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

Steelplaza · Tuesday at 1:17 PM

Old Knife said:
.... I wonder what countermeasures are there for that.

Because Darkside probably has them.

Certainly if Highfather can reverse a transformation to a construct, it may well be within Darkseid's capabilities.

Darko · Tuesday at 1:23 PM

Steelplaza said:
Certainly if Highfather can reverse a transformation to a construct, it may well be within Darkseid's capabilities.

It is.

Finality Man had the Omega Effect and he was able to turn one of Paul's assimilated constructs into a human.

Ardy · Tuesday at 2:04 PM

Darko said:
It is.

Finality Man had the Omega Effect and he was able to turn one of Paul's assimilated constructs into a human.

lol, satanus was a powerful demon lord for centuries at the least.

Now he's powerless in prison somewhere on a broken earth. Just put him next to savage and we'll have a sit com

PDV · Tuesday at 7:36 PM

BR549 said:
...don't miss twice, just to be sure.

Two shots, center mass. Or, you know, use the only way to be sure.

Mr Zoat · Wednesday at 6:16 AM

2nd August 2013
00:04 GMT

"So you lied to me?"

He chuffs. "You were holding my client hostage. I needed to give you a believable lie to try and calm you down."

"Which isn't unreasonable, but does give you a bit of a credibility gap. Particularly when telling me that a member of my species who isn't on Daxam any more is more to blame for what happened than your client."

"Oh, she did make that argument; that our defences were inadequate. That was part of why we were more… Accommodating than usual. We could have used a sunstone and destroyed his ship, but he was… Charismatic. Reasonable. And we needed something. And we might have been able to deactivate the Eradicator Program, but… Culturally, we trust what's in the reliquary. We know it's not perfect; that it's technology we don't really understand and that it won't last forever. But it's…"

"A series of silver bullets for solving your problems."

"I… Don't know the reference..?"

"There's a type of… Mutagenic virus on Earth. One of the things it does is allow the host to regenerate from any nonfatal injury… Unless it was inflicted with silver. As such, the term 'silver bullet' has come to mean 'specific, highly effective solution to a particular problem'."

"I see. Yes, that's it. Nearly. They're not that specific, but… Yes. The idea that they just won't work doesn't occur to us. And I suppose… Technically, they didn't. If we'd been willing to endure the Eradicator Program, Sodam Yat would be here."

"I doubt it."

"We didn't guard the reliquary where the Eradicator Program was ensconced. We could have done; it would have tolerated us as long as we didn't get close enough to threaten it. If we had, your infiltration team wouldn't have been able to destroy it."

"That would have made things more difficult. So, alright, he activated the Eradicator Program-. Did he know that it was here, or did he learn about that from you?"

"He was interested in robotics and artificial intelligence. I'm not.. sure if he heard about the Eradicator Program from one of us or not. It.. could be either way."

"What happened after he turned it on?"

"It activated a group of Eradicator androids and detained him and his guard. He told it of the fate of Krypton and offered to bring a kryptonian to it. It… Said that we were kryptonians and so it had no need for more, particularly if they were… Contaminated."

His eyes dip, and he takes a deep breath.

"Van-Dal said that we weren't pure kryptonians either. That's when the Eradicator Program scanned us in… Detail."

I suppose that would exacerbate the disquiet he felt at his true heritage: having one of his cultural icons call him a mongrel to his face and condemn his entire culture as a result.

"So, then what?"

"We were escorted out of the reliquary while the Eradicator Program and Van-Dal negotiated."

"Is there a record of their conversation anywhere?"

"There might be something on the module containing the Eradicator Program. I don't know how badly damaged it was. Otherwise, I don't think so."

I could ask the Deep Six; Highfather still has them. I'd need to ask Diana if I can borrow her lasso again though as I doubt that he'd want me branding them and I certainly couldn't trust them to volunteer the truth.

"Okay… Then what?"

"The Eradicator Program sent its androids out. They started working; updating our ships and bringing them back into full working order. Cara Yat was fairly upbeat about that aspect." He shakes his head. "Perhaps it would have repaired our genes once it was done with its other tasks."

"No, it was planning on recreating the kryptonian species using mass cloning."

"And… Us-?" He shakes his head. "No, it doesn't matter. Ah, anyway, it left us to our own devices for a while. Other than the robots flying into and out of the reliquaries, not much changed."

"Did 'Van-Dal' come back?"

"Not that I saw. But it's possible that he spoke to the Eradicators in space. I didn't see his lizard bodyguard again either." He looks at me curiously. "Why did you say his name like that?"

"The name he goes by on Earth is 'Vandal Savage'. His original name was something like 'Vandar Adg'. I think you were daxamising it."

"Ah. Yes, I think you're right. So, no, I didn't see him again."

"Did you see anyone else from outside of Daxam?"

"Yes, two people. They were visiting the reliquary housing the Eradicator Program, but I saw them because they decided to visit the town first."

"I don't suppose there are any pictures, are there?"

