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

Mr Zoat · Friday at 7:55 PM

FuzzyZergling said:
better then it
Missing end quote.

Thank you, corrected.

Mr Zoat · 2026-06-27T07:27:04+0100

19th May 2284
20:58 GMT -7

I nod at the fallen Black Paladin as the members of my group trained in power armour maintenance finish stripping him of his armour. According to Rhett, the power armour they have over in New England is build on top of a standardised frame and opens at the back; you press a button and step into it, whereupon it seals up around you. You can mix and match pieces, or just bend metal into shape if you're missing a piece. Sounds like that was an idea that had potential.

"Did you know him?"

In the rest of America, power armour units are integrated units that need considerable time to get on or off or calibrate, because if the slightest thing goes wrong with the myomer then you get to re-enact the failed power armour test scene in Iron Man 2. I saw an ~~Enclave~~ Iowa National Guard soldier who could jump and do flips in Advanced Power Armour, and I can't see someone managing that in a loose-fitting frame. To say nothing of the plumbing issues.

I mean, the guy's sergeant tore him a structurally superfluous new behind afterwards, but he managed it.

Abel looks him over carefully, and then checks his torso for… Tattoos? Scars?

"Nah. See this?" He lifts the ex-paladin's arm, pointing to a series of crude nautically-themed tattoos on his skin. "Port Maw. Probably a pirate who got on the wrong side of Captain Granger Storm and got handed over as tribute."

"Port Maw?"

"Oh, right. Ah, it's a bunch of pirates and their slaves, based out of the pre-War town of Brownsmead."

One of the other former slaves, a man who'd been disarming the brain jars, frowns as he walks back in. "'Brownsmead'? The fuck's that?"

"The pre-War town where Port Maw is now. I dunno. Port Maw's big enough it's probably outgrown it. Anyway, they've got a whole stretch of the coast down to where the mirelurk worshippers live. They pay tribute to The Immortal in exchange for him not enslaving all of them."

"What do they offer him? I'd have thought that if they had advanced technology-."

"Hah!" Abel shakes his head. "No, that isn't it. They raid where he tells them to raid, ship his soldiers around and hand over anything fancy they find. That and the slaves and he's happy. The ghouls east of here got a similar deal."

The brain drainer grimaces. "Yeah, burned.. fuckers…"

I raise my eyebrows. "Personal experience?"

He nods. "Used to be part of an outfit called the Wardens of the White. We kept order 'round these parts. Kept the pirates away, dealt with mutant wildlife, all that stuff. When these Brother fuckers-. No offence, Abel."

"It's fine."

"When the Immortal's Brother fuckers turned up and kicked us out, my company headed east. Made a deal with the ghoul vault. We could live there if we handled stuff for 'em. It sucked, but it was something. We were there for years, even fought a war against the normal humans they kicked out of their vault for 'em. Then when the Immortal came knocking they couldn't hand us over fast enough."

He turns around, looking at Torland on the slab.

"Speaking of people on my list, we interrogating this guy, or you just gunna brain-zap him?"

Hm. "Abel, can you wear this armour?"

"Yeah, probably. Can't plug this stuff into my brain, but we can probably tie it down or tear it off. The rest… Looks like the cyborg stuff was added to a normal A.T.A. suit, so it should all work fine without that."

"Alright. Get suited up. We'll find out where we're going from the Head Scribe."

"Chief Inquisitor, actually!" Torland smiles cruelly. Even deprived of his outer vestments, his slave soldier and his weapons, he still looks completely confident. "The Immortal felt that a change of titles was required to reflect my new duties."

I raise my eyebrows. "Which are?"

"Oh, overseeing people being tortured, using their confessions to perpetuate his reign of terror, and generally terrifying people too badly to even think of rebelling. Honestly, it's all I can do to grab a few hours a week to work on the Black Paladin system. I'm particularly proud of it."

I nod. "Yes, I'd spotted that. You wouldn't know anything about the large electromagnetic pulse we experienced in California a couple of days ago, would you?"

He frowns. "Electromagnetic-? Oh! From the high altitude fission detonation! Of course! I'm glad to know that things are going so well."

"You didn't notice anything here?"

"Well, no. We're in a shielded bunker. If there was enough electromagnetic activity to affect us down here then the atmosphere being on fire would be more of a concern."

"But you knew it was going to happen."

"I knew that it was going to happen eventually. The Immortal is campaigning north of here. We members of the Brotherhood of Steel do like our pre-War technology."

"In Alaska?"

"Of course! The Alaska campaign required all sorts of fortifications and supply dumps to be constructed, and it was the best place to build nuclear missiles intended to strike Siberia."

I frown. "Why did they want to strike Siberia? Russia was effectively just a drain on Chinese resources at that point, they weren't an active participant in the Great War."

"Ah… Some records implied that the Chinese used Siberian facilities as the jumping off point for their invasion. It could have been a retaliation attack, or one intended to destroy Russia airfields or what was left of the Russian fleet. Personally, I suspect that they wanted to send troops to Siberia and then transport them down the coast to attack China from the north."

