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

Chojin Patriarch · Apr 6, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
21st July 2012
08:52 GMT -7

Lantern Rrab sets the rogue car down in the car park, letting the wheels touch the tarmac while still keeping hold of it just in case. But the wheels remain stationary-

"You have arrived at your destination. Have a nice day."

...Great, whatever affected the car has a sense of humour? OL did check there's no GPS, didn't he? Still, at least it didn't decide to go for a nice Sunday drive.. regardless of what day it is. And the driver has one doozy of a story for the water cooler gossip...

-and… And that came from the radio because the car doesn't have satellite navigation. Ring, are any radio stations in the area playing that at the moment?

None found.

Okay, now that's just cheeky. Are we sure it's not a disguised Cybertronian?

I set Steven McCrae down next to his car, which he looks at with a degree of uncertainty.

"So… What do I do with it now?"

Perhaps an exorcist?

But seriously, maybe have OL and Arisia consult a magician concerning it?

Lantern Rrab shrugs. "It's your car, sir." She takes-. I feel a moment of pride as she takes a rune stone out of one of her pockets and holds it out towards the car. Nothing. "I can't detect anything wrong with it, and you clearly weren't in control of what the vehicle was doing. I'll submit a report to the police. I can either leave the car here with you, or I can take it to the police impound yard so they can try investigating it."

"You can't find anything wrong with it?"

Hmm... No magic detected now. Doesn't mean there wasn't something happening earlier... Hope the guy has a bus pass.

Hm. I send filaments into the car, poking through the interior plastic and metal and into the car's interior mechanisms. Just in case there's some sort of scan-blocking system. No, everything's more or less where it should be. There's a little bit of wear and a little bit of rust… Nothing that would stop it being road-legal, but that does suggest that what I'm detecting is what's actually there.

"Not a thing, I'm afraid."

Okay, not a Cybertronian, nothing physically unusual... I'm getting a concerning 'nascent Elemental flexing its' muscles' vibe here.

I use a construct to take the door from Lantern Rrab, then reattach it. I leave the circle of glass out, because he might want to shout for help if that happens again.

"Car's don't just decide to drive themselves." He then looks uncertain. "Do they?"

It would be a vanishingly rare phenomenon. And none of the probable causes seem to fit here. Quite the conundrum.

"Not in my experience. Lantern Rrab?"

"Auto-drive's not that uncommon on advanced worlds, and sometimes they go badly wrong. But on Earth that sort of thing only really happens because people follow instructions from their navigation aides when they shouldn't."

Oh, there are so many tales of that. I wonder, are self-driving cars a thing on Earth-16 yet? I'm surprised Lexcorp hasn't looked into that market. On the other hand, wild AI probability...

"Is there a car-god or something?"

"Not that I'm aware of, though there probably will be one eventually."

Along with a god of The Internet. Too much to hope for that he's like Freakazoid, though. Hell, the Internet could forge an entire Pantheon by itself. Fear their god of 'love'...

Might be worth having Vulcan take a look at it, if nothing else turns up. He's got more car experience than Hephaestus.

"So you've got no way to know whether that'll just happen again or not?"

Looks like you might be taking the bus for a little while, Mister McCrae. Unless you want to take the chance it happens again?

Lantern Rrab shakes her head.

"Not at this time. Orange Lantern?"

"The… Only possibility that comes to mind is a build-up of magic in the environment which 'caught' your car while it was passing through. That wouldn't explain why only you were affected, but it would explain why we can't find a trace on the car itself; it would only be there while the effect was active."

So 'A burst of wild magic'? Pretty unlikely. But then, one in a million chances do tend to happen quite often around here.

"So how do I stop it happening again?"

"I suggest an offering to Hephaestus."

"I'm Christian."

Perhaps you'd like to get a second opinion?

"Then I suggest an offering to Saint Frances of Rome."

"Ah… I'd have to check with my pastor whether we acknowledge him or not."

Well... I suppose there'd have to have been a saint of cars sooner or later.

"Don't bother; it wouldn't work anyway."

