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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

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Mr Zoat said:
1st September 2012
16:11 GMT

I…

"Uuuugh."
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Ah, the sweet prayer to the Oh God of Hangovers. I suspect this little misadventure has been unpleasantly like being drunk, certainly. Especially if you look at it from the water's point of view. :p

What… Happened..?

"Are you you, or do I gotta shoot you again?"
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Ouch, I'm not sure what was worse for the Renegade: The arrow shooting or her abuse of the English language.

'Do I got'-?

My face creases up. "Please don't use grammar like that around my children. I want them to-."
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And it looks like the Renegade is in the driver's seat right now. Assuming they did merge as some of us surmised.

I feel pressure on my broken-. No, not broken? Arm, as Artemis pulls me up. I Am Sworn To Carry Your Burdens, Apparently.

"I'm sure it woulda been real clever, but you need to pretend to be the other guy when Sinthia gets back with the queen."
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That won't be too hard. Just channel your inner Chuunibyou. Sneer haughtily, scowl at any backtalk and swagger about like you own all you survey.

I regain my feet and focus my eyes… Yes, eyes working, body… Not in any sort of pain and I should be. I feel a momentary impulse to check my wounds and face, but suppress it. The other Grayven wouldn't-.

"Can you make a fake body, really fast?"
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Yeah, going to be suspicious if one or the other isn't around to be paraded in defeat...

"Why are there arrows sticking out of my-?"
Clean The Carcass.
I frown as the arrows sticking painlessly in my body in various places vanish. "You know I hear that, right?"
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Well, at least it didn't hurt. Not for him, anyway. I'm sure Grayven hated it.

"Focus, Grayven."

"You know that's not actually my name? I just faked it to steal stuff from the Forever People, and then this all happened."
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:eek: ...Holy crap, he really is out of it if he just casually admitted it like that. Then again, she and Lynne are possibly the two closest people to him, and if he can't trust them with it, who can he trust?

"What?!" She blinks in astonishment, but recovers. "No. No, not-. Not urgent, but you're going to be explaining that later."

"Sure thing, Artemis." I smile at her. I'm really lucky to have her. "I'm happy to share anything with you."
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:confused: ...Is the Honesty arrow still stuck in there somewhere? Might want to double-check. Or maybe this is just the post-Harmony high.

Her face falls. "I think I might of shot you too hard."

"Have shot-."

"Body!"
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Ah, right, covering up the fact that Grayven-16 is no longer amongst the corporeal. Not sure why they can't just reveal that, but I suspect Sinthia, at least, might object. And The Renegade is in no shape for a Ringslinging battle.

Ah… Right. Ring, I need a reasonable facsimile.

By your command.
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Well, at least the Orange Ring is talking to him. We'll see what Ringnestro thinks later, I guess.

Light strobes out of my ring, building up a fake body on a section of the floor. It's not biological and it won't pass any sort of investigation and… It's taking longer to do this than it used to.

Wait, I-.
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Probably so full of good vibes, it's hard to be focused in wanting things. Besides munchies, ya know what I mean, maaaan?

"What?"

"I remember arriving here. Ah, and activating the Orrery. And-. Artemis, what happened?"
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To be fair, I'm not sure anyone knows exactly what did go on, barring the Cosmic Author himself.

"I'm-. Not.. sure. Either you merged together and I made sure that you won, or you got erased by the Omega Effect and I shot the other Grayven until he turned into you."

"Oh." That's… Bad.
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So... Can we look forwards to occasional backsliding into Grayven-16? Perhaps when he's pretending just a bit too hard?

"Do you still remember you? I mean, Earth Grayven?"

"I live in a mountain near Rifle, Colorado, and have adopted nine…"
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Better than a mansion and a yacht, for sure.

I suddenly get a flash of Grayven's actual interactions with Mortalla. Of her talking to him after one of the walks he took with Father-. Darkseid-. I think she was actually trying to mother him, though… Yes, I feel his feelings. He didn't even notice.