"So the Immortal altered a missile?"

"I doubt that it was him personally, but someone on his staff, yes."

"Why? You're clearly not planning on attacking California."

"Not yet, no. No, we aim to seize all American war materiel from Alaska, and then cross over the Bering strait to Siberia and continue our reclamation work. So much Russian materiel is just sitting there due to lack of fuel! Once we convert their fleet to nuclear fuel cells, we'll be able to sail anywhere we choose! And then their tanks, their aircraft…"

"I see."

"Most of the conventional munitions will probably have decayed beyond use, but high quality alloys and hulls are always useful. And once my method for creating Black Paladins is perfected, we can turn whatever survivors there are in the area into perfectly disciplined soldiers and thralls!"

I turn to Abel. "I admit, I'm not a great theologian, but using technology to violate people like that goes against Roger Maxson's teachings, doesn't it?"

He stares at me for a moment as his attendants fit his boots. "You bet your ass it does."

"It most certainly does not!" Torland looks genuinely offended. "Ignorant savages with weapons beyond their comprehension burned this world! By taking away their ignorance, we place them in a state of-."

I draw my pistol and shoot him through the head.

Pzzzt!

I take a moment to make certain that he's dead, and then turn to the group.

"We don't have the equipment for a mass uprising. Unless any of you are deeply committed to carrying out a guerrilla campaign, we need to get out of here. My best idea is stealing a boat and then heading south down the coast until we reach friendly territory. Anyone got anything better?"

"Yeah." The former Warden nods. "I think I do."

Alan975 · 2026-06-27T07:31:47+0100

stop writing fallout good, I can feel that old obsession trying to claw its way back to the buttons and levers behind my eyes

Graeme · 2026-06-27T07:49:02+0100

"once my method for creating Black Paladins is perfectly,"

"perfected" or perhaps "perfectly finished" or similar, as it is clearly meant to resonate with the second part of the sentence

Chojin Patriarch · 2026-06-27T08:07:09+0100

Mr Zoat said:
19th May 2284
20:58 GMT -7

I nod at the fallen Black Paladin as the members of my group trained in power armour maintenance finish stripping him of his armour. According to Rhett, the power armour they have over in New England is build on top of a standardised frame and opens at the back; you press a button and step into it, whereupon it seals up around you. You can mix and match pieces, or just bend metal into shape if you're missing a piece. Sounds like that was an idea that had potential.

A convenience introduced between games, wasn't it? Or at least, that's the Doylist reason. Krono here basically covered the Watsonian side. I can imagine the process relies a lot more on internal computers to calibrate and adjust for random wearers.

"Did you know him?"

In the rest of America, power armour units are integrated units that need considerable time to get on or off or calibrate, because if the slightest thing goes wrong with the myomer then you get to re-enact the failed power armour test scene in Iron Man 2. I saw an ~~Enclave~~ Iowa National Guard soldier who could jump and do flips in Advance Power Armour, and I can't see someone managing that in a loose-fitting frame. To say nothing of the plumbing issues.

Honestly, that armour should never have had the articulation range to turn that far anyway, much less that quickly. Completely in character for Justin Hammer ordering the designers to skip a logical safety mechanism like that in the name of quick profits.

I mean, the guy's sergeant tore him a structurally superfluous new behind afterwards, but he managed it.

Abel looks him over carefully, and then checks his torso for… Tattoos? Scars?

I'm sure the sergeant did. Between the risk of injury from a mishap, that armour was probably expensive as hell and seeing a soldier risking that in order to show off? The guy's probably lucky he didn't get thrown in the stockade.

"Nah. See this?" He lifts the ex-paladin's arm, pointing to a series of crude nautically-themed tattoos on his skin. "Port Maw. Probably a pirate who got on the wrong side of Captain Granger Storm and got handed over as tribute."

"Port Maw?"

And I am totally picturing something akin to an Ork sea-port: Rusted metal formed into defensive walls with jagged teeth along the top as crenellations and rickety tower with gun posts, surrounding warehouses and barracks as ramshackle as the walls...

"Oh, right. Ah, it's a bunch of pirates and their slaves, based out of the pre-War town of Brownsmead."

One of the other former slaves, a man who'd been disarming the brain jars, frowns as he walks back in. "'Brownsmead'? The fuck's that?"

A little town in Oregon. And presumably a well-defended little inlet the pirates can use as a base.

"The pre-War town where Port Maw is now. I dunno. Port Maw's big enough it's probably outgrown it. Anyway, they've got a whole stretch of the coast down to where the mirelurk worshippers live. They pay tribute to The Immortal in exchange for him not enslaving all of them."

...Well, that doesn't sound pleasant at all.

"What do they offer him? I'd have thought that if they had advanced technology-."

"Hah!" Abel shakes his head. "No, that isn't it. They raid where he tells them to raid, ship his soldiers around and hand over anything fancy they find. That and the slaves and he's happy. The ghouls east of here got a similar deal."

With the threat of the Immortal's forces wiping them out entirely as a lever to keep them in line, of course.

