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

I've forgotten what it looked like... was it a picture of Paragon-Paul with his tattoos on display? Possibly with his face replaced by your avatar?
Because that fanart has stuck to me from two forums ago and I want other people to get a kick out of it.
(searching... searching... please hold)

k0lqDuy.jpeg

https://imgur.com/a/MiMjR3E
 
I've forgotten what it looked like... was it a picture of Paragon-Paul with his tattoos on display? Possibly with his face replaced by your avatar?
Because that fanart has stuck to me from two forums ago and I want other people to get a kick out of it.
(searching...no... searching... please hold)

I'm sorry, what?
 
Artemis having such insight into Grayven is a fascinating dynamic. With the potential to become hilarious if she calls him out on any bullshit publically.

Actually, I forgot. Is Motherbox still acting as his consciouss? If not, Artemis could play that role.

Also also: is Grayven gonne visit New Genesis at some point?
 
12th July 2012
09:56 GMT -5


Artemis hangs back slightly as Kaldur and Ixy conduct a tour of the facility.

"When are you gunna tell him?"
Heh, her bond with Grayven giving her unique perceptiveness into his motives.Still, I hope she's had some luck with separating herself from his distinct character. I doubt she wants to be stuck as half of a Platonic Life-Partnership...

The drawback to being on the same wavelength as someone-.

"It's not a drawback. Ass."
Oh, great, now she's a mind-reader too? :rolleyes:

I look down at her, slightly puzzled. Did-? She just-?

She rolls her eyes before looking up at me. "It's obvious. You got Black Manta pardoned. I know how people like him think. The first thing he's going to want to do is get his son back, and right after that-." Her eyes return to Mr. Durham. "I guess he can't kill the people he thinks wronged him, but he's gunna want to confront them."
A remarkably succinct summation of Manta's goals. Nice how she can sum up in two sentences what Grayven took about an hour or so to explain to Cal.

"He does indeed. I haven't said anything because I don't want Mister Durham to feel like I'm pressuring him."

"Think that ship's sailed. I think you're just doing what you think-."
Man, he has just ruined all other men for her, hasn't he? Not that she seems to have shown any interest in human men since she got back... Then again, her classmates are, well, teenagers. And older men won't want to take that trip.

"Think I need to so I can tell myself I didn't pressure him." I smile fondly at her. "We can't ever do this around Luna."

"You wanna know what I think?"
Honestly, I think Luna would understand their bond. It's practically what she had with Celestia once. It might hurt to see Grayven involved that way, but she's no stranger to emotional pain, either... :(

"Staying above the fray wasn't an option. David Hyde has wanted to be Kaldur's father since he fathered him."

"Some people shouldn't be fathers."
Indeed. Whether by neglect, stupidity or maliciousness, a bad father can do a lot to mess up their children. That goes for bad mothers too, of course...

True, but I can't say he'd be objectively bad. Any number of professional killers throughout history have had perfectly pleasant relationships with their offspring.

"How's Paula?"

"How's Jade?"
Oof, right for the Ex? Cruel, Artemis, cruel.

I shrug. "Her line manager's reports are glowing. The area she's assigned to is less dangerous month on month, in part due to her presence and actions. Genomorphs are good at keeping the peace but complex investigations aren't their forte."

"You aren't talking to her in person?"
That's right, she's involved in the Earth Fleet security, isn't she? Good to see she's keeping to the straight and narrow...

"No. I'm not angry any more-"

"Well, yeah."

"-but.. I.. tend to think that we won't work… Well together. I mean, if we couldn't even communicate well.. enough… When we were together…"
Which is all the more amusing given the Paragon's bond to her, and her to him.

Artemis nods. "I think she's dating someone."

I shrug. "That's hardly my affair any longer."
Not what she was talking about, methinks, but you are right.

"Not Jade. My Mom."

"Oh? Not a complete surprise, I hope?"
As long as it isn't, I don't know, Icicle or someone, I'm sure it's fine.

"No. Why exactly did you make her look that young when you healed her?"