"Nine children. And-. I think it's going to be easier for me to take control of Grayven's military… I don't think you're going to like this."
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Upside, pretending to be Grayven will be easier, once he gets it all sorted out in his head. Maybe set it up so that Grayven and Renegade memories are compartmentalised, though? Something to work out with Manchester Black, perhaps.

"If I surrender to you. 'You'."

"And probably if Lynne does as well. The Queen is going to be trickier, and then I've got to decide what we're actually going to do with the fleet."
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Since I don't expect ordering them to fly into the nearest sun will work... No matter how hard they're whammied, I don't you'd overcome their self-preservation instincts that easily.

"You're not just gunna kill them all?"

"We didn't kill all the Sheeda."

"We needed the Sheeda."
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True. At least they tried to leave the Sheeda better than they found them, too.

"I don't feel like slaughtering an entire people. Even if they kind of deserve it."

"Again."
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There's that post-Harmony high for you.

"I don't feel like slaughtering an entire people, even if they kind of-"

She chuckles quietly.

"-deserve it. Mother Box, boom tube to Lynne."
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I mean, it'd be, what, the third time you did so? :p You'd think you'd have plenty of practice at it, by now.

Ping.

"I take your point, but these aren't the-"
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"Nice to have you back. I didn't like the other fellow at all."

BOOM!

"-citadelians or the psions. They're chancers in a violent universe. If wouldn't be right to exterminate them without at least giving them a chance to get onboard."
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I suppose that's one way to look at it, but their less savoury cultural practices are pretty baked in by now. It'd take some doing.

She regards me curiously for a moment. Then something occurs to her. "And the Justice League's here."

"And the Justice League's here. So, are you alright swearing allegiance?"
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Oh, boy. That's going to take some explaining to head off any Righteous Face-Punching coming 'Grayven's way.

She shrugs. "I basically have anyway."

"Thank you. I-."
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Yeah, spending centuries together in the future have that basically locked in. It'd take acting like Darkseid to lower her opinion of you by this point.

Sinthia and the two surviving Zamarons escort a blood-splattered Queen Clryssa out of an adjacent corridor and bring her before me. I pause for a moment, then focus on.. Grayven's memories of how he dealt with these people.

I turn slightly away, letting them bring the queen closer before I acknowledge-.
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There we go. Play the aloof arsehole. You're a natural at that. :D

Lynne steps through the boom tube.

**Poppet, play along.**

**Daddy?**
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At least with Lynne, it's easier to explain.

**Probably. [Images of my fight and what Artemis said.] I'll need you to clue the queen in without the others picking up on it.**

**Yes, Daddy.**
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Been a while since we've seen the Renegade be so open telepathically. Guess he's got some work to do rebuilding his mental fortress, eh?

Lynne walks towards me, stopping exactly the same distance away as Artemis is standing. I don't hear any telepathic traffic between them, but they both kneel at the same time. Now, if there was another New God here this would be a problem. This sort of pledge involved deliberately binding one soul as subject to the other. But since there's no one here who can pick up on it, I settle for stepping forward and touching each on the head.
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Yeah, playing at the benediction of a gracious tyrant... I doubt Grayven-16 would have been quite so gentle about it, though...

"Rise, my servants."

"Lord Grayven." / "Lord Grayven." **I've told her.**
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Probably got a sarcastic **Yeah, I figured.** in return.

Then I turn to the queen. I don't see anything in her manner that suggests that she's in any way reassured, but she's a reasonable politician and can probably control her own features to a degree.

"Queen Clryssa. I have won. I can send the worlds of the Vega Systems crashing into one another at will and your throneworld lays under my guns. You will offer me your surrender, and then we will draft the peace treaty. Hopefully, no occupation will be necessary."
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Not that he would anyway. Grayven might have let his gordanians loose on the Crown Imperium as a reward, but the Renegade has no truck with such unpleasantness.

