So this absolutely sucks to write. Anyway, here's the thesis: Reign is cancelled and in recompense I'm going to tell you guys the plot (in as much detail as I can, having not quite finished planning it). If you liked the story at all, please read on, or at the very least skip to the end for a teasing of a story to come, one I think any fan of Reign will enjoy.
My reasoning for cancelling this is quite simple. I'm just really not feeling this story, which is ironic because counting reviews per chapter it's easily my most popular fic. On the plus side, that means you know I don't do this to get "Fanfiction Famous," haha.
Truth is, much of Reign reads to me like I'm trying too hard to be dark and edgy, which is fairly accurate. I also have to admit it was overstuffed with cameos and characters because I so desperately wanted to write everyone. I had the general conceit of the story (Superman lost his powers as a teen, Luthor is president, pseudo-post-apocalyptic) in my mind for a long time, but honestly I'd never written it because it had always seemed so unlike me. It felt generic and overly edgy. Now, I don't think issues 1 and 2 are awful by any stretch of the imagination. I began to intentionally and naturally develop themes in a fashion I hadn't done in any prior fanfic I'd ever written, which added a level of depth and sophistication to my writing I was proud of. However, at the end of the day the general plot just felt forced.
I mean, my problem is less with the first two issues, although those were flawed. The coming few chapters would have thrown character after character at you guys. Few would have had legitimate arcs (Clark, Bruce, Lex, Diana, and maybe Lois Lane). A number of the ones introduced would have been there merely to be killed for shock value. Of the ones introduced already, six of the characters would have been killed by the end of the story. Yes, it would provide the appropriate atmosphere and would be there to prove that anyone could go at any time, but, like The Walking Dead, it just felt like it was largely there for shock value and to make the story excessively dark and depressing. The story's maturity lay in its complex themes and character arcs, not so much in the deaths (like, again, the Walking Dead), but that wasn't enough for me because of my handling of characters like Bruce and Jason.
Yeah, I got flack for those two. I very consciously made Bruce a nihilist (a choice I think could work) and Jason a whiny, angry bitch. I think Jason's anger was well placed, and he introduced a topic I was going to develop (child vigilantism/warfare/violence), and yes, I was starting Bruce at the absolute bottom so he could build himself back up with the help of Clark, but even still I just felt like the execution wasn't there.
So, you get it. I'm very critical of my work and I wasn't happy with Reign. I couldn't bring myself to write something that just felt forced. Now, onto the plot. Keep in mind this is a very rough draft of what was to come, and is missing a lot of key plot points, theme developments, and character arcs, because I was far from finished planning this out. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!
ACT ONE: CHAPTERS 1-8: A Dark Knight in Gotham
-You read 1 and 2. Good job and thanks for supporting me! :)
-CHAPTER THREE, V-T DAY, opens with Jimmy forcing Clark awake. They've gotta run because Luthor found them. Turns out Tim was wrong; Luthor's forces are better than they imagined.
-They enter the Cave, where everyone is panicking and destroying all the computers and info they can. Bruce activates a self-destruct sequence and reveals the BATMOBILE, which he hasn't used in years. He forces Clark and Jimmy into it, as Winn hitches a ride with Tim, and everyone else grabs their own.
-They're stopped outside by LexGuard troops who are led by BARBARA GORDON.
-Bruce and the others Gotham Knights (Dick's nickname for them and how he introduces them to Babs, who is shocked to discover Bruce Wayne is alive, because, y'know, everyone thought the billionaire was dead) fight off the LexGuard. Jason, in a surprising show of heroism, takes a bullet for Dick. He is beaten to death as the others manage to escape.
-In the city, they discover people are rioting. It's chaos. LexGuard troops are actively gunning down civilians, who have painted giant red smiles onto their faces (with blood or paint, the Knights can't tell). A leader proclaims the smiles are there to symbolize the forced smiles they've worn for years under Luthor's regime. They're fighting back.
-Oswald Cobblepot aka the Penguin, the mayor of Gotham and Luthor's chief underling in the city, speaks over large monitors like those in Times Square and tries to quell the rioters. He fails.
-Murder, rape, destruction everywhere. Bruce is horrified and Clark pushes him to actively try to stop it as a voice of hope. Bruce refuses, accepting the city's fate. This is how they push out Luthor.
-So Clark exits the car, speaks proudly about how this is not how they change things, how they need to have hope. Jimmy takes pictures. Bruce manages to tackle Clark out of the way of a sniper, and, realizing the situation is hopeless, the three escape to a base Bruce has. The trick? It's underneath Arkham, which has been transformed by Luthor into a prison and a base for his troops.
-CHAPTER FOUR, ARKHAM: Some character building scenes at the start, as the Knights recover. Duke and Harper are revealed to be in a relationship. Likewise for Tim and Stephanie. Harper's brother, Cullen, was killed in the Starro War.
