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

[Doccer]

Remembering what Paul said about Brainiac 5 I wonder how he'll take being routed with nothing to show for it?
I really really really really really hope he tells Dana Dearson about what her unchanged future would have been like. I bet it's really hard to decry change when you find out that you're supposed to be in prison for stealing stalking and threatening bodily harm.

It's Cosmic Boy."

"Does he manipulate magnetic fields or 'cosmic' fields?"

"Magnetic, but that's still not his name."

"Then he should have picked a name that's a little less risible."

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Magna Lad sounds cooler to me.
I'd let him keep Cosmic if he is as good at magnetic forces as Magneto is at his best.
Like making a wormhole!

 

[Ngamer11]

Remembering what Paul said about Brainiac 5 I wonder how he'll take being routed with nothing to show for it?

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I can already imagine him going slightly crazy from trying to figure out how to solve this, even though there is nothing left to solve and he's been doing this for nothing the entire time.

 

[Mr Zoat]

How did the time sphere gain the ability to travel to parallel timelines?

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By itself, it doesn't. But it does have the ability to take them back to the 30th century once something else does.

 

[Sojiko]

[Paul first talking with Talia]

"See, the actual reason you and Batman didn't work out? It's not 'cause he's a big softy and can't cope with your father's harsh but necessary methods. It's 'cause your father's a nutter."

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Now that I read it again, I think that this is where Paul started the chain of events that would ultimately result in Talia and Bruce being in a somewhat stable relationship together.

Did we ever get a confirmation of how much Paul's actions were responsible for that situation?

 

[Darko]

Now that I read it again, I think that this is where Paul started the chain of events that would ultimately result in Talia and Bruce being in a somewhat stable relationship together.

Did we ever get a confirmation of how much Paul's actions were responsible for that situation?

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Well Paul did give Talia info on her sister, who Ras had put in a Nazi concentration camp due to her disobeying him, and that most likely showed Talia that her father isn't a man who does horrible things for a good reason, but that he's just a crazy lunatic that does horrible things.

Later on Talia left him and went to Bruce.

Because Talia was no longer supporting her father, Bruce felt more comfortable in their relationship continuing, while previously he was conflicted about it since she was supporting her father in his genocidal campaign.

I think it's safe to say that Paul's actions had a great deal to do with their stable relationship.

 

[Hell's Razer]

Do you not like sweet and sour source? apple pie? Fruit mince pies? Salted Caramel?

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No, no, no and no.

 

[Chaoswind]

Why is Dana being exiled to the future? She is a local, also she considers the future of the United planets to be boring as fuck so should she really be sent there?

Come on this is a golden opportunity to get orange lantern obsession to spice the fuck out of this fic.

Also aren't the coins stolen property from a collection in a Museum? So either the league has a remit to repossess them as magical artifacts (Dana doesn't get to keep them) or the league returns them to the original country they were stolen from... If the country exist...


Dana should lose the coins and be left on this time-line, then she should go "obsessed" with being an orange lantern to show Paul up (have a controller recruit her because they detected her burning orange nature while Paul is elsewhere doing something in Space) and then several chapters later we are introduced to the raising orange lantern obsession being presented to Paul for training and she has used her ring to hyper enhance herself back to her "super girl" days and using the coins for so long worked as a soft new God soul unlock and that combined with orange light ends up being a killer combo.


Come on Mr Zoat do it, do it. Have Paul be responsible for his greatest rival.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Why is Dana being exiled to the future? She is a local, also she considers the future of the United planets to be boring as fuck so should she really be sent there?

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Where did you get that from? She regards the journalists as boring and lazy. She thinks that her life and work are great.

Come on this is a golden opportunity to get orange lantern obsession to spice the fuck out of this fic.

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...

Do you really think that's likely?

Also aren't the coins stolen property from a collection in a Museum? So either the league has a remit to repossess them as magical artifacts

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It does. I think I established that a while ago.

(Dana doesn't get to keep them) or the league returns them to the original country they were stolen from... If the country exist...

