JL Drabble Series: Solving for R (Variations on a Theme)
Co-written with Terry Winder
A/N: This series of drabbles is the culmination of an email exchange between Terry Winder and Nancy Brown regarding speculation on John, Shayera & Rex Stewart.
Assumptions based on recent revelations by Dwayne McDuffie (and huge Spoiler Alert)
- Rex Stewart is not born for another 35 years.
- In TOAFT, Old Bruce was telling the truth when he said he had no recollection of traveling to the future with John Stewart.
- Virgil Hawkins (Static) was telling the truth when he said he was around when Shayera was pregnant.
----
There are multiple solutions to this problem (the true and correct answer is to be revealed during JLU season 3) and we offer variations on the possible solution. This is a DCAU logic problem, not a math problem; even though Terry added an equation for the fun of it. But don’t try to solve it mathematically.
Just enjoy our proposed solutions.
Terry’s equations: R=(jy+sy)+(v+bx)+35 or R=(jy+sx)+(v+bx)+35
Oh, by the way as we all know, we don't own them and my life would be so different if we did.
***
(by)+k(1) = (bx) by Terry Winder
(Contains spoilers for Epilogue.)
They’d been sitting on the swings for some time. He’d held her hand as she’d told him of the things Cadmus had taken from her, things Cadmus had denied her. She tearfully accepted that she had no future and that her life would end very soon.
He told her he envied her. He’d seen his future and he knew he would end his days as a bitter, lonely old man and sometimes that knowledge made it hard for him to go on.
Shortly after collapsing in his arms, Ace gently touched his forehead and with her last breath said, “Forget.”
***
Opening the Lines of Communication by Nancy Brown
"Get out of here"
"Hold still. I can carve out most of what's fallen on you."
"You don't have time. John, you have to go now, before the thing detonates."
Silence, and the ring's familiar hum.
"Please. I screwed up. I always screw up. Don't let me kill you, too. Go."
"You're good at leaving, not me."
"Learn, dammit! Why do I fall for the stupid ones?"
"I'll have to make a forcefield. It should protect us both."
"Why?"
"You know why."
A distinctive, wet noise, and then the screech of tortured metal and concrete. Shaking, Mari deactivated her comm.
***
Dividing By Zero by Nancy Brown
Seconds later, Clark and Kara were in the air, scanning with their x-ray vision.
"Nothing," reported one, and then the other.
The rubble yielded no clues. The Atom sifted at his tiny level, the rest at macroscopic, but there was no residual to tell them exactly what Toyman's device had done.
Just like last time, Bruce thought but couldn't say out loud. He kept examining the too-small piles of debris.
"Tell me you've got something," Wally begged.
Something about this was familiar; every time he tried to capture the thought, he only found an image of Ace.
"I don't."
***
(jy+sx)+k(2) = (jy+sx)+33 or (jy+sy)+33 by Terry Winder
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah. What about you?”
“I’ll live. You know, that was a stupid thing you did. You could have been killed.”
“If I hadn’t acted you would have been killed.” He paused before adding, “I wouldn’t want to lose you again.”
She smiled, then frowned. “Where is everybody?”
“That’s the Embassy over there,” he said, pointing down the street. “But I don’t remember any of these buildings being here.”
There was a newspaper in the trashcan. She picked it up, glanced at the date and handed it to John.
“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”
***
The Longest Morning by Nancy Brown
Something beeped. John opened his eyes.
Waking hurt. Everything hurt. But he had an "everything" to be hurt, so he couldn't complain.
"Thank Hera."
He turned to see Diana. "Hey. Didn't think we'd make it there for a minute." We. "Where's Shayera?"
"Still in surgery. The doctors say she should be fine."
"Good." As his head cleared, he looked around. "Where are we?"
"The Metropolis Watchtower," J'onn said. His eyes glowed, and he nodded. Diana smiled.
"Diana? When did you get a haircut?"
"Oh my God," said Flash, speeding in, halting, then rubbing his salt and pepper hair.
John gaped.
***
k(2) by Terry Winder
He’d taken Diana aside. “What happened to Metamorpho? Rex?”
The sadness in Diana’s face spoke volumes. “He was killed by Toyman’s weapon. It was the same one he’d used on Superman years before, but this time Metamorpho was there to absorb most of the energized tachyon beam. We thought you and Shayera were killed in the blast.”
John lowered his head. “I remember he shoved Shayera toward me and yelled for me to protect myself. I ringed a bubble around us and ‘zap’, thirty-three years passed.”
“It looks like he saved you - both of you.”
He gave us another chance.
***
Inventory by Terry Winder
They’d been sitting in the Embassy library for more than an hour looking through the League obituary files.
They’d both come to grips with the harsh reality that they’d aged less than a minute, while the world had aged thirty-three years. People they’d eaten lunch with yesterday were gone, some dead for decades.
Most had died violently.
All had died valiantly.
