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

[Bramble Thorn]

My idea is to see if Regent Alonzo tries the tried and tested 'panic, fingers in ears, lash out' stages of megalomaniac grief management or if he accepts the situation and does what Queen Kalista is clearly expecting him to and lower the shield.

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Now I know he said he wasn't planning on getting involved in a Civil War, but I hope he reserves the right to as they say 'if you try to kill me, I reserve the right to try and kill you right back' on the grounds that someone who would try to kill the messenger is the sort of person who is just going to be trouble later, and easier to work with the person who was willing to actually work with you. And who now owes you a favor.

 

[Agent Orange]

...a 'Wow' from OL? What in the world?

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He's trying to stay in role of 'just some courier'. He's doing a bit. Even affecting local accent and everything. The deception is so good it even bleeds into the Fourth Wall apparently.

 

[Darko]

So, likely genetic rather than training. Probably not seen as anything special, then, except in cases of unusual talent, like Pren?

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He may not be all that powerful.

When the renegade dealt with him he thought that his telepathy was weaker than M'ganns and Psimons.

Granted those two are very, very powerful, so Pren may be considered powerful by the standards of his people.

Better than Highlander II's shield, which turned the sky red, if my memory serves me correctly. Imagine living with that kind of thing for years... No wonder their world sucked...

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Unless your favorite color is red.

Playing the dumb courier, eh? I suppose you could count on minor regional variations to explain your slightly non-Euphorian appearance...

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Unless it's the women that are uncanny valley, while the males look like regular humans.

Wonder what the spell scanned for? Weapons, perhaps?

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Hostile intent is also a possiblity.

I see Kallista went for the hand-written approach. I take it said Regent will recognise said handwriting, seal aside.

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An electronic message could be potentially faked, but if he recognizes the handwriting.

Let's hope he's reasonable and does the latter. It'll save some explosions.

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I think he just may be, but if he's not then I blame you.

...Yeah, that isn't suspicious behaviour at all, no sirree-bob. You'd think she'd be a little better trained for this job...

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This was probably not covered in her job training.

Oh, tomorrow promises to be very entertaining, given this buildup. Still amazed he's getting away with the disguise, given the uncanny valley details he noted about Kallista yesterday... Now, to see how the Regent reacts...

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Again, maybe it's just the females.

As for the regent, I predict he will either try to fight this, try to bribe Paul, or actually just lower the shields.

 

[Bramble Thorn]

Thought I'm… Curious.

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Though

I really expected this to already be mentioned, so I didn't bother.
But since it seems both of the main spell correctors missed it...

 

[Agent Orange]

Now, to see how the Regent reacts...

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"Ugh! You're even more hideous in person than my receptionist described. How did you even get this far alien? I have to fire someone for not reporting you."

 

[Stsword]

Huh well Zoat seems to have left out a funny little quirk of Euphorix.

They are elves in SPACE...ACE...ACE.

The cities of Euphorix in the comics, you see, are tree cities.

Like tree houses but whole cities. On a single really big tree.

Well the woodwitches are elves in space.

In the comics, Euphorix is split between two cultures- The hightech with magic woodwitches who live in the tree cities, and the farmfolk who are subsistence farmers with shamanistic beliefs.

Psychic powers like Primus' are common among the woodwitches, but unknown to the farmfolk, so poor Primus was originally kicked out by his family and exiled for being a freak until a farmfolk shaman claimed that the spirits blessed Primus with his powers to be "stronger than any of the woodwitche's hexmagic."

Probably for the best that Zoat doesn't use the woodwitch/farmfolk divide. Medieval style peasants on a planet with interplanetary level technology is a bit hard to explain. Certainly not impossible, but still weird.

 

[Bramble Thorn]

"Ugh! You're even more hideous in person than my receptionist described. How did you even get this far alien? I have to fire someone for not reporting you."