"And if I refuse?"

"If all of the suns of Vega were to go nova, you would have roughly a century to evacuate your entire empire before the radiation wave hit and this region was scoured of life. And then there are the casualties that the Crown Imperium would suffer as my fleet eliminated its military capacity. Surrender really is for the best."
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And thus the Renegade expands his sphere of influence. Not quite as nicely as he might have done it, but what's done is done. Barring a last-minute show of defiance from the Queen.

And so ends the battle for Vega, without even a 'battle at the center of the mind'. Let's hope the Renegade can keep up the facade of arsehole arrogance long enough to defuse the Conquest fleet and secure the Absolute Dominion without a fight. I mean, Sinthia might smell a car-sized rat if he keeps being so pleasant about things... Being a Gracious Victor can only explain so much.
 
Strange that Renegade Paul is less prone to LARPing like idiot after taking Grayven, but an overall improvement. Hopefully he stays like this instead of continuing to try to fit an ill fitting mold. Maybe try to master some form of combat at some point instead of trying to brute force everything, again like an idiot.
 
The tagline for the Renegade storyline can really just be summed up by: "When 'Fake it till you make it' gets taken too far", can't it?

I love it. About time he came clean, and having other people know might avert other things. Not that I know what those ARE, but, y'know, weird New God bullshit, or something.

Also, just wanna say I really like the multiple storylines going. That is, renegade, warhams, regular, etc. Really gives the entire story a 'comic book' feel, with each iteration of Paul being a different run, or something. Really adds to how the story feels to read, imo. Probably been mentioned before, but there's multiple thousands of pages to check for that, sooooo...
 
Apparently he's now the New God of nitpicky grammar.

How much of his previous Grayven "memories" were installed by Father Box, and how much, if any, were actual supernatural bullshit bleed-through from original Grayven?
 
Nice subtle parallel with, ummm, Harmony Grayven being very reluctant to randomly kill all the gordians versus Paragon.

It's really fascinating to watch Renegade continue to break thru the molds imposed by the Anti Life and his God nature. I've been thinking for a while if that whole cutie mark is a parasite and a limiter applies in a weird mirror way to whatever Darkseid is plotting.

It would fit that Darkseid resents the Anti Life and his nature from subverting his Free Will and he's looking (thru Renegade) for a way out. I'm not implying he's reformed just external control would annoy him. So having Renegade evolve his nature and subsume the Anti Life and the Omega effect would be something he might want.

Just a great use of the Fourth World and My Little Pony mythos.

And I just read that sentence back. Lol.
 
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Mr Zoat said:
"I'm-. Not.. sure. Either you merged together and I made sure that you won, or you got erased by the Omega Effect and I shot the other Grayven until he turned into you."
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There was no soul to soul combat, so it's the second.

So congratulations, we went from following a Paul that mind fucked himself into thinking he's Grayven, to a Graven that was mind fucked into thinking he used to be Paul.


Mr Zoat said:
"If all of the suns of Vega were to go nova, you would have roughly a century to evacuate your entire empire before the radiation wave hit and this region was scoured of life. And then there are the casualties that the Crown Imperium would suffer as my fleet eliminated its military capacity. Surrender really is for the best."
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Now lets hope the Empress has absolutely zero understanding of astronomy so she doesn't call him on this bit of utter idiocy.
 
lancelot said:
Strange that Renegade Paul is less prone to LARPing like idiot after taking Grayven, but an overall improvement. Hopefully he stays like this instead of continuing to try to fit an ill fitting mold
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He was just hit with some serious mind altering magic so he may not be able to control certain parts of himself.

Though I'm not sure if he'll come clean to other people, or just Artemis.

lancelot said:
Maybe try to master some form of combat at some point instead of trying to brute force everything, again like an idiot.
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Like I mentioned previously, he kinda had the same problem that Astarte had.

