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

Irked · Oct 8, 2022

And now they're focused on the bodies and will probably forget to Dr Mist for an infection first, sounds like there's still some memory tweaking still going on.

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 8, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
31st December 2012
18:03 GMT

This is the most 'on display' I've felt since Lanterns Natu and Nax physically took me apart. Since there wasn't any particular spell residue on me -and between my spell eater and tattoos that was about what I expected- he's having to go deep. As in, lift the maintenance hatch off my soul and manually test the components.

Not the most fun experience I've ever had.

And I can just imagine the visuals of this would be insane, if this could be animated. I'm picturing multiple layers of every distinct organic and arcane system in OL's body, each separated out like a layered overlay, but in four dimensions instead of two...

On the other hand, it is interesting to get a similar view of Dr. Balewa. I'm not getting any real detail of course: he's a god tier wizard and I'm a giant snake's parasite. But I can see the general flow of the energies he's-.

"Thet is a little distracting."

"Please stop poking the energy flows, it could prove... Detrimental."

"Sorry."

Like this, I can see the sort of merge point where I shade into the Ophidian. Larger than a normal patron connection, but nothing like as large as I was worried it might be. Dr. Balewa has a similar one to the Life Entity, though in his case it's… Like a placenta: two separate systems exchanging vitality, rather than two brains smushed together haphazardly.

Or in OL's case, something looking a bit more like a heart? Not that it's actually a heart, just the spiritual synergy, as evidenced by the occasional Ba-Bum we see.

"Ah."

"Ah?"

...Good 'Ah' or bad 'Ah'? Come on, doc, this is no time for ambiguity.

"I hef found an abnormality, but it is very slight. I do not know if it is what has caused your memory difficulty, but..."

A pearl of white light appears in front of him, some sort of faint… Smoke? Contained within.

Oooh, that's a nasty little puff. I'm betting Anti-life or similar.

"What is it?"

"I do not know. It is a strange thing. It is like… Not a thing in itself, but the shadow of a thing. Perhaps even less than that. If I had to guess, I would say that it is simply marking a place, perhaps to guide an external force later."

...Like a tracer for a stronger dose of Anti-life to lock onto? The leader for an actual lightning strike?

"Mister Edge made it clear that they were using magic as part of their tracking and communications system. Is it part of that?"

"I would guess that it is not. I am familiar with the simple geomantic systems they are using, and this is quite different. It is not a residue left by exposure to a distortion in the world's magics. It is something… External. It is not something that the practitioners which the Alliance of the Just can call upon would use."

Definitely Anti-life-related, then. Which just raises important questions about who set it up and what 'Father Bruno' has to do with it. I'm guessing that faint moment of Nothing during transit is where it got slipped in.

"Are you sure? There are some very incautious magicians around the place."

"Incautious in their communications and treaties with demons. This is not demon magic. I do not know-."

Yeah, OL would be very familiar with the feel of that.

The smoke wafts, as if blown from the centre of the spell bubble and pushed against the side. There's a slight shimmer, and when it calms the smoke is gone.

"Odd."

...Huh. Like a soap bubble when the surface tension grows too low from being touched. Self-destruct mechanism, or just a measure of how weak it is without the structure of a soul to stick to?

"Did you mean to do that?"

"I did not do thet. The energy received no external instruction. It appeared to be a natural reaction to the power of life."

Pity you can't do that to other people, but... I doubt they'd agree to be effectively spiritually vivisected like this.

"Do I have any more in me?"

"Not thet I could find, but it did not respond in a normal way to my efforts to detect it. I had to manually examine everything about you in order to see even thet much."

And that clearly took considerably careful attunement, given the delay.

"Doesn't respond..? So I can't just go FEED ME and get rid of it?"

"I do not know for certain, but I would guess that any such energy that could survive connected to your conjoined soul would not be effected by your efforts to speed up the process."

Not going to do much if it's already inside, either.

"But would it be dangerous?"

"I cannot say for certain, but if you take into your gut something that you cannot digest…"

Eat too many 'stones' like that, and... Well, ever seen the Diet coke and Mentos trick?

"Right. Great. Think I should get Hinon to take a look as well?"