Dana should lose the coins and be left on this time-line, then she should go "obsessed" with being an orange lantern to show Paul up (have a controller recruit her because they detected her burning orange nature while Paul is elsewhere doing something in Space) and then several chapters later we are introduced to the raising orange lantern obsession being presented to Paul for training and she has used her ring to hyper enhance herself back to her "super girl" days and using the coins for so long worked as a soft new God soul unlock and that combined with orange light ends up being a killer combo.

Come on Mr Zoat do it, do it. Have Paul be responsible for his greatest rival.

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The future is also really good at fixing mental instability.

 

[Stsword]

How did the time sphere gain the ability to travel to parallel timelines?

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The legion's time travel never had trouble with alternate pasts.

The comic's "threeboot" legion is in fact the original pre-crisis legion.

So the very same Legion interacted with pre-crisis Earth, New Earth, and post-flashpoint earth.

 

[Bramble Thorn]

Also aren't the coins stolen property from a collection in a Museum? So either the league has a remit to repossess them as magical artifacts (Dana doesn't get to keep them) or the league returns them to the original country they were stolen from... If the country exist...

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There is something rather fucked up about the law that OL got passed, where if it had been in force when he arrived and fairly enforced, he'd have had his rings taken from him, as he wasn't qualified to possess them.

But there is no hypocrite like a British hypocrite.

Here, does confiscating the rings from someone trying to use them to be a hero actually serve any positive purpose here?
I mean, with time travel involved, he could take them to have 'his best men' study them (for real, not as some MIB euphemism for SCP warehousing) to see how practical they'd be to duplicate, and then bury them for Dana to dig up in the future, with no lost time from her perspective at all.

 

[Senevri]

yank the pizza delivery girl up into the air, the Hawaiians she was carrying falling to the ground.

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Hhh..
Fine, we'll subtitute peach.
Not as good, IMO.
Personally, I prefer tuna, blue cheese, pineapple and pepperoni.

 

[Darko]

There is something rather fucked up about the law that OL got passed, where if it had been in force when he arrived and fairly enforced, he'd have had his rings taken from him, as he wasn't qualified to possess them.

But there is no hypocrite like a British hypocrite

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If you mean some law concerning confiscation of dangerous materials and artifacts, then I don't see how Paul is being hypocritical, since by the time laws concerning magic were being created he'd already mastered his ring, and even became enlightened, and became very much qualified to possess them.

Also it can be argued that he was qualified to possess them since the ring chose him based on a system created by a hyper intelligent being who made that ring and had far more knowledge on the rings energy than anyone else, so an expert on that field thought that he'd be okay having the ring and that can serve as a pretty good qualifier.

Here, does confiscating the rings from someone trying to use them to be a hero actually serve any positive purpose here?

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Maybe not, though it's also important to consider the circumstances and why he confiscated them.

Like you know, the fact that she would have attacked him if Loriel did not stop her.

And this isn't Dana's first attempt at attacking him.

After she was fired she got a hold of those coins and planned to use them to hurt or kill Paul, but his security system proved to be a match for her.

When someone tries to attack you it is perfectly acceptable to remove any method they may have of doing so, like confiscating their weapons.

And while Dana may want to be a hero, Paul may not wish to give her back her coins since so far two of their most significant encounters have involved her trying to attack him.

 

[Mr Zoat]

There is something rather fucked up about the law that OL got passed, where if it had been in force when he arrived and fairly enforced, he'd have had his rings taken from him, as he wasn't qualified to possess them.

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That fact that something is sensible in the generality doesn't mean that there won't be specific instances where there will be negative consequences. But when it's on the level of 'one person dies due to a reaction of an inoculation' compared to 'one thousand people die of a disease' it's still correct to inoculate.

 

[DAT_NOOB]

No, I don't. Keep salt out of sweet, please.

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No, no, no and no.

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I have come to the conclusion that you have never eaten apple pie or had salted caramel.

 

[Deadring]

There is something rather fucked up about the law that OL got passed, where if it had been in force when he arrived and fairly enforced, he'd have had his rings taken from him, as he wasn't qualified to possess them.

But there is no hypocrite like a British hypocrite.

