#quick bio

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Cosmic Stars

Professor Abraham Davis was a young scientist during WW II and eventually came into the possession of the Cosmic Rod; originally thought to be magical in nature, Davis became convinced it was actually some kind of alien technology and was obsessed with proving his theory. He created the Black-Light Ray by studying the Rod, giving it to his student, Sandra Knight, to become the Phantom Lady, and in return she introduced Davis to her genius cousin, Ted Knight. Initially, the pair reverse engineered the Cosmic Rod to create the Gravity Rod, which Ted used to become Starman through the 1960s and 70s, retiring to focus on science and giving the Gravity Rod to his eldest son, David. Unfortunately, David was killed in action and his younger son, Jack, took the Gravity Rod to avenge his brother. Ted tried to talk Jack out of it but finally gave in, but asked Jack to wait until he’d made something more powerful so that Jack wouldn’t die like David had. Rather than upgrade the Gravity Rod or make something new, Ted modified the original Cosmic Rod into the Cosmic Staff with a combination of science and magic, something that would make Davis roll in his grave but that Ted was certain was the missing piece to their puzzle. Jack was active as Starman through the 80s until he retired in the early 90s, having not found a good successor.

About 10 years later, Ted was on his deathbed in the early 2000s and urges Jack to put the Cosmic Staff to good use after it had been shelved for so long (it may have been talking to him, or that may have been a hallucination). Now in his 70s, Jack knew he couldn’t do it himself, so he dug into family history and found Ted’s cousin Sandra had gotten married and had a son, Sam Kurtis; while Sam had become a small-time villain, he had a daughter, Courtney, with his now ex-wife, who had remarried. Courtney’s stepfather happened to be a retired hero Jack had worked with before; Pat Dugan, as Stripesy, had been the adult sidekick to the young hero Star Spangled Kid until Kid’s death, which greatly affected Dugan. Jack figured Dugan wouldn’t take kindly to Jack trying to get Courtney to take the Cosmic Staff, so he contacted her secretly around 2004, offering her the role of Stargirl.

Courtney did not like the fact that her mother married Pat Dugan; she had nothing against him personally, nor did she hold any loyalty to her bio-dad, but she felt replaced, like her mother didn’t want or need her anymore now that she had a “new family”. She refused to take the name Dugan, keeping her mother’s maiden name of Whitmore, and had been acting out for years now; the latest thing she did was snoop through Dugan’s old stuff and discovered his vigilante past! Not sure how to use this against him yet, but very much planning to, Courtney is contacted by a distant “Uncle” from her bio-dad’s family about becoming a superhero and Courtney jumped at the chance. She joined Young Justice in 2004 at 15.

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Rory the Ragman

Almost 4,000 years ago, Jewish communities often used magic golem spells to create protectors for their communities. One variation created an object called the Great Collector Artifact that “collected” fragments of the souls of those who wielded it, amassing hundreds of thousands of fragments over millennia; each fragment held the skills and abilities of a former wielder that could be used by the next, from “artistic” skills like lock picking or glass blowing to more combative skills like martial arts or borrow abilities like the strength of a body builder or the speed of an Olympic Runner. This eventually includes a number of more magical abilities like limited telepathy within their community and teleportation, collected from metahuman wielders, though these are more difficult to collect; meta users were more rare anyways and would have to wield the Artifact for an extended period of time to be collected properly. The Great Collector Artifact had been called many names and taken many forms, including a dagger, cloak , and spear, among others, as it must be recreated and rebound each time it is destroyed; it loses some of its fragments each time, but does retain most through the transfer. Its current incarnation is called the Suit of Souls and consists of a jumpsuit or sorts, made of various bits of fabric sewn together.

Jerzy Reganiewicz was the Ragman during the Holocaust when a sort of failsafe was activated, teleporting him to somewhere in the USA; the Ragman was designed to inspire hope in their community and they couldn’t do that if they were dead, so the failsafe was set to remove the Ragman from a hopeless situation to fight another day. Jerzy was crushed by his (perceived personal) failure to protect his community from the Nazis and refused to put on the suit ever again. Jerzy started a new life as Jerzy Regan and kept the suit locked deep in storage, until he died and his son, Gerry Regan, found the suit while going through his father’s things. As soon as he touched it, the suit bonded to him and the soul fragments told him their story, begging him to make them useful again. He obliged, until he was too old and passed the responsibilities to his son, Rory Regan, who eventually joined Justice League Dark. Rory is useful not only for his abilities as the Ragman, but for his skill at appraising ancient and potentially magical artifacts.

WW II was around 1940, so let’s say Jerzy was around 35 when he was teleported to the US and had Gerry when he was 40 or so around 1947. Gerry would be at least 20 when he has Rory, so that would be 1967, who would then be 37 when Danny gets his powers in 2004. Let’s say he inherited the suit at 30, so 1997 when Gerry was 50, well within retiring age for a hero, and Jerzy probably died 20 years before that in his 70s while Gerry was in his 30s. That sounds plausible enough.