He lacked opponents that were his equals.

Most of the people he's fought are weaker than him, so taking them down was fairly easy.

There have been occasions where some could equal or surpass him in power, but he usually managed to either trick them in order to win, or he had superior weapons, backup or just plain luck.

Also the fact that most Paul's seem to dislike doing physical work and his lack of training, or well serious training, that has hurt him in physical engagements.

Sockmonkey said:
Apparently he's now the New God of nitpicky grammar.
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He is British so I guess it's a given.
 
Handlewithcare said:
That may sound a little to reasonable for OldGrayven.

Actually, would it be so bad to explain Paul conquered OldGrayven? I mean, what better proof he was the superior god of conquest could there be?
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This is QQ. Two large burly men made eye contact a little too hard and then one of them ended up riding the other hard. It looks like it's going to lead to a lifetime commitment.
 
egooo said:
Okay, argument this claim, will you?

Saying "he forgot about space radiation" is all fine and well, but you have to provide the actual numbers yourself to be taken seriously.
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The energy released by Nova's aren't multiplicative, and they have a roughly solar-system ranged death radius on a good day.

So they are basically just a threat to stuff in Vega, and that ship should have already sailed when Grayven smashed those four suns together.

Heck, even Supernova don't have a 100ly death radius.
 
Vaermina said:
The energy released by Nova's aren't multiplicative, and they have a roughly solar-system ranged death radius on a good day.

So they are basically just a threat to stuff in Vega, and that ship should have already sailed when Grayven smashed those four suns together.

Heck, even Supernova don't have a 100ly death radius.
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Okay, this is more reasonable as a critique.

Please, keep to this sort in the future, it is objectively more useful for both the author (he may ot may not have you blocked, fucked if I know) and the thread overall, than the unsourced screeching.
 
Dur'id the Druid said:
And now renegade has meta physically eaten the other Grayven. Does anyone remember the 'no mantels or godheads in this story' zoat was declaring not so long ago? If this isn't that, WHAT THE HECK DO WE CALL THIS??? ;p
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As far as we know he ate one Grayven and then another Grayven ate him and got brainwashed into thinking he is the one who is Zoat SI.

Even the reaction to saying Paul, if he has that, could be something he got from the SI, save word of Zoat we will never know.
 
Sockmonkey said:
Apparently he's now the New God of nitpicky grammar.

How much of his previous Grayven "memories" were installed by Father Box, and how much, if any, were actual supernatural bullshit bleed-through from original Grayven?
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I've always assumed the memories were all Fatherbox.

If giving someone the same soul structure entitled someone to share memories, then shouldn't Renegade have gotten all of his memories?

Plus in the comics Fatherbox was playing Orion for a fool.
 
BlueMangoAdea said:
Expected answer. "He does not know."
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I reckon Renegade-Paul started to dissolve into the Source due to classic-Grayven's omega beam, Grayven's divine portfolio absorbing Renegade-Paul's, and Renegade's mortal wounds.

But. Renegade-Paul pulled HARD on the Orange Light. Possibly hard enough to tickle the Ophidian in renegade's power battery. The omega beam ended up hurting classic-Grayven more than Paul, hence why we don't have two Grayven bodies. Which allowed Renegade-Paul to clog the throat of classic Grayven's soul long enough for Artemis to interrupt the process.

So we have seen Kara's mental difficulties this episode. Now Renegade-Paul is getting his second arc about mental health (third if you count wrangling an anti-life fragment and stuff on Wilson separately). I think… that Grayven is going to somewhat step back from combat after this. He'll take a lesser role in the war with the reach. Grayven will start searching for stuff like DC-meditation in order to bolster his mind, increase his soul-voice's finesse (to dodge attacks rather than tank them) rather than raw power, and revaluate if he wants to keep being Grayven, God of Conquest at all. If he can survive it, sanity intact, with a family.
 
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