-Clark is devastated, but Bruce is impressed with him nonetheless. He's reminded of himself in the past.
-The Knights use the chaos of the riots to begin to take over Arkham. This is an action-heavy issue where Jimmy is shot (but not immediately killed), Bruce fights and beats Killer Croc again, and Duke is used as a hostage by Victor Zsasz as Harper faces him with a gun for the cliffhanger.
-CHAPTER FIVE, VICTORY AT A COST:
-Harper makes the choice to shoot Zsasz, killing him and saving Duke.
-Steph dresses Jimmy's wound, but it's serious.
-Bruce confronts Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow, the head of the base, but is forced to fight Deadshot, his chief enforcer, so Crane escapes. Clark saves Bruce's life, and together the two overcome Deadshot, incapacitating him.
-Meanwhile, Harper and Dick run across Crane. Fight briefly. Bruce and Clark catch up to them. Harper blows out Crane's brains, much to Bruce's shock. The girl has changed.
-The remaining LexGuard run away. The Knights have taken Arkham.
-However, Clark is forced to say goodbye to Jimmy, who dies of blood loss.
-Later that night, as the Knights recover (Bruce won't speak to Harper, and Duke comforts her), a masked figure crashes through the roof into Arkham, surprising them all.
-CHAPTER SIX, THE LIVING WEAPON: The new arrival quickly kills Tim before anyone can react. Bruce is fast enough to try to stop the agender (it's impossible to tell under its suit) superhuman, and manages to avoid its attack. Harper shoots it, but bullets bounce off.
-Harper is the next target, but Duke takes the blow, being punched through the chest.
-Bruce calls for a retreat, knocking the superhuman back with a grenade. Clark is shocked because the being is as fast and strong as he was.
-They try to escape as they leave traps for the superhuman, managing to slow it down. However, they're met outside by Gordon and her troops. The commander stops the superhuman for a moment, and explains it's Luthor's secret weapon. He'd unleashed it to crush them, and then to destroy Gotham as a warning to any who would oppose him. Babs is, admittedly, very conflicted about this.
-Bruce takes advantage of this, and tries to convince Barbara, and anyone else, to join them.
-After reminding her of her father, and a poignant speech about the cycle of violence and purpose of hope, Babs pulls a different gun from her belt and shoots the superhuman, who is too shocked to avoid the bullet—a green glowing bullet, one that Clark recognizes is made of Kryptonite. The superhuman is temporarily stopped by the wound in her gut, but it's not mortal, so she manages to leap away from Babs to avoid the rest of her shots.
-Babs' own troops begin to overwhelm her and one manages to shoot her in the stomach with an armor piercing round, crippling her,
-Bruce saves her by pulling her into the Batmobile. In the process of leaving, Tim is shot and killed.
-Tim's death being the last straw, Harper decides to stay behind as a distraction so the others can escape. She dies fighting, allowing the rest to escape.
-Clark manages to convince Bruce to infiltrate Lex Tower (used to be Wayne Tower) to access all the monitors in the city to reach the people. He wants to give them a message of hope, and Bruce realizes it's their last chance.
-CHAPTER SEVEN, THE LAST LAUGH: Lex's business hub and home base in Gotham is Lex Tower, but nonetheless Bruce crafts what he thinks is a plan for a suicide mission to take it over.
-In an abandoned building, they craft the plan. Bruce gives everyone the option to back out, but no one will, although they're all devastated.
-Babs is saved by Steph, although she's crippled. She elects to stay behind.
-Clark inspires them with a brief speech about the ones they've lost and the hope in the future. Only Bruce is unfazed, and the two have a brief discussion where Clark admits he realizes they will likely fail, but he's now willing to risk everything for Gotham. He now understands the importance of it, its symbolism of Lex's empire.
-So, they begin their mission (in a very Mission Impossible fashion, as Bruce reveals the plan in a flashback while they execute it in the present time).
-It goes surprisingly well as they stealthily take down LexGuard troops (with the help of the chaos of rioters), until they're discovered near the top.
-Cass, Dick, and Stephanie stay behind to fight off troops led by Firefly, who isn't costumed but wields a flamethrower and mercilessly burns his own men to get at them.
-Bruce, Clark and Winn go to confront Cobblepot but are met by Clayface, his bodyguard. The two manage to defeat him and then enter the main office, meeting Edward Nygma, Luthor's chief strategist in Gotham, and Oswald Cobblepot.
-The two manage to handily defeat them and Winn accesses the communications server. However, Nygma escapes from his restraints and leaps out the window, surprising everyone. However, he is picked up by Man-Bat, his escape plan. Bruce deduces he'd contacted the beast with a special frequency produced by his staff, which he proves true when he examines the staff. Cobblepot is pissed he's been abandoned.
