Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from any DC Comics, I'm only borrowing them for awhile. This story reflects on news reports at comics websites that DC Comics plans to reboot their entire line of comics, if you haven't heard this might be considered a spoiler.

The two dreaded R's: Retcon and Reboot

The bar was a unusual one, chosen by Zinda Blake, the blond heroine known as Lady Blackhawk. They met in a different place every few weeks, to trade stories and talk about any troubles they might be having. Of course this time was more urgent, the whole group called together due to what seemed like bad news.

"We're being rebooted AGAIN?" Power Girl yelped, the blond haired woman looking at her circle of friends in disbelief. Dressed in her usual white bodysuit and red cape she drew the eye, but seemed to pay no attention to it. Then again, the place seemed to be packed with just women...

"Yeah, that's the rumor I'm hearing." Zatanna took a drink of her beer then the black haired woman in a stage magician's outfit added, "The wave will hit us in September."

"Well that sucks," Black Canary noted, frowning as the blond sat back crossly. She was back in her old outfit of a black swimsuit and fishnet stockings, much like the ones Zatanna wore.

Power Girl drank some of her own beer as the woman known as Karen Starr muttered, "You don't know the half of it."

No one talked about it, but Power Girl had been caught up in the last two major reboots, and it hadn't gone well for her. In the first great Crisis, Power Girl's history had been erased, and in the years after had found her background shifting uncontrollably. She went from being a alien to a magical princess, her powers changed and she went from being a tough lady to being a absolute bitch. Thankfully the attack by Superboy-Prime a few years back had restored her original history, though that wasn't without repercusions too.

"Drink up, everybody," Zinda Blake ordered, the heroine known as Lady Blackhawk getting a fresh pitcher of beer from the bar. These ladies night out events had happened when she challenged Huntress to out drink her, and had come to include a lot of heroines. She looked pretty hot in a leather top and matching pants, and had already told off one woman who objected to her wearing leather.

"You're taking this pretty calmly," Renee Montoya noted calmly, the private investigator and heroine known as the Question sitting nearby. Her brown hair fell into her eyes, her smile slightly more mysterious than most as she relaxed in casual jeans, a t-shirt and jacket.

"Not calmly, but... not much I can do," Zinda admitted with a shrug.

"Think you might get sent back to the past?" Renee probed as she took a careful drink. She had beaten her alcoholism, she thought, but better to not take chances.

"Dunno," Zinda shrugged again, her friends knowing she was a time traveller from World War Two. She sighed, "I'm glad to be back with the Birds of Prey now that Gail's back writing it, but she hasn't got much influence with Dido..."

"Hmm," Zatanna nodded slightly. Everyone had gotten used to the regular breaking of the fourth wall and carried on.

"What really pisses me off is that we won't see any resolution to things that are happening in our lives," Karen sighed. "Max Lord won't ever get what's coming to him, we'll never see how Batman's new plan to put Batmen around the world will work, Wonder Woman will never get a consistent history..." she added. Not to mention her attempt to have a real secret identity, though she had some doubts that would work out too.

"Did I ever?" Wonder Woman asked with as sigh as she arrived to the party fashionably late. Not that she'd see it that way, since she usually was off fighting monsters and such, but she was nearly always late for these things.

Everyone looked at her in shock, justifiably so. Her regular outfit had been replaced by blue pants with white stars, a red corset-like garment and a leather jacket tossed over it, presumably to help her keep what was left of her dignity. The costume was edged in silver, and she wore a choker with a stylized 'w' on it.

"Diana, what the hell...?" Black Canary blurted out, even though she had worn worse over the years. Her 'Justice League International' costume still embarassed her.

"Don't ask," Princess Diana growled, waving to get a waitress to deliver a fresh mug. Though at this point, she'd happily take someone else's drink.

"Welcome to the Locket," the maid clad woman smiled as she put a fresh beer mug down. She looked curiously at Zinda, "Should I bring another pitcher?"

"Please," Zinda grinned as Diana got settled.

Zatanna gave Diana a professional look and nodded to herself grimly. Speaking quietly to Black Canary she noted, "It looks like some kind of localized reboot, I think. Thank goodness her memory still seems to be intact."

"Damn hack writers," Diana muttered as she poured herself a beer. "Not only did they give me a horrid costume and took away Paradise Island," she complained bitterly as she took a long drink, "Straczynski then bailed to go do his Superman and Batman graphic novels! Damn it, why couldn't I have just kept Gail Simone writing?"

Black Canary patted her comfortingly on the shoulder as she said, "Sorry, but there's only so much Gail to go around." She paused as she added thoughtfully, "Besides, I thought you didn't like how she made you date Nemesis?"

"Trust me, dating that stiff is far better than what I'm dealing with now," Diana said ruefully, shaking her head. "Besides, at least Gail dealt with all the lesbian subtext going on on the island," she added with a faint smile.

"Drink up, you'll feel better," Zinda suggested, and everyone drank up before the staff delivered yet another pitcher of beer.

