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

Vaermina · Oct 23, 2023

DAT_NOOB said:
You know I get that New Gods don't only fight on the physical front but the spiritual one aswell.

But how exactly is Mannheim No-selling all attacks?

I don't think he is.

I think it's the same rules that were earlier saying "you have to do things a certain way" instead saying something like "only blade or stone can be used to kill".

Mr Zoat · Oct 23, 2023

Darko said:
"at full"

Thank you, corrected.

Did Paul and Cornwall have a say to defeat him here and now?

No, they didn't.

Fleeing may give him some power, but them being killed by him will probably give him much more power.

It's not really relevant. New Gods grow in power by forcing others to act in accordance with that New God's nature. Specifically fleeing here doesn't really do anything; the SI achieved an objective and Mannheim wasn't specifically trying to stop him. The fact that he's successfully oppressed a pantheon is more significant, and even that isn't as big a deal as literally putting them on tap.

Darko · Oct 23, 2023

Chojin Patriarch said:
Welp. Farewell, Tezumak. It was fun meeting you.

He may still be alive.

Darkseid can put people into a nightmare like world where their life gets progressively worse and worse, so if the beat Manheim then he may be free.

Assuming he wasn't just destroyed.

Mr Zoat · Oct 24, 2023

6 884 938.M41

That.. was.. not.. fun.

I wave at my room's scanner, not quite focusing, hear the beep of acknowledgement and the shhh of the door sliding open.

The only part of this whole place that sounds like Star Trek…

And then I walk inside. The décor is… Pretty nice, actually. Tsua'm has really gotten the hang of human-friendly decoration and furnishing. Including a bed that takes into account that humans need a lot more sleep than-.

"P'ol, I was-" Tsua'm gets up from her chair with a tau not-smile on her face, deactivating her holodisplay as she does so. "-concerned that I may have to search for you."

Her robes settle-. And suddenly I'm imagining very clearly what she would look like without them-.

She stops approaching as my environmental shield flares.

Control. Control.

"Was your work so unpleasant? Was the archive trapped?"

"No, no it-. I've just been dealing with wyches all day."

She nods. "I know that you find their slave-like state repugnant, but there was no better option. You have seen what they did."

"It's not that. They…" I look at the ceiling-. She remembered the ceiling rose. She would have had to explain what that was to the Earth caste builders, and… "You know how they dress?"

"They do not wear much armour, to display their bodies as part of their art."

"Part of my conditioning has been to discourage them from showing off through fighting. But that doesn't stop them wanting to show off. And because of.. how the orange light works, they mostly want to show off to me."

She blinks. "And did that distract them from their work?"

"No, that was… We confirmed that it is a psychic storage device, but none of them have the skills necessary to decode it. I've.. got them working on it."

"Is that why you are frustrated? Or-. Ah."

This time she makes a point of giving me a human-style smile.

"Were they dancing for you? Posing for you?" I look away, nodding. Those women and man are pretty-. No, superhumanly lithe, and appear to habitually turn everything they do into a display of their.. physical.. 'skills'. "Enticing you?"

"I'm not sure. I'm not sure that there's a distinction in their minds."

Tsua'm looks slightly amused. "It is still a little strange to me how you can find other species 'visually stimulating'. Did you copulate with them?"

"No!"

"That would seem to have been the sensible choice, but since you are here…" She looks around, rolling up her right sleeve.

"Ah, what are you doing?"

She returns her attention to me. "I assumed that you are here because they should be focusing on their work and you expect me to satiate your sexual hunger?"

Ah… "That-. 'Expect' is not the way I'd.. put it, Tsua'm."

We stare each other in the eyes for a moment, then her nasal cleft narrows thoughtfully. She steps aside and indicates the settee. "Sit with me."

Decidedly disconcerted, I walk over to my accustomed place on the soft furniture and sit down. Tsua'm sits next to me a moment later, letting her sleeve fall back. She's sitting.. diagonally, her posterior in the corner of the settee while her knees are touching mine and her lower legs spread out to the side.

The best way to 'cure' a man's arousal: have a serious talk about your relationship.

"You have made it clear that you… You love me." I nod cautiously. "And that in your culture monogamy was the expected way to behave."

"Yes."

"And you know that tau society does not work like that."

"Yes. The Eugenics Board assigns reproductive partners."

She nods. "If I were not working with you, I would probably have been assigned my second partner by now. My first child would be beginning the first stages of their formal education."

"Have I..?"

I… Look down.

Have I really fucked up your life and you're just going along with it? How do I-?

She reaches over and takes my left hand in her right. "We do not just exchange semen samples for in vitro fertilisation. I would have sex with whoever I was assigned to. Several times."

"Ah. Okay?"

"And that would be all. We would spend a little time together socially while… Recovering, but it is unlikely that we would see each other again once I was pregnant. He might not even meet his child, except by coincidence."

"That…" I frown. "But… That wasn't how tau society used to work? Don't you have the same… Biological drives that humans do? I mean, mostly?"