"If the sample had survived and we had something to show her, then I would say 'yes'. As it is, what would you say?"

"Hey, Hinon, this weird little glob of... Stuff was stuck to my soul for a bit. But it went up in smoke when we tried to poke it. Any ideas?"

"Not sure. Have you finished poking me?"

"I have."

So, now for the metaphysical equivalent of putting his pants back on.

And… Re… Com…

Pile.

Ugh.

Give yourself a shake, make sure all the bits went into the right place, yeah?

I let the orange light flow through my body, not really 'fixing' anything per se, but definitely making me feel better. That's my sort of glowing light, not whatever that weird shadow stuff was.

And 'weird shadow stuff that doesn't interact with other energy' doesn't ring any bells. Stuff has to interact with other stuff. That's how magic and conventional matter work. Even kahuuite interacts with other forms of matter and energy, and that's literally outside of Creation. So the idea that it doesn't, particularly after it was unmade by Dr. Balewa's magic, sounds like nonsense.

Come on, OL. How are you being this dense? Think for a bit on your knowledge of DC History...

Dr. Balewa's magic.

"Doctor?"

Oooh, right. because when a soap bubble pops...

Dr. Balewa opens his still glowing eyes on the other side of the ritual space.

"Yes?"

...The fluids don't just vanish.

"I know it looked like the shadow destroyed itself, but if whatever it was is as good at parasitism as you're saying, are we sure that it's not just in you now?"

His eyes return to normal.

Then again, if it dissolved at the touch of Life, how the hell would it survive in an ocean of it?

"Thet is disturbingly possible. But if it is attracted to my magic, then I should be able to draw it out of myself by deliberately weakening myself in the presence of a stronger source of power."

"I don't think we're working to a deadline, here. It's best that we learn everything we can before trying to confront whoever Father Bruno really is."

Investigate first, yes, but still prepare for trouble.

"What makes you certain?"

"People who sign up with the Alliance of the Just are generally well intentioned, but most of them are part timers. The teleporters aren't going to see major usage until the end of the New Year holidays. Probably the weekend after. If they're important in some way, that's when whatever's happening will happen. And if they're not, and Father Bruno's just… I don't know, manoeuvring for position, then we don't even have to worry about that deadline. He'll just be gradually moving towards whatever his victory condition is."

He's playing a long game, rather than the short-term payoffs most Apokaliptian allies seem to favour. Clever... And nasty.

"Thet makes logical sense, but why would he speak with you at all?"

"Two possible places I came into contact with whatever that was: the teleporter and Bruno himself. Alan came into contact with both as well. But a lot of other people in the Alliance would have used the teleport… Er. Um."

Not all of them, though, if it was only just being unveiled... Maybe find out who underwent the testing drills, and check them over? Discreetly.

"Yes?"

"Did..? You checking those… Alliance members who died for whatever that was?"

Not likely to find anything, especially if it attached to the soul. And it was well-hidden enough to go unnoticed then. What are the chances of spotting any trace now?

"I did not."

"It just.. occurred to me that.. if they were exposed in some way…"

"I do not know if anything would remain after all this time, but you are right. It would be wise to check."

Due diligence, I guess. The joy of a blind mystery like this, with so few clues to be found.

Well, at least they have some eye-witness evidence of something odd going on, not just weird moments of 'I can't remember'. So one small step closer to finding out what's happening. Maybe if they can check Alan, they can preserve the sample this time. And if 'Father Bruno' is planning to move as slow as they seem to think he is, they've got some time before every user of the teleporter gets tagged with that stuff.

Karmic Acumen · Oct 8, 2022

The fact that neither of them ever thinks 'Anti-Life' is really implausible for Paul's particular brand of genre-savviness.

Ngamer11 · Oct 8, 2022

Karmic Acumen said:
The fact that neither of them ever thinks 'Anti-Life' is really implausible for Paul's particular brand of genre-savviness.

In his defense, he has dealt with so much weird stuff that, unless it is a bit more blatant, it is believable that Anti-Life isn't his first guess on what this is.

moralrelativity · Oct 8, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
Alan came into contact with both as well.

Surely they need to check Alan before they check the bodies?

