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

8th November 2012
17:12 GMT +3


"I wonder if my college has a rowing team?"

Sanderson and I are getting into a rhythm, our oars going into the water together… Reasonably well. I've only had to stabilise myself with my ring once so far.
Not a bad workout. Pity you don't get to see where you're going, only where you've been. I'm surprised they're having to row, though, given that a river flows. Though that would be metaphorically giving themselves up to the whims of the current... Whereas rowing implies purpose, and progress towards a destination.

Alan leans a little towards him. "Shouldn't be too hard to find out."

"Wouldn't do you much good, though. Metahumans can't participate in official competitions."
Doesn't mean it's not good exercise. Even if he only acts as an extra during training sessions or the like...

"They can't? Why not?"

"What do you mean, 'they'?"
Right, still reluctant to acknowledge his empowered aspects.

"Mean-?" He blinks. "Oh. Oh yeah. I guess that's-. I mean, magic counts?"

"The rules are a little vague about exactly what they cover, but I imagine that they would stretch to a man who could transform himself into sand."
I expect the number one no-no would be super-strength and/or super-speed. Just on pure mechanical advantage.

"That doesn't seem fair. It doesn't make me any stronger."

"Do you get tired when you're made of sand?"
I'd make a crack about the ladies liking that, but that would imply sand in places sand should never be. :oops: Ow.

"I haven't really tested it out. Do you think I wouldn't?"

"Your sand body doesn't have any way to generate lactic acid, or… Any other chemical. Not that that necessarily means anything."
His humanity is largely in his head. Don't ruin it for him, OL.

"Okay, I guess, but it's kind of obvious whether I'm made of sand or not."

"Sanderson, I know that you're a good guy, but the rules have to be written on the assumption that a certain number of participants won't be. Plenty of abilities don't have any obvious outward sign that they're in use."
And I'm suddenly reminded of Asterix comics where Obelix the mighty is rowing. Picture a rowboat hopping along like a rabbit, if you can't picture it.

The Demon slumps slightly in his seat. "None of you smoke, do you?"

"No." / "Not for sixty years." / "Aunt Dian wouldn't let me." / "No."
Good, it's a terrible habit addiction.

"You do all realise that none of you can get cancer, yeah?"

Alan shrugs. "I guess we've all got enough purpose in our lives that we don't need things like that."
No headier high than the adrenaline of fighting for the right thing.

"I wouldn't tempt me if I were you. Demons with purpose aren't exactly human-friendly."

He's not wrong there.
Yes, you've had to beat the spit out of a few, OL.

Hm. Hard to tell exactly how long we've been doing this for. The mist has gone, and we're in a river bed that's deep enough that I can't see over the bank-.

"Doctor, what's on the other side of the river banks?"
If the river is a metaphor for travel, I'd be surprised if there were anything beyond a treeline.

"Not a great deal. This is a travelling river. I imagine that what surrounds us is the unformatted stuff of the Dream."

Alan frowns, straightening up slightly and peering to the left. "Is it safe?"
...Define safe. I wouldn't go poking around, though.

"It would not be wise to walk through it with your living body, but it will not hurt us here."

"If I did, what would happen?"
I imagine it would be very painful...

"It would be like being in a dream, except that you would hev no external body to awaken into."

"Could someone get out?"
Well, that's not terrifying at all, nosirree...

Dr. Balewa nods slowly. "Perhaps. If they were unusually self-possessed, or had someone to help them. Mister Hawkins, do you feel anything about our destination?"

"Doctor, I'm not really used to navigating by… By feel like this. I don't want to get everyone lost."
So... Pretty much any Lantern, then. Especially a Greenie, who could just determination their way through.

"Returning to the Gate of Horn and Ivory from a river like this is easy. Do not worry about getting us lost. As long as no one moves into the deep dream, I am confident thet I could guide our return journey myself. It is in navigating us in that you are helpful."

"Okay, then I think we're coming up on something. But I don't-"
Something good, or something bad? Or is he too inexperienced to tell the difference?

We all hear the rushing water, and I nod to myself.

"-know what-. Ah, that's bad, right?"
...Because there's always rapids or a waterfall. Representing unexpected obstacles.

"I… Am not sure."

Dr. Balewa peers in the direction of our travel as the roar of water going over a waterfall gets louder.
Just remember: don't pay the ferryman, not until you reach the other side.

