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

Counterpoint: Truggs, for all his posturing, is a supervillain. The single defining feature of a supervillain, the thing that separates them from regular criminals and terrorists, is that they're the kind of bugfuck crazy who think that doing things like training butterflies to be racist, murdering a hero's family to make them snap, or stealing from Demon Superman World is a good idea.
But where is his presentation?!
At most he's just a villain.
Without ✧✪Presentation!✪✧ he can't be a a supervillain.
 
Past Participant (part 17)
16th September 2012
19:59 GMT +1


Prague has suffered raging fires that destroyed most of the historic parts of the town, spreading out from the sites of meteorite impacts. Though the fires have long since burned themselves out, between the flames and the shockwaves, there isn't much left but rubble.

Unless you know where to look.

I shove another pile of rubble to the side, and… Yes, here we are. I don't know where all of Doctor Sivana's hidey-holes are, but I know quite a few. Unlike the rest of the city, his bases are designed to take a pounding. Nothing that Superman couldn't force his way through with dedicated effort -very few hardened locations can make that boast, and fewer still make it honestly- but enough to survive near misses.

Superman takes a not entirely approving breath.

"Do I want to know how much time you spent with Sivana?"

"Probably not."

But 'survive' and 'survive untouched' aren't the same things. There's a clunk as my filaments shift a part of the door's mechanism, and then the hatch swings open.

"Okay, so unlike back home, the defences here aren't programmed to limit themselves in attacking me."

"They still attacked you when you were… Friends?"

"It was a sort of test."

"A test to find out what you could do?"

"A test to see whether it would drive me away." Hm. "I don't think they had any specifically anti-Kryptonian weapons here, but I-."

He raises his right hand to stop me. "I'll go first."

He leaps down the hole, his flying abilities keeping him from touching the floor once he's cleared the shaft. Nothing attacks him right away, which probably means that the guns are charging. I-.

My armour doesn't fit through the hole. Ah. I switch my heavy armour out for my medium suit and make doubly sure that my construct armour is in place, then drop down after him.

"I'm not seeing any sign that someone's been here."

"Can you see through the walls?"

"No. I'm guessing that the Sivanas use something a little more sophisticated than lead."

"Li-ttle bit." I take a look around the emergency exit. Not too much security here, because it's where they would go in an emergency. "Information request. Is Doctor Thaddeus Bodog Sivana in residence?"

Nothing happens. Superman looks around cautiously.

"How long does it usually-?"

The air turns blue as plasma initiators deploy from the floor and ceiling, liberated electrons crackling harmlessly around my construct shield. Superman appears to be mildly in pain-.

He turns his head around the room, red rays flashing out from his eyes to destroy the initiators. I wave my left hand and pull the one closest to me out of the ceiling, taking the time to scan it in detail. Looks pretty much the same as what our Sivana uses.

"Is that the friendly greeting version, or the actively hostile version?"

"Depends whether there's robot follow-"

The door between us and the rest of the facility drops into the floor, revealing a bulky robot with multi-barrelled pulse plasma guns.

"-up."

"Die!"

Superman takes the majority of its wrath as he flies at it, fists extended! Each side has twelve guns on a single mount, and the green plasma washes over-.

And now there's a Superman-shaped hole in the middle. Interesting. No force field.

I fly closer to give it a thorough scan. Yes, that is odd. Usually I wouldn't be able to scan the interior mechanism unless they were deliberately letting me, but here there's no problem.

"Did you feel a force field bubble?"

"No. Should we expect more of them?"

"Yes. Ah, actually, they should already be here." Oh. That explains the lack of force field. "This has been in combat recently. See here?"

I point and Superman nods.

"The emitters were already burned out."

"There's more charring on the interior. I'd guess an EMP grenade, but… They'd be shielded against that."

Ring?

"There are weapons that could bypass the shielding that Sivana uses on this model. Can't.. think of anyone who uses them on Earth, mind."

Superman frowns, sniffing-. And he's gone.

Ring, air analysis? Ah.

I float after him, conducting a continual scan of my environment. Nothing like as hard as it is back home, most likely because they didn't have much contact with Lanterns here. As I follow in Superman's wake I see increased signs of battle damage unrelated to the impacts which destroyed the city above us; drone guns destroyed in their mounts, burns on the walls, ceiling and floor from plasma and laser shots. Someone working for Demon Superman? Local people just trying to find somewhere to hide out?