The brain drainer grimaces. "Yeah, burned.. fuckers…"

I raise my eyebrows. "Personal experience?"

Definitely personal, with that much fury.

He nods. "Used to be part of an outfit called the Wardens of the White. We kept order 'round these parts. Kept the pirates away, dealt with mutant wildlife, all that stuff. When these Brother fuckers-. No offence, Abel."

"It's fine."

There's Brotherhood, and then there's Brotherhood fuckers, after all. Not all bands are created equal in power or character.

"When the Immortal's Brother fuckers turned up and kicked us out, my company headed east. Made a deal with the ghoul vault. We could live there if we handled stuff for 'em. It sucked, but it was something. We were there for years, even fought a war against the normal humans they kicked out of their vault for 'em. Then when the Immortal came knocking they couldn't hand us over fast enough."

Okay, that definite sounds worth the ire he feels for them.

He turns around, looking at Torland on the slab.

"Speaking of people on my list, we interrogating this guy, or you just gunna brain-zap him?"

Why not all of the above? Reap his brain for useful information, ask him about anything Krono couldn't get a clear picture of, then apply the thumbscrews for comfort?

Hm. "Abel, can you wear this armour?"

"Yeah, probably. Can't plug this stuff into my brain, but we can probably tie it down or tear it off. The rest… Looks like the cyborg stuff was added to a normal A.T.A. suit, so it should all work fine without that."

Sounds like a useful trojan horse to get them out of there safely.

"Alright. Get suited up. We'll find out where we're going from the Head Scribe."

"Chief Inquisitor, actually!" Torland smiles cruelly. Even deprived of his outer vestments, his slave soldier and his weapons, he still looks completely confident. "The Immortal felt that a change of titles was required to reflect my new duties."

This guy really doesn't grok his current circumstances, does he? Evidently he's assuming 'oh, yes, an entire squad will walk in at any moment and kill all these fools and I can get back to my important woks.'

I raise my eyebrows. "Which are?"

"Oh, overseeing people being tortured, using their confessions to perpetuate his reign of terror, and generally terrifying people too badly to even think of rebelling. Honestly, it's all I can do to grab a few hours a week to work on the Black Paladin system. I'm particularly proud of it."

...Yeah, he isn't leaving this room alive. And possibly not in one piece, I hope.

I nod. "Yes, I'd spotted that. You wouldn't know anything about the large electromagnetic pulse we experienced in California a couple of days ago, would you?"

He frowns. "Electromagnetic-? Oh! From the high altitude fission detonation! Of course! I'm glad to know that things are going so well."

So casual about something that disrupted thousands of systems. He really doesn't have any empathy, does he?

"You didn't notice anything here?"

"Well, no. We're in a shielded bunker. If there was enough electromagnetic activity to affect us down here then the atmosphere being on fire would be more of a concern."

...He's not wrong, I suppose.

"But you knew it was going to happen."

"I knew that it was going to happen eventually. The Immortal is campaigning north of here. We members of the Brotherhood of Steel do like our pre-War technology."

Oh, so glad to see you enjoying your absolutely monstrous experiments.

"In Alaska?"

"Of course! The Alaska campaign required all sorts of fortifications and supply dumps to be constructed, and it was the best place to build nuclear missiles intended to strike Siberia."

I frown. "Why did they want to strike Siberia? Russia was effectively just a drain on Chinese resources at that point, they weren't an active participant in the Great War."

Again, as seen in Operation Anchorage, it was a notable warzone.

"Ah… Some records implied that the Chinese used Siberian facilities as the jumping off point for their invasion. It could have been a retaliation attack, or one intended to destroy Russia airfields or what was left of the Russian fleet. Personally, I suspect that they wanted to send troops to Siberia and then transport them down the coast to attack China from the north."

.~~..Why? The war is long over. Is this Immortal guy so obsessed with wiping out China that he'd prosecute a centuries-gone conflict to do so? Or are his eyes on a more mundane prize?~~
EDIT: Ah, completely misunderstood the intent. And I suppose the pre-war government might have wanted to stage a punitive expedition to punish the enemy for the temerity of attacking Alaska. If nothing else, it would have been a morale-boosting play. Anything more might have been incendiary.

"So the Immortal altered a missile?"

"I doubt that it was him personally, but someone on his staff, yes."

"Why? You're clearly not planning on attacking California."

Not yet, I would expect. Clearly all this preparation is in aid of gaining an army large enough to roll over the mainland states.

"Not yet, no. No, we aim to seize all American war materiel from Alaska, and then cross over the Bering strait to Siberia and continue our reclamation work. So much Russian materiel is just sitting there due to lack of fuel! Once we convert their fleet to nuclear fuel cells, we'll be able to sail anywhere we choose! And then their tanks, their aircraft…"

Ah, there we go. Weapons and war materiel. A much more logical target than a long-dead government.

"I see."

"Most of the conventional munitions will probably have decayed beyond use, but high quality alloys and hulls are always useful. And once my method for creating Black Paladins is perfected, we can turn whatever survivors there are in the area into perfectly disciplined soldiers and thralls!"