"No, and I can't draw well enough to depict them accurately. The woman had a slight build and blonde hair, and she spoke kryptonese with an accent I didn't recognise. The man had short brown hair, and.. at first I mistook him for a Green Lantern."

"How?"

"He glowed green and could generate objects in the way that they-. That you do. But the symbol on his chest was.. wrong. Is it.. compulsory?"

"Technically no, but it would be very unusual not to have the standard sigil. What did it look like?"

"Like an.. x. Or a large-winged insect."

I generate a construct of Joseph Harrolds's emblem. I see the recognition in his eyes immediately, but I should check. "Like this?"

"Yes. You know him?"

I expand the image to show his whole body, and he nods. "I know him. I can't imagine why he was here…" I shake my head. "But it's worth knowing. This looks like something that could have gone somewhere very unpleasant. Is there anything else that you think I need to know?"

"What do you mean, 'unpleasant'?"

"Joseph Harrolds is a warlord with an unrestricted power ring. I had thought that he was busy with his own world, but if he's venturing out… He could have taken your entire reliquary and left and there wouldn't have been much you could do about it, and I'd have probably ended up having to deal with him. But now I know that he's cooperating with Savage, I can start investigating that."

"What does that mean for us?"

"Not much. He's a high-powered target, so use whatever relic weapons you feel appropriate."

"And the woman?"

"I'd guess that's Ultragirl, so assume that she's got the powers of a kryptonian. I don't know her well enough to comment on her character." Hm. "I think that's everything I need from you at the moment. Regarding your children, when do you expect them to get back?"

Someguy Somewhere · Wednesday at 6:43 AM

Mr Zoat said:
I expand the image to show his hole body, and he nods. "I know him. I can't image why he was here…" I shake my head. "But it's worth knowing. This looks like something that could have gone somewhere very unpleasant. Is there anything else that you think I need to know?"

'Whole' for 'Hole', at least until such a time as he gets a gaping chest wound.

Mr Zoat · Wednesday at 6:45 AM

Someguy Somewhere said:
'Whole' for 'Hole', at least until such a time as he gets a gaping chest wound.

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch · Wednesday at 6:54 AM

Mr Zoat said:
2nd August 2013
00:04 GMT

"So you lied to me?"

He chuffs. "You were holding my client hostage. I needed to give you a believable lie to try and calm you down."

"Which isn't unreasonable, but does give you a bit of a credibility gap. Particularly when telling me that a member of my species who isn't on Daxam any more is to blame for what happened than your client."

It does feel like he's pulling a 'No, really, we weren't to blame, really!' gambit. But what reason would he have to lie now? He got what he wanted, and OL doesn't come across as the sort to take back a bribe if he doesn't like the results.

"Oh, she did make that argument; that our defences were inadequate. That was part of why we were more… Accommodating than usual. We could have used a sunstone and destroyed his ship, but he was… Charismatic. Reasonable. And we needed something. And we might have been able to deactivate the Eradicator Program, but… Culturally, we trust what's in the reliquary. We know it's not perfect; that it's technology we don't really understand and that it won't last forever. But it's…"

Not understanding it is a big problem when it's capable of forcing your civilisation into a new paradigm. But it's not his fault, he's not one of the guys in charge.

"A series of silver bullets for solving your problems."

"I… Don't know the reference..?"

Huh, a rare case of the Ring translation not carrying the idiom well. I guess there's no equivalent here.

"There's a type of… Mutagenic virus on Earth. One of the things it does is allow the host to regenerate from any nonfatal injury… Unless it was inflicted with silver. As such, the term 'silver bullet' has come to mean 'specific, highly effective solution to a particular problem'."

Werewolves, of course. Not that OL wants to attempt to suggest that the mystical applies. But I suspect with that explanation, Ken can equate it to a Lead bullet, or something similar.

"I see. Yes, that's it. Nearly. They're not that specific, but… Yes. The idea that they just won't work doesn't occur to us. And I suppose… Technically, they didn't. If we'd been willing to endure the Eradicator Program, Sodam Yat would be here."

"I doubt it."

Short of empowering a whole bunch of Eradicator-programmed Daxamites, anyway. The Last Son did do a number on OL, even with him trying not to damage Clark.

"We didn't guard the reliquary where the Eradicator Program was ensconced. We could have done; it would have tolerated us as long as we didn't get close enough to threaten it. If we had, your infiltration team wouldn't have been able to destroy it."

"That would have made things more difficult. So, alright, he activated the Eradicator Program-. Did he know that it was here, or did he learn about that from you?"

Though two people capable of effective invisibility and phasing would have an advantage.

"He was interested in robotics and artificial intelligence. I'm not.. sure if he heard about the Eradicator Program from one of us or not. It.. could be either way."

"What happened after he turned it on?"

Still curious that Vandal was so interested in tech like that...

"It activated a group of Eradicator androids and detained him and his guard. He told it of the fate of Krypton and offered to bring a kryptonian to it. It… Said that we were kryptonians and so it had no need for more, particularly if they were… Contaminated."

His eyes dip, and he takes a deep breath.

