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Post by Babu Baboon on Jan 1, 2014 17:44:39 GMT -6
The following is a story I wrote for The Five Earths Project. It takes place on an Earth-2 that survived the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
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Post by Babu Baboon on Jan 1, 2014 17:46:50 GMT -6
“Concentrate!” Cissie Jones-Carter snapped at her daughter. “How do you expect to make it to the Olympics if you don’t pay attention?”
“Maybe I don’t want to,” Bonnie Jones-Carter muttered under her breath.
“With that attitude, you won’t,” Cissie snapped.
I can’t believe she heard that, Bonnie thought to herself. She focused on her target, took aim, and let the arrow fly — a perfect bullseye. She reached back to her quiver, pulled out another arrow, and let fly once more. It struck the first arrow, splitting it down the middle as it hit the same spot. She repeated the action with a third arrow and then turned to her mother, smiling with satisfaction.
“That sort of thing is great in the movies,” Cissie said, “but in real life, judges frown on grandstanding.”
Bonnie let out a loud angry sigh and threw down her bow. “It’s time for a break.”
“Later,” her mother said.
“I need a break!” Bonnie insisted.
“Fine,” her mother said testily. “One hour for lunch or whatever, and then back to work.”
Bonnie went to the kitchen, grabbed herself a sandwich, and then went to the one place she could always go to when her mother was being even more of a slave driver than usual — the attic.
She sat on a box, eating her sandwich and fuming as she thought about her mother. Why couldn’t she let up? Just once, she’d like to be able to take some time off and do normal things that kids her age did, like hang out at the mall with her friends from school.
Her gaze drifted to an old trunk sitting across the room. It had always been off-limits to everyone because it held her mom’s personal effects. Right now, though, her mom wasn’t on her list of favorite people.
Bonnie walked over to a hatrack holding several old hats and removed a hat pin. One thing about those old locks — they were painfully simple to pick. Hopefully this one would be, too.
She wasn’t sure what she’d find in the old trunk that her mother wanted to keep hidden, but it certainly wasn’t her gold medals. Those were in a display case for everyone to see as soon as they walked in the door, as well as framed copies of articles written about her, magazine covers with her smiling image, and endorsements such as the famous Wheaties box with her taking aim at an unseen target. Even if the media was starting to forget about Cissie Jones-Carter, she would make sure that no one visiting her home did.
The girl stuck the pin into the keyhole, jiggling it around until she heard a click, and then lifted the lid of the trunk. A laugh of delight escaped from her as she found about the last thing she’d expected to see at the top of the trunk: pictures of her grandmother, Bonnie Jones (Bonnie King then) in her identity as Miss Arrowette. She was surprised to find that her mother had saved all of these pictures and clippings of newspaper articles, considering how much she had ridiculed her past as a crime-fighter, especially when she’d try to entertain her granddaughter with tales of her adventures with Green Arrow and Speedy.
Bonnie, on the other hand, had found the stories fascinating. Sure, the mascara-arrow and the lipstick-arrow were ridiculous, but she still thought it was cool that her grandmother had done something so unheard-of back then, considering that most super-heroes back in the 1940s were men.
She dug a little further, hoping to find more pictures and articles of her grandmother with Green Arrow and Speedy, but instead she found something she’d rather not have seen — the certificate making official the divorce of Cissie Jones-Carter from James Elliot Carter, the man who’d helped her to do for archery what Mary Lou Retton had done for gymnastics. Her mother, ever career-minded, had even kept him as her agent after the divorce, even though it was less-than-amicable.
There were other mementos from her mother’s life, like the various awards for archery that she had won while growing up and assorted belts she’d earned in the various martial arts classes her mother had forced her into as she tried to groom her to be the next Miss Arrowette.
Of course, Cissie had chosen a different tact. By the time Cissie was old enough to have taken the role Bonnie King Jones had chosen for her, Cissie Jones, resentful for having been pushed so hard for so long, instead chose to show up her mother by succeeding where she had failed — winning a gold medal at the Olympics. By coincidence, it was this very same failure that had caused the rift between Bonnie King Jones and her own mother when she brought home a bronze instead of the expected gold. If Cissie had wanted to hurt her mother, it had worked. It was years before they had spoken again.