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Now I know it implied he was using his ring to make him pass for a harmless unarmed local, but I'd like to imagine it ans one of those candid camera skits. Like the producers put a man inside a crab-man suit, dress that crab man in some local clothing, add on some glasses, toupee, stick on eyebrows and such, and then send him somewhere to see what happens.

So basically the receptionist sees this comically bad act of an alien trying to be all nonchalant walk inside.
Now obviously, someone is trying to take the piss at her expense.
But she is not some green unter the gills receptionist, no!
She is a seasoned veteran with many years of service, and will not break her professional no matter how much someone want to get a laugh out of her. So, the alien-trying-pass-for-a-local-very-very-badly in this skit has a message for the regent. From the queen who is locked outside the barrier. On Paper. And need to be let through tp deliver it personally. Truly only the very best taking-the-piss can be allowed when pranking the royal palace.

Now a lesser receptionist would simply turn them away out of hand. "No, Mr. Crab-Man-In-A-Trenchcoat, I am not letting you in to see the Prime Minister so you can show him your 'Package'. That would be ludicrous."

But I am made out of sterner stuff, this seasoned receptionist thought. There is an actual procedure for things like this. Not the Crab-man thing, but for verifying official correspondence. So let's just scan that prop seal, find out all the ways it doesn't pass muster, and that tell the Crab-Man that you would love to send him in, but the color of the wax is 2% off hue along the blue part of the RGB spectrum or something. See if he comes back later with a better colored seal. Then mention another of the wrong specifications. And when he gets close, then and only then notice that he is in fact a crab-man in a trenchcoat and refuse to allow him entry.

...except, the scanner reads the seal as completely legitimate, and it turns out the queen really did send a message via obvious alien trying to pass as a local...

 

[DrThoth]

I kind of hope we get an explanation for what the wards were intended to do, since no one seemed to react to Paragon until they scanned the seal. Maybe they were just for passive detection.

 

[Agent Orange]

the receptionist sees this comically bad act of an alien trying to be all nonchalant walk inside.

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I like this. I like this interpretation very much. OL doing a Hugh Mann (badly applied) rubber-forehead alien routine fully convinced that he's actually fooling the locals.

 

[moralrelativity]

...a 'Wow' from OL? What in the world?

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He's still acting like a courier. Off-world, sure but just a courier, and not the strongest Lantern in the universe.

 

[Mr Zoat]

...and if the joke's on me...

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Thank you, corrected.

Polytheistic religions tend to add gods from time to time so why not add The Renegade to the very long list of Kami?

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Because -while the Shinto 16 gods are perfectly happy to expand their pantheon- the Renegade hasn't joined it.

Though

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Thank you, corrected.

Huh well Zoat seems to have left out a funny little quirk of Euphorix.

They are elves in SPACE...ACE...ACE.

The cities of Euphorix in the comics, you see, are tree cities.

Like tree houses but whole cities. On a single really big tree.

Well the woodwitches are elves in space.

In the comics, Euphorix is split between two cultures- The hightech with magic woodwitches who live in the tree cities, and the farmfolk who are subsistence farmers with shamanistic beliefs.

Psychic powers like Primus' are common among the woodwitches, but unknown to the farmfolk, so poor Primus was originally kicked out by his family and exiled for being a freak until a farmfolk shaman claimed that the spirits blessed Primus with his powers to be "stronger than any of the woodwitche's hexmagic."

Probably for the best that Zoat doesn't use the woodwitch/farmfolk divide. Medieval style peasants on a planet with interplanetary level technology is a bit hard to explain. Certainly not impossible, but still weird.

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DAMN YOU, WIKI!

I kind of hope we get an explanation for what the wards were intended to do, since no one seemed to react to Paragon until they scanned the seal. Maybe they were just for passive detection.

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It was a 'does this person mean us harm' sort of thing.

He's still acting like a courier. Off-world, sure but just a courier, and not the strongest Lantern in the universe.

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Whoa.

 

[Sockmonkey]

I like this. I like this interpretation very much. OL doing a Hugh Mann (badly applied) rubber-forehead alien routine fully convinced that he's actually fooling the locals.