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Boston Brand, the Original Ghostly Hero

Boston Brand was an aerialist at a circus and was shot dead during one of his performances; because he died in his performer outfit, that is what his ghost form wears naturally. His murder was never solved and Boston refused to rest until his killer was brought to justice; since the circus was performing near the Himalayas, Rama Kushna of Nanda Parbat heard his plea and was impressed by his tenacity, granting his wish and helping him remain on the physical plane as a ghost. Unfortunately, Boston was no detective, so he never found his killer, wandering restlessly but refusing to move on.

Boston wasn’t strong enough to influence the physical world much, but he did little acts of kindness as he wandered; things that would usually be brushed off as “good luck”, like a pickpocket tripped; a mugger’s gun jammed or the safety was still on; mild possession to nudge someone to do the right thing, to influence them just enough to bring it to their attention and strengthen their mental debate about helping without them realizing there was an outside force at work. He still ached for justice but this was enough for now.

He eventually found himself in Gotham and encountered Batman, subtly helping the hero in little ways, until he saved Robin (can’t decide which one) from what would have been a deadly accident, confirming Batman’s suspicion of his existence. After they are both safe, Batman says aloud “I don’t know who or what you are but… thank you.” Boston possessed Robin and apologized that this was the only way he could communicate with the living, giving him a brief summary of his origins. Batman decides to repay Boston by solving his cold case and Dick is triggered by how similar it is to his own story when he inevitably hears about it (I might even make it the same circus so Boston might have known Dick’s parents before Dick was born).

Boston is grateful and begins to cross over to the afterlife, meeting Rama Kushna again and the two talk. Boston decides that he kinda liked being a wandering “good luck” charm and decides to remain in the physical plane as a ghostly hero, taking the codename Deadman. For his selfless desire to help others, Rama Kushna grants him more power, turning him into more of a wight than just a ghost, as well as the ability to contact her any time. He helps several heroes with supernatural problems, especially those related to ghosts or other undead beings, happily joining Justice League Dark when given the chance.

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A Quiver of Broken Arrows

One of the last things Oliver Queen did before becoming Green Arrow was have a whirlwind relationship with the hippie Moonday (Sandra Moonday Hawke), but he fled when he realized she was pregnant, getting stranded before she even gave birth. Connor Hawke was born and Oliver returned before Connor’s first birthday, tracking Sandra down but only to give them money, as he still didn’t feel ready to be a father. Sandra rejected the money out of spite, tried to raise Connor alone for a few years, and eventually moved into The Ashram Monastery in Napa Valley, California (just north of central). Oliver kept track of the pair and, once they moved in, regularly gave anonymous donations to the monastery, to ease his own conscious if nothing else. He also went there in disguise a few times to meet his son, who was none the wiser; Sandra wasn’t sure the first time Oliver did this, but definitely recognized him the second. She was still salty that he abandoned them but hesitated to call him out; she didn’t want a relationship with him but didn’t want to deny Connor one if he wanted it.

While there, Connor was taught archery, among other things, until he was 15 and Oliver accidentally let their relation slip. Oliver fled and Connor confronted his mother, who confirmed the relation and Oliver’s identity. After some research and preparation, Connor left the monastery and broke into Queen Mansion to confront his father, realized Oliver was Green Arrow, and demanded he be taken on as his protégé. He didn’t actually know what he wanted from Oliver at first and made a snap decision, which he's not sure if he regrets or not.

Connor is apparently only ever known as Green Arrow, so I decided to give him the name Sherwood until Oliver retires.

So, if Connor is 15 in 2006, joining Young Justice shortly after Danny, he would be born in 1991, and if Oliver was stranded when he was 20, he would be born in 1971, making him 11 years younger than Bruce. If Oliver returned a year after being stranded, and Green Arrow debuted shortly after, that would be 1992; Roy was apparently 13 when he became Speedy, maybe a year later in 1993, so that would make him born in 1980. This would give Roy and Jason about 2 years of overlap where they could become friends before Jason dies in 1995.

Roy could have his falling out with Oliver in 2000, about Roy joining Young Justice at 20 rather than the Justice League proper; Roy became the anti-hero Red Arrow, still struggling to figure out who he is, when he meets Jade Nguyen, who is a very bad influence on him as Cheshire, until their daughter, Lian, is born in 2003 and their paradigm is forcefully shifted. It takes some time to straighten themselves out, and are just starting to get their shit together around 2005, joining the Outsiders as Cheshire and Arsenal at 26 and 25 respectively.