"Relations outside of reproductive partnerships assigned by the Eugenics Board do occur, and a small number of children are born to matches that were not arranged, though that…" She looks away for a moment. "Reflects poorly on those involved. Especially when it produces… When the child is half-caste."

Which is no joke. Tau of different castes can breed together, but the health impacts on the children range from severe lifelong arthritis for Earth/Water half-castes to 'they-won't-see-the-end-of-the-first-week' for Air/Fire half-castes. And that's before you get into the psychological problems. Since this is the Tau Empire and not the Imperium, the Empire generally tries to find a role for the ones that make it to adulthood, but the structure of tau society doesn't really leave one.

She lightly squeezes my hand. "The point that I wish to make is that tau… Find satisfaction in… Order. When you tell me that you want me to do something that you have the authority to tell me to do, it is not an imposition. It is not… Treating me as a means. It is showing me how best to do something that I want to do."

"Alright, but you seemed to be-. I mean, I.. got the impression-. You are… Enjoying…"

"The…" She looks away, her cleft twitching. "Spasmodic.. completion.. is.. not unpleasant. But I feel… Mental pleasure, when I am able to fully discharge my responsibilities. I know perfectly well that tau and humans are-" She uses her left hand to pat her mammary-free upper chest. "-differently shaped. I understand that there are attributes that I do not possess which arose your erotic passions. That is not offensive to me."

I… Nod. "O-kay, I think-."

"Excepting that you will not consider modifying me so that I could fulfil them. You know that modern tau castes are engineered to better fulfil their roles. I can see the advantage in being able to feed young children while leaving our mouths unoccupied. Regurgitation does not taste pleasant, even when it serves a useful purpose."

"I.. could do something cosmetic, but genetic changes..." I shake my head. "I don't know enough. That's not a trait that tau have ever had." Hm. "Two children?"

"One or two."

I hold up my right hand, a representation of a genetic strand appearing above it.

She looks at it curiously. "Whose DNA is that?"

"It's the closest I've got to me as a Water caste tau. I hadn't thought about how much I'd thrown your life off course, and now you raise the issue… I do want to help you fulfil your role."

"I see." She nods. "Should we visit the obstetrics ward?"

"No." My crotch briefly glows as I lean closer and exhale on her nasal slit. She shifts in her seat, slit switching and mouth slightly open as she gets a better taste of my scent. "Tau semen isn't toxic to humans. I'll perform the procedure myself. Manually."

"Very well. Would-?"

I reach over, grabbing her around the waist and then lifting her over my shoulder as I stand and walk towards the bed.

Someguy Somewhere · Oct 24, 2023

And somewhere deep in the imperial palace there is a deeply emotional bellow from a figure in golden armour.

"This is Not @#$%ing Canon!"

Lord Ernest · Oct 24, 2023

The level of Heresy is strong with this one.

Vaermina · Oct 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
I reach over, grabbing her around the waist and then lifting her over my shoulder as I stand and walk towards the bed.

The only reason i'm not giving you the stink eye right now is because you correctly placed this story in the SFW section of the forum.

That said. You tease you!

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
6 884 938.M41

That.. was.. not.. fun.

I wave at my room's scanner, not quite focusing, hear the beep of acknowledgement and the shhh of the door sliding open.

Ah, working with the bondage Eldar gladiators not proving pleasant, P'ol? At least you're done suffering through their presence for now. Hopefully their efforts didn't go unrewarded, and you got some useful information out of the devices they were working on...

The only part of this whole place that sounds like Star Trek…

And then I walk inside. The décor is… Pretty nice, actually. Tsua'm has really gotten the hang of human-friendly decoration and furnishing. Including a bed that takes into account that humans need a lot more sleep than-.

In other words, more comfortable than a slightly springy slab of wood.

"P'ol, I was-" Tsua'm gets up from her chair with a tau not-smile on her face, deactivating her holodisplay as she does so. "-concerned that I may have to search for you."

Her robes settle-. And suddenly I'm imagining very clearly what she would look like without them-.

Honestly, you're not missing much. Tau females don't have much to show off, regardless of what /tg/ Memes would have you believe. (Admittedly, the first example is an Ethereal, but still...)

She stops approaching as my environmental shield flares.

Control. Control.

Ah, the joy of not having reached Enlightenment.

"Was your work so unpleasant? Was the archive trapped?"

"No, no it-. I've just been dealing with wyches all day."

All tall, and slender, and bending over unnecessarily-like...

She nods. "I know that you find their slave-like state repugnant, but there was no better option. You have seen what they did."

"It's not that. They…" I look at the ceiling-. She remembered the ceiling rose. She would have had to explain what that was to the Earth caste builders, and… "You know how they dress?"

'Skimpy' does not do the term justice in some cases.

"There do not wear much armour, to display their bodies as part of their art."

"Part of my conditioning has been to discourage them from show off through fighting. But that doesn't stop them wanting to show off. And because of.. how the orange light works, they mostly want to show off to me."

And the more skilled they are, the less they wear. outside of some thigh-high boots and strategic armour, the best may as well be naked.

She blinks. "And did that distract them from their work?"