Mr Zoat · Oct 8, 2022

Ngamer11 said:
I think that should say 'affected'.

Thank you, corrected.

I think that comma should be removed.

No, he paused.

Prince Charon · Oct 8, 2022

Ngamer11 said:
In his defense, he has dealt with so much weird stuff that, unless it is a bit more blatant, it is believable that Anti-Life isn't his first guess on what this is.

Also, it's possible that his mind is still being interfered with by the indirect results of his experiences (e.g. his trip to the Silver City).

NightmareWarden · Oct 8, 2022

Karmic Acumen said:
The fact that neither of them ever thinks 'Anti-Life' is really implausible for Paul's particular brand of genre-savviness.

I mean… Dr Mist has experienced Anti-Life during one of Paul's previous adventures in Earth, he knows what it smells like. This doesn't act like anti-life and he doesn't necessarily know it is flexible enough to empower a planet's pantheon of gods with distinct abilities. Paul just had an Anti-Life adventure with Constantine!Fate, y'know.

I'm more inclined to think that piece came from one of the Endless. We'll see who else has some though.

exit: Guys, Dr Mist was WITH Paul during the Constantine mission. He's had plenty of Anti-Life exposure, the characters are not being dumb.

iamnuff · Oct 8, 2022

"It deletes itself when exposed to life energy, I wonder what it could be."

>Internal screaming.

It's antilife, it's definitely antilife.

Someguy Somewhere · Oct 8, 2022

hmm....am I the only one that was kinda hoping Dr Mist would find the 'can't say my name' lock out while poking around Paul's being that closely?

I mean, the controller had some idea of why he ended up like he did with the lock out on 'the ring' vs 'my ring' because she was behind it. She examined him along with the experts at the OLC before, but they didn't have anything to say about that because she'd already removed that lock out.

I'd don't know if Dr Mist could figure out his age from the examination easily because well...the body and soul are 'local' considering that he's had to remake/clone the meat side, and construct the mystical side. The only old thing is his mind, and thats harder to gauge unless he's actively going over the internal memory clock.

PDV · Oct 8, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"Did..? You checking those…

Just "check", I think.

Darko · Oct 8, 2022

Karmic Acumen said:
The fact that neither of them ever thinks 'Anti-Life' is really implausible for Paul's particular brand of genre-savviness.

To be fair they haven't dealt with it all too much aside from a handful of times, so their first thought may not jump to that.

Plus it didn't try to destroy his mind like Anti-Life does, so that may have also played a part.

Someguy Somewhere said:
hmm....am I the only one that was kinda hoping Dr Mist would find the 'can't say my name' lock out while poking around Paul's being that closely

You're not.

When I first saw that thing about memories, I thought he was talking about the name think.

Coda · Oct 8, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
an ewe

Mr Zoat said:
Thank you, corrected.

False correction, actually. Despite being written with a vowel at the beginning, the first sound of "ewe" is a consonant y -- it's "a ewe", not "an ewe".

Mr Zoat said:
"I would guess that it is not

thet

Mr Zoat · Oct 8, 2022

PDV said:
Just "check", I think.

Coda said:
False correction, actually. Despite being written with a vowel at the beginning, the first sound of "ewe" is a consonant y -- it's "a ewe", not "an ewe".
thet

Thank you, corrected.

Ngamer11 · Oct 9, 2022

~~Mr Zoat, I forget what Grayven is the New God of. I don't mean the Renegade, but the actual Grayven. Or was that never actually stated?~~

Edit:Never mind, I was able to remember that it is Conquest. New question though, if Tangseid were to visit the Paragon timeline, could he have Godspeech and use the God-Name Benevolent Tyranny? If yes, I want to see Scott Free, Barda, and Canis Minor react to it.

Bramble Thorn · Oct 9, 2022

Karmic Acumen said:
The fact that neither of them ever thinks 'Anti-Life' is really implausible for Paul's particular brand of genre-savviness.

We know there were tiny dots black thanks to Gromweld (thanks, Grom)

OL doesn't read the story thread, he has empathic abilities.

That is how he can detect Black Speech. Also, by the words being said coming off as extra edgy. But, this isn't influencing thought processes yet. Nor have any 'usual suspects' from Apokolips shown up to make him wary on account of Anti-Life often being involved when Darkseid sticks his fingers in the pie.

