DISCLAIMER: OPERATION OWNING-YOUNG-JUSTICE-EVEN-LESS-THAN-NORMAL-FOR-ONE-MONTH begins… NOW!
Chapter 3: Cracks
Arkham Island
December 30, 17:32 EST
"Report" said L-2 through the holoscreen. He was clearly not in the mood for pleasantries, something that suited Hugo Strange just fine. He was still sitting in the middle of a hostile maximum-security detention facility, after all.
"Tetch has proven significantly more... efficient than I anticipated" Strange said. "He is finishing the final debugging as we speak. Project Parasite is essentially complete."
"Good" replied L-2. "That puts us ahead of schedule. Begin the preparations for Phase 3."
"Already done" Strange replied. "Live testing will begin immediately after the 6 PM shift change. Asset Golem" - he glanced over at the brown-haired man, still staring blankly at a wall - "is under control and ready for the procedure. The only concern is-"
"Yes?" L-2 asked, in a tone suggesting that he was not in the mood for complaints.
"I have several misgivings about our..." Strange searched for the right word "...ally for this mission. Are we certain it is wise to give control over to... him?"
"He needs us to get what he wants" L-2 replied. "He will stay in line. For a while. Which is all the time we need. Failing that, there is still the PCD. The transports are ready as soon as the facility is secure. This will work."
"Of course" said Strange, not sounding quite as confident. "Operation Alcatraz Phase 3 will begin shortly." He closed out the holoscreen and discretely wiped his brow. The easy part was done. Tetch had proven cooperative, Project Parasite was nearly functional, Arkham security had no idea they were even there, and Penelope was still following instructions. So what was bothering him?
Was it the fact that he had spent over fifteen hours in the decommissioned sections of a maximum-security psychiatric facility? No, that had been easy. Psimon and Penelope had proven more than adept at keeping security away.
Was it the impending Phase 3, and the great expansion of crimes that he could be convincingly charged with? No, that wasn't the concern. Even if Alcatraz failed, there would be no evidence against him. It would all be taken care of, one way or the other.
The only thing it could be would be... yes, that was it. Their impending deal with the devil. The Light might be convinced that they could control him, but Strange was certain that it would only be a matter of time before they were proven wrong. It was critical that the operation be completed before that happened.
The hard part was just beginning.
The Watchtower
December 30, 18:12 EST
"Sounds like quite the battle" said Green Lantern Hal Jordan, his face flickering slightly on the screen, a consequence of the thousands of lightyears of space the signal had to travel through. "Sorry I missed it."
"Things were under control" Batman lied. "What have you found?"
Jordan sighed. The Lantern was still on Oa, where he'd been sent after the raid in Spain. As much as his additional firepower would have come in handy at Gemini Base, they'd needed clear answers about the Apokoliptan technology Savage's group had been using. A need that had not gone away.
"As you'll recall," Lantern said, "the Guardians previously claimed that they had never heard of Apokolips, the 'Forever People' or New Genesis, and there is no data about them in the central databases. It was suggested that they might be a known species operating under an alias. I gave the Guardians everything we knew about the situation from Superboy's encounter with them and they promised a full and thorough investigation."
"And?" Batman asked, already fairly certain of what the answer was.
"Nothing."
"They haven't found anything?" asked Wonder Woman.
"No," Jordan shook his head. "They haven't even been looking. My search of the records has turned up exactly zero references to Apokolips, New Genesis, the Forever People or Desaad, the exact same number as before the investigation was promised."
"So they haven't looked into it at all?" asked Superman.
Batman frowned. "Or they already know about it and are keeping it a secret."
"Why would they do that?" Superman asked.
"They're scared" Wonder Woman suggested.
"I don't get it" Jordan said. "What scares the Guardians of the Universe?"
"Apokolips, it seems" said Batman. "Keep searching."
"I'll do my best, Batman" Jordan said. "I'm pulling in some favors as we speak. I'll let you know they instant I have anything."
"Acknowledged" replied Batman, closing the channel.
"What do you think?" Superman asked.
"Clearly the Guardians want to keep this information to themselves" the Dark Knight said. "That does not bode well. From our limited experience, it is clear that these 'Forever People' possess technology vastly superior, not only to our own, but to that of many of the other alien species we've encountered. If they have aspirations on Earth, we won't be able to stop them. Not blind, at any rate."
"Hal's stubborn. He'll get to the bottom of things" Superman said.
Batman nodded, but he didn't seem as certain.
The computer beeped and the Atom's face appeared on the screen.
