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

Belenus · Oct 24, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
"Is this easily breakable?"

"It exists in more dimensions than your mortal mind can comprehend, so… No, not really."

"Imma punch it."

So help me, I lol'd

Bud-E · Oct 24, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
Thank you, corrected.

Started watching the first episode of series 4. A month to Mars? None of the local Lanterns prepared to give you a lift?

It's Young Justice. Adults can't be helpful.

theaceoffire · Oct 24, 2021

I love and hate action scenes like this one.

On one hand it's visceral and fast-paced.

On the other I have only half of an idea of what actually happened here. Also unless I read this completely wrong I think one of the characters is suddenly a robot.

So like usual, I'm going to have to wait for the comments in the next chapter to make things more clear... And then retroactively pretend that I was smart enough to follow along the whole time.

oct9010 · Oct 24, 2021

Gee, it's too bad OL didn't bring some kind of gun to this knife fight. Say, a chemically-propelled sidearm that he knows works inside this room because he tested it once already.

Darko · Oct 24, 2021

oct9010 said:
Gee, it's too bad OL didn't bring some kind of gun to this knife fight. Say, a chemically-propelled sidearm that he knows works inside this room because he tested it once already.

How would that help him win this fight?

Sparta and Impossible are either impervious to bullets or have equipment that will protect them from projectiles.

A gun isn't really going to help him with the fight.

Batman shot Darkseid but I'm pretty sure the bullet had some anti New God radiation in it.

Paul doesn't have anti New God radiation.

Coda · Oct 24, 2021

theaceoffire said:
On the other I have only half of an idea of what actually happened here. Also unless I read this completely wrong I think one of the characters is suddenly a robot.

I think you forgot to read yesterday's update. That's the SI, who is fighting in power armor with no ring assistance.

Stsword · Oct 24, 2021

Darko said:
How would that help him win this fight?

Sparta and Impossible are either impervious to bullets or have equipment that will protect them from projectiles.

A gun isn't really going to help him with the fight.

Batman shot Darkseid but I'm pretty sure the bullet had some anti New God radiation in it.

Paul doesn't have anti New God radiation.

Radion. A New God poison.

Although when Batman shot Darkseid they turned radion into a "platonic ideal of a bullet."

Which is both pretentious and stupid shit since the New Gods have radion blasters and bombs.

Radion by the by is a theoretical particle in physics, a graviton that is identical in four dimensions but differs in extra dimensions like the 5th.

Sojiko · Oct 24, 2021

I know I'm ridiculously later, but I haven't see anyone else talk about, from when Renegrayven fights Grayven 50 and Ganny Goodness:

Mr Zoat said:
I dart towards her and grab her Father Box before she can call up a new boom tube. Mine Now.

Mr Zoat said:
"Heck." I toss Granny Goodness's Mother Box to her. "Feel free to just take off. Go somewhere nice."

Is it actually a Mother Box that he first mistook for a Father Box, maybe? Or is there a mistake?

Ngamer11 · Oct 24, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
Dirt explodes upward before being blown away by wind that swirls from nowhere, sparks flying from the short lived dust storm. As it calms, the.. newly transformed Adrianna freezes for a moment, then moves her left hand to keep her tiny skirt down while her right moves across her barely-covered and significantly larger breasts.

Mr Zoat, I was rereading Episode 74: Gods and Mortals and found that this picture doesn't work anymore.

Mr Zoat said:
Who insisted on keeping her right hand free just in case she needed to save a half second on drawing a knife. And is wearing a tang suit because she wasn't willing to compromise her mobility -she can be so mission-focused- and that was the best we could do which met with Kahndaq's clothing… Customs, for women

Edit 1: Found another picture that doesn't work.

moralrelativity · Oct 25, 2021

theaceoffire said:
On the other I have only half of an idea of what actually happened here.

I get that too. Mostly I let go of the need to understand ALL the action and just let it wash over me. Like you, I'll sometimes go back and see if the posts tell me what I missed.

Mr Zoat · Oct 25, 2021

11th September 2012
21:20 GMT

"Sparta, hold them both off." Doctor Impossible begins working the console with a will. "I have an idea."

I dive at his back, knife extended. An instant later Sparta hits me in the chest-. Hits me with her shoulder so it doesn't overstress my shield, but it knocks me out over the black.

"Good!"

And the black surrounds me again, flashes of lightning accelerating in frequency. Is it absorbing more energy? Or is he compelling it to exert itself to death? Okay, Athyns was that way, and he's doing something with the Seeds that lets him get through the Sun Eater. Can he beat Sparta one on one? I'd guess 'yes', given that the ability to conjure solar plasma and read someone's mind is a bit more useful than the ability to swing a sword. But I don't know what Doctor Impossible can do.