Many were the times Bonnie Jones-Carter had wished that her mother Cissie had followed in her namesake grandmother’s footsteps and become a costumed adventurer. It would certainly have made her life easier. Maybe she could even have become her sidekick, taking time out from all the training to fight crime. It wasn’t like she wouldn’t be ready for it. Cissie Jones-Carter had forced her own daughter into the same martial arts classes she had taken. She felt it taught discipline.
Digging further, Bonnie found what it was that her mother had been trying to hide, though she didn’t realize it at the time. It was her mother’s birth certificate. She did a quick, nonchalant scan of the document, and her eyes quickly darted to one name. Then her eyes quickly darted back to it again. Her heart began to beat quickly, and sweat formed on her brow. Instead of the name Bonnie had expected to see as father – Bernell “Bowstring” Jones — there was the name Oliver Queen. She slumped against the trunk in shock.
***
The next morning, Bonnie darted out the door before her mom could say anything to her. Getting through the rest of the prior day had been difficult enough after discovering what she had. She had kept that knowledge to herself, not feeling comfortable enough to discuss it with Cissie.
Instead, she had called her friend Beth Harper, a friend her mother didn’t particularly care for, and asked her to pick her up the next morning instead of her usual ride to school. When she told her friend they would be skipping school, she heartily agreed.
“So what’s the plan?” Beth said eagerly. “We hitting the malls, or do you want to head to the park? I can’t believe you called me wanting to ditch school. This is so cool. I’d always figured you for some sort of goody-goody!”
“I need you to take me to Queen Enterprises,” Bonnie said, handing her a sheet of paper. “Here’s the address.”
“What?!” Beth exclaimed. “What do you want to go to some office building for?”
Bonnie told her friend the entire story. “Wow,” Beth said. “I guess you don’t just get the bow-and-arrow thing from your mom, after all!”
***
Reaching Queen Enterprises, the girls parked the car and walked up to the front reception desk in the lobby of the tall glass skyscraper.
“My name is Bonnie Jones-Carter,” Bonnie said. “Bonnie King Jones was my grandmother. She was a friend of Mr. Queen’s. I’m here on behalf of her daughter, Cissie Jones-Carter.”
The receptionist made a phone call, and the elevator doors shortly parted to reveal a well-dressed man. “Hello,” he said. “I’m Maxwell Lord, acting CEO of Queen Industries while Mr. Harper is away.”
Bonnie turned to Beth and whispered, “Harper? Is Red Arrow a relative of yours, Beth?”
“Not that I know of,” Beth Harper whispered. “Anyway, it could be a while. Isn’t Roy Harper in Infinity Inc. now?” (*)
[(*) Editor's note: See DC Universe: Crawling from the Wreckage, Book 1: Crisis Aftermath, Chapter 5: A Date With Destiny.]
“If you’ll come with me to my office, we can discuss matters in private,” Maxwell Lord said, gesturing toward the elevator.
“I’ll leave you guys alone to talk,” Beth said. “I’ll go buy some tapes or something.” As she hugged Bonnie goodbye, she whispered into her ear, “Let me know what happens.” Bonnie waved goodbye to her friend and then stepped onto the elevator with the important-looking man.
“Did you ever have the chance to meet your grandfather?” he asked.
“Y-you know?” Bonnie gasped.
“Of course I know,” Lord said. “In the short time that Mr. Queen was here from his return until his unfortunate death in the Crisis, I was his most trusted adviser. He shared all of his affairs with me.”
“Affairs? Hey, that’s my grandmother you’re talking about.”
“I assure you, that’s not the sense in which I meant the word affairs. In fact, as I’m given to understand it, if Mr. Queen hadn’t been thrown through time by the incident with the Nebula-Man back in 1948, your mother’s maiden name would more than likely have been Queen instead of Jones.” (*)
[(*) Editor's note: See "The Unknown Soldier of Victory," Justice League of America #100 (August, 1972).]
Bonnie stood still as Lord’s words sank in. He gestured to the open elevator doors and said, “After you.”
She followed Maxwell Lord as he led her from the elevator to his enormous office on the top floor of the Queen Enterprises building. “I must say I’m surprised to see you here,” he said, gesturing to a chair in front of his desk for her to sit down. “A celebrity such as your mother doesn’t really need the money from Mr. Queen’s estate. In fact, your mother hasn’t expressed much interest in Mr. Queen at all.”