Another corner and there are two broken robots. Damage patterns consistent with EMP charring and anti-tank rocket impacts. The main warehouse…

Superman's checking the bodies, human bodies. They're wearing unmarked body armour and carrying the sort of science fiction armaments the actual military would give their eyeteeth to own. No unit markings. Their armour has taken repeated hits which have burned through the metal/ceramic composite plates, but…

It looks like they achieved their objective. The place has been looted.

Two are crouched next to the main computer access with cables plugged it, their own computer burned out from the defensive electrical discharge. A little further along the survivors have tried again; the floor has been removed and the cables stripped. No bodies there.

"Why did they leave the bodies?" Superman shakes his head in bewilderment. "I understand stealing from Sivana, but if they took out all this equipment, why not take the bodies with them?"

"Hell is in the ascendancy. They couldn't take the risk of bringing something back with them, or giving… Something, a channel to follow."

I take hold of a spare EMP grenade and give it a detailed scan. Not exactly the same wards that have entered common circulation back on our Earth, but similar enough in principle that I think I can conclude that they came from a common source. And the weapon itself bears more than a little resemblance to what I saw when I visited the subterranean parts of LexCorp.

"We'll need pictures of their faces. If Truggs is raiding other worlds… This has the potential to get very nasty."
 
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"A test to see whether it would drive me away." Hm. "I don't think they had any specifically anti-Kryptonian weapons here, but I-."

Though they probably have Captain Marvel defences, so they do have ones to fight those with super strength and durability.

Yes. Ah, actually, they should already be here." Oh. That explains the lack of force field. "This has been in combat recently. See here?"

I'm getting the feeling that this was Truggs' doing.

wards that he entered common circulation back on our Earth

'have entered'

in principle that I thing I can

'that I think'

And the weapon itself bears more than a little resemblance to what I saw when I visited the subterranean parts of LexCorps.

Two, Truggs.

We'll need pictures of their faces. If Truggs is raiding other worlds… This has the potential to get very nasty."

Wonderful, now we may find out that there are other worids that are gunning for revenge.
 
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I feel like at the end of this arc Truggs needs to be captured and remanded to Overman to take back with him to National Socialist Earth. They have Kryptonian tech so they're not behind. They would hopefully actually imprison him and take him out from play and not be distracted by his rambling about advancement.
 
Yeah, I feel like the cost-benefit of keeping Truggs alive is becoming strained.

I don't mean "Oh yeah, put him in the dirt, he deserves it." but instead "He is becoming dangerous enough to reality in his meddling that he can't be allowed to continue."
 
16th September 2012
19:59 GMT +1


Prague has suffered raging fires that destroyed most of the historic parts of the town, spreading out from the sites of meteorite impacts. Though the fires have long since burned themselves out, between the flames and the shockwaves, there isn't much left but rubble.

Unless you know where to look.
And with a Power Ring, there's not much that can stay hidden... Unless you know the holes in its capabilities. Imagine if Truggs had been paranoid enough to leave behind disposable Scry-Wards at any site he raided?

I shove another pile of rubble to the side, and… Yes, here we are. I don't know where all of Doctor Sivana's hidey-holes are, but I know quite a few. Unlike the rest of the city, his bases are designed to take a pounding. Nothing that Superman couldn't force his way through with dedicated effort -very few hardened locations can make that boast, and fewer still make it honestly- but enough to survive near misses.

Superman takes a not entirely approving breath.
Yes, I can see him not approving of OL's association with 'Super-villains'. Spin it as 'rehabilitation efforts' all you want, some of the heroes just seem to be stuck on 'they did bad stuff'...

"Do I want to know how much time you spent with Sivana?"

"Probably not."
Enough that he's probably close to being one of Sivana Senior's actual friends... A circle with very few openings, I would hazard.

But 'survive' and 'survive untouched' aren't the same things. There's a clunk as my filaments shift a part of the door's mechanism, and then the hatch swings open.

"Okay, so unlike back home, the defences here aren't programmed to limit themselves in attacking me."
On the up side, they're less likely to specialise in anti-Lantern weaponry? Probably a bit more arcano-tech, though, especially if the Doc and his kids were focusing on resisting the daemons.

"They still attacked you when you were… Friends?"

"It was a sort of test."
After all, it's the easiest way for them to test weaponry without using it on people who might not be prepared for it...

"A test to find out what you could do?"

"A test to see whether it would drive me away." Hm. "I don't think they had any specifically anti-Kryptonian weapons here, but I-."
I mean, I wouldn't put it past them to have something... Though whether they'd install it as standard after the Demon-Superman thing...

He raises his right hand to stop me. "I'll go first."