"So, is it gonna be a complete reboot, or a patchwork? Because there is no way I want to go through that again," Karen muttered.

"Dunno," Zatanna admitted, "but the signs look like a patchwork. There's been too many major events recently for a reboot to paper over."

"Oh god, I need more beer," Karen moaned, thumping her head down on the table.

"So, in a few months we might be gone, rewritten or be completely different characters?" Black Canary said, shaking her head. "That's almost as bad as when I moved from Earth Two to Earth One then got retconned as my own daughter."

"Say what?" Wonder Woman blinked.

"Don't worry about it," Black Canary took a drink, "it all got overwritten anyway. But it's a great example of how messed up this could get."

"Geh," Renee shuddered visibly at the thought. "Just think, in a few months we may not be who we are now..."

"Makes you wanna go out and do things you wouldn't normally do," Zinda agreed. She looked over at Black Canary, "Dinah, there's something I've wanted to do a long time."

"Huh?" Black Canary looked at her in surprise then made a choking sound as Zinda kissed her on the lips. There was a long beat of dead silence as she was bent backwards by the force of the smooch, her arms wrapping around Zinda.

"Wow," Zatanna blinked, impressed.

"I didn't know you swung this way," Black Canary gasped.

"Hey, I overhear all those make-out sessions you have with Babs," Zinda noted with a smile, "it goes you ideas."

"So the rumors are true?" Karen teased.

Black Canary blushed furiously, "No comment."

Renee took another drink, as if hoping for added courage. "Diana," she said to the Amazon princess, "do you remember when we met in Nanda Parbat?"

Diana actually looked amused as she answered, "Yes, I remember it quite fondly. You were trying to pick me up..."

Renee blushed cutely. "I wasn't that obvious, was I?" she asked plaintively.

Diana laughed softly as she reassured her, "No, you were pretty subtle about it, really." She took a drink as she added thoughtfully, "It was kind of cute, really."

"Thanks," Renee said. She took a nervous breath and asked, "Would you like to go out to dinner with me?"

Diana smiled warmly, "I'd love to."

"Really?" Renee blinked.

"I've read Sappho, Renee," Diana smiled as she added, "and I grew up on a island surrounded by women. Trust me, I have no problem with the idea."

The others at the table watched with some amusement as the two hurried off, soon disappearing into the crowded bar. "That was cute," Karen decided, chuckling softly.

"Very," Zatanna agreed, sighing softly as she remembered a fling with Madam Xanadu, years back. Her ex John Constantine had always wondered where she had learned about tantric sex magic, and she never had the heart to tell him...

Black Canary shook her head, her makeup still mussed from the kiss from Zinda. "Well, if no one minds I'm going home," she decided.

Zinda gave her a arch look, "I don't suppose I couldn't talk you into sticking around?"

Black Canary blushed but firmly told her, "I don't fool around outside of my relationship. Sorry!"

"Do you think she means Ollie or Babs?" Karen smirked.

"I'd bet on Babs," Zinda said just a bit regretfully. She tossed back the last of her beer, "Well, I'm off to do something dangerous and possibly illegal, wanna tag along?"

"Bar room brawl?" Zatanna asked, well aware of Zinda's usual habits. When the blond nodded Zatanna got up, making her top hat appear from nowhere then putting it on. "What the hell," she decided, "you only live once."

As the others dispersed Karen went up to the bar, her alien metabolism pretty much having killed off the effects of the beer already. "Hey," she called out to the cyan haired bartender, "what's the strongest thing you got?"

Ryouko, space pirate and head bartender of Arisugawa's Locket, gave Power Girl a thoughtful look. "Kryptonian?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Something like that," Karen conceded.

"Just a minute," Ryouko turned, getting a heavy metal container out and pouring... something into a clay mug.

It smelled of apples, sort of, with a peaty undertone. The fumes made even Karen's eyes water, yet it also triggered her taste buds, her mouth watering slightly. "What is it?" she had to ask.

"Scumble," Ryouko said flatly, "we import some from the Mended Drum."

"What's in it?" Karen asked curiously, wondering if she'd found something that might be toxic even to her.

"Apples," Ryouko answered, "or at least it starts with them." She looked at the cup dubiously, "We don't normally sell it without getting Next Of Kin information, but I figure you'll live."

Karen shrugged, "What the hell." She downed it in one long gulp, then put the cup down with a heavy thump.

"Wow," the dark purple haired woman nearby murmured.

Ryouko studied Karen a moment as she said, "Wait for it..." Without another word Karen keeled right over, several customers catching her before she hit the floor or any of the tables.

"Guess we'll need to dump her on a couch until she comes to," May noted, the maid dressed waitress taking charge. Just another night at the bar...

End

Notes: Yes, this is set in Arisugawa;s Locket, my crossover bar for ladies who like ladies. All of these characters have had bi-curious moments, so I don't think it's horribly OOC.

Why did Scumble drop Karen? It's imported from the Discworld and is probably semi-magic.