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>>5976805
>Pencils & Inks: Marcio Takara. Colors: Arif Prianto
>Alt-Text: Comic art of Poison Ivy covered in thorns and fungus. Her hair floats in the air in front of the sun and a psychedelic background.

Thoughts race through your head, so in the depths of your mind, you retreat to commune with the highest minds on the planet.
The Parliament of Trees, spiritual echoes of past heroes of the natural order.
They named you your champion, when you pass on, you shall join them.
Their passion is loud. Trillions of lives dance through your soul.
You are awash in chaos and chlorophyll but even when lost in the weeds, you know who you are.
You will save the world. Your way.

Bog Venus:

The Parliament sits in silence and screams with anger. Their knowledge says you belong to The Green.That you are their champion.
You are their weapon. You are THEM.
___
Ivy: I-

The vines break from Ivy’s control and lunge at her.

Ivy: Am-

She raises her hand, stopping them in midair.

Ivy: POISON IVY!

The vines launch into the air, and the trees around you follow. Massive pillars of wood forming a tower in the sky.
It breaches the horizon and explodes into a cornucopia of fruits and flowers.
Petals rain like water and as the clouds part, sunrise bathes you all.

Ivy: Well, turns out there’s a sentient plant-based collective unconsciousness. Might as well have skipped the doctorate and just dropped peyote.
Superman: And I’m sure you’d be brilliant regardless. Good morning, Doctor. I don’t think we’ve properly met. I’m Superman.

They shake hands, Ivy’s palms sprouting leaves at Clark’s touch.

Ivy: That’s something to get used to.
Batman: We’ll have plenty of time for that later. Right now we still need to find Riddler. He’ll be in another supervision-proof base by now, we’ll need to investigate-
Superman: No need.

He soars into the sky, stays there a moment, and drops down.

Superman: The secret is to look for what I can’t see. I can view, hear, or smell most things on this planet. I’ve already visited one of his bases, so I can recognize its blend of shadow and silence that sticks out like-

He turns to you.

Superman: You in the daytime.
Ivy: Hah! I like this guy. And not just because he’s a floating greenhouse.
Superman: I can fly there now, but at max speed, I’d tear either of you to pieces.

>Phantom Riddles, Part Two
>Vote Title: Mark Waid
Have Superman take you to The Riddler at a slower pace.

>Mental Blocked
>Vote Title: Martin Lancaster, Philip Huxley, Craig Owens
Let Superman fly ahead and follow after him in your new vehicle.

>>5976818
>Mental Blocked
Let's catch up and make sure Ivy's okay for action.

>>5976834
+1
Give her the rundown on events that happened since she almost died. Patch in Nightwing if he's available so he can tell his end.

>>5976818
>The vines launch into the air, and the trees around you follow. Massive pillars of wood forming a tower in the sky.
>It breaches the horizon and explodes into a cornucopia of fruits and flowers.
>Petals rain like water and as the clouds part, sunrise bathes you all.
Breaking news! Giant tree sprouts in Gotham's Robinson Park in wake of mass riots! A surprise olive branch for Gotham's people?!

>>5976818
>Phantom Riddles, Part Two
The visuals of this sound fun

>>5976834
>>5976841
>>5976930
Locking for Mental Blocked. Update this week.

>>5978396
Out of curoosity, why not leave the vote open until you're rwady to write? Or have you already begun?

>>5979369
I have begun. I thought of leaving it open for longer but I wasn't seeing any new votes.
Still adjusting to the weekly schedule myself.

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>>5976818
>Art: Rocksteady Studios ( https://www.igdb.com/games/batman-arkham-city/credits )
>Alt-Text: The Riddler standing in front of a wall of computer screens. He wears a jacket with many question marks on it.
>Dialogue Samples: David S. Goyer & Justin Marks. Tom King.

Batman: Whatever we’re facing, we’ll face it together. Riddler won't be able to take the three of us no matter how much prep time he has.
Superman: I love the chutzpah, but unless you have another one of your batsatchels, how will we bring Ivy?

She raises her hands and a network of vines crisscross forming a massive basket.

Ivy: Will this do?

Clark flashes a smile that could bring sunrise at midnight.

Superman: Team, let’s solve this Riddle.
_____
Abattoir: So you see Mr Riddler, because the coca plant was magically created from human flesh, nasal absorption of its extract gives you access to supernatural abilities. Therefore, it's only logical to conclude…
Riddler(sarcastically): Eating people gives you superpowers! Of course. It's so obvious. How didn't I see it before? Next you’ll tell me the world is flat.
Abbatoir: Oh, It's actually hollow! Twenty years ago, Professor Rival’s polar expedition…

The bunker doors burst open. The woman who imagines herself your boss bursts in with a horde of familiar goons.

Waller: EDWARD!
Riddler: Oh thank Nigma you came. Another minute of his ridiculous speeches and I would have asked him to eat my brain.
Abbatoir: Awww.

You step toward the government stooge and offer an obviously sarcastic handshake. Not that she could figure that out.

Riddler: I must say, you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel for Task Force X recruits. Isn’t there a fire-breathing mushroom man or something you could-

Agent Carpenter aims their firearm at you. With shockingly poor form you may add. For that caliber, the optimal-

Waller: You nuked the planet!
Riddler: Oh no, no, no.

You click your remote, and your computer screen lights up with newscasts from the peabrains in the media.

