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

[Darko]

For some reason, I'm imagining Malvolio meeting Sinestro and the two duking it out, with Sinestro ultimately coming out on top. This is because I would think that Sinestro wouldn't like what the former did, specifically influencing the minds of others to keep them compliant instead of actually enforcing will through oppression, since Sinestro seems to like competent help more than an army of lackeys.

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I'm not completely sure on this one.

Sinestro may see the danger of making people mindless drones that agree with everything he says, but he would most likely still try some of that mental influence on them.

His power ring counterpart did seem interested and appreciative of the whole friendship field Equestria had that made them more inclined to certain behaviors.

 

[Pez]

Frankly, Malvolio is the Green Lantern Corps problem. OL and the League shouldn't have to deal with it. Especailly since OL didn't undo what the Guardians had ordered their Lantern to do.

While I truly don't hope this turns into a "kicking the can down the road" problem that Paul will need to deal with, I strongly suspect it will. Because, you know, comics.

 

[Alasnuyo]

Hmm, so the Guardians actually ordered his outright execution and this 'Priest' dude refused and just settled for containment? Yeah, not OL's problem.

Though it is rather concerning that Malvolio managed to project a green light construct of himself through OL's ring. Very concerning indeed.

 

[Zig]

Wait....I'm confused.

Did OL just release Malvolio? Because I read it as him grabbing prisoners and bouncing, leaving Mal to stew in his hole.

I honestly dont know what OL is thinking anymore. His alien mindset is interesting at times. But the level of indifference here was rather jarring. Typically when someone very politely asked something of OL, he at least gives it some thought.

On the other hand...if Mal is out of his void, I see no reason why the Guardians could instantly shut down and recall his ring. So there is that.

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Clearly if you want OL to agree to do what you want, you have to try to kill him first.

 

[oct9010]

releasing him would free the people he's been influencing,

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No, the people "Priest" was talking about were in the sector, the box Malvolio is in was just around one solar system.

Releasing him will allow him to assume tyrannical control over an entire sector he's been subconsciously brainwashing for centuries.

 

[Pinklestia]

I think this is more out of willful ignorance. Since it was already sort of resolved, they'll pretend it never happened, at least as long as it isn't a problem anymore.

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I guess that after one of their solutions killed a whole Star sector... they decided to use other methods.

 

[DrThoth]

I'm surprised at Priest's ability to create a pocket dimension (or whatever it is) that even Malvolio can't break; I'm not sure if the Guardians tried to, or if they just ignored it as a problem currently resolved and moved on. Is Priest's feat a matter of power or skill?
Tangentially related, can the Guardians do anything to Guy's ring or lantern without his permission anymore?

What's to clean up? He only has one man's word that Malvolio was a bad influence, and even he appeared to be saying that the immediate result of his release is that a local war would stop. The SI has no particular problem with Malvolio being released.

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Paragon should also have comics knowledge of Lord Malvolio, as he clearly demonstrated, so he knows that just letting him do whatever is a bad idea. I still agree with other posters that this is a GLC issue, and after what Flash did I'm sure Paragon is happy to let other parties handle it. I hope Guy physically and metaphysically fighting Malvolio (with Ion possibly looking on like they're at a tennis match) is in the cards for us at some point.

Con… Cerning. But… No. We've been keeping track of the desires of those around us on and off since we bonded. If we'd been fanning the desires of people closest to us we would have become aware of it.

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I thought Paragon did actually enkindle the desires of people around him to some extent, like with Danni/Red Inferno; was that confirmed in Word of Zoat or am I misremembering? I know Hinon cleared him of things but I'm not sure how Red Inferno comes into it then.

 

[Darko]

I'm surprised at Priest's ability to create a pocket dimension (or whatever it is) that even Malvolio can't break; I'm not sure if the Guardians tried to, or if they just ignored it as a problem currently resolved and moved on. Is Priest's feat a matter of power or skill?

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Maybe both.

He apparently tried to teach Hal another way of powering his ring in the comics, so he most likely knows all kinds of tricks.

Paragon should also have comics knowledge of Lord Malvolio, as he clearly demonstrated, so he knows that just letting him do whatever is a bad idea.

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I think he mentioned not remembering him all that well.

