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

Odysseus2099 · 2025-05-10T08:25:59+0100

Mr Zoat said:
The only lead I can think of-."

"Diablo Island[url]'s binding tattoos are far too fragile for me to consider it."

[/url]

Chojin Patriarch · 2025-05-10T08:26:56+0100

Mr Zoat said:
11th July 2013
08:00 GMT

The door opens on the hour on the dot, and I walk… Through.

They've… Done some remodelling.

Presumably to optimise Mister Atom's command and control capabilities. It's almost guaranteed that he can bottleneck any communication system designed for humans in seconds. Effectively overrunning any input buffer, basically.

The array of monitors and computers which Mr. Atom was using to monitor things has been expanded and improved. Some screens do the same things that they used to in displaying points of interest. Others show complex patterns which-

Translation available.

I suspect trying to translate that would just give you a pounding headache.

-my rings don't translate because the human brain wasn't meant for that level of information processing but which I'm sure suits him just fine. Mr. Atom himself is pressing buttons on his customised keyboard and making noises like a dialup modem at three different pitches that I can hear simultaneously.

And I'm picturing a 'chorded keyboard' that's more like bars either side of his fingers that allow him to type any character with minimal movement of his digits, based on combinations of pressed switches... And since he could move his fingers super-quick...
(Side note, this led me to this. Cool, if unrelated...)

Maybe I should introduce him to Dox at some point? Or maybe that would remind Dox of his father too much.

Mr. Atom doesn't look around.

Yeah, I think Dox would rather distance himself from any hypercognitive synthetic minds.

"Orange Lantern. You have been scheduled twenty minutes plus minus five minutes. Will that be sufficient?"

"I hope so. Sorry, I assumed that I would be talking to Batman."

Twenty minutes of discussion doesn't rule that out. Batman might have been busy at first.

"You have been scheduled thirty seconds plus minus fifteen seconds for this explanation."

"Understood. I'll be concise."

Ah, just Atom making it clear, no time-wasting on his watch.

"Good."

There's no noise, but Batman just sort of appears. He wasn't invisible… Not unless he's found a way to defy literally every sensor type I have, which I suppose is just about possible. Instead, I think he just used some sort of novel teleportation with no residue that I can immediately detect. He's still wearing his power ring, but I didn't.. detect him using it just then.

To be fair, there's only a few methods like that, and we're quite familiar with one thanks to the Renegade...

"Orange Lantern. You have concerns."

"Yes, sir. I outlined them in my original message. I hoped that-."

And a concerned OL is a troublesome OL. Which Batman is well aware of.

He turns around. "Come with me."

He steps forwards and vanishes. Some soft of invisible Dolmen Gate? I wave a rune stone at it but only detect background levels of magic.

Shrugging, I send the stone back to subspace and follow him.

Ah, OL in a rare moment of surprise.

And… It's dark. Scans aren't showing me anything… At all. From what little I can see it the reflected light of our environmental shields there are… Monoliths of some kind planted along some sort of upwards-sloping pathway, but that's about all that I'm getting. Atmosphere… Slightly increased levels of oxygen relative to Earth normal. Mildly invigorating, with a slightly increased fire risk. In the case of somewhere Batman built it's almost certainly intentional.

Presumably needed for thermal regulation purposes, I guess?

I stride after him, trying to learn something from the back of his head.

"Sir?"

"I read your book."

Aw, no 'You magnificent bastard!'

Ah, well, can't always meme.

I.. wasn't sure, but it seemed likely that he would. Particularly since getting a ring of his own, but I can see how having additional information on how I think would be invaluable to him.

"Unfortunately, it seems that in my case enlightenment will have to wait."

Admittedly, Fear Enlightenment might be a bit trickier than Desire.

"I'm not sure that the world would survive you bonding with Parallax."

"I wouldn't bond with Parallax unless I was sure that I could control it."

Oh, dear. That's not a good turn of phrase when Batman is involved...

Which wouldn't happen. My merging with the Ophidian was a best case scenario…

"The only lead I can think of-."

Some way to contain the Embodiment to a specific location? Not easy given how powerful 1/7th of the universe's emotions can be.

"Diablo Island's binding tattoos are far too fragile for me to consider it."

I nod. He's right, as far as long-term bindings go. I looked into it before I got my own tattoos. But if he just wanted a temporary glimpse of how Parallax views fear and it's place in the universe, then the same standards don't apply.

Please, let's not give him suggestions for further mind-altering methodology?

"I agree, but-."

"Zatara has the design. If it can be improved upon, he'll let me know."

At least he's trusting Zatara to study it. So he's not all paranoid yet.

I nod, my gaze lingering on where my feet tell me that the floor is. I just… I was going to suggest to Batman something that would mess up his mind even more.

Don't do that.