Especially if they can find factories they can put to use to mass-produce their power armour.

I turn to Abel. "I admit, I'm not a great theologian, but using technology to violate people like that goes against Roger Maxson's teachings, doesn't it?"

He stares at me for a moment as his attendants fit his boots. "You bet your ass it does."

I'm guessing that has one obvious penalty under their doctrine, then.

"It most certainly does not!" Torland looks genuinely offended. "Ignorant savages with weapons beyond their comprehension burned this world! By taking away their ignorance, we place them in a state of-."

I draw my pistol and shoot him through the head.

It doesn't matter what else he knew, he needed killing.

Pzzzt!

I take a moment to make certain that he's dead, and then turn to the group.

And good riddance to bad rubbish.

"We don't have the equipment for a mass uprising. Unless any of you are deeply committed to carrying out a guerrilla campaign, we need to get out of here. My best idea is stealing a boat and then heading south down the coast until we reach friendly territory. Anyone got anything better?"

"Yeah." The former Warden nods. "I think I do."

A former Warden facility, I bet. Possibly with vehicles they can repair and make use of to evacuate...

That'll be a decent setback to the Immortal's plans, but I doubt the bad doctor there didn't extensively document his design process. So once whoever gets put in charge of it next gets the hang of it, there'll be more cyborg soldiers rolling out eventually. Still, any setback is going to slow them down and that's what Krono needs right now. Distractions while his allies muster forces...

Duke Long · 2026-06-27T08:16:31+0100

Mr Zoat said:
In the rest of America, power armour units are integrated units that need considerable time to get on or off or calibrate, because if the slightest thing goes wrong with the myomer then you get to re-enact the failed power armour test scene in Iron Man 2. I saw an ~~Enclave~~ Iowa National Guard soldier who could jump and do flips in Advance Power Armour, and I can't see someone managing that in a loose-fitting frame. To say nothing of the plumbing issues.

'Advanced'

Mr Zoat said:
"We don't have the equipment for a mass uprising. Unless any of you are deeply committed to carrying out a guerrilla campaign, we need to get out of here. My best idea is stealing a boat and then heading south down the coast until we reach friendly territory. Anyone got anything better?"

That seems pretty risky when there's a big pirate port down the coast. I wonder what the better plan is. Stealing a Vertibird? Though they were noted to have AA.

I wonder if Immortal lacked good information about the southern powers. Because if he was well-informed, it seems pretty stupid to antagonise them all like this for the sake of making his northern conquests easier.

I'm guessing there are a lot of ancient military robots in Alaska? That's an obvious reason for a massive EMP to seem desirable.

012345 · 2026-06-27T08:55:06+0100

Mr Zoat said:
My best idea is stealing a boat and then heading south down the coast until we reach friendly territory. Anyone got anything better?"

Dont forget about your saucer.

Mr Zoat · 2026-06-27T09:27:15+0100

@Alan975 I appreciate the warm regards, but you know what you've done.

Graeme said:
"once my method for creating Black Paladins is perfectly,"

"perfected" or perhaps "perfectly finished" or similar, as it is clearly meant to resonate with the second part of the sentence

Duke Long said:
'Advanced'

Thank you, corrected.

012345 said:
Dont forget about your saucer.

He won't, but it can only carry about ten people, and that's it they strap themselves to the outer hull.

Chojin Patriarch said:
...Well, that doesn't sound pleasant at all.

It's not too bad, actually. They use the shells of dead mirelurks as armour and tools, and they live around them and smell like them so much that the mirelurks accept them as part of their group. In game, they're the only nation that can take full advantage of the Outsider Warfare doctrine, due to being able to mass produce armoured mutants.

So casual about something that disrupted thousands of systems. He really doesn't have any empathy, does he?

Of course he has empathy! If he couldn't understand their feelings he'd have far less fun!

...Why? The war is long over. Is this Immortal guy so obsessed with wiping out China that he'd prosecute a centuries-gone conflict to do so? Or are his eyes on a more mundane prize?

Torland is talking about why the Americans built up in Alaska after Anchorage was liberated.

FourthPear · 2026-06-27T13:24:42+0100

Are they going to help Krono at any point, or did he magically become perfectly coherent after having his brain scrambled?

Mr Zoat · 2026-06-27T15:43:44+0100

FourthPear said:
Are they going to help Krono at any point, or did he magically become perfectly coherent after having his brain scrambled?

Are who going to help Krono? The former slaves broke the jars of brain bits that were keeping him stun-locked, if that's what you mean.

FourthPear · 2026-06-27T15:51:20+0100

Mr Zoat said:
Are who going to help Krono? The former slaves broke the jars of brain bits that were keeping him stun-locked, if that's what you mean.

The people talking in this chapter.

PDV · 2026-06-27T18:39:38+0100

FourthPear said:
Are they going to help Krono at any point, or did he magically become perfectly coherent after having his brain scrambled?

You know Harrison Bergeron? Krono had a loudspeaker playing static noise only he could hear making him stupid. They broke the speaker. He's un-handicapped now.