"No, that was… We confirmed that it is a psychic storage device, but none of them have the skills necessary to decode it. I've.. got them working on it."

Well, someone was being distracted, but it wasn't them, shall we say?

"Is that why you are frustrated? Or-. Ah."

This time she makes a point of giving me a human-style smile.

Heh. Good to see her experience with humans is starting to pay off in understanding him.

"Were they dancing for you? Posing for you?" I look away, nodding. Those women and man are pretty-. No, superhumanly lithe, and appear to habitually turn everything they do into a display of their.. physical.. 'skills'. "Enticing you?"

"I'm not sure. I'm not sure that there's a distinction in their minds."

Imagine having to sit there watching as an entire troupe of super-models in body-paint parade about around you... Eldar or not, that's got to be straining (..on his pants!)

Tsua'm looks slightly amused. "It is still a little strange to me how you can find other species 'visually stimulating'. Did you copulate with them?"

"No!"

Given how hard they fall into the uncanny valley, you'd really have to be a xenophile to want them. Or a horny, heretical degenerate.

"That would seem to have been the sensible choice, but since you are here…" She looks around, rolling up her right sleeve.

"Ah, what are you doing?"

Honestly, P'ol, I know you SIs can be dense, but...

She returns her attention to me. "I assumed that you are here because they should be focusing on their work and you expect me to satiate your sexual hunger?"

Ah… "That-. 'Expect' is not the way I'd.. put it, Tsua'm."

I mean, he wouldn't say 'no' if you offered...

We stare each other in the eyes for a moment, then her nasal cleft narrows thoughtfully. She steps aside and indicates the settee. "Sit with me."

Decidedly disconcerted, I walk over to my accustomed place on the soft furniture and sit down. Tsua'm sits next to me a moment later, letting her sleeve fall back. She's sitting.. diagonally, her posterior in the corner of the settee while her knees are touching mine and her lower legs spread out to the side.

Probably a reasonably comfortable position for a Tau, given they're digitigrade ungulates. That is, they walk on hoof-like feet.

The best way to 'cure' a man's arousal: have a serious talk about your relationship.

"You have made it clear that you… You love me." I nod cautiously. "And that in your culture monogamy was the expected way to behave."

Heck, he had to go before the homeworld's High Council to make his case for that, among other things.

"Yes."

"And you know that tau society does not work like that."

Kind of impressive, really. Guess the old herd-animal instincts kick in oddly sometimes.

"Yes. The Eugenics Board assigns reproductive partners."

She nods. "If I were not working with you, I would probably have been assigned my second partner by now. My first child would be beginning the first stages of their formal education."

Hey, he's not the first Paul to date a mother, at least.

"Have I..?"

I… Look down.

Have I really fucked up your life and you're just going along with it? How do I-?

Bit of an awkward question, especially for someone who might not have had that much experience in this sort of discussion before.

She reaches over and takes my left hand in her right. "We do not just exchange semen samples for in vitro fertilisation. I would have sex with whoever I was assigned to. Several times."

"Ah. Okay?"

At least there's the promise of some nice, old-fashioned canoodling involved.

"And that would be all. We would spend a little time together socially while… Recovering, but it is unlikely that we would see each other again once I was pregnant. He might not even meet his child, except by coincidence."

"That…" I frown. "But… That wasn't how tau society used to work? Don't you have the same… Biological drives that humans do? I mean, mostly?"

Well... that was before the Ethereals, I suppose...

"Relations outside of reproductive partnerships assigned by the Eugenics Board do occur, and a small number of children are born to matches that were not arranged, though that…" She looks away for a moment. "Reflects poorly on those involved. Especially when it produces… When the child is half-caste."

Though I suspect they're more likely to occur out on the borders of Tau space rather than the inner sphere expansions. Less oversight, more fraternisation between castes...

Which is no joke. Tau of different castes can breed together, but the health impacts on the children range from severe lifelong arthritis for Earth/Water half-castes to 'they-won't-see-the-end-of-the-first-week' for Air/Fire half-castes. And that's before you get into the psychological problems. Since this is the Tau Empire and not the Imperium, the Empire generally tries to find a role for the ones that make it to adulthood, but the structure of tau society doesn't really leave one.

Yeah, I could see that. Not having some on the natural instincts of one of your parents' castes, yet not fitting into the other either.

She lightly squeezes my hand. "The point that I wish to make is that tau… Find satisfaction in… Order. When you tell me that you want me to do something that you have the authority to tell me to do, it is not an imposition. It is not… Treating me as a means. It is showing me how best to do something that I want to do."

"Alright, but you seemed to be-. I mean, I.. got the impression-. You are… Enjoying…"

I'm sure you never actually ask her to do anything she wouldn't want to do. Heck, you can probably feel it if she's not into it anyway.

"The…" She looks away, her cleft twitching. "Spasmodic.. completion.. is.. not unpleasant. But I feel… Mental pleasure, when I am able to fully discharge my responsibilities. I know perfectly well that tau and humans are-" She uses her left hand to pat her mammary-free upper chest. "-differently shaped. I understand that there are attributes that I do not possess which arose your erotic passions. That is not offensive to me."