Manoeuvre around… This armour doesn't have an armature, but I can grow my limbs back after we get out of the factory. Firm grasp on the knife and accelerate.

"DAH!"

Athyns punches with fists of glowing plasma and Sparta's sword melts into a puddle, molten metal spraying across the control platform.

"Impossible! I need-."

**Failure**

Sparta cringes, hands going to her ears. "No! Mother Rhea-!"

"Just a little longer!"

Worse case scenario, he can connect to the other six Seeds now that they're here. Simple solution, then. I shoot forward and jam the knife into the cradle holding the Seeds which appears to contain a miniature sun.

"Marvellously predictable." Doctor Impossible disappears and then reappears a little to his left. "Goodbye."

Sparta looks around. "You said-!"

"An idea which serves me. You've run out of utility." He steps-. He vanishes into thin air. I can't see any boom tube aperture, so I don't know-.

Everything goes black.

Did he issue a recall? Or did.. breaching the thing channelling magic power from the Essence of Sun orb naturally.. draw the Sun Eater back.

"Aaaaaagh!" "I cling to life yet!"

The cradles are designed to do something, something that a New God can operate. I'm sceptical that an Apokoliptian could use a Maltusian system as well as the designers, so it's… There's some sort of bypass.

**Lantern!**

**Can you get to the console?**

**Yes, but I have no idea how it works.**

**It was designed with the same technology as the weapons the Karrak-. Whatever we're calling Sparta's former followers, are using. You should find it instinctive. Failing that, draw upon all of the Seeds and try to alter… The universe around us.**

**I will try.**

**Can you feel Sparta?**

**She is close by. Should I kill her?**

Rationally… Yes, probably. We can't see anything. She had a sword, and I'm using a shield that can't take a solid hit from it. Without special protection she'll probably die anyway.

**You have access to her mind and my rings aren't working. Ideally, I'd like her to live, but you shouldn't risk yourself or the planet.**

**[The foot comes down hard and causes a painful-sounding snap. Then it does it again.]**

**I believe that she is neutralised. Moving to the console now.**

**Good work. Can you direct me to her?**

I feel a mental probe and open my mind to it, showing my physical location relative to the command platform. In return, I feel a nudge towards a particular part of the platform near to where I last saw Sparta.

**Thank you.**

**A little mercy saves a lot of pain.**

I'm… Ambivalent about that as a general proclamation, but I suppose that it's at least true sometimes.

I fly down, following his directions. I'm going to assume that Sparta isn't in any sort of fighting shape, and… Frankly, my medical options are limited. I have a purple healing ray I can deploy, but I've got no idea whether or not it will work through this murk. Or whether healing her is a good idea in the short term. I land and cautiously slide my feet around-.

That's her.

I don't have particularly acute sensory feedback from my feet, so I've got no idea exactly what I just kicked. But there isn't anything else it can really have been.

**Athyns, can you link my mind to hers?**

**If you think it wise. I believe that I'm achieving something with the controls, though I cannot precisely tell what.**

**Okay, what do you know about how titans work, mystically?**

**They are of higher ranks than gods? The gods followed Rhea-.**

**Their natural state is more primal, but it's harder for them to enter the material universe. What you're working with is a link to the most primal form of magic, which you can use due to being a demigod yourself.**

I crouch awkwardly, feeling around-. I firmly push Sparta down as she tries to rise. How can I shield her? I don't have deployable shields, and I don't know if…

I feel around to get an outline of her body, then position myself on top of her in the hope that doing so will offer her at least a degree of protection from my armour's shield. I'm far larger than her but I didn't design it to form seals.

**The magic of the pure manifested ideal form, without material limitations. Not just the minds of people but the concept of thought and information exchange.**

**I… See. I think… I think I understand what that man did. I can open the storage portal again.**

**Use the power of Hyperion and Thia to attract it back in. We'll work out the rest later.**

**I understand.** Bend To My Will.

I wince as a blast of lightning hits my shield, and… Internal diagnostics are not happy about that but there's sod all I can do about it.

**Any joy?**

**No. None at all.**

**Ah. Okay, we can head to the exit and try to get Hinon to-.**

The black cloud around us flows away, drawn into a brilliantly shining point in the factory depths.

**But our task here is done.**

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 25, 2021

Only two bits of Godspeech today... But pertinent.

Did he issue a recall? Or did.. breaching the thing channelling magic power from the Essence of Sun orb naturally.. draw the Sun Eater back.