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The Early Years of Alfred and Bruce

Jarvis Pennyworth, former Wayne Buttler, died when Bruce Wayne was 4, giving the title to his 25 year old son, Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred had done a number of things before taking the job, including but not limited to: fathering a child, whom he immediately abandoned (Julia may or may not become important later, I haven’t decided); joining the British Army at 18, where he excelled as a field medic (apparently contracts are 4 years); joined a secret organization, before killing the crazed leader; became an accomplished actor at the Globe Theatre; and probably more. These may or may not be listed in chronological order.

He was 29 when Martha and Thomas Wayne were killed and he became Bruce’s guardian. 8 year old Bruce was not coping well and was expelled from several private schools before Alfred decided to homeschool him by age 10. When this also seemed to be failing, Alfred made a deal with Bruce; as soon as he graduated high school, even if it was early, Alfred would arrange a globetrotting trip to learn about the world firsthand. Bruce didn’t seem to care until Alfred hinted that Bruce could learn from the best how to fight, and more importantly, how to fight crime; to make sure no other child had to lose their parents like he did. Alfred was well aware that Bruce had become obsessed with his parents’ deaths and decided that the only thing they hadn’t tried yet was leaning into it, so Alfred taught Bruce what he’d learned from his time in the Army to keep the boy motivated until he graduated at 15 and Alfred kept his promise.

From martial arts to military strategies to detective work and beyond, Alfred would either drop Bruce off with his teachers and pick him up a few months later, or Alfred would stay and learn what he could as well. Whenever he couldn’t stay, Alfred would make connections with locals as a traveling healer, or learn the newest schemes criminals were using, or network with both legal and illegal organizations, or any other way he could think of that could potentially be useful to whatever path Bruce decided was best.

Initially, Bruce thought to become a politician and/or a Crime Lord, and try to take out the “competition” as a way to rid Gotham of crime; if he could wrestle control of the bigger criminal organizations, or muscle them out of the city, then he could dismantle them from the inside. He didn’t like the idea, it was risky and chafed at his morals, but it was a potential solution. Then Superman debuted when Bruce was 17 and he realized that, while his original plan might have worked, being a hero aligned with him better in every way; sure, it wasn’t a perfect solution, but neither was the Crime Lord route, and at least this way he’d be able to look himself in the mirror and not want to vomit, which had started to happen as he tried to prepare himself for the role of Crime Lord.

Bruce was 20 years old when he returned to Gotham, though he wanted to save his debut until after he had started rumors of Batman, the Dark Knight that fights crime from the shadows. Alfred is 41 and helps Bruce from the background in any way he can.

As Red Hood, Jason unknowingly took the Crime Lord route Bruce had abandoned; he has no idea and Bruce has no intention of letting him find out.

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Rachel Roth (Raven)

Rachel Roth is the daughter of the demon Trigon and the human woman Angela Roth, renamed Arella when she found herself in the pocket dimension Azarath. Rachel fled Azarath after encountering Trigon for the first time, ending up on Earth and in the JL’s care, joining Young Justice to learn to work with a team. The people from Azarath had already taught her a lot about her powers but she still struggled with control because they were connected to her emotions.

No one knows much about her yet, as she feigns amnesia to avoid revealing anything and scaring her new protectors, and much of her story will be explored in the fic itself. She’ll generally mirror her “Teen Titans” TV show counterpart, since that's what I know her best from.

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Victor Stone (Cyborg)

Victor Stone is the athlete son of two scientists, Silas and Elinore Stone, who were working on advanced prosthetics at S.T.A.R. Labs. Vic had a terrible accident, one that killed his mother, and Silas used every resource available to him, legal or otherwise, to save his son, eventually stealing the Motherbox he was supposed to be studying and begging it to save Vic. She did so by cannibalizing the nearby tech of S.T.A.R. Labs and turning Vic into a cyborg.

Silas was punished, as he did technically commit a crime, but was given a lenient sentence, and has since joined the Justice Foundation as a form of "community service". Vic ended up in the care of the Justice League shortly before Mari was found and Young Justice was formed in 2000. He has since graduated into a full member of the Justice League.

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Conner Kent/Kon-El and Jon Kent/Jon-El (Superboy)

Mirroring his “Young Justice” TV show counterpart, Conner is a clone of Superman and Lex Luthor, found around the time the JL debuted in 1994; I haven’t decided which comes first, or if it matters.

Clark is disturbed by Conner’s existence, and thinking of him as a son really squicks him out, but he eventually accepts Conner as more of a little brother, which is good enough for Conner. This acceptance finally spurs Clark to make a family of his own, propose to and marry Lois Lane, and have a son by 1998.

Jonathan Kent is supposed to be three years younger than Damian, who was born at the end of 1995, so Jon is 7 by the time he meets Danny in 2005; not quite old enough to be allowed to join Young Justice, but he likes hanging out with the young heroes anyways. Conner is forever 18 but not allowed to join the JL as Superboy due to his chronological age and lack of real-world experience, so he worked with Young Justice for a little while before ultimately joining the Outcasts as Black Zero.