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For those of you who have followed Shades of Grey, thank you. Thanks for the comments, the speculation, the arguments about justice vs vengeance, and mostly just for staying with me through the whole, largely uncomfortable story.
It has been noted that I never did say what my idea of justice is through the whole thing. No, I didn't and I won't do that here. I don't do politics, since in my experience, discussions like that tend to result in lots of arguments and bad feelings. Everyone has their own sense of justice, and nothing anyone else says is going to change that, right?
I set out to show that even if a character is super powered, and what people have come to call a Mary Sue, that no matter who or what they are, the humanity is still there if the character will just pay attention.
Those of you who have followed my scribblings over the years already know that I think character is more important than any neat, showy, whiz bang power. A story, when you get down to it, is about people.
I also wanted to show all of you, that heroes aren't just the ones with cool powers. Not the ones who can call up a storm, or punch a hole in steel. True heroes are the ones who have to live with what has happened to them and others, and won't give up even if things seem hopeless. In short, the true heroes are just people, like you and I know from interaction with our neighbors, or the person we talked with in the copy shop the other day.
Like us.
This was a really hard story to write, given what I did to more than one of my characters. And not just the ones without powers, by the way.
So thank you for going through all that with me.
Also, there will be a last chapter. Just to show a few things and clean up some loose ends.
Maggie
Comments
There will be the saved and the lost, the redeemed and the not
I long to hear how Miss Mars escaped and recovered. Courtney for that matter and how they dealt with the turncoat Union Jack and all. Though I suspect that is mostly her author's story to tell.
I also worry in your tale that they left a few of those with the knowledge of the evil use of the tech alive. They must not pass anything *useful* on.
Plus what happened of the victims and their families if they had one?. Can't any be restored? Can they at least be helped to independent, reasonably normal, lives with some hope of happiness? Can they even perpetuate some significant portion of their birth genetics or did the bastards steal all of that as part of their conversion process? IE are they technically even a genetic relative of their former selves?
And the very worst of the villains SHOULD have been subject to their own sick tech to *savor* it's full impact. Any victims who died or killed themselves must never be the objects of dissection and reverse engineering. Can't some good come of this tech, say a process to restore paraplegics like, say Oracle? Given extreme safeguards of course.
I agree the true heroes/heroines here are across the board as are the possibly the villains. We have good supers, police, victims and even a recovered former perp now one of the victims who brought these bastards down.
Were any metas on the side of the asses? If so what of them?
TOP notch Maggie.
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
the meaning and nature of power
At times even as powerful as Diana is she was powerless. She had to let events unfold to completely stop the evil infection that had take hold. She KNEW that victims were suffering, but had to do nothing. As you say even the most powerful Mary Sue is human and therefore flawed. What also is made plain here is the price that is paid to fight that evil. There is a reason why so many of those in law enforcement has serious problems with addictions and suicide. The darkness can overwhelm anyone.
Great Story!
To answer John, would you take the chance of being cured even if it meant that possibly someone might be able to take control of you? Would take that cure even if it meant that yes you would be cured, but you might place someone else in harm's way?
It is one of the problems of super-science in the comics. Why haven't the tech Reed Richards uses in the Fantastic Four flying car let all of us have one? Or in this case why can't Babs use some of this tech to walk again. Part of it is about character. Unable to walk she instead used her brains to reach out and fight by helping others. However, tech does change society. It wasn't so long ago that if you lost a leg, you were going to be stuck limping for the rest of your life. Now, hi-tech replacements are letting amputee's run and even have able bodied athletes complaining about them competing because it isn't fair! Maybe it's not the six million dollar man, but it's getting there.
I would be happy if Babs was able to simply walk using a cane/s for that would be an improvement. It would demonstrate the improving tech but still keep her in the same role as the Oracle. Hell, it would be a great story to see someone offer her more just to see her decision and the costs involved.
Going back to Shades of Grey, I really looking forward to the ending chapters. Not for the action, but for the honest humanity that is so rich in this tale.
Hugs
Grover
I've enjoyed this story vey much
And as I have said privately, I've appreciated you including Jean in this story. I've started working on my next Phoenix story, and will be showing her involvement from her perspective.
Dorothycolleen
Thougts on Spectre.
Thanks for the story.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
I liked this section
Those of you who have followed my scribblings over the years already know that I think character is more important than any neat, showy, whiz bang power. A story, when you get down to it, is about people.
I also wanted to show all of you, that heroes aren't just the ones with cool powers. Not the ones who can call up a storm, or punch a hole in steel. True heroes are the ones who have to live with what has happened to them and others, and won't give up even if things seem hopeless. In short, the true heroes are just people, like you and I know from interaction with our neighbors, or the person we talked with in the copy shop the other day.
Like us.
I really liked that because it's 100% true I started following your writing with madien by decree(still 1 of my all time fav's of yours btw) Then when I stumbled upon the oh so wonderful whateley unvierse and found out you was a writer there an first read fey story I became hooked on your writing. You have chars that make them seem like they are truely real and not just real in your stories. You don't touch on the humanity factor you embrace it even when you have a char with what seems like unstoppable flashy type powers,you always show there human side. I really enjoyed spectre and hope you do write about her again same as I hope that you get inspired to write more for a walk in the dark or write another chapter to fey's story or start book 2 of madien by decree. You have a wonderful gift for writing maggie :D.
Well she does do a freak out...
And, after what the bad guys did, I don't find fault with her actions. It is after all a story, and as to if I would be doing the same in real life, it would depend on if I was on or not. I like the story, and thank you for writing it.
Gwendolyn