Here, does confiscating the rings from someone trying to use them to be a hero actually serve any positive purpose here?
I mean, with time travel involved, he could take them to have 'his best men' study them (for real, not as some MIB euphemism for SCP warehousing) to see how practical they'd be to duplicate, and then bury them for Dana to dig up in the future, with no lost time from her perspective at all.

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I don't think you are wrong, but given the situation he was in, he wouldn't have been in a position to create those laws without the ring. Or at least, not as easily. Sure, it is technically a hypocritical act, but I'm inclined to let it slide as it happened to be the most efficient path. It's easy to claim moral certainty in a vacuum, but one of the main themes of this story is how reality is a lot harder to navigate than the purely hypothetical. In my opinion, holding to a moral code at any and all costs, never bending even a little, is a risky thing.

It can lead one to prioritize holding to hypotheticals, over helping the real suffering and struggle people experience. I think the latter is more important than the former.

 

[hkim]

I have come to the conclusion that you have never eaten apple pie or had salted caramel.

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Also no. The apple pies I've had contained no salt or savory elements, they were really nice, but the salted caramel was tasty except the salt part.

 

[DAT_NOOB]

Also no. The apple pies I've had contained no salt or savory elements, they were really nice, but the salted caramel was tasty except the salt part.

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The apple pie didn't have a crust?

 

[Mr Zoat]

14th September 2012
19:31 GMT -5

"…expecting me to be happy about it. You're still stealing my property."

Rip Hunter glowers, but he doesn't look around as he continues to work on the time sphere.

Batman is unmoved.

"As I understand it, you wouldn't be able to use it for its original purpose anyway."

"No, I would be able to use it for its original purpose of historical research. I wouldn't be able to use it for the sort of nonsense I ended up getting dragged into because of people like him."

On the opposite side of the artefact, Jason Goldstein smiles at his former colleague.

"I'm happy for you to have it."

Batman is unmoved. "Allowing the construction of time machines would be a dereliction of duty on our part. You should be grateful that neither of you are in custody."

"Yeah, professor." Goldstein nods. "Now you've got time to actually write those books. Or are you having trouble finding a publisher?"

Hunter doesn't rise to the bait, but I know it's true. History publishers don't really know how to deal with a time traveller. A series of misadventures appear to have destroyed the majority of his recordings, so while he can describe the societies he saw in considerable detail he doesn't have any tangible proof. That means that they're reluctant to publish his accounts as factual works. Goldstein on the other hand went straight into historical fiction, and while he hasn't hit the best seller lists yet he's earned a solid reader base.

It doesn't help that as a result he's got more historical data into the public domain than Hunter.

"You could always go with them."

Batman shoots me a look, but I mean… Why not? We're not going to let him jump in a time sphere if we can help it, but if some other timeline doesn't share our attitude and we already know that he can't make major changes without just creating an alternate timeline. So even if one of them is evil, then they can't mess things up for anyone in an established timeline.

"Yeah, Hunter. Think about it: you'll never have to see me again. Heck, you could even find me in the past and kill me and it wouldn't affect me at all."

"I'll pass, but feel free to leave yourself."

"Why would I? I've got a book deal."

Ms. Lance walks in from the communications room. "Everyone's agreed. All of the devices blocking interdimensional-"

I don't cringe. I don't cringe.

"-travel will be shut down on our signal to let them go." She turns to me, smiling. "A timeline without you, huh? I wonder what that's like?"

I smile back, nodding.

"Probably still has Nabu in it."

"O-." She looks away awkwardly. "Okay."

"If it makes you feel any better, Truggs was pretty sure that the Sheeda didn't invade, so in objective terms they may still be in the lead."

The doors to the lounge area opens to let in the Legion members, Dana and Mr. Queen.

"…or the axe, and since we're pretty sure he can't make a new axe in this era, it's a whole lot safer for everyone if you just take it back with you."

Magnet Boy nods, floating the metal case containing the atomic axe alongside him. There probably are people in this era who can use the thing, but I can't even scan the interior. No idea how it was made, and I'll be mildly glad to see the back of it. Chameleon Boy glances in puzzlement at New Kara and Angelika, and Kara gives him a smile and wave.