"Atom" said the Dark Knight. "Have you completed the analysis?"
"Preliminaries are done" the Atom replied. "A full-scale run-up will take several more hours. But I thought you'd like to know right away."
"Know about what?" asked Wonder Woman.
"After the Belle Reve Black Adam vanished, I did a thorough search of his cell" Batman said, glancing over a stack of charts on the screen. "There were no apparent means of escape. No traces of radiation, magic or anything else to suggest a method of teleportation or density shifting."
"A locked room mystery" the Amazon commented.
"In a sense" Batman replied. "The only abnormalities I was able to find were Black Adam's DNA and traces of an unusual liquid on the floor, near the cell's shower."
"Why would the missing prisoner's DNA be unusual?" Wonder Woman asked.
"On it's own, it's not" said Batman. "Humans leave a trail of DNA wherever they go: hair, skin cells, sweat. But I was unable to find any traces of Black Adam's DNA that were less than a few weeks old."
"All security information says that he was there" Superman said. "It couldn't be a hologram. Belle Reve checks for that. Heck, I touched him right before he disappeared."
"So, what's the liquid?" Wonder Woman asked.
"That's the question, now isn't it?" the Atom replied. "It's organic, that's for sure. It appears to be a slurry of proteins suspended in what resembles a primitive cytoplasm. But there's no cells, no organelles, no overall structure. And the proteins are essentially random; no unifying pattern. No DNA. I've never seen anything like this."
"I have" said Batman, narrowing his eyes. "Atom, I'm sending you a file from the Batcomputer. Run a comparison and get back to me once you have the results."
"Roger that" replied Atom, signing off.
"What is it?" Superman asked.
"No point in explaining until we're sure" Batman said.
"You mean until you're sure" Wonder Woman countered.
"There's a difference?" Superman muttered.
"Even if my hunch is correct, it won't help us track down Hugo Strange" Batman replied. "Besides, right now, we have more... pressing matters to attend to."
"You are certainly correct about that" said Martian Manhunter, entering the room. Red Tornado and Captain Atom were right behind him.
"J'onn, what are your thoughts?" Batman asked.
"Her mind is... difficult to read. Portions of it are arranged differently than any other psyche I have encountered."
"Is that a problem?" Batman asked.
"Can you verify her story or not?" Superman asked at the same time.
"My initial telepathic probes suggest that she is genuine" said the Martian. "Much of her mind is in a language I am unfamiliar with, which makes it difficult to be certain."
"Is that a yes or a no?" asked Wonder Woman. "Is she telling the truth?"
"It is certainly possible" replied the Martian. "It may even be probable. But I cannot guarantee it."
"All of the information she has given us checks out" countered Superman.
"Is there any way that could have been faked or stolen?" asked Captain Atom.
"No" said Superman. "No one could possibly have access to it besides myself or Batman. Isn't that right?"
Batman narrowed his eyes. "It's been encrypted in an isolated computer network, and half of it is in a language no one on Earth can read anyways. It is extremely unlikely that anyone could have stolen it."
"Can we get a guarantee on that?" Captain Atom asked. Batman scowled and shook his head.
"Nevertheless, it seems the most probable that this girl is, in fact, who and what she says she is" said Red Tornado. "If that is the case, then our primary issue becomes..."
"What we tell the Team" Batman finished.
They all thought for a second.
"Surely you're not going to just dump her on them" said Wonder Woman. "Certainly not now."
"She's right" said Superman. "This isn't their concern."
"It was increasingly becoming League policy to allow the Team to handle these sorts of matters" said Red Tornado. "Superboy of course being the best example."
"This is different!" Superman snapped.
"How?" Wonder Woman asked. "Oh, don't tell me you're just trying to keep her to yourself!"
"What? No!" the Man of Steel replied, taken aback. "I just meant that Superboy will likely not take this very well."
"So NOW you're concerned about Superboy" the Amazon said sarcastically. "Usually you're trying to pretend he doesn't exist!"
"If we could please stay on topic" interrupted Captain Atom, moving between the two League founders. "I'm not Black Canary, but if she was here, I feel confident that she would point out that the Team is to be completely off duty for the next two weeks. Babysitting our new-found Kryptonian might be considered 'work,' especially given that she was found as a result of the Cape Chidley op."
"Perhaps introducing the girl to the Team in a more relaxed, non-mission environment would help her acclimate more effectively, as well as provide the Team with a non-violent distraction" proposed Martian Manhunter.