“She hasn’t?” Bonnie said, shocked.
“That’s right,” Maxwell Lord said. “Your grandmother was one of the first people Mr. Queen looked up shortly after his return. That’s when he discovered that Bonnie King — now Bonnie Jones — had had a daughter and that he was the real father. When he attempted to make contact with Cissie, though, her response was that she had only one father, and that man was Bernell ‘Bowstring’ Jones.”
“That’s so unfair,” Bonnie said.
“It might seem that way at first,” Maxwell Lord said, “but I can see where she’s coming from. The man whom she thought was her father died when she was still very young, leaving her in the hands of a domineering mother. She had loved this man very much, and many was the time she probably thought, if only he had lived.” Lord noticed Bonnie’s puzzled reaction and said by way of explanation, “I read her biography.”
Lord continued, “Suddenly, this man who looks to be practically the same age as her mysteriously appears and says, ‘I’m your real father.’ She probably resented it on many different levels, such as his daring to say that Bernell Jones wasn’t her father, and for Queen’s not being there if he was. Sure, the latter was hardly his fault, but I can see why she might want to tell him to take a hike. And she was rich enough at that point where she could do that, even if that man was Oliver Queen.”
“But what right did she have to keep him from me?” Bonnie moaned. “I never even got a chance to know him.”
“I’m truly sorry,” Maxwell Lord said. “You do have an uncle, of sorts, currently living in Los Angeles — Roy Harper. I’m certain he’d welcome the chance to talk to you about your grandfather. Mr. Queen also wanted to make sure you were well provided for, should anything come between you and your mother, as was the case with Bonnie and her mother, and then with her and her own daughter, Cissie. There are various trusts and other investments in your name, which are simply waiting for you to lay claim to them. So when the time comes, you can feel free to choose your own destiny.”
Bonnie’s eyes grew wide at the thought of actually being able to choose her future. Living under her mother’s thumb as she always had, the thought had never occurred to her. “Wow,” she gasped.
“And, of course, if there’s ever anything else I can do to help, you have simply to ask,” Maxwell Lord added.
“His costume,” Bonnie suddenly found herself blurting, “and his bow and arrows — did Roy…?”
“The idea of wearing Mr. Queen’s costume or using his equipment was too painful for Mr. Harper,” Maxwell Lord said. “He has instead taken a variation on the name Green Arrow in tribute to his mentor and provided his own equipment.” He rose from his chair and walked to a shelf where he slid back a panel to reveal a safe, which he unlocked. He opened the door to reveal a wooden case, which he removed and brought back to his desk.
“Rather than take it with him to L.A., he had asked me to donate it to some worthy institution such as the Smithsonian or another institution.” He lifted the lid of the wooden case to reveal the bow, the quiver full of arrows, and the neatly pressed uniform. “But I’m sure that the Green Arrow would much rather have seen them kept in the family.”
***
That night, Bonnie stared at the costume of Green Arrow that was laid out on her bed. She couldn’t believe it was there. Even more unbelievable was the discovery that he was her grandfather. Now his uniform, bow, and arrows were in her room.
Sneaking it past her mother had been a nerve-wracking experience, though. From what she had learned of her mother’s feelings of Oliver Queen, she knew Cissie wouldn’t have approved of her trip to Queen Enterprises.
But what to do with them? The only part of the uniform that came close to fitting her was the hat. It was the only part that probably ever would. Oliver Queen had been over six feet tall and was nearly two-hundred pounds of brawny muscle. She was a slight girl of sixteen who stood at five feet, nine inches. Her athletic form might get a few more curves over the years, but she wouldn’t get any taller.
Should she do this? As she stared at the uniform of her grandfather, she knew in her heart she should. She pulled her sewing kit out of her closet, pulled out the scissors, grabbed the hem of the tunic, and began to cut.
***
Bonnie shimmied down the ladder that her friend had pushed up to the side of the house. “I can’t believe you’re doing this!” Beth whispered. “First skipping school, and now sneaking out! I’d say I was a bad influence on you, if you weren’t decked out like a super-hero! The costume looks great on you, by the way.”
“Thanks,” Bonnie whispered. “Where’s your car?”
