(11-25-2025, 11:43 AM)Norgarth Wrote: Beware of Chicken (original)
https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/beware-of-chicken-xianxia.910799/page-2480#post-117177131

(11-28-2025, 08:33 PM)Norgarth Wrote: EDIT:
Beware of Chicken
https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/beware-of-chicken-xianxia.910799/page-2484#post-117272648

Alpha Ricter Wrote:"Sunnydale is built on a Hellmouth," Wednesday whispered.

"That's the emergency?" Fester's eyes widened, his voice barely above a whisper. "Very serious. If it opens, the entire city could be sucked in during the first minute. That's what I felt at the airport."

Wednesday's eyes narrowed. "Richard Wilkins made a deal for his immortality when he founded this town. Now he's cultivating it like a garden for demons to feast in. I overheard him discussing an Ascension, maybe a ritual that requires some kind of cross-breed, a hybrid."

Fester's bulbous eyes widened even more until they threatened to escape his sockets. "Richard Wilkins?" Fester's voice cracked with disbelief. "The man who stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Gomez during his wedding with Morticia? The same Richard who sends Gomez those hand-rolled Cubans every Christmas? Who's been at every family funeral since Great-Aunt Lavinia's third passing?" His jowls quivered with indignation. "The very man who still owes me eight hundred dollars and a preserved human ear from our poker game last month?"

Wednesday's eyes remained fixed on her uncle. "My visions showed me his true nature. For a hundred years, he's been filling this town's graveyards, one sacrifice at a time, all to keep his skin from wrinkling."

Fester's face brightened with sudden purpose. "Well! That's all I needed to hear." He pivoted toward the exit with surprising agility for his bulk.

Wednesday's pale fingers shot out, clamping around his wrist. "What exactly do you think you're going to?" she hissed.

Fester beamed at her, as if explaining the most obvious thing in the world. "Paying Mayor Wilkins a visit. With extreme prejudice. I wonder if his immortality contract has a clause for dismemberment."

Wednesday's hand tightened around his wrist. "Impossible," she whispered, her voice a razor. "The Mayor has formed a pact with something ancient. Something that would find your bones quite... decorative." Her dark eyes narrowed. "Tomorrow. School. We need to determine our strategy with the others."

"Splendid!" Fester's face lit up like a child promised ice cream. "I've been dying to meet these people who've made my niece almost sociable."

Quote:Brockton Bay stretched out below, city lights shimmering in mixed hues of sodium orange, warm tungsten, cold electric blues and sick fluorescent greens. The siren of a fire engine wailed in the distance, flickering blue lights racing to a thick column of black smoke rising from the docks. Beams of white light slashed through the smoke.

I finished my snack and let the wrapper drift in the wind out over the bay. Putting my facemask back on and taking a breath, I stepped up on the and looked over the edge at the traffic below. The sea-breeze tugged at the green poncho on my shoulders and I realised I'd found myself in the traditional superhero pose watching over the glittering metropolis below and wished someone had been there to take a photograph of it, full moon sparking silver off the waters of the Bay and all.

One look down to the street below, and my Power loomed large in the back of my head, filling my skull. You remember that time I stopped you from going splat?

I really didn't want to die. And I wasn't that person anymore.

Instead, I used phenomenal time-twisting cosmic power to linger in the same moment, over and over again, before finally accepting I had to move on. Instead of looking awesome, I had to head out and try to be awesome.

tealruby Wrote:Time is still not on Hermione’s side, as new enemies from distant eras attack! Or have already attacked? And gotten older, or were they younger later on? Luckily, she and the League get unusual help figuring it all out!
“Yeah, well, sometimes we screw things up for the better.”
“It’s kind of our motto.”

---

Notes:
A special double-sized issue as is proper for superteam team-ups!

See the end of the chapter for more notes.

---

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a kudo or a comment (or both). Ray will let you skip wiping down the food fabricator on the Waverider chore wheel if you do.

Side note, Hermione first met Booster (though not Rip) in Lantern Granger: Her First Year - Chapter 28 First Team-Up.

I’ve been making callouts to Batman-Superman World’s Finest for the continuing saga of Kara and Dick’s Dates from Hell (even wove them into this series). Issue 44 just came out with a third instalment… and this one isn’t hellish. It’s delightful. Even has a proper kiss in the end. Highly recommend!

To continue our callback of the classic DC Comics Roll Calls:
The Justice League
The Atom
Batman
Black Canary
The Flash
Green Arrow
Green Lantern
Hawkman
Hawkwoman
The Martian Manhunter
Oracle
Supergirl
Superman
With Special Guest Stars: John Constantine and Lena Kieran! (The Legends know her by another name, of course.)

The Legends
Amaya
Ava
Gideon
Jax
Martin
Mick
Nate
Ray
Sara
Zari
(What, you were expecting code names from this bunch?)

And the baddies:
The Legion of Super-Villains
Chameleon Chief
Lightning Lord
Magno Lad
Questor
Saturn Queen
Sun Emperor

The Fatal Five
The Emerald Empress
Mano
The Persuader
Tharok
Validus

As for the various temporal guest stars who aren’t called out by name like Jonah, let the guessing begin. All are either canonical DC characters or invented for this series; no cheating on my part.

(12-01-2025, 02:46 AM)Jinx999 Wrote: ... on Earth Bet.

(12-01-2025, 08:16 AM)robkelk Wrote:

(12-01-2025, 02:46 AM)Jinx999 Wrote: ... on Earth Bet.

Aw, you got my hopes up... but the story doesn't appear to have anything to do with The Bet

Quote:"Currently," said the cat, "you are in an extradimensional space within your school locker at Winslow High School in the city of Brockton Bay, in Massachusetts of the United States of what you refer to as Earth Bet. I had a Bet once you know. It got out of hand."