"I do not believe that it will be a problem, but if the Lanterns could-"

Lap bars, chain loops and grab rails appear on our boat, and life jackets materialise at our feet.
Nice work, Alan. He's probably the most powerful member of the party here, what with the ties between hopes and dreams...

"-make certain-. Thank you."

The river bends, the bank blocking our view of the fall until-. Yes, there it is, the classical waterfall-from-nowhere. I swap my plate armour helmet for a diving helmet, and after a moment Alan does as well.
You know, just in case.

The Demon wraps ropes around each of his forearms. "Alright, Doctor. Anything we need to know?"

"It is probably too late to teach you how to swim."
I appreciate the levity, doc, but now's not the best time.

The boat's picking up speed. We could probably reach the bank, but from what Dr. Balewa was saying there's nothing there.

"About the water."

"Despite the fact that it does not literally exist, I would not recommend breathing-"
Well, he's probably right. Ever had a dream where you're cruising around underwater?

The boat goes over the fall.

"-it-."
...And then they find themselves sailing straight down with no problem, because gravity is subjective here.

I'm braced, but-. What? I-.

There's a moment of disorientation as we go over, but then it's… Like we're sailing along a level river once more, the sky above us sort of twisting so that the dull night sky the accompanied us since we left zombie territory is replaced by-.
Right then, a narrative shortcut. Yay for metaphors.

I close my eyes in an attempt to get my brain to stop hurting. Okay, it looked like a Middle eastern market from a couple of centuries ago drawn by Roger Penrose. Pathways link points that have no rational spatial relationship to one another, being at variance in place or orientation. People of various kinds walk freely at our plane, up walls and across ceilings. A few move at completely different angles, and some overpasses have people walking atop and beneath them.
Something a bit like this, then? But with a bit of kaleidoscopic tessellation?

"Ah, good. We have arrived."

I open my eyes, and don't punch Dr. Balewa in the face.
Congratulations on your restraint, OL. It seems he's a bit of a troll in his old age.

"Oarsmen, please take us to the jetty. We will need to transfer here."

Sanderson and I look at each other for a moment, then carefully resume our strokes. I glance back and see that our drop-in point has vanished. The jetty's not far away, but we're one of the smaller boats on the water and we're not good at delicate manoeuvring.
'Not good', you say. Any other boats at the docks might have harsher words.

"Do you recognise where we are, Orange Lantern?"

"Yes, Time Trapper mentioned it. Caliph Harun al Raschid made a deal with Morpheus to preserve his realm forever. I assume that this is it."
As told here, in the story 'Ramadan'. They've, quite literally, entered a city in a bottle.

"Yes. We will seek passage onwards from here, and gather supplies for our task. But be on your guard: not all things here are what they seem."



No. Really?
But in this place, that goes doubly so, since it's a distillation of the sort of things you'd see in '1001 Arabian Nights'.

And so the scene shifts, into the sort of magical Arabian city you'd have seen in Disney's 'Aladdin'. Let's hope they can dodge the swindling merchants and lurking thieves long enough to find their way on to their next stop. Wonder if they'll pass through another little private patch of the Dreaming as they go? Fiddler's Green, perhaps, as one of the more benevolent loci...

Caliph Harun al Raschid made a deal with Morpheus...
As the wiki writes it, that's 'Haroun', unless OL is misremembering...
 
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I imagine that what surrounds us is the unformatted
'thet'
except that you would hev no external body
'thet'
navigating us in that you are helpful.
'thet'
I do not believe that it will be a problem, but if the Lanterns could-
'thet'
Ah, good. We have arrived
'hev'

It's interesting that Sanderson is apparently immune to cancer. Does that mean that he undergoes some sort of healing when he transforms, or that his seemingly-normal body is actually still unusual in some way?
 

So... They've come to a far away place where the heat is intense, where its flat and immense, where the winds from the East and the sun's from the West where the caravan camels roam...

In a city where enchantment runs rampant, are they going to hop a carpet and fly?
 
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'thet'
'thet'
'thet'
'thet'
'hev'
Thank you, corrected.
It's interesting that Sanderson is apparently immune to cancer. Does that mean that he undergoes some sort of healing when he transforms, or that his seemingly-normal body is actually still unusual in some way?
Might just mean that it wouldn't kill him if he stayed sand the whole time.
So... They've come to a far away place where the heat is intense, where its flat and immense, where the winds from the East and the sun's from the West where the caravan camels roam...

In a city where enchantment runs rampant, are they going to hop a carpet and fly?
It's barbaric, but hey, it's home.
 