“I parked it around the corner. I didn’t want your mom to see the lights.”
“Cool,” Bonnie said. “Here’s the map I found tucked inside the quiver. You think you’ll be able to find this place?”
“No problem,” Beth said.
The two of them hopped in Beth’s car and made for the location on the map. As they followed the path plotted out for them, they both took special care to make sure they weren’t followed, often darting off the path and then back on to make sure no one saw where they were going.
Finally they came to their destination, and Bonnie hit the button on a spare remote device she had found in Green Arrow’s old equipment. A hidden doorway slid open on the mountain face, and they drove through and parked.
The two girls stepped out of Beth’s car and stood spellbound by their surroundings, staring at the trophy cases, computer equipment, ornate electronic archery targets, and other crime-fighting paraphernalia.
“Well, here we are,” Bonnie said, wide-eyed, “the Arrowcave.”
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Post by Babu Baboon on Jan 1, 2014 17:50:43 GMT -6
The Arrowcave outside of Star City:
The two girls, one in costume, one plain-clothed, stood in the middle of the cave, transfixed by their environment. “Look at all of this stuff!” Beth Harper exclaimed. “All of this belonged to your grandfather?”
“Apparently so,” Bonnie Jones-Carter said, taking in her surroundings. Her eyes moved to the sleek roadster in the middle of the room, aimed at the point in which they entered the cave. “The Arrowcar!”
“Maybe I can hotwire it,” Beth said.
“It might be easier if we looked for the keys,” Bonnie said.
“Suit yourself.”
After a brief search, the keys to the Arrowcar were found, and they climbed inside. Bonnie put the key in the ignition, turned it, and nothing happened.
“Thanks for saving me the trouble,” Beth said, jumping out of the passenger seat. “Pop the hood.”
“Great,” Bonnie cursed, pulling the hood release.
“No wonder it wouldn’t start,” Beth said. “This battery’s probably as old as the car itself.” She slammed the hood down in frustration.
“Well, if the car fell into ruin while he was gone, then how did he get around after he came back?” Bonnie said, climbing out of the driver’s seat.
“I don’t know what he was doing in the meantime,” Beth said, “but it looks like he was probably planning to start using this!” She pulled away a tarp to reveal a brand-new, high-tech motorcycle, painted green with an arrow logo on the side.
“Wow!” Bonnie said. “That sure blows away my bike at home!”
“You know how to ride one of these things?” Beth asked.
“A regular one, sure,” Bonnie said. “I’m betting that thing has more than a few extra gadgets on it, though. The man was a super-hero, after all.”
“Only one way to find out,” Beth said. “Want to take it for a spin?”
“Take the Arrowcycle for a spin? Are you kidding?!” Bonnie exclaimed. “That’s like taking the Batmobile for a joyride!”
“Why not?” Beth said. “He was your grandfather, so technically it’s yours now. And this is the only way you’re going to learn how to use it.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Bonnie said. “But if you’re going to ride with me, you can’t go out looking like that.”
“What? What’s wrong with the way I’m dressed?” Beth said warily.
“Look at what I’m wearing and what you’ve got on.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Beth asked.
Bonnie gestured to the cabinet with the Speedy costume that until recently was worn by Roy Harper. “Aw, no!” Beth exclaimed. “This hero thing is your deal. Besides, that would never fit me. The guy was a full-grown man when he wore that. Just the shirt would hang down to my knees.”
“So just wear the tunic,” Bonnie said. “You can pull the belt tighter to make it fit. You want to come with me, don’t you?”
“Oh, all right,” Beth said, groaning. “At least I’m wearing red underwear, so it’ll look like part of the costume. But if you think I’m signing onto this hero gig full-time with you, you’re nuts.”
“Why not?” Bonnie said, smiling. “You took all the same martial arts classes I did. That’s how we met. Heck, you’re better at it than I am.”
“Yeah,” Beth said, wriggling out of her tight-fitting jeans. “Of course, I was there because my dad’s a paranoid cop. Why a rich lady like Cissie Jones-Carter would put her kid through all that when she could just hire a bodyguard, I still haven’t figured out.”
“Because she didn’t want to take any chances on me not being as good as her,” Bonnie said, “so that meant putting me through everything she went through.”
