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

Stsword · Mar 7, 2022

w34v3r said:
Generally speaking you'd have an easier time working on their shared bloodlines or cultural connections. Hooking another major magical effect into an already complex and potent alchemical recipe that wasn't made with such uses in mind is really layering complexity.

Well that depends.

Considering Zoat made the Danner formula alchemical, I can't help but wonder if their enhancement is powered by their souls drawing in ambient energies ala Paul's tattoos.

And we've seen how Paul's tattoos left him vulnerable to being influenced by the energies his soul absorbs.

So it might be as simple as a wizard to send out a field of, to paraphrase the movie Simply Irresistible, "the women love me and the men want to give me all their money."

Ngamer11 · Mar 7, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
Her head turns slightly, and she realises that she's to tightly compressed to raise her guns.

That should say 'too'.

Mr Zoat said:
"Two important things Paul taught me. The first one is, everyone's got a reason that makes sense to them, and you can't understand them unless you understand how they think about things. You're doing all this because of what happened to your boyfriend? Seems to me that a good cop like him wouldn't be on board with you going on a killing spree. The other important thing he taught me-"

His constructs glow brilliantly.

"Is how to use a ring to make someone feel an emotion. Because it seems to me that what you're short on is hope."

There's a blue flash, and Ms. Carlyle shudders inside her construct prison.

And then she points both barrels at her head and pulls the triggers.

It's nice to see Alan improving both in tactics and in capabilities thanks to interacting with Paul. Hopefully they'll realize that she comes back after self-terminating so that they (or more likely just Alan) don't feel too bad about it.

The Froggy Ninja · Mar 7, 2022

When your response to hope is suicide, something's up.

Darko · Mar 7, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
ones on the upper floors they don't

Remove 'they'.

Mr Zoat said:
bother trying to go that was, instead-

'go that way'

Mr Zoat said:
People are starting to use my chute, dropping at near-terminal velocity and then halting safely at ground level. And they're doing that stupid thing of landing and not getting out of the way that always irritates me.

You can't expect terrified, stressed put people to do logical things.

Whenever Possible · Mar 7, 2022

Well I'm sure Kalmin would approve.

What, did she feel hope that she would be free of the weapons driving her to kill people in a way she previous had barely been able to rationalize to herself because she couldn't think of a way out?

Or is this a hard-core escape tactic where the guns rezz her somewhere there isn't a Lantern boxing her in.

Silveraith · Mar 7, 2022

I think an interesting takeaway from this update is that the Lantern Sigil on a construct actually does something, apparently enhancing it in someway.

Ngamer11 · Mar 7, 2022

Silveraith said:
I think an interesting takeaway from this update is that the Lantern Sigil on a construct actually does something, apparently enhancing it in someway.

That may only be for certain magical effects. Mr Zoat, is it possible for us to get some clarification on this either via Word of God or in-story?

Stsword · Mar 7, 2022

The Froggy Ninja said:
When your response to hope is suicide, something's up.

It doesn't last, it's how she can quite an assignment she doesn't want to do anymore.

Apparently it works along the lines of "I'll avenge you to their deaths or mine."

And I'm surprised by the "Lex but worse" retort, cause honestly I'd say that's backwards.

Alva is usually rational evil- he'll do evil when and if it's necessary to achieve his goals, so he doesn't do any more evil than he needs to.

But Lex? Lex is pathological, he'll kick puppies even if it means it causes him to not get his goals met, so he does evil just for the sake of appeasing his own issues.

Darth.Bill · Mar 7, 2022

That is not the typical response to feeling hopeful.

Stsword said:
But Lex? Lex is pathological, he'll kick puppies even if it means it causes him to not get his goals met, so he does evil just for the sake of appeasing his own issues.

Fourty Cakes. As many as four tens.

moralrelativity · Mar 7, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
And unlike he would have done right after returning to active duty, Alan remembers to keep back

The start of this confused me. Maybe this instead?
And unlike he -> And, unlike what he

Mr Zoat said:
"Is how to use a ring to make someone feel an emotion. Because it seems to me that what you're short on is hope."