BR549 · Oct 9, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
He's playing a long game, rather than the short-term payoffs most Apokaliptian allies seem to favour. Clever... And nasty.

Aside from Darkseid himself, the other main Apokaliptian-aligned personage we know will happily long-game things for the greater payoff is none other than Glorious Godfrey.

When does G. Gordon start his show, anyway...

Mr Zoat · Oct 9, 2022

31st December 2012
13:34 GMT -5

"…for New Year."

Mazikeen schools the visible half of her expression as she studies me in a way that I've long become accustomed to. I call it the 'is this fool actually serious' glare, and it never works on me because I always am.

"You're going to keep doing this until I say 'yes', aren't you?"

"I assume that you'll die eventually, and at that point I'll stop. The universe does have a finite lifespan."

"Of all the.. pacts-. This is the deal you wish to make. I appear in New York, partake in a meal with you, remain as the year changes and then I am free to depart."

"There will be other people there. And you don't need to treat it like some great task you're being bound to perform. I want to get to know you."

"And you want nothing else."

"Ah…"

She actually smiles.

"It's not conditional. I do genuinely want to get to know you as my larger half's daughter. However, I recently encountered a strange magical influence that… You know I've got a pretty good set of contacts, yes?"

"Do you want me to unpick a curse for you, 'father'?"

"No, I could handle a curse myself. Even the clever ones. I was just wondering if, given your long and varied experience, you might recognise whatever this is. I don't even need you to do anything about it, just tell us if you recognise it and give us a hint if you do."

"And what do you offer in exchange?"

"I'll take you to Maltus and introduce you to my better half. And explain to her what you are and how that relationship usually works. I don't know how she'll react to that, but it occurred to me that you might be interested."

"No power ring?"

"I realise that as a Lilim you're more anchored in the physical than a lot of Heaven South's residents, but would you..? Really want one? I mean, heck, I don't mind. Dox always wants more magicians for the Corps. I just assumed that ruling a circle of Hell was something you'd.. want to keep doing. I mean, with… Xalitan back in the Reach Periphery I do have an opening for a partner. It could be a good way for us to get to know each-."

"Never mind. Yes, I will attend your festivity and yes, I will examine this new magic for you. Lucifer showed me many things that never made it into Creation and I wouldn't be surprised if one of them escaped their prison."

I smile. "Great!"

I reach forward with my right foot and use the sole of my boot to erase a segment of the magic circle.

"Come on through."

She looks down at the scuffed chalk mark, which completely breaks the confinement spell.

"How are you still alive?"

"I've died twice!"

"Do you understand how insulting it is to imply that I am so weak that you don't need any sort of binding spell to restrict my actions on Earth?"

For a moment I consider making it a joke. 'Is it more or less than walking into the circle and sticking a dummy in your mouth' or something similar. But that would only serve to alienate her further.

"I don't think that you're weak. But I'm not some random magician. I have a reasonable track record against high end arcane life forms, and we're on good terms anyway."

She makes a quiet growling noise and then stalks out of the chalk diagram. "If anyone asks, you offered me a dozen virgins."

I raise my eyebrows as I see her relatively simple dress shift shape into something artful in gold and black, her small half-mask growing into something fit for a masquerade.

"What species?"

She ignores me.

"Because depending on what counts, all fish-."

"Where are we?"

"You remember that business with the demon-possessed handguns?" She nods. "The human who was carrying them, Ms. Jill Carlyle, had a provision in her will that she wanted to donate her body to science. And that ended up being thaumatic science, because we still don't really know what the heck was going on with her."

"After two months?"

"Sadly, frustrating as it is for everyone involved, sometimes there just isn't any evidence. We can legally request access for any sort of arcane study-"

She half-turns her head to look at me-.

"-and when I say 'we', I mean Justice League members and allies, not the Noble Emissaries of the Loyal Opposition."