He leaps down the hole, his flying abilities keeping him from touching the floor once he's cleared the shaft. Nothing attacks him right away, which probably means that the guns are charging. I-.
:D I'm sure he'd notice any ominous hums inside the walls...

My armour doesn't fit through the hole. Ah. I switch my heavy armour out for my medium suit and make doubly sure that my construct armour is in place, then drop down after him.

"I'm not seeing any sign that someone's been here."
Well, if they could fly, there'd be no footsteps. And if they could hack the security, there'd be no signs of defensive combat... So it's not a guarantee.

"Can you see through the walls?"

"No. I'm guessing that the Sivanas use something a little more sophisticated than lead."
Maybe in his first hideout. Any super-scientist worth their salt would never stop improving things.

"Li-ttle bit." I take a look around the emergency exit. Not too much security here, because it's where they would go in an emergency. "Information request. Is Doctor Thaddeus Bodog Sivana in residence?"

Nothing happens. Superman looks around cautiously.
To be fair, I doubt their systems would accept requests from any tom, dick or harry that walked in the door.

"How long does it usually-?"

The air turns blue as plasma initiators deploy from the floor and ceiling, liberated electrons crackling harmlessly around my construct shield. Superman appears to be mildly in pain-.
Since electricity is one of the few things his body isn't hardened against. So that's to be expected.

He turns his head around the room, red rays flashing out from his eyes to destroy the initiators. I wave my left hand and pull the one closest to me out of the ceiling, taking the time to scan it in detail. Looks pretty much the same as what our Sivana uses.

"Is that the friendly greeting version, or the actively hostile version?"
I mean, it would probably leave Captain Marvel a little singed. I doubt Sivana would throw his good stuff away on an attacker if he knew they weren't an actual threat, like the 'Big Red Cheese' isn't.

"Depends whether there's robot follow-"

The door between us and the rest of the facility drops into the floor, revealing a bulky robot with multi-barrelled pulse plasma guns.

"-up."
Still friendly, or is it getting serious? :p

"Die!"

Superman takes the majority of its wrath as it he flies at it, fists extended! Each side has twelve guns on a single mount, and the green plasma washes over-.
A passable amount of Dakka, but hardly sufficient for the task... Though the colour suggests it's tuned a little more towards the Kryptonite end of the spectrum.

And now there's a Superman-shaped hole in the middle. Interesting. No force field.

I fly closer to give it a thorough scan. Yes, that is odd. Usually I wouldn't be able to scan the interior mechanism unless they were deliberately letting me, but here there's no problem.
Again, Sivana usually doesn't mess with the Lanterns. No reason to develop defences against them except as thought experiments.

"Did you feel a force field bubble?"

"No. Should we expect more of them?"

"Yes. Ah, actually, they should already be here." Oh. That explains the lack of force field. "This has been in combat recently. See here?"
So they're not the first visitors. The Truggs theory is looking more likely.

I point and Superman nods.

"The emitters were already burned out."

"There's more charring on the interior. I'd guess an EMP grenade, but… They'd be shielded against that."
Sounds like Truggs, or more likely some of his goons using supertech, knew what they'd find and came prepared.

Ring?

"There are weapons that could bypass the shielding that Sivana uses on this model. Can't.. think of anyone who uses them on Earth, mind."
This Earth, or Earth in general? I don't doubt the Weaponers could manage it, after all.

Superman frowns, sniffing-. And he's gone.

Ring, air analysis? Ah.
Super-senses at work. Looks like he's found something.

I float after him, conducting a continual scan of my environment. Nothing like as hard as it is back home, most likely because they didn't have much contact with Lanterns here. As I follow in Superman's wake I see increased signs of battle damage unrelated to the impacts which destroyed the city above us; drone guns destroyed in their mounts, burns on the walls, ceiling and floor from plasma and laser shots. Someone working for Demon Superman? Local people just trying to find somewhere to hide out?
Or Truggs' people, seeking loot from an abandoned site... I doubt the Demon-Superman's followers would be this subtle.

Another corner and there are two broken robots. Damage patterns consistent with EMP charring anti-tank rocket impacts. The main warehouse…

Superman's checking the bodies, human bodies. They're wearing unmarked body armour and carrying the sort of science fiction armaments the actual military would give their eyeteeth to own. No unit markings. Their armour has taken repeated hits which have burned through the metal/ceramic composite plates, but…
And there's the goons. Looks like it didn't all go their way.

It looks like they achieved their objective. The place has been looted.

