Normally I respond to Reviews in-order, but this one was so eloquent and well-written, I couldn't help but respond to it first.
The Superior X-Man: In this story, there's a lot to appreciatethe characters are engaging, the plot is intriguing, and there's a strong sense of pacing. However, I find myself intermittently getting pulled out of the narrative due to the overuse of humor and quirkiness, even in moments that should be serious. This excessive reliance on humor disrupts the tone and undermines the emotional impact of pivotal scenes.
For example, let's consider the directing style of James Gunn. Gunn is known for his ability to blend humor with action and drama effectively, but he also understands the importance of balance. In the first and third Guardians of the Galaxy films, he infuses the story with wit and charm, but he knows when to dial it back to allow for moments of genuine emotion and gravity. Too much humor, as seen in some of his other works (Guardians Vol 2 and some scenes in Peacemaker) can overshadow the deeper themes and character development, resulting in a tonal inconsistency that detracts from the overall experience.
Similarly, in this story, the frequent injections of humor and quirkiness create a tonal imbalance. While humor can add levity and enhance the reader's connection to the characters, its overuse can dilute the impact of serious moments and diminish the story's emotional resonance. Like Gunn's films, finding the right balance between humor and seriousness is crucial for maintaining the story's integrity and ensuring that both comedic and dramatic elements are effectively conveyed to the audience.
Re: I always appreciate compliments on the facets of the story and the story-writing process as opposed to only the story in general. The "Pacing", courtesy of the Timestamps, has also been fun to implement because it keeps everything "relative" instead of being like a "Villain of the Week" formula. In Comics, everything tends to be split between Arcs, but I really enjoy stories with an established sort of pacing, whether it's school terms, holidays, the changing of the seasons, etc.
As for the Constructive Criticism… I can understand where you're coming from, and I'm happy to be offered methods of improvement instead of just being Flamed and ONLY being Flamed; often this is by guys who haven't written anything of their own, so obviously I'll question their "credentials".
Because sure, I appreciate being told that someone likes my story, and I LOVE IT when someone says they've binge-read one of my works; doubly-so when someone admits to losing actual sleep over it~ But I also really appreciate when someone takes the time to offer "Solutions" instead of only Complaints. I can only improve as a writer if I'm told where I went wrong and how to make it "right". And that you've been reading this work since 2016, makes this sentiment behind this Review all the more appreciated.
raptorfire777: So great chapter love your work but, the T-54 does not have a 205mm gun (a touch over eight inches) it has a 100mm gun (almost but not quite four inches) so you gave it a gun twice the size it actually has.
Re: Whoops. Used the Armour measurements. My bad. Fixed that up as soon as you pointed it out.
To GrimmPandaMan, I like when people actually notice my propensity for "multicross", as well as the hard work and effort that goes into it. And yeah, I've been a fan of Black Lagoon, especially since I got it in paperback, but introducing the whole crew with an extra twenty years on them from their adventures in-universe in what's framed as the 1990s couldn't happen organically until just the right moment. These people have "lives" outside of what the MC has been doing, rushing their inclusion would make it feel "shoe-horned" (as if they went out of THEIR WAY, to meet HIM), so writing in the meta-lore for "Earth-16H" is another part of the creative process that I really enjoy.
As for the "marker", yeah, that was John Wick-inspired, but John Wick himself will be another of Keanu Reeves' roles in the world's in-world fiction. Sprinkling it in helps the world feel "lived-in", you know? Highlight what people do in their off-hours. M'gann for example would find digital media to be fascinating since "storage medium" on Earth are radically different than what's on Mars; it's a part of Vee-Day I found really fun to include. Doubly-so because I'm not shoehorning him into the same "clique" as Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad, but starting a completely separate "clique" within the superhero community altogether.
Another example is how in RWBY, Jaune name-dropped "Spruce Willis", giving a hint at what people do in their off-hours when they aren't fighting monsters. It's why in my own RWBY story "Giant-Slayer", I make an effort to make in-universe fiction like "Killing Intuition", "Fatal Combatants", "Jade Chan" movies, etc.
To A Dude (Guest), let's call the whole infamous snafu a bit of Celestialsapien/5th Dimensional Imp "tomfoolery", and leave it at that.