Ardy · 2026-06-27T23:32:53+0100

Mr Zoat said:
Themyscira has… Gone. We are not sure where, though Wonder Woman has said that she is sure that it was not destroyed."

Reference to Wonder Woman being around during the anti life after Themyscira when she apparently wasn't

Sockmonkey · 2026-06-28T01:22:37+0100

I still enjoy the story, but Earth getting wrecked by the anti-life and everything going from building the future to limping along doing disaster recovery took some of the fun out of it.
Snippets from the other parallels where things are going better help, but we're never gonna get as much story about those as the main continuity.

Mr Zoat · 2026-06-28T07:41:24+0100

16th September 2013
23:11 GMT

I smile as another box of ballot papers arrives at the counting centre.

I haven't spent all that much of my time in the United Kingdom. We weren't hit all that hard by the Anti-Life compared to the United States, and the government started repealing some surprisingly anti-farming laws after the Sheeda attack, which meant that we were actually better prepared than some places for what happened. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs already had records of every newly rezoned-.

Do we call it rezoning in Britain..?

No. The proper term is 'use class change'.

That's… Inelegant, but alright. So they already had a list, realised that food security could become a big issue and had people out doing wellness checks before the League even suggested it. The economy is also doing reasonably well. Britain had gotten to the point where there wasn't much point about talking about 'balance of payments', because we actually made almost nothing. We had one steel plant, owned by an Indian, with most of what we used either being imported, or being imported once it was manufactured into something. Now, industrial decay is being reversed. Not just here, but this is where I'm noticing it.

And just like everywhere else, we had a die off in politicians. But unlike the United States, constituency M.P.s are both part of the legislature and the sole representative of their constituency. That is to say, a constituency only ever has one, and if they die then there isn't one until a by-election can be organised. Given what happened, party political activity stopped and the country's been run by a Government of National Unity since February, so there wasn't anyone really pushing for new elections…

But the harvest is mostly in, and the economy has more or less stabilised, so now it's time for them to start replacing missing M.P.s. I can't vote, obviously, since I'm not a British citizen, but I do had a special interest in the doppelgänger of the country of my birth.

I watch as the first box reaches the counting table, election monitors on standby. It's probably a little unfair of me, but I still remember the 'hanging chads' nonsense of the Bush election. Contrary to all good sense, Florida decided that the best way for people to mark ballots was with a hole punch that failed to punch all the way through the ballot slip an appreciable percentage of the time. And since ballots were counted by machine, a partial punch wouldn't be counted.

In Britain, you draw an 'X' in the square next to the candidate's name. And then someone counts it. Polling stations close at 22:00 and you'll probably know who won that constituency by the small hours of the next morning. Could it be sped up by using machine counting? Probably, but it's as fast as it needs to be now, and that's what matters.

I've never actually watched one of these before. I don't really need to, but I was due for some sort of light duty and it's my birthday tomorrow and this was on the list. Somewhere returning to full normal democracy, and one step towards an end of Justice League global-

My ring blinks.

-governance-.

"Yes?"

Mr. Atom's face appears over my ring.

"Orange Lantern, it is customary to inform someone if you are having a package delivered to their address instead of your own. I would appreciate it if you would obey this social convention in the future."

His face vanishes.

…

I mean, he's right, but who would deliver something to the Watchtower?

Ring, contact Mr. Atom.

Compliance.

Mr. Atom's face reappears.

"Apologies are unnecessary. I can already model your behaviours-"

"I wasn't expecting a package."

"-with-. Request: clarify."

"I wasn't expecting a package. I have a power ring. It's almost always easier for me to pick something up myself, or fabricate it myself. And if I was going to have something delivered, it wouldn't be to a secret space station."

Mr. Atom hesitates for a moment.

"Your observation is logical, but the package is addressed to you by name."

"Ah. Could you describe the package?"

"Yes. Though not in as much detail as I would like. The package is shielded against the Watchtower's scans. And my own internal scanners are not optimised for scanning packages of this variety."

"I…" What the heck is he talking about? "Mister Atom, I fear that we may be talking past each other. Can you provide an approximate description of the package?"

"'Talking past each other'. You fear that we may be making false assumptions about one another's meaning, and as such failing to communicate properly."

"Yes."

"The package may be approximately described as a group of twenty thanagarian-crewed transportation shuttles. Is that sufficient to aid your understanding?"

"In a sense, yes, in that I now can envisage what it is that's turned up. In another, no, because I didn't order them and I didn't know they were coming."

He pauses.

"Are they more properly classified as 'junk mail'?"

"No, they're more properly classified as 'space craft'. The fact that they were being delivered to me was the second most significant thing."

"I will use that information to modify my future responses."

"Are they still in the general vicinity of the Watchtower?"

"Yes."

"Were they delivered by a larger ship?"

"Unclear. No larger ship arrived within detection range, and I am insufficiently familiar with their design to draw conclusions about their propulsion systems."