"Your mum's hot."
And once again, we're reminded that at heart, he's still a Paul.

She smiles faintly.

"Speaking of things you shouldn't say around Luna…"
Nah, Luna's well aware men have wandering eyes. I don't know if the Herd mentality of one stallion, many females happens all that often in modern Equestria, but it is still a part of their history.

"Eh, Luna knows that I'm not interested in her for her physical appearance. And I've got a rough idea of what she'll look like when she comes through the mirror and I think I'll like it well enough. Do you have a problem with your mum dating?"
Indeed, the sheer amount of fanart of humanised Ponies is staggering. And even with an 'official' humanoid appearance as seen in Equestria Girls, Luna is still a popular choice for it.

"Dating, no. Putting on a costume and fighting crime… Guess-"

"It beats committing it." / "-it beats… Yeah."
The lady's love life is her business, certainly. Her 'working' life? Hopefully she's playing nice with the Batfamily...

Bit of a surprise that she's interested in that sort of thing, but I suppose that when someone internalises the us versus them mindset then even if they switch sides they want to be them as hard as they can.

"Do you want me to offer her a job to keep her off the streets? I'm sure I can find something for a woman of her experience."
Working security? Hopefully not in the same facilities as Jade, though, that might be pushing it.

"Not going to offer to help find out who she's-." She narrows her eyes. "Do you know?"

"Artemis, you're over a hundred years old. If you want to know who your mother's dating-."
At least you know it isn't him, Artemis. Because that is a thing in at least one YJ Alternate (Common Sense Paul, if I remember right?) Can you imagine the embarrassment of Grayven begin able to say 'I ****ed your mother.' and meaning it...

"Yeah, but-. Teenaged me wouldn't."

"Parents have to deal with their children growing up eventually. In your case-."
I suspect Paula still has trouble keeping in mind that her daughter is now technically several centuries her senior, even with the hair color. I can still imagine her saying "You're not so old that I can't kick your ass, honey." When they argue...

"I grew up when Mom was in prison. I know we were never going to have a normal family life or anything like that, but I wanna… Pretend a bit. For her. And for me."

"I'm the last person who would-."
That'll take some pretending...

Kaldur tenses, then breathes in deeply before letting his exhalation carry away his tension. Mr. Durham glances my way and says something I make an effort not to listen to, placing his right hand on his son's right shoulder. Kaldur nods and briefly puts his own right hand on top of his father's. Then he heads my way.

"Who would gainsay your decision on that subject. Kaldur!"
Well, looks like Kaldur's ready to make a decision. The question is, which way will he come down?

He walks towards me, his normal impassivity just about hanging in there.

"Grayven. What made you think that I would be interested in meeting Black Manta in a social setting?"
Ah, straight to business, eh? Yeah, it does seem a bit of a stretch there, doesn't it, Kal?

"The fact that I thought you'd probably be willing to put up with him once to help out your parents?" I shrug. "I don't think there's going to be any sort of meeting of minds or anything like that. I've already told him that I think it's a bad idea."

"You could simply have handed him over to Atlantis as a captured criminal."
And have him executed? That would be a waste of valuable Human Resources. And no Orange Lantern would throw away something that useful so easily.

"Kaldur, where exactly on Earth do you think I'm going to find crews for the EDF ships Lex is building?"

He pauses for a moment. "Any of the world's militaries would be able to provide you with trained personnel."
Right... People with divided loyalties, torn between their country and the suspected super-villain's private space fleet... That would work out so well...

I shake my head. "Not trained for space combat. Underwater combat comes closest, but the pressure and inertia make it completely different. Same for aeroplanes and voidcraft. The skill sets aren't easily transferable. So we've got a choice between taking military people and beating the bad habits out of them or training new people in doctrines we haven't invented yet. If you ever want a good laugh I'll show you the low gravity training sessions we ran for some of N.A.T.O.'s special forces units. The skills aren't there."
Let me guess, it did not look like the space sequences in Moonraker (which, while lame, were kind-of-decent logical ideas of personal space combat...). More wild bouncing around and flailing limbs?