Dana heads towards me. "So…"

"You're going with them, then?"

"Yeah, I think so. And hey, if we take recordings of the planar variance we can still come back." She takes in my expression. "I can come back to visit."

"I'm sure that your parents will appreciate that."

"Y-eah, that's-."

"And I would be reassured that you're still doing well."

"Yeah, okay." She swings her arms backwards and forwards distractedly. "A-bout my coins."

"While I should return them to the museum you stole them from, they were the idiots who put high-powered magic artefacts on public display."

I take the pouch containing them out of my harness and hand them over. She takes them, then hesitates.

"You cleaned these, r-?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"How are the Legion taking finding out about the source of your powers?"

"I'm not a member-member, though Rokk wasn't too happy about it." She shrugs as she slips the pouch into her cleav-. Br-. Clothing. She then takes a breath, then floats up a few centimetres into the air, beaming. "Great! Supergirl of the Future is back in action!"

"It's a bit wordy, but whatever makes you happy."

"So what happens to Truggs? You going to try and send him with us?"

"Oh no. The four of you were potential existential problems, but the worst we had on you was using a false federal ID. Truggs on the other hand has a long list of criminal offences and he will be punished for them."

Hunter closes the hatch he was working on and then stands up. "We're ready."

Dana and the others enter the time sphere. It's a little crowded in there, but it doesn't have to be comfortable for long. One jump sideways and then another jump forwards once they've got back in touch with their base and arrange a pickup. There's no joy -their mission was a failure from the start- but I think Saturn Girl and Magnet Boy are at least relieved. Something like I would be if I could return to my own time after months in medieval England.

A ripple in space time and they're gone, and I don't need to be here any longer. I raise my right hand to-.

"Orange Lantern." Ms. Lance hesitates for a moment. "Paul."

"Yes?" I lower my hand. "I'm sorry, the Nabu snap was uncalled for. Unless it turns out that they actually haven't gotten rid of him."

"No, that's-. Under the circumstances, I can see why you brought it up. Is there..? Anything you want to talk about?"

"How we're going to track down Truggs? What he's actually being charged with? I thought you'd-."

"No, Paul. Kara tried to rape you."

"Oh. Ah… No? She was clearly under the influence of the black kryptonite, so I'm not going to hold it against her. Maybe insist that she get a bit more training not directly related to control of her powers, but I don't think she's planning on making a habit of this."

"No, I don't mean, 'are you mad at her?'. I mean-."

"Do I feel like I was almost horribly violated?" She nods. "No, I don't. I like Kara. If she'd been in her right mind and I wasn't seeing Jade, I'd be all for it." I shrug. "And if having sex with an attractive woman prevents her going on a murderous rampage, that's fine too. Though, thank you. I do appreciate your concern." I smile at her. "Good evening."

 

[Cherico]

still think Kara is better then Jade, then again I think Zatana is better then jade.

 

[Darko]

and while he hasn't hit the best seller lists yet he's earned a solid reader base.

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Maybe 'yet, he's earned'

All of the devices blocking interdimensional-"

I don't cringe. I don't cringe.

"-will be shut down

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Add 'travel' somewhere in there.

She turns to me, smiling. "A timeline without you, huh? I wonder what that's like?"

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You shouldn't sound so happy, Dinah.

Though it's understandable.

this ear who can use

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'this era'

You going to try and send him to with us?"

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Remove 'to'

other hand as a long list of criminal offences and he will be punished for them."

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'has a long list

Is the next episode paragon or renegade focused?

 

[Kalem_Lee]

I mean, where is the lie?

 

[HearthBorn]

still think Kara is better then Jade, then again I think Zatana is better then jade.

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Except the whole underage thing with Zatana. Not sure what age this Kara is.

 

[Ngamer11]

I hope we actually get to see Kara in the next part. I'm wondering if Zatanna will be the one to give her support, since she's literally been where Kara was.

 

[BlackCoat13]

Black Canary: "Paul, Kara tried to rape you."
Paul, Enlightened Avarice: "How unfortunate for her."

