Chapter Text
Previously On
luthorboy
ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN, Independent Publication Department
December 1, 2023
A lot has happened since we last talked with Ava Silva and co. In this exclusive interview, we rehash the events that’s happened throughout this eventful year, as well as catch up with the Gotham-borne and lived superpowered and superbeing family and see what they’re up to next.
[Please reintroduce yourself to our readers.]
Beatrice, M-J.: Hello, I’m Beatrice Malcolm-James. I’m 26, a self-published novelist, and I moonlight as Batman to help keep Gotham City safe.
Ava, S.: Ava Silva. Age 23. I go to school at Gotham University to pursue my Bachelor’s in Computer Science with an English Literature minor. I am also your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man (finger guns).
Camila, R.: Hiyah, I’m Camila Romero. I’m 24. I go to school with Ava, and am studying the same major. I value my free time, the little I can get after my patrols as Robin, therefore I have no minor (laugh).
Lilith, B-T.: Lilith Brion-Tudor. Age 28.
Ava, S.: Wow, you’re that old?
Beatrice, M-J.: Ava.
Ava, S.: Oops, sorry, Lil. Keep going.
Lilith, B-T.: (Rolls eyes).
Lilith, B-T.: My name is Lilith Brion-Tudor. I’m 28 years old. I’ve been Master Beatrice’s friend and loyal handservant since the day she came home from the hospital. At the Malcolm Manor, I cook, I clean, I sew, and I make sure our house doesn’t get blown up on a regular basis.
Diego, S.: (Laugh) I’m Diego Silva. Age 19. I’m a stay-at-home cook. I don’t go to school, but in my free time, I like to attend community cooking classes.
Ava, S.: (Putting her arm around Diego’s shoulders) I have the smartest little brother.
Diego, S.: Ava, please.
Beatrice, M-J.: Listen to your big sister, Diego.
Diego, S.: (Rolls eyes, but affectionately) Tell your girlfriend to chill, maybe.
Camila, R.: As if that ever works. (Ava reaches over to smack Camila.) Hey, quit it, you.
[Ehem. May we get back to our interview?]
Beatrice, M-J.: (Sheepish) Apologies. Please, ask us your questions.
[Thank you, Beatrice.]
[So, it has been quite an eventful year. What are your takes on what’s happened throughout it all? Let’s start with you, Ava.]
Ava, S.: Eventful would be quite of an understatement, don’t you think? I mean, I get to meet these guys for the very first time. I feel like that deserves a much bigger word.
Lilith, B-T.: Catastrophic?
Lilith, B-T.: (Sees Ava’s pout) Okay, fine. Monumental, perhaps?
Ava, S.: (Smiles) That’s more like it.
Ava, S.: (Turns to me) Monumental is quite the most suitable word to describe it. I mean, I’m not humble enough to not say my life has been nothing short of extraordinary. My dad died when I was born, my mom died in an accident when I was 7 and it left me paralyzed. I was then admitted into a loveless Catholic orphanage and was abused throughout my short stay under the hands of uptight, sinister nuns. I mistakenly thought I was getting adopted into a new, happy family, but in actuality, I was being used as a guinea pig by a billionaire genius to cure her sick son. After I failed to do so, I was eventually thrown away by the aforementioned billionaire genius, and thrown right into the arms of a corrupted criminal organization who, as it turned out, was mind controlling the only family I have left and thought was lost a long time ago into almost killing me in order to get this piece of alien technology called a halo embedded into my spine which, as it turned out once again, gave me super spider powers.
Ava, S.: (Notices the awkward silence in the room). It’s a lot, yes, but it didn’t end all that badly.
Camila, R.: You don’t say.
Diego, S.: You got rescued. As far as silver linings go, I think that is one of the best.
Ava, S.: Oh yes, of course. I will never be able to find words that feel adequate enough to describe the gratitude I have for these guys to have rescued me that fateful day.
[Please elaborate for our new and returning readers. What happened on that fateful day?]
Ava, S.: So the billionaire genius who used me, her name is Jillian by the way (Ed.: Jillian Salvius, Founder and CEO of ARQ-TECH Inc.), after I failed to save her sick son and accidentally rendered him dead, she put me in a container tank and abandoned me there. There were oxygen tubes and stuff plugged in to keep me alive, but still, bare minimum, I know. The secret society slash criminal organization I mentioned earlier, they’re called the Court of Owls, wanted this halo thing in my back, so they kept ordering mercenaries to come get it out of me, but to no avail.
Ava, S.: Wait, how did you guys know where to find me?
Beatrice, M-J.: The Bat Computer detected an unusual life signal being emitted. Lilith suggested we go check it out and make sure it wasn't anything nefarious.
Ava, S.: I love it when you use big words. (Leans over to kiss Beatrice’s cheek).
