very similar vibe to understanding the ins and outs of how to cohabitate with them. At the same time, it's a bit like an extended sleepover. You were an only child, and most of the time it was just you and your parents, but there were periods where your friends came over for the weekend and you really felt like you knew them much better after experiencing that. Sometimes it meant you weren't so much friends with them anymore. With your squad, however... you don't exactly have that choice. You want to do your best to get along with all of them; Colonel Rhodes made it clear it was only very serious situations that would necessitate moving squads, and rocking the boat like that just isn't your style anyhow. But all people have their own idiosyncrasies and you're sure your roommates are finding their own struggles living with you as you are with them.
Then again, you're incredibly pleasant and sometimes these assholes... !
I mean, let's take movie night for example.
Kid Omega came back to the dorm from wherever it is he vanishes off to during the day with a copy of The Death of Superman. The film was fine, of course. Animated comic book movies are for some reason always better than the live-action ones. What an awesome reality that would be where live-action comic book movies were reliably good and fun to watch. Oh well. Maybe Image Comics will start making movies or something, you've heard about a new Spawn film but it sounds like a major re-imagining. Do we really need that when we barely explored the Spawn universe in the first film? And it was years ago. We've seen Batman's parents die seventeen times, but it's already time to take a drastic spin on the MacFarlane cosmology? And where the hell is the Youngblood movie they keep talking about!? It can only be terrible and hilarious. That's almost as good as actually being good.
*coughs* Anyhow.
Everyone had a good time watching the film, but the post-movie superhero discussion was where things went sour. Because things went where they always go with new people when you talk about DC; who would win in a fight?
"Look, I love Batman. I do. He's entirely my aesthetic, and Grant Morrison's work on the comic is some of my favorite stuff in super-hero fiction. But Superman would take him down in a real fight, every. Time." Quentin had a way of weaponizing intonations to make himself sound right no matter what he was saying. It made him a great Devil's Advocate, but also made it frustrating to try and have a conversation with him.
"WRONG." Rage wasn't mad, he was just insistent. "Batman ALWAYS has a plan to take out the whole Justice League! Remember Justice League : Doom? He'd take out Superman before Supes knew what hit him!"
"Are you nuts!? Superman can hear someone crying for help across the city, do you think he wouldn't hear Batman clomping up behind him with a fist full of kryptonite?"
"Yes! Batman's a NINJA, man!"
"A ninja in clunky boots and body armor! Look, he can sneak up on common crooks and psychopaths just fine, but a super-powered being with super-hearing isn't gonna fall for it!"
"All right, all right. Hold on. Does Batman have--"
"Don't even say 'prep time', Elvin. If Batman gets prep time, Superman gets to juice up on yellow solar energy and it still ends the same way."
"How'd you know I was gonna say 'prep time'? You takin' a little peek inside my head?"
"Of course not!" Quentin actually sounds a little offended. "Every Batman fan brings up prep time! Of course Batman wins if he has an unfair advantage. That's how the stories work!"
"It ain't an unfair advantage, man, he creates it for himself. It's, like, part of his superpowers! It's that Sherlock shit!"
"Okay! I'm officially full up on all of this." Kitty rises from her comfy little cove on the couch, dragging her blanket with her back toward her room. "The movie was fun, guys. Thank you for bringing it, Quentin. Good night."
"Look, I hate to play to type," Robbie interjects, waving to Kitty, "but The Flash would take care of both of 'em. And if he didn't, he'd use the Speed Force to go back in time and do it better."
"What about Martian Manhunter?" suggests Roxy. "He's like Superman, but with, like, more powers!"
Kid Omega scoffs. "Please. Superman just has to turn on the heat vision and J'onn is toast."
"Yeah, I could take out Manhunter with a Zippo," adds Elvin.
Robbie offers a sleepy smirk and turns to you. "You've been characteristically quiet as usual, Vilina. Do you have anything to offer to the conversation?"
The Most Important Decision Of Your Life...
[ ] Batman would win.
[ ] Superman would win.
[ ] The Flash would win.
[ ] Martian Manhunter would win.
[ ] Why would they even fight?
[ ] This conversation is stupid.
.