I gotta say, the slowly diverging mental processes are a treat to watch.

 

[Doccer]

. "And if having sex with an attractive woman prevents her going on a murderous rampage, that's fine too. Though, thank you. I do appreciate your concern." I smile at her. "Good evening."

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Weirdo.
Do agree about the mind control though. Does it count as mind control if there was no intention behind it? Just a glowy rock? Unless Truggs had it spring loaded to fire on the off chance a Kryptonian raided his place.

The Dial does some weird shit bit Supergirl summonings is a bit of a stretch.

 

[DrThoth]

"Yes?" I lower my hand. "I'm sorry, the Nabu snap was uncalled for. Unless it turns out that they actually haven't gotten rid of him."

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Is this going to come up soon as Paragon finding out what the League did (aka nothing) in the canonical timeline and break down laughing? You wrote a comment saying something to that effect but I forget if it was an actual planned thing to happen in the story.

Except the whole underage thing with Zatana.

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I feel like a lot of users seem to ignore that. Peter Wynne from Earth-12 could have worked as a pairing with Zatanna maybe, though him and Barbara work too.
Is there any universe where a Paul is in a relationship with a guy?

Black Canary: "Paul, Kara tried to rape you."
Paul, Enlightened Avarice: "How unfortunate for her."

I gotta say, the slowly diverging mental processes are a treat to watch.

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It's also kind of ironic since I can imagine Enlightened Compassion Saul, or just regular Indigo Saul, having the exact same response. It's very true to the 'all colors are part of one whole' principle.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

14th September 2012
19:31GMT -5

"…expecting me to be happy about it. You're still stealing my property."

Rip Hunter glowers, but he doesn't look around as he continues to work on the time sphere.

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Ah, letting the nominal expert handle programming things like trans-parallel displacement, eh? And using one of his own Time Spheres to get them home. Nice of him, though I suspect the League had to call in some favours...

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

Batman is unmoved.

"As I understand it, you wouldn't be able to use it for its original purpose anyway."

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...Dammit, I just had to play 'LEGO DC Super-Villains' just before this, didn't I? Now I can't hear him as anyone but that voice. ...And it is good.

"No, I would be able to use it for its original purpose of historical research. I wouldn't be able to use it for the sort of nonsense I ended up getting dragged into because of people like him."

On the opposite side of the artefact, Jason Goldstein smiles at his former colleague.

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Jason, to remind people. Rip's nominal nemesis. And from the sound of it, a bit of an arsehole.

"I'm happy for you to have it."

Batman is unmoved. "Allowing the construction of time machines would be a dereliction of duty on our part. You should be grateful that neither of you are in custody."

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I mean, it's not like anything they can do now would damage this timeline, merely spawn new ones... But yes, it is a bit irresponsible to let them have at it... Just look at how much trouble that 'mad man with the blue box' got into...

"Yeah, professor." Goldstein nods. "Now you've got time to actually write those books. Or are you having trouble finding a publisher?"

Hunter doesn't rise to the bait, but I know it's true. History publishers don't really know how to deal with a time traveller. A series of misadventures appear to have destroyed the majority of his recordings, so while he can describe the societies he saw in considerable detail he doesn't have any tangible proof. That means that they're reluctant to publish his accounts as factual works. Goldstein on the other hand went straight into historical fiction, and while he hasn't hit the best seller lists yet he's earned a solid reader base.

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And because he's already been there, he can't revisit the same era without risking nasty paradoxes... And that's assuming he could get a time machine in the first place. Ugly, sticky situation...

It doesn't help that as a result he's got more historical data into the public domain than Hunter.

"You could always go with them."

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They've probably already got at least one Rip Hunter...

Batman shoots me a look, but I mean… Why not? We're not going to let him jump in a time sphere if we can help it, but if some other timeline doesn't share our attitude and we already know that he can't make major changes without just creating an alternate timeline. So even if one of them is evil, then they can't mess things up for anyone in an established timeline.

"Yeah, Hunter. Think about it: you'll never have to see me again. Heck, you could even find me in the past and kill me and it wouldn't affect me at all."