-Clark is given his chance to make a speech over the city's comms system (like Cobbepot did in issue 3), and does, saying those who stop the wanton destruction and chaos, and join the rebellion will have the last laugh. They will stop Luthor, and for the first time, he accepts they'll do it at any cost and with any means necessary.
-CHAPTER EIGHT, NO MAN'S LAND: Dick, Cass, and Steph manage to beat Firefly and his troops.
-The riots cool a bit, but much of the city keeps going as they're egged on by their leader (who's heavily implied to be this universe's Joker).
-Bruce, for the first time, truly accepts its fate and demands they abandon it. Clark reluctantly agrees
-They're surprised when helicopters fly in. It's the rebellion! They gun down much of the LexGuard troops, to Clark's dismay.
-Oliver Queen is leading the rebels and firing on his own (with guns). He drags Clark in and their prisoners (Cobblepot, etc.) and begins to pull out those who wish to be rescued, including all of the remaining Knights.
-They go back to the abandoned building to find Barbara has disappeared. Bruce leaves nonetheless.
-The Knights leave, as the rebels continue to fight off LexGuard troops and save those who wish to be saved.
-The Knights go to the rebellion base in Bludhaven, a city with relatively lax Luthor control.
-As everyone is treated for their injuries, Oliver and a depowered Dinah Lance discuss what happened with Clark. It turns out they're lovers, the other two leaders of the rebellion, and they're both more war mongering than Clark. Wally West, a grunt, runs in with a message.
-Oliver and Di lead Clark and Bruce (who forces himself into a position of leadership) to the docks, where they're met by a large alien-looking ship. Out step Arthur Curry of Atlantis and Diana of Themyscira, who introduce themselves as the newly wed King and Queen of the combined empire of New Atlantis, which extends its reach to Themyscira and Greece.
ACT TWO: CHAPTERS 9-12: The New World
-So…this is where my outline gets funky. I hadn't really planned this out, but basically it's a four issue arc of politics and scheming. Cobblepot is used as leverage.
-Months pass
-The rebellion moves their operations to London, where Clark butts heads with the others about whether or not they should flood/nuke the East Coast of America, which includes Metropolis, the new capital of America and where Luthor resides.
-Meanwhile, Luthor is introduced as the World Parliament debates with him as he hints at his intentions to conquer the world and threatens them because of their siding with the rebellion. Some cameos of international heroes as they lead their countries.
-John Stewart, a rebellion leader, sides with Ollie, Di, and Arthur in the nuking option.
-Bruce, Diana, and a majority of the everyday grunts side with Clark.
-Clark is nearly assassinated at some point (hadn't decided on who does the deed), and a mystery kicks in.
-It turns out Dinah convinced Oliver to send the assassin to get rid of the leading voice that's preventing them from taking action, and after revealing the corruption, Oliver and Di are imprisoned and Clark has more power than ever. Even John has to accept his leadership.
-Clark makes yet another rousing speech in front of the World Parliament, minus Luthor, but is interrupted by the mysterious superhuman, who kills most of the Parliament (except Diana and Arthur, who fight it off) and kidnaps Clark.
-Bruce begins to plan a rescue/black ops mission that will end with Clark saved, Luthor captured, and America taken.
-Clark is brought to Luthor by the superhuman. The two briefly talk and it's revealed Clark asked Lex to take away his powers because he was tired of holding back, of having to hide his true self, of being an outcast. Lex teases Clark, and then explains he is not alone, which Clark assumed but is moved by nonetheless. Lex tells the superhuman to remove its helmet. END ARC.
ACT THREE: CHAPTERS 13-20: Justice
-Yet again, I don't have this planned out all the way. I have some scenes in my mind, a few details, and a general arc, so that's what I'll provide.
-Basically the superhuman is Kara Zor-El, Clark's cousin. Lex reveals he tried to create a clone of Clark, but it was a bizarre monster (Bizarro) which self-destructed accidently when he sent it to kill Starro (that's what blew up in blue light). Then he was given the greatest gift he could imagine, Kara, whom he imprisoned with Kryptonite and tortured, eventually shaping her into his weapon.
-In another surprising turn of events, Lex explains that he's confident he can remutate Clark's DNA to make him Kryptonian again. His plan is to break Clark, and if he can manage to morph him into his weapon like Kara then he'll give him back his powers. With two Kryptonians and the secrecy behind their weaknesses, Lex would be able to take over the world easily. If he can't "mutate" Clark's morality, he'll just kill him. Clark naturally swears he won't break and he'll save Kara.
-So…planning. Some more DC cameos. Hints of a future romance between Dick and Babs. The nuclear option (read: flooding East Coast) is still on the table, but they'll try the black ops mission and if that fails they'll commit to the flood.
-The first few issues would be a bit slow, and would be character-heavy, focusing on their interactions, a bit more on politics, the chaos of the World Parliament with new leaders, and Lex's attempt at breaking Clark.