Two are crouched next to the main computer access with cables plugged it, their own computer burned out from the defensive electrical discharge. A little further along the survivors have tried again; the floor has been removed and the cables stripped. No bodies there.
At least this Sivana is paranoid enough to have heavy defences on his equipotent even inside secure sites. But then, there's plenty of other super-genius criminals willing to try to loot his stuff on most DC Earths..

"Why did they leave the bodies?" Superman shakes his head in bewilderment. "I understand stealing from Sivana, but if they took out all this equipment, why not take the bodies with them?"

"Hell is in the ascendancy. They couldn't take the risk of bringing something back with them, or giving… Something, a channel to follow."
That is a good point. An unwarded corpse? Probably possible for a wandering demon to occupy, at least for a while.

I take hold of a spare EMP grenade and give it a detailed scan. Not exactly the same wards that he entered common circulation back on our Earth, but similar enough in principle that I thing I can conclude that they came from a common source. And the weapon itself bears more than a little resemblance to what I saw when I visited the subterranean parts of LexCorps.

"We'll need pictures of their faces. If Truggs is raiding other worlds… This has the potential to get very nasty."
Probably tweaked for different thaumospheres. I doubt this Earth was idential to Earth-16 even before the demons moved in.

Dammit, OL. You really have to set aside a few days to hunt down Truggs once and for all. Messing with one Earth is bad enough, but this? This is how you trigger apocalypses. I don't mean a full-on Crisis, but even minor crossovers can have big risks and big consequences. And Earth-16 isn't as used to them as, say Pre-Crisis Earth-One and Earth-Two...
 
Yes, I can see him not approving of OL's association with 'Super-villains'. Spin it as 'rehabilitation efforts' all you want, some of the heroes just seem to be stuck on 'they did bad stuff

To be fair some of those villains don't have any interest in being rehabilitated or atoning for any wrongdoing.

And Sivana doesn't feel any guilt for all the horrible things he's done, so yeah.

Would you exactly be welcoming to someone that has done horrible things but shows no regret?

the colour suggests it's tuned a little more towards the Kryptonite end of the spectrum

I don't think it was kryptonite, probably more of a coincidence that it was green.
 
Doesn't look like any of these troops were affected by a Dial. Or anything that used a Dial survived and returned home with Truggs…
 
Superman takes a not entirely approving breath.

"Do I want to know how much time you spent with Sivana?"

"Probably not."
Didn't Superman and the League know about Paul's relationship with Sivana? I know Paul told them during the Sheeda invasion.
 
I think that should say 'Depends on whether or not'.
That's probably a more proper way of saying it, but the way it's written is how it's often spoken.
'have entered'
'that I think'
Thank you, corrected.
I feel like at the end of this arc Truggs needs to be captured and remanded to Overman to take back with him to National Socialist Earth. They have Kryptonian tech so they're not behind. They would hopefully actually imprison him and take him out from play and not be distracted by his rambling about advancement.
They wouldn't imprison him. He might get a show trial.
Enough that he's probably close to being one of Sivana Senior's actual friends... A circle with very few openings, I would hazard.
Plenty of openings. Very few applicants.

/Modern politics.
 
It's really past time to take down Lex, I feel. Though I imagine/hope when Paragon informs the Earth-16 Sivanas about what's going on, the Light are in for a bit of a shitshow. (which reminds me, Georgia finished or at least collected a bunch of data about the sociology regarding limited implementation of super-tech and magic, right? I seem to remember her saying something was odd to Paragon before they were interrupted by a narrativium explosion aka plot interruption).

What, if anything, are the angels of the Silver City in Demon Superman's dimension doing regarding Hell-Earth? Endless debating?
 
which reminds me, Georgia finished or at least collected a bunch of data about the sociology regarding limited implementation of super-tech and magic, right? I seem to remember her saying something was odd to Paragon before they were interrupted by a narrativium explosion aka plot interruption).

Yep, paragon asked her to do that and I think she found something weird, but something else came up.
 
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I refer you to the Book of Job. It's not like there isn't precedent.
Yes but in that case God explicitly gave the go-ahead for Satan to torment Job (putting aside the fact that Satan at that point may have been a job title for a prosecutor-figure working under God and not an actual antagonist, in real-life anyway). Unless there's a DC version of Job with a variation of the story.

In this case it's a Kryptonian demon responsible for Superman's corruption, right? I think there was a wiki link a few chapters back that talked about it. Not that DC angels seem to particularly care about breaches of divine or diabolical jurisdiction, admittedly. I forget if the Demons Three are going to show up at some point (or already did and I forgot).
 

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