I have been sneaking in some Ben 10 lore into this universe, after all~
To WeAreTheWorld, I'm glad you recognized all the effort I put into giving Virgil chemistry with all the girls he hangs out with. His "harem" won't comprise of every single woman he hangs out with, but by the end of things, he'll have cast a wide net. Not ridiculously wide, but given "how many girlfriends" Batman and Spider-Man have had…
*CRIMINAL TO CORPORATE*
The Bunker: War Room
February 24, 07:56 EST
"So let me see if I have this straight…" Virgil hummed gathering together his thoughts. "You want me to pull my whole 'Metahuman Liaison' schtick… on a bunch of grown-ass men?"
"You have a unique talent for getting through to Metas through their thick heads, so at the very least, the attempt should be made," Miller hummed as she slid a trio of folders his way.
"I suppose the mind is a terrible thing to waste," Virgil hummed as he opened the first folder.
"Cosmo Krank, aka 'The Toymaker', enemy to Bruce Wayne and former C.E.O. of Krank Co., a toy company that produced incredibly futuristic toys within ordinary consumer price ranges. Problem was, those toys were soon deemed too dangerous for the American consumer market after a litany of accidents took place, so Bruce Wayne led a campaign that closed down Krank Co. for good," Miller summarized for context.
The man himself was a Chinese-American, short and a little stout but not unhealthily so, his forearms the most-muscular part of his physique on account of the countless hours he spent handling tools when prototyping his own products. Face-wise, he was completely ordinary with dark brown eyes and short black hair, a stark contrast to his television persona where he wore a metal helmet with built in goggles, a spiky blue wig, and a flamboyant pink-on-top black-on-bottom short-sleeved jumpsuit with a white X crisscrossing his chest.
"Yeah, because that never goes poorly," Virgil hummed as he looked over some of the items in Krank's wheelhouse, and almost immediately got Small Soldier vibes off of it.
Hell, you slap a couple zeroes onto the price tag, give them some real weapons, and you've got mercenaries small-enough to be smuggled into foreign soil in carry-on bags and able to get into places ordinary mercs can't reach.
You didn't even have to make them human-shaped. Even something like the SD-K4's payload of mini-assassin droids from the recent episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars was a complete nightmare to the unprepared. Let alone anyone afraid of spiders. And then there was the miniature Metal Gear Mk. II that Hal used to help Snake during the Guns of the Patriots Incident; completely non-human in shape but incredibly useful as a support asset.
"Am I the only one getting Small Soldiers vibes?" Mercury asked aloud, he and Emerald sitting in on that meeting as a team-building exercise even though only one of them would be in disguise.
"If anyone up in Washington actually thought to buy the company instead of letting Wayne burn it to the ground, Krank might've gone along with it for the money alone," Miller nodded.
"I mean, only thing that'd be different is he'd be making toys for soldiers instead of children and man-children," Emerald shrugged, never really seeing the point in 'toys'.
"So advanced drone tech for C.E.L.L. if I can get him on board…" Virgil hummed aloud. "Next iiiiis-"
"Charlie Brown?" Mercury blurted incredulously.
"Charles Brown, also known as-"
"Kite-Man?" Emerald asked incredulously, cutting Miller off. "You want to recruit Kite Man? Seriously?"
Virgil, taking a look at the man's file, would be hard-pressed to sift him out from any ordinary man you'd find on the street. Average height, athletic build but not too-fit, Charles had a strong jaw, brown eyes, and short brown hair.
"The guy's gimmicky as hell, I'll admit, but his tech is solid and he's skilled at using it," Miller said pressing a remote button, causing an overhead monitor to come to life.
The next literal minute comprised of a composite of three camera views; two external, one internal. The first was of a kite-shaped silhouette flying through the Gotham skyline toward a ritzy penthouse that shrunk in on itself moments before impact. The next was of a swanky well-lit gala where the ladies were wearing jewelry more expensive than entire city blocks around their necks, a man in an all-green getup reminiscent of a recreational flight suit with light military-grade padding yanking millions of dollars off of necklines before defenestrating himself out the window on the far side of the room. The third piece of footage was of a man leaping from a penthouse window, unfurling a kite-shaped hang glider mid-leap, and then flying off into the distance.
"He just did a multi-million smash-and-grab… with a hang glider…!" Emerald blinked incredulously. "You know what, I admit, that was pretty badass," she conceded with a nod.
"Kite-Man; hell yeah!" Mercury chuckled as composites of multiple such-heists showed.