“Sounds like we both had some childhoods, huh?” Beth said, pulling off her T-shirt and reaching for the tunic. Bonnie tried to hand her the hat and mask, and Beth said, “No way. You can pull off the hat because you’ve got that Peter Pan thing going with your hair, but it would look pretty dorky on me.” She pointed to her own long, black hair for emphasis.
“You’ve got to!”
“The Robin Hood thing is your gig, not mine. I’d probably do more damage than good with those fancy arrows. If anyone messes with me, I’ll just give him a well-placed kick. Besides, why do I need to wear a mask when you haven’t got one?”
“Everyone knows my grandmother was the original Miss Arrowette, thanks to my mom. So if a new one shows up who’s my same age, it won’t be too hard to figure out it’s me. You might still want some kind of private life, though.”
“Good point,” Beth said. “I’ll improvise. Hand me those scissors,” she said, pointing to a pair that were sitting on a work bench. Bonnie handed her the scissors, and Beth began cutting slits up the sides of the red tunic.
“What are you doing?!” Bonnie exclaimed in horror.
“Oh, like he’s ever going to wear this again. Besides, if I’m going to be doing a lot of high kicks, I’m going to need freedom of movement.”
“So what’s the idea? To keep their eyes off your face?”
“Oh, ha-ha-ha-ha. Just watch.” She cut off each of the sleeves and pulled on the tunic, then cinched the belt around the waist, cutting off the extra slack. She took the material from one of the sleeves, cut a couple of holes for her eyes, and then tied it over her head as a bandana mask.
“Very cool,” Bonnie said. “You’ve got kind of a sexy ninja thing going there.”
“I’ll have to jazz it up a little in the future, but this’ll do for now… not that I’m planning on sticking with this hero thing.”
“If you say so,” Bonnie said, smiling to herself. “So let’s ride.”
***
Arrowette and Beth Harper, now in costume, raced down the road on the Arrowcycle. “How about seeing what some of these buttons do?” Beth said, clinging to Arrowette.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Arrowette said. “One of them might be an ejector seat or something.”
“The only way to find out how everything works is to try it out,” Beth insisted.
“Then here goes nothing,” Arrowette said. She turned a dial, and the sound of a police scanner came to life. “That’s simple enough to see what it is,” Arrowette laughed.
“They’re saying there’s been a bank robbery,” Beth said, “by a guy using toys to pull it off?”
“The Toyman!” Arrowette said. “He’s an old enemy of Superman’s. But I thought he was dead!”
“An enemy of Superman’s?” Beth gulped. “Isn’t that a little heavy on our first time out? Maybe we should go find some jaywalkers or something.”
They arrived at the bank several minutes later to see someone who looked like a cross between Dennis the Menace and an insane clown escaping from the bank on a jet-powered skateboard. “Looks like he’s held up pretty well,” Beth said.
“That doesn’t look like the same guy,” Arrowette said. “Well, whoever he is, he’s not getting away. Take the controls.” She reached back to her quiver, pulled out an arrow, fired at his skateboard, and it blew up beneath him.
“You got him!” Beth said excitedly.
“Lets round him up!” She pulled out another arrow and fired it at him, causing a net to drop over him. “I can’t believe how easy this was!”
“Hi, girls! Come to play with the Toyman?” the man said. As they got closer, they discovered he had the face of a doll. Hearing a voice coming from him but seeing his face remain still was all-too eerie. He reached into one of the pockets of his colorful overalls and pulled out a handfull of jacks, which he tossed in front of the Arrowcycle, causing its tires to blow out.
“Jump!” Arrowette screamed.
Arrowette and Beth jumped, aiming for the soft grass of the median rather than the hard pavement of the street. They both landed in near-crouching positions, having shoved themselves away from the machine before it lost control.
“I’m going to kill that little freak,” Beth cursed.
“Not if I beat you to it,” Arrowette said.
The Toyman’s henchmen suddenly ran from the bank, each dressed like one of the biggest marketing gimmicks of the age — a Teletummy. “You are bad, bad girls!” one of them squealed.
“That’s right,” Beth said. “So don’t try none, won’t be none.”
“You naughty girls shouldn’t play with arrows and motorcycles.”
“I thought these things couldn’t talk,” Arrowette said.