"Okay." I take a last look around at democracy in action, and then I

step out, homing in on Mr. Atom's oddly shaped desire set. Reaching him, I

appear in the room next to him… And a thanagarian… Civilian pilot, if I read her insignia correctly. Probably one who did a term of service before transferring.

She looks me over. "Orange Lantern?"

"I am the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps. There are several other Orange Lanterns present on this planet."

"Then you're the one in command."

"…yes… I… Know that Andar Pul suggested giving me some older shuttles as a thank you, but I… Sort of assumed that after what happened in Antares that would be withdrawn."

She droops her wings slightly in a dismissive gesture. "I don't know anything about that. As far as I was told, I answer to you until I hear otherwise, same as the other crews."

I nod slowly. "Please appraise Mister Atom of your shuttles' capacities, and then await assignment by him. I'll find one of the locally assigned thanagarians to brief you on operational conditions and then arrange accommodation for you. I apologise for not being better prepared, but as I said, I assumed that you wouldn't be coming."

"Fine with me."

Oh, this is going to be vexatious.

NightmareWarden · 2026-06-28T07:56:33+0100

Mr Zoat said:
"We'll have to kill the people who attacked me, but otherwise? I can't fault them for trying to survive. Not that it will be my decision."

I nod. As false flags go, not a bad setup. Persuading someone to do something they were inclined to do anyway-.

"And what about us?"

"If I'm asked, I will suggest that the High Mor give you some of our older aero-shuttles as compensation. I'm sure that they'd be useful to you given your world's current difficulties. Now, if you wouldn't mind calling in the Crows? I doubt that their interrogation will be as gentle as yours and I'd rather get it done as quickly as possible."

Bolding is mine.
Ah, okay. Compensation for the laser attack by Thanagarian spycorps head Andar Pul, which happened because Jade broached the topic of "How will we be compensated for the endangerment and for apprehending you, the source, before you could cause further damage to Thanagar?"

BR549 · 2026-06-28T08:03:14+0100

Mr Zoat said:
and the country's been run by a Government of Nation Unity since February,

'National'

Oh, this is going to be vexatious.

And you can be sure not only that the Thanagarians who sent you the 'compensation package' are very well aware of this, but also that it's why they went ahead and did it.

Chojin Patriarch · 2026-06-28T08:34:13+0100

Mr Zoat said:
16th September 2013
23:11 GMT

I smile as another box of ballot papers arrives at the counting centre.

I haven't spent all that much of my time in the United Kingdom. We weren't hit all that hard by the Anti-Life compared to the United States, and the government started repealing some surprisingly anti-farming laws after the Sheeda attack, which meant that we were actually better prepared than some places for what happened. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs already had records of every newly rezoned-.

I expect a lot of local and national governments have been struggling with everything that's been happening. Both in legislative procedures and in the delegates involved in said legislature. In other words, shit's fucked up.

Do we call it rezoning in Britain..?

No. The proper term is 'use class change'.

Ah, Britain, awkward and stuffy as ever.

That's… Inelegant, but alright. So they already had a list, realised that food security could become a big issue and had people out doing wellness checks before the League even suggested it. The economy is also doing reasonably well. Britain had gotten to the point where there wasn't much point about talking about 'balance of payments', because we actually made almost nothing. We had one steel plant, owned by an Indian, with most of what we used either being imported, or being imported once it was manufactured into something. Now, industrial decay is being reversed. Not just here, but this is where I'm noticing it.

Ah, the deleterious effects of multiple disasters in a row stifling international supply lines, forcing them to actually work at making their own stuff again. Been a long time since that was a large-scale thing, I suspect.

And just like everywhere else, we had a die off in politicians. But unlike the United States, constituency M.P.s are both part of the legislature and the sole representative of their constituency. That is to say, a constituency only ever has one, and if they die then there isn't one until a by-election can be organised. Given what happened, party political activity stopped and the country's been run by a Government of Nation Unity since February, so there wasn't anyone really pushing for new elections…

At least you can be reliably sure that any new prospective members of Parliament won't be demon-worshippers anymore.

But the harvest is mostly in, and the economy has more or less stabilised, so now it's time for them to start replacing missing M.P.s. I can't vote, obviously, since I'm not a British citizen, but I do had a special interest in the doppelgänger of the country of my birth.

And you being here gives this the appearance of Justice League support, albeit informally.

I watch as the first box reaches the counting table, election monitors on standby. It's probably a little unfair of me, but I still remember the 'hanging chads' nonsense of the Bush election. Contrary to all good sense, Florida decided that the best way for people to mark ballots was with a hole punch that failed to punch all the way through the ballot slip an appreciable percentage of the time. And since ballots were counted by machine, a partial punch wouldn't be counted.

It probably didn't help that 'user error' could easily be attributed as the cause. I doubt a lot of people would really understand how the machines worked or were confused by the layout of ballots...

In Britain, you draw an 'X' in the square next to the candidate's name. And then someone counts it. Polling stations close at 2200 and you'll probably know who won that constituency by the small hours of the next morning. Could it be sped up by using machine counting? Probably, but it's as fast as it needs to be now, and that's what matters.