"Aaaaaagh!" "I cling to life yet!"

**Use the power of Hyperion and Thia to attract it back in. We'll work out the rest later.**

**I understand.** Bend To My Will.

Darko · Oct 25, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
Can he beat Sparta one on one? I'd guess 'yes', given that the ability to conjure solar plasma and read someone's mind is a bit more useful that the ability to swing a sword. But I don't know what Doctor Impossible can do.

Also Sparta probably has more experience using her powers.

Mr Zoat said:
*A little mercy saves a lot of pain.**
I'm… Ambivalent about that as a general proclamation, but I suppose that it's at least true sometimes.

There should be a space between the two sentences.

Mr Zoat said:
. I'm going to assume that Sparta isn't in any sort of fighting shape

Don't assume, it makes an ass of you and me.

Mr Zoat said:
blast of lightning his my shield,

'hits my'

Mr Zoat · Oct 25, 2021

Sojiko said:
I know I'm ridiculously later, but I haven't see anyone else talk about, from when Renegrayven fights Grayven 50 and Ganny Goodness:

Is it actually a Mother Box that he first mistook for a Father Box, maybe? Or is there a mistake?

As far as I remember, Father Boxes aren't a thing in Universe 50.

Ngamer11 said:
Mr Zoat, I was rereading Episode 74: Gods and Mortals and found that this picture doesn't work anymore.

Edit 1: Found another picture that doesn't work.

Thank you, corrected.

Vaermina · Oct 25, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
"Marvellously predictable." Doctor Impossible disappears and then reappears a little to his left. "Goodbye."

So for the first time since the Angel's kicked his ass... Paragon Lost...

*Insert party gif here*

moralrelativity · Oct 25, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
**Any joy?**

**No. None at all.**

**Ah. Okay, we can head to the exit and try to get Hinon to-.**

The black cloud around us flows away, drawn into a brilliantly shining point in the factory depths.

**But our task here is done.**

Hahahahaha. Idioms ftw.

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 25, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
11th September 2012
21:20 GMT

"Sparta, hold them both off." Doctor Impossible begins working the console with a will. "I have an idea."

I dive at his back, knife extended. An instant later Sparta hits me in the chest-. Hits me with her shoulder so it doesn't overstress my shield, but it knocks me out over the black.

Oh, the Doc's going to pull a 'screw you guys, I'm going home!' thing, isn't he? Leave his foes and patsy for dead while he makes a clean getaway... And he's going to get away with it, because OL and Athyns will have to deal with the Sun-Eater...

"Good!"

And the black surrounds me again, flashes of lightning accelerating in frequency. Is it absorbing more energy? Or is he compelling it to exert itself to death? Okay, Athyns was that way, and he's doing something with the Seeds that lets him get through the Sun Eater. Can he beat Sparta one on one? I'd guess 'yes', given that the ability to conjure solar plasma and read someone's mind is a bit more useful that the ability to swing a sword. But I don't know what Doctor Impossible can do.

Yeah, solar fire beats sword ninety-nine times out of a hundred. The old issue of Linear Warrior, Quadratic Caster. Though it's a lot more bearable when it's in your favour.

Manoeuvre around… This armour doesn't have an armature, but I can grow my limbs back after we get out of the factory. Firm gasp on the knife and accelerate.

"DAH!"

Athyns punches with fists of glowing plasma and Sparta's sword melts into a puddle, molten metal spraying across the control platform.

Oh, she's going down hard. And I suspect Athyns will enjoy this righteous Face-punching, just a little.

"Impossible! I need-."

**Failure**

And a Psychic attack too. That's Hyperion (or Thia's) and Crius' Seeds accounted for.

Sparta cringes, hands going to her ears. "No! Mother Rhea-!"

"Just a little longer!"

Might be time to throw a wrench in his escape plan, OL?

Worse case scenario, he can connect to the other six Seeds now that they're here. Simple solution, then. I shoot forward and jam the knife into the cradle holding the Seeds which appears to contain a miniature sun.

"Marvellously predictable." Doctor Impossible disappears and then reappears a little to his left. "Goodbye."

Oh, come on, that's exactly what he wanted you to do? Ugh, I hate Xanatos Speed Chess villains...

Sparta looks around. "You said-!"

"An idea which serves me. You've run out of utility." He steps-. He vanishes into thin air. I can't see any boom tube aperture, so I don't know-.

Or it was a Hush Tube. Presumably he used the Boom Tubes earlier to hide the fact he had one available... Always having an ace in the hole, eh? Pragmatic, if annoying.