Depressingly, I suspect you're the only League-affiliated person who can really attest to the mind-altering qualities of a Power Ring, though. The Greenies aren't adversely affected by theirs, other than grater stubbornness. Just in case you have to persuade them to separate the Ring from Batman.

"Sir? Where are we?"

"Currently, the L Five Lagrange point. The facility has limited manoeuvring capacities, but it isn't a spaceship."

In space? Oh, no, don't tell me...

"That's a.. long way from anywhere."

"Not when you have a power ring. Or a galactic-range teleportation device."

Definitely a Hush Tube, then. Logical, given his access to New God contacts.

I frown. "The only form of teleportation device I know with that range and precision is a boom tube generator, and that wasn't a boom tube."

"A hush tube generator. Apokolips uses them for covert insertions." I vaguely see him reach… Something ahead of us. He turns and sits, and I just stop as his eyes glow. "Canis and Angelica were able to secure one for me."

Well, that's not worrying at all either.

"Universal covert point to point portals will be a significant improvement on zeta tubes."

He leans forwards slightly. "I agree. But this will be a supplemental system. Zeta tubes are a mature technology, where as getting another hush tube generator would be difficult, and making more is currently beyond us."

Good, not relying solely on the new toy. Still somewhat sensible.

Lights… Start coming up, a faint yellow shining from the… Rectangular blocks around us. They put me in mind of old-style mainframe computers… Or at least the representation of mainframes that were in Goldeneye. The light is.. running in lines, but I can't tell if it's lines of runes, of circuitry, or… Something else. Otherwise they're matte dark grey… I don't think they're stone as the texture isn't right, but they don't look like metal either.

So a blending of new god technology and human super-science? He's built Brother Eye, hasn't he?

"You are concerned about the League taking on too much responsibility in the wake of civilization's collapse."

"Basically… Yes sir."

And not without good reason. As he's pointed out several times.

"I have reached the conclusion that we can't afford not to. Human countries have become too interdependent to isolate shocks in one region."

"Is..? That why you were concerned with… Me saying that the League was taking over the planet? Because we..? Are?"

Welp, Batman's going totally Justice Lord. Time to look for ways of stripping his Power Ring, and breaking this station.

"We're being given more power. We're not taking over. I wanted to be able to put things in their proper context before you put them in the wrong one."

"Okay? So… What form does that take?"

Because so far, it's not looking good. Especially if OL remembers the OMACs from Infinite Crisis.

"You've seen Big Barda working with the Congregation?" I nod. "That. League members will be provided with squads of enhanced soldiers, transported by boom tube or hush tube, to impose order in places where civilization is in danger of breaking down."

"Soldiers? I know.. the laws that.. you're putting through allows League members to call upon police assets, but-."

Or in this case, some form of deputised vigilantes? Something of a legal loophole, but...

"No. I know that you've been aware of the potential for using the Danner formula to create a super powered army. Hugo Danner demonstrated that it's perfectly viable to use in that way. I spent some time identifying, recruiting and training individuals to form a standing military force for the Justice League."

...And do these individuals know they've been recruited?

"Enhanced?"

"Yes, substantially. I believe that you have already met Mister Blank."

At this point, there should be so many alarm bells ringing in OL's head, he'd be sweating despite himself.

Welp, looks like the excrement is travelling at high-speed towards the fan. So unless Batman can explain real clearly about how this is beneficial to Humanity, I suspect we're about to see OL commence planning for 'Operation Nabu II: Electric Boogaloo'. This is not going to end well, I just know it.

Duke Long · 2025-05-10T08:36:54+0100

Mr Zoat said:
He steps forwards and vanishes. Some soft of invisible Dolmen Gate? I wave a rune stone at it but only detect background levels of magic.

'sort'
A hush tube? That's the only thing that comes to mind, but I can't remember if even the portal is invisible.

Mr Zoat said:
And… It's dark. Scans aren't showing me anything… At all. From what little I can see it the reflected light of our environmental shields there are… Monoliths of some kind planted along some sort of upwards-sloping pathway, but that's about all that I'm getting. Atmosphere… Slightly increased levels of oxygen relative to Earth normal. Mildly invigorating, with a slightly increased fire risk. In the case of somewhere Batman built it's almost certainly intentional.

'in'
Spooky shit. I suppose this might be Brother Eye?

Mr Zoat said:
"The only lead I can think of-."

"Diablo Island[url]'s binding tattoos are far too fragile for me to consider it."
I nod. He's right, as far as long-term bindings go. I looked into it before I got my own tattoos. But if he just wanted a temporary glimpse of how Parallax views fear and it's place in the universe, then the same standards don't apply.

'its'
I don't see anything else wrong here.

