"Okay. How did this happen?" Tim demanded, flopping back onto the couch. "Why did the Court splinter?"

Jason groaned, pinching his nose. "Probably the same reason they did the first time: power."

"Wait," Cissie interjected, looking confused, "the Court has splintered before?"

"Yes. When they were still ruled by the Founding Family: the Crownes."

Dick's head shot up. "What? Jay!"

Jason held his hands up in a calming gesture. "This time, Dickie, I honestly forgot. It didn't seem important considering that the Court was controlled by the Vanavers, just a useful tidbit of trivia that wasn't relevant in the long run, like last time."

"Jason," Cass said, crossing her arms.

The older man glanced at his sister, and sighed. "Fine. According to our research into the Court's history both during and after our conflicts with them in the previous timeline, the Crownes founded the Court as a way to undermine the other First Families, especially the Waynes. They brought the Vanavers into the Court to give it further legitimacy and to gain access to their resources. The Vanavers controlled the majority of Gotham's shipping industry," Jason explained to the confused Cissie, before continuing on, "and as Gotham grew, they only grew richer. Originally, the Crownes were able to match their growth, but after the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th Century hit, the Vanavers' star began to rise exponentially."

"Let me guess," Oracle said dryly, "They decided they were sick of playing second string, like all the Major Families were with the First Families."

"Got it in one. The Vanavers started scheming to usurp control of the Court from the Crownes and saw their opportunity with Cobb, who had an axe to grind with the current Grandmaster. Cobb had already been pinged to be the next Talon by Nathaniel Haley due to his unrivaled knife-throwing skills. The Vanavers bribed Haley to get them a private meeting with Cobb before he began his training. They made him a deal — become the newest Talon, swear his loyalty to them, help them take control of the Court—"

"—and they'd let him kill Burton Crowne," Dick finished, turning around and kicking air. "And he took it."

"Is that another reason they wanted Nightwing as their Talon?" Tim asked his other brother, ignoring the existential crisis his oldest one was having. "To have the last direct descendant of the Crownes under their thumbs, as their personal slave?"

Jason gave a half-shrug. "Probably. Not the main reason, of course. The Vanavers wouldn't have rose to the top if they had made all their decisions according to their vanity, but it certainly sweetened the pot. And it would have allowed them to finally fully consolidate control of the Court, ensuring that their enemies wouldn't have another contender to back. That's the funny thing about organizations like this — as quick as they are to stab each other in the back at the slightest turn of fortune, their grudges tend to hold long and deep."

"All fascinating, but irrelevant," Batman interjected before more could be said on the subject. "The real question we need to be asking is why the Court splintered again."

Tim tapped his chin. "Well, the departures began about three months ago, right? What happened three months ago that would've prompted such a response?"

Cass audibly tapped her foot, gathering everyone's attention. Then, she pointed at Jason, who quickly realized what she was trying to say and palmed his face. "Of course. That's when I killed Ra's al Ghul."

"Which is also around the same time that Savage began his recruitment campaign for the attack a few weeks ago, according to our projections," Oracle added.

"You think Savage tipped them off?" Cissie asked, leaning against the other side of the couch.

"Possibly. But not everything," Jason speculated, mind running a mile a minutes, "If he had told them everything, about our real identities, then we would've been swamped with Talons the moment he told them and we would be having an entirely different conversation right now. No, he probably told them that the Bats knew they existed now, and about my time travel, and that they were made, and then made them an offer."

"An offer only half the Court accepted?" Dick sounded skeptical.

"Maybe. Either that, or he did some double dealing behind Samantha Vanaver's back. We all know he isn't above that."

"But what could he have possibly offered them to make them side with him?" Cissie questioned, rubbing one of her arms, "Taking you guys out? Couldn't they have tried that on their own with all those Talons? If they had just sent that army of yours while you were all at Wayne Manor—"

"—we wouldn't be having this conversation right now," Jason acknowledged. "You're right. It had to be something else. Something else that would give Savage enough leverage to convince them not to slaughter us before we could be a problem to their little reign over Gotham. And it's like I said before: power."

"But what power? They rule Gotham!"

"But not the world," Jason reminded her, lacing his hands together. "Tell me, what would've happened if the Talons had succeeded today? If they had managed to kill the five of us? And on top of that, say they had managed to kill Batman and Oracle too? What do you think would happen?"

Everyone else in the apartment exchanged looks. Batman and Oracle tellingly remained silent.