"Except in Atlantis."

"Nope. Too much magic, not enough technology, and your war engines are all organic. David Hyde's people are trained for sub-aquatic, aquatic and aerial combat. They have the skills that other people simply don't. Earth needs them, and King Orin wouldn't have pardoned him if he didn't agree with me. And your part in Earth getting them involves letting him bitterly lament not being the man who raised you and then telling him to never darken your door again. I'm sure you'll survive. Though for what it's worth I'm sorry for putting you in this position."
Brutally honest as usual, Grayven. But I suspect that was just what Kaldur needed to hear... If nothign else, Kaldur knows what such a pardon would involve, both the ritual and the penalties. I suspect he'll be fine with them.

Kaldur bows his head, half-closing his eyes for a moment.

"He has not been pardoned by the government of the United States of America."
Eh, it's not that hard to avoid the US for most things. He can go anywhere near the ocean, after all. And I suspect Africa is a better recruiting ground for him than America.

"My home's an Apokoliptian embassy. So while no one other than me can arrest him, I could let you settle your differences through bare-knuckle boxing."

He-.

"That wasn't a serious suggestion, Kaldur."
I don't know, if you let Manta have a strength-boosting exoskeleton with gauntlets capable of giving Kaldur a solid hit, it might be fair... And it would let Kaldur work out some stress.

If only because Apokoliptian duels are supposed to be handicapped affairs. Given Kaldur's enhanced physiology I'd have to give his father a weapon or two.

"Very well. I will accept the meeting. But… I would like more information on Luthor's recruitment strategy."
Which, to be honest, is practically public knowledge, isn't it? Or will be eventually. After all, once they get the officersand senior staff trained up, the regular personnel will be next.

I nod. "No problem. Heck, if you can find-"

"Recognized, Zatara, one one, The Shade, two three."
Really, Zatara's planning on using the Team to look into Young Arion's death?

We turn as the League members emerge, Giovanni giving me a nod and Richard tipping his hat.

"-someone better, I'll consider them."
Well, this is going to be pleasant. So much English charm.

Giovanni approaches, noting Mr. Durham's presence.

"Aqualad. I have a task for the team."
He really is going to have them investigate. Oh, boy, this will end in fire... :confused: No, wait, if Arion the elder is involved, it'll more likely be storms. Underwater storms. Because fucking Magic.

Well, that was fortuitous timing on Zatara's part. Wonder if Grayven and Artemis will be resistant to the perception-block on young Mister Knightly's face. Either way, having his New God mojo along might help break down any spellcraft in their way... Let's see if the Team will allow him to sit in on the mission...
 
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We really need to move on from Grayven... Because this has basically been 6k words of him just dicking around...
 
Man, he has just ruined all other men for her, hasn't he? Not that she seems to have shown any interest in human men since she got back... Then again, her classmates are, well, teenagers. And older men won't want to take that trip.

She may still be dating Tao.

And it makes sense that if you spent a lot of time around renegade that you would not want to have anything to do with the male gender.

Oof, right for the Ex? Cruel, Artemis, cruel.

Renegade sometimes needs a hard kick to the balls.

And by sometimes I mean most of the time.

That's right, she's involved in the Earth Fleet security, isn't she? Good to see she's keeping to the straight and narrow...

No, I think she's just killing corrupt government people and warlords.

Which is all the more amusing given the Paragon's bond to her, and her to him

Especially amusing is Paul's ability to communicate, which tends to be a hit and miss.

As long as it isn't, I don't know, Icicle or someone, I'm sure it's fine.

He's still in jail.

I also think Artemis got together with Jr. in the comics.

Can you imagine the embarrassment of Grayven begin able to say 'I fucked you mom

I'm now imagining this happening in a universe where Artemis is a villain like her comic self.

Hell, Common Sense may have done this with Jade.

She did kiss him and now she may know that he's dating her mom.