I… Nod. "O-kay, I think-."

Hey, some would say 'Flat is Justice!' Others do like a little padding in the right places.

"Excepting that you will not consider modifying me so that I could fulfil them. You know that modern tau castes are engineered to better fulfil their roles. I can see the advantage in being able to feed young children while leaving our mouths unoccupied. Regurgitation does not taste pleasant, even when it serves a useful purpose."

"I.. could do something cosmetic, but genetic changes..." I shake my head. "I don't know enough. That's not a trait that tau have ever had." Hm. "Two children?"

Heh. I wonder if that would make other humans react more positively to her too. Never underestimate the power of blueberry orbs.

"One or two."

I hold up my right hand, a representation of a genetic strand appearing above it.

Well, I see P'ol intends to make good on that promise.

She looks at it curiously. "Whose DNA is that?"

"It's the closest I've got to me as a Water caste tau. I hadn't thought about how much I'd thrown your life off course, and now you raise the issue… I do want to help you fulfil your role."

Ah, true love can bloom.

"I see." She nods. "Should we visit the obstetrics ward?"

"No." My crotch briefly glows as I lean closer and exhale on her nasal slit. She shifts in her seat, slit switching and mouth slightly open as she gets a better taste of my scent. "Tau semen isn't toxic to humans. I'll perform the procedure myself. Manually."

Oh, my... </takei>

"Very well. Would-?"

I reach over, grabbing her around the waist and then lifting her over my shoulder as I stand and walk towards the bed.

"Oh, no, the Geu'la rogue is about to have his way with me! Whatever shall I dooo?"

"...I can just leave, you know."

"Noooo..."

Ah. How amusing. He was just thinking about Star Trek, and now here he is about to... Go Boldly Forth.

Ah, living the dream. And giving us quite the entertaining show in the process. Wonder if that'll turn up in 'In Praise of Eros'... At any rate, he's making slow progress on his other project, I suppose. Maybe he needs someone a little more proficient with psycho-reactive systems... Pity such talents are in short supply.

"There do not wear much armour...
"They do not wear much armour...
...discourage them from show off through fighting.
...discourage them from showing off through fighting.

Vaermina · Oct 24, 2023

Chojin Patriarch said:
Heh. I wonder if that would make other humans react more positively to her too. Never underestimate the power of blueberry orbs.

Not unless he also gives them cat ears and a fluffy tail.

Mr Zoat · Oct 24, 2023

Chojin Patriarch said:
"There do not wear much armour...
"They do not wear much armour...
...discourage them from show off through fighting.
...discourage them from showing off through fighting.

Thank you, corrected.

Finagle007 · Oct 24, 2023

Obligatory.

Whenever Possible · Oct 24, 2023

Paul is forever destined to be tormented by evil elf types trying to seduce him

jasonh23761 · Oct 24, 2023

Whenever Possible said:
Paul is forever destined to be tormented by evil elf types trying to seduce him

It's not his fault, elves are meant for lewdness.

Vaermina · Oct 24, 2023

Whenever Possible said:
Paul is forever destined to be tormented by evil elf types trying to seduce him

I mean... That's kind of his own fault given he goes around mindbreaking them...

Mr Zoat · Oct 25, 2023

Do Or Die Time

17th February 2013
19:05 GMT

"Running!"

The Anti-Lifed soldiers guarding the door step into our path, guns raised. Robert clenches his fists, and the stones of the walls reach out and grab them. Chirurgical limbs sprout from my armour and start… Shit, ah, reattaching Nuala's… Everything, and sealing the severed parts of her limbs to prevent complete exsanguination.

"What's happening?!"

"Do you have a healing potion?"

I construct-grab one of the stone-bound guards and throw him behind us, intercepting the omega beam that Mannheim fired at our backs. A momentary glow and he's gone.

"I.. got, like, one?"

I send out a construct hand. "Give it here."

He pulls it out of his belt and passes it to me. I poor a few drops into Nuala's chest cavity before sewing her skin closed, then pump the rest down her throat. Not much else I can do for her.

"What's happening?"

"Mannheim appeared to be trying to give himself the power of the Aztec gods, using their hearts and a lot of Apokoliptian-"

And we're outside. No army of suits converges on us, so I turn in the direction of the city's exit closest to Itztépetl-.

I scoop up a handful of stone slabs, shove them in a new gravity impeller construct and then fire them at the portal to Otherworld.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The building on the top of the pyramid crumbles, which I hope will take the portal out of commission.

"-machinery. We haven't stopped him, but if we're lucky he's going to be occupied with this for a while."

"Is a healing potion gunna grow her arms and legs back?"

"A healing ray can, given time."

"Thought it only closed wounds up if you lost a limb."

"Oh, yeah, I'd have to create a scaffold and basically flay the end of the limb repeatedly healing it a little better each time, but it's perfectly possible."

"Maybe the elves have got something better?"

"Elves are arseholes. Even if they do, I doubt they'd use it on her."

"Right. How's M'gann?"