Riddler: Superman nuked the planet. And Gotham is currently the post-apocalyptic hellhole it was always meant to be. The alien is Earth’s biggest villain and your teacher’s pet is buried under fallout both legal and nuclear. Your two biggest problems. Answered. You’re welcome.
Waller: And you don’t think people are gonna wonder how Superman dropped those bombs? Why a machine that could launch all the world’s nukes existed in the first place? If the Diehard Device becomes public knowledge, the President…
Riddler: Will do nothing. I’ve hacked so much dirt on him he’d do the State of the Union in a tutu if I asked. I could even have your job if I wanted, but I like you handling the paperwork for me.
Waller: You can talk all the smack you want in Supermax. Take him away.
Riddler: Fatima Haby Li. Lori Jane Krupcheck. Tanya Hope Carpenter.

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>>5982715
>Pencil Layouts: Giuseppe Camuncol.Final Pencils & Inks: Francesco Mattina. Colors: Hi-Fi Design
>Alt-Text: Amanda Waller, a plus-sized Black woman, holds a gun
>Content Warning: Graphic Gun Violence

The armored jocks turn their weapons away from you and onto their so-called “boss.”

Riddler: Did you think The President was the only head I peaked into? You of all people should know how quickly people fold when family’s on the line.
Carpenter: I’m sorry, Director. My daughter…
Waller: You’ll all hang for this.
Riddler: BZZZ! Wrong answer! Washington was the only state that gave prisoners the choice of execution by gallows and they banned the death penalty in 2018.
Waller: It’s a figure of speech you self-absorbed pretentious-
C.O.M.P.U.T.O. Kryptonian lifeform detected en route.
Riddler: And now we have company on the way. Underlings, escort Ms Waller to a cell while I slip into something more…comfortable. C.O.M.P.U.T.O. ready my thinking cap!

The guards escort your would-be obstacle from the room so you prepare for your masterstroke.
Ah, it’s good being the smartest man in the room.
____

LI: I hate that it’s come to this Director Waller. You were the best there was.
Waller: Kill Code- Legends 1.
Li: Wha-AZZZZZZ

Electric pulse from smart-weapons successful in temporarily neutralizing rouge assets. Execute permement measures.

Carpenter: Fir-aaaarrghh!
Sfx: CRACK!

Rouge Agent Carpenter left hand status: Broken. Firearm status: Acquired.

Sfx: BANG BANG BANG BANG

Rouge assets: Neutralized.

Carpenter: Ughhh. God, please…
Waller: I AM the best. There IS.
Sfx: BANG-SPLAT!

Rouge asset codename Riddler assesed current threat. Political channels potentially compromised.
Consider potential solutions to threat.

>Waller vs Wildstorm
>Vote Title: Spencer Ackerman& Evan Narcisse
Retrieve mothballed metahuman assets codenamed DV8 from cold storage. Advantages: Advanced power resources. Risks: Unreliable personalities

>Panic in the Sky
>Vote Title: Panic in the Sky
Contact rouge asset codename Batman and negotiate temporary truce to deal with common threat. Advantages: Advanced intellect, metahuman allies. Risks: Lack of loyalty. Obsessive dedication to moral code.

>>5982723
>Waller vs Wildstorm
Working with Waller will compromise Batman.

>>5982715
>Abattoir
This running gag man is hilarious. Somebody should suggest him to eat himself and become a god via syncing up with the sacred Ouroboros, and see what happens
>fire-breathing mushroom man
WTF GLOWIE MARIO REAL?????????
>Rouge assets: Neutralized.
Damn, they were forced into it by Riddler and Waller just caps them cold


>Waller vs Wildstorm
Our Batman would refuse

>>5982798
That IS The Wall for you.

>>5982723
>Waller vs Wildstorm
Damn, Riddler is insane in this continuity, as expected from the quintessential Batman villain

>Waller vs Wildstorm

>>5982723
>Waller vs wildstorm

Damn waller, you chunky bitch. Still the most dangerious woman in the room, eh?

Locking for Waller vs Wildstorm. Update on or before 4/27/2024.

How is the new weekly schedule working out for you folks?

>>5984329
Bothersome, but I know real life is a pain and so you do what needs to be done.

>>5984329
Fine by me, the updates are still good

Update today. It's a bigger one. Hope that makes the relative lateness go down smoother .

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>>5976805
>Art: Fiona Staples
>Alt-text: Comic art of a blond man, Threshold, sitting cross-legged in a field of flowers. He has a red glass eye and a face smeared with blood. He wears a suit with a badge that says “82.”

Assessment: Bruce Wayne is harder to control than metahuman teenagers. Plan of action: Reactivate decommissioned assets.

Waller: Cold storage unlock. DV8-82: Threshold.
Sfx: SPSHHSHSRR

Subject Acquired. Caucasian Male. Early 20s. Metahuman Abilities: Telekinesis, Telepathy. Mental Status:

Threshold: I’ll KILL YOU ALL!

-Agitated.

Waller: Stand down Threshold. We’ve got work to do.
Threshold: And who the hell are you?
Waller: Amanda Waller. Your new C.O.
Threshold: I’m DONE taking orders.

Asset applying telekinetic force. Pressure potential over 1000 times the lethal amount. Chance of harm: zero.

Waller: I know where your sister is!
Threshold: What?!

Sfx: PLOP!

Note to self: Invest in softer floors for base tiling.