"Yes, or re-traumatize them while giving a spy access to the Hall of Justice" replied Wonder Woman.
"She's not a spy" huffed Superman. "She's just another victim of Vandal Savage and his buddies."
"Unless that is what Savage wants us to think" Red Tornado suggested. "As Tigress demonstrated, his operatives can come in all shapes and sizes."
"It might be worth asking ourselves what the consequences will be if we keep this to ourselves and the Team finds out" Captain Atom said. "Generally speaking, they haven't taken well to us keeping secrets from them."
"Additionally, if I may ask," said Martian Manhunter, "what would be our course of action in the event that we did not inform the Team? She must go somewhere. If not the Team, then where?"
"STAR Labs is an option" Superman said.
"If you want to introduce her to Earth's finest clinical study" Wonder Woman remarked.
"There's the Canadian government, if we're willing to risk having her outside of our hands" Captain Atom suggested.
"I also know a family that can be trusted to keep secrets and has experience helping Kryptonians adjust to life on Earth" Superman said.
"Your parents?" Wonder Woman asked in disbelief. "You're willing to send a superpowered total stranger to live with your parents just because she can speak a little Kryptonian?"
"I was just suggesting a possibility..." Superman growled, clearly agitated.
"This is all just a dream come true for you, isn't it, Clark?" the Amazon spat. "Another survivor of Krypton, and a close relative of yours to boot. How convenient. Don't you remember how the last Krypton survivor your found tried to turn the planet into..."
"ENOUGH!" grunted Batman. The others turned to look at him. He had been quiet for an awfully long time.
"This is not for us to decide" the Dark Knight said, pushing some buttons. A holoscreen appeared.
"Batman to Hall" he said.
"What do you think you're do-" Superman started, but Wonder Woman placed a hand on his shoulder.
"What is it, Batman?" came a voice from the other end of the call.
"Aqualad, I need you to meet me at the Metropolis zeta tube in ten minutes. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes, Batman" the Atlantean replied. "I will be there shortly."
"Good" said the Dark Knight. "Batman out." He closed the holoscreen and turned to the other League members.
"Aqualad is the leader of the Team. He deserves the chance to give his opinion. Superman, you and I will speak with him and introduce him to the girl. If he believes the Team is ready to deal with her, then that is what we will do. Am I clear?"
The remaining five Leaguers looked at each other, but said nothing.
Robin shuffled back to the Hall of Justice's library, practicing his slouching technique.
He knew that he needed to stop beating himself up over everything, but he couldn't. Bruce had taught him to always analyze and learn from every fight, every patrol, every mission. Every mistake was a chance to learn, he'd said. A chance to improve. A chance to never make it again.
Robin's mopeyness was rudely (though somewhat relievingly) interrupted by one Wallace West sliding across the floor and bumping into his feet.
"Hey, Rob" the speedster said sheepishly.
"Dare I ask?" Robin replied.
"He keeps trying to wrestle Wolf" said Conner, smirking slightly. "Hasn't quite learned his lesson yet."
Wolf trotted over, a frisbee in its mouth. "Hey, boy" said Robin, smiling as he rubbed the canine's ears, took the disc out of its mouth and gently tossed it across the room. Wolf dashed over and snatched the frisbee out of the air.
"Show-off" Wally muttered, getting back to his feet. Robin smiled, if only for a second.
"Robin, is everything alright?" asked Kaldur. "You seem... ill at ease."
Robin froze for half a second. Kaldur had always been the most perceptive of the Team, at least when it came to things like this.
"Uh... yeah," Robin lied with the best smile he could manage. "Just a little tired."
"You sure?" asked Red Arrow. "You were in there a long time." Artemis, who was standing nearby, elbowed him.
"Shrink time. Confidential. Remember?" she hissed.
Roy frowned. "Sorry. I didn't mean to pry." His tone unconsciously suggested otherwise.
Kaldur glanced at the archer with concern. Roy had never been especially cuddly, but over the past few days, his personality had grown even more abrasive. Despite his best efforts, the Atlantean's mind began to wonder about Roy's own session...
The library's primary monitor flickered on.
"Batman to Hall" said, well, Batman.
"What is it, Batman?" Kaldur asked, half glad for a distraction and half afraid of what disaster would force Batman to call them.
"Aqualad," said the Dark Knight "I need you to meet me at the Metropolis zeta tube in ten minutes. Is that acceptable?"
Kaldur frowned. Just him?
"Yes, Batman" the Atlantean replied. Whatever it was, it had to be important. "I will be there shortly."