Diego, S.: Ugh, get a room.
Ava, S.: (Waggles her eyebrows) Oh we plan on it.
Beatrice, M-J.: (Embarrassed) Ava.
Ava, S.: (Shameless) Okay. Sorry. Where was I?
[The Bat Computer detected unusual life signals.]
Ava, S.: Okay so. The Bat Business, that’s these dorks, apparently traced after that signal from the halo and eventually found me sealed in that container tank. They gallantly rescued me and gave me a home.
Beatrice, M-J.: I wouldn’t exactly say gallant. It was just the right thing to do.
Ava, S.: Baby.
Beatrice, M-J: (Blushes) Alright.
Camila, R.: (Coughs) Simp.
Ava, S.: Moving on. They clothed me and fed me and it was all history. Lilith didn’t like me at first, but I grew on her.
Lilith, B-T.: Like a fungus.
Ava, S.: A lovable fungus?
Lilith, B-T.: Don’t push it.
[If I’m to assume correctly, The Bat Business was who trained Ava to be a superhero?]
Beatrice, M-J.: We prefer the term vigilantes, superheroes are often confined within a certain moral code that we as imperfect humans can’t possibly uphold 24/7, but yes. Ava never knew what happened to Diego after Jillian took her from that orphanage, so our mission was to simply locate him and reunite them back together.
Camila, R.: We tried retracing our steps back to the orphanage itself, but everything was destroyed. Worse, we were later attacked by a mysterious gang of mercenaries.
[The Court of Owls?]
Beatrice, M-J.: Employed by them via a hitman service, more likely. They weren’t as well-trained. They were after the halo, who was glowing in warning just 15 minutes prior. They tracked us to the orphanage.
Camila, R.: Luckily, we were able to escape relatively unscathed, sans a couple minor injuries. But that was when we decided to train Ava properly.
Ava, S.: I actually almost put an elbow through Lilith’s ribs. I was pretty dangerous.
Lilith, B-T.: You weren’t that bad. You just wanted to help.
Ava, S.: But I didn’t know how, and I made a mess of things. Lucky for me, these guys were kind and patient enough to not only train me physically but also mentally. I now mess up way less often than I did before.
[I believe it. What happened next?]
Lilith, B-T.: It took a couple more days, but we eventually were encountered by actual minions of the Court of Owls.
Ava, S.: Amongst those minions were my little brother, Diego. I recognized him from an old childhood injury despite the mask covering his face.
Diego, S.: I had to watch with my own eyes as they forced my body to attack Ava. I wanted to scream and tell them to stop, but I couldn’t do anything.
Beatrice, M-J.: It was thanks to those masks that we successfully identified our enemy to be the Court of Owls. After that encounter, our Robin also managed to pinpoint the technological natures of the halos.
[Fascinating pieces of technology, those halos. Is Ava’s the same as Diego and the others’?]
Camila, R.: Ava’s is a prototype, unstable, temperamental and old-fashioned. The unidentifiable alien DNA inside it combined with the serum ARQ-TECH scientists injected into her, also known as The Bloody Mary Serum, is what gave Ava her various spider-adjacent powers. Diego’s and the other mind-controlled minions attacking us is what you would consider an upgrade, using the same mechanics but operating on an entirely different system. Because he didn't have the Bloody Mary Serum in his blood and his genetic makeups are different from Ava’s, Diego is only slightly stronger and faster than the regular human, but no spider powers. Plus, due to the halos’ different operating systems, Ava was never mind-controlled via the sonic wave like he was.
Ava, S.: Honest to God gave me a complex. I felt like a failure. I suppose I still am.
Beatrice, M-J.: Darling.
Ava, S.: I’m sorry. I’m trying to grow out of the mindset, but…
Camila, R.: We understand. We’ll help you get through it.
[I’m sorry that you’re feeling this way, Ava.]
Ava, S.: Don’t be. I will get better one day.
Beatrice, M-J.: There’s not a thing Ava cannot do. We wholeheartedly believe in her.
Camila, R.: Preach.
Diego, S.: Hell yeah.
Beatrice, M-J. & Lilith, B-T.: Language.
Diego, S.: Oh come on, it felt necessary.
Ava, S.: (Smiles, her eyes wet) Thank you, guys.
Ava, S.: (Wipes her tears with her hand) Sorry about that. Let’s move on. Where were we?
[You just found out Diego was in the clutch of the Court of Owls.]
Ava, S.: Ah yes. What happened after that is that our genius Lilith managed to get a lead, whose name was Vincent, a member of the Court of Owls. He worked as the Department Head of Gotham University’s Associate School of Religious Studies, mysteriously missing now, and so we paid our now-campus a visit.
Camila, R.: We managed to procure quite a lot of valuable information about the Court in Vincent’s office, but we didn’t make it home unscathed.