Plus he did show up in just 4 issues.

I thought Paragon did actually enkindle the desires of people around him to some extent, like with Danni/Red Inferno; was that confirmed in Word of Zoat or am I misremembering? I know Hinon cleared him of things but I'm not sure how Red Inferno comes into it then.

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He also may have enkindled the desires of Hera when he met her, so that's why she chose to divorce Zeus.

It's possible that when he got enlightened he had trouble controlling it at first, but after a while it stopped doing that unless he chose to do it.

 

[Pez]

Enkindling desires reminds me of the "bad OL", the one that was mind controlling everybody. He was the one that used what Paul taught him, and had Circe engrave runes into his bones (or something - don't 100% remember).

I think that version of Paul had given into his own natural desires, and was then changing other people's desires to suit him. I'm thinking Mal is doing that, but unconsciously.

What I wonder is... why is Malvolio focused on Paul? He barely was involved in the fight. Mal's closing statement should have been to any of the others. And if the answer was because of power rings, then Hal would have made a better choice, both because he is a Greenie, and because he was far more involved in the fight than Paul.

 

[transhumansage]

this... is going to have consequences.

 

[Darko]

Enkindling desires reminds me of the "bad OL", the one that was mind controlling everybody. He was the one that used what Paul taught him, and had Circe engrave runes into his bones (or something - don't 100% remember).

I think that version of Paul had given into his own natural desires, and was then changing other people's desires to suit him. I'm thinking Mal is doing that, but unconsciously.

What I wonder is... why is Malvolio focused on Paul? He barely was involved in the fight. Mal's closing statement should have been to any of the others. And if the answer was because of power rings, then Hal would have made a better choice, both because he is a Greenie, and because he was far more involved in the fight than Paul.

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The only times paragon intentionally enkindled someones desires was during that pirate conference in Vega where he fueled their desires for cooperation, and when he asks people what they want so he can give them a ring.

Malvilio may be focusing on Paul because he's the one that brought them back to the universe.

He also may not have focused on Paul, but just took over the rings communications and also said that to Hal.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Enkindling desires reminds me of the "bad OL", the one that was mind controlling everybody. He was the one that used what Paul taught him, and had Circe engrave runes into his bones (or something - don't 100% remember).

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He wasn't mind controlling everyone. Perhaps a few hundred people worldwide, and absolutely none had, shall we say, ongoing control.

 

[Pez]

He wasn't mind controlling everyone. Perhaps a few hundred people worldwide, and absolutely none had, shall we say, ongoing control.

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Yes, I was speaking in a broad, high level. The scene with what's-her-name in the chair bitching about OL controlling people proved that he was being choosey, which is the smart play. Only take over who's important, or can give you the things you need, and ignore the rest.

At least, until you're ready to control everybody.

 

[Coda]

We extend back

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What's the distinction between the cases where the narration uses "I/We" versus just "We"? I see an inconsistency but I can't tell if there's an intentional pattern to it.

Green Lanterns; for every one

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Semicolon should be either a comma or a colon. (I lean towards comma but either would be correct.)

Which is ironic given your inability to see your own failings..

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He has no such inability. He is aware of them. He doesn't always want to do something about them, but he's spent enough time in self-reflection by now to recognize that they exist.

Did OL just release Malvolio? Because I read it as him grabbing prisoners and bouncing, leaving Mal to stew in his hole.

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The way I read it: OL unlocked the cell and bailed out with the prisoners. Malvolio is still in the cell, but nothing is compelling him to stay within anymore.

 

[Vaermina]

This... is going to have consequences.

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It certainly should.

Especially since he left Lord Malvolio with Castle Revolving, a space ship he could fix super easy, by just installing his central power battery into it.

 

[Mr Zoat]

What's the distinction between the cases where the narration uses "I/We" versus just "We"? I see an inconsistency but I can't tell if there's an intentional pattern to it.

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"It becomes so easy to forget."

Semicolon should be either a comma or a colon. (I lean towards comma but either would be correct.)

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Stsword]

I'm surprised at Priest's ability to create a pocket dimension (or whatever it is) that even Malvolio can't break; I'm not sure if the Guardians tried to, or if they just ignored it as a problem currently resolved and moved on. Is Priest's feat a matter of power or skill?