"Heh." He bows his head. "Shit. You better take it. Just… Ah." He fishes a business card out of his jacket and hands it to Lantern Rrab. "Just let me know where it ends up so I can pick it up when they're done. You know, I… I've got the company medical today. Just hope my heart rate doesn't mess it up."

Huh. Interesting coincidence. Hopefully not related to this, but you never know...

"I'm sure you'll be fine."

Lantern Rrab nods. "Have a nice day, sir. And good luck with your medical examination."

Such a nice lady. Let's hope his day does improve. It would have to go up from here.

We both rise off the ground, Lantern Rrab carrying the car with her.

"Hephaestus?"

"Olympian god of the forge. Nice chap. Do you have a contact in the police?"

Why not introduce him to Arisia? Might do her some good to have a local tech expert.

"Yes… But I don't think that the local police are going to find anything."

"Probably not. But it's their job to try. And they will be looking for the car -and us- by now." I look at her with my eyebrows raised. "What do you want to do?"

Honestly, I'm surprised they didn't check in as they flew. At least let the dispatcher know the problem's in hand.

"Tell them what's happening, and then… Can we ask Hephaestus to look at it? Since we know it's not technology or regular magic."

I nod, eyebrows returning to the 'at rest' position.

She's got a good head on her shoulder, that one. Can't find a problem with a malfunctioning vehicle? Ask an expert. Better than some Lanterns.

"I suggest checking with the police first. And probably with Lantern Jordan."

She nods.

"Funny thing. I've got a medical examination coming up, too. Though I imagine that mine will be a little more thorough."

Oh, yes. I fully expect there to be all manner of probing.

"With who? The Justice League?"

"No, the Controllers."

All the probing. After all, he's quite unique. I'm sure more than a few will want to get some data on Orange Light interactions...

She frowns at me. "They didn't do that already?"

"Hinon Hee Hannanan did a quick check-up, but given what's happened to me I thought that it was a good idea to get something more in depth."

'What's happened'. Such British understatement. Seriously, most Lanterns only die once. OL practically has a frequent visitor card with Death.

"When I got to Oa, that was the first thing that happened."

That surprises me. Power ring's have built-in translators because it's virtually impossible for a Lantern to learn the hundreds of languages they'd need to in order to communicate with everyone in their assigned Sector. For much the same reason, the Green Lantern Corps doesn't have a chief medical officer. It's virtually impossible for anyone to have the necessary training to know how to treat all of the different species that make up the Corps.

Until Soranik Natu joins... Though even she tended to rely on database reference. Honestly, I'd expect at least one or two Lanterns with decent medical training if nothing else.

"I thought that they usually leave medical matters to the Lantern's homeworld's physicians?"

"For long term things. But your partner might need to get told how to do first aid or field surgery, so they need a record your exact state of health. Why doesn't the Orange Lantern Corps do that?"

Huh. Logical enough. I'm guessing most Lantern deaths still come because anything strong enough to beat their defences is very hard on flesh and bone (or whatever their equivalent is...)

I shrug.

"If an Orange Lantern is conscious, they can use their ring to heal themselves. And… Clarissi Dox organised the standard recruitment process. He tries to avoid me if he doesn't need me."

<Sigh...> Still harping on that, OL? You know, if you wanted more input on things, you should have insisted. No matter how badly Dox's ego would complain.

"Why?"

"I got him the job, am more powerful than him and I bailed him out when our first attack on the Reach went wrong. I undermine his authority, and neither of us want Corps members being confused about who's in charge. You contact the police, I contact Vulcan?"

Sure, change the subject... Back to the business at hand, I suppose.

She nods, then holds up her ring. "Call Jeremiah Jordan."

I left my left hand to my left ear.

Mister Jordan being Hal's brother? Part of the police force, I take it?

"Call Zencha Automotive."

"Calling."

Still amusing that Vulcan works as an auto-mechanic...

"Yeah?"

"Good afternoon. Could you put me through to Seth Lans?"

Hmm... Is his pseudonym some manner of in-joke? Or just something he picked at random?

"He's busy. Who is this?"

"A friend of his brother's. And I have a very interesting job for him."

Said 'brother' being Hephaestus, I would assume?