Right... People with divided loyalties, torn between their country and the suspected super-villain's private space fleet... That would work out so well...

Manta managed to recruit soldiers that lacked allegiance to their nations, so we know it's possible.

I don't know, if you let Manta have a strength-boosting exoskeleton with gauntlets capable of giving Kaldur a solid hit, it might be fair... And it would let him work out some stress

By beating up someone that had nothing to do with him not seeing his son.

Which, to be honest, is practically public knowledge, isn't it?

Unless the actual recruitment criteria are different than the publicly posted ones.

Really, Zatara's planning on using the Team to look into Young Arion's death?

He really is going to have them investigate. Oh, boy, this will end in fire... :confused: No, wait, if Arion the elder is involved, it'll more likely be storms. Underwater storms. Because fucking Magic.

To be fair, the Team is largely composed of New Gods, and if Artemis goes, then they'll have a centuries old New God on their Team.

... Let's see if the Team will allow him to sit in on the mission

Since when has renegade ever asked someone of their opinion if they're okay with him interfering in their lives?
 
I think in the Renegade timeline Talia is dead, so as far as amusing guesses for who Paula is dating . . . Bruce Wayne.

Bruce gets to satisfy his fetish for fit Asian women who are also trained assassins and her desire to be a hero means he doesn't have to deal with any of the baggage that comes from romancing one of your enemies.

They can beat up criminals then follow it up with freaky costumed sex. Everybody wins.
 
Actually, I forgot. Is Motherbox still acting as his consciouss? If not, Artemis could play that role.
The Renegade is fully conscious on his own. He also has a conscience, though it often gets moderated by practicality.
Also also: is Grayven gonne visit New Genesis at some point?
Yes, but not anytime soon.
This verb form is "envelop", unless you mean something other than what I'm imagining.
Thank you, corrected.
Nah, Luna's well aware men have wandering eyes. I don't know if the Herd mentality of one stallion, many females happens all that often in modern Equestria, but it is still a part of their history.
Stallions going their own way.
I think she's just in jail.
Last time she was seen, Grayven told Batman that if she didn't go to prison and stay there that he'd kill her. As far as I remember the outcome hasn't been stated in story.
 
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...do we know that Artemis and Grayven aren't in a relationship? New God relationships are much less based on physicality than human ones, and even if the two of them don't think they're dating, the type of close, co-dependent bond they have could easily be considered romantic on some level, even if they don't realize it because of the lack of hand-holding.
 
Ok question, anyone know the chapter the equestrian girl shows up from the portal
 
...do we know that Artemis and Grayven aren't in a relationship? New God relationships are much less based on physicality than human ones, and even if the two of them don't think they're dating, the type of close, co-dependent bond they have could easily be considered romantic on some level, even if they don't realize it because of the lack of hand-holding.
We know they ARE in a relationship. It's just not necessarily a romantic relationship.
 
Up to 40:06 in the reread/catchup. Heh, I remember this bit, OL getting thirsty... And showing up late to Hades' welcoming committee.

pet peeve again: eternal torment was a Christian invention, the Jews just had a purgatory (and oblivion for, like, the worst)

No sleep, only reading. Should be up to date in a week or two
 
Up to 40:06 in the reread/catchup. Heh, I remember this bit, OL getting thirsty... And showing up late to Hades' welcoming committee.

pet peeve again: eternal torment was a Christian invention, the Jews just had a purgatory (and oblivion for, like, the worst)

No sleep, only reading. Should be up to date in a week or two
Two Jews: three opinions. Whether or not there is a hell in Judaism is a matter of debate, though I've never heard a Jewish person state that it would be eternal, just proportional to the amount of sin.
 
Up to 40:06 in the reread/catchup. Heh, I remember this bit, OL getting thirsty... And showing up late to Hades' welcoming committee.
pet peeve again: eternal torment was a Christian invention, the Jews just had a purgatory (and oblivion for, like, the worst)
No sleep, only reading. Should be up to date in a week or two

Eh, Maybe not exactly. I'm pretty sure that Tantalus and Sisyphus at least were doomed to eternal torment in Tartarus, though that might be a later Christianized take on the myths.
 