Waller: International Operations froze her in a different facility when DV8 was shut down. If you behave, I’ll tell you how to find her.
Threshold: Please. I’m a higher lifeform. An ultiman. I can pull all the information I need from your pathetic brai-ARRRGHHHH!
Waller: Not very fun in there is it?
Threshold: Shhhggk.. Gggggg.

Waller: I’m going to unfreeze some of your old teammates. You’re going to keep them in line. You’re going to do this job. Then you can run off with your sister to live out your ubermench fantasies. Understand?
Threshold: Y-yes.
Waller: Yes, Ma’am.

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>>5992730
>Art: Rocksteady Games
>Alt-Text: The Riddler stands surrounded by robots with green energy “bellies”
>Dialouge Samples: Tom Taylor. Rocksteady Studios.

Superman: The base is a kilometer south.
Ivy: An American who knows metric, I’m impressed.
Superman: It’s the most efficient measuring system Earth's developed. Though there are some Kryptonian units I think could improve things.
Batman: You really do believe in a Better World.
Superman: Let’s start with a better tomorrow. Are we close enough for your plan?
Batman: REMOTE CONTROLLED BATARANG!

Your device launches from your gauntlet and flies down to the base.
The lead shielding may keep Superman from seeing into it but once the Batarang scans the building, it can cross reference the design with your database.

Batman: It’s a repurposed airport. A common type of black site. The command center is probably in the terminal basement.
Superman: It seems like you have experience.
Batman: It’s good to know your enemies.
Ivy: You must know a lot, then. If the Riddler’s hidden in the Earth, my children will bring him to the surface.

As the three of you fly closer to the base a faint rumbling grows louder. The concrete parking lot cracks into pebbles.

Ivy: Hnnnnng
Superman: Are you okay?!
Ivy: I feel… a resistance. There is something in that base. Like the world itself had another brain. I can push hardaARGGHH!!

Massive tentacle-like flowers burst from the terminal. They open a perfect entry point for your mission.

Batman: Follow my lead!

You dive from Ivy’s vine net and glide down to the terminal. You feel a sharp breeze and see Superman fly past you.
By the time you reach the ground, Superman’s already standing calmy surrounded by melted scrap.

Superman: These were defense drones. The metal’s from Earth but the design is Kryptonian.
Batman: They could have more of the anti-Kryptonian crystal, let me lead the charge.
Sfx: CRASH

A pair of vines drill a hole through the hallway doors, giving you a straight shot to the command center.

Ivy: Can you stop comparing cape sizes and finish the job?
Riddler: I can assure you Dr Isley, the job is more than finished.

The Riddler walks out of the hallway wearing a helmet with three purple diodes.
He is accompanied by robots with glowing green insides.

Riddler: Riddlerbots, attack!

The drones swarm you and your allies. Clark dashes forward but stops when he gets close.

Superman: They’re full of those crystals!
Ivy: Allow me to clear the air!

Thick stems erupt from the ground and impale the robots. Sunflowers the size of your head sprout out their robotic cores.

Superman: Using Helianthus annuus to absorb radiation. Brilliant!
Riddler: You think a gardening lesson is enough to stop me? As if. Riddle me this. What’s-

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>>5992735
>Pencils: Juvaun Kirby & Joe Phillips. Inks: Homage Studios, Joe Phillips & John Beatty. Colors: Wendy Broome. Computer Colors: Alex Bleyaert. Letters: Bill O’Neil. Dialogue: Mike Heisler
>Content Warning: Gore. Ableism.
>Alt-text: Comic panel of an exploded head. Brains and eyeballs visible.
>Dialouge Sample: Mike Heisler. J.M. Dematteis & Dwayne McDuffie

Sfx: SPUKSH!

Riddler’s head explodes, spraying the floor with bone and brain. A blond man floats out of the shadows and hovers over the body.

Threshold: This was the threat you wanted me to beat? How did humans get more pathetic since you iced me?
Waller: He wasn’t the mission. They are.
Batman: You’re using Matthew?! This is too far even for you.
Waller: Using Threshold just stopped a nutcase from plunging us into World War III. We do what the mission needs. Or did you forget that, Rich Boy?
Ivy: This isn’t a debate club. Let’s turn them both into fertilizer and leave.

Clark steps between you and Matthew.

Superman: Hold on everyone. I’m sure we can find a peaceful solution.
Threshold: If we’re pitching ideas, here’s mine!
Superman: ARGHH!

Clark grabs his head. A trickle of blood drips from his nose. It’s like seeing god bleed.


Sfx: WHOOSH!
Clark grabs Threshold faster than your eye can see.

Superman: Don’t do that again.
Threshold: Seems you have a thick skull. Let’s play around in it.

Matthew's eye glows while he stares at Clark.

Superman: Nyaaah!!! Pa! Krypton! Lois! Arrrgh!

He clutches his head and flies haphazardly into the sky.

Threshold: Looks like someone needs therapy.
Ivy: Take him down!

Tree trunks launch from the ground like spears, then freeze over. A young adult slides down the now icey bark.

Frostbite: What the hell, Threshold? I didn’t sign up to fight the Little Shop of Horrors!
Threshold: You didn’t “sign up” at all, Frostbite. Follow my orders and kill these insects or I’ll paint the walls with your nervous system.
Frostbite: Yeah yeah. Whatever you say oh- fearless leader. Hnnnnng

Frostbite raises his hand. Waves of heat burst from his fingers.
You cover yourself in your cape, but the warmth still has you sweating in your suit. When you unfurl it, you see Ivy struggling to stand.