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Having read a bit of those comics, I'd say skill.

Priest fought Hal without a ring. He just took control over Hal's while it was still on his finger.

He tricked Hal into recharging his ring off of a fake power battery. Hal recharged his ring off of his own willpower.

Which implies that Priest had evolved past the need to use a power battery. He was probably working on manipulating the Glow directly sans a ring.

Lord Molvolio? He didn't know how get back to Earth. So he had two problems- he was trapped, and he was lost. He wanted Hal for both.

When Hal took Molvolio's ring off of him, the coordinates of Earth where already in it. Molvolio just didn't know how to access them apparently.

There is a disadvantage to not getting instructed by someone who knows what they're doing...

 

[Maxx Crowley]

OL did that because there is no definitive proof that Malvolio would do anything really catastrophic if released, releasing him would free the people he's been influencing, and it was the only known way to escape and get back to Earth.

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Yes, because he seems like such a nice guy right? Because he's clearly the type to just...go off and enjoy freedom without bothering anyone.

He's already set himself up as a ruler in the void. Why in the world would you assume he wouldn't outside of it?

I can almost feel an OL lecture to Flash coming, and honestly? If he DID let Malvolio out...he's lost that right. Like, whatever that guy does next, is on OL's hands.

And I swear, if this falls under OL's "I don't wanna fight" crying, I'm gonna lose a little respect for his Orange butt.

Also?

"This is not the end."

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Sorta makes me think that...you know, Ol' Mal's not going to just go chill no a beach.

Also, if the Guardians could shut down Malvolio's ring, they would have done so instead of asking another Green Lantern to kill him.

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Which is just another notch in the "Hey, don't let this guy out!"column. Dude just punched Hal clean through a planet (which honestly does speak to Hal's durability) and we want that kind of power just wandering around with not idea of what he'll do?

Is this gonna be one of those Zoat things? Where the villain isn't really even though in their only appears they totally were.

Frankly, Malvolio is the Green Lantern Corps problem. OL and the League shouldn't have to deal with it

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See this? This is the type of thinking that leads to "So...billions dead, trillions more in peril...and you're telling me that this all started from you deciding that it wasn't YOUR problem?! After you let him out?!"

Like I get the idea of wanting to make the Guardians clean up their shit. But....I mean I can't call this one of those situations because they sent someone to do just that. Then he half-measured it.

Then OL went all "Yeah....don't really believe you/care what you have to say."

I can't even say its in character because something about this has struck me as off the entire time.

Clearly if you want OL to agree to do what you want, you have to try to kill him first.

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He does seem to care a lot more about being nice to the villains.

The way I read it: OL unlocked the cell and bailed out with the prisoners. Malvolio is still in the cell, but nothing is compelling him to stay within anymore.

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Well, I certainly hope he locks it from the outside before puttering off to tinker with his toys per the usual.

 

[The Unaligned Player]

He does seem to care a lot more about being nice to the villains.

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Because a story in which he is nice to heroes as much as villains wouldn't have varying qualities of conflict the only thing all stories fundamentally exist upon.

 

[Pez]

See this? This is the type of thinking that leads to "So...billions dead, trillions more in peril...and you're telling me that this all started from you deciding that it wasn't YOUR problem?! After you let him out?!"

Like I get the idea of wanting to make the Guardians clean up their shit. But....I mean I can't call this one of those situations because they sent someone to do just that. Then he half-measured it.

Then OL went all "Yeah....don't really believe you/care what you have to say."

I can't even say its in character because something about this has struck me as off the entire time.

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You can't believe that the Guardians weren't aware that Priest just locked Malvolio away and didn't kill him. They are billions of years old, have a thing about controlling everything (yet they aren't called the Controllers).

Why should Paul, or everybody else, clean up the constant messes of the GLC? Hal's aware of what happened, and he's a ranking Lantern. He should be able to get the Guardians to send a taskforce out to deal with Malvolio.

And... you're putting this on OL. You shouldn't. He's not the only one there. In fact, he's not the one making the decisions. Diana or Hal could say, "No, we end this now!", but they aren't. Besides, maybe he wants to take a step back, and figure out how to neutralize Mal's powers, or come up with a strategy to beat him that won't involve people being thrown through a planet.

