Title:  Probationary Member
Fandom:  the DCU
Pairings:  gen, actually
Categories:  drama
Length:  Long [~16,000 words]
Warnings:  violence, torture possibly motivated in part by misogyny, character death


Author on LJ:  n/a
Website:  His page on Fanfiction.net

Summary:  Batman brings a new recruit into the JLA ... but there's something he doesn't know about her.  In which the newest superhero doesn't have the approval of the moral majority.

Review:  I love both the premise of this story and its execution.  Batman finds a woman who, when put in danger for her life, manifests superpowers.  Batman being, well, Batman, he doesn't recognize her by name or sight, but the other men in the JLA certainly do: she's a famous porn star.  The plot focuses on her period as a probationary member - the JLA isn't comfortable with just granting her an automatic in, with her reputation - and how the current League members react to a woman who is not ashamed of her profession, and who has no plans to retire and take up a more sanitized-for-the-public job.

I loved the original character, Kelly Bryson the porn actress, and the ending of the story broke my heart.  The warnings probably give away what happens, given the strong tendency of certain fandoms to maintain the status quo, but I can't not warn for such serious events.  There's no denying the long term effects that Kelly Bryson has on the JLA, though - her strength of character and refusal to denounce her profession leaves an impression on her colleagues, and I think that they all gained something from their time with her.

Probationary Member