She knew whose name he was looking for. She knew that Mari had competed with her ‘ghost,’ but she knew she couldn’t compete with Mari’s ghost.
They both breathed a sigh of relief when Mari’s name was not found.
***
Coffee Break by Nancy Brown
"It was hard at first." Mari stared into her coffee, not looking at him. "Everyone treated me like a widow. Which was funny, because you left your damned comm open and we all knew better."
"I'm sorry," he said, again.
"I forgave you. Anyway. Got three kids now." She pulled out pictures. "That's Alicia and Susan."
"They're as beautiful as their mom."
She smiled. He thought she'd had surgery, but Mari was still gorgeous.
"Wayne's the youngest. Spends too much time around the Atom."
John touched Alicia's photo. "How old is she?"
"Not that old. But thank you for asking."
***
Blank Slate by Terry Winder
It was the first time since they’d wandered through the Embassy doors, that they’d had a moment to themselves. Just the two of us.
Yesterday was dead or married, living in Paris. Today, all they had was each other. Strangers in a strange land.
Diana had arranged for them to have the guest quarters in the Embassy, since neither one had a place to stay. John noted the Amazon had arranged for adjoining rooms.
They spent the night in John’s room - talking. Shayera would later note that it took them thirty-three years, but at long last they were finally talking.
***
Destiny, Cubed by Nancy Brown
"Hey." Shayera didn't acknowledge him, continued reading the obituary. He understood.
"When?"
"Ten years ago." She wiped her eyes.
"You loved him, didn't you?"
"No. But I liked him. Can we talk later?"
"It is later."
"Got me." She hesitated. "I think you should go."
"You tried that one already."
"I'm bad news. I screwed up our one good chance."
"No, you screwed up our first chance. I pissed away our second."
"So this makes chance number three?"
"Not many people get a third chance. It'd be a shame to let this one go by, too."
"John ... "
"Say 'yes.'"
" ... yes."
***
(jy+sx)+35 = (jy+(sx)v) or (jy+(sy)v) by Terry Winder
They’d cornered him in the cafeteria to complain about Shayera. Again.
“Lately, she’s been driving the staff to distraction,” Diana said.
Virgil added, “Look, I dread being on her shift. Nothing I do is right. She treats me as if I were still a kid.”
John stood. His eyes narrowed
“Diana, don’t you think she knows that?” he answered. “A lot has changed in thirty-three years - for all of us. We both just need a little more time to adapt.”
“Well, I hope you ‘adapt’ soon, because lately she’s the crankiest woman I’ve ever met,” Virgil said.
John’s eyes widened.
***
A/N: This series of drabbles is the culmination of an email exchange between Terry Winder and Nancy Brown regarding speculation on John, Shayera & Rex Stewart.
Assumptions based on recent revelations by Dwayne McDuffie (and huge Spoiler Alert)
- Rex Stewart is not born for another 35 years.
- In TOAFT, Old Bruce was telling the truth when he said he had no recollection of traveling to the future with John Stewart.
- Virgil Hawkins (Static) was telling the truth when he said he was around when Shayera was pregnant.
----
There are multiple solutions to this problem (the true and correct answer is to be revealed during JLU season 3) and we offer variations on the possible solution. This is a DCAU logic problem, not a math problem; even though Terry added an equation for the fun of it. But don’t try to solve it mathematically.
Just enjoy our proposed solutions.
Terry’s equations: R=(jy+sy)+(v+bx)+35 or R=(jy+sx)+(v+bx)+35
Oh, by the way as we all know, we don't own them and my life would be so different if we did.
***
(by)+k(1) = (bx) by Terry Winder
(Contains spoilers for Epilogue.)
They’d been sitting on the swings for some time. He’d held her hand as she’d told him of the things Cadmus had taken from her, things Cadmus had denied her. She tearfully accepted that she had no future and that her life would end very soon.
He told her he envied her. He’d seen his future and he knew he would end his days as a bitter, lonely old man and sometimes that knowledge made it hard for him to go on.
Shortly after collapsing in his arms, Ace gently touched his forehead and with her last breath said, “Forget.”
***
Opening the Lines of Communication by Nancy Brown
"Get out of here"
"Hold still. I can carve out most of what's fallen on you."
"You don't have time. John, you have to go now, before the thing detonates."
Silence, and the ring's familiar hum.
"Please. I screwed up. I always screw up. Don't let me kill you, too. Go."
"You're good at leaving, not me."
"Learn, dammit! Why do I fall for the stupid ones?"
"I'll have to make a forcefield. It should protect us both."
"Why?"
"You know why."
A distinctive, wet noise, and then the screech of tortured metal and concrete. Shaking, Mari deactivated her comm.
***
Dividing By Zero by Nancy Brown
Seconds later, Clark and Kara were in the air, scanning with their x-ray vision.
"Nothing," reported one, and then the other.
The rubble yielded no clues. The Atom sifted at his tiny level, the rest at macroscopic, but there was no residual to tell them exactly what Toyman's device had done.