-We'd get to know Wally West, the comedic relief and "heart" of the story in a lot of ways, better. Barry Allen died in the Starro War and inspired him to join the rebellion. We'd also meet Hal Jordan, an older fighter pilot.
-Wally volunteers for an extremely risky genetic project that's resulted in the deaths of the dozen previous volunteers. With a changed formula, the rebellion hopes they'll be able to create a super soldier. They attempt it on a stormy night, and Wally is injected with the chemicals. He screams, is dying, when lightning crashes through the window and electrocutes him. He survives, but is knocked into a coma.
-Weeks pass. Bruce becomes a figurehead in the rebellion and is leading the mission.
-Wally wakes up the day before the mission with super speed. He's changed everything. They take it as a sign, Bruce slightly tweaks the plans.
-The day of, Bruce gives a speech that he imagines Clark would give. It's suitably grimmer and more Batman-y, but the team (Dick, Cass, Arthur, Diana, John, Wally, and a few others [likely international heroes like Rocket Red]) feel somewhat inspired.
-It also turns out that Bruce took a speech gave Clark him about symbols (in act two, forgot to mention it) to heart, and has recreated the Bat-suit. It helps inspire him, although he believes this is likely a suicide mission.
-THE MISSION (which would be awesome, believe me).
-Unsurprisingly Clark has not yet been broken. Lex isn't upset. It took a couple years to break Kara.
-Oh, and during the break Kara wreaked havoc on the rest of the world, causing chaos and crippling countries.
-Bruce manages to save Clark, and they use Lex's machine to give Clark powers.
-Yay! The rebellion is kicking ass! Diana and Arthur successfully hold off Kara, and are even winning! Wally beats of Lex's robot drones (who resemble Metallo)! The rebels are overwhelmed, but not yet lost, to a large battalion of LexGuard troops. All is good!
-…Except immediately after giving him powers, Bruce sacrifices himself to save Clark, killed by Lex, who uses his Kryptonite-powered armored suit to beat the shit out of Clark, who, all things considered, is kinda new to his powers.
-…but wait, Lex reveals that he freed his ultimate backup before he came to kill Bruce and Clark—an army of BIZARROS!
-With the help of the Bizarros, the baddies (who have some supervillains among their ranks) beat the crap out of the rebels. Arthur is killed by Kara! Wally is overwhelmed and beaten down by some high-tech supervillain (Captain Cold?).
-In an exceptional feat of willpower, Clark manages to push past his lack of powers and, y'know, the fact that he's dying (thanks to Kryptonite), and uses one of Bruce's batarangs to stab Lex's powercore, causing it to blow up and knocking Lex out, although he's seriously injured.
-He then flies into the sun to refuel, while Wonder Woman fights Kara to a standstill.
-Ultimately, however, it's Clark who has to take her on, moving their battle to the sky (WW can't fly in my story), leaving Diana to help Wally and the others. Because she's a demi-goddess, she obviously does a pretty good job of it. Wally escapes with his life, and in fact manages to beat the villain facing him.
-Clark tries to convince Kara to change, to join them, that she can be good again, but the girl's just a killing machine. So, he's forced to make an impossible decision. In her weakened state, he beats her, despite taking a beating himself. Willpower and something worth fighting for trump killer training (think Supes vs. Zod and MoS), and he's forced to kill her, breaking her neck.
-Naturally, Clark is a mess. There are tons of casualties on both sides. Hal was shot down in the battle.
-Epilogue would likely feature vignettes of a recovering world. The Green Lantern ring finds John Stewart. Dick becomes the new Batman, and Cassandra his sidekick. Mera emerges from the sea, a talented water witch.
-The World Parliament was destroyed and a new World Government created in its place, led by President Clark Kent, who, to honor Bruce, sports a bright, 'S'-like bat symbol on his jacket. It's also on the flag of the world.
-Clark decides to create a task force to protect the world. Wally West, now called the Flash; Diana, Wonder Woman; Dick Grayson, the new Batman; John Stewart, Green Lantern; Mera, Aquawoman; and Clark, taking on the name his father had imagined for him: Superman.
-Hope dawns on a brighter day…
-Oh, and Lois would feature into the story somehow. Winn would have played a role...somehow. I was working on that… XD
…
And holy shit, that's a wrap. God, that's as long as a chapter. Hope you enjoyed following the (kinda…not really) story.
Anyway—the future! For those of you who enjoy all of my writing, check out The Flash: First Steps. I'm finally going to go back to that and finish it. For those who really just prefer darker stories, or perhaps more sophisticated stories, just wait a bit. I have a story coming that, in my opinion, is a lot less "forced," edgy, and depressing, but still quite dark. It's something different for me, but something I think everyone will enjoy.
And yes, it's a Batman story.
Til next time,
CDAlbert