There's a blue flash, and Ms. Carlyle shudders inside her construct prison.

And then she points both barrels at her head and pulls the triggers.

Well, THAT'S not what Alan was hoping for.

But, maybe, problem solved??

Darko · Mar 7, 2022

Stsword said:
And I'm surprised by the "Lex but worse" retort, cause honestly I'd say that's backwards.

Alva is usually rational evil- he'll do evil when and if it's necessary to achieve his goals, so he doesn't do any more evil than he needs to.

But Lex? Lex is pathological, he'll kick puppies even if it means it causes him to not get his goals met, so he does evil just for the sake of appeasing his own issues

Yeah, plus the whole "idealism" thing Paul likes about Lex can also be very, very bad.

Lex's idealism unfortunately means that he considers himself to be some kind of savior and God, so everyone should follow him because he's the only one that knows what's best for them and he's the only one that can help them.

And you know that saying about the person that tries to help you can be worse than the one that tries to hurt you?

Well it perfectly describes Luthor.

The Froggy Ninja · Mar 7, 2022

Stsword said:
It doesn't last, it's how she can quite an assignment she doesn't want to do anymore.

Apparently it works along the lines of "I'll avenge you to their deaths or mine."

And I'm surprised by the "Lex but worse" retort, cause honestly I'd say that's backwards.

Alva is usually rational evil- he'll do evil when and if it's necessary to achieve his goals, so he doesn't do any more evil than he needs to.

But Lex? Lex is pathological, he'll kick puppies even if it means it causes him to not get his goals met, so he does evil just for the sake of appeasing his own issues.

I'm aware, but this is the plot line where she finds that out, so her response to feeling hope was still what was probably a legitimate attempt at self-termination

Mr Zoat · Mar 7, 2022

Ngamer11 said:
That should say 'too'.

Darko said:
Remove 'they'.
'go that way'

Thank you, corrected.

NightmareWarden · Mar 7, 2022

I'm having several strong reactions to the ending of this chapter, but I'm not gonna throw all of that out onto the internet. I wonder if Alan has had someone die by explosion or self-inflicted wounds "in his hands" before. Regardless I think this will be especially traumatizing for him. Damn.

Part of me realizes that this could be a trick and she will resonate elsewhere orrrrr this will give her mist form a boost of some sort. But that does not settle the other parts of my head. I realize failure to save a civilian is a confidence breaker for heroes, put plainly a nightmare. But I reckon this is just as terrible. About as ugly as all murder-suicides.

Have some cute and amusing animal gifs, everyone.

Stsword · Mar 7, 2022

Darth.Bill said:
That is not the typical response to feeling hopeful.

Fourty Cakes. As many as four tens.

He did that because the Smallville High Science Fair committee didn't let him enter his nuclear powered toaster.

So he ended up in detention with Clark Kent, for his truancy (off superheroing on the sly during school hours).

Chojin Patriarch · Mar 7, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
21st October 2012
13:36 GMT -5

I appear high above the Alva Technologies building, which in turn towers over most of the city. I've only been here a few times, and it-

Hope detected.

Ah. I guess she's here for the biggest asshole in town first, then. And no doubt adding anyone involved in his less legal actions as well. Hopefully they can keep the death-toll to a minimum.

And ohohohooo, we get to see Alan in action? Niiice.

-never really had any appeal. Same urban decay as a lot of formerly manufacturing-focused cities in America with a tech billionaire taking advantage of the cheep land and tax incentives to build things that the locals didn't want or need. Alva's like Lex Luthor without the idealism that prompted me to try working with him. But at the same time he's not an imminent threat to the world, just a utility drain who would make the world a measurably better place if he took a dive out of his office window one day.

Someone you wouldn't mourn, but not worth the effort of dealing with yourself. The pettiest level of villain. Neatly sums up the jackass.

I see flashes of blue in the building below me as Alan fights someone.

"On site."

So, how many people she she gotten so far?

"Evacuate the Alva Technologies building. We've got a plan."

"Sir."

Definitely something OL's better at.