Jason continued on, uncaring that he didn't receive an answer. "My team alone would've ripped Bludhaven and Gotham to pieces to find those responsible and bring them to justice for my death. Don't think for one moment your teams wouldn't do the same for your own deaths. Each and every single one of them would've never stopped until every member of the Court was exposed and imprisoned — or worse."

His eyes narrowed. "It's like I said: they may rule Gotham, but they don't rule the world. Killing us would've just been a temporary victory. Savage must have promised them the power and influence to make it a permanent one."

"And killing the Vanavers?" Bruce asked, sounding grim.

Jason shrugged. "Likely, he didn't want competition for control. The Vanavers weren't ones to capitulate to anyone, even someone as powerful as Savage. Savage probably wanted someone more…receptive to his input, so to speak."

"So, Savage now has an army of undead super-assassins at his beck and call," Tim summed up, looking understandably surly. "Wonderful."

"We can discuss this further later," Bruce interjected, sounding firm."Right now, I need you all back in Gotham for this."

"Well, Robin and Batgirl will be heading back tomorrow—"

"I mean you as well, Knight."

Jason pursed his lips. "I figured. Let me call Donna, tell her what's going on so the others don't panic."

"And Nightwing—"

Dick shook his head. "I can't, B. With Blockbuster and all his lieutenants dead, it's only a matter of time before Bludhaven is plunged into a bloodbath. If you're taking Knight, Robin, and Batgirl along with Birds, then I'm going have to call in the Titans to deal with this."

"…Very well. I understand."

Everyone stared at Bruce in surprise. He ignored it. "Knight, Robin, Batgirl, I'll be expecting you in the afternoon tomorrow, where we'll discuss this further. If there's nothing else that's need to be said—"

"Wait!" Every eye turned to Cissie. "What about me?"

Jason sighed. "Well, Cissie, do you want to be a part of the investigation?"

"Do I have a choice?" Cissie countered. "The Court knows who I am because of Raptor. They saw me helping you."

"Point. B?"

Bruce observed Cissie for a long moment. "I doubt the Court will target you directly. However, I will ask that you keep one of our communicators on you just in case they do. If this isn't over by the time the school year is, then you'll have to temporarily move into the Manor until they're dealt with."

"Or with us at Catskills. Which you'll likely have to do anyway once the summer camp starts — and yes, I know Tim told you," Jason added.

Cissie ruminated over it for a moment. "Okay. I can live with that."

"Good. Knight will outfit you tomorrow. Batman out." The hologram flickered before dying away.

"...I hate it when he does that," Oracle commented, getting sounds of assent from everyone in the room. "Though, has anyone noticed how much more reasonable he's been lately?"

"He's growing up," Jason suggested, shrugging. "We should be proud."

"I guess so. Anyway, I better log off. I'll send you over the data packet about all the murders in Gotham tomorrow so you can look it over. Night." With that, her hologram dissipated too.

"Right then," Jason said, standing up and stretching his arms and legs. "Time to go to sleep. We'll head on back to the base tomorrow."


The following morning saw everyone waking up late, at 10 a.m. Dick had called in at his precinct for a day off, citing sickness, and it had just barely managed to past muster. Already he was planning on drawing his letter of resignation, uncaring of how suspicious it would look to have it tendered so soon after the resent warehouse explosion down in one of Bludhaven's derelict districts, which, per no one's surprise, had dominated the local news once morning hit. Inheriting the Crowne wealth would help smooth that over, make it seem like now that he had his own wealth, Richie Wayne no longer needed to sell the idea of his independence from his daddy to the public. It would…hurt, nuking the optimistic and dedicated reputation he had been cultivating on the Force, but Dick knew this was the right choice. He'd be killing himself otherwise.

He had, of course, checked with Jason to see if it was possible for him to inherit the money, and Jason had confirmed it. Apparently, the Dick in the last timeline had been able to prove his identity and inherit the money in short order after the Court had been throughly decimated. In his will, Dick split it between charity and family after he died, which meant all of the portion he bequeathed to his siblings eventually went to Jason and Cass after Tim and Damian died as well. Since there wasn't a living Court member for miles within Gotham now, that meant that Dick was free to take the fortune for himself, which would help with funding his own operations in both Bludhaven and with the other Titans.

As the children started packing up their things in preparation for their trip back to the safehouse where the Super-Cycle was stored, Jason and Dick went upstairs to the roof and just surveyed the skyline of the city. There was still some smoldering from the explosion during last night's escapade, and one could hear the distant sounds of police sirens. Even now, the cops were still investigating, trying to figure out what, exactly, happened during those wee hours of the morning-night.