"A few wounds. Nothing that we can't heal when we get back to Earth."

But so much for making contact with Melinoë. If Olympus is off limits then I doubt that there's a…

Elven path, possibly? I can ask once she's stabilised. Because once Mannheim's dealt with… It's like that bit in Transmetropolitan where they regenerate a frozen head. As Spider Jerusalem observes, the cryopreservation company thought they could promise whatever they felt like because surely someone in the future could actually do it. I fully expect to have to spend a lot of time putting the Earth back together after this, but the point is that I have the power to do that.

So long as Mannheim doesn't eat the whole thaumosphere or something.

"How much damage did it feel like we did to his machine?"

"Not much. Damn it, we didn't even know he was doing this. We tripped over it!"

"If you look everywhere hard enough, you're bound to 'trip over' something eventually."

No point asking 'how long will it take to repair', because there's no way he's going to know. Some time, which means that the best time to attack the Anti-Life network is right now, or at least as soon as possible. And I don't have a yellow ring bearer.

I-.

"Did you get exposed to the Anti-Life? Any injuries?"

"No-. Other than.. being around Mannheim. No injuries. I don't think they knew I was there. Did the.. goddess helping him… Do that to herself?"

"Gods are vulnerable to the Anti-Life. If you think about it, they'd have to be. Maybe she thought it was a way to gain some sort of relevancy, maybe… I don't know, absolution is one of her domains. Maybe she was motivated to sin more so there'd be something to absolve."

"That's crazy."

"I said I don't know. I'm speculating."

Out of the city and into the jungle. Mountain is that way, and we should meet up with the refugees before we get there. If there are any suits still working, I'm confident that we can destroy them as long as they reach us before we get in range of the mountain's cheat-zone. The only issue would be if Mannheim was able to take control and change the rules.

So I hope his system is at least that damaged.

What happens next?

Tlazolteotl spoke about this to Bastet, probably trying to persuade her to make herself vulnerable to Mannheim's influence. That would risk removing Adom's powers and making Kahndaq vulnerable to the Anti-Life. I'll need to warn him and her. Other pantheons… Well, the Olympians clearly know what's going on. The Roman pantheon? I can probably get a message to Vulcan, but I've got no idea if he can warn the rest of them. And I doubt that Odin would fall for anything that Mannheim could do. And that's about all the pantheons that I know anything about.

"Otherworld. Are there any gods who might do something stupid with Mannheim?"

"No. It's all pretty quiet. They're not really ambitious. Well… Some of them are-. Were, but they've already moved on. Ah. You can… Does this, like, stop that thing you said would get rid of the Anti-Life?"

"It shouldn't. As I've said, it isn't something I've been able to test in advance. I don't know if Mannheim being away from the material world creates a problem or not. And it doesn't matter because he wouldn't be doing this if it didn't help him, so we're going to have to carry it out as soon as possible."

"You need someone for fear, though."

"Batman will do. He was actually going to be my first choice. He'll just need to get back in his old headspace for a little while. Shouldn't need to keep it up for long."

"Ah." He exhales as we continue to run. "Great, okay! Always thought he was pretty scary. So why did we… Do all this? If we didn't need her?"

"Melinoë would have been better. Less coaching needed. I'm a pretty powerful Orange Lantern, and with Batman changing how he operates… I didn't want to take the risk, but now we've got to. Unless you know anyone better?"

"No." He shakes his head.

"Then that's the plan. Hope you like obsidian."

Ngamer11 · Oct 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"-machinery. We haven't stopped him, but if we're luck he's going to be occupied with this for a while."

That should say 'lucky'.

Whenever Possible · Oct 25, 2023

And now we have Paul's response to being forever doomed to be tormented by evil elf types trying to seduce him.

"Elves are assholes"

Artemisnemo · Oct 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"Batman will do. He was actually going to be my first choice. He'll just need to get back in his old headspace for a little while. Shouldn't need to keep it up for long."

"Ah." He exhales as we continue to run. "Great, okay! Always thought he was pretty scary. So why did we… Do all this? If we didn't need her?"

"We've reached whole new levels of desperate, that I didn't even think were possible."

Vaermina · Oct 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
Do Or Die Time

17th February 2013
19:05 GM

So... He's just going to run away and let Mannheim eat an entire pantheon of gods under the idea that's so long as he gets rid of the Anti Life he can just fix things...

Except... If Mannheim get's a big enough power boost he will just kill everybody and continue on Anti Life or not Anti Life...

Ngamer11 · Oct 25, 2023

Vaermina said:
So... He's just going to run away and let Mannheim eat an entire pantheon of gods under the idea that's so long as he gets rid of the Anti Life he can just fix things...

Except... If Mannheim get's a big enough power boost he will just kill everybody and continue on Anti Life or not Anti Life...

He needs to prepare his plan in order to confront Mannheim at all. Plus, it's not like he was close to the members of the Aztec pantheon.

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
Do Or Die Time

17th February 2013
19:05 GMT

"Running!"