BTW Mr Zoat what happened with this:
27th October 2012
05:02 GMT


"The crown princess of one of their colonies is a friend of mine. If you want me to fly you over there for a visit, so you can get a better idea of what their culture is like, I'm happy to do that."

"That sounds like it would be the wise thing to do. I'll-" He finishes his tea in a gulp, then rises to his feet. "-finish off my current batch of projects first. Is a week good for you?"

"Yes, I'll speak to Bleez and arrange things."
Is that still on or did the whole thing with Hephestian delayed it?
 
Thank you, corrected.

I also was rereading and was wondering: Since Kalmin would kill anyone non-Qwardian using a Qwa-weapon how did the SI get Wonder Woman a Qwa-Sword as a gift from his return. He said it wasn't "A prize of war or anything, it's a custom job". Did Kalmin make an exception?
 
I also was rereading and was wondering: Since Kalmin would kill anyone non-Qwardian using a Qwa-weapon how did the SI get Wonder Woman a Qwa-Sword as a gift from his return. He said it wasn't "A prize of war or anything, it's a custom job". Did Kalmin make an exception?
He probably had it made alongside the blue lantern he gave to Alan in the Paragon timeline. And i thought he had a problem with Qwa matter being in the hands of outsiders, not weapons. They are called the weaponers for a reason.
 
I really enjoy Dr. Balewa. He's been more fun than I expected for the last few chapters.
He's a pain to write.
I also was rereading and was wondering: Since Kalmin would kill anyone non-Qwardian using a Qwa-weapon how did the SI get Wonder Woman a Qwa-Sword as a gift from his return. He said it wasn't "A prize of war or anything, it's a custom job". Did Kalmin make an exception?
I'd have to reread the whole region.
 
Agreed, Dr. Balewa is a gem.

The Dream is fun so far, with the twisty rules.

As for rowing, I'm guessing Sandy doesn't have a weakness to water. But the innate flexibility being what he is probably gives him, and if he has the ability to reformat his body even when not sand- yeah, I can see that giving him an advantage if he has enough reach. Though that also depends if he's sweep or scull rowing.
 
False Dawn (supplementary, Renegade Option)
8th November 2012
14:18 GMT +1


I look around Magnificus's repurposed workshop, my eyes skipping over the positron beam projectors that deployed in response to my arrival. In the middle distance I can hear the sound of a dozen welding torches working, knowing Magnificus mounted on the end of multiple robotic arms.

I raise my right hand to my mouth.

"Magnificus! You've been skipping your therapy sessions and I want to talk about it!"

"I don't need therapy! I need to work!"

Ah, darn it.

"Would you mind if I come a little closer?!"

"Do what you like!"

I nod calmly, fold my arms behind my back and walk slowly in the direction of his shouts.

Careful, Lantern Grayven. A man like Magnificus Sivana should not be underestimated, even irrational as he is.

Yes, I know.

And yet you came yourself. Alone.

This is my responsibility. The buck stops with me.

Yes, and I'm glad that you realise that. What I mean is that you didn't send one of your many more empathetic employees. Or a pony. I may not see the appeal myself, but they appear to be of great comfort to emotionally wrought humans.

I don't think that's what he needs.

At some part, the door to the electronics workshop has been… Removed? Torn off? Cannibalised for parts? Not sure. The point is that it's not there, and I get a clear view of the… Jetsons flying saucer thing that he's working on. Several hatches on the underside have been opened up, and two robot arms are spot welding… Additional modules that look like they're going to be mounted on the hull.

"Looks like it's going well."

"Yes." Magnificus walks in, heavily reinforced canister of something under his left arm and a weirdly glowing pistol in his right hand. "It's nearly complete. Once I add the suspendium and mount the time drive modules, I'll be gone."

"So it is a time machine, then?"

"I spent my eighth birthday in the Silurian era, making fish with bony jaws to confuse future paleontologists. I may just be copying Father's work, but at least I'm doing something-." His pistol snaps up, pointed precisely at my face. "Stay back!"

I nod, raising my hands and planting my right foot firmly back on the ground.

"There's nothing you can do to stop me."

I nod again. "When are you planning to go?"

"Before they die. Turret mode." He releases the pistol, and its grip unfolds into an anti-gravity flotation device. "Before any of them die. I'm not going to be the last Sivana."