 

[Maxx Crowley]

You can't believe that the Guardians weren't aware that Priest just locked Malvolio away and didn't kill him. They are billions of years old, have a thing about controlling everything (yet they aren't called the Controllers).

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I can't believe almost everything the writers have had the Guardians do for the last....30 years? Back in the day, when they were a competent, respected group that created an effective policing force for the ENTIRE universe. No, I wouldn't have.

Now? Now when literally everything they do is some manner of horrid fuck up? Yeah, I'd see it.

But to the point, I believe that they do know what Priest did, and they accepted it. Why? Because they had forbidden the GLC from killing since....like day one. A green ring literally WOULD NOT kill if you tried. Even Jack Chance, the so called deadliest green lantern, merely beat the piss out of you with it...AND then shot you.

Also? Because Malvolio's story made little to no sense and was never followed up on. So I've got nothing to work with here.

Why should Paul, or everybody else, clean up the constant messes of the GLC? Hal's aware of what happened, and he's a ranking Lantern. He should be able to get the Guardians to send a taskforce out to deal with Malvolio.

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Because someone has to. If all you do is step around the mess, claiming its someone elses problem, how can you bitch when someone else does that as well?

And then you have a growing pile of rancid shit that everyone's stepping around.

You see that in the workplace ALLLL the time.

And yes, Hal can call in for help. Who knows? Maybe he already has. But I can only react to what's in front of me right now, not what's coming.

Keep in mind, I'm addressing my thoughts to OL the character, not Zoat the writer, nor Zoat the person.

And... you're putting this on OL. You shouldn't. He's not the only one there. In fact, he's not the one making the decisions. Diana or Hal could say, "No, we end this now!", but they aren't. Besides, maybe he wants to take a step back, and figure out how to neutralize Mal's powers, or come up with a strategy to beat him that won't involve people being thrown through a planet.

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If OL's the one that lets him out, then yeah, I'm putting it on him. If he doesn't let him out, then I'll congratulate OL for not doing the stupid thing that he might have done.

Maybe he does want to do all that stuff you just mentioned...but I don't know that yet, and it's a public forum to comment on.

Right now, I'm scratching my head going "OL...what are you doing?"

This will continue until the "Oh! That's what he was doing" moment.

I also put it on OL, because OL is constantly lecturing people, particularly other heroes, when he doesn't like how they handle things.

 

[gustyeagle]

I can't believe almost everything the writers have had the Guardians do for the last....30 years? Back in the day, when they were a competent, respected group that created an effective policing force for the ENTIRE universe. No, I wouldn't have.
Now? Now when literally everything they do is some manner of horrid fuck up? Yeah, I'd see it.
But to the point, I believe that they do know what Priest did, and they accepted it. Why? Because they had forbidden the GLC from killing since....like day one. A green ring literally WOULD NOT kill if you tried. Even Jack Chance, the so called deadliest green lantern, merely beat the piss out of you with it...AND then shot you.
Also? Because Malvolio's story made little to no sense and was never followed up on. So I've got nothing to work with here.

Because someone has to. If all you do is step around the mess, claiming its someone elses problem, how can you bitch when someone else does that as well?

And then you have a growing pile of rancid shit that everyone's stepping around.

You see that in the workplace ALLLL the time.

And yes, Hal can call in for help. Who knows? Maybe he already has. But I can only react to what's in front of me right now, not what's coming.

Keep in mind, I'm addressing my thoughts to OL the character, not Zoat the writer, nor Zoat the person.

If OL's the one that lets him out, then yeah, I'm putting it on him. If he doesn't let him out, then I'll congratulate OL for not doing the stupid thing that he might have done.

Maybe he does want to do all that stuff you just mentioned...but I don't know that yet, and it's a public forum to comment on.

Right now, I'm scratching my head going "OL...what are you doing?"

This will continue until the "Oh! That's what he was doing" moment.

I also put it on OL, because OL is constantly lecturing people, particularly other heroes, when he doesn't like how they handle things.

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Yeah, if the next chapter is OL siting among the dead and dying bodies of the everyone in the universe while Malvolio laughs on a throne of skulls, he would be clearly in the wrong. The only thing he did was open the pocket dimension prison, to save a bunch of non-combatants.