I suppose by the Eradicator's standards, they are... Impure. The bio-mod that traded Kryptonite vulnerability for Lead allergies would definitely come across that way.

"Van-Dal said that we weren't pure kryptonians either. That's when the Eradicator Program scanned us in… Detail."

I suppose that would exacerbate the disquiet he felt at his true heritage: having one of his cultural icons call him a mongrel to his face and condemn his entire culture as a result.

Especially for someone who would never normally have been in that sort of encounter except that he was serving his rulers.

"So, then what?"

"We were escorted out of the reliquary while the Eradicator Program and Van-Dal negotiated."

"Is there a record of their conversation anywhere?"

Probably not anywhere OL can get at it.

"There might be something on the module containing the Eradicator Program. I don't know how badly damaged it was. Otherwise, I don't think so."

I could ask the Deep Six; Highfather still has them. I'd need to ask Diana if I can borrow her lasso again though as I doubt that he'd want me branding them and I certainly couldn't trust them to volunteer the truth.

Bet Diana would turn some heads in Supertown, if only for her unusual metaphysique. She's a lot of the way towards New godhood already, isn't she?

"Okay… Then what?"

"The Eradicator Program sent its androids out. They started working; updating our ships and bringing them back into full working order. Cara Yat was fairly upbeat about that aspect." He shakes his head. "Perhaps it would have repaired our genes once it was done with its other tasks."

Somehow, I doubt that.

"No, it was planning on recreating the kryptonian species using mass cloning."

"And… Us-?" He shakes his head. "No, it doesn't matter. Ah, anyway, it left us to our own devices for a while. Other than the robots flying into and out of the reliquaries, not much changed."

Doesn't take much to work out what would happen once the daxamites were superfluous. Eradicators with red-sunlight emitters to depower them, and then... Extermination.

"Did 'Van-Dal' come back?"

"Not that I saw. But it's possible that he spoke to the Eradicators in space. I didn't see his lizard bodyguard again either." He looks at me curiously. "Why did you say his name like that?"

Heh. Ol practically pronouncing air-quotes.

"The name he goes by on Earth is 'Vandal Savage'. His original name was something like 'Vandar Adg'. I think you were daxamising it."

"Ah. Yes, I think you're right. So, no, I didn't see him again."

Admittedly, some Earth Names and words can sound Kryptonian when sounded out differently. Seig-El, for instance. Or Val'Orr.

"Did you see anyone else from outside of Daxam?"

"Yes, two people. They were visiting the reliquary housing the Eradicator Program, but I saw them because they decided to visit the town first."

Okay, that's useful information. And they can't have been natives, because that would hardly stand out.

"I don't suppose there are any pictures, are there?"

"No, and I can't draw well enough to depict them accurately. The woman had a slight build and blonde hair, and she spoke kryptonese with an accent I didn't recognise. The man had short brown hair, and.. at first I mistook him for a Green Lantern."

...Oh. Oh, no...

"How?"

"He glowed green and could generate objects in the way that they-. That you do. But the symbol on his chest was.. wrong. Is it.. compulsory?"

Depends on the Ring, really. It does look fancy more often than not.

"Technically no, but it would be very unusual not to have the standard sigil. What did it look like?"

"Like an.. x. Or a large-winged insect."

...Sheeeit. A Power Ring, isn't it? Minus Twelve, or Minus Sixteen, though, as they're the most likely suspects.

I generate a construct of Joseph Harrolds's emblem. I see the recognition in his eyes immediately, but I should check. "Like this?"

"Yes. You know him?"

Welp. Looks like the Crime Syndicate is branching out.

I expand the image to show his whole body, and he nods. "I know him. I can't image why he was here…" I shake my head. "But it's worth knowing. This looks like something that could have gone somewhere very unpleasant. Is there anything else that you think I need to know?"

At least it explains the green glow in that Eradicator's memory base. No doubt he visited the Doomsday site as well.

"What do you mean, 'unpleasant'?"

"Joseph Harrolds is a warlord with an unrestricted power ring. I had thought that he was busy with his own world, but if he's venturing out… He could have taken your entire reliquary and left and there wouldn't have been much you could do about it, and I'd have probably ended up having to deal with him. But now I know that he's cooperating with Savage, I can start investigating that."

And him coming to this vicinity first before transiting across dimensions could explain the lack of alerts on Earth's interdiction systems.

"What does that mean for us?"

"Not much. He's a high-powered target, so use whatever relic weapons you feel appropriate."

Their elders probably already have plans to deal with green lanterns, after all. Paranoia breeds fast.

"And the woman?"

"I'd guess that's Ultragirl, so assume that she's got the powers of a kryptonian. I don't know her well enough to comment on her character." Hm. "I think that's everything I need from you at the moment. Regarding your children, when do you expect them to get back?"

The clues do sound likely. No point increasing any Supergirl variant count unless she appears onscreen, though.

Well, at least that answered a few of OL's questions... And raised more. Why were the Syndicate here, especially right after Vandal Savage was? Were they working together? What did they do here? Did they take anything? Why was Vandal Savage even here in the first place? Ugh, so many new problems to investigate...