A very conventional transitional chapter. I presume there'll be a short cutaway elsewhere, since it'll take a few minutes at least to get the local police sorted out and have Vulcan organise a consultation... Still, it's concerning that this happened. Personally, I'm putting my bet on a growing Elemental force of technology...

Assblaster5000 · Apr 6, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
Who?

He's an AI from the Cyberpunk setting that runs a highly reputable, no questions asked taxi service in Night City, overall a nice guy and chill lad. So long as you don't think about his less than stellar reaction to accidentally making more AI anyways.

Darko · Apr 6, 2021

Chojin Patriarch said:
Okay, not a Cybertronian, nothing physically unusual... I'm getting a concerning 'nascent Elemental flexing its' muscles' vibe here.

It's probably not the Metal, unless God forbid Zoat actually did a n52 storyline, so it may be Construct or Kilg%re.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Oh, there are so many tales of that. I wonder, are self-driving cars a thing on Earth-16 yet? I'm surprised Lexcorp hasn't looked into that market. On the other hand, wild AI probability...

Or protests from taxi and bus drivers.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Until Soranik Natu joins..

I think she became an OLC member offscreen.

Vaermina · Apr 6, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
21st July 2012
08:52 GMT -7

I'm confused... Why is Paul so insistent on believing that nothing's wrong when there's very clearly something wrong...

Chaoswind · Apr 6, 2021

Darko said:
It's probably not the Metal, unless God forbid Zoat actually did a n52 storyline, so it may be Construct or Kilg%re.

Or protests from taxi and bus drivers.

I think she became an OLC member offscreen.

Pretty sure she didn't.

Paul said the recruitment with her failed... I think if we see her it will be as a green lantern or a yellow lantern after her dad recruits her.

Darko · Apr 6, 2021

Chaoswind said:
Pretty sure she didn't.

Paul said the recruitment with her failed... I think if we see her it will be as a green lantern or a yellow lantern after her dad recruits her.

I think Zoat mentioned something about Paul leaving the ring with her and she eventually decided to use it to help people.

Don't remember when he said this, just that he did.

Stsword · Apr 6, 2021

Darko said:
I think Zoat mentioned something about Paul leaving the ring with her and she eventually decided to use it to help people.

Don't remember when he said this, just that he did.

I remember him typing the same thing.

So if it's a delusion, at least it's a shared delusion.

Mr Zoat · Apr 6, 2021

Stsword said:
So if it's a delusion, at least it's a shared delusion.

They're the best kind!

Darko · Apr 6, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
They're the best kind!

Everything is better if it's with friends.

Or strangers on the internet in this case.

Idkusername · Apr 6, 2021

Darko said:
strangers on the internet in this case.

strangers

strangers

strangers

m_d · Apr 6, 2021

Vorian said:
I'm interested.

seconded

Actually, on the discussion of whether it's disruptive to have other versions of Paul interleaved with each other, my two cents: I trust that there are often things about them that offer interesting commentary or backchannel ways to think about each other, even when they don't necessarily directly interact. I'm generally interested in stories about how people with power decide what to do with it in different circumstances, and these offer other avenues to see that, in similar ways that fanfic of other works can. Look, I have read/am reading many works in progress by many different authors. Just about all of whom post a chapter here and there much further apart than Mr Zoat. I've grown accustomed to switching between stories that are somewhat related to each other by virtue of being in the same fandom, and needing to keep track of differences in order for the one I'm reading at any given moment to make sense, re-reading bits preceding the one(s) posted most recently as necessary. I'm fine with a structure to this thread in which Mr Zoat has bits from various alternates put in where he sees fit.

Mr Zoat said:
Power ring's have built-in translators

Power rings

Mr Zoat said:
I left my left hand to my left ear.

I lift my left

Sockmonkey · Apr 6, 2021

Chojin Patriarch said:
Hell, the Internet could forge an entire Pantheon by itself. Fear their god of 'love'...

Lord 34.

Idkusername · Apr 6, 2021

Sockmonkey said:
Lord 34.

And we, his loyal disciples.

Milf 5:5 The lewd shall inherit the Earth.

cereal_lurker · Apr 6, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
"Hephaestus?"