He doesn't appear to have a choice about 'letting him out' Flash killed the only people who could escape another way. Unless, he wants to kill Malvolio for being a strong guy and breaking GL rules.

OL just has a really weird thought process, if Malvolio's people want to live with him as there king, it's not his problem.

 

[Maxx Crowley]

The only thing he did was open the pocket dimension prison, to save a bunch of non-combatants.

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And if he locks it again, I'll applaud. As it stands, it seems like he pulled what I would call a bonehead move on top of what I find to be an abnormal amount of his usual disinterest.

He doesn't appear to have a choice about 'letting him out' Flash killed the only people who could escape another way. Unless, he wants to kill Malvolio for being a strong guy and breaking GL rules.

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I mean, he also has no reason that I've seen yet that Malvolio will be anything other than a threat to the universe. Particularly his earth, as the guy seems to the type to hold a grudge. Also, as Mal is half human, he may just see ruling earth as a birthright or something.

Again, guy showed up in like...4 issues?

I mean, what was OL going to do if Mal sided with the Sheeda? Seeing as how everything went to hell, might as well do that now.

OL just has a really weird thought process

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I know, but I swear its getting weirder.

It's getting harder and harder to even see him as a Lantern anyway. I don't even really know what he's interested in, and he keeps siding with villains and it's bugging me. It's like the Naruto thing where they all have sob stories and "just wanted peace" despite killing thousands and doing all manner of evil shit.

I honestly don't know what OL even wants anymore. He seems detached from the team, detached from Alan, detached from the League and his former Mentors. Detached from any sort of Hero work.

And honestly? Detached from his own Lantern corps.

Feels less like a Lantern and more like a guy with a bag of other tech, and a bunch of other people on his contact list.

And I only partially know why.

And the last however long I was gone has been pretty hard on me, and I'm cranky. So I'm sorry if it's bleeding over. I dont' mean it to.

 

[gustyeagle]

And if he locks it again, I'll applaud. As it stands, it seems like he pulled what I would call a bonehead move on top of what I find to be an abnormal amount of his usual disinterest.

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I think that he has a real hair up his ass about this, for some reason. I think his current attitude seems more in line with trying to talk everyone down rather than anything else. Seems like a lost cause tbh.

I know, but I swear its getting weirder.

It's getting harder and harder to even see him as a Lantern anyway. I don't even really know what he's interested in, and he keeps siding with villains and it's bugging me. It's like the Naruto thing where they all have sob stories and "just wanted peace" despite killing thousands and doing all manner of evil shit.
I honestly don't know what OL even wants anymore. He seems detached from the team, detached from Alan, detached from the League and his former Mentors. Detached from any sort of Hero work.
And honestly? Detached from his own Lantern corps.
Feels less like a Lantern and more like a guy with a bag of other tech, and a bunch of other people on his contact list.
And I only partially know why.
And the last however long I was gone has been pretty hard on me, and I'm cranky. So I'm sorry if it's bleeding over. I dont' mean it to.

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It's all good man, OL nuttier than squirrel shit. The poison lipstick, random hormone altering, and trusting Luthor of all people, to name a few things.
Dude was very close to shooting himself up with random, d tier super powered, drugs.

Point is, dude was crazy from day one.

Yeah, some times it's hard to stay invested in this story, the format drags. Sometimes it helps to take a break and try to find something else and the the story backlog build up a little.

 

[Vaermina]

You can't believe that the Guardians weren't aware that Priest just locked Malvolio away and didn't kill him. They are billions of years old, have a thing about controlling everything (yet they aren't called the Controllers).

Why should Paul, or everybody else, clean up the constant messes of the GLC? Hal's aware of what happened, and he's a ranking Lantern. He should be able to get the Guardians to send a taskforce out to deal with Malvolio.

And... you're putting this on OL. You shouldn't. He's not the only one there. In fact, he's not the one making the decisions. Diana or Hal could say, "No, we end this now!", but they aren't. Besides, maybe he wants to take a step back, and figure out how to neutralize Mal's powers, or come up with a strategy to beat him that won't involve people being thrown through a planet.