I fly down, scanning the building for people and-. And use a crumbler construct to break through the force field that someone put up when they got attacked, presumably as part of a disaster contingency plan that was implemented without any actual thought. Or maybe they're just testing it, I don't know. Okay, I've got no idea who Ms. Carlyle is targetting, but there are quite a few corpses in there and the internal walls aren't all that thick. People are trying to flee, but it looks like the ones on the upper floors they don't know where they can go that won't just result in them getting shot.

...So they have a forcefield around the building if it's attacked. Logical enough. Not dropping it when it turns out the attack is from inside? Sloppy.

…

Obvious problem with that is that they're all people voluntarily working for Lex-but-worse. So no super fast filaments transitioning them to the nearest open space as I could for people I liked or respected. Instead, I tear an opening down the side of the building furthest from the stairs and generate a grav-chute construct.

Come on, OL, they can't all be involved in Alva's bullshit.

Then I extend construct signs into the building, pointing to the new evacuation-

Alan smashes the floor that Ms. Caryle was standing on and as she shifts back into smoke uses a fan construct in an attempt to push her out of the building. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like her smoke works like that, and he's forced to transition-dodge as she regains her footing.

Well, good to see he's learned a few new tricks.

-route, which I immediately change to route them around the crazed gunwoman on the floor she's on and the ones immediately above and below her.

Alan barricades the way back up but Ms. Carlyle doesn't bother trying to go that was, instead-

That suggests her target (or nearest targets) are headed down.

Filament and move!

-taking a shot at an office worker I just about get out of the way in time.

Hmm... Guess he has some kind of skeleton in his closet...

Ring, research their background. Just because they don't deserve to die, that doesn't mean that they don't have something coming to them.

Compliance.

Heh. Alva might find himself needing to recruit some fresh personnel. Either Avenger kills them, or they get arrested when whatever she's avenging gets outed by OL.

People are starting to use my chute, dropping at near-terminal velocity and then halting safely at ground level. And they're doing that stupid thing of landing and not getting out of the way that always irritates me. Okay, add an impeller construct to give them a shove at the bottom, good. Police are starting to arrive, and they're-. They're building a barricade of cars to keep the rubberneckers away from the superhuman fight. Camera phones are already being raised.

<facepalms> Okay, at that point, just let them die. It'll raise the average intelligence of the Human race a point or two.

I practice restraint and don't wipe their memories.

Alan sends a straitjacket construct at Ms. Carlyle, but she walks through it as if it weren't even there-

Bet he's getting a little frustrated at her untouchability...

"Alan, try putting runes on the construct."

-as she keeps shooting. Not at everyone -I watch as two people sheltering in a cubical are completely ignored as she walks past them- but at a great many people. Alan's throwing up barriers and deploying riot shields from his subspace pocket in an attempt to weaken the bullets but they're still-

Definitely sounds like she's being driven to clean house. Hope OL's keeping notes on who she's trying to shoot. The Dakota City Police might be in for a busy few days after this.

Transition that one!

-bullets. Even without a demonic enhancement they'll punch through flesh easily enough, as my right shoulder will confirm.

Understandable, since they're apparently .45 caliber. That's no small round.

Some of the people on the street are trying to get as far away from the building as they can. Too many have moved to what I can see them telling themselves is a 'safe distance' against a teleporter with possessed guns and decided that now is the time to take advantage of being inside the cordon and watch the super fight. And/or film it. If I weren't-

Change the signs again as there's a better route.

At least some of the idiots have a working sense of self-preservation. As for the rest... I hope the Youtube views are worth the risk of dying...

-focusing on the fight-. Aren't there places where they have anti-rubbernecker barriers for car crashes? We need one of those.

"Youbetcha."

Seriously, I hope some of the cops are going in and dragging their asses away...

The next time Ms. Carlyle fires, her shot is intercepted by a construct shield bearing the blue lantern sigil. The bullet punches through the shield just as easily as before. Is the sigil even-?

The bullet hits a computer monitor and gets embedded in the plastic.

Oh-ho, the shield was just a blind for the solid object, eh? Now I'm picturing dozens of tendrils holding sturdy objects in her way...