"It's so beautiful," Dick commented, eyes far-off. "It's hard to believe that it'll all be going to hell by tonight. You know, once the news breaks about Blockbuster."

"The worst part is always the waiting, as they say," Jason noted, leaning against the railing.

"Agreed."

There was another moment of silence.

"You're still thinking about Haley's, aren't you?"

Dick turned his head to look at him with a bitter smile. "That obvious, am I?"

"Only to the people who know you best," Jason admitted, smirking back. "I'm just one those lucky enough to count themselves on the list."

Dick chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you are."

Jason's smirk faded. "Bruce gave you the deed, didn't he?"

"A birthday gift for my eighteenth birthday," Dick confirmed, looking solemn. "Been wondering whether or not I should just tear it up into pieces and throw it into the fireplace."

"You don't have a fireplace."

"So?"

Jason eyed him for a moment. "It's still your childhood home, Dick."

"That serves as a front for human trafficking," Dick responded bluntly. "That sold one of my friends to a court of self-serving rich assholes just because they couldn't sell me. That let my parents be murdered just so they could sell me. How am I suppose to reconcile with that, Jason?"

His brother nodded, conceding. "…The Court won't last forever, Dick."

"But that doesn't change the fact that this, all of this, has been happening long before I was born," Dick countered. "That this is why I was born. I can't condone that, little brother."

"…No. I guess you can't." Jason crossed his arms. "So what are you going to do?"

"Haley's Circus will be rolling into Bludhaven within the next month or so. I can end the upcoming gang war long before they arrive with the help of the Titans." Dick steeled his expression. "When they're here, I'll meet Mr. Haley in private and demand answers."

Jason tilted his head. "And if you don't like what you hear?"

"Then the circus won't be called Haley's Circus anymore." Dick turned back to the city, leaning forward over the railing and gripping it tightly with his hands. "I'll find some other family to play the part of Ringmaster. Someone that won't play ball with the Court and sell some other poor sap down the river to save their own hides."

"You're really mad about this."

Dick scoffed. "Wouldn't you be?"

Jason couldn't argue with that.


That afternoon, Cissie found herself the only student at Catskills base with Wallace, M'gann, and Kaldur for company as they waited for Kon and his group to arrive. They would've left Metropolis sooner, but Toyman had decided to wake the city up with a pair of Rock and Sock'em bots about the size of the Daily Planet, using the city limits as their boxing ring. It had taken most of the morning for both Supermen and the associated sidekicks to take them out with minimal casualties and property damage. Then there was the matter of capturing Toyman himself and sending him off to the authorities so he could be shipped off to Stryker's Island.

Technically, Cissie herself could have left already. The Bats had come and gone as quickly as possible, wanting to get started on the work waiting for them in Gotham before they lost the nerve. There was nothing keeping Cissie there from doing the same and heading home to enjoy her own spring break. However, she had elected to spend this year's break with Cassie and Greta, wanting to avoid spending it with her mother, and so decided to stay behind and head on over to Gateway City to the Sandsmark home with them instead.

She was watching an old cartoon on the television while the adults talked in the kitchen when the doors suddenly slammed open and her friends all stumbled in, somewhat tired and bedraggled. Bart went as far as to collapse onto the floor of the foyer, most likely for dramatics' sake.

Cissie, of course, was there to greet them at the doorway between the foyer and the living room. She rested her hand on her hip, cocking it along with her eyebrow. Dressed in her civvies, she looked mightily unimpressed. "Seriously, Bart?"

"Shut up," the boy muttered, his voice muffled by the carpet.

The archer sighed before glancing at the rest of her friends, all in various states of disarray. Even dear Greta looked paler and more worn than usual. "You all look like hell," Cissie stated bluntly.

"What Bart said," Courtney retorted weekly, using her staff as an impromptu cane. "From what we heard, it's not like your trip went any better."

Cissie shrugged. "Yeah. It was kind of horrible. 0 out of 10, would not recommend, even if Nightwing was as nice to look at as ever."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Kon commented as he walked besides the teenagers toward the kitchen, looking completely fine. Stupid Kryptonian genes.

The kids ignored him. "Being chased after by undead super-assassins was not fun," Cissie continued, shuddering.

"While that's nice and all Cissie," Cassie interjected before the conversation continued, "would you mind and help us get upstairs? We're kind of tired."