Diego, S.: Me and my friends were ordered to attack them. I was specifically given this thing, kinda like artificial talons, laced with a foreign substance called Divinium. The way it worked is that it actually could hurt Ava and puncture her skin, despite her invulnerability. It also slows down her regeneration ability, long enough for me to keep attacking her.
Ava, S.: I never once blamed you for any of it.
Diego, S.: I know, but just like you, I blame myself either way.
Camila, R.: As you can see, we are all clearly in need of therapy.
[Don’t we all, Camila. What exactly did you end up finding at Gotham University?]
Camila, R.: In Vincent’s office, we discovered a secret lair where he kept all sorts of Court records. Financial, medical, minor expenses, members’ name. You name it, we got it. So naturally, we did the most reasonable thing and started sorting through the membership list, thinking maybe we can drop by and visit one or some of them for more intel.
Beatrice, M-J.: It was then that we made a shocking discovery. My parents, who tragically passed away in a warehouse explosion alongside Lilith’s guardian when I was 17 and she 19, had been working for the Court of Owls for decades.
Lilith, B-T.: They were complicit in things we could never imagine. Safe to say, our perceptions of them had been successfully shattered.
[I’m so sorry. I can only imagine how devastating that must’ve felt.]
Beatrice, M-J.: Thank you. We made it through that ordeal with a lot of mental struggles. But we talked and confided within each other. Eventually, there came a new lead we could follow.
Lilith, B-T.: A charity gala where Vincent Ortega was rumored to attend.
Ava, S.: The same charity gala that, when we arrived, had Jillian Salvius in attendance too.
[What a crazy coincidence.]
Ava, S.: I know right? Bea and I split up, her tailing Vincent and me after Jillian. I asked her so many questions. I found out that she not only took me but she also took Diego and 20 other orphaned kids to ARQ-TECH to use as a contingency plan in case I failed. Jillian just never told me because she feared it would distract me from the higher mission, saving her son.
[That’s totally barbaric.]
Camila, R.: Thank you, I was thinking the same thing.
Ava, S.: I asked her about what the halo could do, how it came to be embedded with alien DNA of unknown origin, how it was actually provided by the Court at first for her to play with, and eventually she gave me what I needed most. An address.
Beatrice, M-J.: The same address that I overheard Vincent give out over the phone with another member of the Court of Owls. He mentioned a larger plan at hand, and so we knew to act fast.
Camila, R.: The plan began to form easily after that. We took a day off to formulate floorboards and strategic maneuvers, but soon it was time to barge in there and take back what was ours.
Diego, S.: That’s me. They’re talking about me.
[Did the plan go smoothly?]
Ava, S.: It wasn’t smooth-sailing at all, mind you. Sure, we managed to knock all scientists unconscious, gathered some invaluable information about the halo and its schematic, and discovered the automatic extraction protocol that would remove all halos from their mind-controlled bearers, which was convenient, but we got our asses kicked in the process.
Diego, S.: I broke your arm, didn’t I.
Ava, S.: You sure did. And my nose, and my ribs, and probably gave me a concussion too. Had it been anyone else, I would have been mad.
Diego, S.: I’m sorry.
Ava, S.: Don’t sweat it. Anyways. After a lot of squabbling, during which I had to release my halo hurricane and almost crushed everyone like a cockroach, Camila, our resident tech genius, finally managed to extract all the halos. We then made another shocking discovery. The sick son that I thought I killed by being a failed experiment, was alive all along!
[Michael Salvius, right? Jillian Salvius was just seen at the aquarium with him yesterday. He looked so healthy. You couldn’t tell he was on his deathbed at all.]
Camila, R.: The combined magic of the best vitamins and the best caretaking services your money can buy.
Ava, S.: Rich people (rolls eyes).
[Per logic, does that mean The Court of Owls took both Michael and Diego as well?]
Lilith, B-T.: Yes. After Jillian abandoned Ava, and subsequently the other 20 orphaned children in her underground lab, various Court of Owls mercenaries came to extract and kidnapped all of them, resulting from their greed for the potentials of the halos.
Camila, R.: We suspect they’ve tried to take Ava as well, but her halo has protected her throughout the 6-month coma she was put under since the day Michael “died”.
Diego, S.: It was a ploy. They purposely put a mole in and got them to sabotage the experiment. Jillian was desperate enough to trust a scientist sent by the Court to help counsel her, only for him to stab her in the back later on. The Court stole everything they could.
Beatrice, M-J.: We returned Michael to his mother almost immediately after our rescue mission. Jillian asked, but till this day, we still don’t know how or why he survived.
[Were you friends with Michael Salvius during your time at ARQ-TECH and The Court of Owls, Diego?]