"I can see how that'd be useful," Virgil admitted. "Paratroopers were a huge game changer in World War II, but they were sitting ducks on the way down. Personal collapsible hang gliders on the other hand that you can take with you…"
Sure, Gotham was full of "gimmicky" villains, including (but not limited-to) Calendar Man, Egghead, King Tut, Mime, Polka Dot Man, Tarantula, and Zebra-Man, but Kite-Man at the very least had a gimmick that was remotely useful.
He still got busted by Batman in the end, but Virgil could already see several inroads to secure his cooperation.
"As for who's last on our list…" Miller hummed.
"Psycho? Doctor Psycho? From the YouTube video?" Emerald gawped incredulously.
"Youtube video?" Virgil blinked as he looked at the file.
Doctor Psycho, real name Edward Cizko, was a guy who could not blend into a crowd to save his life. At 3'9", the guy was a midget, but his head was quite large even-for. Clearly of Latino descent, the man had bushy eyebrows, thick crazy hair that went out in all directions, a wild look in his eyes, his goatee beard the most-immaculately cared for part of his appearance apart from the black suit, red flower on his lapel, and black bowtie.
"What, you mean you didn't see that?" Mercury hummed.
"I didn't care to follow 'superhero stuff' until very recently," Virgil deadpanned.
"Hey, Miller, the name on the video you're looking for is-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know which one you're talking about," Miller waved off, fingers tapping at a holographic keyboard in front of her before a YouTube browser came up on the big screen, a video buffering before a Hero/Villain fight involving Wonder Woman on a city street came up. The angle was obviously from a news chopper, Wonder Woman stopping bright red psi-beams with her shield before a black smudge lobbed a half-dozen cars at her like children's toys.
The fight took a turn when Dr. Psycho shot psionic hands out at Wonder Woman and began strangling her. There was some banter, Wonder Woman banged her bracelets together causing the power to rebound, Dr. Psycho was sent flying into a lamp post-
*BONK!*
"That really hurt you c*nt!"
*GASP!*
"Oof. No way he can work out in the open," Virgil deadpanned, having established a bit of a rapport with the woman in question.
They weren't completely buddy-buddy, but he had a bit more respect for her having actually met her, and heard of the deeds she'd accomplished.
Her moral ambiguity, when compared to the rest of the League, also made him feel better about his own back in Hub City. He could easily see Diana being those peoples' "mercy angel" while the League would be content to lock them away and let them languish in their suffering, prisoners inside their own bodies.
"We don't want him to work 'in the open'," Miller replied.
" . . . You want him to replace Psycho Mantis," Virgil realized after a moment.
"Foxhound was able to recruit a few psychics after Liquid's coup, but the most they can do is 'thought-sift' someone in the same room. When it comes to 'stopping power'…"
" . . . Cizko might be a tougher nut to crack," Virgil sighed.
"What's important is you try," Miller replied. "Getting a headstrong teenager to treat superheroing as a hobby instead of a no-pay career path is one thing, but if you can do the same with other meta-criminals… This has the potential to change… everything."
"Everything? Seriously?" Mercury asked incredulously.
"Look, those bleeding hearts in DC always bitch and moan about how big government 'isn't doing enough' to 'rehabilitate' the super-criminals dominating the news all the time," Miller said making air quotes. "Way the Director sees it, the only way we could get pushback from this is by the 'Pro Villain Faction' putting their foot down."
"You mean from that conspiracy about governments using super-criminals to stop super-heroes from deciding to take office?" Emerald blinked.
"Oh geez, is that what that bit of real estate on the Question's wall was…?" Virgil groaned holding his head.
"Obviously, we'll need to take responsibility for the commuting of their sentencing, but as long as the more-dangerous ones are kept away from the general public, people won't really care if they're 'working off' their sentences for private companies or not," Miller replied. "Krank for example is a certifiable genius, but all the other smart people in his league have too much ego to just hire him and give him a job."
"Yeah, I see what you mean. On paper, Brown is a completely ordinary man with a niche degree, but he's still on the hook for helping the Joker with the aerodynamics on his… 'Jokermobile'…" Virgil groaned at having to say that out loud. "Cizko will definitely be a tougher nut to crack, so I'll save him for last, but way I see it, if I can get Brown on board, treat it as a 'success story', it might be easier to get Krank to go corporate. I doubt it'll help my case with Cizko if he finds out I put him in the same 'batch' as a couple of 'basic bitch villains'."
"Looks like the gears are already turning," Miller nodded as she read his expression. "All of the prevalent files have been routed to your suite, so all you have to do is study up and schedule a date. The Director has put money into all the big American penitentiaries for super-criminals through various front companies, so it shouldn't be too hard to get 'David Washburn' in for a one-on-one."