I erase the chalk diagram behind us as we walk into the examination room where Dr. Balewa is getting ready. Ms. Carlyle's body is as… Intact as the bullets left it. The morticians tidied it up as much as they could, but when someone shoots themselves in the head from point blank range, there's… Only so much you can do. Jars containing other biological materials -blood, brain and bone fragments- are also stored here, but we're going to be trying this with the main body first. The rest of the brain was also removed, because with the giant hole in the skull it would just have… Plopped out, otherwise.

Dr. Balewa looks at her. "Thank you for coming, Mazikeen."

"I think that ignoring my father's request would be more trouble than going along with it."

I nod. "Probably. Um. Do you want me to stick her skull back together? It's not that hard to work out what it should look like, based on the recovered fragments and her DNA."

"No. Not for now."

He extends his hands towards her corpse, faint white mist drifting from them to her chest.

"I doubt that you'll feel anything but the most powerful influences after two months."

"I used spells to isolate her from external influences. She is much as she was. Please, examine her yourself."

Mazikeen walks closer, placing the long nails of her right hand in the middle of Ms. Carlyle's forehead. Then she curls her fingers, nails cutting a shallow furrow in the skin. Magically preserved blood oozes slowly from the wound, and Mazikeen scoops a small amount up and then brings her fingers up to her eyes for a closer examination.

"'The darkness came'. I see what the demons in her guns meant."

Dr. Balewa nods. "A grievous spiritual injury. But it is hardly unique."

I reknit the corpse's skin and return the residual blood to the body.

"Okay, but-."

BOOM!

A boom tube opens in the far corner of the room, and my armour appears around me!

Mr Zoat · Oct 9, 2022

Ngamer11 said:
New question though, if Tangseid were to visit the Paragon timeline, could he have Godspeech and use the God-Name Benevolent Tyranny? If yes, I want to see Scott Free, Barda, and Canis Minor react to it.

I don't think he's a New God, so, no.

Prognostic Hannya · Oct 9, 2022

Wait how is Paul Mazdikeen's dad?

PDV · Oct 9, 2022

Yeah, I'm confused on that point, too. I thought he was implying the Ophidian was her parent at first but the tail end of the post disambiguated that.

Z000 · Oct 9, 2022

Prognostic Hannya said:
Wait how is Paul Mazdikeen's dad?

at best he her step dad because he basically the giant snake head priest/champion

Vaermina · Oct 9, 2022

Prognostic Hannya said:
Wait how is Paul Mazdikeen's dad?

He's not, he made up some story about the Ophidian being her father and she believed it for reasons of Author Ex Machina.

Ngamer11 · Oct 9, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
BOOM!

A boom tube opens in the far corner of the room, and my armour appears around me!

I really hope that this is someone from New Genesis. And if it is, Paul can stop them from immediately attacking everyone due to assuming whoever it was that drew their attention is aligned with Darkseid.

Prognostic Hannya said:
Wait how is Paul Mazdikeen's dad?

PDV said:
Yeah, I'm confused on that point, too. I thought he was implying the Ophidian was her parent at first but the tail end of the post disambiguated that.

Z000 said:
at best he her step dad because he basically the giant snake head priest/champion

This story has the Ophidian giving a bit of energy to Mazikeen's mother in the past, which resulted in Mazikeen's conception. As she can sense that Paul and the Ophidian are so tightly bound spiritually that they may as well be the same thing on some level, she refers to Paul as father.

Handlewithcare · Oct 9, 2022

I guess they will get a very definitive answer soon.

Would be amazing if it was RenePaul though

Vaermina · Oct 9, 2022

Ngamer11 said:
This story has the Ophidian giving a bit of energy to Mazikeen's mother in the past, which resulted in Mazikeen's conception. As she can sense that Paul and the Ophidian are so tightly bound spiritually that they may as well be the same thing on some level, she refers to Paul as father.

We literally had someone tell us last chapter they weren't that tightly bound.

Bloodalchemy · Oct 9, 2022

Vaermina said:
We literally had someone tell us last chapter they weren't that tightly bound.

I read the description last chapter as Paul being an of equivalent of Ophidian's Chosen One. Paul isn't her but he can stand in for her and sign checks in her name if needed.

Bramble Thorn · Oct 9, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
I reknit the corpse's skin and return the residual blood to the body.

"Okay, but-."

BOOM!