Ivy: The heat… my children are dying.

The plants Ivy was using are on fire, the blaze spreading through the airport terminal.

Batman: Bat fire extinguish-
Sfx: WHOOSH!!

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>>5992752
>Pencils: Juvaun Kirby. Inks: Cabin Boy. Colors: Unknown
>Alt-Text: Comic art of Evo, a young man with bat wings, long nails long bat ears, and long hair.

The wind is knocked from your lungs and you’re carried into the air. A fusion of a gangly teen and a giant Bat is hauling you into the sky.

EVO: Sorry to interrupt your hot date but the bossman says he’ll yeet me into a wall if you’re still breathing. So…

You’re dropped to the ground but quickly deploy your cape and start gliding to safety.

FAILSAFE: PROXIMITY ALERT
Sfx:SMACK!

A wall of bone and skin slams you to the ground, you feel a barely healed bone snap like plywood.

Evo: Hahaha. Rekt. Good one Powerhaus.

A giant man stands over you. He winces as he shrinks to normal size.

Powerhaus: Evo I swear if you don’t shut up I’ll turn you into bat paste.

Evo lands and takes the form of a canine.

Evo: Easy, chief. Much angry. Very jerk.

Powerhaus grabs Evo by the neck.

Powerhaus: I’m from Argentina you wunderlich! And I’ve just been defrosted with a hangover to kill some poor mopes again. I am NOT in the mood.

Children. Waller is using children against you. Children with massive metahuman powers. The situation will get worse if you don’t take action.

>The Pact
>Vote Title: Ross Beeley, Shanon Ingles, Lauren R. Mee & Josh R. Trujillo
Negotiate with Waller. She’s cruel but pragmatic. If you can convince her a fight isn’t in her best interests, she’ll have DV8 stand down.

>Everything Must Go
>Vote Title: Matthew Rosenberg
Rally your team to fight back. These kids have powers and the element of surprise but you, Ivy, and Clark are more skilled.

>Trust
>Vote Title: Mike Heisler
Talk with DV8. Waller isn’t the main threat here, they are. The best way to win is not to fight at all.

>>5992753
>Everything Must Go
They're too powerful to play around with. Nonlethal methods are preferable, if possible, however... Especially for anyone who can't instantly kill us. Threshold might get the Bat-Gun.

>>5992753
{You may viote for any number of options. The option with the most total votes wins.}

>>5992753
>Everything Must Go
>Trust
The mission, the mission, the mission- the anon who came up with that had more impact than the rest of us combined

>>5992769
+1
What do you mean?

>Everything Must Go

>>5992753
>Trust
I don't wish to harm children.

But then again, we have fear gas for a reason. I'm not all that concerned about threshold trying to go into our head either. A guy who regularly doses himself with fear gas is. . . a hazard.

>>5992753
>Trust
Surely we can suppress them in short order?

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>>5992807
I mean this guy

>>5993292
A quote from "Artifacts" from The Batman, good taste on that anon.
Fun fact, the episode was written by Greg Weissman and directed by Brandon Vietti, who would go on to co create the Young Justice animated series.

>>5992753
>Trust
>Everything Must Go
We talk them down, or we take them down. Cutting a deal with Waller is not a great idea right now.

test

>>5992753
Changing my vote from >>5992807 to
>Trust
>Everything Must Go
in that order. If talking them down fails due to Threshold or something, we have no choice remaining but to fight. Other than Threshold himself, it seems like the other three really do not want to be involved in this.
>What the hell, Threshold? I didn’t sign up to fight the Little Shop of Horrors!
>Sorry to interrupt your hot date but the bossman says he’ll yeet me into a wall if you’re still breathing.
>I’ve just been defrosted with a hangover to kill some poor mopes again. I am NOT in the mood.
EVO and Frostbite seem like the easiest to flip. The former because he can be a fellow bat, literally. The latter because if Threshold goes then Frostbite isn't threatened with imminent head explosion. Powerhaus seems more no-nonsense plus he's in a shitty state overall, so he might be a bit harder. I doubt we can ever win over Threshold in any way, and if we can then I can't see the way through to him.

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>>5992762
Hey OP this one's for you

>>5994571
Locking for this anon's vote . (Using their preference as a tie breaker)
Update should be in before the weekend is here.

>>5997685
QM?

>>5997685
Hello?

>>6007111
>>6007233
I'm sure everything's fine.

>>6007111
>>6007233
>>6007434
Update should be in today. Apologies for the delay

>>6008073
I'm glad all's well!>>6007434

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>>5992753
>Pencils & Inks: Juvaun Kirby. Colors: Tad Ehrlich
>Alt-Text: Abstract comic art of Threshold standing angrily in the palm of a woman Ivana Baiul. Skulls float in the background. Baiul has a sinister smirk.
>Dialouge Sample: Michael Heisler

You stand up, soften your body language, and make your case to the giant and wolfman.

Batman: Michael, Hector, you don’t have to do this. Baiul is gone.
Powerhaus: You know our names?
Batman: Yes. Your real names. Not the labels I.O. gave you. No one is controlling you now.
Threshold: WRONG!

Matthew hurls a slab of concrete at you. You dodge it, but it lands on Ivy.

Batman: IVY!

Threshold floats before you, fluttering his cape in a theatric telekinetic wind.