"Good. Batman out."
The screen turned off.
"What do you think that's all about?" Wally asked no one in particular.
"Obviously it's important Team leader stuff" said Artemis, tossing the frisbee to Wolf. "Why else would he want just Kaldur?"
Kaldur flinched slightly as he pictured Black Manta. Though he had informed Batman and Aquaman about his apparent parentage, he had not yet told the rest of the Team.
"Hmph" grunted Roy, obviously displeased but unsure as to why. "You think he's found a way around Black Canary's sidelining orders already?"
"I do not believe Batman would attempt to send us on a mission so soon after the last" Kaldur said. "And if he did, it would likely be a dire situation indeed."
The Atlantean turned to the zeta tube, typed in the address and prepared to leave.
"Have fun!" M'gann said cheerfully before realizing that no one in history had ever described a private briefing with Batman as 'fun.' Conner grunted a similar sentiment as he continued to flip through channels on the television.
"Do try not to kill each other while I am gone" Kaldur said as Wally lunged at Wolf again, trying to grab the frisbee.
"No promises" the speedster muttered, the disc having somehow ended up in his mouth. Kaldur smiled and entered the tube.
"Recognize Aqualad B02."
"You don't really think we're getting a mission, do you?" M'gann asked, floating over to the sofa and sitting next to Conner. "I mean, Batman promised Black Canary."
"It's probably just a briefing" suggested Robin. "Kaldur's the leader. That means he gets told stuff before the rest of us. You know, leader things."
"Things like moles?" said Roy. "He kept Sportsmaster's mole comments a secret from you all for several weeks, didn't he?"
Everyone else groaned.
"Mole stuff?" Conner asked, briefly pausing his channel-flipping. "Again? Really?"
"What?" asked Roy. "It's a serious issue!"
"Haven't we kind of put the whole 'mole' thing behind us?" asked Wally. "You know, with the... everything?"
"What, just because we got infiltrated by Tigress we're going to let our guard down?"
"Not being paranoid isn't the same thing as letting your guard down" said Artemis.
"And taking precautions is not the same as being paranoid" Roy counted. "Two days ago we got crushed. Utterly. Yeah we pulled through, but that was by the skin of our teeth with the entire Justice League up to bat for us. Do you really think Savage could have done that without an inside source? Do you really think he just happened to guess the right way to take us apart?"
"I-I thought we agreed that Tigress was the mole" said M'gann, sounding nervous. Even she didn't really believe that.
Robin shook his head. "Tigress didn't replace Artemis until after the Bioship had already been taken down. They'd set up for us way ahead of that."
"Cape Chidley was a trap" Roy said. "To set that trap, Savage had to know about the Team. He had to know who was on the Team. And he had to know that the Team would be reconing the Chidley Cadmus base that night."
"There was Rocket" said Artemis. "Didn't Psimon screw up her mind pretty bad? Not that I'm blaming her, of course, but she did nanite Zatanna and poison Wally's snack bar things, right?"
"That's what Psimon said" said Robin. "If you feel inclined to believe him, of course."
"I'd almost forgotten that in addition to everything else, Savage has the defilement of my poor, innocent snack bars to answer for" said Wally, who had finally stopped fighting Wolf. He thought for a second. "Man, you know you've had a bad day when you forget that you got Joker venom'd because too much other stuff happened."
"So... the mole was Rocket under the mental control of Psimon, which she is now free of and will be protected from with more advanced psychic defenses courtesy of my uncle, problem solved case closed?" M'gann said really, really fast. Conner's head jerked in her direction as he realized that no one else in the room was aware of Queen Bee's blackmailing of the Martian. Despite M'gann's increasingly nervous demeanor, the others didn't seem to have noticed. Perhaps they thought she was simply upset at the prospect of another mole.
Roy shook his head. "Rocket joined two days before the mission began and didn't know anything about the operation before the briefing. She might have been a tool to set the trap, but she's not how they got the intel. How would Savage have even known to have Psimon go after Rocket, anyways? Or that she'd be in the Mt. Justice area? Psychics can't mind control someone from the other side of the planet."
"This isn't the first time Mt. Justice has been hit" Robin pointed out. "There was T. O. Morrow and his robo-goons."
"You really think Morrow was working with Savage?" Conner asked.
"Why not?" asked Wally. "Everyone else we've ever fought seems to be! The Brain, Klarion, Sportsmaster, Count Vertigo, the Injustice League, the frickin' ice villains..."