Everything goes black.

Did he issue a recall? Or did.. breaching the thing channelling magic power from the Essence of Sun orb naturally.. draw the Sun Eater back.

And since you presumably damaged it, now you can't use it to pacify the thing. Damn, what an asshole he is.

"Aaaaaagh!" "I cling to life yet!"

The cradles are designed to do something, something that a New God can operate. I'm sceptical that an Apokoliptian could use a Maltusian system as well as the designers, so it's… There's some sort of bypass.

Like wiring in a bypass to sidestep a security lockout chip in a console. Probably done to work around the Maltusian security method of simply making the attempted user have to do all the math in their head...

**Lantern!**

**Can you get to the console?**

**Yes, but I have no idea how it works.**

I get the feeling it's very user-friendly. And at least telepathy works in this mess.

**It was designed with the same technology as the weapons the Karrak-. Whatever we're calling Sparta's former followers, are using. You should find it instinctive. Failing that, draw upon all of the Seeds and try to alter… The universe around us.**

**I will try.**

Pretty big penalty for failing, so no pressure or anything...

**Can you feel Sparta?**

**She is close by. Should I kill her?**

...That depends. How well can you keep her contained in this situation? She's probably been drained to the point of near-death by now...

Rationally… Yes, probably. We can't see anything. She had a sword, and I'm using a shield that can't take a solid hit from it. Without special protection she'll probably die anyway.

**You have access to her mind and my rings aren't working. Ideally, I'd like her to live, but you shouldn't risk yourself or the planet.**

Alive, if only so she can be seen to be punished in front of her former followers...

**[The foot comes down hard and causes a painful-sounding snap. Then it does it again.]**

**I believe that she is neutralised. Moving to the console now.**

...Ow. Good thing she seems to be out cold at this point...

**Good work. Can you direct me to her?**

I feel a mental probe and open my mind to it, showing my physical location relative to the command platform. In return, I feel a nudge towards a particular part of the platform near to where I last saw Sparta.

Ah, OL's natural openness to Telepathy coming in handy again...

**Thank you.**

**A little mercy saves a lot of pain.**

...I mean, it's not a bad sentiment, but sometimes, you have to be merciless, if only to avoid trouble in future.

I'm… Ambivalent about that as a general proclamation, but I suppose that it's at least true sometimes.

I fly down, following his directions. I'm going to assume that Sparta isn't in any sort of fighting shape, and… Frankly, my medical options are limited. I have a purple healing ray I can deploy, but I've got no idea whether or not it will work through this murk. Or whether healing her is a good idea in the short term. I land and cautiously slide my feet around-.

Save it for after you've got the energy-draining megafauna contained... I doubt she's going to be too concerned either way.

That's her.

I don't have particularly acute sensory feedback from my feet, so I've got no idea exactly what I just kicked. But there isn't anything else it can really have been.

True, not much left that wasn't brought in by one of those involved...

**Athyns, can you link my mind to hers?**

**If you think it wise. I believe that I'm achieving something with the controls, though I cannot precisely tell what.**

Probably best not to distract him too much, then.

**Okay, what do you know about how titans work, mystically?**

**They are of higher ranks than gods? The gods followed Rhea-.**

It's a little more complicated than that, which I'm sure OL will happily lecture you on later, regardless of the accuracy of his knowledge...

**Their natural state is more primal, but it's harder for them to enter the material universe. What you're working with is a link to the most primal form of magic, which you can use due to being a demigod yourself.**

I crouch awkwardly, feeling around-. I firmly push Sparta down as she tries to rise. How can I shield her? I don't have deployable shields, and I don't know if…

I doubt there's any space inside the armour for her, and no safe way to open it in these conditions, so that's out. How big is the shield envelope on that thing, then?

I feel around to get an outline of her body, then position myself on top of her in the hope that doing so will offer her at least a degree of protection from my armour's shield. I'm far larger than her but I didn't design it to form seals.

**The magic of the pure manifested ideal form, without material limitations. Not just the minds of people but the concept of thought and information exchange.**

Might want to work out some way of extending the envelope, then. Something for the next model.

**I… See. I think… I think I understand what that man did. I can open the storage portal again.**

**Use the power of Hyperion and Thia to attract it back in. We'll work out the rest later.**

Heh, Coeus' power giving him a buff to Intellect and knowledge, eh?

**I understand.** Bend To My Will.

I wince as a blast of lightning his my shield, and… Internal diagnostics are not happy about that but there's sod all I can do about it.

Except hope things don't break. And there's not even the option of a quick prayer, what with the scrying-invisibility tattoos.