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It's a name we can trust!

 

[Pinklestia]

Euphorix

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Someone been reading too much Asterix

 

[Tembu]

Filler chapter with zero to little plot progression. Still I appreciate any consistent updates. Thanks for the chapter

 

[Chaoswind]

"Ugh! You're even more hideous in person than my receptionist described. How did you even get this far alien? I have to fire someone for not reporting you."

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We know who this guy is. He had dealings with Grayven and spoke with him on good terms. So this shouldn't be going to hell unless Kalista wrote in her message something that would instantly classify Paul as an enemy.

The shield ISN'T going down and Alonzo and most of the aristocracy don't want the queen back... Heck Grayven noted that Alonzo was ruling by a democratic decree of the aristocracy and for the people of Euphoris seemed to prefer him over Kalista.

Honestly she is a mid-low tier magic user with extremely little to offer as the people of her world on average don't really give a fuck about her, so for Paul Alonzo is orders of magnitude more useful than Kalista.

 

[Darko]

We know who this guy is. He had dealings with Grayven and spoke with him on good terms. So this shouldn't be going to hell unless Kalista wrote in her message something that would instantly classify Paul as an enemy.

The shield ISN'T going down and Alonzo and most of the aristocracy don't want the queen back... Heck Grayven noted that Alonzo was ruling by a democratic decree of the aristocracy and for the people of Euphoris seemed to prefer him over Kalista.

Honestly she is a mid-low tier magic user with extremely little to offer as the people of her world on average don't really give a fuck about her, so for Paul Alonzo is orders of magnitude more useful than Kalista.

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She did however play a part in the destruction of the Psions and in the Vega Alliance, so she does have that going for her.

She's probably one of the most popular figures in Vega now, and has influence in the Alliance, so by helping her Paul may improve his relationship with the Alliance.

Plus I remember that a member of the Crown Imperium stated that they were considering trying to form a political marriage to gain influence in Vega and Kalista was a candidate.

Maybe Paul can convince Alonzo and her to work together, that way everybody wins.

And I don't think it was ever stated how powerful of a magic user she was in this story, though I could be wrong.

Also they may decide to lower the shield if they find out the Citadel and the pirates have been dealt with.

That was probably their main reason for using it and now that they're gone the shield may be seen as a waste of energy.

 

[Agent Orange]

We know who this guy is.

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Yes? We do. I am not really sure why are you responding to me. This was a joke post about Alonzo's reaction to Paul's attempt to pass himself off as a local courier one chapter after he noted how visibly (and uncannily) different Euphorixians (?) are from humans Terrans.

That being said, you ain't wrong. I very much doubt Paul cares one bit who he deals with or who sits on the throne as long as he gets his psychics, mages and magical psychics. If Alonzo offers him a better deal Kalista will be dropped in an instant (he might deliver a 'I respectfully decline to acquiesce with your request your majesty' letter on his way out just to say he fulfilled his part of the deal).

 

[rdfox]

Hmm... Did they construct a city designed from the ground up for their capital? It's not uncommon for nations to make custom cities for a capital, especially after a period of conflict or an independence push. Just look at places like Canberra or Brasilia.

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Or good old Washington, DC.

 

[Vaermina]

DAMN YOU, WIKI!

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So wait... That was a mistake on your part?

 

[Pinklestia]

So... will Zoat ever do female Paul? DC does have a gender reversed universe and that.

 

[Aabcehmu]

This may be a false memory, but I feel like I remember there being an interlude with a sex-swapped Paul, who proceeded to swap back to male with his ring because having a female body was unpleasant for him.

 

[infinityDivided]

This may be a false memory, but I feel like I remember there being an interlude with a sex-swapped Paul, who proceeded to swap back to male with his ring because having a female body was unpleasant for him.

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I don't it ever actually happened, but that might be what Zoat SAID would happen.