The room was silent for a moment as they all appreciated the apparent existence of the Supervillain's Union International, and all of its horrifying implications.
"Working with Morrow wouldn't have gotten him up-to-date information" Roy said. "Savage had to know that we would be coming after Cape Chidley."
"Or he could have leaked the information with the intent of luring us there" Robin suggested. "Maybe the whole thing was a set-up from start to finish."
"Why?" M'gann asked. "Why would they go to so much trouble?"
"We were the target" Conner said. "The Team, I mean. Not the League, not superheroes in general, US. They wanted us off the table. They used their first Q.E.D. portal to bring over evil Artemis just to screw with us."
"What'd we ever do to them?" Artemis asked sarcastically.
"If the Injustice League, the Reds, the Brain, Parasite and half of the other people we've fought were connected to Savage, then we've done a fair amount of interfering in their schemes" Wally said, serious for once. "Not to mention New Orleans."
"Would you give that a rest, West?" Artemis growled. "I screwed up there. I figured that out."
"Actually, he makes a good point" Roy said. "If your description was accurate, those things Klarion, Ivo and the Brain created and put in that briefcase were just about the only thing in their arsenal we didn't get pointed at us. Any guesses as to why?"
"They need it for something else" Conner said. It was the most logical explanation.
"Vandal Savage may be a sore loser," said Robin "but he wouldn't put together an organization like this just to kill us. He's got a much bigger scheme in the works. He always does."
"But we beat him!" M'gann exclaimed. "We destroyed his portal device and kept him from using Tala's magic!"
"That was definitely a large and very expensive spanner in his works" Robin said. "But that doesn't mean he's done. Not by a long shot."
"Magic and technology together, under the watchful robot eyes of the Brain... whatever those things do, it can't be good" Wally said. "If only we had some sort of lead..."
"None of this solves the original problem" Roy said. "How did Savage get the intel he needed to compromise the Team in the first place? There's really only one possibility."
The room was silent as the others all looked at each other. Finally, Artemis said it:
"Are you saying that even after all of the kidnapping, mind control, torture, doppelgangers, freezing, poisoning, demonic possession, beatings and all the other nearly-lethal crap we went through, you STILL think one of us is a traitor!?"
Roy frowned. "What I'm saying is I think Savage has an additional source of information inside either the Team or the League. Maybe not a traitor per se. It could be control of our computer and communications systems. It could be some kind of magic thingy. We've seen his love of psychics; maybe the true mole isn't even aware of it. But that doesn't mean we can't figure this out and put a stop to it. And if I'm the only one willing to do that, then so be it."
"Roy, we can't work as a team if we're constantly second-guessing each other" Robin said. "At the end of the day, there has to be a bit of faith. That's how a team stays together."
"If you say so" Roy grumbled. "I guess I still can't believe that Tigress fooled me. I never even suspected she could be a fake."
"Dude," said Wally "you become a full-on Justice League member in like eighteen hours. Chill. Out. Take at least a little break from the paranoia, will ya?"
"I guess you're right" Roy said, turning and walking away.
"She fooled you because she told you what you wanted to believe" Artemis said quietly.
"What was that?" Roy asked, whirling around.
"Tigress fooled you because you WANTED to believe I was the mole" Artemis repeated. "It made you feel clever, didn't it? All your suspicions were right. 'Artemis Crock is a traitor and a supervillain.' It just made perfect sense. You couldn't figure out she was a fake because you didn't try!"
"Artemis..." Wally said, putting his hand on hers. "Tigress is a nasty piece of work, but she was also a good actor. Even Robin barely saw through her, and he's an expert!"
"No" said Roy, facing the door again. "She has a point. If Tigress had been a replacement Robin, or Aqualad or Zatanna, I would have seen right through her. It was Artemis's background, her secret-keeping, her suspicious behavior that made the lie believable."
Artemis stood up.
"Are you saying that it's somehow my fault that I got kidnapped, mind-screwed, and replaced with an evil me from another dimension?" she growled.
"I don't know" Roy replied, his voice disturbingly calm. "Is there anyone else here with a background that would allow them to have an evil twin from another dimension similar enough to pull off a convincing switch? Is there anyone else here who told obvious lies about their background, justified or not? Is there anyone else here who deliberately sabotaged an operation to keep their personal secrets safe?"
M'gann managed to resist raising her hand. She did NOT need the full force of Red Arrow brand paranoia pointed at her right now.