**Any joy?**

**No. None at all.**

Well, shit...

Wait, do Karrakanians even have a counterpart to that expression?

**Ah. Okay, we can head to the exit and try to get Hinon to-.**

The black cloud around us flows away, drawn into a brilliantly shining point in the factory depths.

**But our task here is done.**

Evidently they don't. Or Athyns is just that dour a guy, even this didn't make him happy.

Well, potential mayhem contained, even if the ultimate instigator escaped. Now comes the hard part: getting back to New Cronus and reviving the Titans without the Ascendant taking umbrage. On the upside, I suspect they'll be happy to work with OL now, having seen how dangerous the universe at large can be.

Darko · Oct 25, 2021

Chojin Patriarch said:
Oh, the Doc's going to pull a 'screw you guys, I'm going home!' thing, isn't

This could be an interesting way of getting rid of Granny Goodness.

Travel the multiverse and find Eric Cartman, then bring him to Apokalips so Granny can take care of him.

She'll be eating shit by the end of the week.

Chojin Patriarch said:
And a Psychic attack too. That's Hyperion (or Thia's) and Coeus' Seeds accounted for.

Don't forget Crius, who had telepathy and read OL's mind.

Old Knife · Oct 25, 2021

Darko said:
She'll be eating shit by the end of the week.

Eric is a monster but only if enabled.
He is the embodiment of why we use cages and chains. Except we never have quite enough to stop him from doing something incredibly henious.

Mr Zoat · Oct 25, 2021

Darko said:
There should be a space between the two sentences.
'hits my'

Thank you, corrected.

preier · Oct 25, 2021

Vaermina said:
So for the first time since the Angel's kicked his ass... Paragon Lost...
*Insert party gif here*

not to rain on your party but there is another possibility: he's lying and bluffing as if it was going out of style. I like to imagine him as currently hiding, barely daring to breathe and hoping like mad that they won't check under Sparta's bed.

ChestBurster · Oct 25, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
Manoeuvre around… This armour doesn't have an armature, but I can grow my limbs back after we get out of the factory. Firm gasp on the knife and accelerate.

Firm grasp on the knife and accelerate.

Mr Zoat · Oct 25, 2021

ChestBurster said:
Firm grasp on the knife and accelerate.

Thank you, corrected.

Handlewithcare · Oct 25, 2021

Hm. Athyns seems altered by the power.

Paul, once he starts ranting and going "Muahahaha!" you distract him and I'll hit him with something. That should do the trick.

Mr Zoat · Oct 26, 2021

11th September 2012
21:31 GMT

Athyns and I emerge into the daylight to a devastated landscape, the unconscious Sparta over my right pauldron. The Ascendants are already heading towards the entrance, but stop when they see us.

Pontico looks at Sparta's recumbent form for a moment.

"Is she..?"

"She's alive. I don't know what you're going to do with her, but… Yeah."

"We will arrange transportation to a medical facility. A… Secure one."

I carefully lift her off me, and two of the Ascendants come forward to take her from me.

"Do you..? Do you know why..? Any of this..? Happened?"

"She was in contact with an Apokoliptian called Doctor Impossible. He said something about there being a problem with Karrakan's magic..?"

They don't appear to know what I'm talking about.

"Here." Athyns makes a point of holding the six recovered Seeds out to Pontico. "Hold onto these until we decide what we're going to do with them."

Pontico hesitates, and I can see how easy it would be for Athyns to step into the Sparta-shaped hole in their heads. A sidelong glance at his expression suggests that Athyns knows it too.

He meets my eyes, and gives his head a small shake.

"Al.. right." Pontico takes what I think was Themis's Seed before stepping away and motioning another Ascendant forward. "I.. don't know what happened to Sparta, but I think that… Until we have a better idea of what she was doing that it would be best… Not to put that power in one person's hands."

Athyns nods. "That may be wise."

"Okay… Look. What do you want done with the Sun Eaters?"

"That was the weapon your masters buried here?" Pontico looks concerned. "There are more?"

"Oh, yes. We just put that one back in storage. There are… I don't know how many exactly, but more than that. And what you saw was just a small part of a being designed to envelop a star."

"They are literal eaters of suns?"

"Yes. Sorry, I'm just now appreciating that that wasn't obvious. The Controllers designed them as system extermination weapons, then stored them here when they decommissioned them. Since we now know that the Apokoliptians can get into their computers using the Seeds, I'm… Going to need to request that they be kept away from this site until we can do something about the place."

Pontico takes a moment to examine our surroundings. "I have no objection."

Athyns just nods.