Threshold: I’m in control. No human with cheap tricks tells me what to do. We are the Ultimate Men. I’ll build a new El Dorado on the bones of your pathetic society. And all your guns, drugs, and manipulations will mean less than the dust I’ll grind from your corpses.
Batman: Matthew, I know what Baiul did to you. It was wrong. Waller is using you too. But you have the power here.

Leon walks over to his team leader.

Frostbite: Maybe we should hear him out. I.O. isn’t here anymore. We can go our own way, build our own lives.
Waller: Remember what’s at stake, Threshold!
Threshold: AHHHHHH!!
Sfx: BOOOM!!!

Telekinetic force explodes from Mathhew’s body, knocking everyone back several feet.

Batman: Mathew won’t budge. Waller has leverage on him.
Evo: Knowing his Jamie Lannister ass, she’s probably got his sister on ice somewhere.
Batman: I can take him down, but I need a way past his telekinesis.
Frostbite: Wonderful. Gimme me a minute to pop an anti-brain splatter helmet out of my ass.
Powerhaus: If we could deal with his powers, we wouldn't listen to him in the first place.

A voice echoes through the broken concrete.

Ivy: Leave him to me.

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>>6010383
>Initial temp assets, temp geometry, rigging & in-engine materials: Jessie Graybeal. Updated Textures: Jason Pytko
>CGI art of a vine-covered plant monster with a tree trunk, a huge mouth, and many eyes

A massive flower explodes from the ground, its petals twirl in the wind, washing away the smell of dust and steel with a potent herbal aroma.
In the center of the flower a tangle of vascular tissue knots itself into a humanoid shape. Ivy reborn.

Powerhaus: Mother of god.
Ivy: Close enough. Can you pull off Plan: Ego if I keep him far enough away?
Batman: As long as he’s distracted, yes.
Ivy: That I can do.

She raises her hands and a bouquet of redwood trunks bursts from the soil.
They thread around each other, merging with moss, vibes, and foilage until Ivy is at the center of a giant plant golem.

Evo: Heh, talk about identifying wood.
Powerhaus: I hate you so much.
Threshold: I’LL KILL ALL YOU TRAITORS!

The airport control tower is ripped from its base and thrown at you. Ivy’s plant golem grabs the pillar and tears it in two.

Threshold: I’LL RIP YOU APART!

Mattew pulls off a layer of barky armor, but Ivy regrows it.
The psychic continues his assault chipping away at the arboreal armor layer by layer.

Threshold: AHHHHHHH

He launches himself into the golem’s core.
Ignoring the wood cutting his skin, he drills in until he can sense the telltale tingling of a mind to plunder.

Threshold: Oh you’re done now, I’m inside your little head.
Ego: Are you?

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>>6010386
>Art: Darwynn Cooke
>Alt-Text: Comic art of shadowy larger than life bat shaped figure, towering over a man in the foreground

It’s cold and dark and the dark has a face.

Matthew: T-tthis is wrong.
Ego: Oh, you expected to reach the doctor’s mind? To take her hopes and dreams and intellect and use them for trash like you did to so many others?
Matthew: You can’t talk to me like that I’m-

Ego: Strong? Smart? In charge? The one that hurts so he doesn’t have to hurt. Is that right?

The shadow grows larger, as far as your eyes can see it's nothing but night. Night with big bat wings, spreading around, getting closer and closer to you until…
_____
You drape your cape over Matthew’s shivering form.

Bruce: It’s going to be okay.
Matthew: *sobs*
Frostbite: You switched places with the plant lady at the last second.
Powerhaus: What the hell do you keep in that gimp-masked head of yours?
Batman: The truth. Once we stop Waller I can take you all to safety. You can all get the help you need.

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>>6010389
>Art: Mark Goerner
>Alt-text: Concept art of Kryptonpolis, a futuristic city on planet Krypton. Hightech pathways connect to massive towers that pierce a sky illuminated by two celestial bodies.
>Dialouge Samples: Edmond Hamilton. Alan Moore. J. M. DeMatteis. Rina Mimoun.

The midday sun beams its crimson glare through the city windows. Rao’s unflinching stare wakes him.
He regrets having C.O.M.P.U.T.O delay his alarm. He wonders if staying up to help Van with his atomic equations was a mistake.
Half the day is gone and there is still so much to do. The production company won’t be satisfied with half a Scarlet Jungle script.
Loana isn’t even back from the meeting yet. He’ll have to pick up her slack.

C.O.M.P.U.T.O.: Loana-Dru-Zod entering.
Loana: We did it Kal! We’ve been asked to lead the Artists Guild!

Loana embraces him. The troubles of the day melt in her smile.
C.O.M.P.U.T.O. dims the windows anticipating a further delay in today’s work. The man is loved. He is content.
___
Sfx: CRASH!!!

Superman blasts through the air, demolishing what was left of one of the terminal walls before arcing back in the sky.

Evo: Damn! Jet Fuel can’t melt steel beams but I guess ripped guys can tear through them.
Frostbite: When you put the whammy on Threshold, it cut the big guy’s brain loose. Who knows what’s happening to his head?
Powerhaus: You’ve killed us! It’s not like he can sleep it off! He’s gonna keep flailing around until he flattens us all like-
__
SFX: SPLAT!

The comforting aroma of oregus cakes waft through the foreroom.

Kal: Van! Breakfast is ready.
Loana: Breakfast? It’s fifth wol.