Darko · Wednesday at 7:16 AM

Mr Zoat said:
The started

"They"

Mr Zoat said:
him. I can't image why

"imagine"

Mr Zoat said:
. I can't image why he was here

To get some Kryptonian tech most likely.

Someguy Somewhere · Wednesday at 7:48 AM

His hunt for robotics....well...the time travel robot he turned into armour that lead to the china leads the world alternative time line that lead to Time Trapper OL happened.....

What I'm more worried about is that Savage was running around with a motherbox and a star ship for some time. Could have gotten into contact with all sorts of beings. Poking around an Eradicator AI and robot systems.....Brainac 1 here is from Colu like the early comics version, rather then the Kryptonian AI version you got from the Animated series and later works. But if you bolt one onto the other.....well....Vril Dox the second might have issues keeping up with his clone daddy if he goes and Upgrades like that. At least that is where my mind went.

Given that Mr Zoat tossed out the later seasons plots due to them not existing when this story started, we don't have those stories to give Savage a plot to follow, but anything from the comics might be an option. We know he has contact with Darkseid...he likely even have contact with the Reach by this point....which makes earth a new front in the space war, if a cold war front since with the league on hand and well informed the Reach can't try the more Open methods they used in the show to move forward.

Oh....the OMAC suits Lex got from the -14 'verse.....those + Krypton based hardware....Eradicator++. That'd be something the Light would want on hand.

Duke Long · Wednesday at 7:52 AM

Mr Zoat said:
"Which isn't unreasonable, but does give you a bit of a credibility gap. Particularly when telling me that a member of my species who isn't on Daxam any more is to blame for what happened than your client."

'rather than'?

I wonder if we're going to see The Light 2.0? We've potentially got an alliance between The Light, Darkseid, and the Sinestro Corps here.

m_d · Wednesday at 7:57 AM

Mr Zoat said:
"Which isn't unreasonable, but does give you a bit of a credibility gap. Particularly when telling me that a member of my species who isn't on Daxam any more is to blame for what happened than your client.

This paragraph reads a bit like you had two different ways you were thinking of taking it and combined them in a way that doesn't quite make sense. The last bit in red looks like it's from a different thought than the first. Alternately, you could move the 'is' two words earlier, or several other minor modification options and you'd end up with different workable paragraphs, but it's not obvious which thought you were going for to me.

The following set of quotes have what looks like a overzealous autocapitalize fuction failing to recognize that the ellipsis was a pause in a sentence rather than a trailing off and beginning a new one.

Mr Zoat said:
particularly if they were… Contaminated.

Mr Zoat said:
"I… Don't know the reference..?"

Mr Zoat said:
That's when the Eradicator Program scanned us in… Detail."

Mr Zoat said:
"And… Us-?"

BlackCoat13 · Wednesday at 8:04 AM

Mr Zoat said:
"A series of silver bullets for solving your problems."

"I… Don't know the reference..?"

"There's a type of… Mutagenic virus on Earth. One of the things it does is allow the host to regenerate from any nonfatal injury… Unless it was inflicted with silver. As such, the term 'silver bullet' has come to mean 'specific, highly effective solution to a particular problem'."

What happened to the Ring translate system? Surely the Daxam language has a similar phrase. And even if it didn't the ring would still properly translate meaning. Yet I see Paul explaining a lot of English phrases like the Ring doesn't do that automatically anymore?

Mr Zoat · Wednesday at 8:36 AM

Darko said:
"They"
"imagine"

Thank you, corrected.

Duke Long said:
'rather than'?

No, I missed out a 'more' earlier in the sentence.

m_d said:
The following set of quotes have what looks like a overzealous autocapitalize fuction failing to recognize that the ellipsis was a pause in a sentence rather than a trailing off and beginning a new one.

No, those are new sentences.

BlackCoat13 said:
What happened to the Ring translate system? Surely the Daxam language has a similar phrase. And even if it didn't the ring would still properly translate meaning. Yet I see Paul explaining a lot of English phrases like the Ring doesn't do that automatically anymore?

Daxam doesn't have an equivalent phrase, so there was nothing equivalent for the ring to translate it to.

Steelplaza · Wednesday at 1:08 PM

Mr Zoat said:
but he was… Charismatic. Reasonable.

A nice reminder that Vandal Savage is perfectly capable of playing the reasonable man when it suits his goals. I wonder if he'll try it on OL, if they are ever in a position to talk where OL isn't immediately trying to kill Savage.