"Right! Good show. I'll contact Hinon and someone who actually knows what they're doing can handle that."

I take another look around. I could easily fix this, but I think that this aid to memory might be useful. Pontico and Athyns have the motivation to make good Orange Lanterns, but since more power doesn't fix complicated political problems and can often make them worse, I think I'll hold off on making that offer.

"Anyone found Melinoë yet?"

Pontico shakes his head. "She has.. not made herself known. I am sorry, but you must face the possibility that she is among the dead."

I nod. "Possibly. Ah, could I-?" I point to Phoebe's Seed, which Athyns is about to hand over. "Borrow that for a moment? It might help me locate her."

Athyns frowns. "I thought you were unable to use them."

"I can't, but I can piggyback on it when someone else is using it. This is a thaumically active world. I understand that none of you are that familiar with the differences in how they function compared with thaumically inactive places, but where I'm from gods don't habitually wear mortal form because it involves giving up too much power."

Pontico shrugs, and Athyns hands Phoebe's Seed over.

"Thank you." I raise my right hand to my forehead. "Back shortly."

I

step out, homing in on the beacon of fear

in the landing bay of New Cronus. Soldiers are.. just kind of sitting around dejectedly, and I can't immediately see any Ascendants. A few rise when they see me but it's clear that they don't have any real hostility.

"News from the surface." I head towards the area where they injured are laid out. "Sparta was working with an agent from planet Apokolips. We're not sure why or what the end goal was. Sparta herself is currently being held by other Ascendants. The fight is over, so-. You don't look busy. Use this time to gather the wounded of either side and take them to appropriate aid posts."

There's an air of hesitation, disordered soldiers getting orders but not certain that the person they're getting them from is a valid source.

Our eyes flare with orange light.

"Now."

And they're gone, our vision showing the majority fanning out across the station while a handful remain on duty here.

The medical orderlies come alert, and I take a couple of purple ray devices from subspace.

"These should heal simple flesh injuries. Use with caution on larger injuries, as they don't restore entirely missing limbs or organs."

"Ah, thank you?"

Okay, yes, writhing in dread. I take the Seed and press it to the recumbent soldier's forehead.

"Melinoë, we hope you can hear this." I extrude strands of orange out across her victims, making an open connection to any god who happens to press against them. "The conflict is resolved. We hope that you will remove your blessing from these people."

Of course, if she actually is dead, this is going to be a little awkward.

…

Nothing. Ah. Well, I'll leave it on for a few min-.

Black mist bubbles through the skin of the faces of the fallen Karrakanians around me, pooling on the floor and rising up. Some gasp and flail, struggling to get away from the one who so terrified them. Others lay where they were put, panting in relief at their deliverance.

The mists coalesce into a humanoid-.

"I am not impressed."

"Not impressed that I worked out that you used their nightmares as an entry point to the local-?"

She stalks up to me, glaring straight into my eyes. She's gotten taller.

"Not impressed that you left me here to be overwhelmed by your enemies!"

"They're not my enemies and we've made peace since then. The other two?"

She-. Hah! She grows a little, glaring imperiously down at me. I hadn't realised that she was sensitive about her height. "Still in the local aether. It's unformatted but oddly pliable."

"Good show. We need-."

"Ah."

I glance at the Karrakanian with the Seed pressed against their forehead who is awake and trying their best not to move. I take the Seed from them.

"You can go."

They roll off the cot and sprint for the exit.

Darko · Oct 26, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
They don't appear know what I'm talking about

'to know'

Mr Zoat said:
Here." Athyns makes a point of holding the six recovered Seeds out to Pontico. "Hold onto these until we decide what we're going to do with them."

I thought he'd want to return them to the Titans.

Mr Zoat said:
There's a air of hesitation

'an air'

Mr Zoat said:
"Melinoë, we hope you can hear this." I extrude strands of orange out across her victims, making an open connection to any god who happens to press against them. "The conflict is resolved. We hope that you will remove your blessing from these people."

Of course, if she actually is dead, this is going to be a little awkward

Hey, they started it.

Mr Zoat said:
Not impressed that I worked out that you used their nightmares as an entry point to the local-?"

She stalks up to me, glaring straight into my eyes. She's gotten taller.

Hmm, either she's taller as an intimidation thing or she connected to the local magic and it's powering her.

Handlewithcare · Oct 26, 2021

At this point Paul is going to be whorshipped as a deity sooner rather than later.

Casually conversing with gods,defeats their leader, uses titan seeds, changes their world(s)...

He is like a mini Nyarlhotep. A Crawling Chaos god-messenger that upends reality at a whim.

