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

Seriously, Paul should know all he needs to do is reverse the polarity to collapse the Boom Tube. Frankly, I'm surprised he hasn't come up with a way to block or destabilize Boom Tubes by now.

He may not view it as a priority.

He doesn't have that many fights with New Gods aside from a few so he may think that there's no rush.

Now that he's likely to run into Grayven a lot more he may try to figure out a way.
 
Do Better
1st July 2007
09:12 EST


"Why are you doing this, anyway?"

Jade doesn't look around as Hal follows her through the corridors of the John Hopkins Hospital. Why he's doing this is a better question; he never hid the fact that he didn't like Guy, and he actively avoided working with him as much as possible. She didn't like Guy, but at least she didn't try pretending he didn't exist.

"Someone should be there."

"So give his folks a call. I know you know their number."

He-.

He wasn't raised by assassins. He was raised by a test pilot and a homemaker. Of course he didn't bother finding out anything about Guy's background, despite how often they'd been working together. Because that's not normal.

Even if it is a very good idea. If you're taking the job as seriously as you should.

"Guy doesn't talk to his parents. His emergency contact is his sister."

Hal frowns, but she already knows that he won't rethink his approach.

"Okay, so why not call her?"

Because there's nothing like coming face to face with other versions of yourself to let you evaluate your life. And even if you didn't think any of them were doing better, meeting the man Krona abducted would open your eyes to a lot of things you'd missed.

And he hadn't even been a Lantern for two years.

The files he'd given her… His version of-. The version of her from his parallel ended up joining the League of Assassins. She was a murderer several times over when he first met her. It… Was a future that she could see herself having, if she hadn't met Alan. And that-. That just made her more determined to do better.

"Hey, take it easy." Hal looks around at the hospital staff who are just out of line of sight. "You got some kinda problem with her?"

"Never met her. And I did call her. But this is my project, and we're his colleagues. If it bothers you this much, why are you here?"

Hal pauses. Because he hasn't even thought about it.

"Like you said; we're colleagues. I don't have to like him to feel obliged to show up. But you never worked with him."

"How many people would visit if it was me in there?"

"Your sister. Alan and Molly-"

"They're in their nineties."

And whatever is keeping Alan energetic doesn't extend to Molly. Jade had watched her fade, even in the few years that she's known her.

"-would-. Yeah, I.. guess. What, you don't have friends in school?"

He doesn't mean that to be quite so grating as it is, but even he picks up on her prickling.

The basic idea behind the treatment is simple. Guy Gardner is suffering from a traumatic brain injury. The initial swelling caused by the sudden impact of his head against the road has gone down, but the rigid structure of his skull made it impossible for his brain to expand and as a result it is effectively crushed against his skull's interior surface. That permanent damage is why he's still in a coma, and while the medical records she got from parallel universes a little way in the future say that he'll make a recovery in a couple of years, that damage is permanent. It can't be healed by conventional medicine.

But an anal retentive with a power ring isn't limited to conventional medicine. And having his help meant that she could eliminate a lot of fruitless lines of enquiry. While Wonder Woman was willing to lend her a purple healing ray even to benefit the man who called her 'the hottest grandma ever' before his brain injury, the ray was unreliable for healing 'old' injuries. Stem cell infusions required constant monitoring of a sort that wasn't practical with a green power ring unless the Lantern was a medical professional, and her training focused more on traumatic injuries than neurological trauma. It might work fine, and it might give him brain cancer.

But combining medical data from a hundred different versions of a man who didn't exist in this reality gave her enough of a picture of pre-war Durla to trade with the survivors for an example of their adaptive biotech. As well as the service of a Durlan physician who survived the war and had experience treating humanoids.

Not that the treatment was exactly FDA approved, but Alan was still insisting that she maintain a secret identity at least until she left high school.

And it would work. The Durlans used to use something similar on other more humanoid species as a standard procedure before the war. And if anything looked like it was going wrong, that was what the nanotech the blue Lantern gave her was for.