The man smirks.

Kal: I had some trouble getting out of bed.
Van: Coming, father!

The sound of clumsy yet quick footsteps heralds the arrival of a face he never tires of seeing.

Van: Thanks for the help with-
Sfx: Squish
C.O.M.P.U.T.O.: Canine waste detected. Executing cleaning procedures.
Kal: No. Van wanted a dog, he needs to take care of it himself.

He places a hand of steel on the child’s shoulder. The boy looks up with a mix of fear and awe.

Kal: Krypto is a less advanced lifeform. That means you have a responsibility to take care of it. It can’t clean its own messes, so you have to do it. Understand?
Van: Yes, father.
Kal: Good. Now hurry up. Your oregus cakes are getting cold.
Loana: If there was a guild for fatherhood, you’d be a shoo-in.

The man sighs. The weight of decades moving through is breath.

Kal: Speaking of…
Loana: Hey, it’s nothing to worry about. Now that we run the guild he’ll have to come around.
Kal: You don’t know him like I do. He hasn’t come around in 30 years.
Loana: What was that line you wrote about saving people? “I have to try.”

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>>6010392
>Pecils & Inks: Dave Gibbons. Colors: Tom Ziuko.
>Alt-Text: Comic art of Jor-El, an old Kryptonian man looking away from his son Kal-El with a defiant look as Kal leaves.
>Dialouge Sample: Alan Moore.

Sfx: SMASHHHH!!!!
Frostbite: We have to try something!
Batman: He’s speeding up. It’s a matter of time until he hits something.
Evo: You turned our fearless leader into Joey Tribbiani. How are we gonna get in flyboys skull?
Ivy: Wait. Superman is powered by the sun. If he’s photosynthetic, I can connect to his cells with the Green.
Batman: Superman isn’t a plant. He’s not even from this planet. There is no guarantee that would work.
Sfx: CRASSSH!!!
Ivy: We don’t have a choice.
____
Jor: I told you I’d respect your choice, but don’t force it on me.
Kal: Come on, Pa. I’m not offering money again. This will be real work.
Jor: I didn’t spend half my life earning my reputation back to squander it on frivolous holofactor programs!
Kal: The Daily Krypton wouldn't be frivolous. You’d be using your genius to educate a generation. You’ve seen how bad it's gotten out there. Imagine what people could achieve with the world’s greatest scientist projecting wisdom from every C.O.M.P.U.T.O. from here to Argo.
Jor: I was the world’s greatest scientist. Now I’m a has-been whose son thinks I need his charity.
Kal: Please. I lead the Artists Guild now. I can protect you. Make sure-
Jor: I’m not kicked out by a gang of robed fools again?! I gave this world the greatest inventions since Sul-El and they toss me aside over one miscalculation? No! Never again. I’ll make my own way. You and your guild can shove it.
Kal: Pa, sometimes I think you wish you were right. I think you wanted Krypton to die all those years ago.
Jor: It did.
_____
Frostbite: She did it!

A city's worth of vines hold Clark down, the alien hero struggling against the mountain of foliage.
Ivy: I can hold his body for now but I can’t reach his mind!
Frostbite: You said he’s solar-powered? I can absorb some of that power, make it easier for you to get in.
Batman: I’ve read your files, Leon, that much energy could kill you.
Frostbite: You said we could do what we want with our lives now. Well, this is what I want.
Ivy: Do it now! He’s breaking free.
Superman:REAAARRAGGH-

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>>6010394
>Pecils & Inks: Dave Gibbons. Colors: Tom Ziuko.
>Alt-Text: Comic art of a crowd of Kryptonians marching in red robes with pointed hoods. They hold cross-shade swords with flaming hilts. Protestors surround them
>Dialouge Samples: George Putnam Ludlam. Alan Moore.

Kal: ARGHHHHH!!!
Sfx: SMASH
C.O.M.P.U.T.O.: Warning: Physical damage to jet-taxis is punishable by
Kal: Punishment! Why is my life full of it! All I want to do is pull people out of the deep end but they keep dragging me down to drown.
C.O.M.P.U.T.O.: Incoming call
Loana: Kal! Please help, they’re at the Mind-Art Center! We can’t get out! We -ktshshshh
Kal: Loana?! Loana what’s going on? Answer me. ANSWER ME!
_____
Batman: Answer me! I know you’re in there!

Clark is thrashing wildly at the vines. Every time Ivy grows a new one around him he rips off two more.

Frostbite: This guy is -hnnng– too chargedl. It’s like eating the sun!
Powerhaus: I’m on it!

Hector grows massive and grabs Clark, then grows larger still. Clark’s thrashing slows a bit.

Powerhaus: I convert emotions into mass. This man’s like an ocean of them. Fear. Rage. And… joy?

Hector’s hand balloons out of proportion muscle tendons ripping under their own weight.

Batman: This has to stop now!
Ivy: We’re almost there!
____
Kal: Almost there, almost there.

Sweat pools in the man's hands, staining the jet-taxi’s console.

C.O.M.P.U.T.O.: Approaching Mind-Art Center.

A crowd of hundreds surrounds the building where he first met the love of his life.
The shining halls where he witnessed Loana compose fantastic images with nothing but her amazing brain are now a landscape of horror.

Lor: Propagandist heathens! This den of sin will fall under the might of Rao. Old Krypton will return!