Gantradies · Oct 26, 2021

Handlewithcare said:
At this point Paul is going to be whorshipped as a deity sooner rather than later.

Casually conversing with gods,defeats their leader, uses titan seeds, changes their world(s)...

He is like a mini Nyarlhotep. A Crawling Chaos god-messenger that upends reality at a whim.

Eris is going to be SO proud of her little worshiper!

T..they grow up so fast…

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 26, 2021

Mr Zoat said:
11th September 2012
21:31 GMT

Athyns and I emerge into the daylight to a devastated landscape, the unconscious Sparta over my right pauldron. The Ascendants are already heading towards the entrance, but stop when they see us.

Pontico looks at Sparta's recumbent form for a moment.

I suspect this area will become something of a Mordor analogue for the locals. A place to not go, ever. As for Sparta... Hopefully she can be rehabilitated. I doubt the Ascendant have enough left to want to execute her, though by this point, she may well embody Evil in their minds...

"Is she..?"

"She's alive. I don't know what you're going to do with her, but… Yeah."

Well, mostly alive. I doubt she's going to be unchanged, between the Sun-Eater drain and any little memetic time-bombs Doctor Impossible may have left in her head. Because I would not put it past him to have done so...

"We will arrange transportation to a medical facility. A… Secure one."

I carefully lift her off me, and two of the Ascendants come forward to take her from me.

Gracious in victory, at least. Even if they're only going to patch her up to execute her when she's healthy and whole.

"Do you..? Do you know why..? Any of this..? Happened?"

"She was in contact with an Apokoliptian called Doctor Impossible. He said something about there being a problem with Karrakan's magic..?"

Yeah, you might need diagrams, OL, most of them are kids who have no idea about any of these things.

They don't appear know what I'm talking about.

"Here." Athyns makes a point of holding the six recovered Seeds out to Pontico. "Hold onto these until we decide what we're going to do with them."

So, half to each side. Logical enough. At least until they can make arrangements to revive the Titans. Assuming they can work out how.

Pontico hesitates, and I can see how easy it would be for Athyns to step into the Sparta-shaped hole in their heads. A sidelong glance at his expression suggests that Athyns knows it too.

He meets my eyes, and gives his head a small shake.

Athyns doesn't want to lead, then. Too much hassle, perhaps. It's good to know some people recognise their limitations.

"Al.. right." Pontico takes what I think was Themis's Seed before stepping away and motioning another Ascendant forward. "I.. don't know what happened to Sparta, but I think that… Until we have a better idea of what she was doing that it would be best… Not to put that power in one person's hands."

Athyns nods. "That may be wise."

True, because unlike Athyns, some people don't have that same insight.

"Okay… Look. What do you want done with the Sun Eaters?"

"That was the weapon your masters buried here?" Pontico looks concerned. "There are more?"

Yeah, about that...

"Oh, yes. We just put that one back in storage. There are… I don't know how many exactly, but more than that. And what you saw was just a small part of a being designed to envelop a star."

"They are literal eaters of suns?"

Maltusians aren't really given to hyperbole.

"Yes. Sorry, I'm just now appreciating that that wasn't obvious. The Controllers designed them as system extermination weapons, then stored them here when they decommissioned them. Since we now know that the Apokoliptians can get into their computers using them, I'm… Going to need to request that they be kept away from this site until we can do something about the place."

Pontico takes a moment to examine our surroundings. "I have no objection."

Smart godling. Maybe now the Controllers will clean up the mess they left there...

Athyns just nods.

"Right! Good show. I'll contact Hinon and someone who actually knows what they're doing can handle that."

...Once you finish getting chewed out by her, at least. She really needs to remember, you need minders.

I take another look around. I could easily fix this, but I think that this aid to memory might be useful. Pontico and Athyns have the motivation to make good Orange Lanterns, but since more power doesn't fix complicated political problems and can often make them worse, I think I'll hold off on making that offer.

"Anyone found Melinoë yet?"

Or the other two? Because they seem to have been completely forgotten about in all this. Bet they're hiding in a closet somewhere.And not immediately offering Rings, OL?

Finally learning some reserve?

Pontico shakes his head. "She has.. not made herself known. I am sorry, but you must face the possibility that she is among the dead."

I nod. "Possibly. Ah, could I-?" I point to Phoebe's Seed, which Athyns is about to hand over. "Borrow that for a moment? It might help me locate her."

Since Phoebe, if I remember right, is a Goddess of dreams, amongst other things?

Athyns frowns. "I thought you were unable to use them."