The Anti-Lifed soldiers guarding the door step into our path, guns raised. Robert clenches his fists, and the stones of the walls reach out and grab then. Chirurgical limbs sprout from my armour and start… Shit, ah, reattaching Nuala's… Everything, and sealing the severed parts of her limbs to prevent complete exsanguination.

Ah, a new episode. And from the title, it looks like they'll have to go ahead with OL's plan, come hell and high water. Also, looks like Nuala's going to need to, like, soak in a bath of healing potions at this rate.

"What's happening?!"

"Do you have a healing potion?"

No time to explain, just follow orders and haul ass.

I construct-grab one of the stone-bound guards and throw him behind it, intercepting the omega beam that Mannheim fired at our backs. A momentary glow and he's gone.

"I.. got, like, one?"

I'm guessing Wally's been too busy to brew, or they've been chewing through them in short order.

I send out a construct hand. "Give it here."

He pulls it out of his belt and passes it to me. I poor a few drops into Nuala's chest cavity before sewing her skin closed, then pump the rest down her throat. Not much else I can do for her.

It'll at least keep her alive, hopefully.

"What's happening?"

"Mannheim appeared to be trying to give himself the power of the Aztec gods, using their hearts and a lot of Apokoliptian-"

And was apparently succeeding, by the looks of it.

And we're outside. No army of suits converge on us, so I turn in the direction of the city's exit closest to Itztépetl-.

I scoop up a handful of stone slabs, shove them in a new gravity impeller construct and then fire them at the portal to Otherworld.

Might not stop him raiding other divine realms, but rebuilding it will at least slow him down.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The building on the top of the pyramid crumbles, which I hope will take the portal out of commission.

Hope being the operative word, since you don't know how any of this worked.

"-machinery. We haven't stopped him, but if we're luck he's going to be occupied with this for a while."

"Is a healing potion gunna grow her arms and legs back?"

Oh, the Orange Light can manage that easily enough. Might burn a lot of charge depending on the arcane content of her biology, but...

"A healing ray can, given time."

"Thought it only closed wounds up if you lost a limb."

Yes, well, 'healing' ray, not 'regeneration' ray, after all.

"Oh, yeah, I'd have to create a scaffold and basically flay the end of the limb repeatedly healing it a little better each time, but it's perfectly possible."

"Maybe the elves have got something better?"

Do you want to pay the toll for getting them to use it, though?

"Elves are arseholes. Even if they do, I doubt they'd use it on her."

"Right. How's M'gann?"

What with her having been on the outs with the Queen for quite some time. Turns out choosing not to use a glamour is a bit offensive to the Lady.

"A few wounds. Nothing that we can't heal when we get back to Earth."

But so much for making contact with Melinoë. If Olympus is off limits then I doubt that there's a…

Erebos is also likely cut off, in that case.

Elven path, possibly? I can ask once she's stabilised. Because once Mannheim's dealt with… It's like that bit in Transmetropolitan where they regenerate a frozen head. As Spider Jerusalem observes, the cryopreservation company thought they could promise whatever they felt like because surely someone in the future could actually do it. I fully expect to have to spend a lot of time putting the Earth back together after this, but the point is that I have the power to do that.

And given how much work everything needs to be rebuilt, healing one person is a worthwhile start.

So long as Mannheim doesn't eat the whole thaumosphere or something.

"How much damage did it feel like we did to his machine?"

...Ooh, right. Reminds me of Final Crisis, where a dying Darkseid went 'fuck it' and tanked Earth's everything.

"Not much. Damn it, we didn't even know he was doing this. We tripped over it!"

"If you look everywhere hard enough, you're bound to 'trip over' something eventually."

The hard part is trying to prepare for the unforeseen in such cases.

No point asking 'how long will it take to repair', because there's no way he's going to know. Some time, which means that the best time to attack the Anti-Life network is right now, or at least as soon as possible. And I don't have a yellow ring bearer.

I-.

"Did you get exposed to the Anti-Life? Any injuries?"

Oh, right. He was on his own for quite a while there.

"No-. Other than.. being around Mannheim. No injuries. I don't think they knew I was there. Did the.. goddess helping him… Do that to herself?"

"Gods are vulnerable to the Anti-Life. If you think about it, they'd have to be. Maybe she thought it was a way to gain some sort of relevancy, maybe… I don't know, absolution is one of her domains. Maybe she was motivated to sin more so there'd be something to absolve."

I still suspect she was a later addition to the Pantheon, and thus low on the totem pole compared to some of the more well-known deities. And there's probably not much room for advancement in these things.

"That's crazy."

"I said I don't know. I'm speculating."

In over his head and struggling to stay afloat. Not the best place at this stage.

Out of the city and into the jungle. Mountain is that way, and we should meet up with the refugees before we get there. If there are any suits still working, I'm confident that we can destroy them as long as they reach us before we get in range of the mountain's cheat-zone. The only issue would be if Mannheim was able to take control and change the rules.

So I hope his system is at least that damaged.

Then again, he probably has whatever passports the gods used to get around quickly. Because I doubt they had to walk the mountain of razor-sharp glass or any of the other trials if they wanted to go somewhere.