BartlettMagic · Wednesday at 5:28 PM

i can't remember, is Vandal Savage super-strong or otherwise enhanced, beyond being immortal and able to regenerate?

because i get why the Daxamites would be confused at their inability to kill him... but they should still be able to physically overpower him, put him in restraints, and then toss him in a prison cell for violating their airspace. how did he go from "criminal with a death sentence" to "full access to religious sites"? i feel like i missed something obvious

Darko · Wednesday at 5:34 PM

BartlettMagic said:
i can't remember, is Vandal Savage super-strong or otherwise enhanced, beyond being immortal and able to regenerate?

because i get why the Daxamites would be confused at their inability to kill him... but they should still be able to physically overpower him, put him in restraints, and then toss him in a prison cell for violating their airspace. how did he go from "criminal with a death sentence" to "full access to religious sites"? i feel like i missed something obvious

He was able to easily beat a bunch of cops in the show, but that may just be regular strong instead of super strong.

And watching someone that just died come back would be a pretty big shock, so he may have leveraged that to get them to cooperate.

NightmareWarden · Wednesday at 6:21 PM

Nylor Truggs and Circe obtained the Hero Dial out from under Paragon!Paul's nose by magically teleporting it to their location, remotely. While it was exploding.

Truggs probably has all of the kryptonian samples that he needs, buuuuuut it seems like that method could serve as a way for Zod to survive his disintegration. It's unlikely they;l be involved though. So who, you ask? Recent chapters showed the Eradicators were sneaky enough to infiltrate Earth's system with their robots. Add to that that OL's investigation of the robot brain above New Genesis has little results (and was interrupted by the Greenies) AND that the Eradicator

BartlettMagic said:
i can't remember, is Vandal Savage super-strong or otherwise enhanced, beyond being immortal and able to regenerate?

because i get why the Daxamites would be confused at their inability to kill him... but they should still be able to physically overpower him, put him in restraints, and then toss him in a prison cell for violating their airspace. how did he go from "criminal with a death sentence" to "full access to religious sites"? i feel like i missed something obvious

He was diplomatic. He confused them at the beginning of the introductions by regenerating, and after that he was shave enough that interrupting him would feel rude.

So the reptilian bodyguard shouldn't refer to a qwardian, right? As far as I recall, non-Thunderer qwardians have dexterous claws, like you'd see on imps. They're a little reptilian. But the six apokoliptians... Yes, they are reptilian? But they're fishlike.

But specifying one of them as a bodyguard among the team, I'm not sure if that sits right with me. Is the wording intentional from Mr Zoat so that Paul won't realize there's a seventh monstrous humanoid to potentially research? Paul isn't asking Ken Lee about their appearance. Savage would have to trust this guy's professionalism if he is willing to risk him around Darkseid. https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Deep_Six_(Prime_Earth)

I'm probably overthinking it. No, wait! The genetic experiments with the Hero Dial project Circe and Nylor were doing! Yeah, Vandal brought someone with exotic abilities with him, in case the Deep Six are hard-countered or wanted to inflict violence in the field.

Mr Zoat · Wednesday at 6:43 PM

BartlettMagic said:
because i get why the Daxamites would be confused at their inability to kill him... but they should still be able to physically overpower him, put him in restraints, and then toss him in a prison cell for violating their airspace. how did he go from "criminal with a death sentence" to "full access to religious sites"? i feel like i missed something obvious

The Deep Six, who were standing there? The many guns on his space ship?

Ngamer11 · Wednesday at 10:15 PM

NightmareWarden said:
Nylor Truggs and Circe obtained the Hero Dial out from under Paragon!Paul's nose by magically teleporting it to their location, remotely. While it was exploding.

Just want to point out that the Justice League or Paul have that now.

Vaermina · Wednesday at 10:44 PM

Chojin Patriarch said:
Still curious that Vandal was so interested in tech like that...

I can think of one reason, maybe he's working with Sinestro to restart and take over the Manhunters.

NightmareWarden · Wednesday at 11:03 PM

Ngamer11 said:
Just want to point out that the Justice League or Paul have that now.

Dang it, you're right. I forgot that was a part of all of the Supergirl drama. MAAAAN, whatever then.

Mr Zoat · Thursday at 6:18 AM

Negotiations

2nd August 2013
08:16 GMT

There's still something… Not.. magic, but… Enthralling about visiting new planets. I've done this dozens of times, and… Even with Chughraghahh… If it wasn't for the industrialised cannibalism that was going on I'd have been happy to stare at it, following the major roads and rivers, trying to spot particular industries… Work out where the political divisions were, look at the monuments and public artworks…

But! Here for work. The location of the Foreign Ministry was on Lantern Stewart's ring, and that's the place for starting off-world contacts. I can-.

Warning! Will detected!

I look around as… Lantern Tomar-Re appears… At what I suspect he thinks is a safe distance. He scans me, presumably wanting to confirm my identity.

My ring shimmers.

"Answer."

"Illustres. Why are you here?"

"I want to talk to your government." I see his environmental shield shimmer. "Oh, come on, I'm not that bad."

"You started the biggest war our galaxy has seen in centuries and your planet has undergone two apocalyptic events in two years."

"I'm sure it's more than that."

"No, it was merely two years. And that is enough for me to be concerned when you appear next to my homeworld."

"No, I mean, I'm sure it was more than two apocalyptic events. We just dealt with the abduction of every child on the planet before it could come to wider attention."

"Why are you here?"