"I still can't believe FaceCamo is that good," Virgil hummed aloud.
"That's the 'normie' in you talking," Mercury waved off. "Trust me, once you really get used to it, you'll stop being surprised by super-tech."
*CRIMINAL TO CORPORATE*
Blackgate Penitentiary
February 25, 10:01 EST
Construction of the original prison began in the 1880s after the Religion of Crime (a cult that followed the word of the "Crime Bible" and its lessons of deceit, greed, lust, and murder) was driven out of Blackgate Isle. In the late 1980s, Blackgate Prison was condemned by Amnesty International and forced to shut down. When it officially re-opened, the modern-day Blackgate Penitentiary was born.
Blackgate, situated in Gotham Bay, was understandably quite depressing. Of course, given it was where the non-insane criminals apprehended in Gotham were sent, the survival rate of the prisoners and the guards was far higher than Arkham.
Once upon a time, some considered Arkham to be the "cushier" of the two, one criminal going as far as to plead insanity so he could be commuted to Arkham, get "cured", and leave.
That plan massively backfired when crooked investor Warren White aka "The Great White Shark", was locked in a refrigerator and lost his nose, lips, hair, and several fingers to frostbite because one of the Arkham inmates wanted to take over his identity. Once he resembled his namesake on a more permanent basis and became an equally-permanent resident of Arkham…
Suffice it to say, since then, no-one was dumb enough to try for the insanity plea. Prisoners still bitched and moaned about it, but when it came to criminals who were just too lazy to work an eight-hour shift at… anywhere… what else was new?
Charles "Charlie" Brown for his part was kept in gen pop, minimum security, due to his good behavior on part of wanting to retain visitation rights for his son. The man's wife up and left the kid in his lap after divorcing him, so Charles Jr. was kept with a relative on his side of the family, obviously from outside of Gotham. While Gotham wasn't entirely the cesspit that outsiders thought it was, after it got out that Charlie's dad "worked for the joker"…
Suffice it to say, it was easy-enough to arrange for a one-on-one with the man in the administration building, the handcuffs more of a formality than anything else.
"Mr. Brown, please, take a seat, have a donut."
Charles found himself greeted by a man in a gray suit, maybe mid-20s but worn out around the eyes with brown hair and facial stubble. On his half of the table and off to the side was a black briefcase, while on the opposing side of the table was a box of assorted donuts. And fresh by the looks of them.
"Uh, thank you for this Misterrr…"
"Washburn. David Washburn," the man replied. "Do you want to eat first and talk later, or talk while we eat?" he asked going over to the coffee machine. "How do you take yours?"
"I'mmm more of a hot chocolate kinda guy," Charles admitted bashfully.
"Fair enough," he shrugged, stepping over to the capsule coffee machine and throwing in a pod.
The cordiality of the man that'd requested to see him combined with the wait for the hot chocolate was the hardest part, but admittedly, the fresh donuts took a great deal of the edge off. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, the niche aerodynamicist had his fill, knowing there'd be plenty of time for him to work off the carbs out in the yard.
Unfortunately.
"So, as to why I'm here," David hummed after licking the glaze from his fingers. "I represent a private military security company that's taken an interest in your 'Kite-Man technology'," he said laying a tablet on the table with composite footage of his debut and subsequent 'kite-heists'. "Normally I represent parties interested in metahumans, buuuut-"
The next moment a loud *WAAAAAAIL*ing sound pierced the air, hitting down to the bone and very annoying.
"So, what kind of siren is that?" David asked turning in his seat to face the door, drawing a sidearm from his coat and thumbing the safety.
"Jailbreak, sounds like," Charles hummed as he nibbled on another donut. "They happen as often as New York traffic is slow; you get used to it."
"I take it you've kept your nose clean, then?" the old-eyed man replied.
"Way I've seen it, there are 'good prisoners', and 'bad prisoners'," Charles said holding up two fingers. "Good prisoners just sit in their cells waiting for Batman to kick the teeth out of the bad ones so they can go back to sleep. We're all a little crazy in Gotham, but unlike the Joker, we don't enjoy being crazy. Or getting our teeth kicked in."
"Hm. Interesting perspective," David hummed as he got to his feet. "Anyway, back to what I was saying before-"
*CRIMINAL TO CORPORATE*
Gotham
February 25, 12:36 EST
"So, how did your mission go?" Miller asked via Codec. "Failed jailbreak notwithstanding."