A boom tube opens in the far corner of the room, and my armour appears around me!

When the player rolls a nat 1 on the investigation roll, but the GM wants to move the scripted plot along anyway.

Joelseph14 · Oct 9, 2022

Prognostic Hannya said:
Wait how is Paul Mazdikeen's dad?

She was born from a fragment of the Ophidian I think and since Paul is bound to the Ophidian he considers himself part of the relationship

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 9, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
31st December 2012
13:34 GMT -5

"…for New Year."

Mazikeen schools the visible half of her expression as she studies me in a way that I've long become accustomed to. I call it the 'is this fool actually serious' glare, and it never works on me because I always am.

And it's a look he's seen often, of course. Usually when he's pulling exactly this sort of schtick, because OL. This will be an interesting moment, though. I assume he's calling her in to consult on the 'black mist' they found. But knowing OL, he's always got multiple angles.

"You're going to keep doing this until I say 'yes', aren't you?"

"I assume that you'll die eventually, and at that point I'll stop. The universe does have a finite lifespan."

Worth noting that for anyone else, that would sound like a threat. But OL does intend to live forever. I assume he's easing her ability to communicate with others, remembering that since she's technically missing half her face, it's rather difficult to vocalise without a cheek.

"Of all the.. pacts-. This is the deal you wish to make. I appear in New York, partake in a meal with you, remain as the year changes and then I am free to depart."

"There will be other people there. And you don't need to treat it like some great task you're being bound to perform. I want to get to know you."

But for appearances, it has to be a demonic pact. I expect her rivals Below would find her doing something without demanding a price for it to be objectionable.

"And you want nothing else."

"Ah…"

She actually smiles.

Like I said, OL always has multiple angles in play.

When he's not being an oblivious dolt...

"It's not conditional. I do genuinely want to get to know you as my larger half's daughter. However, I recently encountered a strange magical influence that… You know I've got a pretty good set of contacts, yes?"

"Do you want me to unpick a curse for you, 'father'?"

"No, I could handle a curse myself. Even the clever ones. I was just wonder if, given your long and varied experience, you might recognise whatever this is. I don't even need you to do anything about it, just tell us if you recognise it and give us a hint if you do."

"And what do you offer in exchange?"

Because this is something other than the initial request, after all, and worth more of her time. Of course she's going to haggle.

"I'll take you to Maltus and introduce you to my better half. And explain to her what you are and how that relationship usually works. I don't know how she'll react to that, but it occurred to me that you might be interested."

"No power ring?"

Let's take things one step at a time. Besides, you have other obligations here in Hell.

"I realise that as a Lilim you're more anchored in the physical than a lot of Heaven South's residents, but would you..? Really want one? I mean, heck, I don't mind. Dox always wants more magicians for the Corps. I just assumed that ruling a circle of Hell was something you'd.. want to keep doing. I mean, with… Xalitan back in the Reach Periphery I do have an opening for a partner. It could be a good way for us to get to know each-."

"Never mind. Yes, I will attend your festivity and yes, I will examine this new magic for you. Lucifer showed me many things that never made it into Creation and I wouldn't be surprised if one of them escaped their prison."

Ha, She folded fast in the face of spending far more time with OL than she'd ever want to.

I smile. "Great!"

I reach forward with my right foot and use the sole of my boot to erase a segment of the magic circle.

Boy, how cavalier. It's a good thing you're basically unkillable...

No, wait, he's honestly pretty killable... A good thing he's basically very hard to keep dead, then.

"Come on through."

She looks down at the scuffed chalk mark, which completely breaks the confinement spell.

Any lesser demon, or just one with far less sense than she, would take that as a signal to pounce and kill their summoner then go hog wild Earthside...

"How are you still alive?"

"I've died twice!"

...Not something to be proud of, OL.

"Do you understand how insulting it is to imply that I am so weak that you don't need any sort of binding spell to restrict my actions on Earth?"

For a moment I consider making it a joke. 'Is it more or less than walking into the circle and sticking a dummy in your mouth' or something similar. But that would only serve to alienate her further.

And she's not someone you want to tick off. Her revenge tends to be long-term, slow and terrific.