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Shut up before someone puts a boot up you, Rex...

"I'll pass, but feel free to leave yourself."

"Why would I? I've got a book deal."

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Though I wonder how long that'll last if he ever runs out of historical data to work from.

Ms. Lance walks in from the communications room. "Everyone's agreed. All of the devices blocking interdimensional-"

I don't cringe. I don't cringe.

"-will be shut down on our signal to let them go." She turns to me, smiling. "A timeline without you, huh? I wonder what that's like?"

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Forgive them, OL, they're only human. Most people have enough trouble coping with the complexities of one reality, much less multiple...

I smile back, nodding.

"Probably still has Nabu in it."

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Indeed. One of the failings of Canon YJ...

"O-." She looks away awkwardly. "Okay."

"If it makes you feel any better, Truggs was pretty sure that the Sheeda didn't invade, so in objective terms they may still be in the lead."

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Which does raise the question of things like Hugo Danner and his tribes. All those little improvements OL made to this timeline...

The doors to the lounge area opens to let in the Legion members, Dana and Mr. Queen.

"…or the axe, and since we're pretty sure he can't make a new axe in this era, it's a whole lot safer for everyone if you just take it back with you."

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Ah, good, doing the smart thing and getting rid of a potential threat.

Magnet Boy nods, floating the metal case containing the atomic axe alongside him. There probably are people in this ear who can use the thing, but I can't even scan the interior. No idea how it was made, and I'll be mildly glad to see the back of it. Chameleon Boy glances in puzzlement at New Kara and Angelika, and Kara gives him a smile and wave.

Dana heads towards me. "So…"

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Cham likes blondes? Well, they are good-looking young women. But I rather suspect he can sense the similarities and variations in them...

"You're going with them, then?"

"Yeah, I think so. And hey, if we take recordings of the planar variance we can still come back." She takes in my expression. "I can come back to visit."

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As long as you don't come looking for trouble, I think OL can tolerate it... Though a good long chat with Brainiac 5 might be overdue...

"I'm sure that your parents will appreciate that."

"Y-eah, that's-."

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...Did she actually not consider that they'd be worried when she disappeared? So much for mature.

"And I would be reassured that you're still doing well."

"Yeah, okay." She swings her arms backwards and forwards distractedly. "A-bout my coins."

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Well, she is one of his side projects, however minor.

"While I should return them to the museum you stole them from, they were the idiots who put high-powered magic artefacts on public display."

I take the pouch containing them out of my harness and hand them over. She takes them, then hesitates.

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No funny business, now. If you try anything, Batman probably has a dozen ways to take you down plotted out. Never mind having two Supergirls of various power levels to help out..

"You cleaned these, r-?"

"Yes."

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What, afraid of a few bodily fluids? I'd be more worried about Kara getting an infection down there, but Kryptonian.

"Okay."

"How are the Legion taking finding out about the source of your powers?"

"I'm not a member-member, though Rokk wasn't too happy about it." She shrugs as she slips the pouch into her cleav-. Br-. Clothing. She then takes a breath, then floats up a few centimetres into the air, beaming. "Great! Supergirl of the Future is back in action!"

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Ah, a handy loophole to allow her to work with them without breaking Legion by-laws...

"It's a bit wordy, but whatever makes you happy."

"So what happens to Truggs? You going to try and send him to with us?"

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You assume he'll survive his next encounter with OL in one piece?

"Oh no. The four of you were potential existential problems, but the worst we had on you was using a false federal ID. Truggs on the other hand as a long list of criminal offences and he will be punished for them."

Hunter closes the hatch he was working on and then stands up. "We're ready."

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...What's left of him, anyway. He won't be up to much until Circe or whoever finishes regrowing the bits OL removed.

Dana and the others enter the time sphere. It's a little crowded in there, but it doesn't have to be comfortable for long. One jump sideways and then another jump forwards once they've got back in touch with their base and arrange a pickup. There's no joy -their mission was a failure from the start- but I think Saturn Girl and Magnet Boy are at least relieved. Something like I would be if I could return to my own time after months in medieval England.

Click to shrink...