"Olympian god of the forge. Nice chap. Do you have a contact in the police?"

Mr Zoat said:
You contact the police, I contact Vulcan?

Should the first few references be switched to Vulcan as the Roman God of Forge and mechanic? It seems odd that the SI would switch names mid-conversation and not explain who the second chap is after explaining the first.

Hell's Razer · Apr 6, 2021

Chojin Patriarch said:
OL practically has a frequent visitor card with Death

Well of course! He is both a superhero and a protagonist. It is practically a contractual obligation.

HatsAreHats · Apr 6, 2021

What robot-y characters haven't showed up yet, hmm... Cyborg Superman's head is hiding in the engine.

Rafin · Apr 6, 2021

How come Vulcan doesn't have an Italian pseudonym?

Mr Zoat · Apr 6, 2021

m_d said:
seconded

I think that's thirded, actually.

Power rings
I lift my left

Thank you, corrected.

cereal_lurker said:
Should the first few references be switched to Vulcan as the Roman God of Forge and mechanic? It seems odd that the SI would switch names mid-conversation and not explain who the second chap is after explaining the first.

Hephaestus is the forge god of the SI's religion, but Vulcan knows more about cars.

Rafin said:
How come Vulcan doesn't have an Italian pseudonym?

Seth Lans.

Pinklestia · Apr 6, 2021

Remember that Legion Of Superheroes villain who is a troll and takes control of tech in the past? I think it may be this one.

That would also explain the lack of traces as his tech is freaking amazing for doing the temporary control thing even by Legion of Superheroes standards.

Impartial Panic · Apr 6, 2021

Rafin said:
How come Vulcan doesn't have an Italian pseudonym?

Mr Zoat said:
I think that's thirded, actually.

Thank you, corrected.

Hephaestus is the forge god of the SI's religion, but Vulcan knows more about cars.

Seth Lans.

At least he didn't use Nimoy.
then again DC doesn't have Star Trek so the joke wouldn't work.

Darko · Apr 6, 2021

Impartial Panic said:
then again DC doesn't have Star Trek so the joke wouldn't work.

There was that sci fi show that Beast Boy starred in during season 3 of YJ, so there may have been a version of Star Trek at least.

Mr Zoat · Apr 6, 2021

Pinklestia said:
Remember that Legion Of Superheroes villain who is a troll and takes control of tech in the past? I think it may be this one.

That would also explain the lack of traces as his tech is freaking amazing for doing the temporary control thing even by Legion of Superheroes standards.

Thta guy sounds interesting. Who are they?

cereal_lurker · Apr 6, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
Hephaestus is the forge god of the SI's religion, but Vulcan knows more about cars.

That's what I thought, but it seemed odd that after suggesting Hephaestus and explaining who he was, he immediately said he was calling someone else without further comment or explanation. Did Lantern Rrab already know about Vulcan and his affinity for cars but didn't know about Hephaestus?

It's fine if the follow-up questions and answers happen off screen, but the script writing seems like it assumes Lantern Rrab has the same information as the player regarding Vulcan, but not Hephaestus. Giving Hephaestus extra name-drops seems like blatant game dev favoritism, even it's not his quest mark.

Coda · Apr 6, 2021

Nervaqus987 said:
Apparently, they caught fire.

That's not what killed them. What killed them is the subsequent water damage.

Mr Zoat said:
"Car's don't just decide to drive themselves."

Cars

Pinklestia · Apr 6, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
Thta guy sounds interesting. Who are they?

No clue, I am not tracking that issue of Superman again, but is most likely Computo since if it was Brainiac there would have been more effort to catch him instead of the guy just basically trolling the Legion and Supermam and taking control of a few planes.

Heck C.O.M.P.U.T.O. (Cyber-cerebral Overlapping Multiprocessor Transceiver-Operator) is basically like an annoying teen if you think about it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computo_(comics)

https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Computo

Edit: Yeah; it was Computo.

Maxx Crowley · Apr 6, 2021

cookiemontser said:
This whole "OL and Dox avoiding each other because OL will undermine Dox" thing is getting to be a little much.

Agreed.