“We wish,” Beth remarked. “There’s only one way it could get any worse.”
Suddenly, a large purple dinosaur walked out of the bank, carrying the safe. It was singing, “A-banking we will go, a-banking we will go… Hi-ho, a-cheerio, a-banking we will go!”
“Is that what you meant?” Arrowette asked.
“Yes…” Beth sighed. ”You! Lizard-boy — drop the safe!” She pulled out an arrow and fired, and a smoke cloud enveloped the purple dinosaur and the safe.
“Bad, bad girls! Cough!” the dinosaur sputtered.
The expression on the masked faces of the Teletummies suddenly became very angry, and they moved in on Arrowette and Beth. Unseen by everyone, the Toyman withdrew what looked like a Swiss army knife, and an electronic motor came to life as he began to cut himself out of the net.
The red Teletummy took a swing at Beth, which she quickly dodged. She then quickly delivered a roundhouse kick to its head, sending it sprawling. “Ouchies!” it cried as it fell.
“Mommy! Make them stop hurting the Teletummies!” the voice of a little boy cried. Beth, distracted, turned to the gathered crowd to see where the anguished voice had come from. The purple Teletummy used the distraction to deliver a backhanded slap that sent her flying. the letters, “HA HA HA!” appeared in the screen in his stomach.
“So that’s how you want to play, is it?” Arrowette said angrily. She pulled out an arrow and aimed for the TV screen, causing it to explode in a shower of sparks.
“Ooouuu-chiiieees,” the Teletummy cried in a slowing voice before falling over.
“They’re robots!” Arrowette cried in amazement.
“Of course they are!” the Toyman said. “They’re my finest creations, and you destroyed one of them!” He turned to the others and cried, “Get them!”
The red Teletummy rose up; half his faceplate was missing, and the motors and gears controlling facial movement could be seen. “You hurt my friend and me, too! You’re bad, bad girls and need to be punished!”
The purple dinosaur moved in to join the remaining three Teletummies. On their screens could be seen Arrowette and Beth suffering various forms of punishment.
“You girls think you’re so smart,” the green Teletummy said.
“But you’re not so smart, after all,” the yellow Teletummy said. It pointed to its stomach, and a little boy appeared on its screen saying, “Mommy, make them leave the Teletummies alone!”
“I knew it was too late for kids to be out!” Beth said angrily.
“Right,” Arrowette said. “And much too late for kid’s programs,” she said, firing another arrow, and the yellow Teletummy’s screen exploded.
“Ooouuu-chiiieees.”
“Jeez! These things even die annoyingly!” She fired two more arrows, shattering the other two screens.
“Oouuchiees. Ouuch-iieees!”
She turned toward the purple dinosaur, hoping to take him out the same way, but noticed the glaring absence of a TV screen.
“Sorry!” the Toyman said. “Not all my creations are so easily beaten! Ha-ha-hah!”
“Come here and let me give you a biiig huuug!” the dinosaur said in a menacingly sweet voice as he moved toward them.
“Oh, great. Now what do we do?” Beth groaned. “That guy lifted the bank safe. I don’t think one of my kicks will have that big an effect on him.”
“Bi-i-i-i-g hug,” the purple dinosaur repeated. Suddenly, a torrent of flame erupted from his mouth.
“Look out!” Arrowette cried. They both dived out of the path of the flames. Beth just narrowly missed being singed and had to put out tiny bits of flame that had erupted on the back flap of her tunic.
“Great! A fire-breathing, annoyingly cute purple dinosaur,” Beth cursed.
“You think I’m cute? Gee, thanks. I think you’re swell, too,” the dinosaur said, spitting more fire in their direction.
“Don’t you have anything in that bag of tricks on your back that can shut him up?” Beth growled.
“I think I just might,” Arrowette said. She pulled out an arrow with a large bulb on the end and fired it directly at the dinosaur’s mouth as it was about to spew more fire. Foam suddenly exploded from its mouth as the dinosaur reached for its neck, falling over.
“What the heck was that?” Beth said in amazement.
“The fire extinguisher arrow,” Arrowette said, grinning.
“You girls have a lot of flare,” the Toyman said.
A light came into Beth’s eyes. “She’s Arrowette. I’m Flare,” she said, gesturing to Bonnie and then to herself with her thumb.