In Australia, it's more of a preferential system - we write numbers down in order of our preferred candidates, and there's a weighting system involved. but said elections can have a large number of candidates depending on size. It works well enough.

I've never actually watched one of these before. I don't really need to, but I was due for some sort of light duty and it's by birthday tomorrow and this was on the list. Somewhere returning to full normal democracy, and one step towards an end of Justice League global-

Well, you hope people stop looking to the League for leadership, anyway.

My ring blinks.

-governance-.

"Yes?"

Alas, duty calls, it seems.

Mr. Atom's face appears over my ring.

"Orange Lantern, it is customary to inform someone if you are having a package delivered to their address instead of your own. I would appreciate it if you would obey this social convention in the future."

...What?

Who is even sending OL stuff?

His face vanishes.

…

I mean, he's right, but who would deliver something to the Watchtower?

If nothing else, the logistics of shipping to a nominally concealed space station... It's clearly not someone on Earth's doing.

Ring, contact Mr. Atom.

Compliance.

Yeah, he doesn't get to just drop a comment like that without explanations.

Mr. Atom's face reappears.

"Apologies are unnecessary. I can already model your behaviours-"

"I wasn't expecting a package."

Yes, do clarify that whole 'package' thing.

"-with-. Request: clarify."

"I wasn't expecting a package. I have a power ring. It's almost always easier for me to pick something up myself, or fabricate it myself. And if I was going to have something delivered, it wouldn't be to a secret space station."

...How'd they even find it in the first place? Or is the concealment only directed towards Earth?

Mr. Atom hesitates for a moment.

"Your observation is logical, but the package is addressed to you by name."

Yes, that may be true, but, as OL has noted... He wasn't expecting one.

"Ah. Could you describe the package?"

"Yes. Though not in as much detail as I would like. The package is shielded against the Watchtower's scans. And my own internal scanners are not optimised for scanning packages of this variety."

Okay, Atom? This is not the time for being infuriatingly literal.

"I…" What the heck is he talking about? "Mr. Atom, I fear that we may be talking past each other. Can you provide an approximate description of the package?"

"'Talking past each other'. You fear that we may be making false assumptions about one another's meaning, and as such failing to communicate properly."

More accurately, OL has no idea what package you're talking about, and would like some idea of what it might be.

"Yes."

"The package may be approximately described as a group of twenty thanagarian-crewed transportation shuttles. Is that sufficient to aid your understanding?"

...Okay, yes, that's good.

...Twenty Thanagarian shuttle-craft?!

"In a sense, yes, in that I now can envisage what it is that's turned up. In another, no, because I didn't order them and I didn't know they were coming."

He pauses.

"Are they more properly classified as 'junk mail'?"

...That's a hell of a spam message. Was there a return adressee?

"No, they're more properly classified as 'space craft'. The fact that they were being delivered to me was the second most significant thing."

"I will use that information to modify my future responses."

Yes, please do. After all, not everyone has access to the information you do. This is something most humans learn in kindergarten...

"Are they still in the general vicinity of the Watchtower?"

"Yes."

Well, then. Hopefully not in any way visible from Earth.

"Were they delivered by a larger ship?"

"Unclear. No larger ship arrived within detection range, and I am insufficiently familiar with their design to draw conclusions about their propulsion systems."

At least they can correct that with the specifications of these craft.

"Okay." I take a last look around at democracy in action, and then I

step out, homing in on Mr. Atom's oddly shaped desire set. Reaching him, I

appear in the room next to him… And a thanagarian… Civilian pilot, if I read her insignia correctly. Probably one who did a term of service before transferring.

That's a peculiar thing to imagine. A merchant navy of sorts. More likely members of a certain mercenary company.

She looks me over. "Orange Lantern?"

"I am the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps. There are several other Orange Lanterns present on this planet."

"Then you're the one in command."

Pretty much.

"…yes… I… Know that Andar Pul suggested giving me some older shuttles as a thank you, but I… Sort of assumed that after what happened in Antares that would be withdrawn."

She droops her wings slightly in a dismissive gesture. "I don't know anything about that. As far as I was told, I answer to you until I hear otherwise, same as the other crews."

Oh, joy. So there's no real way short of asking directly to know who they really work for.

I nod slowly. "Please appraise Mr. Atom of your shuttles' capacities, and then await assignment by him. I'll find one of the locally assigned thanagarians to brief you on operational conditions and then arrange accommodation for you. I apologise for not being better prepared, but as I said, I assumed that you wouldn't be coming."

Heck, they may not even have been sent by who he assumed they were. How do we know they aren't Thanagarian intelligence service plants?

"Fine with me."

Oh, this is going to be vexatious.

But at least now the League has something of a fleet for responding to space-going trouble.

I suppose at least now the League has something akin to the Javelins of the DCAU version. For those times when they don't have a nearby Zeta-tube set up and no Lanterns handy to provide temporary terminals. The fact that they just turned up out of the black like this is concerning, though. They're going to have to find out just who sent them right quick.