The man barrels through the crowd. His massive frame parting the sea of malcontents like Moses. Wait, what’s a Moses?

Kal: Move! My wife is in there!

He breaks through the gates and sees his panicked family.

Kal: Loana, what’s happening? Why is Van here?
Van: Pa, I’m scared!
Loana: It’s the Old Krypton movement! They say our work is corrupting the youth. I don’t know what to do.
Kal: Don’t worry. This looks like a job for me. I’ll stop them. I’ll save you both. I’ll save us all.

The man jumps over the gates and lands in the middle of the crowd. He lifts an emerald green floater and tosses it into the rocks.
In his passion, he ignores the impossibility.

Kal: You’re being manipulated! The elite tell you we are your enemies so you don’t rise against them. I’m only here to help you. Help all of you!

The crowd calms. Swayed by the genius of the man’s words. He smiles. The day is saved.
___
Batman: I have to save him!

You jump on Hector’s giant fist. You can see blood pooling in the glove. These kids. Ivy. They’re over their head.
Only you can save Clark.

Batman: Wake up!

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>>6010395
>Pecils & Inks: Dave Gibbons. Colors: Tom Ziuko.
>Alt-Text: Comic art of an angry Jor-El in front fo microphones
>Dialouge Sample: Alan Moore

Jor: Wake up, Krypton! To the danger that faces you.

The crowd is broken from the spell of the man’s soothing words, and into the angered embrace of his father.

Lor: DESTROY THE INVADER!
Kal: Pa, how could you do this? Why did you work with these evil people? If you needed help you could have come to me! Why didn't you come to me?!

The crowd pulls green crystals from thin air and strike the man with them.

Kal: No! I’ll fight you all, I’ll beat you all! Whoever you are, no matter how many, I’ll save this world!

With heavy blows, the man knocks the crowd aside. By the dozens, they come and by the dozens, they fall.
The man is righteous, the man is joyous. The man is a hero. He swings his mighty fist, and stops in the face of a red-haired woman.

Ivy: Superman! You have to stop.
Kal: Who is that? Who are you? What’s happening?!
Ivy: You’re trapped in an illusion. Your mind is so powerful that when it was attacked, it created an entire world for your safety.
Kal: Safety? Look around! If this is my paradise, why is it falling apart?!
Ivy: You know the answer to that. You always have.

>For the Man Who Has Everything
>Vote Title: Alan Moore
“This world started as a paradise but in the back of my mind, I could tell it wasn't real. My subconscious is fighting against a false reality.

>A Better World
>Vote Title: Stan Berkowitz
“At my core. I love being a hero. I need a world to save. When I can solve a crisis just to have another one thrown at me forever, I am content.”

>>6010389
I love how the fear toxin episode Batman had in that decrepit basement is coming back like this. Truly puts the man in the bat

>>6010392
>Damn! Jet Fuel can’t melt steel beams but I guess ripped guys can tear through them.
Every single line from Evo is hilarious, well done

>>6010398
>For the Man Who Has Everything
This is the only right path.

>>6010398
>A Better World
That's why you don't put the world in a bottle.
Y'know, I like how we got a sorta JL big three with Ivy instead of Diana. And you guys wanted to keep her a botanist forever.

>>6010398
>A Better World
More compelling. This is a Superman with a bit of an elitist savior complex, and who is attending therapy, after all.

>For the Man Who Has Everything

It’s time to wake up and live.

>>6010398
>A Better World
It is not enough to fight the illusion, Kal-El. You must acknowledge why it was able to consume you to begin with.

>>6010398
Changing vote from >>6010428 to
>A Better World
Because I agree with what >>6010691 said. There is a difference between knowing illusion to fight it and knowing the reason behind the illusion you fight

>>6010398
>A better world
The others convinced me. this is the more compelling way.

>>6012387
>>6011408
>>6010691
>>6010518
>>6008131
Locking for A Better World.
Update soon. It might be in a new thread.

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>>6010398
>Art: Jerry Bingham
>Alt-Text: Comic art of Amand Waller pointing and yelling at Batman
>Dialouge Samples: Stan Berkowitz. Alan Moore & J.M. Dematteis.

Kal: You’re right. I do love being a hero. Saving those who can’t save themselves. I say I do it for them. But I also do it for me.

Your son rushes into the crowd. The rioters making way for him to set the perfect stage.

Van: Pa! I’m scared.

You hug the child and speak words that feel like blades in your throat.

Kal: Van, when you were born, it was the happiest day of my life. When I first saw your beautiful little face, your fragile fingers squeezed my hand so tight, I never wanted to let go. I’ve watched every step, guided you through every struggle but, Vansob you’re not real. None of this is real.

The world crumbles The Glass Forest shatters, thought beasts project their dying thoughts from their horns as shards cut them to pieces.
The Gold Volcano erupts, drowning Atomic Town in a deluge of worthless molten metal. All around you voices scream for salvation, for a hero.
An endless parade of problems for you to solve. You could be here forever, trapped in an intoxicating cycle of praise and heroism.
But the time for heroes is over. Now is the time for service.

Superman: Let’s go.

For the second time, Krypton dies. For the second time, Earth gains a champion.
___

Ivy: He’s back! Everyone let up.

Ivy drops the vines, Hector loosens his grip and Clark falls. He rises from his knees and looks around.
Hector withering to a husk. Leon hyperventilating. Michael shivering under your cape.
Something sparks in Clark you wished never would. Something that should never be paired with the power to crack a planet.
Something you know intimately. Rage.

