Warren Ellis is doing a stunt on his blog today called "Fast Fiction Friday" — he asked a bunch of people (including me) to bang out a very short story on Wednesday, and today, he's publishing them. Here's a bit of mine:
The other super-heroes put Spidey up to it, going to Geneva to wheedle the WIPO delegates about their trademark rights. "Send Batman," he'd begged. "Bruce Wayne is a fucking billionaire. He can talk to these people." But Supe had sadly shook his head and said, "You know that's the wrong answer, Peter. Bruce is a sociopath. We need a diplomat."
The Swiss thought his official underoos were ridiculous. In a diplomatic town like Geneva, no one would bat an eye at a djelleba, or full-dress purdah, or a kilt, but a superhero in fancy underwear drew stares all the way from the Gare Central to his stunningly overpriced and for all that gamey and run-down hotel. He passed one of the youth gangs on the way, muttering into their phones and thumbing at their keyboards, coordinating their crimefighting activities. They had Wonder Womanoid costumes, and he was glad that the Amazon Princess wasn't present to witness this blatant trademark infringement. She'd go bonkers, and it would be the Golden Lasso Massacre of Geneva.