There's a bit of a crowd around the ward, but at least Guy had thought to add them to the approved visitors list before he was hit by the bus. The hulking purple-robed form of the Durlan doctor is visible over the heads of the doctor, nurses, government officials and at least one janitor.

Hal steps forcibly through the crowd.

"Excuse me, coming through."

The crowd parts reluctantly, unsure why the interloper thought that they would be allowed to attend but sufficiently cowed by his confidence that they weren't willing to say anything. Since Guy didn't have a secret identity, explaining how they knew him was a little awkward. Hal could at least claim that he met Guy in prison. She'd had to claim that he rescued her once, which wouldn't have been true if she'd had her ring at the time.

"Mister Jordan, Miss Scott!"

Dr. Cross raises his right hand in greeting from inside the ward, prompting the doubters to make a path for them. A few of the Durlan's face tentacles wave in their direction but it doesn't otherwise move, its attention absorbed in the hand it has on and in Guy's head.

Hal nods in greeting. "How's it going, Docs?"

"The patient's not in any distress. I've never met a physician who can alter cells by touching them before."

"It is largely automatic, even for us. I am simply guiding the process."

The Durlan's voice sounds damp, phlegmy. Almost exactly like all of the Durlans she spoke to on Durla. Given their shapeshifting ability, keeping track of which one was which even with a power ring was an exercise in futility. The Martian Manhunter said that they gave him a migraine, which is the only reason why he isn't here to check on the status of Guy's mind.

"How's it going?"

"Well. I am nearly done." The tentacles wave. "Though I am curious about one thing. Do humans mate outside of your species?"

Hal frowns. "Ah… Not.. usually? It's pretty much just us on the planet. What makes you ask?"

"There are… Unfamiliar components."

Dr. Cross shrugs. "Modern humans interbred with neanderthal and denisovan humans about fifty thousand years ago. Is that what you mean?"

"No. Other human subspecies would be too similar for me to notice the difference. This feels synthetic. Though it may simply be that I am unfamiliar with the specifics of your species. I have finished."

She watches as the skin of Guy's head moves as the Durlan removes its tendrils from inside him. Guy himself doesn't look any different, his chest rising and falling as he remains unconscious.

"When will he wake up?"

Dr. Cross is already checking his monitors.

"Ah, well, his brain still has to recover, though having all of his-."

Guy convulses, the brainwaves going wild! Dr. Cross's eyes dart from monitor to monitor as the Durlan holds out its hand again in confusion.

"That should not-."

Guy's body shifts shape, red and blue lines appearing all over his skin as his muscles bulge! His forearms melt and distort, his right settling down in the form of some sort of gun while his left forms a mace. His torso jumps upright as his eyes snap open, left eye normal while his right contains a target recital.

"I'm awake!" He looks around, blinking hard. "What just-?"

He brings his left hand to his forehead to rub his brow, but unfortunately it's still in the form of a mace.

It hits him on the temple, and he collapses back to his bed, unconscious once more.
 
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Warrior Version of Guy....oh this is gonna be hard to explain....especially to him.

216_warrior__guy_gardner__by_bielero_d7zpyki-fullview.jpg
 
1st July 2007
09:12 EST

Add this date over the link in the spoiler box.

He wasn't raised by assassins. He was raised by a test pilot and a homemaker. Of course he didn't bother finding out anything about Guy's background, despite how often they'd been working together. Because that's not normal.

Plus seeing as he didn't like Guy he may not have wanted to have anything to do with him aside from what's necessary.

Your sister. Alan and Molly-"

"They're in their nineties."

Artemis isn't.

And Alan is still very energetic for someone of his age.

and as a result it as effectively crushed

'it is'

While Wonder Woman was willing to lend her a purple healing ray even to benefit the man who called her 'the hottest grandma ever' before his brain injury

Even before his brain injury, Guy wasn't all that good at using it when it was necessary.

And if anything looked like it was going wrong, that was what the nanotech the blue Lantern gave her was for.

So she met Baul.