Just like last time, Bruce thought but couldn't say out loud. He kept examining the too-small piles of debris.
"Tell me you've got something," Wally begged.
Something about this was familiar; every time he tried to capture the thought, he only found an image of Ace.
"I don't."
***
(jy+sx)+k(2) = (jy+sx)+33 or (jy+sy)+33 by Terry Winder
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah. What about you?”
“I’ll live. You know, that was a stupid thing you did. You could have been killed.”
“If I hadn’t acted you would have been killed.” He paused before adding, “I wouldn’t want to lose you again.”
She smiled, then frowned. “Where is everybody?”
“That’s the Embassy over there,” he said, pointing down the street. “But I don’t remember any of these buildings being here.”
There was a newspaper in the trashcan. She picked it up, glanced at the date and handed it to John.
“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”
***
The Longest Morning by Nancy Brown
Something beeped. John opened his eyes.
Waking hurt. Everything hurt. But he had an "everything" to be hurt, so he couldn't complain.
"Thank Hera."
He turned to see Diana. "Hey. Didn't think we'd make it there for a minute." We. "Where's Shayera?"
"Still in surgery. The doctors say she should be fine."
"Good." As his head cleared, he looked around. "Where are we?"
"The Metropolis Watchtower," J'onn said. His eyes glowed, and he nodded. Diana smiled.
"Diana? When did you get a haircut?"
"Oh my God," said Flash, speeding in, halting, then rubbing his salt and pepper hair.
John gaped.
***
k(2) by Terry Winder
He’d taken Diana aside. “What happened to Metamorpho? Rex?”
The sadness in Diana’s face spoke volumes. “He was killed by Toyman’s weapon. It was the same one he’d used on Superman years before, but this time Metamorpho was there to absorb most of the energized tachyon beam. We thought you and Shayera were killed in the blast.”
John lowered his head. “I remember he shoved Shayera toward me and yelled for me to protect myself. I ringed a bubble around us and ‘zap’, thirty-three years passed.”
“It looks like he saved you - both of you.”
He gave us another chance.
***
Inventory by Terry Winder
They’d been sitting in the Embassy library for more than an hour looking through the League obituary files.
They’d both come to grips with the harsh reality that they’d aged less than a minute, while the world had aged thirty-three years. People they’d eaten lunch with yesterday were gone, some dead for decades.
Most had died violently.
All had died valiantly.
She knew whose name he was looking for. She knew that Mari had competed with her ‘ghost,’ but she knew she couldn’t compete with Mari’s ghost.
They both breathed a sigh of relief when Mari’s name was not found.
***
Coffee Break by Nancy Brown
"It was hard at first." Mari stared into her coffee, not looking at him. "Everyone treated me like a widow. Which was funny, because you left your damned comm open and we all knew better."
"I'm sorry," he said, again.
"I forgave you. Anyway. Got three kids now." She pulled out pictures. "That's Alicia and Susan."
"They're as beautiful as their mom."
She smiled. He thought she'd had surgery, but Mari was still gorgeous.
"Wayne's the youngest. Spends too much time around the Atom."
John touched Alicia's photo. "How old is she?"
"Not that old. But thank you for asking."
***
Blank Slate by Terry Winder
It was the first time since they’d wandered through the Embassy doors, that they’d had a moment to themselves. Just the two of us.
Yesterday was dead or married, living in Paris. Today, all they had was each other. Strangers in a strange land.
Diana had arranged for them to have the guest quarters in the Embassy, since neither one had a place to stay. John noted the Amazon had arranged for adjoining rooms.
They spent the night in John’s room - talking. Shayera would later note that it took them thirty-three years, but at long last they were finally talking.
***
Destiny, Cubed by Nancy Brown
"Hey." Shayera didn't acknowledge him, continued reading the obituary. He understood.
"When?"
"Ten years ago." She wiped her eyes.
"You loved him, didn't you?"
"No. But I liked him. Can we talk later?"
"It is later."
"Got me." She hesitated. "I think you should go."
"You tried that one already."
"I'm bad news. I screwed up our one good chance."
"No, you screwed up our first chance. I pissed away our second."
"So this makes chance number three?"
"Not many people get a third chance. It'd be a shame to let this one go by, too."
"John ... "
"Say 'yes.'"
" ... yes."
***
(jy+sx)+35 = (jy+(sx)v) or (jy+(sy)v) by Terry Winder
They’d cornered him in the cafeteria to complain about Shayera. Again.
“Lately, she’s been driving the staff to distraction,” Diana said.
Virgil added, “Look, I dread being on her shift. Nothing I do is right. She treats me as if I were still a kid.”
John stood. His eyes narrowed
“Diana, don’t you think she knows that?” he answered. “A lot has changed in thirty-three years - for all of us. We both just need a little more time to adapt.”
“Well, I hope you ‘adapt’ soon, because lately she’s the crankiest woman I’ve ever met,” Virgil said.
John’s eyes widened.
***