"Worked!"

"Saw that."

Ah, these two. This is really the first time we've actually seen them in the field together, isn't it?

He boxes her in, blue sigil glaring from each side of the construct packing crate, sides slamming together and trapping her within! She actually stops, blindfolded face staring at the glowing walls hold holding her in. And unlike he would have done right after returning to active duty, Alan remembers to keep back just in case she pulls something. Ms. Carlyle taps the butt of the gun in her right hand against the interior of the box, achieving nothing.

Never assumed just because they're pinned down, that they're defeated. He has learned.

Reroute the signs again, and this part of the building is mostly cleared. I start removing the chute construct so that it can't get damaged by a wayward bullet in case she breaks out.

Being careful to keep a wall… Well, an interior partition, between him and her, Alan creates an Alan construct in front of her.

Yeah, I wouldn't call anything in an office environment a wall... Not unless it's actual concrete...

"Miss? What's this all about?"

Her head turns slightly, and she realises that she's to tightly compressed to raise her guns. So she reverses them, poking them under her arms and firing at the rear of the construct trapping her. Fractures appear as the first rounds punch through, cracks for the second and she doesn't bother firing again, red mist pouring out and allowing her to walk through the otherwise-solid construct. She raises her guns at-

Crafty. Or desperate. A pity Alan didn't think to immediately reform the construct around her as she misted out.

DODGE!

-me, the shot passing through the open-plan office and exiting the building through the window, passing over my right shoulder. With Alan's sterling example in mind I create orange construct disks with the orange sigil on them and fire them into the path of the bullet. The first is smashed asunder, the second gets cracked and the third catches the bullet. Present for Batman.

Yoink!

"Alright, if that's what you want."

Alan's boxed her in again, beams running through the interior of the crate forcing her to point her guns upwards.

Even smarter. Especially if he keeps the upper part reinforced so she can't shoot her way through again.

"Two important things Paul taught me. The first one is, everyone's got a reason that makes sense to them, and you can't understand them unless you understand how they think about things. You're doing all this because of what happened to your boyfriend? Seems to me that a good cop like him wouldn't be on board with you going on a killing spree. The other important thing he taught me-"

His constructs glow brilliantly.

Appealing to her humanity? Good plan, but she's not the one on charge...

"Is how to use a ring to make someone feel an emotion. Because it seems to me that what you're short on is hope."

There's a blue flash, and Ms. Carlyle shudders inside her construct prison.

Oooh, nice! And this is why Alan is so damn good.

And then she points both barrels at her head and pulls the triggers.

...Well, shit. Unless Alan can stop the bullets, she's gone.

Not a suicide attempt, an escape attempt. On the upside, she's not likely to be back here anytime soon. Downside is, now they have no idea where she'll reappear. So they're back to step one, investigating her superhuman targets... Unless Zatara was able to foresee this and made preparations of his own. Alan did say they had a Plan.

...as two people sheltering in a cubical...

...as two people sheltering in a cubicle...

Prosecutor-0 · Mar 7, 2022

Why is Alan's speech in orange? I assume that when OL is on location the speech is not coming through the ring.

Ngamer11 · Mar 7, 2022

Prosecutor-0 said:
Why is Alan's speech in orange? I assume that when OL is on location the speech is not coming through the ring.

They aren't in the same location; they are speaking through ring communications.

Darko · Mar 7, 2022

NightmareWarden said:
I wonder if Alan has had someone die by explosion or self-inflicted wounds "in his hands" before. Regardless I think this will be especially traumatizing for him. Damn.

I think it was mentioned that nearing his retirement a guy he arrested had a heart attack and died.

Darko · Mar 7, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
Not a suicide attempt, an escape attempt

Ehhh, not necessarily.

I don't think she knew that the guns couldn't permanently kill her and she may have honestly been trying to kill herself here, not to escape but just to genuinely die.

Ancalador · Mar 7, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
Ah. I guess she's here for the biggest asshole in town first, then. And no doubt adding anyone involved in his less legal actions as well. Hopefully they can keep the death-toll to a minimum. And ohohohooo, we get to see Alan in action? Niiice.