I remember a snippet where he mentioned nano tech.

Well. I am nearly done." The tentacles wave. "Though I am curious about one thing. Do humans mate outside of your species?"

The Vuldarian thing.

Hal frowns. "Ah… Not.. usually

So you've had relations with a few.

"I'm awake!" He looks around, blinking hard. "What just-?"

He brings his left hand to his forehead to rub his brow, but unfortunately it's still in the form of a mace.

It hits him on the temple, and he collapses back to his bed, unconscious once more

Ohh, Guy.
 
Those were those robot assassin sleeper things, right? What were they called again?

No, this is from the 90s.

The Vuldarian stuff.

warrior.gif

Basically, it was editorially mandated that there were too many Green Lanterns flying around and they needed to get trimmed back.

So Hal killed everyone and Kyle took over as Green Lantern.

Guy, at the time, was running around using Sinestro's old ring and was far too popular to just shuffle off. So the ring broke and a little while later, something happened that triggered his Vuldarian genes to activate.

Vuldarians are shapeshifting aliens that can form advanced weaponry out of their body, among other things. One of them boinked one of Guy's ancestors back in the day and that's about as much of an explanation as it was felt needed.

Eventually, people realized this was stupid and the Green Lantern Corps was restored, Guy got his ring back, Guy got possessed by Parallax this one time sending his Vuldarian DNA into remission(not necessarily in that order), and no body ever gave a shit since.
 
Warrior Version of Guy....oh this is gonna be hard to explain....especially to him.

216_warrior__guy_gardner__by_bielero_d7zpyki-fullview.jpg

No, this is from the 90s.

This explains why he looks ridiculous.

The 90s were not a good time for superhero looks.

Vuldarians are shapeshifting aliens that can form advanced weaponry out of their body, among other things. One of them boinked one of Guy's ancestors back in the day and that's about as much of an explanation as it was felt needed.

They were basically alien warriors who were defeated by their enemy and they traveled the universe trading their tech for the genetic material of strong races.

Eventually they came to Earth and decided to make babies there.

A jealous magician cursed them and the baby didn't turn out so well.

They later discovered that it would take a long time for the genes to mix, so they waited and eventually Guy was born.
 
I thought Zoat wasn't going with the whole Vuldarian thing, or does that only apply to Earth-16 Guy? I'm sure Paragon would have picked up on it in a scan or something by now if it was the case there (though given the sometimes obvious things he misses for the sake of the plot, maybe not).
 
1st July 2007
09:12 EST


"Why are you doing this, anyway?"

Jade doesn't look around as Hal follows her through the corridors of the John Hopkins Hospital. Why he's doing this is a better question; he never hid the fact that he didn't like Guy, and he actively avoided working with him as much as possible. She didn't like Guy, but at least she didn't try pretending he didn't exist.
Ah, back with Green Jade, eh? For those who have forgotten, she's a Jade Nguyen who got away from her father young and ended up being raised by Alan Scott, training with his power ring. Alas, my thread-searching skills aren't up to providing good links... Here's the earliest scene I could find with her, and her call-up for the Corps...

"Someone should be there."

"So give his folks a call. I know you know their number."
Guy Gardner's parents? Bad move, he's not popular in their house, whichever version you know...

He-.

He wasn't raised by assassins. He was raised by a test pilot and a homemaker. Of course he didn't bother finding out anything about Guy's background, despite how often they'd been working together. Because that's not normal.
Also, Hal's a bit of an idiot when it comes to that sort of thing. Though few DC capes share their private lives with each other until they know each other better (usually after learning each other's real names...)

Even if it is a very good idea. If you're taking the job as seriously as you should.

"Guy doesn't talk to his parents. His emergency contact is his sister."
And that should tell Hal all he needs to know about their relationship.

Hal frowns, but she already knows that he won't rethink his approach.

"Okay, so why not call her?"
Does she know Guy's a Lantern? Do you think she can cope with the weirdness of cape life?