Signaller · 2026-06-28T08:43:42+0100

Mr Zoat said:
I haven't spent all that much of my time in the United Kingdom. We weren't hit all that hard by the Anti-Life compared to the United States

Still 'we'?

Mr Zoat said:
And just like everywhere else, we had a die off in politicians.

Similar list to those handled by Grayven et al?

Mr Zoat said:
Given what happened, party political activity stopped and the country's been run by a Government of Nation Unity since February,

National Unity?

Mr Zoat said:
to start replacing missing M.P.s.

Has there been a redistricting to account for changed population density/spread? Is it still 650 (?) Commons, and how many Lords are still around?

Mr Zoat said:
I can't vote, obviously, since I'm not a British citizen

Interesting that UK of Earth 12 has a process for inter-planar residents, but Earth 16 didn't? Or does it, and OL just never needed to apply?

Mr Zoat said:
In Britain, you draw an 'X' in the square next to the candidate's name. And then someone counts it. Polling stations close at 2200 and you'll probably know who won that constituency by the small hours of the next morning. Could it be sped up by using machine counting? Probably, but it's as fast as it needs to be now, and that's what matters.

22:00.

Also, any chance of fixing UK to have preferential voting instead of first past the post? Per Chojin above, I tend to think Australia's system is one of the best, particularly with compulsory voting (or compulsory show up and draw a dick on the ballot, if you prefer). But I'm the sort of person with spreadsheets to fill out all the boxes from 1 to about 70 for fun, even though we only need to do 6 to 12.

I do miss the multi-member representation we used to have in local councils before they changed it in my State to one member per ward a few years ago, in an explicit attempt to weed out independents and minor parties. Grumble.

Mr Zoat said:
it's by birthday tomorrow

my

Also, is there any way either Atom or the Thanagarians could have known that?

Mr Zoat said:
And if I was going to have something delivered, it wouldn't be to a secret space station."

Did OL just accidentally reveal the Watchtower in a room full of cameras and other recording equipment?

Mr Zoat · 2026-06-28T09:11:13+0100

BR549 said:
'National'

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch said:
In Australia, it's more of a preferential system - we write numbers down in order of our preferred candidates, and there's a weighting system involved. but said elections can have a large number of candidates depending on size. It works well enough.

Now, I think that's a better system, but we had a plebiscite during the coalition government and my side was in a distinct minority. And to be fair, counting to five is harder than drawing an X.

Signaller said:
Still 'we'?

You can take the man out of the country...

Similar list to those handled by Grayven et al?

No, the angels handled those.

Has there been a redistricting to account for changed population density/spread? Is it still 650 (?) Commons,

No, because that would require a functional parliament.

and how many Lords are still around?

Enough died that the survivors can all gets seats now. There are only about 10 hereditary lords in the House of Lords, and they're the hardest working ones.

Interesting that UK of Earth 12 has a process for inter-planar residents, but Earth 16 didn't? Or does it, and OL just never needed to apply?

He's a high-end superhero. He could apply for residency anywhere and the approval would be expedited. But no, he never applied.

22:00.

Thank you, corrected.

Also, any chance of fixing UK to have preferential voting instead of first past the post?

No

Per Chojin above, I tend to think Australia's system is one of the best, particularly with compulsory voting (or compulsory show up and draw a dick on the ballot, if you prefer).

Ah, Australia. I'm so glad that we arrested all of your ancestors.

But I'm the sort of person with spreadsheets to fill out all the boxes from 1 to about 70 for fun, even though we only need to do 6 to 12.

Yeah, it's obviously a better system. Particularly when you have more than two parties to choose between.

I do miss the multi-member representation we used to have in local councils before they changed it in my State to one member per ward a few years ago, in an explicit attempt to weed out independents and minor parties. Grumble.

Yeah, that's one of the reasons.

my

Thank you, corrected.

Also, is there any way either Atom or the Thanagarians could have known that?

That it's his birthday? Mister Atom probably knows, but he wouldn't consider it particularly important. The thanagarians probably have it on file too.

Did OL just accidentally reveal the Watchtower in a room full of cameras and other recording equipment?

Not really. It's a counting station. There's probably a camera or two around, but he's just been standing there for a while. At that point they're getting stock images of the ballot boxes arriving. And besides, it's common knowledge that he's had a LEGION fleet, a living planet and a giant space station ship run by a crazy merchant Lantern appear in near-Earth space. 'The League has a space station' wouldn't be where most people went even if they heard him say that.

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

Dedicated ragequitter

Dedicated ragequitter

Not too sore, are you?

Getting some practice in, huh?

Veteran Lurker

Glomerulus

Well worn.

Dedicated ragequitter

Frequent Flier.

Dedicated ragequitter

Frequent Flier.

Revelation That Uncertainty Is Itself An Answer

Versed in the lewd.

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Dedicated ragequitter

Playtest Results: *happy chirping*

This is filth! FILTH!!

Veteran Lurker

Not too sore, are you?

Dedicated ragequitter

Users who are viewing this thread

Playtest Results: happy chirping