"Complete success. Mr. Brown was willing and able once I listed off benefits."
"He didn't haggle?"
"What's to haggle over? He gets to live with his son during his 'commuted sentence', his kid gets full medical and dental, as well as a nice down payment for Charles Jr.'s college fund."
"Huh. I wonder if they'll all be this easy."
"Charles was the most-normal of the lot, so I just had to offer him a better deal," Virgil replied. "He felt a bit iffy about C.E.L.L. once he started asking questions about who took an interest in his tech, but since I didn't threaten to add to his sentence like a complete jackass, after I assured him that he'd only be teaching C.E.L.L.'s operatives how to use his 'Kite-Tech' and wouldn't be doing any actual fighting himself, he was more than willing to take the deal."
"It might help that C.E.L.L. is going to take his field of study seriously. I can't even begin to state how much his tech will do for covert infil and exfiltration. If he can add some rockets to the tech, even better."
"Well, I'll leave that to C.E.L.L.'s end of things. Still, I'm amazed you could arrange for his commuted sentence so-soon."
"Well, that's the rub. Charles Brown is a model prisoner from the minimum-security ward. Cosmo Krank… Notably more-dangerous. He might have to stew for a bit."
"At the very least, I think I know how to get his attention."
*CRIMINAL TO CORPORATE*
Blackgate Penitentiary
February 28, 10:49 EST
Cosmo Krank, aka the Toy Maker, was a guest at Blackgate's high security wing. The man was, for obvious reasons, denied access to any sort of workshop to make use of his craft, let alone machine parts, but apart from swearing revenge on Bruce Wayne as opposed to just Batman, he wasn't all that different from the other high-security prisoners with a gimmick.
Cosmo was skeptical when he was "summoned", but considering he had nothing else to do but read in his cell or read in the yard after being banned from prison-support jobs like cooking, laundry, and especially maintenance after being caught with machine parts in his pockets one too many times…
His ankles weren't handcuffed together, but his hands were bound to his waist in thick cylindrical manacles that denied him the use of his fingers. In terms of where he was being brought, it was to one of the interrogation rooms.
To his pleasant surprise, it wasn't a human that he found waiting for him, but a curious little robot of incredible design. Its chassis was angular with beveled corners, featuring what was obviously some kind of storage compartment in the torso, a small monitor on the right shoulder not too dissimilar to what was on some video cameras. A sleek camera system was mounted atop a thin articulated neck in a parody of a head, and its legs were a complex digitigrade with tiny wheels for feet, yet it had exceptional balance.
Game respected game as the saying went, and Cosmo could tell at a glance that the machine before him was a precision-engineered model of engineering. The sort of thing that'd make a killing in the RC market; before some broad somewhere pitched a fit about the little drone being used to peek up skirts or something like that.
As Cosmo's ankles were cuffed to the floor, the curious little drone walked up to him atop the table, video camera head honing in on his face before the wing monitor angled out to face him, a man around his mid-20s with exhausted-looking eyes appearing with remarkable fidelity for a monitor that small.
"Cosmo Krank. A pleasure to make your acquaintance," the mystery man replied, a spindly manipulator arm extending from the robot's left shoulder in a parody of a wave.
"Yes, well, it isn't like I have much else going for me," Cosmo hummed, eyes alternating between the screen and the camera-head.
"You can look at the screen. More personable that way."
"I'll say. Honestly, I'm a little ashamed I didn't make the vid-chat a part of my first Krank-Bot release," the man replied. "And sure, your toy's a little more G.I. Joe than I would like, but you have most-definitely got my undivided attention."
"Happy to hear it," the man on the monitor replied. "The name's David Washburn, but you can just call me Wash."
"Wash like 'Washington'~"
"At least you went with that instead of 'Mr. Burns'."
"That would've been my second choice," Cosmo hummed, far-more elated to talk to another person through a toy instead o f face-to-face. "So, to what do I owe the honor of this meeting?"
"I represent an interested party. One interested in your engineering prowess. Though, full disclosure, the 'toys' you'd be building wouldn't be for the wider consumer market."
" . . . If you didn't have this awesome toy I'd have walked out on you right now," Cosmo replied. "…After the guards uncuffed me from the floor," the man amended. "I'm still listening."
"While it's undeniable that your Cosmo Flyer, Krank-Bot, and Zoom Pet to name a few were incredible marvels of modern 'fungineering'," Washington began.