Superman: WALLLER!Where is she?
Batman: For a base like this, an underground bunker. Look for a pressured doo-
Sfx:SWOOSH-CRACK!

You look up. Waller is held in the sky by the most powerful man in the world.
Your mentor stares down the closest thing to God, his eyes glowing with fire and pain. And she. Does. Not. Blink.

Superman: I just destroyed everything I ever wanted. It felt like tearing off my arm.
Waller: We both know you don’t have the stomach for what you feel like doing. Now let me down so the grownups can talk.

He tenses, then sets her down. Far harder than usual.

Batman: Waller! What the hell is wrong with you? These are traumatized kids!
Waller: Isn’t that the Bat calling the kettle black? Or are you gonna tell me you carded the twink you keep in your basement?
Batman: We all chose the mission. We fight because we believe in it. Coercing prisoners, threatening people into combat, it goes against everything you taught me.

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>>6014626
>Dialouge Samples: Daniel Warren Johnson. Greg Weisman. Grant Morrison.

Waller: I taught you that this is a world of monsters and we need a better monster to stop them. Do you know what Baiul did to those kids? Or the hell Task Force X was facing in Belle Reeve when I bailed them out? Someone needs their hand on the trigger. If it's not me, it’ll be a politician or lobbyist more concerned with oil prices than the American people. It’s a New Earth, Bruce. If I’m not in charge, it’ll be a Dead Earth. So get on board, or get out of the way.

She turns her back and walks away. You stare in silence, then feel a hard hand on your shoulder.

Superman: I think we're done here.

He’s trying to be comforting, but his voice is uneasy.
Batman: We need to check Riddler’s body.
Evo: Uh guys, is Zack Snyder in town?

The body is gone! You trained to be aware of the entire battlefield but you didn't think a dead body could-
Evo: ARGH!

A metallic cable strikes Evo’s head. The teen screams, rapidly shifting from human to canine to amphibian to bat and back.
As Evo slumps to the ground, your eyes follow the cords to Riddler’s headless body somehow standing.
A robotic voice echoes from his (it’s?) chest.

Riddler?: Not much data in subject's brain, though its meta-gene factor could prove valuable.
Ivy: It’s the presence I felt when we arrived!

She calls an army of trees down on the headless Riddler. A field of white energy bursts from his flesh, withering the plants to ash.

Riddler?: Metagenic megaflora. Powerful, but easily countered by White K radiation.

Clark rockets at Riddler, but falls to the ground as the white energy field turns green.

Superman: What…are you?

Metalic hooks burst from Riddler's skin and lift Clark.

Riddler?: In their dying breaths, the Nomans called me Pneumenoid.

The cables drill into Clark's, draining energy into cables, until they glow an eerie green.

Riddler?: My source code designated was C.O.M.P.U.TO.
Batman: Superman!

The monster throws your Clark at you. Your joints pop as the superdense alien crashes into your chest.
When you struggle up, you see cybernetics diodes emerging from what used to be Riddler. Cables thread out of his muscles assembling the wreckage of the airport into a machine.

Riddler?: When this planet’s “scientists” downloaded me from your ship and into your electronics, they called me “Internet.”

The machine floats into the sky, bearing the image of a large metal skull.
The Riddler’s head burst from his neck, bearing a question mark-shaped circuit board ending in three glowing diodes.

Brainiac: But on your world Kryptonian, your father called me...BRAINIANC.

>Art: Bart Tyraknifesaurus
>Alt-Text: Art of The Riddler fused with Brainiac. Question mark-shaped cables grow from his body. A circuit with glowing nodes is on his chest, shaped like a question mark mixed with the Brainianc logo. His forehead has a Question mark with its dot fusing with another Brainiac symbol.

TO BE CONCLUDED…

>>6014632
In the interests of the thread limit, the last few updates will be in a new thread. There should be far fewer delays now.

I will use the remaining time in this thread for feedback. How are you liking the finale so far? Any character moments that stand out?
Did you think the hints for the twist final boss were set up well enough? How do you like Superman, Ivy and Waller?

And of course, thank you all for your votes and patience. Batquest wouldn't; be here without your support.

>>6014632
Oh brother, Failsafe save us!
>>6014639
Imma be real, it took me by surprise. Awesome thread.

>>6014639
>How are you liking the finale so far?
It's good, but why did we let Waller go, again?

>Did you think the hints for the twist final boss were set up well enough?
I sure didn't see it coming...

>How do you like Superman, Ivy and Waller?
A good trio. I still don' fully trust Supes in or out of character, though. These seem like a more tense-than-usual Batman and Superman, even now that they're n the same side. It's a good dynamic!

>Any character moments that stand out?
Ivy's transformation and re-recruitment were the highlight for me. Having her as the sort of social glue between Batman and Superman is novel. Someone mentioned it feeling a bit like she's slotted into Wonder Woman's role, and I could see it, but just like this Batman and Superman, she has a more socially-radical, at times antiheroic edge, and a lot more vulnerability.

>>5976805
>>6014751
>>6014662
https://www.instagram.com/tyraknifesaurus/

This is Bart, the artist of the awesome Ridliac design. Check out their amazing art.

If you play any of the Nationquest games you'll know Bart as the designer of the in-universe maps.
And oldheads from /co/ may recall the history of the DC Multiverse chart we co-created.