 

[Mr Zoat]

5th July 2012
02:27 GMT

Regent Alonzo Dulak steeples his hands on the other side of the desk, which combined with his red clothing/albino physiology colour scheme makes him look so totally evil that I scan for vampirism. No. Do Euphorians see on different wavelengths to humans? Not significantly.

Guess it's cultural, then.

He glances at the opened letter on the desk next to him

"The only thing I don't understand is why -having broken through our shield- you're pretending to be an ignorant courier."

I straighten my stance slightly, prompting my escort to tighten their grips on the weapons slightly. His office is pretty plain, considering he's spent a decade or so as the ruler of all he surveys. There's an oil painting of a group… A young Kalista and a few other people I assume are her immediate family. No Pren, but it could well have been before they met. No pictures of his family, and the stone statue in the corner has been in place long enough to have faded where the ceiling light shines on it.

"Because while I'm obviously not what I appear, no one knows what I am."

"You're biological. More creative than the vat-creatures the psions usually make… No, I can't see them allowing someone this amount of independence. The Crown Imperium, perhaps? I'd be surprised if they had teleportation technology advanced enough to bypass the shield, but it's not impossible."

"May I ask if you've read the letter?"

"Yes. And I have." He moves his hands apart, laying his left flat on the table and drumming the fingers of his right on the letter itself. "Did you?"

"Not the letter, no."

"The Gordanian Empire and the Wombworld have been destroyed, and we are to lower the shield and resume contact with the wider universe. The seal is accurate, the writing matching both Queen Kalista's penmanship and lexicon and the letter is composed as a royal dictum." He moves his left hand, picking up a small scanner and waving it over the letter. "Finger prints and genetic traces from both Queen Kalista and Lord Pren-. Is he still calling himself Primus?"

"Yes."

He shakes his head dismissively. "Nonsense like that is why the late Queen never approved Queen Kalista's marriage. What sort of person starts out on a quest for justice by changing their name? The man's a complete chuuni."

…

Today is a good day.

"I couldn't possibly comment."

I take a data stick containing the rest of their messages -as well as a summary of the situation in the Vega Systems- out of my pocket and-.

And roll my eyes at a guard who was a little ahead of the game and pointed her gun at me the moment I moved, then offer it to her.

"The rest of the messages. To be released or not as you see fit."

Alonzo looks puzzled.

"I doubt that your instructions included 'as you see fit'."

"I offered to convey the letter. I'm not here to make sure that someone with no obvious incentive to remove themselves from office obeys the content."

"I don't appreciate your tone."

"But you do appreciate the content?" He moues and I shrug. "I'd like to employ Euphorians from specialist professions, but it's hardly the end of the universe if I can't."

"What professions are those?"

"At the moment, telepathic specialists. I've got a job to do that requires a great deal of telepathic involvement, and even if my other negotiations go very well I'm going to need more. And I can't get them unless the shield comes down."

"If you want to access the contents of a person's mind, there are far easier ways to do so. I can build…"

I shake my head.

"I need to move sixty billion consciousnesses from a radio telepathic network. Do you have a device that can-?"

"No."

"I'd also like to employ a necromancer."

"We.. have those, but why? They can't operate on a thaumically dead world."

"I know. My homeworld and our immediate neighbour are both thaumically active. We've just never really developed a tradition of sophisticated necromancy."

"It's a minority interest amongst a small segment of our population, but I assure you that those who master the subject are perfectly sophisticated." He looks away, sighing. "No, there's no getting around this. If the fighting is over, I'll have to lower the shield. I'll need a few days to go over the data and come up with a form of words to use to convey what's.. happened to the general population."

I nod politely.

"That's probably sensible."

I can see perfectly well that he didn't want them to return. As far as I can tell he'd rather assumed that they were gone permanently the moment the shield went up, something he regarded as a good thing. As far as I can see he hasn't done a terrible job of running the planet in Kalista's absence, and… How disconnected from the goings on in the rest of Vega are the Euphorians? Will they care about a Queen who left them for a decade, when set against the man who kept them safe and ruled them wisely?

Isn't it great that it's not my problem?