"Aw, you flatter me~"
"In retrospect, and I mean no offense when I say this-"
"My designs could've been 'ironed out' before they went to market. I know, I know, I've been going to the therapy sessions," Cosmo grumbled, really wishing he could rest his hand on his chin.
The man settled for resting it on the cool tabletop.
"So you've genuinely reflected on that then?"
"If it'll let me get out of here sooner and get my plans for Kranky Town back on track," the man hummed.
"Well, my client can't offer you funding for an entire amusement park, but they are willing to give you a high-paying job doing what you do best through commission. It'll still be a commuted sentence, and you'll be under round-the-clock scrutiny, but put the hours in, and eventually you might be able to release new toys on the side."
" . . . You really mean that?" Cosmo asked after a moment. "How do I know you're being straight with me? Winslow Schott took a similar deal too, and look how he turned out."
" . . . I'd like to introduce you to Charles Brown."
"You mean the Kite-Man?" Cosmo inquired, going just a little bit giddy as the drone's manipulator arm reached into its torso compartment and extracted a photo of a man who looked way too ordinary to be in Blackgate.
"Another client of mine expressed an interest in his collapsible glider-tech, offering to arrange for a commuted sentence in exchange for his cooperation. Mr. Brown is presently privy to fair wages, accommodations for himself and his son, and amongst other benefits the start of a college fund that'll let Charles Jr. go to any domestic school he wants."
"So what are you then, some kind of talent scout for talented individuals?"
"More like a 'Fixer'. My clients already know what they're interested in; it's my job to get through the thick heads and oftentimes bruised egos that plague certain people, and mediate an arrangement where their unique talents won't go to waste."
" . . . Kite-Man, though?" Cosmo asked incredulously.
"The man's a graduate Aerodynamicist. Only mistake he really made after the divorce was lending his talents to the Joker."
"Oh? What'd he make?"
"He worked on the aerodynamics for the… ugh, Jokermobile."
"Oof. Sure, I was hammy on my commercials, but even I think that name is cringe," Cosmo winced.
"On that, we can most-definitely agree," David returned. "Now, apart from a commuted sentence and a change of clothes…"
*CRIMINAL TO CORPORATE*
Blackgate Penitentiary
February 28, 13:41 EST
"Mr. Washington, finally finished with Toy Maker?" Miller inquired via Codec.
"Yeah. It took a while, most of the time was spent swapping emails with the Director on what Cosmo wanted out of this arrangement, but eventually we were able to work something out. His transfer won't be 'next-day shipping' like Mr. Brown, but Cosmo was much more of a menace with more collateral under his belt, so he understands that."
"I see, I see. And how'd you get him to foreswear vengeance on Wayne? As I recall, that was a pretty big criterion."
"I convinced him that the best way to snub Wayne was to 'move on without him', sell his toys and open that theme park of his in a way that Bruce can't do anything about. I had to lay it on a bit thick about how all Wayne can do is pay the people who actually make the stuff his family company sells, but I think he knew that I knew I was hamming it up for his benefit."
"So he really agreed to terms?"
"He isn't super happy about it, making 'grown-up toys on commission' when he got his big break making whatever suited his fancy, but he also knows that the more time he wastes away in Blackgate, the further away his dream of Kranky-Town becomes. I think 60% of it was 'for the kids', while the other part of it is so he can flip Wayne the bird in the future. And as long as the Director doesn't screw him over like what happened to Schott, I think Cosmo will fall in line."
"Schott… Toyman's father?"
"Apparently what happened to him is infamous among toy-makers," Virgil replied. "I still don't know how Mannheim got off the hook and left Schott holding the bag, but as long as the checks clear and Cosmo can work his little side-projects in his off hours, I think he'll be worth the time and effort it takes to get him out of Blackgate and out of the state altogether."
"Any products of his you're interested in seeing a 'G.I. Joe' treatment on?"
"Maybe the Cosmo Flyer. Aesthetically, it has all the best parts of a Back to the Future hoverboard with a childish whimsy of flying saucers, but without some kind of guard rail I'd be scared shitless to fly one of those myself. The 'Goblin Glider' does it more for me only because it has actual wings. The Cosmo Flyer… that's next-level shit right there. How come Luthor didn't jump on that?"
"My guess? Because Krank would get sued to death once his accidents started turning outright fatal. And why would he convert toys into military tech when he can just make the military tech with no middleman?"