"I can't, but I can piggyback on it when someone else is using it. This is a thaumically active world. I understand that none of you are that familiar with the differences in how they function compared with thaumically inactive places, but where I'm from gods don't habitually wear mortal form because it involves giving up too much power."

Which is why the Seeds exist. ...What's the bet when the connection to the mortal form was severed, the Titans' spirits were sucked into the Seeds, and need only be reconnected somehow to form avatars?

Pontico shrugs, and Athyns hands Phoebe's Seed over.

"Thank you." I raise my right hand to my forehead. "Back shortly."

I

step out, homing in on the beacon of fear

...Argh, OL, what the hell? Are you sure that was safe? I hope that jump was short enough that the Seed didn't pick anything up from the Honden... Or however they work.

in the landing bay of New Cronus. Soldiers are.. just kind of sitting around dejectedly, and I can't immediately see any Ascendants. A few rise when they see me but it's clear that they don't have any real hostility.

"News from the surface." I head towards the area where they injured are laid out. "Sparta was working with an agent from planet Apokolips. We're not sure why or what the end goal was. Sparta herself is currently being held by other Ascendants. The fight is over, so-. You don't look busy. Use this time to gather the wounded of either side and take them to appropriate aid posts."

At least this lot saw OL and Athyns talking to Pontico earlier, so they aren't immediately about to try and restrain him...

There's a air of hesitation, disordered soldiers getting orders but not certain that the person they're getting them from is a valid source.

Our eyes flare with orange light.

"Now."

Ah, Ophidian, good to see you're back in the picture.

And they're gone, our vision showing the majority fanning out across the station while a handful remain on duty here.

The medical orderlies come alert, and I take a couple of purple ray devices from subspace.

Well, those should be well appreciated. I can't imagine how many have been triaged with minor but debilitating wounds and left to wait for care...

"These should heal simple flesh injuries. Use with caution on larger injuries, as they don't restore entirely missing limbs or organs."

Heh,

"Ah, thank you?"

Wonder if they'll ask if they can keep them afterwards? I mean, it;s not like OL has a short supply.

Okay, yes, writhing in dread. I take the Seed and press it to the recumbent soldier's forehead.

"Melinoë, we hope you can hear this." I extrude strands of orange out across her victims, making an open connection to any god who happens to press against them. "The conflict is resolved. We hope that you will remove your blessing from these people."

Because Law of Sympathy. She set the bane upon them, and thus it's connected to her, so she can feel anyone tugging on the threads of magic involved...

Of course, if she actually is dead, this is going to be a little awkward.

…

Especially when you get back to Earth and have to tell her father. He may be a chill guy, but I don't think he'll take kindly to any of this.

Nothing. Ah. Well, I'll leave it on for a few min-.

Black mist bubbles through the skin of the faces of the fallen Karrakanians around me, pooling on the floor and rising up. Some gasp and flail, struggling to get away from the one who so terrified them. Others lay where they were put, panting in relief at their deliverance.

...Well, that was clever of her... Whatever she did.

The mists coalesce into a humanoid-.

"I am not impressed."

Good to see you too, my dear.

"Not impressed that I worked out that you used their nightmares as an entry point to the local-?"

She stalks up to me, glaring straight into my eyes. She's gotten taller.

Just the thing for disciplinary looming.

"Not impressed that you left me here to be overwhelmed by your enemies!"

"They're not my enemies and we've made peace since then. The other two?"

Yes, we were wondering about them. Is the funny one still drunk?

She-. Hah! She grows a little, glaring imperiously down at me. I hadn't realised that she was sensitive about her height. "Still in the local aether. It's unformatted but oddly pliable."

"Good show. We need-."

Right, not quite a closet... So they'll be back in corporeal form by next chapter. Good to know. And hopefully having learnt a very important lessons about appreciating the job you had.

"Ah."

I glance at the Karrakanian with the Seed pressed against their forehead who is awake and trying their best not to move. I take the Seed from them.

...I wouldn't want to be the person stuck cleaning up these beds... They're gonna need bio-hazard gear by now...

"You can go."

They roll off the cot and sprint for the exit.

Leaving a trail of assorted fluids behind them, no doubt. And a healthy respect for ladies with horns.

Well, that's one thread resolved. I wonder how much of that little trick was planned. Still, she (and the other two) are back in the flesh, and probably wanting to have some private words with OL about running off. At any rate, the fighting's done, the mess is being cleaned up, and the wounded tended to. A good time to call Home Base and get some gorram backup out here, hmm?

Artemisnemo · Oct 26, 2021

I just got that the two "mortal" leaders of this conflict, are Athens and Sparta.

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

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