So after reading that, I now realize that that Paul has joined the light, sorta left a bad taste in my mouth.. now to reread the whole story just to wash it out. Not a big fan of heroes going pretty much bad guy.
 
The Other Half (part 6)
12th July 2012
07:12 GMT -8


I find myself pulling a face as I dock with the aesthetian and feel the slight pull as it connects with my ingestion hole. Perhaps I will be accustomed to it in time. Or perhaps I am too accustomed to my physical freedom to ever really get accustomed to something like this. Still, it is progress, and it is more… Respectful, than being thrown into a bucket of partially digested fish heads. Relaxing my face, I reach out with my mind for the neural interface made with the new types of synthetic flesh which are compatible with Un-Men…

**[Connect]**

At once the next texture and flavour of the air change as neural mechanisms which the-. That Anton Arcane considered superfluous to my design, connect to my brain. My innate capacity for the chemical analysis of air is usually limited to 'breathable', 'contains blood' and 'not breathable', but with a little help…

My brain can learn to do things that it was not designed to do.

With the connection in place the aesthetian… Since this is the final version I need to think of a name for it. It would not do to appear to be treating an Un-Man as an object after all, even if this is no more intelligent than a chipmunk. 'Bud' as in 'taste bud'? No, no, that makes it sound like a flower. Gus Tatory? Satisfactory, but I will check with Niko before I make it official. When you are a grotesque, your humour is grotesque. It does not always play well to others.

I tested it with crackers while I was experimenting with the design, but Grayven suggested I try toast for the first 'proper' meal. And suggested that the taste might kill me and then laughed about it. Niko suggested chocolate, but despite the safety mechanisms it might be better to be cautious. While not being so afraid of my own creation that I simply go along with Grayven's joke.

Gus's tentacles reach out and coat the first slice of toast in a very thin layer of butter, then cut it in half. The first half is delivered into the 'taste' receptacle directly, while the second is held up to my own mouth. It is a-.

I shudder as the feedback from Gus's taste nerves begins to reach me, unfamiliar.. feelings… I have known lipids since my first moment, but I feel that I have never known them at all until this moment. Butter! All of the animal instincts I have never had are delighted to be putting away fat for winter! The toast itself is a more complex sensation, but… Let us try texture!

I command the tentacle to bring the mouth half closer and bite. I have only basic sensation inside of my mouth, but I do have teeth and I do get pressure feedback to a surprisingly generous degree. I suspect that is because Arcane wanted me to know when I bit something rather than any sort of consideration for me, but between that and the taste… I will check with a computerized axial tomography scan later, but I think I am effectively receiving the sensation of eating toast as an unmodified man would.

Splendid!

Of course, the downside since I don't actually have an oesophagus…

I open my mouth a little wider, wadding as much of the chewed bread material into the front of my mouth as I can. A tentacle reaches down and scoops it up to deposit in the taste receptacle, where a moment later it gives a sudden jolt as the masticated food decays faster than the solid piece and gives the taste buds a more intense rush of chemicals.

My word.

There's a quiet knock on the door.

"Cranius? Are you..? Ah, decent?"

"Niko! Eh." I have the tentacle holding the toast to my mouth swiftly redirect it to the taste receptacle. Much as she is willing to embrace the strangeness that is a part of our nature I think that her stomach would still be turned by my chewing. "I am as decent as I am likely to get!"

She pushes her way into my workshop, computer tablet in hand. I am still not entirely comfortable with machines that can pretend to think, but I can appreciate the utility. She looks closely at Gus as she walks closer, then raises her eyebrows.

"How is it?"

"I have nozhing wizh which I could compare it. It is intense and it is novel, which is the most I could hope for. I… Zhink zhat tomorrow I will experiment with zhings ozher zhan toast."

"Chocolate?"

"Eh-h. I zhink baby steps for now."