"Hm. Fair. Honestly, I hope Krank can turn himself around. He's talented, but too many super-smart people become supervillains. I guess that's why Star Academy got so much traction. I've seen Gaige's work firsthand."
Sure, her anti-bullying robot got its skidplate handed to it, but that was basically "Evil Flash" it got sicced on, and the thing was made with salvaged parts. That it distracted "Purple Slasher" for even a few seconds was impressive.
"So, all that's left on the docket is Cizko. Arranging a visit for him will be even harder, doubly-so because we intend to make him 'disappear' afterwards, so you'll certainly have plenty of leeway to plan your approach when you aren't training."
"Yeah… Yeah, I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
*CRIMINAL TO CORPORATE*
Slabside Island Maximum Security Metahuman Penitentiary
March 5, 12:46 EST
Colloquially known as "The Slab", on account of how "the only way you get out is feet first", it was widely considered "the East Coast Alcatraz for Metahumans", and unofficially considered the prototype of the Belle Reve Penitentiary in the Parish by the same name in the Louisiana bayous.
Back before the technology for the Inhibitor Collars had been perfected, meta-humans had to each be contained in specially-designed cells to inhibit their meta-human abilities. Designing such cells on a case-by-case basis was obviously prohibitively expensive, hence the drive to create collars that individually nullified the synaptic "activation criterion" of select meta-abilities, but even with Belle Reve locked down to a science, it wasn't like The Slab was going to be decommissioned any time soon.
As a matter of fact, The Slab was where most of the enemies of Wonder Woman were locked up, similar to Blackgate Penitentiary for Batman's rogue's gallery (barring those sent to Arkham), whereas Superman's were commonly sent to Rhyker's Island.
Charles Brown and Cosmo Krank were easy, the two of them were uniquely-talented "Baseline Humans", but Edgar Cizko was a straight-up psychic, and an especially-powerful one if he could go toe to toe with Wonder Woman on the regular.
The guy also had an ego and various mental psychoses, so this would be a true test of all David Washburn's fictional "acumen" as a Meta-Human Liaison.
At the moment he sat in a shielded interrogation room, a helmet designed to psionically shield him from telepathic assault on his head. Dr. Cizko would be wearing a telepathic dampening helmet, of course, in addition to his normal restraints, but the helmet on Washburn's own head was for double-redundancy in the event of some kind of fault. Such had happened before, and even if the psionic shielding helmet was uncomfortable, it was non-negotiable if he wanted to meet with Dr. Psycho. In the event of a double-fault, the room would be flooded with tranquilizers and robots sent in to retrieve the bodies.
Eventually, the man of the hour was escorted in with full-body restraints by guys that were quite literally twice his size. Apart from the uncomfortable-looking helmet, Dr. Cizko looked remarkably composed, given the immaculateness of his goatee beard.
The guards proceeded to shackled the doctor's wrists to the table and his ankles to the floor, though the high chair was added insult to injury the man was clearly unwilling to umbrage.
Once the guards were sure everything was secure, they were quick to leave, multiple latches and shutters going off, locking the two inside.
"So who the hell are you?" the little man asked brusquely.
"My name is David Washburn, metahuman liaison," David said as he lifted up the papers. "And you must be Mr. Cizko-"
"Doctor, Cizko."
"Right, that was a little unclear in your file. What was your doctorate in?"
"Psychology with an undergrad in sociology and women's studies with a minor in African dance."
"Hm. Wow, someone really fucked up your paperwork if they didn't even get that down," David huffed as he tossed the seemingly-useless file back down onto the desk. "Considering how-smart you are, even without your psychic powers, I'll just get straight to the point. There's a government black ops group in need of a psychic. You also are a psychic. You're not as powerful as the last guy, but then again, that guy was a product of the Cold War."
"So you want me to replace Psycho Mantis, basically?"
"Oh? What makes you think that?" David asked with a raised brow.
"Not too many government black op groups with psychics in them more-powerful than me," Dr. Cizko grinned. "Of course, the whole 'Cold War' slip really helped narrow it down. Unless you intended to let that out in which case it wasn't a slip, but bait so I would engage you in dialogue."
"Well, you are the only one in here with a doctorate," David shrugged.
"And what makes you think I'll play nice with the government spooks in their leather pajamas?"
"Wellll, after going through what part of this file isn't complete garbage and talking to you, I think I know what your beef is."
"Oh? Well then, enlighten me as to what my 'beef' is," Cizko drawled sarcastically with an eyeroll.