Diego, S.: Michael was and still is one of my best friends. We bonded after I overheard him talking about Ava, as he was the only one who got to talk to Ava as part of his treatment. No matter how much I begged the enforcers, they wouldn’t let me see Ava. So I did the most I could.
[It must’ve been painful being able to watch her from afar but not being able to talk to her.]
Diego, S.: It was. Every day I saw her try her damn hardest to regain her mobility, and for every step she took with the cane and then without, the prouder and the hotter my desire burned to smash through the glass and hug her. Hell, I tried, but some dickhead enforcer pushed a taser into my spine for my trouble.
Beatrice, M-J.: Do you remember his name? His face? Any identification markers at all?
Diego, S.: Bea, no. It was all in the past.
Beatrice, M-J.: Still…
Diego, S.: Seriously, it’s okay. We’re all together now, and I wouldn’t change a thing about what happened if only I could keep a future like this.
Ava, S.: (Sniffles) You’re going to make me cry.
Diego, S.: Oh my God, you’re such a crybaby. (Grumbles, still he lets Ava cry on his shoulder)
[Moving on from the difficult topics, how have your relationships developed throughout the past year? I’ve noticed Beatrice holding hands with Ava, and Lilith making smitten eyes at Camila.]
Diego, S.: Thanks for making me feel like a fifth-wheel.
Lilith, B-T.: Smitten? I do not look smitten!
Camila, R.: (Rosy cheeks) It’s a compliment, honey. Take it as such.
Lilith, B-T.: I get the sentiment, but smitten?
Ava, S.: He’s too polite to call you a simp.
Lilith, B-T.: Fuck you.
Ava, S.: Love you too, Lil.
Beatrice, M-J.: (The only one looking at me) To answer your question, me and Ava officially got together the night we got back from the charity gala.
Ava, S.: (Visibly softens, wearing the smitten look she just teased Lilith about) We had been dancing around each other long before that, but that night, Bea asked me out on a legit first date.
[What did you do on your first date?]
Beatrice, M-J.: We waited until everything settled down before I took Ava to my favorite Italian restaurant in National City.
Ava, S.: After that, Bea took me to National City’s Observatory to look at the stars. It was so romantic, I would have swooned if it didn’t mean breaking my ankles on stilettos.
Beatrice, M-J: You looked beautiful in that tiny black dress.
Ava, S.: And you were my dashing prince in leather jacket, baby.
Camila, R.: I mean this in the most positive way possible, I’m about to throw up rainbows.
Diego, S.: Imagine how I feel.
[How about you, Camila?]
Camila, R.: I asked Lilith out, surprisingly enough. (Laughs)
Lilith, B-T.: Hello?
Camila, R.: I mean it affectionately, babe. I love how it happened. You looked very cute holding that sunflower to your chest while blushing like that.
Lilith, B-T.: You snuck up on me so abruptly I almost fell onto the rose bed.
Camila, R.: I would have kissed it better.
Ava, S.: There’s a child present in the room!
Diego, S.: I’m good, I’ve had all my sex ed.
[Thank the lord for that. Did you guys have a first date candlelit dinner like Ava and Beatrice?]
Camila, R.: Sort of. We didn’t go out, as I am the household’s resident chef and can make food twice as delicious with zero cost, so I took it upon myself to create the best dish to have for a first date.
Diego, S.: It was spaghetti.
Ava, S.: Cliche, but full respect if you pull it off.
Beatrice, M-J.: Did you do The Lady and The Tramp thing?
Camila, R.: Who do you think I am? Of course we did.
Lilith, B-T.: It was not practical, mind you, but I enjoyed it regardless.
Camila, R.: It was very cute.
Ava, S.: Up until the point where I stumbled into the kitchen for a snack and found you both sprawled out on the counter.
Diego, S.: Eww. TMI much?
Ava, S.: I’m not the one defiling the kitchen counter now, am I?
Camila, R.: If you know what’s good for you, Ava Silva, you will shut up right now before I spill about where else in the manor I know you’ve defiled.
Lilith, B-T.: Wait, what–
[And that is all we have for today. Thank you for a wonderful interview, everyone. I think we’ve sufficiently caught your readers up to the events of what's to come.]
Ava, S.: What, no sneak peak? We didn't agree to this interview just for the Timmies, you know.
Camila, R.: Is that you saying you don't want this hashbrown?
Ava, S.: Fuck you, give me that.
Beatrice, M-J: (Smiles) Thank you for facilitating this opportunity. Whatever happens next, I know it will be delightful.
[Delightful is certainly one of the word choices for it. This is luthorboy signing off.]
Ava, S.: He sounds ominous for a second there, right?
Beatrice, M-J: It's probably nothing, darling. May I have a piece of that, please?
Ava, S.: Sure, baby.
—