"Alright, but the Sheeda destroyed your family's holiday home during your annual family get-together. It wouldn't have done that if they weren't there. You'll need to get them out between it hitting something vital and the place disintegrating."

"I know that! I don't need you-! I don't need you trying to explain temporal manipulation to me."

He crouches, laying the temporal manipulation module down on the floor and picking a panel up from the floor. That gets moved to one of the saucer's lower hatches, then he reaches inside and starts connecting the interior cables to the panel's sockets.

"And then, when Mom and Thaddeus and my sisters are safe, we can go and pick up father. And then-. And then we'll be fine again."

"I saw your father die, Magnificus."

"A hologram. Or if it wasn't the first time, it will be after we've changed things."

"Magnificus, I'm a New God. I know when a living person is sacrificing themselves for-."

"MY FATHER WAS FOUR FOOT FIVE! HE HAD ARMS LIKE PIPECLEANERS! WHY THE HELL WAS HE ANYWHERE NEAR THE SHEEDA!?"

He stopped working while he shouted, but I watch him take a calming breath and rededicate himself to his work.

"Because he wanted to kill her himself, I imagine."

"He was a scientist and mechanist. If he-." Magnificus sniffs. "If he wanted to kill her, he could do it with an army of super robots."

I nod slowly. "Probably. So why do you think he-?"

"He didn't want to live anymore. With the others-. Others dead, he didn't want to stay alive himself." He slumps, his hands dropping to the floor. "I needed him. Why wasn't I enough?"

"I don't know, Magnificus. I'd… Guess that he… Thought you could cope without him, but that I might make a mess of things if he wasn't there in person."

"He could do this more easily than I can? Why isn't-? Oh-."

He thrusts his hands into the hole in the saucer, then makes the final connections and slots the panel into place.

"Is this machine your own work?"

"No. I just renovated it. I never-. I mean, it's a time machine. I understand how it works, but I don't-. There's nothing… Until now, there hasn't been anything that I've wanted a time machine to do."

"Magnificus, you do know that the Sheeda had time travel technology too?"

"Yes, of course." Another panel gets the same treatment, only slightly faster. "I was listening when father explained where he went."

"He didn't try this. Do you think he just overlooked it?"

"I don't know why he did it!"

He closes the panel and plugs in the suspendium module before moving around to the near side.

"I don't know why he didn't try this, I wasn't in-. I wasn't in any state to ask him, but I'm going to try, and you're not going to stop me."

I nod slowly. "You're right. I won't. I hope that you're successful, Magnificus. Your mother and your twin seemed like good people, and I'm sure the younger two grow on you." I cautiously hold out my right hand as the drone gun hums unhappily.

He plugs in the second module, reaching inside to press a button and then turns back to me as the saucer activates. He watches me for a moment or two, then walks closer and takes my hand.

"I'll be back."

Then he lets go, climbs into the saucer and with a shimmer of light the saucer's gone.

And then it's back, panels torn away and smoke rising from the interior! I lunge forward, grabbing the dome and tearing it off before reaching inside and heaving Magnificus clear! He's beaten and bloody and the one eye that isn't swollen shut isn't focusing properly. I take a firm grip and then run from the workshop as the suspendium modules go critical and something very strange and organic-unfriendly happens to the saucer.

I prop Magnificus up against a wall, purple healing ray out and firing at his face. He's a Danner enhancile so he shouldn't need it, but I don't want to take chances. After a moment he stirs, his eye focusing on me.

"Why? Why can't I-?"

I sit down next to him and wrap my right arm around his shoulders.
 
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Well that was just depressing.
working, knowing Magnificus on the end of multiple robotic arms.

"is on the of multiple"

"Magnificus! You've been skipping your therapy sessions and I want to talk about it!"

"I don't need therapy! I need to work!

You kinda do need therapy.


"need"

something vital the place disintegrating."

"to the place"

"MY FATHER WAS FOUR FOOT FIVE! HE HAD ARMS LIKE PIPECLEANERS

That didn't stop him from going up against a demigod.

WHY THE HELL WAS HE ANYWHERE NEAR THE SHEEDA!"

Well he wanted to kill them up close and personal, and he didn't want to live.
 
Sigh. I feel for Magnificus. It was obvious to Renegade that the Sheeda must have somehow hardened their excursions against outside interference enough that even Sivana senior couldn't break it. Magnificus must have known too but Grief makes us fools.
Except the Sheeda didn't build their time machine and had no idea how it all worked.

A fact Zoat seemingly forgot.
 

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