“Well, whoever you are, you haven’t seen the last of me.” A balloon suddenly popped out of the top of his cartoony doll mask and began to inflate. It popped out of the top with a string attached to it, which he took in hand. He suddenly began to rise from the ground and waved. “Toodles.”
“He’s getting away!” shouted Beth, now Flare.
“I believe all I’ll need for this is a regular arrow.” Arrowette pulled an ordinary, pointed arrow from her quiver and fired, bursting the balloon.
The Toyman plummeted from the sky, landing in a tree. “Oh, I hate those icky girls,” he groaned before passing out.
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Post by Babu Baboon on Jan 1, 2014 17:53:16 GMT -6
Early that morning, the new Arrowette and Flare shimmied up the ladder to Bonnie’s room. The Arrowcycle was carefully tucked away at the Arrowcave again. It had performed some neat trick where it shed the ruined tires and new ones appeared, so they were able to go back for Beth Harper’s car. Now they both simply needed to get out of costume and cleaned up before their parents discovered their outing.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be. As soon as they set foot in Bonnie’s room, the light flickered on, and there was Bonnie’s mom, Cissie.
“I-I can explain,” Bonnie said.
“No explanation necessary,” Cissie said. “I’ve seen the news. You’re on every channel. They love you!”
“Wh-what?” Bonnie said in confusion.
“You’re a hit!” Cissie exclaimed. “First thing we’ll need to do is get you a publicist. Thank goodness you had the good sense to not wear a mask. No offense, Beth.”
“You’re not mad?!” Bonnie exclaimed.
“It’s not the direction I had in mind for you, but it’s good publicity, nonetheless. Wait until you see the next step I have in mind for you.”
“Uh, what?” Bonnie said nervously.
“Taa-daa!” Cissie said, holding up a magazine with several costumed youths. The headline said, Meet the Junior JSA. ”What do you think?” Cissie said. *
“Well, Superboy’s kinda cute,” Bonnie said.
“I don’t know,” Beth said. “I kinda like Batwing.”
The End
The Jr JSA is a team made up of new sidekicks that popped up after the Crisis: the Earth-Prime Superboy, Batwing (Jason Todd, ward and a new sidekick for the golden age Robin), Whiz Kid (son of the golden age Flash), Damage (son of the golden age Atom),and Coral (daughter of the golden age Aquaman). Arrowette and Flare join the team after this tale.
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Post by Babu Baboon on Jan 4, 2014 11:22:04 GMT -6
Dang. Did anyone read this?
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Post by mh on Jan 4, 2014 13:17:51 GMT -6
it's good! I really liked the teletummies.  i read the first chapter a few days ago and got sidetracked googling because i'd never heard of arrowette before! at first I thought you'd made her up
here's a link to a site with pics of probably every type of arrow the old "miss arrowette" used sacomics.blogspot.com/2007/05/amazing-miss-arrowette.html
if you do another arrowette story, you might want to bring back GA's most terrifying villain, the octo-pus!
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Post by Babu Baboon on Jan 5, 2014 20:38:56 GMT -6
I've done a few other stories with this version of Arrowette. Another solo and then some with the Jr JSA. Doc and I worked on one that had the Jr JSA fight a Junior Injustice Society.
There was actually a female archer who showed up in Green Arrow before Arrowette. She was called Queen Arrow and only had one appearence. And she was asleep the whole time. Sleep shooting!
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Post by mh on Jan 5, 2014 20:54:37 GMT -6
There was actually a female archer who showed up in Green Arrow before Arrowette. She was called Queen Arrow and only had one appearence. And she was asleep the whole time. Sleep shooting!
i gotta check that out. that's just bizarre. yeah, i did really like the story as well as the whole arrowette thing. it's a nicely updated piece of beautiful silver-age quirkiness. "miss arrowette" was so batgirl. weapons based on powder puffs & beauty cream -- very occasionally, i'm sorry i was born so damn late
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Post by Babu Baboon on Jan 5, 2014 22:04:00 GMT -6
Oh lord. I can't believe they did that with poor Barbara Gordon. I thought that sort of thing went out with the original Batwoman and Bat-Girl.
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i read the first chapter a few days ago and got sidetracked googling because i'd never heard of arrowette before! at first I thought you'd made her up