What happens next?

Tlazolteotl spoke about this to Bastet, probably trying to persuade her to make herself vulnerable to Mannheim's influence. That would risk removing Adom's powers and making Kahndaq vulnerable to the Anti-Life. I'll need to warn him and her. Other pantheons… Well, the Olympians clearly know what's going on. The Roman pantheon? I can probably get a message to Vulcan, but I've got no idea if he can warn the rest of them. And I doubt that Odin would fall for anything that Mannheim could do. And that's about all the pantheons that I know anything about.

Japan's divine corporation is probably too wary to be taken in. The American heartlands, though... They're probably already conquered.

"Otherworld. Are there any gods who might do something stupid with Mannheim?"

"No. It's all pretty quiet. They're not really ambitious. Well… Some of them are-. Were, but they've already moved on. Ah. You can… Does this, like, stop that thing you said would get rid of the Anti-Life?"

Good question, Rob. At best, it's a setback they can overcome.

"It shouldn't. As I've said, it isn't something I've been able to test in advance. I don't know if Mannheim being away from the material world creates a problem or not. And it doesn't matter because he wouldn't be doing this if it didn't help him, so we're going to have to carry it out as soon as possible."

"You need someone for fear, though."

Ah, there's the problem. All this was to get to Melinoé. And with the Olympians unreachable...

"Batman will do. He was actually going to be my first choice. He'll just need to get back in his old headspace for a little while. Shouldn't need to keep it up for long."

"Ah." He exhales as we continue to run. "Great, okay! Always thought he was pretty scary. So why did we… Do all this? If we didn't need her?"

Why do I get the feeling this will be one of the things Bats dislikes OL for in future?

"Melinoë would have been better. Less coaching needed. I'm a pretty powerful Orange Lantern, and with Batman changing how he operates… I didn't want to take the risk, but now we've got to. Unless you know anyone better?"

"No." He shakes his head.

"Then that's the plan. Hope you like obsidian."

...Yeah, that trip is going to be tricky.

So, then. The time pressure is amplified. OL is having to make do with less-than-optimal choices for his Ring-wielders. And unless some surprise aid comes along, it's going to be a toss-up whether this actually works as intended. And that's assuming they can even get to safety, what with having to get past a rather short-tempered mountain spirit with a lot of volcanic glass to go around...

Robert clenches his fists, and the stones of the walls reach out and grab then.

Robert clenches his fists, and the stones of the walls reach out and grab them.

Lord Ernest · Oct 25, 2023

I'm still not even sure what Mannheim's plan was in all of this. And if we are going back to the idea of giving the ring to Batman? Feels a bit filler-y these episodes.

Vaermina · Oct 25, 2023

Ngamer11 said:
He needs to prepare his plan in order to confront Mannheim at all. Plus, it's not like he was close to the members of the Aztec pantheon.

Except what happens when Mannheim becomes an old god who can draw power from his believers?

Splinterface · Oct 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
Batman will do

great! So we've just run in a circle. Boy I sure am I glad we went on this adventure, and got to meet interesting new characters like *looks at smudged notes* "smocxoptl" and "shmeep" who appeared in 'DC comics: adventures in zogworld'.

RoasterToaster · Oct 25, 2023

Splinterface said:
great! So we've just run in a circle. Boy I sure am I glad we went on this adventure, and got to meet interesting new characters like *looks at smudged notes* "smocxoptl" and "shmeep" who appeared in 'DC comics: adventures in zogworld'.

"The yellow lantern candidate hunt didn't pan out. Gonna have to get Bruce to do us a solid here. Where is he, by the way?"

"Paul... he's DEAD."

BR549 · Oct 25, 2023

Well, now we know why Future Batman hates OL.

Whenever Possible said:
And now we have Paul's response to being forever doomed to be tormented by evil elf types trying to seduce him.

"Elves are assholes"

Remember, virtually every bit of 'folklore' that decribes elves as anything else is cribbing from Tolkien.

Before Tolkien? Well, I'll let Pterry say it for me.

Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.

Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.

Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.

Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.

Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.

Elves are terrific. They beget terror.

The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.

No one ever said elves are nice.

Elves are bad.

Mr Zoat · Oct 25, 2023

Ngamer11 said:
That should say 'lucky'.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Robert clenches his fists, and the stones of the walls reach out and grab them.

Thank you, corrected.

Duke Long · Oct 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
I construct-grab one of the stone-bound guards and throw him behind it, intercepting the omega beam that Mannheim fired at our backs. A momentary glow and he's gone.

'behind us'?

Mr Zoat said:
And we're outside. No army of suits converge on us, so I turn in the direction of the city's exit closest to Itztépetl-.

'converges'?

It's just occurred to me that Cernunnos hasn't been mentioned for a while, so far as I can remember. Is he still back with the Amazons behind the mountain? And what happened to the clone of that hippy? I'd forgotten about her too.

Mr Zoat · Oct 25, 2023

Duke Long said:
'behind us'?
'converges'?

Thank you, corrected.