...Why do I get the feeling there's an Alternate who did end up there? And ended up joining whatever pre-flashpoint equivalent of the Demon Knights existed back then? And probably suffering.

A ripple in space time and they're gone, and I don't need to be here any longer. I raise my right hand to-.

"Orange Lantern." Ms. Lance hesitates for a moment. "Paul."

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Oh, no. Is she going to try playing psychotherapist again? Not her job!

"Yes?" I lower my hand. "I'm sorry, the Nabu snap was uncalled for. Unless it turns out that they actually haven't gotten rid of him."

"No, that's-. Under the circumstances, I can see why you brought it up. Is there..? Anything you want to talk about?"

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Dinah, you're going to have to be direct. Remember how dense OL can be?

"How we're going to track down Truggs? What he's actually being charged with? I thought you'd-."

"No, Paul. Kara tried to rape you."

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Oh, that.

"Oh. Ah… No? She was clearly under the influence of the black kryptonite, so I'm not going to hold it against her. Maybe insist that she get a bit more training not directly related to control of her powers, but I don't think she's planning on making a habit of this."

"No, I don't mean, 'are you mad at her?'. I mean-."

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That inhuman clarity that comes from Enlightenment at work... That and ten secret years of maturity...

"Do I feel like I was almost horribly violated?" She nods. "No, I don't. I like Kara. If she'd been in her right mind and I wasn't seeing Jade, I'd be all for it." I shrug. "And if having sex with an attractive woman prevents her going on a murderous rampage, that's fine too. Though, thank you. I do appreciate your concern." I smile at her. "Good evening."

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Want the end, want the means, after all. I honestly don't think if she actually had forced the matter. he'd be angry. Disappointed, yes. Angry, no. More concerned with what Jade would think, probably.

To be fair, he's probably one of the few men on Earth capable of withstanding a Kryptonian in full... Passion, outside of the Dannered tribes of Brazil.. So if she 'cooled off' after having her way with him, all the better? Definitely wanting to see how she's holding up. Maybe in the next Paragon chapter. But it looks like, for now, this little episode's done after tomorrow. Onwards to the next adventure!

 

[DAT_NOOB]

still think Kara is better then Jade, then again I think Zatana is better then jade.

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TBF Jade is not a high bar.

 

[Darko]

Did she actually not consider that they'd be worried when she disappeared? So much for mature.

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Her previous appearances did not give a good example of her maturity.

What, afraid of a few bodily fluids? I'd be more worried about Kara getting an infection down there, but Kryptonian.

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Super STD.

Why do I get the feeling there's an Alternate who did end up there? And ended up joining whatever pre-flashpoint equivalent of the Demon Knights existed back then? And probably suffering.

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Some versions have ended up in what can be considered a post Flashpoint universe, like the Angel Paul, who ended up in the animated movies universe, which has significant n52 details.

And the Paul that ended up in Nazi World, which was a 2015 comic if I remember correctly.

And I can imagine him trying to have Al Jabr use his inventions for uplifting.

And we do have one version that ended up in the distant past, though not to medieval times, and more like prehistoric.

Oh, no. Is she going to try playing psychotherapist again? Not her job!

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She's probably the best qualified on the entire League, since Gardner isn't on Earth.

Dinah, you're going to have to be direct. Remember how dense OL can be?

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Go easy on her, most people can't believe that someone would be that dense.

 

[1moleman]

This last scene really highlights something that has grown very apparent in this story:

These episodic adventures really have no lasting consequences on the characters. Its been so long since Paul has actually had something that affected him for more than a few chapters, most of the time he is back to usual within a few chapters, and if it moves to the next arc it is instantly forgotten.

One thing I enjoyed about the start of this story is the progress the characters made in their developement: examples: Kon finding he doesn't need to compare to superman and finding a family, the whole Zatana debacle, even the whole dies->heaven arc was some character growth (if limited) but now it really seems like Paul is increasingly becoming less a character and more of a lens to comment on various other comics.

I dont even remember when last Jade was even in a chapter but Paul is still pining after her, it feels increasingly disconnected from the DC universe.