Mr Zoat said:
"A hush tube generator. Apokolips uses them for covert insertions." I vaguely see him reach… Something ahead of us. He turns and sits, and I just stop as his eyes glow. "Canis and Angelica were able to secure one for me."

So it is a hush tube. Neat.

Mr Zoat said:
He leans forwards slightly. "I agree. But this will be a supplemental system. Zeta tubes are a mature technology, where as getting another hush tube generator would be difficult, and making more is currently beyond us."

'whereas'

Mr Zoat said:
"You've seen Big Barda working with the Congregation?" I nod. "That. League members will be provided with squads of enhanced soldiers, transported by boom tube or hush tube, to impose order in places where civilization is in danger of breaking down."

Uh… Sounds cool, but…

Mr Zoat said:
"No. I know that you've been aware of the potential for using the Danner formula to create a super powered army. Hugo Danner demonstrated that it's perfectly viable to use in that way. I spent some time identifying, recruiting and training individuals to form a standing military force for the Justice League."

"Enhanced?"

"Yes, substantially. I believe that you have already met Mister Blank."

Okay, shit. I don't see a way that this ends well. Buddy Blank was trying to fit Oh El with an illegal explosive collar when they met, which is not exactly a great look. And that was before the enabling legislation was even in effect!

Plus, Buddy Blank lost his memories. Maybe that happened because Oh El broke his connection, and he actually was a willing participant despite appearances? But I doubt it.

It's pretty cool that Batman is taking advantage of all the stuff Oh El has told the League about over the years. It didn't seem like the Danner formula was being used in Buddy Blank, but maybe the microbots formed into the alchemical patterns when powered? And we already saw that he did use the record-destroying magic. I wonder if other crazy shit is jammed in there. Buddy didn't seem that impressive, though.

I wonder if Oh El is even going to be able to escape this station. I'd say he should feign acquiescence, but Batman will probably see through it, and I don't get the impression that he is feeling very trusting right now.

Signaller · 2025-05-10T08:42:27+0100

The Danner thing is a risk because it doesn't have an off switch, and recruitment can't be perfect. Other upgrade options like pacts woth various gods at least in theory aren't permanent. The other concern is how one defines "in danger of breaking down".

Is Batman in contact with Sinestro? And do we know if his brain chemistry is still repaired, or did he decide to reapply those changes?

ForeverShogo · 2025-05-10T08:48:49+0100

Neat. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the world Batman aims to build.

PepeTheFrog · 2025-05-10T08:50:54+0100

So Batman really is going the Brother Eye/OMAC route. That or pulling an Injustice but with him as the ruler instead of Superman.

Lord Ernest · 2025-05-10T08:58:59+0100

So this actually is an OMAC situation with Batman then? But instead of doing it all himself as a safeguard against other metahumans, he's doing to support the Justice League not!taking over the world?

I admit that it sounds bad but at the same time I can kinda see the good intentions. If the OMAC empowerment isn't permanent like the Danner Formula, you can cut any rogue element that might have unfortunately passed the assessments. The units are pretty powerful from what we saw and if they're lead and/or supervised by League Members plus Mr. Atom's monitoring then, nominally, they can be trusted. So the troops sound like a good idea if nothing untoward has been done to the volunteers.

The bad vibe comes from Batman now having a stealth space station and deciding that the League needs to have all of these liberties and reinforcements. But the other League members, as far as we know, seem to be onboard as well; so besides Batman, is the Justice League trustworthy with this authority? Are they aware of all that is going on? At this point I'm hoping this is all a red herring and it turns out there's no issue and this is good for the world.

I mean, if the Illustres can trust a literal Demon Lord, what's wrong with letting the Justice League rule the planet while it's reconstructing?

Mr Zoat · 2025-05-10T09:03:19+0100

@ShadowScion626
You know what you did. @rthomas2, you're off the naughty list.

OrbitL said:
You forgot to close the url tag @Mr Zoat

Duke Long said:
'sort'
'in'
'its'
'whereas'

Thank you, corrected.

Lord Ernest said:
I mean, if the Illustres can trust a literal Demon Lord, what's wrong with letting the Justice League rule the planet while it's reconstructing?

Demon Lords are extremely trustworthy. They can't break their word. They're just malicious and selfish.

AmericanNumbers · 2025-05-10T09:14:02+0100

So effectively Paul messing with Batman's brain triggered the same the Omac response. Oh but Batman has a yellow power ring.

That seems like a problem.

WereDragon · 2025-05-10T10:17:02+0100

Mr Zoat said:
snip

Now Paul needs to decide if he is going to allow Batman to become a dictatorial Justice Lord. Because at this point his options are to let it happen or to directly and massively intervene.

Z000 · 2025-05-10T10:32:18+0100

Paul, this is all your fault

see how being human+ get you, the shit you did is coming back to chomp your butt

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

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