It's just occurred to me that Cernunnos hasn't been mentioned for a while, so far as I can remember. Is he still back with the Amazons behind the mountain? And what happened to the clone of that hippy? I'd forgotten about her too.

Yes. I definitely didn't forget that he exists.

Mr Zoat · Oct 26, 2023

17th February 2013
19:21 GMT

I land the construct platform carrying those we've rescued on the Themysciran beach. Tlaltecuhtli has wandered inland a little way, presumably in search of more heartless Aztecs to introduce to the wheel. Kon's explaining things to Queen Hippolyta while Philippus organises escorts for the people we've rescued.

A… Significant proportion of whom are male. And yet no one is complaining about it.

Ow.

I see a familiar face hovering at the periphery of the crowd, preparing to handle any casualties. And I swallow my pride and float my way over to her.

"So…"

Sadeh regards me with as little expression as she can manage. I earned her regard by replacing the missing body parts of Themyscira's long-term wounded. And then I helped my god dump her god in a pigsty.

"I'm not going to pretend that I actually feel guilt over what I did, but since I'm still bleeding I'd like some idea of what Lord Apollo wants to make up for it."

She shrugs. "How would I know?"

"You're.. a.. priestess?"

She shakes her head. "Direct communication with the gods is unusual. Even after three thousand years, all I can really do is feel his ire radiating from you."

"Oh. Ah. Okay. Could you please ask for me?"

"I can entreat him in my prayers." She frowns. "Why are you still bleeding?"

"Magic obsidian stab wounds. I-."

My magic armour starts to vibrate. Ring, what-?

Something is… Pulling me in the direction of the mainland. No. Pulling the armour. Okay, open, twist around-. Pull myself out and fly up over it and withdraw my constructs-.

It's like a hurricane force wind is pushing on my armour and-.

"Paul!"

M'gann shouts as-. Shit. I wrap construct chains around Qualpopoca as he flails in the air, held down by M'gann's telekinesis. Anchor him to the ground, make sure it's solid. Whatever force is acting on him is still pushing, so I add a little-.

Ow ow ow.

A little cushion between his flesh and the chains. Looking down at my legs I see small flecks of blood appear as… As the obsidian fragments pull themselves free from inside my body. It's painful, but once they're out my normal ring-assisted regeneration kicks in and the pain abates.

Okay, what's making-?

Everyone who went over Itztépetl is losing whatever obsidian fragments caught on their clothing or in their flesh. The Aztec priests are looking extremely concerned and more than a couple are holding their hands over their hearts-.

"Do you feel it in your hearts!?"

The armour's gone, flying though the air in the direction of the mainland. Qualpopoca is wincing in pain as the… Force pushes him harder.

A few of the priests who have their wits about them shake their heads.

Alright, so what links the-? Aztec magic. The armour is Aztec magic, Aztec magic turned Qualpopoca into a beastman and the obsidian mountain is made of Aztec magic. The hearts are either taken from sacrificed magical creatures or are parts of human souls. Nothing inherently Aztec about them.

"Cornwall?"

He looks even more uncomfortable. "Something really f-. Bad is happening."

"Can you narrow it down?"

"Raw magic… I don't… It feels like a spell's being… Broken down into raw magic… But… Bigger."

"Mannheim… Ingesting the gods?"

He shakes his head helplessly. "I dunno. I've never felt anything like this before."

"Uh-!"

Qualpopoca is… He's not bleeding, but that looks painful.

"Can you do anything to stop it?"

He shakes his head. "I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"Qualpopoca, I'm afraid that you're just going to have to endure it."

He grits his teeth. "Y-es. I understand."

"Good man. Your majesty!"

Queen Hippolyta walks towards me, glancing at Qualpopoca with clear concern. "What is happening?"

"Something's pulling all Aztec magic that way. Is the gateway to Erebos open?"

"No. The door is barred and will not open."

"And we can't get to Olympus. Are there any other routes off Themyscira?"

She shakes her head. "No."

"Okay. You're a demigoddess, right?" She nods. "Is there anything you can do to… Bless Qualpopoca here?"

She looks a little pained. "I have not wanted to take advantage of that part of my heritage." She sees the way I stare at her in response and sighs. "Why would you want me to do that?"

"I'm hoping we can turn the spells holding him together from Aztec magic to Greek magic, so he'll stop getting pulled."

"Anything I could do would be as likely to kill him as aid him."

"Ah." I nod. I mean, if she's had three thousand years and not experimented at all, then… It's probably for the best. "Cornwall, is there any sign that it's-."

"…way off."

I look around as Cernunnos carries Nuala towards us. She's… Not in immediate danger of dying, and he was able to save her right leg in its entirety, but… She's looking understandably ropey.

"You have a way off?"

"Fairy ring. There's a… Fairy ring."

"Excellent, thank you. We-."

Qualpopoca slumps as the force pulling on him cuts out.

I leave the chains in place, just in case. "Superboy, would you mind flying up and taking a look?"

He nods and shoots up into the sky, staring in the direction of the land. Then he drops back down.

"It's gone."

"What is?"

"The land."

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

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