Because there's nothing like coming face to face with other versions of yourself to let you evaluate your life. And even if you didn't think any of them were doing better, meeting the man Krona abducted would open your eyes to a lot of things you'd missed.

And he hadn't even been a Lantern for two years.
And that firmly sets this after Crisis of Infinite Pauls (And Jades!) Which means she's had a chance to see a lot of other hers and how they lived their lives.

The files he'd given her… His version of-. The version of her from his parallel ended up joining the League of Assassins. She was a murderer several times over when he first met her. It… Was a future that she could see herself having, if she hadn't met Alan. And that-. That just made her more determined to do better.
On the other hand, she turned things around right quick after meeting OL. Even wrangled her way into a career as a special-ops agent for OL's bosses. That's got to be something to be impressed with.

"Hey, take it easy." Hal looks around at the hospital staff who are just out of line of sight. "You got some kinda problem with her?"

"Never met her. And I did call her. But this is my project, and we're his colleagues. If it bothers you this much, why are you here?"
And from the context, she's talking about the still-comatose Guy Gardner here...Gotta figure she has a Plan to get him awake and ring-slinging again.

Hal pauses. Because he hasn't even thought about it.

"Like you said; we're colleagues. I don't have to like him to feel obliged to show up. But you never worked with him."
Ah, Hal. That fearless demeanour doesn't lend itself to forethought.

"How many people would visit if it was me in there?"

"Your sister. Alan and Molly-"
Well, that just makes it more impressive. But then, Alan has plenty of Will.

"They're in their nineties."

And whatever is keeping Alan energetic doesn't extend to Molly. Jade had watched her fade, even in the few years that she's known her.
:( Which, admittedly, is something of a downer when you think about it.

"-would-. Yeah, I.. guess. What, you don't have friends in school?"

He doesn't mean that to be quite so grating as it is, but even he picks up on her prickling.
Which means it's pretty sharp to get through his thick skull.

The basic idea behind the treatment is simple. Guy Gardner is suffering from a traumatic brain injury. The initial swelling caused by the sudden impact of his head against the road has gone down, but the rigid structure of his skull made it impossible for his brain to expand and as a result it as effectively crushed against his skull's interior surface. That permanent damage is why he's still in a coma, and while the medical records she got from parallel universes a little way in the future say that he'll make a recovery in a couple of years, that damage is permanent. It can't be healed by conventional medicine.
Ah, if only they had Blue Rings by this point. Alas, this is closer to pre-Flashpoint comics universe, not anything close to the YJ timeline. Not-so-fun medical fact: That swelling (known as a subdural hemotoma) is the reason why you don't let someone with a head injury go to sleep until they've been properly checked over - the swelling can be fatal if not caught...

But an anal retentive with a power ring isn't limited to conventional medicine. And having his help meant that she could eliminate a lot of fruitless lines of enquiry. While Wonder Woman was willing to lend her a purple healing ray even to benefit the man who called her 'the hottest grandma ever' before his brain injury, the ray was unreliable for healing 'old' injuries. Stem cell infusions required constant monitoring of a sort that wasn't practical with a green power ring unless the Lantern was a medical professional, and her training focused more on traumatic injuries than neurological trauma. It might work fine, and it might give him brain cancer.
Magical healing would have too many strings attached (No free rides in DC magic.) Nanotech would have similar issues to stem cells - no telling what might happen without very close monitoring or very advanced tech...

But by combining medical data from a hundred different versions of a man who didn't exist in this reality gave her enough of a picture of pre-war Durla to trade with the survivors for an example of their adaptive biotech. As well as the service of a Durlan physician who survived the war and had experience treating humanoids.

Not that the treatment was exactly FDA approved, but Alan was still insisting that she maintain a secret identity at least until she left high school.
...And now I find myself wondering if she's attached to the Teen Titans here, even if only in the media's eyes. I can just see the headlines: 'Teen Lantern shatters super-criminal conspiracy!'

And it would work. The Durlans used to use something similar on other more humanoid species as a standard procedure before the war. And if anything looked like it was going wrong, that was what the nanotech the blue Lantern gave her was for.