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The GLC safely locked Malvolio away.

Meaning him getting out and wrecking shit isn't a mess of the GLC, it's a mess of Paul, the person who broke him out of the GLC's jail.

And the only reason Paul won't suffer the obvious consequences of the Earth being blown up that would result from this particular bit of Paul stupidity, is that he's protected from what would be the actual consequences of his actions by author fiat.

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th June 2012
01:53 GMT +5:30

A superhero's work is never done.

It's sort of the reverse of Yagami Light's plan of killing the worst people in the world, even if the worst weren't very bad. There's always something you can be doing, even if it's not all that significant.

In my case, that's using the 'opportunity' provided by the Sheeda depopulating vast areas of Indian slums to replace the cramped and unsanitary hovels with something a little more fit for human sanitation. I also deposited a few hundred tonnes of L.E.G.I.O.N. humanoid-safe field rations from the ships who finally put in an appearance in the hands of local aid agencies, because even though the attacks have stopped this year's harvest has been massively disrupted. And the looting and fire-setting didn't exactly help. Despite how hard it got hit, India looks like it will pull through with its government structures more or less intact.

Unlike South America. Or most of Africa.

Another media reference: a Doctor Who episode in which the leader of a group of humans who'd been fighting the daleks remarked that there wasn't any point in having medics, because the daleks never inflicted non-fatal injuries. The Sheeda appear to act on a similar paradigm. I have moved medical supplies around, but there's no actual increase in requirements. It's more that the economy and transport links are so messed up that nothing can get anywhere. Guy moved a few Dolmen Gates and I don't think that prejudice against magic healing will survive this conflict, but Atlantis simply doesn't have enough physicians to replace the international medicine trade.

Major fighting has fallen off, and while no one's said anything to me directly I suspect that world leaders took Dr. Sivana's deal. Or maybe without the Queen ordering what may well have been distraction attacks the other Highborn are playing it safe. Or maybe without the Castle Revolving's time drive they're stuck whenever they are… At least until Dr. Sivana gets together enough suspendium to open a portal from this side.

The people I brought back were generally traumatised. Aside from facing their own deaths and witnessing a great many of their fellow captives go through the Sheeda's processing, most of them lost family to the rendering vats or to the attack that resulted in their capture. Some of their families were delighted to have them back, others horrified that we weren't able to recover more. That those few people were all that had survived.

Batman can decide how to deal with Mr. Allen. It's not that I don't understand. I'm not even angry with him. But that's… Things are going to change, now. With the League fighting an actual war and not just fighting crime. With League members killing. The ones who haven't are now in a clear minority versus those who have, a complete reverse of the situation ante bellum.

I guess this proves I was right. I'm glad I don't feel better about it.

Incoming phone call from approved source.

Please not Truggs.

Call originates at the Galaxy Broadcasting System headquarters.

Heh. Alright, put it through.

"Orange Lantern Illustres here. I'm free to talk, but I'm otherwise occupied."

"Hey! Alice Gilmore, GBS. Are you free to-? Live. Talk TV live. Ah, live, in a minute?"

Despite the devastation before me, I can't help but smile a little.

"Were you told to make that point very clear, or are scare stories being passed around the office?"

"Um, ah, both..?"

"Yes, I think I can manage that. And I did tell your superiors that firing Ms. Dearden was an overreaction."

"I… But… No one's seen her in months. Before the Sheeda. She did those interviews, then just vanished.. So no one really wants to go down that road."

Oh.

"Well, I… Promise I won't make you disappear. How about that?"

"Okay! Just a sec!"

I… Seem to vaguely remember that she was… Alright? I-. I can't remember clearly my… Last conversation with her? If there was a problem, wouldn't someone have-.

"Good evening, Orange Lantern!"

"Good morning, Ms. Grant. It's about two o'clock in the morning where I am."

"Can you tell me anything about the Justice League's recent fighting against the Sheeda?"

"I haven't kept track of recent Justice League releases, so I apologise if I'm repeating something. The Sheeda ruler, Queen Gloriana Tenebrae, was killed, and their command ship was crippled, in an attack by the Justice League. A.. small number of abductees were recovered, and have been returned to their places of origin."

"The League already confirmed that. Were you involved in the attack?"