"Yeah, sure. Just remember that we need to head to your house by tonight after you wake up."

"Yeah, yeah…"


As a final gift, Kaldur had taken over the cooking in the absence of Jason, making some of his specialty pizzas. The original plan had been to pack up the leftovers and have the kids take them home, but with two speedsters present (including one that had been heavily exhausted by an entire morning of superheroing), it had been a non-starter. Instead, the food went quickly, and then the children were ready to go.

Thankfully, over the course of the week, the JLA had managed to rebuild enough of the Watchtower to use the teleporters again. That meant none of the adults had to take the team their respective homes on the Super-Cycle in-costume just for the sake of keeping their identities secret. Instead, they just had to wait around on while the Leaguer on monitor duty (in this case, a recently-reactivated John Stewart) teleported them to their respective coordinates.

"So, what are you guys going to be doing for your break?" Greta asked, in her corporeal form. As a gift for spring break, M'gann had gifted her a few of the mystical tags she had used on the warder and had taught Cassie how to use her innate magic to activate them so Greta could enjoy spring break as a normal girl. "Cassie, Cissie, and I are doing some shopping and a stay at an indoor water park for a couple of days. Probably with some superheroing in-between."

"County festival," Bart proudly announced, bumping his chest with one fist. "Going to enter the hot dog eating contest!"

Off to the side, Wallace snorted. M'gann elbowed him in the side.

Cissie shook her head. "Just remember to keep your speed in check, Bart."

"I'm heading over to the Brownstone for some further training," Courtney added, keeping the conversation on track. "Wildcat wants to give me some further pointers on my boxing. Then we're going to go on a couple of recruitment missions for the JSA, visit some legacies to see if they want to join." She shrugged. "One of them attends Harvard right now. I'm going under the guise of college tours."

"And Tim and Cass, of course, are already home, being run through the grinder." Cassie glanced at the adults, who were watching their conversation with amused expressions. "What about you guys?"

"Other than Themyscira to visit Kara?" Kon answered, shrugging. "Metropolis. Just because dear old 'daddy' is the President doesn't mean he isn't above causing trouble for my other dad. Not to mention, there's been this weird activity with Intergang going on that Clark and I need to investigate."

"What kind?" Greta asked curiously. "They causing trouble again?"

"That's just it," Kon said, looking speculative. "They aren't. They're being unnaturally quiet, which is a bit concerning. Clark wants my help in checking out their usual haunts as a civilian, see what's going on."

"And everyone else?" Cassie turned to other three adults.

"You already know where Jason is. Donna is hunting down some old enemies, including the Superman android that killed her last time. Kyle is still in space — last check-in, he and the other Lanterns were about to enter the Anti-Matter Universe and wreck Sinestro's would-be Central Battery. And as for the three of us," Wallace gestured to himself, Kaldur, and M'gann, "we've actually got a mission for the JLA."

"A mission?"

"It's more like an errand," Kaldur corrected. "See, the JSA isn't the only team expanding. The JLA are as well — they've already recalled several inactive members for active duty, including Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Hawkman. However, they've also want to invite a few new ones too. Coincidentally, we were planning to visit somewhere to invite some new students join all of you during the summer. So Superman asked us to extend the invitation while he was investigating things in Metropolis with Kon."

Bart tilted his head. "Where are you guys going?"

M'gann smiled. "Dakota City."


"Look man, I'm telling you — Rocket digs me!"

"Are you sure, Static? Considering how she ditched you at that concert—"

"That's because Icon had a fight going on! I'm telling you man, she was totally into me before that!"

Dakota City, Michigan. Just a stone's throw away from Detroit and often mistaken for it, up until a couple of years ago, it wasn't really any different from any other city in the country. It had its bright spots, including its thriving music industry and technology district (courtesy of the local corporation, Alva Industries), and its downsides, such as the urban segregation, social inequity, and the resulting rising gang activity. The same gang activity that led to the life-changing event for the city as a whole: the Big Bang.

The worst gang-related incident since the Dakota riots six years ago that left over a thousand casualties and close to two hundred dead, the Big Bang changed everything for the city. What would've been a burgeoning gang war turned into a nightmare as a tear gas canister struck and mixed with several canisters of Alva Industries' Quantum Vapor (later known as Big Bang gas or Bang Baby gas) and spread across the docks, exposing nearly all present to its mutating properties. All those exposed were mutated, but only a percentage were stabilized and later gained powers, becoming metahumans — or, as Dakota City knew them, Bang Babies. This phenomenon, through extensive testing, was later learned to be because these Bang Babies each contained a latent, if dormant metagene.