"I don't think that you're weak. But I'm not some random magician. I have a reasonable track record against high end arcane life forms, and we're on good terms anyway."

She makes a quiet growling noise and then stalks out of the chalk diagram. "If anyone asks, you offered me a dozen virgins."

She has a vile reputation to maintain, after all.

I raise my eyebrows as I see her relatively simple dress shift shape into something artful in gold and black, her small half-mask growing into something fit for a masquerade.

"What species?"

Classy. If there's one thing the lady has in spades, it's a great sense of style.

She ignores me.

"Because depending on what counts, all fish-."

OL, just stop. You got what you want, no need to poke the demon king.

"Where are we?"

"You remember that business with the demon-possessed handguns?" She nods. "The human who was carrying them, Ms. Jill Carlyle, had a provision in her will that she wanted to donate her body to science. And that ended up being thaumatic science, because we still don't really know what the heck was going on with her."

Since, if i remember correctly, they tracked her down after pulling the 'suicide to escape' trick, and separated her from the Guns. And since they were the only thing keeping her dead body moving...

"After two months?"

"Sadly, frustrating as it is for everyone involved, sometimes there just isn't any evidence. We can legally request access for any sort of arcane study-"

Well, Doctor Mist can request it on your behalf.

She half-turns her head to look at me-.

"-and when I say 'we', I mean Justice League members and allies, not the Noble Emissaries of the Loyal Opposition."

So no sneaking in a request for something, honey.

I erases the chalk diagram behind us as we walk into the examination room where Dr. Balewa is getting ready. Ms. Carlyle's body is as… Intact as the bullets left it. The morticians tided it up as much as they could, but when someone shoots themselves in the head from point blank range, there's… Only so much you can do. Jars containing other biological materials -blood, brain and bone fragments- are also stored here, but we're going to be trying this with the main body first. The rest of the brain was also removed, because with the giant hole in the skull it would just have… Plopped out, otherwise.

...Yech. Something you don't see on most forensic crime shows on conventional TV, because Network Standards and Practices tends to frown on graphically damaged corpses that still look reasonably human otherwise...

Dr. Balewa looks at her. "Thank you for coming, Mazikeen."

"I think that ignoring my father's request would be more trouble than going along with it."

She learns quick about how to deal with OL.

I nod. "Probably. Um. Do you want me to stick her skull back together? It's not that hard to work out what it should look like, based on the recovered fragments and her DNA."

"No. Not for now."

She's likely seen far worse Below anyway. This is nothing.

He extends his hands towards her corpse, faint white mist drifting from them to her chest.

"I doubt that you'll feel anything but the most powerful influences after two months."

...Or the most adhesive. And what they're looking for is more clingy than a misfolded sticky plaster.

"I used spells to isolate her from external influences. She is much as she was. Please, examine her yourself."

Mazikeen walks closer, placing the long nails of her right hand in the middle of Ms. Carlyle's forehead. Then she curls her fingers, nails cutting a shallow furrow in the skin. Magically preserved blood oozes slowly from the wound, and Mazikeen scoops a small amount up and then brings her fingers up to her eyes for a closer examination.

Because of course her nails are sharper than any scalpel. Magic!

"'The darkness came'. I see what the demons in her guns meant."

Dr. Balewa nods. "A grievous spiritual injury. But it is hardly unique."

So, confirmed then that she was affected by the same glob of darkness that was stuck to OL's soul? I'm guessing it was a stronger link, allowing its maker to control her perception of intended targets.

I reknit the corpse's skin and return the residual blood to the body.

"Okay, but-."

Since we all know OL doesn't like a mess.

...And the bits could still be useful.

BOOM!

A boom tube opens in the far corner of the room, and my armour appears around me!

Hmm... Now who could this be, I wonder?

So, the Frees come a-calling when they heard about 'darkness in men's souls' being weaponised, or an agent of New Genesis? Or perhaps a Sivana or Vril Dox (since we know he has a scratch-built prototype Boom-tube generator.) If it's the former, they may well be upset when they find out someone's been playing with Anti-life. So... Potential ally in the investigation into 'Father Bruno'...

I erases the chalk diagram behind us...

I erase the chalk diagram behind us...

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

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