Given her previous targets it's far more likely she came here for Hardware rather than Edwin Alva himself.

Bramble Thorn · Mar 7, 2022

Ancalador said:
Given her previous targets it's far more likely she came here for Hardware rather than Edwin Alva himself.

Because Alva is almost certainly damned, and also leading others down the path into damnation.

The ones that seem to be the most safe here are not the truly innocent, but the truly damned.

The ones who are not going to be redeeming themselves, but make the world and those around them worse by being themselves and going about their day. Where as even someone truly Innocent could be targeted on some technicality to remove them from the playing field early. From a damnation perspective if they are going upstairs anyway, and aren't likely to fall, better to limit the good they can accomplish on Earth.

doug89 · Mar 7, 2022

Hidden image (at least on my theme) in case anyone missed it.

Mr Zoat said:
"Two important things Paul taught me. The first one is, everyone's got a reason that makes sense to them, and you can't understand them unless you understand how they think about things. You're doing all this because of what happened to your boyfriend? Seems to me that a good cop like him wouldn't be on board with you going on a killing spree. The other important thing he taught me-"

Mr Zoat · Mar 7, 2022

Ngamer11 said:
That may only be for certain magical effects. Mr Zoat, is it possible for us to get some clarification on this either via Word of God or in-story?

It's the symbol of hope. How much clarification do you need?

Stsword said:
And I'm surprised by the "Lex but worse" retort, cause honestly I'd say that's backwards.

Alva is usually rational evil- he'll do evil when and if it's necessary to achieve his goals, so he doesn't do any more evil than he needs to.

But Lex? Lex is pathological, he'll kick puppies even if it means it causes him to not get his goals met, so he does evil just for the sake of appeasing his own issues.

This Lex isn't in that position. Honestly, that doesn't sound like any version of Lex Luthor I'm familiar with. Even the version from Lex Luthor: Man of Steel had reasons for everything he did.

moralrelativity said:
The start of this confused me. Maybe this instead?
And unlike he -> And, unlike what he

I think it's okay.

Well, THAT'S not what Alan was hoping for.

But, maybe, problem solved??

Depends on what you thought the problem was.

Chojin Patriarch said:
"Is how to use a ring to make someone feel an emotion. Because it seems to me that what you're short on is hope."
...as two people sheltering in a cubicle...

Thank you, corrected.

Prosecutor-0 said:
Why is Alan's speech in orange? I assume that when OL is on location the speech is not coming through the ring.

Since they weren't next to each other, it was coming from his ring.

Senevri · Mar 7, 2022

Darth.Bill said:
That is not the typical response to feeling hopeful.

It very much can be.
If you're so hopeless you can't even see the end, the first solution when you get a bit of hope, is to end the suffering.

There's a reason why suicide is a listed side effect of medication for depression.

BR549 · Mar 7, 2022

Darth.Bill said:
That is not the typical response to feeling hopeful.

Crimson Avenger's possessed guns do give her an 'out' for her contracts: killing herself.

So, when a surge of externally-applied hope suddenly snaps her out of the guns' effect enough to act for herself, she takes the out to end the 'contract'..

BlackCoat13 · Mar 7, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
cheep land and tax incentives

cheap

Mr Zoat · Mar 7, 2022

BlackCoat13 said:
cheap

Thank you, corrected.

Darko · Mar 7, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
. Honestly, that doesn't sound like any version of Lex Luthor I'm familiar with

Some of the versions from the Saturday morning cartoons may have been like that, as well as the ones from the older comics.

And a lot of modern versions also have those traits of doing something bad even if it interferes with their goals.

Remember that time he became a god and the only thing he had to do to keep the power to make the universe a utopia was to not hurt someone?

So much for him caring about the world.

Mr Zoat said:
Even the version from Lex Luthor: Man of Steel had reasons for everything he did.

Though he still was basically deluded and full of himself.

BartlettMagic · Mar 7, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
And then she points both barrels at her head and pulls the triggers.

well that's a refreshing twist

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

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