"I want to put General Dru-Zod, formerly of the Kryptonian Self-Defence Force, on trial for genocide. And your planet was Kal-El's first choice."

"Jor-El told me that General Zod was sent to the Phantom Zone."

"We can let him out."

"Yes, but why would you?"

"There are a few timaronians who want their pound of flesh, and Kal-El wants there to be a trial first. The timaronians wouldn't accept a kryptonian trial, even if that was possible, and Timaron is uninhabitable. For me personally? 'Dead' feels more permanent than 'in a pocket universe', and I'd like him gone permanently. Oh, and Ursa."

"And not Non?"

Oh, right, because he was this Sector's Green Lantern when that happened.

"Given that he's brain damaged, I was concerned that he couldn't be convicted. And Commodore Amalak might react very badly to a 'not guilty' verdict for any of the accused. We could mention that there were other people who may have been tangentially involved after the trial, and if Non is ruled to be mentally incompetent then I can probably fix him."

"What legal system would this 'trial' use?"

"Ideally, the Timaron one."

"Our judges are not trained in the use of alien justice systems."

"Right, but is it something they'd be prepared to learn? Or have one of them learn so that this trial can be conducted here?"

"A historian or-." He flies closer. "A historian or sociologist might be better. There are probably people more familiar with Timaron society than our judges."

"That sounds like a perfectly reasonable choice to me." … "So, um…"

"Do you want to ask me why I didn't stop him myself?"

"No. Sectors are big places. You can't be everywhere at once. And there wasn't actually all that much time between him firing on Timaron and him being imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, so even if Jor-El had told you that he was attempting a putsch the moment it became apparent, it would have already have been dealt with by the time you got there."

He reaches up to stroke his head frond with his right hand, a nervous gesture amongst his species. "Thank you."

"I'm painfully aware of the limits of what Lanterns can do. What I meant was, 'are you alright with me going down to talk to the foreign affairs ministry to get this set up'?"

"Yes. And I think that I should accompany you."

I nod. "That will probably make things easier."

I descend towards the planet feet first, considerably slower than I can go. Tomar-Re may be a long-serving Green Lantern, but he's not a member of the Honour Guard or anything. Nothing I know about him suggests that he can do any of the exotic things that the exceptional Lanterns can do, so I'm not going to do anything that might make him jumpy.

He follows, face down.

"So, are you a swimmer-pose guy, or what?"

"What?"

"When you're flying. I used to fly in a standing position, but most people I know who can fly prefer lying flat."

He clicks his beak twice, quietly, then tries reorientating himself so that his feet point down. "This feels strange."

"Humanoids are not aerodynamic creatures. But if we're going to bulldoze our way through the universe with a magic glowing ring, why are we pretending?"

He looks down. "It's harder to see where I'm going."

"Aren't you navigating by ring anyway?"

"You might be. I've memorised my planet's geography and flight lanes."

"Do you think someone will move things around between you starting down and you arriving?"

"No. I'm just not sure why you're moving this slowly if you're not going to take in the view."

I look forwards, towards sunset, seeing the full panorama expand before me rather than just what is directly in front of me. I gesture towards it. "This might be old hat to you, but I've never been here before."

"Hm." He follows my gaze. "It does look nice at this time of day. Perhaps you should take a tourist brochure while you're here."

"My girlfriend is taking a holiday at the moment. Last time we went somewhere together we couldn't stop working."

"I hear that Ungara has unrivalled ski slopes and Lantern Jordan told me that your species doesn't like eating insects."

I smile. "I'll consider them both."

thebishop8 · Thursday at 6:51 AM

Mr Zoat said:
At what I suspect he thinks it a safe distance.

'it' to 'is'

Mr Zoat said:
He scans me, presumably wanted to confirm my identity.

'wanted' to 'wanting'

Mr Zoat said:
and you're your planet has undergone

Remove 'you're'.

Mr Zoat said:
I'm sure it was more than apocalyptic two events.

Swap 'apocalyptic' and 'two'.

Mr Zoat said:
abduction of every child on the planer

'planer' to 'planet'

Mr Zoat said:
"Aren't you navigating my ring anyway?"

'my' to 'by'

Mr Zoat said:
I gesture towards is.

'is' to 'it'

Slake Mothman · Thursday at 7:01 AM

Mr Zoat said:
"So, are you a swimmer-pose guy, or what?"

"What?"

"When you're flying. I used to fly in a standing position, but most people I know who can fly prefer lying flat."

Swimmer-pose, standing-pose, I say you're both wrong! The true way to bully your way through conventional physics is by angrily squatting on it!

GigaVanguard · Thursday at 7:03 AM

Mr Zoat said:
You started the biggest war our galaxy has seen in centuries and you're your planet has undergone two apocalyptic events in two years

Extra you're

Mr Zoat said:
We just dealt with the abduction of every child on the planer before it could come to wider attention

Planer

Mr Zoat said:
There are a few timaronians who want their pound of flesh, and Kal-El wants there to be a trial first. The timaronians wouldn't accept a kryptonian trial, even if that was possible, and timaron is uninhabitable

Timaron should be capitalized

Mr Zoat said:
Aren't you navigating my ring anyway

by ring

Mr Zoat said:
I look forwards, towards sunset, seeing the full panorama expand before me rather than just what directly in front of me. I gesture towards is.