"Would you like to send a message back?"

"Yes, I probably should."

He pulls a sheet of paper out of his desk drawer and picks up a.. fountain pen analogue, then writes a hurried reply. I wait while he finishes, then lowers the pen and waves a device over the paper to dry the ink. Then he folds it and then applies his seal to the join. Lastly, he picks it up and holds it out to me.

"Fine. Deliver this into Queen Kalista's hand."

"Certainly." I lean forwards and take it from him.

"And-." Something occurs to him. "Since the shield will most likely come down in a few days, would you like to speak to one of our necromancers before you leave?"

"No need. Back in a second."

I raise my right hand to my forehead,

head towards Kalista and Pren's shared desire to return home and then

return to the material universe.

"Here." I jab at her with the letter, and she instinctively takes it. "He wants a few days to prepare."

"W-?"

And then it's

back to Euphorix.

"But I would appreciate it if I could speak to one now."

 

[Nervaqus987]

Regent Alonzo Dulak steeples his hands on the other side of the desk, which combined with his red clothing/albino physiology colour scheme makes him look so totally evil that I scan for vampirism. No. Do Euphorians see on different wavelengths to humans? Not significantly.

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Well, I can't say that it isn't a valid concern.

 

[Darko]

His office is pretty plain, considering he's spent a decade or so as the ruler of all he surveys. There's an oil painting of a group… A young Kalista and a few other people I assume are her immediate family. No Pren, but it could well have been before they met. No pictures of his family, and the stone statue in the corner has been in place long enough to have faded where the ceiling light shines on it.

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Maybe he didn't redecorate when she left and those things are just hers.

The man's a complete chuuni."

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And we thought the 'white best friend' thing was going to be the only similarity aliens had to humans.

"I couldn't possibly comment."

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But you want to.

What sort of person starts out on a quest for justice by changing their name?

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Well superheroes, and technically New Gods.

Supervillains may also count, if only because their quest for justice has the end goal of destroying justice most of the time.

But you know what they say, hating someone shows that you consider that someone important.

I'm going go need more

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'to need'

he didn't wanted them to return.

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'want them'

Will they care about a Queen who left them for a decade, when set against the man who kept them safe and ruled them wisely?

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The fact that she played a part in the destruction of two evil groups that made them go into isolation may be seen as admirable amongst her people, and could potentially help her.

Plus she also has allies in the Vega Alliance, so she could help them reconnect with the rest of their system, who may not be all that big fans of the Euphorians for hiding, even if it's something they themselves may have done if given the chance.

"Fine. Deliver this into Queen Kalista's hand.

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Missing an " at the end.

 

[Someguy Somewhere]

Now that's just showing off.

Not a bad thing, per say, but the fellow is already rather unhappy. Still, its a decently blunt demonstration that the shield isn`t going to stop things from progressing if he doesn`t get on with things in a timely manner.

Hmm.

This whole mess, while involving OL, is a bit like his issues with the Thanagarians....they`re sophisticated and resourced enough to solve their own problems without him sticking his oar in uninvited. It really isn`t his problem, and Vega`s in a state that it should be able to deal with anything odd coming out of here on its own, with local resources, including local lanterns.

 

[Handlewithcare]

Paul is really enjoying himself, isn't he?

I'm wondering how much of this behaviour is a reaction to stress.

 

[Darko]

This whole mess, while involving OL, is a bit like his issues with the Thanagarians....they`re sophisticated and resourced enough to solve their own problems without him sticking his oar in uninvited

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To be fair the Thanagarians haven't exactly dealt with evil gods, while Paul has.

And Paul also knows several Forge Gods, and it was his actions, like getting them more interested in working again, that brought their attention to the Thanagarians, who needed Nth Metal and couldn't make it themselves.

 

[Doccer]

subject are perfectly sophisticated." He looks away, signing. "No

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sighing

 

[Mr Zoat]

'to need'
'want them'
Missing an " at the end.

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sighing

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Thank you, corrected.