The Big Bang changed the face of crime in Dakota City forever. Normal crime, including gang-related activity, gradually decreased into non-existence as it was replaced by metahuman crime, reminiscent of other major cities such as Metropolis and Gotham. The police were left floundering as the former gang bangers took their acts to another level. It wasn't long before it became obvious that they were unable to keep with this new uptick in chaos.

Luckily, for every action is an equal and opposite reaction. New heroes came out of the woodwork to combat this soaring threat. One such duo was the team of Icon and Rocket, reminiscent of Superman and Superboy, or Batman and Robin — however, they soon started to focus on the more extraterrestrial threats that threatened Dakota. No, the primary deterrent to the Bang Baby threat were two Bang Babies themselves: Static and Gear.

Static appeared first, taking the city's younger population by storm with his easy confidence and witty repartee. He took longer to win over the older generation, but they warmed up to him eventually once he proved his intentions were noble, that he was nothing like the superpowered troublemakers that littered the streets. It wasn't long before he became one of Dakota's premier heroes, on the same level as beloved Icon.

About a year after his debut, however, Static added another player to his act: Gear. The young man's debut wasn't as bombastic as his friend and his powers were nowhere near as flashy, so most people didn't quite know what to think of him. However, he soon proved himself to be as equally dependable, using his super-intelligence to combat threats that sheer power and force could not and devising plans for the heroes of Dakota to use during particularly tricky situations.

It was for this reason that many weren't as enthusiastic they originally would've been when Doctor Donald Todd, the leading scientist of GenomaTech, announced they had found a cure for the Bang Baby crisis, an 'antidote' for Quantum Vapor. Secretly, they had sprayed this antidote everywhere in the city, across every visibile surface, infecting all the Bang Babies within the city limits. While this did the job of depowering most of the Bang Babies in Dakota, it also depowered Static and Gear, along with another prominent hero, Rubberband Man. An unnecessary punishment, one that Todd tried to defend with how the ends justified the means.

Of course, it backfired. The Bang Babies did not take their upcoming fate well and retaliated viciously. Ivan Evans, better known as Ebon, leader of the Meta-Breed and the most dangerous Bang Baby in the city led an attack on GenomaTech to procure the last known-existing canister of Bang Baby gas. Static and Gear tried to repel them, but with their weakening powers they had been unsuccessful in their endeavor. Ebon and the Meta-Breed escaped, and the crisis turned for the worse.

The two heroes tracked down their enemy to the docks, the site of the original Big Bang, where Ebon was holding court with the remaining Bang Babies in the city, those that still had some remnant of their powers. According to the newly-empowered Static and Gear, he intended start another Big Bang, one far grander than the last one, and had offered those present a chance to be at the epicenter of the destruction as long as they followed his orders in the aftermath. Things spiraled out of control as one of the Bang Babies, the infamous Hotstreak, double-crossed Ebon and tried to take the gas for himself, initiating an explosion that, while re-empowering Static and Gear, also turned the twosome into a two-headed monstrosity that would've caused immense devastation if let loose into the city.

The implications of the incident resounded even now. The city's initial intention to do a second round of antidote use was stymied by the possible reaction of the remaining Bang Babies, that many of them would be invigorated to follow Ebon and Hotstreak's footsteps for the sake of keeping their powers. Combined with legal implications of the initial actions, namely how it possibly infringed on the medical and even constitutional rights of the affected, and the new directive had been indefinitely delayed. In the interim, someone had managed to find a sample of Bang Baby gas and reverse engineer it, and were now supplying it to a network of drug dealers to sell on the streets.

On top of offering another avenue for the Bang Babies to regain their powers, it also offered a method for the other normal (and arguably more desperate) criminals to seek out a way to supplement themselves. After all, risking your life for the sake of surviving the transformation meant nothing when you had nothing else to lose. Once word got out, the drug ring became the top priority for all the heroes in the city, along with dealing with the resultant Bang Babies and their celebratory crime spree — only making it harder to find the source of the gas and to eliminate it, which was no doubt the intention of the suppliers to begin with.

"Okay," Richie Foley said, doing a small spin with his rocket boots, "if you're sure she's into you, you won't mind asking her out when we get to Icon's."

Virgil Hawkins shivered. "No way, man! I can't do that!"