Missing 'is' in first sentence, is to it in second

Chojin Patriarch · Thursday at 7:06 AM

Mr Zoat said:
Negotiations

2nd August 2013
08:16 GMT

There's still something… Not.. magic, but… Enthralling about visiting new planets. I've done this dozens of times, and… Even with Chughraghahh… If it wasn't for the industrialised cannibalism that was going on I'd have been happy to stare at it, following the major roads and rivers, trying to spot particular industries… Work out where the political divisions were, look at the monuments and public artworks…

Ah, a new episode begins! And it commences with OL's visit to Xudar to set up the particulars of Zod's Trial, at that. No time being wasted here, then. And yes, if you ever lose the sense of wonder about new worlds, I'd say it's time to reconsider your line of work...

But! Here for work. The location of the Foreign Ministry was on Lantern Stewart's ring, and that's the place for starting off-world contacts. I can-.

Warning! Will detected!

Easy guess who that is, given this is the homeworld of the Sector Lantern.

I look around as… Lantern Tomar-Re appears… At what I suspect he thinks is a safe distance. He scans me, presumably wanting to confirm my identity.

My ring shimmers.

I wonder if he was at home when OL rolled up, or if he had to warp-jump very quickly to get here? Then again, Greenies aren't the fastest at FTL... Hopefully this wasn't a day off, then.

"Answer."

"Illustres. Why are you here?"

Ah, the good old 'What are you doing here?' courtesy call. Very much in order given OL's... Everything.

"I want to talk to your government." I see his environmental shield shimmer. "Oh, come on, I'm not that bad."

"You started the biggest war our galaxy has seen in centuries and your planet has undergone two apocalyptic events in two years."

I can understand his caution, given OL's reputation for troublesome events following him around.

"I'm sure it's more than that."

"No, it was merely two years. And that is enough for me to be concerned when you appear next to my homeworld."

Actually... Tomar, Earth tends to experience 'world in danger' plots far too often for comfort. Fortunately, locals handle them before they get far.

"No, I mean, I'm sure it was more than two apocalyptic events. We just dealt with the abduction of every child on the planet before it could come to wider attention."

"Why are you here?"

And however many other things you managed to butterfly away with your involvement. Or that heroes have managed to prevent.

"I want to put General Dru-Zod, formerly of the Kryptonian Self-Defence Force, on trial for genocide. And your planet was Kal-El's first choice."

"Jor-El told me that General Zod was sent to the Phantom Zone."

Ah, yes, you knew him and Zor-El personally, didn't you? About as close as you could get to being an alien ally of Krypton, certainly?

"We can let him out."

"Yes, but why would you?"

Fellow has a point. OF course, it's OL's desire to sort this out, so...

"There are a few timaronians who want their pound of flesh, and Kal-El wants there to be a trial first. The timaronians wouldn't accept a kryptonian trial, even if that was possible, and timaron is uninhabitable. For me personally? 'Dead' feels more permanent than 'in a pocket universe', and I'd like him gone permanently. Oh, and Ursa."

As long as Earth Bullshit™ doesn't get involved, anyway. Surprised Re wouldn't object to the death sentence, but he does remember what Zod did, so...

"And not Non?"

Oh, right, because he was this Sector's Green Lantern when that happened.

Which says a lot about him as a Lantern, given the average mortality of a Sector Lantern. He's an old Xudarian in a career many beings die young in...

"Given that he's brain damaged, I was concerned that he couldn't be convicted. And Commodore Amalak might react very badly to a 'not guilty' verdict for any of the accused. We could mention that there were other people who may have been tangentially involved after the trial, and if Non is ruled to be mentally incompetent then I can probably fix him."

Which would be saying a lot, I suspect. Unless OL plans to have a mage pull a magical fix, he'd have to understand Kryptonian brains a lot better than he does now.

"What legal system would this 'trial' use?"

"Ideally, the Timaron one."

Since I doubt many timaronian lawyers survived, or are still practising

"Our judges are not trained in the use of alien justice systems."

"Right, but is it something they'd be prepared to learn? Or have one of them learn so that this trial can be conducted here?"

Sadly, there's probably no option to have someone use a Power Ring to rapidly implant the knowledge. Too much wiggle room for manipulation.

"A historian or-." He flies closer. "A historian or sociologist might be better. There are probably people more familiar with Timaron society than our judges."

"That sounds like a perfectly reasonable choice to me." … "So, um…"

"Do you want to ask me why I didn't stop him myself?"

You sound like you want him to, if only so you can talk about it. Weighing on you?

"No. Sectors are big places. You can't be everywhere at once. And there wasn't actually all that much time between him firing on Timaron and him being imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, so even if Jor-El had told you that he was attempting a putsch the moment it became apparent, it would have already have been dealt with by the time you got there."