"I-" Artemis stuttered briefly. "I-"
"Whoa, dude, calm down!" Wally shouted, sounding decidedly un-calm. "I think we can all agree that if ANYONE here isn't Savage's mole, assuming there even is one, it's Artemis. He spent his entire operation doing everything in his power to make sure we didn't trust her, and now you're doing exactly what he wanted!"
"Are you saying I shouldn't be a least a little suspicious of the child of criminals?" Roy spat. "Her entire family's crooked sideways. Her father and sister have both tried to kill all of us more than once, and seemed perfectly happy hanging out with Tigress. Her mom only went straight because she broke her spine. Can't do crime work from a wheelchair, now can you? Pathetic."
Artemis roared and lunged at him, but Robin appeared and grabbed her from behind, holding her back.
"You don't know anything about her!" Artemis shrieked, struggling against Robin's grip. The Boy Wonder might be small, but he knew exactly how to use his muscles.
"It was just a lucky fall" said Roy, ignoring her. "That's what Savage said, right? The only difference between you and Tigress is how your mother landed when she fell off a rooftop! If she hadn't fallen, would she have ever stopped!?"
"So now you're believing Vandal Savage?" Wally asked. "Roy, this isn't like you!"
"Wally, if there's anything you should know about me, it's that I don't trust very much. Faith may keep a team together, but suspicion keeps it alive. If that costs me a few friends, well, we're here to do a job, not be buddies."
"I'm failing to see how THIS is helping you find your supposed mole" Robin said.
"You're right" said Roy. "I'm wasting time."
He stepped through the doorway into the depths of the Hall of Justice.
"SCREW YOU!" Artemis shouted after him as the door closed. "You self-righteous, sanctimonious hypocrite! She's twice the hero you'll ever be!"
Artemis took a few deep breaths, enough to convince Robin to release her.
"Calmer now?" he asked, knowing better than to ask her if she was okay. Artemis nodded.
"I swear to God, I am going to punch him so hard for that" she said.
"Artemis," Wally began, "I know Roy's... prickly, and clearly he crossed a line just now, but he-"
"I don't want to hear it" Artemis said, her voice cold and angry. She walked over to the zeta tube.
"I'm going home now" she said. "See you guys tomorrow."
She punched in the coordinates and allowed the tube's scanner to scan her.
There was a beep, but nothing happened.
Artemis stared at the zeta panel for a few seconds before groaning and punching in an additional code. The extra passcode they'd added onto her zeta access to try and keep Tigress out. Because that was the other person on the planet she needed to be reminded of right now.
"Recognize Artemis B07. Confirmed."
Artemis clenched her fist tight enough to hurt her skin, hoping, just hoping that none of the others would notice her tears before she teleported out.
She disappeared in a flash of light.
The four remaining teenagers (plus Wolf) just stared at the now-empty zeta tube.
"Well, Canary's going to be pissed" Robin said.
The others nodded.
So... this write-the-story-in-one-month thing may be a LITTLE harder than I thought...
Seriously, though. Immediately after declaring my one-month goal, I ran into an incredibly busy couple of weeks, and then one thing led to another and another and... yeah. Seven freakin' months of no progress. (Though I did totally redux and update/de-typo the original WCS, so if you want to take a refresher course on my fancy new SECOND DRAFT, feel free. If you don't, you really haven't missed anything.)
To make matters worse, I gravely underestimated how much set-up Madhouse actually requires. While I love the format of one chapter at a time in how it gets me feedback fast and usually motivates me to keep working, it also means that I basically have to get things right on the first try. (Yes, I can edit chapters after posting, but I don't want you guys having to re-read stuff because I retconned it.) That means that in a set-up chapter like this, I have to carefully make sure that I have absolutely EVERY scene, comment and observation that needs to be there. It makes sense, I suppose. Having knocked over all of the dominoes of canon, I must carefully put them back up into the new status quo before I can properly smash them with my semi-metaphorical clown-makeuped sledgehammer.
That said, I'm up for another go at the legendary One-Month Challenge. (Once again, two months is more likely, but we'll see.) This time around, though, I've come prepared. I know I've said that before, but just trust me this one time, okay? I just gave you a 5,000 word chapter. If that doesn't demonstrate commitment, what will? (The next chapter is also 80% complete at the time of this writing, so there's that as well.)
Let the madness begin!
(On an unrelated note, I really like these "The League/Team argues among itself" scenes, as much of a pain as they are to write. As much fun as epic fights against supervillains is, it's also cool to see the different personalities and philosophies of our various good guys conflict as well. Also, the "other survivor of Krypton" Wonder Woman mentioned is General Zod.)