"Why not? She digs you, right?" Richie grinned.

"Yeah, but I gotta play it cool, you know? If I push too hard too soon, she might lose interest!"

"Is that what you told yourself when you decided you weren't going to ask out Daisy yet?"

His friend glared at him. "Low blow, man. Low blow."

The two heroes, done with their patrol for the day, arrived to their base: an abandoned gas station in the center of the city. After changing out of their superhero uniforms and back into their civvies, the two caught the nearest bus and chartered out a path to their next destination: the Freeman estate at Prospect Hills.


It took about an hour of travel to make it to Prospect Hills. In contrast to the rest of the city, the suburban Prospect Hills was cleaner and brighter, an ode to its name. With its manicured lawns and white picket fences, this was the place where the fortunate got married and had their 2.5 kids and a dog if they so wish. An object envy and a goal to achieve, it some ways it was fitting that the city's greatest hero resided there.

Virgil and Richie had been to Prospect Hills before, after a team-up between the two friends and Dakota's own dynamic duo prompted a sharing of secrets, including the greatest any hero had: secret identities. This proved to be fortuitous in the aftermath of Ebon's would-be Big Bang, after the Quantum Vapor drug ring began. Deeming the gas station unsecure, the four had taken to meeting at Augustus' estate instead to discuss the problem and share intel.

The moment they arrived to the Freeman estate, Richie pressed the doorbell. After a moment or so, they heard some rustling behind the door, and soon they saw the smiling face of Raquel Ervin. "Hey guys! Come on in!"

Both boys walked inside, observing the inside of Augustus' home. While it had a distinctly modern look, there was always hints of an older style architecture, resembling the Victorian trappings of the 1800s. Not entirely surprising, considering that Arnus of Terminus had landed on Earth during the advent of the Civil War and had been living among humans since. Many of the 'antiques' from that time that resided in his home were actually his own effects, acquired during his time as a slave and then a soldier fighting for the Union.

Augustus himself was sitting at his dining table, overlooking the copious amounts data they had collected over the last months after it was confirmed a drug ring had sprung up. It was drawn and compiled from programs written by Gear and his own alien technology, organized in a way that allowed them to see patterns more easily. They had been using it in conjunction with a full, detailed map of all of Dakota City to try and determine where, exactly, the supplier was located.

"Virgil, Richie," Augustus nodded, acknowledging both boys. "How was patrol?"

"It went well. Barely ran into any trouble," Virgil answered for both of them. "I guess after our last bust with all those dealers, all those wannabe Bang Babies are lying low."

Raquel frowned. "That won't last for long, though. We still got too many de-powered Bang Babies on the loose, many of whom have nothing to lose and everything to gain. They're not going to be scared off by a couple of busts."

"She's right," Richie agreed, glancing back at the map. "Any luck with the supplier?"

Augustus let out a noise of frustration. "None. Whoever this is, they are smart. All the dealers seemed to centered on Paris Island, but—"

Ring!

All four heroes.

"You're not expecting any visitors, are you?" Virgil asked nervously.

The older man shook his head, grim. "No."

Cautious, the teenagers congregated together as Augustus approached the door. He looked through the peephole, frowning, before opening the door. "Can I help you?" he asked.

On the other side, Kaldur smiled. "Augustus Freeman IV, yes? And is that Raquel Ervin, Virgil Hawkins, and Richard Foley behind you? It's nice to finally meet all of you."


Well, that's the end of the Bludhaven arc and the beginning of the Dakota City arc! I've been spending the last couple of weeks determining which arcs to do in-between helping ArlyssTolero with his Forging a Better Future series (which I highly recommend!), and I've more-or-less finalized the list. I've planned out this arc already, and I'll plan out every other arc right before I write them, as always.

As you can see, I've based the Static portion off the DCAU version, as I never got the chance to read the original comics and I'm heavily familiar with the cartoon (it was one of my favorites growing up). So I've decided to use that version, which means bringing in Gear. I debated over whether I'd use She-Bang or Icon and Rocket, but decided on the latter since she'd bring a more distinct power set to the students. I've had to do some research on them since they only appeared towards the end of Young Justice Season One, and I haven't had the chance to read Icon's comics either yet.

Note that this takes place a few months after the series finale for Static. Obviously, none of the DCAU crossover episodes happened, but other than that you can assume things went largely the same here as they did on the show.

Well, that's it for now. Remember to update the TV Tropes page, everyone!

Next chapter: The heroes meet.