And even if he had been arrested by a Lantern, he'd have just ended up rotting in a Sciencell on a life sentence. Basically permanent imprisonment either way.

He reaches up to stroke his head frond with his right hand, a nervous gesture amongst his species. "Thank you."

"I'm painfully aware of the limits of what Lanterns can do. What I meant was, 'are you alright with me going down to talk to the foreign affairs ministry to get this set up'?"

...Oh, right, the reason he's here.

"Yes. And I think that I should accompany you."

I nod. "That will probably make things easier."

The Xudarians at least get on well with their Sector Lantern, after all.

I descend towards the planet feet first, considerably slower than I can go. Tomar-Re may be a long-serving Green Lantern, but he's not a member of the Honour Guard or anything. Nothing I know about him suggests that he can do any of the exotic things that the exceptional Lanterns can do, so I'm not going to do anything that might make him jumpy.

I doubt he makes as casual use of FTL transitions as OL does, even after this long as a Lantern, for one thing. Especially since they'd be much tougher using green Rings.

He follows, face down.

"So, are you a swimmer-pose guy, or what?"

Ha! There's an old topic of discussion. I suppose making small talk is in order anyway.

"What?"

"When you're flying. I used to fly in a standing position, but most people I know who can fly prefer lying flat."

Probably a sense of proprioception. Flying is kind of like swimming in the air, right?

He clicks his beak twice, quietly, then tries reorientating himself so that his feet point down. "This feels strange."

"Humanoids are not aerodynamic creatures. But if we're going to bulldoze our way through the universe with a magic glowing ring, why are we pretending?"

Although making atmospheric re-entry is one of those times when streamlining would help. Depending on whether you prefer to force the atmosphere aside or 'space-dive' your way down.

He looks down. "It's harder to see where I'm going."

"Aren't you navigating by ring anyway?"

OL, not everyone has a nice, easy-to-use Ring VI to help operate it.

"You might be. I've memorised my planet's geography and flight lanes."

"Do you think someone will move things around between you starting down and you arriving?"

And he's small and agile enough to dodge aircraft anyway, as long as he gets early enough warning.

"No. I'm just not sure why you're moving this slowly if you're not going to take in the view."

I look forwards, towards sunset, seeing the full panorama expand before me rather than just what is directly in front of me. I gesture towards it. "This might be old hat to you, but I've never been here before."

And this altitude probably makes the view rather different to what you see on the ground anyway.

"Hm." He follows my gaze. "It does look nice at this time of day. Perhaps you should take a tourist brochure while you're here."

"My girlfriend is taking a holiday at the moment. Last time we went somewhere together we couldn't stop working."

Admittedly, her holiday is a mission on Earth. Or I presume said holiday is cover for said mission.

"I hear that Ungara has unrivalled ski slopes and Lantern Jordan told me that your species doesn't like eating insects."

I smile. "I'll consider them both."

Took a moment to parse what h meant, but then it clicked. Because Xudarians have the beaks, right? Of a sort typically used for cracking the shells or carapaces of armoured lifeforms.

I'm sure that with Tomar Re's assistance, OL can get the logistical matters of a trial sorted out quickly enough. And then we can get to the real meat of the episode. Or should I say 'meet' as in meetings, if the title is anything to go by.

Perhaps this is going to be an episode just packed with generally fun walk-and-walk sessions, which are always good for character interactions...

Darko · Thursday at 7:20 AM

Mr Zoat said:
centuries and you're your planet has undergone two apocalyptic events in two years

"and your planet"

Mr Zoat said:
"I'm sure it's more than that

Well there was Wotan blotting out the sun, Klarion, Oceanside and finally Manheim.

Mr Zoat said:
when you appears next to my homeworld."

"appear"

Mr Zoat said:
more than apocalyptic two events. We just dealt with the abduction of every child on

"more than two"

Mr Zoat said:
planer before it could

"plane"

Mr Zoat said:
Dead' feels more permanent than 'in a pocket universe', and I'd like him gone permanently. Oh

Yeah, I remember how bad it can get from Legion of Superheroes.

Mr Zoat said:
navigating my ring anyway?"

"by ring"

NightmareWarden · Thursday at 7:23 AM

Slake Mothman said:
Swimmer-pose, standing-pose, I say you're both wrong! The true way to bully your way through conventional physics is by angrily squatting on it!

I'm a big fan of the Silver Surfer's hands out to the sides or one hand stretched forward. I'm sure it would get old quickly, but it shares the same prominent spot as Superman's double-fisted flying.

I would share an image, but I'm mostly seeing AI art.

Mr Zoat · Thursday at 8:30 AM

thebishop8 said:
'it' to 'is'
'wanted' to 'wanting'
Remove 'you're'.
Swap 'apocalyptic' and 'two'.
'planer' to 'planet'
'my' to 'by'
'is' to 'it'

Darko said:
"appear"

GigaVanguard said:
Timaron should be capitalized
Missing 'is' in first sentence

Ugh.

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

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