"Yes. Well, if you already knew I suppose I should try and say something new. Has knowledge that Doctor Thaddeus Sivana has offered to annihilate all surviving Sheeda holdouts entered the public domain yet?"

"… No. … Why? I thought he was.. completely evil."

"It is my opinion that he is a psychopath. However, he's more disinterested in other people's wellbeing than actively hostile to it. I am also of the opinion that he could carry out the process more swiftly and mercilessly than the Justice League. In case you're wondering, his price is a pardon for all his previous crimes as he wants to retire from villainy."

"Is that..? Something that can happen?"

"Retiring? Sure. It's not very common, but it does happen. Yellow Wasp retired uncaught and never committed any further offences." Unless kidnapping counts as 'ongoing'. "If you mean the pardon, most states have a mechanism for commuting sentences. I don't think any criminal has bargained in quite this way before, but there's a first time for everything."

"How does he know enough about the Sheeda to do something like that?"

"He lived in their time period for years, then they tried to kill his family. He's also very very clever."

"He knew about the Sheeda coming here-. To our time, in advance?"

"A lot of people did. The Justice League knew, I knew, various people in governments received threat reports... We just didn't know exactly when; we thought we had a while or I wouldn't have been off-planet when they turned up. Then again, given the timing of Harrowings, they could have turned up a decade ago. Or fifty years ago. If that had happened, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

I sigh as I build a rainwater collection system into the sewers to improve flow.

"Despite everything, all in all… Earth is in a peaceful area of space. This is the first wide scale planetary attack we've had to deal with. Despite everyone that died, usually when the Sheeda Harrow a place they kill just about everyone. For an attack like this, on a planet as unprepared as we were… I'm afraid this is what a good result looks like. And if anyone wants to see a picture of a bad result, I'm willing to show them one."

"What sorts of thing should the world learn from this attack?"

"We're blessed, really. Not one inhabited world in a thousand has access to magic. We produce genius inventors and technologists at a rate that's basically unheard of, build devices that are near-incomprehensible to civilisations far more advanced than ours. I've… Banged this drum before. But… We don't do anything with it. Things that could improve the lives of billions, don't. And I think… In my own mind, I look around and I think that none of this needed to happen."

"The magic detection network I proposed last year and that could have been built in the seventies, that could have detected Sheeda attacks as they appeared, got thrown up in a rush during the last month. Outside a handful of superheroes no one's been to the moon in decades, Mars… Ever. If the Earth is destroyed then that's our civilisation dead. There are a still only a handful of magic users outside of Atlantis. And what so many people don't understand is that not using what you have doesn't stop other people using what they have. People like the Sheeda, for example. This is the price of… Blind introversion. This is.. the price of mediocrity. And there's no excuse, not when a species has the opportunities that we do."

"There's no one bad actor I can point to, no one point of failure, just thousands of failures taken over the course of decades. A wilful embrace of 'getting by'. This is the price of mediocrity. And I really don't want anyone to ever have to pay it again."

 

[Simonbob]

And, thus, no-one could relate to Comics, ever again!

(As far as comic authors were concerned, anyway)

 

[Vaermina]

The Sheeda ruler, Queen Gloriana Tenebrae, was killed, and their command ship is crippled, in an attack by the Justice League.

Click to shrink...

Boy is he going to have egg on his face when she turns up alive.

"There's no one bad actor I can point to, no one point of failure, just thousands of failures taken over the course of decades. A wilful embrace of 'getting by'. This is the price of mediocrity. And I really don't want anyone to ever have to pay it again."

Click to shrink...

Says the person who half asses his uplifts.

 

[The Unaligned Player]

And, thus, no-one could relate to Comics, ever again!

(As far as comic authors were concerned, anyway)

Click to shrink...

A World that uses it's resources to even half of it's best immediately obvious potential? How preposterous, SOD completely shattered!
Not /s

 

[Irked]

On a scale of 1-10 how hard did Luthor laugh after hearing Pauls speech on Live TV?

Because that is everything he's wanted to say to the world for quite a while, even his supervillain mania/obsession with superman prevented him from getting the message out properly.

The fact that most people are now going to be highly receptive to that kind of thinking now must have him happier than he's been in a long long time.