"It isn't that you hate women. What you hate is the fact that women don't find you conventionally attractive."
. . . . . .
. . .
"Dude… Mind, blown…" the incarcerated villain said with wide eyes.
"Yeah, it took me a while to figure that out too," David replied. "Of course, it probably helps that I'm not slanted to taking a Capes' side of the story on face value."
"Let me guess. You were 'let down'~" Edgar hummed knowingly.
"I mean, there's only a handful of them out there, so I think for the most-part, everyone gets 'let down'," the man shrugged.
"Still though, I think you're the first suit to ever take my side of things instead of putting it all on my shoulders. Especially after that damn YouTube video went viral…"
"Well, make no mistake, you'll still need an ass-load of hours on an accredited therapy sofa before they let you 'off the leash' in any capacity, but you aren't so far-gone that you can't get the help you need. Not like some people that keep getting away from the chair," David spat to the side.
"Hm. Quite," Cizko hummed, rubbing his back against the chair to scratch an itch. "So, this black ops group that may-or-may-not be Foxhound… How much more-powerful was their psychic compared to me?"
"Can you possess people from beyond the grave?"
"Not exactly something I can stress-test," Cizko deadpanned.
"Well that's how powerful 'a certain government black op group's' psychic was," David shrugged.
" . . . So I'd basically get to do what I did as Doctor Psycho, just on the taxpayer dollar," the midget hummed thoughtfully.
"I'm just here to see if you're receptive to the idea," David shrugged. "It's up to you to meet employment criterion."
"Well then, since you're here to schmooze me," he said adopting as-relaxed a pose as he could in his full-body restraints. "Schmooooze me."
*CRIMINAL TO CORPORATE*
"So you really got through to him?" Miller asked over Codec.
"Not sure how many ways I can tell you 'yes, I got through to him'," Virgil deadpanned on the flight back, having long since discarded his suit and FaceCamo. "Of course, it probably helps that all of his shrinks were a bunch of dumbasses."
"I still can't believe that line of yours actually worked," Emerald blinked. "I mean… That he hates the fact that women don't find him sexy instead of hating the women for being women…?" she questioned as though she still couldn't believe it.
"Like I told him, I'm not automatically predisposed to take the Capes' side of things. I can empathize with some people if I put enough thought into it," Virgil shrugged.
"Still though, how do you think he's going to react when he finds out it was a teenager instead of a grown-ass man who got him out of The Slab?" Mercury asked.
"He'll probably laugh at the fact that I played everyone there for a bunch of suckers," Virgil shrugged. "Of course, I'd recommend actual accredited shrinks spend some sessions with him to help him with his issues."
"Obviously. Can't have him having a meltdown and breaking character," Miller hummed. "Still, you've exceeded my wildest expectations. Brown and Krank were reasonable assumptions, but a guy who can throw hands with Wonder Woman…"
"Yeah, well, somehow I doubt they'll all be this easy…" Virgil shrugged. "I assume I'll only be asked to do this sort of thing again once this batch is proven not to immediately 'relapse'?"
"You'd be more or less correct," Miller replied. "PMCs are one thing, but Cizko is going to vanish altogether. That's going to be hard to wave away, especially with how connected Wonder Woman is."
"Except you wouldn't have asked this of me if it weren't important Foxhound get themselves a capable Telepath. Why?"
"The world's getting smaller, and the number of Metas is slowly increasing. Just about everyone is stocking their war chest for the upcoming arms race."
"Like Star Academy," Mercury groused.
"Speculatively, but yes. If geniuses can be bundled up into a supportive framework, like Tony Stark was, that's one less supervillain for every success story," Miller nodded.
"So… What's on the roster for us next?" Emerald asked.
"A little training. After that… How does a trip overseas sound?"
"How much of a 'working vacation' we looking at here?" Virgil hummed.
"Depends on your definition of 'work'," Miller shrugged.
*CRIMINAL TO CORPORATE*
Virgil thinking that Dr. Edgar Cizko didn't hate women but hated the fact they didn't find him "conventionally attractive", was inspired by his bits in the Harley Quinn cartoon where he quite vocally said "I don't hate women!" Now, most would take that as an outright denial of some kind of misogyny, but what if he quite literally didn't hate women, but something about them BESIDES the fact they are "women"?
That's what I chose to explore here, amongst other things.
Anywho, tell me what you think in the Reviews section, and I'll see you all next time on Chronicle of Zhu.