There's a bit of a crowd around the ward, but at least Guy had thought to add them to the approved visitors list before he was hit by the bus. The hulking purple-robed form of the Durlan doctor is visible over the heads of the doctor, nurses, government officials and at least one janitor.
Heh. Baul making himself useful, huh? ...Wait, why the janitor? :confused: Curiosity, or someone of interest in disguise...

Hal steps forcibly through the crowd.

"Excuse me, coming through."
...You'd think they'd notice the pair of green-glowing people coming into the room...

The crowd parts reluctantly, unsure why the interloper thought that they would be allowed to attend but sufficiently cowed by his confidence that they weren't willing to say anything. Since Guy didn't have a secret identity, explaining how they knew him was a little awkward. Hal could at least claim that he met Guy in prison. She'd had to claim that he rescued her once, which wouldn't have been true if she'd had her ring at the time.
...Ah, they're not in uniform. Honestly, it probably would have been easier if they were, but capes gonna cape... :rolleyes:

"Mister Jordan, Miss Scott!"

Dr. Cross raises his right hand in greeting from inside the ward, prompting the doubters to make a path for them. A few of the Durlan's face tentacles wave in their direction but it doesn't otherwise move, its attention absorbed in the hand it has on and in Guy's head.
Ah, the possible future Doctor Mid-Nite II. On of the more interesting characters from the 'legacy-focused' era of the 90's and noughties.

Hal nods in greeting. "How's it going, Docs?"

"The patient's not in any distress. I've never met a physician who can alter cells by touching them before."
Since annoyingly, proper healing powers are rare amongst DC heroes. And they're usually seen as a secondary option for mages, more often than not...

"It is largely automatic, even for us. I am simply guiding the process."

The Durlan's voice sounds damp, phlegmy. Almost exactly like all of the Durlans she spoke to on Durla. Given their shapeshifting ability, keeping track of which one was which even with a power ring was an exercise in futility. The Martian Manhunter said that they gave him a migraine, which is the only reason why he isn't here to check on the status of Guy's mind.
Honestly, I never got that. When you could be anything, why operate in such a form? I know, it's a cultural thing, but still... Eh, I suppose it makes interstellar relations easier when you can point to that tentacled form and say, "Yup, that's a Durlan..."

"How's it going?"

"Well. I am nearly done." The tentacles wave. "Though I am curious about one thing. Do humans mate outside of your species?"
Well, not for a couple of centuries time yet.... Though most humans who get out into the universe at large do end up.. boldly going.

Hal frowns. "Ah… Not.. usually? It's pretty much just us on the planet. What makes you ask?"

"There are… Unfamiliar components."
For the record, since many people have commented already: Vuldarians, who did spend some time on Earth laying the seeds for a future vengeance against a racial enemy.

Dr. Cross shrugs. "Modern humans interbred with neanderthal and denisovan humans about fifty thousand years ago. Is that what you mean?"

"No. Other human subspecies would be too similar for me to notice the difference. This feels synthetic. Though it may simply be that I am unfamiliar with the specifics of your species. I have finished."
To be fair, human genetics in DC is really crazy thanks to the White Light Entity and all.

She watches as the skin of Guy's head moves as the Durlan removes its tendrils from inside him. Guy himself doesn't look any different, his chest rising and falling as he remains unconscious.

"When will he wake up?"
Well, probably when it's dramatically and ironically appropriate. Because DC works on Narritivium, doncha know.

Dr. Cross is already checking his monitors.

"Ah, well, his brain still has to recover, though having all of his-."

Guy convulses, the brainwaves going wild! Dr. Cross's eyes dart from monitor to monitor as the Durlan holds out its hand again in confusion.
Ah, the benefit of shapeshifting abilities: Rapid healing and recovery.

"That should not-."