Of course, I still have to actually ingest. It feels like the digestion process is ready, so I trigger the egestion system, and… I feel the same as usual. Perhaps a little tidier due to the fact that I now have a dedicated mechanism for fulfilling the purpose.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes?"

"You looked a little… Constipated, there."

"My dear, I don't have a bowel. Or a gut."

But I make an effort to control my expression. I don't want to make her uncomfortable.

"I guess that's a novel experience for you too, then."

I close my pseudo sphincter and disconnect, rising up on my fingertips.

"Let us not go crazy."

I disconnect my mind from Gus, who folds up back into 'sleep' mode to minimise energy wastage until I need to eat again. Perhaps some fruit? I used the brain of a monkey as my guide when I designed his brain, so that should work well. Next, I call Otto over and have him pick me up and set me down between his shoulders.

"Who is on zhe slab today?"

"A seven year old boy named Klahan Saelim. He has terminal leukaemia."

Oh? Oh. A publicity job, then. Otto sighs for me as-.

"His parents have signed off on you giving him… Slightly visible improvements."

Ah… That's a little better. No, wait.

"Like tiger-stripe hair, or somezhing useful or significant?"

She taps her tablet. "They.. haven't specified. So there aren't any restrictions. Just remember-."

"Yes, yes. Nothing to scare zhe person doing zhe post-procedure interviews. I'm zhinking… Squid eyes, obviously, wizh the expanded visual range."

"Ah, if he can't navigate-."

"Yah yah, slightly expanded. I'm not going to make him see gamma radiation."

I learned that lesson after the third time. I thought it was pretty!

Niko looks like she doesn't completely believe me.

"Okay, I don't think there'll be any problem with getting them to accept perfect eyesight. Do you want to throw anything else in there?"

Yes. I want to give him dragon wings and scale-covered skin capable of resisting low calibre bullets and the ability to spit napalm. Don't 7 year old boys like dragons?

Ah, the dreams of a better tomorrow. I honestly had believed that the American military would be more enthusiastic about modifications that have combat applications, but it seems that if they do not allow the soldier to tear through sheet metal they have nearly as many reservations as the FDA.

The Department of Energy doesn't have that problem. Their agents are daring each other to be the first to get the electric eel discharge system.

"I zhink… I will see where the muse takes me. Wizhin bounds."

"Okay. After that, Crassus wants to talk to you about his synthetic skin project."

"He is still working well wizh zhe laboratory staff?"

"Ah… Yes, no recent report of any problems."

I smile.

"And after that-. Oh. We've got a booking for an emergency consultation. They… Haven't explained the nature of the problem, but they've only asked for two hours."

Ah, such is life. They will have paid well for the privilege, and perhaps they have dreams of something original?

A disembodied head can dream, can't he?

"Okay. Let us go and see zhe young man."
 
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Grayven suggested try toast

'that I try'

And suggested that the taste might kill me and then laughed about it

Ahh, renegade, he's such an asshole.

At least he's an equal opportunity asshole, to friends, enemies and random people.


'known'

I learned that lesson after the third time. I thought it was pretty

Of course you did.

Niko looks like she doesn't completely believe me

I think that's true for most of the people who will read this.


'a scale' or 'shins'

Don't 7 year old boys like dragons?

Yes, but the parents may not like it if the kid burns down their house.

"I zhink… I will see where the muse takes me. Wizhin bounds

That is not reassuring, since I doubt your bounds are all that many.

working with wizh the laboratory

Maybe remove 'with or 'wizh'

A disembodied head can dream, can't he?

In a comic universe?

Yes, I think he can.
 
Do disembodied hands dream of headless sheep?
Not in the Story Only thread, no.
Thank you, corrected.
Ahh, renegade, he's such an asshole.

At least he's an equal opportunity asshole, to friends, enemies and random people.
He was laughing because it's a Discworld reference, though naturally Cranius has never heard of it.
'known'
'a scale' or 'shins'
Maybe remove 'with or 'wizh'
Thank you, corrected.
 

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