But even though I understand why Dox is there, it still don't believe for a single second that if Dox ordered OL do to something he very much did not want to do, or tried to steer the corps towards something OL did NOT want, that OL wouldn't just slap him down.

cookiemontser said:
Dox has his advantages, which are better suited to leadership,

Are they though?

Because in the few snippets we've had of Dox actually doing shit, he's been....well shit at it. Either OL has to prod him towards things that apparently Dox cannot see. Or OL has to step in and take over for Dox.

Like, I get that OL doesn't think he can run an entire corps, and moreover, doesn't want to be bogged down by doing so when he could go out and play. But I view Dox more as a Tony-Pepper situation from the MCU. Dox runs the day to day boring bullshit, but ultimately, OL is in charge.

Secondly, if someone can just roll up and kick your ass/kill you. You aren't really in charge of shit, even if you are "Better" at being a leader. I know that's very primitive thinking....but its true.

Not only is OL more powerful, but he's also more personable. I can EASILY see the members of the OLC liking Para-Paul a lot more than they do Dox.

Honestly, at this point, I view Dox less as a person/character, and more a device for Zoat to have to keep the OLC off screen. Which there is nothing wrong with. I mean, canonically, the GLC has a character for just that as well.

Radix · Apr 6, 2021

I agree. At this point it has been over a year. Either he is in charge or he isn't. Batman doesn't have this problem because Superman exists. Or Aqualad with Paragon himself.

The solution isn't to send him somewhere else. Cause looking from the outside, it looks Dox is wasting a valuable resource to be petty because he is worried about his position. The correct way to enforce the hierarchy is for people to see Paragon obeying Dox.

If the issue is that Paragon doesn't obey Dox, doesn't that kind of signify that Dox isn't actually in charge?

Really I don't get the hard on for having Dox in charge. It just seems like his hard on for recruiting the Tamaranians or Soranik. Just building a collection of comics characters he likes. Dox doesn't actually seem more competent than any other commander and has a host of issues he is dealing with.

I think a better hierarchy would be having SI as a sort of symbolic monarch akin to the Queen of England who chooses the Prime Minister to get things done. It seems more natural to me that leadership of the OLC should belong to the enlightened, Paragon and the Controllers. Especially given the focus on philosophy for a stable corp.

Structuring it like a military is just asking for trouble, he really should focus on developing the core of the corp which he has neglected and left to Dox. The only real competent ones are the ones Paragon has trained and taught. There isn't a rush to beat the Reach, they operate on a massive scale.

Mr Zoat · Apr 6, 2021

Coda said:
Cars

Thank you, corrected.

Caerwen · Apr 6, 2021

Maxx Crowley said:
But even though I understand why Dox is there, it still don't believe for a single second that if Dox ordered OL do to something he very much did not want to do, or tried to steer the corps towards something OL did NOT want, that OL wouldn't just slap him down.

Orange lanterns can't do things they do not WANT. Must make running that show a lot like herding cats. Dox would know that ordering one to do something they really 'do not want to do' is futile.

PKRudeBoy · Apr 6, 2021

cookiemontser said:
This whole "OL and Dox avoiding each other because OL will undermine Dox" thing is getting to be a little much. If Dox can't stand on his own legs than he doesn't deserve to lead to the Corp. Furthermore, who is most powerful and who is suited to lead are distinct from one another. I don't think anyone would seriously suggest that OL is a better strategist/tactician than Dox. Dox has his advantages, which are better suited to leadership, while OL is more a battle commander/one man army type of person. I can understand OL distancing himself initially to give Dox room to shape the Corp without inteference, but at this point the hierarchy should be pretty clear to everyone, especially if its spelled out in black and white. Also it doesn't help that OL goes around telling people why he's keeping his distance; that kind of undermines the purpose of it.

Dox is in the unenviable position of knowing that he is in charge of the OLC precisely until he and Paul have an irreconcilable difference of opinion on a major issue. His solution is making sure his nominal subordinate is off doing things he enjoys, preferably as far from HQ as possible. This is complicated by the fact that Paul's significant other is a member of a closely allied organization reporting to the same people he does and the fact that he pals around with people like Hinon and Kalmin.

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

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