Guy's body shifts shape, red and blue lines appears all over his skin as his muscles bulge! His forearms melt and distort, his right settling down in the form of some sort of gun while his left forms a mace. His torso jumps upright as his eyes snap open, left eye normal while his right contains a target recital.
And yes, those markings are apparently part of his Vuldarian powerset... They only show up in his 'active' form, and after he got healed in 'Green Lantern: Rebirth', they permanently disappeared alongside the whole Vuldarian thing.

"I'm awake!" He looks around, blinking hard. "What just-?"

He brings his left hand to his forehead to rub his brow, but unfortunately it's still in the form of a mace.

It hits him on the temple, and he collapses back to his bed, unconscious once more.
Ah, too bad. Looks like the universe has decided to make him the comic relief... :V

Ah, the 90's. Second only to the Silver Age for 'WTF'-inducing character changes and plot-lines. But unlike the sixties, these were usually made in complete seriousness. Still, it proves a fertile ground for imagination... This should prove an interesting contrast if Green Jade ever meets OL again. I'm almost sorry we're likely back to OL tomorrow.
 
Also, Hal's a bit of an idiot when it comes to that sort of thing. Though few DC capes share their private lives with each other until they know each other better (usually after learning each other's real names...)

And seeing as he and Guy don't like each other they don't have much reason to talk about their lives to each other.

Does she know Guy's a Lantern?

He doesn't wear a mask and seeing as he's Guy I wouldn't be surprised if he ever made some spectacle with his ring that ended up on the news.

Like creating a construct sports car and driving off with a bunch of models.

You'd think they'd notice the pair of green-glowing people coming into the room...

I don't think they're in uniform.

To be fair, human genetics in DC is really crazy thanks to the White Light Entity and all.

Not to mention whatever else messes with the gene pool.

Ah, too bad. Looks like the universe has decided to make him the comic relief... :V

He wasn't comic relief previously?

Ah, the 90's. Second only to the Silver Age for 'WTF'-inducing character changes and plot-lines

Though not as funny or good.

But unlike the sixties, these were usually made in complete seriousness.

And were usually more cringy than serious.
 
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Add this date over the link in the spoiler box.
'it is'
Thank you, corrected.
And Alan is still very energetic for someone of his age.
It actually came up in the comics a few times. After he was regenerated, she started feeling bad about her age.
I wonder if a Scarab equipped Vuldarian be any more lethal or if it would simply be redundant.
A pureblood vuldarian? Their body would rip the scarab apart.
 
Mr Zoat, has Sybarite gone off-world yet or just stuck to Earth? I'm not sure if his demon-derived abilities function outside a thaumically active environment, though I imagine that he'd function effectively like the Hellwraith and Praexis constructs did.

I know you haven't put a lot of thought into him, relatively speaking, but it would be cool to see a list of all the abilities he's gained from absorbing demons (and other kinds of entities? like malevolent nature spirits or ghosts or something). It reminds me a bit of the What If? path Doctor Strange would have walked down if it wasn't for ex-Time Trapper Paul, absorbing entities for power.

Does he retain access to those abilities even without a power ring or lantern? That's probably an academic question given his ring is inside his body, but I'm still curious about the mechanics of power ring and magic interaction (and what would happen if he absorbed the powers of a demon with Lobo-level regeneration or something). Warhammer Fantasy Paul seems to do well for himself in that regard, while I think Paragon could stand to do his orange magic-feeding thing more, especially when facing a mystical threat like this.

Do you have any plans for Renegade to encounter the Titan Seeds? The boom tube in the last Paragon chapter indicates New God involvement (unless it's Dox having suddenly pulled a heel face turn and perfected his power ring-based boom tubes), so I don't think it's super unlikely for Renegade to get involved at some point (unless it's Paragon-timeline Grayven, I guess).
 
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His ring is inside his body, not a Lantern.

He never got a Lantern.
Ah, thanks for the correction.

I forget the specifics of the post-Krona data exchange between all the Pauls, but I wonder if he or other iterations got a better picture of the interstellar socio-political landscape that affected their decisions- at least for the ones who were also in DC comics universes.
 

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